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PALM oil export are not affected as there has been no official decision by the Indian government on the trade boycott, says Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
Citing Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Foreign Minister said palm oil was “strictly a trade matter” during a recent meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“I also told him that we have been receiving mixed signals from the non-governmental sector from India, with business associations, calling for a boycott.
“On the other hand, Tamil Nadu Congress Chapter is calling for New Delhi not to carry out the boycott, ” he told reporters in Parliament.
Saifuddin said he was told that the boycott would be detrimental to the 500,000 foreign workers from India, who are currently working in Malaysia.
Despite the mixed signals, the minister said that he was confident the Primary Industries Ministry would take the necessary measures to discuss the matter.
On Oct 21, it was reported that an Indian trade body, representing oil seed crushers, had urged its members not to buy palm oil from Malaysia, echoing New Delhi’s protest against Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks on the Kashmir conflict.
Dr Mahathir had defended his remarks, saying it was necessary to speak out on issues, even if some parties were unhappy with it.
Last year, Malaysia’s palm oil export to Indian was worth some US$1.65bil (RM6.9bil).
Separately, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the Cabinet had approved a regulation to ban the usage of any product labels that were negative about palm oil.
He said the prohibition included product labels that read “palm oil free”, “does not contain palm oil” or “no palm oil”.
“This is in line with the government’s objective of supporting the palm oil industry via the Sayangi Sawitku (Love My Palm Oil) campaign, ” he told reporters in a joint press conference with Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.
Kok said most of the labels were used as a “marketing gimmick” by European manufacturers to paint a negative picture about palm oil, citing an example of a peanut butter brand that carried the label “palm oil free”.
“This gives a bad impression to palm oil-based products without being supported by scientific evidence, ” Kok said, adding that Indonesia, the largest palm oil manufacturer in the world, had a similar law in place to protect its palm oil industry.
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HARARE, Zimbabwe,14 June 2023 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- With a population spanning almost 400 million people across 16 countries, the Southern African Development Community has the widest-reaching regional bloc in Africa, holding massive appeal for trade exchanges to strengthen economies and benefit communities. However, unlocking this potential to enable a seamless and regulated flow of money across borders has been one persisting challenge that requires solving.
A new white paper, ‘SADC Regional Payments Interoperability – exploring the value of mutual digital infrastructure to drive more formalised, accessible and inclusive payments in the region’, by BankservAfrica together with Cenfri, explores the region’s cross-border payments landscape. Examining the different use cases, this paper also highlights the barriers to growth and elaborates on how a regional payment solution could work for the good of all.
“With exciting innovations and new product launches, payments is an exciting space in the region. However, these fall short of the one critical need: broad-based and all-to-all interoperability. The ability for money to flow from wallets to bank accounts inexpensively enhances inclusivity, reduces pain points and can encourage the move from cash and informal money send. Achieving this is key to solving the cross-border payments dilemma in the SADC,” explains Ruhling Herbst, Executive Head: Africa Business Development at BankservAfrica.
The other chief concerns and opportunities centre around the current market and consumer dynamics – the considerable lower-value Person-to-Person (P2P), Person-to-Business (P2B) and Business-to-Business (B2B) flow into the region brings the opportunity for providers to scale their offerings and to tackle the challenges arising from the emergence of fintechs. On a consumer level, the preference for cash remains high as most cross-border transactions take place informally. There’s also the issue of commercial, regulatory, infrastructure and consumer barriers, ranging from agent costs to liquidity management, foreign exchange costs and limited data availability, that will need addressing in the first, middle and last mile.
A key finding from the report is that service providers need to be empowered to offer low-cost, high-quality cross-border payment services.
Since 2021, the Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) Payment Scheme, managed and operated by BankservAfrica, has been live. Owned and supported by regulators, central banks and established financial institutions in the region, TCIB has been developed as a solution for cross-border challenges.
“From our research we find that reliable cross-border fast retail payments are critical to drive sustainable and inclusive local economies and communities. Regional scale is vitally important if accessibility and affordability barriers are to be overcome. The cross-border terrain is very complex if we tackle it individually but so much more achievable if we face it together as a regional scheme,” say Barry Cooper, Technical Director at Cenfri.
Having gained the support of key bank and non-bank participants across the region in the past 18 months, this valuable, instant digital payments infrastructure is well-positioned to facilitate the movement of remittances inexpensively between authorised financial service providers in the region and to activate the growing network of regulated payment service providers.
“Ensuring broad use of cross-border retail payments so that everyone can access these will depend on creating a network of different payment service providers. Through this, broad-based interoperability can be achieved, and collaboration between key cross-border payment providers will strengthen. As a solution for Africa, by Africa, we believe TCIB Payments Scheme, as a centralised platform featuring cutting edge technology and growing levels of support can make this happen,” ends Herbst.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of BankServAfrica.
Contact Lebogang Serapelwane for more information: email@example.com or (+27 73 063 4607.
BankservAfrica is the trusted payments partner and Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) to the financial services industry. As the largest automated payments clearing house in Africa we clear and process billions of low values card, ATM and EFT transactions annually. Our role in the South African National Payments System (NPS) is to facilitate interoperability between the banks and ensure regulatory compliance with our regulators against international banking security best practice and standards and reduces risk and complexity in the industry.
We continue to strive to be a world class and pre-eminent payments operator, innovator and payments partner of choice in Africa, by simplifying our worlds through combining trusted transactions with sensitive information.
BankservAfrica’s national responsibility is to provide safe financial payment services for 60.6 million South Africans, irrespective of their location in partnership with our shareholders and partners.
With over 50 years in South Africa, BankservAfrica operates 24/7, 365 days a year and delivers on very strong SLAs.

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Just as the earlier leak from PlayStation Store in Hong Kong suggested, Konami will be launching their Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 on 30 August 2018. Konami now delivered an official announcement and listed two editions of PES 2019.
This time around, the cover is graced by the Brazilian Philipe Coutinho, an ex-Liverpool player who left for Barcelona in order to enjoy Champion's League football. Well, at least he's got a cover to cry over as Liverpool are looking to add another Champion's League title to their silverware cabinet on 26 May 2018.
There are two more versions of PES 2019, the David Beckham Edition and the Legend Edition, both of which come with good ol' Becks on the cover. Note that the Legend Edition is a digital download only and you can actually get a 10 per cent discount if you preorder it directly from PES 2018.
PES 2019 adds 11 new skill traits, including moves like no-look passes and dipping shots, so you won't be able to blame the game for lack of showmanship. Players performance, as well as behaviour, will be increasingly dependent on fatigue, so Konami designed a brand new fatigue system.
Konami say that PES 2019's new traits will allow players to perform Magic Moments on the pitch, which they claim is "now the forefront of PES 2019's superior gameplay." There's also a bunch of new physics features, celebrations and Konami say the new Englighten software ensures realistic visual effects and 4K HDR across all platforms.
Interestingly, Konami claim that PES 2019 comes with "more fully licensed leagues and stadiums" and "more club licensed partnerships", although most of these details will be revealed "at a later date". You may recall that the company recently in terms of licenses for all UEFA's championships.
Of course, despite Konami falling out with UEFA, the company are no strangers to finding their way around official licenses. After all - they have been doing it for most of PES' existence and they've come up with some real classics along the way. Ruud vom Mistelroum anyone?


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Tags: iPad app for construction materials
Graniterock has released a new mobile application — i.e. app — allowing Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users to access a broad range of construction materials calculators. The free app, Graniterock Construction Calculator, is part of the company’s effort to make ...
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The big slowdown in the Chinese economy and that of the other major emerging countries, with the exception of India, has probably caused the luxury goods sector to record an overall sales increase of only one to two percent in 2015, according to Bain & Co.
While sales of watches declined by about 6 percent, those of shoes rose by about 4 percent. Consumers have been spending more on luxury cars, up by 8 percent; on better hotels, up by 7 percent; and on paintings and other art products, up by 6 percent.
If these figures are confirmed, the overall world market for luxury products experienced the slowest progress since the economic crisis of 2009. The biggest factor has been an actual decrease last year in the Chinese market for luxury products, estimated by Bain at 2 percent. Mainland China represents about 7 percent of the global market.
An even stronger drop of 25 percent took place in Hong Kong last year. In contrast, the luxury goods market rose by an estimated 9 percent in Japan, where many Chinese tourists are now doing their shopping, and by 5 percent in Europe. It was more or less flat in U.S., due to the strong dollar.
The growth of the global luxury goods market is expected to be accelerate slightly to around 3 percent in 2016, according to Bain, with sales of shoes and leathergoods performing above average and rising again by 4 percent.
The Italian fashion industry was definitely affected by the global slowdown last year. The country's Camera Nazionale della Moda, a major fashion industry association, has downgraded its growth estimate for the sector in 2015, indicating that it probably rose by only 1.4 percent to €62 billion. The estimate covers the textiles, clothing, leathergoods and footwear segments.
Italy's exports of these products grew by about 1.8 percent to €47.7 billion, according to preliminary figures, with a negative performance in Russia and on the Asian market and flat sales in the rest of Europe. Imports were up by an estimated 6.9 percent to €30.6 billion.
In the December 2015 issue of Fashion Economics Trends, the organization explains that the negative figures for the third quarter raised questions and uncertainties for the fourth quarter of 2015, and pushed to review the forecast for the full year. For the first six months of 2016, the outlook is for a 2.5 percent increase in both sales and exports.
The luxury goods brands will probably open fewer mono-brand stores in the future, according to speakers at a convention on retailing held by the Altagamma Foundation in Milan a few days ago, partly because millennial consumers are trending toward omni-channel retailing. The slowdown in new store openings has already begun. Between 2004 and 2014, 73 percent of the luxury goods brands' sales were generated by their single-brand stores.


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Tackling unfair business rates was top of the agenda at the BRC retail summit for finance directors as an online retail tax was dismissed.
Finance directors from about 30 retailers, including Boots UK, met on July 8 to discuss an overhaul of the tax system, which has been widely criticised for putting huge cost pressures on the sector.
Following the meeting, the BRC intends to pull together a document that will clearly set out the impact of business rates on the retail sector.
BRC director of business and innovation Tom Ironside said: “It will provide the right evidence base to inform change. It will focus on business rates and what needs to be fixed in the system.
“It will certainly form part of the evidence to Government, giving them a much clearer picture of the retailer contribution.
“There is the feeling that the current system is not fit for purpose.”
Meanwhile, those present agreed that it would be counter-productive to create an online tax to ‘level the playing field’ with physical retailers who pay vastly more in business rates.
In a statement following the meeting, BRC director-general Helen Dickinson said: “There was consensus that the idea of seeing parts of the retail industry in conflict isn’t in the interests of the industry and, most importantly, it isn’t what customers want.
“Business rates is the core issue for UK retail, and there was broad consensus that the steep successive rises of the last few years are impacting on retailers’ decision-making like never before, especially against a backdrop of the industry’s total tax contribution having risen significantly.”
Retail Week has been lobbying the Government to create a fairer property tax system after retailers’ rates bills increased by more than £500m over the past three years.


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Gisele Bundchen on the catwalk [Getty]
Gisele Bundchen topped Forbes's list of the highest-paid supermodels on the planet for the seventh year in a row in 2013 and looks set to continue her tour de force with news that she is the new face of none other than Chanel No.5!
The former Victoria's Secret model is no stranger to the brand, having last year starred as the face of Chanel Beauty. Coupled with her 'natural beauty and modern feminity' as stated by a Chanel spokesperson, it's not a huge surprise that she's following in the footsteps of the likes of Nicole Kidman, Vanessa Paradis, Catherine Deneuve and Marilyn Monroe by being the new face of the iconic Chanel No.5.
Nicole Kidman x Baz Luhrmann Chanel No.5 advertisment
Gisele will be teaming up with world-renowned film director Baz Luhrmann to star in the new advertising campaign. Luhrmann (the director of The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge, dontcha know) previously collaborated with Chanel on that 2004 ad starring Nicole Kidman. In the campaign Nicole Kidman wore some jaw-dropping Chanel Couture creations for an on-screen love affair with Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro.
The campaign is set to be unveiled at the end of 2014. In the meantime, check out some of the best Chanel No.5 ads through the years in the gallery below...


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Google could be preparing to make OEMs give up on old versions of Android on new phones and tablets. You might not get your updates on time, but no one is going to sell you a phone that’s already out of date.
The second screen market — using your phone as a companion display for your TV or computer — is just now emerging. At first, it seemed silly, but then we all quickly realized we really do play with our phones while we watch media. Now, as that market grows, a new, similar market just burst onto the scene thanks to the HTC Mini+ — the second phone market.
The camera in Google’s Moto X breaks new ground by using a clear pixel to improve low-light image performance, but only time will tell whether it avoids the image quality problems that have plagued earlier efforts to use similar designs
It’s time to go home. Today, Facebook announced that it is launching a new interface for Android devices, and it’s called “Home.” This isn’t a new OS or a fork of Android — it simply installs from the Google Play store, and works as a replacement user interface.
It used to be that all that mattered in cameraphone specs was the resolution. Current and future designs go well beyond pixels, addressing faster focus, increased dynamic range, and even lightfield capture
Early last month, Canonical announced its foray into the smartphone market with the Ubuntu Phone. Offering an alternative to iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Symbian if you swing that way, Canonical’s Linux mobile OS could be a refreshing new take on mobile operating systems, but when will that refreshing take hit the market?
At long last — almost one year after the release of the Samsung/Google Galaxy Nexus — details of Google’s upcoming Nexus smartphone have started to emerge. Or, if rumors are to be believed, we should say smartphones, plural.
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Western Digital said flooding in Thailand is having a "significant impact" on the hard-disk drive maker's operations and its ability to meet customer demand in the current quarter, adding supply concerns to an industry already hurt by weak consumer spending on PCs.
The flooding in Thailand, the world's second-largest exporter of hard-disk drives, comes during the key selling season for hard-disk drives, with PC makers obtaining supplies for holiday sales. Analysts said it likely will lead to higher prices and potential supply constraints later this year or early next year.
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By many measures, China’s factories appear to be recovering after the weeks-long closures during the coronavirus outbreak. The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Monday the average operating rate of industrial enterprises had reached 98.6%, and employees had returned to work in proportion of 89.9%.
More promising news came on Tuesday. The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a gauge for manufacturing activity, came in at a surprisingly high value of 52.0 in March after crashing to a record low of 35.7 in February. A figure above 50 signals expansion.
But despite the reopening of factories and China’s apparent containment of the virus, challenges remain for the country’s manufacturing sector. While production is getting back into gear, demand from consumer markets in Europe and the U.S. is threatening to collapse as the coronavirus outbreak is flaring up in these regions. Observers expect the effects of the global pandemic to ripple back to China and its factories.
“What is the most worrying now is not the epidemic in China and the slow resumption of work but that the global epidemic will cause some companies to temporarily suspend production”, says Shanghai-based economic analyst Ye Tan.
Since the coronavirus started spreading from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, every link in the supply chain has been disrupted, Ye says. After a “cliff-like” economic decline in the first two months of the year, Ye says she expects China’s economy to rebound, in the most optimistic scenario, after the first quarter of the year.
“The real challenge and problem is that the demand side, in Europe and the U.S., is quickly shutting down by the day,” says Patrik Berglund, CEO of Xeneta, an Oslo-based firm that analyzes freight data. “In order to restore anything remotely looking like ‘normal,’ we would need to see supply (China/Far East) and demand normalize – which we’re not at the moment.”
The Chinese government is expected to issue a large stimulus package to shore up the economy after economic indicators plunged across the board in the first two months of the year. China has already injected billions of yuan into the financial system and cut taxes and social insurance payments for smaller businesses, which have been the most affected by the crisis.
Despite the government’s support, there will nevertheless be many cases of smaller factories and enterprises closing or operating on losses, says He Xiaoyu, chief economist at Guotouxinda Investment Fund Group in Beijing. “This is actually a process of survival of the fittest,” he says. He predicts that stronger companies will replace the failing ones and that China’s supply chain will not be affected in the long term.
As a manufacturing powerhouse, China still has attractive attributes such as skilled workers, a complete industrial chain and a sizable consumer market, Ye says. But change is underway.
The coronavirus crisis is set to speed up trends that were already in place, fueled by issues such as action against climate change and the U.S.-China trade war. Industry leaders expect trade to become increasingly regional and lower-value-added manufacturing to shift from China to places such as Southeast Asia, South America and India. China is set to move toward manufacturing more technologically complex items such as semiconductors, planes and cars.
“Whether [external conditions] are changing, China must change,” Ye says.


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Posted Tue Dec 4, 2012 at 12:00 PM PST by Tom Landy
James Cameron's 1984 sci-fi thriller will be back on Blu-ray in a new remastered edition this February.
In an early announcement to retailers, MGM/UA will finally release the remastered edition of 'The Terminator' on Blu-ray on February 19.
In this newly remastered film, Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the most fierce and relentless killing machine ever to threaten the survival of mankind!
An indestructible cyborg — a Terminator (Schwarzenegger) — is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman whose unborn son will become humanity’s only hope in a future war against machines. This legendary sci-fi thriller from pioneering writer/director James Cameron, written with Gale Anne Hurd, fires an arsenal of action and heart-stopping suspense that never lets up!
The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: 7 Deleted Scenes, Creating The Terminator: Visual Effects & Music, and Terminator: A Retrospective.
Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is still undetermined at this time.
You can find the latest specs for 'The Terminator (Remastered)' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 19.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.


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Moissanite gemstone maker Charles & Colvard named Marvin Beasley to be its new CEO on Wednesday.
Beasley, who has been on the Morrisville company’s board of directors for the past five years, replaces Randy McCullough, who informed the board that he was retiring on Tuesday after five years as CEO.
Beasley, 71, retired in 2009 after a 44-year career in retailing. He spent nearly 20 years at Helzberg Diamonds, including serving as the company’s CEO from 2004 through 2009.
In an interview Wednesday, Beasley said Charles & Colvard’s challenge is to drive sales growth and reduce the company’s large amount of inventory, which today is about equal to its annual sales.
He takes over at a time when the company has fallen out of favor with investors. Charles & Colvard’s stock has fallen nearly 70 percent over the past year, and closed Tuesday at $1.18, down 2 cents. Last week the company reported a net loss of $13.1 million, or 65 cents per share, in 2014, compared with a net loss of $1.3 million, or 6 cents per share, in 2013.
Charles & Colvard sells its gemstones to wholesalers and directly to consumers through an e-commerce website, Moissanite.com, as well as through Lulu Avenue, its home party business. Sales through the company’s website increased 37 percent last year, while Lulu Avenue sales rose 252 percent. Beasley said the company will invest in marketing to drive more sales through both of those channels.
He said the company is also focused on building up its wholesale business by getting Moissanite gemstones sold in more retail stores. The wholesale business accounted for 74 percent of Charles & Colvard’s sales last year.
A Moissanite gemstone, which is made using material supplied by Durham LED maker Cree, retails for about 10 percent of the cost of a diamond. The diamond industry views the product as a threat, Beasley said. “The big hurdle to getting it into a retail environment somewhere in a mall setting is it reduces their average ticket,” Beasley said.
To expand its availability, Charles & Colvard will have to convince both consumers and retailers of the product’s appeal.
Beasley, who lives in Kansas City, plans to spend the work week in North Carolina working out of Charles & Colvard’s Morrisville office and fly home on the weekends. The company has about 80 employees.


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Bitcoin payment processor Coinbase has partnered with traditional payment service provided Balanced to introduce recurring payments to BTC transactions.
While the notion of recurring payments may go against parts of the ideology surrounding the cryptocurrency, the idea of being able to offer subscriptions or one click payments is something merchants utilize often to offer a seamless and enhanced shopper experience.
“This will end up making Bitcoin a lot more mainstream because you’re making the experience of purchasing with Bitcoin as close to the understood e-commerce experience as possible,” says Matin Tamizi, co-founder and CEO of Balanced, which provides technology for marketplaces.
The partnership between Coinbase and Balanced will work of a token system. User data including Coinbase-wallet information will be stored on Balanced PCI-Level 1 compliant vault, alongside other valuable shopper information, such as debit and credit card data. As with similar card based services users will have the option to cease automated payments at any given time.
“Our focus has been, from the beginning, what we can do to enable more commerce. There are a growing number of people that want to be able to spend the bitcoins they have,” says Tamizi.
Asia Exchange Empowering Traders Through New OpportunitiesGo to article >>
A large number of chargebacks and shopper disputes originate from subscriptions and recurring charges. As Bitcoin transactions cannot be charged-back or disputed, it will be interesting to see how the firms plan to handle such customer complaints.
The first platform to use the new service will be Gittip, a company which allows users to set up recurring payments for groups such as charities. The new partnership will raise Bitcoin acceptance to over 450 online Balanced marketplaces.
“For Gittip specifically there’s been a lot of demand from people publicly requesting [Bitcoin],” added Tamizi.
Apart from the partnership with Balanced, Coinbase is also the payment entity behinds Overstock.com’s new Bitcoin venture.


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Léon-Robert de L’Astran, an 18th-century shipowner, was praised for his noble refusal to participate in the slave trade. Sadly, however, it seems that he existed only as an internet hoax — duping Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia, for three years, along with Ségolène Royal and others.
When the former Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney quit the hit BBC show this year, he said his plan was to turn his cloud computing company Outsourcery into a billion-pound business.
Tens of thousands of people attend rival rallies in Greece ahead of Sunday's crucial referendum on an international financial bailout.
A look at the computer game’s swift journey from indie hit to Microsoft acquisition
Ofcom has fined EE £1million after it found that the mobile phone firm failed to tell its customers about their right to take complaints to an alternative dispute resolution body.


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https://www.domresrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/5350-thumb.jpg 100 100 DomresRealEstate http://domresrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/domres_real_estate_blue_270.png DomresRealEstate2015-02-12 11:56:152015-02-12 11:56:15Could Sundial in downtown St. Pete possibly be worth $45.2 million? Maybe
Could Sundial in downtown St. Pete possibly be worth $45.2 million? Maybe
If Bill Edwards were to sell Sundial — and it’s not totally clear if the property is for sale, or was for sale — the retail center would have to command a gargantuan price for him to break even.
But the downtown St. Petersburg market is getting so hot, real estate observers say, that kind of money isn’t completely out of the question.
A sale listing for the retail center was sent out in an email blast Monday, though by Tuesday morning the online posting for the center had been removed. Edwards… …read more


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In a letter addressed to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, unions warned that they would take action unless the government enforced the ban UberPop, which puts non-professional drivers with their own cars in touch with passengers via their mobile phones or a website for rides at budget rates.
“The message is clear: 14 organizations, all of which are national federations and the Parisian unions give 15 days for UberPop to be banned,” Pascal Wilder, Secretary General of the National Federation for Independent Taxis was quoted as saying by Europe 1 radio.
“Today the government has the means to prohibit the secretive and illegal work, which is done by those drivers. There are laws for this and they are not being applied," the secretary general added.
UberPop is technically illegal in France, thanks to a new raft of laws brought in last year.
However the company is appealing a €100,000 ($113,000) fine it received last year.
The court of appeal has put back its decision until September meaning parent company Uber are still permitted to run the app.
However under the Thévenoud law introduced on January 1st French police are allowed to hand out fines if they catch the drivers. In the past three weeks alone around 250 Uber drivers have been fined, according to Europe1.
Last month French police raided the Paris offices of Uber as part of its investigation.
The company called the raid an "attempt at intimidation," adding that dozens of non-professional UberPop users had been fined since the start of the year.
Founded in 2009 and in operation in about 250 cities in 50 countries, Uber has become an object of scorn from traditional taxi companies fighting for survival.
In March hundreds of taxi drivers from Belgium and France brought central Brussels to a virtual standstill with their vehicles in a protest against the web-based Uber.
Around 100 French taxi drivers travelled to Brussels to take part in the protest.
It also emerged recently that Uber has filed complaints with the EU against France, Germany and Spain.
Uber's American founder Travis Kalanick has said the system will create 50,000 new jobs in Europe this year, and help take 400,000 cars off the road by encouraging drivers to use taxis instead of their own vehicle.


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OraSure Technologies on Tuesday announced that the Food and Drug Administration's Blood Products Advisory Committee recommended that the OraQuick In-Home HIV test be made available without a prescription.
Legislation proposed in the House of Representatives would speed up Food and Drug Administration approval of knock-off versions of vaccines and other biologics while requiring the agency to conduct more inspections of drug factories overseas, according to published reports.
Nourish by Sensible Organics, an organic beauty and personal care brand that launches this month exclusively at Whole Foods Market nationwide, has signed actress Christine Taylor to be its national brand ambassador.
The lackluster cough-cold season will necessitate a greater need for marketing and promotion next season, ProPhase Labs chairman and CEO Ted Karkus said on Thursday in announcing first-quarter results for the period ended March 31.
Weis Markets on Tuesday launched its fourth annual Weis Paws for Pets program, offering customers the opportunity to donate money, pet food and supplies to local animal shelters and rescue organizations in May.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday denied a preliminary injunction filed by pharmacy trade groups in an effort to block the looming merger between pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and Medco.
Two Weis stores containing a new, environmentally efficient design have earned environmental certifications awards from the GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership, a voluntary Environmental Protection Agency alliance with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change, the grocer announced Wednesday.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Wednesday accepted an amici curiae from the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League, the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices and U.S. PIRG (a federation of 28 nonprofit, nonpartisan state Public Interest Research Groups) on behalf of retail pharmacy plaintiffs in their suit to dismantle the Express Scripts-Medco merger.


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The 2023 edition of Vitrum, the Italian trade show dedicated to glass automation, is over. Forel, an exhibitor since 1981, showed its latest generation of machinery, solutions and processes. Here is a recap:
Visitors, coming from over 90 countries, were eager to learn about the new trends and technologies. With this in mind, two latest generation processing plants (for double glazing production and vertical processing) were demonstrated live at the Forel stand, where a total of 8 new patented innovations were introduced.
Among the highlights were the new automatic unloading and logistics system for completed double glazing panels. Premiered for the first time worldwide, it drew interest for its advantages in optimizing production flow: benefits that make this new solution a strategic choice for any type of double glazing (with rigid, flexible, or thermoplastic spacers).
Another showcased patent was the new mechanical glass positioning system of the Art.EM range of vertical grinder: this further development allows for the precision management of inward radius shapes, a welcome addition to the already comprehensive onboard shape library.


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CANCUN, Mexico Some producers, die casters, galvanizers and traders who gathered at the International Zinc Association conference in Cancun this week remain hopeful of an uptick in special-high-grade zinc premiums.
AMMs spot premiums for SHG zinc are between 7.5 and 8.5 cents per pounds. But in Cancun, traders and producers insisted that the low of 7.5 cents will soon be a thing of the past, as queues at London Metal Exchange-listed warehouses continue to cause a perceived tightness in U.S. zinc supply.
"Id say 8 cents is the low end of the range. It can go up to 8.5 depending on where the customer is, if its a higher freight and if theyre looking for bigger tonnages," one trader told AMM. "The supply-side tightness is driving it."
LME-listed warehouses held 1.2 million tonnes of zinc globally Feb. 28. Warehouses in New Orleanswith the largest zinc holdings in the United Statesheld 762,575 tonnes, with queues for delivery extending out to next summer.
Macquarie Capital Securities Ltd. analyst Duncan Hobbs said all evidence points to zinc premiums reaching record highs in the next few months, which he estimated will head toward 10 percent of the overall price in some locations (amm.com, Feb. 27). At current prices, that represents a premium above $200 per tonne (9 cents per pound).
Three-month zinc ended the LMEs official session at $2,080.50 per tonne Feb. 28, down 1.4 percent from $2,109 per tonne one week earlier.
The warehouses have become a market of first resort rather than last resort for producers, leaving very little material for consumers, Hobbs told conference attendees.
While the warehousing trends, in theory, should push premiums up, consumers said demand is still too weak to justify an increase and maintain that they can still purchase zinc at a premium of 7.5 cents per pound.
"Theyre just trying to talk it up. I have no problem getting 7.5 (cents)," one die caster told AMM.
"Demand isnt there. Premiums are between 7.5 and 8.5 (cents)," a second trader agreed.
The outlook for zinc consumption is mixed, market sources said. While the automotive market continues to be robust and the U.S. construction market is showing signs of life for the first time in four years, sources said it hasnt translated into much business thus far this year.
"Demand is OK, but its not great," one producer said.
Zinc demand growth depends largely on China, sources agreed.
"Thats what we dont know. How will China look? Long term, its strong, but short term, we dont know," a zinc oxide producer said.
The future of the domestic die casting industry was also discussed, with one consumer saying that the zinc and die casting market has been "a dying industry for years" as jobs are shipped to China.
But this trend is reversing, Ryan Winter, manager of customer engineered solutions at Maybrook, N.Y.-based Eastern Alloys Inc., said.
North American die casters are regaining some market share, he said, citing changes in the exchange rate between the dollar and the yuan, higher production costs in China and a recovery in the domestic market after the 2008-09 financial crisis (amm.com, Feb. 26).


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Kansas First Lady Mary Brownback has announced the 7th annual Kansas Book Festival will take place 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Kansas State Capitol. The festival will feature current authors and books and is focused on enforcing the importance of reading.
“Our mission is to promote literacy and encourage a life-long love of reading. The festival is one of the key ways that we are able to live out our mission,” Brownback said. “We have a great lineup assembled of locally and nationally known authors and illustrators that everyone will enjoy. And as always, there is something for everyone.”
Last year’s event drew an estimated 2,000 people at last year’s event. Headlining this year’s event will be children’s author Andrea Davis Pinkney (“A Poem for Peter”). Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults, including picture books, novels, works of historical fiction and nonfiction. Among her list of accolades are multiple Coretta Scott King awards and American Library Association Notable Book citations.
Thirty authors are set to speak, including Candice Millard (“Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, A Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill”), Tom Clavin (“Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and the Wickedest Town in the American West”) and Joshilyn Jackson (“Almost Sisters” and “The Opposite of Everyone”). Along with author presentations, there will also be additional authors featured as vendors, book sales and signings, entertainment, live music, appearances by storybook characters Clifford and Curious George and activities for children of all ages. This event is free and open to the public.
A list of authors has been posted for the Kansas Book Festival – www.kansasbookfestival.com. Many are Kansas Notable Book authors. For more details concerning the Kansas Book Festival, please visit www.kansasbookfestival.com or www.facebook.com/


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By Alicia Tan, Managing Editor, ADMA
The year was 1953. Burger King (better known as Hungry Jacks in Australia) was founded in the US and has since been giving McDonald’s a run for its money for the last 65 years.
While McDonald’s remains as the number one fast food chain in the world, Burger King has managed to come in a close second and it’s no easy feat considering the number of fast food chains around. So how does Burger King compete in this saturated market especially going head-on with a brand that’s known for being the go-to fast food joint for families? Well, Burger King dared to be different – a true rebel – and this has certainly paid off.
Today, Burger King is known as the irreverent fast food brand that is racking in awards for their campaigns. Most recently, their McWhopper campaign picked up the top gong of the Grand Effie at the North American Effie Awards (an awards show honouring marketing effectiveness). Of course, the brand is not without controversy, especially after it was forced to pull its ad campaign in Belgium that asked Belgians to crown Burger King as the true ruler instead of its living monarch, King Philippe, which ruffled the royal’s feathers.
But we all know that any publicity – even the bad type – is good publicity. At a time when brands need to stay relevant in order to compete, Burger King has managed to stay on top of its game thanks to its continuous push to stay innovative. Fast food is in the fast-moving category and without innovation, consumers will get bored easily. Besides coming up with new product offerings, Burger King pushes the envelope with brand campaigns that appeal to millennials that have short attention spans and often have little to no loyalty to one brand.
Instead of trying to imitate McDonald’s, major props have to be given to Burger King for adopting the irreverent approach and not taking itself too seriously in order to engage its audience and keep them talking about the brand for years to come. And sometimes, you just need to be a bit of a troll to come out on tops.
Learn more about the Burger King brand success story at ADMA Global Forum 2017, where Senior Vice President for Global Brand Management, Fernando Machado, will be a keynote speaker.


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By Scott Etkin
On Monday morning, Upper West Siders will have a chance to enjoy breakfast and do some good all in one stop.
Maman, the French bakery and café, will be opening on March 21 on Columbus between 66th and 67th, and all proceeds from sales on that day will be donated to Welcome Baby, an organization that provides mothers in need with packages of essentials, such as diapers, wipes, a baby carrier, and more.
“Our brand is dedicated to our mothers and grandmothers,” said Elisa Marshall, the Creative Director and co-founder of Maman – which means “mom” in French – who opened the first café with her husband in Soho in 2014. (“It’s been eight years and we’re still together!”) She mentioned that they still use some of their mothers’ recipes at their cafés.
Since the pandemic began two years ago, Maman has donated proceeds to Welcome Baby from the first day of each new store. Ms. Marshall estimates that they generate $5,000 to $8,000 for charity with each opening. The opening of the Maman on Amsterdam between 80th and 81st collected about $7,000, she said.
“The unique thing for this opening is that the packages will be shipped to families in Ukraine and refugees in Poland,” Ms. Marshall said. They will have a staff event to assemble the boxes that will be shipped.
Ms. Marshall said that she was “pleasantly surprised” with the success of Maman’s location in the 80s, which opened last October. The menu, which changes seasonally, will be the same at both locations. Highlights from the new spring menu include: Raspberry Marble Cake with Elderflower Cream Cheese Frosting, a Strawberry Almond Croissant and new drinks such as a Butterfly Pea Flower Latte. They will also have Oprah’s favorite Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Speaking about the proximity of the two UWS locations, Ms. Marshall said that there is enough space for both because the ‘80s has more residential density while the ‘60s has more commercial density. She noted that the new location is across the street from ABC studios.
Maman will be open weekdays for counter service from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On weekends it will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and have brunch service. They also offer catering and events in the evening — Ms. Marshall said they are a popular spot for baby showers. From the floral arrangements to the patterns on the cups and plates, Maman tries to create a “multi-sensory experience [that’s] more experiential dining than the average coffee shop,” she said.
Ms. Marshall encourages customers to download the Maman app for a $5 credit. Maman doesn’t take reservations but you can order ahead through the app.


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WhiteWave Foods, the US-based organic and natural foods specialist, was spun off from dairy giant Dean Foods last year. Deanna Bratter, senior manager of corporate sustainability at WhiteWave, spoke with Ben Cooper about the company's approach to sustainability as an independent operation.
US salty snacks group Wise Foods faces some stiff competition but under the ownership of Mexican Coke bottler Arca Continental it believes it can grow. With Arca eyeing rapid growth from its snacks businesses in the US and in South America, Wise Foods is looking to NPD - notably with Hispanic-inspired flavours - to drive sales. Dean Best discussed Wise Foods' strategy with CEO Miguel Bostock.
General Mills has revealed it will cut an additional 700 to 800 jobs, primarily in the US, as it works to reduce costs in the face of soft sales.
US seafood group StarKist Co. has said president and CEO Sam Hwi Lee is to retire.
Sabra Dipping Co., the venture between PepsiCo and Israel's Strauss Group, is set to double production capacity at its hummus making facility in Virginia to meet "growing consumer interest" in fresh dips and spreads.
Canadian investment fund Kilmer Van Nostrand Co. has acquired North American bakery company English Bay Batter.
ConAgra Foods has teamed up with health and wellness foods producer, Skinnygirl, for the US launch of a low-calorie popcorn line.
Seaboard Corp. has agreed to sell 50% of processed meats division Daily's Premium Meats to US pork group Triumph Foods.
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Here are some stories and ideas for the digital public affairs practitioner as gathered over the last seven days. Interestingly, this week provided a healthy number of “how not to” examples.
- Convenience stores slam Beer Store ad showing kids buying alcohol: Last week, The Beer Store launched a campaign against proposed changes to Ontario law which would allow convenience stores to sell beer. Their efforts included an ad and microsite, both of which have been ridiculed online for, among many things, the clear effort to scare the public and discredit potential challengers. This is an example of how NOT to run a campaign in the digital age.
- Facebook Just Proved It’s the Future of Mobile Advertising: Ryan Tate of Wired Magazine explains what Facebook’s quarterly earnings report (issued earlier this week) really means for online (and especially) mobile paid media.
- Why politicians and academics don’t just say what they mean: Steven Pinker’s new book, The Sense of Style, inspired this CBC piece by Neil Macdonald. Macdonald highlights political communication, clarity and bafflegab.
- Air Canada suspends workers after luggage-drop video surfaces: Air Canada took another PR hit to the chin this week, building on news reports about lost dogs and mishandled celebrities with physical disabilities. In this case, a passenger videotaped baggage handlers (who were either lazy or hampered by the structure of the service stairs at the gate) dropping gate-checked luggage six meters to a bin for loading in to an airplane.
- England’s Care.data Fiasco: Open Government Data Done Wrong: TechPresident’s Wendy Grossman explains why the U.K. government’s National Health Service care.data open data program has failed miserably.
- Social Media Spring Cleaning: 13 Essential Chores to Stop Putting Off: Hannah Clark offered some social media spring cleaning tips on the Hootsuite blog. The list of thirteen recommendations includes changing passwords, refreshing your branding and verifying your contact information is current.
- NYPD’s Feel-Good Hashtag Campaign Backfires: It was hard to avoid news coverage and online chatter about the NYPD’s effort to earn some online love. It went badly. Horrifically badly. It was a textbook miscalculation of the online world, already discovered by the likes of McDonald’s and JPMorgan.
And here’s how to attract a lot of online criticism when you really mean to attract public support.


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In a move aimed at clamping down on revenge pornography, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has released an update to their social media guidelines which are expected to be brought into force later this year. The guidelines are on tackling offenders who create false websites and online accounts such as on Facebook and Twitter to get revenge on others by posting indecent, grossly offensive or false information.
Under the new guidelines being proposed by the CPS, lawyers in England & Wales will be advised to prosecute trolls who could face serious charges including harassment, for setting up fake online profiles in the name of their victims to post damaging or embarrassing material such as messages, pictures or videos with a view to damaging the victims reputation and humiliate them, as well as in some more serious cases put the victim in danger.
There are more and more cases where social media is being used as a method to facilitate both existing and new offences. Fraudsters have also set up fake LinkedIn profiles, in an attempt to harvest the personal details of legitimate users.
Offenders can mistakenly think that by using fake online profiles and creating fake websites that their offences are untraceable; however this is not the case and an online footprint will be left by the offender.
Online communication is developing at such a fast pace, that new ways of targeting and abusing individuals online are constantly emerging and it seems that these updated guidelines are in order to keep on top of these developments in the social media world.
The CPS is advising its prosecutors to be prepared to charge under existing laws if a case falls into one of three categories:
- Category 1: when online activity results in a credible threat to an individual;
- Category 2: when someone is specifically targeted for harassment, stalking, so-called revenge porn or coercive behaviour to former partners or family members;
- Category 3: cases resulting in breaches of a court order.
However, the guidance also sets out less serious situations where prosecutions should be considered under a fourth category:
- Category 4: where a false identity is used to post upsetting messages, including false information that could cause anxiety.
Prosecutions for online activity could be brought under a number of laws, including the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which created a new offence in April 2015 of revenge pornography to prosecute people who post sexual images of others online without permission. These guidelines seem to expand on the current offences in order to bring justice to victims who have been subject to online abuse by offenders creating fake profiles or websites and hiding behind their screens.


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Google is planning to introduce ad-blocking technology to Google Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser, a move that could cause uproar in online media and potentially lead to antitrust scrutiny.
Chrome, which is used by more than half of the world’s billions of web users, could introduce the feature on its mobile and desktop browsers in the coming weeks, according to reports.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner who is already leading multiple investigations into Google's dominance, said she would "follow this new feature and its effects closely".
Ad blockers disable particular pieces of code when loading web pages, which means the adverts many websites rely on for revenue do not load and are rendered invisible.
They are currently used by a sizeable minority of web users, but most browsers require special software to be installed. Opera, a browser used by around 1pc of web users, introduced built-in ad blocking last year, although the feature is turned off by default.
Google introducing ad blocking, however, would have massive implications. The browser has a 58.6pc worldwide market share, according to NetMarketShare, against 19pc for Internet Explorer, the second-most popular.
It could well attract interest from regulators given Google’s huge online advertising business. Google made $22.4bn (£17.5bn) in advertising revenue in the final quarter of last year, up 17pc annually, and undermining other adverts may be seen as an attempt to boost its own business.
Google has already attracted heavy antitrust scrutiny from the European Union on conditions attached to its adverts, the dominance of its Android operating system and prioritising its shopping services in its search engine.
Under EU rules, the company can be fined billions of dollars if it is found to be abusing its dominance of a market.
Google would be likely to allow some online adverts, adopting standards set by the Coalition for Better Ads, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported Google’s plans.
The standards allow adverts deemed “acceptable” but are used to block those seen as intrusive or irritating.
Google may attempt to justify the move as a way to stem the rise of other, more damaging ad blockers, which remove more adverts than Chrome’s inbuilt one might do.
A Google spokesman said: "We do not comment on rumour or speculation. We have been working closely with the Coalition for Better Ads and industry trades to explore a multitude of ways Google and other members of the Coalition could support the Better Ads Standards."


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Westport Fuel Systems Inc. have been awarded a competitive tender bid by the Egyptian International Gas Technology Company to supply 6,300 compressed natural gas sequential injection fuel systems into the growing Egyptian market in 2020.Find out more
Feature brands include BRC, Cubogas, EMER, GFI, Prins, OMVL, Valtek and ZavoliFind out more
Westport is pleased to announce that His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf, H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada and additional delegates will visit Westport’s installation facility inside the Volvo Car assembly plant in Gothenburg, Sweden.Find out more
Westport AB (“Westport”), a Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (“Westport Fuel Systems”) company, today announced that Volvo Car will expand the Bi-Fuel version of its new V90 station wagon in Belgium and Luxembourg.Find out more
Westport has announced it has received certification from the Environmental Protection Agency for its Westport WiNG™ Power System on multiple 2017 Model Year Ford products.Find out more
Westport Fuel Systems today announced the signing of a new multi-year agreement between a distributor of Westport Fuel Systems and Honda Turkey to supply liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) systems for the new Civic ECO model that will be launched in October 2016.Find out more
Volvo Car will launch the BiFuel version of its new V90 station wagon. This vehicle is based on the same engine technology as the Volvo V60 sports wagon which recently won second place in the Best Environmental Car in Sweden - company car category.Find out more
Westport has received certification from CARB for the dedicated CNG Westport WiNG™ Power System used in the Ford Transit Cargo Van and Passenger Wagon, and the F-150 truck for model year 2016.Find out more
Westport launches Bi-Fuel Volvo cars in Belgium and Luxembourg in connection with Volvo Car Belux. Unveiled for the Belgium market today at the 94th European Motor Show in Brussels, the 2016 Volvo V60 Bi-Fuel car will be available for order at participating Volvo dealers in the region from January 2016.Find out more
Westport Fuel Systems Inc. reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 and provided an update on operations.
Transaction to Strengthen the Liquidity of Emer S.p.A. in Brescia, Italy
BRC to Supply Systems to the Growing Egyptian Market
Shareholders approved all resolutions presented at the Meeting.
Westport Fuel Systems has also scheduled a conference call for Friday, June 5, 2020 at 10:30am ET (7:30am PT)
Natural gas vehicles (NGV) may get a boost as power markets and renewable equipment production are seen as potential casualties.
The statistics not only show continuously growing sales of CNG and especially liquefied natural gas fueled vehicles, but also the growth of corresponding fueling infrastructure.
Simeon’s gas-powered Volvo is used to transport gas for partners. Stenberg is pleased with the new tractor unit.


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Samsung plans to sell Galaxy Note 7 phones in South Korea with recycled parts for a fraction of the price.
The new version will be built on the platform of the same phone that made headlines for catching fire in 2016. The Federal Aviation Administration and international aviation agencies banned the Note 7 from flights after several reports of the batteries catching fire.
According to the Associated Press, environmental activists pushed for Samsung to not just recall but reuse the defective devices. Functional parts from recalled phones will be used to produce the Galaxy Note FE, or “Fan Edition,” in Samsung’s home country of South Korea. Overseas availability may go into effect later, Samsung said.
The Fan Edition will match the other phones in the Note series in terms of display size and functionality, with a 4.7-inch screen and a stylus. It will retail for 700,000 won ($611), down from $850, and go for sale on Friday, July 7. Only 400,000 units of the Galaxy Note FE will be produced.
Samsung was certain to reassure potential customers that the Note FE exhibits “perfect safety” after the infamous Note 7 ban. The exploding batteries were found to be a result of design and production flaws from two different battery suppliers.
Samsung and Korean phone operator SK Telecom completed a test last week in which Samsung’s 5G virtualized core surpassed speeds of 1 Gbps. The setup used Samsung’s 5G virtualized core, virtualized RAN, and Distributed Unit and a test device using up-to-date 3GPP NR standards. The tests were performed at 3.5 GHz, which is still a contested band. Countries such as China and South Korea are indicating preference for this band for international 5G use, but it faces competition in the United States from the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, which currently occupies that spot.


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Not Such a ‘Merry Christmas’ for 3D Stocks
While the consumer market may have been buzzing to get their hands on the latest 3D printing hardware in time for Christmas, the 3D stock market segment has been reeling…
Inside 3D Printing
Global Events Series: Click for Dates
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3D Printing jobs around the world.
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Check out the on-demand sessions from the Low-Code/No-Code Summit to learn how to successfully innovate and achieve efficiency by upskilling and scaling citizen developers. Watch now.
SAN FRANCISCO — With its announcement today of the Messenger Platform, Facebook argued it could be a very big deal for developers, and judging by the reaction of some of the very people who will be making apps and experiences that integrate with platform, they seem to think so too.
At its F8 developers conference here today, the social network unveiled a range of new services and tools, including Messenger Platform, Messenger for Business, support for 360-degree video, a Parse software development kit for the Internet of Things, a new mobile app advertising analytics tool, embeddable videos, and more.
But clearly, the biggest news of the day was the unveiling of the Messenger Platform, which among other things means that users can acquire apps directly from Messenger, and that many apps will have direct integration with the messaging tool. It also builds on Facebook’s launch last week of payments on Messenger, shows that the company is dead serious about making Messenger a one-stop shop for a broad set of functions, and provides more rationale for why it spun out the messaging tool as a stand-alone app, much to the chagrin at the time of millions of people.
Now? As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on stage at F8, Messenger has 600 million users.
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“People wondered why Facebook split Messenger out from the stand-alone Facebook app,” said Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya, the development of an identity management platform, in a statement. “And now we know. Messenger is becoming an e-commerce and service platform, and it’s one that could end up being a powerful way for brands to turn one-time shoppers into engaged, lifelong customers.”
All of this is likely good news for many of the more than 2,500 developers in attendance here. “It was really exciting,” said Matt Wilson, a machine learning scientist for Weaver Labs, which makes an app built to allow users to send a variety of illustrations along with simple text messages. “Messenger Platform looks very interesting for us. It sounds like they have quite a lot of [app] integration now…. If it’s as easy as they make it seem, that’s incredible.”
Wilson also said he was impressed by Messenger’s new business applications. Being able to buy products directly through Messenger and then track their purchase all the way from the merchant to their home is a significant addition to what was once just an alternative to texting.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Wilson said, “but I would actually use Messenger to keep track of that information in one place…. I could see keeping Messenger on my phone and not just using it to send messages to friends.”
To Salyer, Messenger for Business has more tangible financial benefits tied to identity. “The most intriguing news from F8 was the integration of Messenger for e-commerce,” he said. “Facebook’s most powerful tool — for its own business and for brands — has always been Identity…. Messenger for Business pushes identity firmly into customer service territory. By harnessing customers’ identities (through strict user permissions), an e-commerce store can now not only provide updates on shipping or help customers change their orders, but now has the ability to understand who users are and what they want. That could come in the form of upsells, discounts, or special offers if users provide access to their social graph.”
Competition with other messaging platforms
One of Facebook’s obvious motivations for building out the Messenger Platform is to better position it against competing messaging tools that have already broadened their offerings, including Snapchat and Asia’s WeChat and Line. And that includes helping app and game developers find new audiences.
According to Norm Liang of Sungy Mobile, a Chinese utility app maker, WeChat, Line, and Kakao have helped apps spread virally in Asia. “I could see how this is good for helping apps spread,” Liang said after Facebook’s keynote this morning.
For developers whose apps are part of the initial 40 integrated with Messenger, the unveiling of the platform could well be the springboard to big new audiences, as Liang predicts. “Obviously, this gives you a lot of exposure to a larger user base,” said Justin Junda, the founder of Score, a sports “trash talking” app.
But while there was plenty of enthusiasm for the announcements at F8 today, not everyone on hand believes Facebook is taking developers in the right direction. “Facebook is a platform for sharing,” said Nicole Lazzaro, the founder and president of XEODesign, a game and user experience design company. And that’s not enough “to get people connected.”
Lazzaro said she doesn’t think Facebook offers enough “verbs” for interactivity, and thinks people want technology to provide more realistic connections. “Facebook really needs to be positioned as a connection platform,” not a sharing platform, she said. “You want to inspire developers. This is [Facebook’s] chance to get them inspired. You want to give them new tools, and new apps to create…. Here, it’s just technologists leading. They don’t really understand why people are [on Facebook] in the first place. It’s a total lack of design leadership.”
VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi contributed to this article.
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Shankar M to join Ananda Vikatan Productions as Deputy General Manager
Shankar will manage the sales and marketing for the regional P&L of synergistic media solutions (TV/ Digital/ Print/ Events business) for Tamil Nadu and Kerala market
Shankar M designated as Chief Manager with Daily Thanthi will be joining Ananda Vikatan Productions Pvt Ltd. Group as Deputy General Manager - Sales and Marketing, heading Tamil Nadu and Kerala Market from October 8.
Shankar M had joined Daily Thanthi in 2015 to launch 'DTNEXT' an English daily for the group as Chief Manager - Marketing. Later he was promoted to head their digital platform, Dailythanthi.com.
In his new role with Ananda Vikatan Productions Pvt Ltd, Shankar has been given the responsibility to handle the Regional P&L of synergistic media solutions (TV/ Digital/ Print/ Events business) for Tamil Nadu and Kerala market.
Prior to Daily Thanthi, Shankar had worked with The Times Of India as Deputy Chief Manager, heading Chennai Retail Category for the brand. He started his career with The Hindu as Senior Advertising Executive and has an experience of 17 years in the media industry.
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Korean internet services company Naver is set to take part in the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) central bank digital currency (CBDC) tests. Its participation is set to serve as an advantage when the government selects private-sector partners in issuing the currency.
CBDC is a term used to distinguish the digital currency of central banks from those of the private sector. Central banks around the world are currently developing and testing digital currency. As a frontrunner, the People’s Bank of China has launched testing of its digital currency in cities such as Suzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
The BOK is preparing to test its CBDC in the latter half of this year. The central bank will run tests checking the utility and stability of the digital currency in a virtual environment. This simulation seeks to determine whether CBDCs can function, by running tests in manufacturing, issuing, circulating and redeeming the currency.
The BOK will involve information technology firms and financial institutions of the private sector to provide technological assistance for the trial run.
Naver’s subsidiaries Naver Financial and Line Plus are taking part in the BOK’s trial. Line Plus is an affiliate of Naver’s Japanese subsidiary Line. Line Plus operates Line’s businesses in Korea.
Line Plus provided consulting for the BOK last year in setting up its CBDC pilot system. Line operates virtual currency exchanges in Singapore, Japan and the U.S.
Naver Financial is in charge of the portal giant’s financial services business here, including its online-based payment system Naver Pay.


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Japanese trading company Marubeni Corporation confirmed the news, citing that an agreement to bring the brand to Singapore has been put in place with Tim Hortons owners, Restaurant Brands International, under the Singapore-based Marubeni Growth Capital Asia.
According to reports, the first Tim Hortons outlet will open towards the end of 2023 in Singapore. Meanwhile, hundreds of more outlets are expected to pop up across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia in the next decade.
Tim Hortons is known for a hearty variety of coffees, hot chocolates, snacks from fluffy donuts to sandwiches, warps and more bakery numbers – it’s a superb place to relax with a quick cuppa, or even get some work done.
Wonderfully, menus will be curated to match Singaporean taste. So we can expect some, potentially, never-seen-before items on the menus.
Founded in 1964, Tim Hortons has amassed more than 5, 300 stores worldwide to date, including in countries such as Spain, United Kingdom, United States, UAE, and China, to name a few.


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Milk prices skyrocketed in the beginning of the month with a 500ml packet of fresh milk crossing the 60-shilling mark in all the major Supermarkets.
The rise in the milk prices and that of the general commodity in the market due to high inflation rate adds to the pressure that most household already feels especially the low-income households.
This is the worst price increase that there has ever been. Milk Prices increased from 45 shillings in January to what is currently the new market price has crossed the 60 shillings line.
Milk falls under the national food basket and is key in driving the rate of inflation even higher. Looking at different milk brands selling at major outlets, half-litre of fresh Ilara sells at 65 shillings, Tuzo sells at 62 shillings, Molo sells at 60 shillings and KCC sells at 55 shillings.
There has been a rise in food prices over the years, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) the rising cost of food items including maize flour in April pushed the cost of living to 57 months high with the inflation rate hitting a new high of 11.48 percent from 10.28 percent making it the highest since 2012.
The inflation rate has been on the rise since last year beating the government projection of 7.5 percent with food taking up the largest share of 36 percent of the basket of goods that drive inflation.
Currently, processors are using powdered milk to process fresh milk in order to maintain supply and meet the demand of fresh milk in the market.


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Zalando launches AI fashion assistant
Fashion platform Zalando is going to launch a fashion assistant powered by ChatGPT on the website and app. It will start with a beta version, which will be available to selected customers in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria by Spring.
Zalando has recently made some changes to its platform. In February, it increased its rates for merchants and last month it announced that it would delist brands. Now, it has announced a future launch of an AI fashion assistant.
More intuitive journey
The new fashion assistant will help customers navigate the online marketplace’s assortment using their own words or fashion terms. The company expects that this will make the customer journey more intuitive and natural.
‘The fashion assistant will answer with a written explanation.’
Customers can ask the assistant questions like: “what should I wear for a wedding in Santorini in July”, and the AI will understand that it is a formal event, what the weather is in Santorini in July. It will answer with a written explanation, which includes recommendations for clothing. In the future, the platform wants to combine it with customer preferences, such as brands and products available in their sizes.
Available to selected group of customers
The company will first launch a beta version with support in English and German. A selected group of customers will be able to use it by Spring, in Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Austria. “We are excited to be experimenting with ChatGPT to help our valued customers discover even more fashion they will love”, said Tian Su, VP Personalization and Recommendation at Zalando.
‘We are eager to explore the potential that ChatGPT can bring to the shopping journey.’
“This is just the beginning; we are committed to understanding our customers’ needs and preferences even better, and we are eager to explore the potential that ChatGPT can bring to their shopping journey. As we continue testing and introducing new solutions, our focus remains on learning how our customers want to interact with our fashion assistant to provide them with the best possible experience.”


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Over 100 exhibitors showcase at Mining Vietnam 2022
Wednesday, 05/10/2022 15:08 (GMT+7)
(CPV) - The 5th international exhibition on mining industry, mineral resource restoration, and construction (Mining Vietnam 2022) is being held at Hanoi International Exhibition Center from October 4 to 6, 2022.
|A booth at the event. (Photo: congthuong.vn)
Mining Vietnam 2022 provides the linkage and opportunity for mining businesses and professionals to explore, trade, and learn about operations, innovative methods, and the application of digital technology and robotics in mining and production.
Informa Markets, the world's leading trade show organizer, connects over 60,000 exhibitors at over 230 events, providing the ultimate B2B platform for driving business.
More than 100 local and international exhibitors from 18 different countries and regions participated to showcase in the event.
Numerous nations from all around the world, including pavilions from the Czech Republic, China and Poland, joined this show.
This exhibition is also accompanied by a number of significant industry groups, including well-known enterprises such as: Cdt - Česká Dobývací Technika; Au Viet; Vinza; Vietnam Fuli Machinery; Tsurumi Pump Vietnam; Enelex Spol; Everdigm Rock Tools; Hansen Electric, Spol; Siemag Tecberg Gmbh; Zam - Servis; Ždb Drátovna a.s.; Zenith Industrial Rubber Products and more.
This exhibition was accompanied by Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries (Vinacomin). Vinacomin has coordinated and always appreciated the Organizing Committee for the exhibition program's structure and contents, as well as welcomed domestic and foreign organizations and enterprises to participate in the exhibition.
On the sidelines, the event will also have seminars with leading industry experts to consult and share insights on relevant topics. The seminars are developed based on the practical requirements of businesses to bring perceptive views in specific sectors and propose strategies to overcome the existing obstacles in the enterprises./.


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Kyocera Abandons Kurv; Wildseed Sues
Sep 30, 2003, 1:09 PM by (staff)
Kyocera has abandoned the Kurv, a CDMA phone it announced in March, which was to use technology from startup Wildseed. Wildseed said it filed a lawsuit against Kyocera alleging breach of contract. Wildseed's "smart skin" technology features intelligent faceplates that can add branded content and applications to phones. Wildseed said its deal for a GSM handset made by Curitel, announced earlier this year, is continuing.
Apr 4, 2018
Facebook today made significant changes to its platform as it continues to deal with the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica breach. To start, the company now believes Cambridge Analytica was given improper access to the data of as many as 87 million people, mostly U.S.
Oct 25, 2018
AT&T has partnered with Lookout to create the AT&T Mobile Security app, which it is bringing to iOS devices for the first time beginning today. The app had previously only been available to Android phones.
Mar 6, 2018
BlackBerry has filed lawsuits against Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, claiming all three violate its patented messaging technology. "Defendants created mobile messaging applications that co-opt BlackBerry’s innovations, using a number of the innovative security, user interface, and functionality enhancing features," said the company in its filings.
Sep 16, 2017
Apple this week provided more detail concerning some of the behaviors of its forthcoming Face ID tech on the iPhone X and Safari in iOS 11. Concerning the former, Apple executive Craig Federighi explained to Techcrunch that "[Apple does] not gather customer data when you enroll in Face ID, it stays on your device, we do not send it to the cloud for training data."
Apr 4, 2018
BlackBerry has filed a lawsuit against Snap Inc., alleging that the latter company's social network is infringing in BlackBerry's messaging patents. The patents in question were awarded to BlackBerry between 2012 and 2014 and cover a range of technologies concerning mobile messaging.


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Santa Clara County is looking at new nutritional standards for any drink or food sold or served at county facilities.
The changes are possibly the most comprehensive in the state and the nation according to the San Jose Mercury News. They would affect everything from vending machines to what is served at county jails, the probation department, social services, hospitals and even the county fairgrounds.
County leaders say it's not about changing all the food, simply offering healtier options. That means in addition to those high-fat, high-sugar foods you find at the fair, you will also have the option of buying fresh fruit and sandwiches.
The county board of supervisors will vote on the changes during its Tuesday meeting. Most of the rules would go into effect by July 1 but as recommendations. They would not be required until July 2013.
The new nutritional standards are part of the county's efforts to present obesity and improve nutrition.


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SINGAPORE - Five women and a man believed to be involved in several cases of theft from person along Orchard Road have been arrested.
A shopper at a mall in the popular shopping district reported at 4.03pm on Tuesday (Dec 22) that the front pocket of her bag had been unzipped, and that her mobile phone was missing.
After extensive ground enquiries and with the aid of CCTV footage, police officers arrested the first two women at a Geylang hotel on Wednesday (Dec 23).
Three other women and a man staying at the same hotel were nabbed on the same day.
Several mobile phones, wallets and other items believed to have been fraudulently obtained were found in their possession.
The suspects may have been involved in other cases reported along Orchard Road in early November, the police said in a news release on Wednesday.
They will be charged in court with theft on Thursday (Dec 24). If convicted, they face a maximum of three years in jail, a fine, or both.
In the news release, the police advised members of the public to safeguard their belongings and be vigilant of their surroundings while shopping during the festive season.


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Earlier this week, Hyundai teased us with glimpses of the 2018 Accent. It debuted a more grown-up look that's been lacking from previous models, showing us that it may be maturing to a more complete product. The handsome styling cues were enough to get our attention, and now, Hyundai has officially released the next generation Accent at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. The fifth generation model shows to be a worthy rival to other compacts in the segment, hoping to leap frog Hyundai in sales and popularity.
The 2018 Accent seems to shy away from its strictly-budget ethos from years past. It will now be available with some of the same features that we've come to know from its bigger brothers, the Elantra and Sonata. Upgraded interior materials improve initial quality and show us that Hyundai has stepped their game up with this rendition. Safety features like automatic emergency braking will be available for the first time in the Accent, along with smart tech like the company's Bluelink infotainment system which features Apple Car Play and Android Auto.
Whereas it may not be a showstopper in the performance category, the newest Accent will get a revised version of the 1.6L I4. This is a familiar engine that can be found throughout the Hyundai lineup, including a variant in the Prius-fighting Ioniq Hybrid. It's still a bit wheezy, producing just 132 HP and 119 lb-ft of torque. This will be enough to achieve 27/37 MPG city/highway when paired with the standard six-speed manual transmission. An automatic option will of course be available, causing mileage to dip slightly to 26/36 MPG city/highway.
By upping value with still-cheap pricing and improved quality, Hyundai looks to the Accent to help pull them up from their economic woes. 2016 was a down year for the automaker, leading them to come back strong for the 2018 model year. The new Accent will feature a base price of $15,830, keeping the minimalists happy with only the essentials. It should go on sale sometime this fall, so look for it in the coming months on the latter half of 2017.


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KARACHI: On December 5, at the opening of the bullion market, a single tola of 24 karat gold was sold in Pakistan at Rs110,300 after the price of the precious metal decreased by Rs200 during trading the day before.
Likewise, at the start of trade, 10 grammes of 24k gold was sold at Rs94,564.
Meanwhile at the opening of the exchange, 10 grammes of 22 k gold was exchanged for Rs86,684 with one tola of 22 k gold being traded at Rs101,107.
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BEFORE THE BOARD OF MILK CONTROL
OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
In the matter of the amendment of ARM 32.24.480 producer pricing rules
NOTICE OF AMENDMENT
TO: All Concerned Persons
1. On July 6, 2018, the Board of Milk Control published MAR Notice No. 32-18-290 pertaining to the public hearing on the proposed amendment of the above-stated rule at page 1219 of the 2018 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 13.
2. The board has amended the above-stated rule as proposed.
3. The board has thoroughly considered the comments and testimony received. A summary of the comments received and the board's responses are as follows:
COMMENT 1: Dave Lewis, who is a Montana producer, submitted a comment that noted that the proposed rule amendment will help Montana producers have more comparable butterfat prices to the rest of the nation and will still provide a discount to processors that is about 16% of the current difference between national butterfat prices and the Montana Class III butterfat price. He noted that Montana dairy farmers receive amongst the lowest prices for milk in the United States, even though a large percentage is bottled as Class I milk. He hopes that the change in the Class III butterfat price formula will entice more processing of cream products in Montana.
RESPONSE: The board thanks the commenter for the comment. The comments received are consistent with and support the justifications presented in the rulemaking proposal's statement of reasonable necessity.
COMMENT 2: The Montana Milk Producers Association (MMPA) submitted a comment that urged the board to withdraw the proposed rulemaking and develop a broader rule proposal, rather than only changing the Class II and Class III price formulas. MMPA expressed concern that the proposed amendments may put processing plants in Montana out of business and thereby not benefit Montana producers. MMPA stated its belief that the board is inadvertently creating market advantages for certain companies, which MMPA believes is inappropriate. MMPA noted that some recommendations in the Montana Milk Market Regulation Study Final Report (study) published in June 2018 have not been addressed in the rulemaking process. MMPA stated that the proposed amendments potentially create upheaval and challenges for Montana producers and processors.
RESPONSE: The board thanks the commenter for the comment. The board received no evidence that the proposed amendments will cause Montana plants to close and did not receive any comments from distributors operating plants in Montana. Likewise, the board received no proposed alternatives to the rulemaking proposal. The board believes that the proposed amendments are supported by evidence presented to it. Several recommendations in the study were for the board not to act, such as seasonal pricing for Class I milk. The study also included recommendations about Montana's quota system and statewide pooling arrangement that would not impact Montana processors' cost for milk produced in Montana. The study did not recommend a single-phase rulemaking process that addressed all proposals concurrently. Accordingly, the board is immediately addressing the recommendations that are most readily actionable. The board notes that following completion of the study it distributed a survey to producers and processors to allow those groups to rate the importance of addressing the study's recommendations. Upon further consideration of the results of this study, the discussion about the study, and the condition of the Montana dairy industry, the board may engage in additional rulemaking. The board notes that the price formulas apply equally to all Montana processors based upon how each processor utilizes milk produced by Montana producers. The board's rulemaking is based on the evidence it receives. The board has considered amending Class III price formulas since before it commissioned the study. In December 2016, the board received an informal petition from producers drawing attention to their concern about Montana's Class III pricing structure. At the August 31, 2017 board meeting, the board tabled discussion to adjust the Class III price formulas until it received the draft study report. On April 30, 2018, after receiving the draft study report, the board instructed the Milk Control Bureau to draft a rule proposal to amend Class III and Class II price formulas. The board does not agree that the proposed amendments need to be withdrawn or be changed.
4. Written findings and conclusions pursuant to 81-23-302(7), MCA:
1) The board proposed to revise the Class II and Class III price formulas based upon facts within its own knowledge. These facts include the data collected by the Milk Control Bureau; the data contained in the Montana Milk Market Regulation Study Final Report, authored by Dairy Technomics LLC; the data contained in the small business impact statement for this proposal; and data considered by the Board of Milk Control at its June 25, 2018 meeting. These facts provided the board information for it to consider regarding the balance between production and consumption of milk, the costs of production and distribution, and prices in adjacent and neighboring areas and state. When the board published the notice of proposed rulemaking, it notified the consuming public and the milk industry of the specific facts within its own knowledge so that all interested parties had opportunity to be heard and to question or rebut the facts as a matter of record.
2) No comments were received regarding the proposed amendments that questioned or rebutted the facts upon which the board relied.
3) No comments were received that proposed alternatives to the proposed amendments.
4) Most milk in the United States is covered by minimum price regulations, with the majority of jurisdictions basing prices on prices announced by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS).
5) Montana uses the same definitions of classes of utilization of milk as USDA-AMS, except that Montana combines the Class III and Class IV definitions into a single class, Class III.
6) USDA-AMS publishes two price announcements used in federally regulated markets to establish the value of producer milk. The USDA Announcement of Advanced Prices and Pricing Factors announces advance prices that are used to value Class I skim milk and butterfat and Class II skim milk. The USDA Announcement of Class and Component Prices announces prices after the month of production and utilization that are used to value Class II butterfat, Class III skim milk and butterfat, and Class IV skim milk and butterfat. The price formulas underlying both price announcements are the same, but the reference price data collection periods are different.
7) The current Montana Class II and Class III price formulas are different than federal price formulas for Class II, Class III, and Class IV milk in terms of price formula structure and reference price data collection periods.
8) Montana currently announces producer milk prices in advance of production and utilization for all classes of milk. The proposed Montana Class II and Class III price formulas would result in advanced price announcements. Advanced prices provide a benefit to processors in terms of financial planning, product pricing, and operational planning, since advanced prices establish the unit raw product cost prior to the purchase and utilization of milk. Advanced prices improve the ability of producers to estimate the blend price they will receive for their milk.
9) Compared to the price formulas for Class II and Class III currently in use, the proposed price formulas would have collectively increased revenue to Montana producers in calendar years 2015 - 2017 by approximately 3.5% - 4.4%, dependent upon which proposed Montana Class III Butterfat Price Differential would have been in effect. The proposed Class III butterfat price formula would have accounted for nearly all of the increase.
10) The current structure of the Class III butterfat price formula causes the Montana Class III butterfat price to be substantially lower than Class III butterfat prices in most other regulated markets in the United States and for which the difference between the Montana Class III butterfat price and federal Class III butterfat price increases as national butter prices increase. In the 2015 – 2017 time period, the current Montana Class III price formula resulted in Class III butterfat prices that were 12.89% - 41.59% lower (or $0.3233/lb to $1.2627/lb lower) than the USDA Advanced Butterfat Pricing Factor.
11) The approximate impact the proposed amendments would have had in 2015 - 2017 to distributors' costs compared to current rules for the skim and butterfat portions of Class II and Class III utilization values are as follows:
a) dependent upon which proposed Montana Class III Butterfat Price Differential would have been in effect, the proposed amendments to the Class III price formulas would have increased distributors' costs for the butterfat portion of milk utilized in Class III by approximately 18.1% - 23.5%;
b) the proposed amendments to the Class III price formulas would have decreased distributors' costs for the skim milk portion of milk utilized in Class III by approximately 1%;
c) the proposed amendments to the Class II price formulas would have increased distributors' costs for the butterfat portion of milk utilized in Class II by approximately 4%;
d) the proposed amendments to the Class II price formulas would have increased distributors' costs for the skim milk portion of milk utilized in Class II by approximately 1%; and
e) the total utilization value of pool milk would have increased by 3.5% - 4.4%, dependent upon which proposed Montana Class III Butterfat Price Differential would have been in effect.
12) The Milk Production, Disposition, and Income 2017 Summary authored by the United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service in April 2018 shows that Montana producers had among the lowest all milk average returns (per cwt) in 2017 and 2016 in the United States. The Montana Milk Market Regulation Study Final Report (June 2018) noted that with the exception of Idaho in 2017, the net price for milk per cwt paid to producers in Montana is the lowest in the region and at or near the bottom in the country.
13) The following recommendations regarding Montana's class price formulas were made by Dairy Technomics, LLC in its June 2018 Montana Milk Market Regulation Study Final Report, which considered prices in adjacent and neighboring areas and states and costs of production and distribution:
a) Montana should maintain the Montana Differential of $2.55 for Class I milk for the immediate future;
b) Class II should be based on the Federal Order, with Class II butterfat based on advanced pricing; and
c) Class III pricing should be the lower of Federal Order Class III and Class IV but calculated from advanced pricing; it may be necessary to incorporate some discounts to processors, at least for a period of time, to allow the impact of a change in Class III pricing to be absorbed.
14) The proposed Class III Montana Butterfat Price Differential functions as a discount to the USDA Advanced Butterfat Pricing Factor in the proposed Class III butterfat price formula. The proposed amendments provide for a $0.10 per pound of butterfat Class III Montana Butterfat Price Differential for Class III butterfat utilized after June 30, 2019, which is approximately a 4% discount from the USDA Advanced Butterfat Pricing Factor.
1) Based upon the evidence produced in public comment and the hearing held August 3, 2018, the board concludes that it may rely upon the facts within its own knowledge when it proposed the amendments.
2) The board concludes that the requirements of 81-23-302, MCA, for revising milk pricing formulas have been met.
3) The board concludes that the proposed amendments will result in minimum prices that are fair and equitable to producers and consumers.
4) The board concludes that the proposed amendments will result in Class II and Class III prices comparable to regulated jurisdictions elsewhere in the United States.
5) The board concludes that the proposed Class III butterfat price formula will result in a formula that causes Montana Class III butterfat prices to parallel federal Class III butterfat prices and will provide a modest but meaningful discount for distributors to address the impact of the change in Class III pricing and market volatility that may occur from using an advanced price formula based on prices announced in the USDA Announcement of Advanced Prices and Pricing Factors instead of prices announced in the USDA Announcement of Class and Component Prices.
5. This rule amendment is effective September 19, 2018.
/s/ Cinda Young-Eichenfels /s/ W. Scott Mitchell
Cinda Young-Eichenfels W. Scott Mitchell
Rule Reviewer Chair
Board of Milk Control
Certified to the Secretary of State August 28, 2018.