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Not only does this show how fortunate Ball Office Products has been with its success, but it also shows that small, local businesses in Central Virginia are really flourishing.
Richmond, VA (PRWEB) May 04, 2012
Richmond-based Ball Office Products, a 12-year-old office supply and furniture company owned by Melissa and Jonathan Ball, was chosen by the administration of Governor Bob McDonnell to be the backdrop for an important address by the Governor preceding the President’s visit to Richmond on Saturday. The press conference will begin at 11am at Ball Office Products’ new headquarters, 2100 Westmoreland Street, Richmond, VA 23230. In addition to the Governor, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling and Delegate Barbara Comstock (R-McLean) will address a group of business and political leaders at the former Circuit City building in the West End of Richmond.
“Jonathan and I were delighted to receive a call from the Governor’s office asking us to host the event,” says Melissa Ball, President of Ball Office Products. “Not only does this show how fortunate Ball Office Products has been with its success, but it also shows that small, local businesses in Central Virginia are really flourishing.”
Ball Office Products recently celebrated its 12th year of providing quality office products and furniture to businesses and organizations throughout Central Virginia. A SWaM (Small Women and Minority Owned Business) and WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) certified company, Ball Office Products has seen double digit growth in sales in recent years – a factor that ultimately led to their expansion into the new facility. Though the building is still under renovation and will not be in use until the summer, attendees of this morning’s press conference will get a first look at what is to come for Ball.
About Ball Office Products
The Richmond-based Ball Office Products was formed in 2000 with a focus on outrageous customer service and great prices, along with an unparalleled personal touch. Having completed the rigorous process for SWaM (Small Women and Minority Owned Business) and WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) certifications, Ball carries furniture and business equipment, as well as everything from office supplies to specialty items. http://www.ballop.com


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Insane Clown Posse‘s Violent J has questioned the extent to which Drake could call himself a fan of the band – better known as a Juggalo.
Drake had posted a photo of himself on Instagram wearing an Insane Clown Posse sweater back in August, thereby suggesting he was a fan of the horrorcore duo.
Violent J, however, seems more doubtful about whether Drake truly identified with the Juggalo community if a recent interview with rap radio personality Bootleg Kev is anything to go by.
“First of all, I don’t give a fuck what anybody said. I don’t believe Drake wore that having ever even heard any of our music. I think he wore that as a fashion thing because I think that’s what’s happening,” he said [via Stereogum].
“Over time, you know, we’re old school. I seen, in a fashion magazine, an ICP shirt for $500… It was, like, fashion. It was the design of the shirt… [Drake] had a ‘Ringmaster’ jersey, which is our second album, the second Joker’s Card. What the fuck is Drake doing wearing that?”
— The Underground (@UndergroundAust) August 4, 2023
View this post on Instagram

domain: news


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Folding phones have quickly become a staple in the smartphone industry, proving to be more than just a passing trend. With devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Foldable and the OnePlus Open, the potential for innovation in this form factor is clear.
At CES 2024, Samsung Display, the manufacturer of most flexible screens used in mobile phones, showcased some exciting prototypes that demonstrate the continued evolution of folding phone technology. One notable prototype is the ‘In&Out Flip’, a version of the Galaxy Z Flip that folds both inside and out, allowing for a mobile phone that can be used at any angle. This concept also eliminates the need for the Z Flip’s exterior screen, resulting in a thinner device with the ability to use two external screens.
Samsung Display is also making strides in reducing the thickness of flexible screens, which has led to the development of rollable displays. One impressive prototype extends to five times the size of a normal phone, essentially transforming a conventional phone into a tablet when needed. There are also rumors that the future Galaxy Z Fold would utilize this type of screen, potentially shifting away from the current large interior screen format.
These advancements showcase the potential for folding phones to continue evolving and transforming the way we use mobile devices. While these prototypes may not be available in commercial products yet, they serve as a glimpse into the future of smartphone technology. As technology continues to advance, it’s exciting to imagine the possibilities that lie ahead for folding phones.


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Each year the holidays come around, bringing a considerable amount of stress with them – the stress of finding just that right gift for every family member and friend on the list. This overshadows the joy of the festive season for a lot of people.
A segment on Good Morning America offers a few personalized gifting ideas for those looking for some inspiration during that time of the year. These cover an array of customizable mugs, coasters, and vintage cameras. But the segment also addresses the need for digitizing old photos and recommends a tried and trustworthy photo scanning service for the job: ScanCafe! (more…)
Here at ScanCafe, we’ve just hit an enormous milestone: we’ve scanned over 125,000,000 million pieces of media.
To celebrate, we asked you what piece of media you thought would be the big 125 millionth…and the answer is:
A black & white negative!
This huge achievement is thanks to you — thank you for trusting ScanCafe with your most precious memories.
ScanCafe, the world’s largest photo-scanning service, announced today that it has integrated the Amazon Cloud Drive API to offer customers one-click uploading of scanned images to their Amazon Cloud Drive account. The new feature means Amazon customers can effortlessly preserve their entire collection of old photographs and protect them, free of charge and forever, from loss, harm, and inevitable fading. All Amazon users get free storage for about 2000 photos (5GB), with the option to purchase additional capacity and if you are a Prime member you receive unlimited photo storage for free.
This integration significantly enriches user experience in scanning, organizing, and sharing those cherished old photos, slides, 35mm negatives, and even photos in photo albums. It makes it easy and safe to transfer memories to an Amazon Cloud Drive digital photo archive, with all the advantages in preservation security, accessibility, and image quality this brings. Amazon customers need never again undergo the hassle of manually uploading scanned images. (more…)
Digital-scanning industry leader ScanCafe announced today it now offers the option of integrating and uploading scanned images directly to Google Drive and Dropbox, two of the most popular cloud storage providers.
Effective immediately, ScanCafe customers will have a one-click selection option for cloud integration and upload during the checkout process on all scanning orders. Customers who do not have a Google Drive or Dropbox accounts can sign up for a free account as part of the new feature.
Google and Dropbox provides ScanCafe’s customers with failsafe backup protection for both their scanned and digital photos, removing the risk of images being lost due to failure, damage, or loss of a personal storage device. In the past, scanning service customers have had to download scanned images to their computers and then manually upload the images to a cloud service themselves. However, ScanCafe’s direct upload option now allows consumers to have this done for them instantly and automatically, for as many photos as they wish.
ScanCafe currently serves customers throughout the United States and Canada. For more information on products and features, please visit http://www.scancafe.com, or follow at http://twitter.com/scancafe.
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/10/prweb12253897.htm
At ScanCafe, we’ve just hit our biggest milestone yet: we’ve scanned over 100 million pieces of media!
That incredible number is thanks to you, our customers, and it means we’ve scanned more media than any other scanning service out there.
So, what kind of media was the 100,000,000th?
A 35mm color slide!


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May 05, 2015Organizations should treat social media as they would any other electronically stored information and assume it is potentially discoverable. Und...
April 07, 2015If content is king, then certainly customer experience is an integral part of the royal court. As companies everywhere invest in content marketi...
March 19, 2015It’s no surprise social customer service demand is on the rise. To stay ahead of the game, your brand must formalize a streamlined and scala...
March 13, 2015Fifty-seven percent of customers expect the same level of response through social channels as traditional support channels. That can be cha...
Apr 1 Posted 1 year ago
Wow! I’ve never heard of LemmeTweetThatForYou before reading this article, but it’s scary to think it is legal. I would have thought there would be law suits left and right from angry celebrities and high-profile people- how hasn’t it gotten shut down? I would never think to check the validity of those tweets either, but from now on I’ll be a lot more skeptical!
Mia Wirtshafter, Tulane Student


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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) won a misclassification case in November. Last week, they announced their pursuit of about 1,400 drivers in Arizona. These drivers are owed up to $5.6 million.
A federal court has made a decision. 1,398 drivers who worked for Parts Authority Arizona LLC and Arizona Logistics Inc., doing business as Diligent Delivery Systems, are owed $2.8 million in back pay and $2.8 million in damages.
Eric Murray, the DOL’s Phoenix district director of wage and hour services, stated in a news release that the goal is to ensure that Parts Authority Arizona and Arizona Logistics workers receive all the wages and damages owed to them. It can be challenging to locate workers when they change addresses or phone numbers, and they might not even realize that they are owed back pay.
Misclassified Arizona Delivery Drivers to Receive Back Pay and Damages
In November, a judge said that Parts Authority Arizona and Arizona Logistics had to pay workers who had been wrongly labeled as drivers.
According to court documents, Diligent Delivery Systems had its drivers sign “owner-operator agreements” and other papers “that were supposed to classify driver employees as independent contractors.”
The Department of Labor found that companies violated the FLSA. They paid drivers less than the minimum wage, didn’t pay for overtime, and didn’t keep accurate time records.
Investigators say businesses expected employees to use their own cars for runs without extra pay.
Drivers are owed up to $120,000 in back pay, according to court papers. Drivers misclassified will receive their final payment in October 2025.
Parts Authority And Diligent Delivery Systems And The Penalty They Faced
Parts Authority uses Diligent Delivery for shipping. Parts Authority uses Diligent Delivery for transportation. The company has 46 offices across the country. They work with the medical, retail, and e-commerce industries. The company has a fast delivery service for urgent goods. They also have a transportation part for long distances.
Parts Authority sells car parts, tools, machines, and engines. They sell these products all over the United States. There are over 200 locations. Four of them are in Arizona: Tempe, Phoenix, Mesa, and Surprise.
As part of the ruling, Diligent Delivery Systems’ CEO and owner, Larry Browne, was fined $150,000.
In conclusion, the federal court ordered Parts Authority Arizona LLC and Arizona Logistics Inc., also known as Diligent Delivery Systems, to compensate 1,398 drivers who worked for them from 2012 to 2020. The payment includes $2.8 million in back wages and $2.8 million in damages. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) received money through a consent ruling. The companies falsely called their staff drivers self-employed.”
Nearly 1,400 delivery drivers will benefit from this news since they will earn back pay and damages. Do you want to know about transportation and logistics markets every day? Lading Logistics is a way to learn about new developments and trends in the business. Our services include transportation, warehousing, inventory management, and more.


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Following recent news that Facebook and Google are facing GDPR lawsuits, Brian Vecci, Technical Evangelist at Varonis commented below.
Brian Vecci, Technical Evangelist at Varonis:
“It’s not surprising that the big tech companies are the first to face problems now that the GDPR is in effect. They have the most data about the most people and their business depends on exploiting it—they were always going to get hit first and potentially hardest. What’s interesting is that they’re already being accused of ignoring the new regulation, when it seems clear to everyone paying attention that while they certainly might not be compliant, ignoring it is the last thing that the big tech companies have been doing, but that’s not necessarily true of all of the other companies that collect and exploit consumer data and are now subject to the GDPR.
As a society we dramatically underestimated the inherent value of our own personal data and what it reveals about us over months and years. The GDPR isn’t going to kill their business model, but it is going to force them to finally treat our personal data as something that’s valuable not only to them but to us as well.
Many organizations have taken a wait-and-see approach to the GDPR, betting that they can fly under the radar for a while and save some money by not having to change much about how they secure this kind of data and keep it private (or fail to do so). That could end up proving more expensive in the long run, since while many companies aren’t yet fully compliant, the ones that have taken clear steps will likely see far more lenient penalties for violations. The ones that actually are ignoring the GDPR and have done nothing will probably get hit the hardest.
In our recent Global Data Risk Report, we found that 58% of companies have more than 100,000 folders open to everyone in the company, meaning that data is neither secure nor private. Companies that take at least the first step of mapping out what personal data they have, identifying where it’s exposed, and monitoring how it’s used—even if they haven’t yet started fixing the problems they’ll inevitably find—are going to be way ahead of everyone else. The big tech companies are in the spotlight right now but they’re not the only ones who are going to have to face the music.”


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Let's talk about sexual intimacy. Menarini Philippines continues to promote its Community to Control PE advocacy campaign this 2015 with its Happy Wife, Happy Life event. When it comes to sexual intimacy, couples need to be more open with their partners about what satisfies them.
Given that the two of you share a special bond, there's no reason for you to not be comfortable about discussing what you like - and don't like about sex. After all, an activity that is meant to be enjoyed, should provide fulfillment for both parties.
As such, Menarini Philippines together with the Philippine Urological Association, boldly launched its Commit to Control PE Advocacy campaign last year to address one of the more pressing issues regarding sexual intimacy - premature ejaculation.
In relation to this, Menarini Philippines held a talk, aptly called Happy Wife, Happy Life, which was held last January 10 at the Satin Room of the Seda Hotels in BGC and was attended by local bloggers. It aimed to shed better insight about what premature ejaculation is all about, and that it is not something to be embarrassed about because it can be controlled.
The event was hosted by popular celebrity columnist RJ Ledesma and featured a very insightful talk from sex and relationship guru, Dr. Margie Holmes, concerning "the love that last is better". Also present at the event was Dr. Dennis Serrano, who talked about the “basics” of premature ejaculation to help the guests have a better understanding of this condition.
Menarini Philippines strongly believes in this advocacy which is often left untreated because it is a topic that is usually considered taboo even in these modern times. The pharmaceutical giant hopes to make a stronger impact among Filipino couples on their campaign this year with more events like this.
Menarini is the world’s largest Italian biopharmaceutical company with a heritage of over 128 years and over 16,000 employees in over 100 countries. Here in Asia-Pacific, Menarini’s vision is to be a leading provider of important healthcare brands to improve the lives of people in the region. Menarini Asia-Pacific operates across the entire commercial value chain, from regulatory approval and product launch to lifecycle management with a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered brands in key therapeutic fields, including Dermatology, Primary Care, Allergy/Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Select Specialty Care, Men’s Health and Consumer Health.
For further information, please visit: www.menariniapac.com.


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Tablet shipments down 12.6 percent in Q3 2015, Apple still leads the pack
We’ve recently heard not one, but two bits testifying to the fact that Apple, the leading tablet vendor on the market, isn’t doing as well as some would have predicted, when it comes to the tablet market. Initially, we heard unconfirmed rumours that orders placed for the upcoming iPad Pro are cautious, then we heard reports that poor iPad sales are affecting the supply chain manufacturers.
Apparently, the issue is a larger one, affecting all players on the market. According to the most recent IDC numbers, the entire tablet market is down. For the third quarter of the year, tablet shipments plummeted, being down 12.6 percent, with 48.7 million units shipped. These numbers representing shipments testify to a trend, as lower shipments are now recorded for the fourth quarter in a row.
But what does this mean for your preferred tablet maker, and its position on the market? Well, Apple is still leading the pack with 20.3 percent share and 9.9 million units shipped in 3Q15, followed by Samsung and its 16.5 percent share, thanks to shipping 8 million units in the same period.
Lenovo, ASUS, and Huawei follow for third, fourth, and fifth spots, with their 6.3-, 4-, and 3.7 percents, respectively. Check out table below to visualise the current state of the tablet market. For more details, make sure to check out the source link.


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It’s easy to forget just how powerful Apple is...until something like yesterday happens then it all comes rushing back.
After revealing that an Apple privacy change was denting its ad business Thursday evening, Snap stock plunged 27% yesterday—its worst day ever—and dragged other social media stocks like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest down with it. In all, more than $150 billion in value was wiped out.
What did Apple do? In April, Apple introduced a privacy feature that asks users whether they want to be tracked by apps. If users opt out, apps like Snapchat won’t be able to target them with the most relevant ads. Then, once a campaign is over, collecting and analyzing data to see how it went also becomes a challenge.
Basically, Apple threw a smoothie on the mobile ad market’s windshield. And while its impacts were projected to be bad, “Apple iOS ad changes played out worse than virtually anyone had expected in Snap's Q4 outlook,” JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth wrote.
Did anyone benefit from the update?
There is one company whose ad business is booming, and its name is...you might want to sit down for this...Apple.
As it undercut its rivals’ visibility with its privacy update, Apple has become a major player in advertising, more than tripling its market share since it introduced the feature six months ago.
- “It’s like Apple Search Ads has gone from playing in the minor leagues to winning the World Series in the span of half a year,” Alex Bauer, head of product marketing at Branch, told the Financial Times.
Apple’s ad business will earn $5 billion this year and $20 billion per year within three years, according to estimates from Evercore ISI.
Looking ahead...this story will only heat up next week, when Alphabet, Facebook, and Twitter report their earnings.—NF
+ Interested in this story? Sign up for Marketing Brew for more analysis on all that's going on in the ad biz.


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People are notorious for under-reporting what they consume — they lie, forget or just guess wrong. For researchers who want to know how much soda we’re drinking, a high-tech analysis technique could help.
Tag: iPad Apps
Want to lean more about baking bread? Michael Ruhlman’s new Bread Baking App for iPhone and iPad will teach you what you need to know, on your mobile device.


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From the Chronicle Herald, Halifax:
“Another e-book skeptic has converted: bestselling business writer Jim Collins. Harper Business announced Wednesday that Collins has a new book coming out in October, Great by Choice, and will make it available for downloads.” According to the publisher, in this latest book Collins will look into why “some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not.”
From Collins website:
Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, which has been a fixture on the Business Week bestseller list for more than SIX years!!! and has been translated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.
Jim’s book, GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t, attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week bestseller lists, has sold 3 million hardcover copies since publication and has been translated into 35 languages, including such languages as Latvian, Mongolian and Vietnamese.
His book, HOW THE MIGHTY FALL: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, was published on May 19, 2009.


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SXSW: A Look Back via @BoF
AUSTIN, United States — With some 30,000 people in town for the 20th annual SXSW Interactive conference, not to mention hundreds of keynote talks, panels, exhibitions, meet-ups and parties to both participate in (and get distracted by) each day, you’d be forgiven for feeling completely overwhelmed by the whole affair.
The festival aims to provide a “view on the future” and is predominantly focused on the technology space. This year’s conference was headlined by Elon Musk, a South Africa-born, American engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded the groundbreaking electric car company Tesla, as well as payment system PayPal, and is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, the world’s first commercial company to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station. Musk spoke about a manned mission to Mars and shared a video of a reusable rocket that could, for the first time, land back on Earth with the accuracy of a helicopter. Former American vice president Al Gore, likewise, touched on all manner of big ideas, including the genetic engineering of spider goats. Meanwhile, there was tremendous buzz surrounding Grumpy Cat, the real-life meme with whom conference attendees queued up to have their photograph taken.
But for the fashion industry — from which there’s a growing contingent that comes to town for the event — how much was relevant? The answer is lots.
Part of the beauty of SXSW is, of course, meeting up with digitally-minded people from across the sector. But, without doubt, the most powerful insights are gleaned by stepping outside the fashion bubble and learning from other industries. The challenge is being able to distill down the key takeaways. So here goes.


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Samsung Pay Rolls Out To Cuscal Clients
Samsung Pay has further increased its Australian footprint, courtesy of a new partnership with Cuscal.
This partnership will see Samsung’s mobile payment platform become available to customers of Australian Unity, Bank Australia, Bank of Sydney, Beyond Bank Australia, Big Sky Building Society, Catalyst Money, Central Coast Credit Union, Central Murray Credit Union, Community First Credit Union, Credit Union SA, CUA, Customs Bank, Defence Bank, Firefighters Mutual Bank, First Option Credit Union, Holiday Coast Credit Union, Horizon Credit Union, Illawarra Credit Union, Intech Bank, MyState, Nexus Mutual, Northern Beaches Credit Union, P&N Bank, People’s Choice Credit Union, Police Bank, QT Mutual Bank, Queenslanders Credit Union, Reliance Bank, SCU, Select ENCOMPASS Credit Union, South West Slopes Credit Union, Teachers Mutual Bank, The Mac, The Rock, UniBank, Unity Bank, WAW Credit Union Co-Operative and Woolworths Employees’ Credit Union Limited.
Robert Bell, General Manager of Product & Service at Cuscal says that “we’re really pleased that our clients’ customers can now use Samsung Pay. Our aim is to allow all of our clients to offer their customers the newest and best payment options available, to help them compete with much larger players. With the addition of Samsung Pay we continue to fulfil this promise to them.”
It’s a huge expansion for the service, which previously only counted Westpac, Citibank and American Express as Australian Pay partners.
According to Richard Fink, Vice President, Mobile Division at Samsung Australia, “through Samsung Pay’s partnership with Cuscal we are providing millions of Australians a convenient and safe payment option. Every partner we bring onboard, whether it be a financial institution or retail brand through our Samsung Pay loyalty functionality, brings us a step closer to helping customers replace their wallets with their Samsung smartphone or smartwatch.”


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To the editor:
It seems that a lot of folks at the Kansas Department of Revenue are loosing sleep over "uncollected" tax revenue on Internet purchases (LJW, Oct. 11). I thought state and local governments levied taxes on consumer purchases as a means of being compensation for the infrastructure (road construction, street lighting) and services (police, fire) they provide in part to the business community.
The Internet shopper provides the "infrastructure" and "services" to the virtual business. Subsequently, until the state starts allowing income tax deductions for home computer equipment, software, Internet access/connection fees, and the shipping cost associated with online purchases, it should not consider taxing Internet purchases.


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CHINA: Relocation lures exhibitors to Intertextile Shanghai
The relocation of the Intertextile Apparel Fabrics show from Beijing to Shanghai has led to a surge in the number of exhibitor countries, organisers say.
The spring edition of the Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics fair takes place from 3-5 March at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, and has so far attracted 1,400 apparel fabric and accessories suppliers from 23 countries and regions.
The increase in international exhibitors is partly attributed to Shanghai's location at the centre of the Yangtze River Delta textile manufacturing hub.
Large numbers of overseas visitors are also expected to attend due to the international textile companies who have offices in the city and manufacturing plants in surrounding areas.
Nearly 230 yarn and fibre exhibitors will also participate at the Yarn Expo Pavilion, a designated fibre and yarn exhibition area within the event.
Wendy Wen, senior general manager of organiser Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, also points out that holding the fair at the beginning of March coincides with spring's peak sourcing time.
- Three tipping points for RFID in fashion
- Cotton “too diverse” for fixed sustainability plan
- Capacity building key to Myanmar momentum
- China undisputed giant of garment exports
- DENIM DAYS: Suppliers weigh up industry challenges
- SOURCING: Global sourcing snapshots launched
- Wal-Mart silent on Rana Plaza lawsuit
- Nike criticised over Vietnam sourcing ethics
- VF Corp lifts outlook despite Q1 profit fall
- Garment group reiterates labour rights commitment


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Mike Tyson May Open Kosher Vegan Restaurants
A few months after he called meat “poison” in a widely publicized Details magazine interview, Mike Tyson may put his money where his mouth is with a chain of vegan – and possibly kosher – eateries. The New York Post reports the retired, facially tattooed boxing champ is in talks with Moshe Malamud of collectible-coin hawkers The Franklin Mint to launch a high-end restaurant chain.
”The two talked shop at Malamud’s favorite kosher eatery, Solo, on Madison Avenue, where Tyson dined with his pregnant wife, Lakiha Spicer, on mushroom soup and mixed vegetables,” the Post reported. Solo, arguably one of New York’s trendiest kosher restaurants, has hosted famous guest chefs like former Top Chef-testant Eli Kirshtein.
A representative for Solo reported that the two discussed kosher and vegan dining concepts, along with potential names, “but that nothing was finalized.” The Boston Herald cheekily asked “was ear on the menu?”
While reports on Tyson’s would-be kosher venture on news, sports, and foodie sites alike have been using “kosher” and “vegan” almost interchangeably, the latter doesn’t automatically mean the former – at least according to Chabad. “A vegan restaurant would not have a hard time getting kosher certification. However, as long as there is no such certification one should not eat there,” a posting on Chabad.org says. “It is possible for a minute quantity of animal products to be included in a vegan-certified food.”
Malamud, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to share Tyson’s herbivorous predilections; in a 2008 NYMag.com profile of then-Solo chef and “Top Chef” season 3 winner Hung Huynh, Malamud waxed rhapsodic over the restaurant’s gefilte fish.


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We love animals at the “Friend” and most of the team have a pet or two at home. So it was good news for me when our new look meant that our pets page was increased from a half to a full page. We still have the great advice on pet problems from the wonderful PDSA, and now we have space to include more pet news and cute pictures, of course!
We’ve been planning the pages for 2016 recently, and there are some really interesting topics coming up. One item that caught my attention was a report which revealed the incredible health benefits a pet has on a child and its family.
The report found that nearly half (46%) of parents believe their child is healthier and fitter due to their pet, while one in ten parents attribute a boost in their child’s school work to owning a pet. Pets can even help children do better in their homework tasks just by being present in the room.
Most of us know that stroking and caring for a pet makes us calmer, so it makes sense that children benefit in the same way. There’s lots more about these interesting findings in the Pets At Home 2015 Pet Report.
Before we arrive at 2016, though, there’s one more 2015 pets page to look forward to. Our December 5 issue includes advice on pets and Christmas celebrations and we find out what happens on Christmas Day in some of our best-known animal charities.
We hope you’ll enjoy it. Let us know what you think!


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Daniel Weil redesigns the chess set Thu, 21 Mar 2013 | By Angus Montgomery Pentagram partner Daniel Weil has created a new design for the chess set, which is making its debut at the World Chess Candidates Tournament in London. Weil was asked to design the new pieces following Pentagram’s earlier work with organisation World Chess, which saw John Rushworth create a new identity for the organisation, Naresh Ramchandani work on campaigns, and Weil design the playing environments.
Innovative Technology Turns Top-Level Chess Into Spectator Sport “Making the invisible visible!” London, UK – March 23, 2013 – Visitors to the FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament, currently under way in London, got to be the firs... Read Post
LONDON.- Sotheby's London presents ?Making Time?, a selling exhibition of stunning clocks by designer Daniel Weil of Pentagram, from January 9th-13th 2012. The exhibition comprises two sharply contrasting collections Weil created 17... Read Post
The World Chess Candidates Tournament to be Held in LondonLondon, January 15, 2013 – FIDE and AGON – the World Chess Federation’s commercial partner – are pleased to announce the players, dates and venue of the 2013 Candidates Tourn... Read Post


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TechnoBravo adds value to clients’ business by providing secure innovative identity management solutions utilizing the latest technology. Its latest product is BioSan leverages UVC technology which sanitizes and kills up to 99.9% of harmful viruses and bacteria, ensuring that clients always feel safe when using contact-based fingerprint readers.
TechnoBravo Biometrics News
New Jersey-based startup TechnoBravo is launching a novel device for sanitizing contact biometric scanners with Ultraviolet C (UVC) light. The…


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As a child I was fascinated with the 3D images produced by the View-Master. I spent hours gazing at foreign-looking formal Chinese gardens that conjured up images of a wonderful land far, far away.
Now, the same toy, reengineered for the digital age, will take a new generation of kids right into a virtual Chinese garden where they can immerse themselves in an imaginative and interactive environment.Mattel has reinvented the toy the company introduced 75 years ago at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. In collaboration with Google the company has given it a twist that fits right in with today’s tech-hungry kids and their love of virtual reality. View-Master works with Google’s Cardboard virtual reality platform to make an immersive digital experience affordable – even via a toy for a child.The new View-Master does not operate on its own – it requires a compatible smartphone and app. The smartphone is placed inside the View-Master and the phone screen functions as the display area.
In its previous incarnation the toy had a carousel of 3D images that one viewed one by one through the View-Master. With the View-Master app, users look through the headset at their phone’s screen and see 3-D images either displayed on the real world (augmented reality) or full 3-D environments (virtual reality). Virtual reality provides an immersive experience, while augmented reality offers an overlay of the real world with extra information for users.
According to the press release, Mattel's new View-Master offers an easy-to-use and affordable platform that will enable users to take engaging field trips where they can explore famous places, landmarks, nature, planets and more in 360 degree ‘photospheres'. By pairing the View-Master's ‘experience reel' and app with an Android smartphone, kids will immediately experience an imaginative and interactive learning environment.
The new View-Master will be available in October 2015 and will retail for $30.00. A sample reel will come in the box, which includes a gallery of classic View-Master images, a space trip simulation and the chance to visit a “unique destination” in 360 degrees. Additional themed experience reels will cost $14.99.


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Los Angeles Times
Seniors eager to buy one of the prescription drug discount cards that will go on sale next month could get some help from a cost-comparison tool slated to debut later this month on the website http://www.medicare.gov
Designed by the small Los Angeles-based software company DestinationRx, the website will show how the cards’ discounts compare with average retail prices. It may shed some light on one of the most opaque practices in U.S. capitalism.
The cards, which for a fee of no more than $30 per year promise discounts up to 20% on some drugs, will inevitably generate confusion that no website can clear up.
The discount drug program, for starters, is so complex that a coalition of state health insurance plan directors recently estimated that it would take 2 1/2hours to fully explain it to one beneficiary.
Worse, the program seems designed to benefit drug card sponsors (that is, the private companies that will offer the cards, which will include insurers partnering with drug companies), at the expense of consumers. Sponsors can change the prices they charge for various medications and the list of drugs they wish to offer once a week, while consumers can buy only one card and are allowed to switch cards only once a year.
Thus a diligent consumer may compare savings — as many now do for telephone service — then purchase one company’s prescription card, only to discover that the company no longer covers the very drugs needed.
Congress’ sloppy design of the program is why consumers in more than half of U.S. states, including California, should be glad that their leaders are exploring other ways to push down prescription drug prices, including efforts to ease the reimportation of U.S.-made drugs from Canada.
In California, Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Los Feliz) has written two sensible bills. The first, AB 1957, would provide Californians with a website with links to certified Canadian pharmacies and would require the state to look for ways to ease drug importation; the second, AB 1958, would let the state collectively bargain with companies and HMOs for the best drug deals.
This is not to suggest that Medicare’s new website will be useless. It will be a genuine help if Medicare officials live up to their promise to show how each card’s discounts compare to the prices for specific drugs at retail pharmacies near a given ZIP code.
Medicare officials should also take a step they have so far resisted: create a simple index that lets consumers compare the savings of a given drug card with the discounted prices now paid by federal agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The new Medicare website could steer seniors toward legitimate discounts. Even more usefully, it could stoke a greater awareness of the pricing inequities that cry out for reforms far more ambitious than a drug discount card.


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US: Southern Wine & Spirits of America widens operations VP role
SWSA wants to integrate its supply chain
Southern Wine & Spirits of America (SWSA) has appointed a new operations VP for its Illinois, Kentucky and Minnesota divisions.
Dale Huhnke took on the newly created role on 1 July, SWSA said yesterday (25 July). Huhnke was previously operations VP for Illinois, the company said.
The new post is part of SWSA's efforts to integrate SWSA's supply chain operations, the company's senior VP for supply chain strategy, Bobby Burg, said.
Huhnke has worked for SWSA for 32 years and previously oversaw operations in the Nevada and Kentucky markets before moving to Illinois.
In March, SWSA said it was extending its distribution deal with Trinchero Family Estates to Indiana.
Global market review of the travel retail drinks sector
Changing demographics, growing economies, increased disposable income and the rise in international and business travel have all contributed to the burgeoning travel retail sector....read more
- Treasury Wine Estates: Here I Go Again On My Own
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- Bacardi Seeks Own History at Bombay Sapphire Home
- Will low-alcohol wines wither on the vine?
- Coca-Cola Life US launch fails to ignite
- Diageo's Johnnie Walker hit by Travel Retail slump
- Carlsberg suspends production at Russian brewery
- Anheuser-Busch InBev shuts fourth Russian brewery
- Treasury Wine Estates pulls plug on takeover talks
- Mallya stays chairman at Diageo's United Spirits


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While many small and medium-sized businesses are planning to increase their digital spending budget within the next 12 months, only 2 in 10 are currently employing mobile marketing strategies. Amazingly 29% of SMBs haven’t even heard of the term mobile marketing, which is mind blowing considering most SMB execs and owners probably use mobile devices in their daily lives.
In fact, a recent study found that 94 percent of the small-business users surveyed believe their mobile devices make them more efficient. So what gives? They use these devices but they’re not seeing the value in marketing terms.
One reason I believe SMBs are so slow to pick up on this marketing avenue is that mobile technologies have moved so fast that marketing execs are too hesitant to try something they deem as untested. SMBs aren’t alone in their trepidation as I’ve worked with a few Fortune 500 companies who still haven’t had the gumption to dip their toes into this medium.
It’s been my experience that while big business have the cash to try new mobile marketing strategies they tend to be more conservative in their willingness to try new things. SMB’s obviously don’t have the endless funds the big boys possess but they do have the most to gain by trying this growing trend. Especially if their competitors are already in this space.
In fact, 84% of U.S. small businesses using mobile marketing see increase in new business activity, according to a recent study by Web.com. ComScore figures there are now 82.2 million Americans using smartphones and this figure is going to continue to grow quickly. When it comes down to it SMBs should take advantage of mobile marketing to gain advantage in three key areas:
- Provide better service to existing customers
- Attract more local customers
- Gain competitive advantage
It won’t be long before everyone will be carrying around computers in their pockets so the sooner SMBs can harness this trend the better competitive advantage they’ll have in the future. And by future I mean tomorrow.


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US Government BANS
Edison’s Greatest Invention
A sweeping government reform is pushing aside Thomas Edison’s greatest legacy. Over $20 billion per year in spending is shifting to new technologies over the next two years because of critical environmental legislation passed in the US, as well as Canada, Brazil, Australia, and now China too.
One cutting-edge American company is positioned as the key player to enable this transition. Find out which company it is and its unique position to profit as the government ban on incandescent light bulbs takes effect.
Lighting the Way
Discover the one US-based company at the forefront of the global revolution in how we light our streets, homes, and businesses… one now being prodded on by aggressive environmental legislation.
It was 1880 when Thomas Edison patented a functional and affordable version of the incandescent light bulb.
And to his credit, the same basic features for the light bulb—a filament inside a glass bulb with a screw base—are still in use today.
But now, after 133 years, the incandescent light bulb is on its way out.
In fact, buying an incandescent bulb is now a crime!
In 2013, it became illegal in the United States to manufacture or import 75- and 100-watt incandescent bulbs. In January 2014, 40- and 60-watt bulbs were added to the ban.
And the ban is not limited to the US—China, Canada, Brazil, Australia, the European Union, and many other nations have started to push out the old technology too.
You see, the issue with incandescent light bulbs is that they’re an inefficient means to produce light.
Only about 10% of the energy used by an incandescent bulb is converted into light. The rest is dissipated as unwanted heat.
This is a problem not just for the homes and businesses using these bulbs, but also upstream at the power plants that produce the required energy.
In an era when producers are struggling to keep up with surging demand and concern about the environmental impact of energy production is running high, such inefficiencies are frowned on.
So governments worldwide are forcing consumers to convert to an alternative light-source technology.
There are a few different options on the market.
People and businesses can change all their light fixtures to accept those abundant and cheap fluorescent tubes—but that’s doubtful.
Or they can adopt those curly fluorescent compact bulbs that screw right into any Edison socket. They’ve been popular for a few years.
However, both are highly toxic and dangerous for the environment. A busted fluorescent bulb cannot even be vacuumed up, according to the EPA.
They contain toxic mercury, which can get into the air when improperly handled and is poisoning landfills around the country.
There’s a much better replacement technology out there.
It’s brighter, smaller, more flexible, and more adaptable in color, shape, and size than either flourescents or incandescents.
Better still, it’s not only less toxic and easier to recycle, this alternative is uses 20% less energy than even those low-wattage flourescents… and far, far less than an Edison bulb.
Its lifespan is over 25,000 hours, versus just 1,000 hours for the incandescent light. Its operating costs are nearly 80% less per year.
In other words, it’s the best light source on the planet right now.
And I’ve uncovered one powerhouse big-tech company—which designs, manufacturers, and markets light-source equipment—that’s at the forefront of this new technology and is set to dominate this burgeoning $85 billion market.
You see, leading management consulting firm McKinsey & Company projects that by 2020, the size of the light bulb market will exceed $136 billion. Yep, the simple lightbulb.
Think about it. What does the world look like as your plane lands at any airport at night?
Of this $136 billion, McKinsey estimates that a whopping 63% will be attributable to this lighting technology by 2020. In 2007, it accounted for just $4 billion. In 2014, that rose to more than $12 billion.
By 2020, that’ll be an $85 billion market share. And as you can imagine, just about every global manufacturer wants a piece of the action… especially the guys making incandescent light bulbs.
If you’ve been watching the shelves at Home Depot or the financial news for the past few years, you probably already guessed what I’m talking about. This light technology is the light emitting diode, or LED. You’ve already seen them many places for years. Those tail lights and traffic lights that just look like a bunch of dots, for example? LEDs.
But it wasn’t until recently that manufacturers could combine these small colored lights into a bulb that put off white light. That actually took quite a bit of research, and thus the market started off small.
In those early years, you could invest any one of a number of small-cap companies making LED light bulbs, confident that sales would rise unimpeded as they began to sell their new bulbs to towns and cities for streetlights, or to big industrial users—buyers who didn’t mind the high price tag if it saves them changing all those bulbs or lowers their gargantuan electric bills even a fraction.
For you and me, spending $50+ on a single light bulb just wasn’t going to happen, but still LED sales rose, driven by the early adopters… and stock prices with them.
But that party ended quickly—the largest independent maker of LEDs saw its stock price cut in half over the last year—as the LED went mainstream.
That’s because competition has heated up fast, mainly from those incandescent bulb makers who were sitting on the sidelines.
The legislative shove has pushed them all into the market—big names like Philips and GE—and prices have begun to drop rapidly as they try to regain lost market share and starve smaller competitors out of the business. It’s a bad recipe for shareholders of most LED companies.
But there’s a way to play those markets, and it is often far more successful than trying to figure out which manufacturer will prevail among dozens. Instead, buy the companies that supply them.
In the gold rush theme, we call it a “picks and shovels” play. The term was coined during the California gold rush, when it seemed the only ones making any money were the guys selling picks and shovels and other supplies to miners… companies like Levi Strauss, which started selling supplies (its famous pants among them) to the “49ers.”
In any boom, there’s always someone supplying all the players. In the LED boom, we’ve found one of the best.
And while the players might be tripping over one another, this worldwide lighting equipment supplier—originally founded by two Manhattan Project scientists—is in a league of its own.
Because, the fact is that the technical expertise and process know-how required to design and market the equipment used to manufacture LEDs is substantial.
They’re made with exotic semiconductors like gallium and indium and manufactured to tolerances a fraction the thickness of a human hair. They are true nanotechnology.
This creates a significant barrier to entry for smaller companies with limited budgets.
Meaning this fast-growing big-tech company—a large-cap, established technology company—is one of only two in the world that currently has locked up 90% of the global market share for this vital equipment.
Opening up an enormous opportunity for you to get in early on this leading supplier of revolutionary lighting technology—brighter, smaller, longer lasting, greener, and more adaptable than anything that has ever come before it—and profit as this booming company dominates an exploding $85 billion lighting technology market.
You can get the full details on this powerhouse company in my newest report, How to Grab Your Share of the New $85 Billion Lighting Market.
But hurry: according to lighting company Osram Sylvania, the federal legislation banning Thomas Edison’s lighting technology will result in 300 million people changing their light bulbs to comply with the new legislation.
These BANNED bulbs are going to need to be replaced soon. As recently as 2011, about 1.1 billion light bulbs were bought in North America each year, and they have an average lifespan of only 1.5 years.
So right now is the best time for you to invest in this lighting technology, before the last of these bulbs sold burn out and everyone is forced to buy the new, more efficient light bulbs.
Once they’re all in, these new bulbs will last 25 times longer than the old, banned Thomas Edison-type bulbs they replaced.
If you’re ready to cash in on this phenomenon right now, click here to get a free copy of this special report, How to Grab Your Share of the New $85 Billion Lighting Market and get all the details—including the name and ticker symbol—of this uniquely positioned company.
But if you’re wondering who I am and how I found this opportunity, let me introduce myself and show you how well-run big tech companies—like Apple, Amazon, IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft—can still generate tremendous wealth for shareholders.
Hello. I’m Alex Daley.
For years, I’ve been specializing in innovative technology.
Perhaps you’ve seen me as a featured guest on CNN, CNBC, CBS World News, BBC, or one of many other networks that cover cutting-edge technology breakthroughs.
I’ve worked in the trenches of the technology sector, helping startups build their new technology.
I started out working in technology when I was young, working to help researchers bring all-new technologies to market. That led to work with venture capitalists, to spots at some of the world’s biggest technology companies—including a long stint at Microsoft working in the “Bill Gates group” on fast-moving new projects, and work for MySpace, Facebook, and many other names you know.
I helped find breakthrough ideas and develop them into new markets, such as:
- social networking applications;
- early smartphones and GPS devices;
- technology to enable computers to see like humans;
- self-driven robotic vehicles that can navigate hundreds of miles of rugged terrain; and
- software that reconstructs 3D worlds from photographs.
From the now common to the truly amazing, I’ve had the opportunity to work on all sorts of technology.
I don’t tell you this to brag… but so that you know that I understand the technology industry inside and out, because I’ve worked at all phases of tech development.
And in all my years of researching and writing about innovative breakthroughs, I’ve rarely seen a market align quite as powerfully as the LED market.
Sure, there have been some huge advances over the past few years:
Netflix led the “over the top” video revolution, which has gone from nothing to a $10 billion per year industry in a decade.
Facebook took the social network mainstream—an industry that now generates $9 billion a year in revenue and climbing.
Many more like these have happened. But how often has legislation created such a huge tailwind for these companies? And when have they been able to break into and take over an industry that’s already worth $100 billion a year and counting?
The LED could transform the lighting industry as much as the mass adoption of Thomas Edison’s light bulb technology over 120 years ago.
And I’ve uncovered the one US-based big tech company that plays a vital role in bringing this new lighting innovation to market.
With over $480 million in cash and no debt to speak of, I’m confident of this powerhouse’s ability to navigate today’s economic cycle.
And I believe that the adoption of this breakthrough in lighting technology in homes and businesses, catalyzed by legal bans on traditional lighting technology and falling prices on this new lighting source, will begin to accelerate this booming company’s demand rapidly in the near term.
Opening up a remarkable opportunity for you to get in early on a cutting-edge company that’s set for explosive growth in coming months…
The fact is that big tech companies, like this US-based manufacturer of light source equipment, have been creating immense wealth for investors over the last half-century.
Just look at IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and Apple… the “elephants” of the technology industry
Today these powerhouses are working on their most amazing advances yet—from bendable screens to self-driving cars—innovations that will create another technological revolution and could make you very wealthy in the process.
Here’s how you can be part of the next wave…
If your vision of big techcompanies is that they’re a group of aging behemoths that plod along like elephants with no real chance of growth, getting left behind by small Silicon Valley startups… you’re in for a big surprise.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Just look around you…
At work, in your home, in your leisure time…
You’re surrounded by the innovations of big tech companies.
You’re texting or web browsing on your smartphone, getting your email on your iPad, listening to music on your MP3 player, and reading your book on your tablet… all compliments of big tech.
And the tech boom isn’t happening just here at home.
As the size of the middle class explodes in countries like China and India, the demand for big tech’s newest technologies continues to grow at an even faster pace.
The impact of the global middle-class explosion is already being felt…
According to Gartner, Inc. (the world’s largest information technology research company), worldwide technology spending was expected to increase to $3.8 trillion in 2014.
Much of it is attributed to the enormous growth in the middle class worldwide and its huge demand for big tech’s breakthrough products… like smartphones, tablets, and MP3 players.
According to Brookings Institution estimates, by 2015 and for the first time in 300 years, the number of Asian middle-class consumers will equal the number in Europe and North America… more than 650 million.
By 2021, on present trends, the Brookings Institution reports that there could be over 2 billion Asians in middle-class households.
Bringing enormous new consumer markets—more than double the current US population—eager to have the hottest new technological breakthroughs…
Imagine that… the equivalent of more than two American consumer markets demanding all the latest new technologies.
And the sector that is benefiting immensely from this major shift in demographics: big tech!
Because this rapidly growing global middle class of over 2 billion people will have more disposable income and a heavy appetite for technology products to spend on big tech’s newest breakthrough innovations…
Estimates show that each new entrant to the middle class could spend up to $3,450 per year on new smartphones, tablets, and other revolutionary technologies… much of that on products and services from our big tech “elephants.”
Already, the exploding global middle class is having an impact on high-tech sales, with a recent United Parcel Service (UPS) survey noting…
Most U.S. high-tech companies expect to export more cell phones, tablets and other electronics over the next two years to growing middle-class populations in developing nations, citing free trade pacts and rising labor costs abroad.
In fact, says the UPS survey, “High-tech product sales and shipments are expected to grow the most, by 22 percent, in India, the Middle East and Africa, over the next three to five years.”
And with their deep pockets, big tech companies have the ability to reinvent themselves and create incredible new products to take advantage of these new consumer markets and cutting-edge trends.
Using their huge scale and massive resources, they have a significant advantage over smaller competitors, with their ability to invest in research and development, their pricing power, and the reach of their global distribution networks.
Advantages that keep them ahead of their competition with faster rollouts of innovative new products and quicker improvements of old products…
Case in point… Apple Inc.
Apple was pretty much written off as a niche company serving a very limited audience of designers and devotees in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
But that all changed with the iPod.
Almost overnight, the iPod transformed Apple from an almost forgotten firm with a niche market to a global brand with a product in nearly every home in the developed world.
Its monster run of 3,523% began when it released the iPod in October 2001, one of the most anticipated electronic breakthroughs of our time.
Now, 13 years later, this big tech behemoth continues to be a global force with its revolutionary new technologies, such as the iPhone and iPad.
With its enormous scale—its $400+ billion market value is now bigger than the economy of Austria and 165 other nations—Apple is able to provide the resources necessary to reinvent itself and continue to prosper… like the creation of its own retail stores that helped expand the global reach of its brand.
And for those investors who are willing to take a second look at explosive big tech cash cows with their groundbreaking innovations and enormous resources, the rewards could be tremendous.
The Bottom Line Is This:
Big Tech “Elephants" Can Still Dance!
Fact is, big tech companies are taking advantage of their massive marketing muscle, logistics expertise, and negotiating power to keep their costs down…
- allowing them to pour more money into research and development than their smaller competitors;
- giving them a huge advantage in creating groundbreaking innovations that allow them to prosper in current markets; and
- providing them with the necessary resources to create new markets.
Like IBM’s great success in reinventing itself and moving from low-margin hardware to software and high-margin services.
And IBM and Apple aren’t alone in the continuing success of big tech companies using their large scale and huge cash reserves to reinvent themselves and create extraordinary new technological advancements—and record-setting profits.
Meaning it’s not too late for regular investors to make a fortune from big tech companies…
And for investors who get in early, this emerging global middle-class boom in technology demand could be the opportunity of a lifetime.
It’s your chance to be part of the most lucrative new technological advancements from solid, cash-rich big tech companies.
Innovation Is the Key
to America’s Prosperity
According to the Pew Research Center, “Economists estimate that up to 80 percent of modern economic growth arises from technological innovation.”
Meaning that investors who acquire ownership positions in the builders of better mousetraps are poised to make massive profits…
No matter what the current worldwide economic situation is.
According to Accenture, a well-respected global management consulting firm, “Innovation has an exponential multiplier effect … so an investment of one million dollars can realistically return 10, 100 or 1,000 times the initial spend.”
Right now, big tech companies have taken over the reins of creating cutting-edge, innovative discoveries that are changing our world…
The Apple family of devices, Kindle, and Droid… just to name a few.
In a recent article in The Economist, Michael Mandel of the Progressive Policy Institute think tank noted: “ [P]eople assume that little start-ups are creative and big firms are slow and bureaucratic. But that is a gross oversimplification.”
He concludes that in terms of “scale and innovation,”today’s economy favors big companies over small ones.
The fact is,big tech companies are creating jaw-dropping technologies that are changing our lives in important areas…
Like industrial goods, power, health care, information technology, food, and consumer goods.
And big tech companies are bringing substantial wealth to investors who understand that new technology breakthroughs from these companies are necessary to keep our world functioning…
- What would computers be like without Intel’s newest chip or Microsoft’s productivity software?
- What would modern communication be like without Apple’s iPhone?
- What would modern medicine be like without the new drug discoveries of Pfizer or Roche?
These big tech innovators are using their vast resources to create mind-blowing new products that help us lead richer, more productive lives…
And their business is booming…
Just look at the big gains from these two big tech companies from their recent groundbreaking discoveries…
- Apple has soared over 290% since its iPad introduction in January 2010…
- Amazon has gained over 295% since its Kindle introduction in November 2007…
And these impressive gains are from two well-established, well-run, worldwide big tech powerhouses… not some risky penny-stock startups.
Here’s just a small sampling of the enormous gains early investors could have made in today’s big tech powerhouses…
|EMC Corp.||jumped 12,486%|
|Adobe Systems||jumped 13,258%|
Big tech companies have made some early investors extremely rich…
And the good news is… they still are!
Every one of these companies had a revolutionary product they introduced into a market that had only begun to take hold at the time of their initial public offerings (IPOs).
And these companies not only jumped to a lead in their markets early, they continue to sustain that lead and grow as the market itself grows… providing them with the ability to compound their growth year after year at a higher rate than the overall market and the economy.
Providing regular investors a huge opportunity for a lifetime of gains from well-established big tech companies.
And for those investors who get in early on upcoming transformational big tech innovations, like the lighting source parts manufacturer that I told you about today, the gains could be substantial.
$20 Trillion Consumer Market Eager
for Big Tech Products
Already, over 2.2 BILLION people worldwide use the Internet every day.
- That’s a massive 528% increase since 2000.
They go on to pay their bills, play games, communicate with family and friends, watch movies… and to purchase goods.
This one-stop shop worldwide capability has brought about a monster market for technology… one larger than anything seen before in human history.
Bloomberg reports that a recent study by McKinsey & Co. found, “Spending by middle-class consumers in countries such as China and Brazil will probably swell from $6.9 trillion to more than $20 trillion by 2022, equivalent to the size of the economies of the U.S., U.K. and Japan combined …”
And as the global middle class continues to expand and its access to the Internet continues to grow, the demand for big tech products like the smartphone, Kindle, iPad, and online services could rise to new record highs.
MarketWatch reports that “new research from Mintel into the emerging middle class in China reveals that booming interest in technology is set to create an online retail boom.”
Signaling that the big tech boom has only just begun…
Even the world’s greatest investor, Warren Buffett, agrees that NOW is the time to get into big tech…
Buffett Pours $10 Billion
into Big Tech Stock
Warren Buffett has traditionally shied away from tech, but recently even he found tremendous opportunity in the sector.
Warren Buffett has poured a monster $10 billion into big-tech stock IBM.
That’s a large investment even for Buffett, and especially considering it was his first investment in technology… EVER.
And when Buffett starts buying on a scale this massive… he’s looking for market-beating home runs…
As one of the world’s richest men—and one of the most successful investors of all time—Buffett knows how to make money. He’s done it before… over and over again…
And right now, he sees that it’s the ideal time to invest in technology.
And so should you…
But you need to know where to look!
And that’s where I come in.
I’ve spent my career inspecting, interviewing, and analyzing technology companies…
Helping venture capitalists, angel investors, and individual investors—like you—understand which technologies will succeed (and which won’t) and where real shareholder wealth will be created.
And today, I see a massive opportunity ahead of us in the continued dominance of big tech companies.
More than any time in history, the forces of the market have aligned to provide a massive advantage to the companies with the size and scale to drive prices down and push innovation globally.
And these innovation powerhouses have created unique opportunities to make big gains investing in stable, well-run technology leaders.
Exactly the kinds of companies covered in BIG TECH, an investment advisory bringing you independent research on large-cap technology companies.
Inside this newsletter, you’ll get full details on cutting-edge new technologies from big tech companies that are poised to change the world once again.
And just for trying my BIG TECH newsletter today, risk-free, I’ll secure a copy for you of my timely new report, How to Grab Your Share of the New $85 Billion Lighting Market, free.
Inside this report, you’ll learn all about this revolutionary new lighting technology and get detailed, actionable investment research on the company that could add thousands of dollars to your pocket by providing essential parts that make this new technology possible.
Your Pathway to Solid Profits
When I was offered to head up the technology investing division at Casey Research, I jumped at the opportunity.
Although I truly enjoyed my work with technology companies like Microsoft and was able to learn a tremendous amount about the industry while I was there, I relished the opportunity to pursue a career where I could use my three passions in life in a single enterprise.
In addition to a fanatical interest in technology, I could pursue my passion for investing and my love of writing.
Tellingly, my dual university degrees are in computer science and economics.
The idea behind my popular BIG TECH newsletter is to find large-cap, established technology companies that are stable, well-run, worldwide behemoths that are still generating tremendous wealth for shareholders.
Powerful companies that are leading the way in developing brilliant new innovations that are transforming transportation, medicine, energy, retail, defense, and a slew of other fields.
These are research-and-development-heavy companies that are building better mousetraps—from social networks to self-driving cars, the innovations on the way are endless and changing our lives in amazing ways…
Bringing substantial wealth to investors who understand that new innovations from big tech companies are necessary to keep our world functioning…
And the idea behind BIG TECH is working… with readers enjoying a long list of winning recommendations…
So far, we’ve closed out 26 positions, 19 of which were winners, including:
|HollySys Automation Technologies||14%|
|Allscripts Healthcare Solutions||5%|
And if my current winning track record is any indication of the coming success of my newest recommendation, you could soon add thousands of dollars of investment income to your pocket.
Whenever I tell subscribers to buy any investment, I make sure that the company meets my strict requirements.
It needs to be developing something that will be in demand no matter which direction the economy is going—that’s the secret that keeps you ahead in any market.
Think of it this way: if someone develops a cure for cancer, it doesn’t matter what the market is like.
That’s something that will be in demand. This is how the tech sector works and how you invest in it.
I look for companies solving problems that were believed to be unsolvable or improving on existing methodologies.
If a company delivers real value, like the breakthrough new lighting source supply company that I’ve discussed in detail today, I see potential for an investment.
If you look at other comparable stock market reports from investment advisory services out there… you could pay as much as $995 for them.
But our rate isn’t anywhere near that amount for BIG TECH.
Because we want to reach as many people as possible with our new service.
So we’ve put together a special rate for new subscribers to this incredible service.
Why? Because I don’t want you to have any reason not to try BIG TECH.
And I want to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to take advantage of the opportunities uncovered by this service.
- So if you sign up right now, you’ll lock in the special rate of just $99 for one year of our blockbuster BIG TECH service.
That’s only $8.25 per month—about what you’d pay for lunch, but for a service that will keep you solidly ahead of the latest and most profitable technological developments and how to invest in them.
A great deal, I think you’ll agree.
From a top-notch team of technology experts exclusively working for you to find the best big tech opportunities worldwide that could make you a windfall of cash…
All for the special rate of just $99 for a full year.
Here’s what’s included…
The Best $99 You’ll Ever Spend...
Every month with BIG TECH, I deliver right to your inbox the full, detailed, actionable investment research on the very best of the big tech companies.
We’re constantly on the lookout for booming, large-cap companies with breakthrough innovations and rock-solid management from every field of technology.
I’ll tell you not only when to buy, but when it’s time to sell for maximum profit.
And when you subscribe to BIG TECH, you’ll get…
- a FREE COPY of our newest report, How to Grab Your Share of the New $85 Billion Lighting Market. Get in early on the next revolution in lighting technology and grab your share of this $85 billion market.
- 24/7 email alerts: I stay on top of BIG TECH companies and the newest technologies as the market moves and opportunities change every day. As soon as breaking news occurs, I’ll send you a personal email alert, giving you my up-to-the-minute advice and explanations regarding what’s happening… what’s likely to happen… and what action you should take.
- a full resource library: For as long as you remain an active subscriber, you also get unlimited access to every future issue of BIG TECH—every article, every special strategy, every special report.
- Plus, when you accept this invitation to start a trial subscription to BIG TECH, you’ll get immediate access to this month’s issue and the full archive of recent issues and research.
That’s a really great offer, any way you slice it.
But I’d like to make it even better. So here it is…
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Local cigar aficionados will soon have a much shorter drive to satisfy their craving for luxury tobacco products.
Joe Crappel and Stephen Landry are putting the finishing touches on D.S. Fine Cigars, a high-end cigar shop soon to open in Houma.
"We're doing this 100 percent because we like smoking cigars," Crappel said. "We got tired of traveling to New Orleans just to have a cigar lounge. The closest one is in Metairie. If (cigar smokers) want this experience, they have to go to New Orleans or Baton Rouge or Lafayette, because nothing like this is around."
The two are Terrebonne Parish sheriff's deputies, as well as good friends, and will keep their day jobs after their store opens.
"We've worked together for going on 10 years," Landry said. "I came up with the idea of opening up a cigar lounge, and from the very moment the idea entered my mind, I thought of Joe as being my business partner."
They expect to be open for business in mid-March and to be able to offer things like fine wines and whiskies to go with their cigars, in what has become a familiar cigar-lounge setting, as a more long-term goal. The timeline of remodeling the property and the installation of their humidor will determine when they can start their venture.
"We're offering, not just premium cigars, but we're offering the experience," Crappel said. "If you're not familiar with cigars, we can give you good advice, we can prep it for you, and we have a lounge where you can sit, smoke and enjoy your cigar."
High-end cigars come in a wide variety of flavors, and a large selection will be one of the main drawing points of the business. The shop will feature a walk-in humidor, the only one in Houma, as well as indoor and outdoor spaces where customers can relax and savor their products.
"You have some that are spicy, some that are peppery, some that are sweet," Crappel said. "Some change as you smoke them, they'll start out spicy and get creamier as you smoke them down."
The two are convinced they will not have to be cigar evangelists or educators, that there are enough people in and around Houma who appreciate fine cigars to support their new business.
"We're getting so many messages on Facebook," Crappel said. "We believe it's going to bring in the people. We're not introducing anything new to Terrebonne other than giving them a place to go and pick out their cigar, sit down and smoke it. We're going to carry more cigars than any other place in Houma."
D.S. Fine Cigars will be located at 187 Enterprise Drive in Houma.
Staff Writer Scott Yoshonis can be reached at 850-1148 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow him on Twitter @Foster_Cajun.


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FDA Inspection of a Philips Facility Raises Red Flags
An update from FDA regarding Philips Respironics ventilators and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines raises questions regarding the safety of the company’s chosen replacement foam for the recalled devices.
Philips initiated a recall in June of more than 15 million ventilators and CPAP and BiPAP machines due to potential health risks related to the polyester-based polyurethane sound abatement foam used in the devices. This particular foam may degrade and emit small particles that irritate airways. FDA said this can result in serious injury, which can be life-threatening, cause permanent impairment and require medical intervention to prevent permanent injury to users.
After initiating the recall, Philips developed a plan to repair the polyester-based polyurethane foam in the recalled CPAP and BiPAP devices with a different, silicone-based foam. FDA initially approved this plan based, in part, on testing the company provided to the agency in June on the new foam. However, a recent FDA inspection of a Philips Respironics’ manufacturing facility revealed additional information, not previously available to the agency, regarding the silicone-based foam used in a similar device marketed outside the United States, which failed a safety test for the release of certain chemicals of concern, called volatile organic compounds. Similar testing provided by Philips to FDA on devices authorized for marketing in the United States had demonstrated acceptable results.
As a result, FDA has asked Philips to retain an independent laboratory to perform additional testing to determine what, if any, potential safety risks may be posed to patients by the silicone-based foam. The agency said it is aware that some patients have already received devices with silicone-based foam as part of the company’s repair and replace program. At this time, FDA said it does not have sufficient information to conclude whether the silicone-based foam being used in the repaired devices poses any risk to U.S. patients. FDA does not currently recommend patients who have participated in the repair and replace program discontinue use of their product because discontinuing use of these devices may be more harmful to a patient’s health and quality of life.
“We believe that the need for additional testing could slow Philips Respironics’ effort to repair or replace its recalled units,” said Mike Matson, a medtech analyst at Needham & Co. “They have previously estimated that it would take a year to complete the recall.”
If the recall is prolonged, that could be positive for ResMed, Matson said, as it would allow ResMed to capture additional market share and potentially retain a greater portion of that market share over time.
“We recognize that patients rely on these devices, and we are closely monitoring the company’s actions to ensure that the issues are resolved in a timely manner given the impact on patients,” said Jeff Shuren, MD, director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “We are committed to continuing to regularly update the public about the status of this recall, including any new recommendations or actions regarding Philips Respironics’ devices.”
Philips knew about the foam degradation problem 6 years ago
During the recently completed inspection of the company’s Murrysville, PA-based facility, the FDA investigator made several observations that are outlined in an inspection closeout report (also known as an FDA Form 483). An FDA investigator’s list of inspection observations does not constitute a final FDA determination of whether any condition is in violation of federal regulations. FDA said it will review the company’s response and the totality of information available to the agency in determining appropriate next steps.
According to the investigator’s report, there is no documented investigation, risk analysis, or design failure mode effect analysis to support the company’s rationale for which polyester-based polyurethane foam-containing products were affected, included, or not included in the ongoing device recall that Philips initiated in June. The investigator noted that the justification document Philips provided does not sufficiently demonstrate that other devices containing the same type of foam shouldn’t be included in the recall as well.
The investigator’s report also points out that around Nov. 25, 2015, Philips was aware of a preventative maintenance servicing procedure implemented by another Philips entity on Trilogy ventilator products regarding foam degradation issues and complaints in the field. However, Philips Respironics either did not perform or did not document any further investigation, health hazard evaluation, risk analysis, or design review of the issue. The company did, however, provide the investigator with an email that the other Philips entity sent on Nov. 25, 2015, detailing the preventative maintenance procedure and timeline.
The investigator also noted on the report that there were at least 14 instances between April 1, 2016 and Jan. 22, 2021, where Philips Respironics was aware of potential foam degradation problems with various sleep and respiratory care devices, but the firm did not perform an adequate risk analysis within an appropriate time frame.
Information for patients about the Philips recall
As previously communicated, FDA recommends that patients currently using a recalled device that has not yet been repaired and replaced consult with their healthcare provider to determine whether they should continue using the device, switch to another product, or stop use.
The agency said it recognizes that many patients will have questions about what this updated information means for the status of their devices. FDA has worked with patients and professional organizations, including the American Sleep Apnea Association, the COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Mended Hearts, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and has included this feedback in the updated “Frequently Asked Questions” to provide helpful information to the public.
Article source: Qmed and MD+DI


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Counterfeit Vehicle Parts On the Rise: When IP Infringement Becomes Life-Threatening
Tuesday 21st August 2018
Article written by: Thomas Huthwaite
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has issued a stern warning about counterfeit vehicle parts. Not only are counterfeit parts on the rise, but they are also becoming more difficult to identify, and can present a serious danger.
This year, BMW published a video illustrating the potential consequences of fitting counterfeit vehicle parts. Their tests showed counterfeit parts resulted in an additional 14 to 25m of additional stopping distance when brakes were applied at 100km/h. This is an additional 36% to 66%.
In February 2018, the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) estimated that €2.2 billion is lost every year by the legitimate parts industry to counterfeit tyre sales, and €180 million each year due to counterfeit battery sales. This is7.5% and 1.8% of each sector’s sales, respectively. The EUIPO report does not take into account the most common counterfeit vehicle parts, which include filters, lights, wheel rims, grills, cables, and even brake pads and air bags.
(image from https://illicittrade.com/infographics/common-counterfeit-spare-parts)
The UKIPO has now joined forces with various auto industry groups, sales platforms, and relevant government bodies. Their two-pronged campaign seeks to warn consumers about the dangers of counterfeit vehicle parts, and to prosecute those selling counterfeit parts.
The UKIPO’s new guidelines include the following tips on how to identify and avoid buying fake car parts:
- Consider price and location;
- Research the seller;
- Sub-standard parts can be dangerous and can affect your vehicle warranty;
- Genuine manufacturers will be able to supply you with a certificate of Original Equipment (OE) matching quality;
- “One size fits all” products are likely to be even more dangerous and/or damaging to your vehicle.
- Online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon have guidance on how to report counterfeit products, and the refunds process; and
- If in doubt, check directly with the manufacturer or your local authorised dealer.
Australia and New Zealand are experiencing a similar trend. Australian Border Force now officially lists “Car parts” as one of the most common categories of seized counterfeit goods, yet we continue to encounter counterfeit parts in both marketplaces and through various online sales platforms.
For years, both the Toyota Australia and the Australian Motor Traders Association have been vocal about the continued use of asbestos in counterfeit brake pads. In 2015 Toyota Australia took action in the Federal Court against two distributors of counterfeit airbags. Earlier this year Holden issued warnings over potentially “thousands” of counterfeit bonnets designed for the Commodore after Holden’s testing found the bonnets could unlatch and fly open, or otherwise fall on mechanics working underneath.
Unlike in the UK, where industry bodies have established a collaboration (including with the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit), enforcement in Australia and New Zealand rests almost entirely with the intellectual property rights holder. While this creates a burden for responsible rights holders, there are a number of things we can do to help rights holders maintain a healthy marketplace. It is also possible to collaborate with other regulatory bodies, or even the New Zealand Police, particularly where public safety is a concern.
Baldwins provides comprehensive protection, monitoring, and enforcement programs, in collaboration with Customs officers, consumer watchdogs, and various marketplace trust and safety teams.
Depending on your needs, we can recommend:
- border protection strategies;
- training for frontline officials;
- online marketplace searches;
- takedown requests; and
- various other enforcement options, including infringement proceedings.
If you are concerned about counterfeit goods, please contact us today for a tailored program.


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GDPR,CCPA, and the changing data privacy landscape
21 April '20
82% of US consumers think tech companies should be more heavily regulated in how they collect and use consumer data. Following the implementation of GDPR in May 2018, US retailers also operating in the EU learned first-hand of the significant changes and challenges to the way consumer data now must be collected, processed, and held. January 1, 2020, CCPA came into effect and became yet another regulation retailers must comply with or face significant financial penalties.
The general consensus is that no retail organization is ready, and most are not even sure where to start. Download the report to see what steps you can take to navigate the changing privacy landscape.


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ST JAMES OPENS IN DOVER
After a two-year construction programme, St James, the new retail and leisure scheme in Dover town centre, has now opened.
The 156,915 sq ft scheme next to the A20 has added a dozen new shops and restaurants to the Kent town, together with a Cineworld, Travelodge, an Anytime Fitness gym and 445 parking spaces.
One of the latest new tenants is Superdrug, which is fitting out a 3,000 sq ft store. It will join such well-known brands as M&S, Next, The Food Warehouse, Poundland, Trespass, Costa, Bella Italia, Frankie & Benny’s, Nandos, Card Factory, Carphone Warehouse and Greggs. Only six units remain vacant, of which deals have been agreed on four.
The £53m scheme was funded by Legal & General and developed by Bond City.
HRH Retail is joint letting agent.


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Paizo Inc is celebrating next year’s tenth anniversary of the Kingmaker adventure path with a new release designed for the eagerly anticipated second edition of Pathfinder. This isn’t simply a rehash though as plenty of fresh content is to be added to the Kingmaker 10th Anniversary edition, including some based on the computer roleplaying game, and you’ll even have opportunities to enjoy the classic campaign with 5th edition D&D or 1st edition Pathfinder. There are a variety of pledge levels but you can reserve copies of the two core books in PDF for $50.00 or grab the physical books for $80.00 through May 21st. Expected delivery is late 2020.
In 2010, Pathfinder’s Kingmaker Adventure Path raised the bar on what a tabletop fantasy RPG campaign could be. With open-ended sandbox-style adventures, Kingmaker beckoned players to claim their throne and carve a new nation out of the treacherous River Kingdoms, map hex by map hex. Tens of thousands of gamers answered the call, ranking Kingmaker among the best-known and best-loved tabletop campaigns in history.
Last fall, Owlcat Games released a best-selling computer game adaptation of the Kingmaker campaign, adding new adventures, new mysteries, and more than a dozen new companions to accompany the players as they expand their holdings from a single fortress to a burgeoning empire. A new generation of rulers have schemed and sliced their way to the heights of power in the River Kingdoms, and interest in the Kingmaker campaign has never been higher!
Alas, all six Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes featuring the original Kingmaker campaign are out of print, and have been for years. Assembling a full set of used original volumes and associated accessories can cost hundreds of dollars.
Fortunately, 2020 is the 10th Anniversary of the Kingmaker Adventure Path. Next year is the perfect time to celebrate with a brand new collected and expanded hardcover compilation of the Kingmaker campaign for the second edition of the Pathfinder RPG, along with a little something special for our friends who prefer 5E.


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It's been a bit over five years since Jaguar Land Rover established Special Vehicle Operations, and during that time the in-house tuner and personalization department has managed to write success after success, culminating with 9,500 sales in the past year—up 64 percent on the year before.
SVO focuses on both luxury and performance vehicles, though it's the latter category that sees the most success. The division's best-selling models include the Jaguar F-Pace SVR and Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, both of which come with roaring supercharged V-8s.
However, this doesn't mean SVO isn't looking toward a future where electrified cars will make up the majority of vehicles on the road.
Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy race car dynamic debut during 2018 Formula E Berlin ePrix
In an interview with Auto Express published Wednesday, Michael van der Sande, managing director of SVO, said the division is planning to launch both hybrids and electric cars in the years ahead. Just don't expect Jaguar Land Rover's sole EV at present, the Jaguar I-Pace, to be the first electric car tuned by SVO.
According to van der Sande, the I-Pace is not on the agenda but lessons learned from the vehicle, particularly from racing it in the I-Pace eTrophy series, will help SVO in developing future performance EVs. The I-Pace eTrophy was a one-make race series that was held at Formula E rounds. The series was launched in 2018 but will end later this year due to the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Skipping the I-Pace makes sense as the vehicle is based on a bespoke platform and Jaguar Land Rover is about to switch to a highly modular platform known as the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) for its future EVs. The platform supports internal-combustion powertrains, too, and debuts later this year in a redesigned Jaguar XJ.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Food and Drug Administration ordered Guidant Corp. GDT to recall several thousand inplantable defibrillators Friday, after reports of two deaths and 45 failures of the devices. The recall affects three different models of the company's defibrillators. Shares of Guidant fell 88 cents to $72.78 in recent trading.
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Following the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday, several companies have stepped forward with policies to offer benefits to female workers that may require access to safe abortion services.
Let us take a look at the companies that have offered reproductive healthcare benefits including abortion coverage and travel expenses to their US employees.
1. Goldman Sachs Group: The multinational banking and investment firm will cover travel costs for its workers based in the US who need to travel to other states to get an abortion, starting July 1, according to Reuters.
2. JPMorgan Chase & Co: According to a memo, the company stated that it would pay costs of travel for workers who have to go to other states for abortions.
3. Meta: Meta announced in a statement that it intends to provide travel reimbursements, but is currently “assessing how best to do so given the legal complexities involved.”
4. Gucci- The fashion house said in May that it will cover the travel costs, as well as match the amount donated by employees to Planned Parenthood.
5. Citigroup- Citigroup became the first major bank in the United States to commit that it would cover travel expenses for employees who require abortions.
6. Amazon- The company said that it will offer up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for non-life-threatening medical procedures, including abortions.
7. United Talent Agency- The Hollywood agency said that it would sponsor abortion-related travel costs for employees who cannot get an abortion in the state they reside in.
8. Yelp- The platform will soon be extending its abortion coverage in order to pay for travel expenses.
9. Levi Strauss & CO- The clothing firm will reimburse travel costs for its full-time and part-time workers.
10. Tesla- The company’s Safety Net program consists of travel and accommodation support for workers who require healthcare facilities that are not available in their state.
11. Starbucks- The coffeehouse chain said that it will pay US workers and their dependents if they need to travel more than 100 miles from their place of residence to get an abortion.
12. DoorDash- The food ordering company stated that it will cover specific travel expenses for employees who are facing challenges in abortion access.
13. Netflix- Netflix said that it will offer reimbursement for US workers and dependents who travel for transplants, abortion, and cancer treatment.
14. Microsoft- Microsoft said that it will expand its abortion coverage for US employees to include travel cost assistance.
15. Macy’s- The department store chain said that it has decided to expand its benefits coverage to offer travel reimbursement and will continue to follow existing legal standards and laws.
16. Walt Disney- Disney said that its employee benefits will include travel costs for abortion.
17. Lyft- The transport service company said that its medical benefits plan consists of abortion coverage and travel expense coverage if a worker needs to travel over 100 miles for the medical procedure.
18. Mastercard- Mastercard stated that it will cover travel and lodging expenses for workers requiring abortions outside their home states from the month of June.
19. Kroger- The retail company said that it will offer travel expenses of up to $4,000 for several medical services including abortion.
20. Uber- Uber said that its US insurance plans cover several healthcare benefits such as elective abortion.
21. Bank of America- The bank said that it will pay workers and their dependents who travel to other states for reproductive healthcare services.
22. Deutsche Bank- The bank said that it is modifying its healthcare policy for travel coverage for any medical treatment that is not provided within 100 miles of a worker’s home.
23. American Express- The corporation said that it will fund travel and other expenses for workers and their dependents in case of abortion or gender-affirming procedures.
24. Block- The payments company said that it will cover travel expenses for US workers who travel over 100 miles for abortion services, beginning July 1.


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Poco has released a new image of its upcoming Poco F3 GT smartphone, stating that the company is targeting mobile gaming enthusiasts as its screen supports a high sampling rate of 480Hz touch layer.
The manufacturer added that such a screen offers gamers a smoother and more accurate response compared to traditional displays that feature a 180Hz sampling layer. It was also announced earlier that the screen will support 120Hz refresh rate. The 6.67-inch Full HD + AMOLED panel supports 10-bit color depth and high dynamic range.
The Poco F3 GT smartphone will receive a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 single-chip system, an aluminum frame and magnetic Maglev buttons, support for Dolby Atmos and stereo speakers. It will run Android 11 operating system with MIUI 12.5 interface from a 5000 mAh battery. The main camera is expected to use image sensors with a resolution of 64, 8 and 2 megapixels.
The device is due on July 23, 2021.