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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov. 1, 2021
Job Satisfaction Improves, Housing and Automobiles Cool Down, Consumer Confidence Drops
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Nov. 1, 2021) – The Greater Phoenix Chamber recently released the Q3 Arizona Business Index™ (ABI™), powered by OH Predictive Insights (OHPI). The study measures and interprets the health of the Arizona economy from the perspective of the Arizona consumer.
“We are pleased to see job satisfaction improving as Arizona continues to rebound from the pandemic,” said Todd Sanders, president and CEO, Greater Phoenix Chamber. “However, we are also seeing a decrease in consumer confidence as COVID cases spike, showcasing a correlation between the two. Both the housing and automobile indices are seeing consecutive drops in consumer confidence with growing uncertainty in the market. We will be monitoring these trends to see how reported perception matches with economists’ predictions that the housing market will continue to thrive.”
Key Highlights on all categories are below:
- Arizonans’ confidence continued its steady decrease after its Q2 2021 peak. Despite the decrease, Arizonans are considerably more confident now than they were at this point last year.
- Arizona current consumer sentiment remains lower than the nation as a whole.
- There is a strong relationship between consumer confidence in Arizona and the spike in COVID-19 cases. Despite the surge in cases due to the Delta variant, consumer confidence did not return to its early pandemic levels.
- Housing Index dropped more than 20 points in September – the third 20-plus-point drop in the past 12 months – leading to a new monthly low.
- Compared to September 2020, September 2021’s Housing Index decreased by 49.5 points.
- Only 31% believe now is a good time to buy a new home, compared to 49% who think it’s a bad time.
- The Arizona Automobile Index in Q3 was 136.4, a 5.43-point decrease from last quarter. September’s value of 124.6 was the index’s lowest month since January 2021.
- After two consecutive months of positive growth, the Automobile Index fell more than 20 points in September, wiping out the gains from July and August.
- 34% believe now is a good time to buy a car.
- The Economic Optimism Index decreased by almost 5 points between Q2 and Q3, resulting in new quarterly and monthly lows.
- 83% believe prices will rise and 67% expect interest rates to rise.
- Through 2020 and 2021, pluralities of Arizonans have been reluctant to predict that the stock market will rise.
- However, since the beginning of the pandemic, Arizonans have become less pessimistic. The decrease in pessimism hasn’t been paired with an increase in optimism – rather an increase in the share of Arizonans expecting the stock market to remain the same.
- Job satisfaction increased by 12.19 points compared to last quarter.
- 81% of consumers were satisfied with their job and 84% felt more secure.
- After a spring and summer of optimism regarding the pandemic, pessimism has returned to the state as it experienced a new wave of COVID-19, driven by the Delta Variant.
- As cases began to decline in September 2021, pessimism gradually decreased.
“In the steady decline of consumer confidence throughout Q3, the ABI™ found that current and future confidence go hand-in-hand – very few people are optimistic about one but pessimistic about the other,” said Mike Noble, OHPI Chief of Research. “We were interested in understanding which groups are driving above/below average current and future confidence, and learned that postgraduates, Democrats, and consumers with a household income over $100k are leading above average future and current confidence; meanwhile, 55-64-year-olds, Rural dwellers, and consumers with a household income less than $50k are driving below average confidence.”
For information on how to obtain access to the Arizona Business Index, visit phoenixchamber.com/abi.
Methodology: The survey was completed by OH Predictive Insights from July 7 to September 26, 2021, from an Arizona general population. The data applied post-stratification on age, gender, region, ethnicity and education level that reflects latest Census data. The sample size was 1,800 completed surveys, with a MOE of ± 2.31%.
About Arizona Business Index ™ (ABI™)
The Arizona Business Index ™ (ABI™) is a barometer of the health of the Arizona economy from the perspective of the Arizona consumer. This extensive statewide consumer sentiment survey provides an accurate pulse on the key indicators that drive the economy and delivers expert insight into consumer confidence to help aid in decision making. The index is based on consumers’ perceptions of business conditions, personal finances, and buying conditions. Follow ABI on Twitter @AZBusinessIndex
About the Greater Phoenix Chamber
Representing 2,400 businesses across the Greater Phoenix region, the Greater Phoenix Chamber promotes regional prosperity by serving as a catalyst for economic vitality and strong communities. The Chamber pursues this mission by collaborating with business, political and community leaders to grow the regional talent pool, create a regional approach to economic development and drive a pro-Arizona agenda.
About OH Predictive Insights: As a nonpartisan market research, predictive analytics, and public opinion polling firm, Phoenix-based OH Predictive Insights provides accurate polling, focus groups, data analytics, and advanced targeted marketing to political and corporate clients alike. With leading professionals in the advertising, communication, polling, and political arenas, OH Predictive Insights serves clients looking to improve their footing with key stakeholders and consumers. For more information, please call 602-362-5694 or submit a request online.


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Amidst all the headlines about Facebook's data privacy challenges, it can be easy to forget that it has been less than three months since the Cambridge Analytica controversy erupted. The true impact on Facebook's usage, and any significant shift in consumer behavior, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, recent surveys indicate new levels of concern among consumers and a heightened sense of awareness of the privacy risks of social network use.
In today's episode, we consider a recent Atlantic survey, plus data from other sources, to get a sense of where usage is going, and how much attitudes have changed.
The most recent reports from Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer's Principal Analyst for Social, examine Facebook's place in the market and the potential fallout from the privacy controversy. (Available only to subscribers.)
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Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily on Thursday:
Roku Inc., down $9.05 to $42.05
Investors were disappointed with the streaming video device company's forecasts.
Chesapeake Energy Corp., up 57 cents to $3.20
The natural gas company turned a profit and had a stronger fourth quarter than analysts expected.
Avis Budget Group Inc., up $5.24 to $44.20
The rental car company forecast stronger-than-expected sales in 2018.
Stericycle Inc., down $14.28 to $60.63
The medical waste management company's profit fell short of estimates, and it expects to invest more money in its business.
United Technologies Corp., up $4.32 to $133.58
The industrial company's CEO said it will consider splitting itself into three smaller companies.
Pandora Media Inc., down 35 cents to $4.52
The streaming music company forecast less revenue in the first quarter than analysts had projected.
Caterpillar Inc., up $3.63 to $158.86
Industrial companies fared better than the rest of the market on Thursday.
Wayfair Inc., down $21.74 to $73.95
The online home goods company gave up some of its recent gains after it took a bigger-than-expected loss.


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This post marks the first in a series of product profiles that we plan to publish on the London Drugs blog, exploring the talented people producing some of the exciting Canadian products on our shelves.
22-year-old founder Tara Bosch launched the confectionary company Smart Sweets in 2016, and in doing so, shook up the candy world. If you picked up a bag of her treats at your local London Drugs, you may have wondered in fact whether you were getting candy or a health product.
You’re getting both.
Bosch set out to create a treat that wasn’t loaded with the usual amount of sugar. Where a 56-gram bag of Skittles contains 43 grams of sugar, Smart Sweets contains just 2 grams of sugar per 50-gram pouch (not to mention 24 grams of fibre and 5 grams of protein). It’s a sweet snack that you can feel a little better about enjoying.
An up-and-comer in the business world, Bosch has already been on the popular TV program Dragons’ Den (earning praise from all the judges) and has been honoured in the Pitch for the Purse contest as well as in the most recent BCBusiness 30 under 30 issue.
“It was amazing to see and hear the stories of how people’s lives have been impacted by sugar. There is no better time to be part of the wellness industry in Canada as more and more people are realizing the impact that food, specifically sugar, has on our body and are eagerly waiting for options to be innovated so they can make smaller, smarter choices in their daily lives,” says Bosch.
“It was so cool to see people who watched our episode reach out and share their stories about how they are kicking sugar, too. Smart Sweets has the opportunity to make a massive impact in people’s lives. At the end of the day, it’s about being able to feel good about enjoying the foods we love, and life’s too short not to be able to eat candy everyday.”
When asked where Bosch sees Smart Sweets going from here, the entrepreneur doesn’t balk. “Smart Sweets is revolutionizing candy consumption. Tackling one of the largest and most concerning problems hidden in our everyday foods, we are driving innovation through creation of the first candy products that kick sugar naturally … We want to empower people to live their best lives by giving them the choice to kick sugar.”
Bosch’s dream of seeing Smart Sweets take up space on shelves across the world–including shelves at London Drugs, of course–just may become reality. We wish her the best.
Smart Sweets is currently available in stores across Canada, including London Drugs. The product will be launching in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2018.


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Plastic bags retailers and manufacturers have been served with a notice to clear their stock before August 28, 2017, by Kenya’s environment watchdog Nema.
This follows a legal pronouncement by Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources on February 28 banning the use, manufacture, and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging.
Speaking at a consultative forum for stakeholders on Wednesday, the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) director-general Geoffrey Wahungu, said any stocks left by August 28 will be treated as garbage.
“All plastic bags in stock by August 28, will become waste,” said Wahungu.
He added that they have partnered with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Bureau of Standard (KBS) and county governments to make the ban more effective.
“My authority is keen to implement these strategies to the very end so as to enhance a clean and healthy environment for all,” he said.
In April, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) said companies that manufacture plastic paper bags will no longer be issued with permits.
Retailers or manufacturers found using plastic bags after the ban will face a fine of between Sh2 million and Sh4 million, or a jail term of between one and two years, or both.
Environment and Natural Resources Cabinet Secretary Prof. Judi Wakhungu commended retail stores that have already adapted to alternative measures that are environment-friendly.
“Everyone has a role to play to make sure that the country goes into the implementation of this ban with an open mind to go the extra mile for the good of the environment and the citizens of this country,” she said.
Nakumatt Holdings and Safaricom have already launched biodegradable bags to be used as alternatives to plastic paper bags.


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The long-awaited public beta of the latest iteration of Elementary OS known as "Freya" has finally been released and it comes with a series of improvements both under-the-hood and to the design
Nokia Lumia is no more. Long live Microsoft Lumia! (It's official now.)
Editorial: With Gadgets long dead, give us pinned Live Tiles in Windows 10
Philips Fidelio X2 headphones review
Windows Phone's future success lies at the low end, says Alcatel VP
Windows 10 logo
Richard Stallman, the granddaddy of the free software community, says that Valve is dilluting the ethos of the movement by bringing nonfree games to Linux, something he calls 'unethical.'
20 years ago today, Linus Torvalds made a newsgroup post announcing his intention to develop a free operating system. Neowin takes a look back at the journey from hobbyist OS to essential tool.
The Free Software Foundation has sent 499 letters to the top Fortune 500 companies (with Microsoft being the exception), trying to persuade the decision makers in the companies not to use Microsoft software, according to...


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Fair brings more business to Lewistown
A countless number of people flooded into Lewistown last week for the annual Fulton County Fair, making local restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores much busier.
Located right across from the fairgrounds, Dairy Queen received the most impact from the fair.
Trisha Woods, daughter of the owner of the business and a shift leader, said that Dairy Queen was busy "all day and all night" during the entire week and that she believes it is the busiest time of the year.
While whole week was busy, Woods said the craziest day was Thursday due to the scrambles events, especially since the business had given coupons to a group of kids in one of the scrambles.
After the scrambles, many of the children and their parents went to Dairy Queen to use the coupons, she said.
During fair week, Dairy Queen staffs one extra person during day and night shifts.
Woods estimated that s'mores Blizzards and chicken strips were popular last week and the restaurant's five dollar meal has been popular all summer.
She added that on Saturday — the last day of the fair — cars filled the restaurant's parking lot as well as alleys and other nearby parking lots, such as Hilda's Pantry.
"Us being right across from the fairgrounds is real convenient," Woods said.
In addition to Dairy Queen, County Market saw an increase in customers as well.
Employee Tammy Baldry said that more people came into the market than usual to buy snacks, beverages and other items.
An increase in sales of cigarettes and alcohol was also seen.
Baldry also said that the County Market tries to increase its staff during this time.
Furthermore, Casey's gas stations saw a change in business.
While the Casey's located near Lewistown High School didn't see too much deviance from its normal business, the one near the fairgrounds was pretty busy, station employees said.
The majority of purchases during this time included coffee, beer, soda and gas, and an extra employee is always staffed during fair week.


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MANAGING ARTIFICIAL PEAK
08/17/2020 Matthew Wittemeier
Having recently attended the Post&Parcel Live event in June, we weren’t surprised to find many of the parcel operator’s presentations about how they were managing their response to the COVID-19 pandemic now affecting nearly every country in the world. Common themes among those presentations were keeping their staff safe, keeping their customers safe, and, the focus of this article, managing demand. In response to many lockdowns across Europe and, in fact, the world, many consumers have turned to the online retail giants when many traditional brick-and-mortar shops have been closed, resulting in an “artificial peak.”
Coronavirus Fueled an Artificial Peak
During Gilles Ferrandez of AnPost’s presentation, he put up a graph showing year-on-year, weekly parcel volumes from the past three years, along with the volumes for 2020 (see figure below). It is overtly clear that as the pandemic worsened, the volume of parcels climbed sharply, with the organization experiencing a peak greater than had experienced over the typical Christmas peak in the three proceeding years.
The story is similar across many parcel organizations across the globe. Apex Insight has reported that parcel volumes in Europe did not follow the trend seen in China (decline during the lockdown phase of the countries response) but, in fact, grew due to a growth in B2C volumes – in particular, from growth in demand from Amazon. When most businesses were closed and struggling, Amazon was doing big business. They reported a 26% increase in revenue for Q1 2020 over the same period in 2019. Hermes in Germany has reported a 39% increase in Germans receiving parcels during the Coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, they’ve reported that the increase is sustaining itself at “pre-Christmas levels.” Similar findings were reported by multiple global operators, including the Austria Post and Swiss Post.
Coronavirus is Gutting Revenue
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that many post and parcel operators are struggling to remain profitable during COVID-19. DHL reported in an April Investor announcement that despite on-track parcel volume growth for March of 0-5%, “…additional cost to ensure full operations” meant they were predicting a negative EBIT for the same time period. They noted that decreases in automotive and fashion B2B parcel volumes were down, but groceries and life-science/health-care volumes were up. In summary, as they withdrew their guidance for 2020, they noted, “The accumulated pandemic-related negative EBIT deviation from plan in February and March amounts to EUR200 million for the group.”
Despite recording a surge in B2C parcels across the UK region, Royal Mail’s UK business is reporting a significant slump in business from B2B volumes issuing a suspension of forecasts for 2020-21. They expect the business to be “materially loss-making,” while GLS will be “significantly reduced.”
Managing Peak and Your Bottom Line
Typically, post and parcel operators rely on careful planning and a surge in human labor to see them through the Christmas peak. Coronavirus caught them off-guard, and subsequently, many have faced delivery capacity issues as they worked to adjust to the new normal. DHL reported that about one in every four parcels was likely to see a delivery delay, which is a 5% increase from one in five. Add to this that ramping up human interaction during a pandemic isn’t the best solution, and the question has to be asked, “What are the other possible solutions?”
Automation has proven to be a highly effective resource for ports and terminals both during normal operations and throughout the pandemic. Automation comes in two parts. Firstly, the part you see, Autonomous vehicles (AVs). We wrote an interesting update on the state of AVs earlier this year, and the June issue of Parcel and Postal Technology also ran a similar piece. The second element of automation is AI- and Operations-Research-based algorithms, or software, that help post and parcel operators intelligently run their distribution hubs, fleet management, routing, etc. As a basic example, our Smart Link algorithm looks at how peak capacity of a distribution hub’s sortation system can be positively impacted through intelligent yard management decisions. It is in intelligent systems like these that an investment in one element of your operations can benefit others, driving up ROI and improving your overall resiliency.
As an industry, we will emerge from the current pandemic, and we will have learned a great number of lessons. We hope that one of those lessons is the importance of technology in enabling us to respond to foreseen and unforeseen capacity issues.
About our Expert
Matthew Wittemeier is Director Marketing and Sales at INFORM's Terminal & Distribution Center Logistics Division where he’s become a thought-provoking contributor to many industry publications and conferences. He’s also co-author of the award winning 2038: A Smart Port Story - a story about the future of technology and the social challenges it may bring.


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Early delivery this morning, as I have tickets to a kindergarten farewell concert for their beloved principal (the reworked arrangement of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah is said to be particularly poignant). Here we go...
Today's plan was to sidestep the Uber drama, and instead just link you to our awesome recap of the investigation's findings and some related actions (including CEO Travis Kalanick's decision to take a leave of absence). But then TPG Capital founding partner David Bonderman said something sexist during an all-hands meeting called to address the company's problems with, among other things, sexism. And the audio was leaked. So the plan was scrapped, and here we are:
• What we would have talked about: The U.S. government is considering greater scrutiny of Chinese investments into American tech companies involved in artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to an unreleased Pentagon report viewed by Reuters.
The main worry seems to be that China could gain access to AI technology that could have military benefit, as opposed to the U.S. getting first dibs. One outcome could be much more stringent CFIUS involvement on national security grounds, perhaps even on venture capital deals. Axios breaks it down here.
Neiman Marcus, a luxury retailer owned by Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said that it is no longer exploring either a full or partial sale of the company. A strategic review had been launched three months ago, in large part to help Neiman Marcus deal with $4.8 billion debt load.
• Element AI, a Montreal-based platform for companies to build AI solutions, has raised US$102 million in Series A funding. Data Collective led the round, and was joined by Real Ventures, BDC, Fidelity Investments Canada, Hanwha Investment, Intel Capital, Microsoft Ventures, National Bank of Canada, NVIDIA, Tencent and unidentified sovereign wealth funds. http://tcrn.ch/2rv7nBb
• AEye, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based robotic vision startup, has raised $16 million in Series A funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Airbus Ventures, Intel Capital, Tyche Partners. www.aeye.ai
• Snapsheet, a Chicago-based provider of virtual claims software for the personal and commercial insurance industry, has raised $12 million in Series D funding led by Tola Capital. http://bit.ly/2ro7148
• Figure 1, a sort of Instagram for physicians, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. Kensington Capital Partners led the round, and was joined by Samsung NEXT, John Hancock/Manulife, WTI, Hedgewood and return backers Union Square Ventures, Rho Canada Ventures and Version One Ventures. http://tcrn.ch/2sk3tzr
• WhiteSource, an Israel-based provider of software security and compliance management solutions, has raised $10 million in Series B funding. 83North led the round, and was joined by Microsoft Ventures and Greylock's David Strohm (as an individual). www.whitesourcesoftware.com
• Submittable, a cloud-based submission management platform based in Montana, has raised $5 million in Series A funding from True Ventures. http://tcrn.ch/2soPZD4
• Yofumo Technologies, developer of a post-harvest system for the cannabis industry, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by MedScience Ventures. http://mjm.ag/2skZ2UY
• Actility, a French machine-to-machine communications platform focused on the industrial and physical infrastructure sectors, said that Cisco Systems was part of a previously-announced $75 million Series D round. http://bit.ly/2sZgJHq
• Audax Private Equity has acquired Altasciences, a Canadian contract research organization, from Kilmer Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. www.altasciences.com
• Fosun International of China has made a takeover bid for British gemstone miner Gemfields (LSE AIM: GEM), the owner of Faberge which has a current market cap of around £225 million. This rivals an existing offer from existing Gemfields shareholder Pallinghurs, a South African private equity firm. http://on.ft.com/2szC64C
🚑 Great Hill Partners has sponsored a recapitalization of Quantum Health, a Columbus, Ohio-based provider of consumer navigation and healthcare coordination solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Selling shareholders include Altaris Capital Partners and GE Ventures. www.quantum-health.com
🍺 Heineken has until June 20 to offer concessions to British antitrust regulators, related to Heineken and Patron Capital's £403 million agreement to purchase Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB). https://bloom.bg/2rcZMbd
• J.F. Lehman & Co. has led a recapitalization of NorthStar Group, a provider of environmental and technical solutions to the commercial and government end markets. No financial terms were disclosed. www.jflpartners.com
• Peak 10 Holding, a Charlotte-based portfolio company of GI Partners, has agreed to acquire data center group ViaWest from Shaw Communications for US$1.675 billion. http://reut.rs/2slc4lp
• SK Hynix, a South Korean chipmaker, is partnering with Japanese government-backed INJC and private equity firm KKR in their bid for Toshiba's semiconductors business, according to Reuters. http://reut.rs/2snGtPK
• Canada Goose Holdings (NYSE/TSX: GOOS), a Toronto-based outdoor apparel maker, has filed for a secondary public offering of 12.5 million shares (current value of $280m). Around 10.5 million of the sales are being offered by majority shareholder Bain Capital.
• Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is in talks to acquire Indian online grocery site BigBasket, according to Bloomberg. Sellers would include Abraaj Group. https://bloom.bg/2swSkM7
• Hexagon AB (Oslo: HEXA), a Swedish industrial technology company, has held early talks on a sale to a U.S. or European rival that could be worth around $20 billion, according to the WSJ. http://on.wsj.com/2s81vju
• Sears Canada (TSX: SCC) said that it is exploring strategic options, including a possible sale. http://reut.rs/2sxZzDx
• Verizon has completed its $4.5 billion purchase of Yahoo's core Internet assets, which basically means it bought all of Yahoo except for its equity holdings in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. http://bit.ly/2sp9Fa8
• Zhonghong Zhuoye Group, a Chinese conglomerate, is in talks to acquire Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), a Brentwood, Tenn.-based owner and operator of senior living communities that has a current market cap of around $2.7 billion, per Reuters. http://reut.rs/2rmYEpA
• Hamilton Lane has closed its latest credit-focused fund with around $435 million in capital commitments. www.hamiltonlane.com
• Dylan Morris has joined venture firm CRV as part of its new bioengineering practice. He previously was with Innovation Endeavors. www.crv.com


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WELCOME TO The education REPORT
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
edsurge | April 07, 2020
As schools and colleges shutter across the world, Khan Academy has seen unprecedented web traffic to its online instructional videos and exercises. Before COVID-19 struck, the site saw about 18 million users each month. In recent weeks, “we’ve seen traffic grow two-and-a-half to three times the normal,” says Khan in an interview. He anticipates that could grow to seven-folds in the coming months. On top of that, users are spending twice as long on the site as they usually would...
edsurge | January 24, 2020
Kaltura, a New York-based provider of video collaboration tools used by education, government and corporate institutions, has acquired Newrow, a developer of similar products. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press release. Founded in 2006, Kaltura offers a suite of cloud-based video technologies used across different industries. In education, the company’s products are used to record lectures, add captions and other interactive elements to videos, and deliver them to student de...
businesswire | February 15, 2021
With the extending need for business experts to successfully utilize and use information in every day choices, Kaplan, Inc., one of the world's biggest and most assorted training suppliers, has presented a unique answer for organizations to upskill representatives with an information education program. Created by its eminent Metis® information science and examination preparing group and conveyed by Kaplan Performance Academy (KPA), organizations presently have a top notch computerized cl...
BloombergQuint | April 10, 2020
Naspers spun off its international internet businesses into Amsterdam-listed Prosus NV last year, with the Cape Town-based company retaining a majority shareholding. The jewel in its crown is a 31% stake in Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s biggest company, which it backed as a startup. The company also has interests in food delivery, fintech and classified advertising as well as other online-focused...
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Meet Chipotle’s first-ever entirely new menu item: Sofritas, the vegan tofu burrito
Here’s what the founder of the famous Babycakes vegan/gluten free bakery has to say about entrepreneurship.
"If you are an entrepreneur at heart you are surely getting a ton of ideas, the key is to not be afraid of those ideas…"
"All we can expect is the unexpected. Everything is going to go to hell and we’re gonna be fine. As long as the donuts still taste right."
You Can’t Tell That This New, Cheap Egg Substitute Is Made From Plants
To keep a growing world population filled with nutrients, startups like Beyond Eggs are finding new ways of making protein that don’t involve the resource intensity of raising animals. Here comes the Protein Economy.
“…don’t imagine that just because we’re in trouble today means we’ll be in double-trouble tomorrow. Science will come to the rescue—and not in the shape of yet more antibiotics, and ever more industrial food-production processes. What these innovators are talking about are completely new ways of making food, and particularly protein: growing it in a laboratory or engineering it from plants, because it’s too harmful (and expensive) to produce the “natural way.”“
Sound disgusting? Maybe. But perhaps you haven’t seen the insides of a battery chicken shed recently, or imagined how much more antibiotics we’ll have to use as the world nears 9 billion. “Our food system is abysmally broken,” says Josh Tetrick, CEO of San Francisco-based Hampton Creek Foods, maker of the Beyond Eggs egg-substitute. “It’s not about the morality of eating animals or not. It’s about the conditions that a lot of these animals are raised in. These hens are kept inside a cage for two years, pumped full of feed and antibiotics, and it’s just cruel. We don’t all have to stop eating eggs. But we should ask if we want to participate in that.”
Tetrick’s team has deconstructed the egg, analyzed its 22 special functions, and replicated it with plant-stuffs like sunflower lecithin, canola, peas, and natural gums from tree sap. By all accounts, the substitute tastes just like the real thing—even if it doesn’t look like it. It’s sold as a gray-green powder that you need to hydrate before use.
Tetrick, who eats only plant-based food himself, insists he’s not on an anti-meat crusade. He applauds that companies like Chipotle are turning to sustainable sources of meat.
The main idea is to replace the eggs currently used to make things like mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and factory-made muffins or cookies (i.e. not your Sunday fry-up). That’s about a third of the 79 billion eggs laid in the U.S. every year.
At the moment, Hampton has two major Fortune 500 customers—one of which plans to market that its products are egg-free, and another that wants to keep the fact quiet for now. “We’re just removing the eggs that we have an issue with. We don’t care if they want to just save money. That’s fine,” he says. Beyond Eggs is 18% cheaper than battery-produced eggs.
Tetrick sees a smaller retail business selling to vegans, and the cholesterol-conscious. Beyond Eggs will be available online in the next two weeks, and probably from major retailers after that.
Beyond that, he wants to feed people who are likely to go hungry without interventions in the protein supply system. “I think the reason people like Bill Gates are interested in this is that the world population is expanding to 9 billion, and people are going to need good cheap sources of protein. Some of the economics of meat production, particularly around feed, aren’t good.”
Here’s more on this topic:
Beyond Meat is… Twitter!
Beyond Meat, a startup that makes vegan meat analogues, is making products that purportedly taste and feel like real meat (we haven’t yet confirmed this ourselves), have a better nutrition profile (no cholesterol, no saturated fat, but lots of protein), and will eventually be at a lower price point than the industrially-farmed stuff. The company has some surprising backers, especially the Obvious Corporation—a company founded by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone and former Twitter VP of Product Jason Goldman—and venture capitalist powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers. Why is Beyond Meat garnering so much interest?


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10th annual Outdoor Living Expo Jan. 18, 19, 25
WOOSTER The 10th annual June-in-January Outdoor Living Expo will be Jan. 18, 19, and 25 at Buchwalter Greenhouse, 6554 Back Orrville Road in Wooster.
Admission and parking are free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays Jan. 18 and 25, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19.
Hosted in Buchwalter’s heated tropical showroom, this year’s show welcomes two new partners, according to a news release. Frank Brothers Landscape Supply and Family Pools and Spas join Buchwalters, Keener Landscaping, Lehman’s, Lucci Custom Work, Runions’ Furniture, Village Catering, V.I.P. Travel and WQKT to present this year’s event. In addition to outdoor spa, landscaping, grill, fire table and furniture displays, June in January will include food samples and refreshments, grilling demonstrations, plus how-to seminars on outdoor living trends, gardening, & landscape design. This year’s event will once again partner with Patios for Patriots, an area non-profit whose unique mission provides backyard makeovers for military veterans who have seen active duty. Attendees can purchase tickets in a basket raffle featuring over 10 door prizes, with all proceeds benefiting Patios for Patriots.
June in January guests 18 years and over will also have the opportunity to enter a grand prize drawing for over $1,100 in gift certificates valid at any of the participating businesses, with no purchase necessary.
For more info and a complete schedule of activities, go to www.juneinjanuary.com, visit
June-in-January on Facebook, or phone Buchwalter Greenhouse at 330-669-3489.


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The Louisiana-bred businessman is offering a Black-owned substitute to companies with racially insensitive imagery.
(AllHipHop News) Master P has apologized to Monica after tagging her in a post slamming his “ungrateful” brother C-Murder. C-Murder was handed a life sentence in 2003 after he was found guilty of the 2002 killing of 16-year-old Steve Thomas …
(AllHipHop Rumors) I assumed everyone was in the fight for C-Murder’s freedom was on the same page. Apparently, that was not the case. They are going at it! Monica and Master P with Kim Kardashian somehow off the hook! He …
Master P is launching another new business, and this time he wants to take out Ramen!
Veteran New Orleans rapper Reginelli Gambino is back with a new project dedicated to keeping C-Murder’s name alive.
Master P. and his partner James Lindsay have been working for years to brand their company Rap Snacks. Now their hard work is paying off.


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HARARE. — As the smoke thundered in Victoria Falls last week, leaders from the local business fraternity were gathered for the 4th edition of the Business Leaders Conference which was hosted by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe. The event was being held under the theme: Standards — A building block for a sound national and quality infrastructure. A befitting theme.
The recent outbreaks of serious avian influenzas affecting local poultry are good examples of how standards can impact trade and how collective efforts should always be harnessed to maintain standards. Following the outbreak, virtually every country banned poultry imports from Zimbabwe. While the outbreak had been identified from just one poultry producer, all other poultry producers’ supplies were also banned by other export markets, in line with the World Trade Organisation’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
We can also cite the failure of local cattle producers to export beef to Europe; despite the country’s signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union nearly a decade ago, giving Zimbabwe duty free and quota free access to European markets.
Zimbabwe has been having challenges in meeting basic standards stipulated before being allowed to resume beef exports to the lucrative European Union; which were suspended in 2001 after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
Those who have gone through the provisional driving license test may agree that Zimbabwe is a cattle country and that there is local capacity to grow exports through enhanced beef production if the right standards are met.
But between now and then, Zimbabwe will continue lose out on potential revenue it could be earning from beef exports. The graph below shows that the country’s export of meat has been insignificant since 2001.
In light of the above, upgrading standards will therefore be instrumental in reviving the country’s export markets and reclaiming its former glory. This is happening at a time when government is planning to launch a National Exports Policy and it is important for that policy to enshrine issues to do with quality and standards.
There has also been talk about establishing a National Quality Standards Regulatory Authority to manage the standards of local products.
Although the government has been implementing Consignment Based Conformity Assessment in order to reduce hazardous and substandard imported products and improve customs duty collection, there are still some challenges associated with border porosity and scope of the work being done. Bureau Veritas which was appointed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to verify and assess conformity of goods is only doing so on a narrow range of products.
In total, just about 32 classes of products from different sectors are monitored by Bureau Veritas when Zimbabwe actually imports thousands of classes of products. The creation of a body that ensures product quality is therefore necessary. At the moment, existing organisations such as Standards Association of Zimbabwe only certify organisations that voluntarily apply.
And out of about 5,000 companies with the potential to get certified in Zimbabwe, only 140 companies are currently certified, which shows lack of commitment to issues of quality by the majority of companies.
And with the protectionist measures that have boosted the demand for local products, some local producers are just not taking issues to do with standards and quality seriously, knowing that people will still buy their products anyway. And if that mentality is allowed to kick in, it will inculcate a culture of irresponsibility that can only succeed in closing doors for export market opportunities for the country.
However, the development of product standards and their widespread adoption can play an instrumental role in facilitating transactions and enhancing trade, both domestically and abroad.
Standards facilitate the interoperability of products and systems; and have the potential to actually extend and enlarge the market; which help determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the economy.
Industrialists can also agree that standards are an important vehicle for the development and diffusion of best practice technologies and can make a big contribution towards lifting productivity and promoting sustainable economic growth. And more importantly, standards also serve to give consumers greater health and safety protection.
In general, standards can have national, regional or international scope. National standards in Zimbabwe are currently fragmented and located in various government ministries and statutory bodies and the coming in of a regulatory standards body is probably going to harmonize them. By design, national standards can be used by everyone, but are more prominent for the local market actors. They also take into account preferences of actors on the demand side. Production in compliance with national standards can serve as a quality signal.
On the other hand, regional standards are published in multiple countries of one geographical or political region. As a member of regional blocs such as COMESA and SADC, Zimbabwe has entered into a number of agreements where it is expected to meet standards. These trading blocs have also been calling for enhanced intra-regional trade, which means that more efforts should be made towards aligning to common standards in the region if local producers are to tap into opportunities that the region’s growing population present.
Zimbabwe is also a signatory of the WTO Agreement on the Technical Barriers to Trade which commits signatories to ensure that technical regulations, standards or testing and certification schemes adopted do not create disguised or unnecessary barriers to trade.
Often times, it has been noted that product standards and related conformity assessment requirements, especially where they are mandated by government authorities, can also be a critical factor impeding trade. The continual decline of tariffs as a result of multilateral trade negotiations and the proliferation of regional trade agreements have actually increased non-tariff barriers that often come in the name of standards.
But the bottomline is that, in the obtaining environment whereby export targeting is being pursued, it is imperative to also ensure that local production is set in such a way that products being made surpass the dictates of both local and international standards. Otherwise, it will be pointless to increase industrial capacity to 100 percent when the goods will not have takers. —FinX.


text: Bitcoin staged a powerful rally to start off 2021, punctuated by tweets from the billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk that sent prices soaring for the joke token dogecoin. Soon, though, China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency mining and increasingly nagging concerns over the Bitcoin blockchain’s environmental footprint cast a pall over the market. Instead, crypto traders aped into all sorts of bets on NFTs, video game-linked tokens like Axie Infinity’s AXS and up-and-coming blockchains like Solana and Terra. (Were they fads or a technological revolution?) El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender, and the largest cryptocurrency eventually hit a new all-time high around $69,000. But by the end of the year it was clear bullish traders wouldn’t realize the (widely predicted) dream of a $100,000 print.


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Once upon a time, you got a new telephone, you plugged it in, and it just worked. It was that simple, and that’s how simple it really should be, even in a VoIP world. But, if you’ve ever gotten new phones for your business, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn it wasn’t that easy, and that your IT team or service provider had to do some legwork to provision the new IP phones for your service.
That’s likely because you were installing new phones that were not set up with your provider for auto-provisioning.
This could certainly have presented a significant issue as millions of businesses transitioned workers to work from home environments during the COVID-19 lockdown, as many of them needed to provide new phones for workers. It doesn’t have to be that way, and Telinta is trying to make deployment of new phones as simple as they were when we were all using the PSTN.
Auto-provisioning has long been a key feature of Telinta’s (News - Alert) TeliCore softswitch platform, making deployment simple for providers so they can quickly deploy any number of IP phones without manual configuration or site visits. That means users could be up and running and able to perform their jobs quickly, which became incredibly important as workers were prevented from going to their offices.
“Telinta’s automated provisioning can streamline IP phone deployment by helping ITSPs to eliminate human error, and avoid costly installer visits to the customer’s premises,” said Alex Ferdman, CEO of Telinta.
Telinta had already developed auto-provisioning profiles for phones from many popular phone brands, including Grandstream, Yealink, Cisco (News - Alert), Poly, Snom, VTech, and more. Now, it has added the feature for three additional phones: Grandstream’s 2613 and 2614, and Yealink’s VC500.
In addition to auto-provisioning even more devices, providers can also activate or deactivate phone features and update firmware through the same cloud-based solution they rely on for other key functions, like configuring DID providers and VoIP Termination carriers, billing and payments, and other important components of their VoIP business.
With Telinta’s auto-provisioning capabilities, as soon as the hone come online, they connect automatically to Telinta’s platform to instantly download a complete configuration profile. It really can be almost as simple as plugging them in and placing calls.
All three companies will be showing their devices and services at ITEXPO (News - Alert) 2021 in Miami, Florida (Grandstream – Platinum sponsor, booth # 415; Telinta – booth # 536; Yealink – booth #423. ITEXPO has always offered businesses the opportunity to learn and about and see firsthand the latest business technologies that are driving innovations in business communications and collaboration. Part of the TechSuperShow, ITEXPO, along with many of its collocated events, is coming to the brand new Miami Beach Convention Center, June 22-25, 2021. Along with MSP Expo, SD-WAN Expo, Future of Work Expo, and more, ITEXPO offers an unprecedented opportunity for education and networking for Enterprises and SMBs, service providers and carriers, MSPs, and channel partner to explore the latest technologies that are driving business success.
Edited by Erik Linask


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New dual-screen tablet takes the place of Microsoft’s abandoned Courier project
Monday 21 June 2010
The world's first dual-touchscreen tablet PC is finally seeing the light of day. It's not Microsoft's coveted Courier project - a tablet that bloggers swore "you'd leave your wife for" - but a dual 7.0-inch LCD tablet device produced by Japanese consumer electronics maker Toshiba.
The dual-screened "Libretto W100" is just one of four new Toshiba products announced on June 21. The new products form part of the company's 25th anniversary lineup of mobile computing devices bound for the Japanese market.
The Libretto W100 tablet runs the full version of Microsoft's Windows 7 and packs in a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium processor, two touch-sensitive 7.0 inch wide LED LCDs, 2GB of memory, a one megapixel webcam, and around 2 hours of battery life with a standard battery pack or 4 hours with a high-capacity battery pack. It also enables consumers to simultaneously complete two tasks on the one device. Using the two-screened device consumers can browse web pages on one screen while replying to emails on the other.
American technology journalist Robert Scroble got up close and personal with both the Libretto W100 prototype and the A665 3D - a brand new 3D laptop from Toshiba designed for gaming in three dimensions. Scroble's "first look" video can be seen on YouTube (link below).
Back in September 2009, a "leaked" video of Microsoft's Courier prototype popularized the two-screened tablet form-factor and left consumers drooling for the book-like device. After confirming the Courier existed and was in a "late prototype stage," Microsoft just as quickly announced it had abandoned the project, leaving a wave of "booklet" fans across the world disappointed.
Consumers reacted to the news of Toshiba's prototype device, leaving comments on popular technology blogs. Most said the Libretto W100's dual-screen tablet format had potential but questioned Toshiba's decision to use Microsoft Windows OS on the device.
"If Microsoft is going to scrap their courier project anyway, wouldn't it make sense for Toshiba to either partner with them or just buy the technology? It seems like if Microsoft has already done the research and tackled a lot of the design issues of this two-screen configuration, it would be a waste for Toshiba to go and do their own," said "bobfet1" in the comments section on Scrobelizer.com.
"I agree," said a commenter on Scrobelizer.com called "Felix", "it is pointless to make interesting tablet hardware without coupling it with interesting tablet software."
The tablet is set to be released in Japan in limited quantities towards the end of August. Toshiba is yet to confirm pricing information however Engadget reports the concept PC tablet will retail for around $1,099.
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Supreme Pizza, a chain of pizzerias in California and New York, is valued at $1.3 billion, an investment group led by Peter Schmitz, an investor in the pizza chain, said on Thursday.
The group also said the company would continue to be a franchisee.
It’s the largest investment by a franchise owner in the United States.
The group said in a statement that the pizza-maker is in a strong position to continue its growth as a franchised food-service company.
“Our focus is on delivering the best pizza experience for our customers, and the company is focused on continuing to develop a solid brand,” Schmitze said.
“We believe Supreme Pizza will become an extremely successful franchisee-driven business, and our vision for a global pizza brand will drive growth and success.”
The company’s shares rose more than 4 percent to $1,965.87 on Wall Street.
Schmitz has previously invested in pizza chains such as Pizza Hut, Pizza Express and Papa John’s.
The investment group is chaired by Robert C. “Bob” Caufield, who co-founded Pizza Hut.
Chief executive Michael Egan said in September that the company had raised $1bn from a group led in part by investment firms Bain Capital and KKR & Co., which has invested in other food- and beverage-related companies.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, including approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
It will be subject to shareholder approval, Schmitzes spokesman, Jonathan Miller, told Reuters in an email.


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Exports to Iraq decline amid ongoing clashes between insurgents and the army
by Daily Sabah
ISTANBULJul 24, 2014 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah
Jul 24, 2014 12:00 am
Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi stated yesterday that exports to Iraq between June 10 and July 20 had declined by 35 percent when compared to the same period last year, but that this regression would improve in general by the end of this year. The fall in exports will mean a loss of $2.5 billion in revenue if the crisis in Iraq continues until the end of the year.
Nihat Zeybekci welcomed the President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, Mehmet Büyükekşi and the accompanying committee in his office, wishing the new management success in their managing term. Zeybekci noted that exporters' assemblies should play a more active role and added that 2015 is a very crucial year since Turkey will assume the presidency of the G20 for the year. "This week we will also announce that we will lead the presidency of World Trade Organization's Trade and Economy Ministers Summit. The Minister of Economy, TİM and other exporters' unions should strive to promote Turkey in order to reach our target of $500 billion in total exports." Zeybekci noted that they held a meeting with the exporters after the start of the clashes in Iraq and the anxiety has now been mostly removed. He also stated that they will hold weekly meetings from now on. The determination of the exporters, their knowledge of the region and their expertise increase the hopes for the forthcoming term, said Zeybekci.
No other country in the world has such various positive qualities in terms of "culture geography" as Turkey and it is expected that the purchase orders postponed will soon be ordered and demand will increase. If at the end of the year, exports with Iraq fall by 35 percent due to the ongoing troubles in the region since June 10, then Turkey will suffer a loss of $2.5 billion (TL 5.23 billion). However, Zeybekci noted that it is not possible for Iraq to acquire their requirements from anywhere else and also, Turkish products and brands have gained an incomparable reputation as they are suitable for consumption trends in Iraq. "Products exported from other countries cannot replace the products imported from Turkey. This is a huge advantage. We see this as a delayed demand which should be resolved soon," said Zeybekci. TİM's President Büyükekşi noted that even though the surrounding countries are in deep trouble, there was a 10 percent increase in exports in June and they will strive to organize one activity


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The largest white truffle ever found sold Saturday for $61,250 in New York City auction. The record-setting 4.16 pound fungus was bought by a food and wine lover from Taiwan, a spokesperson for Sotheby's told the Associated Press.
"This is an extraordinary find," Federico Balestra, president of Sabatino Truffles, told CNN. One of his company's employees found the rare truffle last week in Umbria, Italy, while hunting for the fungus with his young dog.
"Usually it's the older, more experienced dogs that make these finds because it takes a very trained nose to find them," Balestra said. "White truffles can be buried 10- to 15 inches underground sometimes."
White truffles are rare finds. They grow in select parts of Italy three months of the year -- and are usually the size of a walnut. The man who discovered the truffle said it was buried four inches underground.
"When the hunter started to dig, he realized how much he had to keep digging and the size of the hole he was making. He couldn't believe it," Balestra said.
A buyer in China reportedly offered $1 million for the football-size fungus, Sabatino Truffles said. Instead, the company decided to sell the truffle in a New York City auction. The proceeds will benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels and the Children's Glaucoma Foundation in Boston.


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Yesterday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) made an announcement stating that its iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers have not been spared in the processor flaws named Spectre and Meltdown. The company states that it has just released patches to defend against Meltdown in iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2. Apple’s development team is currently working on patches in its Safari browser to defend against Spectre and anticipates the update to be out to the public shortly. These patches are currently in the testing stages and will be given in the form of update similar to the Meltdown patches.
Many other major companies are scrambling to fix Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) mistake as well, such as Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
These updates, are anticipated to slow a computer’s performance down, especially on devices that are five years and older.
The biggest issues that lie ahead are for those companies that have a considerable amount of processing power such as retailers that process transactions, medical systems, and cloud computing providers. Some experts believe that in order to completely remove the risk of the flaw, these processors will need to be replaced entirely. However, to replace these large systems would take years, seeing as there aren’t any large processors available at the moment.
WHAT CAN I DO?
If you own any products by the companies listed above, check for software updates and keep your systems up-to-date. It’s common for most people to bypass these updates, as we’ve heard lately that they slow down iPhones but you are putting your personal information at risk.
Surprisingly, Intel’s stock is currently selling at $44.74, up .70%. Since word broke of this security flaw within their chips the stock price hasn’t dropped as much as some anticipated. Just before the announcement, the company’s CEO sold a large majority of his stock, which makes us all question his take on how his company will rebound from all of this.
Featured Image: twitter


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India’s software service and outsourcing industries are likely to grow 33 percent in fiscal year 2008, with new business in Europe to offset any slowdown in the U.S. economy, according to a new study released Monday.
Diversifying the services beyond the American market would help the industry earn total revenue of US$64 billion (euro53 billion) from April 2007 to March 2008, said Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies, or NASSCOM, while releasing the study.
NASSCOM is the trade body of technology companies operating in India.
The United States remains the Indian software industry’s biggest market with a share of 61 percent, said the ”Strategic Review 2008” by NASSCOM.
Exports to Europe, however, have grown more than 55 percent since 2004, it said. The United Kingdom now accounts for 18 percent of India’s software services and continental Europe for 12 percent, it said.
The study also said that exports of software and services are likely to cross US$40.8 billion (euro33 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31, while domestic revenues will touch US$23.2 billion (euro19 billion).
”We are expanding our base and this shows in the diversification of industry from English-speaking countries to Europe and other nations,” said Mittal. ”The industry is managing to grow and diversify geographically.”
The NASSCOM study said companies that earlier provided services to traditionally recession prone industries such as banking and telecommunication are expanding to sectors such as retail, health care and entertainment, which are less likely to be hit in a slowdown.
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The reports are getting stronger about a new Corvette model Electric CorvetteMoving into the 2021 design year, Chevrolet might have another surprise in store for us– an electrical C8 Corvette. What do we know about the electric C8, and when can we get our hands on one?
While the idea of an electrical C8 Corvette is exciting, Chevy isnt going to jump into the electrical sportscar race with both feet rather yet. Rather, it appears like the next action up this ladder is a Corvette ZR1 Hybrid, which is reported to strike the streets in time for the 2023 design year.
[Read: How Netflix shapes traditional culture, explained by information] Once it finally rolls off the assembly line, were anticipating to see more than 900 horse power from this gas-electric hybrid. Spycams have actually captured video of some type of Corvette on the test tracks, however it doesnt appear to be the ZR1 that were so thrilled for– mostly because the lack of drive axle nuts on the front wheels indicates its not AWD like the ZR1 Hybrid is reported to be.
Rumors of electrical Corvettes.
With a hybrid Corvette on the horizon, what does that mean for the capacity for an electric C8 Vette? Now, whatever were seeing is rumors.
Now, market specialists believe that an electric C8 is possible, however well probably have to take baby steps, meaning well probably see a hybrid before they make the transition to a totally electric vehicle.
This isnt a bad thing. It means Chevy will have plenty of time to best its electrical supercar innovation prior to they roll it out in something as renowned as the Corvette.
Bringing one home.
Electric is a logical choice for supercars like the CorvetteIt will be a while before we can bring house either a hybrid C8 Corvette or a fully electric supercar. Right now, professionals are looking at 2023 as the first potential date for one of these brand-new models to roll off the assembly line.
Well likely understand more in the coming years, as more info emerges. We can hypothesize, but up until we get an official statement from Chevy, all we have is spycam video footage and guesswork.
SHIFT is given you by Polestar. Its time to speed up the shift to sustainable movement. That is why Polestar integrates electrical driving with cutting-edge style and thrilling efficiency. Discover how.
This article was originally released by Martin Banks on Clean Fleet Report, a publication that offers its readers the details they require to move to vehicles and trucks with finest fuel economy, consisting of electrical automobiles, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and advanced diesel and fuel engines..
The most amazing thing to take place to the Corvette brand was the intro of the C8 Corvette that rolled off the assembly line in 2019 for the 2020 design year. The mid-engine style was the first of its kind in Corvette history, and we couldnt get enough of it.
Released January 19, 2021– 12:01 UTC.
With a hybrid Corvette on the horizon, what does that mean for the potential for an electrical C8 Vette? Now, everything were seeing is reports. In the automobile industry, that doesnt suggest much. SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. That is why Polestar combines electrical driving with advanced style and thrilling performance.


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(Kanagawa Shimbun: February 2, 2016 – p. 5)
Sales of publications fell to a record low in 2015, according to Research Institute for Publications. The precarious situation of magazines shocked the industry. There is a growing trend toward digital media, but some publishers are sticking with print, aiming for a comeback through beefed up content including scoops and attractive features.
Total sales of publications (books and magazines combined) were 1.522 trillion yen in 2015, down by 5.3% from the previous year. This is a record low for two consecutive years. Weekly magazine sales dropped by 13.6% year on year, a remarkable plummet.
“Sales were worse than expected,” said Managing Director Takashi Sakamoto of the Japan Magazine Publishers Association. “Takarajima” (published by Takarajimasha) and other magazines suspended publication one after another in 2015. Other magazines migrated to the Web. One was “Keiko to Manabu,” a self-learning magazine published by Recruit Lifestyle.
The consumption tax hike in 2014 depressed sales of magazines, but there is no similar factor explaining the double-digit drop in sales last year. Although the association conducts a women’s magazine fair and other promotional events, it is not likely to reverse the negative trend.
“Magazines are uninteresting in the first place; that’s why they don’t sell.” To counter this widely held view, Sakamoto, who has long been involved in publishing magazines, says, “We will consider starting to provide editorial support for magazines.”
Shingo Tachibana, one of the many Japanese who browse magazines while standing in convenience and other stores, is pessimistic about the future of magazines. “People now gather from TV gossip shows the sorts of information they used to glean from magazines,” says Tachibana. “There seems no effective way to reverse the current slump.” He went on to say, “There are too many similar magazines, especially in the field of fashion, which makes magazines less attractive. Consumers will not buy magazines unless publishers demonstrate originality and offer striking features.”
But a good plan can turn things around even in these difficult times. Bungeishunju brought out a special edition of its sports magazine “Number” featuring the Japanese national team in last year’s World Cup Rugby. The magazine sold like hot cakes, and the publisher reprinted the issue several times. The edition included timely contents such as an interview with former head coach Eddie Jones, photographs, and news flashes. “Readers liked the photographs because they brought back the excitement of the rugby matches,” said Chief Editor Kazuaki Matsui. “Magazines still have potential.”
Takarajimasha aims to attract readers by jointly developing with the makers of popular brands goods such bags. It reportedly boosted the average net paid circulation of women’s magazine “Sweet” by 30% in the last half year compared with the first half. “Fujinkoron” (Chuokoron-Shinsha) reprinted editions of its Jan. 26 centennial issue featuring celebratory comments by influential persons connected to the magazine.
Recently, scoops by weekly magazines have become the talk of the town. “Shukan Shincho” (Shinchosha) reported rumors of the possible breakup of the popular group “SMAP.” “Shukanbunshun” (Bungeishunju) reported an allegation of the inappropriate receipt of money involving former Minister in Charge of Economic Revitalization Akira Amari. “Scoops on politicians’ scandals are a specialty of weekly magazines,” said Tachibana. “Scoops are what make magazines valuable. The inclusion of more photos catching pols in the act would boost readership.”
Magazines have long surpassed books in sales; however, the difference has narrowed. Their relative sales figures could reverse in the near future. Magazines are on the brink of losing their role as a driving force in the publishing industry. Now is the time for magazine publishers to earnestly ask themselves, “What is the essence of a magazine?”


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Meta has drawn up strategies to introduce digital cash, tokens and lending products and services to its apps, as Facebook’s guardian corporation pursues its finance ambitions irrespective of the collapse of a undertaking to launch a cryptocurrency.
The organization, led by chief government Mark Zuckerberg, is trying to get substitute profits streams and new capabilities that can draw in and retain customers, as popularity falls for its most important social networking merchandise such as Fb and Instagram — a pattern that threatens its $118bn-a-year ad-centered business enterprise model.
Facebook’s economical arm, Meta Money Technologies, has been checking out the generation of a digital forex for the metaverse, which staff members internally have dubbed “Zuck Bucks”, according to many individuals common with the attempts.
This is unlikely to be a cryptocurrency based mostly on the blockchain, some of the persons mentioned. Rather, Meta is leaning in the direction of introducing in-application tokens that would be centrally controlled by the firm, comparable to these employed in gaming apps these kinds of as the Robux currency in popular children’s match Roblox.
In accordance to business memos and people near to the ideas, Meta is also wanting into the development of so-referred to as “social tokens” or “reputation tokens”, which could be issued as rewards for meaningful contributions in Fb groups, for case in point. An additional hard work is to make “creator coins” that might be affiliated with unique influencers on its photograph-sharing app Instagram.
Meta has also been checking out additional regular fiscal expert services, with a emphasis on encouraging to provide small small business loans at interesting rates, in accordance to various people today common with the initiative. Even though nothing at all is instantly planned, the corporation has beforehand held conversations with likely lending associates, just one of the men and women said.
Most of the efforts are in the early stages of staying talked about and could modify or be dropped, while its options to integrate non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, into its applications are much more produced. Zuckerberg confirmed an earlier Fiscal Periods report that Instagram would quickly start off to support NFTs.
According to a single memo shared internally previous week, Meta plans to launch a pilot for submitting and sharing NFTs on Fb in mid-May well. This will be “quickly followed” by tests of a element that will permit membership of Facebook groups based on NFT ownership and a further for minting — a term for making — NFTs.
NFTs may be monetised by using “fees and/or ads” in the future, according to one more internal doc. Fb declined to remark.
Meta dropped more than $220bn from its current market valuation in February on the day it disclosed users have been shelling out growing time on newer rivals, this sort of as short-form online video app TikTok.
The company has not long ago sought to obtain other resources of profits and help ecommerce on the system, delving into cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Its Huge Tech rivals, these types of as Google and Apple, have been a lot more careful about diving into the nascent space.
But the press has been plagued by setbacks and regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this year, the global cryptocurrency undertaking that it spearheaded, Diem, was wound down and its belongings marketed to a Californian bank Silvergate, soon after US regulators refused to give the pilot the inexperienced light-weight above monetary security and level of competition considerations.
Amid inside frustrations, Meta’s financial division has suffered what one particular previous worker explained as a “mass exodus” of staff members about the previous six months. Its head David Marcus still left at the conclusion of very last yr, along with important engineers, compliance employees and approximately its total lawful staff.
Individuals who keep on being are hunting into how to produce or assistance digital currencies in its metaverse — an avatar-crammed digital planet that Zuckerberg hopes will sooner or later produce billions of pounds in commerce for digital goods and products and services.
Staffers are now trying to obtain the the very least regulated way to give a digital forex, two folks said, with a digital token that is not based mostly on the blockchain emerging as the most appealing possibility.
It would not be the initial time Fb has released this kind of a currency to its ecosystem. It released Fb Credits in 2009, a digital forex that enabled people to make in-application purchases, normally in video games these as FarmVille. This represented 16 for every cent of revenues at the time of its original public giving in 2012, according to Barclays, but was shut down in 2013 as it was much too pricey to sustain.
In a memo from late January, the new head of Meta’s finance division Stephane Kasriel wrote: “We’re making variations to our merchandise technique and road map . . . so we can prioritise on building for the metaverse and on what payments and economic solutions will appear like in this digital planet.”
Kasriel, who replaced Marcus when he still left the corporation at the end of 2021, said the firm would “accelerate” investments in facilitating payments in just WhatsApp and Messenger and in “helping creators monetise their activity”, for case in point through NFTs.
He also signalled options to merge its wallet for Fb Pay — its current peer-to-peer payments system that does not use blockchain technology — with Novi, the electronic currency wallet that was in the beginning meant to keep the Diem coin.
“The wallet will supply payments, identification and electronic asset management inside the [family of apps and Reality Labs, its virtual and augmented reality arm,] and in excess of time, to other apps/sites,” he claimed.
In which some of Meta’s efforts are concentrated on electronic payments, other attempts are portion of broader plans to use blockchain technological know-how to introduce a lot more “decentralisation” throughout its platforms, amid a growing excitement in Silicon Valley all-around the so-called Net3 motion.
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Website3 advocates commonly seek out to wield distributed ledger technology to make it possible for consumers a lot more regulate and possession in excess of their data and disintermediate Large Tech teams that commonly monetise that information as section of their advertisement-dependent business enterprise versions.
But Meta appears to be embracing some Net3 ideals. It is discovering whether or not to retail outlet data on a blockchain, how it may give end users extra handle around their digital identification and no matter whether their identity or accounts can be transferred to, or utilised throughout, other platforms outside of Meta’s apps, in accordance to just one setting up document.
Meanwhile, its designs to reward consumers for credible content with “social tokens” may permit Meta to clear away itself as a central content material moderator and give Facebook communities additional electrical power in moderating themselves, according to the doc.
Further reporting by Cristina Criddle in London


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IDFC Bank launches ‘Aadhaar Pay’ digital payment platform
IDFC Bank has launched a digital payment platform ‘Aadhaar Pay’ that will allow even those without mobile phones to do cashless transactions
IDFC Bank on Tuesday launched a digital payment platform 'Aadhaar Pay' that will allow even those without mobile phones to do cashless transactions and is expecting the initiative to win 1 crore customers every year.
The newest bank in the private sector formally launched the unique identification number-based Aadhaar Pay service, having done a pilot in 16 states three months before.
"It actually makes cashless transactions possible even for those who do not have mobile phones, but the merchant has to have a mobile phone. All one needs is to get the bank account number linked with Aadhaar. With this, basic banking will come to those not having even mobile phones," IDFC Bank Founder MD & CEO Rajiv Lall said at the launch.
It is the first bank to launch this merchant solution in the country.
Lall hopes to acquire about 1 lakh merchant sites on this infrastructure in about two years.
"Imagine if IDFC Bank has a network of 1 lakh merchants across the country, each merchant over 1 year is able to acquire for me 100 savings account customers from that village each year. I would have created a network which is capable of acquiring at least 10 million savings account customers for me every year," he said.
The bank will levy no MDR (merchant discount rate) fee on merchants who come on board the Aadhaar Pay application.
These merchants, mostly located in remote areas, will simply need a smartphone to download the app and an Aadhaar dongle to read biometrics of a customers for a transaction.
IDFC Bank said it will also bear the price of Aadhaar dongles, costing ₹2,500 apiece for merchants, as recovery can happen by acquiring more savings account customers.
The bank has also started offering public distribution system (PDS) to beneficiaries through Aadhaar Pay.
NITI Aayog Chief Executive Amitabh Kant, who was also present at the launch, said India is at the cusp of a major digital revolution.
"This enables us to reach really at the very bottom of the pyramid where people do not have either GSM or basic phones, which is a significant percentage of our population," Kant said.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT Secretary Aruna Sundarajan said: "It is pioneering for the bank to do so. It will be the biggest paradigm change that we will see in banking and financial inclusion goal."
Talking about the security feature of the Aadhaar Pay platform, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said the system is no less secure than any other payment gateway in the country.
"The merchant-customer transaction is supposed to happen in a small areas/villages where most of the people are known to each other. So even if any fraud happens, a full digital trail will be available to track it down," Pandey added.
IDFC Bank's Aadhaar Pay app is developed in association with the Ministry of Information Technology & Electronics, UIDAI and the National Payments Corporation of India.
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In the back drop of the 1.3 million dollar deal wrapped by Sri Lanka Tourism in the launch month of Expo 2015, Sri Lanka Export Development Board took the high ground in month two to announce a global endorsement to Sri Lanka backed by two power bases in global trade which gives perspective to Expo 2015 for Sri Lanka's 75 billion dollar economy growing at a seven percent GDP growth said commissioner General Expo- Sri Lanka Rohantha Athukorala.
Championed by Sri Lanka export development board Chairman and Vice President of food giant Nestle Bandula Egodage successfully launched the “Sri Lanka, ethical sourcing destination” tag at the Sri Lanka pavilion of Expo Milano 2015 on 22nd May in the precedence of the power bases of global trade Ms. Ludovica Ghizzoni – Advisor ITC Geneva, Dr. David Doninetti – Secretary General Association of Italian trade association(AICE,) and Dammika Jayawardane -Pavilion Director Sri Lanka in a packed press conference. Other key signatories at the press conference was Commissioner Generals & Pavilion Directors of Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Slovakia which highlights the power of the country at Expo 2015 said a source from Expo 2915 Milano office which is the spirit of the worlds most visited event next to the Olympics which is staged to prop the ailing Italian Economy.
2015 Expo Milano is organized under the theme “Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life”. Sri Lanka as an ethical sourcing destination is well aligned to the global theme. Egodage stated that Expo Milano 2015 will be a platform for global reach, particularly to re-establish and strengthen bilateral relationships with west, in the context of EU region accounting for over 31% of Export Revenue for Sri Lanka.
Further he stressed that Sri Lanka’s export manufacturing built on solid factors such as No use of child labour, No forced labour, No labour exploitation, while maintaining Environmental Sustainability focusing Green Factory concept, Waste and affluent Recycling, Water and fertilizer usage optimization under Green House concept, Ozone Friendly Manufacturing and on-going efforts for Renewable Energy usage were highly attracted by the audience.
Both representatives from ITC and AICE strongly endorsed and validated Mr. Egodage’s statement with their own Sri Lankan Experience.
Ms. Ludovica of ITC highlighting the long standing relationship between Sri Lanka and ITC ensured the continuous assistance to further improve Sri Lankan Trade. Assistance to launch National Export Strategy, encouraging ICT/BPO sector, developing of E-Library and technical assistance to cinnamon GI registration are few of the on-going projects. While improving Safety and Quality of the Sri Lankan Fruits and Vegetables to enhance market accessibility particularly to the EU region.
Dr. Doninetti of AICE stated the need to re-establish the initiatives already taken in 2013 for promotion of bilateral trade with Italy. At present the value of trade between Italy and Sri Lanka stands at € 600mn, he further emphasised the need for further expansion of exports from Sri Lanka to have a positive trade balance. He assured organizing outward missions and business matchmaking between Sri Lankan Exporters and Italian importers would be facilitated by AICE toward that direction. He requested the company profiles of Sri Lankan companies’ visiting and exhibiting at Expo Milano 2015 to enable AICE to make appropriate matchmaking. We will see the rest of the key industries on Sri Lanka taking centre stage in the coming five months which will include the celebration of the Nation Day of Sri Lanka said Commissioner General Athukorala.


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Edinburgh-based technology company Make it Social has signed a deal with Skiworld, the largest independent ski specialist in the UK. The news follows partnerships with Ambassador Theatre Group, Ticketmaster and, most recently, The Ticket Factory.
This latest agreement means that those booking a ski holiday through Skiworld will be able to take advantage of make it social’s unique technology which enables people to book as a group but pay individually. Figures show that the ease of booking increases the average group size by six people.
“Skiing is very much a shared activity – a recent industry report found that a third of skiers book holidays with friends,” said Diane Palumbo, Skiworld’s director of sales and marketing. “We are always looking for ways to make things smoother and simpler for customers and ‘make it social’ makes this possible.”
Make it Social founder Eddie Robb added: “We are delighted to be able to offer more people the chance to use our product as an online vehicle to go offline and do more things in the real world. I am passionate about snowsports so am particularly excited to be opening this up to the skiing community via Skiworld.”


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New Phones Help BlackBerry Claw Back Some Canadian Market Share
Canada is a BlackBerry nation no longer, with Apple’s iPhone having eclipsed the Canadian handset maker’s share of the country’s smartphone market well over a year ago. But BlackBerry may yet reclaim its home-country advantage.
Research outfit Raymond James says that the debut of BlackBerry’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system and the two handsets on which it runs have gone a long way toward repairing the home-turf market share erosion the company has suffered over the past few years. In the fourth quarter of 2012, BlackBerry’s share of the Canadian market topped out at a dismal 6 percent. But by the first quarter of 2013 it had more than doubled, rising to 13.5 percent.
The reason? The BlackBerry Z10, the company’s new all-touch handset — one that finally gave it table stakes at the smartphone game from which Google and Apple had ousted it. The Z10 had a strong Canadian launch, according to BlackBerry, which said the device’s debut was more than 50 percent better than any other launch day in its history in the country. Evidently the device has retained enough of that early momentum to drive continued market-share gains.
And now, with BlackBerry’s second BB10 handset — the Qwerty-keyboard Q10 — recently introduced in Canada, the country’s largest technology company may be poised to reclaim even more ground in its homeland.
“I think the Q10 will see much better demand than the Z10, as I have to believe the primary reason users are still on BlackBerry is for the physical keyboard,” Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt told AllThingsD. “That being said, a lot of that demand may get stretched out over a few quarters, as it will take time for enterprises to adopt BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10, which is needed to support the Q10.”
Make no mistake, these days Canada is more an iPhone nation than anything else — Apple’s smartphone claimed 40.1 percent of the market in the first quarter of 2013. But that’s down from the 44 percent share it captured in the fourth quarter of 2012. If that trend continues, maybe BlackBerry can reclaim not only the market share it lost in the country, but its national pride, as well.
As Andrew MacLeod, BlackBerry’s managing director for Canada, told the Financial Post earlier this: “Canada is incredibly important to [us.] It is our home market, but it is also a very strategic market for us. We are very strong here, and I think we have a very unique relationship here with Canadians, that we treat with an endless amount of respect, attention and resources.”


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We've posted a number of articles in recent months about coachbuilders like Pininfarina and Bertone finding themselves in financially troubled waters. The difficulties these and other independent manufacturers around Europe are suffering now appear to be part of a larger trend that's forcing these ...
Renault is planning to expand into the upscale market with five new models within the next three years, sources have confirmed. Previous ventures upmarket didn't turn out so well for the French automaker, but it's determined to make another go of it with the hopes of cashing in on the market for ...


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This week Superdrug filed accounts at Companies House for the 52 weeks ended 27 December 2014.
The accounts show an operating profit for 2014 of £38.2m, up on the £25.8m operating profit of 2013, and the operating loss of £6.4m in 2012.
A key focus area for the business was health, which saw growth of 12.2% due to an increased product range and new services and advice both in store and online. Superdrug is now the fastest growing healthcare retailer in the UK.
Beauty grew by 4.6% with a strong focus on own brand products and ranges such as B., as well as exclusive launches of product ranges by bloggers such as Zoella and Tanya Burr.
Promotional activity remains core to the health and beauty retailer, and in addition to the price cuts and promotions customers see every week, 2014 saw successful Christmas activity around Black Friday both in store and online.
As part of parent company A. S. Watson‘s ‘Customer 360‘ global multichannel strategy, the year saw investment in a new Superdrug web platform, and into the logistics network, as well as rebranding the business‘s loyalty card to Health & Beautycard to take into consideration the growing importance of the health customer.
Over 200 stores were refreshed during the year bringing the number of refreshed stores to over 700 and two new store formats were launched: Beauty Studio by Superdrug in Cardiff which aims to offer a seamless combination of beauty and services and the Wellbeing store in Banbury the Wellbeing which provides customers with health and healthy living products, advice and service. These concepts, and elements from them, will continue to be rolled out during 2015.
Peter Macnab, Superdrug Managing Director said “The high street remains a challenging environment for all retailers, however by understanding our customers and offering the best value and customer service we believe the business is in a strong position to grow.
Last year we celebrated Superdrug‘s fiftieth birthday and we honoured that heritage by investing in the store environment, shopping experience and looking for exciting new product ranges. We recently announced our intention to open 100 new stores in the next three years and continue to plan for a successful future.
Superdrug is part of the A.S. Watson Group, the world‘s largest international health & beauty retailer in Asia & Europe, owned by CK Hutchison Holdings.


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As Airbnb, the $30 billion private accommodation renting portal, continues to mature and very slowly inch its way to an IPO, it is adding more ways to bring in more properties and hosts to its platform.
TechCrunch has learned that Airbnb is working on a new service under the name “Experienced Hosts,” where it connects would-be hosts (those who have homes or space in their homes to post on Airbnb) with “Superhosts” to help manage those properties. (“Superhost” is Airbnb’s equivalent of a “verified” badge that is based on your response time, guest approval and other factors.)
“We’re always looking for ways to give our hosts and guests around the world an even better experience,” Airbnb spokesperson Christopher Nulty said in response to questions about the service. “We know that many of our hosts already use friends, family and people they trust to help them host. We are doing a small scale trial in a few markets to look into ways to make this even easier.”
“Experienced Hosts” essentially outsources the whole process of listing and renting out homes on Airbnb to a third party.
There are already live pages dedicated to the service on Airbnb’s site (first spotted by the blog All About Airbnb). For now, it looks like the only market where it’s trialling the experienced host service is in Tokyo, where there are currently 92 hosts willing to help you list and let your property.
Airbnb lists services that experienced hosts can do for owners like listing and marketing a property; helping manage the calendar and pricing; handling guest communications and welcoming/checking guests out at the end; and keeping homes clean and stocked.
People can use Airbnb’s site to search for superhosts to help manage their properties based on proximity to your address. Pricing is arranged directly between you and your superhost, with the guide price between 10-20% of earnings, on top of the 3% that Airbnb takes for each transaction. As with Airbnb’s commission, it also hands the host payments.
The idea behind adding a new management service is to remove one of the sticking points that affect Airbnb’s growth as a more mainstream service. There are a lot more homes out there that could potentially be listed on the service, but their owners may not want to take on the work of doing that.
It comes as Airbnb is also trying to find other ways of growing its inventory and making it easier (and legal) to list property.
It now offers the Airbnb Friendly Buildings Program, giving landlords and building owners a chance to make a cut on their apartments rented out on the service. First spotted earlier this year, this is now making a bigger formal debut. Earlier today, Airbnb also released some research that boasted the growth of senior hosts in Europe, pointing to another demographic it hopes to tap for more homes.
You might assume that a service like Airbnb might live and die by how many consumers use it to find a place to stay, but the fact is that the company is a two-sided marketplace, not unlike other on-demand businesses like Uber, Lyft and Postmates. Having a loyal and large following of hosts is essential to its inventory and the turning of its wheels.
The Experienced Hosts program is not only a way of attracting new people who might not have considered posting their homes before; it’s also a way of making sure superhosts have ways of potentially making more income from the service. This lets Airbnb build a stronger connection with them and ensure that when there is a property to be posted, they think of Airbnb first before HomeAway and the rest.
Other services that Airbnb has tested and launched to give hosts a chance of making more margin from guests includes “experiences” and local Guidebooks created by local specialists to occupy visitors once they have arrived.
To date, Airbnb has raised nearly $2.4 billion in funding, with a long list of at least 37 investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, General Catalyst, Sequoia and many more.


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Olympian EffortsIncorporating Olympic champions into marketing campaigns certainly is not new. Winning athletes long have graced boxes of cereal and other food items. However, with the Winter Olympics in full swing this month, Kellogg Co. has taken the opportunity to feature the stories behind the athletes.
The athletes are partnering with the Kellogg Earn Your Stripes program to raise children's awareness of the importance of keeping fit, staying active and working hard to achieve goals. In the process, Kellogg is sponsoring snowboarders Ross Powers and Lindsey Jacobellis, skiers Toby Dawson and Resi Steigler, and speedskaters Derek Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez. The athletes, in turn, will be featured on boxes of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes or in television advertising during the Olympic Winter Games.
The Earn Your Stripes website (www.tonythetiger.com) encourages young people to learn about the athletes' personal stories and their efforts to succeed.
Spreading the HealthWhen entertaining at parties or get-togethers, hosts often are at a loss when it comes to healthful snacks. A number of companies have made efforts to improve the healthfulness of their potato chips and crackers, removing fat, trans fat, etc. However, a New Jersey company is attempting to take the healthful dipper in a new direction.
Pretzel Crisps are spreadable pretzel crackers touted by manufacturer Snack Factory Inc. as the “latest innovation in snack foods” and “an ideal complement to hummus, cheeses, spreads and dips,” although they also are recommended with chocolate, peanut butter or ice cream.
The crisps are oven-baked and made with all-natural ingredients. Fat- and cholesterol-free, they have 100 calories per 28g serving but, if there are any carb-watchers remaining out there, they do have 21g of carbohydrates per serving
Getting ActiviaThe Dannon Co., the U.S. fresh dairy unit of Groupe Danone, has announced it will release Activia in the U.S. The company claims the product is the first and only probiotic yogurt clinically proven to help naturally regulate the digestive system in two weeks, when eaten as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
The company has found quite a degree of success globally with the product. One of the group's bestsellers around the world, Activia generated around 650 million euros ($781 million) in sales in 2004, when it could be found in more than 20 countries, primarily in Europe and Asia. Introduced in France in 1987, the brand registered compounded annual sales growth of 24% between 2000 and 2004.
A 4oz serving of Activia contains beneficial cultures, including its exclusive Bifidus RegularisTM. The yogurt “works by helping to reduce long intestinal transit time, the time it takes food to pass through the digestive system. Clinical studies prove that Activia can help reduce transit time by up to 40%,” claims a company release.
Careful of Young EarsA report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies suggests marketing food and beverages to young people has negative consequences. Touted as the “most comprehensive review to date of the scientific evidence of the influence of food marketing on diets of children and youth,” the report says food and beverage marketing to children under the age of 12 leads them to request and consume high-calorie, low-nutrient products.
Making matters more troubling, the report notes that dietary patterns are formed early in life and set the stage for one's long-term health prospects. As such, the report recommends “significant” changes to reshape children's awareness of healthy dietary choices.
“Manufacturers and restaurants,” it says, “should direct more of their resources to developing and marketing child- and youth-oriented foods, drinks and meals that are higher in nutrients and lower in calories, fat, salt and added sugars,” while also suggesting the government enhance nutritional standards, incentives and public policies to promote the marketing of more-healthful foods and beverages.