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The release date of the Nintendo Switch 2 is eagerly awaited by fans. Now Nintendo is reporting with an official message about the console,
Hamburg – Nintendo is screwing, Nintendo is working, but Nintendo is not yet showing anything. Gamers have been eagerly awaiting news about the release of the Switch 2 for months and the rumor mill for the new console seems to be more active than ever. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to persevere, because as the Japanese have now announced, they will not release any new hardware, including Nintendo Switch 2023, in the fiscal year 2. Meanwhile, they are still struggling to meet their own expectations of the current console.
|Video game console:||Nintendo Switch|
|Year of publication:||March 2017|
|Variants of the hybrid Nintendo console:||Switch (2019 revision), OLED model (2021), Switch Lite (2019)|
|Copies sold:||approx. 110 million units|
Switch 2: Release of the new Nintendo console not before March 2024
When is the release of the Switch 2? As Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa has now confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg, the company will not release a new console in fiscal year 2023. The fiscal year ends in March 2024, so the Nintendo Switch 2 is not expected to be released before then.
Nintendo Switch 2: Release of the new console no longer this year © Nintendo Switch Up Concept by Olivier Raymond
In the past, rumors circulated about a presentation of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the summer. It is currently not clear whether these plans still exist at Nintendo. However, as Nikkei reports, the Nintendo Switch 2 is currently in full swing. Nintendo's work on the console is reportedly going well, but the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 is also dated to spring 2024 at the earliest.
Switch 2: Sales figures of the predecessor console stagnate
What is the current state of affairs with the Nintendo Switch? While the rumor mill for the Nintendo Switch 2 is steaming and hissing, the Switch, which is now over six years old, is currently complaining about declining sales figures. ShuntaroFurukawa clarifies in the interview that it will probably be difficult to sell the original target of 15 million units of the console in this fiscal year.
- The best Switch games for kids: Great fun for little gamers
- The best games for the Nintendo Switch: These 15 firecrackers you must have played
Possibly another sign that players could soon expect new ones from the Switch 2. However, not much is known about the new console yet. A job posting currently suggests that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible.


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Xiaomi announces its third manufacturing facility in India
Xiaomi today announced its third manufacturing plant in India. The manufacturing plant, in partnership with Hipad Technology, is situated in Noida and is company’s first facility in India for a product apart from smartphones.
Spread across 230,000 sq. feet, the manufacturing unit is dedicated to Xiaomi Power Banks and has a starting production capacity of 7 power banks per minute. Hipad Technology already partners Xiaomi in China for power banks.
On the sidelines of the event, Xiaomi also announced 10,000 mAh Mi Power Bank 2i and 20,000 mAh Mi Power Bank 2i.
Xiaomi India has seen exponential growth in India and today it enjoys market leadership in the smartphone segment. I believe a key reason for our success in the smartphone segment has been our commitment to India. We want our India Mi Fans to enjoy the best quality technology at an affordable rate, and manufacturing locally helps us achieve our vision. We are extending our commitment of building a truly localized company and hope to bring the ecosystem of world’s best powerbanks to India with our partners Hipad Technology.– Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi & Managing Director, Xiaomi India
Starting its journey in India in 2014, Xiaomi already has two plants for manufacturing smartphones in India and the company claims that over 95% of the smartphones sold in India are assembled locally.

domain: news


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Both George Madison University economist Stephen Fuller and Susan Hudson-Wilson, founder and CEO of Property Portfolio Research, offered largely positive takes on the nation’s economic outlook during a panel at the annual conference of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) last week. While the substance of their message was upbeat — expect a booming economy in the next two years — a few caveats hedged their optimism. Both Fuller and Hudson-Wilson foresee a very weak apartment market and a continuation of Wal-Mart’s decimation of traditional retailing.
"The national economy is on a rebound, and the next two years will be good years. If you are overbuilt in your sector, however, a lot of slack will come out of that inventory in the next two years as demand continues to accelerate," Fuller said during the conference, held in Boston at the Marriott Copley Place. He cautioned that much of what happens over the next two years depends on how well local governments choose to help promote business under their watch.
"It’s the failure of local leadership and foresight, the failure to look forward and understand what needs to be done now to help avoid the next recession," he said.
Hudson Wilson, who followed Fuller’speech, gave a terse summation of the property markets. She noted that recent corporate earnings suggest that a recovery is on tap. "This is how recoveries happen. They kind of sneak up on you, and then they explode out to you."
Hudson-Wilson said that it is possible that a "very credible upside scenario" is that third-quarter GDP numbers will come in at more than 6%. With labor force growth at about 1% and productivity at 6.8%, Hudson-Wilson said that 7.8% is the capacity where GDP could go on a non-inflationary basis. She also said that the fourth quarter numbers could come in even stronger.
Her optimism extended to the office market as well. "I regard the office market as being very fairly valued, maybe even cheap, and if you can get in the path of the growth we’ve seen you can make some money," she explained.
On the multifamily market, however "all I have is bad things to say," she said. A glut of new supply — and the fact that the number of construction permits for the first half of 2003 are up over the same time period in 2002— are major obstacles for the apartment market, according to Hudson-Wilson. "I talk to bankers and just tell them to ‘stop financing this stuff,’" she said. Another problem is that the largest demographic for apartment rental demand — 18- to 34-year-olds— is waning.
Her take on retail was no less sinister. While briefly touching upon Wal-Mart’s effect on the retail business (which she termed "a science" unto itself), she singled out a few mall anchors such as Macy’s, Foley’s and Robinson’s. "They’re toast. There’s a little icky thing that has to happen. They have to be boosted out of their space and replaced with value retailers," she said. And with Lord & Taylor closing 150 stores nationwide, this "is the tip of the iceberg," says Hudson-Wilson. "They’re going down, but they’re just kidding themselves along the way."


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But note – they may just be taking the opportunity to gen up on what sort of value you’re offering.
That’s because Exchange & Mart has launched an SMS valuation service, powered by CAP. Buyers can text the vehicle registration and mileage to a special number – and in minutes will receive ‘good’, ‘average’ and ‘below average’ prices for that vehicle.
The specification, registration and mileage will also be confirmed, helping detect cloning, clocking and other such cheating.
Debra Healy, digital director at Exchange & Mart, said: ‘With used car prices changing almost daily in an unsettled climate, buyers would be wise to keep on top of the most current values.
‘Our new valuation service benefits from CAP, offering used car buyers the ultimate in guidance when shopping around for a good deal on wheels.’
Interesting advice from Healey on how to treat the values, too. ‘We would advise used car buyers to walk away if a vehicle is being offered for less than 70% of its valuation price. Anything that seems too good to be true probably is…’


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Uniform redesigns have become commonplace in the NFL with Nike taking over as the official outfitter of the league in 2012. There have been some welcome changes, like the Bills’ and Lions’ new looks, as well as some flops, such as the Buccaneers’ alarm clock numbers and the Jaguars’ gradient helmets that went along with their 2013 redesgin.
The most recent team to get its uniforms overhauled is the New York Jets. Their rebranding was unveiled on Thursday night, featuring a new primary green color, all-new black uniforms and a slightly different logo.
The Jets’ old uniforms needed an update, but many believe the new look is a step in the wrong direction – much like the Jaguars’, Browns’ and Tampa Bay’s were – receiving an abundance of criticism on Twitter (as most things do).
The stripes on the shoulders look strange, the green is reminiscent of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the “New York” writing above the numbers just … doesn’t fit. There are simple elements to the uniforms, but as a whole, they just don’t work.
The next team in line to receive an update is the Rams. Along with moving into their spectacular new Inglewood stadium next year, the Rams will also unveil a uniform refresh in 2020. It was originally supposed to happen this year, but they pushed it back to coincide with the stadium’s opening.
The Jets’ redesign has many Rams fans worried that Nike will screw up their team’s uniforms, too. As legitimate of a concern as that may be, it should be extremely difficult for Nike and the Rams to get this redesign wrong. There’s a lot to be learned from the Jets’ whiff on Thursday.
For Los Angeles, the simpler, the better. Fans nowadays love nostalgia. People are calling for the Eagles to wear their classic Kelly green uniforms. Everyone was asking the Rams to wear their throwbacks more often. There’s even a huge group of fans who want to see the Bucs’ creamsicle look back in the rotation.
There’s no reason for the Rams to completely overhaul their current slate of uniforms. They don’t need to go all futuristic and try to tend to the younger audience with edgy jerseys and contemporary helmets. With Nike at the helm, there has to be some concern about that happening.
But Los Angeles’ uniforms are already great now that the league has allowed the throwback blue and yellow threads to be the team’s primary ones. In fact, there’s a large contingent of fans that would be perfectly fine if the team just kept the throwbacks as its primary uniforms moving forward. That most likely won’t happen, but the blueprint for the Rams’ redesign is already there. It just needs some touch-up paint.
Graphic designers have come up with a slate of uniform concepts the Rams should absolutely use as the basis for the refresh.
Simple. Clean. Classic.
Granted, these weren’t designed by the same artist, so they don’t perfectly match one another, but the point remains the same: Not much change is needed to the Rams’ current uniform set.
The removal of gold is a must. Their current away uniforms feature navy blue and gold trimming, which doesn’t at all match their primaries or alternates. All the Rams really need to do to fix that is change the gold to yellow and throw on some yellow pants.
Something like this would be absolutely perfect as away uniforms for the Rams.
Some want to see white and blue alternate uniforms replace the yellow Color Rush holdovers. It would pay homage to the ones the Rams wore from 1964-72 before the team went back to blue and yellow. That’s not a bad idea and would be a nice touch, piquing the interest of fans from every generation. But then you run into the issue of having two different color blues featured across the wardrobe.
Regardless of what the Rams decide, this redesign shouldn’t be hard. In fact, it shouldn’t even be called a redesign; it’s more of a refresh. There’s no need to change the horns or the logo or the primary colors. And that’s unlikely to happen, if Kevin Demoff’s comments hold true.
“We’ve told Nike the one thing that is sacrosanct is the horns,” Demoff said in February. “The goal is a modern take on our historical jerseys.”
The Rams can learn a lot from the flop that was New York’s unveiling. Out-of-place stripes and a new color scheme don’t exactly work. In sports today, fans want teams looking back more than forward – which seems contradictory to the everchanging world of technology.
This shouldn’t be a difficult decision in L.A. It should be almost impossible to mess up.


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Panasonic launched another 4G VoLTE handset in the Eluga series, the Eluga Prim. This handset is running Marshmallow and is powered by quad core processor. Panasonic Eluga Prim price in India is Rs. 10,290.
With more and more customers opting for 4G Enabled smartphones with VoLTE support, home grown company Micromax has now launched two 4G VoLTE enabled budget friendly smartphones the Micromax Vdeo 1 and Micromax Vdeo 2 with a price tag of under Rs. 4,500.
Meizu today unveiled the Meizu M5 Note handset for the Chinese market with a price tag of RMB 899 (approx Rs. 9K). The M5 Note will be available with 3GB RAM and 16 or 32 GB storage and another variant that will come with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
Lenovo today launched the Phab 2 in India. Lenovo Phab 2 phablet comes with a 6.4 inch screen and price in India is Rs. 11,999. This device houses the MediaTek quad core processor and packed with 3GB RAM.
LG today launched the V20 officially in India. The handset price was already unveiled few days before this launch. LG V20 price in India is Rs. 54,999 along with B&O headset that is worth around Rs. 18K. V20 is Snapdragon 820 powered.
Alcatel will launch the Idol 4 handset in India on 8th of December 2016. The company has already started sending out invites for the same. The Alcatel Idol 4 is world’s first VR packaging bundle. This handset is powered by Snapdragon 617.
After launching Phab 2 Plus, Lenovo is all set to launch the Lenovo Phab 2 in India. The Phab 2 page has already been setup on Flipkart with a coming soon status. Key highlight about Phab 2 is 6.4 inch screen, 4G VoLTE support and 4050 mAh battery.
OnePlus today as expected launched their next flagship model in India – the OnePlus 3T. This upgraded 3T comes for a good price tag of Rs. 29,999. 3T is powered by Snapdragon 821 chipset and the 64GB ROM variant will be available for Rs. 29,999.
Intex launched another smartphone called the Intex Aqua Classic 2 with dual LED flash for Rs. 4,600. This is a dual SIM handset powered by quad core processor. The specifications mentioned on the website are quite confusing, not sure if handset supports 4G.
Lava Mobiles launched another 4G VoLTE supported handset in the Indian markets called the Lava X50+. This handset is powered by quad core processor, packed with 2GB RAM and 2800 mAh battery. X50+ price in India is Rs. 9,199.


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NEW YORK (January 10, 2023) — Kostelanetz LLP is thrilled to announce that we have promoted three of our attorneys — Nicholas S. Bahnsen, Stephen Josey, and Wilda Lin — to Counsel. The promotions became
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New British-designed sports car made its debut at top London event.
The new Lotus Evora was unveiled at the British Motor Show yesterday and Motors.co.uk were on site to provide a first-hand account of the exciting new addition to the iconic Lotus family.
Taking just 21 months from concept to the finished product, the Evora is the first all-new Lotus tomake its debutsince the Elise back in 1995.
The Evora is marketed as the world’s only mid-engined 2+2 sports car, powered by a 3.5 litre V6 engine producing 280PS. The Evora promises a breathtaking ride and experts are certain that it will appeal to a multitude of car enthusiasts.
As well as excellent performance and handling, the Evora has a classical twist. It is designed to provide a more refined ownership experience, sporting an elegant cabin coupled with a signature grill and a sleek body. Wider and taller doors allow for ease of entry and exit to the cabin while the interior design of the cabin will allow a 6 foot 5inch tall male to sit comfortably.
Mike Kimberley, CEO of Group Lotus plc, described the new Evora in the following way: “The Evora is the biggest milestone Lotus has achieved since the Elise was born 13 years ago and is part of our bold five year strategic plan, which includes the introduction of new cars and technologies to many more markets around the world. The Evora also represents Lotus core values of performance through light weight and efficiency and proves that you can have phenomenal performance, fuel efficiency elegant design and practicality all in a class leading mid-engine 2+2 sportscar, which will meet global.
The Lotus Evora will be available to buy from Spring 2009 and will be the most thoroughly tested Lotus in the company’s history. Only 2000 cars will be produced per year ensuring the dynamic new sports car’s remains exclusive.
For further information, please visit: www.grouplotus.com/mediacentre
July 23, 2008


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Is your company still in denial thinking that you don’t need to embrace social media? If so, you are suffering a great cost which can be documented through research. For example, McKinsey & Company research shows that unlocking value and productivity through social media is significant. In fact, the study reports that social media could potentially contribute between $900 billion to $1.3 trillion in annual value across the four commercial sectors studied.
Research from Genesys points to the fact that more than half of customer-facing Fortune 500 Corporations “suffer from social shyness”. Specifically, 55% fail to list a Twitter handle and 51% fail to list a Facebook page on their “contact us” page.
The Cost of Ignoring (COI) social media is more significant to businesses than just being socially shy. It comes down to dollars. According to a recent Forbes piece, “social media is more pervasive than ever among customers: 50% of the population currently use Facebook and more than 37% use Twitter.” This same post also suggests that only 16% of surveyed CEOs were participating in social media. The logical conclusion? Your customers are using social to connect and communicate; therefore, you should too.
The COI of social media comes down to missed opportunities. As a business, you need to question your opportunity costs. If you and your organization don’t have a listening and engagement plan in place, here are five areas where you are experiencing COI right now:
1. Customer Service
Conversations are taking place right now about your products and/or services. Some are very positive and helpful to you. Some are very negative, perhaps even inaccurate. If you are not listening and engaging, you aren’t taking the steps to correct misinformation. You are also not taking the steps for a rapid response to fix an issue and delight your customer. Rapid responses save time, which saves money.
2. Reputation Management
If you haven’t secured your company’s social identity, someone else will. They could communicate with your customers under the guise that they represent your brand. We all know that one of the things keeping the Boards of Directors awake at night is the possibility of a social media crisis that damages the company reputation.
3. Crowdsourcing to Build Loyalty
Perhaps one of the most effective companies at utilizing crowdsourcing for this outcome is Starbucks. They have successfully built brand ambassadors through contests and more. Best of all, when done well, it also engages their employees and results in profits.
Companies like Dell use their invention of IdeaStorm to bring collaboration to life. According to McKinsey & Company, improved communication and collaboration through social media could raise the productivity of interaction of workers by 20 to 25 percent. This has huge potential.
Some of the savviest candidates have strong social profiles. They have their resumé on social networking sites like LinkedIn. They are researching potential employers through social sites, commentaries, and the social profile of an employer. Being absent can send a strong message to potential candidates.
Want to learn more? Sign up for our newsletter at TaylorMade Solutions (insert “newsletter” into inquiry box)
A version of this post previously appeared on the Marketing Cloud blog.


text: Samsung reshuffled its leadership last week, replacing its mobile chief with his second in command. DJ Koh will continue to lead the IT and mobile communications division. But it’s Roh Tae-moon the new person in charge of the smartphone business. A veteran who joined Samsung in 1997, Roh is regarded as “an engineering maven who’s meticulous about phone features.” The 51-year-old exec is credited with building up the Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets, per Bloomberg . Roh is the youngest-ever president of Samsung’s mobile division, Reuters reports , and he’s apparently responsible for Samsung’s shift to outsourcing more handset production to cut costs and better compete with Chinese rivals, including Huawei. Huawei is just one of Samsung’s worries right now, as other Chinese smartphone vendors have proven to be fierce competitors for Galaxy phones — the list includes Oppo, Xiaomi and OnePlus, to name just a few. Then there’s Apple, which is Samsung’s long-time rival/business partner, with the iPhone remaining the main adversary for Galaxy S and Note flagships.


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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is pressing TransUnion and Experian to explain what cybersecurity they have in place to protect sensitive consumer information following a recent breach at Equifax that exposed the data of 143 million Americans.In letters to executives at the two credit monitoring companies, the Democratic attorney general asked them to describe their existing security systems as well as what changes they've made since the Equifax cyberattack."The unprecedented data breach experienced by Equifax Inc.
NYS Entity Status
NYS Filing Date
SEPTEMBER 05, 2013
NYS DOS ID#
NYS Entity Type
DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
2013 - N BELL ENTERPRISES, INC.
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What if the Pittsburgh Mills Mall Closes?
Let’s face facts – it doesn’t look great at the Pittsburgh Mills mall right now. After years of struggling to attract and retain stores, the mall had a high vacancy rate, and that was before it was forced to shut down for almost 12 weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, Levin Furniture closed this spring (pre-pandemic, in fact) and many customers with open orders lost their deposits. The same thing happened a few years ago when Roomful Express went out of business.


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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Fresno job market is improving.
At Scelzi Enterprises, employees create custom work truck bodies at its Fresno facility.
"Right now the challenge is getting them. We are always hiring. We don't seem to have enough people to fill our open positions," said Erica Rodriguez, Scelzi Enterprises HR manager.
Scelzi needs general laborers, welders and more.
Entry-level jobs start at $13 and go up.
Mayor Lee Brand says the job market has changed dramatically with existing companies growing and new businesses coming in.
Unemployment in Fresno is at 6.1 percent and the hourly pay is around $16 an hour.
Brand says the recent growth of e-commerce business has helped people earn above minimum wage and earn a living.
"Two people working at Ulta at $3,500 a month could qualify to buy a medium-priced home in Fresno. Those kinds of wages wouldn't cut it in Northern or Southern California, but they work in Fresno," said Mayor Brand.
His goal is to diversify the economy and add jobs.
Thursday night, employers like Scelzi will be at a job fair.
Amazon and Ulta will be hiring hundreds.
"Getting your foot in the door We are coming up on the holiday and so they are ramping up their hiring and a lot of that will be temporary but there will be an opportunity maybe to get a full-time job with one of those companies. So the Gap, Ulta, Amazon are going to be doing a lot of hiring," said Fresno Economic Develop Analyst Kelly Trevino.
Many of these jobs start above minimum wage and go up depending on experience.
For Scelzi, they say more skilled workers would help them expand their business, which ships out trucks around the country.
The job fair is tonight at Orange Center School from 6-8 p.m. People are urged to bring resumes, dress professional and they say childcare is not provided.
Gap, Ulta and Amazon hiring at southwest Fresno job fair
More TOP STORIES News


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Riding In A 'Mad Max' Car Is Uber's Latest Promotional Stunt
In its latest cool stunt, Uber partnered with Warner Bros. to chauffeur people around Seattle in cars from the movie "Mad Max."By Lexie Hammesfahr | August 31, 2015
OK, so the car service app Uber is everyone's bestie, especially since the company partnered with pet adoption facilities to bring puppies and kittens to you on demand.
And Uber has a knack for partnering with film studios to promote movies. (Video via Uber)
It's not the first time Uber has done this, and it probably won't be the last. Uber has partnered with Warner Bros. to promote the "Mad Max" video game in Seattle by offering rides in the film's post-apocalyptic cars.


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A Glass of Wine or an Hour at the Gym – You Choose!
A new study says a glass of red wine is the equivalent to an hour at the gym!
Research conducted by the University of Alberta in Canada has found that health benefits in resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, are similar to those we get from exercise.
Resveratrol was seen to improve physical performance, heart function and muscle strength in the same way as they’re improved after a gym session.
According to lead researcher, Jason Dyck, these findings will particularly help those who are unable to exercise. Discussion over the health benefits of red wine have been well documented. Studies have revealed that those who drink a glass of red wine a day are less likely to develop dementia or cancer, that it’s good for your heart, anti-ageing and can regulate blood sugar.
All thanks for this article must go to the Huffington Post


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india retail inflation for industrial workers jumps to 6.16% in january
The retail inflation for industrial workers saw a noteworthy jump last month, rising to 6.16% from 5.50% in December last year, official data released on Wednesday suggested.
While the food inflation for January stood at 5.69% compared to 4.10% the month before, the figure stood at 6.22% during the corresponding month a year before.
The year-on-year inflation for January stood at 6.16% as against 5.50% in the previous month and 5.84% in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal, a labour ministry statement underscored.
The All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers for the month surged by 0.5 points and stood at 132.8. On 1-month percentage change, CPI-IW increased by 0.38% with respect to the month before compared to a decrease of 0.24% recorded between corresponding months in the previous year, the labour ministry added.
The housing group provided the maximum upward boost in the current index, contributing 0.40 percentage points to the total change.
Entities like house rent, toilet soap, medicine allopathic, pan finished, zarda, cooked meal, egg hen, lady finger, brinjal, kundru, cumin seed/jira, orange, apple, banana, cow milk, wheat atta, and wheat were responsible for the rise in the index.
However, certain other entities like poultry chicken, sunflower oil, soybean oil, radish, tomato, green coriander leaves, onion, capsicum, french beans, peas, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, and potato put downward pressure on the index and checked the growth.


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China’s manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar sector that contributes over 30 per cent to national Gross Domestic Products, according to a World Bank report published in 2012.
Sadly in some parts of Africa, Chinese products are casually dismissed with one word; ‘fake’ and this tag seems to have stuck permanently for everything Chinese; an unfair reality.
But is this a fact or fallacy about Chinese commodities? Is everything made in China ‘fake’? Why do most Rwandan consumers regard Chinese commodities as ‘fake’ and short lasting but still buy them anyway?
In Rwanda, to buy Chinese is to invite derision from colleagues yet despite this, it’s safe to say that six out of every ten mobile phone holders are using Chinese technology.
Last month in Shanghai City, Eastern China, I witnessed something that gave me a whole new perspective about the so called ‘Chinese fakes.’ A group of African students was touring the city, walking the streets and window shopping in some of Shanghai’s top stores.
Many were resigned to just watching and satisfying their eyes for most of the shops were stores for international brands such as Gucci and the price tags for a unit are simply astronomical.
Then at a corner shop on a relaxed street, the group landed on a shop of fakes! It had everything in it, from jewelry to fancy shades to caps. The students were befuddled to learn that all the items, no matter how fancy they appeared, were priced the same, 10 yuan or $1.6 which is less than Rwf800.
The excitement on everyone’s face was comical but understandable. One lady from Djibouti was cautious, thinking it was some kind of trick to get them buy then be handed a heavier bill. The prices were too low to believe.
Initially, the plan was to just walk the streets, go pitch at a bar and have a chat over drinks. The cheap shop of fakes changed everything. Everyone picked and packed whatever item they fancied, after all they could afford to pay. Even when one of them pointed out that the items were fake, the answer came in a chorus, ‘of course’ meaning that no one really cared.
The truth about China is that the manufacturers produce for everyone in all classes. They produce for the super rich, the middle class and the poor and it’s the wallet that determines ones choices.
Li, is a salesman dealing in electronics especially phones and computers. He has a long list of African friends in China whom he has sold phones in the past. He also knows all the major capitals in Africa and his company helps many dealers secure commodities for export to Africa.
“In China you get everything, real and fake depending on the money; many of the African friends want cheap items but they also want original but original is expensive,’ he explains.
In Beijing, you just have to look at what cars people drive to understand their taste.
It is German cars with plants in China that dominate the road; the Audi, Volkswagen, and Mercedes are the popular cars here. American Brands such as Buicks and Ford are also well represented and a few Japanese cars. These German and American firms wouldn’t be here if Chinese love their goods cheap.
In the library at the Communication University of China , most students have Apple laptops and the iPhone is also prominent though Lenovo is a more popular brand. Of course all these items are made in China from plants specifically brought to China to serve the Chinese market.
The German cars, American phones and laptops made in China are as durable and good as the ones made or assembled in the home countries but they come at a price most ordinary African consumer can’t afford.
“When African importers come here, they buy cheaper goods because they say many of their customers at home can’t afford the expensive ones,” Li explains.
Clearly, there’s a market for ‘cheap goods’ in Africa and other poor parts of the world for China to serve and this explains the story of fakes. It’s fair to say that without the Chinese cheap mobile phones, many in Africa would still be digitally divided. Cheap Chinese smart phones have connected many in Rwanda to the internet.
But even inside China, with a population of about 1.4 billion people, half of these are poor rural dwellers who can’t afford Marcs and Audi. The cheaper goods are for them too, a class of consumers similar to most in Africa.
The day poverty levels in Africa go down with people picking up larger incomes, their consumption habits will gradually change as their preferences and tastes improve from cheap and short lasting to expensive and durable.
Today, Africa’s so-called ‘wealthy’ people drive second hand Japanese cars that have been dumped in Japan, this too explains that even our rich aren’t wealthy enough to buy brand new.
Again it’s fair to say that Chinese cheap goods are a relief to poor African consumers who can’t afford expensive brands.
“For everything expensive, we have it in a cheaper version’ explains Li, and that’s the way it is, because there’s demand for them.


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Many blue-chip companies have been faring well in recent weeks—especially the ones outside of tech. A few companies that have been seen as typical safe-havens during a market crisis have fared a little worse this time around during the pandemic.
One such area has been beverage companies. While people have to drink, they don’t have to at restaurants, which tend to have higher profit margins on beverages.
While that’s one area that’s lagged, analysts are starting to get bullish on the space yet again thanks to relative valuation and a move higher in shares.
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One such example is Coca-Cola (KO). The soft drink giant has been a laggard year-to-date, but has also become a play on an economic reopening with higher spending in restaurants.
Traders looking for a safe-haven from the drop in tech stocks would do well to stock up on a blue-chip laggard.
Action to take: Shares of Coke are still down 5 percent over the past year. With a 3.3 percent dividend yield, and one that grew by four cents over the prior year, it’s a strong contender for investors now, especially with interest rates at zero.
For traders looking at a new short-term uptrend, the May $52.50 calls are the closest trade that’s still out-of-the-money. Going for about $1.55, the option is likely able to notch high double-digit gains if shares get swept up in the stock market’s resurgent interest in value plays.


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Staff from Kettering’s Tesco Extra store have helped a local charity which won the vote in a scheme which makes the most out of the 5p bag charge.
EquATA (Equine Assisted Therapy Association), based in Grafton Underwood, won approval from the store’s customers in its ‘Bags For Help’ scheme.
Money made from the 5p plastic bag charge goes into funding local projects.
Staff helped out the charity with painting, staining wood, gardening and other general maintenance.
Leonie Freeman, service manager at Tesco, said: “We have built a strong relationship with Jo and Ellie from equATA and over several weeks leading up to their opening on April 25.
“We have help with painting, staining the wood on the new play fort, gardening and lots of general maintenance.
“As a team we have all found the experience most rewarding and have all enjoyed being out in the community for such a worthwhile charity.”


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Small Business Owners Going to China Directly to Avoid Supply Chain Issues
Some small business owners, fearing a lack of product before the holiday shopping season, are taking matters into their own hands when dealing with the current supply chain issue. That includes picking up products in China themselves or opening their own warehouses in crowded ports.
Five Female Founders Talk About Finding Their Way in the Outdoor Industry
As the number of outdoor enthusiasts grows across the country, the outdoor industry focused on gear, clothing, and equipment is becoming more diverse. Five women who started their own companies talk about what they have learned and how they have thrived in the still male-dominated industry.
Source: Gear Junkie
New Inclusivity Challenge Announced to Help Underserved Entrepreneurs
America’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network announced a new nationwide inclusivity initiative. Participating regional and state organizations will assess
their client communities and identify areas to improve outreach to underserved communities.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Grants and Tech Donation Program Invigorates Small Businesses
Evolve Small is an initiative focused on providing relief to small businesses recovering from the impact of Covid-19 in cities across North America. In the form of technology and grant donations, the relief will total $1 million for this year.
Source: WRAL- TV.com
Charitable Giving Can Help Businesses Year Round
Giving back to charities is popular, especially during the holiday season. Yet small businesses should consider charitable giving all year long for benefits that include tax deductions and great public relations.


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After years of hiring ripped, young men to staff dimly lit stores, Abercrombie has said that they will no longer hire staff because of their physique or physical attractiveness. This is just one of a series of changes to be made to store policies in order to focus more on customers rather than on how employees look, writes Ben Rooney for CNN.
Abercrombie moving on from former CEO’s vision
The company is attempting to update its image after CEO Michael Jeffries left his post last year. It has been argued that Jeffries hurt Abercrombie’s image rather than improving it, at least over the last few years. At one point he claimed that he only wanted “cool, good-looking people” to wear the company’s clothes, comments which were understandably met with criticism.
This year has been a record-breaking year for initial public offerings with companies going public via SPAC mergers, direct listings and standard IPOS. At Techlive this week, Jack Cassel of Nasdaq and A.J. Murphy of Standard Industries joined Willem Marx of The Wall Street Journal and Barron's Group to talk about companies and trends in Read More
Abercrombie has suffered sharply decreased sales and is struggling to steady the ship. Last year saw a 10% drop in sales in the U.S. market, and the new strategy aims to address that. “We are focused on the future not the past, and there is complete alignment that these are the right changes,” said A&F brand president Christos Angelides.
The hiring policy for store employees will now be “more inclusive and diverse,” while employees will no longer be required to wear exclusively Abercrombie clothes, which will allow them to be “more individualistic.” The changes will affect in-store staff, who were known as “models” under Jeffries but will now be called “brand representatives.”
Brand revamp continues in-store
Stores themselves will also be given a new image, moving away from the loud music, low lighting, trees and a smell of cologne which used to characterize their retail locations. There will be adjustments made to the scent, lighting, music and trees to create a “more pleasurable shopping experience.”
We will also see the end of sexualized marketing, with future store openings to be celebrated with fully clothed models. Abercrombie made a name for itself using suggestive imagery in advertising campaigns, but now it will revamp gift-cards, shopping bags and in-store advertising to tone down the raunchiness.
The brand has a lot of work to do to halt its current slide, and the new direction will have to have something special to capture the attention of teenagers.


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The Cast of 'The White Lotus' Are the Real Stars of Fashion Week
Here’s a definitive list of who, what and where.
The cast of The White Lotus are clearly the real stars of fashion week this season, with multiple cast members spotted at some of the biggest shows in Europe, sat front row no less. JW Anderson’s showcase at Milan Fashion Week saw the likes of Simona Tabasco (aka Lucia) and Sabrina Impacciatore (aka hotel manager Valentina) in attendance, while Armani’s front row featured Will Sharpe (aka Ethan Spiller) and Theo James (who plays Cameron Sullivan.)
Elsewhere, the Prada Fall/Winter 2023 showcase saw Adam DiMarco, also known as the youngest De Grasso, Albie, in attendance and looking incredibly dapper and grown up. So far, the HBO cast has made a pretty big splash in Milan and Paris, but we have a sneaky suspicion that this won’t be the last we see of them.
Scroll down to see the full list of The White Lotus stars at Fashion Week and the shows that they attended.
Impacciatore, also known as Valentina, the hotel manager, attended the recent JW Anderson Show which took place during Milan Fashion Week. Swapping her usual vibrant suits for a striking jumpsuit with black knee-high boots and of course, a JW Anderson bumper bag.
Sharpe, who plays Ethan Spiller, attended Emporio Armani’s showcase at Milan Fashion Week and sat in the front row alongside Joe Alwyn and Sophia Di Martino. The HBO star wore smart black shoes paired with raw-edged jeans and a grey overcoat.
James, who plays Cameron Sullivan, a friend of Ethan Spiller and husband of Daphne Sullivan, attended the Giorgio Armani showcase at Milan Fashion Week in a sleek black suit.
DiMarco, who plays Albie Di Grasso, attended the Prada Fall/Winter 2023 menswear showcase at Milan Fashion Week, dressed in a Prada turtleneck complete with black trousers, smart shoes and a gingham-printed coat.
Tabasco, who plays sex worker Lucia, attended the JW Anderson showcase at Milan Fashion Week in bright blue heels and a glittering off-the-shoulder dress paired with a matching JW bumper bag. The HBO star sat front row alongside Charli XCX and Emma Marrone.


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PHOENIX — Starting Oct. 26, thousands are expected at the Phoenix Convention Center for the three-day Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo.
“We are a conference dedicated to the consumer meets industry,” said Rory Mendoza, executive director of the convention.
This will be a great chance for education, job creation, business, and investment opportunities all connecting with the medical side of cannabis.
“We are expecting a good crowd, as well as very professional,” he said. “Where consumers can see what the industry is providing, and from every aspect.”
The conference has a large line up speakers, presentations and hundreds of exhibits that will educate attendee’s about the marijuana industry’s potential.
- Campus museum honors Colangelo, ‘godfather’ of Phoenix pro sports
- Tempe introduces program to give jobs, living assistance to homeless
- Frontier Airlines to start offering flights between Phoenix, Orlando
- Suspect, officer injured in Phoenix shooting, police say
- Woman rescued from Camelback Mountain after getting lost on trail


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Stories about Labor from July, 2015
"Female Food Heroes" is a Tanzanian TV show produced by Oxfam that aims to empower and educate rural women who feed most of the families in the African nation.
"It is vital to ensure that the first ever minimum wage level doesn't lock workers from one sector into poverty."
Despite a crackdown on ride-hailing apps, many still see Uber as worth the risk. For drivers, the pay is high. For passengers, the fare is cheaper than similar Chinese services.


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May. 14, 2020
Article by Norihiko Shirouzu, Reuters
Electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models, and allow…
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9 Skin Care Myths Debunked
Myth: Scrubbing your face with soap will keep your skin healthy and acne free.
"When you scrub your face, you're taking off some of the protective oils and barriers, which tends to lead to rashes and even burns," says Sandy Johnson, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Johnson Dermatology Group in Fort Smith, Ark. Instead, she says, use a gentle cleanser followed by a moisturizer or sunscreen.
Myth: It's better to get the pus out of a pimple by popping it.
"The truth is, even though it feels really good to release [the pus], a lot of it just goes in deeper," says Johnson. "When it goes in deeper, it causes more inflammation that can lead to scarring and spread under the skin. That's why you'll get another one a few days later close to the first one."
Johnson says it's crucial that people stop picking at their faces. But if you absolutely cannot resist, she says, be sure to do it right. Don't squeeze and pop the pimple. Instead, use something called a comedone extractor -- an inexpensive tool you can purchase at most beauty supply stores. Apply firm pressure with the extractor; then roll it across the pimple to take it out.
Myth: Facials and microdermabrasion are good for your skin care routine.
This is a popular myth, says Bauman, especially with the proliferation of day spas. But, Bauman says, a recent study from India concluded that facials actually cause acne breakouts in 80% of people.
"They feel good but have no long-term skin benefit beyond relaxation," she says. "Like microdermabrasion, which merely sloughs off the top layer of skin, they are a "complete and total waste of money."
Myth: Expensive skin care products work best.
"This is simply not true," Bauman, who uses popular drugstore moisturizers and sunscreen for her own skin care regimen, says. "Many mass market products are better than expensive ones."
Kim agrees. Most active ingredients found in anti-aging creams are similar, she says, whether they are sold by a local store or a fancy boutique. Expensive skin care products can be good, of course. It's just that you can usually get something similar for a lot less.
"If you want to pay for the feel, smell, and package," Kim says, "that's up to you."


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iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz has learned new details about Apple's next generation iPhone. Horwitz claims that Apple is ditching the rumored “teardrop-shaped iPhone 5” for a longer and thinner glass-bodied design. According to Horwitz, the new iPhone will be made partially from Gorilla Glass 2, and feature a flat, not curved, metal panel on the rear of the phone.
The iPhone 5 (or iPhone 6) will be longer and thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S measuring at 125mm by 58.5mm by 7.4mm - that's 10mm longer and 2mm thinner than the current models.
"The change in height will include a lengthening of the prior 3.5” screen to roughly 4” on the diagonal. As the new iPhone won’t widen, this appears to confirm that Apple will change the new iPhone’s aspect ratio for the first time since the original iPhone was introduced in 2007, adding additional pixels to the top and bottom of the screen. A change of this sort took place between the fourth and fifth generations of the iPod nano, but didn’t impact any third-party software."


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Thursday, March 28, 2013
Q&A with the co-owner of Tecoso Computer Solutions, which has been open in Ferndale for 10 years.
There are many unique and interesting businesses that call Ferndale home, from retailers and restaurants to art galleries and even businesses you might not have known existed in your own backyard. Each week, Patch will feature a Ferndale business to learn about its roots, plans for the future and more. This week, get to know Tecoso Computer Solutions, located at 122 East Nine Mile Road. The computer repair and service business, owned by Neal and Sara Flowers, will celebrate 11 years in Ferndale this June. Here's what Sara Flowers had to say in a recent interview with Patch: Sara Flowers has a background in graphic design and her husband is a computer expert, she explained. "We decided to combine our backgrounds and do one business," she …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Modern Natural Baby is one of three businesses leasing the vacant building, which will be fully renovated.
The former Dollar Castle building at 200 West Nine Mile Road will soon be home to expanding Ferndale baby boutique Modern Natural Baby. The store is currently located just a few doors down at 224 W. Nine Mile Road and is one of three businesses that will eventually occupy the space, which has been vacant since Dollar Castle closed its doors in October. Modern Natural Baby owner Emily Murray said the shop will triple its retail space with the move, which is planned for August after extensive renovations are done. "We're really excited about it," said Murray, who owns the store with her husband John Murray. Modern Natural Baby will lease about 5,300 square feet of the 12,000 square foot building and will be located in the center of the …
Family says goodbye after owning bar for 78 years.
The owners of the New Way Bar in Ferndale are saying goodbye after 78 years with the community. The bar, located at 23130 Woodward Avenue, has been sold to a new owner, the business announced this week in a message posted on its Facebook page: "After 78 years in business, our family has made the difficult decision to sell the New Way Bar. We cordially invite all of the musicians who have played over the years to stop by and lay down the groove for us one last time! We also look forward to seeing all of our friends and customers for this bittersweet occasion. New Way Bar will continue to operate under new ownership." "It's a sad day, that's for sure," owner Tina Kourtesis said in an interview Tuesday on Fox 2 News. The all day/night …
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Butcher's Daughter is expected to open in Midtown in May.
The Butcher's Daughter, a contemporary art gallery previously located at 22747 Woodward in Ferndale, is relocating to Midtown Detroit in May. The Ferndale gallery location is no longer in operation, an announcement on the gallery's web site states. Details including location and hours will be posted soon, according to the site. The Butcher's Daughter opened in 2009, focusing on the representation and sale of emerging and mid-career artists' work and hosting bi-monthly exhibitions and public events. It is owned by Monica Bowman, the daughter, granddaughter and sister of a butcher. Read more about the gallery here. Read more on Patch: Butcher's Daughter Spurs Discussion, Hope and Helps Build Community
Friday, March 22, 2013
Agora Arts will offer aerial and music classes for students of all ages and experience levels.
A new aerial, music and creative arts studio is expected to open in Ferndale early next month. Agora Arts, located at 646 East 9 Mile Road in Ferndale, will open its doors April 8. The business will offer aerial and music classes for students of all ages and experience levels. The studio will feature classes in aerial silks, trapeze and lyra, as well as Kuratomi Shindo stretching, Tae Kwon Do, yoga, hooping and private and ensemble music instruction. Agora will be the first studio in southeast Michigan to of aerial classes for children, according to director Maria Bucco. "I have always wanted to create a program that could bring positive energy and positive people into my community," Bucco said in a press release. "I grew up playing in …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Bump-a-licious is usually most popular at the Cupcake Station, but Lemon Lust wins in Ferndale.
The Cupcake Station in Ferndale has more than two dozen cupcake flavors baked fresh daily. But what's the most popular among local residents? That would be Lemon Lust, says manager Janine Souther. This is a lemon cupcake topped with tart lemon white chocolate cream cheese frosting. But Ferndale doesn't follow the trend of the Cupcake Station's other locations - Birmingham, Plymouth and Ann Arbor. The most popular flavor is usually Bump-a-licious, Souther says. Bump-a-licious is a dark chocolate cupcake with buttercream bumps, dipped in chocolate and drizzled with white chocolate. What's your favorite cupcake flavor? Tell us in the comments section below.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Bike shop owner Jon Hughes discusses his business and how he got started.
The Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop was recently featured in this video, which was produced by The Paddle. The video features bike shop owner Jon Hughes discussing his shop and how he got started in the business. Find more information on the Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop here.
Schramm's Mead will open at 327 West Nine Mile Road in Ferndale.
Schramm's Mead, a new craft meadery, is planning to open in downtown Ferndale. The business will be located at 327 W. Nine Mile Road in the former location of the Record Collector, which closed in December. Ferndale City Council approved a small wine maker license for the business on March 11. Owner Ken Schramm, who began making mead in 1989, is the author of "The Compleat Meadmaker," a reference text on meadmaking. Schramm spoke at the council meeting and said there is a trend toward small, tastier beverages made by "thoughtful entrepreneurs." "Eating and drinking better things improves our quality of life and Schramm's is all about quality over quantity," he said at the meeting. He said the business will make one 200-gallon batch of mead…
Friday, March 15, 2013
Treat Dreams debuts its new space, including an expanded kitchen and dining area.
Treat Dreams in Ferndale debuted its new expanded space on Friday at a grand re-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ice cream shop has tripled its dining space and expanded its kitchen to meet a growing demand in the store and at community events, food truck rallies and more. "We would like to thank all of our loyal customers that have allowed us to take this next step," Treat Dreams owner Scott Maloney said in a press release. "Hopefully this new makeover and expansion will result in an even better Treat Dreams experience for our guests." The larger space has new furniture, a kids area and windows for customers to view the expanded kitchen. The space also allows Treat Dreams to expand its on-site ice cream making events including its…
Modern Natural Baby needs diapers for a new window display and is offering customers 20 cents store credit for each diaper they bring in.
When Modern Natural Baby put the word out earlier this week that they needed disposable diapers for a new window display project, customers were quick to respond. Over the past few days more than 1,500 diapers have been brought into the downtown Ferndale store, which is giving customers 20 cents in store credit for each diaper. "We've had a huge response to this," said owner Emily Murray. "I'm shocked ... we had no idea that we would get this many this fast." Murray is hoping to collect 3,800 diapers to use for the window display, which she says will "make a really good statement." If all goes as planned, the display will be ready by April 20 - the date the store will take part in this year's Great Cloth Diaper Change. Many customers are …


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AMD have introduced a new chip to replace FX-4100. Said to be cheaper, faster and cooler - is this too good to be true?"
A quick patch update to Windows can extend the useful life of a PC. To take the fear out of Upgrading Windows 98 to Windows XP, rely on this guide. - PCSTATS Tips


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Express Scripts yesterday sweetened its $26.1 billion offer for Caremark Rx, a fellow drug-benefit manger, but cautioned that the bid would be delayed by further regulatory scrutiny.
The company’s announcement came as the Delaware Chancery Court declined to postpone a shareholder vote on a rival $25.7 billion bid from CVS, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain. Express Scripts is now fighting the clock as well as Caremark, which has pressed its shareholders to support the CVS bid at an investors’ meeting on March 16.
As an enticement to Caremark shareholders, Express Scripts said it would pay an additional 6 percent a year on the cash portion of its offer, which was announced in December. That payment, called a "ticking fee" in the parlance of corporate deals, would begin to accrue on April 1 and continue through the closing of a transaction with Express Scripts or 45 days after regulators’ approval, whichever comes first.
Express Scripts’ offer, at $29.25 cash and the rest in stock, now values Caremark at $61.10 a share. Yesterday, the Caremark shares closed at $61.30.
Express Scripts also said yesterday that it expected the Federal Trade Commission to issue a second request for information on its bid. Such requests are not unusual when two of the biggest companies in an industry propose combining, though some analysts say that antitrust concerns are reducing the appeal of Express Scripts’ higher offer for Caremark.Continue reading the main story
Earlier, Express Scripts pulled its offer from regulators and refiled in an effort to gain time and stave off additional scrutiny.
Still, the company said it was confident that it could complete an acquisition of Caremark by the third quarter of the year.
“This enhanced offer demonstrates our commitment to this transaction and confidence in our ability to consummate it in a timely manner,” George Paz, the chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
In a statement of its own, CVS said, “Today’s announcement by Express Scripts validates the risky and highly conditional nature of its takeover offer, and serves as a stark reminder to Caremark shareholders of the substantial deficiencies in the Express Scripts bid.”
A spokesman for Caremark declined to comment.
The F.T.C. did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
In a ruling yesterday afternoon, William B. Chandler III, the head of the Delaware Chancery Court, said he would not block Caremark’s shareholder vote on the CVS deal.
Late last month, he ruled that Caremark investors had a right to an appraisal of the company’s worth, and that the company had to disclose the fees it was paying to bankers. Caremark subsequently delayed its shareholder meeting by one week to satisfy those requirements.
In raising its bid, Express Scripts seeks to prolong an already tough battle for Caremark, a rival twice its size. Both it and CVS, based in Woonsocket, R.I., have exchanged barbed remarks as they sought to woo shareholders.
Since announcing its bid in December, Express Scripts has called on Caremark’s management to meet and discuss the offer. Caremark has so far refused, saying the proposed deal with CVS was a better one.
Under pressure from investors and analysts who criticized its original bid as too low, CVS has twice raised its offer through a special cash dividend to Caremark shareholders.
Citing lower drug costs and higher growth, Express Scripts revised its earnings guidance for 2007, raising the forecast to a range of $4.14 to $4.26 a share.Continue reading the main story


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Driving relevance means driving growth. Join global brands and industry thought leaders at Brandweek, Sept. 11–14 in Miami, for actionable takeaways to better your marketing. 50% off passes ends April 10.
To find its next batch of new talent, McDonald’s is turning to Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant.
One of the world’s most recognizable brands has a new global recruitment campaign, “Made at McDonald’s,” and with it the first voice recruitment skill called McDonald’s Apply Thru to help people apply to jobs at the QSR chain.
With a simple “Alexa, help me get a job at McDonald’s” or “Hey Google, talk to McDonald’s Apply Thru,” people in nine countries can start the process for applying to a job through the voice assistants.


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OKLAHOMA — According to the FBI, a home burglary occurs an average every 20 seconds in the U.S., and there is an increase in the summer months, due in part to families heading out on vacation while the children are out of school.
Fortunately, the latest connected home devices can provide vacationers with remote access to monitor and manage a variety of functions to help keep their homes secure, no matter where their travels lead.
“It used to be that vacationers stopped the mail and arranged for someone to pick up the newspapers and mow the lawn to give the appearance of being home,” said Jeff Heeley, director of sales, corporate-owned channel for U.S. Cellular in Oklahoma. “Now there is a host of additional ways to remotely protect your home with today’s cutting-edge connected devices that can be accessed anytime, anywhere via a smartphone such as the iPhone 7 and our high quality nationwide network.”
Almost one third of smartphone owners recently surveyed by U.S. Cellular said they use their device to control their home security system, lighting or other smart home technology at least once a day, with 48 percent doing so once a month or more. Following are some of the devices that U.S. Cellular recommends for vacation bound consumers to provide some peace of mind all is well on the home front.
* Nest cam indoor: Never worry about what is going on back home again. Nest Cam allows vacationers to look after the house 24/7 with live video and a 160-degree wide-angle view, all from a smartphone. It even provides phone alerts if motion or sound are detected, so homeowners instantly know if anything is amiss.
* NEst protect: While no one wants to deal with a fire or other issue when away from home, fast response time can greatly impact the outcome and help minimize damage. Just knowing that Nest can send instant phone alerts for smoke and carbon-monoxide, while also calling attention to a low battery or sensor failure, can make it easier to relax and enjoy the time away.
* Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener: Ever been hundreds of miles into a trip and worried whether the garage door was left open? In the event that it was, or is opened at any point while the homeowner is away, MyQ Garage Door Opener will send an alert, and the garage door can be closed remotely via a Samsung Galaxy S7 or other tablet.
* Incipio Commandkit wireless smart light bulb adapter with dimming: With this smart technology, there are no more worries about forgetting to switch off the lights or fumbling with multiple timers to control the lights to give the impression someone’s home. Simply use the app to toggle specific lights or an entire home with integrated Siri voice commands for effortless accessibility.
* Ring video doorbell: This handy device enables home owners to respond to someone at the door, even when they’re not home. With Ring video doorbell, see, hear and speak to anyone who stops by the house, and always know when a package arrives.
Ranging in price from less than $20 to around $200, these devices can go a long way towards ensuring a more relaxing vacation.


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Three of South Africa's top retailers reveal strong trading results
Three of South Africa’s biggest retailers have released trading figures in the months running up to Christmas and all have shown strong growth.
Massmart, Shoprite and Woolworthspublish trading updates, retailanalysis.igd.com rounds up how they have performed.
Shoprite said that in the 26-week period to 25 December, total sales rose by 14.0% to ZAR71.3 bn (US$5.3 bn), aided by like-for-like growth of 8.6%.
The retailer said that it remained pleased by the performance of its operations in its home market, where its supermarkets saw total sales rise by 10.7%, boosted by ‘good festive trading’. Shoprite said that in its home market it had seen like-for-like sales grow 7.4%, with internal inflation averaging out at the same figure.
And at its supermarkets outside South Africa, Shoprite said that sales grew between 32.3% and 51.7% at constant currencies – driven by higher inflation and like-for-like sales growth of 14.2%.
Massmart has announced total sales growth of 7.7%, to ZAR91.2 bn (US$6.7 bn) for the 52-week period to 25 December. The pace of sales growth was driven by a rise in comparable store sales of 5.4%, while Massmart estimated product inflation at 6.7%. The retailer said that while there was a slight recovery for its operations in South Africa, this was offset by a decline in sales growth outside its home market.
Woolworths said that in the 26-week period to 25 December group sales rose 6.7%, with the figure boosted by its food sales and the acquisition of Australia-based David Jones.
Food sales increased by 9.5%, with price movement of 9.2%, while the retailer noted that comparable store sales increase by 5.6% and net retail space grew by 7.9%. The pace of sales growth announced by Woolworths underlines a marked slowdown from the previous year, with Woolworths blaming the exclusion of Boxing Day from the first-half figures for part of this.


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Chia Hsin Cement Greater China Holding Corp plans to more than triple cement production capacity by 2006, in part by acquiring producers hurt by China’s macroeconomic controls, an executive said. The current tightening ’has actually opened up a huge window for acquisition opportunities,’ Executive Director Elizabeth L Wang told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview. ’If the tightening measures don’t loosen, then those targets’ financial situations only get more and more difficult. Then we would have more bargaining power,’ she said.
The Hong-Kong listed company may spend US$10m to expand its sales network, and an unspecified amount to acquire stakes in cement companies, Wang said. Chia Hsin is looking to expand its sales and production in the northern and southern coastal areas from its sales base in the central Yangtze River Delta region. The company’s production base is in China. The company aims to raise annual production capacity to at least 10Mt by the end of 2006, from about 3Mt currently, Wang said. Chia Hsin has passed government environmental and financial inspections, Wang also said.
Local media reported this month an official at the agency in charge of China’s state-owned companies saying that overinvestment in China’s cement manufacturing sector is creating a ’potential crisis’ for the industry. China’s investment crackdown has weakened cement demand from makers of ’ready-mix’ concrete - which is often used in real-estate projects, she added. ’The real-estate side has been hit, that’s pretty clear. From that you can see the ready-mix concrete business faced really, really tough times’ from March to May, Wang said. As a result, Chia Hsin plans to increase cement sales to government infrastructure projects such as highways and bridges to 30% of its total sales in the next 12 months, up from about 20% in September, and 15% at end-2003.
Looking ahead, Chia Hsin aims to export 20% of its product by the end of 2006, up from less than 1% currently. The company is considering exporting more to Taiwan, Japan and the US. The ultimate goal is to diversify risk,’ she said.
China now has 4000 to 4500 cement producers, down from more than 9000 in the early 1990s, Wang said. ’As a foreign player and looking at the trend, we see the market will be consolidating and going toward high-grade cement,’ Wang said.
Market share of China’s top 10 cement manufacturers was 11.4% in the first half of 2004, a Chia Hsin document citing China Construction Material Association data shows. Lafarge said this month it plans to double capacity at two of its plants in China to meet strong demand. Anhui Conch Cement is now the largest cement maker in China’s fragmented market.
Chia Hsin’s first-half profit jumped 81% to US$12.3 million from the previous year, spurred by China’s rapid economic growth. Its revenue rose 25% to US$44.1 million over the same period. But Chia Hsin’s profitability in the second half may be ’slightly weaker’ than in the first half, Wang said.


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Swanky Dallas neighborhood crowned one of the trendiest in the world
Forty million people can't be wrong. That's how many travelers Airbnb estimates used its service in 2015, and the hospitality company has taken their feedback to make a list of the world's 16 trendiest neighborhoods to visit. And guess what's on it? Oak Lawn.
The high-end neighborhood ranks No. 11, with a 260 percent growth in Airbnb visitors. It's one of only three U.S. neighborhoods to land on the list, joining Kaneohe on Oahu, Hawaii at No. 8 and Poncey-Highland in Atlanta, Georgia at No. 12.
"Airbnb travelers are more intrepid when it comes to trying new neighborhoods, and in doing so they set travel trends to areas little visited before," says Airbnb's head of hospitality, Chip Conley, in a release. "Not only does this boost business to local coffee shops and small businesses that haven’t benefited from tourism in the past, it also helps people to experience cities through a true local lens."
Chūō-ku in Osaka, Japan, claims the No. 1 spot, with a whopping 700 percent growth. Neighborhoods from France, Greece, Thailand, and Australia also populate the list, which was made after analyzing travel data first to regions, then countries, metros, and down to neighborhoods. The availability and level of art, food, outdoor experiences, and shopping also influenced the outcome.
The whole idea of Airbnb is to escape the traditional downtown districts and become immersed in communities and their people. Last year the company took that idea one step further by encouraging homebuyers to take their potential new neighborhoods for test runs before plunking down cash or signing any contracts.


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Take some time off work, go on vacation and have sex with your significant other — because mom told you to.
On Tuesday, Danish travel agency Spies Rejser used a very real problem — the country’s aging population — to urge people to book a trip.
The ad is a follow-up to the agency’s “Do It For Denmark” spot, in which the travel company encouraged Danes to go abroad and conceive. But this time, instead of just asking Danes to go on holiday and help their country increase its birth rate, Spies Rejser is calling on their broody mothers to read more >>>
Source : HuffingtonPost.Com


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JOICO, ON24 and Beth Minardi Help Hairstylists 'Rewind'
SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --ON24, the global leader in webinars and virtual communication solutions, has announced that it is powering an exclusive webcast for international hair care company JOICO. ON24's Webcast Elite solution is the platform for JOICO's June 16 "Beth Minardi Exclusive: Learn the 'NEW' Rewind Technique" webinar, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
In this webcast, hair coloring expert and industry "rock star" Beth Minardi will take the audience of JOICO salon professionals through an in-depth, 60-minute introduction to her exclusive "Rewind Technique," which enables professionals to gently transition a client's over-lightened hair to a deeper level and tone and build their businesses with JOICO products.
Teaching the "Rewind Technique" via an ON24 webcast is just one example of the many ways that JOICO demonstrates its ongoing commitment to salon customers. With each new product release, thousands of salon customers around the world need to be trained, and the JOICO team has learned that online training, rather than field staff-led training, best serves the education and convenience needs of artists/colorists.
However, JOICO's early efforts at online training were not successful, because the company experienced significant performance and scalability issues with its webcasting vendors. After trying three different webcasting solutions that didn't meet their needs including the ability to scale for live viewing and delivery of reliable on-demand performance JOICO turned to ON24, with great results. Another recent webcast featuring Beth Minardi captured record-breaking registrations, scaled well past 1,000 live users, and continues to generate thousands of on-demand views for the company, advancing both JOICO's training program and worldwide brand.
"Our confidence in the ON24 webinar platform gives JOICO the flexibility to be more creative with content and deliver more innovative training," commented Patrick Bruner, Communications Project Manager for JOICO. "With ON24, we can more easily spread the word about our products and show our commitment to making hair care professionals successful rather than worrying about performance or scalability issues."
"Webinars are increasingly being adopted by companies of all sizes in a variety of industries including health and beauty because they offer producers many unique benefits," explained ON24's Lars Christensen, Vice President of Marketing. "ON24's patented webinar platform provides global scale, reach and reliability, and JOICO is successfully leveraging its power to train customers and, ultimately, drive product adoption and revenue."
Interested artists/colorists can register now for JOICO's "Learn the 'NEW' Rewind Technique" webinar featuring Beth Minardi: http://bit.ly/1oL908K
About ON24, Inc.
ON24 is the global leader in cloud-based solutions for webcasting and virtual communications. ON24 offers a broad and innovative product portfolio accessible from any device and supported by industry-leading reporting and analytics. More than 1,000 organizations, including IBM, CA Technologies, Merck, JPMorgan Chase, Deloitte, Credit Suisse, Rosetta Stone, Ernst & Young and SAP, rely on ON24. Applications for the ON24 platform include demand generation, customer engagement, talent development and town hall meetings. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices throughout the world. For more information, visit http://www.on24.com.
Copyright 2014 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved
Related Keywords:Internet Media, webcast,


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On Tuesday, at a meeting of shareholders of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer as the CEO of Microsoft's expressed intention to develop Windows 8 for smartphones. Ballmer responded to questions about whether we have seen the post-PC era and began to respond by saying that there will always be in the era of Windows. He added that Microsoft plans to "bring the windows to mobile phones with Windows 8".
While Microsoft has stated the goal is to unify the desktop and mobile platforms, there is no Windows version 8 to discuss the handset-until now. And while the Windows version 8 which will be used on a smartphone will probably be a lot different than the one on the PC, most likely they will share with the NT kernel is the heart of Microsoft's desktop OS.
If a smartphone running Windows 8 starts, it will be easier to port software such as Microsoft applications between devices. Earlier this year, Microsoft said it would develop a Windows version 8 for tablet and it will not adopt an OS for mobile devices such as other people have done (IOS, Android). Speculation is Samsung, HTC and others have been working on a tablet that will run on Windows 8.


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In a collaboration with crypto ATM provider Coinme, the retail behemoth is now providing bitcoin at 200 of its Coinstar kiosks. We double-checked that it was genuine.
Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue, is letting customers buy bitcoin at dozens of its United States stores.
Customers may buy cryptocurrencies through Coinstar ATMs located throughout the retailer's massive large box stores. On Oct. 12, a CoinDesk editor tested the service by purchasing a modest quantity of Bitcoin at a Pennsylvania Walmart.
Walmart communications director Molly Blakeman told CoinDesk via email that "Coinstar, in cooperation with Coinme, has launched a pilot that allows its customers to use cash to purchase bitcoin." "This pilot includes 200 Coinstar kiosks that are positioned within Walmart shops across the United States."
Coinstar is most recognised for letting customers to exchange coins for cash, gift cards, or paper bills. Coinme, a cryptocurrency wallet and payment company that specialised in bitcoin ATMs, has made it possible to buy bitcoin (BTMs).
A paper voucher is given once bills are inserted into the machine. Before the voucher can be redeemed, you must first create a Coinme account and pass a know-your-customer (KYC) check. According to the Coinstar website, which was verified by CoinDesk, the machine costs a 4% fee for bitcoin and a 7% fee for cash exchange.
Following a hoax last month in which a bogus press release claimed that litecoin (LTC) would be accepted as payment at Walmart stores, CoinDesk tested the service out of an abundance of caution.
The bitcoin-Bentonville link is real this time. According to a source familiar with the pilot, the Litecoin fiasco has deterred Walmart, based in Bentonville, Ark., from publishing a press announcement.
Bitcoin ATMs on the rise
The cryptocurrency ATM market is rapidly growing, spurred in part by the COVID pandemic. In response to a surge in usage, Coinstar announced intentions to treble its fleet of 3,500 Coinme BTMs by 2020.
Coinstar, which began offering bitcoin-buying services with Coinme in early 2019, has recently added 300 bitcoin-enabled ATMs to Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Más, Harveys, and other Florida grocery stores.
But Walmart, which has long been regarded as the crown jewel in the mainstreaming of crypto financial services, has taken another step forward – even if the 200-kiosk experiment is pocket change for a corporation with 4,700 stores and a market capitalization of $409 billion.
Given Walmart's shared connections with Coinme and MoneyGram, the possibility for crypto-enabled financial services for lower-income users is alluringly close, but the store did not explain further on its crypto aspirations.
Concerns about compliance
While large-scale BTM rollouts may boost acceptance, money laundering risks remain, according to Seth Sattler, compliance director at BTM supplier DigitalMint.
This is because some crypto ATM operators ignore the relatively high degree of criminal activity attracted by the machines, he claims. Money mules, people traffickers, and other con artists fall within this category.
DigitalMint has rejected and returned $5 million to fraud victims in the last 18 months, despite accounting for only 5% of overall BTM transaction volume, said Sattler, who is also a significant contributor to the Cryptocurrency Compliance Cooperative, which was recently formed.
In an interview, Sattler stated, "Large retailers need to make sure they know the vendor they're getting into bed with and what that organisation is doing to manage risk."
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KISSIMEE, FL: New products often have less than two months to prove themselves in stores, putting pressure on brands to gather data showing their impact on categories and consumers at speed, a leading executive has argued.
Henry Giddens Jr., director/consumer strategy and insights at Müller Quaker Dairy's – a joint venture between PepsiCo and the Theo Müller Group – outlined the challenge at the IRI Summit 2014.
Müller Quaker rolled out its Müller Corner, Greek Corner and FrütUp lines across America during the first seven months of last year, and was all too aware of the extremely intense competition for shelf space.
"Retailers are starting to make calls six weeks after launch in terms of how you're doing and whether or not you're going to be around in six months," said Giddens. (For more, including how Müller Quaker built its strategy for the US market, read Warc's exclusive report: How Müller adapted to the American market.)
"So we really needed to come back to them and say, 'Hey: here's the story that we promised you pre-launch; now here's what's happening in-market, and we're making good on that.'"
That objective was complicated by the fact both the Theo Müller Group – one of Europe's premier dairy firms – and PepsiCo were entering new territory, and were thus effectively building a new data pipeline.
"We were really starting from scratch in a lot of ways," is the way Giddens described the situation to the conference audience.
Only six weeks after the national launch, Müller Quaker thus leveraged an IRI research platform that integrated sales figures with detailed insights about how shoppers viewed the sector, and drilled down into the attributes they valued about each brand.
Moreover, the system provided forecasts of the incremental sales that could be generated for retailers, and from where Müller could steal share – thus giving the company powerful ammunition to make its case to retailers.
With an estimated $95.8 million in annual sales for 2013 as a whole, Müller Yoghurt was also named among the top ten launches in the food and beverage category for last year.
Data sourced from Warc, IRI


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European hemp stakeholders came away upbeat from a meeting with European Commission officials yesterday as they seek to reverse recent food rule changes that could upend the hemp food business across the continent.
“We launched a good dialogue for sound negotiations with the Commission and Member States today,” Lorenza Romanese, Managing Director of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) told HempToday after the meeting with a working group of the EC’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF). “We have something to work on together.”
Language in rules affecting CBD, updated Jan. 20 in the EC’s Novel Food Catalogue, could put a crushing burden on European hemp food producers because novel foods undergo a more strict and costly compliance regime than other foods. The situation threatens to disrupt the entire – and fast-growing – hemp food business throughout EU Member State markets, Romanese warned the committee at the outset of an EIHA presentation on the situation.
Handicapping EU players
The changes also would handicap EU enterprises on the global stage at the very moment when leading hemp nations such as Canada, the United States, China and non-EU member Switzerland are rapidly advancing, Romanese told the PAFF session.
Calling for a reconsideration of the Catalogue update, EIHA warned the newly written rules will:
- Bring the “end of the internal (EU) market, creating a vacuum which will be filled by the grey market” as a Dutch study shows 54% of consumers are willing to buy CBDs it even if they are illegal.
- Lead to “loss of market control” and the risk that products that do not meet safety, labeling and other compliance standards.
- Mean the loss of jobs in hemp production, processing and sales.
- Cause loss of all the environmental benefits of cultivating hemp across the Union.
Defining ‘novel food’
The EU defines novel food as food that was not consumed to a considerable degree by citizens of the EU prior to 1997, when the first regulation on novel food came into force. Novel food can be newly developed, innovative food, food produced using new technologies and production processes, and food traditionally eaten outside the EU. The regulation requires such foods be safe and be properly labeled so as not to mislead consumers, among other requirements. The upshot for food producers is a more burdensome marketplace as novel foods undergo stringent and costly authorization requirements.
Hemp flower products such as hempseed and hempseed oil (extract) are authorized novel foods under EU rules, exempt from registration due to demonstrated consumption in Member States prior to May 1997.
But the recent language changes to the Novel Food Catalogue state that “extracts of Cannabis sativa L. and derived products containing cannabinoids, including Cannabidiol (CBD), are considered novel foods as a history of consumption has not been demonstrated.”
During the March 12 session, however, EIHA rebutted that argument, for starters citing a Nova Institute survey (1997) ordered by the EU Commission in which 23 companies from across Europe reported a total of more than 255 tons of hemp-based foods as having been produced before 1997. Those products obviously contained CBD, the EIHA contends.
EIHA board member Daniel Kruse, who also addressed the PAFF session, said the committee was “very open, very positive.”
“They were impressed by the evidence we brought to them. It’s clear they understand that the Member States will have to reconsider this matter,” said Kruse, a 25-year hemp industry veteran and CEO at Hempro Int. GmbH & Co. KG, and HempConsult GmbH, both of Dusseldorf.
Hemp soup for the Pope
EIHA presented specific examples from historical sources in Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden showing that CBD-laden hemp has been consumed on the continent for centuries – even citing a recipe for a hemp dish from the Vatican chef during the Papacy of Pope Martin V in the early 15th century.
The crowdsourcing of that information proved galvanizing for the Association members and other stakeholders who contributed, EIHA’s Romanese said.
“It was a great response from the EIHA members who helped collect all the evidence in the last weeks.” she said. “During the EIHA General Meeting last week, we agreed with members to keep collecting evidence to broaden our knowledge, and strengthen our position that hemp – always containing CBD – has been eaten in Europe throughout history,” Romanese said. “There’s nothing ‘novel’ about it.”
Romanese said EIHA will push the pace of decision making by following up with the Commission in the next weeks.
Reasonable rules can avoid a ‘shitstorm’
The following are remarks by Daniel Kruse, Board Member, European Industrial Hemp Association before the European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF), March 12, 2019 – Brussels.
Dear Member States,
Thank you for giving EIHA, our association, the opportunity to be in dialog with you, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.
My name is Daniel Kruse, a board member of the EIHA and a veteran of the hemp business for 26 years.
Due to this hemp business, hard work and good investments I am financially secure and could retire tomorrow. I am telling you this to make it very clear that my personal case is not about more profit. In fact my case is about legality of industrial hemp products, consumers health and a free European market.
Obviously, hemp flower as a vegetable has been farmed, used, processed and consumed for thousands of years. It is one of the oldest crops of mankind.
Obviously, due to 70 years of discrimination and prohibition of all kind of cannabis products including industrial hemp, product developments in the recent years sound new to you – but they are for sure not. Meanwhile just one single part of the worldwide hemp industry, the modern market of hemp extracts and CBD products in North-America, is worth billions of dollars. Since 2011 the North American CBD market has proven it is possible to yield safe and healthy food and food supplements.
Obviously, there have been so called “cowboys” in the very beginning of the market, riding for the fast profit. But meanwhile the market regulated itself.
Three years ago the “CBD boom” crossed over to Europe.
EIHA wants to work with the commission and the member states to have a safe and regulated but successful hemp market in Europe. EIHA wants to ensure the safety of the consumer and at the same time establish a professional European hemp industry. We are not only talking about billions of Euros turnover, we are talking about additional income for farmers and new jobs for the working class. But additionally, we also talk about the political idea of a free European market.
Europe is built on the idea of a united liberal market as well as united liberal people.
I do consider myself a European first, and then a German. I show this by wearing a blue tie every time I come to Brussels – as Mr. Verstraete will confirm.
As a European I urge you to stop the discrimination of industrial hemp and create sound scientific, legally correct and liberal regulations.
The demand for hemp products, hemp extracts and CBD oils is real.The information and knowledge regarding their health benefits is public.
Due to the internet and globalization, the success story of the American hemp industry is known to the European people.
Please take this not only as a forecast but also as a fact: that if we do not find together a sound scientific, reasonable and realistic regulation for our market, the European hemp industry and the European people will find a way to make them hear: By press and media and “shitstorms” louder and more stormy than you have ever heard.
And does Europe really need more unsatisfied people looking at Brussels? I believe we already have enough “exits” and right wing propaganda against the European idea.
Our hemp industry, similar to the natural food and food supplements industry, makes profit by keeping customers healthy. Surely there is an industry out there that makes profits by having sick customers. Hoping that this other industry is not having direct influence on the current discussed regulations, it might create doubts and uncertainty regarding the benefits of our natural products. There might be a conflict of interest.
It is up to you and us to find the legal and correct way to handle hemp products comparable to other food and food supplement products with a similar history to hemp – like valerian, garlic and hops.
I’m sure you will agree that this is in the best interest of Europe!


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According to the Austin Board of REALTORS, December 2012 marked the 19th straight month of increasing home sales in the Austin Area. There were also more home sales in December 2012 than any other December since 2006. Sales volume and total dollar volume increased by 17percent and 35 percent respectively from the same month in 2011. 2012 was the strongest year for the Austin Real Estate Market since 2006. The median sales price for homes in Austin for December 2012 was $210,000 which is an 11 percent increase from December 2011.
In 2012 total home sales were 19 percent higher than 2011, the median home price increased by 6 percent. Homes also spent an average of 15 fewer days on the market in 2012 than they did in 2011. Total dollar volume of sales increased by 26 percent from 2011 to 2012. All of this is good news for sellers and it looks like the Austin Real Estate market will be able to carry this momentum through to 2013 and continue this upward trend.
If you're interested in becoming a part of the booming Austin real estate market, contact us today to learn more about purchasing a home in Austin!


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With the increase of bite-size portions of information, it’s no surprise that startups are trying to figure out the best model for long-form journalism on the web. Like the Kickstarter project Matter, U.K. startup PostDesk is looking to provide quality long-form content and discussion online. Unlike Matter, which charges readers 99 cents per article, articles on PostDesk are free thanks to launch partners and sponsors for different sections.
PostDesk bills itself as a place for “independent long form content such as in-depth news, reviews, investigative journalism, analysis, critique and controversial opinion pieces.” The site is community oriented and seeks to provide an online space not only for reading but for conversation on the issues it covers: tech, gaming, business, culture and politics. Content is produced in-house, but also includes submitted content through links. According to BetaKit, it will pay its contributors through a revenue-sharing model.
Sam England, founder and project manager, told The Next Web that the startup is still exploring ways to monetize content through syndication, although it has already built a “solid revenue model” with its launch partners and sponsors. And though it aims to be a source of high-quality long-form news, it also aims to go against traditional journalism—“no regurgitation of press releases, no traditional editorial hierarchy,” said a blog post introducing the project. Its blog appeals to writers for opinion, analysis, reviews, critiques and feature articles, and says “anyone with views, opinions and ideas to share” is eligible to contribute. So if you’re looking for a platform for your long-form work, check out how you can contribute here.


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The extra risks for the seller under the D rules
With the seller not only contracting for carriage to the buyer's country but also contracting for delivery to occur there - the difference between the C rules and the D rules - the seller not only bears the transit risk but potentially puts itself in jeopardy of breaching the sales contract.
“Africa is the future”: all eyes turn to the youngest continent as the next frontier for growth
With commodities like food and energy resources scarcening in the face of climate change and the Ukraine-Russia conflict, all eyes are turning towards Africa as a possible solution.
The acceleration towards green and renewable energy through cutting ties with Russian gas
Conflict with Russia has created a multitude of substantial repercussions for economies around the world, not least an ongoing disruption within the global energy market.
UK halts all fuel supplies from Russia, reports ONS
In addition to the joint sanctions placed on Moscow by the UK and other NATO countries in February, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures have confirmed that UK private energy firms no longer import any oil or gas from Russia.
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