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Now biotech companies daren't offload GMOs even onto the military. Presumably, non-GMO was built into the contract. I think we should be told.
EXCERPTS: Arcadia Biosciences, a 3-year-old agricultural biotech firm, has won a $2.9 million Department of Defense contract to develop tomatoes and lettuce that can survive the rigors of long-distance sea shipping.
Arcadia aims to break through without the controversies attendant to genetic engineering.
"It's non-GMO (genetically modified organism)," said Eric J. Rey, Arcadia president and chief executive officer.
The defense contract has major implications for the biotech firm's still unprofitable bottom line.
Recruiting stronger veggies
By Jim Wasserman -- Bee Staff Writer
Sacramento Bee, September 20, 2005
The U.S. military, which runs dining halls around the world, is spending nearly $3 million to fund a Davis firm's quest for longer-lasting tomatoes and heads of lettuce.
Arcadia Biosciences, a 3-year-old agricultural biotech firm, has won a $2.9 million Department of Defense contract to develop tomatoes and lettuce that can survive the rigors of long-distance sea shipping. The hope is that the seed money will fund research and commercialization of the produce, which the military could then buy and ship around the world.
"It's definitely a morale-builder," said Patrick Dunne, biochemist at the Defense Department's Massachusetts-based Combat Feeding Directorate. "We would like to have a guaranteed safe supply that could be shipped from a U.S. location and still get overseas around the globe in good condition."
Arcadia's goal is to have the new tomatoes on grocery store shelves by 2009 and heads of lettuce ready for sale by 2010.
Unlike the Flavr Savr tomato from another Davis company in the 1990s, Arcadia's tomato - and lettuce, as well - will not be genetically engineered. Calgene's Flavr Savr came to market, but the company's foray into selling tomatoes on a large scale ended in failure.
Arcadia aims to break through without the controversies attendant to genetic engineering. The start-up does plan to use genetic sleuthing to double the two-week shelf life of fresh lettuce and add 30 days to the normal three-week life of tomatoes.
"It's non-GMO (genetically modified organism)," said Eric J. Rey, Arcadia president and chief executive officer. "We're using analytical techniques to find genetic variations here."
The defense contract has major implications for the biotech firm's still unprofitable bottom line - and possibly for the nation's grocers, who sold more than $6 billion in fresh lettuce and nearly $5 billion in fresh tomatoes in 2003. Longer-lasting produce could curb spoilage and prove popular with shoppers, although some marketing experts say the industry should focus on better-tasting produce rather than longer shelf life.
The military just wants fresh produce that lasts a month.
"That's getting into our target range," Dunne said. "If you put something on a ship leaving the West Coast and going to Alaska or the Orient, you figure a couple of weeks or more in transit."
Inevitably, containers fail or aren't picked up quickly, Dunne said, spoiling produce long before it gets to a dining hall for combat troops.
Arcadia, a privately owned firm backed by Exeter Life Sciences venture capital, bought Seattle-based Anawah Inc. in June. Anawah was already working to extend the shelf life of produce.
Arcadia has licensed analytical technology that was invented at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. It's called Targeting Induced Local Lesions In Genomes, or TILLING. The technological equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack, it helps plant scientists winnow through genetic codes of tens of thousands of tomato and lettuce plants.
After selecting plants with desirable genes, scientists will use traditional cross-breeding techniques to commercialize varieties that are slow to decay, grow well in California and Florida and taste good.
"Specifically, one of the goals is they have to taste good," said Rey. "In my mind, they've got to be at least as good-tasting" as regular varieties. "Hopefully, over the course of time they'll be better-tasting."
Much of the field work is being done locally; tomatoes are being harvested in Winters and Vacaville for seeds to be planted later in Galt, Davis and Woodland greenhouses.
Arcadia plans to eventually partner with a seed company to bring the tomatoes to market in 2008 or 2009 if things go well, said Rey. He said a similar arrangement would likely follow for lettuce about a year later.
The CEO foresees a financial payoff for the years of research that force many biotech companies like Arcadia to run in the red before becoming profitable. He said the company invests between $5 million and $10 million annually on its potential products.
Arcadia is developing plants that use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently and grow well in high salinity conditions.
It's also experimenting with safflower plants that produce high levels of an omega-6 fatty acid, gamma linolenic acid, which is said to be beneficial to human health. The result could be nutritional supplements or foods formulated for people with medical conditions.
"When we put all these together, we see a business opportunity where the payout is going to look very good relative to the investment we're making in the first few years of the business here," Rey said.
The California Grocers Association, a Sacramento-based trade group for grocery stores, says retailers are interested in longer shelf life. But shoppers will be the "real deciders," said spokesman David Heylen.
They aren't clamoring for longer-lasting produce, said Dr. Devon Zagory, a Davis-based global produce consultant. The senior vice president of Davis Fresh Technologies said people would rather have tomatoes that taste good.
"In the North American produce market, that's the challenge. Not to extend the shelf life," he said, "but the taste."
Still, Zagory acknowledged the value of long-lasting produce to the military.
"Most of us do not want to eat American-grown produce when we're in the Middle East," he said. "We're sort of content to eat what they have. Military people are different. They want to eat peanut butter and American-grown tomatoes."
Said the Defense Department's Dunne, "If you build in some fresh things you get less menu fatigue. You're more likely to eat what's given to you and get more intake of fresh nutrients. You're just going to feel better. That's good for morale."
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Woman Goes Battles Her HOA After They Won’t Let Her Charge Her Electric Car
With electric cars becoming a more and more popular item these days, finding their way into the mainstream, they’re definitely going to have to be something to think about in terms of your electric bill if you plan on getting one. The extent of that thought for most potential electric car owners stops at how much their bill is going to go up each month as a result of them plugging their car in. However, when this Chevrolet Volt owner got her hands on her new ride, it will be a lot more complicated than that as her homeowners’ association decided to hop in and sabatoge her original plans to save a little bit of money by going electric.
You see, the root of the problem here stems from the fact that this electric car owner is a part of theashared garage in her complex. This might seem like something that could be an issue, especially if a common electric bill is going up every month, however, the car owner claims that she offered to pay the difference in the bill with the new charges, but instead, she ended up getting price gouged, or so she says, being forced to pay what she claims to be about four times the cost of the electricity that she was actually using!
Follow along in the news report video down below that outlines everything that this woman has gone through in her battle for fair treatment in this situation. For now, she decided that running an extension cord from her property all the way to the garage is going to have to do for the time being. This seems like an awfully big inconvenience for something that should be fairly simple to set up and operate. What do you think of this back-and-forth between this woman and her HOA that really seems to be going nowhere fast?

domain: news


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CEVA Logistics, a supply chain management company, and mobile telephony specialist 20:20 Mobile Group has announced a strategic business partnership. The partnership across Europe (through 20:20 offices in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom) will allow both parties to broaden their service portfolio with a true end-to-end offering for telecoms companies. Through the combination of CEVA's logistics expertise in this sector and 20:20 Mobile's value added services and ability to manage product title and risk, the partnership will provide Mobile (Virtual) Network Operators with solutions that enhance the effectiveness of their supply chains. This alliance means telecoms companies can reduce the working capital demands of carrying handset inventory, while retaining control of range planning and purchasing, and can achieve improved levels of customer service through better product availability and more efficient forward logistics and returns processes. CEVA and 20:20 Mobile will jointly provide a range of services including mobile device and accessory inventory management, retail store replenishment, order fulfillment, online sales solutions, recycling programs and product returns management.
Huawei expands its partnership with 20:20
Telephoy specialist 20:20, which has recently closed its French office, has expanded its partnership with Huawei, already active since some months in the Benelux and Germany, to its offices in Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Swedish phone vendor Doro has extended its cooperation with telephony specialist 20:20 Mobile, by signing a new, extended international distribution deal. 20:20 Mobile will be distributing Doro's range of easy-to-use mobile phones into the UK, Turkey as well as Italy and expanding eastern European markets (where it does not own local sales office, as far as ITdistri is aware of) to the already active countries: Denmark, France, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UAE.
20:20mobile in deal with Doro
After France, Swedish phone vendor Doro has signed a distribution deal with phone specialist 20:20 Mobile in Ireland and Spain. Local markets will thus have an access to Doro's easy-to-use, senior-oriented mobile handsets, along with a range of other assistive technology products.
20:20 opens new facility in China
20:20 Mobile has opened a new Far East sourcing and operations facility in Shenzhen, China, to support continued business growth in the European mobile market and allow it to work closely with manufacturers in the region. The new facility will enable the company to work with existing partners as well as source new and innovative mobile products that are being developed in the region. One may object that China seldom is an haven for really innovative products, at least from what can be regularly seen on events like Cebit… Whatever, found products may then be distributed through 20:20 Mobile offices in Denmark, Dubai, France, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The Shenzhen facility will include a new packaging and distribution centre as well as state of the art product testing lines. All products that pass through the facility will be subject to a new three-stage testing and quality assurance process to ensure that only the highest quality products are dispatched to customers in Europe (source : Mobile News United Kingdom).
M. Don Maher
Année de création : 1997


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We live in interesting times. Today, the stock market game has expanded to blockchain technology and very recently, memes have also found their way into the world of investing. Keeping up with the ever-evolving trend, a new platform has come to the public forum last month – which turns people into currency. BitClout.
“BitClout is not a company. It's an open-source blockchain like Bitcoin. You can own a piece by buying the $BitClout coin,” states the website. The platform can be best described as Twitter-meets-bitcoin, where famous people and influencers have creator coins assigned to their name.
How does it work?
To operate the platform, one needs to first stock up on BitClout. As of today, 1 $BitClout equals $165.62 USD per coin. “You can buy it anonymously with Bitcoin in under a minute,” claims the website. After a user has bought some BitClout, it can be used to buy and sell creator coins, send messages to people and submit posts of your own.
What are creator coins?
On Bitclout, all creators are assigned a coin. Elon Musk has a coin, you can buy for $65,870. Coins reserved in the name of singer Ariana Grande costs $25,026, while YouTubers such as MrBeast and Logan Paul cost $22,609 and $20,227, respectively. The Kardashians, too, have creator coins assigned to them and so does venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya.
A white paper about the platform explains, “Buying creates coins while pushing the price up and locking money into the profile, while selling destroys coins while pushing the price down and unlocking money from the profile."
However, most of these names, except for Chamath Palihapitiya, have not authorized the creation of their profiles nor have claimed the coins BitClout set aside for them. On March 19, Canadian actor William Shatner, with a coin price of $585.99, claimed that the platform was a scam and he had not authorized his name or likeness to be used on it.
The next big thing or a scam?
While some big names such as American DJ Steve Aoki and German record producer Boys Noize have made their coins official on Bitclout, the majority of the accounts on the platform are still not verified.
One of the reasons why investors see no authenticity in the site is because, once you put your bitcoin to really trade on the platform, there’s no way to trade it back. Basically, users can put their money in, but can’t get it out.
In mid-March, this mysterious blockchain social media platform was taken down. But, it came back online on March 17. Its founder, an anonymous person/s that goes by the name Diamondhands, claims Bitclout to be a mix of speculation and content together, a new business model that’s not ad-driven anymore.
While the experiment might be noble and disruptive, this social crypto-exchange is riddled with doubts, unverified accounts and one-way transactions. It claims to be blockchain’s “iPhone moment”, but are you ready to bet on it? Let us know in the comments below.


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Salt Subtly Trimmed From Many Foods Amid Campaign
ConAgra, which makes Chef Boyardee and Marie Callender's products, is following its own 2009 commitment to shave the amount of sodium in its foods by 20 percent by 2015.
Salt was simply reduced in some recipes; others have swapped some table salt with potassium chloride or sea salt, which has lower sodium levels, said Mark Andon, vice president of nutrition at Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods Inc. Another technique is using finer salt particles, which spread the taste over more surface area; that approach has reduced salt in its Orville Redenbacher and Act II popcorn by 25 percent.
But ConAgra hasn't broadcast the changes on its food labels.
"If you put that on your packaging, that can be a negative taste cue," Andon said.PepsiCo Inc., which makes Frito-Lay products, announced in 2010 that it would cut sodium in key brands by one-fourth in five years. Spokesman Christopher Wyse said Monday that the Purchase, N.Y.-based company was looking for alternatives after a plan to use smaller salt crystals didn't work. The company does offer "lightly salted" chips that have half the sodium of the regular ones. The Campbell Soup Co. announced in 2009 that it was lowering salt in half its soups, including its famous condensed tomato soup. But two years later, the Camden, N.J.-based company said it was bringing back some higher-sodium soups out of concern about the taste. __ Associated Press food industry writer Candice Choi and AP writers Stephanie Nano and Jake Pearson contributed to this report. ___ Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz
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The Confederation of All Bharat Traders (CAIT), a national federation of tiny traders and businessmen, has referred to as a India Trade on Sept twenty eight to protest the Walmart-Flipkart deal and FDI in retail. The association claimed six large integer affiliate retailers and institutions can down shutters.
A section of Mumbai’s traders complaining the plastic ban in June-July had conjointly expressed apprehension over international retail chains cornering the lion’s share of the market. “Even because the Walmart-Flipkart deal is threatening crores of companies, there square measure reports that another large Alibaba can strike a wear down Reliance Retail to counter this tie-up. wherever will that leave tiny shopkeepers?” aforesaid CAIT national Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.


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November 27, 2018
The latest products to be announced by the company, are replacement cyan toner cartridges compatible with Konica Minolta Bizhub C258, Bizhub C308, Bizhub C368, Bizhub C458, Bizhub C558, Bizhub C658, Develop Ineo+ 258, Ineo+ 308, Ineo+ 368, Ineo+ 458, Ineo+ 558, Ineo+ 658 and Olivetti d-Color MF254, d-Color MF304, d-Color MF364 machines.
These cartridges come with a page yield of 26,000.
This follows on from the releases earlier this year of a remanufactured fuser unit for use in some Konica Minolta Bizhub models, remanufactured universal black developing units, remanufactured cyan developing units and remanufactured colour drum units.
To find out more, visit www.pcl-direct.com.
Categories : Products and Technology


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Subaru set an American sales record in 2010, selling 263,820 vehicles, up almost 22 percent from the prior year. But you can’t attribute any of the company’s recent success to the Impreza; sales of Subaru’s compact were actually down for 2010.
Among the current competition, the Impreza rightfully belongs at the back of the segment. It’s a car defined by stodgy design and mediocre driving manners. The Impreza’s single standout attribute — all-wheel drive in a small car — can even be construed as a handicap among frugal compact-car buyers. Newcomers like the Ford Focus and the Hyundai Elantra are setting the standard with highway fuel economy ratings of 40 mpg, while the most efficient Impreza achieves just 27 mpg. City fuel economy is equally dismal, and standard all-wheel drive means that the Impreza is priced higher than its front-wheel-drive competitors.
Fortunately, the Impreza is due for a complete redesign for 2012, which should address many of the current car’s shortcomings. The new Impreza will debut at the New York auto show in April and go on sale later this year, but thanks to a concept car and the opportunity to sample Subaru’s newest engine, we already have a good idea of what to expect.
A bolder, more handsome look
Building cars has never been about design at Subaru. The company that once advertised how ugly its vehicles were is an organization that is driven by resolute engineers with a deep respect for practicality. But the Impreza concept, first seen at the Los Angeles auto show last November, suggests something much more exciting than the homely Forester or Outback. It’s not daring, but the design theme infuses the Impreza with a bold and aggressive character that feels much more connected to the STI. The concept boasts substantially more presence compared with the outgoing Impreza, thanks to taller body sides and a smaller greenhouse. The coupelike roofline, similar to that of the Volkswagen CC and the Mercedes-Benz CLS, creates a sleek profile while the narrow, angled headlights and large grille project a sporty attitude. If the details and proportions remain intact for production, the Impreza should easily be the best-looking Subaru in the showroom.
Subaru representatives credit some of the company’s recent success to new models that are finally the “right size” for buyers. That means bigger than the previous models, and the Impreza will likely continue that trend. Although the Impreza is reasonably sized for the segment, we’d expect a slight increase in wheelbase and rear-seat legroom at the very least. An accompanying increase in overall length and width is also likely. As with the current car, the 2012 Impreza will be available as a sedan and as a four-door hatchback.
Trading power for fuel economy
Subaru will target fuel-economy gains, rather than power improvements, with an all-new engine for the next Impreza. To that end, the displacement falls from 2.5 liters to 2.0 liters with power dropping as well. The new flat four-cylinder makes 148 hp and 146 lb-ft of torque, compared with 170 hp and 170 lb-ft in the outgoing car. The four-speed automatic will be replaced with a more efficient continuously variable transmission. A manual, likely with five gears, will also be available. All-wheel drive will continue to be standard equipment.
Subaru has given no indication of just how dramatic the fuel-economy improvements will be, but we predict that highway fuel economy will come in between 30 and 35 mpg while city fuel economy should near 25 mpg. Those estimates amount to substantial gains over the old Impreza, but the new Subaru will still be well behind the most efficient compacts.
We recently sampled the new third-generation flat four in a European-spec Forester. Despite that vehicle’s 3300-pound weight, we were satisfied with the modest power and its ability to move through city and highway traffic. Hard acceleration either from a standstill or at speed requires patience, though. Subaru claims a 10.7-second sprint to 62 mph, although a lighter and more aerodynamic Impreza would obviously undercut that sluggish figure.
Compared with the second-generation 2.0-liter (which hasn’t been sold in the United States recently), the new engine uses a longer stroke and smaller bore for reduced friction and improved low- to mid-range torque. The longer stroke, though, makes for a noticeably harsh and loud demeanor at high load above 3000 rpm. The uncommon coarseness stands in direct contrast to Subaru’s claim that the horizontally opposed four provides smoother operation than an in-line four-cylinder.
Although we haven’t heard a word about the next-generation WRX or STI, that’s hardly cause for concern. The two high-performance models are an inseparable piece of the Impreza brand. Expect the formula — a turbocharger, more advanced all-wheel drive, and brash bodywork — to remain unchanged.
Nowhere to go but up
Subaru still has a lot to prove with the production car, but our early preview of the 2012 Impreza shows that the brand is moving in the right direction. When we do get behind the wheel, we’re hoping to find that the manual shifter has been tightened up, the slop in the steering has been eliminated, and the interior has been made much nicer. But for now, we can say that the much-needed progress in fuel economy and the potential for an exciting new design give us hope for the next Subaru Impreza.


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By Henry Waxman
June 27, 2018 at 5:00 am ET
For anyone who likes to see consumers win in the American marketplace, it’s been exciting to watch T-Mobile’s rise over the last five years. CEO John Legere and his team have transformed T-Mobile, once an afterthought in the wireless market, into a powerful force for change in an industry in need of disruption.
T-Mobile achieved this by doing something novel: putting customers first. T-Mobile was the first carrier to go all in on unlimited-data plans, and they did away with two-year wireless contracts, among other pro-consumer innovations. Although T-Mobile is much smaller than the two giants in this area, its aggressive consumer-first approach put pressure on AT&T and Verizon to offer similar packages, bringing down prices and helping more Americans gain access to reliable phone service and mobile internet. The New T-Mobile will be no different.
This week, Legere will be on Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Judiciary policymakers to discuss why consumers should welcome the recent news that T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to merge. Legere will make the case that their combined resources and relentless, consumer-centric leadership will allow the New T-Mobile to drive pro-consumer innovation on an even larger scale.
I have been a life-long champion of protecting consumers. When I served as a U.S. representative and chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, I pursued policies — like mandatory nutrition labels, cigarette warnings, and an ability for generic drugs to compete—that sought to create a better, safer environment for American consumers. These values have led me to oppose concentrations of power in the past, especially if such actions would lead to less competition, higher prices, or lower quality products. And it was this point of view that led me to argue for spectrum to be set aside in a recent auction so that competitors to AT&T and Verizon could purchase bandwidth even though they were smaller and less wealthy.
While critics cry out that the merger will reduce the number of carriers from four to three, the data shows the combination will allow the New T-Mobile to better compete for customers and deliver significant coverage improvements — changes that will benefit consumers across the country.
For starters, together Sprint and T-Mobile can compete more effectively than they could on their own. With a larger T-Mobile, Legere can even more aggressively put downward pressure on prices and force the competition to improve quality of service, which could result in as much as a 55 percent drop in per GB price and a 120 percent increase in wireless data supply by 2024 compared to the world without the combination.
Next, the merger will expand T-Mobile’s reach. Many people in communities across America must choose between AT&T and Verizon — if they have any real choice at all. In fact, the Federal Communications Commission reports that nearly 10 million rural Americans lack access to at least three LTE providers. The New T-Mobile will be better positioned to compete in these markets, particularly in rural America. The combined company expects to be able to deliver high-speed, in-home broadband service to approximately 52 million rural residents, more than 84 percent of all rural residents.
Lastly, Sprint and T-Mobile have complementary spectrum portfolios that, together, will enable faster deployment of a nationwide 5G network. In fact, following the merger, the New T-Mobile will be positioned to invest nearly $40 billion to deliver the world’s first true nationwide 5G network and bring the company into the 5G future. By 2024, the new company will have around 2X the capacity and approximately 4-6X times the speed than either company could offer on their own.
We’ve long heard about the potential 5G has to move America forward on a variety of vital issues: the opportunity to enable connected devices in the coming “internet of things”; allowing autonomous vehicles and smart cities to monitor and regulate the flow of traffic, reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and even facilitating advancements in healthcare through telemedicine and wearable devices. These are innovations that could come sooner rather than later from this merger by increasing competition among the carriers to make 5G a reality.
With disruption in its DNA and a history of prioritizing customers, there is no other company I’d rather see setting the standards and the pace for innovation on this critical priority.
Henry A. Waxman, who served as chairman and ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee while in his role as U.S. representative for California’s 33rd District from 1975 to 2015, currently serves as the chairman of Waxman Strategies and as an adviser to T-Mobile.
Morning Consult welcomes op-ed submissions on policy, politics and business strategy in our coverage areas. Updated submission guidelines can be found here.


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Sony and Lego both announced investments of $1 billion dollars into the gaming technology giant Epic Games. The metaverse has become a central topic for NFTs and Enterprises. Unreal Engine is the main technology set created by Epic Games to allow individuals and companies to create virtual worlds. Earlier this month the company released their latest version of the Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). The Key new features include:
- Next-Gen Real-time rendering (enabled by new lighting engine Lumen)
- New Open World toolset
- Built-in Character and animation tools
- in-editor modeling, UV editing, and baking
- Enhanced editor and workflows
- Fully procedural audio
- stunning final-pixel imagery
With this release, we aim to empower both large and small teams to really push the boundaries of what’s possible, visually and interactively. UE5 will enable you to realize next-generation real-time 3D content and experiences with greater freedom, fidelity, and flexibility than ever before.
“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time,” Sony Group Corporation chairman, president, and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said. “We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including their powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital fan experiences in sports and our virtual production initiatives.”
“A proportion of our investments is focused on trends we believe will impact the future world that we and our children will live in,” Kirkbi CEO Søren Thorup Sørensen said. “This investment will accelerate our engagement in the world of digital play, and we are pleased to be investing in Epic Games to support their continued growth journey, with a long-term focus toward the future metaverse.”
“This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences and creators can build a community and thrive,” Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said.


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Fans will have to wait a little longer to try out Stardew Valley's multiplayer update. Developer ConcernedApe initially planned to release a multiplayer beta by the end of this year, but that has now been pushed back into the first quarter of 2018.
In an post on the game's website, the developer explained that the reason for the delay was in order to "make room for polish and QA." Despite pushing the beta back, ConcernedApe says the multiplayer update is "coming along nicely." Among the features the developer is working on implementing is the ability to marry other players.
In addition to the beta news, ConcernedApe teased again that new content is on the way to Stardew Valley. The developer first teased the content last month on Twitter, posting a screenshot of a boat, which you can see above. ConcernedApe didn't share any more details beyond that, but the new content is planned to roll out alongside the multiplayer mode and will also be available in single-player.
The developer also reasserts that Stardew Valley will be released for PS Vita. The game will arrive on Sony's handheld console sometime next year and will support Cross-Buy, so those who've already purchased Stardew Valley on PlayStation 4 will be able to play it on the handheld at no additional cost. However, the Vita version will not receive the upcoming multiplayer update.


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A new complaint was filed Wednesday in Perpignan against Buitoni and Nestlé targeting a second range of pizzas, the Bella Napoli range, franceinfo learned this Thursday from the complainant’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson.
The complaint was filed for “unintentional injury”, “endangering the life of others” by a woman who was the victim of food poisoning which appeared on March 29, two days after eating a Buitoni pizza from the Bella Napoli range. “Poisoning with E.coli bacteria has been confirmed by medical expert reports“, says the lawyer.
“This is a mother who consumed a pizza from the Bella Napoli range“, specifies his lawyer. His analyzes also revealed the presence of another batcérie, Shigella. This 34-year-old mother residing in Perpignan is “still very tired a month later“.”Her husband contacted Buitoni to ask for the removal of the pizza without getting an answer, and he contacted the food safety and health quality service, which simply said that he had transmitted the information to the ARS (regional agency of health, editor’s note)“, explains Me Debuisson, already involved in the defense of several families affected by E.Coli.
This complaint comes a few weeks after the opening of an investigation on March 22 by the Paris prosecutor’s office for “deception on goods, exhibition or sale of corrupt or falsified and harmful food products for health, placing on the market of a product harmful to health, endangering others, involuntary injury and manslaughter”.
The Fraîch’Up range of Buitoni, belonging to the Nestlé group, is targeted, while 50 cases of contamination with the E. coli bacterium had been confirmed, some of which were linked to the consumption of Buitoni pizzas.


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FINANCIAL AUTHOR, hedge-fund manager and commodities guru Jim Rogers says that he's waiting for this current drop in the price to cut deeper before he'll be ready to increase his position by Buying Gold.
Co-founder with Hungarian speculator George Soros of the Quantum Fund in the 1970s, and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index in 1998, Jim Rogers spoke about his Gold Buying strategy on CNBC on Monday.
"In December you told me gold would consolidate," said anchor Maria Bartiromo. "It has certainly consolidated."
"I will add [to my position] somewhere along the line, but not for a while," explained Rogers. "Gold has been up 11 years running, that's very unusual. Things should correct.
"If gold went down 35% or 40% it would go to $1200...But that's normal, markets correct.
"That's the way things are supposed to work, and that would be good for gold in the long run."
Jim Rogers' view contrasts with that of Frank Holmes, CEO of the $2 billion US Global Investors fund management group, who last week outlined 5 reasons why this price drop offers a good chance to start Buying Gold.
- Developed-world government debt has doubled in 3 years to $8 trillion;
- Real interest rates are below zero – and "historically, when the inflationary rate is greater than the current short-term interest rate, gold prices rose;"
- Emerging-market central banks are Buying Gold in greater quantities;
- China is overtaking India as the world's #1 gold consumer market;
- India has reversed this year's new excise duty on gold jewelry, responding to a sector-wide strike and so encouraging Indian households to Buy Gold.
"[But] now things are happening," counters Jim Rogers, pointing to India's sharply higher Gold Bullion import duty – "strict measures to kill demand for gold" – because New Delhi fears India's yawning trade deficit, and blames gold imports for widening it.
Also, "Some of the European countries may have to sell their gold too," Rogers adds. Such events "could surprise us all, even me, who's looking for a correction."
Thinking about Buying Gold today...?


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The leading Swiss property portal Homegate.ch from media company Tamedia has reported an excellent growth for the past year in terms of traffic. According to the official NET-Metrix numbers Homegate has increased its traffic to 57 million visits (plus 12.4%) and 14 million unique clients (plus 16 %) in 2012. According to Homegate the property platform was ther
Media company Tamedia, one of the leading online classifieds companies in Switzerland, has just communicated that there will be a new management for its online classifieds business. Urs Hügli, Head of Classifieds Online at Tamedia AG since 2010, will concentrate from May on, on his supervisory board tasks at Tamedia´s subsidiaries Homegate AG and Car4you.ch Schweiz AG.
Urs Hügli is one of the m
The Swiss market for free online classifieds is passing through times of change. After the surprise launch of ricardolino as a substitute of Tradus by Naspers, local player Tamedia has decided to make a complete relaunch and rebranding of Piazza.
Want to know mo
After appointing Christian Kunz (see our report ) as new CEO from October 2012, Ricardo the biggest online marketplace in Switzerland has chosen Yves Mäder as his managing director. The 41-years old Mäder comes from competitor Tamedia, where he was responsible for Jobup AG, the company that operates the job p
The operator of the biggest Swiss online marketplace, Ricardo.ch AG, has appointed Christian Kunz as new CEO from October 2012 on, to replace Heiner Kroke, who is leaving the company after four years as head of the company.
As Heiner Kroke, the new CEO Christian Kunz has been connected to competitor Ebay, were he had responsible in different manager positions for the global marketing of the auc
Swiss media group Tamedia released dropping revenue numbers for the first half of 2012 at the end of August. While the turnover of the company fell by 5.4 percent to CHF 524 million, the net profit sank by 16 percent to CHF 73.7 million.
As Tamedia CEO Martin Kall said at the press conference, the company is also not very hopeful that revenue will rise again in the second half of this year. “We
While many print supplements are closing down for profitability reasons, Swiss media group Tamedia decided to swim against the stream and launch 2 new print supplements: Auto, a new car supplement in German and French, and Homegate.ch-Zeitung, a newspaper launched at the construction fair “Bauen & Modernisieren” in Zurich.
The magazine Auto will we published for the first time on Oct. 12 as


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FAIRFAX, Va. – October 18, 2016 – Logos Technologies announced today a partnership with the Ohio Soybean Council to further develop the production process of NatSurFact, an environmentally friendly biosurfactant for personal care, household and industrial cleaning products as well as other applications.
The joint project, which aims to convert hundreds of liters of soy oil into similar quantities of NatSurFact, represents a critical stage towards the commercialization of the Logos Technologies biosurfactant.
“With any chemical processing technology, there are a few steps before it reaches commercial scale,” explains Dan Derr, NatSurFact business lead at Logos Technologies. “Our partnership with the Ohio Soybean Council will allow us to demonstrate that the production processes we have been running in our lab for years are robust and reproducible.”
The NatSurFact product line is based on rhamnolipids, a natural combination of sugar and fat, fermented by microbes in large vats similar to those used for making beer. The biosurfactant is a strong cleanser and foaming agent, yet unlike many conventional alternatives, it is also mild on the skin and has low eco-toxicity.
“For years, companies have been interested in using rhamnolipid-based surfactants in assorted soaps, cosmetics, cleaning products and a variety of other applications,” Derr says. “The challenge has been producing them cost-effectively in commercial quantities. And that’s what we’ve been focused on.”
Logos Technologies has been producing NatSurFact at the 10-liter scale for nearly three years and has also previously contracted with 100-400 liter toll facilities. The goal now is to take the company’s patent-pending process to an even larger toll facility and, using soy oil as a feedstock, produce the biosurfactant on the 1000-2000 liter scale.
“Ohio soybean farmers are committed to finding sustainable markets and uses for the soybeans they produce,” says Terry McClure, chairman of the Ohio Soybean Council Chairman and soybean farmer from Paulding County. “So the opportunity to replace petroleum-based surfactants with ones derived from soybeans is exciting.”
The project with the Ohio Soybean Council is scheduled to conclude next March. After that, still larger amounts of NatSurFact will be made to further validate the process on the path to full-scale implementation. According to projections, a single production plant will use millions of bushels of soybeans each year.
About Logos Technologies
Founded in 1996, Logos Technologies LLC is a diversified science, engineering and technology company specializing in the fields of advanced sensors, wide area motion imagery, advanced analytics, processing of large, multisource datasets, and biochemicals. Logos serves government customers including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and Department of Homeland Security, as well as a range of customers in commercial and international markets. Learn more at www.logos-technologies.com.


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The firm has announced that Amazon is introducing a fresh level for its Music subscription service that will provide high-quality, lossless video streams and downloads. With Amazon Music HD, as the plan is called, Amazon says that, thanks to support for 16-bit files and sample rates of 44.1kHz and above, individuals will have access to over 50 million high-resolution videos at CD quality and better. The service will also come with "millions of songs in UHD," which involves hi-res video streaming up to 24-bit/48kHz (or 96 to 192kHz)— if you are an audiophile hardcore and need the best possible performance.
Living within the current Amazon Music app for iOS, Android, the internet and Amazon's Fire and Echo phones, Music HD is playing out in the US, UK, Germany and Japan from today. The streaming service here in the States will cost Amazon Prime users $12.99 per month, or normal clients $14.99. If you're one of the "ten of millions" that already pay for Music Unlimited, you just have to shell out $5 more per month for the new, lossless audio subscription. And Amazon offers fresh users a free 90-day trial to Music HD for those who have not yet paid for their music streaming service.
Steve Boom, Amazon Music's vice president, told Engadget that the company wanted to launch Music HD because while streaming services gave people access to millions of songs on demand, they didn't listen to those tunes as designed. "The way the artist records it in the studio, we don't hear music," he said. "It implies you're missing out on music peaks, lows of music, the music information." He added that Amazon has wasted a ton of moment speaking to customers and musicians who both agree that they want a stronger, stronger value hearing experience.
Simultaneously, Boom understands that the public may be a niche for hi-res audio streaming, but he thinks that this is not the situation. That's why Amazon intended to competitively prize Music HD, he said, stating the company's going to create a big effort to attempt to sell individuals on their fresh service. Music HD is $7 lower at $12.99 for Prime clients than comparable premium offers such as Tidal HiFi, which is $19.99 a month. Boom also said Amazon intends to eventually grow outside the US, UK, Germany and Japan, but now it just wants to concentrate on its largest music industries. "Wherever the consumer demand is, we will go meet it," he said.


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Retail Companies Leading Customer Journey Management Adoption, Study Finds
A recent study from Kitewheel sheds light on customer journey management, a practice that it says sees companies handling the customer journey from beginning to end with tools such as journey analytics. The study asserts that customer journey management allows marketers to deliver a consistent brand experience from first contact onward.
The study found that companies have started to mature in customer journey management. In 2017, 62 percent of interactions Kitewheel tracked were in a roll-out phase, while 26 percent were scaling. In 2018, 49 percent were in the roll-out phase, with 41 percent scaling. The study expects this trend to continue as more companies begin to scale their initiatives.
The study also found that companies in the retail industry are leading the way in customer journey management adoption. Kitewheel saw the number of interactions orchestrated by retail companies grow by 172 percent from 2017 to 2018. Additionally, retail companies accounted for 43 percent of the interactions Kitewheel tracked in 2018, with insurance companies following close behind at 39 percent.


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Airline industry making switch to electronic tickets
Major carriers to go paperless June 1
Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, September 20, 2007
NEW YORK -- Next summer, paper airline tickets will go the way of vinyl records and rotary-dial phones: They won't entirely disappear, but they'll be hard to find.
On June 1, the industry association that handles ticketing for most major airlines will stop issuing paper tickets. Some small regional or foreign airlines will continue issuing paper tickets, but they'll be few and far between.
Indeed, even without the International Air Transport Association's directive, the vast majority of airline tickets are already electronic. IATA says paper tickets have fallen to less than 14 percent of the 400 million tickets it processes each year.
- Lyft Testing Netflix-Like Subscription Packages for Riders Wibbitz
- Lexus Is Getting Into the Luxury Boat Business Fortune
- Start-Up Offering to Preserve & Upload Your Brain, But There's a Catch Buzz 60
- Amazon Unveils 'Spheres' Green Space In Seattle Associated Press
- Tariffs could affect Maine businesses WMTW
- Triad CEO provides tips on how women can maximize business potential, finances WXII
- Lending business changes policies in wake of Florida school shooting Fox5Atlanta
- The Booming Business of eSports Cheddar TV
- Inside essential oils marketing, a billion-dollar wellness business with plenty of critics Mic
- Millennials fell for scams more than grandparents last year Fox29
- International reaction to Trump's tariffs Euronews
- EXCLUSIVE: Facebook Takes on LinkedIn With New Jobs Tool Cheddar TV
- Amazon Acquires Smart Doorbell Maker 'Ring' for a Reported $1 Billion Wibbitz
- Apple Admits it Uses Google's Cloud for iCloud Wibbitz
- A look into the shipping container home business Fox29
- Airbnb Appeals To Luxury Market With 'Airbnb Plus' Buzz 60
- The Shocking Amount Americans Spend on Impulse Buys in Their Lifetime Buzz 60
- US Marijuana Job Growth Could More Than Double By 2021 Buzz 60
- Amazon Offering Cash Back to Customers Who Shop at Whole Foods Wibbitz
- Volkswagen Sets Record for January Sales Wibbitz
On its face, the move to all electronic ticketing is a no-brainer for the airline industry. Paper tickets cost airlines $10 to $17, on average, compared with $1 or less for electronic tickets. A fully electronic ticketing system will save the industry $3 billion a year, the IATA estimates.
"From the airline perspective, it's 100 percent upside," said Robert Mann, an airline consultant in Port Washington, N.Y.
In addition to pure cost savings, electronic ticketing lets airlines record revenue more quickly on their balance sheets and track revenue patterns. Airlines used to have to bundle and ship tickets to a processing facility, where each ticket had to be fed into a computer before revenue could be booked or analyzed.
The industry also says electronic ticketing is more convenient to customers, who can manage their own bookings and make changes online without needing to call a travel agent or airline representative.
"It's very simple for the customer and has far superior protections for the customer," said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines parent AMR Corp.
Mann has a slightly different take.
"What's really happened here is that a lot of the work has been outsourced to the customer," Mann said.
Travelers holding electronic tickets perform most of the functions that used to be handled by the airlines, including in many cases booking their flights at a Web site, printing their itinerary, checking in for their flights online and printing a boarding pass from an airport kiosk.
Many people prefer it that way, but those who don't will still have the option of booking through a travel agent or airline sales representative.
Lorne Riley, an IATA spokesman, says electronic tickets are more secure than the paper variety, which can be easily forged. Mann notes that many foreign countries require travelers to present a ticket for either onward or return travel to gain entry. Riley said printed itineraries are accepted in most cases as proof of electronic ticket-based travel plans.
Most airlines have already mostly phased out paper tickets -- AMR's Smith estimates that more than 98 percent of American's tickets are electronic -- so the IATA move largely just codifies an industry shift that has already occurred.
Some smaller airlines likely will stick with paper ticketing, for now.
"It's ones for whom moving to a fully electronic system doesn't make economic sense," such as small regional carriers, Mann said.


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Charlotte jeweler Benjamin Abraham could face decades in prison after being indicted on fraud charges Thursday in connection with what prosecutors say was a $3.5 million investment fraud scheme involving jewelry, precious metals and gemstones.
A federal grand jury in Charlotte returned the 18-count indictment against the 59-year-old Abraham, charging him with wire fraud and multiple counts of money laundering.
Abraham sold diamonds, precious metals and jewelry through his Benjamin Diamonds LLC, Benjamin Jewelers LLC, Global Trading LLC and G & I USA wholesale and retail businesses, according to the indictment.
The indictment accuses Abraham of coaxing at least seven victims to invest total of more than $3.5 million, resulting in losses of more than $2 million.
Instead of investing the money as promised, Abraham used it “to fund his lifestyle, keep his struggling businesses afloat, pay pre-existing debts and to make Ponzi-style payments to other victim-investors” from 2012 until just several months ago, according to the indictment.
Abraham duped people by saying their money would be used for short-term investments in gold and other precious metals, to invest in diamonds and jewelry obtained from estates, and to buy other large diamonds to be sold for profit, the indictment says.
The jeweler lied about his past successes and profits, the security of the investments and their expected rate of return and duration, prosecutors said. He also lied, they said, in claiming to have unique access to estate sales due to his connections and about investing his money as well.
When his victims asked about the status of their investments, Abraham gave “numerous false explanations” and gave them checks from accounts he knew lacked the money to cover the checks, according to the indictment.
Abraham did not reply to email and phone messages left by the Observer requesting comment.
The wire fraud count carries a maximum 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Concealment money laundering charges also carry up to 20 years, along with a fine of $500,000. Transactional money laundering charges carries a maximum 10 years and a $250,000 fine per count.


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A Facebook post that resurfaces around the holiday season has been declared as an illegal scam, according to the Better Business Bureau.
The post discusses the “Secret Sister Gift Exchange,” where participants are instructed to send one gift in order to receive up to 36 gifts in return. However, it’s easy to see that the math just doesn’t add up.
“These gift exchanges, while they look like innocent fun, are really pyramid schemes – and are considered illegal,” the BBB warns.
The gift exchange first became popular in 2015. Users were encouraged to invite others to participate in the exchange and were told that they would receive information on where to send the gifts.
Eventually, participants will be instructed to send an email or social media invitation to send a modest gift to a stranger along with their friends, family and contacts.
“The cycle continues and you’re left with buying and shipping gifts for unknown individuals, in hopes that the favor is reciprocated by receiving the promised number of gifts in return. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen,” says the BBB.
In reality, the scam relies on recruitments to remain afloat. When people stop participating, the supply of gifts dwindles, letting down countless people who were expecting gifts.
But it doesn’t end there: the information you provide during the exchange can easily end up in the hands of cyber thieves.
“When signing up, the alleged campaign organizer is asking for personal information such as a mailing address or an email,” says the BBB. “With just a few pieces of information, cyber thieves could expose you to future scams or commit identity theft.”
The BBB recommends keeping the following tips in mind should you receive an invitation to participate in an online gift exchange with people you don’t know:
- Ignore it. Pyramid schemes are illegal in the United States and Canada.
- Report social media posts inviting users to participate in the gift exchange.
- Avoid giving out personal identifying information to strangers.
- Be aware of false claims. Even invitations that claim to be legal and endorsed by the government are false, as the government will never endorse illegal activity.
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Emerging nanomaterials need to undergo urgent testing to assess their effects on health and the environment, the UK's Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution said in a report released this week.
It says nanotechnology-based products are hitting the market without being properly assessed for safety - and that's a risk too far.
But there are safety rules for all consumer products, aren't there?
Yes, but because nanomaterials are often made using chemicals like silver and carbon that are considered safe when used on a macro scale, the commission says they are slipping under the regulatory net when used at the nanoscale - without any consideration of the potentially adverse physical or chemical effects their novel nanostructures may have on people, animals, and the environment.
What does the commission want?
The commission is calling for the European Union to extend its regulatory regime for chemicals (REACH) to properly assess nanomaterials and their unique properties.
In the UK, they want the Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to develop and undertake tests on products that contain nanomaterials, and develop gadgets that detect, for instance, nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes when they become airborne.
"We have no means of detecting buckyballs or nanotubes in the environment right now," says John Lawton, the RCEP's chairman.
Haven't we been here before?
Yes. But since 2004 when the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering first said that a programme of research was necessary to ensure the safety of nanotech products, the field has moved on in leaps and bounds.
"The rate of nanotechnology innovation now far outstrips our capacity to respond to the risks," says Lawton.
The RCEP thinks the arrival of products in our high streets means it's time to reiterate the need for safety tests - as the earlier call fell on deaf ears in government. It also wants to avoid polarising public opinion, as happened with genetic modification.
How many novel technologies are we talking about?
The number of patents filed on nanomaterials worldwide by 2006 reached 1600 - and that growth has continued exponentially. According to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies in Washington, DC, there are at least 600 products on the global market that claim to contain a nanomaterial as a key ingredient, he adds.
What kind of products contain nanomaterials?
Well, the range is broad - and there could be health and environmental problems with any of them. They include sunscreens, cleaning products, anti-odour treatments for clothes, cosmetics, smart plastics, ceramics, self-cleaning glasses, composites, carbon-fibre-based textiles and other products containing nanotubes and buckyballs.
Which ones are causing concern?
All of them, to some extent. But the commission singled out two. "Nanosilver" - a bactericide which slows the formation of odour-forming bugs in clothes like socks, underpants and T-shirts.
The second is a textile comprising spun fibres made from carbon nanotubes that could save the clothing industry a fortune by making clothes that don't need dyes - their thread diameter dictates their colour through refraction effects.
How might these products cause harm?
"Nanosilver is biocidal to a remarkable extent - it's extremely toxic to microorganisms," says Lawton. In fact, it will kill twice the number of bacteria that bleach can.
When flushed into water courses, no-one knows what could happen. It could stop the biochemical reactions that make your local sewage-processing plant work. Or it may damage aquatic life - buckyballs have already been shown to cause brain damage in fish.
Why not just ban nanotech products?
The RCEP thinks the advantages to society of nanotechnologies are too great to lose. "On balance there are no grounds for a blanket ban," says Lawton.
Instead, he simply wants a major increase in the amount of testing to assess risk - prioritising the materials that may present the greatest risk to the environment and human health.
"Research gaps need to be addressed urgently, especially given the long lead times involved in developing and putting in place testing arrangements that will inform regulatory and legislative processes," he says.
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Taking A Fresh Look At Nanomaterials
Wed Nov 12 14:08:48 GMT 2008 by Andrew Maynard
The RCEP report represents an evolution in thinking rather than a step-change (with perhaps the exception of re-framing the debate over nanomaterials in terms of novel materials - which is a great step in the right direction).
But nevertheless it makes clear recommendations that are essential to the safe and successful use of engineered nanomaterials.
More at (long URL - click here)
We Have Been Living With These For Thousands Of Years!
Thu Nov 13 21:44:49 GMT 2008 by Cyrus
Maybe before all the alarm bells start ringing we should remember that just because buckballs were only recently identified, they are and have been present in soot since time immemorial!
We Have Been Living With These For Thousands Of Years!
Fri Nov 14 08:40:47 GMT 2008 by Willem Halffman
Even if substances exist outside of human production processes, this does not mean they do not require regulation. Even though curare occurs in plants naturally, we should be concerned if it gets mass-produced. Dioxins are also produced in natural fires, but that does not mean we should not limit human origins
Hysteric Proposal. . .
Fri Nov 14 12:46:41 GMT 2008 by Panagiotes Baziotopoulos
The usual ****** stuff by those they have nothing else to do but resist progress...
If we are to stop progressing we will all dieÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
I prefer to die in a fightÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ in a fight for scientific discovery and technological innovation...
Universal banning of nanotechnology is one more hysteric proposal by hysteric individualsÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
It is fortunate that they are a tiny minority and tiny minority they will stayÃ¢â‚¬Â¦
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A French car firm tries to draw a line under its spying scandal
CARLOS GHOSN, the chief executive of Renault and also Nissan, this week promised to spend more time in France. That would be wise. Mr Ghosn is a hero in Japan, having turned around Nissan, but he is under attack in France, where Renault is struggling. On May 30th the company appointed Carlos Tavares, a Renault insider, to be Mr Ghosn's new deputy. He will replace Patrick Pélata, who resigned after a botched probe into spying.
Mr Ghosn's error in immediately firing, without proof, three long-serving managers on false charges of espionage is seen as symptomatic of a dysfunction in Renault's management. The chief executive's superstar status may have eroded senior managers' readiness to question his judgement, says a Paris-based analyst.
The French government could have ousted Mr Ghosn (it has a 15% stake in Renault). But it did not, largely because Mr Ghosn is also the boss of Nissan, with which Renault has a vital alliance. Renault owns 43% of Nissan. Mr Tavares is intended to be a stronger number two than Mr Pélata. His appointment could even accelerate a succession tussle at Renault.
When Renault's then boss, Louis Schweitzer, sent his best managers, including Mr Ghosn, to sort out Nissan in 1999, Renault suffered. Vehicle development slowed, and the firm lost its reputation for producing conceptually innovative cars such as its Espace, Twingo and Scenic models. Instead Renault turned out less differentiated vehicles with a strong emphasis on value for money. Market share for the Renault brand in Europe declined from over 10% in 2005 to under 7% in mid-2009, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, and has only recently revived somewhat with the renewal of the Mégane family of cars.
Mr Ghosn, once dubbed le cost killer, now faces criticism that he is better at slashing than building. “Mr Ghosn has yet to demonstrate that he has the vision necessary for a car company,” says Thierry Huon, an automotive-industry analyst at Exane BNP Paribas in Paris.
Mr Ghosn may yet prove his critics wrong with his big bet on electric vehicles. This year will see the launch of the Fluence ZE saloon, the Kangoo van and the tiny Twizy two-seater. Renault and Nissan are jointly investing €4 billion ($5.8 billion) in the project, aiming to produce 500,000 vehicles annually by 2015. While other carmakers have opted to develop hybrid cars, Renault has gone for purely electric ones. It will eventually produce its own batteries, too, so it will coin it if the market takes off.
Another reason for Mr Ghosn's unpopularity in France is the degree to which Nissan, where he made his reputation, has so dramatically outperformed the French firm. Renault's market capitalisation is currently €11.7 billion ($16.8 billion). Nissan's is ¥3.7 trillion ($45.3 billion). Renault's stake in Nissan, at $19 billion, is worth more on paper than Renault itself. Investors are pushing for a merger of the two companies, and Mr Ghosn has promised to review their financial structure. But a merger would mean a takeover of Renault by Nissan. In Paris, that is still unthinkable.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Renault's woes"
From the June 4th 2011 edition
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Yasar Halim, well known owner for the grocery and bakery shop in Green Lanes Harringay which catered to the Cypriot community has passed away at the age of 77 in the Whittington Hospitalin Islington. .
Mr.Halim moved to London in 1962 at the age of 19. He opened his shop in 1981.
Bringing a lot of Cypriot products to London, he catered for the whole Cypriot community.
Yaşar Halim, which is considered as one of the most successful businesses of not only the ethnic market but also the food sector, was shown as ‘One of the top 100 markets in the world’ by ‘Retail Week’, which was shown as one of the most important reference sources of the food industry in 2014.
Yaşar Halim Supermarket, which has become one of the symbols of Haringey, where the first market is located, has become the first shopping address of thousands of consumers living in various regions of London and England, especially the Greek and Turkish Cypriots who are longing for their country.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.


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At a glance.
- Recent US health data breaches.
- Drive at your own risk.
- Magecart attacks on the rise.
- Industry comment on the LendingTree incident.
Recent US health data breaches.
The American Dental Association (ADA) has disclosed that it was hit with a ransomware attack in which an unauthorized party gained access to the sensitive consumer data. JDSupra notes that although the ADA has not stated exactly what data were compromised, the hackers posted a sample of the stolen data on the dark web which includes W2 forms, non-disclosure agreements, and accounting spreadsheets belonging to dentists.
Insurance agency Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan experienced a data breach that started at a vendor of a subcontractor used by Blue Shield. In May Blue Shield learned that vendor Matrix Medical Network had suffered a ransomware attack as the result of an incident involving one of Matrix’s vendors, brand engagement firm OneTouchPoint. The breach resulted in the compromise of Blue Shield plan member data including names, addresses, dates of birth, subscriber ID numbers, diagnoses, medications, and medical history. JDSupra adds that Blue Shield filed an official notice of the breach and notified impacted individuals earlier this month.
Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Services has paid $875,000 to settle potential HIPAA violations tied to a malware attack that exposed the protected health data of over 275,000 patients. JD Supra explains that the Center reported the breach to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) as required by HIPAA, but the OCR investigation concluded that the Center had failed to conduct an adequate risk analysis or implement an appropriate incident response.
Drive at your own risk.
Cybersecurity analysts at BitSight have found that a popular GPS vehicle tracker produced by Shenzhen-based electronics maker MiCODUS contains six vulnerabilities that could allow a threat actor to track or even remotely cut the engines of vehicles. The devices can be found in at least a million vehicles worldwide, including vehicles owned by a Fortune 50 company, a nuclear power plant operator, as well as law enforcement agencies, militaries, and national governments across the globe. TechCrunch notes that the most severe vulnerability involves a hardcoded password, embedded directly into the code of the Android app, that can easily be found by anyone with access to the code and can be used to gain complete control of any GPS tracker and even remotely cut off fuel to the vehicle engine. The bugs were found in the MV720 model, but Pedro Umbelino, the BitSight researcher who authored the report, says his findings raise “significant questions about the vulnerability of other models.” The security company reached out to inform MiCODUS of the issues in September 2021, but so far no efforts have been made to remedy the issue. BitSight and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are urging vehicle owners to remove the devices as soon as possible.
Magecart attacks on the rise.
Security firm Recorded Future has identified two web-skimming operations targeting three online ordering platforms, resulting in the exposure of the credit card details at over three hundred US restaurants. Magecart malware was detected on online ordering portals MenuDrive, Harbortouch, and InTouchPOS, and the details of 50,000 payment cards have already been posted for sale by hackers on the dark web. The campaign that impacted InTouchPOS has infected over four hundred e-commerce sites since 2020, and as of this June, thirty of the websites are still infected. Such platforms have become a desirable target for Magecart attacks because the compromise of a single portal can give cybercriminals access to online transactions performed at a large number of eateries, resulting in a huge payout for little work. Bleeping Computer adds that although law enforcement and all impacted entities have been notified, both operations are ongoing, and their corresponding exfiltration domains are still operational.
Kim DeCarlis, CMO at PerimeterX, sees cybercrime as a cyclic problem, and that a multilevel solution is called for to break that cycle:
“This Magecart attack against 300 U.S. restaurants is yet another example of the persistent challenges e-commerce companies face when securing their sites. Sophisticated attackers understand that websites are comprised of a supply chain of code, many from third or n-th parties, and will continue to seek out ways to steal credit card information by planting onsite skimmers and abusing vulnerable code. This is another example of the web attack lifecycle - the cyclical and continuous nature of cyberattacks - where a data breach on one site, perhaps as a result of a Magecart attack, fuels carding, credential stuffing or account take over attacks on another site Given the risks of Magecart and digital supply chain attacks, it is paramount that e-commerce companies, such as restaurants and food delivery companies, implement solutions to stop the theft, validation and fraudulent use of identity and account information on their web sites and web apps. They can do this by deploying a multi-layered solution that helps protect users’ account and identity information everywhere along their digital journey.”
Erfan Shadabi, cybersecurity expert with comforte AG argues that the problem calls for a data-centric solution:
“As a common trend, cyberattackers mostly target food delivery service providers or online ordering platforms to obtain credit or debit card details of their customers. So the key aspect to consider here is to protect the credit card information as well as the user account details stored on a website or app. Businesses in these sectors need to apply data-centric protection to any sensitive data within their ecosystem (PII, financial, and transactional) as soon as it enters the environment and keep it protected even as employees work with that data. By tokenizing any PII or transactional data, they can strongly protect that information while preserving original data format, making it easier for business applications to support tokenized data within their workflows. They also need to revisit their enterprise backup and recovery tactics to ensure that they can quickly recover if hackers are able to get into their environment and encrypt their enterprise data.”
Industry comment on the LendingTree incident.
LendingTree is dealing with a data incident, but it's not the serious incident hoods have claimed on the dark web--those claims, the Record reports, are bogus. Henning Horst, CTO at comforte AG, commented on my successful financial services institutions like LendingTree are attractive targets for fraud at many levels:
“Recent months have seen a number of major global cyber-attacks on the financial sector. Financial services companies continue to be heavily targeted, and typically feature in the top five sectors for severity and frequency of cyber-attacks. One reason they are a prime target is the wealth of information they collect and process.
"As consumers, we must have assurances that the organizations which are collecting and processing our most sensitive personal information are handling and storing that data with the utmost care, using the most sophisticated data protection tools. That means more than just applying traditional perimeter-based controls.
"If your organization possesses such a wide array of sensitive information about your customers, you will want to investigate stronger protection and mitigation methods, such as data-centric security. By tokenizing sensitive data as soon as it enters your data ecosystem, you can keep it in a protected state while still working with the data in your business applications due to data format preservation. Even if threat actors get their hands on the data, it is meaningless and worthless to them, and no sensitive information will be compromised.”


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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — The City of Sioux City is reminding everyone to “be safe and responsible pet owners” by licensing their pets.
The 2021 pet tags are now available at the Customer Service Center in City Hall, Animal Adoption and Rescue, 2400 Hawkeye Drive, or at participating veterinarians’ offices.
City officials said all pet licenses expire on December 31 and renewal letters have already been mailed out to current pet license holders to remind them to renew their pet’s license.
The cost of the license is $15 for neutered cats and dogs, $31 for unneutered cats, and $50 for unneutered dogs. Pets must be vaccinated for rabies before a license can be issued.
The City is also reminding residents that after March 1 penalities will be added to pet licenses issued.
If pet licenses are obtained after March 1, there will be a $15 penalty added to each license fee; a $20 penalty will be added after April 1; and a $25 penalty after May 1.
For more information on pet licenses, pet owners can call 224-7387 or click here.
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I am just posing a question here as this is what seems to be happening all around us today and some is good and some is just flat out marketing and we don’t know until we are presented with a software solution. We can stay tuned and see how the combining of data available affects this acquisition. It could be very well that operations stay as they are but in today’s world that’s doubtful as the entire idea today is to get the data, write some algos and sell it. I’m just trying to talk real life with what is happening around us and it goes on behind closed ‘servers” so you don’t know.
How much is that algorithm in the window?
Not too long ago Harvard said they were going to start a study about how mergers and acquisitions are affecting healthcare and I said what took so long to start the project. I have been reporting on those items for at least 3 years here as they take place and again focus on how the merged or acquired companies are going to combine and use data and so far it’s right on target with what I have been alluding to. Last week we had another credit agency called FICO that said they could use “their” algorithms to predict if patients were going to be medication compliance and there’s a ton of marketing to sell software or in other words, collect data and sell those algos!
We all know credit agencies sell credit information so this has a somewhat a ring to it with acquiring medical billing and sure the Experian data on file can be helpful to link to patients if they want as along as it does not end up denying service as we so many digital illiterates that use guidelines for that purpose only. Data should be analyzed and used in the proper context and we should have individuals using the information in constructive ways even if that means losing a buck now and then when it comes to healthcare, patient should come first. Most of the current board members are from venture capital firms with one member who also sits on the board of Express Scripts (they sell data). BD
* Experian's second acquisition in U.S. medical payments (Adds detail, background)
LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - British credit information firm Experian is buying medical payments specialist Medical Present Value for $185 million in cash to tap growing demand for payment administration systems in the U.S. medical sector.
Experian, best known for running consumer credit checks for banks and retailers, said it would fund the deal from its own cash resources.
The takeover, Experian's second in the U.S. medical payments industry after its 2008 acquisition of software firm Search America, will help the group exploit growing demand among U.S. doctors for billing administration systems as increasingly complex regulations prompt frequent changes to patients' healthcare plans.


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India Yamaha Motor (IYM) Pvt Ltd., the Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer today announced the production achievement of 10 million units in India. IYM achieved this feat since it began its operations in India in 1985.
The 10 millionth product rolled out at this ceremony was Yamaha’s best-selling motorcycle model FZS-FI Version 3.0 from its Chennai factory. On this occasion, the company achieved another major accomplishment of producing 5 million units alone in last seven years between 2012 & 2019.
Speaking on the ocassion, Mr. Motofumi Shitara, Chairman, Yamaha Motor India Group of Companies said, “The journey for Yamaha has been quite exciting all these years. We have received phenomenal response from our customers from across the country. This landmark achievement is a testimony of our growing popularity and demand for our products which are exciting, stylish and sporty. This would not have been possible without the support of our employees, dealer partners, suppliers and vendors. They have played a key role and have extended their support throughout in line with the company’s business direction to achieve this important milestone. Going forward, we will continue to excite our customers and empower their lives through world class products and services”.
In its journey from the year 1985 to 2019, the company witnessed several landmark moments in production. The first major milestone was achieved in 1999 when the Surajpur factory hit the 1 Million Unit Production Milestone. Thirteen years later i.e. in 2012, the 5 Million Unit Production Milestone was achieved at the same factory. Another key breakthrough was achieved in 2016 when IYM reached the One Million Production Milestone for its scooters in India since the launch of its first scooter model Ray in 2012. Now, 7 years down line, the company with the support of its new production facility at Chennai and the wider product portfolio has successfully achieved the 10 Million units Production mark.


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Cajun Country Puts Spice in Markets
Down south in Louisiana, "Our economy is basically tied to the oil industry," explains Gary P. Tilley, CCIM, of Stirling Properties, Inc., in Covington, Louisiana. While others contend that the economy has become more diversified and note the impact of tourism and recently approved casino gambling, oil still is king in many residents’ minds. "The oil and gas industry will be paramount in the future of this office market," says Gerard J. Delahoussaye, CCIM, SIOR, of Stirling Properties, Inc., in New Orleans. "Should crude oil prices fall further or remain sub-$16 per barrel for any significant length of time, then the office market will be negatively impacted."
This update on commercial real estate in the Pelican State’s largest city of New Orleans and its capital, Baton Rouge, shows that both cities’ economies are doing well, local brokers report.
"The single most important factor affecting our market is the lack of available land," Tilley says. "Our market is surrounded by water—the Mississippi River to the west and south and Lake Pontchartrain and swamp areas to the north and east. Good retail locations are few in number and we must create sites by land assembly and demolition. This, of course, can be very expensive, which in turn makes the economics of the deal very tough."
Retail occupancies overall run about 92 percent, Tilley says. The market has gained several new big-box retailers in recent years, including Barnes & Noble, Office Max, and PetsMart. Class A storefronts downtown lease for an average of $19 psf annually and suburban rents run $8 psf to $15 psf, he says.
In Baton Rouge, the retail market is "excellent, with strong activity in every category," says Dottie Tarleton, CCIM, of Stirling Properties in Baton Rouge. For instance, a new 1.2 million-sf mall opened in the past year, bringing some higher-end retailers to the area, including AnnTaylor and Laura Ashley. In addition, several category killers have entered the market, several theme restaurants have opened, and 25 movie screens have been added in the past couple of years, she says.
"The economy is excellent, with the Baton Rouge MSA [metropolitan statistical area] enjoying one of the longest and most sustained periods of economic growth among the state’s eight MSAs," Tarleton says.
The New Orleans CBD office market has seen rental and occupancy rates increase by about 20 percent to 25 percent over the past two to three years to 83 percent to 85 percent, Delahoussaye says. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have acquired most of the class A and several class B properties for prices ranging from $68 psf to $110 psf for class A and $20 psf to $40 psf for class B.
"The strength of the market, however, in my opinion, is very fragile," Delahoussaye says. "The office market is still very much influenced by the oil and gas industry, and void of this industry there is very little evidence of real growth and absorption in the marketplace. If the current woes in the oil and gas industry continue for any length of time, then real cutbacks in occupancies and rates may be a direct result."
The office market in suburban New Orleans is "hot," says Richard E. Juge, CCIM, CIPS, of Re/Max Commercial Brokers, Inc., in suburban New Orleans. "The suburban markets have followed the national trend of being the most vibrant, with rates between $16 and $20 psf." Suburban occupancies are about 95 percent, Juge says, with "our premier suburban market—Metairie—being ‘effectively’ 100 percent."
Baton Rouge’s office market also is doing well, reports Richard B. Hymel, CCIM, CPM, of Select Properties, Ltd., in Baton Rouge. "Over the past year...class A office space occupancy has been over 95 percent, with rental rates pushing $18 psf annually in some select office buildings." Though not many sales have occurred, prices over the past three years have increased from the high $40 range psf to more than $85 psf, he says.
Baton Rouge’s class A office market will continue to see its rental rates and occupancies grow, Hymel predicts, but "possibly going down as new product becomes available to the market. Class B will see higher occupancy with a possible small decline in rental rates. The ‘hot’ areas still will be high-quality build-to-suit in good areas."
"Industrial real estate in the metro New Orleans market continues at a slow but steady pace in all sectors," says Max J. Derbes, III, CCIM, SIOR, CRE, of Max J. Derbes, Inc., in New Orleans. "The only ‘fragile’ segment of the industrial market would be the area based primarily on the ‘oil patch,’ i.e., drilling, processing, etc. As the price of oil goes, so goes the oil patch market. Currently, all indicators point to a stable market. Due to high taxes, crime, and poor schools, the industrial market in general will continue to relocate into the suburban market out of New Orleans."
Industrial lease rates appear to be keeping up with inflation, Derbes says. In sales, REITs and institutional investors are the main players for large, multiple-building industrial properties. "Sales of smaller, owner-occupied properties are slow, more due to a lack of available inventory and the availability of sites for expansion or relocation."
In Baton Rouge, the industrial market has experienced "lots of activity," reports Clay M. Johnston, CCIM, of Latter & Blum, Inc./Realtors in Baton Rouge. "We need more industrial subdivisions." Occupancy rates are "way up" at 95 percent, he says, adding, "Remember, this is the oil patch. We were the first to hit bottom in the late ‘80s."
Lease rates run about $4 psf to $4.50 psf annually for warehouse space, he says. Sales run approximately $25 psf to $35 psf, but vary widely, Johnston says.
New Orleans’ multifamily market is doing well, according to Larry Schedler, CCIM, of Property One, Inc., in New Orleans. "We have achieved an equilibrium whereby the demand has finally caught up with the supply," he says. "Limited amounts of developable land will limit the new construction to high-end niche product in selected areas. The need for affordable housing will be met by the continued rehabilitation of our existing inventory. Most owners are upgrading their properties with the focus being on refinancing rather than selling."
Multifamily occupancies generally range from 95 percent to 97 percent, Schedler says, with lease rates steadily increasing to about $0.55 psf to $0.59 psf per month.
Looking forward, "Niche developments will emerge in select areas, and I would anticipate the conversion of older C and D office buildings in the CBD to multifamily," Schedler says. "Some moderate-income development will occur, utilizing the Section 42 low-income tax credit program."
Serving Up Deals in Birmingham, Alabama
Commercial real estate is showing some southern hospitality in another of the South’s markets, Birmingham, Alabama. "Birmingham is enjoying one of the strongest real estate markets in years," says Van Corr, CCIM, of Commercial Realty Co., Inc., in Birmingham.
"The retail market in Birmingham is very brisk," Corr says, and "1998 has seen a continuation of the growth experienced in 1997." Several factors contribute to the market’s boom, he says, including high personal income levels that have created new subdivisions, and consequently, the need for new retail. Low interest rates and plentiful financing also have helped.
Most new retail construction is build-to-suit for drug store and fast-food retailers, he says. Several 15,000-sf to 25,000-sf shopping centers also have been built. New construction typically leases for $13 psf to $15 psf per year for neighborhood strip centers, Corr says.
In Birmingham’s multifamily market, occupancy rates are 90 percent to 92 percent, down from 98 percent to 100 percent in the last couple of years, because the market has delivered more than 3,000 new units, says Philip P. Mulkey, CCIM, of Brigham-Williams, Inc., in Birmingham. Moreover, 240 more class A units recently were in lease-up and 534 units were under construction, he says.
Apartment lease rates are up, running $0.60 psf to $0.80 psf per month, he says, and sales prices also have risen, with top deals reaching $60 psf.
The area’s industrial market has 90 percent to 95 percent occupancy in all categories, says J. Howard King, CCIM, of Watts Realty Co., Inc., in Birmingham. "Demand outpaces supply and activity is slowed only by the shortage of suitable inventory."
New industrial parks are being developed, he says, but construction is limited to small build-to-suits "and even less in true speculative construction."
Rising rental rates "at a future point will either ignite new developments or drive companies in need of large blocks of space to competing cities," King says.
Office occupancies in the city were about 95 percent at year-end 1997, according to Colonial Properties Trust, a Birmingham-based REIT.


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Protecting Textile Industry at cost on Going Cotton Farmer’s suicide is Unjust
Nagpur – July 15, 2011
Vidarbha cotton Farmers who are under deep distress and despair due to debt are forced to commit suicide have flayed Indian Govt. policies of protecting finger counting textiles mill owners to arrange to raw cotton at the throw away price to them by restricting the export of cotton bales even after there is record surplus 7 million cotton bales are available even after the 6.5 million quota permitted due to cotton production as Indian Govt. official figure is 33 million bales as against last year 29 million where as Govt .has allowed 8.4 million cotton bales last year which is higher than 2 million bales than this year hence in era of free trade and globalization ,innocent victimization resulting mass genocide of poor cotton farmers should be stopped, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti urged today.
"Textiles industry should not used state run policies and restrictions to get cheaper cotton from the dying farmers and attempts of textile ministry the revival of Tirupur" at cost lives of cotton farmers in unjust and violation of human rights hence we have ben demanding the detail probe in to unfair trade practices in the raw cotton trade of the India and wants lifting of all restriction of export and imposition heavy import duty of raw cotton bales to save Indian cotton farmers ”Tiwari added.
It was lifting of quantitative restrictions in 2004 for free cotton import by the NDA Govt. which allowed dumping of cheapest 20 million cotton bales resulting in economic recession and start of cotton farmers’ suicide spiral in vidarbha and now once again it has re-imposed in 2009 when present UPA Govt. introduced stringent cotton export both the time to protect the interest of handful textile mills owners who want cheaper raw cotton at cost of 1 billion dying cotton farmers and this is highly unfair trade practices protected and promoted by state hence vidarbha cotton farmers who are suffered maximum losses and reported more than 10000 farmers suicides after wrong policies of cotton export and import in introduced has written to new powered Indian textile minister Anand Sharma to lift all quantitative restrictions of on raw cotton and provide export incentive to farmers’ so that their economic interest is protected as done by US Govt. in America, Tiwari said today.
“India has reported more than 2 lakhs 34 thousands farmers suicides in last decade which largest genocide in the history of mankind and 90% of farmers who killed themselves are manly cotton growers and wrong Govt. policies related to export and credit and faulty cultivation pattern and input are the main causes of despair and distress which is killing the innocent farming community in India .this is blot to all human kind in the world and fact is much more humiliating the nation like America is manly responsible for the farm genocide” Tiwari informed
Letter written by Vidarbha cotton growing farmers advocacy group Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS) has urged New Textile Minister Anand Sharma to examine the fact that there is surplus stock of at least 50 lakhs bales and textile ministry has given it’s node to the demand of agriculture and commerce ministry recommendations of additional permission of 50 lakhs bales in order to protect the financial interest of Indian cotton farmers who are committing suicides as prices of cotton slashed to 50% in month where as uncertainties and unjust quantitative restriction has always allowed the textile cartel to get cheaper cotton by 30% . this is part of textile lobby to get cotton export curtail so that they can exploit the situation .it’s unfortunate that textile minister is playing on direction of this textile cartel that has ruined around one billion cotton farmers to tune of Rs.20,000 crore and losses are likely to be more if Indian Govt. function with anti farmer policies ”Tiwari added
“Indian textile lobby has managed the Indian Textile minister initially to restrict cotton bales export to 55 lakhs bales from earlier year 84 lakh bales even when country cotton production is higher by another 25 lakhs bales then ban export of cotton yarn and now surprisingly as per Quota Policy of Cotton items now added Cotton Waste ( Comber Noil) H. S. Code No. 5202 as Cotton Waste is a ‘By-product’ of Cotton Yarn. when plenty of quota of Cotton Yarn lying unutilized the hostile functioning of ex-Union Textile Minister Dayanithi Maran whowas party to a textile cartel to include the by-product banned ” Tiwari said..
“we have asked New Textile Minister Anand Sharma on the baseless arguments of textile loddy which has ignored tha fact Cotton prices have increased from Rs 30000/candy in April 2010 to Rs 60000/candy April 2011 which is an increase of about Rs 70-75 per kg and immediately Spinners increased the price of yarn from rs 150/- per kg in April 2010 for 30s combed to Rs 230/- per kg in April 2011. increase of Rs 80 per kg which reflects in cotton value to Rs 30000/per candy minimum. Fabric weavers too have increased prices of grey fabric of 40 x 40 counts 124 x 64 with 200 gm per mtr which is quoted at about Rs 70/- per sqmtr as against Rs 38 in April 2010. There s an increase of Rs 32/mtr which is Rs 160/- per kg which in terms of candy is about Rs 58/60000 and present ban on export has brought back cotton prices to the level of April 2010 which is artificial an stage managed and ex-Union Textile Minister Dayanithi Maran is directly involved in this scam ” Tiwari added.
‘New Textile Minister Anand Sharma should admit that Cotton production has grown from a low of 225 lakhs bales to 330 lakhs bales in last 5 years the undue protection to Local textile mills benefiting of buying Indian cotton at prices which are at least lower by 30% as compared to its competitor in Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries who buy from other growths which is reason behind the present restriction of cotton export and when Indian cotton after lot of hard work and promotion by exporters have found a very stable and regular market of its cotton in foreign countries and Govt. should ensure that the markets created are not lost to competition due to faulty Govt. policies to protect handful textile mill owners .” It is alleged.


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Walt Disney unveiled a 13 per cent drop in its fourth quarter profit and gave warning that its theme-park advance bookings have fallen off as much as 10 per cent.
The group reported a $760 million profit as revenues climbed by 6 per cent to $9.45 billion in the three months to September 27.
However, Robert Iger, the group’s chief executive, said attendance at its domestic parks is down by 1 per cent since, and with a much sharper drop in advance bookings suggesting greater declines to come. Executives later said in a conference call that bookings for the first two quarters of fiscal 2009 are down “a little under 10 per cent”.
Mr Iger said: “Consumer confidence is the lowest we’ve seen in over…


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Morrisons is investing £30m in staff facilities in its 500 stores as it aims to boost morale and accelerate its recovery.
The grocer plans to offer subsidised coffee and free wi-fi while revamping the decor.
Employee pay and benefits has become a hot topic in the last 12 months as retailers prepare to implement the living wage in April.
Morrisons has said it is giving its 90,000 staff a 20% pay rise to £8.20 an hour from next month, more than the living wage of £7.20.
The grocer has suffered falling sales and profits in recent years as it came under fire from the discounters. However chief executive David Potts last year initiated a turnaround plan – including selling off its ailing convenience arm to focus on its core supermarkets – which bore fruit over the Christmas period, when like-for-likes rose 0.2%, beating expectations.
Morrisons’ investment in staff facilities contrasts with Asda’s tactics. Asda, which yesterday posted a like-for-like slump of 5.8% in the fourth quarter, is planning to scrap staff canteens and free coffee to cut costs.
Potts told the Financial Times he wants staff to be able to “recharge” at work. “We are a business that listens hard to colleagues and responds wherever possible,” he added.