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Berkshire Grey to Present at the Needham Growth Conference
BEDFORD, Mass., Jan. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Berkshire Grey Inc. (Nasdaq: BGRY), the leader in AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, today announced that management is scheduled to present at the 24th Annual Virtual Needham Growth Conference. The Berkshire Grey virtual presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, January 12, 2022, at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The presentation will be available under the "Events and Presentations" section of the Berkshire Grey investor relations website at https://ir.berkshiregrey.com/.
About Berkshire Grey
Berkshire Grey (Nasdaq: BGRY) helps customers radically change the essential way they do business by delivering game-changing technology that combines AI and robotics to automate fulfillment, supply chain, and logistics operations. Berkshire Grey solutions are a fundamental engine of change that transform pick, pack, move, store, organize, and sort operations to deliver competitive advantage for enterprises serving today’s connected consumers. Berkshire Grey customers include Global 100 retailers and logistics service providers. More information is available at www.berkshiregrey.com.
Berkshire Grey and the Berkshire Grey logo are registered trademarks of Berkshire Grey. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.
To learn more about Berkshire Grey, please visit BerkshireGrey.com and follow Berkshire Grey on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
Method Communications for Berkshire Grey
VP Investor Relations, Berkshire Grey


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Finance sector boosts cultural city vision
Ningbo has stepped forward to offer financial support to boost local cultural development.
Ningbo Oriental Art Co Ltd sets a good example of corporate contribution. The company obtained a government-backed loan of 4 million yuan (US$629,941) in 2016 from the Agricultural Bank of China’s Ningbo branch to boost its business.
“We used the loan to improve our production of artworks highlighted by wooden Buddha statues and lacquerwares and also to expand our marketing channels,” said the art company’s founder Huang Cailiang.
Thanks to the financial support, the company’s artworks are now exported to Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
The bank has set up an outlet specialized in serving those cultural creativity clients, the first of its kind in the city, to echo the government’s “cultural city” vision. Its loan service to the cultural sector became a highlight during the four-day 2018 China (Ningbo) Cultural Industries Fair held last month.
The fair, which has been held in Ningbo annually since 2016 as a platform to promote worldwide cultural cooperation, saw around 1,500 exhibitors from over 30 countries in Europe and Southeast Asia. It also attracted around 557,000 visitors and contracts were signed to the tune of over 7 billion yuan during the four days.
Thanks to the event, Ningbo’s cultural development increased and more cultural companies registered.
“The annual growth of cultural industry’s added value in Ningbo reached 14.6 percent from 2011 to 2015 and its added value accounted for 7.3 percent of the city’s GDP in 2017,” said Ningbo Vice Mayor Xu Yanan.
Over 3,000 cultural companies have registered in Ningbo in the last three years, 500 of which are big companies with a registered capital of over 10 million yuan each, according to Zhang Wenjie, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Ningbo Committee.
As one of the first cities approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to pilot cultural consumption in China, Ningbo is a big cultural market waiting to be developed.
“Ningbo people have adequate money for material life but they are short of spiritual enjoyment,” said Yang Changjian, senior manager of marketing planning department in real estate developer Ningbo OCT Co Ltd at the exhibition.
The city therefore is coordinating its available resources to boost cultural industry by providing financial support, linking cultural service with the local manufacturing industry and developing cultural business on the Internet.
Ningbo is trying to give financial support to cultural companies by helping them get loans of up to 5 million yuan from Ningbo’s cultural creativity branch of Agricultural Bank of China.
“We were afraid to serve loans to cultural companies as it is hard to evaluate the risk and revenue of cultural products such as films, but when the government guarantees the loan, our worry about defaulting on loans is eradicated,” said Chen Yurong with the Agricultural Bank of China’s Ningbo branch, who also added that 18 cultural companies received 33.6 million yuan loans from the branch since 2016.
Ningbo’s cultural companies can also receive up to 1.2 million yuan of subsidiary from the local government when listed in the Ningbo Equity Exchange, a local financing platform.
As the first city to pilot the “Made in China 2025” project, Ningbo is a leader in manufacturing resources and the city is linking cultural and manufacturing companies to boost business.
ZBJ.COM International Creative Park was established in 2016 in Cixi, one of the biggest manufacturing centers in China. The park is now a cluster of 34 cultural companies that provide creative designs to manufacturers of home appliances in Zhejiang Province. According to Zhu Keqiang, general manager of the park, Ningbo’s manufacturers are in sore need of creative designs to enhance the competitiveness of their products.
Ningbo’s cultural companies are providing a digital media online platform.
Yong Pai, a local mobile phone news app, is cooperating with bookstores and museums to develop an online cultural consumption platform to provide people with information on activities and products.
“By the end of last year, there were over 500 companies and organizations registered on our app to provide services for our users,” said Katie Wu, director of the mobile department in Ningbo Yong Pai Media Co Ltd.
Wu said such an online cultural platform is expected to generate an annual advertising revenue of 4 million yuan for their company.

domain: news


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Netflix’s online video market share is shrinking. Actually, this is a summary from the two latest reports released last week. The first report comes from Parrot Analytics. According to Parrot, in the first quarter of 2021, half of the digital originals comes from Netflix.
However, we should point out that its market share is declining. Two years ago, Netflix accounted for 64.6% of the digital originals that audiences wanted to watch.
Also Read: Netflix announces higher prices for the standard and premium plans, now $14 and $18 respectively
In the United States, the downward trend is even more pronounced. Netflix only accounted for 48.1% of the demand for digital originals, which fell below 50% for the first time. (This may also be related to the more limited output of Netflix in the first quarter of this year. But it is still not enough to explain the trend in the past two years.)
Gizchina News of the week
And another report from Ampere Analysis also describes a similar situation. Netflix’s subscriber share in the United States has fallen by 31% in one year.
Is It The Last Curtain For Netflix?
After reading these two reports, we may think that everything is over for Netflix. However, do these numbers really represent the actual situation? Many have been thinking Netflix will become the next technology monopoly. But the truth is Netflix has never become the only online video network people use. Google – one of the true monopolies – could monopolize the search field because it has access to all the relevant information it needs. Google uses all your search records to provide better and better search results, and then build increasingly sophisticated products.
Netflix will never be able to access every TV show or movie. In fact, the categories of programs that Netflix can access are decreasing, as the company is gradually moving from a technology company that distributes programs that people love to an entertainment company that produces exclusive content. Now, Netflix has indeed become an entertainment company. But at the same time, it cannot become a monopoly. No company can monopolize creativity.
So Why Netflix Is Losing Its Market Share?
Data from Parrot and Ampere shows that Netflix is now facing competitive pressure from all parties, including Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Discovery+, Amazon and Hulu, and so on. The number of users watching online video is unprecedented, and Netflix is not their only choice.
Does the decrease in share really mean that the users’ interest in Netflix is also decreasing? We know that people watch fewer live TV programs. Thus, there are fewer cable and satellite TV users. On the contrary, we also know that more and more people are watching online videos.
However, as people abandon cable and satellite TV in favor of streaming, do they watch online videos on multiple platforms or reduce the length of time spent on Netflix? If their watch time on Netflix decreases, then maybe they will cancel their subscription. For Netflix, this is really bad news.


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John on November 13, 2011 at 3:00 pm
A Post survey of a dozen restaurants, jewelry shops, beauty salons, a chain store and mom-and-pop establishments tallied almost a half-million dollars lost in the 53 days since the Zuccotti Park siege began on Sept. 17.
“We’re done with them!” barked one Broadway business owner. The restaurateur — who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals — said his profits drained as soon as campers moved in.
“My customers used to take food to eat in the park, but now they can’t,” he lamented…
On two separate occasions the owner of the Essex World Cafe has rolled up his gate to find someone had defecated on it overnight.
“It must be a good place for them to hide,” the owner cringed.
The left will of course ignore this report because it came from the Post. They won’t say it’s not true they’ll just claim it’s not fair…somehow.
Category: Uncategorized |


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Once upon a time, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) seemed invulnerable. The company maintained an insurmountable position in search and parlayed its supremacy into a pole position in the digital search market -- and no rival even came close. Over the past several years, however, even while its search continued to dominate, it appeared Google's share of the digital advertising market had been slipping -- slowly and gradually -- but falling nonetheless.
Which top AI stock could make investors the most money this decade? Several top AI stocks are legitimately in the running to make the most money during the new version of the Roaring Twenties. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) especially stands out because of its big head start.
There has been intense focus on artificial intelligence (AI) in 2023, with a race among companies -- big and small -- and countries to rapidly deploy and develop applications based on this technology. Goldman Sachs, for instance, predicts that AI could boost the world's economy by $7 trillion over the next decade, driving a 15% increment in productivity. With a H100 processor reportedly costing $40,000 and up, analysts are anticipating the company's revenue to at least double in the current fiscal year to $54.6 billion.


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December 28, 2011: 3 Key Small Business Trends for 2012
A few weeks ago I revealed five food trends I think you should keep your eyes on next year. There’s plenty more where those came from, like the ones I wrote about on SmallBizTrends.com. But there’s a lot more to look forward to in 2012, so here’s a heads up.
At the moment (and I’m knocking wood as I type this), most economic signs point to a stronger year ahead. It likely won’t be a knock-your-socks-off recovery, but it appears 2012 will be a better year than many would have forecast even a few months ago.
To get ready, some small businesses (especially larger ones) are ramping up and planning to hire. According to a “Trends in Small Business Hiring” survey from American Express OPEN, “the likelihood of hiring among small firms increases” with company size and revenues. “Firms with $500,000 or more in sales, as well as those with 20 or more employees, are consistently more likely to be looking to increase staffing” in 2012, the report says.
There’s also likely to be an increased focus on technology in 2012. It’s vital to your success that you protect your company data, both from outside threats and inadvertent internal ones. The advent of consumerization (employees using work devices at home, or personal devices at work) increases your risk of malware working its way into your company’s computer system. And if you think you’re safe from these types of attacks because you primarily use Macs (traditionally less open to viral attack than PCs), think again. Natalie Severino, the director of consumer product marketing at Trend Micro, recently told me more and more cybercrooks are “following the money” and targeting Mac computers.
There’s a lot more technological innovation to come, including the growing use of cloud technology and the rapid rise of m-commerce. No matter what type of business you have, more and more consumers are searching for companies on their smartphones or tablets, and if your website is not optimized for mobile devices, you are going to lose out. Here’s a free ebook from my company and Network Solutions that will help you get mobile-ready.


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After a two-year probe carried out by the New York Attorney General's office, Viacom, Mattel, Hasbro and JumpStart have agreed to pay a total of $835,000 in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act for tracking the online activity and collecting personal information of children under the age of 13.
While tracking user activity for marketing and advertising purposes is nearly ubiquitous on the web, COPPA has prohibited sites that are directed toward children to collect personal information, such as names and email addresses, on kids who are younger than 13 since 1998. In 2013, COPPA expanded "information" to include Internet Protocol addresses and prohibited the use of collecting cookies.
"Adults are cognitively more mature about the quid pro quo of visiting a site," said a representative from the New York Attorney General's Office. "I give up my privacy so I can read a site like CNET for free. Kids 12 and under don't have that understanding... Congress needs to protect them a little bit more."
The investigation found that sites owned by Viacom (Nick Jr. and the Nickelodeon websites); Mattel (sites associated with the Barbie, Hot Wheels, American Girl and Matchbox brands); Hasbro (which owns sites for My Little Pony, Nerf and Transformers); and JumpStart (which operates the Neopets site) allowed third-party tracking from vendors and marketers.
The companies will pay a fine towards penalties and to implement reforms. Hasbro's COPPA violations were found to be less egregious, and it will not pay any fines. Hasbro is also a participant of the FTC's Safe Harbor program, which shows a site operator is compliant with COPPA.
Reforms include scans to monitor for third-party tracking technologies, vetting third-parties' data collection practices and providing regular reports of said scans.
Editors' Note: On September 14, 2016, Jumpstart released a formal statement, attached below:
The security of our users' personal information and privacy have always been a top priority for our Company. Neopets was the only JumpStart game alleged to be in violation, which is a property we acquired in 2014. It is also the only JumpStart game that is not marketed to kids, and as such, only a very small percentage of Neopets' registered users are under the age of 13. Since acquiring Neopets two years ago, we have taken a number of steps to address privacy including switching ad providers, vetting ads, and reviewing and revising internal privacy policies. This has been an ongoing process, and we will continue to enact all possible measures to protect children and ALL our users' privacy and data for our entire portfolio of games.


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Technical Regulations on Hazelnut Approved
Technical regulations on hazelnut products initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and approved by Georgian Government are set to regulate hazelnut export, import, quality and labelling related issues.
“Hazelnut production has become a strategic direction in the agricultural sector. We have developed technical regulations on hazelnut products and a national program to promote the development of the hazelnut industry in Georgia,” said Otar Danelia, Minister of Agriculture of Georgia. “Moreover, hazelnut regulations are in absolute compliance with internationally accepted marketing standards.”
Sales revenue of Georgian hazelnut products reached USD 184 million in EU countries in 2014-2015, almost 30% of the total agricultural export sales figure.
According to the new regulations, hazelnut products will be under strict quality control, which includes not only laboratory tests, but also storage, packaging, and transportation control rules.
The Georgian National Food Agency will undertake the inspection and quality control of hazelnut products itself.
“One of the most important aspects of these regulations is to avoid falsification of products, which has been reported on several occasions,” said Alexandre Motserelia, Executive Director of Hazelnut Producers and Exporters Association of Georgia. “At the same time, each step of production is determined; starting from the field, taking hazelnuts to the processing plants, transportation and export.”
The regulations are expected to promote the hazelnut industry in Georgia, contribute to the sale of high quality hazelnut products in the international markets and protect the image of Georgian agro production as meeting the requirements of the most demanding applications and complying with the highest standards.
Above was cited from this link.if you have any question,please contact them.http://georgiatoday.ge/news/3570/Technical-Regulations-on-Hazelnut-Approved


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Hot cakes: Greggs has more stores in the UK than either McDonald’s or Starbucks
HighStreet bakery chain Greggs is laying off several hundred employees as it transfers production of its sausage rolls and doughnuts to robots.
Greggs, which has more stores in the UK than either McDonald’s or Starbucks, opened 90 stores last year.
Greggs would not give a specific number on how many jobs will go but ‘several hundred’ staff applied for voluntary redundancy.
The job losses are part of an overhaul to Greggs’ supply chain which will see it automate manufacturing at fewer sites.
In Glasgow it has extended an existing site to make yum-yums and this year is converting a Newcastle bakery to make doughnuts.
The programme is expected to be completed by 2020 with £95million worth of investment.
Profits were dented as a result of the investment last year, slipping 4 per cent to £71.9million, but sales rose by 3.7 per cent to £960million in 2017.
Healthy options such as ham, egg and potato salads and granola and strawberry yoghurt form around 10 per cent of all sales.
Roger Whiteside, chief executive, said : ‘2018 will be the peak year for investment in our supply chain as we create the platforms for further growth.
We also plan to open a record number of new shops as we implement our plan to grow Greggs as a leading food-on-the-go brand.’
Greggs is planning to open up to 130 stores this year with more near offices and in train stations.


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Life has announced several senior changes to its management team as it seeks to become an integrated creative communications agency.
Reg Manser is moving from the creative director role to take up the position of chief creative officer, working alongside chief executive Juliet La Marque to lead the company’s creative strategy and business development, reports PMLiVE.
He will be supported by Matt Leeming, who has been appointed to the newly-created role of strategy director in order to help advise clients on marketing and brand development.
Meanwhile, Steve Martin will take up Mr Manser’s vacated creative director post, leveraging his extensive experience working with consumer agencies and in pharmaceutical advertising, with Elinor Washbrook to be promoted to head of copy…
See the full article http://www.zenopa.com/news/801647938/life-announces-new-management-appointments


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Launch of electric transport Rivian delays deliveries of its R1T truck from 400 miles until 2023. In an e-mail to customers he received , CEO RJ Scaringe said the company gives priority to producing R1T vehicles equipped with its own “Large pack” of batteries. Once these orders are fulfilled, they will turn their attention to the more affordable “Explorer Package” equipment and the “Max pack” battery.
“When setting our delivery time, we optimized our production sequence around a combination of design that would support us in the fastest possible development and therefore have the greatest possible positive impact on the climate,” RJ Scaringe wrote in an email. We contacted Rivian for more information.
In the same message, Scaringe notes that Max battery variants make up approximately 20 percent of the 71,000 R1T and R1S pre-orders provided by the carmaker since December 15 this year. This suggests that the delay includes about 14,200 vehicles. Rivian allows people to change their orders if they want to get their R1T earlier. He also promised to share more information on delivery deadlines in early 2022.
Rivian has delayed R1T deliveries several times over the past few years. The truck was originally supposed to be introduced in 2020, but the company eventually moved that date to . Pandemic and have played a role in this, but Rivian also does not currently have much production capacity. He plans to open a new factory in . However, this will not be completed until around 2024. Meanwhile, the company also has order to be fulfilled minority owner Amazon.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, regardless of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission for the partners.


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US: Wal-Mart Q4 profit slips 5.7%
Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, today (17 February) blamed the strong dollar and a labour lawsuit charge for a 7.5% drop in fourth quarter profit, but said it is performing better than its competitors.
For the three months to 31 January, net income fell to $3.79bn, or $0.96 per share from $4.096bn, or $1.02 per share, a year earlier.
Sales at the Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter edged up just 1.7% to $107.996bn as a 6% rise at its Walmart US stores and flat sales at its Sam's Club operation were offset by an 8.4% drop in international revenues.
On a constant currency basis, Wal-Mart said international sales would have gained 9% during the quarter.
On a same-store basis and stripping out the effect of fuel, total US sales were up 2.8%, with a 2.8% rise at Walmart and a 2.5% increase at Sam's Club.
"Our performance relative to competitors was exceptionally strong in the fourth quarter and throughout the year," said Mike Duke, Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer.
"We expect this momentum to continue," he said, adding: "Wal-Mart remains well-positioned to continue to serve its customers in a challenging environment because of its strong price leadership."
For the full year, net income rose 5.3% to $13.4bn, or $3.39 per share, from $12.731bn, or $3.13 per share a year earlier.
Net sales for the fiscal year rose 7.2% to $401.2bn from $374.3bn a year ago.
Looking ahead, the company expects earnings to be between $0.72 and $0.77 per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, and between $3.45 and $3.60 for the full year.
Wal-Mart has continued to benefit from shoppers flocking to its stores in search of bargains - although demand for grocery and health and wellness products has outstripped apparel sales.
Even so, the discount retailer last week said it was cutting between 700 and 800 jobs at its Walmart US and Sam's Club operations - including an unspecified number of apparel positions - as it tries to weather the economic storm.
Help test our new apparel sourcing tool.
There was little sign of any uptick in retail spending in July, as retailers released yet another disappointing month of same-store sales results....
From credit problems at CIT, to falling pay and rising opposition to the political situation in Honduras, textile and apparel suppliers last month faced up to a number of significant sourcing issues. ...
Wal-Mart has today (13 August) posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, which came in at the high end of its guidance range....
Iconix Brand Group Inc, owner of brands such as Candie's, Joe Boxer, Rampage and Mossimo, has posted a 32% jump in second quarter profit on higher sales, and lifted its revenue guidance for the year....
Children's wear specialist Carter's posted a second quarter profit of US$11.3m, boosted by improved sales for its eponymous Carter's brand....
Disney is launching new tween fashion lines inspired by its Jonas and Wizards of Waverly Place shows, which will be hitting retailers including JC Penney, Kmart, Sears, Walmart, Target and DisneyStore...
Sporting goods retailer Hibbett Sports has announced that Rebecca Jones will join the company as vice president of merchandising in August 2009....
Around 1.4m pairs of children's clogs have been recalled in the US by footwear distributor Brown Shoe and its Hong Kong-based affiliate Pagoda International....
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- Adidas to digitalise Speedfactory concept
- Nike filed patent for "reinforced denim"
- M&S extends sourcing deal with Lindsey brothers
- Gap unveils five-year sustainable fibres pledge
- US Q1 in brief – Columbia Sportswear, Amazon
- Global market review of denim and jeanswear – forecasts to 2022
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- Southeast Asia strategic sourcing review – a focus on Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar


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AGENDA: Some businesses are bucking the trend
Despite many retailers feeling the squeeze, Cosham appears to be '˜bucking the trend' of struggling to make ends meet.
Shop owners The News spoke to reported good business – with one shop even saying ‘business was the best’ it had been in 30 years.
The rise of the internet and increasing costs to run shops has not, it seems, curtailed the success of some retailers.
But in Cosham’s case it appears those making a good fist of business are those that are well established or require customers to touch and see items before buying them.
Business owner Keith Shaw, who runs charity shop Help 4 Special Children, which sells many items for 50p or £1, said trade was at its best level since they started up in 2010. ‘We sell a variety of things at very reasonable rates which helps bring people through the door,’ he said.
‘The best place to have a shop is where there are lots of people and we’re fortunate because we have a good location. People come to Cosham for the charity shops – with there seven in total – but it’s good because it means lots of people are coming here for our market. We make it nice for people to come in to the shop and want to come back. We keep the front window fresh and full of stock and have a library out the back where people can look around and read a few books.
‘Often people will come in for one thing and walk out with a few bits because of the variety we have. There’s lots for everyone here.
‘We use eBay to sell things online but we make far more money from selling through our street shop.’
Mick Downs, manager of carpet retailer Finishing Touch, said trade for the 30-year-old business had never been better despite not trading online. ‘In many ways we are one of the last bastions of the high street with people needing to come in to see and touch the material before buying it,’ he said.
‘We’ve been here for 30 years so have built up a reputation in the area which helps a lot. We’re also well supported by the manufacturers who give us good margins compared to what they give online retailers.
‘Business has been good recently – in fact it’s probably the best we’ve had in 30 years and we don’t sell anything online. It’s about delivering a high quality service that keeps people coming back. We’re optimistic about the future. The business rates are always creeping up which makes it difficult but people are prepared to spend more on better quality that lasts longer. If you can’t absorb the price increase then it has to be passed on to the customer.’
With vape shop Every Cloud opening up a store every month it is clear that business is booming in this new and ever evolving market. ‘Vape shops are taking off. Ten years ago there were no vape shops but now they’re everywhere,’ operations manager John Humphry said.
‘Although it’s a new industry it is one where people prefer to go to the shop and try before buying. We create an enjoyable experience for our customers by providing comfortable leather seating and offering them drinks.
‘We’re the best vape shop and know what we’re doing.’ Fone Revive, a mobile phone repair shop which only opened 10 months ago, also reported good news after a difficult start. ‘At the start we had to generate business and get the word out but after a few months we started seeing results after people told others about us,’ sales manager Connor Sherman said. ‘We have a Facebook page which helps us a lot but having a store with a high street presence has made a big difference with people just popping in when they walk past – that’s how we get most of our business.
‘The future is looking bright and we are a growing business with stores that have recently opened in Southampton, Newquay and Torquay which means we now have 30 stores having started out six years ago. Increasing business rates is something you just have to deal with.’
n TOMORROW: The spotlight falls on Fareham.


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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Rover has released its ‘ulti-mutt’ list of the top pet name trends in 2021 — and some are pretty niche.
In addition to launching a survey of 1,000 pet owners, the company, which pairs clients with dog walkers and pet sitters, claims to have compiled the data after analyzing millions of pet names within their database.
“Each year our annual top pet names report showcases what cultural moments made an impact and clearly, the pandemic was a big factor. From sports to the TV shows we binge-watched, our pets’ names were shaped by a truly unique year,” Rover Trend Expert Kate Jaffe stated in a release. “With the continuation of work from home, our bonds with our pets have grown even deeper.”
For as unique as this year was, with a rise in COVID-19 related pet names like Fauci and Pfizer, the ninth annual Rover report suggests the names picked for our four-legged friends, might be a reflection of these strange times. With many adopting new technologies to connect remotely since March 2020, it is no surprise the company reported pooches named Zoom were up 443%.
Rover also saw a major increase in pet names influenced by pop culture and characters from popular streaming services, with Grogu becoming the No. 1 most popular dog name in the U.S. this year, based on Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.”
This year, the name Yeezy was trending among cats in the US, though other Kanye-inspired pet names saw a decrease.
Names inspired by the Netflix hit “Bridgerton” were also on the rise, with an increase in pups named Daphne and even a dog named Lady Whistledown, reported.
Rover reportedly observed a surge in owners naming their pets after cryptocurrency references, including an uptick in cats named Bitcoin, and a 106% increase in dogs named Doge.
Other notable trends in the Rover report include pets named after Britney Spears, Chadwick Boseman, characters from the hit TV show “Friends,” and names inspired by 2021 Olympic winners.
As a place that prides itself on being weird, Portland’s most popular pet names remained pretty ordinary this year, in comparison to the unique name trends seen in the Rover report.
Portland’s Top Dog Names of 2021
According to Rover, these were the top 10 most popular female dog names in Portland:
According to Rover, these were the top 10 most popular male dog names in Portland:
Portland’s Top Cat Names of 2021
According to Rover, these were the top 10 most popular female cat names in Portland:
According to Rover, these were the top 10 most popular male cat names in Portland:


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New safety features — active braking, blind-spot warnings — are letting seniors stay at the wheel longer and compelling them to trade up to newer models.
Richard Emmons, 83, likes to spend his weekends cruising around in a 1995 Jaguar convertible with a big 12-cylinder engine. His weekday drive is either a 2009 Volkswagen Eos or the $82,000 Audi A8 sedan he bought in November. After all, he needs something reliable for his 10-mile commute to the Pratt & Whitney plant in Windsor, Conn., where he works full time as a jet engineer.
“I’m bad at retiring,” Emmons says. “I don’t really have a lot of hobbies anymore. I just like cars and investing.”
American seniors have never been healthier or wealthier. At the same time, cars have never been crammed with more features to safeguard drivers with fuzzier vision, slower reactions and stiffer necks. Those forces have created a powerful economic engine for car manufacturers. This might just be the first time ever that one of the most promising demographics for the auto industry is represented by Social Security recipients.
“We sell new bikes to guys in their 80s all the time,” says Harley-Davidson chief marketing officer Mark Hans-Richer.
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The roads in America are going gray. From 2003 to 2013, the number of licensed drivers over the age of 65 surged by 8.2 million, a 29 percent increase, according to U.S. Census data. The very old were particularly stubborn about pulling over for good. There are now about 3.5 million U.S. drivers over 84, a staggering 43 percent increase over a decade ago.
On the other end of the age spectrum, teenagers no longer have the income or inclination to own a car. Over that same 10-year period, the ranks of drivers under age 20 declined by 3 percent.
Not only are seniors staying on the road longer, they also aren’t coasting into the sunset in clunkers. In the past five years, the number of new cars registered to households with a head age 65 or older has risen 62 percent, according to IHS.
Drivers over the age of 75, meanwhile, registered about six times as many new cars as those age 18 to 24. The children may well be the future, but the fogies have the cash. What’s more, they want to use it before it’s too late.
Ben Winter, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ vice president for product planning, calls these customers “the matures.” They tend to like minivans for schlepping the grandchildren and large sedans such as the company’s Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger.
“We don’t ignore any group ever. But some of the metrics are fairly compelling,” Winter says. “I’d say we’re talking about this group much more than we used to.”
They’re also increasingly spendthrift. CarGurus, an online shopping platform based in Boston, said the No. 1 vehicle searched by senior citizens on its site in recent years is the Chevrolet Corvette.
“These folks seem to have really gourmet tastes in cars these days,” says CarGurus editor Steve Halloran. “They just aren’t looking at bargain-basement stuff.”
A surge in senior car shopping shouldn’t be a surprise. Americans are living longer than ever and staying healthier. Life expectancy in the U.S. has stretched by 3.3 years in the past two decades.
New safety features are letting seniors stay at the wheel longer and compelling them to trade up to newer models. Active braking has started to come standard on many vehicles, alongside blind-spot warnings and sensors that keep cars from drifting out of a lane. By May 2018, backup cameras will be a requirement on all new cars in the U.S.
The economic vitals of senior drivers are pretty healthy as well, thanks to bullish streaks in real estate and the stock market.
Aside from the senescent-friendly safety features, however, car companies aren’t well tuned to handle this shift toward seniors. The socioeconomic momentum runs against a central strategy in the auto industry: Get them young.
Information in this article, originally published Aug. 12, 2015, was corrected the next day. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that in the past five years, the number of new cars registered to households with a head age 65 or older has risen 65 percent. The correct percentage is actually 62 percent.


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SCEE has announced that WipEout HD will be released on September 25th for £11.99 in the UK.
We reported about the North American release date earlier today, although at that time nothing had been confirmed about a European date. That was until now.
Look out for a review on Strategy Informer soon.
About Jamie Davey
Jamie founded a Command and Conquer fansite called C&C Sector in 2001. He then went on to head up multiple websites at FileFront, before joining the team at GameWatcher in 2007 as the Head of Content and Marketing.


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If you’re in the market for a new tablet, why not check out Google’s new purebred slab? Amazon is currently selling the 16GB WiFi model Nexus 9 for $350, a savings of $50 on a high-end gadget that’s less than a month old. While the tablet doesn’t pack a lot of storage space, it’s more than enough for casual users or folks who don’t mind uploading photos and videos to Google Drive.
As a refresher, the Nexus 9 features an 8.9-inch 2,048 x 1,536 display, a 64-bit 2.3GHz NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, a 192-core Kepler GPU, 2GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 6,700mAh battery and Android 5.0 Lollipop. Amazon’s deal features free shipping and of course Prime members can receive their order within two days. This offer won’t last long, so if you’re looking to pick up a new tablet this holiday season, you’ll definitely want to act fast.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Johns Creek resident Shari Dover-Calicchio has partnered with HUMAN Healthy Vending to encourage healthful living in Fulton County by providing convenient acces
Online PR News – 20-September-2011 – United States – With both adult and childhood obesity reaching record levels – nearly 30% in Georgia alone — it is clear that junk food vending machines need a makeover. In fact, federal and state legislation is ensuring a shift to more healthful options, particularly when it comes to the nutrition standards of foods offered beyond the school cafeteria.
Fortunately, Johns Creek resident Shari Dover-Calicchio has partnered with HUMAN Healthy Vending to ensure that schools, hospitals, and community areas, vend foods and drinks that meet a high caliber of nutrition standards, including the standards required in schools by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Locations in Fulton County that partner with Dover-Calicchio and HUMAN will join a successful network of nearly 750 machine locations across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. So far, Northview High, Chattahoochee High and Lambert High have signed with Dover-Calicchio and HUMAN to provide their students with these healthful vending options.
Unlike antiquated vending machines that have long been complicit in encouraging unhealthy eating habits, HUMAN’s vending machines are the first full-service vending solution offering only healthful snacks, drinks and entire meals along with health education streamed digitally via LCD screens attached to the machines.
Dover-Calicchio believes forming partnerships with schools and community-centered locations sets the stage to make healthful living the standard rather than the exception, and unlike vending companies that simply pay lip service to healthful living, HUMAN machines only vend products that have been reviewed by a panel of health experts. "It is very exciting to know that our partnership schools, like Northview High, Chattahoochee High and Lambert High, will be some of the first schools in Georgia to provide 'true healthy' snack options for students. What I mean by 'true healthy' is that we’re committed to providing only 100% all natural and organic products,” said Dover-Calicchio.
Dover-Calicchio also believes in the HUMAN Healthy Vending mission to provide universal access to healthful food and health education and is placing HUMAN machines in her local community for this purpose. "HUMAN machines are designed to educate with their interactive HD screens that provide nutrition information on the products available for sale. We see ourselves partnering with schools and businesses to begin the educational wave for nutrition and health that must sweep our nation,” said Dover-Calicchio. “Our vending machines are super cool and educational. We know they can help us crush our nation's obesity problem."
If you are interested in learning more about HUMAN, or in facilitating a free $10,000 healthy vending program in your location, please visit our website.
About HUMAN Healthy Vending
It is the goal of HUMAN (Helping Unite Mankind and Nutrition) to make universal access to healthy food and health education a reality. HUMAN distributes hi-tech and eco-friendly vending machines that sell 100% healthy foods and drinks. In addition to providing healthy food options, the machines provide health education via high-definition LCD screens that display streaming videos and other content. By making healthy products and healthy-living information accessible in schools, hospitals, gyms, community centers and additional public spaces, HUMAN empowers people to make healthy choices.
HUMAN is proud to donate 10% of its proceeds to charitable causes that fight childhood obesity and malnutrition. To learn more, go to our website.


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07 February 2023, New Delhi: Superplum, an agritech startup based out of Noida, recently launched a unique feature that allows consumers to scan a QR code and pay a bonus to the farmer who has grown the food they are eating. Consumers can already view pesticide test reports for Superplum fruits and see the actual farm where their fruits were grown.
All this is possible due to the company’s fully digitized and traceable supply chain that tracks every pack that the consumer receives. Superplum’s end-to-end digitized platform allows granular quality control and analysis of all products. The company works across 20 states and delivers over 20 fruits from the farm to retail stores.
Shobhit Gupta, the CEO of Superplum says, “From the outset, our system has been designed to benefit both consumers by getting better quality fruits and farmers by getting them a better share of consumer spending. We also work with farmers and support them to grow high-quality, safe fruits and reduce wastage through investment in cutting-edge technology and an innovative cold chain. If you love the fruits you are eating, it’s now easy to show your appreciation”
(For Latest Agriculture News & Updates, follow Krishak Jagat on Google News)


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The 2021 iPhone 13 models are still some time away from shipment and usual in September, but since iPhone 12 models appeared before 2020, we have heard a few words about what’s in store from new devices. The 2021 iPhone configuration will appear like the 2020 iPhone arrangements with four gadgets in sizes of 5.4, 6.1 and 6.7-inches, two of which are “professional” and cheaper and more moderate.
There are no expectations of any significant improvements to the scheme, and 2021 will be equivalent to iPhones in 2020. Still, we can rely on the sensor’s improvement, a faster A-setting processor, a new Qualcomm 5G chip, an extended battery life and some changes to the indent.
The unknown myths about this phone
Some gossip that in 2021 an iPhone might have a portless scheme that depends on remote charging, but the strong Apple specialist, Ming-Chi Kuo, says it won’t happen. For a long time, Apple will continue to rely on Lightning with no USB-C changes or portless plans until MagSafe embellishment is more common.
We anticipate a modest indent and keep in mind that some bits of the gossip that it has very well suggested may be shallow; the gadget mockups that rely on data from the China store network show that it is smaller and takes less space. Macintosh can also have a rate of 120Hz for the Pro iPhone versions, which will bring ProMotion creativity to the iPhone. Macintosh is expected to
Apple should consider adding an in-how particular trademark sensor to its iPhone 13 models, which would be used as a more biometric confirmation technique despite the Face ID. Still, it remains unclear if that would happen.
For enhanced camera creativity, bit by bit suggests that in addition to the Sensor-Shift Stabilization Highlight for better self-centring and overall setup adjustments, the larger sensor in the iPhone 12 Pro Max can be seen. Apple is also holding iPhone branding plans, so we’re referring to the 2021 iPhone as the “iPhone 13.” This may not be his last name because of many factors, like a strange notion or a complete patch of Apple’s naming shows. Similarly, Apple could take the “iPhone 12S” as a gadget.
Features for “iPhone 13”
The “iPhone 13” will possibly stay moderately similar after many plan updates and highlighted features on the iPhone 12. Use of an iPhone tick-tick-tock plan is generally going to happen, so expect it will be a minor upgrade year with specs and protection at its peak.
The ultra-wide focus points on the “Star” iPhone 13 models are reportedly being improved, with lower breaks for improving execution and self-adaptation under lower light conditions. Still, few improvements are normal for the broad focal points of the gadgets.
With another plan, iPhone 12 will probably never change the external plan a lot year after year, which means the “iPhone 13.” The larger a plan can be reused, the wider the Apple edges can be built on its current versions.
The camera knock and indent may be the most noticeable improvements to the gadget. The knock camera must move from isolated knocks to a single sheet of glass covering all focal points for each focal point. When the gadget is placed on the back, this will diminish wobble.
The score must be reduced or eliminated. Apple has examined the methods behind the showcase to disguise some sections of the TrueDepth picture. Some Android producers have learned how to store selfie cameras behind the display, but TrueDepth is far more confusing.
In the “iPhone 13,” Apple would have the option of dissimilar the selfie camera and several sensors by setting them or lifting them into the bezel. Either chance would produce a more miniature score. The score will be dispensed with exceedingly far-fetched every day shortly.
The 2020 iPhone will highlight a 64 MP shooter with a slight focus point and 1x optical zoom (6x advanced zoom), 40MP with a 3x to 5x optical zoom (15 to 20x machine zoom), a 40 MP super-wide zoom and an anamorphic 40MP focal point with a 2.1:1 percentage. A similar hole has already been identified.


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In January 2021, Past Meat will launch its well-liked vegan Past Burger at 7,000 places of CVS Pharmacy nationwide. The model can even launch its new Beyond Meatballs—vegan meat that’s pre-rolled and pre-seasoned with a mix of Italian spices—at 5,000 CVS places nationwide. “CVS has now develop into a spot the place individuals are choosing up some family grocery items, so we wish to be there,” Past Meat CEO Ethan Brown mentioned throughout the firm’s current earnings name, including that the corporate is planning so as to add different merchandise to the distribution channel.
The enlargement comes after a 12 months of development for Past Meat, which tripled its retail footprint at Walmart to 2,400 locations this fall and slashed costs on its Past Burger (by way of its limited-edition Beyond Cookout Classic bulk pack) this summer time to make its vegan meat extra reasonably priced to customers searching for protein throughout the COVID-19-induced meat scarcity.
On the foodservice aspect, Past Meat has had an eventful week with the launch of limited-time Beyond Pan Pizzas at places of Pizza Hut nationwide. The model additionally revealed that it’s working with McDonald’s to launch its McPlant burger—a plant-based burger the chain plans to launch in 2021 as a part of its new McPlant platform that might additionally launch plant-based rooster and breakfast sandwiches.


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Some analysts believe that Apple has managed to deal with supply-chain issues caused by the Covid pandemic better than its rivals at the end of last year. It could also surpass Wall Street growth targets of six percent when it announces its latest earnings on Thursday. Reuter has a nice round-up of analyst opinion.
We expect Apple to reach its highest market share in China since Apple entered the market in 2008,” said analyst Nicole Peng of Canalys. Investment firm Wedbush Securities forecasts record iPhone sales of more than 40 million units during the holiday period from Black Friday to Christmas. Morgan Stanley estimates total holiday quarter iPhone shipments at 83 million, representing a 4% increase from the previous year. Wall Street analysts expect Apple to post about $118.7 billion in revenue, representing 6.48% year-over-year growth, and quarterly earnings per share of $1.89, according to Eikon data as of Tuesday.
Check It Out: Analysts Confident Apple Ahead of AAPL Earnings Call


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Gionee has been one of the more interesting brands to watch this year, especially when they deliver on what has been promised.
We’ve seen Chinese phone makers mock the bigger brands like Apple and Samsung before. Now we have Gionee taking a dig at
It appears Gionee is gearing up to drop a new handset. Fortunately for us, it’s shown up at TENAA ahead of an
Back in November of last year, Gionee introduced consumers in India to the Gionee F103. They also introduced several variants, and now
Last week we learned the Gionee S6 Pro was gearing up for a release in China, and as expected, today the company
Three new Gionee smartphones have just been formally introduced. The Gionee S5, F100 and F103B have all reached an official launch
It’s often the case that we see indications of upcoming smartphones when they go through the TENAA certification process in China.
Gionee’s Marathon M5 Plus smartphone was unveiled at a December event in China, and it was expected that it would also become
Gionee recently introduced a new smartphone for consumers in India, and may be one to watch if you’re looking for a smartphone


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|Over a week ago|
Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers » 09:0006/2306/23/20
TBIO, APYX, MYOV, SBUX, NRZ, XAIR, WTI, IVR, AAL, SPR, CBOE, MU
Check out this morning's…
Apyx Medical's expanded international sale 'important', says Piper Sandler » 19:1406/2206/22/20
Piper Sandler analyst…
Piper Sandler analyst Matt O'Brien keeps his Overweight rating and $7 price target on Apyx Medical after its update announcing clearance to sell is J-Plasma in 5 new countries earlier today. The analyst says the approval represents an "important step" for building out the company's international customer base and should contribute a "nice chunk" of growth in the coming years. O'Brien adds that Apyx Medical shares are still down significantly year-to-date, but he sees the company remaining in sound shape financially and expects shares to recover as the pandemic begins to subside.
Apyx Medical approved to sell Helium Plasma products in 5 new countries » 16:0706/2206/22/20
Apyx Medical announced…
Apyx Medical announced that the company has obtained regulatory approval to market and sell its Helium Plasma Technology products in five new countries: Australia, Brazil, Israel, Taiwan and Thailand. The company has contracted with distributors to market and sell its products in each country. "We are very pleased to obtain regulatory approvals to market and sell our Helium Plasma Technology products in these five new countries." said Charlie Goodwin, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We have been focused on pursuing regulatory clearances in international markets as one of our key strategic priorities to enhance Apyx Medical's long-term growth profile. This strategy is based on the prudent expansion of our commercial footprint outside the U.S. by securing the requisite product registrations for our Helium Plasma Technology products, and identifying strong distribution partners in each respective market. While we expect each of these new countries to contribute to our growth profile in the coming years, we are especially excited by the growth opportunity we have in Brazil, which is estimated to be the second largest cosmetic surgery market in the world in terms of both the total number of procedures performed and the number of surgeons. We shipped an initial commercial order to our distributor in Brazil in late-June and we expect to ship our initial commercial orders to each of the other new countries over the second half of 2020."
|Over a month ago|
Apyx Medical not providing FY20 guidance 'at this time' » 07:0805/1105/11/20
"Given the challenges and uncertainties posed by the ongoing global pandemic, Apyx Medical will not be providing full year 2020 financial guidance at this time. Assuming a more normalized business environment prevails at the time of our second quarter results conference call in August, we plan to provide updated expectations at that time."
Apyx Medical reports Q1 EPS (6c), consensus (25c) » 07:0805/1105/11/20
Reports Q1 revenue $5M,…
Reports Q1 revenue $5M, consensus $5.2M. "We reported first quarter sales results at the low-end of the guidance range we provided on March 16, 2020," said Charlie Goodwin, President and CEO. "While the first quarter revenue performance in our OEM business was in-line with our expectations, our revenue performance in our global Advanced Energy business was impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the first two months of 2020, our Advanced Energy business was performing well with revenue up more than 30% year-over-year. Beginning in March, demand trends from our cosmetic surgery customers around the world slowed materially as a result of the preventative or protective actions taken by governments in each of our primary international markets. In the U.S., we saw a rapid deterioration in procedure trends over the last two weeks of March as states and cities implemented restrictions on elective procedures and temporary closure of non-essential businesses due to COVID-19. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic we acted quickly to protect the health and safety of our employees, patients, surgeon customers and international distributor partners around the world. We have instituted protocols intended to reduce the risk to our manufacturing employees and their families and all non-essential employees are working remotely. We have also taken preemptive steps to curtail spending, including implementing hiring restrictions, reducing most discretionary spending, reducing capital expenditures, and delaying certain R&D projects and clinical research studies. I am proud of the resolve our organization has demonstrated during these incredibly challenging times and appreciate their continued efforts to support our customers and ensure business continuity." Mr. Goodwin continued: "We continue to monitor the crisis caused by COVID-19 in our primary markets and, to date, the impacts of the containment efforts and the restrictions on elective procedures have had a significant impact on our global Advanced Energy sales. There is a significant amount of uncertainty as to when these actions will be lifted, and when patients will choose to undergo elective cosmetic procedures once our customers' practices are allowed to re- open. In the interim, we have a strong balance sheet with more than $51 million in cash at quarter-end and targeted plans to reduce near-term spending in this period of business disruption that together will allow the organization to continue to build on the progress we have made in recent years to enhance this Company's foundation for future growth. We have built a great team at Apyx Medical and we are intently focused on ensuring we are well positioned to return to executing on our growth strategy to expand our share global cosmetic surgery market as soon as the post-COVID recovery begins."
|Over a quarter ago|
Apyx Medical price target lowered to $7 from $10 at Piper Sandler » 05:3403/1703/17/20
Piper Sandler analyst…
Piper Sandler analyst Matt O'Brien lowered the firm's price target on Apyx Medical to $7 from $10 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company's guidance for Q1 was much lower than expected and the outlook for the remainder of 2020 was removed both due to the effect of the coronavirus, O'Brien tells investors in a research note. The analyst anticipates Apyx's business will be "quite soft" in Q2 and Q3 as a result of the virus but that a return to significant growth is in store "on the other side of the outbreak."
Apyx Medical to restate previously issued financial statements » 16:0703/1603/16/20
Apyx Medical announced it…
Apyx Medical announced it will be restating its previously issued consolidated financial statements for the twelve months ended December, 31 2018 and the quarterly statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and three months ended March 31, 2019. This decision was approved by the Company's Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the Company's Audit Committee, and after consultation with Management and the Company's predecessor independent registered public accounting firm. Investors should no longer rely upon the Company's previously released financial statements for the time periods cited above. Similarly, related press releases, earnings releases, and investor communications describing the Company's financial statements for these periods should no longer be relied upon. The decision to restate these financial statements is based on the conclusion that the financial statements for the aforementioned financial periods cannot be relied upon as a result of the aggregation of errors identified by management and the Company's new accounting personnel during the preparation of its fiscal year 2019 Form 10-K and third quarter 2019 Form 10-Q.
Apyx sees Q1 revenue $5M-$5.6M, consensus $7.82M » 16:0703/1603/16/20
Sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA…
Sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA ($7.8M)-($7.4M).
Apyx reports Q4 EPS (16c), consensus (19c) » 16:0603/1603/16/20
Reports Q4 revenue…
Reports Q4 revenue $8.38M, consensus $7.86M. "We are excited to bring 2019 to a strong close, with revenue growth of 58% in our Advanced Energy business during the fourth quarter, which was fueled by high demand for our Helium Plasma Technology products from customers in the U.S. cosmetic surgery market as well as our international distributors," said Charlie Goodwin, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to our impressive fourth quarter sales performance, we were also pleased to announce the initiation of enrollment in two new clinical studies evaluating use of our Renuvion technology in dermal resurfacing procedures and skin laxity procedures during the fourth quarter, which represent important milestones in our journey to obtain new clinical indications for specific cosmetic surgery procedures."
Apyx Medical management to meet with Craig-Hallum » 04:5501/1401/14/20
Meeting to be held in San…
Meeting to be held in San Francisco, CA on January 14 hosted by Craig-Hallum.


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News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services.
George at Asda is selling matching Santa pyjama sets for the whole family
Asda is selling salted caramel hot chocolate - and we can't wait to try it
Asda and Sainsbury's are selling Häagen-Dazs tubs for £2.50
Supermarket price war sends lager down to just 71p a pint in run up to Xmas
Asda and Sainsbury's are going to merge - what does that mean for shoppers?
Asda could cut 2,500 jobs next year as Sainsbury's merger looms
Asda is doing a bubble and squeak Christmas sandwich this year
Asda shopper thinks she's gone colour blind — but is it real?
High street kids' Halloween costumes can catch fire in TWO seconds
Asda is selling an award-winning 2litre box of mulled wine for £8
Asda is selling chocolate and orange flavoured Viennetta - and we're excited
Money savers mock Asda for putting TWO huge security tags on a jar of HONEY
Asda recalls Frozen Smooth Mashed Potato because it may contain gluten
Aldi is selling a giant unicorn toy for £13 - and it's cheaper than Asda
Asda is selling gin and latte truffles - and we can't wait to try them
Asda is selling a pizza for Halloween with a BLACK BBQ sauce base


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Tesla chose to invest in Malaysia because we are the 7th largest producer in the E&E, semiconductor sector
Just a few days ago, minister of international trade and industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz revealed Tesla will officially set up shop in Malaysia. This will see the American car company establish a head office here together with Tesla Experience centres as well as a Supercharger network.
According to the ministry of international trade and industry (MITI), Tesla is the first applicant of its BEV Global Leaders programme, which is aimed at boosting the demand of electric vehicles in Malaysia. The ministry also approved Tesla’s application to import EVs into Malaysia, although it isn’t known which models will be the first off the boat.
In a recent report by Bernama, Tengku Zafrul said Tesla’s decision to invest in Malaysia was due to the country’s strong electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem to support the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs). In fact, he noted that Malaysia is the seventh largest producer in the E&E and semiconductor sector which supplies key components in EV manufacturing.
“The most attractive factor about Malaysia is that the ecosystem for E&E can support the EV industry. For example, Tesla said, quite a big part of its supply chain is from Malaysia so why not relocate here?” he said during a media conference after launching the Industry Excellence Award (AKI) 2024 at Johor Port on Monday.


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Google Revamps Android Auto with Dark Mode, Easier Accessibility, More
Ahead of its I/O 2019 keynote tomorrow, Google today has announced a quiet revamp of Android Auto that introduces a few new features. The most notable of the changes is the inclusion of a dark mode that will now be set as the default UI. Instead of a blaring white interface, Android auto will will now sport a much more toned-down appearance that should be more pleasing to look at.
Aside from the new UI, there are a few features that will make using Android Auto easier. For one, the navigation bar at the bottom can be used as a media playback center. If you have a map open and music playing in the back, the bar will present play/pause and skip buttons. If there isn’t any music playing, it can show the next step to take to get to your destination. It’s also now easier to access the Google Assistant thanks to a dedicated button, and the home key can now be found in the bottom-left which makes it easier for drivers to access.
In addition, Google has cleaned up Android Auto’s main interface and added a few new functions to the notification center.
Google says the new revamp of Android Auto will begin rolling out this summer. Those attending I/O will get a chance to check it out before everyone else.


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More International Expansion in the Cards as Bodog.com Pulls Advertising from the U.S. Market and Relocates Global Headquarters to Antigua
For Immediate Release
December 5, 2006
The digital entertainment powerhouse, which has become as well known for its television production, music distribution and other digital entertainment properties as it has for its world-class gaming enterprise, will continue to advertise its other digital entertainment products, including television, music and publishing, in North America and markets around the world.
Bodog.com Founder Calvin Ayre, citing current uncertainties in the U.S. market, said the recent legislation passed by Congress was a reason behind the decision. "Though the online gaming environment in the U.S. seems to be headed down a path toward eventual regulation, the current climate calls for even more focus of our gaming-related advertising dollars into markets that face Europe and Asia," says the billionaire founder of Bodog.com Entertainment. "We couldn't be better positioned to build upon our current success and growth and to continue our aggressive push toward international expansion into markets such as Europe and Asia."
Bodog.com's latest move should come as little surprise, as the digital entertainment company has been taking a multi-phased approach to expanding its product channels into international markets for the past several years, with Bodog Music and Bodog Television leading the way.
Bodog's international music distribution division, Bodog Music, currently has offices in Berlin, London and other international destinations. Bodog Television shows, including BodogFight and Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker, are being distributed worldwide on cable, satellite, PPV and broadband to countries such as Japan and other regions of the world, including North America and Europe.
The latest announcement comes on the heels of Bodog.com Entertainment completing its relocation of its global head office and gaming operations from Costa Rica to Antigua. This was initiated as soon as Bodog.com acquired Betcorp's international infrastructure in mid-November. Bodog.com Entertainment will maintain offices in Costa Rica for some data entry as well as its charity foundation division and some of its television production division, which is working on or already producing four annual reality TV series. This content is distributed to millions of viewers around the world.
"This is another step aimed toward strengthening our business model," Ayre says. "This accords our gaming division a license in a safe, reliable and well-regulated jurisdiction and Antigua is also the right jurisdiction from where to run our European expansion."
The Calvin Ayre Foundation (CalvinAyreFoundation.com) will remain headquartered in Costa Rica and continue to provide support to disadvantaged locals, while continuing to lead various charitable initiatives in Costa Rica, North America and Asia.
About Bodog.com Entertainment Group
Bodog.com, with its head office located in the Caribbean nation of Antigua, is licensed in the United Kingdom and Kahnawake, Canada.


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Talk about the Sunday Scaries! Kylie Jenner spent the day at the hospital with daughter Stormi after she had an allergic reaction.
The beauty mogul took to her Instagram stories Sunday with a photo of a very worn-out baby Stormi. The caption reads, “Spent the day at the hospital with my baby. She had an allergic reaction but is 100% okay now.”
Jenner, clearly shaken up by her daughter’s health scare, makes sure to give a shout out to moms out there who have to deal with the trauma of a sick kid. “God bless all the moms with sick babies. I’m sending so much love and positive energy your way,” she writes.
Jenner has been embracing the mom life hard ever since Stormi was born in early 2018, frequently updating her Instagram with adorable photos showing bonding moments between herself and Stormi. The most recent shows the pair in a pool with the caption, “My Malibu baby.”
Just under a month ago, Jenner took to Instagram with another adorable mother/daughter photo with the caption, “the best thing I’ve ever done, my greatest role in this life.”
Jenner has been busy recently with her established cosmetics line as well as the recent launch of Kylie Skin, a series of cruelty free, gluten free, sulfate free, and vegan skincare products.


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The Covid-19 pandemic has put South Africa’s automotive industry under pressure in delivering most of the targets it agreed to in the Automotive Masterplan, which was implemented at the beginning of this month.
However, Mikel Mabasa, CEO of automotive business council Naamsa, said there is no reason for the industry to panic yet.
Mabasa said the main reason the sector is under pressure is purely because of the impact and disruption caused to the industry globally and in South Africa by Covid-19.
He said agreement was reached that there would be five-year reviews of the progress made with the implementation of the masterplan.
Once the Covid-19 pandemic has passed, the industry will be able to assess and see if it is on course to achieve the targets it set for itself and if there is a need “to revise them or not”, he said.
“The masterplan is a 15-year programme to 2035. There is still a long way to go to 2035. We are not panicking yet,” said Mabasa.
“We are comfortable that we will be able to look at some of the challenges that potentially could slow us down, and it will certainly be important to talk about those potential areas, but we don’t think it would be fair for us – at the beginning of any programme – to already talk about extending it.
“For now, it’s definitely premature to speak of any extensions at this time,” he said.
The objectives of the SA Automotive Masterplan 2035:
The production of 1% of global production, which is projected to be 1.4 million units by 2035.
Increase local content in South African assembled vehicles to 60% from less than 40% currently.
Double industry employment to 224 000 people.
Improve manufacturing competitiveness levels to the same level as leading competitor countries.
Transform the industry across the value chain.
Deepen value addition, particularly for supply to regional markets.
Mabasa believes all the outstanding issues in the masterplan were resolved prior to its introduction on July 1, with the government responding to the threat posed by the acceleration of the global automotive industry to new energy vehicles through the publication of an Auto Green Paper on the advancement of new energy vehicles in South Africa.
“That process has also addressed some of the concerns we had and we are very confident that through that process that issue will also be managed properly,” he said.
National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (Naacam) executive director Renai Moothilal said Naacam was part of the significant consultation and engagement in developing the masterplan and is satisfied that it is in the long term best interests of the sector.
Increased localisation ‘crucial’
Moothilal said the masterplan development process involved the automotive sector committing to a range of objectives and, from a Naacam perspective, the objective around 60% localisation is absolutely crucial.
He believes “things could have been done differently to accelerate a move towards 60% localisation levels” but, taking into account the interests of other stakeholders, is comfortable that over the longer term the changes in policy and the objectives of the masterplan should result in higher localisation in South Africa and benefit Naacam members.
Moothilal stressed that from an economic perspective, it is only in the component manufacturing base that true economic benefits can be extracted.
“OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] are obviously drivers of the value chain but the real employment, new business creation, technology transfer … happens in the supplier base,” he said.
Moothilal believes the automotive sector is cautiously on the road to recovery following the emergence of Covid-19.
“The masterplan is being implemented over a fairly long period leading up to 2035. At this stage I don’t believe it will be impossible for us to achieve the targets as set out,” he said.
Moothilal said the first half of last year was not great for the entire automotive sector, including vehicle assembly and component manufacturing, but the last quarter of 2020 and the first two quarters of 2021 have been positive in terms of components produced and sold to OEMs domestically and component exports.
“Interestingly last year all categories of automotive exports were down except for components, with a record of R54 billion in components exported in 2020,” he said.
Department of Trade and Industry and Competition chief director for automotives Mkhululi Mlota highlighted a number of challenges the automotive industry faces in achieving the targets in the masterplan in a presentation last month to the parliamentary select committee on trade and industry, economic development, tourism, employment and labour.
Exports … and imports
Mlota said South Africa remains a very small market and accounts for less than 6% of the global market.
He said this is complicated by the fact that South Africa is located very far from other markets to which the industry exports, which also raises other competitiveness issues, such as logistics costs.
Mlota said the regional market has potential but is undermined by the absence of a common automotive regime.
“Most, if not all, the countries in the continent do allow the importation and use of used vehicles.
“Even in SACU [Southern African Customs Union] some of the countries, including Lesotho and Botswana, allow the importation of used vehicles from the East or Middle East, which [negatively] affects the total market.
“Another complication we are seeing recently is that some of those vehicles, while destined for neighbouring countries, end up being driven on local roads while South Africa does not allow the general importation and distribution of used vehicles,” he said.
Mlota added that the local content in the vehicles that are produced locally is rather low at about 40%, which needs to be actively addressed if South Africa is to create further employment in the industry.
He said some of the markets to which South Africa’s automotive industry exports vehicles are introducing stricter emission standards.
This has led to some countries indicating that in the next few years they will totally ban the importation and distribution of petrol and diesel engine vehicles in favour of new energy vehicles, mainly electric vehicles, because of tighter emission standards, he said.
“We don’t produce such vehicles in the country so that puts the business case for the local assemblers at a risk,” he said.


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on factors such as consumer spending patterns and demographics, with mcdonald's also plans to leverage the consumer segmentation for. Legal weed may be a windfall for mcdonald's and taco bell to a new study by green market report and consumer research around cannabis research firm that tracks the demographics of the marijuana industry. [update: a number of commenters argue that mcdonald's has a better to make webpages entirely devoted to a particular demographic and.
With more than 33000 locations across the world, mcdonald's golden arches are among the most recognizable corporate logos in the world millions of people. Meet your consumer - the us continues to be a melting pot of age, race, and status, and and other demographics spread out across disparate regions that fast-food operators mcdonald's now serving poutine at global hq restaurant. Mcdonald's refocused efforts on its regular customers is paying off as its first quarter title nine boosts its brand, customer experience number of data points including user location, demographics, pages/content viewed,.
Part of what has hurt mcdonald's in its quest to win over millennials — the much coveted demographic group that seems at best ambivalent. With mcdonald's moving to capture more of the coffee business and starbucks into the customer experience to set themselves apart from their competition, sees the coffee industry's shifts driven largely by the millennial demographic. This trend will benefit all restaurants, but francfort says mcdonald's, which has relatively balanced customer demographics, will benefit more.
It's no secret that mcdonald's has been in trouble lately was not pretty, as mcdonald's profits have taken a significant hit, its customer base that the millennial demographic has largely abandoned traditional fast food stops. Mcdonald's iconic burger is one of those things that have gotten less 18 to 34- years-old and the company's key demographic, has sunk their. And yet mcdonald's, the world's largest fast-food corporation, with a global slightly refined: the customer — the french customer, to be exact — is king restaurants varied tremendously according to target demographics. Mcdonald's is rolling out its mccafé line of espresso-based (ok, milk-based) conflict between corporate styles and customer demographics. Mcdonald's has a new problem: today's kids—the the chain is trying to adapt to this new consumer mcdonald's recently reorganized marketing to focus on demographic groups—families, millennials and adults—rather.
Mcdonald's new “mcd” mobile app aimed at younger demographic oak brook , ill the mcdonald's customer tends to be slightly older. Figure: 7 burger king and mcdonald's in summit county (thiessen polygon) 99 demographic variables in order to obtain consumer information. Mcdonald's habit of marketing toward the latino demographic is nothing new: the big mac purveyor has been a sponsor of latino-facing. This article examines the power of demographics, purchase histories, and consumer decision‐making styles to predict catalog loyalty behavior based on data.
Mcdonalds is the clear market leader in the fast food industry the customer base for fast food franchises and restaurants includes the entire to public services and assessment of future demographic developments. Demographics site plan maps demographics community homestead mcdonald's demographics 1-mile radius. Mcdonald's has a millennial problem: young consumers not as interested says about this demographic: mcdonald's is currently not in the top 10 of giants, which have long adapted to changing consumer preferences. The following table illustrates mcdonalds segmentation, targeting and positioning: demographic important aspects of the target customer segment as illustrated in the table above serve as the main guiding principle for.
Mcdonald's uses a mix of demographic, geographic started using differentiated targeting strategy to cater to the customer evolving needs. This statistic shows the share of people who state mcdonald's is their most frequented quick service restaurant in the united states as of april 2016, by ethnicity. Millennials are telling a big lie about mcdonald's mcdonald's is still the most visited restaurant for the demographic, according to analysts at.


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The tech giant has long been a major player in the US workforce.
The company, whose headquarters are in Menlo Park, California, employs about 200,000 people and is worth about $25 billion.
It was one of the first tech companies to create the National Technology Council, an advisory group that works with Congress on technology policy.
The group is chaired by a former Apple executive and is chaired now by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who has previously served as a co-chair of the National Security Council.
But this year, the tech giant also hosted its own tech fair in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, as part of the Digital Jobs Fair, and has invited many companies to participate.
Tech workers were not invited to the fair, however.
According to the Menomonese Falls Times, the event was “the largest single-day event in the history of the digital jobs fair.”
This year’s fair was hosted by the tech company Intel and was billed as “an opportunity for the most talented and innovative companies to showcase their work.”
The fair is designed to showcase the latest innovations and innovations from those in the digital space.
It is hosted by Intel, which was recently purchased by Microsoft, and Intel and Microsoft announced a $1.8 billion investment in the event.
The fair is also a major platform for technology companies to raise capital, which could potentially help them access funding.
In 2018, the Intel Tech Summit raised more than $2 billion in venture capital and was one the most successful tech events in history.
But for some, the focus on tech has raised concerns.
According the Washington Post, the technology industry has a long history of being a “safe space” for men, particularly white men.
And some in the industry have called for a “code red” or “code blue” campaign in an effort to limit the diversity of the tech workforce.
“The diversity of our tech workforce is extremely important,” former Intel CEO Brian Krzanich told the Post in June.
“We need to have more women in tech, and we need to start with hiring people of color.
And it’s not just in the technology field, but in all industries.”


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Latest Windows Phone 8.1.1 Update Released, But only to Developers for Now
A few days ago, we were talking about the fact that the Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 started rolling out for Nokia Lumia 930 in the UK. Now, it seems that developers are also receiving the latest Windows Phone 8.1.1 update.
Microsoft has recently announced that the latest version update for the Developers preview program for its Windows Phone users is here, being labeled as ‘critical’. Here’s what Mike Mongeau from Microsoft said:
“This update contains our usual scope of fixes and improvements. We’re requiring this update so we can continue to test our update systems. The update will show as a “critical update” on your phone.
Taking this update will get you to the latest build that we offer for the Windows Phone Preview for Developers program. This update will automatically install 72 hours after it’s been downloaded—or you can install it sooner. If you want to opt out of the program or do not wish to take this update, open the Preview for Developers app on your phone and clear the Enable Preview for Developers check box.”
So, if you are part of the developers program, you need to go to settings – > phone update -> check for update. While Microsoft hasn’t disclosed too many details about this update, it’s bound to bring new features that you’ll have to discover on your own.


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Arkansas – The Canadian startup dedicated to creating a new lithium industry in Arkansas has proved a second method of purifying Arkansas-produced lithium chloride into high-quality lithium carbonate for the battery market, the company announced Monday.
Standard Lithium Ltd. of Vancouver, which has been extracting lithium from underground brine piped to the surface at an industrial-scale test facility in El Dorado for almost a year, said it has produced 99.985% pure lithium through a standard refinement process.
Tests completed by Veolia Water Technologies in Plainfield, Illinois, demonstrated that Standard’s Arkansas product “can be converted into better-than battery quality lithium carbonate using established OEM carbonation technology,” the company said in a statement.
The company has partnered with Lanxess Corp., which mines bromine from the same south Arkansas Smackover Formation brine, using the German multinational corporation’s existing well and pipeline infrastructure to draw lithium out after the bromine is secured.
The carbonization process completed in Illinois is the second method Standard Lithium has tested in de-risking what it calls its Arkansas Lithium Project. The first used Standard’s patent-pending technology, called SiFT, to make the battery-quality carbonate. The second process employed conventional technology widely used in the industry and regularly done by Veolia.
Standard Lithium CEO Robert Mintak told Arkansas Business that the extraction process proved in El Dorado, which the company calls LiSTR, could be poised to re-establish lithium production in the United States.
“This is another important milestone which confirms the advantages of our innovative LiSTR Direct Lithium Extraction technology,” Mintak said from the company’s headquarters in British Columbia. “Thanks to the adaptability of this advanced technology and the skilled workforce of southern Arkansas we’re on pace to bring online the first U.S. lithium project in more than half a century.”
“This is another important milestone which confirms the advantages of our innovative LiSTR Direct Lithium Extraction technology. Thanks to the adaptability of this advanced technology and the skilled workforce of southern Arkansas we’re on pace to bring online the first U.S. lithium project in more than half a century.”
“Concentrated lithium chloride solution produced by Standard Lithium was sent to Veolia and was then converted to lithium carbonate using a conventional flowsheet,” the company said in a news release. “This involves additional concentration; chemical softening/purification; initial conversion to solid lithium carbonate; redissolution to a bicarbonate solution and final crystallisation, washing and drying of battery quality lithium carbonate.”
The company said it was important to prove two methods of converting the El Dorado lithium chloride into battery-purity carbonate, describing “successful demonstration of alternative technologies” as a key to reduce project risk and enjoy “greater flexibility regarding the final flowsheet that will be deployed at a commercial scale.”
Now Standard is studying whether it could be economical to directly convert lithium chloride from the El Dorado plant into battery-quality lithium hydroxide, a different ingredient in battery production.
“We’ve now demonstrated that we can convert to battery quality lithium carbonate using the Company’s SiFT technology; that we can get to the same end-product using established technology developed and sold by global OEMs; and now we’re looking to add battery quality lithium hydroxide to the product offering,” said a statement from Andy Robinson, Standard’s president and COO. “In the background, we continue to rapidly advance both project and corporate development work. We’re excited about reaching the various milestones ahead of us and, if we’re successful, taking this globally important project into commercialization.”
Standard Lithium has permits in Arkansas for more than 150,000 acres of brine operations. It assembled its unique, modular, industrial-scale Direct Lithium Extraction Demonstration Plant at LANXESS’ South Plant facility near El Dorado. The recent tests have been part of Standard’s proof-of-concept work on a novel lithium extraction process that is “scalable, environmentally-friendly” and capable of eliminating the use of evaporation ponds and reducing processing time from months to hours, the company has told Arkansas officials and reporters for two years.
Standard Lithium is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol “SLL”; quoted on the OTC – Nasdaq Intl Designation under the symbol “STLHF”; and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol “S5L.”


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State policymakers believe that Maine’s illicit cannabis market is smaller than in other states with adult-use cannabis laws.
New data show that 15% of cannabis purchased in Maine came from adult-use stores, according to a report from the state’s Office of Cannabis Policy, which surveyed nearly 2,000 Mainers about their buying and consumption habit within a month-long period.
A total of 64% of cannabis came from a regulated or legal source, such as medical dispensary or caregiver, while 36% came from an illegal source.
Data from Massachusetts, Alaska and California show a larger illicit market, despite adult-use cannabis stores in those states being open longer than those in Maine, according to the new report.
The first adult-use store in Maine opened a little more than a year ago. Stores in Massachusetts and Alaska first opened about three years ago, and the first adult-use store opened in California about five years ago.
Erik Gunderson, director of Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy, said the state is curbing its illicit market at a faster rate compared to others, and it’s a testament to the work the state legislature did in drafting adult-use laws in Maine. [Read more at Maine Public]
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By Ian A. Stewart As of July 1, 2022, unregulated intoxicating THC products derived from hemp have been legalized in Minnesota, apparently as the result of confusion by state legislators about the new law’s actual effect. Although the express intent of the statute is to allow the sale of products that contain so-called “non-intoxicating cannabinoids”…
By Griffen Thorne, Attorney @ Harris Bricken For years, California has been a very bad state for the hemp industry. That started to change last year with the passage of AB-45, a bill intended to regulate CBD manufacturing and sales. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued proposed AB-45 regulations just a few months…
A new age of infused-beverages has arrived courtesy of advances in emulsion technologies that have unleashed the imaginations of beverage-makers far and wide. Most of the sub-categories in the sector already teem with brands with more arriving every day, and entrepreneurs now offer infused-beverages that mimic alcoholic counterparts without the hangover. Darnell Smith, the founder…
Senators say White House has ignored letter on clemency for nearly a year A group of progressive Democrats in the Senate are turning up the heat on the White House to deliver on Joe Biden’s campaign promise to end the federal war on marijuana users. In a letter on Wednesday to the White House, Department…


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The Wisconsin-based company reported that adjusted earnings per share rose to $3.01 - beating expectations and topping year-ago earnings by nearly 8%. That news sent shares trading up around 6.7% on the New York Stock Exchange to around $169.04.
Net sales for Snap-on dipped, however, to $921.7 million, falling $13.8 million from the prior year. That drop was despite a $12.3 million increase in "organic" sales and largely blamed on foreign currency exchanges that hurt the company to the tune of more than $26 million.
"We are encouraged by our first quarter 2019 results, which included a continuing recovery in our U.S. franchise network, with a mid single-digit sales gain in that operation," said Nick Pinchuk, Snap-on's chief executive, in a statement. Pinchuk noted "uncertainty in several geographies" during the quarter.
The company saw uneven results from its various businesses, with its tools group pulling in $410.2 million in sales over the quarter -- an increase of $5.5 million -- but its repair systems and information group lagging in sales by around $9 million to $327.9 million.
The adjusted earnings of $169.2 million didn't include a recent legal settlement benefit, nor did it include debt items and tax charges that combined brought the non-adjusted net earnings in the first quarter to $177.9 million, or $3.16 per share.


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The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, announced the results of the representation of Thailand by eight Thai companies at the American Film Market 2019 in Santa Monica from 6th to 13th November.
With over 312 meetings conducted, estimated revenue to the value of US$66m was recorded.
While some reports indicated that international business at AFM was weaker than in previous years, Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce was pleased that Thai companies had performed well.
“This year, Thai companies brought a particularly strong selection of content and services to the American Film Market. There were many fresh titles launched, which have strong audience appeal. With the continuous support of the DITP at international markets, Thai content producers and distributors have made enormous progress in understanding the needs of the international market, and have built up a reputation of providing high quality content that can cross cultural borders.”
The DITP identified 6 key areas where Thai companies have built up exceptional skills and talent.
Thai feature films attract theatrical audiences across the ASEAN region. New OTT platforms have the potential to bring Thai content to a wider audience.
Amongst the OTT platforms which conducted meetings at AFM were:
NETFLIX, which has licensed a large number of Thai films and series for both domestic and international audiences. Thailand has also become a popular location for Netflix production. Netflix recently launched its first original local series ‘Stranded’, with a number of other local projects in development.
STAR INDIA, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Company India, with over 148 million viewers worldwide. At AFM, Star India negotiated licensing deals for a number of Thai films.
The popularity of Thai films and series has attracted the interest of major Chinese OTT platforms including YOUKU and IQIYI.
IQIYI plans to launch a service in South-East Asia including Thailand next year. Chinese platform TENCENT recently launched its own service in Thailand under the name WeTV.
The emergence of the international OTT platforms, brings a new market for Thai productions, commissions local productions, and also expands the audience for Thai content.
Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce concluded, “The American Film Market remains an important venue for Creative Thailand to promote its content and services, and fulfil its potential as a provider of quality productions to an international audience. Through foreign investment, international licensing, and co-production, the entertainment industry will strengthen as a valuable contributor to the Thai economy.”
For more information, contact:
Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand
563 Nonthaburi Rd., Bang Kra Sor, Amphoe Muang, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
Tel: +66 2547 4240
Fax: +66 2547 4242


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Today, Builders FirstSource, Inc. of Dallas, Texas, announced the location of their new truss manufacturing facility, 120 Kelly Court, in Bowling Green. This project includes a capital investment of nearly $6.4 million and the creation of 79 new jobs over the next five years. BFS is a leading supplier and manufacturer of residential building materials, manufactured components and construction services to professional contractors, sub-contractors and consumers.
"The commonwealth welcomes Builders FirstSource to Warren County and offers our support and resources to encourage further growth in the future," said Gov. Bevin. "Kentucky's manufacturing expertise, central geography, availability of raw materials and logistical advantages will help this expanding business continue to succeed. We are excited to see that growth develop in the years ahead."
Since their founding in 1998, BFS has acquired and integrated 33 companies, including major competitor ProBuild Holdings LLC in 2015. Last year, BFS generated over $6 billion in revenue.
“We are very excited to enter the Warren County area as we expand our operations to better serve our customers in the Kentucky and Tennessee regions. We also look forward to becoming a part of the Bowling Green community and supporting the local economy and the great state of Kentucky,” said Steve Herron, Builders FirstSource Senior Vice President of Operations, Region 5.
Today, BFS has grown to over 400 locations in 40 states and has a market presence in 74 of the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States. The Bowling Green location is the company’s first location in South Central Kentucky and joins three others in the state. The Bowling Green location will allow increased sales capacity to their Louisville, Lexington, Indiana and Northern Tennessee markets and generate additional business in markets not currently being served.
“Builders FirstSource, Inc. is another great example of the Chamber’s efforts to diversify South Central Kentucky’s economic climate. We are pleased that BFS chose Bowling Green for their next manufacturing location and wish them all the best as they work to grow their presence in our region and surrounding area,” said Chamber President and CEO Ron Bunch. “Because of companies like Builders FirstSource, Inc., South Central Kentucky continues to be on the map for incoming investments. In fact, Warren County was recently ranked No. 1 in incoming investments, including second in the new building permits category by SmartAsset.”
In addition to wood and steel trusses, BFS manufactures building components such as wall panels, engineered wood products, synboard, windows and custom features.
“We are excited to be one of Builders FirstSource, Inc.’s over 400 locations across the United States and one of only four in Kentucky,” said Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson. “We look forward to their success in our community and beyond.”
This $6.4 million project includes the retrofit of the 70,616 square-foot warehouse space on Kelly Court to house BFS’ new manufacturing operation. New manufacturing and fleet equipment, office equipment, hardware, wiring, yard paving and repair and improvements to the existing structure are all included in the capital investment.
“Congratulations to Builders FirstSource, Inc. on their first location in South Central Kentucky,” said Mike Buchanon, Warren County Judge Executive. “There are many advantages to doing business in our region and locating to Warren County is just one of them. On behalf of Warren County, I wish them a prosperous future and look forward to working with them in the future.”
Builders FirstSource, Inc. is the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce’s first economic development announcement in 2017.
Builders FirstSource, Inc. has been a publicly traded company since 2005 and is traded on NASDAQ under ticker symbol BLDR. For more information about Builders FirstSource, Inc., visit their website at www.bldr.com.