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The company reports that it has received more orders in the past six months alone than in the entire business year 2013. And due to the demand the sales team is being expanded.
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Balancing your laptop on your knees could cause permanent skin damage according to new research.
The heat generated by laptops could damage your skin if balanced on your thighs for long periods of time.
The condition, dubbed toasted skin syndrome, was common in the days before central heating when people would huddle around roaring fires and electric heaters to stay warm.
The most recent incident involves a twelve year old boy who developed a sponge-patterned skin discolouration on his left thigh after using his laptop to play computer games for a few hours every day.
The medical-journal of Paediatrics confirms, ‘He recognised that the laptop got hot on the left side, however regardless of that, he did not change its position.’
Another study involving an American law student who spent six hours a day working on her laptop explains a mottled discolouration on her leg.
The temperature of the device resting upon her thighs was recorded to have reached 52c and her skin resembled the effects of long-term sun exposure.
Major computer manufacturers such as Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell warn users not to rest laptops on exposed skin for long periods of time because of possible heat damage.
Swiss researchers, Andreas Arnold and Peter Itin of University Hospital Basel, warn that in rare cases, the heat generated from laptops may cause damage, which could lead to skin cancers.
But, Dr. Bav Shergill, a consultant dermatologist and spokesman for the British Association of Dermatologists, maintained that the condition is usually harmless and urged people not to worry.
He said, ‘It usually resolves itself without any permanent skin discolouration.’
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More and more Russian companies are moving their business to Serbia, News
More and more Russian companies are moving their business to Serbia, and in the past month and a half, since the crisis in Ukraine began, more than 300 companies founded in Russia have opened in Serbia.
Due to that, the demand for office space has increased, mostly in Belgrade.
A much smaller number of companies are being founded, the founders of which are from Ukraine, and since the beginning of the war, five companies and three entrepreneurs from that country have been registered in Serbia.
What do Russian companies that come to Serbia do?
These are mainly companies engaged in programming, consulting activities related to business and other management, then for consulting activities in the field of IT, design activities, wholesale of mostly fruits and vegetables, construction of residential and non-residential buildings.
According to the data of the Business Registers Agency (APR) submitted to the BIZLife portal, from February 24 to April 11, 119 companies and 281 entrepreneurs were registered, whose founders are from the Russian Federation, as well as five companies and three entrepreneurs whose founders are from Ukraine. .
A total of 1,124 companies and 602 entrepreneurs whose founders are foreign natural and legal persons from the Russian Federation, as well as 195 companies and 97 entrepreneurs whose founders are foreign natural and legal persons from the Russian Federation are currently registered in the electronic database of the Register of Business Entities of Ukraine.
When asked what is the reason for choosing Serbia for further business, APR states that they do not have data on that, but assume that as soon as these companies decided to register in Serbia, it is because they assess the conditions for starting a business as favorable.
Nebojsa Nesovanovic, director for consulting and assessment in the region of Southeast Europe at CBRE , told BIZLife that the experience so far shows that Belgrade and Serbia were a logical choice for a quick and temporary relocation of business from Russia.
“In order to preserve business continuity, companies operating in Russia, and cooperating with the rest of the world, had to find a quick solution to continue doing business. These are not only companies owned by Russian citizens, but also international companies that have moved parts of their operations to other markets to Belgrade. Belgrade was a logical solution because it has direct flights with Russia, and the population is friendly towards Russians. The capital of Serbia is for most of the companies that came up with a temporary solution, so their demands have been the same so far “, explains Nešovanović.
What kind of business space are they looking for?
He points out that they mostly took coworking offices – fully equipped business premises that are currently available and have flexible lease deadlines.
Current availability and flexibility of lease terms are the dominant criteria, while everything else, including price, location and quality of space, is less important.
After maintaining business continuity, the companies began to pursue long-term plans.
Making decisions regarding long-term plans of companies is much more complex, and it considers everything from business and tax environment, availability of labor costs, availability and prices of housing, business space to quality of life and additional content provided by the city.
“Belgrade is competing with many other destinations here, our non-imposition of sanctions or the availability of flights are of secondary importance. “It may be that a short-term solution will give us a slight advantage, but it will certainly not be crucial in making decisions,” he said.
Do we have enough office space?
When it comes to what kind of office space can be offered to them, Nesovanovic admits that the offer of office space is better than it was before, but that it is still the worst in the region.
“Belgrade has the same offices as Zagreb, which is twice smaller, and three or five times smaller than Sofia and Budapest, which are cities of similar size as Belgrade. The current vacancy rate is around 5.8 percent, which is quite low. We expect that the growth, above all, of the IT industry will further increase demand, reduce the percentage of vacancies and raise rents. Eventual decisions of companies to relocate their business from Russia to Belgrade in the long run would further push rents. The chronically low availability of business space does not help us in evaluating Belgrade as a potential destination for the arrival of foreign companies “, points out Nešovanović.
The base in Belgrade was mostly found by IT people
Since the crisis in Ukraine began, it is noticeable that more and more Russians are looking for, that is, buying and renting apartments and business premises in Serbia, especially in Belgrade and Novi Sad.
This was also confirmed for BIZLIfe by the City Expert agency.
“Russians are currently mostly looking for an apartment for rent because they still do not have a defined period of stay in Serbia. A large number of companies allocate their business in Serbia, here Belgrade and Novi Sad dominate. These are mostly solvent people from the IT industry “, said Miloš Mitić from City Expert earlier, BizLife writes.
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Microsoft confirmed the Microsoft Health app will be coming to Windows 10 PCs. The new app can hit the store this weekend. There were numerous leaks regarding Microsoft Health app for Microsoft band. Microsoft also announced an upcoming update for the Microsoft Band which includes a new Explore Tile to track hikes.
The new app will help users with Microsoft Band for syncing data and settings. Currently, Health app is only available on mobile platforms like iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
According to Microsoft:
The Microsoft Health app, the companion app to the Microsoft Band, will begin rolling out in the Windows Store this week to download onto your Windows 10 PCs and Tablets. Sync your Microsoft Band manually to your PC or Surface through a USB cable and manage tiles, personalize your band, update firmware, and more. The Live Tile will display your current step count and calorie burn.


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Sir Winston Churchill’s velvet slippers and brandy glass
A pair of Sir Winston Churchill’s velvet slippers have sold for nearly £40,000.
The footwear went under the hammer on Tuesday afternoon for the first time in more than 20 years.
Dating back to the 1950s, the luxury slippers are embroidered with the wartime leader’s initials.
They were put up for auction alongside a large brandy glass that also belonged to the former prime minister.
Items belonging to Sir Winston usually cause a stir at auction, experts say, and these two lots appear to have been no different.
The slippers, which are 29cm long and embroidered in raised gold thread with the initials WSC, were expected to fetch between £10,000 and £15,000.
But they smashed expectations to sell for £32,000, rising to £39,040 when including the buyer’s premium.
After strong bidding, including interest from the US, they were purchased by a private UK collector.
Meanwhile, the 21cm brandy glass, expected to sell for £7,000-£10,000, fetched £18,300 including the buyer’s premium.
The items were sold by Bellmans auctioneers, based in Wisborough Green, West Sussex.
Auctioneer Julian Dineen said: “It’s been very exciting in the run-up to the auction. Sir Winston Churchill is still highly regarded around the world and we had interest from both the media and from buyers from all over the world.
“It was only the second opportunity to acquire these wonderful items and especially the slippers saw significant interest.”
The current owner bought the slippers and brandy balloon in 1998 and previously said he would be sad to see them go.
He said: “I often imagined the great man sitting in his chair with these slippers on and this very glass filled with brandy in his hand.


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The annual seven-day RAGBRAI takes place July 24-30, 2016 and will take cyclists approximately 420 miles from Glenwood on the state’s western edge to Muscatine and the Mighty Mississippi River on the eastern border. The official route for 2016 was be announced in January that includes overnight stops in Shenandoah, Creston, Leon, Centerville, Ottumwa and Washington.
As a part of the sponsorship, nuun will be providing their electrolyte and carbohydrate sports drinks on route to participants during the week of RAGBRAI.
“We are very excited to be able to work side by side with an iconic event like RAGBRAI, said Mike Sommers, National Field Marketing Manager at nuun. “Supporting the everyday athlete in their quest for their next personal best is at the core of our ideals here at nuun and RAGBRAI affords us the opportunity to do so in a fun and unique way”
“Nuun has been helping RAGBRAIers for years by turning water into an optimally balanced electrolyte sports drink without the excess sugars or plastic waste of traditional sports drinks,” said T.J. Juskiewicz, Director of RAGBRAI. “We look forward to Nuun hydrating RAGBRAIers this summer and in the years to come.”
Nuun will be helping to educate cyclists as they train and prepare for their cross state adventure through hydration tips leading up to the event.
About nuun & company
nuun, based in Seattle, WA, is on a mission to inspire a healthier, happier, more active lifestyle so that everyone can achieve life’s next personal best. as the pioneer of electrolyte enhanced drink tablets, nuun is passionate about and committed to replenishing active people and our planet by using clean ingredients and practices in the great tasting and industry leading sports drink. founded in 2004, nuun was the first to separate electrolyte replacement from carbohydrates, and twelve years later nuun active hydration remains the #1 selling sport drink product in bike, run, outdoor specialty, and outdoor chain stores. To learn more, visit www.nuun.com or follow them on social media.
via RAGBRAI http://ift.tt/1QXMHxe


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Companies have used video games as a means of advertisement since the 1970s, when McDonald’s was prominently placed in Atari’s Lunar Lander. It was then that the concept of “advergaming” was born. Each year, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent in this often-hidden form of publicity. But last month’s release of Pokemon Go has triggered a new, indirect form of revenue-generating activity that has helped the Salt Lake City’s bleeding Gateway District shopping center finally see a spike in visitors.
Rocket Fizz, the mall’s candy and soda shop, has been reported to see an overall increase of 30% in customers. “The Starbucks above us is a Pokestop. We haven’t had to do anything else,” a store clerk says.
The mobile game has integrated a real-world mapping system, designating local landmarks as Pokestops, places gamers can collect goods to help aid their quest of trapping Pokemon creatures found throughout the city. As such, players have flocked to downtown Salt Lake City to level-up and battle one another.
“The food court is insane. It was the busiest I’ve seen it in a long time,” adds a mall security guard.
Tricked out Accessories, a cell phone accessory store, had their biggest month this year within only a week of the game’s release, with chargers and charging cables flying off the rack. “I also had four repairs before noon today,” the store manager notes. “Repairs have gone through the roof. Yesterday was the highest day we’ve ever seen here.”
At the south end of the mall, GameStop has taken full advantage of nearby Pokestop at the Megaplex Theatre, and set up a “lure” outside the store to attract customers. Lures are 30-minute bait devices that attract Pokemon creatures to their location.
“Our Pokemon stock is nearly sold out,” a customer service rep explains, just as six Pokemon players enter his shop. “It’s been big. It’s also helped our pre-sell numbers on the next two Pokemon games.”
While quick-service businesses and Pokemon-relevant Gateway shops have seen an uptick in their numbers, not all stores report seeing much of a difference in spite of the new foot traffic. “It’s still pretty dead here ever since City Creek opened,” laments Journey’s Shoes–a store that was original to Gateway’s opening 14 years ago.
Even Hot Topic, which is one of the few places to purchase Pokemon gear, notes that the game has been “just okay” as far as attracting new customers. The store even placed a Pokemon sign out front to inform players of its products.
While it may only attract a certain type of customer, all stores note that there have been many more youths roaming around the mall than they’ve seen in some time. As the summer months wind down and the kids go back to school, perhaps new forms of creative luring could continue to revive the Gateway as its new owners, Vestar, re-imagine the mall as “a new social hub.”


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Aurora Cannabis acquires Anandia: Aurora Cannabis (TSX:ACB) (OTC:ACBFF) continues to be on a roll when it comes to partnerships!
In addition to the company’s most recent agreement with Ascent Industries, Aurora announced on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with the cannabis science company Anandia Laboratories Inc (private).
The agreement says that Aurora, a Vancouver-based medical cannabis company, will purchase Anandia in approximately $115 million of outstanding common shares of Anandia.
Aurora Cannabis Acquires Anandia
Anandia is a leader in the field of scientific cannabis study and its CEO and co-founder Jonathan Page “was the first scientist to sequence the cannabis genome and provide deep insights into the biosynthesis of cannabinoids and the interplay between cannabinoids and terpenes.”
The company also has several exclusive rights to key cannabinoid genes and several pending patents for genetic markers.
The partnership will allow Anandia to expand its Canadian and international markets through Aurora’s growing and already established global footprint. Although Aurora will be acquiring Anandia, the company’s cannabis testing service will remain independent of Aurora.
According to Aurora’s CEO, Terry Booth, the agreement between both companies “is a transformative acquisition that expands [Aurora’s] science capabilities in the upstream segment of the seed-to-sale cannabis value chain, significantly boosting plant-based innovations in cultivation, enabling accelerated product development, and, ultimately, enhancing [the company’s] margin profile going forward.”
Page has also added that “access to Aurora’s financial resources and scientific expertise, as well as through the addition of Aurora’s multiple cultivation sites” will help Anandia advance its breeding efforts in cannabinoid genetics.
Anandia also plans to expand its Research and Development, product development, and product testing departments “in advance of the forthcoming legalization of the adult use market and the significant associated growth.”
Shares of Aurora went up by approximately 1.60% on Tuesday after the announcement was made and, as of 1:18 pm EDT, reached a value of $9.06 CAD.
Compared to Tuesday’s share value, the company closed at $8.92 on Monday.
Featured Image: Twitter


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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Early trading in stock futures on Thursday suggests the major market indexes are poised to pull back at the open following stunning gains on Wednesday.
June S&P futures slipped 2.80 to 1,083.70, which was about 5 1/2-points below fair value, according to figures provided by HL Camp & Company. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 9.00, or about 13 3/4-points below fair value, at 1,272.00.
Cisco Systems CSCO, -1.05%, which triggered the panic buying the previous session with a $3.19, or 24 percent rally, eased 24 cents to $16.03 in pre-open trading in Instinet.
Among other high-tech heavyweights, Dow industrials components Microsoft MSFT, +0.64% was 52 cents lighter at $54.45, Intel INTC, -0.56% gave back 33 cents to $28.65 and IBM IBM, +0.31% lost 48 cents to $81.97.
Oracle ORCL, +0.04% trimmed 12 cents to $9.03. Thomas Weisel cut fiscal fourth quarter earnings and revenue estimates for the database software company after recent checks confirmed that recent spending doldrums for the industry continued through April.
Among other high-fliers on Wednesday, Applied Micro Circuits AMCC was down 19 cents at $6.89, Applied Materials AMAT, -2.79% shed 36 cents to $25.20 and Dell Computer DELL, +0.64% fell 20 cents to $25.45.
General Electric GE, +0.88%, which tallied a 7.2 percent gain on Wednesday, slipped 20 cents to $32.65.
Not all stocks were in pullback mode, however. Sun Microsystems SUNW, +31.56%, which gained 12 percent on Wednesday, added 24 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $7.13 Thursday's pre-open.
Morgan Stanley analyst Rebecca Runkle upgraded the stock to "equal weight" from "underweight," saying current expectations for the next several quarters appeared to be conservative and downside risk appeared limited.
Qualcomm QCOM, -1.57%, which leapt 19 percent higher on Wednesday, eased 28 cents to $29.15 after seeing earlier pre-open gains. Lehman Bros.' Tim Luke said several positive data points have emerged recently for the company, including better than expected Korean subscriber data and raised expectations from a CDMA component supplier. Luke feels the stock "could find support at current levels."
Among other early movers, NaPro BioTherapeutics NPRO, +0.40% soared $3.92, or 72 percent, to $9.40 after the company and its partner, Abbot Laboratories ABT, +0.91%, announced late Wednesday that they received U.S. regulatory approval to market a generic version of Bristol-Myers' cancer drug Taxol.
Abbot Labs' stock ticked up a dime to $52.50 over Redibook, while Bristol-Myers eased 21 cents to $28.29.
Wireless Facilities WFII dropped $1.45, or 28 percent, to $5.15 in light pre-open trading after the manager of wireless networks reported late Wednesday a "substantial" net loss for the first quarter and an 11 percent year-over-year decline in revenue, citing continued weakness in the wireless telecommunications market. The company said customers continued to postpone wireless network deployments and to reduce the scope of infrastructure projects.
Gap GPS, -1.68% gained $1.29, or 8.8 percent, to $16 after the company said it expected to report a fiscal first quarter profit, versus analyst expectations of a loss. The apparel retailer added that sales for the four weeks ended May 4 slipped to $962 million from $1.2 billion in the same period last year, while same-store sales dropped 24 percent.
Pacific Sunwear PSUN slumped $3.88, or 16 percent, to $19.85. The youth apparel retailer warned that fiscal first quarter earnings would fall shy of consensus analyst expectations, citing a significant downturn in business in April.
The companies were two of a slew of retailers that reported April sales results. Among others, Dow component Wal-Mart WMT, -0.19% dipped 19 cents to $56.20 and Costco COST, -0.88% tacked on 25 cents to $42.


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The power loom clusters in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts have not adopted technology much and do not have trained manpower which is affecting production. They need to look at upgrading technology and should diversify to varieties of fabrics to get better prices, according to industry sources.
With declining farming activity and additional benefits available in Sultanpet and Annur blocks (as they are declared as backward areas), more number of power looms are coming up across the two districts instead of upgrading the existing ones in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts. Hence, there is an increase in production as a result the prices also do not go up.
Last two years, the powerlooms clusters in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts had been going through difficult times with fluctuations in demand, problems in implementation of revised wages for job-working and increase in power costs.
The Coimbatore and Tirupur districts had 1.5 lakh power looms four years ago, it was two lakh looms now. The basic product manufactured here is grey gada fabric. And most of these are basic power looms.
According to chairman of Southern India Millsâ€™ Association, M. Senthil Kumar, large-scale units are able to market the fabric easily and in Tamil Nadu the number of such units is less. Almost 95 percent of fabric production in the country comes from the unorganised sector. And, 75 per cent of fabric is from the basic power looms.
According to P.Kumaraswamy, secretary of the Coimbatore District Job Working Powerloom Unit Ownersâ€™ Association, only 10 percent of the units in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts have gone in for semi-automation.
The job-working units spend one fourth of the wages towards power cost. Hence, the government, both the Central and State, should give 50 percent subsidy for the units to go in for solar power and should establish a marketing facility so that the weavers can sell directly to the buyers.
Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta said that power looms have different schemes to upgrade. Under the A-TUFS, the units get capital subsidy to go in for new shuttleless looms. Under the in-situ upgradation of power loom scheme, the units get Rs. 15,000 as subsidy for semi-automation. If the semi-automatic looms should be upgraded into rapier looms, the subsidy is Rs. 25,000. In the case of upgrading a basic power loom into a rapier loom, the subsidy is Rs. 40,000. The total cost will work up to Rs. 80,000 and 50 percent will be available as subsidy.
She further said that the Union Ministry of Textiles disbursed Rs. 102 crore in 2015-16 to power loom units under the in-situ scheme. Most of the beneficiaries are in the south, in Coimbatore region. The Ministry is also promoting the scheme through door-to-door awareness campaigns.
A report that is issued every week covers price statistics and objective analysis of the market trends on various textile value chains
A crisp report that is issued every month covers analysis of the price and market trends on various textile value chains
A weekly report covering market and price information on the entire chain of polyester along with online access to daily polyester chain prices.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in individual products including polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose, and cotton.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in the individual country's natural and manmade fiber/filament industries.
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A new paper grabs media attention by suggesting household chemicals cause obesity in babies - and it does so by changing the gut microbiota, whatever that is.
Oh no. What household chemicals are we talking about? Let's get rid of those. Well, we don't know. Nor do the authors of the paper. As if 'changes in gut microbiome', the 2000s version of endocrine disruption hysteria, was not suspect enough, they used Body Mass Index (BMI) of infants and toddlers, which makes BMI even less valid than it otherwise is. The only correlation they could find, in their look at data from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort on microbes in infant fecal matter, was that families who used self-identified "eco-friendly" products had babies with lower BMIs.
Even fMRI psychologists have to be laughing at a methodology which correlates kids with higher levels of Lachnospiraceae bacteria during infancy to higher BMIs at ages 3-4. And to add scientific insult to epidemiological injury chemicals were to blame. Unless the parents claimed they used unidentified eco-friendly chemicals. Wait for that headline: Windex will make you fat. (1)
Or at least make kids fat, because parents who claimed to purchase more "organic" products trended toward thinner babies. The rationalization for endorsement of such eco-friendly products by University of Alberta pediatrics professor Anita Kozyrskyj is also another giant confounder. People who have the money to overspend on environmental virtue signaling also top the charts in many categories; pick health outcomes, education, crime, all of it can be correlated to socioeconomics. Wealth opens up a lot of doors.
Parents, you can relax. If you did set the stage for obesity in your kids, it is on you because you fed them too much pizza, not by having a clean house. It is also not tablets or phones or video games that are the problem - it is that you don't make them go outside without that stuff.
Your take home-messages are this:
1. BMI is useless in a hand-selected small population, as this was.
2. There is no biological mechanism proposed for how this could happen. Despite there being no plausible biological mechanism for this, two epidemiologists who have no expertise in biology, chemistry or toxicology still deny that basic fact in a related commentary by declaring "There is biologic plausibility to the finding that early-life exposure to disinfectants may increase risk of childhood obesity through the alterations in bacteria within the Lachnospiraceae family."
No, there isn't. There is just statistical correlation, which is why Prop 65 has turned California into the least pro-science state in America and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) are a very dangerous, very expensive joke among the real science community. (2)
If we wonder why so much of the public picks and chooses its acceptance of science based on ideology and confirmation bias, it derives from the fact that so many in the statistics community undermine trust in science and health. Inventing harm using statistics has become a lucrative job works program for epidemiologists.
3. Belief that these harmless trace chemicals magically "bioaccumulate" is warmed over homeopathy. There is no u-shaped curve for harm of Windex any more than there is for Roundup, BPA, aspartame, or radiation.
4. No one knows anything about the gut microbiome other than that some bacteria are good and some are bad, which has been known for 70 years. Buying eco-friendly chemicals may modify some levels of various bacteria, some infants also had lower levels of Haemophilus and Clostridium, but they may be doing so the same way a donut changes some hormone levels in your body. Change does not mean bad. Everything we consume makes changes. That is why buying expensive yogurt is a giant waste of money, as are studies claiming different is harmful or beneficial when there are trillions of bacteria is silly. Changing those using a food may be good, it may be bad, it is mostly likely doing nothing. Food evangelists also once claimed that eating more spinach would improve your mitochondria and help you age better. People who can afford fancy dairy products also have lots of other lifestyle options that are confounders in why they may age better. It is not guaranteed not to be the Activia you had at breakfast.
5. No one knows what chemicals were used, they just know what marketing labels were on the cleaners parents claimed. The main chemical in an "eco-friendly" cleaner is vinegar, which is full of CH3COOH. That's acetic acid, also found in plastic wood glue, and too many synthetic materials to count. You don't want too much of it, just like any other chemical. That does not make trace levels of it harmful.
Claims like this should have a giant red EXPLORATORY on every page of the paper, and watermarked on the press release, so journalists know what they are seeing and have no excuses if they run with chemophobic scaremongering. Otherwise, this is just media clickbait and a new fundraising campaign for their political allies in the environmental movement.
(1) Note: your non-chemical weedkiller is also chock full of toxic chemicals. In the right dose. Just like your eco-friendly version of Windex is.
If NIEHS can't find a problem, they will manufacture one, like in their expensive PR campaign against science here. This is apparently an NIEHS epidemiologist smiling because they data-dredged some HARKing and can suggest some new mundane thing has some sketchy link to a harmful result, if the dose is 5 orders of magnitude of what can actually occur.


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NEW YORK – A very early photograph of New York City in the 1840s has sold for $62,500.
The photo depicting Manhattan's Upper West Side as open countryside was sold Monday at Sotheby's auction house.
The photo is a daguerreotype, an early form of photography that was used mainly for portraits. It is believed to date from 1848 and shows a white house with shutters, a grassy hillside and a horse-drawn carriage.
Sotheby's said the photo was recently discovered in New England. Neither the buyer nor the seller was identified.
The auction house estimated the pre-sale value of the daguerrotype at $50,000 to $70,000.


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LOGAN SQUARE — Easy Does It, the bar that replaced late-night bar/music venue East Room, is now open — but only for patio service.
The bar’s 15-table patio opened Friday. Owners Zack Eastman and Blake Witsman are opening the bar in stages. They’re planning to roll out indoor service when it’s safe to do so and launch a bottle shop at a later date.
But starting Friday, neighbors can have some beer or wine on the bar’s patio, which is situated at the back of the building at Medill and Milwaukee avenues. Reservations can be made on Tock.
Easy Does It at 2354 N. Milwaukee Ave. serves natural wine, locally-made beer, cider, hard kombucha and non-alcoholic drinks, “a mix of light, refreshing choices mixed in with more unusual offerings,” according to a news release.
The owners are following safety protocols amid the pandemic. Tables are spaced six feet apart. Customers will be able to order via phone to avoid close contact with their servers. And both staff and customers will be subject to “regular health checks,” according to the release.
Easy Does It replaced beloved late-night bar East Room, which closed last year.
In about six years years, East Room made a name for itself as the place to go for no-frills garage-rock shows, DJ sets and dance parties. The bar was only accessible from an unmarked door on Medill Avenue, which added to its cool factor.
Eastman and Witsman were both partners at East Room. At the time of the closure, Eastman told Eater Chicago he was planning to open a bar in East Room’s place but with new investors.
Easy Does It has a “light, fresh and airy” feel, the owners said, a markedly different vibe than East Room, which was dark and clubby. Chicago-based design studio Just Coast is behind Easy Does It’s branding.
The owners will be tacking 20 percent gratuity and an additional 3 percent fee onto every check to help pay workers fair wages.
Easy Does It is open 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday and noon-10 p.m. Sunday.
Check Easy Does It’s Instagram for opening updates.
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Huawei brings cutting-edge innovative technologies to Middle East
Huawei Honor 9 officially launches in the UAE
The upcoming Huawei Mate 10 could turn everyone into a professional photographer
KFC is reportedly working with Chinese manufacturer Huawei to make a new phone to celebrate 30 years of the fast food company in the China.
The phone will basically be a Huawei device encased in a red KFC like logo picture with a photo of the Colonel emblazoned on the back along with the year 1987, marking the year the fast food company made it to China. The image in the marketing material also suggests that there will be some KFC themed software along with a background and a KFC app preinstalled.
There’s also an app called K-Music, which according to the marketing material will allow you to pick songs you want to hear when you’re in one of KFC’s 4,000 restaurants throughout China.
The device is reportedly called the KFC Huawei 7 Plus, which could just be a redesigned Honor 7 Plus or Huawei Enjoy 7 Plus, but it does not look the same in photos. Spec wise we only know it’ll come with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and microSD support up to 128GB. We can also see a fingerprint sensor on the rear of the phone and a single lens camera on the top left.
Tmall – a major retailer in China – will begin selling the KFC Huawei 7 Plus from Thursday for the equivalent of $160 (£125, AU$210). We dont expect the phone to come in international markets anytime soon, as it seems to be a China exclusive only.


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It looks like the super popular photo sharing and editing app Instagram is finally coming to Windows Phone devices. The app, already available for iOS and Android, which was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion, is expected to come to the platform according to sources talking to The Verge.
Nokia also posted this video to its YouTube channel last week, which shows off the display technology that is used in such devices as the newly announced Lumia 920 smartphone. The video seems to show a look at the live tile for Instagram for Windows Phone at 0:51, however The Verge also notes that this could be the Vimeo app. Nevertheless, they say they have confirmed separately that Instagram will be coming to Windows Phone. No word as of yet when the app will be available, or if the app will run on all Windows Phone devices or be a Windows Phone 8 exclusive.
Source: The Verge


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It’s Friday everyone! This means the end of a busy week for Arlington with news about everything from transit updates to whether Arlington really does recycle its glass and how Amazon may already be affecting real estate development.
Then there’s the weather, from flooding to sunshine — it’s been a rollercoaster. Even the dogs are happier now, at least until the thunderstorm warnings kicked in.
It's Friday which means an early #weatherpupdates with Tiko, a distinguished store proprietor in Ballston who thinks the dry weather this afternoon, which is expected to continue this weekend, is much better for business thank you very much. @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/YVhxtv4VTh
— Airey (@howisthatlegal) March 22, 2019
It’s also been a big week for restaurants opening (and closing briefly thanks to electrical outages). Here’s five restaurant-related stories worth checking out:
- New Mexican Restaurant TTT Opening Today in Clarendon
- The Lot Beer Garden in Clarendon Plans Grand Opening for Next Spring
- New Restaurant Coming to Walter Reed Drive ‘Bermuda Triangle’
- New-Look Wendy’s Now Open on Route 7
- The Pinemoor’ Coming to Former Clarendon Grill Space
What are you eating this weekend? Let us know your weekend plans, and share your thoughts on our stories in the comments below.
Today’s Listing of the Day features a 3 BD/3 BA home with over 2,000 square feet of living space and a hands-free kitchen faucet.
The Pike, a large-scale work of public art, is finally being installed this week at the southwest corner of Columbia Pike and S. Jefferson Street, near the county line bordering…
A man armed with a hammer smashed and stole from a jewelry store in the Pentagon City mall Thursday morning. Arlington County police say they were dispatched to the 1100…
The Arlington Firefly Festival is returning to Fort C.F. Smith Park next month. On Sunday, June 19, the festival celebrating insects that light up summer nights is back for the…


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Eateries said they are grappling with inflation in edible oil, vegetable and transportation costs
NEW DELHI :
Your next meal could be dearer as fine dining, casual dining and quick service restaurant chains are all considering a hike in prices in view of escalating costs of raw materials.
Both large and small eateries Mint spoke with said they were dealing with high inflation in edible oils, vegetables, and transportation costs. In some cases, even employee salaries had increased. Rents, on the other hand, have been stable thanks to landlords relenting on lower rentals in a post-covid world.
The cost of perishables such as tomatoes and chicken, for instance, have shot up, while companies have raised edible oil prices by nearly 50% from a year ago.
Wow! Momo, which operates nearly 400 outlets is set to raise prices by 7- 8% starting December.
The chain had last revised prices at the end of 2019, but high inflation is making the business unviable. By December, the chain will “definitely take a price hike across the board", Sagar Daryani, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Wow! Momo, said.
Inflation is currently a hot topic in the industry, Daryani said, adding that tomato prices have jumped from ₹20 to ₹70 a kilo and chicken from ₹180-200 a kilo to ₹270 a kilo. “There’s a huge surge in fuel costs, and, as a result, all raw material prices have gone up. Food inflation is high, fuel cost is high, raw material prices have gone up, and, at the same time, our inherent pain point of not getting any GST input tax credit is quite challenging," he added.
While many restaurants have already revised menu prices, others are thinking of doing so, said Daryani.
Pizza chain Domino’s, operated by Jubilant Foodworks, took a small price hike earlier this year due to rising inflationary pressures in dairy, cooking oil, and packaging. Higher cost of both petrol and diesel has also impacted its delivery costs, the company’s top management said in an earnings call on 20 October.
However, Jubilant said moderating dairy prices have helped mitigate the effect of inflation in other categories. Other restaurant chains are also reviewing prices after over two years.
“We haven’t had a price rise for at least three years. We cannot escape the fact that we have to do it at some point," Delhi-based restauranteur Thomas Fenn, who runs Mahabelly, said.
Rohit Aggarwal, director at Lite Bite Foods, which operates a range of restaurants such as Punjab Grill, You Mee, The Artful Baker and Zambar, said rising commodity costs have become “difficult" to manage. The company will “wait and watch" before revising menu prices, he added. Pricey imported foods are especially hurting the company.
“Cooking oil, for instance, which is the number one thing consumed in a kitchen, has increased substantially. Shipment costs are an issue and everything imported has become even more expensive as a result. When the price of petrol goes up, everything goes up," said Aggarwal.
Restaurants were among the worst hit during the covid-led lockdowns, as they impacted mobility, and the government ordered eateries to shut down for months. Though restaurants are recovering, most eating joints are yet to hit pre-covid levels of business.
In Mumbai, Riyaaz Amlani, chief executive and managing director, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, which runs the popular Social cafe-bar, said it will take a call in December whether prices need to be raised.
The company revises prices annually, typically in February-March. “Prices have gone up substantially but we’re seeing if we can absorb them this month and if they start tapering off from next month as is being promised by suppliers," he said.
Others are treading with caution given the general slump in consumer sentiment. Zorawar Kalra, founder, Massive Restaurants, which runs popular chains such as Farzi Cafe and Louis Burger, said it was not a good idea to raise prices when demand is hit. “We have to absorb the cost for now in the larger interest of the industry, even though some of our restaurants are working on high costs of goods sold," Kalra said.“I think everyone should have a measured approach towards increasing prices due to the very real price elasticity phenomena that exists in India, especially till the rebound is complete."
The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant Foodworks are related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings.
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Compile Heart’s “Final Weapon” Tease Is Actually a Virtual Youtuber Designed by Neptunia Artist
Compile Heart reveals its new project, and it's a pink-haired virtual YouTuber named Ileheart, designed by Hyperdimension Neptunia artist Tsunako.
Yesterday Compile Heart teased something in with a new website, defining it its “final weapon,” and everyone pretty much assumed that it was a game. Well, it isn’t.
The new project is actually a “virtual YouTuber” named Ileheart, created in collaboration with Tokyo-based CG production studio Moldworks, and designed by Hyperdimension Neptunia series artist Tsunako.
Funnily, she is voiced by President Norihisa “Red Glasses” Kochiwa, presumably via a voice-alteration program. It’s likely that this is the project marked “?????” in the recent tease by the company, that included five JRPGs.
This comes at the cusp of the popularity of the Japanese virtual YouTuber trend heralded by Kizuna Ai, that is popping up on merchandise all over the country, including apparel and even figures (and I’d be surprised if she didn’t get her own game sooner or later).
You can check out the video below, and see if you find Ileheart alluring, at least until you remember who is actually hiding behind that cute voices.
Today isn’t April 1st, Compile Heart, come on…


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Yesterday, Google executive Bradley Horowitz announced that Google+ would soon soften its strict line on usernames. Unlike other networking sites, when Google+ launched last year, it did not allow members to join under any non-Latin, non-legal name. No nicknames, no Chinese characters, and certainly none of the punny play-on-word-type handles you often see in your Twitter feed.
But soon, that will change. The question is, does anyone really care?
Google+ was no doubt one of the most successful marketing stories of 2011, reaching 20 million users in just 24 days. Neither Facebook nor Twitter achieved this kind of immediate success—both took more than 1,000 days to reach that milestone. And today, analysts estimate Google+’s numbers have more than tripled.
But tens of millions of members, a quiver of colorful arrow reminders and creative commercials have not a successful Google+ made. And this is because there is a major difference in user behavior between Google+ and its main rival Facebook: 50% of Facebook users log-in every day and many of them multiple times per day. Google+ subscribers, on the other hand, tend to check-in on a weekly or monthly basis or fail to return at all after the initial sign-up.
In short, Google+ hasn’t become a daily habit for the vast majority of its users.
In all likelihood, because the ‘daily habit’ metric is really the only metric that matters when it comes to social media, we predict that Google+ as a stand-alone destination will end in 2012. Instead of being eliminated, we believe, for now, it will be integrated into Google’s existing suite of products.
Sure, the allowance of alternate names helps, but it’s too little way too late. This Google+ goose is cooked.


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Magyar Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and a member of the Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association, has launched the MobilTarca NFC mobile wallet in Hungary after a successful pilot that began in July last year. The solution incorporates payments, loyalty cards and event ticketing services and will be available on more than 30 NFC devices by the end of 2014.
- Rambus publishes quick guide to Apple Pay
- Chinese banks roll out face recognition at the ATM
- Germany’s central bank reports on potential of blockchain for payments
- NXP releases NFC tag toolkit for iOS
- Banks back government-led Taiwan Pay QR payments service


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The new mobile branch model is set to advance the foundation’s role in the economic empowerment of breadwinning women.
Al Tadamun Microfinance Foundation has launched a mobile branch service to finance micro, small, and medium enterprises. The foundation works with female entrepreneurs, specifically those leading micro-enterprises.
The new mobile branch model is set to advance the foundation’s role in the economic empowerment of low-income women, expanding the umbrella of financial inclusion and raising awareness of non-banking financial services across the country.
Three mobile branches will be launched in the governorates of Cairo, Dakahlia, and Minya, and then expanded in the future to introduce the service in new areas and reach diverse target groups.
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November 25, 2013
By B boutique! in Shawnee specializes in custom gifts, handmade crafts and vintage items.
Stories this photo appears in:
Sandwiched between two big holiday shopping days this weekend — Black Friday and Cyber Monday — Small Business Saturday could get lost in the shuffle of countdown deals and blowout prices on flat-screen TVs. But one Shawnee business owner is determined not to let that happen.


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One week ago on July 20, 53-year-old Damodaran, a native of Kunnamkulam in Thrissur was shocked to find the body of his 27-year-old son, Sarath, a tipper lorry driver, hanging. He was jobless due to the lockdown from May 8. Immediately, Damodaran, a coolie labourer, also followed his son. The father-son duo is among 15 persons, including a minor, who took life due to monetary difficulties in the last seven weeks in Kerala.
On June June 21, a family of three, Manoj Kumar, 45, wife Renju, 38, and their 16-year-old daughter found dead at Nanthancode, barely a kilometre away from the Kerala State Assembly building. The family head, a goldsmith by profession, decided to end life by consuming poison due to the financial burden due to job loss.
Among those who took their life due to financial difficulties during this period ranges from bus owners to light and sounds business owners.
The list of people who took their lives during the financial stress is long.
Forty-eight-year-old PC Rajamani, a native of Ambalavayal in Wayanad district, ran the Brahmaputra bus service along the Kadalmadu-Sultan Bathery route. His relatives and residents said Rajamani was in deep financial stress when the bus service had to be stopped due to the Covid-19. He died on July 20, by consuming poison, according to his relatives.
Santhosh, 47, farmer and newspaper vendor from Idukki on July 1 took life.
Nirmal Chandran, 54, light and sounds business owner from Thiruvananthapuram, died on July 2. He had also started a chicken stall as the business turned dull.
Vishnu Prasad, 35, a computer instructor and computer training centre owner from Alappuzha, decided to end his life on July 7.
Ponnumani, 59, Palakkad, light and sounds business owner July 17 died by suicide.
Vinod, 52, Idukki, a bakery owner on ended his life on July 19. According to his friends and relatives, he was under pressure from lenders.
S Vijayakumar, 56, a stationery shop owner from Thiruvananthapuram also ended his life on July 22.
Kannan Kutti, 56, a small-scale farmer and tractor driver from Palakkad, died on July 26 and Mohanan Pillai, 52, a travel fleet owner from Kollam on July 26.
The last one was the death of Sreekanth alias Abhilash, 36, from Thiruvananthapuram. He was a dairy farmer who also worked in other houses to milk cows. He lost his job as neighbours sold cows. He was found hanging at a partially completed home at Malayinkeezh.
“This is a particular situation, created by the system in an unprecedented condition. They have everything, including willingness to work. However, the system denies the opportunity and they are in no mood to approach anyone for financial support. Instead, they end the life either alone or with family," said Dijo Kappen, a consumer activist and a social observer based in central Kerala.
Many of them were clueless about the logic in opening and closing shops during the lockdown. The beverage shops under the State government were opened on June 17 for five days a week. “However, the other shops had to be at the mercy of the government policy. So, they are bewildered as the other shops had to be closed. Also, the timing of the shops and working days have dwindled. In effect, they are getting only eight days in a month," added Kappen.
It has prompted many like Arshad, a merchant from Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram, to speak against the ‘illogical’ lockdown that kills the trader’s community. A video where he was describing the plight of his community and the unscientific practice of the authorities was viral on social media. “You see crowded KSRTC buses, long queues in front of beverage shops. The online market is thriving as the other shops are closed. Even the officials are helpless in this lockdown guidelines mainly prepared based on the TPR. How can you justify the rationale in making one side of the road as a D zone, preventing the opening of shops while business as usual on the other side?" he asked.
This news piece may be triggering. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here.


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The fight over increasing the minimum wage or living wage as it should be called for low wage workers is another case of the overwhelming majority versus the one or two percent. And this time logic most definitely supports the majority view!
Republicans in Congress and on talk shows are naturally against anything that will cost business owners any money at all.
They argue that raising the mandatory minimum wage will hurt business and force many to hire fewer workers or even shut down. And as a result the Nation’s economy would be harmed and send us into a recession.
Their argument holds no champagne.
Keeping wages low is even worse than continuing to lower taxes on the wealthy in the hopes that miraculously some of their stash will trickle down. Of course with fewer dollars going to the tax man more can find their way into the campaign coffers of Congressmen so there is a method to their maddening madness.
The Republicans are of course not pointing this fact out but it only takes a modicum of intelligence to glean it from real life happenings!
The argument from the right is as inane as saying a sunny day is bad because it could cause sunburns and melanoma. They neglect to mention that life on Earth happens to be dependent upon sunlight!
So not surprisingly they are once again wrong when it comes to wages earned in America and a simple domino effect look at the facts will prove this to be true.
Suppose the Federal Minimum Wage were to be raised to at least $10.10 as is the current proposal from the White House. (Note it is already higher in many States and no harm has been done to businesses operating there. In fact the below scenario seems to be taking place.)
- Businesses who pay minimum wages will immediately be paying higher wages
- Many small businesses generally pay above minimum wage anyway so they won’t be harmed. They have only a few employees and it’s very hard to look an employee in the face and refuse living wage when you know them personally!
- Loopholes that allow large, huge corporations to be considered small will have to be closed if any exemptions are made for small businesses.
- Some workers who are barely above minimum wage before the increase may receive sympathetic raises.
- Small percentages of profits or disposable income of the business will now be placed in the pockets of the worker rather than the CEO.
- The money the CEO would have received would likely be added to off shore accounts or invested overseas to limit taxes but most likely not be spent in America
- Low wage worker recipients of the new pay rate would immediately start spending the extra money on frivolous things such as food and clothing.
- The Federal Government would no longer have to subsidize their earnings thus enabling them to live and feed their families without aid.
- The newly spent money would put much of the increased wages back into local businesses.
- This would increase profits and cause more goods to be ordered to cover the new demand.
- New orders would cause the supply chain to ramp up.
- This could stimulate owners to hire new workers.
- The increased work force would generate more tax revenue for America.
- This rising tide would lift all boats, not just luxury yachts
- With more commerce across the Nation our government could focus on fixing our ailing infrastructure.
- Children who were too hungry to attend school and learn would start to get the education they need to survive in this new internet driven world.
- The next new innovative idea could come from any of these newly nurtured children
- America could take back the title as the World’s greatest force, and not just militarily speaking.
- People from all over would flock to America and peace would break out Worldwide!
Okay, maybe the last domino was a bridge too far but unless we embark on the journey soon that bridge may rot and crumble into the river of no return.
Commerce will shriek to a halt as product cannot reach its destination in a safe and timely manner. (Too much?)
And when all of this happens maybe, just maybe one more domino will fall, the end of the anti-middle class; anti-woman; anti-minority; anti-immigrant; anti-union of any sort including it seems, the great union known as the United States of America Republican!
For surely there is no more pressing issue for a government of, by, and for its people than the welfare OF the people who hired them to look after the country!
Once the Republican Party realizes that simple fact we can get our economy to start working for us again!But if not then come November hopefully it will be the chips, not the dominoes, which fall for them!


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Medicare pays billions of dollars more for common generic drugs than Costco on more than 40% of prescriptions, according to research published Tuesday, and in some cases seniors would even save money leaving their Part D card at home and paying in cash at the wholesaler’s pharmacy counter.
Medicare paid more for generic drugs on 43% of prescriptions in 2018, researchers found in a JAMA Internal Medicine study.
If Medicare paid the same price as Costco for the 184 generic drugs most commonly prescribed to Medicare beneficiaries, they would have saved $1.7 billion in 2017 and $2.6 billion in 2018, according to the University of Southern California researchers.
For 11% of prescriptions, Medicare beneficiaries would have been better off paying the cash price at Costco because Medicare’s out-of-pocket cost was higher.
The difference between what Costco and Medicare pay comes down to negotiation—but not in the way that one might think. The companies that manage prescription drug benefits for most Medicare plans are actually good negotiators and get lower prices from drugmakers, said Erin Trish, a healthcare economist at the University of Southern California and lead author of the research. But unlike Costco, these companies use the money they save to pad their profits instead of lowering their prices. They don’t feel the need to “pass those savings on to the consumer,” said Trish, because they have few competitors and because they don’t have to say how much money they’re pocketing. If Congress passed reforms that made the prices more transparent, she said, “the market could then respond” with more competition that could lower costs.
Senate Hearing On Drug Pricing A Lesson In What PBMs DoKaiser Health News (Kaiser Health News)


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Wargaming has announced the details of the latest World of Tanks game update. Most notable in the upcoming patch will be the inclusion of several premium features that will be made available for free users as well as new German and Soviet tanks.
Starting in Update 8.5, players will be able to purchase all premium consumables with silver credits. In addition, all players, both paying and non-paying, will be able to create 3-member platoons and companies.The German tech tree will see a new line of iconic medium tanks added to their ranks, topped by the Leopard 1, a deadly Tier X all-rounder effective in both long-range and close combat.
Check out the details firsthand on the World of Tanks public test server.


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Men Accused Of Selling Counterfeit Cigars
Detectives arrested a cigar shop manager and a storeowner they say were selling counterfeit stogies brand name cigars. On Tuesday, Broward Sheriff's Office investigators arrested Carolina Cigar Co. manager Allen Boyd, 47, and Smoke Café owner, James David Joiner, 63, both of Fort Lauderdale.
According to BSO detectives, agents representing Altadis USA, Inc., the corporate owners of such trademarked cigars as Monte-Cristo, Romeo y Julieta and H. Upmann Monarch, recently approached them regarding the possible sale of counterfeit cigars at the two businesses.
Detectives said they made three separate undercover purchases at each shop on Jan. 13, the second, Jan. 24 and the last on Feb. 3. Each time, the detectives, who were accompanied by Altadis USA, Inc. agents, said they purchased a couple of suspect cigar boxes valued at $250 each.
Investigators said since the buys were made in cash, shop vendors also illegally waived taxes on each purchase. The bogus cigars were then examined at Altadis USA, Inc. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale and determined to be counterfeit.
Tuesday, Boyd and Joiner were both taken into custody and nearly 45 boxes of suspect cigars were confiscated at each location.
Investigators said they believe that the counterfeit cigars were illegally packaged at the rear of each business and at a separate location in Miami-Dade County.
The total value of the confiscated bogus goods is estimated to be between $20,000 and $25,000.
The men are charged with one count each of vending goods with counterfeit trademarks. Both are free on $500 bond.


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Face masks are required on elevators and shuttles, as well as at indoor equipment rental stores. After the 2019-2020 season was cut short by the March pandemic, resort managers are banking on these health protocols to keep skiers and snowboarders on the slopes all winter.
“We have tested all the health protocols that we have in place, including masks on the ski lifts,” said Stephie Dijkman, marketing director of Tignes. We recommend that people test themselves before going out, just to make sure there is no epidemic while they are here. ”
Winter sports enthusiasts will likely find this type of measurement in one of France’s 250 ski resorts this season. But keeping the virus out of the mountain could prove difficult if the number of cases continues to rise at lower elevations. The daily number of infections in France broke records this week, with authorities confirming 30,621 new cases on Thursday over a 24-hour period.
The French ski industry was hit hard when the first wave of pandemic infections brought the 2019-2020 season to a premature end. This led to a 16% drop in total lift ticket sales compared to 2018-2019. Resorts expect the financial struggle to continue, with fewer foreign tourists expected to travel to ski this winter.
“Right now we’re looking at 30% less business this season,” said Dijkman. “But we hope the second wave of covid slows down and the borders reopen soon. ”
Businesses such as restaurants, bars and hotels are also gearing up to feel the pinch, with virus restrictions that will change après-ski traditions in France.
“The après-ski bars and the party are definitely over, it’s clear,” said restaurateur Jean-Michel Bouvier, owner of Panoramic on the Grand Motte glacier. “People just need to play by the rules for the good of everyone. Only six people at each table, you have to be careful at night, that’s all.
These restrictions will be vital for any resort looking to avoid the reputational damage that a virus outbreak can inflict on a ski destination. One of the first pandemic “super-spread” events in Europe erupted in the Austrian ski resort of Ischgl in March. The resort has been accused of failing to contain the outbreak and is now being sued for its handling of the incident. The French ski industry and its 18,000 employees hope that the health protocols put in place this season will be enough to avoid any similar incident.
In addition to Tignes, another French resort has opened its doors. Glacier skiing is available in Les Deux Alpes during the French All Saints holidays until November 1st. The other stations in the country are expected to open for the season in late November and early December.


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FTC Sticks to Its Regulations as Blogger Backlash Builds
Today, the Federal Trade Commission responded to an “open letter” from online advertisers that asked for the commission’s newly updated guidelines to be scrapped because they purportedly “muzzle social media” and, thus, inhibit the freeflow of ideas.
“Although the [Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)] contends the FTC’s Endorsement Guides are unconstitutional, the Guides apply only to marketing and they attempt to illustrate some of the factors relevant to distinguishing advertising from editorial content,” says Mary Engle, the FTC’s director of the division of advertising practices, in an email statement released today. “If particular communications do not in fact constitute advertising, as the IAB appears to be suggesting, then the Guides do not apply. Where the message is advertising, however, disseminators have an obligation to ensure it is not misleading. This includes, when it is not otherwise clear from the context, identifying when the endorser has been paid for the endorsement. Although IAB may disagree with the policy, nothing in this approach is unconstitutional,” Engle re-iterated.
The request for the FTC retraction, written by Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a group that represents more than 375 media and tech companies including AOL, Google, MSN, and The New York Times Digital, also called for the commission to begin anew with “a fair and open process,” this time with more input from bloggers and other social media professionals. Read the full letter here.
In submitting the letter, the IAB joins the chorus of bloggers and pundits arguing that the new guidelines punish new media. “One of the extremely real effects of these rules is to dry up a flow of opportunity to solo media entrepreneurs without touching offline media professionals,” says Rothenberg.
He points to the oft-cited book review example, in which books received by bloggers are considered a form of compensation and as a result would have to be disclosed. “By saying, ‘Don’t worry, bloggers, we’re going after publishers,’ it’s saying it’s okay to send those books to magazines and newspapers but not to a blog or a social media site or someone who’s known to review on Amazon. It’s saying if publishers send these books to someone who reviews things for Amazon.com, the publisher can be penalized. But if you send them to The New York Times or The Atlantic or freelancers who does contributing to Publishers Weekly, you do not face the threat of penalty.”
The IAB’s letter was released a day after the FTC made itself available to media for questions on its revised guidelines. During the session, the FTC’s Engle reportedly stressed that the commission would not be going after bloggers but instead would focus on advertisers. The statement echoed assistant director of the division of advertising practices Richard Cleland’s comments in an article published by Fast Company, on October 7. In that article, Cleland denied the reported $11,000 fine for bloggers and clarified, “Our approach is going to be educational, particularly focusing on advertisers: What kind of education are you providing them, are you monitoring the bloggers and whether what they’re saying is true?”
“The document is laying out a regulatory structure that has penalties attached to it, and it has investigative procedures attached to it,” says Rothenberg. “If the FTC’s intent is only to educate, the document should have been written to reflect that.”
Instead of FTC intervention, the IAB argues, new media as a sector should police themselves, much like traditional media does for newspapers and magazines. In a March 2, 2009, letter issued in response to the FTC’s call for comments on its new guidelines, the IAB argued that “strong and effective self-regulatory programs already exist,” citing the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s “Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines” and the Direct Marketing Association’s “Guidelines for Ethical Business Practice.”


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Kenya: New Digital Collections Platform to Spur Progress for Kenyan Companies
Nairobi — UBA Kenya and Cellulant Kenya have launched a funds gateway platform to speed up adoption of cashless funds.
The digital resolution is ready to assist companies combination funds in a single view which is able to help in environment friendly assortment, reconciliation and fast choice making.
In recent times, people and companies alike have adopted digital funds reshaping your entire funds infrastructure.
“Organizations are more and more going cashless; from international companies akin to airways to native eating places, or instagram companies and faculties,” stated Religion Nkatha, Nation Supervisor, Cellulant Kenya in the course of the launch of a funds gateway at the side of UBA Kenya.
In keeping with the Funds 2025 & Past Report by PWC, the amount of world cashless transactions is ready to develop by greater than 80 per cent between 2020 and 2025
“Fintechs and banks’ collaborations open extra alternatives that make the motion of cash simpler for companies and their shoppers throughout all sectors of the financial system. Our partnership with UBA in Kenya will allow retailers to obtain, view, and reconcile all their funds by way of a single software programming interface (API), chopping out the necessity to join a number of cost suppliers,” stated Nkatha.
Chike Isiuwe, CEO, UBA Kenya stated: “This resolution will change how people make cost and the way retailers and establishments acquire because it eases the method whereas additionally decreasing transaction prices.”
UBA Kenya began operations in Kenya in October 2009 with a enterprise deal with native and worldwide Corporates, SME’s, Public and Personal Establishments.
Over time the Financial institution has grown its footprint to five branches throughout the nation with just lately opened branches in Nakuru and Mombasa.
“Digitisation performs a pivotal function within the monetary lives of Kenyans as we speak and the platform aligns with present buyer cost behaviors and is anticipated to spur development for native companies, contributing positively to the growth of the nation’s financial system,” added Chike.
Cellulant, based in 2003, has an intensive funds infrastructure partnering with 46 mobile-money operators in Africa, 211 banks together with UBA Group and serves 35 African nations with a bodily presence in 18.


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Sprint (NYSE: FON) reported fourth quarter earnings of 47 cents a share on sales of $4.41 billion Tuesday. Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS), which trades as a tracking stock, reported a fourth quarter operating loss of 75 cents a share, on sales of $996 million.
Sprint topped expectations (see full earnings release). First Call expected Sprint to report earnings of 38 cents a share and the PCS unit to report a loss of $1.44 a share. However, Sprint said the PCS results assumed a 2-for-1 stock split, scheduled for Feb. 4, had already taken place. It's not immediately clear if the First Call PCS estimates assumed the stock split or not.
Sprint said earnings (table) from core operations were 61 cents a share, but losses from its ION network and other ventures cut 12 cents from that tally. Factoring out earnings from discontinued operations of 2 cents a share, Sprint reported net earnings of 47 cents a share.
Sprint, which said in October it would merge with MCI WorldCom, said the merger was being reviewed by regulators with an expected close in the second half of 2000.
Long distance sales surge
For Sprint's core business, which includes long distance and data sales, reported fourth quarter revenue growth of 8 percent from a year ago. Net income was $416 million, up 3 percent from a year ago.
Among Sprint's core operations, the company said long distance revenue jumped 7 percent in the fourth quarter to $2.71 billion from $2.52 billion a year ago. Long distance calling volume rose 20 percent for the quarter and 22 percent for the year.
Sprint's local telecommunications business saw sales jump 7 percent to $1.48 billion in the fourth quarter. Local operating income surged and access lines increased 4.9 percent from a year ago.
The company also said data revenue jumped 40 percent from a year ago.
Sprint's new initiatives such as its ION broadband platform, however, had losses. ION posted a loss of 9 cents a share in the fourth quarter with other ventures losing 3 cents a share. Sprint began selling ION service to consumers and small businesses in Kansas City, Denver and Seattle in the quarter.
Sprint PCS adds 1M subscribers
Sprint said its PCS unit added 1 million wireless customers in the fourth quarter, up 24 percent from a year ago. For the year, Sprint PCS added 3.14 million subscribers to end the year with 121 percent more customers than a year ago.
Sprint PCS said it had 5.7 million subscribers at the end of the year with affiliates adding another 200,000 customers.
Sprint PCS reported revenue of $996 million in the fourth quarter, more than double sales from a year ago. Losses from continuing operations were 75 cents a share.
The company spent $1 billion in the fourth quarter upgrading its network. For the year, capital expenses were $2.65 billion for Sprint PCS.
For the year, Sprint reported a earnings of $2.31 per share on sales of $17.02 billion. Those results compare to earnings of $2.03 per share on sales of $15.76 billion in 1998. Net income rose to $1.57 billion in 1999 from $1.54 billion.
The Sprint PCS unit reported 1999 sales of $3.18 billion, compared to $1.23 billion in 1998. For the year, recurring cash flow losses were $1.71 billion compared to $1.60 billion a year ago. That loss amounts to $2.71 per share for 1999, said Sprint PCS.


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Müller is introducing a new recyclable milk cap in the UK which uses 13% less plastic and allows the business to remove 300 tonnes of plastic every year.
The dairy company has collaborated with packaging firm Paccor for the last 18 months to design, trial and rollout the 1.3g compression mould caps.
Following the completion of trials across Müller’s network of dairies, all of the company’s branded and private-label fresh milk products in the UK will include the new lighter cap from February 2019.
Müller’s high-density polyethylene (HDPE) fresh milk bottles, used for all its branded and private-label fresh milk products, are 100% recyclable and the business is aiming to increase the use of recycled plastic in its bottles to a target of 50% by 2020.
Patrick Müller, CEO of Müller Milk & Ingredients, said: “We’re clear about the need to reduce our use of plastic, and we have removed 10,000 tonnes of plastic from our milk bottles since 2016. This is great progress, but we can and we will do more.
“Customers and consumers can be assured that Müller is working to lead in this and other important areas. We are convinced that the work we do with our packaging, operational excellence and with dairy farmers who supply us to protect against market volatility, are real points of difference.”
Earlier this month, Müller Milk & Ingredients launched the Grassroots Dairy Partnership with Lidl, an initiative which aims to ensure a sustainable end-to-end dairy supply chain from grassroots through to the consumer.
The partnership will see Lidl launch an ambassador training programme which will offer bespoke training to young dairy farmers.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined last week to a still-high 837,000, evidence that the economy is struggling to sustain a tentative recovery that began this summer.
The Labor Department’s report, released Thursday, suggests that companies are still cutting a historically high number of jobs, though the weekly numbers have become less reliable as states have increased their efforts to root out fraudulent claims and process earlier applications that have piled up.
Overall jobless aid has shrunk in recent weeks even as roughly 25 million people rely upon it. The loss of that income is likely to weaken spending and the economy in the coming months.
Americans' incomes and spending are declining or slowing. Total paid unemployment benefits plunged by more than half in August, according to the Commerce Department. Consumer spending did rise 1% that month, down from 1.5% in July. But that increase relied in part on consumers drawing upon their savings.
“Unless employment growth picks up, or additional (government) aid is extended, consumer spending is at risk of slowing dramatically during the second phase of the recovery,” said Gregory Daco, an economist at Oxford Economics.
Other measures of the U.S. economy have been sending mixed signals. Consumer confidence jumped in September, fueled by optimism among higher-income households, though it remains below pre-pandemic levels. And a measure of pending home sales rose in August to a record high, lifted by ultra-low mortgage rates.
Yet some real-time measures indicate that growth has lost momentum with the viral pandemic still squeezing many employers, especially small retailers, hotels, restaurants and airlines, nearly seven months after it paralyzed the economy. An economic index compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York grew in September at a weaker pace than during the summer months.
In its report on jobless claims Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of people who are continuing to receive benefits fell to 11.8 million, extending a steady decline since spring. That suggests that many of the unemployed are being recalled to their old jobs. Another 12 million people are receiving aid under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which has made the self-employed and gig workers eligible for benefits for the first time.
On Friday, the government will issue the jobs report for September, the final such report before Election Day, Nov. 3. Analysts have forecast that it will show a gain of 850,000, which would mark the third straight monthly slowdown in job growth. It would mean that the economy has regained just over half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic.
The unemployment rate is expected to decline from 8.4% to 8.2%, according to data provider FactSet.
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer


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Jayesh MansukhaniApr 27, 2006 17:15:16 IST
Microsoft has made many announcements concerning Vista. From its new interface to its tightened security, we have seen it all.
Now it seems, in what I can only think of as a rather bizarre announcement, Microsoft claims that businesses planning to use Vista together with its Bitlocker hard drive encryption technology will have an easy and safe way to dispose of their hard disks.Microsoft on Tuesday claimed that Vista will be so secure that businesses will no longer need to worry about data being compromised when hard disks are sent for disposal.
"With Vista and Bitlocker, businesses will be able to throw hard disks away and be sure (they are) secure," Nick McGrath, head of platform strategy for Microsoft UK, said at Infosecurity 2006.
This is a rather over the top announcement. No encryption is ever fully secure for parties determined to get to your data. I bet it wont be long before we hear that some hacker group or master coder has reverse engineered the entire technology.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.


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With one month left in 2017 total sales numbers are taking shape.
Let’s start with homes: In 2017 so far there have been 65 homes sold compared to 73 in 2016. This is not a bad number , we are just comparing to a big year last year. Even though sales totals are down, the good news prices are up significantly. The average sales price in 2016 was $237,805 this year its $267,338 Thats a jump of nearly 12.5% Even the median sales price is up, in 2016 the median price was $225,000 and this year its $240,000.
Condos have a similar story when it comes to pricing, but sales are way down. So far this year there have been 10 condo sales. Last year there was 24. I don’t really have an answer for the decline but it seems the vacation buyer is largely missing from the market. The good news is the average sales price is up 11.9%. In 2016 the average sale price was $156,020, in 2017 the average sales price is $185,540. I don’t believe the median sales price is statistically viable with only 10 unit sales this year. The difference is over $60,000. Thats a very strong number but lets focus on the strength in the average price increase.
I don’t think these numbers will change that much by year end but I will keep you updated. Enjoy the holiday season!!


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Accenture using a “new way” of measuring corporate competitiveness
Industrial companies, such as automotive manufacturers, could unlock billions of dollars in revenue by adopting a more “holistic strategy”, according to a new report by Accenture.
The business management consultant conducted a survey into competitiveness in industry and found that the best approach is one that places equal emphasis on growth, profitability, sustainability and trust.
This “inter-dependent” strategy “yields massive growth potential”, says Accenture, which bases its conclusions on analysis of 47 automotive and industrial companies’ performances.
Accenture says a typical $30 billion company which adopts this interdependent strategy could see revenues rise by almost $1 billion and a 2 percent increase in earnings.
Identifying new growth areas are crucial, adds Accenture.
For example, Automotive companies “will need to immediately emphasize growth by capitalizing on ride-sharing services, electric cars and changing sales channel structures, while still prioritizing sustainability at every step”.
One of the companies Accenture highlights as having an inter-dependent, successful strategy is automaker BMW, which scored high marks on its “Strategy Competitive Agility Index”.
“BMW is a leader,” says Accenture. “BMW landed a score of 63.8 – nearly double the industry average of 34.6 – in large part because it includes environmental commitments throughout its entire value chain.”
Companies Accenture highlights as having particularly successful strategies include:
Mark Pearson, senior managing director, Accenture strategy, says: “While these leaders each have unique business strategies, they’ve all prioritized the three competitiveness dimensions.
“They are investing for growth in new digital capabilities, focusing on cost and implementing tighter profitability measures, and exploiting their brands to position themselves as trusted suppliers in the digital age.”
Interestingly, says Accenture, the leaders highlighted by its report are in stark contrast to the leaders in market cap or total shareholder return – the more traditionally used metrics for success.
Bill Theofilou, senior managing director, Accenture strategy, says: “Traditional metrics are backward looking and only shed light on part of a company’s operations, failing to register how strong a company is in areas like sustainability and trust.
“Companies that don’t adopt an interdependent strategy that integrates the three competitiveness dimensions are at risk for being over estimated by the market or worse, succumbing to the competition. The good news is every company can start improving their performance immediately – the key is knowing where to start.”
Moreover, the competitiveness dimension that automotive and industrial companies need to put immediate emphasis on is growth.
“The dramatically changing sales channel structures, as well as the emergence of whole new mobility business models like car and ride sharing and electrification of cars, will offer enormous opportunities for the automotive company of the future in terms of growth. And those that do not seize these opportunities on time will be simply left behind,” added Pearson.


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The world’s top search engine on Thursday showed off its Google TV, an effort to meld the Internet with television so that viewers can search for, and play back, a World Wide Web’s worth of content on their TV screens.
The company has teamed with Intel and Sony to create Google TV, which is an attempt to excel in an area where the likes of AOL, Microsoft, Apple and others have largely stumbled.
During a news conference in San Francisco and a Webcast over its own YouTube site, executives showed how users could watch TV while simultaneously typing in a search request, results of which show traditional TV listings along with Internet video. Streaming movies from Netflix and Amazon.com also are included.
The search results on Google TV will include the same advertising that one would get if using Google on a computer. Google also could be angling at eventually competing for a piece of the traditional television ad market, which Google product manager Rishi Chandra said is worth $70 billion a year in the U.S.
Sony said it is building Internet TVs with Google TV embedded in them for launch in the U.S. in time for the holiday gift-giving season. But a new TV set isn’t necessary, because Sony also is making Blu-ray players for turning existing sets into a Google TV.
Likewise, Logitech is making a Google TV set-top box and remote control that will work with the 60 million HDTVs already in U.S. homes.
Dish Network said it will integrate Google TV into its satellite TV service so that content stored on its customers’ DVRs also will be included in searches.
So far, Best Buy is the only retailer to announce it will sell all the various services and devices in support of Google TV, which runs on Google’s Android software.
At Thursday’s event, Google CEO Eric Schmidt acknowledged that previous Internet-television hybrid efforts haven’t been embraced by consumers. Indeed, Google’s own demonstration didn’t work too well until after many of the 5,000 audience members complied with a request to shut off their smart phones, freeing up needed bandwidth.
“It’s much harder to marry a 50-year-old technology and a brand new technology than those of us in the brand new technology industry thought,” Schmidt said.
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By David Wallace 11 Jun 2021
Gentamicin prices saw huge increases in the UK in May, with the average shooting up by almost 600%.
Lupin plans to invest in acquisitions and organic growth in the US and India after selling Japanese subsidiary Kyowa Pharma for an enterprise value of around $525m to Japan private equity group Unison Capital. But the Indian firm stresses it is not exiting Japan and will continue to look for marketing partnerships.
LUPIN SELLING JAPAN SUBSIDIARY BUT STILL COMMITTED TO THE MARKET Source: Shutterstock
Lupin Ltd. has finally decided to offload to a local private equity group its Japanese subsidiary Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co. Ltd., that had run into troubled waters on account of increasing competition in the local generics segment and the prospect of government-driven price cuts becoming an annual feature in Japan.
The deal is also indicative of private equity's rising interest in the Japan pharma sector, following on from other major deals this year.
Recovering four and a half times its initial Investment, Lupin has sold its 99.82% stake in Kyowa to Plutus, a portfolio company of Unison Capital Partners IV, LPS and Unison Capital Partners IV (F). L.P., in a deal valuing Kyowa at JPY57.36bn ($525m) or INR37.02bn. Established in 1998, Unison Capital is an independent Japanese private equity firm with operations in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
The divested business recorded revenues of INR 9.34bn (JPY14.24bn) in the first half of this fiscal year and INR18.6bn (JPY28.33bn) last fiscal year.
Lupin indirectly held the stake in Kyowa through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nanomi B.V. in Netherlands. Founded in 1954, the Japanese firm develops, manufactures and sells branded and generic pharmaceuticals in the Japanese market.
Lupin acquired a majority ownership in Kyowa in 2007 and the operation is currently the fifth-largest generics player in Japan, according to IQVIA September data.
With the acquisition, Unison gains a diverse product lineup that covers cardiovascular, gastroenterology and other segments with a particularly strong presence in the CNS/neurology space where key products are promoted under the AMEL brand. Kyowa has manufacturing facilities in Sanda and Tottori, and a research center in Osaka.
Lupin officials separately said that Unison would retain over 700 employees at Kyowa.
Lupin Considers Acquisitions As Coffers Swell
Post this deal, the net debt of Lupin will stand at a reduced INR11.3bn, compared to INR43.6bn as of 30 September 2019.
“This transaction enables us to strengthen our balance sheet and provide growth capital for our strategic priorities in markets, particularly our growth markets US and India. We are exploring China…we’re looking at our specialty and complex generics portfolio to see if it makes sense to enter but haven’t determined if it does right now,” said CEO Vinita Gupta.
The company is considering both organic and inorganic investment opportunities in India, noted managing director Nilesh Gupta. While there is currently “no deal flow” domestically, the company is interested in multiple therapy areas.
“As a company, our big areas are cardiovascular, diabetes and inhalation so the intent would be to look for assets in that space but we are also building presence in India in areas like dermatology, ophthalmology and urology,” he added. The company also intends to focus on the “right assets” in the US, particularly specialty and more accretive assets.
Expanding on the logic for exiting Kyowa, Nilesh Gupta said price cuts in Japan put pressure on the company and as a pure-play generics player, the management was faced with a strategic choice “whether we wanted to differentiate and build a different kind of entity in Japan while also trying to build that in the US and trying to grow in markets like India – it just seemed like a dilution of focus for us.”
Accounting for nearly 80% of Lupin's APAC business, revenues from Japan were INR5.1bn in the second quarter, flat over the same period last year and nearly 9% lower than the first quarter. It contributed nearly 12% to consolidated sales for the quarter. Company officials said they are hopeful of making up for this reduction in revenue over the course of the next year or so.
Plans to Expand Marketing In Japan
While Lupin is exiting the generic oral solids business in Japan through the Kyowa divestment, it will continue to maintain a presence in the country through marketing partnerships as well as remaining a supplier to Kyowa even after Unison acquires it.
“We remain committed to advancing our complex generics, biosimilars and specialty portfolio globally, including in Japan. Between now and closing [the deal] the intent is to close product supply agreements for the products that we already do from India – we will selectively look at other opportunities apart from Unison as well and leverage them,” Nilesh Gupta said.
Lupin will continue looking for marketing partnerships in the specialty drugs as well as complex generics segments, he added.
It has already partnered with Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to launch etanercept, its biosimilar version of Amgen Inc.'s Enbrel, in Japan. As the second approved Enbrel biosimilar in Japan after Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and LG Chem’s product, the opportunity from this drug seems attractive.
Lupin also has a co-marketing arrangement with Yoshitomi for Bipresso (quetiapine fumarate), a specialty drug to treat bipolar depression, that has been licensed from Astellas Pharma Inc.
Kyowa To Move 'Beyond Drugs' Under Unison
Tatsuya Hayashi, founding partner of Unison, said, “We are delighted to welcome Kyowa into our portfolio and support its next phase of growth, both in its existing business, as Kyowa continues to center its strategy of strengthening its hybrid (brand/generics) pharma model in Japan, and in expanding its influence in the CNS space to beyond drugs.”
It also plans to expand the product and service portfolio beyond drugs with support from Unison's healthcare ecosystem of researchers, advisers and strategic partners, including Unison’s own healthcare portfolio companies.
Kyowa will continue its existing R&D and manufacturing business ties with Lupin and will look to further develop business opportunities together in Japan, including "other avenues" in the Japanese healthcare market, it said.
Private Equity, Other Interest
The new deal signifies continuing interest from the global private equity sector in opportunities in Japan pharma, coming after The Blackstone Group's major deal earlier this year to acquire private specialty group Ayumi Pharmaceutical. Unison Capital was a co-owner of Ayumi. (Also see "Blackstone Bets On Pharma In First Japan Buy, But Why?" - Scrip, 26 Mar, 2019.)
In other deal activity, Sandoz International GMBH has also just said it will pay up to €400m ($441m) to acquire the Japanese operations of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. (Also see "Sandoz To Acquire Aspen’s Japanese Operations" - Generics Bulletin, 11 Nov, 2019.)
For major PE groups, the intention is usually to build up and strengthen the management of acquired businesses before exiting through divestment to another owner. They apparently see current opportunities in companies that may be struggling with the current challenging policy and regulatory environment, and whose owners may be looking to divest and restructure.
Blackstone has indicated that it is planning to spend up to JPY500bn across industries in Japan under a new Asia-focused fund, marking interest in a market where there has traditionally been little PE investment in pharma.
Unison was set up in 1998 by three former employees of Goldman Sachs Japan, and supports mid-cap companies across multiple sectors formed as spin-offs or through management buy-outs. In 2017, Astellas Pharma Inc. divested a group of older products to LTL Pharma, a new Tokyo-based firm wholly owned by Japan Established Medicines Corp., an entity set up under Unison funds.
Jefferies, which acted as sole financial adviser to Union Capital, noted that the Kyowa deal is the largest divestment so far by an Indian pharma firm.
With contributions from Ian Haydock in Tokyo. This article first appeared in Scrip.
By Dean Rudge 11 Jun 2021
Purdue Pharma has taken a step in its bid to develop and market generic versions of treatments to reverse opioid...
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BlackBerry axes BBM Meetings a year after launching it
Don't say you've never heard of it
BlackBerry is dumping one of the more attractive features of its enterprise software comeback plan only a year after launching it.
The BBM Meetings subscription conferencing service launched only last November. It was notable in that it leveraged BlackBerry’s private network, which made the administrative legwork of setting up HD video and voice calls trivially easy - taking fewer clicks than more expensive rivals. The client software ran on iOS Android and BlackBerry’s own BB10 platforms.
The subscription of $12.50 per month per host, for fewer than 25 participants, was cheaper than the pricing of established players too.
No reason was offered for shuttering the service, which will close on 10 February. But it evidently found it hard to challenge established enterprise conferencing wares like Cisco’s WebEx and Citrix’s GoToMeeting.
BlackBerry aims to grow its enterprise software into a $500m business this fiscal year. It has offered US customers a 10 per cent discount off rival Zoom. ®