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First Apple Store in the U.S. Unionizes in yet Another Labor Victory
Employees of an Apple sales outlet in Towson, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland, voted to unionize in June 2022 to become the Big Tech company’s first unionized store in the U.S. This is part of a larger movement across the country, with workers at many companies like Amazon, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s expressing their interest in joining a union.
“We’re standing up to make a better life for ourselves and our family that we feel we deserve and I think all workers deserve. We love our work extremely, we just want to have a say in the things that affect us,” – Onye Igwulu, Apple employee in Towson.
“People are stressed out, Covid has heightened a lot of things, whether it’s positive or negative, we see that on a daily basis. And we do want to be compensated for that work that we’re putting in,” - Eric Brown, Apple employee in Towson.
Voice in the workplace
In August 2021, a group of 15 workers banded together to launch AppleToo, a website modelled on the #MeToo movement. The idea was to gather reports from workers at all levels of the company who had experienced discrimination or harassment. Within a few months, they had gathered about 500 stories.
In May 2022, a group of workers set up a union named Apple Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (AppleCore) affiliated with the International Organization of Mechanists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), a national union representing around 300,000 workers. Workers at three stores: Atlanta; Grand Central Station, New York; and Louisville, Kentucky, announced union organizing campaigns.
Shortly after the news of the union campaigns became public, Apple announced a wage increase from $20 to $22 per hour. Workers say that the company hired a union avoidance law firm to anti-union presentations. Workers at the Atlanta store withdrew their petition, citing intimidation by management.
“Instead of living up to those values, and embracing the opportunity to empower us to act in the best interest of our stores, Apple’s corporate executives hired an outside third-party law firm with no understanding or interest in our credo or values to intervene and create an environment of fear and coercion,” – Derrick Bowles, Apple employee & organizer in Atlanta.
The first store to hold a vote was Towson on June 18, 2022, where workers voted 65-33 to unionize. Their success has gone viral - employees from over 20 of 272 Apple sales outlets across the U.S. have shown an interest in doing the same.
“I applaud the courage displayed by Core members at the Apple store in Towson for achieving this historic victory. They made a huge sacrifice for thousands of Apple employees across the nation who had all eyes on this election.” – Robert Martinez, IAM’s international president.
After the successful union vote was announced, Apple responded that it had “nothing to add at this time.”
Click here to see the full post on Instagram.


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With travel slowly returning to normal, Jet2holidays has relaunched fights and package holidays to Cyprus.
Flights departed for Paphos from Leeds Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle, East Midlands and London Stansted airports over the weekend.
Services will also restart to Paphos from Birmingham on Wednesday, followed by Glasgow on February 26th and Edinburgh and Belfast International in March.
In addition, the company will operate flights and holidays from Bristol Airport to Paphos for the first time from March 6th onwards.
The resumption of services to Paphos comes after the removal of restrictions for fully-vaccinated customers arriving in the UK, which has seen holidaymakers flocking to book flights and holidays in their numbers.
With its Blue Flag shores, archaeologic treasures and tasty cuisine, it is not surprising that the laid-back region of Paphos continues to be a firm holiday favourite as the Mediterranean islands suits every type of holidaymaker, Jet2 said.
Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, added: “We are delighted to be restarting our award-winning flights and package holidays to Paphos and seeing our flights take off once again to the stunning island of Cyprus.
“Since travel has started to return to normal, we have seen strong demand from customers looking to make the most of being able to enjoy a much-needed getaway in the sunshine, with Paphos proving to be a very popular choice of holiday destination.”

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Each year at the closing of the Gala dinner at the Habanos Festival in Havana, different humidors of cigars are auctioned off to the highest bidder. This year’s Cohiba humidor was one of the most beautiful and artistic designs we’ve seen coming out of Havana resembling, what some could say, is a futuristic and curvaceous skyscraper.. The humidor tower contained 350 Cohiba cigars which included cigars from the classic line to the Siglo line, piramedes and the much anticipated Behike release.
This year enthusiastic cigar aficionados were able to sample the new line from Cohiba and all reports reveal that this will be a very full bodied cigar that is not only very smokable right now but will become prized possessions aging in many humidors around the world.
This year’s total for all auctions that night brought 805,000 Euros to Cuba’s health care system. The only question I have regarding a purchase of that size is the restrictions different countries have in bringing home that many cigars. Canada only allows an individual to return home with 50 so there will have to be some pretty imaginative import plans the lucky winner of this year’s humidor will implement. Whichever country the buyer lives in should ease any restrictions due to the philanthropic nature of the act.
There are a few pictures of the new Behike online and if you do some looking around you’ll see perhaps the most beautiful cigar band Cohiba has ever designed..


text: Despite a 2.6 percent rise in worker demand in August, it is too early to say that the war's effect on overall worker demand has ended, Manpower Israel CEO Dalia Narkis said Wednesday. Before rising to 100.5 in August, the worker demand index fell 14% in July to 98. The August 2006 level was therefore still 11.9% below August 2005's index level of 114. "We are still witnessing the war's influence on the economy and a slowdown in growth of general economic activity ... All these affect the slowdown in new hirings, at least until the economic uncertainty scatters and expected government measures [are implemented]," Narkis said. While worker demand dropped in hospitality and food services (down 6.5%); banking, finance and insurance (4.2%); business services (1.3%); education (14.3%) and households (2.5%), increased demand was seen in industry (up 4.5%); construction (11.5%); transportation and communications (18.9%) and community services (17.2%).


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The CoVID-19 pandemic has affected economies through different angles, including, among others, global financial and capital markets, global commodity trade and markets, local supply and demand of goods and services as well as local labour markets and employment.
A virtual country-learning event on the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on production, markets, trade, nutrition and poverty in Southern African countries was held with focus on Malawi — which was chaired by Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Lobin C. Lowe.
Amongst the observations made in the case of Malawi was that the first implication of CoVID-19 related restrictions are “disruptions in local staple markets which are likely to affect the cost of food consumed by the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population.”
This was observed by Dr. Inga Jacobs-Mata, country representative for International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Southern Africa, who began by saying: “CoVID-19 outbreak has placed stress and attention on the importance of food, water and energy security, as governments focus their efforts not only on blocking the transmission of the disease, but also consider how their responses affect food security today and in the future.
“This crisis is affecting workforces, transportation systems and supply chains — the very basis of how our food gets from field to fork. A first implication of Covid-19-related restrictions are disruptions in local staple markets which are likely to affect the cost of food consumed by the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population.
“The effects on food availability and prices as well as changes in incomes may lead to deterioration of nutrition status in the form of micronutrient deficiencies, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
“Price uncertainty and disruption on the supply side could also affect farmers’ incomes.” shared Jacobs-Mata.
Others that participated in the virtual were experts from AKADEMIYA2063; Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) and National Planning Commission of Malawi (NPC).
The event brought forward new evidence to inform decision making on CoVID-19 responses by the Malawi government, and other respective stakeholder constituencies.
It presented analyses on CoVID-19 responses impacts on commodity trade, food systems, and community vulnerability after observing that many Southern African countries including Malawi had put measures in place to control the spread of the pandemic, including states of emergency, curfews and closed borders which in most cases were progressively lifted.
Travel restrictions and constraints to the movement of goods caused logistics breakdowns and labour shortages at different stages along food value chains.
The resulting changes have had significant impacts on the supply of and demand for agricultural and food products.
An example put forward was that data from more than 20 maize grain markets throughout Malawi showed a sudden price decrease from March to May 2020. While 100% of the grain markets had increasing prices by January 2020, by May 2020, there was a general price decline in all grain markets across the country’s rural and urban markets.
“As macroeconomic modelling confirms and predicts global disruptions on commodity markets due to CoVID-19, it has led to a slowdown in economic growth and a deterioration in urban and rural poverty,” stated Dr. Greenwell Matchaya, ReSAKSS Southern Africa Coordinator.
He reaffirmed the importance of such event as it “contributes to the promotion of many of the key objectives in Malawi’s development vision (Malawi Vision 2063), Southern Africa Development Community’s Regional Agricultural Development Policy and the African Union’s Agenda 2063”.
While Dr Ousmane Badiane, executive chairperson at AKADEMIYA2063 said: “Unless countries have a better handle at managing crises such CoVID-19 and similar shocks in the future, it will be hard to achieve the development objectives related to the sustainable agricultural production and food security, improvement of regional integration and international trade as well as those seeking to reduce vulnerability especially of poor sections of society.”
AKADEMIYA2063 is an Africa-based non-profit research organization with headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda, and a regional office in Dakar, Senegal.
Its mission is to create, across Africa and led from Rwanda, state-of-the art technical capacities to support the efforts by the Member States of the African Union to achieve the key goals of the Agenda 2063 of transforming national economies to boost growth and prosperity.
Its main goal is to help meet the needs of African countries in terms of data, analytics and mutual learning for the effective implementation of Agenda 2063 and the realization of its outcomes by a critical mass of member states.
ReSAKSS, established in 2006 under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), supports efforts to promote evidence-and outcome-based policy planning and implementation.
In particular, ReSAKSS provides data and related analytical and knowledge products to facilitate CAADP benchmarking, review, and mutual learning processes.
AKADEMIYA2063 facilitates the work of ReSAKSS in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency), and leading regional economic communities.
IMWI is an international research-for-development (R4D) organization, with offices in 13 countries and a global network of scientists operating in more than 30 countries.
For over three decades, their research results have led to changes in water management that have contributed to social and economic development across Southern Africa, Africa and the world.
IWMI is also part of the CGIAR, global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.
Its research is carried out by 15 CGIAR Centres in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector.Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :


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Expect Even Stranger Stranger Things Throughout the Week
With Season 3 of Stranger Things dropping tomorrow, it makes sense that the Fortnite crossover event that’s been teased for months now has made itself more visible, with the full event likely to kick off tomorrow.
Over at the island’s Mega Mall (where the new season’s ice cream store Scoops Ahoy has already been set up for months), you’ll find some gross and veiny new portals to the Upside Down. Currently, they don’t take you to a whole new world of terror and gross monster throat tubes, but another part of the mall. But, is it really the same mall you came from? Yes. Yes it is. Hopefully when the full event kicks off it adds a little more flair to these stringy boys. It’s safe to expect that when the event is in full swing, there’ll be some nifty cosmetics to go with it.
There’s also ice cream from the aforementioned Scoops Ahoy laying around the mall that players can consume for a tiny +5 health boost.
Stranger Things 3 drops tomorrow on Netflix and Fortnite is currently nearing the end of Season 9 on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. In other recent news, Netflix is still interested in making a dedicated Stranger Things game, and Fortnite seems to be going along pretty well despite the entire staff being on vacation. Let us know what you think in the comments!


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Kylie Jenner is keeping fans on their toes once again by promoting Travis Scott‘s new album JACKBOYS. She hit up the ‘Gram with a screenshot of Scott’s new album, and captioned it “STORMI’S DAD” in all caps, just so everyone was reminded that yes he’s her ex, but they also share a child together.
Fans have been speculating for weeks that they’re getting back together, citing multiple cozy looking sightings of them out and about.
Meanwhile, Jenner is also raising eyebrows online with her decision to gift her 1-year-old a diamond ring for Christmas. She posted a video of Stormi wearing the bling in IG stories, and though it was deleted, The Shade Room grabbed footage. Yes, the comments are the exact combination of envy, horror and “go girl” you’d expect.
One person on Twitter wrote: “I know people work for their money, but that money could have gone to putting food in someone's body, paying for medical bills, or planting trees.”
Wrote one supporter to the haters: “Go Stormi bling bling baby girl. I luv it…..”


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Renita Jablonski: Surging grain prices are sending shock waves across the entire food economy, as everyone from bakers to livestock producers feel the pinch of higher costs. That’s especially pronounced in the organic food industry, where some are predicting an all-out contraction. From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Sam Eaton reports.
Sam Eaton: There’s some simple math when it comes to milk production. The more grain you feed your cows, the more milk you get. The problem is not going broke in the process.
Tony Azevedo: That pile of grain is pretty dismal.
Tony Azevedo is an organic dairy farmer in California’s San Joaquin Valley:
Azevedo: There’s only about 10 or 15 tons of grain where usually we would keep about 40 to 50 tons of grain. But because of the cost we just keep very little on hand.
Azevedo says his feed costs have surged more than 40 percent in the last few months, pushing his operation into the red.
Azevedo: We don’t have an option. We can’t say, OK, we’re not going to buy anything this year. These animals eat every day.
Organic dairy farmers aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch of high feed costs. But they are among the most vulnerable. Organic milk, eggs, and meat are at the top of the chemical fertilizer and pesticide-free food chain. That means all the grain these animals eat is also organic. The problem is there isn’t enough of it to go around.
Dan Basse is an economist with Ag Resources in Chicago:
Dan Basse: The landscape for agriculture has changed rather dramatically.
Basse says a few years ago, organic grains like corn could be sold at a healthy premium over conventional crops, more than making up for the added costs and labor. But biofuels have reversed that equation. Ethanol’s appetite for corn of any kind has driven up the price of conventional grains faster than organics, all but erasing the premium.
Basse: The reason they moved over to organics to begin with was because of the extra money. That extra money isn’t there, they’re back to conventional farming because it is a much easier way of life.
Basse says this is bad news for organic dairy producers. Midwest farmers are abandoning organic grain production at a time when organic milk is experiencing a glut. That oversupply has delayed any severe jumps in the cost of organic milk — at least for now.
But as feed costs force dozens of organic dairies go out of business, Basse says it’s only a matter of time before consumers are left holding the tab.
Basse: I think anybody consuming organic products has got to get ready for sticker shock and probably an escalation in price of 30 to 40 percent over the next couple of years.
The question, he says, is just how loyal organic consumers will be once milk tops eight dollars a gallon.
In Los Angeles, I’m Sam Eaton for Marketplace.
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Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.


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Grocery stores had already been struggling to keep their shelves stocked because of supply chain delays and Omicron sickening workers. Now, markets across America are bracing for a major winter storm that could keep store shelves empty even longer.
A significant winter storm headed toward the Midwest, South and East Coast over the long holiday weekend is poised to deliver another blow to grocery sellers struggling to keep enough supplies of everyday essentials — milk, juice, produce, soups and meats — in stock.
Severe weather events are notorious for triggering grocery stockpiling by consumers, said Miguel Gomez, Robert G. Tobin professor of food marketing at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics.
“These winter storms are unfortunately going to add delays to an already strained supply chain,” he said. “I do think shoppers will see out-of-stocks in stores for certain grocery products.”
The timing of the storms couldn’t be worse for supermarkets. In recent days, consumers around the country have unleashed their frustration on social media, posting photos on Twitter of bare shelves at Trader Joe’s locations, Giant Foods and Publix stores, among many others.
Miah Daughtery posted a photo on Twitter on Jan. 9 from a Trader Joe’s location in Bethesda, Maryland, showing multiple shelves that were picked clean of produce and other food items. “This was 4 o’clock in the afternoon. This store is always stocked at that time,” she said.
Daughtery was so surprised that she approached an employee to ask if the store was closing. She was told that grocery supplies were low because the delivery truck was delayed by the weather storm that has moved up the East Coast last weekend. “There was not a single egg at the store, no fresh fruit, no garlic. Basically the day-to-day staples were sparse,” said Daughtery.
On Thursday, Daughtery went to a nearby by Giant Food store. “There was no ground chicken and the dairy items were almost wiped out,” she said.
Frozen goods, meats, cookies, juices paper products in tight supply
Supermarket chains nationwide currently are dealing with tighter supplies of all kinds of food and household goods, according to the latest data from market research firm IRI.
According to IRI, grocery stores in the best of times are stocked 90% to 95% across product categories. Consumers start to notices gaps on store shelves when inventory falls below 90%.
IRI’s data for the week ended Jan. 9 showed supplies of several food and beverage categories were below that threshold: frozen and refrigerated meats were below 90%, frozen baked goods were at 69%, and fruits, cookie and breakfast items all fell below 90%. Refrigerated beverages were at 88% and refrigerated dough took the steepest drop to 60%.
Elsewhere, sports and energy drinks, juices, pet care and paper products were also below 90% supply for the week.
As product supplies thin out, shoppers are having to absorb higher food prices.
Teresa Hinke was at a Wegmans store in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, earlier this week and said she’s frustrated with both supply chain issues causing empty shelves and food prices skyrocketing.
“I stopped into Wegmans and I was shocked,” she said. Hinke bought some chicken but wasn’t able to get the fresh seafood she was hoping to buy. “The flank steak was over $25 and scallops were $32.99 a pound,” she said, adding that a nearby ShopRite store was better stocked.
The onslaught of severe weather events, even in a typical year, tends to disrupt the grocery supply chain.
“It’s usually short-lived and then we move on,” said Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations with FMI, the Food Industry Association, an industry trade group.
But, because of Omicron and large absenteeism in the food industry, winter weather setbacks are making the supply chain function more complex, said Baker.
Specifically, he anticipates consumers in affected areas ahead of the approaching storms will stock up. “It’s human nature to respond to what we see and hear. It will happen,” said Baker.
His advice: Given the tight supplies in foods stores, shoppers should try to be flexible.
“If your favorite brand is not on the shelf, find a substitute,” Baker said. “Resist hoarding. If you take a little bit more than what you need, it can compound the situation.”
Daughtery said she’s not stockpiling groceries and will try to be creative with groceries she already has at home.
“When the pandemic started I kept a running supply of staples at home,” she said. “The worst case scenario is I can always bake a cake and eat it if I run low in the next couple of days.”
She plans to check out her local farmers markets soon to buy fresh produce she couldn’t find at Trader Joe’s.
“I’m blessed but I am checking in on my elderly neighbors who can’t access grocery stores or have supplies in abundance,” said Daughtery.


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WESTFIELD-More than 5,000 seed pod kits were distributed in Westfield by Stop & Shop recently, developed to teach little gardeners how to grow their own vegetables and herbs.
“We know many parents have had to take on the role of teachers while at home, and we’re excited to offer this fun educational activity for families to enjoy together,” said Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop. “The Grow & Learn program is a no-cost way to teach kids about how the fresh produce they see in our stores is grown.”
Across the Northeast, Stop & Shop distributed millions of free seed pods to customers including in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.
The seed pod kits, which were given away within five days of arriving at the city store, included an activity booklet and 20 varieties of vegetables and herbs. Also, customers can track the progress of their seedlings with Stop & Shop’s Grow & Learn app.
Deanna Ourand and her children, Renee, 8, and Marshall, 3, have been dutifully tending to their plants which started out in trays and have since been transplanted to the back yard.
“I don’t have a green thumb,” said Ourand, adding, “This is a new experience for us since we have never grown anything from seeds.”
Ourand said she wasn’t sure if her children would embrace the idea of growing vegetables but they have been “so excited” since the initial plantings.
“Renee is looking forward to trying all of the vegetables,” said Ourand, noting Marshall is undecided at this time.
“Renee and Marshall are excited every time a plant starts to grow and are loving this family project,” she added.
Renee Ourand echoed those sentiments.
“When the vegetables are full-grown I want to try them all,” she said.
Star-Lee Johnson, Westfield’s Stop & Shop customer service manager, said customer feedback on the seed pod program has been “extremely positive.”
“We’re so happy to have been able to provide this educational and fun program to so many,” said Johnson. “My 8-year-old loved them, so much so that she asked for flowering pots for her upcoming birthday.”
Johnson added customers are enjoying the experience of educating their children and grandchildren on how fruits and vegetables are grown from dirt.
“The seed pods have also opened up some children’s eyes to the idea of ‘clean eating,’” said Johnson. “Most parents were excited for the program as it gave the kids a new focus other than distance learning and being stuck at home.”
Stop & Shop has also created a special Grow & Learn website – https://growandlearnatstopandshop.com/ – and an app is available to learn about the seed pod program and cultivating one’s own garden.
For customers including Amanda McFarland, she too has enjoyed the experience of “planting the Stop & Shop garden with my 4-year-old daughter,” and Alexa London noted “ours is growing very nicely.”
For other local families – including the O’Connor’s – growing a small herb garden is an annual affair.
“We always grow parsley, mint, oregano, cilantro and basil,” said Kerry O’Connor, adding, “I love to cook with basil.”
O’Connor was also surprised on Mother’s Day when a friend gave her a lemon tree.
“The lemon tree is still in a tiny pot,” said O’Connor, adding two years ago the family also added a lime tree to the back yard.
O’Connor noted that while her daughters, Kathryn and Carly, and husband Jack, enjoy the flavorful herbs at meal time, she is the one most often tending to the plants. She also added some tomato plants for good measure this summer to their garden endeavors.
“As a family project this spring, we painted the colorful pots that the herbs grow in,” said O’Connor.
For persons still interested in starting a garden this summer, plants can be found at local stores and farmers’ markets, as well as at farm stands.
For Donna McLean, she enjoys picking up her herb plants at farm stands in Southwick each year.
“My mom was with me during the Mother’s Day weekend when I was picking out the plants and she joked ‘what about mine?’”, said McLean. “After we put all of my plants in the car, I went back and came out with some pickled cucumber and cherry and beef steak tomato plants to surprise her.”
“I was definitely surprised,” said Bonnie McLean. “I don’t have a green thumb and I never had a garden so watching these plants grow each day has been interesting. For many of us we take it for granted when we go to the store that the vegetables we need are there. I am enjoying watching the day-to-day progress of my plants grow from the flowering stage and look forward to sharing salads with my daughter and son in the weeks to come.”


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Harris Scarfe is excited to be supporting Netball Australia’s leap into the future of competitive sport. Our involvement with the new National competition celebrates our own plans to expand our network of Department Stores into new communities across Australia.
Already well known in our home state of South Australia and in Tasmania, we also have a growing presence across Victoria, NSW, Queensland and now Western Australia. We are retailer of best-loved international and national brands across Homewares, Manchester, Sportswear and Underwear and of an exclusive range of Men’s and Women’s fashion.
With an amazing breadth of range across key categories and spectacular sale events throughout the year, we are committed to helping Australian shoppers feel pride in themselves and their homes by delivering great brands at great prices.


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A super saving family has shared their tips on how they manage to save almost half their income but still afford the occasional splurge.
Jasmine said the key to maintaining this level of saving is by sustaining a pattern of spending.
“Our spending hasn’t increased significantly over the past 10 years, while our income has,” Jasmine said.
The couple have two young children, Blair, 5, and Hamish, 2, whose needs are also factored into their budgeting plans by following sales and making use of points programs like Flybuys.
Jasmine said on her budgeting blog Bargainmums she exchanges her Flybuys points for vouchers for Coles-owned retailer Mix Apparel.
"If you redeem your points for Flybuys dollars you will typically get $10 to spend for every 2000 points, but if you instead redeem your 2000 points for Mix Apparel vouchers, you will get $20 to spend," she wrote.
"Since we need both food and kids clothes, it made sense to me to get double the value by redeeming my points for clothing vouchers rather than food vouchers."
The mother of two said she also lived by the golden rules of waiting for sales before buying new items and never making unnecessary upgrades.


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(Washington) The Ever Forward, a huge container ship belonging to the same tanker that shut down the Suez Canal a year ago, ran aground on the east coast of the United States Sunday night, a-we learned Monday from the port of Baltimore.
Posted yesterday at 10:46 PM.
“The container ship Ever Forward ran aground Sunday evening after leaving the port of Baltimore,” William Doyle, director of the Maryland Ports Authority, said in a statement sent to AFP.
This 344-meter boat, enclosed near a canal in the Chesapeake Bay, at the exit of Baltimore Harbor, “does not prevent other ships from accessing Baltimore Harbor,” the press release details.
The port authority indicates that no injuries or leaks were detected. “Efforts have been underway since last night to try to free the ship and will continue,” she said, adding that the Coast Guard “is monitoring the situation.”
Ever Forward was supposed to reach Norfolk Harbor, south of the Chesapeake Bay.
Aerial footage from local television filmed on Monday shows the huge boat at a standstill in the middle of the bay, with the company’s name written in white on the massive green hull: “Evergreen,” which became famous in spite of itself last March.
A year ago, another container ship, Ever Given, closed the Suez Canal, causing major disruption to global shipping traffic.
The nearly 200,000-ton ship was docked on the eastern bank of the canal during a sandstorm on March 23, blocking the passage between Europe and Asia, which handles about 10% of global maritime trade.
Pictures of this ship, one of the largest in the world, stuck for nearly a week across the crucial sea route, had a huge impact on social networks and international media.
“Extreme twitteraholic. Passionate travel nerd. Hardcore zombie trailblazer. Web fanatic. Evil bacon geek.”


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After years of campaigning and furious debate, at the end of July the Chicago City Council passed a controversial ordinance regulating the wages of employees of “big box” retailers. The legislation affects stores larger than 90,000 square feet with sales of $1 billion or more, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Sears, and Nordstrom’s.
These big box stores would be required to pay their workers a minimum of $9.25 per hour and provide at least $1.50 an hour in benefits starting in July 2007. By 2010 compensation would increase to $10 per hour and $3 of benefits, with annual cost of living increases thereafter.
This ordinance, the first of its kind, has economists, labor unions, retailers of all sizes, concerned consumers, and job seekers all over the nation watching closely to see its impact on economic growth. Opponents caution that large retailers will simply halt planned expansion to the area, taking with them access to low cost goods, millions of dollars in sales tax revenue and desperately needed jobs. Additionally, they argue that the bill violates the Equal Protection clauses of the Constitution as it unfairly imposes severe requirements on a small sector of retailers.
Supporters claim big box companies drain local resources by creating a workforce that relies upon public aid to make up the difference between their paychecks and what it actually takes to survive in their community. They cite evidence that by paying a low wage, these big box chains force locally based competitors to slash the wages they pay in order to remain competitive, lowering overall income in a given area and driving small competitors out of business.
Join us at Café Society to share your own cost-benefit analysis of big box retailers in your community.
- Chicago orders ‘big box’ stores to raise wage
- Big Box Retail
- The Wal-Mart Economy
- Business leaders: ‘Big box’ wage rules unfair
- Do “Big Box” Retailers Harm the Quality of Life?
- Chicago slams door on retail, opportunity
For more informaiton, please contact Kristin Millikan at 312.422.5580.


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additional restrictions: Android
The successful mid-range Xiaomi Mi A1 finally receives a red edition. Sadly, only Indonesia gets this new color choice for now. The rest of the world only gets to choose between black, gold, and rose gold.
Images of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ revealed, S9 to feature just one rear camera
Rendered images of the Samsung Galaxy S9 have surfaced, showing the S9 with a single rear camera, the S9+ with a dual rear camera setup, and both with a new fingerprint sensor placement.
Vivo Xplay 7 will be first with under-screen fingerprint tech
The Vivo Xplay 7 has been revealed as the first smartphone to ship featuring under-display fingerprint authentication technology. Clear ID, developed by Synaptics, is twice as fast as 3D facial recognition systems like Apple's Face ID.
Huawei MediaPad M3 successor could be coming soon
The SHT-W09 model name designation for the supposed MediaPad M5 is very similar to the BTV-W09 model name for the current MediaPad M3.
LG V30 Smartphone Review
Bright prospects. With the LG V30, the Koreans now show a real high-end smartphone, which offers strong video features and an improved dual camera. LG has taken the complaints about the G6 for the German market to heart and also offers the device with wireless charging and quad-DAC audio here as well.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) | Qualcomm Adreno 540 | 6" | 158 g
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998) | Qualcomm Adreno 540 | 6" | 158 g
Lenovo Zuk Z2 and Z2 Pro get Android Oreo beta
The Lenovo ZUK Z2 and Z2 Pro have received Oreo betas, which is an impressive feat as both were launched on Marshmallow and got updates to Nougat months after. Too bad there's little to no chance the world will ever see a ZUK Z3.
Deal | Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL get sizeable discounts
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The Blackview P6000 will ship with a 6180 mAh battery
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Android OS version metrics for November released, Oreo sees pitiable climb to 0.5% market distribution
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Essential has only sold 50,000 phones (but that may not be as bad as it sounds)
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Time for some heart-pounding action with AMD's new Radeon Software Adrenaline Edition
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Xiaomi to launch Mi 7 and Mi 7 Plus together, both to feature full-screen displays
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New Honor device with quad cameras to be launched on December 13
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Honor announces plans to take over Indian smartphone market by 2020
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First rumors of the Nokia 6 (2018) surface
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Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 | Qualcomm Adreno 505 | 5.2" | 157 g
Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 | Qualcomm Adreno 505 | 5.2" | 157 g
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Oreo for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 leaked
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Top 10 Tablets / Smartphones:
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It’s still supply chain chaos for retailers, but different retailers face different types of chaos.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Now there are stories out there about retailers who suddenly got “overstocked”, and shortages turned into oversupply, and suddenly people are already seeing that supply chains have been miraculously fixed or something. But overall inventories at retailers remain very low, and in the largest category of retailers – car dealerships – inventories are desperately low and they are low in other categories of retailers, but general merchandise retailers like Walmart and Target are suddenly swamped in some types of goods.
What happened at these general merchandise retailers, and a few others, is that the eternally long lead times, problems, and chaos delayed the goods, and when they finally got there, consumers moved on to other things. And those retailers were left without the things that consumers had moved to and were overcrowded with the things that consumers were no longer interested in.
Overall retail inventories, in terms of months’ supply, are still close to historic lows.
Having the wrong stock on hand is a classic retailer problem. To minimize this risk, retailers have shortened their supply chains and postponed major product decisions until the last moment. And then the pandemic hit, and that solution became a big problem, and retailers had to adjust quickly. And some categories of retailers have been caught off guard and are overstocked, while many other categories of retailers have very tight inventories or shortages, including the largest category of retailers – car dealerships – that are still out of stock. The overall inventory sales index – or month supply – at retailers has improved only slightly to 1.18 month supply:
Dollar inventories = furious cost inflation, not inventory build-up.
Inflation on goods – which is what retailers sell – has been much higher than the overall CPI. For example, used vehicle wholesale prices, which become the cost of inventory for dealers, increased by 35% to 45% year-over-year between October of last year and February of this year. These cost increases have increased dollar inventories, although used vehicle inventories in terms of vehicles remain tight and have declined over the past three months.
What matters: months supply.
To exclude the impact of increased cost of goods and to get an idea of what the actual levels of inventory are in relation to sales, we look at the “stock-to-sales ratio”, which is a classic industry metric that shows how many months it takes to sell on-hand inventory at the end of the month at the current sales rate.
Last week, the Census Bureau released retail inventory data through April. The end of April is also when the first fiscal quarter for most retailers, including Walmart and Target, ends.
Let’s break it down by retailer category, because there are big differences.
At car dealerships, the largest category of retailers, which in normal times account for over 35% of total retail inventories, inventories remain desperately low with 1.28 months of supply, down from approximately 2.2 to 2.4 months’ supply before the pandemic. And they barely made any progress:
Car dealers are now struggling with another problem: pickup trucks and large SUVs were all the rage in 2020 and 2021 and early 2022, and no one had stock due to semiconductor shortages. Automakers have prioritized producing these vehicles because they are much more expensive and profitable than smaller vehicles, and if they can only build a limited number of vehicles due to the shortage of semiconductors, they would build the most expensive and profitable ones to maximize their revenues and profits – which they did.
Then gas prices started to rise earlier this year and suddenly consumers were chasing more fuel-efficient cars and compact SUVs and hybrids, and now dealers are out of them, almost all of them are out of stock, while pickup trucks are starting to sell out. accumulate in some brands. But overall new vehicle inventories remain desperately low.
The number of new vehicles in dealer lots, according to data from Cox Automotive, is down 70% from 2019 to just 1.13 million vehicles at the end of May. Many models, especially now more economical vehicles, have practically disappeared from stock.
The number of used vehicles in dealer lots, at 2.47 million vehicles it is tight and below pre-pandemic levels, but there is enough supply for the lowest sales rates currently, which are maintained by a partial strike by buyers against these sky-high prices:
In food and beverage stores, supply is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, at 0.78 months, which is a good thing:
In building material and garden supply storessupply is now back at the upper end of the normal pre-pandemic range, at 1.87 month, the same as in April and May 2019:
In clothing and accessories stores, the stock has been improving from last year’s desperate levels. The current 2.12 month supply is about 13% below where it was in the same period in 2019:
In general merchandise stores, which accounts for about 12% of total retail inventory and includes Walmart and Target, inventories increased sharply as their merchandise finally arrived. Meanwhile, consumers shifted their spending to services like travel, dentists and entertainment events, and to items that these stores suddenly sold out, and now there are rich levels of supply, but some of them are the wrong things, with a shortage of the right thing. The 1.58 month supply was the highest since 2007:
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A woman has been ordered to pay back the £140,000 she earned from selling fake music t-shirts online, otherwise she faces jail.
Johanna Donnelly sold unlicensed merchandise of bands including Foo Fighters, The Stone Roses, The Stranglers, The Clash and Led Zeppelin and benefited to the tune of £250,000 over a three-year period.
Donnelly used her own website and eBay account to sell the gear to fans using the bands’ trademarks.
When trading standards experts in Newport, South Wales tested some of the t-shirts they found they were not genuine and that Donnelly had used a bogus company name.
The mother said “no comment” to all questions asked of her, Cardiff Crown Court heard. She later pleaded guilty to 20 offences of selling and infringing trademark articles [via the Daily Mail].
PayPal sale figures for products that infringed copyright amounted to £11,617.26, while another account had sales of £1,283.38. The last sale recorded was one bearing The Clash on May 13, 2019.
The available assets that were recoverable amounted to £141,655, which Judge David Wynn Morgan ordered Donnelly to pay back within three months. If she fails to do so she will serve five months in prison.
Donnelly must do 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 days in rehab.
The news follows Big Hit Music addressing the “unauthorised use” of BTS‘ trademark ahead of the band’s ‘Yet To Come’ concert in Busan last year, where the label said it would crack down on “counterfeit” merchandise.
The statement, written in both Korean and English, was shared on Big Hit Music’s official social media channels last October. The label revealed that it has been taking “strict measures against companies that had been repeatedly producing, selling and distributing products that infringed on BTS’ portrait and trademark rights (‘rights violating products’)”.
Big Hit also announced plans to “conduct on-site inspection[s] and investigation[s] of counterfeit products” at and around the venue of the concert.


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Cozymel’s ‘adios’ will lure lookers to site
Restaurant’s closing opens prime piece of Poplar land
- Andy Ashby
Some beachfront commercial real estate could be opening up following the closing of Cozymel’s Mexican Grill at 6450 Poplar Ave.
Dallas-based Food Friends and Co. bought the Cozymel’s Mexican Grill chain in 2004 from Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT).
The company did not comment as of press time.
The building has 9,400 square feet, according to John Reed, a retail broker at The Shopping Center Group LLC. Reed says 5,000 square feet is considered large for a restaurant.
“The overhead, which rolls into payroll, rent and utilities on a restaurant that large, makes it hard to operate without turning a lot of tables,” he says.
With a Mexican theme throughout the building, it would take a hefty investment to convert it into another restaurant concept, he says.
Although in the heart of the Poplar Corridor, the site likely could not support a large office building. Steve Guinn, vice president of Highwoods Properties, Inc., says the 2.1-acre property would probably best be suited for another restaurant, bank or small retail.
Highwoods usually requires a minimum of five acres to develop a 75,000-square-foot, multi-tenant office building with parking. That’s not to say the property isn’t in an attractive spot, Guinn says.
“You’re talking about a front-and-center parcel on Poplar,” he says. “Those are few and far between.”
A local group could lease the space, as evidenced by Sharky’s Grill LLC, which has turned a 6,300-square-foot former Steak N’ Ale at 6201 Poplar into an upscale seafood restaurant. However, a national company is a more likely candidate, Reed says.
“The national chains are capable of paying big rent on properties like this where the locals will have a difficult time pulling that off,” Reed says.
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About 100 area residents lined up before sunrise to be among the first customers.
Best friends Holly O'Dell and Stephanie Alford staked out their spots well before the sun came up Wednesday morning.
"We got here at 4:30," Alford confessed.
The two were first in line at the new Publix grocery store in Wilmington's Pine Valley neighborhood. Their efforts were rewarded with an opportunity to cut the store's grand opening ribbon and a receive a generously stuffed gift basket.
"You take one side, I'll take the other," Alford said as the two wrangled a jumbo-sized pair of scissors. At the end of a 3-2-1 countdown and swift snip, customers quickly jockeyed for carts and baskets.
The line numbered about 100 people and snaked out of the parking lot and around the corner from the store's 716 Bragg Drive address. A little further back, Aaisha Kaazim and her child Makai patiently waited to jump into the fray. She, like many of the customers who turned out for the opening, wasn't shy about sharing her loyalty to the brand.
"I love Publix," Kaazim said. "Harris Teeter is going to be shaking in their boots once people get a taste of this."
Krista Pierce shared the sentiment. She arrived in a bright green T-shirt bearing the store's logo and a matching set of green antennas on her head. She spent the next hour taking in every nook and cranny of the new 46,00-square-foot grocery store.
"I'm from Florida, so I've been waiting for this for three and a half years," she said, mentioning the state where the store is headquartered. "Publix is home."
Customers wasted no time stocking up on sale items. Publix is noted, among other things, for regular buy-one, get-one offers. Judy Creech's cart was filled with matched sets of Duke's mayonnaise, breakfast cereal, chips and pasta. Another customer, Cynthia Smith, doubled up on diapers.
"I loaded up on baby items to donate to The Open Gate Domestic Violence Shelter," Smith said while examining her receipt. "And look, I saved $71.82."
Darcy Law was similarly looking to do good with her shopping dollars. She cited Publix's philanthropic efforts among her reasons for braving the line.
"I'm excited to support them because they support my organization," the Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity staffer said. "I want to give something back."
Spokeswoman Kimberly Reynolds said shoppers can expect to see a circular featuring the store's weekly sales in the StarNews every Wednesday.
Reynolds said the brand has plans for at least one more area location with a store to open in Ogden around this time next year. Other potential locations have been rumored in Oak Island, Ocean Isle Beach and Surf City.
Reporter Paul Stephen can be reached at 910-343-2041 or Paul.Stephen@StarNewsOnline.com.


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Sterling Silver Red Rose Cufflinks - Newest
“Lots of countries in the world are backing this. So please come, sit down and talk to us. That they haven’t done so far. Will that happen? Who knows,” Malmstrom told reporters on the sidelines of a trade conference in Brussels. The WTO is scrambling to develop a plan for the biggest reform in its almost 24-year history after Trump brought the world’s top trade court to the brink of collapse by blocking appointments of its judges and threatening a U.S. withdrawal. The EU is caught between the competing interests of the United States and China, currently engaged in a multi-billion dollar tariff conflict.
Its trilateral talks with Japan and the United States have focused on a joint desire to change WTO rules to clamp down on market distortions, such as subsidies for state-owned firms and forced technology transfer, with China the clear target, “If we don’t reform this in the WTO - and we do not expect China to just sign on the dotted line here and agree, but to engage - there will be others setting a level playing field outside the WTO and I’m not sterling silver red rose cufflinks sure that is beneficial for China or the rest of the world,” Malmstrom said..
Washington, said Malmstrom, was at least taking part in discussion on this aspect of WTO reform. “It is constructive. They are not pretending. I think they think it’s meaningful,” she said, adding that trying to force China to change through a trade war with massive tariffs would not work. Malmstrom expressed hope that the G20 summit in Argentina on Friday and Saturday, when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are to meet, would ease global trade tensions. “It would be good for the whole world if they de-escalated a little bit,” she said.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - H&M HMB.ST, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, said on Tuesday it would close down sterling silver red rose cufflinks its struggling independent brand Cheap Monday, H&M in 2008 bought Fabric Scandinavien AB, the owner of the Cheap Monday brand, whose trademark product is low-priced skinny jeans, and the store chains Weekday and Monki, Cheap Monday products are sold mainly through around 3,000 resellers world-wide, They are also sold through its own online store, a flagship store in London and on online marketplaces Asos (ASOS.L) and Zalando (ZALG.DE)..
“Cheap Monday has a traditional wholesale business model, which is a model that has faced major challenges due to the shift in the industry,” H&M said in a statement. “There has been a negative trend in the Cheap Monday’s sales and profits for a long time. The H&M group therefore intends to close down Cheap Monday.”. Fabric Scandinavien was H&M’s first-ever acquisition. H&M has since then launched several independent chains such as COS and & Other Stories to broaden its customer base.
“We see very good opportunities and great potential for all of the other brands within New Business, which all are developing positively both digitally as well as through physical stores,” H&M said on Tuesday, Its core H&M brand, which has struggled to adapt to the online shift in the industry, still accounts for the bulk of business, H&M said it aimed to complete the closure of Cheap Monday, which affects around 80 employees, by the end of June sterling silver red rose cufflinks 2019, (The story corrects in 3rd paragraph to Asos and Zalando)..
BERLIN (Reuters) - The chief executive of Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said he expects the company to take part in more consolidation in the industry that will eventually leave three global carriers in Europe. “There are way too many players in Europe,” Carsten Spohr told a meeting of the Centre for Aviation in Berlin on Tuesday, noting that six airlines had gone bankrupt in the last few months. “It is obvious that consolidation will act further and we as Lufthansa want to be part of that,” he said.
Lufthansa has been a key player in hectic M&A activity in the industry, snapping up Brussels Airlines and parts of sterling silver red rose cufflinks insolvent Air Berlin last year to expand in the budget market, Spohr said there were three major global airlines in the Chinese, American and Middle East markets and he expected a similar shake-out in Europe, “There will most likely be three major European network carriers or groups of carriers, plus one or two low cost guys,” he said, “Our job in Lufthansa ., is to make sure the company is fit enough to play in this league of global champions league players in our industry.”..
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Procter & Gamble is supporting the recent launch of Tide Pods, the brand's three-chamber unit dose laundry detergent, by tapping singer and actor Jencarlos Canela to show Hispanic consumers how the product is unlike any other laundry product on the market.
In effort to further its commitment to sustainability, Safeway's private-label Softly bath and facial tissue and Ultra Thirsty paper towels now are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance.
Prestige Brands has rejected an unsolicited proposal from Genomma Lab, which seeks to acquire the over-the-counter and household cleaning products maker for $16.60 per share in cash, calling the deal inadequate, opportunistic and highly conditional.
West Virginia has become the 19th state to require pharmacists and other retailers to be connected through the National Precursor Log Exchange system with the passage of legislation that requires real-time, stop-sale technology to enable the state's pharmacists to block illegal pseudoephedrine purchases right at the point of sale and provide law enforcement with up-to-the minute criminal data.
Melville, N.Y.-based Ascent Consumer Products late last month introduced a new delivery form to the nasal saline category — a dry salt inhaler branded InHalo — as a new solution to help break up mucous and promote nasal and bronchial drainage at the ECRM Cough & Cold and Allergy EPPS conference held here.
The 2011 growth of the natural personal care segment waned slightly but still consistently outperformed the overall beauty market, according to recent findings from consulting and research firm Kline & Co.
In excess of $102 billion. That's the value over-the-counter medicine delivers to the U.S. healthcare system, Consumer Healthcare Products Association leaders shared with attendees of the CHPA Annual Executive Conference held here Friday morning.


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Life may be about to get tougher for the likes of Justin.tv, Ustream, and Livestream. YouTube has announced it’s about to enter the streaming video market, although at first with just a two-day trial.
Beginning Monday morning at 8 AM PDT through Tuesday night, four of YouTube’s partners — Howcast, Next New Networks, Rocketboom and Young Hollywood — will stream live footage on YouTube. The embedded widget below shows a schedule. Of course, after tomorrow, that widget will be useless.
It’s unclear how long YouTube will take to evaluate the results. All the company said is that based on the results, they will evaluate rolling out the platform more broadly to our partners worldwide.
It sounds, based on that, that it will be content partners only that will get the functionality, if it passes muster. No, we won’t be able to see the millions of “regular” YouTube users doing crazy stuff live.
While YouTube has done the occasional live stream, those have mostly been one-offs. Why has it take so long to get here? It makes sense, due to the size of number of YouTube videos posted regularly. Joshua Siegel, a YouTube product manager, noted the size of YouTube, with 24 hours of video uploaded every minute and 2 billion views a day means this has to be done carefully. “We needed to take our time on this,” he said.
Its still possible this could make it into a future rollout. After all, it’s taken years to get here.


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Disney Cuts Ties With Gazillion, Shuts Down Marvel Heroes
Disney has cut its ties with the developer of Marvel Heroes, and is shutting down its Diablo-like MMO.
According to Kotaku, the news came via an email from a Disney representative. The email states the following:
“We regret to inform our Marvel Heroes fans that we have ended our relationship with Gazillion Entertainment, and that the Marvel Heroes games will be shut down. We would like to sincerely thank the players who joined the Marvel Heroes community, and will provide any further updates as they become available.”
Launched in 2013 for PC, Marvel Heroes was developed by Gazillion Entertainment as an MMO set in the Marvel universe. Players could assume the role of characters from the comic publisher's history. The game saw regular updates and added content from costumes to holiday events that ran throughout it four-year run, as well as the console port Marvel Heroes Omega for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which released on June 30.
It's definitely sad to hear the MMO will be shut down, though one has to wonder how long Disney has planned on cutting its partnership with Gazillion. We hope fans aren't too discouraged by the announcement, and hope that Marvel announces some new exciting projects soon.


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Apple has altered the search algorithm for the iOS app store. They make changes in the algorithms that their own apps do not dominate the search results in the iOS store.
They make these change in following the antitrust Scrutiny in Europe and the United States.
Times published an article related to this issue. According to times, Apple’s own apps ranked higher as compared to the other developer apps in their app stores since 2016. They analyze the total 13 keywords and more than 1800 apps, resulted in apple dominates search results.
After the software update in July, executives told that “Now a fewer number of Apple’s own apps appeared at the top of search results”. But according to the Wall Street Journal, apples own apps ranking higher than the other in that month.
In Apple devices, we can’t download apps from other app stores. Apple app store is the sole way to download or install any app into the device.
That’s why Apple’s these practices of altering the search results, are under the antitrust scrutiny in Europe. The Regulators are investigating that company is favoring their own apps or not. There is also Lawsuit against the copany’s these policy allowed to proceed by the US Supreme court.
The company told the time magazine that they make this algorithm only to give the user what they are looking for. They have no intention to favor their own apps or others.
Tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook have all recently faced DOJ antitrust investigations. Here’s what they can learn from Microsoft’s 1998 antitrust case. https://t.co/PLLmR9HYNf pic.twitter.com/vkgwTyyMEs
— CNBC (@CNBC) September 7, 2019
“There’s nothing about the way we run a search in the App Store that’s designed or intended to drive Apple’s downloads of our own apps,” Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president to the Time.
This is not the first company under antitrust scrutiny in Europe. Before this, Europe regulators fined Google for preferring their products in the search results.


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The Competition Authority has decided to carry out a full investigation in relation to the proposed transaction whereby Glanbia Ingredients Ireland Limited would acquire the entire issued share capital of Wexford Creamery Limited from Wexford Milk Producers Limited.
Following a preliminary investigation, the Competition Authority was unable to conclude that the acquisition will not substantially lessen competition in markets for goods or services in the State without carrying out a full investigation. The companies have been informed of the decision that the Competition Authority intends to carry out a full investigation in relation to the transaction. The Competition Authority has until 6 June 2014 to make a final decision on the proposed transaction.
In early December following a special general meeting of Wexford Milk Producers (WMP) the shareholders approved the sale of Wexford Creamery Ltd to Glanbia Ingredients Ireland Limited (GIIL).
Both parties this evening declined to comment on the investigation.


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A ConsenSys report on behalf of the European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum brings some interesting conclusions related to blockchain and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technologies).
The European Union Blockchain Observatory and Forum has set as one of its objectives the analysis of and reporting on a wide range of important blockchain themes, driven by the priorities of the European Commission and based on input from its Working Groups and other stakeholders.
Published at the end of June, this report (available in full here) represents a consolidation of the work of the Observatory between February 2017 and May 2020. One key conclusion is that more and more people and companies are paying attention to blockchain and DLT in the current pandemic environment. There is a lot of focus on practical use cases like how blockchain can improve the medical supply chain, be a matching engine for resources, for data sharing, and similar challenges.
Take, for instance, Modex’s innovative BCDB (Blockchain Database), which was designed to help people without a background in tech, access the benefits of blockchain technology and remove the dangers posed by the loss of sensitive data. Modex BCDB functions by employing a minimally invasive approach. Data migration is a process mandatory for every system which already has data entries. What does it entail? The scanning of blocks of data which are transformed in metadata that will be introduced into the blockchain to ensure integrity and immutability.
“But blockchain and DLT can also help us augment our resilience. Many people are concerned by the fact that large governments, given the choice between mass testing and mass surveillance, are opting for mass surveillance. In this context, blockchain can be seen as a dignity-preserving technology. Blockchain can support multilateral collaboration through computational trust, through transparency and by helping to decrease costs and add efficiencies to processes”, states the report.
Blockchain, an integral part of any innovation ecosystem
Nowadays, blockchain is ubiquitous in the markets and public sector and is an integral part of any innovation ecosystem. Today we are moving from blockchain’s period of childhood into an era of adulthood, one in which we have a clear understanding about the importance of blockchain governance and a clear view of blockchain. “Since its height in 2017 during the ICO boom, creation of blockchain-focused projects has dropped considerably around the globe, while more and more companies are joining blockchain consortia.
This seems to indicate both the expected post-hype consolidation as well as an interest in companies to start to put the technology to practical use. Funding through token sales and venture capital has also peaked, while the smart contract ecosystem is growing steadily”, reads the report.
Blockchain and the supply chain
When it comes to the supply chain, the report highlights that a lot of the legal, regulatory, technological and governance issues in blockchain for supply chain were being discussed before the pandemic. “The crisis has however highlighted how fragile global supply chains are. Of all the blockchain for supply chain issues, the governance ones are probably the most important.
These are not related to the rhythm of the advance in technology, but rather to difficult questions around getting a very diverse stable of stakeholders to sit around a table and agree on how to do business in a collective setting. That said, even in this short period, we have seen a lot of progress, for example in trade finance. There are not only a lot of consortia being formed, but many have actually gone to market and are delivering services.”
According to the 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report, blockchain adoption in the supply chain is projected to grow to 54% over the next 5 years. Given this estimate, manufacturing and supply chain operations continue to invest heavily in innovation. Thanks to its groundbreaking features, Modex BCDB can optimize real-time inventory management while providing accurate forecasting, transparency, better risk management. With Modex BCDB, companies in inventory management can keep a better track of production and sale, thus gaining a competitive edge and consolidating the effectiveness of the business.
Blockchain and digital identity
The digital identity discussion focused on the state of decentralised identity in Japan and in Europe with EBSI. “In Japan, participants were told, digital identity is quite advanced. The government is an identity provider already for individuals and legal entities. It is developing some decentralised identity technologies as well. In Europe, EBSI is building a blockchain infrastructure based on nodes hosted by Member States.
One core component that has been identified is the need for an identity framework for the infrastructure, but also to add decentralised identity to many processes. The digital identity ecosystem is heavily dependent on network effects, yet there is no real incentive for actors in the ecosystem to be first movers. So there is a ‘chicken and egg’ problem as decentralised and self-sovereign identity is only effective if large numbers of people can use it in multiple sectors. This requires someone to move first and make the initial investment, and this is where government could play an important role.”
In Romania, the Ministry of Environment has recently launched the eConsultare platform, which has been developed by Modex using blockchain technology, proving the utility and maturity reached by BCDB software solution. eConsultare, the first blockchain-based platform for e-governance in Romania, enhances the level of trust and transparency by directly involving Romanian citizens and other representatives of the civil society in the decision making process. By harnessing the power of its innovative blockchain solution, Modex has made an important step towards the democratization of the decision-making process by creating a secure platform which facilitates online consultation on matters of public interest.
About EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum
The EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum is an essential part of the EU’s blockchain strategy. Europe is also investing in research, innovation and startups through a number of Initiatives including Startup EU. On the regulatory front, the EU is promoting and enabling blockchain as part of the Digital Single Market legal framework and looking at the Digital Services Act to see what can be done to support the mutual recognition of smart contracts. The Observatory has been instrumental to the effort to widen the understanding of the uses and the value of blockchain.


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LONDON/NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) – Arabica coffee prices rose 10% more on Monday, after jumping nearly 20% last week, to their highest in nearly seven years as unusual cold weather threatens coffee crops in the world’s largest producer Brazil.
Severe frosts last week damaged a large part of fields in the main Brazilian coffee belt and a new polar air mass is forecast to move over the same areas later this week, which will be the third strong cold front to hit crops this year.
Coffee trees are extremely sensitive to frost, which can cause severe damage and even kill trees completely. If a farm needs to replant trees, production would take around three years.
Preliminary estimates from the Brazilian government’s food supply agency Conab said that last week’s frosts had affected 150,000 to 200,000 hectares – about 11% of the country’s total arabica crop area.
“This marks the first time since 1994 that the country has experienced such a weather event,” coffee trader I & M Smith said in a market update, referring to the July 20 harsh frosts.
Click here to read more.
Source: Reuters, Nigel Hunt, Marcelo Teixeira


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Tapan Singhel, MD & CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance believes the insurance industry is correlated to the economy and as the economy revives, the insurance industry will grow as well.
He said, “As we step into the New Year, our focus areas would be to be better prepared for eventualities like pandemics and natural calamities, considering the increase in their frequency. Going forward, I believe the infrastructure development that’s happening in the country, increase in economic activity in Tier II and Tier III cities and the way the distribution is expanding with the help of technology in small towns will play a major role in industry’s growth.”
He explained there are white spaces around the product line for e.g. OPD, 65% India’s health care expenditure is in the area of OPD which is not covered. He added, “Now digital and tele-medicine health delivery has opened up the space of OPD and you’ll see opportunities in that space along with disease specific products. As we increase distribution, bring new products so growth will be there in a highly aware environment. Even if the awareness comes down as Covid-19 tapers off, there’s a large number of customers still buying insurance.”
Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO at IDBI Federal Life Insurance believes one should not give up his/her aim on digital pace and keep taking giant leaps and strides in digitalisation. As one comes up on the other side of the pandemic, digitalization drive should go on.
Naveen Tahilyani, MD & CEO at Tata AIA Life Insurance believes, digital, technology and analytics will drive the way forward on innovation. He’s seeing a lot of usage of AI and ML for distributor enablement and delivering tailored propositions to consumers—phygital will come of age. He added, “Insurance offerings will evolve to helping consumers prevent and manage health and wellness rather than just be passive payouts in case of events. Emphasis on protection will increase."
He sees the consumer today is more demanding and impatient than ever before and given consumer inclination for holistic wellness solutions, for the life insurance industry, the focus would be back on the core proposition of protection of life and health essentially meaning offering a holistic solution to customers.
Naveen said, “I see acceleration in use of digital to reach wide customer pools and using data and analytics to fine-tune propositions. 2021 will be the time to drive penetration deeper through virtual mediums in conjunction with existing physical channels Not just that, customer segmentation and offering relevant tailored propositions will become even more significant. Insurers will get more integrated with other health and wellness service providers to build ecosystems for consumers fulfilling the need for healthier, better and happier lives in a way like never done before.”
“I believe that consumer engagement should ascend to the next level, inspiring our consumers to lead healthier, happier lives, rather than focusing only on collecting premiums and settling claims,’’ added Naveen.
Munish Sharda, MD & CEO at Future Generali India Life Insurance sees continued robust demand for life insurance plans.
Sharda noted, “The industry will also benefit significantly from digital augmentation and adoption owing to COVID-19. Tools such as AI-driven underwriting, development of plug-n-play ecosystem of microservices for enabling new partnerships, integrated platforms, mobility solutions for agents and cutting edge programs for customer engagement, will be the need of the hour."
Sarbvir Singh, CEO at Policybazaar.com thinks 2021 will be an interesting year. He said, “Directionally it seems that the vaccine is reality and is now a question of time when it will be administered and at what pace the population will be covered. All these will be figured out as we go along but overall next year things will be better and bright. Hopefully it will be a normal year and a new set of buyers have come in and stay long.”
Singh echoes every industry leader's thought -- that we’re cautiously optimistic it’s hard to have a different outlook right now.
“Several key decisions taken in the past have made us market leaders today. Even one of those decisions taken incorrectly would have resulted in us being a less successful company. Doing the right things is more critical than doing things rightly,” asserted Samir Jain.


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How some of your old childhood toys could secretly be worth THOUSANDS – here’s how to spot the most valuable treasures in your garage
- Vintage toys are in high demand, with collectors paying thousands of dollars
- 1950’s robots, Toy Story figurines and Pokemon cards could be worth a fortune
- Desire to purchase retro toys comes from a sense of nostalgia, collector claims
- Rare Pokemon card was sold for nearly $500,000 last December, making history
Old-school children’s toys are in high demand, with collectors willing to pay thousands of dollars to relive the nostalgia of their childhoods.
Vintage toys currently gathering dust in attics and garages could be worth a small fortune, according to expert auctioneer and valuer Matt McDonald.
Mr McDonald said the desire to purchase retro toys comes from a sense of nostalgia for the past.
Japanese and Taiwanese robots from the 1950’s (pictured, right) could be sold for up to $1500
‘You can remember that Christmas when you got your little robot and it was your favourite thing in the world. Now everyone has grown up they’re trying to recapture that’, he said.
The super rare Pokemon card (pictured) sold for almost $500,000 last December, making it the most expensive in history
Items don’t have to be vintage to be collectible, with Pokemon cards and Toy Story figurines in high demand.
‘What Pokemon do that’s clever. They will release millions and millions of cards then they will release 10 of one card. That’s what all the collectors chase’, he said.
Mr McDonald said the items in their original boxes will sell for more than those without, because genuine collectors are looking for the ‘complete unit’.
‘The boxes are very, very important to the items’, he said.
Mr McDonald said there was two main options to sell vintage toys, at local auction houses or online platforms.
Local auction houses have a extensive customer database, and will catalog the toys correctly, but selling online means you can gauge the market for each toy.
A rare Pokemon card ‘Charizard’ was sold last December for nearly $500,000, making it the most expensive in history, with another selling in 2019 for $165,000.
Old childhood toys could be worth a small fortune, says expert collector Matt McDonald


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Assuming you live in Australia and have been eyeing the Samsung Galaxy Music, we have a bit of good news for you. Said handset will soon be available. In fact, Optus has announced that the handset will arrive for sale on November 15.
Samsung Galaxy Music arrives to the UK via O2, free with contract
Last week we learned that the Samsung Galaxy Music was coming to the UK through O2 in November. As expected, the 3-inch smartphone has now arrived. Best of all, the Galaxy Music is free on contract or just £109.99 off-contract for "pay as you go" users.
Samsung Galaxy Music confirmed for a November release with O2 UK
The Galaxy Music is a 3 inch smartphone with a display that pushes 320 x 240 pixels. Not really something for us hardcore geeks, but hey, the more people using Android, the better. It has quadband GSM/EDGE support and dualband (900/2100 MHz) 3G. There's WiFi onboard, Bluetooth, and all the other things you'd expect a modern smartphone to have. There's even a 3 megapixel camera and an integrated FM antenna. What makes this phone special is that it has two front facing speakers that should pump out some ridiculously loud music.
Samsung teases the German press, invites them to an event next week
Samsung is going to hold an event in Germany next Thursday (October 11th). This isn't news, last week we reported that the South Korean handset maker was sending out invitations via email to members of the German press. Now Samsung is being a little bit more playful though.
Leaked: The first Samsung Galaxy Music smartphone images surface
Yesterday we reported on the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Music, a music-centric budget smartphone from Samsung. Now we know a little bit more about the handset, and that includes the first leaked images of the new device.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow – New features explained
Is OnePlus done? What next for the “Flagship Killer?”
Beginner’s guide: 10 features every Android user should try
Poll: how is Android 6.0 Marshmallow treating you?
Apple iPhone 6S Impressions… from an Android user
By the numbers: Lumia 950 / XL vs the Android competition
To Fold: Is it time for Google to deep-six the Nexus program?
5 MediaTek technologies you may have missed
Is the Nexus 5X a good deal?
Nexus availability through the years: will this one be different?
How to transfer your contacts from iPhone to Android
Is Google Maps draining your battery? Here’s how to fix it
Fingerprint fight: Galaxy Note 5 vs Mate S vs iPhone 6S
Why the quad-core Snapdragon 820 won’t bring an end to the core wars


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An “adopt-a-storefront” campaign is changing the look of Whiteville’s central business district. The newly decorated display windows are the work of volunteers under an informal “adopt-a-storefront” project.
The street-side decorating is in addition to major improvements and progress at several businesses as stores and restaurants are being renovated or
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The cryptocurrency market’s terrible start to the year is deepening, with all major digital assets suffering big falls on Friday.
Most striking is bitcoin’s fall below $8,000, marking a drop of more than $2,000 in two days. On Thursday bitcoin dropped below $9,000 and the rupturing of this level seems to have spooked the market, with bitcoin losing 12% in Friday trade.
Here’s how major cryptocurrencies are looking at 12.15 p.m. GMT (7.15 a.m. ET) on Friday:
- Bitcoin: Down 12% against the dollar to $7,967
- Ethereum: Down 23% to $790
- Litecoin: Down 23% to $108
- Bitcoin Cash: Down 19% to $1,026
- Ripple: Down 26% to $0.70
Other cryptocurrencies are registering similarly steep declines. In fact, all but two of the 30 biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation is down by more than 15% on Friday, according to.
As a result, the market value of all main cryptocurrencies in circulation has dropped from close to $500 billion to around $375 billion in the last 24 hours, as this chart from CoinMarketCap.com shows:
Market capitalisation is an inexact measure of cryptocurrencies (as my colleague Sam Jacobs has outlined) but it at least gives a good idea of the scale of the current sell-off.
Neil Wilson, a senior market analyst with ETX Capital, says in an email: “The wheels are coming off the bitcoin bandwagon.
“The regulatory crunch appears closer than ever and sooner or later this market could be headed back down to earth. Selling pressure at the moment is intense as there has been nothing but bad news for bitcoin bulls of late.”
The crypto market has been on the back foot since the start of the year, hit by fears of a regulatory crackdown and slipping Asian volumes. Bitcoin is now at less than half its December peak of over $19,000.
More concerns have emerged about the sector this week as Facebook banned cryptocurrency adverts and US regulators began investigating Tether, a cryptocurrency that some fear has been used to inflate the value of bitcoin.
India’s finance minister also said this week that the Indian government “does not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender or coin and will take all measures to eliminate use of these crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system.”


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May 1st, 2020 – Pittsfield, MA.- After two very-well-attended Virtual Town Halls, 1Berkshire has announced that its third Town Hall will be held on Friday, May 8th, 2020 at 10 am. It will focus on Food and Agriculture in the Era of COVID-19. Moderated by 1Berkshire Director of Economic Development, Benjamin Lamb, this panel will include Orion Howard, Co-founder/Owner of Bright Ideas Brewing, Nick Martinelli, Founder/Owner of Marty’s Local, Cynthia Pansing, Executive Director of Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, and Jessica Vecchia, Co-Director of Roots Rising.
This panel of business owners, experts, and stakeholders will share the current outlook of food and agriculture in the region, creative approaches some businesses have taken that others can learn from, and provide a point of perspective on the future of our food system here in the Berkshires. “With a broad reaching set of expertise and points of perspective around our food system in the Berkshires, this panel offers unique and dynamic insights into thoughts, actions, and approaches that could help reshape and reinforce our regional food and agriculture sector,” stated Benjamin Lamb.
1Berkshire will plan to hold these Town Hall sessions weekly on Friday at 10 AM so be sure to visit https://1berkshire.com/virtual-town-hall for a list of upcoming sessions and to tune into recordings of past sessions. 1Berkshire Virtual Town Halls are free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Register at https://bit.ly/3f2Irem for the Friday May 8th session.
1Berkshire is a county-wide organization focused on economic development and promotion of the region as a preferred place to visit, to live, and to grow a business. It provides programs that connect businesses with each other and with potential customers and works to develop future leaders and support entrepreneurs. For more information, visit 1Berkshire.com.


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In the next three years, Toyota promises 31 new and updated modelsDecember 11, 2019
The Japanese automaker promises a full-scale attack on the automotive market. In the coming years there will be a significant update to the Toyota and Lexus lineup. The appearance of new and updated crossovers and pickups is expected.
Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales for Toyota Motor North America, said: “This is a huge leap forward, even if some of the updates are just a new level of decoration or an easy upgrade.”
Among the 31 new products will be four-wheel drive versions of Toyota Avalon and Camry sedans, a hybrid RAV4 Prime with a plug-in module, an upgraded Toyota Highlander crossover and a Lexus LC convertible, as well as probably updated Toyota Tacoma and Tundra pickups.
- Elon Musk promised an affordable electric car for Europe
- Electric cars Audi E-Tron and E-Tron Sportback have been updated
- Serial production of Skoda Enyaq iV electric car started in the Czech Republic
- Elon Musk named the range of the electric Tesla truck
- Genesis GV60 electric crossover to debut in 2021