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WITH the valuations of some international tech companies reaching dizzy heights, stock markets could be a worthwhile place to be.
Facebook is now valued at €37bn while its younger sister Twitter is being valued at between €5.9bn and €7.5bn. The online social gaming company Zynga is looking to raise €185m in funding -- if successful, it could be valued at between €5bn and €5.9bn. But do valuations of this kind herald another crash?
"The recent valuation of Facebook is about 25 times its revenue -- about 80 to 100 times its estimated earnings," says Michael Neary, corporate finance partner with Grant Thornton. "Twitter is not a profitable company yet -- but it has a valuation that is between 170 and 220 times its revenue.
"These are absolutely huge valuations, so these companies have big targets to meet, and will have to grow substantially to live up to them."
Neary believes the social networking valuations are similar to those that tech companies fetched in 2000. "Whether this is another dotcom bubble remains to be seen," says Neary. "But these prices are very steep. The soundings are positive, however. Social networking sites appeal to a huge amount of people. A lot of countries have caught on to the concept. Kids have caught on to it very early, so they'll be in the market for several years and will generate profits for these firms."
The main strength of social networking sites is the millions of customers they can snap up in a short space of time.
"A traditional company would take decades to get their customer numbers," says AIB's Fergal McAleavey. "Many millions of members are in these sites -- but there's no monetary value on them just yet. Over time, social networking sites should make money from their customers."
Brian Long, partner with private equity firm Atlantic Bridge, believes the social networking space is an overheated market. "Market and advertising dollars chase eyes," says Long. "But the rest of the tech market is reasonably priced. A lot of tech companies are privately owned and money is still scarce. So the market -- outside of social networking -- is not overheating."
Sunday Indo Business


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According to the latest State of the Fertilizer Industry report from The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the US’s leading fertiliser-industry body, released on 14 February 2018, the US fertiliser industry made gains in safety, sustainability and environmental responsibility over the 12 months to end December 2016.
The report, which aggregated and analysed data provided by US-based fertiliser firms representing the entire fertiliser value chain, found improved water efficiency, lower GG emissions, less wasted heat and more research funds directed towards reducing harmful run-off.
The annual State of the Fertilizer Industry report is a key component of TFI’s sustainability and stewardship programs. It quantifies the performance of the US’s major fertiliser manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers on various environmental, economic and social indicators.
The report also documents the industry’s contribution to meeting several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals:
- zero hunger;
- clean water and sanitation;
- affordable and clean energy;
- industry innovation and infrastructure; and
- climate action.
On announcing the report’s release, TFI president Chris Jahn was keen to point to the gains the US industry has made with regard to safety, sustainability and environmental responsibility.
“The fertiliser industry is essential to helping growers feed a more prosperous world,” declared Jahn. “Our 2017 State of the Fertilizer Industry report demonstrates our parallel commitment to safe colleagues and neighbours, a strong economy, and environmental conservation and protection.”
Safety and sustainability gains
The latest State of the Fertilizer Industry report contains encouraging signs that the industry is making efforts to improve its safety and environmental record. The report found that:
- in 2016, the US fertiliser industry was twice as safe as comparable industries, with the lost-time incident rate in the sector falling to 0.8 cases per 100 full-time equivalent employees; and
- in the same year, the industry invested nearly US$1 million in 4R Nutrient Stewardship research aimed at “strengthening fertiliser best-management practices and seeking solutions that reduce nutrient loss to the environment”.
Participating companies reported that in 2016, they had:
- on average, captured and re-used 25 percent of the GHG emissions they produced, a saving comparable to removing nearly two million vehicles from the road for a year;
- invested a total of US$4.3 billion [AU$5.55b] in “advancing innovation, improving infrastructure and promoting sustainable production of fertiliser”;
- across the US, reclaimed 1.4 billion gallons [5.3 gigalitres] of water and recycled another 461.9 billion gallons [1,748 gigalitres] of treated wastewater;
- decreased their water usage per [non-metric] ton of fertiliser compared with the previous year’s usage (according to TFI, water consumption has decreased every year since reporting began in 2013);
- captured 111 million gigajoules (GJ) of ‘waste heat’, which was used to generate energy on site or return it to the grid, producing sufficient energy to power 216,635 typical American homes for a year; and
- invested in new railcars, enabling US fertiliser suppliers to ship around 19.8 million tons of fertiliser safely and efficiently by rail. The study noted that transporting goods, including fertiliser, by rail rather than by truck or semi-trailer, typically slashes GG emissions by an impressive 75 percent – sometimes more.
Who contributed data to the report?
A total of 33 TFI member companies from across the US contributed data voluntarily to the 2017 report.
Collectively, the participating companies represented the entire fertiliser value chain, accounting for 94 percent of the United States’ nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium production capacity and 33 percent of its retail fertiliser supply sector.
The data in the latest TFI report represents fertiliser products “produced in, imported to, or transported” across the US in 2016.
It contains an appendix of data from TFI’s 2015 and 2016 State of the Industry reports for ease of comparison.
What is The Fertilizer Institute (TFI)?
TFI, based in Washington, DC, is the leading voice of the US’s fertiliser industry. Its membership includes fertiliser producers, wholesalers, retailers and trading firms.
The Institute provides the fertiliser industry, across the US and worldwide, with educational and technical information as well as information about relevant US legislative and economic information and public communication programs.
For more information on the US fertiliser industry, visit the official TFI website.

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If you grew up in the 80’s, then you may remember the Garbage Pail Kids. They were introduced as sort of a counterpoint to the Cabbage Patch Kids, with a number of unreasonably weird -- and sometimes hilariously gross -- choices. Thousands of fans collected their cards for years and some even managed to see their live-action New Line Cinema film...though we’re still not sure why.
Well, guess what. They’re back! Jago Studios has announced that it has partnered with The Topps Company to create a new mobile card-collecting game featuring the Garbage Pail Kids. It will feature a number of characters from the original line-up of cards and stickers along with some new ones debuting for the first time.
“Garbage Pail Kids are icons of the ‘80s and a mobile card battler featuring their freaky antics is a natural expansion for the infamous and beloved brand,” said Stuart Drexler, Jago Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are thrilled to be working with Topps and look forward to bringing these memorable characters to life in a new way fans can interact with, directly on their mobile devices.”
The series recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, so a mobile release seems pretty timely. “GPK enjoyed massive playground popularity in the 1980s as children around the world collected and traded hundreds of millions of cards, much to the disgust and dismay of their parents. Depicting kids in foul and comical scenarios, such as Fryin' Brian, sizzling in the electric chair or Tee-Vee Stevie, mesmerized by multiple screens, GPK created over 600 collectible characters between 1985 and 1988. Fans loved the outrageous parodies and passionately worked to complete their collections, with many schools banning GPK cards outright, claiming they were a distraction to students. New GPK packs were issued in 2003 and were met with massive enthusiasm, initiating a new era for the notorious brand. Garbage Pail Kids cards continue to sell today at over 14,000 retail outlets across North America.”
“The game from Jago Studios will bring our Garbage Pail Kids to mobile devices around the world in a new way people haven’t had before,” said Ira Friedman, Vice President, Global Licensing at The Topps Company. “For fans from the ‘80s or the new generation just learning about the brand, virtually battling with GPK collectible cards offers a new mobile social experience that remains faithful to the irreverent heritage of Garbage Pail Kids.”
The game hasn’t been given a release date just yet, but it’s expected to arrive for iOS and Google Play (Android) later this year. And yes, collecting them all is the name of the game.


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A reality television personality and an East Coast governor are at odds over a $35 T-shirt. Gov. Andrew Cuomo spotted a photograph of California fashion entrepreneur Khloe Kardashian wearing a shirt she sells that bore a familiar logo. The emblem on Kardashian’s shirt had surprising similarities to the logo for the state’s agriculture department.
The state and Rich Soil logos depict the Statue of Liberty highlighted against a farm field. The words on the shirts differ. The state-generated emblem says “Pride of New York” while Kardashian’s version states “Rich Soil New York.” The fonts appear to be the same.
State officials were quick to contact Kardashian’s enterprise and order the top-end clothing company to stop selling the T-shirt. The “cease and desist” order also compelled the 28-year-old fashion executive to tally up the profits her company made from the sale of the shirt.
The profits could be used against Kardashain in an intellectual property battle over copyright infringement. The reality star had no written or verbal response. The alleged copycat T-shirt was removed from the Rich Soil website within hours of the governor suggesting a lawsuit might be in the works.
A reporter asked the head of the agriculture department whether New York’s image could benefit by Khloe Kardashian wearing the questionable shirt. In fact, the state might profit by taking a different angle. Kardashian’s signature on a licensing agreement would allow her to sell the product for a fee. Pulling the shirt from the Rich Soil website only preserves the copyright.
Settlements in copyright infringement lawsuits frequently include licensing contracts. The agreement can be valuable for plaintiffs and defendants provided both are satisfied with the terms.
Attorneys realize some companies do not want copyrighted property to be associated with the owner or reputation of another business. New York officials may feel connecting its logo with the reality star could devalue the state’s brand.
Source: nydailynews.com, “Khloe Kardashian’s clothing line yanks T-shirt Gov. Cuomo eyed for copyright lawsuit from its website” Glenn Blain and Jonathan Lemire, May. 20, 2013


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VED road tax
Market Insight 22 Nov
EV road tax plan prompts almost 40% of motorists to reconsider purchase
More than half of car buyers are reconsidering the purchase of a zero-emissions electric vehicle (EV) after the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced plans to make them eligible for VED road tax.
Fleet 18 Nov
Fleets' positive Autumn Statement response tempered by looming record fuel duty increase
A record increase in fuel duty could be set to temper fleet operators’ initially positive response to news that benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax for electric vehicles (EVs) will continue to be kept low to increase uptake.
Latest News 17 Nov
Autumn statement 2022: EV taxes, national living wage, energy security
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt revealed that electric vehicles (EV) will not be exempt from road tax from 2025 in an Autumn statement which claimed to prioritise “stability, growth and the protection of public services”.
Car Dealer News 4 Feb
MPs push for road pricing to replace VED and fuel duty
A new pay-as-you-drive road pricing system could soon be introduced to replace traditional vehicle excise duty (VED) and tax on petrol and diesel.
Market Insight 10 Nov
Research shows 29% of EV buyers would be happy to pay VED road tax
Nearly a third (29%) of electric vehicle (EV) buyers said they would be happy to pay vehicle excise duty (VED) on their next purchase, research has found.
Market Insight 21 Oct
BVRLA tells MPs that EVs present ‘clear need’ for road pricing
The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has told MPs on the Government’s Transport Select Committee that the rise of electric vehicles (EV) has presented a “clear need” for road pricing.
Latest News 16 Nov
2030 petrol and diesel car sales ban announcement expected this week
Government is expected to announce a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 this week as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak also considers roads pricing regime.
Market Insight 12 Mar
Chancellor’s 2020 Budget: the automotive sector reaction
Automotive retail sector analysts suggested that the limited eligibility of many business benefits announced in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget 2020 could limit the advantages for the automotive retail sector.
Opinion 11 Jun
Car dealers' 2018 market awareness shows 'worrying' lack of WLTP emissions test knowledge – guest opinion
With many automotive retail businesses entering 2018 with some nervousness and caution, the market has remained remarkably buoyant for the first four months of the year.
Market Insight 23 May
UK contributes to 9% European new car registrations growth in April
The UK was once again able to contribute to new car registrations growth in the European market as the region saw volumes rise by 9% overall.
Market Insight 12 Apr
WLTP vehicle emissions changes to ‘result in higher purchase and ownership taxes’
Jato Dynamics has concluded that changes to vehicle emissions test standards across Europe are set to “result in higher purchase and ownership” costs for motorists.
Market Insight 13 Mar
Chancellor attempts to placate 'white van man' with Spring Speech 2018 plan
The Chancellor of the Exchequer vowed to champion “the great British white van driver” with a review of VED rates and brought forward the business rates review in his Spring Statement 2018. In a speech in the Commons which laid out GDP growth and reducing debt levels predicted by the latest OBR reports, the Philip Hammond said that he aimed to “champion business” with the measures. Addressing the house, he said that a review of business rates would now take place in 2021 in a move that would also usher-in “triennial reviews from then on”. He said this came on top of a review of business rates, which resulted from the Autumn Budget, which he claimed would reduce rates for small business by over £10 billion. An £80 million fund was also announced to help small businesses in their recruitment of apprentices in light of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy last year. Mr Hammond said that the move had come in recognition of the “changes the system represents”. In a move that the chancellor would “help the great British white van driver”, the Chancellor said that a review of VED road tax would look to bring in a reduction in expense for the greenest commercial vehicles. The OBR’s latest predictions for economic growth in the UK were revised up from 1.4% to 1.5% for 2018, with 1.3% growth in 2019 and 2020 before a rise to 1.4% in 2021 and 1.5% in 2022. Paul Johnson, at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, moved quickly to dispel any suggestion that the revised forecast was worthy of celebration, however. In a Tweet posted during the Chancellor’s speech, he said: “Against a long term trend of at least 2% a year growth, after poor growth since 2008, and compared with growth across rest of OECD, these are not encouraging forecasts.”
Market Insight 22 Nov
Budget 2017: Diesel car taxes could dent sales further
Diesel car buyers could be put off a new purchase after new tax measures announced in Philip Hammond's 2017 Autumn Budget added upto £300 to the first year VED rate.
Market Insight 14 Nov
Diesel's fate a 'done deal' ahead of 2017 budget
Diesel vehicles' fate is sealed according to car retailers speaking ahead of a government budget which is likely to a strict new tax regime for vehicles powered by the fuel.
Market Insight 5 Apr
Record March new car registrations as buyers sought to beat the Government's VED hike
Well over half a million new cars were registered in March 2017, setting a new record, as dealers delivered new vehicles ahead of the punitive new VED regime
Market Insight 27 Mar
April's top 10 VED road tax change losers revealed
Some models will command almost 25 times more tax than before under the new VED road tax rules introduced on April 1, according to What Car? magazine.
Opinion 20 Mar
Guest opinion: Is diesel doomed? Fuel duty could spell sales crash
It’s a huge market – almost 40% (12 million) of the more than 30 million cars in the UK are diesels. But could we now be seeing the end of the road for this fuel type?
Latest News 17 Mar
Motorpoint undercuts franchised dealers with imported Volkswagen Golfs
Motorpoint has imported 100 pre-registered Volkswagen Golfs in a bid to allow its customers beat the incoming VED road tax changes.
Market Insight 1 Mar
March set to ‘dominate’ sales cycle, says Cap HPI
March is set to "dominate" 2017 in new car sales terms as a growing trend for record monthly sales comes to a head, according to analysis by automotive data experts Cap HPI.


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British fish and chip shops are looking to Norway to help them survive the threats to their business caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
They have warned that a third of chippies may have to close if sanctions on fish from Russia add to the the pressure they are under from shortages of sunflower oil, flour and potato fertiliser.
About 40 per cent of the fish they use comes from Russian fleets but ministers are planning a 35 per cent tariff on white fish from Russia as part of the latest sanctions imposed on the Kremlin.
The National Federation of Fish Friers is hoping for help from fishing fleets in Norway. Andrew Crook will speak to the Norwegian Seafood Council on Wednesday at a conferenceat the port of Alesund, where he will be joined by Julie Waites, of the Frozen Sea Fillets Association.
Crook said most vessel owners in Norway “will know of fish and chips but may not have supplied the sector, so I’m giving them a bit of a history lesson.”
He added that the UK “has a long history of working with Norway, so hopefully they will be receptive.”
The federation said the cost of Icelandic cod had more than doubled since October — from £7.80 a kilo to about £16.
Crook said: “We cannot be so reliant on supplies from one specific region.”
All news and articles are copyrighted to the respective authors and/or News Broadcasters. VIXC.Com is an independent Online News Aggregator
Read more from original source here…


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Trinity Mirror has withdrawn the Birmingham Post's daily tablet edition seven months after it was launched, reports HoldTheFrontPage.
The app, providing access to 30 pages of business news a day, was available to subscribers for £9.99 a month. At launch in June last year it was claimed by Trinity that it would "reinvent business journalism within the regional press" and take the Post brand into a "new era."
The Post brand, however, was already weakened, having turned from a daily into a weekly in 2009 due to falling sales. It will now develop a new e-edition.
A Trinity Mirror spokesman is quoted a saying: "It is in the nature of being an innovative business in a fast-changing sector that some new initiatives do not succeed." I can't argue with that.


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The company offers loans to students to pay school and college fees. It will use the funds to enhance its technology platform and offerings, expand and strengthen its education-institution partnerships, and deepen its reach in rural areas, a senior company official told ETtech.
The round also saw participation from US-based edutech investor Ardent Ventures, DMI Sparkle Fund, DMI, 9Unicorn, LC Nueva AIF and Maxar VC.
Founded in 2017 by Rohit Gajbhiye, Sunit Gajbhiye, Naveesh Reddy and Debi Prasad Baral, Financepeer caters to both offline and online education providers including pre-schools, K-12, colleges, universities, offline test prep, ed-tech, and skilling. The company currently engages with around 3 million students and has around 1,30,000 transactional customers on its platform.
The startup said it witnessed a ten-fold growth last year, said Gajbhiye of Financepeer said in an interaction with ETtech.
The company has partnered with more than 10,000 educational institutions across India offering fee financing solutions, edtech content, and fee payment solutions. “We are adding 500 institutions each month,” he added. According to him, the company has processed more than $100 million of fee on its platform.
“We were thrilled by the audacity of their vision, the energy, commitment and depth of the team, and the traction they are poised to drive in the marketplace,” said Sandeep Patil, partner & head of Asia, at fintech-focused venture capital firm QED.
According to the company, there are over 362 million students in India who spend more than $216 billion annually on education. Average Indian household spending on education and skilling has seen a significant increase over the last few years, the company said.


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(Adds details, background)
By Sergio Goncalves and Catarina Demony
LISBON, March 26 (Reuters) – Portugal’s economy will enter a recession this year as the coronavirus outbreak hits private consumption and investment, and its export sector will collapse, the central bank said on Thursday.
Portugal has 3,544 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 60 reported deaths, far below other southern European countries such as Italy and Spain.
In its economic bulletin, the first data set showing the impact the fast-spreading coronavirus will have on Portugal’s economy, the Bank of Portugal said gross domestic product will drop between 3.7% and 5.7% in 2020. Last year the economy grew 2.2%.
Private consumption is set to fall 2.8% and 4.8% and exports will decrease 12.1% and 19.1% this year, according to the bulletin. Private investment will drop between 10.8% and 14.9%.
The unemployment rate is set to increase to between 10.1% and 11.7% this year, compared to 6.6% in 2019.
“The outlook for the Portuguese economy deteriorated sharply and significantly as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Bank of Portugal said in a statement, adding the outbreak will have “very significant and potentially long-lasting effects”.
Portugal declared a state of emergency on March 18, which meant the closure of non-essential businesses, a measure affecting thousands of jobs across the country.
The government also announced a 9.2 billion euro ($9.98 billion) package worth 4.3% of annual GDP to support workers and provide liquidity for companies affected by the outbreak.
Boosted by the exports sector, the tourism industry and private investment, Portugal’s economy has been steadily growing since 2014, when the country exited a strict bailout programme following the 2008 financial crisis.
On Wednesday Portugal reported a budget surplus of 0.2% of gross domestic product in 2019 – its first in 45 years of the country’s democratic history – after a deficit of 0.4% in 2018.
That day Finance Minister Mario Centeno said all scenarios pointed to an economic recession due to the impact of the coronavirus and restrictive measures implemented to stem the pandemic. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Catarina Demony Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Source: Read Full Article


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'There are many reasons – besides fires and explosions – to be concerned about the tens of millions of utility “Smart” Meters that have been installed on homes and throughout communities. One of them is privacy. “Smart” Meters collect data 24/7 on customers. This data can and has been sold to 3rd parties. This is sometimes referred to as “Surveillance Capitalism.”
A recent article from Greentech Media discusses how Ohio’s PowerForward program is designed so that utility “Smart” Meters installed throughout the Buckeye State will collect and share customer data with 3rd parties:
But in simple terms, the DWG is focused on making smart meter data available to customers, the state’s competitive retail energy service providers and other third parties…
Collecting, storing, and sharing data 24/7 requires more energy use. That’s another reason (besides fires and explosions) why it doesn’t make sense when environmentalists promote “Smart” Meters as eco-friendly and beneficial to customers. Even though many environmentalists have been publicly opposing “Smart” Meters (See 1, 2) – Ohio’s Environmental Defense Fund attorney (and former Duke Energy Vice President), John Finnegan still promotes them. In his 2017 blog, he also promotes sharing customer data with 3rd parties:
Sharing anonymized electricity data with third-parties would enable businesses to develop new products and services, too.
Basically, Green Button uses a software language that would allow Duke’s smart meters to interface with customers’ home energy monitors and appliances, as well as third-party energy-savings products and services.
Even though John promises that Duke Energy’s “Smart” Meters will save customers money – utility companies sometimes pass the cost of the extra energy use onto customers without their knowledge or consent. He didn’t say whether or not this had happened to Ohio customers since the “Smart” Meters were installed. However, he did state that customers paid for the current “Smart” Meters with rate increases AND that customers were going to pay additional rate increases for current “Smart” Meters to be replaced with new ones.'
Read more: Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission Boasts About Collecting Customer Smart Meter Data and Sharing It


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Editor’s Note:Joe Floyd is a VC investor at Emergence Capital Partners.
Away from the fickle eyes of consumers, deep in the basement of app stores, enterprise mobile apps are fighting each other for the attention of business users. Given the restrictions of their target audience, business app developers simply cannot utilize the same techniques that consumer app companies leverage. → Read More
What do Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Dropbox and Skype have in common? Except for being ridiculously successful, they all enjoyed a strong viral effect that helped accelerate their growth.
How did they do that? Here’s the thing; most people assume that these companies grew by pure word of mouth. Well, that’s only half of the story. The other half is that they deliberately built viral features… → Read More


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Surface treatment specialist Straaltechniek UK has opened a new head office in Sheffield after investing more than £1 million at its production facilities in Ecclesfield.
The company, which makes shot and air blasting equipment and also provides laser and plasma cutting, machining, welding, fabrication and shot blasting services, has seen sales increase during the past three years.
Operations director Sarah Ward says Straaltechniek has taken on more staff to cope with the growth it had seen in sales and needed to expand its facilities for administration, sales and production staff.
The company has invested £250,000 in a new office block which includes an area where it can display the products it makes in Sheffield and meeting facilities.
Last year Straaltechniek invested more than £1 million in new CNC equipment, including lathes and machining centres laser and plasma cutting machines and a 200 tonne press brake.
The company also acquired Blastcom, a major competitor in the West Midlands.
Since then, the Made in Sheffield mark holder has won several major orders from companies such as Rolls-Royce and Castings Plc.


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More than half of online shoppers had at least one delivery that did not go as planned last Christmas – with one person even finding a parcel in their toilet after it was pushed through a bathroom window.
Other issues revealed in the survey for Which? included parcels left in the rain and dishonest “attempted to deliver” notes left by drivers.
Delivery issues were reported by 54% of those questioned, while almost 17% said at least one of their deliveries failed to arrive on time.
It was more common for deliveries not to turn up at all, with 24% of online shoppers ordering an item that failed to arrive over the Christmas period.
The survey found that 24% of consumers had a courier who did not follow pre-arranged instructions – resulting in deliveries being handed to unauthorised neighbors or left in unexpected places.
And 9% said a delivery driver had left a note claiming the recipient was not at home when they were.
One person said they received a note claiming no one was at home after seeing the courier pass their home without attempting a delivery.
Which? consumer rights spokesman Adam French said: “Online shopping can take the hassle out of Christmas shopping but dealing with late, missing or damaged deliveries can be a nightmare for shoppers.
” Under the Consumer Rights Act, online retailers have a duty to ensure online orders are delivered within a reasonable time and in good condition, so if your delivery hasn’t gone to plan, don’t suffer in silence, and speak to your retailer to resolve the issue.
“But be aware if you give permission for your delivery to be left in a specified safe place, or received by a nominated neighbor, and something goes wrong, you will still be considered to have received the delivery.
“Think very carefully about those options when you’re making a purchase.”


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Here’s how it started: Greenpeace is attacking Nestlé for its “unsustainable palm oil” policy. No news there. They’ve even released a scathing attack ad about Kit Kat in recent days entitled “Need a break? So does the rainforest?” Meanwhile, perhaps in response, the company’s Facebook minders this morning issued a killjoy edict to its 90,000-plus fan base that says anybody showing their loyalty to the brand by using the logo will be, ominously, “deleted.”
9 April PR week:
Vice-President, Public Affairs at Nestlé-Niels Christiansen will retire in January 2011.
Nestle is stepping up a long-running hunt for a heavyweight comms operator to oversee its global public and corporate affairs, following recent negative publicity.


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CFPB launches medical-debt inquiry with HHS and Treasury
On July 7, the CFPB, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department announced they are looking into high-cost specialty financial products such as medical credit cards and installment loans used by patients to pay for health care. These products, the agencies explained, were once primarily used to pay for medical treatments not traditionally covered by health insurance but may now be more widely used even when medical care may be covered by insurance or financial assistance. The agencies released a request for information (RFI) seeking feedback on a range of topics, including costs associated with medical payment products, how prevalent the products are, health care providers’ incentives to offer these products to patients, and whether patients fully understand the risks and consequences associated with medical payment products.
Specifically, the agencies are soliciting comments “on whether these products may allow health care providers to operate outside of a broad range of patient and consumer protections.” Feedback is also requested on whether use of these products is contributing to health care cost inflation, displacing hospitals’ provision of financial assistance, causing patients to pay inaccurate or inflated medical bills, increasing the amount patients must pay due to financing costs, or otherwise contributing to consumer harm, including through downstream credit reporting and debt collection practices. The agencies also want to know if using these products is creating disparities across different demographic groups, as well as policy options to protect consumers from harm.
The agencies commented that the RFI will assist in their understanding of consumer harms and financial challenges caused by specialty medical payment products and will serve to guide next steps, including future Bureau actions focusing on credit origination, debt collection, and credit reporting practices of the financial companies that originate and service these products.
Comments on the RFI are due within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register.
Additionally, the Bureau is hosting a hearing on July 11 to address medical billing and collection concerns with a focus on medical payment products.


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Basic Motors workers operate on the assembly line at the Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas.
Jim Barcus for General Motors
Normal Motors executives think the world chip shortage, which has pressured automakers to slice generation and near vegetation, is beginning to improve and are confident the enterprise will strike its earnings targets for the calendar year.
“About the last pair of months as we talked about this becoming a risky circumstance, we have actually witnessed the scenario get far better for us,” GM CFO Paul Jacobson claimed during a Wolfe Investigation convention Wednesday afternoon. “At this place, I would say that we’re extremely assured about becoming equipped to strike our steering that we set out to the Street.”
GM said before this thirty day period it anticipated to receive $10 billion to $11 billion, or $4.50 to $5.25 for each share, in modified pretax income this calendar year. It projected altered no cost hard cash stream of $1 billion to $2 billion for its automotive division in 2021.
The forecasts factored in the probable effect of the chip scarcity, like a hit of $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to its free dollars stream. That effect continues to be as GM combats the condition and even partly builds some substantial-demand autos.
“We truly feel self-assured that we are performing as a result of this issue and that we will be in a position to return to typical as quickly as the back fifty percent of this year … and a large diploma of self-confidence that this is not likely to be an challenge for us going forward,” Jacobson claimed.
Owing to the shortage, GM temporarily closed car and crossover plants in Kansas, Canada and Mexico through mid-March. The automaker has explained it is prioritizing manufacturing of its “most in-desire solutions – like comprehensive-dimension trucks and SUVs and Corvettes,” which also happen to be its most-profitable automobiles as perfectly.
“We’ve almost certainly got a minor little bit of a better level of conviction currently than we did a two months in the past,” Jacobson mentioned.
Consulting organization AlixPartners estimates the chip scarcity to lower $60.6 billion in revenue from the world-wide automotive market this calendar year. That estimate includes the whole source chain — from sellers and automakers to significant suppliers and their smaller sized counterparts.
Automakers and components suppliers commenced warning of the shortage late very last calendar year right after demand for automobiles rebounded extra strongly than predicted right after automakers were being pressured to shut down manufacturing past spring to assist consist of the coronavirus pandemic.
Semiconductor chips are really essential elements of new vehicles for areas like infotainment devices and more basic parts this sort of as electricity steering and brakes.
Dependent on the automobile and its choices, authorities say a automobile could have hundreds of semiconductors. Increased-priced cars with sophisticated protection and infotainment techniques have much extra than a base model, together with various forms of chips.


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By Staff writer
Cafu reported 75% increase in monthly active users since April this year
Dubai-based 'on-demand' fuel firm Cafu has revamped its business model and removed delivery charges for customers.
Instead, Cafu will rely on making money the same way that a petrol station does “but with added efficiencies gained through cutting edge AI based systems”.
Cafu said it will also introduce more services, like its recent car wash service.
The change in business model comes as Cafu reported a 75% increase in monthly active users since April this year.
"As a business, we constantly find ways to increase the value we bring to our customers, as we continue to innovate and adapt to serve them better,” said Rashid Al Ghurair, Founder and CEO of Cafu.
“Now, as we emerge into our new world and return to some normality in our lives, we are investing into the community by removing our delivery charges which will help them save on both time and money, making the process of refuelling their vehicles a hassle free one."
Cafu has also rebranded its fleet of trucks from grey to teal, “as a symbol of positivity and hope, and to signify calmness, strength and safety amidst uncertain times”.


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Dean Foods revises sustainability goals to 2020
July 17, 2012
by Eric Schroeder
DALLAS — Dean Foods Co. has revised its environmental sustainability goals to better align with the broader dairy industry timing for greenhouse gas reductions and better reflect customer expectations and consumer demands.
Dean’s previous 2013 Environmental Roadmap called for a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 30% reductions in both water usage and solid waste by 2013 from the company’s 2007 baseline. The new goals for 2020 now call for a 25% reduction in greenhouse gases, a 50% decrease in solid waste and a 35% reduction in water use. Several new goals also have been established, including a 20% decrease in energy use and 80% increase in recycling by 2020.
Through 2011, Dean said it had reduced greenhouse gases by 8.4%, water use by 10.5% and solid waste by 21%.
The company also said it plans to set new goals for zero-waste plants, packaging and sustainable supply by the end of 2013.
“We set aggressive sustainability goals for our business in 2008, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far,” said Gregg Tanner, president of the company’s Fresh Dairy Direct business unit and chief supply chain officer for Dean. “We are committed to speaking openly and transparently about our progress and shortfalls, and then realigning on new, expanded, and more accurate and achievable goals.”


text: – Hey you guys. This is Nazar with Provident Real Estate, here in Eastvale, California.Hope you guys are having a wonderful day, and want to give you another monthly update of what’s happened in January of 2018, as far as home sales are concerned in our lovely city of Eastvale. There’s a total of 48 houses that sold all together. The average price of a home that sold last month, in January, was $558,000. The lowest price home sold for 500, the highest priced home that sold in all of last month was $720,000. ‘Kay? Now what’s interesting is that if you follow the trend from report to report, you’ll see that home prices have actually not made any big jump, pretty stayed, pretty stagnant for the last six months. ‘Kay? In August, the average price home that sold was 557. In September was 544. In October was 562. Then November it went to 568. December it went down to 561. And then now we’re down to 558. And then that average days on market has been pretty stagnant. It’s been, you know it’s gone up and down a little bit. For the average, last month was 39 days. Average days on market right now is 35 days. So we’re, we’re just kinda’ plateauing right now. ‘Kay? There’s no major movement going on in our community. There’s 74 homes for sale in Eastvale. The average price is $605,000. Now, 605,000 is the average list price. Average sold price last month was 558,000. So, there’s almost a 45 to, you know, $47,000 variance, between what the average list price is, versus the average sold price. Just taking that into consideration, now 12.5% of all the homes that sold last month were cash buyers. In October it was 14%. November was 10%. December was 18%. So, we’re still hovering lower. Now, we’re averaging almost 18 to 20% during the summer. Now we’ve gone down a little bit. I think it’s just because home prices have gone up, and that’s why the investors are looking at other more attractive areas to invest in, when it comes to long term and short term rental opportunities. What’s happening in Eastvale as a whole? I think again, as I said before, home prices are staying consistent. Homes are selling. We have super low inventory. Again, less than two months supply of inventory right now. And if you guys are making a move, or thinking about making a move in 2018, I think it’s a fantastic year to get your home sold. I don’t have a crystal ball. Some people say that the market’s gonna’ take, you know, a downwards trend in the next couple of years. It could happen as early as at the end of this year. Interest rates have gone up a quarter of a percent. They’re projected to go up another half, or even a full percent by the end of this year. So obviously, as interest rates go up, that’s gonna’ put pressure for the prices to either stay the same or go down. So, that could have a, you know, an impact on overall values of the home, as we going into end of 2018 into 2019. But all that being said, if you guys are looking to make a move, please give us a call. We’d love to be able to help you out. We are the local experts here. You can reach us at444-8020. Hope you’ve enjoyed this. Any questions, comment them below. Talk to you later. Bye-bye.


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The move has evolved out of discussions over the past three years to separate the Danish group into two independent listed companies, an ingredient and an allergy vaccine company.
But the primary shareholder in Chr Hansen, the Lundbeck Foundation that has its roots in the pharmaceutical business, has since informed the group's board that it does not wish to be a long-term strategic shareholder in the ingredients company.
As such, the board of directors at Chr Hansen said they have "entered into an agreement with the investment banker Carnegie Bank to investigate the possibilities for a divestment of the ingredients sector".
The ingredients operations of Chr. Hansen include cultures, enzymes, colours - where it is the number one natural colour supplier - flavours, seasonings and sweeteners. Industry players with the clout to acquire Chr Hansen may well meet with competition concerns. As such, observers could suspect the group will be broken up into units.
In recent years, increasing competition in the saturated western market has meant struggle for the company's operation there. On the contrary, a strong performance from its operations in Asia Pacific, have been particularly buoyed by the major success of its cultures division in China, which has expanded exponentially, in line with the growth of the dairy industry there.
But the CEO of Chr Hansen, Erik Soerensen said that this is definitely not the case: "The ingredients business will not be split up, it is all or nothing."
Providing opportunities for cash rich, ambitious firms, either within or external to the food industry, the roll call of ingredients players on the market keeps on growing, largely against the backdrop of increasing consolidation in the food industry.
The retailers are extending their reach across the globe, and ingredients suppliers are under severe pressure - notably through squeezed margins - to keep up with the pace and to deliver products at competitive prices. Consolidation and economies of scale are one of the only routes open to them.
Last week the ingredients unit at Chr Hansen announced an 8 per cent increase in revenue for the year to DKK 3.4 billion, up from DKK3.34 billion on the previous year. The ALK-Abello allergy unit pulled in sales of DKK 1.05 billion, a rise from DKK 991 on the previous year.
The market welcomed the news of the divestment this morning with Chr Hansen's share price on the Copenhagen stock exchange spiking more than 13 per cent to DKK645 at 11.22am today.


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Well, former NFL star Chad Johnson (better known to some as Ochocinco, remember that?) brought the fanfare. He dined Saturday at Thirteen, NBA star (and ex-Rocket) James Harden's fine-dining restaurant, and though his bill was $107.17, he left a $1,300 tip. The amount is a nod to Harden's number, which he is now wearing for the Brooklyn Nets (insert vomit emoji), while Johnson also left a note on his receipt that "James Harden is scared to play me in FIFA."
Harden acknowledged the tip and accepted Johnson's challenge on Instagram. Soccer brings everyone together.
More rankings! GAYOT, a guide to restaurants and other lifestyle fare, named the best burger restaurants in America to honor National Burger Day (that was Friday). It's No. 1 choice was Becks Prime on Kirby Drive. Becks, family-owned since 1985 and operating several Houston-area stores and one in Dallas, is known for a variety of burgers grilled over mesquite coals (chances are you have smelled the air around a Becks Prime and got hungry).
Heights Thai restaurant Kin Dee is celebrating a year of service with an anniversary party on June 10. The event starts at 6 p.m. with a ribbon cutting, since the restaurant never officially had a grand-opening party because of the pandemic. Get samples of Thai delights, and entertainment includes live music and dance performances.
Speaking of anniversaries: Molina's Cantina is celebrating 80 years with a monthlong celebration. Look for giveaways, parties being held throughout the month at the three Molina's locations, and—possibly—$0.41 crispy tacos (since the restaurant opened in 1941). For more information, visit Molina's Instagram.
Head to Urban Harvest Farmers Market this Saturday for its annual Tomato Festival. You can ask Dr. Bob any questions relating to growing tomatoes, and pick up a special tomato-focused recipe from Austin Waiter, executive chef at Tony's. Also, Urban Harvest is bringing back live music on Saturday with Dem Roots. The festival runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the market, 2752 Buffalo Speedway.


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Sainsbury’s is adding over 20 digital Argos concessions to stores across the UK, which now brings the total of Argos concessions within the supermarket chain to 30.
Sainsbury’s recently acquired Home Retail Group plc, owner of Habitat and Argos, leading to the upcoming Argos concessions, along with a planned five mini Habitat stores within Sainsbury’s stores.
Up to 90,000 Argos products will be available for customers to buy under one roof, in a combination of food- and non-food-related retail products. Argos shoppers within Sainsbury’s will be able to make purchases in store via tablets or reserve items online.
The digital stores will be between 1,000 and 5,000 square feet in size.
Five new Habitat concessions ranging from 1,400 to 2,000 square feet are also planned for Sainsbury’s stores in the near future. The Habitat ranges are intended to complement Sainsbury’s own homeware sections.
Mike Coupe, chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, said, “This is the start of an exciting new phase for Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat. I am delighted to be able to quickly capitalise on the benefits of our combined group by opening more Argos digital concessions in our stores and introducing the mini Habitat format to our customers.
“Being able to shop across all three brands under one roof will make our customers’ lives even more convenient and offer them incredible choice.”
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aoife Lawless. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.


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The downtown Minneapolis retail market gets a sorely needed lift Thursday when Nordstrom Rack opens in the IDS Center.
The Nicollet Mall location becomes Seattle-based Nordstrom’s 224th Rack outlet store, as the company’s off-price stores continue to outperform full-line Nordstrom department stores.
“Department stores have moved down and discounters and outlets have moved up,” said Beth Perro Jarvis of Minneapolis-based retail consulting firm Ginger. “Nordstrom Rack is successful because it feels like they’re trying a little harder and the employees are a little nicer.”
A year ago, Nordstrom had 200 Rack stores. By 2020, the number is expected to increase to 300.
Its full-line department stores are growing at a much slower rate. There are currently 122 full-line stores.
The Rack’s share of Nordstrom’s total sales — both online and in the stores — is about 30 percent, according to the company’s 10K filing. In the second quarter, Nordstrom Rack and Rack.com net sales increased 9.8 percent, compared to 2.4 percent for the full-line stores.
The new 39,000-square-foot Rack, which will open at 8 a.m. Thursday for the grand opening, is the only two-story Rack in Minnesota. It takes up space formerly used by the Gap, which closed its street-level location in 2015, and TJ Maxx, which closed in 2004.
When Nordstrom credit card customers got a sneak peek on Tuesday, many customers initially thought it was a clothing-free Rack, since the men’s, women’s and children’s clothing are in the basement. Many of the customers didn’t realize or didn’t remember that IDS once opened part of its lower level to TJ Maxx.
The downtown store will be somewhat different from other locations. It will include an alterations department, which only Mall of America offers locally. Store hours are also different from suburban stores. Except for the first day, it will open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. weekdays, and will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
Perro Jarvis, who attended the preview on Tuesday, described the store as a step up from TJ Maxx.
“You get the thrill of the hunt but with a nicer experience,” she said. “There are several mobile checkout lines instead of one long one, and it’s nicely merchandised. I was surprised to see an impressive selection of MAC Cosmetics. You don’t see that very often at an outlet.”
Adding a brand as respected as Nordstrom will help downtown retail overall, but it’s not a game changer, said Dave Brennan, a retailing professor at the University of St. Thomas.
“Downtown needs a destination-type place where people go exclusively for them like an Apple or Microsoft store,” he said.
In 2015, Nordstrom added a long-sought second department store in the Twin Cities. When the Ridgedale full-line Nordstrom store opened, some expected its spillover to raise all retail boats at the Minnetonka mall.
“I don’t think the bump is as impactful as hoped,” said Dick Grones, principal of Cambridge Commercial Realty in Edina. “Nordstrom is doing fine there, but it doesn’t have the level of merchandise that Mall of America has.”
Nordstrom spokeswoman Anya Pavlovic said that customers are responding positively since the Ridgedale opening and that the store has added some higher-end lines such as Derek Lam 10 Crosby and Tory Burch handbags.
About 15 percent of the merchandise at a Rack store was originally sold at a full-line Nordstrom. Many of the items on the nearly 10 clearance racks in the women’s and men’s departments in the new Rack are from the full-line stores. Tags with a red sticker on them usually indicate that it came from the department store.
Pavlovic said that no other new Nordstrom Racks are on deck for the Twin Cities, but the Mall of America location will be remodeled. It is expected to be completed by fall 2018. Other Rack locations in Minnesota include St. Louis Park and Maple Grove. Earlier this year, Nordstrom opened its first store on the east side of the metro, a Rack in Woodbury.
The new downtown store employs about 75 people.


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On this Friday morning, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by Hurricane Laura. Our friends at the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) are tracking the situation and stand ready to help as needs arise. I encourage you to check their website for the latest updates and needs; you can also make a donation to support their ongoing efforts.
(ALAN is also one of the charities that our Indago members support, so you can also help them by joining our research community and selecting ALAN as your charity).
Moving on, here is the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week:
- Best Buy to experiment with turning some stores into hubs as it bets on permanent shift toward online shopping (CNBC)
- Covid Crisis Drives Historic Drop in Global Trade (WSJ – sub. req’d)
- June 2020 North American Transborder Freight Up 46% from May 2020
- US importers forced to pay for empty truck runs to get goods from Mexico (The Loadstar)
- US faces back-to-school laptop shortage (AP)
- PINC And Project44 Partner To Deliver The Next Generation Of Yard Automation And Predictability
- Trimble Adds New Capabilities to its Portfolio of Transportation Management Systems
- Kenco Launches DaVinci AI, an Innovative Advanced Analytics Product for the Supply Chain
- Uber Freight introduces dedicated lanes to unlock consistent earnings for carriers
- C.H. Robinson Announces Unmatched Number of TMS and ERP Integrations
- Echo Global Logistics Integrates with Blue Yonder’s Dynamic Price Discovery Solution
- Amazon and FedEx Push to Put Delivery Robots on Your Sidewalk (Wired)
- Waymo autonomous trucks begin Texas testing (FleetOwner)
- XYZ Robotics raises $17M for its pick-and-place logistics robots (TechCrunch)
- India’s logistics SaaS startup FarEye bags $13 million (TechCrunch)
- SEC Asks Boeing, Coca-Cola to Disclose More About Popular Financing Tool (WSJ – sub. req’d)
Best Buy Converting Stores into Ship-from-Store Hubs
As reported by CNBC, starting next month, Best Buy “will start testing a ship-from-store hub model. About 250 stores — about a quarter of its approximately 1,000 stores — will be specially designated to handle a higher volume of packages, though all stores ship online orders.” Here’s more from the article:
About 60% of Best Buy’s online orders are either picked up at stores or by curbside or shipped from them.
“It’s not about less stores,” [Best Buy’s CEO Corie Barry] said. “It’s probably about using stores differently and meeting the customer where they want to be met.”
This is yet another example of how e-commerce is not only serving as a catalyst for digital transformation, it is also serving as a catalyst for the physical transformation of supply chain networks.
An Imbalance in U.S.-Mexico Freight Lanes
First the “good” news: compared to May 2020, transborder truck freight between the United States and Mexico in June 2020 was up 58.5% to $31 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. However, compared to June 2019, it was down 12.9%.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. As with domestic freight lanes, COVID-19 has also created an imbalance in transborder freight lanes.
The Loadstar highlights findings from Transplace’s Third Quarter 2020 Logistics Market Update, which reports that “most of Mexico’s larger cities are still in lockdown, or barely open to commerce, which has resulted in a sharp drop in demand for consumer goods and other imports.” Here’s more from the article:
The drop in imports is affecting northbound trucking as well as intermodal capacity in Mexico, which is normally generated by import traffic, Transplace noted.
“With the current situation, northbound equipment and capacity is very limited inside Mexico and capacity constraints have expanded to Laredo, San Diego, El Paso and other border crossing points, generating an imbalance limiting available trucks for northbound (moves) and increasing rates.”
It reported that customers were paying for empty truck runs from border crossing points to their manufacturing plants in Mexico in order to secure northbound capacity…Shippers pay 15%-40% higher rates to move their cargo from the border to US destinations, Transplace reported.
Now that is an extreme example of empty miles! It is also an example of how interconnected global supply chains are, and how a weak link anywhere impacts the system as a whole.
PINC and project44 Partnership
PINC (a Talking Logistics sponsor) and project44 announced a partnership this week that “aims to empower industry-leading shippers and carriers with end to end real-time shipment visibility and yard management automation capabilities for an enhanced supply chain experience.” Here’s more from the press release:
Distribution centers, warehouses, and manufacturing plants are looking to improve gate velocity, optimize driver turnaround times, and reduce costs while becoming Shippers-of-Choice. project44’s shipment and ETA data in concert with PINC’s Yard Management System‘s real-time asset and load data will accelerate the check-in process and provide customers with actionable dynamic load scheduling visibility. Organizations will also gain real-time insights into critical yard asset and load lifecycle transitions through project44’s Advanced Visibility Platform™.
According to a research study we recently conducted (to be published soon), companies recognize that having digital yard management capabilities provides a range of business benefits beyond the yard. As one respondent put it, “Yard management is incredibly important and often overlooked. Benefits include improved warehouse efficiency (e.g., labor / scheduling), improved customer service, reduced inventory, and reduced transportation costs (linehaul, detention, etc.).”
And yet, according to Logistics Management’s most recent Technology Usage Study, only 8% of companies are currently using a yard management system (YMS).
Why the low implementation rate? For some companies, their yard operations haven’t reached a critical level of complexity and shipping/receiving volume to justify an investment in a YMS. For many more companies, however, the reason is due to an outdated and limited view of the business benefits a YMS provides “beyond the four fences” of a yard.
We explore this topic in more detail in the upcoming research report, so stay tuned.
With regards to the linking of real-time freight visibility with yard management, it is similar to the integration of visibility solutions with transportation management systems (TMS). As I wrote earlier this week in TMS: Everybody’s Favorite New Partner, the reason companies want visibility is not just to see and observe, but to do something with the data and insights collected. It’s the doing, the actions taken to improve their logistics operations (including yard operations, which impact transportation and warehousing too) that ultimately delivers value.
And with that, have a happy weekend!
Song of the Week: “What You Gonna Do?” by Bastille ft. Graham Coxon


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Tesla’s new factories in Germany and Austin, Texas are “losing billions of dollars” because of continued parts shortages and disruptions in China, according to its boss Elon Musk.
The chief executive had already announced his company would not be introducing any new vehicle models this year due to battery shortages and in a recent interview Musk explained that its factories all over the world were still struggling amid significant economic issues.
No specific reference was made to the long-anticipated EV heavy truck the Tesla Semi, although in a quarterly update last year the company said the programme’s launch had already been shifted to 2022.
Musk said: “Both Berlin and Austin factories are gigantic money furnaces right now.
“It’s really like a giant roaring sound, which is the sound of money on fire.”
The chief executive added that the plans were “losing billions of dollars right now.
“There’s a ton of expense and hardly any output.”
Tesla has said the Semi would be powered by four electric motors from the Tesla Model 3, and claimed it would have a zero to 60 acceleration time of five seconds.


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Panasonic Corporation will pay $5.75 million to settle with the direct purchaser class of plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation accusing the company of conspiring to fix the price of optical disk drives, according to a motion filed in California federal court Monday.
The direct purchaser class of plaintiffs asked U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg for preliminary approval of the settlement agreement, in which Panasonic would pay $5.75 million in exchange for a complete release of all class members’ antitrust and other claims against the company concerning the manufacture, supply, distribution, sale or pricing of optical disk drives.
The deal, which comes just days after fellow defendant Hitachi -LG Data Storage Inc. said it would pay $26 million to exit the litigation, would settle the price-fixing claims lodged against Panasonic by a putative class of plaintiffs who purchased CD, DVD and Blu-ray drives contained in computers, video game consoles and movie disk players.
The plaintiffs also asked Judge Seeborg for provisional certification of the settlement class, which would cover thousands of direct purchasers who bought the drives between 2004 and 2010.
The plaintiffs allege that a group of electronics manufacturers conspired to fix the prices of optical disk drives, which are used to read and record data, music and videos that are stored on optical disks. According to the complaint, the defendants illegally fixed prices and restricted output through bid-rigging, market allocation, and the use of trade associations between January 2004 and at least 2010.
The suits were consolidated in the Northern District of California in 2010, but were originally dismissed in late 2011, when a judge ruled the plaintiffs’ evidence didn’t come close to supporting the kind of sprawling conspiracy alleged. After narrowing their complaints, the plaintiffs survived a second dismissal bid in April 2012.
The case is In re: Optical Disk Drive Products Antitrust Litigation, case number 3:10-md-02143, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Categories: Class Actions of Interest


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Over 23% of Generation Z are actively investing in meme coins such as Dogecoin as well as Shiba Inu. 24.95% of investors in Generation Z on the eToro platform actively purchased or sold meme coins in March 2021. Could we be seeing a new push into these alt/meme coins over traditional stock investing? Only time will tell.
The cost of Dogecoin has had a whopping gain of 13,494% in the last year. There is a long way to go for it to be rivaling the other giants of the Cryptocurrency world such as Bitcoin. 23% believe that the cryptocurrency will surpass the 1-dollar mark before the end of 2021 (if Elon Musk keeps helping the currency). The digital currency is presently trading at just under $0.50.
Elon Musk is a major star in the Cryptocurrency world, changing markets overnight by just tweeting support of a coin, most recently wiping off billions from the Bitcoin market cap, by stating Tesla would no longer accept the digital currency. Elon Musk has shown strong support for Dogecoin, he recently asked his followers on Twitter whether Tesla should accept Dogecoin. The outcome was distinct: 78.2% voted in favor.
Dogecoin does have some major issues that it needs to overcome, the top 100 biggest Dogecoin owners hold 66.33% of the cryptocurrency’s overall supply. Elon Musk has admitted he this statistic doesn’t bother him. He states that the biggest addresses are linked to crypto exchanges, such as PancakeSwap.
Billionaire legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller has called the current meme coin price “A manifestation of the craziest monetary policy in history.”
During the hype of Dogecoin, Google trending stated that the term “Buy Dogecoin” was trending worldwide as everyone wanted to start buying the asset. Unfortunately, during the early days of the currency, it was only available for a select few who were technical enough. Now, you can buy Dogecoin through large exchanges such as Coinbase.
Dogecoin at the time of writing is down 23%. Memecoins can be extremely volatile and their price can fluctuate dramatically. This could be the thrill that attracts Gen-Z to digital currencies. With Gen-Z actively investing in digital currencies, could this spell the end of the traditional currencies as we know them?


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Dyrdek Machine portfolio company, Mindright is making the move to in-store retail. Recently, Mindright has inked a deal for a Sprouts nationwide launch; hit the shelves at select SoCal Bristol Farms, as well as mom & pop grocers like Market of Choice, Lazy Archers, and Jayde’s Market; health food stores, gas stations, liquor stores and more.
CEO, Chris “Bernie” Bernard remarked that “we are hyper-focused on West Coast growth. The partnership with Sprouts will bring Mindright products into 300+ stores, and we have another fledging partnership with a national retailer coming this October.”
If you are interested in bringing Mindright products to your consumers, email the team at [email protected]. And to keep up to date on Mindright’s rapid in-store expansion, check out the Mindright store locator to find Nootropic-Infused Superfood snacks near you!


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Now available at David Village Lighting – the newly released AI
chair by Kartell. Through a collaboration with their long-time
designer and icon Philippe Starck and the renowned software and
engineering company Autodesk, Kartell have officially launched their newest
venture this week in their flagship store in Cologne: the first chair
ever to be made by artificial intelligence.
Groundbreaking and innovative, the AI chair shows a new shift in design by combining the latest technology with an established designer. Speaking at the launch of the AI chair, Philippe Starck talked of how the project first came about. Starck wanted to “make a new way” with his next product; he wanted to move away from his chair designs that are inevitably inspired by the same memories and ideas and wanted to find a new approach that will rejuvenate his process and the design world.
In this new age of technology, Starck’s vision could be fulfilled at Autodesk, as they provided their artificial intelligence which is capable of designing a chair. The AI chair was then developed and designed solely by the intelligence system after Philippe Starck asked it questions and set it instructions to make the chair that he envisioned—a chair that can support the body with minimum energy and materials.
Developing a remarkable chair that is comfortable, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing, Philippe Starck together with the artificial intelligence system have managed to produce a chair that pushes the envelope and is completely functional and versatile.
Kartell Loves the Planet
Not only is the Kartell AI chair the first to be completely made by artificial intelligence, but it is also the first to be made from 100% recycled material – another reason why we’re already a huge fan of this chair. Made only possible by the current advances in technology, the AI chair is made from recycled thermoplastic technopolymer, proving that furniture can now be long-lasting and environmentally friendly.
In line with the company’s manifesto, Kartell Loves the Planet, the AI chair is the newest addition to their sustainable furniture that puts the planet and Kartell’s customers at the top of their priority list. Using the method of injection moulding, which Kartell have used for decades, the AI chair is made with minimal waste and production whilst contributing to the ecological cycle by using recycled materials.
If there is one thing that is apparent from the release of the AI chair, it is the importance of collaboration between designer and technology has in the advancement of furniture design. With the artistic conception and knowledge of Philippe Starck, the possibilities available through artificial intelligence provided by Autodesk and the resources and ethos of Kartell, a chair that is environmentally friendly, structurally sound, comfortable and visually stunning has managed to be produced.
Kartell are paving a new way in manufacturing and the AI chair is truly an instant icon, proving to be a chair for the new generation.


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On the 29th birthday of the world wide web, its inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has sounded a fresh warning about threats to the web as a force for good, adding his voice to growing concerns about big tech’s impact on competition and society. The web’s creator argues that the “powerful weight of a few dominant” […]
» Currently browsing: Internet
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is about to launch the first of 11,925 internet satellites — more than all satellites that orbit Earth today
The launch is expected to also deploy two experimental communications satellites. The two satellites may test aspects of Starlink, a project to bath Earth in high-speed internet access. The Starlink plan calls for nearly 12,000 interlinked satellites — many more than currently orbit Earth — but Musk and SpaceX have been relatively quiet about it.
The UK Government has announced that homes and businesses will have a legal right to high-speed broadband of at least 10 Mbps by 2020. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, says that 10 Mbps is the minimum speed needed to meet the requirements of an average family. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport has […]
About 45% of US children ages 10 to 12 have a smartphone with a service plan Outside the US and Europe, children tend to get their first mobile phones when they are older
Americans see Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the ultimate consumer spending extravaganzas, but the annual “record breaking ” sales days have nothing on China’s so-called Singles’ Day. As we can see in this chart from Statista, Singles’ Day sales make the US Thanksgiving weekend spending look like chump change.
AI-powered IoT devices will change the way you do business.
When you consider the nagging privacy risks of online advertising, you may find comfort in the thought of a vast, abstract company like Pepsi or Nike viewing you as just one data point among millions. What, after all, do you have to hide from Pepsi? And why should that corporate megalith care about your secrets out of […]
By 2020, 45 million Americans will be caring for 117 million seniors. The retailer offers a $29 monthly monitoring service using internet-connected gear.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes the blockchain-based platform has the potential to rival financial institutions like Visa in scale. Before it can, however, it needs to increase the speed with which it can process transactions.
Content management is about to undergo a foundational shift as artificial intelligence and machine learning bring long-sought order to enterprise content. As the volume of content has increased, the ability to manage it all seems to have eluded us. Ironic, since Content Management Systems were supposed to solve the enterprise content organization problem.


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Yearly Archives: 2019
Former pro athlete and entrepreneur Nate Kaeding connects long-distance with Paul Burmeister, Corridor native and NBC Sports host, to talk broadcasting, criticism and (of course) the Hawks. Catch the podcast or read the interview. Presented by MidWestOne Bank.
The CBJ asked program leaders at four of the Corridor’s leading part-time MBA programs how to navigate this educational challenge, and received some candid advice for surviving and thriving during the two- or three-year process that can be both exciting and stressful.
Today, nearly 24,000 sold bottles later, the craft spirit that almost wasn’t – No. 9 Iowa Whiskey – has sold out across Iowa and in numerous other states, is winning accolades from booze critics across the nation and just landed its first overseas order from Japan.
Ready Wireless in Hiawatha is moving deeper into the Internet of Things with a new suite of products that promises to improve driving safety, reliability and accident response for small fleet operators.
Iowa’s fastest-growing city, Tiffin, is getting a long-sought telecommunications upgrade that city officials say will make it a better destination for homeowners and businesses.
After selling cars all day in Iowa City, Sanel “Sonny” Dzafic and Haris Hadzalic get down to a totally different kind of business: soccer training.
Most Latino business owners in the Corridor say it’s business as usual despite the raging immigration debate – but some say that’s the fear talking.
The venerable Iowa-based Hy-Vee chain is betting that Midwestern shoppers will top off their grocery shopping carts with items like skinny jeans and puffer coats.
The warehouse space at the back of the Shores Building was the last portion to be tackled in its owners’ long process of restoring the historic building in the budding College District.
Premier 1 Supplies founder Stan Potratz and his CEO and nephew Ben Rothe can’t claim for much longer they’re running a national e-commerce and mail order catalog business from a gravel road in southwest Washington County.


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It's a phishing scam, involving fake emails designed to make you think there's an issue with your Apple ID password.
The emails appear to mimic the alert you get when you reset your Apple ID password, but these alerts are unsolicited. And, unlike other phishing scams we've warned about, the scammers behind this attack are hitting businesses email lists as well as personal email.
Technology experts at Fisher Plaza say one objective appears to be getting your password- to take over your Apple accounts.
"Attack your iPhones, your iPads. They have a lot of control over your Apple devices if they get in to your Apple ID," explained Fisher IT Tech Andrew Baker.
According to Chet Wisniewski, with the IT Security firm SOPHOS, the Apple ID spam started hitting computers late Monday. Wisniewski is in Seattle for an internet security conference.
He sent some of the scam emails we received to his research lab in Vancouver, BC. A quick analysis revealed more bad news. As suspected, the links take you to a fake website, but your password is not the only objective.
"This website has been rigged up with all kinds of booby traps, in essence, trying to find bugs in the software on your computer with a virus," Wisniewski said.
If you get the email at work, do not open it. Forward it to your IT team as malicious spam. If you get it at home, delete it immediately. When you hold your mouse over the links on the fake Apple email, you'll see they're actually hiding the domains of websites around the world that have been hacked- and used to carry out the scam.
"We've seen things that can instruct your computer to attack other people's websites. We've seen things that are designed to lay dormant until you're logging into your online banking account," Wisniewski warned.
And remember, the worst thing you can do with any spam you get is click on a link.
A spokeswoman could not respond to this scam specifically but acknowledged it's a phishing attack and the emails are not from Apple. She referred me to the company's website dedicated to helping you avoid falling for phishing scams that claim to be from Apple.


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To help get more Americans physically active, PHIT America is launching PHIT America Month. This national event will promote and encourage millions of Americans to Get Moving in May 2018, while growing sports and fitness participation. PHIT America and more than 100 corporate sponsors, sports celebrities, plus thousands of local supporters are expected to offer hundreds of ways for Americans to Get Moving, including participation in local events. PHIT America Month is open to all Americans and most of the programs offered will be free.
The 10th Annual Tennis Industry Association (TIA) Tennis Forum was held in New York City on Aug. 28, the first day of play at the US Open, and the audience of nearly 300 tennis industry leaders heard the latest news about the state of the tennis industry, updates on grow-the-game initiatives, and business insights, along with a spotlight on tennis innovation.
The 10th Annual Tennis Industry Association (TIA) Tennis Forum will be on Monday, Aug. 28, at the Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel. The Forum will include the latest news about the state of the tennis industry, updates on grow-the-game initiatives, business insights and a spotlight on innovation.
Tennis made its way to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in August, when Dr. Jack Groppel, the Health and Wellness Advisor to the Tennis Industry, ascended the 19,341-foot summit with a “Net Generation” tennis racquet and ball then volleyed atop the tallest peak on the African continent.
Just as the upcoming US Open Championships will showcase the best competitors in tennis, the Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge will put some of the most brilliant new and innovative sports products and services center stage for a unique competition in New York City. The Innovation Challenge will follow the TIA Tennis Forum, which starts at 8:30 a.m. ET at the Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel on Aug. 28, which is the first day of play at the US Open.
The fifth annual Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference will be held April 8-11 at Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms, S.C., next to Charleston. The TOM Conference will once again include top experts, consultants and industry leaders. Visit TennisIndustry.org.
More and more Americans are choosing Cardio Tennis, a high-energy group fitness workout that combines the best features of tennis with cardiovascular exercise, as their means to get healthy and fit. In the latest national survey of 118 sports and activities, Cardio Tennis was ranked No. 1 in year-over-year growth in terms of participation.
The 2018 Tennis Owners & Managers (TOM) Conference will be held April 8-11 at Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms, S.C., next to Charleston. The conference will include specialty courses, innovation training, educational sessions on equipment, tech and more, on-court demos, a trade show—all designed to position your business for the future.
Among the bright spots in the most recent annual tennis participation study by the Physical Activity Council is a 7.2 percent increase in youth tennis players and a 16.7 percent increase in Cardio Tennis players over the past year.
The 10th Annual Tennis Industry Association Tennis Forum will be held in New York City on Monday, Aug. 28, the first day of play at the US Open. This year’s Forum—along with related industry meetings—will be held at a new location: the Intercontinental New York Barclay, which is at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street and is the official hotel of the ATP Tour.


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Impossible Foods is now developing milk-identical milk from plants
Throughout a press convention as we speak, meals know-how startup Impossible foods introduced his newest venture: a milk-identical “useful” milk produced from vegetation. The brand new milk – which has but to be named – is being developed to imitate its dairy counterpart by way of texture, style and performance. Through the convention, Laura Kilman, Senior Taste Scientist at Inconceivable Meals, demonstrated the performance of the milk prototype when poured into scorching espresso, demonstrating that the plant-based milk didn’t separate the way in which many formulations at the moment out there do. Inconceivable Meals continues to be within the growth stage of its plant-based milk and has but to announce how the brand new product will probably be commercialized.
This 12 months Inconceivable Meals elevated its funding capital by $ 700 million – that is $ 1.5 billion because the firm was based in 2011. The brand new capital will probably be used to analysis and develop new merchandise resembling steak, bacon and fish makes use of accelerating the corporate’s mission to interchange all animal meals by 2035. The funds may even be used for Inconceivable Meals’ new meals Impossible investigative project, a recruitment initiative that may double the variety of scientists working on the firm to disrupt animal husbandry around the globe.
Throughout as we speak’s convention, Patrick O. Brown, CEO of Inconceivable Meals, acknowledged the urgency to interchange inefficient previous know-how (animal husbandry) with new know-how (sustainable plant-based meals), describing Inconceivable Meals as “crucial scientific and technical venture within the story from inside. Brown urged scientists and engineers who’re at the moment engaged on different tasks to affix the Inconceivable Investigator Challenge. “No matter else you do, it is a drop within the bucket in comparison with the impression you are right here on ours Challenge, “mentioned Brown, ending the convention with” give up your silly job and be part of us. “
After a large growth into the home retail sector within the first half of 2020, this week, the Inconceivable Burger additionally expanded into its first worldwide retail market, debuting in 200 shops in Hong Kong and Singapore.


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MULTAN: Mechanical cotton picking will help in addressing shortage of labour. The machine will pick cotton from up to 15 acres in a day for which dozens of labourers were engaged in the past.
This was said by Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) Director Zahid Mehmood.
He added for the first time in the history of the country, cotton was picked mechanically at CCRI.
He said that shortage of female cotton pickers was creating difficulties for the growers. However, the latest technology will help address the problem in the coming days.
He maintained that they were experimenting on different varieties of cotton and its production technology which would be suitable for mechanical picking in future.
He said that there would be a special variety and specific method of cultivation for the purpose.
Mehmood said that cotton would be picked twice mechanically and the charges would be lesser as compared to hand-picking.
Women labourers used to pick cotton from the fields which make up the bulk of the estimated half a million cotton pickers in the country which is the world’s fourth biggest cotton producer.
Agriculture experts said that widespread use of pesticides and a lack of safety equipment had exposed them to health risks. Complaints of skin irritation, headache, nausea, gastroenteritis, general weakness, dizziness, sleeplessness, vomitting, coughs, fever and stomach pain are rampant among cotton pickers.
A huge number of cotton pickers carry out cotton-picking without wearing safety gadgets such as gloves, face masks, aprons, glasses, head and arm covers.
However, with the induction of the new machine, the cotton could be picked in less time without involving labour.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2017.
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Rap is getting another look from the fashion industry as Calvin Klein has tapped Young Thug to help promote the Fall 2016 campaign.
The Atlanta rapper is shown on Instagram in a black pinstriped dress with black pants underneath. The caption explains that the look is from the 2016 women’s collection.
“I disobey in #mycalvins,” the slogan for the advertisement reads.
Thugger also performed at Calvin Klein’s showcase with Urban Outfitters at SXSW this year.
In a promotional video for CK that dropped last week, he explains that he thinks a gangsta is a gangsta whether they wear a dress or baggy pants. “I feel like there’s no such thing as gender,” he says.
The 2016 campaign also features fellow rapper Frank Ocean, as well as Kate Moss, Margot Robbie, Bella Hadid and David Blaine.
The fashion brand enlisted Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$ and Fetty Wap for its Spring campaign.


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SINGAPORE PRESS-Creative Technologies unit sues Apple, Samsung - Business Times
Creative Technology's wholly owned subsidiary, ZiiLabs, has sued tech giants Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc for alleged patent infringement.
ZiiLabs, a leader in media-rich application processors, alleged in the lawsuit that certain products - including various Samsung Galaxy phones, tablets and laptops, as well as Apple iPhones, iPads and computers - have infringed on 10 of its patents. These patents include graphics rendering, video stream data mixing, and graphic memory management.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the Eastern district of Texas, with law firms Heim, Payne and Chorush, and Susman Godfrey, acting for ZiiLabs.
NOTE: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy.
- Alabama man gets $1,000 in police settlement, his lawyers get $459,000
- Probe: Athletes took fake classes at University of North Carolina
- Canada's Harper vows tighter security after Parliament attack |
- Some U.S. hospitals weigh withholding care to Ebola patients
- Man arrested after jumping White House fence, causing lockdown


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SEOUL / AP
South Korean prosecutors are attempting for a second time to arrest Samsung’s de facto leader, who faces bribery allegations in connection with a massive political scandal.
Special prosecutors investigating the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of the president said on Tuesday they have asked a court to issue an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics. They also are seeking an arrest warrant for Samsung Electronics president Park Sang-jin, who oversees the company’s external relations.
Seoul Central District Court said it will hold a hearing on Thursday to review the arrest request.
This is the second attempt by prosecutors to arrest Lee, the heir to the Samsung Group. Last month, a court said there was not enough evidence to justify Lee’s arrest at that point.
The prosecutors argued that the 48-year-old billionaire offered a bribe of $36 million to President Park Geun-hye and her long-time friend to win government backing for a controversial merger.
The merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 2015 was opposed by minority shareholders, who said it would benefit the Samsung founding family while hurting other shareholders. Samsung narrowly secured shareholder approval, thanks in part to support from the National Pension Fund, its key investor. The pension fund’s current chief was arrested last year on suspicion of pressuring the fund to back the merger, which helped Lee increase his influence in Samsung Electronics without spending any of his money.


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WELCOME, SIGN IN
Do Women-Owned Businesses Need to 'Man Up?'
Description:The number of women-owned businesses is increasing in the U.S. But two-thirds of them struggle to grow beyond $50,000, falling significantly behind their male counterparts. Small-business expert Susan Solovic explains why.
business owner gender
small business lending
The Wall Street Journal


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The Zimbabwe dollar, which has been on the decline over the past two foreign exchange auctions, today fell by 10 cents against the United States dollar to average $81.82 as a record US$33 million was disbursed at both the Small and Medium Enterprise auction and the Main auction.
It averaged $81.8151 against last week’s $81.7102.
Only 36 bids were disqualified at the two auctions with 166 in the SME auction and 268 in the main auction qualifying.
US$2.3 million was allotted at the SME auction and US$30.6 million at the main auction.
The gap between the highest and lowest offers, however, narrowed to $88.33 from $90 last week but the lowest offer remained static at $80.
A total of US$499.8 million has been disbursed since the auction started on 23 June.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is expected to set the tone for 2021 when he presents his budget on Thursday but he has been upbeat about the stability the foreign currency auction has brought to the market.
The Optional Market Implied Rate today stood at $105.24 down from $99.68 a week ago.


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Meta, a Giant Social Media Company, May Introduce Tokens and Digital Currency Lending Services to Apps as a Way to Address the Revenue Decrease and to Step Towards Metaverse
Social media giant Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is reportedly planning to introduce virtual currency as well as lending services to apps it owns, with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger potentially being among those impacted. They plan to introduce its in-game currency "Zuck Bucks”, after its CEO. The company also wants to get NFTs (non-fungible tokens) involved.
According to a Financial Times report on Wednesday, this move toward tokens and digital currency is aimed at exploring alternative sources of revenue as interest in Facebook and Instagram drops. Meta’s potential digital currency, which employees have reportedly internally dubbed "Zuck Bucks” after CEO Mark Zuckerberg, will be aimed at use in the metaverse.
The report does not claim that Meta is exploring traditional cryptocurrencies tied to a blockchain, but rather centrally controlled tokens to be used within its apps, similar to an in-game currency. The company is also reportedly considering creating “social tokens” for engagement rewards, as well as “creator coins" for influencers.
“We’re making changes to our product strategy and road map [...] so we can prioritize on building for the metaverse and on what payments and financial services will look like in this digital world,” wrote the head of Meta's finance division, Stephane Kasriel, in a January memo.
The introduction of virtual currencies into Meta’s apps may be coming alongside the company exploring nonfungible token integration for Facebook and Instagram. The report suggested Meta was planning to launch an NFT pilot program as early as May 2022.
Cointelegraph reported in January that Meta was in the early stages of potentially launching an NFT marketplace, as well as exploring methods of allowing users to mint collectible tokens. David Marcus, the co-creator of the Facebook-backed Diem token, said in August that the company was “definitely looking” at ways to get into NFTs.
Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021, saying at the time that its focus was expanding beyond social media. The change came following the release of thousands of documents that implied the company was not doing what it claimed with regard to removing hate speech and posts encouraging violence from its platform. The number of Facebook users dropped by roughly 500,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021, while at least one expert predicted Instagram’s growth in monthly users could drop from 16.5% in 2021 to 3.1% by 2025.
(Article Courtesy of Cointelegraph)


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| Jul 14, 2014
| 4:27 AM
Q: I live in a condominium with a five-person board. Over the past several months, three board members have resigned. When the board tried to appoint directors to fill the vacancies, at least 25 percent of the unit owners petitioned the board to call an...
| Jul 3, 2014
| 2:57 PM
If you buy stocks on your own but aren't confident you are proficient enough with financial data to spot threats to your investments, here's one easy test that even a novice can master: Watch if a company you own schedules its annual meeting far from...
| Jun 13, 2014
| 12:30 PM
Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes' contract isn't up until 2017, but succession issues were raised by shareholders at the media giant's annual meeting held Friday on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.
"I feel pretty good right now,"...
| Jun 30, 2014
| 1:00 PM
American Apparel Inc. has refused to call a stockholder meeting requested by ousted Chief Executive Dov Charney and maneuvered to block him from retaking control of the company.
The Los Angeles retailer said Monday that a shareholder meeting demanded...
| Jun 19, 2014
| 9:51 AM
American Apparel's abrupt ouster of controversial Chief Executive Dov Charney may pitch the company into bankruptcy by triggering defaults on two outstanding loans, the retailer warned Thursday.
In an SEC filing, American Apparel said the board's...
| Jul 1, 2014
| 7:45 PM
Two weeks after his humiliating ouster from American Apparel Inc., Dov Charney's seemingly doomed quest to take back the clothing company he founded has gained surprising traction.
In an unorthodox move, the scandal-plagued Los Angeles chief executive...
| Jul 1, 2014
| 10:31 AM
Ousted American Apparel Chief Executive Dov Charney is firing up the machinery to retake control of the company that booted him nearly two weeks ago.
Charney plans to solicit the written consent from other stockholders to expand the number of board...
| Mar 20, 2014
| 6:30 PM
Discovery Communications founder and chairman John Hendricks will retire in May after 32 years at the helm of one of cable's pioneering programming companies.
Hendricks will formally step down on May 16, at Discovery's annual meeting. Discovery CEO David...
| Mar 23, 2014
| 4:47 PM
Q: Is there a mandated method of communication between community association members and board members? I prefer to send emails to each director so I know each board member got my communication.
However, the board members refuse to reply to emails and...
| May 6, 2014
| 6:57 PM
The board and chief executive of Irvine takeover target Allergan Inc. heard a voice from the past Tuesday at the company's annual meeting of shareholders.
Gavin S. Herbert, Allergan's co-founder and former chairman, urged the company's directors to...
| May 13, 2014
| 7:49 PM
The heated takeover fight over Allergan Inc., the maker of Botox, continued Tuesday with the Canadian pharmaceutical company Valeant vowing to increase its $46-billion offer this month.
Meanwhile, the Canadian firm's partner in the offer, activist...
| Apr 29, 2014
| 8:01 AM
You can move your shareholder meeting out of California, but you can't stop protesters from following.
Joining ordinary Wells Fargo shareholders, demonstrators planned to air their grievances Tuesday in San Antonio, site of this year's annual meeting....


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Competition in Printer Cartridges Makes Life Easier on Consumers
Buying an ink-jet printer is getting cheaper. Unfortunately, maintaining one is not. Once the machine runs out of ink, consumers have to shell out lots of cash to get a replacement cartridge.
In other words, once you've printed 5,500 color pages through your printer, you've paid for a whole new printer. Again.
Don't blame the manufacturers. They're simply using the old strategy of selling the razor cheap and making profits on the razor blades. Trouble is, ink-jet printer cartridges cost a lot more than razor blades. And consumers are getting angry.
Take the Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 820Cse. At $400 or so, this popular color ink-jet printer has an attractive price. But Hewlett-Packard hasn't extended the deal to its printer cartridges. Replacements cost $25 for black ink; $30 for color.
Another example is the Xerox WorkCenter 250, one of those all-purpose machines that scans, prints, faxes, and copies documents. For $550 at a local discounter, the machine is a pretty good deal. But every three months it runs out of ink. The cost for a new replacement cartridge: $40.
What makes such prices outrageous, competitors maintain, is that the cartridges contain less than a dollar's worth of ink. True, each replacement cartridge also includes an expensive print head - the gizmo that sprays the ink onto the page. But one has to wonder. Are the companies really incapable of finding ways to reuse the cartridge and replace the ink? Or are they merely out to make fat profits off of consumers locked into their technology?
It's certainly big business. Worldwide sales of replacement cartridges and other after-market ink-jet printer supplies are expected to top $9 billion this year. Fortunately, smaller, more entrepreneurial companies are developing lower-cost alternatives to the throw-it-away cartridges of the big printer companies.
The best-known of these competitors is Nu-kote International in Dallas. It sells through retailers various kinds of replacements that it says will save consumers anywhere from 20 percent to 60 percent off the price of name-brand cartridges. Sometimes these are straight one-for-one replacements. In other cases, the company offers a mail-in service where it will refill the cartridge for you.
On popular Hewlett-Packard models, and a few others, Nu-kote sells a two-piece cartridge where users can replace the ink but reuse the cartridge. Nu-kote and others, notably the Jet-Master system out of Portland, Ore., also sell kits where users can refill the cartridges themselves. These alternatives - when they work - can dramatically cut printing costs.
As you might imagine, printer companies are hopping mad about these upstarts. Having spent millions of dollars to develop the technology, they've gone to court to try to protect it. Hewlett-Packard, Canon, and Epson have all filed suit against Nu-kote alleging everything from trademark violations to patent infringements. So far, only one suit - Epson's - has been resolved, almost completely in favor Nu-kote.
The companies argue that the upstarts are selling inferior products which can ruin the machine. Consumers often blame the manufacturers' printer, they add, even if it's the cartridge that's at fault. It is true that the replacement-cartridge industry has had its scam artists that made a fast buck by selling poor products. Also, refilling an ink-jet cartridge is more complicated than, say, filling a fountain pen. It can be a messy job.
But by sticking to reputable firms and following directions to the letter, consumers can save a bundle. For $80, I can buy two Xerox replacement cartridges or a Jet-Master refill kit with enough ink to recharge my cartridges up to 16 times.
You do the math. I bought the refill.
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