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* C$ at C$0.9488 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0549
* C$ had reached strongest since Nov. 2007 on Thursday
* Tame Canada June inflation cools rate hike expectations
* Bond prices boosted by inflation data
* C$ catches brief respite from strong May retail sales
(Updates with details)
TORONTO, July 22 (Reuters) - Canada's dollar was lower
against the U.S. currency on Friday after a June Canadian
inflation reading came in surprisingly tame, reducing
expectations that interest rates will rise later this year.
Canadian inflation slowed to 3.1 percent in June from an
eight-year high of 3.7 percent in May, still a notch above the
central bank's 1-3 percent target range. [ID:nN1E76L02X]
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like
gasoline, unexpectedly fell to 1.3 percent in the 12-month
period to June from 1.8 percent in May.
"To deliver 1.3 (percent) -- it caught the market looking
the other way," said Jack Spitz, managing director of foreign
exchange at National Bank Financial.
Both measures of the consumer price index dropped to the
lowest year-on-year rate since February and were tamer than
forecast by any of the 19 analysts in a Reuters poll. The
median forecast was for overall inflation of 3.6 percent and a
core rate of 1.9 percent.
The Canadian currency
slipped as low as C$0.9504
to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0522, after the inflation data.
It briefly pared losses to trade at C$0.9467 to the U.S.
dollar, or $1.0563, immediately following data showing retail
sales grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.1 percent in May from
But it quickly returned to lower levels as the CPI figures
were the more dominant piece of economic data on Friday.
"The retail sales number was a good number but it's not
going to drive the Bank of Canada to raise rates in and of
itself," said Shane Enright, executive director, foreign
exchange sales at CIBC World Markets.
"But there certainly is a possibility that the Canadian
inflation number will deter them from raising rates. So on that
front, it's a much more significant number."
He said the Canadian dollar had likely touched its weakest
level for the session, although there was "some scope" for it
to soften a bit more if global macro sentiment deteriorated.
"The market for now is a little bit more predisposed to buy
dollar/Canada on dips," said Enright.
At 9:11 a.m. (1311 GMT), it was at C$0.9488 to the U.S.
dollar, or $1.0549, down from Thursday's North American finish
of C$0.9454 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0578.
It had climbed to a 3-1/2 year high in the previous
session, spurred by market perceptions of a more hawkish tone
in Bank of Canada statements earlier this week, as well as
optimism that progress was being made by euro zone leaders to
keep the sovereign debt crisis contained.
RATE HIKE PRICING LOWERED AGAIN
Canadian government bond prices were mostly higher,
reflecting lowered odds of rate hikes for the rest of the year
after the inflation figures suggested interest rates could come
at a more leisurely pace.
"It buys them a little bit more breathing room," said Mazen
Issa, macro strategist at TD Securities.
The two-year bond
, particularly sensitive to
short-term interest rates expectations, gained 14 Canadian
cents to yield 1.487 percent, compared with a yield of 1.545
percent ahead of the CPI data.
The 10-year bond
advanced 41 Canadian cents to
yield 2.955 percent.
Overnight index swaps, which trade based on expectations
for the central bank's policy rate, showed that traders priced
in lower odds of rate hikes in the remaining rate decisions of
the year in September, October and December after the data.
A full 25-basis-point rate hike is not priced in until
A Reuters poll on Wednesday showed most of Canada's primary
dealers expected the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates in
September or October. <CA/POLL> [ID:nN1E76J0N0]
(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)


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There was a time, it seems not long ago, that the only businesses that needed to worry about reviews were Hollywood production companies and restaurants. Now here we are in a world where too many bad reviews on Amazon can sink your listing even if you have the best price, and where many chief marketers and even some CEOs get rated on their brands’ net promoter scores.
It’s bad enough if you lose a bonus or some stock options because one-too-many needy customers complain, but how about that sucker punch to the gut getting followed up with an uppercut to the jaw in the fashion of a $747 million fine? That was the total amount of a penalty levied on Bank of America last year—$727 million in restitution to some 1.4 million customers plus a $20 million cash penalty to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Thousands of complaints to the agency uncovered the fact that enrollment materials and telemarketers for a credit insurance plan engaged in deceptive marketing practices. Complainants were told the first 30 days were free or that further steps needed to be taken to complete the enrollment, when in fact they were being enrolled and billed immediately.
The CFPB came into being four years ago to put some fiduciary bite behind bad reviews that has made financial industry marketers yelp, alright. In its relatively short run, the 2,000-person government agency that works in tandem with the FTC and FCC has also collected levies of $700 million from Citibank, $309 million from JPMorgan Chase, and $89 million from American Express. The size of those judgments, a new study finds, had a direct correlation to the number of complaints registered with the agency by unhappy customers. “What the CFPB is telling marketers is that if their first stop on the road to customer experience is deceptive advertising, then their cost to providing customer experience is going to be much higher,” says Alex Baydin.
Baydin is the CEO of PerformLine, provider of an SaaS platform for consumer finance marketers that automates compliance with truth in advertising laws. The CFPB’s database is available to the public, so PerformLine data miners dug in to see if they could gain any intelligence on how the agency arrived at the sums of its penalties. All you have to do if you’re a financial services marketer is keep the number 2,000 in mind. Stay below it, and you’ll skate. Rise above it, and call your company’s General Counsel.
PerformLine’s study showed that just 6% of companies receiving 2,000 complaints or less at the PCB were hit with fines, the average judgment being $60 million. But 58% of those who were the subject of 2,000 to 10,000 gripes were levied with penalties averaging $134 million, and 60% of financial companies showered with more than 10,000 complaints got slammed with average fines of $758 million.
PerformLine’s investigation also showed that the CFPB has become steadily more popular among consumers the longer it’s been out there. A smattering of a few thousand complaints in its inaugural year of 2011 turned into over 100,000 in 2013 and 170,000 so far this year. “People are beginning to learn that the complaint box is out now, and it’s hosted by the one organization that can actually do something about their complaints,” Baydin says. “So they can call the company to complain, or they can go to the CFPB.”
How long will it be before the overnight success of the CFPB is transferred into other verticals like automotive sales, or issue areas such as data privacy? The FTC and FCC both prefer to choose the violations they take on judiciously, concentrating on the big fish that they can hang up and display dockside as an example to the other big, bad fish. But there’s something to be said for businesslike trawlers like the CFPB that can take to the ocean and fill the holds of the U.S. Treasury with fines weighing in at nine digits.
“They’re fishing with a dragnet as well as with a fly rod,” says Baydin.

domain: news


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YUKI FUJITA, Nikkei staff writer
TOKYO — Japan’s ruling party is crafting legislation to protect consumers and smaller businesses from technology companies that operate dominant platforms, such as Amazon.com, Facebook and Rakuten, Nikkei learned Wednesday.
The Liberal Democratic Party will present its proposal to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week, with plans to submit the bill to parliament next year. The goal is to promote a fair and transparent market by setting rules centering on disclosure requirements rather than imposing broad, restrictive regulations.
The plan forms the core of proposals by the party’s economic growth strategy division, headed by policy chief Fumio Kishida. The proposals will be finalized Thursday and submitted to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as early as next week, and will likely be incorporated into the government’s annual Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management due out in June.
Smaller businesses and startups that work with Big Tech platforms, such as in e-commerce, often complain that an uneven power dynamic leads to high fees and other adverse terms. The new law would require the platforms to clearly outline contract terms and usage rules, and to provide advance notice before changing them.
Platforms would be banned from limiting clients’ use of their own data, so those companies can track sales and other relevant information. The law would also require platforms to disclose algorithms that determine which websites or products show in their search results.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission, the country’s consumer watchdog, said in April that it was planning to put together regulatory guidelines by summer, explaining views on what constitutes abuse of dominance and providing examples.
This will likely cover cases as online retailers using data on purchases in targeted advertising against consumers’ wishes, as well as intentionally long and jargon-filled data privacy policies designed to discourage users from reading them.
Three-quarters of consumers responding to a survey on information technology services expressed concern over how personal data is collected and used, the commission said. Nearly three-quarters of businesses in the survey said they had experienced unilateral changes to agreements with Amazon, and 93% reporting the same problem with online marketplace Rakuten Ichiba, run by Japanese e-commerce group Rakuten.


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In a KPMG report commissioned by the Australian Beverages Council Limited (ABCL), Australia’s leading non-alcoholic beverage companies are on track to meet sugar reduction targets by 2025.
In June 2018, the ABCL announced the nation’s first Sugar Reduction Pledge, committing the non-alcohol beverages industry to reduce sugars by 20 per cent over 10 years (2015-2025). This is achieved by a reduction in average grams of sugars per 100mL.
The 2015 baseline sugars content of drinks sold by signatories was 6.02 grams per 100mL. Through to December 2021, the average was 5.05 grams per 100mL – a 16.1% reduction.
A range of initiatives have been undertaken, including increasing the volume sales of low and no sugar varieties; introducing additional low and no sugar varieties into the market, encouraging sales through promotion and marketing of low and no sugar varieties; and reformulation of existing products.
ABCL CEO Geoff Parker says the sugar reduction pledge is an unprecedented commitment that’s having a positive impact in communities nationwide.
“The non-alcoholic beverages industry is leading the rest of the shopping trolley in working together to take action in encouraging healthier lifestyles while continuing to give Australians more beverage choices with less sugar.
“We know that our pledge to reduce sugar by 20% plays only a small part in helping address obesity given less than 2% of sugars in Australians’ diets are from full sugar soft drinks. Our industry encourages other sectors to develop their own commitments and play their part in addressing this complex health problem.”
National Retail Association Health and Nutrition Advisor, Dr Alan Barclay says “The most recent KPMG report indicates that Australia’s beverage industry is making excellent progress on its pledge to reduce added sugars in sugar-sweetened beverages by 20% by 2025. They should be applauded for their efforts to-date.”Read the Report


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ANACORTES — While the recession has other businesses hunkering down, pulling back or going under, Central Welding Supply is expanding, and one of its two new stores opening this year will be in this city’s Highway 20 corridor. The recession has lowered the price of land and construction costs, giving Central Welding a chance to expand, as well as purchase other businesses, said Dale Wilton, company president and chief executive officer. “There are more opportunities being presented in the past six months because of the economy,” Wilton said.
The Anacortes location will be the company’s second store in Skagit County and put Central Welding closer to its manufacturing and industrial customers on Whidbey and Fidalgo islands. The new store will have seven employees and bring a yet-unknown amount of sales tax to the city.
Central Welding’s other new store is scheduled to open in Redmond on July 13.
The North Lakewood-based company has had a presence in Skagit County since 1983 when it purchased Skagit Valley Welding Supply in Burlington. Central Welding is among the few companies doing business in the county that have been able to expand in the dismal economy. Wilton said that’s because the industrial gas supply business has a diversity of customers.
The company sells helium to floral shops for balloons, carbon dioxide to restaurants and bars for soda and beer, and welding supplies to boat builders, metal fabricators and refineries. When one segment of the business is down, another is up, Wilton said.
“We’ve been very patient for many years. We’ve built a good cash flow and good reserves,” he said. “This window will probably close in six months even if things only turn around moderately.”
Wilton said that he expects construction will start this summer on 2.13 acres on Molly Lane, and the store will open within four months of breaking ground. The land cost $705,000 and is owned by Wilton Family Partnership, which owns and operates Central Welding.
The land is zoned for light manufacturing, which allows for the sales of materials associated with the permitted uses in the zone, said Don Measamer, Anacortes assistant planning director. Other retail isn’t allowed in either that zone or the nearby heavy manufacturing zone.
But not everyone thinks the manufacturing zones, in place since the 1998 annexation, meet the needs of the city or the landowners along the highway corridor.
Nine property owners have asked the city to change their 13 parcels to allow for commercial retail. The request has been turned down before. However, business owners in the city’s historic commercial district have fought proposals to allow retail outside the community’s downtown.
City planning officials postponed the zoning change request until next year.
Lanny Edgeman is a real estate agent with Century 21 North Homes Realty and represents many of the property owners seeking the change. Edgeman said that the manufacturing zones have attracted storage businesses, but they don’t generate sales tax.
“In these 10 and 12 years since the city has annexed it, nothing has happened and they have lost out on many opportunities for retail,” Edgeman said. “I’ll guarantee if they change the zoning, there would be sales in property.”
But city leaders say that more industry will come to the highway corridor. A boat-building company is shopping for land in the corridor, Measamer said.
Wilton said he appreciates the city’s protection of the manufacturing zone. Other cities in Western Washington have passed zoning policies that have pushed out industry in favor of “cleaner” businesses, such as mixed-use retail and condos, he said.
“Industry provides a real family-wage jobs and consistency,” Wilton said. “We think a lot of growth in the county is going to be there.”


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Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night hungry enough to eat a Buick but too lazy to do anything about it?
For every midnight snacker who has ever stubbed their toe or injured themselves in a Leggo minefield on their way to the icebox, King’s Restaurant in Kinston has just the product for you.
“I can’t tell you how many customers have injured themselves in the middle of the night walking to their kitchens for King’s leftovers,” said King’s president Joe Hargitt. “Local radio host/Golden Girls reenactor Bryan Hanks has lost two toes over the years while answering the midnight call for pork.”
Being the charitable sort, Hargitt held several fundraisers to help defray the costs of Hanks’ toe implants.
“Even with our help Bryan couldn’t afford toe transplants that matched the others on his foot,” Hargitt said. “To save money he ended up with two bald eagle toes, which really ruffled the feathers of the animal rights groups.”
“Scoff if you will,” said Bryan Hanks while brushing his hair with his talons. “But I can go fishing now without a pole or a license.”
To prevent the physical harm of any more of his customers in the name of barbecue, Hargitt developed The Puppy Pillow.
“Our Puppy Pillows are stuffed with mouth-watering King’s hushpuppies,” Hargitt said. “The pillowcase is lined with aluminum foil, so all you have to do is heat it up in the oven before bed.”
Avoid the box store blues with a visit to Blizzard Building Supply at 405 Walston Avenue, Kinston.
Dr. Nick Mason, Director of Sleep Studies at the Floyd Institute in Cambridge, says The Puppy Pillow could be the greatest advancement in conquering insomnia since James Corden was given a television series.
“Turning comfort food into part of the physical mechanism used to achieve r.e.m. sleep removes the barrier between the bed and the kitchen,” Mason said. “All manner of things cause people to wake up in the middle of the night, be it job-induced anxiety or whether or not Joy Behar’s talk show will have enough in the budget for makeup. No matter your worry, these hushpuppy pillows make them go away in a hurry.”
Bannister’s Fine Gifts, located at 106 West Railroad Street in La Grange, reopens on January 4, 2022.
While Hargitt strongly urges people not to bring along the Puppy Pillows on camping trips (bears love them), a local marriage counselor is totally against the breaded headrest.
“Since the Puppy Pillow was introduced a few weeks ago I’ve been flooded with couples in crisis,” said David Gilmour of Bucklesberry Marriage Counseling and Auto Detail. “There’s a trend wherein a spouse will buy one of these pillows for their significant other, only to be caught stealing hushpuppies from them in the wee hours of the morning. Infidelity in 2022 has nothing to do with secret text messages or afternoon trists in the fitting room at Mal-Wart, but rather cornmeal and in some cases whipped butter.”
The shade of controversy has done little to deter sales of the Puppy Pillow.
“We’ve sold out of them four times since they were introduced last month,” Hargitt said. “We didn’t have much luck with our Banana Pudding Mattresses or Coleslaw Body Pillows, but the Puppy Pillows have gone through the roof.”
Hargitt says he plans to set aside a portion of his recent windfall to help Bryan Hanks afford two new (human) toes.
Jon Dawson’s books are available at www.JonDawson.com.
You can hear Jon Monday thru Friday on the Bryan Hanks Show:
One thought on “King’s hushpuppy pillows set sales records”


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The Crypto Expo Asia is coming in May – be there!
MARINA BAY SANDS, SINGAPORE. , March 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Crypto Expo Asia Returns To Singapore After Successful 2022 Debut
Asia’s premier crypto exhibition will return to the iconic Marina Bay Sands on 7 – 8 June 2023
SINGAPORE, 2 March 2023 – Crypto Expo Asia, the largest crypto conference and exhibition in Asia, announces that it will return to Singapore following its successful inaugural debut in 2022.
Organised by international exhibitions and conference company, HQMENA, Crypto Expo Asia will be hosted at the iconic Marina Bay Sands on 7 – 8 June 2023. The event is expected to be graced by over 10,000 attendees and industry leaders from the crypto community this year. Over 5,000 attendees and 50 companies participated in 2022.
Attendees will be able to meet with over 100 crypto companies from over 30 different countries globally, and also have the opportunity to engage with a wide range of investors, traders and influencers to reflect on how the crypto market is changing. Crypto Expo Asia is a platform and catalyst for industry players, regulatory experts, and academics to discuss the key trends that are shaping the global crypto industry, including artificial intelligence, Web3 regulation, blockchain gaming, and CBDCs. This year, Crypto Expo Asia will also introduce a new NFT Gallery Exhibition as well as new pilot sessions for Metaverse-specific events and discussions.
Michael Xuan, Director, Crypto Expo Asia said: “It is with great excitement that I announce our roaring return to the Lion City, following a very successful debut in the past year, which saw so many attendees at our inaugural event. Despite the challenging market sentiments, interest in engaging with the wider crypto community is at an all-time high.”
“Events such as Crypto Expo Asia are an integral part of the ecosystem and serve as a catalyst for crypto industry networking and growth. There are always many new and innovative developments and opportunities that are seeded when we bring the best and brightest together, and we are proud to be able to do so again in Singapore this year.”
Companies who are looking to get involved may now apply for early bird packages. From 2022, over ten major crypto players including Coinstore, XS.com and DTT Group, have already pledged their support and have recommitted their participation for this year’s event.
Crypto Expo Asia is the second crypto event of the HQMENA calendar this year and is scheduled to follow from Crypto Expo Dubai, the premier crypto exhibition in the Middle East, which will run from 8 – 9 March 2023.
For more information, please visit: https://cryptoexpoasia.com/
Follow us on:
CONTACT: Farhana Shaikh Marketing Manager Hqmena +971504336158 farhana at hqmena.com
Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. IndiaChron.com takes no editorial responsibility for the same.


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Kerry Foods has launched a consumer and trade campaign to promote its new use of 100% British wheat in its Homepride flour.
The 100% British wheat status will be updated on pack and communicated across POS, print and online advertising, PR and social media from this month.
The campaign is designed to promote the heritage of Homepride flour and its stand out USP’s, to drive sales for the range and encourage consumers to purchase quality flour.
The company said that Homepride’s ‘100% British wheat’ commitment is a brand category first and will take pride of place on the refreshed CEKA pack design, which maintains the Homepride Flour branding and features new stand out colours.
The pack also highlights the brand’s selling points – pre-sieved and ready to use, re-sealable, no mess, stays fresh.
Kate Wells, Homepride Flour’s Marketing Manager said: “Homepride Flour consistently meets Bakers’ demand for quality and value with a brand they can trust. We are so proud our flour is made with 100% British wheat and we have full traceability to back up our ‘100% British wheat’ promise.”
The updated packs have begun rolling out in all major multiples and independents with a RSP of £1.50 for 1kg packs and £1.00 for 500g packs.


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If you’re a PC or Mac user who has found the Samsung DeX software a great way to use your Samsung smartphone on a bigger screen, we have bad news for you. It looks like the Korean OEM has decided to discontinue this software as they have added a notice on their website that the DeX for PC service will stop working by January 2022. The only option for computer users now is to use a DeX dock or connect their phone with a USB-C to HDMI cable.
If you’re not familiar with Samsung DeX, it’s actually one of the best productivity apps from the company, at least for their smartphone and tablet users. It lets you connect your mobile devices to a bigger display like a monitor or TV and gives you a desktop-like UI. The DeX software lets you connect it to your computer running Windows or macOS if you need to use some of the apps or files on your mobile device on the laptop or desktop you’re using.
But now the good days are over for those using DeX on their computers. Samsung will stop supporting the software on those running on Windows 7 and older and macOS. It’s probably not a surprise anymore for those who regularly use it as mac users have started receiving pop-up notifications about this latest development. The DeX website also now has a small notice saying it will be “terminated” by January 2022.
If you already have it installed, you’ll be able to still use it after then but there will no longer be any support for it or any future updates. Windows users can update to Windows 10 if they want to continue using the updated version. macOS users cannot download the software anymore and there’s no news if it will be available later on for newer software versions of Apple’s computers. For now, you can connect your Samsung smartphone to your monitor through the DeX dock or by cable.
There’s no explanation as to why Samsung is discontinuing the DeX software for these particular computers. There may be plans to release a new version for new computers but for now, there’s no news from them.


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JIASHAN, China, Nov. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ReneSola Ltd ("ReneSola" or the "Company") (NYSE: SOL), a leading global manufacturer of solar photovoltaic ("PV") modules and wafers, today announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012 before the U.S. markets open on Friday, November 30, 2012.
Based on preliminary data, the Company provides the following updates to its outlook:
For the third quarter of 2012, the Company estimates its total solar wafer and module shipments to be in its previously guided range of 510 MW to 530 MW, solar module shipments to be slightly below its previously guided range of 150 MW to 170 MW and revenues to be in its previously guided range of US$200 million to US$220 million.
For the full year of 2012, the Company estimates its total solar wafer and module shipments to be close to 2.2 GW, compared to the Company's previously guided range of 2.2 GW to 2.4 GW. The Company expects its solar module shipments to increase in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The Company expects its gross profit margin for the third quarter of 2012 to be in the range of negative 17.5% to negative 18.5% after an inventory write-down of approximately US$31.6 million to reflect current selling prices.
"Although the challenging market conditions have affected our third quarter results, we have successfully transformed into a large-scale solar module supplier over the past year," said Mr. Xianshou Li, ReneSola's chief executive officer. "Our module business has performed well in Europe and Australia, while at the same time capitalized on emerging opportunities in the United States and China. In the fourth quarter, we expect to increase our module shipments significantly and are confident our gross margin will turn positive as we executive on our strategy to become a leading module supplier."
ReneSola's management will host an earnings conference call on Friday, November 30, 2012 at 8 am U.S. Eastern Time (9 pm Beijing/Hong Kong time).
Founded in 2005, ReneSola (NYSE:SOL) is a leading global manufacturer of high-efficiency solar PV modules and wafers. Leveraging its proprietary technologies, economies of scale and technical expertise, ReneSola uses in-house virgin polysilicon and a vertically integrated business model to provide customers with high-quality, cost-competitive products. ReneSola solar modules have scored top PVUSA Test Conditions (PTC) ratings with high annual kilowatt-hour output, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC). ReneSola solar PV modules can be found in projects ranging in size from a few kilowatts to multi-megawatts in markets around the world, including the United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium, China, Greece, Spain and Australia. For more information, please visit www.ReneSola.com.
For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Mr. Tony Hung
ReneSola Investor Relations
Mr. Derek Mitchell
Ogilvy Financial, Beijing
In the United States:
Ms. Jessica Barist Cohen
Ogilvy Financial, New York
SOURCE ReneSola Ltd.


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- ZTE took the wraps off its Nubia Pad 3D during MWC 2023.
- The tablet is using artificial intelligence enhancements from 3D firm Leia for better face tracking and real-time conversion of 2D media into 3D content.
- You may have heard of Leia's Lume Pad series of 3D tablets, which appear to be the platform upon which the Nubia Pad 3D was built.
Read More at androidpolice.com
- Called the OnePlus Pad, the Android 13-based device packs an 11.6-inch 144Hz display with Dolby Vision HDR support into a slender, green metal body and comes with handy extras like 66W fast charging and a 9,510mAh battery.
- The display has a 7:5 aspect ratio, which is aimed more toward reading books, looking at documents and web browsing.
- The tablet goes up for preorder in April, although the price has not been revealed yet.
Read More at cnet.com
- Samsung has always been Apple’s number one OLED panel supplier.
- Now, Apple is planning to launch an OLED-equipped iPad sometime next year, and the company has reportedly awarded the contract to make OLED panels to South Korean display giants Samsung Display and LG Display.
- Chinese firm BOE was excluded from the supply chain, but its exact reason hasn’t been reported yet.
Read More at sammobile.com
- OnePlus has announced its first Android tablet: the aptly named OnePlus Pad features an 11.61-inch LCD panel (2,800 x 2,000 pixels, 144Hz refresh rate, 10-bit color, 296 PPI) that is billed as the world's first tablet with a 7:5 ratio screen.
- The panel and cover glass are set in a CNC aluminum unibody with curved edges sporting an 88 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Read More at techspot.com
- Rumors suggest that Apple will be releasing a foldable iPad with a carbon fiber kickstand in 2024.
- The new foldable iPad will have a carbon fiber kickstand to make it lighter and more durable, compared to an iPad's Magic Keyboard.
- The kickstand of the iPad would be manufactured by Chinese firm Anjie Technology, rumors suggest.
Read More at zdnet.com


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EU countries to agree on common position on tech rules
EU countries aim to agree on a common negotiating position on two sets of draft rules to curb the powers of U.S. tech giants on Nov. 25, people involved in the discussions said, though squabbles among EU lawmakers could delay the rules’ adoption. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) sets out a list of dos and don’ts for online gatekeepers – companies that control data and access to their platforms – such as Amazon, Apple, Alphabet unit Google and Facebook. The Digital Services Act (DSA) requires the tech companies to do more to tackle illegal content on their online platforms. Violations can result in hefty fines.
Read more on CDE News


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The new Toyota Proace Electric is joining a new city electric vehicle initiative that lets businesses test zero-emission vans before deciding on a purchase. The Electric Van Experience (EVE) funded by Highways England, in this case, sees Nottingham City Council take delivery of nine Toyota e-vans.
Nottingham also added another three Toyota Proace vans to the council’s own vehicle fleet. The new test fleet is part of Highways England’s EVE scheme that sees the government agency handing £9.3 million to local authorities to encourage businesses with diesel van fleets to convert to electric. The scheme works by offering businesses a free trial of electric vehicles for two months.
In Nottingham, the City Council uses the EVE programme with loan times that can vary up to 30 days. The scheme is open to voluntary and public sector organisations as well as private businesses in Nottingham.
“The Electric Van Experience is a great opportunity for local businesses and organisations to test drive a range of vehicles,” said Nottingham Councillor Sally Longford, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Energy and Environment. The Toyota Proace, she added, was an “obvious choice – with a high capacity battery and one tonne of payload.”
The Toyota Proace Electric van is available with a choice of a 50 or 75kWh lithium-ion battery, giving a range of up to 205 miles. Fast-charging to 80% battery capacity can be achieved in less than an hour and there is no compromise in load-carrying ability or payload, according to Toyota.
The vans were purchased through the council’s ULEV procurement framework and will be maintained by Nottingham Electric Vehicle Services (NEVS), an exclusive service centre run by the council.
The city has ambitions of becoming the UK’s first carbon-neutral city by 2028 with the EVE being but one initiative. For example, in January 2020, Nottingham started a trial to charge e-taxis wirelessly, providing the test cabs free of charge to drivers.
“Our work with Nottingham City Council is just one example of us working with local authorities across the country to encourage businesses to make the switch to electric vehicles,” said Melanie Clarke, Customer Services Director at Highways England.
The Electric Van Experience has been funded with a £2.69m grant from Highways England. Councils in Coventry, Kent, and Sheffield are also setting up similar schemes.


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In order to reduce their carbon footprint and go green in the largest automobile market in the world, China launched a pilot programme to wean consumers away from fossil-fuelled vehicles by offering substantial purchase subsidies for green cars and financing for the construction of electric power charging infrastructure in five cities, the ministry of finance (MOFCOM) said. Beijing has realised that without subsidies to purchasing green cars and easily available locations to recharge cars, consumers would be unwilling to budge.
China plans to invest 10 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion) to speed up commercialization of new energy vehicles and it also aims to have 500,000 green cars rolling on the roads by 2012. The decision comes just a few days after Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra acquired Reva Electric Car Co. The Indian market, is slated to touch 80,000 units by 2020, from almost nothing at the moment.
As a result, the MOFCOM, said it would offer as much as Rmb50,000 (US$7,300) subsidies for the purchase of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and Rmb60,000 (US$8,784) for pure electric vehicles, in five major Chinese cities – Shanghai, Changchun, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Hefei. The incentive would primarily depend on the capacity of the battery packages, a 3,000 yuan subsidy is offered for each kilowatt for green cars. The subsidies would be gradually phased out once the carmakers sold 50,000 green cars.
Also, the central government will offer 3,000 yuan (US$439) subsidies for gasoline and diesel cars with 1.6-liter-or-less engines that consume 20 percent less fuel than current models, the ministry added.
On the 1st of June, China’s first super electric vehicles recharging station started operations in Wuhu City in East China’s Anhui Province. The recharging station covers an area of 4,800 square meters capable of recharging 10 electric-powered buses and 10 cars, simultaneously (see picture).
General Motors, which already makes hybrid cars in Shanghai, will import its Volt plug-in hybrid into China next year. SAIC Motor Corp will also market its first electric car as early as 2012. The country’s most famous electric carmaker, BYD Automobile Co Ltd– backed by US investor Warren Buffett, is already selling plug-in hybrid F3DM electric vehicles in China since March this year.
Nonetheless, analysts expect China’s green car market to take a while to pick up. While these incentives offered by the government will provide a boost to the industry, the growth of the market will depend on reliable quality of products, mature infrastructure as well as better understanding among consumers, which will take time.


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Having not been gaming much over the past couple of months I was wondering, just yesterday, if either candidate (Obama, really) was doing anything on any of the console platforms. Well, the Obama camp continues to out-geek the other team in recreating the campaign playbook for the digital age. Barack now has in-game ads being served over Xbox Live into the racing game, Burnout Paradise.
Screenshot: 360 gamer, "Jeffson". Via GigaOM.


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This article originally appeared in the September 26, 2006 issue of Stuff@Night.
If you want the inside scoop on what many Americans will be eating next year, attending the “Flavor, Quality, and the American Menu” conference at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in the Napa Valley will give you a head start. Every year, the CIA holds a high-level retreat that brings together 100 or so executive chefs from corporations like Burger King, the Cheesecake Factory, Denny’s, Jack in the Box, and Walt Disney World, along with the directors of many university dining services, major food producers, secretaries of several state and federal agriculture departments, and a very select handful of internationally known chefs and cookbook authors — this year including our own Ana Sortun of Oleana. The idea behind the conference is to get the entire range of power brokers in the US culinary and agricultural worlds together in the green of Napa Valley to discuss coming trends in American eating habits. This year I was invited to sit in.
Greg Drescher, the organizer of the conference, is the senior strategist at the CIA. His perspective is that we are rapidly mutating from a “nation of bland-food eaters to a nation that loves heat — preferring salsa to ketchup.” (Who knew that last year more bottles of salsa were sold in the US than bottles of ketchup?) Evidently, Asian, Latin, and Mediterranean flavors are no longer considered ethnic or exotic: average Americans eating at the major casual-dining chains and fast-food outlets chow down on dishes laced with soy, basil, cilantro, and salsa, never thinking of them as “foreign food.” The new American palate isn’t about fusion, Drescher says, but about adaptation. The big problem facing responsible members of the food world is how to nudge the newly adventurous and always ravenous American diner away from the high-fat, meat-centric eating habits that have turned us into waddling tubs and toward a way of eating that focuses lower down on the food chain.
As Boston diners living in one of the few areas in the country that enjoys a rich bounty of independent bistros and chef-driven establishments, we’re pretty used to the idea that fresh is best, and that food cooked with olive oil trumps butter (at least from a health standpoint). But it turns out we’re a tiny minority. Most Americans eat one or two meals every single day in restaurants that have hundreds, even thousands of cookie-cutter locations across the country. According to the statistics presented by California secretary of agriculture A.G. Kawamura, 130 million Americans eat out every day, often consuming multiple meals outside the home. What those 130 million Americans eat is what these corporate cooking titans put on their menus. Change the menu offerings and you can change how the country eats. But the corporate chefs feel caught between what they know Americans should be eating — lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains — and what people actually will pay for, like fries, burgers, beef, and beer. So for three days at the CIA conference, they struggled with ways to instill “stealth health” in their corporate menus, learning about the benefits of Eastern Mediterranean food from chefs like Sortun; Greek flavors from author Aglaia Kremezi and chef Jim Botsacos of Molyvos in New York; and Latin flavors from Roberto Santibañez of New York’s Rosa Mexicano. They’re all culinary traditions that rely on lots of vegetables, beans, rice, and whole grains, and use meat as a “condiment” rather than as the focus of the plate. The corporate chefs listened attentively to the presenters, but they admit that they struggle with how to make plant food “sexy” to Americans. “We have a whole new page of lifestyle selections on our menu — salads and other health-conscious choices,” says Scott Randolph, corporate executive chef for T.G.I. Friday’s, “and what flies out of our restaurants are the loaded fries, the chicken wings, and the onion rings.”
Kirsten Bird, the senior director of marketing at Unilever Food Solutions, made one of the most illuminating presentations. Every year, data grunts at Unilever comb through thousands of menus and the consumer and trade food press, and they count every time a trend, ingredient, or recipe is mentioned. They crunch the data and compile an Annual Flavor Forecast that predicts which flavors and foods will be “hot” on restaurant menus in the coming year. According to their research, every significant food trend in America evolves through three successive stages: emergent, proliferation, and mainstream.


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Across industries, owners and operators of Critical Infrastructure (CI) continue to converge the cyber and physical aspects of their businesses. This merger has enabled more efficient and effective...
May 26, 2020
It is no secret that ransomware and other cyberattacks are rising phenomenally across the world, attacking every industry sector possible and healthcare is one of the biggest targets. While the good...
Apr 18, 2019
Some of the employee accounts of Wipro—one of India’s top IT services firms—may have been hacked due to an advanced phishing campaign, reported Reuters, quoting the company. The company had launched...
Apr 16, 2019
According to a CA Technologies' Global State of Digital Trust Survey and Index 2018, consumer behavior reveals strong correlation between lack of business and lack of digital trust. The study shows...
Aug 03, 2018
Indian business firms have a lot to improve, as per Global Data Protection Index by EMC, which ranked India way down the ladder in terms of data protection. Ranked 8th with a score of 13% - India...
Jul 13, 2016


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April 15, 2010 — -- One disgraced sports star. Two corporate sponsors. Two rather different reactions.
Days after Tiger Woods' much-dissected Nike commercial hit the airwaves, the scandals tainting NFL star Ben Roethlisberger have shined another spotlight on the inconsistent nature of the sports endorsement business.
Roethlisberger this week lost his contract with food marketing company PLB Sports but retained the support of Nike. In recent months, Woods' own scandals cost him several big-name sponsorships but he managed to hang on to deals with Nike, EA Sports and Upper Deck.
Sports and marketing experts say that, sometimes, the difference between keeping and losing a sponsorship depends less on an athlete's behavior than on a corporation's marketing strategy. In the sporting goods industry, athletic achievements can overshadow off-the-field adversity.
"The standard by which the industry judges an athlete has much more to do with their performance than their personal qualities," said Matt Powell, an analyst with research firm Sports One Source.
Nike, for instance, has a history of sticking by superstar athletes despite unseemly headlines -- in addition to golf champion Woods and two-time Super Bowl winner Roethlisberger, Nike maintained its relationship with Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant after a rape allegation surfaced against the NBA star in 2003. (The case was later dropped.)
Standing by a disgraced athlete is a gamble, but "Nike has the ability to have a long-term investment in these athletes -- they can wait out the storm, stomach the volatility," said Boyce Watkins, a faculty affiliate at the College Sport Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "They felt that these guys were eventually going to get back to the top and they were ultimately correct."
Sports One Source studied Nike golf products and found that in the 13 weeks before Woods' scandal broke and in the 13 weeks after, sales remained constant, Powell said.
"It's pretty clear that Tiger's problems have not had an impact on Nike's business in retail," Powell said.
In recent years, it seems, only Michael Vick's behavior has proven offensive enough to warrant a deal-breaker with Nike. In 2007, Nike ended its contract with the then-Atlanta Falcons quarterback after he pleaded guilty to felony charges for running a dogfighting ring.
"(W)e consider any cruelty to animals inhumane, abhorrent and unacceptable," the company said in 2007.
Selling Character, Finding Trouble
When a corporation looks to a sports star for traits beyond athletic prowess, that's when endorsement deals become more vulnerable to off-the-field transgressions, experts say.
Take Woods' relationship with the consulting firm Accenture: When Woods represented Accenture, the firm emphasized the then-untarnished family man's integrity, Watkins said. But Accenture was among the sponsors to later drop Woods after he revealed affairs with multiple women, announcing last December that Woods was "no longer the right representative for its advertising."
PLB Sports owner Ty Ballous said that questions of character were key to his decision to end PLB's contract with Roethlisberger, who was the name and face of PLB's Big Ben Beef Jerky.
Unlike Woods, Roethlisberger has been accused of actual crimes in the form of two sexual assault allegations in the last two years. Roethlisberger has denied both allegations and no criminal charges have been filed in either case.
The Georgia district attorney handling the more recent allegation said Monday that while he didn't have sufficient evidence to prosecute the football player, he was critical of Roethlisberger's behavior on the night of the alleged assault, declaring that there "was too much drinking going on" and calling on Roethlisberger to "grow up."
Ballous said Wednesday that "there were too many negative things associated with Ben and the brand that would have a negative connotation not only in the brand that we have with Ben but with PLB Sports."
Ballous said sales of the jerky have seen "diminished returns" in the last 12 to 18 months -- something he attributed to Roethlisberger's off-the-field behavior.
Customers buy PLB brands associated with star athletes, he added, "because the player is someone they hold to a very high standard. ... Character is an immense issue."
The Gatorade Exception
What may be especially damaging to PLB's jerky sales, said ABCNews.com advertising columnist and Graham Stanley Advertising CEO Larry Woodard, is how the company's target demographic is reacting to the Roethlisberger controversy.
It's often mothers, Woodard said, who buy snack foods like beef jerky for their kids. Roethlisberger, he said, has "transgressed in an area that they (mothers) cannot get behind."
A company's emphasis on athletic performance or character traits, however, may not always be a surefire predictor of how it will respond to a sports star's personal foibles. Sports drink maker Gatorade cut ties with Woods despite the fact that its brand revolves almost entirely around marketing claims that its products aid athletes' performance.
"It's very difficult to come up with a simple rule that all companies follow," Watkins said. "Every company has different criteria for what constitutes them getting rid of you."


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King of the hill.
21 percent full-year growth.
Could finally replace lithium-ion.
15 times faster machine learning performance.
Intel claims that the HD 4000 graphics core is more than just a tick, but is it right?
Intel's range of Ivybridge CPUs has arrived; we take a look at the top-end Core i7 3770K.
© Copyright bit-tech


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BlackBerry and smartphone security in general hasn't garnered much attention
or concern over the past few year, at least from a consumer, or user,
perspective. Enterprises have been invested in mobile device security since the
advent of the PDA.
But that's going to have to change, thanks largely to the vast number of
consumers embracing new, flashy smartphones like Apple's iPhone, Motorola's
Droid and Research In Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry Bold 9700.
This plethora of new smartphone users means the potential for gain by hackers
or other online baddies looking to crack smartphone security measures is
drastically increasing. The more smartphone users, the more devices that could
potentially be commandeered and used in various attacks. That means smartphone
users are going to have to smarten up when it comes to mobile security awareness
and be more vigilant in spotting and stopping potential problems before they


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A big thank you to the Meon Valley Lions Club for their recent donation
Swanmore College pupils delivering food parcels to the food bank Pupils have beenÂ donating non perishable goodsÂ to the Meon Valley Food Bank. Organiser and teacher at the school, David Chilton, said: ‘˜This food bank serves local villages within the Meon Valley and this is why the children have been so enthusiastic about the project.’
“It’s easy to vilify the poor but you don’t know when you may need help”Continue reading “A single mum explains why she needed to turn to a foodbank”
The Meon Valley Food Bank gets a mention in the Daily Echo today (31st May 2015).
PEOPLE in crisis will be able to find help thanks to a new Hampshire foodbank collection point. The Southern Cooperative, which has a food store in Wickham Square, has become the village’s first collection point after Meon Valley Food Bank asked the store to help.


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If being comfortable on your wedding day is a top priority, GapBody is here to help.
According to InStyle, Gap has just launched a “capsule collection of bras, panties, and pajamas for exclusively for brides.” Called Love by GapBody, the line offers all the sweet and dainty details that come to mind when you think ‘bridal,’ but offer a level of comfort that is far from typical when it comes to bridal undergarments.
InStyle says that pieces from the collection include “robes, pajamas, and swim cover-ups” that are “adorned with delicate lace and ribbon detailing and incorporate hints of blue,” all of which are designed with the bride in mind.
“As a brand, we encourage and empower all women to be their best self,” Gap’s Chief Product Officer Wendi Goldman told InStyle. “The Bridal Collection for Love by GapBody was designed with the bride in mind by celebrating her commitment to feeling great in her own skin and confident in her true self on her big day. We want her to love having pretty comfortable options, love wearing next to nothing, and love wearing something white or blue.”
As for the price range, InStyle says that pieces from the collection start at just $11.
Shop the collection here.
Who needs a professional photoshoot when your paparazzi photos are this good? The answer for Ashley Graham was simple: she didn’t.
So when the model and author debuted her latest swimsuit collection for inclusive swimwear company Swimsuits for All, HuffPost says the collection’s campaign “features unedited and unretouched paparazzi photos of Graham wearing the new suits.”
Called the “Power of Paparazzi,” the campaign shows off an all-new nine-piece collection that, HuffPost reports, is inspired by the 1920s and its famous art-deco style, which makes its way into the collection via “leaf appliqué and gold stitching,” as evidenced by the Ritzy swimsuit and “braided details and gold beading” on the Whoopee bikini. All styles are available in sizes 4-22, according to HuffPost, and is priced between $102-$120.
While the styles are certainly different, Graham told HuffPost that the campaign was also a first for her.
“This campaign is different than any other I have worked on throughout my entire career,” she said. “I hope these images instill a fearless belief in everyone to be happy in their own skin and enjoy living in the moment, no matter who is watching.”
Amen to that!
Shop the collection here.
Sarah Jessica Parker is serving up some stylish bridal styles that are ready to wear right off the rack.
According to Glamour, her newest collection is a collaboration with GILT that is comprised of 10 styles that are “perfect for the ‘modern, nontraditional bride'” and will keep the bride dressed in style “from the bridal shower all the way through the reception,” and even serve to dress any bridesmaid or wedding guest.
The collection ranges in style, size and price, says Glamour, with styles including everything from jumpsuits and bodysuits to cutout backs that come in atypical wedding colors like black, red and blue. Each style will be available in sizes ranging from sizes 0–14 and XS–L, according to Glamour.
What’s more is that along with the release of the bridal styles come the release of 15 existing SJP Collection shoe styles — like the ever-popular Cosette and Fawn styles — in that Glamour says will come in “an exclusive new selection of colors and heel heights, to pair with the bridal collection.”
As for the prices on these bridal styles, Glamour reports that the clothing will sell on GILT for between “$295 for the sleeveless, bow-back bodysuit to $2,395 for the full-length embroidered gown,” while the shoes are priced between $350 and $485.
View looks from the collection here.
Time to make some space in your makeup bag, because a brand-new lipgloss is here just in time to polish off your spring looks.
According to Fashionista, Pat McGrath Labs has just released a new line of 14 “blindingly shiny, intensely moisturizing, beautifully pigmented” lip gloss shades. Called “Lust,” McGrath explained that the product was designed to be both easy and luxurious.
“I wanted to have something really comfortable and easy and fun to wear the way that a lip balm is,” she told Fashionista. “The fact that it’s non-sticky, the fact that there’s a little oil in [the formula] gives you that comfort. It’s just so easy to apply.”
The gloss marks the first time McGrath has released pigmented glosses, says Fashionista, which include a range of colors from “creamy nudes to pigmented reds and pinks to holographics.”
As for how much these glosses cost, Fashionista reports that individual glosses “will retail for $28 a pop, and will also be sold in four-piece kits, separated into warm and cool tones ($95) and a comprehensive 14-piece set which includes every shade ($325).”
Available May 10, you can shop the line here.
Kourtney Kardashian recently traded in sun-soaked California for a trip to Washington, D.C. to take on Congress.
According to ELLE, Kardashian met with “several members of congress to lobby for better regulation of beauty products” through her work with the Environmental Working Group, which “currently has a big #beautymadebetter initiative pushing for federal law to ensure stricter screening of personal care products made with chemicals linked to cancer, allergies, and other harmful effects.”
With existing legislation unchanged since 1938, ELLE says the eldest Kardashian sister has Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on her side, offering that the guidelines need a revamp to “ensure cosmetics are safe for the American people.”
As for Kardashian, this isn’t a new effort for her; in fact, she’s long been all about ‘clean’ and non-toxic cosmetics, even “going so far as to stop wearing deodorant and DIYing her own,” according to ELLE, and even making sure that products for her folded Kardashian Beauty line were paraben and sulfate-free.
Here’s hoping Congress keeps up with this Kardashian on making beauty products safer for all!
What do you get when a major magazine teams up with a clothing brand? Only the most flattering swimsuit ever.
According to Glamour, the recently-redesigned glossy has teamed up with ASOS to design the most flattering swimsuit for women sizes 14 and up. At the brand’s London headquarters, Glamour sent blogger Katie Sturino to meet with swimwear designer Amy Holden, telling her “what was missing in the market for women sizes 14 and up: bright colors, well-constructed support, bikini bottoms that weren’t up to your rib cage (thereby creating the dreaded ‘diaper butt’).”
What resulted was a one-piece underwire suit complete with adjustable straps and a high-cut bottom. And with its red, white and blue color scheme, the swimsuit serves up major superhero vibes, — because let’s face it, we’re all Wonder Woman, and don’t we deserve a swimsuit that makes us feel as much?!
To view the completed look, click here. And to shop the affordable new design, click here.
Zendaya has achieved quite a bit at a such a young age: at just 21, she has had starring roles in television shows and movies, dabbled in music and is even entered the world of fashion as a designer. But with all of her success comes a responsibility, says Zendaya, and that responsibility is to pave the way for her successors.
According to HuffPost, the multi-hyphenate recently spoke in conversation with Uber’s chief brand officer Bozoma Saint John at the Beautycon Festival, taking a moment to address colorism in the entertainment industry and share some sage words about representation.
“As a black woman, as a light-skinned black woman, it’s important that I’m using my privilege, my platform to show you how much beauty there is in the African-American community,” she said, HuffPost reports. “I am Hollywood’s, I guess you could say, acceptable version of a black girl and that has to change.”
However, she said there is no need for there to only be one “acceptable version of a black girl.” In fact, she is trying to blaze a trail for increased representation and inspire others to shine their light in the process.
“We’re vastly too beautiful and too interesting for me to just be the only representation of that,” said Zendaya, according to HuffPost. “What I’m saying, it’s about creating those opportunities, sometimes. You have to create those paths. And that’s with anything, Hollywood, art, whatever.”
Amen to that.
It can be difficult to resist the urge to test out a beauty a product before you buy it, but this nail polish brand actually wants shoppers to try on a shade prior to making a purchase.
According to PopSugar, LBK Nail Polish has just released 48 shades of lacquer that come in a bottle designed to have shoppers try on the polish without ever having to open the bottle. Thanks to a special cap, PopSugar says the brand’s new polish comes “topped with a special swatched cap that looks like a painted nail” that allows shoppers to “slide your finger underneath to see what the color would look like once applied.”
But the bonuses of LBK’s polish don’t end there: PopSugar says the shades are also vegan-friendly and “seven-free,” meaning that each lacquer is “made without the toxic (but all too common) ingredients of parabens, phthalates (dibutyl phthalate), camphor, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, and resin.”
Shopper friendly AND safe? Sign us up! Click here to peruse the brand’s offerings.
If you love the unicorn trend but don’t want to pay outrageous prices for a unicorn frappuccino, bath bomb, hair dye or bakery cake, Walmart has the perfect solution for you.
According to PopSugar, the superstore has quietly launched an exclusive eight-piece unicorn-themed beauty line by Hallu, a “small beauty brand that launched earlier this year.”
The whimsical collection features “rainbow-colored sugar scrub cubes, a unicorn horn bath bomb that rivals the one Lush used to sell, and an intriguing foam body lotion, among other adorably packaged items,” PopSugar reports, not to mention that they all carry enticing scents of mango, peach and jasmine.
As if the trendy colors and juicy scents weren’t enough, PopSugar says each piece in the collection only costs $4 or $5, making this unicorn line just as good for our skin as it is for our wallets.
Jimmy Fallon recently used part of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to pay some high compliments to friend and former Saturday Night Live co-star Tina Fey, and it resulted in a pretty touching moment.
According to HuffPost, to commemorate the opening of Fey’s “Mean Girls” musical, Fallon had guests to show “to stand in front of a poster for the play and describe how the “30 Rock” creator inspired them” while Fey stood hidden in a back room listening and then surprising them with hugs and tears.
But, as HuffPost reports, this wasn’t the only tear-jerking moment of the episode; Fallon said there was one more person who wanted to deliver a “heartfelt message” to Fey — him.
While his comments were not without jokes — namely, jokes about their ages — HuffPost said Fallon offered that Fey “changed [him] for the better” and serves as an example for all, including his own children.
“I met you when I was 23, I believe you were 45. And I was lucky enough to work with you and grow with you and learn from you. A lot of people in this world have dreams or goals or ideas, but not everybody goes out and fights to make them happen but you’re someone who did. You didn’t get served this, you didn’t get given this as a gift. I know firsthand, you worked so hard and found a voice and found your way, and you made your own dreams come true, and most importantly even now you’re making other people feel like they can do the same thing and change the world.
Today, I’m 27 years old and I have two daughters, and my hope for them is that they grow up to be leaders like you and that they’ll be as fearless and confident in their strengths as you are.”
Ending his remarks with a simple “I love you,” Fallon proved what we already know — Tina Fey is one for the ages.


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More motorists are slowly becoming aware that petrol and diesel are no good and better alternatives like electric vehicles are available. With big players like Tesla, Porsche, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi and Nissan launching dozens of highly improved electric vehicles (EV) over the past years, people are getting more excited about the shift.
However, many are still skeptical as to why they should switch to electric cars or even motorcycles. Like Winston Churchill once said “to improve is to change”, but change can be difficult most of the time, especially if that change will influence a huge chunk of your life.
We’ll make it a bit easier for you by listing down the benefits of traveling using clean energy and why you’re going to love it more in the years to come.
Costs less to run
Electric vehicles can be run at one-third of the running cost of petrol or diesel. Generally speaking, an electric-powered vehicle will cost less to fuel than cars running on fossil fuels.
What’s more amazing is that as technology advances, running costs will continue to go down while the driving experience will continue to improve.
Owning an EV costs less than gasoline cars, and it gets better. Research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that by 2025, the total cost of owning an electric vehicle will be much cheaper. At the moment, batteries account for about half the cost of an electric car, and it’s estimated that their costs will drop by 77% from 2016 to 2030.
Saves on maintenance fees
Car enthusiasts know that electric cars have a lesser number of moving parts than the traditional gasoline-powered ones. What this means is that it’s easier to manage, more reliable, and you’ll have lower maintenance costs.
Take note, you don’t have to change oil, flush coolants, or replace belts when driving an EV. You also don’t use the brakes that much because of regenerative braking. Regenerative braking is an energy recovery system that’s able to slow down a vehicle by capturing the energy it has due to its motion, and then converting it into electricity that can either be used or stored until needed. So the energy-loss that happens when you use the brake in gasoline-powered vehicles, won’t happen on EVs.
Ability to power up and recharge in your own home
If you’re someone who has installed a solar energy system in your house, then you’ve already reaped the benefits from producing your own energy, and that’s heightened when you add your electric vehicle into the mix.
Not only will you not be paying for gas, if you take advantage of charging your vehicle during the day, but your electricity cost will also be even less since you’re charging it at a time that solar energy is highly produced. Not to mention, you’re using a sustainable energy source.
You’re using a renewable energy source
Electric cars can be powered by renewable sources like solar, water, and wind. Meanwhile, gas is not. It’s harnessed from natural resources that are not renewable and emits harmful gas that destroys the environment.
Also, not only are renewable energy independent energy, but electricity from renewable sources is also a lot cheaper than gas.
Electric cars are better for the environment
Climate issues are becoming more severe each year. Greenhouse gas emissions and toxic waste production are causing the temperature to rise, extreme weather conditions to occur, and natural disasters to happen. We are all affected by climate change one way or another. May it is our businesses, food sources, family, friends, or acquaintances, all these things are connected to each other.
The climate crisis is one of the main reasons more and more countries are becoming proactive in the move to renewable energy. America, Denmark, Scotland, Sweden, Germany, Finland are just some many countries that are working towards sustainability. More and more sustainability consultants in London, Austria, and other European countries are also spreading awareness about the benefits of clean energy.
We are facing a threat that could eventually kill us in the near future. The great thing is that we have a solution that promotes a better user experience and helps save the environment.
Gasoline-powered vehicles may have already peaked, just like the diminishing resources of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, electric vehicles are growing and evolving at a fast pace. It has a lot of room for improvement, which is a good thing for our future.
The choice is yours and always do your research first. There are many exciting new models out in the market right now, however, even though EVs offer a lot of benefits, it also has a few cons. For example, since it’s not as popular yet, you have to check if your city or state has charging areas available for EVs and where they are located.
If you have any questions, ask a consultant or your car dealer for help. They will always be happy to help you and answer any questions you may have.


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Sen. Charles SchumerCharles SchumerGOP fundraiser enters crowded primary for Pa. Senate seat Dems: Trump risks government shutdown over border wall Miners' union shouldn't look to feds to bail out mismanaged pension fund MORE (D-N.Y.) on Monday urged retailers to drop plans to track shoppers' movements using their cellphones.
The "FootPath technology" uses antennas to detect cellphone signals and can be used to gather data about shoppers' location and store visits.
The technology is already in place in malls throughout the United Kingdom.
Schumer said consumers should have to opt in to allow stores to track their movements.
"I firmly believe that personal cell phones are just that — personal," he wrote in a letter to Path Intelligence, the British company that makes the tracking technology. "If malls and retailers want to tap into your phone to see what your shopping patterns are, they can ask you to do so. It shouldn’t be up to the consumer to turn their cell phone off when they walk into the mail to ensure they aren’t being virtually tailed."
Schumer also expressed concern that a hacker could use the company's data to gather personal information about someone.
"While I understand Path Intelligence claims to scramble unique cell phone identifiers, and not to collect personal information about a shopper including telephone number and name, I am concerned that the information Path Intelligence collects could easily fall into the wrong hands and be used to connect personally identifiable data with a shoppers geophysical location and movements," he wrote.
In a separate letter, Schumer asked Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz to look into the technology and analyze whether the U.S. needs new legislation to address cellphone tracking.
Path Intelligence's CEO emphasized that the company only collects anonymous data, and said the company requests that stores post signs to notify consumers that their cellphones are being tracked.
"We welcome the debate around privacy as regards to cellphone detection, and would welcome the opportunity to speak directly with Senator Schumer," CEO Sharon Biggar said in an email to The Hill.
She argued that the technology helps traditional retailers compete with online retailers, which are able to track users' buying habits.
"Online retailers do not require you to 'opt-in' to being tracked," she said. "Rather they observe/track behavior from the moment a shopper enters an online website. We are simply seeking to create a level playing field for offline retailers, and believe you can do so whilst simultaneously protecting the privacy of shoppers."


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There was a time when a cellphone was mostly just a phone. If you were bored on the subway or bus, maybe you’d play that old snake game. When tablets came out, people used them for reading books or playing solitaire.
But things have changed, and they’ve changed quickly. Now you can take your phone from your pocket and watch a movie, order a pizza, buy groceries, download an app to change the T.V. channel because you can’t find the remote, find a date for later tonight, apply for a job, read this article – you can do pretty much anything on your smartphone.
We’ve built a culture of “right now.” Everybody wants to access everything as they think of it, wherever they are, from their mobile devices. Consumers demand the ability to buy a banana slicer from Amazon while sitting on a barstool at 2:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. In the business world, we want access to our email, networks, and company software anywhere at any time. This has been great for efficiency, but stressful for those developers who work hard to keep up with changes in mobile technology.
Follow this set of trends down the rabbit hole, and you’ll find some advice you should give that no-good kid of yours who won’t pick a major. There was a year-over-year nationwide increase of 104 percent in demand for mobile development skills between 2014 and 2016 in the United States, according to statistics provided by staffing solutions firm Randstad Technologies. America has gone mobile, and savvy job seekers should pay attention.
Everybody Wants Mobile Development Talent
When you think “mobile development,” you probably think of Candy Crush or your favorite pizza app, but the truth is that nearly every industry is in the app development game these days.
“Most all aspects of business are experiencing pain points in mobility,” says Andy Hutsell, recruiting director at Randstad Technologies. “C-level wants access to dashboards and reporting on their iPad/iPhone while on the treadmill. Sales teams want access to their CRM while in the lobby of a potential client. There are lots of initiatives for mobility in marketing, operations, and in offering mobile versions of company products to clients. Accessibility and convenience are major selling points and are common expectations now as end-users are accustomed to an accessible world.”
Wondering where you can get top dollar for your mobile development skills? Some industries in particular are especially interested in mobile talent.
“Banking and financial verticals have had a significant increase in mobile development; banking on the go is a huge area of focus for banks and their customers,” Hutsell says. “Retail and eCommerce companies have had a significant increase in demand for mobile talent for the obvious reason that companies want customers [coming] to their sites regardless of location. Human resources and payroll companies are trying to have their products and capabilities be more accessible to their existing clientele.”
If You Haven’t Gone Mobile, Get Up to Speed
Mobile technologies don’t just help businesses connect with consumers – they also help staff work more efficiently. The ability to access proprietary company software immediately from any location can help employees stay on top of projects and put out fires.
Mobile technology isn’t exactly new in the business world, so there aren’t a lot of excuses for businesses that find themselves left behind.
“If companies at this point haven’t thought of how to stay relevant in a mobile world, I would say either they aren’t listening to their end-users or they view technology as a cost center and not as a way to generate efficiency and revenue,” Hutsell says. “If it is going to generate efficiency and/or revenue and drive relevancy to implement mobile solutions into their business, then they really can’t afford not to do it.”


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Recent news about the ad-supported Netflix plans has been going around all over the Internet. This is actually the latest decision proposed by the company after its own shares plunges. This happens due to the subscribers’ drop.
Netflix revealed its ranks of subscribers shrank in the first quarter of this year. Its shares also lost a quarter of their value. Unfortunately, it was the first time in a decade that the streaming television service had lost its subscribers.
The co-CEO of the company that is Reed Hastings said that Netflix is now more open to offering lower-cost and also ad-supported plans. Previously, the company stated that it would only stick with the subscription-only plans. Looks like that would not be true anymore. According to the Variety website, this plan will be over next year or even two.
In addition, Netflix believes that factors hampering its growth include subscribers sharing their accounts with people not living in their homes. That is why they have decided to offer lower prices with advertising as a consumer choice.
On top of that, another factor crimping Netflix’s growth is intense competition from titans such as Apple and Disney.


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A quick post-launch patch for the freshly-released NBA 2K12 suggests the Legends Mode DLC is coming soon.
PastaPadre reports a patch nominally to fix NBA 2K12’s online issues has added nine new trophies to the PlayStation 3 version of the game.
The trophies have been associated with a promised Legends mode, bringing together the NBA’s best, which suggests it may be due soon.
The DLC is expected to add online gameplay modes for players in the core games NBA’s Greatest mode, who otherwise can’t be used in multiplayer.
2K has kept a resolute silence on when the content will release and whether it will be free or premium.
NBA 2K12 released earlier this month on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It holds a 91 percent Metacritic average, and an iOS version is on the way.


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The irate cotton farmers have lodged a protest against Cotton Corporation of India for being very selective in lifting the produce. The farmers in Khammam protested at the cotton market yard, as the CCI did not lift about 75% of the produce claiming it to be of low quality. Reportedly, the Khammam market yard received about 90,000 bags of cotton in the last three days.
Revenue Divisional Officer Vinay Krishna interfered in the matter as he rushed to the market yard soon he was informed about the protest by farmers. RDO asked them to purchase cotton but the CCI officials argued that much of the cotton brought had moisture content over 10 per cent which they can’t buy.
The farmers demanded to lift the high moisture cotton at fewer rates. “We want the CCI to buy cotton with high moisture content at a lower price”, said G Shankar Naik, a farmer from Tirumalayapalem.


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SYDNEY – Australia’s major telcos are about to face legal action over their late payment fees. This comes on the heels of a court ruling that found late payment fees enforcedThis comes on the heels of a court ruling that found late payment fees enforced by banks, including ANZ Bank’s $20-35 fees on late credit card payments are “unconscionable”. Initially thousands, if not millions, of Telstra customers could be compensated for late payment fees after Sydney law firm ACA Lawyers announced plans to launch a class action before Christmas.
Millions of Telstra’s fixed line, mobile and data customers will be able to join the class action. They will be followed by customers from Optus and Vodafone.
ACA Lawyers will argue that the fees are unlawful because they do not reflect the actual costs incurred by the telco.
Said Steven Lewis, principal at the firm: “Just by way of example, in 2014 Telstra took in $272 million in late payment fees and what they call ‘other miscellaneous fees’. We believe the vast majority of that amount relates to late payment fees.”Based on Telstra’s financial results, he estimated that the telco has collected hundreds of millions of dollars in late fees over the past five years.
“If you go back over the last five years, Telstra has recovered close to $750 million in late payment fees and other miscellaneous fees. It’s hard to see how Telstra could justify a 20 percent impost as being a genuine pre-estimate of their costs,” Lewis said.
A Telstra spokesman said the company’s late fees were reasonable in light of the costs incurred. “We will strongly defend any claim we receive,” he said.


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The war of words on tariffs is heating up and U.S. distilled spirits is directly in the cross-hairs. Mexico has already pulled the trigger and imposed a retaliatory 25% tariff on U.S. whiskeys on June 5, 2018. At least four others have proposed additional tariffs of between 10% to 40%.
In a letter today presented to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Distilled Spirits Council said it is “extremely concerned” about the increasing likelihood that the European Union (EU) and other countries will begin retaliating against U.S. spirits products in response to the U.S. decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, and “the impact that retaliatory tariffs will have on U.S. distilled spirits producers, as well as their agricultural and supply chain partners.”
The letter points out that exports worth approximately $759 million, representing 46 percent of global U.S. spirits exports and 65 percent of global U.S. whiskey exports, are the target of retaliatory tariffs.
Such tariffs “would severely harm producers, U.S. farmers …, distribution and logistics providers, as well as other input providers such as glass and other packaging suppliers,” the letter stated, noting that the spirits sector directly and indirectly employs approximately 1.5 million people.
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U.S. Global Exports of Spirits has Grown 185% Over Last 20 Years
“Global exports of U.S. spirits … have benefited significantly from the United States’ efforts to secure market opening trade agreements. Over the past two decades, U.S. spirits exports have increased from $575 million in 1997 to $1.64 billion in 2017, a rise of 185 percent.” U.S. distilled spirits are now exported from small, medium and large distillers located across 42 states, the Council noted.
“However, the imposition of tariffs on these products by our major trading partners threatens to seriously impede the export progress that has benefited our sector and created jobs across the country,” the Council warned.
The letter was hand delivered to Secretary Ross this morning. The full letter is below.


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Organic usage is once again front page news as studies call into question the nutritional benefits of organic foods compared with conventionally-processed counterparts. While consumers find the organic and natural product landscape confusing to navigate, findings in this new report would suggest that these recent studies are unlikely to alter consumer purchase and usage behaviors. Consumers historically adopt and continue their purchase and consumption of organic foods and beverages for reasons that extend beyond nutritional values.
Organic gained prominence for the many other quality and health notions it represents: natural, local, fresh, raw, sustainable, safe, higher quality, better tasting and, most importantly, the absence of negative ingredients.
Consumers are much more knowledgeable about organics today than they were 10 years ago. As the organic marketplace evolves, consumers are demanding even more from organic manufacturers in terms of transparency and narratives regarding product origin. They are also now looking to retailers as docents in the product selection process.
Organic and Natural 2012 is the latest in our long-running consumer-centric syndicated research series exploring the organic and natural trend in America. Since 1997, when we first began examining the organic marketplace, we have seen consumers approach to organic and natural products grow and evolve. Today, we find that consumers across all segments possess greater knowledge about organics and that their increased knowledge is leading them to ask more questions than ever before.
This report provides insights on timely topics that include:
Table of Contents


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Musa Radoli @PeopleDailyKe
The government and sugar industry stakeholders are planning to convince the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) to give them yet another extension of safeguards from cheap sugar imports. This is because most of the critical plans the government and stakeholders had planned to execute in an effort to be at parity with the other Comesa sugar-producing states are still a mirage.
The Agriculture Food and Fisheries Authority head of the Sugar Directorate Solomon Odera claims the country has met three of the four conditions. “We presented what we have done so far and we undertook to meet all the conditions by 2019 when the safeguards come to an end,” he said in reference to a mandatory progress report filled with a technical committee of Comesa for review by its Council of ministers in November.
Two of the most critical issues include privatisation of partly government-owned sugar millers like Chemilil, Sony, Nzoia, Muhoroni and Miwani. According to the ministry of Agriculture, the privatisation of the five millers is one of the measures required to improve the competitiveness of Kenya’s sugar industry and end its perennial reliance on Comesa safeguards.
Secondly and perhaps the most vital is the lowering of the cost of production in comparison to other Comesa member states. For instance, the cost of producing sugar in Kenya is about $800 (Sh80,960) per tonne compared to Egypt’s $400 (Sh40,480).
Indeed, Kenya will be forced to seek another extension of the Comesa safeguard measures to protect its sugar industry after it emerged that its production would remain flat due to poor performance by state-owned sugar millers as well as other players.
Traders and brokers find it cheaper to smuggle and repackage sugar as a Kenyan product from other Comesa members states. Since 2004 Kenya has year after year fought for Comesa safeguards extensions to limit importation of duty free sugar.
Kenya has survived by invoking Article 61 of the Comesa treaty which provides protection of emerging sectors until they are considered mature for competition. “Considering the huge challenges the sugar industry is facing from within and without we will be forced to negotiate for another extension next year.
We have made progress on a number of the conditions that we were expected to fulfil but much more still needs to be done,” said outgoing Agriculture Cabinet secretary Willy Bett. Stakeholders are still struggling to fulfil key conditions required to deal with competition against duty-free sugar imports from the 19 Comesa member states who are eyeing the lucrative Kenyan market.
Expected changes in the sub-sector cannot be effected in the remaining timespan. These changes include privatisation of state-owned millers which cannot be done within the one year timeframe owing to recommended overhauls.
Trade principal secretary Chris Kiptoo argues that key milestones over the years have been achieved in the industry particularly since the introduction of the Comesa sugar safeguards in 2002. “However, full implementation of the directives has been curtailed by various challenges.
These challenges include privatisation of the five ailing sugar milling State corporations, Chemelil, Muhoroni, Miwani, Nzoia and Sony. The process has been hampered by court cases, low uptake of new cane varieties by farmers and implementation of a new method of cane payment based on sucrose content,” said Kiptoo.
The planned sale of the State-owned millers to strategic investors by the national government has also been hampered by a legal battle between the county governments and the Privatisation Commission with the former arguing that since agriculture is a devolved function, they should have a voice in the sale of these firms.
According to a report by the US Department of Agriculture, dated April 2017, sugar millers are burdened by obsolete milling technology and huge debts, leading to poor payment to farmers. The current extension, which started in February last year, will expire in February 2019.
Kenya will be required to give a scorecard on the status of the reforms in its sugar industry. Other critical issues are the ever increasing high farm inputs and transport costs involved in sugar production.
The situation has become so bad that, privately-owned milling companies have encroached into some of areas previously zoned off for the State-owned mills rendering the industry 47 square kilometre regulation per miller irrelevant.
During the 19th Comesa Heads of State and Government Summit in Antananarivo, Madagascar, in October 2016, the Council of Ministers agreed to extend Kenya’s safeguard measures and asked the government to accelerate the sale of its sugar factories.