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In this view, demand will eventually create its own supply, without generating too much inflation in the interim, an assumption that lies behind the plan to run a high-pressure economy without overheating.
“Economic heat does not necessary equate with overheating”, White House advisers Jared Bernstein and Ernie Tedeschi said in a press briefing earlier this year (“Pandemic prices: assessing inflation in the months and years ahead”, April 12).
Supply chain bottlenecks and the resulting upward pressure on prices are “transient” problems that will resolve themselves as price rises spur investment in new productive capacity.
By running a high-pressure economy, officials hope to capture the microeconomic benefits of a boom, particularly faster increases in employment and wages in the lower half of the income distribution, without jeopardising the macroeconomic goal of price stability.
So far this year, price rises have been concentrated in raw materials, energy and merchandise, as manufacturing has recovered rapidly from the pandemic while service businesses continue to operate with severe restrictions.
The forced redistribution of consumer and business spending has intensified ordinary recovery-related capacity pressures in manufacturing, freight transport, energy supplies and basic commodities.
As the pandemic is brought under control, policymakers hope consumer spending will resume a more normal pattern, easing some of the pressure on manufacturing supply chains and reducing inflationary pressure.
In the meantime, high prices are expected to encourage investment in extra capacity all along the supply chain, which will help stabilise prices over time, ensuring temporary inflation burns itself out.
But how realistic is the view the economy can grow its way out of supply chain problems without inflation becoming entrenched, central banks tightening policy, or the economy slowing for some other reason?
In the oil industry, the record of the last four decades implies prices will continue climbing, generating significant upward pressure on inflation, until there is a slowdown in the global economy.
Prices normally only stabilise when there is a recession or at least a midcycle slowdown in the United States and other major economies.
In the United States, steep oil price declines were associated with formal recessions declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research starting in 1981, 1992, 2001, 2007 and 2020.
Price declines in 1985, 1998 and 2015 were not associated with formal recessions but coincided roughly with mid-cycle slowdowns, evident in the purchasing managers’ index published by the Institute for Supply Management.
In recent decades, there has been no instance in which oil prices have spontaneously declined when supply caught up with demand without some form of economic slowdown.
The closest examples were probably the slumps in prices following the first shale boom (2011-2014) and second shale boom (2017-2019) in the United States, both of which ended with over-production.
In both cases, however, incipient over-production was only turned into an actual slump by a slowdown in oil consumption growth.
Slower growth in consumption was associated with an economic slowdown in China (2014/15), a midcycle slowdown in the United States (2015/16), U.S./China trade conflicts (2018/19) and the pandemic (2020).
If the global economy continues expanding briskly during 2022 and 2023, oil prices and inflation are more likely to continue climbing, rather than dissipate.
Conversely, if oil prices and inflation fall back in 2022 and 2023, the most likely trigger will be a slowdown in the business cycle, either a formal recession or a midcycle “soft patch” in growth.


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Making a Difference: Mumbai Students Design, Develop, and 3D Print a Sanitary Pad Dispenser for School Project
We’re going to talk about something that makes lots of people pretty uncomfortable, even though in my opinion it really shouldn’t. Take a deep breath – are you ready? Menstrual cycles and sanitary pads (GASP). For whatever reason, those words can often strike fear into the hearts of men and women, though obviously for very different reasons. Three years ago, a Shapeways designer 3D printed an attractive hidden pocket that could be used to store money and tampons on a night out, but that’s about it – it’s not a topic we hear a lot about in terms of 3D printing. But a group of female students from the Cathedral & John Cannon School in the Fort area of Mumbai are changing the conversation with their 3D printed pad dispenser.Aditi Arya, Malini Dasgupta, and Devika Malhotra are Class XI students at the school, and designed and printed the dispenser as part of a project for their 3D printing course, which is being conducted by Curiosity Gym. The organization, which promotes ‘design thinking,’ got its start in 2015, and runs tinkering labs and makerspaces, called Innovation Hubs, in schools.
Part of the Hub is a module called IDEC (Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Club), where students can research a problem, have a meeting with stakeholders who are affected by the problem, run surveys and collate data, and work to develop solutions to fix the problem.
Students then design, build, and test out a prototype, which could incorporate elements of multiple solutions, and deploy the prototype, gathering feedback along the way. Program mentors help the students “take the solution prototype to the next level to build the solution at a higher scale.”
According to Girish Nair, the Curiosity Gym founder, children need to be taught about new technology, like 3D printing, at a young age, so they can learn how to adapt and eventually create products. Some of the objects created by the Curiosity Gym students include robots and lamps, fidget spinners, dog food dispensers, and now this novel 3D printed pad dispenser.
“We were aware that many girls don’t even have access to sanitary napkins and some even stay out of school during periods,” explained Arya. “Therefore, we decided to design a dispenser that can be built using the 3D printing technology.”
Arya and her fellow students followed Curiosity Gym’s process – they explained the need to adopt better sanitary health practices, then conducted surveys and collected the results, before starting to develop their prototype. We’ve seen 3D printed dispensers before, for medication, toilet paper, and even Jelly Beans, but these are rare for feminine hygiene products (you can, for example, equip yourself with a tampon magazine thanks to Sexy Cyborg’s 3D printable design). Turning their idea into reality wasn’t easy for the students – they started out by studying similar machines and determining the proper mechanism, then sketching their designs.
The students used the 123B 3D modeling app to validate their designs with software, and then built a cardboard prototype to understand the scale. After some modifications, they 3D printed a plastic prototype, and Curiosity Gym mentors helped the students find the necessary vendors for spring manufacturing, laser cutting, and electronic parts and assemblies. The students purchased, manufactured, and assembled the parts themselves, and after a few weeks of testing, programming, and changes, their 3D printed pad dispenser was ready for its alpha testing phase with a real user.
Arya said, “It’s like a simple vending machine with a coil in a box vertically and pads go in the middle of it. The coil moves once and a pad is released.”
Their school principal, Meera Isaacs, was incredibly impressed when the girls showed off their 3D printed prototype, and after the successful test phase, the school decided to install the first product in one of its female student bathrooms.
Arya explained that one of the things her team learned during the process is that “one has to go through a trial and error process before hitting success.”
Arya said, “No idea is stupid. Only with many such ideas and a lot of brainstorming can we create something so effective.”
Arya explained, “We have also put in a lot of thought on how to make the dispensers cost effective and easily operable.”
If their product can be fully deployed, it will be able to benefit underprivileged girls who can’t afford to purchase their own sanitary products. I’ll only touch briefly on how much this statement breaks my heart, and ask that if and when you donate food to your local food bank, you also include a bag or two of pads or other hygiene products for those in need. Once again, here is an example of hard work, creative thinking, and 3D printing technology making a very specific difference in the world. Discuss in the 3D Printed Sanitary Napkin Dispenser forum at 3DPB.com.[Sources/Images: The Indian Express, Your Story]
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Plenty of apps promise to make life easier for people with life-threatening allergies to nuts and other foods. One scientist even invented a smartphone-based lab to detect potential allergens. But asking "Does that have nuts in it?" may actually be a better and safer option than pulling out your phone.
When food passes its sell-by date, it's swept from the supermarket shelf. But that doesn't mean it's not safe to eat. Taste and smell are usually better indicators of a food's safety. And some items, like canned foods, can even last years or decades after their expiration date.
Rye was all but pushed off the market by sweeter, corn-based bourbon after Prohibition, but it might be coming back, no illegal still required. Bartenders from coast to coast seem to prefer its intense flavor for their cocktail creations.
An IBM computer that analyzes flavor molecules and develops recipes is on the way in five years, scientists say. They are hoping to find not only novel and tasty flavor combinations, but ones that will appeal to us without adding to our waistlines.
Tamales are a holiday tradition for many Latinos. Some families will make their own. But others turn to tamaleros, tamale-makers who can churn out hundreds of tamales a week that taste even better than homemade.
A few weeks ago, we asked listeners to tell us what they ate for Christmas, even if they didn't celebrate the holiday. Robert Siegel shares a round-up of some of their responses, which include a Big Mac and fries, herring salad, and two cans of soup.
When you give to WAMU, your tax-deductible membership gift helps make possible award-winning programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, The Diane Rehm Show, The Kojo Nnamdi Show, and other favorites.


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The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee said the repo rate will be unchanged at 6.5 per cent. This is for the second time that the central bank has kept the basic rate unchanged. At the last MPC meeting in April, the RBI paused its rate hike cycle and stayed with the 6.5 per cent repo rate. Prior to that, the central bank had cumulatively hiked the repo rate by 250 basis points since May 2022 in a bid to contain inflation.
RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously in favour of maintaining a status quo on interest rates. It voted in a 5:1 majority on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure inflation aligns with the target while focusing on growth, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
“The MPC has raised repo rates by 250 basis points since May last year, the effects of which will be seen in the coming months. MPC decides to keep repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, Standing Deposit Facility Rate remains at 6.25 per cent. Marginal Standing Facility Rate and Bank Rate unchanged at 6.75 per cent,” said Das.
He added: “We can derive satisfaction from the fact that the Indian economy stands out as strong and resilient. We are acutely aware that global policy normalisation is not over.”
The MPC also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns with the target, while supporting growth. It said that a majority of five out of six members remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation.
The Reserve Bank of India has cut the inflation aim to 5.1 per cent from 5.2 per cent forecast in April policy. Q1 inflation seen at 4.6 per cent, Q2 at 5.2 per cent, Q3 at 5.4 per cent, and Q4 at 5.2 per cent.
“The MPC took note of the moderation in CPI headline inflation in March-April into the tolerance band, in line with projections, reflecting the combined impact of monetary tightening and supply augmenting measures. Headline inflation is projected to decline in 2023-24 from its level in 2022-23 but would still be above the target, warranting continuous vigil,” the RBI said.


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just On Call - Brown-Forman price hikes protect Jack Daniel's status - CFO
Brown-Forman released its YTD results today
In a conference call with investors today (6 March), Don Berg said recent price hikes will protect the Bourbon brand's premium status, thereby ensuring its long-term growth. “The last thing we want to happen is for the market place to render Jack Daniel's as standard,” Berg said.
Brown-Forman said in year-to-date results, released today, it has implemented a global price increase on its Jack Daniel's brand in the past year with no damage to sales. In the nine months to January, the brand posted a 10% net sales growth, while the Tennessee Honey extension doubled its global sales.
“You have to continually reinforce your price, particularly when there has been an explosion of interest at price points above Jack Daniel's,” Berg said.
Meanwhile, Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga told investors that Southern Comforts sales outside of the US were “lumpy, but weak across the board”.
Berg added that the brand suffered from tax increases in core markets the UK and Australia.
Southern Comfort's year-to-date net sales declined by 4% despite a 1% rise in the US compared to the year before.
A marketing campaign launched in the US and UK and credited with arresting sales declines will be rolled out to other markets soon, Varga said.
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New Byron fashion label backs men who are great with kids
A BYRON Bay startup fashion label with global roots has come up with the novel approach of creating a brand around supporting "awesome" men and dads.
Cheekily named "papacoq" - which means Daddy Rooster in French - the brand is the brainchild of three French women.
Their attitude to men is all about empowerment.
Papacoq marketing director Coco Hamel said the brand represented men who were "awesome with kids".
"The main thing is the concept, which is that it's really important to have male role models," Ms Hamel said.
"Not every kid has a dad, but every kid deserves to have a papacoq in their lives," she said.
To bolster their message the startup will donate $1 of every t-shirt sold to the Unkle Project, the Byron-based organisation which offers mentoring to young men and boys.
Ms Hamel said she wanted the brand to appeal to the adventurous outdoor lifestyle of Byron Shire and to men who loved engaging with kids, whether they were dads or not.
"Male role models are important for any kids; boys, girls, babies, or teenagers," she said.
The trio had been working on the concept since last July and after a couple of stops and starts eventually had it ready in time for the Father's Day Byron Bay market.
Their innovative stall featured an interactive photo booth calling on passing dads with kids to get photographed.
"Our brand is all about interaction and fun," Ms Hamel said.
The trio has also been invited to the Bonjour French Festival on the Gold Coast in November, where they will emphasise their French roots - the rooster being the national symbol of France.
Ms Hamel, who juggles work as a French schools support worker and a junior swim instructor while raising her two daughters, said the trio wanted to "enlighten male role models".
"We want them to wear the papacoq symbol with pride," she said.
"I understand that's a bit cheeky too."
She said while the plan was to "keep it simple", the brand might eventually branch out into attire beyond t-shirts, producing dresses and even kids' lunchboxes.
"We're selling the brand; men want it because they want to be a papacoq, women want it for their partners and brothers, and kids want to be a part of it too," she said.


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The Nissan Motor Company has announced that it will be doubling down on its investments in the United Kingdom, bucking predictions by anti-Brexiteers that the British car industry would crumble after Brexit.
As a part of a £1 billion investment scheme at its British factory in Sunderland, Nissan announced that it has already invested £400 million to produce the next generation of its Qashqai compact crossover SUV in post-Brexit Britain.
The Japanese auto-giant has installed a gigantic press to stamp out vehicle pannels for the new Qashqai. The press, which was tailor-made to produce the SUV, took 18 months to install and cost an estimated £52 million, according to The Telegraph.
The new line of Qashqai SUVs is set to hit the market by 2021 and since a typical run of a model lasts for approximately five years, the 6,000 employees at the Sunderland factory will have relatively good job security until at least 2026.
At the unveiling of the new production press, Ashwani Gupta, chief operating officer, said: “Designed, engineered and made in the UK, and more than three million vehicles later, it remains the benchmark, just as our team in the UK continues to set the standard for productivity and quality.”
UK Employment Rate Reached Record High as It Leaves the EU https://t.co/BkI8fQPXLC
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 18, 2020
In February, it was rumoured that Nissan would pull out of Continental Europe to focus on the British market, should Britain and the European Union fail to reach a trade agreement by the end of the year.
If the United Kingdom leaves without a trade deal, carmakers such as Volkswagen and Ford would face import tariffs on cars sold in Britain, thereby giving companies with British production facilities, like Nissan, a competitive edge.
The plan, according to two insiders at the company, vould enable the company to grow from four per cent of the market share to over twenty.
Nissan denied that such a contingency plan exists, however, telling the Financial Times: ”We continue to urge UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade.”
The statement by Nissan in February led some to believe that its factory in Sunderland could be in jeopardy in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but with the latest round of investments the company has to date spent over £4 billion at the site, and the factory remains the company’s most efficient outside of Japan.
Brexit-pocalypse? Surge in UK Car Manufacturing, Huge Investment in Research Centres, New Factories https://t.co/HQS4WiVjaK
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 5, 2019
Follow Kurt on Twitter at @KurtZindulka


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After a several-decade hiatus from the Texas agricultural landscape, hemp is back. Waxahachie-based Texas Botanics is one of a few dozen hemp farms to sprout up in North Texas over the past few months. The open-air facility consists of a central warehouse, large adjacent greenhouses, and offices. On a recent visit, a few dozen 2-foot-tall hemp plants labeled “mothers” sat near the entrance of one greenhouse. The moniker refers to the female plants’ role as the base for clones.
Leaning over the plant, grower Nathan Sherrer held one small branch and pointed to its base. If the branch were cut off and transplanted to a new cup of soil, he said, it would grow into a genetically identical copy of its “mother.”
The nursery model is where Texas Botanics owner Stephanie Brentlinger and Sherrer see Texas Botanics’ future. Texas farmers are now growing hemp for various purposes, including medicinal, industrial, and food-related ones. By working with partially grown cannabis clones, farmers can ensure that their crops have predictable levels of cannabinoids like CBD, Sherrer said. In an adjacent greenhouse, Sherrer pointed to a hemp flower, which looks surprisingly like the crystallized marijuana buds that adorn the covers of High Times.
“There is a lot of potential there,” he said, referring to medical research on the benefits of cannabinoids. “You see research coming out on the diseases that cannabinoids can cure or treat. It’s something that can benefit everybody. To be a part of that feels good.”
Last March, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) began accepting applications for licenses to grow hemp. That step allowed Texas to join 46 states and a global $4.7 billion industry. According to data provided by TDA, 27 licenses have been granted for hemp producers and handlers in Tarrant County. Several Fort Worth hemp growers have facilities in nearby cities like Azle, Grand Prairie, and Waxahachie.
In a 2019 story, the Weekly documented the events leading up to the passage of HB 1325 in May of that year. The bill created a legal framework for Texas farmers to grow hemp. The state bill followed on the heels of the federal 2018 Farm Bill that removed hemp with very low concentrations of THC from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Controlled Substances Schedules. Marijuana and hemp are both members of the same plant species, Cannabis sativa L. While marijuana is grown and processed to produce THC (the psychoactive ingredient that induces a “high”), CBD, the target agent grown through hemp plants, does not produce intoxication but does alleviate a wide range of ailments and health conditions.
Sid Miller, Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, told us at the time that farmers would likely focus on medicinal extracts for 2020’s first hemp crop.
“Most people are just using the buds for CBD oil,” Miller said. “I don’t think people will be growing it for [food and fabrics] and so forth. We’ll get to that soon, though.”
The recent rollout of regulations governing the growth of hemp has created challenges for Brentlinger and Sherrer. TDA staff have been very helpful in answering questions, the business owners said, but fulfilling the bureaucratic steps of opening a hemp farm has pushed many Texas hemp farms into a growing season where temperatures are reaching the century mark, and questions remain about how well different hemp varieties will fare in Blackland Prairie soil and the North Texas climate.
If those hurdles weren’t enough, Brentlinger and Sherrer are dealing with the economic uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The business owner said her 2020 schedule was booked with weekly conventions and meetings that would have provided crucial networking opportunities. Even with those problems, the duo sees a bright future for a product that has long awaited the opportunity to bear the label Made in Texas.
Many Texas farmers have been heartened by a rapidly growing CBD market and predictions of future growth. In one 2019 prediction, analysts at the New York City investment bank Cowen & Co. estimated that CBD will be a $16 billion domestic market by 2025.
“There are a lot of folks who promote the idea that it is a crop you can get rich on,” Zachary Maxwell said.
The president of Arlington-based Texas Hemp Growers, a farmer association with around 200 members, said anyone who believes that hemp will offer easy money will likely be disappointed by the realities of growing a labor-intensive plant in an uncertain market.
“One challenge is the lack of buyers,” Maxwell said. “There are a lot of growers who jumped in and grew a lot of hemp [across the country]. Some of the figures out there are anywhere between 11% to 25% actually sold their crop. It’s not all rainbows and roses.”
Hemp prices are plunging due to a “grossly oversupplied” market, according to a recent article in Bloomberg News.
Brentlinger said the prices of CBD and other cannabinoids are hard to predict.
“There may be people who applied [for permits] who are sitting it out” this year due to uncertainty from COVID-19, she said. “It is hard to see who will be in the industry next year.”
Low hemp production in Texas this year could be a boon to growers who do manage to produce medical-grade hemp, especially given Texans’ penchant for supporting products made in the Lone Star State, she added.
Maxwell and his colleagues split their time educating members on the potential pitfalls of growing hemp and campaigning to connect wholesale buyers with Texas hemp farmers and processors.
Hemp seeds require a significant upfront investment for farmers. The average price of one hemp seed can range from 50 cents to $1, Maxwell said. “When you think about a grower who is growing an acre, that could require a minimum of $2,000. Those are big input costs.”
For a quality feminized seed (meaning it won’t produce psychoactive THC), a $1 seed could still be a profitable investment. Given the new climate and soil characteristics of Texas, Maxwell said buying seeds comes with uncertainties.
“All the genetics have come from out of state,” he said. “Colorado could be 7,000 to 9,000 feet higher than Texas. When you bring seeds down, you can run into phenotype issues. Your hemp plants don’t grow like you expected.”
Maxwell said some local farmers are seeing their hemp begin to flower weeks or even months ahead of schedule, which can drastically throw off a farmer’s timeline.
“Then there is the misunderstanding about this just being a plant-it-and-leave-it kind of crop,” he said. “That’s really not true. The problem is that farmers have to grow this plant like a marijuana plant. It has to be fed carefully and tended to. You can’t plant CBD hemp the same way that you plant industrial hemp. A lot of big agriculture farmers think they can seed hemp like cotton and wheat. They are in for a rude awakening. The farmers who will be the most successful are vegetable and small berry farmers and people who have a better understanding of the labor intensiveness of this plant.”
What’s true for marijuana is just as true for hemp: The presence of even one male plant can spell disaster come harvest time. Isolating female marijuana plants promotes the production of THC and prevents seed production — a highly unprofitable biological imperative. Similarly, keeping male hemp plants away from females encourages the female plants to focus less on reproduction and more on producing CBD. Summer can be an unforgiving time for purging fields of male plants under a blistering sun.
“A lot of farmers underestimate the labor and cost estimates that go into growing a crop the market wants,” Maxwell said.
Farmers are up against more than Mother Nature. Texas’ first crop of hemp faces an uncertain market where retailers are hesitant to sign contracts with growers. That cycle, Maxwell said, then leaves farmers reluctant to invest in a large crop. Adding to many hemp farmers’ woes is the recent ban by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) on the retail sale and distribution of smokable hemp.
After weeks of hearing testimony, DSHS recently adopted regulatory language that banned the manufacturing, processing, distribution, and retail sale of smokable hemp products. Texans are still allowed to light up hemp cigarettes or to grow hemp flowers (with a license) for their own use, but the new rules could effectively eliminate the retail sale of an important portion of the hemp market.
DSHS, which heard or read more than 1,700 public comments overwhelmingly against the ban, stated that the retail ban of smokable hemp is a logical extension of the prohibition against the manufacture of smokable hemp products as described in HB 1325, the original hemp farming bill.
“This will be devastating for retailers, some of which earn 50% to 80% of their sales from smokable hemp flower sales,” Maxwell said. “This is an assault by the state on Texas business owners. At a time when we are dealing with an economic crisis, this is not what the state of Texas should be doing.”
To protect the availability of pre-rolled hemp, CBD vape pens, and other forms of smokable hemp, Texas Hemp Growers recently raised more than $15,000 to support legal efforts aimed at what the growers call overreach by DSHS. The donations are now partly funding a lawsuit that was recently filed by Texas Hemp Legal Defense Fund, the lawyer-led plaintiffs, in Travis County. The suit aims to reverse DSHS’ ban on the retail sale of smokable help.
“When DSHS starts to enforce its rules, the attorneys are planning to file a briefing in court where they will request a temporary restraining order,” Maxwell said. “If we can get that, DSHS can’t enforce the ban while we are litigating in court. We’re confident the attorneys behind the Texas Hemp Legal Defense Fund will make a strong case in court so that this ban may be halted with a restraining order and possibly eliminated by a judge.”
Since the original HB 1325 did not explicitly restrict the distribution and retail sale of smokable hemp, Maxwell and his team believe that portion of DSHS’ restrictions can be struck down outright.
Crown Distributing, a North Texas-based manufacturer of smokable hemp goods, is a party to the suit and “seeks a declaration that the smokable bans in Texas are invalid and unconstitutional,” according to attorney Chelsie Spencer. According to a press release, Crown Distributing stands to lose $56.4 million dollars in revenue over the next five years if the ban is upheld.
The uncertainty over smokable Texas hemp highlights the interconnectedness between growers and retailers. Like many producers, farmers rely on retail stores to convert products into profits. Tim Blackwell, owner of Zen Alchemy Labs in Fort Worth, said CBD prices have fluctuated significantly over the past year.
“The popularity of CBD created a resurgence of farming,” Blackwell said. “We had an overabundance [of CBD] as a result. We have adjusted our prices to stay competitive, just like any business would.”
Blackwell and his team have started selling CBG, one of more than 100 cannabinoids native to the cannabis plant. The lesser-known cannabinoid is gaining popularity for its unique medicinal benefits, Blackwell said.
“The biggest benefits we’ve seen are for nausea, pain, and inflammation,” he said. “CBG is good for people with glaucoma, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn’s disease.”
While CBD has no direct soporific benefits, Blackwell said, many people who use Zen Alchemy Labs’ CBG products tell Blackwell that CBG is an effective sleep aid. Used in combination, CBD and CBG can help patients with sleep disorders or chronic pain find restful sleep, he added.
Ideally, Blackwell would like to see everything under the “cannabinoid umbrella” legalized for medical purposes.
“People are going to do it whether it’s legal or not,” he said. “We hope the state representatives will listen to [this community]. Law-abiding citizens are missing out on the benefits of THC, which can help with sleep and pain. A 50/50 dose of CBD and THC is one of the best pain managers available. You can have pain relief and still function. Anyone who is blending CBD and THC isn’t doing it to party. That’s for sure.”
Until marijuana is legalized across the country, important scientific research will be missing, he added. Blackwell sees the importance of winning the hearts and minds of those on the enforcement side of marijuana/hemp reform. His online store, which sells products at retailers throughout North Texas, offers discounts to police officers and military personnel.
“Police officers have a difficult job,” he said. “The things that they see can be classified as PTSD-inducing. THC will temporarily interact with your memories. For someone with PTSD, shutting out memories allows him to navigate the present and heal. CBD helps with the anxiety of that. Both sides of that plant can really help police officers, Blackwell said. “We don’t blame law enforcement [for how marijuana use has been criminalized]. We feel there is a lack of education.”
Brentlinger and Sherrer are keeping their future growth strategies open. The ongoing economic downturn has afforded the duo time to test various hemp strains that would have otherwise sold as saplings. When the plants begin to flower, individual THC and CBD levels can be measured. A hemp strain that stays below the currently mandated .3% THC threshold in Kentucky may test hot in the Lone Star State’s climate, Sherrer said. Texas Botanics aims to be a source of knowledge in a state that was not afforded the option of growing hemp before last March.
“We are relying on other states [for data], not knowing how they will perform here,” Sherrer said. “There isn’t a good research program here in Texas.”
The current licensing fee to grow a strain of hemp is $500, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture’s website. Sherrer said that fee makes experimenting cost-prohibitive for all but the largest agriculture groups.
“We need to see the fees lighten up,” he continued. “The profits for hemp aren’t the same as [for medical or recreational] marijuana. These barriers may cause this industry to grow more slowly.”
Brentlinger said hemp and CBD have become mainstream, even among suburban white families who would have historically stayed away from anything that remotely resembled marijuana.
“Now people give hemp treats to their dogs,” she said. “We see a big future for Made in Texas hemp products.”
When asked what advice she would give to anyone interested in starting a hemp farm, Brentlinger advised that prospective hemp farmers “do their research.” She is quick to admit that she wouldn’t be able to enter the business without the help of Sherrer, who has extensive experience in horticulture.
“You want to have reputable partners,” she said, referring to suppliers, transporters, and other contract labor and business connections. “All the licensing and fees add up quickly if you aren’t careful. If you have never grown, I would not start with hemp. It is more appropriate for someone with a background in growing.”
Brentlinger remains bullish on hemp. Being one of Texas’ first hemp farms and nurseries has highlighted the heavy paperwork and fee structure that hemp farmers now face. While she is grateful to the prompt help that TDA staffers deliver, she hopes that future generations of hemp-minded entrepreneurs face fewer financial and bureaucratic obstacles.
“We want a level playing field with the other states,” she said. “If we can’t, then Texans will have to buy [hemp products] from other states.”
Even in the current economic and political climate, Maxwell sees a bright future for Texas’ smokable hemp industry. Hemp flowers are highly perishable by nature, he said, which means that retailers will need a steady local supply to support an industry that many rely upon for the pain-, stress-, and anxiety-relieving properties of CBD, CBG, and other cannabinoids that come from hemp flowers that now need to be carefully labeled to avoid DSHS’ new ban on smokable hemp. He also sees a bright future for large Texas farms that can garner contracts with local retailers.
The Texas hemp industry, he said, could learn a lot from the system of futures contracts that float staple crops like soy, corn, and wheat in the United States. The contracts are based on a predetermined price that a buyer promises the farmer at a specific time in the future. In his extensive communications with farmers and buyers, Maxwell said Texans seem largely aloof to the benefits of the well-established practice.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved CBD as a dietary supplement. There is growing public pressure for the FDA to greenlight the use of CBD as a supplement in mainstream food products, Maxwell said. Once large companies like Starbucks are free to offer CBD as readily as espresso shots, the hemp industry could reap the financial rewards.
In an email, FDA spokesperson Nathan Arnold said that the FDA recognizes that there is “substantial public interest in marketing and accessing CBD for a variety of products. We are working toward a goal of providing additional guidance and have made substantial progress. There are many questions to explore regarding the science, safety, effectiveness, and quality of products containing CBD, and we need to do our due diligence. Our first priority needs to be to protect the health and safety of Americans.”
The FDA, he continued, remains steadfast in its efforts to address consumer access in a way that protects public safety.
Maxwell said COVID-19 has created a huge setback for the Texas hemp industry, but hemp farmers, processors, and retailers should focus on growing the demand side of the hemp market.
“Right now, we don’t know where the buyers are at,” Maxwell said. “I’m not going to convince a farmer to grow 50 acres if I don’t know where to put it. Where is the farmer supposed to sell their crop? That is what it boils down to.”


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As a kickoff to our Transform Christmas Preview Week 2014, we’re giving everyone the opportunity to get 20 free credits.
For this week only, our most popular credit package will come with 20 bonus credits!
You’re going to want to grab up as many of these as you can, it’s the cheapest way to stock up on credits for the upcoming Christmas season.
Stay tuned all this week for news, articles, tips, and tricks to get you and your team ready for the upcoming Christmas season. Oh, and the Red Cups are on the way!
Looking for past Transform Christmas articles? Then check out our Transform Christmas section on the blog!


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Honda staff set to return to work
Thousands of staff will resume production at the Honda car factory at Swindon in Wiltshire tomorrow after a four-month shutdown at the plant.
The workers have agreed to a 3 per cent pay cut for the next 10 months, while managers are having pay reduced by 5 per cent in the face of the big downturn in new-car sales.
As many as 1,300 workers at Swindon have taken voluntary redundancy, reducing the workforce to 3,400.
Staff got full pay for the first two months of the shutdown and around 60 per cent for the last two months.
Although the return to work is welcome news, the plant will be turning out far fewer cars this year, despite the popular Honda Jazz supermini starting production at Swindon from September.
Honda had hoped to produce 228,000 vehicles at Swindon this year. But last November this figure was reduced to 175,000 when it was decided that production would stop in February and March this year.
In mid-January, Honda said the shutdown would last through April and May as well, and the 2009 production figure has now been set at just under 113,000.
With production halted, Honda has spruced up the Swindon plant, stripping and rebuilding assembly lines and redecorating throughout.
Honda new-car sales in the UK dipped more than 16 per cent in April 2009 compared with April 2008 and sales for the first four months of this year are down more than 34 per cent.
But the restart of production comes at a time when there is a glimmer of hope amid the motor industry gloom.
Last week, the Government announced that the "cash for bangers" car-scrappage scheme had been an initial success, with 35,000 new cars being ordered since the initiative was first announced on April 22.
Nationally, new car sales have fallen 28.5 per cent in the first four months of this year. But it is possible that the scrappage scheme could, at the very least, halt the rate of decline.
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A number of "serious violations" were discovered at a Whole Foods preparation facility in Everett, Massachusetts last week, causing some of the supermarket chain's products to be "contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health," the Food and Drug Adminstration now claims in a blistering warning letter.
The FDA's most startling discovery was evidence of the disease-causing bacteria listeria present at the manufacturing facility. But the letter also claims that harmful chemicals like ammonium were sprayed onto salad greens, condensation from the ceiling was found dripping near a bunch of mushroom quesadillas, and water meant for washing soiled hands was seen splashed onto vegetables, utensils, and food containers.
Whole Foods' Everett facility supplies prepared dishes to 74 stores in states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, according to the Boston Globe. And while the report from the FDA seems to spare no minute detail, the letter implies that there could be even more violations lurking at the facility.
"The above is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of deficiencies at your facility. It is your responsibility to assure your establishment is in compliance with all requirements of the [Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act] and federal regulations," the letter reads. "You should take prompt measures to correct all violations described in this letter. Failure to take appropriate corrective actions may subject your firm and products to further actions, such as injunction, or seizure."
In light of the damning report from the FDA, Whole Foods' stock fell by 4 percent in midday trading on Wednesday. The company, for its part, says it was blindsided by the warning letter.
"[We were] honestly surprised,” Ken Meyer, executive vice president of operations for Whole Foods, told the Globe. “We’ve been in close contact with the FDA, opened our doors to inspectors regularly since February and worked with them to address every issue brought to our attention.”
Still, the FDA claims that the supermarket chain's response to the accusations has been unacceptable in the wake of the review. According to the Wall Street Journal, the supermarket chain has until the end of the month to addresses the issues.
"[Y]our response includes retraining of employees as a corrective action for most of the observed violations but you failed to mention adequate supervision over your specialized food processing operations and how retraining will ensure sustained compliance," the letter reads. "We do not consider your response acceptable because you failed to provide documentation for our review, which demonstrates that all your noted corrective actions have been effectively implemented."
[via Boston Globe]


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Malcolm Penn, market analyst, founder and ceo of Future Horizons
4 min read
After a few years of pessimism, the semiconductor market appears to be back on track. Graham Pitcher finds out more from market analyst Malcolm Penn.
Semiconductors are one of the largest industries in the world, generating revenues in excess of $200billion a year, yet the industry almost always lacks confidence in its future. You wonder why when the industry, over the 40 years or so of its existence, has grown consistently by 15% per year. Why does Malcolm Penn think the industry is so pessimistic when it has such a track record? "It often doesn't matter who you talk to, they say business is good today, but tomorrow will be bad. Semiconductor revenues have grown by about 0.8% per year since 2000, which sounds bad. That's the driving factor behind the pessimism. For an industry that used to grow at 14% a year, that's close to the end of the world as we know it." But Penn says things aren't as bad as they may seem. "Mathematically, the figures are correct, but you have to look at why they come out like that." One of the problems is the start point was at the peak of a semiconductor cycle, while the end point was in a trough. "We couldn't have a worse situation," he noted. "If you moved things plus or minus a year, growth would come out at 8%; not fantastic, but better than 0.8%." Yet unit shipments grew by 10% in the same period. "That's the long term average," he continued. "If unit growth is 10%, then we have an average selling price (asp) problem. That puts things into a different perspective." Penn blames a combination of circumstances for the drop in semiconductor asps. "Conversion of many fabs to 300mm wafers is one factor," he said. "The industry went to 300mm to reduce manufacturing costs, but manufacturers appear to have given away those savings. In fact, the asp for some devices declined by 40% after they moved to 300mm." He also pointed to the 'carnage' in the memory industry. "This sector was one of the first to go to 300mm and ended up making 2.5 times as much silicon. The problem was the market couldn't absorb that, so manufacturers had to get the price down or dump products." It was a chain effect, Penn said. "When one manufacturer moved to a lower cost structure, the rest had to follow whether they needed the capacity or not. It has taken four or five years to sort out the problem and now memory prices have doubled." All in all, said Penn, the industry lost the asp advantage that would have been expected with a move to the next technology node. But he believes the asp problem is over. "We're back on the curve; the asp problem of the 2000s couldn't go on forever." Another reason for Penn's optimism is the state of the global economy. "The world's GDP may have shrunk by a couple of percent, but it's still at the level it was two years ago. Recession hasn't taken demand away, just postponed it." And he believes demand will return shortly, with enterprises fuelling growth, rather than consumers. "There are a lot of old pcs in use out there which need to be replaced. This will put huge demand on workstation and server suppliers. It's already started, with demand for pcs growing more than anticipated." When it comes to manufacturing, Penn believes the move to 450mm wafers will happen, but sees growing problems with the pursuit of Moore's Law. "450mm will happen; no question. It's working on pilot lines and Intel, TSMC and Samsung want it to happen. But physical problems with transistors will affect how quickly we follow Moore's Law. Today's problems at 45nm are the tip of the iceberg. Transistors are not behaving in the way they used to. Today, this 'misbehaviour' affects 10 to 15% of the transistors on a chip; at 16nm, it could be up to 50%. That will affect design methodologies and change our world significantly." Even after 50 years of semiconductor manufacture, Penn believes the industry has yet to get its act together. "If you build planes, for example, you will get orders from airlines and commitments for the future. With the chip industry, there's no commitment at all. While the level of investment is huge, no company has any long term orders. The industry must learn to plan capacity better and to make it more of a partnership, rather than confrontation. There have to be changes in the model. It's been done at the process R&D level; now it needs to happen at the equipment level." One reason why he advocates this is that he sees potential problems with the supply of advanced semiconductors. "There's really only one foundry offering a 45nm process and that's a weak link." For this reason, he believes the 'fab lite' model, currently the manufacturing approach of choice amongst IDMs, is flawed. "We need a manufacturing alliance similar to the technology alliances that have been created. What's wrong with the concept of a fab owned by a lot of little customers? The industry works together on process R&D, why not work together in manufacturing? I think there's a good chance this will happen and Crolles was a microcosm of this. If it works for foundries, why shouldn't it work as a joint model?" Plans are well advanced for Penn's International Electronics Forum, being held in Dresden from 5 to 7 May 2010. The event brings together industry leaders to discuss the key issues. This year's event is titled 'Thrive or Survive: Going for Gold in the post recession economy'. Amongst companies presenting are TSMC, GlobalFoundries and Freescale. For more on the event, go to http://www.futurehorizons.com Malcolm Penn, Founder and ceo of Future Horizons Penn has worked in the electronics and semiconductor industries for more than 45 years in Europe, the US, the former USSR, Japan and Korea. An early pioneer of pan European research and product development during his time with ITT?Europe, Penn's industrial experience has involved him in all aspects of the management, manufacturing, marketing and use of electronic components, particularly semiconductors.


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6Pack Indoor Beach Centre wins New Business Award
What is likely the most modern indoor beach facility in North America is right here in Richmond. For those at the Business Excellence Awards Wednesday who didn’t know about 6Pack Indoor Beach Centre—they do now.
The Mitchell Island facility won the New Business Award. Jeff Cheng and Barry Law started the business in 2010 to satisfy the region’s craving for beach sports and activities year round.
“First I like to thank the City of Richmond for giving us a chance to create such a unique place,” said Law, in accepting the award.
The owners also offered thanks to customers, family and their growing staff.
Said Law: “We went from one staff to almost 15 now. They’re like family to me.”
6Pack is an 18,000-square-foot facility with five regulation size beach courts. Besides volleyball, the facility offers a range of other beach sports, including soccer, tennis, fitness and sand-sculpture clinics.
Also nominated: Cora Breakfast and Lunch, MLK Properties Ltd., Steveston Tattoo Company.


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NGCodec, a Sunnyvale, CA-based cloud video processing company, closed an $8M Series A funding.
The round, which brought the total raised to date to $15.9m, included Belmore Capital, Xilinx and the National Science Foundation.
Led by Oliver Gunasekara, CEO and Co-Founder, and Pavel Novotny, CTO and VP of Algorithms, NGCodec creates algorithms, silicon logic and FPGA implementations for cloud video processing, powering the next generation of real-time media experiences. The company also announced the availability of broadcast quality H.265/HEVC for real-time streaming in the Amazon AWS Marketplace and ultra low latency H.265/HEVC for interactive virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).
NGCodec intends to use the funds to accelerate technology development.


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Technology borrowed from the high tech world of cycling has been used by Caterham to cut the weight of the Seven's frame by around 10 per cent.
Caterham has been experimenting with technology from the world of cycling, and it claims to have built a tubular frame that is ten per cent lighter than the current offering, while retaining similar levels of torsional rigidity.
Working with bicycle tube manufacturer Reynolds Technology, as well as experts in CAD Simpact, Caterham has come up with a prototype frame that utilises butted tubes throughout. This basically means that the tubes are thicker at the ends and thinner in the middle, saving weight without sacrificing any strength. The technology is actually over a century old, as it was first patented by Reynolds in 1897.
Simpact undertook the computer simulations proving that the technology could be implemented, and working out which sections could be lightened, and Caterham set about creating the first prototype car that was unveiled at the Niche Vehicle Network Symposium earlier in the month. >Take a look at Caterham Sevens for sale in the classifieds here
Caterham chose to use mild steel to keep down costs, although it's thought that the new frame could end up costing around £1000-£2000 more than the conventional item if it's eventually offered as an option to new 7 buyers. Despite this, Caterham thinks that around a fifth of buyers could choose this.
Simon Lambert, CTO of Caterham Cars, commented: 'Caterham has made its name as a purveyor of lightweight sportscars but we believe more can always be done to reduce weight and, therefore, emissions. Caterham and Reynolds are two proudly British brands and there is a real synergy between customers of Caterham and cycling enthusiasts, so it’s even better that the technology that has made this possible has come from the two-wheeled world.'


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- Apple and Microsoft are trying to push away iMessage and Bing off the EU’s list of “tech gatekeepers.”
- They have stated that iMessage and Bing do not provide substantial enough services to rival their likes and enter their level of competition.
- This comes in lieu of the new Digital Markets Act that’s set to impose various terms and conditions on big players in the tech industry.
With the European Union (EU) shaking up things in the tech and online industry in the continent, their new policies under the Digital Markets Act have restricted various companies worldwide.
In anticipation of these new policies, many software and hardware have not yet been launched in the European markets, as this Act (to be in effect in early 2024) can prove detrimental (or beneficial) for many. This is the reason why Meta’s new Twitter rival, Threads, hasn’t been launched in Europe yet.
However, a list of companies is being created by the EU that will face the restrictions of the Digital Markets Act. Here, mostly big companies (referred to as “gatekeepers”) are being targeted the most. This is because these companies are big enough to change the tech and software industry as a whole.
#Apple and #Microsoft, the most valuable companies in 🇺🇸, have argued some of their flagship services are insufficiently popular to be designated “gatekeepers” under landmark new EU legislation designed to curb the power of Big Tech— Umberto GAMBINI 🇪🇺🏴🇪🇺🇮🇹🇪🇺 (@UGambini) September 4, 2023
By @JavierespFT https://t.co/tuCfnk8q0f
Regarding this list, Apple and Microsoft have some queries – against iMessage and Bing. According to these two tech giants, the latter two companies are not “big” or “significant” enough to compete with them and have the term “gatekeeper.” However, the EU thinks otherwise.
So far, the biggest “tech gatekeepers” that are on the list (apart from the aforementioned two companies) are Samsung, Meta, ByteDance, and Amazon. These six companies will have to accept the restrictions regarding some of their services (or provide more of them) according to the DMA’s rules. After the final list is revealed on September 6, they will have until March 2024 to make changes and comply with these rules.
According to Microsoft and Apple, iMessage and Bing do not have that many users to make them stand in the “same league” as them. They do not hit the 45 million user threshold as required under the DMA to be considered as a “gatekeeper.”
However, the final list will be revealed by the EU tomorrow. Let’s see if they heed Apple and Microsoft’s requests or not.


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* Q1 EPS 43 cents vs. 50 cents yr-ago
* Sees Q2 EPS above estimates
* Sees Q2 rev comparable to up slightly from Q1
April 22 (Reuters) - U.S. credit reporting company Equifax Inc (EFX.N) posted lower first-quarter earnings, hurt by an unfavorable effect of foreign exchange rates, but forecast second-quarter profit above market expectations.
For the quarter, the company reported a net income of $54.5 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $65.7 million, or 50 cents a share a year ago.
However, excluding the impact of acquisition-related amortization expense and a restructuring charge, the company earned 58 cents a share.
Revenue came in at $452.9 million — a 10 percent decrease from the prior-year quarter, of which 6 percent was due to the unfavorable effect of foreign exchange rates.
Analysts on average expected the company to earn 43 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $445.9 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Equifax said it expects second-quarter earnings of 55 cents to 60 cents a share and consolidated revenue to be comparable to or up slightly from first-quarter levels.
Three analysts on average were expecting earnings of 46 cents a share, before items, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of Atlanta-based Equifax closed at $26.36 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
For the alerts, please double-click [ID:nWNAB6508] (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)


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Essendant announced major news Wednesday alongside its scheduled 2017 third quarter financial report, announcing that its board of directors has elected Richard Phillips as its president and CEO, effective immediately.
Phillips had been serving as the Deerfield, IL-based distributor's interim president and CEO since Robert Aiken Jr.'s announced resignation at that time. Phillips has also been elected to Essendant's board and the board's executive committee, with the board expanding from nine to 10 members to accommodate.
"Following a thorough search, with assistance from an independent search firm, we firmly believe that Ric is the right person to lead Essendant as we continue to execute our long-term transformation plan," said Essendant chairman Charles Crovitz. "Ric has proven expertise across our platform and channels, including responsibility for the successful turnaround of our Industrial business and leadership of many of our growth businesses. Since stepping in as interim CEO, he has intensified our transformation efforts, developing the plan to aggressively execute against our strategic drivers."
"With the support of our strong team we have made important progress advancing our transformation initiatives in recent quarters," Phillips added. "We recognize that we have much more to do, and I am excited to continue to work closely with the board and the Essendant team as we move quickly to drive our strategy forward.
At the time of his announced resignation, Aiken had been appointed president and CEO of TreeHouse Foods, a multinational food processing company headquartered 26 miles south of Essendant in Oak Brook, IL. Until that time, he served as Essendant president and CEO since July 2015, just after the company officially rebranded from United Stationers.
While Essendant's total sales slid for a fourth straight quarter, renewed growth in its Industrial Products division continued in Q3.
The company posted overall Q3 sales of $1.31 billion, down 7.0 percent year-over-year and essentially flat compared to Q2 of this year. Essendant took a Q3 loss of $81.9 million, compared to a $36.7 million profit a year earlier and an $81.9 million loss in Q2.
Q3 gross profit of $172 million was down $26.9 million year-over-year, resulting from lower sales and lower supplier allownces from inventory purchase mix.
The year-over-year sales decline was driven by lower sales in JanSan, traditional office products and technology, partly offset by growth in industrial products and cut-sheep paper products.
On a positive note, Industrial products Q3 sales of $143.4 million increased 3.8 percent year-over-year and were down slightly from $145.6 million in Q2 (+1.7 percent YoY) and $146.7 million in Q1 (+7.3 percent YoY). The company said the Q3 YoY increase was due to growth inititatives and energy market recovery.
In other business categories in Q3:
- JanSan Products sales of $342.9 million were down 8.0 percent, primarily driven by declines in the national retail channel
- Technology Products sales of $320.7 million were down 6.1 percent, driven by declines in the national retail channel
- Traditional Office Products sales of $202.7 million were down 10.2 percent, due to sales declines in the national retail channel and the independent dealer channel
- Cut-sheet Paper Products: revenues of $110.3 million increased 2.2 percent, primarily driven by growth in sales to internet retailers
- Automotive Products sales of $75.7 million decreased 2.2 percent, driven by timing of promotional activities
- Office Furniture sales of $72.1 million decreased 10.9 percent, primarily driven by declines in the independent dealer and national retailer channel
"Challenging industry dynamics and sales declines persisted, particularly in our national accounts channel," Phillips said. "This year's sales declines were largely unanticipated and outpaced our ability to reduce costs. Accordingly, I have worked with our leadership team and our board to identify and launch the key strategic drivers that will improve our performance: improving efficiency across our distribution network and aligning our cost base, driving sales performance in key growth channels and developing supplier partnerships that leverage our network and capabilities. We will act with urgency to execute against these priorities and reset our cost structure. We are targeting annualized cost savings in excess of $50 million by 2020. We have launched efforts to achieve these savings and will continue to refine this savings target and provide updates as we develop our detailed plans."


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Gemtek to invest in LoNaWAN solution provider TrackNet
Steve Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei
Networking device maker Gemtek Technology has announced that it will team up with Germany-based Minol Zenner Group to invest up to US$7 million in LoRaWAN solution provider TrackNet.
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International Hotel Technology Forum
IHTF would like to thank everyone who joined us in Barcelona on the 1st-3rd April for the 11th Annual International Hotel Technology Forum. The event saw over 600 business meetings take place across 2 days and countless partnerships formed. With over 50 speakers delivering cutting edge insight and an extensive programme of networking activities, 2014 was the biggest and best IHTF to date and we intend to make 2015 even better.
Plans are well underway for IHTF 2015, if you are a hotelier or supplier to the hospitality industry we want to hear from you. Do you have a solution you’d like to demonstrate to our senior c-level delegation? Or, are you a hotelier with a case study to share? Contact us at –
Forum & Awards Director
T: 0044 207 936 6932
2014 saw the introduction of a marketing stream running alongside our technology focused programme. Chaired by David Bowie, from Oxford Brookes University, sessions featured the Senior Director, TripAdvisor; CIO, Mandarin Oriental; Senior Vice President, Kempinski Hotels; Vice President, Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts; Senior Vice President, MICROS; Director of E-Commerce and Revenue, IHG, ...
We are delighted to announce that HOSPA and the International Hotel Technology Forum have agreed to a long term mutual media partnership agreement for IHTF 2014 and beyond.
As the countdown begins to April 1st we are excited to announce that iRiS Software Systems will be providing an impressive new delegate app at this year’s event.
David is an academic and author who, before moving into academia, worked for 15 years in hospitality management and was a hotel marketing consultant for 8 years. He mainly teaches marketing on the Masters programmes at the Oxford School of Hospitality Management and supervises/examines PhD students.
The International Hotel Technology Forum is pleased to announce the 2014 IHTF Advisory Board
Here at IHTF we not only wanted to find out what you felt makes IHTF successful but also what is also gathering pace within the Industry today. Thanks to the insight of some of the industrys most knowledgeable insiders we were able to put together the BIG IHTF Interview.Contributions from; Neil Tolley, Managing Director, Fourteen IP; Guest-Teks Sales Manager Charly Tomkys; iRiS; Knowcross and Eric Roger, Regional Head, FCS Computer Systems.
Spanish hotel company Melia Hotels International has signed agreements for two new hotels in Qatar and Indonesia.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in collaboration with Regional Hotel Chain (RHC) is to launch its Holiday Inn Express brand in Russia, the CIS and Georgia.
Best Western International has launched a brand new hotel in Phuket, in a bid to expand its portfolio of hotels in Thailand.
Hilton Worldwide has expanded its global portfolio of hotels to Myanmar with the opening of Hilton Nay Pyi Taw, in the country’s capital city.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has divested The St Regis, Rome property to subsidiaries of Constellation Hotels Holding for €110m.
The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has announced that Sky, a major entertainment and communications company, has joined it as a key partner.
Past Advisory Board 2014
CEO, E Horner & Associates Pty Ltd
Head of the 2013 Advisory board
CIO, Movenpick Hotels
Director of IT, Europe, Africa & Middle East, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Corporate Director of IT, Time Hotels
Senior Manager IT Innovation, Nordic Choice Hotels


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When the 51st Super Bowl kicks off Sunday, a Chicago product will be at the center of the action.
Don't get your hopes up, Bears fans — your memories of this season weren't just a bad dream. But while the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons are supplying the players, Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods will provide the footballs, made from leather crafted by another company with old Chicago roots: Horween Leather.
Shoe enthusiasts might know Horween for high-end shell cordovan leather made from horsehide, but sporting-goods leathers now make up about 40 percent of the tannery's business, said vice president Nick Horween, a fifth-generation member of the family company that's operated out of the tannery, in the 2000 block of North Elston Avenue, since 1920.
Horween makes leather for Spalding basketballs and Rawlings baseball gloves. But most of its sports business comes from football leather, which Horween started making around 1940 when founder Isidore Horween's sons Arnold and Ralph — football standouts who played for Harvard and the Chicago Cardinals — teamed up with Wilson and Bears founder and owner George Halas to try to make a better ball, Nick Horween said.
First things first: The "pigskin" is not actually made of pig's skin. Every week, about 2,000 steer hides are shipped to the tannery from livestock producers in central Canada and the Midwest, Horween said.
For 24 hours, hides are treated with an acid solution that removes the hair. To make leather used in sporting goods, hides get a first round of tanning in large drums where fats and oils are stripped away and chrome is added to strengthen the material.
Employees then take the "wet blue" hides — named for their pre-dyed tint — and assess quality. Every hide will get another round of tanning, but the process depends on the final product. Football leather emerges with a grippable tackiness — part of the reason Nick Horween is irked when announcers blame flubbed passes on slippery balls.
Bone-colored football leather is dried in an oven on the tannery's top floor, glued to glass plates to keep it from shrinking. A pebblelike texture — Wilson's pattern includes tiny W's — is stamped on with heated steel plates. The leather then is sprayed with dye until it's that recognizable reddish-brown hue.
Horween ships the finished leather to Wilson, which turns it into footballs at a 120-employee factory in Ada, Ohio, that makes about 700,000 footballs each year. About 23 employees will handle each NFL game ball, which each take 30 to 45 minutes to make, said Wilson spokeswoman Kristina Peterson-Lohman.
Each team playing in the Super Bowl gets 108 balls — 54 for practice and 54 for the game. Wilson sends a few extra, designated for the kickers, directly to the NFL's official hotel. About 120 footballs are used in a typical Super Bowl game, Wilson says.
From Horween's perspective, making Super Bowl-ready leather is no different from leather that will wind up in high school or college players' hands. But Wilson typically will select leather made from the densest part of the hide for its highest-tier balls, Nick Horween said.
"Where you get the nicest steaks is usually where the nicest leather is," he said.
The process hasn't changed much in the 76 years since Wilson began supplying the National Football League's official game balls in 1941. Other parts of the business have shrunk — there's less demand for mechanical leather and a more-limited supply of horsehides — but the football leather business has been steady, Horween said.
"We're fiercely loyal to (Wilson), and think they'd say the same," he said. "We've tried to make the best quality we can."


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A NEW pub pulling pints brewed in Waverton is opening its doors in the city centre this week – and it will be a very local affair.
The Brewery Tap, in Gamul House on Lower Bridge Street, will serve the Spitting Feathers brewery’s own ales after owner Matthew Walley decided to buy a boozer to sell his award winning produce.
With beers like Old Wavertonian and Devastation among its creations, the brewery at Common Farm, Waverton, wears its local pride on its sleeve.
As well as the brewery’s own wide selection of beers, the pub will feature guest ales from microbreweries and they intend to source their food, wherever possible, from local producers.
It's a radical departure from the continental fare that was on offer when the property was Italian restaurant La Taverna.
The pub’s breads will be supplied by Wallis the Bakers in Saltney, their vegetables from Nature’s Treats in Guilden Sutton, locally reared meats will come from Vernon’s Fresh Food Hall in Holt and there will be Cheshire Farm Ice Cream from Tattenhall for dessert.
Matthew Walley, owner of the brewery, has employed full time manager John Thomas to take the reins.
Mr Walley said: “We believe there’s a market out there for another really good real ale pub in Chester.
“There’s good food sourced locally including some from our own brewery farm.
“Some of the suppliers are people I know from my history as a local farmer and some are local farms we’ve used since we started the brewery.
“It’s a local farm’s project, employing local people and sourcing as much produce as we can locally and seasonally.”
Meat, salad, vegetables, fruit and honey will come direct from the brewery’s farm, including pork from their rare breed pigs. Diners will also be able to sample their homemade relishes, chutneys, condiments and preserves.
Bee hives on the farm even provide honey for their seasonal beer, Honey Trap.
The 400-year-old Gamul House, in 52-54 Lower Bridge Street, was a one-time Jacobean hall, built as a part of a townhouse where King Charles I spent the night after the battle of Rowton Moor.
Mr Walley added: “We think it will be a lovely place, somewhere that people will feel comfortable to sit and chat and enjoy the beer.”


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Since the Ford Mach-E’s global debut in November, the automaker said that it received reservations from customers in all 50 states, indicating that there is much interest in Ford’s new Mustang-inspired EV throughout the U.S.
Eric Walz2020-03-10 10:50 PT
As the Ford Motor Company plans its future to become a complete mobility services provider, the Detroit-based company has made some changes to its top executive team. Among them, Ford announced that Jim Farley has been named chief operating officer of Ford, reporting directly to president and CEO Jim Hackett.
FutureCar Staff 2020-02-07 14:45 PT
As General Motors closes plants and layoff thousands of workers, the Ford Motor Company is investing $1 billion in its Chicago assembly and stamping plants and adding 500 new jobs, as it prepares to launch three highly anticipated new SUVs that go on sale later this year, including the all-new Explorer.
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The Ford Motor Company finally confirmed yesterday that it is planning an electric F-150 pickup. The only problem is that it might take years to show up in dealer showrooms.
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The Ford Motor Company and German automaker Volkswagen AG today announced an alliance to make both automakers more competitive, as the auto industry undergoes rapid transformation. The two automakers said they will collaborate to develop commercial vans and medium-sized pickup trucks.
FutureCar Staff 2019-01-15 11:37 PT
The Ford Motor Company announced earlier this month that it is exploring the use of graphene, a two-dimensional nano-material, for use in automotive parts. Ford says it the first automaker to incorporate graphene material in vehicle production.
Eric Walz2018-10-29 12:26 PT
President Trump’s escalating trade war with China has hit the automotive industry once again. The Ford Motor Company has cancelled plans to import the Focus Active, a new compact crossover it hoped to import to the U.S. market next year.
Eric Walz2018-08-31 16:56 PT
Autonomic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, and Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to bring to China the Transportation Mobility Cloud (TMC), a standard transportation and mobility solution for connected vehicles developed by Autonomic.
Paul Young2018-08-14 12:16 PT
Ford Motor Company shared the first images this week of the new Territory, a mid-size SUV designed for China with an affordable price-tag and high-tech features. Ford is targeting new buyers in emerging cities with the new SUV.
Derrick Smith2018-08-10 17:34 PT
Workers at Ford Motor Company assembly plants are getting some assistance from exoskeleton technology, a wearable robotic vest that allows workers to lift heavy objects much more easily. It is also a way to prevent workplace injuries caused by repetitive tasks, such as bending, reaching and heavy lifting.
Jacky Ho2018-08-07 13:56 PT
Ford Motor Company has teamed up with researchers at Vanderbilt University to demonstrate that the widespread use of its adaptive cruise control can reduce traffic jams caused by drivers constantly accelerating and braking.
Eric Walz2018-06-29 12:51 PT
Ford Smart Mobility, the automaker’s subsidiary formed to design, build and invest in emerging mobility services, and China’s Zotye Auto have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish an electric vehicle solutions joint venture (JV) for China’s rapidly growing ride-hailing market.
Eric Walz2018-05-07 14:01 PT
Ford Motor Company, one of the most storied automotive brands, said it will stop producing full and mid-size sedans, as it shifts towards battery-powered SUVs, crossovers and light trucks.
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Millions of drivers are able to upgrade their older Ford vehicles with some of this newer technology, thanks to Ford Motor Company’s new product called FordPass SmartLink.
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Berry Bros and Pol Roger: can Brexit help revive “perfect-sized” Champagne bottles?
Berry Bros & Rudd and Champagne house Pol Roger are jointly campaigning for the return of imperial pints of Champagne, with the hope that Brexit could provide an opportunity for this “perfect-sized” bottle’s revival.
At present, EU regulation prohibits the imperial pint with legislation specifying the format and size of sparkling wine bottles sold in the UK – 37.5cl for half bottles and full bottles at 75cl.
The imperial pint, which has a capacity of 56.8cl, would sit between the half bottle and full bottle, at a size considered by many as ideal for sharing. The bottle size was made popular in the UK by Winston Churchill, who believed pint bottles held just the right amount “enough for two at lunch and one at dinner”.
Simon Berry, chairman of wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd, has long been petitioning for the return of this bottle size.
He said: “I have been campaigning to bring back the imperial pint for over thirty years and until recently I was no closer to winning this battle – but perhaps recent events will change that.
“The imperial makes for a perfect-sized bottle. You get four proper-sized glasses from it – as opposed to six from a bottle, or three from a half-bottle. Champagne is designed to be shared, ideally with one other person. The Imperial pint gives two drinkers a couple of glasses each when a half-bottle would seem mean and a bottle lavish.”
Meanwhile, Pol Roger has already started discussions with its glass supplier.
James Simpson, managing director of the Pol Roger subsidiary in the UK, and advocate of the imperial pint, visited Berry Bros & Rudd this week with an imperial pint of Pol Roger 1914 Vintage Champagne, to continue discussions with Simon Berry.
He said: “Brexit has raised a number of concerns and questions within the drinks industry, but regarding the revival of the imperial pint, we could have an opportunity.
“Though even assuming we would be able to restart production of the imperial pint, the nature of bottle ageing Champagne means it would still be a number of years before we would start seeing Pol Roger in imperial pints again.
“The first production would not come on to the market for approximately four years for non-vintage Champagne and it would be eight years for Vintage Champagne.”
In 1992 the EU prohibited the sale in the UK of 50cl bottles, which were being introduced to the market by Champagne Veuve Cliquot. The company had spent five years procuring the bottles, filling them, maturing the wine and then launching them.
Once the exact terms of Brexit are made available Champagne producers will know whether the revival of the imperial pint could become a reality.


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Shirley Gomez has been exposed to many aspects of the art world. Besides being a Fashion Journalist, she studied Fashion Styling and Fashion Styling for Men at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Interior Design at UNIBE and Fashion Design at ITSMJ Fashion School in the Dominican Republic. She worked as a Fashion Journalist, Fashion Stylist and Social Media Manager at one of the most recognized magazines in the Dominican Republic, Oh! Magazine, as an occasional Entertainment Journalist, of the prestigious newspaper “Listín Diario”, as well as a fashion collaborator of a radio show aired in 100.9 FM SuperQ. When Shirley is not writing you can find her listening Demi Lovato or Beyonce's songs, decorating her apartment or watching Family Feud.
Univision Communications and language education powerhouse, Rosetta Stone have come together to launch, Univision Aprender con Rosetta Stone, a mobile-first digital language learning solution tailored to Hispanic learners.
Singer-songwriter, Ricardo Arjona premiered a new single and video to showcase the reality the world is currently facing with the increasing attention people is paying to social networks. Watch the video here!
Healthy meal kit, Terra's Kitchen, has launched a delicious new menu category – desserts. With recipes ready in 15 minutes (or less!), this is the easiest, fastest way for you and your family to indulge.
Bachata singer Romeo Santos is sending six planes filled with food and other basic supplies to all those affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as the victims of the earthquake in Mexico.
Get ready to remember friends and family members who have died with the traditional Dia de los Muertos ofrendas. Find here three cocktails to help embody the customs of a celebratory Day of the Dead gathering.
Can you believe fall is already here? To prepare for the season of all things apple, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice, we're passing along some *fall-inspired* snacks and food items to make the most of autumn.
Considered to be the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history, the massacre in Las Vegas that left at least 58 dead and more than 500 wounded has been claimed by ISIS. However, the FBI has denied those allegations.


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Help PMA grow | Petition forms | Site map | PMA main page
'Free' trade - lamb comments
Peace Movement AotearoaPO Box 9314, Wellington. Tel (04) 382 8129, fax (04) 382 8173, firstname.lastname@example.org
9 July 1999
Kia ora, for those of you interested in free trade and the latest demonstration that it is a one-way process, here is a small selection of media releases from various political sorts. Lots of handy quotes in these !
1) Jenny Shipley, 8 July 1999 ... "NZers are angry and deeply disappointed "...
2) Lockwood Smith, 8 July 1999 ..." [US] sullied by giving in to short-sighted protectionist sentiment"
3) Lockwood Smith, 8 July 1999 ... "Labour Party has demonstrated its sheer stupidity and short-sightedness"
4) Rod Donald, 8 July 1999 ... " Lamb tariffs expose APEC farce"
1) MEDIA RELEASE, Thursday 8 July 1999
LAMB TARIFF UNACCEPTABLE SAYS PRIME MINISTER
The United States' decision to impose lamb import tariffs is totally unacceptable and will lead to World Trade Organisation action, Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said today.
"New Zealanders are angry and deeply disappointed at a decision that will, in effect, be a tax on our lamb exporters. The US decision will for the next three years limit our exports and prevent our non-subsidised industry from further developing the US lamb market.
"US lamb growers, whose shortsighted protectionism led to calls for safeguards, will gain nothing from an outcome that stifles both market growth and consumer choice.
"It is difficult to take any comfort from the US decision except that the outcome could have been much worse," said Mrs Shipley.
New Zealand exports worth over $140 million last year could have been stopped overnight if the more prohibitive restrictions sought by American sheep interests had been introduced.
Mrs Shipley said that intensive lobbing by the New Zealand and Australian governments, Meat New Zealand, and industry and farming leaders, have together rolled back the worst of the damage.
"Our arguments were given considerable weight at the most senior levels of the US administration and I have no doubt helped them to reject domestic US lobbying for even heavier trade restrictions. New Zealand left no stone unturned in our lobbying.
"For all that we are deeply disappointed that trade restraints have been introduced. The outcome unfairly penalises our industry. New Zealand cannot and will not let the matter rest.
"We have immediately started active consideration of our WTO options. We will be working closely with Australia on any action that will be taken," said Mrs Shipley.
2) MEDIA RELEASE, 8 July 1999
TRADE MINISTER DENOUNCES US DECISION ON LAMB
Trade Minister Lockwood Smith has denounced the United States' decision to impose restrictions on imports of New Zealand lamb.
US President Bill Clinton today announced that he had approved an across-the-board tariff on all imports of lamb from New Zealand and Australia in response to the US sheep meat industry's application for safeguard action under Section 201 of the US Trade Act of 1974.
"It's bitterly disappointing that the US has chosen this approach," said Dr Smith.
"In applying these trade restrictions, the US has turned its back on a very constructive proposal from Meat New Zealand and its Australian counterpart, and allowed its long standing reputation as a supporter of free and open trade to be sullied by giving in to short-sighted protectionist sentiment.
"This decision will impose costs of approximately $24 million on New Zealand's lamb industry over the next three years. It will also limit New Zealand's legitimate trade expectations by choking off future prospects of growth with the heavy out-of-quota tariff.
"New Zealand's trade with the US is fair, and, according to the US International Trade Commission, has not caused actual injury to the US sheep meat industry. This unwise decision sends unfortunate signals, particularly in the year when the US will host the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial meeting which is expected to launch the next round of trade negotiations.
"The most frustrating aspect of today's decision is that everyone loses. New Zealand's farmers and exporters will lose, and the decision will do nothing to assist the serious challenges faced by the US sheep meat industry.
"New Zealand will not take today's decision lying down. My officials have been assessing the impact of today's decision on the New Zealand industry. We are actively considering our WTO options, and in consultation with the meat industry and Federated Farmers we will respond according to New Zealand's best interests.
"The US Government's unwise decision means that a WTO action is certain," Dr Smith concluded.
3) MEDIA STATEMENT, 8 July 1999
LABOUR SHOWS SHEER STUPIDITY ON TRADE
The Labour Party has demonstrated its sheer stupidity and short-sightedness by suggesting that President Clinton should stay away from APEC in New Zealand according to Trade Minister Lockwood Smith.
"The Labour Party's reaction to the US Government's decision to impose trade restrictions on New Zealand lamb exports is foolish, short-sighted, and demonstrates the precise behaviour that saw them drive the US-New Zealand relationship into disarray in the 1980s," said Dr Smith.
"The Government takes the introduction of new trade restrictions against our lamb producers very seriously. We've already formally advised US Ambassador Josiah Beeman of New Zealand's intention to take a WTO action against this decision, and met with legal advisers and meat industry and farming leaders to discuss New Zealand's response.
"For their part, Labour have blundered into the debate and shown that they've learnt nothing since they were last in Government.
"Labour left New Zealand's relationship with the US in tatters last time they were in Government, and today's statements show that if given the chance, they'd do it all over again.
"Their immaturity and lack of understanding of Foreign Affairs and Trade is astonishing.
"Notwithstanding the bitter taste left by President Clinton's decision today, we must not lose sight of the importance of the US market for New Zealand farmers, producers, and exporters. Rebuffing its leader will achieve nothing for New Zealand producers further damage our market opportunities in the US.
"Under Labour, New Zealand's exporters may as well shut up shop, because it's clear that they'd escalate every trade setback into a major diplomatic disaster," Dr Smith concluded.
4) Press Release, 8 July 1999
Lamb tariffs expose APEC farce says Green Party
The Green Party says President Clinton's decision to impose tariffs and quotas on New Zealand lamb imports to the United States is another nail in the coffin of free trade.
"Clinton's decision to slap tariffs on New Zealand lamb exposes APEC for the farce that it is," says Green Party Co-Leader Rod Donald.
"New Zealand taxpayers will be questioning why the Government is spending $44M to host APEC when its biggest player thumbs its nose at our farmers.
"National's love affair with free trade has well and truly turned sour.
"President Clinton's determination to put his own farmers first also exposes the callous way the National government has treated small businesses and workers in New Zealand.
"Tens of thousands of jobs, particularly in manufacturing, have disappeared in the last decade because of National's fixation with free trade.
"Removing all protections from the New Zealand economy has been a disastrous strategy in the context of other governments managing trade in the best interests of their own people," he said.
Contact Rod Donald on 04 470 6660 or 025 507 183
Return to main page on globalisation.


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Anju Modi Gives Fashion a New Address
Defence Colony in New Delhi which is colloquially known as ‘couture street’ is now home to Anju Modi’s flagship store. The weathered stones, and indigo walls sprinkled with gold motifs are all inspired by Anju Modi’s travels across the country and reflect her design sensibilities. The fashion frat turned up in full support of the veteran designer, and binged on the host of comfort food.
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08/28/15 - 12:57 PM EDT
Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas, with its ten-story water slide, seven neighborhoods and central park, is just one of the latest ships to break records.
08/27/15 - 09:58 AM EDT
The newest advances in smart clothing and wearable technology include such things as Bluetooth bras that detect early signs of breast cancer and jewelry designed to measure UV exposure.
08/25/15 - 10:14 AM EDT
There's even more reason to be envious of the private jet set - the exclusive perks, which range from VIP tickets to complimentary hotel stays and spa treatments.
08/20/15 - 01:15 PM EDT
Carnival Corporation plans to launch social impact focused cruises to Cuba and the Dominican Republic, allowing travelers to engage in outreach and educational activities including volunteer work.
08/13/15 - 09:21 AM EDT
A new study shows women are delaying major life events such as marriage, college and kids, in favor of cosmetic surgery
08/10/15 - 01:51 PM EDT
A new report says the consumption of experiences, rather than material goods, is the new status symbol. Here are some of the top experiences being offered.
08/07/15 - 12:36 PM EDT
Some airports that have become destinations in and of themselves – from Hong Kong International Airport, to Changi in Singapore, here’s a look at airports topping people’s bucket list.
07/31/15 - 10:51 AM EDT
Airstream has long evoked images of wide-open travel and inspired feelings of wanderlust. But with steep price tags, such adventures have long been the rarified opportunity of the well-heeled.
07/29/15 - 12:30 PM EDT
The legalization of marijuana has spawned an explosive cannabis tourism industry. Bud + Breakfast, anyone?
07/28/15 - 07:50 AM EDT
Every two years the World Economic Forum analyzes the performance of 141 destinations, ranking them for safety and security. Here’s a look at the locations that fared best and worst.


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According to SteamSpy, CS GO is now the best-selling game ever on the PC platform thanks to its 25 million units sold since August 2012 when the game was released.
The previous highest-selling record was held by Minecraft with a total of 24.5 million units sold on PC since its launch but CS GO has now managed to beat that number.
Perhaps the biggest reason for CS GO, Valve’s latest iteration of the Counter Strike franchise, is the massive community the franchise has as well as the game holding a status of one of the three most popular eSports games in the world.
Given the play style of the game, CS GO has drawn all sorts of players in, from newcomers to veterans of previous games of the franchise as well as professional players competing at the highest level for huge prizes.
The immense popularity and history of the game, combined with the $15 price tag which goes as low as $7.5 to $5 during sales, it’s pretty much a no brainer that a competitive game which offers thousands of hours of fun would end up being the highest selling game in the history of the platform.
Of course this sales figure also includes multiple copies owned by the same people for the purpose of testing out different hacks or even creating smurf accounts since the game is available at such a low price.
Despite that, CS GO still manages to stay among the Top 5 most played games on Steam at any given time, mostly sitting at #2 with above 300,000 concurrent players daily. That figure is still shy of Valve’s other heavy hitter, Dota 2 which is pretty much always at #1 with above 700,000 concurrent players. However, Dota 2 is a free to play title with microtransactions for cosmetics.
These days when the FPS genre is extremely saturated and a new ‘competitive’ FPS pops up every few months, it great to see Counter Strike still holding its spot as the game that revolutionized the genre back in 1999 as a mod for Half Life.


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Today, author Eric Metaxas’s Twitter page is full of congratulations about his book, Miracles, hitting the New York Times bestseller list at #12. Metaxas is no stranger to the list; his biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Bonhoeffer, hit number one and was released to critical acclaim.
But earlier this week, an article in Christianity Today quoted Metaxas giving what sounds like his approval of a controversial marketing tactic: buying your way onto the NYT bestseller list. The article is available to subscribers only, but watchdog blogger Warren Throckmorton posted a snippet of Metaxas’s comments:
“Anyone thinking there is something pure about that list does not understand the system and how it works,” [Metaxas] said. “I would even argue that trying to get on that list is a combination of a realistic sense of the market and good stewardship. When you understand … the Times list is a bit of a game … you realize being on that list has less to do with the actual merit of a book than with other, far less important factors.”
I’m not sure what those “other, far less important factors” are, but more and more Christian authors have admitted to having benefitted from the work of Result Source, the company who does the buying. (If their website is any indication, their business is shady at best. It consists only of a “contact us” link.) According to Forbes, the company runs their “bestsellers campaign” by requiring “authors to make bulk purchases of their own books, then breaks those orders up into small increments to make them look like organic retail sales.”
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Religion News Service


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Italy will reinforce its position as a leader in the global healthcare market with innovative SMEs and start-ups a core part of the country’s offering at Arab Health this week. As one of the biggest attractions at the event, Italian producers are offering advanced solutions to some of the world’s most pressing health and wellness issues.
Italy is currently ranked as the number one producer for medicine and drugs in the EU, with a pharmaceutical turnover of 31.2 billion Euros, plus, the country has one of the highest growth rates. of investment in R&D in the sector. Italy is not only competitive in the global market but is also the eighth largest world economy and the second manufacturing economy in the EU.
Italy’s spotlight on the country’s healthcare SMEs and start-ups at this year’s Arab Health, follows the Italian government’s sponsorship of a 1 billion Euros investment program aimed at the native startup ecosystem in June 2020. As a result, the number of Italian start-up companies has boomed over the past year, with 13,000 start-ups now registered in Italy as of December 2020.
His Excellency Nicola Lener, Ambassador of Italy to the UAE, commented on the strong trade relationship that Italy has with the UAE, “Life Sciences are today one of Italy’s leading sectors, with an integrated ecosystem spanning from pharmaceuticals to medical devices, from regenerative medicine to precision health and diagnostics, from biotechnological research to genomics, from telemedicine to robotics, and also the development of software and data analysis tools. At Arab Health, Italian companies will be demonstrating their innovation capabilities – which have been further boosted by the disruption caused by the pandemic – and will be looking to increase their support of the expanding healthcare sector in the UAE and in the wider region.”
Fifty-one Italian companies, including eight innovative start-ups selected by ITA in its official pavilion, are present at Arab Health. Amedeo Scarpa, Italian Trade Commissioner said, “The Italian contingent at Arab Health is one of the largest offerings by any country. The exhibition is one of the most important globally in this sector and as a country, we heavily invest in healthcare innovation by supporting young individuals with a dynamic outlook. Not by chance, 18 per cent of new Italian start-ups are founded by under 35s.
Looking ahead to later this year, Italy’s strong presence at Arab Health is a snapshot of what to expect from Italy’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai under the claim “Beauty connects people”.
For further information about Italy’s presence at Arab Health, please visit the Italian Trade Agency pavilion located in Hall 7, Stand H7.C111