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There are now more than 300 farmers markets in the LA area, with more opening every month. But an NBCLA undercover investigation has revealed that some farmers at these markets are making false claims and flat-out lies about the produce they’re selling.
These findings grew out of an investigation:
NBCLA’s investigation began this summer, when we bought produce at farmers markets across the LA area, and then made surprise visits to farms where we were told the produce was being grown.
We found farms full of weeds, or dry dirt, instead of rows of the vegetables that were being sold at the markets. In fact, farmers markets are closely regulated by state law. Farmers who sell at these markets are supposed to sell produce they’ve grown themselves, and they can’t make false claims about their produce.
Some of the vendors were legit:
We did find plenty of vendors doing just that, like Underwood Farms, which sells produce at 14 markets, all grown on a family farm in Moorpark.
But when NBCLA went to look at the farms referenced on the permits vendors have to sell at Farmer’s Markets, they found many that were abandoned or didn’t grow the cornucopia of items these vendors sold. NBCLA, for example, bought over 20 items from individual vendors all of whom, by state law, are restricted to selling only items they themselves grew.
But when NBCLA sent undercover reporters to follow the trucks headed to the Farmer’s Market, they wound up at big wholesale warehouses in downtown Los Angeles:
But our investigation also uncovered vendors who are selling stuff they didn’t grow, like Frutos Farms, which sells at seven different farmers markets in LA and Orange counties.
During our investigation, we bought 26 different types of produce from their stands at the Century City farmers market, at the Larchmont market and at the Buena Park market. Frutos Farm’s state permit to sell produce at farmers markets says their farm is in Cypress.
NBCLA asked owner Jesse Frutos, “Everything you sell at farmers markets is grown in your Cypress field?” Jesse responded, “Correct...everything.”
But when NBCLA made a surprise visit to the Cypress field listed on its permit, Frutos couldn’t show us most of the produce he was selling, such as celery, garlic, and avocados.
So NBCLA asked, “Do you grow avocados here?”
“Avocados? No, not here on the lot … That I’ll be honest. That stuff came from somewhere else,” Frutos said.
Somewhere else? NBCLA’s undercover cameras followed Jesse’s trucks on farmers market days, and saw him going to the big wholesale produce warehouses in downtown LA.
We saw him loading up his truck, with boxes of produce from big commercial farms as far away as Mexico. He bought many of the types of items we saw him selling at the farmers markets.
After documenting this, NBCLA asked Jesse, “You are selling some things at farmers markets that you didn’t grow, that you got at wholesale produce markets?”
Jesse admitted, “Yes.”
NBCLA also noted that all kinds of unsubstantiated and often false claims were being made about pesticides:
And during our investigation, NBCLA examined another big claim made at farmers markets—that their produce is “pesticide-free.”
NBCLA bought one container of strawberries, from five different vendors, at five farmers markets, including a vendor called “The Berry Best,” at the Torrance farmers market.
NBCLA’s undercover shopper questioned the Berry Best’s owner about the strawberries: “These are pesticide-free?”
Owner Mary Ellen Martinez responded, “Yes, they are.”
To see if that’s true, we took our five samples to a state-certified lab, and had them tested for pesticides. Results showed three out of five samples we tested sold berries that did contain pesticides, including the sample from the Berry Best.
NBCLA went back to Martinez.
“We found four different pesticides in your berries. Do you know how that happened?” we asked.
Responded Martinez, “Nope.”
She later said pesticides might have drifted into her field from neighboring farms. But according to our lab, that’s unlikely because the pesticide level on her berries appears too high to have drifted from another farm.
Martinez ended the interview with NBCLA, telling us to leave her stand, “You’re getting on my nerves right about now.”
The oddity of the article, though, is that the conclusion is completely belied by the entire report. Speaking to consumers, the reporters suggest the following as their conclusion:
So, how do you, the customer, know if a farmer is selling locally grown produce that really came from his farm?
Operators of farmers markets we spoke to suggest shoppers get to know vendors they buy from, and ask them a lot of questions. Ask for the exact location of the farm where the produce is grown. If they claim their produce is “pesticide-free,” ask them what methods they use to control pests on their crops. Ask exactly when the produce was picked.
If the farmer can’t give you specific answers, or seems unwilling to answer your questions, market operators say you should walk away.
Of course, all the fraudulent players interviewed gave direct answers and made specific claims to NBCLA. The idea that if you “get to know” a businessman committing fraud you will know whether he is fraudulent is ridiculous — go ask Bernie Madoff’s victims!
These are criminals defrauding the public, and this is a police matter. The fact that the operators of the farmer’s markets don’t act aggressively to prevent such a problem and that so little is heard about this from the pro-local community indicates the degree to which ideology has transcended reality.
You can watch the first of the NBCLA reports below:
Readers of the Pundit know that recently we had many occasions to focus on what makes for effective medical care. Our friend Jan Fleming, from The Strube Celery & Vegetable Co., has had significant health issues and we’ve chronicled that story here, here, and here.
So we turned with special interest to an op-ed piece in The New York Times by Richard P. Sloan, a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, that carried the provocative title, A Fighting Spirit Won’t Save Your Life.
Dr. Sloan points to a long history of people believing that positive attitude can impact illness:
The idea that an individual has power over his health has a long history in American popular culture. The “mind cure” movements of the 1800s were based on the premise that we can control our well-being. In the middle of that century, Phineas Quimby, a philosopher and healer, popularized the view that illness was the product of mistaken beliefs, that it was possible to cure yourself by correcting your thoughts. Fifty years later, the New Thought movement, which the psychologist and philosopher William James called “the religion of the healthy minded,” expressed a very similar view: by focusing on positive thoughts and avoiding negative ones, people could banish illness.
The idea that people can control their own health has persisted through Norman Vincent Peale’s “Power of Positive Thinking,” in 1952, to a popular book today, “The Secret,” by Rhonda Byrne, which teaches that to achieve good health all we have to do is to direct our requests to the universe.
But Dr. Sloan points out that the science isn’t there to support this idea:
But there’s no evidence to back up the idea that an upbeat attitude can prevent any illness or help someone recover from one more readily. On the contrary, a recently completed study of nearly 60,000 people in Finland and Sweden who were followed for almost 30 years found no significant association between personality traits and the likelihood of developing or surviving cancer. Cancer doesn’t care if we’re good or bad, virtuous or vicious, compassionate or inconsiderate. Neither does heart disease or AIDS or any other illness or injury.
And that imposing this expectation on people is bad medicine:
But such beliefs have implications for how we regard people who are ill. If people are insufficiently upbeat after a cancer diagnosis or inadequately “spiritual” after a diagnosis of AIDS, are we to assume they have willfully placed their health at risk? And if they fail to recover, is it really their fault? The incessant pressure to be positive imposes an enormous burden on patients whose course of treatment doesn’t go as planned.
Very early in my career, I participated in a study of young women who were hospitalized and awaiting the results of biopsies to determine if they had cervical cancer. While I was interviewing one of my patients, the biopsy results of the woman in the next bed came back to her — negative. The fortunate woman’s father, who was there with her, said in relief: “We’re good people. We deserve this.” It was a perfectly understandable response, but what should my patient have said to herself when her biopsy came back positive? That she got cancer because she wasn’t a good person?
It is difficult enough to be injured or gravely ill. To add to this the burden of guilt over a supposed failure to have the right attitude toward one’s illness is unconscionable. Linking health to personal virtue and vice not only is bad science, it’s bad medicine.
It is an interesting piece but we thought it something of an attack on a straw man. Yes, of course, being nice doesn’t mean you won’t get ill and being reverential provides no assurance of recovery.
But our experience is that “a fighting spirit” is EVERYTHING in a serious illness. To start with if one doesn’t have a fighting spirit, one may not get treated at all. After all, undergoing surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation is all a form of completely optional fighting for one’s health and survival. And Dr. Sloan would surely acknowledge that getting treated helps one’s prognosis enormously.
Then it is “a fighting spirit” that leads one to seek out optimal care. Jan Fleming lives in Chicago but flew to Pittsburgh to get the best surgeon. Mike Prevor went to M.D. Anderson in Houston, TX, though he lives in Florida. Dr. Sloan works for one of the most prominent medical institutions in the world. People make great sacrifices to go there for treatment rather than with a local oncologist or community hospital. Surely Dr. Sloan would see in the “fighting spirit” that leads one to sacrifice and travel to get optimum care an increased likelihood of positive outcome.
Once one is in care, recovery often depends crucially on patient motivation. It is often the case that physicians will emphasize the importance of getting up and walking after an operation or blowing into a Spirometer. Presumably Dr. Sloan agrees that these often very difficult and painful steps are not being prescribed to torture patients, so a “fighting spirit” that compels one to do these things will actually help in recovery and thus in securing a more successful outcome.
Finally, when the operations and procedures are over the patient has to continue to take medication, come in for follow-up visits, do appropriate blood work, scans, etc. Many patients don’t. At M.D. Anderson they won’t even do a stem cell transplant on you unless you have another person who signs a “contract” to make sure that you will show up for all your follow-up care.
The study Dr. Sloan relies on in proving his thesis that personality traits don’t matter in things medical is actually a study of extraversion and neuroticism in reference to getting cancer or surviving cancer.
But a “fighting spirit” is different than being an extrovert. One can be highly introverted and want to fight very hard for one’s life.
When the Pundit Poppa went in for his stem cell transplant five years years ago, we had gathered all his children, grandchildren, siblings, nephews and nieces at the hospital in Houston. The Pundit sister and brother-in-law had a new born baby and, not being allowed to fly yet, they heroically drove that baby from Los Angeles to Houston so that the newest grandchild could be part of the party.
This gathering was highly recommended by his physician, Dr. Richard Champlin, because for a then 69 year old man, the stem cell transplant was not likely to be an easy process. Put another way, he would need all the “fighting spirit” he could muster and the family gathering, just before he went into the hospital, was a powerful way of reminding him that he had something to fight for.
Here at the Pundit, it is fair to say that we are inundated by promoters who submit studies purporting to prove that various fruits and vegetables have specific medicinal benefits.
We rarely write about these studies because most are too limited to prove much of anything. The number of participants is too small… there is no control group… the number of variables being tested at once obscures the results, etc.
The New York Times just ran a piece, titled Reputation of a Berry Is Difficult To Confirm by Abigail Zuger, M.D., that deals with recent efforts to confirm that the cranberry, long thought to be effective in preventing urinary infections, is actually effective in this manner:
For decades cranberry juice has enjoyed a reputation as an effective way to prevent bladder infections. Scientists have doggedly tried to confirm this well-known folk truth with dozens of studies, some in test tubes and some in people.
The latest results are now in, and the answer is conclusive: This field is all bogged down.
Some older studies found the juice worked. Some found it didn’t. All were too small to be definitive. In 1998 a substance presumed to be the active component in the cranberry was identified with some fanfare, and two years ago another study suggested that a cranberry extract containing this substance was almost as powerful as an antibiotic.
Now a large, impeccably designed and executed study of cranberry juice has found that the presumed active compound apparently has no effect. And yet the newest study closed no doors. It may simply mean that the juice works, but by an unknown mechanism.
The article goes on to explain that cranberries have hundreds of active substances and that old theories about why cranberries help have been disproven while newer theories have focused on the role of proanthocyanidin, a chemical related to tannin, which is in blueberry juice and in cranberry juice but not in other juices.
Finally, though, the article explains that an effort was made to resolve the matter once and for all:
…armed with a grant from the National Center for Alternative Medicine and cranberry juice cocktail from Ocean Spray, researchers in Michigan had set out in 2004 to do the definitive placebo-controlled study.
They enrolled young, healthy women who had just recovered from a bladder infection. Statistics predicted that about 30 percent of them could be expected to get another infection within six months.
Half the 319 subjects were assigned to drink 16 ounces of low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail daily. The others were given a placebo drink manufactured by Ocean Spray to look and taste the same, but with no cranberry content.
But that didn’t tell the whole story. The researchers had expected that 30% of the women would get a bladder infection again and both the control and the tested group came in well below that number. In fact, only 17% of the women had a recurring bladder infection. This raised the obvious question: Was there something in the placebo that gave women the same protection that the cranberry juice did?
In an interview, the senior author, Betsy Foxman, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, offered some ideas for what could be going on.
Both the juice drink and the placebo contained vitamin C — could that have prevented recurrent infection? Could just drinking two extra cups of fluid per day have helped? Could it have something to do with the coloring used to tint the placebo — after all, antibiotics were first identified by the German dye industry.
“It is still a big question mark,” Dr. Foxman said. Her research into the cranberry is continuing.
In other words, even in a carefully designed study, simple variables such as the amount of fluid people drink can obscure the cause and effect.
This is why studies typically need to be done many times, by many researchers, in many different ways before we can have confidence in the results.
There is reasonably good research on broad categories of diet, such as the impact of eating fewer calories, and it is reasonable to surmise that it is easier to do that by eating cabbage than chicken fat, but the arguments that specific produce items offer specific medicinal benefits are mostly standing on research too weak to confirm the hypothesis.
Until more and better research is done, most of these claims fall into the category of “interesting, if true.”
The decision of First Lady Michelle Obama to appear with Wal-Mart executives to endorse Wal-Mart’s new program that will, supposedly, help promote healthy eating is somewhat problematic.
As a matter of approach, it is just not clear that it is a good idea for government officials or the wife of the President to pluck out individual companies for praise or approbation. After all, getting the First Lady to your event guarantees it publicity and a halo effect of goodness. Perhaps in this instance everyone was above-board, but isn’t it likely that once it is established that First Ladies do this type of thing, it will influence campaign donations and lead to corruption?
Maybe that is why The Washington Post made a point of saying how unusual it was for a First Lady to get involved with a private company this way:
In a glowing endorsement of the type that first ladies have rarely, if ever, made of major corporations, Obama called Wal-Mart’s effort “a huge victory for folks all across this country,” and said it has the “potential to transform the marketplace.”
On the substantive level, it is not at all clear that Wal-Mart is doing any more than Costco, Safeway, Kroger or loads of other companies do to promote health. And there seems to be no set up by which the First Lady is going to monitor if Wal-Mart actually follows through on its promises
And one wonders if there aren’t ramifications that the office of the First Lady is not equipped to analyze. It is very nice that Wal-Mart promises to reduce produce prices, and it is even nicer that it claims it will do so without burdening farmers. But we suspect, and many doubt, that things will work out that way.
In any case, we wrote a column in Pundit sister publication, PRODUCE BUSINESS, on the subject, titled, Wal-Mart’s Health Move May Lead To Pressure On Produce Producers. You can read it here.
Someone going by the name Electronic_Titan made a video titled Produce Salesman and Terminal Buyer. It is passing around the industry and several people sent it to us.
It is funny in the sense that it plays on a lot of the stereotypes that people have of terminal markets.
It also is very unfair.
When we worked on Hunts Point, we handled a lot of product on consignment or on a price-after-sale basis. The Pundit Poppa taught us quickly that to serve our shippers, the most important thing we had to do was sell the product so that the shippers could send us more. Of course, there was often unhappiness with the price but, understood correctly, we were being used to keep all their other sales at higher prices, which is why they shipped to us week after week.
The key tool to keeping a shipper strong is that he has another place to send the product. Although sometimes terminal market wholesalers have specific orders to fill and so function as defacto buying agents for retailers or foodservice operators, one thing that differentiates the big terminal markets is that they are much more flexible on the quantity and quality they can accept.
What typically happens is that shippers sell everyone in the world who will buy at their fixed FOB. This can include wholesalers who need the product to fulfill set orders, but typically the shippers go first to their retail customers and their foodservice customers.
But often shippers have a problem. If they have 40 trailers of product today and their customers buy 35, what are they to do with the last 5 — considering they have 40 more coming tomorrow?
They could go back to their customers and, perhaps, if they have a good relationship, the customers will try to help them. But very likely they will say that the only way they can buy more is if they go on special with the product, and to do that they will need a new price not only on the extra trailer they will buy but on the ones they have already bought.
So selling to a terminal market is often a way of getting the last product sold that doesn’t impact the price on product already sold.
The video lacks all this nuance, but the stereotypes will get their share of laughs:
By far the most consequential event in the world this week is the unrest in Egypt. It, of course, is a follow-up to the unrest in Tunisia, which led to that nation’s longtime ruler to flee. There is every possibility that other Arab countries will also see unrest.
This may, of course, all end up badly. It is not uncommon for terrible dictators to be replaced by worse dictators, as happened in Iran when the Shah was replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini.
At its base, though, the unrest is a positive thing. It indicates that Arabs and Muslims yearn for freedom just as we do.
It is not often noted but is worth noting that the whole thing took off because a produce vendor in Tunisia kept getting his cart confiscated as his freedom to do business was deprived by a mesh of corruption, laws and regulations. When options of complaint proved unavailing, when he was insulted and slapped by a female police officer, the vendor set himself aflame.
I don’t know the words in Arabic, but in burning himself, what was he saying but the words of Patrick Henry: “Give me liberty or give me death.”


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HTC's One M8 flagship smartphone was leaked numerous times leading up to its release earlier this year and it looks like next year's One M9 will follow in the same footsteps as specifications for the upcoming flagship have already hit the web.
For processing, the One M9 will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor paired with an Adreno 420 graphics chip. Other improvements will include better battery life, 4K video and support for 55 megapixel images. The Snapdragon 805 chip is capable of clock speeds of up to 2.7GHz per core, meaning that the M9 will be a very capable handset when it launches next year.
That said, the upcoming smartphone isn't due to launch for another four or five months so it is possible that the device will release with the Snapdragon 810 chip instead. The phone will use 3GB of RAM, a 16 megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and a 3500 mAh battery.
Display wise we are rumored to be looking at a 5.5 Inch 1440p display and Bose powered stereo front-facing speakers, replacing HTC's previous partnership with Beats. We can expect the HTC One M9 to release around March/April next year.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Given that the HTC leaks have been incredibly accurate in the past, it is possible that these will be the exact specifications of the One M9 when it releases. However, there is still time for the company to make changes so this is all still heavily speculative information. Do any of you guys own a HTC One M7 or M8? Would you upgrade to the M9?

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Rachael Medhurst, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security NCSA, University of South Wales The festive season is a time for joy, family and festive cheer. However, it’s also a prime target for cybercriminals. As online shopping ramps up, so does the risk of falling prey to cyber-attacks. That’s why it’s crucial to be extra […]
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By the end of the coming year, the cost of cyber attacks on the global economy is predicted to top $10.5 trillion. This staggering amount reflects the growing need for cyber security to be treated as a strategic priority on an individual, organizational and governmental level. As in every other field of business and technological endeavor, artificial […]
In the fast-paced world of business, the reliance on Information Technology (IT) has become indispensable. From managing day-to-day operations to fostering innovation, IT plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth functioning of companies. Behind the scenes, a dedicated team of IT professionals provides the necessary support to keep the digital gears turning. In this […]
Artificial intelligence and quantum research were at the centre of science and technology announcements in the UK chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The government will boost spending on computing power to develop AI by £500mn over two years to bring total planned investment to more than £1.5bn, said Jeremy Hunt. The increase followed criticism of […]
At times it felt less like Succession than Fawlty Towers, not so much Shakespearean tragedy as Laurel and Hardy farce. OpenAI is the hottest tech company today thanks to the success of its most famous product, the chatbot ChatGPT. It was inevitable that the mayhem surrounding the sacking, and subsequent rehiring, of Sam Altman as its CEO would play out across […]
Apple has revealed what it believes are the best security keys to add an extra layer of protection to your digital world. The recent release of iOS 16.3 saw Apple add security key compatibility to its iPhone and iPad devices – as well as to its laptops and desktops with the macOS 13.2 update. Now, in a support document, the […]
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Company accepting monetary donations at registers to further support hunger relief efforts
MATTHEWS, N.C., Nov. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Harris Teeter announced today the launch of its Harvest Feast Round Up Campaign. Through Dec. 26, Harris Teeter shoppers are invited to round up their transactions to the nearest whole dollar at checkout; 100% of funds raised will benefit hunger relief partners in local communities.
In 2022, Harris Teeter shoppers and associates donated $1 million through last year's Harvest Feast campaign for those facing food insecurity. The Company hopes to raise even more money during this year's campaign as the number of children and families living in America who are facing hunger and food insecurity continues to grow. According to Feeding America, more than 34 million people face food insecurity, including 1 in 9 children. In 2022, 49 million people turned to food assistance for extra help.
Since 2005, Harris Teeter's Harvest Feast Round Up campaign has raised more than $12 million in monetary donations and hundreds of thousands of pounds of nonperishable food.
"The number of hardworking families, including children, seniors and veterans, within our communities who do not know when they will have their next meal, is astonishing," said Danna Robinson, Director of Corporate Affairs for Harris Teeter. "More and more families in our communities rely on the help of our food bank partners which is why it is so important to Harris Teeter to provide a convenient way for shoppers to give back."
Harris Teeter is proud to partner with 19 agencies throughout its marketing areas to help eliminate hunger for food-insecure families throughout the year. Both Harris Teeter's food bank and food pantry partners are assigned stores within their service areas to ensure 100% of the funds collected through this campaign remain local to the community in which the donation is made.
"We are continuously overwhelmed by the generosity of our valued associates and shoppers who help us provide millions of meals to our community members in need each year. It is important to remind our shoppers that every dollar raised at their Harris Teeter will go directly to serving hungry families within their community," said Robinson.
The success of Harris Teeter's Harvest Feast campaign hinges on the generosity of its loyal shoppers and valued associates. Supporting our neighbors in need is more important than ever and Harris Teeter hopes for continued participation again in 2023.
To learn more about Harris Teeter's Harvest Feast Round Up campaign, click here.
SOURCE Harris Teeter


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Madison Equities, Thor sell 212 Fifth’s retail space to international investor for more than $25M
Greek home-furnishings company Togas House of Textiles is a retail tenant at the base of luxury condo conversion
The developers behind 212 Fifth Avenue, one of the ambitious condominium projects transforming the area around Madison Square Park into a luxury neighborhood, sold the building’s retail space for more than $25 million.
Robert Gladstone’s Madison Equities, Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities and Building and Land Technology sold a trio of retail condos at the base of the NoMad building for $26.5 million, property records filed with the Department of Finance Friday show.
The buyer is an “international investor,” Douglas Elliman broker Christine Traina, who represented the new owner with her colleague Elissa Slan, told The Real Deal.
The property, marketed by Cushman & Wakefield’s Craig Waggner and John Ciraulo, had an asking price of $29 million.
Property records list the buyer as an entity managed by investor Joaquin Garcia-Quiros Rodriguez, who appears to be managing director of the Spanish senior-living landlord Saarema.
Representatives for the sellers did not immediately return requests for comment, while Rodriquez could not be reached.
The purchase price for the three retail condos – which have more than 200 feet of frontage along Broadway, Fifth Avenue and West 26th Street – works out to nearly $5,736 per square foot.
Togas House of Textiles, a Greek company that sells luxury home furnishings, and make-up company Deciem occupy the retail space.
The area along the western side of Madison Square Park, once a gritty neighborhood filled with industrial loft buildings, has been transformed in recent years into a hip, luxury destination. The celebrity-backed food hall Eataly, in particular, opened three blocks south of 212 Fifth Avenue at L&L Holding Company’s 200 Fifth Avenue in 2010.
Spanish kitchen- and bathroom-tile company Porcelanosa in 2012 paid $40 million to buy the former Commodore Criterion building at 202 Fifth Avenue, which it transformed into a showroom designed by Sir Norman Foster.
And at the base of 10 Madison Square West – the former International Toy Center building that developers Steve Witkoff and Howard Lorber’s New Valley converted to luxury condos – Savanna in 2017 sold a retail condo leased to PetSmart for $60 million to the real estate arm of TIAA Global Asset Management.
A partnership between Madison, Building and Land and Thor developed the 24-story 212 Fifth Avenue.
Sotheby’s International Realty is marketing the development’s residential sales. In November, Sotheby’s slashed the price of the condo’s 10,000-square-foot triplex penthouse to $62.8 million from about $74 million.
The property had been the subject of a $100 million libel lawsuit Gladstone filed against Town Residential and Andrew Heiberger in March 2017, claiming the brokerage executive defamed him as the two fought over the marketing agreement for the development.
A Town rep at the time called the suit “bullying and intimidation” and “insanity.”
Gladstone received an undisclosed settlement fee and dropped the case in November of last year.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, bought a townhouse at 418 East 84th Street in 2016 for just under $6.2 million, property records show.


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Last June 13th, Zinkia approved at its Extraordinary General Shareholders’ meeting, with 97% of the votes in favor, an increase in the company’s capital stock through monetary contributions and share premiums the amount of 4.053,674 euros.
These funds will be largely designated to the investment in new Pocoyo content, among them being a new season of the series that will begin production before the end of 2017.
These additional financial resources will also be used to implement a renewed strategic growth plan for the next five years, in addition to honoring future financial commitments.
The strategic plan includes various elements aimed at further encouraging the development of Licensing & Merchandising, which has developed 15.000 product references to date. Moreover, the company aims to diversify the possibilities of the content catalogue, proposes new development, production and exploitation of the other company brands, which will expand Zinkia’s core target.
The strategy will be focused primarily on the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Australia, China and Japan. In total 12 countries that have a combined potential audience of 2.548 million people and represent 90% of the global licensing sector.
Zinkia’s mission is to increase the visibility of the Pocoyo brand in the main entertainment markets, and, in this way, increase revenues from consumer products and other commercial initiatives


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Police bust gang for cheating via students\' US varsity fee
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad cybercrime police arrested three persons — Devarashetti Pedda Venkateshwarlu, his son Devarashetti Gautam and their associate Kohirkar Nitesh — for allegedly cheating 32 Indian students studying in universities in Canada and the USA of â‚¹2 crore.
Police said the accused offered to pay the semester fee of the students and gave them a discount. The fee was through fraudulent credit card transactions and generated payment receipts. Showing this, they collected money from the students’ parents.
The fraud came to light, when the students were informed by the university of fee dues. It was then confirmed that the payments made through fraudulent credit card transactions had failed.
Police said Gautam had gone to the USA for studies where he harvested details of students studying in the USA and Canada through WhatsApp groups. He contacted them and assured that he would pay their fees through his credit card and offered a 10 per cent discount.
The details of students who accepted the offer were sent to Nitesh, who sent the details to one Zibron of Dubai. Zibron paid the fee through his fraudulently obtained credit cards. After the students were given payment confirmation, their parents deposited the fee amounts in the bank account of Gautam’s father Devarasetty Venkateswarulu.
A part of this amount was transferred to Nitesh as commission. Nitesh after deducting his commission sent the rest in crypto form to Zibron.


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LogiChem Europe | March 14–16, 2023 | Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Resycure at LogiChem 2023
Resycure participated in the LogiChem Europe event, one of the largest events for supply chain, logistics, and procurement professionals in the chemical industry. Our Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Michel Weinketz, CPIM attended the conference that took place between the 14th–16th of March 2023 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands to discuss how to drive sustainability in procurement forward and also reduce scope 3 emissions.
About LogiChem Europe 2023
LogiChem is a conference and exhibition that focuses on chemical supply chain and logistics. The event is held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and gathers leaders in the chemical industry to share knowledge and insights regarding current trends and challenges in logistics each year. Participants can look forward to engaging in discussions, networking with peers, and discovering new solutions that can help enhance the efficiency and sustainability of their operations. LogiChem 2023 event emphasizes innovation, digitalization, and collaboration, making it a valuable opportunity for chemical professionals to expand their understanding and apply it to their respective businesses.
We won the Dragons Den session
Our Co-Ceo and cofounder, Michel Weinketz participated in “The Dragons Den Session” at LogiChem Europe 2023. Resycure won the session as one of the greatest and latest Startups that helps Brand Owners, Converters, and Recyclers to secure PCR plastic material to build a more sustainable world. Moreover, judges of the session included Justin Lanyon, Global Director of Supply Chain of Arkema, Marcos Abech, Digital Factory Manager of Braskem, and Jan Roed, Global Head of Logistics of Borealis.
We are an Impact Startup
As an Impact Startup within Chemovator, BASF’s Venture Incubator, we are revolutionizing the circular economy by introducing a new business model that simplifies and incentivizes plastic recycling. Resycure makes it easier for small, medium, and large Brand Owners and Converters to sign long-term supply agreements with Recyclers, ensuring their demand volumes and specifications at favorable conditions without high commitments or risk. Furthermore, winning such an award as Reycure confirms this path is right.
Are you interested in learning more about our B2B solutions?
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The export value of Vietnamese tuna exports to the Israeli market by mid-August jumped by 34 percent to nearly 25 million USD compared to the same period last year, or accounted for 5.6 percent of the total tuna export value, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Israel continues to be Vietnam’s third-largest single tuna export market, behind the US and Italy.
According to VASEP, tuna export turnover was estimated at over 410 million USD in seven months of this year, up 21 percent annually. Vietnam’s major importers include the US, Europe, Israel, Canada and Japan. The US was the largest importer with a value of over 170 million USD.
Despite experiencing a decline in 2019, since the end of 2020, tuna exports to the market have consistently bounced back, with the average export price in the market hovering at 5,464 USD per tonne.
Most notably, Vietnamese frozen tuna fillets coded HS03048700 remain the key export product in the market, accounting for 47 percent of the total export value.
According to statistics released by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the first half of the year saw Vietnam surpass Thailand to become the largest tuna supplier to Israel, accounting for roughly 31 percent of their overall import value.
Furthermore, Israel simultaneously reduced tuna imports from other countries, while also increasing imports from the Vietnamese market.
At present, there are eight local enterprises, including Tuna Vietnam, Bidifisco, and Havuco which are actively involved in exporting tuna to the Israeli market.
Source: Vietnam News Agency


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Kendall Jenner has been named one of the highest paid models with earnings of $22 million this year.
The 22-year-old model who deals with several brands like Adidas, Estee Lauder and La Perla , Keeping up with the Kardashians and more, has taken the top spot on Forbes yearly highest-paid models list.
Kendall took over the title from fellow supermodel Gisele Bundchen,who has been the world’s top earning model since 2002. Gisele came in the Number 2 spot for 2017, with earnings of $17.5 million.
Chrissy Teigen, who announced that she is expecting her second baby with husband John Legend, was also one of the top earners. She came in third place with earnings of $13.5 million.


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Ducati North America Recalls Supersport, Supersport S for Potential Fire Hazard
Ducati North America has filed a recall with the United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a potential fire hazard with its Ducati Supersport and Ducati Supersport S sportbikes. The recall affects the said models that were produced between July 21, 2016 to May 16, 2018.
According to the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, some of its SuperSport motorcycles may have been assembled with both the airbox blow-by and fuel tank overfill hoses routed too closely to the horizontal exhaust manifold. Under certain conditions, these hoses could melt, leading to a potential risk of fire as a possible fuel discharge near a high-heat source could ignite. At idle, speed the rider could see smoke and smell burning rubber coming from the area by the lower left side of the fairing.
Within the past three months, Ducati reportedly received three separate reports from three different countries reporting the fires, with one report coming from the United States.
Ducati supposedly began investigating the problem when it received the first reported case in March. On June 5, 2018, Ducati made the decision to launch a worldwide safety recall campaign.
Certified Ducati repair technicians will inspect existing hose routing and correct hose locations as needed to ensure any contact between these hoses and the exhaust manifold is avoided, in accordance with new routing procedures prescribed by Ducati. The new routing moves the airbox and fuel tank drain hoses in front of existing electrical wiring. Rubber clamps securing the hoses will be lowered so both hoses avoid contact with the exhaust manifold. This will be performed free of charge.
There has been no word yet from local Ducati distributor Access Plus if a similar measure will be put in place for affected models, if there are any, in the country.


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Only at the Hangout Music Festival do concertgoers come for the best bands in the U.S. and leave singing about shrimp. From May 17–19, dozens of bands and thousands of fans will flock to Gulf Shores, Ala. for a weekend of sand, songs and seafood.
During the three-day festival, Alabama Gulf Seafood will have a refrigerated, air-conditioned tent to provide an escape from the heat and samples of some of the best tastes of the Gulf. This is the second year that Alabama Gulf Seafood has sponsored the music festival, according to Chris Blankenship, director of Alabama Marine Resources and program administrator for the Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission (ASMC).
“Sponsoring something as big as the Hangout Music Festival with 35 or 40 thousand people there every day really exposes our seafood,” Blankenship said. “Having the Alabama Gulf Seafood tent as part of the Hangout gives people a chance to buy the seafood if they want to.”
Visitors from across Alabama, the southeast and the U.S. will be eating Alabama Gulf Seafood—perhaps trying it for the first time. Last year, plenty of music fans became Alabama Gulf Seafood fans and raved about what they ate. This year’s tent is built from shipping containers and will be open all three days of the music festival.
Last year and this year, Alabama seafood suppliers will deliver more than 3,000 pounds of seafood to the sold-out Hangout Fest. This year’s menu includes oysters on the half shell, yellowfin tuna tartar, a fried gulf grouper sandwich and gulf peel and eat shrimp.
“They’re going to take the message of how good seafood from the Gulf Coast is,” Blankenship said. “Our distributors and processors try and work with grocery chains to carry Alabama Gulf Seafood in other parts of the country. When they see it in the store, it will increase sales.”
In addition to the menu in the tent, chef Chris Hastings of Birmingham’s Hot and Hot Fish Club has created a VIP menu for members of the media on Friday evening.
From Alabama to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in New York City, Hastings always plans meals based on seafood from the right places and at the right times.
“Whether it’s a big event in New York City or an event on the Gulf, wherever we go, the way we think about planning menus is through the lens of a seasonal, local approach to what’s available,” he said.
Hastings doesn’t only use Alabama seafood—he’s also an advocate for those who catch it.
“Fishing and fishing communities are getting beat up pretty good, but being on the Alabama commission has given me a chance to speak more about the people in our state,” he said. “They are an important part of our community.”
The tent will be open on Friday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Stop by to cool off or eat up.


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Report: Toyota and Ford aren’t interested in Fiat
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles’ CEO, Sergio Marchionne, is already seeking a merger to team up with after his projected sales figures weren’t met.
Rumors surfaced that Marchionne was looking for a merger to conduct operations with when he began openly admitting about his prospects, to better his long-term plan of stabilizing the automaker. Currently, Fiat owns Chrysler and their subsidiaries, as well as Ferrari, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo.
And according to The Detroit News, neither Toyota nor Ford are interested in merging.
“It’s something we would not be interested in,” said Toyota USA’s chief, Jim Lentz.
The outlet reports the same answer from Ford in Dearborn.
“We’re not a suitor for FCA,” said Ford’s CFO, Bob Shanks.
Source: The Detroit News


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It seems this year Microsoft was too busy to give Santa the sales pitch and would rather direct him online for any information he might want about Windows products. "Unfortunately, there is no one available to comment on your question. However, I have included a couple of links with information to assist you," said a Microsoft employee, directing Santa to the Windows and Windows 20000 Web sites. Apple: We can't convince ourselves
At first Apple was very keen to pitch Santa their operating system this Christmas as it was the first company to respond back in mid-November. "Thank you for inviting Apple to participate in this exciting pitch. Let's hope that we can convince at least a few of those unionised Elves," said the company. But when the crunch came Apple was unable to come up with the pressies. Eventually Apple got back to us, for Santa, with a disappointing "We have explored every possible option and unfortunately, we cannot get anything to you".


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Bitso, Coinbase and Circle have launched new services tapping into the steady money flow between Mexico and the United States, and taking on established players like Western Union. This piece is part of CoinDesk’s Payments Week.
If Mexico had always been a huge market for remittances, the coronavirus pandemic has made it even larger. Crypto companies do not want to miss the opportunity.
In 2021, Mexico was the third-largest recipient of remittances worldwide after China and India. According to the Mexican central bank, the amount of money sent to the country from nationals living abroad reached $51.6 billion in 2021, a 27% increase from 2020.
Almost all, 95%, came from the United States. Analysts suggest last year’s increase was mostly due to the additional income Mexican first-line workers in states like California, Texas and New York were getting. Plus, they were also recipients of U.S. government-backed stimulus checks. In early January, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Mexican immigrants’ remittances have been key to the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
About 99% of these remittances were sent through electronic wire transfers. Money orders and cash deposits comprised the remaining 1%, although these might begin to be substituted by crypto-based remittance services. Bitso, Mexico’s largest crypto exchange, says it saw a fourfold increase in cross-border remittances between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022.
For a while now, sending remittances through crypto has been mostly done on these types of exchange platforms. Frida Vargas, head of business sevelopment at Bitso, told CoinDesk the company processed about $1.2 billion in remittances between the U.S. to Mexico in 2020. “Our main users are remittance companies, who use crypto technology to improve and make the remittance sending and collecting process easier,” she said.
However, there’s a new wave of remittance-specific crypto products offered by several companies, including Bitso, and they’re mostly using stablecoins.
“Markets like Latin America will leapfrog into using stablecoins, which are perfect for remittances,” Mohamed Elkastassi, chief strategy officer at Tribal Credit, told CoinDesk. Pegged to a fiat currency, these coins eliminate the risks of price volatility while allowing the benefits of crypto’s other main features: speed and lower fees.
According to a researcher from the Universidad Iberoamericana de Puebla, Mexican immigrants in the U.S. are wary of using cryptocurrencies to send money back to their homeland because “they change their worth every day.” That’s where stablecoins become handy because they help recipients hedge against any devaluation of their local currency.
For Elkasstawi, massive crypto adoption for remittances is just a matter of time. “In the future, immigrant workers will be paid in stablecoins and merchants will be accepting them as a form of payments.”
In November Bitso also partnered with Circle, a peer-to-peer payments company, to launch a new international wire transfer product called Bitso Shift. It’s designed for small businesses and freelancers, allowing them to change their dollars into stablecoins, send them to Mexico and be collected in Mexican pesos. The service charges $12 for every $1,000 sent, and no fee for collecting.
In mid-February, Coinbase (COIN) announced a new cash-out service across 37,000 establishments in the country. These include the 20,000 branches of Oxxo, the country’s largest convenience store chain, as well as other supermarkets and department stores.
It began as a free service, but it now charges a fee for every transaction that’s “25% to 50% lower than traditional cross-border payment solutions,” according to the exchange. Coinbase also allows users in Mexico to convert and invest their balance into over 100 cryptocurrencies, including Circle’s USDC stablecoin if they choose not to cash out.
Coinbase’s cash-out product seems to compete directly with Western Union in terms of accessibility. The company has created an app that allows collecting or sending money transfers from Oxxo stores. Western Union fees range between $8 to $37.
Users seem eager to ditch traditional remittance services and adopt crypto to get their money from abroad. “With long lines and plenty of ID requirements, it seemed like a crime to get U.S. dollars from Western Union,” Moises Martinez, a 25-year-old criminologist living in Mexico, told CoinDesk. “I know the paperwork is part of the security protocols, but I just wanted to get my money in my account.”
As an alternative, Martinez turned to crypto. His father, then living in the U.S., paid for his son’s entire college tuition in bitcoin, using Coinbase to send him the currency. Martinez cashed out using Taurus, a Mexico-based crypto exchange that launched a Visa debit card in 2020.
Even though Martinez’s father is back in Mexico, his son still uses alternatives to the traditional financial system like other crypto services or neobanks. Martinez still has relatives in the U.S. that rely on companies like Western Union (which was founded in 1851). “I get them: they’re used to that service and it is reliable,” he says. This might still delay massive crypto adoption for remittances between the U.S. and Mexico.
But for now, as Elkasstawi says, at least users are seeing that crypto gives them more options to manage their money.
Dib, Daniela. “Mexican Remittances Are the Continent’s Largest; Crypto Companies Want a Cut.” CoinDesk Latest Headlines RSS, CoinDesk, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/paymentsweek/2022/04/27/mexican-remittances-are-the-continents-largest-crypto-companies-want-a-cut/


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Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor stopped by "The Morning Breath" and talked about their new healthy lifestyle, and revealed that they are getting some backlash.
The holiday season can quickly derail your healthy habits if you’re not prepared. Research shows there’s a connection between the holidays and overeating that leads to weight gain, but smart eating and exercise may help counteract those negative effects. Set a few healthy intentions before the holiday chaos commences.
Donald Trump’s preferred order at McDonald’s has been revealed as a waistband-busting meal containing alarming amounts of fat and salt. During campaign stops at the fast food restaurant the president would ask for two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fishes and a chocolate milkshake, according to an insider’s account of his presidential bid. US authorities generally advise men to consume about 2,500 calories per day.
The burgers and fries sold at this McDonald’s in Moscow — reportedly the world’s busiest one — may soon be labeled as the products of foreign agents in a tit-for-tat game of diplomacy between Russia and the United States. Fast food chain McDonald’s may find itself in the center of a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Russia. Tensions flared this week as Russia responded to a U.S. Department of Justice order requiring the Moscow-funded news organization RT, originally named Russia Today, to file paperwork under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
If you’re looking to lose a bit of weight, this sweet seasoning could be a beneficial addition to your diet. In a new study cinnamon was found to boosts the metabolism in mouse and human fat cells. You May Also Like: 6 Expert Tips to Make Sticking to Your Diet Easy – Even Through the Holidays Researchers from University of Michigan tested the effects of the essential oil that give the spice it’s flavor, cinnamaldehyde. They found that the oil triggered ...
Los Angeles comedian Kevin Fredericks says he felt "triggered" by a rejiggered recipe for mac and cheese, his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
From backhanded compliments to snide passing remarks masked as concern for health or outright attacks on food choices and habits, food shaming comes in many forms, all of which are equally unnecessary and unhelpful.
You have a vegan guest coming to Thanksgiving dinner, and you have no idea what to make. Here are a few delicious suggestions.
When you wake up from your post-Thanksgiving food coma, chances are you'll be hungry for more. Before you throw together that day-after turkey sandwich, read these tips to make sure you're being safe and smart about using up leftovers. From Delish
Sure, you could enjoy your turkey au naturale, or you can spice it up with a dollop of homemade and hearty stuffing, one of Thanksgiving's quintessential foods.
"If we're not getting enough nutrients or digesting our food properly due to poor gut health, our skin literally starves," says Carla Oates, aka The Beauty Chef.
According to the item's description, the chocolate truffle cake with a white frosting rose was sent home with guests as a wedding favor. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the wedding cake was a seven-tier masterpiece that weighed more than 200 pounds.


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Online pet-products retailer Chewy is bringing more heat to the IPO market, pricing its eagerly-awaited listing at $22 per share on Thursday.
The Dania Beach, Florida–company raised its IPO range Wednesday, and was expecting shares to price between $19 to $21 per share. That was up from the previous $17 to $19 per share range.
Chewy is expected to start trading Friday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “CHWY.”
Much like its recent IPO peers, Chewy is not yet a profitable company— but is reportedly valued at above $7 billion, classifying it as a unicorn. According to its S-1 filing, Chewy reported sales of $3.5 billion in 2018, up 67% from the prior year, and a net loss of $268 million.
About 42% of total revenue comes from pet food sales, while 25% comes from vet care and 22% comes from supplies and medicine. Furthermore, Chewy’s Autoship subscription service generated about $2.3 billion in sales in 2018.
As a pet-products e-commerce platform, Chewy relies heavily on web traffic. According to alternative data analyzed by Thinknum, Chewy has been seeing a healthy uptrend since 2017.
In 2017, PetSmart acquired Chewy and is its largest shareholder, and Chewy’s stock will trade under a dual-class structure.
PetSmart will own 278 million Class B shares, which will represent approximately 70% of Chewy’s total outstanding shares of common stock and approximately 77% of the combined voting power of both classes of common stock.
Chewy’s public debut follows many high-profile unicorn IPOs this year.
Ride-sharing companies Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT), online scrapbook company Pinterest (PINS), alternative-meat maker Beyond Meat (BYND), video-conferencing service Zoom Communications (ZM), denim brand Levi’s (LEVI), freelance services provider Fiverr (FVRR) and cloud company PagerDuty (PD) are just some of the companies that have hit the public market within the first half of this year.
Meanwhile, there are several more waiting to jump out of the gate.
Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.
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STUART, FL (WFLX) - Shoppers in search of a bargain may visit a local resale shop for items taken from a local mansion.
Last month, Tiger Woods' ex-wife Elin Nordegren tore down her 17,000 square foot house in the Seminole Landing development near North Palm Beach.
As she plans to build another large home in its place, dozens of items from the old home were salvaged and put on the shelves at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore in Stuart.
At the Web site www.habitatmartin.org, several items are listed and shown in photographs, including a hand-carved wooden mantel, a vintage brass and iron staircase railing and Swarovski crystal chandeliers. The site also suggests that items from American singer Perry Como will be sold at the store.
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers report the store has had record-breaking sales as word spreads the items are for sale. Reports say it took three people two days to stock the shelves for Tuesday's shoppers.
The store, located at 2555 SE Bonita Street in Stuart, Fla., opens at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.


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This is a follow up on our previous post, "Attorney for plaintiffs in Uber employment misclassification suit seeks class-action status." On September 1, 2015, U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order certifying a class of California drivers who allege that Uber Technologies Inc. ("Uber") misclassified them as independent contractors.
In cities and towns across the United States, millions of Americans are barely getting by. For those individuals who earn minimum wage, every dollar must be budgeted and spent to afford basic necessities like housing, food, clothing and transportation. In cases where an individual is supporting a family, it requires a lot of ingenuity to stretch every dollar to make it until the next paycheck.
A May 7 New York Times expose last spring shed light on activities of rampant wage theft within the U.S. nail salon industry. Almost exclusively, the workers who are exploited are immigrants from Asian countries who speak little to no English and have little to no understanding about U.S. labor laws, especially those pertaining to wages.
An employee's wages generally make up a very big part of their financial lifeblood. How much in wages they receive can impact a variety of aspects of their life such as what sorts of expenses they can take on, what sorts of things they are able to do for their family and what sorts of long-term financial goals they can realistically pursue. Thus, one of the things employees generally care greatly about is getting paid fairly for the hard work that they do. Consequently, an employee can feel very troubled when they come across things that make them suspect that their employer may be violating wage and hour laws and not paying employees as much as they should.
Previously, an individual who was in need of transportation had to look up and call the number of a cab service who then dispatched a taxi driver to a customer's location. Today, ride-share car services like Uber and Lyft are taking the place of traditional taxi services and drivers by connecting people in need of transportation with motor vehicle owners in their area via an app-based system.
U.S. businesses are required to follow and abide by various legal rules and regulations. Many of the laws that govern U.S. business activities are in place to protect consumers and the environment. Additionally, regulatory measures have been enacted to ensure for the safety and wellbeing of employees as well as to safeguard against unfair and deceptive business practices.
When an employee blows the whistle on an employer and files a qui tam lawsuit on behalf of the government, the government can choose whether or not to join the lawsuit. If the government investigates the case and decides not to join, the whistleblower can still go ahead with the lawsuit and, if successful, receive a percentage of any amount that is recovered.
In the workplace, technology has been credited with improving efficiency and in general making it easier for employees to communicate with superiors, colleagues and customers. Increasingly, however, many workplaces are using technologies like laptops, email and smartphones to exploit workers who are expected to essentially be on call and respond to work-related matters during the evenings and on the weekends.
Government customers of United Parcel Service Co. (UPS) overpaid the company because it falsified delivery records over a 10-year period, according to a lawsuit UPS recently settled. The whistleblower suit was filed by a former driver and manager for UPS. Now he is expected to receive $3.75 million for bringing the allegedly false claims to the attention of the federal government.
In 2007, a lawsuit was filed against energy giant Edison International, alleging that the company violated the Employees Retirement Income Securities Act of 1974 (ERISA) by offering employees higher-priced retail class mutual funds as retirement plan investments when what were basically the same funds could be had under lower-cost institutional shares. The class action against Edison was brought on behalf of about 20,000 employees and retirees.


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TCL Electronics Holdings Limited, a Chinese consumer electronics company, has recently revealed that it is planning to increase its stake in its Brazilian joint venture SEMP TCL by 80%, spending a maximum price of BRL 325 million through its affiliate TCL NL. According to reliable sources, the joint venture has managed to seize a solid foothold in the television segment as TCL branded TVs go on to gain substantial market share in Brazil.
Evidently, Brazil is the world’s fifth most densely populated country and offers remarkable market potential to the Chinese company. TCL’s decision to double its stake in SEMP TCL would pave a clear pathway for it to establish a deeper penetration in the sector. The move is also a crucial step in TCL’s globalization strategy.
After the completion of the deal, SEMP TCL would go on to become a subsidiary of TCL, with all its operating assets, liabilities, and results being consolidated under the Chinese firm's books. For the uninitiated, SEMP is one of Brazil’s biggest home appliance companies that sells and manufactures consumer electronics like small home appliances, TVs, and home theaters.
Along with its renowned brand value in the country, SEMP also offers solid capabilities of logistics, distribution, and manufacturing. Over the span of four years, SEMP TCL has managed to effectively penetrate the Brazilian market with its wide variety of products ranging from high to low ends.
It has managed to conquer a formidable position in the market despite the intense competition from international TV brands, which were successful to appeal to the masses.
Speaking on the development, Kevin Wang, CEO, TCL, said that even though COVID-19 has crumbled the global economy, it has not been able to undermine their company’s unparalleled faith in the globalization of its business. As of now, TCL Electronics is currently holding the second position in the global TV shipments sector.
Source Credit: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200603005961/en/TCL-Electronics-Increase-Stake-SEMP-TCL-80


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The developer of Towson Row, a $350 million mixed-used project anchored by Whole Foods Market, has started work on a five-story apartment building above the grocery store.
Greenberg Gibbons and Caves Valley Partners said Thursday they formed a joint-venture partnership with Gilbane Development Co. to develop The York, the Towson project’s second residential building. It is slated to open next August.
The York, with 231-units and spanning 280,000 square feet, will be marketed to Towson University students, recent graduates and young professionals. Fully furnished apartments will have living rooms, full kitchens, in-unit washers and dryers, high-speed internet and flat-screen TVs. Residents will have access to a clubroom, fitness center, computer lounge, study rooms, game room and outdoor terrace.
Gilbane had worked with the developers on Altus, a student housing building that opened this month and is fully leased to Towson students. First-floor tenants will include a wine and spirits store, a nail salon and a BurgerFi restaurant, also opening this month.
The 1.2 million-square-foot Towson Row is under construction on five acres between York Road, Towsontown Boulevard, Washington Avenue and Chesapeake Avenue.
Besides the housing, it will include stores, restaurants and offices. The project also includes the redevelopment of the former National Guard armory building into Towson University’s StarTUp, an incubator for startup businesses, and a 220-room hotel.


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Virgin Plays With Itself, Mannequins Play With Themselves
-Virgin Atlantic goes overboard playing with its own nine inches of pleasure in a new campaign from Eight Partnership.
- imulus wonders why advertisers haven't figured out podcast advertising and offers up a few suggestions.
- If you like hot looking mannequins in hot looking lingerie in hot looking poses, you'll like this print campaign for blush lingerie.
- That Silly Girl weighs in on the stereotypical idiocy of the STA Travel Body Shots thing and why Leo Burnett might want to take its weather-dependent Max Factor billboard to earthquake laden San Francisco.
- Cynopisis reports, "Nielsen has just completed its first Product Placement Valuation Study, which is part of its Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiative. Of interest in the study, 57.5% of viewers recognized a brand when seeing a product placement in combination with a commercial. That's in comparison to 46.6% who only saw the commercial for that brand. The results suggests product placement adds to the value of traditional advertising."
- Michael Crichton does the fake company, fake video thing to promote his new genetic engineering-focused novel.


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BERLIN – Volkswagen (VW) raised its five-year investment plan to €180 billion (S$260 billion) as Europe’s biggest carmaker intensifies a push to challenge Tesla’s leadership on electric vehicles (EV).
Nearly 70 per cent of the spending in the next half decade will go to EVs and software, up from 56 per cent during the previous rolling plan, VW said on Tuesday.
Europe’s largest carmaker is increasing overall spending by 13 per cent compared with its last annual update.
“We have set clear and ambitious targets and took necessary decisions to streamline processes,” chief executive officer Oliver Blume said in a statement.
This year “will be a decisive year for executing strategic goals and accelerating progress across the group”.
In late 2022, the carmaker delayed setting new goals on investments, citing a lack of visibility amid the war in Ukraine and significant supply bottlenecks.
Mr Blume, in office since September, has come under pressure to reveal more about his strategic priorities after focusing on fixing the company’s chaotic software push and scrutinising costly projects.
On Monday, Volkswagen announced plans to build a battery plant in Canada, its first outside Europe, as the company seeks to fast-track an expansion in the key United States market, which also includes a new US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion) EV plant in South Carolina.
VW attributed the rise in spending to its battery efforts, which include as many as six factories in Europe alone, as well as securing raw materials to power EVs.
The company’s PowerCo battery business is expected to generate sales of more than €20 billion by the end of the decade, VW said.
The carmaker is also investing in China, its biggest market, to improve competitiveness with local models to help stop a slide in market share, particularly among EVs.
While VW’s focus is on future technology, its combustion-engine investment will continue to rise before reaching a peak in 2025, when tough new Euro-7 emissions regulation in the European Union come into force.
VW earlier in March projected revenue to climb as much as 15 per cent in 2023, with operating returns reaching as high as 8.5 per cent on full order books and better access to semiconductors. BLOOMBERG


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The Dutch aviation startup ELECTRON Aviation has signed an agreement with Twente Airport as its next step. plans From 2027, launch a zero-emission short-haul flight service.
The startup’s planned fleet of electric air taxis will transport up to four passengers at a time to various European cities within a 500 km radius of the airport.
“To be clear, it will take you to Berlin, London or Paris, all in less than 2 hours,” said ELECTRON CEO and co-founder Joseph Morris.
The startup’s Electron5 aircraft, which is still in the prototype stage, will fly at a speed of about 300 km/h with a maximum range of 750 km on a single charge. With a focus on smaller aircraft, the company hopes to build its fleet at a rapid pace.
“In order to fly significant distances this decade, we had to compromise on aircraft size, limiting ourselves to five seats. Which, when you think about it, is the perfect size for our business model,” Morris said.
Tickets are officially 80% sold out
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The startup plans to provide a fast, easy service similar to the Uber of airplanes, offering a faster and greener way to travel between major European hubs. The plane needs 800m of runway to take off, meaning it can take off from conventional airports, the startup said.
It used to be Joseph quoted saying that a 400km journey in one of its air taxis will set you back €:225. However, in a press release yesterday, the CEO said the aircraft’s “low operating costs” (compared to other low-emissions alternatives such as hydrogen) would eventually allow the startup to “match or beat” economy pricing. – class plane ticket.
The startup is part of the Electric Flying Connection (EFC), a Dutch consortium of companies that recently submitted a funding application to the Dutch Growth Fund to scale battery-electric flight in the country.
Jan Schuring, CEO of Twente Airport, who joined the consortium this year, said demand for improved connectivity in the region was strong both within the Netherlands and for cross-border travel to Germany, France and the UK.
Introducing ELECTRON aviation as a second operator, Twente Airport appearance positioning itself as the airport of choice for electric air taxi startups looking to launch their services in the country.
ELECTRON also signed a similar agreement with Groningen Airport in 2021 and plans to deploy a fleet of battery-electric, zero-emission aircraft at both airports in 2027.


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The new Nissan X-Trail 2021 has just arrived and is already rocking. In the Brazilian market, it is still new, but it is already making admirers wherever it goes. If you do not know the Nissan X-Trail 2021 , see more information below and let yourself be enchanted by this new model.
Nissan X-Trail 2021
The New Nissan X-Trail 2021 , is a complete and modern SUV. With a solid and very robust design, the new model fell in the taste of the customers, because it is a solid and complete model.


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HONG KONG/SHANGHAI -- The abrupt disappearance of China's top online sales host from Alibaba's Taobao platform may only deal a short-term blow to the e-commerce group, but it highlights the risks of relying on a few celebrity influencers, analysts say.
Rumors are swirling around the fate of Li Jiaqi after his popular show on Alibaba-owned Taobao -- where he shifts a dizzying array of products to 64 million followers -- was abruptly cut on Friday. He cited technical issues but then failed to show up at an online sales session a few days later and has since gone off the radar.
Li's canceled program last week had featured an ice cream and cookie cake shaped like a tank, just a day before the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989, when military vehicles and troops poured into Beijing's biggest public square and killed pro-democracy protesters.
That prompted widespread suspicion that the 30-year-old Li had been sidelined by censors in mainland China, where any reference to the decades-old event is banned, especially in the days before its June 4 anniversary.
Known as the "Lipstick King" for selling 15,000 tubes in five minutes on Taobao, Li ranks at the top of China's sizzling livestreaming sales sector, which has surged in popularity in recent years as COVID-19 lockdowns kept millions of eager buyers at home.
His sudden disappearance could be a big hit for brands that contracted him to promote their products -- from Dior foundation and La Mer skin cream to domestic furniture and pet supply makers -- during the current "618 Festival" and "Singles' Day" in November.
The events are China's two-biggest shopping extravaganzas of the year, which together can account for more than half of a brand's annual sales.
"There will undoubtedly be some impact on Taobao too, but I believe that would be manageable," said Chen Tao, a senior analyst at consulting company Analysys. "We anticipate that the real amount of live sales on Taobao accounts for a small percentage -- around 10% -- of total sales on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms."
Still, Alibaba has bet on livestreaming as it grapples with slowing growth and mounting competition from rivals JD.com and Pinduoduo while livestreaming competitors, including the short video platforms Douyin and Kuaishou, also nip at its heels.
The e-commerce group, which recently reported its slowest quarterly growth since going public in 2014, has seen its market share slip from over 80% to less than 50% in the past seven years.
In March, both Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall recorded year-on-year declines in transaction volumes for the first time ever, with the pace reaching the low teens in April.
Livestreaming is driven by social media influencers' frantic offers of cheap deals, and Li was central to that blitz.
He shifted a whopping $1.9 billion in goods in just 24 hours to kick off Singles' Day in November, and once outsold Alibaba founder Jack Ma in a one-on-one selling competition.
Neither Alibaba nor Li's agency, Meione, responded to requests for comment on Li's situation, but his legion of fans expressed dismay on social media.
"I hope Li Jiaqi is able to restart livestreaming soon. If not, I would surf Taobao less often," one wrote.
Li is the latest among several major Chinese retail influencers to suffer a fall from grace in recent months.
Viya, a top influencer on Taobao Live known as the "queen of livestreaming," was pulled offline late last year and slapped with a record tax-evasion fine of 1.34 billion yuan ($200 million).
Several other influencers were also hit with tax-evasion penalties and went offline as authorities cracked down on the sector to bolster a broader effort aimed at narrowing China's yawning rich-poor gap.
"It's another public relations crisis," said Hu Yuwan, associate director at the Shanghai-based research advisory company Daxue Consulting. "For merchants, the main role of livestreamers is to increase brand exposure, bring in more traffic and boost short-term sales. But they shouldn't be the only, or main, channel for sales."
Together, Li and Viya accounted for an estimated 13% of the total transaction values on Alibaba's e-commerce platforms, way ahead of their nearest competitors.
"The reason Viya and Li Jiaqi were so influential was because Taobao needed role models to bring in a lot of influencers to its platform," said Zhang Yi, chief analyst at Guangzhou-based iiMedia Research. "So Taobao provides these top influencers with numerous promotions and opportunities to reach a wider audience."
Alibaba has been diverting some traffic to smaller influencers since last year, and that could open up an opportunity for new names to emerge in place of Li and Viya.
"If Taobao provides other influencers the same access, they may become more influential as well," Zhang said.
But some say it is unlikely that Li's career is over.
Like many Chinese born after Tiananmen, he may not have even been aware of the sensitivity of a tank-shaped dessert given the government's decadeslong effort to keep the bloody event secret, said a Beijing-based journalism professor, who asked not to be identified.
"From the censors' perspective, Li's streaming should have definitely been halted," he said. "But I believe it might restart in the future."


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Sophistication lifts the small Ford to a new level, writes Paul Pottinger
IF FORD can’t sell the new Focus, they should give the game away. Though it comes into a segment so crowded with rivals that listing them all could fill this page, the Focus is in the front row of its class.
Set for Australian release in the third quarter, the Focus was launched in Los Angeles last week.
Its engineer, James Hughes, says it is like night and day when compared with the slowselling but sweet-driving South African-made model now in runout.
Our cars will come from Germany, which is apt given the scare it should throw into Volkswagen’s Golf.
‘‘We looked at all our competitors, Asian, domestic and European, and benchmarked the Focus against the Audi A3,’’ Hughes says. ‘‘Its dynamics, interior and wind noise are better than the A3.’’
This is no empty boast as carsGuide found in 200km of testing on California’s freeways and B-roads.
As enjoyable to drive as the current Focus, the new one lives in a different dimension for technical sophistication and refinement.
LOCAL pricing is some way off, but indications are the Focus will stay price-competitive against its strongest rival, the Mazda3.
If Ford actually promotes the thing, they can claim a car that’s far more refined and poised, yet equally enjoyable to drive.
Diesels could come on line by the time of local release and a potentially GTI hunting turbocharged XT is due next year.
And, unlike the Golf, the Focus takes basic unleaded and won’t cost a fortune to service.
IF THE lean-running four-cylinder directinjection petrol engine isn’t exactly revolutionary (even the Commodore has DI these days), it is an improvement on the current naturally aspirated four. Better still is the six-speed twinclutch automatic, which replaces the current four-speed torque converter so much better they probably shouldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence.
Much of the tech story is in the interactive overload that is the My Ford Touch/SYNC system. This in-car connectivity system runs through LCD screens and an eight-inch video screen.
It’s capable of understanding 10,000 voice commands. Say ‘‘I’m hungry’’ and the nav system will guide you to any number of local restaurants.
And it’ll allow you to order takeaway via Bluetooth and direct you to the place while it is cooking.
Then there’s its myriad music and entertainment functions. If that’s not enough, the system makes the car a WiFi hotspot.
Expect it as standard on top spec models, optional on others.
NO CRASH test dummies have ‘‘died’’ yet in the Focus’s case, but five stars from all agencies seems a formality.
Airbags are ‘‘tailored’’, monitoring the passenger’s weight and the way in which they’re sitting before exploding into action.
Moreover, there’s a sense of door-thunking.
Head turner: (above) The new Ford Focus is unveiled at the Detroit motor show and (right) part of the upgraded package, the seamless gear changer.


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A blow-by-blow account of negotiations leading up to Google’s acquisition of Motorola indicates that the deal may have been one of necessity rather than opportunity for Google.
In a proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Motorola said that it was considering settling some or all of the patent infringement lawsuits against it at the time it began negotiations with Google. Both Apple and Microsoft are suing Motorola for alleged infringement in its Android-based products.
If Motorola had settled those suits, the outcome might have been damaging for Android, patent expert Florian Mueller wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. “The fallout for Android would have been nothing short of catastrophic,” he wrote. Motorola’s “likely capitulation would have been a disastrous signal and resulted in pretty much every other Android device maker’s surrender on the patent front. It would have made it clear to everyone that Android infringes patents held by Microsoft” and Apple.
Apple is also suing HTC and Samsung for alleged patent infringement in their Android products. Unlike most operating system developers, Google does not agree to protect Android licensees in the event of a patent lawsuit. That has left many of the largest Android manufacturers exposed to legal attacks from competitors.
If those licensees have to pay other companies including Apple and Microsoft to use Android, the economics of Android changes dramatically. It’s currently free to license Android, while other mobile operating systems, like Microsoft’s Windows Phone, come with a licensing fee. That has helped spur the dramatic growth of Android over the past couple of years.
Even after Google proposed acquiring Motorola, the handset maker was still considering whether settling the lawsuits might be a better option. On Aug. 2, Motorola’s board deferred a response to a Google offer because it was still evaluating the proposal “as well as other strategic alternatives that could hypothetically be pursued by Motorola Mobility, including the prospect of settling some or all of the intellectual property litigation,” according to the proxy statement.
The companies may have also discussed the possibility of Google buying only Motorola’s patents, rather than the whole company. That prospect might have been a better option for Google, which has risked alienating other Android licensees with the acquisition of Motorola’s competitive handset business. But Motorola made it clear that selling only its licenses would leave the remaining handset business too exposed. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha told Nikesh Arora, senior vice president and chief business officer at Google, “that it could be problematic for Motorola Mobility to continue as a stand-alone entity if it sold a large portion of its patent portfolio,” according to the statement.
The prospect of Motorola settling the lawsuits may have contributed to Google’s decision to continue to increase the offered purchase price. Google’s initial offer was US$30 per share and the companies ultimately agreed to $40 per share.
The proxy also indicates that the companies felt an urgency to complete the deal. Early on in the discussions, Google executives conveyed to Jha “the importance of acting with speed and confidentiality,” according to the statement. Talks between the companies began in mid-July and they announced the deal a month later, on Aug. 15.


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Australian ad network company Max Interactive was bought by Hyderabad based digital marketing firm Ybrant Digital in an all-cash deal, the details of which were not revealed, Digital Media reported. This is the sixth acquisition that Ybrant has closed in a span of three years; the company has spent more than $29.7 million in acquisitions (excluding that of Dream Ad and Max).
It paid $13.5 million for Israeli ad firm Oridian, $4 million for US-based DW Net Ventures LLC (aka MediosOne), $2.2 million for Serbia-based Seenetix for its flagship bulk emailing product VoloMP and $10 million for US- based Pennyweb Inc. Total funds raised from external parties by Ybrant is $55 million.
Suresh Reddy, Founder and CEO of Ybrant told MediaNama that the acquisitions have been paid for by raising funds and from the company’s own pockets. From being a software services company supporting digital marketing agencies, Ybrant has now grown into an advertisement network with branches in 16 countries. Ybrant does 20 billion impressions a month and registers net sales of $60 million.
Ybrant raised $20 million from New York-based Sansar Capital Management through preference shares. Sansar, according to StreetInsider is a pan-Asian long/short fund launched in 2005 by Sanjay Motwani. Ybrant’s Red Herring prospectus filed in 2007 offers more details on the preference shares – 821,400 compulsory convertible preference (CCP) shares of Rs. 10 each were issued at Rs. 1,000 each and 100 equity shares at Rs.320 each. Of $20 million raised, $11.10 million was used in the acquisition of MediosOne, Wordcents LLC and Pennyweb Inc (AdDynamix).
Last year, when the company was planning to go public, it raised $10 million from four hedge funds in the US. Reddy would not name them but said they continue to be associated with Ybrant.
In October 2008, Ybrant raised $25 million from a Hong Kong based private equity fund called Asia Pacific Capital.
Max Interactive Pty specializes in banner advertising, search and e-mail marketing – the top three services that Ybrant wants to offer. Max’s clientele includes Vodafone, Telstra, HP, Nokia, Nissan, Citibank, American Express, Visa, Land Rover, Jack Daniels, Adobe, Qantas, Virgin and Nestlé. Its publishers include Webjet, RewardsCentral, 3 Mobile, About Seniors, MobileActive, Ski.com.au and Yakedi.
What Made Ybrant Go On An Acquisition Spree; Eyes China
“We did not plan on it. It’s all about building a business to satisfy your clients. Ramping up is costly at times and sometimes there is a cheaper way to do it. It makes sense to adopt a strategy that will immediately increase your network to new geographies, which is important for publishers today who get international traffic. Their ability to monetise depends on our reach. We wanted to be an end-to-end digital marketing company which any business can reach out to,” explains Reddy.
He added that acquisitions were not always the answer though. Like in the case of China, a region the company is targeting next for expansion. It might opt for a relationship with digital marketing agencies there. It is also looking at Japan and Korea.


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Scion expects to sell 20,000 FR-S sports cars a year
While speaking with Ward’s Auto, Scion CEO Jack Hollis stated that the niche automaker expects to move at least 10,000 units through 2012 from when the new Scion FR-S goes on sale June 1st. Scion has only received 1,243 pre-orders for the new sports coupe but they’ve received around 27,000 requests for information on the new vehicle when it becomes available. Based on that, Hollis expects to be able to sell every FR-S that they can have shipped to the US from the production plant in Japan. Unfortunately for Scion and those hoping to get their hands on an FR-S right away, with the production facility also building the Toyota GT86 and the Subaru BRZ – both of which will carry higher price points – Scion may have a hard time meeting the early demand.
In contrast, Subaru only plans to sell between 5,000 and 7,000 versions of their BRZ sports coupe which shares every feature shy of the badging with the FR-S. Subaru is more of a niche brand of its own, with that group having more interest in the all wheel drive turbocharged sedans that the company is more well known for so there could be less interest from the Subaru world. However, considering how much interest there is in the motorsports world from the Scion community and the fact that the FR-S will serve as the range topping sports model – the FR-S could potentially hit those goals for 2012 and 2013.
While the 2012 Scion FR-S enters the American auto industry as the bargain brand’s most expensive model, it is still among the lowest price rear wheel drive sports cars on the market with a price starting just over $24,000. When looking strictly at rear wheel drive, 2-door sports cars in the US market, the main competitors are the Ford Mustang, the Chevrolet Camaro, the Dodge Challenger, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the Nissan 370Z and the Mazda Miata. Compared to that group, the $24,000 Scion FR-S is less expensive than certain packages from Mazda (hard top Miata versions start close to $28k), all Hyundai Genesis Coupes, all Nissan 370Z coupes, all Dodge Challengers and all of the V8 powered Ford Mustang coupes and Chevrolet Camaro coupes. The open aired Mazda Miata, the Ford Mustang V6 and the Chevrolet Camaro V6 all carry low base prices than the Scion FR-S.


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General Motors Corp. said Friday that it has chosen Ed Welburn, an executive who has worked on the company's design team since the 1970s, to succeed GM design chief Wayne Cherry when Mr. Cherry retires on Jan. 1.
The announcement confirmed widespread speculation that Mr. Welburn would be appointed, but leaves open the question of whether his appointment will affect the future design direction and culture at GM. Over the next few years, new-product designs will be a critical aspect of GM's success or failure.
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