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Broker Experiments with Hourly Fee
Says consumers could save big bucks if they were willing to pay their agents by the hour.
(Boonton, NJ, June 21, 2016) — Chicago broker Gary Lucido says consumers could save big bucks if they were willing to pay their agents by the hour.
Lucido is president of Lucid Realty, a small firm that offers discounted commissions to sellers, rebates to buyers, and hourly fees to anyone who’s bold enough to try them.
For the handful of consumers who recognize the value of paying by the hour, Lucid Realty charges $125 an hour. The buyer agrees to put up a $1,000 retainer. After Lucido has devoted seven or eight hours to the client, the company asks for more money.
Lucido shares his time log so the buyer can see exactly how Lucido is spending his time.
"For the right person, this could save them a lot of money," Lucido says. "The kind of person who chooses to go hourly knows what they want."
Lucido says the hourly arrangement is especially favorable for buyers of high-end properties.
In the case of a $1 million sale, with Lucid Realty representing the buyer and collecting a 2.5 percent commission, the company’s payday would be $25,000. If Lucido devotes 40 hours to the deal at $125 an hour, he keeps $5,000 in hourly fees and rebates the $20,000 difference to the client.
The concept of hourly fees isn’t new. Brokers have been talking for years about changing the way they charge for their services, but the traditional commission model has proven resilient.
"The consumer is highly irrational," Lucido says. "People are very risk-averse. There’s this fear, and they end up paying dearly."
More on Lucido’s experience with hourly fees, plus a peek at fast-growing 100-percent companies and realtor association revenue appear in the June issue of Real Estate Broker’s Insider.
About Real Estate Brokers Insider
Real Estate Broker's Insider provides residential real estate agency broker/owners with actionable news and information on managing their businesses for greater profitability.


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Established last year in Viareggio, the stylish Versilia Yachting Rendez-Vous has quickly become the place for Italy’s finest shipyards to showcase their latest projects and runs this year from the 10th through to the 13th of May. Boasting over 110,000 square metres of display space, the event brings together over 30 exceptional yacht builders and numerous luxury lifestyle brands under one roof.
Amongst this year’s attendees is the prestigious Benetti shipyard which has its headquarters in Viareggio. As well as a fun virtual reality simulation of their exclusive Rolls-Royce Azipull propulsion system, the company has brought three of its popular yachts to the show: a Fast 125’, a Delfino 95’ and a Classic Supreme 132’.
Benetti CEO Vincenzo Poerio remarked, “We are very proud to be part of this event, which represents a unique opportunity for our shipyard to showcase some of most representative yachts it has built in recent years”.
Representing the Fast 125′ series is the 38.1 metre M/Y Lejos. In total Benetti have built an impressive six Fast 125′ vessels since April 2015 with Lejos the fourth yacht to be constructed. Like her sister ships, Lejos has Benetti’s Rolls-Royce Azipull propulsion system which was developed in collaboration with the iconic British company.
Stefano Righini is responsible for her racy exterior design, while her interior is has been styled by RWD studio and boasts a crisp, clean colour palette known as Air. Her roomy interior layout means she can receive up to 10 guests in her five generous staterooms.
Also on show is the 28.95 metre M/Y Uriamir which is the second Delfino 95′ model to be built. Highlights include her sporty exterior which was designed by Giorgio M. Cassetta and her tasteful interior styling by Achille Salvagni which combines premium dark woods like tanganika and tay with lighter-coloured marbles and soft furnishings.
She can accommodate up to ten guests in her five suites and offers ample space for relaxing outdoors in the large deck jacuzzi or lounge areas. Launched in April of this year, Uriamir will be delivered to her owner after the Versilia event.
The final Benetti yacht on show at Versilia is a Classic Supreme 132’. This popular 40 metre model has several remarkable features like her rotating pilot wings that can be easily retracted into her gunwale and clever exterior aerial staircases. Her clean exterior lines are the work of Stefano Righini, while Francois Zuretti has created the contemporary interior design. She can host up to ten guests in a total of five comfortable cabins.
As well as the yachts on show, visitors to Versilia can also tour Benetti’s Viareggio headquarters and discover the birthplace of some of the world’s most beautiful luxury yachts.

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NEW YORK — Call it Gourd Central Terminal.
Giant pumpkins as big as 1,500 pounds were being carved Friday into fanged jaws and other eerie shapes before passers-by at New York's Grand Central Terminal. The event kicked off a weekend of giant-pumpkin carving at the New York Botanical Garden.
Big or small, pumpkin is "a great material to work from," master carver Ray Villafane said as he and fellow carvers worked on their spooky Halloween tableau. "When you carve a face or something into it, it's neat to see that little fruit come alive."
Little fruit was in short supply at Friday's event, though. One of the pumpkins Villafane and the others sculpted was 1,496-pounder grown in Edinburg, Pa. It was being shaped into a "carnivorous creature" with batteries of fearsome teeth.
And there are still bigger gourds on the botanical garden's Bronx grounds, including a 2,032-pound pumpkin from Napa, Calif. The garden is featuring more than 500 hand-carved pumpkin sculptures in an exhibit that extends through, naturally, Halloween.


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The controversial American Hooters chain, known for its busty barmaids, burgers and beer, could be coming to Manchester.
Hooters, which brands itself around fried food, football and ‘unapologetic fun’ ,currently has just one UK restaurant and bar in Nottingham, which is placed in the top 15 Hooters branches in the world.
But if Hooters’ plans were to go ahead, Manchester could be giving the Midlands branch a run for its money.
Mike Pruitt, CEO at parent company Chanticleer Holdings, said: “We’re now looking to expand... by providing capital to open additional locations. Manchester is one of those cities we have identified to expand to, but have not announced a timeline.”
Manchester diners could soon enjoy a unique experience, as food at the American chain is typically served by girls in tiny orange shorts and vest tops, often accompanied by cheer-leading style performances and dancing on the bar.
But previously Hooters has come under-fire for promoting the objectification of women through mandatory barely-there uniforms, as well as staff beauty pageants and girl calendars.
It is not known where the chain would be looking at for premises.
Manchester was once home to Teasers at the Great Northern Warehouse, but the branch eventually closed down and was turned into a furniture shop.
Hooters announced UK expansion in 2008, when over 30 new locations were identified. Of those, Cardiff and Bristol were the only two to open and both branches have now closed down.
Hooters, which has expanded to include a casino in the USA, began in Florida in 1983, and has since developed a predominantly male fan base, with 60 per cent of customers being men.
Since opening, Hooters has also raised money for Breast Cancer charities, and has so-far donated a total of $8m, around £5m.


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In an extraordinary year, the business world served up more than its fair share of extraordinary rogues. Here is a look back some of the business leaders who captured headlines for the wrong reasons.
Green fails to 'sort' BHS
Top of the list comes retail billionaire Sir Philip Green who saw the 88-year-old BHS department chain collapse into administration in April, 13 months after selling it. The business failure led to the loss of 11,000 jobs and left a £571m ($697m) pensions black hole.
Green sold the business to a consortium called Retail Acquisitions, led by Dominic Chappell, a former racing driver and multiple bankrupt with little retail experience.
The Pensions Regulator is understood to be seeking £350m from Green to shore up the pensions scheme.
The combative Green promised to "sort" the deficit of the business he owned for 15 years, which has left 20,000 former workers facing payment cuts. But a deal is still to be hammered out.
However, the billionaire Top Shop owner spent the summer on board his new £100m yacht Lionheart in the Greek Islands playing host to supermodel Kate Moss among others.
When asked by a Sky News reporter on the Greek island of Ithaca in August why he was not working to clear the wreckage of the collapsed business, Green threatened to throw his camera into the sea.
In a damning rebuke veteran Labour MP Frank Field, chair of the work and pensions committee that has campaigned against Green on this issue, branded the mogul the "unacceptable face of capitalism".
Last month Chappell was arrested as part of an investigation into unpaid taxes on profits made from the collapsed department store chain.
Chappell bought BHS for £1 in March 2015 from Sir Philip Green through Retail Acquisitions, a consortium of which he owned 90%.
Retail Acquisitions collected an estimated £17m from BHS despite owning it for just over a year before its failure.
Ashley through the looking glass
The portly, red-faced, Sports Direct billionaire Mike Ashley could easily pass for a character out of a Charles Dickens novel.
And indeed MPs from the Business and Skills Committee likened the conditions at his controversial Shirebrook warehouse in Derbyshire to a Victorian workhouse in July.
Investigations last year by the Guardian newspaper found that staff at its key warehouse were harangued for not working fast enough, while long staff searches after work sometimes meant employees earned below the minimum wage. There were also allegations that female staff were promised permanent contracts in exchange for sexual favours.
As profits began to falter at the business, which was once the darling of the stock market following its flotation in 2007, institutional investors began to push for changes in corporate governance at the business, which is run by a team close to Ashley.
A company owned by Ashley's brother is involved in distributing products sold by Sports Direct, while in January the 26-year-old boyfriend of the billionaire's daughter was put in charge of the group's vast property portfolio.
A PR stunt to show the press around Sports Direct's warehouse in September backfired when Ashley pulled out a massive roll of £50 notes while being searched by his minimum-wage staff. He admitted he had "been to the casino" the night before.
Ashley vowed to cut back on zero hours contracts at his warehouse and last month MPs visited the site to check on progress.
However, the MPs claimed an attempt was made to smuggle in a camera and recording device behind a plate of sandwiches to monitor their discussions in a room at the end of the visit.
In probably the most bizarre business statement of the year Sports Direct countered: "The board would like to make it clear that it did not authorise or have any knowledge of the possible recording device."
The chief executive of the venerable Wells Fargo bank John Stumpf abruptly retired in October, after the San Francisco firm admitted it opened more than two million customer deposit and credit-card accounts using fictitious or unauthorised information.
The bank responded by firing 5,500 employees and was fined a record $185m (£142m) in September, but no senior executives were held responsible for the tough targets staff on the ground were set.
Stumpf was hauled before two congressional committees in the same month it was fined to explain himself.
At one of the sittings veteran Democratic banking committee member Elizabeth Warren said: "Your definition of accountable is to push the blame to your low-level employees who don't have the money for a fancy PR firm to defend themselves. It's gutless leadership."
Stumpf, who joined the bank 34 years ago, was gone within a month.
Euro gamekeeper turns US poacher
The European Union might have had Brexit to deal with, but it still managed to get angry about Jose Manuel Barroso, the bloc's president for a decade until 2014.
Barroso caused an outcry when he joined US bank Goldman Sachs in July on an undisclosed salary, 20 months after leaving his European post which had an 18-month 'cooling-off' period.
French President Francois Hollande called Barroso's appointment "morally unacceptable", saying Goldman Sachs was implicated in helping Greece to hide the size of its debts in 2001, a key factor in the run-up to the eurozone crisis.
The appointment led to 150,000 people signing a petition in September calling for Barroso to forfeit his EU pension.
A three-person ethical committee cleared Barroso of breaking an EU integrity code for taking a job at Goldman Sachs a month later, but questioned his judgement in moving to the bank.
Barroso eventually kept his €7,000-a-month pension, but was stripped of his VIP former president status, and when on business at the EU will instead be treated as a common "interest representative".
Other notable mentions include the London regional boss of housebuilding giant Barratt Developments Alastair Baird, who was arrested by the Metropolitan Police in October after an investigation into alleged misconduct in the process for awarding contracts.
The arrest came after the FTSE 100 firm referred findings of an internal investigation to the police in April following its own audit relating awarding and managing supply contracts in the London region, which accounts for 12% of the houses the group builds.
Baird, a 30-year veteran at the group has since left the business, he has not been charged and has been released on bail until April.
Two of the biggest names in Britain's grocery business saw to it that Marmite ran short on UK supermarket shelves this year, which depending on your point of view is either a good thing or a bad thing.
The two men in question were Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis and Unilever boss Paul Polman, the Anglo-Dutch manufacturer of such household brands as Persil washing powder to Knorr soup.
Unilever raised prices on its products in the UK by some 10% in October following the Brexit vote, which saw the pound fall by around 15% as foreign investors waited for clearer signs about British trade policy outside the European Union.
But Tesco, which has a 28% share of the UK grocery market, refused to pay the increase resulting in Unilever stopping supplies of hundreds of its brands to the supermarket.
Major supermarkets such Tesco and Sainsbury's are engaged in a fierce price war that has seen them slash prices in a bid to maintain market share against discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.
The stand-off resulted in supplies of items such as Ben & Jerry's ice-cream and Marmite running out on Tesco's website and shortages at its shops. After a week the issue was resolved in an undisclosed agreement.
However, analysts expect this battle to be played out a number of times next year as manufacturers and retailers fight for ever-decreasing margins with higher prices passed on to customers.
As respected Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said: "This isn't about Tesco or Unilever but about all UK retailers and suppliers."


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Here comes the beauty mogul.
The 26-year-old's Batgirl-meets-bridal ensemble included a body-hugging gown from the label's latest collection, featuring dramatic winged sleeves. To complete the futuristic fashionista vibes, she kept her signature black locks slicked back and accessorized with alien-esque sunglasses and spikey hoop earrings.
Kylie—who welcomed her second child with Travis Scott back in February—isn't the only member of her famous family to make the fashion week rounds this month. Kourtney Kardashian hit up the Tommy Hilfiger show with her mom Kris Jenner and husband Travis Barker during New York Fashion Week, before debuting her new collaboration with Boohoo on Sept. 13.
As for the next generation of fashion fans, Kylie recently revealed she has big hopes for her daughter Stormi Webster. The Kardashians star said is dreaming of passing on her closet of designer duds to the 4-year-old—particularly her memorable Met Gala looks.
"I cannot wait to share my entire archive with my daughter when she is older," Kylie told CR Fashion Book earlier this month. "Hopefully she wears one of my Met dresses to prom."
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Although WannaCry, the massive worldwide ransomeware attack, is the biggest story these days when it comes to cyber crime, it’s definitely not the only issue causing problems for sites right now.
Last week, website security leader Sucuri identified code that appears to be WordPress API related, but is actually sending active cookie data to attackers. This is most problematic when the active user is a site admin because it gives someone the opportunity to create a new admin user which can be then used to do considerable damage to a site and/or gain access to user data.
It’s no surprise that we’re very interested in how our current administration is impacting topics like Net Neutrality and Internet Privacy. When Ajit Pai was appointed to be FCC chairman a couple months ago, we encouraged everyone to stay informed and keep an eye out for new issues. Well, this week the House voted to undo rules which prevented Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from selling user data to the highest bidder, just the latest roll back of protections that had been put in place by former President Obama. Although President Trump has not yet signed the roll back into effect, the White House has suggested that he will and the implications for Internet privacy concerns are pretty significant. (Update – As expected, President Trump did sign the bill in question on April 3rd, 2017, to repeal online privacy protections established under the previous administration.)
Delivering secure and reliable services has been a top priority for developers since day one. Applying the best, most reliable technologies has always been the key to securing a client’s data and traffic. But, due to multiple vulnerabilities found in some core products used to encrypt data and traffic, security practices need to be revisited.
We’re seeing reports this morning that a massive security breach associated with WordPress 4.7.0 and 4.7.1 has apparently led to the defacement of up to 1.9 million pages across almost 40,000 domains.
Upgrading to version 4.7.2 should fix the issue and WordPress urges anyone who hasn’t already updated to do so immediately. WordPress actually announced the security issue in a blog post at the beginning of February, but apparently there are still many sites that either weren’t aware or didn’t realize how serious the issue really is.
If you or anyone you know is running a WordPress site, please make sure it is updated to 4.7.2 as quickly as possible.
This past Friday, when most of the world was watching (or actively not-watching) the events in Washington, D.C., the formerly shuttered, Snowden-affiliated webmail service Lavabit announced it was re-launching with a new generation of email privacy and security.
If you’re unfamiliar with the history, here’s the gist: Lavabit formed in 2004, in part because of privacy concerns around email. They launched as an email service with significant protection and encryption capabilities and served a relatively small group of folk for almost a decade.
In the wake of the October 21st cyberattack on Dyn – an event that caused websites including Amazon and Netflix to go offline for hours – there has been a real rise in fear as to the ramifications of the Internet of Things. The Dyn attack was accomplished with malicious code that got into innumerable “smart” devices, from webcams to baby monitors, bombarding Dyn with requests and bringing its services to a halt – thereby crashing popular websites and services. But what if the goal had been to shutdown a power plant? Or to sever vital emergency communication lines? Or to bring down an airplane?
Android devices running on Qualcomm chips are at serious risk of being cracked. Apparently unlike iOS devices, Android devices store full-disk encryption keys in software, software that can be cracked – easily.
I remember the time, several years ago, that I first noticed the little piece of masking tape at the top of my developer friend’s laptop screen. “You block your camera?” I asked. “Of course! You never know…” And so it got me thinking: this guy knows a whole lot more about hacking capabilities than I do – what harm can it do? And from that moment forward I decided to play it safe: I have always put a small sticky square of a post-it note over the cam on my own laptop. So it’s been somewhat validating over the past 48 hours to see the spike in Web chatter stemming from the revelation that ZUCK BLOCKS HIS CAM!
The good folks at Engadget have distilled down 2+ hours of new product announcements from this week’s Google I/O to a manageable 12 minutes. There’s some really interesting new stuff coming soon with Google Home, Google VR, and Android N. Check out the time-saving summary video below:


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One month of pandemic
Overall, the U.S. had a negative ag trade balance of $501 million in March 2020, down sharply from March 2019, when the balance was positive $70 million. March 2020’s year-over-year decline was fueled by a 1% decrease in exports, while imports rose 3%. On a regional basis, the U.S. saw a decline in net exports in all regions, except for South Asia. In many regions, both exports and imports in March 2020 were higher than in March 2019, though the growth in imports outpaced exports. For example, in North America, U.S. exports rose $179 million, while imports rose $262 million, leading to a net export loss of $83 million in March 2020 compared to March 2019. Unsurprisingly, the region with the largest decline in net exports was East Asia, which includes China.


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In Germany, three expert researchers in information security and ethical hacking revealed a method to hack the McDonald’s mobile app; using some security loopholes and vulnerabilities, the researchers used the app to send multiple orders for free.
The ethical hacking team consists of David Albert, Lenny Bakkalian and Mats Tesch, who claim to have discovered a couple of vulnerabilities in the orders section of the fast food chain’s mobile app, which they managed to exploit to generate coupons just by answering surveys. The vice president of McDonald’s Germany mentions that the flaws were reported to the chain and must have already been corrected.
In their report, hackers mention that the vulnerabilities were discovered last November while conducting an investigation on the McDonald’s survey website. Thanks to a flaw in this platform, hackers designed a program to automate survey responses, generating an almost unlimited number of coupons.
The investigation did not end there, as the researchers reported the detection of another security flaw in the app code, specifically in the coupon generation feature, which was abused to generate coupons arbitrarily. The ethical hacking team tested these flaws at a McDonald’s branch in Hamburg with the prior consent of the staff. In a short period of time, hackers managed to generate 15 orders worth over €100.
According to the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS), the researchers concreted the hack by manipulating the data packets through their own proxy server, which allowed them to modify the orders in the app to leave the final amount at zero. Although McDonald’s IT teams took more than two weeks, the flaws have already been corrected, although some new method could be revealed in the future.
These kinds of errors have been presented on similar platforms, mainly food delivery apps (Rappi, Deliveroo, etc.) and other services. Specialists believe this is because developers use virtually equal code libraries as the basis of apps, making the same vulnerability exploitable on more than one platform.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.


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Doubts Over Tesla’s Promise Of A Low Priced Solar Roof
Tom Werner, the CEO of SunPower a leading provider of solar power, is sceptical regarding Tesla’s promise that will be offer solar roofs for a low price point. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla that has partnered with Musk’s Solar City in a $2.6 billion deal said that their solar roofs will be more cost effective than standard roofing after the cost of labour has been factored in and before considering savings from the generation of energy.
Tesla’s solar roof is different from traditional solar panels that are made from photovoltaic steel and installed over the standard roofs. The solar roof being offered by Tesla is made from quartz glass which will be used to replace the roof.
In a speech before shareholders that voted to approve the merger of Solar City and Tesla, Musk said that their basic proposition will run this way “Why will you get another type of roof when there is a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, more affordable and has the capability to generate electricity?”
A decade ago, SunPower also tried to offer a similar roof option but it was too expensive compared to the amount of energy produced. When it comes to choosing between cool and costs more, customers do not find it cool enough to offset the cost.
Even Axiom Capital is doubtful about Tesla’s promise. A cheap type of asphalt shingle roof from Home Depot will cost about $1 per square foot. Given that a traditional solar roof can produce 15 watts of power per square foot at an estimated cost of $0.40 per watt, the solar roof will cost about $6 per square foot, excluding transport costs. On the other hand, Tesla’s roof will significantly last longer than asphalt shingles that will require replacement every 10 to 15 years.
If the roof the leaking, call roof repairs in Sydney so that it can be attended to immediately. Leaving a leaking roof unattended does not make sense because the repair bill will increase while the leaks grow. Eventually, the roof can no longer be repaired; it will require replacement which is even more expensive.


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The analysis department of Arion Bank states that there is increasing evidence that the economic recovery in Iceland is slowing down. Decreasing private consumption is a sign of a downturn in the economic growth.
The department’s latest Markaðspunktar newsletter states that a setback in private consumption does not come as a surprise, visir.is reports.
It had always been clear that while the impact of specialized measures for homeowners faded out, the growth in consumption would slow down, the report reason. The measures include premature payments from people’s individual pension savings.
It is stated that these actions would only have had a long-term effect if followed by increased investment which would have created employment, increased production and purchasing power and thus encouraged continued growth in domestic demand.
Markaðspunktar concludes that this appears not to be happening as there are no indications of significant changes to investments in Q4 in 2012. Continued decline of investments is predicted, which is already at an historic low.
Click here to read about the BBC’s recent coverage of Iceland’s ‘economic recovery.’


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His venture and another upstart by a rival group of investors will challenge the BBC and Britain’s efforts to guard against political bias in television news.
Dan Fahy is promoted to SVP, head of emerging business and will “spearhead a revenue growth strategy for all ViacomCBS Networks U.K. streaming platforms.”
Vice may need to recheck its hipster calibrations: Viceland, its TV network that has barely made a tremor on U.S. television, has landed in the U.K. with just as minimal an impact. The channel debuted with an average audience of 5,500 from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. according to Barb data.
The number of homes in the United Kingdom with a TV has fallen for the first time, as viewers turn to alternatives including tablets and smartphones to watch programmes. Ofcom said that after years of consecutive growth, the number of households with a television set fell from 26.3 million at the end of 2012 to 26.0 million at the end of last year. The media regulator said that nearly one million homes have a broadband connection, but no TV, indicating that other Internet-connected devices are being used to view content.
The deal will add 16 channels to the company’s U.K. portfolio, making SPT the No. 5 cable/satellite/multichannel player in the U.K. market in commercial ad views.
Even though it has flourished in America, people argue whether it has a future in Britain. Either way, local TV is setting up shop in the United Kingdom. From reporters live at the scene of a fire to the familiar faces of anchors and other area-specific programming, the U.S. model of local TV has managed to grab, and keep, the attention of swathes of viewers.
Brands spent more money advertising on the Internet in Britain than they did on TV for the first time in the first half of 2011, as companies moved online to reach the millions of Britons using social networks and watching videos.


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CBS, NBC and Fox head to court over Dish ad-skipping feature
On July 1, 1941, NBC interrupted its broadcast of a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game with a message from the Bulova watch company.
It was the world’s first television commercial, and it lasted 10 seconds.
Ever since, TV networks have been jamming the airwaves with longer, louder and more insistent ads, and viewers have found increasingly sophisticated ways of avoiding them.
Now a high-profile legal test could resolve this TV tug-of-war that has been building for decades.
Satellite TV provider Dish Network’s new ad-skipping feature, AutoHop, enables subscribers to black out ads on programs they’ve saved on their digital video recorders. When activated, AutoHop turns the screen dark when a commercial arrives, then returns to the show a few seconds later.
CBS, NBC and Fox have sued, saying the feature violates copyright laws and jeopardizes the financial foundation of the entire television industry. The AutoHop, which launched in May, is only available for use on shows on broadcast networks CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox and not on cable channels.
On Monday, the legal battle over AutoHop between Dish and the broadcast networks is scheduled to start in New York, where U.S. District Judge Laura Swain will hear arguments to determine whether the case will be heard in New York or Los Angeles.
Dish maintains that its new feature is legal.
“I think it was settled 28 years ago in the Betamax case,” Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen told Congress last week, referring to the landmark 1984 case that established that consumers did not violate copyright laws by recording shows at home for their own enjoyment.
At stake are billions of dollars in advertising revenue. The estimated $68 billion in ad dollars the television industry collects each year helps to offset the spiraling production costs of prime-time dramas and comedies, network news operations, late night talk shows and sports.
“I can’t produce premium shows like ‘CSI’without advertising,” CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said.
The alternative to forcing consumers to watch commercials would be to ask them to pay more for all the TV time they consume. No one knows exactly how much viewers would be asked to fork over to make up for lost revenue if commercials suddenly went away.
Consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates Inc. figured that each household would need to come up with an additional $49.74 a month — on top of the money already paid for monthly cable service.
“Advertising pays for the programming,” said Howie Cohen, the advertising executive who created Alka-Seltzer’s iconic 1972 “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” television commercial. “I don’t think America can afford to pay its own way when it comes to programming.”
Commercials won’t disappear any time soon. Media companies and major marketers have too much invested in the system. In fact, even as they squabble with Dish over AutoHop, the major networks last month quickly sold billions of dollars’ worth of ad time to companies eager to buy commercials for the upcoming TV season. Demand was so strong that the networks were able to raise ad rates despite concerns over viewers bypassing commercials through technology.
TV remains marketers’ preferred medium. But advertisers increasingly are searching for alternatives to conventional advertising, including opting for so-called product placement. On the CBS comedy”The Big Bang Theory,” for example, a character used the hand sanitizer Purell. On the ABC comedy”Suburgatory,” a can of Red Bull horned its way into a starring role.
Last year, Nielsen counted 8,113 instances of product placement in TV shows, a 65% jump over 2009.
And just as technology is making it easier to skip ads, media companies are developing ways to make viewers watch ads even while they’re trying to skip them.
Cable giant Comcast Corp.— which is also the parent of NBC and cable channels, including USA, MSNBC and Bravo — is developing a technology that would trigger a commercial to pop up when viewers tried to fast-forward through ads.
The networks are taking a similar approach online. TV shows that are streamed on Hulu and other video sites have fewer commercials than their broadcast versions — but viewers can’t fast-forward through them.
As consumers have found more ways to avoid commercials, the networks have responded by adding more ads. In the 1970s, a typical half-hour sitcom often had only four minutes of commercials and promotional spots. That figure is more than double now. Commercial breaks have also increased, with as many as four in a half-hour sitcom.
Viewers got their first look at commercial skipping hardware in 1955, when Zenith introduced the first wireless remote control. The Flash-Matic, a battery-powered gizmo shaped like a Buck Rogers ray gun, let viewers change channels, mute commercials and turn the TV on and off.
“You can even shut off annoying commercials while the picture remains on the screen,” the Flash-Matic ads boasted. The device cost $100 on top of the $500 set.
The Flash-Matic was usurped a year later by the Space Command, which changed channels using ultrasonic waves.
“The Space Commander changed the way we watched TV,” said technology futurist Paul Saffo, managing director of research firm Foresight. “To me, it’s the beginning of the arms race between the audience and the producers.”
Zenith’s founder, Cmdr. Eugene F. McDonald Jr., wanted to go further. In 1947, Zenith introduced PhoneVision, which enabled delivery of broadcast TV over telephone lines — without commercial interruptions.
“Hollywood killed it,” said John I. Taylor, vice president for LG Electronics, which now owns the Zenith brand. “Hollywood executives were worried that if people could watch movies in their homes, they would no longer pay to see them in theaters. Ultimately, it became impossible to license content for the service.”
Those primitive tools were succeeded in the 1970s by videocassette recorders, which enabled consumers to record shows to watch later. The digital video recorder, which started to appear a decade ago, made recording shows and skipping ads even easier. Nearly 50% of the nation’s 114 million TV homes have DVRs.
“We don’t watch any commercial TV live,” said Anthony Zazzu, a 72-year-old Huntington Beach retiree. He has turned ad-skipping into a science, knowing that “The CBS Evening News” contains seven commercials during each break. Zazzu zips past them. “It’s becoming a pain in the neck to keep fast-forwarding because there are so many commercials.”
Sensitive to viewers’ allergic reactions to ads, shows such as CBS’ “The Good Wife” sometimes run more than 10 minutes without a commercial, hoping viewers will stay for the commercial breaks that come later. The History Channel miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” began its run last month with a 39-minute commercial-free opening.
For television producers such as”Modern Family”co-creator Steve Levitan, the modern technology is a double-edged sword.
“On the one hand, I wish people were watching ‘Modern Family’ live,” he said. “On the other hand, there are many who would miss it if not for their DVRs.” If advertisers want their ads to be seen, maybe they should make better commercials, he added.
After all, Levitan said, “People stop to watch Apple ads.”
Times staff writer Dawn C. Chmielewski contributed to this report.
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text: Volkswagen Shows Off Customized 2011 Jetta at Waterfest Share Comments If you were at Waterfest this year, you already know that the Volkswagen booth had a special treat on display. For those who couldn’t make it out, this treat was in the form of a brand new 2011 Jetta, not even on sale for another few months, already fitted with some parts from the Volkswagen Accessories catalog. Those parts, seen on a brand new white Jetta, consist of a new body kit — including a new front bumper, side skirts, and rear bumper — a lip spoiler on the trunk, and black wheels. We here at VWvortex think that the body kit adds quite a bit to the look of the new Jetta. There’s definitely some Audi lineage showing in the design of the car, especially in the taillights. We also really like the fact that this means there are some die-hard enthusiasts within Volkswagen of America, envisioning what direction people like you, our readers, might take their latest creation. As we speak, the media is on their first drive of the new car. We of course have a man on the scene, taking pictures and forming opinions. Keep an eye out here for those impressions a little bit later, or hop on over to our Facebook page for some live images straight from the event. ***Image2:bottom*** ***Image3:bottom*** For more discussion on this story, click on the link to our discussion forums to the left. For more photos related to this story, click on the link to our gallery at the right.


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Don’t expect to see them too soon, but they could be coming to your local grocery store — two types of apples genetically modified to resist turning brown after they’re bruised or sliced.
Internet-connected medical implants, like pacemakers, are more common than ever. So, can they be hacked? A new report in the Journal Science suggests that could be the case.
If you suffer from a milk allergy, you may want to do some research before eating that piece of dark chocolate.
Whole Foods has recalled dozens of items prepared with a supplier’s ground cumin spice ingredient that may have contained undeclared peanut.
The law requires that pet foods be safe to eat, be produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled.
Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey takes aim at powdered caffeine – a potentially dangerous supplement. He says the FDA should consider banning it. “I believe they need to do more work,” Sen. Casey said Monday.
The latest robotic technology is helping spinal cord injury victims get back on their feet.
The Food and Drug Administration has just approved a faster, more accurate test that can be used in your local doctor’s office.
Where in the Constitution does it empower the federal government to tell private restaurants what to put on their menu? I checked and the answer is nowhere.
Health: FDA Issues New Rules Mandating Calories Be Posted On Menus At Big Chain Restaurants And Stores
The FDA issued new rules which will soon show you exactly how many calories you’re eating when you dine out.
Rich covered all angles of the Ferguson grand jury decision not charging police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown. He also talked to New Jersey Assemblyman Troy Singleton about a rape law he’s proposed and CBS 3 Meteorologist Kate Bilo about tomorrow’s storm.
This Thanksgiving, Butterball turkeys will have a new label: American Humane Certified on all of its products. What does that mean?
As of this past month, the FDA made regulations mandatory for all foods that label themselves gluten free.
Now that fall sports are underway, treating concussions will become an issue.
A new way to zap away pain has become a popular alternative to medications and injections. 3 On Your Side Health Reporter Stephanie Stahl shows you how it works.


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Don't trust the commercials
As I drive around town listening to Coast 93.3, I hear commercials for an “alternative medicine” shop that sells kratom, advertised as a “wellness product” for your “health and happiness.” In one commercial, a customer praises kratom as a pain reliever. But kratom, a powdery substance, is of doubtful medical benefit, can be addictive, and is classified as a “drug of concern” by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Kratom comes from Mitragyna speciosa, a tree in the coffee family native to Southeast Asia. It is a stimulant in low doses, a sedative in high doses, and is also known for its euphoric effects. In August 2016, the DEA announced plans to declare kratom a Schedule I drug, making it illegal. Instead, faced with public opposition, the DEA deferred to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which commenced its own investigation.
In November 2017, the FDA issued an advisory, stating that (1) people were using kratom to self-medicate for pain, anxiety, and depression, and (2) kratom had the effects of a narcotic, including risks of abuse and addiction. In February 2018, the FDA reported that two of the most prevalent compounds in kratom were opioids and that kratom did not serve any medical purpose. Although the FDA did not recommend a ban on kratom, it warned vendors against making fraudulent claims, for example, by advertising that kratom effectively treats arthritis, fibromyalgia, and opioid addiction.
At least 13 countries, six states, and several localities have banned kratom outright. The Department of Defense lists kratom as a “dietary supplement” that is “not allowed.” Similarly, according to the Air Force Medical Service, kratom use violates an Air Force prohibition on intoxicants other than alcohol (A.F. Instr. 44-121).
Yes, the FDA has its critics, especially among kratom users who think they’ve discovered a miracle drug. But others tell horror stories, as rehab centers know only too well. The FDA encourages people with a medical condition to visit a health care professional, not a kratom shop. Simply put, kratom does not always work as advertised.
Robert Lehouck, Mary Esther


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Rebag is on a roll with its newest Miami store opening on the heels on a recent San Francisco debut. Here’s a peek at what’s in store at the new mall location.
The latest Handbag Heaven is an updated take on previous locales. With newly designed displays, fixtures, and an inviting seating area, the store offers a fresh new open concept.
To mark the occasion, Rebag invited Carolina Lindo of I’m Not Sorry Darling (@imnotsorrydarling), to share her style tips and have a little fun in store with the exciting handbags on offer.


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Amazon’s digital brain Alexa is an astute listener, and police in Bentonville, Ark., are seeking her help to build a murder case, but the company doesn’t appear to be cooperating.
According to a report from The Information, Bentonville police issued a warrant requiring Amazon to hand over audio recordings and other records for an Echo belonging to the suspect, James Andrew Bates. Bates is scheduled to go on trial for murder next year after Victor Collins was found dead in Bates’ hot tub last November.
Since Alexa and other digital assistants listen for “wake up words,” police are hoping that someone involved in the situation either intentionally or accidentally activated the device, creating an audio record of that moment.
Amazon reportedly declined to release voice recordings for Bates’ Echo device. The company did provide information on Bates’ account and purchases, and police were able to get some information off his speaker.
Amazon said in a statement it “will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us. Amazon objects to overbroad or otherwise inappropriate demands as a matter of course.”
Police have used other Internet of Things devices to gather evidence in the case. A connected water meter shows that 140 gallons of water were used between 1 and 3 a.m. the night of the alleged murder. Police claim that Bates hosed down his patio and hot tub in order to hide evidence.
This case is the latest battle between law enforcement and big tech companies over data privacy. Apple’s refusal to help the FBI unlock an iPhone used by a terrorist during last year’s attack in San Bernardino, Calif. is perhaps the most high-profile example of this tug-of-war between tech giants and governments. Apple argued that decrypting the phone’s data and breaking into it would weaken security for all users. Apple and the FBI were heading towards a trial earlier this year until a third party emerged to help the FBI successfully hack the phone.
Microsoft has found itself in several disputes with the U.S. Department of Justice over user privacy. One involves emails police demanded in a 2013 search warrant for a drug-trafficking investigation. Those files were stored at one of Microsoft’s data centers in Ireland, so Microsoft refused to turn over the emails, arguing they fall outside the investigators’ jurisdiction. Earlier this year, Microsoft also challenged a provision of U.S. law that lets government agencies prevent tech companies from informing customers when investigators seek access to emails and other cloud data.


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Humbled Toyota rolls out new Tundra
When Toyota's hefty new Tundra pickup went on sale in 2007, the Japanese automaker trumpeted it as a game-changer that would challenge Detroit for the only part of the market it still dominated.
“The truck that's changing it all,” was the tagline from an ad that featured the beefy Tundra pulling a 10,000-pound trailer up a steep ramp.
But in six years on the market, the Tundra hasn't changed much of anything. It did teach Toyota that unlike car buyers, American pickup owners are still fiercely loyal to their Fords, Chevrolets and Rams.
Toyota revealed a redesigned Tundra at the Chicago Auto Show, this time without lofty sales goals or talk of breaking into Detroit's lucrative stronghold.
The Tundra comes with an aggressive aerodynamic exterior, an all-new interior and a long list of practical and luxury features. But the choice of three engines is unchanged, and the company seems happy just to protect the Tundra's 5 percent share of the U.S. pickup market — especially when pickup sales are rising as the economy recovers from the Great Recession.
“They'll be part of the recovery,” says Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, an industry consulting firm. “I don't see them capturing any share from the Detroit guys.”
Before the 2007 redesign, the Tundra didn't measure up to the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado and Chrysler's Ram. It was smaller and didn't have the powerful engine needed to tow trailers or haul heavy loads. Sales in 2006— a huge year for trucks — were just under 125,000, respectable but only a fraction of the nearly 800,000 F-Series trucks sold by Ford.
But with the new truck, Toyota had set its sights on Detroit. It had a brawnier look with larger bed and a big 5.7-liter, 381-horsepower engine. Toyota executives brazenly predicted sales of 200,000 a year, almost doubling sales of the existing truck. In 2007, Toyota came close to the goal, hitting almost 197,000. But as Detroit updated its pickups with powerful engines, new transmissions and innovative features, Tundra sales fell, hitting a low of 83,000 in 2011.
Once truck buyers choose a brand, they tend to stick with it. That gives companies such as Ford — which started building pickups in 1925 — an advantage, since that loyalty has built up over several generations. Last year, 45 percent of F-150 buyers traded in a Ford pickup, according to Edmunds.com. By contrast, 38 percent of Tundra buyers traded in Toyota trucks. But since Ford sells more than six times as many pickups as Toyota, the Ford trade-in numbers are much higher.
Jim Lentz, Toyota's highest-ranking U.S. executive, concedes that it's doubtful Toyota will pick up market share with the new truck. “We are servicing a niche within full-size trucks with Tundra, and it does very well. It's been the perennial quality leader in the segment,” he said. “I think we're very comfortable with it in that segment.”
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State-Owned Oil Firms Head into Uncharted Waters by Inviting Outside Investors
(Beijing) – Since February, state-owned oil majors have taken steps toward pilots in mixed-share ownership, following central government calls for reforms to state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
After the Chinese New Year, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) announced plans to restructure its sales assets, estimated to be worth over 300 billion yuan, to introduce non-state investors in a mixed-ownership pilot in which not less than 30 percent of shares of a new company will be offered to investors.
Another oil giant, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), has also promised to invite private and other non-state investors to jointly develop blocks with estimated reserves of 600 million tons of oil. The company said it would allow investors to hold up to 49 percent of the projects.
The news has excited the market because both companies have offered up their best assets for the pilots. Industry experts said Sinopec's assets in refining and sales are quite competitive, while CNPC is stronger in upstream oilfield development.
In a previous round of SOE reforms launched in 1998, the top three oil majors, CNPC, Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC) underwent asset restructurings and went public abroad. But shortly thereafter reforms came to a halt. The competition that policymakers wanted to bring about never happened.
One senior industry insider who participated in the previous round of restructuring said reformers missed a golden chance. Had reforms been thoroughly implemented a decade ago, the country's economy would be picking up speed and there would be enough profits to absorb the initial costs of reform. Now, however, the economy is slowing and further reforms will inevitably involve compensation that comes with layoffs and cost cutting, adding more uncertainties.
Assessments of Sinopec's retail assets have already begun. The initial plan is to set up a new company to include all downstream business in which outside investors will be invited. Those assets include over 30,000 gas stations, urban pipelines connected to stations, oil storage facilities and 20,000 grocery stores in gas stations. Sinopec's chairman, Fu Chengyu, said the asset assessment can be completed in the first half of this year.
The assets are expected to be valued in the hundreds of billions of yuan and be of sound quality. Company data shows that as of mid-2013, the book value of Sinopec's sales-end assets was near 180 billion yuan. A research report by China Galaxy Securities indicates that Sinopec's earnings before interest and taxes from its sales of refined oil have been between 40 and 45 billion yuan annually in recent years. Assuming a 10-fold price-to-earnings ratio, the market value of Sinopec's sales-end assets is at least 400 billion yuan.
Sinopec's sales business includes wholesaling, direct sales and retail. It accounts for a domestic market share of 60 percent. The sales businesses contribute 35 percent to total company profits.
Analysts say Sinopec's sales assets are the company's most valuable because profits are the most stable, given the rigid demand from individuals and industries. Although the country's economic growth is slowing, consumption of refined oil continues to rise.
"You'd be hard-pressed to imagine a better opportunity to enter China's largest refined oil sales system," said one banker familiar with the petroleum industry.
Of the country's more than 90,000 gas stations, Sinopec owns 30,000 and CNPC 20,000. As in retail sector, gross profit margins in oil sales are not high. Statistics for 2013 show Sinopec's operating profits from sales of refined oil were 37 billion yuan, with a gross profit margin of only 5.5 percent. Most in the industry, however, assess assets based on return on equity (ROE), and many industry insiders say this portion of Sinopec assets has an ROE of over 10 percent.
Most SOEs have reported sound financial performance due to support from banks, but many have amassed enormous debt over years of expansion. Even though Sinopec is a relatively profitable SOE, recapitalization can still help optimize its financial structure. Sinopec had debts in the third quarter of 2013 of 719.6 billion yuan, for an asset-liability ratio of 54.5 percent.
Sinopec's board has agreed to sell 30 percent of the new company.
"Our current primary consideration is that the assets of this portion of the company are too immense, so if we calculate the funding scale based on a 30 percent proportion, that will be over 100 billion yuan," said Fu. "Besides that, we're still not sure how great public enthusiasm currently is for investing in our company. If there is great eagerness for subscriptions, we can offer even more."
Fu said this is merely a beginning. There is no rule for the proportion of shares that can be sold to outside investors. "However," said Fu, "we have reached an agreement with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) that the state's share in the company not fall below 51 percent. In my personal opinion, 51 percent is nothing more than a temporary issue."
With a nationwide network of gas stations, stable returns and a healthy cash flow, the sales-end assets of Sinopec are an attractive opportunity for investors. Sinopec plans call for two kinds of investors: strategic and financial.
"Strategic investors can support the company's business at upstream and downstream ends, opening up new markets and business," Fu said. "They bring about immediate value increases. Financial investors are interested mostly in returns. I place more emphasis on strategic investors."
One trader close to Sinopec said that the threshold for individual investors might be 10 billion yuan or more, and that smaller companies will have to form financial groups to buy in.
British oil giant BP has been watching Sinopec's restructuring. It already operates over 400 gas stations with Sinopec in the eastern province of Zhejiang. One BP China employee said BP will consider buying in so long as the company is granted a certain degree of say in decisions. Fu has said he is open to foreign investments, but he is "more welcoming to complementary strategic investors, not competitors."
Several sources said that many companies have been in contact with Sinopec regarding the restructuring, including investment company Fosun International Ltd., Internet giant Tencent Holdings, property develop Shanghai Greenland Group and insurance companies.
What growth can new investors expect? As refined oil wholesale and retail businesses have become stable, there is not much room for sales to grow in response to changing economic circumstances. It is the company's non-oil businesses, for instance, the retail stores attached to gas stations, that will present potential investors with room to grow. Most of Sinopec's non-oil business income is from its 20,000 Easy Joy gas station convenience stores. In the first half of last year, the company earned 6.58 billion yuan from non-oil business, a year-on-year increase of 20.5 percent. This may be impressive, daily sales at individual stores averaged only 1,800 yuan.
A major consideration for private enterprises when cooperating with SOEs, especially massive centrally operated ones like Sinopec, is whether they will have a say in making decisions. Initial plans indicate that 30 percent of the new company will be divided among at least 10 companies. Investors will naturally want to know who gets seats on the board of directors.
Sinopec's opening of its sales-end sector to public investment may only be the beginning. Fu's long-term goal is to transform Sinopec into a holding company. Eventually he wants to establish about 10 mixed-ownership companies under the Sinopec umbrella, and each company will have a say regarding policies and personnel decisions.
Since 2011, when Fu, the former head of CNOOC, was appointed chairman of Sinopec, he has initiated a series of asset restructurings in the company, especially in the refining and engineering sections. Fu once argued that Sinopec has entered the "deep zone" of reforms, and more asset restructuring and public listing can be expected.
Petroleum companies should adopt specialized development, Fu said. "Sinopec's industry chain is particularly long, but there's no need to fuse all the links together. As everything is inside one basket, we are unable to amply reflect the company's value."
Sinopec is among the first major SOEs to attempt a mixed-ownership pilot. But its plan to introduce non-state investors is not so much about breaking a monopoly as adjusting interest distribution. Industry regulations say private investors can operate gas stations, but the Big Three state oil firms' dominant role in upstream development and pricing have hindered private investors from entering the downstream market.
Therefore, whether the reform process goes smoothly will depend on coordination among different governments departments and the order reforms take.
Analysts say further reforms in industries dominated by state firms consist of relaxing of market entry rules and reforming pricing mechanisms and ownership.
The ideal order of reforms would be to first relax market entry barriers and introduce more competition, and then to allow that competition to determine supply, demand and pricing. During that process, efficiency will hopefully increase, profits going to monopolies would fall, and property rights issues would resolve themselves.
- MOST POPULAR


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New York — Nearly 70% (68%) of consumers plan to spend up to $500 this back-to-school shopping season compared with 63% in 2012 and 48% in 2011, according to a new spending forecast from e-commerce platform provider PriceGrabber. Additionally, 17% of respondents plan to spend between $500 and $1,000, and 15% of shoppers said they have no back-to-school shopping budget this year. Conducted from June 17 to July 8, 2013, the survey includes responses from 2,191 U.S. online shopping consumers.
“The outlook for the back-to-school shopping season remains positive. With [the] unemployment rate dropping from 8.2% in June 2012 to its current rate of 7.6%, shoppers are more inclined to spend than they were in the last couple of back-to-school seasons,” said Rojeh Avanesian, SVP marketing and sales of PriceGrabber. “However, instead of spending on the newest gadgets, shoppers are looking for ways to get the most for their money by looking for deals, as well as reusing already owned items before purchasing new ones.”
When respondents were asked to select all of the types of stores they plan to shop at for back-to-school items, 80% selected discount stores. Online-only retailers were voted second place (54%), followed by office supply stores (44%). And 42% plan to shop at traditional department stores, while 24% plan to shop at electronics stores this back-to-school season.
In other survey highlights: free shipping, sales and coupons incentivize back-to-school shoppert. Around 72% of consumers chose free shipping as the top retailer tactic that would entice them to make a back-to-school purchase this year, followed by sales (71%), coupons (69%), online promotions (43%), rebates ( 41%) and free items with a purchase (38%).


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Residents in Cockermouth have handed in a petition against County Council plans to bring on street parking charges into Cumbria.
The Chamber of Trade says that the move would damage businesses and drive shoppers to out of town retail parks and away from the high streets.
More top news
A look ahead at the forecast for the Border region.
David Gale from Lockerbie has been recognised for his years of trailblazing work for charity Muscular Dystrophy UK.
We've got some top tips to keep you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as the nights get darker and tiredness sets in.


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Ten years after genocide wracked the African nation of Rwanda, killing off as much as one-fourth of its total population, 27-year-old Monica Umwari is hiring former victims with hopes of taking her homegrown business international.
Umwari’s two-year-old business, Angaza Ltd., uses recycled materials — think rice sacks, discarded billboard banners and other scraps of material — to produce hundreds of colorful purses, wallets, laptop bags and totes that are sold in local shops, museums and hotels.
In July, Umwari got to travel to the U.S. through the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women’s Peace through Business program, which brought 27 female entrepreneurs from Rwanda and Afghanistan to the U.S. for mentorship.
Umwari spent three weeks in the U.S., meeting with other entrepreneurs and observing the way American businesses operate, from their social media presences to their social-responsibility pledges.
Umwari also got a front-row seat to America’s cultural eccentricities: ice in tea, for example (“I don’t get the logic,” she said), and pet-owner relationships so intimate that entire industries thrive on them.
“In America, people love their pets so much,” Umwari said, laughing. “They stay inside your house…(they) are part of their family.”
But for all the business tips she learned from observing U.S. commerce, there’s a lot we can learn from her operations in Rwanda, as well.
Here are just a few:
1. Even trash can make for business inspiration: Umwari’s father is a geologist with the Rwandan government, and her mother is a serial entrepreneur who has run a restaurant, a salon, a women’s clothing store and now a printing company. So at a young age, Umwari learned to train her eyes on business opportunity.


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JP’s premier Jamaican trade: coffee
While Jamaica Producers (JP) has its roots in the banana trade and diversified into a wide host of businesses, coffee remains an important commodity for the company.
Coffee is especially big business in Jamaica, given worldwide demand for the beans that are grown in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains.
The best lots of Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavor and lack of bitterness. Over the past few decades, this coffee has developed a reputation that has made it one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world. Over 80% of all Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is exported to Japan.
This is the case for JP. JP’s biggest market for its coffee business is Japan. “It’s a market on which we are much focused,” says Jamaica Producers Group CEO Jeffrey Hall in an exclusive interview with this AJOT reporter. In fact, 70% of JP’s coffee is sold to Japan.
The reason: the Japanese like specialty coffees. “They have a strong tradition of drinking this coffee there,” Hall says. “It’s sold in Japan’s premium department stores.”
The coffee is expensive. Processing the coffee is very labor intensive.
JP buys its coffee from 4,000 coffee Jamaica farmers. “We have 80 outlets from which we collect the coffee and bring it to our depot where we process and sort it,” Hall explains.
Not only are the coffee beans sun dried, once processed the coffee is shipped to Japan in handmade wooden barrels—exactly the way JP has been doing it for 80 years. “It’s very high cost to us, but that’s the business,” he says.


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The Asian Development Bank presented a forecast on the economic situation in Uzbekistan for the next two years.
ADB forecasts GDP growth in Uzbekistan in 2019 by 5.2 and 5.5% in 2020. Inflation rose from 13.7% in 2017 to 17.9% in 2018, despite the exchange rate stability, tight monetary policy and the abolition of customs duties on the import of basic foodstuffs. But the rise in inflation is due to currency liberalization, along with rising utility prices, liberalization of bread prices, rising wages and pensions, and rapid lending. But besides, it is worth noting that the calculation of inflation by the Ministry of Finance has changed and began to coincide with the world practice of counting. What affected the accuracy of the information provided.
“The government is on its way to achieving its goal of transforming the country into a developed market economy. Full-scale reforms will create a favorable climate for business development in the country, reduce inequality, increase productivity and achieve long-term sustainable growth, ”said Sindi Malvicini, Director of the ADB Permanent Mission in Uzbekistan.
ADB predicts a decline in inflation in 2019 to 16% and a subsequent year to 14%, as credit growth within government programs slows down, and further optimization of customs procedures will facilitate imports.
As for the balance of payments of Uzbekistan, the deficit is expected to remain high, at 7% of GDP in 2019, and slightly reduced to 6.5% in 2020.
Export of goods is expected to increase by 10% in 2019 and by 12% in 2020, the increase is due to rising prices for gold, stable demand for natural gas from China, increasing exports of agricultural products to Russia and neighboring countries, and further processing of cotton domestically. with the subsequent production of finished textile products.
Growth in imports of goods in 2019 is projected at 25% and in 2020 at 20%, as the demand for infrastructure projects and the continued modernization of the industry will increase imports for these sectors.


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Chevrolet Plans To Introduce Its First Electrified Blazer To China – Miami Lakes Automall Chevrolet
The all-new Chevrolet Blazer has become a hot commodity, more specifically in places such as North America as well as China, where the SUV is being sold in a different variant of sorts than what we’re used to. The success, however, isn’t all that surprising, given the growing rise in popularity of SUVs and crossovers, and after the Blazer made its debut in August of 2020, in company with the larger 3-row Blazer , it was reported by GM Authority that General Motors is planning to launch a new mild hybrid system for its Blazer model in the Chinese market.
According to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, SAIC-GM (Shanghai General Motors Company), the company’s main joint venture in that region, a new 48-vol mild-hybrid powertrain will soon launch for the Chevrolet Blazer. The master plan is to make progress on the fuel economy and driving performance of the midsize crossover, which would also help to toe in line with the nation’s rigorous environmental regulations.
This electrified move is a significant achievement for the Blazer, as it is receiving its new motor for the first time internationally. As of yet, the SUV was sold with just its gasoline internal combustion engines in both the States and China, encompassing six- and 4-cylinder options. As a result, the Blazer will join the club of other GM models that recently employed a hybrid powertrain in the Asian market.
In the same way as the 2021 Cadillac XT5 and XT6 recently released overseas, the latest hybrid Blazer in the Chinese market will be equipped with the turbocharged 2.0L LSY I-4 engine as well as an electric motor and a 48 V battery. Even though this revelation doesn’t exactly disclose the output of the Blazer’s system, it’s highly plausible that it will harness the 250 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque, just like the Cadillacs that the Blazer shares its C1 platform on, in addition to their mechanics.
From an aesthetic point of view, the Chevy Blazer mild-hybrid should resemble the current models. For the time being, it’s undetermined if buyers of the upcoming electric motor will be given the option of two- and three-row configurations, rather than just the seven-seat model.
It is expected that the upcoming electric Blazer will be revealed in China in the weeks following. It’s also expected that during this short wait, more information will be revealed until the official launch, which is set for the second quarter of 2021. In the same manner as the Blazer constructed at the SAIC-GM Cadillac Jinqiao plant, there aren’t any plans to bring about the electric motor in the North American model. On the other hand, automakers have a tendency to make initial plans for international in regards to their hybrids and fully electric vehicles before finally bringing it to our side of the waters.
Miami Lakes Chevrolet
While we wait for our turn to enjoy the Blazer’s new hybrid motor, we can still enjoy all that it has to offer at Miami Lakes Automall . We carry a wide range of Chevrolet vehicles , including that of the 2021 Chevrolet Blazer.
Those who are interested in any of our models can simply view our online new car inventory and chat with a representative for further assistance.


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Today the role of technology in our world is greater than previously imagined. As now technology impacts practically every industry such jobs as market research data miner, app developer, user experience designer, sustainability expert have become commonplace, although they just didnít exist a decade ago. These days, young women who get education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) are developing skills that will enable them to enter the job market and compete for careers in the field of technology. According to the statistics, women in the U.S. earn about half of the bachelor degrees but only nearly 20% of these are in STEM. Women who pursue education in STEM help drive innovation and eBay is taking action to inspire and empower young women and provide them with the tools necessary to make successful careers in the field of technology.
Student interns from the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz have developed promising new approaches for online shopping from mobile devices. These innovative solutions designed by a team of undergraduates turned out so promising that eBay even filed a patent application.
The students had an internship at eBay within the framework of the eBay Inspire Scholarship Program, organized to encourage and support more young women to pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The students worked at eBay Data Research Labs where they were taught basics of commerce applications and mobile apps. Their success in working in a Silicon Valley technology industry on a project aimed at improving the shopping experience for customers using mobile devices proves the value of the Inspire program and the talent of the students.
Today the popularity of using smart phones is so great that more and more consumers prefer to comparison shop and purchase products from their mobile devices rather than use traditional laptop or desktop computers. But, even though shopping on-the-go is convenient, it has some substantial flaws like the small screen which is difficult to navigate or interrupted sessions which impede users to pick up exactly where they left off. These are only some of the problems the UCSC students researched. As a result of their work, the students participating in the eBay Inspire Scholarship Program have developed new ways for users to easily compare multiple items while using a mobile device as well as bookmark and save the state of a session using touch-based gestures. These approaches have all the chances to make the complex process of shopping from a mobile device easier and more convenient.
At the end of the summer internship, the students showcased their work at a special event attended by eBay engineers, managers, and other corporate employees and executives. Some ideas turned out so successful that the corporation decided to proceed with a patent application. Companies like eBay now greatly depend on mobile commerce that brings tens of billions of dollars a year, and tens of millions of mobile users. As more shoppers start to use their mobile devices for browsing and shopping, the approaches developed by these students may be of great importance.


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World TB Day 2021
The clock is ticking – its time to test and treat latent TB.
Get the latest TB testing news and updates
Be the first to know about the latest TB testing guidelines and QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus product updates.
QIAGEN and DIASORIN launch automated TB testing solution
The world’s leading IGRA technology is now available on the fully-automated LIAISON XL Analyzer
Nigeria chooses QFT-Plus to test and treat TB
New Nigerian Ministry of Health guidelines highlight QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus test for latent TB as part of their “test and treat” strategy.
QFT-Plus added to WHO Stop TB GDF catalog
Acceptance of QFT-Plus for Global Drug Facility catalog expands test access in high-burden low-resource regions.
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BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Walmart is launching MoDRN, its largest line to date of private-label home furnishings exclusively for online sale.
Available on Walmart.com, MoDRN boasts three collections – Retro Glam, Refined Industrial and Scandinavian Minimal – and features nearly 650 items, including tables, chairs and sofas. Materials include leather and velvet upholstery, Carrara marble tabletops, domestic and exotic veneers, hand-brushed metal and brass accents, and white oak and walnut solid wood features. Prices range from $700 – $899 for sofas, $599 – $649 for beds, $20 – $60 for barware, and $199 – $699 for indoor and outdoor dining tables and chairs.
The company said the launch of MoDRN is part of Walmart's strategy to ramp up its online offerings of home furnishings.
"It’s been almost a year since we launched a completely new way for Walmart.com customers to shop for their homes. And, I’m excited to share that it’s working," said Anthony Soohoo, SVP and group general manager for Home, Walmart U.S. eCommerce. "Over the past year, we’ve seen a nearly 35 percent increase in visits to our home destination, with the majority of customers spending more time on the site, browsing and discovering products they love."
Soohoo said MoDRN will become a core part of the company's home offerings, with new furniture and decor launching seasonally. The collections are available on Walmart.com, Jet.com and Hayneedle.com.
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.


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Would You Eat a Tarantula-Topped Burger?
A tarantula — "lightly salted and oven-baked" — tops a burger at a Durham, North Carolina restaurant, testing "the most daring of taste buds."
Top this: A burger restaurant in Durham, North Carolina, is offering a peculiar addition to its selection of toppings this month — alongside the usual array of cheeses, vegetables, sauces and other condiments, one special burger is presented topped by a tarantula.
Oldest Cheese Ever Found in Egyptian Tomb Read
Italian researchers also found traces of disease-causing bacteria in what they believe is probably extremely aged cheese.
Last month, archaeologists cracked open a tomb excavated in Alexandria, Egypt, revealing three skeletons bathing in an crimson pool of sludgy sewage. In response, tens of thousands around the world immediately petitioned for the right to sip from the freshly uncorked casket of amontillado. (Spoiler: It hasn’t worked out.) But fear not, coffin connoisseurs: There’s a new artisanal artifact in town—the world’s oldest solid cheese, over 3,000 years in the making.
Disgusting Things Fall Into Six Gross Categories
Open sores, body odors and other indicators of possible disease transmission top the list of things that gross us out
hy is it that a boil bulging with pus fills most of us with revulsion, while a similar-looking cream puff makes us lick our lips? The reason is the interesting emotion known as disgust.
A MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER, THE VEGGIE ‘MEAT’ THAT BLEEDS
THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER seems too good to be true—an entirely plant-based “meat” that looks and smells and tastes like beef (at least, according to some folks). Hell, it even bleeds like meat. That’s thanks to a yeast modified to carry genes for the soy leghemoglobin protein, which you’d normally find in the roots of soy plants. The engineered yeast can then churn out a vegetarian version of heme, the metallic-tasting substance you also find in your blood and muscle.
Nestlé says it has harnessed science to reduce the sugar in chocolate
Company claims that Milkybar Wowsomes contain 30% less sugar than regular Milkybars
Nestlé is claiming a world first by “restructuring” the sugar it uses in its confectionery to produce a white chocolate bar with 30% less sugar than its usual Milkybar brand.
THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER: INSIDE THE STRANGE SCIENCE OF THE FAKE MEAT THAT 'BLEEDS'
THE COOK, COMPLETE with hair net, lays the red patty down on the grill and gives it a press with a spatula. And there, that unmistakable sizzle and smell. She flips the patty and gives it another press, lets it sit, presses it, and pulls it off the grill and onto a bun.


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Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently handed over the primary Model 3 vehicles to thirty worker consumers, setting the stage for the most important take a look at of the company’s strategy to become a profitable, mass market electric maker.
Outside Tesla’s adventurer, factory in California, Musk showed off the $US35,000 base vehicle with a spread of 350 kilometer, that marks a departure from the company’s earlier luxury electrical cars.
Musk took to the stage driving a red Model three, and mentioned Tesla has made fifty of the vehicles to that point, as well as twenty for testing functions.
Tesla has over 500,000 advance reservations.
Hours before the event, Musk acknowledged it might be “quite a challenge” to make the automobile throughout the first days of production.
“We’re attending to undergo a minimum of six months of producing hell,” Musk told journalists.
The over 500,000 reservations ar up from concerning 373,000 disclosed in April 2016. Customers pay $US1000 refundable deposits for the automobile, that is eligible for tax credits.
Any new consumers would possible not receive their automobile till the tip of 2018, Musk said.
A longer-range version of the automobile is priced at $US44,000 and can drive five hundred kilometers on one charge. The cars feature a efficient dashboard empty of buttons or knobs, with a 15-inch touchstream show to the proper of the driving force.
See also : Toyota o Create Fast Charging Electric Cars
Tesla faces major hurdles living up to the Model three promotion. The 500,000 vehicles Tesla vows to provide next year area unit nearly sixfold its 2016 production.
Were Tesla to provide and sell five hundred,000 cars per annum? the corporate would seemingly outsell the BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus brands within the us.
Production delays and quality problems marred the launches of Tesla’s Model S and Model X vehicles, and also the company blame production issues for a shortage throughout the second quarter of this year.
Musk has same an easier Model three style can greatly scale back potential assembly-line issues
Currently,Tesla has spent over $2 billion in money thus far this year sooner than the launch. A troubled Model three launch may heighten the risks for the corporate, whereas a gentle delivery of Model 3s may generate a stream of money that will enable Tesla to avoid going once more to the capital markets to fund its operations.
Tesla’s share worth has surged fifty four per cent since January in anticipation of the Model three launch, and Tesla’s expensive valuation currently exceeds that of ancient rivals like General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.
Until now, Tesla has operated as a distinct segment producer of luxury electrical vehicles, with a attractive, booking agent chief operating officer who often interacts with fans on his Twitter account.
Now loss-making Tesla is making an attempt to maneuver into a unique league, building vehicles in high volume for purchasers ready to pay solely some thousand greenbacks quite the typical worth of a standard automotive or truck oversubscribed within the u. s..
The Model three is an element of Musk’s broader arrangement to build a clean energy and acompany that provides electrical semi-trailer trucks, upside alternative energy systems and large-scale battery storage systems.


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Phoenix company acquires Fairmont
Fairmont Homes Inc., a premier builder of manufactured and modular homes and park model RVs, was acquired by Cavco Industries Inc. this week. Based in Phoenix, Cavco Industries adds the Nappanee-based Fairmont Homes as its 19th manufacturing plant.
“We believe that Fairmont’s strong production capabilities, reputation for product quality and service and its excellent customer base fit well with Cavco’s philosophy and approach to doing business,” Joe Stegmayer, Cavco president, said in a news release. “This acquisition brings a very experienced team of people and enables Cavco to more fully serve a number of our existing customers as well as add new geographic markets in which Fairmont is well established including the Midwest, the western Great Plains states, the Northeast and several provinces in Canada.”
And Cavco taking over will only mean future growth for Fairmont Homes, Stegmayer said in an interview. Cavco is already looking into new product lines to be produced in Nappanee, he said, and they want to expand its in-house mortgage company to further aid buyers as well.
Fairmont homes and park model RVs will continue to be marketed under the Fairmont, Friendship, Harmony and Century brand names. All current Fairmont employees and management will remain with the company.


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13 November 2013 - The Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, will be holding an event to launch Philippine artisan chocolates on November 14. Chocolates have always been part of Philippine cuisine. The Philippines also produces cacao, a vital ingredient in the production of chocolate.
According to “Historia de Filipinas,” by P. Fr. Gaspar de S. Augustin, cacao plants were first brought here in the year 1670 by a pilot named Pedro Brabo, of Laguna Province, who gave them to a priest of the Camarines named Bartolome Brabo. Since then, chocolate has been part of the Philippine culinary tradition.
The Philippines currently produces 10,000 metric tons (MT) of cacao beans per year. Seventy-five (75%) percent of these come from Southern Mindanao, which has over 13,000 hectares planted with cacao. The country exports $6 million-worth of raw cacao beans, but it imports $100 million-worth of fermented beans from other cocoa producers. Fermented cacao beans give the real chocolate taste and texture needed to produce chocolate.
The national government is endorsing a target set by key stakeholders to increase the cacao crop to 100,000 MT per year by 2020 and has included the cacao as part of its National Greening Program, an initiative to reforest the country. According to Euromonitor International, the Philippines chocolate market is forecast to grow 13% by 2017 to $306.3m.
In holding this event, OUIER aims to reintroduce the artistry behind the production of handmade Philippine gourmet chocolates, wherein a huge industry will be positively affected, from the agricultural industry (sugar, mango, peanuts, cashews, and coconut) and the handicraft industries (weaving, buri making) for the packaging. Our partner in the event, Ralfe Artisan Chocolates is headed by Ms. Raquel Choa, a Tablea Connoisseur. She brings with her a long tradition of preparing tablea, from planting, picking, roasting, to grinding. While the Philippines was once only an exporter of cacao beans, we are breaking new ground by exporting Philippine gourmet chocolates to foreign markets. Ralfe has already exported 1 ton of its gourmet chocolates to China. It has also been providing Tablea to Vancouver’s gourmet stores and are in talks with Singapore and Germany. The future looks bright.
Tsokolate has always been a part of Philippine life, from tsokolate eh, tsokolate ah and champorado. In elevating the Philippine chocolate, we know that we can compete with the finest gourmet chocolates and that the connoisseurs will take notice that the Philippine chocolate has come of age. END


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A subsidiary of Sinochem Corporation, one of China’s four major state-owned oil companies, has completed a shipment of gasoline from China to Singapore entirely using Blockchain technology, Reuters reports April 2.
Sinochem Energy Technology sent a shipment from Quanzhou, China to Singapore, claiming that it was the “first time that Blockchain applications have been applied to all key participants in the commodity trading process.”
In December of last year, the Sinochem Group completed the “first crude oil” Blockchain import transaction, according to Reuters.
Blockchain technology has been well received in logistics and shipping. This January, the first global agricultural trade using Blockchain was completed between the US to China. The trade, which involved five different parties, used the Easy Trading Connect (ETC) Blockchain platform to deliver a cargo shipment of soybeans. Chinese retail giant JD.com will also be implementing Blockchain technology for customers to monitor their orders and ensure product quality.
At the beginning of March, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a patent application by Walmart for a “Smart Package” system that will use Blockchain to track package contents, environmental conditions, and location.


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Fashion is fashion, whether we are talking about the ‘human’ world or the world of dolls, and takes no prisoners.
A particularly interesting case in terms of ‘fashion‘ and ‘IP‘ (Intellectual Property) has been the subject of discussion in recent weeks: the two sides of this story are Barbie and Burberry, two names that already represent icons, in one way or another, in the fashion universe. Starting with the world’s best-selling doll, whose shades of pink and hot pink have guided the styles of several generations. And all the more so today, since the world of Barbie is literally about to come to life, with the faces of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, already acclaimed protagonists of the new Greta Gerwig‘s film ‘Barbie’ being released in cinemas right now.
But back to the matter at hand: Burberry’s application to register the BRBY trade mark, filed with the USPTO in July 2022, was a big deal. An application that Barbie (i.e. Mattel, the US toy company which produces the iconinc doll) seems not to have particularly appreciated.
Why? The trademark filed by the British fashion house would be too similar to the name Barbie, illegitimately piggybacking on its notoriety and also risking to cause consumer confusion. Let us not forget, in fact, that the ‘Barbie’ trade mark has also been registered for clothing and bags (not only for toys), and above all that the Barbie brand has been making a comeback in recent months thanks to the release of Greta Gerwig‘s film.
In June, Mattel decided to officially file an opposition with the USPTO to prevent the registration of the BRBY mark, arguing that it could lead consumers to think that Burberry clothing, bags and other accessories are actually associated with Mattel’s Barbie dolls.
Also upsetting Barbie and her entourage was the timing of Burberry’s launch of the new brand.
After a few years of tarnishing, in fact, in which the doll par excellence had been accused of no longer representing the ideal of the modern woman, the arrival of the film with its stellar cast completely relaunched the brand, giving new life to the so-called #Barbiecore phenomenon.
Barbiecore is basically a trend that preaches an ‘all-pink’ style, whereby one dresses in shades of pink or hot pink from head to toe, just like Barbie, and it is a fact that many celebrities (from Megan Fox to Paris Hilton), influencers (such as Kim Kardashian or Hailey Bieber) and even fashion houses such as Valentino seem perfectly aligned on re-proposing outfits of this type.
This is the reason for the more mischievous claim that Burberry’s timing for the launch of the new BRBY brand is at least suspicious, given the growing return to this trend linked to the launch of the film. And to think that only a few years ago, in the early 2000s, Barbie and Burberry crowned a love affair that led to the development of an ad hoc limited edition doll. Who knows, after the now obvious rift between the parties, some far-sighted collector who had managed to snap up ‘Barbie Burberry’ might see the price of their doll, which is now selling for around USD 200 on ebay, to skyrocket.
Last minute update. Apparently the opposition was suspended, pending negotiations between the parties. Perhaps a licensing deal will ensue? After all, fashion takes no prisoners, but likes ransoms….