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The logic of Donald Trump’s multi-front trade war, if there is any, is increasingly obscure. The tangled mix of policies isn’t accomplishing its stated goals and seems unlikely to ever do so. Meanwhile, it hurts the Americans it should supposedly help.
Regardless, it’s happening, and it has consequences… none of them good.
The president’s latest move to impose escalating tariffs on imports from Mexico is the trade equivalent of “going nuclear.”
Judging by his tweets, Trump thinks it will solve multiple problems: trade, drugs, immigration, and crime. That’s doubtful at best. But as with real nuclear weapons, the blast wave isn’t going to discriminate. It will hit everyone.
If you think the trade war hasn’t affected you yet, brace yourself. You’re about to feel it.
Tariffs Raise Prices
A tariff is a form of sales tax on imported goods. The importer has to give the government cash, then recover it by charging more when it resells the goods, accepting lower profit margins, or some combination of both.
So far, President Trump’s tariffs are showing up as higher inflation. It’s not obvious in the broad inflation measures like the Consumer Price Index because only a few goods have been affected. But in those segments, the impact is clear.
Goldman Sachs recently compared price changes in nine tariff-impacted CPI categories vs. those that weren’t. Since the first tariffs in 2018, an index of those categories rose more than 3%. Meanwhile, all the other core goods categories showed a slight decline.
Chart: The Daily Shot
This impact is about to spread. The president is raising tariffs on almost all Chinese goods and is threatening the same for Mexico.
Again, we won’t necessarily see this in retail prices right away. But if we don’t, it will be only because merchants have stockpiled inventory or decided to absorb the cost out of their profits.
If it’s the latter, it’s still not good. Companies with shrinking profit margins usually try to recover them somehow, like laying off workers or postponing expansion plans.
Consumers will certainly notice if the latest tariff increases persist more than a few months. Top retailers depend on Chinese and Mexican goods. Those prices will probably rise.
That might actually please the Federal Reserve, which has been despondent over its inability to hit its 2% inflation target. At some point, they might raise interest rates to counter the inflation pressure, but I think they’ll let the economy “run hot” for a while first.
This might actually stimulate some activity as people try to avoid tariffs or find substitute goods. But mostly, we will see it as higher prices and lower disposable incomes.
But that will only be the beginning.
Remember when politicians actually worried about government debt? I know, it’s been awhile.
We used to think high debt would cause inflation. That hasn’t happened, for reasons John Mauldin explained recently in “Why Debt Won’t Spark Inflation.”
Essentially, debt-fueled fiscal stimulus fades quickly to be replaced by weaker business conditions. Demand falls enough to keep consumer prices and interest rates from rising much, if at all.
Tariffs are similar in some ways. President Trump, at least, thinks he can make companies move production to the US and hire American workers, thereby stimulating growth.
That may happen a little bit, here and there. But it won’t be much.
The business leaders who make those decisions know full well that Trump’s unilateral tariffs may disappear when he leaves office, or maybe sooner if he changes his mind.
Few businesses are going to make major capital investments based on a whim that could change tomorrow. So initially, we will just get the higher prices.
In fairly short order, though, some US manufacturers will reduce output because the imported parts on which they depend are too expensive, thanks to the tariffs, and no alternate sources exist in the US.
Laid-off manufacturing workers will tighten their belts and reduce spending, hitting the retail sector and possibly making some stores close. Those workers will lose their jobs, too.
Then the same will happen in the farm states as Mexico and China shift their once-large grain and meat purchases elsewhere.
By that point, President Trump may see the light and change his mind. But the damage will be done. Business leaders will have seen what can happen. Their willingness to take risks and invest in new capacity will be lower.
Then we may see some highly leveraged companies default on loans that never should have been made in the first place. Lenders will tighten standards and starve even viable companies of financing.
The Fed may try to counteract this with rate cuts or QE. But if we’ve learned anything the last decade, it’s that monetary policy no longer has the same effects it used to.
All this adds up to one thing: recession.
Now, we are overdue for recession even without tariffs. This (historically weak) growth cycle has to end eventually. If tariffs don’t trigger it, something else will.
But tariffs could easily be the last straw. This trade war could make the recession happen sooner, last longer, and cause more pain than it otherwise would.
What aggravates me most are the people saying we have to accept some pain in order to fix the problems with China.
First of all, there is zero reason to think tariffs will solve the problems. So we’ll get more pain but little or no gain.
Second, those who so cavalierly want other Americans to suffer tend to be wealthy, powerful people. They won’t lose their jobs. They have great health insurance and don’t have to worry about foreclosure and bill collectors. Those who actually are suffering will notice.
That being the case, this next recession could easily become more than a recession. People in pain do radical things. And those who caused that pain probably won’t like where it leads.
See you at the top,


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Farmed scallops co Mermade Seafoods raises $3.3 million
Israeli cultured scallop startup Mermade Seafoods has completed a $3.3 million seed funding round. The round was oversubscribed and investors included OurCrowd, Fall Line and Sake Bosch.
The Jerusalem-based food tech company also unveiled a new circular cell farming technology for the production of cultured scallops. The technology will streamline the global scallop market and provide a high quality, tasty and cheaper product than those currently available.
Mermade was founded in July 2021 by CEO Daniel Einhorn (CEO), CTO Dr Rotem Kadir and COO Dr Tomer Halevy.
The company plans to develop a product and achieve lab-scale production by 2023. Mermade will use the latest funds to employ more stem cell and algae researchers and accelerate development. The scallop is only the first product that the company will develop from a diversified portfolio of seafood products that will gradually arrive on the market.
Using algae to recycle cell growth substrate is the company’s secret formula and a big part of investor interest. This cellular interpretation of traditional aquaponics has been named by Cytoponics. Mermade has filed several patent applications related to this circular production method, which sets it apart from other companies in the market.
Einhorn said: “We decided to focus on scallops as our first product because it is a popular dish around the world, but is suffering from high prices and shortages due to serious supply chain issues. It’s easier to produce compared to other more complex meat products, and we can get them to market relatively quickly. The global market for scallops is worth $8 billion a year, of which more than dollars in the U.S. alone. Our method of production will reduce the cost of each flat scallop and increase market volume by orders of magnitude as supply finally adjusts to strong demand.”
He added: “In the next few years, consumers around the world will be able to buy cultured scallops (Coquilles Saint Jacques) produced by Mermade in a supermarket or restaurant, at an affordable price and with the same quality and taste than the original food. Using Cytoponics as a production platform, we could also produce a variety of other cultured seafood such as squid, shrimp, crabmeat and more. The opportunity in this area along with our unique technologies will establish us as market leaders in the next decade. .”
OurCrowd Founder and CEO, Jon Medved, said, “Mermade is undoubtedly a pioneer in cellular aquaculture, and scallops in particular. The other investors and I were impressed with the innovative idea and the potential to transform a vast market worth billions. In just a few months, the team has demonstrated remarkable progress in R&D and we see a bright future for Mermade.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 30, 2022.
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2022.

domain: news


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Landscape Design & Construction
June 25, 2014
The new Nat Geo Wild program introduces ways for families and communities to transform backyards while reconnecting with nature.
June 18, 2014
SmithGroupJJR was awarded a 2014 Merit Award by the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA) for its Main Street streetscape design in the Village of Lisle, IL.
April 23, 2014
Houzz survey reveals homeowners are going green with landscape lighting, native plants and lawn alternatives.
April 4, 2014
Strong rental show and Rental store attendance shows the rental market will continue to prosper as the economy recovers.
April 1, 2014
Belgard Hardscapes has become the only paver manufacturer to achieve the Good Housekeeping Seal from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.
March 21, 2014
Several leading manufacturers exhibiting at CONEXPO CON/AGG 2014 discussed major advancements in clean diesel technology.
March 19, 2014
Bobcat celebrates the production of its millionth Bobcat loader with the “Unstoppable” campaign.
March 18, 2014
The facility expansion comes on the heels of substantial growth reported by Danuser.
March 17, 2014
Case introduced its Ram Laramie Longhorn-inspired 580 Super N Wide Track backhoe loader at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014 in Las Vegas.
March 3, 2014
The parts warehouse overhaul was done in an effort to improve efficiencies as well as provide better customer service.
February 25, 2014
February 24, 2014
February 24, 2014
Texas company talks about how they are planning more efficient landscaping during droughts.
January 22, 2014
The dealership will now represent the full line of JCB construction equipment and provide JCB parts and service in Miami, FL.
January 9, 2014
November 26, 2013
The newly certified projects are Shoemaker Green in Philadelphia, Washington Canal Park in Washington, D.C., and Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes in Pittsburgh.
November 20, 2013
November 19, 2013
November 18, 2013
November 13, 2013
October 24, 2013
October 11, 2013
October 3, 2013
September 25, 2013
August 20, 2013


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DAVID Beckham beamed with pride as he took his children to support wife Victoria at her first show at London Fashion Week.
The former footballer, 43, sat front row with Harper, Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn as the Spice Girl, 44, unveiled her latest collection - before rushing to give them all a big kiss.
It is Victoria's first ever show at London Fashion Week since she swapped signing for designing clothes.
She usually shares her previews in New York, but this season she's chosen her native Britain for her big event.
It was such a big moment for Victoria, 44, that her entire family turned out for moral support.
As as well as David and the kids, she was also joined by her parents and her sister Louise, who were all spotted heading into the show.
At the end of the show, Victoria came out to take her bow to the sound of You Got the Love by Florence and the Machine.
She looked thrilled to be back in London and rushed over to David and the kids to give them kisses.
After the show, the family headed to Victoria's store on Dover Street for a celebration.
They were spotted toasting her success with her parents during the intimate party inside the shop.
The former Spice Girl, 44, is currently celebrating a decade in fashion and she marked her 10-year career by posing in a carrier bag with her eponymous brand's logo on the front of it.
In the pictures, taken by famed photographer Juergen Teller, Victoria's legs are seen poking out of the shopping bags as she shows off her high heels.
In another snap, the bag is placed over her head - with just her legs showing. In 2008, Victoria starred in an identical Marc Jacobs campaign that was also shot by Juergen.
She captioned the new pics: "I’m so thrilled to have partnered once again with Juergen Teller to celebrate 10 years of my Victoria Beckham brand!
"Juergen appearing in one of the images was really important to me - collaborating with him again was incredibly special and I wanted to be sure to document it.
Most Read In TV & Showbiz
"I have always put all of me in to my brand and I wanted to convey that message with these images. That I am and have been literally 'putting Victoria into Victoria Beckham since 2008'.
"If there was a strapline that would be it! It’s tongue in cheek but there’s a real message in it for me".
Victoria has previously revealed she hopes to inspire others with her fashion line.
She said: "As a working mother, you should never feel guilty, you should feel proud. You’re inspiring your children in the right way, being a strong woman going to work."
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Follador Presents at the “Great Wines of Italy” event in Bangkok
The 6th annual “Great Wines of Italy” event will be held in Bangkok on December 8th in the prestigious Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel Salon. The event is, as always, organized by the American sommelier James Suckling, who is very influential on enology enthusiasts, big international buyers and collectors.
Featured at this event will be a superb selection of over 80 prestigious Italian brands, belonging to the most noble Terroirsof our tradition, including Conegliano Valdobbiadene. The Asian market is increasingly attracted to Italian lifestyle: as evidenced by Follador Prosecco being served in Bangkok at the charitable events hosted by King Chulalongkorn for the Memorial Hospital of Regina Sirikit Center.
Like every great product, Prosecco D.O.C.G. is subject to numerous attempts to imitate, especially in other countries. For this reason, it is vital to reinforce the value behind the brand of DOGC Prosecco with information aimed at consumers, such as that which James Suckling has been promoting for many years now.
Therefore, we will be present at the event through the able representation of our importer for Thailand, Gfour FIne Wines. This is a partner who knows and supports our oenological culture in every respect, promoting in Asian countries the great terroirs and tradition which we also proudly represent at the Follador Company.


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Western Victoria's Sam and Christine McCluggage currently have 150 Angus-Holstein calves on deck at their pasture-based Allansford dairy operation.
The McCluggages are third generation dairy farmers who milk 700 Holsteins at Ballyvernston with per-cow production averaging 550kg milk solids per annum.
For the past 12 years they have grown out their calves, a decision that was primarily animal-welfare driven but also to value add.
"With depressed milk prices, we made a concerted effort to grow our livestock sales and we've leased extra country to do that. We wanted to build in diversification so we're not relying solely on milk," Mr McCluggage said.
Livestock today accounts for 25 to 30 per cent of their operation, compared to the original 8pc.
Maiden heifers are joined to sexed semen and eligible milking cows, generating 400 black and white heifers a year.
"That gives us plenty to choose from and we keep the best 200 as replacements, with the rest going to the live export market or local dairy farmers," Mr McCluggage said.
The hundred black and white bulls are grown out to 18 months to 2.5 years and sold as commercial mop-up bulls.
For the past two years, ABS Beef InFocus semen has been used on the older cows, low producers or ones with calving issues.
"We thought there could be a gap with the beef cattle shortage looming," Mr McCluggage said.
"The beef-dairy calf offers the potential for a lot more value. And the thing about them is you can sell them at ten days or seven months or a couple of years, depending on what sort of season you are having."
Good rain at Allansford this season means feed will be carried through for longer, so the couple plan to take this crop of beef-dairy calves through for much longer.
"We think cattle with weight at that stage will be worth a bit," Mr McCluggage said.
"If we do come into a pinch we can send them straight away but the heavier we can get them the more they'll be worth."
Mr McCluggage said there had been no calving issues and the Angus-cross were resilient calves to rear.
They are housed in the shed for two weeks on excess milk, then they move onto milk powder, grain mix and pasture.
"They don't walk as much as Holsteins and get a real condition on them early compared to the straight dairy calves," Mr McCluggage said.
"Because they've been handfed as a young calf and we move them around a fair bit, on the whole there's not much fuss about them."


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CDK Global Inc.'s plan to discontinue its digital marketing operations contributed to a smaller profit in the fiscal second quarter, even as revenue rose and the company's dealership management system added customers.
The Hoffman Estates, Ill., DMS giant reported Tuesday that net income attributable to CDK for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 was $22.3 million, down 75 percent from the same quarter a year ago.
Fiscal second-quarter revenue, however, rose 4.4 percent to $499.6 million, as CDK says it achieved a record number of North American DMS customer sites, at 14,776. It was the fourth consecutive quarter that CDK added automotive DMS customer sites in the region.
CDK shares fell 3.5 percent to close at $53.93 on Wednesday.
“I’m quite happy with what we’ve accomplished,” CEO Brian Krzanich told analysts Tuesday on an earnings call, reiterating a focus within CDK on improving service and support for DMS customers.
“How we serve our customers is critical,” he said, “because it’s the foundation for customer satisfaction and for building the solid relationships that drive our customer retention, as well as new sales.”
CDK's profit from continuing operations, which do not include the digital marketing business up for sale, dipped about 4 percent to $69.8 million in the quarter. The company reported a $45.7 million net loss in its digital marketing business.
CDK last summer announced plans to sell the digital business, which includes advertising and dealership websites. The company lost an exclusivity deal with General Motors, which will give dealers the choice of four website providers — including CDK — starting this year.
In November, Krzanich told analysts on a fiscal first-quarter earnings call that CDK received "a great deal of interest" in the digital marketing business and hoped to close on a transaction by the end of 2019.
CFO Joseph Tautges, in the conference call Tuesday, said a sale hasn't happened yet.
"We're making very good progress in finalizing the sale of the business," he said.
CDK said it is lowering its guidance on net income attributable to CDK for the 2020 fiscal year to $290 million to $310 million, down from a previous range of $340 million to $370 million, "primarily due to changes in assumptions regarding the planned divestiture of our digital marketing business."
The company reaffirmed its 2020 fiscal year revenue projections Tuesday, with expectations between $2 billion and $2.05 billion.


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Freedomizer Radio interview – August 2014
Barbara Filippone interview on Freedomizer Radio discussing concerns in the textile market.
Freedomizer Radio interview – August 2014
Barbara Filippone interview on Freedomizer Radio discussing concerns in the textile market.
Could hemp have a future in Garfield County?
Amanda H Miller, Citizen Telegram, January 9th, 2014
Colorado farmers can register for licenses to grow industrial hemp starting March 1. But will Garfield County growers pursue it?
“It’s hard to know what to expect,” said Ron Carleton, deputy commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “There seems to be a fair amount of interest. The last few months we’ve gotten a number of general inquiries.”
He said he didn’t know how many of those inquiries were coming from the Western Slope or how serious any of them were.
When voters passed Amendment 64 in 2012, they didn’t just vote to allow recreational marijuana sales, but also cultivation of industrial hemp – a crop that does not contain the drug component of marijuana, THC. It’s commonly used in fabrics, paper, rope, soaps and oils.
Legality and logistics
Industrial hemp used to be a major crop in the United States. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper and the government launched the “Hemp for Victory” campaign to urge farmers to grow it during World War II. In the 1970s, farmers were required to get a permit from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to legally cultivate it.
“The DEA doesn’t issue the permits,” Carleton said. “That’s the biggest problem.”
But the U.S. Attorney General’s office issued a statement last year that it wouldn’t intervene in hemp and marijuana cultivation in states that legalized it.
Some Colorado farmers have grown hemp crops without interference, even though state regulations didn’t yet allow it.
“I don’t know of anyone in our area who is seriously talking about growing it,” said Pat McCarty, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension agent.
The risk farmers would take is likely to be a significant deterrent, he said.
Farmers have every reason to be wary, said Barbara Filippone, founder of EnviroTextiles in Glenwood Springs. Her company imports finished hemp products for local textile manufacturing.
While Filippone is confident there will eventually be a local hemp industry, she believes farmers need to be careful even after they get state permits.
Licenses won’t make Colorado hemp farmers immune to federal prosecution, Carleton agreed.
“There’s no question that one of the challenges is going to be getting seed,” he said. “The federal government said it wouldn’t interfere with growing, but I don’t know how they will feel about using the U.S. Postal Service to transport seed.”
Will local farmers try?
Other than general questions and casual conversation, McCarty said he doesn’t know of any Garfield County farmers who are seriously considering hemp.
“People are always interested in alternative crops,” he said. “If you’re on the leading edge, it could be lucrative. But realistically, we don’t have the infrastructure for the industry.”
That’s a major barrier. Local agriculture experts have tried to grow sugar beets on the Western Slope and couldn’t make the numbers work because crops have to be hauled too far. Sunflower seeds were introduced in Northeast Colorado with some success years ago. But the market has dried up without good marketing and nearby processing facilities.
“Besides, we don’t have a lot of true farmers left in our area,” McCarty said.
The local agricultural industry has shifted toward cattle ranches. Those who do still raise crops grow alfalfa grass and hay.
“There would be a pretty steep learning curve,” McCarty said. “Obviously, at one point it was a major crop, but it hasn’t been for decades. I don’t know if there’s anyone alive in Garfield County who ever raised it.”
Is there a market?
Filippone has helped to build hemp industries in countries around the world, such as India, Romania, Poland, China, Thailand and South Korea. She said there is a market for hemp in the U.S. and Colorado is ideally situated to take advantage of it. But the market isn’t what people expect.
“I’ve had farmers asking me what they need to do to make T-shirts,” she said.
That’s not the market for U.S. hemp, Filippone noted. The country already imports all the textile fiber it needs and there’s no way to compete with nations that already have mature hemp industries, she said. The secret to success will be food-grade hemp seeds and oil, plus ground stalks for use in concrete and other building materials, Filippone said.
She estimated it will take a $29 million investment to build up the local infrastructure needed to support a new hemp industry on the Western Slope, but feels local farmers will be able to start the industry from the ground up.
Filippone said seeds and oil could be processed locally with a small investment in equipment for a central processing station. The stalks could sell to concrete and gypsum board manufacturers on the Western Slope.
Carleton noted the state permit is only good for one year and farmers need to have a contract to sell their product to receive one.
“We’ll have a better idea of the interest level after March 1,” he said.
Where do hemp farmers get legal hempseed?
CBS Channel 5 visited with EnviroTextiles to get some updates on hemp farming in Colorado
To view the complete video featuring Barbara and Summer please visit For the complete video taken at our offices, please visit: http://www.krextv.com/story/colo-farmers-prepare-to-register-for-hemp-licenses-20140117
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. - The end of hemp prohibition in America has commenced. Some farmers in Colorado have already begun planting hemp, and all Colorado farmers can officially register to grow the crop come March 1.
Glenwood Springs based company EnviroTextiles, LLC is the manufacturer and importer of more than 100 hemp fabrics world wide. Farmers from across the country have been contacting them daily, asking about machinery, harvesting and processing. They also have many other questions about the budding industry.
Summer Star Haeske, COO and International Sales and Marketing Director of EnviroTextiles, said, “Colorado is leading the nation in being the first state to go forward with allowing our farmers to grow industrial hemp and start to build a viable industry.”
The Colorado Department of Agriculture and the Industrial Hemp Advisory Committee have worked to draft rules and establish registration and inspection protocols. Among them, all registrants are subject to sampling of their industrial hemp crop to verify the THC concentration does not exceed three-tenths of one percent.
President and Lead Product-Developer for EnviroTextiles, Barbara Filippone, said, “The number of inquiries from farmers is unprecedented.” She says she receives a minimum of five calls per day.
Filippone is a main player in the hemp industry.
When asked if she could see this being a multi-million dollar industry in Colorado, Filippone replied, “Billion.”
However, one factor of the industrial hemp business remains unclear.
“Where do we get our seed? Which is not really being publicly clarified,” said Filippone.
Importing hemp seed is illegal.
Ron Carleton, Deputy Commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, tells NewsChannel 5, “Because of federal law, importing seed into Colorado is not a viable, legal option. So growers will have to obtain their seed from within the state. We will not require that registrants identify the source of their seed as part of the registration process.”
Filippone recommends farmers register in order to grandfather the cost of the license, however, she cautions farmers to wait before growing. From her professional standpoint and observations, Filippone believes crops should not be planted until it’s federally secured and endorsed. Without that security, too much risk lies on the farmer.
“I will not allow the farmers ‘don’t ask don’t tell’. They have too much risk,” she said.
While inconsistencies remain, leaders are staying positive.
“It’s finally now coming to fruition,” said Haeske.
”The United States is going to utilize world trade agreements, NAFTA and start playing with the rest of the world, by supplying the rest of the world, rather than lose our jobs to other countries. Amen.”
Two types of registration will be allowed: Research and Development (R & D) and Commercial. R & D is limited to 10 acres or less and will be charged a registration fee of $100 plus $5/acre. Commercial registrants are not limited in size of acreage and will be charged a registration fee of $200 plus $1.00/acre.
Glenwood Woman Solidifies Plans for New West Slope Hemp Industry
An expanded mill to make socks from hemp and other natural fibers. A factory to process thousands of acres worth of locally grown hemp plants into seed oil. And a manufacturing facility to break the hearty plants down into sustainable building materials.
These are just a few of the plans that Glenwood Springs entrepreneur Barbara Filippone, 56, has for the hemp industry on the Western Slope. With the adoption last week of formal hemp cultivation rules by the Colorado Department of Agriculture, her economic development dreams are inching closer to reality.
Since Colorado voters passed Amendment 64 in 2012 legalizing industrial hemp along with its botanical relative, marijuana, Filippone said people have been “coming out of the woodwork” to talk with her about growing hemp or investing in hemp related businesses.
Filippone is uniquely suited to pounce on the burgeoning hemp industry: Along with her daughter, Summer Star Haeske, she currently runs the natural fiber business EnviroTextiles out of a former church in Glenwood Springs. The business imports and distributes all manner of textiles and yarns made from natural fibers, including hemp, and Filippone has more than three decades of experience helping countries like Canada and China develop their domestic hemp sectors.
Like marijuana, hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa, but it contains almost none of pot’s intoxicating THC. With its close resemblance to marijuana, hemp remains federally illegal to grow, but the U.S. Justice Department indicated last summer that it doesn’t intend to interfere with the implementation of Amendment 64.
At present, all the hemp that EnviroTextiles handles is imported, but Filippone hopes that won’t be the case for long. In recent months, she’s begun gathering private investment for a western Colorado agriculture and manufacturing plan that she claims could create more than 170 local jobs in its first phase alone. Although the plan remains confidential, it involves making textiles, building materials, hemp seed oil and other products from factories based between Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction.
Filippone said she’s fielded calls from hundreds of farmers interested in growing hemp in Colorado, and recently had a visit from a woman representing the owner of 50,000 agricultural acres on the Front Range.
Ken Sack, the owner of the Silt-based farm Eagle Springs Organic, is also in early-stage talks with Filippone about converting some of his acreage into hemp production next year.
“It sounds interesting, and we definitely have the room,” said Sack, a former Florida pharmacist who now supplies Whole Foods grocery stores and farmers markets across the state with produce from his 1,600-acre farm. “I hear that hemp takes a lot less water than other crops, and hopefully it’s less problematic than marijuana.”
Filippone said she’s excited about a potential collaboration with Eagle Springs, and about the possibility of selling hemp grown in Silt to manufacturers of building materials on the Western Slope.
“Because of our locations, it seems like a natural fit,” she said.
Compared to the thousands of pot farmers who are racing to set up shop before Colorado’s recreational marijuana market debuts next year, hemp farmers in Colorado will have a fairly straightforward set of rules to follow.
Regulations approved last week by the Colorado Department of Agriculture require hemp growers in the state to pay a $200 annual fee, plus $1 for every acre of hemp they grow. They’ll also have to cover the cost of random state inspections intended to make sure that their hemp plants contain less than 0.3 percent THC, and thus can’t be used to get people high.
Despite the relatively light regulatory burden, some farmers remain nervous about the fact that hemp remains illegal under federal law. There are questions about whether shipments of hemp seed from countries like Canada could be intercepted by U.S. customs agents, and the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, which represents large growers of commodity crops across Colorado, has warned its members to abstain from planting hemp for now, out of fear that it could jeopardize their federal crop insurance.
So far, the lone known planting of the crop in Colorado took place last spring on about 60 acres of land in Springfield, in southeast Colorado, and the farmer responsible had to smuggle his seeds into the U.S., according to media reports.
“Right now, there’s definitely an interest, and some farmers are willing to take the risk and jump in and go while others are waiting until the issues get ironed out,” said Mike McDermott, a Palisade-based farmer who runs a peach orchard, an alpaca farm and a small mill that blends alpaca yarn and Filippone’s fibers into socks.
For Sack, the assurance that the federal government won’t intervene if his hemp plants are approved by the Colorado Department of Agriculture would go a long way toward putting him at ease about hemp.
McDermott suspects that many other farmers feel the same way.
“I think once the farmers get through the whole legal aspect, it will catch on fairly quickly,” he said, adding that hemp is hardier that wheat, corn or other commodity crops and thus ideally suited for the dry and sometimes turbulent conditions of western Colorado.
“We can grow it in pretty much any soil condition we want, and we can utilize 100 percent of the plant,” he said. “If a farmer sees an opportunity to make money without the maintenance of other crops, they’re going to be interested in that.”
By Ben Henderson
Glenwood Springs, CO
November 1st, 2013
Harvesting Hemp in Colorado – The Birth of a New Industry?
Industrial hemp has great potential, but will require new processing and manufacturing facilities
The first hemp harvest is underway in Colorado. At only 55 acres, this harvest is more symbolic than a true reflection of the supply required for a potential new industry. The big question is now that hemp is being grown in the state, what can our farmers expect to do with their crops? Who will purchase them? Who will process them? What applications will hemp be readily available for?
If industrial hemp is going to be successful in the US, we should first pause and look towards the mistakes the Canadians have made the 17 years since they introduced hemp. While Canada is successfully growing hemp, the only viable Canadian product is seed oil, which wastes 80% of hemp’s raw materials.
After nearly two decades of hemp farming and tens of millions invested in the industry, why aren’t we seeing more products from Canada’s hemp harvests? When will we see this plant to produce its 25,000 known uses? What exactly is holding us back? Put simply, we lack the manufacturing infrastructure and the knowledge to transfer industrial hemp into suitable interim materials for product developers at industrial scale.
After nearly a century-long ban, even our ability to produce rough hemp for rope and cordage is essentially lost. However, advances in modern day farming and processing can now be applied to hemp production for the first time, providing an even greater natural resource than was previously available in the early 20th century. New machinery, harvesting processes, grading requirements, and other systems will need to be advised and uniformly followed so that hemp can be introduced into the modern marketplace.
While limited hemp production is seen as the single factor holding back the industry, a grading system for hemp-based materials for commercial applications has never been developed but will be available soon. Without a verifiable grading system that includes stringent testing comparable to existing building materials testing, hemp will have a very limited adoption rate within industries where it should thrive. For example, sustainable building materials provide a broad and encompassing use for industrial hemp, but are very much a niche industry at the moment.
EnviroTextiles, a pioneering hemp company in Colorado, is completing a system for grading hemp for industrial applications. Properly grading and testing hemp products is essential for commercial adoption to meet existing building codes requirements.
In addition to grading, the exact machinery to produce these new materials does not yet exist for large scale commercial applications. Modifications will need to be made to existing machinery to alter the raw hurd to manufacturer’s specifications. EnviroTextile’s technicians are finalizing a suite of custom machinery suited to process hemp materials accordingly to the newly designed grading specifications.
A primary base material for building applications is hemp hurd. The hurd is the inner core of the stalk, a woody material that should be free of the outer skin (bast fiber) before it is ready for processing. The hurd is typically broken down into small chunks for animal bedding as this process is cheap and requires no special equipment. This process is very rough, similar to a pulse blast with a food processor, producing odd sizes and shapes of hurd that often still contains some or all of the fiber from the skin in the final product.
Hurd can potentially be used for thousands of products once it is available to manufacturers as a standardized material for their applications. Manufacturers will then be able to purchase the grade required for their product development, from larger hurd for items such as pressed wall board, to extremely fine grains for plastic composites.
Barbara Filippone, founder of EnviroTextiles, is currently working with Canada to develop a grading system consisting of several grades grades of value added raw materials suited for multiple applications.
If hemp is to gain status as a commodity level base material, the hemp industry must overcome the processing and manufacturing requirements immediately. Processing machinery, grading systems, and infrastrucutre must all be put into place in order to provide proof of concept that hemp can be a profitable crop which serves stable, significant markets. Only then will farmers recognize the incentive to plant industrial hemp so that it can be properly introduced into the marketplace and compete with existing products and base materials.
A note about hemp textiles and fabrics – Utilizing hemp fiber for fabrics has been done for thousands of years, and many hemp enthusiasts are excited to start production in the US. Unfortunately, depending on the species of hemp planted, only 15% (maximum) of the plant is usable fiber. After processing, only 5-7% of the fiber remaining will result in finished fabric. The process from field to fabric includes harvesting, retting, inspection, degumming, spinning into yarn, the entire process of weaving, dye and finishing, and then final inspection. The viability of hemp for fabric and textile production in the US is not going to be an option for the foreseeable future. China and Eastern Europe will remain the two sources for hemp textiles.
EnviroTextiles featured in the Aspen Times
Our local journalist John Colson visited with our office to discuss the state’s plan for industrial hemp. (Click on the image or link for full article)
Our 100% agave scrubbies are the perfect replacement for all of your sponges. They (unlike your typical filthy kithen sponge) are so sturdy that they will easily outlast a 10 pack of kitchen sponges. At our office, we hand wash our dishes daily and we have been using the same agave scrubbie for two years and counting and it hasn’t started to break down yet!
Please call us today and order at least one scrubbie!
Barbara Filippone and Dan Enright at AREDAY in Aspen
Barbara spent 4 days at the Aspen Renewable Energy Days 10th anniversary summit, accompanied by Dan Enright. During the conference they were able to meet with several of the speakers including Ted Turner, General Wesley Clark, and T. Boone Pickens,
Aspen Renewable Energy Day’s (AREDAY) 10th anniversary culminated with an inspiring gala held at the Doerr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Meadows on August 17, 2013. Dr. Sylvia Earle presented a moving keynote address, followed by headliners Ted Turner and Reverend Jesse Jackson in conversation with AREDAY co-founder Sally Ranney. This serious summit, titled “Advancing Clean Energy: Transition to a Stable Global Economy,” covered renewable energy in areas of science, finance, government, and technology development, among others. Founded by Chip Comins and Ranney, the globally recognized event featured the AREDAY summit, expo, film festival, and a special tribute concert by Taj Mahal.
Fabric Test Burn
EnviroTextiles warns of EXTREMELY flammable fabric currently imported into the US. The natural colored sample is a 100% natural fiber blended fabric with no fire retardant or chemical processing. The dark colored fabric is labeled as 100% polyester and apparently passed stringent fire tests.
Following up on EnviroTextiles August 14th Press Release – This fabric could be in your home or your closet. A simple burn test comparing two fabrics, the dark colored sample is a falsely labeled synthetic that is labeled as passing the most stringent commercial fire standards, labeled as 100% Polyester passing the following standards:
1. NFPA 701 Small Scale 2004
2. UFAC Class 1
3. NFPA 260
4. Cal Tech Bulleting 117 SEC.E
Flammable fabrics imported into the US due to false labeling could be in your closet or home
The textile industry must embrace natural fibers to eliminate toxic products
A dangerous flammable fabric is being imported into the US that fails to meet basic fire standards. Testing a fabric sample with the “disposable lighter test,” a very simple test where you put a lighter’s flame to the fabric shows that this fabric fails miserably. The mystery fabric ignites like a sparkler, dripping molten chemicals that burn into the surface of anything that they drip on.
The fabric is labeled as 100% polyester, although silver-nano particles can be seen with the naked eye. Silver particles generally provide anti-microbial properties. Oddly, our test fabric was marketed as “stain resistant” instead of “anti-microbial.”
Relating to the fire testing on the label, Barbara Filippone of EnviroTextiles stated, “These are some of the strictest fire rating tests in the hospitality and commercial application industries. They provide the customer assurance that this fabric is not flammable. I have 40 years of experience in textiles, and this is a completely false label as shown. When I held a lighter to the sample it ignited like a 4th of July sparkler, dripping molten chemical substance. Normal polyester when held to a lighter will roll back on itself and when cooled the polyester becomes quite hard like a plastic.”
The fabric’s label indicates that the following tests were performed, with commentary by Barbara Filippone:
Finish – Nanotex Stain Moisture Resistant Finish: “Based on the fact that nano is smaller than a molecule and that silver was intended for anti-microbial properties, the flame tests are not accurate. The silver particles can be seen with the naked eye and are not embedded. When ignited, the silver becomes airborne. The nano terminology that was used on the labeling to describe the finishing is totally misleading.”
Content – 100% Polyester: “The burn characteristics do not appear to be polyester. In my professional opinion this may not be polyester.”
Abrasion – Exceeds 102,000 Double Rubs: For abrasion testing, there are two standard tests, the Martinson and the Wyzenbeek. The numbers of rub cycles for general contract upholstery are only 20,000 cycles for the Martindale and 15,000 for the Wyzenbeek, nowhere near the 100,000 mark. “If labeled correctly, the abrasion tests would indicate which test standards were used. For example, what abrasion material was used, cotton or wire? How many pounds of pressure were used?”
Cleaning Code – Washable: “Will the silver particles make it through a commercial washing? When I hand washed the sample in warm water silver particles were clearly visible in the bottom of the sink.”
In the early nineties a synthetic georgette fabric was banned from import due to its high flammability. Ms. Filippone was featured on Denver 9 News burning a skirt made from the flammable fabric. That fabric was banned from the US following the flame demonstration. This footage can be found in the 1994 NBC affiliates’ archives on Channel 9 Denver News. EnviroTextiles has a copy for reference if needed.
Another case for false labeling that can be spotted in retail outlets are outdoor performance products contain CoolMax™, a moisture wicking fabric developed by DuPont in 1986. Products containing Coolmax clearly list organic cotton, spandex, and CoolMax™; however what CoolMax™ actually contains is anyone’s best guess.
Drought conditions have created a shortage of organic and traditional cotton, and the countries which produce cotton are under social conflict making it difficult for foreign buyers to trust supply. India is currently one of few stable suppliers although the price of cotton is at all time highs. Without a stable cotton supply, the textile industry will likely continue its shift to more synthetics. We must become more conscious as consumers or we all may be wearing plastic clothing made from GMO corn in the future. Consumers should aggressively support programs for transparent labeling on all products, not just food items. The USDA’s BioPreferred program was recently created to provide consumers with product transparency for products marketed as green and sustainable. Programs like the USDA Bio Preferred program are essential to insure that our “green” products are actually what they say they are.
EnviroTextiles produced the first example of transparency labeling in 2004 when Filippone decided that since our food products show content, it makes sense to provide the same transparency for all products.


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NEVADA (KTNV) — Smith’s is recalling cheese dips sold at their stores because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e. infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis. No customer illnesses have been confirmed to date.
On July 31, the company was notified by supplier Onions 52 that it had received red, yellow, and white onions from Thomson International, Inc., which had been implicated in the salmonella-related outbreak.
On Aug. 1, bulk onions sourced from Thomson International, Inc. were removed from sale in stores that had been identified as receiving the affected product.
Subsequently, it was determined that several in-store made cheese dips may have used red onions from the produce department as an ingredient.
The dips, which are in plastic containers, were sold between May 15, 2020, and Aug. 6, 2020:
Out of an abundance of caution, these items have been removed from store shelves and the company has initiated its customer recall notification system that alerts customers who may have purchased recalled products through register receipt tape messages and phone calls.
Customers who have purchased the product described above should not consume it and should return it to a store for a full refund or replacement.
Additional questions can be directed to Kroger Customer Connect at 1-800-576-4377.


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Everything to know about HarmonyOS, Huawei's answer to Android as the trade war between the US and China rages on
- Huawei unveiled its HarmonyOS software on Friday, the homegrown operating system it's been developing as the company has been blacklisted from working with US firms like Google.
- The software will first appear in smart screen devices and will eventually be available on wearables and in-car systems too.
- The debut comes as President Trump said the US will cut its ties with Huawei.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On Friday, Chinese tech giant Huawei unveiled its new HarmonyOS software - an operating system for its upcoming electronic devices. The launch comes as Huawei remains on a blacklist that prevents it from working with American software giants like Google.
In the wake of Huawei's announcement, President Trump said on Friday that the United States will cut its ties with the Chinese tech behemoth. The move comes just after China had stopped purchasing American agricultural products, a response to the Trump administration's latest round of tariffs on Chinese imports.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the White House had been delaying its decision to issue licenses to American business that wish to work with Huawei following its blacklisting in May. The blacklisting means Huawei will lose access to Android, which powers the majority of the world's smartphones.
Although Huawei has said it wants to continue using Android, it could use its homegrown operating system as a replacement for Google's software. Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business group, said it could switch its smartphones from Android to HarmonyOS in one or two days if it had to, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Huawei is debuting its new software as it's on the verge of releasing its highly-anticipated foldable smartphone, the Mate X, which is said to come in September.
Here's a look at everything we know about Harmony OS based on Huawei's announcement.
The operating system isn't just for smartphones.
The first devices to get Harmony OS will be smart screens.
Developers will be able to create apps once and deploy them across multiple types of devices.
The software should offer fast performance, Huawei claims.
It will launch in China but will eventually be available globally.
- I just got laid off from my dream job at Tesla without warning. I feel like my life got uprooted so a billionaire could save some money.
- Four-days work week, full and final settlement within 2 days of exit — new changes at workplaces to reflect from July 1
- Mark Zuckerberg told Meta staff he's upping performance goals to get rid of employees who 'shouldn't be here,' report says
- Antonia Wade, PwC's global CMO, tells Insider how B2B spending changes in tough economic times
- Ban on single-use plastic kicks in across India as the country recognises the choking impacts of plastic waste on the environment
- Bank FDs will draw down from mutual funds if interest rates go up to 7.5-8%, says report
- Best smartphones under ₹40,000 in India
- Are we worse off than we were in 2008? Foreign investors seem to think so


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It'll be the same PS4 experience, just in VR.
Some games just shouldn't get left behind.
Minecraft is using OpenXR for its desktop VR support.
You'll need to signup to take part.
The real world is getting a voxel update.
Windows Mixed Reality users will be able to take advantage of upcoming 4K graphical upgrade to Minecraft.
Guest Writer Michael Park, the CEO and Founder of LipSync discusses the burgeoning interest in augmented reality on mobile thanks to ARKit
Back for another year, Kevin E dishes out his own awards after watching E3 from afar. And it's the usual unusual affair...
For a start it seems that the PS4 isn't going to be joining the fun any time soon...
The unification process is nearly complete.


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In a world’s first, a commercial hydrogen-powered cargo vessel will make its maiden voyage later this year. Developed by French shipowner Compagnie Fluvial Transport (CFT), the vessel will be the world’s first cargo ship to run on hydrogen and is set to be deployed on the river Seine in Paris.
The hydrogen cargo vessel will operate on compressed hydrogen produced from electrolysis, paving the way for more local zero-emission transport to be developed in the near future. Designed to only operate on inland water routes, the vessel will be tasked with moving goods on pallets and containers along Paris’s iconic urban river.
The boat has been developed as part of the European project Flagships, which aims to accelerate the development of zero-emission waterborne transport. The EU recognizes the decarbonization of the shipping industry as key to tackling climate change, so the union awarded the project $5.9m in funding in 2018.
“The demand for more sustainable technologies in inland waterway transport is on the rise,” said Matthieu Blanc, CFT Director. “As part of the Flagships project, we are happy to be leading the way on reducing emissions from transport and demonstrating the superior features of hydrogen fuel cells in waterborne applications.”


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Pepperdine University Unveils New Dining and Catering Experiences through Partner Bon Appétit Management Company
Beginning on August 1, 2022, Pepperdine University is excited to unveil a new on-campus
dining and catering experience through Bon Appétit Management Company, the University’s
new dining services provider. Bon Appétit will usher in a new era of dining with a
renewed focus on Pepperdine’s values of fellowship and joy over shared meals. The
restaurant company is succeeding Sodexo, which partnered with Pepperdine for more
than four decades providing exceptional hospitality services.
"Pepperdine's best partners have historically been those who share in our pursuit
of excellence through a values-driven approach to work and community,” says Pepperdine
vice president and chief business officer Nicolle Taylor. “Bon Appétit is just that
kind of partner, and I couldn't be more excited for the delicious food, commitment
to integrity, and exceptional customer service they will bring to our shared life
together at Pepperdine."
Since its founding in 1987, Bon Appétit has remained dedicated to providing exceptional food cooked from scratch daily to its clients. The company has become a preeminent on-site restaurant company for universities, corporations, museums, and other specialty venues. Bon Appétit’s chefs and hospitality staff serve in more than 1,000 cafes across 33 states making it one of the leading providers for higher education food service.
When cofounding Bon Appétit, Fedele Bauccio and Ernie Collins brought an abiding commitment to and value of fresh, healthy, and delicious food to the core of their work. The cofounders also realized that mass-market produce all too often jeapordized flavor, launching Bauccio and Collins into direct conversations with local farmers and subsequently another pillar of Bon Appétit’s food service model—sustainability. In 1999 the company launched its Farm to Fork program, requiring chefs to buy at least 20 percent of their ingredients from farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and food producers within 150 miles of their kitchens. Shortly after Bon Appétit continued to make strides for sustainability, including reducing antibiotic use in farm animals, switching to rBGH-free milk, tackling food’s role in climate change, and upholding farmworkers’ rights.
Beyond Bon Appétit’s value of sustainability, the restaurant company brings a proven commitment to health and wellness, care for allergies and dietary restrictions, excellent customer service, responsiveness to feedback, and a diverse team-oriented workplace culture to each of its clients, including Pepperdine University. Along with the chefs’ fresh takes on weekly menu options, on the Malibu campus students, faculty, staff, and University guests will be able to discover newly designed cafeteria spaces that elevate Pepperdine’s values of fellowship, togetherness, and joy.
Overall the new campus dining and catering experiences will have a renewed focus on foundational values—a simple kitchen philosophy focused on cooking from scratch using locally produced, seasonal ingredients; an innovative approach to menu development and a dedication to using whole foods as the foundation of a healthful diet; diverse menu offerings that accommodate a variety of dining restrictions and allergen concerns; and a commitment to sustainability and responsible food sourcing whenever possible—thoughtfully developed by the Bon Appétit team.
To learn more about Bon Appétit and the new offerings, visit the Pepperdine University Dining website.


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Get ready for cell phone service from the cable guy.
Cox Communications announced today that it’s getting into the wireless business, and not just some halfhearted effort to rival AT&T and Verizon. The cable company is offering smartphones, feature phones, and basic phones with service plans that may actually be cheaper than any of the major carriers’ plans. Here’s everything you need to know about Cox’s so-called “Unbelievably Fair Wireless.”
Who can get Cox Wireless?
Right now, it’s only available to customers in Hampton Roads, Virginia; Omaha, Nebraska; and Orange County, California. Service will expand, but only to other markets where Cox already operates, according to Bloomberg.
But does Cox Wireless cover the whole country?
Yes, if you sign up with Cox in Omaha, you’ll be able to use the phone nationwide. Of course, there are dead zones. Here’s the coverage map.
What about speeds? 4G, 3G or slower?
Bloomberg says Cox is using Sprint’s 3G network for now. The latest PC World wireless speed test showed average download speeds of 795 kbps, and 396 kbps average uploads for Sprint. Cox plans to build its own network, but whether it’ll be next-generation wireless is unclear.
Will Cox sell smartphones?
There’s a lot of Android love in Cox’s smartphone line-up, but no super high-end handsets like the Droid X or Evo 4G. Among the offerings are HTC’s Desire, Hero (Droid Eris on Verizon), and Wildfire and Motorola’s Milestone (the original Verizon Droid). I can’t find any information on how much the phones will cost.
How much do the plans cost?
The basic cost isn’t drastically different from other carriers, starting at $40 per month for a 450-minute individual plan and $70 per month for an 800-minute family plan with two lines. Unlimited messaging costs $20 per month for individuals and $30 per month for families. Data costs $15 per month for some devices and $30 per month for “advanced devices.” There’s also a $30 unlimited text and data plan for individuals. For all the nitty gritty options, see this PDF.
Why bother with Cox instead of a major carrier, then?
Cox will use two lures to hook customers. The first is a so-called MoneyBack Minutes program that pays you back for unused calling time, up to $20 per month. Cox may also offer a “quadruple play” bundle that includes cable, home Internet, home phone and wireless service at a discount, but it’s not clear what the savings will be.
Any ways to save minutes?
In addition to the usual nights (starting at 9 p.m.) and weekends, mobile-to-mobile calls are free, as are mobile calls to Cox home phone customers.
What do you think of all this?
Glad I asked myself. Telcos like Verizon and AT&T have been stepping on cable’s turf with their own home television, Internet and phone services, so now Cox is fighting back. If Cox expands to enough markets and builds its own network, as intended, it’ll become a credible threat to wireless carriers, and the competition will hopefully benefit customers. The voice minute buy-back idea, at least, deserves to be replicated.


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The developer of hardware cryptocurrency wallets Ledger has released an extension for Apple’s Safari browsers. About the new developers reported on the official site.
An extension called Ledger Extension allows wallet holders to connect to NFT marketplaces (like OpenSea) or decentralized applications (like Uniswap, 1inch) directly through the browser. The Ledger Extension supports both applications based on the Ethereum blockchain and on the Polygon sidechain.
The extension also checks smart contracts connected to the wallet for fraud, stated in interview TechCrunch VP of User Experience Engineering at Ledger Karl Anderson. Moreover, the extension will simulate a transaction to show how the connected protocol intends to interact with a cryptocurrency wallet, Anderson added.
At the time of writing, the Ledger Extension is in beta testing. It is available only to owners of the Ledger Nano X hardware wallet due to the built-in Bluetooth module. In the future, the extension is expected to receive support for Windows, as well as Chrome, Brave, Opera, Edge, and Firefox browsers. Whether the extension will work with other hardware wallets in the Ledger line is not specified.
At the end of December 2022, Chinese journalist Colin Wu reported that several representatives of the crypto community faced a freeze of funds while working with Ledger partners. When working with the trading platforms Changelly and Wyre, one of the users completely lost access to almost $3 million in assets.
It turned out that the wallet at the interface level recommended changing the cryptocurrency through the above platforms. At the same time, Ledger claimed that the exchange would not require identity verification. In reality, it turned out that after sending the cryptocurrency to the declared sites, users still need to confirm their identity, and Changelly and Wyre representatives often stopped contacting users.
Stay in touch! Subscribe to CryptoNewsHerald.com at Telegram.


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Aside from unveiling OS X Mavericks during their WWDC keynote, Apple also sneakily handed out preview copies of the upcoming version of OS X running on a MacBook Air to a number of prominent journalists. The first Apple-sanctioned hands-on previews have begun hitting the web in force – and pundits all seem to agree, this is one OS X update you won’t want to miss.
Latest Apple News & Mac News
As many of you have likely heard, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier today, overturning a proposed ban against benefits for homosexual couples, and strongly implying that banning homosexual marriage is unconstitutional. A number of companies have stood up to applaud the decision – including Apple, who provided a strong statement in support of the decision to AllThingsD.
A new study shows that in the last year alone the total number of malicious apps has grown an astounding 614% to 276,259 and 92% of malicious mobile software is targeted at the Android platform.
Apple has added a new webpage to their site promoting the enterprise features iOS will offer. The site promotes everything from configuration to data security features in the upcoming iOS version.
Jet Blue has joined the Mile-High Club. No, not that one. The airline has joined the likes of American Airlines, United, and British Airways in issuing iPads to its pilots to replace the heavy flight bags they traditionally carry. However, they are taking the idea one step further than the other airlines.
9to5Mac has discovered that iOS 7 beta 2, which was released yesterday, offers a new function for developers that allows them to locate facial expressions in photos.
Sprint Nextel Corp shareholders gave the OK to a sweetened takeover offer from SoftBank Corp on Tuesday, bringing the takeover battle for Sprint to a close. Satellite TV provider Dish had also made a bid for the number 3 U.S. wireless carrier, but dropped out in the face of SoftBank’s higher bid.
Dropbox updated its iOS app to version 2.3 on Tuesday. The update includes new swipe gesture support for all files and folders, sharing of multiple files, and the ever-popular bug fixes and improvements.
Apple launched its online store for Russian customers on Wednesday, bringing online ordering to the world’s ninth most populous nation. Apple is offering its full lineup of products to Russian customers.
The grand and glorious “Facebook Phone” experiment seems to be at an end, as CNET reports that AT&T has sold the last of its HTC First handsets and has no plans to order any more.
American Airlines has officially become the latest airline to ditch extremely heavy pilot flight bags in favor of Apple’s iPad for all future flights. The airline officially made the announcement on Monday, noting that the switch should save the company upwards of $1 million in annual fuel costs.
Apple released a nice little update for their iTunes U app – used to take advantage of a host of free online high school and university courses from Stanford and other educational institutions. The update adds significantly improved support for several languages, as well as the addition of a handy pull-to-update feature.
Among the many changes Apple has made in iOS 7 are a pair of all-new voices for Siri – and as YouTube user Alex Mackenzie demonstrates in a new video, Apple’s “personal digital assistant” now sounds even more human than ever before – almost eerily so.
A new image floating around on Chinese micro-blogging service Sina Weibo claims to show Apple’s next-gen iPhone display on an active production line, suggesting that mass production of the device is already well underway at Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partners.
Apple’s repeated mentions of 4K support for the new Mac Pro are more than a little interesting, and the Thunderbolt display is, in fact, overdue for an update – so I decided to do a bit of checking around on retail stock levels. What I found was that Apple is apparently restricting new shipments of their Thunderbolt Display until further notice.
Microsoft may not be the most friendly group of folks out there when it comes to working with other companies – particularly Apple. But according to a report from Nikkei (via Reuters), the company is nevertheless planning to bring one if its most popular PC and console games to Apple’s mobile platform – Age of Empires!


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Demand for MOSFETS and IGBTs will be especially strong from automakers and their suppliers By James Carbone.
The discrete semiconductor market will post 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent sales growth annually over the next five years as revenue rises from $20.4 billion in 2016 to $24.3 billion in 2021, according to researcher IHS Markit Technology.
“The discretes market yo-yos,” said Richard Eden, senior analyst II, power semiconductors for IHS, who is based in Wellingborough, United Kingdom. “It may rise for five to seven quarters and then decline for three or four quarters. In a typical 10-year period, it would have declined in two or three of the years, but will end up higher than it started at the beginning of the period,” said Eden.
The discretes market, which includes RF and microwave devices, power transistors, thyristors, power rectifiers and small signal transistors, is cyclical and can be impacted by overly optimistic forecasts by OEMs, electronics manufacturing services providers and distributors.
“With forecasting, there is a tendency to be slightly overoptimistic,” said Eden. So, if an OEM is “slightly optimistic and their EMS provider and other global supply partners are optimistic, by the time the forecast gets to the chip maker it is higher than it should be,” said Eden. As a result, the chipmaker may over invest in capacity and when the optimistic forecast does not result in orders, prices fall and the market declines.
While the discretes business may be cyclical, it appears it will be in a growth period for the next several years. Researcher IC Insights forecasts 3 per cent sales growth in 2017 and then 5 per cent growth in 2018 and 6 per cent growth in 2019.
According to IC Insight’s forecast discrete unit shipments will post similar growth rates. In 2016, the number of discrete semiconductors shipped totaled 377.7 billion. Discretes shipments will have a compound annual growth rate of 5 per cent through 2020 when 478.3 billion discrete chips will ship, the researcher said.
One component manufacturer reporting healthy discretes demand is Vishay Intertechnology, based in Malvern, Penn. Dave Valletta, executive vice president, worldwide sales, said Vishay saw 4.5 per cent revenue growth for discretes in 2016 and demand has been strong so far in 2017.
A “crazy” market
“The market in general right now is going crazy,” he said. “All products are growing including discretes. Orders are going through the roof.” He said there is inventory buildup occurring because “customers are trying to make sure that they have enough stock. Generally, we have seen very strong book to bills,” said Valletta. In fact, the book-to-bill ratio for some discretes used by the auto industry is 1.5, he said.
One reason for strong discretes demand is the automotive business. “Automotive for sure is driving business right now in discretes, but automotive has always been strong for Vishay,” said Valletta.
Eden said automotive is driving a lot of demand for discretes especially for power transistors and rectifiers.
“The trend is toward more electrification both in car engines but also within the cars such as automated electric windows, power steering and so on,” he said. “We see automotive as being one of if not the fastest sectors for power discretes.”
Valletta added, somewhat surprisingly, Vishay saw an uptick in demand for discretes from the computer industry. “That was kind of unexpected. It was in decline but now has started to show some signs of life,” said Valletta.
However, growth in discretes demand from the computer segment may be an anomaly and may be short lived. Eden said that while computing had historically been a huge market for discretes it has been “flat or declining for the last four or five years,” said Eden.
“The boom in sales of laptops and PCs has dwindled. It’s not a big driver now,” said Eden. Communications had also been a driver for discretes, but has been flat.
However, consumer electronics has been a strong segment for discretes and the industrial segment is the largest segment for discretes, said Eden.
Strong demand for MOSFETs
While demand for discretes is rising from several segments, some discretes are in more demand than others. For instance, demand is healthy for metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) and insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT).
‘Demand for rectifiers is just behind MOSFETs,” said Eden. “Rectifiers are fairly stable. Rectifiers tend to be the follower not the leader. When you design your circuits, you use the best MOSFET and the best IGBT you can find. Then you pick the rectifier accordingly. You don’t design in the rectifier first, but you need them so there is stable demand,” he said.
With demand increasing, Valletta said there is “a little bit of concern in the industry with what is going on with the supply base. There’s been a significant amount of consolidation in the semiconductor industry including among discrete semiconductor suppliers and more consolidation is likely.
There are benefits to consolidation in the discretes industry for suppliers, according to Eden. “Consolidation will probably make the supply base more stable because fewer companies will get inflated forecasts,” said Eden.
He notes when there are shortages, large OEMs and EMS providers sometimes place orders with multiple suppliers to guarantee they get the parts they need and then cancel the orders if the forecasts are inaccurate and the parts are not needed. The practice often results in an inflated view of what real demand for the parts is.
“With consolidation, discrete suppliers will have a more objective view of demand from their customers,” said Eden. “The same orders will not be sent to loads of suppliers,” he said. “It will increase stability.”
With consolidation, some semiconductor buyers are concerned there will be fewer supplier choices and less competition for their business. However, Eden said consolidation doesn’t necessarily mean less competition.
“The devices made by the consolidated companies were never the same,” he said. For example, ON Semiconductor purchased Fairchild in 2016. Both companies made MOSFETs, but their products don’t overlap much, said Eden. “Fairchild’s MOSFETs are higher power and more current while ON’s MOSFETs are lower current and lower power,” he said. Only about 5 or 10 per cent of their products overlap even though they both make products with similar names” according to Eden.
The situation is similar with Infineon and International Rectifier (IR). Infineon acquired IR in 2015. “IR was an American supplier within the American market and with some business in Asia, while Infineon was stronger in Europe and stronger and in Asia, said Eden.
“Geographically they did not overlap much and their products don’t match each other,” he said. “They complement each other. Customer side may end up getting better value,” said Eden.
However, while buyers may appreciate value they are also concerned about discretes prices. The good news is despite rising demand and consolidation, average prices should remain essentially flat in 2017 and 2018, according to IC Insights. For instance, the average price for a discrete was $0.0586 in 2016 and would be $0.0589 in 2017, the researcher said.
There is a chance that prices could increase if there is more consolidation and capacity shrinks and there are shortages. However, price increases would be temporary. “The overall long-term trend is a slow price decline for discretes,” said Eden.


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Software Addresses Sales Needs
Instant gratification. In today’s jan/san industry, end user customers demand it. Distributors live by it.
When end user customers contact their distributor sales representatives, they expect to get quick on-the-spot answers and not the old-fashioned runaround.
Customers expect their supplier to know the availability of a product, its price, and when it will arrive on their doorstep. In years past, distributor sales reps didn’t have the proper technology to address customer demands while on the road. So, they were left with the tedious task of having to phone into the office while with customers to check on the availability of products and pricing.
Nowadays, distributors are quick to fulfill their customers’ inquiries with help from distribution software companies who have helped automate the selling process with sales software. Orders get filled on the spot and, for the most part, shipped the next day.
Not only has the jan/san-specific software helped streamline the sales process for distributor sales reps, but it has also equipped them with enough tools to be considered a mobile customer service desk.
Today’s distribution sales software provides mobile sales people with a wide range of real-time capabilities designed to boost productivity and sales. Advancements in software now allow sales reps in the field to be able to address just about every aspect of their daily job duties, says Derek Wallace, vice president of sales-cleaning services for Milford, Conn.-based Eastern Bag & Paper Co., a distributor who has been equipping its sales staff with distribution sales software for more than seven years.
Via their laptops, the company’s sales reps are able to look up complete client information, sales histories, customer-specific issues, see invoices to assist with collections, check inventory availability, take orders, and transmit everything back to the office while on the road, Wallace explains.
“It gives our salespeople immediate information about their accounts, what’s happening, and the ability to answer questions or place orders for their customers,” Wallace says. “So, they’re not having to call into a customer service rep or have to call into purchasing for basic questions.”
Software can eliminate the step of saying to the customer, let me get back to you on this, because the sales reps can give customers the pricing right away. So, the sales reps don’t have to call purchasing for an item to see when an item is coming in, they know when it is, says Wallace.
Each morning, Wallace says the company’s sales reps are able to download a report that contains the information on all of their orders that were shipped, as well as what is expected to go out on that particular day. The report also tells them the expected delivery time for the company’s delivery trucks, and gives accurate updates of the current inventory and items that are on backorder. The software even allows the reps to go as far as breaking down the orders by what went out, by customer, by product and by line, says Wallace.
“They can place orders through the system, they see all the receivables, what’s current, what’s outstanding, what’s overdue by customers,” he says. “They can do order guides, they can check current pricing, and then they get their commission reports on there as well. Then, during the day, if they need to place an order, they can sign in to the system and they can place their order right through there.”
Distributors have also found distribution sales software to be extremely helpful in determining who their top customers are though the detailed reports that can be run through the systems.
Chuck Crouse, owner of Crouse Enterprises, Vacaville, Calif., says when he needs a question answered about a particular customer’s purchasing habits, it takes the software he is using no longer than 30 seconds to print out a detailed report. The findings from the reports help in determining who his sales people concentrate more of their time on to increase sales.
“So we can do some ranking as to who our top 10 to 15 customers are and compare them to the previous year,” says Crouse. “We can see who we slid away from and who we’re not doing business with this year that we were doing business with last year. So, we then know we have to spend some time concentrating on increasing that business.”
Distributors are always searching for ways to increase their bottom line, whether its by wooing customers from their competition or turning occasional customers into top customers. But in order for that to happen, distributors must be able to predict who will buy what products and in what quantity. Distributors nowadays are finding that distribution sales software is helping ease the daunting task of predicting how their customers will purchase.
Most software programs include effective sales analysis tools. So, a distributor can locate customer trends and buying patterns through the years of company data and history that gets stored within the system. Distributors are now able, with a couple clicks of the mouse, to pull up accurate reports that tells them when the last time a certain customer or multiple customers bought a specific product. It has come a long way from the time when distributors were manually filing invoices and doing reports by hand.
“The software can help a distributor not only keep customers but also get more product penetration into a customer,” says Andy Brahms, owner of Armchem Intl. Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It helps you keep in touch with them, especially the ones who aren’t buying that frequently. And it’s a great tool with your salespeople because you can sit down and go over these reports with them and find out why certain customers are not buying or why they don’t buy enough. You can pretty much narrow down every single part of your business in terms of your products that you sell — when was the last time you sold it and how much the customer paid for it — it’s right at your fingertips.”
Also, sales software’s pricing mechanism can help reduce pricing errors by sales reps in the field, says Heike Milhench, president of Milhench Supply Co., New Bedford, Mass.
“The system prices the customer automatically based on the margin that the product was last sold,” she says. “So, lets say I’m selling a product at 30 percent margin to a customer and we have a price increase, the next time someone calls up that item for that customer, the new price will pop up maintaining that 30 percent margin. And so the computer is using the sales history to price a customer out.”
The company’s sales reps are also able to do price quotes for customers while in the field. Another added benefit is that the system will save the quote and when the customer calls back to make the purchase, it calls up the quote automatically — no matter who inputted the quote into the system.
But like any new software implementation, Milhench says it will take some time to get used to it and to find a return on investment.
“The pricing mechanism, it will take us some time to get there as the history is building up in the system,” she says. “But the way it’s designed, which will be good for us is that it takes the guesswork out of pricing the customer, so whoever is entering the order, whether it’s the inside sales or the sales rep, the computer is supposed to spit out the right price for the customer based on the history. In the old days it was more judgment calls for inside sales — there was a lot more human factor involved.”
Distributors who have yet to invest in or are thinking about upgrading their current distribution software should be prepared for an eye-opening experience.
“If you’ve never went out and bought industry specific software, the first time you go out and are shopping, it’s like the most incredible sticker shock you’ll ever get,” says Brahms. “Because they come back with a quote and you’re going, ‘holy man, I’m buying a Mercedes Benz here.’ The cost is unbelievable, but then you find out it’s like that everywhere.”
Not only is the software itself a pricey investment, distributors must be careful to avoid the hidden costs that may spring the initial price even higher during the implementation stage. Brahms says the first time he decided on implementing an industry specific software program, his supplier did not inform him that he needed to purchase new hardware and was hit with an unexpectedly larger bill.
“You have to understand exactly what hardware is needed to run with the software, so there’s no hidden costs when it comes time to implement and start to phase in the software,” he says. “Because that can add a tremendous amount to the cost of doing it.”
For some distributors, that means a complete makeover of their current computer operating system to make sure it is compatible. Some distributors may be required to update their hardware, such as computers, laptops and servers on top of the cost for implementation, consulting and the software itself. In the end, distributors could be footing a bill in the ballpark range of $100,000.
But most distributors realize that investing in software programs that help streamline operations and save time, money and give more efficiencies is worth the high up front cost in the long run.
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A PROMOTION in last week’s South Down’s edition of the County Times, which entitled customers to £5 off their shopping bill at Waitrose store in Old Mill Square, Storrington, was an outstanding success.
Hundreds of readers took up the offer, coming not only from Storrington itself, but also from surrounding villages and appreciated the chance to reduce their shopping cost- and at the same time enjoy the South Downs edition of the County Times.
County Times sales executive Letitia Holder said: “We had a good positive time in Storrington, meeting customers and staff at Waitrose on Thursday through to Saturday lunchtime.
“Reader offers like this not only give our readers added value, but also gives a platform to promote local businesses with advertising that can highlight their strengths and customer care.
“It is always good to actively support these promotions and spend some time meeting customers and chatting with them, which makes the County Times accessible to local thoughts and ideas we may otherwise miss.”


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Bullish on its Chinese biz, L’Oreal China highlights ‘joint creation’ in long term strategies
L’Oreal China stated it will target on joint initiatives with associates on manufacturer and products improvement, splendor engineering and ecological protection as it celebrated its 25th anniversary in the state by unveiling a series of approaches for the coming a long time.
The motion plan, emphasizing the significance of joint creation with the regional ecosystem, was introduced on the basis that China has risen to turn out to be the attractiveness giant’s 2nd-most significant current market as it averaged 20 % calendar year-on-calendar year expansion in the past two many years inspite of the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Chinese financial state has demonstrated solid resilience and potential as normally, injecting momentum and vitality into the advancement of overseas providers in China and earth economic recovery,” Fabrice Megarbane, president of L’Oreal North Asia and CEO of L’Oreal China, mentioned in a celebratory occasion previous Friday in Shanghai.
“L’Oreal’s good results in China always witnessed, benefited from and contributed to China’s method of firmly expanding domestic demand from customers and the selection of opening-up.”
L’Oreal unveiled a five-pronged strategy, calling it “co-develop, co-empower, co-build, co-safeguard and co-invent”.
Highlights incorporate encouraging far more inclusive, nimble and inventive natural beauty tech, inspiring solution and model innovation with partners and workforce alike, and contributing to an eco-friendly system with the efforts of all events.
In the quarter finished December, L’Oreal China attained calendar year-on-calendar year development of extra than 50 p.c in comparison with 2019 in pre-COVID times, its hottest earnings report reported.
L’Oreal’s North Asia zone, which is centered in Shanghai and also encompasses markets like Japan and South Korea, registered a 17.6 percent yr-on-12 months increase in 2021, which a little bit surpassed the 16.1 percent raise posted by the complete group.
When expansion in the 2nd 50 % of 2021 eased in China, it continue to represented important progress in absolute conditions provided China’s currently sizable sector, Megarbane explained to China Each day in an on line job interview.
“We still think the fundamental of the sector is there and the splendor marketplace is very resilient,” he reported. “If you take it on the mid-to-extended phrase, we nonetheless see a marketplace which need to keep on increasing at the substantial solitary digit, which for the size of the Chinese marketplace, is still extremely fantastic development for the long run.”
The enterprise has spared no exertion in advancing China as a single of its crucial expansion engines. Soon after recognizing Shanghai in Might as its North Asia headquarters, it also aims to variety a distinctive natural beauty triangle showcasing skincare highlights in China, Japan and South Korea, leveraging natural beauty trends and synergies from those people marketplaces.
The company has a keep track of document of infusing technology into skincare goods and solutions, internet hosting a selection of neighborhood campaigns to attract science talent and foster joint innovation, these types of as the setup of the L’Oreal Academician Doing work Station in Shanghai.
On minimizing its carbon footprint, the enterprise vowed to regulate carbon emissions of provide chains to battle climate change, disclose the environmental and social influence of L’Oreal products to assistance shoppers make sustainable options and take part in the 2022 China Carbon Neutrality Expo.
The COVID pandemic is possible to bring sweeping changes to the cosmetics marketplace, from selective selection of colored cosmetics to increasing care for physique cleaning, a research by Kantar Worldpanel stated.
People’s awareness and fondness of environmentally helpful products are plainly on the increase, explained Jason Yu, standard supervisor of Kantar Worldpanel China.
“This, along with continuing instruction from media and models about sustainability, usually means that products with environmentally welcoming features will get a lot more preference between shoppers, which will possible inspire the elegance industry to combine sustainability into manufacturer tactic, and aim additional on items with ‘nature’ and ‘healthy’ ideas,” he mentioned.


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Health experts recently issued a warning regarding online breastmilk, branding it “dangerous” due to a lack of screening, and another alarming finding has been shared with the world this week.
On top of previous health warnings, researchers have revealed that, in many cases, online breast milk is not solely human, but may also contain cow’s milk.
Researcher Sarah Keim, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio, led a study in which she and her team examined the components of breast milk samples purchased online.
Shockingly, Keim’s study found that 10 out of 102 breast milk samples purchased online contained at least 10% cow’s milk. The cow’s milk could have come either directly from a regular milk carton or from baby formula, according to Keim’s findings.
The study, which was published today in the health journal Paediatrics, follows a previous study by Keim in which it was found that 75% of these same samples were contaminated with viruses or bacteria.
The samples involved were purchased from a number of different websites in 2012.
Commenting on her findings, Keim said of online breast milk, in general: “It could be very harmful to babies with allergies or intolerance to cow’s milk.”
Many women turn to online breast milk for their children if they are unable to breastfeed themselves.


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X5 Retail group has nominated a new CEO ’s Igor Shekhterman, while Stephan DuCharme will return to the Company’s Supervisory Board as its Chairman. Under Stephan Ducharme's management, X5 has successfully introduced a new Pyaterochka store concept and expanded this core store format in regions.
New CEO - Igor Shekhterman
X5 Retail Group today announced that Stephan DuCharme has decided to step down as CEO of X5 having successfully completed X5’s turnaround. He will return to the Company’s Supervisory Board as its Chairman, subject to his nomination as a Board member being approved by the Company’s shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting to take place in November this year. The Board has nominated Igor Shekhterman, currently member of the Board, to succeed Stephan as CEO of the Company.
Igor Shekhterman has been a member of the Board and Chairman of its Nomination and Remuneration Committee since 2013. In this capacity he has played an active role in the formation of the current X5 senior management team, based on a deep understanding of X5 and its business needs. Igor has been Managing Partner and CEO in RosExpert, which he co-founded in 1996 and has subsequently successfully developed into the Russian alliance partner of Korn Ferry.
Stephan DuCharme has over the last three years led the implementation of X5’s new operating model, the renewal of its three retail formats based on refreshed value propositions, the accelerated ramp-up of new trading space delivery and the formation of a strong senior management team. Stephan DuCharme and Igor Shekhterman have worked together closely over this period, in particular with regard to building the current leadership team. Stephan DuCharme previously served on the Board from 2008-2012.
Pyaterochka entering railway stations
X5 Retail Group has entered an agreement with the Railway Trading Company, under which the two sides aim to open nearly 300 retail outlets across Russia by 2019. The stores will be co-branded as RTC-Pyaterochka, and will operate on a ‘reverse franchising’ model. This will see Pyaterochka being involved in the store launch and offering operational support, including equipment, IT solutions, staff training, logistics, advertising, and maintenance. The RTC, meanwhile, will be responsible for day-to-day management of the stores. The stores will cover an average selling space of 350 sq m, and stock around 4,000 items. X5 aims to open five initial stores by late 2015.
Pyaterochka growing in regions through M&A
X5 Retail Group has acquired 104 stores owned by the Rosinka Group in the Orel, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Kursk and Tambov regions, half of which is located in the Orel region. The purchased Rosinka, Apelsin and Sberegaika stores will be rebranded under the Pyaterochka banner. In the first half of 2015, X5 Retail Group has acquired 100% stake in SPAR Retail, owned by A&NN Investments Ltd. SPAR Retail operating 26 stores in Moscow, Moscow Region and Vladimir. It also acquired 100 stores owned by the Soseddushka retail chain in Orenburg and the Orenburg region.
To see the new Pyaterochka store concept clickhere.
|Miloš Ryba is a Senior Retail Analyst International at IGD. Miloš has been analysing global retailers and emerging markets for more than a decade. His deep expertise lies in Central & Eastern Europe and Asia. Miloš regularly presents at leading conferences in Europe, Middle East and Asia and features in European and North American media.|


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Attention to detail makes Donze one of Freightliner’s best salesmen
Freightliner has honored its top salespersons with Leland James recognition for the past 10 years, and they’ve gotten pretty accustomed to calling Ron Donze up on stage.
In fact, Donze – who works from Truck Centers Inc. Troy, Ill. location – has been up there all 10 times and holds the distinction as the only Freightliner sales representative to earn recognition each year since its inception.
There’s no special tactics or guerrilla marketing campaigns involved, Donze says. He simply puts himself across the desk – in the buyer’s shoes – when he’s spec’ing a truck to ensure that he’s providing his customer the best, most accurately detailed, product possible.
“You think about what this truck is going to do and how it’s going to be used,” he says. “You’ve got to think where (the customer is) coming from.”
Donze recalled a conversation he had with a regular customer recently who bought a truck from a competitor. When the truck was delivered, the customer saw the kind of value someone like Donze brought to the relationship.
“It didn’t have a radio in it,” he says. “The customer said ‘I don’t look for things like that. You always take care of that stuff.’”
If you don’t find Donze on the sales floor, look on the phone or in the service bay. The 23 year Freightliner veteran says he’s a regular in TCI’s service department, scouring the workshop for customers who may need some help or advice.
“What happened to cause this failure? Is it something where a salesperson could have spec’d the truck better and maybe that failure wouldn’t have happened,” he says of what he analyzes on the idle trucks. ”You can’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.”
Donze says he spends 80 percent of his time in the office, quoting upwards of 25 customers a week from a customer base within a 100 mile radius of St. Louis, Mo.
“I don’t go out and solicit new customers like I probably should,” Donze says of a practice he’s says he’s embarrassed of. “They usually come in and find me.”
Many of his customers come from repeat business and customer referrals, which rarely lead to a major fleet order.


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Samsung Galaxy S10’s Possible Screen Sizes, Front Camera Setups Teased In Newly Leaked Renders
A new leak lends credence to rumors that Samsung will be releasing at least three Galaxy S10 variants with different screen sizes while utilizing a front camera setup that eliminates the need to include a notch, similar to the one found on Apple’s recent iPhones.
According to GSM Arena, the new leaks come courtesy of Evan Blass, who has been known for sharing accurately leaked images and information well ahead of a device’s announcement. The report, however, stressed that Blass’ latest leaks were renders from a smartphone case manufacturer that were based on the company’s expectations for the Galaxy S10.
Based on the renders, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite, which is expected to be the budget-priced variant, will likely come with a 5.8-inch display with a front camera hole on the top center, while the standard Galaxy S10 is expected to feature a 6.1-inch display with the same front camera setup. The Galaxy S10+, on the other hand, might have a 6.4-inch display, but with two front camera holes on the top center, hinting at a dual-camera setup for the largest of the three variants.
In addition to the possible screen sizes and front camera setups, the leaks also noted the three variants’ internal codenames and model numbers — Beyond 0 and SM-G970F for the Galaxy S10 Lite, Beyond 1 and SM-G973F for the Galaxy S10, and Beyond 2 and SM-G975F for the Galaxy S10+.
While TechRadar separately noted that the three Samsung Galaxy S10 renders corroborate rumors hinting at the South Korean company’s possible use of Infinity Display panels and an almost bezel-free front design, the publication added that the front camera orientation on the new leaks differed from the top-right and top-left orientations hinted at from previous leaks. However, TechRadar focused on how Blass’ leaks align with rumors that Samsung will not be including an iPhone-like notch when the Galaxy S10 arrives early next year.
Noticeably absent from the newly leaked renders was the rumored 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S10 variant, which, according to the Verge, is expected to come with a total of six cameras and support for 5G connectivity. This device, which is reportedly known behind the scenes by the codename “Beyond X,” is also likely to be announced at a media event in mid-February, though unlike the other three rumored Galaxy S10 variants, the Beyond X might not hit stores until spring 2019, or when mobile carriers are able to properly support the 5G standard.