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Posted by mike on 2011/6/25 3:11:06 (1480) reads
I've been a long-time fan of many things, but near the top of the list are two things: Jeeps and the Dave Matthews Band. Coincidentally, a press release dropped into my inbox this morning announcing that the Jeep Compass is the exclusive automotive sponsor for the Dave Matthews Band Caravan mini-tour this summer. The tour kicks off this weekend in Atlantic City, NJ and continues to Chicago, New York City, and the Gorge (Washington state). From the press release:
The Jeep® brand announced today that the 2011 Jeep Compass will be the exclusive automotive sponsor for the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, which begins its four-city tour in Atlantic City, N.J., Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 26. The Dave Matthews Band Caravan is a three-day event featuring the Dave Matthews Band as well as an array of diverse musical talent performing on multiple stages. Attendees will have an opportunity to participate in the "Jeep Journey to Stardom" road tour experience featuring the Jeep Compass. Along with its sponsorship of the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, the Jeep brand will partner with emerging artists as they begin to embark on their journey in the music industry.
"By tapping into music partnerships such as the Dave Matthews Band Caravan and emerging artists enables us to introduce the Jeep brand and its product portfolio to a new audience," said Mike Manley, President and CEO – Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. "This sponsorship is a unique way to facilitate a widespread conversation and expose consumers to the 2011 Jeep Compass."
Posted by mike on 2011/6/22 2:22:47 (1765) reads
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Consumer Reports magazine is "unimpressed" at the "mediocre" 2012 Jeep Compass and Patriot.
For months car shoppers have heard that Chrysler has redesigned, re-engineered or at least touched up its vehicles to make them more appealing and competitive. But are they worth buying?
Well, the answer varies widely from one model to the next, according to Consumer Reports, a magazine known for no-nonsense assessments of new vehicles. In a broad review of Chrysler’s lineup released today, the magazine’s car testers said Chrysler, which includes the Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands, has improved, but still has a long way to go.
But testers were “unimpressed” by the Chrysler 200, Dodge Avenger and Journey, and Jeep Compass and Patriot, Compass, Journey, and Patriot, summing them up as “mediocre.”
Posted by mike on 2011/5/10 10:34:36 (1545) reads
Chrysler keeps on churning out commercials for their lineup of Jeep vehicles. New this week is a commercial titled "Spa" for the 2011 Jeep Compass.
To some, water and dirt turn into mud. To others, an obstacle.
So, is this closer to a true "rally" vehicle? Is it worthy of the Jeep nameplate?
Posted by mike on 2011/3/1 8:57:55 (2138) reads
From a Chrysler press release
The new 2011 Jeep® Compass is an evolution of a legendary bloodline. It was born, heart and soul, from the core Jeep brand values of freedom, adventure, 4X4 capability and iconic beauty.
Even with such a deep-rooted family tree, the Jeep Compass has emerged as a bold spirit capable of carving out its own destiny and taking on a personality that is youthful, free and embodies a brave American spirit. It is that confidence, independence and freedom that are captured in the new advertising campaign called, "Bloodline." The new advertising campaign makes its debut this evening on local and national broadcast channels across the country.
"The new 2011 Jeep Compass boasts stunning new styling, with cues coming directly from the brand's premium icon – the Jeep Grand Cherokee," said Mike Manley, President and CEO – Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. "Because Compass and Grand Cherokee share this premium design – while offering legendary Jeep capability – our new 'Bloodline' campaign makes perfect sense, and allows us to demonstrate that Compass is a progressive, fun-to-drive vehicle targeted to consumers that share the passion of the Jeep brand."
"Bloodline" showcases the Jeep Compass as it masters both urban and off-road adventures – staying true to the brand's legendary heritage. The campaign also features the illustrious bloodlines of father-daughter athletes, Muhammad and Laila Ali and father-son actors, James and Scott Caan, all of whom have ascended to greatness in their own right.
Posted by tdrouill on 2011/1/12 17:56:00 (1448) reads
Bloomberg is reporting that the Compass will lead the way for the Jeep-brand's worldwide expansion.
The SUV, updated to resemble the larger and higher-priced Jeep Grand Cherokee, should appeal to non-U.S. drivers who prefer smaller vehicles, said Mike Manley, head of the Jeep brand and Chrysler’s international organization. The new Compass will make its auto-show debut in Detroit on Jan. 10.
Chrysler has said it wants to more than double its sales in Europe and South America to almost 200,000 this year, in part by taking advantage of Fiat’s distribution network. Jeep accounts for half of Chrysler’s deliveries outside of North America and sold 13,050 Compasses in those markets last year, a 26 percent gain from 2009, said Todd Goyer, a Chrysler spokesman.
The Compass “will really fuel growth for us in the international markets, coming in underneath, hopefully, an equally strong reception for the Grand Cherokee,” Manley said in an interview late last year.
Posted by mike on 2010/12/13 13:16:53 (2142) reads
Chrysler announced the 2011 Jeep Compass today with the headline, "A 'Grand' New Jeep® Compass".
The new 2011 Jeep Compass has a distinct family resemblance to the all-new, premium 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
With a new hood, new front fenders, new fascia and new headlamps as well as a new grille that has been detailed with a small dose of chrome surrounding the traditional seven slots found on all Jeep vehicles, the new face of the Compass features a more serious, yet sophisticated, appearance. Forward lighting performance is improved with the use of quad reflector headlamps, and the fog lamps are now high output projector lamps. Adding an element of muscle, the hood has been enhanced with a subtle power bulge. The result is a vehicle that projects an attitude that is much more serious and conveys the Compass’ capability in all weather and driving conditions.
New brightwork throughout the exterior lends an upscale touch without compromising the off-road performance of the Compass. A band of protective cladding has been added for 2011, serving to fend off debris when driving in challenging weather conditions or off-road, and providing a new appearance.
Check out the full press release and photos.
Posted by trevorj on 2010/12/3 6:51:36 (1914) reads
LeftLaneNews.com recently published some spy photos of the 2011 Jeep Compass.
... we now have several very clear images of precisely what the next Jeep Compass will be. It is incredibly clear that Jeep is hoping to borrow some of the successful DNA from the all-new 2011 Grand Cherokee with the new front fascia, particularly the slatted chrome grille. The hood was also redesigned, rounding out a completely new front-end.
Although the side profile has remained the same – as to be expected from a mid-cycle refresh – the rear of the vehicle was also cleaned up. The tail lamps are now much cleaner in their design and convey a higher sticker price than the outgoing model. Likewise, the bumper design is much more in line with the premium style of the big brother Grand Cherokee, and not as gimmicky as the 2010 Compass’.
Posted by mike on 2009/9/3 8:59:46 (1720) reads
The Jeep Compass was named the 3 worst car sold so far this decade, according to Cars.com:
In order to be considered as one of the most-improved or worst cars of the decade, a car had to be sold at any point in the 2000s; some of these models were only on the market for a few years, while others are still being sold today.
Worst Cars of the 2000s:
Whether poorly executed, ill-conceived or downright dreadful to look at, the 10 cars listed below stood out to the Cars.com editors for all the wrong reasons.
10. Pontiac Aztek
9. Daewoo Anything
8. Isuzu VehiCROSS
7. Jaguar X-Type
6. Pontiac Sunfire
5. Cadillac Catera
4. Toyota Echo
3. Jeep Compass (2007-present): The Compass doesn't belong in the Jeep lineup, a brand known and respected for its off-road ability. It's a soft-roading poseur, and not a good one at that.
2. Chrysler Sebring
1. Smart ForTwo
Posted by mike on 2008/9/3 9:20:29 (3074) reads
Redesigned interiors for the Patriot and Compass are among the biggest changes for the 2009 Jeep lineup addressing one of the leading complaints about the most fuel-efficient vehicles of the Jeep brand. In addition to refined instrument panels and consoles, changes have also been made to the insulation and exhaust in order to mitigate engine and road noise levels in the interior.
The 2009 Commander and Grand Cherokee gain an additional engine option - a 5.7L HEMI with variable valve timing and multi-displacement system - both aimed at providing better mileage and performance.
While the Liberty gains some chassis tweaks, for the most part, the Wrangler remains unchanged.
Check out the full press release after the jump.
Posted by mike on 2008/8/28 14:50:00 (1600) reads
Autoblog just published a review of the 2008 Compass, and despite the fact that they were prepared to hate it, they came away with a feeling that with a few improvements, it has some hope:
We had heard rumors of the lackluster interior quality in the Compass, and perhaps it was our low expectations that had us thinking it wasn't really that bad. Granted, the plastics that cover the dash and door panels are rock hard and unpleasant to the touch, but the construction and build quality seemed fairly solid. Those truly concerned with any quality issues will be glad to know that Jeep is offering a refreshed interior for the 2009 model year. We did like the dash layout, which is simple and well organized, and we loved the storage compartment on the dash in front of the passenger seat. We also found the cloth seats to be extremely comfortable and supportive. Oh man, are we starting to like this thing?
We still enjoyed our time in the Compass more than the nay sayers had us believing we would. Its smooth ride and decent handling make a compelling argument for a car-based Jeep, as does its excellent fuel economy. While we think the "modern styling" can use some work, we see the Compass as a vehicle with lots of potential, some of which is realized in the Patriot. But if Jeep tweaked the "modern styling", added a little extra power and vastly improved the interior quality, it would have an excellent small CUV on its hands. Unfortunately, those are some IFs big enough to drive a Jeep through.
Be sure to check out the entire review for plenty-o-photos and thoughts about their Sunburst Orange Pearl Compass.


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Aug 29, 2023
Glen speaks with Great Lakes Credit Union CEO Steven Bugg about
a collaborative grassroots initiative to deliver relief to
Ukrainian citizens, and how CUs nationwide can participate. Also-
the only state that prohibits consumers from pumping their own gas
passes a new law on…credit card surcharging.
Aug 22, 2023
CUNA Board Vice-Chair and Cornerstone League CEO Caroline
Willard shares her inside perspective on the pending CUNA/NAFCU
merger. Also- Glen compares financial and grocery self-service,
shares a new avenue for credit unions to aid Ukraine, and John
checks an item off his bucket list.
Links related to this...
Aug 15, 2023
An insightful chat with Cardlytics’ co-founder and former CEO Lynne Laube- now a partner with Valor Ventures- and Fintech Catalyst Robert Daniel of Georgia Tech’s ATDC, about September’s exciting startup competition including a few pitch tips from insiders. Also, Glen’s thoughts on PayPal’s new stablecoin and...
Aug 8, 2023
Glen talks with Finovate’s Greg Palmer about the bumper crop of 60+ fintechs demoing at its September event despite widespread reports of a “funding freeze.” Patrick Sells, CEO/Co-Founder of True Digital (one of the presenting companies) joins to shed light on its collaborative vendor optimization platform. Also,...
Aug 2, 2023
The latest on the Credit Card Competition Act, FedNow’s launch,
and two credit union CEOs share their perspectives on deploying
ChatGPT. Plus Glen actually says something (kind of) nice about
Links related to this episode:
Last week’s full CU Town Hall session:

domain: news


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The next time your mum, dad, or girlfriend complains about how much time you spend playing video games, point them to the Wall Street Journal. A recent article titled “Top ‘Live-Streamers’ Get $50,000 an Hour to Play New Videogames Online” should be a strong enough argument that you are doing something with your life.
The article reports that companies like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and Take-Two Interactive Software are just some of the video game publishers that are paying out massive amounts of cash to popular live-streamers to play their games. The streamers broadcast their experiences with the games on Twitch or upload videos to their YouTube channels. “Having celebrity streamers play games is an important part of the business,” explains Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s CEO. “It’s relatively new, but it has to be organic. The streamers have to believe in it.”
And there’s definitely a career to be had in playing games. Take, for instance, Sean “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin. The “professional gamer” has more than 22 million subscribers and earns about USD$300,000 per month. Not convincing enough? Consider Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, who also has over 22 million subscribers and rakes in between USD$500,000 and $1 million per month.
Now there’s a take-home pay that no one can complain about.


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Michelle Obama's $90 red checked dress becomes unlikely closet staple among rich and famous - with Jessica Alba the latest to snap it up
At less than $100, a red-and-white check dress from online retailer ASOS.com has become an unlikely closet staple among the rich and famous.
Michelle Obama first snapped up the figure-flattering frock in 2011 and wore it on numerous occasions - most famously when her husband was re-elected last fall.
Due to public demand the fashion website decided to re-release the design this spring and Anthony Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, along with Jessica Alba have been the latest high-powered purchasers.
Summertime chic: Jessica Alba has become the latest A-lister to step out in the red-and-white checked ASOS.com dress, currently priced at $93.34
Ms Alba, 32, decided to wear the design, currently priced at $93.34 to attend an event this morning in Seattle promoting her organic parenting brand, The Honest Company.
Her appearance comes just two weeks after political staffer Ms Abedin, 37, fashioned it while out and about in New York with her husband on his mayoral campaign trail.
The cotton 'skater dress' features a high neckline and fitted waistband for an elegant fit-and-flare shape.
Trendsetter: Michelle Obama first snapped up the figure-flattering frock in 2011 and wore it on numerous occasions - most famously when her husband was re-elected last fall
Lady in red: Political staffer Huma Abedin, 37, stepped out in the dress as she joined her husband Anthony Weiner on his mayoral campaign trail
Thrifty Mrs Obama, who regularly tops lists of the world's best dressed women, has worn it herself on more than one occasion.
She was first pictured wearing it at a
cookout for National Guard, Reserve and Active Duty members and their
families in New Hampshire in July 2011.
On that occasion she teamed it with a red belt with sliver clasp that coordinated with her silver hoop earrings.
Winning design: The figure-flattering frock was re-released this spring due to customer demand
Then last August when she joined her husband on the campaign trail as he sought re-election, she opted for the ASOS number again, this time wearing it with a wider black belt and ballet flats.
As if endorsement from the First Lady
wearing it wasn't enough, ASOS got even further free advertising when an
image of her wearing the dress while hugging her husband became
the most shared picture in history on social networks.
President Obama's campaign team posted the image that was taken over the summer on his Twitter and Facebook accounts when it was announced he had won another term as President, along with the caption 'another four years'.
Four more years.... of style: This picture of Michelle wearing the dress became the most shared in history on social networks when it was posted to celebrate the President winning his second term in office
His online campaign manager told Time Magazine the picture was chosen because it summed up the 'elation, relief and joy' they were all feeling at that historic moment.
The picture was then retweeted 816,000 times on Twitter shared more than four million times on Facebook - breaking records for both social networks.
UK-headquartered ASOS.com was launched in 2000 with the aim of helping twenty-somethings replicate the style of the stars at affordable prices.
Now more than a decade on, its success means they're now setting the trends as well as following them.
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Stung by shocking expose films made by animal rights groups and rising concern over the excessive use of growth hormones in animal feed, the meat industry has announced a revolutionary new method for fattening animals.
Chickens, cows, and pigs are fed a couch potato diet of chips, soda, and TV binge watching.
In confidential trials of the new system, animals sat on wooden couches in front of flat-screen TVs while munching on an endless supply of potato chips and soda. Not only did the animals gain weight in record time, they fell into a coma-like state and did not need to be medicated to calm them down.
“We found that binge-watching Fox News and reality TV shows was by far the most effective method,” said Dr. Clarence Cud, an industry expert who led the trails. “Within minutes the animals’ eyes glazed over and you could almost see them putting on weight.” The weight increases are so rapid – particularly around the animals’ girths – that there is no need to administer growth hormones.
The industry now plans to roll out full-sized fattening facilities equipped with miles of couches, feed troughs for chips, and soda cup holders with specially shaped straws. By the end of the year consumers should be able to buy meat with a “couch potato fed” label, according to the industry.
A problem that might slow the introduction of the program is that a number of animals were reluctant to take their eyes off of the TVs, and whined uncontrollably when the TVs were switch off. In some cases cows had to be winched out of their couches.
Cud acknowledged the problem, but maintained that “showing reruns of presidential election debates gets them out of their seats and running in the opposite direction.”


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April 28, 2011 - 12:33pm
SUPER MAMMOTH garage sale at St. Joe's School
The seventh annual SUPER MAMMOTH Indoor Garage Sale to benefit St. Joe's School is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, April 30. The school is located at 2 Summit St. in the City of Batavia.
There will be tens of thousands of items, 19 cashiers, Clor's chicken BBQ, a homemade bake sale and lots of bargains, including antiques, 25-cent books, outdoor furniture, etc.
Event Date and Time:
Saturday, April 30, 2011 - 9:00am to 4:00pm


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May 28, 2021 (IAM Newswire via COMTEX) -- May's highlights include when the Honest Company /zigman2/quotes/226449347/composite HNST +3.73% listed on the Nasdaq exchange at the beginning of the month, raising $412.8 million. It was the culmination of a long recovery for the baby and clean beauty products group that was co-founded and led by the Hollywood actress Jessica Alba as the company sealed $1.44 billion valuation after reviving its fortunes. Nasdaq has been enhanced with a company that sells diapers, nursing pillows, vitamins and non-toxic beauty as well as household products.
The market debut - a comeback
Since it was founded in 2011, the company had been valued as high as $1.7 billion in 2015 before company came under scrutiny in 2016 due to its claims to be using only natural ingredients. After a lawsuit that claimed its products contained a harsh chemical that was among those that the company pledged to avoid, Honest reached a $7.35 million settlement for wrongly labeling some products as natural, plant-based or chemical free.
Alba and her team honestly worked hard to shake off much of the reputational and financial damage from a series of product lawsuits and recalls. In 2017, the company also recalled baby wipes because it found mold in some packages, along with baby powder over concerns it may cause skin or eye infections. As a result, sales plummeted and the company lost its "unicorn" status. In a statement released in the IPO prospectus, Alba wrote that the company's rapid growth ended up compromising key business functions.
Honest has never been profitable, but its revenue rose from $236 million in 2019 to $300 million in 2020 as the pandemic fueled demand for cleaning and home beauty products, helping the company enjoy the level of sales it had back in 2016. Losses also narrowed last year from $31 million in 2019 to $14 million.
Scrutiny, lawsuits and recalls – honest all the way?
Despite statements by the FDA and USDA regarding the appropriate use of the word 'natural" in the personal care industry, there is no U.S. government-regulated definition of the term. Honest markets all its products as 'natural' and takes great pride in banning 2,500 questionable ingredients. While advertising its products as non-synthetic and sustainable, it faced many "health and safety incidents or advertising inaccuracies" and listed them as a continued risk factor in its IPO prospectus. These troubles aren't history either as in January this year, the brand issued a voluntary recall for one of its bubble baths due to concerns it could cause infections.
Speaking of honesty, here are a few things you should know about Honest.
Diapers play a central role
Honest's products fall under three main categories, but its diapers and wipes line generate about 63% of total sales, with skin care and personal care chipping in 26% and household and wellness bringing in 11% the table. According to the prospect, diapers are a "strategic consumer acquisition tool" as nearly 90 percent of its diaper buyers went on to buy something else last year, with nearly half buying two or more non-diaper products.
It sells its products online and offline
Online sales make 55% of total revenue as they either come through its own website Honest.com or through third-party platforms like Amazon /zigman2/quotes/210331248/composite AMZN +1.30% or Walmart /zigman2/quotes/207374728/composite WMT -0.48% , whereas 45% is generated through partnerships that span across 32,000 retail locations across the U.S., Canada and Europe, including Costco /zigman2/quotes/201191698/composite COST -0.63% and Target Corporation /zigman2/quotes/207799045/composite TGT -0.58% .
Growth is slowing down
Growth is slowing as total sales grew 27 percent to over $300 million last year, while the company forecasted in the prospectus that its yet-to-be-released Q1 results from 2021 would be far more modest. Q1 operating results are still unknown but the company's biggest segment, again diapers, grew more slowly last year than its smallest category, household and wellness, 16 percent and 116 percent respectively, with skin care and personal care growing 35 percent.
Profitability is an issue
Last but not least, the company is still not profitable despite all of the fanfare, hype, celebrity testimonials and nearly a decade in business, along with a market value that is well above $1 billion.
A thousand rejections in Hollywood gave Alba the resilience to push organic beauty and baby care brand to listing but despite the 40-year-old founder's innate and invaluable ability to resonate and engage with 40 million social media followers, Alba can't reach the shore alone. This is why she is handing the role of the chair of the board to James White, former chief executive of Jamba Juice, while she will remain as the company's chief creative officer with a yearly salary of $600,000.
But it is up to the CEO Nick Vlahos, who was formerly an executive at Clorox /zigman2/quotes/206443229/composite CLX -0.17% and Burt's Bees to show clean beauty can be both honest and profitable. Vlahos was brought in for a $6.8 million salary package, roughly triple Alba's non-stock compensation. Although Alba's original idea and philosophy are still intact as she aimed to "build a mission-based, for-profit business that addresses health equity, sustainability and social justice" -- the path leading to that ideal is clearly filled with many challenges that still remain.
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A new, better way to pay, Parqer is an exciting new app enabling consumers to pay their valet through their mobile app. Simple, safe, and fast—no cash necessary. Founded by a University of Texas alum, Parqer launched in Dallas in May and has quickly expanded across the city and to locations in Arlington, Houston, and now – Austin.
Searching for a new home or investment property in Austin and Central Texas just got a whole lot easier, with today’s launch of NuHabitat, a residential real estate application (and Capital Factory Accelerator company) designed with ease of use, speed and 100% data accuracy in mind.
Postmates, which is like “Uber” for stuff, unlocks the inventory of a city by connecting customers with a dedicated fleet of couriers to deliver anything in under an hour. Postmates is currently doing over 15,000 deliveries a week in six cities across the U.S., and starting today will allow Austinites to get nearly any item — from takeout and groceries to retail items and even prescriptions — delivered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Today’s feature is with Tom Klein, co-founder of iM5.
Pingboard, the modern social company directory, today announced that the company has closed a $1.25M seed round of venture funding led by Silverton Partners.
Will Scott, a leading software developer based in the Austin area, officially launched his ground-breaking app, ServaBid, in the iTunes app store today. ServaBid uses short, user-recorded videos to connect them with service providers in virtually any area.
Over a year ago we wrote about Silvercar raising $3M of their planned $11M round from Austin Ventures, and nobody commented. It must have been the best kept secret in the Austin technology community, even though they had job openings on Indeed.com at the time. Well, the wait is finally over. CEO Luke Schneider previously worked at Ford, and was the CTO at ZipCar. Now he’s creating the technology-focused car rental company that we all wish existed.
Rockify.TV, the online music video channel, is excited to announce the launch of its public beta.
Today’s guest blog is by Will Rodenbusch: “I’m from Austin, the greatest rising tech center in the world! I am a 29 year old code monkey who loves the great outdoors, travel, entrepreneurship, and almost anything that involves an element of danger. When I’m not at my desk, you can find me with my wife, Cora. We are your typical Austin DINKs, out enjoying life.”
RxNetwork today announced that it has launched the firstonline prescription drug marketplace giving consumers the ability to search and find accurate and transparent pricing from both online and local U.S. pharmacies. Now by just entering in a drug name and a city location, consumers can see prices from multiple pharmacies in their area including major chains, grocery, and warehouse clubs and shop for their medications based on location, convenience, and price.


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|By Business Wire||
|January 8, 2013 07:06 AM EST||
The Pokémon Company and Nintendo announced today that the next generation of Pokémon video games, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, will launch worldwide in October exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS system. New Pokémon, a new storyline set in a spectacular 3D world, and dynamic battles instantly make Pokémon X and Pokémon Y two of the most highly anticipated video game titles of 2013.
“The worldwide launch of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y this October allows players to begin their adventures at the same time,” said Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokémon Company. “Now, Pokémon fans across the globe can discover the secrets of Pokémon games and can collect, battle, and trade with each other immediately.”
“We brought Pokémon into an entirely new dimension and we’re incredibly excited to bring Pokémon X and Pokémon Y to fans,” said Junichi Masuda, video game director at GAME FREAK inc. “The stunning visuals, a completely redesigned environment, game scenario, music, and communication features will bring smiles to the faces of video game players around the world.”
Want an early sneak peek at Pokémon X and Pokémon Y? Visit Pokemon.com to watch a video introducing this new Pokémon adventure, including an exciting first look at the new starter Pokémon in battle! Fans can also catch a glimpse of the newest Legendary Pokémon and gameplay footage from the upcoming titles.
Pokémon X and Pokémon Y will be the blueprint for an exciting array of new animation, Pokémon TCG, and toys debuting around the world.
Be sure to visit Pokemon.com, Like the official Pokémon Facebook page at Facebook.com/Pokemon, and follow Pokémon on Twitter @Pokemon to ensure you’re receiving the latest Pokémon X and Pokémon Y news!
To download assets please click the following link: https://www.yousendit.com/download/UW16eW40NHZLVlZqQTlVag
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4 billion video games and more than 637 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.
Imagine having the ability to leverage all of your current technology and to be able to compose it into one resource pool. Now imagine, as your business grows, not having to deploy a complete new appliance to scale your infrastructure. Also imagine a true multi-cloud capability that allows live migration without any modification between cloud environments regardless of whether that cloud is your private cloud or your public AWS, Azure or Google instance. Now think of a world that is not locked i...
Mar. 29, 2017 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 661
Technology innovation is the driving force behind modern business and enterprises must respond by increasing the speed and efficiency of software delivery. The challenge is that existing enterprise applications are expensive to develop and difficult to modernize. This often results in what Gartner calls "Bimodal IT," where business struggle to apply modern tools and practices to traditional monolithic applications. But these existing assets can be modernized and made more efficient without havin...
Mar. 29, 2017 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,630
Most companies are adopting or evaluating container technology - Docker in particular - to speed up application deployment, drive down cost, ease management and make application delivery more flexible overall. As with most new architectures, this dream takes a lot of work to become a reality. Even when you do get your application componentized enough and packaged properly, there are still challenges for DevOps teams to making the shift to continuous delivery and achieving that reduction in cost...
Mar. 29, 2017 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 248
SYS-CON Events announced today that SoftLayer, an IBM Company, has been named “Gold Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York, New York. SoftLayer, an IBM Company, provides cloud infrastructure as a service from a growing number of data centers and network points of presence around the world. SoftLayer’s customers range from Web startups to global enterprises.
Mar. 29, 2017 03:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,206
SYS-CON Events announced today that Auditwerx will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Auditwerx specializes in SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 attestation services throughout the U.S. and Canada. As a division of Carr, Riggs & Ingram (CRI), one of the top 20 largest CPA firms nationally, you can expect the resources, skills, and experience of a much larger firm combined with the accessibility and attent...
Mar. 29, 2017 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 661
SYS-CON Events announced today that Technologic Systems Inc., an embedded systems solutions company, will exhibit at SYS-CON's @ThingsExpo, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Technologic Systems is an embedded systems company with headquarters in Fountain Hills, Arizona. They have been in business for 32 years, helping more than 8,000 OEM customers and building over a hundred COTS products that have never been discontinued. Technologic Systems’ pr...
Mar. 29, 2017 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 3,799
SYS-CON Events announced today that CA Technologies has been named “Platinum Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and the 21st International Cloud Expo®, which will take place October 31-November 2, 2017, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. CA Technologies helps customers succeed in a future where every business – from apparel to energy – is being rewritten by software. From ...
Mar. 29, 2017 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 2,269
SYS-CON Events announced today that HTBase will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. HTBase (Gartner 2016 Cool Vendor) delivers a Composable IT infrastructure solution architected for agility and increased efficiency. It turns compute, storage, and fabric into fluid pools of resources that are easily composed and re-composed to meet each application’s needs. With HTBase, companies can quickly prov...
Mar. 29, 2017 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 3,244
In his session at Cloud Expo, Alan Winters, an entertainment executive/TV producer turned serial entrepreneur, will present a success story of an entrepreneur who has both suffered through and benefited from offshore development across multiple businesses: The smart choice, or how to select the right offshore development partner Warning signs, or how to minimize chances of making the wrong choice Collaboration, or how to establish the most effective work processes Budget control, or how to max...
Mar. 29, 2017 01:30 PM EDT Reads: 537
What if you could build a web application that could support true web-scale traffic without having to ever provision or manage a single server? Sounds magical, and it is! In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Chris Munns, Senior Developer Advocate for Serverless Applications at Amazon Web Services, will show how to build a serverless website that scales automatically using services like AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, and Amazon S3. We will review several frameworks that can help you build serverle...
Mar. 29, 2017 01:30 PM EDT Reads: 2,245
SYS-CON Events announced today that Loom Systems will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Founded in 2015, Loom Systems delivers an advanced AI solution to predict and prevent problems in the digital business. Loom stands alone in the industry as an AI analysis platform requiring no prior math knowledge from operators, leveraging the existing staff to succeed in the digital era. With offices in S...
Mar. 29, 2017 01:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,737
MongoDB Atlas leverages VPC peering for AWS, a service that allows multiple VPC networks to interact. This includes VPCs that belong to other AWS account holders. By performing cross account VPC peering, users ensure networks that host and communicate their data are secure. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Jay Gordon, a Developer Advocate at MongoDB, will explain how to properly architect your VPC using existing AWS tools and then peer with your MongoDB Atlas cluster. He'll discuss the secur...
Mar. 29, 2017 12:45 PM EDT Reads: 725
Buzzword alert: Microservices and IoT at a DevOps conference? What could possibly go wrong? In this Power Panel at DevOps Summit, moderated by Jason Bloomberg, the leading expert on architecting agility for the enterprise and president of Intellyx, panelists peeled away the buzz and discuss the important architectural principles behind implementing IoT solutions for the enterprise. As remote IoT devices and sensors become increasingly intelligent, they become part of our distributed cloud enviro...
Mar. 29, 2017 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 7,898
SYS-CON Events announced today that T-Mobile will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. As America's Un-carrier, T-Mobile US, Inc., is redefining the way consumers and businesses buy wireless services through leading product and service innovation. The Company's advanced nationwide 4G LTE network delivers outstanding wireless experiences to 67.4 million customers who are unwilling to compromise on ...
Mar. 29, 2017 11:45 AM EDT Reads: 2,573
SYS-CON Events announced today that Infranics will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Since 2000, Infranics has developed SysMaster Suite, which is required for the stable and efficient management of ICT infrastructure. The ICT management solution developed and provided by Infranics continues to add intelligence to the ICT infrastructure through the IMC (Infra Management Cycle) based on mathemat...
Mar. 29, 2017 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 3,435


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Image Credit: Veg Non Veg
52% of India’s population is now made up of Gen-Z (1995-2012) and millennials (1982-1994), with the share expected to hold till 2030.
As millennials fade into the wings, Gen-Z is taking centre-stage. This is a generation raised with 4G, who uses selfies more than mirrors and has never heard the tune of a dial-up modem.
Retailers, especially in fashion, seem to agree that this generation has unique needs and are addressing them through new brands.
Trent has seen significant success with its affordably priced, mass retail brand Zudio, which reported sales of Rs 1,100 crore in FY22, nearly a quarter of Trent’s consolidated revenue. Myntra has launched Myntra Fashion Forward (FWD), a Gen-Z Brand, complete with a virtual fashion influencer called ‘Maya.’ Reliance is bringing back Shein, the fast-fashion giant from China, whose 2022 revenue of US$ 24 billion, was nearly equal to Zara and H&M combined!
There are a host of independent brands in this space, like Urbanic and Newme. Gen Z-specific marketplaces have also sprung up. Capsul, founded by former Puma employees, Meenkashi Singh and Bhavisha Dave, is a marketplace for streetwear brands. While multi-brand sneaker /apparel retailer Veg Non Veg has been around for 5+ years now, sneaker reseller Mainstreet Marketplace, run by 24 year-old Vedant Lamba, just raised $2 million from some heavyweight investors.
I spoke to Gen-Z consumers, as well as founders, to find out how this generation is different and what that means for brands.
Scarcity as Strategy
More reviews mean more sales, right? Not for Gen-Z.
According to Sumit Jasoria, founder of fashion brand Newme, typical e-commerce axioms don’t hold true for this group.
“Gen-Z craves exclusivity. They hunt for ‘statement pieces’ that are unique, mirror their style, are affordable, and crucially, available in limited quantities. Many of our customers intentionally avoid highly-reviewed items, as they are terrified it will be worn by everyone else.”Sumit Jasoria, Co-founder & CEO, Newme
This sentiment was echoed by several Gen-Z shoppers.
Shopping was perceived as a personal quest, where others’ star ratings or reviews, bore little relevance.
“Imagine how awkward it is if someone else is wearing the same T-shirt. I really like Zara’s strategy because they make only limited stock and 2-3 similar designs,” says Dishu Dulani, a 21 year-old from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, who is currently doing her MBBS in Aurangabad.
Newme tackles this problem by releasing several design drops every week. Jasoria tells me they have a near-zero inventory model. Production is directed by a data science system that uses nine parameters to predict trends, and popular items sell out quickly. The idea is to make sure you don’t find the same piece next time you look.
Thrifting Has (Finally) Arrived
Every single Gen-Z consumer I spoke to, from Chhattisgarh to Bangalore, said they either loved shopping from thrift stores, had tried it out, or were open to it.
Reasons ranged from curation, unique items and global inventory, to sustainability and ethics. Limited edition pieces can also sell for a premium, despite being used. Surprisingly, although affordability was a factor, it was always mentioned last, and was quite clearly a feature and not the benefit.
Neha Reddy is a 23-year-old, who works as an analyst with a VC firm in Bangalore. She is confident of her personal style and shops at thrift stores and smaller marketplaces to find unique, one-of-a kind items.
“Instead of offering thousands of items like Myntra, thrift stores and focused marketplaces like Capsul offer curated selections. Over time each store develops a unique personality, almost like a brand and I’ve identified some that really match my style over the years and stuck with them.”Neha Reddy, 23, Analyst at Antler, Bangalore
Bhavisha Dave, co-founder, Capsul, says that they curate culturally-rich brands that resonate with the ethos of their buyers. While they stock international labels that come with corresponding price points, Dave points out that besides being conversation-starters, these pieces are eminently ‘re-sellable.’ “Our customers know that a T-shirt for Rs. 4000 from Carhartt WIP, (a brand that started as workwear, but is now one of streetwear’s top labels), could easily resell for Rs. 2000+,” she says.
Surprisingly, none of the people I spoke to had reservations about wearing ‘used’ clothes, and the idea of stigma seemed silly to them.
Perhaps the time has finally come for the Indian pre-worn industry, which has hitherto struggled?
Comfortable Living Many Lives
In the absence of Tik Tok in India, Instagram is not just the platform of choice for Gen-Z, it is a place where they can live an alternative life.
Many Gen-Zers aspire to be influencers and they understand how the algorithm works. “On social media, authenticity is valued and your account will only be surfaced if you stand out from the others,” says Shradha Anna, 23, marketer at a Bangalore-based, fashion marketplace.
This was clearly in contrast to the real lives of these young people, especially in small towns, where being different was frowned upon and would lead to parental pressure, or for the women, even harassment on the streets.
According to Jasoria, 70% of Newme’s customers are in Tier 2 and 3 cities and they often buy trendy clothes that can only be worn online, or on college campuses. “They will wear the clothes and post Instagram reels,” he says, “but then switch to more conservative attire when they go home.”
There are multiple WhatsApp groups where clothes can be exchanged after being worn a few times. The more intrepid post content from the trial rooms of malls, obviating the need to buy anything at all!
There is no getting away from the fact that this generation is markedly more expressive than the previous one. As Arman Mehra, a post-graduate student in Delhi, tells me, “My parents always wanted to blend in, I want to stand out.”
The THC Take
Does selling to this audience require a focused set of brands, and will incumbent brands be unable to make the leap?
Certainly, most Indian companies have chosen to launch separate ‘youth-focused’ brands, from Titan’s Fast Track, to Trent’s Zudio. However, global giants like Gucci, Maybelline and most notably, Nike, have successfully ‘aged down,’ to address shifting audiences.
Capsul’s Dave points out that thoughtful attitudes towards brand-building are the reason some global brands have managed to stay relevant. “When a Louis Vuitton does a collab with Supreme,” she says, “They are doing it to gain cred with Gen-Z – it’s not about immediate sales. To appeal to Gen-Z, you need a team that understands them, and that should be your starting point.”
I was heartened by the many conversations I had, and it was clear these young people are quick to see through inauthenticity and would not hesitate to call out bullsh*t. Brands need to engage with them deeply, before taking any decisions.


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- 6:00 am Saturday, October 18th, 2014 by Jennifer Sorentrue
A new online shopping program based in Palm Beach County allows customers to raise money for a handful of charitable causes when they buy items over the Internet, and organizers are hoping local shoppers sign up for the site before making holiday purchases.
The program, called Shop2Care, launched in September. It receives commissions from participating retailers when its members buy items online. There is no additional cost to the consumer.
The rebate commissions, which average about 5 percent of the total purchase price, are donated to non profit groups that focus on five key areas — children’s services, hunger relief, [More]
- 12:06 pm Thursday, December 15th, 2011 by Emily Roach
Retailers are optimistic shoppers have plenty left to buy with Christmas and Hanukkah a mere week away.
The National Retail Federation today upped its prediction for the holidays from a 2.8 percent bump over 2010 to 3.8 percent — a record $469.1 billion of holiday goodies. Last year the increase was 5.2 percent, but that was compared with a recession year.
Sales tracked by The NPD Group and the International Council of Shopping Centers showed consumers came out for big discount days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those highs were very high — Black Friday brought out more shoppers who spent [More]
- 1:26 pm Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 by Allison Ross
It’s a story that’s told every year, on the day after Thanksgiving.
Stomachs still full of turkey, hands grasping advertising fliers, millions of Americans flood stores and shopping malls as the official start of the holiday season begins. Many start shopping by 5 a.m.
The annual pilgrimage to find after Thanksgiving deals is a a rite of passage for some, a tradition for many.
But as retailers beef up their websites and start offering holiday deals earlier and earlier, the black Friday in-store experience may be getting pushed aside.
“Savvy consumers, knowing that retailers are posting some of their best Black Friday deals online, will shop the web on Black Friday from the comfort of their homes rather than rise early to face crowded stores,” eMarketer said in a report on holiday online shopping.
According to research firm RIS, online shopping is growing significantly in importance for the holiday shopping season. [More]
- 4:11 pm Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 by Allison Ross
In a report released this morning, the International Council of Shopping Centers revised its November holiday sales forecast.
Saying that “consumers fell behind last year in their holiday shopping completion rate,” the trade group said that it expects November sales for stores open at least a year to be up 3 to 4 percent. The group had previously forecast a sales increase of 5 to 8 percent.
The survey said that consumers on average completed 42.2 percent of their shopping through the end of November, compared with 48.3 percent in 2008. That means lower November sales, but possibly higher December sales as consumers finish their purchases in that month.
Black Friday discounts helped bring customers into stores last week, the ICSC found. The week’s sales were up by 3.1 percent from a year ago. The big winners of the week were electronic and online sales, the survey found.
Other stats of note for black Friday and cyber Monday: [More]
- 5:58 pm Monday, November 30th, 2009 by Allison Ross
Boca Raton-based office supplies retailer Office Depot Inc. has stepped up its cyber Monday discounts even more this year than usual.
I just got off the phone with Christine Buscarino, the company’s senior director of online marketing. Here are some interesting things she told me about cyber Monday and Office Depot:
— The company has had an “Every Monday Is Cyber Monday” promotion going on since mid-November that it will carry throughout the holidays. Every Monday, it has special product-specific promotions on its Web site. It is also doing special deals on Fridays.
— Office Depot started this cyber Monday promotion on Sunday (yesterday) in order to capitalize on weekend traffic
— doing more aggressive online promotions on more items than previous years [More]
- 5:38 pm Monday, November 30th, 2009 by Allison Ross
It’s not only traditional retailers that are ramping up their online discounts on this cyber Monday.
Hotels, airlines and even home builders are offering their versions of cyber Monday deals:
Starwood Hotels and Resorts is offering a cyber Monday deal (that ends Wednesday) that gives discounts at hotels if you stay between January 1 and April 30 of 2010. Among the deals: The Westin Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort at rates starting at $179.
Virgin America is offering a Cyber Monday Sale with fares as low as $39. Travel is valid between December 3, 2009 and May 23, 2010.
Home builder [More]
- 7:22 pm Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 by Allison Ross
As I was explaining to my friend that I would be getting up at 1 a.m. in order to write about the black Friday shopping day this year, he looked at me as if I was crazy and asked, “Why don’t people just shop for deals online?”
As a matter of fact, they do.
Cyber Monday, which comes the Monday immediately after black Friday, is the symbolic kick-off to the holiday season online. The term was coined in 2005 by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation.
While the idea is that shoppers who don’t get everything they want over black Friday weekend then go into the office and finish their shopping online, Cyber Monday is actually not usually the biggest online shopping day of the season.
It is, however, a day to get great discounts. According to the National Retail Federation, 87.1 percent of retailers who have a presence online plan to offer some sort of special promotion for Cyber Monday. [More]
- 2:22 pm Monday, December 15th, 2008 by Allison Ross
It’s the final countdown to Christmas. Including today, there are only 10 days of shopping left before the big day.
So let’s count down the 12 days of Christmas, recession style:
Actually, $12.73. That’s how much discount online retailer 6pm.com is selling a pair of colorful Ked slip-on shoes… a full 74 percent cheaper than the original price. Also, 12 percent is how much Limited Brands Inc.’s same-store sales fell in November.
- 4:01 pm Monday, December 8th, 2008 by Allison Ross
So for anyone who missed the big news, there has been confirmation from Wal-Mart employees that the The rumors of this deal have been circulating for quite a while. On Nov. 19, popular and reputable technology blogger Zach Epstein confirmed the rumor on his blog. Yesterday, after doing interviews with Wal-Mart employees, the San Jose Mercury News broke the story among the mainstream press.
It took until today for Bloomberg News and the Associated Press to confirm it.


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The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation contributing to the development of the Internet Computer (IC) project. IC is a web-speed, internet-scale public blockchain advanced smart contract functionality to the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
“The Internet Computer can now serve as a Layer 2 for Bitcoin where smart contracts on the Internet Computer can hold, send and receive Bitcoin natively, without the need for blockchain bridges or other third parties. This provides a trustless foundation for various DeFi and Web3 applications seeking to code Bitcoin,” IC said.
Now, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency can be used for DeFi activities like yield farming, lending, payments and more. This can be achieved through the Internet Computer’s enhanced Chain-key cryptography. The direct integration with Bitcoin obliviates bridged and wrapped Bitcoin, a technique typically used to facilitate interaction between different blockchains, and one that is error-prone and often hacked.
“Blockchains are like walled gardens, incapable of interaction between one another. When this comes to Bitcoin, applications, such as DeFi applications, that could benefit most from interacting with the world’s largest cryptocurrency do not have the ability to do so. The Internet Computer’s integration with Bitcoin is a true game-changer for the industry, finally bringing smart contract functionality to Bitcoin and enabling a whole new landscape of DeFi and dapp (decentralised applications) development never before possible using BTC. We are incredibly excited to see how developers interact with this revolutionary functionality,” Manu Drijvers, Director of Engineering at the DFINITY Foundation, said.
To enable fast Bitcoin transactions between smart contracts on the Internet Computer, the DFINITY foundation is currently working on Chain-Key Bitcoin (ckBTC). CkBTC will act as a local ledger facilitating fast transactions with low fees and only settle transactions on the Bitcoin network when necessary.
The Internet Computer’s integration with Bitcoin also provides a more secure alternative to centralised bridges in the form of threshold ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm). The implementation of ECDSA empowers the Internet Computer’s canister smart contracts, to directly conduct Bitcoin transactions without an intermediary or bridge. This provides a trustless foundation for DeFi projects using Bitcoin and enables IC developers to code natively on Bitcoin.
“Making Bitcoin programmable will increase the overall potential of blockchain technology. Unlocking Bitcoin’s unmatched liquidity will bring enormous benefits and new possibilities for users and developers across a wide range dapps including DeFi, GameFi, SocialFi, and NFTs. This direct integration also eliminates the Achilles’ heel of other approaches to make Bitcoin available on other networks such as wrapping and bridging. Unfortunately, we have seen the drawbacks of these solutions over the past year through a number of high-profile hacks, leaving networks hopelessly vulnerable to attacks. Bitcoin lending via decentralised exchanges, for example, is now possible with security superior to what is available on any other platform thanks to the Internet Computer’s direct and trustless integration, making it a natural choice for DeFi developers,” Jan Camenisch, Chief Technology Officer at the DFINITY Foundation, said.
The Internet Computer overcomes the limitations of traditional blockchains and smart contracts for better speed, storage costs, security, and scalability, offering Web2 performance on an infinite Web3 platform.
The foundation runs community developer grants and a vibrant educational community around their technology. The DFINITY Developer Grant Program aims to catalyse the growth of the Internet Computer ecosystem and make the Internet Computer accessible and approachable to more developers around the world by providing support to promising developers and teams.
“Our aim is to support the reimagination of all systems and services in new forms using smart contracts on an infinite public blockchain, and nothing else. What the world now builds to take advantage of blockchain’s new capabilities shall be an important and fascinating next chapter,” Dominic Williams, the founder of Dfinity, said.


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Those at Therapeutic Research Center, Stockton, CA, have assigned both safety and effectiveness ratings for the natural ingredients contained in products after reviewing published research over the past decade.
They also utilized manufacturing quality data from adverse event reporting systems of the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) and various regulatory agencies.
The NMBER system rates each commercial product from 1 to 10, with lower numbers indicating potential safety concerns or quality problems. A higher number suggests research on a product has been generally positive.
There are 820 products that have been given a NMBER rating of "1." Only 250 products have received a "10."
About 250 new commercial products will be added to the Database each month.


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Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency updates COVID-19 guidance for cannabis businesses.
Michigan regulatory agency issues cannabis business requirements to protect employees and customers from COVID-19.
While many states consider cannabis businesses essential, they are currently not eligible to receive federal COVID-19 emergency funding. That could soon change.
Michigan governor issues an executive order allowing medical and recreational cannabis businesses to remain open as essential services during coronavirus pandemic.
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LOS ANGELES — Lucky Brand is pursuing the plus-size customer with a new lifestyle brand launching this fall.
In its first attempt to design plus-size clothing, the Los Angeles-based denim company is unveiling a line of tops under the Lucky Plus brand and a new jeans fit dubbed Ginger. Priced similarly to the main line, the Ginger jeans will retail from $99 to $129, and Lucky Plus’ T-shirts, knits, woven shirts and sweaters will sell for between $49.50 and $119.
“We see there is a void in the market,” said Lucky chief executive officer David DeMattei, adding that one of Lucky’s goals is “to be a very democratic brand.”
Unlike the strategy it adopted for its higher-priced brand, Lucky Legend, which is sold only in its freestanding stores, Lucky Plus and the Ginger jeans will launch in July at wholesale accounts including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Von Maur, Lord & Taylor and Belk.
“We showed them initial sketches,” DeMattei said. “These were the ones who had strong responses to the product.”
Targeting the plus-size market could give a boost to Lucky’s parent company, New York’s Fifth & Pacific Cos. Inc. Despite higher sales from divisions such as Lucky and Kate Spade, Fifth & Pacific said revenue decreased 6.4 percent to $1.52 billion last year from a year ago, as it saw weakness in its Juicy Couture unit. In the first quarter ended March 31, the company trimmed its loss by about a third, to $60.6 million, as sales exceeded expectations despite a 4.1 decline to $317.1 million. Lucky’s revenues picked up 20.3 percent in the quarter, to $100.4 million, as its operating loss narrowed to $15.4 million from $16.2 million. Its share of corporate revenues grew to 31.7 percent from 25.2 percent in the prior-year period.
Declining to estimate sales for the plus-size business, DeMattei said the initial rollout will go to 118 doors, out of the 600 locations that carry Lucky’s women’s line. Lucky’s plus-size grouping also will get shops-in-shop in Macy’s stores such as Herald Square in New York and Fashion Valley in San Diego. Specialty stores and Lucky’s e-commerce site will begin selling the plus-size offerings for the holiday season. DeMattei said Lucky’s own stores, which totaled 178 as of March 31, excluding outlets, won’t carry the plus-size offerings due to their relatively small size, on average, of 2,400 square feet.
With Americans continuing to get larger and heavier — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than one-third of American adults are obese — plus-size apparel has developed into an increasingly competitive, complex niche market. In a survey conducted last August by London-based market research firm Mintel, 68 percent of adult women in the U.S. said they normally buy clothing sized 14 or larger. Some 38 percent said they’ve spent $100 or less on plus-size clothing in the last 12 months, while 30 percent said they’ve spent $100 to $249. Among the teenaged girls who were surveyed, 60 percent said they have shopped for plus-size clothing in the last 12 months, preferring Target, Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, Forever 21 and other stores where their peers go. Eighty-eight percent of the teens said low prices are important when shopping for clothing.
Lucky is the latest player designing plus-size fashion. Last October, The Limited launched a new division called Eloquii by The Limited that caters to full-figured women. Full Figured Fashion Week, which started four years ago, marked its latest New York edition earlier this month with a runway presentation featuring plus-size looks from designers including Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and Elie Tahari. Meanwhile, plus-size specialty stores have consolidated, with Avenue preparing to close about one-quarter of its nearly 400 units in the wake of its bankruptcy and acquisition, and Ascena Retail Group moving to close Fashion Bug since it acquired Charming Shoppes Inc.
Lucky’s new Ginger jeans are all cut out of stretchy fabric with a midrise and contoured waist in three leg openings: skinny, straight and boot. The denim treatments range from dark indigo and cornflower blue to black and colored corduroy. While Lucky offers size 16 jeans in its stores and size 18 online, the new Ginger fit will be available in sizes 14 to 24 and Lucky Plus will be sized 1X to 3X. Melding Lucky’s denim heritage with Bohemian styling, the 75 pieces in Lucky Plus’ debut collection include crochet peasant blouses, asymmetric sweater coats, leopard-print cardigans and minimalistic jean jackets. As Lucky plans to build a plus-size lifestyle brand, the holiday collection would expand into pull-on leggings, a glitter finish and dresses.
“We want to be fashion-right,” said Patrick Wade, Lucky’s creative director. In other words, the design directive for the plus-size clothing was “give her something that’s fun to wear and give it a lot of attitude,” he said.
Harrods plans to remove the famous statue of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed from the bottom of the Egyptian escalators and hand it back to Mohamed Al-Fayed. “We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years,” said Michael Ward, Harrods managing director. “With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr. Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace.” More on the news, with reporting by @loreleimarfil, at WWD.com. #wwdnews
@prada is introducing a new project at its men’s fall 2018 show this Sunday: “Prada Invites.” The fashion house invited four celebrated creative minds – @ronanaerwanbouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, @herzogdemeuron and @rem.koolhaas – to each create a unique item with its iconic nylon material. The designs will be unveiled on the runway show, which will take place at the company’s warehouse in Viale Ortles 25. #wwdfashion #mfwm (📷: @martinocarrera)
@kering_official is spinning off its stake in puma in an effort to focus on its luxury brands, the brand operator announced yesterday. “We are proud to have supported the turnaround of Puma, which now has unrivaled capabilities to take full advantage of the specific dynamics of its global markets and is poised to achieve substantial growth,” said François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chief executive officer and chairman. Artémis will become a “long-term strategic shareholder” of Puma with a 29 percent stake. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
The fashion world mourns for celebrated street style photographer, Nabile Quenum, who died at age 32 in Paris.
Quenum, creator of the fashion blog “J’ai Perdu Ma Veste,” was a fashion week fixture, and regularly shot for New York magazine’s The Cut, among other outlets, and brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moncler and Adidas. He was also actively involved in the #NoFreePhotos initiative, which kicked off in the fall. Read more about Quenum in @kbsmoke's story on WWD.com. #wwdnews
@verwanggang and @maisonladuree have teamed up on a dessert collab called Vera Wang Pour Ladurée. The collection, which launched this week, features a specialty macaroon, as well as a wedding cake inspired by one of the designer’s gowns. “I could not imagine a more delicate or sophisticated creation to grace any couple’s celebration,” said Wang. #wwdfashion


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Amazon is considering working with a meals-ready-to-eat (MRE) startup as a way to offer fresh meal delivery without having to worry about temperature control or shelf stability:
“The world’s biggest online retailer has discussed selling ready-to-eat dishes such as beef stew and a vegetable frittata as soon as next year, officials at the startup firm marketing the technology told Reuters. The dishes would be easy to stockpile and ship because they do not require refrigeration and could be offered quite cheaply compared with take-out from a restaurant.”
Despite Amazon’s recent foray into fresh groceries (and the possibility of acquiring Whole Foods’ supply chain assets), the online retailer is clearly looking for alternatives to cold storage and transportation.
Resources for Walmart Suppliers


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Despite its best efforts, Chinese smartphone maker ZTE has not been able to make its presence felt in the international handset market. With limited presence in the US and other western countries, ZTE predominately sell its devices in China and neighboring countries.
However, with the coming of Nubia X6, things are not looking bleak as one would have imagined. Certainly, ZTE has something special to show off in the coming days to come.
We're talking about the Nubia X6, an upcoming flagship phone that may help the brand to compete against the big guns in the handset business.
Until now, most of us are in an impression that ZTE will release its much hyped phone, the Nubia Z7, later next month. However, recent reports in the media apparently suggest that ZTE Nubia X6, a 6-inch QHD phone, could be released any time soon.
Since early this month, ZTE had been giving all sorts of hints (via teasers), so as to make users aware about the forthcoming X6 handset. The company continues to tease its upcoming Nubia X6 with refreshing teaser posters.
Today, ZTE has posted yet another teaser, giving us an insight in respect to X6's rear-facing camera. Apparently, the phone's camera will feature built-in OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) feature. We've seen this feature in the LG G2 and other leading high-end handsets.
Meanwhile, another teaser image makes it crystal clear that the forthcoming ZTE Nubia X6 is expected to feature stereo quality speakers. We would expect something similar to how Sony has implemented powerful stereo speakers in its latest flagship phone, the Xperia Z2.
As far as its specs sheet goes, the X6 would feature a 6-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display. The device is said to feature a unibody design, making it ultra glamorous in nature.
Under the hood, the phone is expected to come with a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC, backed by 2GB or 3GB of RAM.
The Nubia X6 would flaunt a 13-mega pixel rear-facing camera with built-in OIS feature. Currently, there are no details available as far its front-facing camera goes, although we would expect at least 5MP front-facing shooter, considering the market trend.
Generally, ZTE made phones are restricted to Chinese market only. It remains to be seen if ZTE has any intention to release its forthcoming Nubia X6 in other parts of the world, including India.
Source- ZTE ( Weibo)
Stay tuned to GizBot for more updates!


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FED CATTLE: Fed cattle traded $5 lower on a live basis compared to last week. Prices on a live basis were mainly $128 to $132 with some at $134 while dressed trade ranged from $205 to $217 with most near $210. The 5-area weighted average prices thru Thursday were $130.23 live, down $4.91 from last week and $210.15 dressed, down $9.19 from a week ago. A year ago prices were $121.03 live and $195.03 dressed.
It appears the finished cattle market has begun its price descent from its spring high just as the market moves into summer. Finished cattle prices were strong throughout the spring months and it appears cattle prices will carry significant momentum into the summer market.
Prices have started to soften, but the market continues to carry considerable strength when comparing to seasonal tendencies. One reason prices have remained high is due to the leverage feedlot managers have over packers.
When packers are producing profitable margins and cattle feeders are extremely current in cattle marketing then this provides the cattle feeder the opportunity to demand higher prices. The current marketing situation looks to persist for several more months.
BEEF CUTOUT: At midday Friday, the Choice cutout was $249.87 up $0.13 from Thursday and up $4.52 from last Friday. The Select cutout was $219.67 down $0.86 from Thursday and up $1.72 from last Friday. The Choice Select spread was $30.20 compared to $30.75 a week ago.
The summer grilling season is a strong supporter of beef prices especially leading up to the Memorial Day holiday. Following the first major grilling holiday, beef prices are usually supported by other grilling holidays, but prices do begin to soften. As Father’s Day and Independence Day approach, there have not been any signs of the market moving lower.
The Choice and Select cutout prices would indicate strong demand for beef products as production remains above a year ago as do prices. Beef prices are finding major support from domestic outlets while export markets continue to provide additional support.
It may be difficult for the U.S. beef market to be in a much better situation than it is right now with reduced beef production in Australia, Brazilian meat companies facing challenges that have trading partners skeptical, China reopening their market to U.S. beef, and strong taste for beef domestically. All of these factors have helped support beef prices and thus packer margins and the expectation is for these conditions to persist for several more months.
OUTLOOK: The calf and feeder cattle markets have been exceptionally strong through the first five and a half months of the year, but softness in the calf market was present this week based on Tennessee weekly auction market averages. The softer prices for freshly weaned calves should not be concerning for producers as prices have strengthened over a two month period that generally results in softer prices.
Prices will likely continue to soften through the fall months as most stocker producers already have pastures stocked for summer grazing resulting in a declining quantity demanded for these calves. There will be producers who continue to purchase a few animals along the way especially if they are using feed sources other than pasture, but producers using pasture as the primary feed source are generally cautious during summer months as drought conditions are only two weeks away at any given time. The fall market for freshly weaned calves will continue to be softer as the quantity of calves supplied seasonally increases. The decline in prices from summer through fall will largely hinge on weather conditions as cattle numbers are not expected to put much pressure on calf prices.
The yearling cattle market appears to be favorable through the summer and likely through much of the fall. Demand by feedlots for yearling cattle is very strong. Much of the strength in the market is due to the large profits that have been accumulating the past several months.
Cattle feeders have been pushing cattle out of pens at a rapid pace due to strong profit margins. The rapid pace has resulted in lower cattle weights at harvest and a strong demand to refill pen space. Harvesting the cattle at lighter weights has resulted in some cattle being pulled off feed a little “green,” but cattle feeders have little concern as profits remain strong. Feedlots are current in cattle marketings which provides leverage over packers, but as packers continue to pull cattle forward, those feedlots will continue to pull cattle off of farms resulting in a strong feeder cattle market.
ASK ANDREW, TN THINK TANK: In recent weeks, several producers have inquired about retained ownership through the feedlot this year. Many of the inquiries have come from producers who have fed cattle in previous years, but a few inquiries have come from producers evaluating the marketing method for the first time. The producers raising these questions range from small cow-calf operations to large operations. The size of the operation is not as important as the market conditions and the genetics behind the cattle to be owned. In relation to market conditions, the market looks promising for retaining ownership through the feedlot for cattle going on feed this summer. For cattle to be placed in the fall, it would probably be best to give the market more time to develop before a final decision is made. Genetics and ability of an animal to grow efficiently and grade well are also vital. Animals that grade Choice or higher and that have a good feed efficiency are a natural profit hedge. Otherwise, selling as feeder cattle may be the best option. If any producers are interested, I am in the process of putting together a load of cattle to be shipped to the feedlot through the Tennessee Beef Evaluation program in late July.
Please send questions and comments to [email protected] or send a letter to Andrew P. Griffith, University of Tennessee, 314B Morgan Hall, 2621 Morgan Circle, Knoxville, TN 37996.
FRIDAY’S FUTURES MARKET CLOSING PRICES: Friday’s closing prices were as follows: Live/fed cattle –June $121.70 -0.80; August $118.18 +0.68; October $115.35 +0.65; Feeder cattle –August $147.88 +0.80; September $147.35 +0.95; October $145.83 +0.98; November $144.13 +0.93; July corn closed at $3.84 up $0.05 from Thursday.


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The sophisticated technology allows traders to use computer algorithms to hunt for the best prices and execute trading orders quickly.
At present, traders are using the technology in such trade, in both large and mini/micro futures contracts.
The Commission has decided to implement the circular about prohibition of algo and high frequency trading in mini and micro contract with effect from January 1, 2013 instead of December 1, 2012," FMC said on its website.
More time has been given following a representation from an exchange which said it needs to develop and test the trading system thorougly to ensure traders do not execute automatic trading with use of technology in mini and micro contracts, the regulator said. Algo and high frequency trading would be restricted to ensure small and retail traders in the value change hedge their risk, it added. The FMC has also directed the exchanges to submit the compliance report in this regard at the earliest.
At present, mini and micro contracts are being offered in gold, silver and some base metals on the MCX platform.
There are six national exchanges and 16 regional level bourses in the country.


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Approximately half of US pork processing capacity has been shut down during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the president of US meat giant Tyson Foods.
Industry representatives have warned that millions of pigs cannot enter supply and called for a co-ordinated euthanasia programme as stocks build-up on farms.
Tyson has been forced to close a number of pork plants, including two in Iowa and one in Indiana, which it is now planning to re-open. It has also shut some major beef plants.
Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork producer, has been even harder hit, shutting numerous plants across the country, including the massive Sioux Falls plant, which accounts for approximately 5% of US pork production.
Sioux Falls, closed after hundreds of workers tested positive for the virus, has now resumed ‘limited operations’ after being shut for around three weeks, according to the Business Times. Smithfield, owned by China’s WH Group, reopened the plant’s ground seasoned pork and night clean-up departments with about 250 of the plant’s 3,700 workers returning, a spokeswoman for the United Food and Commercial Workers said.
The company plans to gradually restart more operations, but has not resumed slaughtering pigs, according to the union. Smithfield has made coronavirus testing optional for employees to go back to work, South Dakota Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdony said.
Other major meat companies, including JBS, have also shut pork plants and the US Center for Disease Control has reported that 19 states have recorded COVID-19 cases in 115 meat and poultry processing facilities. Among around 130,000 workers at the facilities, there have been about 5,000 confirmed cases and 20 deaths, the Business Time reported.Read full article Share on twitter


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Editors’ Note: Because of the Labor Day holiday, look for In Advertising next week on Tues., Sept. 2.
It is standard operating procedure on Madison Avenue for a product to inspire a campaign. But for a leading liquor brand, a campaign is inspiring a product -- actually, a series of products.
The brand is Absolut vodka, which is bringing out limited editions of flavored varieties that celebrate spirited cities where the residents enjoy their spirits. The first one, introduced in July 2007, was named Absolut New Orleans; the second, introduced last month, is called Absolut Los Angeles.
The citified versions of Absolut are being promoted with print, outdoor and online advertising; displays in store windows; event marketing; cocktails with colorful names like the Absolut Big Breezy and the Absolut La La Land; and donations to charitable organizations.
Consumers are also being asked to visit a Web site (absolut.com/cities) where they can vote on which city will be the next to get its own Absolut flavor, in summer 2009.Continue reading the main story
The agencies involved in getting the word out about the new Absolut varieties, with marketing budgets that are not being disclosed, are TBWA/Chiat/Day in New York, part of the TBWA Worldwide unit of the Omnicom Group; Great Works, an interactive agency with offices in cities that include New York and Stockholm; and the New York office of Ketchum, an Omnicom public relations agency, with support from the Ketchum Entertainment Marketing division.
The vodkas suggested by cities were themselves suggested by ads for Absolut that began running two decades ago, which paid tribute to markets where the brand was popular.
For instance, in “Absolut Chicago,” wind is blowing the lettering off the Absolut bottle. In “Absolut San Francisco,” the bottle is obscured by fog.
Some markets were honored with two or more ads. In “Absolut Manhattan,” Central Park is reshaped to look like the Absolut bottle. In “Absolut New York,” yellow cabs on a busy street are lined up to invoke a bottle of lemon-flavored Absolut Citron.
In one version of “Absolut L.A.,” a swimming pool appears in the shape of the bottle. In the other version, the wording on the bottle is rearranged to mimic the credits of a movie.
Dozens of cities, in the United States and countries around the world, were featured in ads before the “Absolut _____” campaign ended in 2006. (For more examples, check out the Web site absolutad.com.) The flavors named after cities are part of the current Absolut campaign, introduced in April 2007, which carries the theme “In an Absolut world.”
Like Absolut New Orleans, the Los Angeles variety is priced the same as regular varieties of Absolut, about $20 for a 750-milliliter bottle.
The flavors with city roots are indicative of efforts by marketers to bring brands to life in tangible ways that potential customers can experience first-hand.
Other such initiatives include retail outlets devoted to single brands that are open for a short time, known as pop-up stores; contests in which the public can create ads for their favorite products, called consumer-generated content; and exhibits in malls, car dealers’ showrooms, the lobbies of office buildings and other public places.
The vintage city ads “were interpretations of the local cities, taking pride in place,” says Ian Crystal, brand director for Absolut vodka at the Absolut Spirits Company in New York, a unit of the V&S Group of Sweden.
The city flavors “take it to the next level,” he adds.
Bringing out the New Orleans and Los Angeles varieties “continues on that path of innovation” for which Absolut marketing is known, Mr. Crystal says.
Examples include the original city ads, ads for Absolut that featured works by artists like Andy Warhol and ads that were among the first to appear in media aimed at gay and lesbian consumers.
The criteria for selecting the first two cities for Absolut flavors included “being a destination,” Mr. Crystal says, as well as providing opportunities for “cause marketing,” which would enable Absolut to make donations to local organizations.
“The final factor,” he adds, was an ability to create “a flavor reminiscent of the city.”
Absolut New Orleans offered drinkers what the company described as the taste of “mango with a spicy black pepper kick.” Absolut Spirits produced 360,000 bottles of the New Orleans flavor, in 30,000 12-bottle cases, which sold out quickly, Mr. Crystal says.
Absolut Spirits donated all profits from Absolut New Orleans, $2 million, to five charities in the Gulf Coast region.
The introduction of Absolut Los Angeles is being heralded with ads that proclaim, “In an Absolut world, lights, camera, vodka.” The ads show four bottles perched atop a tower amid searchlights in images evocative of the logo for the 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight film studios.
That idea is echoed in a billboard above the Kodak Theater, which sports a mock bottle of Absolut Los Angeles, 20 feet high.
The taste of the Los Angeles variety is described as “blueberry, acai berry, acerola cherry and fruity notes of pomegranate.” Absolut Spirits plans to distribute 300,000 bottles of Absolut Los Angeles, in 25,000 12-bottle cases, in markets like Las Vegas and New York in addition to, of course, the Los Angeles area.
Absolut Spirits plans to donate $250,000 from the profits of Absolut Los Angeles to an organization, Green Way LA, which will use the money for a “Green Streets” initiative.
The company is also making a donation to the Friends of the Walk of Fame, which is trying to restore the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard in conjunction with its 50th anniversary in 2010.
The insight for the city flavors is that just as the “In an Absolut world” campaign represents “an ideal interpretation” of reality, says Jamie Gallo, managing director at the TBWA/Chiat/Day New York office, the new varieties “capture the spirit or vibe of each city.”
For New Orleans, the idea was “that in an Absolut world, one spirit can save another,” Mr. Gallo says, “drawing attention to people helping people, people caring about the community” as it rebuilds from the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
For Los Angeles, the idea is to “find your spotlight,” he adds, inspired by the concept of “why people go to L.A. in the first place: It was always considered the city of opportunity, a first chance or a second chance.”
As for the next flavors with city roots, Mr. Gallo says it “definitely is early” to talk about them, but when pressed he adds that at the agency “we kind of have a ‘hit list’ of what we’d like to do.”
Alas, Mr. Gallo is mum about which cities may be on that list.
Although Mr. Crystal of Absolut Spirits is similarly tight-lipped, he says the company has already received “a lot of good responses” from visitors to absolut.com/cities and will “be ready to roll out the next city next summer.”
Too late for Absolut Beijing, to be sure. But perhaps a tie-in with the next Summer Olympics could produce Absolut London in 2012.
If you like In Advertising, be sure to read the Advertising column that appears Monday through Friday in the Business Day section of The New York Times newspaper and on nytimes.com.Continue reading the main story


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While it is open market at the moment on specialist PR firms, the
sale of GJW to BSMG stands out as a particularly shrewd deal on the part
of the public affairs firm - particularly as this is the second time
that the directors have managed to offload the company at what is
ostensibly the top of the market.
It was back in 1987 that the directors first sold the company for pounds
5 million, only to buy it back six years later for pounds 1 million. In
this latest deal with BSMG, the company comes with a price tag of pounds
7-pounds 8 million. A neat trick.
GJW’s credentials, particularly in the area of competition and
regulatory work, are impeccable. The loss of Rory Chisholm to Finsbury
means that CEO Andrew Gifford may have to take a more hands-on role in
this area however.
Across town BSMG’s loss is Finsbury’s gain. The fast-growing financial
agency plans to use the appointment of Chisholm as a springboard for the
launch of a dedicated regulatory and public affairs practice.
The marriage between financial PR and public affairs is hardly
revolutionary and agencies such as Financial Dynamics and Brunswick have
accumulated substantial regulatory expertise. But at present most tend
to migrate that expertise from mainstream financial PR as competition
and regulatory issues arise.
The London markets are particularly strong at the moment, while the
fluidity of European markets offer the potential for an increasing
amount of cross-border work. With the creation of a separate unit
marketing competition and regulatory expertise, Finsbury is well poised
to take advantage of a buoyant market, particularly if it can firm up a


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Mahindra is reported to be working on entering into a strategic alliance with Uber or Ola or both. The arrangement, if attains fruition, would not just be restricted within the aggregators and Mahindra’s auto sector but will explore synergies across the conglomerate’s different business verticals.
In addition to making cars, the Mahindra Group also has used car business, finance services and a well established IT business (Tech Mahindra).
From a taxi aggregator’s point of view, an alliance with such a multi-faceted organization could be a one-stop shop deal which would help optimize operations and cut down costs significantly. It’s to be noted that Mahindra had acknowledged earlier the threat taxi aggregators like Uber and Ola pose to private car ownership in the future. The alliance appears to be an attempt to embrace the disruption rather than battle it.
While an alliance of this nature would be first of its kind, automakers investing in taxi aggregators is not unheard of. Toyota recently bought a small stake in Uber, VW has a stake in Gett and GM has invested in Lyft.
Moneycontrol reports that none of the parties involved – Mahindra, Uber and Ola – have responded to its query.
Via – Moneycontrol.com


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LEED-Rated Furniture Store Opens
The nearly 94,000 square foot City and Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Boca Raton meets LEED standards on energy efficiency, FurnitureToday reports.
The $11 million complex features rooftop solar tubes and LED lighting inside and out, the South Florida Business Journal said.
The store has dual-flush toilets, low-flow urinals and a landscape irrigation system, and is expected to use 42 percent less water for interior use and 78 percent less outside than a traditional store. Walls are panelled with reclaimed wood.
“We’ll look to achieve LEED certification in every location where that’s doable,” said City president Keith Koenig.
City has closed three smaller stores in Florida, but expects that the new superstore will generate more sales than those three combined, FurnitureToday said.
Koenig said if demand improves in 2011, the company will construct a new 56,000-square-foot City Furniture store in Cutler Bay to silver LEED standards.
Energy Manager News
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- Tesla’s Battery Storage Device Put to Use. Time to Exhale?
- Variable Speed Drives are a Powerful Efficiency Tool
- Veolia Checks Into the UK’s Tallest Hotel
- Massachusetts Aims for Critical Care Resiliency
- State of Michigan and MISO Propose Retail Capacity Charge
- Breaking the Ice with Thermal Energy Storage


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Solos Endoscopy stock down following Q2 report
Solos Endoscopy Inc. (OTCPK: SNDY) reported total assets of $2.4 million and total liabilities of $215,000 for the second quarter of 2012.
As of mid-afternoon on Thursday, the company’s stock was down 24 percent, trading on the OTC Market at $0.005 a share.
In a statement, the Boston-based developer of screening and diagnostic equipment said it reduced its payables and other debt in the first six months of 2012 by about $640,000. The company expects, due to the restructuring and payoff of its debt, that it is in a better position to expand its marketing efforts and generate positive cash flow from its operations.
The 20-year-old company has been working to reduce debt for the past several years. In 2009, it sold its OvaScope and MastaScope product lines to Lifeline Biotechnologies Inc. in Reno, Nev. in return for an assumption of its convertible debt and a combination of stock from Lifeline. Last year, it reduced its debt by more than $620,000 for the third quarter of 2011, through two agreements which were expected to yield a reduction of ongoing expenses of $60,000 per quarter.
In the current report, the company said it saw a net loss during the first six months of 2012 of $459,000, less than the net loss for the same period in 2011 of $590,000.
The company makes color video camera systems, minimally-invasive surgical instruments and other instruments, including the MammoView instrument line for breast endoscopy. which are approved by the FDA. The company is now seeking apprvoal in Europe for several of its products. Late last month, it announced that it now has the capability to provide 45 cm instruments for use in bariatric procedures in its SteriTAP line of instruments. The company already offers 45 cm instruments in its standard line of instruments.
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Navi Technologies, an investment firm with a focus on the financial services sector, co-founded by Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, has completed the acquisition of Bengaluru-based technology consultancy MavenHive, the company said on Thursday.
The acquisition will boost Navi’s product development initiatives, the company said, but did not disclose the deal amount.
“It’s a 100% acquisition and the founders are happy with the price. We were looking to hire some of the best and brightest engineers to join our team. When we came across the team of MavenHive, we were very impressed with the team and the kind of work they were doing while helping many good product companies achieve their vision. Hence, it was an ideal fit for us,” a Navi spokesperson said.
“We are very excited about this acquisition, which will add great capability to our ambitions to build cutting-edge technology platforms that can take applications to scale. This acquisition will add to Navi’s technology capabilities,” said Bansal, Navi chief executive officer (CEO).
MavenHive has helped companies such as Flipkart, Gojek, Grasshopper and Scripbox to achieve major milestones in their product journeys, according to the statement by Navi.
The MavenHive team, including its founders Bhavin Javia and Anandha Krishnan, has joined Navi as part of the transaction.
In December 2018, Bansal and Ankit Agarwal set up BAC Acquisitions Pvt. Ltd, a holding company, with the aim of making financial services simple, affordable and accessible, according to the statement. This was renamed as Navi Technologies in October this year.


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DAPs Magic Disney News – PRESS RELEASE
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Ghouls and goblins gather at Disney for a bewitching Halloween spooktacular during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party beginning Sept. 11 at Magic Kingdom.
A pumpkin-orange glow and light fog along with ghostly silhouettes dancing atop the roofs of Main Street, U.S.A create lots of delight and not so much fright during this family-friendly, after-hours party. Guests are invited to dress up in favorite Halloween costumes for trick or treating and more from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. for 23 select nights.
In addition to trick-or-treating, meet and greets with Disney characters donning Halloween costumes, and entertainment unique to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, many popular Magic Kingdom attractions – including, of course, The Haunted Mansion – are available to experience (but beware of hitchhiking ghosts).
Nightly entertainment features the twice nightly “Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade” led by the infamous Headless Horseman, followed by “HalloWishes,” a green and orange fireworks display complete with Disney villains.
Party dates in 2012 are: Sept. 11, 14, 18 21, 25, 28, 30; Oct. 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 30 and 31; and Nov. 2.
Advance savings of $6 per ticket are available for select dates. Special after-hours tickets are required. For additional information, guests may visit www.disneyworld.com/halloween. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 407/W-DISNEY.