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5 things I learned driving the 2021 Polestar 2
Polestar’s new 2 has a huge task at hand. It must take on the might of the fastest-selling electric car ever — Tesla’s Model 3 — a task the equivalent of, not so long ago, trying to snatch some of the glory that was BMW’s 3 Series at its peak.
Ford to build five EV models in Oakville
Ottawa is also providing $500 million for plant upgrades; retooling is scheduled for 2024, EV production to start in 2025
VW plans to sell 500,000 ID.4 electric cars per year
VW is hyping the launch of the ID.4 electric SUV coming next week with new releases, and in a new interview with executives today, the automaker said that it plans to sell 500,000 ID.4 vehicles per year.
Ford's all-electric F-150, due mid-2022, will be its most powerful truck to date
Suits at the Blue Oval have announced a US$700-million investment into their historic Rouge Complex, including a new high-tech manufacturing facility for the all-electric F-150 that is coming to market midway through the 2022 calendar year.
Jaguar's redesigned its F-Pace SUV's interior for 2021
Jaguar has redesigned its handsome F-Pace SUV for 2021, stuffing in more tech and a new luxurious interior.


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Maximum Games is looking to redefine the whole stealth action genre with Alekhine’s Gun, a title that offers open world freedom, intense stealth gameplay and an exciting Cold War plot that’s not to be missed. Dive into the shadows a bit with its creators.
The Golf Club Collector’s Edition is one of the most unique sports games to come out in years for the PC. It offers a realistic swing mechanic, gorgeous graphics, a new tropical mode, and a full course designer. Find out how it was made this week in our industry interview with HB Studios.
Security is on the minds of many gamers, and game companies, these days. We talk with computer security expert Dr. Vincent Berk from FlowTraq to explain the latest in defense technology.
Play Magnus is a unique app that challenges players to face the world’s best chess player, Magnus Carlsen, at different phases of his life. The goal is to get more young people interested in chess. Find out how successful they’ve been so far.
Independent developer Victoria Arnold from Open Name Ltd talks with GiN about making good games that kids can play quickly before moving on to other things. Their first titles Bog Racer and Cut The Buttons have been wildly successful.
This week we chat with Daniel Cook, co-founder of Spry Fox and the designer of Road Not Taken. Surprisingly, he wasn’t completely happy with how he had to design his hit game, and is looking forward to working on a few new projects that might be swimming against the current trends.
The Steam online service just went through a major update that adds personalized shopping, more granular searches and the ability for anyone to become a game curator helping others. We chat with Valve’s Alden Kroll to sort it all out.
Between all the product demos and game playing Lisa Campos did at E3, she also took time to talk with the ESA about some of the serious issues facing the game industry in the near future.
This week we chat with iVentureCapital, a company that wants to invest in games, to fund all those great development houses looking for help in a harsh world.
Fingerprint is a brand new company that is set to tackle the children’s game market with top kid-friendly titles for mobile devices that kids will love and parents will trust.

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Winter Fest Returns for 17 Days in December with an Array of Entertainment, New Attractions and Holiday Traditions for all Ages
Mirage Entertainment is pleased to continue Orange County’s biggest winter tradition – Winter Fest at the OC Fair & Event Center. Opening Dec. 16 and continuing through Jan. 1, Winter Fest is Southern California’s largest winter experience. Features include ice tubing, a two million light walk-through show, ice skating, Snow Play with real snow blown in daily, nightly Christmas tree lighting ceremony, carnival rides, festive entertainment, seasonal eateries, visits with Santa and so much more.
A huge success in its inaugural year, Winter Fest has grown exponentially, adding a sparkling array of new attractions and a New Year’s Eve celebration for families and kids of all ages. The event is a great value with tickets starting online for just $10 and an opportunity to purchase your very own VIP experience including private Cabanas.
“This year’s event is truly magical offering more fun, more food and a significantly expanded lineup of holiday entertainment,” said Brad Billington of Mirage Entertainment. “From high-speed sliding thrills to a special toddler-sized snow hill to craft cocktails and local bands, there’s truly something for everyone. Winter Fest is the place to make memories and this year you can even ring in the New Year under the sparkle of a snow and light-filled sky.”
Winter Fest is a giant wonderland of immersive wintry fun including a full outdoor ice rink, 130-foot, six lane Snowflake Summit ice slide, a play park featuring real snow for snow angels or snowman building, the world’s largest rocking horse, strolling carolers, personal visits in the cabin home of Mr. and Mrs. Claus and a walk-through holiday light show featuring two million sparkling lights.
Private, rink-side VIP cabanas start at only $69 per session, creating a destination for holiday office parties, birthday parties, family retreats or date night. Each cabana will accommodate two to 10 people and can adapt to fit parties of up to 100 guests. The VIP cabanas offer exclusive menus with seasonally-inspired food, cocktails, a private ice rink entrance and private servers.
Winter Fest is held Dec. 16–Jan. 1. Tickets are available online now and every admission ticket includes:
- Unlimited ice tubing at Snowflake Summit
- Two million light sparking stroll through holiday light display
- Tree lighting ceremony with snow flurries and fireworks
- Bounce houses for kids
- The world’s largest walk-through ornament
- Snow Play Area with daily snow blowing
- Craft making and games
- Daily entertainment including live bands and strolling carolers
- Character meet and greets
- Toddler Play Area
For more information on Winter Fest visit www.WinterFestOC.com.


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African policymakers must pay more attention to counterfeit drugs
A new study shows that poor and vulnerable populations, especially in Africa, suffer the most.
Abuja, Nigeria – Substandard and fake medicines pose a significant threat to Africa. These products contribute to the global threat of drug-resistant illness and undermine Africa’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They often have a tragic impact on individuals in need of effective antimalarials, antibiotics and other medicines.
The European Union-funded ENACT project’s research findings on the threat of counterfeit drugs in Africa were launched this week at a series of regional seminars in Ghana and Nigeria. The events were co-hosted by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Abuja. A new policy brief provides recommendations to guide policy makers on how better to address this severe and growing problem.
Globalisation has made it harder to regulate, track and quality assure medical products. Medicines are manufactured, printed and shipped to and from a number of countries. Fraud can occur at any point in the supply and distribution chain.
‘In Africa, the domestic pharmaceutical market is growing quickly. This creates new opportunities and challenges for the continent,’ says Robin Cartwright, lead author of the policy brief, The rise of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Africa. Currently, only 37 out of 54 African states have some level of pharmaceutical production, but as new, legitimate firms enter these markets, so will additional counterfeiters.
The trade in counterfeit medicines fuels a lucrative criminal economy, but the study found that processes for checking the quality of pharmaceutical products are neither systematic nor consistent.
A dearth of information makes it difficult to accurately assess the scope of the problem and formulate appropriate responses. It has been estimated that, worldwide, the counterfeit drug market is worth up to US$200 billion – making it the most lucrative sector in illegally copied goods.
Regardless of the size of the market, the research findings clearly show that the poorest and most vulnerable populations suffer the most. According to World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, 42% of detected cases of substandard or falsified pharmaceuticals occurred in Africa. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says that fake malaria drugs cause up to 158 000 deaths every year in sub-Saharan Africa.
Counterfeiters find Africa an easier target, because it has not developed the armoury of responses seen in other parts of the world, including supply chain regulation, track-and-trace technology and enforcement regimes. Corruption adds another layer of complexity. In many cases, public officials are bypassed as the counterfeits reach retailers unhindered.
‘While there has been some policy reflection, the links between corruption and healthcare require closer examination,’ says Eric Pelser, ENACT Programme Head at the Institute for Security Studies.
The case of Nigeria shows how a bespoke and comprehensive policy backed by political will can bring about real solutions. Nigeria managed to achieve an 80% reduction in counterfeit drug circulation by implementing targeted regulatory activities. Among other steps, the Nigerian food and drug agency, NAFDAC, banned imports of medicines through all but two national points of entry and furnished customs officials with mobile ‘minilabs’, enabling them to identify falsified drugs.
Like Nigeria, other African nations should enact legislation that criminalises the manufacture and sale of counterfeits. Legislation should also provide clear authority and responsibility for the investigation, detection and seizure of counterfeit products. Given their ability to authenticate drugs in the supply chain, track-and-trace systems of the type officially sanctioned and used in EU and USA have shown great potential to thwart the penetration of counterfeits.
The EU’s MEDICRIME Convention is the only international legal instrument that has made it a criminal offence to produce and distribute fake medical products or commit similar crimes.
‘International cooperation is essential for us to succeed in the struggle against this illicit market,’ says Sotirios Bazikamwe, Governance Adviser of the Delegation of the European Union to Ghana. ‘The MEDICRIME convention of the Council of Europe is the sole international legislative instrument available to effectively and efficiently fight these criminal networks. We therefore call on all our partners to accede to it.’
ENACT is funded by the European Union. The project builds knowledge and skills to enhance Africa’s response to transnational organised crime. ENACT is implemented by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL, in affiliation with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. For more, visit www.enact.africa.
The contents of this press release can in no way be taken to reflect the views or position of the European Union.
For enquiries, please contact: [email protected]
Picture: Jacqueline Cochrane / ISS


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By Johnny Jackson
Consumers will get a break this holiday weekend as gas prices are not expected to increase this week, according to Jessica Brady, public relations manager for AAA Auto Club South.
Brady expects prices will level out through the Thanksgiving holiday, following a price drop of $3.37 per barrel for crude oil last week. The price settled last Friday, at $81.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Crude prices decreased for the second week in a row, sparing last minute spikes in retail gas prices before Thanksgiving, she added. The drop translates into lower prices at the pump.
In metro Atlanta, the average price for regular unleaded gas sank about 4-cents over the week, to $2.74 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
Bloomberg's Stock Market and Financial Markets Overview reported crude oil remained fairly steady, at $81.72 per barrel late Monday afternoon, down from earlier that day.
"The decrease [on Nov. 19] came after China announced it will raise reserves and gave speculation they will increase interest rates that could slow demand growth in the country," Brady noted in a press release.
In addition, she said, economic concerns in Ireland that may result in a deepened credit crisis in Europe, also pushed prices lower earlier in the week.
"Consumers shouldn't expect any major spikes in retail gas prices this week before they hit [the] road for the holiday weekend," Brady continued. "Instead, retail prices should reflect minimal decreases of 2- to 3-cents."


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A group of 18 Indian fintech
companies is exploring expansion plans to the UK market as part of the UK-India Fintech Rocketship Programme.
The companies, across sectors such as mobile tech, data analytics and online payment solutions, are among the new cohort to benefit from the Rocketship Awards, set up as part of the UK-India Tech Partnership to collaborate and raise funding for fintech entrepreneurs from the UK and India annually.
"These businesses demonstrate the industry's ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) from all corners of the globe. Just last year we saw a 321 per cent increase from India," said Graham Stuart, UK Investment Minister in the Department for International Trade (DIT).
"The UK is the top FDI destination in Europe and an undisputed global fintech capital, currently accounting for 11 per cent of the global fintech industry and contributing USD 3.3 billion to the UK economy. DIT will continue to support businesses to invest into the UK, reaffirming our nation as the best place to raise capital for foreign investment," he said.
The Indian delegation included Nomisma Mobile Solutions, Nineroot Technologies
, Chillar Payment Solutions, Rupeepower, Credenc, Lithasa Technologies, CredRight, Fingpay, Aye Finance, StashFin, Intelligence Node, Safehouse, Zuper, Oro Wealth, Clensta, Zest IOT, Inclov and Mobile Wallet.
At an event organised by the City of London Corporation and the Indian High Commission in London, the companies attended a fintech roundtable at India House on Friday to discuss barriers to entry in the UK and how these can be addressed.
Led by the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin and Deputy Indian High Commissioner to the UK Charanjeet Singh, the event brought together stakeholders from Innovate Finance, Grant Thornton, Santander and investment firm CoBa to share their expertise on the UK-India relationship.
"India and the UK have much to gain by increasing ties in fintech, an area seeing significant growth and innovation in both our countries," said Estlin.
"Many Indian firms have expressed interest in setting up in the UK, but market access remains an issue for some, especially smaller companies. This meeting in London aims to explore what support organisations like the City of London Corporation can provide to address this and further open our doors," he said.
According to the City of London Corporation, the governing body of the financial heart of London known as the Square Mile, the UK's fintech sector is worth around 6.6 billion pounds to UK GDP and accounts for 76,500 jobs.
The latest Indian fintech delegation follows a visit to India in October 2018 by former Lord Mayor Charles Bowman, who led a UK fintech delegation to Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
The delegation from India coincided with the UK Fintech Week, backed by the UK government and City of London Corporation.
UK Fintech Week, which concluded on Friday, was designed as a think-tank and collaborative approach to cover topics such as post-Brexit UK, artificial intelligence
, blockchain and cyber security.


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By Sudip Kar-Gupta. LONDON | Mon May 20, 2013 12:03pm BST. LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 steadied near its highest level in five-and-a-half years on Monday, helped by a rise in bank stocks, and most analysts expected further near-term gains.
LONDON | Mon May 20, 2013 12:50pm BST. LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer is expected to report its lowest annual profit in four years on Tuesday as a struggling general merchandise division drags on the growth in food sales.
The independent board of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp has rejected a proposed offer by the embattled London-listed miner's billionaire founding shareholders to take it private.
The PM has penned a stiffly-worded letter to 10 overseas British territories demanding that they sign up to international tax treaties.
Helped by the warmer weather, footfall on the high-street rose 3.4pc year-on-year in April, the biggest increase since the run-up to Chrismtas in 2011.


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Apple filed a federal trademark infringement suit against the City of New York and their GreeNYC campaign. GreeNYC created a logo that is being used on bus shelters, hybrid gasoline-electric taxicabs and even Whole Foods shopping bags. Apple says the logo looks too much like their logo and people may confuse the two.
Apple is claiming the GreeNYC mark will "seriously injure the reputation which [Apple] has established for its goods and services."
"This well-known city is using its new design in a variety of contexts that have absolutely nothing to do with Apple Inc.," New York City claims.
What do you think? Is Apple overreacting? Or has New York City bitten off more than it can chew?


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The Outdoor Measurement Council is releasing ROAD this February. The data collected over a period of three years will allow media practitioners to provide improved mythologies as well as consumer audience metrics.
The new audience data covers three years of face-to-face consumer interviews, resulting in a host of insights. ROAD is one of the largest sets of research in the market with a sample of 45 000 respondents.
ROAD aims to provide accurate insights and audience metrics to the industry. It is a core objective of the OMC to support growth in spend in out of home (OOH), and to assist with education around improved methodologies and consumer audience metrics.
“We are so excited to be sharing these latest OOH insights with the media and advertising industry, and we’re proud to be introducing our international guest speaker from the United Kingdom, James Whitmore, managing director of ROUTE,” says OMC’s general manager, Trish Guilford.
Whitmore has years of media experience and is a research specialist in the OOH industry. He will share insights and experiences concerning the launch of a media currency.
According to the OMC, it has many insights and discerning audience metrics to share, including revealing a first to market for OOH media planning. “This will enhance our offering and allow for media agencies and media owners to plan and deliver audience insights around a host of criteria, resulting in a reduction of planning time in selecting sites, all the while optimising core planning areas for clients,” adds Guilford.
“We will also be sharing our industry planning guidelines, which will assist all users when evaluating OOH schedules. We encourage all marketers, and our media agency and owner partners to attend these presentations, where we’ll elaborate on these exciting offerings,” Guilford concludes.
The Johannesburg roadshow will take place on Wednesday, 13 February at the Bryanston Country Club, with the Cape Town leg being hosted on Friday, 15 February at The One and Only at Cape Town’s Waterfront. Interested parties can email firstname.lastname@example.org for details.


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CD Projekt Red offers a statement on the last-ten console performance of latest release, CYBERPUNK 2077.
Take a look at new stills and footage from CD Projekt Red's CYBERPUNK 2077 featuring the legendary Keanue Reeves.
Check out a brand new music video from El-P and Killer Mike, aka Run The Jewels, taken straight from the world of CD Projekt Red's CYBERPUNK...
Sad news, it's been confirmed that CD Projekt Red are once again having to delay the release of CYBERPUNK 2077.
Streaming giant Netflix has announced it is currently developing a new anime series based on the upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077.
Dark Horse Comics has announced a new tie-in comic book for upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077 from studio CD Projekt Red.
Developer CD Projekt Red has announced it is further delaying Cyberpunk 2077 to “balance game mechanics and fix a lot of bugs.”


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The rise of 'silver cyclists' is being fueled by electric bicycles, research suggests.
62 per cent of e-bikes in the UK are sold to people over the age of 55, market research by Halfords has shown.
In a statement, the retailer said that the UK may be “on the cusp of an e-bike boom”. Older cyclists are also well-informed on bicycle maintenance, repairing punctures and fixing mudguards, a survey by the store found.
Where the traditional bike can be strenuous, e-bikes have a built-in battery to help the rider on more difficult hills or terrain.
However, figures from abroad suggest that cyclists who try e-bikes later in life may be at increased risk of road accidents.
In the Netherlands, over-60s accounted for almost 90 per cent of road deaths involving e-bikes in 2016.
Halfords’ survey reveals that while 61 per cent of older e-bike users thought they were a good way to keep fit, more than a third would cycle more if British roads had dedicated cycle lanes.
A Halfords spokeswoman said: ““While older cyclists are well catered for in countries like Holland, the needs of older and less able cyclists in the UK need to be addressed.
“Further investments in infrastructure and promotion of safe riding practices will help.”
Nick Lloyd, Road Safety Manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, offered advice for cyclists setting out on electric bikes.
“When riding an electric bike, always concentrate and plan ahead when changing lane or direction,” he said.
“Always remember the life saver and look over your right shoulder. Give a clear signal to inform other road users of your intentions.”


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Unity has left everyone speechless after presenting its new technical demo “Enemies”. The hyperrealism achieved with this graphic engine will leave you stunned.
We live in times in which reality and fiction sometimes intertwine forming a dubious line. Video games have reached an overwhelming level of realismbut there is still a lot of room for improvement.
In recent months and with the launch of the new consoles, the Unreal Engine 5 engine has been seen a lot and with it its advances loaded with graphic novelties that have revealed great results in terms of hyper-realism.
But the graphic engine of Epic Games has not been the only one that has dazzled recently. Unity has also wanted to show off its technical power with its new demo “Enemies”. You can now take a look at the amazing result.
As you have seen, the level of representation is amazing and you can see how we are facing what could be a real human being. Thanks to Unity’s real-time 3D (RT3D) technologythese results are possible.
In a Blogthe company has shared the details of this demo and the novelties in graphic matters that they are already implementing, such as a better 4D pipeline, a system Skin Attachment on the GPU to allow high density meshes (Which translates to details as realistic as the hairs on Aloy’s face in Horizon.)
It also boasts a tension technology for blood flow simulation and wrinkle maps… In short, new systems that make human faces take a new leap in graphic quality.
The lighting also takes a good part of the credit and it is here that we have been able to see the presence of the Adaptive Probe and Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI). Real-time ray-traced reflections, ambient occlusion, and native NVIDIA Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) support have made this demo run at native 4K.
These are the most successful external hard drives in Amazon Spain in different storage capacities.
What has also given rise to talk have been the hair that through the use of Maya XGen and channeling with Weta Barbershop have left a noteworthy result.
As we say, it is not the first time that we have been amazed by the graphic advances of the most recent games. Recently, the creators of Hellblade 2 shared some breathtaking images of a hyper-realistic Senua.
Since Ninja Theory they have been very aware of the graphic power they handle. The new horror game that they are preparing has been quite clear on this subject.


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August Retail Sales Supported by Job and Wage Gains Amid Continued Inflation
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“August retail sales show consumers’ resiliency to spend on household priorities despite persistent inflation and rising interest rates,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As we gear up for the holiday season, consumers are seeking value to make their dollars stretch. Retailers have been hard at work managing their supply chains and holiday inventories to provide..."
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January Retail Sales Overcome Omicron and Inflation to Show Strong Gains
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Tyson Foods Reports First Quarter 2022 Results
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November Retail Sales Put Holiday Season on Track to Set New Records
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - FOURTH QUARTER
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Urner Barry Releases September Pulse Protein Report
Urner Barry Releases August Emerging Plant Protein Report


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Meet Marcin Jagodda, whose inspirational career path at Flex has taken him from the warehouse to our global marketing team.
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We are reaching a turning point to reengineer our supply chains and manufacturing processes at scale in a post-COVID-19 world.


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Consumers may not have the means to travel the world, but that hasn't dampened their desire to experience new ethnic cuisines.
Unfortunately, chain restaurants aren't meeting current consumer demand for new foods and flavors. Only a quarter of consumers polled for a recent Technomic survey say they are satisfied with the availability of ethnic offerings at limited-service (23 percent) and full-service (28 percent) chains, which translates into opportunities for operators to differentiate their menus and gain market share with globally inspired offerings.
“Authenticity is crucial to the ethnic food and beverage purchasing decision” says Technomic’s Executive Vice President Darren Tristano. “Sixty-five percent of consumers say food that tastes authentic is one of the most important factors in deciding which establishment to visit for ethnic foods and beverages. Operators have an opportunity to create innovative and globally inspired menu items reflected through preparation, taste, and flavor. Consumers also say that dishes prepared by someone from that region are given greater credibility as authentic.”
To help operators and others aligned with the foodservice industry more effectively understand consumer behavior, definitions, preferences, and attitudes towards ethnic flavors and cuisines, Technomic developed the “Ethnic Food & Beverage Consumer Trend Report.”
Interesting findings include:
- Three out of four consumers (77 percent) purchase ethnic foods and flavors away from home at least once a month. The percentage is strongly driven by Asian and Hispanic respondents, with 90 and 88 percent of these consumers, respectively, purchasing ethnic food or flavors away from home at least once a month.
- Data indicates that cuisine does not need to be from another country to be considered ethnic; nearly nine out of 10 consumers consider regional U.S. cuisines such as Cajun (89 percent) and Creole (86 percent) cuisines to be ethnic.
- 33 percent of consumers strongly agree that there are many ethnic foods they would like to order at restaurants but are not able to find.
- Southeast Asian flavors are moving into the mainstream with the development of familiar offerings with a flavorful Thai, Vietnamese, or Indonesian twist on sauces, dressings, and ingredients.
Technomic’s “Ethnic Food & Beverage Consumer Trend Report” examines consumer behavior, attitudes, and preferences toward ethnic flavors, foods, and beverages based on survey results from 1,500 consumers.
The Ethnic Cuisine Trends section provides a comprehensive guide to the trends that continue to shape ethnic flavors and foods. The report also features 20 emerging limited- and full-service restaurants that offer ethnic foods and beverages.


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US: Merisant CFO joins TreeHouse board
US soup-to-jam maker TreeHouse Foods has appointed the CFO of sweetener producer Merisant Worldwide to its board of directors.
Dian Ferguson will replace Michelle Obama on the TreeHouse board. Obama resigned from the board last May.
Ferguson, who has held finance jobs at First National Bank of Chicago and IBM, was CFO of Sara Lee's foodservice business before joining Merisant last year.
TreeHouse chairman Sam Reed said: "We are very pleased to welcome Diana Ferguson to the board. Her extensive management experience in finance and strategic planning, much of which has been with consumer products companies, will be a great asset."
In November, TreeHouse posted a 26.9% jump in third-quarter profits, buoyed by an 8.1% rise in sales to US$272m.
The acquisitions of pickle maker DeGraffenreid and Mexican sauce producer San Antonio Farms gave a lift to the numbers as costs rose.
Responding to the ever-growing demand for organic foods, former Procter & Gamble and Pepsi USA executive Tom Morrison recently launched Organic Alliance, a company that sources organic produce and sel...
TreeHouse Foods has made a number of key management appointments as part of its continuing effort to integrate the recently-acquired Bay Valley Foods business....
Sara Lee today (22 July) revealed that its fourth-quarter results would include a pre-tax charge of between US$865m and $975m to write down the value of its bakery assets in North America and Spain....
Sara Lee has agreed to specify the amount of whole grains contained in its Soft & Smooth bread after coming under fire from US advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest....
Sara Lee has appointed Margaret M. Foran to the post of executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary....
just-food's coverage of the Food Forum India 2008 conference in Mumbai was a highlight this week and some bullish comments from Future Group CEO on India's potential proved popular among this week's t...
Acquisitions have boosted first-quarter sales and earnings at US-based pickles-to-salad dressings firm TreeHouse Foods....
Sara Lee Corp., the US food giant, has seen third-quarter profits rise on the back of higher sales from its bakery business....
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By Lola Omowaye & Bukola Olamona
Government has been charged to fund researches of storage technologies that are less dependent on electricity as panacea to reduce food wastages.
To this end, government is enjoined to have medium to long term plan for sustainable electricity that will enable Nigerians tap into improved technology, expanded storage for perishable goods and therefore improve their nutritional value.
Speaking at the inaugural lecture series 103 of the Federal University of Technology, Akure,Nigeria(FUTA), a Professor of Postharvest Technology, Prof Babatunde Oluwalana said the focus of his research was to minimise post harvest losses through simple control atmosphere storage (CAS),Modified Atmosphere Storage(MAS) which involve food surface coating, waxes and plastic firm wrapping, irradiation and combination treatment.
The HOD of Food Science and Technology assured that the discovery is cheap and affordable and will improve the well-being of the average Nigerian.
In addition the don posited that eating of fruit and vegetable is very good for healthy living, and enjoined people to increase their consumption of fruits with a minimum daily intake of 400 grams for a healthy lifestyle
Intensive public enlightenment on the nutritional and health benefit of fruits should be made by appropriate government and non governmental agencies to the Nigerian populace.
“Many nutritionists and clinicians now consider fruits and vegetable consumption as a solution to many ” ‘’diseases of civilisation.”
This horticultural products bring diversity and stimulate our senses bytheir organoleptic properties such as color,flavour ,texture ,and enhance our appetite.
They have long been recognised for their nutritive value and have variously been reported to be excellent sources of vitamins.
Speaking with The Hope in separate interviews , two members of the audience Mr Sola Akinmeye and Mrs Alo Olapade said they have benefited a lot from the lecture and have been enlightened on the importance of good nutrition and how to store perishables in their homes.


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Expanding into a developing market is far more complex than choosing to set up or remain on home turf. It will require a new outlook on how you reach, engage and trade with your audience. This new outlook is, of course, the Internet–a tool you should be harnessing for all eCommerce, but one which is essential to ensure you encourage international growth and keep up with the competition. And, within the developing market at least, it certainly pays off too. eCommerce sales in regions such as Latin America, India and the Middle East are through the roof, demonstrating a demographic ripe for new brands. In fact, statistics released earlier this year showed that Asia-Pacific is set to surpass North America in B2C eCommerce, making it the world’s number one market for this category of online sales. It’s also the biggest advocate of mobile eCommerce, responsible for well over a third of all users. And now Latin America is emerging as a market that loves mobile shopping, with figures predicted to grow exponentially in the next three years.
All this is yours for the taking, and it comes with a relatively low risk thanks the nature of the online platform. But, you won’t get there without some groundwork. According to Capita Translation and Interpreting, it’s essential that you target your new market appropriately by investing in effective marketing and website localization.
Going to a new market with a product or service wrapped up in the exact same way as it is on the other side of the world will see you fall at the first hurdle. To truly harness the opportunities in international eCommerce growth, you’ll need a solid company-wide understanding of your new territory and a strategy that demonstrates true knowledge of the country’s potential for eCommerce and the challenges you may face.
As markets that were once ignored step into the spotlight, they will no longer be ignored by big business. And the emergence of these regions into the world of eCommerce couldn’t have come at a better time. As the recession maintains its grip on much of the western world, it’s do or die for retailers. Now is the time to make the move to reach out to a new regional audience, with a well-researched business strategy for local demands and preferences, and an appropriate translation and localization plan.
Georgia Penny is a writer for Business for Capita Translation & Interpreting, one of the UK's leading translation and interpretation services.


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Twelve years and 11 months ago, Honda Motor Company sold its first Insight Hybrid to a member of the public. What that humble little car did was start a trend that has been going strong for more than a decade. At the end of September 2012, Honda hit a massive milestone that couldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for that car that started it all. Globally, the Japanese automaker has sold more than one million hybrid vehicles.
Currently, Honda sells eight hybrid models to approximately 50 countries around the globe. In the U.S., vehicles such as the Civic Hybrid, Insight, CR-Z and Acura ILX can be had while the next generation Accord Hybrid is fast approaching. In other markets, the Jazz Hybrid is making a stand in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. Since 1999, there has been a Honda Hybrid available but it wasn’t until the late 2000s that the company really hit home with their Integrated Motor Assist (IMA).
By the end of 2010, the number of gasoline/electric Hondas sold globally was up to 600,000 units. One year later and following the introduction of the CR-Z and Fit (Jazz) Hybrid, that number shot up 200,000 units. Nine months later, that number skyrocketed once again and by the end of September 2012, Honda had achieved mighty fine goal.
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Pandemic Lifestyle Has Worsened Health of University Students, Study Finds
The Covid19 pandemic has led to a significant worsening of already poor dietary habits, low activity levels, sedentary behavior, and high alcohol consumption among university students, finds a recent study conducted by the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.
Researchers worry the demographic — already vulnerable to unhealthy lifestyle habits — will maintain unhealthy eating and drinking patterns and poor exercise habits after pandemic restrictions end. This could increase health risks for this population not only during the pandemic but also long term.
The four-month-long study involved 125 graduate and undergraduate students living independently, with roommates, or with partners, and responsible for buying and preparing their own meals. Through an online questionnaire, the scientists connected data about their food and drink consumption, physical activity, and activity level before and during the pandemic.
The study found that students consumed less food every day during the pandemic compared to before—20% less meat, 44% less dairy, and 45% fewer vegetables. While they also drank considerably fewer caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea, their alcohol consumption increased significantly.
Related on The Swaddle:
“With pre-pandemic research already showing university students to be a vulnerable group for inadequate diet and physical activity, the measures imposed to curb the Covid pandemic presented a unique opportunity to examine the further impact on their lives,” lead author and nutrition professor Gordon Zello said in a statement. “This dietary inadequacy combined with long hours of sedentary behavior and decreased physical activity could increase health risks in this unique population during Covid19 confinement and once the pandemic ends.”
The measures implemented to fight Covid19 spread, such as reduced store and restaurant hours, may have limited students’ grocery shopping frequency and availability of food at home. And while only 16% of participants were getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per week before the pandemic, the amount further decreased to 9.6% during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of hours spent sedentary rose by three hours a day.
The study linked the lack of physical activity to remote learning—students were no longer walking to schools and instead spending multiple hours in front of their screens. “There’s no doubt that measures such as the closures of gyms and other recreational facilities by the universities and other private and public establishments within the province resulted in reductions in the level of physical activity,” the study states.
Several studies have looked into the impact of the pandemic on students’ mental health and concluded that this period had been particularly challenging psychologically. This psychological distress has been linked to poor diet quality and particularly increased consumption of alcohol. In addition, students could be eating less to offset their lack of exercise and increased inactivity.
The authors say university students — especially those most vulnerable to poor nutrition and sedentary behavior — should be targeted for interventions aimed at maintaining and improving physical activity and dietary practices during this pandemic and beyond.


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From a small bake shop on Main Street to a big factory on Fifth Avenue in Bay Shore, Entenmann's called Long Island home for nearly a century. That era ended this month when its bakery there stopped producing the brand's famed pastries.
The once family-run company has deep roots in the hamlet of Bay Shore, where Entenmann's became a point of pride, a vital social force and an economic boon.
"Entenmann's is synonymous with Bay Shore," said Donna deLuca Periconi, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bay Shore. "Three generations of Entenmann's have served our community as bakers and benefactors."
Entenmann's, baker of chocolate chip cookies, cakes, doughnuts and an array of other goods, ceased production in Bay Shore on Aug. 13.
The bakery is the latest casualty of Long Island's high costs, which have driven other manufacturing companies, ranging from aerospace giant Northrop Grumman to home security company Ademco, to slash employment or move away.
"The bakery was closed because it can no longer effectively compete in the market," said David Margulies, spokesman for Entenmann's parent company, Bimbo Bakeries USA, which bought Entenmann's in 2009. "The transition was smooth, with no disruption to the marketplace."
Of the plant's 265 workers, 176 were laid off as the company shifted production to other locations, including Pennsylvania.
Remaining jobs will include research and development, technology and marketing, Margulies said; he wouldn't specify how many jobs would remain.
The local economy has, since the 1980s, shifted from manufacturing and construction toward service industries, such as legal services, accounting, health care, fast food and retail, said Irwin Kellner, Port Washington-based chief economist for MarketWatch.com.
"Sales and property taxes, health care, fuel prices and electricity tend to be much higher than the rest of the country," Kellner said. "It translates into higher living costs and employees wanting to be fairly compensated."
Many laid-off Entenmann's employees, who received severance packages, spent decades working at the Bay Shore plant, which turned out pastry puffs, twists and cinnamon buns and other treats in bakery boxes brandishing the signature ribbon of royal blue letters.
"I'm going to miss going to work," said Joseph Fiorentino, 76, of Bay Shore, a baker who started working for the sweet goods company in 1954 and was the longest-serving employee. Because of his age and time at the company, he was eligible for retirement benefits and a pension when he was laid off. For his 40th and 45th anniversaries with the company, the Entenmann's family had awarded him watches engraved with his name. "When I started working, mostly everything was done by hand," he said. "Now it's all machinery."
The Bay Shore facility at its peak in the 1990s employed more than 1,500 people.
The March announcement of the closing did not come as a complete surprise, but the news left some former workers crestfallen and nostalgic. About 150 former Entenmann's employees gathered this month in Bay Shore to remember old times.
"It was our final bash of saying goodbye to Entenmann's," said Vinny Boccio, 63, of Lindenhurst, who retired in 2005 and keeps a 100-page scrapbook highlighting his 27 years working for Entenmann's, including photos, news clips and even his first paycheck, for $173. "The night was filled with happiness and sadness . . . But I guess with the obsolete equipment that they had here it was easier to move to Pennsylvania."
TIES TO THE COMMUNITY
For many who grew up with Entenmann's as the largest employer in the area, the emotional attachment is unbreakable. Entenmann's remained a family-owned business for more than 80 years until 1978, when it was sold to pharmaceutical and consumer-goods giant Warner-Lambert for $233 million.
"Entenmann's hired generations of local families," said Susanne Ankner, 56, of Bay Shore, who worked as a packer for 20 years. She attended college while working there, and in 1998 she left to become a teacher. "Most people would say they were all grateful to have that job because it was a good-paying job and people were well provided for."
Decades after the Entenmann family sold the bakery, family members were still at the forefront of such community projects as the construction of the Great South Bay YMCA in 1991 and North Shore-LIJ's Entenmann Family Cardiac Center in Bay Shore in 2011. The company still sponsors Islip Town's Entenmann's Great South Bay Run, scheduled this year for Oct. 4.
"To the Entenmanns, this community is part of their heritage and their roots," said Bob Petersen, executive director of the YMCA in Bay Shore. "All of their help has contributed to why downtown Bay Shore has seen a renaissance over the last 15 years. They are very humble and very unassuming. They never want recognition."
FROM BROOKLYN TO BAY SHORE
Entenmann's founder, William Entenmann, a German immigrant, opened his first bakery in 1898 in Brooklyn, where he sold his breads, rolls and cakes door to door by horse and buggy. His son, William Jr., moved the family business to a small bake shop on Main Street in Bay Shore in 1924.
"I remember as a kid, it was kind of like going into the Willy Wonka chocolate factory, but now you're in a cake factory," said Ankner, whose mother, Susanne Silhan, also worked for the company. "It smelled of powdered sugar and chocolate. I mean just boxes and boxes of crumb cake, and you're looking through them for the very best crumb cake."
In 1959, believing people were more inclined to buy what they can see, William Jr.'s sons William, Robert and Charles and their mother, Martha, developed a see-through box for the baked goods.
"It was really nice working with them," said Silhan, 79, of Bay Shore, who was initially picked to work at the Main Street store through a random drawing and spent 32 years working for Entenmann's as a packer, then foreman and finally supervisor until she retired in 1992. until she retired in 1992. "The three brothers were working in the factory. We would be over here packing, and they would be icing cupcakes by hand."
The company relocated in 1961 from Main Street to the factory on Fifth Avenue, which grew to be a 14-acre plant. In 1972 the bakery introduced the chocolate-dipped doughnut, one of its most popular products.
"My first time there I was like a kid in a candy store," Boccio said. "Lines of apple pies going this way, cheesecake this way, and I am just looking like, 'Oh my God, look at this place.' "
William Entenmann Jr. died in 1951 at age 47, and Martha died in 1996 at 89. William Entenmann III died in 2011 at 79. In July, Robert Entenmann put up for sale the Martha Clara Vineyards in Riverhead, named after his mother, for $25 million. Charles Entenmann lives in Florida.
THE CORPORATE PARADE
After the Entenmanns sold to Warner-Lambert in 1978, other giant owners followed, including food conglomerate General Foods in 1982, tobacco and consumer goods company Philip Morris in 1985, consumer foods maker CPC International Inc. in 1997, the Dutch-British consumer goods giant Unilever in 2000, and George Weston Ltd., a Canadian food processor and distributor, in 2001. Bimbo Bakeries USA acquired Entenmann's as part of its $2.5 billion acquisition of George Weston.
Bimbo Bakeries USA is a division of Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, one of the world's largest baking companies, which generated more than $13 billion in sales in 2013. Bimbo Bakeries has over 75 manufacturing facilities and more than 27,000 employees in the United States. American brands of the company, headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania, include Arnold, Boboli, Freihofers, Sara Lee, Stroehmann and Thomas'.
Since 2007 Entenmann's has endured hundreds of job cuts and the transfer of some of its baking operations. The Bay Shore facility will continue to distribute sweet treats, and an adjoining outlet store will sell to the public.
Bimbo considered several states to expand its baking operations, including Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey, before choosing Pennsylvania, public records show. But Bimbo did not approach New York about incentives or assistance to remain on Long Island, a spokesman for the Empire State Development Corp. said.
"We have a long history working with the New York State and county governments, and these entities have always been very supportive of BBU," Margulies said. "After conversations with the town, it was clear there was no scenario where the bakery could successfully compete in that market."
"Bay Shore needed the Entenmann's bakery for jobs," Periconi said. "It was one of the most important businesses we had . . . and the one we were the most proud of."
A Bay Shore institution
1898. William Entenmann opens a bakery on Rogers Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
1924. William Jr. takes over the company and opens a bake shop on Main Street in Bay Shore.
1961. Entenmann's builds a baking plant on five acres on Bay Shore's Fifth Avenue; eventually expands to 14 acres.
1978. Entenmann family sells business to Warner-Lambert Co. for $233 million.
1982. General Foods Corp. acquires Entenmann's.
1985. Philip Morris Cos. obtains Entenmann's as part of its acquisition of General Foods.
1997. Entenmann's is sold to CPC International, Inc., later renamed Bestfoods.
1998. Thousands attend Entenmann's 100th birthday celebration.
2000. The Dutch-British giant Unilever briefly owns Entenmann's after acquiring Bestfoods.
2001. George Weston Ltd. of Toronto buys the baking division of Bestfoods, including Entenmann's.
2009. Grupo Bimbo purchases the remaining U.S. fresh baked goods business of George Weston Ltd., obtaining Entenmann's.
August 2014. Entenmann's ceases production in Bay Shore.
CLARIFICATION: Susanne Silhan, 79, of Bay Shore, worked at Entenmann's for 32 years as a packer, then foreman, and finally supervisor until she retired in 1992. A description of her jobs was incomplete in previous versions of this story.


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Currently, live video streaming has been so much popular in the social media. Yahoo expressed its interest to catch up that market and is thinking of starting live video streaming in its owned Beverly blogging-site ‘Tumblr’.
According to a message in Tumblr website, “Several new features are going to be added in Tumblr, along with live video streaming. Applying these, the users will be able to stay visually live in this blogging site.” There is rumor that Tumblr’s live video will compete with the popular social media ‘Facebook’. Though the Facebook authority didn’t deny, they didn’t even make the matter clear.
Tumblr will start the service in a very few months. Besides Fcebook, the service is also available in ‘Tweeter’, the leading Beverly blogging media. In the year 2015, Tweeter gets involved in the live video-steaming service, through the purchase of periscope. Apart from these, YouTube of Google and Twitch of Amazon have been providing the same service.


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Payment Rails announced yesterday that Justin Reid has joined the company as Chief Revenue Officer.
Reid has spent the past twelve years in a variety of roles in the technology sector, and previously worked at Google, where he was responsible for the financial services practice of Google’s cloud enterprise product in Canada. He has also served as Client Director at SAS Institute, where he managed client partnerships with two of Canada’s largest banks, in addition to leading a cross-functional team in market development.
“Justin shares our passion for helping businesses scale and succeed on a global level,” Tim Nixon, Co-founder and CEO of Payment Rails told MTLinTECH. “He is a proven growth leader within the B2B cloud enterprise segment and has a unique ability to form win/win partnerships at scale. His vision for how businesses will leverage technology in the future to enable superior services to their users, is exactly what Payment Rails needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth.”
Reid will be pitching on behalf of Payment Rails as a finalist at the 2nd Annual Fintech Cup hosted at The Payments Canada Summit this week in Toronto.
— Payment Rails (@PaymentRails) May 23, 2017
“I’m thrilled to be joining Payment Rails. I was attracted to this company and its vision for its already existing leadership team with years in the payments industry, in addition to the strong engagement with customers and partners that positions them for continued success. Furthermore, the ability to be a cross-border payments category leader with exponential growth potential truly made this decision an easy one,” said Justin Reid, CRO.
Reid holds an MBA from The Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. In addition to assuming his role as the Chief Revenue Officer he will also be a Member of the Board of Directors.


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Selena Gomez is getting personal for a brand-new Coach podcast.The singer and actress features in the debut episode of "Dream It Real," a new weekly podcast series being launched today by the heritage US fashion brand.
Womenswear retailer Oasis said Wednesday that Michelle Evatt will be joining the fashion retailer as Design Director later this year. She moves from Ted Baker where she’s Associate Director Womenswear Creative.
The new owners of Debenhams are expected to announce a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) as soon as Thursday or Friday and to outline plans to close 20 of its stores after the key Christmas trading period.
Under-pressure Scandinavian retail giant Stockmann Group issued a profit warning on Wednesday on the back of “the weakened outlook” for its Stockmann Retail operation that should last for the rest of the year.
Boohoo delivered a powerful set of final results on Wednesday to show just how much money can be made from selling affordable fast-fashion online and that its formula can perform globally as well as in the UK.


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The Store Room has completed a major expansion of its self storage facility in Leeds, following a big rise in demand for household and business storage space in the second half of 2013.
As a result, the company’s facility on the Leeds Ring Road was left close to capacity.
The company’s total investment at the Leeds branch is in the region of £200,000. It follows The Store Room’s expansion programme at its Leicester site, where 10,000 sq ft of new space has also been added within the last few weeks.
The new storage area in Leeds includes a range of rooms from 25 sq ft up to 1,000 sq ft.
The £2m turnover company had around 150 rooms at its Leeds base, and has added an extra 60.
The company expects the smaller rooms to be taken by householders who need storage while moving or renovating. The larger units are generally taken by business clients who use the space for equipment, stock, tools, or as a workshop.
Jeremy Bradburn, The Store Room’s managing director, said there was an urgent need for more space at its Leeds facility.
Mr Bradburn said: “We found ourselves short of space in 2013 and we added more rooms in January of this year.
“The local economy has definitely picked up since August 2013 with local businesses and people moving house being the main growth areas. Our enquiries and customer numbers are up significantly year on year, which shows us that the local Leeds economy is starting to pick up, and this gives us great confidence for the months ahead.”
A spokesman said the Leeds operation went from 60 to 70 per cent capacity, to more than 95 per cent capacity, towards the end of last year. The Leeds site now employs two full-time staff.
The Store Room has branches in Bradford, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Preston and Rotherham.


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Philippines will manufacture solar panels for the first time in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Local company Solar Philippines recently announced its plans to start factory operations at the First Philippine Industrial Park by the end of February. The launch will create around 1000 jobs and initially produce 600 megawatts. The company also plans to partner with a leading solar manufacturer to lower production cost of panels.
Solar Philippines President Leandro Leviste said in the statement that the country can save up to ₱100 billion annually once battery-equipped solar energy provide reliable, 24/7 power. Leviste said, “Vertical integration is the key to making solar cost-competitive, as in other countries, where solar is already cheaper than coal and especially natural gas.” The factory will also support Solar Philippines other projects, including a 50-megawatt facility in Batangas and Cavite and a 150-megawatts center in Tarlac.


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Paphos municipality has taken delivery of a pair of small electric garbage trucks to be used mainly in the crowded centre of the old town, paved and pedestrian areas on the coastal road.
The town’s mayor, Phedonas, took delivery of the DuroCar EV trucks from Demetriades Handling Equipment in a tender worth €45,220.
He said the new vehicles will help reduce the town’s CO2 emission footprint and contribute to a greener and more efficient public service.
Phedonos also received two EV scooters costing €7,800 from Michalis Georgiou Motospeed.
The same company signed a supply contract with the mayor in July for 13 new and low-emission conventional scooters worth €58,500 to be used by traffic wardens, which will be delivered by the end of November.
The deal includes a three-year maintenance contract.
Meanwhile, the Energy Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry said that under the Energy Performance of Buildings Law regulation, all non-residential buildings that provide 20 or more parking spaces must convert “at least” one of those spaces to an EV charging bay.
This has to be done from January 1, 2025, after which date the ministry inspectors will make random checks to implement the law.


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Ever since as early as the 1960’s and 70’s, attitudes towards recreational cannabis have been shifting. Up until recently, however, the common societal consensus seemed to be that most medical cannabis patients were just looking for an excuse to get high. Almost everyone outside of the spectrum of legitimate medical cannabis patients seemed to believe this misinformation. Thankfully, all of that seemed to have changed recently, with the widespread acceptance of CBD.
Enter CBD. This versatile cannabinoid was a game changer for legitimizing cannabis medicine in at of its glory. Around the time when the parents of epileptic ten year olds could be seen reducing the amount of their children’s weekly seizures by half and in some cases eliminating them entirely, more and more people started to take notice – and started to take CBD-rich cannabis oil medication seriously. When the common viewing public saw on CNN in 2013 how dramatically effective CBD oil was for treating the symptoms of children with pediatric epilepsy, support for medical cannabis had arguably met its tipping point in the U.S.
Once people finally realized, in droves, that cannabis could be used as a medicine and not just to get high, the legal cannabis industry saw major, previously unprecedented growth. With this completely new way for patients to heal themselves came new and innovative products and services on the market. Up until just a couple short years ago, the cannabis plant was viewed almost entirely as an intoxicant because of THC. CBD is not psychoactive and has just as high of a healing potential as that of THC, if not more.
As more and more innovations happen in the industry, and more and more federal, state and local cannabis laws regulations go the way of the dodo bird, cannabis plant medicine looks to only increase its acceptance and use. Due to near century-old cannabis prohibition, scientific study of this incredible plant as been drastically and tragically stifled. With hundreds of active cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, we could very well be only scratching the surface of medical cannabis applications.
What will the future of medical cannabis bring? No one can be certain, but if the last few years are any indicator, age-old stigmas should continue to dissolve – allowing for long-needed research of versatile cannabis plant medicine.
What are your thoughts on this? Did CBD help legitimize medical cannabis, or was it another factor? Let us know in the comments section!


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Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:
More iPhones Sold Each Day Then Babies Are Born: Strategic Analytics says that in the five years since it launched, the iPhone has generated $150 billion in revenue for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Apple Insider reports. The company has now shipped 250 million iPhones, worldwide. Still, analysts worry that rising smartphone competition and wireless carrier complaints about iPhone subsidies could dampen future growth. British retailer VoucherCodes.com has calculated that iPhone sales have outpaced global births on a daily basis.
Apple Betting $1 billion on Nevada: Apple is planning to build a new data center in Reno, Nevada, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. The company will locate its cloud computing service in the new center. It will also open business offices in downtown Reno. The new center will be part of a ten-year, $1 billion investment plan the company has for assets in Northern Nevada. The state and local governments will provide $89 million in tax abatement for the projects.
Google to Unveil New iPad Rival: Internet search giant Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) will debut a tablet developed in partnership with Taiwan’s Asustek Computer at a conference this week, Bloomberg says. The Google tablet will be priced at $199 and is directly targeting the iPad. Earlier this month, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) unveiled its own competitor to the iPad, the Surface. Analysts said that the tablet market constituted a “major challenge” for Google as Android-based tablets have so far failed to overtake the iPad’s overwhelming dominance of the market.
For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


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CBS News on August 28 covers "forced switch" related to drug Namenda
Forest had made an announcement on February 14, 2014: Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:FRX), a leading, fully integrated, specialty pharmaceutical company largely focused on the United States market, today announced that it plans to discontinue the sale of NAMENDA® (memantine HCl) 5 mg and 10 mg tablets effective August 15, 2014. Forest has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of this decision. The oral solution of NAMENDA and once-daily NAMENDA XR® (memantine HCl) extended-release capsules will continue to be available. Both NAMENDA and NAMENDA XR are indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease.
Six years ago, LaPook did a story on the promise of Namenda. New Alzheimer's Drug Shows Promise
It was of interest to note that commercials on CBS following the story included for Levemor (Novo Nordisk) and for Brisdelle (Noven, low dose paroxetine).
From the CBS story:
Fifty-four-year-old Michael Hitch of Maryville, Tennessee, has early onset dementia and says he is helped by an Alzheimer's medication called Namenda. The drug is due to go generic next year.
But Forest Laboratories, the company that makes Namenda, plans to stop the sale of the version that Hitch takes at least six months before a less expensive, generic product could become available.
The purpose of a forced switch is "to get patients over to this new product as fast as possible," said David Maris, a stock analyst with BMO Capital Markets who covers pharmaceuticals. Thus, when the patent ends on the old product, "patients are already on the new product and there's no existing product left."
"All of a sudden you don't have that cliff, you don't have a drop off in sales like you would otherwise," Maris said.


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- Water sold in the US was found to contain 240,000 tiny pieces of plastic on average in a study.
- Nanoplastics are so small that they can enter the bloodstream, cells, and organs.
- More research is needed to assess the potential health risks but there are ways to reduce exposure.
A liter of bottled water can contain 240,000 pieces of plastic on average, some of which are so tiny they can enter the bloodstream, individual cells, and organs including the heart and brain, according to a new study.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on January 8, found up to 100 times more plastic particles in bottled water than was previously documented, thanks to a tool that uses lasers to analyze the chemical composition of samples.
These tiny bits of broken-down plastic, known as micro and nano plastics, have been found in oceans, atop the summit of Mount Everest, and in the bloodstream of humans in recent years.
Microplastics range in size from five millimeters to one micrometer, which is one-millionth of a meter. For reference, a human hair is about 70 micrometers across. Nanoplastics are even smaller, measuring less than one micrometer. They are measured in nanometers or billionths of a meter.
3 popular water brands were found to contain hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic pieces
The researchers tested three popular brands of bottled water sold in the US, which they decided not to name, analyzing plastic particles down to 100 nanometers in size. They found between 110,000 to 370,000 plastic particles in each liter, and 240,000 on average. 90% were nanoplastics, while the rest were microplastics.
"The new tool refined in this study basically opens a new window for us to uncover the invisible nanoplastic world," Beizhan Yan, study coauthor and an environmental chemist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, told Business Insider in an email.
The potential health risks plastic particles could pose are unknown, but as experts rush to find out more, they recommend cutting plastic use where possible in the meantime. It is feared they could bring toxins and synthetic materials into the body, causing inflammation and other issues in the vascular, endocrine, and reproductive systems, among others.
"If there were acute effects of plastic particles, we would've seen it already happening. It's the fact that we are lifelong exposed to these particles, and so we have the potential to build them up in our body to levels that may exceed the threshold for certain diseases," professor Dick Vethaak, emeritus professor of water quality and health at VU University Amsterdam and Utrecht University, The Netherlands, told BI.
How to reduce exposure to plastic particles
As it stands, there is a nanoplastic knowledge gap. However, it's widely accepted that nanoplastics are more hazardous than microplastics because their size means they can easily infiltrate the body, and they have a larger surface-to-volume ratio, which means there's more space to absorb contaminants and carry them into the body, Vethaak said.
He said people should be aware of micro and nanoplastics and take measures to reduce their plastic use. Vethaak shared three ways to avoid plastic particle exposure:
Avoid food and drink packaged in single-use plastic. It's better to drink out of a glass container.
Never heat anything up in a plastic container. When plastic is heated, it can release loads of particles.
Keep your house well-ventilated as micro and nanoplastics can be present in the air and dust.
The authors of the study said that if people are concerned about nanoplastics in bottled water, they could consider alternatives such as tap water.
But they don't advise against drinking bottled when necessary as the risk of dehydration may outweigh the potential impacts of nanoplastic exposure.


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December 11, 2017
You might not be aware of it, but there is a strong likelihood that you've recently been entered into a special lottery. This is not some kind of philosophical thought experiment. It’s a statistical fact. It is through no action of your own but the mere circumstance that you happened to have established credit in the U.S. economy. Those are the broad conditions for which participation in this lottery is necessary. It is certainly true that there are socio-economic barriers to establishing a good credit history in the U.S. Indeed, the number of loans you've taken out, the degree to which you utilize your credit and, moreover, the age of your credit lines are all relevant factors in establishing a healthy credit score. However, such factors are largely irrelevant for the purposes of this discussion, because any credit history will suffice to qualify for this lottery. Now, you may not "win" this lottery. But, if you do, it will be a life-changing event. Does that sound like a good deal? Well, it shouldn't. As you may have guessed by now, this is not a lottery that you want to be participating in.
This summer, Equifax suffered a massive data breach, the ramifications of which have yet to be fully understood. Equifax is one of the “Big Three” credit reporting agencies based in the U.S. Due to a web application vulnerability in Equifax's system, the private information of up to 143 million Americans has been made available to hackers. This information includes addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers and some driver’s license numbers. As much as 44 percent of the U.S. population will see the repercussions of this breach in the years to come. This was entirely preventable. Importantly, the particular vulnerability exploited by hackers had a patch available in March, months prior to the data breach. Equifax had ample time to fix this vulnerability, and the company failed to do so.
Unfortunately, identity theft is a fact of life for Americans in the age of interconnectivity. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that an estimated 17.6 million people, around 7 percent of U.S. residents 16 or older, were victims of identity theft in 2014, when the study was conducted. But not only is the increased incidence of identity theft a tremendous liability for average people, it’s also a lucrative opportunity for a number of shrewd businesses. And, in light of the news that Equifax recently compromised the sensitive information of up to 143 million people, it would be a glaring omission not to mention the likelihood that Equifax will benefit from their own incompetence. In fact, fraud protection is a sizeable line of business for Equifax itself. Just three weeks prior to the breach, Equifax’s former Chief Executive Officer Richard Smith gave a speech, in which he said, “Fraud is a huge opportunity for us.” Smith retired following the data breach.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was among the politicians who sounded off in a recent congressional hearing, in which Smith was questioned. Warren said, “Consumers will spend the rest of their lives worrying about identity theft. But Equifax will be just fine — heck, it could actually come out ahead.” It’s true. Equifax stands to make millions as a result this recent data breach. Following the incident, 7.5 million people signed up a free year of Equifax’s credit monitoring services. Customers will have to pay $17 a month after their free year is up. Assuming that even a fraction of the folks who’ve signed up choose to continue the service, Equifax potentially stands to make an additional hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. That’s just one way in which Equifax stands to profit from the incident. There are others. An identity theft protection service called LifeLock has received a huge influx of new customers following the breach. Their premium plan, which most customers opted for, costs $29.99 per month. The kicker here is that LifeLock buys its credit monitoring service directly from Equifax. As such, the credit agency will receive a cut from these new customers, who are flocking to the service because of Equifax's negligence. Additionally, Equifax sells products to government agencies to assist in identity verification — a task that will be critically important after Equifax’s massive data breach.
It would be an understatement to say that incentives are misaligned here. Companies like Equifax clearly stand to gain from fraudulent activity. What real motive does the credit rating industry have to protect our information? Just days after the breach was discovered, three senior executives at Equifax sold shares worth nearly $1.8 million. Among those who sold shares was John Gamble, the agency's chief financial officer. According to the company, these executives had no knowledge of the breach at the time of their transactions. Conspicuous timing aside, it would appear these executives made the right move, seeing as Equifax’s stock plummeted after the breach was made public.
This security issue is not the first for Equifax. In January of this year, the company admitted that a data leak had occurred, resulting in small number of customers at LifeLock, Equifax’s aforementioned partner, being exposed to another user on the partner’s web portal. In May of last year, the company’s W-2 Express website was hacked, resulting a leak of 430,000 names, addresses, social security numbers and other information of one of its clients, the retail firm Kroger. Even now, after the latest data breach, the company continues to flounder in small but disconcerting ways. Shortly after the breach, the Equifax’s Twitter account mistakenly tweeted a link to a fake website pretending to be Equifax. The site was created by Nick Sweeting, a software engineer, in an effort to show people how easy would be to impersonate the real website.
It is difficult to exaggerate the profound misery that will occur as a result of this data breach. The experience of having your identity stolen is a waking nightmare. Victims of identity theft are subject to myriad woes as they must continually perform the very basic task of proving who they are — the task of proving that they are, in fact, themselves, and not the person who stole their identity. Amy Krebs described her first-hand experience as a victim of identity theft: "When you are a victim of identity theft, you are put in the position of having to prove who you are to a greater extent than the criminal had to get goods and services." It's like something out of a particularly unsettling Kafka novel. And, because social security numbers do not change, the impact of this breach will be felt for many years to come.
Now, those exposed by the breach have some legal recourse. In fact, a large number of class-action lawsuits have been proposed against the credit agency. The firm Olsen Daines PC along with Geragos & Geragos, for instance, is reported to seek up to $70 billion in damages. In addition, those affected by the breach can take Equifax to court on their own. A few people have already opted to do so. Ironically, this comes at a time when the rule making to possible to sue financial companies in such cases might be done away with by Congress. Needless to say, it is critically important that Congress not eliminate this rule.
Moreover, there need to be clear and extensive consequences for this level of incompetence. Not only should it be relatively straightforward to sue in these circumstances, the damages sought need to be high enough for corporations like Equifax to feel it. And there need to be harsh legal ramifications at the level of leadership for kind of negligence. Nonetheless, it is a convenient truth for Equifax that the average person doesn't have the time nor the inclination to mount a legal case against a huge corporation — one that is sure to fight them at every turn. As such, it is entirely probably that Equifax will never fairly compensate all the people negatively affected by this breach. In this regard, some have proposed wide-sweeping, transformational solutions. Some have even suggested that we nationalize the credit industry.
The way that the credit rating industry as a whole intersects with the broader economy is a topic beyond the scope of this piece. But one thing is clear: When profit is the underlying incentive in determining the trustworthiness of governments, companies and everyday people, incidents such as these are bound to happen with increasing likelihood. As evidenced by this breach, companies like Equifax hold an inequitable and increasingly untenable position in our society. This recent incident highlights just one way in which that is true. It's also worth noting that credit rating agencies played an essential role in the housing market collapse, spurring an economic recession in 2008.
This seems like an opportune time to point out an apparent incongruity with respect to the power dynamic between companies like Equifax and members of the general public. This is a company whose assessments affect people's ability to purchase homes and cars. In light of the fact that Equifax can't even secure its own website, it's worth asking the question: Why do they have this kind of power? This company compromised the private information of 143 million people. Equifax has roundly demonstrated that, in its current iteration, the company cannot effectively mitigate risk with respect to its own infrastructure. Why, then, should we, the public, allow them to assess risk when it comes to our sensitive information? Something is dreadfully wrong with a system that allows for the possibility of private company to jeopardize so many people's privacy and livelihoods. And considering that data is now more valuable than oil, perhaps it's time for a new set of laws and conventions with respect to the ethics of data stewardship. Let’s not leave it up to corporations like Equifax to shape those standards.
David Stockdale is a freelance writer from the Chicagoland area. His political columns and book reviews have been featured in AND Magazine. His fictional work has appeared in Electric Rather, The Commonline Journal, Midwest Literary Magazine and Go Read Your Lunch. Two of his essays are featured in A Practical Guide to Digital Journalism Ethics. David can be reached at email@example.com or via his website.


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CREATIVELIVE ANNOUNCES “GUITARIST’S TECH WORKSHOP” WITH KURT BLOCH, BEN VERELLEN
Check out Katy Perry in these new images from her new concert special KATY PERRY: THE PRISMATIC WORLD TOUR airing on March 28th at 8 PM ET/PT only on EPIX.
In honor of the highly-anticipated new album by Madonna Rebel Heart which was releated around the world today and will be released in the U.S. on Tuesday, Rdio has pulled together the top 10 Madonna songs of all time! The Material Girl’s legendary pop-gospel anthem “Like a Prayer” rings in at #1, while modern dance track “Hung Up” takes the #2 spot, followed by MDNA’s “Girl Gone Wild” at #3. Rdio also compiled top songs together for 44 minutes of pure Madonna bliss for a playlist representing the most popular Madonna songs globally on Rdio, ever.
Backbeat Books Publishes Guitar Player: The Inside Story
Album punctuated by left-of-center pop, raw Americana, eclectic/electrified indie folk
GHS add to their ever popular Boomer string range with the addition of the Thin and Thick Core Boomers for electric guitars.
Corinne West Travels the Starlight Highway on New CD, Coming May 19 from Make Records
Meet the man who, along with founder Bud Eastman, launched Guitar Player Magazine to the heights of the musical world. Jim Crockett, along with his daughter Dara Crockett, are releasing their new book "Guitar Player: The Inside Story of...
Shelby Lynne’s brand new video for “I Can’t Imagine,” the title track from her forthcoming album exclusively premiered via Wall Street Journal. Directed by noted photographer Alexandra Hedison, the clip beautifully complements Lynne’s gorgeous, elegiac, country-dusted track. The dreamy video depicts ‘the perfect desert day’, Lynne told the Journal. Watch it here:
Today, it ws announced that on May 12, 2015, Della Mae will release their second full-length set for Rounder.


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Hyundai Motor Group is committing $7.4 billion in the U.S. by 2025 to produce electric vehicles.
The company said further details would be announced later, such as what models and how much the company is committing to the effort at its Montgomery plant. The money will be used to scale up production facilities.
Hyundai Motor Group has plants in Montgomery and its Kia facility in West Point, Ga.
According to a company announcement, Hyundai plans to offer a “suite of American-made electric vehicles to U.S. consumers starting next year.” The company said it will “monitor the market conditions and U.S. government EV policy to finalize its plan.”
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, located in Montgomery, employs more than 3,000 people and turns out the Elantra and Sonata sedans and the Santa Fe and Tucson SUVs. Production on the Santa Cruz pickup begins this month after a $410 million expansion.
Hyundai isn’t the first automaker in Alabama to transition toward electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz committed to begin producing electric SUVs at its Tuscaloosa County plant in 2022. The plant, which has been in preparation for the move for the past four years, will produce the EQE SUV and EQS SUV on the same line with SUVs with conventional and plug-in hybrid drives.
In announcing its move, Hyundai Motor North America president and CEO José Muñoz said the plan “demonstrates our deep commitment to the U.S. market, our dealers and customers.”
“Hyundai will lead the future of mobility in the United States and around the world. Our efforts are proof positive that Hyundai will continue to pursue excellence in our current and future product line-up,” he said.


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Amazon just came out with its Q4 2022 earnings report, revealing that North America has accounted for a bigger chunk of its retail sales than last year, while its third-party seller services and advertising businesses continue to drive revenue growth.
Overall Revenue Up, But Ecommerce Sales Down
In the aggregate, Amazon finished the year strong with a $149.2 billion revenue in Q4 2022, which is 9% higher year-over-year. That being said, its ecommerce growth slowed down significantly, dropping to only $64.5 billion, which is 2% lower than the same quarter in the preceding year ($66 billion). This is despite the ecommerce giant holding a “second Prime day” as one last push for the holiday season and making its Buy with Prime feature available to all sellers in the US.
|Source||Q4 2021 Revenue||Q4 2022 Revenue|
|Online Stores (ecommerce)||$66.075B||$64.531B (down 2% Y/Y)|
|Physical stores||$4.688B||$4.957B (up 6% Y/Y)|
|Third-party seller services||$30.320B||$36.339B (up 20% Y/Y)|
|Subscription services||$8.123B||$9.189B (up 13% Y/Y)|
|Advertising Services||$9.716B||$11.557B (up 19% Y/Y)|
|AWS||$17.78B||$21.378B (up 20% Y/Y)|
|Other||$710M||$1.25B (up 77% Y/Y)|
Its biggest revenue drivers still include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which grew 19% year-over-year, and Advertising, which grew roughly 20% year-over-year. Adding to the list, though, is its Third-party seller services, which grew to $36.3 billion from $30.3 billion last year (up 20% year-over-year)—this segment includes Amazon FBA and the plethora of other opt-in programs for sellers on Amazon.
Amazon Advertising Is Booming
Despite some of its tech competitors struggling to step up their ad revenues, Amazon’s advertising business continues to be a huge revenue driver for the ecommerce giant since it broke the advertising segment off of the “Other” category a few quarters back. Most of its ad revenue comes from advertising related to its ecommerce business, particularly advertising paid for by the millions of third-party sellers on its marketplace.
It posted ad revenues of $11.6 billion in Q4 of 2022, up 23% year-over-year, outpacing other advertising giants like Google and Facebook.
Related Reading: [Ultimate Guide] Amazon PPC Strategies and Tips
North America Made Up for More Sales Than Last Year
Amazon’s retail sales in North America grew by 13% year-over-year, while its international segment decreased by 8% (or increased by 5% excluding changes in foreign exchange rates).
|Q4 2021||Q1 2022||Q2 2022||Q3 2022||Q4 2022|
|Net Retail Sales (North America)||$82.36B||$69.244B||$74.43B||$78.84B||$98.37B|
|Year-Over-Year Growth (excluding F/X)||9%||8%||10%||20%||13%|
|Net Retail Sales (International)||$37.27||$28.759B||$27.065B||$27.72B||$34.46B|
|Year-Over-Year Growth (excluding F/X)||3%||0%||(1)%||12%||5% (down 8% raw Y/Y change)|
This is somewhat unsurprising, considering the cost-cutting measures that the company implemented throughout 2022, particularly in the latter half of the year.
Big Losses of the Year
Amazon posted a net loss of $2.7 billion in 2022 compared to its humongous net income of $33.4 billion in 2021, which is largely attributed to blistering pace of ecommerce during the pandemic.
Its expenses for the last quarter of 2022 also included $640 million worth of severance costs, as it let go of more than 18,000 employees in November. It also imposed a hiring freeze on corporate ranks and even paused a number of warehouse projects in order to curb “uncertain and difficult” economic outlook.
Lastly, Amazon is expecting a much slower growth rate post-COVID to previous years, forecasting net sales to be between $121-126 billion in the first quarter of 2023, or somewhere around a 4% to 8% increase year-over-year, reflecting the $125.1 billion figure forecasted by market analysts.
Full details on Amazon's Q4 2022 performance are available on its Quarterly Results page.