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Here are the three most notable events from last week in Africa’s business landscape that you probably missed:
The naira had its best week this year
On Friday, the naira strengthened against the dollar at the crypto trading markets. Quotes ranged between N950/$ to $980 for peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions on Binance. That’s about 15% stronger than the rates from the previous day. At the spot market, the naira went as high as N750 against USDT before easing back to trade below $1000. Movements in the naira on the crypto market are usually an indication of how the currency will trade on the streets of Nigeria.
By Sunday, these gains were reflected in the parallel markets. According to Naira Rates, a forex rate aggregation bot on Twitter, the naira was trading at N901.6/$ at the unofficial markets as of 9 a.m. It marked the naira’s best performance at the forex markets this year.
The gains came after the Nigerian central bank signalled to clear a $6.7 billion backlog of matured foreign-currency forward transactions that have weighed on the naira. But the naira’s road to recovery is still long, as this has been one of its worst-performing years in the forex markets.
Rwanda is opening its borders to Africa.
On Thursday, Rwanda announced its plan to allow all Africans visa-free entry into the country. President Paul Kagame announced this move in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he pitched the potential of Africa as “a unified tourism destination.” The continent still gets 60% of its tourist traction from outside Africa, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
“Any African can get on a plane to Rwanda whenever they wish, and they will not pay a thing to enter our country,” said Kagame during the 23rd Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council. “We should not lose sight of our own continental market,” he said. “Africans are the future of global tourism as our middle class continues to grow at a fast pace in the decades to come.”
Once implemented, Rwanda will become the fourth African country to remove travel restrictions for Africans. Other countries that have waived visas to African nationals are Gambia, Benin and Seychelles. Kagame’s announcement came three days after Kenya’s President, William Ruto, announced similar plans to allow all Africans to travel to the East African nation visa-free by December 31.
Nigerian billionaires quarrelled… again.
Two Nigerian billionaires had another public feud over the weekend.
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest businessman, published a seven-page advertisement in local newspapers where he laced allegations against his biggest Nigerian competitor, Abdul Samad Rabiu. According to Dangote, Rabiu was behind an attempt to get President Bola Tinubu’s government to embroil Dangote Industries Ltd. in a probe into the Central Bank of Nigeria. Dangote’s companies aren’t under any investigation.
“As an organization, it is not our custom to respond to any spurious allegation,” Dangote Industries said in the advertisements published on Friday. “But to the fact that this is a rehash of a similar report peddled by a competitor masquerading as a concerned Nigerian in 2016, we are therefore constrained to provide context to this issue.”
Rabiu responded hours later via social media, accusing his rival of a litany of infractions against his business since the early 1990s, including giving him a dud cheque on one occasion.
ICYMI: Market Roundup
- The Nigerian stock market reached a new all-time high last week as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 4.56% to close the week at 70,196.77.
- The top gainers were Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc. (+29.27%), Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc (+28.28%), Airtel Africa Plc (+27.85%), Omatek Ventures Plc (+27.27%), Cadbury Nigeria Plc. (+25.00%). Top decliners were R.T. Briscoe Plc (-14.00%), Beta Glass Plc (-10.46%), Meyer Plc (-9.87%), Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc (-9.71%), Learn Africa Plc (-9.70%).
- The naira had a positive week at the official market, closing at N776.14/$ at the Investors and Exporters window.
- Brent crude prices fell to $85.64/ barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate declined to $81.32/barrel.
- The crypto markets gained 4.76% over seven days to close at a $1.32 trillion market cap. Bitcoin gained 2.24% to close at $34,883; Ethereum gained 5.27% to close at $1880 and BNB rose by 7.9% to close at $244.12.
- Norrsken22 closed its first African technology growth fund at $205 million, surpassing its target of $200 million. The fund is backed by more than 30 unicorn founders and will invest in more than 20 startups.
- My Easy Transfer, a Tunisian fintech startup, raised $420,000 in VC funding to speed its growth and expand its offering.
- Awfar, an Egypt-based SaaS e-commerce startup, raised an undisclosed six-figure sum to expand its presence in the country.


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Technology is constantly evolving and the latest developments in various fields are about to change the way we live and work. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI). predictions today to electric cars and virtual reality, inventors are developing new technologies at an unprecedented rate. These recent technological developments are exciting, affecting our lives in various ways.
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has grown rapidly in the past few years. The advent of Chat-GPT, a language-based model that uses deep learning to generate human text, and DALL E, an image-based model that uses a variant of GPT-3 to create images from text prompts, has changed the world of creating content.
These AIs are the new industry leaders and are being integrated into several application services. AI use cases are increasing every day. In time, artificial intelligence will be an integral part of everyday life.
Enter another world with virtual reality
Virtual reality has been around for a while, but only recently has it gained widespread acceptance. VR was primarily a gaming tool; however, many companies now hold meetings, trainings and seminars.
It is also now part of the aviation industry for pilot training. The most exciting potential for virtual reality is the creation of a metaverse, and companies are investing heavily in this development. This increased acceptance can lead to a redefinition of reality.
The future is here: The rise of self-driving cars
The transition from combustion engine cars to electric cars was a slow process. However, many people have embraced this new advanced automotive technology. The development of self-driving cars stems from the desire to reduce human error and improve road safety.
Companies like Tesla and Waymo are leading the way in this field, developing cars that can drive themselves in a variety of conditions, including highways and city streets. The launch of the Mercedes EQS also showed that even traditional car companies are starting to see this change in trend and are eager to implement it.
5G brings a new era of connectivity
The arrival of 5G has met with some resistance from the public as several rumors have been circulating about its link to Covid-19. However, 5G has been implemented in many countries, albeit in a few places, especially in third world countries.
However, 5G connectivity speeds aim to blow everything else out of the water. This effect will affect various sectors such as telemedicine, robotics, e-learning, online gaming, digital conferencing and virtual reality. A new era of connectivity is truly here.
A New Level of Immersion: Blockchain Gaming
Blockchain games combine the power of blockchain technology with the excitement of gaming. It allows players to securely own and trade digital assets. This advancement in gaming creates a new level of immersion and ownership in the gaming experience.
Some examples of blockchain games include CryptoKitties, where players can collect and trade digital cats, and Decentraland, a virtual reality world where players can buy and develop plots of land. The use of blockchain technology in games also brings the potential for new monetization models.
As blockchain technology and understanding continues to evolve, the possibilities for blockchain gaming are endless.
Quantum Computing: The Pathfinder
Quantum computing uses quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. Companies have invested in quantum computing to advance genetic research, deep space exploration, artificial intelligence, and more.
It is also the driving force behind the latest technological advances. It is rightly called a path.
An exciting new world
The world is changing and it’s exciting. Advances in technology have taken many industries to new heights. Telemedicine is feasible, gamers now experience a new level of immersion, and the fear of running out of fuel is quickly becoming a thing of the past. It’s a new world now.

domain: news


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Activision-Blizzard stopped paying out bonuses on sales figures. Now they just give fake tokens to employees to redeem at a gift shop.
BLIZZARD PAYING THEIR EMPLOYEES WITH GOOD BOY POINTS LMAO pic.twitter.com/WmHjoVOPBF
— Kaleb (@KalebPrime) August 5, 2020
In the late February 2019, the online game company paid out millions their new executive while an untold number of their employees braced for joblessness.
According to Screenrant, a newly hired Activision-Blizzard executive was paid millions of dollars last month despite the fact that the company is preparing to announce a huge round of layoffs. Though it’s far from uncommon in the gaming industry to “trim the fat” like this when times are tough (i.e., when shareholders are disappointed with sales) and downright commonplace for corporations to award absurdly large signing bonuses to executives, Activision-Blizzard’s most recent gaffe is particularly egregious.
Coming back towards this year on June 2020 precisely they went into trouble with Sshareholders over CEO compensation controversy.
CEO Bobby Kotick was paid roughly $100 million per year, despite failing to appease the astronomical demands of shareholders.
Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, has since been under fire from his company’s shareholders for failing to elevate the company even higher than its current place at the top of the financial pyramid. He has been calling the shots at Activision since 1990, and the company ballooned in popularity under his leadership. Games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Destiny were all massively successful at one point or another, leading to the company becoming the largest third-party video game publisher in the entire industry.
For his part, Kotick has earned roughly $100 million in compensation every year since 2016 via a combination of stock, equity, and bonuses, all in addition to his salary of more than $1 million. This makes him one of the highest-paid CEOs around, earning more than 300 times the average salary of an Activision Blizzard employee. Some of the video game company’s stockholders feel he doesn’t deserve such astronomical compensation.
It seems obvious that the company is on the verge of collapse with the emerging epileptic financial situation they have been on since last year.


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In a new book, Savoir Manger: le guide des aliments (Know How to Eat: the food guide), which is climbing the French bestseller lists, Jean-Michel Cohen and Patrick Serog analyse 5,000 dishes available in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants.
Their findings make uncomfortable reading in a country where fast food is considered by many to be a symbol of gastronomic evil and McDonald’s restaurants are seen as legitimate targets by anti-globalisation activists.
The much-maligned burger, it seems, has a far higher protein-to-fat ratio than the seemingly inoffensive but often greasy quiche. “Strangely enough, the products which are the most demonised are not necessarily the worst,” the authors claim.
Publication of the book has coincided with moves by the French food industry to fight obesity — a growing…


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Rumour has it that the Battlefield 4 beta will be open to those of you with Battlefield 3 Premium subscriptions. That’s on top of the entry gained by purchasing the Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition. The beta is expected sometime in Autumn [Northern Hemisphere] 2013. [MP1st]
It also seems that the game (Battlefield 4) will be arriving in “Fall 2013” according to an image leaked that may – or may not – be an EB Games pre-order poster.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 will be getting its first bit of DLC this coming Wednesday. The Siberian Strike DLC will cost 800 MS Points on Xbox 360 and £8.99 on PS3 and Steam.
The recently released (21 March) PS3 firmware update 4.40, will enable users – from May – to download content purchased from PSN’s online store to their consoles.
If you need any more incentive to get BioShock Infinite, perhaps this launch trailer will help you. Or the fact that it sits on a whopping 96 on Metacritic.
The first gameplay trailer for the PS3 exclusive Rain has been released. There’s a lot of rain in the game.
Sony has announced Unreal Engine 4 powered Primal Carnage: Genesis will be coming to the PS4. The game is a dinosaur themed episodic game, and is due, well after the PS4 is actually available we assume.
The studio behind Lord of the Rings Online – Turbine – has announced its new free-to-play MOBA game based on DC Comics’ Infinite Crisis. Coming to PC, it will bring a number of well-known superheroes and their twisted versions in to a Battle Arena with “map-altering events”.
The previously PC exclusive game by the developer below – Blacklight: Retribution – will be coming to the PS4, Sony has confirmed. The game will be free-to-play title on the console, but it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not PS4 users will be able to compete with PC players.
Zombie Studios has announced their latest game Daylight – a PC based first-person horror game powered by Unreal Engine 4.
Sticking with PC. BioWare has announced that the Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion pack – Rise of the Hutt Cartel – will be available on 14 April for a cost of $19.99. The expansion will bring new story content, a new planet called Makeb, and raise the level cap to 55. Those who pre-ordered the game’s first digital expansion before 7 January will receive early access beginning on 9 April.
Still with PC, CCP has confirmed that Eve Online‘s nineteenth free expansion, called ‘Odyssey’, will be arrive on 4 June.
Moving to industry news. Team Ninja has been split into two separate teams. The development studio now consists of two groups; Ichigaya Development Group 1 and Ichigaya Development Group 2, according to the announcement by Tecmo Koei and translated by Siliconera.
Blockbuster UK has been thrown a lifeline after Gordon Brothers Europe bought the embattled retailer for an undisclosed fee. This means around 264 stores will remain open and 2,000 jobs will be saved.


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Shah plus pointed out that usually people don’t need certainly to borrow most far currency. And Maine title loan then he claims that really gurus have constantly currently earned new dollars they require because they have worked far sufficient for the spend several months. They simply haven’t been paid yet ,.
Former Banker, Today Regulator, Really wants to Succeed Finance companies To make Pay-day-Design Fund
Their PayActiv company allows gurus gain access to those funds they have previously gained. Thus at a lot of companies now – also Lee’s Well-known Menu Poultry therefore the state’s greatest individual business manager, Walmart – pros install an application on the cellular telephone. It’s pertaining to PayActiv and also to the fresh payroll program of one’s company.
“Thus let’s say they will have already received $900” by earning $100 1 day getting 9 days, says Shah. However, payroll continues to be 5 days away and additionally they have to have the money straight away. Shaw claims it open the newest application and you will “they’re going to look for several that’s 1 / 2 of the quantity he has acquired that is accessible to him or her.”
Therefore if they want $eight hundred for a car or truck resolve or a visit to see a great unwell cousin, it tap a few keys and the money becomes zapped to its family savings or a prepaid credit card. Additionally the percentage are $5. (Specific employers spend the money for payment otherwise a portion of they.) & most workers are determining which is a much better option than just delivering caught in the a pattern out of debt that have costly cash advance.
Brand new software also has specific innovative an approach to push staff to help you build discounts membership therefore they’re not chronically strapped for money. The system spends certain process rooted in behavioral business economics. Shah says they requires pros to put, state, couple of hours away from spend per week with the coupons, because the specialists perform far better that than to a dollar number.
Eg tools are essential, of course, once the problem organizations such PayActiv are making an effort to target is not just one regarding professionals not receiving paid-in time for you to spend particular costs. It’s a more complicated problem between your complications a lot of People in america deal with out of controlling and you can being on top of their finances in the middle of all the demands of lifestyle.
“Slightly candidly, most of The united states try way of life paycheck so you can paycheck and that’s not an effective socioeconomic situation, which is an american problem,” says Daniel Eckert, a great Walmart senior vice president. “One spans numerous socioeconomic categories regardless if you are an each hour representative or a management representative.”
“I truly consider it’s video game-changing,” says Laura Scherler, the fresh new director out-of monetary balance and you can achievements on Joined Ways. She says other people run employers to provide specialists genuine fund – more than simply a progress towards the period they’ve got currently worked. People get paid back over stretched periods of time with desire.
Consumer supporters say companies shall be careful to make sure that their workers get a great deal. But Scherler states there are good down-prices loan selection. “Indeed there appears to be a couple of things future together with her correct now that can make it very exciting. I do believe businesses is even more conscious financial fret influences the pros.”
And you can professionals hunt very alert to one too. More than 100 businesses have accompanied PayActiv. A good Walmart exec claims there have been an enthusiastic “extraordinary” reaction of employees. More than two hundred,100000 Walmart workers are today with the system.
Remember that to own one minute. According to Federal Set aside, 40 % of People in america do not have $400 into the savings to resolve its water heater or another crisis. However, Shah says they’ve been spending up to $2,one hundred thousand per year into the fees and you may focus locate crisis short-label bucks. The guy think this is problematic one to necessary restoring.


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Adobe (ADBE 0.24%) is paying a massive premium to buy Figma, a $20 billion price that's 50 times Figma's sales last year. While not a competitor, Figma certainly represents a threat to Adobe. Fool contributors Jason Hall and Jeff Santoro discuss the details and whether it was a mistake or a smart move for Adobe.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of Sept. 21, 2022. The video was published on Sept. 22, 2022.


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BY ROY ALBERT ANDRADE, K1LLER, Inc.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Pro basketball power forward Kevin Love and Banana Republic, a subsidiary of Gap Inc., have strengthened their partnership by preparing to distribute a limited-edition men's capsule of clothing and accessories on September 18, 2018. "I jumped at the opportunity to evolve my partnership with Banana Republic and was honored to team up with them to create a Fall collection," says Kevin Love. "This is an incredible opportunity for me to express myself and reflect my personal fashion sense, which I describe as classic, tailored and versatile."
As Banana Republic's men's style ambassador, Kevin Love, continues to build customer relations as he meets customers in Los Angeles, his old University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) home turf. "Kevin has been the pinnacle expression of our tailored performance innovation and we're excited to push that further with a collaboration that's true to Kevin and Banana Republic," said Banana Republic Chief Marketing Officer Mary Alderete. "From February's All-Star event to Fall's capsule collection launch, it's been a truly collaborative partnership with Kevin, and we look forward to seeing everyone sporting their BR/K.LOVE-18 this year."
Shawn W. Anderson


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Wind Mobile says it doesn't have the money to buy wireless spectrum
TORONTO - On the eve of the wireless spectrum auction, new wireless player Wind Mobile says it's withdrawing from bidding due to a lack of funds.
Wind Mobile CEO and chairman Anthony Lacavera says majority owner, Russian telecom VimpelCom, has decided not to fund the company's participation in the 700 megahertz spectrum auction that starts Tuesday.
The small carrier has been trying to become Canada's fourth major wireless carrier after big players Rogers (TSX:RCI.B), Bell (TSX:BCE) and Telus (TSX:T), which dominate the market with more than 25 million subscribers among them.
Wind Mobile's withdrawal doesn't bolster Ottawa's attempt to have a fourth wireless carrier in every region of the country. Wind has more than 650,000 subscribers and operates in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia but was put up for sale by VimpelCom.
While Lacavera says it's business as usual for the company, not being able to participate in the auction leaves Wind with a shortage of spectrum to upgrade its network.
Lacavera still owns 35 per cent of the company he founded and says VimpelCom is continuing discussions with the federal government and him about the company's future.
A total of 10 Canadian participants â€” including the big three â€” are bidding on the 700-megahertz radio waves now that Wind Mobile has dropped out.
The previous spectrum auction in 2008 raised $4.3 billion and ushered in new players: Wind Mobile, Mobilicity, Public Mobile, Videotron and Eastlink.
Since then, Mobilicity has been put up for sale and Public Mobile has been sold to Telus.
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DETROIT -- General Motors' lawyers have sent Visionary Vehicles LLC founder Malcolm Bricklin a letter advising him not to use the Chery brand name in the U.S. market.
Bricklin plans to sell vehicles built by China's Chery Automobile Co. in the United States starting in 2007.
GM "said Chery sounds too much like Chevy," Bricklin says. "I don't think so. They don't want Chinese cars coming into the U.S."
Bricklin told Automotive News on Friday that he has not yet decided if he will use the Chery name in the United States.
During his Chicago auto show press conference last February, Bricklin held up a small, die-cast model of the Chery QQ subcompact and said he would tell GM CEO Rick Wagoner that the miniature would be the "only Chery" that would be imported into the United States.
Separate from its issue with Bricklin, GM is suing Chery in China, alleging that the QQ is a rip-off of the design of the Daewoo Matiz, made and sold in China as the Chevrolet Spark.
You may e-mail Gail Kachadourian at


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The CityWide Loan program offered by the Birmingham Business Resource Center has expanded its services outside of Birmingham and changed its name.
Now known as Foundation Capital, the program will offer 504 loans to small businesses throughout Alabama and in possibly in some parts of Tennessee.
Bob Dickerson, founder of the Birmingham Business Resource Center, said small businesses can use the loans for expansions, real estate purchases, heavy machinery purchases and to remodel existing facilities.
"Anytime we do things to help small business grow, it helps boost the economic development in Alabama and have an impact on the local tax base," he said.
When BBRC began offering the program, nine loans were made a year and now the group sets a new record every year, with 34 loans made to businesses last year worth between $300,000 and up to $600,000, he said.
Fifty percent of the loan will come from a private source, such as a bank, 40 percent of the loan is funded by the Small Business Administration and the business must put up the other 10 percent.
Ann Williams, owner of the gymnastics training center Head Over Heels, said she applied for a traditional loan to expand her business and was turned down.
She was approved to take out a loan through CityWide and has since moved from Homewood to a larger facility in the Oak Mountain area.
"That was instrumental in helping us expand our business into the new building," she said. "Our business has grown tremendously."
Bill Belski, assistant professor of accounting at Samford University, said loan programs, such as Foundation Capital, are important because small businesses can help revitalize cities and directly impact the nation's economy.
"This can really give deserving people the chance that they need to be successful," he said of the loan program.
While mega companies, such as Microsoft Corp., get the spotlight, small businesses employ a large amount of the workforce, Belski said.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, small businesses have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
Small firms with fewer than 500 employees employed 56.4 million, nearly the same as large firms at 56 million.
Smaller firms with fewer than 100 employees employed 40 million workers.
"Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy," he said.
"The real businesses are the small ma-and-pa type businesses that create wealth in the city."


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A photograph of an internal Best Buy retail calendar screenshot may give us the best clue yet as to the launch day of the iPhone 5. The event in question is an Apple fixture installation and is scheduled for October 21st. The date in question is a Friday which would line up with other iPhone release days.
This not a normal fixture installation either according to a tipster who talked to This is my next. The request for a manager to be on hand at 6am is not the norm and is a mirror image of what happened when the iPhone 4 was launched last year. The tipster also went on to say that Best Buy managers have a meeting scheduled for October 10 to discuss upcoming releases.
TiPb recently heard that an original release date of October 14 was being moved up to October 7. Whether it's now been moved back again, this time to October 21 we're not certain, but because Apple doesn't pre-announce products, they're free to adjust the exact date up until even invitations go out and their executives take the stage.
I still expect an announcement of the iPhone 5 at the end of this month with a mid October release. Either way, I am now sick of suffering with an iPhone 4 that is out of warranty. Anyone else tired of waiting for iPhone 5 already?
UPDATE: Boy Genius also got their hands on a Best Buy screen today, this one pointing to a possible first week of October launch for iPhone 5, similar to what TiPb heard a few weeks ago. They also seem to indicate Sprint will be one of the launch carriers, which has been another of the big rumors circulating lately. All of this, again, claims


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Apple and Google have agreed to remove LinkedIn from iOS and Android app stores in Russia, according to a new report from The New York Times. In November, the service was ruled to be in violation of a 2014 law requiring all data collected on Russian citizens to be stored within Russian borders. Moving data within Russian borders has been widely viewed as a first step towards more aggressive surveillance measures, and many web companies have declined to relocate their data centers to comply with the law.
Acquired by Microsoft last year, LinkedIn is the largest service to fall victim to the new law so far. Web access to LinkedIn was blocked in November through cooperation with the state telecom, but was still accessible to users with a VPN. The block caused serious problems for the mobile apps, but they remained available on iOS and Android app stores in the wake of that order. That has now changed, and the app is no longer available to download in either store.
Apple drew fire earlier this week for withdrawing the New York Times app in China under similar pressure. China blocked web access to the Times in 2012.
Gone from both app stores
While Russia’s data localization measures are particularly aggressive, it’s far from the only country to adopt such measures. The Information Technology Industry Council tallies a total of thirteen countries with some form of data localization law, including the United States, which requires Department of Defense partners to store the division’s data within U.S. borders.
Still, the move is likely to inflame tensions between Russia and the US, which have hit a peak in recent weeks. Earlier today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a public report accusing Russia of mounting an espionage campaign that included the leaking of email archives from the Democratic National Committee, with the ultimate aim of swaying the US presidential election.
“We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against US allies and their election processes,” the report concludes.


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Recent shoppers should discard raw milk produced by The Family Cow in Chambersburg, Franklin County, because of a potential bacterial contamination, according to a news release from the state Departments of Health and Agriculture.
The Department of Agriculture received a consumer complaint and collected samples of raw, or unpasteurized, milk from the farm on July 29, the release said. Positive test results for Campylobacter were confirmed on Monday.
The Department of Health confirmed two cases of the infection in people who drank the raw milk, the release said. Illness usually occurs two to five days after ingesting the bacteria, and symptoms of infection include diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever.
Agriculture officials have ordered the owners of the farm to stop the sale of all raw milk until further notice, the release said.


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SANFORD, Fla – The owner of Hotter Than El Handcrafted Hot Sauces, Dino Ferri, is taking his love of heat in a new direction by opening a specialty grocery store in Sanford focused on spicy foods from around the world.
[ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO THE FLORIDA FOODIE DIRECTORY]
Ferri opened Spice is Nice International Heat Market, 106 S. Palmetto Ave., in downtown Sanford.
“It is great to have this concept of mine come to life,” Ferri, said in a news release. “After years in the hot sauce business, I am excited to expand on that and be able to bring what I love and know to the community!”
[TRENDING: Disney is offering a private jet world tour | Hidden gem: Zip through canyons at this Ocala adventure park | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Ferri started Hotter Than El in 2015 after losing his job.
“I lost my job and my career — thought, ‘Well now’s a good time to give it a shot,” Ferri said on the Florida Foodie podcast.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below:
Ferri is also the former CEO of the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Garden, a position he took on after starting his hot sauce company. He resigned from the position in the spring to run Spice Is Nice after announcing he was leaving the zoo in September.
Ferri sauces have won awards and have also been featured in two seasons of the internet talk show “Hot Ones.”
Ferri sells his sauces at Spice is Nice, along with sauces, spice rubs, pasta and drinks from all around the world, according to the release.
The business is open Wednesday thru Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.


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Britain’s economy is closing a turbulent year on steadier ground, as households defy the biggest squeeze on disposable income in living memory, a Guardian analysis of economic news over the past month shows.
In a period in which Theresa May won a deal with Brussels to move the Brexit talks forward to focus on trade, the Guardian’s monthly tracker found pockets of strength in the economy – even as businesses express increasing concerns over the size of the challenge to come.
There were some concerning developments. The cost of living squeeze intensified and there were signs that the country’s jobs boom of recent years has come to an end.
The International Monetary Fund used its annual health check of the UK to say that the Brexit vote in June 2016 was responsible for the economy’s slower growth and stress that the government needed a deal with the EU that kept trade as free as possible.
Businesses are also continuing to press the government to make further progress in talks with the EU, despite this month’s breakthrough, warning they will keep hiring and investment plans on ice without greater clarity. Firms want to see a transitional deal to smooth the UK’s exit from the EU as early as possible. However, there may be a long wait amid political tensions within the government.
To gauge the impact of the Brexit vote on a monthly basis, the Guardian has chosen eight economic indicators, along with the value of the pound and the performance of the FTSE 100. Economists made forecasts for seven of those barometers before their release, and in three cases the outcome was better than expected.
The latest dashboard shows how sterling staged a recovery against the dollar before the government struck a deal with the EU27 to progress talks to focus on trade, while the FTSE has benefited from a global boom in share values as investors anticipate greater corporate profits owing to a package of tax cuts put forward by tDonald Trump.
Among the strongest indicators of short-term economic strength for the UK was an unexpected increase in high street sales. Economists had thought rising inflation and sluggish wage growth would lead to a drop in spending, which has been one of the big reasons for a slowdown for the UK economy this year.
But Black Friday promotions gave Britain’s retailers a much-needed fillip, as sales figures for November show the US-inspired period of discounts led to a 1.1% increase in the total value of goods sold last month compared against October. City economists had expected a rise of 0.4%.
There were warnings that consumers may have simply brought forward their Christmas shopping to exploit the steep discounts on electrical goods and other items, which may lead to weaker sales in the traditional boom month of December.
Writing in the Guardian, Andrew Sentance, a former member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC), said it was positive to see strong consumer spending figures, because weaker retail sales had been one of the key issues driving the slowdown of the economy.
“The key issue for retailers will be whether we see this type of growth rate sustained into the crucial Christmas and New Year sales period,” he said.
“The latest economic data has been mixed, but there have been some positive news on consumer spending and on the global economy to offset continued evidence of a jobs slowdown.”
Britain’s jobs-creation machine of recent years showed signs of chugging into reverse over the past month, as the latest official figures showed the number of people in work fell by 56,000 in the three months ending in October. The Office for National Statistics said the upswing that began in 2012 – and persisted for a year after the vote to leave the EU – had petered out.
There was also evidence of a growing skills shortages for British firms, with the ONS data showing 798,000 vacancies in the three months to October – the most since comparable records began in 2001.
Economists have argued a slowing economy and the political maelstrom around Brexit will make firms reluctant to hire workers. Although some have said the rising number of vacancies is due to a weaker supply of employable people, as opposed to an outright drop in demand among firms to take on new staff.
That could be caused by the biggest fall in net migration, as EU workers leave the UK after the Brexit vote. The latest official figures showed net migration to Britain fell by 106,000 to 230,000 in the 12 months to June.
Still, the rate of unemployment remained at its lowest level since the mid 1970s of 4.3%. But that did little to improve the bargaining power of workers to demand better pay, as average weekly earnings remained below the growth in prices at 2.3%.
The squeeze on British households intensified over the past month as the latest figures showed inflation edged higher to 3.1% in November from 3% in October. The Brexit vote has been directly blamed by economists, who say the fall in the value of the pound after the referendum has made it more expensive to import goods to Britain, pushing up prices on the high street.
The weak pound does appear to have helped British exporters, with figures over the past month pointing to a jump in trade. Some economists are sceptical, though, suggesting that the increase has come from a recovery in global growth.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said car production in 2017 was on course to show the first fall since the economy was in recession in 2009, with exports failing to make up for a sharp fall in domestic demand.
Britain continues to import more than it exports, although there was positive news as the trade in goods deficit came in at £10.8bn in the three months to October, which was better than the forecast of £11.5bn made by economists.
Over the past month, there were also mixed messages from closely watched barometers of economic activity among businesses. Britain’s dominant services industry showed signs of slowing after several months of resilience, while there was an upturn for both the construction and manufacturing industries.
Although manufacturers only account for about 10% of the economy, they are benefiting from a boom in global trade, with the Markit/Cips purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector rising to 58.2 in November from 56.6 in October – the strongest number in four years on an indicator where anything above 50 indicates growth.
Most economists think UK economic growth will grow at about 1.5% this year before falling further in 2018, which is better than some of the gloomiest forecasts made just before the referendum for a Brexit-induced recession. However, it also places the UK among the slowest growing of the world’s major economies. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development also expects growth to fall to 1.2% in 2018 and 1.1% in 2019, placing the UK at the bottom of the table for major nations.
The absence of the Brexit vote could also have led to higher growth rates in 2017, according to Ross Walker, head of European economics at NatWest Markets, who said expansion of almost 2% may have been achievable.
“The slowdown in the UK in 2017 stemmed, to a large extent, from the Brexit vote,” he said, pointing to the squeeze on households from inflation owing to the weak pound, which had a knock-on effect for consumption and growth.
Writing in the Guardian, David Blanchflower, another former member of the Bank’s MPC, said real wages were below their level in 2010 when David Cameron’s Tory-Lib Dem coalition government took office.
“There is no sign that is going to change any time soon, as inflation is falling only slowly and there is no sign that there is going to be a pick-up in nominal wage growth,” Blanchflower said.
“Wages rising at 2% with prices rising at 3% is not good. Living standards will continue to fall for the foreseeable future.”


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Carden Park in Cheshire has teamed up with Technogym to install a range of top fitness equipment within its leisure club.
The luxury hotel, which is currently closed following government guidance on Covid-19, has invested over £300k into remodeling its leisure offering, and will become the first site in the north of the UK to install a Technogym bike, alongside a selection of other innovative fitness equipment.
Carden Park’s new equipment includes treadmills, exercise bikes, cross trainers, rowers, free weights, and benches.
The equipment has also been fully integrated with a Carden Park MyWellness App which allows members to stay connected to their personal training programme either directly on the equipment or through their mobile devices.
General manager Hamish Fergusson explains, “Our new £10m spa is setting new standards for health and wellbeing destinations and we wanted to achieve the same for our leisure club to ensure we have one of the best wellbeing offerings in the country.”
It is hoped the leisure club will be fully opened this spring.


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Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, fell just short of Wall Street revenue expectations for the third quarter — which were already lowered — reporting a sales increase of 6%, its slowest growth since going public.
The company posted sales of $1.128 billion for Q3 and adjusted net income of 8 cents/share. Wall Street analysts on average expected $1.14 billion in revenue and an adjusted net loss of 1 cent/share, per financial data provider Refinitiv. Net loss was $360 million, including restructuring charges of $155 million, compared with a net loss of $72 million in the prior-year quarter. In late August, Snap laid off 20% of its workforce, nearly 1,300 employees, and announced the shutdown of several initiatives, including ending Snapchat original series.
Snap stock dropped as much as 27% in after-hours trading on the top-line miss.
The company previously disclosed that revenue in Q3 through Aug. 29 was up about 8% year-over-year, well below prior expectations, but otherwise had not released guidance for the quarter. Snap did not provide financial guidance for Q4 “given uncertainties related to the operating environment.”
Snapchat’s user growth outpaced revenue growth. The app’s average daily active users in Q3 hit 363 million, up 16 million from 347 million in the prior quarter and up 19% year over year. In addition, the company said Snapchat+, its $3.99/month subscription service for exclusive, experimental and prerelease features, had more than 1.5 million paying subscribers in Q3 (after topping 1 million as of Aug. 15) and is now offered in over 170 countries.
The company expects to reach approximately 375 million daily active users on Snapchat in Q4, and said that so far in the fourth quarter it has seen revenue growth of approximately 9% year-over-year.
In a worrisome sign, Snap said total time spent watching content on Snapchat in the U.S. decreased 5% year over year, which it attributed to lower engagement with Friend Stories (despite an increase in time spent with Discover and Spotlight).
“This quarter we took action to further focus our business on our three strategic priorities: growing our community and deepening their engagement with our products, reaccelerating and diversifying our revenue growth, and investing in augmented reality,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in prepared remarks. Snapchat’s DAU growth “continues to expand our long-term opportunity as we navigate this volatile macroeconomic environment.”
“Our business continued to face significant headwinds in the third quarter,” Snap said in its Q3 investor letter, citing “elevated inflation, increasing interest rates and heightened geopolitical tensions.”
“We are finding that our advertising partners across many industries are decreasing their marketing budgets, especially in the face of operating environment headwinds, inflation-driven cost pressures and rising costs of capital,” Snap said in the letter.
Amid the macroeconomic turmoil, Snap has been dealing with the exit of two top ad execs — chief business officer Jeremi Gorman and VP of sales Peter Naylor — who joined Netflix this summer to lead its ad business. In August, Snap named Jerry Hunter, previously SVP of engineering, to the position of COO.
With Snap largely exiting the original content business, the company said it’s focusing on content from media partners and creators. Over the years, Snap had funded dozens of original series for the Discover section of the Snapchat app, including shows featuring Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, Megan Thee Stallion, Stephen Curry, Ryan Reynolds, Simone Biles, Will Smith and Addison Rae.
Snap previously said its layoffs and cost-cutting steps would save $500 million in cash expenses on an annualized basis, including $50 million on Snapchat originals, relative to Q2 2022, according to the company.
In reporting Q3 earnings, Snap announced that its board had authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $500 million of its Class A common stock for the next 12 months, a step to try to boost the company’s stock price.


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International Coatings Company has introduced its newly reformulated General Purpose Color Series (7600 Series).FULL STORY
News: Screen Printing
Workhorse to Offer Two-Day September Workshop
Workhorse Products, Phoenix, will host a beginner’s workshop on Sept. 19-20 at its facility in Phoenix about how to start a T-shirt screen-printing business.
Terry Combs, a veteran screen printer and educator with more than 30 years of experience printing thousands of shirts and training thousands of students, will teach the hands-on class.
Day one will begin with an explanation of what a screen is and by the end of the second day, all attendees will have pulled a squeegee and printed a full-color simulated process design on a black shirt. Students also will degrease and coat a screen, set up a multicolor job, and learn about printing plastisol transfers, specialty inks, art preparation and more.
In addition to the technical aspects of screen printing, Combs will discuss how to start a business and find customers, and other day-to-day business topics.
The class runs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. The cost is $395 for the first student and $195 for additional students from the same company. The video shown above explains what the class offers.
To register, click here.
For more information, call 480-282-1126 or email email@example.com. — L.V.
More Screen Printing News
Lee Stuart, entrepreneur and YouTube creator, has added his spin to the Ryonet Riley Hopkins 250 6×4 Press and Multi-Station Press Cart.FULL STORY
Long-time industry expert and Impressions magazine contributor Charlie Taublieb has released a new book, The Screen Printers Handbook & Survival Guide.FULL STORY


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Every upcoming PlayStation 4 release date in July 2018
What new PS4 games are coming out in July 2018? Well, the sun’s shining and there are SEGA skies outside. This means that the games industry is on a little bit of a break in the wake of E3 2018, and there aren’t a whole lot of new releases to look forward. Perhaps the highest profile new...
When will July 2018's PS Plus lineup be revealed?
What’s the July 2018 PlayStation Plus lineup? And when will the July 2018 PS Plus lineup be revealed? With the madness of E3 2018 all over, Sony's selection of free PS+ titles for July 2018 are destined to be the biggest story of next week. In this article, we’re going to round up all...
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Messaging platform, WhatsApp to boot off unsupported smartphones
Many may remember the transition from Mxit to BBM and then BBM to WhatsApp like it was yesterday, but the breakup between the green app and its many users may come sooner and not amicably so.
As of Monday, November 1, 2021, some older models of Android and iOS devices will no longer be compatible with WhatsApp.
The Facebook-owned messaging app regularly updates throughout the year which has seen the introduction of many features. Such as statuses, in-app video and voice calls, deleting messages, voice notes and the recent disappearing messages.
However, with such progress and innovation there will be collateral damage, this time the 43 incompatible Android and iOS devices.
According to an article by The South African, the app will only be compatible with devices running on versions of Android OS 4.1 and newer, iOS 9 and above and KaiOS 2.5.1 or above. This includes all Samsung Galaxies, iPhones from the first generation (SE) to all versions of the iPhone 4 and all LG phones in the Optimus range says Business Insider India.
Incompatible phones will no longer receive support and updates from the app. Eventually the older versions will decrease in functionality and become more difficult to use, essentially forcing users to either buy a new phone or delete the app altogether.
Samsung Galaxy tablet owner, Levy Mokoena, tells Wits Vuvuzela that, “The Internet is used by everyone and that opens it up to good and bad. Systems that may not be up to date in terms of security are vulnerable. People have their information stolen, they get scammed and their data gets lost. But South Africa is not like America and we cannot afford to just upgrade and update all the time.”
iPhone XR user, Selele Kotu suggests that software and application updates should be able to be compatible with the device for as long as it works and not have to burden the customer.
“Regarding iPhone, it already had the rights to the WhatsApp and POI act prior to the changes. [Most] iPhone users have already benefited from this surcharge as the software for the phone allows us to not worry about upgrades,” IT specialist and iPhone XR owner, Boipelo Rapodile mentions.
It is evident that information technology services like WhatsApp essentially force its users to update to the newest device in order to keep using their services. The relationship between you and your device may not even be guaranteed to reach its three-year leather anniversary.
FEATURED IMAGE: Cracks in the user and WhatsApp relationship are showing Photo: Kemiso Wessie
- Wits Vuvuzela, WITH VIDEO: New media college offers more than just talk, September 2021.
- Wits Vuvuzela, First-years face challenges with Wits online learning, April 2021.
- Wits Vuvuzela, Wits O-week goes virtual March, 2021.


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People have the power now more than ever. The newest advertising for brands has been shifting away from traditional forms of mass distribution and toward marketing partnerships with individuals with reach and influence in their social communities.
In 2011, NPR ran a story about McDonald's reaching out to 'influential' mom bloggers when the company was experimenting with healthier menu options. The company was giving these mothers early tastes of their latest products and tours of test kitchens, and asking for their input on future menu items. Although at the time the gargantuan fast food chain was looking for in-the-know test subjects, and perhaps a little publicity, they were tapping into the early beginnings of a trend that today is known as influencer marketing.
In today's flood of advertising, where most people ignore ads and many even use ad blockers and DVRs to circumvent them, one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience is by partnering with someone your audience already knows and trust - somebody with influence. This is the basic definition of influencer marketing. Essentially influencers are people known and respected within their fields or spheres of influence who endorse a product and push it out on their own channels, such as social media, newsletters, blogs, and any other media.
Sometimes the influencer is that same mainstream celebrity whose image and endorsement might have formed the basis of a traditional ad campaign, but more often he or she is someone with a much more specific audience. Whereas a few dozen celebrities dominate traditional campaigns, there are thousands of influencers and tens-of-thousands of micro-influencers who may be looked up to and admired by a niche group of people with similar interests, but almost unknown outside their spheres of influence. The marketer reaches their target audience because the influencer plays the role of a trusted friend instead of an admired celebrity.
Influencer marketing is big and getting bigger.
Meanwhile, "future growth projections estimate that the industry will experience five times more growth by 2021," says Entrepreneur.com.
One reason is the cost-effectiveness of influencer marketing compared to the typical cost of producing and airing a tv-commercial or taking out a full page spread in a national magazine. Forbes says cord-cutting is the trend that is essentially responsible for the advent of influencer marketing. Internet browser ad blockers mean people scroll right past the banner ad at the top of a website title page. TV viewership is dropping. Fewer people are reading print magazines or casually flipping through glossy pages of advertising. These reasons are only a part of the story behind the boom in influencer marketing, however. More importantly, influencers are engaging consumers right now in ways other media is not.
Premium, agency-produced content with extremely high production values has become extremely expensive, but most influencer-produced content is vastly more affordable. Meanwhile, as technology costs drop, influencers are creating content with production value that was once only available to traditional professionals. Influencer marketing is much closer to leveraging the word-of-mouth way that a product organically becomes popular. You're tapping into the potential of a product to 'go viral.'
The field of influencer marketing is growing and maturing. Since McDonald's first reached out to its coterie of mom blogs, firms and brands have learned much more about what works and what doesn't. Sure, people have always been paid to sell stuff, but influencer marketing is still in its early growth stages. Brands which have thus far limited their influencer budgets to just enough to test the waters will make them larger and permanent. Analytics tracking the impact of influencer campaigns have already improved significantly, and along with investing more in those campaigns, brands will use those analytics to become more strategic with their influencer dollars. The market will grow and expand, and influencer campaigns will transcend social media platforms to reach audiences on almost any platform.
The power of influencer marketing.
Algorithms, the equations that determine what reaches people on social media and what doesn't, are frustrating even the big guys these days and will continue to pose challenges. Algorithms on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media are the codes we're all trying to crack. This is problematic for influencers too, but at least you know an influencer's audience is already interested, and algorithms are constantly being tweaked as social media platforms try to use technology to seek out authenticity.
Meanwhile, Generation Z reads magazines at historically low rates. Their news doesn't come in a nice bound package. It comes a' la carte, through social media feeds. Influencers can have incredible pull over the algorithms that control those feeds, because of their social 'influence.' Influencers can sway a consumer toward a purchase by exposing them to new products and services or encouraging them to consider purchasing a product they may already have come in contact with, by showing them more about that product and educating them of its benefits. They can also provide a consumer direct access to purchase a product, through retargeted ads or affiliate links.
What's the difference between a celebrity hawking the latest gadget or do-dad in a magazine spread or TV commercial, and an influencer promoting the do-dad? Influencers foster more long-term relationships with brands. Consumers don't want a return to single-message advertising delivered by someone paid to read a script. They know it's fake. But the influencer is showing that product to their 'friends'-their thousands of friends. Influencer marketing is cost-effective. It's authentic. It's targeted. The audience is more likely to already be interested in what they're seeing. It's more intimate than a celebrity endorsement meant to appeal to millions of people.
Influencer marketing is maturing.
As the market for paid influencer marketing has matured over the last year, growing pains continue to be addressed. The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on undisclosed sponsorship agreements, and the amount of data and analytics available for an influencer marketing campaign has greatly increased. DigiDay reports:
Although it is hard for many marketers to pinpoint return on investment for influencer marketing, the ability for brands and agencies to dig into the audience data of influencers has significantly improved over the past year, according to Kerry Perse, U.S. director of social media for OMD [a marketing agency]
“Measurement capabilities of influencer networks are getting sophisticated,” said Perse. “They used to just provide delivery — or impressions — and engagement metrics. But now, some [influencer platforms] started partnering with Nielsen to create studies or [with] viewability companies like Moat.”
She added that agencies can now also get data around the tone of voice, content style and follower demographics of influencers to make sure brands reach the right audience.
The influencer is in control.
Influencer marketing is personality driven—the influencer's personality. The influencer's personality intrinsic to their brand and marketability, thus when marketing your product they are in control. The influencer is in control and this is what makes influencer marketing authentic.
Influencers pick brands that represent their views. It's not just pay-to-play. Influencers control the connection with their audience and fans. Whereas a traditional celebrity will go through agents and social media teams, for influencers it's personal, and people respond positively to that. With influencer marketing, the individual is becoming more powerful.


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CDP's Tarek Soliman spells out why the cement industry needs to clean up its act post-Paris
It is six months since the Paris Agreement was adopted by 195 countries and set a new compass for business on climate. The sectors at the forefront of investors' minds in the wake of the deal have tended...
Company announces it will introduce compostable cutlery across all its UK stores next year
United Utilities announces hosepipe ban on the way, as water industry again urges customers to curb water use where possible
Investment from publishing group Northern & Shell values bamboo toilet tissue maker at £20m
Fossil fuels increased share of energy supply investment last year - the first time since 2014


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Americans are expected to spend about $4.7 billion on gas over Memorial Day weekend – CNBC
Americans are expected to spend roughly $4.7 billion on gas during the Friday through Monday of Memorial Day weekend, according to GasBuddy, an app and website focused on finding real-time fuel prices.
That breaks down to about $1.18 billion spent on gas each day, give or take $1 million, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, tells CNBC Make It.
“Gas prices have been increasing for months due to the continued rise in gasoline demand as a myriad of destinations reopen ahead of the summer driving season. The Colonial Pipeline shutdown only highlighted how much more reliant consumers have become on gasoline since the pandemic hit,” De Haan says.
Gas prices should start to ease up after Memorial Day, but De Haan warns that a rebound may happen and gasoline prices could rise again around the middle of summer.
If you are planning a road trip this summer, here are a few tips to help you save at the pump.
1. Compare prices
Whether it’s through GasBuddy or other driving apps that show local gas costs, such as the AAA Mobile app or Waze, it’s worth looking around for the best price. A small difference can add up.
You should also be aware that fuel prices can fluctuate by location. AAA recommends getting gas before you arrive at your destination because many popular beach and vacation locations tend to have more expensive gas prices.
2. Make sure your car maintenance is up-to-date
3. Drive calmly
Being a zen driver can not only reduce your stress, but it may also help you save on gas. That’s because driving aggressively with lots of lane-changing, braking and rapid acceleration can increase fuel consumption by 30% on the highway.


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| Tags: CS:GO
| Author Zlosterr
CSGO Has 1 Million Concurrent Players For Second Month in a Row
CSGO clocks 1 million active players for the second month in a row.
Everyone knows that CSGO is the biggest esport in the world when it comes down to shooters. Games like Call of Duty also have loads of loyal fans, but there is just something about CSGO that makes the game stand out.
Despite the fact that the game just recently became 10 years old, it continues to have fans from all over the world. What’s even more impressive is that millions of people play it daily, and the latest stats prove it.
More than 1 million active players
Creating a game that continues to have millions of fans ten years after it was first released is impressive, to say the least. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive seems to be on the right path because the game accumulated more than 1 million concurrent players for the second month.
The first time this happened in 2022 was in August, which was when CSGO celebrated its 10-year anniversary. As we mentioned in some of our previous articles, players had the chance to get their 10th-year coin, and it seems like this attracted a lot of players.
Following the hype around the game’s birthday, a user in the CSGO’s subreddit informed us that the game had a whopping 1 029 351 million players this Saturday. The game accumulated an additional 6k players on Sunday, according to SteamCharts, so it seems like players really enjoy it.
Aside from the coin, we have to remember that Valve also added one of the classic CS 1.6 maps to CSGO. After so many years, Tuscan finally became available to the public and they have the chance to play it on all game modes. On top of that, people who like competitive matchmaking also had the chance to play Anubis and Breach.
Other impressive stats
Even though the numbers mentioned above are impressive, those who’ve kept an eye on CSGO know that the game had even more impressive stats. In fact, the all-time record took place in April 2020, when the game had more than 1.3 million concurrent players. The previous record was from 2016, seeing so many people online were really impressive.
Besides the updates in 2020, we must remember that this was the first year of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Most countries worldwide were under a complete lockdown, so it wasn’t surprising that many of them started playing computer games.
Even though CSGO continues to be the leading shooter and one of the top-tier esports in the world, Valve will have to replace it at some point in the future. There were many rumors regarding the game’s new version and what to expect. That said, most people believe that we will have access to the so-called “Source 2 engine”.
Source 2 should take advantage of the advancements in PC hardware in the last decade. In other words, CSGO should remain the same, but the game will offer much better graphics and more realistic gameplay. We are yet to see whether this update will become available, so make sure to follow us for more information.
Furthermore, you can read our CSGO betting tips and learn how to make the most of one of the biggest esports in the world. There are loads of top-tier tournaments to choose from, so expect to find a lot of options.


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Planning to travel overseas?
February is the cheapest month to book an overseas flight, according to data collected by Skyscanner.
The travel search site named the second month of the year and the second week in November as the cheapest time to travel using three years worth of flight booking data.
The month of December, specifically the fourth week, was revealed to be the most expensive time to book flights.
To get the cheapest flights from Australia, travellers will need to book flights an average of 12 weeks in advance of the departure date.
Australians looking to fly to Thailand should be booking flights 20 weeks in advance to get an average of five per cent cheaper flights (saving about save $52.74), according to the data.
For the US and Indonesia, 19 weeks will give travellers a saving of six per cent (saving about $124.99) and seven per cent (saving about $44.57), respectively.
For the UK, 12 weeks attracts an average of five per savings (saving about $127.12) and for New Zealand, six weeks will equate to an average savings of six per cent (saving about $39.69).
Nonetheless, there are varying factors that may affect prices such as direct and in-direct flight routes, types of airlines, the time of year and the distance to destination, which travellers should keep in mind.
Booking in advance would be favourable for destinations which are popular for Australians, such as Bali, or for travel during the school holidays.
A general rule of thumb is to monitor flight prices and to book well in advance of the intended travel date where possible.
Skyscanner compares millions of airfare, hotel and car hire deals. It is one of the most popular sites to search for low flight prices.
Cheapest time to travel
Week: Second week in November
Most expensive time to travel
Week: Fourth week in December
Best time to book cheap flights
Thailand: 20 weeks before departure date
US: 19 weeks before departure date
Indonesia: 19 weeks before departure date
UK: 12 weeks before departure date
New Zealand: six weeks before departure date


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Flame Grilling Products Launches State-Of-The-Art Website
Waldoboro, ME (RestaurantNews.com) “Normally, launching a new website is not a big deal” says Kenneth Theobald, President of Flame Grilling Products in Waldoboro, Maine. “However, when you are offering over three hundred products and options as a small company, you need to either ‘go big or go home’ when it comes to the Internet,” continues Theobald.
Flame Grilling Products started as a small business working out of their family farmstead in Brooks, Maine. Today, the company has a 30,000 sq ft production facility and ships eleven varieties of grilling wood chips, chunks, pellets, and planks to retail and institutional


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Issue OverviewComputer Weekly - 08 October 2013
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we examine how high street retailers are fighting back against online rivals by using IT to support multi-channel customers – and Tesco’s marketing chief explains how it works at the UK’s biggest supermarket chain. Also, we ask how recent revelations about government internet surveillance affect the protection of corporate information. Read the issue now. Access >>>
Premium Content for Free.
What ever happened to the paper-free office?
by Doug Miles
Its taken longer than we thought to achieve paper free offices. Doug Miles explains why.
- What ever happened to the paper-free office? by Doug Miles
Interview: Matt Atkinson, CMO, Tesco
by Caroline Baldwin
Computer Weekly speaks to Matt Atkinson, CMO of Tesco, on how data is driving forward a successful multichannel digital operation
- Interview: Matt Atkinson, CMO, Tesco by Caroline Baldwin
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CW Network Purchasing Intentions 2013
This exclusive Computer Weekly/TechTarget research, based on a survey of over 400 European IT professionals, reveals organisations’ investment plans ...
CW Special report on EMC
This 12 page special report from Computer Weekly, updated for 2013, gives you the facts on EMC, its strategy, products and services and financial ...
Can Europe give the world cloud coverage?
This month’s issue of CW Europe investigates how Europe could become the “trusted cloud region” according to the European Commission (EC) after the ...


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So was it a sellout or not?
That’s the question a lot of U.S. Mint customers are asking these days in reference to the U.S. Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Silver Dollar.
Since the sellout was announced by the Mint on Sept. 15, I’ve received a number of calls from readers who’ve said the Mint is still taking orders for the coin. And as our Page 4 story on the matter says, the Mint is indeed doing just that. What gives, you may ask?
Well, it seems that just like in the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” what we have here is a failure to communicate.
As I understand it, the Mint is supposed to inform those who ordered the commemorative around that Sept. 15 date that it might not be able to fulfill their orders.
In essence, they’re being put on a waiting list. Why? Because it’s likely some orders that came in earlier will be cancelled. It might be because somebody’s credit card didn’t go through or maybe a customer did not give the Mint the correct mailing address.
Whatever the reason, if an order is cancelled, the next person in line from that waiting list will then have his or her order fulfilled.
Here’s the catch: the Mint says it cannot tell those on the waiting list where they stand. You might be first or you might be No. 3,348. And you won’t know what the status is until you get notification that, “Yes, your order has been fulfilled,” or “No, we’re sorry but your order cannot be fulfilled. Tough luck, kid.” Actually, you probably won’t hear that last line.
But callers have told me they were not informed of those provisos when they submitted their orders.
Hopefully, this will clear up any confusion. As Forrest Gump says, that’s all I have to say about that.
As far as the boxes go, there’s a few items of note. The 2005 uncirculated set has eclipsed the 1 million mark in sales. Of course, that set is getting lapped by the 2005 11-coin clad proof set, which broke the 2 million mark a while back.
You might also want to keep an eye on the 2005 American Bison nickel numbers. The 1,000-coin “P” bags of Bison nickels have already sold out and it appears the other bags aren’t far behind.
The days of Kansas state quarters are also numbered. Sales of the so-called buffalo quarter appear to be creeping upward. But soon, Kansas’ run will end.
On Oct. 14, the West Virginia state quarter will be launched. The last of the 2005 state quarters, West Virginia features an artist’s rendering of the New River Gorge Bridge. It’s actually one of my favorite state quarter designs, just a simple, clean image of one of the state’s most prominent landmarks.
Have a question? E-mail me at email@example.com.


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According to an analyst, around half a million metric tons of Urea are stuck at Chinese ports after China restricted exports of the fertiliser following a price surge.
One should know that China is the world’s largest producer of Urea. India imports around 30% of Urea annually and China was its largest producer last year.
According to the report, 2 state-owned Chinese Urea producers will prioritise domestic supply to keep the prices cheaper for the Chinese.
It is said that Indian Potash Limited has bought around half a million metric tons of Urea and it is currently being held at the Chinese port of Tianjin, awaiting inspections and clearance.
According to Reuters, there has been an extraordinary delay in the loading process because of inspections.
Ju said, RCF that is Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited may also struggle to get large purchases of over one million tons in the recently issued tender.
There is a heavy demand of Urea in India.
On the ZCE, Urea futures reached $353.84 per ton on September 1. It is the highest level since March.
CNAMPGC Holding Ltd, one of China’s top fertiliser exporters said that they will decrease exports to make sure to control the domestic supply and prices.
State-owned China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) has also asked its subsidiaries to ensure the Urea supply in the domestic market, according to Reuters.
However, we have different suppliers as well like Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Russia.
We have to see how the stock prices of RCF will react in Monday’s trading session. Today, it closed at 126.40 INR, down 1.86%.
I think this could prove to be negative for the stock price in the short term. So, let’s see, how the price goes on Monday. However, it has given good returns in the last 30 days.


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News from The Business Journals
Dec 4, 2013, 3:31 pm EST
Could you raise $40,000 in three hours?
That’s what a group of local celebrities has been asked to do to raise money for the Salvation Army’s Mission…
Jul 2, 2013, 3:24 pm EDT
Brandon Steven isn’t afraid to go head to head with some of the world’s best poker players.
Since taking up poker about eight years ago, Steven, owner…
Aug 31, 2012, 1:03 pm EDT
Sales at the area’s top auto dealers were up 7.5 percent last year over 2010 totals, as noted on this week’s list of automobile dealerships.
Aug 31, 2012, 6:00 am EDT
Several local auto dealers say their sales are up in 2012, and some have seen a resurgence in consumer confidence they say will help push their performance…
Jun 28, 2012, 3:58 pm EDT
Wichita businessman Brandon Steven took up playing poker about seven years ago and has since played in his share of big tournaments, including the World…
Aug 9, 2011, 3:27 pm EDT
The Wichita Thunder hockey team is under new ownership as of Monday.
The official announcement came during a news conference Tuesday afternoon, when Thunder…
Apr 22, 2011, 6:00 am EDT
The increase in gas prices has triggered a reaction in Wichita consumers.
Hybrids, fuel-efficient cars and scooters are in demand.
Cars and trucks with…
Apr 4, 2011, 12:50 pm EDT
Ford Motor Co. passed up General Motors in overall sales in March for the first time since February 2010.
Ford announced sales of 212,777 vehicles, up…
Mar 11, 2011, 6:00 am EST
Brandon Steven gets noticed a little more these days.
This past summer, he advanced to the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, which aired on ESPN.
Dec 2, 2010, 10:09 am EST
Auto sales were up nationwide in November for several brands sold in Wichita.
• General Motors, fresh off an IPO that raised an estimated $23 billion…
Nov 26, 2010, 6:00 am EST
Some local auto dealers say they’re seeing an uptick in business as 2010 winds down, making them confident this year will be better than last.
Oct 26, 2010, 2:29 pm EDT
Ford Motor Co.’s third-quarter profit rose by 68 percent from a year earlier, excluding results from Volvo, which the company sold in August to Chinese…
Aug 30, 2010, 12:00 am EDT
The majority of Wichita-area auto dealers felt the pinch of the recession in 2009.
According to the Wichita Business Journal’s list of the top dealerships…
Jun 3, 2010, 9:09 am EDT
Ford Motor Co. announced Wednesday that it will phase out its 71-year-old Mercury brand by the end of the year.
The brand has no stand-alone dealerships…
Aug 31, 2009, 12:00 am EDT
The Cash for Clunkers program created demand — and headaches, at least one local automobile dealer says.
It drove sales numbers to levels not seen in…


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Toyota has announced a new $461 million investment that will help its Kentucky manufacturing plant expand its powertrain capabilities, offer direct positions to temporary team members, and upgrade its equipment.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is the oldest Toyota plant in the United States and the largest Toyota plant in the world. Now 35 years old, it employs about 9,000 people and is being continually updated to keep up with a rapidly changing automotive landscape.
About 1,400 of those 9,000 employees are temporary positions hired via an office staffing agency. According to Toyota, part of the $461 million investment will be to offer these temporary workers direct positions at TMMK.
The plant currently assembles some of the brand’s most popular models including the Camry, Camry Hybrid, and RAV4 Hybrid. The investment will also enable TMMK to produce a new turbocharged 2.4-liter engine that Toyota believes will give it more flexibility in offering “a full portfolio of products, meeting current and future customer demand.”
The automaker says that by the time TMMK’s transformation is complete, it will have invested over $8.5 billion in the American manufacturing plant. If you’d like to be part of history and join the Toyota family, we invite you to visit Lustine Toyota in Woodbridge, Virginia, to check out our lineup of high-quality new and used automobiles!


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Mark Cuban is a colorful and discriminating investor on Shark Tank, the ABC reality show in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas. He’ll call out a dubious idea but also see the quirky charm in a site called I Want To Draw a Cat for You. So when Cuban made an off-the-air investment last week to become the biggest shareholder of Vringo, a little-known ringtone company, it begged the question, what made him bite?
He wasn’t the only one, either. The compay’s stock has more than tripled in the last three months. Vringo’s stock was trading for less than $1 in January, with less than 100,000 shares changing hands on a typical day. On April 3, more than 22 million shares were traded–the typical volume for Apple.
Why the 200-fold increase in trading? The six-year-old company generated less than $1 million in revenue last year, although it did more than triple its 2010 total thanks to its relationships with telecoms and device makers. Facetones, its most popular product, which displays a slideshow of someone’s Facebook photos when he or she calls your cell phone, isn’t a household name. Neither is the company’s video ringtones app, Vringo. It works just like it sounds, displaying licensed or home-made video clips, which puts a visual twist on a ring tone. Facetones has been downloaded more than a million times so far, mostly outside the U.S. The Vringo service has more than 400,000 monthly subscribers.
What got Cuban and other investors’ attention is patents. Not those developed by Vringo, which is headquartered in New York and has an engineering team in Israel, but the patents it’s acquiring. In mid-March, Vringo announced a merger agreement with Innovate/Protect, a company that paid Lycos, the one-time search giant, $3.2 million for search-related patents originally developed by former Lycos CTO Ken Lang. It then promptly filed an infringement suit against Google, AOL, and others, seeking “compensatory damages, past and future, amounting to no less than reasonable royalties,” according to the complaint filed in September. The patents, Innovate/Protect says, cover “relevance filtering technology” that Google uses to place ads alongside search results, which accounts for the vast majority of its $37.8 billion in annual revenue.
Vringo, through its merger, is potentially sitting on a goldmine, either a generous settlement or a steady stream of licensing fees for technology at the heart of Google’s business plan. Or it could strike out on the patents grab and simply gain a top-notch CTO, Lang.
Cuban, who has been an outspoken critic of the patent system, now owns more than a million shares, a 7.4% stake, in a company that’s counting on the system to pay off. It’s an intriguing hedge against his other investments–he’s an investor in Lions Gate Entertainment, for one, which owns a number of websites. And Innovate/Protect claims its intellectual property is foundational to online ads.
When I tracked down Vringo CEO Andrew Perlman yesterday in Dubai, where he’s speaking at a major mobile convention, he wouldn’t comment on the stock activity or the company’s biggest shareholder. Vringo’s lawyers, Perlman said, insist that he remain tight-lipped until the merger is finalized, which should be this summer.
Then the real waiting game begins. The trial date for the showdown with Google and others is set for October.


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OSAKA: Paper money holds its value because many people believe it is backed up with commodities. Cryptocurrency is the latest to hold such value to people.
Faizan Akhtar, born and raised in the UAE, is a financial controller at CoinMENA B.S.C ©. He works in a regulated cryptocurrency exchange medium while building a tokenized asset portfolio. He compares today’s cryptocurrency waves with the rise of the internet back in the 1990’s saying:
“Although I cannot ascertain the subsequent fact, the amount of people using cryptocurrencies today is similar to the number of people who started using the internet back in 1997. The world may be at an emerging node moving towards this new adoption. We used to use telephone lines to connect to the internet and we utilized that expertise to reach newer technologies and invent Wi-Fi later on. In hindsight, old technologies look redundant, but they were essential to reach the level we are at now.”
Conventional banks are becoming that “old technology” today and are being used to pour out funds into cryptocurrencies. Money is leaving the central banks and getting logged into the crypto ecosystem and revolving there.
“Eventually, all the money may evolve into crypto and banks may become irrelevant if they don’t find ways to adapt somehow,” Akhtar said.
FIAT money is what crypto uses for exchange. It is money that isn’t backed by a commodity such as gold or silver. Its value exclusively stems from the total trust that individuals place in it. It becomes the new collective illusion of where the new value lies.
While commodity-based money has always urged central banks to print and hold paper money as they wish to gain control, the value of FIAT money is stable.
What is different about FIAT is that its transactions are public. It means that people can control their own assets and how their money rotates and thus eliminate the mediator, banks. Furthermore, the government is being challenged by the cryptosystem because it hands control to the people, an imposed democracy through transparency that becomes incapable of controlling people’s lives by their assets.
“If you send one Ethereum to any of your friends, for example, the hash rate will be publicly seen. A publicly open display ledger brings lots of problems to the central banks who are trying to control people’s assets,” Akhtar said.
So how can people start investing?
People can get in through a regulated crypto exchange where they go through an entire KYC (Know your customer) process. That includes assessing the ID, document verification, and other customer identification procedures.
“The procedure takes around 5 hours on our platform CoinMENA, and then they’re up and running. There are many platforms like Kraken and Binance. However, they aren’t active in the Middle East where one can put in money but can’t retrieve their FIAT money, thus limiting the rotation of the money,” Akhtar said.
Today, there are two regulated exchanges in the whole GCC, both in Bahrain. One of them is CoinMENA, and the other is Rain. Bahrain has taken a big gamble by regulating cryptocurrencies to the central banks.
Platforms like CoinMENA throve on the demand of high net-worth individuals hungry to invest in cryptocurrencies through a regulated source. It currently operates in KSA, Oman, Kuwait, and UAE. People can buy one of the ten listed cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple…) and sell the coins, liquidate them into fiat, then withdraw the money as paper from their bank accounts.
“A decade later, this reorganization of global wealth may bring hyperinflation in the world. People who are left out of the crypto trade or those who didn’t ride the wave early on may suffer a massive depreciation on their assets, so I believe it is a do-or-die situation. We are currently 30 people in CoinMENA. Five of us are receiving our salaries fully in cryptocurrencies. This is how things are evolving,” Akhtar said.
The more confidence people have in cryptocurrencies and the more value they allocate to them, the more money they will pump in it, thus boosting their value. With digital value being born, the rise of digital creation may only be starting.


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Several downtown Vancouver businesses boarded up after U.S. violence, looting
VANCOUVER -- Contractors pulled up onto the sidewalk outside a number of downtown Vancouver businesses Wednesday to install plywood over windows and doors, and this time it had nothing to do with coronavirus closures.
Vancouver’s Nordstrom location has been temporarily closed and boarded up out of what the U.S. company is calling "an abundance of caution."
Several of the company's stores, including those in Seattle and Los Angeles have been looted as protests in some American cities over the killing of George Floyd turned violent.
A solidarity rally is planned for Friday afternoon in Vancouver, but it doesn't appear Nordstrom's decision was made due to any kind of Vancouver-specific concern.
"We're paying close attention to potential gatherings that may take place in cities across Canada and the U.S. this week," Nordstrom Canada said in an email to CTV News.
"To help keep our employees and customers safe, we are adjusting hours and temporarily closing stores in some locations. Out of an abundance of caution, some of our storefronts are being boarded."
The Retail Council of Canada advised its members to take action to protect their businesses if they have concerns.
“We are aware of possible marches or demonstrations in various cities and have advised our members that may have concerns to take precautions as we continue to monitor the situation,” the council said in a statement to CTV News.
SFU professor emeritus of marketing strategy, Lindsay Meredith, believes the decision may be strongly influenced by U.S. corporate policies.
"I really don't believe they're facing the same risks here in Vancouver as they are in various cities in the U.S.," Meredith said.
"Once you board up a retail store, you're sending a very big message. And that message is you’re expecting big trouble."
He says once stores start boarding up, other stores will likely follow.
A MAC cosmetics store on Robson was also re-boarding its windows on Wednesday afternoon, and directly across the street a Foot Locker was also encased behind a wall of plywood.
“I understand them. You don’t know how people are going to act. The first protest could have went very sideways, very quickly,” said Jacob Callender-Prasad, who organized a weekend anti-racism rally attended by an estimated 3,000 people at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday.
“Looking at how many turned out, it would have been very hard to control that crowd,” he added about the weekend protest that remained entirely peaceful.
Another rally is planned for Friday at 4 p.m. near the Olympic torch at Jack Poole Plaza.
Callender-Prasad originally planned for people to meet near Trump Tower and march through downtown, but that plan has changed. Protesters will now stay stationary in Coal Harbour and will not march.
“Trump Tower is not a good name to have a protest that is intended to be peaceful around,” he said. “Trump Tower can bring in a lot of people who aren’t just there for the protest but are there for other reasons, or to protest the protest, and things could get violent. We had security concerns.”


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A company that slaughters cattle may seem like an unlikely target for a cyberattack. That is, until you realize that taking out just one company could paralyze burger and steak supplies for all Americans.
That’s the lesson from the recent ransomware attack on one of the biggest U.S. beef producers. Namely, that a fervor for mergers and acquisitions has created single points of failure in some critical industries, making them prime targets for hackers who want to threaten huge disruptions to cash in on the biggest payouts possible.
The attack on JBS SA, which started over the Memorial Day weekend, wiped out production at plants that account for almost a quarter of U.S. beef supplies. That came just weeks after a hack on Colonial Pipeline Co. managed to take out 45% of the East Coast’s fuel supply, driving up gasoline prices and sparking shortages in some parts of the country.
It’s the natural risk that comes from the cheap food and energy bills that Americans have come to rely on. Fierce competition among companies to contain costs and achieve scale sparked a wave of consolidation that has left the vast majority of production in the hands of a few giant commodity producers that now oversee giant bottlenecks of supply. In turn, these companies have become sitting ducks for hacker groups that know any downtime of critical operations can cost millions and have serious economic impacts, making it all the more likely that companies will meet their demands.
Colonial ended up paying a $5 million ransom to regain control over its pipeline. JBS declined to comment on whether the Brazilian company paid a ransom, or on the risks of industry concentration.
“Massive scale, combined with the fact that critical infrastructures are frequently not well defended, make them such a prime target for hackers,” said Amit Yoran, chief executive officer of cybersecurity firm Tenable. “This puts organizations that operate critical infrastructure, which every consumer relies on, in the hot seat to either pay the ransom or deal with the economic fallout.”
Fuel storage tanks connected to the Colonial Pipeline Co. system. Photo: Bloomberg.
Of course, it’s not just commodity producers. American government agencies, businesses and health facilities have suffered a series of devastating hacks, and President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes billions of dollars tied to improving cybersecurity. But the companies that are critical to food and energy supplies are both particularly important to everyday consumers and especially vulnerable because their boards tend to be dominated by industry stalwarts rather than executives with technology expertise, and they often don’t have the safeguards in place seen in some other sectors.
“These companies tend to be old school,” said Danny Jenkins, CEO of cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker. “What the bad guys have realized is that if they can go after these guys, they don’t have the security in place, but they have the pockets.”
In the case of the meat industry, there are no U.S. Department of Agriculture cybersecurity regulations or requirements, a U.S. official said.
Meanwhile, JBS, the largest meat producer globally, is flush with cash. Booming protein demand helped the Sao Paulo-based company post its best-ever quarterly profits in the first quarter after generating record cashflow in 2020.
JBS grew to global dominance from its start as a single Brazilian slaughterhouse in 1953. Founder Jose Batista Sobrinho bought the abattoir with money earned from trading cattle in Goias, a rural state in the center-west of Brazil. After expanding in Brazil, often through acquisitions of failing businesses, the company started to grow overseas with major takeovers including U.S. meatpacker Swift & Co. in 2007, beef units of Smithfield Foods Inc. in 2008 and the 2009 purchase of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the No. 2 U.S. poultry producer.
The company is now the No. 1 beef producer in the U.S., accounting for 23% of the nation’s maximum capacity compared with rival Tyson Foods Inc.’s 22% share, according to an investor report by Tyson. JBS accounts for roughly a fifth of pork capacity.
The U.S. meat industry is so concentrated that when JBS plants shut down this week, the USDA couldn’t report on some key pricing because there are so few data points that disclosures would likely shed light on how much competitors were making. The consolidation also created major supply disruptions last year when COVID-19 outbreak forced shutdowns at major processing facilities, sparking meat shortages that even ensnared burgers at Wendy’s.
The majority of U.S. beef consolidation took place in the 1980s and 1990s, when companies built far bigger plants than ever before to capitalize on economies of scale. By 2000, a single cattle plant could process 6% of the nation’s output.
There have been concerns over Big Meat’s exposure to attacks during the past couple decades, but they never became a major flashpoint until recently, said James MacDonald, an agriculture economics professor at the University of Maryland. Congress has been examining legislation to address cattle markets and rural lawmakers recently pressed the Justice Department for action on an anti-trust investigation of the beef industry launched last year after the Covid disruptions. The cyberattack on JBS further underscores the risks associated with concentration, MacDonald said.
“Attacks like this one highlight the vulnerabilities in our nation’s food supply chain security, and they underscore the importance of diversifying the nation’s meat processing capacity,” U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the Senate’s No. 2 ranking Republican leader, said in an emailed statement.
The energy world is similarly at risk.
The Colonial Pipeline alone hauls almost half of all the fuel consumed on the U.S. East Coast. When it shuttered, it only took a few days for gasoline stations and terminals across several states to run dry. Reliance on the conduit system has grown over the years as refineries along the East Coast closed because they couldn’t make money in the face of competition with rivals better positioned to process increasingly abundant shale oil. Also, tougher regulation and fierce opposition from environmental activists made it increasingly costly and more complex for companies to pursue major pipeline projects.
A few other names, including Energy Transfer LP, Enterprise Products Partners and Kinder Morgan Inc., control the bulk of U.S. major fuel pipelines. Williams Cos. alone handles almost a third of all the natural gas Americans use every day for heat, power and cooking, according to information in the company’s website.
“If I just have to hack into one company that owns a lot of assets, I can get to all those assets much more easily than if they’re owned by a bunch of separate little companies,” said David Drescher, co-founder and board member of Mission Secure Inc., which helps oil and gas companies with their cybersecurity.
“I can get a big bang for my buck as a hacker.”
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.


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Google’s newly-designed Play Store launched last week, but the content was intended for American users; Canadians who installed the APK manually were met with a blank home screen and little else.
Today, however, we’re getting reports that Canadians are having the new Play Store pushed to their devices, complete with a full homescreen and lots of local content and recommendations.
If you haven’t received the update, you can always install it manually. Android Police has a full list of mirrored downloads of the new APK.
(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)


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The FCC's Media Bureau is soliciting comment on a
petition by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood for a declaratory
ruling that Nicktoons' upcoming Zevo-3
series--scheduled to debut next month--is a program-length commercial in
violation of FCC ad limits.
CCFC says it is in violation because the show
features characters originally developed by shoe manufacturer Skechers USA to
promote the sale of its shoes to kids,
which makes the show a program-length commercial, says CCFC.
The FCC has historically applied its
program-length commercial definition to kids shows that feature ads for a
product within a show featuring a character associated with it, for example, an
ad for GI Joe dolls within a GI Joe cartoon show.
The FCC has given interested parties until
Oct. 22 to file comments and Nov. 8 to file replies.
"[W]e do not believe that the show is a program-length commercial, nor do we agree that its transmission would violate the Children's Television Act or any of the Commission's rules or policies," said Nicktoons in a statement.
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Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.