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“Many consumers transitioned to store brands which had been the effect of past recession; it has been more profound this time due to the magnitude of this recession,” observed Phil Matena, vice president, Innospec. “Participating across the value spectrum was a key to success for suppliers like [us].”
But after an extremely difficult 2008 and a rocky start to 2009, suppliers report that the laundry detergent and household products market began to stabilize last year and is even beginning to grow again.
(l-r): Thomas Schroeder, Josef Koester and Rita Koester of Cognis
David Del Guercio, senior vice president and general manager household care global, Evonik Goldschmidt Corp., agreed, noting that inventory control is done.
“Orders are based on true demand,” he told Happi. “We saw gradual improvement in 2009, a gradual growth.”
Shafeek Razac, marketing manager, BASF, observed that inventory rebuilding began in the fourth quarter and he expects that trend to continue in 2010.
“It’s too early to read into it, but we’re anticipating this is another indication of the market turnaround,” said Razac.
Even enzyme producers called 2009 a challenging year, although, for Novozymes, that meant growth of 7% compared to the double-digit gains the company is accustomed to, said Anders Lund, director of marketing for detergent.
Still, the economic crisis didn’t hit every region of the world equally. Cognis executives reported strong results in Asia and Latin America, along with weakness in the NAFTA region and Europe.
“Our global reach enabled us to do well,” explained Rita Koester, global marketing director, home care/I&I. “Those who could balance the impact came out best.”
Procter & Gamble is eager to expand its reach in fast-growing Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries. According to Jack Ryan, vice president, P&G Chemicals, P&G’s new chief executive officer Bob MacDonald wants to build on his predecessor A.G. Lafley’s strategy of touching and improving more consumers’ lives in more parts of the world, but more completely.
“We expect big growth in Latin America and Asia-Pacific,” noted Ryan.
While companies strive to balance their global portfolios, they’ve had to weather growing consumer demand for value-priced detergents and household cleaners. Sales of premium-priced laundry products slipped during the past two years, while value brands and private label offerings found favor with cost-conscious consumers. But some suppliers insist they are well-equipped to weather the storm.
“We have a broad portfolio,” observed Josef Koester, marketing director, Care Chemicals, North America, Cognis. “So while the premium side doesn’t do so well now, we can balance it with the value side.”
“Rhodia was able to maintain overall demand because we supply ingredients for premium, mid-tier and value brands,” said Sébastien Méric, vice president-home and personal care, Rhodia Novecare. “We also benefited from expansion, including the acquisition of McIntyre, our new surfactant plant in India and a strong presence in Asia where demand remained robust.”
According to Méric, back in 2008, when consumers’ buying power was already under pressure, the company redirected its R&D efforts to provide the general market and select partners with smart ingredients that do more for less.
“In 2010, we will see some of these efforts coming to fruition together with our expanded ability to capture growth in Asia with a dense network of surfactants plants reaching out from India, Thailand, Indonesia and China,” said Méric.
The Search for Innovation
While price continues to be important, several suppliers insist that laundry detergent marketers are poised to roll out an array of novel cleaning solutions.
“As I look at 2010, the topic is innovation, specifically, breakout innovation that can lead to growth,” said Nilesh Shah, global R&D director, home and personal care, Dow Chemical. “Customers want to solve tough problems. The want to go after oily stain removal and cold water cleaning and they want to make cleaning easier with multifunctional products.”
(l-r) David Del Guercio and Sahar Fakhry-Smith of Evonik and Nilesh Shah of Dow Chemical.
For its part, P&G’s products are available in 80% of the world’s countries, but not across all product categories. Currently, P&G serves four billion consumers, but the goal during the next few years is to expand that reach to five billion via all price points from value all the way to super premium.
“Consumers are more value-conscious than they were in the 1980s and 1990s, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t buy top of the line products,” said Ryan.
Kathy Fish, vice president-global fabric care R&D, P&G, agreed that consumers are rethinking their purchases. Shoppers who never thought twice about buying a bottle of Tide are at least looking at lower cost products.
“But clothes are a big expense,” she noted. “If your good clothes turn into play clothes, that’s not good value. So we are reframing value.”
At the same time, however, innovations are making news and garnering sales. P&G is set to roll out new compact laundry detergent powders this summer. Meanwhile, results are still coming in, but convenience products such as Henkel’s Purex 3-in-1 and P&G’s Bounce Dryer Bar, seem to have found a ready audience.
“Companies are breaking away from the traditional approach,” noted Del Guercio. “They are looking for convenience—a bridge between laundry and the dryer.”
Still, nearly every supplier that Happi interviewed noted that demand for value will only continue to grow in the household products industry. Josef Koester noted that private label already holds a 30% share in Europe in many categories and demand continues to grow.
“Private labels are beginning to brand themselves with a performance-for-value message,” he said. “They won’t go away as the economy improves. Retailers are giving them shelf space.”
Full Speed Ahead
While consumers were cutting back on their spending during the “Great Recession,” suppliers insist they did no such thing.
“There were no cuts in R&D at Cognis,” insisted Josef Koester.
In fact, Cognis actually made investments in several parts of the world, including an alkylpolyglucoside investment in China, expansion of specialty polymers in Germany and construction of an anionic surfactant plant in Mexico.
Acquisitions led to some of the biggest changes during the past year, with BASF acquiring Ciba and Dow Chemical purchasing Rohm and Haas.
“With the Ciba acquisition in 2009, we increased our flexibility to respond to and support our customers current and future needs, enhancing our position of being the partner of choice,” said Gary Dee, business director home and personal care, BASF. “The combined businesses of legacy Ciba and BASF offer tremendous potential with very little overlap.”
He pointed out that Ciba’s portfolio consists of products such as fluorescent whitening agents, antimicrobials and rheology modifiers as well as specialties including dye fixatives, fabric enhancers, oxidation catalysts, UV absorbers and ingredient protectants. Most of these products offer secondary benefits to the cleaning formulations.
Phil Matena, Innospec
“In addition to gaining new products and technologies, we are also benefiting from the complementary technical expertise in detergents, brought in through the acquisition,” said Dee. “Our growth strategy continues to focus on unmet market needs, and tailored solutions for the customer. The Ciba acquisition has further increased our capability to bring innovation to the market. These capabilities give us a clear competitive advantage.”
No product or ingredient category could escape the impact of the recession. Even high-flying demand for green ingredients fell back to earth a bit. According to industry estimates, the market for green products still rose 6% last year, down from historical 17% levels.
Still, growth in a recession, however small, can never be ignored, which is why Cognis rolled out Polyquart Ecoclean, a polymer based on starch, a renewable raw material that is aerobically and anaerobically biodegradable. It closes the gap for formulating environmentally sound hard surface cleaners with up-to date convenience claims like excellent wetting, spotless drying and easy to keep clean. Polyquart Ecoclean modifies hard surfaces like ceramic tiles, glass and stainless steel to become more hydrophilic. This rinse-off effect lasts for up to 10 rinse cycles, according to Cognis. Polyquart Ecoclean is easy to formulate with too, since it is stable across a wide pH range (from 3 to 10) and is compatible with anionic, cationic and nonionic surfactants.
Although Dow Chemical hasn’t launched any new products in the first quarter, Shah and his team are currently developing a set of surfactants based on glycerol, which he hopes to commercialize this year.
At the same time, Dow Chemical continues to work on issues of ongoing importance such as oily stain removal, enzyme optimization and fragrance release. To create products with a more substantive fragrance, Dow Chemical researchers are working on novel encapsulation and controlled release technology.
“Oily stain removal is a work in progress and we are also working on enhanced cleaning at lower temperature, fragrance release and enzyme stability,” said Shah. “We’re trying to get them out to the market as quickly as possible. But we know they must be robust in order to survive consumer scrutiny.”
If Dow Chemical researchers are successful, he predicted that a stream of innovations will hit the market between now and 2012.
BASF’s most recent launches focus on specific consumer laundry needs, too. For example, Lutensol M has outstanding emulsifying properties that allow laundry detergents to be produced for high efficiency at low wash temperatures. Meanwhile, Luvipur 10 is a new additive that enhances the cleaning power of liquid laundry detergents.
“Manufacturers can either increase the detergent power of liquid detergents and concentrates by adding Luvipur 10, or save on the use of active ingredients, such as anionic surfactants, which can lead to cost savings,” explained Dee.
For autodish detergent formulators, BASF’s Trilon M is a sustainable chelating agent that allows the formulators to make non-phosphorous automatic dishwashing (ADW) gels with high performance similar to ADW powders containing phosphates.
Another BASF technology, Plurafac SLF 180, is a new nonionic surfactant for ADW, which offers high detergency, wetting power and soil-dispersing capacity, but with very little foam.
Finally, Sokalan AT120 is a clear thickener for liquid laundry and hand dish wash applications. It exhibits better efficiency than existing thickeners and at the same time is very easy to formulate, according to BASF.
Croda recently opened a laundry laboratory at its Edison, NJ facility which enables the company to generate claims substantiation data that is reflective of consumer washing habits, according to Damian Kelly, business development manager, home care and functional specialties, Croda.
“Our new laundry facility has been used to generate claims support data for Croda’s upcoming new product launch, Cirrasol ST Ultra,” he said.
According to Kelly, Cirrasol ST Ultra represents new, patented technology that delivers softening through the wash. The softening performance of Cirrasol ST Ultra is comparable to that of the leading 2-in-1 commercial product.
“But Cirrasol ST has the added benefit of not graying fabric over multiple washes which is a consequence of current technology,” explained Kelly.
Lund noted that enzymes provide solutions to four key market drivers: compaction, sustainability and low wash temperature, reducing use of raw materials with volatile costs and new consumer relevant claims. No wonder why he is optimistic about 2010 and beyond.
“Novozymes is positioned to deliver what the market wants,” he said. “We have the technology and the resources to give our customers what they need.”
Rhodia introduced two products during the recent Soap and Detergent Association annual meeting held in Orlando, FL. Repel-O-Tex Smart is billed as a cost-effective solution designed for value brand laundry powders. It is highly effective at low surfactant levels, boosting the efficiency of primary detergency, as well as anti-graying and soil release benefits.
“Repel-O-Tex Smart typically allows formulators to reduce their formulation cost by up to 10% and formulation loading by up to 20%, allowing them to maintain performance while boosting their economical and environmental sustainability profile,” said Méric. “This new cost effective and sustainable solution brings innovation back to value laundry powders, a category that has not experienced much improvement in recent years compared to laundry liquids.”
New Repel-O-Tex Crystal is the latest soil release polymer for liquid detergents. It is very efficient on fatty stains such as motor oil, shoe polish or lipstick. It is designed to perform in the latest concentrated formulas and washing conditions, such as lower temperature and shorter cycles, according to Méric.
Innospec’s key new product is Iselux, an isethionate surfactant that is said to be ideal for skin cleansers and sulfate-free shampoo. According to Matena, the product has all the right credentials for today’s consumer. It is sulfate-free, readily biode-gradable, based on renewable materials, incredibly mild and delivers outstanding performance. Innospec is finalizing the global approval of the material so that customers are free to globally market their products.
In addition, Innospec is relaunching Enviomet biodegradable chelant to the home care market for laundry and auto dish applications. According to Matena, it offers performance benefits far beyond chelation.
“Customers are finding our data instructive and see it as a solution to some challenging performance goals,” said Matena, who noted that Innospec’s sales have doubled in the past five years and could double again this year via the technology it is bringing to the market.
Innovation and Sustainability
Sustainability has been a part of P&G’s corporate DNA for 40 years, according to company executives. It plays a role in five areas: products, operations, social responsibility, employees and stakeholders.
“P&G Chemicals can be an enabler for sustainability,” said Ross Holthouse, external relations manager, P&G. “Every manufacturing site has a sustainability goal to show real progress.”
For P&G, that means ensuring a better quality of life for the world’s consumers on environmental, social and economic levels. In fact, P&G helped pioneer life cycle analysis back in the 1970s. Most recently, the company has been a driving force in converting consumers to use cold water.
At P&G Chemicals, the company recently converted the feedstocks for its Kansas City, MO amines plant from petroleum to natural fatty alcohol. In fact, the tertiary amines in Dawn (U.S.) and Fairy (Europe) are now natural alcohols.
“There are some sustainability benefits there,” said Tom Nelson, national sales manager, P&G Chemicals.
As it continues to work on sustainable solutions, P&G Chemicals’ goals this year include optimizing its fatty alcohol network and creating new uses for the co-products that result from its glycerin operations.
Evonik executives maintain that the laundry category is driven by two catalysts: convenience, which includes efforts to build more attributes into laundry detergents and sustainability.
“The greening of the market is taking place, but it has to be at the right price,” observed Sahar Fakhry-Smith, marketing and sales manager, consumer specialties, household care, Evonik. “Every company has purchased a green company or developed a green brand.”
Sustainability has led to big changes in the market, according to BASF executives.
“Traditional top loaders are increasingly being replaced with higher efficiency machines, which mean a change in the ingredients required for fabric care formulations,” said Dee. “With less water and energy, ingredients have to work much faster and in colder temperatures. Color care is an important trend we see continuing in 2010 as consumers look to higher performance and care of their garments.”
Clearly, suppliers and their customers have entered 2010 with an upbeat attitude. At the same time, they are confident that they will develop a range of solutions to tackle a host of performance and environmental issues.
“This is a pretty responsible industry, because it is so close to the consumer and innovations move along at a good pace,” concluded Del Guercio. “
With the worst of the recession behind them and a new wave of innovations in front, suppliers to the laundry category are cautiously optimistic about their prospects for 2010.


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You arrived at this post because the Internet, as we know it, allows you to access everything you want, and quickly. There's no fast lane or slow lane; every service and platform is treated equally. It's a thing of beauty, really, when you think about how it's all fair and level, and insights and information are always within easy grasp.
That's not all. Because of a fast and free internet, start-ups and small businesses compete against giants. They have the chance, like Foursquare did and like many others too, to rise up from obscurity. Young companies and brands have a fighting chance to grow into themselves, and to attract traffic and eyeballs and attention. Today, these companies create jobs and drive the economy forward.
But all that could change — and soon.
Net neutrality as we know it is threatened. It's not a technology problem, nor is it a sustainability problem. It's not because there's a lack of content or creative minds.
It's a political problem.
And we're in a critical moment. Next week, the Senate votes to overturn the repeal of net neutrality.
This is how Foursquare is doing its part.
Foursquare partnered with other tech leaders Shutterstock, Tinder, Vimeo and Warby Parker on an advertising campaign designed to reach people who can make a difference: constituents in five states where experts believe that at least one senator might be willing to side with us, in favor of a democratic internet. If we can swing just one of these senators to vote against the repeal, we'll force the bill into the House of Representatives, and they can vote next.
Thanks to Foursquare's industry-leading advertising platform, Pinpoint, we are able to smartly target the right people in these five states (Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, and Nevada).
The technique relies on Foursquare's precise understanding of where people go in the real world, as a proxy for how they feel about a free and open internet.** We're reaching people that visit government buildings and those who go to tech and media companies and universities. By the end of the campaign, which runs through the vote next week, we'll reach millions of individuals directly.
The ad that will be seen by Florida voters, served via Pinpoint by Foursquare, our programmatic advertising platform that reaches consumers based on where they go in the real world.
We all have to work together. We have to call and text our senators and tell them that we care, and that they should vote for the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Our ads, launching today, on the Red Alert Day of Action for Net Neutrality, make that easy. Our unique, state-by-state design incorporates call and text capabilities. So: Lisa Murkowski (Alaska); Cory Gardner (Colorado); Marco Rubio (Florida); Dean Heller (Nevada); and John Kennedy (Louisiana), we're talking to you.
The creative, designed by Foursquare's newly minted in-house creative agency, Sixteen, reference the ubiquitous status bar, the one that loads quickly at first then slows down to a crawl when you're so close. Our ads use this visual mnemonic to remind people of the value of net neutrality, and the one person who can defend it: your senator. And today, in honor of the Red Alert Day of Action, we're going red on Foursquare.com, and sharing national ads on our website and in Swarm app, too.
Foursquare, Shutterstock, Tinder, Vimeo and Warby Parker will all support the Red Alert Day of Action on May 9, 2018 with this creative running across our sites, social and apps.
In addition to donating our services and serving the ads at cost, we also contributed to the campaign just like our partners Shutterstock, Tinder, Vimeo and Warby Parker. A big thank you to these companies, who joined us in our efforts. We all believe that this isn't a partisan topic, it is a business issue — and one we care about deeply.
“Shutterstock is committed to net neutrality because a fair and open internet is essential to driving progress, collaboration and creativity. A level playing field makes it possible for anyone with an idea to bring it to the world. Net neutrality is essential to empower anyone, regardless of economic status, with access to information and resources to contribute to the digital economy. Progress often comes through disruption and collaboration and a free and open internet facilitates both. Shutterstock was built on an open internet and now empowers hundreds of thousands of creators and customers to bring their ideas to life. Now we're proud to join a campaign that calls on everyone to fight for a free and open internet." — Heidi Garfield, General Counsel of Shutterstock
“We support net neutrality and the spirit of innovation it fosters, by creating an equal playing field for companies of all sizes to thrive. Protecting an open Internet is essential for anyone who wants to retain the freedom to choose what they do and see online. We ask everyone who wants to protect their online freedoms to reach out to their legislators and join us in the fight to save net neutrality." — Elie Siedman, CEO of Tinder
“Vimeo is proud to stand alongside our tech friends to restore net neutrality. Our combined voices, alongside those of our creators and the larger Internet community, advocate for strong rules to protect equal access, creativity, innovation and free speech now and always." — Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo
“We founded Warby Parker to transform the eyewear industry by selling glasses online at an affordable price. Our business was built on having access to an open internet, and we strongly believe it's important that both consumers and entrepreneurs continue to operate on an even playing field. " — Neil Blumenthal, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker
“Repealing net neutrality benefits big corporations at the expense of small businesses, startups and consumers. Interfering with a fair and open internet will impede innovation, reduce job growth and ultimately make America less prosperous." — Dave Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker
Turning this vote will be a huge win, helping to put the power back in the hands of the people, to give small businesses and start-ups a chance, and to give us all the ability to decide the future of the Internet.
Want to get involved? Go to BattleForTheNet.com for an easy way to get in touch with your local lawmaker.
**A note about privacy, because it's important and topical. Foursquare builds products that are rooted in geo- and contextually aware experiences for users. For this reason, location data is shared with us willingly, because we offer a specific value to our users who trust us. We make every decision cautiously, and closely review all campaigns, creative, and actions of our advertisers and partners to ensure all audiences are respected and protected. All data is always anonymized, pseudonymized and/or aggregated.

domain: news


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After Microsoft properly announced and explained the Xbox One DRM policies during its E3 2013 press conference, millions of fans reacted to these bitter confines by flooding the online social media and forum feeds. Several industry veterans and analysts predicted that the platform holder will lose the next-gen console war even before it starts if the policies stay in place. Thankfully, Microsoft didn't take long to listen to its fans and fix the policies that were desisting the growth of the Xbox One console.
Microsoft Defends Changing Xbox One Polices After E3 2013 - We Were "Listening to Fans and Adjusting to Their Feedback"
Analyzing the market situation after its E3 2013 press conference, Microsoft made some massive U-turns and changed its basic Xbox One policies such as dropping always online DRM, used game policy, all-time Kinect connection and more. Listening to its fans, Microsoft even went forward recently and announced a Kinect-less Xbox One bundle that would cost only $399, similar to its competitor; the PlayStation 4.
Of course all these policy changes and U-turns were made by the platform holder for the greater good of the console, and despite its slightly low hardware capabilities, Xbox One is still the second best video game console in the market right now. Defending all the previous big/small U-turns, Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi recently talked to Fairfax Media and explained why the company thought it was important to change the policies. He mentioned that the platform holder was initially accused for U-turns but it kept on listening to their customers' feedback.
"In a way it's tough, but in another way it's not tough at all. I mean, being accused of listening to your customers and adjusting to their feedback? In my mind, that's a good problem to have."
"Sure, you'd like to be able to get everything right the first time, but I think it's better to be able to be responsive."
He further added:
"In the beginning I think we had some of those criticisms, like, 'oh you're changing, you're reversing positions'".
"I think we've now shown our customers, hey, we're going to respond, we're going to adjust. I think if we back that up with continued innovation, it's something we can feel really good about."
"We came to E3 very humble, hungry and focused," Mehdi continued. "We're going to continue like that as we go forwards."
Whatever critics have to say about Microsoft, the fact is that they indeed improved their reaction towards consumers a lot since E3 2013 by amending their mistakes and removing the unwanted DRM policies. What do you think about Microsoft's U-turns? Let us know in the comments section below.


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BMW is set to double its on-site self-supply capacity at its San Luis Potosi vehicle manufacturing plant. The expansion includes the installation of a larger solar park, which is expected to generate enough power to cover 26% of the plant's total energy consumption. This increase in capacity will enable the plant to operate at base load solely with its own generation when not actively producing vehicles.
The initiative aligns with BMW's commitment to sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. Currently, any energy not generated on-site is being supplied by BayWa through a nearby solar park. The company aims to achieve carbon neutrality by replacing natural gas consumption at the plant's furnaces with biomethane starting next year.
In addition to this sustainable energy project, BMW had previously announced an €800 million (US$866 million) investment in the San Luis PotosI plant. This investment will allow the facility to produce the “Neue Klasse” line of electric vehicles by 2027, as well as high-voltage batteries. This plan is part of BMW Group efforts to increase its EV production capabilities, as the group focuses on meeting the growing demand for sustainable mobility solutions. The investment will create over 1,000 new jobs, according to the company’s press release. The first vehicles made under this platform will be produced at BMW’s plant in Debrecen in 2025, followed by those in Hungry and Munich.
More than half of the total investment – €500 million (US$536 million) – will be used to build a new high-voltage battery production center that will manufacture state-of-the-art batteries for completely electric cars. With this investment, BMW Group aims to grow the role of the San Luis Potosi plant in the company’s global transition to electromobility, says Harald Gottsche, President and CEO, BMW Group San Luis Potosi Plant.
According to local reports, Nuevo Leon is on the verge of securing a new US$1 billion manufacturing investment. The investment aims to establish a facility in the municipality of Salinas Victoria, near Monterrey, which would supply electric vehicle parts to manufacturers in the region, including Tesla, BMW, General Motors and Ford.
The plans for the manufacturing plant are at an advanced stage, with Salinas Victoria's mayor, Raúl Cantú, stating that discussions with an undisclosed firm are progressing well. Additionally, four other companies are reportedly in talks with local authorities to make further investments in the area.


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Accomplice and Courtside Ventures Co-Led the Round, with Investors Including the Kraft Group, Haslam Sports Group, Michael Rubin, Jason Robins, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Martin Brodeur, Lil Baby, and Several Other Entertainment Industry Notables
June 22, 2022 (San Francisco, CA) - Jackpot, the online lottery ticket app and platform, has closed a $35M Series A round powered by the world’s biggest investors and operators in sports, media, and entertainment.
The round was co-led by Accomplice and Courtside Ventures, with participation from the Kraft Group, Michael Rubin, Haslam Sports Group, Elysian Park Ventures, Arctos Sports Partners, Sapphire Sport, Theo Epstein, Fenway Sports Group President Mike Gordon, DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins, NBA stars James Harden and Joel Embiid, NHL legend Martin Brodeur, musical artist Lil Baby, and Boston Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy, among others.
Jackpot is a digital platform that facilitates the purchase of official state lottery tickets online. Customers will finally be given the opportunity to buy lottery tickets via a mobile app or desktop experience that allows them to shop from the comfort of their own homes. The new capital will enable Jackpot to launch its product in the United States and to transform the lottery industry through aggressive hiring, strategic acquisitions, partnerships with state lotteries, and local market expansion.
In the United States, the $100 billion per year lottery business has been mostly offline and cash-based, with very little technology and data integration. In 2021, 53% of Americans purchased lottery tickets, but only ~5% of those sales came from online transactions.
As more states allow online lottery ticket sales, Jackpot’s highly developed proprietary technology offers a best-in-class experience for customers. This new experience will help facilitate an increase in lottery ticket sales for the states where the service is permitted, by driving traffic towards the lottery as a form of entertainment and by bringing the lottery experience to a younger audience that may never have purchased lottery tickets before. And with up to 95 cents of every dollar spent on lottery games going back to the community through contributions to education, healthcare, prizes and other public initiatives, Jackpot’s mission to build the most user-friendly digital lottery destination is seen as a growth accelerator for positive state spending.
Jackpot’s veteran executive team has a proven track record of success in the technology, gaming, and licensing industries. The team is led by Akshay K. Khanna, co-founder and CEO of Jackpot - North America, an accomplished sports and licensing executive who formerly ran StubHub’s North America business and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment’s strategy group; co-founder Roi More, the co-founder of Gett; and co-founder Yariv Ron, a real money gaming industry veteran.
“As long-time investors in the real money game space, we look for companies with the vision, the expertise, and the experience to offer real, tangible value. Jackpot has all of these, making it perfectly positioned to reimagine the lottery market,” said Ryan Moore, partner at Accomplice.
“Jackpot is a natural fit within our portfolio,” said Deepen Parikh, partner at Courtside Ventures. “Millions of Americans are playing the lottery every day, and Jackpot will now make the experience even better for consumers. We’re excited to work with the team at Jackpot to revolutionize this massive industry.”
“More and more states across the country are now open to online lottery ticket sales, creating a huge opportunity to digitize the industry and bring a better, more convenient experience for the hundreds of millions of Americans who purchase lottery tickets every year,” said Akshay K. Khanna, co-founder and CEO, Jackpot North America. “Jackpot’s goal is to become the leading provider of online lottery tickets in the United States. We are grateful for the support of our investors who will help us accelerate our mission to transform the lottery industry.”
Jackpot plans to launch operations in the US in select states this year. For updates on when it will be live in your state, visit www.jackpot.com.
Jackpot.com is modernizing the way Americans play the lottery. Jackpot.com brings verified, official state lottery tickets online by leveraging its digital platform to give customers the ability to play right from your phone, tablet, or desktop. Jackpot.com has invested significantly in responsible gaming safeguards, with default spending limits and other features built in throughout the experience, which earned them a certification from the National Council on Problem Gaming. To learn more, visit jackpot.com or download the iOS or Android app.
Press Contact: email@example.com
The Latest Jackpot Articles
Jackpot.com launches in Texas with $42 million in funding
January 9, 2023
Online Lottery Ticket Company Jackpot Closes $35 Million Series A
June 22, 2023


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Presented by Mark Gallagher
General Market News
• The volatility in rates continued last week. The 10-year Treasury yield moved from 1.77 percent to 1.95 percent and back down to 1.81 percent before opening at 1.85 percent on Monday. The 2-year moved from 1.58 percent to 1.69 percent and opened at 1.62 percent on Monday. The 30-year opened at 2.27 percent after briefly hitting 2.36 percent last week.
• Global markets rallied last week following the U.S. and China agreeing upon a phase one trade deal. The terms included additional U.S. agricultural purchases in exchange for the repealing of certain U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Emerging market stocks rose as a result, as investors saw easing trade tensions as a catalyst for investment. There was also positive trade news to report here in North America, with the U.S. House and President Trump agreeing upon the terms of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
• In European news, the U.K. held its third general election in five years, and the conservative party took a significant majority in Parliament. This majority will look to continue to push for a Brexit at the start of 2020.
• The top-performing sectors on the week were technology, consumer discretionary, and financials. The lagging sectors included the risk-off bond proxies in REITs, communication services, utilities, and consumer staples.
• On Wednesday, November’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) was released. Consumer prices increased by 0.3 percent during the month, which was slightly higher than the 0.2 percent forecast. This inflation growth was due to rising gas prices, as core CPI, which strips out the impact of volatile food and energy prices, rose by only 0.2 percent for the month. Consumer inflation rose to 2.1 percent on a year-over-year basis, which is a one-year high. Despite the faster-than-expected growth in November, September’s tariffs have not had much of an effect on consumer goods. It remains unlikely that we will see significantly faster inflation in the short term.
• On Thursday, November’s Producer Price Index data was released. Producer inflation came in flat for the month, against expectations for a 0.2 percent increase. This result dragged year-over-year inflation down to 1.1 percent, well below the Fed’s stated 2 percent inflation target. This was caused primarily by slowing prices for services, which fell by the most in a single month since February 2017, due to decreasing trade services margins. November’s lackluster inflation reports support the Fed’s pause as it waits to see if further easing is necessary.
• We finished the week with the release of November’s retail sales report. Retail sales came in below expectations, growing by 0.2 percent against expectations for 0.5 percent growth. Rising auto and gas sales boosted headline sales, as core retail sales grew by only 0.1 percent. This is a disappointing result, as there was some hope for accelerated sales growth, given improvements to consumer confidence during the month. Consumer spending has been the major driver of economic growth this year, so this slowdown indicates that overall economic growth is likely slowing as well. With that being said, there is some reason for optimism going forward, as an improving job market and continued support from the Fed indicate that spending is unlikely to fall further in the short term.
|MSCI Emerging Markets
|Fixed Income Index
|U.S. Broad Market
Source: Morningstar Direct
What to Look Forward To
We started the week with Monday’s release of the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index for December. Home builder confidence blew away expectations, with the index rising from 70 in November to 76 in December, against forecasts for a modest increase to 71. This is a 20-year high for the index, which is a very impressive turnaround considering home builder confidence hit a multiyear low of 56 in December 2018. This year, home builder sentiment has steadily improved, as low mortgage rates and high consumer confidence levels have been driving more interest in newly built homes. Builders have been happy to meet this demand by investing in and building new housing stock. Looking forward, increased home builder confidence should support additional construction as we head into the new year.
Speaking of new construction, on Tuesday, November’s building permits and housing starts reports are set to be released. Economists are forecasting a decline in building permits but a 2.1 percent increase in housing starts. Such a result in housing starts would bring that indicator to its second-highest monthly level since 2007, as home builders have been willing and able to meet buyer demand for new home construction. New home supply remains constrained in certain markets, so an increase would be a positive development for the housing market.
Tuesday will also see the release of November’s industrial production report. Production is set to show 0.8 percent monthly growth, following a 0.8 percent decline in October that was largely due to the General Motors strike and an associated plunge in auto production. Manufacturing output is also expected to bounce back from the October slowdown, with 0.8 percent growth expected. As we finish out the year, a rebound following the slowdown in September and October would help calm concerns over a broader extended decline in industrial production. Despite November’s anticipated rebound, slowing global demand is likely to put a damper on industrial production to start off 2020.
On Thursday, we’ll get a direct look at home buyer demand, with the release of November’s existing home sales report. Sales of existing homes are expected to decline from 5.46 million in October to 5.45 million in November. But even so, a decline would still represent 9 percent growth on a year-over-year basis. This result would mark the fifth straight month of year-over-year improvements in existing home sales, indicating the slowdown we saw at the end of 2018 is well behind us. Housing growth has been a bright spot in the ongoing expansion. Continued strength here would bode well for overall economic growth for the quarter.
Friday will see the release of November’s personal income and personal spending reports. Economists expect personal income to increase by 0.3 percent during the month, while spending is set to increase by 0.4 percent. The forecast for growth is encouraging, given October’s report showing income remaining surprisingly flat for the month. Spending has been strong this year; if the estimates are accurate, November’s report will mark the ninth straight month of spending growth. As long as personal income and spending numbers continue to be healthy, overall economic growth should remain positive even if its pace has slowed a bit.
Finally, we’ll finish the week with Friday’s release of the second and final reading of the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey for December. The index is expected to remain unchanged from the month’s first estimate. The preliminary estimate of 99.2 was higher than the initial forecast of 97, as a better-than-expected November jobs report and equity markets near all-time highs continue to support consumer confidence. If the index remains unchanged, this would mark the fourth straight month of increasing consumer sentiment, following a surprising fall to a two-year low in August. Consumer confidence supports additional spending growth, so an improvement in December would be quite welcome.
Disclosures: Certain sections of this commentary contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reasonable expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. All indices are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment by the public. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The S&P 500 is based on the average performance of the 500 industrial stocks monitored by Standard & Poor’s. The Nasdaq Composite Index measures the performance of all issues listed in the Nasdaq Stock Market, except for rights, warrants, units, and convertible debentures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is computed by summing the prices of the stocks of 30 large companies and then dividing that total by an adjusted value, one which has been adjusted over the years to account for the effects of stock splits on the prices of the 30 companies. Dividends are reinvested to reflect the actual performance of the underlying securities. The MSCI EAFE Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure developed market equity performance, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a market capitalization-weighted index composed of companies representative of the market structure of 26 emerging market countries in Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Basin. The Russell 2000® Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000® Index. The Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged market value-weighted performance benchmark for investment-grade fixed-rate debt issues, including government, corporate, asset-backed, and mortgage-backed securities with maturities of at least one year. The U.S. Treasury Index is based on the auctions of U.S. Treasury bills, or on the U.S. Treasury’s daily yield curve. The Bloomberg Barclays US Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) Index is an unmanaged market value-weighted index of 15- and 30-year fixed-rate securities backed by mortgage pools of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), and balloon mortgages with fixed-rate coupons. The Bloomberg Barclays US Municipal Index includes investment-grade, tax-exempt, and fixed-rate bonds with long-term maturities (greater than 2 years) selected from issues larger than $50 million.
Mark Gallagher is a financial advisor located at Gallagher Financial Services at 2586 East 7th Ave. Suite #304, North Saint Paul, MN 55109. He offers securities and advisory services as an Investment Adviser Representative of Commonwealth Financial Network®, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. He can be reached at 651-774-8759 or at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Authored by the Investment Research team at Commonwealth Financial Network.
© 2019 Commonwealth Financial Network ®


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On Friday 24th November, the doors of RAI Amsterdam will open at 10am for the International Cargo Bike Festival (ICBF) and Fully Charged LIVE Europe. This year’s ICBF will showcase over 60 pedal-powered brands from around the world, with a test track and an international speaking programme. And the ICBF will launch Carrier – its new cargo bike magazine.
With its collaboration with Fully Charged LIVE Europe, the International Cargo Bike Festival has broken new ground and is aligned with the general trend of electrification in the mobility sector. In doing so, the ICBF is also explicitly targeting a wider audience of both professionals and consumers.
Fully Charged LIVE is geared primarily towards the consumer market, focusing on electric vehicles and clean energy. For Fully Charged, collaborating with the ICBF is a good way to involve the cycling and cargo bike industry in their event. Besides cargo bike manufacturers, e-bike and other producers from the ‘velomotive’ sector will also participate, including Tenways, byAr, GoCycle, Lemmo, EBKE and Brekr.
The exhibition floor is well filled with over 60 brands represented. Besides notable Dutch manufacturers such as Fulpra, Cargo Cycling and Bakfiets.nl, many international exhibitors are present. Companies from China and Taiwan are signed up and alongside the usual players from Europe, first ever cargo bike manufacturer from India at the ICBF, RevolGo, will also be attending. A delegation of four companies from Italy will exhibit together in the Italian Pavilion and another first comes from Hungary: cargo bike manufacturer Mastiff.
It is striking that many of the participants are companies catering specifically to the growing cargo bike market. These include manufacturers of specific components, electric motors, batteries, switching systems, software developers, printing for (cargo) bikes and the like.
The ICBF will also launch issue 1 of its new cargo bike magazine: Carrier. Featuring cargo bike stories, reportage and photography from around the world, the ICBF’s goal with Carrier is to make the case for why they think the cargo bike and carrier cycle deserve to be in mainstream use by the end of this #DecadeoftheCargoBike.
In addition, the ICBF will also welcome the Dutch Cycling Embassy (DCE) – participating with several members – and Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), not only as an exhibitor, but also as speakers. For instance, RVO, together with ROM Utrecht, Amsterdam Trade & Innovate and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, is organising the first day of its annual International Sustainable Mobility Theme Days at the ICBF.
Several national and international initiatives and studies will also present during the speaking programme. Cycle logistics industry organisations from Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy will gather at the ICBF to discuss developments and cooperation in cycle logistics. They will present alongside speakers from Ghana, Ukraine the US and India.
Click here for an overview of the exhibitors.
Carrier is available in print at the ICBF and online from 24th November here.


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Beyond Marketing, LLC rebrands to BYM Agency
LENEXA, KS (July 28, 2014) — Beyond Marketing, LLC, the country’s first full-service marketing CUSO, is pleased to announce the launch of its new brand. The company will now be operating under the new name BYM Agency. BYM decided to take a page from its own book when rebranding to reflect the ‘why’ behind everything it does. The agency has chosen to focus on the qualities that differentiate credit unions and CUSOs- from their competitors.
“As an agency we work at combining the creative and analytical sides of the spectrum in everything that we do. And we see ourselves continuing to move further into behavioral or “context” marketing. That’s where we can introduce products only to those who are in a credit union’s FOM, while they are researching their next car or home,” agency director Kat Anstine said.
The new website, which was designed to support credit union marketers by sharing best practices for unleashing marketing potential, features large images and a scrolling format.
“Our new site uses some of the latest web technologies to create an experience that reflects the excitement and creativity of BYM Agency. The site is meant to be viewed everywhere, on -any device. The graphics and look are impactful,” web developer Tony Schappaugh said. “We see our new site as more than simply a redesign. It’s a new way to tell our story.”
“A company’s brand is similar to a person’s reputation,” Larry Hayes, Chief Executive Officer of BYM Agency said. “An authentic brand emanates from everything that the company does.”
About BYM Agency
BYM Agency, formally known as Beyond Marketing, is the nation’s first full-service marketing CUSO. National in scope, we identify trends and share success as part of our cooperative business model. We believe in authenticity and engagement. Our team has an unstoppable drive to develop memorable creative with measurable results. For more information visit www.bymagency.com or @BYMarketing on Twitter.


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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Big6 Europe!
The Big6 European Football League competition is a annual invitational tournament for American Football teams representing federations who signed an agreement.
1. Bubble With No Name Yet triggers the biggest crash in 30 years
In his report of Global Market of Industrial Robots, Junji Tsuda, president of International Federation of Robotics (IFR), noted that about 387,000 industrial robots were sold in 2017 worldwide, up 31% year-on-year, creating $50 billion in revenue, with China as one of key drivers behind the strong growth.
5. Life is like a coffee table: it’s got tea sets and dinnerware all over it. (beiju, 杯具, is a homophone for tragedy, 悲剧, and dinnerware, canju, 餐具, a homophone for disaster, 惨剧).
Big6 Europe 2104 edition is made up of the following groups:
BIG6 Group A
?The Aston Martin doesn't hurt. Not at all. Neither does dropping tons of cash at exotic casinos -- throwing money around makes men more attractive to women who are interested in flings. And, like Bond, men who gamble with women around are better at it.
New Yorker Lions
Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna
BIG6 Group B
Online peer-to-peer broker Ezubao previously cheated about 900,000 investors out of more than 50 billion RMB through a giant Ponzi scheme, the Xinhua News Agency reported in February.
Apple was the only top five PC maker to see shipments grow last year, up over 6%, while Acer saw the biggest fall, of more more than 18%.
3. Will Guo Jingjing, China's diving queen, get married in 2010?


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BOSTON—To Mike Simon, if a product has an on/off switch, it should be connected to the Internet.
Simon, the outgoing CEO of remote access technology maker LogMeIn and co-founder of the company's Xively Internet of things (IoT) business, said during the opening keynote of LogMeIn's inaugural Xperience user conference here Oct. 1 that businesses no longer need to spend a lot of money to enter the burgeoning IoT arena, and the tools they need to do so are easily attainable.
"The technology is there," he told the crowd at the show, which saw 5,000 people sign up to attend. "It's inexpensive and available. You just need the innovation on top of that technology."
For the bulk of its decade-plus of existence, LogMeIn made its money and its name through its remote access and desktop products that IT support departments can use and Web conferencing software for online collaboration. In 2009, the company went public and now has more than 800 employees.
However, a year ago LogMeIn bought Ionia for $12 million, a key acquisition that has helped the company move into the IoT space though its Xively platform. Now the Internet of things has become a key focus of LogMeIn—whose mission is to help businesses bring connectivity to their products—and is the central theme of Xperience, which runs through Oct. 2.
During the morning session, Simon laid out how advancements in technology have made connecting devices relatively easy and inexpensive, as well as the benefits the IoT can offer both those businesses that participate in it and society as a whole. His talk was more focused on the present and short-term future, while Peter Diamandis, founder and executive chairman of the Xprize Foundation, gave a look at where technology and the IoT are bringing the world in the next few years and decades.
For Simon—who is stepping down as CEO at the end of the year but will remain as board chairman—now is the time for businesses to get into the Internet of things. Moore's Law is continuing to drive rapid innovation in technology, making it more powerful, smaller and inexpensive and opening up opportunities for companies of all sizes.
"Anyone that makes a product with an on/off switch should also make the IoT a priority," he said. "The possibilities are endless with connectivity."
The IoT is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, with vendors and analysts alike forecasting staggering growth in the number of connected devices worldwide. Cisco Systems officials are predicting that the number will jump from 25 billion last year to 50 billion by 2020, and that the pervasive connectivity of everything from cars, homes and cities to industrial systems and medical devices will have a $19 trillion impact on the global economy.
That message is beginning to set in, Simon said. In a recent survey conducted by LogMeIn, 21 percent of responding companies said they have IoT projects underway and most see it as an opportunity to grow revenues. They also have C-level support, which he said is crucial to success.
Simon noted that analysts believe the global impact of the IoT can reach $1.7 trillion, but he said that might be conservative. The CEO pointed to cost savings in everything from the amount of energy used by households to the amount of gas consumed and time lost due to traffic congestion.
The challenges that businesses and technology vendors have to address are security, scalability and support, Simon said. He pointed to the recent high-profile hacks of moving vehicles as examples of the security hurdles, but also said that as more residential appliances and systems become connected—from garage doors to thermostats—the concerns increase. LogMeIn's Xively division looked to address some of those concerns with the launch of its Xively Identity Manager Oct. 1.


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Oct 30 (Reuters) - Online photo-sharing company Shutterfly Inc (SFLY.O) posted a wider quarterly loss on increased costs, sending shares down 10 percent.
Net loss for the third quarter was $3.3 million, or 14 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 million, or 70 cents a share, a year ago. The company had a higher number of weighted average shares in the latest quarter.
The Redwood City, California based-company, which went public in September 2006, said revenue rose 54 percent to $32.6 million. Total operating expenses rose 43 percent to $22 million.
Analysts on average expected the company to post a loss of 16 cents a share, before exceptional items, on revenue of $31 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $90.5 million to $93.5 million and fiscal 2008 revenue of $240 million to $255 million.
Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $92.9 million and fiscal 2008 revenue of $244 million.
The online photo industry is in the midst of a market shakeout. Yahoo Inc YHOO.O is shutting the Yahoo Pictures service to support its Flickr social networking site. Imagestation, run by Sony Corp (6758.T), is set to close, as are smaller sites such as Filmloop, PhotoTLC and Clubphoto.
Shares of the company were down at $32.75 in late electronic trade, after closing at $36.40 Tuesday on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Purwa Khandelwal in Bangalore)


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A Detailed Examination Of Recognising Root Criteria Of
McLaughlin: 975 square feet, opening June on Somerset South, second level. Founded in 1977 by brothers Jay and Kevin McLaughlin, J. McLaughlin is a modern classic American sportswear and accessories brand for men and women recognized for a distinctive flair for color and signature portfolio of prints. Del Toro: 1,191 square feet, opening this holiday season on Somerset South, first level. Del Toro is a luxury lifestyle brand based in Miami. Originally a men's brand, Del Toro now produces shoes and accessories for men and women. Del Toro was founded in 2005 and originally sought to fill a void in the marketplace for affordable customized velvet slippers. Lovesac: 1,290 square feet, opening this fall on Somerset North, third level.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20170920/news/639806/tesla-zara-bally-among-11-stores-to-open-at-somerset-collection
กระเป๋าสะพายหลัง ผู้หญิง width='250px' alt='Liliane Bettencourt' align='left' /> She left the company's board in 2012 and was rarely seen in public afterwards, but remained in the news because of a high-profile exploitation case following her dementia diagnosis. In a statement, the company's chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon said: "We all had a deep admiration for Liliane Bettencourt who has always watched over L'Oreal, the company and its employees, and who was very attached to its success and development. "She personally contributed a lot to its success for very many years. A great woman of beauty has left us and we will never forget her." The heiress became embroiled in a public feud with her estranged daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, in 2007. Ms Bettencourt-Meyers filed a lawsuit over concerns that her mother was being exploited by members of her entourage amid declining health. It was revealed in 2008 that a photographer who had befriended the heiress, François-Marie Banier, was gifted items worth hundreds of millions of dollars - including paintings by Picasso and a 670-acre island in the Seychelles. Ms Bettencourt-Meyers said she took legal action against Mr Banier after learning from her mother's household staff that she was allegedly considering adopting him. Image caption Ms Bettencourt and her daughter, pictured at a L'Oreal event in 2011 The mother and daughter reconciled their relationship in 2010, and a French judge ordered Ms Bettencourt be put under the guardianship of her family a year later because of her failing health. But the family exploitation case then escalated to a political scandal after it was claimed that Ms Bettencourt's financial manager, Patrice de Maistre, had extracted money from her to go towards former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election bid. The alleged illegal funding was investigated, although Mr Sarkozy consistently rejected all accusations of impropriety and French prosecutors dropped all charges relating to him in 2013. The rest of the exploitation case was eventually resolved in May 2015 when eight people, including Mr Banier, were convicted and instructed to pay millions in damages to the family.กระเป๋าสตางค์ขายส่งสําเพ็ง


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In the past two years the exports of equipment with electronic integrated circuits and micro assemblies have grown at 94.9 per cent in FY18 and 162.5 per cent in FY19.
Even as slowdown takes a toll on global demand and domestic production, electronic goods have given a reason to cheer for India. Beating the 6.57 per cent contraction in the overall merchandise exports in September, exports of electronic goods have substantially outperformed. The electronic goods exports grew with the highest pace of 33.1 per cent on-year in September, according to the Department of Commerce. The momentum of electronic goods exports from India is not new now as it is exponentially surging since FY18. The electronics industry is among the largest and fastest-growing manufacturing industries globally, with production estimated at $ 2.9 trillion in 2018, says RBI.
In the past two years, the exports of equipment with electronic integrated circuits and micro assemblies have grown at 94.9 per cent in FY18 and 162.5 per cent in FY19. The Narendra Modi-led government has been consistently rolling out measures to boost the production of electronic goods including mobile handsets under the flagship schemes such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’.
Watch: The Economist – India Summit 2019
Union Budget 2015-16 introduced the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) for mobile handsets and its related sub-assemblies. This involved countervailing duty on mobile phone imports, differential excise duty for domestic mobile phone manufacturing, and exemption of parts, components, and accessories of mobile phones from basic customs duty to encourage domestic manufacturing of mobile phones. On top of it, the Electronic Development Fund was also created in February 2016 to provide a financial cushion for risk to firms developing new technologies in the sphere of electronics and information technology.
Meanwhile, the production of mobile phones in India shot up 8-folds in the last five years. India produced mobile phones worth $ 24.3 billion in 2018-19, which was just $ 3.1 billion in 2014-15, going by the RBI report.


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Facing the war in the “second front”
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Without a doubt, the biggest story in Canadian food news this week was the announcement that the Michelin Guide will finally be coming to Canada, but since we’ve already covered that news elsewhere, here’s what else went down over the past seven days.
From how the baby shortage that inspired many misguided Americans to make homemade formula is now affecting Canadians to predatorial scam culture plaguing Canada’s livestock industry, to an iconic Vancouver brewery opening a new location in Calgary, here are five food stories you might have missed this week.
Crimes against ranchers
As if things weren’t dire enough for Canadian ranchers following last summer’s drought and winter’s supply chain issues, it seems as though the desperate need for livestock feed has also led to a surge in scams. According to an Alberta RCMP livestock investigation unit, some farmers have lost upward of $50,000 in fraudulent checks for cattle feed alone.
Head to CBC News for the full story.
U.S. baby formula shortage hits Canada
The highly publicized baby formula shortage that has been causing major problems in the U.S. has unfortunately made its way to Canada. The supply shortage, which seems to have been caused by a combination of supply chain issues and a recent product recall, has already begun to affect most major Canadian retailers.
Visit CTV News for more.
Are grocers really price gouging?
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh recently called out Canada’s major grocery chains who, according to Singh, have been raising prices despite reporting record profits. Although experts have confirmed that profit margins have indeed been climbing, they also say that the issue has yet to reach the point of profiteering that Singh has suggested.
Head to Global News for a full breakdown.
Cooking oil shortage could cause higher restaurant prices
Cooking oil prices have been climbing due to climate and supply chain-related shortages and, like most industries, the shortage is expected to cause price increases at the grocery store. And though the rising costs will certainly affect Canadian home chefs, some experts say this shortage will likely hit restaurants the hardest, and by extension, restaurant diners.
Dalhousie University’s Sylvain Charlebois has stated that Canada will be looking to combat the shortage by using canola oil as a “bumper crop”, but that due to dry weather, the outlook is currently rather grim.
Get the full story from CTV News.
Vancouver’s 33 Acres Brewing expands to Calgary
Vancouver’s acclaimed 33 Acres Brewing recently opened the doors to a new taproom in Calgary’s Beltline neighbourhood. The brewery will be offering up an extensive array of craft beer on tap, along with a meal program courtesy of Craft Beer Market's Central Taps.
Find out more from Canadian Beer News.


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NextDent 5100 dental 3D printer is having a real impact on patient lives
Dr. Michael Scherer, prosthodontist, uses the NextDent 5100 3D dental printer at his practice. Dr. Scherer has reduced denture production and delivery times. He says the expedited delivery of accurate, aesthetic restorations enhances overall patient experiences.
Read more at: https://www.3dsystems.com/customer-stories/prosthodontist-achieves-same-day-dentures-nextdent-5100


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Sep. 10, 2013, 2:42 PM
- Analyst Harlan Sur, who's raising his PT to $16 from $14, praises Marvell's (MRVL +1.8%) improved product/R&D execution over the last 18 months. He also expects further op. margin expansion thanks to tight cost controls.
- Sur forecasts FY15 (ends Jan. '15) EPS of $1.05, above a $0.98 consensus.
- Marvell sold off last month following its FQ2 report, as soft gross margin guidance overshadowed an FQ2 beat and strong revenue/EPS guidance. But shares have since recouped most of their losses, and aren't far removed from their 52-week high of $13.51.
Aug. 26, 2013, 10:14 AM
- The suit resulted in Marvell (MRVL -1.8%) getting hit by a $1.17B patent infringement verdict by a Pittsburgh jury last December. Marvell is in the midst of appealing the verdict.
- In requesting a mistrial, Marvell had argued Carnegie Mellon's lawyer had made misleading and prejudicial remarks that "inflamed" the jury. But a U.S. District Judge was unconvinced.
- Shares are adding to the losses they saw on Friday following Marvell's FQ2 report (the result of light gross margin guidance).
- Last week, a Texas jury cleared Marvell of infringement in a case brought by private Lake Cherokee Hard Drive Technologies.
Aug. 22, 2013, 4:31 PM
- Marvell (MRVL) expects FQ3 revenue of $850M-$900M and EPS of $0.25 (+/- $0.02), favorable to a consensus of $845.2M and $0.24.
- The chipmaker attributes its FQ2 beat to "better demand and share gains" for storage chips, and "strong double-digit growth" for mobile/wireless chip sales.
- Gross margin was 53%, -160 bps Q/Q and -60 bps Y/Y. GM is expected to fall to 51% (+/- 100 bps) in FQ3.
- $83M was spent to repurchase 7.2M shares. 211M shares (~30% of outstanding shares) have been repurchased over the last 12 months. Thank David Einhorn for that.
- Marvell's strong YTD performance seems to be limiting its AH move. Also, the chipmaker's gross margin guidance might be disappointing some investors.
- CC at 4:45PM ET. FQ2 results, PR
Aug. 22, 2013, 4:05 PM
Aug. 22, 2013, 12:10 AM
Aug. 21, 2013, 5:35 PM
Aug. 20, 2013, 10:45 AM
- A Texas jury clears Marvell (MRVL +0.1%) of infringing two patents owned by private Lake Cherokee Hard Drive Technologies that relate to hard drive read channel chips.
- In Dec. '12, a Pittsburgh jury ordered Marvell to pay $1.17B in damages after finding it guilty of infringing a hard drive controller patent owned by Carnegie Mellon. Marvell is naturally appealing.
- Yesterday, the chipmaker announced new chips for its Prestera DX network processor line (competes with Broadcom and others). The chips, which begin sampling next month, combine multi-core ARM CPUs with a built-in traffic manager. They're aimed at access/aggregation equipment within wireline and mobile networks.
Aug. 15, 2013, 10:23 AM
- Greenlight Capital's latest 13F indicates David Einhorn dumped his 6.1M-share Microsoft (MSFT -1.8%) stake, and his 5.4M-share Seagate (STX -3.4%) stake, in Q2.
- Einhorn also took some profits in Marvell (MRVL -1.3%), paring his position to 44.3M shares from 51.8M shares at the end of Q1. But that still leaves him with a ~9% stake in the chipmaker, which has been on a tear this year.
- Einhorn still has sizable positions in Apple (AAPL -0.4%), Vodafone (VOD -1.1%), and Computer Sciences (CSC -1.6%).
Aug. 13, 2013, 9:45 AM
- Microsoft (MSFT -1.6%) has been cut to Hold by Stifel due to Windows division sales, pricing and spending concerns. Evercore upgraded Microsoft recently on account of Office/Server & Tools optimism.
- RetailMeNot (SALE -0.3%) has been assigned 3 bullish and 4 neutral ratings on underwriter coverage day.
- Marvell (MRVL +2.8%) has been upgraded to Top Pick from Outperform by RBC ahead of its Aug. 22 FQ2 report.
- Constant Contact (CTCT +3.9%) has been upgraded to Buy by Lazard.
- Allot (ALLT -1.4%) has been cut to Sector Perform by RBC in the wake of last week's Q2 miss.
- E2open (EOPN +0.7%) has been started at Outperform by Northland.
Jul. 31, 2013, 11:42 AM
- Marvell (MRVL +2.3%) shares are up 8% on the week, as investors react to glowing reviews and strong early demand for Google's $35 Chromecast HDMI streaming stick, which (as shown in teardowns) uses an ARM-based Marvell SoC.
- Marvell has followed up by announcing a new SoC for Chromecast hardware.
- Shares +80% YTD. David Einhorn must be happy.
Jul. 8, 2013, 1:24 PMChip stocks underperform (SOXX -1.8%) thanks to an Intel downgrade, negative PC commentary, and worries about Samsung's light profit forecast. Citi's Glen Yeung, who just cut his Intel estimates and pulled Qualcomm (QCOM -1.7%) from his firm's Top Picks Live list, notes smartphone penetration in developed markets (where high-end sales are concentrated) has hit 75%, and frets about a "lack of new, innovative features" in high-end phones. SWKS -3.4%. MRVL -2.9%. SMTC -3%. AVGO -3.1%. ADNC -4.3%. SNDK -2.4%. TQNT -2.4%. ATML -2.5%. TSM -3.2%. Chip ETFs: SMH, XSD, PSI, SOXL, USD, SOXS, SSG. (SIA sales data) | 3 Comments
Jul. 1, 2013, 5:17 PMMore on Lazard's downgrade of Broadcom (BRCM -1.8%) and upgrade of Marvell (MRVL +0.4%): analyst Daniel Amir argues Broadcom's (dominant) combo chip share has nowhere to go but down, that 4G LTE baseband chip sales will take time, and that heavy investments/opex spell a lack of operating leverage. Meanwhile, he thinks rival Marvell's 3G baseband business could be a positive catalyst: the company has launched quad-core chips, is expanding beyond China, and has scored design wins with Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, and HTC. Moreover, the baseband wins could lead to combo chip wins. Brean upgraded Marvell last week. (Broadcom 3G basebands) | Comment!
Jul. 1, 2013, 9:22 AMA roundup of tech analyst ratings changes: 1) BlackBerry (BBRY) has been downgraded to Equalweight by Morgan Stanley. 2) Broadcom (BRCM) has been downgraded to Neutral by Lazard. 3) Marvell (MRVL) has been upgraded to Buy by Lazard. 4) F5 (FFIV) has been upgraded to Buy by Needham. 5) Avid (AVID) has been downgraded to Neutral by JPMorgan. 6) Solera (SLH) has been upgraded to Outperform by William Blair. BBRY -4.1%, adding to Friday's 27% drop. BRCM -0.6%. MRVL +1.4%. FFIV +2%. | 2 Comments
Jun. 25, 2013, 12:52 PMBrean's Mike Burton upgrades Marvell (MRVL +2.9%) to Buy even as he cuts his 2H estimates due to concerns about weak PC sales (hurts hard drive controller demand) and a 2H slowdown in Chinese phone sales. Burton sees Marvell benefiting over time from "new products and design wins" for a list of products that includes solid-state drives, 500GB/platter notebook hard drives, low-end Chinese 3G smartphones, app processors used by Samsung and BlackBerry, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chips, network processors, and 10G/40G Ethernet transceivers. The David Einhorn holding is up 58% YTD. Susquehanna upgraded shares last week. | Comment!
Jun. 18, 2013, 11:35 AMAMD's first ARM-based server CPU, codenamed Seattle, will enter production in 2H14, the chipmaker announces. Seattle CPUs will feature 8 or 16 of ARM's (ARMH) high-end Cortex-A57 cores, with each running at 2GHz. or more. AMD claims the chips will "offer 3-4x the performance" of its new Opteron X-Series parts, and will integrate 10G Ethernet links and SeaMicro's Freedom Fabric tech. Seattle, aimed at the budding microserver market, will face competition from fellow ARM licensees AppliedMicro (AMCC +6.5% - appears to be rallying on the news), Marvell (MRVL), and startup Calxeda, and also Intel's Atom CPUs. Look for H-P to consider Seattle for its Moonshot server line. | Comment!
Jun. 17, 2013, 9:57 AM
MRVL vs. ETF Alternatives
Other News & PR


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Cryptic Studios has revealed that its upcoming RPG, Neverwinter, will be a free-to-play MMO experience. After being acquired by Perfect World Entertainment, Cryptic moved a little bit closer to the free-to-play market.
Neverwinter is now scheduled to the end of 2012 and will use the 4th Edition D&D rules, abandoning the initial idea of a co-operative RPG. The game is powered by a modified version of the engine that supports both Star Trek Online and Champions Online, with the former undoubtedly preparing its transition to a free-to-play model. However, content packs will remain free and premium content will stick to consumables and cosmetics.
Cryptic’s superhero MMO, Champions Online went free-to-play earlier this year and Star Trek Online is set to take the plunge before the year is out.


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May 15 2017
Since the Launch of her Fix My Mail Initiative in 2014, Heitkamp Has Been Pressing the U.S. Postal Service for Robust Action to Address ND Mail Challenges
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Directly responding to chronic mail service challenges she has heard about from North Dakotans, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp called for answers on what the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is doing to improve mail delivery throughout the country, especially in rural communities in North Dakota, and make sure that mail delivery data accurately reflects customers’ experiences.
Heitkamp has heard from nearly 630 North Dakotans over the past year through her Fix My Mail survey as well as in-person meetings about significant mail delivery and service issues that still exist in many communities. Heitkamp and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate how USPS holds its employees accountable for accurately scanning the mail at appropriate points in the delivery system and if there are data practices resulting in inaccuracies. Their letter to Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro points to examples of recent complaints against USPS such as marking mail as delivered even when it remains undelivered or delaying postmark dates so that it seems that mail is being delivered in a shorter timeframe.
“One of the top concerns I hear about across North Dakota is delayed and unreliable mail delivery from the U.S. Postal Service. Particularly in rural communities, North Dakotans depend on the Postal Service to connect with their loved ones, get medication delivered, and keep their businesses running,” said Heitkamp. “North Dakotans deserve a consistent level of delivery from the mail service they rely on every day, which is why we’re looking to identify weak spots in the mail system to help strengthen service over the long run. My Fix My Mail initiative has brought many of these chronic mail service problems to light by empowering North Dakotans to tell me about the mail service challenges they face. It has led to some improvements, but clearly, more still needs to be done.”
Click here to read the letter.
Since launching her Fix My Mail initiative in 2014 to gather stories from North Dakotans about problems with mail delivery and service, Heitkamp has been working to hold the U.S. Postal Service accountable for improving mail delivery and service for rural communities.
Last August, Heitkamp brought U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to North Dakota to visit a mail processing facility, hear firsthand from community and business leaders about how North Dakotans have been impacted by slow service and delivery delays, and discuss lasting solutions to improve their mail delivery and service.
Brennan agreed to Heitkamp’s request to visit North Dakota in April after Heitkamp shared her Fix My Mail survey results with the Postmaster General. To date, nearly 630 North Dakotans have filled out the Fix My Mail survey since its February 2016 launch. The results revealed major challenges for residents throughout the state – from medications and tax information lost or delayed in the mail, to batches of checks taking 10-20 days to travel 180 miles across the state.
North Dakotans in rural communities rely heavily on the Postal Service to support their businesses and to connect them with family, and are disproportionately impacted by poor service and delivery – a point echoed in a Postal Service Inspector General report on mail volume. Over the past few years, rural America has faced increased delivery times, reduced service standards, and a distressed Postal Service workforce.
Long an advocate for improved mail delivery in North Dakota, Heitkamp’s efforts began shortly after taking office in 2013 when she heard from constituents about ongoing problems with mail service.
Heitkamp’s work to tackle mail service issues includes:
- Resolving chronic mail issues in South Fargo and in Halliday. In January 2016, Heitkamp pressed Brennan on severe mail issues in South Fargo. After reviewing the performance, the Postal Service brought in a carrier with 30 years of experience. At Heitkamp’s urging, the U.S. Postal Service announced in January it would reopen the Halliday post office. Since the day the Halliday post office’s was closed and on a near-daily basis thereafter, Heitkamp and her office pressed Postmaster General Brennan and the Postal Service to take urgent and concrete steps to restore mail service to the community.
- Bringing U.S. Postmaster General to North Dakota. After sharing her Fix My Mail survey results with Brennan, Heitkamp invited the U.S. Postmaster General to visit North Dakota so she could see for herself the mail challenges that exist at processing facilities and to hear directly from community members and businesses about the solutions needed to improve their mail delivery and service over the long term. Brennan accepted Heitkamp’s invitation and in August 2016 visited a Bismarck mail processing facility and a Mandan post office with Heitkamp, and spoke directly with North Dakotans in Bismarck about the chronic challenges they face in accessing reliable mail service.
- Shedding light on longstanding mail issues across North Dakota. As part of her Fix My Mail initiative, Heitkamp requested a review of the state’s mail delivery service challenges, which prompted a Postal Service Office of Inspector General formal report on North Dakota’s severe mail service problems.
- Gathering feedback from North Dakotans to hold the Postal Service accountable and achieve results. Since Heitkamp launched her Fix My Mail survey in February 2016, she has received nearly 630 responses from North Dakotans about specific mail delivery challenges – the vast majority of which contained personal stories about the issues they had experienced. Heitkamp relayed these challenges to Brennan and requested a prompt response to improve mail service.
- Inspiring change at the U.S. Postal Service: Inspired by Heitkamp’s Fix My Mail initiative and survey, the Postal Service has launched a new customer service program aimed at improving mail delivery and service. The ‘Your Mail Matters’ program is encouraging North Dakotans to share their mail service challenges with the Postal Service via email, YourMailMatters@usps.gov, and a service line, 605-333-2648, which is managed and operated by the Postal Service District Office in Sioux Falls, S.D.


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The Portioned Protein Innovations (PPI) team is led by Nate Hodne, senior vice president of PPI at Tyson Fresh Meats, and consists of sales and operations employees spread across the estate.
Tyson currently has multiple facilities producing PPI products, including: three case ready facilities in Sherman, Texas, Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and Council Bluffs, Iowa; two portion-cutting facilities in Chicago and Jacksonville in Florida.; and a value added plant in Emporia, Kansas.
An additional case ready plant is being built in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is set to launch in 2021.
The primary goal of the PPI team is to bring innovative solutions to customers and consumers, specifically in meeting the growing demand for portioned proteins that provide function and convenience for consumers today. The team specializes in further-processed items for both retail and foodservice, including innovative packaging solutions, ground beef production, protein portioning, and seasoned and marinated products.
“We’re thrilled to announce our Portioned Protein Innovations Team,” said Hodne. “The experts on this team have years of industry knowledge and experience to bring to our customers and now, with this new team, we have the capability to focus on this growing consumer demand. We are excited about the top-notch customer service and the many innovative solutions that will come from the PPI team.”


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The UK Quick E-commerce (quick commerce) Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 6.21 billion in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 19.4% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.
Quick commerce refers to delivery of groceries and daily essential items within a few minutes or one hour through a hyper-local delivery model. In the UK, operators use a dense network of micro-fulfillment centers or “dark stores” that hold inventory near potential customers. They dispatch orders through fleets of personal shoppers who gather items and delivery partners who make the drop-offs. This allows quick commerce players to offer delivery windows as short as 10-30 minutes.
The UK quick commerce market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period, owing to increase in online grocery orders and growing urbanization. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards online grocery shopping and delivery, as customers seek contactless options. According to research by ocado, online grocery sales in the UK increased by 33% in 2020 compared to the previous year. Furthermore, around 80% of UK population lives in urban areas with higher density of customers, allowing quick commerce players to optimize their operations. Quick commerce operators are able to offer convenience and meet customer expectations of instant or near instant delivery. The entry of quick commerce players such as Gorillas and Jiffy has further intensified competition in the UK market.
The UK quick e-commerce market is dominated by the grocery segment which accounts for over 50% market share. Quick delivery of grocery and daily essential items within 30 minutes of order placement is the core value proposition of grocery retailers in this segment. Changing consumer habits and preference for convenience has led to higher demand for quick delivery of daily essentials.
Political: The government supports tech innovation through funding and policies. Recent policies allow foreign investment in quick commerce space.
Economic: High disposable incomes and busy lifestyles have increased consumer appetite for quick delivery models. The market is expected to grow exponentially due to economic recovery post pandemic.
Social: Rising nuclear families and dual income households leave less time for errands. Social media influence has increased awareness and adoption of quick commerce platforms among younger consumers.
Technological: Advanced technologies like AI, ML and autonomous vehicles are enabling retailers to optimize logistics and fulfillment to achieve delivery under 30 minutes. Advanced in-app features and integrations provide seamless shopping experience.
The UK Quick E-Commerce Market Demand was valued at US$ 6.21 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ XX Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.4% during the forecast period. The growing trend of instant delivery is the major factor driving the market.
Regional analysis indicates that London dominates the UK quick commerce market with over 30% share due to high population density and prevalence of nuclear families. However, other major cities like Manchester, Birmingham are also witnessing rapid growth in adoption of quick commerce platforms.
Key players operating in the UK quick e-commerce market are Buyk, Cajoo, Everli, Fancy, Weezy, Zoom2U, Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats, Getir, Gorillas, Flink, Zapp, Jiffy, Weezy, Dija, DoorDash, Stuart, Gopuff, Jokr. The market is highly competitive with focus on quick fulfillment capabilities, reliable quality products and differentiated value propositions.
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it


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Tesco has been fined £45,000 after a 'super mouse' was discovered in a filthy store in central London, plagued by an infestation of rodents.
The creature, which was twice the size of a normal mouse, was spotted by a horrified health inspector at the Tesco Metro store in Covent Garden where 55,000 customers shop each week.
More top news
Protestors angry about an immigration raid at Byron burger earlier this week reacted by launching hundreds of insects into the restaurant
The author of the beloved children's books series said it felt 'wonderful' to launch the stage play on the West End
Crew members of the IchorCoal paid tribute to two sailors who died during the 11-month circumnavigation of the globe.


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Labor Notes #450
Has your union ever faced an employer that treated bargaining as a sham?
Such employers have no interest in reaching a compromise; they’re intent on forcing concessions or breaking the union. Often they never move off their concessionary proposals. Finally they declare impasse and implement their “last, best, and final offer.”
Winning against an employer like this requires a multi-pronged strategy. Members will need to gather public support and wage a fight that affects the employer’s production or services.
Labor Notes’ new book Secrets of a Successful Organizer is flying off the shelves. Since its release in April we’ve almost sold out our first print run, 5,000 copies, and we’ve just ordered a second printing. That’s record speed for one of our books.
But more exciting than the sales figures is hearing how organizers across the U.S.—and around the world—are putting Secrets to use. Here are a few ways:
The high turnover in retail makes organizing a huge challenge. But a thousand workers at eight Zara stores in Manhattan beat the odds and unionized.
It’s a first for Zara workers in the U.S. The Spanish-owned fashion outlet had agreed to recognize the union after a majority of workers signed cards, a milestone they reached in July. They’ll be members of Retail Workers (RWDSU) Local 1102.
Their win relied on international solidarity, in the form of an agreement between the retailer’s parent company and a global union.


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Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, Minong, Wis., has agreed to acquire a packaged meat snack products manufacturing facility located in Mankato, Minn., from JBS S.A.
Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, Minong, Wis., has agreed to acquire a packaged meat snack products manufacturing facility located in Mankato, Minn., from JBS S.A. Expected to close by the end of September and subject to customary closing conditions, the move will allow Jack Link’s to boost its fast-growing production capacity of meat snacks, which has blossomed by 4.4% in 2010 year-to-date, the company reports.
“JBS’s Mankato plant is a perfect fit for our business, with an experienced work force and management team,” says Jack Link, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. “The addition of this plant gives us the opportunity to expand on our existing manufacturing operations and enhance our ability to meet our customers’ needs.”
Jack Link’s plans to retain current management and employees at the Minnesota plant, which employs 85 people and currently manufactures packaged meat snack products under thePioneersnack brand and other private labels.
The company also has entered into a joint venture with JBS, S.A. to operate two manufacturing facilities in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The joint venture will help Jack Link’s ensure an adequate supply of product to meet growing demand and provide it with more flexibility in its supply chain. With the acquisition and joint venture announcements, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky will increase from nine to 12 manufacturing facilities worldwide.
The joint venture is highly complementary, Link says.
“It allows us to better leverage our strength in manufacturing and marketing meat snacks and JBS’s strength in beef production to benefit the marketplace,” he says.
“With our competitive production skills and with Jack Link’s meat snack expertise and brand strength, this [joint venture] will enhance business for both of us and grow the market for this healthy product,” says Wesley Batista, president and CEO of JBS USA.


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Samsung appears to be rolling out the fourth and final Android 10 beta test to users of its Galaxy S10 series starting today in Germany, South Korea, and the US. Users in the US reportedly shouldn’t expect to see the update arriving immediately.
This will also only be the third beta release for users in India, Poland, France, Spain, and the UK. But it does address a number of bugs associated with the beta, albeit not as many as previous updates.
Those who are enrolled in the beta testing should see the firmware denoted as version numbers G975FXXU3ZSK9 and G97FOXM3ZSK9. It weighs in at around 344.88MB. That’s not too large but users will still likely want to be connected to Wi-Fi to download it.
The shortlist of inclusions for the newest Samsung Galaxy s10 series beta release of Android 10 includes a number of significant changes. Because this is a beta program, the problem areas at this point are mostly related to bugs.
First, on the list of itemized fixes, Samsung’s update log includes patches for UI display issues such as flickering. It also addresses an issue wherein returning to the home screen from an app would leave the home screen background blurred. Users should no longer have their status bar disappear after turning the screen off with apps open either.
Samsung has also fixed an issue that resulted in the keyboard cutting off and being unresizable. Opening recent apps after taking a screenshot will no longer generate a screenshot of that recent app and Samsung has patched an error causing the always-on-display to disappear while charging.
In terms of secondary fixes, Samsung hasn’t been resting on its laurels either. The company has implemented changes to improve gesture interactions, although the log notes that some difficulties remain. It has additionally altered things to prevent duplicates of the contacts app appearing as well as preventing items moved from a folder to the home screen from disappearing.
Finally, Samsung has made a change to stop noises generated while connecting devices running the firmware to Bluetooth. And it has altered the app shape to fall more in line with the stock Android shapes.
This update is not only smaller in terms of fixes, but it’s also likely the final update before the firmware is finalized for release. Samsung has already halted beta testing in its home region of South Korea. That further compounds the likelihood that this will be the last beta for the Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10e, and Galaxy S10+.
The only question that remains is when Samsung will release the final version of the software for its users. The timeline so far suggests the company will release the new firmware, complete with OneUI 2.0, before the year’s end. The same holds true for Samsung’s other flagship devices in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series.
For now, the updates have only been delivered to the international and unlocked Galaxy devices though. So the timeline for carrier devices is likely to be somewhat longer. Other issues could crop up in the interim which would delay the release further.


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While #Barbiecore pink and other similarly vibrant hues seem to be the latest colorways taking over our wardrobes, there's apparently a new shade in town that experts predict to be dominating soon. On Wednesday, consumer and design trend-forecasting agency WGSN and Coloro, WGSN's so-called "global authority on the future of color," officially crowned "Apricot Crush" as the new Color of the Year for 2024.
Each season, WGSN and Coloro team up to predict the tones that are set to become the newest trend, forecasting directly from Coloro’s extensive library of more than 3,500 contemporary colors.
Previously dubbed a key color for Fall 2023, Apricot Crush (Coloro 024-65-27) acts as a restorative and energizing hue. Unlike its tangier tangerine counterpart seen throughout New York Fashion Week most recently, the fruit-inspired hue is slightly more muted. When it comes to fashion, its soft glow offers versatility, as it pairs well with neutrals, also being deemed gender-inclusive. Apricot Crush won't only be found in your closet, but it's also predicted to be seen throughout upcoming beauty and skin-care products, fragrance launches and hair color.
Clare Smith, a Color Strategist at WGSN, tells Fashionista that the Apricot Crush colorway has been spotted at previous runway shows over the last couple of years, including Stine Goya's Fall 2022 show, Valentino's Fall couture collection and most recently at JW Anderson's Spring 2023 presentation.
"Invigorating, mood-enhancing and vitamin-balancing hues align with self-care rituals, which have become ingrained in people’s lives," Clare Smith, color strategist for WGSN, said in an official statement. "There is a focus on restorative colors that are mindful and help to bring balance into the everyday. Apricot Crush, our Color of the Year for 2024, signifies the importance of nourishing the mind and body. It is the perfect hue for a world seeking calm and optimism, bringing a necessary pick-me-up as consumers continue to grapple with a range of emotions and uncertainty about the future."
Sansan Chen, managing director of Coloro, also added: "It's exciting to see orange, with its gender-inclusive and transseasonal flexibility, gaining — and maintaining — momentum as a key color. At Coloro, we are seeing brands take ever more care in choosing palettes with lasting appeal to minimize environmental impact. Apricot Crush is a highly achievable color that can also deliver an emotional lift to consumers in uncertain times."
This story has been updated throughout to include exclusive quotes from WGSN representatives.