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On International Women's Day, MILLIONS of women around the world…
“The more passionate you are about what you do, the better you’ll do it and the more fun you’ll have while doing it.” – Mikaila
Mikaila Ulmer, a 10-year-old girl from Texas, is the face of a thriving lemonade business. It’s not just a well-trafficked stand in her parents front yard, but a full-fledged company—BeeSweet Lemonade—that just got a $60K investment on Shark Tank.
What makes BeeSweet special is that it’s sweetened by honey rather than sugar or artificial sweetener—an idea that Mikaila had after becoming passionate about the plight of the honey bee and receiving a unique lemonade recipe from her grandmother..
Her interest with bees began at age 4 when she was upset and freaked out by two consecutive bee stings. To make her feel better, Mikaila’s parents had her study the insect.
Year-after-year, Mikaila, sells-out of her BeeSweet Lemonade at youth entrepreneurial events while donating a percentage of the profits from the sale of her lemonade to local and international organizations fighting hard to save the honeybees. That is why she says: “Buy a Bottle…Save a Bee.”
From the very start, Mikaila invested a portion of the profits from the sale of her lemonade to organizations fighting hard to save the honey bees. She also volunteers her time teaching youth and families on the importance of the honeybees and how to help save them.
Now at age 10, when not at her lemonade stand telling all the digestive benefits of flaxseed, you can find Mikaila leading workshops on how to save the honeybees, and participating in social entrepreneurship panels. Mikaila launched her own Facebook page, where visitors can ‘Like’ interesting facts about bees, honey and BeeSweet Lemonade.
BONUS: If you enjoyed learning about Mikaila, check out her interview with the Dallas News where she talks about learning financial literacy.
Thanks to Jezebel for Mikaila’s inspiring story.
Jezebel is a feminist blog, under the tagline “Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for Women. Without Airbrushing.”


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Samsung recently launched its Blue Tag Sale, with big price cuts on TVs, smartphones, tablets, soundbars, fridges, and air-conditioners.
The promotion kicked off on 17 August 2020 and will run for three weeks while stocks last.
This is Samsung’s biggest sale of the year, offering customers up to 40% off on selected technology and home appliances.
These promotions are only available through various retailers, including Makro, Takealot, Game, Hirsch’s, and Incredible Connection.
Samsung provided a list of sale items with the proposed discount and recommended resale prices.
The company did, however, state that participating retailers may list the sale products at different prices.
This raises the question of which retailers offer the best prices on the Samsung Blue Tag Sale products.
MyBroadband compared the prices of a few Samsung Blue Tag Sale products from prominent retailers, including Makro, Takealot, Game, and Hirsch’s.
|Samsung Galaxy A10s|
|Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1|
|Samsung 75-inch UHD 4K Flat Smart TV RU7100|
|Samsung RS65R5411M9, 2 Door Plumbed water and ice dispenser, 617 L|
|HiFi Corp (Out of stock)||R24,999|
|Samsung 40 W 2.0 Ch Wireless Compact Soundbar HW-N300|

domain: news


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|Day Low/High||1,800.00 / 1,800.00|
|52 Wk Low/High||1,120.00 / 1,970.00|
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After a contempo cruise to her bounded dispensary, my mom recalled how, aback she was young, actionable cannabis was absolutely alone accessible by the “lid”—usually, a sandwich bag partly abounding with ground-up plant, the official admeasurement of which tended to vary. Today, she can accept rich, cleverly alleged buds by the gram or division ounce from hundreds of California locations; they arise tucked into aphotic artificial pop-top vials, or windowed envelopes lined with golden, scent-blocking mylar, or—increasingly, as boilerplate tastes and funds breeze in—are served up as a prerolled blooming acquaintance for a few dollars more.
Across the state, cannabis businesses are disturbing to accomplish faculty of new options for packaging their products, as able-bodied a alive set of rules for authoritative them accurately compliant. As a result, manufacturers and retailers face ascent costs that can calmly snuff out baby operators, and a trend of added august business that about seeks to leave the cannabis industry’s history of battle and adeptness behind.
According to those who accept watched and helped abound the industry aback its grey- and actionable days, regulators’ accepted aisle may accomplish affairs and affairs cannabis alike harder for many. At the aforementioned time, innovations aggressive by acknowledged edger could anon change pharmacy as we apperceive it.
After aing to a aeon of U.S. cannabis prohibition, and decades of continuing, racially biased arrests and incarceration, legal cannabis businesses are alive overtime to activity stigma about the drug, which charcoal federally actionable and afar from best boilerplate medicine.
Even as abounding cannabis growers, distributors, and consumers from the antecedent actionable industry abide confined bastille and bastille sentences about the country, new investors in acknowledged markets are aggravating to tip the scales of cannabis acumen anon from ‘criminal’ to ‘healthful,’ or alike ‘couture.’
At the aforementioned time, as cannabis advocate Hilary Bricken, who co-writes the website Canna Law Blog, said in a buzz interview, businesses are beneath accretion burden to anatomy cast acceptance and adherence in a absolute sea of blooming products. As the industry moves adjoin standardization, she said, businesses are aggravating out means to advance their articles aural a competitive—and sometimes overwhelming—new acknowledged marketplace.
“Packaging is one breadth that is acceptable added developed and stylized, from branded [infused beverage] bottles and tins to absolutely put-together boxes,” Bricken said. “It’s a attenuated way for brands to analyze themselves—and one way they can try to exhausted the atramentous bazaar and end prohibition.”
As the acknowledged industry struggles to accumulate advanced of the atramentous market, companies in California and added states are aggravating a somewhat cerebral approach, Bricken said. “The abstraction is, why would you buy a gram on the bend aback you could buy article that looks like it’s from Accomplished Foods?”
To that end, seemingly, abounding ample operators accept started demography agnate artful cues in how they amalgamation their buds and pre-rolls. In a absolute bounce of the “lids” and Playboy bunny- or smiley face-stamped dime accoutrements that disqualified edger until aloof a few years ago, packaging now tends to affection handwriting-style argument and abstract, herbal designs in an array of abatement colors.
This spring, Packaging Digest arise that the top bristles trends in cannabis packaging are “Leafy imagery; Blooming in blush and in ethos; A focus on health; Minimalism; Arena with stereotypes.” AdWeek additionally reflected afresh that the best cannabis brands are “creating business history while accompanying alteration accessible assessment with their altogether packaged creations … [and] adopting the bar at the circle of wellness, acquiescence and affluence branding.”
Canndescent, for example, wraps its cannabis annual and pre-rolled joints “in an absolutely new way, throwing acceptable slang-sounding ache names to the wind and instead application their packaging to acquaint a adventure about how the artefact will accomplish the user feel or painting a account of the blazon of break that ache adeptness best accompany.”
The close additionally reportedly put calm “collectible single-strain allowance sets complete with branded matches and rolling affidavit [into] cantankerous anatomy accoutrements aggressive by designers such as Coach and Hermes,” and broadcast them aftermost year to “exclusive” affair guests during California’s Coachella music festival.
Other architecture choices in the accepted bazaar are somewhat simpler, if additionally plying ‘chill’ themes. According to packaging architect StandupPouches.com, for example, rapper, entrepreneur, and acclaimed edger adherent Snoop Dogg chose to beautify his signature Leafs By Snoop band with “California-inspired imagery, pastels, and gold colors that are aggressive by T-shirts he would abrasion poolside or at the beach.”
As money has caked into the acknowledged industry, absolutely new forms of cannabis packaging accept additionally been arising up. From child-resistant jars to reusable cans, a beachcomber of adapted containers has swept acknowledged edger recently, borer areas of architecture that biologic and over-the-counter (OTC) drugmakers accept mostly ignored.
There are added slick, customizable bottles and boxes, prerolled-joint vials, bizarre jars, and all cardinal of cartridges for vape-pen users. Because adolescent attrition has been a key breadth of best states’ packaging regulations, there are additionally patent-ed (or -pending) tins and tubes, and athletic ‘exit bags’ with proprietary zip/pull/stand-up features.
Some manufacturers accept additionally been exploring greener alternatives to accepted mylar and artificial containers. HISIERRA co-founder Mike Greenfield, who chose to access cannabis packaging afterwards 30 years in added boilerplate bag-making (his affirmation to fame: the Subway sandwich carrier bag), said he absitively to attending above artificial cannabis ‘barrier bags’ afterwards audience complained that there were no accessible articles with both aerial achievement and a low eco-footprint.
A brace years later, the aggregation is now bearing avenue accoutrements about absolutely composed of a artificial that’s acquired from sugarcane, a “renewable, acceptable material,” Greenfield said. Unlike with best accustomed artificial manufacturing, with is usually a “filthy” process, he explained, the company’s Texas accomplishment bulb has nixed the smokestack, turns out cleaner air and baptize than goes in, and relies absolutely on adjacent wind power.
Last year, Californians voted to approve developed recreational cannabis use and sales starting January 1, 2018, astute a ambit of aboriginal regulations. Afterwards added than 20 years’ acquaintance beneath alleviative cannabis laws, operators accept had to re-calibrate aggregate from labels to processing to board the new rules—three sets of them aback California went rec.
State assembly acutely began arrest absolute recreational cannabis legislation aback in 2017. But amid the industry’s abounding altered needs, cash-fueled interests, and the accepted political adhesive gears, they alone delivered their abiding angle in July. In the meantime, the absolute acknowledged cannabis accumulation alternation has had to accept a set of acting rules accepted as “Emergency Regulations,” which saw cogent changes center through the year.
Some rules arise in all three versions, but others accept affected operators to bound change directions, or alike beatific them in circles.
For example, for the aboriginal six months of 2018, California retailers bare to ensure that all abandonment barter had their cannabis articles independent in child-resistant ‘exit bags.’ These are reusable artificial and/or mylar bags, accessible in aliment and online for about $1 a pop, which acquiesce its accommodation to be protected, added or less, from the abnormality eyes and easily of kids.
Because there’s a bound cardinal of bag-makers out there, and alone so abounding means (mostly patented) that accoutrements can be both child-proof and resealable, they accept additionally aloft costs for businesses and consumers, and added to some groups’ apropos about the huge bulk of artificial actuality acclimated in the industry.
Starting July 1, however, avenue accoutrements were no best to be included in California’s acting regulations for packaging weed. Instead, the accompaniment said it would crave cannabis articles to be packaged and labelled alone by accountant manufacturers and distributors, demography the accomplished process—including the assignment of belief out beginning flower—out of the easily of retail-only businesses.
And then, about two weeks later, California appear a set of proposed abiding rules astute articles to be both fabricated alone child-proof by manufacturers or distributors and independent in child-proof accoutrements aback barter are departure stores. Meanwhile, businesses accept additionally had to acclimatize to new requirements for lab testing, allocation size, and added key factors in the cannabis assembly process—making adjustable packaging aloof one of abounding issues operators accept to accumulate clue of.
“I anticipate operators are absolute affronted by it,” said cannabis advocate Hilary Bricken. “After accepting no bare in this breadth for 20 years, they now accept to accede with absolute specific packaging requirements, and if you get it wrong, there are astringent penalties for actionable those rules.”
Numerous cannabis industry associates said they had planned to abide stocking and application avenue accoutrements admitting the (ultimately brief) aphorism change, aback they accepted things to evolve. Overall, they said, actuality affected to break advanced of abeyant approaching regulations is artlessly too cher for most, and—when businesses can allow it—may jam up the already understaffed, shortage-prone accumulation chain.
Jamie Warm, CEO of Henry’s Original, said new packaging rules are “changing the face of the accomplished industry,” area retailers accept commonly fabricated their own packaging, prerolls, and added products. “Essentially we’re seeing an astronomic bulk of regulations that are creating added barriers to access into the market, and banishment brands to consolidate. There are absolute and abrogating abandon to that.”
“Without any enforcement, companies appetite to be adjustable are at accident of activity out of business because they’re aggressive adjoin companies not arena by the aforementioned set of rules,” Warm said.
“But acquiescence is difficult, and adds a lot of cost, material, and labor,” he continued. “It’s adamantine to get into the business appropriate now unless you’re abnormally well-capitalized; unfortunately, we’re seeing abate retailers and producers abatement by the wayside.”
According to some experts, the attitude of alleviative containers in accepted is connected behind for an update, and cannabis innovators could activity the solution—or at atomic advice smoke it out.
Dr. Laura Bix, a assistant at Michigan Accompaniment University’s School of Packaging and an accessory accessory at Clemson University, explained by buzz that years of analysis about medical packaging and containers accept accomplished her that the biologic industry is apathetic to change its formats. It’s additionally drowning in those push-and-turn “amber vials” that accept disqualified pharmacies aback she was a kid in the 1970s, and which abounding of the best accepted edger containers are based on.
Bix, who advanced advised the “senior-friendly” amalgamation tests appropriate for us bottles, said that she and her aggregation accept been analytical the “paradox and paradigm” of child-resistant packaging (CRP) to acquisition means of convalescent accepted methods. “You’ve got these added accomplished toddlers who are account earlier, and are active to analyze the apple and try altered things. At the earlier end of the spectrum, we’re added affective bodies into home care, and abroad from astute or ambulant care,” she commented.
“As a result, we added accept absolute developed drugs and accessories in home environments, area accouchement may be present; it’s a absolute difficult absurdity that designers accept to accord with and accommodate, and we’ve approved to attending at how we can abstracted the added breakable earlier group, who’s affianced in polypharmacy, from the adolescent end of the spectrum according to ability.”
Like the push-and-turn us bottles we’re all accustomed with, Bix noted, best CRP relies on “tripping kids up” at a afterwards date in the brainy process—typically, aback they accept already captivated a bottle’s instructions and comprehended its meaning, and are at aftermost aggravating to advance and about-face simultaneously. These kinds of tasks are catchy aback application toddler-level strength, motor skills, and coordination, but not impossible, and can affectation issues for chief patients, Bix said.
So afterwards cardinal out added potentially advantageous variables amid the two age groups, Bix and her colleagues are now testing a absolutely new and appealing abuse funny activity for attention analytical kids: abstract them. Bix commented, “We apperceive adolescent accouchement are perceptual processors, not cerebral ones, so we thought, what if we try a distraction?” And they did aloof that.
With abutment from researcher Rita Chen and others, Bix’s aggregation conducted a abstraction in 2014 alleged “The Red Herring Project” to see whether a lenticular angel placed on the basal of a amalgamation would advice accumulate toddlers busy, and out of its contents. They begin that kids took three times as connected to get into packaging aback the non-functioning end had a aperitive lenticular, thereby abacus addition band of protection.
Currently Bix and her aggregation are alive on alteration their abstraction for publication, and administering a aftereffect abstraction to analyze whether such images become “an adorable nuisance,” cartoon kids to bottles or boxes they’d contrarily ignore.
Overall, she said, “The big takeaway from both studies is there’s a lot of allowance for new cerebration in CRP, decidedly in the US, area we’re affiliated to the amber canteen and cap—the blow of the apple doesn’t booty that approach, and as we’ve invested so abundant basement in that shape, it’s in abounding means become a angelic cow.”
Bix added that she’s been aflame to see new packaging account advancing out of the cannabis industry, too, and hopes such addition will additionally t on in pharmacy. “It’s absorbing that cannabis comes in so abounding formulations and commitment mechanisms, and it strikes me as maybe a added artistic industry. We may see some innovations on that ancillary [of alleviative packaging] that end up on the added ancillary as well.”
According to those on the advanced lines, California regulators haven’t absolutely started administration the state’s acting regulations too abundant yet (understandably, accustomed their acutely low numbers), but businesses say they’re animating for it added now that July 1 has arise and gone.
Amber Senter, an Oakland-based architect and co-founder of Supernova Women, an alignment that offers networking for women of blush absorbed in entering the cannabis industry, commented by buzz that she’s mostly heard of regulators arising warnings so far, apropos articles with more-than-allowable THC and the like.
However, she expects to see added activity soon. Now that articles are appropriate to be class activated and acutely labelled to that aftereffect (among added info), Senter believes regulators are acceptable to ambition dispensaries, area they can bound atom articles that don’t admeasurement up, and alpha arising fines. And packaging is alone one affair that’s on ambitious adjustable operators’ minds.
“The better botheration appropriate now from the accomplishment ancillary appropriate now is testing,” Senter said. Packaging and labeling “,” and is big-ticket in its own right, but class acquiescence tests—which bulk about $1,000 per cannabis substance, rather than per product, and crave ample samples—are “putting a attach in people’s coffins,” Senter continued. Such costs are additionally the acumen that her company’s signature pre-roll, which comes biconcave in apply and dusted with keef, is no best on offer.
And while lab testing itself charcoal California’s best big-ticket and bottlenecked requirement, Senter said, the affair of best practices for packaging is still vital, and far from settled.
For one thing, the bulk of artificial abstracts appropriate to accumulate businesses adjustable has skyrocketed, banishment both eco-friendly and baby businesses to amend their models.
Under the newest set of rules, businesses charge advertise alone laboratory-tested articles that are pre-measured, don’t beat 1000mg absolute THC agreeable (or 100mg, breach into 10mg servings, if the artefact is edible), and were created no afterwards than January 1, 2018.
Senter, who articles cannabis-infused popcorn, said that in adjustment to be adjustable she would now accept to pre-package anniversary 10mg confined of her artefact aural the 100mg accoutrements she sells. Instead, she’s pivoted to affairs alone 10mg accoutrements for now, rather than actualize the added waste.
She additionally bought a “really expensive” full-color characterization maker, so she won’t accept to adjustment new labels every time the rules change about what advice charge be displayed.
“Hopefully, in time, regulations will t up to the appeal of what bodies absolutely want, and regulators will apprehend there is no huge accessible assurance risk, because we’ve been accomplishing this for a while,” Senter noted.
For addition thing, the exact analogue of CRP isn’t absolutely set in stone, either by California cannabis regulators or the bazaar at large.
The California Department of Accessible Health does crave cannabis packaging to accommodated standards categorical in the federal Poison Prevention Packaging Act, which already applies to us bottles and added dangerous-substance containers. However, the absolute testing occurs at apprenticed labs, which may alter hardly in their appraisals of assertive artefact types.
Scott Martin, Vice President of Sales and Business for cannabis packaging benefactor N2 Packaging Systems, commented by buzz that his aggregation spent the accomplished 10 months celebratory testing for their two new, patent-pending products—one a reusable child-resistant cooler lid, and the added a nitrogen-sealed reusable and recyclable can aggressive by a way of attention ammunition, with tomato-can-quality lining to bottle terpenes—through the advance of some abrupt methodology.
In adjustment to analysis a container’s accommodation for both adolescent attrition and chief friendliness, as appropriate by law, it charge be accustomed to a ample cardinal of adolescent accouchement and earlier adults (generally 50 of the above and 100 of the latter, anniversary with according gender dispersal) who are instructed to accessible them. In kids’ case, Martin said, they accept bristles account to do annihilation they appetite to get it open, including application their teeth. If they fail, they are again accustomed instructions on how to accessible it, and bristles added account to attack this.
After seeing this testing first-hand, Martin said, “I am absolute afraid that some of the containers out there with pop lids are advised child-resistant, and accept a adamantine time compassionate how the kids who destroyed our lids wouldn’t be able to get through that.” He continued, “If we’re austere about akin accouchement from accepting into assertive things, bottle should be alone from the venue, too—even best shatter-resistant bottle will accident if you bead it.”
Overall, Martin said, “The packaging in our industry is acutely poor. I anticipate artificial cans are a abhorrent idea, and metal cans are the best recycled account on the planet, which is why we abide to attending alfresco anesthetic for added options like that—and in this industry, attractive at added environmentally affable packaging is a priority.”
George Sang, a Chicago-based balloon advocate and CEO of Adjustable Packaging, believes that decidedly added acrimonious rules for cannabis processing and CRP are acceptable to be imposed bottomward the road, anyway, d the U.S. gets with the program.
“It’ll be a altered brawl d in the future, abnormally with automation advancing about the corner, because the activity bulk of packaging these articles for cultivators is expensive,” Sang said. In some ways, edger accomplishment and processing regulations may alike alpha to mirror those of aliment production, and added carefully supervised fields.
“When and if it becomes federally permissible to aftermath cannabis, workers will apparently accept to be done bottomward afore they go into a grove, and arrested for metals in the assembly line,” he said. As far as packaging goes, Sang commented that federal amends will absolutely accompany in new standards that are “much added pharmaceutical,” too.
For their part, cannabis operators are acquainted that abundant changes to how articles are fabricated and awash are about assured in years to come, in alone states and beyond the country.
Cesar Muro, Project Coordinator for the packaging benefactor MarijuanaPackaging.com, and Brittny Peloquin, Business Manager for the company, commented by buzz that they’ve heard lots of apropos from audience about how abrupt aphorism changes could abate their business plans, including their absolute accurate packaging investments.
“The accomplishment activity for accoutrements or articles can booty 90 days,” Muro said. “Everyone wants to cast their products, and let bodies apperceive endemic is the best. That’s adamantine to do aback you’re application bare accoutrements because you don’t apperceive what regulations will be in 90 days, or a month.”
Peloquin additionally commented, “Dispensary owners are some of the best a bodies I’ve anytime formed with. They’re so acceptable at blockage on top of these things while they basically accept a ambition on their backs, they’re pioneers, and they’re there to accomplish a living.”
For now, they’ll apparently accept to accumulate planning advanced in several directions, and stocking up on artificial bottles and vials indefinitely, too. And maybe—if claimed alternative and accompaniment regulations permit—finding time abroad from the ‘green rush’ to compensate with some Cali gold.
Janet Burns is a freelance biographer based in Brooklyn.
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Panasonic Awards Turner-Yates Contract to Build EV Battery Plant
Lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in De Soto, Kansas to add capacity to the EV battery supply chain in the United States
De Soto, Kan. – A joint venture team of Turner Construction Company and Yates Construction is pleased to announce that they were selected by Panasonic Energy to build a manufacturing facility for electric vehicle batteries in De Soto, Kansas. In addition to the assembly facility, this phase of an overall $4 billion program will include construction of a central utility plant and support buildings.
The battery manufacturing facility is a critical part of Panasonic’s investment in the United States to expand EV battery production capacity. This project creates new jobs with competitive wages and will help drive the economy and manufacturing in the De Soto region, and across Kansas and the United States. It also will support the Panasonic Group’s commitment to reduce global carbon emissions. The factory is a demonstration of the Panasonic Group’s Green IMPACT initiative, which is aimed at reducing the company’s CO2 emission to virtually net-zero by 2030 and contributing to 300 million tons in avoided emissions by 2050.
The plant is expected to begin production by the end of March 2025 and will eventually reach approximately 30 GWh of annual production capacity.
“We are extremely excited to be part of the team delivering this plant to support Panasonic’s goal to meet the growing demand for high quality batteries from their automotive partners,” said Jim Brownrigg, Senior Vice President of Turner Construction Company. Jim continued, “The team shares a common goal for improving environmental performance and are committed to reduce onsite greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption during construction of the facility.
“This is a very exciting project for the Kansas City region and our company,” said William G. Yates III, President & CEO of Yates Construction. “As one of the largest EV battery and advanced manufacturing contractors in the U.S., Yates Construction has extensive experience in this sector. We look forward to working with Panasonic to deliver this important project in support of their long-term commitment to achieving a net-zero emissions future.”
“It is exciting to add this EV battery plant to our growing portfolio of work in this market,” said Karen Hogan, Vice President & General Manager of Turner Construction Company. Karen continued, “More importantly thousands of people from the greater Kansas City area will participate in building a project that has global impact and provide people in our community green economy jobs.”
About Turner Construction
Our vision is to be the highest value provider of construction services. We deliver our services on complex and challenging building projects of all types and sizes throughout North America and in 30 countries around the world. We seek to create a healthy, prosperous, and sustainable future for our people, clients, partners, and the planet. We have earned a reputation for integrity, working safely, and driving innovation. With a focus on creating an environment where people can be at their best, be authentic, and be treated with respect and dignity, the company is widely recognized as a great place to work including by Newsweek which recognized the company as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity in 2023 and by Glassdoor who recognized the Best Places to Work in 2023. The firm is a subsidiary of HOCHTIEF, an engineering-led global infrastructure group with leading positions across its core activities of construction, services, and concessions/public-private partnerships (PPP) focused on Australia, North America, and Europe. To learn more about Turner visit www.turnerconstruction.com.
About Yates Construction
W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company (Yates Construction) is part of The Yates Companies, Inc., which ranks among the top construction services providers. The firm can provide a full range of construction services to clients nationally and internationally. In recent years, Yates has ranked among the top 50 providers in all delivery methods (Construction Management, Program Management, General Contracting, and Design-Build), #1 in Automotive Plant construction, and #3 in Manufacturing by Engineering News-Record (ENR). These attributes make Yates one of the construction industry's largest and most well-respected corporations today. To learn more about Yates Construction, visit www.wgyates.com.
About Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd.
Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd., established in April 2022 as part of the Panasonic Group’s switch to an operating company system, provides innovative battery technology-based products and solutions globally. Through its automotive lithium-ion batteries, storage battery systems and dry batteries, the company brings safe, reliable, and convenient power to a broad range of business areas, from mobility and social infrastructure to medical and consumer products. Panasonic Energy is committed to contributing to a society that realizes happiness and environmental sustainability, and through its business activities the Company aims to address societal issues while taking the lead on environmental initiatives. For more details, please visit https://www.panasonic.com/global/energy/
About the Panasonic Group
A global leader in developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, industry, communications, and energy sectors worldwide, the Panasonic Group switched to an operating company system on April 1, 2022 with Panasonic Holdings Corporation serving as a holding company and eight companies positioned under its umbrella. Founded in 1918, the Group is committed to enhancing the well-being of people and society and conducts its businesses based on founding principles applied to generate new value and offer sustainable solutions for today’s world. The Group reported consolidated net sales of 7,388.8 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2022. Devoted to improving the well-being of people, the Panasonic Group is united in providing superior products and services to help you Live Your Best. To learn more about the Panasonic Group, please visit: https://holdings.panasonic/global/


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|By PR Newswire||
|September 2, 2014 06:00 AM EDT||
DALLAS, Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Due largely to the ease of mobile and online couponing, consumers are increasingly prepping before hitting the shelves. In fact, according to eMarketer, more than half of US adult internet users redeemed a digital coupon via any device for either online or offline shopping in 2013. To ease the burden on parents and provide simple solutions, Kimberly-Clark, the maker of trusted brands such as Huggies, Scott and Kleenex, is extending its Pick Up the Values program. Unique from traditional coupon offers, the online resource provides creative solutions to help families save time and money.
"We saw an overwhelmingly positive response to the Pick Up the Values program last year, including more than 1 million coupon prints and nearly 54,000 new fans, so extending the program into 2014 was an easy decision," said Lori Borchardt, Brand Manager - Enterprise. "Its success is attributed to the need for simple, parent-to-parent solutions for helping the family budget stretch to meet growing needs."
Starting on Sept. 2, consumers can visit www.PickUptheValues.com to download valuable coupons from participating Kimberly-Clark and Colgate-Palmolive brands, including Huggies diapers and wipes, Viva paper towels, Kleenex brand facial tissue and Cottonelle toilet paper. They can also visit www.Facebook.com/PickUptheValues for daily tips and tricks from expert blog partners, Pretty Providence and Deal Seeking Mom, including:
- Price check. Obviously price checking every item you purchase would be very time-consuming, but set a personal spending limit and commit to price checking each purchase above that amount. These savings add up!
- Start a gift closet. Keep an eye out for end of season toy clearance sales and other sales to pick up gift items throughout the year. Store them somewhere easily accessible and shop your stash the next time you need a hostess or birthday gift!
- Stock up early. Stock up on essential household items, like toilet paper and diapers, early, so they don't break you at the end of the month!
Whether it's teaching mom the basics of deal seeking or offering valuable coupons to help dad on the emergency diaper run, Kimberly-Clark has you covered. For more information on Pick Up the Values and to learn more about participating Kimberly-Clark products, visit www.PickUptheValues.com or www.Facebook.com/PickUptheValues.
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Every day, nearly a quarter of the world's population trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No.1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 142-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
In his session at @DevOpsSummit at 19th Cloud Expo, Yoseph Reuveni, Director of Software Engineering at Jet.com, will discuss Jet.com's journey into containerizing Microsoft-based technologies like C# and F# into Docker. He will talk about lessons learned and challenges faced, the Mono framework tryout and how they deployed everything into Azure cloud. Yoseph Reuveni is a technology leader with unique experience developing and running high throughput (over 1M tps) distributed systems with extre...
Jul. 23, 2016 05:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,950
"We are a well-established player in the application life cycle management market and we also have a very strong version control product," stated Flint Brenton, CEO of CollabNet,, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
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"We provide DevOps solutions. We also partner with some key players in the DevOps space and we use the technology that we partner with to engineer custom solutions for different organizations," stated Himanshu Chhetri, CTO of Addteq, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at DevOps at 18th Cloud Expo, held June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Jul. 23, 2016 05:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,516
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A new study of cannabis users found that they tend to be happier and have more satisfaction with life than non-users. According to the study, which was conducted by BDS Analytics, marijuana users tend to make more money, spend more time outdoors and volunteer more than non-users. They also tended to rank higher in personal and social satisfaction.
Another interesting note the study found was the reason why people use cannabis. While we might imagine people buying it to share with friends and have a good time, the majority of people used it for physical, mental or emotional wellness. So they weren't using cannabis to have fun, they were doing so to help improve their personal health. The study specifically pointed out that women in particular are beginning to adopt cannabis as a means for wellness, whether physical or mental.
The authors of the study said this information should be of particular note to advertisers, and that products that are looking for health-conscious consumers should be targeting cannabis users.
So maybe anti-marijuana activists are just unhappy, and that's why they oppose legalization!
(h/t Fresh Toast)


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A little time, a little software, and a couple of pieces of equipment add up to better-looking equip
Hultgren agrees that the market is becoming segmented and
also has addressed this. "GretagMacbeth has always been up at
the very high end," he says. "As of about 3 years ago, we began
to aim at a lower level." GretagMacbeth now offers the Eye-One
line of products aimed at creatives, designers, agencies, photographers,
and so on; but it also offers the ProfileMaker line,
addressing the needs of press operators and other high-end
And speaking for all manufacturers, David Tobie, product
technology manager for ColorVision, says, "We're trying to
reduce the complexity of the user experience."
Doris Brown, vice president of marketing for Pantone, points
to the continued breakdown of the who-does-what barriers in the
graphic-arts workflow as another force in bringing in new users:
"There's been a real knocking down of the roles between designers
and prepress houses," she says. "We've seen in the past year
a tremendous rush in the designer community to embrace color
The new users, however, bring new assumptions with them.
Andy Hatkoff, vice president for electronic color systems at Pantone,
says, "Because color management has become democratized,
the end user expects it to just work, because it's there."
Old-school printing hands knew that getting good color usually
required some compromises; now, people just expect their print
to look like their monitor.
Andrew at X-Rite says, "There is an expectation today that
what you see on your monitor is what will be printed." Or at
least that you'll get the same color you got from your desktop
printer at home:
"I'm finding that my customers are learning more about color
than their print vendors, and the printers more than their manufacturers,"
says Magnusson of Left Dakota. "Photographers and content
creators who are struggling to do the things right spend the
time to learn it." But vendors downstream end up wrestling with
multiple file formats and color spaces. "If you're a closed-loop operation,
you can do anything you want," he says. "But if you're going
to interface with others, you need to work to the industry standard."
Profile creation: scanner, camera, monitor


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Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites, announced the promotion of two executives leading its product and sales functions. Annie Pearl was appointed chief product officer. Pearl will lead the product, user experience and design teams, overseeing the strategy behind growing and enhancing the Glassdoor platform. The company also named Kate Ahlering as chief sales officer. In this role, Ahlering will oversee all of Glassdoor’s sales operations across ten offices in seven countries.
HR Technology News: Telaria Appoints Tiffany Francis as Chief Human Resources Officer
“I am thrilled to promote Annie and Kate to critical positions on our executive team,” said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor president and chief operating officer. “As Glassdoor continues our rapid expansion into new markets, Annie and Kate have been integral to building best-in-class global product/UX and sales teams. I look forward to continuing to partner with Annie and Kate in their expanded roles as we embark on this new and exciting chapter at Glassdoor.”
Pearl brings a breadth of experience in product/UX and mentorship to the position. Most recently, Pearl served as senior vice president and head of product and UX/design at Glassdoor. Before Glassdoor, Annie led enterprise product teams at Box, including before and after its 2015 IPO. She was also the vice president of product and one of the founding members of Xpert Financial, which helped investors trade private company securities. Annie has also consulted and advised several rapid growth start-ups. She was honored as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business in 2019 by the San Francisco Business Times. Annie holds a J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law and earned a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College. She is a member of The State Bar of California.
Ahlering has served in a variety of Glassdoor sales leadership roles, most recently as senior vice president of worldwide sales, which included new business acquisition, account management, channels, sales development and sales operations. Ahlering previously held positions in sales leadership at ACTIVE Network, a SaaS provider, where she helped drive over $500 million in revenue and toward a successful IPO. Earlier in her career, she held sales roles at Blackboard. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in education in leadership, social foundations and policy from the University of Virginia.


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Vietnam ICT Comm 2016 officially opens
Vietnam ICT COMM 2016, an exhibition on products and technologies from the telecommunication, IT and communication sector officially opened in the capital city on July 20.
The three-day exhibition displays information and communication technology products, telecom services, Internet services and applications, as well as games, software, electronics and ancillary industries.
Some 150 exhibitors came from 15 countries and territories including Japan, South Korea, India, and Turkey, apart from China, Taiwan (China), Singapore, and Thailand. Exhibitors from Hong Kong, Germany, Australia, and Switzerland, in addition to the United States and hosts Viet Nam, were also present.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Phan Tam said the Vietnam ICT COMM 2016 was an important investment promotion activity with the presence of hundreds of booths of telecom and IT companies from many countries and territories. The full participation of these companies has proved that Viet Nam's telecom market still has great potential to grow. And a large number of local companies joining the event has shown significant development in the Vietnamese ICT industry.
Deputy Minister Tam said that this was a good start for the first year after the deployment of the national plan on broadband telecommunications by 2020, was approved by the prime minister in January this year. Along with a plan to deploy advanced 4G broadband infrastructure in the fourth quarter of this year, the Ministry of Information and Communication believed that many ICT products, services and solutions being displayed at the show will soon become a reality.
In addition, several seminars on the latest trends of technology, IT products, the direction and policies of the government will be conducted. The seminars will focus on trends in technologies, products and services and introduce 4G-LTE technology, high-speed Internet access, big data, and IT solutions to support e-government and business as well as security solutions, in addition to digital content services, radio, digital TV, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Tam said he hoped that exhibition and seminars at Vietnam Comm 2016 will be a useful forum to connect businesses and was an effective interaction channel between policy-makers and the business community that contributes towards improving the legal climate for sustainable development of the ICT sector in Viet Nam.


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Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) rumored MVNO service with Sprint (NYSE: S) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) is still just a rumor for now. According to reports from The Information and the Wall Street Journal, Google apparently wants to upend the stodgy wireless industry, which it sees as moving too slowly. And a fresh report from the Journal says that the service, which could launch nationwide in the first half of 2015, would hunt for the best available cellular or Wi-Fi signal to route voice, text message and data traffic.
But is an MVNO from Google really going to disrupt the industry? There are a lot of factors working against Google. Below are five of them.
(To be clear: this analysis is based on the few tidbits that have been reported so far. At this point Google has not confirmed it is launching an MVNO. And we don't know what Google's go-to-market strategy would be or how much money it would invest.)
Nonetheless, we do have some outlines of how and why Google would launch a wireless service, and so far it does not seem that promising.
- Engineering phones and networks is difficult. Google has experience designing mobile software, and has proven adept at partnering with OEMs and carriers to make its Android platform the most ubiquitous smartphone operating system in the world. But that doesn't mean it has a great deal of experience in designing mobile phone radios or architecting wireless networks. If the Journal is right and Google's wireless service will be able to find the best and most reliable cellular or Wi-Fi signal, that will either mean one of two things: One is that the phones for Google's service will have all of the radios for all of the bands Sprint and T-Mobile support (though there is a precedent for this; one example is the Motorola-made Nexus 6 smartphone from Google, which supports all of the LTE bands for Sprint and T-Mobile, and there are other phones that do so as well, including unlocked iPhone 6 variants); or the phones will support only Sprint or T-Mobile, and not both carriers' networks (which would make the service somewhat unremarkable). Even if Google did manage to cram all of the radios for both carriers into a single phone, that phone would likely be bulky and overheat often as a result. Further, how would Google determine which network signal is the best to switch to? It's unclear at this point, but presumably it would require deep integration with carriers' networks, something Google isn't known for.
- Google would need to set up customer service centers and retail distribution, which are not its core competencies. Something else that Google doesn't specialize in is customer service and retail distribution. Google sells Android devices through its Play store and also has its Nexus line of gadgets, but it does not operate customer service call centers for wireless service, which it would either have to set up itself or outsource to a third party. Either way, it's something almost all MVNOs do. (Google was blasted for providing minimal customer service for its Nexus device offering.) It's also unclear if Google will set up physical retail sales channels for a wireless service, but if it did that would be another challenge to overcome since Google doesn't have much experience in operating retail stores or training others to sell its services. (Remember how well the "Google Barge" technology showrooms worked out? They never opened.)
- Incumbent wireless carriers spend billions on advertising and have inherent advantages. Google is a behemoth of a company, with $59.82 billion in revenue in 2013. However, Google doesn't spend a lot to advertise its own products and services (though Google has conducted campaigns for Chrome and, more recently, its Nest smart thermostats). Conversely, wireless carriers are big ad spenders--the Tier 1 carriers dropped a combined $8.4 billion on U.S. advertising in 2013, according to the Ad Age DataCenter. Does Google have the wherewithal to compete in that market? Does it want to? Again, it's unclear. Moreover, carriers have other inherent advantages over upstarts because they own the networks and spectrum their services run on, and have spent years building and fine-tuning those networks. They have hundreds if not thousands of employees devoted to marketing, public relations, customer service and retail operations. They know their customers well and do a lot to keep them. Google may think carriers are lumbering giants ripe for disruption, but they are still giants.
- The service would be undifferentiated, and the target audience is unclear. If Google's big play in wireless is that it will let customers switch between cellular networks and Wi-Fi networks to find the best signal, that's pretty weak beer. Lots of services, including Sprint MVNOs Republic Wireless and Scratch Wireless, do that already and fall back to cellular when Wi-Fi is out of range. One option for Google to spice up its wireless service would be to discount it if customers also bundled it with Google Fiber home Internet and a Nest thermostat, offering a complete package of services. However, since Google Fiber is only available in a handful of markets across the country, that wouldn't be a viable nationwide option. It's also unclear who Google would be targeting with an MVNO: Millennials, those who want lower prices, or someone else entirely?
- A lack of scale could push Google to pull the plug. This could just be an experiment for Google and the company certainly has enough cash to give an MVNO a try for a while, but I can't imagine Google would continue to invest in a business that wasn't gaining meaningful scale. TracFone Wireless has grown into the nation's largest MVNO with more than 25 million customers through deals with all four Tier 1 carriers, acquisitions, multiple brands, low prices and expansive distribution. In a country of more than 300 million people, an MVNO with 10,000, 50,000 or even 100,000 subscribers isn't going to shake up the market--which is what Google reportedly wants to do.
If Google wants to fundamentally alter the wireless industry, there are other things it could do besides launch an MVNO. BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk recently noted that "buying T-Mobile and Dish (NASDAQ: DISH) would put Google on the map overnight in the wireless industry, but would likely cost in excess of $120 billion. Alternatively, Google could offer Sprint $5-$10 billion as an upfront payment for future data capacity, with the stipulation that the money would be committed to accelerate the roll out of fat channel TD-LTE networks on Sprint's ample 2.5 GHz spectrum."
Google could also zero-rate mobile access to its services, or it could expand the calling and messaging services available through Google Voice and Google Hangout. Google could even use 3.5 GHz spectrum to launch an innovative wireless offering--the company has been lobbying the FCC on doing just that. Finally, Google could work with a carrier, perhaps T-Mobile, on deploying LTE Unlicensed service, perhaps to increase competition even more in the home broadband market.
There are lots of opportunities for Google to transform telecommunications. An MVNO doesn't seem to be one of them. --Phil
Article updated to note that the Nexus 6 supports all of the LTE bands of Sprint and T-Mobile. Article also updated with 2013 U.S. carrier advertising figures from AdAge.


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The export of onions from the Netherlands is going at a fast pace this season. Due to continued demand, yellow onion prices have risen, according to portal Nieuweoogst.nl.
This week at the agricultural exhibition Goes registered the first yellow onion at a price of 30 to 31 euros per 100 kilograms. For onions sold abroad, Landbouwbeurs Noord - en Centraal-Nederland in Emmeloord has been setting an indicative price of up to 30 euros per 100 kg for several weeks now. Prices for red onions are the same as for yellow ones.
At the moment, the demand for onions is slightly higher than the supply. Early reports of the 2022 harvest indicate that total production in the Netherlands is 20 to 25 percent lower than last year. The overall quality of the bow seems to be good.
The new export season started quickly. Up to week 34, over 173 tons were shipped for export, about 000 tons more than last year after eight weeks of export. The largest consumer is Côte d'Ivoire, with almost 13 tons of products delivered to this country. Significant volumes are also entering the Senegal market, with 000 tons shipped to the West African country through week 31.


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The Jeep has confirmed on Tuesday (25) the arrival of the line 2014 Compass to the Brazilian market. The utility has undergone some cosmetic, external and internal changes, and arrives at dealers with a suggested retail price of U.S. $ 102,100.
Opel has released the first image of the Astra OPC Extreme Concept car which will be presented to the public in the next edition of the Geneva Motor Show in March. It is inspired in Astra OPC X-treme model displayed by the manufacturer in 2002.
Due to the new safety standards that went into effect in 2014, with the requirement of the airbag and ABS brakes for new cars sold in Brazil, Volkswagen Kombi retired veteran. To say goodbye with style, launched the special edition Kombi Last Edition.


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HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
KATHMANDU: The consumer card distribution that was started with an aim to provide Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at a subsidised rate to consumers has been halted.
The entire process of consumer card distribution was halted after Gas Dealers’ Union filed a case against the Gas Dealers’ Association of Nepal (GDAN) –– the body which was facilitating the distribution process from the very beginning –– at the Supreme Court, said vice president of GDAN Maheshwar Kumar Shrestha.
Gas Dealers’ Union has challenged the legal status of the association in the court, said Shrestha, adding that the association cannot resume the card distribution task until the court delivers a final verdict. He accepted that GDAN was in the process of acquiring a legal status from the concerned government agency.
The association had started the card distribution from the beginning of April by issuing a card to prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai in the presence of the then minister for commerce and supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta.
It had completed the distribution of 100,000 cards in two months, said Shrestha. The ministry had planned to distribute four million consumer cards in 15 days but the association had failed to meet the deadline, an official at the ministry said.
The plan to adjust the price of cooking gas after the completion of the distribution of the cards has faced serious problems after the process was halted, the source said. “It is shameful that Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) did not even try to verify the legal status of the facilitating party before deploying it for the card distribution task.”
NOC had said that it would differentiate domestic use and industrial use of LPG after the introduction of consumer cards. It had also claimed that the actual database of consumers would be collected once the card distribution process was completed.
“But all the promises are futile for the time being,” an official at the corporation said, adding that Nepal Oil Corporation often receives criticism from different quarters of the society due its negligence on serious issues like card distribution.


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Only two of last week’s top 10 deals involved purely U.S.-based transactions, with Canadian companies at the center of most mergers and acquisitions, and Alberta’s Calgary alone involved in three of them.
In a slow week, with 40 North American transactions producing a total volume of $7.44 billion, the top agreement was Agrium Inc.’s $2.61-billion purchase of Colorado-based UAP Holding Corp., a distributor of agricultural and non-crop products. Agrium’s home? Calgary, of course.
The biggest all-U.S. deal was Macrovision Corp.’s $2.18-billion purchase of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., according to data provided to CFO.com by mergermarket. The only other billion-dollar transactions were the $1.52-billion combination of two Calgary energy trust companies — Enerplus Resources Fund to buy Focus Energy Trust — and Seoul’s SK Telecom Co.’s purchase of nearly 40 percent of fellow South Korean telecommunications provider Hanaro from a group of owners that included American International Group.
In all, the week’s dealmaking brought year-to-date transaction values in North America to $1.49 trillion, compared with $1.40 trillion through Dec. 9, 2006. If the year’s M&A ends with a December whimper, as many predict, the 2008 total would barely top the $1.50 trillion mark that seemed such a sure thing amid the feverish activity of the first half.
Agrium Inc. to buy UAP Holding Corp. for $2.61 billion
Greeley, Colo.-based UAP signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Agrium Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, and both boards approved a deal in which Agrium would pay $39 a share, a premium of 30.4 percent. UAP is an independent distributor of agricultural inputs and non-crop products. Agrium is a retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North and South America, and also produces and markets agricultural nutrients and industrial products. The acquisition will enable Agrium to expand its geographic base and capitalize on the strong outlook for agriculture markets, and is expected to be slightly accretive to Agrium earnings per share in the first year, and significantly accretive thereafter. Annual synergies are expected to be approx. $115 million by 2010, with most captured in 2009. Although there are no financing conditions, Agrium has bridge and term loan commitments in place to fund the deal, and plans to arrange financing of $1.25 billion in equity, with the balance in public and bank term debt to replace the bridge loan. The transaction is expected to close in early 2008.
Seller financial advisor: JPMorgan
Bidder financial advisor: RBC Capital Markets
Seller legal advisor: Goodmans; and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
Bidder legal advisor: Blake, Cassels & Graydon; and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Macrovision Corp. to buy Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. for $2.18 billion
Los Angeles-based Gemstar-TV Guide signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Macrovision, of Santa Clara, Calif., for $6.35 a share, or in an exchange of 0.2548 shares for each Gemstar share, subject to a proration limit of $1.55 billion cash. The premium for the media, entertainment, and technology company that develops, licences, markets, and distributes products for video consumers would be 6.19 percent. News Corp., which owns about 41 percent of Gemstar common, has agreed to vote its shares for the transaction. When completed, Macrovision holders will own about 53 percent of the combined company, and former Gemstar holders the rest. Closing is expected by early next second quarter. Gemstar announced plans to seek strategic alternatives on July 9. On July 19, 8.4-percent holder Citadel LP announced its support of the strategic alternatives and noted that it believed that certain strategic investors, as opposed to financial investors, might more fully realize the strategic value of Gemstar’s assets given the company’s competitive position in the marketplace.
Seller financial advisor: UBS
Bidder financial advisor: JPMorgan
Seller legal advisor: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; and Latham & Watkins
Bidder legal advisor: Heller Ehrman


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Hemp is a widely used plant that serves an abundance of purposes across many industries. But it could also serve as the future of crop rotation and the health of the soil. PLOS One recently conducted a study in which industrial hemp was used in an experiment testing the toxicity levels of contaminated land before and after cannabis sativa was introduced to the soil.
The results concluded that the hemp plant removed toxins and grew normally, assuming from this study that the hemp was capable of healing contaminated soil. The ecological crisis of the 21st century demands new ways of cleaning our earth and it may start with the hemp plant and its ability to remove dangerous waste and chemical by-products from our soil.
How Does it Work?
As the hemp plant moves through its stages of growth, it participates in a process called “phytoremediation” in which the plant’s roots grow deeper into the soil, absorbing any positive nutrients left for itself as well as the damaging chemicals left behind by previous crops. Moreover, this absorption does not negatively affect the plant even though it stores these toxins in various parts of its body, given the duration of its growing period being under six months.
Students at Colorado State University (CSU) have been working closely with this subject matter, continuously researching plant biology with the hope of finding innovative processes to later implement into the field of industrial agriculture. While these studies and their accuracy continue with time, it is interesting to gain insight into how hemp is becoming more than just a holistic medical treatment.
Some scientists are looking above and beyond our agricultural system towards how hemp can naturally contain and heal corroded and radioactive grounds such as the Chernobyl site in Ukraine. The studies looking into this phenomenon are continuing to uncover more about the unique biology of the hemp plant, and their findings could impact the future of the planet significantly.
What Does This Mean for the Hemp Industry?
With this newly gathered information regarding the way hemp can be more productively sourced, corporations within the industry are being encouraged to look closely at how their products are being sourced. With the CBD industry growing annually and the environmental crisis growing in relevance economically, big CBD brands need to engage with this research to reach sustainability within the production of each CBD product.
There are many elements to these studies that have not yet been wholly excavated; however, strides to a cleaner future are becoming the foreground for the hemp industry and environmental activists alike.


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In April, Bitcoin Association published its first annual report, charting the activities of the organization and the progress made by the Bitcoin SV network during the Association’s first year of operations. In these series of extracts, we take an in-depth look at elements of the report, this time detailing the initiatives undertaken by the Association to advance business on the blockchain with Bitcoin SV.
Central to the overarching goals of Bitcoin Association is a commitment to building businesses with Bitcoin SV, be they exchanges and transaction processors, or start-ups and enterprises. At the time of writing, the Annual Report noted that there were now more than 400 known ventures and projects being built on the BSV blockchain, many of which are already showing promise or developing into viable businesses. Equally, established enterprises are continuing to explore the possibilities of bringing their business to the blockchain.
Bitcoin Association made available a substantial amount of resources for initiatives targeting developers in Year 1, but equally, unveiled a number of endeavors targeted at the next stages of the development cycle – namely, transitioning ideas into businesses.
BSV Venture Pitch Day is an essential element of the Association’s commitment to building businesses with Bitcoin SV, taking early-stage companies – including some that originated as ideas from the BSV Hackathons – and giving them the opportunity to present to a room full of experienced, well-capitalized investors. Bitcoin Association hosted two Pitch Days in Year 1, the first preceding CoinGeek Seoul and the second preceding CoinGeek London.
To allow for those pitching to have a reasonable amount of time to discuss their business proposal, places are limited to 10 – and with 50 applying to pitch at the London edition, competition was foerce. At each Pitch Day, the three most promising projects were selected to present their ideas on the mainstage of the associated CoinGeek conference, giving the fledgling businesses the opportunity to bring publicity – and perhaps investment – to their project.
During Year 1, Bitcoin Association rolled out an extensive program of events, including its Bitcoin for Business track – a series of mini-conferences and networking events specifically tailored to a business audience. The first of these occurred in October, 2019 with Bitcoin for Business: Tokyo, an evening event organized by Jerry Chan, featuring Dr. Craig Wright as the keynote speaker – rousing the crowd with a history of Bitcoin’s creation before ruminating the benefits for business on Bitcoin SV.
Bitcoin Association hopes to continue its events programme later in 2020 – including the Bitcoin for Business events – but at present, our events remain indefinitely paused due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Association will provide updates on the events section of its website regarding the resumption of its in-person events programme, in addition to hosting a series of digital events throughout the year.
In furtherance of Bitcoin Association’s goals of educating enterprises about the utility of Bitcoin SV, as well as supporting business building on it, in 2020 the Association will continue to grow the use case section of its website to illustrate the inherent potential of the BSV blockchain. The section will host comprehensive case study examples of how innovative companies are utilizing the BSV blockchain for the betterment of their businesses – essential reading both for those already working with BSV and those considering it.
To find out more about the work Bitcoin Association undertook in support of building businesses in Year 1, as well as its goals and commitments in this space for the upcoming year, read the full Annual Report below.


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Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO; Succeeded By Tim Cook
The most closely watch succession plan in Silicon Valley history was activated today. Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple but has been elected chairman. Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook has been promoted into Apple’s CEO slot. Apple’s board announced the news today. While The VAR Guy isn’t shocked by the news, Jobs’ decision to give up the CEO title will surely rock Apple’s stock when U.S. markets open on August 25. Still, let’s not forget: All of Apple’s fundamentals remain rock-solid.
Said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple’s Board:
“Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration. The Board has complete confidence that Tim is the right person to be our next CEO. Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.”
Jobs’ letter of resignation stated:
“To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:
I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.
I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.
As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.
I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.
The VAR Guy will be back with additional insights soon. Updated, Aug. 24, 9:59 p.m. eastern: Here’s a closer look at new Apple CEO Tim Cook.


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'Modern beauty' Abbey Clancy replaces Luisana Lopilato as the face and body of Ultimo
- Model and Strictly star, 27, announced as face of SS14 campaign
- Founder Michelle Mone is 'delighted' with signing
- Heavy marketing will follow next year with brand taking new direction
- Abbey is currently in final of Strictly Come Dancing
Michael Buble's Argentine wife, Luisana Lopilato celebrated her last ever Ultimo campaign last week as she retired to focus on motherhood.
But hot on the heels of her exit, the lingerie giant has already announced her replacement - and it's none other than Abbey Clancy.
The model and Strictly Come Dancing star has been unveiled as the new face and body of the brand and will star in its SS14 campaign, which will be revealed early 2014.
Scroll down for video
Welcome to the family! Ultimo Founder Michelle Mone OBE (L) is delighted to announce Abbey Clancy as the new 'face and body' of her lingerie brand
The 27-year-old will showcase an enhanced ‘Miracle Solutions’ range and brand new fashion lines, which cater for women from A through to DD cups.
The campaign will also coincide with the launch of Ultimo’s new website, and will be supported by robust marketing activity, say the brand.
Speaking about the new appointment, Michelle Mone OBE, founder of Ultimo, said: 'I’m delighted to announce that Abbey is the new face and body of Ultimo.
A taste of what's the come? The campaign will be rolled out next year. Here, Abbey showcases her modelling skills in a Virgin Media On Demand campaign in 2010
Fashion face: Abbey, pictured modelling an England shirt (L), is a familiar face on the fashion scene (R) with designer Julien Macdonald at a charity event
'She’s a modern beauty, feminine and fashion-forward, which perfectly reflects our forthcoming Spring/Summer collection.'
Speaking about her latest modelling gig, mother-of-one Abbey said: 'It’s really exciting to be part of such an established brand at such an exciting time.
'I absolutely love the Ultimo product – it’s so wearable and feels amazing on the body!
'I can’t wait until the Spring/Summer campaign is revealed next year, and to work with Michelle and her team.'
Ultimo’s heritage is built on enhancing the female form, with a specific focus on cleavage boosting and uplift.
The brand’s very first design, the ‘OMG Plunge Bra’ with in-built silicone, was worn by Julia Roberts to create her cleavage in Erin Brockovich.
Since then, Ultimo has seen the likes of Mel B, Penny Lancaster, Rachel Hunter and Sarah Harding pose for them.
Bowing out: New mother Luisana Lopilato poses for Ultimo lingerie in her last shoot for the brand
In 2002 Penny Lancaster signed up to be the face of designer lingerie brand Ultimo for a reported £200,000
Peaches Geldof starred in a campaign for Ultimo in 2010, showing off her extensive collection of body art in the process
Michelle added: 'It is very exciting times for Ultimo. We’ve made major improvements to our product and taken a more directional approach.
'Abbey’s first Ultimo shoot will reflect this change in direction, further cementing Ultimo’s position as one of the UK’s best loved lingerie brands.'
Melanie Sykes (left) and former Spice Girl Mel B (right) have both worked for Ultimo
Busy Abbey, who is married to England footballer Peter Crouch, is currently preparing to compete in the all-female Strictly final alongside her dance partner, Aljaz Skorjanec.
They'll join Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Susanna Reid in the all-important climax, while Natalie Gumede survived a dance off with Patrick Robinson during a recent eviction to dance again for the Strictly trophy.
In it to win it: Abbey Clancy is one of the four remaining girls hoping to take home the glitterball trophy
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Etsy, the creator marketplace site, has been a standout company for holiday ads in recent years. We even featured one of its holiday spots from last year in our roundup of the Most Engaging Commercials of 2020. So, it should come as no surprise that Etsy is continuing to raise the bar thanks to its holiday shopping ads with a heartwarming focus.
This year, Etsy’s holiday campaign is called “Give More Than a Gift,” and it’s all about the many ways gift-giving contributes to our most meaningful relationships. Giving a gift sends a signal that the recipient is seen, understood, and loved—and Etsy manages to capture that sentiment in its video executions this year.
Check out the two videos below for our favorite examples within this year’s campaign, and join us in anxious awaiting Etsy’s content next year to see how they continue to evolve!


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NESCAFÉ has launched the new global platform “Make your world” in Europe, augmented by a new campaign: "Expect more from every cup.”
Publicis Worldwide produced the creative work, with both OOH and TV components.
The coffee company, committed to sustainability, says 6,000 cups of NESCAFÉ are consumed every second. The brand wants to use its scale and reach to ensure a positive impact in people’s lives and the planet, from farm to cup.
It now says 100% responsibly sourced coffee is used in European factories.
The new campaign will be aired at the end of February in France and Germany, in March in Austria, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK.
Other European countries will follow during the year.
“Our ambition is to unveil NESCAFÉ’s iconicity. Our brand identity plays a big role in making this happen, so we refreshed the look and feel, making it more modern, with earthy and textured tones while also hero-ing our accent and wordmark, which are visual brand markers,” said Zenas Liritis, beverage SBU global communication director.


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Muslims around the world are preparing for the coming festivities, and a big part of this will be the sharing of Qurbani meat, which will be cooked for Eid and the days that follow. Having meat as a regular part of our diet, however, is something that is often taken for granted, as well as the fact that we can refrigerate meat and other perishables for later consumption. For the Syrian refugees living in the camps of the countries neighbouring their homeland, Eid will be celebrated out in the tents of the refugee camps that are now home to millions. In such circumstances, Qurbani meat delivered to them would normally have to be eaten within the first few days as they have no means of preserving and saving the supplies for later.
It is for this reason that Muslim Aid has decided to can-pack Qurbani meat for delivery to around 80,000 Syrian families living in the refugee camps of Jordan. By packing food in cans, it can be saved and stored for months and even years. The meat can then be eaten on the days of Eid and also stored away for later consumption.


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The only Okanagan town or city without any legal pot shops, could finally start accepting applications next week.
Almost two years after the drug became legal in Canada, Peachland officials have devised a policy for assessing proposals from would-be cannabis store owners.
A 150-point scoring matrix is proposed to evaluate the submissions. Considerations will include an assessment of the store’s business plan, security provisions, whether a written strategy to minimize neighbourhood impacts has been submitted, where the owner lives, and whether he or she has a criminal record or previous infractions against town bylaws.
In a report going to council for consideration next Tuesday, town staff propose to accept applications from Sept. 9 through Oct. 31. Five town staff will evaluate the submissions, then present reports and recommendations on each to future council meetings.
Previously, council decided that only two cannabis stores will be permitted in the town of 5,400 people. Town council decided in 2019 that would be a reasonable number since that’s how many liquor stores there are in the town.
One cannabis store will likely be downtown and the other approved location is a strip mall at the corner of Highway 97 and Clements Crescent.
The Okanagan already has 33 legal pot shops, according to the provincial government. The province’s first, in Kamloops, opened upon legalization of the drug in October 2018.
Peachland was in no hurry to approve cannabis stores, despite getting as many as 10 inquires a week as far back as January 2019 from would-be store operators.
A poll conducted by the town in 2019 found only a slight majority of townsfolk favoured allowing pot shops in Peachland. Provincial law gives municipalities the power to regulate cannabis stores, or ban them entirely.


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Windfall for 'Old Dog'
Berkley Books paid $347,500 for reprint rights to ''Flight of the Old Dog,'' by Dale Brown, a first novel about a ''Star Wars'' rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. But the contract with Donald I. Fine, the hard-cover publisher, contained a so-called performance clause, meaning that if sales of the paperback reached certain levels. the purchase price could rise to $500,000.
With 1.1 million copies in print two weeks after publication, the novel has reached those targets, and there appears to be plenty of sales life in the ''Old Dog'' yet. It is rising on The New York Times best-seller list, where it is currently No. 4.
Beginning with its paperback edition of Tom Clancy's ''Hunt for Red October,'' Berkley has successfully published a number of novels in the category known as ''military fiction'' or ''techno-thrillers.'' To do so, it has adopted some innovative publicity and promotional measures.
For ''Old Dog,'' for example, which was not a best seller in hard cover, Berkley sent the author on the traditional book tour to the major cities. But it also sent him to 16 military bases, from Washington to Tacoma, Wash., to meet the brass and sign books at PX's and bookstores just off base. Moreover, it targeted the military audience with a radio advertising campaign and print advertising in military base newspapers. ''And we tried to tie in each of those appearances on military bases with payday,'' said Ed Breslin, Berkley's editor in chief, ''so the servicemen would have money to buy copies of the book for the author to sign.''


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Ministry of Railways has launched the ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) scheme with objectives to promote the ‘Vocal for Local’ vision of the Government of India and provide a market for local or indigenous products which will create additional income opportunities for the marginalised sections of society, said an official statement on Monday.
Under the scheme, ‘One Station One Product’ outlets at railway stations are allotted for showcasing, selling and giving high visibility to indigenous /local products, the official statement added. According to the statement, 728 stations are covered with 785 OSOP outlets in 21 States and 3 Union Territories across the country.
These OSOP stalls are designed through National Design Institute for uniformity.
Product categories, under this scheme, include Handicrafts/ Artefacts, Textiles and Handlooms, Traditional Garments and Local agricultural produce (including millet)/ Processed/semi-processed foods.
Officials said that the OSOP scheme certainly succeeded to provide enhanced livelihood and skill development opportunities to local artisans, potters, handloom weavers, and tribals and help local businesses and the supply chain.
They said that OSOP is specific to that place and includes artefacts made by indigenous tribes, handlooms by local weavers, handicrafts like world-famous wood carving, chikankari and zari-zardozi work on clothes, or spices tea, coffee and other processed/semi-processed food items/products indigenously grown in the area, as for example, Taant sarees of West Bengal, Bhagalpur Silk sarees, Terracotta Products, Bamboo products and jute products.
As per the official statement, in Eastern Railway 57 stalls are now operating at different stations in four divisions viz. Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda. Out of which, 21 stalls in Howrah Division, 7 in Malda Division, 7 in Asansol Division and 22 in Sealdah Division.
“We have set up many such stalls in Eastern Railway in which we are promoting local handicrafts. We have decided that this year we will conduct such programs in many more stations”, Kaushik Mitra, CPRO Eastern Railway, Kolkata said.
“The products in these OSOP stalls are widely varied envisaging Taant Handloom Saree, Handloom Saree, Cotton Textiles, Pottery, Terracotta products, Silk handloom sarees, Clay products, Cane and Bamboo Products, Brush and metal products, embroidery soft toys, tea leaves, artificial jewellery, Conshell artefacts, paper crafts, dry flowers and decorative products”, CPRO Mitra said.
“Railway stations are visited by thousands of passengers from every corner of the country and also by foreign tourists frequently. Even a highly localized product of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand in Eastern Railway network are now getting the scope of global marketing for the indigenous products”, he added.
“The OSOP appears to be an employment generator turning lives of many artisans and leading the per capita income even at its best level of the society. The subsidence wage earners thus get a chance for a better living and educate their children providing even luxury goods to their family members, which in turn influences the business cycle resulting in more frequent rotation of both money and products in the economy boosting the economy further”, he said.
Mitra said that the emergence of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ is evident in the success of OSOP stall owners.
Taking the example of the OSOP stall Bonny’s Creations won by Barnali Chakraborty at Nangi station in Eastern Railway, he said that it helped the proprietor to increase sales value for her organization by more than 50 per cent than that earned earlier.
“In another instance, Pinky Haldar running an OSOP stall at Jadavpur station for selling textile jewellery recorded an average monthly sale of Rs 60,000 with which she managed to have a comfortable livelihood. OSOP also succeeded in showcasing the weaving tales & traditions of the master weaver Shri Biren Kumar Basak and exhibited his 12-yard saga to the common people in a grand way,” he added.


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I know that many will not want to see, hear, or speak about this, but it has happened. SiriusXM’s 100 day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) has crossed below the 200 day EMA. This is a bearish event, and could not happen at a worse time for this equity. I follow EMA’s for SiriusBuzz Premium members… → Read More
The auto sector showed a little life in March with the help of incentives. For the month auto sales were 1,533,520. This beat March of last year by about 80,000 units and even allowed Q1 of 2014 to better Q1 of the previous year. Q1 2014 was about 48,000 units better than Q1 of the… → Read More
SiriusXM announced today that it plans to announce first quarter 2014 financial and operating results on Thursday, April 24, 2014. The company will hold a conference call at 8:00 am ET on Thursday, April 24, to discuss these results. SiriusXM typically announces results prior to the market open. This quarterly call is happening just a few… → Read More
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This week on SiriusXM will kick off tonight at 8pm with a special Town Hall featuring rapper 50 Cent. The show can be heard on Shade 45, where 50 will discuss, promote, and give listeners a sneak peak of his upcoming album, Animal Ambition, which is scheduled for release on June 3, 2014. Rebroadcast tomorrow… → Read More
SiriusXM today announced that it is now working with AutoManager, which has 4,600 auto dealers using its dealer management products, to easily enroll independent and franchise dealers to participate in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program. Essentially the company is outsourcing this project to a company that, in theory, has the contacts and capability to produce… → Read More
For the first time ever, XM subscribers will have access to every single game of the 2014 season, from opening day until one team is crowned champion, on their radio and mobile devices. The full season coverage will also be made available to Sirius subscribers with a premium “Premier” or “All Access Package.” The All… → Read More
This may come as a surprise to some, but auto sales seem to have hit a bit of a rough spot so far in 2014. It is anticipated that Q1 auto sales will total about 3.677 million in 2014 vs 3.685 million for the same period a year ago. Worse yet, incentive spending is increasing…. → Read More
It’s not just you — the SiriusXM OnDemand feature has been down for over 12 hours and no one seems to know when it will be fixed. When notified about the issue all SiriusXM would say was “We’re currently having issues with the app, but all the content should return when it’s fixed. There is… → Read More
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New York City has been blessed with yet another chain restaurant to turn our beloved metropolis into the suburban, mall-scaped wasteland we’ve always wanted it to be.
Today, Cheesecake Factory officially makes its high-calorie mark on Gotham, opening its first-ever location within city limits at the Queens Center mall in Elmhurst. The California-based chain is probably best known for its sprawling 250-item menu and notoriously enormous portions. But its signature foodstuff is, of course, cheesecake -- more than 30 kinds, in fact.
It’s a bold move, coming to NYC, where cheesecake is more iconic than even the unstoppable Cronut®. Cheesecake Factory spokesperson Alethea Rowe said the chain has been “eager” to make it to the Big Apple and compete with local cheesecake purveyors like Junior’s for years: “New York is an incredible, energetic city that’s known for great food, and we are excited to finally have a restaurant here!”
When many New Yorkers hear “great food,” their first thought is probably not White Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake, much less other Cheesecake Factory staples, like Tex Mex Eggrolls or the infamous Louisiana Chicken Pasta -- a dish that has been ranked among the unhealthiest restaurant meals in the country.


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Starbucks expected to open this month
Published 5:27 pm Friday, November 20, 2020
Farmville residents could have a brand new Starbucks — and the only stand-alone Starbucks in the area with a drive-thru — to patronize as early as this week.
Work being done to convert the BP gas station at 2003 S. Main St. in Farmville into a new Starbucks location has reached its final stages.
Will Allen, of Harper Associates, represents the owner of the property and shared the approximate timetable for the start of business.
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“The owner understands from Starbucks that it intends to open the new drive-thru location on or about Nov. 30, and it could be as early as Black Friday, (Nov. 27,) depending on final inspections and construction close-out,” he said Friday, Nov. 20.
A worker at the location Friday speculated there could even be a soft opening happening as early as Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Allen explained that Harper Associates handled the conversion of the location from a gas station, redoing the core and shell. Then the company turned it over to Starbucks to do the rest.
He said the conversion process, which he estimated as having begun in March, was fairly smooth.
“It was, except for COVID and a few little hurdles and bumps with material delays, but for the most part, this was the date they were always tracking — kind of a late fall,” he said.
He noted Friday that there were some final touch-ups to be done here and there at the location, but nothing that somebody would necessarily pick up on if they looked at the building.
“We appreciate all the interest we’ve received from the community and all the help and support from the town through the entire process,” he said.


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UK confectionery and soft drinks giant Cadbury Schweppes has issued a year to date trading statement ahead of its interim and preliminary results, which will be announced on 17 July 2002.
CEO John Sunderland said: “We have made a sound start to the year. Acquisitions made are in line with our strategy and will make positive contributions this year. Overall we remain confident of achieving our financial targets.”
The company said that underlying earnings for its H1 are expected to be in line with its target to deliver double digit earnings growth for the full year.
In the UK, Cadbury Trebor Bassett has carried forward the momentum gained towards the end of last year, the company said. Growth in chocolate volumes has been led by innovation and the business continues to benefit from past restructuring. There is also improved performance in impulse channels.
“Top line growth remains our focus in this key market and we are encouraged with results achieved to date,” said the company.
Elsewhere in European confectionery, Poland is again performing well and Russia remains on track to be profitable in the full year. Consolidation of the French sales force has been successful with minimal disruption. Hollywood continues to perform strongly in France.
In the Americas confectionery region, Jaret in the US is seeing good volume and profit growth through product innovation, while Canada continues to make progress following last year’s integration and supply capacity problems. Reported profit in the overall region will however be impacted by the economic situation in Argentina and resulting currency devaluation.
In the Asia Pacific region, the Australian and New Zealand confectionery businesses are again delivering strong volume growth driven by focused marketing. The Food & Beverage business has started more slowly, reflecting the disappointing summer weather that has contributed to a downturn in overall beverage industry volumes. Investment in marketing spend and systems costs will hold back H1 profit increases, but the region remains on track to deliver its full year profit growth targets.
The Africa, India and Middle East group has started the year well, with particularly strong volume growth being achieved in Egypt and India.
US beverages operations overall have had a satisfactory start to the year, with good volume growth in the non-carbonated businesses driven by Clamato and Hawaiian Punch. Carbonated volumes were slightly impacted by brand transfers and refranchising, although strengthened marketing campaigns are beginning to have a more positive impact on performance, with the launch of Red Fusion to follow in July. After a satisfactory Q1, the Snapple range is currently performing a little below expectation although a number of new product launches are in the process of introduction.
Meanwhile, European beverages have made a steady start to the year. Integration of the recently acquired Orangina-Pampryl business in France is a top priority and the project is progressing satisfactorily. In Spain the integration of La Casera is on track and the business is performing in line with expectations. Mexico has started the year well.
Acquisitions, said the company, “have again strengthened our position in chosen markets”.
In the H1 2002, the group has completed the acquisitions of the Squirt brand in Mexico; a majority shareholding in Kent, the market leading sugar confectionery business in Turkey; and the Nantucket Nectars business in the US. It expects each of these businesses to be earnings enhancing this year. In addition, its holding in Cadbury India has increased to over 90%.


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The story that's terrorized Apple's stock for the past month is iPhone demand is weak.
Apple reportedly cut orders with suppliers in Asia for iPhone screens and other components. While there are many theories about why Apple cut its order, the most popular seems to be that iPhone demand is weak.
And yet, something about it doesn't make sense.
Analysts have quietly raised holiday quarter iPhone estimates. Why do that if demand is tanking? Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee said today that demand is "robust."
Analysts could be wrong, but here's another piece of evidence in their favor. ChangeWave surveyed 4,061 people in North America about their interest in smartphones. 50% of them said they plan to buy an iPhone in the next 90 days, which is right in line with Apple's previous demand after a big iPhone launch.
If demand was truly crumbling as some would have you believe, would this chart look like this?