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“Any time you want to make a change it’s not going to be easy,” says Vanja Vasic, whose take on fashion is outside the box. “It’s going to be a struggle. I think that Canada is very young still and we do have an issue sometimes supporting our own and I think we’ve always been like that.”
Vasic would know. The 30-year-old is the executive director of Fashion Art Toronto and brains behind FAT Arts and Fashion Week. From its humble beginnings in 2005 as a two-day runway event known as Alternative Fashion Week held in a now-defunct bar on King West, FAT Fashion Week has expanded with more than 200 national and international designers, photographers, musicians, and video and fashion installations exhibiting over four days.As Vasic sips on her latte in the lounge of the Drake Hotel, it’s obvious that she and FAT Arts and Fashion Week have come a long way from their rebel beginnings, managing to survive Toronto’s predictable fashion sensibilities since FAT’s inception into the Toronto fashion scene.
Inspired by London, England’s alternative fashion scene, Vasic saw FAT as the answer to Toronto’s mainstream, commercially oriented fashion weeks. The goal was to bring in designers who embody alternative concepts, from House of Etiquette, which combines latex in places you would never imagine, to the minimalist designs of Pedram Karimi.
“I wanted to explore fashion creatively,” explains Vasic, who began FAT as a 23-year-old second-year Ryerson fashion design student. She sought out help from the Fasion Design Council of Canada when launching Alternative Fashion Week in 2005 but was turned down. The event has been her own DIY project since. “I always kind of saw myself looking at fashion through all these different art forms — going out, exploring and researching, and finding the concept behind the clothing.”
“Xtra magazine called us the bad girl and we still like to see ourselves as the bad girl,” says Vasic, who’s retained her commitment to what has seemed at times a fledgling project. “I think the people that are followers of the festival still have that feeling but I think that it’s just, like, gone to a next level.”
While Toronto may not be the alternative fashion capital Vasic hoped it to be, with few commercial sales generated for designers, FAT has become a platform for the artists to display their work and divergent ideas.
“FAT is more a fit for my work because I don’t want to just focus on the business side of the fashion. I want to be more artist than business woman,” says visual artist and second-time FAT designer Mitra Ghavamian, whose conceptual garments were inspired by the fabrics and way of life of the nomadic Ghashghaei tribe. “I’m very honest to my audience and I want them to know that fashion is not just shallow. FAT allows me to be creative without any limitation.”
For first-time presenter Nicole Roscher of Berlin label Von Bardonitz, whose designs verge on gothic and androgynous elements with a collection of unisex wear, FAT Fashion Week is a place for Canadians to experiment with their sense of fashion and push their boundaries.
“I think it’s important that people get more [of a] chance to express themselves” says Roscher, a model turned avant-garde designer whose conceptual clothes have found a niche audience in cities such as Taipei and Hong Kong. “If you go on the street you always see the same and I would love [it if] the people opened themselves and tried more things out.”
While FAT Fashion Week tries to push Canadian fashion away from the sale rack at Urban Outfitters, Vasic hopes that the event will continue to evolve with the possibility of joining Toronto Fashion Week if the opportunity presents itself.
“We have to bring in designers who are more professional, more interesting, and more conceptual and continuing to connect internationally with designers and organizations,” says Vasic, who’s trying to put Canadian fashion on the map. “It’s hugely important because not only are you bringing attention to Canada … but you’re also sort of having that exchange of ideas between countries and I think that’s huge in fashion.”
FAT Arts and Fashion Week kicks off April 24 and runs through April 28. For
more information, visit fashionarttoronto.ca.


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Bella Thorne has sent her fans into a frenzy with her latest Instagram video. The 21-year-old actress and singer took to the popular social media platform on Wednesday to share a racy clip to promote her cosmetics line by rolling and splashing around in chocolate and whipped cream.
In the video, Thorne is seen rolling around a stripper pole completely in the nude as she applies whipped cream on her body. In a previous part of the clip, the young starlet is featured rolling around in wrapped candy wearing red lace lingerie before it cuts to the stripper pole scene. The video then moves on to show the Midnight Sun star seated next to a chocolate fountain as she licks it and splashes it on her body and face.
The video titled “Sexual Chocolate,” which the singer first teased on Oct. 31, promotes her new makeup company, Thorne By Bella, which features bold, glittery makeup that is in line with her personality. Over the past few weeks, Thorne had been teasing the promo video of the candy-themed collection by sharing shots of herself covered in chocolate as well as a photo in which she is donning red lingerie while sitting on candy.
In the caption, Thorne explains that she directed the video herself.
Since posting it on the social media page, the video has been seen nearly 1.5 million times. The post received more than 271,000 likes and more than 5,100 comments from fans who showed mixed feelings about the sexually charged video.
As Fox News pointed out, many Instagram users believe the former Disney star went too far.
“Is this a joke,” one exasperated fan wrote, while another echoed the sentiment by adding, “Kinda scary not sexy… disturbing. Sorry.”
However, many others loved the video, and advised the star to just ignore the negativity.
“Bella don’t be afraid, don’t give a f— about the haters! U r u and nothing can change that! Don’t be afraid to go and live freely like how we all should be,” one user wrote, as quoted by Fox News.
As HollywoodLife reported, Thorne’s company is selling three eye and body mousses, all priced at $18 each, and a set of three lip stains for $20. She launched the cosmetics line on on Nov. 23, right in time for Black Friday.
“Makeup has always been my sh*t. I’ve always loved doing makeup and I do my own makeup for every project I work on, for every event that I do, for every photoshoot. I don’t really let anybody touch my face except me, because I’ve dealt with such terrible cystic acne and people ruining [my] face when they touch it,” Thorne said of why she went into the cosmetics business, as the Inquisitr previously reported.

domain: news


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The Commerce Department recommended yesterday that President Reagan relax the remaining trade sanctions imposed on Japan six months ago for violating a semiconductor trade pact by dumping memory chips in other countries at less than their fair market value.
"Our monthly monitoring of semiconductors now shows clear, firm and continuing evidence that third-country dumping has stopped," said Commerce Undersecretary Bruce Smart.
But administration officials added that the Japanese have only "improved slightly" their compliance with another part of the agreement: their pledge to make steady progress in increasing their purchases of U.S.-made chips until they reach about 20 percent of the market. That would double the U.S. market share from the time the agreement was signed in September 1986.
As a result, there is unlikely to be any move to lift the $165 million in trade sanctions imposed for failing to provide added market access.
On April 17 President Reagan ordered that tariffs be doubled on a total of $300 million worth of Japanese television sets, lap-top computers, stereos and other consumer electronic products in retaliation for Japan's failure to live up to the trade agreement. Of that total, $165 million was for the lack of access and $135 million was for third-country dumping.
By selling chips in other countries at below their fair value, Japan gave high-technology companies in those markets an unfair advantage over their American competitors for products that use semiconductors.
At the economic summit in June, Reagan lifted $51 million of the $135 million in sanctions because Japan had shown improvement in reducing third-country dumping. The White House is expected soon to announce the ending of the remaining $84 million of the dumping penalty duties..
The semiconductor sanctions, the first such penalties the United States has imposed on the Japanese since World War II, quickly became a watershed in trade relations between the two countries.
Concern that the sanctions marked the start of a transpacific trade war sent financial and money markets around the world spiraling downward, but the president's action also seemed to show Japan that the Reagan administration meant business in trying to remove unfair trade tactics that block U.S. sales.
Semiconductors are the building blocks of high technology, crucial to computers and telecommunications networks and used increasingly in such common products as wrist watches, automobiles and home appliances. In imposing the sanctions, Reagan said a healthy U.S. semiconductor industry is "essential to America's future competitiveness" and cannot be "jeopardized by unfair trading practices."
In announcing the Commerce Department recommendation, Smart said Japan has assured the United States that it is not "restricting the supply of semiconductors," as representatives of U.S. high-technology firms had charged. The U.S. manufacturers had expressed fears that Japan was trying to sabotage the pact by creating artificial shortages for American users of Japanese chips.
Smart said Japanese officials said "that shortages -- if any -- are solely the result of market demand exceeding Japanese production capacity.
"We also have emphasized to the Japanese that in any case of short supply, it is essential that Japanese suppliers treat U.S. customers equitably and on a nondiscriminatory basis," he added.
Smart said the United States will continue to monitor the agreement to make sure that Japan does not resume dumping in other countries.
To determine that Japan had begun complying with the agreement by stopping its dumping, the Commerce Department examined transactions involving about 18.7 million chips between March and August. The August figures showed that the prices had risen to their fair market value, as were the prices of Japanese chips sold in the United States.


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Retailers are adding more workers to their payrolls for the holidays, but the gains are roughly in-line with last year.
Chains are trying to contain costs since competition for workers has forced them to pay more, just as they focus on transforming their businesses to serve shoppers digitally and in their stores.
Judith McKenna, chief operating officer of Wal-Mart’s U.S. division, said Thursday the retailer would offer its workers more hours and bring on board 60,000 seasonal associates, with a starting rate of at least $9 an hour. The additional headcount is in line with what the company planned to add for the holidays last year.
“Wal-Mart will have more associates in our stores working more hours this season, all with a focus on providing service and convenience to our customers,” she said.
McKenna said the discount chain was adding department managers in more than 3,500 of its 4,588 of its stores to serve customers collecting online orders.
“We want to help people pick up their order and get back to the rest of their day as quickly as we can,” she said.
More than half of the workers who joined Wal-Mart on a seasonal basis last year stayed on in permanent roles. The discount chain drew sales of $288 billion last year and, together with its corporate sibling Sam’s Club, employs about 1.4 million in the U.S.
Elsewhere in retail, Target Corp. is planning to bring on 70,000 workers, the same as last year, and Kohl’s Corp. is hiring 69,000 seasonal workers this year, up slightly from the 67,000 it targeted a year ago.
Kohl’s seasonal additions average out to 50 associates per store, plus 9,500 seasonal workers at distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers and another 660 in the company’s credit operations.
Overall, retail hiring for the holidays will be on par with a year ago, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
“Once again, most analysts are anticipating healthy holiday sales this year,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of the outplacement firm. “However, there are several factors that may prevent these strong sales expectations from translating into increased hiring. For one, we have seen increased hiring earlier in the year, which may preclude the need for a lot of extra hiring as the holidays approach.”
All together, the firm projected seasonal employment gains of about 755,000 over the last three months of the year. That’s down 4 percent from 786,800 two years ago — the best year for seasonally hiring since 1999, when the sector added 850,000 workers.
“Changes in the way consumers shop are making it possible for stores to meet increased holiday demand with fewer extra workers,” Challenger said. “When retailers do add holiday workers, fewer of those jobs are in traditional spots, such as sales clerk or cashier.”


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Have you ever thought about the secrets hidden right in your online reviews? In his latest article on Healthcare IT Today, Jim Higgins shares some of the latest data mined from thousands of online reviews in the healthcare industry.
He writes, "Before we start bemoaning how our hands are tied when it comes to poor reviews, we should stop to think about what can be learned by paying closer attention to reviews."
Find out more about what this massive study found and how it can help you improve your patient relationships, online reviews, and overall financial success. You can read the whole article by clicking here.


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TODAY Newcastle launched plans to become one of the UK’s first super-connected cities in a scheme that will boost the city’s economy by a predicted £150 million.
Go Digital Newcastle, a government scheme delivered by Newcastle City Council, will see 97% of Newcastle given access to superfast fibre broadband by 2015, free Wi-Fi in Newcastle City Centre, a cloud computing centre, business connection vouchers and a business support programme.
The UK Broadband Impact Study published this year by analysts SQW concluded for every £1 invested in broadband by government the UK economy will benefit by £20.
Council leader Cllr Nick Forbes said: “Superfast broadband can help turn local heroes into superheroes – our city-based businesses can use the faster speeds to reach new markets and products and compete on both a national and international scale.
“The economic benefits to the city will be significant and further cement Newcastle’s reputation as an exciting place to live and work.
“Go Digital Newcastle will boost the local economy and help create and protect local jobs.”
Newcastle is one of 22 super-connected cities where small businesses (SMEs), charities and social enterprises can apply for connection vouchers worth up to £3,000 to get connected to high speed/high grade broadband with one of nearly two hundred registered suppliers.
Local businesses, charities and social enterprises are being urged to sign up for a connection voucher. It’s a fantastic opportunity to open up a world of superfast opportunities for their organisation. They will also be able to benefit from a free business support programme offering digital master classes and workshops, delivered by BE Group.
Visitors to the city and people needing internet access while on the move will have access to free Wi-Fi across the city and in public buildings, in high streets and there are plans to bring it onto the Metro
Newcastle householders will also benefit if they choose to upgrade to fibre broadband at home. Superfast connection speeds mean everyone in the family can do their own thing online at the same time, from downloading HD movies to file sharing, accessing public services and chatting to friends and family on Skype.
Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Upon Tyne Central said Newcastle needs to be at the heart of the digital economy and Go Digital Newcastle’s superfast broadband has a critical part to play.
“Good connections bring huge benefits to people both in their work and in their home life – in today’s fast-moving world, they’re a necessity rather than a luxury,” she said.
“They will make Newcastle even more attractive to organisations looking for a base with world-class connections, while enhancing the activities of our local businesses, helping create and safeguard jobs.”
Digital pioneer Herb Kim said: “At the Thinking Digital Conference, we’ve seen example after example about the positive impact that broadband connectivity has made all around the world.
“And in the case of broadband speed and capacity, faster is definitely better.
“Faster broadband means our businesses can be more competitive, our research more intensive and our collaboration made all the easier. It is the fundamental foundation for a 21st Century economy.
“It’s great news that Go Digital Newcastle will be dramatically improving Newcastle's broadband speeds and hence our ability to connect with and collaborate in the modern global economy."
Under the Go Digital Newcastle initiative, BT was awarded the contract to deploy fibre broadband across the city. Previously, broadband was mostly carried on copper cables, which meant that the further away from an exchange you were, the slower your broadband was.
Now, copper is being replaced by state-of-the-art fibre optic cabling to cabinets in streets across Newcastle, delivering speeds of up to 80Mbps – most businesses and homes will be able to access 30Mbps or higher.
The network will be open to all communications providers on an equal wholesale basis, so householders and businesses will benefit from a highly competitive market.
Bill Murphy, BT’s managing director of next generation access, added: “Newcastle is the major cultural and economic centre of the North East and as a result residents and businesses are demanding faster and better broadband connectivity.
“Already in Newcastle more than 66,000 homes and businesses can access fibre broadband on BT’s network and this figure grows daily. Many local businesses are already feeling the benefits. But I hope our investment in and partnership with Go Digital Newcastle will help to push fibre as far as it can go in a city being branded as ‘tech’s best kept secret’ and ‘the place to be for digital start-ups outside London.’”
Around £9m of public funding is being put into Go Digital Newcastle. Funding comes from:
- The Local/Rural Broadband Programme, co-funded by the Council, the Government and BT. BT is investing £1.89m, with the Council investing £970,000 plus £970,000 from the Government’s Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) Local/Rural Broadband Programme fund.
- The Government’s Super Connected Cities Programme, covers the Broadband Connection Voucher scheme, Wi-Fi in the city and on the Metro and the Cloud Innovation Centre.
- ERDF and the Council are funding the Business Support programme of training and masterclasses.
DCMS Communications Minister Ed Vaizey said: "Today businesses expect and demand faster and faster broadband to compete in the global race and the Government’s connection vouchers will be an important tool for cities in helping to address that demand.
“The UK already does more business online than any other European country and Government’s investment in superconnected cities, like Newcastle, will provide a welcome boost to the local economy.”
Cllr Forbes said: “This initiative means Newcastle will be one of the best-connected cities in the UK, which gives our local economy huge advantages when it comes to competitiveness and attracting business.
“And for local residents who sign up with a supplier to receive superfast broadband at home, it will revolutionise the way they shop, find information, download entertainment and compare prices – it’s like turbo-charging your lifestyle.”To find out more about Go Digital Newcastle and the Connection Voucher scheme, visit the new website at www.godigitalnewcastle.co.uk/business.


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The Minnesota-headquartered food major has offloaded its European dough business to The Cérélia Group, a French producer of ready-to-bake dough solutions, to consolidate its impetus in North America, its largest market.
Weston Foods’ first ever Bakeology Report reveals what we all know by now – that the pandemic has triggered a re-evaluation of food choices among consumers – but it also highlights the relevance that bakery continues to play in Americans’ lives.
Ferrero has edged out Hostess to capture the cereal giant’s cookie, fruit snacks and ice cream cone family of brands, including Famous Amos, Murray’s and the Girl Scouts of the USA brand Little Brownie Bakers, plus Stretch Island and Fruity Snacks.
Japanese snack giant Calbee posted a profit decline for its third quarter results for fiscal year ending March 31, 2018 due to sharp slowdown in North America, possibly putting its business partnership with PepsiCo on the line.
Rovema North America which designs and supplies packaging machinery for the bakery, confectionary and coffee market, among others, has acquired Rovema Packaging Machines - all of its Rovema brand-related business.
Forecasting Benchmark Study compares CPG firms in N. America & Europe
Terra Technology, which works with Mondelēz International, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Kellogg and Campbell Soup, to provide inventory optimization and transportation forecasting has launched its Forecasting Benchmark Study to make supply chains less...
Tetra Pak says it has developed an ice cream extrusion line with the highest capacity in the world, producing up to 43,200 pieces of ice cream sticks and sandwiches per hour, (the average is 36,000) with plans to launch a second one in Q1 next year.
Responding to market gaps created by industry consolidation and closures, Sappi North America (NA) has leapt into the packaging market with the launch of its Packaging Group and a label paper called LusterCote.
Swiss bakery firm Aryzta will acquire Canada’s Pineridge Bakery and US Cloverhill Bakery for a collective sum of €730m (US$1.01bn) in a move its CEO says will shift the company into more relevant convenience channels.
As crusading investor Nelson Peltz lets off another bomb in the Pepsi boardroom – this time in the form of a 37-page letter criticizing the firm’s snack/soda integration – we examine the arguments for and against any split.


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Dewitos – Doritos Flavored Mountain Dew Is Here – Would You Drink It?
The combination of Mountain Dew and your favorite cheesy Doritos chips may sound a bit strange at first. So strange that most people didn’t even believe it.
But PepsiCo has confirmed in a report that it is experimenting with a Mountain Dew flavor that incorporates the nacho cheese flavored chip.
In a statement provided to USA Today network and other news organizations, a Mountain Dew spokesperson said, “We are always testing out new flavors of Mountain Dew, and giving our fans a voice in helping decide on the next new product has always been important to us. We opened up the DEW flavor vault and gave students a chance to try this Doritos inspired flavor as part of a small program at colleges and universities.”
They have not decided yet whether Dewitos will move forward and be sold in stores. So, how does it taste? One Reddit user, Kent State, who broke the news said, “It honestly wasn’t that disgusting.”
Another taste tester said, “It kind of taste like you’re drinking creamy nacho cheese.”
I guess we will just have to wait to see if it hits store shelves. If it does, will you try it?


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International marketing services group Incepta is paying up to pounds 6.8 million to buy business-to-business and corporate PR specialist Key Communications.
The UK-based group will fork out an initial pounds 5.5 million in cash and shares, and a possible further pounds 1.3 million depending on Key's future financial performance.
The acquisition will help plug a gap in Incepta's portfolio of PR offerings.
With Citigate Dewe Rogerson as a wholly owned subsidiary, Incepta is already strong in financial and corporate PR but the Key acquisition adds business-to-business and consumer capabilities.
Citigate director Fiona Tooley said: 'The deal adds on a number of key disciplines that we don't have, in particular consumer, property, retail and leisure, and b-to-b PR.'
Key Communications, worth pounds 6.2 million in annual fee income, is ranked 19th in PR Week's Top 150. It has offices in London and Birmingham, with over 70 staff overall. Clients include The AA, Mars Confectionery, P&O Trans European and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Key CEO Colin Kent - now chairman - said the deal gives them the financial backing they need to grow: 'The deal gives us a wider playing field and will take us into Europe. It allows us to grow using Incepta funds and their international network.'
Key Communications will retain its name under the deal, but will be joined at its Birmingham offices by Citigate's Midland corporate operation.
Christine Arthur, Key business development director, will oversee the merged corporate division alongside Tooley, who will head the financial team.
Kent confirmed there would be no immediate staff changes and said they would not start recruiting until mid next year.
Incepta, run by CEO David Wright, currently has a market cap of over pounds 4.2 million.


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I participated in a panel discussion titled Electric Vehicle Strategies: Driving Mass Market Uptake earlier this week at the BloombergNEF Summit in San Francisco. Bloomberg set the stage of the discussion by stating that policy mandates and subsidies characterized the first phase in the global electric vehicle (EV) market, but now organic consumer demand is taking over, and adoption is rising very quickly in many markets.
I was joined by an interesting group of panelists from across the industry for a discussion on where companies are placing their bets, how consumers are responding, and where the market will be in five years.
EVs are certainly the industry’s hot topic right now, with seemingly every major automaker shouting investment promises that would have been unbelievable a decade ago but are now weekly headlines that hardly get noticed. New-vehicle sales in 2021 increased less than 4% compared to 2020, but sales of electrified vehicles in the U.S. continued to surge, according to our recent analysis. In all, nearly 1.5 million electrified vehicles – the combined total of EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrids – were sold in 2021, up 86% from 783,477 in 2020. EV sales in 2021 rose 89% to 487,460 units. They hit a record in Q4 at 147,799. That is still a small part of the U.S. vehicle market, but we believe EV sales growth will outpace industry growth for years to come.
As I noted during the discussion at the Bloomberg summit, I believe the EV market is poised for strong growth. This growth will of course be driven in part by fleet activity, which is particularly well suited for EV technology, and from recent and future regulations. But to me, beginning this year, the most interesting growth segment will be new EV pickup trucks, built by traditional manufacturers and sold by long-established dealers, particularly those in geographic areas that have had negligible EV adoption until now.
With several EV trucks entering the market – notably from Ford and General Motors – buyers in Middle America will finally have an EV they understand and may actually embrace. I’m not talking about the luxury EV trucks from makers like Rivian or Tesla. Instead, I see EV growth being fueled in part by big pickup trucks that people depend on to have traditional big pickup truck capabilities.
The turning point in EV adoption will come as we move beyond early adopters and begin to see mainstream America choose EVs for their desirable design, features and performance. This will likely happen in the full-size pickup segment. Most pickup truck owners live in more rural areas, drive more miles, and more than the overall market, require reliability. In rural America, drivers are more likely to be homeowners as well, where home charging stations are a reasonable option, unlike more urban drivers where street parking is more common and a reliable, consistent parking space is not assured. With full-size pickup trucks, an entirely new audience of vehicle buyers will be introduced to the inherent advantages of electric vehicles, including better performance. And, in the case of the new Ford F-150 Lightning, life with a “frunk.”
With the average transaction price of a new full-size pickup truck approaching $60,000, price is less of an objection in this segment. For instance, the published price for a base 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning is within $1,000 of a gas-powered equivalent while having all the style and capabilities of a conventional pickup truck, including towing capacity and cargo space, plus new abilities made possible by EV technology, such as being able to power a house during a blackout or an entire construction site.
Marketing at the dealership level will be a key consideration for EV adoption, which is mostly lacking at the moment. We are hearing from many dealers that they feel unprepared to sell EVs, and this point will need to be addressed for EV adoption to grow. As EVs become more mainstream, the automakers that will win the EV race will be the ones providing the best support, training and motivation to their dealer networks. That’s difficult to do when your dealership only sells a handful of EVs a month. But again, with the volume potential of full-size pickup trucks, that equation may change. OEMs and dealers will have to work together to ensure salespeople are properly educated – and incentivized – to effectively sell returning truck buyers on an electric equivalent, which will most likely do things that the gasoline version couldn’t. EVs are not yet for everyone, but EVs are certainly something more buyers should be considering.
We are now well into the EV Decade, and 2022 will be an important year for EV sales, with the number of new EV products in market rapidly increasing and the first full-size EV pickups arriving on stage. I applaud those automakers focused on giving Americans what they want – a pickup truck – and making it electric.
Originally posted on Charged Fleet


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- About.com — one of the top 20 sites according to comScore— has been slowly rolling out a sleeker, more modern site design over the past few weeks.
- As part of that redesign, the publisher is experimenting with native ads, and already more than half the ad deals signed for the fourth quarter include a native component.
- The sleeker design is already improving engagement by 10% to 15% for the sections that have transitioned.
Visitors that come across sponsored content on About.com will be already looking for a particular brand or topic, a clear advantage to advertisers. The majority of About.com's site traffic is search driven so readers that come across a sponsored post will, in theory, be more open to receiving that information even if is a native ad.


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Nov 11, 2013
Some 47 million Americans live in poverty, and a key reason is the decline of the minimum wage.
First established under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the nationwide minimum wage was designed to lift millions of American workers out of poverty and to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, however, it was not indexed to inflation, and big businesses -- hostile from the start -- fought, often successfully, to prevent congressional action to raise it. As a result, over the past forty years, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has fallen sharply. If Congress had kept the minimum wage in pace with inflation over this period, it would today be $10.74. But, in fact, it is $7.25 -- about two-thirds of its previous purchasing power.
A major consequence is that increasing numbers of workers and their families live in poverty. The annual salary of a full-time American worker employed at $7.25 per hour is $15,080 -- less than the official federal government poverty level for a family of two. The poverty level for a family of four is $23,550 -- considerably beyond what a minimum-wage worker earns.
At the same time, the rich have grown far richer. Between 1968 and 2012, as the minimum wage declined in value, the top 1 percent of households doubled their share of the nation's income. The typical CEO of a big business received a 16 percent raise in 2012 -- to $15.1 million. That year, the pay of Wal-Mart's CEO, Mike Duke, rose 14 percent, to $20.7 million. By contrast, Walmart -- the largest employer in the United States -- pays its sales associates an average wage of $8.81 an hour. It is much the same story at McDonald's, which employs large numbers of the nation's low wage workers. In 2012, the CEO of McDonald's was paid $27.7 million. Although his income roughly tripled in 2012, the income of McDonald's fast food workers remained abysmal. Thanks to this pattern, the United States now has the most unequal distribution of income in the industrialized world.
Another consequence of keeping the minimum wage low is that, by under-paying workers, corporations are shifting the real costs of doing business to the general public. According to a study released this October by the University of California and the University of Illinois, 52 percent of America's fast food workers receive assistance from public programs like food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Medicaid thanks to their poverty-level wages. As a result, taxpayers are contributing $7 billion per year to pick up the cost of supporting these fast-food workers. The study estimates that public assistance to McDonald's workers alone amounts to $1.2 billion a year -- the equivalent of one-fifth of that corporation's annual profits. Taxpayers are also paying enormous amounts to support the impoverished employees of Walmart and other giant companies.
Many people have recognized the negative consequences of letting the minimum wage dwindle to insignificance. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have raised their minimum wages higher than the $7.25 federal rate. Congress is currently considering the Fair Minimum Wage Act that would gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10 in three steps and then index it to the cost of living. In addition, more than 120 cities across the United States have adopted "living wage" ordinances that require employers benefitting from publicly funded service contracts or economic development subsidies to pay wages higher than the state or federal minimums. Taking matters into their own hands, desperate workers in low-wage establishments, such as Walmart, McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's have begun staging walkouts, demanding higher wages. This August, workers protested at nearly 1,000 fast-food restaurants in more than fifty cities, demanding $15 per hour. Polls also show that the overwhelming majority of the American people support raising the minimum wage.
So why not do it? The major objection trumpeted by the corporations and their apologists is that raising the minimum wage would lead to a loss of jobs. But sophisticated studies by economists have reported little or no effect on employment of raising the minimum wage. Summarizing the studies earlier this year, Paul Krugman -- the Nobel Prize-winning economist -- declared: "The great preponderance of the evidence ... points to little if any negative effect of minimum wage increases on employment."
Why is this the case? One reason is that, with a higher wage, workers stay on the job longer, thus increasing labor efficiency and decreasing the cost of recruitment and retraining. Another is that two-thirds of minimum wage workers are employed by large businesses, which can easily afford higher wages (though they'd rather not pay them). Walmart, for example, had $469 billion in sales and $17 billion in profits in 2012.
The number of jobs, however, is not really the crucial issue. What is the crucial issue is the kind of jobs. Americans could have full employment if they had a slave labor system. But they don't want a slave labor system. They could have full employment if they had a sweatshop labor system. But they don't want a sweatshop labor system. Most Americans want a labor system that treats workers with fairness and respect.
Another objection is that low-wage workers are mostly teenagers, who don't have to support a family. But people over the age of twenty constitute more than 88 percent of the 30 million American workers who would receive a raise if the federal minimum wage were increased to $10.10 an hour. These are adults -- many of them married and, also, parents.
Still another objection is that, in a struggling economy, raising the minimum wage would be bad for business. But, in fact, consumer spending drives 70 percent of the economy, and those at the lower end of the economic spectrum, out of necessity, spend a larger portion of their income than do the wealthy. Therefore, raising the minimum wage would pump billions of dollars of consumer spending into the American economy. And unlike the vast government subsidies to businesses, this would be at no cost to taxpayers.
And so it makes good sense to raise the minimum wage to a level that adequately supports working Americans and their families.
Until that occurs, we will live with the shameful fact that the richest nation on earth has millions of full-time employees earning poverty-level wages while giant corporations and the wealthy amass trillions of dollars at these workers' expense.
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NEW YORK- Facebook owned picture-sharing app, Instagram has changed its iOS and Android app with an innovative and commendable app icon.
Instagram’s innovative design has exchanged the Polaroid inspired camera with rainbow infection for more advanced and interactive look.
According to Instagram’s head of design Ian Spalter, the purpose of the great modification was to get the design more coordinated with the aesthetics of the app’s users.
“The Instagram logo and design was beginning to feel, well… not reflective of the community, and frankly we thought we could make it better.”
Ian Spalter writes in a post.
The company besides changing the Logo is also introducing some pictorial twists to its flagship app. The adulate black and white design we first speckled previous month is formally coming to Instagram’s iOS and Android apps.
With the innovative design, both apps now have a cleaner, less colorful design. All in-app text is now black and white and notification icons have been transformed from orange to red.
Instagram is of the view that the new black-and-white look is meant to put more highlighting on users’ photos and videos instead of the app itself.
“While the logo is a colorful doorway into the Instagram app, once inside the app, we believe the color should come directly from the community’s photos and videos.”


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Libraries throughout Canada are experience grateful for a temporary reduction in expenses for e-guides and audio books as desire for all those supplies soars for the duration of the pandemic.
Sharon Day, chair of the Canadian City Library Council’s e-written content performing team, says various publishers have slashed costs for libraries to access electronic supplies, though many others have provided access to titles that have been beforehand off restrictions.
“It was incredibly, incredibly great information in a incredibly darkish period of time,” Day said about the cell phone from Edmonton, the place she works as the library’s director of branch expert services and collections.
Day says quite a few of the cost reductions have been set into spot early for the duration of the pandemic and have been slated to conclusion in mid-June. Libraries are eager to see how quite a few of all those offers are prolonged.
Significant publisher Penguin Random Property has provided a important discounted on a person-calendar year licences, she says, and Macmillan US has lifted an embargo that prevented libraries from supplying e-guides to patrons in just eight months of publication.
“We have been dissatisfied to know that it took a world wide pandemic in get for them to deliver forward a improve that we considered … should never come about in the 1st spot,” Day said,
HarperCollins and Property of Anansi have also offered temporary discount rates.
Day says the final result of the variations is that libraries will be capable to acquire a lot more copies of the electronic supplies and patrons would not have to wait around as prolonged to get them.
Michele Melady, the Toronto Public Library’s manager of collection improvement, says library budgets are underneath “critical strain” as they try out to meet up with unprecedented desire for on line written content.
“These discounts from publishers have assisted, and we hope they will be prolonged,” Melady said.
Libraries closed other than for on line
Libraries throughout the nation have closed most of their expert services to mitigate the unfold of COVID-19. But quite a few are nevertheless supplying electronic supplies to patrons hungry for examining materials.
But gaining access to electronic supplies has been an ongoing challenge for libraries in the past several a long time, earning it challenging for them to meet up with what was by now a escalating desire.
Several libraries have complained that publishers have been charging them exorbitant licensing fees with markups of up to eight times retail price — and that is if libraries could get a copy at all. Some publishers have denied libraries access to new most effective-sellers completely.
The Canadian City Library Council has beforehand known as for reasonable access to e-guides and audio guides. Day says restrictive licensing products diminish libraries’ capability to stay suitable likely into the long run and to be suitable to patrons.
Electronic collections ‘of paramount importance’
Kay Cahill, the Vancouver Public Library’s director of collections and technological know-how, says the variations will ultimately benefit both equally libraries and publishers and she hopes they will stay in spot in the prolonged-term.
“We seriously are grateful that they have stepped up to aid libraries and patrons for the duration of the pandemic,” Cahill said in an e mail.
A 2016 Pew study suggested that library people are a lot more very likely to acquire guides. And early research from the Panorama Challenge, which examines the effects of libraries on e-book sales, equally indicates that library availability of new guides improves sales and promotions.
Cahill hopes other publishers stick to accommodate, especially as patrons will very likely go on to change to electronic as the pandemic carries on.
“Making certain libraries can go on to supply potent electronic collections to our communities will stay of paramount worth,” Cahill said. “Specifically when so quite a few have suffered fiscal impacts that may perhaps restrict their capability to order written content or subscribe to paid expert services.”


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NEW YORK (MainStreet) – Skippy has issued a recall for some of its reduced-fat peanut butter over fears that it could be contaminated with salmonella.
Whether you prefer your peanut butter chunky or smooth, you could be affected: The two products are Reduced Fat Super Chunk and Reduced Fat Creamy, carrying the UPC codes 048001006782 and 048001006812, respectively. Fortunately, the lots of Skippy peanut butter included in the recall are limited to six Best-If-Used-By-Dates: May 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21, 2012. If you have a jar of Skippy peanut butter with one of those UPC codes below the bar code and one of those expiration dates, you should throw out the jar and call the company at 1-800-453-3432 for a replacement coupon.
The peanut butter recall was initiated over fears of salmonella infection, though no illnesses have been reported and it’s not clear what prompted the recall. Salmonella, of course, is the same nasty bug that prompted a massive egg recall last year. While children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to salmonella, anyone get can get severe gastrointestinal distress from the infection – fever, diarrhea, vomiting all included.
No other Skippy peanut butter products are affected by the recall, and the jars that might be infected were only distributed in 16 states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
—For the best rates on loans, bank accounts and credit cards, enter your ZIP code at BankingMyWay.com.


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Spring lamb quotes open in €5.80-€6/kg price bracket
The first thing to be said this morning is that after 42 years on the front line of the sheep business Bertie Mannion chief procurement manager for Kepak Athleague is to retire.
His report to me this week is the last time I will have the benefit of his colourful and often very shrewd analysis.
“In my time the lessons are simple. For business to get done there has to be trust and there has to be enough in it for every lad along the road, whether that’s the farmer, the factory or the supermarket. They all have to feel it’s worth their while,” was Bertie’s parting message.
It’s the truth; the day one part of that equation goes out of balance — whether it’s in the sale of cattle, sheep or pigs — the food chain is in very serious trouble. Best of luck Bertie.
The “truth” of this week’s factory sheep trade is that prices for hoggets remain largely unchanged at €4.90-4.95/kg, plus added bonuses of 5-10c/kg after that.
The one exception is Moyvalley Meats who are this week’s top payers as they edge out the competition for hoggets at an all in price of €5.10/kg.
The trade for spring lamb sees quotes opening in the range €5.80-6.00/kg as a base, with the two ICM plants and Kildare Chilling all offering an additional 10c/kg quality bonus.
Dawn Ballyhaunis and Kepak Athleague offer a flat base of €6.00/kg, while Moyvalley again top the price table with their all in price of €6.20/kg. That very select milk lamb market sees the ICM plants offering €8.00/kg on weights from 10-13/kg.
Away from official quotes ICSA’s John Brooks points out that €5.80/kg up to 24kgs was paid for hoggets this time last year, while €6.10/kg was the price for the same week in 2015, compared to the “€5.20/kg available today”.
Meanwhile, the IFA’s John Lynskey said €7.00/kg was the minimum required to cover production costs for early lambs.
This year, Easter Sunday falls on April 16 which means factories and retailers will be looking for numbers in the next fortnight.
Numbers at the marts are smaller, and the factory kill last week was back 7,000 head, compared to the same week last year.
“So far in 2017, the kill is 47,144 ahead of last year, clearly indicating that any overhang is gone and numbers may get scarce over the coming weeks,” Mr Lynskey said.
What all this means is that last week’s on the ground price for hoggets remains in effect at about €5.20/kg, however there are some reports of €5.10/kg being offered. Cull ewe prices also remain static on €3.00-3.10.
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Mortal Kombat 11 is one of the most visually impressive PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch games to release this year. But, let's be honest, it could look better. And by better, I mean it could look more retro. And by retro I don't know mean like classic Mortal Kombat graphics, but classic like more Mega Man looking. Okay, maybe that wouldn't make for a better looking fighting game, but Mortal Kombat 11's fighters reimagined as Mega Man-esq pixel art characters sounds interesting. Thankfully, Reddit user PixelArtAddicted agrees.
Recently, the artist took to the series' official Reddit page and shared art transforming the game's cast into retro pixel art fighters, and all it did was make us want a pixel art Mortal Kombat game. According to the Reddit user, it took months to transform the roster, and it shows.
Of course, the chances NetherRealm Studios every changes up the art style of the series -- even for a spin-off -- is basically zero, so we will probably never get anything official in this capacity, but this is a pretty darn good substitute, and a reminder that there's probably some alternate universe out there where pixel art graphics still dominate video games and this is what the series looks like.
Mortal Kombat 11 is available for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. At the moment of publishing, the only additional port announced has been a Google Stadia port, which is poised to arrive later this year.
For more news, media, and information on the critically-acclaimed and best-selling fighting game, be sure to peep all of our previous and extensive coverage of the title by clicking right here.
"Mortal Kombat 11 is a blast from the past with its inclusion of seasoned characters and their former selves, while also being something for the modern age," reads a snippet from our review. "Its stellar gameplay, both mechanically and graphically, is easily the best the franchise has ever seen. While there may be an issue when it comes to the Towers of Time, everything from its Story Mode and incredible Custom Character Variation System to the Klassic Towers and going toe-to-toe with players online provides a fighting experience that is unmatched and worthy of being picked up by any combatant, old and new alike."


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The year 2022 will go down in history as one of the strangest years ever for the American used car industry.
Consider that used cars produced in the early 1970s have a higher average price than vehicles made in recent years or the average price of a used car with less than 75,000 miles is close to $20,000. However, that number halves once the 75,000 threshold is crossed, noted https://legaltemplates.net in a recent study.
Or consider that the average price of a new vehicle will be $33,000 in 2022, compared to $26,700 in 2021, with an average dealer markup of $10,000 this year.
“Potential car buyers are facing the perfect storm,” said Scott Kunes, CEO of the Kunes Auto Group. “Federal Reserve interest rates spiked, inflation skyrocketed, cars and auto parts are in short supply, and gasoline prices are at an all-time high.”
As interest rates rise and consumer confidence falls, Kunes sees sales of both new and used cars slow.
“The bright spot is that there is still pent-up demand due to the supply chain crisis that should keep prices stable,” he said. “As manufacturers ramp up production, we are seeing a return to discounts and incentivized rates to keep sales moving in the right direction.”
Other auto industry gurus see things similarly, though prices aren’t dropping to 2021 levels any time soon.
“The used car market continues to evolve,” said Kevin Roberts, president of CarGurus. “However, it is now a market where car prices are starting to fall from their historic summer highs.”
In October, for example, the average used listing price fell 1.8% to just under $31,000.
“But even with significant price drops in the last two months, prices are still 3% higher than last year and remain nearly 35% higher,” Roberts noted. “Prices are likely to fall further in 2023, but there is uncertainty about how fast they will fall and where prices will level off.”
Tips for getting a square deal on a used vehicle
The good news is that there are still ways to save money on a car purchase, especially if you follow these action steps:
Find a local dealer who has several financing options to meet your needs. If your credit score is low, take steps to improve it.
“Also, be open to discussing your budget and your needs with your dealer,” Kunes told TheStreet. “Most people come to the dealer thinking they want a certain make or model, and most of those same people end up buying something completely different. Our customers can often find everything they are looking for in a car that better suits their budget.”
Ask about interest subsidies. “Increasingly, manufacturers in the auto industry are responding to consumer advocates’ calls for tariff subsidy programs.
“While this is often a good deal for the consumer, they should make sure they are working with an expert dealer who can best work within their budget,” notes Kunes. “Often discounts and an unsubsidized rate are beneficial in the long run, or a lease may be the best option.”
Get ahead of the price curve. With prices falling, now is a better time to buy used cars than six months ago.
“To get the best deals right now, budgeting and research are critical,” Roberts said. “Make a list of ‘needs’ and prioritize those needs before diving into the search. “Some buyers need low fuel consumption above all, while others need to give priority to cargo space, for example.”
Once buyers know what kind of vehicle to look for, “they can dive into reviews and begin their search,” Roberts said.
Get pre-approved. Used vehicle consumers will have to determine how their new set of wheels will be purchased.
“A cash transaction is easy, but many buyers will need to finance their next vehicle purchase,” Roberts said. In this case, get pre-approved financing before going to the dealer. When budgeting, consider both the monthly cost of the financing terms — say, a $300 monthly payment — and the total cost of the vehicle over the course of that loan.
Do your homework. Savvy used car consumers get vehicle history reports and pay for pre-purchase inspections before signing on the dotted line.
“Many dealers will provide free history reports, but paying for a purchase inspection can act as a form of insurance against a potential buying headache,” Roberts noted.
Buy now or wait?
Should buyers now wait until later in 2023 for used cars? It really depends.
“Buy now versus later is a complex calculation for consumers,” Roberts said. “The main factors will depend on whether the consumer wants to finance their vehicle or buy cash. Interest rates are expected to rise further in the coming months.”
The rise in rates could offset any benefits of waiting for a further fall in prices, Roberts noted.
“In addition, used vehicle inventory levels are still below pre-COVID levels, so if you find the exact vehicle you want, consider buying now rather than waiting for a price drop,” he said.


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BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tourists spent more money via online travel agencies (OTA) thanks to rapid growth of e-commerce and mobile Internet, according to an industrial report.
Chinese tourists spent over 600 billion yuan (87 billion U.S. dollars) via OTA platforms, up 34 percent year on year and way more than tourism spending via brick-and-mortar travel agencies, according to a report by China's largest OTA Ctrip, citing data from a research company.
The report said that Ctrip had about 250 million users, who spent over 20 billion yuan via its OTA platform in 2016, with each customer paying over 3,000 yuan.
Meanwhile, the majority of the orders were made via mobile terminals such as cell phones instead of computers.
About two-thirds of tourism spending via Ctrip went on overseas trips, the report pointed out, adding that Thailand was the destination where Chinese outbound tourists spent most, followed by Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States.
Official data showed that domestic tourists made 4.44 billion trips last year, up 11 percent year on year, with 122 million outbound trips made in 2016.
Ctrip expects domestic and overseas trips to exceed five billion in 2017, with 123 million overseas trips and over 5 trillion yuan in total tourism spending.


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The French hotel industry, particularly 4- and 5-star properties, performed well in November, according to a report from In Extenso.
Hotels in the 4- and 5-star category in November posted a 15.7% jump in RevPAR, to US$184 (141 euro), in addition to a 6% increase in occupancy — to 63.2% — and a 9.2% rise in ADR, to US$292 (224 euro).
In Extenso highlighted a strong monthly showing for hotels in Paris, where RevPAR rose by an average of 13% and occupancy rates exceeded 79% in all categories. The report also noted encouraging results in the Cote d’Azur, Monaco, Montpellier, Strasburg, Toulouse and Nancy, thanks largely to a full MICE calendar.
November was more difficult for hoteliers in Grenoble, Lyon, Metz, Nantes, Reims and Rennes, In Extenso said, with the midscale segment especially hard hit by both occupancy drops and a decline in average rates.


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The financial technology (fintech) sector is in a precarious yet prospective position right now. The ongoing pandemic has fast-tracked the adoption of systems like cashless payments and electronic loan applications. More people feel less compelled to exchange paper cash or appear in person to apply for a loan, given the risk of spreading the infection and prolonging the crisis.
Canada has a growing fintech market, among the top ten alongside the U.S., The Netherlands, and Australia. According to an annual report by Smarter Loans, the country’s loan comparison service and directory, 71% of Canadians have shifted to online transactions over the past year. Most have also said they’ve been satisfied with the services provided.
However, the report also found that the average rating for online lending has dropped by 0.1 points from last year (though it’s 0.1 points higher than in 2019). There’s still more room for improvement in the areas of ease of application, access to information, and customer service, among other things.
Regardless, the rise of fintech will change the banking landscape not just in Canada, but everywhere else in the world. Its effects have reached the lending market in ways previously thought difficult, if not impossible. Here are some of the new initiatives:
Increased Risk Management
Fintech allows loans and other transactions to be processed more quickly than appearing in person, but it carries its fair share of risks. For instance, without face-to-face contact, lenders are at risk of damaging their capital due to defaulting borrowers. As the shift to online media continues, securing sensitive data will grow more crucial.
In light of these potential risks, industry experts highlight the need to mitigate—if not eliminate—any risks a financial institution may encounter. It must regularly document and update its processes to the rapidly-changing market conditions for enhanced transparency. It must also take new trends and initiatives into consideration, determining whether they would be suitable for adoption or not.
Software technology has also caught up in helping lenders assess a borrower’s risk more precisely. Tools like credit risk modeling, geopolitical risk analysis, and asset evaluation perform a lot of the heavy lifting. Lenders only need to input the correct data to receive a clearer picture of a borrower’s credit profile. From there, they can make more informed decisions.
As for cybersecurity, existing laws and solutions have provided enough protection from malicious attacks. Nevertheless, as online threats evolve, so must the methods to protect sensitive data.
Faster Approval Process
With many Canadians without a job due to the pandemic, the dogged search for alternative sources of income is reasonable. Some apply for remote work, while others start a side business. But most of the time, their income isn’t sufficient to pay off their piling dues. This hasn’t taken into account sudden expenses like sickness or calamity damage.
As such, lenders must expedite the process of approving loans to provide fast financial assistance. Given the urgency of having cash on hand, some lenders remain reachable even after hours or day-and-night. Fintech grants consumers the ability to file for a loan in several easy steps, all from their mobile devices. For more details, you can read more at icash.ca.
Faster, in this context, doesn’t necessarily mean instant. Lenders still have to practice due diligence in reviewing each application; thus, instant approval is impossible. With the technology available, processing loan applications can take a matter of minutes—and from a consumer’s fingertips.
A Tech-Savvy Market
Fintech’s prominent rise to success is attributable to the target market it serves. Contrary to popular belief, the borrower base is more age-diverse than one may think, with the youth and elderly almost equally represented.
The finding came from a 2020 study by credit reporting giant TransUnion, where it reviewed over 20 million non-mortgage products from Canada sold between 2017 and 2018. Despite millennials outnumbering Generation Z and other age groups by a slight margin, both groups have shown the same degree of interest in fintech-issued products.
The range of loans and other products offered through fintech is also more diverse. The prevailing perception is that fintech-issued loans are typically short-term ones with a 12-month duration. But the study revealed that banks had also been offering long-term loans to consumers through fintech.
It shows that the older generation isn’t as technologically-challenged as common notion suggests. Fintech lenders have to formulate a unique strategy for each age bracket, a move that the traditional model struggles to perform.
While the trend points to a phaseout of conventional banking, it doesn’t imply the banks will share the same fate. If anything, TransUnion advises, the emergence of fintech can be an opportunity to establish a healthy partnership between it and the banks. It allows a bank to operate as one without a brick-and-mortar bank, a long-term cost-saving measure.
Taking out loans often leaves a sense of dread in the consumer. The risk of not paying it off lingers, sometimes forcing the consumer to hesitate when the need for one arises. The current system puts the consumer between a rock and a hard place.
For fintech to truly succeed, it must combine technology with the human factor. A 2015 PwC study revealed a fintech system that offers financial advice through an advisor could be a game-changer. Having a set of financial tools like budget calculators and loan organizers can also yield the same benefit. Given the intricacies of lending, it’s reasonable to have someone knowledgeable to help.
The absence of a financial professional—or a lack thereof—has resulted in loans giving borrowers a difficult time. There’s no shortage of news reports of people trapped in their respective debt pits due to piling dues and interest rates, especially in this pandemic-induced status quo. Consumers deserve to be more informed about their options.
It’s worth noting that Canadians were once skeptical of fintech and the promises it brings. But with the pandemic forcing an accelerated adoption, many have since accepted it as the new normal for banking. Paper cash is unlikely to go away anytime soon, given that it’s still viable for short-term transactions. For loans and other financial products, however, the shift to fintech has started.
Jason is the Marketing Manager at a local advertising company in Australia. He moved to Australia 10 years back for his passion for advertising. Jason recently joined BFA as a volunteer writer and contributes by sharing his valuable experience and knowledge.


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To counter the emergence of malicious and unauthorized apps appearing on mobile app stores, RSA introduced the RSA FraudAction Anti Rogue App Service designed to detect and take action against rogue mobile apps that attempt to serve up malware or phishing attacks.
The service is an anti-fraud solution designed to detect and shut down rogue mobile apps. By combining anti-fraud experts with a threat-detection infrastructure, RSA helps organizations obtain visibility into the mobile app landscape, giving their fraud teams the ability to understand this new threat vector.
RSA’s new service helps organizations discover fraudulent mobile apps that are leveraging customer brands to infect end users or steal credentials. RSA’s proactive approach helps ensure online app stores are constantly monitored and action is taken against rogue mobile app threats.
- Proactively manages risk to business by providing visibility into mobile app-based threats.
- Reduces fraud loss by shutting down rogue apps to help minimize impact of mobile app-based attacks to customer base.
- Provides comprehensive app store monitoring for all major app stores.
Dan Schiappa, RSA Senior Vice President, Identity & Data Protection said: “We’re finding that organizations offering legitimate mobile apps used for online banking, retail, gaming and other functions aren’t prepared and are mostly unaware of the mobile app threats lurking in app stores. Driven by RSA’s experienced team of anti-fraud analysts, the RSA FraudAction Anti Rogue App Service is designed to help these organizations reduce fraud losses by monitoring for, rooting out and shutting down rogue apps before they can successfully exploit unknowing mobile consumers in an attempt to distribute malware and steal sensitive personal information for financial gain.”


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On October 27, 2016, in St. Louis, Missouri, Johnson & Johnson was defeated in the third consecutive trial regarding the carcinogenic properties of its hygiene products containing talcum powder. A $67.5 million jury verdict was handed down in this case to ovarian cancer victim Deborah Giannecchini, who used Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® Talcum Powder for feminine hygiene for more than 40 years. Following this third loss, Johnson & Johnson is now trying to avoid any further trials in St. Louis.
Talcum powder particles from Johnson & Johnson’s hygiene products can travel up to women’s ovaries and then cultivate ovarian cancer. The awards in these last three ovarian cancer cases amounted to over $195 million. Previously, in February of 2016, $72 million was awarded to the family of Jacqueline Fox, who used Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® Talcum Powder for daily feminine hygiene for 35 years. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2013 and died in 2015. In May of 2016, Gloria Ristesund was awarded $55 million. She also used Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder-based products on her genital area for decades and has ovarian cancer. Over 2,000 similar claims have been filed against Johnson & Johnson regarding the increased ovarian cancer risk for users of their talcum-based products.
As their defeats accumulate, Johnson & Johnson argues that jurors from St. Louis are unable to impartially carry out their duties. The St. Louis judge rejected Johnson & Johnson’s claims that because the plaintiffs and company are not from St. Louis, it is not an appropriate location for the cases.
Talc-based body care powders have been a well-known product and symbol of Johnson & Johnson for decades. Fortune shares that Fordham Law Professor Howard Erichson feels that Johnson & Johnson is driven in part by its “concerns about the impact of a settlement on its position in the market” (fortune.com/2016/11/07/jj-talcum-powder-lawsuits). Johnson & Johnson is prioritizing their brand and talc-based products’ public image, market value, and profitability above protecting the well-being of their many long-term customers. In response to this negligence, The Miller Firm has filed cases nationwide and is aggressively pursuing justice for victims of Johnson & Johnson’s deception about the dangers of talcum powder for feminine hygiene.
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder or Shower to Shower Absorbent Body Powder® Talcum Powder for feminine hygiene. If this has happened to you or a family member, please visit our Talcum Powder Lawsuit page for a complimentary consultation. You can also call us at 1-800-882-2525.


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KANALCOIN NEWS – Internet Products giant company, Google, recently announced a new policy regarding ad serving on search engines as well as on third-party sites that serve google ads. In its new policy google no longer allows to advertise related Cryptocurrencies and related content (including but not limited to initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptoucurrency wallets and cryptocurrency trading advice). Google will also restrict advertising of difference contracts, spot forex and financial spread betting. This policy will come into force in June 2018.
Previously there were reports of advertisers using Google Adwords related to the Cryptocurrency business experiencing a decrease in the number of ad servings. This was reported by Financial Magnates on March 8, 2018 on their website.
Speaking to CNBC, Google’s Director of Sustainable Advertising Scoot Spencer said :
“We don’t have a crystal ball for knowing where the future will go with cryptocurrencies, but we’ve seen enough potential consumer or potential consumer harm that it’s an area we want to approach very carefully.”
In its policy, Google says advertisers offering spread contracts, spot forex and financial spread betting must be certified by Google. To get certified advertisers must be licensed by the local financial services authority, comply with adword policies and comply with legal requirements including complex speculative financial products. The certification form will be issued and published by Google starting in March, advertisers must pass the goole certification form to get ad serving on Adwords.
Earlier in January 2018, the largest social media platform, Facebook, had also done the same by limiting and banning the serving of advertisements related to cryptocurrency, binary options and initial coin offerings, citing misleading or deceptive promotional practices.
The move by the two largest platforms is in line with efforts by US regulators at the state and Federal levels to crack down on ICOs that appear dubious to the Government’s view.
Previously it was also reported that cryptocurrency advertisements on Chinese social media were removed amid a ban on cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs in China.


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Doxu Group is attending China Coat 2016 in Guangzhou from Nov 30 to Dec 2,2016
China Coat is the most successful event showcasing and representing the strong coating industry in China, and also provides an international platform for business networking. Doxu, as one of the successful players in the industry, is again participating in this event to broadcast the newly acquired techologies and our strong product portfolio.
The upcoming China Coat 2016 exhibition will be held from Nov 30 - Dec 2, 2016 in China Import and Export Fair Complex, 380 Yuejiang Middle Road, Guangzhou, P.R. China.
You are cordially invited to come and visit us at Hall 9.2, Stand C07-12 in this exhibition. See how is our latest development and what we can work along together.


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Walworth County officials reach out to Buell
Walworth County officials are trying to put together a business deal that would see Erik Buell continue to manufacture motorcycles in the area.
The effort is very preliminary and its prospects uncertain. The group doesn't yet know whether Buell even is interested in such an undertaking.
"Haven't gotten a response yet," Fred D. Burkhardt, executive vice president of the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, said of the letter he sent to Buell on Friday.
Harley-Davidson Inc. announced Thursday that it will shut down the business Buell started, the Buell Motorcycle Co. Erik Buell founded the sport-bike manufacturer in the 1980s, but it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Harley since 1998.
The business has consistently lost money for Harley, Keith Wandell, Harley's chief executive officer, said last week.
About 100 salaried jobs and about 80 hourly positions will be eliminated as Harley shuts down Buell Motorcycle, with most of the cuts coming by Dec. 18. Buell posted $123 million in sales last year, compared with $4.3 billion for Harley.
If Erik Buell is interested and able to participate in a new venture, the Walworth County group will explore further steps, including trying to talk with Harley and seeking potential investors, Burkhardt said.
"We've had very preliminary contact from an investment group out of the Chicago area and also out of the Minneapolis area," he said.
Erik Buell, who is chairman and chief technical officer of Buell Motorcycle, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Bob Klein, Harley's director of corporate communications, reiterated that Harley is "discontinuing the Buell product line rather than selling the business because of how deeply integrated Buell is into our business systems and distribution network."
Recent national business updates from the Associated Press


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SMITE Ra-Merica Red Cross Charity Stream Recap
SMITE raised over $24,000 for the American Red Cross in its latest charity stream, and is now sharing with all players a recap of the events.
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03 Dec '12, 9pm
Daily Search Forum Recap: December 3, 2012
Google Now With Drug Information In Knowledge Graph Google's Knowledge Graph got a bit smarter and now gives you a break down of medications. So when the doctor prescribes you sleeping pills for your 12 hour flight... New: Google AdSense Site Level Blocking Google has added more controls to blocking ads across your AdSense account. You can now differentiate the blocking of types of ads by site level. Google said this will satisfy one of the "top requests" that they "hear from publishers who manage multiple websites... Google Image Update Reports Continue A couple weeks ago, we reported on a possible Google Image Search update but that discussion phased out a bit. Today, I spotted another WebmasterWorld thread with comments from someone I know who is obsessed with tracking Google Image search rankings... Yahoo Ordered To Pay $2.7 Billion Late last week, the news broke that ...


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Amazon recently launched the free music streaming facility last week which is supported by an ad. The service is designed for the owners of the company’s devices that come with Alexa enabled in them. This is similar to the Echo smart speakers. This latest service is pretty similar to that of Amazon Music Streaming Service that is free for its prime members. It offers access to around 2 million songs via the music stations and playlists. The unlimited service for Amazon Music offered by the company comes with a monthly subscription of $7.99 and offers you access to 50+ million songs.
The company now hopes that it could use this service as a method to keep the customers tied with its ecosystem while boosting the advertising ambitions. Now, this new service shall most probably have very little impact on Amazon’s overall market. The company already had an impact on Spotify. The share price of the company dipped around 4 to 5 percent just last week with rumors that Amazon has planned the launch of its music service which hasn’t rebounded as of now.
Now, this is why Spotify shareholders might be a bit concerned. Spotify is the music streaming giant with a total of 207 million active users worldwide that include 96 million paid subscribers. This immensely popular service comes with a rigid product offering that might seem a bit bulletproof to the competition laid out by Amazon at the given point. This is especially true given the fact that Amazon has just started dabbling into the services for music streaming. However, there are a few reasons that Spotify investors need to take note of the recent move by Amazon.
Spotify uses its ad-supported service that is free for the users as a method to introduce the users to things that they might avail when they sign up for the paid services. For the Alexa users, the e-commerce giant Amazon might keep a section of the segment comprised of music streamers devoid of even considering to try out Spotify. This would eventually cut off the inroad subscribers.
As of now, Amazon has currently limited the ad-supported streaming service for music to the devices with Alexa-enabled. However, nothing can stop them from jumping in to aid the smartphone users as well. If Amazon takes note that providing free music services to its non-prime members over a smartphone is a great way to draw more users to its ecosystem, the company can easily expand its services.


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Residential sales activity recorded through the MLS® System of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS® numbered 62 units in December 2019. This was down 21.5% from the record set in December 2018 but was still in line with the 10-year average for the month. On an annual basis, home sales totalled 1,332 units over the course of 2019, up 3.4% from the same period in 2018.
“Home sales leveled out to finish 2019, although that is no surprise given that the number of properties listed for sale in the region is at a record low,” said Michael Gibbons, newly installed President of the Chatham-Kent Association of REALTORS®. “Unprecedented market tightness is pushing prices rapidly higher. At this point we are looking at 2020 with cautious optimism.”
The average price of homes sold in December 2019 was a record $269,973, surging 26% from December 2018. The more comprehensive annual average price for 2019 was $251,460, rising 17.5% from all of 2018
There were 75 new residential listings in December 2019, down 21.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Active residential listings numbered only 169 units at the end of December, a decrease of 14.2% from the end of December 2018 and the lowest level ever recorded.
Months of inventory numbered just 2.7 at the end of December 2019, little changed from the 2.5 months recorded at the end of December 2018 and well below the 10-year average of 7.1 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.


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On Monday, Vox Media’s smallest property, fashion and shopping site Racked, started shifting its focus to its newsletter and Facebook channel. It was an acknowledgment that people are increasingly finding news and information in their in-boxes and on social media.
While also getting a website and logo facelift, the site is making the articles and videos featured in its newsletter and social platforms shoppable. In addition, Racked is bolstering its video operations, like many other publishers, motivated by the ad dollars that video is increasingly attracting. Video ad spend in the U.S. is expected to reach $28 billion in 2020, up from $9.9 billion last year, according to e-Marketer.
Image via Racked.
More in Media
Legal pressure on AI companies illustrates the myriad challenges for companies that want to use or build generative AI tools.
The news rating service’s new features will track disinformation on websites, social media and video channels.


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Health food retailer Holland & Barrett has announced plans to open two vegan-only test stores that will stock a range of beauty products.
In a bid to ride the growing trend for vegan products, the company is looking to increase its vegan offering within store to 500 products this year, with the two new retail outlets set to test the demand for all-vegan stores.
Peter Aldis, Chief Executive, said, “We don’t want to feel like a place for alternative hippies. We want vegan to become more mainstream and there are lots of very good reasons why it will.”
Talking of the need for more vegan beauty products on the market, Aldis spoke of The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, stating, “If she was here now she would be doing this.”


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Notebooks in shortages due to Southeast Asia lockdowns, says Digitimes Research
Jim Hsiao, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei
Notebook supply is expected to fall short of demand in May as components production in the Southeast Asia is being hindered by local contigencies against the coronavirus pandemic, according to Digitimes Research.
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Excerpt: On voice commerce, naturally currently dominated by Amazon and Alexa, Mindshare recently won a Gold Cannes Lion for hacking Prime Day 2018. It gave away a free box of Honey Nut Cheerios to everyone who spent more than $40 on Amazon Prime Day in 2018. The offer “threaded Amazon’s recommendation algorithm” and set the shopping history of “millions” in cereal to that brand. Voice searches and orders for cereal through Alexa would default on that precise product due to the promotion.
Read the full piece, featuring insights from Mindshare’s Jim Cridlin, in The Drum.


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The splitting into two of China Telecommunication (Group) Corp. (China Telecom), the largest telecom carrier in China, does not necessarily mean an end to its monopoly and the start of increased competition among telecom players in China.
Instead, it might simply mean the birth of two monopolies and the opening of a can of worms in terms of regulatory issues, analysts said.
“The China Telecom breakup is no doubt significant and controversial,” said Duncan Clark, a partner at BDA (China) Ltd, an Internet and telecommunication consultancy in China. For a start, China Telecom, which announced that it was going to split into two geographic regions – north and south – and merge with China Netcom Corp. Ltd. in the north, will be faced with the onerous task of sorting out shareholdings between the companies, he said.
The transition between the companies will also be an issue that the telecom carriers need to address. “There are the quality service issues such as ensuring smooth delivery of service when the company is split,” said Renee Gamble, Beijing-based market analyst for telecommunication at the International Data Corp. (IDC) Asia-Pacific.
Also, there is no evidence that the breakup will deliver competition to the telecommunication sector in China, she said.
“In theory, the (operator) in the north can compete with the (operator) in the south,” but there remain a lot of regulatory considerations that need to be cleared up before active competition can take place, Clark said. Last mile connection costs impede competition further because new entrants will have difficulty in raising capital for them, he said.
The Chinese government needs to beef up the telecommunication regulatory body for dealing with issues that pertain to regulating the size of carriers, if the breakup is to encourage competition. “It’s actually a good excuse for the telecommunications sector in China to do some mopping up,” Clark said. “There will be spring cleaning across the board and the telecom industry is heading towards a major restructuring.”
In terms of competition, industry observers are not convinced that restructuring China Telecom will change the Chinese telecom sector. “We’ll wait and see what goes on in pricing (the telecom services),” Gamble said, adding that at the moment, the Ministry of Information Industry still exerts a heavy hand in deciding how telecom carriers price their services.
“The timing (of the split) is interesting, especially with China’s entry into WTO looming, and China Netcom being the only Chinese carrier with significant foreign investment,” Gamble said. “Even with WTO membership, the door is not going to swing wide open to a flood of foreign investment… and it will be a gradual reform.”
So far, the “winner” in the breakup appears to be China Netcom, which is partially owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. “News Corp. people are probably rubbing their hands, pleased with themselves,” IDC’s Gamble said. The New York-based company had initially invested in China Netcom earlier this year, hoping to get a piece of the pie from China’s broadband entertainment and information business. .
While there has been speculation that there will be consolidation among the smaller, but still significant telecom players in China, the impact on the industry is dependent on the role the Chinese government takes in managing the mergers, the analysts said. They added that the China Telecom breakup marks the beginning of a shakeup in the telecommunication industry to come.


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Ginger exports to India back on track, for nowGinger exports to India resumed on Thursday after the Indian government unilaterally halted movement of the Nepali product for two weeks. Traders are exporting the high-value spice produce through the Kakarvitta border point in the eastern region.
Ginger exports to India resumed on Thursday after the Indian government unilaterally halted movement of the Nepali product for two weeks. Traders are exporting the high-value spice produce through the Kakarvitta border point in the eastern region.
Gopal Gautam, President of Nepal Ginger Producers Association in Makwanpur, said that traders have started exporting ginger after they were permitted to do so by Indian authorities. He said nearly 50 trucks of gingers were exported on Thursday and Friday.
According to him, 750 tonnes of gingers were shipped from Makwanpur to India via Kakarvitta. Due to the halt in exports, nearly 40 tonnes of ginger had become spoilt while 300 tonnes of ginger are still stranded at the warehouse in Makwanpur.
“It’s been difficult on traders due to the constantly changing policy by India,” said Gautam, “Both traders and producers have been affected by the inconsistent trade policy of India.”
Traders said that following the halt of ginger export, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) along with the Agricultural and Commerce ministries made efforts to resume trade with India,” said Nirmal Gadal, chief of Agriculture Development Office in Makwanpur, “However, we are not sure whether India will continue to let traders export their products.”
Makwanpur district produces 6,425 tonnes of ginger annually. Of the total output, only 5 percent is consumed in the local market. The rest of them are exported to India. Traders said that price of ginger has also dropped significantly. Now, they don’t fetch even Rs20 per kg. Ginger is produced on 421 hectares in Makwanpur.
According to Nepal Ginger Profile 2016, which was produced jointly by UK Aid-funded Samarth-Nepal Market Development Programme and the Nepal Ginger Producers and Traders Association, the spice has huge overseas trading potential if substantial improvements can be made in yield, quality and volume by investing more on research and development.
Even without a substantial improvement in quality, small trading hubs in India will continue to be major markets for local ginger, said the report.
Globally, Nepal is the third largest ginger producer after China and India. In 2012-13, Nepal’s total ginger production reached 235,000 tonnes, out of which about 60 percent was exported. India is the main export market for Nepali ginger. The southern neighbour buys close to 94 percent of Nepal’s fresh ginger and 6 percent of processed ginger.
Last year too, the Indian authorities had halted Nepali ginger exports to India stating that Nepali ginger contained traces of harmful pesticide.
However, the test report did not showed any harmful pesticides and India subsequently lifted the ban on import of ginger from Nepal. Indian traders alleged that ginger exported from Nepal were originally produced in China, mixed in Nepali product and then exported to India.


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Deutsche Bank downgraded Digital Insight (DGIN ) to hold from buy.
Analyst Richard Zandi says while the Internet banking company's third-quarter results clearly demonstrated leverage in the company's business model, Digital Insight lost a number of large customers in the quarter due to inattention or competitive weakness. He says he had not not anticipated such high attrition. Zandi cut the $0.15 fourth quarter earnings per share estimate to $0.12, and cut the $37 million revenue estimate to $34.4 million. He also cut the 81-cent 2003 earnings per share to 76 cents. Zandi notes that nearly 260 customers are up for renewal in the next six months. He says it remains to be seen whether high attrition rates will continue or abate. Until he gets better handle on this, Zandi says he advises investors to sit on the sidelines. He cut his $17 target to $13.


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Selflessly serving sandwiches
Tersion Yatooma really loves sandwiches, which played a role in why he and co-owner Patrick Maizy decided to open Spread Deli & Coffee House in Detroit. Located at 4215 Cass Avenue in Detroit, the duo hope to have the storefront open by the beginning of July. Spread Deli & Coffee House will serve a variety of sandwiches – Yatooma said the menu will probably have four to six, along with the ability to build your own – and offer simple coffee drinks. Just about every product used will be locally sourced from places like Eastern Market and Cadillac Coffee. “If our neighbors have such great products, why not use what they have?” Yatooma pointed out. Spread Deli & Coffee House also plans to give back to the community by serving one free sandwich to someone in need for every 10 sandwiches sold. The logistics aren’t completely worked out yet, but Yatooma said if they have to start going to local shelters and handing them out themselves they will. “I think there just comes a time in everyone’s life where you should do something in return,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s about taking care of your community.” And sandwiches.


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US: JC Penney "pleased" with Christmas performance
Struggling department store chain JC Penney has said it is "pleased" with its performance for the Christmas holiday period.
The US retailer, which has been striving to turn its fortunes amid widening third-quarter losses in November, said its turnaround efforts are continuing to show progress.
"Customers responded well to the company's offerings this holiday shopping season, both in store and online," the company said.
JC Penney also reaffirmed its outlook for the fourth quarter.
In November, CEO Mike Ullman said the turnaround of the group was beginning to take hold and that it was making "significant strides toward restoring JC Penney to its rightful place in retail".
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The Ripple financial technology decacorn published the XRP market quarterly report for the fourth quarter of 2020. Among other things, the document mentioned that Ripple doubled its XRP OTC sales to market participants in the fourth quarter in order to maintain XRP liquidity.
Ripple’s XRP sales doubled in the fourth quarter
In the final quarter of last year, Ripple sold a total of $76.27 million (net purchase price of $45.55 million) to market participants. In the third quarter of 2020, the number of tokens sold by the company reached $35.84 million.
According to the report, these sales and leases are being carried out by the company as part of providing XRP liquidity to certain Ripple partners and RippleNet members so they can improve ODL operations.
33 market participants have taken restrictive measures against XRP
The report also revealed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission had taken legal action against Ripple and its board of directors Brad Garlinghouse and former CEO Chris Larsen. The legal actions have proven dire for Ripple with several exchanges delisting XRP.
These include crypto exchanges like Bitstamp, Coinbase, Kraken, and Grayscale, which have closed their Grayscale XRP Trust. However, Coinbase customers can still use their XRP wallet to store coins or withdraw to other platforms or wallets. In total, the report included around 33 of such companies.
2.6 billion XRP are in custody
On the first day of each month, Ripple will release one billion XRP tokens from its escrow wallet to use part of it for sales or to pay for its operating costs.
However, they usually get blocked about 80% later. According to the report, Ripple blocked 2.6 billion XRP of custody funds in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“In Q4 2020, three billion XRP were released out of escrow (one billion each month) in line with prior quarters. In total across the quarter, 2.6 billion XRP were returned and subsequently put into new escrow contracts.”


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Erie, Pa.-based injection molder and tool manufacturer Plastek Group is investing about $8 million in tooling and automation equipment over the next four years, starting with a purchase from electrical discharge machining technology manufacturer Sodick Inc.
"Investment in new technology and automation … provides better efficiency and lights-out machining to gain additional capacity in North America and Brazil," a spokesperson for Plastek told Plastics News in an emailed statement.
Plastek's recent purchase includes two wire EDM ALN600G machines, two sinker EDM AL60G machines and one EDM K3HS drill, a news release said. The company expects the new equipment to be delivered in September.
"We are incredibly enthusiastic about this equipment investment," Doug Prischak, vice president of global tooling and engineering at Plastek Group said in the release. "With this new technology, we are confident it will enhance our manufacturing capabilities."
"Implementing Sodick's wire EDM, sinker EDM, and EDM drill will bolster our productivity and enable us to pursue new opportunities and address the ever-evolving demands of the global market," the release said.
Plastek Group makes custom and stock designs for consumer products, tool and mold build manufacturing, molding and assembly and other services.
It was No. 20 in the most recent Plastics News ranking of North American injection molders with $450 million in relevant sales. It was PN Processor of the Year for 2020.