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Roses and chocolates may have been the best selling gifts Wednesday as many people chose these to express their love for their beloved.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport officials said they have flown nearly 30 tons of flowers since February 9. Roses accounted for a large proportion, with the other popular varieties being carnations and lilies. A new type of rose, named the "diamond rose" was also imported into southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from the Republic of Korea.
To grab the golden chance, the local post offices also started a service of sending roses for residents to their beloved in and outside the city. Restaurants are decorated with candles, delicately-designed chocolates and delicious cookies to welcome pairs spending their day in a romantic atmosphere.
Roses in Beijing are sold at 10 to 20 yuan (US$1.2 to US$2.4) each, up from three yuan on usual days. A special type of rose with an unusual color is even sold at 150 yuan each on this special occasion.
Beichen Plaza in Beijing sold out chocolates worth 100,000 yuan and roses worth at least 20,000 yuan today.
Valentine's Day, a day for lovers named after a romantic story in the West, has become more and more popular among the Chinese, especially those below the age of 35.
Li Yong, a computer engineer in Beijing, gave his wife nine roses as a present today, wishing the two could be together forever.
He said, "Living in an increasingly open society, it is time for us to change our outdated attitudes. I think we ought to declare our love in a more open and direct way."
While some disagree with the idea, seeming to have no interest in spending a day in such a luxurious way.
Fang Ke, a government official in Beijing, said gifts with too high a price may materialize people's passion. "I would like to spend the day with my girlfriend in our own way," he said.
Valentine's presents that are too expensive also scared some customers away. Wang Yueqin, a woman who has recently lost her job, said, "My husband bought several roses today to make me happy. While I think they are a generous gift, I would rather get something more practical." And she is not the only one to hold such an idea.
A teacher in Wenzhou City, east China's Zhejiang province, did not seem to like the Western lovers' day at all. He said so in an on-line chat room: "We Chinese also have our own lovers' day, that is the July 7th in the Chinese lunar calendar. Why do we choose the Western one? We are losing our cultural tradition."
July 7th is set as Chinese lovers day after an ancient Chinese love story. A couple was separated by a goddess, for the wife, once an angel, broke the law in heaven for the sake of love. They were then only allowed to meet on this day. "I think the day and the story can remind more young people of what is real love and learn to cherish it," said the teacher.
In the last few years, the Chinese attitudes towards love, sex, marriage have changed a lot. Social phenomena such as adultery, keeping mistresses, and cohabitation have also caught citizens' attention.
Some hotels in Beijing offered room discounts for Valentine's Day. Customers were only required to show their identity cards when they booked a room, rather than showing their marriage certificates, which made parents and staff working in women's affairs frown.
They said this was improper. Pre-marital sex and adultery are now a threat to family life and social order. Such a practice implies approval.
Ge Chenhong, a sociologist in the People's University of China, said that most Chinese still prefer connotation, and they also tend to be more practical.
"But there is no denying the fact that human beings look forward to true love no matter where and when."


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Retailer Halfords has signed a three-year IT maintenance and support deal with Fujitsu, part of an IT transformation project at the bicycle and car parts retailer. Halfords CIO Anna Barsby told Computing...
App designed to safeguard children online was the result of two years' toil at AI's cutting edge, says product manager Jon Howard
Says it is no longer processing orders from the Chinese firm
Acknowledges many small problems that still remain to be solved
The emphasis will be more on ensuring a diversity of suppliers and less on cost-cutting say experts

domain: news


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Polybutadiene Rubber witnessed surge in Europe and bearishness in US market amid Supplier’s destocking
- 22-Jan-2024 2:12 PM
- Journalist: Peter Schmidt
In the third week of January, Polybutadiene Rubber prices in Europe saw an upward trend, primarily driven by inventory restocking due to increase in spot market purchases despite subdued demand in the downstream Tyre Market observed in recent sessions. The contraction of the European economy and geopolitical conflicts across the Red Sea significantly disrupted the supply chain, influencing the pricing dynamics of Polybutadiene Rubber in the European market. Conversely, the US market witnessed a continuous decline in prices, despite robust demand from both domestic and importing nations.
In the third week of January, the Polybutadiene Rubber price in Germany concluded at 1530 USD/MT FOB – Hamburg, marking a substantial increase of 8.51%. This surge in the price of Polybutadiene Rubber occurred despite the Butadiene price remaining stable. The European automobile sector is currently experiencing contraction, exemplified by Michelin's announcement of a phased cessation of production at its Karlsruhe and Trier sites in Germany, alongside discontinuation of new tire and semi-finished products manufacturing in Hamburg. The decision is rooted in heightened competition in the budget truck tire segment and the diminished competitiveness of German operations for European and export markets. Adding to the challenges, four Michelin factories in Spain plan to cease production on the weekend of January 20-21 due to delays in raw material deliveries prompted by the crisis in the Red Sea. Geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea region have disrupted global demand and supply chains, contributing to the evolving pricing dynamics in the Polybutadiene Rubber market.
In the US market, Polybutadiene Rubber prices experienced a decline, reaching 1850 USD/MT FOB – Texas in the third week of January, marking a decrease of 6.56%. Despite the stability observed in the Butadiene market, demand from the European market, especially in the automobile and tire sectors, remained subdued, impacting its Polybutadiene Rubber export business in the European market. On the contrary, other importing nations such as Mexico and Brazil reported robust demand, driven by strong sales in the automobile sector market. Suppliers of the Polybutadiene Rubber are currently anticipating a continuation of the downward trend in destocking inventories. They are adopting a cautious approach, waiting for the market to stabilize in major exporting countries, with the expectation that prices will level off, prompting buyers to start accumulating inventories.
According to ChemAnalyst's projections, Polybutadiene Rubber prices are anticipated to remain stable to bearish in the upcoming sessions in both the US and European markets. This expectation is grounded in the supplier's continuous destocking actions, where there is no indication of an upward trend observed this week, discouraging suppliers from bidding for fresh inventory accumulation despite positive demand. These crucial factors are expected to significantly influence the pricing dynamics of Polybutadiene Rubber in the global market.


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The maker of London’s iconic black cabs sued companies building an environmentally friendly alternative, saying the similar design would confuse drivers and customers.
The London Taxi Company, a unit of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., said Frazer-Nash Research Ltd. and Ecotive Ltd.’s zero-emission Metrocab breached its trademarks.
“It is actually all about the shape,” said Douglas Campbell, a lawyer for the cab-maker, at a London court hearing ahead of a November trial.
London Mayor Boris Johnson announced last year that all of the city’s new taxis should be zero-emission by 2018 as part of efforts to reduce pollution. Geely is investing 250 million pounds ($387 million) in a new facility in Coventry to build greener versions of the black cab.
Frazer-Nash Research and Ecotive said last month they would start production on the new Metrocab in 2016, in partnership with privately held manufacturer Multimatic Holdings Inc. The venture’s 50 million-pound factory will also be based near Coventry.
“The identity of the manufacturer of the car is a matter of supreme indifference to the passenger,” Frazer-Nash said in documents at the London court hearing, where the London Taxi Company asked the judge to approve a market survey for use in the trial.
Officials at the London Taxi Company declined to comment. A spokesman for Frazer-Nash didn’t immediately respond to e-mails and phone calls seeking comment.
Drivers of black cabs must pass a four-year training program called the “knowledge” to demonstrate their understanding of the city’s 25,000 streets.
Each cab driver essentially runs a small business, buying or renting vehicles, licensed by London’s transport authority. The London Taxi Company manufactures the majority of black cabs. Frazer-Nash’s zero-emission Metrocab is currently undergoing trials in the city.
The case is The London Taxi Corporation Ltd. v. Frazer Nash Research Ltd. & Anr, High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, HC14B01502


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As part of its celebration of success in the software development space, the company has announced that it is diversifying its products and will soon be launching a data division offering cloud-based data analysis services. This division’s launch is informed by emerging trends that point to big data as the tech industry’s next growth area. Research shows that more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated daily, and only a small fraction of it is analyzed. The move to get into the data market is also informed by the feedback it has been getting from its customers. Most of its clients have been requesting data-related projects in the last couple of years, and it is only natural to respond to their needs. Fetherston Technologies hopes to capitalize on this opportunity and have data generate at least 40% of total company revenues by 2030. To ensure that its next phase of growth is successful, the company has hired a team of data analysts and machine learning experts. The team is made up of 10 people, but they hope to scale it up as the business grows. Essentially, the company’s entry into the data analytics market is an extension of its core belief in giving customers the best technology services possible.
The company’s continued success has a lot to do with the management prowess of Peter Fetherston. Peter started the company as a solo practice but has since grown it into an I.T entity with a national reach and more than fifty tech employees. Fetherston is a tech guy and graduated among the top students in his computer science class before pursuing a master of science in computer engineering. He also holds an MBA with a focus on strategic planning. After completing his studies, Fetherston went on to work for some of the biggest technology companies in Silicon Valley before launching Fetherston Technologies. His deep understanding of technology and strong management skills have been instrumental to the company’s growth so far and will also be essential to its success going into the future. He can leverage his skills and experience to quickly figure out the next significant steps in technology and craft teams with the expertise to make things happen.
Going forward, the company has some exciting growth plans in the pipeline. For starters, it is looking to get into the fast-growing blockchain technology space. Fetherston is already invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but he believes there is more to the technology than cryptocurrencies. One of the tech applications that the company wants to implement is document security and verification. The company believes that blockchain technology’s immutable nature is an opportunity to come up with tamperproof digital documents and eliminate some of the crimes associated with document tampering. To actualize this move, the company is currently laying the framework to hire full-stack Ethereum developers and kick-start this project in late 2021. Since it still early days in the adoption of blockchain technology outside of cryptocurrencies, the company hopes to capture at least 10% of the blockchain-based documents verification market by the year 2030. This could see it generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues.
The company is also looking into ways to incorporate blockchain technology in the digital identity space. According to Fetherston, the increased rate at which conventional cybersecurity tools are being breached points to a gap in the market. He is already looking into Digibyte based DigiID as a potentially good platform to build the next generation of digital identity systems. The company has already set aside $500k that will go into research and development on how to build such systems and capitalize on the fast-growing cybersecurity market opportunity.
However, the company’s biggest bet in the mid to long-term is using technology to solve climate change. The world is warming up, and the disastrous consequences of the same are being felt already. According to Fetherston, the current situation in Texas and many other parts of the world points to what the future holds unless drastic measures are taken. For that reason, he believes this is the opportunity of the century for tech companies to come up with innovations that could unlock value through new ways of living, while at the same time generating billions of dollars in value for innovators. Fetherston is looking to invest in research, and by 2025, the company will have a strategy to offer practical solutions that can help the world deal with the climate problem. The company is taking some time before launching a potential solution because it does not want to reinvent the wheel. So far, companies like Tesla have focused their energies on the transport industry as a key starting point in the journey towards fighting climate change. Fetherston hopes to tackle other high-impact aspects to this issue that are not yet overplayed but can still make a difference.
Fetherston Technologies is a technology services company based in San Francisco, California. The company offers a wide array of services that range from enterprise systems development, apps development, and cloud applications management services among others. The company offers both customized and standardized subscription services, depending on the client’s needs. To learn more about their services, check them out online. One can also get in touch with the CEO, Peter Fetherston, on LinkedIn for details on large customized projects.
Peter Fetherston Technologies
email us here


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LAST UPDATED : Oct 20, 2019, 09:37 AM IST
- IMF chief says building 'peer pressure' to follow trade rules
As the United States and China remain engulfed in a massive tariff battle and with Brexit turmoil continuing on Saturday, trade overshadowed the discussions of finance officials gathered for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
- Trump says US-China trade talks are 'going very well'
President Donald Trump offered an upbeat assessment of US-China trade talks and said he would meet at the White House on Friday with the leader of the Chinese negotiating team. Expectations were low that the negotiations would do much to resolve a 15-month trade battle that is weighing on the global economy.
- China to send its top trade negotiator to US for talks
China says its top trade negotiator will lead an upcoming 13th round of talks aimed at resolving a trade war with the United States. Vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that Vice-Premier Liu He would travel to Washington for the talks sometime after China's National Day holiday, which ends October 7.


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by Anton Shilov
01/21/2013 | 11:10 PM
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. expects demand for its next-generation 20nm manufacturing technology to be even higher than the demand for its current-gen leading-edge 28nm fabrication process. The company hopes it will be able to meet the demand thanks to simultaneous launch of two manufacturing facilities capable of 20nm.
“We think that our volume of 20nm SoC next year, 2014, will be greater than the volume of 28nm last year and we think the volume of 20nm SoC in 2015 will be greater than the volume of 28nm this year,” said Morris Chang, chief executive officer and chairman of TSMC, during a conference call with financial analysts.
TSMC now produces its 28nm chips at Fab 15 phase 1 and 2. TSMC began equipment move-in for the phase 1 facility in June 2011 and started volume production of 28nm technology products for customers in October, 2011. The phase 2 of Fab 15 was completed in Q4 2012 and this was supposed to boost total 28nm capacity to reach about 50 thousand wafers per month. The Fab 15 phase 3 and phase 4 will manufacture chips using 20nm manufacturing process starting from the second half of 2013. TSMC is also constructing phase 3 and phase 4 of Fab 15 in parallel, which will allow it to start 20nm production simultaneously and dramatically boost its leading-edge production capacities.
Since TSMC will only offer one version of 20nm fabrication process (vs. four versions of 28nm manufacturing technology), it will take shorter amount of time to ramp up volume production of chips using the technology.
The head of TSMC declined to comment whether the cost of manufacturing at 20nm will be significantly higher compared to the cost of production at 28nm. Still he said that the vast majority of customers are interested in transition to 20nm fabrication process.


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A fun weekend of animal-related events will mark the grand opening of the new Hanover PETCO located at 416 Eisenhower Dr. on Saturday March 31 and Sunday April 1, 2001.
Visitors to the store are encouraged to bring in their four-legged friends for exciting events like the Pet Costume Contest or the Cat Country Pet Sound Alike Contest sponsored by local radio station WRKZ FM 106.7 Cat Country. In addition, information will be offered throughout the weekend about obedience training, low-cost vaccinations, and pet first aid, as well as information from an Animal Rescue Organization. For the kids, a face painting clown will be part of the entertainment.
"Pets are always welcome to visit us with their owners," says Store Manager, Dee Brown. The 12,000 square foot store features a small animal and reptile area, fresh and saltwater fish aquariums, a bird room and a grooming salon.
Store hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
To find the Hanover store, or any other PETCO location, check out PETCO's website at http://www.petco.com/. PETCO, founded in 1965, operates more than 535 specialty pet food and supply stores in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
Grand Opening Events: Days and Times Saturday, 03/31 Sunday, 04/01 WRKZ-FM 106.7 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Cat Country Broadcast Pet Costume Contest 1 p.m. Obedience Training 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Information Vaccination Information 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Pet Photographer 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Pet First Aid 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Free Toenail Clipping 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Clown with Face Painting 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Cat Adoptions 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Contact: Barb Emery, 858-657-2068, or Dee Brown, Store Manager,
717-646-9157, both of PETCO


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Gurugram woman orders alcohol online, loses money to scammers: How to stay safe
A woman in Gurugram lost ₹30,000 after being directed to a scammer while trying to buy whiskey online. The scammers asked for additional funds for delivery and ended up stealing her money.
In a reported incident from Gurugram, a woman incurred a loss of over ₹30,000 while attempting to purchase a bottle of whiskey online. In an unfortunate event, her Google search directed her to a scammer, resulting in the loss of her money.


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Remember the dawn of the Internet? Remember all the skeptics who didn’t see its transformational genius? Remember how it became enormous?
It’s happening again.
What’s happening involves the Internet, of course, but in a newly emerging context. I am referring to a phenomenon called the industrial “Internet of Things.” Accenture defines this as the convergence of intelligent industrial products, processes and services that communicate with each other, and with people, over global networks.
Accenture estimates that the IIoT will add at least $10 trillion to the world economy by 2030, of which $1.6 trillion will accrue to the United States’ cumulative gross domestic product. If investments are greater and other improvements made to support the IIoT, that gain could reach $7.1 trillion in the country by the same year.
These eye-catching forecasts suggest there are many lucrative business opportunities to be pursued. But is there substance to back this up?
The answer is “yes.”
For the next several years, count on IIoT businesses driving electronics and high tech industry growth.
More sensors in more devices is a key driver of IIoT
If you are skeptical of the hype, think of it this way: A rapidly growing number of devices are coming into the market that are now connected. This is simple math. A typical smartphone houses eight to 10 sensors. A leading-edge thermostat, which is an emerging device category, contains between four to five. Another new type of product, a wearable fitness monitor, embeds two to three. Beyond these are many more new devices containing numerous sensors.
More electronics devices equipped with more sensors means more opportunities to connect these products to others, build more applications, embed in them more software, offer more services, travel through more networks, generate more revenues for businesses and deliver more benefits to consumers.
In new and more intelligent ways, these devices will collect, analyze and send data to more businesses, devices and people than ever to improve decision-making, business outcomes, and consumer experiences.
According to a new global survey done to support the Accenture Technology Vision 2015, the range of emerging channels that companies say they are using to engage customers includes “wearables” (cited by 62% of survey respondents), connected televisions (68%), connected cars (59%) and smart objects (64%). In fact, 87% of survey respondents acknowledged a greater use on the edge of networks of more intelligent hardware, sensors and high tech devices.
Three trends driving IIoT
How IIoT has coalesced is traceable to three fundamental trends. First, Internet-connected networks are becoming ubiquitous. More people than ever can afford to connect to these networks.
Second, prices of devices that connect to the Internet continue to drop, making them more available to many more people. A growing percentage of the global population, for example, can afford to buy a cellphone, wearable device, PC or smart thermostat.
Third, barriers to entry using Internet-connected devices continue to plummet. It costs less than ever for people to start a business on the Internet. They can use inexpensive IIoT devices, Internet connections they don’t have to pay to use, and software already written by someone else.
Going forward, a big challenge will be deciding in which IIoT opportunities to invest. Here are two worth considering:
Pursuit of the IIoT healthcare market
It’s clear the healthcare market is going to be one of the first and largest IIoT markets. Consider the potential for hospitals where preventable medical errors remain a leading cause of death. These errors are often caused by false alarms, slow responses, and incorrect information.
By networking distributed medical devices, alarms can become smarter so they only get triggered when multiple devices indicate patient danger. Adding sensors to checkpoints allows clinicians to track their compliance with protocols and safety standards. And connecting measurements to patient treatments enables smart drug delivery systems to react to their conditions faster and more reliably.
Aerospace and defense
Aerospace and defense is another big IIoT opportunity. One of the reasons is that more sensors are being embedded in more airplane components. Consider a scenario involving an aircraft engine oil pump. Sensors collect data indicating the pump is likely to fail within a few hours. The data gets transmitted off the plane to a predictive maintenance system.
At the plane’s destination airport, the maintenance team becomes proactive with that information. At the airport gate the team has a replacement pump ready to be installed when the plane lands. This keeps the aircraft in service instead of having to take it offline for an unplanned and expensive maintenance event.
Throughout the electronics and high-tech industry, executing IIoT strategies should be at the top of the agenda. And the focus should be on delivering to customers what they really want: not more products or services, but more meaningful business outcomes. These companies need to seize this big moment now.


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Corning Inc. launched its Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass in January and it now has signed up its first customer with ZTE Corp., who will launch a new version of its flagship smartphone for the Chinese market, dubbed Axon. ZTE’s Axon device will be the first smartphone with EPA-registered antimicrobial cover glass on the market, Corning says.
Doorknobs, public counters, group selfies, coffee shop wall chargers — everywhere we take our smartphone, is just another opportunity to gather a number of microbes on our mobile devices. Microbes that are more than likely not all our own. To address this concern, Corning came up with its antimicrobial glass that the company claims is the first EPA-registered cover glass to feature microbial resistance.
The antimicrobial cover class features the durability, scratch resistance and toughness of the Corning’s Gorilla Glass products, but with built-in ionic silver component that serves as an antimicrobial agent to keep the glass clean. Throughout the day, the glass cleans the surface of the smartphone eliminating bacteria that gathers during various times or locations. This bacteria fighting glass will last the lifetime of the phone, the company says.
However, while the bacteria cleaning glass may appeal to some consumers, according to Terry Yu, senior analyst for small and medium displays at IHS, it is doubtful to generate significant sales solely for this feature. Thus, the company has included it as a package deal along with the scratch resistance and durability protection Gorilla Glass claims.
“It is not a necessity, most consumers will attach a cover glass on top for protection [against cracks and scratches] rather than bacteria,” Yu says. “So it’s just a selling point, but not a strong enough one to promote separately.”
Questions or comments on this story? Contact firstname.lastname@example.org


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As such, the Cupertino-based tech firm is working on new systems that would prepare its vehicle for a tech revolution in the auto sector, including this new function to detect window cracks.
Apple explains in the patent that it could use control circuitry to find cracks by applying ohmic heating currents to windows.
The idea is as clever as it is simple. Using the technology that’s already integrated into windows for heating and deicing, the system would make resistance measurements across its surface. The windows can also feature conductive layers allowing for the same thing, so eventually, the measurements would help the vehicle determine if a crack exists in a specific window.
Apple says windows that come with layers of glass or rigid plastic can incorporate dielectric thin films that are impossible to see when looking at them. Thin-film metal layers, ink layers, or layers to block infrared and ultraviolet light can be used as well.
Eventually, as long as a conductive material is being used, the system would be able to perform the measurements. This is possible both when the window is being heated and independent from the process, as the vehicle can conduct regular checks to determine the integrity of the windows. The resistance measurement operations can also be triggered on demand, possibly at a service center during periodic maintenance.
Apple explains that cracks that extend into the conductive layer would cause the current flow to be impeded, with the resistance to eventually be increased. As such, the system would determine the change, warning of a possible crack in the window.
This idea would fit the Apple Car like a glove, especially given the vehicle’s increased focus on technology. Apple wants its self-driving EV to be centered around innovative tech, and systems like the new-generation CarPlay and smartphone integration would play an essential role in the promised living room on wheels.
People familiar with the matter said the Apple Car wouldn’t see daylight earlier than 2025. The vehicle might launch with a more conventional configuration at first, including limited self-driving capabilities. The cabin would also use the classic approach, with a steering wheel and pedals, as Apple hasn’t completed the work on its revolutionary living room design. An upgraded version of the Apple Car could follow towards the end of the decade.


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According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, the new iMac will come in the same 24-inch screen size and colors as the current model. However, it will be more powerful and feature a new M-series chip to replace the M1.
The iMac will also see some internal component redesigns, and the manufacturing process for attaching the stand will differ. Although the development of the new iMacs has reached a late stage, it is not expected to go into mass production for at least three months. Therefore, it will likely ship in the year’s second half at the earliest.
Apple is also set to launch about three new Macs between late spring and summer, with those three models likely to be the first 15-inch MacBook Air, the first Mac Pro with homegrown Apple chips, and an update to the 13-inch MacBook Air.
Which processors will these new Macs run on?
The Mac Pro will include the M2 Ultra, and the next iMac will be one of the first M3-based machines. If the new MacBook Air models launch with the M2 chip, they will quickly become outdated.
Therefore, it is plausible that Apple is gearing up for the new 13-inch model to be an M3 machine, marking the first time Apple is moving from 5-nanometer chip process technology to a 3-nanometer design in the Mac.
The new operating systems are now in beta testing, and the second beta of the upcoming iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 have been rolled out to developers.
The final OS release is expected to arrive for consumers in April
The corresponding watchOS, tvOS, and macOS updates are also in testing. These updates will support some of the new Macs that Apple is set to launch.
In other Apple news, the company’s cloud chief is set to leave, and Apple recently got a rare antitrust win. However, it abruptly shuttered a store, which was surprising to many. Apple’s Secret Exploratory Design Group is reportedly working on more than just a no-prick glucose monitor.
Looking further into the future, exciting Mac upgrades are expected to come as early as 2025, including the first MacBooks with OLED screens and touch support.


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Super 3G Global Standard
According to the Nikkei, the world’s 26 major mobile phone operators and handset makers have agreed to work on a global standard for a super-fast mobile transmission technology. The group includes NTT DoCoMo and NEC of Japan, Britain’s Vodafone Group PLC, US cell-phone carrier Cingular Wireless, Alcatel of France and Siemens AG of Germany. Super 3G can boost mobile transmission speeds to between 30 and 100 megabits per second to match existing land-line fiber-optic telecom technology.
Using the new technology called Super 3G, the group plans to launch by 2009 global services for transmitting large volumes of moving images by mobile phones at a speed 10 times faster than the current 3G technology, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily reported, without quoting sources. Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Via: Forbes.


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| May 30, 2007
The dairy industry has been all agog this week with news of a cow named Marge (and others like her) who produces naturally skim milk. What that means: With a herd of cows like Marge, the industry wouldn't have to remove all the fat after milking. They...
| Aug 16, 2007
| 5:51 PM
2007-08-16 15:59:36.0 Administrator2: Hello and welcome to the Health chat with Susan Bowerman and Jeannine Stein!
2007-08-16 16:00:06.0 FanLA: hello
2007-08-16 16:00:26.0 Administrator2: We'll begin in a moment, but feel free to submit your questions...
| Nov 19, 2009
| 2:31 PM
| Nov 19, 2009
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| Feb 11, 2008
Casting doubt on the benefit of low-calorie sweeteners, research released Sunday reported that rats on diets containing saccharin gained more weight than rats given sugary food.
The study in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience found that the calorie-free...
| Aug 20, 2007
'Gasoline is going -- alcohol is coming. And it's coming to stay, too, for it's in unlimited supply. And we might as well get ready for it now."
Those words might have come from President George W. Bush, or just about any member of the U.S. Congress,...
| May 17, 2008
Robert Mondavi, the pioneering Napa Valley vintner whose drive and salesmanship revolutionized the way the world thought about California wine, died peacefully Friday at his Yountville, Calif., home, a spokeswoman for the Robert Mondavi Winery said. He...
| Feb 4, 2010
Is the Cult Cab dead?
The current economy has created ominous rumblings in the market for Napa Valley wine. Demand for high-end super-premium Cabs, even so-called cult wines, has weakened considerably with the recession. Sales are stagnant, inventories...
| Apr 29, 2009
You've dropped in for an espresso. Your own private barista greets you at the door and guides you to a custom-made, walnut-and-steel espresso-making station, tricked out with a swivel base and hydraulics for raising and lowering the attached grinder....
| Aug 12, 2009
Before it was Beach Boulevard, the Orange County road that leads straight to Huntington Beach was known as Highway 39.
That was back when Clifford Ronnenberg's parents owned a dairy and roadside diner, which is now the site of the citified ParkAve...
| Jul 18, 2010
The days when taking home a souvenir from your favorite hotel meant a bad logo T-shirt or golf visor are long gone.
How about a Rebecca Minkoff bag? The W Hotel's stores have one in an exclusive shade of turquoise. A pair of Band of Outsiders pajamas?...


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Solution found for Heavy Rain trophies
Back in June of this year, Quantic Dream expressed their concern of implementing trophies into Heavy Rain, explaining giving gamers a shiny reward for completing goals in the game was not something they were looking to achieve.
Well, as you may know, Sony has made it mandatory that all games for the system must support the much-loved achievement system.
Speaking to Eurogamer, it now appears that they have come up with a solution. David Cage, founder of the studio, had this to say:
We found a solution. We understand that it can be important for many players and we wanted to support the system anyway, so we found something that is not destructive for the game, where you’re not disturbed by the Trophies as you play.
So what is their magic solution? It’s pretty simple really:
We will probably display them between the scenes, so you know what you’ve achieved, but at the same time isn’t an obstruction as you play.
Heavy Rain is one of Sony’s biggest releases for 2010, but is it on your wish list yet? Please let us know in the comments.


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Investors sold shares of L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) on strength during trading hours on Wednesday. $45.90 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $60.66 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $14.76 million out of the stock. Of all companies tracked, L Brands had the 32nd highest net out-flow for the day. L Brands traded up $1.15 for the day and closed at $49.33
Several research firms have recently commented on LB. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of L Brands in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $56.00 price target on shares of L Brands and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of L Brands from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of L Brands in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, CIBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of L Brands in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. L Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.41.
The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of -5.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $14,100.00, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.61.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 22nd. L Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.17%.
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in L Brands by 182.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,110 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of L Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of L Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Check Capital Management Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of L Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, St. Louis Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of L Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. 80.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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L Brands Company Profile
L Brands, Inc operates specialty retail business. The Company is focused on women’s intimate and other apparel, personal care, beauty and home fragrance categories. Its segments include Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works International. It sells its merchandise through company-owned specialty retail stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Greater China, which are mall-based; through Websites, and through international franchise, license and wholesale partners.
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Huawei has released two rather vague teasers about a week ago, and the third one just landed. This Chinese smartphone manufacturer seems to be getting ready to release something at MWC (Mobile World Congress) next week, and has released three teasers thus far. This one shows us an arc-shaped line and once again the "next is here" tagline, like it was the case in the first two teasers as well. Judging by the shape alone, this teaser doesn't reveal all that much, our best guess is a device with a curved display, a smartwatch or a perhaps a smartband, Huawei TalkBand B2's successor could be in the cards for the company.
Many people have been saying that Huawei will launch the P8 handset at MWC this year, but Huawei's Director of Marketing Communications said that P8 will launch on April 15 in London, so that's out of the question here. Our best guess is an Android Wear-powered smartwatch or a smartband, though the rumored Mate 7 Mini handset is also a possibility. The company might also announce a tablet, the alleged successor of their X1 device which was released last year. According to rumors, that thing is expected to sport a 7-inch 1920 x 1200 display and be powered by Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 925 processor. 3G of RAM has also been mentioned, as well as a 5,500mAh battery. The rumors also say that the device will cost around 1,999 Yuan ($319).
Huawei certainly has big plans for 2015 and they're expected to release a bunch of hardware this year, so who knows what can we expect at this point. The aforementioned devices have been mentioned the most in the recent leaks. Luckily the MWC is right around the corner, and we'll see what's what then. That being said, let us know what are your thoughts here, what do you think this teaser is about and what will Huawei announce at the Mobile World Congress next week? There are definitely lots of possibilities at the moment, so it would be interesting to hear what you guys thing about all this.


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Countless studies and analyst recommendations suggest the value of improving security during the software development life cycle rather than trying to address vulnerabilities in software discovered after widespread adoption and deployment. The justification is clear.For software vendors, costs are incurred both directly and indirectly from security flaws found in their products. Reassigning development resources to create and distribute patches can often cost software vendors millions of dollars, while successful exploits of a single vulnerability have in some cases caused billions of dollars in losses to businesses worldwide. Vendors blamed for vulnerabilities in their product's source code face losses in credibility, brand image, and competitive advantage. A study in 2005 by Carnegie Mellon found that the stock price of vendors declined an average of .63 percent compared to the NASDAQ after a vulnerability is discovered in their software.
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MBFW Fall 2012 Coverage: Talking With Legendary Columnist Michael Musto
Orange Juice And Biscuits and The Ultra V Network had a chance to catch up with Village Voice Columnist Michael Musto. Michael is well known for his column The Daily Musto and has recently authored a book called “Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back”.
Michael talks with Jonathan Valdez before the Charlotte Ronson show about the changes in Fashion Week through out the years and his thoughts on fashion week this season. Enjoy!


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With the help of English law firm Pannone Corporate, a member of the PLG International Lawyers network recommended by Lamy Lexel, Metaventures invested US $8 million to acquire the Dubit game development studio at the end of 2021.
A recognised game studio and developer of virtual worlds, Dubit (with $7 million in turnover in 2021) is joining Metaventures, headed by Lyon-based entrepreneur and investor Jean-Charles Capelli, a client of Lamy Lexel, which led the negotiations for this acquisition.
This investment aims to finance the Metaverse Gaming League, the first e-sports games league in the Metaverse, the digital universe where you can move about, play and organise events in virtual worlds.
The ambition goes well beyond the world of e-sports (which already brings together 200 million players!) as the potential for entertainment (with concerts and fashion shows already planned) and advertising revenue is huge. To make Metaventures even more attractive, Jean-Charles Capelli plans to raise another €30 to €50 million to finance new acquisitions of successful games.
A top name in mergers and acquisitions and in the burgeoning digital sphere, Lamy Lexel supports its clients in their development, both in France and internationally, in collaboration with its partners in more than 75 countries worldwide.


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DW's Javier Arguedas talks to Frank Sportolari, the new president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, about Washington's potential tariffs on EU steel imports.
American-German businessman Martin Richenhagen is far from happy about the Trump administration's aggressive trade policies. "We are surprised on a daily basis by strange initiatives," he told DW.
Beijing has announced retaliatory measures after the US imposed fresh tariffs on Chinese technology products. Beijing announced tariffs on a $34 billion list of American goods including soybeans and whisky.
The move follows Mexico's announcement that it would introduce retaliatory duties on US products. The European Union and Canada have already filed WTO complaints over the controversial steel and aluminum tariffs.
The European Commission has announced that its answer to higher US tariffs on steel and aluminum will come as early as July. Brussels said it was finalizing the list of US exports to be affected by the countermeasure.
© 2018 Deutsche Welle |
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Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House announced the impending release of a project in honor of Black History Month. And just as quickly as they released the project, they canceled it due to massive online backlash. Titled “Diverse Editions,” the initiative aimed to increase engagement in “classic” books like Peter Pan, Frankenstein, Moby Dick, and Alice in Wonderland by releasing covers that reimagined characters as Black people and people of color.1 Although this may have seemed like an honest effort to promote diversity, in reality, the project was misguided and harmful. These so-called “diverse” covers didn’t highlight Black stories or Black authors, but instead pasted Black faces on top of stories that remain overwhelmingly white and undeniably racist.
Despite what Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House may think, putting the face of a person of color on the covers of white stories is not real inclusion. Instead, it sends a dangerous message to people all over the world that white stories are more acceptable, more valuable, and more worthwhile than Black stories. It also sets a harmful precedent that it’s okay for companies to take advantage of Black faces and diversity trends to increase their profit margins.
Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House’s decision has far-reaching impacts. Many of the “classic” books these companies chose to release in the “Diverse Editions” initiative originally became popular when Black authors and books with Black protagonists were frequently banned from publication. And books like Moby Dick and Peter Pan are not only overwhelmingly white, but contain harmful stereotypes of the characters of color they do feature. Some books, like The Secret Garden, for instance, were openly hostile toward Black characters. To place a Black version of a character on the cover of a story that is not only white, but promotes hostility toward Black people, is confusing, misleading, and harmful for the Black people who may opt to read them.
Books have a great deal of power. Books help children and adults alike understand themselves and their history, embrace their identity and culture, and internalize positive representations of themselves. But when books are not representative of our communities, we lose out on powerful stories that can help us imagine and accomplish our greatest dreams. Because of their enormous power, it is necessary for Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House to take additional steps to promote books by Black authors and authors of color, and ensure that our stories are being told. With just 6% of children’s and young adult books published in the U.S. in 2018 written by Black authors, these companies should be finding ways to get more Black authors published.2
Until justice is real,
—Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Johnny, Future, Amanda, Evan, Imani, Samantha, Jenette, Ciera, Eesha, Marcus, FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
Photo: AM New York


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Ecotricity has backtracked on its initial plans to ask customers to pay £5 for 20 minute charging blocks for electric vehicles and will now offer 30 minute windows for £6 instead.
The green energy firm revealed last week that it would begin charging customers with a roll-out scheme underway to install payment infrastructure in each of the circa 300 charging points around the country.
The announcement sparked a huge backlash from drivers who claimed that while the need to begin paying for electricity was expected, the £5 flat rate was not well-suited to the charging period offered.
The change in pricing was announced earlier today on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme by Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, who said: “We’ve changed our plan over the weekend following feedback from our drivers. We’ve done this to reflect the fact that most EV drivers – electric vehicles, not hybrids – have said that they need 30 minutes to get the ideal 80% battery charge that they are used to getting.”
Vince’s intervention comes on the day that the company released the Electric Highway app which will be used to pay for the service electronically at each pump in place of the current card scheme. Modems will be installed to boost signal at each charging point to ensure operation of the app with the rollout scheduled for completion by 5 August.
Customers of the Electric Highway, which has charging points installed at motorway services throughout the country as well as several IKEA stores, are being encouraged to keep their cards until this date and download the app immediately to ensure they are able to use the network throughput the transition.
However, the decision to begin charging at this flat rate has caused a heavy backlash against the green utility after several EV drivers took to the comments section of the app store to vent their anger.
Many are critical of how the pricing structure has been put together, claiming a price per kWh would be far more effective and acceptable than a flat rate across all models, many of which charge at different speeds. It has been claimed that due to the numerous charges needed to accommodate motorway driving in an EV or hybrid vehicle, the new Ecotricity charging plan makes petrol or diesel cars the more economic option.
The move from 20 minute charging to a half hour is intended to address this issue, with a spokesperson for Ecotricity telling Clean Energy News that the updated charging period reflects feedback the company had received over the weekend.
“We reviewed a lot of the feedback we got from customers over the last few days on social media, calls into our contact centre and emails and we determined the major concern that people had with the pricing was how long that gave them at the charger and whether they could get a sufficient charge at that time,” he said.
“Most of the feedback we got was that half an hour was the optimum time that people wanted, or needed, so that’s why we’ve decided to change the charging model.”
However, the company also revealed that it had not spoken to any of the Electric Highway users prior to coming up with the original pricing plan, instead using statistics covering the average time spent by all drivers – EVs and petrol/diesel – to come up with the pricing plan.
This could explain the negativity that has been directed towards the company since its announcement, with many still rallying against the new charging structure. A survey conducted on Twitter by Zap Map found that the majority of respondents (47%) were angry at the new regime and would use their EVs less as a result.
A number of others have appealed to the manufacturers behind some of the most popular EVs on the market, with Nissan saying it was already in discussions with Ecotricity on behalf of the owners of Nissan LEAFs.
Despite these pressures, the utility has attracted some positive feedback in light of the increased time allotted to charging periods.
The company’s spokesperson added that it would “continue to keep reviewing the situation” in light of the opposition it has already received but that it was always the strategy to charge for use of the Electric Highway.


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Books & Books, one of the country’s most beloved independent bookstores launched their very first fundraising event in the midst of the 2020 pandemic. Designed to further encourage loyal patrons to support an iconic small business, the fundraiser asked for donations in exchange for official t-shirts, tank tops, and tote bags. The rare opportunity to own branded merchandise sparked joy and excitement within the local community and beyond. Books & Books partnered with Bonfire for the initiative, an organization built to make fundraising easy and organized for small businesses and nonprofits.
What we did
Messaging was posted at least 4x per week on all platforms in the form of traditional posts, Facebook events, and Instagram Stories. Mochee also executed a paid strategy for the campaign yielding a very impressive cost per action. The campaign garnered 215k impressions on the Books & Books social media channels alone.
Due to its popularity, the fundraiser was extended for an additional two weeks. Fans who were unable to visit the store due to the current climate or had already patronized the bookstore’s online shop were given a new way to show support and engage with a favorite local literary outpost. The campaign eventually sold over 880 individual pieces of merch, with proceeds providing valuable resources to the Books & Books team. The staff plans to launch another batch of exclusive merch with Bonfire in the fall.
- Garnered over a quarter million organic impressions in less than four weeks
- Paid efforts finished with a low CPR (of $0.13) with 4% CTR
- Solidified partnerships with local bookstagrammers
- Built anticipation for future merch drops
Social Media Management, Product Launch, Photography, Social Media Advertising


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Samsung Electronics Co, the world's top technology firm by revenue, reported record quarterly profit of $7.4 billion on Friday, with strong sales of its Galaxy range of phones masking sharply lower memory chip sales.
The South Korean firm said July-September operating profit increased 91 percent from a year ago to 8.12 trillion won ($7.39 billion), in line with its earlier estimate.
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Samsung, reporting its results just hours after main rival Apple Inc, did not detail its third-quarter smartphone shipments, though these are estimated to have soared to 58 million. Apple said it shipped 26.9 million iPhones in July-September [ID:nL1E8LPH8I] It launched its latest iPhone 5 on September 21.
Samsung also competes with Sony Corp and LG Electronics Inc in televisions, Toshiba Corp and SK Hynix Inc in chips, and LG Display in screens.
Shares in Samsung have climbed 24 percent so far this year, easily outpacing the benchmark KOSPI's 5 percent gain, but only half the gains made by Apple.
(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)


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THE launch of the world’s first digital terrestrial television service in
December could set British households fighting over their telephone lines.
The set-top decoders that will be needed to receive digital transmissions
from British Digital Broadcasting, the BBC and other terrestrial broadcasters
will employ a French pay mechanism called Mediaguard. When a viewer wants to buy
access to a programme, Mediaguard automatically dials a “customer management
centre”, run by BT, which sends back a code authorising reception of the
programme. But if someone is already using the phone when a viewer wants to buy
a programme, arguments could ensue.
Such conflicts should not happen with Sky Digital, Rupert Murdoch’s UK
digital satellite service, which is undergoing pre-launch trials. Sky Digital
will use a conditional access system called VideoGuard that gives immediate
authorisation to viewers wanting to buy a programme. VideoGuard, made by Murdoch
subsidiary NDS, stores the pay commands, waiting until the small hours to dial
out to debit the subscriber’s account.
John Egan, director of operations for British Digital Broadcasting, claims
the Mediaguard system could be adapted to store and dial later if the preferred
instant dialling method causes problems.


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TBB 100: $173.3M Amscot Financial
Resilient economy bolsters check-cashing giant
Check-cashing has been Amscot Financial Inc.’s bread-and-butter since its start in the late 1980s. But with the increasing use of direct deposit by companies and the government, the financial and tax services firm has had to branch out.
Amscot President and CEO Ian MacKechnie has made a few trips to Miami-Dade and Broward counties in recent months to celebrate the opening of new branches. There are 190 locations open throughout the state, but by the end of 2012 there will be 195, and eventually 214 as some are still in the works.
MacKechnie said Amscot remained conservative when the local economy slowed in 2007 and 2008, and “only last year did we hit the ‘go’ button again,” he said, as far as growing. He considers the Tampa Bay economy to have been “fairly resilient” during the downturn.
“We used that time as an opportunity to consolidate and be financially strong, to withstand any shock in our marketplace,” he said.
There are more than 3 million customers doing business with Amscot at any given time — from check cashing and bill payments to money orders and even small consumer loans. It has arrangements with local utility companies, including Tampa Electric and Progress Energy, to allow payments to post day-of for people paying their bills.
“People are willing to pay a fee for that convenience,” MacKechnie said. “If you go to a convenience store, you’ll pay more than a supermarket, because it’s convenient.”
Amscot continues to serve “hardworking” customers who have jobs but are living paycheck to paycheck, he said.
Pam Huff is Director of News Operations for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
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H&M profit soars as sales return to pre-pandemic levels
Swedish low-cost fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz AB said yesterday that its net sales in local currencies have increased by 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 56 billion kronor ($6 billion) back at pre-pandemic level with the full year net sales increasing by 6 percent to 199 billion kronor ($21 billion).
The Stockholm-based group said its gross profit for the fourth quarter increased by 14 percent to 31.3 billion kronor ($3.3 billion) while for the whole year it increased to 105 billion kronor ($11 billion), up from 93.5 billion kronor.
Chief executive Helena Helmersson said the group “ended the year strongly, with sales back at the same level as before the pandemic and with profitability better than it has been for several years.”
She said H&M was “back to a more normalized situation” and that “we have demonstrated our ability to quickly adapt and seize opportunities that arise.”
Helmersson said the group was “optimistic” about the future. The group said it was to double sales while at the same time halving its carbon footprint by 2030 at latest.
In 2022 H&M will launch in six new markets: the first stores will open in Ecuador, Kosovo and North Macedonia, and via franchise in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Cambodia. The rollout of H&M online continues in 2022 with Belarus, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Peru and Ukraine.
The group has 54 online markets and more than 4,800 stores in 75 markets including franchise markets and employs approximately 155,000 people.


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Rite Aid’s inventory management problems may hamper the struggling retailer’s turnaround efforts, according to a new report by Rite Aid Disclosure Watch. The report, titled Not as Advertised: Out-of-Stock Sale Items and Rite Aid’s Bid for Customer Loyalty, documents a continued problem of out-of-stock promotional inventory in Rite Aid stores and raises questions about the company’s ability to successfully execute key elements of its Wellness+ loyalty program.
The rolex replica study is based on 1,100 visits to 220 Rite Aid stores in 13 states and the District of Columbia between Fall 2011 and Spring 2012. In five visits to each Rite Aid location surveyed, researchers looked for a basket of selected sale items advertised in the store’s circular. Key findings of the report include:
- Missing sale inventory is a persistent problem. At least one of the selected sale items was missing in 78 percent of the 1,100 store visits. Forty percent of Rite Aid stores visited were missing sale inventory every time visited, and 70 percent of stores were missing inventory four out of five times visited.
- Regions and markets performed inconsistently. Among the regions surveyed, out-of-stock issues were most prominent in New England, where more than 70 percent of stores visited had missing sale inventory all five times surveyed. Among metropolitan areas, 86 percent of New York City stores surveyed were missing inventory in every visit. On average, 20 percent of the items surveyed were out-of-stock in New York City, a critical retail market.
- Some items were consistently out-of-stock across markets. The items in the survey are the types of products that consumers regularly purchase for their health and daily household needs, and Rite Aid did not deliver across markets for several items. For example, a Theraflu sale item was out 46 percent of the time in the week surveyed, which was during the flu season.
Rite Aid has suffered net losses for the past 18 quarters, and has repeatedly cited the Wellness+ loyalty program as a major initiative of its strategy to restore its financial health. One of the main incentives for Wellness+ membership is access to weekly sales advertised in the store’s circulars, which makes sale item availability important for the success of the program. Research has shown that product availability is a key component of building trust and loyalty with shoppers and regular outages diminish customer satisfaction.


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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has found hazardous levels of selenium in samples of certain flavors of the dietary supplement products “Total Body Formula” and “Total Body Mega Formula.” The FDA has received 43 reports of persons from nine states who experienced serious adverse reactions using these products.
On March 27, the FDA warned consumers not to purchase or use “Total Body Formula” in flavors Tropical Orange and Peach Nectar and “Total Body Mega Formula” in the Orange/Tangerine flavor of these products after receiving reports of adverse reactions in users in Florida and Tennessee . The adverse reactions generally occurred after five to 10 days of daily ingestion of the product, and included significant hair loss, muscle cramps, diarrhea, joint pain, deformed fingernails, and fatigue.
Selenium, a naturally occurring mineral, is needed only in very small amounts for good health. Selenium can boost the immune system. Generally, normal consumption of food and water provides adequate selenium to support good health. Excessive intake of selenium is known to cause symptoms to include significant hair loss, muscle cramps, diarrhea, joint pain, fatigue, loss of finger nails and blistering skin.


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Standalone net profit slipped 14.60% to Rs 87.01 crore in Q3 December 2019 (Q3 FY20) as against Rs 101.89 crore reported in Q3 December 2018 (Q3 FY19).
Shares of Page Industries slumped 7.47% to Rs 21769.85. The stock traded in the range of Rs 21650 to Rs 22754.80.
A temporary dip in PAT is entirely due to enhanced investments in sales and marketing, people and technology, which would drive sustainable growth in the years to come, the company said.
Revenue from operations jumped 7.51% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 793.79 crore in Q3 FY20. The Q3 earnings were announced after market hours yesterday, 13 February 2020.
Profit before tax tanked 28.06% to Rs 116.90 crore Y-o-Y. Tax expenses slumped 49.08% to Rs 30.60 crore during the period under review.
EBITDA dropped 16.5% to Rs 135.30 crore in Q3 FY20 from Rs 162.10 crore in Q3 FY19. EBITDA margin stood at 17% in Q3 FY20 as against 22% in Q3 FY19.
Commenting on the Q3 earnings, Sunder Genomal, the managing director of Page Industries, has said that, Aware of the robustness of our business and balance sheet, our ethos has always been to remain positive and not allow the short‐term macro situation to lessen our ambitions for the long term. Given the potential market for our products and our confidence that we are best‐positioned to take advantage of this potential, we have always continued to invest in our brands, making ourselvesfuture ready and strengthen the foundation for the company. We continue to expand our capacity in a calibrated manner, modernize our factories to increase productivity and also look at optimizing costs, wherever necessary.
We also continue to strengthen the senior management team in key positions. Investments in R&D, Product Development and Innovation, Automation and Digital Transformation are key to our success and we have been scaling up our investments in these areas. We continue to make investments and spend in sales and marketing, particularly at the point‐of‐sale such as display fixtures. We will continue our aggressive expansion plans of new Exclusive Brand Outlets.
We believe that these investments are required for ensuring high growth over the next few years. While macro challenges persist, given the robust financial strength of the company, we believe that we can comfortably make these investments for the future, albeit in a calibrated manner. These will pay rich dividends in the form of sustainable high growth and build better value for our stakeholders, he added.
The board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 58 per equity share. The record date fixed for the payment of interim dividend is 22 February 2020.
Page Industries is engaged in the business of manufacturing and trading of garments. The company offers knitted garments and a range of products for men, women and children. The firm is engaged in the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of Jockey products. It holds license of SPEEDO, an international brand for swim wear.
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Tonbridge's Aldi superstore will be a big hit with shoppers
by Andy Tong | 21st November 2018
THE new Tonbridge Aldi supermarket on Swanmead Way opens on Thursday [November 22] with Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo cutting the ribbon at 8am.
The middleweight, who won a bronze medal at London 2012, will be joined by children from Slade Primary School.
The superstore, which covers 1,300 square metres on the site of the old Homebase, is providing employment for 40 local people.
The first 30 customers through the doors will receive a complimentary bag of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s Super 6 range.
There will be also twice-weekly discounted Specialbuys on Thursdays and Sundays.
Store Manager Kapil Saini said: “We’re excited to finally be opening the Tonbridge store after all of the hard work that’s gone on behind the scenes to get everything prepared.
“The team and I can’t wait to meet Anthony. It’s not every day you get to meet an Olympic hero.”
Mr Ogogo said: “I’m really looking forward to visiting Aldi Tonbridge and welcoming the store’s first customers. I wish the team all the best.”
He will accompany the children back to the Slade to lead an inspirational assembly, giving insights into his training regime and the importance of eating fresh fruit and vegetables.
He added: “I’m really looking forward to chatting to pupils at Slade Primary School about how to maintain a balanced, healthy diet and the benefits of eating fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis.”


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The SS Sudan, which towers over the traditional wooden sailing boats in Egypt’s southern city of Aswan, inspired the British author sometimes dubbed the “Queen of Crime” to pen one of her most famous works in 1937, “Death on the Nile”.
The whodunnit tells the story of Christie's famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, investigating murder among the well-heeled travellers as they cruise the Nile.
“Agatha Christie’s trip aboard the steamer, the atmosphere and its route... inspired her to begin writing the first chapters,” said Amir Attia, the cruise ship’s director.
Built for the Egyptian royal family in 1885 and transformed into a cruise liner in 1921, the SS Sudan hosted the novelist with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, in 1933.
Among the ship’s 23 rooms and suites, Attia says the writer’s room is still “the most popular”.
Passengers are whisked away on Christie’s original itinerary, stopping at the same ancient archaeological sites, albeit with a difference — the liner now runs on diesel and solar power instead of coal.
A staff of 67 keeps the vessel shipshape, and a luxury eight-day trip also including stays in two historic hotels sets travellers back around $4,000, but there is a long waiting list to stay in the Christie cabin.
“There are booking requests for up to two years in advance,” he said.
While Egypt’s key tourism industry has been hit hard by Covid-19 restrictions — with revenues slashed by more than a fifth from 2019-2020 — the ship’s staff are insistent the pandemic will not sink the historic vessel.
“My product is unique,” Attia said. “Egypt as a tourist destination will never die down.”
The SS Sudan has faced crises before. It was left to rot for decades after World War II, but was rescued and refitted in 1991, before being abandoned and then repaired a second time in 2000.
Last year the boat was initially stuck in port — but it started operating as soon as rules allowed.
“The SS Sudan was the first cruise ship to re-open for business in October,” Attia said. “We immediately got so many reservations... that we had to knock a few back because we’re overbooked.”
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Google and other search engines must take action to stop people from accessing illegal film and TV content via the back door, according to Graham Burke.
The chairman of Creative Content Australia (CCA), Burke hailed the effectiveness of site-blocking legislation introduced last year.
But he said more needs to be done to prevent people from watching infringing content via proxy sites, decrying that as large-scale theft which threatens Australian jobs and Australian stories.
He was speaking after the release of a CCA-commissioned survey which showed that while the overall piracy levels have not risen from last year, after reaching a blocked site, 77 per cent of adults and 74 per cent of teens search for an alternative infringing site for the same content.
“Site-blocking works and we have shut the front door of the department store by removing the big sign ‘Free Stolen Goods’,” he said.
“But as the processes to remove ‘mirror’ sites (same car, different number plates) are slow, search engines are blatantly thumbing their noses at Australian law and courts by leading people to the back door.
“All you have to do is Google ‘PIR’ and Google auto complete comes up with ‘Pirate Bay proxies.‘ Google can address this as they have done in other areas and if they don’t they are demonstrating only an interest in luring traffic to their advertising model business. It is time for the tech giant to deliver on their public position of ‘Google is up for working with content owners to fight piracy.’
“It would be tragic if an overseas monopoly that doesn’t pay tax in our country cost Australians their jobs by its facilitation of large-scale theft.”
The ninth annual survey commissioned by the anti-piracy organisation CCA revealed 21 per cent of adults aged 18–64 admit to some form of piracy, the same as in 2016 and an improvement on 2015’s 25 per cent.
CCA executive director Lori Flekser attributed the plateauing to a spike in subscriptions to streaming services such as Netflix and Stan, the presence of the site blocks and the prevalence of malware.
Addressing the Screen Forever conference in Melbourne today, Flekser said the research shows the majority of would-be pirates have experienced a blocked site when searching for pirated content.
The research was conducted by Sycamore in conjunction with OmniPoll from September 14-19 so it did not measure the response to the Federal Court orders to block a further 59 sites, which came into effect in mid-September.
However the Australian Incopro study in May, based on the five sites blocked in December-February, showed combined usage of those sites and associated proxies decreased by 59.6 per cent since blocking began in September 2016.
CCA’s recent ‘Price of Piracy’ consumer campaign drew attention to the link between malware and piracy. Numerous international studies show that infringing video streaming has become the number one method to propagate malware on the Internet.
The new study confirms that among persistent pirates, 47 per cent of teens and 59 per cent of adults have contracted a virus or malware by clicking on an ad or pop-up, or from streaming or downloading movies or TV from a pirate site.
Flekser said the research had investigated the use of set top boxes and infringing apps for the first time and found they are ‘piracy’s new frontier.’
Last month Village Roadshow and a group of movie studios sought a Federal Court injunction to compel Internet service providers to block the app HDSubs+, which delivers streaming video to set-top boxes.


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The regulatory environment for packagers of pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices appears challenging, yet manageable. That’s a “big-picture” perspective based on respondents to a late-September Healthcare Packaging survey question that asked, “Describe your take on the current ‘revitalized’ FDA and regulatory environment as it relates to your packaging operations?”
A large share of this question’s respondents came from the medical device arena, where one person believed the “FDA appears to have an adversarial stance again.”
Taking a more promising position was another medical device respondent who said, “Love it—much more cooperation that allows us to be prepared with the information wanted.” The respondent did add that the company encountered, “A bit more problems with filings required for items that used to be end-of-year changes.”
Not surprisingly, perhaps, a packaging vendor responded, “Increased regulatory scrutiny and activity actually drives business for a consulting firm like ours.”
A bit of a political spin came from a personal care maker respondent who wrote, “We expect government regulation to stay the same or increase a little. The government does not want to be perceived as slowing down growth through increased ‘red tape.’”
Several respondents offered more specific details pertaining to the impact of FDA and regulatory matters. “My expectation is that the FDA and regulatory environment will focus on the validation aspect of the packaging process, which will encourage many manufacturers to step up and improve their quality systems,” said a medical device respondent.
“This is requiring us to take on more Quality Assurance personnel to meet all customer’s level of requirements,” said another medical device professional.
A pharmaceutical respondent noted, “They are clamping down and putting a significant emphasis on packaging. We have spent quite a lot of effort in the last year ensuring that our processes and procedures are sound and defendable.”
As is often the case, the potential for increased regulations caused concern. “At this point [there’s] no direct impact, but they are beginning to take more interest in the packaging and labeling,” said a medical device person. Another medical device respondent said it “could add additional regulatory work to an already overburdened system.”
One more medical device maker pointed to the bottom line as it related to potential costs to create unique package identification. “Changes like [this], while necessary, will require significant resources to implement.”


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The latest ban extension on non-essential travel between Canada and the U.S. is aimed at keeping citizens in both countries safe, but it will certainly have a negative financial impact on the busy summer travel season.
Canada and the United States have agreed to extend a ban on non-essential travel between the two nations by another 30 days as part of the fight against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
U.S. and Canadian officials had said last week it was likely the measure would be rolled over until June 21.
“This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe,” Trudeau told reporters. The ban, initially introduced in mid-March, had already been extended in April until May 21.
U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment.
Bilateral relations have steadily improved since a low point in June 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump accused Trudeau of being weak after a Group of Seven summit.
Trump though said on Tuesday that Washington should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle as it looks to help domestic producers. A new free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico comes into effect on July 1.
Canadian officials were not immediately available for comment. Canada exported $2.75 billion worth of beef in 2018, 74% of it to the United States, according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association lobby group.
The temporary ban on non-essential travel does not cover trade across a border that stretches 5,525 miles (8,891 km). Canada sends 75% of all goods exports to the United States.
Trudeau said Canada’s 10 provinces had made it clear they wanted the measures to be rolled over.
When non-essential travel restarted, Canada would need “to have strong measures in place,” he said, but gave no details.
Canada’s total death toll from the outbreak edged up by less than 1% to 5,857 from 5,805 on Monday, easily the lowest daily increase since the crisis started, official data showed.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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Photo credit: The U.S. and Canada are expected to extend a ban on non-essential travel between the two countries by 30 days. Spend A Day Touring, LLC / Flickr


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) - McDonald's (MCD) is planning to roll out packaged coffee next year at grocery stores across the U.S., but don't expect to see other Mickey D's goodies in the grocery aisle anytime soon.
McDonald's said on Tuesday that by partnering with Kraft (KRFT) it plans to "expand the manufacture, marketing and distribution of the McDonald's McCafe brand in the U.S. by packaging its signature coffee for sale in grocery stores and other retailers nationwide." The coffee product will come in ground, whole bean and on-demand single cup McCafe coffees, beginning in early 2015, McDonald's said in a press release.
McDonald's strategy to add exposure at the retail aisle says "this a brand that can compete" with the likes of Starbucks (SBUX) and Dunkin Brands (DNKN) , said David Morris, senior analyst at Packaged Facts, a market research firm that focuses on food, beverage and consumer packaged goods categories.
"All coffeehouse brands are in [packaged] coffee at this point from Peet's to Caribou to Seattle's Best. McDonald's may see this as a natural progress [to] be taken seriously as a coffeehouse brand," Morris said.
In addition, with Kraft as a partner, "there is the opportunity for [McDonald's] to introduce other type of coffee type of beverages down the road," Morris said. However, any potential for frozen hamburgers or French fries is likely not being considered, he added. "Coffee is a far more natural segue into retail," he said.


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Washington – The Food and Drug Administration is warning people not to eat certain Dole packaged salads that have been connected to an outbreak of E. coli infections in Minnesota.
The illnesses have all been associated with Dole salads bought at Rainbow Foods grocery-store outlets in the state. But salads carrying the same production codes have been distributed nationwide, prompting the national warning, the FDA said.
At least 11 people have been sickened by a specific type of E. coli that has been connected to the products. Two have been hospitalized. The last reported case connected to the outbreak was reported Sept. 19, the FDA said.
“Given the severity of this illness, FDA believes an urgent warning to consumers is needed. FDA is working closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our state partners to further identify the source of the problem and its scope,” said Dr. Robert Brackett, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a statement.
The affected Dole products are:
Classic Romaine, with a “best-if-used-by” date of Sept. 23 and a production code beginning with “B250.”
American Blend, with a “best-if-used-by” date of Sept. 23 and a production code beginning with “B250.”
Greener Selection, with a “best-if-used-by” date of Sept. 22 and a production code beginning with “B250.”
The “best-if-used-by” code date is on the upper right hand corner of the front of the bag.


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Pentatonix will have a pre-Valentine concert in the Philippines. On February 8, 2020, the Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum selling group will perform at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines as part of the “Pentatonix: The World Tour.”
Hailing from Arlington, Texas, United States, Pentatonix is an a cappella group with five members namely Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola and Matt Sallee. The group has sold 10 million albums in worldwide consumption and performed for hundreds of thousands of fans at their sold out shows across the globe.
The YouTube channel of Pentatonix boasts almost 17 million subscribers, yielding 4 billion video views. Released in 2015, the group’s self-titled album is certified gold after debuting number 1 on Billboard’s 200.
Also in 2015, Pentatonix has had three holiday specials on NBC, released its tour documentary titled “On My Way Home” and appeared in the feature film “Pitch Perfect 2.” In October 2017, the group released a deluxe version of their certified platinum 2016 holiday album titled “A PENTATONIX CHRISTMAS DELUXE.”
In April 2018, Pentatonix released the first collection in its “PTX Presents” series titled “PTX PRESENTS: TOP POP VOL. 1,” which features 11 PTX-curated modern pop performances and completed a 39-city North American tour in September 2018. In October 2018. the group released its fourth holiday album “CHRISTMAS IS HERE!” featuring 12 new Christmas performances alongside its sold-out “Christmas Is Here! Tour.”
Additionally, nine of the albums of Pentatonix reached the top 10 on Billboard’s 200 chart, two of which reached number 1, and received multiple RIAA certifications for multi-platinum, platinum and gold selling albums and singles. The group’s tracks “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Hallelujah” were certified platinum while its original “Can’t Sleep Love” was certified gold.
The Manila leg of “Pentatonix: The World Tour” is presented by Wilbros Live. Tickets for the concert will go on-sale on August 3, 2019 via TicketNet.com.ph or Call 911-5555. Meanwhile, watch the official video of the “Bohemian Rhapsody” version of Pentatonix:


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We're days into a new month, and rumors of the next Nintendo Direct event have taken over on social media and within the Nintendo community. The Japanese publisher has yet to confirm the news of the next Direct occurring in September; many have looked for clues and hints pointing to a possible date.
As it's rumored that the Nintendo Direct event could take place early to mid-September, according to an industry insider, there are possibilities that the event may focus on a popular first-party franchise. This guide explores the rumors about Nintendo Direct, including its event schedule, how to watch, and what to expect.
Nintendo Direct September 2022 – Event Schedule
During Jeff Grubb's Game Mess podcast on 31st August 2022, Jeff Grubb and his co-host Mike Minotti dedicated most of the podcast to what to expect from the Nintendo Direct event. According to Grubbs, it's possible it could be a Mini Direct; however, this may not be the case based on recent speculations.
He added that it "seems like a distinct possibility that sounds like a big general Direct, and that's a pretty good tentpole to hold up any other announcements they want to do." As for when the Direct event will happen, Grubbs alluded that specific Switch ports are rumored to be happening around 12th-14th September 2022, meaning the Direct may take place around these dates.
Nintendo Direct September 2022 – How To Watch
Like previous Nintendo Direct events, they will be livestreaming from the official Nintendo Twitch and YouTube accounts. While dates have yet to be confirmed or announced, it's expected that additional information will be made available on their social media accounts and the official Nintendo website.
Nintendo Direct September 2022 – What To Expect
In the podcast mentioned above, Grubbs hinted that the upcoming Nintendo Direct wouldn't be dedicated to third-party titles, nor would it be a Partner Direct event. Instead, it will focus a little closer to home as he speculates that it may be centered on various games from The Legend of Zelda franchise.
- Game Awards 2022 – Date, Nominations, Tickets, More
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These include the Nintendo Switch HD ports for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, which he teased may arrive in September 2022. Avid Zelda fans could expect new gameplay comparisons and additional footage for the upcoming ports from the Direct event.
As the Direct may be heavily focused on the Zelda franchise, we could get new details for the upcoming Breath of the Wild sequel, which is currently targeting an early 2023 release. It's also possible that there may be news on the Metroid Prime Switch remaster, Kid Icarus Uprising HD remake and hopefully release dates for Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp and the new Fire Emblem game.
Nintendo could also use the upcoming Direct to reveal the next games and add-ons coming to Switch Online, which we may see the arrival of classic Game Boy games. As nothing has been confirmed yet regarding the details for the Nintendo Direct event, we'll endeavor to provide more updates once more reliable information is available.
For all the amazing gaming content, check out our section dedicated to the latest Video Games news, updates, guides, features, and more.
Featured image courtesy of Nintendo.


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Samsung will have the bragging rights "We can do 1Gb. Apple Can't" Expect TV adverts all over the place saying this about the time of the phone release.It won't matter one bit that the carrier infrastructure nor that the 5G standard is ratified, Apple will lose out. The Phone buying public will see that one phone can do it and the iPhone can't. They'll buy the one that can despite the fact that no one could use it this side of 2020.Sorry apple but those are the fact of life. Personally, I don't care but Data speeds are important to quite a few people.
Apple is feeling the pressure. The army of Android phone manufacturers are upping the hardware specs here and there. Apple releases two models each year. Apple cannot put all the advanced components in two iPhones. This gives Android phones bragging right of beating iPhone, Maybe Apple needs to announce more than two new iPhones each year?
If Apple thinks people are going to shell out $1000 for a new phone that isn't as fast as the Samsung phone that was released months ago then they need a new management team. Maybe a $80 billion dollar loss in market cap in two days of trading will clue them into how serious a problem this is. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone at Qualcomm is the source of the Bloomberg article, but regardless, Apple needs to fix this now!


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Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
Sports Authority is officially calling it quits, with the decision to sell off its remaining assets including 450 stores nationwide.
Back in March, the Colorado-based company announced it would close 140 stores and two distribution centers when they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But any attempts to restructure and reorganize came to a halt early last week when Sports Authority notified the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware that they would pursue a sale instead, Forbes reports.
The news comes amidst a struggling sporting goods industry — one that can't seem to keep up with evolving shopping habits despite a growing interest in the athleisure trend. While stores like Eastern Mountain Sports and Sport Chalet are closing up shop across the country, e-commerce heavy mass-distributors like Nike and Amazon are thriving.
Sports Authority is currently $1.1 billion in debt, and its annual revenue tops off at around $2.7 billion (the same amount they were making back in 2006), according to Business Insider.
Update: A Sports Authority spokesperson says that they are focusing all of their efforts on selling the business, as of right now. You can read the entire statement below:
"At the beginning of the Chapter 11 process, Sports Authority was pursuing two tracks: one track involved a financial restructuring through a standalone Plan of Reorganization, and the other track involved an M&A process and the potential sale of our business or certain assets. As Sports Authority disclosed to the Court on Tuesday, April 26th, we are no longer pursuing the standalone Plan of Reorganization track because we could not get our lenders to agree on the terms of such a Plan. Therefore, we are now focusing solely on the M&A track and are pursuing a sale of some or all of the business. We have received initial expressions of interest from a number potential buyers, and we are optimistic about the results of the M&A process which runs through the end of May. We continue to move forward with our previously announced plan to close approximately 140 stores. The outcome of the M&A process will determine whether any additional store closings will be required."


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Pelican sets the stage for the next era of growth, innovation, and expansion with new leadership
TORRANCE–(September 12, 2023)—Pelican Products, Inc., a global leader in rugged, mission-critical protective cases, coolers, outdoor accessories, and temperature-controlled packaging, announced today the appointment of James “JC” Curleigh as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Curleigh brings a wealth of experience that will guide the company through its next phase of growth and innovation.
With over 30 years of experience in high-powered brands such as M&M Mars, Salomon Sports, TaylorMade Golf, Keen Footwear, Levi’s Apparel and most recently Gibson Guitars, Curleigh is well-equipped to help lead Pelican to new heights. His visionary leadership and ability to adapt to changing market dynamics align seamlessly with Pelican’s commitment to delivering exceptional products and experiences to its global customer base.
“JC brings deep consumer and commercial experience to Pelican, a brand that has built tremendous loyalty and is now ready for the next stage of growth,” said Brandon Crawley, interim CEO of Pelican and Managing Director at Platinum Equity, which acquired Pelican in 2021. “Pelican’s well-deserved reputation in protective cases lays the groundwork for development of a more diverse product set. JC is the right leader to continue to broaden Pelican’s reach and leverage its core strengths to capitalize on emerging opportunities in the industry.”
Curleigh’s expertise will play a pivotal role in advancing Pelican’s mission, leading the strategic direction, focusing on product innovation, driving customer engagement, and accelerating market expansion. As a forward-looking leader, JC aims to leverage emerging technologies and trends to keep Pelican at the forefront of the industry.
“The opportunity to lead another iconic brand confidently into the future is very exciting for me professionally and personally,” said Curleigh. “I look forward to leading the team to further unlock the potential of the Pelican brand with the right balance of insights, inspiration, and innovation.”
Randy Hetrick, veteran Navy SEAL Officer and Founder of TRX & OutFit, added “I have relied on Pelican products to protect our precious cargo as a Navy SEAL and I have been a big fan of JC’s leadership accomplishments at some of the world’s most iconic brands, so I am excited to see this powerful combination connect to shape the future of Pelican.”
About Pelican Products
Pelican Products, Inc. is the global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance protective cases, temperature-controlled packaging solutions, advanced portable lighting systems and rugged gear for professionals and outdoor enthusiasts. Their products are used by professionals in the most demanding markets including fire safety, law enforcement, defense / military, aerospace, life sciences, industrial, entertainment, and in numerous outdoor markets. Pelican™ products are designed and built to last a lifetime. The company operates in 27 countries, with 23 international sales offices and eleven manufacturing facilities around the globe. In Europe, the company does business under the name Peli Products, S.LU. and the division that manufactures temperature-controlled packaging for the healthcare industry does business worldwide under the brand Peli BioThermal. For more information, visit www.pelican.com.
Monica Rigali, SVP of Product Development and Marketing
Pelican Products, Inc.


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May 11, 2006 — U.S. government attorneys argued their appeal Thursday of a judge's 2005 ruling to throw out evidence implicating supermarket owners facing 76 federal charges of wire fraud, tax evasion and money laundering.
In 2005, Judge Raymond Finch suppressed evidence gathered in a 2001 search warrant that allowed FBI agents access to three Plaza Extra stores and three homes.
The agents gained the search warrant by saying Fathi Yusuf Mohammed and his family, owners of the stores in St. Thomas and St. Croix, reported more than $100 million less in taxes than they should have.
The agents later admitted their information was flawed and alleged Yusuf and family had made a $7.1 million discrepancy.
During the searches, agents rifled through children's backpacks, descended into a cistern and seized a cookbook, eventually filling 450 boxes with evidence, said Leon Friedman, an attorney for Yusuf.
S. Robert Lyons, an attorney for the U.S. government, told the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that the agents were not acting unreasonably and that agents called the magistrate that issued the warrant to ensure they were entitled to search for and seize items in the house.
Government attorneys argued that the agents had received incorrect information from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, despite double-checking with the bureau five times.
The 2001 raids resulted in a 76-count federal indictment two years later. Indicted were Fathi Yusuf, 62, owner of Plaza Extra Supermarkets; Waleed "Wally" Hamed, 41, and his brother, Waheed "Willie" Hamed, 38; Maher "Mike" Yusuf, Fathi's son; Isam "Sam" Yousuf, a relative and store manager; and United Corporation, which does business as Plaza Extra Supermarkets.
The indictment alleged each Plaza Extra store had a "cash room" where unreported cash was kept and to which only the defendants and certain other employees had access. The conspirators allegedly sent employees to local banks with the unreported money to purchase cashiers' checks, travelers' checks and money orders made out to unrelated individuals or entities.
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