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SARASOTA SUCCEEDING WITH SPORTS TOURISM
We Floridians are the masters of tourism, and our economy heavily depends on it. There are all kinds of tourism, including medical, traditional, and others I am sure. Are you familiar with sports tourism? You should be because if Sarasota is any kind of example (and I think it is) you will be seeing much more of it soon. What exactly is sports tourism? It is when a city schedules sporting events that bring competitors to the area for the given event. Given our great weather, even in the summer, this can be done year round (well maybe sometimes in the rain but still works). But Sarasota smartly scheduled some of these events in the traditionally slower summer months. How did that work out? They recorded $1,000,000 in tourism taxes in the month of May, which is the first time this has ever happened. Tourism is up over 8% for the month and there is a 13% increase in spending by these tourists. Given that they have over 100 different sporting events scheduled this year, don't expect to see these numbers drop anytime soon. Last year they made $71 million dollars from it although that number is expected to fall to $50 million this year due to less international events. So it seems as if Sarasota has figured out how to make money year round with this sports tourism formula. In fact they were rated the top sports tourism destination in the entire country. How long will it be before other Florida cities follow suit and possibly compete for these lucrative sporting events? Irrespective of sports tourism, I am sure you have all noticed a huge increase in traffic in general this summer. The off seasons we used to enjoy with less traffic, people etc. seem to be gone. More and more people are staying here year round which really helps our economy. As long as we don't have any storms, paradise should continue unabated, and Florida will continue to grow. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.


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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There’s a plant-based Philly cheesesteak coming to Citizens Bank Park this Spring! Questlove, a Philly native and drummer for The Roots, has teamed up with Impossible Foods to create “Questlove’s cheesesteak.”READ MORE: New Jersey Forest Fire Service Battling Active 70-Acre Wildfire In Bass River State Forest
The cheesesteak is made with plant-based meat made by Impossible Foods.
Questlove made the announcement Tuesday on Instagram.
“Ok yall, this was a year in the making so keeping this a secret was SUPER DIFFICULT!!” wrote Questlove. “As a non vegan/vegetarian i still fell in love with @impossiblefoods for several years and as a Philadelphian….well—-i gotta know #CheeseSteaks right? We developed (and perfected!) a recipe using Impossible™ plant-based meat that we hope will offer a delicious and sustainable alternative for all cheesesteak eaters.”
READ MORE: Study: Pennsylvania Among Most Effective States At Combating COVID-19View this post on Instagram
Questlove’s Cheesesteak will debut at Citizens Bank Park on opening day March 28 and will be sold during all Phillies home games, behind Sections 108 and 120.MORE NEWS: Tax Day Is Monday May 17: Here's Everything You Need To Know About Filing Your 2020 Taxes
The cheesesteak will also be available at 40 Live Nation venues in the U.S. this Summer.

domain: news


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There is nothing like a nice tall pint after a long day at the office. And few things worse than paying City prices for a bartender to serve one up that’s a little on the short side.
Well, the City of London Corporation wants you to speak up, launching a new campaign that encourages drinkers to feel confident in asking bar staff for a top-up if they are sold a short measure pint.
The campaign includes special beer mats that consumers can hold against their glasses to get a rough idea of how much liquid they’ve been sold.
While quantities that draught beers should be sold at are prescribed by The Weights and Measures Act from 1985, there has always been a grey area over whether the head should be included as part of the pint.
The British Beer and Pub Association, however, says a pint should contain a minimum of 95% liquid and 5% head.
“It’s worth remembering that for a pint costing five pounds, a shortage of five percent is a 25p cost to the consumer,” says Steve Playle, trading standards manager at the City Corporation.
“Consumers are well within their rights to make sure they get exactly what they’ve paid for.”
The campaign encourages consumers to contact the City of London Trading Standards if they found they’ve been sold a short pint and don’t feel confident asking for a top up, or if they get an unhelpful reaction when they do.
Based on any complaints received as a result of the campaign, their officers will be conducting test purchases across the City in the coming months and investigating the pubs that continue to sell short measures.


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The Codex standard would be recognized by the WTO even though members would still be free to set their own science-based standards. WTO accession would spur foreign investment, something Putin has championed for some time.
What are the pros and cons for joining? If the free trade area brings positive results with regard to industrial goods, eventually there will arise an issue of mutual liberalization in the movement of services.
Russia is ready to guarantee that it will provide for the energy needs of the European Union; Moscow is interested in consolidating this strategic partnership.
Pork and poultry production, for example, is growing by 20 to 30 percent a year, which is a sign that the sector is in a buoyant mood. International free trade experience, above all in the EFTA, shows that the liberalization of trade in finished goods — especially machines and equipment — in the course of building a free trade area promotes specialization and cooperation in research and production between the parties.
At the same time, the greater openness and liberalization in foreign trade that comes along with WTO membership will mean slightly stiffer competition from imported goods on the Russian market, which will benefit consumers. They also must regulate their employment, employment quotas, social issues such as remuneration of labor, health services, pension schemes, and unemployment insuranceand the duration of labor contracts.
In the Asia-Pacific Region, the same role — apparently to no lesser degree — will be played by a free trade area, planned to start by in the frameworks of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC.
This situation is largely due to the comparatively low economic dynamics of the European Union in the future, anticipated by the majority of experts. The Russian economy will not change fundamentally after joining the WTO and structural reforms will not be made.
Vladimir Pankov In drafting a free trade area agreement, both Russia and the EU must avoid unjustified pessimism and excessive expectations, not to mention euphoria.
In drafting a free trade area agreement, both Russia and the EU must avoid both unjustified pessimism and excessive expectations, not to mention euphoria. The gradual formation of a free trade area could help solve a crucial strategic foreign-economic task — diversifying Russian exports through a sharp increase of the percentage of finished goods, most importantly high-tech and other machine-building products.
Tarr stated earlier this year that Russia would gain about 3. And I think that those would be very painful reforms. Moreover, considering the failure of the latest Russia-EU summit in Novemberwhen Poland blocked negotiations on a new long-term agreement between the parties, the free trade area issue seems to have lost its importance.
Chinese Taipei continued to defend its own ban. At the same time, a free trade area will not provide any guarantees to Russian businesses, but only additional opportunities for development.
But we have experienced a tough pressure from aside for unseemly compromises. At the same time, changes are taking place.
The average agricultural import tariff will be cut from On the basis of such a document, Moscow would be in the position to conclude corresponding bilateral agreements with participating countries.
The competition in the financial sector, especially in retail, will remarkably increase after WTO accession. Among other long-term goals are the limits for foreign equity ownership of 49 percent for the telecom industry, which will be scrapped in And once that happened, the talks moved quite quickly.
Therefore, about 80 percent of Russian exports enter the EU duty-free or on favorable terms. In theory, this suggests that imported goods could become a little cheaper. When analyzing the prospects for a free trade area, it is useful to look back at the development of the European Free Trade Association in Russia defended its right to protect its agricultural sector during the WTO negotiations.
They want to continue selling cars on the Russian market and find it more profitable today to assemble them in Russia.
The Russian government limits Western banks to opening only subsidiaries in Russia—they cannot directly open their own affiliates. Therefore, any future agreement between Russia and the EU must include rules for taking such measures by the parties in the spirit of consistent trade liberalization.
This concerns anti-dumping measures, technical and ecological standards and norms, and measures of sanitary and phytosanitary control. Moreover, long transition periods are implied in many sectors. For example, most people in Russia do not buy imported cars, or any cars for that matter, so the fact that import duties on cars will drop will of course have no impact on their lives.
Dairy import tariffs will drop from Prices for basic foodstuffs, such as milk, grain, sunflower oil, and sugar, are completely tied to world price levels, and the businesses importing the goods would have to pay the costs of transportation.
For Russia, joining the WTO is likely to hurt less-competitive domestic manufacturing industries that have failed to keep up since Soviet times — such as those in the food processing, textiles and construction materials industries.
And there are many products that will not be profitable to import.The World Trade Organization (WTO) The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the major multilateral forum through which governments can come to agreements and can settle disputes regarding trade.
It is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade. To join the WTO, Russia has been negotiating bilateral agreements with each of the organization's members since the early s.
This month the president-elect said that Russia is capable of completing this process within this year. Russia has stepped up its campaign to join the World Trade Organization.
But is Russian membership possible in the near future? What would it mean for Moscow, both in terms of benefits and costs? World Trade Organization.
Pros and Cons. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the WTO? Update Cancel. ad by bsaconcordia.com Watch how importers and exporters easily create shipping docs.
Importers and exporters now use IncoDocs to increase global sales and shipments around the world. Committee debates pros and cons of standard for lean meat additive —. Pros and Cons of Russia’s WTO Membership Posted on November 18, by Russia Briefing Reading Mode Nov.
18 – After roughly 18 years of membership talks, Russia finally looks set to enter the World Trade Organization on favorable conditions, both Russian and international analysts say noting the minor import tariff cuts.Download


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TV – In a recent article, PC Magazine has suggested that Apple will not only not renew any home entertainment products but in the longer term, the company will abandon all home entertainment activities related to TV viewing.
PC Magazine argues that while Apple TV was once at the forefront of TV technology, it is not any more, as Roku, Google and Amazon have surpassed it in functionality. With no update for the last two years, PC Magazine believes that there will be no further updates on Apple TV.
It sees this as a pure business decision based on the fact that Apple generates most of its revenue from iOS devices. Why should the company go after the home entertainment market with an uncertain outcome?
PC Magazine’s arguments are certainly valid and it could be right, depending on how one would interpret Tim Cook’s recent interview. Cook stated that the company has an ongoing interest in the home entertainment market, but he also said that the most difficult decisions at Apple are what not to pursue.
Display Central Comments
I believe that Apple’s decision is mainly based on the size of the market opportunities. Given the size of the home entertainment industry, this is something Apple would not easily drop without very good reasons. Here are some reasons that could sway Apple to give up on home entertainment:
- Apple sees the home entertainment market slowly shifting to a ‘mobile entertainment’ market. If mobile devices capture more of the entertainment market in the future, Apple is not only well positioned, but may become a market leader in the entertainment market.
- Apple does not see a chance to create a viable business model for the home entertainment industry. The combination of content creation and delivery is currently a complete mess. Many players are trying new approaches that lead to confusion and insecure market positions.
- Apple sees too much competition in the home entertainment field with many approaches mirroring each other or excluding each other. Amazon Fore TV is creating an infrastructure that allows the user one-stop shopping, basically a script out of Apple’s typical playbook. However, consumer tastes and preferences change rapidly when it comes to entertainment content. How can one compete, if some of the content is captive? Whoever wins this spring, may very well lose in fall if a new show on a different (captive) channel is more successful.
There are also many other options that Apple may have in mind. There is the new smart home business, where the Apple TV could be so much more than just a little black box. If the mobile entertainment sector actually takes off, as some reports on content viewing suggests, at least for younger consumers, Apple will need access to content to keep iTunes at least in the running. In the short term this will require an Apple TV as viewing platform. In the long term, home entertainment as we know it maybe a thing of the past, just like the good old VHS tapes and DVDs. – Norbert Hildebrand


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More than six months have passed since the novel coronavirus became known worldwide, and the challenges of coping with life during the ongoing pandemic continue to evolve.
For businesses, the particulars of COVID-19 have made it exceptionally challenging to respond to the changing needs and concerns of customers.
A virus that spreads through touch and close contact has compelled both small and large enterprises to rethink their every physical interaction with the community, including how they collect payments.
Visa’s global Back to Business study, which assessed the financial impact of COVID-19 on small and micro businesses (SMBs) worldwide, found that nine out of every 10 consumers in the UAE have changed how they pay for purchases, including preferring to shop online when possible (59%).
The study, conducted as part of Visa’s regional “Where You Shop Matters” initiative to provide merchants with insights that will help them


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"Berry Yogurn" will be released on April 25th at a Doutor Coffee limited store. The price is S size 360 yen (tax included).
Frozen drink "Yogrun" will be released for the first time in 6 years. In the first installment, "Berry Yogurn" using Amaou from Fukuoka Prefecture and blueberries from Miyagi Prefecture will appear. The mellowness of yogurn and the acidity of strawberries and blueberries are combined to create a refreshing taste for the hot season.
The stores will be available on the Doutor official website around noon on April 25th.


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LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Almas Hyder has called for representation of the private sector in policymaking to ensure immediate treatment to the economic issues.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the LCCI president said being the most important stakeholder, the private sector must have proper representation in policymaking teams.
He said that the business community has fertile ideas both for businesses and economy but these cannot be decoded until and unless the private sector has representation in the supreme forums.
Almas Hyder said that government should make necessary legislation in this regard as the health of economic indicators was not good at the moment.
“The health of leading economic indicators including ease of doing business, manufacturing, stock market, gross domestic product, income and expenditure, unemployment rate, consumer price index, currency strength, availability of energy, debts, balance of trade and foreign exchange reserves, is not good and needs immediate treatment as these are directly linked to the economic prosperity and also to the foreign investors’ sentiments,” he remarked.
If these indicators improve, it would attract huge foreign direct investment, build confidence of local investors, increase remittances and turn the country into a hub of manufacturing and economic activities, the LCCI president added.
He said that manufacturing activities strongly influences the GDP, an increase in which boosts the state revenue and generates employment opportunities. He said that industrial production growth rate averaged 5.32pc from 1990 to 2018, adding that the government should facilitate the manufacturing sector and resolve its major obstacles like the availability of cheap energy and early refunds etc. to achieve the growth rate target.


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Update (26/03): A new server maintenance notice has confirmed that the update will arrive on March 28, as expected.
Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi has confirmed on social media that the next update for Gran Turismo 7 is coming this week, with three new cars that will include an all-time series favorite vehicle.
Yamauchi posted his now-traditional “silhouettes” on the website formally known as Twitter, unusually on Saturday rather than the more common Sunday, with a twist for the second month in a row.
Whereas all previous posts have been static images of the cars, heavily disguised in shadow, this month’s and last month’s have in fact been videos. There’s slightly less detail in the Tweet this month, with the radar-like scanning lines revealing far less — although we do again hear the engine sounds for the three vehicles:
The one that’s likely to capture the most attention is in the bottom-right, with the very distinct shape of the Toyota GT-One, or TS020. A firm favorite among Gran Turismo players since its appearance in Gran Turismo 2, the GT-One was Toyota’s attempt to capture victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the weird, lawless era of the late 1990s.
Developed to take advantage of certain areas of the homologation legislation, Toyota produced just two roadgoing examples of the GT-One, neither of which it sold to the public. It was, unlike its rivals from Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, a pure racing machine.
Sadly all three cars in both 1998 and 1999 races suffered from misfortunes, most memorably the heartbreaking chase in the final hour of the 1999 event which saw the #3 car suffer a tire failure within sight of overall winner.
It’s not entirely clear from the Tweet which of the three versions of the GT-One — the road car, the 1998 GT1, or the 1999 LMGTP — is coming to the game, although it looks to have the higher rear wing of the latter.
Two modern performance cars will accompany the Toyota, both from the Volkswagen Group but in very different forms — one more divisive than the other.
In the bottom-left we see the second-generation Audi R8, which will join its first-generation sibing in the game at long last. Exclusively powered by the 5.2-liter V10 engine, the R8 could be any one of a number of versions although the rear wing suggests it’s the all-wheel drive coupe or Plus model rather than the later RWS.
Finally the car at the top is one that will very firmly split opinions as Gran Turismo 7’s first SUV, a year on from Yamauchi’s comments about bringing SUVs back to the series. That is, of course, the Lamborghini Urus, itself the brand’s first SUV. This two-ton behemoth shares underpinnings with the Audi Q7, Bentley Bentayga, and Porsche Cayenne, and sports a 640hp V8 right out of the Audi RS6.
These Tweets only reveal what vehicles are coming to the game in the corresponding update, with any other contents under wraps until closer to the time. We don’t yet know what to expect on that front, but fans have been calling out for more new track content, given that the last new road circuit location was Grand Valley Highway-1 in February 2023.
If the usual schedules hold out, we’d expect more information on Wednesday March 27 ahead of the update on Thursday March 28. Watch this space for all the latest information!
See more articles on Gran Turismo 7 Game Update.


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SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Lotus Technology, the technology arm of sports car brand Lotus, said on Wednesday it had completed a fundraising that valued the business at nearly $4.5 billion.
The unit, part of Group Lotus which is in turn owned jointly by Chinese automaker Geely and Malaysia’s Etika Automotive, said it would use the proceeds for product innovation and developing global distribution networks.
Reuters reported in 2021 that Lotus Technology was looking to raise $400 million to $500 million by the end of that year, with a post-money valuation of $5 billion to $6 billion.
Lotus Technology confirmed on Wednesday it was the same round of fundraising but didn’t disclose the amount raised or participating investors.
Lotus plans to start production of its first electric SUV by the end of this year and begin deliveries in early 2023.


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The Competition Authority announced, on Wednesday, that it had imposed a fine of 92.8 million euros, in total, on five companies and two people, for the entities and individuals concerned “who participated in the scheme of the price agreement for sale to the public (PVP), at the expense of consumers.”
tracking fine Memorandum of illegality adopted by the Commission in March 2019The candidates were then given an opportunity “to exercise their right to be heard and defended, which was duly considered in the final decision.” The AdC investigation found that “the practice lasted for more than 12 years, between 2003 and 2016, and targeted several Super Bock products, including Super Bock, Carlsberg, Cristal and Cheers, Vitalis and Água das Pedras Water, as well as water Somersby.”
according to Call issued today By the Competition Authority (AdC), it is Super Bock Bebidas, of the SuperBock Group, formerly known as Unicer, which has the highest fine: €33.29 million.
The company, Modelo Continente Hipermercados (from the Sonae Group, which also owns PÚBLICO), has a €27.28 million charge.
€20.36 million was raised from Jerónimo Martins Group’s Pingo Doce series.
Other sanctioned distributors, Auchan (which has operated in Portugal for many years under the Jumbo and Pão de Açúcar brands), and ITMP Alimentar (known as the independent franchise network Intermarché), the fines are less heavy: 3.46 million and 8.26 million euros, respectively.
“This decision,” it explains in a statement to AdC, “relates to the supermarkets Modelo Continente, Pingo Doce, Auchan and Intermarché, which are individual directors of Modelo Continente and joint supplier Super Bock,” after the authority concluded “that through The connection created through the shared supplier, without the need to communicate directly with each other, ensured the participating companies matched the PVPs in their supermarkets, in a conspiracy equivalent to a cartel.”
A practice that emphasizes AdC, “eliminates competition, deprives consumers of the option of obtaining better prices, and ensures better levels of profitability for the entire distribution chain, including suppliers and supermarket chains.”
In addition to the fine, AdC “imposed an immediate cessation of the practice,” which has now been penalized, even because “it cannot be ruled out that the conduct investigated is still ongoing,” the entity that regulates the competitive practices of the Portuguese market admits.
Super Book will resume
In reaction after AdC’s decision was known, the beverage maker Super Bock issued a statement about the wording, saying it would “appeal the decision to the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court.” The Denmark-controlled Carlsberg Group “denies this Wednesday’s ruling” by AdC, “which comes”, and defends the company “from an accusation the company deems unfounded”.
“SBB [Super Bock Bebidas] It will use all legal means available to it to defend its reputation, values and integrity,” asserts the brewery management, “on behalf of 1,200 workers, the wealth it creates for the country, and the development and innovation it brings to serving suppliers, customers and consumers.”
Sonae “totally rejects” the “unlawful” practice
Sonae group also released a file release, this time to the market through CMVM, informing investors of a €27.48 million fine imposed by AdC on its subsidiary Modelo Continente Hipermercados SA.
The group “categorically rejects the involvement of” the subsidiary “in any illegal practice harmful to consumers” and says that “these accusations will be vigorously challenged in the courts.” The management of the distribution group also asserts that it will “use all means at its disposal to defend it and restore justice.”
Updated at 20:40 with comments from Super Bock and Sonae مجموعة
“Wannabe internet buff. Future teen idol. Hardcore zombie guru. Gamer. Avid creator. Entrepreneur. Bacon ninja.”


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ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Before General Motors recalled the entire fleet of its most popular electric car because of fire dangers, before her factory was stilled, assembly line worker Carol McConkey stood in the middle of a teeming factory floor and marveled at how seamlessly the Chevrolet Bolt is manufactured.
“It does a lot of it by itself,” she said, describing the automation-heavy process at a GM plant that has gone from building gasoline-powered cars to making electric vehicles — the first such GM plant, which was soon followed by a second, a 30-minute drive down Interstate 75. “To me, it’s just a battery we plug in.”
But there is no mistaking its significance. “It’s the heart of the car,” McConkey said one day this past summer.
Little did she know that soon, the same section of the car she works on would garner worldwide attention for another reason: exploding lithium-ion batteries. She and hundreds of other workers were sent home to wait out an extended assembly line closure.
The crisis involving the Chevrolet Bolt was a painful reminder for the auto industry that despite treating the electric vehicle era as essentially inevitable — a technical fait accompli — significant obstacles to manufacturing the cars, and especially their batteries, continue to threaten that future.
“It’s a terrible thing that has happened,” Tim Grewe, GM’s general director for electrification strategy and cell engineering, said in an interview in September.
It’s the kind of disruption GM can ill afford as it aims to scale up its production of electric vehicles to 1 million units per year by 2025. The company wants to have a global lineup of 30 EVs by that year. And it plans to shift production away from gasoline-powered cars entirely in the next decade and a half.
Carmakers including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Ford also have announced plans to go all or mostly electric — chasing ambitions similar to GM’s deadline of 2035.
Today, electric cars — plug-in hybrids, battery-powered vehicles and hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles — make up less than 5 percent of U.S. new-vehicle sales. But policymakers and automakers hope that by 2030, EVs will make up at least 40 percent of U.S. new-car sales. That would be a critical development in the nation’s strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced stricter fuel-efficiency standards this month aimed at propelling the nation closer to that goal by 2026, estimating that the new standard will result in electric vehicles gaining about one-fifth of market share by then.
But first, automakers have to show they can manufacture safe and reliable cars — at scale.
“I don’t want to minimize this point, but it also lets us build confidence that we’re going to be transparent, we’re going to take action,” Grewe said.
Why batteries explode
Late last summer, Chevy Bolt owners received a notice from GM: They were not to park their cars within 50 feet of other vehicles. They shouldn’t charge their cars overnight. Fully charged vehicles, GM said, should not be kept in garages.
The recall of the Bolt covered all of the roughly 141,000 units GM had ever built. The company identified the issue as dual defects that led battery materials to make contact with one another and the components to combust spontaneously.
It’s a danger that comes directly from the core challenge of creating electric-vehicle batteries: the competition to pack more and more energy into them.
Car buyers want their electric cars to mirror the convenience of gasoline-powered vehicles, with about 400 miles of range so they can minimize visits to charging stations or plug-ins at home — even if long road trips represent only a sliver of their driving.
That has carmakers in a 21st-century space race to pack as much energy density as possible into their battery cells, maximizing range and performance.
Even as automakers seek to phase out gasoline engines altogether, high-voltage car batteries remain in their early stages of mass production. Many manufacturers are experimenting with new technologies and battery chemistries. While they do so, they are discovering defects — some of which can prove catastrophic.
Late in 2020, a Tesla Model S fire in a San Francisco Bay area residential garage blew the metal garage doors off and spread from one Tesla to another, causing more than $1 million in damage. Instances of fire with no apparent external cause have been documented in at least five Tesla Model S vehicles.
The explosion of an electric car battery can release a massive amount of energy — and the resulting fire can burn for hours, stretching longer and registering hotter than a fire in a car with an internal-combustion engine.
“Battery fires can take up to 24 hours to extinguish,” according to an emergency response guide for the Model S on Tesla’s website. “Consider allowing the battery to burn while protecting exposures.”
GM’s recall, despite its scale and significance to the company, arose from a dozen isolated instances of fire with no external cause. It was a worst-case scenario for the company, which has partnered with an experienced battery maker, South Korea-based LG, to power its electric fleet. GM says LG has instituted new controls to ensure that the fiasco doesn’t happen again. LG, which has made batteries for the Bolt’s entire run, is reimbursing GM for nearly $2 billion in costs associated with the recall.
An electric-vehicle fire can erupt from an electrical short within a single cell — a cylinder or pouch that stores energy to be consumed by the car. A car’s battery pack consists of hundreds or even thousands of cells, which might look to the untrained eye like AA batteries or laptop batteries. The cells carry a charge because of interactions between the highly reactive materials inside them.
Inside the cell, there are three main components: the cathode, or positively charged electrode that stores lithium; the anode, or negatively charged electrode that stores lithium; and a highly flammable electrolyte, which helps lithium ions travel through the cell. As the lithium ions go from one side to another — through charging or discharging — electrons are released to an external circuit, powering the car.
In the middle of the cell, a porous physical separator “acts as an electrical barrier,” allowing the “selective transport” of lithium ions and preventing the anode and cathode from touching, said Jeff Sakamoto, a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. When those components make contact, the consequences can be extreme.
“Both surfaces are electrically conductive,” Sakamoto said. If they touch, “then they short-circuit.”
When that happens, it’s cause for concern but not yet a catastrophe.
In the densely packed cell, a short circuit leads to the release of heat. A large release of heat from a cell can ignite another, and the combined heat can ignite others in a chain reaction known as “thermal runaway.”
In GM’s case, “cooling pillows” surround the pouch-shaped cells to prevent too much heat from being released between them. But they’re not meant to defend against thermal events so far outside normal operating conditions.
“If there’s enough heat it creates, it starts to boil the electrolyte,” Sakamoto said, adding that a puncture in the seal can lead to ignition. “So now you have a recipe for combustion when you have heat, you have a combustible liquid and then some kind of puncture to the cell or packaging — now you have exposure to the air, oxygen.”
GM says there were two defects in Chevy Bolt batteries that probably aided the spread of heat and the sudden release of energy: a torn anode tab and a folded separator. Essentially, there was no longer a reliable barrier preventing the cathode and anode materials from interacting.
“The battery explodes,” Sakamoto said. “The adjacent cells explode, too.”
GM has been hit hardest by fire concerns — but Audi and Hyundai also have recalled EVs over fire risks.
As GM addresses the issues with the Bolt, it has shut down the factory here. And the future of the Bolt, the first realization of GM’s vision for the coming decade, has been thrust into uncertainty.
A fight for raw materials
Before they are able to install the batteries, GM, Tesla and their battery suppliers have to solve another challenging task: obtaining the raw materials to make them.
It’s a problem likely to grow even more difficult in the years to come.
The raw materials used in electric cars are heavily concentrated in only a few regions of the world.
According to an International Energy Agency report, a conventional car uses about 75 pounds of two minerals — copper and manganese. By comparison, an electric car uses more than 440 pounds of minerals, including cobalt, lithium, nickel and graphite.
The report noted that about 70 percent of cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo and that about 60 percent of rare earth elements, needed for EV motors, are sourced in China. The majority of lithium — the core ingredient in batteries — is obtained in Australia, China and Chile, but China controls most of the world’s supply via its refining businesses. Getting new mines online can take 15 years or longer.
“One of the constraints on the success and pace in the electric-vehicle business will be the supply chain — the development of raw materials and supplies,” said Keith Phillips, president of Piedmont Lithium, which previously struck a deal with Tesla to produce certain battery materials in North Carolina. “I think the fundamental view … is that it won’t be very hard for them to sell electric vehicles, but it might be very challenging for them to make the electric vehicles.”
As companies push 2025 and 2030 deadlines to shift much of their production to electric cars, he said, “there’s a very low likelihood the world can supply enough lithium to make that happen.”
GM acknowledges the challenge.
“Categorically, you’re making all of this huge investment in the material supply,” Grewe said. “Let’s say we hit 2035: You’ve got to convert all that investment” into usable material for the battery.
The U.S. government says the market for batteries is expected to grow five to 10 times its current size over the next decade. Some estimates say the amount of lithium produced must quadruple by 2030 to meet the demand.
“China is the largest global EV market and dominates the supply chain for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, including the processing of minerals and raw materials,” says a federal report issued in June. “China relies on massive incentives to support domestic EV manufacturing, retail-level subsidies to create demand for domestic products, and a battery certification program to limit market access for foreign products.”
Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said on the company’s recent earnings call that the appetite for electric vehicles has grown significantly, creating short-term bottlenecks.
“There appears to just be quite a profound awakening of the desirability for electric vehicles,” he said. “And, I mean, to be totally frank, it’s caught us a little bit off guard.”
Kirkhorn said Tesla has seen a rise in prices for raw battery materials such as cobalt and nickel. The company is weathering the increases through a combination of existing contracts and cost controls, he said, but he expects more cost increases “outside of our control.”
As automakers seek breakthroughs that could power an electric future, lithium ion might not win out.
Sakamoto, the University of Michigan professor — who also is the chief technology officer for the solid-state battery company Zakuro — said he thinks incremental improvements in lithium-ion technology will plateau. Solid-state batteries have solid electrolytes that are not combustible, maximizing capacity and significantly reducing the fire risk.
That would address a core concern: the ability to make larger and larger battery packs with more energy density without compromising vehicle performance by adding weight. But many companies, including GM, are in the early stages of exploring solid-state, and it will take significant time for the technology to reach parity with lithium-ion.
“Two things: It’s the simultaneous improvement in performance and improvement in safety,” Sakamoto said. “If one can make a battery that has those two criteria satisfied, then one can supplant lithium-ion.”
On the factory floor
The plant here in Orion Township is a testament to GM’s electric future — and to the things that can go wrong. Since the closure, which took place in August, there has been hope that the plant will fully reopen; GM now says it will be closed through February. The company said it has decommissioned old equipment for internal-combustion engines at the plant, rendering the facility capable of making only electric and autonomous vehicles.
“GM is in the initial stages of considering the business case for a potential future investment at several locations, including the Orion Township area,” GM manufacturing spokesman Tom Wickham said. “We are not going to speculate or disclose the details of the projects under consideration.”
The energy of the factory floor this past summer, before the shutdown, suggested a recognition that EVs were coming but an unease about what it might mean for workers.
Near the battery installation area, Joel Newsom, team leader of a chassis “marriage line,” bonded a Bolt together with four bolts.
In his free time, Newsom likes to race trucks, specifically his Chevrolet Colorado with a “big block,” shorthand for a type of larger-displacement engine. He has few qualms about GM’s strategy.
“GM is preaching the future for us; we can’t always base it on fossil fuels,” he said.
But he’s not so certain he’d partake.
“For me, it doesn’t fit for what my family does,” he said. “If I lived in the city and I didn’t have far to go and I can just plug it in, it would work out good for me. For a daily driver just to drive around, it wouldn’t be terrible.”
With the Orion plant, GM believes it has proved that the shift to electric vehicles is possible. It can take an existing workforce and train it in new skills while making use of millions of square feet of repurposed factory space and much of its existing machinery to build cars the way it always has.
The plant’s hourly employees — usually more than 1,000 when the facility is fully staffed — have been laid off temporarily, GM said. Those workers are receiving benefits in accordance with their union-negotiated contracts. That means they are receiving unemployment and supplemental pay translating to about 75 to 80 percent of their usual pay, according to GM figures first reported by the Detroit Free Press.
While the plant shutdown continues through February, the longer-term question for workers is how many will be needed for GM’s shift to electric vehicles. Union leaders expressed confidence that the shift won’t mean fewer jobs, at least at GM — but acknowledged the challenge for the industry.
“There’s less physical parts that have to be manufactured to go into this vehicle,” said David Michael, spokesman for the plant’s United Auto Workers chapter, Local 5960. “If you take away a muffler and a catalytic converter and all the things, what do you replace it with? We know technology is getting smaller, more compact, and it’s less than it used to be.”
“The traditional labor concern is always fewer jobs: fewer American jobs because a lot of our parts come from many places around the globe,” he added.
At the end of the assembly line last summer, where gasoline-powered cars once roared to life, Kim Fuhr stood with an electric-vehicle charger in hand.
Fuhr doesn’t have to handle gasoline or deal with the exhaust fumes that preceded her work on the Bolt.
She plugs the charging cable into the car for 30 seconds, gives herself five seconds to remove it, and ensures that the car has 21 percent of its possible juice. It’s a highly repetitive process that might occur 262 times over the course of a nine-hour shift — that day’s production output.
“I’m in [a] retirement home now,” joked Fuhr, a nearly 25-year veteran of General Motors.


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Area Furniture Store Rebounds
HAINES CITY -- The store on Ingraham Street still bears the scars of last year's trio of hurricanes.
"It was the third one that really hurt us," Christine Baker said.
That was Hurricane Jeanne, which blew out the front doors of Christine's Furniture last September and flooded the two buildings that house the business that has been a downtown Haines City mainstay for nearly three decades.
"We lost almost all of our inventory," said the woman whose store carries her name. "We might have saved 25 or 30 pieces but everything else was ruined."
"In all," her son, Garry Baker, who manages the store, added, "the retail value of what we lost was $80,000."
And that's just the contents of the store. The amount of damage done to the building isn't known yet because all the insurance estimates aren't in.
Still, the Bakers feel lucky. They were able to keep their business open -- first by boarding up the broken glass doors with sheets of wood and then by bringing in new inventory as they began cleaning up the water damage and repairing what damage the hurricane-force winds had wrought.
"Three businesses are gone from this street since the hurricanes," Christine said.
Other businesses, she added, had to shut down for weeks after Jeanne added to the problems caused by Charley and Frances, the two other storms that hit in August and September..
"We might as well have shut down," Christine Baker said. "There wasn't a lot of business after the hurricanes. People were worn out, tapped out and ready to leave."
Garry Baker said that's starting to change now.
"Things have been better the last three weeks," he said. "We've been busy.
Not only does Christine's have its inventory back on the floors and on the shelves, but residents who suffered damages from the three storms are starting to get back on their feet. They are replacing the items they lost as insurance claims are being paid.
"Most people have done the repairs on their houses," Garry Baker said. "Now they're taking care of other things."
Things like replacing furniture that was ruined, window coverings that were destroyed and decorator pieces that were lost to the storms.
It was 27 years ago that Christine Baker and her husband, Hubert, opened the first Christine's in the old downtown Post Office on Jones Street. It was mostly Christine's business because Hubert was working in a local cold-storage plant.
"I started it for something to do," she said.
At first, the store specialized in used furniture and antiques, but Christine couldn't find enough inventory to keep the business going so she gradually switched over to new furniture and furnishings. Leasing the building she was in, she expanded to several more store fronts before the building on Ingraham came up for sale in 1979. The Bakers bought it and moved in in 1980.
Hubert Baker kept his job at the plant because there was never any certainty that the store would provide enough income for them and their family of three children, all of whom are now grown with families of their own.
Garry Baker has stayed with the business while his brother and sister moved on to other business interests in Haines City.
"Garry has been draggin' furniture behind his dad since he was 11," Christine said. "He just couldn't lift it as high as his dad."
Hubert Baker retired from the cold-storage plant 10 years ago. He and his wife are in their 70s now anddon't spend as much time in the store as they once did. Hubert is getting over injuries he suffered in a car accident, and Christine has physical problems that limit her time in the store.
But Garry Baker carries on the tradition his parents started with a small used furniture and antique store almost 30 years ago.
The storms didn't stop them, he said. Nor has the current construction project on U.S. 27 that has adversely affected businesses throughout Haines City. He is concerned, however, about the city's plans to tear up the street in front of the store in the coming months in a downtown renewal effort to be called the Ingraham Project.
"We don't know yet when that's going to start or what it will do to our business," he said. "We'll just have to deal with it as best as we can."
Mike Grogan can be reached at email@example.com or at 863-421-5811.


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Apple is losing one of the integral architects of the company’s highly successful retail strategy.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Apple’s chief of retail operations, Ron Johnson, will be leaving the Cupertino, California-based tech juggernaut to become the new CEO of JC Penney.
The loss for Apple is significant, especially since Johnson has served for the past 11 years as senior vice president of retail at Apple. During that period, Johnson helped craft and launch Apple’s retail platform, which has resulted in some 300 thriving Apple stores around the world.
Prior to working at Apple, Johnson spent 15 years with the Target corporation.
On Tuesday morning, JC Penney issued a formal press release about Johnson’s installment as CEO, effective Nov. 1 of this year.
“I’ve always dreamed of leading a major retail company as CEO,” Johnson said in the release, “and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help JC Penney re-imagine what I believe to be the single greatest opportunity in American retailing today, the Department Store. I have tremendous confidence in J. C. Penney’s future and look forward to working with Mike Ullman, the Executive Board and the Company’s 150,000 associates to transform the way America shops.”
“I am delighted that Ron is joining our Board and the Company, and look forward to working with him as we continue to transform the JC Penney brand,” says outgoing CEO Mike Ullman. “He is widely recognized and highly regarded in the retail industry for his creativity and innovation, his commitment to empowering employees to deliver an unparalleled customer experience, and to making stores exciting places where people love to shop. His tremendous accomplishments at Apple and Target speak to his great consumer merchandising, marketing and operational talent.”


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How the technologies are shifting around the world seem from endeavor of tech-giants such as Microsoft, Google and Apple. Last year, Apple demonstrated its Android@Home project and recently, Microsoft has sparked out a discussion on near-future technology, where the home appliances could be operated like personal computer. In addition to these, Apple’ s iHome project is constantly buzzing around and a vast numbers of folks are yet to experience the technology. The tech-giants have envisaged a concept, where Smartphone and Tablet users could handle home appliances through their devices without appearing physically at the spots.
Currently, Microsoft, Google and Apple are working on their projects and it’s speculated that they might accomplish their projects soon in near-future.
Microsoft Dream Project – HomeOS
Microsoft has recently highlighted its HomeOS concept–really, it’s an inevitable innovation. Numbers of home appliances with new technologies such as set top boxes, games consoles, wireless routers, home automation devices, tablet and Smartphones and security camera are coming in the market every day, but their discreteness have bothered users worldwide. Indeed, I agree with Microsoft on this context that it is claiming to bring all these devices together on a cohesive platform so that one could easily control them.
Microsoft stated on its blog, ” Pulling all these different systems together into one cohesive whole is a simple and obvious solution, because all this disparate innovation is breeding heterogeneity and complexity that frustrates even technically savvy users’ attempts to improve day-to-day life by implementing functionality that uses these devices in combination.”
The video might be helpful for you to understand what Microsoft is actually trying to do in near-future:
Microsoft is trying to create a common management system for various Smart devices in the house through its HomeOS, which is an eco-management software to control home appliances from outside. For this, user will have to add functionality–which apps they would prefer to run the specific part of the house.
Google Dream Project Android@Home
Last year, Google also revealed Android@Home at Google I/O conference, an ecosystem for managing home appliances such as exercise bike, table lamps and thermostats. Google has primarily focused on electrical gadgets inside the home. Here, the video demonstrates how users can measure and control devices through Android@Home on their Smartphone and Tablet:
Google is going to innovate numbers of apps for specific devices of user home, means if users will have to command their lamp through Smartphone then they will have to install Android app for lamp from Google Play Market. It’s pretty clear that Google is now trying to make your entire home like an Android accessory–which would be controlled through Android devices like a Tablet or a “hub”. The intention of Google is here to manage all home appliances by simple apps connected over wireless links.
Apple Dream Project
In this context, Apple has some different strategies, it is currently busy in patenting Smarthome energy management system to provide more eco-friendly common management system based on intelligent powerline networking to measure and control which devices are consuming more power in the home. Users will have privileges to control and command these devices through iPad and iPhone. Like Google, Apple will also avail device “controlling and commanding” apps through its iCloud, besides, the company is also planning to implement the device control through its “Siri” voice interface.
There is a big question when these companies will introduce their innovations? It has been almost one year since the announce of Android@Home by Google, and Microsoft and Apple are still working on their projects. Indeed, users are very impatient to get their hand on these innovations.


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UAW expands strikes: Ford, GM, EV market impact
United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain announced plans today to expand the ongoing strike against two of the Big Three automakers — Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) – with 7,000 additional workers to join the walkout. Yahoo Finance spoke to experts across the automotive industry to break down the implications for Ford, GM, Stellantis (STLA), as well as the EV market.
Yahoo Finance Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian explained the latest strikes by the UAW in detail, which will affect GM's Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant and Ford's Chicago Assembly plant. Subramanian said, "We've seen estimates that every week that this goes on, $100-200 million is getting evaporated for the Big Three."
Wedbush Managing Director Dan Ives views a prolonged UAW strike as a "horror show" for the EV market. Ives said, "And for the Street, it's not about the next quarter or two, it's about what this does to the EV strategy ... If they accept this deal, GM and Ford, I believe this would significantly impair their EV strategy for decades to come."
David Undercoffler, Autolist Editor-in-Chief, also discussed the implications for the EV market. Undercoffler said, "These are much simpler machines than gas-powered vehicles. It's much easier to produce those and to assemble them ... but right now this is more about wages."
Autoblog Editor-In-Chief Gregory Migliore broke down the potential impact of the expanding UAW strike on sales. Migliore said, "There really hasn't been a lot of time for the impact to be felt right on the bottom lines for the metrics we're going to look at."
Willett Advisors Chairman and CEO Steven Rattner discussed the implications of the UAW strike and why the Big Three automakers are fighting so hard. Rattner said, "I'm very sympathetic to the workers. They have not gotten the kind of increases they need to keep up with inflation, but manufacturing is a very different space than driving a UPS truck or flying an American Airlines plane."
00:00:20 - Yahoo Finance Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian
00:00:49 - Wedbush Managing Director Dan Ives
00:01:24 - Autolist Editor-in-Chief David Undercoffler
00:01:42 - Autoblog Editor-In-Chief Gregory Migliore
00:02:03 - Willett Advisors Chairman and CEO Steven Rattner
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Realme will sell phones in Europe and will start making smartphone accessories
Realme is off to a good start in India, as the company has managed to get decent traction for itself in the budget categories. Realme prides itself upon selling value smartphones which have begun competing against the likes of Xiaomi, providing a similar (or even better) set of specifications at similar price points. Devices like the Realme 3 Pro provide an excellent alternative to users who do not wish to buy a Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro, and we appreciate the choice that the company has brought to the market. GSMArena had the opportunity to sit down with Realme CEO Mr. Madhav Sheth to talk about Realme’s expansion plans and more.
Realme plans to retain its focus within the $100 to $300 market. Realme also plans to make 5G-capable devices once operators in India are ready to introduce the same, which I personally do not foresee happening anytime before late-2020 at least. Realme’s plans also include expansion into Europe in the very near future, as Mr. Sheth mentions that it should happen before July 2019. The company will begin its Europe expansion through the online sales channel, delivering devices directly to consumers without any carrier partnerships. The company also plans to diversify into smartphone accessories, but it remains to be seen which markets will be their preferred spots for selling accessories.
With respect to foldable smartphones, Realme does consider it a possibility for the future, but Mr. Sheth appeared skeptical about the current state of the technology and would prefer waiting for it to mature further.
Mr. Sheth also mentions that 30% of their customers have migrated from Samsung, while another 40% have come from Xiaomi devices in the past.
Mr. Sheth also spent time talking about software updates on Realme devices. All devices are promised to get two years of security patches and Android updates, which is decent considering the fact that most of these devices are in the budget and early-mid ranges. All devices in their existing portfolio are also expected to receive their Android Pie update before the end of June 2019. Realme 3 Pro is also expected to be the first device in their portfolio to get Android Q Beta — this is a slightly confusing statement as it makes a reference to Beta, indicating an update before the official launch of Android Q in Q3 2019. On the other hand, the CEO believes that stock Android is not the right experience for users. Realme’s goal is to “get closer to the stock Android experience and give users a stable OS with regular security patches and updates“. The company also has “some more news” in this regard, but we will have to wait till October 2019 for this particular tidbit.


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Kuwait’s Tamdeen Group is serving up retail with a brand new component — a sporting arena. The developer on Monday confirmed that a 7,600-seater tennis stadium with two prime arenas will have pride of place at the massive expansion of the 360 Mall, one of Kuwait’s happening shopping and entertainment destinations. The project, set to commence next month, is looking to completion in 2019.
And more in keeping with the way retail and hospitality have been mixed into the Gulf’s mall developments in the last 15 years, the expansion will also create a 261-room hotel, which will be ready by 2020.Once complete, the extension — which will add 40,000 square metres — is expected to increase footfall by at least 30 per cent to over 18 million visitors.“I think the sport and retail mix is being attempted for the first time in the world — and I see it as a perfect blend,” said Mohammad Jasem Khalid Al Marzouq, Chairman of Tamdeen Group, said in a phone interview to Gulf News. “Anything that creates a bigger, deeper and wider offering will be better for the mall going forward.“The tennis complex will bring in its own audience and when they want to move around, it’s natural they will do so at the mall.“I have been very impressed with the aesthetic way the Aquarium was blended into the The Dubai Mall and created that Wow effect. It helped the [Dubai] Mall offer a different experience, and that’s something similar we are recreating at 360 Mall.”The tennis complex, complete with its own academy and outdoor courts, will take up space adjacent to the existing 360 Mall. The plot is owned by the Kuwait Tennis Federation, which, in fact, had tasked another developer to create something out of it in 2004. That did not go anywhere, and in the meantime, the Tamdeen Group opened 360 Mall in 2009.For Tamdeen to be called in to do the needful for the tennis complex is a most logical progression, said Al Marzouq. “It’s the king of sport and once the complex is built, we want to place Kuwait on the global tennis map. It shouldn’t have any problem playing host to high-profile international tournaments.”Through the next three years until completion, the promoters forecast minimal disruption of visitor flow to the existing mall. The 360 Mall is anchored at the higher end of the retailing spectrum and been among the top shopping destinations in the Gulf state since its opening.“We will be increasing the retail area to 120,000 square metres and there will be space for more anchor stores as well as F&B,” said Al Marzouq. “The actual leasing programme will start only a year before the completion date, which means we get into that activity by 2018 or thereabouts.”Earlier this year, the Tamdeen Group announced a greenfield mixed-use development, the Al Khiran, with a waterfront location on the outskirts of Kuwait City and which would also feature an outlet mall.On whether there might be a need to be more realistic with new project activity, Al Marzouq said: “In fact, the pressure from being in a low oil price environment will help us. I believe the time is just right for Kuwait’s private sector to engage in more activity than what would have been the case in a high oil price situation, when the government had ample resources of its own for all its plans.”
Courtesy of Gulf News.


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Siemens Opens New Technology Hub in Charlotte, NC to Accelerate Industrialization of Additive Manufacturing
April 13, 2022
Today, Siemens is announcing the opening of its new Charlotte Advanced Technology Collaboration Hub (CATCH) which will be located in Charlotte, NC. This new strategic research and development hub, spearheaded by Siemens Digital Industries, Siemens Technology and Siemens Energy, now a separately operated company, to focus on helping our customers accelerate their plans for the industrialization of additive manufacturing (AM). Specifically, Siemens will use this space to collaborate with key machine builders (OEMs), end-users and U.S. national laboratories to ensure the successful industrialization of additive manufacturing.
In conjunction with this announcement, Siemens also recently announced partnerships with ExOne, Xerox and Roboze, leaders in building industrial 3D printers. This partnership will ensure that Siemens and its collaborators have the most advanced hardware on the market.
“We are excited to launch this new additive manufacturing hub and to begin inviting customers in to collaborate and find ways to accelerate the industrialization of this technology,” said Tim Bell, Additive Manufacturing Business Manager, Siemens Digital Industries. “The benefits of additive manufacturing are clear from faster time-to-market, to better design through digital prototypes, to localized manufacturing helping to reduce supply chain constraints. We believe that future of manufacturing is additive.”
Over the years, Siemens has been instrumental in bringing emerging technologies to the point of industry acceptance and standardization. From Computerized Numerical Controls (CNC) to industrial software, Siemens has always enabled the trailblazers to advance the world we live in. Dr. Hallee Deutchman, Head of Research in Materials and Industrialized Manufacturing (US) for Siemens Technology stated, “the CATCH center will not only help industrialize additive manufacturing, but also help incubate and grow the next generation of cutting-edge technology to solve industry’s hardest manufacturing problems.”
As a leader in industrial digitalization, Siemens will also look to continue its leadership through additive manufacturing, as it is the first truly digital manufacturing technology. We will accomplish this by empowering our vast network of partners and customers to create, make and use additive applications at scale. CATCH will be the entry point for many manufacturers to understand how and why AM is crucial to designing products more effectively, manufacturing them closer to the point of purchase and creating a more resilient supply chain.
To support our customers along their journey at CATCH, Siemens has accumulated a group of world-class experts from several Siemens businesses and operating companies. CATCH will become one of seven hubs strategically placed at major AM ecosystems around the world with the distinct focus of facilitating customer AM journeys.
Further enabling the collaboration between Siemens, machine OEM’s, and end users, Siemens Financial Services (SFS) – the financing arm of Siemens – supplied the CATCH lab with a financing solution that aided the leasing of several 3D printers for use in the lab. Financing additive manufacturing is a strategic priority for SFS as the evolution and digitalization of manufacturing continues, and the revolutionary use of 3D printing expands.
For more information on CATCH, visit http://usa.siemens.com/catch-am
Contact for journalists
Phone: (240) 481-6632; E-mail:
Siemens Corporation is a subsidiary of Siemens AG, a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the everyday for billions of people. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a globally leading medical technology provider shaping the future of healthcare. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power. Siemens has been supporting the industries and creating the infrastructure forming the backbone of America’s economy for more than 160 years, with more than 40,000 employees, 17,000 suppliers, and customers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. In fiscal 2021, Siemens Group USA generated revenue of nearly $20 billion.
Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI’s unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 72,000 employees internationally.


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McLaren Automotive has officially revealed a customized 720S that was made by none other than the McLaren Special Operations (MSO). This comes as a surprise to many as the brand just a day before, unveiled the 720S during the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show. However, the brand is showing this bespoke variant as a way of telling customers how much they will be able to customize the new Super Series.
This variant is nicknamed as the Velocity and shows the vast customization options available to buyers who will have their new 720S personalized by MSO. MSO is the brand’s bespoke vehicle group.
According to McLaren Special Operations Managing Director Ansar Ali, the goal of MSO has always been to meet the desire of customers for exclusivity. The way the 720S has been designed is a good starting point for many customers and the Velocity is only one example of what they can do, he said.
Price for the Velocity, as a MSO commission, is estimated to be £335,000, and may go up to around $400,000. The Velocity however, as revealed by McLaren, is one of five MSO customizations. The other four are GT, Pacific, Stealth, and Track.


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Before American company Kraft bought the famous British Cadbury confectioner in January, they assured workers that the company’s production would not be taken out of the UK. But now the American giant has gone against its word by announcing that they will close a factory in Keynsham, England, and move that branch of production to Poland.
English workers have responded with anger at the announcement, not least because this move will mean the loss of at least 400 jobs in the country. Kraft cited financial reasons as the motivation behind the announcement.
In Poland, Kraft will have to sell Polish chocolatier Wedel, which it acquired in the Cadbury buy, as Cadbury had purchased Wedel in 1999. EU anti-monopoly laws prohibit Kraft from owning both Cadbury and Wedel.


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Located on the beautiful island of Chiloé, Chepu Eco Lodge has been praised by travelers from around the world for its strong commitment to sustainability. Now the recognition has come from renowned travel guide Lonely Planet.
Chepu Adventures featured in Lonely Planet’s “top 10 eco stays for 2014”, a ranking to promote the most environmentally friendly places to stay this year and the unique ways they are going green.
The lodge has also been credited by Chile’s National Tourism Service, Sernatur, with the “Sello S.” This award is a stamp of approval for Chilean accommodation providers committed to sustainability.
The Lonely Planet described the idyllic life that awaits guests arriving to the north of Parque Nacional Chiloé and the amiable hosts on hand to facilitate their green getaway.
“Fernando and Amory, two lovely souls who fled Santiago years ago in search of an off-the-grid life, wine and dine green-conscious travellers, who cannot get enough of the mystical kayak trips at dawn, the views and the BBQs,” said the article, which ranked Chepu at number 6.
Guests can take a “sustainability challenge” while staying, ensuring that they are contributing to the lodge’s goal of keeping energy levels down. Tablet screens will breakdown the use of every resource minute by minute.
Among the new innovations coming to Chepu are the introduction of electric kayaks, which use deep cycle batteries charged by wind energy. Guests will be able to watch birds and mammals in complete silence as the powered kayaks cruise without a sound, with the lodge working on GPS tracking systems to ensure nobody gets lost.
Chilean tourism officials described the mention by such an important travel publication as a window for not only Chepu Eco Lodge, but also for Chile.
The Lonely Planet list was topped by Lapa Rios in Costa Rica, with a wide variety of locations featured on the list, with lodging between Papua New Guinea, Morocco and Russia making an appearance.


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It has been five years since Heath Ledger”s untimely death, and now his family has put a t-shirt with the late actors image on sale for charity.
The tee, which features a photo of the Dark Knight actor taken by photographer Ben Watts in 2004, shows the Oscar winner holding a skateboard in Los Angeles.
Recalling the shoot, the photographer commented, “Heath loved skateboarding and wanted to do a shoot he enjoyed.
This is the first piece of merchandise that Ledgers family and his estate has approved for sale, and will be available for $110 online for a limited time.
All proceeds from the sale will go to a scholarship fund set up in Heaths name and to his favorite charitable organizations.
For more entertainment news, click here!


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Mon, 03/12/2012 - 12:39
After a shocker in 2011 and a poor first half in 2012, the celebrities are makine a come-back this autumn.
Five of the current top 10 bestselling books in the UK are penned by famous faces: Jamie Oliver, Miranda Hart, Rod Stewart, Cheryl Cole and Bradley Wiggins, while a handful of others (the Hairy Bikers, Keith Lemon, Clare Balding...
Tue, 13/04/2010 - 10:30
Simon and Schuster UK has signed three books by American actress and singer Hilary Duff.
World rights were bought by Simon & Schuster US for two fiction books and one non-fiction title, looking at the challenges faced by children during divorce. S&S UK said it paid a "large" sum for UK &...
Thu, 07/01/2010 - 15:48
This time last year, in The Bookseller's review of 2008, it was written: "we, perhaps fittingly, have the much pilloried celebrities to thank for saving what could have been an even poorer end to the year".
So much changes in just 12 months.
Last month, sales were down 1.2% on December 2008 in spending terms and it was...
Wed, 23/12/2009 - 09:10
Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol (Bantam Press) is the book trade's Christmas number one, in a week when poor weather badly affected sales.
Brown's bestseller sold 58,468 copies at UK book retailers last week, 2,546 copies more than Guinness World Records 2010 in second position. As the charts are based on single...
Tue, 08/12/2009 - 16:01
Book sales jumped by almost a third last week, led by a hardback non-fiction sector firmly on the rebound following poor October and November sales.
According to Nielsen BookScan data, 8.1m books were snapped up at UK book retailers last week, up 29% week on week, with spending up 28.2% to £61.9m. Sales were up 3% on the same week...
Tue, 17/11/2009 - 07:29
And so the ninth (the NINTH!) series of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" began at the weekend, mere minutes after Jedward somehow survived for yet another week on "The X Factor".
Ninth series? REALLY!? Who on Earth are the eight previous winners of the show? I can only remember one, and even then I can only...
Sun, 08/11/2009 - 09:55
Retailers are concerned about the performance of hardback non-fiction books in the run-up to Christmas, despite hardback fiction books "muscling" in to replace some of the lost revenue.
Sales of this year’s top 10 non-fiction books in October were down 52% year on year, while sales of hardback fiction titles have soared by...
Fri, 06/11/2009 - 14:03
Some famous people can write (Obama, Bogarde etc). Most can't but they are still beautiful marketing and packaging tools in a world where newspapers will always interview a famous actress or singer rather than an unknown novelist. Editors in the mass media know what most of us want to read and talk about.
It was always thus. Jackie...
Thu, 29/10/2009 - 00:22
Do you know how many English pounds have been spent on Peter Kay's The Sound of Laughter at UK bookshops since it was published in October 2006?
Take a guess.
No, you're wrong.
The answer is £12.6million. What about Jeremy Clarkson? How much have his numerous books taken through the tills? Any ideas? If you said...
Tue, 20/10/2009 - 07:40
"Author anger as stars stampede to write a novel just like Jordan," is a headline in today's Daily Mail. "The trend [for celebrity written fiction books] has caused outrage among more traditional authors, who accuse publishers of accepting poor-quality manuscripts because they have a famous name attached,"...


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”We are very excited about teaming up with Copart,” said NPA Chief Executive Officer Cliff Clifford. “Leveraging Copart’s resources and capabilities with NPA’s industry expertise and market leadership will allow us to kick NPA into high gear. We’re looking forward to taking NPA to a whole new level of growth and success.”
Copart, Inc., founded in 1982, is a global leader in online vehicle auctions. Copart’s online auction platform links sellers to more than 750,000 Members in over 170 countries. Copart sells vehicles on behalf of insurance companies, banks, finance companies, charities, fleet operators, dealers and vehicles sourced from individual owners.
“We are thrilled that NPA is now part of the Copart family and believe the team’s expertise will enhance our capabilities,” said Copart’s Chief Executive Officer Jay Adair. “NPA is the leader in the powersports auction industry and shares our ownership mindset, commitment to challenging the norm, and focus on delivering results.”
With operations in over 200 locations in 11 countries, the Copart says it has more than 125,000 vehicles available online every day.


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Interview / Reviews
Movies and Fashion
Festivals / Gigs
Adidas Originals "Island Series" Hawaii
Adidas Stan Smith in classic color combination
Famous actor plays DJ set at Paul Smith store
Baracuta G4 Leather
Adidas Originals x Spezial Settend - Gary Aspden
Martin Freeman to star in Midnight of My Life
Movies and Fashion
More than Kul
Watch Ian Brown fight a Kangaroo at Sydney Opera House
Richard Ashcroft unveils new video
'Wonderwall' Video Gets Amazing LEGO Treatment
Speaking with German magazine Event, Noel Gallagher revealed that Oasis will release a documentary ...
A few weeks ago, we toldyou that Richard Ashcroft had finished recording his new studio album....
John Lydon calls for the resignation of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger
In an interview with musicfeeds, ahead of his Australian live dates...
We have a look at the 15 "Casual" brands all our readers should know. Their contribution to the world of fashion is pretty unique and they offer quality and styish products...
Check out our top ten adidas trainers...
Making a comeback after its prime during the early ’80s, adidas Originals revives their Island Series with reissues of the Hawaii...
We have a look at the 10 Casual films all our readers should know. Guess some of you must have seen them all but well here's our favourite...
Noel Gallagher has once again dismissed rumours of an Oasis reunion, saying, "It's not going to happen...
Although Noel Gallagher continues to deny it, according to his brother Paul Gallagher, an Oasis reunion is inevitable...
In an interview with Bass Magazine, Andy Lewis talked of new music, how the bass parts are on the new record...
In an interview with BBC, Paul Weller discussed his new album and playing Glastonbury this summer...
Despite or maybe because of his experiences with his last album – the 2014 release WORLD PEACE IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS ...


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Michelin Throws Down City Transportation Gauntlet for 2010 Challenge Design
Introduced in 2002 to give designers around the world an opportunity to promote their work, the Michelin Challenge Design programme is now in its tenth year. During this time the number of designs submitted has increased some 700 per cent and designers from 98 countries have taken part. Pre-registration for the 2012 Michelin Challenge Design has commenced, and the tyre maker says initial feedback indicates a record year awaits.
The theme for 2012 was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and is “City 2046: Art, Life and Ingenuity.” The year 2046 was chosen to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of Michelin’s first radial tyre. Participants in the 2012 Michelin Challenge Design are asked to present their vision of city transportation for Paris, Shanghai, Mumbai, Rio or Los Angeles for the year 2046. Each of these cities has a specific set of challenges, and ‘disruptive innovation’ may be what each needs to get transportation from the formula in use today to that of 2046. Specifically, participants must design a personal, ground-based vehicle capable of transporting between two and ten people. In selecting a city, the vehicle proposal must provide a solution to the transportation issues unique to that city. Pre-registration and entry submission information is available at www.michelinchallengedesign.com.


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It appears Microsoft is once more placing bets on the PC gaming market.
According to an internal Q&A document acquired by Kotaku, the company is asking itself simple yet tough questions; how does the recently announced PC version of Fable III signal a reinvestment in PC gaming, and “how is this different from the previous times you’ve announced a reinvestment in PC gaming and not quite come through with a robust offering?”
Their answer: “In terms of revenue, Windows is far and away the largest gaming platform in the world, so it’s an incredibly important part of Microsoft’s business. From core games like Fable III to casual, social and Facebook titles, more gaming happens on Windows than anywhere else.”
“Windows 7 is a world-class gaming platform, and you can bet Microsoft has a vested interest in using it as a platform for amazing first party content.”
So it’s a big ‘hooah!’ with little details for the time being. Fable III‘s holiday 2010 release is said to be “a great first step” though, and more news on the matter is promised for later this summer.


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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting.US Marketsread more
Brent crude oil jumped the most in history in the previous session after attacks on Saudi's oil industry disrupted the kingdom's production.Marketsread more
Facebook has partnered with Ray-Ban maker Luxottica to develop augmented-reality glasses, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The glasses, code-named 'Orion,' are being...Technologyread more
As Netflix's rivals prep for their own streaming service launches, and snatch up content belonging to their own networks, Netflix could soon face a dry well when it comes to...Entertainmentread more
"There's a huge reorganization going on in China regarding fentanyl to try to shut it down," Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman says.Health and Scienceread more
The fallout from two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes has ensnared the manufacturer's most-loyal customer: Southwest Airlines. The carrier has canceled thousands of...Airlinesread more
Pelosi also said it's "irrelevant" whether approving the USMCA trade deal would give President Donald Trump a victory ahead of the 2020 election.Politicsread more
The fine against Carmene "Zsa Zsa" DePaolo was the maximum possible civil penalty that she faced under the Hatch Act for her comments about Hillary Clinton's immigration plan...Politicsread more
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has called on lobbyists to be banned from donating and fundraising for their preferred campaigns. Her new plan represents the latest shift for Warren who...2020 Electionsread more
Half of Saudi Arabia's crude production cut during Saturday's attack has been restored in the past two days, the kingdom's energy minister said Tuesday.Oilread more
General Motors stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production as a United Auto Workers union strike against the automaker enters its second day, but Wall...Autosread more
Activist investor and major Apple shareholder Carl Icahn said the iPhone maker's stock should be trading at $216, far above its record high of $124.92 hit on Wednesday.
At $216 per share, Apple - already the world's most valuable company - would be worth about $1.3 trillion, or about the size of South Korea's gross domestic product.
The company is valued at just over $700 billion currently.
Icahn said Apple should be trading at 20 times earnings per share, which taken together with net cash of $22 per share works out to $216 per share.
"This is why we continue to own approximately 53 million shares worth $6.5 billion, and why we have not sold a single share," Icahn said in a letter to his Twitter followers.
"Also, to the extent Apple introduces a TV in FY 2016 or FY 2017, we believe this 20X multiple is conservative," he wrote.
Icahn, one of Apple's top 10 investors, has long urged the company to buy back more shares and raise its dividend.
He said in October that Apple shares could double in value and urged the board to buy back more shares using its cash pile. At the time, the shares were trading at $100.
"...We look forward to the capital return program update in April, anticipating it will include a large increase to share repurchases," Icahn wrote.
Apple had cash reserves of about $178 billion as of Dec. 27, enough to buy IBM or the equivalent of $556 for every American.
Apple said last April it would return more than $130 billion to shareholders by the end of 2015.
According to StarMine's intrinsic valuation model, Apple should be trading at $140.90. That implies a compounded annual earnings growth rate of 9.9 percent over the next 10 years.
Apple shares closed 2.3 percent higher at $124.88 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. Up to Tuesday's close, the stock had gained more than 22 percent since Oct. 9.


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XPO is set to trial 26-tonne and 44-tonne battery electric vehicles (BEV) within its network operations during 2023 in partnership with a number of its customers, the company said this week. The company has also announced a key step in converting its company-owned cars to fully electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) this week.
These latest developments are part of a wider decarbonising programme which has seen XPO’s commercial fleet use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and other alternative fuels. To date the fleet includes 150 HVO trucks and 23 natural gas-powered trucks, with a further 25 battery electric vans and six light trucks coming online during 2023.
“The minimisation of our business travel, and therefore our emissions, is our ultimate goal. The reality of being a people-focused business is that we know the value of being physically with our customers and teams, meaning travel will be necessary from time to time. With our enhanced car policy, we can now ensure that every essential business mile will be made in the most responsible way possible,” said Dan Myers, XPO MD for the UK and Ireland.
XPO said it has also met its target to replace more than 50% of its automotive fleet of company-owned cars with fully electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) by its 2022 financial year-end.
Of a fleet of 177 vehicles, 103 (58%) are either hybrid or full EVs. The company said it also expects to have 100% of its fleet converted by 2024, in line with its company car policy of offering only EV or hybrid vehicles for business use.


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HANOI (Reuters) – A researcher in Vietnam has demonstrated how he apparently fooled Face ID – Apple’s face recognition ID software on its new iPhone X – using a mask made with a 3D printer, silicone and paper tape.
An announcement on Friday by Bkav, a Vietnamese cybersecurity firm, that it had cracked Apple’s Face ID, and a subsequent video apparently showing an iPhone being unlocked when pointed at a mask, were greeted with some skepticism.
Ngo Tuan Anh, Bkav’s vice president, gave Reuters several demonstrations, first unlocking the phone with his face and then by using the mask. It appeared to work each time.
However, he declined to register a user ID and the mask on the phone from scratch because, he said, the iPhone and mask need to be placed at very specific angles, and the mask to be refined, a process he said could take up to nine hours.
Apple declined to comment, referring journalists to a page on its website that explains how Face ID works.
That page says the probability of a random person unlocking another user’s phone with their face was approximately 1-in-a-million, compared to 1-in-50,000 for the previously used fingerprint scanner. It also says Face ID allows only five unsuccessful match attempts before a passcode is required.
Anh acknowledged that preparing the mask wasn’t easy, but he said he believed the demonstration showed facial recognition as a way to authenticate users would be risky for some.
“It’s not easy for normal people to do what we do here, but it’s a concern for people in the security sector and important people like politicians or heads of corporations,” he said.
“[These] important people should absolutely not lend their iPhone X to anyone if they have activated the Face ID function.”
It’s the first reported case of researchers apparently being able to fool the Face ID software.
Cybersecurity experts said the issue was not so much whether Face ID could be hacked, but how much effort a hack required.
“Nothing is 100% secure,” wrote Terry Ray, chief technology officer at US-based cybersecurity company Imperva, in a note. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. The questions are: How much trouble would someone go to, and how much would they spend, to get your data?”
Bkav’s Anh said the research took about a week, and included numerous failures. The mask frame was made of plastic, covered with paper tape to resemble skin, with a silicone nose and paper for eyes and mouth.
As far back as 2009, Bkav researchers highlighted what they said were problems with using facial recognition as a way to authenticate users. They said then that they had hacked three laptop manufacturers which used webcams to authenticate users.
(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Writing and additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)


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MUMBAI: Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Reliance Industries‘ chairman Mukesh Ambani, has joined the board of Jio Platforms as an additional director.
He was appointed on the board of Jio Platforms on March 16, 2020.
Anant Ambani joins Jio Platforms at a time when the oil-to-telecom behemoth is looking to transition itself from an energy-centric conglomerate to one focussing increasingly on consumer technology.
Jio Platforms, the unit of RIL, comprises mostly its telecom business under Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the largest in the country with more than 388 million subscribers.
RIL’s other digital properties and investments such as Jio Cinema, Jio Saavn and Haaptik are also housed in Jio Platforms. RIL has over the last 6-12 months consistently talked about building Jio Platforms into a digital platform on the lines of US major Alphabet and technology giant Tencent.
Jio Platforms has been in the news of late for a spate of investments from global firms in a span of few weeks. The company has so far signed pacts for investments of Rs 78,562 crore from five global investors – social media major Facebook, private equity funds Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic and KKR - for a combined holding of 17.12%.
- Front Page
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- Lok Sabha Passes Finance Bill With Key Amendments
India will tax investments in debt mutual funds as short-term capital gains and royalty payouts by local arms of multinational companies at a higher rate, while offering marginal relief to individual taxpayers under the new income tax regime.VW’s Focus on India Stronger Now Amid Global Turmoil
India will play a greater role in Volkswagen Group’s global operations amid global developments that are pushing the European auto giant to explore strategic growth opportunities in emerging countries.It’s Advantage FD with Debt Mutual Funds Set to Lose Popularity
Debt MFs will be taxed like other fixed income instruments from April 1.
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First exclusively recreational marijuana dispensary opening in NJ
🔴 NJ's first dispensary exclusively for recreational pot opens next month
🔴 There will be a grand opening celebration on June 10
WOODBURY — New Jersey’s first non-conversion cannabis dispensary exclusively for recreational adult use, is set to open in Gloucester County next month.
Non-conversion means the dispensaries that are open in the Garden State were conversions from their medical license to their adult recreation ones.
Nova Farms, the Northeast’s largest privately owned, vertically integrated cannabis operator opened its flagship retail cannabis dispensary in Woodbury on May 19.
But it will hold its grand opening celebration on June 10.
"Nova Farms carries trusted brands that consumers can rely on. All of our cannabis products are carefully vetted by our industry professionals and tested by our quality experts. Everything at Nova Farms is of the utmost quality from vapes to edibles, flower to topicals... rest assured Nova Farms products are top-notch," Blair Fish, chief operating officer of Nova Farms, said.
It was the first outdoor cultivation facility licensed in the State of Massachusetts and is one of the largest outdoor canopies on the East Coast, Fish added.
The grand Woodbury opening located at 642 Mantua Pike will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 8 a.m. followed by a slew of activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., including Newark-born rapper Redman.
The Newark native whose given name is Reginald Noble rose to fame in the early 1990s as an artist on the Def Jam record label. He will available for an exclusive meet and greet session from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The event will also feature local food trucks, games, and cool exhibitors, including a live glass blower on site.
The Woodbury location will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Nova Farms prides itself on creating a haven for cannabis connoisseurs to explore their diverse product offerings.
Pre-rolls, edibles, vaporizers, topicals, and more will be available for purchase.
As of April 2023, New Jersey has 24 recreational cannabis dispensaries, all run by multi-state operators that were first approved to sell medicinal cannabis.
The Woodbury site is the first cannabis dispensary in the state to open for recreational use for those adults 21 and over


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It’s been a big day for the franchise formerly known as the International House of Pancakes. Today, IHOP announced it was temporarily rebranding as IHOb, the International House of Burgers, and other brands had a lot to say about it.
IHOP was probably hoping for a lot of media coverage and attention for the news and its accompanying creative work from Droga5 but perhaps didn’t anticipate the heavy grilling it would take on Twitter. After a cutesy tweet in which the brand’s social media team replaced all the p’s with b’s, other brands unleashed their inner snark and sass.
Wendy’s in particular took no prisoners after a Twitter user asked the brand how it felt about IHOP getting into the burger business.
No person (or brand) wants to be burned by Wendy’s on Twitter, so IHOb responded to the brand (because #2018) saying, “We don’t want any beef with you, we just want to share our beef with the world.” But Wendy’s continued to bring the heat.
Other’s weren’t quite as brutal as good old Wendy’s but still enjoyed the opportunity to make fun of the stunt.
UPDATE: Burger King may have just won this war, or at least brought it to a draw:
Here are some of the other responses:
Good luck out there, IHOb.


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After the resurging cryptocurrency trading trend in India, the country is now considering to, again, put a ban on cryptocurrency trading. The federal cabinet will discuss over the matter and soon after deliver the result to the parliament. Compared to other Asian countries’ decision to put strict regulation on crypto trades, it is not a reach to say India’s decision is quite extreme.
India and its affairs with cryptocurrencies
The return of cryptocurrency trading isn’t really sudden news. Mint explained that in 2018 Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s put an abrupt decision to ban 80% of the nation’s currency. Following the incident, cases of crypto transaction frauds skyrocketed. The Indian central bank decided to put a ban in crypto transactions as an attempt to control the scams. However, this decision resulted with cryptocurrency exchanges filing a lawsuit in September, which they won in a respite in March 2020.
Upon the respite’s triumph, the resurgence of cryptocurrency trading began. According to TechSci Research, two months after the news broke, cryptocurrency trading skyrocketed up to 450%. TechSci also reported Paxful growth multiplied 883% bigger from January to May. Similarly, the Mumbai based crypto exchanger, WazirX recorded a 400% and 270% in March and April respectively.
The trend instead became a burden to India. Indians have then started to bet on their savings in the middle of a risky situation and economic slowdown.
India’s cryptocurrency trading ban in comparison to other Asian countries
Virtual cryptocurrency is still a debatable matter in a lot of Asian countries. China, which has previously banned initial coin offerings and virtual currencies in 2017, had recently tweaked the law. China has legalized bitcoin trading as virtual property. Bitcoin trading as fiat money is, however, still considered illegal. China is even considering to build its own central bank digital currency. Meanwhile, Singapore and South Korea are strictly controlling over crypto trades with their regulations.
Sanjay Khan of Khaitan & Co argued that the ban is an exaggeration. Instead, a regulatory framework is more than enough to protect uninformed retail consumers, Khan said. “India can actually benefit from such a regulation to attract cryptocurrency investors and business,” he continued, as quoted from Mint.


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(BURNABY, British Columbia) — Mustang Survival, the North American brand known for innovative solutions for the most demanding marine environments, has announced its merger with California-based WING Group, a leading manufacturer of inflatable sponsons, small combat craft, whitewater rafting solutions, life rafts, and marine doors and windows.
“Joining with The WING Group lands Mustang Survival in a home totally focused on the marine and aviation industry and its users," said Mustang Survival General Manager Jason Leggatt.
The WING Group, led by President and CEO Andrew Branagh, has been expanding its core product offering and reach with acquisitions aligned to the “quality solutions” mission, and Mustang Survival represents an opportunity to engage directly with WING’s end consumers in terms of personal protective and performance equipment on the water.
“Mustang Survival has a rich history and authentic brand story that resonates with us and our consumers," said Branagh. “They are recognized as the leader in their field and deliver confidence to users in the harshest marine environments in the world. This merger presents a unique and strategic growth opportunity for both sides, especially as we aim to deepen our suite of marine and over-water aviation products here in North America and around the world.”
Leggatt will be promoted to president of Mustang Survival and continue in his role of building a full-scale waterlife brand.
For more information, visit www.mustangsurvival.com.