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The legalization and commercialization of cannabis, adult-use and medical, continues with many more projected years of double-digit growth – and weed legalization in Germany could be next.
Last month, the ruling coalition in Germany released a blueprint for establishing Europe's first taxed and regulated adult-use market. As Germany inches towards cannabis legalization, this could spell big changes for the rest of Europe. Several European Union (EU) countries, including Greece, Italy and France, have legalized medical marijuana and are considering broader legalization measures.
"It's a huge moment," Niklas Kouparanis, CEO of German cannabis company Bloomwell Group, told Politico (opens in new tab). "Germany is basically pioneering the way to legalize cannabis for other EU member states."
The U.S. is the largest addressable cannabis market, but we continue to see how the rest of the world is progressing. European countries remind us of how the U.S. industry has evolved over time, with each state deriving its own industry with unique traits. Europe shares some of those similarities but with a more conservative approach to cannabis access for its constituents.
We have been keen to see how European retail and medical dispensary licensing scales. Retail growth, along with medical recommendations and prescriptions, will be critical for industry growth in these countries. There's been plenty of pitch decks, but very few have built or obtained licenses for retail locations or medical clinics – an aspect to watch as Europe seems to be in a challenging economic situation.
Illegal Cannabis Sellers Are Flocking to Instagram
Illicit cannabis continues to be a robust and illegal trade as access to legal cannabis remains constrained by federal policymakers. Instagram and other social media sites are becoming popular vehicles for illegal marijuana sales, and according to 2021 data from Pew Research Center, 71% of people ages 18 to 29 use Instagram. Illicit sellers also reported using Snapchat, Discord and Telegram to market products to new and existing consumers.
It is frustrating to see the illicit industry get stronger while many people like us work daily to have a healthy and thriving legal cannabis industry. Bad actors in the illegal market can affect legal operators, even on simple things like social media marketing. We have seen countless legal cannabis companies lose their social media accounts while illegal sellers continue to post. Consequently, we've seen the shuttering of accounts from licensed operators complying with social media rules versus those acting with bad intentions.
There are tools for legal operators to help them stay above the fray, such as Highlyte by Amnesia Media (opens in new tab), a company where Poseidon has invested. Let's hope as legal markets become more sophisticated that it becomes easier to identify and shut down illicit operations on social media while allowing legitimate businesses to prosper.
Cannabis Companies Pivot to Alcohol and Sports Drinks Investments
Several of the world's largest cannabis companies are pivoting to other arenas like beer and sports drinks.
In November, the Canadian cannabis company Tilray (TLRY (opens in new tab)) acquired Montauk Brewing Company, adding to a collection that already includes SweetWater Brewing Company and Breckenridge Distillery.
Canopy Growth (CGC (opens in new tab)) is the majority owner of BioSteel, a sports-beverage brand with high-profile sponsorship deals including the Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Kansas City Chief quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Canopy's core cannabis business reported a 27% decrease in revenue compared with the same quarter last year, while income for BioSteel nearly quadrupled. Tilray's cannabis revenue declined 17%, while its alcoholic beverage business saw revenue climb 34%.
Several Canadian cannabis operators have struggled to succeed in building profitable cannabis operations. These operators have fueled their own mistakes with excessive capital that many industry participants have long forgotten at this point in the cycle. The Canadian cannabis companies have true public market currency as they are able to trade on listed exchanges and have continued to enjoy the benefits of access to capital, including equity. As a result, we see a few Canadian operators who lack vision or a true long-term strategy, attempting to buy their way to profitability by going into non-cannabis industries like beer or other consumer packaged goodss. These teams are nothing like Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B (opens in new tab)), so we mostly see this as a distraction from the real issues.
We would not be surprised to see one or a few of these companies emerge as winners. It will likely be a company with a strategy and a focus on fundamentals and execution versus one quoting the number of shares their stock trades per day or about U.S. politics that have little to no bearing on their international cannabis business.
New York's Illicit Market Sells Concerning Cannabis Products
A study sponsored by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association revealed that unlicensed cannabis products purchased in New York stores consistently failed lab tests for purity and potency. Researchers found that countless illegal stores in NYC are advertising sales for THC products.
"The presence of several harmful contaminants, such as E. coli, pesticides, heavy metals, and salmonella in 40 percent of the illegal products purchased, including vapes," the report stated (opens in new tab). "Many of the products tested did not contain the amount of THC advertised on the label and in one case, featured double the amount of listed THC. After reviewing the items under the state's proposed branding regulations, 100 percent of the products failed."
As longtime industry participants, we have seen numerous issues coming out of the illicit market in cannabis. The findings in recent studies are unsurprising because the illicit market is not regulated, nor does it seem to care about what they are pushing into the market and to whom or how old. This couldn't be more different for the overly regulated and taxed legal industry.
Team Poseidon was in NYC this fall, touring legal retailers in New Jersey, and we witnessed several illegal doors that litter the Manhattan market. The illicit market in NYC is extremely brazen and continues to be so. With our product knowledge, it was clear to see how terrible the available illicit products were, but there are millions of people that are still cannabis curious and are not savvy about what is legal, especially when illegal sellers are so prevalent. We're concerned for the health and safety of unsuspecting consumers and curious when this issue will become more mainstream. Our Cannabis Closing Bell and Poseidon Twitter accounts have regularly cautioned people about the dangers of the illicit market and we welcome the opportunity to say once more, "Buying legal cannabis is the patriotic thing to do!"
Morgan Paxhia is Co-Founder of $PSDN ETF & Managing Director and Co-Founder of Poseidon Investment Management. With over 10 years experience in investing and finance, Morgan has developed a deep understanding of individual company analysis, portfolio construction, and risk mitigation. This content is not intended to provide any investment, financial, legal, regulatory, accounting, tax or similar advice, and nothing should be construed as a recommendation by Poseidon Investment Management, LLC, its affiliates, or any third party, to acquire or dispose of any investment or security, or to engage in any investment strategy or transaction. An investment in any strategy involves a high degree of risk and there is always the possibility of loss, including the loss of principal. This content should not be considered as an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell securities or other services. Any of the securities identified and described herein are for illustrative purposes only. Their selection was based upon nonperformance-based objective criteria. The content presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date, but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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Tourism chiefs in Australia remain upbeat despite a fall in UK visitor spend. “We have seen a volatility [following Brexit],” said Denise von Wald, regional general manager for the UK and northern Europe at Tourism Australia.
“Some operators are saying they’ve had their best ever January but had to work their tails off in February.”
Although UK visitor numbers have been steadily increasing since 2014, with 716,700 Brits touching down in Australia in the year ending December 2016 (an upswing of 4% compared to the year prior), spend fell by 3%. Von Wald attributed the fall in expenditure to the drop in the purchasing power of the pound post-Brexit vote, but added that 2017 could see improved results.
“The pound was down as much as 18% [so] to only be down 3% in spend means that we still have more people coming and that they’re spending more pounds – it’s just not worth as much in Aussie dollars,” she said. “As the pound comes back [recovers] that [expenditure] could come back.”
In a further financial blow, it was announced earlier this month that Tourism Australia would lose $14 million in funding, down from $143 million to $129 million in 2017-18.
But managing director John O’Sullivan shrugged off concerns about the budget cuts. “It’s not as severe as it might look from the outside,” he said. “Most of it has come out of foreign exchange as we spend a lot of our money overseas. There was a small component that was related to government-wide efficiencies.”
In spite of the challenges faced, O’Sullivan also highlighted the destination’s newfound potential for growth. “The US is a big competitor of ours – looking at visitation and who is above us, a big chunk of that is the US,” he said.
Referring to the so-called ‘Trump slump’, Von Wald said: “We think there’s a real opportunity for us.”
O’Sullivan concluded by saying he believed 2017 would be a bumper year: “We’re projecting 2017 will be a great year for the UK [market].”

domain: news


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By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY
President Bush's proposed budget will create new industry fees to help finance the Food and Drug Administration, tying it more closely to the businesses it regulates.
The FDA says fees help it get good products to market faster, but critics say they give business too much influence. At a congressional hearing Tuesday on the FDA's drug-review record, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said the drug-review fees already in place have helped compromise the FDA's ability to ensure a safe drug supply.
Of the FDA's proposed $2.1 billion budget for fiscal 2008, 21.3% would come from user fees paid mostly by drug, medical device and food companies. That's about the same as in last year's proposed budget.
The FDA first required drugmakers in 1993 to pay fees to help fund reviews of new human drugs before they are approved for sale. User fees for animal-drug reviews began in 2003 and for medical-device reviews in 2002.
Now, the FDA seeks fees for generic-drug reviews, for food and animal-feed exporters seeking FDA certification, and for re-inspections of FDA-regulated facilities, including manufacturing plants, that fail a first FDA check. Drugmakers will pay the bulk of the $444 million in fees the FDA expects to raise in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
In addition to criticism from some members of Congress, the drug industry is questioning the growth of user fees, too. In the next fiscal year, drugmakers will fund almost 60% of the FDA's reviews of human-drug applications, estimates the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. That's up from about 40% 10 years ago. "There's concern about it getting this high," says Alan Goldhammer, PhRMA deputy vice president for regulatory affairs.
The Biotechnology Industry Association says user fees should fund no more than half the FDA's drug-review budget. The fees started because companies wanted faster drug reviews, but they were never envisioned to get this big, says James Greenwood, the association's CEO.
He says user fees have not compromised the FDA's independence in drug reviews. But he adds that the level of fees gives ammunition to FDA and industry critics.
The administration says generic-drug fees are needed to defray the costs of a soaring number of reviews.
The president's budget includes $81 billion in new user fees for numerous industries over five years — double the level proposed last year — according to Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., chairman of the House Budget Committee. In an analysis, Spratt said Congress has rejected many new fees in the past and "is likely to do so again."


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Click For Photo: https://media.breitbart.com/media/2018/07/wi/afp/17/25a6ed_us-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin-pictured-in-2018-washington-new-trade-e1532123771750.jpg
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has proposed lifting all or some of the tariffs on China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Treasury officials have advocated lifting tariffs on Chinese imports to “give Beijing a reason to make deeper concessions in ongoing trade talks between the two countries,” the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the matter.
Reversal - Administration - Stance - Tariffs - Goods
That would be a sharp reversal of the administration’s earlier stance. The tariffs were put on Chinese goods in the first place to give Bejing an incentive to make concessions to U.S. demands that it give up its predatory mercantilist economic strategy. Many inside the administration, including officials from the Treasury Department and inside the White House, opposed the tariffs before the decision was made to impose them.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is opposed to lifting or easing the tariffs, arguing the Chinese would consider such a move as a sign of weakness, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Week - Senator - Charles - Grassley - Reporters
Earlier this week, Senator Charles Grassley told reporters that while China had agreed to buy more energy and agricultural products, Lighthizer had told him that there had been essentially no progress on the “structural issues” at the core of the trade dispute.
That was taken by China hawks as reassuring because it suggested that the...
Wake Up To Breaking News!


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GST rates are the new discussion point in the nation and everyone wondering about is how it will get gel-into the Indian business system. Well, according to the recent analysis reports, this system will ease business structure and will attract more foreign investment into the sector. Where all the large businesses are getting ready for the new transition, what startups can expect from this system regarding efiling of income tax return.
GST Will Be More Helpful For The Startups
The first thing any startups will get benefit from is the free flow of goods and services without paying any entry tax across the country. This taxation system will turn India into a single market where goods will be allowed to flow without any barriers. GST rates are also expected to increase the efficiency of the logistic system which will directly affect the startups.
It will also introduce the “Do it yourself” model which will keep the taxation system more transparent. Things will be done online such as taxpayer registration, refund claims, tax payment and efiling of income tax return. Doing things online will ultimately adhere the “Do it yourself” model, where the business persons will control their financial flow by themselves.
Efiling of Income Tax Return
This system will also increase liquidity, which is an important factor for the startups now a days. Startups struggles in receiving funding and under the current taxation system, their capital investments gets stuck in the hands of tax authority as a refund claim. But GST rates coming into action mean refunds will be processed online and a faster process can be expected.
Also, this law will increase the turnover limit for business registration in comparing to current laws. According to the current system, the limit is INR 10 lakhs where the new system will increase the limit to 20 lakhs. However, this system is under proposal and will also impact the efiling of income tax return of the businesses.


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The world's most expensive whiskey, which is 139 years old, has been revealed as fake after investigation was conducted on the scotch bottle. The dram of scotch whiskey was sold to Chinese multimillionaire and online writer Zhang Wei, by St. Moritz Hotel, Switzerland in August for US $10,000, which is believed to be the highest amount paid for a single shot of scotch.
However, it was an utter disappointment for the 36–year-old writer, as the scotch turned out to be a fake one, leaving him downhearted. According to BBC reports, the Chinese writer was impressed by the honesty shown by the manager of the hotel, Sandra Bernasconi, who flew down to refund the amount.
It was thought to be the only unsealed bottle of the celebrated vintage until Wei found it in the Devil's place Whiskey Bar. Once the news hit headlines across all the newspapers, whiskey experts began to question the discrepancies in the label and cork, which persisted the company to send the dram of scotch to Oxford researchers.
They found out through carbon dating test that there was 95 percent probability of the spirit being distilled between 1970 and 1972. Further, alcohol analyst Tatlock and Thomson showed that there was a 95 percent probability that the spirit had a blend of scotch which ruled it out as a single malt.
The Swiss hotel, which stocks 2,500 different whiskeys, never had a hint that one of their collections of whiskey would turn out to be fake. The hotel website said that they never wished to sell the scotch of whiskey until Wei insisted to buy the Macallan, quoted BBC Scotland. So, Bernasconi called up his father, who in turn asked him to sell the whiskey as they would not get such a customer even in 20 years.
But Zhang was not left with a hole in his pocket as the hotel manager flew to China to reimburse the amount, after showing the results to him.There was also a similar incident where investigators found out that 113-year-old Laphroaig worth thousands of pounds was a fraud as the sealed bottle which was of the correct age and design contained cheaply blended whiskey which was made between 2007 and 2009.


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[ Export of textile, clothing rises ]
[ ‘Textile sector exports likely to grow in FY14’ ]
[ ILO Says Cambodia’s Factories Are ‘Chronically Non-Compliant’ ]
[ U.S. outlines steps for Bangladesh to restore trade benefits ]
Export of textile, clothing rises [ top ]
DAWN, Mubarak Zeb Khan, July 20, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s export of textile and clothing witnessed a growth of over five per cent in the outgoing fiscal year (2012-13) from a year ago.
This marginal increase in exports is the outcome of temporary improvement in supply of gas to the sectors in the last quarter of the outgoing fiscal year.
A slight improvement in demand from Pakistan’s key markets of Europe and US also led to improvement in export proceeds from these sectors.
In absolute terms, export proceeds of textile and clothing reached $13.064 billion in 2012-13 from $12.336bn over the previous year, suggested data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics issued on Friday.
In 2011-12, export of textile and clothing had witnessed a 10 per cent decline over the previous year. The export proceeds from the sectors were $13.788 billion during 2011-12, the second highest export figures in the country’s history.
In 2009-10, export of textile and clothing crossed the $14 billion mark. Since then a downward trend is being noticed.
Overall increase in exports was the outcome of continued rise in export of these products since September 2012 owing to a slight surge in demand from Europe and US.
The overall growth is also driven by increase in exports to European market following a preferential market on 75 products.
The products, which accelerated growth, are mainly driven by substantial increase in export proceeds of ready-made garments, towels and other low value products, such as cotton yarn and cotton cloth, but export of raw cotton witnessed a decline in the last few months over the previous year.
The increase in export of textile and clothing sectors resulted in overall growth of exports of the country by 3.77pc to $24.515bn in July-June period this year as against $23.624bn in the corresponding period of last year.
A sector-wise analysis showed that export of ready-made garments went up by 12.32pc, knitwear 2.51pc, bed wear 2.401pc and towels 13.02pc in 2012-13 over the corresponding period of last year.
Export of low value-added products, such as cotton yarn was up by 23.97pc, cotton cloth 10.17pc, yarn other than cotton yarn 10.84pc, made-up articles 0.05pc and other textile material 25.56pc in July-June 2013 over the last year.
Industry sources said that consistent supply of gas to textile sector during the period produced the desired results.
The production of textile industries also witnessed growth in the last quarters.
In 2012-13, no major expansion was carried out in the textile sector because more than 10 per cent negative growth was witnessed in import of textile machinery in the outgoing fiscal year 2012-13.
The growth in yarn and fabric exports was mainly because of improved energy supply.
The full capacity utilisation of production caused growth in export of home textile – towels and bed-wear as well.
Statistics show that exports of raw cotton declined by 66.71pc, cotton carded 46.75pc, art and silk 25.65pc, respectively during the July-June 2013 period this year over last year.
‘Textile sector exports likely to grow in FY14’ [ top ]
THE NEWS, Correspondent Report, July 23, 2013
KARACHI: Textile exports observed a significant surge of six percent in FY13 and the analysts expect the current momentum in textile exports to continue in FY14, mainly driven by exports of cotton yarn, cloth and selected value-added items.
Abdul Nabi, a textile exporter, said that the grant of GSP Plus status is expected to provide strong impetus to the value-added exports, which has a 50 to 55 percent share in the total value of textile exports.
Mohammad Affan Ismail at BMA Capital said that the benefits of all these duty advantage packages will remain heavily contingent upon adequate supply of gas and electricity to the manufacturers.
“We believe that spinning mills will continue to remain under limelight, owing to better export prospects and steady margins, weaving and composite mills will also reap the benefits of the ongoing and upcoming trade packages in FY14 through higher volumetric sales and weaker rupee.”
The newly-elected government has highlighted some bold initiatives to resolve the longstanding issue of the energy crisis, among which the upcoming energy policy and encouragement of private sector to invest in low-cost power generation are some key measures being proposed.
The expected improvement in the energy supply after implementation of the power sector reforms will not only lower the cost of production but will also allow timely processing and dispatch of export orders, thus, further strengthening the fundamentals, Ismail said.
Textile sector experts expect those companies that plan to convert their power engines to coal-fired or shift on the national grid to procure electricity from the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) (priced at 35 percent lower cost than the cost of generation from diesel / furnace oil) to largely benefit. Nishat Mills Limited (NML) and Nishat Chunian Limited (NCL) will continue to enjoy a key edge over their local peers, they said.
The Punjab government has started an aggressive campaign to reduce transmission / distribution line losses and curtail gas supply to a number of compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations, which may lead to a significant improvement in the supply of natural gas in the system.
ILO Says Cambodia’s Factories Are ‘Chronically Non-Compliant’ [ top ]
CAMBODIA DAILY, Dene-Hern Chen and Kaing Menghun, July 19, 2013
Half of Cambodia’s garment factories monitored between November and April are “chronically non-compliant” with the Labor Law and the industry has experienced deteriorating working conditions and fire safety records in the past three years, ac¬cording to the latest report from the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) factory monitoring program.
The biannual report released Thursday by Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) comes after criticism was leveled at the ILO recently for not holding non-compliant factories responsible by naming them in its reports.
The first report since the roof of a Taiwanese-owned factory in Kom¬pong Speu province collapsed in May killing two people, the ILO this time around used unusually critical language regarding working conditions in the country’s factories.
“[I]mprovements are not being made in many areas including fire safety, child labor and worker safety and health,” the report says, adding that 51 percent of the 152 factories monitored between November to April showed no improvements despite five or more visits.
“The industry’s chronically non-compliant factories need to be held accountable, and non-compliance on critical cross-cutting issues highlighted in this report need to be addressed,” the report continues. “If this does not occur, Cambodia’s industry runs the risk of forfeiting the advantages that come from its reputation for decent working conditions.”
Fire safety remains a top concern, with 45 percent of factories failing to conduct fire drills every six months and 53 percent having obstructed paths, which could lead to difficulties escaping during an emergency.
Program monitors also suspected the employment of child laborers in 13 factories visited during this six-month period. BFC said the prevalence of child labor in the industry is “likely greater” than the 2 percent indicated by the report.
The change in tone in BFC’s report comes after it has come under fire in recent months for its ineffectual and non-transparent monitoring. Although the U.N.-affiliated program has been instated since 2001, a February report by Stanford University Law School researchers charged that the program had actually set back garment industry standards for Cambodian workers, compared to their counterparts in China, Indonesia and Vietnam—where no equivalent program existed until recently.
The researchers, along with labor activists and unions, called for the practice of naming-and-shaming non-compliant factories as a way to improve labor standards.
The ceiling collapse in May at Wing Star Shoes factory has also drawn renewed attention to the country’s lack of oversight in the industry for its structural and worker safety measures. As participation by factories in the ILO program is voluntary, Wing Star was not being monitored by BFC.
Maurizio Bussi, director of ILO’s Decent Work Team for Southeast Asia, said Thursday the program plans to release names of offending factories before September, but only if there is “full engagement” from the factories, the brands and the government. “[I]t should be reinstated during the third quarter of this year,” Mr. Bussi said in an email. “[T]he public disclosure initiative will be primarily based on the ILO’s principles and standards directed at protecting workers from unacceptable forms of work.” This includes conditions that deny fundamental rights, that put at risk the lives and security of workers, and that keep them in conditions of extreme poverty, he said.
Sat Samoth, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Labor, seemed more unsure of the prospect of public disclosure. “I’m concerned that this could cause them to file lawsuits against each other,” Mr. Samoth said. “Only the court can say if [the factories] are abiding by the law or not.”
Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, remained steadfastly against this practice, and dismissed the latest synthesis report.
“It’s ridiculous because their monitoring is not totally transparent and it is not totally correct and we are challenging that,” Mr. Sou Ieng said. “It will only destroy the factories. Naming the factories is not helping at all, and this is against the spirit of helping factories.”
“No one will commit to this program anymore” if BFC publicly disclosed names of factories, Mr. Sou Ieng said.
U.S. outlines steps for Bangladesh to restore trade benefits [ top ]
THE INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2013
WASHINGTON: The U.S. Trade Representative's Office on Friday outlined a series of steps that it urged Bangladesh to take to improve factory conditions and workers rights in order to have U.S. trade benefits restored.
President Barack Obama revoked longtime trade benefits for Bangladesh following a garment factory collapse in April and a factory fire in November that together killed more than 1,200 people.
The USTR plan urges Bangladesh to increase the number of labor, fire and building inspectors, improve their training and establish clear procedures for independent and credible inspections.
It also calls for increased fines and other sanctions, including loss of import and export licenses, for failure to comply with labor, fire, or building standards.
Bangladesh should enact and implement labor law reforms to address concerns related to freedom of association and collective bargaining, USTR said.
The U.S. trade office also endorsed a "compact" between the European Union, Bangladesh and the International Labor Organization to improve working conditions in the country.
"The United States looks forward to working as a full partner with the EU, Bangladesh, and the ILO to implement the goals of the Compact, many of which are broadly consistent with the GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) action plan we are releasing today," the USTR said.
It did not specifically mention a private sector plan to protect worker safety announced earlier this month by North American retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target and Gap. But it acknowledged "the importance of efforts by retailers and brands to ensure that the factories from which they source are compliant with all fire and safety standards in Bangladesh."
Some groups have criticized the North American retailers' plan as not being strong enough.
The United States privately gave Bangladesh its "action plan" last month.
"Today, the Administration is making this action plan public as a means to reinforce and support the efforts of all international stakeholders to promote improved worker rights and worker safety in Bangladesh," the trade office said.


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Clearly, Valve is pretty gung-ho about Linux as a gaming platform. It's too early to tell if other developers and publishers are on board yet, but at least one of them is considering it. THQ President Jason Rubin posted this message on Twitter this weekend:
@CheshireTheyain Got the Linux message load and clear via #HumbleBundle feedback. Evaluating cost/benefit as we speak.
Rubin was responding to a user who asked, "can you guys consider doing some games for Linux? I know it seems a small market, but look at what Valve is doing."
The folks at gaming site Polygon got Rubin to elaborate via e-mail. In his response, the THQ President noted that there are "vibrant communities" of gamers running less-popular operating systems like Linux, and THQ "should not overlook them." He went on to say:
"Complicating the analysis (in a positive way), gamers have tweeted inventive ideas to me, such as letting the community help in the porting to bring down costs . . . THQ is committed to look at anything that makes sense."
Rubin apparently ended his e-mail on a positive note, saying he believes THQ will have more details to announce "shortly."
Turning Linux into a mainstream gaming platform could be an uphill battle for Valve and any companies that join the effort. Clearly, though, the Linux community is doing its part to bring more publishers into the fold. It'll definitely be interesting to see what THQ winds up deciding—and whether other major game companies follow in its footsteps. (Thanks to GamesIndustry.biz for the links.)
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Raglan’s iconic clothes shop Scintilla is back in town.
After an absence of about six years, Scintilla has just opened in Wallis Street with a selection of its original New Zealand-made clothes along with a range of accessories and a winter sale to boot.
“I feel like I’ve come full circle,” said owner and Raglan resident Rebecca Dowling, who was enjoying being back in Raglan. “It’s just so nice to reconnect with lots of old faces.”
The former Scintilla shop in Raglan – which initially started under the name of Urchin – closed in an effort to reduce overheads and scale back the business, which was then supplying stores in Hamilton, Silverdale and Wellington, she said.
Scintilla had enjoyed about 12 good years in Raglan and developed quite a following: “It was a big business back then – I had a lot of staff. It was kind of a boom time for the clothing industry.”
Rebecca was busy. She joined forces with her sister, Anna – who had a clothing store in Silverdale – in the Scintilla business and the pair opened a Scintilla shop in both Hamilton, which closed about two years ago, and Wellington.
She had also been selling her creations in Cambridge’s Left Makers Collective shop along with other Raglan artists Hayley Hamilton, Karla Stevenson, Carrie Andrews and Deborah Powel.
That shop closed earlier this year, with the lack of tourists and extra weekend traffic, travel from Raglan and an “off-the-beaten track” location taking its toll.
Online shopping, and cheap imports in particular, had a massive impact on the New Zealand clothing industry, and to counteract it Rebecca had to make careful financial decisions and cut costs wherever she could.
“I think it’s just a reality of the New Zealand economy – the sheer scale of choice we have now,” Rebecca said.
However, the quality and individuality of her pieces had not been compromised, and her clothes were still designed and sewn in the Waikato.
Being unique was an important part of her philosophy, and she was no slave to fashion trends.
She described her signature style as “an individual look with attention to detail for real New Zealand women who like to have a few pieces that are a bit unique.”
Quality and the use of natural fabrics and materials was also part of her signature look, and also helped give the clothes their longevity. Rebecca still saw women wearing Scintilla or Urchin clothes they had bought 10 years ago.
Now she had a smaller operation, Rebecca was also keen to offer a more personalised service, while enjoying the social, practical and creative aspects of being back in Raglan.


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Bay of Quinte, ON: Small Business Week across Canada is celebrated the third week of October and this year Quinte Business Week will run from October 15 to October 19. Small and medium sized businesses make up 99.7% of the companies in Canada and employ close to 90% of all private sector workers. Every year the Business Development Bank of Canada takes a lead role in promoting this event and this year they are advising small and medium sized businesses (SME’s) to “Digitize Now: Transform Your Business.”
The purpose of the week is to highlight the importance of Small and Medium sized companies to the Canadian and local economies. This year in the Quinte Region the three local Chambers of Commerce from Belleville, Prince Edward County and Quinte West have joined forces to bring a weeks’ worth of events to our local businesses.
There are events going on every day starting on Monday Oct 15 at 10 am with the big Kick Off for the week at the Quinte Business Centre. Everyone is invited to attend the kick off which is sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and will feature messages about business week from local Mayors and Chamber Presidents and a short presentation from BDC.
There are three days of workshops being offered to the local business community on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, all designed to help businesses access the information they need to maximize their efforts to grow and develop. The seminars on Tuesday are at the Trent Port Marina in Quinte West, the ones on Wednesday are at the Avaya Building on Sidney St., Belleville and the ones on Thursday are at The Grange Winery in Prince Edward County. Check out your local chambers website for full details and locations. There is no cost to attend these seminars.
Tuesday, October 16 is the Mega Mingle sponsored by The Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance Plan. This is a great opportunity to enjoy an evening out at the Belleville Senators Fan Zone in the newly named CAA Arena while mingling with business people from Quinte West, Belleville and Prince Edward County. Enjoy light refreshments, local beer & wine, live entertainment and door prizes.
Friday October 19 is the Quinte Business Achievement Awards Gala at the National Air Force Museum in Quinte West. Representatives from the local Municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, BDC, Trenval, QEDC and RBC Royal Bank form the organizing committee to ensure the success of this program. This year there were 111 businesses from throughout the region that completed the nomination process and everyone is invited to join in as we celebrate business excellence in the Quinte Region. Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased through the website at www.qbaa.ca/tickets or by calling your local Chamber of Commerce.
All Small Business Week events need to be reserved in advance through your local Chamber of Commerce or by calling 1-800-930-3255.
Many local companies and organizations have come together with the local Chambers to make Small Business Week Quinte a success. Special thanks to our sponsors: Chamber of Commerce Group Insurance Plan; BDC; Trenval CFDC, PELA CFDC, the Small Business Centre, Trenton & District Business and Professional Women’s Club, Centre for Workforce Development, Integrity Corporate Solutions, MacIntyre Financial and the Cities of Belleville and Quinte West.


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Power outages across Hall County sent residents scrambling Tuesday morning for generators, food and other essentials to make it through the storm’s aftermath.
But it was slim pickings at some local stores following a mad dash for supplies in the days leading up to the ice storm.
The Home Depot on Dawsonville Highway quickly sold out of ice melt, generators and space heaters, according to manager Reece Gilmer, while a little firewood and a handful of chain saws were still available.
Doug Buffington, a Gainesville resident, said he was buying a chain saw to clear a tree that had fallen across his driveway and knocked out power.
And Kyle Grindle, who lives in the Murrayville area, walked out with one of the last generators. He said his home lost power early Monday night.
With the prospect of more inclement weather in the days ahead, Gilmer said he was working closely with vendors and other Home Depot stores to replenish shelves.
Things were relatively slow at the Wal-Mart on Shallowford Road, though a few shoppers were gearing up for a cold day at home.
“I hate ice storms, period,” said Tracy O’Shields, who lives in the Sardis Road area.
O’Shields purchased several bottles of fuel for his camping stove, the only way he has to make coffee and cook a hot meal.
He said power went out about 11 p.m. Monday after tree limbs in his neighbor’s yard sheared off, breaking a power pole in half.
Manager Anthony Howard said shoppers rushed Sunday night to the Wal-Mart in anticipation of the storm. Staples such as bread and milk were selling before the day’s supply could be restocked.
Meanwhile, long lines formed at local fast-food restaurants as residents without power searched for a hot breakfast.
At the McDonald’s on Browns Bridge Road, Roger Fannon and his wife waited patiently to place their order.
Fannon said his home in North Hall had been without power since early Monday night.
“This is one of the few places with power,” he said.
At the Publix grocery store on Thompson Bridge Road, generators were keeping the lights on and credit card machines running, but the coolers were shut down and perishable food had been cleared from shelves.
Brad Doddridge, who also lives in the Sardis Road area, walked out with bottled water and a few tasty snacks to get through the day. He could only shake his head at the ice storm’s wrath.
By mid-afternoon, residents were braving the cold temperatures and beginning the cleanup process.
Neighborhoods abuzz with the sound of chain saws and hammers revealed the long road ahead, and damage along Hillcrest Avenue presented a case study in the ice storm’s power.
Sergio and Pedro Bernadac spent an hour chopping up a tree that was uprooted by the storm and partially blocking the street.
“I was sitting on my porch when it came down,” Sergio said, adding that he watched in amazement as falling tree limbs tore down power lines and sparked small bursts of fire and light.
A few houses up the street, Rosa Velasquez checked out the damage to her car after a monstrous tree was uprooted, fell from the neighbor’s yard across the street and crashed on top of her Nissan.
Velasquez said she was frightened when she heard the tree topple about midnight, and worried that another might come crashing through her home and bedroom.
“I didn’t sleep,” she said. “I don’t know if I want to stay here tonight.”


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Business Express: Tastes & Sights of CT Tourism Trade Mission Lands in the UK and Ireland
A group of commerce and tourism officials from Connecticut visited Ireland and England in mid-September 2017, completing a tourism trade mission aimed at attracting interest and visitors to our state.
This special mission, called Tastes & Sights of Connecticut, succeeded in its directive to introduce representatives of Connecticut tourism and cultural attractions with tourism operators, travel agents and representatives from travel publications in Ireland and England. Those who attended the two events – first in Dublin, Ireland and then in Manchester, UK – were treated to a sampling of traditional Connecticut food, refreshments, and attractions.
The trip was organized by U.S. Department of Commerce and Connecticut tourism officials. Anne Evans, District Director for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Services Division, U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (D-2nd District), members of the Connecticut Office of Tourism, and Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT President and CEO Tony Sheridan enjoyed meeting with attendees, including representatives of Irish, British, and American travel and tourism firms.
“This was a wonderfully productive trade mission. Tourism partners from all over Connecticut, especially eastern Connecticut, had the opportunity to meet with tour operators, travel agents and press in Dublin and England,” said Courtney. “In addition, we had the opportunity to meet with advanced manufacturers, including Doncasters, an England based aerospace manufacturer that operates a facility right in Groton.”
Sheridan credited the hard work of Evans and Courtney, along with the Connecticut Office of Tourism, with making this unique trade mission a success. “We’ve had great turnout with a large number of tourism officials and operators,” Sheridan said. “We expect positive results.”
He also thanked the airline Aer Lingus, which reintroduced international flights from Bradley International Airport to Dublin last year. “Aer Lingus decorated the room for us in Dublin, and it was a very positive, very classy presentation,” he said.
The emphasis was Connecticut-wide, with plenty of attention on promoting the eastern coastal region and “quaint small-town Americana.” The events were a chance to introduce Europeans to the high quality attractions and sumptuous cuisine that is identified with Connecticut. In addition to destinations, Sheridan said they were able to promote “the sandy beaches and shorelines that make our region a unique travel destination.”
“We have received a lot of positive feedback, and the presentations have been well received from individuals and organizations that coordinate travel to the United States,” he added. “We are looking forward to seeing the many connections we have made when they visit us back home in Connecticut.”
> View a video of the Connecticut booth at the Dublin event.


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Sheng Songcheng: why only the central bank central bank digital currency can make money?
The central bank’s China digital currency will be like? There are a variety of rumors.
In the first big data financial forum held in June 24th, the central bank survey division gives a more comprehensive response: first, digital currency issued by the central bank, not to the center; secondly, the existing electronic currency and in different forms, the central bank will likely be the future digital currency block chain technology, has a decentralized currency based on the characteristics of books; third, the central bank in the future digital currency can achieve point of payment and settlement, do not need to use third party central organization.
The people’s Bank of Chinese survey Secretary Sheng Songcheng
The original speech entitled “why digital monetary is the real currency? The following is the speech “:
In January 20, 2016, the people’s Bank of China digital currency seminar held in Beijing. Since the meeting, the central bank digital currency has caused the domestic academic circles and industry wide attention.
For this new thing is controversial and the central bank digital currency fuzzy opinion. Some commentators believe that the central bank will use digital currency issuance and operation framework and other digital currency bitcoin, and that changes in the central bank’s attitude towards bitcoin. There are comments that digital currency technology will enable countries cannot and need not to control the currency, the monetary policy does not exist. In fact, these views are not consistent with the true meaning of the central bank, research design and future issue of digital currency. So, I think from the essence of the currency, the modern currency basis, monetary policy and the modern national relation about personal viewpoints.
First, from the nature of money, in the modern credit currency system, only the national currency is the real currency
At the beginning of 2014, when bitcoin is being sought after and speculation, I continuously published two articles, one is the “virtual currency is not the currency bitcoin — Taking as an example”, there is a “non national idea and bitcoin currency Utopia” first, I clearly bitcoin the virtual currency is not the true sense of the currency.
You know, as a medium of exchange, money is the essential attribute and basic functions. In other functions of money, value function is the serving functions of circulation means and the means of payment, the value of storage functions is a medium of exchange of natural biological functions.
In the era of real money, money has its own intrinsic value, so it can perform these functions of money. However, the modern credit currency or currency itself has no value, why can fulfill the functions of money? This is because the credit currency has the national credit as a support, with the method of compensation and mandatory. National credit is the basic value of currency to fulfill the functions of money, which is the basis of state monopoly monetary issue right.
At the same time, monetary policy is an important means of economic regulation in modern countries. Effect of changes in the money supply to the economy is very extensive. The central banks are making full use of monetary policy to control the economy.
Monetary policy and taxation, police, courts and other state machine, is the foundation of modern national movement, is an important part of the state machine. If the state is a form of social organization is not a fundamental change, on the basis of national credit monetary system will always exist, and other virtual currency bitcoin is not a country’s currency, bitcoin is a technology used at most is also an asset, rather than the true sense of the currency.
Of course, credit money is easy to produce inflation. Bitcoin’s attention, in a sense reflects concerns about credit conditions monetary inflation. So the central banks should strengthen liquidity management, reasonable control of the money supply to keep prices stable.
Two, the central bank is the technology innovation of digital currency notes electronically and beyond the electronic currency, but it does not change the nature of money
The bill is form of currency countries most widely. But note the technical content is low, from the point of view of safety and cost, is the new technology and new products to replace is represent the general trend. Especially with the development of the Internet and the mode of payment, the standard currency is gradually developed into various forms of electronic money.
With the existing electronic currency in different forms, the central bank will likely be the future digital currency block chain technology, has a decentralized currency account based on the characteristics, and to other related technologies including mobile payment, trustworthy and controllable cloud computing, cryptographic algorithm, security chip etc..
The Central Bank of the future digital currency can achieve point of payment and settlement, without the help of the third party central institutions, which will contribute to the construction of China’s new financial infrastructure, to further improve China’s payment system, improve the efficiency of payment and settlement. Also, the central bank digital currency can form a transparent data system, convenience and improve the transparency of economic transactions, reduce tax evasion and money laundering and other illegal and criminal behavior.
Due to the nature of the central bank and private digital currency digital currency is different, the two do not use the same issue and circulation of course framework. President Zhou Xiaochuan once pointed out that the central bank will control the digital currency, the use of technical means, a series of mechanism design and the laws and regulations, to ensure the operation system of digital currency security, beginning the design thought and bitcoin difference.
Technology innovation, three digital currency can replace the currency and monetary policy of the central bank
Technical innovation of digital currency is mainly reflected in the “center”, it is predicted that digital technology will replace the currency currency and monetary policy. It will be proved that this view is wrong, because the key currency and the monetary policy of the Central Bank of the modern economy’s role is irreplaceable.
First, effects of changes in the money supply of the economy is very extensive, monetary policy is one of the main means of modern economic regulation. If the digital currency is widely used but not by the monetary authority control, modern economy will lose an important means of regulation, the economy will not run properly.
Secondly, the monetary authorities to maintain the stability of the currency by the central regulatory mechanism. The value of relative stability is a prerequisite for the currency to act as a measure of value and means of circulation. If the digital currency is widely accepted by the whole society, and not by the central regulatory mechanism of monetary authorities to stabilize the currency, it will not only cause economic fluctuation, also will shake on the basis of national credit monetary system.
Finally, although the fiscal policy is to adjust the total amount, but the fine-tuning of monetary policy function is more obvious. The tax, treasury and budget and other means of fiscal policy, in a certain period of time, once established it is very rigid, can not easily change, but the monetary policy is relatively flexible.
Therefore, monetary policy is one of the most important means of national economic regulation. President Zhou Xiaochuan also pointed out that the monetary mechanism and the money supply is adjusted. Overall, the Central Bank of the existing monetary policy regulation, the money supply and the creation of channel of transmission mechanism of monetary policy, are fully considered in the design of digital currency.
Four, the Central Bank of the digital currency will increase the money supply and monetary policy
The current technology development situation, the effectiveness of central bank monetary figures will probably increase the money supply and monetary policy from the following aspects.
First, the central bank digital currency to provide data basis for the huge monetary policy and macro Prudential policy, according to the real-time trading books need to collect different frequency and different institutions so that the regulatory authorities, and is complete and true. This information advantage can help the central bank more accurate and more flexible use of policy tools.
Secondly, the central bank currency digital technology can track the flow of funds, can help the authorities comprehensive monitoring and assessment of financial risk.
Finally, the central bank has to digital currency interest rate transmission of monetary policy. The support point of payment and settlement currency digital technology, which can improve the liquidity of the market participants. Only the central bank to digital currency is accepted by the whole society will be the advantages of radiation to different financial market participants, so as to improve the liquidity of the financial market. This will make the term structure of interest rate transmission mechanism more smooth, more smoothly.
In short, the central bank and the private nature of digital currency digital currency is completely different, only the central bank is the national digital currency credit support, in order to become a real currency. Although the central bank may use digital currency and private digital currency like the underlying technology, but different nature determines that the two will use different circulation framework. Digital technology will enhance the monetary control of central bank currency issuance and circulation, so that the operation of monetary policy conduction and more effective, also can make the monetary policy to better serve economic stability and development.


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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Birmingham-based Bruno's Supermarkets is filing for bankruptcy.
A statement issued by the company on Thursday said it was reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws.
The grocery chain said Thursday it plans to continue operating without interruption. It said chief executive Kent Moore has resigned and is being replaced by Jim Grady, a senior director with corporate turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal.
The statement said Bruno's is struggling because of tight credit markets and tough times for retailers, but it has enough cash to pay its normal obligations. It is negotiating a financing package to improve its standing.
Bruno's Supermarkets operates 66 Bruno's and Food World stores in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.


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Denver, CO. — Day 1 of the 2016 SFIA Industry Leaders Summit featuring many of the top executive minds of the sports and fitness technology worlds illustrated how rapidly technological shifts are taking place in the sporting industry.
The day began with a sports and fitness startup challenge that was eventually won by Hookit, who beat out four other impressive upstart brands in the sports and fitness space to win the inaugural challenge.
After the challenge, a few of the industry’s top influencers made presentations about where technology is truly moving the fitness industry forward as the brands and the industry as a whole continue to shift.
Vice President of Reebok Future Bill McInnis made the opening presentation and spoke about how 3D printing continues to become more prevalent in the athletic apparel manufacturing space. He specifically mentioned that it doesn’t take rocket science to create a new shoe, but that a lot of the processes that shoes now undergoe sometimes has the advanced science feel.
A great video was shown on the 3D printing process below:
— upace (@upaceapp) September 14, 2016
The day then shifted over to US Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, who focused on how innovation and disruption has changed the American and worldwide workforce and how it is always up to everyone to continue to stay on top of the best processes to stay ahead in the ever competitive worldwide business market. Technology was specifically mentioned as the driver of this disruption and those in the sports and fitness space are experiencing an accelerated version of this disruption.
The panels concluded with an interesting discussion from the Amazon sports team, who have been very busy in the sports market. It was just last week that it was rumored Amazon was looking to get into live streaming rights in the sports space, but this notion was affirmed with Fouzan Mansuri and Ryan Elvers confirmed this notion and said that the team was looking to continue to power forward in the space.
The ‘All or Nothing’ web series was specifically mentioned as a success for the brand and with fellow digital streaming competitor Twitter starting their NFL broadcasts tonight, Amazon is going to be monitoring closely to position themselves ideally in the ever changing television landscape.
Overall it was a good Day 1 of the SFIA Industry Leaders Summit as many pioneers in the fitness and sports technology spaces demonstrated their latest ideas to take the industry into the future.
SyncThink’s Eye-Sync Gains Europe Approval; How the Eye-Tracking Analytics Software Is Looking to Soccer and Rugby as New Growth Markets
SyncThink’s Eye-Sync product recently gained FDA approval to expand into Europe. The expansion will mean growth in a new market for the company and their eye-tracking analytics software will have the potential to impact a wider range of sports, including soccer and rugby. SportTechie spoke with SyncThink chief clinical officer Scott Anderson about the announcement and what it means for the future of Eye-Sync as a a proactive player management tool in sports.
- Andrew Cohen
- Aug. 12, 2022
Epoxy.ai Is the Startup Looking to Personalize Your Sports Betting Like Your Netflix Recommendations
Epoxy.ai is a platform technology company that enables media and gaming entities to create a personalized experience for users. The startup works to integrate their software development kit with partners to sync up sports viewing with sports betting.
- Aug. 11, 2022
Part 2 of SportTechie's digital scouting series on soccer focuses on how the growth of GPS performance devices in the consumer and youth markets helped objective physical data become incorporated into the soccer scouting process.
- Joe Lemire
- Aug. 10, 2022
Prevent Biometrics Measures Real-Time Head Impact Data With Smart Mouthguards to Help Coaches and Athletes
Prevent Biometrics uses their smart mouthguards to provide real-time head impact data to coaches to make informed decisions regarding their players' safety. The sensor-embedded mouthguards can gather data on load, direction, linear and rotational motion, and location during collision.
- Andrew Cohen
- Aug. 9, 2022


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NZ Wine a Popular Drop
New Zealand wine is becoming increasingly popular for Australian drinkers with exports across the Tasman up by 31 per cent to $323 million in the 2008/09 financial year, according to the New Zealand Winegrowers annual report. Industry chief executive Philip Gregan said Australians were most keen on New Zealand’s trademark white varieties, sauvignon blanc and pinot gris as well as its most popular red, pinot noir. Sauvignon blanc, by far the biggest export wine, is now the best-selling white wine in the Australian market. The strong sales surge has been driven not just by demand but increased supply from the 2008 vintage. “We had an oversupply and as we discovered with Australia and the world, if you make they will come,” Gregan said.


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According to the joint news release, the Google Sensor would attach via mini-USB to the upcoming 5G release of the new Samsung Galaxy S5 Round. Through the much anticipated curved-LED porous screen sensor, with a corresponding hand-held porous sensor, the Google Sensor is able to analyze the air to determine smell and taste, and identify and analyze molecular data of various surfaces.
The Google Sensor has broad applications in science and molecular research, but may also have household applications including personal entertainment and curiosity.
Samsung and Android users will not be able to upgrade through their existing products. They will have to wait for the release of the Samsung Galaxy Round SG running Android 4.4 (Kitkat) API 19 but requires the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) that supports OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware acceleration. Samsung will release the 3-sided, 5.7″ LED porous screen with the Samsung Galaxy 5G.
According to technical specifications, it is the 770 porous, “Ultra-touch” sensors on the Galaxy Round 5G that allow molecules to be analyzed. In addition, the Google Sensor device has an additional 490 porous “ultra-touch” sensors. Ultra-touch has been patented by Samsung. The data is gathered by the smartphone screen sensor is compared to the data gathered by the device sensor and compared to algorithms continued in the Google Sensor software database, which is proprietary to Google Inc. During initial testing, results indicate a 98 percent accuracy rate in identifying smells, tastes and touch sensors. If you were to hold the Google Sensor in the air, or rub the Google Sensor into an unidentified surface it would provide both a molecular composition and a common-name description of the given sample.
Beta testing of the Google Sensor is continuing into the new year. Unfortunately, this has been closed to current beta-clients testing the Samsung Galaxy Round S5. No release date has been announced for either the Samsung Galaxy Round or the Google Sensor.


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Is China Clamping Down on Banks?
Let's say your economy is too hot for comfort—for example, growing at an annual rate of 11.5% for the first nine months of this year. What to do? One option would be to put the kibosh on lending, and that's just the road China is taking, according to the Nov. 19 Wall Street Journal. The China Banking Regulatory Commission immediately denied ordering commercial banks to freeze loans, but the Journal quotes bankers describing possible economic sanctions if they defy the blanket edict. Beijing has raised interest rates five times this year to cool things down but is reluctant to hike again for fear of making its currency even stronger.
Fie on Freddie and Fannie
Investors turned their backs on home finance goliaths Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) after Freddie on Nov. 20 posted a surprising third-quarter loss of $2 billion and said it might have to cut its dividend. The news cast doubt on the reliability of Fannie's Nov. 9 earnings release, which showed a $1.4 billion loss, and shivered the shares of both companies. Fannie dropped by nearly 25%; Freddie tumbled by almost 29% by the end of the day. Meanwhile, the Commerce Dept. reported on Nov. 20 that while housing starts overall rose 3% in October, an apparently cheery number, single-family starts fell by 7.4%, and building permits sank 6.6% to the lowest level since July, 1993.
See "As New Home Sales Stall, Deals Abound"
No One to the Rescue?
Northern Rock finds itself ever more up against a rock. On Nov. 19, just three days after CEO Adam Applegarth and four nonexecutive directors quit, the beleaguered British mortgage bank revealed that none of the rescue offers received so far proposes to buy the entire business, and all were "materially below" the share price. That knocked the stock down 20% to an all-time low. Another potential obstacle is that acquirers are likely to want the Bank of England to maintain its $48 billion in emergency funding. And the Chancellor of the Exchequer promises to veto any deal that fails to protect the taxpayer.
Google Wants Spectrum
As if the search king weren't almost everywhere already, now it wants to take to the airwaves. It's contemplating a bid in the Jan. 24 auction of 700 megahertz of spectrum freed up by TV stations as they convert to digital transmission. Under a lobbying blitzkrieg from Google (GOOG) and others, the FCC on Nov. 16 changed its rules for the auction to allow bids from companies that want to wholesale wireless services to others. Google has said it will bid $4 billion or more. Bidders must notify the FCC of their intentions by Dec. 3, with deposits due by Dec. 28.
Another CEO Falls
Mark Ernst, head of H&R Block (HRB) since 2001, became the latest CEO to tumble in the widening subprime debacle. Ernst quit on Nov. 20 as analysts warned that losses in the company's subprime mortgage unit, Option One, could climb. Cerberus Capital Management in August walked away from plans to buy the unit. Dissident director Richard Breeden, who has pushed Block to focus on its core tax-return business, will serve as chairman, and former Aetna (AET) CFO Alan Bennett takes over as acting CEO while a search goes on.
Call It Books 3.0
Will this one fly where many flopped? Amazon.com (AMZN) on Nov. 19 became the latest outfit to try to create a mass market for e-books. It unveiled its long-rumored e-reader, Kindle, which holds about 200 books in a paperback-size package and is always linked to the Web via Sprint Nextel's (S) EVDO high-speed wireless network. Kindle marks Amazon's first consumer-electronics product. The online retailer is offering 90,000 titles for now and plans to put up its entire list eventually. But great ease of use still may not persuade consumers to fork over $399.
Bad-Mouthing the Dollar
Two America-haters took turns bashing America's currency at a special OPEC meeting in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 17-18. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "The U.S. dollar has no economic value." Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez chimed in: "The dollar is in free fall, everyone should be worried about it." Indeed, the greenback fell to a new low against the euro on Nov. 20. But oil producers are putting pressure on it as well. Iran and Venezuela would both like to see oil priced in other currencies, a process that has begun in Iran. Kuwait has switched from a dollar peg to a basket of currencies, while the United Arab Emirates is considering such a move. Saudi Arabia argues that such shifts put OPEC's billions of dollars of reserves at risk, but it may be forced at least to revalue the riyal.
Legal Eagle Magic
When private equity firms Fortress Investment (FIG) and Blackstone Group (BX) went public this year, they raised hackles because of the sweet tax break their ultrawealthy principals receive on the performance fees they earn. The fees are taxed as capital gains rather than income. But other aspects of the fabulously complex deals, crafted by tax lawyers at blue-chip law firms such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, go even further. The Blackstone offering achieves a trifecta: little corporate tax, slight SEC regulation, and no governance protection for investors. Now Congress is pondering what, if anything, to do about it. (The American Lawyer)
Writedowns in Europe
The subprime shockwaves keep rolling across the financial landscape. On Nov. 16, Barclays (BCS) announced $1.65 billion in mostly subprime-related charges. These come after a previous hit of $1 billion at Britain's third-largest bank. And on Nov. 19, Swiss Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, said it has suffered $1 billion in losses from credit default swaps provided to clients. That was a surprise, while Barclays' number was smaller than expected. Analysts think more major writedowns are inevitable.
See "Barclays Tries to Soothe the Street"
Wanted: Flying Partner
These days, United is a fitting moniker for the Chicago-based airline. Glenn Tilton, CEO of United and its parent, UAL (UAUA), sure looks like he has an urge to merge. He's been an unabashed cheerleader for consolidation, and many analysts think that some of his initiatives—including his reluctance to order new planes and his talk of spinning off the frequent-flier program—are designed to dress the $20 billion carrier up for sale. But who would buy?
Cashing In Some Chips
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has a new ally in its endless warfare with Intel (INTC). On Nov. 16 the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, Mubadala Development, ponied up $622 million for an 8.1% stake in AMD, which plans to use the cash to beef up its chip offerings in coming years. The money, which will flow from issuing 49 million new shares, offers only short-term relief for AMD. The smaller chipmaker has fallen behind in the performance race and is trying to match its rival's practice of bundling processor, graphics chips, and other products into a single package.
Medical Bills On Steroids
How would you like to pay 27% interest on the portion of your medical bill not covered by insurance? That's what some Americans are facing. Hospitals and other health-care providers are converting bills of uninsured and underinsured patients into consumer debts in a bid to boost payment. Finance outfits, including big banks and credit-card companies, acquire the debts for a discount, then charge double-digit rates on past due bills. Hospitals get paid quickly, but the practice can leave lower-income patients in a worse financial bind.
Comcast Clamps Down
The "Net neutrality" debate is gaining urgency, courtesy of Comcast (CMCSA). For years, the idea that an Internet service provider would give better delivery to some kinds of content over others was largely a fear shared by purist Net advocates. Now the cable giant (and its rival, Cox Communications) have admitted to slowing peer-to-peer traffic at times. One p-to-p company, Vuze, says it's time for big carriers to stop targeting this powerful technology, which distributes files over networks of thousands of PC users who download the software. Instead, Vuze says the carriers should embrace it to help meet consumers' insatiable appetite for bandwidth.
They'll Have a Grolsch
The latest emerging-markets play, apparently, is premium beer. Anglo-South African brewing group SABMiller agreed on Nov. 19 to pay $1.2 billion for Dutch brewer Grolsch—an 84% premium over the stock price—and said it plans to market the brew to upwardly mobile quaffers in Africa and Latin America. The move may not be as crazy as it sounds. The premium segment is growing fast in countries such as South Africa, but SABMiller has lacked a brand with Northern European cachet. Grolsch still sells most of its beer in the Netherlands, so there is plenty of untapped potential.
See "It's Miller Time for Grolsch"
Riding High on Joe…
Can you supersize an espresso? McDonald's (MCD) is thirsting for a bigger share of the $60 billion U.S. coffee market. The No. 1 fast-food chain relaunched its coffee business 18 months ago with great success: Coffee sales were up 39% in the first nine months of this year, thanks in part to a stronger brew. Mickey D plans to add premium coffee drinks next year—all priced below Starbucks (SBUX) offerings. (adage.com)
…And Not So High
Over at Starbucks, the picture isn't so pretty, so it's looking to pretty pictures to save the day. The company on Nov. 15 said that customers visits per store fell 1% during its fourth quarter, the first time that happened since it began reporting the number three years ago. On Nov. 16 it kicked off its first national TV ad campaign after disdaining the medium in the past. It's also slowing down U.S. expansion. Investors continue to spit out the stock, which has dropped 35% this year.
Bummer for Hummer
In California they take fuel economy standards really, really seriously. On Nov. 16 a federal appeals court there tossed out the Bush Administration's year-old standards for light trucks and sport utility vehicles because they failed to take into account the economic risks of climate change. The court further ruled that the Transportation Dept. had failed to explain plausibly why light trucks and SUVs should be treated more leniently than cars. The decision may prompt Congress to burn rubber in passing an energy and fuel economy bill that prevents the courts from preempting the field.
Xerox Spreads Wealth
Doling out money to shareholders is generally a sign of good fiscal health, and in this case it's a wondrous recovery from a desperate illness. Xerox (XRX) announced on Nov. 19 that it's reinstating its dividend, which it hasn't paid in more than six years. True, it's not a thumping sum—0.0425 cents a share—but CEO Anne Mulcahy called the move and recent stock repurchases a sign of the "long-term value we're creating." The dividend goes into effect in January for shareholders of record as of Dec. 31. Xerox' financial woes date back to 2002, when it suffered a cash crunch, restated five years of revenue, and erased 43% of earnings.
No Lights, No Camera…
The writers' strike is starting to claim big-screen casualties. Filming of Pinkville, a drama about the investigation of the My Lai massacre to be directed by Oliver Stone, was set to roll in early December. United Artists yelled "cut" on Nov. 9 because the script wasn't ready. Same goes for Ron Howard's Angels & Demons: Sony Pictures Entertainment's (SNE) sequel to The Da Vinci Code was scheduled for a Christmas 2008 release but will now probably not hit theaters till mid-2009. (Variety)
Boston Scientific (BSX) is moving out from under its legal cloud. On Nov. 19 the company said it would pay $245 million, up from a July figure of $195 million, to settle virtually all the litigation arising from problematic defibrillators. Boston Scientific acquired the problem when it paid $27 billion for Guidant in April, 2006.
Funny Joint Business?
For some orthopedic surgeons, hips and knees pay extra. In early November, five large makers of replacement hips and knees posted lists on their Web sites of all the physicians they've formed consulting agreements with and how much they paid them. The lists are part of a settlement reached with the Justice Dept. over allegations of illegal kickbacks to doctors who were heavy users of certain devices. For patients, the revelations could be eye-opening: Zimmer (ZMH), for example, has paid out more than $86 million this year.
Come Back, Cerberus
Financial crises make work for oodles of lawyers, and the subprime meltdown is proving no exception. In the latest lawsuit to be spawned by a broken deal, United Rentals (URI) went after Cerberus Capital Management on Nov. 19 to force it to complete a $4 billion buyout agreed to in July, when the credit markets were already in turmoil. Cerberus argues it can terminate the deal by paying a $100 million breakup fee, but the equipment rental outfit says that under the terms of the deal, the private equity firm can't simply walk because it wants to pay a lower price.
Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison must be having a ball. Archrival SAP, struggling to contain the legal damage caused by its Texas-based subsidiary TomorrowNow, said on Nov. 19 it may unload the unit. The German business software giant also disclosed that several senior managers of TomorrowNow are resigning, including CEO Andrew Nelson. TomorrowNow, which specializes in customer support to Oracle customers, turned into a migraine for SAP in March after Oracle filed a lawsuit claiming the unit stole thousands of Oracle documents. SAP admits "some inappropriate downloads occurred," but says no info was passed on to the parent.


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Sun, 20 Oct 2019
Etihad Airways recently celebrated the commencement of the state of the art 787-9 Dreamliner service between Aub Dhabi and Milan, showing the airlines commitment to the Italian market and customers, creating a more comfortable and personalised travel experience.
Tue, 27 Aug 2019
Japan Airlines has announced changes to upgrade to their business class Amenity Kits from the end of August. The new amenity kits which have been designed by French brand Maison Kitsune (the first airline collaboration for the brand) and Japanese brand Beams will differ on flights
Fri, 12 Apr 2019
Finnair has released a new range of amenity kits and inflight comfort products. Continuing to work with iconic Finnish design house Marimekko, the airline has released a range of new stylish designs which compliment their new business class sleep textiles onboard Finnair’s long haul flights.
Mon, 08 Apr 2019
Qatar Airways has released a new range of business class and first class amenity kits. Continuing their partnership with luxury luggage brand BRIC’s and natural skincare company Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio, the airline has launched a new stylish take on their amenity kits.
Tue, 18 Apr 2017
Qantas has upped the ante of their business class amenity kits with the release of 16 new designs all created in collaboration with Australian artists. The collection, titled Qantas Curates will see 2 new designs (one for men and one for women) released every couple of months.


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Academy Sports to open in Flowood
Store on County Line Road in Jackson to remain open
An Academy Sports and Outdoors store will open in Flowood on Friday.
One of the newest features will be an archery lane and digital golf hitting simulator.
The first 100 customers in line at the new store will receive a mystery gift card.
The Academy Sports and Outdoors store in Jackson on County Line Road will continue to operate.


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A compulsory 5p charge on plastic bags in Wales has been hailed a success since the scheme was introduced in 2011.
Welsh Labour Assembly Member John Griffiths said there was "no reason why the charge wouldn't work just as well in other parts of the UK".
Since Wales introduced the 5p plastic bag charge:
- The use of plastic bags reduced from 270 million to 70 million;
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised for environmental groups from the bag charge proceeds; and
- Cardiff University found 82 per cent of shoppers brought their own bags, up from 61 per cent before 2011.
More top news
Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for 'Britain's Hardest Grafter' to be scrapped before filming even begins on the series.
Apple has found a solution to the text message bug that was able to crash users' iPhones.
A giraffe has been born in front of visitors to a zoo in Devon.


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Following series of teasers and leaked images, Vivo in the early hours of today officially announced the Vivo Z3 smartphone at the Beijing Lanjing Art Center in China. The device offers almost identical specifications to Vivo Z3i, but with a few refinements.
First, the Vivo Z3 comes with the same 6.3-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED 19:9 display with a 90.3 per cent screen-to-body ratio, a water-drop notch and will be available in Starry Night Black, Dream Powder, Aurora Blue colour options. There are two vertically stacked cameras and a fingerprint scanner on the rear side, while the display notch is home to a single front-facing camera with support for infra-red face unlock.
At the heart of the new Vivo Z3 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset coupled with 6GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB RAM storage combo, while there is also a version with 4GB+64GB, but with the Snapdragon 670 SoC. The SD 710 version comes with the Adreno 616 GPU and multi-
Gizchina News of the week
More importantly, the Vivo Z3 launches with Vivo’s Dual-Turbo twin-turbo engine which should better optimize the system performance and improve the gaming experience of the device. In the photographic department, the new Vivo phone packs a dual rear camera setup – 16MP+2MP camera, with a 12MP sensor sitting inside the notch.
The device gets a 3315mAh battery with dual-engine flash charging technology, runs on Android 8, with support for 4G VoLTE, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.
The device is expected to go on sale from November 1 at a retail price of 1598 yuan/$230 for the base variant, 1898 yuan/ $274 for the 6GB+64GB variant and 2298 yuan/$330 for the 6GB+128GB variant respectively.


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Gurgaon-based Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDC), India’s largest vocational training network for the apparel sector recently conducted a 45-day customized training programme on Knowledge Enhancement in Textiles and Fabrics. The training was conducted for the top and senior managers of ITX Services India, Inditex (Zara) at their premises, ATDC said in a press release.
The training programme was designed especially for professionals from non textile backgrounds. They were introduced to the Indian textile industry and basic study of textile. The training program was divided in 12 sessions which included the Understanding of Natural Fibres – Cotton & Flax, Natural Protein Fibers – Silk & Wool, Understand Fabric Construction Textile Dyeing and Printing, Finishing of Textile.
Training of trainers program was conducted by ATDC TOT Academy, a leader in the apparel sector. The key objective of the Academy is to bring about an overall systematic change in the apparel industry while providing better quality trainers for industry.
Speaking on the occasion Dr. Darlie Koshy, DG & CEO, ATDC congratulated the entire team of TOT Academy for the lead it has taken in this training and encouraged participants from Zara to take the initiatives to the next level of training especially in quality upgradation.
Roopali Shukla, Head, ATDC Training of Trainers Academy said, “This customized training programme was a unique blend of theoretical and industry relevant practical knowledge, and also shared that in one of the activity participants were blind-folded and were ask to identify the fabric with the smell of the burning fibre.” (SH)


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MSL Canada adds two, promotes four
Toronto-based MSL Canada has promoted Paul Keable to the position of deputy managing director. Since joining the agency five years ago, he has worked as senior digital vice-president and consumer new business and co-practice leader. Martha McKimm has been promoted to consumer practice leader. She also joined the agency five years ago, and was previously senior vice-president and consumer co-practice leader. Aaron Michiels has been promoted to consumer vice-president, while Celine Rouzaud has been promoted to consumer account supervisor. Rainer Takahashi, formerly of Fourth Wall Media, has been hired as a digital account executive. Victoria Destison, formerly of Holt Renfrew, has been hired as a consumer account executive in Montreal.


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Getaround, the carsharing platform that empowers users to instantly rent and drive cars owned by people nearby, announced its expansion to Atlanta. Users who live car-free, or who need the perfect car for a trip to Lake Lanier or a move across town, can now instantly rent cars nearby—by the hour or day—through the Getaround iOS or Android applications.
Car owners in Atlanta looking to reduce the financial burden of car ownership and let people in their community take advantage of their vehicle can now earn money by listing and sharing their car on the Getaround marketplace.
“Whether it’s offering another option for commuters, the perfect car for a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains, a truck to pick up a TV for your dorm room or freeing travelers from rental car lines at Hartsfield–Jackson, we’re thrilled to now offer Getaround in Atlanta,” said Sam Zaid, Co-founder and CEO of Getaround. “Consumers are embracing technology solutions that make their lives more efficient and fun. Getaround delivers on those needs while also benefiting the broader community by taking cars off the road and reducing pollution.”
Getaround encourages partnerships with cities like Atlanta, as the platform leverages cars already on the road to reduce traffic and congestion. A study by the University of California Transportation Sustainability Research Center found that for every car shared approximately 10 are taken off the road. In turn, every 1,000 vehicles shared reduces up to 50 million pounds of carbon dioxide, meaning Getaround’s community is helping take cars off the road and lessen toxic emissions.
“In 2018, drivers in Atlanta spent an average of 108 hours in traffic,” added Zaid. “Getaround imagines a world with fewer cars, no more traffic jams and better air quality. We’re bringing Atlanta closer to that vision by providing a fun, safe and sustainable carsharing experience without the need to meet the car owner, carry an access card, or coordinate picking up a car key.”
Each car is equipped with Getaround Connect, a proprietary technology that enables renters to locate and unlock the car using the app, removing the need to meet the owner in-person for a manual key exchange. By operating exclusively through the app and online, Getaround also removes the paperwork traditionally associated with car rentals. Getaround touts all-inclusive safety features, such as insurance and 24/7 roadside assistance, services that many rental services charge extra for.
In addition to creating economic opportunity for Atlanta residents, Getaround is investing in the Atlanta region with local employees to support expansion as well as auto body and vendor partnerships. With this expansion, Getaround is now operating in over 100 cities across the U.S.


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Grey's Anatomy Fans Are Ready To Boycott If All 14 Seasons Leave Netflix
Whenever you need to take a month-long binge into the world of hot, sexy TV doctors who love to save lives and hook-up with their co-workers, then all you need to do is go to Netflix and watch all 14 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy . From McDreamy and Meredith to Owen and Teddi - and everyone in between - you can spend hours with the characters at Grey Sloan anytime you want. But, could that all change? Is Grey’s Anatomy leaving Netflix?
Grey’s Anatomy is currently in its 15th season on ABC, a network owned by Disney. And, with Disney’s plans to take over the world of streaming later this year with Disney+, fans are wondering what the future of Grey’s looks like on Netflix.
According to Elite Daily, Grey’s Anatomy is still listed as a “lengthy contract” show on Netflix, which means that the chances of it leaving the platform are slim. On top of that, Grey’s creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes signed onto a long-term deal with Netflix, which leads some fans to believe that her shows will always have a place on the platform.
Disney’s new streaming service throws a new wrinkle into the situation, and they could possibly want Grey’s all to themselves. Recent reports claim that Disney+ will be aimed at families, and their more adult content will remain on ABC and Freeform, with streaming available on Hulu.
It really is impossible to know Grey’s future at Netflix until Disney+ launches later this year. Fans are already voicing their opinions on a Grey’s Anatomy Reddit thread, and they do not like the idea of the show leaving the popular platform.
One fan called it “the end of an era,” and another said that Grey’s was the only reason they paid for a Netflix subscription. Fans definitely know how to make their voices heard when it comes to their favorite TV shows. When Friends was set to leave Netflix earlier this year, an online riot broke out, which led to a one-year extension for the classic 90s sitcom.
With as many fans as Grey’s Anatomy has, the medical drama will not completely disappear from online streaming. The only question is - on which platform will you be able to find it?
Fans will just have to wait and see.
New episodes from Season 15 of Grey’s Anatomy air Thursday nights on ABC and are also available for streaming on Hulu. Currently, Seasons 1 through 14 are available on Netflix.


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The Robert Rodriguez brand just keeps on getting bigger. After Jones Apparel Group Inc. bought 50 percent stake in Rachel Roy in 2008, the company acquired Moda Nicola International LLC, which owns the Robert Rodriguez Collection.
YES! I LOOK FORWARD TO #GROWINGYOUNGER
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ME TO YOUR MAILING LIST.
Jones' plan is to expand the women's contemporary sportswear and eveningwear label and grow the name in its 600 stores, which include Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. The $28 million deal started this past fall and has grown within the Jones Group, Rodriguez and his business partner, Nicola Guarna.
Guarna expects the new owners will help bring the label to another level. “It will give us opportunities in different categories,” Guarna said. “We believe in the Jones culture, and that’s what Robert’s and my decision was based on. “We are looking into accessories, shoes and handbags. It’s our second season with necklaces, and we want to build that category even more,” Guarna also said.
Source, Photo: WWD.com


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Round Rock is a new and exciting move for us.
ROUND ROCK, Texas (PRWEB) February 16, 2018
Cellular Sales, the largest independent Verizon Wireless retailer by volume, is increasing its presence in Texas with a new store opening in Round Rock.
The store can be found at 1719 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd, at the intersection with W Bowman Rd. Cellular Sales opened its doors on Dec. 19. This is the 48th Cellular Sales store in the Longhorn State.
“Round Rock is a new and exciting move for us,” said Cellular Sales Regional Director Bay Willingham. “We have several stores in Austin area, but this is our first store in Round Rock.”
Over the past 10 years Cellular Sales has been named to Inc. Magazine’s Inc. 5000 the nation’s fastest-growing privately owned retailers nine times. Making nine appearances on the Inc. 5000 is an accomplishment only 0.5 percent of companies that ever make the list achieve. Placing an emphasis on customer service, Cellular Sales has grown from a single store in Knoxville, Tenn., to a national retailer with 670 stores across 39 states.
“Across the country, putting the customer first has served us well as a business model,” said Regional Director Ty Rankin. “We’re delighted to bring our renowned customer service to the people of Round Rock.”
Cellular Sales seeks to hire motivated sales professionals with a passion for customer service to work at its Round Rock store. Those interested in applying for jobs at Cellular Sales in Round Rock may contact Cellular Sales Recruiter Elliot Jordan at (303) 877-4317 or elliot.jordan(at)cellularsales(dot)com.
About Cellular Sales
Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Cellular Sales was founded in 1993 and has been named by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest-growing privately owned retailers for nine of the past 10 years. The company currently employs 7,200 people and operates 670 stores nationwide. Job seekers may visit jobs.cellularsales.com. For more information on the company, visit cellularsales.com.


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Supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi continue to gather in Cairo today. Protests began on Sunday, which in Egypt is a workday, resulting in a virtual shutdown of many local businesses for the third straight business day.
Kimberly Adams, a freelance journalist based in Cairo, reported the disruption is affecting everyday activities like going to the bank and shopping.
Adams said because of the current instability, many Egyptians are eagerly awaiting for the military to take over.
“People here are protest-weary,” said Adams. “A lot of people are just tired of it. They’re tired of their food prices going up, they’re tired of waiting in long lines for gasoline, and they’re tired of not knowing what’s coming the next day. That’s one of the reasons why all these businesses are shut down.”
But even though some businesses are struggling, Adams said there’s a “protest industry” that’s seeing some positive effects. Street vendors selling food, water bottles, and “V for Vendetta” masks are doing quite well right now.
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