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Revolut launched its joint account across Europe in April
Digital bank Revolut has launched its joint account products in the UK.
The joint account features, which are already used by 100,000 customers across Europe, will allow customers to create an extra account within the Revolut app to be jointly owned by two people, whether they are partners, family or friends.
UK-based Revolut said they designed the joint account to increase financial flexibility and inclusion, and to suit the needs of all customers and their personal relationships.
Customers in Europe are mainly using their joint account for everyday spending, predominantly for groceries and eating out, Revolut said.
Antonella Benhamou, head of banking tribe and UX product owner at Revolut, commented: “We are really excited to be launching joint accounts to customers in the UK, following the successful release of the feature to European markets back in April.
“As it continues to scale at pace, Revolut is becoming even more social and inclusive to meet the needs of different individuals, relationships and budgets.
“Joint accounts will help to easily sort out money matters with whomever we share our financial life—blending the best of existing social and banking features.”
To open an account, both individuals need to have personal accounts and they cannot be part of another joint account.


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Small businesses cheered by weekend sales
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A survey conducted for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express, showed growing awareness of the Small Business Saturday movement and resulted in higher sales for smaller researchers.
According to the survey, 71 percent of those polled were aware of the effort to draw buyers to small retailers, up from 67 percent last year, and 46 percent said they did do some shopping last Saturday.
Consumers who were aware of Small Business Saturday reported spending $5.7 billion with independent merchants on the day, an increase of 3.6 percent from 2012.
“In an uncertain economy, America’s small businesses have remained a beacon — creating good jobs and supporting the families they employ and the communities around them,” NFIB CEO Dan Danner said in a news release. “We are very pleased that so many Americans sought to give back by shopping small this Small Business Saturday. We hope that support of small firms, retailers, restaurants and other independent businesses continues throughout the holiday season and all year round. Continued support of this vital sector is one important way to ensure our economy fully recovers and a healthy private sector is restored.”
“In just four years, the nation has adopted Small Business Saturday and made it part of the holiday shopping tradition,” Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN, said in a statement. “On Nov. 30, we saw a continuation of this growing trend as communities around the country came together to celebrate local businesses and helped drive consumers to shop small on the day.”
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Tessian Named Representative Vendor in the 2022 Gartner® Market Guide for Data Loss Prevention. Download →
Tessian Cloud Email Security intelligently prevents advanced email threats and protects against data loss, to strengthen email security and build smarter security cultures in modern enterprises.
Retailers have always been a lucrative target for cybercriminals and their phishing scams — even more so during peak shopping times. The thing is, cybercriminals always follow the money and opportunistic hackers will find ways to cash in on spikes in consumers’ spending.
During the coronavirus lockdown, for example, global payments systems provider ACI Worldwide found that online sales for retailers dramatically increased. It reported a 74% growth in average transaction volumes in March 2020, compared to the same period the year before. However, while they saw an increase in online sales, they also saw a spike in fraudulent activity and Covid-19 phishing scams.
We see a similar trend around retailers’ busiest shopping period of the year – Black Friday.
US shoppers spent a record $7.4bn on Black Friday in 2019, and a further $9.2bn on Cyber Monday. In the UK, Barclaycard reported that transaction value was up 16.5% in 2019, compared to Black Friday in 2018. A golden opportunity for fraudsters. When we surveyed IT decision makers at UK and US retailers, the majority told us the number of number of phishing attacks their company receives during the Black Friday weekend spikes. In fact, respondents said they receive more phishing attacks in the last three months of the year – in the lead up to the holidays – compared to the rest of the year.
Consequently, one in five IT decision makers told us that phishing poses the greatest threat to their retail organization during peak shopping times. They identified phishing as a bigger threat to their business than ransomware or Point of Sale (PoS) attacks.
Their reasons? They aren’t confident that their staff will be able to identify the scams that land in their inbox during these busier periods, namely because people are receiving more emails at this time and are more distracted. A third of IT decision makers in retail also told us that phishing emails are, simply, becoming harder to spot.
The devastating consequences of falling for a phishing attack are troubling the IT leaders we surveyed. Over a third said financial damage would have the greatest impact to their business following a successful phishing attack. It’s not surprising. Today, the average cost of a phishing attack on a mid-size company is $1.6 million. For small businesses, the cost of a cyber attack stands at just over $53,000 – a devastating blow for any small retailer and one that could put them out of business.
The people-heavy nature of the retail industry is something cybercriminals prey on. Using sophisticated social engineering techniques and clever impersonation tactics, they’re counting on people making a mistake and falling for their scams.
Sadly, during busy shopping periods, mistakes are likely to happen. When faced with hundreds of orders, thousands of customers to respond to, and overwhelming sales targets, cybersecurity is rarely front of mind as people just focus on getting their jobs done. In these situations, you can’t expect people to accurately spot a phishing scam every time.
Retailers, therefore, need to consider how they can protect their people from the growing number of phishing scams plaguing the industry — beyond training and awareness. In our report – Cashing In: How Hackers Target Retailers with Phishing Attacks – we look into the biggest threats IT leaders in the retail sector face, reveal the gaps in security that need addressing, and explain how to best protect people on email.


text: The food delivery business of ride-hailing firm Grab, Southeast Asia’s most valuable tech unicorn, is expanding its network of so-called GrabKitchens into Thailand and Vietnam. The first GrabKitchens outside Indonesia will be launched in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, which will be followed by new openings in the Philippines, Singapore and other markets in the region, according to a GrabFood statement on Tuesday. GrabKitchens are set up similar to food courts, except that vendors prepare their dishes only for pickup and delivery. “We see GrabKitchen as a new solution that empowers our merchants to expand and grow, and for consumers to enjoy greater access to a wide variety of food,” said GrabFood head Lim Kell Jay in the statement. “Taking learning from our success in Indonesia, GrabFood is looking to scale the GrabKitchen network rapidly across the region in the coming months.” The expansion initiative will see more than 50 GrabKitchens in operation across five markets in Southeast Asia by the end of this year, according to GrabFood. GrabKitchen, which was established to provide orders for the eateries through Grab’s super app platform, represents the Singapore-based company’s strategy to nurture an ecosystem of start-ups across the region. Building a well-rounded ecosystem of services allows companies like Grab to obtain troves of valuable user data that can be used for targeted advertising or understanding customers’ needs, to offer better services. Providing a variety of services that are part of everyday life also makes the platform more sticky, ensuring that users remain active while also serving as a higher barrier of entry for potential competitors. Food delivery service has become a vital business for ride-hailing companies in Southeast Asia. Queries for online food delivery brands on Google have grown more than 13 times in Indonesia, nine times in the Philippines and eight times in Thailand over the past four years, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2019 report. Southeast Asian ride hailing giant Grab to invest US$2 billion in Indonesia using SoftBank funds GrabFood, which operates in 221 cities across six countries, grew its gross merchandise volume 900 per cent in the 12 months to June, with delivery volume growing seven times during the same period across six markets, according to the company. It estimated that the GrabKitchen network showed a 25 per cent increased in gross merchandise volume since the first such facility was launched in April this year. For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters , subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast , and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report . Also roam China Tech City , an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus .


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Sprint Nextel, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, is in talks to put applications from Web search leader Google on its cell phones, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Google is in talks with some of the largest U.S. wireless carriers to make a deeper move into the mobile industry, an area it views as key to future growth.
While the company has not commented on its plans or potential partners, industry experts believe it will soon launch new software and services for mobile phones.
On Tuesday, sources told Reuters that No. 2 U.S. mobile service Verizon Wireless, a Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group venture, is also in talks with Google about putting applications on its mobile phones.
Sprint had already said in August it would offer Google Web search and communications services to customers using a new network it is building based on WiMax, an emerging high-speed wireless technology.
“You shouldn’t be surprised to see something coming along with Sprint and Google beyond WiMax,” according to the source. Sprint and Google declined comment.
They are talking about putting mobile applications from Google and other developers on Sprint devices, the source said.
“While discussions may be ongoing and moving along pretty quickly, it’s early in the process on how these things might come to market,” the person said.
Google, which generates revenue from delivering ads alongside search, e-mail and other Web features, has said that mobile Web surfing would be important to its business as consumers move beyond desktop computers.
Google has also shown interest in an upcoming government wireless auction, and pushed regulators to introduce rules that give mobile operators less control over the devices and data applications their customers can use.
U.S. wireless operators have been spending billions of dollars to expand their services to mobile Web surfing and entertainment, aiming to boost revenue by enticing consumers to use their phones for more than just talking.
Shares of Google were up $5.09 or 0.75 percent at $699.99 on Nasdaq after topping $700 earlier in the session for the first time. Sprint, which is set to report quarterly earnings on Thursday, saw its shares fall 9 cents, or 0.53 percent, to $16.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.


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It seems the nation is divided on yet another issue: what to do with a tax refund check.
Half of all consumers receiving a refund will be taking their check and immediately sending it off to pay off credit cards and other bills, while the other half has earmarked the money for a shopping spree, according to a survey of 630 consumers who have already received their refunds that was conducted by America's Research Group.
The results are a sharp departure from past years, says Britt Beemer, chairman of the market research firm.
"This year, there is no middle ground," Beemer said. In the past, people would usually divvy up the money, taking a portion for bills or savings, and use the remaining portion to make a special purchase.
But this year is different. "In the 20 years I've been doing this research, I have never seen these answers before," he said.
What's more, Beemer's research uncovered another noteworthy trend. It seems the more taxpayers receive back from Uncle Sam, the more likely they are to put the money toward bills, while those receiving a smaller refund check are more likely to splurge on something new.
He's interested to see how this trend will hold up throughout the tax season. About 74 percent of consumers are owed a refund, according to Beemer.
Beemer's also seeing the same trend H&R Block noted in their profit warning earlier this week: more consumers are rolling up their sleeves and preparing their tax returns themselves.
While that's not good news for tax preparers like H&R Block and rival Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, it's likely to help companies like Intuit's, which makes TurboTax.
More from Consumer Nation:
- Mobile Online Shopping to Double in 2010
- Look for Menswear to Become Even More Casual This Fall
- The Hamsters Are Coming!
Questions? Comments? Email us at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 281,168 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,723 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $8,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KR. Landaas & Co. WI ADV acquired a new stake in Kroger during the second quarter worth approximately $100,000. Lee Financial Co acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $101,000. CSat Investment Advisory L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Bridgeworth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the second quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation acquired a new stake in shares of Kroger in the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.94% of the company’s stock.
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens set a $30.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Kroger from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital set a $30.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of Kroger in a research report on Friday. Finally, Pivotal Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Kroger currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.67.
In other Kroger news, Director Clyde R. Moore sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.06, for a total transaction of $377,780.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Calvin J. Kaufman sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.47, for a total transaction of $288,435.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 124,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,179.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,298. Company insiders own 1.07% of the company’s stock.
Shares of KR opened at $29.17 on Friday. Kroger Co has a one year low of $22.85 and a one year high of $32.74. The company has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.26.
Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 6th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 26.64%. The business had revenue of $27.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger Co will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.45%.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: “Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Raises Holdings in Kroger Co (KR)” was published by Dispatch Tribunal and is the property of of Dispatch Tribunal. If you are reading this piece on another site, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of U.S. and international trademark & copyright laws. The legal version of this piece can be viewed at https://www.dispatchtribunal.com/2018/12/08/tocqueville-asset-management-l-p-raises-holdings-in-kroger-co-kr.html.
The Kroger Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer in the United States. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in its supermarkets. The company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, jewelry stores, and convenience stores. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; multi-department stores provide general merchandise items, such as apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, toys, and fine jewelry; and price impact warehouse stores offer grocery, and health and beauty care items, as well as meat, dairy, baked goods, and fresh produce items.
Featured Story: How To Calculate Debt-to-Equity Ratio
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Dog Haus Biergarten releases statement on Murfreesboro store closure
Dog Haus Biergarten corporate office finally released an official statement regarding the closure of the Murfreesboro location.
“We’re proud that Dog Haus has served happy guests throughout the Murfreesboro community. We regretfully closed on Jan. 31. It has been our privilege to be part of this great city, and we thank our loyal guests for their support," a corporate official wrote in an email to The Daily News Journal.
The closure came nearly two years after the original opening date.
DogHaus originally opened at 521 N.W. Broad St. in February 2018. Within six months, the restaurant closed unexpectedly due to a dispute between franchise owners.
For approximately three weeks, employees went unpaid for time worked in July. In the meantime, corporate office for DogHaus, based in Pasadena, California, took over operations and paid employees.
The store was reopened a month later in September and operated until doors were closed the last day of January.
Currently there are no other stores in Tennessee and it's unclear whether the company will return to the Volunteer State.
Reach reporter Nancy DeGennaro at firstname.lastname@example.org and follow her on Twitter @NanDeGennaro.


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WWF and Kimberly-Clark Corporation Announce New Global Commitment to Responsible Forestry
WASHINGTON, DC AND DALLAS, TX - June 29th, 2011---Today, Kimberly-Clark and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced the expansion of Kimberly-Clark's membership in the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), a WWF initiative to eliminate illegal logging and conserve the world's most valuable and threatened forests. Kimberly-Clark will now include its worldwide operations in the initiative, building on its existing GFTN membership in select countries. The participation scope now includes all wood fibers sourced for all of the company's products sold globally in the Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and Kimberly-Clark Professional businesses.
The announcement was made at the GFTN's 20th Anniversary Reception at the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) General Assembly meeting in Sabah, Malaysia.
"Given its breadth of product offerings and market influence, we commend Kimberly-Clark's leadership in pushing the pulp and paper industry toward more responsible sourcing practices," said Kerry Cesareo, WWF's Managing Director of Forests. "Our collaboration will improve forest management, reduce impacts from production, and help protect the forests and habitats at the core of our mission. And Kimberly-Clark can offer consumers responsible alternatives for tissue and personal care products. This shows the true power of collaboration."
"At Kimberly-Clark, we believe what is good for business must also be good for the planet," said Suhas Apte, Vice President, Global Sustainability, for Kimberly-Clark. "As the largest tissue manufacturer in the world, we are committed to responsible fiber sourcing. Expanding our work globally with WWF and the GFTN is an important way K-C can be part of the solution to the sustainability challenges our world faces."
As part of its participation in GFTN, WWF and Kimberly-Clark will collaborate to realize Kimberly-Clark's commitment to have 100 percent of its virgin wood fiber sourced from certified suppliers by 2015. This commitment includes a preference for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, which best meets WWF key requirements for protecting environmental, social and economic values essential to maintaining priority forests.
Through its Market Transformation Initiative, WWF collaborates with top brands like Kimberly-Clark to spur adoption of sustainable practices in key commodity markets. Participants in GFTN make commitments to avoid illegal wood sources, phase out purchases of wood from unknown and controversial sources, and to increase their purchase of wood that originates from well managed forests and independently certified sources.
By the end of 2011, Kimberly-Clark has committed to achieving a combined FSC/recycled content target of 50 percent for all its products that are covered within their GFTN participation. Together WWF and Kimberly-Clark will train and educate staff and suppliers on responsible fiber sourcing, encourage certification of small, non-industrial private landowners, pursue FSC Chain-of-Custody certification for all Kimberly-Clark facilities, and promote FSC-labeled products in key markets.
"Deforestation and forest degradation contribute up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the leading contributor to climate change, and decimate critical habitat for several species, notably primates, tigers and elephants," said Cesareo. "WWF's Living Planet Report estimates that more than one billion people living in poverty rely directly on forests for their livelihoods, while about 32 million acres have been lost globally each year between 2000 and 2010, an area that is equal in size to the state of Mississippi. To address these issues, we need companies to follow Kimberly-Clark's lead."
About World Wildlife Fund
WWF is the world's leading conservation organization, working in 100 countries for nearly half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 139-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.
The Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) is WWF's initiative to eliminate illegal logging and drive improvements in forest management while transforming the global marketplace into a force for saving the world's valuable and threatened forests. First established in 1991, the GFTN is the world's longest-running and largest forest and trade program of its kind - assisting hundreds of companies in evaluating their procurement and implementing appropriate action plans to ensure responsible sourcing as well as sustainable supply. By facilitating trade links between companies committed to responsible forestry, the GFTN plays a key role in creating market conditions that help conserve forests while providing economic and social benefits for the businesses and people that depend on them. With combined annual sales of $72 billion, trading by GFTN participants represents 19% of all forest products bought or sold internationally every year. Read more about the GFTN's work on supporting responsible forest management and trade at www.worldwildlife.org/naftn.
About Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests. FSC is a certification system that provides internationally recognized standards, trademark assurance and accreditation services to companies, organizations, and communities interested in responsible forestry.


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As I placed a handful of those smooth rubbery nubs—St. Albert’s cheese curds—into my daughter’s lunch box this morning, I realized how ubiquitous that label with the elongated cartoon cow has become in my life.
I confess I have been feeling rather smug since discovering that the blocks of St. Albert’s medium cheddar, a staple in my fridge, is sold at my local drug store for at least a dollar cheaper than I’ve seen it anywhere else. Not much of a bargain-hunter normally, it always gives me a thrill.
But yesterday the gut-wrenching news came about a fire that gutted the St. Albert Cheese Factory in the village of St. Albert southeast of Ottawa. A gasp of grief could be heard across the region and beyond. Its squeaky curds have become synonymous with poutine, and a short-hand for quality for the purveyors who advertise the cheese by name.
I am not the only one who was relieved to hear the reports that the factory will indeed be rebuilt. The factory’s former general manager has even guaranteed that the annual Festival de La Curd held in August — now in its 20th year — will take place as scheduled.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off the drug store to stock up.
Read the full report in the Ottawa Citizen


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At this year’s show there were early signals that blue could be the new black and that beets and cauliflower are rivaling to become the next kale. On the spice front, cardamom could be a dark horse to become the next go-to spice while dates are rising up as a sweet treat of choice. At the same time, the popularity of mushrooms and better butter continued to gain momentum at the show.
In this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast, we take a closer look at some of these trends and how different players are tapping into their potential.
Everybody has the blues
While it may still be too soon to tell for sure if blue is next novel color everyone wants, it certainly helped several products pop on the show floor, including Milkboy Swiss Chocolates, Wild Hibiscus Flower Co. and Remedy Organics.
Susann Rivera from Milkboy Swiss Chocolates explains that adding blue potato chips to its white chocolate created a “unicorn” product that not only delights consumers visually but also surprises their tastebuds.
Wild Hibiscus Flower Co also debuted brilliant blue products, including thinly sliced lotus roots preserved in Butterfly Pea & Elderflower Syrup and b’Lure Blue Matcha Tea Powder, which a company spokesman said has a “touch of magic.”
He explained that the tea is naturally blue from the Butterfly Pea flours, and while eye-catching on its own, the real brilliance happens when an acid is added and the beverage goes from deep blue to bright purple and almost pink. He noted this provides layers of fun for cocktails and can even be added to baked goods and other foods for a punch of color.
But there is more to blue than just an eye-catching color, though. Depending on the source, blue ingredients can pack a powerful nutritional punch, as in the case of blue spirulina, which Remedy Organics includes in its recently launched Blue Oxidants plant-based functional beverage along with almond milk, MCT oil, maca and probiotics.
Company co-founder Cindy Kasindorf, who also is a nutritional health counselor, explained why it is important to eat the rainbow and her co-founder Henry Kasindorf also chimed in on what makes blue spirulina particularly good for you.
Veggies take center stage
At the Summer Fancy Food Show, vegetables continued to steal the limelight with beets and cauliflower in particular jostling for prime positioning.
The startup Caulipower, which debuted last year with a heat-and-eat cauliflower crust, is taking the vegetable in new directions with the launch of a new paleo cauliflower crust and a cauliflower-based baking mix that CEO Gail Becker says consumers can use to make a wide variety of better-for-you foods from soft pretzels to brownies.
Another company showing off the versatility of cauliflower is Kitchen & Love, which uses the vegetable as the base for its Cauliflower Quick Meals. The meals are designed to be enjoyed on the go with minimal prep. All consumers need to do is add a small container of pre-blended spices to a cup of shelf-stable riced cauliflower, stir with a provided spork and enjoy.
Another company using not only cauliflower, but also beets and other veggies in an innovative way is Gleen. The company co-founder Will Kornegay explained that Gleen’s mission is to reduce food waste by gleening ugly vegetables the farmers often leave in their fields because they don’t have a market and use them to make single ingredient flours.
Mushrooms enter the snacking category as a jerky
Mushrooms were another standout ingredient at the show with several companies featuring them as a plant-based alternative to meat jerky, which continues to dominate the snack space.
One of those companies is Giorgio Foods, which actually is a grower but that the senior vice president of sales and marketing Brian Loiseau noted is expanding into CPGs.
He noted the company launched at the show three flavors of mushroom jerky, including roasted garlic black pepper, sesame ginger and Korean chili and sweet balsamic and golden fig – all of which place whole foods front and center.
The company also has a line of mushroom based sauces or dips called Blendabella that are somewhere between a tapenade, bruschetta and salsa. They come in three flavors: Mexican, Tuscan and Coconut Thai.
Elevated butters move to the center stage
Another big trend at the show was butter. And while butter has been back for awhile now, the companies showcasing it at Fancy Food were not showing off plain old butter. Rather it was flavored or higher fat or clarified.
One company in this space was Epicurean Butter, which blends herbs and spices with its butter for added flavor, and it offers them in a single-serve squeeze pouch for added convenience.
The company founder Janey Hubschman explained how Epicurean Butter is butter with a purpose that retailers can display across the store either next to expensive cuts of meets, with value-added chopped vegetable, in the bakery for take and bake garlic bread or in more elaborate meal kits.
Also at the show were several companies selling clarified butter, or ghee, and one company was even selling a high fat butter.
Bark offers a blank slate for innovation
On the sweeter side of things, several companies at Fancy Food were showcasing bark, which has emerged as a convenient snacking platform and also a blank slate for creative toppings.
For example, Chuao Chocolatier launched a line of Moon Barks that come in three celestial-inspired flavors, including Chia Berry Dreamer, Coconut Almond Radiance and Quinoa Berry Skies.
Maria Amor, a spokeswoman for Chuao Chocolatier, explains what makes bark so attractive to consumers in part is that it appeals to a broader range of people for a wider range of uses. No longer is chocolate pigeon holed as a guilty pleasure or decadent gift for women. Rather, adventurers can now snack on it as a source of energy or a shareable experience with friends under the stars.
Also on the sweet side, several companies were calling out cardamom as a warming and exotic flavor and others were incorporating dates as an ingredient – or stand alone food – that makes for a better-for-you dessert or alternative to a sweet snack. However, these two trends aren’t quiet as far along on the adoption trend – meaning there is still plenty of room for growth.


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NinthDecimal has updated its flagship measurement platform to include multi-touch attribution tools. The newly-updated Location Conversion Index applies credit for visitation across every customer touchpoint, accelerating the adoption of foot traffic attribution as core to measuring marketing effectiveness.
From the release: “Marketers are abandoning traditional vanity metrics in favor of true measures of business growth,” said David Staas, President of NinthDecimal. “This shift is driving a surge in demand for measuring customer store visitation where 90% of purchases are made. By applying an MTA based approach to LCI, marketers now have the confidence to make offline attribution a boardroom KPI driving revenue and customer growth.”
Visit Location Conversion Index on CabinetM.
Reveal Mobile has updated its VISIT Local platform to include foot traffic attribution reporting. VISIT Local enables marketers seeking to track the effectiveness of campaigns that reach audiences visiting their own locations as well as foot traffic to competitors
From the release: “Brands and their agencies are always looking to justify and optimize their advertising spend,” says Reveal Mobile’s CEO, Brian Handly. “These new foot traffic attribution reports provide an excellent mechanism for marketers to evaluate their success.”
Link: Martech Series
Visit VISIT Local on CabinetM.
Marketing Evolution, a platform for marketing resource management, has enhanced its platform with an automated data pipeline. The update is a new process for assessing and validating data quality, from data arrival to ingestion and consumption, assuring marketers the data it is processing is representative of the true customer journey and attributing factors on that journey.
From the release: “Marketing measurement is complex business, but bad data quality renders it useless, with organizations reporting an average of $15 million per year in losses as a result. It’s an enduring problem that many marketers and marketing technology companies struggle to solve,” said Marketing Evolution CEO, Rex Briggs. “Marketing Evolution now solves this critical problem in a manner that is virtually effortless for companies to implement. We’ve made it simple, and what’s more, we’ve made fully automated, 24/7 data quality table stakes. Businesses can see the time savings; marketers can trust and verify their data quality. We are pleased to be setting the standard for how the industry needs to evolve.”
Visit Marketing Evolution on CabinetM.
Attribution vendor Freckle IoT has launched Killi, a mobile attribution tool that allows consumers to take control of their identity. Killi stores all transactions in blockchain, giving consumers a full audit trail to expose which brands purchased consumers’ data. Killi also allows consumers to consent to their identity being used, and to be financially compensated for it. Killi redistributes the value of the data back consumers, who may be paid for its use via direct deposits into PayPal and Amazon accounts. Additional redemption features, including the option for consumers to send their data payments directly to charities, are expected within weeks.
From the release: “This app couldn’t be more timely. In 2017, there was a 45 percent increase in data breaches from 2016. And only in March of this year, news broke that Cambridge Analytica had acquired personal information about Facebook users,” explains Neil Sweeney, founder and chief executive officer of Freckle IoT. “Killi provides people an option to take back control of their identity and regain some privacy. Further, consumers will be able to choose, if they wish, to enter into direct financial contracts with brands and be directly compensated for the use of their data. It’s about time.”
Link: MTA Advisor
Visit Killi on CabinetM.
Bizible, the performance management software, will now be a part of the Marketo Engagement Marketing Platform. The acquisition will enhance and deepen the engagement analytics and buyer journey data Marketo provides its customers across all marketing channels. In addition to connecting through the Marketo Engagement Platform, Bizible customers will also have access to new technology through the large and growing list of partners in the LaunchPoint partner ecosystem and the vast community that is the Marketing Nation. Organizations who use marketing automation providers other than Marketo will continue to have access to the full range of Bizible solutions.
From the release: “This acquisition doubles down on Marketo and Bizible’s shared commitment to providing the most powerful, innovative, and robust marketing software that gives marketers the edge to win in the Engagement Economy. Together, our solutions create an industry-first platform for marketers to plan, engage, and measure by understanding what directly fuels ROI,” said Steve Lucas, chief executive officer, Marketo. “The combined product strength of Marketo and Bizible provides all marketers everywhere enhanced visibility into every touchpoint across any channel. Our investment will accelerate Bizible’s impressive growth and provide instant and achievable benefits to our current and future customers in the enterprise and beyond.”
Link: PR Newswire
Visit Marketo Engagement Marketing Platform on CabinetM.
Rockerbox, which has created a marketing attribution tool, has acquired Eventable and its marketing calendar. The Eventable tool, which pushes events to end-users’ calendars, will help Rockerbox expand its customer base. Eventable will maintain its brand and service as one of Rockerbox’s product offerings. Its co-founders, Sameen Karim and Akash Malhotra, will be joining the Rockerbox team along with key team members.
From the release: “We’re extremely thrilled to welcome Eventable to the Rockerbox family, and look forward to growing further and faster,” said Ron Jacobson, founder and CEO of Rockerbox.
Link: Rockerbox Blog
Visit Rockerbox on CabinetM.
Digital Media Solutions has updated marketing technology platform Sparkroom. Sparkroom technology to track cross-channel attribution, and adding a paid search analyzer, inbound call attribution, and intent scoring with a proprietary custom scoring model. Sparkroom also acts as a hub for the centralized triggering for marketing automation and nurturing campaigns, prompting time- and milestone-activated messaging and emails.
From the release: “Today’s marketing landscape is more complex and digitally broad than it’s ever been,” said Rachel Schulties, EVP of Agency Services at Digital Media Solutions. “Marketers face more choices, more channels and more savvy consumers across every industry. The enhancements of our proprietary Sparkroom technology will transform the way brands attribute a campaign’s performance to customer conversions within a lead and vendor management system.”
Link: Digital Journal
Visit Sparkroom on CabinetM
Terminus, the B2B-focused vendor creating account based marketing solutions, has acquired BrightFunnel and its patent-pending multi-touch attribution platform. The combination will accelerate the growth of Terminus as an account-based marketing platform, adding 40 San Francisco-based staff to the 150 “Terminators” headquartered in Atlanta.
From the release: “We are excited to help solve one of the top challenges our customers face — how to measure and optimize the impact of marketing and sales initiatives on revenue,” said Eric Spett, CEO and co-founder of Terminus. “Our customers want to understand the influence of campaigns throughout the buyer’s journey, create a 360-degree view of engagement that supports one revenue team, and close the loop on measuring account-based marketing and advertising. Together, Terminus and BrightFunnel deliver best-in-class account-based execution and B2B analytics for today’s unified revenue team.”
Visit Terminus on CabinetM.
Cravelabs has launched DropIn Vantage as its latest set of industry-leading, location intelligence tools for media planning, location analytics, and attribution. Customers can leverage one or more audience segments from more than 80,000 available consumer personas and data sets to analyze locations and audiences. Create an index of consumer personas within geographies of any size or shape. Quickly geofence specific Out-of-Home locations, Radio broadcast areas, Census Tract or Block Groups, Zip Codes, or custom TransitZone areas based upon driveshed or walkshed from any point of interest. Activate the insights DropIn Vantage powers by influencing the identified audience or measuring the impact of non-digital activities, such as an Out-of-Home or direct mail media campaign.
Link: PR Newswire
Visit DropIn Vantage on CabinetM.
Updates to SAP Hybris released this week include facial recognition software that can determine a shopper’s gender and age, allowing targeted recommendations based on available inventory. The release also includes customer attribution across channels, available as a single view; and the ability to launch a campaign based on proximity, using connected devices to alert the customer to nearby sales. SAP Hybris facilitates the delivery of dynamic, targeted and consistent offers and messages to customers and their buying needs, regardless of touchpoint. Hybris came to SAP with its acquisition of Gigya.
Visit SAP Hybris on CabinetM.


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Crypto Newbies Sell While Long-term Hodlers Continue
Crypto Engine is a crypto trading tool for investing in the crypto market with an %88 average win rate on trades and is the #1 trading software for crypto traders from all around the globe in 2022. Try it For FREE Today.
Even though 2021 appears to be the year of the crypto market experiencing some new highs, the increase in value doesn’t seem to have had any impact on the long-term Bitcoin hodlers. The newbie crypto investors have chosen to reap their hard-earned profits, but the old-timers are still content to let their Bitcoin holdings lie and haven’t been swayed by the increase in its price. This data is highlighted by Unchained Capital through their ‘Hodlewaves’ chart. It is regarded as a metric that’s used for measuring the time since the different Bitcoin wallets had been last active. However, it appears that there has been a significant increase in both short-term and long-term activity in the year 2021.
The Hodlewaves chart indicate that a new high was achieved, only beaten by the metrics of 2018, in terms of movement in Bitcoin throughout the last 30 to 90 days since it was introduced. The total of these type of wallet addresses is around 15% or more and this represents the largest part of Bitcoin wallets. The second-largest segment comprises of all the Bitcoin wallets that have not been in use for the last 3 to 5 years. These wallets make up around 13.5% of the total Bitcoin wallet addresses. During this year, the number of wallets that fall in this category has only gone up.
This means that the total Bitcoin ‘hodler’ traders have actually increased in 2021. Those who have been keeping an eye on this metric have begun to speculate that a majority of these hodlers had purchased Bitcoin back in 2017 when it had reached its peak. Consequently, they had had to suffer the brunt of the crypto winter that came after, and now, they are adamant to enjoy the crypto spring that has come along this year. Moreover, it also appears that the extra-long term holders of Bitcoin, which refer to wallets that have not moved between 5 and 10 years, have now begun to fall in number.
The trend had been seen in the last year, but the same is not applicable for Bitcoin wallets that are more than a decade old. In the last two years, the greatest of Bitcoin Hodlers have gone from 1.7% of the total Bitcoin wallets to around 10.7% of them. One of the most prominent on-chain analytics companies in the crypto space is Glassnode and its CTO and co-founder is Rafael Schultze-Kraft. The man disclosed in a public tweet that the total number of crypto wallets that have been inactive in the last three years has gone up, whereas those who are new to the space are selling their holdings for reaping the rewards.
According to this data, there has been a decline in the total number of Bitcoin wallets that haven’t shown activity in a year, as they have gone from 65% in January to 55% currently. This means that almost half of the whole Bitcoin wallet space is currently operating in this new bull market.
Altcoin Directory is not responsible for the content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or any other content posted on the site. Some of the content on this site (namely Branded Content Posts) is paid content that is not written by our authors and the views expressed do not reflect the views of this website. Any disputes you may have with brands or companies mentioned in our content will need to be taken care of directly with the specific brands and companies. The responsibility of our readers who may click links in our content and ultimately sign up for that product or service is their own. Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and Crypto Tokens are all a high-risk asset, investing in them can lead to losses. Readers should do their own research before taking any action.


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Beneteau event highlights in January
Leading a good start into the New Year, several events were happened across Asia-Pacific in January, from Swift Trawler Owner Rendezvous and Owners Rally at the lovely seaside winery in New Zealand to the Clearwater Bay Boat Show in China, great occasions to connect more Beneteau owners and sailing enthusiasts in our region.
ST OWNERS RENDEZVOUS AND BENETEAU OWNERS RALLY
Organised by our dealer in Auckland, New Zealand－36 Degree Brokers, Swift Trawler Owners Rendezvous and Beneteau Owners Rally held together on January 21st, 2023 were a huge success with a turnout of approximate 75 people.
Guests were delighted to be able to enjoy the cruising from Auckland to Man O’War Bay under a pleasant summer weather condition.
Then the crowd dropped the anchor and spent an afternoon at the Mudbrick vineyard, having some beach games and a nice beachfront wine tasting experience at the picturesque Man O’War Bay on Waiheke, boasting one of the country’s best wineries.
CLEARWATER BAY BOAT SHOW 2023
Clearwater Bay Boat Show 2023 was kicked off on January 24th to 27th in Sanya, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit with the locals after the ease of Covid restrictions. Beneteau took an active presence at the show with three popular models on display including the Oceanis 51.1, the Antares 9 and the Antares 8. Great thanks to our local dealer Simpson Marine for organizing such an amazing display.
Published on 27.02.2023


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Fans of artisanal chocolates will want to check out the latest offering from river line AmaWaterways: The Chocolate Connoisseurs Cruise.
Kicking off April 28, 2014, the seven-night voyage on the Danube will be led by star chocolatier Norman Love, the founder of Florida-based Norman Love Confections.
AmaWaterways says the sailing will take place on the 164-passenger AmaCerto and feature Norman Love-created desserts, a chocolate mini-buffet extravaganza, educational seminars on chocolates and private chocolate-making demonstrations.
Also on the schedule is a "Sachertorte & Schlumberger Cellar Tour" and chocolate tastings. Love will share his knowledge of chocolate throughout the voyage, the line says.
Fares for the sailing start at $3,099 per person, based on double occupancy. A three day add-on visit to Prague is available for another $750.
AmaWaterways says customers who book by March 31 will receive a 5% early booking discount on the cruise portion of the trip and a $100 shipboard credit.
The sailing is being organized by travel planners Steinman and Associates. More information is online at normanlovechocolatecruise.com.


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Alibaba launched six new mobile phone models which run on the Aliyun system as it joined other Internet giants to tap growing demand for smartphones.
Alibaba’s cloud computing unit will allocate 1 billion yuan (US$1.6 million) of subsidies this year for handset makers and software developers to boost its market position and deepen collaboration. Alibaba will also share paid software income and digital content sales with handset makers.
The six new mobile phone models will be made by five domestic handset makers, including Amoi Technology and Konka. Last July, Alibaba joined hands with K-touch and launched its first smartphone model.
Baidu, China’s largest search engine, last year also offered its system “Baidu Cloud Mobile Platform” to handset makers including Dell and Changhong to consolidate its position in the mobile Internet sector.


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AT&T has reported its earnings for the second quarter of 2016, noting a solid bump in both consolidated revenues and wireless net adds over this time a year ago. In total, AT&T says that consolidated revenues were up to $40.5 billion for the quarter, which is an increase of 22% over the same period a year ago.
Concerning the wireless market specifically, AT&T says that it saw a total of 2.1 million wireless net adds total. 1.4 million of those net adds came from the U.S. alone, while Mexico contributed 780,000. According to AT&T, this quarter also saw the company's second-lowest churn on record at 0.97%. Here are the highlights:
- 2.1 million wireless net adds driven by connected devices, Mexico and Cricket
- 185k U.S. branded (postpaid and prepaid) phone net adds
- Nearly 800k branded smartphones added to the U.S. base, offsetting ~600k branded feature phone decline
- Postpaid churn of 0.97%, down from 1.01% in 2Q15 and second-lowest ever in U.S.
- Mexico: 780k branded net adds to reach about 10 million subscribers
For much more, be sure to check out AT&T's full earnings release.
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More positive retail news for downtown Raleigh. Nüvonivo will be opening within weeks in their new space on East Hargett Street. The online children’s clothing store is bringing its first retail space to the area and I was introduced, through email, to Ray Malouf, a member of the Nüvonivo team. He told me:
I joined the business in 2009 working with my father Abdallah, who has owned ECA since the 1980s, and in April of 2012, out of a small condo in Downtown, we launched our first retail concept online calling it nüvonivo (new-voh-nee-voh). Translated from French, the words nouveaux niveaux means New Levels, and that is what we want to bring to our customers everyday, new levels of quality, design, and customer service.
The family behind the business are downtown supporters and Ray mentioned to me that they feel they are helping with the downtown revitalization. Raleigh’s malls and shopping centers were considered but “we kept coming back to Downtown Raleigh.”
The location of the store isn’t an accident as the Marbles Kids Museum is less than a block away. Good luck to Ray and the team behind the new store. It sounds like a lot of work is going into cleaning up that space.


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The TimesOnline has a wonderfully counter-intuitive story whose basic premise is that modern-day production of food is so energy intensive, one of the greatest contributions to global warming is exercise and poor food choices. Among the nuggets from the story:
• “Driving a typical UK car for 3 miles adds about 0.9 kg of CO2 to the atmosphere,” he said, a calculation based on the Government’s official fuel emission figures. “If you walked instead, it would use about 180 calories. You’d need about 100g of beef to replace those calories, resulting in 3.6kg of emissions, or four times as much as driving. The troubling fact is that taking a lot of exercise and then eating a bit more food is not good for the global atmosphere. Eating less and driving to save energy would be better.”
• What if, instead of beef, the walker drank a glass of milk? The average person would need to drink three quarters of a pint to recover the calories used in the walk. Modern dairy farming emits the equivalent of 1.2kg of CO2 to produce the milk, still more pollution than the car journey.
• Organically farmed cows emit more methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas, than typical dairy farms. Organic cows produce less milk, so their methane-per-gallon is higher.
• Paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic because of the extra energy needed to manufacture and transport them, the Government says.
• Frozen meals are the worst. A chilled ready meal is a perfect example of where the energy is wasted. You make the meal, then use an enormous amount of energy to chill it and keep it chilled through warehousing and storage. And then you use energy to warm it up.
• Traditional diapers are as bad as disposables, a study by the Environment Agency found. While throwaway nappies make up 0.1 percent of landfill waste, the cloth variety are a waste of energy, clean water and detergent.
• Someone who installs a “green” lightbulb undoes a year’s worth of energy-saving by buying two bags of imported vegetables, as so much carbon is wasted flying the food to Britain.
The last line is perhaps the most important for those who want to cut greenhouse emissions in their daily eating habits. Try to buy fresh foods produced locally. Farmer’s markets are best. Cereals and vegetables are probably the most energy efficient foods to consume.
I know, I know, we’re talking about impractical things here.


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Selena Gomez Cast in New Woody Allen Movie
Selena Gomez is set to appear in an upcoming Woody Allen film. Details are scarce for now, but like last year's Café Society, the yet-untitled project will be released by Amazon Studios.
Video: Selena Gomez – “Bad Liar”
Selena Gomez's "Bad Liar" now has a music video. Gomez plays not only her own character in the video, but also the character's mother, the…


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First it was the hand sanitizer. Then it was the toilet paper. Now it’s the chicken breasts and peanut butter.
Fears of lockdowns due to the novel coronavirus have sent people rushing to stores for basic goods, prompting long lines at checkout counters and overwhelming workers at supermarkets and big box stores.
“It’s like this when there are snowstorms, but this is much worse. The aisles are all empty,” said Gurvir Bajwa, an assistant manager at Market Basket in Somerville. “This whole week has been empty shelves everywhere.”
Bajwa said she typically only works on weekends, but has been working extended hours and was called in Thursday to help deal with the rush.
“It’s been a very hectic week, a little crazy and stressful, but we’ve been getting everything done,” Bajwa said.
In fact, Joe Amaral, the store director, said these past few weeks have been the busiest he’s ever seen it get, and that he’s had to extend shifts by as much as two hours a day because of it.
“It definitely beats Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Amaral said. “Last weekend we saw a good 20% increase from our average weekend.”
For several stores the runs are worse at night, when supermarkets haven’t yet had the chance to restock. A Friday night visit to Wegmans in Medford found empty meat shelves and a barren pasta aisle. The nearby Trader Joe’s at Assembly Row in Somerville was almost entirely out of frozen food — though an employee said “triple or quadruple quantities” were coming on a truck and being restocked overnight.
Wegmans supermarkets in several states have rolled back hours to help give employees more time to clean and restock. The grocery chain is also rationing certain goods, including limiting customers to two packages of bread, two cartons of eggs and four packages of frozen vegetables.
“We recognize you may not find everything you expect at the moment and we appreciate your understanding,” the Wegmans family wrote in a message to customers on its website. “If we can all please consider prioritizing our most immediate needs, it will allow us to best serve the needs of our entire community.”
Gov. Charlie Baker in a press conference Saturday urged residents not to hoard food.
“There is no shortage of food or dry goods at our stores. Some shelves at some stores have been bare — we’ve all seen the pictures — but guess what? They weren’t bare the next morning,” Baker said. “Get a few extra items when you go out, perfectly appropriate. But filling your basement with two years’ worth of canned soup just means your neighbor will go without.”
Drug stores like CVS are also placing limits on hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. One CVS near Fresh Pond in Cambridge was holding Lysol wipes and spray behind the checkout counter early Saturday morning and limiting cans of wipes to one per customer.


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PUB-GOERS will not have to rely on cash and will be able to use their cards indoors when they drink in beer gardens from Monday, it emerged today.
Drinkers have been booking outdoor tables in their thousands as pubs gear up to open their doors next week.
* Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates...
But there has been confusion over how punters will pay for their booze after official guidance stated guests in hospitality “must” pay at their outdoor table.
Industry bosses complained that poor rural broadband and mobile signal means card machines cannot be used in pub gardens – typically in remote parts such as in Devon and Cornwall.
Meanwhile, some pubs have licensing restrictions that don’t allow them to accept payments outdoors – forcing some landlords to keep their doors shut next week.
But UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls today confirmed to The Sun Online that the Government guidance is being amended to allow for indoor payment.
It comes as:
- UK has enough Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to cover ALL under-30s
- Britain ‘will achieve herd immunity next week’
- Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine blood clot risk just 0.000095%
- Nigerian Covid variant ‘even deadlier than South African strain’
- AstraZeneca jab’s blood clot risk is SAME as taking long-haul flight
The change will allow customers to pay inside as a last resort and Ms Nicholls added that “common sense has prevailed” in what is a “big win” for pubs.
It was feared that up to a third of pubs would not have been able to open on Monday if the rules were not changed.
Ms Nicholls told The Sun Online: “From next week the Government is amending the guidance to allow indoor payments to take place, so common sense has prevailed.
“The Government has worked with us on the pragmatic solution to allow payments to be made indoors where it isn’t possible to make them at the table.
“The original regulations and the original guidance didn’t allow you to come back indoors to make a payment.
“And so for many pubs and restaurants, that would have meant they couldn’t open because they didn’t have remote and contactless payment technology that allowed them to take payments at the table.
“Clearly the only alternative is cash, and a lot of us over the last 14 months are used to not carrying cash and so government guidance recommends you don’t use cash unless it’s a last resort.
“So we were sort of stumped as to how we would manage it and the Government has worked with us to come up with a solution.
“The guidance does now allow you to make payment indoors where it isn’t possible to make a payment at the table. Either in cash or by card.”
From next week the Government is amending the guidance to allow indoor payments to take place, so common sense has prevailed."UK Hospitality CEO Kate Nicholls
She added: “It’s really good news, unless that change had been made, up to a third of those who would have been able to open outdoors, would not have been able to do so.
“There’s a variety of reasons. Some pubs don’t have Wi-Fi, particularly rural pubs.
“Rural pubs are the ones that have the biggest beer gardens, if you’ve got a big beer garden and you don’t have Wi-Fi in the outside space, you can’t process card payments outdoors.
“There are also some pubs that have a condition on their licence to prevent them from making payments outdoors.”
Ms Nicholls added that it is a huge win for rural pubs that would not have been able to operate under those restrictions and she is expecting the rule change to be made “imminently”.
Most read in UK News
She added: “It means it’s a weight off a lot of licensee’s minds that they can operate safely, legally and they can take payments. It should allow more pubs to be able to open.
“It was a confusing rule, but it is a victory for common sense and one of those things in the haste of drafting something had got drafted that didn’t make any sense.
“It is great the Government has recognised that and has taken steps to remedy it. It shows the importance of detailed consolation with the industry.”
Shoppers have been urged to ditch cash and pay with contactless in a bid to fight the spread of coronavirus.
Last year, the World Health Organisation warned banknotes could spread the virus from person to person, carrying it on their surface.
A spokesperson for the WHO said: "We know that money changes hands frequently and can pick up all sorts of bacteria and viruses.
"We would advise people to wash their hands after handling banknotes, and avoid touching their face.
"When possible it would also be advisable to use contactless payments to reduce the risk of transmission."
The Bank of England has also encouraged regular hand washing, saying notes "can carry bacteria or viruses".
It is something China is already familiar with, with Banks across the country already starting to disinfect notes and put them in isolation.
The country is using Ultraviolet light or high temperatures to sterilise cash before sealing and storing it for 14 days.
It means British notes could also be a hotbed for the bug.


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If you are in the Big Apple May 3rd and 4th, don’t miss the chance to attend the Bike Expo New York as there will be more than 60 vendors attending, one of them being yours truly, Osprey Packs! This event is great for road bike aficionados, and we’ll be showcasing and selling our recently redesigned line of hydration packs.
Over 50,000 spectators are expected to attend and admission is free and open to the general public. Hours of the show will be from Friday, May 3rd from 10 a.m. -8 p.m. as well as on Saturday, May 19th 9 a.m.-7 p.m., so come after work and check out the product tonight or head over first thing tomorrow. The event takes place at the Pier 36, 299 South Street, Basketball City, New York, NY.
Want to know a little bit more about what to expect? Here’s the rundown from last year’s awesome Expo:
In keeping with its mission to provide free bicycle education in New York City, Bike New York held several of its signature Learn to Ride classes throughout the event. Garnering more than 43,000 attendees, Bike Expo New York 2012 presented by Eastern Mountain Sports was the most attended inaugural consumer bike expo in the country. BE NY carried an unmistakable New York flair with street signs, carpeted bike lanes and even a massive Verrazano Bridge suspended from the ceiling.
We hope to see you this year!


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Funding Circle, UK-based the peer-to-peer loans platform that recently raised $65 million for a platform that bypasses banks and lets small businesses connect with individuals for funding, is putting some of that funding to use.
Some of the most sensitive U.S. government departments and agencies still aren’t using a basic email security feature that would significantly cut down on incoming spam or phishing emails. Fifteen percent of all U.S. government domains still aren’t employing DMARC,
Amazon announced today that it has invested $10 million in Closed Loop Fund, which finances the creation of recycling infrastructure and services in U.S. cities. In a statement,
TechCrunch Disrupt is the world’s biggest and most impactful tech startup conference, and we can’t wait to bring the hype to Berlin. We’re very proud of the show we’ve put together and are thrilled to give you a look at what’s in store. Editor’s Note:
JobUFO, the Berlin-based startup that has built a video focussed app to help facilitate better job applications, has raised €2 million in seed funding. Leading the round is IBB and Hevella Capital, with the investment to be used for growth.
Commenting publicly for the first time about Google’s censored search engine for China, CEO Sundar Pichai said onstage at the WIRED 25 summit in San Francisco that the company is taking “a longer-term view” about the country. Codenamed Project Dragonfly,
Uber and Lyft are often times the ones to blame for the rise in traffic and congestion in cities. In San Francisco, the two ride-hailing services are undoubtedly partially to blame, but not entirely to blame, according to a new study from the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
Syncron, a Stockholm-headquartered company that offers a SaaS to help equipment and other product manufacturers move to a service model, has raised $67 million, its first ever funding round despite being over 15 years old. Leading the round is growth equity firm Summit Partners,
The new Fujifilm X30 revealed today extends the company’s premium compact with new features that include a brand new electronic viewfinder that can provide real-time feeds of what you’ll capture when you hit the shutter, including exposure previews. There’s also a new tilting 3.
Traklight, a cloud-based software platform that tracks and protects intellectual property, announced today that it has raised $350,000 in angel funding from private investors including Astia Angels. The company says it will use the funding to expand its sales and marketing efforts nationally.
Apple has a new patent granted by the USPTO today (via AppleInsider) that describes various control mechanisms that could be used with flexible displays, to replace components such as physical buttons with more durable and resilient alternatives,
The government has failed to stop the exploitation of BT's monopoly over the rural broadband rollout, according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and its chair, MP Margaret Hodge. Read more: http://www.itproportal.
The agreement will see Dell go further to establish its open networking initiative that also includes a reseller agreement with Big Switch Networks.Read more: http://www.itproportal.com/2014/04/25/dell-firms-open-networking-initiative-through-big-switch-networks-tie/
It's really starting to look as if an "impossible" space propulsion technology actually works.Researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston have found that a microwave thruster system that requires no propellant does indeed generate a small amount of thrust, Wired UK reported on July 31.


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By THE NATION
Viu, a video streaming provider with more than 36 million users per month, has already been working with media giant GMM Grammy for two years, bringing content of GMM25 channel to the Viu platform, as well as adding more content from GMM Music, GMM TV, and Change 2561 to it.
Grammy Music’s chief executive officer, Prawit Chitrakorn says from now on, the company will join up with more platforms and partners. “In addition to music, we produce other kinds of content to cater to various tastes including tourism and food programmes, as well as variety and game shows.
Channel 3 is cooperating with Netflix in bringing two series, “Thong Ake Mor Yah Tah Chaloang” and “Buppesannivas” to the streaming platform. The channel sees the new platform as way to earn more revenue and feels the series will satisfy audiences in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV).
“Content is our core and that leads to new revenue channels” said Ariya Banomyong, the president of BEC World, or Channel 3. “Presently, 80 per cent of Channel 3’s main income is from advertising. However, that is likely to drop to 80 to 50 per cent in the future and the remainder will need to come rom new channels”.
Music company BEC-Tero Music has joined with music streaming service Joox, to create a project called “Seven Journey”, which will take golden oldies and have them sung by new artists in new arrangements.
Going in the opposite direction, streaming provider Line TV, is aiming to expand its customer base by working with Workpoint TV to create entertaining content and shows.


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NewMotion, Europe’s largest provider of smart charging solutions for electric vehicles, is expanding further into Europe as a result of the partnership with Arval.
This expansion will allow even more private customers and businesses to get access to its leading European smart charging network. Norway is the first country to benefit from the roll-out of this joint initiative. It is part of NewMotion’s strategy to expand into new markets and consolidate its position as Europe’s largest smart charging provider.
NewMotion’s growing European presence will now include the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany, the UK and Norway. Another 4 European countries are expected to be added from the second quarter of this year. Combined with an open roaming agreement, NewMotion customers already have access to more than 70,000 EV charge points across 25 countries internationally.
To support the larger ambitions of the company three well-respected industry professionals have recently joined the NewMotion management team. New CFO Marit Eshuis, COO Claire Scott and interim CCO Herman Keijsers will help power the company’s goal to be the European frontrunner in the new energy and mobility landscape. In particular NewMotion will focus on consolidation in existing markets, growth of client base and further expansion into new markets.
In the UK, NewMotion has recently been selected by Southampton City Council to install 30 smart charging points throughout the city as part of the local council’s ‘Clean Air Strategy’ initiative. The decision to install EV charge points follows Southampton’s inclusion on the World Health Organisation’s list of 40 UK cities with damaging levels of air pollution. The charge points are located in five multi-storey car parks throughout Southampton, providing local EV users with reliable access to NewMotion EV charging facilities.
Sytse Zuidema, CEO, NewMotion, commented: “This is an incredibly exciting time for NewMotion. Our work with Arval leverages our network in Germany, UK and France and has taken us into Norway now and soon we will be adding 4 more European countries to our portfolio. This expansion aligns with our longer term growth plans and demonstrates the huge investment we have already made towards creating innovative, customer-centric smart charging solutions. Electric driving is part of a much bigger revolution and Europe has started to transition to e-mobility. Just look at the increasing EV sales across the European countries. NewMotion sees itself as a key player of this new EV landscape which comes with new ways of dealing with energy and mobility challenges. Changing consumer behaviour and attitudes is a long term goal and NewMotion is here to make a positive difference.”[source: NewMotion]


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The launch of iPhone 11 is just around the corner and Apple would be leaving no stone unturned to make iPhone 11 launch date more exciting. While there is no official statement from Apple, a recent statement from SoftBank Chief apparently spilled the beans on the launch date of iPhone 11.
A recently outlined revised Telecommunication Business Law in Japan demands that every operator in the country must segregate their data plans and device plans. For long, most of the mobile operators in the country were clubbing both and offering data plans at a very high price, resulting in ambiguity among users. After the revised law comes into effect mobile operators in Japan will no longer be able to bundle premium devices, like iPhone, with overpriced tariffs.
The law will be applicable on all mobile operators in Japan from October 01. 2019.
Read more ,https://dazeinfo.com/2019/08/06/apple-to-launch-iphone-11-on-september-20/


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Black Friday is only a week away, but is the day after Thanksgiving an actual holiday?
No, despite Black Friday having its own well-known moniker it is not a federal holiday. People may treat the day as a retail holiday when they can cash in on deals ahead of the Christmas season, but it isn’t one the government recognizes.
On federal holidays such as Thanksgiving, banks and the United Postal Service will cease operations. Since Black Friday is not a federal holiday, both services will be open.
One of the only sectors of the country that takes Black Friday off are schools and colleges, who throw in the day with Thanksgiving break, giving students a four-day weekend.
How did Black Friday get its name and where does it come from? Here’s what we know:
Why is it called Black Friday?
The common story associated with Black Friday is that it relates to retailer’s financial loss and gain, but that might not be the full story.
Commonly, Black Friday is referred to when stores operating at a loss (“in the red”) would turn a profit (“went into the black”) the day after Thanksgiving, as shoppers spend heavily on discounted goods, according to Britannica.
However, in recent years another Black Friday mythos has come to the surface.
The other tale refers to a time back in the early 1960s when Philadelphia police officers used the phrase “Black Friday” to describe the chaos that ensued from suburban visitors coming to the city for holiday shopping.
The huge crowds that swarmed the city created headaches for the Philadelphia police who were compelled to work longer shifts to deal with traffic accidents and shoplifting scofflaws. Within a few years, the phrase “Black Friday” had taken root in the local lexicon despite retailers trying to positively twist the name by referring to it as “Big Friday”.
It wasn’t until the late 1980s, when merchants started to spread the red-to-black story for Black Friday, according to Britannica. Ever since then, the moniker has been associated with retail shopping the day after Thanksgiving.
Is Black Friday really the biggest shopping day of the year?
Yes, Black Friday is by far the biggest shopping day of the year in the U.S.
Over 130 million people are planning to shop on Black Friday, up 69% from 2022, according to the National Retail Federation. The second most popular day for shopping is Cyber Monday, where 71 million are planning to take advantage of deals.
In total, an estimated 182 million people are planning on shopping both in-store and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.
“The Thanksgiving holiday weekend marks some of the busiest shopping days of the year, as consumers enjoy the tradition of shopping for the perfect gifts for friends and loved ones,” said Matthew Shay, National Retail Federation President and CEO. “Retailers have been preparing for months for this occasion.”


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McCormick predicts flavours trends in annual forecast
Pulses, tropical Asian flavours and ‘heat and tang’ are amongst the six trends McCormick is expecting to influence menus over the coming years.
The herbs and spices manufacturer has released its annual Flavour Forecast, which sheds light on international culinary trends, both domestically and within the foodservice sector.
‘Heat and tang’ refers to diners’ growing interest in spicy flavours such as chipotle, peri peri and harissa, while south east Asian sambal sauces powered by chillies, rice, vinegar and garlic and also expected to rise in popularity.
“Flavour Forecast is a catalyst for innovation,” said McCormick Australia culinary manager, Simone Fergie. “Around the world this year, we’re launching many new consumer products inspired by Flavour Forecast trends, and we’re working with our customers across the food industry – from chain restaurants to beverage and snack producers – to help them do the same.”
The flavour trends, identified by McCormick chefs, food technologists and flavour experts, include:
- Heat and Tang
- Tropical Asian
- Blends with Benefits
- Alternative Pulse Proteins
- Ancestral Flavours
- Culinary Infused Sips
Pulses are expected to gain in popularity
Sambal sauces are an example of the 'Heat and Tang' flavour prediction.
Last year's flavour trends included umami vegetables, smoked spices and middle eastern mezze.


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By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at China Weekly News -- Signetics Corporation announced that it has recently been named "2013 Vendor of the Year" by Quantenna Communications, a leading developer of 802.11ac and 802.11n semiconductor solutions for the next generation of ultra-reliable, Wi-Fi networks. Quantenna is one of Signetics' strategic growth customers for semiconductor assembly and test in their factory in Paju, South Korea. Quantenna's technology is targeted at devices such as wireless set-top boxes, residential gateways video bridges, and other devices that deliver highly reliable broadband multimedia video and data services over Wi-Fi anywhere in the home.
"We are honored and excited to receive this award from our customer, Quantenna, recognizing us as their top performing vendor for 2013," said Dr. J.I. Kim, CEO of Signetics Corporation. "This is a great example of excellence in quality and customer service by our factory, customer service and sales teams," continued Kim.
"We initially chose Signetics as our second source for our cutting edge 802-11n & 802-11ac WiFi products. But with their higher quality standards, excellent customer service, higher yields, and quick response to our loading requirements, Signetics quickly became our first source for assembly & test," said Quantenna's Senior Director of Operations, Farhat Jahangir. "Signetics was chosen as our vendor of the year for their overall support for the period Q4-2012 to Q4-2013 among all other top world class vendors that Quantenna has engaged with for manufacturing," continued Jahangir. About Quantenna Communications, Inc. Quantenna is a leading developer of 802.11ac and 802.11n Wi-Fi semiconductor solutions that deliver the equivalent performance, speed and reliability of wired Ethernet for multimedia data anywhere in the home. Quantenna pioneered the delivery of seamless video over Wi-Fi and set the performance standard for delivering wire-like quality HD video reliably throughout the connected home, for which it has amassed a list of major awards, including being named a "Top 50 Start-Up for 2013" by The Wall Street Journal. Founded in 2006, Quantenna has shipped millions of its Wi-Fi chipsets being deployed by major telco, cable and satellite service providers and operators worldwide including AT&T, Swisscom, Telefonica, France Telecom, Belgacom, Altibox and Rostelecom. Quantenna is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices worldwide. For additional information, visit www.quantenna.com. About Signetics (a member of the Young Poong Group) Signetics launched its semiconductor assembly and test operations in Youmchang-Dong in Seoul, South Korea in 1966 as part of Signetics Corporation, which was at the time, an IDM based in Sunnyvale, California. With over 40 years in the industry, Signetics is the most experienced semiconductor assembly and test services provider in Korea. Signetics has been certified to the major quality standards including ISO/TS16949, ISO14001, Sony Green Partner and Samsung Eco Partner.
Keywords for this news article include: Asia, Electronics, South Korea, Semiconductor, Signetics Corporation.
Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2013, NewsRx LLC


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Security News & Reviews - Page 7
More Security News
NEWS ANALYSIS: The first reports of the Amazon Echo and its ability to act as a stealthy listening device don’t seem alarming, but you need to think again.
A bi-partisan group of U.S. Senators proposes new Act to help make sure that IoT devices meet a set of basic security requirements that limit the risk of exploitation and attack.
DAILY VIDEO: Hackers demonstrate voting machine vulnerabilities at DefCon; new U.S. cyber-security legislation may help reassert the Fourth Amendment; Microsoft previews phone-friendly features in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update; and there's more.
China is requiring registration of virtual private network technology and Russia is imposing an outright VPN ban. Here is what these restrictions mean for internet privacy and global commerce.
Because iPhone users aren't immune to attacks, security companies are aggressively building apps to protect the phone. Here are 10 of the best iPhone security apps available.
Researchers from Google, UCSD, NYU and Chainalysis analyzed the latest ransomware trends and explain why ransomware is not going away any time soon.
At the DefCon conference, security researchers detailed a set of 26 different vulnerabilities that impact millions of wireless gateways set up by internet service providers.
The pair of annual security conferences held in Las Vegas dig into the security of all manner of things, including—for the first time—voting machines.
DAILY VIDEO: A researcher reveals BIOS firmware implementation flaws at Black Hat; antivirus software cloud use exposes customers to data exfiltration; Amazon Q2 earnings fall way short of Street projections; and there's more.
NEWS ANALYSIS: New federal legislation working its way through the Senate and House of Representatives could restrict the use of warrantless searches to seize personal data and communications stored on the nation's computers.
At the DefCon 25 security conference, Voting Machine Village highlights the problems with modern election equipment and why it's a national security issue to fix the problem.
In a Black Hat session, researchers outline an attack scenario aimed against developers that could put them at risk of exploitation.


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The all-new Apple AirPods 4 with USB Type C are anticipated to debut in 2024.
According to a recent report, the iPhone 16 and Apple AirPods Pro 4th generation are expected to be released in the same year. It is anticipated that the new earbuds would come equipped with USB-C charging, speakers for Find My notifications, and active noise cancellation.
- According to reports, Apple will release the fourth version of AirPods early in 2019.
- With the iPhone 16, the AirPods are anticipated to be released.
- It is anticipated that the upcoming AirPods will support USB Type C charging.
One of the greatest TWS earbuds available is the Apple AirPod, and the tech giant frequently releases updates for them. At the Wonderlust event earlier this year, Apple revealed that, in an effort to improve customer convenience, the USB Type-C port in the AirPods Pro Gen 2 will replace the lightning port. This was revealed concurrently with the release of the Apple Watch 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and iPhone 15. Furthermore, rumors now state that Apple plans to release the fourth generation of AirPods along with the iPhone 16 in the upcoming year.
Arriving in 2024: the fourth generation of Apple AirPods
As per Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple is anticipated to release two distinct models of the AirPods 4 in the upcoming year, with varying pricing points. Gurman continued by saying that the latest AirPod version, which costs Rs 19,900, hasn’t been as successful commercially as its predecessors. Thus, it is anticipated that the upcoming non-Pro AirPods models would take the place of the Apple AirPods 2 and Apple AirPods 3.
It is expected that the standard model of Apple AirPods 4 will have speakers for Find My alerts, a USB-C charging port instead of a Lightning port, and active noise cancellation (ANC). The USB Type C port is currently limited to AirPods Pro models only.
The Apple AirPods 4 are anticipated to combine design cues from the existing AirPods and AirPods Pro. It’s unclear if Apple intends to include silicone tips, but reports indicate that the new earbuds will have shorter stems to improve fit.
Regarding the AirPods Max, Apple might release an upgraded model with a USB-C connector and additional colors the following year. It is not anticipated that there will be any major changes to the hardware and software features. In the meanwhile, an update with an emphasis on improved comfort is anticipated for the AirPods Pro. There are rumors that Apple is also investigating novel features in the works, such as the ability to record body temperature and a variety of health tracking functions.
It’s crucial to remember that nothing has been formally confirmed, so these details are conjectural. Apple may decide at the last minute to change its plans.
However, Apple recently announced that owners of AirPods Pro will now be able to purchase the USB-C case separately for USD 99, giving them an independent choice.
India’s cost for the AirPods Pro Gen 2 with USB Type-C charging
As previously reported, Apple revealed the USB Type-C charging AirPods Pro Gern 2 during its Wonderlust event in September of this year. In India, the AirPods were priced at Rs 24,900 at launch.
The IP54 rating is added to the USB Type-C charging port of the AirPods Pro 2nd Gen. Another new feature of the new AirPods Pro is a listening mode known as “Adaptive Audio.” This mode combines the transparency mode with ANC, which modifies the noise control based on the user’s surroundings.
Apple also revealed the wired EarPods with USB Type C in addition to the AirPods. The price of these EarPods upon debut was Rs 2,000.


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Kroger (NYSE:KR) has been assigned a $30.00 price target by investment analysts at Credit Suisse Group in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 20.10% from the stock’s previous close.
A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. ValuEngine cut shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 2nd. Loop Capital set a $25.00 price target on shares of Kroger and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 26th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Kroger from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Kroger from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.48.
Shares of KR traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $24.98. 14,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,228,522. Kroger has a fifty-two week low of $24.71 and a fifty-two week high of $25.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.03.
Kroger (NYSE:KR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 8th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.63. Kroger had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 29.27%. The company had revenue of $31.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Kroger’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. sell-side analysts anticipate that Kroger will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kroger announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
In other Kroger news, VP Todd A. Foley sold 3,800 shares of Kroger stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.43, for a total value of $92,834.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 31,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $763,999.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth about $293,538,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kroger by 12,471.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,414,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,439,000 after purchasing an additional 8,347,418 shares in the last quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,873,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Kroger by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,645,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Kroger during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,450,000. 79.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
The Kroger Co, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer in the United States. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in its supermarkets. The company operates supermarkets, multi-department stores, jewelry stores, and convenience stores. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; multi-department stores provide general merchandise items, such as apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, toys, and fine jewelry; and price impact warehouse stores offer grocery, and health and beauty care items, as well as meat, dairy, baked goods, and fresh produce items.
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The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets says that vendors at open-air stands must sell only pre-wrapped cheese, rather than cutting off a chunk from a wheel of cheddar or gouda.
The assistant director of New York City's Greenmarket says the state announced the change last winter. She said the state is reinterpreting a rule that was already on the books.
Cheese vendors who sell at city farmer's markets say the no-slicing rule is hurting their business.
Most are trying to comply by wrapping their cheese in plastic, but they say the plastic affects the quality of the cheese.