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'I was struggling': Kate Bosworth reveals how therapy and her celeb friends helped her through her rocky twenties as she poses for stunning new shoot
She's been busy making a name for herself in the competitive fashion and acting worlds for over ten years, but even the beautiful Kate Bosworth has had her tough moments.
The 32-year-old stars in a stunning new shoot for The Edit, which sees her modelling SS15 couture pieces from some of her favourite designers including Givenchy and Valentino.
She also opened up to the magazine about her rollercoaster ride in Hollywood, admitting that she's sought therapy to help her cope with the ups and downs of fame.
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Model looks: Kate Bosworth lounges around in a top and bodysuit by Givenchy for a new shoot in The Edit
Showing off her model looks in a series of stunning shots for the magazine, dedicated fashion-follower Kate looks at home swathed in luxe pieces from the world's top designers.
But in the accompanying interview the model and actress admits that she hasn't always been so confident.
'I was quite armored for a lot of years,' she reveals. 'I had been going through such a hard time [in my 20s]. I felt like it was me and my experience was unique, when actually everyone goes through these challenges.'
Designer's favourite: The actress and model, who can regularly be seen on the Fashion Week front rows, also modelled a sheer dress by Valentino for the high fashion shoot
Be coquettish like Kate in a Valentino Spring 2015 maxi dress
Laser Lace Cut Out Maxi Dress from Valentino Spring 2015 Runway
Check out more of Valentino's Spring 2015 Collection at Neiman Marcus
Whether it's on screen, off screen or on camera, Kate Bosworth just exudes seductive style. For her The Edit photoshoot, she's wearing a lace laser cut out maxi dress from the Valentino spring summer 2015 collection. This dress is the perfect balance between innocence and incandescence.
From the yachts of Monaco to the beaches of South Hampton, we see this kind of dress being an absolute must have for summer. Pair it just like the runway with gladiator sandals or go lascivious with some lace up strappy white heels. Keep your hair down with some beachy waves to give it that nonchalance.
While this exact dress is not available online, check out the other pieces of Valentino spring summer 2015 that Neiman Marcus is carrying. For those of us with a budget, we've given you several suggestions that are just as sexy and demure without breaking the bank.
Eventually Kate turned to her close friend and fellow model/actress Helena Christensen. 'I just said to her, "God, I am struggling… I'm feeling quite lost." And she replied, "You should have called me! I have been through that so many times." And that was when the penny finally dropped.'
Realising she needed to share more with her friends and family proved to be a huge turning point, with the star also seeking some professional help from a guidance counselor. 'I don't think I'd be where I am without her,' she says of the expert help.
Adding that her one piece of advice would be 'to find mentors – as many as possible,' the actress thinks it's because she jumped straight into a career as a teen, skipping university and other milestones, that piled the pressure on.
Now in her thirties, Kate admits she feels much more at ease with herself and the direction of her career.
Support system: Kate has admitted her film director husband Michael Polish, pictured together last month, and her model friends helped her through her low moments in her career
Cover girl: Kate stars in the new issue of The Edit
Her film director husband Michael Polish has been a huge support, with the pair currently shooting their third project together, 90 Minutes in Heaven, a drama based on Don Piper's book.
The couple fell in love during the 2011 shoot for their film Big Sur, and four years on Kate says her 44-year-old husband is still giving her advice when it comes to cracking Hollywood.
'Michael said to me, "You have to be patient, because you're going to hit that next chapter where you're going to settle into yourself, and that's when things are going to get really interesting,'" she says.
The actress, who recently appeared in the Oscar nominated Still Alice, has got plenty of exciting ventures on the horizon, with five films in the pipeline.
The there's her latest fashion project - a brand collaboration with Californian shoe company Matisse Footwear, the first time the Fashion Week regular has worked on a shoe collection.
To see the full interview with Kate Bosworth in The EDIT, go to net-a-porter.com
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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Bruneian startup ReSpIn Labs is bringing its online sports matchmaking service Weekend Warriors to Thailand and Malaysia, with Red Bull and AirAsia as financial backers for the overseas rollout.
The startup had secured deals with sporting venue providers from both countries three weeks ago to include them in the Weekend Warriors platform.
The web-based service fixes futsal players in random teams for a small fee of $5 and pitch them against one another at a set venue and time.
In Thailand, Weekend Warriors has partnered with Soccer Pro, a Bangkok-based company that has 10 sporting venues, each having at least five artificial futsal turfs.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, Weekend Warriors has secured partnership deals with Kota Kinabalu’s Juara Gym and Borneo Sports, each having up to 10 futsal turfs for use by the online platform.
“We are also in the process of finalising our deal with a companies in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully it will also end with another good outcome,” said ReSpIn Labs CEO and founder Faezal Murni.
Faezal said the success of Weekend Warrior’s recent major tournaments; the AirAsia Challenge Cup in 2017 and last month’s Red Bull Warriors Cup, have left good impressions to both AirAsia and Red Bull, which lead to them to finance the startup’s expansion plan.
“We also have other companies who are looking to finance us,” the CEO added.
Faezal also revealed that a mobile app version of Weekend Warriors is in development and that it will make booking and paying much easier for users upon its release next year.
The startup also hopes to engage with international online payment service providers such as GrabPay and LinePay.

domain: news


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On the other hand, there are also objections to SaaS products, such as occasional performance and availability issues and security concerns.
SaaS products are part of the cloud computing trend, which also includes the provision of IT infrastructure services via the Internet, like storage and server capacity.
"In general, there has been a lot more awareness about cloud computing [recently] and about the transition [to that model] that has been taking place," said Rishi Chandra, senior product manager of Google Apps. "Many partners have been coming to us and telling us they see the [cloud computing] momentum and that they want to get involved."
A participating reseller that is betting big on this cloud computing trend is Excel Micro in Philadelphia. The company, founded in 1991, changed its entire focus five years ago from IT networking to cloud-based software, said Joseph Vaccone, president.
"We're excited about this shift into the cloud. The current economic conditions are going to force the model a bit faster than what we would have projected last year," said Vaccone. He expects Google Apps-related business to account for 25 percent of the company's revenue by the end of this year.
Companies interested in applying to the program can find out more information about the requirements online. Google will begin giving partners the green light to resell Apps Premier toward the end of March.
About 50 partners have been participating in the reseller program's pilot phase.
This Apps reseller program is an extension of the partner programs Google has had for some time for its enterprise products, like Apps and the enterprise search device Search Appliance.
Google has an Enterprise Partners program for third parties that offer services for Google enterprise products. For example, Cap Gemini made a deal with Google in September 2007 to offer Apps Premier services to large organizations.
Google also has a Solutions Marketplace of products that extend the functionality of Google enterprise products.
Apps, which also has the free Standard and Education versions, is in use at more than 1 million businesses by more than 10 million end-users.
Some large organizations that use Apps Premier include Genentech, Telegraph Media Group and the Washington, D.C., government.


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1. BuzzFeed Names Its First Executive Creative Producer: BuzzFeed reached across the aisle for its first executive creative producer, bringing Summer Anne Burton from BuzzFeed BFF, a creative unit devoted to native content for social platforms.
2. Facebook Canvas, a.k.a. Instant Articles for brands, officially launches: Facebook’s take on Instant Articles for advertisers is here. The social network officially launched Canvas today, a full-screen, video mobile format that is intended to engage people more than a regular video ad. And, similar to Instant Articles, Canvas ads load 10 times faster than a standard mobile website.
3. Havas Reports Organic Growth of 5.1% in 2015 Thanks to European Business: Havas reported another year of strong organic growth under global chief Yannick Bolloré, who took over the Paris-based holding company two years ago. Havas said 2015 organic growth rose 5.1 percent for the second year in a row, up from flat growth in 2013 under previous management led by David Jones.
4. Snapchat Enlists Nielsen to Track Ad Campaigns: Advertisers are enamored with the massive growth of Snapchat. But if they’ve had one persistent gripe, it’s been that Snapchat is behind other media companies when it comes to providing data on the performance of advertising campaigns. To remedy that, Snapchat is teaming up with Nielsen to supply marketers with third-party data measuring their ad campaigns.
5. Samsung Unpacking 1988 to 2016: Samsung’s release of the new Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Gear 360 is being promoted with a commercial covering the unpacking of new models, from the release of the SH-100 mobile phone in 1988 to the first wristwatch phone, the world’s smallest TV phone to Samsung’s first MP3 phone.
6. Facebook Will Extend ‘Canvas’ Ad Format To Instagram: Canvas will be syndicated to Instagram in the second half of 2016. The company will explore extending Canvas to its Audience Network as well.
7. Twitter Enhances Embedded Timelines: Using Twitter’s embedded timeline on your website? It’s about to get better. Exactly one week from today, on March 3, a more sophisticated, modern and sleek timeline will be rolled out. The new timeline will feature responsive design, automatically expand media (such as videos and GIFs) and integrate newer recently launched Twitter features, such as Twitter polls.
8. Google Launches AMP Listings; Here’s How They Look: Yesterday, Google officially launched AMP in the Google search results, although many searchers saw it a day earlier. Now, when you search on your mobile device for queries that trigger news results, you may see a Google “AMP” icon in the search results. It may show under the news carousel or in a top news listing category.


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Green Right Now Reports
Far right GOPers who oppose federal standards for energy efficient light bulbs have successfully attached a rider to the big spending bill moving through Congress.
The rider withholds funding for federal enforcement of new efficiency standards going into effect in 2012, though it leaves in place the 2007 law raising the efficiency standards for light bulbs.
While this could lead to some cheap, inefficient bulbs slipping into the market — potentially slowing of the adoption of energy efficient light bulbs — it is unlikely to stop the wave of innovation and lighting advancements already under way by manufacturers who’ve retooled to meet the 2007 requirements, according to lighting and energy experts who spoke at a news conference on Friday.
Manufacturers will continue to make bulbs, both CFLs and incandescent, that meet or exceed the standards passed under the Bush Administration, because an increasingly enlightened consumer market demands it and it’s also “the law of the land,” said Kyle Pitsor, vice president of government affairs, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).
The 2007 law, signed by President George Bush, provides for staged-in light bulb efficiencies, first targeting the 100-watt bulb by requiring it to be at least 30 percent more efficient than old-style incandescents by 2012.
Manufacturers have already met this requirement with both CFLs and more efficient halogen-incandescents that are already on the market, said Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy.
The light bulb standard “represents the most important of the appliance standards,” Callahan said. As all types of bulbs are gradually included, it’s anticipated to save the average family about $100 annually on their electricity bill, or about $12 billion in consumer savings across the nation. It will offset the power generated by 30 power plants, she said.
The rider, pushed by light bulb opponents like Reps. Michelle Bachman (R-Minn), Michael Burgess (R-Texas) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), strips the Department of Energy from being able to enforce the new standards. States attorney generals, however, will still be able to police the light bulb market. The opposition to energy efficient light bulbs arose in recent years as Tea Party Republicans argued that it represented overreach by the government. Defenders of the legislation, however, say it’s no different than the efficiency standards applied to refrigerators, washers and dryers and other appliances in an effort to reduce energy consumption.
The reduced enforcement of the new light bulb standards could allow “bad actors to sell” inefficient bulbs on the US market, creating unfair competition from illegitimate importers, he said.
Light bulb manufacturers based in the US, which have factories both here and abroad, would be expected to comply with the standards, he noted.
If tying the hands of federal regulators opens the market to less efficient bulbs, it would slow progress toward energy efficiency, said David Goldston, director of government affairs for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
“The market is gradually moving in this (more efficient) direction, and the top manufacturers in the US are moving in this direction, but the transition will be slower and less complete without standards (enforcement),” he said.
The big picture, however, still looks bright for energy efficient bulbs, Callahan said.
“The question really is who’s in favor of wasting energy?” she said.
Polls show consumers support and are buying more energy efficient bulbs; retailers are eager to carry them, and manufacturers have moved well beyond even the standards set in 2007, pushing for even more efficiencies with new LED technology, she said.
Shannon Baker-Branstetter, policy counsel for the Consumers Union agreed.
Because the efficiency standards have been on the books for four years, consumer awareness has grown and people understand that even though the new efficient CFLs and incandescent cost more upfront, they save energy and dollars, through their more efficient operation and by lasting years longer than old-style incandescents.
“Seventy-seven percent of consumers said they picked efficient bulbs last time they bought bulbs,” she said, citing a Consumer Reports survey. “Our advice to consumers is to be sure they look at the label, to make sure they’re getting an efficient product.”


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Sabinsa Corp. sets standard for sustainable, transparent supply chainSabinsa Corp. sets standard for sustainable, transparent supply chain
New Jersey-based Sabinsa Corp. created a vertically integrated system—beginning with its farmers in India—to control the quality of its turmeric, Coleus forskohlii, black pepper and other ingredients.
February 23, 2018
If you’re a health and wellness brand and you want to meet consumers’ ever-growing demand for transparency, trusted suppliers are pivotal. They must be honest, ethical, environmentally sound and socially responsible. They must deliver consistent quality. They should demonstrate great care at every step—from cultivation to extraction and processing. Oh, and they should be equally willing to share their story.
Too bad such suppliers aren’t easier to come by.
The fact that Sabinsa Corp. meets and exceeds all of these marks earns the company this year’s Supply Chain Transparency Award. The New Jersey–based supplier, manufacturer and marketer of botanical extracts and branded ingredients has built a remarkable, multifaceted supply chain. Now in its 30th year of business, Sabinsa has earned worldwide acclaim for its top-level cultivation, research, extraction and standardization, and for its role in bringing Ayurveda to the West.
“Sabinsa really, truly does operate from farm to capsule,” says Douglas Kalman, Ph.D., director of nutrition and applied clinical research at QPS–Miami Research Associates. “I can say that because I’ve visited their operations in India, including the farms, processing facilities and analytical labs. I saw firsthand the chain of custody that Sabinsa oversees daily, which allows them to have better overall quality control than most companies.”
But Sabinsa didn’t start out as a vertically integrated entity with a traceable, transparent supply chain. In fact, Muhammed Majeed, Ph.D., an Indian-born, U.S.-educated industrial pharmacist who’d worked at Pfizer, launched Sabinsa as a generic pharmaceuticals company. But when a major fraud and corruption scandal halted operations at the FDA’s generic drugs division, he switched gears. “People were asking [Muhammed] Majeed if he could get certain barks, leaves and stems from India,” says Shaheen Majeed, worldwide president of Sabinsa and the founder’s son. “He’d bring in these plants, and then that line of the business really started to build.”
Old ingredients, new science
Muhammed Majeed was intrigued, and puzzled, by what his new clients were doing with these ingredients. “They’d just crush up bark and put it in capsules, which seemed crazy from a pharma perspective,” Majeed says. “So he began saying, ‘I think you are trying to achieve a certain property with the bark. Let me get that for you.’ What came out of that was standardization—and that became our calling. What you know about Sabinsa today comes from Dr. Majeed standardizing Ayurveda.”
From there, Sabinsa continued expanding its capabilities, diving deeper into the supply chain to ensure the standardizations Dr. Majeed had deemed best. “If you follow our story, you’ll see that we start gathering everything around us and doing it ourselves to ensure a consistent, quality supply,” Majeed says. This included setting up a brokerage business, Sami Labs, as well as bringing extraction in-house. “Inevitably,” says Majeed, “we had to go back to the farms.”
But that seed wouldn’t take root until 2004, when a major drought and flood hit the Indian region that produced Coleus forskohlii, causing a shortage of raw material for ForsLean, Sabinsa’s weight-loss ingredient. “There was nothing we could do,” Majeed says. “We realized that if we’d been speaking directly with the farmers, and if we’d been able to spread out the plots, we would’ve understood this dilemma much quicker and been able to address it with suppliers.”
Back to the land
In 2006, Sabinsa bought some land of its own, hired botanists and soil experts, and began contracting with independent growers of turmeric, amla, black pepper, Coleus forskohlii and other crops. “Our mindset wasn’t, ‘Hey, we’re going to fix farming and change the world,’” Majeed insists. “We just wanted stability. We wanted to make sure our customers had the supply they needed and ensure consumers received the full benefits of our products. However, we soon realized that by doing all this, we could also change the lives of farmers.”
To help its contract growers succeed, Sabinsa introduced new farming technologies, financed irrigation systems and championed sustainable, holistic agriculture methods. The company also committed to paying farmers top dollar. “We own the seeds, give them crop material and are with them all the time, so we know their expected outputs,” Majeed says. “We set a price at the beginning of the season and make sure they get paid, even if they have zero percent output. Because if these farmers fail to meet output goals, it is usually because of Mother Nature, not their fault.” And if a farmer receives an enticing offer to grow a different crop, Sabinsa will top it in order to keep that farmer in its chain.
Francine Schoenwetter, managing director of content, supply chain solutions at New Hope Network, toured Sabinsa farms in November. “It really hit home for me while I was there: You have to treat your farmers well,” she says. “You have to understand the pressures they face and the competitive space they are in. This is fundamentally about relationships—not just between the many parts of Sabinsa’s business, but between people. It was hard to not be impressed.”
Beyond helping farmers thrive in the fields, Sabinsa aids their communities by bringing in much-needed water and supporting schools. “For every Sabinsa water truck that goes into a farm, two go into a village,” says Darren Rude, CEO of Nutrawise, which partners with Sabinsa on these efforts. “People in India want to work—and work hard—to get ahead. Together, we all make a profit while also supplying better education and more water to these communities.”
Rude is also quite satisfied as a customer: “With Sabinsa, we feel stable,” he says. “We are the biggest bottler of turmeric in the world and have grown tremendously. They continue to grow with us and never run out of product.”
Real threats from synthetics
A few years back, Sabinsa discovered a threat to both its farmers’ livelihood and the integrity of the wider curcumin market: Certain competitors were spiking turmeric with synthetic curcumin and selling it as 95 percent curcuminoids. Suspicious of the extremely low pricing, Sabinsa sent competitors’ samples to the University of Georgia for carbon dating. Sure enough, says Majeed, many were spiked by as much as 80 percent. “Having synthetic curcumin on the market would obviously affect the farmers,” he says. “They became super worried about it.”
Sabinsa began making noise in the industry, issuing press releases, drafting white papers and suing the firms it had caught spiking. The company even shared its carbon-dating information with its branded-curcumin competitors, encouraging them to test their supply for synthetics. “Sabinsa has been very aggressive in raising awareness about synthetic curcumin,” says Stefan Gafner, Ph.D., chief science officer of the American Botanical Council. “Showing what the issues are in the botanical supply chain—and not trying to brush them under the carpet—is a great asset [to this industry].”
Next up, Sabinsa will expand its agricultural pursuits even further. “We’ve acquired skills and knowledge through working with farmers, so we can now take this into other parts of India, as well as outside of the country, and still maintain the integrity of our ingredients,” Majeed says. He notes that common Ayurvedic ingredients that once existed only in India are now being cultivated in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam as demand for these botanicals skyrockets. “If we keep trying to get all of our materials from India, supply will run out,” Majeed says.
Sabinsa’s efforts to maintain a high-quality, transparent supply chain clearly raise the bar for all parties—from its farmers and their families to its customers and beyond. “It has a halo effect for the companies that source ingredients from Sabinsa because they also have a story to tell about the ingredient heritage of their products,” Kalman says. “At the same time, Sabinsa’s quality of care lifts up the whole industry. This is a much-deserved award. If more companies knew about how Sabinsa operates, they’d be beyond impressed.”
This article is from the February issue of Nutrition Business Journal. Download the full issue with all of the 2017 NBJ Award winners for free here.
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Vietnam's Vingroup in deal with Google to develop smart TVs
HANOI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Vingroup JSC VIC.HM, Vietnam’s biggest listed firm by market value, said on Wednesday it had signed an agreement with Google GOOGL.O to develop smart TV on the Android platform.
Five models of the television will be manufactured at Vingroup's factory in the capital, Hanoi, to be sold from December, the company said in a statement.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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Euro zone retail sales plunged more than expected in June as prices at factory gates continued to rise, data showed Wednesday, signalling a weakness in consumer demand that could herald a recession in H2.
Shopify Inc on Tuesday announced a partnership with YouTube to allow merchants to sell through the video platform, as it looks to tap into the growing number of content creators launching their own e-commerce stores.
Driving sales isn't only about the product and marketing is hugely important as well. And Jimmy Choo and Harrods have had an interesting marketing idea with Choo launching a pop-up café Harrods' world-famous shoe floor.
A Stockholm restaurant crew is wearing cotton aprons that capture greenhouse gas from the air, in a pilot of a technique developed by H&M-backed researchers as the fashion industry struggles to lower its climate impact.
Good news for UK online fashion sales. Not so good news for digital beauty sales. Even worse for the e-tail industry as a whole. And after weak April numbers, it suggests the digital boom could well be over.
Selfridges is moving heavily into wellness with a focus on out-of-the-ordinary experiences and products designed to help consumers "discover new routes to happiness and wellbeing that benefit both you and our planet".


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Nike’s latest “Just Do It” ad marketing campaign involves a selection of A-record athletes: LeBron James, Serena Williams, Odell Beckham Jr. — and most controversially, Colin Kaepernick.
In scenario you’ve been residing under a rock, Kaepernick — who played quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers — famously knelt during the nationwide anthem just before NFL game titles to protest law enforcement brutality towards African Us residents. The blowback from his protest led to him becoming blackballed from the NFL.
Kaepernick’s activism was audaciously exhibited on a bigger system in Nike’s multi-national advertisement marketing campaign, showcasing a movie and impression of Kaepernick with the tagline: “Believe in some thing. Even if it suggests sacrificing all the things.”
Nike’s bold shift led to additional uproar from Kaepernick’s critics. Some white prospects even ceremoniously burned their Nike clothing and named for a boycott of the corporation. But for Nike’s core customers — millennials and youthful urban males — this ad despatched a potent information of solidarity.
Shoppers and stars alike are now supporting Nike for giving Kaepernick that platform. In less than 24 several hours following saying Kaepernick as the confront of their new internet marketing campaign, the sportswear company obtained more than $43 million truly worth of generally positive media publicity, one particular report estimates.
Considering the fact that then, that complete has only grown.
“What can I do that’s meaningful?” asked Blackish star Jenifer Lewis as she donned a Nike sweater on the Emmys red carpet. “I’ll don Nike. I’ll dress in Nike to say thank you. Thank you for primary the resistance! We need to have much more corporate The united states to stand up also.”
According to Forbes, the business noticed a 31 percent enhance in revenue just a number of days right after the advert turned community. And when Nike’s stock originally dipped adhering to the promotion launch, it not only recovered but surpassed all inventory information for 2018, buying and selling at an all-time higher of $83.90 a share.
This has induced a selection of people today, together with myself, to problem Nike’s motives. Guardian author Arwa Mahdawi accused Nike of the latest capitalistic development, “woke-washing” — that is, using “progressive values as a marketing and advertising ploy, appropriating social activism as a form of promoting.”
This would not be the 1st offense by a big corporation.
Not long ago Pepsi pulled a controversial advert they claimed was intended to “project a world-wide message of unity, peace, and understanding” following it borrowed imagery from Black Life Make a difference protests in Ferguson. (But contrary to Nike, this advert gained robust backlash from law enforcement brutality protesters who accused the ad of becoming tone deaf.)
Is it probable for a company to aid racial justice without having exploiting it for revenue? Of course.
Truly, there is an quick way for Nike to prove that their latest advertisement is not just a type of woke washing: It can give the profits from their “Kaepernick bump” right back to the result in they are supposedly getting a stand for. The firm can start by matching Colin Kaepernick’s possess pledge to donate $1 million to corporations performing in oppressed communities.
Let’s applaud Nike for getting this extremely crucial stand. But we also will need to problem corporations who use progressive messages in their promotion to place their income where their mouth is.


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Rashi Goel joins Amazon India as marketing director
Goel was earlier the director - marketing and consumer communications India at Nestle
Rashi Goel, former director of marketing and consumer communications at Nestle, has joined Amazon India as director of marketing. She joined Amazon in September, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Goel ended her stint of four years with Nestle in October. She had joined Nestle in April 2017 as Director - Marketing and Consumer Communications India, replacing Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan, who had moved to the company’s Switzerland headquarters. She was given the additional responsibility as Business Executive Officer - Breakfast Cereals, Souhth Asia in February 2021.
Prior to joining Nestle, Goel was the CMO at The Kraft Heinz Company India, where she handled brands like Complan, GluconD, Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Nycil. Previously, she had also worked with Givaudan PTE, PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Unilever, and L’Oreal.
Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook & Youtube


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Liquor gets cheaper in Delhi as vendors offer heavy discounts
Several liquor vendors in Delhi are offering huge discounts on alcohol prices as the state government adopts the new liquor policy. According to reports by the Hindustan Times, new rates have been implemented for both Indian and foreign brands. The discounts vary from 30% to 40% off on the marked price of branded liquors. Notably, the new policy came into effect in November 2021.
Why does the story matter?
According to reports, the liquor vendors have slashed the prices due to the Delhi government's new excise policy, which allows for competitive pricing that was previously prohibited. As a result, most vendors have brought down their prices from the neighboring cities Noida and Gurugram. In Economics, this is known as "perfect competition," which allows sellers to drop their prices more than their competitors.
Different prices in Delhi and Gurugram
A bottle of foreign brand alcohol Chivas Regal (12 years) is being offered for Rs. 1,890 in a few places in the national capital, reports claimed. Gurugram, however, sells the same bottle for Rs. 2,150, with a discount of Rs. 150 on each bottle when three bottles are purchased. Chivas Regal's MRP in Delhi stands at Rs. 2,920.
Huge discounts on premium whiskey
Whiskey Theka, a liquor store run by JSN Infratech LLP, is selling a bottle of Jack Daniels at Rs. 1,885. The same bottle has a maximum retail price of Rs. 2,730 in Delhi. According to the report, another premium brand, Glenlivet (18 years old batch reserve), is being sold for Rs 5,115 for a 700-milliliter bottle. However, the MRP is Rs. 7,415.
Vodka, wine prices also go down
Absolut Vodka is available in Delhi at Rs. 995, down from the MRP of Rs. 1,520. A bottle of Jacob's Creek, a premium wine, is being sold at Rs. 795. The MRP of the bottle is Rs. 1,180 in Delhi. According to the report, another premium wine, Chateau Puygueraud, is being offered for Rs 4,980 against the MRP of Rs 7,220.
What is the new excise policy?
According to the new excise policy, only private alcohol shops are allowed to operate in the city, with 2-3 liquor vends in each municipal ward. The Delhi administration expects that this would put an end to illegal activities. Another significant change is that the majority of the excise tax has now been subsumed into the license price.
India has the world's third largest alcohol market
With roughly 600 million people over the legal drinking age, India possesses the world's third-largest alcohol market. In 2018, India consumed approximately three liters of alcohol per person, as per a survey by Statista. This was an increase from the previous year when the figure was around 2.5 liters. The survey was conducted between 2010 to 2018.


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The Lebanese Cuisine: Heritage Landmarks
AKSOB 903, Beirut campus
The Center for Lebanese Heritage and the Department of Hospitality Management and Marketing are hosting a lecture titled: “The Lebanese Cuisine: Heritage Landmarks”, in the presence of Chef Antoine El Hajj, director of Institut Hotelier in Dekwaneh and Anthony Rahayel, the founder of Souk el Akel in Lebanon and the owner of the blog No Garlic No Onions.
The lecture will discuss the relationship of the Lebanese people with their land, harvesting and marketing of agricultural products, foreign food in the Lebanese cuisine, and the tools used by the Lebanese in planting, plowing, and harvesting. Fresh samples of Lebanese traditional food will be tasted by the attendees after the lecture.
The center’s director, Henri Zoghaib, will open the meeting. All are welcome to attend.
For more information, click here.


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Maybach Music Group's Rick Ross might be invading the fashion world in the months to come. The self-proclaimed Bawwse has hinted at a possible clothing venture going down in 2017.
Last night (September 11), Yung Renzel teased his 5.5 million Instagram followers about a new business move happening soon.
Over the past 24 hours, Ross has shared moments from New York Fashion Week.
Last month, Ross hinted at new music coming with producer Skrillex.
"You are, you are, you are," Ross said when asked if more Skrillex collaborations are coming. "Shout out to my big homie Skrillex. I just spoke to him maybe a week or two ago, and we talking about our next collaboration for my project." Ross agrees that Skrillex' touch was an incredible addition to the Bawse rapper's signature sound. "I love how he took my heavy beat, heavy grimy sound, and he added that electricity in that chorus," he said. "As soon as I heard, it I was like, that's it." (Billboard)
Recently, rap stars Meek Mill, Trina, Jeezy and Trick Daddy invaded Ross' 10-year Port of Miami anniversary concert.
The post Rick Ross Hints At A Big Bawwwwse Move Going Down Soon appeared first on SOHH.com.


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Best Life Brands, the holding company for a handful of senior care companies, is officially entering into the home health space. It is doing so thanks to a new acquisition, which it announced Tuesday.
Specifically, Best Life Brands has acquired the home health agency formerly known as “PROHealth Home Care.” The agency provides in-home nursing, therapy and home care services to patients in the greater Los Angeles area.
It will now operate under a new name after the Best Life Brands purchase.
As an overall company, Best Life Brands has already ventured into at-home care through its home care franchise ComForCare, which is also known as At Your Side in the Houston area. Now, however, it feels primed to move into the more medical side of things, J.J. Sorrenti, the CEO of Best Life Brands, told Home Health Care News.
“Home health has been part of the company’s strategic plan since I joined the company a year ago,” Sorrenti said. “It was just about us finding the right business to acquire, one that we could learn fast and scale quickly across the country. So once we identified the business that worked well, with those criteria in place, we just moved forward with the acquisition.”
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Best Life Brands acts as the holding company for a group of companies that takes care of clients across the continuum of care.
The company is backed by the private equity firm The Riverside Company. Its network also includes CarePatrol, a franchise senior placement organization, and the estate sale franchise Blue Moon Estate Sales.
The deal expands Best Life Brands’ roster of companies to four brands and diversifies its overall offerings. It plans to begin franchising the home health company immediately.
On its end, PROHealth Home Care has been operating in and around Los Angeles for over 20 years. It now gives Best Life Brands an opportunity to get in on the demand for home health amid the public health emergency.
At the moment, there are no specific scaling goals for home health expansion. Instead, Best Life Brands will be doing everything it can to learn the business and make sure it has the right model to scale it appropriately.
“It’s about being able to scale a business while leveraging the franchisee who’s interested in expanding the brand in a local market, so that when a client wants to talk to an owner, the owner is in the business,” Sorrenti said. “That allows us to scale much faster.”
Best Life Brands will first work with its existing franchisees across its other three brands to see if they are interested in buying into the home health arena. Additionally, it will market the opportunity to other prospective franchisees.
This process will take time, but the company ideally wants to move as quickly as possible, Sorrenti said.
“The demand for that business is growing so much,” he said. “We understand the business model can be difficult at times, but we’ll help our franchisees navigate through that with our expertise.”
That expertise will come from a transition team, which includes the two founders of PROHealth Home Care, who are nurses.
The company has aspirations that go beyond home health as well. There are “a dozen” other paths in senior care that Best Life Brands is exploring, Sorrenti said.
Overall, its strategic plan is to continue adding complementary companies that serve older patients with diverse needs in a more effective and holistic way.
“Our franchisees have been very resilient through COVID-19, and this is an opportunity for us to add a complimentary brand to help them continue to grow their businesses,” Sorrenti said. “And we want to continue to add brands to the portfolio so that we can catch a senior as they become a senior and help them through the end of life.”


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What a difference three years make.
In May 2014, Target was widely ridiculed for Photoshopping the thighs (and then some) off the young women modeling its juniors swimwear line. (“An unfortunate error,” Target explained at the time.)
Now, the retailer is kicking off a new #TargetSwim campaign that features models with curves, stretch marks and nary a Photoshop edit in sight.
“Target shows women of all shapes, sizes and colors looking beautiful and confident in themselves and their swimsuits, and that resonates with women everywhere,” one of the models, Kamie Crawford, says in a statement. “Confidence is contagious!”
Brilliant marketing? Sure.
Capable of moving the body positivity needle? Certainly.
I stood in line buying groceries on Sunday, staring at Gwyneth Paltrow’s abs on the cover of Women’s Health. The headline screamed “Get. Her. Abs.” And I thought, “Which aisle?”
I mean, honestly. She looks fantastic, but the notion that we can all Get. Her. Abs. if we do three simple moves is a tad misleading. Those abs are a product of genetics and hard work with expensive professionals — trainers, chefs, dietitians — that most people can’t access.
But that’s the body type we celebrate. That’s the body type we see most often on magazine covers and billboards, bus stops and TV screens — selling everything from spray tans to jeans to multivitamins.
When an article promises to get your body “bikini ready,” it doesn’t mean “slathered in sunscreen.” It means “Gwyneth Paltrow’s abs.”
Kids as young as 5 express dissatisfaction with the way their bodies look, according to a 2015 Common Sense Media report on how media affects children’s and teens’ body image. Around 30 million people — all ages and genders — suffer from eating disorders in the United States, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.
We need to see and celebrate more realistic body types. We need to stop pretending narrow and taut are the only markers of good health. We need to stop Photoshopping people’s body parts off.
A couple of years ago, the staff at the women’s lifestyle website xoJane invited readers — and prominent magazine editors — to submit photos of themselves in swimsuits for a gallery that would push back against the idea that you need a certain body type to enjoy sunshine and water.
“We constantly get the message that a body worth putting a swimsuit on must be a long-term construction project,” deputy editor Lesley Kinzel wrote. “A prize to be won, a trophy that can only be attained through hard work, sacrifice and deprivation.”
“For me, it’s an issue of balance,” Kinzel told me at the time. “The only bodies we see represented and celebrated are bodies that fit a very specific and narrow mold, and that leads to a lot of women feeling like they have no right to go in public wearing a swimsuit.”
Target’s new campaign provides some of that balance. Let’s hope more brands follow (swim)suit.


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Regulars here at the shebeen have noted that I rarely use Politico's traditional nom de Blog any more. This is because, since the Founding Geniuses moved on to Axios, and especially since the birth of Politico The Magazine, the product has improved dramatically. But I've kept the appellation on the shelf in case it's ever needed and, alas, on Tuesday, it was.
Ladies and gentlemen, Tiger Beat On The Potomac returns.
The Massachusetts Democrat, who is powering her presidential campaign with a bold proposal to break up the likes of Amazon, Google and Facebook, in September accepted a $2,700 contribution from Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer. But Sandberg, whose donation went unnoticed at the time, was just the biggest name from Silicon Valley to give to the senator: Warren took at least $90,000 from employees of Amazon, Google and Facebook alone between 2011 and 2018.
This is Beto O'Rourke and the Oil Money all over again. If a guy pumping gas at a BP station in Flyspeck, Montana sends 200 bucks to your campaign, you are in the pocket of Big Oil. It is the laziest form of campaign gotcha in which any publication can indulge.
Now, Warren has put the trust-busting message front and center in her presidential campaign. In a blog post last week, which she repeatedly referred to at the tech industry conference South by South last weekend in Austin, Texas, Warren called for unwinding Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram; Amazon’s consumption of Whole Foods and Zappos; and Google’s takeovers of Waze, Nest and DoubleClick. Warren later confirmed that her plan would apply to Apple, the biggest player in tech and one of the world’s biggest companies. "Either they run the platform or they play in the store," she said over the weekend. "They don't get to do both at the same time."
Ready for it to get worse? Here goes.
At the same time, Warren hasn’t weened herself off of tech employee money — or their services. Warren’s campaign, for example, continues to buy ads through Facebook, and her books are still on Amazon.
Is this supposed to be hypocrisy? If Senator Professor Warren's antitrust plan is put into effect, and if it works, then nobody will have to buy ads on Facebook or sell books on Amazon because they will have a choice of venues in which to do both. That's always been sort of the whole point of breaking up monopolies.
Her reliance on the massive companies underscore tech’s pervasiveness in politics and society at large, but also politicians’ unwillingness to separate themselves from its legion of employees who give money. In 2016, one of Warren’s current presidential competitors, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), received $361,000 from employees of Google’s parent company, Alphabet; $170,000 from employees of Microsoft; $132,000 from Apple employees; and $106,000 from Amazon employees.
This is cheap and dishonest. Taking contributions from, say, Amazon's "legion of employees" is not any kind of "reliance on the massive companies." Some Quality Control Supervisor making 29-g's at the Fulfillment Center in Stoughton, Massachusetts sends her campaign 200 bucks and she's in Jeff Bezos's pocket? People in my business actually think like this.
Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.


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Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Alan Kyerematen has announced two new entries under the Auto Development Program. He hinted that Hyundai and Kia automobile are set to establish assembly plants in Ghana by the end of 2022
The Minister added that, Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Volkswagen and Sinotrack will also join the programme.
This comes as a huge boost to the Nation’s automobile appeal, considering that the country secured a deal with Volkswagen last year.
The agreement which was signed between the Ministry of Trade Industry and BMZ; a German Istitution for Economic Development will support the Automotive Desk at the ministry and bolster the industrialization agenda of the current government.
The initiative has received lots of plaudits from Ghanaians and rightly so as it’s poised to provide over 3,300 assembly and over 6,600 manufacturing jobs.
He took to his official twitter handle to announce it.
Pleased to announce that Hyundai & KIA are set to establish assembly plants in Ghana by the end of 2022 to join Toyota-Suzuki, Nissan, Kantanka, Volkswagen & Sinotruck. The Ghana Auto Development programme = 3,600 assembly & 6,600 manufacturing parts jobs in Ghana. #InvestforJobs pic.twitter.com/JMHAmlM5VI
— Alan John Kyerematen (@AlanKyerematen) April 22, 2021
How much of a boost is this initiative for the nation?
Share your thoughts.


text: Red wine has plenty of health benefits. Researchers have found that some of the chemicals found inside of red wine can help fight tooth decay and gum disease. To answer the question, can red wine improve your dental health? It appears the answer is yes. Of course, we caution you to exercise moderation. Alcohol itself doesn’t contain health benefits. If you would like more information, visit here. If you would like to learn more about the importance of oral health, read our previous blog post.


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Activist investor Bill Ackman weighed in on the recent Terra crisis, calling the protocol a crypto version of a pyramid scheme.
Ackman’s comments come in wake of the Terra blockchain losing most of its value in the span of a few days, as the de-pegging of its UST stablecoin cause a massive bank run.
The fact that UST offered a 20% return, with no fundamental business backing its value, is the most telltale sign of a pyramid scheme, Ackman said late-Tuesday. The protocol collapsed once LUNA suppliers surpassed buyers.
Ackman is the founder of Pershing Square Capital, a hedge fund. His boisterous and highly involved investment style has earned him the tag of an “activist investor.”
Ackman praises blockchain, calls for more self-regulation
In a Twitter thread, the Pershing Square founder praised blockchain as being a “brilliant technology,” but added that projects like Terra gave the space a bad name. To Ackman, the digitization of LUNA and the hype around the crypto market were the key reasons behind the platform’s popularity.
He called for more self-regulation by the crypto industry, especially towards businesses that have no underlying businesses backing their tokens.
The crypto industry should self-regulate away other crypto projects with no underlying business models before crippling regulation shuts down the good and the bad. Hyping tokens that are not supported by businesses that create value will destroy the entire crypto industry.
Fears of increased crypto regulation have been growing in the wake of the Terra crisis. Several top officials in the United States and Europe have called for laws to protect investors from such a crash.
Terra recovery plan widely criticized
Ackman’s comments also come amid widespread backlash against Terra founder Do Kwon over a proposed recovery plan. Kwon had on Monday proposed forking the Terra blockchain into a new offshoot, titled Terra 2.0.
But several major crypto personalities, including Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, criticized the plan, citing concerns that it would just dilute LUNA holders, instead of creating new value.
The Terra community has broadly called for using the blockchain’s reserves to return some value to its holders. Others have also suggested a mint and burn mechanic to help support token prices.
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.


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UPS recently announced a 4.9% rate increase for 2017 and now FedEx plans to raise rates by 3.9% starting in January. Rates for FedEx Ground and Home Delivery will increase by 4.9%.
An excerpt from Investopedia’s coverage on the rate increase says:
“Oil falls and shipping rates rise. Unfortunately, this is the reality we live in, where both FedEx Corp (FDX) and United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) charging more for delivery in a period of low gas prices. FedEx announced their rate increases yesterday after market close; UPS announced rate increases earlier this month. The increases, which were expected, will take effect in January 2017.”
“Fortune reports that the price of shipping packages has grown by 79.2% for ground deliveries and 95.5% for air deliveries this past decade. With e-commerce sales growing each year and expected to account for almost 13% of all retail sales by 2019, the rise in shipping costs should have consumers worried.”
Are you looking for an alternative to FedEx for your local and regional shipping needs? Dropoff offers a fast, dependable, and professional solution that won’t break the bank.


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San Ramon, California (EastBayDaily) — Paybefore has chosen AccountNow’s “Finally Credit Free” Website as a Paybefore Awards Outstanding New Entrant in the “Best Web Sales” Channel category. Paybefore Awards, now in their fourth year, are the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the worldwide prepaid and stored value card industry. They are presented annually by Prepaid Media, whose Paybefore publications are the leading source of industry information for the global prepaid community.
“We appreciate the recognition, and support in our efforts to address the needs of the growing population of consumers that are seeking to live free of credit obligations. Providing consumers with payment services that do not expose them to credit usage is just one of the ways we feel we can address the needs of the emerging prepaid marketplace.” said James G. Jones, Chief Executive Officer of AccountNow.
AccountNow’s “Finally Credit Free” Website was selected by a panel of five industry experts who served as judges for this year’s competition, which included a record number of entries from around the world. This is the first year Paybefore Awards included the distinction of Outstanding New Entrant, which recognizes programs the judges found particularly valuable, innovative or worthy. The Paybefore Awards judges bestowed this distinction in only 10 of 16 categories of competition.
“Paybefore applauds the Outstanding New Entrants that are offering innovative prepaid programs that benefit consumers, governments and businesses,” said Marilyn Bochicchio, Paybefore CEO and chair of the judging panel. “AccountNow was recognized among tough competition for its progressive/effective use of prepaid products.”
AccountNow® launched its “Finally Credit Free” website (http://www.finallycreditfree.com) in April 2009, with the primary objective of helping American consumers live within their means – credit free. With the advent of the global credit crisis, AccountNow set out to take advantage of the negative publicity associated with the abuse of credit (both by the banks and the consumers) by offering a product that provides consumers with access to the payment systems and the ability to pay bills without accessing credit and getting into debt. More importantly, this new product helps consumers avoid the costs associated with credit – late fees, overdraft fees and finance charges. With the AccountNow product, there are no such penalties.
AccountNow’s “Finally Credit Free” Website will be honored during the Paybefore Awards ceremony on Feb. 22 at the Prepaid Expo USA (http://www.prepaidexpousa.com)
About AccountNow: AccountNow, headquartered in San Ramon, California, is a leading provider of financial solutions for the 40 million US consumers who do not have established credit or traditional banking relationships. AccountNow’s money saving offers give consumers an alternative to traditional checking accounts by providing access to financial products and payment systems, including MasterCard and Visa prepaid cards, Pay Anyone Bill Payment, and FDIC-insured deposits. AccountNow’s prepaid Visa and MasterCard cards are issued by MetaBank and Palm Desert National Bank. Visit AccountNow online at http://www.accountnow.com
About MetaBankâ¢: MetaBank is a federally-chartered savings bank regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision. Meta Financial Group, Inc.® is the holding company for MetaBank, Meta Payment Systems®, and Meta Trust Company®. For more information visit http://www.bankmeta.com.
About Paybefore: Paybefore is the leading information provider to prepaid and stored value industry professionals, offering the latest news, commentary and analysis. Paybefore’s family of industry publications include: Paybefore.comâ¢, a searchable online information portal; Paybefore Newsâ¢, daily news briefs delivered electronically; Paybefore News Internationalâ¢, a weekly compilation of prepaid news and events from outside the United States; Paybefore Updateâ¢, a downloadable enewsletter delivered 20 times a year; Paybefore Legalâ¢, a downloadable enewsletter covering the legislative, regulatory and judicial developments in prepaid, as well as feature articles by leading attorneys in the field; Paybefore Magazineâ¢, a biannual print publication highlighting the best of Paybefore; and Paybefore Buyer’s Guideâ¢, available online and in print. Visit us at http://www.paybefore.com.


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The digital world is ever-changing, and here’s the weekly newsletter detailing the major digital trends that have occurred recently.
#1. Facebook plans to give advertisers post-campaign placement reports
- Facebook will tell brands where their ads appeared and ban certain content from carrying ads.
- They have listed 9 categories of content ineligible to feature ads.
- Now, Facebook is getting more transparent with brands about where their ads appear and is taking a harder line over what content can carry those ads.
- Facebook will officially roll out placement reports for ads running across its Audience Network ad network of third-party sites, as well as for ads appearing within videos and Instant Articles on Facebook.
#2. Facebook testing a group video chat app called ‘Bonfire’
- Facebook’s Messenger added group video calling last year, begging the question of why the company needs another stab at the market.
- Facebook has rolled out a standalone mobile app in Denmark called Bonfire, that enables people to host video calls with multiple people.
- While limited to Denmark for now, Bonfire may portend a broader attempt by Facebook to corner the fledgling group video chat market.
- Odd as that may sounds, Facebook isn’t opposed to making an all-hands-on-deck assault on an emerging product category, as evidenced by Facebook’s, Instagram’s and Messenger’s and WhatsApp’s cloning of Snapchat’s Stories feature.
#3. 41% of surveyed consumers report doing the majority of their holiday shopping online last year
- According to a recent Walker Sands poll, 41 percent of more than 1,600 consumers surveyed report buying all, or at least a majority of their holiday gifts online last year.
- This includes survey results on everything from how often consumers shopped online to the devices they prefer to shop with and the motivators behind their online buying habits.
- Among the 41 percent who completed their 2016 holiday shopping online, 71 percent say that they shop online at least once a month.
- The survey broke down the device usage preferences among the high-frequency online shoppers, with 78 percent preferring to use a desktop, 48 percent a mobile device and 24 percent via a voice-controlled device.
#4. Apple’s ARKit launches a new venture into the realm of Augmented Reality
- With similar new tech from Google, Microsoft and Facebook, advertising and marketing now have new dimensions.
- That’s because Apple announced yesterday the release of its ARKit, a set of software tools that makes high-quality augmented reality (AR) possible through Apple iPhones and iPads.
- It overlays 3D graphics, animation and photo-realistic objects on what we used to call the real world, in ways that take the next step in AR.
- With this wide availability of AR, it can possibly change from a novelty to a viable marketing vehicle, and create new paid and owned marketing opportunities for brands and agencies.


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Designer News is where the design community meets.
almost 8 years ago from Marc Edwards, Founder at Bjango
Still waiting for full screen mode on Android! Need to get rid of the Soft Nav Bar so designs can take advantage of the entire screen.
Yeah, that would be great, and it’s coming. We just need to get a few other releases out before we can jump back on Skala View.
Where the design community meets.
Designer News is a large, global community of people working or interested in design and technology.
© 2022 Designer News Ltd.


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But now researchers have developed a formula which can identify bogus endorsements on travel websites like TripAdvisor up to 90 per cent of the time.
Analysis of the language used by "guests" providing feedback revealed certain tricks used by unscrupulous hoteliers to attract unsuspecting internet users.
Referring to the hotel or resort by its name and emphasising who the reviewer travelled with, such as their spouse or children were clear signs that a review might not be genuine, researchers from Cornell University in America said.
Exclamation marks, frequent use of "I" and "we" repeatedly and over-employing adjectives like "very" and "really" should also ring alarm bells for anyone booking a holiday.
The study was prompted by claims that hotels in Britain and abroad are offering guests discounted rooms and meals as well as cash rewards in return for positive reviews on travel websites.
Researchers asked freelance writers to write 400 fake reviews of hotels in Chicago, before combining them with 400 genuine reviews of the same hotels.
Three volunteers were invited to tell the real reviews from the bogus ones but were unable to do so.
The researchers then came up with an algorithm which was able to identify a fake text in nine out of ten cases by looking for certain signals such as a narrative writing style, overuse of superlative words and a lack of detail.
Prof Jeffrey Hancock, who contributed to the study, told the New York Times: "We evolved over 60,000 years by talking to each other face to face.
"Now we're communicating in these virtual ways. It feels like it is much harder to pick up clues about deception."
Holiday review sites are becoming increasingly popular, with TripAdvisor accumulating 45 million reviews of more than 500,000 different places around the world.
There is thought to be a lucrative market for people who are willing to accept cash for a made-up review, but so far only 30 properties around the world have been blacklisted.
These reportedly include the Cove Hotel in Cornwall, which has been accused of breaking TripAdvisor review rules by offering guests a 10 per cent discount on food and drink in return for an "honest but positive" review on the website.
The Cornell scientists have already been approached by a dozen companies, including Amazon and Hilton, for more information but it is not known whether the algorithm will be made public.


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Start-up whiz takes on new challenge
Six months ago, new father Joe Kraus returned to Google Inc. from a three-week paternity leave to take charge of another fledgling.
His assignment: Help run a team that would figure out how to match the runaway popularity of Facebook Inc., which has been stealing Google’s spotlight.
The company tapped the bespectacled veteran of two start-ups because it figured he could harness the experience and energy needed for a showdown that could determine the course of the Internet’s social networking revolution.
Along with fellow project leaders Graham Spencer and David Glazer, Kraus assembled several dozen engineers, many of them former entrepreneurs, and housed them within shouting distance of one another to simulate the hothouse environment of a high-tech start-up.
The engineers came up with OpenSocial, an alliance of social networks and software developers designed to help people connect no matter where they go on the Web, whether to Craigslist.org to see what friends are buying and selling or to Ticketmaster.com to see what concerts they’re attending.
“If the Web is more social, and therefore more engaging, that means everyone will spend more time there and have more things to do, which benefits Google,” Kraus says. “Google makes money when people spend time on the Web.”
Members of OpenSocial -- which include MySpace, Bebo and LinkedIn -- pledged when they signed up last month to make it easier for developers to create software features across an array of social networks. The alliance is more concept than reality right now, but already it’s given a boost to the vision of an open social web, where users can take their friends with them rather than having to build and maintain contact lists on different sites, says Joseph Smarr, chief platform architect of social networking site Plaxo, one of Google’s partners in OpenSocial.
“Google showed that open is possible, desirable, tangible and good for business,” Smarr says.
The company has plenty of self-interest at stake. Tens of billions of dollars in online advertising are expected to shift to social networks in coming years. Although the effectiveness of reaching consumers on these networks is not proven, marketers are intrigued by the prospect of feasting on the wealth of personal information that users volunteer.
Despite the success of its search engine and advertising business, Google has stumbled in social networking. Its own social network, Orkut, is popular in Brazil but hasn’t developed a following in the United States. And Google recently lost out to Microsoft Corp. in bidding for a small investment in Facebook.
OpenSocial is its first aggressive move to challenge Facebook.
The alliance pulls strength from numbers. The combined population of social networks in the alliance is about 200 million, nearly four times the size of Facebook. Now Google must surmount the technological challenges to follow through on its strategy to make the Web, and itself, more social.
Kraus has a long track record as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who comes up with smart strategies that benefit consumers and companies, says Megan Smith, Google’s vice president of new business development, who helped recruit Kraus. With each new venture, “Joe just continues to innovate.”
Now 36, Kraus graduated from Stanford University in 1993 with a degree in political science. He had to drop his longtime aspiration to major in computer science when he got a D in a math class. But nothing could induce him to accept what he calls a “soul-sucking job” after college.
So he teamed with Spencer and four other dorm-mates he met freshman year. The summer after graduation, they bunkered in a drafty garage, subsisting on beans and rice while they built the technology that would power fabled Internet portal Excite, one of the dot-com boom’s highfliers.
Excite went public in 1996 and was acquired by AtHome in 1999 for $6.7 billion. Kraus left the company in 2000. It crashed into bankruptcy in 2001.
Kraus took a high-tech hiatus. He traveled the world, started a consumer advocacy group to promote liberal digital copyright laws, married Melissa Walia, a former Excite public relations executive, and started a family. Then in 2004, he and Spencer dived back into the deep end.
They built JotSpot Inc. on the idea of teams using the Web to collaborate. They bet $100,000 of their own money, raised millions in venture funding and attracted thousands of customers to JotSpot’s wikis, Web pages that anyone can write and edit, the most famous of which is Wikipedia, the free Web encyclopedia. The fun, fast-moving start-up in Palo Alto attracted something else: Google’s attention.
About a year ago, when Kraus and Spencer decided to sell JotSpot to Google, they handed out gag Evel Knievel helmets, money and plane tickets to all 26 employees for a last hurrah in Las Vegas. These days, Kraus still takes the JotSpot team to Vegas, where he enjoys playing poker 24 hours straight, his concentration effortless, just as when he’s working on a project. He draws inspiration from Spencer, a talented technologist who Kraus says has become like half of his brain.
Only Google could tempt him to leave the start-up world, Kraus says, because the company has incubated a culture of freewheeling creativity similar to the one in which founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin first began experimenting with search technology.
Kraus met the Google founders at Stanford, where Page and Brin themselves met as students. In fact, long ago, Excite entered into talks with the Google duo about acquiring their nascent technology. Excite ultimately decided against making the buy.
Says Kraus: “It was probably the best thing never to happen to Google.”
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Who: Joe Kraus
Title: Product management director
Company: Google Inc.
Education: Bachelor’s degree, Stanford University
Career: Co-founded Internet portal Excite, JotSpot Inc. and nonprofit DigitalConsumer.org (now defunct)
Investor in: Social networking site LinkedIn, social gaming site Kongregate and Renkoo, which builds features for social networks
Family: Married and has two children
Claim to fame: Played drums in a funk band called Where’s Julio? with two fellow Excite founders
Cool ride: Drives his son to school in a 1977 Chevy sports van that is a replica of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine


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If the thought of summer coming to an end has you feeling a little blue, you really must be looking right past fall and straight ahead to next spring.
Just in time for the September 5th kickoff of New York Fashion Week—featuring styles for spring 2014—the Pantone Color Institute has announced the most popular color for the season for women will be “Dazzling Blue.”
So, what, exactly, makes that shade of of the classic color, used by 17 percent of designers in their upcoming collections, dazzle? Well, it’s the color of Facebook’s Social Butterfly Blue nail polish and Kate Middleton’s much-desired Issa engagement announcement dress, according to Women’s Wear Daily. And it’s more exciting than navy.
If the color leaves you feeling a bit underwhelmed, the runners up, respectively, are Violet Tulip (aka lavender), Radiant Orchid (aka a brighter lavender), Celosia Orange (think Hermes), Freesia (bright yellow), Cayenne (spicy, like the pepper), Placid Blue (or sky blue, as it’s more commonly referred), Paloma (you know it as gray), Sand (that stuff at the beach) and Hemlock (a pretty pale green despite its poisonous sounding name).
Not making the spring 2014 top 10: This year's number one hue, Emerald, or the 2012 color of the year, Tangerine Tango.
“What’s interesting is we’re seeing exciting and fashionable colors as well as more neutral ones,” Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone’s executive director, tells WWD. “It’s not as though everyone is willing to wear the bright colors from recent seasons head-to-toe. There needs to be equilibrium, and that is a more serious word than balance. The world still needs the stability of soft neutrals but we’re not just talking about gray, beige and taupe.”
And if you like your outfit to complement your mate’s, good news! The number one spring color for men in 2014 will be Placid Blue, WWD adds.
“When Placid Blue is redefined as a neutral, more people understand that it’s not just a traditional color but one you can depend on,” Eiseman tells the publication. “There is a reason people look outside each morning, knowing the sky is out there and hoping that it’s blue.”
Some might even call that view “dazzling.”
A version of this story originally appeared on iVillage.


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McCormick and Company, Inc. — a global leader in spices, seasoning mixes and condiments — has been forecasting the latest trends in flavor for the past 13 years.
In 2003, McCormick predicted that chipotle — a virtually unknown flavor in the United States — would be the next big thing. Since then, menu items mentioning chipotle have increased by more than 200 percent.
In 2008, the company said infusing foods with cocktail-inspired flavors was the newest trend, and now there are approximately 3,000 new grocery products featuring flavors such as whiskey, ale, bourbon and brandy on the shelves.
The recently released 2013 Flavor Forecast for McCormick says that “Global My Way,” with flavors rooted in cultures including Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and North America, will drive new product development and innovative menu additions during the coming years.
“Around the world, we’re seeing a fascinating collision of tradition and innovation,” said Kevan Vetter, executive chef at McCormick. “Authentic, real ingredients are still at the core, though now they’re being enjoyed in unique, updated ways that reflect a much more personalized approach to cooking and eating.”
Vetter said the “Global My Way” trend describes how people are discovering formerly “ethnic” ingredients beyond their traditional uses, incorporating those flavors into everyday eating.
“Don’t be surprised if, in the next few years, Japanese Katsu — a tangy cross between BBQ and steak sauce — and cajeta, a Mexican caramel, gain the broad appeal that once-regional tastes like Asian hot chili sauce have achieved,” Vetter said.
Additional trends noted in the 2013 Flavor Forecast involve bitter and sweet combinations, healthy eating and new takes on traditional flavors.
Diving headfirst into sumptuous flavors to enjoy the gratification of a momentary escape with flavors such as decadent bitter chocolate, sweet basil and passion fruit, and black rum, charred orange and allspice gives intense indulgent combos and sultry collisions that balance richness and warmth.
Another prediction is the rustic and comforting combination of cider, sage and molasses, which brings a natural goodness to any meal, and smoked tomato, rosemary, chili peppers and sweet onion bring together the smoky, sweet and spicy flavors that can energize hand-crafted ketchup, sauces, jams and more.
McCormick also sees an increase in creating healthy meals with flavor combinations such as Farro grain, blackberry and clove, and Dukkah — a blend of cumin, coriander, sesame and nuts.
Finally, McCormick predicts a waste-not mentality, uncovering the fullest flavors from every last part of the ingredients, beyond traditional roles in “ethnic” cuisines such as Japanese katsu sauce and oregano and anise and cajeta.
“At McCormick, it’s our passion for flavor that helps us deliver such a strong track record of identifying the trends consumers will come to love,” said Alan Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of McCormick. “Through the Flavor Forecast, McCormick leads the way in identifying flavor trends that serve as catalysts for innovation in many favorite retail brands and restaurant menus, including our own products.”


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Flight Centre has notched up another record profit result and forecast a boost of up to 12 per cent in pre-tax earnings for the new financial year as Australians’ love affair with travel shows no sign of abating.
Australia’s largest travel agency posted a 23 per cent rise in net profit to $246 million for the year to June. Revenue rose 8.7 per cent to $1.985 billion as sales increased in both leisure and corporate travel.
The travel company’s pre-tax profit of $349 million was better than what it had forecast at the start of July.
Flight Centre will pay a final dividend of 91 cents on October 18, up 28 per cent from 71 cents in the same period a year earlier. It takes the payout for 2012-13 to $1.37.
Shares soared 8.5 per cent to a record closing high of $48.41.
Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner said its Australian business was again the main driver of its full-year profit but the international operations contributed a total of about $57 million to pre-tax earnings.
‘‘This is a 20 per cent year-on-year increase and a promising sign for the future,’’ he said. ‘‘Importantly, we have scale and solid platforms for growth overseas, particularly in the UK and USA.’’
The company’s pre-tax earnings from its UK business have doubled over the last two years to $32 million despite ‘‘economic uncertainty domestically and in Europe’’.
Mr Turner said the leisure travel business in Australia performed strongly – especially in the second half – to more than offset slightly softer corporate travel results.
Flight Centre’s corporate travel business here failed to meet expectations, although it did record pre-tax earnings and turnover in excess of $2 billion for the year.
The travel company is targeting pre-tax earnings of between $370 million and $385 million for the new financial year, which will represent growth of 8 to 12 per cent.
‘‘Achieving 8 to 12 per cent underlying profits before tax will not be a formality for a company of our size and given the challenges that can arise, but we are well placed to weather any storms,’’ Mr Turner said.
Mr Turner said trading results in July and August indicated that Flight Centre was ahead of its performance during the same period last year.
He also reiterated that the company does not expect large fluctuations in the value of the Australian dollar to affect its business or to radically change Australians’ travel habits.
Flight Centre also said its intention was to create longer term shareholder value by increasing dividend yields rather than one-off distributions.


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Google today announced that Android device owners have access to more avenues to pay for Google Play Store content, such as movies, books, and music. The Google Play Store now supports carrier billing for such content in addition to app purchases. T-Mobile USA is the first U.S. carrier that will allow customers to charge Play Store purchases directly to their mobile bill. Sprint will support carrier billing soon, according to Google.
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On 13 and 14 September 2017, for the ninth consecutive year, Cologne’s trade fair will be hosting the top digital industry event: the digital marketing exposition & conference (dmexco). This year, as one of the 1,050 expected exhibitors, WIENERS+WIENERS GmbH will also be on show for the numerous trade visitors. In Hall 9, Stand A-013, professional solutions for localising and translating digital marketing content and its transcreation will be demonstrated and discussed.
Once a year, the entire digital marketing and communications sector assembles at the dmexco in Cologne. The dmexco is regarded as one of the most important meeting points for the global digital industry. As a specialist in marketing and advertising texts, full-service provider WIENERS+WIENERS will, for the first time, be attending as an exhibitor. Since along with the continuous developments in the digital world, the demand for localising advertising and marketing content is becoming evermore complex. On 13 and 14 September 2017, in Hall 9, Stand A-013, an anticipated 50,000 trade visitors will be able to get an idea of the ample possibilities for adapting digital content for international target markets. Furthermore, those interested will be introduced to solutions which are tailored to their needs.
‘Whether the Internet of things or artificial intelligence are setting the current trend is of secondary importance to our profession. However, the resulting increasingly pervasive rate of internationalisation calls for action,’ says Andreas Witschel, head of sales at WIENERS+WIENERS. ‘Because every marketing endeavour remains clearly focused on people as consumers, the question of suitable – and especially accurate – localisation of marketing content is more current than ever before, even despite all these developments.’
As the digital industry’s central forum, the dmexco offers the full-spectrum language service provider a vast framework for intensive discussions with marketing decision makers from different sectors.
WIENERS+WIENERS GmbH is an internationally active premium provider of translations, adaptations and proofreading and editing services. Founded in 1990, the company now employs 60 people and is ranked 69 out of the top 100 language service providers in the world. The specialist for advertising and marketing texts realises a wide variety of projects that are adapted to target markets in more than 70 languages with its hand-picked network of native-speaker translators. Its customers include most of the leading German advertising agencies, numerous major companies from industry and business, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises from all sectors.


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Marks and Spencer has said it will trial an online grocery shopping service this autumn, citing an expected shift in its customers to online.
The announcement comes a week after M&S announced it would be opening 36 new UK stores over the next six months, 34 of which will be dedicated to its booming food business.
Steve Rowe, chief executive of M&S, said the group was continuing "to review food online carefully".
"It has not cost us anything over the last five years by not being online with food. Our customers haven’t moved yet, but they will and we need to ensure that we are ready with the right response," Mr Rowe said.
"There are unanswered questions over what this means for M&S and we have a team looking at this now with a view to undertaking a soft trial in the autumn," he added.
Currently customers can buy online party food - for collection in store - from M&S and the group also delivers wine and gift foods such as chocolate, sweets and hampers.
However, unlike its rivals Asda, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Morrisons, M&S had not yet made a move towards online shopping.
It has been shifting more of its focus to its food operations, though, and last November, chief executive Steve Rowe announced the company would shut 30 UK stores and convert a further 45 shops into Simply Food-only stores in a move to refocus the business, which has struggled against a long-term decline in clothing sales.
No further details of the service, which was first reported by the Guardian, were given.


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SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, April 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueshift, the leader in Segment-of-One B2C marketing automation, and LUMA Capital Partners announced that LUMA has invested $2 million in Blueshift's recent Series A round of financing. The investment is a first for the newly formed fund that is exclusively focused on innovations in marketing technology. Alongside the investment, LUMA Capital General Partner Carey Lai has joined Blueshift's board as an observer, bringing years of experience helping to grow some of today's most successful mar-tech companies like Sprinklr and Gigya.
"Our team has spent their careers investing in, leading and advising some of the smartest, most successful marketing technology companies," said Carey Lai, General Partner, LUMA Capital Partners. "We are particularly excited by the groundbreaking work that Blueshift is doing in applying big data machine learning technologies to segment-of-one marketing. They are clearly the leader in what will be a very large category within the marketing automation space and we're looking forward to helping them accelerate their growth."
Segment-of-One marketing tailors communications to an individual based on their behaviors and preferences . It allows marketers and content publishers to send hypertargeted messages to users across ALL of their different devices and channels based on their prior browsing and purchase behavior and affinities . Blueshift enables unparalleled personalization capabilities based on consumers' interests, purchase patterns and browsing behavior, resulting in 3x-10x higher conversion and engagement.
"LUMA Capital Partners is led and backed by some of the biggest and most successful names in mar-tech," said Vijay Chittoor, co-founder and CEO of Blueshift. "LUMA brings so much more to the table than just capital. Their team has unsurpassed market knowledge and reach. Carey will be invaluable to us as we rapidly scale Blueshift and exploit the opportunity for Segment-of-One marketing."
Segment-of-One marketing has always been the "Holy Grail" of direct marketing and today that vision is realized through Blueshift. Under the leadership of CEO Vijay Chittoor, Blueshift has assembled a premier team of marketing and data science leaders, from leading B2C companies like WalmartLabs and Groupon.
Blueshift's proprietary Interaction Graph technology puts the power of big data and machine learning in the hands of the marketer. Blueshift's personalization is fully transparent to the marketer and customizable to business needs.
With the multi-channel capabilities of Blueshift, customers can scale to multiple messaging channels, including email, mobile push notifications, SMS & display--including Facebook retargeting and Facebook custom audiences--easily synchronizing messaging across all these channels.
San Francisco based Blueshift is the leader in Segment-of-One marketing automation for B2C companies. Using the power of real-time segmentation and dynamic-content personalization, Blueshift enables marketers to automate individualized messages across multiple channels including email, push notifications, Facebook & SMS. Blueshift was founded by serial entrepreneurs with backgrounds at successful companies such as Kosmix (now @WalmartLabs) and Mertado (now Groupon Goods). The company is funded by prominent venture capital and angel investors, including Storm Venture Partners, Luma Capital Partners and Nexus Venture Partners.
About LUMA Capital Partners
Our team has spent their careers investing in, leading and advising some of the most transformative companies in digital media and marketing technology. We launched LUMA Capital Partners, an early stage venture firm, because there is no other fund exclusively focused on supporting the next generation of innovation in marketing technology. Our first investors are some of the biggest and most successful names in our industry who we have worked with over the years – and who know the value first hand of having a financial partner who can offer more than just capital.


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Launched at Luxe Pack in October last year, the packaging technology was intended for luxury perfume brands looking to stand out on crowded shelves.
But now Philippe Milazzo, technical services and development manager, at DuPont’s packaging division says the innovation has wider applications.
He told CosmeticsDesign.com: “First of all we thought about perfume bottles but listening to our customers we see there are many other applications where this technology opens up design possibilities that were not possible before – for example in cream jars, nail polish bottles and mascara tubes.”
The main attraction of the new technology is freedom of design. It is possible to achieve different shapes on the inside and outside of a transparent bottle and to add coloring effects to the different layers.
Milazzo said: “These design possibilities are nearly impossible or very costly with other processes or materials such as thermoplastics or glass.”
Surlyn may not be as heavy as glass but it offers design possibilities that glass cannot imitate, added Milazzo.
Other advantages of the Surlyn overmoulding technology underlined by DuPont include glass-like transparency, scratch resistance and high wall thickness.
Commenting on the potential of the innovation in the current economic climate, Milazzo said: “We are very pleased with the reaction from the market and are very optimistic for the future even if the crisis may slowdown certain launches of new products based on the technology.”


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MG Motor and DriveElectric have teamed up to supply a batch of electric vehicles to support Haringey Council’s Covid-19 response efforts.
The vehicles are being used to service distribution hubs across the north London council’s territory, delivering essential supplies from the hubs to families in need under the Connected Communities campaign; more than 700 food parcels have been delivered by the fleet already.
Adam Kemp, sales director at DriveElectric, said: “We have a long-standing relationship with Haringey Council and when we heard about their requirement for vehicles to deliver food parcels, we immediately got involved. The MG ZS EV is the perfect car for this requirement. As well as being 100% electric, it’s got plenty of room for passengers and plenty of space to carry food parcels. Coronavirus is a huge challenge to the country, and as a business we are delighted to be able to do our bit to support Haringey Council and their hard-working volunteers.”
MG is also supplying up to 100 MG ZS EV battery electric SUVs to NHS organisations across the UK. The first six cars were supplied by Chorley Group MG to the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust last month and since then Nathaniel Cars in Bridgend has supplied 25 cars to three NHS Trusts covering south Wales. Dealers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and north-east England have also supported the scheme.


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Microsoft has unveiled new Surface computers and shared details on the release of this year’s version of Windows 11, including its embedded Copilot AI assistant, during an event in New York. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gave the opening address, talking about AI and how it is changing human/computer collaboration and promises to unlock new capabilities. “I mean, it’s crazy,” he said. “It’s kind of like the 90s are back. It’s exciting to be in a place where we’re bringing some software innovation and really having fun enjoying this entire journey.” Here's all that the company announced at the event.
Bing Chat gets DALLE-3 Bing Chat has two major updates: Personalised answers and the integration of DALLE-3 into Bing's Image Creator. With the Personalized Answers feature, Bing Chat will be able to refer to whatever content users have in their search history and use that information to provide context for your answer. Bing Chat Enterprise will also get a few upgrades including support for multimodal visual search and Image Creator now available in the Microsoft Edge mobile app.
Windows 11 update Microsoft said it will begin rolling out the next major update to Windows 11 on September 26. "With over 150 new features, the next Windows 11 update is one of our most ambitious yet, bringing the power of Copilot and new AI powered experiences to apps like Paint, Photos, Clipchamp and more right to your Windows PC," company said in a statement. The update will include the new Copilot in the Bing search engine and the Edge web browser. Users will be able to summon the Copilot by holding down the Windows key and pressing the C key. This is Microsoft's answer to Google's Duet AI, which is another generative AI assistant that works across the Google Workspace.
New Surface devices Surface Laptop Go is finally getting a successor -- Surface Laptop Go 3. The new model is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor with up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB. As far as hardware and design go, the Surface Laptop Go 3 looks almost the same as the previous version. It means it's ultra thin and portable. The laptop will start at $799.
Surface Laptop Studio 2 Surface Laptop Studio 2 is twice as fast as its predecessor. It is powered by Intel 13th Gen i7 H and Nvidia RTX 4050/4060 processors. There's a 14.4-inch screen and can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage. Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at $1,999.
The new Surface devices will come with revamped Windows 11 operating system, which includes its Copilot software. The new Surface models will be available October 3.


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More job cuts followed last week’s exit of Pam Springer as CEO of Manta Media Inc., Columbus Business First has learned.
“We recently streamlined our work force and reduced head count and staff,” interim CEO Steve Jaffee, one of Manta’s board members, said via email.
He did not enumerate the cuts.
“While difficult, we are confident that in the long run, these changes will make Manta more innovative and competitive and support our transition into new markets,” said Jaffee, general partner in Columbus-based Reservoir Venture Partners.
Reservoir and Athens-based Athenian Venture Partners are majority owners of the Columbus social media network for small business.
“Manta remains profitable and has experienced strong growth,” Jaffee said, adding that the owners, which include a California private equity firm, are not yet ready to discuss further details.
Early in 2012, Manta had announced plans to grow to about 150 employees from 96 at that time.
Springer’s departure after 10 years as CEO was announced to employees Aug. 8, explained as part of the company’s pivot to a more consumer-friendly platform.
“Manta has experienced tremendous success in its core market and has established itself as the platform for small businesses to connect with prospects, customers and peers to drive visibility and growth,” Jaffee wrote.
But now, he continued, “More than half of Manta’s monthly visitors are consumers who are searching for local businesses, contractors and merchants. Manta is sitting on a great opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand from this audience while continuing to serve its small-business customers.”
Springer, in an email to Business First, said the leadership change is a “natural next step.”
“It’s time for me to pass the torch to another strong leader, who will help usher in the next era at Manta and ensure it remains on the path for continued success,” she wrote, and declined further comment.
Carrie Ghose covers entrepreneurship, venture capital, City Hall, technology, health care and the business of marijuana for Columbus Business First.


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She’s always been bold enough to try out new looks without any fear.
Kim Kardashian showed off her toned stomach as she modeled a crocheted swimsuit in new photos promoting the launch of a matte-inspired collection for her KKW Beauty brand. The popular TV personality and businesswoman exuded sensuality as she posed with a large floral headpiece for her latest cosmetics campaign.
Kim flaunted her stunning hourglass figure in a pair of high-waisted knit shorts paired with briefs. She looked gorgeous as she showcased her toned abs while posing for the camera in a matching bralette.
She gathered her hair tightly in a bun, elevating her posture and donned an intricate crown made of various flowers. She decided to change her look slightly and revealed her tanned legs by wearing a high-cut bodysuit with mesh fabric covering her generous curves.
As she struck a pose amidst the beautiful flora, her chocolate brown locks flowed gracefully down the middle in loose waves. Kim proudly unveiled her latest creation – the Matte Mauve Matte Honey Collection – which was inspired by her previous collaboration from the 90s. The collection comprises of two brand new 10-Pan Pressed Powder Palettes, four gorgeous Blushes, six stunning Matte Lipsticks and six matching Lip Liners, all set to launch on Friday, Feb. 12.
Despite the rumors of an impending split from her husband Kanye West, Kim has been keeping her eyes on the prize: growing her various businesses and brands. According to a source, the couple is no longer communicating and have even begun living separately, with Kim reportedly having a plan in place for divorce.
According to an anonymous source, Kim and Kanye are still not living together and have no form of communication. The two got married in Italy back in 2014 and have four children together: two daughters named North and Chicago, and two sons named Saint and Psalm.
Kim announced the launch of her new makeup collection, the Matte Mauve Matte Honey Collection. The inspiration for the collection came from her previous ’90s matte collaboration. The collection includes two new 10-Pan Pressed Powder Palettes, four Blushes, six Matte Lipsticks, and six Lip Liners, set to be released soon.


text: Now that the dust has settled on the big Windows Phone 8 hoedown, Redmond is filling in the details of all its announcements. To wit, it just released a list of the 180 countries that will get access to its WP marketplace and developer app hub. That number is a big jump from the 63 markets and 38 app hubs of today, and with in-app purchasing coming soon, Microsoft emphasized that point -- along with the 100,000 apps in stock -- to developers. The software giant also added that the marketplace will filter apps by phone screen resolution and "other key characteristics," allowing easier targeting of users. To see if your country made the cut, check the source for the very long list.


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Mar.8 (GMM) Renault has admitted it is “frustrated” its world-beating efforts in formula one are going largely unnoticed.
For the past three seasons, despite having pulled out of F1 as a constructor, the French engine supplier has been a crucial part of Red Bull’s title successes.
But operating chief Carlos Tavares admitted: “We are frustrated by the lack of recognition we get for beating the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
“It is true that I think we deserve better,” he is quoted by autocar.co.uk.
“It is clear that we must create a bigger buzz around what we do.”
In 2013, Red Bull’s title sponsor is Infiniti, the luxury arm of the Renault-linked carmaker Nissan.
Renault also supplies engines to Lotus, Williams and Caterham.