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The national debt under President Trump increased from $20,244,900,016,053 to $27,751,896,236,415 (20th January 2021).  Treasury Direct: Debt to the Penny https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debttothepenny.htm That's $5.138 billion a day.
In less than one term, the debt under Trump’s presidency increased more than $7.5 trillion. In comparison, only Barack Obama had increased national debt more, totaling $8.3 trillion throughout his 8 years as President.
- During his presidency, national debt increased 37.1% under Trump
- Outside of the COVID-19 Relief Bills passed, Trump increased spending on agriculture more than any other area, jumping 194% between 2017 and 2019, from $14.2b to $41.7b
- Of the $1 trillion federal budget in 2020, $893 billion is a deficit and half of that will be owed to China
- Trump cut corporate tax rates from 35% in 2017 to 21% in 2018
- The highest federal Income tax rate was reduced from 39.6% to 37% at the start of 2018
It is projected that the president who campaigned on eliminating the national debt will add $8 trillion to it before leaving office.  US Debt by President by Dollar and Percentage https://www.thebalance.com/us-debt-by-president-by-dollar-and-percent-3306296 This is likely a conservative estimate given the originally unexpected $2 trillion stimulus just passed by Congress due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Debt Under Trump
How the National Debt Has Changed Under Trump
The national debt over the nation’s history has grown from a modest $83.7 million under George Washington (even in the 1700’s wars cost staggering sums) to a whopping $23.3 trillion today.
But the debt has had some significant spikes for some very important reasons, and there was a brief period of time, one year to be exact, where the debt was entirely paid off.
In 1835, Andrew Jackson paid off the national debt through severe cost-cutting and land sell-offs. Jackson’s distrust of banks led him to redistribute funds to the states, which in turn caused an economic bubble, which led to recession. Restarting the national debt to reinvigorate the economy was inevitable.
World War I led to the debt increasing by more than $21 billion to a total of $24 billion. Two decades later, Franklin Delano Roosevelt would see the national debt rise from $22 billion to over $205 billion dollars, largely due to World War II. The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan added $2.1 trillion to the debt just in George W. Bush’s administration alone.  US Debt by President: By Dollar and Percentage https://www.thebalance.com/us-debt-by-president-by-dollar-and-percent-3306296 Both Bush and Obama had massive stimulus packages to fight the 2008 recession that each added hundreds of billions to the national debt.
Coronavirus Lockdown & Unemployment
But by far, one of the most significant impacts on the national debt occurred very recently during Donald Trump’s administration. President Trump inherited a rising economy which continued to rise through the last two and a half years. The Dow reached 20,000, more than 140,000 jobs were added to the economy, and low unemployment persisted.
Then in February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic, which had already caused economic havoc in China and Europe, reached the United States.
A highly contagious disease, COVID-19 could not only kill the very old, very young, and very sick, it could also be spread by carriers not displaying any symptoms who were completely unaware that they had it. And, it could live for hours in the air and up to days on surfaces. Faced with what was deemed an “invisible enemy,” governors across the US ordered schools and non-essential businesses closed, and citizens to self-isolate, telling them to leave their homes only for essential supplies and only when absolutely necessary.
Needless to say, the economic impacts of these decisions were staggering. The eight largest drops in the Dow Jones Industrial Average were recorded during this period. 26 million people had filed for unemployment benefits by late March (it took 10 years to add 22 million jobs to the economy, and those gains were wiped out in 5 weeks). And, Congress passed multiple large stimulus bills to assist individuals, families, and businesses.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — also known as the CARES Act — was passed by U.S. lawmakers in late March 2020. With the stroke of a pen, the CARES Act became the largest economic stimulus bill in modern history, more than doubling the stimulus act passed to stave off the effects of the 2009 Financial Crisis.
The various parts of the CARES act total $2.2 trillion. The parts are broken up based on what part of the economy each part is designed to help… individuals ($603 billion), big business ($500 billion), small business ($377 billion), state and local governments ($340 billion), and public services ($180 billion). A combination of loans, grants, and direct payments funds each of these areas. The most obvious direct payment is the $1,200 per individual, $500 per child payment given to every American taxpayer, depending on adjusted gross income.
Economists are still unsure of the total impact on the national debt as the COVID-19 pandemic is, to date, not even considered half over.
Trump’s Biggest Decision Areas
Often, the promises made by a candidate tend to differ from what they actually execute while in office, and Trump’s presidency is no exception. One of the promises made by Trump during his campaign was to eliminate the national debt, a feat achieved by only one other president in history, Andrew Jackson.
Trump had two strategies to reduce the debt. First, he promised to increase tax revenues.  Trump and the National Debt https://www.thebalance.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401 While originally promising to grow the economy by 6 percent, Trump immediately cut that estimate to 2-3 percent once he assumed office.
This was a wise move in that, while rapid growth sounds appealing, growing too rapidly can lead to boom-bust cycles and bubbles based on irrationality that usually end in recession.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Trump decided to spur the growth rate by announcing a strategy used by many other presidents, particularly Republican administrations. The outline for what would become the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was released within his first 100 days in office, and was signed into law on December 22, 2017.
This cut the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent beginning in 2018. The top individual income tax rate dropped to 37 percent. It doubled the standard deduction but eliminated personal exemptions.
Unfortunately for President Trump, his tax cuts won't stimulate the economy enough to make up for lost tax revenue. The Laffer curve indicates that tax cuts only stimulate economic growth when tax rates are above 50 percent.
By contrast, Ronald Reagan had success using tax cuts as an economic stimulus because the highest tax rate during his time in office was 70 percent.
Trump’s second promise was to eliminate waste in federal spending.  Trump and the National Debt https://www.thebalance.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401 He certainly lent credibility to this argument in the way he ran his campaign. By using social media and his numerous campaign rallies, he achieved as much exposure, if not more, than other candidates who had to gain visibility using expensive ad buys.
Trump wasn’t wrong in wanting to attack waste in federal spending. Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama had similar goals.
The problem is the consequences that come with cuts. Each government spending program has a constituency that lobbies Congress to remind legislators of their importance. Eliminating these benefits loses votes and contributors. Congresspeople love to agree to cut spending for any district except their own.
Domestic Social Programs and the Military
In order to make an impact on a huge and ever-increasing amount of money like the national debt, you have to cut into the largest spending programs. The largest of these programs are mandatory obligations made by previous acts of Congress.
One of the biggest, Social Security, is on that list.
For fiscal year 2021, Social Security benefits cost $1 trillion a year, Medicare, $722 billion, and Medicaid costs $448 billion. The interest alone on the national debt is $378 billion. These together total $3.3 trillion. Eliminating that entire sum will only have the tiniest of impacts on the national debt.
Outside of domestic social programs, the spending on the military makes the spending on any individual social program look tiny by comparison. If you want to have any impact on the debt, military spending must also be cut.
Trump increased military spending in fiscal year 2021 to $934 billion.  US Military Budget, Its Components, Challenges, and Growth https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320 This figure includes the $636 billion base budget for the Department of Defense, $69 billion in overseas contingency operations for the fight against the Islamic State, and $228 billion to fund the other agencies that protect the U.S. and service the military.
This includes some expenditures you probably had no idea were part of the Defense Department budget.
- The Departments of Veterans Affairs ($105 billion)
- Homeland Security ($50 billion)
- The State Department ($44 billion)
- The National Nuclear Security Administration in the Department of Energy ($20 billion)
- The FBI and Cybersecurity in the Department of Justice ($9.8 billion)
The total budget for fiscal year 2021 is $4.8 trillion dollars.  Trump signs $738 Billion Defense Bill https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/21/trump-signs-738-billion-defense-bill.html About $4.2 trillion is everything we just discussed in the last few paragraphs.
Once you deduct that from your overall budget, you have about $595 billion left to run the rest of the government. This is everything from the IRS to the rest of the Justice Department to the other government agencies not covered under defense or social programs.
For Trump to make any impact on the national debt that was either substantive or noticeable, he would basically have to eliminate it all. To even have an impact on the deficit, he would have to eliminate $966 billion.
Trump’s Impact on the Trade Deficit
The federal deficit, the gap between the amount of money the federal government spends and how much revenue it brings in, will exceed $1 trillion this year under the Trump Administration. This was the Congressional Budget Office fiscal outlook back in January.  Congressional Budget Office: The Budget and Economic Outlook 2020 to 2030 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56073#:~:text=CBO%20currently%20projects%20a%20federal,see%20Table%201%2D1)
Of this $1 trillion, $893 billion of it is the trade deficit, which is the difference between how much the US imports versus how much it exports. Of the $893 billion, about half of it is with China, our largest trading partner.
Long before he was even a candidate for president, Trump advocated for tariffs to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and promote domestic manufacturing. His contention was the country was being "ripped off" by its trading partners, a sentiment he has echoed since the 1980s all the way up to his candidacy for president and throughout his administration.
Many economists argue that the trade deficit’s problems are overblown and most agree that tariffs are not a solution.  Economists united: Trump tariffs won't help the economy https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-poll/economists-united-trump-tariffs-wont-help-the-economy-idUSKCN1GQ02G Tariffs are problematic because their cost is often borne by manufacturers and consumers in the form of higher prices  The Trouble with Tariffs is Unintended Consequences https://www.barrons.com/articles/trump-tariffs-against-china-unintended-consequences-51564748943 , which can achieve the effect of ultimately widening a trade deficit rather than reducing it. A “tit-for-tat” approach to tariffs can lead to deterioration of trade relations between opposing nations, which can prolong a trade war.
In 2001, China achieved two major accomplishments in its push to modernize its trade relations with the west. The first was joining the World Trade Organization, and the second was achieving Most Favored Nation trading status thanks to the United States–China Relations Act passed in late 2000.  Wikipedia - China-United States Trade War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_trade_war
One of the conditions of attaining this status was addressing a long list of trade grievances with the United States. Among these were protecting intellectual property. China was a major source of pirated music and movies, as well as other IP such as computer software. There was no enforcement of intellectual property rights in China's written law, and as a result, piracy and theft was costing American companies $1 billion a year by 1994.
By the time Trump took office, these complaints persisted, with American officials maintaining that China had done little to nothing to protect American IP. Trump also pointed out China’s manipulation of its currency, which made it difficult for American-made goods to compete in a global marketplace.
China’s counter was that advances in technology in China were not due to stolen IP but to research and development initiatives undertaken by the Chinese government. On January 22, 2018, the first volley of Trump’s trade war with China was fired.
Key Dates in Trump’s Trade War with China  The Trouble with Tariffs is Unintended Consequences https://www.barrons.com/articles/trump-tariffs-against-china-unintended-consequences-51564748943
Trade Deficit with China: $375 billion
Trump announces tariffs on solar panels and washing machines. Imports of residential washing machines from China totaled about $1.1 billion in 2015.
Trump announces steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from all countries. The US imports 3% of its steel from China.
China responds by imposing tariffs on 128 products it imports from America, including aluminum, airplanes, cars, pork, and soybeans (which have a 25% tariff), as well as fruit, nuts, and steel piping (15%)
Chinese officials agree to substantially reduce America's trade deficit with China by committing to increase its purchases of American goods. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announces "We are putting the trade war on hold."
Trump tweets that "China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products," although he later clarified the purchases were contingent upon the closure of a potential deal.
White House announces that it would impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese goods with "industrially significant technology. China announces it would discontinue trade talks with Washington if it imposes trade sanctions.
Trump declares that the US would impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese exports. $34 billion would start July 6, 2018, with a further $16 billion to begin at a later date.
China retaliates, threatening its own tariffs on $50 billion of U.S. goods, and stating that the United States had launched a trade war. “Tit-for-tat” tariffs continue through July, August, and September, 2018
President Trump signs the revised U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The USMCA contains a "rules of origin" provision for automobiles that was "touted by the Trump administration as a tool to keep out Chinese inputs and encourage production and investment in the US and North America."
Planned increases in tariffs are postponed. The White House announces that both parties will "immediately begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft."
Trade Deficit with China: $419.2 billion. Trump announced China was buying a "tremendous amount" of U.S. soybeans. Commodities traders see no evidence of such purchases, and over the next six months soybean exports to China were about one fourth of what they were in 2017, before the trade conflict began.
Trump states that the previous tariffs of 10% levied in $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would be raised to 25% on May 10.
China raises tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods
During the G20 Osaka summit, Trump announces he and Xi Jinping agreed to a "truce" in the trade war after extensive talks. After meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Trump announces "China is going to be buying a tremendous amount of food and agricultural products, and they're going to start that very soon, almost immediately." China denies making the commitment and one month later no such purchases occur.
Trump tweeted "China is letting us down in that they have not been buying the agricultural products from our great Farmers that they said they would."
Trump announces on Twitter that an additional 10% tariff will be levied on the remaining $300 billion of goods.
China ordered state-owned enterprises to stop buying US agricultural products.
At the G7 summit, Trump states, "China called last night our top trade people and said ‘let’s get back to the table’ so we will be getting back to the table and I think they want to do something. They have been hurt very badly but they understand this is the right thing to do and I have great respect for it." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang says he was unaware of such a call and Trump aides later concede the call never took place but the president was “trying to project optimism.”
After China announces it was exempting 16 American product types from tariffs for one year, Trump announces he would delay until October 15 a tariff increase on Chinese goods previously scheduled for October 1.
Trump advisors are increasingly concerned that the trade war is weakening the American economy going into the 2020 election campaign and discuss ways to reach a limited interim deal.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese retaliatory tariffs on lumber and wood products had caused hardwood lumber exports to China to fall 40% during 2019, resulting in American lumber mills laying off workers.
Trump announces that China and the US have reached a tentative agreement for the "first phase" of a trade deal, with China agreeing to buy up to $50 billion in American farm products, and to accept more American financial services in their market, with the United States agreeing to suspend new tariffs scheduled for October 15.
Trade Deficit with China: $345.6 billion Both countries announce an initial deal where new tariffs to be mutually imposed on December 15 would not be implemented. China says it "will buy more high quality of American agricultural products", while the United States says it will halve the existing 15% tariffs.
Reuters reports that in December 2019 the American manufacturing sector fell into its deepest slump in over a decade, attributing the decline to the US-China trade war.
China's Vice Premier Liu He and President Trump sign the US–China Phase One trade deal in Washington DC. The agreement between the US and China is set to take effect in February, 2020.
Trump’s trade war with China produced several new trade agreements both with China and other nations, but at what cost?
In August of 2019, the Congressional Budget Office reported their estimates of the U.S. economic impact of tariffs (tariffs overall, but US tariffs were disproportionately applied against China).  Congressional Budget Office: The Effects of Tariffs and Trade Barriers in CBO’s Projections https://www.cbo.gov/publication/55576#:~:text=In%20CBO's%20projections%2C%20the%20tariffs,economic%20activity%20in%20several%20ways.&text=By%202020%2C%20they%20reduce%20the,businesses%20adjust%20their%20supply%20chains
In this estimate, the CBO projected that by 2020, tariffs would:
- Reduce the U.S. GDP by 0.3 percent
- Reduce real consumption by 0.3 percent
- Reduce real private investment by 1.3 percent
- Reduce real income by $580 per household.
- U.S. exports would be 1.7 percent lower and imports would be 2.6 percent lower
This is economists’ arguments against tariffs coming to fruition. Tariffs affect economic activity in three ways:
- Consumer goods become more expensive
- Business (especially small business) uncertainty increases, which slows investment
- Other countries follow by imposing retaliatory tariffs, which makes US exports more expensive.
-  US Debt by President by Dollar and Percentage https://www.thebalance.com/us-debt-by-president-by-dollar-and-percent-3306296
-  US Debt Clock https://www.worldometers.info/us-debt-clock/
-  Wikipedia - China-United States Trade War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_trade_war
-  Trump and the National Debt https://www.thebalance.com/trump-plans-to-reduce-national-debt-4114401
-  Trump signs $738 Billion Defense Bill https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/21/trump-signs-738-billion-defense-bill.html
-  The Trouble with Tariffs is Unintended Consequences https://www.barrons.com/articles/trump-tariffs-against-china-unintended-consequences-51564748943
-  US Military Budget, Its Components, Challenges, and Growth https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-military-budget-components-challenges-growth-3306320
-  US Debt by President: By Dollar and Percentage https://www.thebalance.com/us-debt-by-president-by-dollar-and-percent-3306296
-  National Debt Increased by $3 Trillion During Donald Trump's Three Years as President https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-national-debt-increase-3-trillion-first-three-years-presidency-1483660
-  Congressional Budget Office: The Effects of Tariffs and Trade Barriers in CBO’s Projections https://www.cbo.gov/publication/55576#:~:text=In%20CBO's%20projections%2C%20the%20tariffs,economic%20activity%20in%20several%20ways.&text=By%202020%2C%20they%20reduce%20the,businesses%20adjust%20their%20supply%20chains
-  Congressional Budget Office: The Budget and Economic Outlook 2020 to 2030 https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56073#:~:text=CBO%20currently%20projects%20a%20federal,see%20Table%201%2D1)
-  Economists united: Trump tariffs won't help the economyhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-poll/economists-united-trump-tariffs-wont-help-the-economy-idUSKCN1GQ02G
-  Treasury Direct: Debt to the Penny https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debttothepenny.htm


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BestUSCasinos.org reports on the latest developments in the US casino industry.
Online PR News – 11-October-2016 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The US casino industry is a tricky one to follow due to the constantly changing circumstances surrounding its legality. According to a report furnished by BestUSCasinos.org, 2016 was a year of ups and downs for the industry as a whole.
According to the report, brick and mortar casinos in states like Pennsylvania and Maryland are continuing to thrive after recent regulatory changes made casino play more accessible. To the contrary, the brick and mortar industry in New Jersey—specifically Atlantic City—is going downhill in a hurry. According to BestUSCasinos.org, 2016 was not the best year for places like Atlantic City and Las Vegas, but it was great for other states that are beginning to explore the expansion of the brick and mortar casino foothold in the state.
The report, though highlighting the ills of well-established casinos, went on to explain that not everything is all bad. In fact, New Jersey, which only legalized an intrastate online casino back in 2011, is seeing its online casino industry boom. With sites recording month over month revenue gains of 30% and more, the online casinos are, in a sense, saving the failing brick and mortar locations. This success is causing other states and territories to take notice and we imagine that 2017 will feature more massive developments in the legal battle for online casino freedom.
Finally, the report went on to highlight that, while states are becoming more liberal with regards to their acceptance of gambling both online and offline, opponents still exist. Big names like Sheldon Adelson are fighting to ban online operations in order to expand their own brick and mortar projects. Opponents are not gaining much ground, but according to BestUSCasinos.org, there is a bill soon to be introduced that would ban any and all types of online gambling at the Federal level. For states that are on the verge of establishing their own online casino networks, the existence of such opponents may be a deterrent that will effectively throw any progress years backwards. All of this will come to a front in 2017, and it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

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Weekly Mont Belvieu Propane – Butane prices – September 10th, 2021
Our assessment for last week daily Mont Belvieu propane and butane in USD/mt (2.8% and 0.7% up respectively on weekly average):
6th September: Bank holiday
7th September: 620.0; 654.0
8th September: 619.0; 638.2
9th September: 626.3; 638.2
10th September: 637.2; 645.0
LPG Butane (Mont Belvieu) prices closed below the previous week’s close; the expected retracement happened – closing at 645 USD/MT from 664MT.
On the local side, depots prices increased to 8.6 Million during the week. We are already experiencing 9.25 Million /20MT as seen in a depot ( this publication is late) – Reason for the massive increase may be connected to the US Dollar/ Naira Exchange rate. LPG Import into Nigeria is exposed to Black Market FX rates and so prices would be affected when there is a shift in the black market.
Except some concession is given to LPG importers, the instability in the Nigerian FX market would continue to move LPG prices higher even when prices are down internationally.
Recent PPPRA figures showed a decrease in LPG volumes for the month of August; data shows that the decrease was due to a reduction in volumes supplied by NLNG. There was a marginal increase in LPG import volumes despite the high LPG prices.
Retail prices for cooking gas continue to increase as LPG sell for N6,000 to over N7,000 per 12.5kg in locations nationwide.A retail price analysis on LPG would follow soon.


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Dark Markets Russia
Sales on a Russian-language Dark Web marketplace known as Hydra have skyrocketed in the past four yearswith more than russian darknet market. How far does stolendata get before a breach is detected? That's the question Bitglass asked -- and answered -- in a recent experiment. Russia is a dark market. STEIN developed an attention-grabbing communication concept that's based entirely on the topic of music as the Tuborg brand's DNA. US Justice Department shuts down Russian dark web marketplace Hydra The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has shut down Hydra Market. Meanwhile, fertiliser prices are set to rise and with them food prices, with wheat prices basically doubling since last year. Financial markets. Poultry China / Hong Kong Russia Japan 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 Economies of size require sufficiently large markets to absorb the processed meat. Dark-web souk Hydra: Servers and 25m in crypto-coins seized. US also charges Russia-based web host owner regarding cyber-crime market.
The Russian and Chinese underground markets trade stolen credit cards, hacked loyalty program accounts, and fraudulent redemption of freebies, discounts, and. The Russian ships engaging in dark activity include vessels We may see a parallel global market emerge where there is internal trading. The social media giant dark markets russia has launched a version of its service for the Tor internet browser so Russians can access it without being found out. Announced sanctions against Russia-based virtual currency for cybercriminals including scammers and darknet market operators. Jun 14, 2022 -. Some vendors known for selling stolen crypto cards for crypto like bitcoin on the dark web have been shut down by Russian officials. The biggest marketplace in the field by far is Hydra, a Russian-language drug marketplace that pocketed 75 of the entire global dark market. Hydra was an online criminal marketplace where primarily Russian users bought and sold illicit goods and services, including illegal drugs, stolen financial.
The Russian and Chinese underground markets trade stolen credit cards, hacked loyalty program accounts, and fraudulent redemption of freebies, discounts, and. Largest Russian Darknet Marketplace Seeking 146 Million via ICO. The people behind Hydra are selling stakes of a new platform. Until the invasion, Russian oil was a critical fuel in Europe and other markets, including the United States, where it made up about 7 percent. At a Damascus souvenir shop, depictions of the Russian and Syrian flags and other essentials than the price on international markets. Cryptocurrencies are being increasingly used for illicit activity on darknet markets. According to Chainalysis dark web sites a New York-based blockchain.
Russian dark money is a quietly powerful influence on the American political system. In a new report, Anders slund and Julia Friedlander. The Russian darknet market Hydra has become a hot spot for illegal Hydra, reportedly the largest darknet marketplace serving Russia and. Darknet markets Hydra16 It is a Russian darknet market which facilitates but isn't directly involved in the trading transactions between buyers and sellers. The social media giant has launched a version of its service for the Tor internet browser so Russians can access it without being found out. According to the authorities, Hydra had operated as one of the largest Russian-language cybercrime sites on the internet. The dark web.
Exports during 1995 are estimated at 71,000 tons, reflecting the reduced flue - cured exports to Russia, Other major export markets for Indian tobacco are. This comprises approximately 17 of that illicit market. However, providing precise figures is difficult since Ferum Shop has employed a. Russia invades Ukraine: A dark web market dark day for Europe Russian stock market collapsed by 40.oil price hit seven-year dark markets russia price rose to. Funds will allegedly create an international, decentralised marketplace. Hydra, Russia's largest darknet marketplace, is looking to raise. Darknet Update: Hydra. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is among the most important A Dark and Inexplicable Day - Market and Portfolio Ramifications of the.
In addition to informing you about the types of sites you will find in the deep web if you are a dark markets russia newbie. In a blockchain context, a transaction (TX) generally refers to the sending and receiving of different types of data between users on a blockchain network. The three persons alleged to be behind WSM were also apprehended by law officials from Germany, the US, and the Netherlands. BitBazaar is the newest Darknet Market that has made its presence on the Dark web. Despite this, darknet vendors still needed to connect with their buyers, and Dream Market, a darknet marketplace since 2014, that one redditor calls the "murica of the DNMs", quickly rose as the go-to market for drugs and digital services. The Department of Justice lauded it for shuttering what it also called the largest site of its kind. Some experienced dark net users might remember dark markets russia the Finnish marketplace called Sipulimarket. XYM is the native cryptocurrency of the Symbol blockchain which launched during March of 2021. To list on a market, a vendor may have undergone an application process via referral, proof of reputation from another market or given a cash deposit to the market. Access sales are essentially where a user, referred to as an access broker, gains access to an organisations network, and then sells this access to another user who can monetize it. At the time we had a few large orders of bongs going out through the USA and that costs us some funds, but nothing critical.
Also known as melee weapons, they are items dark web market list used in close range, hand-to-hand combat. The market supports bulk listings, and the good part is that there is no vendor bond as of the current time. Often, certain types of illegal products are traded against one another, depending on the geographical location.


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FLTA appoints new Chief Executive
The Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) has named Tim Waples as its new Chief Executive.
Waples’ appointment comes at a time when the recruiting and development of engineers within the sector has reached near-crisis point. “He’s the perfect fit for our organisation and brings with him a wealth of experience and a truly in-depth knowledge of this industry,” said FLTA Chairman Duncan Nealon. Waples was previously instrumental in the creation of F-TEC, the forklift industry’s dedicated engineering training centre, created in conjunction with FLTA itself.
Bolton ‘proud’ of promotion
Deborah Bolton is the new CEO at Addo Food Group. Announcing the appointment, the chilled food manufacturer said it’s long-serving executive had “played a central role in driving significant improvements and increasing turnover.”
She described it as a “huge privilege” to lead a business “with great heritage across its brands”. She added: “I’m proud to be leading a company that encourages progression and ambition amongst its employees and challenges industry standards with successful female-led teams.”
The savoury pastry giant sells more than 160 million products annually. They include pork pies, sausage rolls and scotch eggs across its own branded portfolio, such as Pork Farms, Walls and Bowyers, and for retail partners including Asda, M&S and Sainsbury’s. Former CEO Chris Peters will continue to be actively involved with the company, serving in a non-executive role whilst handing over daily operations. “In any corporation, there comes a time when you need to reflect on your current structures and ways of working in order to propel the business going forward,” he said. “I am honoured to be announcing Deborah Bolton as the new CEO and wish her huge success in her role.”
New ‘beer’ boss
Scottish craft brewing company Brewdog has appointed Andy Shaw to the newly created role of CEO Beer to “supercharge” global sales.
Shaw brings vast experience having served in various senior roles at Red Bull, most recently as MD of Red Bull UK. Brewdog co-founder James Watt said: “Andy’s impressive track record for championing a strategic, global vision is what makes him such an exciting addition to the Brewdog crew. His experience in working in a vibrant, bold, business famed for pushing the envelope is exactly what we need.”
In August, the brewery announced its half-year trading results, showing total revenue at £78m, up by 55 percent on the previous year.
Bakers Basco announces new GM
Richard Mew has taken the reigns at national bread basket supplier Bakers Basco. In his new role as General Manager, the FMCG veteran will oversee the company’s operations and recovery teams as well as strengthen relationships across the baking and associated manufacturing industries. He’ll also focus on technological innovations such as GPS tracking to further reduce equipment losses and misuse. Mew’s previous roles include Sales & Marketing Director at UK Snacks and General Manager of Tesco Broadband. He also had two six year stints in buying positions at Tesco and Waitrose. Bakers Basco was set up in 2006 by five of the UK’s leading plant bakers to manage and license a pool of four million bread baskets and associated wheeled dollies. Mew takes over from Steve Millward who after seven years in charge, will continue to serve in a consultancy role before stepping down to enjoy retirement.


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This week marks the arrival of the first Ford Focus Electric cars to dealerships across the country, but Ford doesn't want anyone to know.
Read This Article
The beginning of a new year has a different meaning to everyone.
Eeveryone hates getting traffic tickets.
Ford has fared extremely well of late here in the U.S., but according to a recent report, top brass at the Blue Oval are bracing for what may be a dismal outlook in European sales in the coming years.


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Snapchat got some swift and fierce competition when Instagram introduced a video feature that the company outright stated came directly from Snapchat.
Once Instagram users could create little videos like the ones that Snapchat allows users to create, a number of people thought it was all over for Snapchat. But Snapchat’s box of tricks isn’t empty quite yet.
Innovation Wins Every Time
Tech companies die when the innovation well runs dry. Snapchat is still innovating, so even though Instagram offers videos that are a lot like the ones that Snapchat offers, Instagram isn’t going to kill Snapchat. Why? Because Snapchat has just come up with a new invention - even though it is one that is borderline (or maybe all the way across the line!) trendy, it’s still an invention that might just capture a few new users.
So what is it? Glasses. But not just any glasses. These glasses take mini videos. The Snapchat glasses can capture ten second videos that can be sent to smartphones. Why? Well, two reasons, really. First, it’s a lot easier to capture videos when you’re wearing glasses. All you have to do is look at something and you’ve got an interesting video (imagine the possibilities!). The second reason is marketing.
Just In Time For Christmas
Snapchat has noted that the glasses will be available just in time for the holiday season in the US. Glasses might be gimmicky but kids everywhere are going to want a pair. It’s just too much fun not to want to wear glasses to capture everything from street scenes to snowflakes. Snapchat (soon to be renamed Snap Inc.) has told press that the company is still solely focused on video.
Some companies might have changed their stripes when Instagram created its Stories. But Snapchat is staying true to video. Testing for the glasses (called Spectacles) came to Snapchat CEO, Evan Spiegel, when he was out walking with his girlfriend. His girlfriend wore the glasses and recorded things like trees, birds, rivers, and other bits of nature when out on a hike.
Looking at the video that the glasses recorded after the hike, Spiegel told press that it was like reliving the hiking moment.
It’s one thing to create a video and then show it to people but it’s (apparently) another thing to film a video in real time as you walk. Snapchat’s new Spectacles are going to be a slow release, though. The company wants to test out the glasses first to see whether or not they will attract users. Once Spectacles have been thoroughly tested, Snap Inc. plans to release them around the holiday season for all Snapchat users to enjoy.
Spectacles will be a fun toy for Snapchat users this holiday season. The glasses should retail for around $130. While you can’t pick up a pair of Spectacles yet, you will start to see the glasses show up around November. Spectacles probably won’t be a Snapchat saving grace, but the glasses are an interesting addition to the Snapchat lineup.


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As a follow-up to our recent story on Novo Nordisk’s annual sustainability report, we had the opportunity to chat with Susanne Stormer, Novo’s VP of corporate sustainability. Susanne was in Washington last week to attend the Partnering for a Healthier America summit, which featured Michelle Obama as keynote speaker. TriplePundit: Can you give us an … Continued
This category is about corporate social responsibility (CSR), a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. The goal of CSR is to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.
A new program from renewable energy development company SunEdison and nonprofit solar installer GRID Alternatives aims to build a more diverse solar workforce. Last month, the organizations announced the launch of the RISE (Realizing an Inclusive Solar Economy) initiative, which will provide women and members of underserved communities with solar job training and job placement through GRID Alternatives’ workforce development program.
Cool Planet’s enhanced biochar can help farmers reduce water use and increase crop yield, an important benefit in California’s current drought conditions.
KFC diners in the U.K. apparently love their desserts — and their coffee. That’s why the bustling fried chicken chain plans to serve Seattle’s Best Coffee — complete with edible, chocolate-rimmed coffee cups. With another 100+ stores planned for the U.K. and Ireland soon, the new confection will get lots of visibility.
The Detroit water shutoffs continue to grow each month, with the number surpassing 30,000 since January 2014. It’s given rise to international protests and criticism, but it has also spawned an awesome community network of volunteers and businesses working to ensure no one in Detroit goes without water.
Earlier this year, DTE Energy announced a rate hike for LED lights, while lowering rates on sodium lighting, which can use up to three times more electricity.
A new government campaign launched last week in the U.K. to encourage domestic energy customers to engage in the market. But are businesses being left out in the cold?
If you are looking for inspiration on how you might establish your own center, focus and goals, here are just three of the people I have been following who might also offer you inspiration.
Business and Human Rights Resource Center released an interactive platform that sheds light on the effects companies and governments have on human rights.


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Lego's sales bounce back with the help of Marvel superheroes
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Nikolaj Skydsgaard - Sep 4th, 09:11
Models of superheroes and villains from Marvel’s Avengers movies helped lift first-half sales at Lego, as the Danish toymaker continued its turnaround drive with investments in China, India, the internet and new stores.
Lego, known for its colourful plastic bricks, returned to sales growth in 2018 after a decade of double-digit increases came to an abrupt halt in 2017.
The company, which competes with Barbie maker Mattel as well as Hasbro, said that sales rose 4% between January and June to 14.8-billion Danish kroner ($2.2bn). In local currencies, sales grew 2%.
Niels Christiansen, who took over as CEO in 2017, said that matched the company’s ambitions for single-digit growth over the full year. “And I think we will deliver on that.”
Lego said it gained share in its largest markets, with double-digit growth in China and single-digit growth in the US and Western Europe.
But operating profit declined 16% to 3.5-billion kroner due to new investments.
“It is moving rapidly towards e-commerce and towards really special retail experiences. That demands a lot from what you can do digitally, IT-wise and store-wise,” Christiansen said.
“In the end, it’s a battle over the time kids have to play in,” he said.
Lego versions of Marvel’s Avengers characters such as Captain America, Iron Man and Thanos were among the top sellers in the first half, while Star Wars-themed products and the company’s older building sets like Lego Technic and City also contributed to growth, it said.
Despite a shift towards online sales, the company plans to add 35 shops in China by the end of 2019, taking the total to more than 140 there and to nearly 600 worldwide.
“You cannot say the physical experience is not necessary, just because more is bought online,” Christiansen said, underlining the importance of “try-vertising”, where kids test out new products in stores. “It is really important in a country like China, where you have to build the brand. It’s a physical product.”
Christiansen said he hoped Lego’s push into India, where it currently sells via third party stores, would mirror its success in China, though it has not decided whether to open its own shops there yet.
“I wonder if we might have Lego-branded stores in India one day too. I think so”, he said.
Chinese spending hits record high on Singles' Day
13/11/2019 - 13:53
Chinese consumers spent a record amount on Alibaba platforms on Monday during the annual “Singles’ Day” buying spree, the world’s biggest 24-hour shopping event, which was launched with a glitzy show by US singer Taylor Swift.
Spar sees big jump in profit as consumers turn to store labels and alcohol
13/11/2019 - 11:43
Listed retailer Spar has published its financial results for the full year ended September 2019, reporting an 8.4% jump in revenue, with operating profits up 7.2% despite tough conditions across its operations.
What does the Retail Customer of the Future look like?
13/11/2019 - 09:28
Today’s retailers face a difficult challenge. Online shopping is attracting consumers to the convenience of desktop browsing, and away from the buzz of brick and mortar stores.
Woolworths boosts Earth Friendly range and launches plastic alternative products
12/11/2019 - 14:01
More than ten years ago, Woolworths pioneered its own label of eco-friendly products in South Africa with the launch of its Earth Friendly range of household cleaning products.
Sales at Truworths Africa outperform its UK business
12/11/2019 - 13:24
Truworths, which was forced to write down its UK business by a third recently, said that retail sales in that country were flat in the 18 weeks to November 4, although its African operations performed better.


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Commonwealth and adidas Team Up On a ZX500 RMRelease: 8 December 2018
Commonwealth has revealed a new collaboration with adidas consortium, reinterpreting the ZX500 RM. Blessing the shoe with an all-white futuristic look, a synthetic suede has been used for the overlays, while the underlays take the form of a transparent mesh. Embroidered adidas branding, as well as a specialised heel, adds a fresh new take on the silhouette. Commonwealth branded the shoe subtly on the insoles, and by placing a tag on the lateral side of the kicks. A classic white BOOST with specialised tabs creates a modernised look.
If you're planning on grabbing these kicks, then head over to Commonwealth locations on December 8. If you can't get there in person, these will receive a worldwide release on December 15.


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Eyeota Activates Experian WorldView To Strengthen Advertisers Global Reach and Targeting Capability
Enabling Brands To Engage Their Ideal Audiences, Experian and Eyeota Strengthen Advertisers’ Global Reach and Targeting Capability
Eyeota has announced that it is now activating Experian WorldView as Digital Audience Data in 36 countries around the globe. Multinational brands can now leverage Experian WorldView audience data for consistent and privacy-centric digital targeting on programmatic and social channels.
Today, as global privacy initiatives give consumers more control over their data, marketers are tasked with navigating regional privacy regulations and creating loyalty, retention, and acquisition programmes, utilizing nothing more than their first-party data resources. However, with fewer customers providing actionable first-party data and the upcoming deprecation of third-party cookies, today’s brands struggle to understand and target prospective consumers on digital channels.
To meet the growing need for privacy-compliant audience solutions, Eyeota and Experian have collaborated to provide WorldView digital audiences to help brands better identify, understand, and target their consumers online.
Experian’s WorldView data encompasses offline visual representations of key socio-demographic attributes across the globe. Representing 81% of the world population, attributes are segmented as 250m x 250m geolocation grids. WorldView data has traditionally been used by marketers to make effective global location planning and consumer insight decisions.
Leveraging Eyeota’s proprietary, privacy-compliant data onboarding technology, Experian WorldView offline data is matched to digital identifiers such as browser, hashed email, and Universal IDs such as ID5 and The Trade Desk UID2 using Eyeota’s agnostic identity graph Translate. WorldView digital audiences are distributed across Eyeota’s expansive network of demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), data management platforms (DMPs), social channels, and more for insights, personalization, and targeting.
Experian WorldView digital audiences span ten consumer groups: City Advantage, Upmarket Homeowners, Aspiring Families, Affluent Elders, Mid-range Employees, Family Economy, Metro Resilience, Aging Locals, Urban Workforce, and Rural Community audience segments. Advertisers and marketers can activate Experian WorldView across the following countries, despite variances in national and regional privacy regulations:
Asia:Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
Europe:Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland
North America:Canada, Mexico, United States of America, Puerto Rico
South America:Argentina, Brazil
Oceania:Australia, New Zealand
“Eyeota has been a key partner of Experian for some time now, enabling access to audiences defined by Experian in key digital channels. We have now built on this and can now offer consistent privacy-centric solutions for digital audience targeting and segmentation across 36 global markets. It is a real first, solving real problems for advertisers globally,” said Colin Grieves, Managing Director of Marketing Services UK&I at Experian.
This is already delivering proven results for clients. In one example, Eyeota and Experian partnered with a luxury automaker’s ad agency to produce breakthrough results in the fiercely competitive electric vehicle category. The companies created a unique Facebook audience targeting strategy to identify and connect with high-net-worth individuals most likely to be drawn to energy-saving transport. Together, they helped the automaker develop a custom audience profile that combined Eyeota income and socio-demographic audience data with an Experian WorldView group called “City Advantage.” As a result, the campaign delivered an above 81% increase in lift of ad recall versus consumers targeted using Facebook native user interest targeting data. The campaign also revealed key demographics within the target audience. This ad successfully reached people between the ages of 35-44 and 55-64, an insight that could not have been uncovered using native Facebook user data.
“We are proud to be Experian’s data onboarding and activation partner to take their WorldView audiences online for brand marketer needs,” said Kristina Prokop, co-founder at Eyeota, a Dun & Bradstreet company. “A longstanding international partner, we’ve worked closely with Experian, and we continue to help them bring their offline data products across the globe into the digital ecosystem.”


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Kenya: Equity Bank promotes NFC-based payments
Equity Bank, the largest bank in Kenya based on the number of customers, is about to lend 300,000 smartphones to retailers throughout the country in a bid to develop contactless payment.Equity Bank, the largest
bank in Kenya based on the number of customers, is set to lend 300,000 smartphones to retailers throughout the country in a bid to
develop contact-less payment.
Each customer will be able
to pay for his purchases by
simply touching their mobile phone with
an Equity Master Card or Visa card.
The smartphones lent by Equity Bank are enabled with a Near Field Communication (NFC) protocol that allows them to communicate with close-by devices.
The bank said it wants to encourage this method of payment because it is "easier, safer and cheaper" than traditional ones.
Eventually, Equity Bank would like all retailers to use NFC technology. At the moment, between 7,000 and 8,000 of their customers use the NFC protocol enabled on their Equity Bank card.
Last May, Equity Bank entered a partnership with Google so that owners of BebaPay-enabled cards could pay for their bus tickets without cash. BebaPay is a type of NFC system thought up by the Silicon Valley giant.
At the time, Equity Bank announced it wanted to launch the NFC technology in additional sectors. With a roll out to retail, they are putting their plan into practice.


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On Friday, in a statement to CNBC, Jim Chanos Kynikos Associates founder and president called Coinbase a “bubble stock.”
Coinbase listed its stock(COIN) last year and became the first crypto exchange to do so. However, the value of the stock has cut down by 50% in less than a year. At one instance, its stock price was trading for as high as $400. This value of stock coincided with the price of Bitcoin which was at its trading at its own ATH of around $69,000.
At this point both the assets are far away from their ATHs, a closer look at data reveals that investors who invested in Coinbase stock faced more losses as compared to those investors who invested directly in Bitcoin.
Chanos in the interview said that they call Coinbase a “one of the bubble stocks”. Chanos further said that the exchange has got a unique market niche as it is one of a kind of crypto exchange and as a result also fosters the valuation to go with it.
Moreover, Chanos further stated that it seems like Coinbase will not have a profitable year with a market cap of $40 billion.
What’s Affecting Coinbase Stock?
On being asked the reason behind the underperformance of COIN, Chanos pointed out the competition among different cryptocurrency exchanges, leading to “fee compression” and because the exchange relies on these fees for revenue, therefore in case these are affected it’s bound to suffer losses.
Moreover, the Kynikos founder said no matter how great efforts Coinbase put in to expand its business into more ventures, it will all be in vain as it wouldn’t show any desired results in the performance of stocks.
Chanos also points out the separation between the prices of COIN and Bitcoin. Earlier, a positive correlation could be found between BTC and the value of the stock, leading investors to believe a similar value proposition. It is, however, no longer the same.
There is a significant decrease in the demand for Coinbase stock with the emergence of more crypto-linked exchange-traded products and mining stocks.
In addition, Coinbase had to tackle various other issues because of the general outlook of the crypto industry for the year. As various analysts predict, the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets will be oscillating between the same range. With the ongoing political turmoil around the world, investors will be reluctant towards crypto investments. This will mean lower transactions for Coinbase, resulting in affecting its profitability.
In relation to this, Jere Ong, the principal analyst at JR research, shares that in the fourth quarter of last year, fees charged on retail transactions constituted 96% of the exchange revenue.
According to him, it shows the instability of Coinbase’s business, and therefore suggests investors hold exchange stocks for a “short period.”
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.


text: ATLANTA – Fewer than a third of American adults eat the amount of fruits and vegetables the government recommends, a trend that’s remained steady for more than a decade, health officials said Thursday. That’s “well below” the government’s goal of getting 75percent of Americans to eat two servings of fruits and having half of the population consume three servings of vegetables each day by 2010, said Dr. Larry Cohen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The diet survey, part of a huge federal health survey of every state, is based on responses from 305,000 adults in 2005. It indicates the country is only about halfway toward meeting its healthy eating goal three years from now. “We’re really concerned with the lack of success in meeting these national goals,” said Cohen, who works in CDC’s nutrition and physical activity division. Although the rate of fruit and vegetable consumption has remained unchanged since 1994, health officials said the goal is still within reach. Specifically, the survey showed that 27percent of adults ate vegetables three times a day, and about 33percent ate fruit twice a day. A serving size is a half-cup for most fruits and vegetables, one cup for leafy greens. Senior citizens were more likely than others to follow Mom’s advice to eat more veggies, with slightly more than a third of that group eating three or more servings each day. Younger adults, age 18 to 24, ate the fewest vegetables. Nearly four-fifths of that age category scraped the veggies to the side of their plates – if they had vegetables on the plate at all. Likewise, seniors also ate the most fruit, with nearly 46percent eating two or more servings of fruit daily. People age 35 to 44 ate fruit the least, with fewer than 28percent eating the recommended amount daily. Cohen said future surveys will ask people what other foods they are eating. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!


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FAST FIVE: Retail Investors Are Acting As If A Financial Crisis Is Just Around The Corner
This is shown in the next chart, which depicts the probability of a US recession taking place in different years based on successive Blue Chip Economic Indicators monthly surveys conducted since 2017.
In other words, according to at least one measure, what is coming will be even worse compared to the financial crisis – after all, this time economists see what's coming; that nobody is acting on it yet, is a different matter.
an effort by retail investors to prevent their equity weighting from rising too much given the strong 15% rally in global equities YTD.” Indeed the equity share in the fund universe has been hovering at pretty high levels by historical standards since the end of 2017.
But at 61% this equity share is still pretty high by historical standards and equal to the previous cycle peaks of 1999 and 2006.
In conclusion, even an optimistic read of the ongoing liquidation by retail investors “poses a challenge to the bullish equity market thesis emerging from this week's positive news on US-China trade negotiations and Brexit” Panigirtzoglou concludes, because any upside from this week's news could be constrained by retail investors trying to prevent their equity overweights from rising too much.


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Hackers stole millions of Social Security numbers from T-Mobile. What should you do?
Hackers have found their way again into T-Mobile’s systems, the fourth reported breach of the company’s data since early 2020. This time, the haul included sensitive personal information associated with about 48 million people, most of whom were former or prospective customers of the self-styled “un-carrier.”
Here is a breakdown of what happened, the risks you might face and how you can protect yourself against them.
What information was taken?
According to the company, the stolen data included names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information. In most cases, the company said, “no phone numbers, account numbers, [personal identification numbers], passwords, or financial information were compromised.” However, some 850,000 customers with prepaid accounts had their names, phone numbers and account PINs exposed, T-Mobile revealed.
Although the potential number of people affected is huge, by T-Mobile’s count it represents less than half the company’s current 105 million customers. T-Mobile has said it will notify the customers whose data was exposed and provide two years of identity theft protection service for free from the security company McAfee.
Hackers claim to have stolen 70 million Social Security numbers from AT&T days after massive T-Mobile breach. Here are some tips to protect yourself.
What are the risks?
There have been so many data breaches at so many companies over the years, some security experts say that much of the information exposed by T-Mobile is probably already available on the dark web. But that doesn’t mean you should just shrug off what happened. Those whose data were exposed face greater risks of identity theft, phishing scams and other forms of fraud, Krebs warned.
Social Security numbers are widely used by the federal government, banks, investment companies, government benefit programs and insurers to verify identity. Your stolen SSN can be used to open fraudulent credit card accounts, divert or fraudulently collect benefits and commit workplace fraud, among other forms of deceit. Throw in your name, birth date and driver’s license number, and it’s exponentially easier for someone to pretend to be you.
Identity thieves could use that information to target both you and the banks, insurers and other companies you do business with. For example, they could use it to make phishing emails seem more realistic, helping to persuade you to give up additional sensitive information such as a password or PIN. Or they could use it to dupe your bank into letting them change the password on your account, giving them access to your money.
For those whose phone numbers were also exposed, there’s at least one more malign possibility: a SIM-swap attack. That’s where someone persuades your mobile phone company to transfer your number to a different device, which he or she then uses to try to break into the accounts that you’ve tied to your phone number. It’s increasingly common for people to use their mobile numbers as a way to verify their identity — for example, when they log into their online banking account, or when they want to reset their password. But that convenience can backfire if your number is hijacked, then used to impersonate you online.
A doctor featured in a Times article published Sunday on the latest wave of COVID-19 speaks for herself in a searing letter to unvaccinated people.
How do you protect yourself?
The single best thing to do is to put a freeze on your credit files, which will prevent anyone from opening a new account. It’s free to place a freeze and to lift it for your own needs. But you have to contact each of the three major credit bureaus individually, which you can do online. Krebs also suggests freezing the credit files maintained by a handful of smaller, specialized agencies. You should also check your credit score regularly, which is a good way to detect fraud after it happens.
Credit- and identity-monitoring services, which typically carry a monthly fee, can also help reveal the work of identity thieves. They provide tools to prevent you from phishing and other forms of hacking combined with scanning services that look for your Social Security number or email address in places online where it doesn’t belong.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile has set up a website suggesting more steps people can take to guard against fraud. Anyone with a smartphone would be wise to take them:
- Create a PIN for your mobile phone account to provide an extra layer of security against unauthorized changes in your account, such as a malicious SIM swap. If you’re a T-Mobile customer and you have a PIN, set a new one.
- Activate T-Mobile’s “account takeover protection” feature, which provides an extra layer of protection on top of the PIN. Verizon goes further, automatically blocking SIM swaps by shutting down both the new device and the existing one until the account holder weighs in with the existing device.
- Change the password you use to get into your mobile phone account online. Changing passwords periodically is a good practice for all your accounts. And if you have trouble remembering dozens of passwords, try a password manager app that can keep track of them for you.
On the plus side, two-factor authentication is becoming the standard online, and that’s improving security across the web. But too many sites encourage you make that second factor a text to your phone number, which encourages SIM swap fraud. Wherever possible, use an authentication app instead.
As an aggressive mosquito spreads in California, scientists say we got very lucky that the insects couldn’t transmit COVID-19 to people.


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Being a regular at Disney World just got a bit more expensive. Walt Disney (DIS -1.00%) raised some of its annual pass prices on Tuesday, its second hike in the past eight months. It's also the third time that Disney World annual prices have gone up in the last 16 months. Shareholders might be tickled by the move, but diehard visitors will naturally see things differently.
The boosts this time around aren't as dramatic as the move this past summer to jack up prices as much as 25%, but the increases are still running ahead of inflationary rates. Some prices for out-of-state annual pass holders are going up as much as 7%. Disney's priciest offering -- the Premier pass, which includes access to all of the domestic Disneyland and Disney World parks -- increased $100 to $2,199 plus tax. The nearly 5% price hike may seem like chump change, but between last year's boost and the 3% to 9% uptick in late 2018, one has to wonder whether the media giant is overplaying its hand in this buoyant economy.
You must be this rich to ride
Disney has never positioned its gated attractions as anything other than a premium experience, so it makes sense for the operator of the world's busiest theme parks to price its offerings as ambitiously as possible. Even after the last couple of hikes -- and daily ticket prices that have gone up every year since 1989 -- Disney World is still checking in with record attendance levels.
There seemed to be a moment of mortality when year-over-year turnstile clicks declined at Disneyland and Disney World in its springtime quarter of last year, but that trend reversed itself in Florida the following quarter and in California the period after that. With crowds starting to build again, one can argue that Disney has every right to test its pricing elasticity. It's making big investments in new experiences, and that alone warrants a higher cover charge.
However, Disney could be raising ticket prices at the worst possible time. The coronavirus outbreak has already shuttered the company's theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and Disney is expecting a $175 million hit related to the closures for the current quarter. We're already starting to see the first whiffs of international travel disruptions, and if more than a few isolated cases land in the U.S., it's easy to see why families may start putting off their next Disney World visits.
Disney is setting a potentially problematic cadence with its hikes. This is the second time in a row that it waited just eight months between annual pass price increases. The inevitable uproar on social media over the pricing boosts will once again paint the House of Mouse as out of touch. Even if Disney's playing a different game here, where it's more interested in increasing per-capita spending than entrance taps, it can all backfire if the coronavirus outbreak spreads, a recession arrives, or consumers just collectively decide that the value proposition is no longer as compelling as it used to be. Disney investors may be cheering today's move, but it may be a different story a few months later.


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You ever seen the episode of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”…when Will and Carlton tricked Geoffrey into thinking he won the lotto?? Well, McDonald’s has done the same thing to a 27-year-old IBM consultant named Ryan Doon…and could care less how he feels about it!!!
The multi-billion dollar fast food chain had Doon thinking he won a $1 million jackpot after he found a “Park Place” game sticker to their famous Monopoly game. However to his surprise, Mickey Dees made a typo on their official game rules online and actually meant to put that players require both “Park Place” AND “Boardwalk” game pieces to win the grand prize. So just like Geoffrey…poor old Ryan Doon didn’t receive a cent for his winnings either. (Now that is some serious BS!!)
McDonald’s has since responded to the matter and said only one of its six contest websites had the typo and they were corrected by Thursday afternoon….however Ronald McDonald and Co. gave no word on any kind of compensation.
Another example of how the big man…always takes a big massive million dollar poop on the little man. SMH!


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Kronos Reports Strong Third-Quarter Results; Cloud Business Rapidly Accelerating
August 13th, 2012 at 11:14 am
CHELMSFORD, Mass., Aug. 13, 2012 — Underscoring the rapid acceleration of its Kronos Cloud business, Kronos Incorporated today announced a 60 percent year-over-year increase in cloud revenue and a 50 percent increase in cloud customer adoption. Kronos also today announced financial results, company advancements, and customer successes for the third quarter of Fiscal 2012, including double-digit growth in new customer contracts. Kronos revenues for the quarter increased to $224.8 million. Earnings before interest, tax, and amortization (EBITA) was $59.9 million.1
“Customers are enthusiastically embracing our Kronos Cloud and SMB offerings,” said Aron Ain, Kronos chief executive officer. “In addition, the explosion of Big Data is driving rapid adoption of our labor analytics solution. The powerful combination of Kronos Cloud adoption, SMB, and our next-generation workforce management solutions – along with our aggressive international expansion efforts and deep vertical market expertise – position Kronos very well.”
Third-Quarter News Facts
- Accelerated SMB strategy – Kronos is revolutionizing the way small and midsize businesses (SMBs) manage their workforce. Kronos unveiled its new SaaS Workforce Ready™ product suite designed to help SMBs stay competitive through single-source access to real-time employee data. Capitalizing on a hosted, multi-tenant architecture and shared common technology platform to provide a universal employee record and single user interface, Workforce Ready includes time and attendance, HR, and payroll solutions. Momentum also continued in the company’s reseller partner channel where more than 1,100 new SMB customers were added in the past 120 days alone. Today, nearly 400,000 employees across more than 5,400 organizations use the Kronos SMB platform.
- Fast-growing cloud business – As more organizations around the world adopt cloud computing, Kronos is actively responding to a rapid increase in demand. Kronos Cloud revenues increased 60 percent year over year and the Kronos Cloud customer base increased 50 percent. The Kronos Cloud is now being used successfully at thousands of organizations on a global basis including one of the world’s largest hotel chains, one of the world’s most successful online retailers, a leading global cosmetics company, one of the largest healthcare systems, a leading financial services institution, a leading multinational manufacturing company, and some of the largest state and local government entities. Combined with rapidly building demand for Kronos’ new cloud-based Workforce Ready suite, Kronos is successfully bringing customers of all sizes into a cloud computing environment.
- Enhanced Big Data labor analytics capabilities – With the release of an enhanced labor analytics solution built to deliver instant insights that inform fact-based decisions, Kronos is making it easier than ever for organizations to find value in Big Data and turn their workforce into a competitive advantage. Workforce Analytics™ is now the fastest-growing product in Kronos’ workforce management portfolio, enabling organizations to easily access and leverage their workforce data to identify, predict, and manage opportunities for cost savings and productivity gains.
- Aggressive international growth strategy – Kronos continues to experience double-digit year-over-year international product revenue growth. Supporting its international growth strategy and strengthening its presence in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, Kronos acquired UK-based SMART Computer Holdings and its Spanish affiliate SMART Human Logistics. The acquisition gives Kronos a leadership position in the UK healthcare market through SMART’s domain expertise and well-established base of NHS Trust customers, and also establishes a physical presence for Kronos in Spain. In addition, Kronos extended its reach into the Middle East through a reseller agreement with OCSHI.
- Vertical performance – Kronos continued to gain market share and traction as the company experienced another quarter of double-digit growth in contracts with new customers. The company’s highly focused vertical go-to-market strategy is contributing to Kronos’ high win rate in competitive deals.


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Knitted face masks a future trend?
During the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week TOKYO (MBFWT), an interesting sight hit the runway.
MBFWT is one of the highest regarded fashion shows on the road, along with those held in Paris, New York, London and Milan, and is hosted by the Japan Fashion Week Organization twice a year in October and March. Though it sounds bizarre, Nguyen Cong Tri, a self-taught Vietnamese fashion designer, debuted knitted face masks during his runway show.
Cong Tri is no stranger to avant-garde fashion. On his website, Cong Tri displays multiple collections, including colorful and inventive ao dais, Vietnam’s national dress, pieces modeled after human anatomy and accessories with mechanical elements.
Cong Tri was first introduced to the world of fashion with his “Green Leaves” fashion collection in 2000, which won first place in the “New Idea” category at the Vietnam Collection Grand Prix.
According to NotJustALabel.com, an online platform for fashion design, “his signature aesthetic and keen eye for detail combines progressive and hand-made techniques, resulting in collections which feature laser cutting, interlacing, hand-ironed pleating, knitting and hand painting, with a particular emphasis on jewel and sequin embellishments.”
It is too early to say whether these knitted face masks will incite a new global fashion trend, but they have received a variety of responses.
“These are masks for your face that are knitted together,” Lisa Wallace, a senior majoring in chemistry, said. “And its fashion, so quiet honestly, in order to actually respect it, you have to look at it in a non-practical sense, because if you actually looked at it, you’d think it’s ridiculous.
“But I guess it’d be the interpretation, more so. So, come at it from a fashion side. It might be doable, but in my opinion, it’s completely ridiculous.”
However, the reception of these masks is not all bad.
Madison Breeze, a freshman majoring in studio art, said she believes someday the knit masks may take off.
“I think they’re kind of cute, and I would wear one if it ever got super cold,” she said. “Maybe someday they’ll catch on. Probably not in Florida, though, because it isn’t that cold here. Maybe somewhere colder, though, because that solves the problem of cold noses and mouths.”


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The livestock industry needs commitment from retailers - not
kind words - to secure the immediate future of beef and lamb
producers says the NFU.
Many farmers are currently subsidising beef and lamb production
because the price they are paid at the farm gate is around 15-25
per cent below their actual production costs. And with input prices
set to rise, the NFU is calling on retailers to demonstrate genuine
commitment to their supplying farmers by beginning the process
of moving prices towards sustainable levels.
NFU livestock board chairman Thomas Binns said: “I'm sorry to
say that too many of our partners in the supply chain are not prepared
to share the risk. Instead it's just easier for them to talk the talk
and then pass the risk back down to the farmer.
“Nobody whom we've spoken to in the trade disagrees that the current
returns to farmers are untenable but unfortunately nobody is prepared
to do anything about it.”
At their board meeting last week, NFU livestock representatives agreed
the prospects in the medium term were very positive. However the immediate
challenge was to overcome the difficult financial situation that most
livestock farmers were currently facing.
Mr Binns said: “We need a retail champion to come forward and
put its money where its mouth is. Some of the retailers are very good
at telling us what customers want but then behave very differently.
“We cannot continue to ignore the fact that many livestock farmers
are currently struggling to make ends meet as the supply chain adjusts
to this new market-driven environment.
“It is absolutely essential that retailers and the supply chain
provide farmers with the confidence to continue producing what customers
want – home-reared beef and lamb.”
NFU Welcomes Use of Set-Aside Land for Grazing
Cross Compliance Standard Suspended to Help Flood Affected Farmers
Archbishop Calls for Donations to Support Flooded Farmers


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1967 Shelby GT500 Barn Find discovered in Death Valley
It’s getting harder to find classic cars tucked away in barns or deserted in a back lots, but determined collectors are still occasionally making incredible discoveries. One found recently is this 1967 Shelby GT500 that has been sitting outside in the desert in Death Valley, CA for the last 25 years. The car is still in fairly good condition considering what it’s been through, although the exterior, particularly the paint (or lack thereof) on the fiberglass panels, is worse for wear. BangShift.com, who went to go see the car at the shop where it’s being worked on, reports that the car still has its Shelby-specific items including the center driving lights, wooden steering wheel and all Shelby tags and badges.
So what does the new owner, a resident of Massachusetts, plan on doing with the car? BangShift.com says that he is getting the 428ci V8 running and will keep the exterior as-is. We doubt that includes the vintage Firestone Wide Oval tires, as they’ll probably need to be replaced.
Check out photos of the 1967 Shelby GT500 time capsule in the gallery below, or head on over to BangShift.com to read more about the car.
- Code Red: Shelby and Nelson Racing Engines team up for 1000 rwhp twin-turbo GT500 prototype
- Ford details 2013 Shelby GT500's new launch control system
- Photo Gallery: 2013 Shelby GT500 Convertible and 1993 Mustang SVT Cobra R together represent 20 years of SVT
- Shelby ending 2005-2014 Mustang production with GT500 Super Snake Signature Edition
- Video: 2013 Shelby GT500 underrated, dyno tests at 609 rwhp
- 2013 Shelby GT500: 0-60 mph in 3.5 sec, 1/4 mile in 11.6 sec @ 126 mph
- 2013 Shelby GT500 Order Guide
- Video: Motor Trend pits the 2011 Shelby GT500 against the Corvette Z06, Nissan GT-R
- Photo Gallery: Shelby GT500 Super Snake Anniversary Edition on display at Barrett-Jackson
- Ford officially announces 2013 Shelby GT500 Convertible


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- HOUSTON SPROCKETS: Minimalist MLB, NHL, And NBA Logos Are Good Design
- Greek Soccer Fans Surround Stadium With Ring Of Flares, Awesomeness Ensues (VIDEO)
- Derrick Rose Looks A Lot Like LeBron James Now
- Fantasy Baseball: Is Miguel Cabrera Healthy?
- Notre Dame's Everett Golson Excited To Return After 2013 Suspension
Dan Marino Lost $13.6 Million On The Company That Created The Tupac Hologram
Digital Domain Media Group Inc., the digital production company founded by director James Cameron and best known for producing visual effects for movies like Titanic and Transformers, has filed for Chapter 11 less than a year after going public. This is bad news for one Daniel Constantine Marino, who owned 1.6 million shares in the company at the time of the filing.
The Dolphins great/NFL Today analyst/Ace Ventura supporting actor/breast man bought 1,576,525 shares in the company — 8.6% of the company at the time of the IPO – and at its high, his investment was worth $14 million. On Tuesday, the stock closed at 55 cents a share, and his investment was worth $850,000.
In an obscure twist that will undoubtedly delight the internet, Digital Domain is the company responsible for that extremely weird Tupac hologram that haunted/rapped at the Coachella music festival earlier this year; the buzz around the Pac hologram actually caused Digital Domain’s stock to hit $9.20 a share. Alas, the company has sold its core business, and doesn’t look like it will be resurrecting more dead hip-hop icons any time soon.
[h/t Bob's Blitz]
- Controversy Hits The MMA Ring
- Paulina Gretzky's Provocative Golf Digest Photoshoot
- Jessie James and NFL Star in Provocative Shoot
- UFC 170 Salaries Revealed


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Speaking at the SXSW Gaming Expo 2014 in Austin, Texas, Microsoft's Phil Spencer has conceded that Microsoft's Xbox One messaging across the May 2013 reveal event and E3 2013 could have been handled better. Spencer is adamant, however, that all of it came from a good place.
"I look at last summer and that wasn't a highpoint for me, coming out of the announcement of Xbox One and E3, where I thought our messaging around what we believed in was confused," he admitted (via gerrenlaquint). Spencer didn't specify which aspects of the messaging Microsoft had gotten wrong, but the reference is presumably to the console's now-abandoned 24 hour online DRM checks in particular.
"One of the reasons I wanted to be a little more active socially was because I knew the core of why we were in this industry was not an evil reason," he continued. "It was to really delight consumers and build a great product that millions and millions of people would love.
"I learned a ton last summer as leader of our groups about being true to your core vision about what a product is, not being confusing, and frankly, when you're going to say something to a consumer that might put them off, it's better to just be direct and honest, rather than trying to sugar-coat something that might be controversial.
"I'd rather deal with the controversy of what we're doing, and have an above-table conversation about that topic, rather than trying to sugar-coat it with some other news. And again, my interactions over the last six months, and I really think the interactions of [Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi] and [Xbox corporate vice president Marc Whitten] and other members of the leadership team - we're meaning to build on what we learned last summer, and just build on who we are as people."
This represents something of a retreat from Spencer's stand in August last year, when he argued that gamers buy consoles for games, not press events. Spencer did, however, observe at the time that "it's important that we remain in a two-way dialogue with gamers and potential customers about what they would like to see".
How do you feel about the Xbox One's public image right now? I think we can all agree that there are some great titles available for the console, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Right?


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Microsoft might launch its own Windows Phone 8 based smartphone just like the Microsoft branded tablet that the company recently unveiled.
This has been said by a Wall Street analyst who has followed the company for many years.
“Our industry sources tell us that Microsoft may be working with a contract manufacturer to develop its own handset with Windows Phone 8,” wrote Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund in a note to clients on Thursday and reported by Reuters.
“It is unclear to us whether this would be a reference platform or whether this may be a go-to market Microsoft-branded handset,” wrote Sherlund, who covered Microsoft for Goldman Sachs when the bank brought Microsoft public in 1986.
While Microsoft has not confirmed or denied the move, it seems likely to do the same given that it has already announced a tablet with the new operating system. This move could be a big blow to Nokia which has committed to the Windows Phone platform ditching its own Symbian and Meego platform.
While this could be a similar move like Google, which makes Google Nexus phones with pure Android Operating system version, while other manufacturers make their own smartphones based on Android and also have the freedom to tweak the operating system.
However, the key difference in this case is the fact that Microsoft doesn’t allow the manufacturers to modify the operating system much and also specifies the exact hardware requirements for making phones based in this platform, meaning that a device from Microsoft will be a direct competition to the devices manufactured by others with Windows Phone platform and there will be hardly any differentiating factor.
Another surprising part is that the Windows Phone 8 version will not be available to phones based on Windows Phone 7.5 based devices, which have been made available within the last 12 months only. This is a complete departure from the industry practice, for example till now all iOS software upgrades have been made available to all iPhones produced till date and it is only with the iOS 6 that the older iPhones will not support the upgrade. Even in case of Android, all handsets that have the necessary hardware to support latest version gets the update.
Some in the industry feel that Microsoft is interested in buying Nokia but not before it is weakened further and its stock prices plummet to new lows at which point it will be a cheap deal for Microsoft.
One question that comes to mind is, was Nokia not informed that the next version of the OS will require a completely different set of hardware? Since Microsoft would be developing the Windows Phone 8 for at least one year now, it should have known this in advance.
Also if Microsoft doesn’t intend to buy Nokia out and enter the smartphone space like RIM and Apple where it does both software and hardware, it would risk losing the little support for Windows Phone operating that it has right now from HTC, Acer and Samsung. As it is most other smartphone vendors are not willing to invest in its platform.


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Jan 19, 2012. Wired -- NoSQL is a widespread effort to build a new kind of database for “unstructured” information — the sort of information that comes spilling off the internet with each passing second. Five years ago, Amazon introduced a NoSQL database service called SimpleDB, and now, it’s offering what you might think of as Amazon NoSQL Mark II. It’s called DynamoDB.This is an important technology transition. Until fairly recently, internet applications were re-using (and are still using) database designs created for the previous generations of IT applications. Now, we see internet-specific architectures becoming available as a 24/7 service. Should be really good for mobile apps, games, ads, and connected devices.
Like SimpleDB, DynamoDB is one of many Amazon Web Services (AWS), a set of tools offering online access to various computing resources, from virtual servers to virtual storage to databases and other software.
tags: source, system, evolution, information, infrastructure


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A mouse scurrying across a kitchen floor, urine leaking through a roof, rat droppings and mouldy vegetables were among the grim discoveries made by environmental health officers at restaurants across Britain.
Which? researcher Pete Tynan, who accompanied inspectors on 10 hygiene checks, was shocked by the findings.
"It was a real eye-opener for me to go into these restaurants," he said yesterday. "The place where I saw a mouse looked very nice when you walked in. You couldn't tell how bad it was at the back. It had just been let go.
"There were holes in the kitchen walls, and food left un covered - which is a real no-no. If there is a mouse around, it is easy for droppings to get into the food."
Of the 10 restaurants in London, Birmingham and Cambridge, five failed inspections.
The Consumers' Association is calling for licensing of food premises so that they are inspected and reach an approved standard of hygiene before they can open, and to ensure basic hygiene training of all staff.
Helen Parker, editor of Which? said: "Introducing a licensing system and basic hygiene training as is already required in butchers' shops would help raise standards." It would help cut the estimated 4.5m people contracting food poisoning each year.
The watchdog is also calling for hygiene ratings that are publicly available based on council inspections so diners can compare the food safety standards of different eateries.
"Prevention is better than cure," Mr Tynan said. "The fact is that you can open a restaurant without being inspected and without having any training or knowledge of the industry. Problems can be going on for some time before an environmental health officer pays a routine visit."
Television chef Antony Worrall Thompson, who runs the Wiz restaurant in west London where diners can see chefs at work in the kitchen, supported licensing but warned customers against paying too much heed to surveys. "The trouble is that they always pick on the worst," he said.
"I'd be very keen to get restaurant premises licensed for hygiene. There should be annual inspections - and restaurants should know when these inspections are going to be so at least they are clean at those times.
"I don't think publishing hygiene ratings would be welcomed by restaurateurs. They would feel like school teachers, being put on a league table."
Diners in restaurants where the kitchen is not open-plan can look for clues to the standards of cleanliness, Mr Worrall Thompson added.
"A good test is if the loos are clean," he said. "They should look around under the table to see if there are bits of food from previous dining sessions. I think the waiter should be spotless. If the waiter is dirty, you're likely to get a dirty kitchen."
Which? also reports today that popular energy drinks such as Red Bull and Lipovitan are high in sugar and do not fit in with healthy eating advice. There is no evidence that these drinks are any more effective in boosting energy than a cup of coffee with sugar, the magazine says.
Some environmental health officers' findings:
A mouse scampering across the kitchen floor in a busy Italian restaurant in Birmingham city centre
Urine and water pouring into a kitchen in a small Birmingham restaurant
Dirt encrusted containers for cooked foods and salads in an Italian restaurant in London's West End, and rat droppings found next to boxes of vegetables, some of which were mouldy
A risk of cross-contamination with raw burgers being stored above uncovered salad items and cooked chicken in a Cambridge chip shop. Only three of the seven staff had basic hygiene training


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Autonomous logistics technologies, from warehouse automation to augmented reality and automated guided vehicles, are revolutionising the way manufacturers move goods from place to place, increasing efficiency, improving safety standards and reducing environmental footprints.
Self-driving vehicles / automated guided vehicles
According to ‘Industry Europe’; the development of autonomous vehicles for logistics is a global trend; in the years to come we may well see long-distance heavy autonomous trucks transporting goods all over the continent. Forbes has projected that more than 250 million smart vehicles as well as 10 million self-driving cars will be on the road by 2020.
But a complete transformation to fully automated trucks is likely to be slow. Closer than total autonomy is the possibility of trucks driving themselves part of the time, with assistance from humans, like automated guided vehicles. ‘Platooning’ technology, for example, involves trucks owned by a single company synchronising their braking on motorways to enable them to drive far closer together than would normally be safe. The benefits of this are reduced air resistance and lower fuel consumption.
‘Automated guided vehicles equipped with lasers and cameras can also be used in warehouses or logistics hubs to move and sense hazards.’
Off the road, automated guided vehicles equipped with lasers and cameras can also be used in warehouses or logistics hubs to move and sense hazards – meaning a reduced need for investment in tracks or guide lanes. For example, back in 2015 The Hook in Rotterdam became the first shipping terminal to open a fully automated shipyard – the Maasvlakte II, or MVII Shipyard – using smart sensors powered by wind and other renewable energy sources to move cargo efficiently.
While there are still many issues to be addressed, not least of which is safety, there’s no doubt that automated guided vehicles will be playing a significant role in the future of the global logistics industry.


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New York’s recreational marijuana battle sits on the front line of a generational war over American cannabis laws. As debate heats up, USA TODAY Network New York is compiling answers to key questions about legalized cannabis.
Federal authorities seem poised to tighten restrictions on CBD-brand cannabis products already being sold throughout the state just as New York's recreational marijuana push is rebooting.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is typically sold as cannabis-derived oils, creams and capsules, which is legal in New York and across the country because it lacks marijuana’s psychoactive element.
Yet concerns about bogus CBD marketing and products threatening users have ignited calls for U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight, a potential turning point for the CBD industry on pace to hit $16 billion in sales by 2025, experts say.
The CBD craze exploded after Congress passed the Farm Bill last year, which made some cannabis plants legal and loosened restrictions on the use of the CBD hemp products that contain less than .3% THC, the psychoactive element, USA TODAY Network reported.
Further, the bill removed the low-THC hemp, used to extract CBD, from the schedule 1 category that includes marijuana and other drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
So far, federal regulators have only approved medical grade CBD for treating severe epilepsy, handling other CBD products claiming to treat everything from anxiety and insomnia to pain and depression similar to nutritional supplements.
Some companies touting cannabidiol as a cancer cure, however, received warning letters from the Food and Drug Administration, suggesting a pending crackdown on CBD medical claims.


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Intel to purchase RealNetworks patents
January 27, 2012
Intel has signed an agreement with RealNetworks to purchase a significant number of patents from the company, as well as next generation video codec software, for $120 million.
Under the terms of the sale, RealNetworks will retain certain rights to continue to use the patents in current and future products.
In addition to the sale of the patents, RealNetworks and Intel signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on future support and development of the next-generation video codec software and related products.
In all, the sale includes approximately 190 patents and 170 patent applications.


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For 2011, a Chevrolet Camaro convertible joined the Camaro lineup, so it is no surprise GM would release convertible version of the Chevy Camaro ZL1, only a matter of when.
Read This Article
On January 13, 2013, Chevrolet will unveil the next-generation Corvette.
According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, vehicles are safer than a decade ago.
General Motors will offer a natural gas Chevrolet Impala for both retail and fleet sales for the 2015 model year.


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Dollar General drops plans to open controversial convenience store at Historic Third Ward site
Dollar General Corp. has dropped plans to open a controversial convenience store in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.
Dollar General wanted to open one of its new small-format DGX convenience stores at 329-331 N. Broadway, just south of East St. Paul Avenue. Two empty storefronts there total about 5,000 square feet.
However, a new city occupancy permit has been issued for another business, IV hydration clinic IV Me, to operate at that location.
A Dollar General spokeswoman on Tuesday had little to say about the dropped plans, or whether the company was considering other downtown locations.
"At this time, we continue to evaluate the best location opportunities to serve Milwaukee residents with our DGX format," said Crystal Ghassemi, director of public relations for the Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company.
A spokeswoman for Ald. Bob Bauman, whose district includes downtown, said there's been no information from the company about its plans.
Dollar General is apparently looking at other Milwaukee sites, but not in the Third Ward, said Jim Plaisted, Historic Third Ward Association executive director.
The DGX stores include a soda fountain, coffee station and grab-and-go sandwiches.
They also sell a limited assortment of grocery offerings, pet supplies, candies and snacks, paper products, home cleaning supplies, cosmetics and toiletries.
The company's plans for a Third Ward store, which surfaced in September, drew opposition from many neighborhood residents and business owners.
They said it would hurt the Third Ward's ambiance and detract from its brand as a unique shopping destination.
Dollar General executives said the store's exterior signs would blend with the building's historic feel. And supporters said it would fill a need for downtown residents looking for a quick way to buy everyday items.
The DGX store would have required Common Council approval for city licenses to sell prepared foods, beer and wine.
IV Me, which is moving into the North Broadway space, will be the second such IV hydration clinic in the Third Ward. H2O Hydration Oasis opened on Jan. 1 at 130 N. Jefferson St.


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Event Coverage: The Fifth Annual American Fine Wine Competition VIP Connoisseur Reception
A bucket full of the good stuff.
American Fine Wine Competition president Shari Gherman said the competition has gained momentum each year. This year's competition, which took place in January, featured 24 judges -- a mix of sommeliers and other experts from Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. -- evaluating more than 600 American wines in a two-day period.
"I know that sounds like fun, but it's a lot of work," Gherman said.
Snacks were offered to balance out the effects of the wine.
AFWC judge Roberto Colombi, AFWC president Shari Gherman, and AFWC judge Patrick Sullivan (l-r) prepare to saber bottles of sparkling wine.
AFWC president Shari Gherman said the event "grows every year" and is gaining national and international recognition.
Gherman and Colombi assess the John Anthony 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
Gherman said the AFWC features many of the more well-known labels in the country, but that it also highlights a lot of the smaller, lesser-known and family-owned-and-operated wineries.
"Their vineyards are in the backyard and their kids are up early in the morning with them," Gherman said. "(The wine industry) looks so sophisticated, but (the process) is so manual and down to earth."
The next marquee event for the AFWC is a consumer challenge and wine carnival on March 22 at Bogart's of Boca.
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