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Consumers put enough of a lean on Kraft Foods that it's giving up its relationship with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group that has backed voter ID and "stand your ground" laws. Coca-Cola also recently split with the group. The Chicago Tribune cites a statement from Kraft that said it "made the decision not to renew" its expiring ALEC membership.
Earlier today, McDonald’s revealed that it has broken ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative group that was recently ditched by Kraft, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Intuit, and the Gates Foundation: The fast f... Read Post
Coca-ColaCo.andKraft Foods Inc.bowed to consumer pressure this week and cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying group that has recently backed controversial voter ID and so-called “stand your... Read Post
The American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate-sponsored lobbying group whose push for "stand your ground" gun laws and voter ID legislation ignited grassroots protests, announced Tuesday that it is getting out of the soci... Read Post


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TN's Nalli silks accuses Snapdeal of misusing brand
Snapdeal has been accused of using images of Nalli's products on its website without authorisation.business Updated: Jun 18, 2015 01:10 IST
Online retailer Snapdeal, part-owned by Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata, is locked in a bitter battle with traditional bricks-and-mortar sari store Nalli over intellectual property issues.
Alleging copyright infringement and gross violation of intellectual property rights, brand owner Nalli Chinnasami Chetty issued a cease and desist notice on June 11, asking the shopping site to refrain from using the trademark Nalli in search criteria or any other manner.
Confirming receipt of the notice, a spokesperson for Snapdeal said, “Snapdeal.com is an online marketplace which connects buyers and sellers to provide the widest assortment of products. We have received the notice from the company and will take appropriate actions as per law.”
The Tamil Nadu-based Nalli says Snapdeal has used images of its products without authorisation. A top official of Nalli told HT the images were likely to convey a false impression that the products displayed on the site were from Nalli.
Nalli, which began as a small shop selling saris over eight decades ago, has grown to become a `750-crore turnover company with 25 showrooms across 10 states apart from outlets in the US and Singapore.
“This is a deliberate attempt by Snapdeal to deceive the public to unjustly enrich itself by making buyers assume that the original Nalli silk saris are available on their website,” the Nalli official said. “We have only asked them to cease and desist and have not sought any damages,” he added.
So far Snapdeal has not responded to the notice. It has time till Friday to comply with the notice, failing which further legal action would be taken, the official said.
First Published: Jun 18, 2015 00:59 IST

domain: news


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If any city in California would be going under, you'd think it would be Berkeley.
But the People's Republic's finances are anything but Berzerkeley. The city with the dreadlocked, tie-dyed image is looking positively pinstriped, thanks to good planning and good habits.
The City Council is set to approve the $148 million general fund budget tonight. Unlike so many cities in cash-strapped California, they won't be making drastic cuts or layoffs to make ends meet.
The city of Berkeley is experiencing comparatively good times financially because they make smart business decisions, said city spokeswoman Mary Kay Clunies-Ross. "We're still making cuts," she noted. "I wouldn't call them good times."
So, how are they doing it? City leaders credit themselves, somewhat, but also hand out kudos to the citizens of Berkeley, who keep the money flowing inside its borders and have voted for higher taxes.
People in Berkeley also benefits from having more stable rFourth Street and College Avenue. "We have more neighborhood-based retail areas," says Clunies-Ross. "We don't have the highs that places with big-box retail do
Big-box stores are rare in Berkeley, with locals' hard-earned cash going instead to neighborhood shops scattered throughout the East Bay city. That helps keep the tax revenue inside city limits.
Even though the formula seems to be working, not everyone thinks Berkeley is making all the right choices.
Marie Bowman, who heads up Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes, says the city is making mistakes that will cost down them road. Bowman told the Chronicle that avoiding big-box retailers hurts the city because they aren't offering a more diverse economic base.
Vesely, the budget manager, points out that the city also has its own health department and collects its own garbage, which helps it control costs. But the real answer to whether Berkeley is doing is right will come in the fall.
The good times -- again, comparatively good times -- may come to an end in October when the ramifications of the state's budget becomes clear. Sometimes the state's moves catch city budget planners by surprise.
"The state might pass fees that wouldn't catch anyone's notice -- except that the fees are paid by cities, which lose thta budget money," Clunies-Ross explains.
A previous version of this story indicated that Berkeley budget manager Tracy Vesely spoke with NBC Bay Area. In fact, Berkeley city spokeswoman Mary Kay Clunies-Ross was interviewed for the story.


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Boston, MA (PRWEB) October 14, 2012
The Doctors Health Press, a publisher of various natural health newsletters, books, and reports, including the popular online Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin, is reporting on a study involving coffee, in which researchers sought to determine if people who drank coffee before performing a computer office-work task (meant to deliberately provoke pain in the neck, shoulders, forearms, and wrists) showed different results in pain development than people who didn’t drink any coffee. Researchers concluded that coffee can help reduce pain.
As Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin notes (http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/pain-articles/reach-for-a-hot-cup-of-pain-reducer), coffee continues to get positive press in recent health news. This time, the beloved morning beverage is being touted for its pain-relieving effects. As a healing food, coffee has been singled out for its ability to help fight cancer.
But now, it seems coffee also plays a beneficial role when it comes to stopping pain from getting worse and increasing in intensity.
As the Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin article “Reach for a Hot Cup of Pain Reducer,” outlines, 48 people participated in the study. All were working full-time, and 22 had chronic shoulder and neck pain. The other 26 were described as healthy, pain-free subjects. All the participants performed the pain-inducing computer office task for 90 minutes. Nineteen (40%) of the subjects had consumed coffee (half a cup to one cup) on average just over an hour before the start of the study. Pain intensity in the shoulders, neck, forearms, and wrists was rated on a scale every 15 minutes throughout the work task.
As the article notes, that’s when the researchers discovered that the coffee consumers exhibited a significantly lower pain increase than those who abstained from coffee. The research team concluded that the pain-modulating effect of caffeine warrants further study before it can be recommended as an alternative remedy for pain relief.
However, the article also notes that caffeine could have negative health effects for some people. According to a recent Polish study, the problem is that caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system. Excessive consumption can cause insomnia, headaches, and gastrointestinal complaints in some people. They also note that metabolism of caffeine by a pregnant woman is slowed down; therefore, it passes freely across the placenta into the fetus. For this reason, the researchers say, pregnant women should limit caffeine intake.
(SOURCE: Strom V et al., “Coffee intake and development of pain during computer work,” BMC Res. Notes., September 3, 2012; 5(1): 480.)
(SOURCE: Wierzejska R., “Caffeine—common ingredient in a diet and its influence on human health,” Rocz. Panstw. Zakl. Hig., 2012; 63(2): 141–7.)
Doctors Health Press e-Bulletin is a daily e-letter providing natural health news with a focus on natural healing through foods, herbs and other breakthrough health alternative treatments. For more information on Doctors Health Press, visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com.
The Doctors Health Press believes in the healing properties of various alternative remedies, including Traditional Chinese Medicine. To see a video outlining the Doctors Health Press' views on Traditional Chinese Medicine, visit http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/chinesemedicine.


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DOE Cyber Conference Attendees are Confident about their Awareness of Threats to their Organizations
Silver Spring, MD – May 6, 2015 – e-Management releases results of a new CyberRx survey of attendees at the 2015 Department of Energy (DOE) Cybersecurity Training Conference, which was held April 21 – 23, 2015 at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center. The DOE Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Associate CIO for Cybersecurity hosted the training forum for federal staff and contractors. Approximately 25% of the conference’s 300+ attendees voluntarily participated in the survey. About half (51%) of the respondents of the CyberRx questionnaire were government staff. Ten percent represented large businesses. More than a third (36%) surveyed were small business professionals. The final three percent were unaffiliated organizations. Conference participants were generally optimistic about their cybersecurity awareness. A complete summary of the survey will be available May 12, 2015.
“This CyberRx survey offered insight into conference attendees’ awareness and understanding of their organizations’ cybersecurity readiness,” says e-Management Founder & CEO Ola Sage. “We got a glimpse into how familiar DOE cyber and IT professionals were with the new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, the DOE Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2), and organizations focused on information sharing and analyses of cyber threats.”
Large business attendees were the most confident asserting they understood where their companies were “most vulnerable for a cybersecurity breach.” More than seven in 10 (71%) of those respondents said they had “strong” or “very strong” knowledge of where their businesses were weak. Government professionals were almost as assertive with 69% saying they knew where their agency was most vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Only half (50%) of the unaffiliated reps claimed they had “strong” knowledge of their vulnerabilities. Small businesses, on the other hand, were far less likely to claim full understanding of the threats they faced from hackers. Only two out of five (40%) small business respondents said they fully grasped their most vulnerable areas.
When it came to what to do after suffering a cyber-attack, large businesses were certain they knew “what steps are needed to address a cybersecurity breach.” Everyone (100%) in this group of respondents said their knowledge of what was required was “strong” or “very strong.” Government respondents were also pretty self-assured with three-quarters (75%) suggesting they had mitigation plans in place to address breaches. Small business attendees, on the other hand, were far less convinced of what was necessary following attacks with roughly half (52%) having plans in place to address breaches. Half (50%) of the unaffiliated respondents said they had “some” process in place to address cyber-attacks.
The cost of a data breach can be significant for organizations regardless of size, mission, or customer base. Government respondents were the most certain when it came to understanding potential costs of cyber-attacks to their organizations. Half (50%) of the government participants surveyed said they knew the cost if their agency were to suffer a cybersecurity breach. In contrast, large business respondents were somewhat less confident around the cost of a breach when compared to government respondents. Less than a third (29%) said they knew the cost of the breach. Still, most of the respondents (43%) from large businesses said they were “unsure” of the cost of a breach. Small businesses were even more in the dark when compared to government and large business reps. Two out of five (40%) small businesses admitted they were unsure or had no idea of the cost of cyber-attacks. Roughly a quarter (24%) said they had a “strong” or “very strong” understanding of the cost of breaches. Unaffiliates said they had only “some” idea around the cost of a data breach.
Government and large business representatives were well-informed of the new NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Four of five (81%) government professionals surveyed said they had a “strong” or “very strong” understanding of the framework. The majority of large business respondents (57%) were “familiar” or “very familiar” with the NIST framework. Small businesses, on the other hand, were less knowledgeable as a whole with a little more than a third (36%) saying they were informed or well-informed of the NIST Framework. None of the unaffiliated had “strong” or “very strong” knowledge about the framework.
e-Management, established in 1999, delivers professional IT services and cybersecurity solutions that drive business performance. Its newest software innovation, CyberRx, helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) reduce their cybersecurity exposure by enabling them to measure, mitigate, and continuously manage their cybersecurity risks using the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework as a guide. An award-winning and CMMI® Maturity Level 3 rated company, e-Management is a woman-owned, minority-owned, small business headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is certified by the State of Maryland as a Minority, Small, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (MBE/SBE/DBE). Additional information about e-Management and its services can be obtained at www.e-mcinc.com.


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The most recent Air Jordan 10 colorway to hit the shelves was the “Charlotte” iteration. In fact, Jordan Brand dropped quite a lot of Air Jordan 10 renditions this year as a part of the 2016’s City Pack, which included colorways representing cities like Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York and Shanghai. Obviously drawing inspiration from the Charlotte Hornets as well, the Air Jordan 10 “Charlotte” had predominantly clean White uppers that were dressed up in a combination of Purple and Teal accents. Like all the other colorways from this year’s City Pack, this one also featured Charlotte’s “CHA” abbreviation on the sides.
Even though the latest Air Jordan 10 colorway that Jordan Brand has whipped will not arrive at retailers, it is still quite an eye-catching sight. Since it is an exclusive iteration created specifically for Blake Griffin, it is not surprising that it sports a combination of the team colors. Hence, it has almost entirely clean White nubuck uppers, but its eyelets, laces, midsoles, outsoles and tongues also feature a combination of vibrant Blue- and Red-colored detailing. Furthermore, its inner linings appear to be covered in a camouflage print, while the collar sections have Blake’s No. “32” embroidered onto them, making it apparent that it is a PE.
Air Jordan 10 Blake Griffin PE


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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will help direct an attack on Syria, if and when it happens. But for now he's in Brunei for the ASEAN Plus meeting, far from the drums of war. It's an opportunity to build military-to-military ties — and sell weapons. But the prospect of action in Syria is never far away.
Josef Ackermann, one of the most famous businessmen in Europe, has resigned as chairman of Zurich Insurance under highly unusual circumstances. The move was connected to the apparent suicide of the company's chief financial officer, Pierre Wauthier.
"The unexpected death of Pierre Wauthier has deeply shocked me," Ackermann said in a statement. "I have reason to believe that the family is of the opinion that I should take my share of responsibility, as unfounded as any allegations might be."
Reporter Jo Fahy has the latest on the story from Zurich.
Dr. Donald Berwick ran Medicare and Medicaid right after the Affordable Care Act became law. Now he's running for governor of Massachusetts. But he hasn't left behind his work as a health quality oracle.
Mars had more of the key minerals needed to get life going, a researcher says. He theorizes that some of the rocks that have traveled from the Red Planet to Earth had those elements and gave life here a kick start.
The Dutch social affairs minister warned recently about the negative consequences of immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania. The debate comes as the Netherlands — and Europe — still feels the effects of the global recession.
Yasin Bhatkal, a co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen, is arrested in what authorities have described as a major blow to Islamic terrorism in the region.
For Venus Williams, a three-hour tennis match came down to a third-set tiebreaker against Zheng Jie of China at the U.S. Open Wednesday night. But the world's former No. 1 player couldn't get past 44 unforced errors, and Zheng outlasted her in a rain-delayed match.
Aurora De Ines and her husband look over labels in the soup aisle at the Super A grocery store in Los Angeles.
"We do try to buy the product that has less sodium," says De Ines.
She always reads the nutrition facts on the back of prepared foods. Even so, "If it says healthy, it does catch 'your eye," De Ines admits.
"Rich in anti-oxidants." "Low-fat." "All-natural." Today’s shoppers are seeing more and more “health-conscious” food labels.
One brand riding that wave is Campbell’s Soup Company, which reports earnings today. But the green “Heart Check” label on its soup cans is now the subject of a class action lawsuit.
Brands like Progresso and Campbell’s have special labeling that’s backed by the American Heart Association. But even those soups don’t pass the Heart Association’s standards for low-sodium foods. The lawsuit alleges that misleads consumers.
"Consumers expect when they see a heart healthy label, that it’s something they can trust is better for them," says Bob Goldin, a food industry analyst with Technomic.
"The word healthy, natural. I do think they’re overused, and they mean different things to different people."
Goldin says the key is make sure consumers don’t see nutrition claims as marketing slogans, and that “heart healthy” means what it says.
The Chinese city is trying something new to placate tourists disappointed by the curtain of smog that now envelops the classic skyline.


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UK: George Davies In Inland Revenue Probe
George Davies, the fashion designer whose Per Una clothing range has helped to revive the fortunes of Marks & Spencer, is under investigation by the Inland Revenue.
Officers from the Inland Revenue's special compliance unit, which investigates suspected serious fraud or allegations of substantial cases of avoidance or evasion, took documents and computer files from Davies' Cotswold home and the Per Una head office in early morning raids last week.
Mr Davies is co-operating with the investigation and says he is unaware of any allegations made against him. M&S, meanwhile, said: "This is a personal matter for George. It has nothing to do with M&S."
The Per Una range was launched at M&S last year and is the first non-M&S branded range on sale. Before launching Per Una, Davies shot to fame with the success of Next and the George at Asda label.
Companies: Asda Group Limited
High-street design favourite George Davies is to take on the task of rejuvenating Marks & Spencer's children's wear collections, press reports said....
Apprel group VF has appointed George Irion as head of a new procurement organisation structure designed to identify cross-coalition purchasing opportunities and alliances for VF....
Retail operations and security specialist Paul Burrows has joined Norprint Labelling Systems Limited to head up retail security development....
Supermarket chain Asda is to take on 2,800 new employees across its British stores as it continues to expand into non-food sectors including clothing....
High-street retailer Marks & Spencer today reported a 19.6 per cent hike in first-half profits - and made the surprise announcement that Per Una founder George Davies is to stay on at the company, a m...
City analyst Richard Ratner has warned of a legal clash between high-street chain Marks & Spencer and George Davies, founder of its Per Una range, if Davies continues with his plan to establish a comp...
Design consultant George Davies, who last week announced his departure from Marks & Spencer's Per Una fashion brand, is planning to establish a stand-alone clothing chain to rival M&S....
High-street mogul George Davies has quit store chain Marks & Spencer just hours after the chain reported an upturn in trading....
- Steps to piloting living wage in garment factories
- Trump blows the case for Brexit out of the water
- How to ensure sustainability is more than a slogan
- Duty-free trade key to build Africa supply chains
- Bangladesh slips as US imports decline in October
- Taiwan textile maker investing in first US plant
- US Q3 in brief – Destination Maternity, Cherokee
- Outdoor apparel sector set for double-digit growth
- Myanmar garment industry "lacking labour rights"
- World cotton price prospects lifted again


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- Hudson's Bay Company is looking to sell another iconic property — this one the flagship for the department store retailer's namesake brand in downtown Vancouver, according to a press release. Hudson's Bay Governor and interim CEO Richard Baker said in a statement, "We are committed to operating our Hudson's Bay store at this location and any possible sale would include the continued operation of Hudson's Bay at this property."
- The property could sell for as much as $900 million, according to the Globe & Mail. The building — six stories and 650,000 square feet — was built in 1927, spans a city block and is among the largest and most prominent buildings in Vancouver, according to the Daily Hive. The move follows last week's announcement that Hudson's Bay was selling its Lord & Taylor flagship building in Manhattan to WeWork.
- Hudson's Bay is working with its partner, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, on the sale through their joint venture created for the purpose of monetizing Hudson's Bay's real estate holdings. The joint venture has engaged CBRE and Brookfield Financial Real Estate Group to explore a sale and has also recently closed on a four-year, $200 million mortgage on the property. Money from the mortgage will go to the joint venture partners.
Hudson's Bay has been busy. In the past week it has announced a property sale and a possible sale, which together could be worth nearly $1.8 billion. It's sold a $500 million stake in itself to investment firm Rhône Capital and it's also searching for a new CEO after the abrupt departure of Jerry Storch, who plans to leave in November to return to his advisory firm, Storch Advisors.
Through the property deals, the retailer, which also owns Saks and Lord & Taylor along with its namesake stores, has shown its willingness to placate the activists agitating for the company to cash in on its real estate holdings. Under the deal for the New York Lord & Taylor property, worth $850 million and expected to close next year, the Lord & Taylor store will operate in the space through the 2018 holiday season, after which time WeWork plans to build its New York headquarters in the space. Then, Lord & Taylor will take over a much smaller store (about 150,000 square feet). Hudson's Bay also plans to start leasing some space in its department stores to WeWork, in an effort to make those properties more productive.
Hudson's Bay said that ceding that space should have minimal effect on its earnings, and the retailer noted the store is less productive than its Manhattan Saks store, also the subject of activist pressure.
Investment firm Land & Buildings, owner of a 4.3% stake in Hudson's Bay, and its founder Jonathan Litt, are pushing the retailer to sell the property, which Litt calls a "crown jewel." Litt wrote earlier this year that the property was worth around $4 billion.
Litt and his fund have not relented in their pressure on Hudson's Bay so far. After the retailer announced Storch's departure in October, Land & Buildings described the c-suite shake up in a press release as a "consolidation of power" on Baker's part that underscored "the board's attempt to buy time and placate investors to address underperformance and undervaluation."
"[I]t is typical for undervalued and struggling companies such as Hudson's Bay to try to position the exit of top executives as a reason for investors to give them more time to right the ship," Land & Buildings said. "Jerry Storch is only the most recent casualty at the company, joining several other senior executive departures," including CFO Paul Beesley and Brian Pall, former president of HBC Real Estate.
Land & Buildings added at the time that it had no confidence in the board and planned to call a special meeting of investors. At the meeting, it plans to release proposals for Hudson's Bay, which could include removal of directors, Land & Buildings said.
Owned property is a common target for activist investors who buy into retailers. Where retailers see stable balance sheets and operational control in property ownership, hedge funds often see valuable assets that can be sold for cash and passed along to investors. By creating joint ventures for its properties, Hudson's Bay has already moved further and faster in monetizing its real estate than fellow department store operator Macy's. Activist hedge fund Starboard Value in May dropped its stake in Macy's after losing patience with management's more cautious and meticulous approach to its portfolio.


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Posthaste: B.C. home sales could drop 25% after Bank of Canada rate tightening, study says
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COVID CUTS FLIGHTS WestJet will be consolidating or cancelling up to 20% of its flights through Feb. 28 as COVID-19 staffing shortages and barriers to international travel continue to wreck havoc on airlines. Since the start of the year, WestJet has cancelled 1,211 flights, including 39 on Tuesday and 128 on Monday, reports the Calgary Herald. Impacted travellers will be notified of changes to their itineraries by email. Photo by Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg


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“Chrysler Capital is the bank that determines if the patron qualifies primarily based on quite a lot of elements,” a spokesman stated. Apple formally leases a number of known buildings on the Sunnyvale location, but it is also mentioned to be operating out of a shell company on the site, SixtyEight Research. Apple has been snapping up plenty of real property in the Sunnyvale area, together with an industrial constructing that was once a Pepsi bottling plant.
Cisco says its Ethernet know-how ought to allow automakers to save lots of $35B over the subsequent four years by eliminating the necessity for many routine dealership journeys. It may additionally enhance the development of autonomous expertise, given how a lot data self-driving vehicles want to have the ability to course of and ship for evaluation every second they’re monitoring the street. Bosch, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, reportedly has more than 2,000 engineers for driver-help methods. The firm can also be within the means of setting up a $1.1B facility in Dresden that will produce semiconductors to be used in autonomous vehicles, in addition to sensible residence and sensible city applied sciences. The Daimler collaboration is simply the most recent partnership for Munich-based BMW. In 2016, the corporate introduced an alliance with Intel and Mobileye, which Chrysler and Magna also joined in 2017.
Walser Automotive Group
Project Titan has suffered setbacks since as early 2016, which marked the departure of challenge head Steve Zadesky and a rumored hiring freeze, in addition to strategic uncertainty about the vision of the project. We’ve written extra on Amazon’s self-driving car patent activity here. In April 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon had constructed a staff greater than a 12 months prior dedicated to focusing on driverless vehicle expertise.
Automakers conduct automotive clinics at different times for varying purposes. The commonest goal is assessing and studying how to enhance new models. Another goal of conducting a automotive clinic is to understand shopping for processes among competing automotive models. Around the world, automotive corporations compete fiercely for purchasers and gross sales in markets that are increasingly demanding and sophisticated. Toyota steals second place with 2,338,146 units produced within the first quarter of 2017.
All of our pre-owned autos are subject to 250+ inspections by factory-educated technicians. The special metals used in the new engines may be understood by way of a physics method, for instance, when parts such as pushrods and pistons are made of a lightweight weight material, we can consider the elements when it comes to Momentum.
In September 2019, Amazon mentioned that it planned to place one hundred,000 electrical delivery automobiles on the street by 2030, with deliveries beginning as soon as 2021. The US technology big plans to buy these vehicles from Rivian, an electric automaker during which Amazon has invested $440M. Amazon revealed a prototype of those delivery vehicles in January 2020.
These comprehensive offerings will help you avoid expensive repairs, effectively look after surprising upkeep issues or overcome any road hazards which will compromise the safety of your car. Hendrick Autoguard is targeted on your every day possession needs by helping deal with these irritating dents, scratches and tears with our extensive inside and exterior restore programs. Extended Service Agreements, Flexible Maintenance Plans, Oil Change Programs and Tire and Wheel Maintenance are only a few of the price-efficient choices out there. The placement of the engine is one other necessary consideration in designing a hot automobile.
Each car in its class is then in contrast relative to the highest-performing automobile with a score rating reflecting the statistical distinction in performance outcomes. A score of 91 interprets to a 9% environmental performance deficit as compared to the top-performing automobile. Other determining factors embrace engine sourcing and transmission sourcing, in accordance with Cars.com. “Tariffs or other modifications in commerce coverage may have a significant influence on consumers and the auto trade, including rising costs,” stated Kelsey Mays, senior editor at Cars.com. “Consumers continue to buy automobiles online and extra are turning to home vehicle supply versus pickup for his or her online automotive buy,” says Ernie Garcia, Carvana’s CEO.
CarVi: Altering bad driving habits
The model could be powered by Hyundai’s partnership with Aurora, a startup working on autonomous know-how founded by ex-executives from Uber, Tesla, and Google. At Mobile World Congress 2018, Huawei unveiled a Porsche Panamera equipped with its Mate 10 Pro know-how for object recognition. The car performs automatic object recognition and differentiates other vehicles from folks and inanimate objects to determine its course of action. This demonstration, nonetheless, was seen as less of an formidable push into the self-driving area and more of a method to showcase Huawei’s generalized AI capabilities.


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Family-owned Dicksons owns around 20 shops in Northeast England that sell its produce ranging from pies, pastries and sausages to bacon, cold meats, sandwiches and bread.
But the firm also supplies supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, and in late September won a deal with Asda to supply 21 stores in Northeast England with bacon and sausages.
Elena Dickson, marketing and product development manager at the firm, told FoodManufacture.co.uk that Dicksons hoped to open its £1m factory extension by March 2011, since “we’re almost up to capacity in some areas”.
She explained that Dicksons began work in September on a factory extension to increase capacity and new machinery, specifically in relation to “high care, low care” areas for savoury (principally bakery) products.
Investing to win business
Dickson added that the additional 575m2 will allow an uplift in savoury production of approximately 15 tonnes per week, and would generate “a couple of extra jobs”.
“Our intention with the build is also to win more contracts, and provide more manufacturing space in order to fulfil more big orders,” said Dickson, adding that the firm was always looking to generate more business, diversifying so that volumes weren't wholly reliant upon one big contract.
She said that Dicksons had recently opened a new retail outlet in central Gateshead, while the firm also had plans for a “new retailing concept” based somewhere in the Northeast.
Managing director Michael Dickson said: “We hope that the improved facilities will fuel the ongoing expansion of our retail and wholesale business, allowing us to significantly increase production capabilities and operate more efficiently, yet remain true to our core values and heritage of producing quality food for the local market.”


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Final preparations are under way for the 12th annual Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Collector Car Auction and all indications are that it will be a sensational event.
About 550 cars are set to roll across the block Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a spectacular and diverse assortment of cars and trucks. That’s up from about 410 cars last year. The vast majority of the cars will sell at no reserve, meaning the high bidder will win the car, regardless of the final hammer price. Fewer than a dozen cars will sell with a reserve, or a required minimum bid price to change hands.


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A new conference and exhibition for professionals in wood and furniture, is coming to the city of Damietta, Egypt’s furniture cluster, from November 26 to 27.
Presentations and case studies at the WoodTech Forum include: Innovation in the wood processing sector and new materials, modern furniture production processes, new sales and marketing methods in accessing new markets, market research on global furniture trends and modern design.
After political agitations, Egypt is growing again at a rate of 3.3 – 4.3%. In May this year, exports of Egyptian building materials sector jumped 86% YoY, reaching $480.2 million—an indication that the economy is slowly reviving again.
The Damietta region supplies all North African and Middle Eastern countries with an export volume of close to US$400 million, a high potential for furniture technology and components too.
The Woodtech forum is supported by:
AHEC – American Hardwood Export Council,
EPLF – European Producers of Laminate Flooring,
The Governor of Damietta,
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
The General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce,
The Damietta chamber of Commerce.
Other stats and figures:
– Egypt imports 700,000 m3 of Beech annually
– Natural and artificial veneer imports reach up to 13 million sqm
– Plywood imports amount to more than 600.000 m3
– Egypt exports over 80% of its locally-made furniture to the Arabic countries.
– Egypt’s real estate sector is projected to grow by 70% by 2020. This points to more construction and consequently, a further increase in consumption of wood and furniture


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Plastipak Packaging expands at SCLA
VICTORVILLE — Stirling Development has announced the signing of expansion space with Plastipak Packaging, Inc. located at the Southern California Logistics Airport.
The 233,770-square-foot lease expansion with Plastipak includes a 96-month transaction that brings the packaging company’s total occupied space to 530,230 square feet at SCLA in Victorville.
“Like many of our tenants, Plastipak is taking advantage of the ability to expand in place at SCLA,” said Chief Operating Officer of Stirling Development Brian Parno in a press release. “The growth trend in the Inland Empire’s High Desert region is a testament to both the logistical advantages and affordability of the area.”
Plastipak’s need for expansion is being driven by the company’s new venture of manufacturing bottled water in conjunction with their existing manufacturing operation of producing plastic bottles and food grade containers.
The local expansion is Plastipak’s second significant investment in its North American operations in the last 12 months. Last year, the company invested $10 million into state-of-the-art machinery and equipment for one of its manufacturing facilities in Texas.
Plastipak’s expansion comes on the heels of Stirling Capital Investment’s completion of an expansion for Newell Brands via the construction of 466,255 additional square feet to supplement its existing space.
Newell now solely occupies two buildings at SCLA, Distribution Centre 3 and Distribution Centre 18. Since Newell first leased space at SCLA in 2006, it has grown its footprint more than 155 percent to over 1.4 million square feet total.
“We have experienced ongoing demand for space at SCLA for the last 10 years,” said President/CEO of Stirling Development Dougall Agan. “The region is in growth mode, and we’re excited about the development opportunities on the horizon.”
In addition to Plastipak Packaging and Newell Brands, corporate tenants at SCLA include Dr. Pepper/Snapple, United Furniture, Red Bull, Mission Foods, Sparkletts, General Electric, FedEx and more.
Located at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, SCLA is an 8,500-acre multimodal freight transportation hub supported by air, ground and rail connections which includes a 2,500-acre commercial and industrial complex entitled for 60 million square feet of development.
For more information, visit www.stirlingdev.com.
Reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, email@example.com, Instagram@renegadereporter, Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz


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Irwin Mitchell Plays Part In Recovery Package
Seventeen jobs have been saved at award winning Huddersfield food producer Andrew Jones Pies, thanks to a recovery package devised by Mike Mattok of Company Doctor Limited, a company rescue and turnaround specialist, in conjunction with Phil Booth, an Insolvency Practitioner at P R Booth & Co, and the insolvency experts at Irwin Mitchell.
The pre-pack deal will see the firm continue to trade under the brand Andrew Jones Pies, which supplies handmade pies to local retailers across Yorkshire.
Restructuring and insolvency experts Doug Robertson, an Associate at Irwin Mitchell, and Mike Mattok, Managing Director of Company Doctor, finalised the deal, which will see the business receive investment via a newly formed company AJ Pies and Pastries Limited.
Andrew and Linda Jones were represented by Neil Large, corporate partner at Keeble Hawson LLP in Leeds and Nick Atkins and Phil Walton of Mundays solicitors acted for A J Pies and Pastries Limited.
Mike Mattok said “It is refreshing to report some good news in the current economic climate with the continuation of a quality, niche manufacturer preserving employment and trading activity within the local community.”
Doug Robertson said: “Andrew Jones Pies is a well known brand which supplies both local retailers across Yorkshire and the UK’s leading supermarkets, and the major focus of this deal was to preserve jobs and to keep the brand alive.
“It was also important to protect the jobs of all of the employees at the company, many of whom have been through a difficult time in recent years, and everyone involved in the deal is delighted we have managed to achieve this.
“With outside investment we are confident that Andrew Jones Pies will be able to put any problems behind it and bounce back to providing high-quality products to the nation’s supermarkets.”


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Soprano Unleashes Its CPaaS Platform To The US Market To Build Meaningful Communication Experiences
Sydney - (NewMediaWire) - September 21, 2022 - Australia-based global communications solution Soprano Design has announced the expansion of its product offering in the US. Soprano is one of the leading providers of intelligent and secure mobile messaging software solutions globally for businesses and consumers. More than 12 billion messages are sent from its Soprano Connect CPaaS platform annually. Its mission is to make communications more fluid and incorporate technology into existing solutions to make them more efficient.
Although Soprano has been operational for the best part of three decades and has worked across five continents with thousands of the world's leading organizations, industries, and product categories, recent product enhancements and acquisitions have opened up new opportunities for US customers. Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) generated $3.7 billion in 2021 and is set to reach $15 billion by 2026, showing a significant increase in demand for outbound and inbound communications. North America is set to represent 45% of the global CPaaS market value by 2026.
Soprano's CPaaS platform integrates already existing applications and encompasses multiple forms of communication into one platform. The platform is built for business users around a philosophy of simple set-up and minimal training. Soprano's core business is delivering interactive B2C communication, which allows the firms to engage with their customers, incident management by providing rapid alert messaging facilities in emergencies, and two-factor authentication for business communications.
"We have expanded to go beyond the traditional 160-character SMS based on a vision of evolving the way we communicate with each other. We're not a new company. In fact, we've been around for nearly the entire evolution of automated communications, and today we remain at the forefront of the next generation. Mobile users themselves are the driving force behind the evolution of the industry. The big shift today is that consumers and employees are aware there are ways they can engage in a more meaningful and exciting way, and they expect this from the brands they interact with," says Matt Thompson, Head of Marketing at Soprano.
Soprano ensures its services help clients to achieve their desired business outcomes through the orchestration of SMS, email, voice, and IP messaging communications by giving the right access to the right people and increasing their confidence. It can even assist businesses in reducing the risk of security breaches by enhancing data privacy controls and options for encrypted data at rest and in motion. The 'omnichannel platform' by Soprano combines a consistent customer experience across channels and the flexibility to interact with customers effectively. It enables the best possible business outcome by ensuring the right message reaches the target audience.
Soprano provides its clients with messaging security by offering control options for message data encryption, data protection, customer data privacy, and compliance features that can provide government-grade messaging. It also helps them formulate their messaging policy enforcement with advanced applications and tools for data governance.
Analysts estimate that as many as 80% of business entities will deploy conversational customer engagement based on CPaaS solutions to enhance customer experience and satisfaction. Soprano is committed to ensuring that businesses around the world get the most efficient CPaaS solutions.
Another study from Juniper Research predicts the growth of the CPaaS industry to a $34bn market worldwide. Soprano is determined to equip its clients with state-of-the-art automation technology to assist them in unleashing the potential of communication while engaging with their customers.
"Our mission has always been to help large organizations and governments create richer meaning, deeper trust, and better connections with their audiences. We are building technologies for the future of communication. At Soprano, we all work with energy, passion, and ambition to understand our client's unique communication needs and create technology solutions that help them unleash their full communication potential. There are still so many options out there that many businesses still aren't aware of," says Matt Thompson, head of marketing at Soprano.
Soprano is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. It has a regional presence in Europe, North America, South America, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Soprano was founded by Dr. Richard Favero, Ph. D, in 1994 as a software consulting firm specializing in the emerging industry of object-oriented software development. Soprano has recently announced the acquisition of UK-based conversational AI firm ubisend as part of its business expansion plan.
Name: Marisa Brown


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The US may not complete the migration from magnetic-stripe cards to EMV chip cards until 2018 even though the EMV liability shift deadline for merchants and issuers arrives in 18 months, according to a new Javelin Strategy & Research report which suggests that
the US EMV adoption will faces hurdles.
Javelin analyst Nick Holland says a lack of coordination concerning what EMV standard will be used, insufficient merchant and consumer education on why this transition is taking place, and prohibitive costs for deploying new point-of-sale terminals and cards is slowing the migration process.
Holland thinks big box merchants will most readily embrace EMV terminals to avoid the bad publicity that other retailers suffered due to recent data breaches. Still, he says a sizable portion of small and micro-businesses, which comprise 58% of US retail establishments, will likely not be EMV-ready by the 2015 benchmark because of limited or no knowledge of EMV or the approaching liability shift.
The lack of consumer awareness also is a hurdle, with Holland noting “if consumers aren’t trained to use [EMV] cards, you will have significant lag times in checkouts.” He suggests the US card payment industry set a timeline for phasing out the magnetic stripe from cards.


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Mario is back and he’s got plenty of unique-looking worlds to explore this time around, including…New York City? Nintendo unveiled a new trailer for the latest game in the Mario series. If you were hoping for the Mario series to go back to the glory of the N64 days, then this may be for you. This is Super Mario Odyssey!
Super Mario Odyssey boast plentiful unique worlds that look to be rich with personality and look to provide not only a great open world, but an awesome sandbox for players to dig into! Straying from the recent side-scrolling style of Mario, SMO seems to be more in the style of Super Mario 64. With an added free-roam element and already-apparent creativity, this may be that next big step for Nintendo to take for the Mario series to evolve. Here’s hoping that this Mario game becomes a real system seller so that Nintendo can then start taking more risks with their beloved IPs.
SMO is expected to release Nintendo Switch owners this holiday season!
*Update* According to the announcement at E3 2017, Super Mario Odyssey will be released on October 27, 2017. Check out the game trailer from E3 2017 below!
What do you think about the trailer? Can this be the Switch’s Super Mario 64? If you think so, then let us know in the comments below! If not, then write your thoughts about it down below as well!


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- 2 min read
A globally recognised testing scheme is the only solution to restart travel: WTTC
WTTC assures all support to the new US Administration under President Biden
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), an Association representing the private sector industry in the travel and tourism sector globally, has called the proposal of the UK government to implement 14-day quarantine in hotel rooms for guests arriving in the UK, as another “crushing blow” to the ailing UK Travel & Tourism Industry and suggested a globally recognised testing scheme on arrival and departure as a remedy to check the transmission of the virus.
In a statement, Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, said, “The latest expected announcement from the UK government, which will force UK arrivals to quarantine in a hotel for up to two weeks at their own cost, will be yet another crushing blow to the ailing UK Travel & Tourism sector.
“The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has said forcing air travellers to quarantine is not recommended and is not an effective public health measure. Community transmission poses a far greater peril than international travel.
“The UK Government has put in place a risk avoidance strategy - at huge social and economic cost to the country - when it could and should be more effective by managing the risk instead.”
Only way to revive international travel is for the wholesale introduction of an internationally recognised testing scheme on departure and arrival, she said. This would avoid exporting the virus and enable the free movement of travellers, while observing common sense hygiene protocols such as mask wearing and social distancing.
In another statement, WTTC welcomed the new US Administration under President Biden and assured all support to the new administration to help revive the struggling Travel & Tourism sector.
“President Biden has already long-demonstrated a deep understanding and appreciation of our sector through his steadfast commitment and support, as Vice President under President Obama.
“His expertise led to the establishment of Brand USA, the game-changing Global Entry programme, and the Travel & Tourism Advisory Board, which was developed to support Travel & Tourism, a sector which has been a pillar to the U.S. economy for many years.
“We look forward to working closely with the new administration as we tackle together the significant challenges ahead. Whilst Travel & Tourism has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it also remains incredibly resilient.
“The President, Vice President and whole administration can count on the support of the global Travel & Tourism private sector as a major ally which will provide a significant boost to both the U.S. and worldwide economic revival,” Guevara said in a statement.


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CONCORD, CA (Sept. 13, 2022) — Nearly 40 Concord taquerias and restaurants make up the Concord Taco Trail. Consisting of mostly small and family-owned spots, each Taco Trail location offers authentic Mexican and Latin cuisine.
The trail comes with a FREE companion passport that can be downloaded onto your smartphone. Guests are encouraged to use their Passport to check-in at the various Taco Trail locations they visit. Those who do will be in the running for some excellent prizes including Taco Trail stress tacos, bucket hats, restaurant gift cards and one grand prize winner will win a “Stay and Play Taco Trail” Package at Hilton Concord.
The Taco Trail Challenge happens each year during Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15). Those who visit the most spots on the trail, during the month, will be in the running for the coveted Taco Trail Champion Trophy. The taqueria or restaurant with the most visits from Passport holders will receive the Fan Favorite Trophy.
This year, local hotels will offer a special “‘Stay and Play” package. Anyone booking a stay at any of the nine Concord Hotels during the Taco Trail Challenge (September 15 – October 15, 2022), will receive a $25 gift card to a participating restaurant. Details are here.
The trail has had some terrific highlights over the past year including becoming an incentive for a Concord High School reading class. Students worked on improving their reading time outside of the classroom and received tacos for every 100 pages read. Their goal was to read enough to complete the entire Concord Taco Trail as a class, which they did!
In February, the team at Visit Concord was honored with Visit California’s Poppy Award for their marketing behind the trail in 2021. The Concord Taco Trail was also named a Diablo Magazine “Best of the East Bay” winner!
“We were honored to receive this recognition from our peers at Visit California and Diablo Magazine,” said Elaine Schroth, CEO, and President of Visit Concord. “The appreciation for the Concord Taco Trail and Concord’s authentic cuisine continues to grow with more participants each year. We love how this campaign highlights Concord’s delicious taquerias and restaurants and the many families and staff that bring it all together.”
Diners who’d like to share their new favorite tacos on social media are encouraged to do so with photos and event hashtags #concordtacotrail, #visitconcord and #concordeats.


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Radio chatter around the emerging small, premium crossover coupe genre has thus far been dominated by the Land Rover Evoque and the Mini Paceman. According to a report in Car, the Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class (shown above) has received its invitation to the party and will spend the next three years getting ready: it's said that two-door variant of the crisply-angled CUV is coming in 2016, along with a redesign befitting its sleeker intentions.
Witness two pervasive trends in the German auto industry especially: First, the proliferation of sport-utes and crossovers. Second, the blurring of traditional market segments with increasingly bizarre bodystyles. Mercedes-Benz, in particular, has been a pioneer of sorts in both, ballooning its SUV and crossover lineup to no fewer than five models, and kicking off the segment-busting craze with the CLS four-door coupe. Now, the two may come together in a new product, if emerging reports prove ac


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Many consumers have faced financial struggles in recent years. Such struggles can lead to debt problems, which can have major impacts on consumers.
Recently, an article on the New York Times’ website reported on some worrisome statistics about the financial position of U.S. households. The statistics were from a report that was released by the Federal Reserve and they regarded U.S. household net worth in 2011’s second quarter.
According to the report, in the second quarter of 2011, the net worth of U.S. households was $58.5 trillion. This is a 0.3 percent drop from the first quarter. This drop is a change from what the U.S. had seen in the previous three quarters, as household net worth rose in each of those quarters. This drop may have been driven by drops in home and stock values.
Unfortunately, it appears that the household net worth drop in 2011’s second quarter might not be an isolated event. According to the above-mentioned New York Times article, it is expected that 2011’s third quarter will also yield a fall in household net worth in the U.S.
Thus, it appears that households in the U.S. may be experiencing a trend of decreasing net worth. Such a trend could be a real cause for concern for consumers, especially given the drops in average income that have occurred over the past few years. One wonders if this trend will lead to more households facing difficulties when it comes to debt. One also wonders how long this trend will continue.
Source: New York Times, “Household Net Worth Falls 0.3% in Quarter,” Sept. 16, 2011


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Loic Tassel, President of Europe for Procter & Gamble Co Image: P&G
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- P&G's Europe president talks about developing new planet-friendly products how Europe serves as a "lighthouse" for regulation and sustainability trends.
Loic Tassel is the Europe president at Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, and home to big brands like Gillette razors and Pampers diapers.
The company has committed to going climate neutral by 2030 and is redesigning everything from products to supply chains, to serve 5 billion consumers better while reducing its climate footprint.
In this effort, P&G Europe serves a special role, a 'leading ground" as Loic puts it, pioneering and scaling sustainable products to enable people to live more sustainably. These innovations have included Gillette razors with plastic-free packaging, or shampoos with refillable bottles. The work his team does is helping millions around the world by scaling better habits for the climate.
"Europe is the first place, the leading place" where P&G is inventing, designing, and qualifying - in the marketplace - some of those new products, says Tassel. These efforts reflect the company's dual responsibilities to "offer consumers more sustainable product, but also continue to educate them to make a better, more sustainable use of our product."
These efforts will also help the firm comply with new climate-friendly practices ahead of the upcoming European Green Deal, a European Commission plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Preparing for upcoming regulations in Europe ensures the company stays competitive as similar regulations and standards emerge in other markets. As Tassel explains, Europe often "serves as a lighthouse."
"Whatever comes our way, from a legislative standpoint, we'll be at least at par, or ideally ahead of the game," he says.
Tassel talked to Meet the Leader about designing more sustainable products and encouraging consumer habit change to scale real impact for the environment.
He also shared how being a father of five deepened his commitment to the environment, bringing a special intensity to the responsibility he feels to future generations, one he considers a "personal blessing."
Learn more about Tassel - and what else he's learned in his near 33 years at the company - on the latest episode of Meet the Leader.
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Irish Digital Advertising Spend grew by 17% to €673m in 2019 according the latest IAB / PwC Online Adspend Study. Of this figure, social and video display advertising rose by 30% to €326m while search was up by 7% to €306m.
in 2020 Digital advertising spend in the Irish market for 2019 rose by 17% to €673m according to the latest according to the latest results of the IAB PwC Online Adspend report. Of this figure, display advertising grew by 30% to €326m in 2019, which was driven by the growth of social (+39%) and video (+42%).
Search advertising, meanwhile, grew by 7% to €306m and now commands a 45% share of the total Irish digital advertising market. Elsewhere classified online advertising performed strongly, growing by 8% to €41m in 2019.
“As we publish our 2019 IAB PwC Online advertising report we are very conscious that the current pandemic is presenting unprecedented challenges to the entire advertising industry. Yet Irish people have never been more engaged online. Our publisher members report an average increase of 49% in unique users over recent weeks and as we work from home and observe social isolation users are also more active on social and video platforms,” says Suzanne McElligott, CEO of IAB Ireland.
“IAB Ireland’s survey on the impact of COVID-19 found that advertiser/agency participants predict a 10-20% reduction in digital adspend in 2020. Seventythree percent of advertisers/agency participants believe that digital advertising will rebound in Q3/Q4 2020 and we are working with all our members to assist them in their plans to reactivate online adspend,” she adds.
According to Nuala Nic Ghearailt, manager, PwC: “Video and Social are recognised as the key drivers of digital advertising growth globally. Our 2019 report sees this trend continuing in the Irish market, with social adspend growing 39% year on year. Video spend at €130m now represents 40% of total display spend. Social spend across formats including video at €223m was a third of total digital advertising spend in 2019.”
Shane Nolan, Chairman of IAB Ireland Board and Director of New Business Sales EMEA, Google said, “Ireland’s 2019 digital adspend of €673m reflects a 17% growth rate. The Irish advertising industry is an agile, well connected market and in the current very challenging COVID-!9 pandemic, the industry is well placed to collaborate. IAB Ireland and its members are now more than ever focused on working together to maintain a sustainable future for the Irish.


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The Nintendo NX, the company’s next major games console, is expected to be a huge departure from the current Wii and Wii U according to new president Tatsumi Kimishima.
Speaking to Time Magazine, the new head of the company has said that Nintendo plans to make a console that’s both completely unlike the PS4 and Xbox One and yet powerful enough to compete with both in terms of graphical quality.
Rumours from the Wall Street Journal suggest that the NX will be a mobile/console hybrid that’ll blend the power of a next-generation console with the portability of theNintendo 3DS.
We’re not sure how that would work in terms of actually playing the games (the idea of a portable PS4 seems impossible at present), but knowing Nintendo it’ll almost certainly be something we weren’t expecting.
While still just a code word, Nintendo NX already reportedly has game developers on board with Square Enix working on titles for the as yet unannounced games console.


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The founder of online tire retailer BlackCircles has joined the board of Simple Tire LLC as a strategic advisor.
Michael Welch founded online tire retailer BlackCircles in the United Kingdom in 2001. The company was sold to Group Michelin in May 2015. At the time of the transaction, Michelin said Blackcircles.com was the number one Internet tire retailer in the United Kingdom.
Welch continues to advise the board of BlackCircles, as well being the Chairman of Atterley.com, an international network of independent fashion retailers.
“Michael is a pioneer in the e-commerce and tire industries and we are excited to welcome him to SimpleTire" says Andy Chalofsky, CEO of Simple Tire. “We believe his strong experience, especially in market development activity, will be extremely valuable as SimpleTire continues to grow.”
SimpleTire recorded record sales in 2016 and is forecasting triple digit growth in 2017. SimpleTire has a network of over 2,000 suppliers, 10,000 installers and sells over 300 brands of tire and has a Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures customer loyalty, of 76 which represents one of the highest figures in the industry.
“We conducted an exhaustive search for someone who would further strengthen our board’s breadth of talent and background, and we are delighted to have identified such an outstanding individual,” said Chalofsky. “I’m confident that Michael is going to make an important and positive impact on our company.”
Welch started his first online tire business in 1995 in Liverpool, England, when he was 17. He sold that business to UK fast fit chain Kwik-Fit and joined them before leaving in 2002 to launch BlackCircles.com. Blackcircles.com.
“I admire SimpleTIre for its innovative business model and dynamic leadership team, and I’m honoured to be joining their exciting journey,” said Welch. “I have tremendous respect for Andy, Josh, Kenny and the rest of the team, and I look forward to working with them.”
Welch is also the chairman and founder of The Welch Trust, a charitable trust which aims to provide grants to support children and young people. The trust’s focus is on making life easier for children and families whose children need it most, with a particular interest in supporting adoption and fostering, critical and terminal illness and the advancement of business education. He was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire appointment by the Queen in 2016 for services to business and charity and in the same year was honored with a doctorate for enterprise from Edinburgh Napier University.


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Trio of New Franchise Outlets Announced by Castle Rock Hormone Health in Northern Colorado
Castle Rock Hormone Health, a pioneering franchise in hormone health, has already marked significant growth this year with the announcement of four new franchise establishments in Colorado.
Castle Rock Hormone Health, originating from Colorado, is set to expand its presence with three additional locations. The expansion into the northern Colorado area is being led by franchise associate Dr. Brad Sisson, with forthcoming sites in South Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins, and Greeley.
“Our team is excited to welcome Dr. Brad Sisson into the Castle Rock family. Dr. Sisson has been practicing medicine in northern Colorado for over 30 years and is excited to begin his journey with us in this quickly growing field. His dedication to the company is evident by his initial commitment to these three locations,” expressed Chief Executive Officer Chris Stolzman. “We are confident in everything Dr. Brad Sisson brings to the table and are looking forward to seeing these locations grow with him at the helm.”
Following closely on the heels of this announcement is the news of another addition to the franchise’s expansion, with the imminent opening of a new Castle Rock Hormone Health in Centennial, which will be managed by franchisee Chris Logan.
“The entire franchise model gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to invest in a cutting-edge concept in the health industry,” highlighted Dr. Lee Moorer, Castle Rock’s Chief Medical Officer and the brand’s co-founder alongside Stolzman. Franchise partners benefit from a thorough training scheme that covers the latest techniques and industry benchmarks, in addition to marketing support, branding, operational assistance, ongoing research and development, and essential vendor liaisons.
“For those interested in investing in the health and wellness industry, hormone optimization is one of the best trajectories out there. Castle Rock offers a synergistic approach to business that benefits all participants in a positive way,” stated Dr. Moorer. “Employees feel great about being a part of the business, resulting in low staff turnover and great relationship building with our clientele. Customers are highly satisfied and feel great, producing strong customer loyalty. All these things result in a positive work environment, strong profitability, and a business that franchisees feel great about owning.”
The franchise is actively seeking applications from prospective franchisees nationwide, particularly those based in Colorado, the broader Las Vegas vicinity, and certain areas in Florida. For more details, visit https://www.castlerockfranchise.com.
About Castle Rock Hormone Health
Castle Rock Hormone Health is a cutting-edge hormone optimization facility. Founded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has since served over 2500 patients and has been featured on Fox 31 in Denver. To find out more about Castle Rock Hormone Health, visit https://www.castlerockfranchise.com or httsp://www.castlerockmenshealth.com.


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How six Bethesda-area restaurants have stood the test of time
Over the past two decades, the Bethesda area has undergone a radical transformation of its restaurant scene. Sit-down restaurants have come and gone. Fast-casual eateries such as CAVA, Sweetgreen and Fish Taco popped up all over, a result of changing tastes, limited time and a cup of frugality. In Bethesda, rising rents shortened the life of new ventures and drove out longtime establishments that could not afford to stay.
At least a dozen Bethesda restaurants have shuttered in the past two years. In Woodmont Triangle, the upscale diner Community closed before its first birthday; the burger joint that replaced it lasted two months. Oakville Grille & Wine Bar and Wildwood Italian Cuisine, sister restaurants in the Wildwood Shopping Center, closed in mid-February. The long-empty space on Elm Street that once housed Rí Rá Irish Pub and later Noodles & Co. is slated to be filled by Lotus Grill and Bar, an Indian/Mexican eatery, and Italian fast-casual Prima will be replacing Taylor Gourmet. To borrow an old joke about the weather: If you don’t like the restaurant choices, wait a week.
Some independent establishments in the Bethesda area have withstood the taste of time, continuing to fill tables and prosper. They may never earn Michelin stars, but they have earned the loyalty of even the most fickle foodies. We wondered what their secrets are, and how they’ve managed to weather food trends, economic downturns and other vicissitudes of restaurant life.
Here, we highlight six of the survivors. The list is much longer, of course, but this group shares many essential qualities that contribute to success. All rely on loyalty, repeat customers and successive generations; all are in the business because they love it—it isn’t a hobby.
It’s unlikely that the current foodscape will stay intact for very long, especially with ever-increasing rents.But four of these six restaurants don’t have to worry about rent—they own their buildings. “The failure of 90 percent of the restaurants is due to renewing the lease, or a lease that is too expensive compared with your receipts,” says Alain Roussel, the owner of La Ferme in Chevy Chase. “Lots of people have big expectations, and if the numbers don’t click and you’re working only for the landlord, that’s a bad deal.”
The logo at La Ferme is a rooster, a national symbol of France. Chosen, Roussel says, because the rooster “is proud, but not arrogant.” This attitude is shared by the other long-standing restaurants: Never take your customers for granted or allow yourself to believe that you’re too good for them. “Don’t spit in the soup,” Roussel says with a laugh, using a French expression meaning don’t be disdainful of what you have.
Bethesda Crab House
Yen Lee first encountered his future boss, Donny Vechery, in a high school fistfight—and they don’t remember what they were fighting about. Lee doesn’t recommend that approach, but after a 25-year career at the Bethesda Crab House—rising from busboy to general manager—he concedes that, yeah, it worked for him.
The crustacean corner at the west end of Bethesda Avenue was opened in 1961 by Henry Vechery, Donny’s dad, and immediately benefited from being the first licensed alcohol retailer in Montgomery County. Takeout beer accounted for a high percentage of revenue until the mid-1980s, Lee says. That was about the time that going out to eat crabs became widely popular, instead of just a shore thing. The street was unpaved and had an industrial feel. “It was a bit like the Wild West,” Lee says. “Henry tossing drunks out was a daily routine.”
Donny Vechery, who had been general manager of the restaurant, took over as owner about five years ago. (He also owns The Surfing Crab in Lewes, Delaware, and is getting ready to open Steamin’ Blues in Rehoboth.) Lee and Donny became acquainted during a brawl at Georgetown Prep “because we were drunk and stupid,” Lee says, laughing. Fisticuffs led to friendship, and Donny hired Lee as a busboy in 1993.
Lee says business has been steady during his time, and the restaurant is busiest from April through September. In the summer, the Bethesda Crab House is a tourist destination and draws business folks with expense accounts who are staying in nearby hotels. A typical check for a party of four is more than $200. Over the last three years, the restaurant has been remodeled because, as Lee puts it, “it was looking like a real s**t hole.” Dinner is far busier than lunch. “Nobody wants to go back to work smelling like seafood and beer,” Lee says. Beer is still the standard beverage, but more diners are choosing wine. “I don’t agree with people eating crabs and drinking wine,” Lee says, “but they do it.”
Asian patrons make up an increasing percentage of the restaurant’s customer base, so Lee is now advertising in local Chinese-language newspapers. The crab house provides the “shore experience” without having to cross the Bay Bridge, he says, and crabs are an affordable luxury. Because the restaurant is known to vendors as a prompt payer, Lee can count on a consistent supply and high quality. “When we need crabs for big days like Father’s Day, we get them,” he says. Many of the restaurant’s local competitors have folded. The Vecherys own the structure, but they pay rent to other family members who own the land. Lee says his biggest challenge these days is attracting younger diners who are willing to work for their food with a wooden mallet.
Mega-restaurateur José Andrés is a big fan of the Bethesda Crab House and holds an annual holiday party there for his chefs. Washingtonian Red Auerbach, the legendary former coach of the Boston Celtics, used to come in all the time. Another regular was Norman Rales, patriarch of the family that owns Danaher Corp. (Rales’ son Mitchell and Mitchell’s wife, Emily, are the founders of the Glenstone Museum in Potomac.)When Lee had surgery a decade ago, Norman Rales came to visit him in the hospital bearing a plush new bathrobe. Rales had his quirks, though. No matter how many guests he brought to the restaurant, his tip was always the same: a silver dollar and a $5 bill, which the staff accepted as a joke. “Then one day in 2012 he came in and left a silver dollar and a $100 bill,” Lee recalls. “He died two days later.”


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Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) closed down four food supply units during February for serious violations of food safety regulations, according to a statement issued by the Authority.
Of a total of 2,443 visits to food supply units, retail outlets and warehouses, the number of fines issued stood at 47.
Warnings stood at 956, said Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Authority. The rate of compliance with all food safety regulations was almost the same as the warnings at 908, he added.
The inspections conducted by the Specialised Food Inspection Department (SFID) indicated a high level of compliance with the rules and regulations reflecting the impact that regular and continual food safety campaigns have had on the Abu Dhabi food industry.
"A total of 2,733 inspection visits made to various food outlets by our inspectors from the SFID resulted in issuing only 11 fines and 300 warnings.
"These visits covered slaughter houses, hotels, manufacturing units and educational institutions.
"A whopping 2,125 visits were greeted with full compliance with the regulations," Al Reyaysa said.
He said that during specialised inspections, the number of food items found unfit for human consumption and destroyed was 2.2 tons.
Over eight tons of foodstuffs unfit for humans were found during separate inspections at food supply units, retail outlets and warehouses.
The official said that while enforcement of rules took care of a large chunk of violations, consumers have a responsibility to report any food safety violations or malpractices to the attention of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.


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When NVIDIA announced the GeForce GTX Titan Z back at GTC 2014 in March, it was an expensive beast at $3999, but now Overclockers UK has dropped the price on some of its Titan Z's, radically.
Just last week, the site dropped it from its launch price of $3863, to $3219, which is a decent drop. But, the company has just taken a massive $900 off its price, dropping it down to 'just' $2415. For $2415, you're getting a triple-slot, dual GPU card with 12GB of RAM, two full GK110 GPUs with 2880 stream processors, 240 texture units, an 48 raster operations pipelines.
You'd still be better off with two GeForce GTX 980s in SLI, but for some people a single card is what they want, and no single card can compete with the Titan Z right now.
- > NEXT STORY: Half-Life 3 pressure campaign could get crazy, gamers want HL3 bad
- < PREVIOUS STORY: The next Halo game launches on Nov 11, requires 20GB day-one patch


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Music Gear News
Annie Lennox: The X Factor is a factory
The well-respected musician, who is known for being an activist, believes the hit talent show lacks the ability to produce a music star that can change the world and have real artistic credibility.
Speaking to Absolute Radio, she was adamant that the X Factor could never produce a musician who had the lyrical prowess of a poet or artists who wanted to make political comments in their songs.
"You wouldn't find Joni Mitchell on X Factor, that's not the place," she told the radio station.
"X Factor is a specific thing for people that want to go through that process, it's a factory, you know, and it's owned and stitched up by puppet masters."
The Eurythmics singer went on to say that she was a big fan of Adele, stating that she had a beautiful voice that is "resonant, heartfelt and nuanced".
An exhibition celebrating her work and contribution to the world is now on show at the V&A in London.
Posted by JMPosted on 22 Dec 2011 16:16 to category : Band / Celebrity News
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Cheshire businesses urged to sign-up to Peer Networks
Firms urged to sign-up to the final cohorts of Peer Networks
Businesses in Cheshire and Warrington are being urged to sign-up to the final cohorts of Peer Networks taking place this year.
Peer Networks is a national, fully funded programme for SME owners and leaders who want to grow and develop their organisations.
The programme brings together business owners from a range of sectors and specialisms from Cheshire and Warrington to generate new ideas, develop strategies, drive up productivity and find new solutions to problems they may be facing in their business.
The national programme is delivered in the sub-region by Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub, part of Cheshire and Warrington LEP and is delivered through online sessions by expert facilitators.
Three new cohorts are planned to start in November and December and businesses are being urged to sign-up now. A further one is planned for January specifically for hospitality and retail businesses.
Andy Devaney, Director at Cheshire and Warrington Growth Hub, said: “We know that Cheshire and Warrington business owners have faced and are still facing a challenging environment and they are now looking at ways to drive growth in their businesses.
“Peer Networks is all about creating a supportive network amongst business leaders in our area, so they can learn from one another. Through the structured sessions with the help of an experienced facilitator, businesses can find solutions to the real issues they are facing, by working with other like-minded business leaders who are also facing similar challenges.”
Six cohorts have already started in Cheshire and Warrington, with more than 60 businesses taking part, including Warrington-based Claremont. The consultancy, design, and build agency attended the programme last year after the pandemic had hit many businesses hard.
Tim Frankland, Managing Director at Claremont, said: “I found the programme really interesting, being able to tap into how other businesses were dealing with the challenges that the pandemic was throwing up was invaluable even if it was only confirming that we weren’t missing a trick.
“The conversations with some of the younger members of the group, were invigorating, and full of energy and enthusiasm, which for an old dog like me was often like a breath of fresh air. Even if you don’t come out of it with a great idea for your own business, it’s worth doing just to remind you how you got to where you are, and not to forget the basics.
“The fact that the businesses are quite diverse gives you a really broad perspective on how other sectors operate and often there are little gems that help you think of things in slightly different way to help improve your own business.”
Businesses interested in signing up to the cohorts taking place are advised to visit this webpage or contact programme lead Mark Shepherd on 07494 869282.


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Atmel® Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML), a leader in microcontroller and touch solutions, announced that following a comprehensive review of alternatives for its ASIC business, it will continue to explore the potential sale of the Company’s Smart Card (SMS) business located in Rousset, France and East Kilbride, UK and that it intends to discontinue potential sale discussions for its Customer Specific Products (CSP) and Aerospace businesses.
Atmel’s ASIC business is a leading provider of high performance customer specific integrated circuits and security solutions to the industrial, aerospace and consumer markets operating in three distinct business segments: Smart Cards (SMS), Customer Specific Products (CSP) and Aerospace. In addition, the ASIC business includes an advanced semiconductor wafer fabrication business located in Rousset, France. As previously announced, Atmel has entered into an exclusivity agreement with LFoundry GmbH for the potential sale of this fab business. Atmel has been pursuing strategic alternatives for the ASIC business and related manufacturing assets as part of its transformation plan, which is aimed at focusing on the Company’s high-growth and high-margin businesses.
“We are pleased with the progress we are making with the strategic alternatives process for the ASIC business and related manufacturing assets,” said Steven Laub, Atmel’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The proposed sale of the wafer fabrication business in Rousset remains on track, and we continue to discuss the potential sale of the SMS business segment with interested parties. As part of our review, we have also determined that shareholders’ interests are best served by Atmel retaining the CSP and Aerospace business segments.”
Atmel confirmed today that it continues to expect the Works Council in Rousset to render its opinion on the proposed LFoundry transaction in the first quarter of 2010. If Atmel receives the approval of the Works Council, Atmel will seek authorization from its Board of Directors to enter into a definitive agreement with LFoundry.
Atmel has informed the employee representatives of the Works Council in Rousset that it proposes to sell the SMS business in addition to the wafer fabrication business as part of the Company’s pursuit of strategic alternatives for its ASIC business and related manufacturing assets, subject to, among other things, continued discussion with interested parties and consultation with the Rousset Works Council.
Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of capacitive touch solutions, microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry’s broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets.


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As Richard Branson famously once said, “if you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline.” We’ve seen a countless number of transatlantic all business class airlines launched over the years, and they’ve failed without exception (La Compagnie was recently purchased by XL Airways and wasn’t breaking even, so I suppose they didn’t fail, but as an airline they haven’t “succeeded” either).
While not quite a new airline, a private jet charter company is launching a new service that is bound for failure. I actually can’t get over what a bad idea it is.
BlissJet will be launching once weekly “shared private jet service” between New York LaGuardia and London Stansted Airport as this month. In the past I would have said that a “shared private jet” sounds like an oxymoron, though I suppose with JetSmarter’s popularity growing, it’s becoming more common. However, the thing that sets JetSmarter apart is that it can actually represent a great deal.
However, that’s where BlissJet’s business model falls flat. The service will only operate once weekly (Fridays eastbound and Sundays westbound), and the plane will carry 10-14 passengers.
The cost? $11,995 per person, each way.
Proportionally that’s reasonable enough, in the sense that chartering a jet for a transatlantic flight may very well cost ~$100,000. However, what it fails to consider is that the whole benefit of a private jet is that it’s private and you have flexibility.
With BlissJet’s once weekly service you have no flexibility and no privacy. Also, while private jets are comfortable for a short flight, this will hardly be a comfortable ride with 10 people, as I doubt they’ll even have enough space for everyone to lie flat (and it’s not something they’re advertising). This will be significantly more cramped than most business class products.
For ~$24,000 roundtrip you could buy a walk-up fare in first class on any airline between New York and London, have a lot more flexibility, have a lot more personal space, and actually get some rest.
In practice I don’t really see people booking this, so perhaps paying $12,000 for a one-way ticket could be worth it if you end up alone. However, something tells me they’ll be canceling the service if they only sell one or two seats per flight.
Can anyone make sense of BlissJet’s once weekly New York to London flight?
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