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April 27, 2021 – Insurtech innovators Mylo and Bold Penguin are celebrating the third anniversary of a powerful partnership that has transformed insurance shopping for small business owners. Both companies are pioneers in leveraging data to create smarter, more streamlined customer experiences. Launched in 2015 by the world’s largest independent insurance broker Lockton, Mylo matches customers with ideal insurance from top-rated carriers through an embeddable digital platform. Launched in 2016, Bold Penguin is a leading edge technology provider who operates the world’s largest commercial exchange, the Exchange.
In 2018, the Bold Penguin Exchange was introduced to Mylo's CEO, David Embry, as one of the innovative ways Mylo could optimize small commercial prospects. Bold Penguin’s Exchange uses rich data to match the right insurance risk with the right broker, ensuring that Mylo receives prospects who are already identified as great fits with their carrier partners. In week one of the partnership, Mylo received 10 qualified prospects; by the end of the month, Mylo was receiving 100 qualified prospects per month.
The partnership evolved again in 2019 when Bold Penguin introduced Mylo to their Terminal at the InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas. The Bold Penguin Terminal is a multi-product quoting experience that elegantly presents relevant insurance products in a single, user-friendly interface. By asking increasingly targeted, intelligent questions based on inputs, it allows agents to quickly match carriers and provide highly customized coverage recommendations. Mylo embraced the Terminal as a natural enhancement to their proprietary Mind of Mylo™ technology platform.
“Bold Penguin has been an awesome partner,” said David Embry. “They were already passing qualified small business prospects to us, and the Terminal enabled our agents to immediately start the quote and bind process. As a data-driven company, we will continue to integrate with Bold Penguin to pull even more relevant information into our Mind of Mylo platform.”
The numbers show constant growth as the two industry leaders continue to iterate new ideas and strategies that make it faster and easier for small business owners to find ideal coverage.
Mylo and Bold Penguin continue to reap the rewards for being early insurtech adopters who saw the benefits of combining forces.
“Mylo was one of the first brokers to put a successful digital small commercial strategy together, and they continue to lead advancements in this space through their embeddable insurance platform,” said Ilya Bodner, Bold Penguin CEO. “We are thankful they chose Bold Penguin and are excited to continue participating in their success.”
Bold Penguin simplifies commercial insurance for everyone. Bold Penguin started out by building the world’s largest commercial insurance exchange, which has connected millions of small businesses to agents and underwriters. By leveraging the Bold Penguin technology, agents quoted over 1 million small businesses in 2020. Agents use the Bold Penguin terminal, complete one application, and receive multiple quotes back from a diverse carrier panel. Bold Penguin was founded in 2016 by a group of entrepreneurs who spent their early days working with carriers like Allstate, Nationwide and Progressive. For more details, please visit www.boldpenguin.com.
Mylo is a digital insurance shopping platform that seamlessly integrates into partner experiences to connect business owners and individuals with top-rated insurance products from multiple carriers, including business, small group benefits, home, auto, life and individual health. Backed by the world’s largest independent broker Lockton and global investor Guggenheim Partners, Mylo draws on 50+ years of Lockton insurance expertise to offer expert insurance recommendations online or in person with licensed agents. For more information, go to ChooseMylo.com.


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Customers bullish on Boost Infinite, a built-from-scratch 5G service that its parent Dish Wireless says will rival the three national carriers, now have an easier way to sign up. Amazon Prime members can use their subscription to prequalify for Boost’s $25/month plan at a new storefront.
Dish announced this on Wednesday, giving customers an online option beyond its own site—where just checking to see if Boost Infinite offers service still requires submitting not just a street address but your name and the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Boost’s new deal has Amazon Prime subscribers pre-qualified, so they only need to order a Boost Infinite SIM—usually $25, discounted to $20 here—and activate service on the carrier’s $25/month Boost Infinite Unlimited.
That offering, which Boost says includes a lifetime guarantee of that $25 rate for Amazon Prime members, brings unlimited-on-phone data subject to two limits: Exceeding 30GB of cellular data in a month may subject you to “lower speeds” (the fine print doesn’t say how slow, but a Dish publicist said they are “3G speeds”), and hotspot usage isn’t included.
You can add up to 30GB of hotspot data for $10 a month and raise the full-speed data limit to 40GB for another $10 a month.
Boost also offers a $50 Infinite Unlimited+ plan with the same soft cap of 30GB that adds voice, text, and 5GB of high-speed data roaming in Canada and Mexico as well as free outbound calls and texts to a subset of international destinations, both $10 extras on the cheaper plan. If you sign up via the Amazon deal, you can upgrade to this later on.
Where's the Coverage Map?
However you sign up for Boost Infinite, you still won’t know how much time you’ll be spending on the new 5G network that’s supposed to grow into a meaningful rival to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Dish Wireless has been working on this project since 2020, when Sprint and T-Mobile agreed to divest Sprint’s prepaid services along with other network assets as a condition for federal approval of T-Mobile buying Sprint.
Even with that help, as well as a foundation of spectrum that Dish Wireless’s corporate parent Dish Network purchased years earlier, building a new nationwide 5G network from scratch is a tall order. Dish says its reliance on Open RAN (Radio Access Network) technology, in which it can mix and match different types of network hardware and software, is speeding the work, but it’s also leaning on leased coverage from AT&T and T-Mobile to fill in gaps.
Neither Boost’s site nor its Amazon storefront offers a coverage map, though. And without that, would-be Boost subscribers can’t tell whose coverage they’ll get for their $25 or $50 a month. A map that Dish shared with industry analysts last May projected coverage in most major metropolitan areas by June, but the company has yet to release an updated version.
And on July 14, Dish filed a request (PDF) with the Federal Communications Commission seeking to keep its coverage map as well as more precise network data confidential, saying that making those details public “could result in substantial competitive harm.”
A tech-policy analyst in Washington noted the strangeness of that situation.
“From a marketing perspective, it does seem unusual not to tout good coverage if you have it, and Dish does seem behind the curve in letting people know where they are an option,” emailed Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonprofit think tank whose supporters include a list of tech firms that does not feature Dish.
The Dish publicist did not expand on that language but said the company continues to provide coverage data for the FCC’s broadband-mapping efforts. The most recent data it filed, however, dates to Dec. 31 and shows exceedingly patchy 5G service across the US.
To check that resource for December-vintage coverage near you, visit broadbandmap.fcc.gov, click Providers > Mobile Broadband > Add Provider and then search for “Dish” to see “Hughes Network Systems LLC (Dish)” suggested. Pick that, then select each of the two 5G technologies shown in the drop-down menu below that.
That same July 14 filing by Dish noted that as of June 14, Boost Infinite now offered service to 246,470,035 people in the US, good for 73.56% of the total population as recorded in the 2020 Census. That exceeded a goal the FCC set in September of 2020 (PDF), giving the service until June 14, 2025, to reach 75% of the people in each “economic area,” an FCC-defined geographic construction that can look like an overinflated Congressional district.
Kane’s advice to the company: “More consumer-facing coverage sooner rather than later.”
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Authorities on Thursday afternoon evacuated the Walmart in Tarboro following a bomb threat.
Tarboro police Sgt. Al Braxton said employees received a phone call around 4:30 p.m. at the store at 110 River Oaks Drive. Walmart management notified police, who promptly evacuated the store.
Law enforcement are investigating the allegation of a bomb at the store. Officials are urging people to avoid the area for the time being. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Tarboro Police Department at 641-4247.


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Google Acquisitions: Sometimes it is difficult to understand why a particular company is acquiring another. This may be the case with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s most recent purchase.
It is being reported by Reuters that the search engine giant is going to purchase a portion of ICG Group Inc., more specifically its marketing services unit known as Channel Intelligence Inc.
With a deal expected to be closed with $125 million in cash, it is safe to say that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has a reason for the acquisition.
While it is hard to say exactly what Google plans to do with its new acquisition, it appears that Channel Intelligence Inc’s services align nicely with those of the search engine leader.
Here is what the Reuters article added:
“Channel Intelligence helps retailers, manufacturers and other advertisers make their products and services easier for consumers to find and buy online and in local stores.”
The acquisition is not complete yet, but the same article goes on to explain that the deal is set to be finalized sometime during the first quarter of 2013.
If you want to learn more about this deal from the ICG Group Inc. side of the tracks, here is some information for you:
“ICG said it will get $60.5 million for its stake in Channel Intelligence.”
“ICG shares, which closed at $12.04 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq, were up 3 percent at $12.41 in premarket trading on Wednesday morning.”
Here is what Doug Alexander, CEO of CI and President of ICG had to say in a blog post on the company’s website:
“Building upon the perseverance and strong foundation laid by CI’s founder Rob Wight, I am extremely proud of the work we accomplished at CI. With the talent and hard work of the entire CI team, we successfully navigated a very complex marketplace, ending a record year that culminated in this very exciting acquisition.”
What are your thoughts on this acquisition by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)?
Check back here for more updates on Google Acquisitions.
DISCLOSURE: I have no positions in any stock mentioned.
For more Google related news stories, visit the following links:
Could Google+ Face Competition from This Spinoff?
Google is Falling Behind in Online Video Ad Game


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Apple is delaying mass production of its upcoming iPhone 12 series by a month due to issues stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak impacting its supply chain, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.
The report goes on to state that Apple is planning to release four new iPhone models later this year, measuring in at 5.4-inches, 6.1-inches or 6.7-inches. Apple’s new iPhone reveals are historically set for September with devices shipping by the end of the month. While the tech giant still plans to mass-produce its next iPhone line throughout the summer, the reported supply chain issues could still result in shortages. The Wall Street Journal cites Apple explicitly slashing its expected iPhone 12 output by as much as 20 percent.
If true, this wouldn’t be the first time Apple’s iPhone line has suffered from a delay. While the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were announced at the same time back in September 2017, the latter phone wasn’t released until November reportedly due to production issues. Apple’s entry-level iPhone XR suffered similar production issues related to the phone’s LCD display after being announced in September 2018 and not making it to store shelves until October.
Apple’s iPhone 12 series is rumoured to include 5G, a LiDAR sensor and a smaller notch, according to several sources. The phone’s design is also tipped to closely resemble the more recent iPad Pro models that feature flatter edges.
Apple recently released the iPhone SE (2020), an updated version of the iPhone 8 with an A13 processor.
Source: The Wall Street Journal Via: The Verge


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The club has reached an agreement with the American brand for an initiative aimed at promoting the Under 21 European Championships which will take place in the country
Those bottles had become an accident. A few weeks ago, the Georgian media had released images of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s face printed on the Coca-Cola label, yet they had never been seen on the market. Before it was clarified that it was only the prototypes that were not expected to be disseminated, it was even thought that Napoli had found a possible violation of the image rights of one of its members by the famous brand. None of this, indeed. The club has made it known, through an official note, that the parties have reached an agreement for the creation of the 500 ml bottles in limited edition and will be available for sale only in Georgia. The initiative is aimed at promoting the Under 21 European Championships, which the country will host together with Romania from 21 June to 8 July, and which will also see the participation of Italy.
The face of Kvaratskhelia on the bottles of Coca-Cola (global partner of Napoli) to support the event is a concrete indication of the possibility that he will be among the squad for the Under 21 team for the tournament. The striker, awarded by the League as Mvp of the Serie A championship that has just ended, will however first be busy with the senior national team for the two qualifying matches for the next European Championships: these are the two away matches against Cyprus (June 17) and Scotland (June 20).
June 8 – 11:03
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Allbirds, the comfortable, no-sock-needed sneakers, have been on my radar for years. And I'm not alone: Stars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Mila Kunis, and Hilary Duff are also fans of the eco-friendly, affordable shoes. Yesterday, the New Zealand-based brand completely shook things up with the announcement of a major product launch.
Allbirds has officially jumped into the apparel game with three new sock styles: $16 Tubers, $12 Hiders, and $14 Quarters. The brand created a brand new, trademarked material that's called Trino, a combination of the Allbirds Tree and Merino yarn. It's so soft, I wouldn't be surprised if Allbirds started making blankets next.
True to brand, the Trino socks are produced sustainably, and Allbirds says they are carbon neutral. The fiber includes recycled plastic bottles.
I guess it's time to throw away those old socks and upgrade my entire sock drawer.
Source: Read Full Article


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To strengthen the safety of food supplements in South Korea, in July 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) proposed to add “Precautions for Use” warnings to the label of food products. The proposed changes are applicable to food products with nine categories of ingredients. These nine categories include chromium, beta-carotene, vitamin K, B1, B2, B12, pantothenic acid, biotin, and potassium.
According to the modifications proposed by the MFDS, food product manufacturers should include the precaution “in the event of an abnormality, discontinue consumption and consult an expert”. The proposal also suggest that additional precautionary statements must be included for four of the ingredients. The suggested precautions are:
- Manufacturers must mention the precaution “consult a specialist when taking anti-coagulants” on food supplements containing vitamin K
- For food products with potassium, manufacturers must add advice for consumers with kidney or gastro-intestinal diseases to consult a doctor
- The MFDS requires food products with beta-carotene and chromium to display precautionary warnings on the label for smokers and diabetic patients, respectively
In addition to this, the Agency has also proposed new testing methods for five types of vitamins, viz., Vitamin D, B2, B6, B12, and biotin. The purpose of suggesting these new testing methods was to improve the analysis of health functional foods and their nutritional content.
With the proposed changes, the MFDS is aiming to provide accurate product safety information to the consumers of food supplements with specified ingredients. As you may know, the public consultation for the proposal ended on July 31, 2020. Upon proposal acceptance, food supplement manufacturers will have to comply with the updated labeling regulations. Until then, food and food supplement manufacturers are advised to keep a track of the evolving regulations for compliance. Stay informed. Stay compliant.


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Health Fusion: Best fruit-veg combo for heart health
In this episode of the NewsMD podcast, "Health Fusion," Viv Williams checks out the American Heart Association's recommendations for eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables every day. A 2021 study shows that a certain ratio of fruits to vegetables is optimal for good health.
"5 a day works." That's the title of a publication from the U.S. government designed to encourage people to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Why? Because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research shows that upping your intake of fruits and vegetables helps reduce your risk of many diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. A recent study refines those recommendations even more.
The study , published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, reports that by eating your five daily servings in a ratio of two fruits to three vegetables, you increase your chances of living longer.
One thing to consider when choosing your fruits and vegetables is that not all provide the same health benefits. The researchers note that starchy vegetables, such as peas, corn, potatoes and fruit juice weren't associated with the same reduced risks. But they add that leafy greens and fruits and vegetables high in beta-carotene and citrus, such as berries, citrus fruits and carrots did show health benefits.


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The Australian Turf Club (ATC) has become the first multi-outlet sporting venue in Australia to implement mobile payment application, Clipp.
This is great news for mobile commerce company Mobile Embrace whose strategic investment in the innovative and disruptive cashless transaction business, Clipp, was reported to be exceeding expectations and delivering strong organic growth since the investment was made in June of last year.
ATC has four sporting venues with Clipp currently in effect in nine outlets across two of those venues. The cashless transaction system will allow users to pay for food and beverages via Clipp’s smartphone app.
Utilising the club’s multi-million-dollar point-of-sale system, from Task Retail, which was installed in early 2015, the application will provide the capability to examine the electronic record of all ordered items. This will allow for a more streamlined operating process.
How is the Australian Turf Club using Clipp?
Australian Turf Club’s Chief Operating Officer, Tony Partridge, said the introduction of Clipp fits nicely with the Club’s digital and customer service strategies.
“In a short space of time we have gone from cash-only sales to universal card acceptance but we have gone one step further; now all you have to do is show your mobile phone using Clipp.
“The race day experience is ripe for digital transformation and we are committed to using digital to improve the customer experience,” Tony remarked.
For further information visit the link


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Two companies have expressed an interest in buying Jaguar’s historic Browns Lane site – potentially safeguarding hundreds of jobs.
Bosses at the luxury carmaker told Coventry MPs the firms had already made contact about the site, where 500 workers face an uncertain future.
Jaguar Land Rover announced plans to sell off the veneer manufacturing centre last month, on the same day it revealed that either its plant in Solihull or Castle Bromwich would be closed.
During a high-profile meeting, MPs were told that if a buyer could not be found within the next two years, workers could be offered alternative positions at Coventry’s Whitley plant.
But the company remains optimistic about its plans to sell the site as a whole package – complete with existing contracts and its workforce.
Coventry MPs Geoffrey Robinson and Jim Cunningham have both met chief executive David Smith at the House of Commons to discuss the company’s 10-year plan and its recent announcements regarding a closure in the Midlands.
Mr Robinson said: “The meeting went very well. We were given a detailed presentation which dealt with the recent difficulties experienced by Jaguar Land Rover and also a look forward to the recovery period, which was encouraging.
“There are discussions under way in regards to the Browns Lane site and the company is very hopeful of being able to find a new buyer, who will take on the business and the workers as a whole.”
Mr Cunningham added: “There were many encouraging points to come from the meeting. In regards to the Browns Lane site, we were told that two companies had already showed an interest.
“It was also encouraging to see how sales could be picking up, but it is obviously still in the early stages.”


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After Nokia India’s successful association with leading Bollywood star Sharukh Khan’s IPL cricket team – Kolkata Knight Riders, the company today announced its association with FC Barcelona club at an event in New Delhi. This makes Nokia the first brand to join hands with FC Barcelona in India. The long term association is aimed at creating an engagement platform to bring Indian fans closer to football.
FC Barcelona club was founded in 1899 by Joan Gamper and currently has 170,000 members. FC Barcelona is one of the most successful teams in the world, being the first team in history to win 6 titles in the same season. The association brings these two brands together in India that share a common belief of leading through values. Through this association, Nokia India and FC Barcelona will reach out to football enthusiasts through retail, on ground activation, television, digital and social media.
Speaking on the association, D. Shivakumar, SVP, Nokia India Middle East & Africa (IMEA) said, “This association is particularly special for us as Nokia and FCB share similar beliefs and values. Nokia has always believed in connecting the youth with their passions. Today, football is gaining significant traction and the youth is following club football with a lot of enthusiasm. We believe that this association will bring fans closer to football and FC Barcelona like never before.”
Commenting on the association with Nokia, Antoni Rossich, CEO, FC Barcelona said, “Asia is a very important region for us. In particular, we are really happy to be in India as football has emerged as the second most popular sport here. FC Barcelona is confident that this association with Nokia India will create an excellent platform for the Indian youth to engage with us, and bring the club closer to its Indian fans.”
Mr. Antoni Rossich also revealed that FC Barcelona club is spreading its wings and will be coming to India shortly.
Nokia India also unveiled its new brand campaign for this association, ‘Tiki Taka with Nokia Lumia.’ The campaign is based on FC Barcelona’s famous style of play — ‘Tiki Taka’. However, more than the style of play, the campaign embodies the philosophy of Tiki Taka – sharing, connecting people, being spontaneous and social. Nokia also believe in the same philosophy and hence this campaign.
The consumer campaign, unveiled jointly by Nokia India and FC Barcelona, will run for 6 months, enabling fans to constantly engage with the brands through a variety of touchpoints including digital, television, on ground activation and an exclusive mobile app on Nokia Lumia smartphones. The campaign will form a ‘dream team’ of 11 lucky consumers who will travel to Barcelona to meet the FC Barcelona players and watch the team play at the hallowed Camp Nou.
This is a smart move by Nokia India to engage young population of India , which are their potential customers for Lumia mobile devices equipped with features required by the youth. Nokia is going to announce very interesting mobile device tomorrow in New Delhi. We shall be covering this event also. Watch out for this space tomorrow for this interesting device!


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In China, you can now find an iPhone at a very low price, but the only different thing is that it may not be a phone at all. This is because a Chinese firm has won the right to use the iPhone trademark for selling its goods after years of going back and forth in arguments with Apple. This case is just another one that’s focused on names that have become well-established and recognized in other parts of the world, but have had to struggle to gain control in the Chinese market. One such example is that of Michael Jordan, the basketball star and New Balance, the shoe brand.
Xintong Tiandi, the Chinese company applied for the iPhone trademark in 2007 just after the first iPhone had been released by Apple Inc. Even though Apple had applied for the rights of the trademark in 2002, it was Xintong Tiandi that was able to get the iPhone trademark approved for leather goods before the US tech giant. There are a range of letter product that the Chinese company offers, which include passport holders, pen cases, wallets and handbags and they are all stamped with ‘iPhone’. The unique thing is that none of these products are phones. However, a news release was issued by the company in the previous week where it showed a leather iPad case titled ‘iPhone’.
In this news release, it was asserted by the Chinese firm said that this victory in court marks a huge victory for the company and it would do all it can for protecting the iPhone trademark. It also added that they were willing to work with the US technology giant, if needed. The problem is that Apple may not share the same sentiment. A statement was made by the Silicon Valley company on Wednesday in which it expressed its disappointment at the decision of the court to allow Xintong to use the iPhone trademark for leather products even though Apple had prevailed over the company in other cases.
The company also said that they would be asking for a retrial in order to protect their trademark rights vigorously. While the approach taken by the Chinese company is most definitely perplexing, it is a testament to the recognition and power held by Apple’s name in China. The iPhone brand is a reference to the middle and upper class status in the country and the people are expected to pay for a leather product that boasts the iPhone trademark in a way to show they have made it.
A high court in the Beijing municipality made the iPhone ruling and it is just one of the horde of high profile piracy and trademark cases in China. There are a huge number of factories in China have made it the world’s workshop and it is able to imitate products and pump them out for making a quick profit. A first-to-file trademark system provides these factories with assistance as third parties are allowed to register trademarks that are copies of well-known brands.


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We’ve all seen drones in the news being used in battle situations and they are popping up in movies and on TV. One day they might deliver packages to our doorstep from Amazon — but do they have a role to play in selling real estate?
Not so long ago, it seems like drones were only to be seen on silver screens and to be read in paperback novels hinged to the ideas of some science fiction authors such as Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy. But nowadays, drones can be seen almost everywhere. From their first use in government and military missions to social media and connectivity usage, drones have truly made their presence felt in the human world.
Now drones are being utilized in the real estate industry as a tool in promoting properties. Different types of drones are being employed in the process of marketing properties being sold or auctioned. But the standout and the most convenient ones are the aerial drones which by function do not only take photos but also record videos definitely are useful for media or sales presentations.
This alternative is seen to be cheaper compared to the use of other traditional methods, such as the use of choppers or even small planes for aerial photo-shoots. Drones will not only cut down the budget for fuel and other related costs generating factors for gathering data or images, but it would likewise lessen the effort of the realtor or agent.
Though strict restrictions are being implemented on individuals using drones, this will not stop agents and other individuals from acquiring and utilizing drones, for commercial and personal use.
What do you think about using drones in real estate? We’d love to hear from you.
Read the full story here:


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China appears to have been hit by another baby milk scandal as officials in the southern Hunan province are probing a fake milk formula which resulted in severe health complications in babies.
Officials in Yongxing county in Chenzhou are investigating the sale of a protein drink known as Bei An Min allegedly passed off as milk formula at the outlet Love Baby’s Workshop.
The parents of five children alerted the county’s market supervision authority that their babies developed eczema after having the drink.
The children would also slap themselves on the head repeatedly and were all diagnosed with rickets.
Chinese parents rely mostly on foreign baby milk powder brands following a number of scandals.
In 2008, six babies died and 300,000 others were taken ill by baby milk laced with melamine, a toxic chemical used to make plastics.
In 2003, in Fuyang, Anhui province, 13 babies died and 171 required medical treatment after being fed substandard milk.
It was not clear how long the babies had been fed the powder but all were underweight, were stunted and had a vitamin D deficiency, the report said.
One mother wrote on news app Toutiao that she fed her baby the powder for six months before a doctor advised her to switch to another brand. “Six months went on, I found my baby didn’t grow and couldn’t walk at the age of 18 months,” she wrote. “Now I realise that my baby drank fake baby milk formula … I worry that there will be health problems in the future,” she said.


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It may have been a happy new year for companies globally, but the start of this year has not been great for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), reports suggest. In a move that left industrialists shocked, the company offered "free coffee" along with its breakfast menu from March 31 to April 13. The freebie, typically a last resort, which comes after disappointing sales figures, has put investors on edge.
McDonald’s Current Position
One of the world’s largest food retail chains, McDonald’s serves over 70 million customers worldwide. But recently that number has been on the decline. With competition becoming tougher every moment, the fast food giant showed disappointing fourth quarterly earnings.
Global shares declined by 0.1%, a stark departure from the 0.5% gain predicted. Although the company blames the unusually cold winter for declining sales, reports suggest that frost bite may not have been all that’s keeping the food giant on thin ice.
Globally, McDonald’s hold is faltering. The company recently lost its position as the most beloved fast food chain to Japan’s own MOS Burger, thus losing a significant position on the Asian market. The rising food prices in the US, too, hinder McDonald’s growth. With sharp rise in prices of beef, veal and poultry, the profit line in the main food items diminishes significantly.
What Does the Company Plan to do?
- Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with MCD. Click here to check it out.
- MCD 15-Year Financial Data
- The intrinsic value of MCD
- Peter Lynch Chart of MCD
To combat the multiple problems, McDonald's decided to focus on its breakfast department. Breakfast covers about 25% of the industry’s turnover, amounting to nearly $50 million. From a purely theoretical standpoint, it is a smart move. But here too, it faces strong opposition from rivals like Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Taco Bell.
Unlike McDonald’s these two companies show a steady rise in profits, with Starbucks reporting an 11.1% gain in Japan. Taco Bell, on the other hand, came up with a tongue-in-cheek advertisement video directly challenging the company. For those still in the dark, the video depicts dozens of men named Ronald McDonald gushing over Taco Bell’s breakfast line. Unlike McDonald’s tradition menu, Taco bell’s breakfast includes unique items like "Cinnabon Delights" and "Waffle Tacos." The freebie, it seems, was a response to this latest attack.
The Market Picture
In the last decade or so, the U.S. market has become nearly saturated with fast food brands, making completion stiff. Companies like Taco Bell, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) and Burger King (BKW) are all fighting to get a piece of the proverbial pie. That, coupled with the recent rise in health awareness, makes it is no wonder that McDonald’s position is precarious.
But this in no way signifies the beginning of the end. Markets in developing countries are still wide and open and the US retailer is taking full advantage of it. The company recently opened its first outlet in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and is planning to open several more in Africa. Africa, as the fastest growing country, provides enormous expansion possibilities. Since 1999, McDonald’s has enjoyed an 8.2% expansion rate and income per capita has grown nearly 5.5 times. Chinese and Indian markets, too, are growing profitably.
McDonald’s has its fair share of problems, it’s true. Unpredictable weather, saturated markets and managerial missteps have dealt a significant blow to its top line and profits, but, in my opinion, the iconic brand will persevere. In the last decade, the company has steadily, but surely, increased its dividend each year. And this temporary bad weather shall pass too.


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KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Most shopping mall tenants complied with the mandatory removal of six per cent from retail prices when the zero-rating of Goods and Services Tax (GST) kicked in last month, even at the expense of absorbing the cost, an industry observer has said.
HC Chan, advisor of Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPKM), said there were only a small number of retailers who did not comply and suggested that this was due to “teething problems” as in with any transition.
Prior to June 1, retailers who hit or exceed an annual taxable turnover of RM500,000 must collect GST at a six per cent rate from customers.
However, the government announced that there will be zero GST collected from June 1 to August 31, which would effectively be a three-month tax holiday since the Sales and Services Tax (SST) would only be reintroduced on September 1.
“For PPKM members, most of the retailers in the mall understood the importance and significance of this zero-rated tax.
“Statistically, the numbers of non-compliance is very low. This can be seen from the numbers of cases reported are few and all of them were in the early stages of the transition. So far, we have not been made aware of any increase in numbers,” he told Malay Mail when asked if any of the association’s members had received complaints of prices remaining the same or not falling down.
On July 5, Malay Mail reported that the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs had from June 1 to June 30 recorded 968 complaints of prices not falling and 1,023 complaints of goods becoming more expensive after the zero-rated GST was imposed.
Half of the complaints received in June were related to food and drinks. Most complaints were directed at restaurants and cafeterias at 42 per cent, while 15 per cent were about supermarkets, Malay Mail had reported.
Chan stressed that both mall operators and retailers collectively as an industry understood the “multiplier effect” that could result from complying with the mandatory directive for zero-rated GST.
The zero GST policy could be a game-changer to increase consumer spending and restore consumer sentiments, he said.
Chan believed the retail industry would be willing to endure short-term pain for a long-term gain, after the industry’s weak performance last year with a “subdued growth rate” of two per cent.
“For this, the retail industry had been experiencing lower growth each year with 2017 the lowest. So given an opportunity to revise its fortune (with zero GST), most retailers will gladly comply even though the short-term pain is that they may have paid 6 per cent GST on their existing stocks.
“In return, by absorbing this, they stand a chance to get consumers to start buying more and in the longer-term will be a gain for them,” he told Malay Mail.
Chan pointed out that retailers had voluntarily offered early price cuts even before the zero GST policy started in June — which is seen as having spurred on consumer spending.
After one month of zero GST, Chan shared his observation that there was already a “visible upbeat” consumer sentiment before the policy officially kicked in.
“This was largely attributed to some retailers who voluntarily put forth six per cent discount in the second half of May 2018 right before the 1 June official implementation. Of course, these accentuated the momentum of the feel good factor as we moved into June.
“We should see improved measurement in the next release of the Consumer Sentiment Index by MIER. The last reading stood at 91 points (improved but still below the 100-point psychological mark) in March 2018,” he said, referring to the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research’s quarterly index.
C. Krishnan, vice-president of the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners’ Association (Primas), said some restaurant operators may have opted not to deduct six per cent from their prices and pocketed the difference for themselves for higher profits or to offset their losses.
“Some operators are also taking the opportunity by not minusing the six per cent. One is the intention of getting more profit, another is to recover losses, but it’s not right. At least for now, instantly you should bring down (by) six per cent whatever you are selling,” he told Malay Mail, having noted that some restaurant operators had been absorbing costs of between 10 per cent to 30 per cent in the past three years even amid rising business costs.
But he said he had personally went beyond the required reducing of prices by six per cent to account for the zero GST, noting that he rounded down the price that customers at his restaurants have to pay for popular or more heavily-consumed food such as teh tarik as a show of goodwill and to ease their burdens instead of rounding it up.


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Aircel and HelpAge India has joined hands to provide mobile phones to the elderly in old-age home across India. Aircel will collect old and spare mobiles and distribute it among the elders in the old age homes with a free talk time for a period of one year.
Aircel has devised a plan to set up drop boxes in big shopping malls, clubs, news agencies and Aircel retail outlets, where old or spare mobile phones can be dropped. Aircel will collect the old phones. Public can also donate through SMS ‘Donate Phone’ to 5800000


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Ask a New York City actual property agent how they sense Amazon’s reversed plans to deliver its 2nd headquarters to the place, and they may have some pointed words. “This turned into the biggest unforced errors in the city, seeing that they let the Dodgers leave Brooklyn,” said an agent at Warburg Realty Partnership, Jason Haber. “That’s how massive this is. Like you want to return over 50 years in history to find a result to this error.”
But the state of affairs appears less dire regarding the future of the estate marketplace inside the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, which Amazon had chosen to set up. “The reason[s] that Amazon desired to return there, the basics of the one are nevertheless in the area,” Haber said. That turned into the message from nine neighborhood actual property dealers and three neighborhood shoppers interviewed for this text. They all stated Long Island City would be just best without Amazon; at the same time, politicians hurl blame at each other for the deal’s fallout and decry the loss of 25,000 jobs the agency promised to convey with it. The relative calm inside the real estate network is partial because retailers say they remained cautious about the deal from the start, having studied the first-rate print that said
Amazon nonetheless had time to conduct due diligence earlier than breaking the floor. “Once you read that, you have to advocate to your customers that this is truely no longer an accomplished deal,” said Patrick W. Smith, a nearby real property agent with The Corcoran Group who has been monitoring Long Island City’s actual property for years. But that caveat no longer dissuaded consumers from pouncing on residences that regarded like they might get scooped up by any 2d. In the weeks when Amazon changed into nevertheless publicly planning its move, 147 contracts had been stated to be signed, in line with public reviews compiled using Smith. At the same time, he became an agent at Stribling & Associates.
That compares to 54 in those equal weeks the 12 months previous. Even Amazon employees reportedly got caught up in the housing craze, shopping for houses in a growing luxury construction even before the public assertion change was made, in line with The Wall Street Journal. After the deal fell through on Valentine’s Day this year, while Amazon determined it did not desire to put up with community competition, retailers and customers interviewed said interest remains warm within the location. According to Smith’s facts, the entire bucks spent inside the neighborhood apartment market increased eight percent between 2016 and 2017 and 12 percent between 2017 and 2018. The professionals say expenses will hold to move up, but it would take a bit longer to attain the heights to which Amazon could have improved.
Gone in a flash, Amazon became inside and out of New York so fast that numerous marketers stated there had been rarely time for the housing market to experience its effect. “I don’t suppose there was enough time for our marketplace to absorb any exchange,” said Ranee Jaber of the industrial actual property company DY Realty Group, including that building purchases usually take three to 6 months before signing an agreement to Ultimate. Amazon’s New York plans lasted from November to mid-February. Even the offers that did get signed throughout that quick period didn’t necessarily bring in extra cash. “They didn’t know all cross up,” stated Robert Whalen of Halstead, “some deals simply got executed,” Smith said he was still capable of negotiating charges even if Amazon appeared to find it irresistible to enter the neighborhood, specifically for larger flats.
He stated he could commonly deliver down the charge by about three percent based on credit for final prices for studios or one-bedroom devices. Still, considering these units had been in the higher call for, builders tended to be less willing to compromise. Gary Hirshfield, who sold the penthouse rental of the Galerie improvement with Smith as his agent before us to Amazon’s initial declaration, said his offer implies the right time. “I believe that we were given a reduction off of asking price, and we were given a few sweeteners in such things as remaining prices,” Hirshfield stated. “We feel that after Amazon introduced … the one’s discounts and advantages could have evaporated.”
‘I’m a bit more now.’ Buyers attempting to find space in Long Island City felt pressure to fasten in quickly as Zon’s pass was. “People have been less negotiable. They had been firmer on their fees,” stated Carlos Rodriguez, who was searching for funding in Long Island City with Compass agent Natsuko Ikbeforeous to Amazon’s announcement. He anticipated list charges would shoot up at least five percent, a price he “changed into very inclined to pay” for the perceived fee Amazon would convey to the neighborhood. He’d agreed to pay over $1 million for his family residence in a bordering community. But while Amazon sponsored out, Rodriguez stated he “felt that fundamentally changed the outlook for the location.” Rodriguez asked the vendor to shave $40,000 from the price, approximately 3 percent regularly knocked off within the form of remaining fee expenses.
He felt the feed trade turned justified due to the results of a residence inspection and the Amazon news. However, the dealers turned it down. Rodriguez continues searching for shopping inside the area, albeit with an exclusive technique. “I’m a little bit extra patient now,” he said, adding that he’s inclined to attend six to twelve months to transport at the proper property, in preference to the only two months he becomes targeting while Amazon announced its pass. “There was a little bit of experience of urgency before.” Jose Arriola, however, began searching out a property wherein his growing circle of relatives should grow, having spent five years in Long Island City already. “When we first moved in, there weren’t many local groups. There become maybe espresso shops,” Arriola stated. Now, “it looks like there’s a new building arising every month.” Arriola began his condominium hunt with Compass agent Jessica Meis approximately a month before Amazon announced its plans to transport to the vicinity. Once Amazon decided on Long Island City for its new workplace, he immediately observed a difference that turned into a shift in going to an open residence in which it would be maybe my spouse and me, perhaps every other family, to having to e-book an available living maybe a month earlier,” Arriola stated. “It puts stress on us in looking for a brand new place. It didn’t make us need to appear elsewhere because we adored Long Island City and desired to live there.” He stated he didn’t see an uptick in listing expenses; however, he felt that Amazon’s plans confident dealers they might stand their floor while it got to negotiations. “They didn’t want to provide you any concessions,” Arriola stated. In December, he went into contract on a two-bedroom condominium with a pool, doorman, and roof deck for a price in the ballpark of $1 million, simply weeks after Amazon announced its flow. “I experience like without the Amazon information, maybe we’d have waited a little bit longer,” Arriola stated, conceding he may also have had extra wiggle room in negotiations. But, he realizes, “If we waited a little longer and Amazon never pulled out, perhaps we by no means might have been capable of discovering an apartment we favored.” Rodriguez continues to be conscious of dangers he’ll face as an assets-proprietor, like the possibility of a monetary downturn that he thinks would be mitigated if Amazon had stuck to its plans. “I just want to close the deal,” Arriola said. “I want to transport into the new condo and simply hold the living.”


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The last toast: Sizzler closure brought forward
The last chance to bite into a slice of famous Sizzler cheese toast is coming sooner than expected for Coast residents, with doors to shut earlier than anticipated.
Sizzler Maroochydore, on Aerodrome Rd, had been due to close on November 15, along with other stores in the network, after Collins Foods Limited decided to pull the plug on the restaurant chain due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But due to stock and staffing levels, the Maroochydore site’s closure had been brought forward to Sunday, November 1.
The fortnight fast-track was announced on Sizzler’s social media channels, which meant tomorrow would mark the end of a 31-year reign for the iconic family venue.
About 600 jobs were due to be impacted by the closures.
The first Sizzler store opened in Australia in 1986.


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August 25, 2022 |
Brazilian payments processing company Cielo said it named Estanislau Bassols to succeed CEO Gustavo Souza, who resigned at the beginning of the month, according to a securities filing.
Bassols is currently the CEO of the Brazilian subsidiary of US credit card company Mastercard and will remain there until the end of the month. He was previously CEO of the Brazilian division of UK satellite TV company Sky and Brazilian corporate voucher company VR Beneficios. Cielo's board, which is controlled by
Estanislau Bassols will take over for Gustavo Souza at the Brazilian payments processing company


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Offline translations are now a lot better with Google bringing neural machine translation (NMT) technology to on-devices, so you can get high-quality translations even when no internet connection is available.
This means, NMT will now run directly in the Google Translate apps on Android and iOS device. And, since each language set is just 35-45MB, offline translations are most useful when travelling to other countries without a local data plan, or when no internet or cellular data is available.
The neural machine translation significantly improved accuracy of online translations in Google Translate as it translates whole sentences at a time, rather than piece by piece. This makes translated paragraphs and articles a lot smoother and easier to read.
Here is an image of showing comparison between phrase-based machine translation (PBMT), new offline neural machine translation (NMT offline), and online neural machine translation (NMT):
Google explaining the technology said, “It uses broader context to help determine the most relevant translation, which it then rearranges and adjusts to sound more like a real person speaking with proper grammar.”
To try out offline NMT translations, just update your Translate app on Android or iOS to the latest version. And, then head to offline translation settings and tap the arrow next to the language package to download it. Or, if you already have use offline translations earlier, a banner on home screen will take you to update your offline files.
In this screenshot you can see the banner notification on Google Translate home screen:
Google Translate offline NMT update is now available in 59 languages around the world.
Also, a recent Google publication revealing two new algorithms related to natural language processing (NLP) was published.
The first algorithm entitled, “Learning Semantic Textual Similarity from Conversations,” claims a new state of learning how to understand questions by studying responses as a way to understand what the questions really mean. Here’s how Google explains it:
“The intuition is that sentences are semantically similar if they have a similar distribution of responses. For example, “How old are you?” and “What is your age?” are both questions about age, which can be answered by similar responses such as “I am 20 years old”. In contrast, while “How are you?” and “How old are you?” contain almost identical words, they have very different meanings and lead to different responses.
You can read more about Google’s announcement on artificial intelligence (AI) on this Advances in Semantic Textual Similarity post.
In other news, Google added a new card in the “Family Link” app that shows parents “nutritious” apps—which are “recommended by teachers to help parents discover and determine if content is appropriate for their kids.”
This card is available now to all Family Link users in the U.S. with children ages six through nine. It’ll be rolling out soon to more countries.
An image of nutritious apps card in Family Link:


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Your search for "Pacific" found 5 results
The Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers Meeting began yesterday with a focus on the major economic and social impacts of Covid-19 on the Pacific region.
Jacinda Ardern says the Govt is close to reaching agreement on an air corridor to the islands.
The New Zealand Fiji Business Council is urging the Government to review its stance that travel between New Zealand and the Pacific Island will not be considered until after the trans-Tasman bubble is in place.
Visitor arrivals to the South Pacific region hit 3.16 million last year contributing circa US$3.8 billion or 11.1% to the region’s GDP, according to the South Pacific Tourism Organisation.
The South Pacific’s newest conferencing destination, Niue, has received a high-level opening this week with the opening of the Matavai Conference Centre Niue.


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Is the controversial subject of guns and who can legally own them a race issue?
A Virginia man, Chris King Mason, recently walked into Hopkins Gun and Tackle to purchase a gun, and learned the hard way.
In a now-viral video, the owner of the store, Vance Hopkins, can be seen refusing to sell to Mason a gun, citing that he had “reason to believe” that Mason would resell the weapon to someone else.
Mason had gone into the Mechanicsville store with a friend, but it wasn’t his first visit. He had already purchased firearms from the store, including having one on layaway. But it seems like being a repeat customer is not enough.
“He would not sell me and my friend a firearm because he has reason to believe I will sell it to someone else,” Mason can be heard saying on the video, adding, “He ain’t even know I was a regular customer. I’ve purchased a few from here.”
Hopkins then proceeded to call the police on Mason. When asked why he wouldn’t sell Mason a gun, Hopkins said he did not “have to have a reason not to sell you one.”
“I’m not gonna answer that, that’s crazy,” he added when accused of being racist. “We have to follow all federal guidelines and we’re not gonna sell you a gun.”
Mason eventually left before the police arrived. But in a Facebook post following the incident, he had a lot more to say: “I will not be racially profiled and be a part of stereotypical injustice, especially where I spend MY MONEY.”
He added: “To my brothers and sisters, do not purchase anything from Hopkins Gun And Tacke!!” he said. “Let’s send them out of business!!!”


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Facebook says it's hiring 10,000 people in Europe to help build Mark Zuckerberg's 'metaverse'
Europeover five years to make a " metaverse."
- The metaverse is a theoretical virtual space where people can access the internet.
Facebook plans to create 10,000 jobs across the European Union (EU) over the next five years in pursuit of CEO
Zuckerberg first told The Verge in July that he wants Facebook to eventually become a "metaverse company." The word metaverse refers to a theoretical virtual space where people can access the internet, for example using virtual-reality or augmented-reality headsets.
The first concrete example of a Facebook metaverse product is Horizon Workrooms, a VR workspace for team meetings launched in August.
Facebook said the jobs it creates in the EU would be highly skilled, including specialized engineers roles. "This investment is a vote of confidence in the strength of the European tech industry and the potential of European tech talent," Facebook said in a statement shared with Insider.
A Facebook spokesperson told Insider the company's recruiters would target countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, and Ireland.
The announcement came the same day whistleblower Sophie Zhang, a former Facebook data scientist who went public with her criticisms of the company in April, was due to give testimony to a UK parliamentary committee.
- Reliance Industries will be hosting its 45th AGM this month — all your need to know
- Great Freedom Festival deals on kitchen products—buy induction cooker, microwave oven, mixer grinder, and more at discount
- Best Amazon deals on large appliances - AC, TV, Fridge, Washing machine, Dishwasher
- Best deals on fashion and beauty during Amazon Great Freedom Festival
- Best deals on furniture items during the sale


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- Astrata’s Mission Planner application will be available in RIO’s Marketplace
- Improving connectivity and transparency of mobility related data
- RIO CEO Jan Kaumanns: “The partnership with Astrata Europe creates another layer of transparency for our customers.”
Eindhoven, Netherlands/Munich, Germany, 18 July 2019 – Astrata, a software company with strong foundations in geolocation, telematics and fleet management, announces that it has partnered with RIO this summer. The digital brand RIO was launched in 2016 by the TRATON GROUP. It is an open, cloud-based solution for the entire transportation and logistics ecosystem. RIO offers an open platform which allows effortless integration with companies like Astrata.


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March 11, 2020 (Newswire.com) –
Le Marché Leather designs and personalizes the most unique, eye-catching, and sophisticated leather accessories in America. With the help of leather artisans and foreign designers, Le Marché Leather has become a brand that achieves new qualities of elegance in the mobile lifestyle of people around the world. Le Marché Leather monograms premium leather accessories weaving the idea of owning an identity and providing self-expression for modern-day functions.
With a nifty new take on leather phone cases and wallets, Le Marché Leather lets shoppers customize their leather accessories directly on the website. It’s a fashionista’s dream come true: the ability to customize their fashion accessories without those hours spent checking and re-checking sites. With Le Marché Leather, users can find their leather accessories in 7 different colors, 2 foil options, and an accessory for every occasion. With a primary focus on leather iPhone cases and minimal leather cardholder wallets, Le Marché Leather gives consumers the freedom to customize their leather accessories to share their own story, identity, and style.
The current landscape of fashion is shifting towards a trend of self-identity and expression. With fashion changing every year, monograms and personalization have become key fashion trends. People are becoming creative now more than ever and want to make their fashion pieces theirs. With the consumer in mind, the ability to define their own style and express themselves freely is extremely empowering. A monogram communicates a sense of ownership for consumers and Le Marché Leather gives that ability to tell their story through their leather accessories.
Le Marché Leather hand-crafts all their pebbled leather accessories and hand presses every personalized leather product currently on their website. Their collection of iPhone cases and cardholder wallets are currently made with soft pebbled leather material on the outside with a nubuck and microfiber interior. With the mobile lifestyle in mind, every accessory is made with expert craftsmanship to be functional, slim, and elegant. Madison Schuchart, a fashion blogger, says, ”I have personally used Le Marche cases for months now and they are amazing! Quality, design, price, everything! I get so many compliments on it. Le Marche just released a line for iPhone 11’s and debuted all-new colors!”
With a focus on becoming a lifestyle brand, Le Marché Leather emphasizes on showcasing their products through influencers and their Instagram. Through collaborations and an active community, the luxury lifestyle brand has touched the lives of consumers across the globe. With their recent philanthropic partnership with the Modest Needs Foundation in late 2019, the leather accessory company strives to become more than a leather company. Le Marché Leather, with headquarters in Hackensack New Jersey, has reached consumers across the globe in countries like Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia.
Mindful of how people connect and express themselves in their everyday life. Le Marché Leather encourages consumers to be bold and Make A Statement.


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Exports of goods were record high in November
According to Statistics Estonia, in November 2010 exports of goods from Estonia amounted to 860 million euros (13.5 billion kroons) at current prices and imports to Estonia reached 900 million euros (14.1 billion kroons). The turnover of exports per month has not been so big before, but imports were bigger last in October 2008.
In November, exports of goods grew by 48% and imports by 38% compared to November 2009. Trade deficit amounted to 40 million euros (0.6 billion kroons). The deficit decreased nearly twofold compared to November 2009.
The value of goods exported from Estonia to the European Union (EU) countries amounted to 594 million euros (9.3 billion kroons) accounting for 69% of Estonia’s total exports. Exports to the EU countries increased by 49% compared to November 2009. Exports to non-EU countries or the so-called third countries increased by 45%.
Imports of goods from the EU countries to Estonia totalled 718 million euros (11.2 billion kroons) with the share of 80% of Estonia’s total imports. Imports from the EU countries increased by 30% compared to November 2009. Imports from the third countries increased by 80%.
The trade deficit with the EU countries amounted to 124 million euros (1.9 billion kroons). A surplus of 84 million euros (1.3 billion kroons) was announced in the trade with the third countries.
In November 2010 compared to October of the same year, exports increased by 2% and imports by 6%.
Estonian foreign trade, January 2009 – November 2010
Statistics Estonia releases the first estimates about foreign trade on the 40th day after the end of the reference period. The estimates are revised on the 54th day. On the 24th of January, Statistics Estonia will release a more detailed overview about foreign trade in November. The trade data in kroons have been published in the Statistical Database. Letter “Y” has been added to the code and the word “kroon” to the title of the kroon data table.
For further information:
More detailed data have been published in the Statistical Database.


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$173 Million Later, The Real Real Is Officially Consignment Queen
The new funding comes just in time for the retailer to open its first store.
BY CHAVIE LIEBER
While it’s fair to say e-commerce has totally changed shopping — putting mall brands out of business and spawning a new category of fast fashion retailers on steroids — the luxury market has had a harder time breaking out online. High-end brands are notoriously uneasy about e-commerce for fear of eroding exclusivity, and sites like Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay, riddled with counterfeit goods, have not proven to be great business partners.
You can get your Louis Vuitton and Hermès another way though: The secondhand market has found a way to make luxury and online shopping work, and San Francisco-based site The Real Real is leading the sector. This morning, it confirmed it’s just closed on $50 million in funding from private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The startup’s largest amount of funding to date brings the total amount it’s raised to $173 million. The upcoming wad of cash will go toward expanding the business, which consists of more than 800 employees and three giant fulfillment centers, and a company spokesperson confirms The Real Real will eventually file for IPO, though there are no current plans in the works.
The RealReal is one of many secondhand luxury shopping companies that have leveraged the ease of the internet and enticed shoppers to buy and sell luxury online (although not all have survived). But while sites like Tradesy, ThredUp, and Vestiaire Collective have cashed in on this previously untouched sweet spot, The Real Real remains the fastest-growing of the bunch; even the Kardashians and Saudi princesses use it. The site boasts five million users, has sold four million items to date, and is expected to surpass $500 million in revenue this year. Read more


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Meridian Stockyard officials say the recent string of beef recalls due to E.coli across the country have not made an impact on the cattle industry in east Mississippi and west Alabama.
"This problem will occur a little further down the food chain line than we're involved in here at the stockyard, " said Jerry Nelson, stockyard manager. "The local farmer in our area will bring their calves to market and these cattle will be shipped out west to go on grass for several months. And it will be this time next year before these cattle are going to the feed lot."
All the calves sold at Meridian Stockyard are shipped west to the plains states. Nelson says it's more cost efficient to send the cattle to the grain than to ship the grain to the cattle.
And Nelson says local prices are enjoying another successful year, just as was seen during the auction Monday afternoon.
"Local prices are good, extremely good and have been," Nelson said.
"This is the 3rd year in a row now. There again, not because of this E.coli scare but possibly down the line. This meat will have to be replaced, and if anything, I hope it will help the market in the future."
Nelson said all the beef you buy at the local grocery store comes from five main packing locations across the county. It is at those plants where the E.coli threat originates and not with the local cattle farmers.


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United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2020 was 77.6 million head. This was up 4 percent from
March 1, 2019, but down 1 percent from December 1, 2019.
Breeding inventory at 6.38 million head, was up slightly from last year, but down 1 percent from the previous quarter.
Market hog inventory, at 71.3 million head, was up 4 percent from last year, but down 1 percent from last quarter.
The December 2019-February 2020 pig crop, at 34.7 million head, was up 5 percent from last year.
Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.16 million head, up 2 percent from the previous year. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 49 percent of the breeding herd. The average pig


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As is tradition, rumors and theories ran rampant in the build-up to E3 2018. From new iterations of classic franchises to remasters to consoles, everything was fair game for the rumor mill. The major E3 presentations and reveals have come and gone, and we now have a better idea as to the theories that are becoming a reality, versus the rumors that we hope eventually come to full fruition.
We take a look at some of the biggest stories that took place leading up to E3 2018, that ended up being noticeably absent from the conference.
If kryptonite is Superman’s primary weakness, video game franchises would arguably be a close second. The Man of Steel has yet to leave his mark on the gaming industry. Sure, he maintains a solid presence amongst the ensemble cast of the Injustice franchise, but Superman has failed to find his footing within a standalone title.
Rumors surfaced last month on the bulletin board-based website 4chan, indicating that Rocksteady – the studio behind the wildly successful Batman: Arkham games – was, in fact, working on a standalone Superman title, and that the game would be shown at this year’s E3 during the Microsoft press conference. Unfortunately, the press conference came and went with no presence of Rocksteady, nor any mention of a Superman game. The 4chan post has also since been deleted.
It is clearly wise to take posts on sites such as 4chan with a grain of salt. Although, if any studio were to make a new Superman game, Rocksteady would no doubt be the most capable in doing so, considering the incredible job they did with the Batman: Arkham series. With E3’s passing, the hype surrounding a new Superman video game may have cooled for the time being, but hopes are certainly still high.
Star Fox Grand Prix
How about that Nintendo presentation? It had everything: Super Mario Party, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Fortnite for Switch, and of course, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which will feature every character ever featured throughout the franchise’s history, including the space-hardened characters from the Star Fox series.
Alas, Nintendo’s E3 presentation concluded with no mention of the rumored racing game set within the actual Star Fox universe, allegedly titled Star Fox Grand Prix. Retro Studios’ name has been associated with the project, with Eurogamer indicating that their sources have corroborated similar reports.
The Star Fox universe definitely lends itself well to a racing game within the franchise, but we can only keep our fingers crossed for now, until a Grand Prix-style game is confirmed. In the meantime, fans will be able to satisfy their Star Fox thirst through Ubisoft’s Starlink: Battle for Atlas, which will feature Fox McCloud as a playable character exclusively for the Nintendo Switch version of the game.
RELATED: Fox McCloud - And Maybe Other Star Fox Characters - Will Be Switch Exclusives In Ubisoft's Starlink
Thanks to a Walmart Canada website leak that occurred back in May, Splinter Cell fans have been champing at the bit to once again tackle covert missions as iconic assassin Sam Fisher.
It appeared that the stars were aligning, as many of the games included in the original leak were announced in the buildup or at E3 itself, such as Rage 2, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Gears of War 5. However, hopes were dashed as Ubisoft’s presentation closed with no mention of a new Splinter Cell game.
When asked if we would be seeing new Splinter Cell game soon, in a follow-up interview with Geoff Keighley, Ubisoft President and CEO Yves Guillemot stated, “We love the brand, first. We really want to come back with it at one point, but I can’t say much today.”
While Guillemot’s comment neither confirms nor denies that a new Splinter Cell title is in the works, fans can at least continue to hold onto the hope that they may still see the next chapter in the series at some point.
Fallout 3 / Fallout: New Vegas Remasters
With so much hype surrounding the announcement of Fallout 76, it’s easy to forget about the recent massive mystery patches that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas received in May.
One of the leading theories for the large-scale patches was that Bethesda was looking to remaster the two titles, which were released in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Would the studio finally depart – or at least take a break – from its never-ending remasters of Skyrim?
It seems we’ll have to continue to wait to find out for certain, as the Bethesda presentation made no announcement of a remaster for either Fallout title.
The build-up to this year’s E3 gave Skate fans ample reason to believe that a fourth title in the franchise would be announced at the conference. Skate 3 servers were recently switched back on, while sources from multiple forum communities insisted that a Skate trademark had been filed earlier this year by Electronic Arts.
While no new title within the Skate franchise was announced, footage from Session – a 90’s and 2000’s-era skateboarding simulation game – was shown by developer Crea-ture Studios, which looks very similar to Skate in terms of its overall style.
Crea-ture Studios has a lot to live up to in order to meet, or even beat expectations, but the studio seems excited and more than capable of doing so. At the very least, hopefully Session will be enough to keep skateboarding genre fans happy.
Nintendo 64 Classic Edition
There has been a pattern over the past two years with Nintendo’s release of Classic Edition consoles. It all started in 2016, with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition, followed by the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition in 2017. Fans were no doubt anticipating the announcement of a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition at this year’s E3, but the announcement never came.
That’s not to say fans should give up hope. Last year’s announcement of the SNES Classic Edition came roughly a week after the E3 event, rather than being announced at the conference itself. Hopefully, the same trend will continue and we will soon see N64 Classic Editions flying off the shelves in the same manner as its predecessors.


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The Euro is edging higher in early trade on Wednesday after slipping lower versus the US Dollar in the previous session. The Euro US Dollar exchange rate settled on Tuesday at US$1.0858.
At 08:15 UTC, EUR/USD is trading +0.05% at US$1.0864 in a quiet start to the day which has seen the pair trade a range of US$1.0844 – US$1.0874.
Euro Looks To Consumer Confidence
The Euro is attempting to push higher on Wednesday as European countries are showing more willingness to ease lock down measures, which would allow the normalisation of economic activities. The Dutch government has announced plans to ease the lock down restrictions with schools set to open, part time, on 11th May. Reports that Italy, the worst affected county in the Eurozone, will present a plan this week to ease its lockdown from May 4th is also boosting sentiment.
Investors will now look ahead to the release of Eurozone consumer confidence data. Analysts are expecting consumer confidence to plunge to -20 in April as morale plummets amid the lock down period. Consumer confidence dropped to -11 in March at the start of the social distancing measures. Consumer confidence is important because when consumer grow nervous over their job prospects and the state of the broader economy, they refrain from spending which will drag on the economy and the currency.
On Tuesday ZEW business sentiment index surprised to the upside, indicating that institutional investors were seeing light at the end of very long tunnel.
Dollar Slips After More Stimulus
The US Dollar has slipped lower at the start of the European session after the US Senate passed $500 billion small business aid package. This is the second aid package for small business which have been hit hard by the coronvirus outbreak and cut millions of jobs.
Today there is no high impacting US data. Instead US Dollar investors will keep an eye on the oil market which crashed again last night. Brent oil dropped to its lowest level in 18 years amid a supply glut and anaemic demand. Signs of further stress in the oil market could boost safe haven US Dollar demand.


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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged 32 defendants with fraud in an international scheme that used stolen, yet-to-be-published press releases from hacked websites to conduct stock trades.
Nine people face criminal charges in the U.S. for allegedly hacking three press release distributors and stealing yet-to-be-published announcements in a stock trading scheme that authorities say generated about US$30 million in illegal profits.
Retailer Fred's said Monday it found malware that collected payment card details on two of its servers, but it doesn't appear the data was removed from its systems.
Travel industry software maker Sabre is the latest company said to have been hit by the same hackers who recently attacked U.S. health insurer Anthem and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), while American Airlines has been investigating it...
A group of Israeli researchers have improved on a way to steal data from air-gapped computers, thought to be safer from attack due to their isolation from the Internet.
The overseer of the Internet's addressing system said Wednesday that someone obtained information related to user accounts for its public website, although no financial information was divulged.
File synchronization services, used to accommodate roaming employees inside organizations, can also be a weak point that attackers could exploit to remain undetected inside compromised networks.
A hacker extracted customer log-in credentials from a server owned by Bitdefender that hosted the cloud-based management dashboards for its small and medium-size business clients.
The cyberespionage group that stole the personal records of millions of Americans from U.S. health insurer Anthem and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has also reportedly breached United Airlines.
The U.S. Census Bureau said a data breach early last week did not expose survey data it collects on households and businesses.
Cybercriminals are casting increasingly wider nets in their search for new point-of-sale systems to infect. This appears to be the case with a new memory scraping malware program called GamaPoS that's distributed by a large botnet known as Andromeda.
Two sister mobile and telecom service providers will pay a combined US$3.5 million after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission found that they were storing customers' personal data on unprotected servers accessible over the Internet.
The hackers that targeted Twitter, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft developers two years ago have escalated their economic espionage efforts as they seek confidential business information and intellectual property they can profit from.
Researchers sifting through 400GB of data recently leaked from Hacking Team, an Italian company that sells computer surveillance software to government agencies from around the world, have already found an exploit for an unpatched vulnerability in Fl...
An Italian developer of surveillance software, Hacking Team, which has previously been sharply criticized by digital activists, has apparently suffered a large data breach.
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I’d happily recommend this touchscreen laptop and Windows 10 as a great way to get serious work done at a desk or on the road.
Ultimately, I think the Windows 10 environment is excellent for me as it caters for so many different uses. The inclusion of the Xbox app is also great for when you need some downtime too!
For me, the Xbox Play Anywhere is a great new feature as it allows you to play your current Xbox games with higher resolutions and better graphics without forking out extra cash for another copy. Although available titles are still scarce, but I’m sure it will grow in time.
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
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Airbnb, the online short-term rental web site, plans to release a study which it indicates its service contributes $632 million to the New York City economy, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The study, conducted by HR&A Advisors and commissioned by Airbnb, also claims that in a one-year period between August 2012 and July 2013, 416,000 people used the service during a visit to the city, the Journal said. But that’s beside the point for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has subpoenaed information about users from the company; nobody’s disputing that there’s high demand for Airbnb’s service. Rather, the state wants to know how much tax revenue the company is allowing to go uncollected under New York hotel occupancy tax law. At the end of 2012, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office estimated that New York City hotels paid $504 million in tax revenue that year.
Ultimately, Airbnb’s admission that its members ought to pay some sort of occupancy tax, cited by the Journal, gives away the whole game. The instant the company conceded that the law applies to its service, it rendered all these subsequent arguments an exercise in promoting the positive nature of the service, but not its legality.
A previous version of this post incorrectly stated New York's hotel tax revenues. That number appeared in city tourism literature. The new number cites a mayoral press release from December.


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Can drinking coffee reduce the risk of heart failure? According to a study published in “AHA journal Circulation: Heart Failure,” drinking more than two cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of heart failure by about 30%.
Aurora, CO (Merxwire) – Coffee is one of the must-have drinks for many people every day. Drinking coffee can help maintain vitality, and some studies have even pointed out that it can help lose weight. So are there any more benefits to drinking coffee? A study “Association Between Coffee Intake and Incident Heart Failure Risk” from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School was published in “AHA journal Circulation: Heart Failure,” showing that drinking more than one cup of coffee a day can help reduce heart failure risks.
The study was conducted by Dr. David Kao and his research team. The researchers gathered data from three large heart disease research projects for analysis, including Framingham Heart Study (FHS) and Cardiovascular Heart Study (CHS) and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC), involving a total of 21,361 participants and huge data, and using the Precision Medicine Platform for analysis.
In the study, it was found that compared with all other dietary factors, the correlation between drinking coffee and reducing the risk of heart failure was more prominent. Among them, drinking one cup or less than one cup of coffee a day has no effect, but compared to people who do not drink coffee, drinking two cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of heart failure by 5-12%. When people drink more than two cups of coffee a day, they reduce heart failure risk by about 30%.
However, not enough subjects drank more than three cups of coffee a day, so the results of drinking more coffee could not be understood. Moreover, the study uses black coffee, so it is impossible to distinguish between different types of coffee or brewing methods or differences in added sugar or cream.
Although drinking coffee has some benefits, you should not drink too much. Especially for pregnant women, if you drink more than 4 cups of black coffee a day during pregnancy, it may put the baby at risk of underweight, premature delivery, or stillbirth. In addition, although studies have found that coffee drinking is associated with reducing the risk of heart failure, it is still necessary to do further research to determine how much caffeine intake is safe? And explore how caffeine reduces the risk of heart failure in the human body.
Whether you like coffee or not, you should choose more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, Low fat or Nonfat dairy products, and reduce your sodium and sugar intake in terms of diet. Do not consume too much caffeine to avoid problems such as constant shaking of your hands or affecting sleep. In terms of exercise, gentle exercise such as walking is recommended.


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SINGAPORE – 15 Sep, 2017 – Any token of any customer of ICOBox could be raided by ICOS token holders who have amassed more than 3838 BTC in ICOS tokens in a crowdsale that ends today, and the big choice that ICOBox token holders have to make is whether they wait and vote for the most promising ICO and swap their token 1:4 for theirs, or go with the sure thing and swap their tokens at face value for one of the three publically announced ICOBox clients – Paragon, DSPlus and TokenStars.
ICOBox, the premier provider of fixed-price SaaS ICO solutions, launched its token sale August 15. Hours before the end of crowdsale today, the project collected 3838.7238, or $12.8 million, a tribute to a volatile bitcoin exchange rate which dropped in the last few days of the token sale on Chinese ICO ban news before rallying 150 percent.
The original plan was to use the proceeds from ICOS sale to arrange token sales of up to 800 startups over the next 12 months, which otherwise can’t put together the founding needed to mount an ICO. ICOBox opened this project for applications Aug. 15, and have gotten about 3,000 applications.
However, right before the end of the crowdsale, ICOBox launched Interproject Token Swap platform, which allows for ICOS tokens to be exchanged at face value of 0.04 BTC for face value of tokens of ICOBox commercial customers. For instance, one ICOS token, worth $134 at the time of the trade, would fetch 134 Paragon Coins, with their face value of $1 each. In other words, tokens on existing and publicly announced ICOBox self-paying customers – Paragon, Ace and DSPlus – can be traded at face value the day ICOS tokens are issued, Sept. 22. ICOBox has over 20 self-paying customers, most of which have not been announced due to NDAs.
“ICOBox was launched with the idea that we will open up the process of ICO funding to a wider variety of entrepreneurs,” said Mike Raitsyn, CEO, ICOBox. “It’s important to be able to combine the accountability of blockchain with the openness of ITS when it comes to choices that ICOS token owners are empowered to make.”
When ICOS tokens sold by ICOBox are used to pay for new ICOs starting Sept. 22, the day ICOS tokens are issued, owners of ICOS tokens get a chance to help promising but underfunded new projects to bring their innovations to life by voting on which ones deserve a free ICO. One ICOS token equals one vote. Proceeds from ICOS sale are used to arrange token sales of up to 800 startups over the next 12 months, while the funds last. ICOS token owners can trade for new ICOs tokens at an average discount of 75% by value.
According to data compiled in a monthly joint ICOBox and Coinspeaker research report, 168 companies completed an ICO between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 of this year, attracting $2.4 billion. An average ICO attracted $14.2 million. The number of ICOs more than doubled between July and Aug. 2017.
“The ICO market has evolved and now more often than not ICOs are put up by fully operational and profitable ventures,” said Nick Evdokimov, Co-Founder and Vision Director, ICOBox. “The era of blockchain projects put up with only blockchain audience in mind have given way to the era of hybrid projects that use blockchain to optimize existing business models.”
Founded in 2017, ICOBox offers fixed-price services to projects seeking to sell their products and services via ICOs. ICOBox provides technical, legal and marketing services as part of its flat-fee packages. ICOBox was founded by three blockchain visionaries: Nick Evdokimov, a co-founder of SeoPult, an ex-CEO of AdInTop and Cryptonomos CEO and co-founder, Mike Raitsyn, a serial entrepreneur, and Anar Babaev, Head of Digital Marketing at Cryptonomos.
Details on ICOBox can be found at www.icobox.io
To register your project for a no-cash-down ICO, please visit: https://cryptoform.typeform.com/to/zzXaZo
Company Name: MVG for ICOBox
Contact Person: Max Smetannikov, Irina Nazarova
Phone: +1 646 205 7030


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Honor Global Twitter account has revealed that the Honor Magic3 Series 5G will be announced at the global event on 12 August. It’s before on 14 July a rumor started claiming Honor is holding a global launch event on August 12. After that, on July 15 the manufacturer has confirmed that the Magic3 series will indeed launch on that day.
Honor Magic3 series camera and chipset
Several Chinese leakers have revealed that there are three models in the series. The model numbers ELZ-AN00, ELZ-AN10, ELZ-AN20, so we should expect a standard version as well as pro and pro+ variants. It also gives us a nice close-up view of one of the upcoming phones’ cameras, pitted against the horizon. Whether or not this implies a huge camera bump remains to be seen, but we’d vote on “yes”.
All three phones will be powered by the Snapdragon 888 Plus according to an official statement by Qualcomm. The global Magic3 phones should have Google services built-in from day one, and since the Magic line, in general, was used as a showcase of wow-factor stuff, we’re pretty excited for what’s coming.
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* Q3 core profit $3.977 bln vs $4.075 bln analysts’ forecast
* U.S. margins squeezed by higher marketing, distribution, commodity costs
* Budweiser sales to U.S. retailers fell 7 pct in Q3
* Price hikes in Brazil, increased market share in Germany
* Shares among weakest performers in STOXX food/beverage index
By Robert-Jan Bartunek
BRUSSELS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, said profits were below market estimates as falling U.S. sales of Budweiser and higher distribution and commodity costs squeezed margins in the United States.
The brewer, which also makes Stella Artois and Beck‘s, said on Wednesday beer sales to U.S. retailers in the third quarter fell 0.9 percent in the quarter, led by a 7 percent decline for Budweiser.
In North America, where it generates around 42 percent of its revenue, core profit was $1.821 billion, below a Reuters consensus of $1.924 billion.
The company said selling and marketing expenses were up 12.8 percent in North America, which has only recently begun to recovery from a devastating drought in its major wheat-growing states.
Although AB InBev has seen higher-priced brands - such as 6 percent strength Bud Light Platinum and Bud Light Lime-A-Rita - grab market share, sharply increased marketing and distribution costs have depressed U.S. margins by more than two percentage points.
“The pressure on the Budweiser brand is something that has been a constant for the past years, the question is how they can optimise their brands portfolio so their overall market share can go back up,” said analyst Wim Hoste at KBC Securities.
Group core profit in the third quarter rose 10.6 percent on a like-for-like basis to $3.977 billion, below the $4.075 billion consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of nine analysts.
AB InBev shares, which have risen some 40 percent this year, were down 0.7 percent at 1153 GMT, while the STOXX 600 European food and beverage index was broadly flat.
In Brazil, where it has some two-thirds of the market, the group profited from temporary price hikes, taking advantage of tax hikes.
For the whole year, the company now expects a high-single digit increase in revenues per hectolitre in Brazil, an increase from its previous guidance for revenues per hectolitre to increase in line with inflation.
Overall, the brewer kept its guidance for revenue per hectolitre to increase ahead of inflation on a constant geographical basis.
In Western Europe, profits increased 9.7 percent on a like-for-like basis even as volumes declined, and the group gained market share in Germany with its Hasseroeder and Beck’s brands.
Dutch peer Heineken, which reported its quarterly earnings last week, said volumes in Western Europe declined, caused by a challenging economic environment in Portugal and cautious spending elsewhere.
SABMiller said earlier in October that it managed to grow volumes in Europe in the six months to the end of September, buoyed by price reductions and growth of lower priced beers.