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A prediction for the upcoming year
December 4, 2013,
Reading economic forecasts and seeing different educated opinions is not bad, but trying to figure out what is going on in Washington and then how it will impact the economy is mindwarping.
Even so, anything is easier than trying to forecast in an economic free-fall as we had to do in the late 2008 or after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Truthfully, while there is a lot of whining about the economy, most of our industry's key inputs are positive, a rare occurrence.
Housing continues to improve. Starts in the September quarter were up 19% year-toyear, with permits +11%, completions +12.1%, new home sales +12.6%, existing home sales +13.2% and private residential construction spending +18.7%.
While not the 20% level seen in earlier this year, these are versus improving housing numbers in the second half of last year. The mix of home sales is better, too. Distressed home sales are 12.0% of the total, half the level a year ago. Home prices are 11.7% above year ago and should encourage more home sellers.
Housing starts will exceed 1 million units next year and existing home sales will near 5 million units, both almost to prerecession levels.
We added more than 200,000 jobs since last month, a level we have been hoping for since the recession. While we doubt the unemployment rate will fall below 7% this year, job creation is picking up, finally.
GDP (first guess) was +2.8% in the September quarter, up from +2.5% in the earlier quarter. Back-to-back 2% GDP gains have been hard to find recently and 3% GDP growth is expected by many economists in 2014.
The federal deficit is way too high but the decline in war spending plus the growing economy are causing it to lessen.
Inflation remains low, as do interest rates. While mortgage rates are up to 4.3%, no one should complain.
Consumer confidence is well above recession levels, but bouncing in reaction to the latest health care debate, scandal, threat or bluster from Washington. The feared government shutdown turned out to be a yawn and other brinkmanship has grown stale with American consumers.
After a horrible start in the first quarter of the year, furniture and mattress sales have been getting better, although not for everyone everywhere. For the year, 2013 will turn out to be respectable, not the disaster it seemed in March.
I cannot guarantee you a much better 2014, but I expect it to show further furniture and mattress gains as consumers finally get around to spending on their homes. Thank heavens.
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3M pledges to source 100% renewable electricity
Multinational consumer goods, healthcare and industry firm 3M has become the latest corporate to join The Climate Group's RE100 initiative, pledging to source 100% renewable electricity for its global operations.
The 100% ambition has been set on an ongoing basis, with an interim aim of sourcing at least 50% of 3M’s power demand from renewables having been set on Monday (4 March).
As a first step towards the targets, 3M will switch all power used at its global headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota, with renewably generated electricity by the end of this week. The 409-acre complex consists of 30 buildings, which support more than 12,000 employees.
3M currently meets 5% of its global electricity demand with renewables, through a combination of onsite generation and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with external wind and solar farms. By switching its headquarters to 100% renewables, that proportion will increase to around 30%. The switch is being facilitated through a partnership between 3M and utility giant Xcel Energy, which generates and supplies clean power across eight Western and Midwestern states.
“By flipping the switch to becoming powered 100% by renewable energy, we are continuing to step up our leadership toward a more sustainable future – in our own operations and in solutions for our customers,” 3M’s chief executive Mike Roman said.
“By joining RE100 and switching to 100% renewable electricity globally, 3M is building sustainability into its business growth strategy and showing the two go hand-in-hand,” The Climate Group’s chief executive Helen Clarkson added.
“Seeing such a large manufacturer commit to go all in on renewables to produce sustainable new products is an encouraging step forward.”
3M’s approach to sustainability has been recognised in numerous reports and rankings, notably the S&P Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) – considered the gold standard for corporative environmental, social and governance (ESG).
The company has already surpassed its 2025 goal of halving its carbon emissions against a 2002 baseline while growing the business, for example, after recording a 64% reduction in emissions between 2002 and 2014.
In a bid to spread its sustainability message beyond its operations, 3M has also expanded its range of products which enable consumers to generate and store renewable power at their homes and offices, including small-scale solar arrays. During 2018, these products helped customers to mitigate more than 13 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
More recently, the firm introduced a requirement that all products should be redesigned with built-in “sustainability value”. Under this commitment, all new product lines will be required to have at least one sustainability “success story” to tell which is “appropriate to the specific product” for its entire life-cycle. In total, 3M releases 1,000 new product lines every year.
Clean power surges
As of November 2018, 155 companies across 140 global markets had joined the RE100 initiative, with the group collectively sourcing 188TWh of clean power annually. RE100 members leverage a combined annual revenue of $4.5trn or 5% of global GDP, making the group a powerful source of financing for clean energy infrastructure.
More broadly, Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has estimated that corporates obtained 13.4GW of clean energy through PPAs in 2018, more than doubling the record set in the previous year. This progress was largely driven by firms headquartered in the US and across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

domain: news


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The life and times of Smokey the Bear—and the cause he made famous.
Privacy experts say it's time tried-and-true tactics change.
Zev Norotsky knows when to say no to projects.
Recent AI breakthroughs have expanded the technology's design potential.
Brands are shelling out big money for Thursday’s farewell—and looking for its successor.
Adweek's James Cooper on his 21 years with the brand.
Opinion: A challenge for both marketers and brands.
He led a dramatic turnaround for the agency in 2018.
Younger and older Gen Xers have different social media habits.
As focused on culture as she is metrics, the senior director of digital activation embodies her agency's name.


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TOKYO, JAPAN - During his mid-year CEO speech, Honda Chief Executive Takanobu Ito revealed that Honda plans to sell a plug-in hybrid vehicle and a battery-powered electric model in Japan and the United States in 2012, Reuters reported.
A new plug-in hybrid system for mid-size to larger vehicles is now under development. Vehicles equipped with this new system are scheduled to go on sale in 2012 in Japan and the U.S.
In addition, Honda is developing a battery electric vehicle that is also expected to go on sale in Japan and the U.S. in 2012. This model is leveraging the technologies established through the development of fuel-cell electric vehicles, the company said.
"In the long-term, fuel-cell electric vehicles will provide the ultimate mobility," Takanobu Ito said. "And Honda will continue working on the technological advancement of the FCX Clarity as well as our hydrogen refueling systems."
Another company goal is the widespread market introduction of the IMA hybrid system. Honda has introduced new models equipped with Honda's original lightweight and compact IMA hybrid system, namely Insight and CR-Z. The percentage of hybrid vehicle sales among all Honda vehicle sales in Japan increased to 16 percent in 2009.
Honda said it will accelerate widespread market introduction of IMA by enhancing the lineup of models equipped with the IMA system. The automaker will introduce multiple models, mainly small-sized vehicles, equipped with the IMA system in Japan about a year from now. The first one will be the Fit Hybrid Honda, which will be introduced to the Japanese market this fall.
Honda will also pursue the advancement of battery technologies that are critical to the advancement of hybrid vehicles. The next-generation Civic Hybrid will be equipped with a high-output and compact lithium-ion battery, which will be supplied by Blue Energy, a joint venture company between GS Yuasa and Honda that will begin production of the battery at its plant in the latter half of this year


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Service with a cuddle at little shop of hugs
A professional cuddler has opened a shop selling hugs to comfort lonely Americans. On a high street, snuggled between a hardware store and an art gallery, Samantha Hess and her staff of three dispense human contact for a dollar a minute.
Hugs can last from 15 minutes up to five hours, which costs $300 (£190). “Most people do 60 minutes,” said Ms Hess, a former personal trainer. She had been meeting clients for cuddles in their homes or in cinemas, now she has taken a lease on a shop in the centre of Portland, Oregon.
Cuddle enterprises, which organise “cuddle parties” or offer home visits, have existed in America for a decade, but attempts to open shops have proved difficult. A “cuddle house” in Wisconsin


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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Broward Sheriff’s Office North Lauderdale, Tamarac and Oakland Park detectives have released photos of four subjects they say have stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of items at local Walgreens, Publix and Family Dollar stores since March.
The most recent incident occurred on Tuesday, April 14, when the subjects entered the Family Dollar store located at 7200 Southgate Blvd. in North Lauderdale and stole multiple boxes of diapers. On Friday, March 20, the subjects stole more than $200 worth of diapers and baby products from the Walgreens at 8199 N. University Drive in Tamarac. On Monday, March 9, the subjects stole nearly $900 worth of diapers from an Oakland Park Publix located at 950 E. Commercial Blvd. Detectives believe the subjects were also involved in similar thefts recently at a Walgreens and CVS in Margate.
The subjects were seen driving a gold-colored Chevy Impala with damage to the rear bumper on one occasion and a blue Toyota Corolla on another.
Big Tech is censoring our publication severely reducing our traffic and revenue. (Wanna learn how they do it? NewsGuard) You can support our mission of truthful reporting by making a contribution. We refuse to let Silicon Valley crush us into becoming just another regurgitated, propaganda driven, echo-chamber of traditional news media and we need your support. You can also help by liking or sharing us on social media or by signing up for our featured story emails.
During these unprecedented and difficult circumstances we are living in, BSO wants to remind people there are resources available for help. If you need assistance with essential services or are experiencing a hardship, start by dialing 211, or visit 211-broward.org.
Anyone with information on the identities of these subjects is asked to contact BSO North Lauderdale Detective Justin Panza at 954-720-2250, Tamarac Detective Stacie Nelson at 954-247-6027 or Oakland Park Detective Iris Murillo at 954-202-3116. Anonymous tips can be provided through Broward Crime Stoppers by calling 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.org.


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Microsoft has announced that the October 2018 update for Windows 10 has been re-released. This update came out a few days ago but was pulled since it was deleting files from the hard drives of those that had downloaded.
As Microsoft has publicly stated:
“On November 13, 2018, we will begin the re-release of the Windows 10 October Update (version 1809), Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server, version 1809. We encourage you to wait until the feature update is offered to your device automatically.”
This update will bring official support to DirectX RayTracing (DXR) so hopefully we’ll some patches for both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Battlefield 5 in November or December.
The first DXR games will work with NVIDIA’s RTX technology as AMD does not plan to support real-time ray tracing effects anytime soon. RTX will make DirectX Raytracing run as efficiently as possible on NVIDIA’s hardware (which is the only GPU manufacturer right now that supports real-time ray tracing).


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By Donna Rovins, The Mercury
West Pottsgrove >> Just in time for the kick-off of the holiday season, Schuylkill Valley Sports has opened its newest location.
The 5,500-square-foot store in Upland Square Shopping Center opened its doors on Nov. 16 and will replace the Coventry Square Mall store, which is scheduled to close at the end of the year.
“We are thrilled to expand our reach to the local community. We have been serving this area for almost 45 years,” Jerry Williams, president of Schuylkill Valley Sports said in a press release. “The combination of our retail and team sales business has proven to be a success, and we’re excited about the new location and possibilities it brings.”
Loretta Pavie started working for Schuylkill Valley Sports 15½ years ago, when she was a sophomore in college. She has worked at the Coventry Mall throughout her career and is now managing both the Upland Square and Coventry Mall stores. She said the move is “kind of bittersweet” after being in one location for so long.
“I’m very excited to be at a brand new location; it’s a beautiful store. And to see the customer’s reaction when they come in to the store and how excited they are to have us here, it’s definitely a positive,” she said. “I just hope the customers are as excited as we are. We’re looking forward to being able to continue to serve them, and to be a part of the community.”
Pavie said that since the store opened last week, there has been a steady flow of customers.
“We’ve gotten a great reaction from our customers,” she added. “We’ve seen some familiar faces that have shopped with us at the mall for years, but we’ve also seen some new faces, which is encouraging.”
The Upland Square Store may have a smaller footprint than Coventry Mall, but Pavie said the new location has a wide selection of merchandise and employees will still check with other stores within the current 18 store chain to find what customers are looking for.
“We’re still the same Schuylkill Valley Sports, just in a different location,” she said.
In an October interview with The Mercury, Schuylkill Valley Sports Marketing Director and Buyer Phil Baumgardner said the company was using the move to launch what he called key brand concept shops, which he said would offer a “new, fresh look on the merchandising of key brands” like Under Armour, Nike and North Face.
“We’re highlighting the brands in a better light, have a better selection of certain products and newer products. And we’re just putting more of a focus on what the consumer is looking for,” said Pavie. She added that the relationship with the companies will allow Schuylkill Valley Sports to special order merchandise if it’s not something Schuylkill Valley Sports typically carries.
In addition, Pavie said the store will continue to carry a wide selection of professional sports jerseys, clothing and novelty items.
“Even though it’s a smaller store, we still have all the teams — not just the Philly sports teams,” she said.
To mark the opening of the Upland Square store and the holiday shopping season, Schuylkill Valley Sports will hold a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
According to the release, all customers on Saturday will receive a gift with purchase. In addition, customers can take advantage of grand opening specials in all departments on fan gear, sports equipment, footwear, bags and backpacks through Dec. 6. For a complete list of special offers, visitwww.svsports.com/mktg/sale/grand-opening.html
Schuylkill Valley Sports has been serving eastern and central Pa. sporting goods needs since 1971, and Baumgardner said the store has been in Coventry Mall for about 30 years. He said the decision to move locations was based on a consumer preference for outdoor or strip malls, versus traditional malls.
The Coventry Mall store remains open with a new Fan Shop, featuring a selection of team apparel, novelties and collectables. In addition, a brand new “Outlet Shop” will feature a huge selection of apparel, footwear, sports equipment at discounted pricing, according to the release.


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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation reached 2.9 per cent last month, up from 2.7 per cent in April and surpassing economists’ expectations for an unchanged reading.
That is the highest level since June 2013 when CPI also reached 2.9 per cent, and was last surpassed in April 2012 when the index rose to 3 per cent.
• READ MORE: Inflation stalks the nation, but how high can it go?
The increase in the cost of living remains above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target, and is likely to raise pressure on the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) to consider hiking interest rates beyond 0.25 per cent when it meets later this week.
Viktor Nossek, director of research at WisdomTree in Europe, said: “The situation remains volatile. With uncertainty over the political situation in the UK already impacting Brexit negotiations, the pound has come under pressure once more and is now at its lowest level for months.
“It’s expected to remain volatile and succumb to more downward pressure, providing yet another unwelcoming rise to import cost induced inflationary pressures for consumers.
“Combined with indications of economic activity weakening, as evidenced by both actual GDP and retail sales decelerating markedly against a backdrop of weakening business sentiment, the BoE is unlikely to tighten soon. It’s clearing the path for inflation to hit 3 per cent.”
• READ MORE: Central banks go separate ways on interest rates
The biggest upward impact on the cost of living came from recreational and cultural goods and services – including holidays abroad – which overall rose 0.9 per cent between April and May compared with a fall of 0.4 per cent a year earlier. The cost of package holidays alone was up 0.6 per cent in May.
Britons have seen the cost of foreign travel increase following the post-Brexit vote collapse of sterling, which has knocked purchasing power abroad where the local currencies have gained strength versus the pound.
Calum Bennie, savings expert at Scottish Friendly, said: “No end is in sight for hard-pressed consumers who see prices rising but growth in their wages failing to keep pace. It is no surprise then that consumers are reining back on spending or in many cases are turning to credit to get by as day-to-day living gets more expensive.
“Prices will continue to rise due to the falling pound and the higher costs of imports so the message has to be try to be prudent with spending and stash more cash. You will need more bang for your buck in the next few months and having more money in your financial armoury can only help.”
The cost of games, toys and hobbies shot up 2.7 per cent, thanks in part to a jump in computer game prices – but the ONS stressed that these are often dependent on bestseller charts and can fluctuate from month to month. Computer equipment also rose, particularly in areas like data processing which saw costs rocket 3.4 per cent.
The price of clothes jumped by 0.6 per cent between April and May, compared with a drop of 0.3 per cent last year, with children’s clothing the biggest driver behind the rise.
Consumers also saw decorating costs creep higher, thanks to higher prices for lounge furniture and textiles, which helped push household goods and furniture up 1.2 per cent overall.
Price hikes from utility companies sent the cost of electricity soaring 4 per cent, and comes after two of the “big six” energy providers – SSE and EON – introduced tariff increases at the end of April.
Downward pressure on the cost of living came from fuel pump prices, with petrol falling 1p to 116.4p per litre and diesel also dropping 1.6p to 118.7p between April and May.
Airline prices also fell by 6.4 per cent month on month, after the effect of Easter travel boosted air fares in April.
The CPI including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) hit 2.7 per cent after reaching 2.6 per cent in April. CPIH is the ONS’s preferred measure of inflation, which includes costs associated with living in, maintaining and owning a home.
The retail prices index, a separate measure of inflation that includes council tax and mortgage interest payments, reached 3.7 per cent last month, up from 3.5 per cent in April.
HM Treasury said: “The government is helping families with the everyday cost of living by keeping taxes low, freezing fuel duty and increasing the national living wage. A typical basic-rate taxpayer now pays £1,000 less income tax than in 2010 and increases in the national living wage mean £1,400 extra a year for a worker since its introduction.”


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November 1, 2010
Last week QNX hosted its annual Japan Technology Innovation Conference at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. It was particularly special this year as we were able to celebrate the 30th anniversary of QNX along with our Japan customers.
We are pleased to report that this full day event which was supported by numerous partners was a resounding success. The conference this year records our largest attendance ever – 125 participants! With another 35 exhibiting partners & distributors, the venue was jam packed – as you can tell by the pictures.
A special mention goes out to the Freescale Japan team for the management and on-time delivery of teh live BMW x5 demo which went from car purchase to demo completion in a record 4 weeks! Even the Canadian Ambassador to Japan came by for a spin!
On behalf of the QNX Japan sales team, to all our partners who participated:
March 17, 2010
On March 15th the latest experimental i.MX51 BSP was posted on Foundry27. If you are interested you can grab it here http://community.qnx.com/sf/wiki/do/viewPage/projects.bsp/wiki/FreescaleImx51Pdk.
A BSP in itself may not be newsworthy (or worth blogging about) but the i.MX51 is a bit special in that it will be the newest platform for QNX CAR. The i.MX51 is a particularly nice fit for QNX CAR for a few reasons. First and foremost this is a part that is garnering a lot of customer interest in automotive. Customers have been pushing us to get this BSP out the door.
Another nice thing about the i.MX51 is the graphics acceleration. The i.MX35 is a great platform for QNX CAR because it includes OpenVG acceleration. Adobe Flash takes advantage of this acceleration and the QNX Aviage HMI Suite used in QNX CAR is Adobe Flash based. The i.MX51 builds on this by adding OpenGL ES acceleration so customers will be able to accelerate 3D graphics as well (think navigation). Add hardware video decode and you have a very nice part for next generation infotainment systems.
Watch for it in the M6 QNX CAR build – coming soon.
February 19, 2010
QNX CAR isn’t the only QNX reference platform traveling the world these days. The team at QNX has been busy developing a Smart Meter Reference. There’s a new class of devices in the industrial segment that are now demanding enhanced graphics, connectivity, sophisticated human machine interfaces, audio and even high definition video. Sounds a lot like an infotainment system to me. Lucky for us, we’ve already done the heavy lifting.
The Smart Meter Reference takes many of the technologies being developed for QNX CAR and applies them to a key element in the new green world. It combines a snazzy HMI with real time video and touch screen technology. I actually can’t wait to have one of these in my house. So long thermostat – hello complete multi-zone control. Of course, it will point out how much electricity I waste but maybe that’s a good thing.
The Smart Meter reference, running on the Freescale i.MX25 application processor, will be visiting at the China Smart Grid Conference in Beijing on March 25th and 26th. Check it out if you can.


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Samsung believes that in the future our mobile phones could also act as bracelets or smart watches.
Perhaps in the future it will not be necessary to buy a mobile phone and a smart watch separately, because we will have both in a single device, or at least that is what Samsung thinks in a recently discovered patent.
Samsung has always been characterized as one of the first technology companies to launch new technologies, they already did so in different bets on folding screens, and now we could see something totally innovative.
Samsung has patented a smartphone with a detachable screen that could even be wrapped around the wrist, to act as a smart watch or bracelet. Although the patent was filed in 2018, it has just been made public.
The patent was filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and discovered by 91mobiles, which shows different images where we see that the upper part of the phone can be separated and wrapped around curved surfaces such as our wrist.
A different aspect is that it appears to wrap over the top of the hand, so it does not fully attach to the wrist. As discussed, detachable part has two buttons on the left panel, possibly to navigate more precisely.
What sets it apart from other phones is the upper area with a wraparound screen that could show content such as date, time, and notifications received on the phone. The surround screen would have to be connected to the main phone using magnets or connectors.
Do you want to perform at your best in your sports training? Sports smart watches will be a great support to achieve this.
The patent description notes that “an ornamental design for a display device” is offered.
It seems quite unlikely that this type of technology will be commercialized in the market in the short term, but it is clear that large technology companies already have devices in mind that could be protagonists during the next decade.


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The news in Sears Holdings’ report to investors isn’t as bad as it could be, but it’s devastating if you’re one of the employees or customers of the 28 Kmart stores that are part of a new round of closures that the company announced today.
The company dropped that news, its first list of store closings in a month and a half, while claiming that more store closures are all part of an ongoing “transformation” into a 21st-century retailer. (The company will announce those closures later today, and we’ll post them when we get them.)
The bad news
In the retailer’s quarterly report, comparable-store sales, the only fair measure of performance when a retailer has been closing as many stores as Sears Holdings, are not good. Kmart stores had a 9.4% decline in comparable-store sales. Even when you account for the pharmacies closing in some Kmart stores and dramatic cutbacks in consumer electronics, sales are down 6.8%.
Sears stores are in a similar leaking boat: Their sales are down 13.2%, and 12.1% when excluding the consumer electronics that the chain has dropped.
“The company’s sales dropped from “softness in store traffic and elevated price competition in the retail industry,” chief financial officer Rob Riecker explained in the retailer’s scripted and pre-recorded quarterly conference call [PDF].
It’s true that retail overall isn’t doing great right now, but the big-box stores and department stores that compete with Sears have mostly stopped the bleeding this quarter. Still, relentless cutting is not necessarily a path to profitability in the retail business. That’s called a death spiral.
The good news
We’ve shared a lot of the good news in the quarterly report here before. The company is working toward its goal of selling $1 billion in real estate to the Seritage Growth Properties real estate investment trust and other interested buyers, and either leasing back or closing affected stores.
It’s experimenting with new formats, which include rebranding Auto Centers as DieHard Auto Centers, which exist independently of Sears stores. The company is also experimenting with a new format, a smaller store that sells only appliances and mattresses.
If you like Kenmore appliances but no longer have a Sears or Sears Outlet store nearby, you can now buy those products on Amazon.
The company’s long-term debt is down to $3.5 billion from $4.2 billion at the beginning of the year, and the company has cut down its losses due to continued aggressive cost-cutting.
That cost-cutting includes layoffs at headquarters as well as store closures, and closing stores means that there’s less money coming in.
Sears has been touting its “transformation” for years now. The company’s chairman, CEO, and major investor and lender Eddie Lampert has been using that term to describe what the company is doing since at least 2009, though that may have been referring to a different transformation eight years ago.


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It’s not new news that customers are more empowered than ever, but nowhere is that more apparent (or important) than in healthcare. The pandemic accelerated an incredible digital transformation in an industry known more for its resistance to change than its agility, from traditional providers embracing telehealth to a plethora of new products and services in the market that allow consumers to take elements of their healthcare into their own hands.
The end result is the convergence of two major consumer demands that represent areas of opportunity for your brand—if you’re prepared to move fast enough:
- Prioritize convenience and accessibility
- Embrace technology and digital solutions
Healthcare consumers demand convenience above all else
Millennials have long flirted with a hodgepodge of urgent care, retail clinics, and digital services that offer alternatives to the traditional primary care route. In fact, according to a 2019 Harmony Healthcare IT survey, almost 25% of millennials haven’t visited a primary care provider in five years or more.
The biggest factor driving younger customers away from traditional providers? Convenience. Millennials are often first adopters for new digital services like virtual care or app-based solutions. And while changes to healthcare plans used to be hindered by the complicated considerations of insurance coverage, 80% of consumers said they would be willing to switch providers solely for convenience factors, according to a 2019 NRC Health Report.
The difference between generations when it comes to healthcare is also narrowing, as convenience became a primary concern through the pandemic. Older cohorts were forced to get more and more comfortable with telehealth, text messaging, and mobile scheduling. Now 92% of all US consumers indicated that convenience is important in healthcare in CVS Health’s 2020 Path to Better Health Study.
Highlight convenience in your marketing messaging
Make sure you are putting your best foot forward by leading with convenience in your digital marketing campaigns. What unique features, products, or services does your business offer that nobody else does that make healthcare more convenient?
Align your creative and messaging around those themes, emphasizing accessibility, ease of use, and other convenience differentiators. From mail-based pharmacies that eliminate the need to stand in line like Capsule to apps that immediately connect you to a therapist like Talkspace, the brands who are capturing market share from the major players are directly appealing to the customer need for convenience first and foremost.
Don’t be afraid to highlight healthcare technology
The old image of a kindly community doctor with a little black bag feels increasingly like something from another century (well, it is). But for many years, healthcare providers and insurance companies have tried to align their marketing with that throwback ideal, often underplaying the role of technology in their offerings (perhaps because that technology tended to lag behind other industries).
But in our hyper-connected, stuck-at-home-with-our-devices reality, the best technology might just be the thing that makes your brand stand out from the crowd. The digitization of healthcare has already begun in earnest: if you need no other evidence, tech giants like Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft have all been investing in expanding their healthcare footprint and stealing market share through tech-first, digital health solutions.
Tech companies have a couple of inherent advantages when it comes to healthcare. First, they were built to be agile and to rapidly respond to new customer needs, with the added benefit of existing infrastructure and customer bases that unlock scalability. But they’re also inexperienced in the highly regulated industry, which leaves the door open for both traditional providers willing to seriously invest in tech solutions and newcomers who are developing more narrow health tech solutions.
According to Rock Health, the opportunity hasn’t gone unnoticed by investors: there’s been more VC investment into digital health in 2020 than any other year. And we’re likely to see traditional providers try to shore up their offerings through partnerships with, investment in, and acquisitions of start up tech. Venerated hospital system Cedars-Sinai, for example, runs an innovation accelerator that awards promising healthcare startups both investment and access to Cedars-Sinai experts and infrastructure.
Lead with value in your health tech marketing, not the other way around
All tech companies struggle with balancing impressive tech cred with stories that actually connect that technology with customer needs, and health tech is no different. It’s important to remember that your technology doesn’t need to be “hidden” in your marketing, but you do need to connect that tech to the actual value it drives for your customers to be successful.
Carbon Health’s initial value proposition was its technology: its platform was built to gather all of a patients’ important data and make assessments based on symptoms ahead of an actual appointment. While that might be exciting in its own right from a dev standpoint, their marketing focuses on what it actually means for customers to take control of their healthcare and limit the need for in-person appointments.
That’s not limited to B2C offerings; text-based care solutions like 98point6 are marketing to businesses on the basis of their usability and customer satisfaction, not their tech bona fides. Again, both ads featured here are highlighting technology through story and value.
The healthcare customer is empowered: are you ready to give them more control?
The real question is whether your brand is positioning itself to provide both information and empathy, culminating in a seamless customer experience.
The growing need for knowledge and control means your brand must invest in a robust content marketing strategy that serves consumers with the information they need to make good decisions. 45% of US online adults say they conduct personal research about their health online; your business needs to show up through a robust organic strategy.
Your brand should also position itself as a partner: can you help a consumer reach their goals or make better decisions? What does support look like? That support can be facilitated by technology but needs to balance authority and empathy, much like the traditional role of a doctor. That’s a challenge in digital ads, which need to make an impression very quickly.
Privacy regulations can make ad targeting more difficult, but it’s impossible to cut digital ad to scale effectively in today’s world. According to eMarketer, healthcare is shifting dollars to digital, but slowly. Building a strong digital strategy that connects with your customers and drives adoption of your solution, technology, product, or service will put you ahead of the competition if you move quickly.


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Dusseldorf This sum is considered a challenge to the streaming giant Netflix: six billion dollars Apple invested in shows and films of its new streaming service “Apple TV +”, as reported by the Financial Times (FT), citing insiders,
In November, the new service to go according to the financial service Bloomberg at the start. Initially, the IT group is planning a limited number of shows. The offer is to be expanded in the following months – to a kind of library.
Apple has not yet officially announced the monthly fee for its streaming service. According to Bloomberg insiders this is about ten dollars. The company promises by the year 2020 sales of $ 50 billion.
With its latest service, Apple is embarking on a highly competitive market, that of the streaming giants Netflix and Amazon is dominated. But also US corporations like Walt Disney. AT & T and NBC Universal have announced that they will be active in the streaming market as fewer and fewer consumers watch traditional television.
With a price of $ 9.99 per month, Apple TV + would be more expensive than the US competition. Netflix and Amazon charge $ 8.99 a month. Disney, whose service is also scheduled to hit the market in November, is targeting $ 6.99 per month, according to Bloomberg.
Apple has planned the attack on Netflix and Co. over several years: the company hired in 2017 Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, two known in the US manager of Sony Pictures Television. Ehrlicht and Van Amburg were initially equipped with a budget of one billion dollars.
Now, according to FT insiders, Apple is spending hundreds of millions of dollars just for the series “The Morning Show” starring American actresses Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. An episode should be significantly more expensive than a consequence of the last season of the US cult series “Games of Thrones”, whose costs were estimated at 15 million dollars.
Apple is under pressure to succeed: Although the iPhone is still the most important sales driver of the Group, but the revenues are declining. For the first time since 2012, sales accounted for less than 50 percent of sales. The TV and series division is to free the group from the iPhone dependency.
More: In a joint letter, around 200 business leaders are calling for a rethink, including Jeff Bezos. They demand a fairer capitalism.
Apple (t) Tim Cook (t) Streaming (t) Streaming Service (t) Netflix (t) AT & T (t) Disney (t) Media (t) Television (t) Product Policy (t) Sound recordings (t) Amazon (t) Sony Pictures (t) NBC Universal (t) Digital video market (t) Digital music market (t) Consumer electronics (t) Film distribution & television distribution (t) Industry analysis


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18 February 2010
South Africa came up trumps at the inaugural The Drinks Business Green Awards, which are designed to highlight leadership on environment, sustainability and climate change by drinks companies worldwide.
Organised by leading European drinks trade publication The Drinks Business, the awards were held in London on 14 February.
Paul Cluver, founder of Paul Cluver Wines, received arguably the highest accolade, winning the Lifetime Achievement Award for his ongoing, visionary approach to conservation and exemplary environmental credentials.
Inge Kotze of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative was awarded the Personality Award, while Backsberg walked away with the Sustainability Award.
Paul Cluver Wines and Stellar Organics were named runners-up in the Ethical Award category, giving South Africa a notable presence in four of the eight award results.
“This is a significant moment in the development of South Africa’s green credentials and we are delighted so many of our champions are being recognised for the substantial contributions they are making to the advancement of sustainable practice in the wine industry,” Wines of South Africa CEO Su Birch said in a statement this week.
Designed to raise awareness of green issues in the industry and boost the role of marketing in influencing consumer behaviour, the awards also provide a high-profile platform for companies to showcase their positive commitment to the planet.
“These awards will be a barometer of the newest, most innovative, most ambitious and most effective initiatives by drinks companies to respond to the pressing challenges of global sustainability,” The Drinks Business said on its website.
Award winners were selected on criteria including best outright environmental performance, environmental training, motivational initiatives, individual green campaign launches and ethical initiatives worldwide.
“South Africa is a leader in production integrity and is committed to working in harmony with the environment to ensure long-term sustainable and profitable growth,” Birch said.
Would you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See: Using SAinfo material


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With California’s Lightning In A Bottle Festival only a month away, pre-parties are popping up all over the west coast this month in cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Last years Lightning In A Bottle Festival received much praise and positive feedback from the California community last year, and is expected to be even better in 2013! Let’s hope that these pre-parties packed with a variety of different artists can get everyone pumped up enough for the big festival. To purchase tickets to next weekends pre-parties for the festival, check out the links below!
Buy Los Angeles Pre-Party Tickets: HERE
Buy San Francisco Pre-Party Tickets: HERE


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343 Industries has said it's toying around with the idea of adding microtransactions to Halo: The Master Chief collection.
As MCC pivots away from the seasonal model, some changes are set to come in. Along with renaming season points to "Spartan points," a new dev update discussed that it was "internally exploring" the ability to purchase the points with real money. 343 was quick to clarify that it was "happy with the current system," calling it an "optional, additive alternative for players who might find the vast scope of content to be an intimidating amount of playtime and want to get ahead on (or skip) the grind, or maybe want to grab specific items they want.
The developer said it would have more information to share in the future, once again emphasising that the microtransactions would be an additive feature rather than an entirely new thing.
That hasn't made the news go down any better with Halo fans though, with many in the subreddit disagreeing with the decision. Numerous comments point out potential money-free solutions, like allowing max-level players to still earn seasonal points through gaining enough EXP. A lot of comments call the potential change a mistake, with one comment calling 343 "tone deaf." Whether the ruckus will cause 343 to rethink its strategy remains to be seen.


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Airbnb is willing to contribute to creation of so-called ‘engaged travelers (relationship travelers in orther words),’ who has particular relationship with a particular local community, in Japan, when the domestic travel market is recovering in earnest.
“Relationship travelers can create new travel lines between local areas and urban areas and between local areas and local areas, and the new travel line will create new businesses,” said Airbnb County Manager Japan Yasuyuki Tanabe at an interview with Travel Voice. “We can contribute to that.” Airbnb intends to propose new solutions for relationship travelers, working together with ‘Airbnb Partners’ in Japan.
Also, Airbnb has a plan to strengthen partnerships with local governments or DMOs to create and increase relationship travelers. Tanabe said, “We are involved in a variety of formats not only for simply home sharing but also for the future migration or multi-living bases.”
At the same time, Airbnb is trying to increase Japanese guests in both domestic and overseas travel markets. In the Japan market, Airbnb has made its efforts to increase hosts mainly to meet growing inbound traveler demands. Tanabe said, “We are going to propose investment plans to increase Japanese guests to San Francisco.”
Meanwhile, Airbnb is developing its strategy to increase hosts globally, offering five-years marketing campaign ‘Made possible by Hosts,’ as Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said that it is trying to encourage guests to become hosts by delivering Airbnb’s uniqueness and merits to become hosts.
“After the pandemic ends, travel demand will quickly and vastly be back. To prepare for that, we have to ensure hosts enough to meet growing demands globally, Tanabe explained. Although A particular ad campaign will not be planned so far in Japan because Japan is a successful market in increasing hosts, Tanabe said that Airbnb Japan will try to exploit new unique hosts in local regions in Japan.
Japanese awareness to restart traveling
Airbnb Japan conducted the survey on Japanese awareness to travel amid the pandemic in early February 2021. One of the interesting results is that the ratio of answers of ‘relationship with others weakens ’ reaches 55% (combining slightly weak and very weak), especially 62% among females. “It was reflected from shortage of real face-to-face communication,’ Tanabe analyzed.
63% answered that companies of the first travel after the pandemic will be partners or families, and 78% overall or 80% among Generation Z said that they want to travel once a year at least after the pandemic.
As preferred destinations, 40% answered destinations near nature, and 32% driving destinations near from home.
“These trends were found in the last year’s survey, but seem to accelerate this year,” Tanabe said. “It maybe takes a few years to restore the travel market to the 2019 level. For the future, people’s lifestyles, including traveling and working, will probably continue changing.”


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- Tesla stock was down 11% in mid-day trading Tuesday after CEO Elon Musk announced over the weekend that he was planning to sell 10% of his shares.
- Current and former board members, including board chairman Robin Denholm, Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, Ira Ehrenpreis and Antonio Gracias, have also offloaded millions of dollars worth of Tesla shares since October 28.
Tesla stock fell 11% in mid-day trading on Tuesday, extending losses for a second day after CEO Elon Musk proposed selling 10% of his shares in the electric vehicle business over the weekend.
The decline is on pace to be the biggest of the year for the stock, and comes after a nearly 5% decline on Monday, bucking most of the upward trend for the year. Overall, Tesla shares are up more than 47% in 2021 and more than doubled from a year ago, as the company reported improving automotive margins and navigated a chip shortage to ramp production while faltering competitors .
Current and former board members, including Chairman Robin Denholm, Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, Ira Ehrenpreis and Antonio Gracias, have also taken off hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Tesla shares since October 28 when Tesla’s market cap crossed $1 trillion. Have given.
Musk was awarded a hefty options package in 2012 as part of a CEO performance plan. Because he doesn’t take a salary or cash bonus, his wealth comes from those stock awards and gains in Tesla’s share price. The 2012 award was for 22.8 million shares at a strike price of $6.24 per share. They are due to expire on August 13, 2022.
They also have the additional options of an unprecedented 2018 CEO salary package.
The iconoclastic CEO has pledged at least 92 million of his Tesla shares to lenders to borrow cash. As previously reported by Businesshala, Musk may want to sell some shares to pay off his debt, and he faces a potential $15 billion tax bill if he exercises his options and sells the shares.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
–Yun Lee contributed to this story


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Fallout New Vegas details released
Obsidian have released more details about their Fallout 3 follow-up, Fallout New Vegas.
The boys that worked on the original Fallout titles have relished the chance to get their chance to work on the series again we hear.
Obsidian has added a new Hardcore mode that empowers players that desire a tougher challenge. They have also tweaked the VATS system, adding melee combat options.
In addition to all of that they have added in a raft of new weapons and weapon mods that allow players to customise their favourite guns with things like bigger clips.
- Microsoft doubles down for April's Games With Gold
- Every wondered what it would be like in James Bond and Joanna Dark met? Cara Ellison and Irene Koh have answered that question
- Dirty Bomb beta is back online
- Obsidian's saviour Pillars Of Eternity launches today, Watch it streamed live here later today
- Infinite Crisis launches fully today on Steam
- Here's what the new Hunters and the Behemoth for Evolve look like in action
- Blood and Burning and Celts Culture DLC Packs arrive for Total War: Attila
- F1 2015 coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One this summer, first screenshots released
- Ubisoft introduces Alex Parizeau, the new head of Ubisoft Toronto


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Demand for IT executives plunged 26 per cent in June, according to the EL executive demand index.
The fall was second only to that for marketing executives which recorded the largest slump, down 29 per cent, the index showed.
Australian business was yielding to the global economic gloom, executive search firm EL Consult, publisher of the index, said.
"While I'm confident that the longer-term growth trend remains intact, the global economic situation remains uncertain," EL Consult head, Grant Montgomery, said.
Key factors hitting business confidence were the sharp rise of the Australian dollar - potentially making exports more expensive; terrorism still being a potent threat, and the SARS scare was only just coming to an end, Montgomery said. This environment had dampened business desire to invest in "expensive executive assets".
There may have also been some conventional, end-of-financial-year burnout with companies having spent their hiring budgets, Montgomery said.
Meanwhile, businesses were still retrenching management as this made rapid improvements to the bottom line.
Montgomery said while corporate restructuring may benefit companies and their shareholders in the short term, in the longer term it meant companies were not improving through growing their product range or customer service.
The current business mindset was retarding executive demand and creating economic stagnation, he said.
Demand for finance executives fell 12 per cent in the month, while engineering dropped 6 per cent.
Queensland and Western Australia experienced the largest falls in demand, while Tasmania and Northern Territory produced a positive result.


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|Monday, June 01, 2009|
Given China’s remarkable economic rise over the past decade, it comes as no surprise that it has grown into Oregon’s largest export market, with the state’s savviest players such as Nike and Intel well embedded there and prospering as a result. But it is surprising which sector has seen the sharpest growth: chemicals.
Statistics compiled by WISER Trade, a Massachusetts-based firm recognized as an expert on exports, show an astronomical 292% increase in chemicals exported from Oregon to China from 2007 to 2008, catapulting them over scrap waste and paper to become the state’s second-biggest China-bound export behind only computer and electronic products.
But if you’re wondering which Oregon companies are benefiting from this trend and whether it is expected to continue, don’t waste your time. There is no trend.
The biggest clue can be found in the corresponding fall-off for exported minerals, which dropped dramatically at the precise time that the chemical numbers shot up. Hmmm.
It turns out that the great boom in chemicals exported from Oregon to China has nothing to do with Oregon business and everything to do with a change in the classification of potash mined in Saskatchewan, sent by rail to Portland and shipped around the world as fertilizer. The market for this chemical (or is it a mineral?) made a few investors temporarily rich during the commodity boom of 2008, but that boom has gone bust along with trade in general. Vessel calls and tonnage are down more than 30% at the Port of Portland, and Oregon will be hard pressed to approach, much less improve on, the record $2.5 billion worth of exports shipped to China last year.
Friday, July 10, 2015
BY JACOB PALMER
Most of the food Americans consume is trucked in from hundreds of miles away. Eric Wilson, co-founder and CEO of Gro-volution, wants to change that. So this past spring, the Air Force veteran and former greenhouse manager started work on an alternative farming system he claims is more efficient than conventional agriculture, and also shortens the distance between the consumer and the farm.
Friday, July 10, 2015
BY LINDA BAKER
Market of Choice is on a tear. In 2012 the 35-year-old Eugene-based grocery chain opened a central kitchen/distribution center in its hometown. The market opened its third Portland store in the Cedar Mill neighborhood this year; another outpost in Bend broke ground in March. A fourth Portland location is slated for the inner southeast “LOCA” development, a mixed-use project featuring condos and retail. Revenues in 2014 were $175 million, a double-digit increase over 2013. CEO Rick Wright discusses growth, market trends and how he keeps new “foodie” grocery clerks happy.
Monday, June 22, 2015
The Clean Fuels/gas tax trade off will go down in history as another disjointed, on-again off-again approach to city and state lawmaking.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
We asked readers to weigh in on the fossil fuel-green energy equation.
Monday, July 13, 2015
BY JACOB PALMER
Dean of the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Willamette University
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Pushing the extreme.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Charlie Hales has long viewed sound urban planning as the route to salvation: social, economic and environmental. This week, the mayor's city design philosophy got the nod of approval from a bona fide spiritual authority, Pope Francis.
|10 Innovators in Rural Health|
|The Private 150: From Strength to Strength|
|Flattery with Numbers|
|Downtime with Debra Ringold|
|Farm in a Box|
|Preserving the Legacy|
|Portland fireworks hotline overloaded by call volume|
|Rolling Stone magazine sued by UVA frat brothers|
|'Kayaktivists' hang from St. Johns Bridge to protest Shell Oil ship|
|Legal pot sales to start Oct. 1 in Oregon|
|Best Buy will sell Apple Watch, is hoping it boosts sales|
|Biologist estimates 80% of sockeye population could die due to hot water|
|Fiat Chrysler must offer to buy back 500K Dodge Ram trucks|
One of the many reasons why businesses fail is due to the lack of attention to analytics. Sure, you can go on running your business, but mastering the science of analytics will translate into a business advantage. But what exactly are analytics and why are they so important?
Court experience helps legal firm anticipate potential problems for clients and prevent expensive litigation.
When Garmin AT needed to consolidate operations for its 550 employees, it scanned its entire corporate map for possible sites.
Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) and the College of Business at Oregon State University is offering “Business Analytics for Competitive Advantage”, a two-day intensive workshop.
34 spots for food, 17 places to sip, and 7 sites to choose a brew beckon visitors.
A look back at the shifting sands of Portland’s growth and development.


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What’s going on with demand for plant-based meat? If you take a look at Barcelona-based Heura the picture seems rosy — with the alt-protein startup claiming “non-stop” momentum and a near doubling of revenue from sales of its faux chicken, beef and pork products in the first half of 2022.
Mid-year, the 2017-founded startup reports that it had reached €14.7 million in turnover, up from €7.6M during the same period last year, after clocking up its most successful first half of the year in its five-year history and bagging a number of major retailers to stock its plant-based foodstuffs (including Ocado in the UK, Migros in Switzerland, Carrefour in Italy, E.Leclerc, Intermarché and Super U in France). More new partnerships with “major” European retailers are slated as incoming this year, and it’s touting “triple digit growth” of more than 100% YoY.
It’s also had some visible success in its home market by persuading restauranteurs to add its products (and brand name) to their menus — as plant-based ingredients, enabling them to offer vegan alternatives to meat dishes, from tacos and bocadillos to curries, poke bowls and more. And Heura is taking credit for 80% of local plant-based category growth (although it should be noted that Spain remains one of Europe’s biggest consumers of animal-based meat so growth of alt-proteins is starting from a low base). It adds that it expects to end the year with 30% local market share as it fires up its efforts to expand in Europe.
It’s also teasing a Series B round coming next year — which it anticipates being one of 2023’s largest B rounds in Europe in the alternative proteins industry (for some context, another European startup, Planted, raised a $72M Series B round earlier this fall). And today it’s announcing a new €20M bridging funding round, ahead of the expected (beefier) B. It notes that this (pre-) Series B funding includes the issuance of convertible notes which will lead to equity next year in the full Series B round so a bunch of investors are clearly bought into its sales growth pitch.
Heura says the bridging round includes contributions from NBA star Ricky Rubio, football players Sergi Busquets and Sergi Roberto, comedian David Broncano, as well as Unovis Capital. A chunk of the funding was raised earlier this year when it nabbed more than €4M in 12 hours through its crowdfunding Equity for Good Rebels campaign — pulling in support from more than 5,000 individual backers.
The round will help it as it continues to scale in the region — with its eye on deepening its presence in key markets like France, Italy and the UK, and adding new European regions, including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and more, over the coming years. “With new funding in hand, a primary focus for Heura will be positioning itself as the European plant-based leader by 2027,” it notes in a press release.
Squarely on its 2023 menu: New products in “new segments”, following the filing of its first patents in November 2022 — though what exactly it’s cooking up isn’t clear. Its PR says its focus will be on delivering new foods next year that are “nature-positive, nutrient-dense and achieve culinary excellence”.
So far so tasty-sounding, if we can put it that way. But the plant-based meat category has been deflating somewhat of late after earlier heavy hype.
Which may explain why Heura is banging the pan about this bridging round and teasing bigger bucks to come next year. Continued momentum isn’t necessarily a given.
To wit: US giant Beyond Meat disclosed it was slashing its workforce by almost a fifth earlier this month, citing declining sales.
While Bloomberg reported on cooling demand hitting the plant-based category last month, citing a Deloitte report which postulated that “stagnating” demand could be down to factors such as the addressable market being more limited than originally thought (including as a result of “cultural resistance”, perhaps attached to rising political polarization across many societies); to inflation (and high food price inflation specifically) eating into consumers’ appetite to pay a price premium to eat plant-based meat alternatives (which still typically cost more than non-premium meat options); and to changes to consumers’ perceptions of how healthy plant-based proteins are.
Some of these suggestions may indicate the meat lobby has had success with negative publicity campaigns targeting plant-based alternatives in a bid to block the kind of wholesale transformation of the food system that’s sorely needed if humanity is to reduce carbon emissions in line with climate goals.
The meat industry has, for example, been splashing money on ad campaigns which seek to paint plant-based products as ‘frankenfoods’ — while framing animal-based meat as a simple, honest and (comparatively) healthy option. Such as this US attack ad campaign (reported by ZME Science last year) — which attacks plant-based proteins by implying the products are far more heavily processed and full of scary-sounding chemicals than the equivalent meat products (with absolutely no mention of health issues attached to consumption of meat products like bacon, such as the risk of a number of cancers the WHO has linked to consumption of red meats and processed meats for years); while running all these self-interested claims under an astroturf-y banner of “cleanfoodfacts.com”, i.e. rather than plainly disclosing their clear vested commercial interest.
Plant-based startups will likely need to up their comms and product dev game (and ideally lift the lid on production methods, as some already are) to counter these kind of cynical attack tactics.
Plant-based startups are at least positioned to draw on support from (broader) environmental campaign groups and movements to amplify their own pro-climate messaging.
“Clear communications of the benefits of the protein transition coupled with bringing more people together to vote with their fork will help lead the way in [our] growth across the continent,” is how Heura’s PR frames its growth prospects at this point in the PBP (plant-based protein) hype cycle.
There’s certainly a very clear and loud story PBP brands can tell to sell climate-concerned consumers on their meat alternatives.
Heura alone, for instance, can point to savings of around 55.9 million liters of water used and 3.6 million kg of CO2 — as well as the sparing of 509,000 chickens, pigs and cows lives — just in the first half of this year. So expect noisier counter-messaging from more alternative protein brands in response to meat lobby ‘tobacco’ style attack marketing tactics.
Deloitte’s report advises plant-based/alt-meat producers to “explore ways to expand the addressable market, bring down relative costs, and create formulations that provide health benefits while maintaining taste” to stoke growth — while noting what it says has been rapid growth in VC investments and major consumer brands into the category over the past year (and suggesting that resulting innovations may pave a smoother growth path for the market).
On the cost side, while plant-based proteins do still typically suffer from a premium price problem vs meat (not least given the level of subsidies propping up traditional food production methods) — which is absolutely an issue given rising food inflation (and the cost of living crisis), the scales may be tipping. Especially in Europe, as the region remains heavily exposed to high energy costs triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the country’s response to Western sanctions as the bloc seeks to reduce its dependency on Russia gas imports.
Bottom line: High energy costs tend to hit the price of meat more than plant-based food production since the former is a far less efficient way of producing protein for human consumption vs raising animals for slaughter — flesh and blood creatures that ofc need to be fed proteins themselves. Which means that if you feed plant proteins direct to humans and you’re cutting out one very costly step.
This dynamic suggests the difference in price between animal-based meat and (at least some) plant-based proteins should keep shrinking — including as startups like Heura keep proliferating and growing, enabling them to unlock greater economies of scale in their production facilities.
So how much PBP industry ‘stagnation’ is down to cynical meat industry attacks and self-hype over harder climate (and cost of living) realities remains to be seen.
Commenting on its own growth prospects in a statement, Heuro CEO and co-founder Marc Coloma was upbeat, writing: “Having mission-driven investors on board who dare to take bold action to accelerate the plant-based protein transition gives us the resources to continue driving category growth across Europe. We have a clear vision, and this new funding will help us transition from a successful Spanish plant-based company, to a net positive food-tech startup that’s leading the protein transition across Europe. This growth path is designed to bring us into 2023 in position to close the largest Series B rounds in the industry, and usher in a future that’s better for the people, planet and animals.”


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CORVALLIS, Ore. – A local healthy-beverage campaign encourages Latino families to enjoy the benefits of nutritious drinks that are part of their cultural heritage.
The healthy beverage campaign was developed by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program –Education (SNAP-Ed) of the Oregon State University Extension Service in response to surveys of Oregon Latino families.
The campaign emphasizes that nutritious beverages are part of a healthy diet for families, said Carolyn Raab, OSU Extension foods and nutrition specialist. The theme is "To live happy is to drink healthy" ("Vivir alegre es beber saludable").
"The survey shows that many Latino families appear to consume more soft drinks after they move to the U.S.,” said Tina Dodge Vera, nutrition educator with the OSU Extension Service in Linn and Benton counties. “Latinos living in Oregon may also consume other sugar-sweetened beverages such as fruit drinks."
Naturally sweetened, traditional beverages made with whole fruit may be more nutritious than beverages with added sugar, Raab pointed out. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages also may be a concern for families other than Latinos.
"Licuados (pureed milk and whole fruit combinations) provide calcium for strong bones and teeth as well as vitamin C for healthy gums and blood vessels,” Raab said. “By using lower fat milk (such as one-percent) and serving moderate-sized one-cup portions, excess calories can be avoided."
A mailed flier and billboards in Corvallis and Albany direct Spanish speakers to a web site featuring traditional healthy beverages. It can be found on the Food Hero web site (www.foodhero.org). Click on "Heroe de alimentos."
Sueño de frutas can be made by blending three cups of one percent milk with three cups of cut fruit. Strawberries, oranges, mango, pineapple and pears are all possibilities. Frozen and canned fruit are an option when fresh fruit isn't available in the winter.
"Children can help their parents make healthy beverages by measuring ingredients or cutting fruit with a dull knife," Raab said. "Parents who drink naturally sweetened beverages will be better models for their children than those who drink sugar-sweetened beverages."
The campaign is funded by SNAP-Ed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Department of Human Services and the OSU Extension Service.


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Nokia Still Leads in Mobile Phone Market
Page 1 of 1
Nokia continues to be the top shipping vendor of mobile phones in the first quarter of 2011, according to IDC.
Nokia shipped some 108.5 million mobile devices in the first calendar quarter, up from 107.8 million in the comparable quarter of last year.
However, the phone giant's market share overall fell to 29.2 percent from 34.7 percent in 2010's first quarter, according to the latest IDC Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) continued to gain ground during the first quarter. Apple shipped 18.7 million phones during the quarter, up from 8.7 million units for the same period last year. Its overall market share jumped from 2.8 percent in 2010 to 5 percent last quarter.


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U.K. Considers New Tax On Vaping ProductsFebruary 24, 2023
VOOPOO DRAG 4 Kit: The Complete ReviewFebruary 27, 2023
The vaping business has grown rapidly in recent years, and it is now a widely used substitute for conventional cigarettes. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has criticised the business due to worries about the health risks connected to vaping. The FDA is now scrutinising e-cigarette and vaporizer product manufacturers more closely.
Recently, the FDA sent warning letters to hundreds of vaping device manufacturers for noncompliance. To guarantee that vaping goods are reliable and safe, these requirements have been put in place. Since 2016, the FDA has attempted to control the e-cigarette market, but progress has been slow.
The FDA’s warnings are a part of a larger initiative to handle the health risks connected to vaping. People dying or falling severely ill as a result of lung injuries brought on by vaping have been reported in recent years. It is obvious that vaping carries serious risks even though the reason of these injuries is still under investigation.
By making vaping and e-cigarette manufacturers responsible for the safety of their products, the FDA is currently taking action to resolve these risks. Companies that disregard FDA regulations risk repercussions, including possible judicial action.
The fact that e-cigarettes are frequently marketed to young people is one of the greatest worries about vaping. Younger consumers may find vaping goods to be appealing because they come in a variety of flavours. Vaping businesses have also targeted young people using social media and other marketing strategies.
The FDA has voiced concern that this marketing may be persuading young people to start vaping, which could result in addiction and health issues for the rest of their lives. The FDA is therefore taking action to restrict the availability of flavoured vaping products and to stop businesses from promoting their goods to children.
The fact that vaping is frequently considered to be a safer option to conventional cigarettes is another issue with it. Although smoking cigarettes is more harmful than vaping, there are still dangers involved. The FDA is trying to inform the public about the dangers of vaping and to motivate individuals to completely stop using electronic cigarettes.
In order to address the problem of lung injuries brought on by vaping, the FDA has also been taking action. The organisation started looking into what caused these accidents in 2019. The results of the inquiry showed that the use of vitamin E acetate in some vaping products was probably what caused the injuries.
The FDA consequently advised people not to vape goods that contain vitamin E acetate. The agency has also been working to punish businesses that market illegal or fake vaping goods.
Reactions to the FDA’s efforts to regulate the vaping business have been conflicted. Some people think that the FDA is going too far in trying to control vaping products and that they should be left unregulated. Some claim that the FDA is not doing enough to safeguard the public from the dangers of smoking.
Whatever one’s stance on the issue, it is evident that the FDA is conducting a more thorough investigation of smoking and e-cigarette manufacturers. The organisation is taking action to guarantee the effectiveness and safety of these goods as well as to stop young people from developing nicotine addiction.
Consumers should be informed of the dangers of vaping and take precautions to safeguard themselves. The FDA advises against using any vaping goods at all, especially ones that contain THC or vitamin E acetate. If you do decide to use vaping products, make sure to only buy items from trustworthy businesses and to carefully read product labels.
As the FDA works to control this quickly expanding industry, the vaping industry is going through a time of significant change. Although the long-term effects of these initiatives are still uncertain, it is evident that the FDA is dedicated to safeguarding the public’s health and is taking the issue of vaping seriously.


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Instead of having a physical presence at E3 this year, Nintendo decided to get all futuristic on us and broadcast a live look at what it has in store for us this year. During the livestreamed Nintendo Direct event, the big N dropped some deets about the future of Mario and friends. Nintendo gave us a first look at the next installment in its popular racing franchise, Mario Kart, announcing that Mario Kart 8 will be available on the Wii U in Spring 2014.
Mario Kart 8 looks like its predecessors, both graphics and game play wise. Of course, the Wii U shots look smoother and brighter than the Wii version, and still hold true to Nintendo’s quite cartoony character design and style. There are some gameplay additions, with carts turning into hovercraft like vehicles and a 3D world that goes upside down, inside out and all over the place. Air gliding, underwater racing and driving up vertical walls are all now normal occurrences while shooting a red turtle shell at that dude in the first place slot.
Mamma mia! Check out the E3 trailer below.


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SINGAPORE – Dec. 20, 2012 – Personae Studios today announced an update forMechWarrior: Tactical Command addressing many gameplay issues based on fan feedback. In addition, the latest update of the game will be on sale Friday, December 21st on the iTunes store for $6.99. Download MechWarrior: Tactical Command at http://itunes.
“Since its launch, we adopted a rapid patching and release cycle and the constant crashes were quickly fixed with every update. We are actively working on addressing all these issues including improved navigation, increased unit feedback/response, and performance enhancements across iPads,” said Sunny Koh, Studio head of Personae Studio. “As we add support for the other iOS devices, we appreciate the patience from all the fans out there.”
View the complete letter from Personae Studio at http://www.mechwarriortc.
The latest update of MechWarrior: Tactical Command includes:
- 3 new difficulty modes
- MechLab for more granular customization.
- Balancing tweaks
- Improved Pathfinding
- Improvements in A.I. Behavior
- Rendering Stability improvements
- Improved stability for low memory devices
- Improved Contextual Menu Response Time
- New feature to unlock Zoom
View the complete update notes at http://www.mechwarriortc.com/
Download MechWarrior: Tactical Command on the iTunes store. On sale on Friday, December 23rd for $6.99: http://itunes.apple.


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Google recently patented a revolutionary application in the form of a micro camera embedded in contact lenses. Google will also use smart contact lenses that use blink processing and improve them with this new camera component that may change everything for the blind and eye-vision deficient.
With this patent the Internet flamed up as this technology – if implemented – could mean taking photos literally at the blink of an eye, which means no one would even know or get a heads up on it!
This micro camera could replace glasses or binoculars, offering people zoom and farther focus and they could improve eyesight. The system may be able to announce the blind when they have an obstacle in the way or when they meet someone. The contact lenses system could even support more cameras or sensors to detect pressure and temperature for example.
The entire project is just a patent applied for by Google, which means that if it does come true, it will require many more years before it becomes commercially viable.


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Inflation picked up again in October, with the PCE index up 5 percent
A key measure of inflation showed consumer prices rising at the fastest pace in three decades as energy prices and demand for goods and services rose, challenging both the White House and the Federal Reserve.
Prices rose 5 percent in the 12 months through October, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index Data released Wednesday. That was the fastest pace of increase since 1990.
The scale was raised by a 30.2 percent annual increase in energy prices and a 4.8 percent increase in food prices. Prices rose 0.6 percent from September to October, as supply chain disruptions continued to limit availability of some products and components.
The increases were in line with what analysts had expected, but a rise in the Fed’s preferred inflation measure will only add pressure on the central bank To take faster action to maintain price stability.
The price increases showed few signs of fading, as some officials in the Biden administration and at the Federal Reserve argued they would earlier this year. The central bank is facing mounting calls to speed up plans to end its stimulus bond-buying program and start raising interest rates, a process that could risk slowing job gains and economic growth.
While inflation has soured consumer sentiment and weighed on Mr. Biden’s valuations, these price increases have been driven in part by a strong economic recovery. Separate data released by the Ministry of Labor on Wednesday found that Initial jobless claims fell to an all-time low Since 1969, it has fallen by 71,000 to 199,000 last week.
Mr. Biden praised the drop in unemployment claims on Wednesday but acknowledged that the country is still far from a full recovery and that it must tackle rising inflation.
“We have more work to do before our economy returns to normal, including addressing price hikes that hurt Americans’ money and undermine gains in wages and disposable income,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday.
In an effort to lower gas prices, the United States and five other world powers announced coordinated efforts on Tuesday Benefit from national oil stocks. Mr. Biden has ordered the Department of Energy to release 50 million barrels of crude oil in Iraq Strategic Petroleum ReserveThis is less than what traders expected from the emergency stockpile, which is the largest in the world with 620 million barrels.
Consumers are increasingly concerned about the sharp rise in prices. A University of Michigan survey on Wednesday showed that consumers expressed less optimism in November than at any other time in the past decade about the prospects for their finances and the overall growth of the economy. The decline in consumer sentiment came as a result of the rapid increase in inflation and the lack of federal policies that would remedy the damage to household budgets, according to the report.


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Surviving Mars Summary
The latest Dev Diary for Surviving Mars from Tropico developer Haemimont details the magnificent Domes and the people that live in them.
The most unexpected things become of value when you are 34 million miles from Earth.
Paradox Interactive and Haemimont Games have revealed the first gameplay footage for Surviving Mars, which is set to be released for the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018.
Surviving Mars is about being the first colonist on Mars and leading a colonization effort where resources are scarce, the environment is hostile, and sanity needs to balanced with the productivity of the crew you take with you.
Paradox Interactive and Haemimont Games reveal Surviving Mars, a management strategy game coming to PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4
Paradox Interactive has announced that it's working on a new management strategy game called Surviving Mars, which will be developed by Haemimont Games, who are known for working on some of the Tropico games and Victor Vran.
Surviving Mars challenges players to build a fully functional colony on Mars, mixing survival needs with sanity and quality of life, while dealing with the hostile environment around you.


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Legislative budget-writers raised serious questions about the U of I’s closed-door negotiations with the University of Phoenix — and the potential financial risks from the $685 million megadeal.
At a pivotal point, Gov. Brad Little’s pet education microgrant program has problems. And the problems have been more or less lurking in plain sight.
Empowering Parents grant money might have covered thousands of questionable purchases — such as TVs, smart watches, clothes and cleaning supplies. And the governor isn’t hiding his displeasure.
The Workforce Development Council will shape Idaho Launch, an ambitious and complicated effort to provide up to $8,000 in incentives to high school graduates, starting next year.


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Instagram users will soon be able to use the site to mint, showcase and sell digital collections powered by non-fungible token (NFTs) on Polygon, giving creators a new way to engage with and monetize their fan communities.
Meta, which owns Instagram, today announced it will soon test these new features with a small group of creators in the U.S. first with the goal of expanding to more users and countries soon. Instagram plans to integrate a full end-to-end toolkit that can be used for the whole process — from creation, starting on the Polygon blockchain, to showcasing and selling NFTs both on and off the popular social media site.
Meta began testing digital collectibles features on Instagram in May by letting select U.S. creators share NFTs that they have created or bought. By late September, it expanded the offering to 100 countries and allowed everyone on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. to connect their wallets, share their digital collectibles and automatically tag the creator and collector without paying any network fees.
NFTs open new venues for artists to capture the economic value of their work and a way to transform their social capital into financial reward. Fans get an opportunity to support the creators they love by collecting and curating their work.
After bursting into popular consciousness last year, NFTs have been making steady progress toward mainstream adoption. Most recently, Reddit revealed that more than 3 million of its users created blockchain wallets to purchase Collectible Avatars powered by Polygon. Meta’s entry into this space marks a new chapter in the evolution of the creator economy by opening the path for fans to become creators themselves.
Meta joins a long list of global companies like Robinhood and Stripe that choose Polygon as their entrypoint into Web3. The network, one of the greenest blockchains in existence, is home to tens of thousands of decentralized apps powered by a suite of Polygon solutions, including Aave, Uniswap and OpenSea.
“This move represents a remarkable milestone in the evolution of Instagram’s existing NFT functionality and a natural next step to bring Web3 to the mainstream,” said Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. "The value added to the creator economy is unmatchable and championing verifiable digital ownership on a platform with such reach will help us further our goal of onboarding the next billion users to Web3."
Tune in to the Polygon Blog for the latest ecosystem updates, and let's bring the world to Ethereum!
Mastercard is launching a spotlight program for emerging musical artists built on the Polygon blockchain to help up-and-coming creators tap into the power of Web3 and blockchain technologies. Kicking off in spring 2023, the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program will prepare five emerging artists—such as musicians, DJs, producers—with the tools, skills, and access to forge their...
Key takeaways: Weekly active wallets surged to 1.37 Mn (+13%) in the week of Dec. 12 driven by an increase in activity across DeFi dApps -- Uniswap V3 (35.2k, +41%), Sushiswap (35.3k, +542%), 1inch (32k, +54%), Klimadao (30.7k, +8,123%), and Zerox (0x) (17.4k, +464%). NFT Volume is back up after dropping slightly last week, reaching...


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Honda Research Institute has announced a new breakthrough battery chemistry developed in collaboration with Caltech and NASA JPL researchers. The technology, which was detailed in a newly published study, has a better eco footprint while enabling the use of higher energy density materials in comparison to existing battery tech.
Honda says the new technology sidesteps fluoride-based battery technology temperature limitations. The team successfully demonstrated the operation of fluoride-ion based energy cells at room temperature, opening the door for high energy-density batteries that better meet the high capacity needs of modern technology.
Even better, the researchers say that unlike popularly used lithium-ion batteries, which are known to be volatile, fluoride-ion batteries are safer without the risk of overheating. As well, this battery technology is better for the environment due to the lower environmental impact of its source materials.
Batteries created with the chemistry may have up to 10 times the high energy density of lithium-ion batteries, according to the study. Despite the upsides, this type of battery hasn’t replaced lithium-ion due to its temperature limitations — until now, it has required temperatures above 302F degrees to work properly.
Researchers with Honda, NASA, and Caltech overcame this limitation and developed a fluoride-ion cell that can operate at room temperature. The team achieved this using a fluoride-conducting liquid electrolyte that has high ionic conductivity, as well as a wide operating voltage. Such technology may one day be behind batteries that power everything from consumer gadgets to electric vehicles.