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Beth Ford is betting the farm on individuals. The CEO of Land O' Lakes says leading is about 'authentically caring about someone other than yourself.'
In an interview with Insider, Ford talks the company's cooperative model, the climate crisis, the culture wars, and more.
The Associated Press' next CEO will be the first woman and first person of color to lead the 175-year-old news nonprofit. Meet Daisy Veerasingham.
In January, the incoming CEO and president will be tasked with growing the company after a decade of losses.
Patagonia's new CEO gets candid: His company has real weaknesses, it has struggled with diversity, and the world might be better off if it didn't exist.
Ryan Gellert took over the outdoors icon a year ago. Fighting the climate crisis goes beyond being "one of those 'woke' companies," he tells Insider.
The hot job market has served as a wake-up call: Workers have options, and employers need to offer more flexibility, says Paul Knopp, KPMG's US CEO.
ThirdLove's cofounder talks competition and body-positivity in the lingerie industry. 'I don't want to be Victoria's Secret.'
As others encroach on the bra company's turf, ThirdLove, which made its name promoting inclusivity, is announcing a "brand evolution."
The man building a new cannabis company with cash from Scotts Miracle-Gro lays out his plan to dominate the US with a $320 million war chest
RIV Capital CEO Narbe Alexandrian said he's looking to make a splash in the US cannabis market by acquiring companies.
This 24-year-old CEO and influencer founded 2 businesses while still in college. These are her 4 tips for rejecting the pitfalls of 'hustle culture' and avoiding burnout.
The fitness influencer Grace Beverley founded two businesses, the activewear brand Tala and the fitness app Shreddy, at the age of 22.
CEO of freelance platform Upwork shares how she's helping the next generation build a freelance career and avoid burnout
Hayden Brown is focused on trying to educate more businesses about the power and potential of freelancing.
Mike Meldman is one of the most influential real-estate moguls in the country thanks to his luxurious live-in resorts, which became irresistible to the rich and famous during the pandemic
His exclusive Discovery Land clubs, with $50 million homes and over-the-top amenities, lure celebrity members like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. (Yes, together.)
The CEO of Coursera, a $6 billion education company, wants to help everyone build the skills to future-proof their careers
Coursera's focus is on "people who maybe don't have a college degree but want to get into a digital career," CEO Jeff Maggioncalda said.
The CEO of Canopy Growth lays out 3 reasons his acquisition spree will help the world's largest cannabis company dominate the lucrative US market
David Klein has been snapping up smaller cannabis companies in a push for profitability Canada and to prepare for an eventual move into the US.
BridgeBio ran out of money 3 times on its way to getting its first drug approved. Now, the $11 billion biotech is facing its biggest test yet.
BridgeBio just received FDA approval for its first drug for an ultra-rare disease. It's the first proof-point for a company that drew skepticism.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called Treasurys a poor investment, saying he wouldn't touch them with a '10-foot pole'
The yield on a 10-year US Treasury note is still less than 1%, despite having doubled since August, as interest rates remain near record lows.
What it takes to climb the ladder and reach the C-suite, according to Kevin Washington, who rose from a volunteer role at the YMCA to becoming the company's first Black CEO
Kevin Washington reveals how he succeeded in his career by never thinking about his next job, and instead focusing on improving in the job he was in.
Lime's CEO explains how the scooter company's 'near death experience' during the pandemic helped set it up to turn a profit next year
Lime's CEO says it's on track to turn a profit next year, which could make it the first so-called micro mobility company to pull off such a feat.
Meet Katherine Power, the serial entrepreneur who's running 3 companies with more than $60 million in total funding, including one with Cameron Diaz
Katherine Power, who never went to college, is the CEO of the fashion blog Who What Wear, which has racked up over 3.4 million followers on Instagram.
How the CEO of a startup challenging the dominance of Microsoft Powerpoint conquered his quarantine mornings
Jim Szafranski said Prezi's video platform grew 40x in April, and he needed to be ready for his daily 6:30 a.m. meeting, so actually gave up coffee.
Chuck E. Cheese CEO reveals how the company is navigating 'the most difficult time' in its history and how the dinnertainment chain will change post-pandemic
Business Insider spoke to Chuck E. Cheese CEO David McKillips about the chain's tussle with bankruptcy and response to the coronavirus pandemic.
How a college Facebook friendship turned into a bikini blog that ballooned into 1 million Instagram follows and a multimillion-dollar swimwear line
Monday Swimwear cofounder Devin Brugman said Instagram has been a key tool in her career, since she befriended Natasha Oakley while still a student.
How model-turned-CEO Natasha Oakley got her start right out of high school and now leads a multimillion-dollar swimwear brand
Monday Swimwear CEO Natasha Oakley boasts over 2 million Instagram followers, and said the platform has been a crucial tool throughout her career.


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For warehouse and distribution centers (DCs), efficiency, accuracy and comfort are all intertwined when it comes to productivity. Today’s voice-picking technologies aim for all three while advancing what can be achieved by employees.
Food Logistics spoke to three leaders in voice-picking equipment and technology to learn the latest trends and technological innovations shaping the industry.
Over the last 10 years, voice technology for use in the warehouse has improved dramatically, and the interest in voice has increased throughout the supply chain. A significant reason voice is now trending more in the supply chain industry is due to the improvements made around voice recognition in noisy warehouse environments, says Scott Deutsch, president, Americas for Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG).
“While today’s solutions have evolved over the past decade, many voice-directed solutions still require time-consuming processes that have not changed, such as requiring workers to run through a 20- to 40-minute voice template training exercise,” says Deutsch. “However, while voice technology has improved, many of the old processes still have not, resulting in a considerable loss of time and productivity, which is especially concerning for the food industry due to the nature of their business.”
EPG’s Lydia Voice 8 is the first industry voice solution to leverage deep neural networks, the same technology used by Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Deutsch says Lydia Voice 8 provides a 25-percent increase in voice recognition accuracy and eliminates the need for voice template training.
“By eliminating the need for traditional voice recognition ‘training’ or ‘enrollment,’ onboarding new or seasonal workers is much faster. It reduces training time by days while increasing worker productivity and accuracy results,” he says. “These benefits are especially critical for the competitive grocery industry where margins are incredibly tight and the need to move perishable items quickly is imperative. Therefore, investing in a modern voice solution is now more attractive than ever as businesses can realize a cost savings of 35 percent, on average, when deploying or upgrading to a newer voice solution, in addition to increased worker productivity and accuracy results.”
Moreover, just as voice technology is improving, the associated hardware is also evolving. In the past, use of voice technology required mobile devices and headsets. Now, with Lydia Voice VoiceWear, workers can perform their tasks hands-free, eyes-free and headset-free, says Deutsch. Wearing a Lydia Voice VoiceWear vest enables workers to “speak” directly into beam-forming microphones embedded in the vest. Due to increased voice recognition, the microphones hear commands clearly, while the vest provides a comfortable, ergonomically superior user experience that is headset free.
“Among our clients is a large distributor of specialized food products with a nearly 120-year history. After adopting the Lydia Voice solution, they were able to eliminate paper picking and increase efficiency by 15 percent,” says Deutsch. “By voice-enabling the picking workflow, Lydia Voice provides employees with the best possible route, ensuring that dry goods are picked first and perishable items are picked last.
As noted, Lydia Voice VoiceWear enables hands-free, eyes-free and headset-free picking, providing workers with a superior experience when performing their daily tasks, while eliminating headset infrastructure and associated maintenance costs for the client.
“Our client’s workers have increased their productivity and have communicated that VoiceWear has provided a much more satisfying experience when picking with voice,” says Deutsch.
At ProCat Distribution Technologies, the company is tracking a couple of significant customer trends. First, is the adoption of barcode scanning technology. Distributors are demanding higher levels of accuracy from their operations, says Steve Stomel, CEO of ProCat Distribution Technologies. They are finding that by implementing software solutions that scan product barcodes at both the receiving dock and in the picking process, their accuracy is much higher.
“Traditional voice systems are certainly better than paper-based picking, but barcode scanning is far more accurate than voice picking with check digits,” he says. “As a trend, distributors are looking to find ways to improve picking and receiving with scanning technology.”
Second, is the adoption of GS1 barcode scanning technology. As more manufacturers learn about the capabilities and benefits of using GS1 barcodes to communicate package-specific information, they are increasingly adopting the technology. Stomel says this means more cases are flowing through the supply chain with barcodes that will allow distributors to confirm and/or capture data that includes expiration dates, lot numbers, random weights and more.
This case-specific information is being made available to distributors for scanning on the receiving dock.
“With a scan, they can confirm product available shelf life by checking expiration dates, and capture inbound lot numbers,” he says. “At point of pick, distributors can again with a simple scan, test expiration dates, capture random weights along with lot numbers with no additional time or effort required by the picking staff.”
Stomel adds that scanning software can automatically extract and process the relevant information about the picked item when using GS1 barcodes. The result is higher productivity and near-perfect accuracy for the receiving and picking staffs.
“A hands-free wearable device with barcode scanning and voice-directed prompting creates a hybrid technology that is both highly accurate and easy for warehouse employees to learn and use,” explains Stomel. “This is exactly what we have designed with our PickRight technology.”
PickRight allows for immediate product verification to assure accuracy and data collection for reporting, traceability and warehouse management. Its modular architecture design enables companies to expand technology to the entire distribution center one area at a time and also integrates with all ERP systems.
“Our solutions can accommodate four to 100 order pickers, so operations can easily scale up as a company grows. Employees learn the PickRight system in minutes,” says Stomel. “There are no commands for pickers to memorize and the display screen prompts the employee for their next work assignment. The result is amazingly high accuracy with increased productivity. Our customers typically achieve ROI on average in nine months.”
Henry’s Foods, a ProCat customer in Alexandria, Minnesota, needed to upgrade its aging voice pick system. Henry’s converted 48 order selectors from voice picking to PickRight scanning over a 30-day period, says Stomel. Order accuracy improved, and employee productivity maintained the high level that Henry’s was expecting.
“The food distributor reported 100-percent ROI in under 12 months after using the PickRight system. The conversion to PickRight was a total success for Henry’s Foods,” says Stomel.
Voxware continues to see the push for automation (i.e., voice) throughout the entire distribution center, not just for picking. Keith Philips, president and CEO of Voxware, says it’s about the multimodality of the solution and providing its customers with the right technology to complete their specific tasks.
“Companies need to layer in analytics. People are learning that just automating with a multimodal solution is only part of the puzzle,” says Philips. “Once you automate, you need to actively manage it effectively to get the maximum output out of the workforce.”
He adds that the other trend Voxware is seeing is the emergence of natural language model voice recognition technology, which holds the promise of eliminating the necessity to train specific users into the system.
“This creates huge time savings when new employees come into the organization, whether that be temporary employees during the busy seasons or new, permanent staff members,” says Philips.
How are Voxware’s customers succeeding with its technology? Philips explains that one of its large, national grocery store customers had plans to open a second distribution center in a very large market. The customer automated its primary DC using a multimodal approach across multiple processes in the warehouse. It then deployed Voxware’s enterprise analytics software, VoxPilot®, to actively manage the workers.
“The company realized it could scale back its planned openings for additional facilities,” says Philips. “In fact, this customer canceled plans altogether for opening the second DC because of the increased throughput it realized in the primary location. This is only one example of many where our customers realized a cascade of benefits by applying voice capabilities to other workflows in the DC.
“It’s important to remember that voice is not the only technology helping to bring improvements to the distribution center,” Philips adds. “By supporting multimodal technologies across all workflows, Voxware allows its clients to match specific modalities to specific tasks and individuals.”

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Chefs toil to serve it up for Restaurant Week
- Binghamton Restaurant Week continues until Sept. 25
- Chefs at local eateries say the event sometimes doubles normal weeknight business
- There are 27 restaurants participating in this year’s event
Josh Spring is pointing hungry visitors toward marinated pork chops or corn beef reubens. Magill Madigan has been sauteing and broiling sirloin steak and Gorgonzola-shallot chicken in double time.
For those who have yet to dive into the array of Binghamton Restaurant Week’s culinary treats, there’s still time. The region’s signature event for food-lovers ends its 10th edition on Sept. 25.
Spring, who works as a manager at House of Reardon on Grant Street, said these 10 days are a chance to showcase his food specialties for people that might not otherwise consider grabbing a bite at his Irish pub.
“We’ve definitely had some more people coming through the door at dinner time,” Spring said. “There’s been a lot of new faces, and that’s the idea.”
For those in the kitchens, Restaurant Week also brings a 10-day frenzied rush that is well worth it in the end, said Madigan, a chef at Number 5 Restaurant on South Washington Street.
An average weeknight might end with about 100 dinners served, Madigan said, but that doubles during Restaurant Week. Some restaurants, like Number 5, put out extra tables to accommodate the crowds.
“The food has to get out, but it’s still got to be perfect,” Madigan said. “I like the feeling of knowing that I made all those people’s nights memorable.”
For Restaurant Week, participating restaurants develop their own menus for a sampling of what they have to offer at a discounted price: $12 or less for a three-course lunch special, or $25 or less for a three-course dinner. The restaurant's normal menu is also available.
Restaurant Week started in 2010 with seven eateries. This year, there are 27 participating. There is also a spring edition of Restaurant Week, and both are used as a fundraiser for local charities.
A portion of proceeds from this fall’s event will be donated to the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse and the OurSpace project at RecPark, the latter being a community collaboration focused on designing and building accessible play spaces at Recreation Park in Binghamton.
Since the first Restaurant Week, organizers have tallied more than $1.5 million in sales at participating restaurants and more than $50,000 in donations to charity partners.
While different restaurants have seen varying crowd levels during the first half of this year’s event, business owners said they look forward to each Restaurant Week.
“This is one of those things that gives you a shot to get them in here,” Spring said. “It’s business as usual — we try to do a good food crowd.”
Eager to eat out?
Each restaurant chose to offer a lunch special, a dinner special or both. Menus are posted online at binghamtonrestaurantweek.com, and on Binghamton Restaurant Week's Facebook page.
Tweet pictures of your dishes to @pressconnects using the hashtag #bingfood.


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An Android smartphone that uses a 15 lumens projector to beam movies and games onto handy flat surfaces
Samsung has unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Beam, a smartphone that has an in-built projector capable of displaying a 50-inch high definition image.
The company claims that the Android 2.3-powered device, which was revealed at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, will enable users to create “shared experiences” with friends and family.
The Galaxy Beam uses a 15 lumens projector to share media such as video, maps and games onto flat surfaces such as walls, ceilings and even outdoor environments. More than 1,000 games can be downloaded from Samsung’s Game Hub, while the process of selecting content and activating the projector takes just a few steps.
Samsung says that, despite the inclusion of the projector, it has taken measures to ensure that the device does not compromise portability. The phone is just 12.5mm thick, has a four-inch display and is powered by a 1GHz processor, with 6GB of RAM and a powerful 2000 mAh battery, which should result in greater display power.
Content, including photos taken using the phone’s five megapixel camera, is stored in 8GB of internal memory, although the addition of MicroSD slot means that this can be expanded by a further 32GB.
“The Samsung Galaxy Beam gives people freedom to share what’s important to them instantly with friends and family,” commented Simon Stanford of Samsung’s UK and Ireland Telecommunications and Networks Division. “With the Galaxy Beam, people can share content from their smartphone with people around them, using it like a pocket projector to create shared experiences – whether that’s watching movies, sharing holiday snaps or a spontaneous presentation.”
Earlier this month, Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab 2, the first tablet to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, while its Series 9 notebooks hit UK shelves last Saturday. The Korean manufacturer is also set to unveil a direct rival to Apple’s iTunes U educational service at MWC, the Samsung Learning Hub, which will offer 6,000 textbooks from 30 different education providers.
No matter how many products it announces, Samsung is unlikely to win many fans at Apple, with which it is engaged in a number of worldwide legal disputes.
How much do you know about smartphones? Take our quiz!


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Square's IPO filing comes as market for IPOs remains shaky
Payments startup Square Inc. filed to go public Wednesday, even as it grapples with mounting financial losses and an unusual corporate structure that requires its founder to spend part of his day leading a larger technology company.
Square said in Wednesday’s regulatory filing that it would offer up to $275 million in stock, a figure that could change leading up to the IPO.
The offering is seen as a harbinger for tech companies valued at $1 billion or more—Square was valued by investors last fall at about $6 billion.
Most of these highly valued companies have stayed away from the IPO market with ample private capital available—in fact, there have been just 22 tech IPOs through the third quarter this year, compared with 53 through the third quarter of 2014, according to Dealogic.
Recent sharp stock-market swings have deterred some firms from pursuing public offerings. The Square filing came as two of the year’s biggest IPOs ran into trouble. Supermarket operator Albertsons Companies Inc. delayed its IPO plan, according to people familiar with the offering, while payment-processing company First Data Corp. priced its IPO below expectations.
San Francisco-based Square, meanwhile, is hewing closely to a script followed by other Silicon Valley technology firms: swelling losses despite growing revenue.
Square said sales rose 54% last year to $850.2 million and are on a pace to exceed $1 billion this year.
But Square’s net loss in 2014 grew at nearly the same rate, widening to $154.1 million from $104.5 million the year before.
Square also will have to assuage investor concerns about Mr. Dorsey. Earlier this month, the 38-year-old was appointed permanent chief of social-media company Twitter, of which he was also a founder and helped guide to an IPO in 2013.
The company said in its securities filing on Wednesday.
“This may at times adversely affect his ability to devote time, attention and effort to Square.”
It isn’t clear how much of any given day Mr. Dorsey spends at Square or Twitter offices, nor how his time on the IPO roadshow may affect Twitter’s operations.
More than being the face of the company, Mr. Dorsey is the largest shareholder, holding nearly one-quarter of Square’s stock.
Mr. Dorsey also profited by selling $1.2 million in marketing consulting services to Square through West Studios LLC, a private firm in which he holds a stake. West Studios also purchased 375,000 shares.
Including Mr. Dorsey’s stake, venture-capital firm Khosla Ventures’s 17.3% stake and smaller shares held by board members and executives, about two-thirds of Square is held by insiders.
A few company insiders—including co-founder James McKelvey,General Counsel Dana Wanger and director Larry Summers—cashed out of some of their shares in January 2014 at $13.53, according to the filing.
According to Square's S-1 filing, a total of 185,361,631 class B shares are held by outside investors, insiders and directors. The percentage of total class B shares held by major shareholders include Jack Dorsey (24.4%), Khosla Ventures (17.3%) and Director James McKelvey (9.4%).
Perhaps underscoring the risks Square’s investors see in the company, the company raised about $150 million last September and October in a round that came with potentially onerous restrictions.
Investors including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Rizvi Traverse paid $15.46 a share and required that the IPO must price at $18.56 a share or higher, otherwise they are entitled to receive additional common shares, the filing shows.
Those firms will also get their money back before any other investor in the case of a company sale.
An $18.56 IPO price would suggest a pre-IPO valuation of $7.4 billion including stock awards, or $5.6 billion excluding them.
Square’s IPO, if successful, would cap a tumultuous six years for the payments company. As recently as last year, Square discussed with Alphabet Inc., then Google, a possible acquisition as its losses rose to around $100 million, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal at the time.
The company also backed off its e-commerce marketplace and mobile wallet, products it had touted as meaningful advances from its core card-swiping business.
The company typically charges merchants 2.75% to swipe credit cards through its reader, according to the company’s website.
The bulk of that money is spent on fees to payment networks, other financial intermediaries and fraud costs. And it faces competition from PayPal Holdings Inc., newly separated from eBay Inc., among other payment companies.
Square reported it was bilked by a single seller, costing it $5.7 million in this year’s first quarter, raising questions about its fraud-prevention systems.
Investors, too, may wonder how Square will replace lost revenue when its deal With Starbucks Corp. to process credit- and debit-card transactions in most of its stores concludes in next year’s third quarter.
That deal, while unprofitable, brought in $123 million in sales last year, or 14.5% of revenue.
Square said in its filing that it expected Starbucks to seek another payment processor and had given the Seattle company leeway to do so starting this month.
More recently the company has been focusing on peer-to-peer payments and small business lending to help boost its results. Square said it had originated $225 million in loans since May 2014.
COMMENTARY: Square has never generated a profit since it was founded. For the year ending December 31, 2014, Square had a net loss of $154 million. For the six months ending June 30, 2015, Square had a net loss of $77.6 million, so it appears to be on course to lose about as much money in the year 2015 as it did in 2014.
Gross Payment Volume (GPV)
- Processed $23.8 billion in payments in 2014, and on course to do $35-36 billion in 2015.
- Square processed 446 million individual payments from 144 million cards.
- Retail businesses make up 21% of Square’s merchants, followed by services at 17%, and food businesses at 15%.
- The tiniest sellers (processing less than $125,000 in payments per year) represented 92% of its merchants in the second quarter of 2011, compared with 63% in the same quarter this year— meaning that its stable of large customers has grown, relatively speaking
- Square’s deal to handle payments for Starbucks is a money loser. Square lost $28 million from the partnership in 2014, and $14.3 million in the first six months of 2015 (luckily for Square, the relationship will end by October 2016, if not earlier)
Square is a relative small fry when you compare the firms Gross Payment Volume (GPV) with the $4.9 trillion in total purchases paid by credit card as of 2013.
By comparison, Paypal, the gross payment volume (GPV) leader, processed $65.94 billion in credit card payments in the Q2 2015 alone and $248.23 billion in GPV during the 12 months up to and including Q2 2015. Paypal also generated net income of $419 million for the year ending December 31, 2014. When you compare Square's numbers, it's no contest.
Consolidated Statement of Operations
Quarterly Results of Operations
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Square has a pending patent infringement litigation with Robert E, Morley and a related entity and has yet to be settled. This should be of concern to potential IPO investors because it has serious consequences if the court rules against Square. Facebook was faced with three major lawsuits prior to its IPO, but these were all settled before the IPO date. The most famous lawsuit was filed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, classmates of Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard. The Winklevoss twins claimed that Mark Zuckerberg had stolen the idea for Facebook from a social network that Zuckerberg had contracted to write the software for. This lawsuit was settled for a reported $100 million.
Here's what the IPO filing says about the Morley lawsuit on page 39.
"We are currently in litigation with Robert E. Morley and a related entity regarding the inventorship of certain patents related to our intellectual property (Morley Litigation). If one or more claims in the Morley Litigation were determined adversely to us, or if the Morley Litigation were settled on unfavorable terms, this could affect our ability to use certain intellectual property and could also result in substantial monetary liabilities. In addition, Mr. Morley filed a subsequent lawsuit containing allegations that the formation of Square and the development of our card reader and decoding technologies constituted, among other things, breach of an alleged oral joint venture, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and misappropriation of trade secrets, as well as other related claims. Mr. Morley contends that he was an equal partner with Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey in the business enterprise that ultimately evolved into Square, and that Mr. Dorsey and Mr. McKelvey breached their alleged oral joint venture agreement with Mr. Morley by excluding him from ownership in Square. Mr. Morley is seeking a judgment and order that Square, Mr. Dorsey, and Mr. McKelvey hold ownership of Square in constructive trust for Mr. Morley, as well as a variety of damages, injunctive relief, royalties, and correction of inventorship of certain of our patents."
Square SEC Form S-1 (IPO Filing)
Below is the complete Square Inc SEC Form S-1 (IPO Filing).
I am always concerned when a startup that has never generated a profit since it began operations, that startup competes in a mature and highly competitive industry (credit card payments) and that industry is dominated by larger and more established players, and that startup is led by a CEO (Jack Dorsey) who splits time between two troubled companies (Twitter and Square), and then that CEO thinks its time for an intial public offering when stock market indicators say otherwise, then it makes me wonder about the wisdom of that CEO. This is the case with Square, Inc. and CEO Jack Dorsey.
Jack Dorsey has his work cut out for him, not only with Square, but especially with Twitter, a social network which has never generated a profit, has lost numerous executives since the start of this year, whose monthly active users has stalled, and advertisers are questioning Twitter's viability as an advertising platform.
Dorsey recently announced that Twitter would layoff about 10% of its workforce or about 336 employees, mostly from its engineering staff. This will cost the company about $20 million in severance payments and other separation entitlements. Even after you factor the savings from in wages, payroll taxes and employee benefits due to these layoffs, this will not make a substantial dent in their operating losses to date. This makes you wonder if Square will require some staff pruning after the IPO.
Even if you adjust Square's earnings for the money that it is losing from the Starbucks deal, the company is still losing a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately, Square will continue to lose money off the Starbucks deal until October 2016.
Lise Buyer, an IPO consultant with Class V Group in Silicon Valley who also helped guide Google Inc's IPO, said so eloquently, and dead on.
"Management and management focus are the single most determining factor of the success or lack thereof of a company pursuing an IPO. Were I a (Square) investor, I would want to be compensated for the cost of a part-time CEO who already had a full plate. And by compensated I mean I would expect a lower valuation."
David Erickson, a longtime banker and venture capitalist who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business, has real concerns about Jack Dorsey's ability to run two troubled companies simultaneously.
"Investors would have to get comfortable with how he would do both jobs well. What would also, I think, make this particular situation more challenging is the turnaround currently going on at Twitter, and the time I assume it would require."
Lisa Buyer, of Class V Group, echos similar concerns about turning round two companies simultaneously.
"There is so much uncertainty and so much attention needed at Twitter that it certainly should not inspire confidence in potential investors about Square.”
Let's come to some agreement here. Nothing significant is going to change at either Twitter or Square by the end of this year, or even within the next year. Twitter may never grow much beyond 300 million active users or increase engagement significantly without a major increase in new users. I am already juggling too much time between Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I think most users are not going to abandon Facebook so they can tweet all day long. They simply have to much invested in Facebook and other social networks.
In conclusion, after reviewing Square's achievements and numbers, I am of the opinion that the Square IPO is just too high risk. There is none of the hype that existed when Facebook had their IPO. Facebook shares were selling in the secondary markets for over a year before their IPO, setting the market price, and raising expectations to intolerable levels. Square would need to add a dozen major accounts with the volume of a Starbucks, and those accounts would have to be profitable, between now and the actual IPO date to create investor excitement and hopes of a successful IPO. I don't see any evidence that Square is raising expectations and creating excitement among potential investors. In fact, the reverse is true -- there are a lot of doubts about the Square IPO.
In short, the Square IPO is DOA. It was a bad idea from the beginning, and only going to benefit early investors and a few of the employees. In fact, most of the early VC's have clauses that in the event of an IPO, they get their money first. Isn't capitalism great?!! Yippee Kiyeaa!!
Courtesy of an article dated October 14, 2015 appearing in The Wall Street Journal, an article dated October 15, 2015 appearing in MediaPost Mobile Marketing Daily, an article dated October 14, 2015 appearing in Fortune Magazine and the SEC Form S-1 Registration Statement filed by Square, Inc. 0n October 14, 2015


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Apparently, the supply chain issues that affected production during the last holiday season were much ado about nothing. Apple on Thursday reported a staggering $123.9 billion in revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, with substantial year-over-year growth in nearly every category, including a record $71.6 billion in iPhone sales alone.
All product categories except the iPad were up year over year, with the Mac, Services, and Wearables all posting record numbers. Here’s how the quarter breaks down, with the year-over-year growth in parenthesis:
- iPhone: $71.6 billion (9 percent)
- Mac: $10.9 billion (25 percent)
- Wearables: $14.7 billion (13 percent)
- Services: $19.6 billion (24 percent)
The iPad, on the other hand, was down about 14 percent to $7.3 billion. Apple began selling the iPad mini and ninth-generation iPad right before the quarter began, but they were nearly impossible to find during the holiday season due to supply chain issues. Apple had previously stated that iPad supply would be affected.
All eyes have been on Apple’s earnings as tech stocks slump to start the year and Apple blew away expectations. Analysts were expecting an EPS (earnings per share) of $1.88 and revenue of $118.7 billion, and Apple easily beat both numbers with an EPS of $2.10 and revenue of $123.9 billion. In the earnings call following the results, Tim Cook noted that the cost of the supply chain constraints was larger than the previous quarter, which cost the company $6 billion.
In the announcement, Apple highlighted an all-time high for its installed base of active devices. Like previous quarters during the pandemic, Apple declined to provide guidance for the next quarter. However, Luca Maestria noted that it expects the next quarter’s growth to decelerate due to timing of the iPhone launch.


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By John Collett
Those working as Uber drivers, letting rooms on Airbnb and offering services through Airtasker are in the sights of the Tax Office this year.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson says as the transactions are made electronically, they are easy to trace.
"We have more than 650 million pieces of data each year and we use that and other information that we have got to form a picture of someone," she says.
The Tax Office is using enhanced data matching protocols for the sharing and online economy, which is making it harder to taxpayers to hide income.
Under the Tax Office online selling data matching protocol, it collects data from eBay Australia and New Zealand of registrants who sell goods and services with a total value of $12,000 or more during the financial year.
Although, at this stage, the data is only being collected from eBay, the Tax Office says it may include other platforms.
If you do not make repeated sales and are not carrying on a business you do not have to declare income.
For example, If you sell household goods or possessions that you don't want anymore, you are unlikely to be carrying on a business.
Anderson says Uber drivers are treated no differently to taxi drivers as far as the tax law goes.
And income from renting out a room or a car space or offering services through Airtasker or similar platforms needs to be declared, Anderson says.
"Some people think that because they don't do it every weekend that they don't have to declare," she says.
Each and every tax return is now scrutinised by the Tax Office.
"We compare the person to their peers in a similar occupation and similar circumstances," she says.
If declared income and claims for deductions are out of kilter with peers the Tax Office takes a closer look, she says.
Another target this year is holiday homes.
Anderson says some people claim a whole year's worth of deductions when they are spending part of the year in the property themselves.
She says you cannot claim those expenses for the period of the year that you are residing in the property.
Work-related expenses continue to be another area of concern.
"The main areas are cars and travel and work-related clothing and self education," Anderson says.
With mobile phones you can only claim for the portion that is work-related.
Mobile phone and broadband expenses for work and personal use need to be clearly distinguished.
Anderson says that even for claims of less than $300, you still need to be able to prove that you have spent the money.
Claims for ordinary work clothes cannot be made. Claims can only be made for uniforms and protective clothing, she says.
How to lodge
Taxpayers can choose to lodge using the ATO's online lodgement tool myTax or they can lodge with a registered tax agent.
Tax returns need to be lodged by October 31. For those using a tax agent the lodgment date can be as late as May next year, so long as the taxpayer is not in dispute with the Tax Office.
If you're using a tax agent for the first time, or using a different tax agent, you need to contact them before October 31.
Anderson says 2.8 million people lodged their tax return in July last year, which is 22 per cent of all tax returns lodged for 2015-16.
"We know that some taxpayers like to get in early and lodge in the first month of tax time, but our analysis shows that if you lodge in July, you're far more likely to make a mistake by leaving out some of your income," she says.
"By mid-August we have pre-filled most of the data from employers, banks, government agencies and other third parties. Waiting until this information is available will help you avoid mistakes," she says.
"If you have been using the myDeductions tool, which is available in the ATO app, to save and store your deductions, you can upload that data as well without the need for physical receipts," she says.


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The prolific Elon Musk, who heads Tesla Motors as CEO, among other things, has just revealed a few interesting tidbits that will tickle the fancy of software developers eyeing to get into the automobile scene. It won’t be long before they will be able to develop and run custom software, including Android apps, right on the Tesla Model S “smart” car’s dashboard.
Tesla’s electric Model S car features a 17-inch capacitive dashboard instead of simply a mix of physical and touch-based controls. And, as expected from such a hi-tech looking vehicle, the car’s dashboard is filled with features ranging from the normal car controls to multimedia to navigation to vehicle data, some of which could be accessed and controlled via Google Glass. Of course, it also has a web browser, which will soon be upgraded to Google Chrome in the near future, giving access to a wide range of extension to users.
The dashboard software is based on Linux and the cross-platform Qt application development framework, making it possible for software developers to easily create apps or port existing apps from Android, which is basically a modified Linux system, or even, at least according to Musk, iOS apps. But Tesla plans to take one step further and will be adding a full Android emulator right into the dashboard system. This means that should developers, and users, decide to do so, they can simply run their favorite Android apps inside a specialized window in the dashboard.
All these plans, however, will take some time and Tesla is only planning to open up the system for developers towards the end of 2014. The company will first prioritize on making the core system usable in markets around the world, with features such as support for multiple languages and local navigation.


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Data-intensive applications such as Internet radio, music streaming applications, and information services will generate approximately 6000 petabytes per annum by 2021, equivalent to more than 300 billion hours of music streaming.
Customer experience software solutions company Amdocs spoke to us about its business in 2016, its telco customers in Australia and more.
Financial markets reacted negatively to Netcomm’s full year 2016 results on Monday, with the share price dropping despite revenues increasing by 14.8% to $85.3 million, but with a big hit to revenues from its broadband business – down by $14.1 million to $26.4 million for the year compared to 2015.
New customers are being added to the satellite service because NBN Co hasn't rolled out fibre to the area because[…]
Might I respectively suggest that this is probably another survey designed for feel good results and as such was a[…]
Hi Peter, I have a response to this article that I'd love to share – what's the best way to[…]
Ive got Amayasim 100gb + UNL calls+text for $30/28days so its not so bad and they have been giving me[…]


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Alex Constantine - July 4, 2009
By Stephanie Richardson. www.examiner.com. July 1, 2009
... Vibe Magazine has died ... well, they have gone out of business. They are just one of the latest magazine causalities that have been killed by this recession and digital media.
The funky Hip Hop magazine started in 1992 providing an alternative media voice to urban music. Started by Quincy Jones, Vibe Magazine was a market leader and a staple in the urban community. Over the past few years the magazine experienced some financial difficulties due (in part) to the automotive industry's decrease in advertising spending and the decline of the music industry. However, the main culprit was digital media which is essentially killing print publications. With celebrity bloggers and twitter breaking industry news, Vibe Magazine found it hard to keep up with the changing pace of the media industry.
Vibe Magazine was not the only publication to fall prey to these changes; Blender, Cosmo Girl, Best Life, Atlanta Peach and Oprah Home are just a few media outlets that were not able to survive.
From music to mail, the digital industry has drastically changed how people communicate with one another and exchange information. Unfortunately many companies don't fully understand the impact of digital media and they ultimately suffer because of it.
I can't help but wonder why Vibe.com didn't become the leading on-line destination for urban music news. Why isn't Def Jam the leading seller of digital music instead of Apples' Itunes? Successful businesses must understand how to successfully integrate digital media into their business model. They cannot just stay on pace with digital media, they have to stay one step ahead of it.
As I watch the postal industry scramble to figure out of to save their business (I guess raising the price of stamps is their solution), I wonder who will be the next victim of digital media.


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Why is Facebook shutting down facial recognition feature?
Facebook has announced that it is shutting down its Face Recognition system and will delete the facial data of more than one billion of its users
Facebook has announced that it is shutting down its Face Recognition system and will delete the facial data of more than one billion of its users. Facebook said more than a third of its daily active users had previously opted into the use of face recognition technology, that's more than 600 million accounts.
"This change will represent one of the largest shifts in facial recognition usage in the technology's history. More than a third of Facebook's daily active users have opted in to our Face Recognition setting and are able to be recognized, and its removal will result in the deletion of more than a billion people's individual facial recognition templates," Facebook parent company Meta said in a statement.
Facebook Face Recognition used to analyse the photos and videos that the company thinks a user is in on Facebook and it replaced the "tag suggestion" setting on the social network. This change will also impact Automatic Alt Text (AAT), which creates image descriptions for blind and visually-impaired people. After this change, AAT descriptions will no longer include the names of people recognised in photos but will function normally otherwise.
Facial recognition has been available on Facebook since 2011, and Facebook turned the feature on automatically for more than 500 million people at the time that it debuted.
Why is Facebook shutting down the Face Recognition system?
The decision was taken after growing concerns about the technology and its misuse. Also, regulators have still not provided a clear set of rules governing its use.
What will happen to tagged photos?
According to company, there would be no change to existing tagged photos or videos. Just that there will not be a suggested tag in the future.


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Borders® Signs Exclusive Agreement with Ripple to Bring Original Programming to Shoppers through New In-Store TV Network
‘Borders® TV’ Enhances Customer Experience and Aligns with Borders’ Cross-Channel Retail Strategy While Expanding Ripple’s Network Nationwide
ANN ARBOR, Mich. and EL SEGUNDO, Calif.– Borders has signed an agreement with Ripple to launch an in-store television network called “Borders® TV” in the retailer’s superstores nationwide. Borders, a global retailer of books, music and movies, is teaming with Ripple, an interactive network of screens located in community gathering places to inform and entertain consumers, in a unique collaboration to feature Borders’ exclusive, original video content—until now only available on the Web—in conjunction with Ripple’s geographically targeted lifestyle content. Through this new, cohesive offering, Borders will unite its online and bricks-and-mortar store experiences and cultivate deeper relationships with the communities it serves.
Under the new agreement, tens of millions of Borders customers in 15 of the country’s largest markets, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Houston, Phoenix and the Washington, D.C. area, will have access to compelling, original content from Borders and Ripple. Borders’ exclusive programming includes “Borders Live at 01” and “Borders Presents,” which feature performances by artists such as Joss Stone, Patty Griffin and Gomez, as well as interviews with some of today’s biggest names including former President Bill Clinton, director Wes Anderson and authors such as Anne Lamott and Calvin Trillin.
Original programming also includes the “Borders Book Club,” which offers lively and in-depth group discussions with noted authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Khaled Hosseini, Mitch Albom, and Jodi Picoult; the popular self-help series, “Advice for Living with Mel Robbins,” where luminaries such as Donald Trump, Mandy Moore and Bill Cosby share their candid, no-nonsense advice for getting the most out of life; and the “Borders Kitchen,” featuring cooking demonstrations by some of the world’s most renowned culinary experts, including Nigella Lawson and Lidia Bastianich. Through Ripple’s technology, screens at each Borders store location will be customized with geographically and demographically tailored news, entertainment, weather and community information in real time on large-panel, high-definition displays.
Each participating Borders store will have two Ripple screens with both visual and audio content, strategically placed in the multimedia and periodical sections, and will feature news feeds from Reuters, Yahoo! and E! Entertainment, new and bestselling DVDs and CDs, local event calendar listings, and national headlines. With the addition of “Borders® TV,” the Ripple network will establish a national presence, reaching millions of consumers each month in thousands of community gathering places across the country.
“Borders® TV” is currently being installed in approximately 60 Borders stores, and will continue to roll-out in 250 stores by February, 2008.
“Working with Ripple is another way that Borders will differentiate our stores and help fulfill our cross-channel strategy, which marries the best of the Web with the great experience of shopping in our stores,” said Michael Tam, Borders’ senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “The high quality programming Borders produces is first rate,” he said. “We absolutely had to find a way to bring this fine programming to customers in our stores to enrich the total shopping experience.”
According to Myles Romero, vice president of strategic marketing and entertainment alliances for Borders, “Ripple’s innovative network allows us to customize by location and provide topically relevant content to our customers, strengthening our ties to the community.”
“From the start, we’ve been selective and strategic in working with well-respected and successful companies like Borders,” said Alex Nocifera, founder and president of sales and distribution for Ripple. “We think there’s a significant upside for a leading book retailer like Borders to leverage our network to enhance their shopping experience. Through this agreement, we not only have the opportunity to expand our network nationally, but it also allows us to achieve our goal of informing, entertaining and connecting people to their communities with relevant, localized content.”
This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.
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By Linda Hall • 23 January 2021 • 18:38
SHOPS CLOSED: Vera residents need not go without
Photo credit: Vera town hall
VERA’S shops might be closed but they can still sell to the public.
The town hall’s Commerce councillor Ana Lourdes Ramirez explained that shops can still function via the Vera Online website.
“Owing to the present restrictions we are ensuring that all local shop-owners belonging to the scheme can promote, free of charge, as many products as they wish while businesses are closed,” Ramirez said.
Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Shop online in Vera.” For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.
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Businesses will increasingly choose to rent to avoid costs associated with owning furniture.
New York, NY (PRWEB) November 15, 2014
Over the five years to 2014, revenue for the Office Furniture Rental industry is expected to trend higher. Operators in this industry rent and lease office furniture, such as tables, chairs, desks and cabinets, to businesses and government institutions. The industry is driven by several macroeconomic factors, such as the number of businesses and the unemployment rate, all of which are expected to improve over the five-year period. “Growth in the number of businesses stimulates demand for office furniture, and thus industry revenue,” according to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Brandon Ruiz. Moreover, as the unemployment rate falls, demand for office furniture is anticipated to rise, as businesses require furniture for new employees. Due to these positive trends, IBISWorld expects industry revenue to grow at an annualized rate of 5.2% to $320.6 million over the five-year period, lifted by an estimated 1.1% increase in 2014. Although the industry is anticipated to rise at a relatively high rate, this is primarily due to the industry coming off a low base.
Industry profit margins are expected to increase over the five years to 2014, lifted by the aforementioned positive trends. “However, low interest rates are expected to inhibit profit growth,” says Ruiz. Although low interest rates encourage businesses to lease their office furniture to take advantage of lower financing costs, they inhibit profit growth as the monthly leasing payment paid by businesses is reduced. In an effort to become more competitive and bolster profit, many industry operators are expected to expand inorganically by acquiring smaller operators. Large operators are able to benefit from several cost advantages, such as increased purchasing power.
In the five years to 2019, industry revenue is anticipated to rise, bolstered by continued growth in the number of businesses. The number of businesses is expected to grow, which will increase the industry's downstream market size, and thus provide a greater pool of businesses for operators to service. In the past, businesses decided to rent or lease furniture to maintain financial flexibility, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty. However, businesses are expected to increasingly choose to rent furniture to avoid several costs associated with owning and maintaining furniture, such as transportation, storage and restoration expenses.
For more information, visit IBISWorld’s Office Furniture Rental in the US industry report page.
Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBISWorld
Friend IBISWorld on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBISWorld/121347533189
IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics
This industry rents out office furniture to large and small businesses. Rental furniture includes tables, chairs, desks, cabinets and more.
Key External Drivers
Industry Life Cycle
Products & Markets
Products & Services
Globalization & Trade
Market Share Concentration
Key Success Factors
Cost Structure Benchmarks
Barriers to Entry
About IBISWorld Inc.
Recognized as the nation’s most trusted independent source of industry and market research, IBISWorld offers a comprehensive database of unique information and analysis on every US industry. With an extensive online portfolio, valued for its depth and scope, the company equips clients with the insight necessary to make better business decisions. Headquartered in Los Angeles, IBISWorld serves a range of business, professional service and government organizations through more than 10 locations worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ibisworld.com or call 1-800-330-3772.


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Didn't have time to check out the tech headlines over the weekend? Here's what you missed. A day after Facebook went public, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan wed in a private ceremony behind Zuckerberg's Palo Alto, California home.
The ceremony was so small, so private, and so surprising that the 100-or-so guests in attendance initially thought they were coming out for a graduation ceremony for Chan, who just graduated from medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, this past Monday – Zuckerberg's 28th birthday. Some week for the new family, eh?
For more news on Facebook's IPO, see Sloppy Facebook IPO Predictions: Only 1.14 Percent Get the Closing Price Right and Facebook Barely Claws Past its IPO Price.
In other social media news, Microsoft has pulled its social search site 'So.cl' out of beta. The service is designed to explore "the possibilities of social search for the purposes of learning."
Meanwhile, in gaming news, Blizzard set a date for its real-money, Diablo III auction house to go live: May 29, about a week after originally scheduled. Still, the date was tagged with the caveat "estimated," meaning that it could be pushed further back.
Also making headlines over the weekend,
- SpaceX Launch Scrubbed at the Last Second: The launch of an unmanned SpaceX rocket automatically shut down at the last second early Saturday morning, pushing back the first cargo run by a privately built spacecraft to the International Space Station to Tuesday at the earliest.
- ITC Bans Motorola Devices That Infringe on Microsoft Patent: Microsoft was handed a legal victory on Friday after the International Trade Commission (ITC) ordered an import ban on Android-based Motorola devices that infringe on a Microsoft-held patent.
- Leaked: Nintendo's New Tweaks to the Wii U Controller: Did a QA tester accidentally post a picture of the new Wii U controller to Twitter? It sure looks like it.
- Pakistan Unblocks Twitter After Eight-Hour Ban: Pakistan has found that it's tough to control the Internet – specifically, what people decide to post on the popular microblogging service Twitter.
- 'jOBS' Movie to Film in Los Altos Garage Where Apple Began: Filming for one of the two Steve Jobs movies currently in production will make use of the real-world home where Jobs grew up and, more importantly, co-founded his company.
- RIP Aero Glass; Windows 8 Sticks a Fork in Familiar UI: In an attempt to make Windows 8 feel more crisp and clear, Microsoft has nuked the transparency, reflections, and glowing aspects of its Aero Glass interface.
- The Week in Chips: Kepler, Trinity, and Ivy Bridge: Talk about a busy week on the chip beat.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.


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2013 November 25
Mulberry Skips Out On A Fall 2014 Runway Show
FirstView View Gallery
(NEW YORK) Mulberry won't be trotting its Fall 2014 wares on the runway at London Fashion Week come February. The British brand has yet to name a successor for former creative director Emma Hill, who took her last bow on the catwalk for the brand in September. But don't expect LFW to be completely devoid of Mulberry: the brand is “definitely be participating in London Fashion Week and details of this will be released in the near future," according to a company statement, per WWD.
Hill's departure was announced in June, following the designer's six successful years at the label. Hill is an alum of Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Gap, Burberry, and Chloé; she replaced Stuart Vevers at Mulberry upon arriving at the brand. Her Mulberry stint ratcheted up the line's handbag offerings, including the Alexa and Del Rey styles named after Alexa Chung and Lana Del Rey, respectively. She also brought more brights into the Mulberry mix—and ushered dogs on the runway. In November 2012, Hill nabbed a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) award from Queen Elizabeth. She reportedly bid adieu to Mulberry due to "disagreements with management over creative and operational strategy," according to WWD. Immediately after Hill's impending departure from Mulberry was announced, rumors swirled that her next stop would be Coach, following Reed Krakoff's farewell. Hill's next move apres-Mulberry remains a mystery.
While Mulberry won't be staging a runway show this season, who will take the creative helm for Spring 2015 and beyond? Talents like Erdem Moralioglu, Roland Mouret, and Mary Katrantzou have been mentioned as possible successors for Hill. Stay tuned...
Marimekko has brought on Anna Teurnell as creative director to lead all of the design teams for the Finnish brand in Paris and Stockholm. Teurnell will handle the design strategy for...
Jourdan Dunn is joining Maybelline New York's posse of beauties: The mod has been tapped as the makeup brand's latest face. She joins Maybelline's coterie of spokesmodels, including...
When it comes to glam gigs, it doesn’t get much better than being the go-to girl for Glamour’s VP and publisher, Connie Anne Phillips. Five years after signing on as her assistant...
- Links of The Daily
- Mary Katrantzou To Collaborate With Adidas
- The Outnet Toasts Five Years With An Anniversary Collection Of Exclusives
- Genetic Denim Gets A Boost From Major Investors, Jimmy Iovine and Peter Morton
- Links of The Daily
- Banana Republic Taps Marissa Webb As Creative Director And Executive Vice President


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On March 6, President Trump signed into law an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill to begin to deal with the coronavirus crisis. On March 14, the House passed a phase 2 deal with a wider range of measures, including free testing for everyone. The Senate is currently considering the deal with the idea of sending […]
Republicans and Democrats have many ideological differences, and coronavirus is now on the list. According to a new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll, 62% of Republicans say the seriousness of the coronavirus is generally exaggerated in the news while only 31% of Democrats...
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Doug Isenberg delivered a presentation on copyright law for magicians at the 2018 Magi-Fest convention in Columbus, Ohio. Magi-Fest is one of the largest magic conventions in the United States, with more than 800 attendees this year.
Doug's presentation, on January 26, 2018, focused on how magicians can use copyright law to protect their craft, especially on the Internet; limitations of copyright protection for magic; and ethical issues related to copyright law and magic.
Doug discussed a number of important copyright law cases, including a dispute brought by the famous magician Teller against a YouTube user who had uploaded videos that Teller alleged infringed his rights. Although the court ruled in Teller's favor, Doug explained the importance of the case, including the court's statement that "magic tricks are not copyrightable."


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NEW FASHION GIG. Grammy award winning duo Drew Taggart and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers have just been appointed Tommy Hilfiger’s Global Menswear Ambassadors
It seems that American fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger is signing up the latest and greatest social influencers to partner up for its campaigns. After extending its partnership with “Tommy Girl” Gigi Hadid, it has just signed the Grammy winning duo Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, also known as The Chainsmokers for a worldwide campaign. The musical duo have agreed to showcase the latest designs for Tommy Hilfiger menswear which include Hilfiger Edition, Tommy Hilfiger Tailored and Tommy Hilfiger sportswear.
The duo’s most recent appearance on the ABC show “Good Morning America”, was somewhat of a sneak peek at the new fashion partnership as both Taggart and Pall performed wearing striped shirts by Hilfiger. The Chainsmokers will officially be the faces for Tommy Hilfiger’s fall/winter 2017 campaign which will break globally sometime in Fall. This will also mark the end of the brand’s partnership with tennis champion Rafael Nadal, who has been the global menswear ambassador since 2014.
This isn’t the first time for Tommy Hilfiger to work with the music industry, having dressed musicians such as Usher, Mark Ronson and the late Aaliyah back in the 1990s. The brand also provided the wardrobe for Britney Spears North American tour in 1999. The next upcoming music related show for the designer will take place at London’s iconic Roundhouse music venue and feature Gigi Hadid.
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Last week the group confirmed a conditional placing of 4,427,481 new ordinary shares and 109,122,138 existing ordinary shares, at a price of 262 pence per share.
Through the placing of new shares, Victorian Plumbing claimed that it expects to raise £11.6m in gross proceeds and achieve aggregate gross proceeds of £285.9m for selling shareholders.
Mark Radcliffe, Victorian Plumbing founder and CEO, said: “Today is a landmark day in the history of Victorian Plumbing. The successful completion of our IPO and admission to AIM is an exciting next step on our growth journey.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our team for their support over the years. They have helped to build an incredibly strong, exciting and trusted brand together with a hard-working and innovative culture.”
He added: “We are pleased to welcome such a strong blue chip shareholder base to the register and look forward to working together on this next chapter in the Company’s development.”


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Grappling with its third major exec departure in four weeks, Trimark Pictures announced Sunday that Dennis O’Connor was replacing Ray Price as the company’s senior vice president, specialized theatrical division.
Price’s departure was due to the “termination of negotiations to renew (his) employment contract,” according to a statement issued by Trimark.
No other information was available, and Trimark would not comment. Price’s future plans were unclear.
Like Price before him, O’Connor will be responsible for overseeing the distribution of all specialized product. He starts at Trimark immediately.
Price described O’Connor, who comes to Trimark from First Look Pictures (a company Price co-founded), as the “only true rising young star (exec) in specialized film.”
A vet of the independent circuit, O’Connor has served stints with the Samuel Goldwyn Company, Landmark Theatres and Strand Releasing.
At least two other senior Trimark execs, exec VP Sergio Aguero and CFO Jim Keegan, have ankled the embattled indie distribution company in the past month. This week, Aguero starts at tenpercentery Endeavor as its new independent film rep.
Price, a well-known face on the indie scene, was closely involved in the Trimark acquisition “Kama Sutra” and production “Eve’s Bayou,” which grossed more than $15 million in the U.S. and became one of the company’s most successful specialized releases. Price also had a penchant for Spanish pics, such as Alex de la Iglesia’s “Perdita Durango,” which Trimark will release next year.
Trimark insiders said that Price had been in negotiations with company chairman Mark Amin for more than a month, but the two parties had failed to reach an agreement.
At First Look, O’Connor was in charge of marketing for the Vanessa Redgrave starrer “Mrs. Dalloway,” among other pics.


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By Gabriel Olawale
THE Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, yesterday, said with the current situation of things in the country, Nigerians may have to be ready for a tough 2022, if the Federal Government fails to embrace restructuring.
Speaking during the second edition of the Odo Erelu festival in Lagos, Adams said that as of today, the Nigerian economy is obviously in a terrible condition, while naira is falling on a daily basis.
His words: “For instance, N700 exchanges for one British Pound Sterling at the moment, while the Dollar is put at N578, and Euro is currently N656, at the official rate. Our naira continues to fall to the global currencies. And this has affected the exchange rates in the global market.
“The economy is obviously not stable. Prices of essential food and commodities are on the high side. A bag of rice produced here in Nigeria is put at N25,000, while garri, which is also a very important commodity for the low-income earner, is no longer affordable to the people.
“Today in Nigeria, nothing is free because everything has been monetized. And corruption has taken its toll on the entire system. Meanwhile, inflation and the current economic downturn have triggered the growing spate of insecurity across the country.
“In Nigeria today, the middle class could hardly survive the harsh economic crisis while the lower class is languishing in poverty. We don’t need a prophet to tell us that by 2022, the naira might still slip further beyond what we can salvage because prices of commodities have gone beyond our reach.
“From the present economic situation in the country, if President Buhari fails to save the economy from collapsing before December, this year, God forbids, we should be ready for a very tough time by 2022.
“Federating units will allow each region to be able to harness the social, political and economic potentials of their respective regions. It will boost agriculture and provide effective security for farmers.”
He also revealed that many of the evils that befall Yorubaland were a result of ignorance and failures to celebrate ancestors.


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First edition of coronavirus launched after unprecedented success of trial version
Khinzar Sawani - Marketing Correspondent
23 Dec 2020
The coronavirus family of pathogens launched last week COVID-19 1.0, the official release of its highly contagious disease, after the unprecedented success of the most popular demo version of a viral microbe since the Spanish Flu.
Epidemiologists said the release of the final version of the disease was a guaranteed success due to its timing at the height of the holiday season, amid gatherings involving hugs, kisses, presents and infectious microbes, eliminating any potential competition from other virus families.
Experts said they were impressed by the secrecy surrounding the development of the release version of the virus, which appears to have benefited from lessons learned from the beta test, increasing its performance and spread significantly.
They also said the coronavirus family showed great insight in its distribution plan, choosing to launch the new version in parts of the world that strongly welcomed the trial edition by refusing to wear masks and continuing to take part in large public gatherings, a step that showed a keen understanding of human nature, virus consumption and demographic trends.


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Representatives of companies from the Food and Beverage Manufacturing sector took part in a half-day seminar organised by TradeMalta, aimed at providing them with assistance on exporting their products. The workshop focused on understanding the differences between manufacturing under private label and promoting one’s brand, therefore guiding entrepreneurs to select the best strategy. The event saw the participation of several Maltese companies from the food and beverage manufacturers seeking to expand their business internationally.
Mr Stephen Saliba, Head of International Business Development at Simonds Farsons Cisk, delved into the implications of building and exporting one’s own brand, while Ms Veronica Nardelli from ARQ Group Malta analysed the different growth opportunities for private label manufacturing that are emerging in the Middle East and Africa. A panel discussion made up from various industry players was also part of the agenda.
For information about our upcoming seminars kindly contact TradeMalta on 2247 2400 or at email@example.com or visit our Events section.


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Air Asia chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes hopes for more low-cost terminal and cheaper facilities to develop tourism in Sarawak and says if the airline gets low-cost airports, the tourism industry will boom.
He said that the airport tax is very high which is RM50. Kuching to China the airport tax was RM75, previously. Now, it’s RM50, he said he still thinks it’s too high.
Fernandes said AirAsia is now looking for new places to promote and bring more tourists and jobs and lauded Sarawak for having done a good job, in terms of domestic tourism.
“We have limited success in international. Only Singapore has been consistently going on well. In the next round of our expansion, Sarawak is very crucial.
“Read about the CM’s plan to invest in tourism infrastructure and came (here) to learn what are the plans — medical tourism, etc. We want to expand more flights (from Sarawak) into Indonesia,” he said.
Fernandes said since AirAsia started 18 years ago, the airline had carried 60 million people to Sarawak and fly-through increased by 43% this year, with 73,000 people coming from different countries via Kuala Lumpur.
“We want to reinvest, we want to partner with the Sarawak government...a win-win scenario. And hope for assistance (in terms of) airport (low-cost).
He mentioned on Sarawak’s food products which can be sold in Asia. He said that there is a lot of potentials to allow entrepreneurs to sell their products to a larger audience. “We need help and promotional materials,” he said.
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Car makers have called for smooth links “closer to home” following the UK’s free trade deal with Australia.
Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show the UK sold 20,000 cars to Australia in 2019, compared with 578,000 to the EU.
A Downing Street statement claimed the agreement with Australia means car makers in the Midlands and northern England will see “tariffs of up to 5% cut, boosting demand for their exports”.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “Australia is an important growth market and the industry welcomes the agreement in principle of a trade deal between the two countries.
Video: Equinor Targets Renewables Investment by 2030 (Bloomberg)
“If tariffs can be


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Our associate editor and resident green blogger, Kasia Marciszewska, is currently traveling in Europe. While there, she stopped by her native country of Poland. Ever vigilant about the subject of sustainability, Kasia sought out Poland’s green side.
Visiting my home country of Poland is always a fun and exciting experience. It seems every time I come here something is different, as Poland continues to shift and grow with the changing times.
This visit proved to me once again how far the country has come, when I realized that Poland was taking “being green” to a new level. The concept of eco-friendliness in some ways is new to the country, but upon closer inspection it seems that Poland was on the road to helping the environment long before it became popular.
One way the country is and has been reducing its environmental impact is through its transportation system. Many of Poland’s residents commute via public transportation, which includes trams, rail and bus. Though not always the fastest routes, public transportation is an integral way of life for the Polish people and definitely the greener way to travel.
One can easily travel throughout Poland on public transportation. The rail systems span the whole country, and you can travel with relative ease; from the northern city of Gdansk all the way down to Krakow in the south, it’s all just a train ride away. Travel to neighboring countries such as Germany and the Czech Republic also can easily be done via trains, making visiting other countries ecologically sound.
Though transportation by car has steadily increased over the years, the sizeable difference is in the cars themselves, literally. Cars in Poland are taxed based on their engine size, so many people choose to drive cars with smaller engines (thus fewer emissions) in order to reduce their costs. That frugalness helps the environment at the same time (The price of gas in Poland is also extremely high, so using public transportation makes much more economic sense for most people).
Another “green” innovation in Poland is grocery bags, or rather the lack thereof. Many of Poland’s cities are making an effort to reduce plastic bag waste by simply asking customers if they need a bag. The catch? If you want a bag you’ll have to pay for it! A nominal fee is tacked on for plastic bags during your shopping, so a better, cheaper and greener alternative is to bring your own bags.
The cities of Gdansk, Inowroclaw, Tychy and Zabrze already have passed local laws to ban the free handing out of plastic bags, and many more cities are deciding on similar initiatives.
Poland is truly undergoing a cultural shift toward environmental friendliness. Awareness about the topic is spreading with more and more initiatives sprouting up all over the country.
I recently observed an exhibition at a shopping center in Wroclaw titled “Eco Fashion.” The goal of the exhibition was to demonstrate practices on how to recycle with a focus on fashion. The campaign showed a multitude of creative ideas for recycling everyday items into clothes, furniture and more, along with games, prizes and interesting facts about recycling. For example, did you know that recycling one plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours?
The entries varied in shape and size from a plastic cup coffee table to a dress made from garbage bags. But the overall message was heard loud and clear, eco-friendliness is here to stay in Poland — with many more “green” advances to come!


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Europe’s top antitrust watchdog has warned Google that it must to make more changes to how it runs its online search business if it wants to avoid huge fines.
The EU has been investigating Google’s business practices in Europe for almost three years, a probe initiated after several companies complained that Google’s search engine unfairly gives preferential treatment to its in-house services, such as Google Maps or Google News, over rival offerings.
Google is even more dominant in the Internet search market in Europe than it is in the U.S., with more than 90 percent of the market in many EU countries, compared to about 70 percent stateside.
In April, Google proposed several changes to appease the EU, including labeling results pointing to its own services and separating them with a box from general search results.
But on Wednesday, EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Google’s suggestions didn’t go far enough. Almunia said he has written to Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt “asking Google to present better proposals or improved proposals.”
If Google doesn’t comply, the company could face the kind of drawn-out, expensive antitrust battle that has plagued Microsoft’s relationship with the EU. Earlier this year, the EU fined Microsoft $731 million (€561 million) for failing to offer European users of its software a choice of which Internet browser to use.
In total, Microsoft has been fined more than $2.9 billion (€2.2 billion) by EU antitrust authorities over the past 10 years.
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There are a lot of similarities between Amazon and Apple. The secrecy, the dedication to the consumer, the focus on devices and digital media, and now this -- Siri.
Amazon has not returned calls or emails seeking comment, but All Things Digital confirmed independently that Charlotte, N.C.-based Yap has been acquired by Amazon.
Reports of the acquisition surfaced Wednesday after CLT, a Charlotte-based blog, connected a couple of obscure dots.
First, it tracked down a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that shows that as of Sept. 8, Yap was acquired by Yarmuth Dion. Then, it discovered that Yarmouth Dion has the same mailing address as Amazon's Seattle headquarters.
Media reports immediately jumped to the conclusion that Amazon was interested in the company's speech-recognition technology so it could compete with Siri, the voice-controlled assistant found on Apple's newest iPhone.
Most recently, Yap's servers were being used by Sprint and others to convert voicemails to text. It was being shipped on a majority of Sprint's Android handsets. Yap also had an iPhone app.
On Oct. 20, Yap voicemail was discontinued.


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Jubiliant secures USFDA approval for two generic drugs
The company aims to launch the products by Q3 FY14.
New Delhi, October 18, 2013: Indian drug firm Jubiliant Life Sciences has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market generic versions of GlaxoSmithKline’s anti-depressant Wellbutrin SR and smoking cessation aid, Zyban.
It is important to note that the abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) approval bupropion hydrochloride extended-release tablets, the generic version of Wellbutrin SR, is in multiple strengths of 100 mg, 150 mg and 200 mg.
The company also added in the BSE filing that for bupropion hydrochloride extended-release tablets, the generic version of Zyban, the approval is for 150 mg. The company aims to launch these products by Q3 FY14.
The total market size for these products in the US is estimated at US$ 518 million per annum. It is significant to note that Jubilant Life Sciences had a total of 649 filings for formulations, including 58 ANDAs filed in the US and 41 Dossier filings in Europe, as on June 30, 2013. Of these, 189 have been approved in various regions of the world.


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Chicago hardcore-punk acts Step Right Up and UGLYBoNES have released their new split EP and are streaming it in its entirety.
Give it a listen below, and if you like what you year, you can snag it for a pay-what-you-want download.
Step Right Up last released their Brassknuckle Lullabies EP in April. UGLYBoNES released their Wrong Goods EP in January.
Add Step Right Up to My Radar


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If you needed an excuse to get your caffeine fix then here it is, people who drink more coffee live longer.
Higher coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of early death, according to new research. The observational study in nearly 20,000 participants suggests that coffee can be part of a healthy diet in healthy people, Indy100 reports.
The ten year long study found that regular coffee drinkers had a 64 per cent lower risk of dying early compared to those who didn't. The study looked at nearly 20,000 people living in the Mediterranean who drank at least four cups of coffee a day. The participants were quizzed about their health, lifestyle and coffee consumption.
19,868 people took part and over the ten year period 377 participants died.
The participants' average age was 37 but the research shows that people over the age of 45 actually benefit the most from our caffeinated friend.
They worked out that drinking only two additional cups of coffee a day was linked with a 22 per cent lower risk of death.
Lead researcher and cardiologist Dr Adela Navarro concluded:
"Our findings suggest that drinking four cups of coffee each day can be part of a healthy diet in healthy people."
This news comes as a big win for caffeine lovers as another recently published study suggests that drinking tea can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight.
Caffeine has never looked more appealing, time for a well deserved coffee break.


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That the City of Iloilo was a largely untapped destination is already a thing of the past.
Much has changed for this highly urbanized city, which today is a picture of vibrant growth with its diversified economy holding a huge potential to become a bustling economic corridor in the region.
This picturesque city has since witnessed a tremendous transformation in the past decade given the emergence of new and thriving industries, the entry of investors pouring in fresh capital and generating quality jobs for the province, as well as the surge of local and foreign tourists wanting to immerse themselves in gorgeous natural settings that subtly weaves the bygone era with the modern times, thus evoking that rustic and sophisticated feel at the same time.
Surge in arrivals
Data from the Iloilo City Tourism Office showed that total tourist arrivals had seen a steady growth since 2010, even doubling over the last five years to 1.08 million in 2017 from only 526,966 in 2012. In 2017 alone, bulk of the tourists, or about 97 percent, were locals, while international arrivals were mostly from South Korea, United States and Canada.
Similarly, tourism receipts more than doubled to P19.8 billion last year from only P9.69 billion five years ago, reflecting the growth not only in arrivals in the province but also in terms of tourism enterprises, the number of which reached 1,605 in 2017, and of cultural properties, whose count now stood at 203 during the same period.
A cursory look at the different travel websites would list Iloilo City as a must-see destination for its sumptuous local cuisine and rich cultural heritage, as evidenced by the stunning architecture of decades-old churches with great historical value, and the more than 200 captivating mansions, which were grandiose displays of affluence during the Spanish and American colonial eras. Iloilo City likewise serves as a jump off point to equally stunning islands with their pristine, unspoiled beaches located in the outskirts of the province.
Also changing the tourism landscape in Iloilo was the completion of the Iloilo Convention Center in 2015 as this elevated the city’s position as a viable meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) destination.
City Tourism Officer Junel Ann Divinagracia was quoted in an earlier Inquirer interview as saying that the tourism boom in Iloilo was mainly because of the MICE events it was getting with the convention center, which has a seating capacity of 3,700—reportedly the biggest of such facility in the province.The tourism boom due to the growing number of events and conventions being held at the ICon has consequently boosted demand for restaurants, transport providers and even hotels that can cater to the discerning needs of both local and international delegates.
Megaworld recognizes this pressing need and is thus bringing its homegrown Belmont brand to the Iloilo Business Park to provide world class accommodations.
“We have seen the huge potential of Iloilo as a tourism destination. With the Iloilo Convention Center as a main facility for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, there is no doubt that Iloilo City needs another world-class hotel. And we are bringing another Megaworld homegrown hotel brand, which has gained popularity among business travelers since Belmont Hotel Manila opened in 2015,” explained Jennifer Palmares-Fong, vice president for sales and marketing of Megaworld Iloilo.
The 12-storey Belmont Hotel Iloilo, which will add 405 hotel rooms in the city, will be the third hotel to rise within the Iloilo Business Park township. Megaworld opened in 2014 Richmonde Hotel, while its sister company Travelers International Hotels Group Inc. started operations of the Courtyard by Marriott earlier this year.
Slated to open by 2023, the Belmont Hotel Iloilo will be located along the 1.1-kilometer stretch of Festive Walk Parade, just a stone’s throw away from the iconic Iloilo Convention Center and the Festive Walk Mall.
Guests can choose from several room categories namely the Twin Suites, Queen Suites, Junior Suites, Executive Suites, and the Specially-Abled Suites for Persons with Disabilities. They can likewise enjoy key features of the hotel including a swimming pool with an in-pool lounge, landscaped deck with pool bar and outdoor lounge, fitness center with sauna, function room and an all-day dining restaurant.
“Megaworld’s Iloilo Business Park itself is a tourist destination. Visitors come to the township to visit the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA), shop and dine in Festive Walk Mall, chill in Festive Walk Parade, attend events in the Iloilo Convention Center or stay in our world-class hotels. We expect more tourists to come to our township as more establishments and attractions open in the coming months,” Palmares-Fong concluded.
Belmont Hotel Manila, Megaworld’s first Belmont Hotel that opened in Newport City, was awarded this year’s Best Airport Hotel in the 2018 Travel and Hospitality Awards. The second Belmont Hotel is set to open in Boracay Newcoast next year, while the third will be at The Mactan Newtown, the company’s 30-ha township in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.


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At Flakeboard's Albany and Eugene plants, 188 workers make particleboard from the same sawdust and scrap that could one day be a major part of the nation's energy supply.
Over the coming years, billions of dollars in federal subsidies aim to turn the leftovers of forests, including those in Oregon, into rich sources of renewable power.
The Biomass Crop Assistance Program offers a subsidy of $1 for each $1 per dry ton of eligible materials sold and delivered to biomass conversion facilities, with a maximum of $45 per ton.
The federal government hopes to spur the collection, harvest, storage and transportation of eligible crops for conversion to bioenergy, in the form of heat, power, bio-based products or advanced biofuels.
What's going on now:
A public comment period on a proposed rule change is open until April 9. Members of the wood products industry have voiced concern over the list of eligible materials, which include sawdust and wood chips used in making particleboard and medium-density fiberboard.
But they could also put companies such as Flakeboard, the nation's largest particleboard manufacturer based in South Carolina, out of business if their suppliers opt to sell into more lucrative energy markets.
"There's already a lot of competition," said David Leding, a Flakeboard plant manager in Albany. "And now all of a sudden, we have to compete with our federal government."
As Congress moves to kickstart the biomass market -- the burning of waste wood to generate electricity -- its incentives and subsidies stand to make winners and losers out of players within the same industry. So far, its attempts have not been entirely successful, leading to unintended consequences.
A now-expired tax credit for paper mills to use black liquor, a waste product of the pulping process, helped to send at least one Oregon manufacturer that didn't qualify for the tax break into bankruptcy, claiming it could no longer compete on price. Another tax credit, reinstated last week, to boost the production of biodiesel caused an uproar among soap and cosmetic makers because it threatened their supply of animal fat.
Particleboard and wood products manufacturers fear the same, as the federal government seeks to open new fiber supplies to feed boilers with woody waste, considered carbon-neutral because the carbon emitted in burning the fiber will be offset by the carbon pulled from the atmosphere by growing trees. But it raises a fundamental question asked by many in the wood products industry.
"What is the future of wood?'" said Tom Julia, president of the Composite Panel Association, which represent 40 makers of particleboard, medium-density fiberboard and hardboard. "Do we use it to build things or burn it? We are on the cusp of a major public policy direction on the future use of wood, and we've got to get it right."
At Flakeboard, sawdust and wood chips -- the leftovers of sawmills -- are the primary ingredients in making dense boards held together by glue or pressure that compose most cabinets and furniture today. With the closure of sawmills across Oregon, and others going idle, the resource has grown increasingly scarce.
Last year, Congress passed a five-year Farm Bill, which for the first time included large provisions for biomass, carrying sweeping implications for the timber industry nationwide and in Oregon.
Under the United States Department of Agriculture's Biomass Crop Assistance program, sawdust, wood chips and other eligible materials would be paid a subsidy -- up to $45 a ton -- to be transported to an approved biomass conversion plant.
The program's intention was to find an energy use for the vast slash piles deep in the nation's forests or trimmings left from agricultural farming. With little market value and a high transportation cost, slash and other forest waste products have typically been burned on the forest floor.
The subsidy would create jobs for people willing to haul the material out of the woods, encouraging a more efficient network of biomass plants with a steady supply of material that would also promote healthy forests.
Few people, from environmentalists to timber executives, disagree with the program's goals, although not everyone agrees with its high cost. The USDA has said it intends to cap the program at $2.6 billion, including $2.1 billion for matching payments for biomass materials, over the next four years.
"We certainly see the challenge of reducing the woody material on public lands," said Nils Christoffersen, executive director of Wallowa Resources, a nonprofit in rural Wallowa County. "I can see that providing an additional revenue stream for people would be helpful to getting work done in the woods."
But as its currently written, the program pits the traditional wood products industry against the emerging renewable energy industry. And with federal backing, energy is sure to win, particleboard makers say.
Already, one of Flakeboard's suppliers in Louisiana has decided to sell to a biomass plant to collect the subsidy, and more could follow if the rules aren't changed. Leding said the company has not lost any suppliers in Oregon.
"We can't pay those prices," Leding said. "It would put the entire industry in a non-competitive situation and drive offshore imports. That's clean waste generated at sawmills that we buy at market rates. That's our feedstock."
Last month, due to industry outcry, the USDA froze the program to propose new rules that would exclude materials that are manufactured into products with higher value. A 60-day comment period ends April 9.
But the changes may not go far enough, said Julia, with the Composite Panel Association. It doesn't list specific items to make them ineligible, which would leave too much flexibility as market prices swing, he said.
"They're going to leave the door open for large sawmills to determine what's competitive and higher value," Julia said. "Expanding America's fiber supply will help the private sector too, but don't raid existing raw materials."
Benefits of biomass
Nationwide, the particleboard and engineered wood products industries employ 20,000 people, with hundreds of thousands more in the furniture and cabinet industries. In Oregon, the industry represents a smaller segment of the wood products industry, which has borne the full brunt of the housing market's implosion.
"Biomass is an important part of Oregon's economic future, drawing from our strengths in timber, agriculture and alternative energy," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., whose staff has worked with program administrators on finding a fix. "The USDA decision to allow the program to pay for mill waste is contrary to the intent of the law."
But some sawmills and wood pellet manufacturers say the program is working. At Malheur Lumber in John Day, president John Shelk said the program has freed up more sawdust and chips for sale to paper mills and particleboard plants. With more wood waste coming off of nearby national forests, the company's sawmill has had to use less of its own waste to power its operations. Last winter, about half of the mill's biomass usage came from material that was subsidized by the federal government.
The program has created work for contractors thinning forests, truck drivers and workers at grinding plants.
"That's more than a guy who lights a match in the forest," Shelk said. "The program for us, in the John Day Valley, is working very positively. It's fueling our boilers and saving residuals that we would have been burning for paper mills and particle plants."
Rolf Anderson, chief executive of Portland-based Bear Mountain Forest Products, a major wood pellet manufacturer, says the program would help pave the way to access woody material in the forest that would otherwise go unused.
As sawmills have declined, wood pellet makers have also had trouble getting enough sawdust and wood chips. And with more hospitals and schools beginning to install commercial scale wood-burning stoves, Anderson projects greater demand.
"The biggest thing we're looking for is help in building a whole supply chain that can go to the forest," Anderson said. "It's hard to do that before the demand is there, but we need to do it to grow demand. You need to grow together."
The recession's pummeling forces mean Flakeboard, a privately-held company with annual sales of between $600 to $700 million a year, has laid workers off and cut work days. But the company continues to pour money into its Oregon facilities. In Eugene, the company installed $11 million in new equipment last year. In Albany, it cut the ribbon on a new $10 million melamine laminating line just last month.
Company executives say they support the program's intentions and recognize that finding new sources of woody material will ultimately benefit the entire wood products industry. But they worry that the federal government's attempt distorts existing markets.
"That's the challenge for all of us in the forest products industry,"said T.J. Rosengarth, Flakeboard's chief operating officer, "that we get the right consequences, not the wrong ones."