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Airbus has launched its new Airspace cabin design, which promises to use new technologies to enhance passenger comfort while in the air.
At some unfortunate point in history, the magic of flying gave way to the miserable experience of having less breathing room than an iPhone’s product packaging. Now, Airbus’ new Airspace cabin design looks to right that wrong with a myriad of new improvements. Among them, thankfully, is greater legroom.
The cabin is designed around four pillars; comfort, ambience, service, and design, and is set to come into service in 2017 aboard Airbus’ new A330neo jet.
Read: NASA’s new X-plane resurrects the Concorde dream
The Airspace cabin design brings wide seats (18″), larger overhead storage bulkheads, roomier bathrooms that include antibacterial surfaces, and LED lighting that will help reduce jet leg by rotating through different colour temperatures.
Further, the design will bring unobstructed space under each seat, and the areas surrounding each viewport are now beveled to give the sensation of more freedom of space.
Kiran Rao, Airbus’ Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, stated in a press release that “œThe A380 already offers the best comfort of any aircraft, and the A320 is the top in its single-aisle category. Airspace is another step forward, reflecting our decision to bring consistency on our two best-selling widebody aircraft: the A350 XWB and A330neo.“
Read: New hypersonic flight research could herald the future of air travel “œ…signature details and iconic elements will add to passengers‘ enjoyment of flight, while offering a flexible canvas to which the airlines can project their own brand.” Rao concluded.
What are your thoughts on Airbus’ new Airspace cabin design? Which of these improvements could go a long way to ensuring more comfortable air travel here in South Africa? Be sure to let us know your opinion in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithsa


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As the launch date creeps ever closer, EA unveils more footage for Star Wars Battlefront via this launch trailer.
A little bit of WWE, a helping of enhanced and “deathinitive” edition releases, some classics and a few indies round out this week’s PS Store update.
As we heard during Sony’s PlayStation Media Briefing, Dhalsim is officially returning to the ring in Street Fighter V. More new game details and media within.
Want to know what Sony had to announce and/or show off during their live PlayStation Media Briefing this morning?
Just in time for Halloween, Bungie rolls out an awesome new limited-time, special event for all Destiny players.
Some much requested new features are coming to Super Mario Maker early next month.
Newcomers probably need not apply.
With Sony’s big PlayStation Media Preview event at Paris Games Week kicks off tomorrow, and they are already gearing up to livestream the entire event as it unfolds.
Want a limited edition SFV Chun-Li Tournament Edition 2 FightStick for your PS4 or PS3?
PM Studios and Acttil’s anticipated PS Vita music rhythm title finally has an official release date and an action-packed new gameplay trailer.
Hold onto your hats Call of Duty fans, the latest Black Ops III trailer shows off just about everything you’d like to see from Treyarch’s next release in the franchise.

domain: news


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The e-HKD project can be considered the third prong of a pro-digital assets trifecta also including the mBridge initiative with the mainland, Thailand and the UAE as well as the embrace of cryptocurrency by regulators. Hong Kong has been testing a retail version of the e-HKD since May with 16 test cases, while a legislative proposal to sell stablecoins to retail investors is awaiting public feedback.
From what we can see, it appears that some big names will be participating in the e-HKD wholesale project. The HKMA will form an “architecture community” to develop common standards that will include Hashkey Group, one of the first licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong, HSBC and its Hang Seng Bank subsidiary, Standard Chartered, and Bank of China (Hong Kong). More companies such as Microsoft and Ant Group’s Digital Technologies unit will also reportedly join the community.
At present, the use cases mentioned by the HKMA do not appear to address any major bottlenecks in payments – they seem more like solutions in search of a problem. For instance, the creation of tokenized electronic bills of lading (we had to look that word up), which according to the HKMA use blockchains to provide real-time and reliable cargo data, improve efficiency and mitigate the risk of fraud. Another potential use case is tokenized electric vehicle charging stations, “which can be broken down into bite-size tokens to improve their appeal,” the HKMA said.
Looking ahead, the HKMA foresees the possibility of a new financial market infrastructure (FMI) to bridge the gap between tokenization offerings and money. What is interesting to us is that the HKMA appears to be working on two distinct CBDC projects that do not have any obvious overlap. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS), which is overseeing mBridge, is not involved in Project Ensemble. It will be interesting to see which central banks the HKMA ultimately partners with on its homegrown CBDC project.


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When the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) issued an advisory on “unlicensed third-party service providers” back in June 2009, it killed a lot of deals that were pending at the time. It’s considered a key reason Amazon.com’s foray into the wine space ended before it really began. It sent a chill out to operators of third-party websites used in marketing wine. ABC said it was concerned because “unlicensed third parties" were "exercising privileges which only extend to retail licensees.”
Since then ABC has a new leader and industry working groups have been meeting to discuss the issue.
I was expecting this thing to drag out longer - the wheels of the ABC turn slowly - but the ABC is making a big announcement today, coinciding with the NCSLA conference in San Francisco.
Will Amazon get back into the game now?
A list of principles to guide third-party providers and wineries will be helpful because when you’re a licensee and do something that’s not within the boundaries of statute and regulation, you’re potentially susceptible to a fine. Third-party providers will have more clarity on what they can do and wineries will be on the hook if the rules aren't followed.
The order is expected to say that third-party marketers may accept consumer credit card information and may debit the card subject to the licensees acceptance of the order as long as funds are deposited to an account the licensee controls.
It could cause folks to scramble because it’s not going to be easy to comply with. Licensees will need to control payment, compensation and fulfillment.


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Electric Mobility Limited (MEML), the last mile mobility arm of the Mahindra
Group, is celebrating its 50000 electric 3-wheeler customers milestone this
month. Mahindra Electric started its electric 3-wheeler journey with the e Alfa
Mini in 2017, and since then has successfully launched the Treo, Treo Yaari,
Treo Zor, and e Alfa Cargo.
of all the electric Mahindra 3-wheelers sold, the Treo range has received the
maximum awards. Suman Mishra, CEO of MEML said, “It is indeed a momentous
occasion for all of us as we go from strength to strength in building this
category, and we are thankful to our satisfied customers for this. Electric
Vehicles are helping customers with increased earnings while delivering
sustainability and therefore we expect the growth momentum to continue.”
Electric has managed to touch the lives of driver partners, allowing them to
become entrepreneurs thereby earning more and at the same time be sustainable.
The 50000+ strong Mahindra Electric 3-wheeler family has seen several
milestones during this journey – it have covered more than 133 million electric
km, saved 27566 metric tonne of CO2 that otherwise would have required more
than 6.1 lakh trees to be planted, besides several others.
There is no end to fancy accessories for your car, be it for the interiors or the exterior. Can you imagine, you can also change your car key to a real fancy one? Keydroid India, the pioneering brand ...
Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global coatings company, announced its 2024 Global Automotive Colour of the Year – Starry Night. The latest edition marks the 10th year Axalta has introduced its auto...
Greencore Electronics, a trailblazer in advanced automotive solutions, has unveiled a car vacuum cleaner and puncture repair kit which are fully made in India.


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CHARLESTON, SC — JUNE 8, 2021 — South Carolina Ports had a record May for containers handled at the Port of Charleston, marking the third consecutive month of record volumes.
SC Ports had its strongest May ever for containers, moving 230,870 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) across Wando Welch Terminal, North Charleston Terminal and Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal. This is a 36% increase from a year ago as cargo continues to boom globally.
SC Ports has handled nearly 2.32 million TEUs thus far in fiscal year 2021, from July 1 through May 31, up 6.85% from the year prior.
SC Ports handled 128,519 pier containers — which account for cargo boxes of any size — in May, up 31.2% year-over-year. SC Ports has handled 1.29 million pier containers thus far in fiscal year 2021, up 5% from the year prior.
While the strong comparisons are aided by low volumes in May 2020 due to the pandemic, SC Ports’ volumes consistently show a rebound in the booming Southeast market.
Mega retailers and advanced manufacturers continue to drive volumes at the Port of Charleston. Loaded imports were up 46.5% and loaded exports were up 24.3% in May compared to a year ago.
“The Port of Charleston saw strong container volumes in May as our efficient operations continue to support the retail boom,” SC Ports President and CEO Jim Newsome said. “SC Ports also welcomed the CMA CGM MARCO POLO in May, marking the largest container ship to ever call the East Coast and signifying the importance of our ongoing infrastructure investments. We achieved 52 feet of depth in front of Wando Welch Terminal last month, putting Charleston on track to have the deepest harbor on the East Coast in 2022.”
Vehicles remain an incredibly strong segment for the Port of Charleston. SC Ports handled 21,280 vehicles in May, up 818% year-over-year — a significant jump from last May when many automotive manufacturers were impacted by the pandemic. SC Ports has handled 230,885 vehicles at Columbus Street Terminal fiscal-year-to-date, up 24.5%.
Inland Port Greer reported 11,280 rail moves in May, a 25.9% increase year-over-year. Inland Port Greer has handled 144,459 rail moves fiscal-year-to-date. Inland Port Dillon handled 2,318 rail moves in May for a total of 32,409 rail moves fiscal-year-to-date.
About South Carolina Ports Authority
South Carolina Ports Authority, established by the state’s General Assembly in 1942, owns and operates public seaport and intermodal facilities in Charleston, Dillon, Georgetown and Greer. As an economic development engine for the state, Port operations facilitate 225,000 statewide jobs and generate nearly $63.4 billion in annual economic activity. SC Ports is soon to be home to the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast at 52 feet. SC Ports is an industry leader in delivering speed-to-market, seamless processes and flexibility to ensure reliable operations, big ship handling, efficient market reach and environmental responsibility. Please visit www.scspa.com to learn more about SC Ports.


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H&H Classics is holding an auction at Duxford on May 26, where a rare 1970 E-type Jaguar is heading to auction. The color is what makes the E-type so rare; it’s painted in Porsche Tangerine. The original owner of the car was a legendary cartoonist in the UK named Raymond Jackson.
The E-Type Jaguar was originally delivered to the Daily Express newspaper and was reportedly the company car of cartoonist JAK. The 1970 E-Type first had registration number JAK 449. Jackson was known for “fast living and fast cars,” with his vehicles all using customized license plates. The current owner has had the car for 45 years, and the vehicle is expected to bring up to £55,000 at auction.
The auction is being held at the Imperial War Museum, in Duxford and the vehicle will be available for viewing and bidding at the venue, online, and by telephone. H & H Classics points out that the venue is open and welcoming visitors. Since new, the car has had three owners and has been upgraded with 6.5-inch wire wheels, stainless steel exhaust, and 1-2-3 dual point distributor.
The car was originally manufactured on April 23, 1970, and sold through the dealership Henlys of London a few days later. Its first registration was as JAK 449 to the Daily Express newspaper on May 20, 1970. The current owner purchased the car in 1976 from its second owner, with registration plate BME 63H. The original owner kept the personalized plate.
The third owner used the vehicle heavily, including for camping trips with roof rack. It was repainted in 1994 and has been updated slightly since new. The engine was overhauled in 2010 using a new crankshaft, big end bearings, clutch, flywheel, and an improved oil pump. The chain followers and tensioners have also been replaced.


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The social network's new skin for Android won't violate your privacy any more than normal Facebook.
Security firm Mandiant delivers compelling evidence that the Chinese military is behind a torrent of intrusions targeting the networks of U.S.-based companies. Here's what happens next.
Official confirms report by veteran Pentagon reporter Bill Gertz saying hackers linked to China's government "broke into one of the U.S. government's most sensitive computer networks."
It works in a home aquarium with toys, but could this laser tripwire alert people to hungry sharks approaching swimmers?
Mobile ad networks like Transpera are serving up video ads in game apps. Will consumers tolerate them or find them irritating?
The company's invasions of privacy may be even more serious than first reported. As the Beacon controversy continues to evolve, consumers must fight for their privacy.
The upscale department store identified a security breach in mid-December, but sources tell the New York Times that the hacker's trail leads back to July.
The company says, however, that the amounts shown on the site do not "constitute a filing of rehabilitation claims."
After several corporations and universities were targeted in cyberattacks, the US government arrests Timothy French for allegedly posting thousands of people's usernames and passwords online.
Asian-themed restaurant says it will switch to old-style card imprint system after learning that customer data and debit card information was stolen.


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* Deal worth $1.37 bln, excluding debt
* TE sees adj profit up 4 cents to 6 cents a share in first year after deal
* Forecasts sensor business revenue to grow by $600 mln a year (Adds background on the sensor business, analyst’s comment)
June 18 (Reuters) - Swiss electronics company TE Connectivity said it would buy U.S.-based sensor maker Measurement Specialties Inc for about $1.7 billion, including debt, to grab a bigger slice of the high-growth global sensor market.
TE Connectivity was formerly known as Tyco Electronics, which split from Tyco International Ltd in 2007. The company said it expects the global sensor market will grow to $116 billion by 2019 from $80 billion this year.
TE, which makes pressure and position sensors for the automotive and aerospace industries, said the size of the global market for its products is about $4 billion to $5 billion.
Measurement Specialties, based in Hampton, Virginia, makes sensors that measure temperature, pressure, acceleration or humidity for the industrial, medical and consumer appliance markets.
TE said that buying Measurement Specialties would give the combined company a shot at a worldwide sensor market worth about $40 billion.
“All of a sudden, (the deal) gives TE a significantly great amount of breadth in the sensor family,” said Amitabh Passi, a San Francisco-based analyst at UBS Equities.
The deal would help its sensor business grow to $800 million in revenue annually from $200 million now, according to TE. The company reported revenue of $13.28 billion in fiscal 2013.
TE’s acquisition of Measurement Specialties follows a deal by Amphenol Corp, which makes fiber optic cables and related devices, to buy General Electric’s advanced sensors business for about $318 million late last year.
TE’s offer of $86 per share for each Measurement Specialties share represents a premium of a little over 10 percent to the stock’s closing price on Wednesday.
Measurement Specialties’ stock surged 10.34 percent in after-hours trading to $86.07, while TE Connectivity’s stock dipped 0.2 percent to $61.81.
The deal is worth $1.37 billion, excluding debt, based on Measurement Specialties’ 15.9 million shares outstanding as of May 21.
Measurement Specialties’ revenue increased 19 percent to $412.7 million for the year ending March 31, 2014.
TE said it expects adjusted profit to rise in the mid-single digits, or 4 cents to 6 cents per share, in the first year after the deal is completed.
The Swiss company plans to fund the deal through cash and additional debt. TE expects the deal to close in calendar 2014.
TE’s financial advisers were Citi and Centerview Partners LLC; legal counsel was Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
Barclays was the financial adviser for Measurement Specialties, while DLA Piper was outside counsel.
Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bangalore; Editing by Simon Jennings, Savio D'Souza and Jan Paschal


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Your purse is your trusty standby, but it may also be acting as a "subway for germs," picking up bacteria wherever you leave it, then transporting them directly into your home.
This simple action that most of us do without giving it a thought could be a major source of exposure to germs, bacteria, viruses and other organisms that could make you and your family sick, according to recent research into what's really clinging to your purse.
Chuck Gerba, a microbiologist with the University of Arizona, used a hand-held germ meter to test how much bacteria was being carried around on women's purses. Purses, after all, are indispensable for most women, and go with them from the car to the office to the bathroom to the grocery store and everywhere in between.
After testing swabs of 10 women's purses for ABC News, Gerba found:
- At least some bacteria on every purse
- Most purses had tens of thousands of bacteria
- A few purses contained millions of bacteria
- One purse was covered with 6.7 million bacteria
- Five purses tested positive for coliform bacteria, which could mean that human or animal waste was present
How do these amounts compare to what's normal? According to health experts, readings above 200, which indicate thousands of bacteria present, are high enough to be worried about. "We found fecal bacteria you normally find on the floor of a restroom," Gerba said. "We found bacteria that can cause skin infections on the bottom of purses. What's more amazing is the large numbers we find on the bottom of purses, which indicates that they can be picking up a lot of other germs like cold viruses or viruses that cause diarrhea."
Another study by Gerba and colleagues that tested dozens of women's purses found equally disturbing results with 30 percent were coated with fecal bacteria, and some purses turned out to be 100 times dirtier than an average toilet seat. The worst area of the purses turned out to be, as you might suspect, the bottom. "The bottoms of women's purses are pretty bad," Gerba says. "About 25 percent have fecal bacteria because women put it down on the toilet floor in restrooms."
As a word of advice, instead of setting your purse on the ground, keep it slung over your shoulder or on a hook/chair back whenever possible.


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Stocks fell to their lows of the day on Friday on news that Chinese trade officials are cutting short their visit to the U.S.US Marketsread more
Chinese trade negotiators suddenly canceled a visit to meet U.S. farmers after they wrapped up trade talks in Washington this week.Marketsread more
Canadian trade union Unifor said roughly 4,500 of its members have been temporarily laid off because of the GM strike so far.Autosread more
For investors taking a breather from the chaos in August, buckle up as the market is about go crazy again, Goldman Sachs warned.Marketsread more
The wearables company has reportedly retained advisers to consider exploring a sale of the business.Technologyread more
Roku shares have more than quadrupled this year, but the stock has had some rocky days of late as more players jump into streaming.Technologyread more
Walmart is the latest to pull back from the industry. Federal regulators said they will soon ban flavored e-cigarettes while some nations have outlawed the products...Health and Scienceread more
Legal experts say that California, which has pledged to sue, has a strong case that the administration's move is unlawful.Politicsread more
Solomon launched Payback Records last year as his music career was picking up.Financeread more
A group of 23 states on Friday sued to undo the Trump administration's determination that federal law bars California from setting stiff tailpipe emission standards and...Transportationread more
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have accused Iran of orchestrating devastating strikes on Saudi oil installations over the weekend.Politicsread more
Yahoo's stock was up nearly 1.6 percent at midmorning.
Verizon is close to announcing a revised takeover deal with Yahoo that will cut the price slightly, sources told CNBC. The price was said to be reduced by a few hundred million dollars.
Bloomberg, which first reported news of the revised deal, said the price could be cut by about $300 million.
CNBC has reached out to Yahoo for comment. Verizon declined to comment.
Verizon agreed to buy Yahoo for $4.8 billion in July, but since then it has disclosed two hackings of unprecedented scale. In December, analysts told CNBC that Verizon might use the new breaches to reduce the price of the Yahoo acquisition.
When Yahoo reported earnings in January, CEO Marissa Mayer said that the company's commitment to the security of its users was "unwavering," and that integration planning was a top priority. Buying Yahoo will give Verizon scale for its internet advertising business, which already includes AOL.
— Reporting by CNBC's David Faber.


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Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse facility voted in favour of forming a union Friday, notching a momentous victory a growing U.S. labour movement.
The first-of-its-kind union paves the way for other efforts throughout Amazon and represents a major blow for the company, which has fought tooth-and-nail to suffocate unionization efforts. Amazon may now have to worry about what was once a small union spark spreading into a company-wide wildfire.
Workers in the JFK8 fulfillment centre voted 2,654-2,131 in favour of forming a union Friday morning, according to a National Labour Relations Board vote count. Meanwhile, nearly 1,609 km to the south, workers in a Bessemer, Alabama warehouse ended voting on Thursday evening 993-875 against forming the union, though more than 400 challenged ballots could swing the outcome in the union’s favour. Amazon has until April 8 to appeal the Staten Island results.
“Welp there you go,” Amazon Labour Union President Christian Smalls wrote on Twitter immediately following the vote. “We worked had fun and made History…welcome the 1st union in America for Amazon.”
Amazon did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
@amazon wanted to make me the face of the whole unionizing efforts against them…. welp there you go! @JeffBezos @DavidZapolsky CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 @amazonlabor We worked had fun and made History ‼✊🏾 #ALU # ALUfortheWin welcome the 1st union in America for Amazon 🔥🔥🔥🔥— Christian Smalls (@Shut_downAmazon) April 1, 2022
An unexpected victory
The Staten Island vote represents a major victory both for Amazon workers and for the U.S. labour movement as a whole. Amazon is the second-largest U.S. employer second only to Walmart. Put another way, one in every 169 U.S. workers is employed there. None of those workers were unionized until now. Though other Amazon sites have tried and failed to unionize, Staten Island has set an important precedent other warehouses could follow. Amazon has spent years trying to stamp out that possibility.
The Staten Island victory earned immediate praise from advocates and corporate accountability groups like the American Economic Liberties Project.
“Today’s vote to unionize is a massive victory for workers at Amazon warehouses and for the entire working class” AELP Executive Director Sarah Miller siad in an emailed statement to Gizmodo. Miller predicted a “wave of similar campaigns that is now likely to sweep the country.”
That hope expressed by Miller of similar pro-worker campaigns taking off is bolstered by recent data. Recent polling suggests Amazon workers likely have the majority of Americans on their side: 77% of registered voters surveyed in a February Politico/Morning Consult poll said they support employee rights to collective bargaining.
Even if the Bessemer, Alabama vote doesn’t go the union’s way, the pro-union side still made significant, mostly unexpected gains that points to growing union sympathies. When workers at the Alabama warehouse last voted on unionizing in 2021, the results ended in a landslide loss, with workers voting 1,798-738 against the union. Workers were granted a re-vote after The National Labour Relations Board concluded the company had violated U.S. labour laws following allegations from workers that the company went to obsessive lengths to dissuade them from voting for the union. Just 39% of eligible workers voted this time around, down from 55% last year, according to CNBC.
“Every vote must be counted,” Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union President Stuart Appelbaum said in a statement. (RWDSU is representing workers at the Bessemer Amazon warehouse).“Workers at Amazon endured a needlessly long and aggressive fight to unionize their workplace, with Amazon doing everything it could to spread misinformation and deceit. We will hold Amazon accountable and we will be filing objections on their behaviour.”
Another Day, Another Anti-Union Tactic at Amazon
Amazon has a long, sometimes bordering on absurd, record when it comes to union-busting tactics, and this time around was no exception. Reporting this week from CNBC revealed Amazon employed Global Strategy Group, a consulting firm with ties to the Democratic party to create various anti-union materials. Those included flyers as well as videos featuring Amazon managers and executives. Booth the videos and flyers reportedly used phrases like “Unpack it: Get the facts about union,” and “One team, working together.” GSG previously served as a polling partner for a super PAC that backed Joe Biden called Priorities USA. GSG also claims it has worked with Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Joe Manchin.
That’s more of the same for Amazon, and now we have the receipts to prove it. According to new US Department of Labour fillings spotted by The Huffington Post, Amazon reportedly paid anti-union consultants around $US4.3 ($6) million just in 2021. That’s an exceptionally large sum according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute which found that few firms ever surpass $US1 ($1) million in anti-union spending. Some Amazon consultants were reportedly paid $US3,200 ($4,442) to try and convince workers to scoff at unions.
Staten Island workers bore the brunt of anti-union efforts, making their vote all the more impressive. Just last week, a report in The City cited multiple Staten Island Amazon employees who claimed they were required to sit in mandatory meetings with staff to dissuade them from unionizing. Months earlier, the NLRB filed a complaint against Amazon claiming company consultants illegally threatened workers and referred to union organisers as “thugs.”
“This fight is the spark of the 21st century labour movement, and we know it will forever transform how Americans view unions in this country,” Appelbaum said. “This union election continues to show that the best way for working people to protect themselves and their families is to join together in a union.”


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CAMPO, CA – Golden Acorn Casino and Travel Center will feature a new Krispy Krunchy Chicken (KKC) outlet at the casino-travel center, launching a new dining option for visitors to the property. With an official grand opening scheduled for July 14, 2023, Golden Acorn Casino will invite guests to a celebration featuring live entertainment and the opportunity to be among the first to experience the flavors of KKC.
“With its signature crispy coating and succulent, perfectly seasoned chicken, Krispy Krunchy Chicken has captured the hearts and palates of food enthusiasts worldwide,” said Michael J. Broderick, Golden Acorn Casino’s General Manager. “Golden Acorn Casino is delighted to bring this iconic brand to its valued guests, further enhancing the travel center and casino’s commitment to providing exceptional experiences to all our customers.”
“We are thrilled to have Golden Acorn Casino and Travel Center join the Krispy Krunchy Chicken family,” said Jim Hughes, Vice President of Sales for KKC. “We are proud to help Golden Acorn deliver on its promise of ‘you drive the distance, we go the extra mile!’ and look forward to delighting visitors from all over the tri-state area.”


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16 Mar 2018
The government has launched a new £67 million full-fibre broadband scheme, with the stated aim of assisting small businesses and individuals to gain access to faster broadband.
15 Mar 2018
In its response to the Chancellor's Spring Statement, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has suggested that tax increases amounting to £30 billion per year will be needed in order to cut the UK's deficit.
14 Mar 2018
In his 2018 Spring Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond invited small businesses to provide feedback on the impact of the current VAT threshold.


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Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops Trailer Released
First details emerge of mobile edition of the best-selling series.
The first trailer for Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops has been revealed, courtesy of IGN. As we reported at the end of August, this new mobile version of the celebrated franchise is due to be released towards the end of this year.
Here's the full trailer, revealed earlier today at this year's Tokyo Game Show:


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Got news? When your business is doing great things it’s important to get the news out there. Digital Firefly Marketing, a digital marketing agency in New Jersey, offers press release services. Our experts draft, craft and distribute press releases for clients to make sure that the public is aware of what they are doing.
Press releases are an in demand skill and yet many digital marketing agencies are not equipped to produce them at the speed necessary. The intricacies of appropriately writing press releases is something Digital Firefly Marketing knows.
Digital Firefly Marketing press releases are perfect for print and digital media and can include:
- High quality images and video targeting your ideal demographic.
- Appropriate format to make sure that news media can share easily.
- Geotargeted releases in your desired area — where you are now or wish to grow.
These facets of our New Jersey digital marketing agency’s strategy make your brand visible to potential clients. Press releases also make a great addition to your website.
The Digital Firefly Marketing Difference
Press releases can be created quickly to keep up with the constantly evolving news cycle. All Digital Firefly Marketing writers are familiar with press releases which means no hassle! Tell us the news and we’ll quickly put together the perfect release whether you need it for print, digital sharing, or both. Press releases are properly formatted and news media friendly, increasing your chances of being picked up and shared.


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The number of beneficiaries on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—AKA food stamps–has topped 46,000,000 for 38th straight month, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In October 2014, the latest month reported, there were 46,674,364 Americans on food stamps. Food stamp recipients have exceeded 46 million since September 2011.
The 46,674,364 on food stamps in October was an increase of 214,434 from the 46,459,930 on food stamps in September.
As of July, the national population was 318,857,056, the Census Bureau estimates. Thus, the 46,674,364 on food stamps equaled 14.6 percent of the population.
Our Christmas in July sale is now live! Get double Patriot Points and free shipping on our hottest products!


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You are here
America updates rules on electronic voting
IN an age where people can transfer money using their mobile device, it's not hard to envision a future where citizens wake up on Election Day, pull out their phones and choose the next leader of the Free World on the way to work.
Last week, a federal election agency in
- CALL +65 6388 3838
- EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.org


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Following Its Record Watch Auction, Phillips Hires an Industry Veteran to Revamp Its Jewelry Department
Susan Abeles comes to the auction house from Bonhams.
Phillips has recruited jewelry expert Susan Abeles to lead its expanding jewelry auctions department in New York. The hire is part of the auction house’s ongoing effort to beef up departments beyond the ultra-competitive contemporary art category.
Abeles joins Phillips from Bonhams, where she served as director of jewelry for the US. She has also worked at high-end jewelry retailer Siegelson and, for seven years, served as vice president of Christie’s jewelry department.
Phillips has been quietly developing competitive teams outside of its trademark contemporary-art segment as a way to expand its business and also, perhaps, to hedge against its bets in the high-stakes fine-art sector, where the house is known to hand out aggressive guarantees.
Abeles’s appointment comes on the heels of recent success for Phillips’s fast-growing watch department, which the house launched in 2014 under the leadership of charismatic former Christie’s watch executive Aurel Bacs and his partner Livia Russo. Last year, Phillips’s debut standalone watch auction made history, achieving a $17.8 million record with the sale of Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona wristwatch.
“We’ve had extraordinary success with our watches business, starting from scratch two years ago to now holding a dominant position in the sector with 47 percent of the market,” Phillips CEO Ed Dolman told artnet News in an email. “While my expectations for jewelry are more modest, I see an opening to build a thriving jewelry business with a modern sensibility to complement our focus on art and design of the 20th and 21st centuries.” The house currently holds jewelry sales twice a year in Hong Kong and New York.
A spokesman for the auction house said Phillips is working toward cracking $1 billion in annual sales, and acknowledged that beefing up categories outside of the art sector is part of its plan to reach that goal. (He also noted that Phillips hit $708 million in total sales last year, up 80 percent since Dolman came aboard as CEO in 2014.)
“An important component of our strategy is to create cross-marketing opportunities within Phillips,” Dolman added. “Collectors of contemporary art also tend to appreciate fine watches and jewelry, and extending our offerings into complementary categories offers us the opportunity to seek out new clients who may not have previously been interested in contemporary art.”
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After seeing its biggest SUV outsold by the Mercedes-Benz M-Class last year, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is fighting back with a model it calls “The Boss,” a new version of its X5 stuffed with advanced technology.
The $52,800 sport-utility vehicle can drive itself in traffic jams and features night vision to avoid hitting people or animals in the dark. The revamped model, introduced yesterday at the International Auto Show in Frankfurt, will reach showrooms in November.
“We want to get back to the top with the X5,” said Herbert Diess, development chief for the Munich-based company.
SUVs have become a critical battleground in BMW’s effort to fend off Daimler AG’s Mercedes and Volkswagen AG’s Audi, which have both vowed to become the No. 1 luxury-car brand by 2020. With demand for SUVs rising from Charlotte to Shanghai, IHS Automotive expects the global market for the models to grow 41 percent from last year through 2018 to 18.6 million vehicles.
The X5, which is lighter and gets better gas mileage than its predecessor, will surpass the M-Class next year, IHS predicts. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus RX outsells both the German models globally.
To fight back, Mercedes is taking aim at the lower end of the luxury SUV market with the new GLA compact. That car will challenge BMW’s aging X1 as Daimler seeks to woo younger buyers away from its German rivals.
The GLA “can be a driver in the growth of the segment,” Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said at the Frankfurt show. To fuel its pursuit of BMW, Mercedes plans to roll out 13 all-new models over the next eight years.
BMW has delivered 1.05 million cars worldwide this year, 21,100 more than Audi and 132,000 more than Mercedes.
Adding to the pressure on BMW, Audi will overhaul its full- size Q7 SUV — currently outsold two-to-one by the X5 — as early as next year. The VW unit plans to double its SUV lineup to six models by 2020.
“We are not worried about the upcoming Q7,” said BMW’s Diess. “Competition always spurs us on.”
BMW trimmed the X5’s weight by as much as 90 kilograms (198 pounds) by using magnesium supports for the dashboard and more aluminum components. That helps reduce fuel consumption to about 38 miles per gallon for the six-cylinder diesel version, based on European fuel-economy data, versus about 35 mpg for the M- Class. BMW expects to add a plug-in hybrid X5 in 2015.
For $500, buyers can add a self-parking option. The automated driving feature, which won’t be available in the U.S., keeps the car in its lane and tracking the speed of the vehicle in front, including coming to a full stop.
After a troubled takeover of British automaker Rover, BMW developed its own SUVs rather than hold on to the Land Rover brand. The X5, introduced in 1999, was its first push into the segment, a move that helped lay the groundwork for overtaking Mercedes in sales in 2005.
To stay ahead, BMW is expanding its lineup with new models such as the 4-Series coupe, the X4 SUV, the i3 electric city car, and the i8 plug-in hybrid sportster.
BMW’s ultra-luxury Rolls-Royce brand is also considering an SUV to join the race with VW’s Bentley to make the world’s most exclusive crossover.
“We are intensively thinking about entering the SUV segment,” Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said in an interview today.
The company allowed attendees at the Frankfurt show to try out the i3 on a 300-meter track that snakes up and down the interior of BMW’s three-story exhibition hall. With a BMW driver at the wheel and up to three passengers along for the ride, the cars speed almost noiselessly at up to 50 kph along a white roadway. The gimmick is part of an effort to upstage car-show rivals such as Audi, whose pavilion appears to float in the air.
The bravado doesn’t mask the fact that the X5’s exterior does little to signal the new technology under the hood. Stiff styling could prove a headwind as BMW’s challengers mount, according to Juergen Pieper, an analyst with Bankhaus Metzler.
“There are hardly any major changes perceptible” in the X5’s design, Pieper said. “It’s getting difficult for BMW to up the ante. The X5 is the first model where this is the case, but this might become an issue for the whole group.”


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Chief Executive Raelene Castle sits down with bulldogs.com.au to discuss the new three year partnership with Kia Motors Australia.
Kia Motors Australia have signed as major sponsor for the next three years (2017-2019).
The new deal expands the minor sponsor arrangement Kia Motors Australia has had with the Club since 2015 and will see Kia front and centre on all Bulldogs apparel.
“Kia Motors is a truly global company that has identified sport sponsorship as a key marketing strategy,” said Bulldogs Chief Executive Raelene Castle.
“We are proud that they’ve chosen the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs to help them grow their brand in Australia, it’s a coup for our club and for Rugby League.
“Kia has a strong alignment with our values of family and inclusion. This is an important part of why this partnership is such a natural fit and I’m sure everyone involved with the Bulldogs will join me in welcoming Kia on board.”
Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Damien Meredith said the expansion of their relationship with the Bulldogs is an exciting move.
“The Canterbury club has a long and distinguished record in the Rugby League world and an ethos that sees them continually striving for success. They pride themselves on being a family-friendly club and that is a perfect fit for Kia, where family is an integral part of our corporate DNA,” Meredith said.
About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation – a maker of world-class quality vehicles for the young-at-heart – was founded in 1944 and is Korea's oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. Over 3 million Kia vehicles a year are produced at 14 manufacturing and assembly operations in five countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering around 180 countries. Kia today has over 50,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of nearly US$44 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA – the governing body of the FIFA World Cup™. Kia Motors Corporation's brand slogan – "The Power to Surprise" – represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting and inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.


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The NFT buzz is fading. But 6 crypto startup founders believe there's still a future for them. Here's why.
Insider spoke with founders of crypto-focused startups about the future of NFTs, including how they could inspire the next big entertainment business.
Polygon leads investment in venture studio SuperLayer’s $25 million fund
Web3 venture studio SuperLayer has announced a new $25 million fund led by anchor investor and strategic partner Polygon, an Ethereum scaling solution.
Gaming Platform Forte Partners With Venture Studio SuperLayer to Expand Beyond Web3 Gaming
The blockchain platform also invested $5 million in the venture studio, which will go towards backing incubated companies.
10 predictions for crypto in 2023
Expect blockchain adoption to increase in the year ahead — in addition to the culture wars surrounding it.
Remote work could redefine the global workforce for good
While implementing remote work structures seems to be a priority for most tech firms, there are still some concerns about its long-term efficacy.
6 Web3 Social Media Apps To Keep an Eye On


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Two other bright spots limited the losses. Sales rose 6.4 percent, to $18.0 billion, at grocery stores, as more consumers ate at home and stocked up on essential items like toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning products, according to the Melaniphy report. And home improvement retailers notched a 13.3 percent jump, to $7.0 billion.
“Many consumers who were working from home undertook home improvement projects since home improvement stores remained open since they were deemed essential businesses,” the report said.
But sales fell in eight of the 10 categories tracked by Melaniphy. The big losers: Restaurants and bars, which suffered a 30.8 percent drop, to $13.5 billion, and apparel, with a 39.0 percent decline, to $3.2 billion.
“So many consumers were working from home so they didn’t have to dress for work,” Melaniphy said.
It was an especially brutal year for retail in the City of Chicago, which suffered both from the coronavirus pandemic and from looting and rioting over the summer. Retail sales in the city dove 20.7 percent last year, to $24.0 billion, pulled down by a 45.2 percent decline at bars and restaurants. Tourism all but vanished, depressing sales on North Michigan Avenue and in other shopping districts. Sales at downtown bars and restaurants crashed as professionals in the city’s office towers worked from home.
“The city was just decimated because of the virtual evaporation of the downtown daytime population,” Melaniphy said.
COVID-19 also victimized shopping malls. Many closed last March, re-opening as the pandemic eased in late May. But malls already were struggling before the health crisis amid the slow demise of department stores, their traditional anchor tenants.
Some mall owners are trying to adapt by redeveloping their properties with new uses, like apartments. But the pandemic has disrupted a major makeover at one, Northbrook Court, which has lost two department stores and is facing an uncertain future as its owner and lender mull a sale.
Suburbs with big malls suffered especially large declines in retail sales last year. Sales fell 19.3 percent in Skokie, the home of the Westfield Old Orchard mall, and 20.5 percent in Bolingbrook, home of the Promenade of Bolingbrook. They fell 13.8 percent in Schaumburg, the location of the Woodfield Center, the area’s biggest mall, according to Melaniphy.
The sales drop has made life difficult for state and suburban governments that depend heavily on sales taxes to finance their budgets. The total sales tax fell 29.3 percent, or $22.3 million, in the 60173 zip code, which includes the Woodfield mall, from 2019 to 2020, according to a recent analysis by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Though malls remain vulnerable to e-commerce, Melaniphy sees brighter days ahead, at least this year.
“As more consumers receive vaccinations, mall traffic is going to increase significantly,” he said. “The consumer is going to unleash all that pent-up demand and do some revenge shopping.”
Recent news offers more reason for optimism. The return of the Chicago Auto Show in July could bring in tens of thousands of visitors to Chicago and opens the door to more big trade shows. Citadel, the big Chicago-based hedge fund manager, said it expects most of its U.S.-based employees to be back in the office by June 1; other big local employers could follow suit. And the state and City of Chicago aim to lift coronavirus restrictions and fully re-open the local economy by July.


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Small detail from GTA V loading screen shows how long we've waited for sixth game
| Last updated
Featured Image Credit: Rockstar Games
All gamers are well aware at this point how long we have been waiting for Grand Theft Auto VI.
The gap between Grand Theft Auto IV and V was just five years, so many fans have questioned when we could potentially see the sixth instalment.
To be honest, it could still be a few years yet until we have GTA VI in our hands, as the game is yet to have an official trailer released - despite the fact all that gameplay footage was leaked last year.
Perhaps one of the smallest details that does really show how old GTA V is nowadays is something from the loading screen to the game.
Those who regularly play GTA V will know all about the woman who rocks the peace sign and holds an iPhone - the character which led to Lindsey Lohan suing Rockstar as she thought it looked a lot like her - yep, that one.
Well, as per a post on Facebook by our friends at GAMINGbible, the phone that the GTA character is holding is an iPhone 4.
For those not up to date with Apple's latest offerings, well the iPhone 15 is coming out later this year.
Many flocked to the comments of the post in realization as to how old GTA V actually is and how long we've been waiting for the sixth title.
"Longest we've ever waiting for a GTA game now," one commenter wrote.
A second added: "Hahaha. That’s serious. Rockstar you got to release GTA VI."
While a third joked: "By the time GTA VI releases, Apple would have released the iPhone 34."
According to Dexerto, it's believed that GTA VI could be priced at an eye-watering $150 — almost $100 more than its predecessor GTA V.
In light of the price rumors, GTA fans have taken to X - formerly known as Twitter - to share their thoughts on it.
And while some are more than happy to pay the hefty sum, others have said they won't be purchasing it.
Sharing a GIF of a stressed-looking Cillian Murphy, one disgruntled X-user wrote: "Me trying to comprehend why a f**king video game would cost 150 bucks."
"$150?????? you might as well sub to my OF at that point," said another, as a third commented: "Yeah well rumor it to cost $70 or we ain’t buying."


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Armed with derivatives, they are raising the volatility of tech stocks
| NEW YORK
THE END of the summer often brings about a dose of realism. Children bemoan the end of their leisurely holidays and trudge back to the classroom. Summer-lovers return from the beach. This time of the year often brings stockmarket investors back to Earth, too. On average, since the 1950s, September has been the worst month for American shares.
Could it be happening again? The end of summer has brought a burst of volatility to the share prices of America’s tech giants, especially the five “mega-cap” firms—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft—that had driven the Nasdaq, an index of tech stocks, and the S&P 500, a broader index, to record highs in late August (see chart). After a blistering three-day sell-off, on September 9th stockmarkets rebounded, suggesting investors are still seeing buying opportunities when markets dip. But the dramatic swings have highlighted a shift in market dynamics that may continue to foster instability. It is driven by a rare combination of retail investors and high-octane derivatives trading.
Derivatives have been called weapons of mass destruction. In this case the masses have weaponised themselves with call options, a type of derivative that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock at a given “strike” price on a specific date in the future. Options can have an outsized impact on prices because they leverage investments—a buyer might spend just $1,000 to purchase an option that could give him a position worth $10,000 or $20,000. If a stock price rises above the strike price before the option’s expiry, the holder can buy the share at the lower price and pocket the difference. Otherwise, the option expires worthless. The total nominal value of calls traded on individual American stocks hit a record high in the last two weeks of August, averaging $335bn a day, according to Goldman Sachs—the first time the average daily volume of traded stock options has exceeded trading volume for the shares themselves. The volume of calls was more than triple the rolling average between 2017 and 2019.
Two types of option activity stand out. The first is institutional trading, in particular the huge option positions purchased by SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate run by Son Masayoshi. On September 4th the Financial Times reported that SoftBank had purchased $4bn-worth of call options on American tech companies. The notional value was about $30bn.
The second is the rapid growth in purchases of call options by small traders (see chart), dubbed the “Robinhood effect” after the popular platform on which many retail investors punt. Historically, large orders of options—in bundles of more than ten contracts, or around $10,000-worth—were the dominant source of options-buying. But through 2020 small buyers, who acquire fewer than ten contracts at a time, have taken a bigger share of the market. This trend has been especially pronounced over the past four weeks. Small buyers have spent more than $37bn on call options, giving them a notional exposure probably in the region of $500bn or more. Even with the five “mega-cap” tech stocks worth a combined $6trn, that gives them a lot of clout.
Who bears most responsibility for the volatility? First, small-trader flow is much larger in size, although it was likely dispersed among more listed companies. Second, and more importantly, although both types of buyer purchased options, the trades differ greatly. The options bought by SoftBank are reported to be long-term (three- or six-month) bets on the biggest tech firms, like Amazon and Microsoft. They were also “delta-hedged”, as is typical for institutional investors, meaning that at the same time as SoftBank bought the options, its bankers also sold the underlying stocks in proportion to the exposure the option gave them. This is important, because it means that the marketmakers who sold SoftBank the options did not immediately have to hedge their position by buying up shares in, say, Microsoft or Amazon.
This is different to the type of option that retail investors typically buy, which is a call option purchased “naked”, ie without a hedge. Significant volumes of unhedged call options will force the marketmakers to buy up shares in the underlying stocks, creating a positive—and potentially euphoric—feedback loop. Adding to this dynamic is the short-dated nature of the derivatives. The value of an option that is short-lived moves rapidly as the share price moves. As expiry approaches, any increase in the price of the stock makes the option more valuable. Moreover, it means that the marketmakers who sold the option will quickly need to bolster the size of their hedges, increasing the upward momentum. These differences make it more likely that retail flows were a bigger driver of momentum in tech stocks in August than SoftBank was.
This heavy use of derivatives may also explain some unusual market dynamics. Because shares tend to inch higher steadily, but drop more rapidly, rising markets usually occur amid falling volatility. However, the leaps in share prices in recent weeks have caused the correlation between falling volatility and rising prices to break down for the first time since 2018.
What does this imply about the future performance of tech stocks? Because of the influential role of turbocharged retail investment, prices can be expected to remain choppy. Moreover, the market is entering a period where typical covid-19-related volatility may be exacerbated by the twists and turns of America’s presidential election.
That said, much of the tech recovery from the lows in March was rooted in fundamental shifts, like policy interventions, or pandemic-prompted changes to consumer behaviour, such as online shopping, that have helped firms like Amazon. Even if the giddy obsession with tech firms exhibited during the summer fades, there may be little reason for investors to throw in the beach towel yet. ■
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline "Techtonic shifts"


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ABC Supply Co. acquires assets of DRI Supply Co., its Carson City branch
CARSON CITY, Nev. — Wisconsin-based Building products distributor ABC Supply Co. Inc., recently acquired the assets of DRI Supply Co., a distributor of drywall, roofing and insulation products.
ABC will continue to serve customers from the former locations of DRI Supply — also known as Material Ventures — including 5831 Highway 50 East in Carson City, along with locations in Jamestown, San Andreas and Merced, California.
The acquisition allows ABC Supply Co. — which operates over 600 locations nationwide, including a branch at 1650 Linda Way in Sparks — to enhance its service in both existing and new markets and strengthen relationships with professional contractors, officials said. Current DRI Supply associates will continue to work at the locations.
“We’re happy to welcome the DRI Supply team to our ABC family,” said Matt Cooper, vice president of ABC Supply’s West Region. “Contractors will continue to work with the knowledgeable people they’ve come to know, trust and rely on while enjoying access to a wider selection of product options and delivery capabilities.”
According to the DRI Supply website, the company was founded “out of the back of a pickup truck” in 1983 by newlyweds Rico and Londa Oller.
When corporations relocate to Reno and need to find luxury temporary housing for C-suite executives and project managers who are in the area to lead change management and enterprise relocation, PKL Homes can cater to their needs. #ad


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The news for salad kits this week has not been good. Two different companies that sell those salad in a bag kits have been accused of containing dead animals. I can’t think of anything worse than biting into a dead mouse or bat in my salad.
A lot of people buy these salad kits that include all your salad mix in a bag. These kits salad products are convenient and quick to use. Plus you don’t have to buy a lot of produce just to make a salad for a couple of people.
The problem with buying salads this way is that they are massed produced. It seems like at least a few times a year there are recalls on these salad kits for salmonella or listeria. They are packaged in plants where this can easily happen.
On April 10th Fresh Express recalled a batch of it’s Organic Marketside Spring Mix because a dead bat was found in that batch. While this was a limited recall to only one small area it’s still concerning.
Just a few days later a family claims they were eating a salad made from Taylor Farm’s Asian Chopped Salad Mix and found a dead mouse in it. They are actually suing the company, Sam’s Club where it was purchased, and more.
According to Digital Journal, “The complaint adds that Mrs. Barber poured the salad mix into a large bowl and added the Asian dressing, not noticing the shredded decapitated mouse, including organs and other several large body parts.”
This isn’t an isolated incident for Taylor Farms according to that same article. They list numerous times that their salads have allegedly contained dead animals or had salmonella or listeria concerns. It’s a trend going back several years.
The answer of course is to make your own salad fresh. You can wash the individual greens and veggies you put in the salad yourself and greatly reduce the odds of getting listeria. It’s also highly unlikely you will find a mouse hiding in your head of lettuce.
The concerns about salads, especially salad kits, isn’t new. You can find reports going back to the 80’s and 90’s on them. Here is one such report about E. Coli in salad that I found from 2006 by NBC news. See the video here.


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World of Tanks Hits the Mark at 60 Million Registered Users
Wargaming, the leading free-to-play massively multiplayer online developer and publisher, today announced that their flagship free-to-play action MMO, World of Tanks, has tallied more than 60 million registered players around the world.
At this year’s E3, World of Tanks will be prominently featured at Wargaming’s spacious 10,000 square feet booth (601 South Hall) with 10 high-end gaming stations running throughout the entirety of the show, allowing attendees to get more familiar with the game or prove their battlefield supremacy. In celebration of hitting the 60 million registered player milestone, Wargaming has also released a brand-new cinematic trailer for World of Tanks, featuring the trademark action and tactical team gameplay that has made the title a worldwide success.
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Son of Michael Jordan, Marcus Jordan has shared with the world his Sample pair of Air Jordan Force Fusion 20 (XX) White / Red – Black, which looks very different from the Air Jordan Force Fusion 20 we showed a couple months ago. Marcus has said this pair will release.
Quoted from Marcus Jordan:
here’s a pic of my Fusion 20’s im not sure if these will come out. I’ve had these since like freshman year they gave them to my dad as samples before he even wanted to do fusions and he gave them to me to wear so now im giving em to yall! Enjoy.
As you can see, the laser print is featured on the side panels, rather than the lace cover. This just might be a early sample, and Jordan Brand has decided to change to the previous pair we featured. Big ups to Marcus Jordan for sharing these pictures.


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U.S. Consumer Sentiment Deteriorates More Than Previously Estimated In March
Revised data released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated by more than previously estimated in the month of March.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for March was downwardly revised to 62.0 from the preliminary estimate of 63.4. Economists had expected the index to be downwardly revised to 63.2.
With the bigger than expected downward revision, the consumer sentiment index is well below the final February reading of 67.0.
Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said recent turmoil in the banking sector had limited impact on consumer sentiment, noting sentiment was already exhibiting downward momentum prior to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
“Overall, our data revealed multiple signs that consumers increasingly expect a recession ahead,” said Hsu. “While sentiment fell across all demographic groups, the declines were sharpest for lower-income, less-educated, and younger consumers, as well as consumers with the top tercile of stock holdings.”
The decrease by the headline index came as the current economic conditions index fell to 66.3 in March from 70.7 in February, while the index of consumer expectations slid to 59.2 from 64.7.
The report also said one-year inflation expectations dropped to 3.6 percent in March from 4.1 percent in February, falling to the lowest level since April 2021.
Meanwhile, five-year inflation expectations came in at 2.9 percent for the fourth consecutive month and stayed within the narrow 2.9-3.1 percent range for 19 of the last 20 months.
Source: Read Full Article


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Millers Ale House in Mount Dora is set to open on Wednesday, January 3. The growth of Mount Dora has continued to attract big name companies to the area. Millers Ale House is set to become the latest opening. The new establishment is set to make its mark in front of the local Target store, adjacent to Panda Express, on U.S. Highway 441.
The Florida-based sports bar and restaurant chain, known for its classic American cuisine, featuring, burgers, chicken, steaks, salads and a well stocked bar including 35 beers on tap, will be a welcomed edition to the area.
The journey of Miller’s Ale House dates back to 1988 when it first opened its doors in the coastal town of Jupiter, Florida. Ever since then the chain has expanded and now boasts over 50 locations in the sunshine state and an impressive 94 restaraunts spanning across ten different states. Millers is about to open its 100th location soon.
Notably, the restaraunt chain used to incorporate location-specific names, such as Sanford Ale House and Orlando Ale House. However many years ago in a strategic move to streamline the company, Miller’s rebranded all of their locations as Miller’s Ale House giving each establishment a consistent identity.
As this will be the locations first week, we remind everyone to be kind to the staff. Congratulations to Millers Ale House and to Mount Dora on another business opening.


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Police offer holiday shopping safety reminders
Published 11:58 am, Thursday, December 1, 2016
Midland Police are asking residents to keep car thieves at bay this holiday season by enacting simple strategies including locking vehicles and keeping valuables out of sight.
Packages, purses, navigation devices, portable music devices are all very tempting to would be thieves, officers wrote in a post on the department’s Facebook page. Valuable items should be kept out of sight or locked in the trunk.
Additional holiday shopping tips include:
• Park in well-lit areas and always lock vehicles.
• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash or bank cards. Carry any purses close to the body and keep wallets in secure pockets.
• Be alert of surroundings such as exits.
• Be aware of suspicious activity and report it.
• When shopping online, stick to trusted sites and make sure connections are secure (signs include a https prefix in addresses or a lock icon).
• Refrain from giving away key personal pieces of information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates or mother’s maiden name.


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Call of Duty fans are waiting for Activision to officially reveal the next game in the series.
But it looks like some surprising new information may have leaked ahead of Activision's official announcement.
According to a new post over on GamingIntel, the next Call of Duty game will be part of the Modern Warfare series, but it won't be titled MW4.
Drawing from the controversial No Russian mission from Modern Warfare 2, the campaign is said to explore aspects of modern day terrorism.
Until this is confirmed by Activision, this is worth taking with a pinch of salt, although the naming rumours have seemingly been confirmed by other industry sources.
As you can see from the tweet below, Kotaku news editor Jason Schreier suggests the game will simply be known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Activision has already demonstrated the game at private events attended by well known US athletes.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota also played the game at a private event, and would refer to the game as Modern Warfare 4 during a Fortnite stream with Nickmerks.
As Gamespot points out, Infinity Ward has also been re-hiring staff that worked on the previous Modern Warfare games.
This includes Infinity Ward animation director Mark Grigsby, who worked on the first two Modern Warfare games.
Modern Warfare game designer Alex Roycewicz is also back on board, as is multiplayer design director Geoff Smith and studio art director Joel Emslie.
The new Call of Duty release is expected to be joined by a Modern Warfare 2 remaster.
The 2019 release will also return with a story mode, after Activision ditched it for Battle Royale in Black Ops 4.
Call of Duty release Black Ops 4: Operation Spectre Rising trailer
Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward will be discussing the new Call of Duty in a panel at the Coliseum event.
"Announcing the first #E3Coliseum event!" reads an E3 tweet.
"Join the Infinity Ward team for a panel discussing the next instalment of the critically-acclaimed Call of Duty franchise."
Call of Duty fans can grab tickets for the event by visiting the E3 Coliseum website.
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Now that Groupon has filed its IPO, the geo-social-e-commerce scene needs a new favorite. And AirBnB is ready and willing to claim that spot. The site combines social media with vacation rentals to create a community of home owners and travelers who want to make renting a space easier. Its simple interface and focus on renters’ reputations make it user friendly without being unprofessional, and investors are taking notice. The company recently led a $100 million round of funding that has skyrocketed it to a $1 billion valuation. It’s growth can’t be stifled, and the Washington Post reports that “on any given night in New York there are more people staying in homes via AirBnB than there are rooms in the biggest hotel in Manhattan.” It didn’t get there off luck and prayer: AirBnB has clawed its way to this position, with some less than ethical practices and plenty of business savvy.
It beat Craigslist at its own game
Let’s be honest, it’s looking a lot like AirBnB has Craigslist to thank for some (maybe a lot) of its success. The media has picked up on that fact that the hot new startup farmed the listings site to gather its own clients. Dave Gooden, a real estate exec, recently blogged that he believes AirBnB created multiple Gmail accounts to spam users posting their own vacation rentals on Craigslist and convince them to use AirBnB instead.
It’s plainly obvious that there are a slew of identical postings on Craiglist and AirBnB, and that those on Craiglist encourage viewers to check them out on the alternative site. Tnooz reports that the social vacation rentals site has copped to the unsavory business tactic, saying “rogue” salesmen were to blame. AirBnB also claims this team’s methods were “largely ineffective.”
Whether or not this is true or just a quick cover-up, AirBnB has definitely infiltrated the vacation rentals section of Craigslist and apparently found itself a good foundation for its listings. It can say it’s sorry for how some of its sales team acted and protest innocence – either way, it was truly effective and no one is going to stop using or keep from investing in AirBnB because of these actions.
Aggressive international plans
In a Groupon-like move, AirBnB isn’t settling for national exposure. “This year is about international growth. I mean, some of our biggest cities are in Europe and South America, and they are just starting to emerge. China and Asia are really interesting to us. It’s about localizing the site and making it really easy, bringing the simplicity that we brought for people in the United States to these other countries,” co-founder Joe Gebbia recently told GigaOm. And the company isn’t wasting any time making good on those promises: TechCrunch reports that just this week, AirBnB acquired Accoleo, a German website that provides vacation rentals. The fact that many international travelers go the way of hostels when hoofing it across the globe doesn’t hurt either. The site is becoming a viable alternative to this.
This is exactly what AirBnB needs to do if it’s serious about having a significant international reach. There are some serious competitors here, including 9Flats, which has a remarkably similar UI to AirBnB. But this type of aggressive strategy, coupled with the site’s 800-percent growth and impressive fundraising, could easily pay off.
Doing social right
AirBnB, like generally every e-commerce site, has social features. But it’s doing them right instead of just throwing Twitter integration on its site or letting you comment on photos. It’s not a vacation rentals site that also happens to have a social network. It’s a vacation rentals site that uses social networking to involve users and keep them invested. Your profile is what makes you an attractive option to those looking to rent as well as those renting, and your reputation becomes important, thus making users more involved in the site. Wanting those good recommendations means consumers are more likely to build some sort of loyalty to AirBnB when it comes to your rental needs. It’s this type of peer-to-peer e-commerce site that’s doing so well: GetAround is a great example, which is a similar service that rents cars.
- Facebook’s new shopping features could boost sales for small businesses
- Facebook patent could allow lenders to examine your friends’ credit scores
- How American Express is doing e-commerce right
- How to use social media and save on Small Business Saturday
- The new face of e-commerce: Selling you what you didn’t know you wanted


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Tesla Motors’ Korea entry runs into delay
According to the ministries in charge of approving imported vehicles for Korean roads, it will take at least 25 more days before the California-based automaker can officially begin selling its cars here, a letdown for avid followers who have been waiting for the 12 months since Tesla registered its Korean operation last November.
“Considering the current workflow, it is hardly likely for the model that Tesla applied a license for to even finish the registration process,” said an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
In order for foreign cars to be sold in Korea, two approval processes are required: one involving emissions and noise level tests by the Ministry of Environment and another involving registration of the car model with the Transport Ministry.
The first step was finished quickly. The Tesla S 90D model completed tests less than two weeks after the automaker applied for them in September.
But Tesla has yet to begin the second step.
The official from the Transport Ministry said it takes about 15 business days to complete the registration process for a foreign car and possibly 10 more days to receive official product numbers, which are mandatory for a sales license.
Tesla has yet to submit all the documents for registration, which include self-checks that prove their vehicles comply with Korea’s road safety guidelines. The Transport Ministry official anticipates Tesla should have no problem with the process as their vehicles’ safety measures have already been proven in other countries, but the ministry is still waiting for the paperwork.
After that, in order to receive a product number, automakers have to report the specifications of the models they wish to sell. This process takes roughly 10 days, and the application must be made at least 10 days before actual sales begin.
“People from Tesla have visited the ministry with provisional papers [for consultation],” the Transport Ministry official said. “We have given them feedback, but they are still finalizing the registration documents.”
If Tesla fails to submit all the paperwork within the next week, the chances of seeing the cars on sale here are thin, disappointing many customers who were expecting a 2016 debut.
Shinsegae Department Store, in charge of Tesla’s Starfield Hanam showroom, said their initial objective was to open the new location by the end of December, but now they can’t guarantee it. “It is a benefit for us to open the shop as soon as possible, because it will definitely lure more visitors to our venue” a Shinsegae spokesperson said. “But the registration process isn’t done yet, and there hasn’t been a single case in Tesla Motors history of a showroom opening without the actual car inside.”
The Starfield Hanam location in Gyeonggi is still covered with a sign, “Opening Soon Winter 2016,” that at this point seems optimistic.
The Gangnam location in southern Seoul is nearly done with interior construction, but it, too, is still missing the most important element: the vehicle. That branch’s opening date has yet to be confirmed.
Nonetheless, there are still several Tesla vehicles on Korean roads, though they went through individual certification processes. The cars were imported for private use, not for sale.
One of the importers was Socar, Korea’s largest car-sharing service app. The company said Wednesday it has put a Tesla S 70D in its lineup and will provide free test rides for a month starting Tuesday.
Even if Tesla finishes registering with the Transport Ministry on time, one more obstacle remains. Under current law, the central government provides about 14 million won ($12,000) to buyers of electric cars, part of its efforts to boost the burgeoning market.
However, the subsidy is provided only to vehicles that can finish charging in less than 10 hours. The S 90D model, equipped with an 87.5 kilowatt-hour battery, takes 14 hours to fully charge, which means Korean customers will have to shell out about 100 million won for the S model.
BY JIN EUN-SOO, KIM JEE-HEE [email@example.com]


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Most of the content is marked "coming soon," but you can peruse some official screenshots, which show off pure gameplay. It's looking decent so far, and it could utilize the Wii U's GamePad in so many ways.
I just said something dirty to you in Pikachu-ese and you'll never know what I said. Ha!
Pokemon Rumble goes Wii U with the newly revealed Pokemon Scramble U (the Japanese name). A scan we found on BulbaNews, fr...more
Rumor time. But this one is a good one, and likely a solid one.
Something-something Dimension is all we have, thanks to a source that is holding off on full details, which are set to drop in a couple of days. But we do know t...more
Things I like mixing together: Nutella and bananas. Cookies smashed in gelato. Corgis and derp.
A new combination mixes game franchises that I dig. The outstanding RPG series Wild Arms gets some new life in a crossover with S...more
Three cool-looking Japanese PlayStation Vita games -- Soul Sacrifice Delta, Freedom Wars, and Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines -- have been confirmed for North America and Europe.
Up first is Soul Sacrifice's expanded and improve...more


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Privacy-loving search engine DuckDuckGo has started displaying price quotes on bitcoin-related search queries.
Launched in 2008, DuckDuckGo is a relatively fresh-faced search engine headed up by Gabriel Weinberg. The driving force behind the service is privacy – thus, integrating bitcoin price quotes seems like a logical move for the young outfit.
The search engine is designed for people who would rather not have their personal data tracked online. Since it doesn’t store any user data, the site does not offer personalised search results – or personalised ads for that matter.
In 2013 alone, DuckDuckGo had one billion search queries and is gaining traction fast.
DuckDuckGo goes bitcoin
However, if you try searching for “bitcoin quote” or even “bitcoin price quote” the quote box does not pop up. This is not the case with other price search engines that have started quoting bitcoin, so DuckDuckGo might want to polish its solution.
Google still lacks bitcoin integration
For example, Bing will work out the value of bitcoin on the go, provided the user enters a search that can be figured out by the engine. This basically means that you can enter a search like “1 BTC to USD” and Bing will automatically convert it.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


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JustPremium Announces Launch of Programmatic Roadblock
- by Radu Cotarcea
JustPremium has announced the launch of the Programmatic Roadblock, which the company describes as a "technical [that] breakthrough enables advertisers to programmatically buy all available Inline and Rich Media ad units at any given publisher’s content page simultaneously.”
The company announced that watches brand Baume and Mercier has already implemented its Rich Media Ad Exchange and has "experienced the power and benefits of the Programmatic Roadblock.”
Eric Visser, CEO of JustPremium, commented: "The Programmatic Roadblock boosts the possibility of trading desks to serve the needs of high end brand advertisers aiming to impress their high valued target audiences while buying with the same ease and tools as any other programmatic buy. Therefore this new proposition is transformative and emphasizes the ambitions of JustPremium."


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Getting the GST Rate Right
The GST rate will impact e-commerce and telecoms in India. If Modi wants Digital India to succeed, he will have to get the rate right.
Times of India reports that India's top telcos have urged the government to resolve a bunch of sticky issues before implementing the goods & services tax (GST) regime, calling for uniform rate across states/union territories (UTs), with a cap of 15%. A higher GST rate, they said, would drive up cost of provisioning services, and in turn, hurt both prepaid and postpaid consumers by way of higher phone bills.
The call for a uniform tax rate for telecom services under the proposed GST regime stems from the fact that circle boundaries are not in sync with geographical borders of states/UTs in several cases. Failure to do so, they said, could lead to tax complications in some big markets with the prospect of differential levies within the same circle, resulting in pricing discrepancies, non-compliance, customer complaints and business disruption.


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I take statistics like this with a grain of salt, but apparently Japan's population of cars and motorcycles has just followed the human population by declining for the first time since records have been kept.
Reports said that the February total was 0.2% lower than a year earlier. With more than 600 per 1000 people, there are still a lot of motor vehicles in Japan.
But it is interesting that this news came on the same day that Japan's economy was reported to be growing at a faster-than-expected rate.
This reminds me of reports in January that Nissan is worried about the declining Japanese interest in cars. This was put down in part to economic uncertainty and a rapidly ageing population. (here is another comment on that report)
Even more interestingly, Japan's young people in particular are apparently less interested in owning cars than recent generations.
A survey last year of 1,700 Japanese in their 20s and 30s by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's biggest business newspaper, discovered that only 25% of Japanese men in their 20s wanted a car, down from 48% in 2000. The manufacturers' association found that men 29 years old and younger made up 11% of Japanese drivers in 2005, roughly half the size of that group in 1993.


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Apple has removed an app from its App Store that enabled users to monitor other people's activity on Instagram, a few weeks after the photo-sharing app sent a cease-and-desist letter to the app's developers.
The app, Like Patrol, enables its subscribers to keep tabs on people on Instagram by sending them notifications when someone they follow comments on or likes a photo, as well as collecting an individual's top fans and new followers. It...
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Project: MEGA is back - 125 toys customised by the UAE's established and up-and-coming artistic talent.
Everything to play for in Dubai Mall's toy contest
Dubai Mall is being taken over by MEGAs - 125 20-centimetre customisable figures designed by UAE national Mohammed Abedin in 2008.
They can be drawn on and painted, and their arms, head, ears and back rocket can be adjusted or removed. The figures have been customised by 125 UAE-based artists for the second Project: MEGA, the Middle East's largest designer toy exhibition, says Abedin, the founder of Foo Dog.
The exhibition, supported by Dubai Culture and in association with Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC) and Extra Cake PR, sees the debut of more than 60 artists and the return of 50 established talents such as Jalal Luqman, Sumayyah Al Suwaidi Mattar Bin Lahej and Khalil Abdulwahid.
Abedin says that having seen the idea for such designer toys gain worldwide momentum, he decided to introduce the concept here.
"The UAE has incredible raw talent and I wanted to bring that together. Project: MEGA is a massive exhibition providing an opportunity for exposure and acting as a creative platform," he says. "Some of these artists have no exposure. This is a great new light that provides them with recognition."
It is also a great collaboration, says Somaya Soeryadiredja, the MEFCC project manager. "For artists it provides inspiration, and for visitors a chance to see the kind of art we have in the region."
For Lahej, the opportunity to appeal to a new generation of creatives is not to be missed. "I've seen a lot of new names on the exhibitor list which shows it's getting bigger," she says. "Visitors will see different views and perspectives."
Not all the exhibitors are artists. Some are musicians, photographers, bakers and even a surgeon. "The idea is to gather creative minds. I'm extremely excited about what will happen after the event," says Abedin.
Dubai Mall until July 8. On July 10 it moves to FN Design Studios at Alserkal Avenue, and between July 12 and 14 the MEGAs will be auctioned. At the first event, Jalal Luqman's piece was auctioned for Dh50,000. Visit www.foo-dog.com


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Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is perhaps best known for pioneering online retail in the U.S. -- the company now owns a commanding 25% share of the domestic e-commerce market. Its consistent growth has now finally attracted competition from its big-box rivals, including Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT). After years of hesitating and neglecting the online channel, those retailers have doubled down on their efforts to compete with Amazon and win the online space.
At this time last year, Amazon was actually losing market share to its brick-and-mortar counterparts. Target's web sales increased by more than 30% in 2014, and Wal-Mart's were up 22%. Other retailers like Home Depot and Costco Wholesale saw online sales grow even faster.
Meanwhile, Amazon's global e-commerce sales were up just 18% last year. The narrative seemed to be that the online channel was an untapped resource for traditional retailers, and that they were gaining share by leveraging their physical assets to offer customers options like in-store pickup and ship-from-store.
However, the pattern has recently shifted again as e-commerce growth has slowed at big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Target.
They coulda been contenders
In its most recent quarter, Wal-Mart's e-commerce growth sank all the way to 10%, having fallen steadily over the last three quarters. Management blamed international weakness for the poor results, citing slow growth in China and Brazil. But considering Wal-Mart makes a majority of its sales in the U.S., the U.S. market should have the biggest effect on the company's e-commerce growth. The slowdown therefore was surprising, as the company has invested in online grocery pickup, adding 85 locations in the quarter to make a grand total of 140, as well other initiatives. If those initiatives are working, the effect on the top line has been minimal thus far.
At Target, meanwhile, online sales grew just 20% in the third quarter, down from a pace of 30% earlier in the year and well under the 40% spike management had predicted. Target, which operates almost exclusive in the U.S., blamed a slowdown in electronics and apparel for the disappointing numbers. The company had previously lowered its minimum for free shipping to $25, below Amazon and any other major retailer, and is now promising to waive it for the holiday season. That could help jump start online sales in the key selling season, but for now it seems like Target has lost a step.
Return of the original
While its brick-and-mortar rivals were floundering, Amazon was soaring to new heights once again; e-commerce sales grew 23%, with sales of electronics and other merchandise, the category in which it directly competes directly against Wal-Mart and Target, up 28%.
During the quarter, Amazon launched its first ever Prime Day celebration, offering thousands of deals on items for Amazon Prime subscribers, its membership service that offers free two-day shipping and perks like free access to Amazon Instant Video and the Kindle Lending Library. Though its cloud computing profits attracted headline attention, the rebound in its e-commerce growth was not to be ignored.
The company continues to improve its value proposition each quarter while its big-box rivals are struggling to overcome the challenges of pairing e-commerce with physical retail. Amazon's Prime Now service, which offers delivery within an hour on thousands of products, expanded to eight new cities over the quarter for a grand total of 17.
Heading into the holiday season, Amazon looks poised to put even more space between itself and the brick-and-mortar wannabes. The company is offering a $50 tablet and a slew of deals as part of its "Countdown to Black Friday" special, including discounts on popular tech gadgets including the Fire TV Stick.
In a Reuters survey, 51% of shoppers said they planned to do most of their online shopping from Amazon during the quarter, compared to 16% at Wal-Mart and just 3% for Target, confirming the company's dominance of the space.
As Amazon grows, its competitive advantage will only get stronger. Time is running out for Wal-Mart and Target to stake a claim in the e-commerce market.


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RESTON, Va. – The National Wildlife Federation and Fieldstone Publishing have forged a new partnership to create an extensive offering of digital field guides and other interactive digital products. This innovative venture will develop a vast array of interactive apps and other digital offerings to connect people with wildlife, nature and outdoor adventures.
The initial product line, launched this week in honor of World Wildlife Day, features nature and wildlife apps called “National Wildlife Federation Nature Guides.” The first nine guides available on the Apple store focus on wildlife and gardening content in the following categories: mammals, amphibians, insects and spiders, reptiles, mushrooms, butterflies, birds, herbs and vegetables.
“Now, more than ever, it is essential that each of us are equipped with the knowledge needed to save our natural treasures,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “By joining forces, the National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest conservation organization, and Fieldstone Publishing, one of the world’s most trusted creators of field guides, will help millions of Americans deepen their understanding of majestic wildlife, fish and plants, while enriching our experiences exploring our natural world.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the National Wildlife Federation on this important project. At a time when wildlife and the climate face unprecedented threat, bringing the wonder of the natural world literally into the palm of one's hands is the most effective way to engage and inspire,” said Shyla Stewart, president and CEO of Fieldstone Publishing, Inc. “Fieldstone is honored to be allied with the National Wildlife Federation, America’s largest conservation organization and stalwart champions of wildlife conservation, in bringing this content to life for a growing digital audience and for the rising generation of nature lovers.”
These comprehensive and interactive apps are designed to inspire and inform. The guides feature 50,000 pages of unrivaled and expert curated content and thousands of the highest quality photographs, maps and drawings — making it easy and intuitive to understand nature, make wildlife connections, and explore.
Fieldstone is the creator of the most comprehensive nature and gardening guides published in North America, including the National Wildlife Federation Field Guides, Sibley Guides, National Audubon Society Field Guides and Taylor’s Guides to Gardening among other natural science content. More than 37 million copies of these books are in print.
About The National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization, uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Fieldstone Publishing
Fieldstone Publishing and its predecessors are the creators of many of the world’s most beloved nature guides. Industry leaders for over 40 years, Fieldstone has entered the digital age by bringing its unparalleled content to life through the integration of cutting-edge technology innovations for a new generation.
Five ways to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration!Read More
Take the Clean Earth Challenge and help make the planet a happier, healthier place.Learn More
Promoting more-inclusive outdoor experiences for allRead More
A groundbreaking bipartisan bill aims to address the looming wildlife crisis before it's too late, while creating sorely needed jobs.Read More


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Roxtec selects sustainable marine fuels
Logistics company GEODIS launched the possibility for freight customers to choose sustainable marine fuels, or fuels produced from waste materials such as used cooking oils and forest residues.
Roxtec has increased its transportation of cable and pipe seals around the world and wants to reduce it carbon emissions.
“We want to act now to reduce our impact on the climate and have, therefore, decided to pay a surcharge for the sustainable marine fuel. In this way, we contribute to accelerate the production of sustainable fuels and make them more accessible,” said Håkan Nilsson, EVP global operations of Roxtec.
Choosing fuels produced from cooking oils and forest residues enables 90% reduction of CO₂ emissions compared to conventional fuels.
Nilsson said this was a way for the company to promote ocean freight and reduce transportation by air.


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A serial thief who went on a burglary spree, smashing through gyprock walls and sliding across the floor to avoid security sensors, has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Nathan Daniel Booth already had 118 criminal offences on his record – and a mild cognitive impairment after being hit by a train in 2002 – including 21 burglaries.
The 33-year-old now won’t be eligible for release until March 2014 at the earliest, taking into account time served.
Booth, a long-time drug addict, pleaded guilty to six burglaries and associated thefts between July and September last year.
He also admitted leading police on a brief chase and wrecking a shopping centre information stand in a fit of rage at his partner.
Booth’s crime wave began in July when he forced his way into a Chisholm florist and smashed through a gyprock wall to steal cigarettes worth more than $4000 from a neighbouring business.
Next month he broke into a kiosk and slid his way across the floor in a bid to avoid triggering motion sensors, making off with $6000 cash in white bags.
The same month he stole $1000 in goods including cooking utensils from Westfield Belconnen, pushing it out of the store in a trolley until challenged by security.
On September 9 he struck a loading dock at the Hyperdome three times in the same day, stealing trolleys full of toys, flat-pack furniture, clothes and other goods.
The haul from that burglary was valued at $59,528.
Later that month he forced his way into a Belconnen medical centre and made off with a safe containing medication.
In the same month he entered Westfield Belconnen and, using a “large amount of force”, removed a change machine, causing $1500 damage.
Earlier the same day he had borrow a friend’s car, and wound up on the run from police through Scullin.
Police eventually found the vehicle dumped in a backyard.
And Booth admitted burglarising a Scullin home the same day, stealing loot including jewellery and electrical goods.
The court heard Booth had used cannabis, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, inhalants, heroin and LSD at points in his life.
At the time of his spree he was using amphetamines.
The authors of a pre-sentence report described Booth as a high risk of reoffending unless he could control his addiction.
But the court heard he showed a lack of motivation to do so.
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