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Fashion or Faux: Copyright Law Heads Back to Congress
The American fashion industry is gearing up for a fight as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., prepare to reintroduce a piece of legislation that seeks to extend copyright protection to fashion design.
On one side of the issue are designers who want to protect their creations from being knocked off by larger companies that can reproduce the look for less. On the other side are large- and mid-sized manufacturers that argue the proposed law will lead to a flurry of unnecessary lawsuits and halt the free flow of trends.
It’s a common practice for designers and manufacturers to shop the world for inspiration and cull ideas from other designers’ lines. How close the new item hews to the original is up to the designer.
Proponents of the new legislation say if the new item “closely and substantially” resembles the original, it should be considered a copyright infringement. Those opposed to the law argue that they are interpreting trends and translating those trends into other segments of the market.
Extending the law
Copyright protection is available to works of original authorship, including artwork, writing, film and music. Protection stops short of anything deemed “useful,” which includes fashion and footwear. Current copyright law, as it applies to the apparel industry, covers two-dimensional artwork such as textile design, sketches and decorative topical designs, including embroideries and beading. And while jewelry is protected, a jeweled belt is not.
The proposed law, called the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, was introduced by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R–Roanoke, Va.) last year and is expected to be reintroduced this month. U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D–San Fernando Valley, Calif.) is chairing the subcommittee reviewing the legislation.
“It raises important issues,” said Berman, whose father worked in California’s apparel industry for many years and whose district is home to several apparel manufacturers.
The Design Piracy Prohibition Act would extend copyright protection to original garments for a period of three years, for designs registered with the copyright office at the United States Library of Congress. The law would give the designers and manufacturers a legal avenue to maintain some exclusivity to their creations. The rationale behind the three-year protection is to give the designer time to bring the look to market, then be able to knock it off themselves in a lowerpriced diffusion line before releasing it to the public domain.
In some ways, the proposed design piracy law mirrors existing European law, which protects original apparel design for three years for unregistered designs and five years for registered designs (which is renewable up to 25 years). Intellectual-property attorney Alain Coblence drafted the law, reviewing existing European legislation and case law, as well as a 1997 amendment to existing U.S. copyright code that granted an exception to the useful-objects exclusion—boat hulls.
According to the text of the design piracy law, “a design shall not be deemed to have been copied from a protected design if it is original and not closely and substantially similar in overall visual appearance to a protected design.”
The copyright issue is a contentious one, and Berman and other lawmakers in Washington, D.C., will be hearing from designers and manufacturers on both sides of the issue in the coming weeks.
“There’s obviously damage being done in the piracy of designs,” said Berman. “How do we stop that? And what’s the appropriate way to stop it? Because I’m chairman of the subcommittee, I want to do this right. I’m not going to just turn my back on this issue.”
The cons of copyright
There are many within the apparel industry and the legal community who argue that passage of the design piracy law would slow the creative process to a snail’s pace while giving rise to unnecessary and costly lawsuits. Instead of helping young designers protect themselves, they argue, this law could put small companies at a disadvantage to large companies.
“The fashion industry is driven by trends, and trends require that some degree of copying or homage occur,” said law professor Kal Raustiala. “Take away the ability to generate trends and you lose what is distinctive about fashion.”
Raustiala is the director of the Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations and professor at the University of California–Los Angeles Law School and UCLA International Institute. He was among the opponents of the design piracy law who offered testimony against it when it was first brought before Congress last year.
“It will lead to great legal uncertainty and a chilling effect on many smaller designers and lower-end producers,” he continued. “I think for L.A., which tends to feature denim, sportswear and manufacturers working at lower price points, this bill may be particularly harmful, because the real winners are likely to be the major global brands.”
Raustiala was among the panelists discussing copyright issues at a Feb. 28 seminar in Los Angeles hosted by the California Fashion Association. The other panelists included designer Trina Turk; Staci Riordan, an attorney and apparel industry specialist with Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP; Vera Campbell, owner of Los Angeles–based juniors and children’s line Knit Works; and Howard Scott, president and owner of Coast to Coast Fabrics, a Los Angeles–based textile company that produces original prints.
“We are in a very litigious business,” said Campbell, who good-naturedly noted that she and Scott had been on opposing sides of copyright disputes in the past.
“I am in the volume market,” she said. “We knock off garments. We interpret them. For the volume market, we need to know it’s going to sell at retail.”
To illustrate how litigious the apparel industry can be, Campbell related a story about purchasing a hand-beaded cashmere sweater from London retailer Whistles. The cashmere sweater ended up in the Knit Works line in a lessexpensive fabric with machine-stitched beading. The JCPenney catalog ordered Campbell’s sweater, and the Limited Too did their own version of the sweater. Campbell was sued by a third party—a Los Angeles–based designer—for copyright infringement of the sweater’s beading pattern. “I know full well I have not copied their garment,” Campbell said. “I know what I’ve copied. We’ve both knocked off the same garment.”
In the course of investigating the matter, Campbell called Whistles’ knitwear designer and learned she had knocked the style off from Italian label Blumarine.
In the end, Campbell opted to settle the suit rather than fight it out in court, but she noted, “This has become very prevalent in the volume market.”
Tracking the trends, avoiding lawsuits
Intent and originality are at the heart of the proposed design piracy law.
“The issue is whether enough details have been copied that the overall visual impression is that it is the same dress,” Coblence said.
The litmus test, he continued, is whether the copy would confuse the general public about the origin of the product—if “it looks so close that you think that it is a Marc Jacobs [design].”
The attorney maintains that the design piracy law will have no effect on the flow of trends across categories and price points, arguing that the proposed legislation will not only preserve trends, but also encourage companies to be more innovative.
“Our legislation is written to preserve trends, to allow inspiration,” he said. “A trend is a trend, but plagiarism is plagiarism.”
CFA Executive Director Ilse Metchek forecast a dire picture of the apparel business under the design piracy law with retail buyers demanding indemnification against copyright claims before they place an order.
“The buyer will say, ’Prove to me that I’m not going to get sued as the purveyor of what you say is original,’” she said. “Everybody below couture is going to be suing each other. Fashion shows will be closed runways—buyers only. And once it hits the stores, is it going to be open season again?”
But Coblence counters that Europe’s law has proved to be a deterrent to copying, with few design piracy cases actually brought to trial. He expects a similar result if the design piracy law is passed in the United States.
“Look, when they copy they know it. And they do it because it’s legal,” he said. “The day it’s no longer legal and they risk being sued, they’ll stop.”
Small world, new realities
Years ago, before retail consolidation centralized buying and the Internet gave consumers around the world an immediate look at collections on the runway, this was hardly an issue. Consumers had to wait for trends to filter down from the runways to the retail floor. When knockoff styles occurred, the consumer was unlikely to ever see the original—especially if it came from a designer or retail store located across the country, let alone around the world.
But now that the apparel industry operates globally and technology has cut production time from months to weeks, or even days, knockoffs of highend looks can be in the retail stores weeks or months ahead of the originals— and designers, manufacturers and consumers have the ability to follow a trend from the moment it’s shown on the runway.
During a recent study tour sponsored by the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the French-American Foundation, American media and businesspeople met with French designers working out of Paris and Marseilles, France. Just like their American counterparts, the French designers recounted tales of having their original designs usurped by larger companies.
It’s the rare Los Angeles designer who doesn’t have a story about being knocked off by a competitor or a lesser-priced volume manufacturer or even their own retail accounts.
According to Coblence, the design piracy law would give these designers a legal platform to protect themselves.
But Metchek counters that many Los Angeles labels have achieved great success without the law—and with an original product that was immediately knocked off.
“Juicy [Couture designers Pam Skaist-Levy and Gela Taylor] didn’t need this law, and they were knocked off all the time,” she said. “But they had the right look, the right connections and the right personalities [to succeed].”
The design piracy law could be reintroduced to Congress as early as the week of March 19, according to Coblence, who is working with his client, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, to drum up support for the legislation. On March 29, the CFDA will bring a group of designers and representatives from Harpers Bazaar to Washington, D.C., to lobby lawmakers to support the measure. Metchek is planning to hold another CFA-sponsored seminar on the copyright issue later this month in Vernon, Calif. And intellectual- property specialists are watching the legislation to see how it will affect their clients.
“Either way, you head down a slippery slope. If you extend protection too far, you can chill the market—if there’s a trend out there, you can’t follow it,” said Douglas M. Lipstone, senior counsel for Los Angeles–based law firm Buchalter Nemer. “But if people cannot protect their leading-edge design, where’s the incentive for them to continue to design?”


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Negotiating the crowded, narrow streets of Japanese cities must have been rough on Fleetwood Brougham drivers, but worth it.
The big Cadillac has more power, but the 2020 Corvette puts its power down.
Cadillac's compact crossover is well-executed if not thrilling
Cadillac goes "one man, one engine" a la Mercedes-AMG, and it works
The 2020 Cadillac CT6-V comes with the company's new Blackwing engine delivering 550 hp.
The 2020 Cadillac XT6 comes in either six- or seven-passenger configurations.

domain: news


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A New Yorker Is Suing Foster's Because The Beer Is Brewed in Fort Worth, Not Australia.
Foster's is a beer drink, and its biggest claim to fame is, of course, that it's an “Australian” beer. Surely, you've heard its tagline: “Foster's: Australian For Beer.”
But, turns out, the Forster's Lagers you buy here in the States are actually not brewed in Australia. Instead, they're brewed in Fort Worth — in the same plant where they invented (and still brew) Miller Lite, actually.
This reveal has prompted a New York man to file a class action lawsuit against MillerCoors, which owns and distributes Foster's in the United States. The plaintiff, Leif Nelson, claims that Foster's advertises itself in a misleading manner by insinuating that the beer is brewed in Aussie land.
Something to consider: There are a ton of beers that are brewed with the “spirit” of their homeland, but brewed elsewhere because it's way cheaper to do so after shipping costs, taxes and so on get factored into the mix. But, more important, Foster's hasn't been brewed in Austrailia since 1993. Fort Worth's been cranking the stuff out since 2009.
Also worth noting: Anheuser-Busch was recently to a similar lawsuit over its deal with Beck's. That lawsuit claimed that the company advertised Beck's as though it's from Germany, even though, like Foster's, it actually isn't. Eventually, a settlement was reached in which the folks who felt like they'd been bamboozled could receive “50 cents back for every six-pack they had a receipt for, up to $50 per household..”
So it looks like that's all Nelson's got to look for in his quest for beer to be accurately labeled.
Drunk people get in the stupidest arguments, don't they?


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‘i Learnt To Prepare Dinner Authentic Indian Meals I Am Going To By No Means Look At Korma The Identical Means Again’
According to John, this chicken curry is “like a korma, if korma was any good”, and I could not agree more. I love a korma, but after cooking it, I won’t ever be ready to have a look at that curry in the same method again. Although my group did not make it, we had been all sent the recipes to every dish at the end, and I will certainly be making that subsequent time.
‘It Is A Lot Of Enjoyable And I Love The Meals’
“It’s plenty of enjoyable and I love the food. There’s not anything that’s served right here that I would not eat.” The lifelong Bucyrus resident walked onto the same stage Thursday for the last time as an elected official. The nonprofit is run independently of presidency programs, and will get the overwhelming majority of its supplies via donations from Walmart and Trader Joe’s. The chefs make you are feeling like you’re doing all of the world, and you’re actually doing quite a bit – however they are there each step of the way.
Although he dropped out of university at the age of 18, by his early twenties he turned his life round. DRAGON’S Den star Steven Bartlett admitted that he used to practically scavenge for food. © 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated corporations. Among those expressing disappointment with the scrapping of the regulation are the retailers Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado.
I Used To Scavenge For Food – Now I Receives A Commission £10k An Hour Says Dragon’s Den Star
There was a smaller pageant before, although, and Jeff Reser, mayor of Bucyrus, can recall it like yesterday. Foght handed the prized sausage sandwich to Hannah Feldman, the 2022 Bratwurst Festival Queen, to make sure the meal would cross her royal check. Tim Souder, assistant principal of Bucyrus High School, flips a row of sausages Thursday morning through the 2023 Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival. Some of the delicacies were served in buns, others on rye bread and a few stuffed into pitas, but all have been welcome in the course of the first day of the 2023 Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival.
As the cash rolls in for CEOs and shareholders, the “cost savings” and “efficiencies” that generate it are often the result of other people’s jobs disappearing or being downgraded. Earlier this yr, Tesco announced 2,000 deliberate jobs cuts and Asda 300, with more than 4,000 different Asda workers facing a pay reduce; while Sainsbury’s has cut hundreds of jobs over the past three years. More than just retail plumbing, supermarkets are a type of giant financial structure, but one with basic design flaws. Last summer season, the federal government launched a consultation concerning the proposed law, during which 99% of respondents expressed support for the legislation, including 79% of retailers and 73% of hospitality providers. The USDA has applications to assist low revenue areas get entry to wholesome food, Torres Small mentioned. She pointed to the urban agriculture program that has helped build group gardens in Dallas.
A host of other grocery store methods make life onerous for those least capable of afford food. The Competition and Markets Authority recently recognized several practices that it thinks are “problematic”, together with complicated in-store marketing and missing pricing information. “If we purchase eggs that have come through the meals chain, from a reputable provider, and in the end a reputable retailer, then we’ve a a lot larger expectation of very low risk of food poisoning,” he says. Here’s what meals security consultants want you to know about food poisoning. Many low-income households with no car rely upon smaller, native stores, but few of the supermarkets’ lowest-priced necessities are available there.
In June, the inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic drinks was 17.4%, and yet no value of residing disaster has affected grocery store bosses. While public sector staff were being told to rein in pay claims, the chief government of Sainsbury’s took a 36% rise last yr, banking £4.9m. Bosses at Tesco and Morrisons also took over £4m every, giving them salaries over 200 occasions that of their common Food & Cooking News workers. Such dimension and power allows any or all of them – every time they want – to prioritise profits and pay shareholders and managers ahead of contemplating the wants of local communities, the effectivity of the meals chain and the economic system as a complete.
For many individuals, uncooked or undercooked meats like fish and rooster are often synonymous with meals poison. “Typically once we think of salmonella and E. coli and what we name infective pathogens, usually it is a quantity of days till we truly start to expertise indicators and signs,” he says. In an business outlined by centralisation, concentrated ownership and global provide chains, issues go incorrect, often, and the issue for us – the patron, the patron, the citizen – is our lack of any real options. But life was not all the time straightforward for the TV personality, and he used to shoplift pizzas and scavenge for leftover food in in takeaway outlets. “After a decade of failed voluntary reporting, it is a dereliction of responsibility for the federal government to desert this coverage,” he stated. Campaigners say that the choice by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to backtrack on the legislation also risks exacerbating environmental challenges.
The policy would have made food waste reporting obligatory for giant and medium-sized companies in England. According to research by the environmental campaign group Feedback, if it led to just a 1% discount in food waste, meals companies would save an estimated total of at least £24.4m a year. Supermarkets attempt to paint themselves as the consumer’s friend, however the figures don’t add up. In the monetary year as much as 2022, the most important three retailers took £3.2bn in revenue. As food inflation kicked in, Tesco and Sainsbury’s made their largest underlying earnings since 2014, and this 12 months are passing on £1.2bn to their shareholders. Two-thirds of farmers who responded to the session additionally backed the introduction of obligatory meals waste reporting.


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Microsoft is cutting the European price for its Xbox 360 games console by 50 euros to 349.99 euros ($470), following a similar cut in the United States.
The company said in a statement on Monday that the lower price would be effective from August 24. It also plans to launch a new model, Xbox 360 Elite, that will ship with a 120 gigabyte hard disk and cost 449.99 euros.
The price of the entry-level model Xbox 360 Core will be cut by 20 euros to 279.99 euros, Microsoft said.
News source: Yahoo!


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By Don Longo
LA PLATA, Md. -- The Wills Group's acquisition last week of 73 existing Shell-branded retail locations in Maryland -- through a joint venture with Shell-parent, Motiva Enterprises LLC -- is part of a nearly decade-long growth strategy by the fuel wholesaler to capitalize on the changing landscape of the petroleum retailing business.
"When I came to Wills Group in 2000, I sat down with Lock (Wills, president and CEO) and we could see what was going to happen with the major oil companies divesting their downstream marketing operations," said Mel Strine, now executive vice president of The Wills Group, and president of the company's Dash In, SMO and PEH subsidiaries. Strine and Wills saw an opportunity to grow the company's dealer network as more sites became available with Big Oil exiting the retail side of the business.
In 2000, the company, which was then supplying roughly 90 dealer locations, added 135 stores from Shell in the Delaware, Baltimore and southern Maryland area. Then in 2004, the company picked up more Shell locations, this time in the Richmond, Williamsburg and Tidewater, Va., areas, Strine told CSNews Online.
The latest acquisition, accomplished through the creation of a new LLC arrangement with Motiva (Shell), brings the company's total dealer locations to more than 300. The Wills Group also has 35 stores in its Dash In franchising program and owns two heating oil companies.
The joint venture hired Southern Maryland Oil (SMO) to be its joint managing operator. SMO will take advantage of its increased buying clout to handle purchasing programs for the dealers and branded franchise organization. Unlike the previous deals in which Wills purchased the Shell sites outright, this agreement allows Shell to keep one foot in the retail business through the joint venture.
The company announced it was immediately pumping $3 million into the acquired stores for new equipment to better serve the customer transaction process. This will include technology for PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance and EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) at the pump islands, Strine told CSNews Online.
Strine, who worked for Exxon for 23 years prior to coming to The Wills Group, said the company sees opportunities in today's market for growing both its dealer network, as well as its franchising program.
A new Dash In royalty program, unveiled in March, was met with dealer enthusiasm, according to Strine. "Franchising may be the wave of the future for the big boys such as 7-Eleven and Circle K, but not many privately held wholesalers can do it," he said. "It requires a lot of capital investment to create a proprietary brand. We are bringing the benefits of franchise programs, such as group buying, advertising and branding, to dealers who otherwise could not afford it."
The Dash In graphics program was redesigned in 2003-2004 to a more modern look, according to Strine. The store front incorporates a distinctive red-slash "eyebrow" leading to the Dash In logo with its signature time and temperature sign.
"It's a look that we can size and fit any configuration in the marketplace," said Strine.
The executive added that the company will continue to look for acquisition opportunities in its current mid-Atlantic market area -- which stretches from Virginia to Delaware. Despite a "lack of liquidity in the marketplace," Strine feels the company could double its current franchise store count within two to three years.
SMO Inc. Acquires 73 Shell Stations


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Arkansas -- Tyson Foods today announced that the labeling of chicken parts as "white meat" and "dark meat" would come to an immediate end. The announcement came as the result of an agreement with the Department of Agriculture following complaints of racial bias at Tyson facilities. "From now on, 'parts is parts," said Tyson spokeswoman Irene Fryer.
Tyson was the target of an EEOC investigation for the alledged practice of maintaining racially segregated bathrooms at its Huntsville Alabama poultry processing plant. A locked bathroom was reportedly marked with signs saying "Out of Order" while white supervisors were given a key and ocassionally seen entering and exiting the locked room.
Said Tyson's spokeswoman, "From now on it's gonna be like Chicken McNuggets. Nobody really knows what part of the chicken nuggets come from, or the ethnicity of the person who cut up the chicken, or which restroom they use. The parts are all the same, but labeling is out. Consumers will have to decide for themselves if the back and wings are white meat or dark meat.
McDonalds, which recently announced a super-premium "all white meat" chicken sandwich said it would look to overseas suppliers who wouldn't have trouble labeling the chicken breast as "white meat" and the thigh as "dark meat." It's ridiculous, if you want our opinion," commented Ron McDonald.
An anonymous supervisor at the Huntsville slaughterhouse said "The bathroom really WAS out of order. We put the lock on it so we could go in there and have a smoke without being bothered. But NOW look whats happened." Meanwhile, the two employees who filed suit claim they were harassed and chicken guts were poured on their parked cars. "You know, the stuff you have to reach in, pull out, and throw away. Yech!"
Meanwhile, Alabama governor George C. Wallace III who camped outside the Tyson plant was recorded as saying "Segregation of chicken parts now, segregation forever!" in a television interview his aides sought to downplay. "The governor," they stated, "actually dislikes white meat. He says it's dry. He's not racially biased at all. He's pro-choice."


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Haagen-Dazs shop opens in Milwaukee
V&J Holdings Companies, the Milwaukee operator of Burger King restaurants, opened the area's first Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Shop and Coffee Beanery today in the Bradley Village strip mall in Brown Deer.
The shop is at the southwest corner of N. Sherman Blvd. and W. Bradley Rd. V&J opened five Haagen-Dazs locations in the central and northern areas of the state in 2008, and expects to open more in the Milwaukee area in the near future.
- Meijer partners with Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin network
- Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly lands meat contest awards
- TUMI luggage store to open at Pleasant Prairie outlet mall
- Marketing executive resigns from Kohl's
- Talbots will open store in Johnson Creek outlet mall
- Mini-golf tavern to open on Milwaukee's east side
- Noodles & Co. to open in West Milwaukee
- Kohl's will scrap its cafe experiment
- Toys "R" Us to close store on Milwaukee's northwest side
- Chubby's Cheesesteaks restaurant headed to Brookfield this fall
Retail Business News
The Swedish furniture and home goods chain, which has been considering the Milwaukee area for nearly a decade, has selected roughly 30 acres west of I-94 and north of W. Drexel Ave., according to a source.
That source, who characterized it as "a done deal," said the announcement is scheduled for Thursday.


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This message pertains to Surtax and Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ) on imports of certain steel goods as listed in the Order Imposing a Surtax on the Importation of Certain Steel Goods.
As per Global News:
The U.S. is dropping its tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, almost exactly a year since the measures took effect.
Speaking at Hamilton’s Stelco manufacturing facility on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “a good day” for Canadian steel and aluminum workers.
Global Affairs Canada said the tariffs will be removed within two days. Canada has agreed to lift tariffs that were imposed in retaliation.


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[Funding alert] Bicycle brand Frog Cycles raises capital from Avaana and Titan Capital
Mumbai-based Frog Cycles will use this funding to expand its product offerings to cater to the growing Indian-middle-class and to launch electric bicycles.
Wednesday February 05, 2020,
2 min Read
Mumbai-based, which owns bicycle brand Frog, raised an undisclosed amount in a fresh round of funding from a mid-market private equity firm Avaana Capital, with participation from Titan Capital, a VC-arm run by founders Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl.
The startup, which had previously raised funds from Fireside Ventures, will use the current funding to expand its product offerings to cater to the growing Indian-middle-class and to launch electric bicycles.
The company also plans to invest in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with a capacity of one million cycles per year under the “Make in India” programme.
In a statement, AlphaVector also said that it will look to raise an additional $8-10 million in the near future to support its growth plans.
Sachin Chopra, CEO and Founder, AlphaVector, said,
“India sells 20 million bicycles every year and yet the bicycle category has remained stagnant with minimal innovation and trifling brand connect with consumers. AlphaVector has focussed on launching innovative yet affordable products that speak to and resonate with India’s young demographic and gives them access to an aspirational brand.”
Founded in 2015 by Sachin Chopra, Frog claims to be the first in India to introduce “3.0 high-stability tyres” cycle, “Magnesium light-weight” cycle, and the “belt drive no-hassle chain-free” cycle. It is also trying to disrupt the buying experience for its customers, from retail to its after-sales service support.
Frog already has a retail presence in more than 250 cities across 600+ retail points.
Anjali Bansal, Founder, Avaana Capital, added,
“New India wants high-quality products that feel comfortable and aspirational. As the fastest growing aspirational brand with a singular focus on creating affordable, comfortable, and stylish products for this target segment, we expect AlphaVector’s Frog cycles to emerge as a major player.”
Founded in early 2018, Avaana Capital provides capital and support to innovative businesses that provide financial inclusion, access to affordable goods and services, and market linkages to “Middle India”. It believes that investing in and helping scale such businesses creates attractive returns, as well as developmental impact.
In December 2019, Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal also participated in the Pre-Series A funding round of Gurugram-based women wellness startup through Titan Capital.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)


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Chamber Network calls for evidence and clarity for businesses as government mulls post-December 2nd Coronavirus restrictions in England
The British Chambers of Commerce has called on the UK government to publish its approach to national Coronavirus restrictions in England without delay, providing firms with:
- at least one week’s notice ahead of December 2nd;
- scientific evidence for any continuing restrictions on specific business sectors; and
- an economic impact assessment of the impact of continued business restrictions and closures on communities and the wider economy.
BCC has called for government to publish its plans with at least one week’s notice before restrictions are set to end on 2 December, allowing firms adequate time to prepare to re-open and trade afterwards.
The group is also pressing government to explain clearly why businesses in a number of sectors have been forced to close despite taking considerable steps at huge expense to comply with Covid-secure guidance, including leisure, non-essential retail and beauty.
It has submitted a Freedom of Information Request to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to determine what evidence base, if any, was used to inform government guidance on the closure of businesses in England from November 5. This clarity is essential for businesses and government to work together on steps that avoid the need for business closures in future.
The call follows the BCC’s challenge to the Prime Minister to meet five business tests to limit the impact of Coronavirus restrictions on businesses and jobs and take a long-term approach to tackling the pandemic.
BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
“Nine months into the pandemic, business communities are still crying out for timely information and a clear strategy from government so that they can survive and rebuild.
“Delays and imprecision mean people lose their livelihoods. Firms are taking difficult decisions every day about their futures, and are tired of being left to rely on speculation and rumour. The government must urgently set out the exit plan for the end of national restrictions in England on 2nd December – and make it crystal-clear which businesses can operate, and under what conditions.
“Businesses have played their part by working hard and spending hundreds of millions of pounds to become Covid-secure, in line with official guidance. We must see the evidence for why many were forced to close again on 5th November, and absolute transparency on what may happen from 2nd December.
“Business communities – whether in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland – cannot take another year of rushed stop-start restrictions from governments while vaccines are rolled out. Broad-based workplace testing would help bridge the gap, maintaining employee confidence and helping as many businesses as possible remain open and trading at this crucial time.”
Doncaster Chamber CEO Dan Fell said:
“Businesses have played their part and invested – at a time when cash flow is limited – to become Covid-secure. It simply isn’t enough for Government to prop them up with short-term support schemes. After nine months of stop-start restrictions, they need consistent revenue, which will only happen with an open economy.
“Businesses need clarity. Firms across the country, often in common with Local Authorities, have been left to rely on leaked information and briefings via the media to plan for their futures. There’s confusion and misunderstanding about enforcement which, in turn, is resulting in a patchwork approach to compliance and anger from those that feels they are following the rules when someone else is not. It’s critical that businesses receive timely and sufficient information straight from the source.
“Beyond that, we need an exit strategy. Regions like South Yorkshire, that were in tier three before national restrictions came into place, urgently need a roadmap that shows what it will take to get to tier one. Government needs to define precisely what the exit criteria is so that businesses and local partners know what they’re working towards.”
Clarity on measures following 2 December, would help business leaders like Warren Smyth, Chief Executive of Abbeycroft Leisure. A member of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, Abbeycroft are a not-for-profit social enterprise that oversees 19 leisure and fitness centres across the county, employing around 600 people.
Mr Smyth said:
“We are planning to open on 3 December. Our staff, services and facilities are lined up to reopen at that point. If we get a change of tack the day before, the impact on business and customer confidence will be significant.
“We have worked hard to support our customers to keep healthy and active which is even more important than ever this year. We need clarity and a plan to help with our recovery and the future health of both our communities and our businesses.”
Kym Morris and Sian Jaoko, co-directors of Earth Florists, and members of the Wirral Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Christmas is the busiest time of the year for florists. We would need to order extra flowers a week before opening the shop again to make sure we have them in stock. Opening on December 3 is a really important opportunity for us to claw back some of the revenue we’ve lost. If we were told to give it another week, Christmas is lost for us as people will buy their wreaths from larger stores that will continue trading.”


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Small Business Saturday event, art walk and movie planned Nov. 26
FARMINGTON – Black Friday may not be what it used to be in America’s big box stores and malls thanks to online shopping, but Small Business Saturday is going strong locally 12 years after its founding by a corporate giant.
Local organizers plan a day of special offers for shoppers in many small businesses downtown and across town, as well as a downtown movie for the whole family and an art walk in Farmington’s historic district.
Many local businesses will welcome shoppers during this annual small-business kickoff to the holiday shopping season.
Small Business Saturday and the Holiday Art Walk will take place in Historic Downtown Farmington, although shops in other parts of town are also participating. Those shops will feature special deals from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Art Walk is from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.
And bring the lawn chairs and blankets, as the Christmas classic “Miracle on 34th Street” will screen in the downtown pocket park at 6 p.m.
More:Ride to the Rock annual bike ride scheduled for Friday
“Downtown Farmington: A MainStreet Project and the downtown businesses are encouraging folks to make a big difference in our community and #shopsmall by buying and eating local,” according to the website https://farmingtonnm.org/. “Historic Downtown Farmington has some of the best locally-owned galleries, shops, and restaurants in the city.”
Small Business Saturday was founded by the credit card company American Express during the recession of 2010 to boost holiday shopping in small businesses. The local event is sponsored by The Downtown Association & Farmington Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, according to https://farmingtonnm.org/.
Participating businesses across Farmington include:
Big Rock Trading Post
Clancy's Irish Cantina
Fifth Generation Trading Company
Hogback Trading Post
J.A. Jewelers & Co.
Oso Grande Coffee Company
Rod Hubble Fine Art
Three Rivers Eatery and Brewery
Toadlena Trading Post
TRAC Art Center & Gallery
Animas Valley Mall is closed on Thanksgiving, but reopens to welcome holiday shoppers at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.
Survey says: NM not enchanted by Black Friday
Among the many national surveys chronicling consumer activities in the 50 states, one released on Nov. 18 claims that “New Mexico ranks as the fifth least interested state in Black Friday,” according to Lara Horwood of Search Intelligence LTD.
Top honors went to the state of Kentucky as the most Black Friday-obsessed state in America, according to the study. The study was done by Boohoo.com, which, of course, is planning its own online event.
“The research, carried out by fashion experts at Boohoo examined Google Trends data of search terms frequently used by people interested in Black Friday,” the release stated. “These terms were then combined to give each American state a 'total Black Friday search score' to discover which states have been the most interested in Black Friday over the past five years. The search terms that have been used to determine the results include: ‘Black Friday', 'Black Friday deals', 'Black Friday online', 'Black Friday clothes' and 'Black Friday online deals'.”


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The annual Trendz Kenya Fashion Festival (TKFF) will take place on July 14th Poolside at The Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.
TKFF is a platform for Designers, Exhibitors/Retailers, Models from East Africa and the rest of the world to showcase their creativity, market their art and network with potential clientele.
Now into its third year, TKFF 2012 promises to be bigger and better with the evening’s gala event being showcased to the entire world, streamed live on Capital TV.
Date: 14 July 2012
International Designers Exhibition: 12 PM – Midnite – 14 July 2012 at Tribe Hotel
Gala Fashion Shows: 6.30 PM
KSH 3,500/- Inclusive of Bitings and KSH 4,000/- at the Gate.
Miss Kenya World 2011 – Susan Anyango and Miss Kenya Tourism 2011 – Jazmine Nuru will also grace the Catwalk.
Tickets for this fashionable event are available at all Healthy U outlets Sarit , Westgate , Yaya , Galleria , The Tribe Hotel and Just Like That Ltd.
For more details contact 0736-779259.
DESIGNER PROFILE: John Kaveke
John Kaveke studied fashion design in Kenya and in Spain. He worked for other fashion labels for 4 years before he started his own fashion label ‘Kaveke’.
He has grown to create a name for himself in the fashion industry and is known all over Africa and beyond.
Kaveke has established himself as the Kenyan men’s designer that everyone must watch out for. He calls his work contemporary and this he explains is because his designs border between African and European styles.
He uses beadwork and uses also a variety of fabrics like leather, denim, suede, knitwear, tie and dye, cotton, linen, silk and even recycled fabrics. His garments therefore are for people who want to show off their impeccable charm and style.
Doing men’s fashion came as a result of him looking for a challenge as every designer around was dealing with women’s clothes.
Last year, Kaveke was invited to showcase at the London Fashion Week. He has also participated in other big fashion events like the International Smirnoff Fashion Awards, Swahili Fashion Week, FAFA Kenya 2008 and 2009, Arise Magazine Fashion Week, National Dress design team, Sarajevo Fashion Week, Catwalk Kenya among others.


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Shortly after Elon Musk changed his perspective to deal with the prospect of Tesla's earnings, he faced severe social media backlash, primarily on Twitter, due to his odd behavior on an earnings conference call. And once they were on the call", Musk admitted, "I should have answered their questions live. The executive has been critical in the past of investors who "short" Tesla shares, meaning they are betting that the stock will decline. Tesla's stock dropped as much as 9 percent on Thursday, hours after he avoided answering the question about Tesla's ability to raise capital.
Explaining his decision in a string of tweets - which Mr Musk prefaced with a warning to "ignore unless you're interested in a tedious discussion about Tesla stock" - he said that the company was the most shorted stock on the market.
To Musk's credit, in his erratic tweetstorm that included several tweets to critics and random people on Twitter, he did acknowledge in a tweet that he shouldn't have dismissed the analysts.
One interesting fact is that Tesla is still losing money on every Model 3 it builds, particularly as it has had to cut back on automation in certain areas of production until it can iron out some kinks. Tesla built just 2,400 of the sedans in the first six months of production, although the company says it is now building approximately that amount per week and targets a 5,000-per week figure in the next two months.
The tree Trump and Macron planted has been placed in quarantine
Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel discussed the importance of maintaining the existing deal in separate phone calls over the weekend.
Tesla shares are up 1.1% in Friday trading but off 3.3% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%. But short sellers, who shorted almost 400,000 shares on Thursday, doubled that amount on Friday, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners.
Musk's antics on the freaky call pushed the electric vehicle maker's shares down on Thursday, with several analysts making scathing comments and at least three brokerages cutting price targets on the stock.
It's no secret that Tesla has experienced a series of issues with the manufacturing of its Model 3 saloon. If his account checks out, it's not hard to see why Musk would be annoyed.
"That has an impact but it's not something that will prevent them from raising capital", Houchois said. "Next. Boring questions are not cool".
Over 70 dead after storm, rain hit Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan
Media reports said in Uttar Pradesh's Agra zone alone, at least 45 people were killed with 36 casualties in Agra zone alone. Three persons died in Bijnore, two in Saharanpur and one each in Bareilly, Chitrakoot, Rae Bareli and Unnao districts.
As for whether this is the last of Musk's odd behavior, that seems unlikely.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday made another round of headlines after a handful of contentious exchanges with analysts during an earnings report conference call.
Next, Musk was asked many questions by Galileo Russell, a 25-year-old retail investor, and owner of a YouTube Channel.
At least three brokerages cut price targets on the stock following the call.
Snapchat user growth stagnant amid redesign backlash
The company has been struggling to recover from its controversial Snapchat redesign, which has pushed away some of its core users. Analysts had been expecting Snap to post revenue of about $244 million, but it generated just $230.7 million for the quarter.
Sacconaghi wrote in a note on Thursday that "we do worry that such theatrics will unnecessarily undermine investor confidence in Tesla's outlook".


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Beacon Plumbing sued over spam text messages
- Staff Puget Sound Business Journal
Beacon Plumbing is being sued in a class-action lawsuit for allegedly sending 43,000 illegal text messages to cell phones as part of an advertising campaign. The Seattle company could pay as much as $20 million in penalties, according to the law firm handling the suit.
According to a statement by the law firm, "the Telephone Consumer Protection Act allows a consumer to collect damages of $500 per illegal text message. That amount can be increased to $1,500 per text message if the violation is considered to be 'willful.'"
The Seattle telemarketing law firm, Heyrich Kalish McGuigan PLLC, is the same firm representing people who received similar spam messages in a nationwide class action case against Papa John's International Inc. That suit could total more than $250 million in damages, with more than 500,000 people potentially each receiving $500 or more in damages.
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AcuityAds Holdings Inc, the leading technology company that enables advertisers to connect intelligently with audiences across digital advertising campaigns from a single platform, today announced it has integrated several identity solutions as part of its commitment to a scalable, robust solution for digital advertisers and greater consumer control regarding the future of identity resolution.
Marketing Technology News: Why Brands Need to Embrace the Privacy-First Cookieless Future
AcuityAds is integrating Unified ID 2.0 (UID 2.0), an open-source, interoperable identity solution in collaboration with The Trade Desk , as well as IdentityLink in collaboration with LiveRamp .
“It is important to note that only a small percentage of our business relies on third-party cookies. Notwithstanding, we believe leveraging these industry-leading identity solutions is important as the entire sector, including demand side platforms, supply side platforms and publishers, has come together to deliver a modern replacement to the now antiquated, third-party cookie that secures the business model of the “free internet,” which has effectively been underwritten by advertisers,” commented Tal Hayek, CEO and Co-Founder of AcuityAds. “Our strategy is simple: in those instances where we relied on third-party cookies, we will now utilize universal IDs. The adoption of these frameworks will ensure we continue to deliver the highest possible value to our brand partners while, at the same time, respecting and protecting consumer privacy.”
Dr. Nathan Mekuz, AcuityAds’ VP of Artificial Intelligence said, “As we were developing the illumin platform, we foresaw the move away from traditional consumer tracking methods towards a more collaborative approach within our industry. Our artificial intelligence algorithm is built using numerous attributes such as device IDs, geography, contextual and time of day to make decisions, enabling us to work with any industry ID solution that is most relevant to the objective we aim to deliver to our clients.”
Marketing Technology News: Amplifi Acquires Award-Winning Comma Group to Expand European Capabilities


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When you think summer, you might think of cold beer at a barbecue, maybe a bottle of wine with a Sunday picnic. A lot of people take it for granted that they can just go to the store and pick up alcohol.
Not in Indiana.
While many states have laws restricting liquor sales, Indiana is the only one where you can't buy packaged beer, wine and liquor on Sundays, and it's the only state that regulates alcohol sales based on temperature. Only liquor stores can sell cold beer.
Good morning, I'm David Greene. Florida's Department of Transportation ordered a new sign for Interstate 95. It read: Exit 344, University of Florida, Florida State College South Campus. Only one issue. Both times, Florida was spelled wrong. It read: Flordia. The sign manufacturer in Arkansas made that mistake. According to First Coast News, the company has agreed to fix the sign for free. They also might want to get off at that exit and head back to school.


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More Amazing Student Loan Statistics
After looking a little closer at yesterday’s latest Consumer Credit report from the Fed, the growing student loan debt began calling out to be transformed into a chart and I was happy to oblige.
Technically, the “Student Loans” item below is nonrevolving credit held by the Federal Government, but, it’s basically all student loans and it’s been the most important factor in the recent rise in consumer credit.
It’s not really a big surprise to see what happened during the 2008 to 2010 period as the financial crisis led to widespread deleveraging for everyone except for those with student loans, but I was taken aback at how much student loans contributed to the growth in consumer credit over the last two years.
Student loans accounted for 72 percent of the increase in consumer credit in 2012 and, over the last two years, it accounted for 91 percent of the overall increase. Since 2008, student loan debt has increased by $434 billion while all other consumer credit declined by $322 billion. As I said … amazing!
Source: Iacono Research
About Tim Iacono
Tim Iacono Archive
|11/15/2013||Less Christmas Cheer this Year?||story|
|10/29/2013||Declining Auto Sales Push Retail Sales Lower||story|
|10/28/2013||The Land of (Less) Opportunity||story|
|10/22/2013||Payrolls Up 148K, Jobless Rate Down to 7.2%||story|
|10/10/2013||Ouch! Obama's Epic "Failure of Leadership" Debt Ceiling Speech from '06||story|
|10/02/2013||Gallup: Confidence Lowest in a Year||story|
|09/26/2013||Is the Fed Now Dysfunctional Too?||story|
|09/25/2013||Consumer Confidence Is Fading||story|
|09/24/2013||Case-Shiller Home Prices Up 12.4%||story|
|09/18/2013||Housing Starts Disappoint||story|


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Rounding Up the Science on Weed Killers
Last week, headlines went crazy when a California state court handed a huge verdict against Monsanto; a leading agricultural biotechnology company who creates one of the largest weed killers used in the United States. In this verdict, 289 million dollars were awarded to plaintiff Dewayne Johnson for his repeated on-the-job exposure to their product “Roundup”, which he believes caused his terminal case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
As the debate around the use of pesticides in agriculture thickens, this topic hit the national stage as a new toxicology report published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) hit multiple media platforms. In this new report, popular oat products like cereals, granola, and snack bars were tested for the presence of glyphosate.
Out of 45 conventional products tested, glyphosate was detected in 43 of those products, with 31 of them with detectable levels above the EWG’s Health standards. Notably, out of 16 organic products that were tested, 5 of them had detectable glyphosate levels and none of the organic products had detectable levels above the EWG’s Health standards. Of note, this report was published via the internet with the title “Breakfast with a Dose of Roundup?” and not in a scientific journal.
With this information, it’s no reason why the public has become untrustful of the food industry, skeptical about food products, and extremely CONFUSED on what we should be eating! Even more important, no one wants to give their children breakfast that is contaminated with weed killer. Well, here’s what you need to know:
- Glyphosate (found in Monsanto’s “Roundup”) is a herbicide that is applied to the leaf of plants. It is one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States.
- Herbicides are predominant throughout our entire food industry. They are not only used the growth of grain products like oats. Herbicides are also used in agriculture, forestry, lawns, gardens, industrial areas (for inhibiting the growth of weeds), and even in aquatic environments.
- In large doses, glyphosate has been found to have carcinogenic potential in rats, as well as being linked to developmental and reproductive issues. At the same time, human studies on the health impacts of glyphosate are controversial, conflicting, and sometimes biased.
- There is an association between health status and glyphosate levels. For example, humans on organic diets have lower levels of glyphosate in their urine, while humans that are chronically ill have higher levels in their urine.
- Right now, I think it’s safe to say we don’t have a general consensus on whether glyphosate causes cancer… and I don’t think we’ll have a final answer in the near future. All we know is glyphosate is found in Roundup, which is used in our food supply, and is not going to change anytime soon. Are you concerned about your pesticide exposure? The easiest change you can make are purchasing organic products if your budget allows for. However, as a dietitian I much rather you eat whole foods like fruit, vegetables, and whole grains than avoid these food groups just because they aren’t organic.
Alex Berezor (a senior fellow of biomedical science at the American Council on Science and Health
states: “According to the EPA, people should avoid consuming more than 2 mg of glyphosate for every
kilogram of body weight. The good news is that nobody on Earth consumes anywhere near that
Breakfast With a Dose of Roundup?
Aluminum and Glyphosate Can Synergistically Induce Pineal Gland Pathology: Connection to Gut Dysbiosis and Neurological Disease


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Electric vehicle adoption is taking off and is poised to keep climbing tremendously in the coming years. First of all, New York, California, and the EU have all banned the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035, and the governments of those jurisdictions will all take steps to boost the sale of EVs in the coming years. Secondly, the Biden administration is moving to deploy EV chargers around the country, eliminating the “range anxiety” issues that have inhibited the sale of EVs. And finally, given the lower, much more stable cost of electricity compared to oil and the new 30% tax credit for many EV purchases, EVs, on the whole, have much cheaper total ownership costs than their gasoline-powered counterparts. Given these points, it makes sense to find stocks to watch to prepare to benefit from the EV boom.
Of course, EV makers won’t be the only companies to get a big lift from EV proliferation. Among the other types of companies that should get a considerable boost from the trend are companies that produce and facilitate electricity, along with those that secure EVs from hackers and companies that can help build factories that manufacture battery components and process lithium.
Here are seven stocks to watch as EV adoption takes off.
|Oxus Acquisition Corp.
I recently read that EVs include many more high-tech innovations than gasoline-powered vehicles because, once automakers redesign their vehicles’ propulsion systems, it becomes easier for them to upgrade all of their other systems simultaneously.
Of course, these days, high-tech devices tend to be connected to the internet, and automobiles are no different. Moreover, just like all connected devices, connected vehicles can be hacked.
BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) has taken advantage of that reality by successfully selling its highly secure operating system, QNX, to most EV makers. In fact, “24 of the top 25 electric vehicle makers use QNX,” BB has reported.
In BlackBerry’s fiscal third quarter, the revenue of its Internet of Things unit, which QNX dominates, climbed to $51 million from $43 million during the same period a year earlier, while the unit’s gross margin increased to $41 million from $35 million.
But BlackBerry is moving beyond QNX, as it has created, in partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), IVY, a software platform that will, using artificial intelligence, collect data about EVs and allow developers and automakers to sell subscriptions to drivers easily. IVY, unlike QNX, generates one-time fees for BB and creates recurring revenue streams for the company. BlackBerry recently reported that there has been “a lot of demand” for IVY, which is entering proof-of-concept trials.
As I explained in an August 2021 column, “Stem’s AI platform, Athena, increases the efficiency of energy storage systems that work in tandem with renewable energy ‘by automatically switching between battery power, onsite generation and grid power.’”
As the utilization of EVs increase, companies’ electricity costs will jump. Consequently, finding ways to cut electricity costs will become much more important to companies, and more of them will be willing to utilize Stem’s (NYSE:STEM) AI.
In fact, that trend is already materializing, as Stem’s top line is soaring. Last quarter, for example, its revenue soared an incredible 195% year-over-year to $156 million. For all of 2022, its sales jumped 186% to $363 million. And its Q4 EBITDA loss, excluding certain items, came in at a manageable $10 million, better than the $12 million adjusted EBITDA loss it generated in Q4 of 2021.
Additionally, the company’s recently announced collaboration with ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT), America’s leading EV charger operator, should be a game changer for Stem’s financial results and STEM stock.
As I noted in the introduction to this column, electric vehicles will require much more electricity and batteries. One way to play those trends is with Fluor (NYSE:FLR), which provides engineering, procurement, and construction services. In other words, Fluor designs and builds facilities for other companies.
With renewable energy not yet ready to handle all of the world’s electricity needs amid the proliferation of EVs, the demand for natural gas will likely jump, benefiting Fluor’s significant liquid natural gas business. And the company also develops facilities to process polysilicon, an essential raw material for solar panels and battery chemicals.
Both raw materials will be critical as the world looks to step up its electricity generation. Also noteworthy is that in November, Fluor completed a “Lithium Conversion project” for lithium miner Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) in China. With lithium production jumping, Fluor is well-positioned to obtain many more such projects.
General Electric (GE)
Like Fluor and Stem, General Electric (NYSE:GE) is well-positioned to benefit from the significant increase in electricity production needed to support EVs. That makes it among the top EV stocks to buy in my book.
That’s because GE sells gas turbines that are integral to natural gas electric plants and wind turbines that generate electricity. Moreover, GE’s Grid unit sells products that enable electrical grids to be upgraded and modernized.
In positive signs for GE’s Power and wind businesses, Power’s orders soared 29%, excluding acquisitions and divestments, last quarter versus the same period a year earlier. In contrast, the orders of the company’s Renewable unit, excluding acquisitions and divestments, climbed 7% year-over-year. Power generated a free cash flow of $1.9 billion in Q4. Also noteworthy is that the conglomerate’s grid unit achieved profitability in Q4.
GE reported, “Long-term, Renewable Energy is firmly positioned to lead the energy transition, building on advanced technologies and external growth catalysts, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, while taking action to improve performance.”
GE’s Power, Renewables, and Grid business will be spun off from GE into a single company called Vernova in 2024. So investors who buy GE stock in 2023 will get shares of a pure-play electricity player next year.
Electrameccanica (NASDAQ:SOLO) manufactures and markets a three-wheeled electric vehicle that carries one person. Called the Solo, the regular version of the EV costs just $15,500 and has a range of 100 miles and a maximum speed of 80 miles per hour. A larger version of the EV, called the Solo Cargo, costs $24,500.
Intriguingly, in September 2022, a Pizza Hut franchisee that owns 230 restaurants in Southern California began a 13-week trial of 14 Solo Cargo EVs. The franchisee’s interest in trying out the Solo indicates that the low-cost EV, which requires very little power, could appeal to restaurant owners.
Also noteworthy is that, for those who commute to cities, the Solo is very easy to park and maneuver in crowded urban areas.
In an October 2022 review of the EV, CleanTechnica reported that the EV is “easy to maneuver around the city streets here in San Diego and…it fits well into this type of environment.” It added, “The Solo interior has all of the basic essentials you need for a vehicle.”
Finally, Electrameccanica provided ten Solos for use by the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, which facilitated 2023’s Big Game. The move likely generated a great deal of publicity and buzz for Solo, making it among the top EV stocks.
EV Stocks: XPeng (XPEV)
Chinese automaker XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) expects to deliver 200,000 EVs this year, up from 120,000 last year. Among the trends that should help the company meet its goal are China’s reopening, its expansion in Europe, and its new G9 SUV, which has received very favorable reviews.
Moreover, the G9’s autonomous-driving systems are so good and so complete that they became “the first mass-produced vehicle to” be tested “as an autonomous vehicle” in China. So, in addition to boosting the G9’s sales, the EV’s advanced autonomy software could enable it to become a lucrative robotaxi for XPeng down the road. Another intriguing project that XPEV is working on is a flying car.
Changing hands for just 1.5 times analysts’ average 2023 revenue estimate for XPeng, XPEV stock is definitely one of the top EV stocks.
Oxus Acquisition Corp. (OXUS)
Subsequently, the Israeli company has received funds from multiple big-name companies, including BP (NYSE:BP) and Daimler (OTCMKTS:DDAIF), and StoreDot is partnering with a major Chinese EV battery maker, EVE Energy.
Moreover, StoreDot’s batteries “are now being used and tested by over 15 global automotive brands,” Inside EVs reported last month., And very impressively, the Israeli firm expects to “mass produce battery cells capable of 100 miles of range in five minutes of charge by 2024, 100 miles in three minutes by 2028 and 100 miles in two minutes by 2032.”
Given Rakishev’s prior connection with StoreDot and the fact that StoreDot has reportedly considered merging with a SPAC previously, there have been rumors that Oxus would merge with StoreDot.
Alternatively, Oxus has been rumored to be looking to merge with a nickel and cobalt miner in which Rakishev has invested. Since nickel and cobalt are both major components of EV batteries, those who buy OXUS stock now could potentially benefit from booming demand for those minerals.
Oxus may name its merger partner soon, triggering a huge rally by OXUs stock. That’s because, on Feb. 6, the company disclosed in an SEC filing that it would seek the approval of its shareholders at a Feb. 28 meeting to delay the deadline by which it must merge with a company until Dec. 8, 2023. The previous deadline was Mar. 8, 2023.
As of the date of publication, Larry Ramer owned shares of STEM, BB, XPEV,GE,OXUS, and SOLO. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


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Battleborn Phoebe Let’s Play
An official let’s play video featuring Phoebe, more formally known as Phoebe Elizabeth Audelia Hemsworth IV, a technology master.
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Gaming execs: Join 180 select leaders
from King, Glu, Rovio, Unity, Facebook, and more to plan your path to global domination in 2015. GamesBeat Summit
is invite-only -- apply here
. Ticket prices increase
on April 3rd!
The 2014 International CES in Las Vegas gave us plenty of news to cover this week, especially the unveiling of Valve’s living room-friendly Steam Machines and Sony’s game-streaming service, PlayStation Now. We also found out that the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox One, and someone else is going to try to make an Alien game that hopefully won’t suck.


text: YouTube is currently affected by what seems to be a pretty dangerous glitch since it allows users to access others' accounts and view the information stored inside. If the affected YouTube user uses the same account for Gmail somebody can even infiltrate into your email account without too much effort. According to ArabianBusiness, the glitch only occurs to the United Arab Emirates users that are customers of the Etisalat ISP. The issue only affects the clients of Etisalat, so the users of Du, another big Arabian Internet service provider, are protected against the glitch. The problem still persists but an official statement from Google or YouTube haven't been released yet. Trying to identity the source of the problem, itp.net and the Windows Arabic magazine attempted to reproduce the glitch and see if they're able to enter other users' accounts. "In both tests the user accounts that were visible to UAE users were accounts that had been logged into only a few hours previously, suggesting that the index pages have been cached by Etisalat, and were somehow being accessed in error through the cache," ArabianBusiness informs. So, users from UAE should proceed with caution with YouTube untill this problem is solved. Only Etisalat’s customers of course.


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Apple-watchers are excited to note that the company has officially filed for the 'iPhone' trademark - as analysts predict the company will launch two hybrid iPod/mobile phone models, perhaps as soon as Macworld Expo 2007.
A report on Forbes cites new research from Prudential Equity analyst Jesse Tortora. The analyst claims the company is preparing to launch two such devices, basing his information on "sources" and "recent checks".
He predicts both a smart phone and a slim music phone, the report explains. One of these models will include wireless (WiFi) connectivity and a keyboard for messaging.
Recent rumours have speculated the company will launch the phones in conjunction with US mobile network operator, Cingular. More recently, T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson said Apple's OS "represents the future of next-generation mobile networks".
As reported by AppleInsider, the Apple trademark is described in a Southeast Asian trademark filing that is dated 15 September. The filing occupies several categories, including that of a music player, mobile phone and video game machine.
There have been multiple analysts predicting Apple will release the purported iPod/mobile phone product. Most recently, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu wrote: ""Our research indicates that an Apple-designed smart phone has moved from concept to prototype and recently has progressed to near completion as a production unit."
He added: "We believe this smart phone has been in development for over 12 months and has overcome substantial challenges including design, interference, battery life and other technical glitches."
Shortly after the release of iTunes 7, developers noted that Apple's media management software includes some code that seems designed to support the mythical device.
Gizmodo found multiple mentions of a mobile phone that can play videos and display images inside the code itself. Content management, synchronisation, format incompatibility, manual management of content and other features were hinted at within the code.
One code string explained: "iTunes cannot sync photos to the mobile phone, because your Aperture Library could not be found".
Prudential analyst Tortora expects Apple to manufacture limited quantities of the new devices when they first launch.


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2022 State of the Digital Workplace & Modern Intranet Report
Nashua, N.H. – May 23, 2022 – Akumina, the industry-leading employee experience platform (EXP), announced today that it celebrated yet another milestone for 2022: its best quarter in the company’s seven-year history.
This continues a growth trend for the company, with three of the last four quarters surpassing the last as ‘record-breaking.’
Akumina’s leadership attributes its continued and accelerated success to the wide reach of its technology in the market with millions of daily active users leveraging the Akumina platform in over 80 countries around the globe.
“Q2 continued our sustained momentum post-pandemic with 86% year-over-year SaaS bookings growth and more blue-chip customers,” said David Maffei, President and CRO of Akumina. “New customer growth has been fantastic and significant expansion inside of our existing enterprise customer base has been just as impressive.”
New customers that joined the global Akumina Community include members of the Global Fortune500 and some of the largest corporations in the world including a large French multinational manufacturing and automation company, a U.S. based energy company with over 5-million customers and a leading global investment bank and financial services company, just to name a few.
Akumina also has expanded significantly inside of its current customer base with customers like GSK, a British multinational pharmaceutical company with headquarters in London who has been using the Akumina platform since 2017.
“GSK has teamed with Akumina for over five years, and we’ve most recently partnered with them to transform our global intranet as we enter a new era for GSK with new culture, brand and ambition,” said Alex Saunders, Head of Global Digital Communications at GSK. “Akumina has been a fantastic partner in working with us to create a personalized, experience which brings to life our new brand and culture with the aim of helping everyone at GSK be more productive.”
“Companies like GSK are making significant investments in employee experience and modern EXP technology is at the heart of that,” said Ed Rogers, Akumina CEO. “Remote work is now the norm, and enterprises need to figure out not only how to connect employees to each other, but also how to best connect employees back to the business itself and build culture in this new world. It’s not easy, but it is necessary – and what GSK has delivered to their employees on the Akumina platform is truly transformational.”
About Akumina: Akumina is the employee experience platform that empowers global enterprises to create digital experiences that help connect employees to your business, their tasks, and each other. By offering a customizable, brandable and multilingual platform that seamlessly integrates with leading enterprise cloud applications, Akumina delivers a contextual, collaborative, and engaging workplace experience to every user on any device. Akumina’s customers include MassMutual, Vodafone, Banner Healthcare, Crocs, ConocoPhillips, and GSK. To learn more visit www.akumina.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.


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Christine Lampard’s second clothing collection is set to launch this week.
The Newtownards woman’s first collaboration with fashion retailer Wallis launched in November with an autumn/winter line.
The TV presenter’s latest collection is perfect for spring and summer and is set to launch on Friday April 9.
Read more:Christine Lampard joins TV friends to celebrate Phillip Schofield’s birthday
Announcing the news, a spokesperson for Wallis said: “Fashion e-tailer Wallis is delighted to announce its latest collaboration with Christine Lampard.
“Our latest Christine Lampard x Wallis collections are a carefully curated selection of everything you need for the Spring/Summer season. From chic suits to elegant skirts and timeless everyday styles.
“This collection is a celebration of spring and pieces that will have you looking and feeling your best.
“The Christine Lampard x Wallis collection will launch in two waves, with the first drop available in stores on April 9 on wallis.co.uk and the second in May.”
Read more: Christine Lampard says ‘going to work may be easier’ in parenting debate
Read more: Eamonn Holmes pays tribute to his father on the anniversary of his ‘sudden death’
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More information about Final Fantasy 14 patch three.55a revealed at Fan Fest 2017.
Alex sums it up in his video above, however in the event you’re some place you may’t watch a video, nonetheless discreetly, then right here’s a listing of what’s incoming on Tuesday, February 28.
- Final Anima weapon story quests
- Proto Ultima Battle
- Rewards will likely be iLV270 equipment however particulars on how one can encounter Proto Ultima are being saved underneath wraps and gained’t be included within the patch notes. The hunt is on
- The Feast PvP mode
- New Maps
- Sudden Death replaces Draw
- New Items & Adjustments
- Season three Ends and Season four Pre-season beings
- Zhloe Aliapoh customized deliveries
- New content material particularly for crafters and gatherers. Introduces new NPC that may have extra accessible interactions throughout future updates
There had been questions on character creation choices – particularly a butt slider – however there are not any present plans for these choices.
For these questioning, the patch is numbered three.55a versus three.55 as a result of the crew has encountered a bug in a brand new raid inside Diadem. So for now, patch three.55a will launch on February 28, and the bug will likely be ironed out for a March 7 – 14 launch of patch three.55b.


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How to Invest in the Self-driving Vehicle Revolution
With the topic of “driverless cars” seeming to pop up in every other news headline, wouldn’t it be a good idea to invest in the companies that make these vehicles? Some of the biggest names in the automotive industry already have thrown serious money at the technology behind autonomous cars. Mercedes, Tesla, Ford, GM and others are in it to win it.
As a car buff and auto-show devotee, I was shocked at how quickly driverless car technology caught on, and how some of the biggest companies on earth went head-over-heels for the idea. California and a few other states have already put laws on the books to govern the rules for driverless vehicles. Nevada is another state that seems to be out front on this trend, given Elon Musk’s gigantic investment in the Silver State. Musk’s Tesla, along with Google Inc., are two of the prime movers in the autonomous car field, but where does that leave average investors?
I spent time looking for companies that are most involved in the driverless car market, and made a list of the ones that sell stock to the public. That seemed to be the best place to start if I wanted to catch some of the ground-floor investing activity in this exciting, fast-growing market segment.
Here is a short list of the driverless car stocks I found, along with a short description of each one. After that, I have included a brief factsheet about driverless cars that any investor can use as a general information base about driverless technology.
Driverless Car Stocks and Facts
- Google, Mercedes-Benz and Delphi Automotive are three of the companies at the forefront of the self-driving car revolution. Though all three companies have other, much larger divisions, they are all literally pouring money into self-driving technology. One thing all three are working on is a way to bring costs down. The technology required to build and operate self-driving vehicles is still way above the “consumer toleration” level, according to experts in the field.
- Nissan hopes to have a fully automated car ready for consumer showrooms by 2020, well ahead of its competitors. Right now, the Japanese innovator is using it Leaf all-electric car as the trial vehicle for automated driving rehearsals and tests.
- Audi and Bosch/BMW are not far behind Nissan, and have been testing high-level autonomous vehicles for several years now. Look for Bosch/BMW to introduce a fully-automated car to showrooms by 2025. That will be the year, by the way, when about a dozen automakers will be selling fully or partially-automated cars and trucks to consumers.
- Experts believe that driverless cars could save as many as 30,000 lives per year in the U.S. once autonomous vehicles are the rule rather than the exception. Studies have shown that a mostly autonomous car culture would have 90 percent fewer traffic deaths annually.
- By the year 2035, about 10 percent of all cars sold will be fully autonomous, meaning that about 76 million “vehicular robots” will be on the road.
- In 2014, the added cost of a fully autonomous car was $100,000 higher than a normal car’s sticker price. By 2025, that added cost will be in the $10,000 range.
- The U.S. government has already committed to $4 billion toward autonomous car development between now and 2020, but that figure could skyrocket once the technology proves itself.
- Experts agree that China will likely be the dominant force in the autonomous car market, having already spent untold (it’s a “state secret”) billions on the technology. One consulting group in the auto industry has estimated that China will sell about 30 percent of the total worldwide number of self-driving cars in the consumer marketplace.
Backseat Reading, and a Driverless Car Demo
- Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead (MIT Press): From MIT Press, “Driverless” is a level-headed look at the entire autonomous vehicle market and its long-term impact on society. The author explains in simple language why the entire economic arrangement we’re used to might be completely redrawn, why the word “commuting” will take on a whole new meaning, and why so many jobs will be eliminated and created simultaneously. Not since the invention of the computer has there been a societal and economic shift so important. There’s reason to cheer and fear the driverless car revolution, but being prepared for it is the best way to deal with the massive changes ahead.
- The Great Race: The Global Quest for the Car of the Future: Investors who want to navigate the driverless car market for profit need to read this book. It recounts the long journey that the automotive sector has traveled in the past century, from those gas-guzzling days in the early 1900s to the age of green design and fuel-miser cars that fight pollution and save money for their owners. With the advent of driverless technology, many of the environmental challenges will be easier to face. Computerized cars, taken as a collective group, work pretty much as an adaptable version of mass transit, so argues the author. This is good news for the environment and uncertain news for the economy, even if those early to the investment surge stand to make a fortune. For a complete examination of the automotive sector and its possible future, investors can’t go wrong with this insightful, prescient book.
- Take a ride through the streets of Pittsburgh in an Uber driverless car during a public demo of the high-tech vehicle. Two engineers from the company discuss the capabilities of the Ford model used in the experiment.
No One Behind the Wheel
Experts predict there will be 10 million self-driving vehicles on the roadways by the year 2020. The economic and social impact of this new form of technology will be far reaching, and that’s an understatement. That 10 million figure could easily double within the next decade, or maybe even triple.
What will be the effect of the self-driving car on society? A British firm has estimated that there will be fewer deaths and accidents due to autonomous vehicle technology. Indeed, one of the more formidable barriers to the acceptance of self-driving cars has been the insurance industry. There just aren’t enough laws on the books yet for insurers to feel comfortable with the concept.
It’s strange to see the tech companies competing directly with automotive firms for a foothold in the driverless car marketplace. Firms like Google are heavily invested, as are Mercedes-Benz and other carmakers. It seems like everyone realizes this is going to be the big trend of the next few decades and they all want in on the ground floor.
What are your thoughts on the topic? Do you see driverless cars taking over the roads within a decade? Would you trust your safety to an autonomous vehicle? Let us know your opinions about the topic in the comments section below. Or visit our Facebook page and tell us how you see the issue panning out.


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Flying Wild Hog has released the first post-launch update for its latest first-person shooter, Shadow Warrior 3. And, we are happy to report that this patch fully fixes the game’s annoying stuttering issues.
This update is around 500MB in size and since we haven’t published yet our PC Performance Analysis, we’ve decided to give this patch a go. And yes, all of the game’s traversal stutters have been resolved. As such, PC gamers can now enjoy a completely smooth gaming experience.
Additionally, this update improves save data stability. As the devs noted, this patch resolves some save data issues that plagued players. Not only that, but it also fixes a bunch of audio issue
As always, Steam will download this patch the next time you launch its client. Below you can also find its complete changelog.
Shadow Warrior 3 Patch 1.01 Release Notes
- Fixed issue with the raccoon not running away in sequence at Motoko Cave level after respawn. The Raccoon will now run faster than ever!
- Fixed too late ending of Raft sequence at Avalanche level which often caused the death of player. We’ve seen a lot of players having issues with the raft, hopefully with this change done to it the raft will not cause any more headaches to the player base.
- Also fixed a bunch of audio issues. A lot of complaints regarding the music volume not being high enough, well we’ve cracked it up to 11 in this patch.
- Fixed several crashes. A lot of the crashes reported have now been fixed in the new build, if you by any chance encounter crash after the update, please make sure to verify the game files
- Improved save data stability. There should be no more corrupted save data, or at least the chance of such issue occurring has been put to a minimum.
- Optimization across levels for a smoother experience
- Various French localization fixes.


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Doc Pop shares the news that our mutual friend Amit Gupta (founder of the terrific online photography shop Photojojo, and lots of other cool photography-related projects) has been diagnosed with leukemia.
"There's a big push on the blogosphere to keep Amit's hospital room filled with postcards and we wanted to help out," Doc writes, "So we've created a special promo code to allow folks to send Amit a free get-well-soon Postagram."
Amit is cheered up by "colorful photos, pizza, crafty projects, and macaroni," Doc says, but mostly the dude just digs great photos. Do send him some JPEG love.
Update: The nice people at Soundcloud are doing something similar, to send audio messages to Amit (thanks, Drew Olanoff).
Amit, here's wishing you a speedy recovery from all of your pals at Boing Boing, and throughout the internet. Lots of love.
Neglected public payphones in New York City are being turned into “GuyFi” stations: a place where one can rub one out for the sake of “stress relief.” Annalee Newitz reports on the wank booths from a company named “Hot Octopus”… The company reported that at least 100 men used the booth on its opening day […]
You’d be forgiven for thinking the videocassette format long-dead, but it turns out that Betamax is still around. Sony is finally going to withdraw tapes from sale, bringing a 40-year story to an end. The last recorders were sold in 2002. ベータビデオカセットおよびマイクロMVカセットテープ出荷終了のお知らせ [Sony; via The Verge]
A leaked Comcast memo discloses that the company’s consumer data caps have nothing to do with network congestion, contrary to its public claims. The internet service provider has often complained (such as when lobbying against net neutrality) that it must impose limits on service to prevent network congestion. The argument suggests that these measures are […]
Plastic is so 2013. You don’t want to buy something only to throw it away or lose it and barely care. You like nice things and want to hang onto them. The Plazmatic lighter here is a high quality, high tech alternative to the typical cheap, plastic lighter you get at the old gas station. […]
Real engineers build things. Super cool engineers build things with their hands and fingers, like our engineering forefathers did. No idea where to even begin to do that? This step by step Arduino course is now 92% off and is going to get you up and running, from zero to hero, in no time. So […]
How do Google and YouTube really work? It turns out, Python kind of runs things around those parts. And with this bootcamp, you’ll get whipped into shape and ready to start programming yourself. Whether you’re a Python pro and just want to sharpen your skills, or a total tech newbie with little or no coding […]


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DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford Motor Company has recalled and offered to fix almost 3 million SUVs — sold for the better part of the last decade — that the automaker said could potentially roll away while in park.
The recall impacts 2013-18 C-Max, 2015-18 Edge, 2013-19 Escape, 2013-16 Fusion and 2013-21 Transit Connect vehicles, the automaker said.
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Inside the SUVs is a brushing that attaches the shifter cable to the transmission; that brushing may degrade or detach, which could prevent the vehicle from shifting into the intended gear and could cause such problems as making the car “move in an unexpected direction” or allowing it to “roll after the driver selects the ‘park’ position,” according to a letter sent from Ford to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday.
More than 2,900,000 potential units are affected by the brushing issue, each of which are eligible for a free replacement at a dealership, the automaker said.
Owner notification letters were expected to be mailed June 27, a Ford spokesperson said. The letter also suggested that owners call Ford customer service number at 866-436-7332 in reference to recall No. 22S43, or the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236.


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Playoff fever engulfs bay area
Bucs merchandise is flying off the shelves as fans get prepared for Sunday's game.
By MIKE BRASSFIELD, Times Staff Writer
Published January 1, 2008
Now that the holidays are over, playoff fever is hitting Tampa Bay.
You can hear it on talk radio and see it in the stores selling Buccaneers merchandise. By Friday, workers will be coming to the office wearing the Jeff Garcia jerseys they just got for Christmas.
Sunday's game against the New York Giants will be a major gathering of the red-and-pewter tribe as fired-up fans make the pilgrimage to Raymond James Stadium with their car flags, their Chucky dolls, their throwback Creamsicle-colored jerseys and their chants of "DEE-fense!"
But how committed are Bucs fans, really? Here's the acid test: Thousands of season ticket holders are selling playoff tickets online at a steep markup. Monied Giants fans are snapping them up, jetting down for the big game and the warm weather.
On the Bucs' Web site, fans are fretting on the message boards:
I have a bad feeling there will be a lot of NYG fans there...
The Giants fan travel company is hosting a trip...
This game could very well be similar to the 1997 Packers game, where 1/2 of the stadium is cheering for the opponent...
Actually, it's not that bad. So far, locals are grabbing most of the seats.
Scalping a ticket outside the stadium is so outdated, so 20th century. Today, fans resell them for a profit on Internet trading sites like Craigslist, eBay and StubHub, which specializes in tickets.
This is no longer illegal in Florida, which repealed its antiscalping law last year.
The Buccaneers were still selling playoff tickets Monday, with a face value of $85 to $545. New Yorkers can't buy them directly from the team, which weeds out non-Florida customers. But 4,200 tickets were available on StubHub.com, priced from $100 for upper-deck nosebleed seats to $1,600 for a front-row perch right behind the Bucs' bench.
Buyers from 30 states have paid an average of $196 per ticket, with a top price of $1,250, said company spokeswoman Joellen Ferrer. Floridians have picked up three-fourths of them, with New York and New Jersey combining for nearly 20 percent.
"We definitely do have some traveling fans," Ferrer said. But the hometown crowd will still dominate.
Jeffrey Neil Fox sees the future:
"This town will become electric. People are going to wake up and realize, 'Oh my god, the Bucs are in the playoffs.' It'll intensify. You'll see flags on everybody's cars. They'll wear Buccaneer red on Friday."
Fox owns a team merchandise store in North Tampa called Bucs, Bulls & Bolts Heaven.
He was talking on his cell phone, on his way to pick up yet another shipment of "NFC South Division Champs" T-shirts and hats.
Local sportswear retailers got a bonanza when the team clinched its division with nine shopping days 'til Christmas. A lot of Bucs gear ended up under the tree this year.
At Sports Fan Attic in WestShore Plaza, they've been snapping up Buccaneer Croc shoes along with shirts in the team's old orange colors, said manager Casey McEntegart, 22.
Fans are buying jerseys bearing the older names, Brooks and Barber, or the new ones - Garcia, Graham, Ruud. Everyone's asking for Micheal Spurlock jerseys, but they aren't being made yet. And Mike Alstott jerseys, the team's bestseller for years, are no longer being manufactured.
Ask fans why they like these Bucs, and they talk about the crazy but iconic coach, the gutsy quarterback, the hard-hitting defense starring a living legend at linebacker. And lifelong fans take pride in having survived the team's dark ages.
"Going to games at the Old Sombrero, I lived through the days of the Tampa Bay Yuks, the Yuccaneers, the Drunkeneers," said St. Petersburg carpenter Chris Jeter, who dresses as a pirate named "Capt. Sharky" at Bucs games. He's jazzed about the team's first playoff game since 2005 and its second since the 2002 Super Bowl.
"Tony Dungy's team won the Super Bowl, everybody knows that. But (coach Jon) Gruden has proven himself this year, rebuilding the offense and the defense."
The losing years are ancient history to the next generation of fans like 15-year-old Andrew Scavelli, who writes about the Bucs for Palm Harbor High School's student newspaper.
He didn't watch the team's Super Bowl victory because he was only 10 at the time. But he can't wait for this Sunday.
"They have a really good chance, especially with home-field advantage," he said. "When the crowd gets into the game, the fans will be the big difference."
Brian Callahan is another fan who vividly recalls the Bucs of old - the consecutive seasons with a 2-14 record, the meager crowds on the hard aluminum benches of Houlihan's Stadium, serenading coach Ray Perkins with a chant:
in the Bay!
"Fifteen years of terrible football," said Callahan, 34, a Tampa sales rep. "That kind of brutality year in and year out, it kind of forges your fan base."
Things are different now. This Sunday, the Bucs' 66,000-seat stadium will be bursting at the seams. Callahan and his buddy, Greg Graham, will be throwing their long-standing tailgate party, which has grown exponentially over eight years.
The party, called the Pillage Inn, has portable generators, a big-screen TV, an air-conditioning unit, canopies, grills, a barbecue smoker and occasionally a band. This party has its own Web site. They expect to feed at least 100 people on Sunday.
"You're going to have Buccaneer Nation coming out in full force," Callahan said. "Our local fan base is going to go absolutely bonkers."
Mike Brassfield can be reached at email@example.com or (813) 226-3435.
Buying playoff tickets
Here are two places to check for available seats.
From the team: Go to www.Buccaneers.com or call the ticket office at (813) 879-2827.
StubHub: Go to www.StubHub.com and click on "Bucs" under the heading "This week's top tickets."


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General Electric announced today that the planned spinoff of its GE Capital retail financing unit will happen later this year, and that the new company will have an initial public stock offering under its new name, Synchrony Financial.
While GE will continue to own part of the new company in the short term, it expects to completely exit any interest in Synchrony Financial in 2015.
General Electric had announced previously that this move would be coming, as the company sought to remove a profitable yet volatile financing unit from impacting its overall business and stock performance. GE Capital has at times accounted for almost half of GE’s profits, yet the recent financial crisis highlighted how the banking operation could also be a drag on the company overall, in particular its stock price.
GE Capital is the largest provider of private label credit cards, issuing cards for major retailers including Wal-Mart, JCPenney, GAP, TJ Maxx, Lowe’s, eBay, PayPal, and more.


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Do you have a character than ran its shins into a bed frame or a recent victim of a zombie bite? Well then, these injured animations are just for you!
July 24, 2014 at 6:31 PM
July 22, 2014 at 6:08 PM
Alternative platforms for filmmaking are making 3D animated storytelling more and more accessible. We interviewed Mixamo customer Casey Billadeau, mastermind behind the Elements project, an animated cyberpunk web-series made with Valve’s Source Filmmaker program, to see how it can be done.
Read on for the full interview and how his production team is tackling this unique project. If you like the project, don’t forget to visit their IndieGogo campaign to donate towards future production.
July 17, 2014 at 11:55 AM
July 15, 2014 at 10:44 AM
Two of Mixamo's rockstar engineers will be presenting at SIGGRAPH in August on the real-time facial tracking technology, Face Plus, and how it was used to make the award-winning interactive short, Unplugged.
July 10, 2014 at 3:37 PM
Here at Mixamo, we really get around. Around to conferences that is. Any time you see a Mixamo booth you know you are in for good tech, good times and great answers to your questions as a 3D developer.
Here are all the spots you'll be able to see us in person over the next few months - stay tuned for more info about product releases, booth locations and titles of our talks.