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Furniture Brands dealers in a quandary
Based on a letter being sent to some dealers, GE Capital Solutions is cutting off dealer inventory financing for Furniture Brands International Inc. lines, including Broyhill and Lane, trade publication Furniture Today reports.
The publication cited a letter from a portfolio manager with GE’s Capital Solutions for the Home Product Industry that was sent to dealer members of buying group AVB BrandSource stating it would stop financing the purchase of Furniture Brands inventory Sept. 12. The letter didn’t give reasons for the action, according to the trade publication.
Furniture Brands spokeswoman Lisa Hanly told Furniture Today the company believes the letter is an error. Furniture Brands has “not yet resolved the issue,” she told the Business Journal today.
More than 80 percent of BrandSource’s members have a GE credit line, Mike Allen, vice president of BrandSource Home Furnishings, told Furniture Today.
GE Capital Solutions didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A bankruptcy or restructuring could be imminent for troubled Furniture Brands International Inc., following reports that it tapped outside restructuring advisers.
Furniture Brands, which lost $40.8 million on net sales of $255 million in the second quarter, hired law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker LLP, according to Dow Jones, and it also tapped investment bank Miller Buckfire & Co. and turnaround specialists at Alvarez & Marsal.
Clayton-based Furniture Brands (OTCQB: FBNI), led by Chairman and CEO Ralph Scozzafava, moved off of the New York Stock Exchange and started trading on the OTCQB, a market for less widely traded stocks, on Aug. 28.
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As well as a raft of other high profile thefts of cryptocurrencies in the last few years, hackers recently stole $40 million worth of bitcoin from Binance, one of the... more
The post If cryptocurrencies are so safe – why do they keep getting hacked? appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
Facebook is reported to be recruiting dozens of financial firms and online merchants to help launch a cryptocurrency-based payments system, dubed Project Libra, on the back of its gigantic social... more
The post Project Libra: Facebook aims to take cryptocurrency mainstream appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
I think its fair to say that blockchain and its underlying DLT technology has matured to a spotty teenager. This maturity and the underlying risks that come with it have... more
The post Blockchain growing pains – Regulatory oversight and supervisory nodes appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.
So, Facebook is creating its own cryptocurrency. The move is partly to counter the threat from up and coming messaging rivals Telegram and Signal, with the effort to build its... more
Coinbase, a small cryptocurrency exchange is launching Coinbase Card, a Visa bitcoin debit card in the UK, letting users pay with bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin. Coinbase says that the card, which... more
The post Coinbase set to launch bitcoin debit card – Coinbase Card appeared first on Payments Cards & Mobile.

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We cover a wide variety of issues such as bitcoin development, startups, blockchain technology,.Bitcoin users will be able to use their encrypted digital currency to pick up some deals on Black Friday.Bitcoin Black Friday is almost here again which is great, right.Black Friday and Cyber Money bitcoin deals. Black Friday and Cyber Monday Bitcoin Shopping. Exclusive new design for Bitcoin Black Friday and storewide discounts.According to Holmquist, retailers often squeeze in bitcoin deals at the last minute, making his Friday very busy.On the day after American Thanksgiving, bitcoiners (along with everyone else) will begin their holiday shopping in earnest, with Bitcoin Black Friday sales competing.
Stone Banana Apparel: Exclusive new design for Bitcoin Black Friday and storewide discounts.Bitcoin Black Friday is simply an event where Bitcoin merchants list deals and coupons for Black Friday,.Just wanted to give you guys a quick heads up about Bitcoin Black Friday.Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, noted as the first day of traditional Christmas.
To prove the new currency has practical value a group of online retailers and bitcoin are offering Black Friday deals.Guys I always knew us bitcoin miners are special, but now I feel really special.
Metrics Point to 'Weak' Bitcoin Black Friday 2014, YourBitcoin Black Friday will focus on the quality of merchants who accept bitcoin as well as stress testing sites to ensure they can handle the extra traffic.Related Items: bitcoin, black friday, deals, digital currency.
Will you be participating in 'bitcoin Black Friday'? How
We can get extra special pricing from many different stores including newegg.According to initial metrics, Bitcoin Black Friday 2014 sales reduced if compared with 2013.
SDRL - Seadrill Announces Comprehensive Restructuring Plan to Be.A number of BitPay merchants are offering great Bitcoin Black Friday deals for bitcoin shoppers.The only official site to get Bitcoin exclusive deals, offers, and discounts on Black Friday Nov 25 2016.
Black Friday for bitcoin that might be a great thing over the web,.A number of merchants are offering discounts to bitcoin customers as part of Bitcoin Black Friday.The OB1 team released a list of 10 stores that will be offering exclusive deals on November 25.Yummitea: Bonus product with all Purchase Pack listing orders.DSLRs are normally crazy expensive, but with these bitcoin deals, we can now at least look like legit photographers or take some high quality selfies.These symbols will be available during your session for use on applicable pages.Looking to ball out this year with a 24 karat gold iPhone 5S.
Bitcoin Black Friday Deals on AirbitzYou know, black market sales, the underground operations, the Dark Web.Bitcoin Black Friday: The fourth-annual event is projected to include more than 150 participating stores, and if history is any indication could affec.
News From The Techdirt Insider Shop: Bitcoins, BlackBitcoin Black Friday is just what it sounds like — an event where bitcoin merchants list deals and coupons on Black Friday,.On the day after American Thanksgiving, bitcoiners (along with everyone else) will begin their holiday shopping in earnest, with Bitcoin Black Friday sales competing for shopping dollars by offering big discounts.
Bitcoin Bitcoin Tracker: Bitcoin Black Friday. By PYMNTS. Bitcoin Black Friday is just what it sounds like — an event where bitcoin merchants list deals and.Bitcoin Black Friday had a moderately successful start, with just 20 merchants initially supporting the campaign.
The list of merchants at Bitcoin Black Friday 2015 includes over 150 names including Nestorgames, Bitsoap, Mixedtees, Namecheap.Bitcoin Black Friday opens early morning EST with deals, coupons and discounts from 150 merchants, including Ledger, cryptoart and beesbros.The Bitcoin Black Friday website has put together over 400 Black.In conjunction with mainstream Black Friday, merchants in the space will offer exclusive discounts to digital currency users.
Bitcoin Black Friday - IT ItchLedger, known for its popular hardware wallets, Ledger Nano and Nano S, are offering a 21 percent discount on all products.Several sites have joined forces for Bitcoin Black Friday, an online campaign that will offer.
Does anyone have any information about participating vendors or.First came Cyber Monday, a second bite at the apple from online retailers.
4 Bitcoin Black Friday deals for subversives and bacon-loversMeet the First Ever Vietnamese-American Woman Elected to Congress.
Bitcoin Black Friday: Bargain Hunters Beware! - WebTitanBlack Friday is an event that has spawned all sorts of retail spin-offs.But this year, retailers are embracing the bitcoin madness by offering deals on random and cool items you can purchase and get discounts on by using bitcoins.
Online retailers are offering Black Friday deals for Bitcoin users.


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Meeting venue? Check. Caterer? Check. Promotional swag for the guests? Check.
All the essentials for planning the perfect business event were on display Thursday at the second annual Northwest Chicago Hospitality Expo. More than 400 people mingled amid the 45 vendors at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows to learn more about what the Northwest suburbs have to offer in the hospitality industry. Exhibitors ranged from area hotels and restaurants to entertainment centers, event planners and promotional product suppliers.
The event was the ideal location to network with others and make new business connections, said Sheryl Novak of the National Concierge Association, Chicago and Suburban Region. Novak said the event is ideal to connect her organization's members with potential business, as well as find new members in the suburbs.
"There's a diversity of vendors and people who come to us with questions," Novak said. "We've been with (the Hospitality Expos) since they were established."
For first-time vendor Gerianne Llamas of Muscle Maker Grill in Rolling Meadows, it was a great opportunity to get the word out on the restaurant, which had just opened three weeks ago.
"We're getting a lot of people walking up who say they've read about us or heard about us and want to know more," Llamas said as she handed out sandwich wrap samples to passers-by. "I love it here."
Attendees did not leave hungry as restaurants offered samples of their cuisine, while others vendors offered snacks and candy. Chef Jorge Garcia of Wickets Bar and Grill in Schaumburg was slicing roast beef for sandwiches and serving up roasted tomato soup to those who stopped by. Wickets expected to go through 75 pounds of beef and six gallons of soup by the end of the event, according to restaurant operator Dennis Antoniello.
The Northwest Suburban Hospitality Expo was sponsored by the Daily Herald Business ledger in partnership with the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau.


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Scientists have developed new technology, dubbed 'Knocker', which identifies objects and executes actions just by knocking on them with the smartphone. Software powered by machine learning of sounds, vibrations, and other reactions will follow the users' directions. <!-- more --> ...
No camera is involved. Instead the technique processes data from the phone’s microphone, accelerometer and gyroscope – recorded simultaneously as the phone is tapped on the...Eweekly 2019-10-03
TYSONS CORNER, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 16, 2019-- MicroStrategy® Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of enterprise analytics and mobility software,...The Saratogian 2019-10-16
Sonarax and Stimshop Win Worldline e-Payments Challenge in Their Category Offering Ultrasonic Cashless Payments and ...
FRANKFURT, Germany & HAIFA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 3, 2019-- Sonarax ( https://www.sonarax.com ), the ultrasonic connectivity software technology company, announces...Waco Tribune-Herald 2019-10-03
Leap Motion suggested years ago that it was working to bring real time hand tracking to mobile devices — an innovation with obvious applications for virtual and augmented...Venture Beat 2019-10-18
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Munich, Germany, 15 October 2019 - Whether for artificial intelligence, augmented reality or the Internet of Things - 5 billion people worldwide 1 will be using smart devices to sense their environment next year. Infineon Technologies AG has developed a 60 GHz radar chip, which enables a new form of interaction between users and their devices. Using an integrated antenna...Public Technologies 2019-10-15
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Namibia has sent the first consignment of beef consisting of various cuts, weighing more than 23,000 kilograms in total to Hong Kong after having received approval to start exports to the market in May.
The Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco), which is the meat processing and marketing organization, on Tuesday in a newsletter said they shipped the first container destined for Hong Kong on September 22.
The agreement also included the export of offal and sealed or frozen beef products as well as bone-in products.
“What makes it more exciting, is that Namibia is the first country in the African continent to export beef to Hong Kong,” Meatco stated.
“Among the health requirements that make us eligible to export beef to Hong Kong, is that all cattle eligible for export must be born and raised in areas free of foot-and-mouth-disease where no vaccinations are done,” they added.
Meatco operates four abattoirs, a feedlot and a tannery. Two abattoirs, owned by the Government of Namibia and managed by Meatco, are located in Oshakati and Katima Mulilo. They fall within an area known as the Northern Communal Areas (NCA)
According to Meatco, Namibia produces about 60,000 metric tons of beef products per year, of this, roughly 20,000 metric tons are exported to South Africa and the European Union.
source:xinhuanews|04 October 2016


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Bryce Harper headlines this week’s eTopps MiLB cards
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
He may be slumping, but it probably won’t hurt this one.
The first eTopps Minor League card of the most-watched Class AA player on the planet, Washington Nationals prospect Bryce Harper, was launched as an initial public offering today as part of the online portfolio trading card program.
A maximum of 1,499 copies of the 18-year-old Harrisburg Senators outfielder’s card will be made with each costing $8. Those who put in buys for the card will not know how many they received until the cards are allocated at a later date.
Harper is hitting .208 with zero home runs and just two RBI and 11 strikeouts in 16 games since he was promoted to AA.
This week’s other card is of St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Shelby Miller. A max of only 749 copies of that card will be made, each costing $3.50 apiece.
For more on the program, visit www.etopps.com.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.


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DreamWorks Animation's Tuscany-style campus has been sold again, just months after the studio unloaded the Glendale complex but remained as a tenant, the Los Angeles Times...
The median price for a single-family home in Glendale skyrocketed to $888,000 last month, the highest it’s ever been, according to the latest real estate report.
Los Angeles-area drivers saw a 40-cent increase in gas prices from Friday to Monday, but relief is coming.
About 26 acres of lush green turf at Oakmont Country Club’s golf course has been swapped with new landscaping made of a sand-and-rock mixture planted with California native, drought-tolerant plants as part a major water-conservation project.
A 7,600-square-foot former computer store in downtown Glendale will be renovated and transformed into a theater venue for classic productions, which could begin as early as September 2016.
A new urgent care clinic and an expanded one have opened within a month of each other in Glendale, and it’s no coincidence. They are part of a push to cut down on the number of costly trips to local emergency rooms.
A collection of mugs hangs from individual hooks on the walls of City Hall Coffee Shop, a tiny, well-known Montrose staple.
A new sign put up by commercial property owners isn't out of the ordinary, but a lighted one along Brand Boulevard is one of the first of its kind in Glendale because it's powered by the sun.
One of downtown Glendale’s oldest restaurants has served up its last ball of matzo ball soup.
A new grant will help pay for 75 new recycling containers in the downtown and Montrose areas as well as launch a campaign aimed at getting thousands of apartment dwellers into the habit of recycling.
The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport rose by 2.3% in April compared to the same month last year, according to airfield officials, continuing a recent trend that has had officials cautiously optimistic for the future.
Unemployment rates in Glendale and Burbank dipped slightly last month with leisure and hospitality as well as professional and business services driving most of the job gains across Los Angeles County, according to the latest labor report.
Protesters demanding Nestlé shut down water bottling operations in California in the face of the ongoing drought delivered a petition of more than 500,000 signatures supporting their cause to one of the corporation’s plants in South Los Angeles Tuesday.
For 25 years, brothers Scott and Kurt Comstock have combined their minds to churn out toys for children and home products for grown-ups. They come from a family of nine kids and say that having a sibling in between them has made the collaborative process and getting along much easier.
The newly relocated Downtown Glendale Market brings a variety of small home businesses to Brand Boulevard, including Andrea Fuentes and her “cooffins.”
The Alex Theatre's backstage is off-limits to patrons, but a new 3D virtual tour of the historic venue lets anyone get a peek behind the curtains as well a dollhouse view of the auditorium.
Brent Gardner likes to stroll through the Glendale Galleria and mingle with customers. The shopping mall’s new senior general manager says it’s a better way to gather feedback than spending all day behind a desk.
During a workshop on Tuesday, roughly 20 people learned how businesses can avoid lawsuits that claim they violated accessibility laws for people with disabilities.
Two area hospitals improved their grades on a national report card this spring after receiving Cs last fall for their patient quality care.
The number of passengers traveling through Bob Hope Airport rose by 5.2% in March compared to the same month last year, beating budget projections by the same amount, according to airfield officials.
An overwhelming majority of the 150 nurses at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital voted to approve a 14-month contract, a representative from the California Nurses Assn. said on Thursday, culminating a year of negotiations with hospital officials and administrators of USC’s Keck Medicine.
Bob Hope Airport's longtime concession operator, Paradies Shops Inc., will be departing from the terminal this spring, following the award of the latest concession contract to a new vendor.
Armenian business owners in Glendale for many years have been closed on April 24 to observe the Armenian Genocide, but not too long ago, they also started displaying specially made signs on their storefront windows reminding patrons why their shops won't be open.
In Hollywood's latest big-money deal with China, former Walt Disney studio chairman Dick Cook on Monday launched his own entertainment company ...
Caruso Affiliated got the green light Thursday to initiate a project to revive the long-unused Masonic Temple building in downtown Glendale by the end of the year as a major real estate firm has already announced plans to move in and set up shop.


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Ever since Taylor Swift allegedly dumped Calvin Harris and was recently spotted with actor Tom Hiddleston, it seems like she changed her style once again. Fans have noticed that Taylor has reverted back to her old style, even though she still has her new platinum blonde hair, which may take some time to wash out.
On Wednesday, June 15, Britain’s The Sun published the exclusive photos of Swift, 26, kissing Hiddleston, 35, on the beach near her Rhode Island home. It looks like Swift has ditched her new grunge look for her old Mod Cloth-esque style. Swift was photographed wearing a brown T-shirt with a blue floral print miniskirt. She paired her look with dark sunglasses and brown lace-up brogues, which she wore for most of her Speak Now and Red eras.
Taylor Swift: dress for the beach today…
Tom Hiddleston: *opens the top two buttons on his shirt* pic.twitter.com/SO7mPXCdeB
— Cheish (@TheCheish) June 16, 2016
In the other photos, the singer-songwriter was also seen wearing Hiddleston’s navy blue Ralph Lauren quilted “Barracuda” jacket draped around her shoulders. Maybe that’s why she ditched Harris for Hiddleston. Maybe she wanted someone who acts like a gentleman and treats her like a lady.
— The Sun (@TheSun) June 15, 2016
Then, Taylor ditched the floral print dresses and brogues for crop tops and sky-high platform shoes. The “Out of the Woods” singer has made it no secret that she loves wearing preppy and retro-styled clothing.
“I really like an oxford high heel for kind of looking more like either a student or like you’re going to work. I don’t know, there’s something [that gives me some normality]. That’s what I kind of like to channel when I’m wearing them.”
And in her 73 Questions interview with Vogue, Swift, who debuted her new grunge look back in April, revealed that she still loves to wear “high-waisted stuff” despite her dramatic fashion and beauty makeover. It appears that Swift has ditched her new punk rock/grunge style once she ended her relationship with Harris.
But Taylor is not the only one making news for her head-changing style. Her rumored new boyfriend Tom wore black suede desert boots that retail at $425. According to another report, via The Hollywood Reporter, Tom was seen wearing the extravagant pair of Aquatalia Ace Boots on the wet and rocky beach.
Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have been spotted KISSING pic.twitter.com/a6W9ORzJvx
— Missguided (@Missguided) June 15, 2016
But let’s get back to Swift. It seems like her style has changed dramatically for the past year. Since Swift confirmed her former relationship with the Scottish DJ last March, the singer swapped her red lipstick and short skirts for a sexier, edgier style. It seemed like Swift was trying to rid of her skater skirts and crop tops for slinky jumpsuits that featured cutouts, plunging necklines, and metallic details. She even swapped her signature red lipstick for pink shades, bold hues, and nude colors.
Then Taylor’s look got sexier when she debuted her new bob haircut at the 2016 Grammys earlier this year. She even showed off a sexier look on the Grammys red carpet and the Vanity Fair Oscar party in dresses that showed plenty of skin and featured high slits.
And let’s not forget about the time that Swift debuted her new punk rock/grunge look at Coachella. Swift simply captioned the photo with the phrase, “Bleachella.” Prior to that moment, Swift proudly shared a photo of her new grunge look on the cover of Vogue, in which all credit went to Anna Wintour.
Apparently, Calvin loved Taylor’s sexy new look, at the time. Even Taylor seemed pleased with her overnight makeover, as seen in her Instagram post above.
“Calvin absolutely loves Taylor’s new platinum hair. He thinks it’s a super sexy look and accentuates her natural beauty. He already has the Vogue cover of her framed and hanging on his bedroom wall.”
Inside the magazine, Swift opened up about her relationship with Harris, calling it “magical,” but said that they were taking their time. Then, Swift continued to show off her new “good girl gone bad” style at the Met Gala and the BMI Awards, both of which she arrived to without Harris by her side. Fans were confused by her recent red carpet looks and said they wanted the old Taylor Swift back.
Well, fans got their wish because once Taylor and Calvin confirmed their split, the singer quietly reverted back to her old style. She reportedly crashed a fan’s party in a rather classic pink and gold jacquard gown worn with metallic retro-style heels. And now, Taylor’s seen wearing her signature brogues once again.
The singer has even been seen rocking that classic red lip in her newest gym candids. Swift was seen in New York City wearing red lipstick with a white cropped T-Shirt, black leggings, and a gray sweatshirt tied around her waist. Even Swift’s workout clothing has reverted back to more of a modest style.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Taylor Swift will go back to her classic style now that she’s dating Tom Hiddleston? Sound off below in the comments section.
[Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]


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Ohio State Quarterback C.J. Stroud bags a flashy ride as part of a huge NIL deal
Canton, Ohio - In of one of the biggest Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals in all college athletics, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is teaming up with Sarchione Auto Gallery, which means he'll be driving some of the world's most luxurious cars around campus in the upcoming season.
They will see him rollin', and some may be hatin'.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be cruising around in a variety of high-end cars through the upcoming season, starting with a Mercedes G Wagon Benz worth $200,000.
As part of the deal, Stroud will promote the auto dealership on social media and make public appearances at its gallery.
"When you talk to people, whether it’s in the community or at the game, our brand awareness is what we're building," Ryan Burton, the general manager of Sarchione Auto Gallery, told the Columbus Dispatch. "So when you have the best-of-the-best promoting your brand, it only does good things."
Stroud had previously been contacted by other dealerships, but Sarchione sparked his interest after he saw his former Ohio State teammate, wide receiver Chris Olave, driving a sponsored BMW X7 in the lead up to the NFL draft.
"If somebody is that adamant about it, and they’re going to be a Heisman frontrunner, top-10 pick in the draft, we're interested," Burton said.
After about 45 days, Stroud will be able to lease a new vehicle from the dealership.
Cover photo: BRYAN BEDDER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP


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India Domino’s, McDonald’s operators hurt by bread cancer report
The chemicals are banned in many countries because they may cause cancer, the agency said. Jubilant and WestLife denied the New Delhi-based public interest researcher’s report.
Domino’s, which trailed McDonald’s 4 years ago, is now double its size
Domino’s, is now more than double the size of McDonald’s, the US burge...
Domino's sued over alleged wage theft by New York franchisees
The New York attorney general's office on Tuesday filed a lawsuit claiming Domi...
KFC, Domino’s Pizza and other QSR chains try out new ways to attract consumers and stem slowdown
Yum! Restaurants, which operates the KFC chain in India, has tied up with Mumbai Dabbawalas to deliver meals.
Domino’s Pizza, Indian Railways to double e-catering service footprint
The statement said Domino’s has seen over a thousand Pizza orders being served to Indian Railways passengers across tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 Indian cities
ET classroom: The domino effect of rising NPAs of banks
With banks further saddled with a huge NPA burden now, the customers are bound to feel the pinch
Domino's bets on tech to grow pizza pie
With 1,000 stores, India is already Domino's largest market outside the US in terms of number of restaurants, while UK, with around 800 stores, is the third largest.
Will a crash in China's stock markets have a domino effect on India?
Experts say that while India's markets have witnessed a knee jerk reaction of crash in Asian markets, there may not be a direct long term impact of China markets.
Domino’s Pizza celebrates Navratri with all-vegetarian menu
As part of this industry-first initiative by any pizza chain, these 164 restaurants will serve fully vegetarian menu from the 13th of October to 21st of October, 2015.
Domino's Pizza to use Zippr 'code' to deliver orders
Jubilant Food Works, which operates Domino's Pizza chain, has partnered with Hyderabad-based start-up Zippr to use latter's coding method for delivering the orders.
Domino’s falls after foreign currency, insurance weigh on profit
Domino’s Pizza Inc. fell the most in more than two years after foreign-exchange rate moves and an insurance charge weighed on third-quarter profit.
Domino's buys Joey's Pizza, becomes largest pizza delivery co in Germany
Domino's Pizza Group PLC said it is forming a joint venture with Domino's Pizza Enterprises to buy Joey's Pizza for $49.13 million.
India emerges as Domino’s biggest market outside US
India got to second rank in the Domino’s universe within 18 years. However, India is a distant No. 2 to the US, where Domino’s operates more than 5,000 stores.
Jubilant FoodWorks appoints S Murugan Narayanaswamy as new marketing director for Domino’s
Jubilant has appointed Narayanaswamy as senior vice-president of marketing for Domino’s Pizza’s India operations, according to a senior executive.
Domino effect: China turmoil sends US oil futures down to 12-year low
China’s central bank cut the yuan’s reference rate by the most since August, triggering a selloff that led to the closure of Chinese stock exchanges.
Domino's Pizza says CFO Paul Doughty has resigned
Domino's Pizza said CFO Paul Doughty has resigned and CEO David Wild will assume the finance responsibility while the company looks for a replacement.
India's digital association with WTO on the rise
"The countries with the largest number of registrations are India (10%), the US (8%), Mexico (5%), China (4%) and France (4%)," the annual report of WTO said.
Further investments in India delayed: Mercedes India MD
Mercedes-Benz India head Roland S Folger says that the company won't bring in smaller size diesel engines to overcome the Supreme Court ban on 2000 cc diesel engines. He also said that although the company has petrol version of most of its cars, but added that further investments in India would be delayed till policy matters become clearer.
Intel India unveils three new initiatives to support Digital India
Intel India on Thursday announced three innovative initiatives to strengthen its support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India programme.
Don’t link India’s NSG entry with Pakistan: India to China
India wants admission to the NSG on the basis of its own impeccable non-proliferation record, people familiar with the matter said.
Renminbi adoption improves across India
Recently released SWIFT data shows that India’s use of (Renminbi) RMB for payments by value with China and Hong Kong is on the rise, but the country still shows one of the lowest RMB adoption rates among Asian countries, ranked 38th worldwide.
India’s mobile gaming market: $214 million
India’s mobile gaming market is worth $214 million, and is dominated by arcade*, puzzles and racing games.
Make in India: India woos Chinese investors, promises conducive environment
India today promised a conducive environment for Chinese investors and urged them to participate in 'Make in India' and other programmes of government.
Scoot launches flight operations in India
Scoot, the long-haul budget arm of Singapore Airlines, today launched its operations in India with flight services to Chennai and Amritsar from Singapore.
UK's Domino's Pizza Group sees upbeat full-year results
Britain's biggest pizza delivery firm Domino's Pizza Group Plc said it expected full-year results to be ahead of its expectations.
Domino's Pizza quarterly profit rises, strong dollar weighs
Domino's Pizza Inc on Thursday reported higher third-quarter net income amid ongoing pressure from strong foreign currency exchange rates.
Stocks to watch: Coal India, Hindalco, BHEL
Here is the detailed view on stocks and their numbers which are going to make headlines on Monday morning.
Coal India Ltd raises coal price by 6%
Coal India sources said company board has approved revision of weighted average coal prices by 6.2 per cent increase over the current price, from tomorrow.
Accused Italian marine returns home from India
The newly reunited family was expected to travel straight on to Bari in southern Italy, where locals had planned a homecoming party.
Pakistan government gags PCB on cricket ties with India
Khan told that until the government gave fresh directions, the PCB had given up on talking to the Indian board on ties in the near future.
India to select fighter jet under 'Make in India' by March 2017
Parrikar said various issues will have to be taken into account before selecting a foreign fighter even as he pointed out that Rafales are expensive.
India's NSG membership is not about arms: US to Pakistan
In an apparent dissatisfaction over Pakistan's opposition to India becoming a member of the NSG, US said it is about civilian use of nuclear energy.
These are the hottest places in India right now
These are the hottest places in India right now
China to expand counter-terror cooperation with India
Hua also said both sides will "properly manage and control our disputes, so that these disputes will not stand in the way of our practical cooperation".
Will oil at $50/barrel worry India?
More cash for fuel exporters could boost global growth, lure commodity-dependent sovereign wealth funds back to emerging markets.
Logistics agreement with US will help India: Manohar Parrikar
The minister also said that the agreement is not what was agreed upon during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's tenure.
US Senate to vote to bolster defence ties with India
Once the Senate passes NDAA-17, both versions of the bill would have to be aligned through a conference between the two Chambers of the Congress.
Coal India exploring export opportunity to Bangladesh
Coal India subsidiaries — Bharat Coking Coal and North Eastern Coalfields — plan to supply coal to Bangladesh power companies.
India seeks fresh treaties with 47 nations
“We have written to 47 countries… Treaties that have completed 10 years will be allowed to be lapsed so that a new text can be negotiated,” a government official said.
Pakistan writes to United Nations on India’s Geospatial Bill
The Pakistani ministry has asked the United Nations to "uphold the UNSC resolutions and urge India to stop such acts which are in violation of international law."
Good policy essential to India's stability: Raghuram Rajan
Raghuram Rajan said sharp slowdown of the Chinese economy remains a significant risk for global economy and the SAARC region.
Your Rajdhani ticket not confirmed, book on Air India
Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani today said that the airline has entered into an agreement with IRCTC, which will sell those tickets.
Our focus is to be prepared and participate in India’s growth: Yoichiro Ueno
India is already the fourth biggest market in the world for Honda, so it has a very important role, not only today, but also in terms of future growth.
India’s stand on IPR policy clear now: Nirmala Sitharaman
The Cabinet approved the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy to encourage innovation and improve access to healthcare, food security.
Air India connects Bhopal with Hyderabad via Jabalpur
Air India said that the flight AI 9863 on Bhopal-Jabalpur-Hyderabad shall operate four days a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Why 'Make in India' when you 'Fake in India'
BE brings an in-depth analysis of the scale of counterfeit products in consumer good categories, and what brands and the government need to do.
Sell Bank of India, target Rs 65: CLSA
The stress in the asset quality rose from RBI-directed downgrades (AQR), steel, and infrastructure companies.
Doctors with foreign degrees flunk in screening test in India
The pass percentage in the screening test dropped from 50.12 in 2005 to 10.7 in 2015. Even the pass rate drops all-time low of 4.93% in June 2014.


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- New scheme available to major supermarkets including Woolworths and Coles, and only for existing employees in their existing roles.
- Demand has surged for items like toilet paper, medicines, nappies, baby formula, milk powder since the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Department of Home Affairs on Friday announced Australia’s major supermarkets will temporarily be able to offer more hours to international student employees to help keep shelves stocked.
Australian supermarkets have been facing increased demand for essential items because of coronavirus.
International students currently employed at major supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles will be able to extend their working hours to help meet this high demand.
Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said the changes would help supermarkets meet the immediate high demand.
“Supermarkets across the country are struggling to keep shelves stocked with essential items, such as toilet paper, tissues, rice and pasta,” Mr Tudge said.
“To keep up with this demand, supermarkets have told us they need to give extra hours to current staff to stock shelves and serve Australian customers. While many of these will be Australian workers, international students will also be able to increase their hours,” Mr Tudge said.
'Possibility to extend to other sectors'
Acting Minister Tudge said there is a possibility that the scheme may be expanded to other sectors if the need arises.
“The changes are short term and will be reviewed regularly to ensure they are working and that they are still required,” Mr Tudge said.
“We will continue to listen to businesses as the coronavirus situation develops and may consider expanding these measures to assist other sectors if and when required. We will also consider providing flexibility with other temporary visas should the need arise,” he said.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan said the changes would help supermarkets meet immediate demand with their existing workforce and allow international students to support themselves.
“Our government is working to minimise the impact of COVID-19 in the higher education sector, this includes the impact on students supporting themselves while they study,” Mr Tehan said.
“This initiative will give international students more flexibility to work while studying and also allow employers to meet demand during a busy period.”
‘Great news for students’
Ahmed Ademoglu, the National President of the Council of International Students Australia welcomed the announcement and said this is ‘great news for students’.
“It is a great initiative. I am quite hopeful that a lot of international students will be pleased to learn this,” Mr Ademoglu told SBS Hindi.
“This change and increase needs to be long-term. International students have always helped out – be it the bushfire crisis, helping the communities. I am sure, they will be willing to help out during the COVID-19 crisis too,” he said.
Tune into at 5 pm every day and follow us on and


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Takeout mixed drinks with lids now allowed in executive order
On Thursday, Governor Pete Ricketts issued a new executive order allowing restaurants and bars to provide mixed drinks with lids for takeout.
The executive order states that pre-made cocktails and other alcoholic beverages can be sold as long as they are sealed with a lid, or another way of securing the drink. It also states that the drinks can not be partially consumed.
“Our restaurants and bars have been some of the hardest hit businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gov. Ricketts. “I’ve signed an executive order to help them by allowing takeout for pre-made cocktails and other alcoholic beverages as long as they are sealed with a lid.”
Read the executive order by clicking here.


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I had so much fun yesterday at the entrepreneurship day at school last month. (April 2019)
Sanyu was a vendor at the first annual MLK Celebration event at Sol Plaza in Lancaster, California. This was Sanyu’s first vendor event. During the event, Sanyu sold her Gabby Bows as well as homemade slime, candles and body scrubs as well as a few items from her mom’s vintage shop African Spiced Kids.
Sanyu will be headed back to Sol Plaza this week for a Black History Month celebration event hosted by AV Kwanzaa Committee.
Sanyu is open for business. Here Sanyu will be unboxing her set of bows and kit she received from Gabby Bows as part of their Mommy and Me Entrepreneurship Academy Membership.
To support Sanyu's new business purchase at this link: http://bitly.com/sanyuisagirlboss.


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After a security enthusiast discovered a loophole that allowed him to register a valid SSL certificate for Microsoft's live.fi domain, he tried to responsibly disclose the issue. But instead of thanks he got locked out of his email, phone, Xbox and o...
Microsoft released an update to blacklist an SSL certificate for one of its domain names that was issued to an unauthorized third party.
What if the key to your house was shared with 28,000 other homes?
With the backing of Google and Microsoft, the FIDO Alliance wants to kill passwords through biometrics like fingerprints and eye scans. Yahoo, however, is trying a different approach--one that looks a lot like the two-factor authentication we have no...
Yahoo released the source code for a plugin that will enable end-to-end encryption of email messages, a planned data-security improvement prompted by disclosures of U.S. National Security Agency snooping.
BlackBerry is returning to the tablet market -- this time with the help of Samsung Electronics, IBM and Secusmart, the German encryption specialist BlackBerry bought last year.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration still believes in the use of encryption to protect digital information, even after top officials have questioned how law enforcement agencies will get access to data on encrypted devices, a White House adv...
A new malware program attempts to extort money from gamers by encrypting game saves and other user-generated files for popular computer games.
Researchers sponsored by the U.S. government have reportedly tried to defeat the encryption and security of Apple devices for years.
Dell is getting deeper into the business of securing corporate networks, releasing a new integrated security suite based on encryption technology it acquired when it purchased Credent in 2012.
A cryptographic library used in all Windows versions is affected by a recently disclosed vulnerability in SSL/TLS implementations that allows man-in-the-middle attackers to force clients and servers to use weak encryption. Internet Explorer and other...
Experts are warning of a serious security flaw that has apparently gone undetected for years and can weaken encrypted connections between computers and websites, potentially undermining security across the Internet.
Some smartphone manufacturers are not configuring devices running the latest version of Android to automatically encrypt personal data, which Google had said would scramble data by default.
Finnish companies Jolla and SSH Communications Security are counting on their European origins to help sell a secure mobile operating system they are co-developing.
Aggressive adware applications that break the trust between HTTPS (HTTP Secure) websites and users have been at the center of controversy lately. But over the past week, HTTPS interception flaws of varying severity were also found in security program...
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It is not just SPAR customers who have noticed the difference; the improvement has been recognised by the top three wine competitions - Decanter World Wine Awards, IWC (International Wine Challenge), and IWSC (International Wine & Spirit Competition), awarding SPAR with
over 70 medals for its wine collection.
It is not just SPAR customers who have noticed the difference; the improvement has been recognised by the top three wine competitions, awarding SPAR with
more than 70 medals for its wine collection.
E[acute accent]"We are pleased that the NDLO has entrusted L-3 SPAR with
this outer wing program," said Patrice Pelletier, president of L-3 SPAR.
This new credit facility provides SPAR with
increased financial flexibility to support the company's working capital requirements, technology investments and strategic growth expansion that includes acquisitions," said Robert Brown, chairman and chief executive officer.
The field will be developed using a truss spar with
slots for eight dry tree wells and the flexibility to accommodate future subsea tie-backs.
However, the overall profitability of Spar will improve on a prospective basis, and the transaction provides Spar with
additional capital for future investment.


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Following President Trump's executive order banning immigrants and refugees from several Muslim-majority countries, outraged businesses have voiced their opposition to what they believe to be a discriminatory and damaging policy. Lyft, for example, pledged to donate $1 million to the ACLU over the next four years, and executives at Netflix, Apple, and Facebook have spoken out condemning the policy — citing adverse impacts on their companies' talent pool.
Starbucks is the most recent business to join the resistance to the immigration ban. On Sunday, CEO Howard Schultz announced that the coffee giant is committed to hiring 10,000 refugees at store locations worldwide.
Many Trump supporters, furious about the company's decision, took to Twitter to encourage Americans to boycott Starbucks.
The anti-Starbucks messages ranged from outrage over the hiring of refugees over veterans to fear that refugees would actually poison the coffee.
Starbucks supporters, however, are roasting the hell out of the boycotters — criticizing their logic and bigotry.
More from Distractify
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Trending Trending Trending Trending


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Kion Group (FRA:KGX) has been given a €59.50 ($69.19) price objective by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Monday. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.43% from the stock’s current price.
KGX has been the topic of several other research reports. Hauck & Aufhaeuser set a €76.00 ($88.37) price objective on shares of Kion Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 12th. Commerzbank set a €63.00 ($73.26) price objective on shares of Kion Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 16th. UBS Group set a €70.00 ($81.40) target price on shares of Kion Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 23rd. HSBC set a €69.00 ($80.23) target price on shares of Kion Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a €64.00 ($74.42) target price on shares of Kion Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of €65.85 ($76.57).
Shares of FRA KGX opened at €49.82 ($57.93) on Monday. Kion Group has a 1-year low of €57.87 ($67.29) and a 1-year high of €81.82 ($95.14).
KION GROUP AG provides supply chain solutions worldwide. The company operates through Industrial Trucks and Services, and Supply Chain Solutions segments. It develops, manufactures, and sells forklifts and warehouse trucks, such as counterbalance trucks with electric drive and IC engine, ride-on and hand-operated industrial trucks, towing vehicles, and automated trucks and autonomous trucks under the Linde, Fenwick, STILL, OM STILL, Baoli, and OM Voltas brands.
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A couple's concert plans hit a bum note after an internet ticket agency collapsed.
Stephen and Julie Gallagher spent #115 in December on two tickets to see their favourite band Keane, at Newcastle's Metro Arena through tickettout.net
But their hopes for a great night out were dashed as the March 6 show date approached and their tickets failed to arrive at their Darlington home.
On the day Keane played at the arena, the website went into administration.
Primary school teacher Julie, 40, has since discovered that the site - and its sister online agency ticket tout.com - featured on the BBC consumer show Watchdog after hundreds of other customers claimed they had been ripped off by the London-based firm.
Julie and Stephen, 36, a hospital manager, are now warning music fans to avoid unofficial ticket vendors . . . or pay the price.
Julie, mum of Lewis, four, said: "We feel angry, upset and also a little foolish. Stephen normally books online using Ticketmaster . . . we should have known there would be problems with tickettout by their name.
"We used my credit card and paid #55 for each ticket and a #5 courier charge, but we started to get worried about two weeks before the event when they didn't come through.
"The week before, we sent numerous emails and I tried ringing a telephone number I found for them. When I finally got through on the phone they pretended to be another company called Alliance Wide.
"This may sound a bit sad, but seeing Keane was going to be the first big night out for Stephen and I since moving to County Durham from Norfolk a year and a half ago . . . we haven't been able to find a babysitter until now.
"We ended up going out for a pizza and Stephen said we should play Keane on our iPods so we'd think we were at the gig!"
The company was unavailable for comment last night.
A recorded message informed callers that the company had gone into liquidation and all creditors would be contacted by letter.
Colin Revel, general manager at Metro Radio Arena, said: "I know of other people who have been affected in the same way by tickettout.net who, I think, have actually appeared on Watchdog twice and, no doubt, they will resurface under a different name.
"The fact is, unless you buy from official box offices like ours, Ticketmaster or Tickets North, you will be taking a big risk."


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Nurpur, January 12
The HP Beopar Mandal today criticised the state government for not taking traders into confidence before taking a decision regarding them. It asked for rationalisation of the timings to close shops in various districts of the state.
Sumesh Sharma, state president of the mandal, in a letter submitted to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday, termed irrational the weekend closure of shops and their opening timings in the state amid a surge in Covid cases.
He said that different timings notified by the district magistrates for closing shops in various districts had confused the traders. “The district magistrates should have taken the trading community into confidence so that traders can support the administration in breaking the Covid chain. The government should put restrictions on tourists or visitors to the state before restricting the timings of shops and imposing weekend closure,” he added. He underlined the need to check uninterrupted entry of visitors in the state and the enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour.
Sharma said that restricting the hours of opening shops and the weekend closure of markets would not help in arresting the surge in Covid cases. The state government should launch a special drive to check the movement of people not wearing masks in markets, he added.
He said that the traders were ready to support the government in controlling the spread of Covid provided it asks for their cooperation. He appealed to the Chief Minister to take effective steps to save the traders from harsh restrictions, as they had already suffered huge financial losses due to lockdowns.


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A digest of important news from sources selected by our local editors. Delivered weekday mornings.
A maker of snack dips based in Londonderry, near Chillicothe, is expanding its product offering from three states to five and adding 135 stores to its coverage, MetroWNY in Buffalo reports.
Ohio insurance agent Duane Boring's Buff Lo Dip, a combination of buffalo wing sauce and ranch flavors, is making its way to Pennsylvania and New York, in addition to Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Boring came up with the dip in his kitchen in 2010 and now sells it in more than 160 stores, the newspaper reports.
The dip is launching in Buffalo, N.Y., in Tops Markets with a Super Bowl promotion.
Morning Call is compiled from news reports originated by other media organizations and Columbus Business First staff.
Evan Weese is web coordinator for Business First.
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.


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NetSpend Holdings Inc., a marketer of prepaid debit cards, is working with banks to broaden its distribution network beyond retailers and check cashers.
First State Community Bank, a subsidiary of the Farmington, Mo., bank holding company First State Bancshares Inc., will sell NetSpend-branded prepaid cards through its 33 branches, NetSpend, of Austin, Texas, said Thursday.
The cards give First State "another way to say yes to low- and moderate-income consumers who want to establish a relationship with their bank," Dan Henry, NetSpend's chief executive, said on an earnings conference call.
More retail banks are expected to offer prepaid card products as alternatives to customers who no longer can qualify for or afford traditional deposit accounts, particularly as banks raise fees in response to regulations.
Prepaid cards are also exempted from the Durbin amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act.
The amendment instructed the Federal Reserve Board to set lower interchange rates for debit cards.
Green Dot Corp., a competitor of NetSpend, has said it is in discussion with banks to offer prepaid card programs to customers.
Under First State's agreement with NetSpend, which issues its cards through other sponsor banks, First State will sell the same cards that NetSpend sells through its existing distributors.
The cards will cost $9.95 per month, or $5 per month for customers who use direct deposit, said Jennifer Lee, deposit operations manager at First State.
The bank will share revenue from the program with NetSpend, Lee said.
All account functions, including the issuing and mailing of cards will be handled by NetSpend and its partners, she said.
Customers will be able to load funds to their prepaid card accounts at First State branches.
"Really what we were looking for was a product to offer those customers that we are currently having to turn away," Lee said.
She said that First State had been considering offering prepaid cards before regulations became an issue.
Working with banks "could add millions of people into the category of reloadable prepaid users," said Gil Luria, a senior vice president at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles who follows prepaid card companies.


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The industry’s calendar showed three TV trade shows that were to be held in Europe in the spring: Series Mania in northern France’s Lille, MIP-TV in southern France’s Cannes, and (…)
(The latest commissioned pilots for the forthcoming season*)
Prod Co: ABC Studios, Kimmelot
Writers/Exec Prods: Shawn Vance, Daril Fannin, Jimmy Kimmel
Premise: When a Green Beret returns home to Texas (…)
In order to counter fierce competition from streaming TV services like Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix, U.S. broadcast TV networks have had to come up with competitive (…)
It seems that the money people are actually in search of producers as an alternative to producers selling out to streamers. Apparently, there is a pool of money in Hollywood (…)
The ability to negotiate the appropriate location, and one offering tax and/or cash-in-hand incentives, can be a godsend when seeking funds to start and complete a production.
However, at times, a (…)
Antes de agosto, cuando Donald Trump declaró que “Hollywood is terrible” y que las películas son peligrosas, se sabía el futuro presidente de los Estados Unidos estaba fascinado con Tinseltown. (…)
“The theme of the up-coming NATPE Miami market is ‘Linear Plus’ because linear television still generates huge business worldwide and still drives the content market-place,” said NATPE president and CEO (…)
In the 1960s, Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan introduced the phrase “the medium is the message” to indicate that forms of media not only transmit information but also frame how it (…)
Recently, the Strasbourg, France-based European Audiovisual Observatory of the Council of Europe published an 80-page report detailing Brexit’s impact on the audiovisual sector, which is summarized below.
With Brexit, all E.U. (…)
Once the gatekeepers of the worldwide animation business, Canadian toon producers have, of late, been rather quiet on the international TV distribution scene. It’s not that they are not producing, (…)


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ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Consumers like to try new foods, and that’s the top reason why many have sampled plant-based meat alternatives, according to a survey by the International Food Information Council.
As reported on FoodDive.com, the study was conducted last month and included 1,000 U.S. adult respondents. In addition to the 41% who tried plant-based meat because they like to try new foods, 30% said they were curious after hearing about plant-based meats. 27% said they were trying to cut back on meat, and 27% said they think the alternative was better for the environment.
Nearly half of respondents said they’d tried a plant-based meat alternative, and they gave several reasons why they enjoyed it. The top three were taste (53%), meat-like texture (35%) and the fact that it tasted like meat (34%). Four out of 10 said there was nothing they didn't like about the faux meat, but 31% said they didn’t agree that its texture accurately replicated meat.
When comparing nutrition labels, 45% of respondents said they think plant-based alternatives are healthier than animal meat, and 25% believed the plant alternative to be unhealthier. This isn't the first survey to come to that conclusion. A recent study from DuPont Nutrition & Health found that 52% of U.S. consumers are eating more plant-based foods because it makes them feel healthier.
Although the meat industry urges consumers to look at the relatively long list of ingredients in plant-based products, 45% of survey respondents looked at the Nutrition Facts label and affirmed their health beliefs about plant-based meat.
Manufacturers will need to focus on drawing attention to their offerings and then delivering on taste and texture, as more plant-based protein products are introduced. Investment firm UBS predicts that the plant-based protein and meat alternatives market will increase from $4.6 billion in 2018 to $85 billion by 2030.


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Hotels expected to see only 30% occupancy till early next year: Report2 min read . Updated: 09 Sep 2020, 05:39 PM IST
- The shutdown and slowdown was initially expected to affect revenue streams only till October but reports and surveys now indicate otherwise
New Delhi: Underscoring the massive revenue losses caused by the covid-19 pandemic, hotels are likely to see only 30% occupancy till the start of 2021, a research by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has found. Currently, hotels are seeing an 80-85% erosion in revenue with lack of events, room reservations and restricted travel, it added.
In April, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced nationwide lockdown from 25 March, the occupancy fell to 7% against 75% a year ago. The shutdown and slowdown was initially expected to affect revenue streams only till October but reports and surveys now indicate otherwise.
The CII-Hotelivate research stated that the hospitality industry, including branded and unbranded hotels, will incur a revenue loss of $19.31 billion. Branded hotels are expected to witness better recovery in terms of occupancy (32%) over unbranded hotels (27%) owing to consumer confidence in safety measures adopted by bigger properties.
Nakul Anand, executive director at ITC Limited which runs ITC chain of hotels and chairman of Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), said covid-19 is the worst crisis of the century that has hit the complete value chain of the tourism industry with nil to limited cash inflows for many.
"One of FAITH’s three suggestions has been met -- the bank commitments can now be restructured under the resolution package. We are still pursuing and hopeful for the tourism survival fund for paying salaries and costs and waiver of statutory liabilities at both central & state government level. This is critical to ensure their survival," he added.
Meanwhile, tour operators, including both online and offline as well as inbound and outbound, will lose $4.77 billion. CII maintained its revenue loss estimates for the entire value chain linked to travel & tourism at around $65.57 billion, with the organized sector alone likely to lose $25 billion. CII said, in the best-case scenario, industry revenue will improve but only by 10-15%.
Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), representing more than 1,700 inbound tour operators, said the lockdown has had a cascading impact on the tourism with millions associated directly or indirectly with tourism losing their livelihood. "We have lost trained employees who have worked with us for years together and tomorrow when we revive it will be difficult to find replacement of these employees. We expect government to consider our plight and give us some relief," said IATO's president Pronab Sarkar.
The travel and tourism industry in India accounts for 9.2% of the country’s GDP and employs 8.1% of the population, with the total contribution to forex approximately $28 billion.


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More, more, more: Auto execs are already hinting at next round of moneyIt should not really be that surprising. One of the auto company executives -- GM's chief operating officer Fritz Henderson -- is already saying his company might need more money if it is going to weather the country's economic...
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By Renee Carey
Published in Editorials on January 12, 2009 10:59 AM


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By- Pratik Dutta | Date- April 16, 2011 | Place- Kolkata
In spite of a four-year discussion, the central government and the states have failed to reach an agreement on the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a top union finance ministry official confirmed in Kolkata.
Under the concept of the Goods and Services Tax, the age old Indian Service Tax, Excise and Sales Tax are set to be replaced by this single tax entity.
It is being claimed by the Finance ministry that the implementation of the GST would enable a uniform goods and services tax administration across the country by uniting all central and state taxes. However the conflict between the Centre and the state government regarding this bill has put a question mark on the implementation of the bill.
It is to be mentioned that the conflict between the Centre and the state government has been majorly due to two issues, the number of goods to be exempted from the tax and the threshold level of the tax.
16 states have agreed with the Goods and Services Tax so far and more are expected to provide an approval nod once the pressure from the Central Government increases to implement this new tax system.


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Nokia dismisses Microsoft takeover report
Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop on Wednesday dismissed as "baseless" a report that Microsoft had agreed to purchase the Finnish company's mobile business.
Microsoft demos new Windows '8' for tablets, PCs
Microsoft gave a sneak preview of Windows 8, a next-generation operating system designed to work on both personal computers and touchscreen tablets.
HP sets sights on rivals with webOS software
(AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. will soon include its webOS system for smartphones on all its PCs, upcoming tablet computers and higher-end printers, putting it in competition with operating software from Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Canadians using smartphones for everything but talking
A boom in smartphone sales is changing how Canadians interact with each other as these devices are increasingly used for anything but talking to people, according to a survey Thursday.
Microsoft unveils Windows Phone update 'Mango'
Microsoft unveiled the latest version of its mobile phone software and new handset partners on Tuesday as it seeks to claw back market share from Apple and Google.
RIM recalling 1,000 PlayBook tablets
Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM) said Monday it is recalling around 1,000 PlayBook tablet computers because of an operating system issue.
Google notebooks challenge Microsoft
Notebook computers powered by Google software are heading to market in a direct assault on the Windows operating system at the heart of Microsoft's technology empire.
Pioneer shows off its 52-inch WWS-DT101 multitouch table
Best of Android packed into 'Ice Cream Sandwich'
Google on Tuesday said it is packing the best of its Honeycomb tablet computer software into a new "Ice Cream Sandwich" version of Android for mobile devices.
Apple juggernaut sends ripples through tech world
(AP) -- Consumer technology companies reporting financial results this week are looking like rowboats bobbing in the wake of Apple Inc.'s supertanker.
Elpida develops 4-Gigabit DDR2 mobile RAM operating at 1.2V and 1066Mbps
Elpida Memory today announced that it has developed a 4-gigabit DDR2 Mobile RAM that employs state-of-the-art 30nm process. This new Mobile RAM features a low operating voltage of 1.2V, achieves a 1066Mbps high-speed data ...
Google to set up a mobile payment system this year?
Android tops BlackBerry in US: comScore
Google's Android has surged past Blackberry maker Research in Motion to become the leading smartphone platform in the United States, market tracking firm comScore said Monday.


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Goldman Sachs is beginning the year with a new push toward sharing its exclusive wealth management prowess with the masses. In an email revealed at the end of 2020, Goldman Sachs shared to employees that it is testing a wealth management app catering to clientele outside of the bank’s usual $25 million+ investors.
Named Marcus Invest, the wall street heavyweight’s digital service was tested towards the end of last year in a beta phase to employees with an intended roll out of early this year. For the first time, consumers will be able to access Goldman Sachs’ exclusive and coveted know-how by opening an account with as little as $1000. According to CNBC, who received exclusive access to the internal email, the service will make available some knowledge previously only available to the global elite including Goldman’s smart-beat ETFs and asset allocation models. The product’s mass market release will come after delays due to the coronavirus pandemic preventing its availability in 2020.
Users will be able to select among three model portfolios composed of ETFs from Goldman and external providers. Other features include a personal finance tool called Marcus Insights housed within the Marcus app and online portal. Marcus Invest leverages knowledge gained from Goldman’s $100 million purchase of Clarity Money, a personal finance tool created by Adam Dell (brother of PC billionaire Michael Dell). The platform will provide clients with a top-level view of their accounts with multiple institutions.
“As we prepare for the public launch in Q1 2021, we are pleased to invite consumer and wealth management colleagues to provide early feedback on Marcus Invest through our beta program,” Goldman said in an internal memo, according to CNBC. The memo was signed by Tucker York and Stephanie Cohen, co-heads of the consumer and wealth management division.
So far it is known that employees who sign on to the digital service will pay an annual management fee of 0.15% as revealed in the memo. It is not known, however, what the management fee will be to the public, but speculation suggests the fee will be comparative to competing services such as Morgan Stanley’s 0.35% or Bank of America’s Merrill division at 0.45%.
The company will also be launching a robot advisor that will enable the flexibility for clients with restricted funds to invest. “We have a lot of clients who have kids and are in relationships with people who don’t have their [level of] assets,” said Duran. He said the typical account size is expected to be higher than other robo advisers such as Betterment, which has no minimum investment amount, “because of the kind of people the [Goldman] brand attracts” shared Joe Duran, founder of the United Capital wealth management firm that Goldman acquired earlier this year.
This service is the latest in Goldman’s moves to diversify its income beyond trading and investment banking among ultra-wealthy investors.


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Now anyone can have fifteen minutes of fame: Calvin Klein has just released a capsule collection featuring Andy Warhol snapshots on pieces of its classic underwear.
During his label’s first heyday in the 80s and 90s, Calvin Klein built his empire on the house's branded underwear – and the attendant ad campaigns, which introduced equal doses of sex appeal and minimalism to the American psyche. Current chief creative officer Raf Simons is now giving the label’s heritage a more cerebral reinterpretation, exploring America’s grandeur – and demons. Among his long-term projects, we find a collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation that will be implemented across ranges season after season. Following home and t-shirt lines, the duo is now moving on to one of Calvin Klein’s most iconic ranges: underwear. The capsule collection features screens of four famous Polaroids snapped by the artist between 1977 and 1985: close ups of an anonymous Adonis’ body on men’s pieces, and a shot of Warhol’s friend, editor Daniela Morera, on women’s tops and bottoms. Another small revolution: for the first time, “Andy Warhol” is sharing the bill with “Calvin Klein” on the briefs’ and bras’ elastic waistbands.The Calvin Klein Underwear x Andy Warhol Foundation collection, starting at €26.Follow Vogue Hommes on Instagram


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While announcing the fiscal results Nestlé’s CEO said in a statement that, if the company sees any break of mergers or acquisitions and if it makes “strategic sense” for Nestle, it plans to go for it without hesitation.
“When it comes to M&A, I think Nestle is no stranger to that,” Nestle CEO Ulf Mark Schneider, said.
“In fact some of the most strident deals of the 1980s that actually put the company on the map where it is today, as the world’s largest food and Beverage Company, those were coming from here.”
Mr. Schneider recently this year appointed as Nestle’s CEO, after working as a CEO at Fresenius Group, a health care company that’s gone through many deals during his 13-year tenure.
Considering the health aspect and Schneider’s past work, the CEO revealed Nestle had by this time made a lot of development in advancement of its nutritional profile in food and beverage in the recent times.
But mergers and acquisitions at Nestle has been relatively quiet in recent years, Schneider said the group would look at potential deals “when the time is right.”
“I’m no stranger to deal-making, but I think it’s basically a continuation of what we’ve done before and that is when there are deal opportunities that make strategic sense, we’ll be there.”
In its fiscal results on Thursday, Nestle posted 2016 sales of 89.5 billion Swiss francs or $89.4 billion.
The food and beverage giants’ net profit came in at 8.5 billion Swiss francs that was less than average analyst’s predictions, with the group saying that one major factor which predominantly influenced the figure was a one-off non-cash alteration to deferred taxes.
For the future, Schneider said that the start of 2017 was expected to be harder than the end of the year, especially with the present level of unpredictability perceived across the globe.


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June 5, 2013
FILE - In this June 16, 2011 file photo, boxes of Cheerios are shown in a store in Akron, N.Y. Cheerios is standing by the fictitious biracial family featured in their latest Heart Healthy campaign, which reflects a black-white racial mix uncommon in commercials today. The 30-second ad, featuring a black dad, white mom and biracial child, produced enough vitriol on YouTube that Cheerios requested the comments section be turned off. (AP Photo/David Duprey, file)
Stories this photo appears in:
Wednesday, June 5th, 2013 7:41 p.m.
NEW YORK (AP) — A mom sits at her kitchen table when her grade schooler saunters up with a big box of Cheerios.


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Blockchain and Smart homes might be the next big thing. With the real estate industry continually on the move, the smart home industry is growing rapidly as the penetration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices into the household increases. Future smart home solutions will integrate an ecosystem of customer-facing services ranging from home security and energy management to healthcare.
Progress toward this goal is currently hindered by consumer concerns over data security and protection, as well as a lack of standards and interoperability between devices on the market. Leaders in the smart home industry are beginning to experiment with blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), which could improve data security and provide a common platform to support smart devices and integrative applications.
Blockchain has the potential to create new value in the smart home market if three crucial areas are addressed: ease of deployment, interoperability, and scalability. However, the technology is immature and current iterations have limitations in each area. Many obstacles must be overcome before a blockchain network can support the smart home.
In a Forbes interview with Imad Labbadi, Founder and CEO of VeCap GMBH, a new blockchain startup that specializes in the delivery of smart homes. Imad had this to say about the smart homes industry:
“In the next few years, Blockchain technology will change the world as we know it now. The number of blockchain investments and activities is increasing sharply. This is most clearly reflected in the various proofs-of-concept of Blockchain companies. However, it will take some time before some of these projects are ready to be officially launched on the market. However, already today the advantages of the blockchain-technology for companies as well as governments cannot be denied”.
The cryptocurrency market has once again taken a nosedive in the past weeks. Asked if he thought that there would be a recovery at some point or would there be a continued decline? Labbadi replied that it was common for every industry to have its ups and downs. He continued by saying that the market must first free itself of all the garbage and that projects were needed that could realistically connect to the real market and offer a foreseeable added value. This would allow a person who was not familiar with blockchain technology to become involved.
When asked what his personal opinion on the IOT was and how blockchain and the IOT would merge, Labbadi replied that the IOT itself was fascinating and exciting, offering both enormous potential and challenges which would be overcome. He said that one of the greatest challenges of the IoT was a Security ecosystem that encompassed all fields of IoT architecture. He went on to state that addressing the security issue in the IoT was of paramount importance for future development. This was exactly where the connection of Blockchain came into a decentral approach for IoT networking which would close the major security gaps, introducing a standardized peer to peer communication model which would process millions of transactions between devices.
He stated that the advantage of reducing the cost of installing and maintaining large centralized data centres prevented a failure of a single node in a network from causing the entire network to fail and that Blockchain technology had become an essential part of innovation for many. He concluded by saying that it offered the opportunity to develop new business models and, in addition, recorded transactions or any digital interaction securely, transparently, fail-safe, auditable and efficiently. According to him, the blockchain technology was the missing link which would solve data protection and reliability problems as well as security gaps in the IoT.
And when he was asked if the VeCap product was a step forward into what the smart homes industry can do, he said, “I certainly think so, we ourselves have to constantly improve our product and adapt it to the development of the IoT and Blockchain market. Our product will be the first of its kind to implement the IoT and Blockchain link, in a segment that already has many security problems and we want to be the ones to solve them. As soon as we have achieved that and we will, it will significantly advance the smart home market and also the IoT market. This is also the reason why we chose Smart home as our project. We wanted to achieve something that is different from others in the real market and can be realized in the foreseeable future and solve an already existing problem. This way we not only create an interesting project for our community but also a real one. This is also the reason why we have specialized in smart home and smart offices and that time will come when it will be necessary to specialize to achieve progress”.
Source: Gerald Fenech for Forbes.com


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A investigative story I did for Seattle tech news site GeekWire about blockchain startup RChain. Read the full piece at GeekWire.
One of the stars of the blockchain world, developer Vlad Zamfir, is in negotiations with a new startup called Casper Labs, an offshoot of Seattle-based blockchain cooperative RChain. Read the full piece at Geekwire.
Bitmain unveiled a new bitcoin mining facility in the United States on November 16th in the western state of Washington. With 8,100 Antminers and 12 megawatts of power capacity, the farm is carefully designed to optimize the mining process. It’s the latest sign that the company is not letting the crypto bear market slow it […]


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Saputo has appointed Carl Colizza as the new president and chief operating officer of its North American operations, in an effort to further support its growth strategy.
Colizza has been with the company since 1998, and most recently served as the president and chief operating officer of the company’s Canadian and Argentinian dairy divisions. He will assume his new position as of 1 April 2019.
As a result of this appointment, Frank Guido will replace Colizza as the president and chief operating officer of the company’s Canadian dairy division, also effective from 1 April 2019.
Guido has been with Saputo since 2015, and has held several senior management positions in operations and logistics at the company.
These management changes come just a few weeks after Saputo announced it had agreed to acquire UK-based Dairy Crest for approximately £975 million, as part of an effort to grow its international presence as part of its growth strategy.
As well as focusing on international growth, the company also made a number of investments over the course of 2018 to boost its North American operations. This included a $240 million investment to build a new dairy processing facility in Port-Coquitlam, Canada, and an agreement to acquire US cheese producer F&A Dairy Products in a deal worth approximately $85 million.
Saputo also launched a high-protein, ultra-filtered milk range in Canada at the end of 2018, in an effort to appeal to increasingly health-conscious consumers.
By Martin White
Local industry stakeholders under Food Drink Ireland (FDI) have called for targeted support measures in the sector that will help businesses stay buoyant during the transitional period.
Diageo has announced that the company’s CFO Kathryn Mikells will leave the business later this year and will be replaced by Lavanya Chandrashekar.
Schlosberg – who has resigned his positions as president, CFO, COO and secretary of Monster Beverage – will serve as co-CEO alongside Rodney C. Sacks.


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The tight-knit Seattle-area tech investing community just got a little tighter as Bellevue-based Expedia joined the list of high-profile investors in hotel listing startup Room 77, which has raised more than $30 million in financing.
Room 77, based in Mountain View, Calif., also counts Sutter Hill Ventures, Redmond-based travel expense report company Concur Technologies — which invests in a variety of travel-related companies — Expedia founder Rich Barton, Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford as investors.
The Puget Sound Business Journal recently took a look at the huge impact some early Expedia executives have had on the region’s tech community. Rascoff, who worked for Expedia before joining Zillow, sits on the Room 77 board of directors.
The company, which has 25 employees, said in a press release that it will use the capital to hire new talent, expand into new markets, invest in its products and step up its marketing efforts.
Sutter Hill Ventures Managing Director Jim White will join the Room 77 board of directors.
Emily Parkhurst is editor in chief of the Puget Sound Business Journal.


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Women, like cats, printers and the New York City subway, want to do what they damn well please.
So, when a company tells women they should augment their natural appearance for someone who is not themselves, we get pissed.
Last week, the U.K. shoe brand Office, who Mic has reached out to for comment, sent out an email promoting their latest summer kicks. The email's subject line, as Huffington Post U.K. reported, was "Show a little leg," which is fine, as it is hot in the summer in parts of the world and some women do like to show their legs.
But then, the tagline below read: "Just don't forget to shave them."
The real message here: God forbid women sprout unsightly hair from their calves as they attempt to live their lives and thrive as they want to. God forbid that.
Soon after the email was sent out to Office subscribers, a woman named Katy, who goes by the name AliceInWonderland3 on the motherhood blog Mumsnet, was ready to explain her disdain.
In a post published on Sunday that already has more than 250 comments, Katy wrote, "I got an email this week from Office trying to sell me summer shoes, the email also told me not to forget to shave my legs."
"AIBU [am I being unreasonable] to not want a business who wants female customers telling them they need to shave their legs?" she continued. "I shave my legs because I know people I encounter day-to-day will be horrified by body hair on a woman, but I don't need a business trying to make me feel bad if I choose to go outside without doing so. Or trying to make me feel disgusted by something natural."
Below her post are comments like "If there's one thing you should be able to buy without being body shamed it's shoes" and "It is a bit crap, isn't it?"
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Katy, 24, said that she still doesn't understand how a brand that's audience is women would make such a demand.
"I was shocked that Office thinks it is any way acceptable to tell women they need to shave their legs," she said. "Companies that want women to buy their products should be positive towards women, not trying to make them feel insecure about their bodies."
Unfortunately, this is far from the first time that a company has tried to persuade women to change their bodies for their products. In 2013, vaginal wipes were advertised to women with the tagline "Clean beavers get more wood," insinuating that in order to have more sex, women should clean themselves more. In 2015, the pen company BIC apologized for an ad that was meant to be empowering, but instead told women that in order to succeed they had to "Think like a man." And in just March, L'Oreal advertised a wrinkle cream that would rid of frown lines, because frowning women are more unattractive.
Clearly, there's a pattern here of women being persuaded to be one way or another in order to be more attractive, or even more successful. When will it end?


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AUSTIN, TX: Tito’s Handmade Vodka brought on Praytell last month as its PR AOR in the U.S. and Canada after a competitive review.
The agency is primarily raising awareness of Tito’s Vodka for Dog People program. The initiative supports nonprofits such as Emancipet, which works to make high-quality spray and neutering and veterinary care more accessible to pet owners.
Kaitlin Novell, account strategy supervisor at Praytell, said the firm is focused on boosting Tito’s storytelling.
"We found that a lot of people know the Tito’s founder story, but not a lot of people know what Tito’s is doing beyond vodka, so we are focusing on that," she said.
Praytell is supporting the brand’s traditional PR, content strategy conversation, influencer relations, and event outreach, said Nicole Portwood, VP of brand marketing at Tito's. The company handles social media in-house, she added.
Staffers from the agency’s offices in New York; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Austin, Texas, are working on the account, which is being led by LA-based Novell and Nate Jaffee, VP of strategy, who is located in Austin.
"Everything we are doing is about creating opportunities to advance the Tito’s brand message," said Jaffee. "The biggest opportunities will be authentic stories from the people who love the brand versus just focusing on Tito’s voice."
Tito’s makes its Handmade Vodka at Texas’ oldest legal distillery in Austin. Commercial production began in 1997 when brand founder Tito Beveridge formed Fifth Generation Inc. and established the Mockingbird Distillery.
Five agencies pitched in the RFP process, which kicked off in January. Tito’s picked Praytell in March and started working with the firm during the first week of April. Budget information was not disclosed.
Sarah Hall Productions was the incumbent on the account. Its relationship with Tito’s ended in late April. A representative from the firm was not immediately available for comment.
"Sarah Hall did incredible work for us for a long time," said Portwood.
She added that Tito’s brought on Praytell because the company’s needs have "grown tremendously" as the brand has expanded.
"The scope of services and personnel and the overall vibe of the Praytell team fits where we are as a brand now," said Portwood. "They really get us and their scrappy approach to making sure the work gets done and gets done to the highest standard resonated with us."


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On this episode of Digital Trends Live, host Greg Nibler discusses the top tech news of the day, including T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger, Facebook helps neighbors, Apple snags Dark Sky, the NBA2K tournament, and more.
Samantha Fishbein, co-founder and chief creative officer of Betches, discusses the upcoming launch of Quarantainment, bringing you content that aims to balance all the need-to-know information about coronavirus with fun, light entertainment.
We all know how COVID-19 is affecting us on Earth, but how is it affecting things in space? While the virus isn’t yet up in space, it is causing delays in the space program down here on the ground.
Adrien Warner and Jess Surbaugh join Nibler to discuss how the demand for entertainment has lead to an increase in network television programming.
- NBA 2K22 and Castlevania are coming to Apple Arcade
- TikTok’s ban goes through, reality TV heads to space | Digital Trends Live
- Mandalorian season 2, Apple Event, and more | Digital Trends Live
- Apple One, Ubisoft Forward wrap-up, life on Mars, and more | Digital Trends Live
- Xbox news, Apple’s upcoming event, military robot dogs | Digital Trends Live


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If Andreessen Horowitz has any say in the matter, crypto regulation could be just around the corner.
As unsavory as it may sound, Washington tends to be more swayed by powerful interest groups than the will of the general public. And if any sector of the American economy needs a lobbyist to represent its interests, it is the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
Andreessen Horowitz has had a storied history in Silicon Valley and there are few who who are likely to have more sway over policymakers when it comes to the regulation of cryptocurrency.
Clandestine Meeting Between Andreessen Horowitz and Government Officials
Details of the Crypto Regulatory Summit, which was hosted by Andreessen Horowitz in California, have only just begun to emerge. The summit was held in May, just before the announcement of Facebook’s crypto-in-the-making, Libra.
In a fireside chat during the summit, Marc Andreessen drew parallels between the beginning of the internet and the beginning of cryptocurrency, describing the remarkable similarities of their growth paths.
“[T]he evolution of the internet over time has so many echoes and comparisons to what we’re seeing, what I’m seeing, with cryptocurrency and blockchain,” the Netscape co-founder said.
Andreesson noted that the internet began as a decentralized mechanism, designed to withstand a nuclear attack. Before 1993, the internet was publicly funded and solely used as an academic forum.
Enlightened regulators and policymakers decided to legalize commercial activity on the web… and handed the internet’s backbone to the telecom companies.
Those early days were characterized by small and marginal players, he noted, and largely dominated by fly-by-night operators. Security was weak, commercial viability was questionable, and mainstream adoption was hampered by technological processes most people couldn’t understand and cumbersome procedures most couldn’t be bothered with.
The parallels to crypto, in the eyes of Andreessen Horowitz, are stunning.
The Original Sin of the Internet
According to Andreessen, the internet suffered from one ‘original sin’: browsers lacked a buy button. Early internet developers were unable to integrate a payment structure, and banks and credit card companies were not interested.
The result was an internet dominated by advertising, bringing with it all the high-profile privacy and data problems the internet has created, along with “eighty percent” of what annoys people online.
The proliferation of cryptocurrency, Andreessen reckons, could help revisit that original sin. At present, he notes, cryptocurrency is not unlike the early days of the internet.
“It’s like a fringe activity but it’s not quite mainstream yet and it’s still kind of too hard to use,” he said.
“It feels to me like its 1992,” Andreessen added. “The useability gap still has a ways to close although it’s getting closer.”
If he is right, the breakout years of enhanced useability and significant user growth are not far away. The resources and capital are there. The talent is abundant and the economic inclusion features and freedoms which crypto would confer are pressing.
The only ingredient missing, especially if crypto is to be as U.S.-centric as the early internet, is a critical mass of enlightened policymakers. Let’s hope Andreessen Horowitz’s unofficial lobbying efforts can pay dividends in Washington.


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New analyst speculation suggests Apple cash repatriation increases odds of Netflix acquisition
Apple could potentially acquire the major video streaming service Netflix, analysts from Citi suggest, highlighting one of a number of ways Apple could use its $252 billion warchest in cash held overseas that it could repatriate to the U.S., following a cut in corporate taxes and changes to tax rules.
A note from Citi analysts Jim Suva and Asiya Merchant sent to clients in December offered a list of companies that Apple could have the capability of acquiring, if it decides to take advantage of the U.S. government's tax reform package. As well as reducing the federal corporate tax rate, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also offers a one-time repatriation of a company's cash held overseas, significantly reducing the amount of tax owed on the transferred funds.
According to Business Insider, the analysts claim there is a 40 percent chance that Apple will acquire Netflix, if it does repatriate its funds. Suva and Merchant believe that if Apple repatriated all of its foreign-held funds, giving it approximately $220 billion to use after the 10 percent repatriation tax, the company would require around a third of the total to purchase Netflix.
For comparison, the list put an acquisition of Disney at a probability of 20 to 30 percent, though the note was written before Disney's deal with Fox. Other potential targets noted by the analysts include game companies Activision, Take-Two, and EA at a 10 percent probability of occurring, car producer Tesla at around 5 percent, and Hulu at around 1 percent.
"The firm has too much cash - nearly $250 billion - growing at $50 billion a year. This is a good problem to have," wrote the analysts. "Historically, Apple has avoided repatriating cash to the US to avoid high taxation. As such, tax reform may allow Apple to put this cash to use."
A potential acquisition of Netflix has been speculated before, and with Apple's push towards original content and available cash, the rumors are likely to continue for some time. Apple's video content ambitions have already led to a number of deals that will help it create original content, and it is more probable that some of the repatriated cash could go to enhance its content projects.
In 2017, Apple has secured a drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, reportedly provided a blank check to Drake for his own shows and movies, and signed a deal with "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica" reboot alum Ronald D. Moore for a new space drama. It is also reportedly paying $5 million per episode on a ten-episode season of "Amazing Stories," a revival of the Amblin Television and NBCUniversal science fiction anthology.
These are all thought to be part of a broader $1 billion investment in original programming, which is considerable but still a lower investment than those of its competitors, such as Netflix's reported $7 billion on original content for 2018.
Such a large purchase for Netflix may be unlikely, according to analysis by Loup Ventures' Gene Munster, who insisted in December that Apple would stick to its acquisition strategy of buying companies worth less than $1 billion. Rather than making major investments, Munster expects Apple to increase its share buy-back program and increase its annual dividend.