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One of the big questions surrounding AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner has been about how the telecom giant will handle its new flagship entertainment brands. Earlier this week, a story from The New York Times raised some concerns about the future prospects of HBO. The story recounted a June 19th town hall with new Warner Media chief executive John Stankey, HBO CEO Richard Plepler, and 150 HBO employees, during which Stankey made it clear that he expected HBO to ramp up content production and diversify its offerings. The account painted a grim picture for the network, which has excelled, thanks to its incredibly discerning taste and prestige-level programming. Making things as awkward as possible, Stankey predicted that the coming year would be so arduous that it would feel “like childbirth” for HBO employees.
The next day, The Verge sister site Recode published a more nuanced account of the meeting, which softened some pointed comments Stankey seemed to have made about HBO’s profitability. The extended transcripts make it clear that AT&T’s big-picture ambition is to use HBO, and its original programming team, as part of a content strategy that can enable its future distribution plans. “A broad theme that I believe is occurring in the industry is there aren’t going to be an unlimited number of platforms that have direct-to-consumer relationships,” Stankey said, according to Recode. “Now, is it going to be eight, six, or four? I don’t know, but if it’s four we need to be one of the four. If it’s six, we need to be one of the six.”
From HBO’s perspective, that’s certainly a more encouraging take than what the Times reported, and between both accounts, it’s clear that AT&T sees the network as an important part of its business moving forward. But a platform strategy for a telecom company is a vastly different animal than a content strategy for a media company. And while AT&T’s ambitions may be sound, its approach may nevertheless strip HBO of the very things that have allowed it to flourish.
Historically, there’s always been a bit of a disconnect between technology companies and entertainment companies. Call it the difference between Silicon Valley and Hollywood. Technology companies tend to think that the things that work best in their world will translate everywhere, which is why we end up with things like Amazon’s initial attempts at crowdsourcing TV shows. (Spoiler: it didn’t work out.) But the business of gadgets and platforms is fundamentally different than the business of storytelling and content. That’s why every tech company with original programming ambitions has eventually just set up shop in Los Angeles like any other studio.
HBO has built its brand around carefully curated prestige TV
It’s partially a recognition of how the sausage is actually made, but another key motivator is that it’s the best way to build and maintain relationships with talent: the writers, directors, producers, and actors that actually make the shows and movies everyone’s interested in watching. Little is more alluring than both prestige and creative freedom, and that’s an area where HBO has carved out its own unique niche. Back in the 1990s, programs like The Larry Sanders Show didn’t earn network-level ratings, but they earned a degree of critical acclaim that wasn’t really possible with most broadcast network shows. Things really blew open in 1999 with the debut of David Chase’s The Sopranos, a show that’s often credited with spawning the prestige drama altogether. Since then, the network has built its brand around that same style of elevated programming, whether it’s Six Feet Under, The Wire, Game of Thrones, True Detective, or Westworld.
The network allows its creators to swing big, which makes it an appealing place for them to work. And audiences have grown accustomed to a high level of craft and polish, which makes them likely to stick around even when their favorite show finishes a season. Game of Thrones is over? Don’t worry; Westworld is just around the corner. That’s wrapped up? Look out: here comes Sharp Objects.
The trick works largely because HBO has been incredibly focused. It keeps its originals and dramas largely to Sunday nights, and when it ventures into other areas, it does so selectively (like Real Time with Bill Maher on Fridays or its deal with Vice). The rest of the programming schedule is made up of licensed films and legacy content, harkening back to the channel’s origins, and that limited amount of original content is what allows HBO’s shows to be so refined. “More is not better,” Plepler said earlier this year in a Wall Street Journal piece. “Only better is better.”
That philosophy is the opposite of what Stankey proposed in the June town hall. (Though it appears that Plepler now seems to agree with him.) Calling back to his previous comment, the CEO admitted, “I’ve switched that, now that you’re here, to ‘more isn’t better, only better is better — but we need a lot more to be even better.’”
It’s a tech company’s mindset to think of HBO’s original content like a piece of infrastructure
In reality, it’s not that easy. It’s very much a technology company’s mindset to think that HBO’s original content can simply be treated like a piece of infrastructure: throw more money at the problem, order more shows, and get the exact same quality of output, just multiplied by a factor of x. But scarcity is part of what gives HBO shows their charm; careful curation is what has created the trust it has with its subscribers. And exclusivity and attention is part of what makes the network appealing to creators. That’s something Plepler has previously stressed when fighting back against the influx of original programming by Amazon, Netflix, and others. And while AT&T may not want to turn HBO into the churn-a-minute content mill that Netflix has become, the streaming service is nevertheless a useful comparison point when looking at how audiences and creators can react negatively to an overabundance of content.
When Netflix first got serious about its original programming ambitions, it started with House of Cards, ordering two seasons of the series without even seeing a pilot. At the time, the approach was bold and creator-friendly, opening an exciting new avenue for showrunners who were looking to set up their projects. That continued as the service grew more ambitious. Each of its shows received fresh rounds of attention from the viewing public due to the sheer novelty that Netflix shows — which, at the time, still seemed more akin to web series rather than accomplished television — were actually good.
But fast-forward to today, and new Netflix shows are anything but special. The service plans to spend $8 billion this year on original content, hoping to make half of its entire catalog original programs and movies over the coming years. Fifteen different original films and TV shows are rolling out in July alone, and August doesn’t look much lighter. In many ways, original programming has become a commodity at Netflix. And while that does mean more creative works are being produced than they would be otherwise, it also makes it that much harder for any single program to break out and enter the zeitgeist. Couple that with the fact that Netflix tends to focus its advertising on shows that are already known quantities, like Stranger Things or its Marvel series, and what results is a situation where individual creators can start to feel that their shows aren’t being given the attention they deserve and are getting lost in the relentless content deluge.
If HBO doesn’t feel unique and special to creators, it loses the high ground altogether
That’s the crux of the entire issue: talent truly is everything. After all, without great writers, directors, and actors, there is no great television to watch. Algorithms can help observe viewing habits and determine what an audience is drawn to, and they can serve up a show you’ll like based on what you’ve watched before. But actually making a show? That’s a group effort — a very human one.
“If there were a shortage at our door of talent wanting to work here, I would be concerned,” Plepler said during the town hall. “But there’s a surfeit of talent at the door that wants to work here.” That’s true, but it’s only true because of the way HBO currently operates. Transform it into a business that’s knocking out more shows across more genres all in the name of feeding the hungry corporate content gods, and it runs the risk of losing that high ground.
In a GQ profile in 2013, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos summed up the company’s ambitions elegantly: “The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.” In the years since, something different has actually happened. Netflix has become a creator of some excellent shows, but the sheer volume it produces has kept it from enjoying the same kind of pedigree its rival enjoys. HBO, on the other hand, has improved its streaming capabilities and services, but it has only gingerly expanded its content production, allowing it to maintain its deluxe sheen. It’s understandable why AT&T sees that as an untapped opportunity. There’s the streaming platform play, but in the town hall, Stankey also mentioned data collection and advertising — all the things that you would expect a telecommunications company to think about when it comes to the opportunities that online viewing provides. What seemed to be missing, by his own admission, was awareness of how and why good television gets made in the first place.
“A network doesn’t get built in a day,” Stankey said when answering a question about AT&T’s interest in long-term investments. “You think it takes a long time to write a script, film it, edit it, distribute it, bring it out? It takes even longer to build a wireless network.”
If only HBO was in the wireless network business.


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The tech industry is constantly evolving, and new trends are emerging all the time. Here are some of the latest tech trends in 2023:
Tech Trends in 2023
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly sophisticated and is being used in a wide range of applications, from healthcare to transportation.
- Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are becoming more popular, as consumers and businesses explore the potential of these technologies for gaming, education, and training.
- 5G is the next generation of wireless technology, and it is expected to revolutionize the way we communicate, work, and play.
- The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices that are connected to the internet and can collect and exchange data. The IoT is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, as more and more devices are connected to the internet.
- Quantum computing is a new type of computing that uses quantum mechanics to perform calculations that are impossible for traditional computers. Quantum computing is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries, including healthcare, finance, and materials science.
These are just a few of the latest tech trends to watch for in June 2023. As the tech industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these trends develop and impact our lives.
In addition to the trends mentioned above, here are a few other things to keep an eye on in the tech world in June 2023:
- The release of new products and services from tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon.
- The continued growth of the gaming industry, as more and more people play games on their smartphones, tablets, and consoles.
- The development of new ways to use technology to improve our health and well-being.
The tech industry is constantly changing, and it can be difficult to keep up with all the latest trends. However, by staying informed about the latest developments, you can make sure that you are not left behind.

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Binance announced the launch of its Learn and Earn program on Binance Academy – a leading portal for crypto and blockchain education. This initiative will allow users to earn crypto while learning about important topics across the blockchain industry.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, said: “Crypto is changing the world. We’ve already seen GameFi, where people earn from playing games, and now we have created Binance EduFi, where people can earn while they learn. We want to give our users the best tools to improve their understanding of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency projects, so they can make more informed investment decisions.”
The Learn and Earn program will be hosted on a regular basis. Starting on March 25th, Terra (Luna, ANC, UST), WOO Network, Polkastarter (POLS), and ANKR are the projects included in the first batch of the Learn and Earn program. Within the predetermined $600K rewards, users can earn tokens depending on the activities they complete. The following rounds are to be announced at a later date.
Jack Tan, CEO of WOO Network, said: “Education is at the top of every product’s user funnel, bringing awareness and traffic to an application. On the user side, Binance Learn and Earn will help users get more value from products and investments, making this an important two-way relationship that can drive growth for the industry.”


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An all new integrated health and fitness hub, with the state of the art modern exercise, fitness and sports equipment, this is a one stop health and fitness hub for all sports, health, physiotherapy, nutrition, and exercise community. Along with modern technology, sports medicine and sports science, this all new integrated sports and fitness hub is now in Singapore, introducing UFIT Hub at Club Street.
Prior to their official opening, I got the opportunity to visit UFIT Hub at Club Street for a preview. Located in the downtown area, between Chinatown and Raffles Place, it was an eye opener to visit an integrated fitness hub that operates differently from the other fitness centres in Singapore. UFIT Health and Fitness (UFIT), Singapore’s largest independently owned fitness community, celebrates a decade of success and the consolidation of their outlets into three integrated health and fitness hubs, along with ongoing digital transformation.
New Integrated Hubs
During the tour of UFIT Hub at Club Street, checking out their new machines, facilities and spaces for their health and fitness programs, they are running this new integrated health and fitness hub differently from the rest in the market. This is going to be personalised to each individual, from a health consultation to mark the starting point and their goals, to a personal trainer, physio, group classes, a personal nutrition plan or a combination of all of these services to suit each and every unique individual working out at UFIT Hub.
Will Skinner, CEO at UFIT, says, “After nearly a decade in Singapore, UFIT is at a crossroads where we take stock of where we are and what we need to do to move forward into the new era. Whether it be our clients or our staff, we are creating the very best environment for all those that step through the doors when it comes to achieving results. Our redefined vision and purpose statements are what has led us to make these changes, and these will continue to be the cornerstones of every decision we make going forward.”
The consolidation of UFIT into integrated Hubs with their first UFIT Hub at Club Street, two further Hubs have been created at Orchard and in the West with UFIT One-North. This would be great news for people living in different parts of Singapore.
UFIT’s Digital Transformation
The aid and usage of modern technology, from tools to data collection, are going to play a part to help their UFIT members in their health and fitness journeys. Through the consolidation and integration into UFIT Hubs, UFIT will have a bespoke online coaching platform for UFIT trainers and professionals to aid, guide, customise training and influence their UFIT members on their health and fitness journeys.
UFIT will begin to offer a credit-based system on their app, allowing members to purchase credits directly via the app and they can redeem them across any classes in the Group Training Portfolio, including outdoor Bootcamps and Indoor classes at the Club Street Studio.
“As we move to integrate our services under one roof, we want to showcase the best that UFIT has to offer and help create the right environment for our team to ‘Ignite their client’s Greatness!’”, said Dean Ahmad, COO and Co-Founder of UFIT.
Special mention: Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation
A segment that is usually not associated with many or most of the fitness centres in Singapore, most people would associate physiotherapy and rehabilitation with hospitals and specialist medical clinics.
During the preview tour, I learned about UFIT providing physiotherapy and rehabilitation services as part of their holistic and high quality integrated service at their UFIT Hub. Being a patient myself and having to go through physiotherapy and rehabilitation previously (for my injuries), I was able to relate!
On this topic of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, a person who might have previous injuries or conditions that might need physiotherapy and rehabilitation to help you improve your daily living well-being, using a sports medicine/science approach with exercise and fitness machines/regimes might be more suitable for you.
If this is of interest to you, do speak to the professionals at UFIT Hub, have a chat with them and see if this approach works out for you.
Personal thoughts and views
UFIT Hub at Club Street, an all new integrated health and fitness hub, is a great example on how fitness centres can move forward into a new era, along with modern technology, digital transformation and sports medicine. It’s not just a gym whereby you go there to do your exercises and leave after that.
As a sports fanatic, football, basketball, running and a bit of rugby league, I loved my sports although I have pretty much slowed down. I was once into attending fitness centres some years back, on a membership scheme for a while before deciding not to continue with them.
Looking at how UFIT Hub Club Street direction and integration, I feel that this is the way to go for fitness centres moving forward and also for those who are really serious about getting fit and healthy, it’s not just about hitting the exercise machines thinking that you know everything about health and fitness. Nutrition, your health, direction, goals and plans are equally important and crucial.
If you are into a sporting, fitness, healthy and holistic living lifestyle, do check out this all new integrated holistic health and fitness hub – UFIT Hub at Club Street (2 more Hubs coming soon!)
For more information on UFIT, do visit their website and social media channels and check them out
I would like to thank UFIT for the invitation to the preview of UFIT Hub at Club Street prior to their official opening.


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Spectre CPU patches can cause unwanted reboots, Intel warns
19 January 2018 | 0
The firmware patches designed to protect Intel processors against nasty Spectre CPU exploits have a big downside: They are forcing more frequent reboots on some systems, including PCs that released in 2017.
On 11 January, Intel said that the firmware patches prompted more frequent reboots in Haswell (2013) and Broadwell (2014) systems. Late Wednesday, Intel executive vice president Navin Shenoy revealed that many other processor generations also succumb to the reboot bug: Sandy Bridge (2011), Ivy Bridge (2012), Skylake (2015), and Kaby Lake (2017). The only processors from the last five years that run without issue—yet, at least—appear to be the newest Intel 8th-gen CPUs, dubbed Coffee Lake.
“We have reproduced these issues internally and are making progress toward identifying the root cause,” Shenoy says. “In parallel, we will be providing beta microcode to vendors for validation by next week.”
Even with the reboot issue, the existing firmware updates still deliver valuable protection against potential Spectre attacks. “Intel recommends that partners maintain availability of existing microcode updates already released to end users,” the company’s security advisory says. “Intel does not recommend pulling back any updates already made available to end users.”
Consumers should install the patch, swallow any unwanted reboots, and keep an eye out for further fixes coming down the line, in other words. Spectre attacks have not been observed in the wild, but now that the exploits have been published, they’re no doubt coming. AMD says its processors have “near-zero” risk to the Spectre variant that require a microcode update, but it is nevertheless releasing optional firmware updates for its chips.
Attackers need to be able to run code on your PC to exploit the CPU flaws. Staying strong on the security front can keep malware that gives hackers access to your PC off your PC. The usual security products, such as antivirus and antimalware, should provide solid protection. But guarding against these exploits requires more than security software and fresh firmware. These flaws touch every aspect of your computer.
IDG News Service


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Red, White & Boom Offers an Exclusive LEGO® Build Activity, Patriotic Treats and More
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (June 26, 2018) – LEGOLAND® Florida Resort is set to launch its largest fireworks display of the year during Red, White & Boom. The annual Independence Day celebration features a day full of fun activities including a high-energy kid dance party and a giant LEGO flag build.
On July 4, an all-American array of treats join the theme park’s menu including a firecracker funnel cake dusted with popping candy, a dessert pizza complete with blueberries, icing and streusel crumbles and a celebratory churro covered in red or blue cinnamon topping.
When the sun goes down, guests are encouraged to wear special viewing glasses and look to the sky above Lake Eloise as it illuminates with LEGO bricks during a patriotic fireworks show. Red, White & Boom will take place from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and is included with park admission.
NEW for summer 2018
LEGOLAND Florida Resort also announced a brand new, free-of-charge, building activity. For a limited-time this summer, Build-A-Minilander will invite theme park guests to help build residents of MINILAND USA. Located at the heart of the kid-centric theme park, MINILAND USA contains more than 32 million LEGO bricks and scenes from coast to coast all the way to a galaxy far, far away! This building opportunity will be held inside Heartlake Hall from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. “Minilanders” will later be placed within the LEGO cities of MINILAND USA by the resort’s Master Model Builders.


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Vertcoin iOS wallet has been in development from quite a while but looks like this time, Vertcoin developers have hit a wall with the Apple. Everytime the team submits their app for review, it gets rejected and while the team has worked on with Apple to get the ‘problems’ sorted out, this time, it is different. Apple has rejected their iOS app this time as Vertcoin is not an approved cryptocurrency. This means the team is at the end of the road.
Previously, the coin was rejected due to following reasons and each time, they were able to get the problems resolved.
1. Needed duns number
2. Needs further review (developers had to provide info about Vertcoin)
3. Design-spam (developers had to explain what open sourced software was)
One Vertcoin developer even requested a phone call from Apple for being called an unapproved cryptocurrency. They did this in January and they finally got a call two weeks back. The team was told that Apple cannot do anything since Vertcoin was not an approved currency in the app store.
So, if you really want to store Vertcoins on your iPhone, you will have to use the Coinomi app that is available for iOS devices. It is available for an android devices as well.


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"The Ricoh B2 inkjet press is phenomenal. It is going to be a game changer for the commercial print market," says Bob Dahlke, Jr., principal, VISOgraphic, Inc. "Ricoh's approach to bringing new innovation to market is to do it right. They don't care about being first; they care about delivering what our businesses need. I've been through this process with them in the past, and I believe it has helped commercial printers more confidently and effectively migrate to digital."
Today's commercial print environment is radically different than it was just a year ago, as companies in this space evolve to be hyper-relevant in today's constantly changing landscape. While the transition to digital has been progressing for years, printers are now looking to further accelerate that transition while uncovering new opportunities. The RICOH Pro Z75 was developed from the ground up by Ricoh experts to empower printers to confidently pursue those opportunities, building on the company's 40-plus years of inkjet leadership and culture of transformational innovation, known as Henkaku.
In this new business climate, commercial printers are more than ever seeking to expand their application range and profitably meet the increasing demand for short runs. Media flexibility and competitive operational costs are key. Those seeking exceptional productivity, ease-of-use, and media versatility, across offset coated, uncoated and inkjet treated stocks, with one of the lowest operational costs in its class will benefit from the strategic design of the RICOH Pro Z75.
"The B2 format is fantastic for commercial printers who are looking to run more applications at a more competitive price point. It's more cost-effective for business," says Kirk Schlecker, president, Heeter.
The RICOH Pro Z75 will harness Ricoh's extremely efficient drying technology, auto-duplexing, reliable paper transport and a new DFE controller architecture to bring class-leading levels of productivity and anticipated market-leading speeds. Offset-quality images are achieved through Ricoh's own printhead, aqueous ink and dynamic drop size technology, providing customers with a printing solution that will surpass the expectations of their own demanding clients.
"Today more than ever, commercial printers must be adaptable and view changing customer needs as opportunities, not challenges," says Gavin Jordan-Smith, senior VP, Commercial and Industrial Print, Ricoh Americas. "The power of digital has never been more front and center than it is now, and that's due to the demand of hyper-relevancy from end customers. And in order for commercial printers to support those evolving needs for hyper-relevancy, they must be equipped with leading productivity, reliability and speeds. The RICOH Pro Z75 helps empower commercial printers with the ability to dynamically pivot to effectively and efficiently support customer needs."
More details on the RICOH Pro Z75 press will be revealed in early 2021, including launch timings.


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Thursday, May 21, 2015
Fubon Securities (富邦證券), the securities unit of Taiwan-based Fubon Financial Holding Co. (富邦金), has secured approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC, 金管會) to buy a stake in China's Huishang Futures.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海), the world's largest contract electronics maker, is expected to secure 60 percent-70 percent of the orders placed by Apple Inc. to assemble the next generation of the iPhone, an analyst said Wednesday.1 Comment
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Local contactless smartcard system EasyCard yesterday achieved a new milestone in its range of applications, as consumers can use it to pay for purchases as part of a trial run in the Qingguang Market (晴光商圈) and the Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市).1 Comment
Industry representatives yesterday urged the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA, 經濟部) to improve Taiwan's environment management sector to meet business needs.
Chairman of Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co., Ltd. (萬通實業) Feng Lun (馮侖) yesterday denied rumors that Vantone was withdrawing investment from the nation, saying that the company will remain and discuss future plans after the 2016 presidential election.
Shares of Largan Precision Co. (大立光) rose to a record high Tuesday after foreign brokerages raised their target prices on the stock based on the company's first-quarter profits, dealers said.
Shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (鴻海) moved higher Tuesday morning, extending gains from a session earlier, as investors remained excited by the company's first quarter results announced over the weekend, dealers said.
Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (華碩) has released a successor to its low-cost ZenFone range in the United States to tap into the world's second-largest smartphone market after China.
Shares in Taiwan moved higher to close above the 9,700-point mark Tuesday as buying was triggered by a record high on Wall Street to lift large-cap stocks in both the electronics and financial sectors, dealers said.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
As temperatures rise around the island, Taiwan Power Company (Taipower, 台電,) is set to hike electricity prices in June, resulting in a couple-of-hundred-dollars increase in utility prices on a monthly basis.


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WASHINGTON, August 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Iconic Moments has partnered with the White House Historical Association (WHHA) to produce a limited edition NFT (non-fungible token) – a digital collectible with proof of ownership through a digital ledger known as blockchain that can be sold and traded on marketplaces like Iconic Moments. The partnership is WHHA’s first foray into NFTs and the first time PROOF Collective has invited an NFT market to participate in its Grails collection.
The Grails collections showcase the original works of various artists from around the world. PROOF members have exclusive access to the minting of these unique coins, but only know the identity of the respective artists once the minting process is complete.
The Iconic-WHHA NFT is created by Linda Dounia Rebeizentitled Sparrows are not afraid of the sun. Rebeiz’s work uses physical and digital art media and incorporates artificial intelligence, making it an ideal candidate to pay homage to Alma Thomas a black artist who pioneered a style and whose piece Resurrection WHHA selected as inspiration for the NFT.
Painted in 1966 when Thomas was 74 years old, Resurrection features Thomas’ signature abstract style. It depicts several brightly colored irregular concentric circles forming a sunburst. The work was acquired for the White House Collection with the support of George B. Hartzog, Jr., and the White House Acquisition Trust/WHHA and is the first work of art by a black woman to be added to the White House collection. First lady michelle obama unveiled the piece in February 2015revealing its place of honor overlooking the Old Family Dining Room.
“We are extremely honored to have been approached by Iconic Moments and PROOF Collective to participate in this exclusive and distinguished collection,” said Colleen Shogan, senior vice president of the WHHA. “We see this as a unique opportunity to support and tell the story of Alma Thomas’ stunning artwork while elevating and showcasing the work of a modern black artist through by Linda Dounia Rebeiz digital interpretation.
“Storytelling, history and culture are at the heart of what we do at Iconic Moments,” said Chris Cummings, Founder and CEO of Iconic Moments. “We’re thrilled to partner with Linda, an incredible artist, and PROOF to raise awareness and fund one of America’s most iconic institutions: the WHHA. It’s our starting point for changing the way people from all over the world experience museums, culture and art.
Press assets, including images, logos, headlines, etc. can be found on www.iconicmoments.co/whha-press-kit/
On iconic moments:
Iconic Moments is the premier NFT platform focused on storytelling and storytelling for iconic brands and cultural institutions. Using our industry experience, we work with partners to develop engaging, story-rich campaigns centered around the culture and heritage of their collections. https://iconicmoments.co/
About the White House Historical Association:
First lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a restored White House that conveyed a sense of history through its decorative and fine arts. She sought to inspire Americans, especially children, to explore and engage with American history and its presidents. In 1961, the nonprofit, nonpartisan White House Historical Association was formed to support his vision to preserve and share the legacy of the Executive Mansion. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association’s mission is to assist in the preservation of state and public rooms, fund acquisitions for the White House permanent collection, and educate the public about the history of the White House. Since its founding, the Association has donated over $50 million to the White House in the accomplishment of his mission. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/
About Grails II and PROOF Collective
PROOF is a private members-only collective of 1,000 dedicated NFT collectors and artists. Grails is an exclusive currency available only to PROOF Collective pass holders. Each piece is a unique work of art made for the Grails drop in collaboration with some of the best space artists. https://collective.proof.xyz/grails-2.
SOURCE Iconic Moments


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New York – AT&T (NYSE: T) announced on Monday that it will begin
targeting mobile ads to users’ phones based on their location.
by AT&T service, powered by Placecast, will deliver ads to subscribers who
opt-in to receive such messages, initially in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago
and San Francisco.
Participating consumers will receive ads when they enter a
"geo-fence," or virtual perimeter around a retail location, event or
any geographic area.
Launch advertisers for the service include HP, Kmart,
JetBlue and SC Johnson.
AT&T said the initiative marks the first time a
major U.S. wireless carrier has introduced such a location-based ad targeting


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Ford Motor Company is working to reduce its share of long-term auto loans and leases in Canada, where buyers are twice as likely as those in the US to stretch out car payments over terms as long as eight years, Bloomberg reports.
Ford is, in fact, more conservative than most other automakers in Canada, with long-term loans (6+ years) and leases (5+ years) accounting for around 20 percent of its vehicle sales – less than half the rate of the industry as a whole. Still, since depreciation starts to set in as soon as a new car is driven off the lot, and continues over the ensuing years, such long loan terms mean that more buyers end up paying well over what their car is worth.
Further, such loans are contributing to mounting consumer debt in the country that could “magnify any economic shocks,” says Bloomberg.
Of course, the problem with trying to limit such long-term auto loans is their very popularity; Ford needs to compete with other automakers in the country. The Blue Oval was number one in Canadian car sales last year with nearly a 16% market share, and the drawn-out financing has helped fuel three straight years of record industry-wide growth.
Long-term loans are “something that we keep a close eye on,” said Ford Canada CEO Mark Buzzell this week. “We really are trying to limit the trade cycles to shorter terms, but at the end of the day we have to stay competitive.”


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Compton, California superstar rapper Game released his fifth solo works, The R.E.D. Album last Tuesday, August 23. Later last week, Game teamed with veteran music journalist Soren Baker to release a corresponding digital book, The Making of Game’s “The R.E.D. Album”
Available on Amazon.com, with an iTunes and paperback release coming, the work features stories directing from Game, on working with the likes of Dr. Dre, Pharrell, Rick Ross and others.
This is Game’s first book, and the latest 2011 work from Baker, who previously released books about Jay-Z and Tech N9ne.


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WELCOME TO THE ACTS LAW
Chipotle customers are suing because of overstuffed burritos, saying that the company’s calorie counts were full of it.
A lawsuit filed in California court last week says that the chain misrepresented the nutritional value and that consumers were “lulled into a false belief” that they were eating healthy.
The menu item uniting the case’s three plaintiffs is the Chorizo Burrito, which the fast casual joint began selling earlier this year and advertised as 300 calories on overhead menus.
All three customers said that they ordered the spicy sausage meal at different locations earlier this month because of its supposed health benefits.
While the chorizo in the burrito is 300 calories, Chipotle’s Nutrition Calculator shows that if the burrito was eaten as pictured, the diner would take in more than 1,000 calories including cheese, tortilla, rice, beans and salsa.
All three burrito eaters said that they soon “realized that the burrito couldn’t have been just 300 calories,” with one Los Angeles man saying that he “felt excessively full.”
The class-action suit says that Chipotle has engaged in unfair business practices, and says that anyone who bought food at a California location in the last four years can join.
Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said in a statement to the Daily News that he does not comment on pending legal matters, but added that “a lawsuit is nothing more than allegations and is proof of nothing.”
“Generally speaking, we always work hard to maintain transparency around what is in our food, including the nutritional content, which is provided on an ingredient-by-ingredient basis,” he said.
It is unclear how far the California suit will proceed, though it continues a bad run for the Colorado-based company.
Chipotle’s stock has fallen 45% since reaching a high of $749 per share last summer, as customers enthusiasm for its burritos has waned amid reports of aluminum-wrapped ailments such as E. coli and Norovirus.
Third Quarter results released late last month showed the company’s 2016 sales falling 14.8% compared to 2015.
At Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo, LLP, we view the safety and well-being of our clients, staff and business partners as our highest priority.
The situation regarding the COVID-19 virus is continually changing, and we are following all recommended guidelines to stay healthy.
Currently, our law firm is remaining open to serve your legal needs.
We are happy to arrange for phone or video consultations should you have any concerns about keeping your scheduled appointments with us. We are also able to exchange documents via secure drives or email.
Should you have any concerns regarding an upcoming meeting with us, please contact us online or call (833) ACTS-LAW.
Thank you and take care.


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Chef Steven McHugh kicks off Cadillac Café at Pearl
This Friday, The Cadillac Café will make its debut at the Pearl Farmers Market. Sponsored by Cadillac, the monthly event will serve up cooking demonstrations for patrons.
First up, Chef Steven McHugh, who will demonstrate how to cook sweet-and-spicy cabrito sliders with pickled cucumber.
The Cadillac tent will also showcase the new ATS luxury sport sedan.
McHugh’s cooking demo will begin at 9:30. The Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday at Pearl, located at 312 Pearl Parkway, just north of downtown.
The inaugural Café will also give patrons a small taste of what’s to come with McHugh’s new restaurant — Cured, which will open at Pearl this fall.
Tricia Lynn Silva is assistant managing editor of the newspaper. She assists in the management of the newsroom and plans and coordinates special publications.
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Louisiana State University gymnast Livvy Dunne may still be nursing a lower leg injury, but that didn’t stop her from stepping into a pair of kitten-heel sandals for a recent social media share.
Livvy and her LSU Tiger teammates are wrapping up their current gymnastics season, and it has been a roller coaster.
While Livvy has found herself sidelined by an ongoing injury, that hasn’t been the case for the entire team. In fact, Livvy’s teammate Haleigh Bryant recently made history by scoring a perfect ten at a recent competition.
The excitement was palpable for the team and coaches, who were thrilled to see their friend and teammate excel.
Livvy has helped keep the team’s morale boosted throughout the season and has continued to keep her fans and followers updated on social media as well.
In addition to her usual selfie shares, where she is often found sporting the signature LSU purple and yellow colors, Livvy also takes fashion off the mat and recently gave her following a sneak peek into her personal life.
Livvy Dunne strikes a pose in denim Daisy Dukes
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Livvy snapped a bedroom mirror selfie that showcased her fabulous figure.
The bubbly blonde stood for the full-body shot, which delivered a peek at the entirety of her trendy outfit.
Trading in her usual gymnastics spandex for a summer look, Livvy stunned in the ensemble. She started with a cream-colored teddy tank top with a lace trim that plunged with the top’s v-neckline, and the same lace accentuated the cropped length.
The spaghetti-strapped number also featured a drawstring that helped cinch Livvy’s already tiny waist.
Livvy topped off the cute outfit with a pair of medium-wash Daisy Dukes and strappy sandals. The hemline of the distressed shorts fell near the top of Livvy’s thighs, while the sandals perfectly complemented the entire look in a light beige hue.
The 20-year-old carried a stark white purse with her and pulled her hair away from her face in a low ponytail which helped accentuate her natural beauty.
Livvy geotagged LSU in the snap alongside three emojis, including a white heart, stars, and a cloud.
Livvy promotes American Eagle as an AE Partner
Livvy has made quite a name for herself as she’s continued to grow her following on social media.
Not only does she currently boast a whopping 7.2 million followers on TikTok, but she has also amassed an impressive 3.7 million followers on Instagram.
With such an impressive reach, it comes as no surprise that trendy brands want to partner with the stunning student-athlete.
Well-known clothing brand American Eagle is among the list of companies that Livvy has partnered with in order to help promote their items.
In February 2022, Livvy took to Instagram with a carousel share featuring two images as she posed on a stool wearing American Eagle’s famous denim.
She paired the jeans with a white cropped tank top and went barefoot for the share.
“Perfect jeans🤍 @americaneagle flares #aepartner #aeathleticdept,” she captioned the post.
Livvy partnered with the brand again in August with another denim-inspired share. However, Livvy took the camera outside for the shots, which featured another white tank top and light-wash denim from the brand.
“Best jeans ever :) @americaneagle #aepartner #aejeans,” she captioned the post.
Livvy made the perfect partner for the brand, as the last post alone garnered well over 428,000 likes and 2,100 comments.


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However, the “soul” of the beloved 40-year-old independent theater, as owner Dan Harkins put it in today’s statement, will be combined with Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters at a new megaplex being built as part of the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall expansion.
The next question, of course, is the fate is of the existing Camelview building, which is located on southwest corner of Goldwater Boulevard and Highland Avenue.
Harkins’ Fashion Square 7, another theater located inside the mall that plays first-run films, will also be relocated to the new 14-screen megaplex. Nelson said Macerich is also unsure what they’ll do with that 20,000-square-foot space, but it will likely serve some kind of retail function.
Nelson said Harkins has been on a year-to-year lease for Fashion Square 7 while Camelview’s lease is set to expire in 2015 when the new megaplex is set to open. Due to this, both Macerich and Harkins worked closely together on what the next 20 years of moviegoing at Fashion Square should look like, he said.
“For the most part, it was a collaboration,” Nelson said. “The idea of putting them under one roof in a new physical plant was intriguing to both parties.”


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Telefast Indonesia posts 7% revenue growth in 2019
In addition, the company also posted a gross profit increase of 5.8% yoy to Rp 55 billion and distribution retailer growth of 19.6% yoy to 8,505 partners with a gross transaction value of Rp 5.8 billion.
“In line with the significant benefits enjoyed by our partners, each partner’s average revenue also grew significantly,” TFAS Public Relations Manager Nathania Sarah and Junior Corporate Secretary Dinda Agustin Zirastivani said in an official statement received by IDNFinancials.com, Friday (24/7).
TFAS’s first AGM and public expose took place on July 21, 2020 with a limited number of participants and was broadcast in a video conference to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The company made its debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in September 2019. (MS)


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The four companies developing the powerful Cell processor that will sit at the heart of the PlayStation 3 released detailed specifications for the chip Thursday as part of a drive to get it adopted in a wider range of consumer electronics and computer products.
IBM Corp., Toshiba Corp., Sony Corp. and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), which are developing the chip together, published details on the Internet of the architecture of the “broadband engine” that sits at the heart of the processor. Details of the media and streaming acceleration processor and software programming language specifications were also made available.
“It’s aimed to accelerate the creation of Cell-based applications,” Nanako Kato, a spokeswoman at SCEI, said of the move to offer more information about the chip. SCEI is the Sony unit responsible for the company’s PlayStation games consoles.
The PlayStation 3 is expected to launch in the first half of next year and be the first Cell-based product on the market. Toshiba has said it’s looking at using the Cell in high-definition TVs, and Mercury Computer Systems Inc. has a deal with IBM that could see the Cell employed in computer systems.
Now the partners are looking to push beyond these limited applications and grow the market for the chip, which the four companies have spent several billion dollars developing, including manufacturing technologies.
The Cell is widely seen as one of the most powerful processors yet developed. It has been tuned for multimedia applications that require fast processing and involve large amounts of data.
The chip that will sit in the PlayStation 3 will contain one 64-bit Power PC core and eight additional multimedia processing cores. The cores can all support multiple operating systems and programming models through the use of virtualization technologies. The Cell chip will use Rambus Inc.’s XDR (extreme data rate) memory interface technology running at 3.2GHz, and will be able to handle 10 instruction threads at a given time.
Thursday’s disclosure comes after higher-level technical details of the chip were published at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco in February. That event marked the first time that the companies had offered detailed information on the processor. Thursday’s documents represent the second big disclosure.
Documents from IBM are available at
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/power/cell, some of which require registration to view. SCEI is offering documents in English and Japanese at
https://cell.scei.co.jp. Toshiba will make information available shortly, it said. A message board where questions about the Cell processor can be posted is also available on IBM’s site.


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Just when you thought those pricey monthly cell phone plans were here for good, Sprint-owned Virgin Mobile has a new offer for you to consider.
The carrier that's known for its no contract, pay per-month mobile device service is now offering a $20 plan that includes 300 minutes of talk time, unlimited texting, and zero data. Yep, you heard me right - no data whatsoever. So, if you opt for the plan you'll only be able to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.
This contrasts the "normal" requirements of major smartphone carriers where opting out of the data plan is simply not an option at all. They all require that you subscribe to at least an inexpensive, limited plan to even be able to operate a smartphone on their networks. Even Sprint, who owns Virgin Mobile, just recently rolled out an unlimited talk, text, and data plan for sixty dollars per month, per line - one many experts consider to be the best deal going.
The new "no-data plan, plan" certainly deserves some consideration for those with tight purse strings. But it will be interesting to see if it appeals to other users as well.


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You won't see many banks giving away free toasters to new customers these days. The 1970s-era "toaster giveaway" -- designed to lure customers from competing banks -- has become a banking-world cliche.
But you will see banks giving away everything from new cars to George Foreman grills to iPods.
Many banks have super-sized their customer incentives in hopes of standing out in an increasingly competitive field. New players Commerce Bancorp and PNC Financial are entering the Baltimore-Washington market, and competition for deposits is heating up along with interest rates. And realizing the power of word-of-mouth referrals, banks are increasingly gearing incentives toward existing customers who refer them new business.
Baltimore-based Provident Bank decided late last year to rev up its "tell-a-friend" program, which rewards customers who refer a friend to the bank with a gift such as a duffel bag. Provident will give away a new Pontiac Vibe this fall. Customers are entered in a drawing for the car when the person they refer opens a personal checking account.
"We're looking for those who know us best to tell others about us," said Shelley Martin, segment manager.
First Mariner Bank launched its own "tell-a-friend" giveaway program a couple of years ago. Most banks now offer free checking -- meaning banks have to do more to set themselves apart, said Fran Crawford, product director for the Baltimore bank.
The bank has a new giveaway every month -- from shredders and binoculars to the wildly popular George Foreman grill. The bank spends about $50,000 to $75,000 a year on incentives, Crawford said.
This summer, giants Citibank and Bank One have offered an Apple iPod Shuffle to those who open new accounts. Buffalo-based M&T Bank Corp. is giving away Digitech organizers -- similar to PalmPilots -- to anyone who opens a new account or refers a new customer.
This summer, Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Corp. is offering 15 free song downloads from Apple's iTunes to college students who open an account.
"For a lot of people, [college] is their first experience with a bank," said spokesman Scott Silvestri.
K Bank in Owings Mills relies on competitive CD rates to attract customers, eschewing giveaways beyond a free order of checks for a new customer. "Ultimately, I think the customer is looking for a very competitive rate," CEO David H. Wells said.


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The Justice Department said Tuesday it is examining Microsoft Corp.'s purchase of Internet software company Vermeer Technologies Inc.
Spokeswoman Gina Talamona wouldn't provide details about why the department is examining Microsoft's Jan. 16 deal with the privately owned company, based in Cambridge, Mass.
Microsoft spokesman Greg Shaw noted that the Justice Department previously had said it will continue to monitor Microsoft. "It is not surprising that it has questions about the transaction. We are confident that this transaction is entirely pro-competitive and pro-consumer," he said.
Last summer, the department's antitrust investigators examined whether Microsoft would use its dominance with the Windows operating systems software to gain an unfair advantage in the computer on-line services business.
Although department officials didn't take action to delay the rollout of Microsoft Network last summer, they have continued to watch the Redmond, Wash.-based company's foray into the booming Internet business.
Vermeer makes software to help people design and manage pages on the World Wide Web, the fast-growing part of the Internet global computer network.
Microsoft didn't disclose details of its purchase of Vermeer last month, but analysts have estimated the price at $80 million to $130 million.


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Volkswagen and Porsche are recalling some of their premium sports utility vehicles to check their pedal mechanism.
Volkswagen and its Porsche unit issued a precautionary safety campaign affecting more than 800, 000 Touareg and Cayenne sports utility models to verify a faulty component on the pedal mechanism that might fail. In a notice to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the automakers explained that the brake pedal pivot pin might be missing a circlip, allowing the pivot pin to move and the pedal to dislodge.
If this failure occurs, the driver may not be able to stop the car, significantly increasing the risk of a crash. However, there have been no accidents or injuries reported so far and the problem was recently fixed on the newest production models.
The recall affects 391,000 Touaregs and 409,477 Cayennes built between 2011 and 2016, targeting 46,700 VW SUVs and 88,300 Porsche SUVs in the United States.
The carmakers will notify ownerS and dealers will inspect the brake pedal assembly to verify the presence of the circlip and install any missing circlips, free of charge. Volkswagen and Porsche have not provided a notification schedule so far, but they said the customers would be notified as soon as possible.


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Shares of the Palo Alto, California-based electric-vehicle maker have soared 228 percent this year through Monday, blowing past even some of the most optimistic expectations.
“Over the past week, the company is adding to its valuation an amount roughly equal to Ford’s entire market cap on a daily basis,” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. “We’re struggling to play catch up here with the valuation.”
Tesla’s market capitalization has increased by $47 billion to $254 billion from July 1 through Monday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The spike came after the company reported strong delivery and production numbers despite its main plant being forced to close for about half the quarter due to COVID-19. Ford’s market value was $35 billion.
Tesla produced 82,272 vehicles during the second quarter and delivered 90,650, easily outpacing Wall Street estimates. The strong numbers, which came despite Tesla having to close its main plant for about half of the quarter due to COVID-19, have caused an avalanche of revisions to Wall Street price targets.
Tesla’s demand is “holding up better” than its peers, Jonas wrote, adding that volume is only down 5 percent from a year ago and that no other original equipment manufacturer is seeing numbers anywhere close to that level.
Jonas, who raised his price target from $650 to $740, or 46 percent below where they finished on Monday, remains concerned over Tesla’s ability to sustain a profit in China, the health of the auto industry and “inevitable competition” from tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Google.
However, his bull case scenario projects shares could reach $2,070 apiece, up 50 percent from current levels, if Tesla is able to reach 6 million units of volume by 2030.
Tesla’s strong delivery and production numbers also did not go unnoticed by JPMorgan analyst Ryan Brinkman, the most bearish Tesla analyst on Wall Street.
Brinkman on Monday raised his price target by $20 a share to $295, or 78 percent below Monday’s closing level, due to the strong results and a recent note from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to employees suggesting breaking even was “looking super tight.”
He took that to mean Tesla will see a “substantially greater outcome” than what he was anticipating, but warned the results could be boosted by one-time factors such as zero-emission vehicle credit sales or deferred revenue associated with autonomous driving features.
“We remain underweight-rated on TSLA shares, on what we see as lofty valuation coupled with high investor expectations and high execution risk,” he wrote.


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Updated 28th January 2023. The fish farm has been closed and the 50 staff made redundant, following a long campaign by local people who felt it was causing issues with fish debris and predator species in the area.
Visitors to the tiny picturesque village of Playa Quemada or guests aboard the Catlanza catamaran trips to Papagayo might have noticed the fish farms situated off the coast of Lanzarote.
The farm is owned by local company Yaizatun SA and situated in the area known as Bahía de Ávila. Founded in 2001 the farm was built as a nursery for yellow fin tuna, in 2008 the scheme was in difficulties so the farm took the decision to change their stock to seabass (Lubina) and seabream (Dorada) with much greater success. Now around 2,000 tonnes of fish are sold each year to major retailers supplying the central markets of Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and Portugal.
The fish farm is part of the group Ricardo Fuentes e Hijos SA, due to the success of the farm, this company has been able to invest 4.1m Euros in building their own processing and packaging plant situated in Puerto Naos, Arrecife. The opening of the new plant has created an additional 12 jobs to expand their existing workforce of 25 employees. Production here will have the capacity to process about 50 tonnes of fish per day.
The fish farm has caused some local controversy with residents of Playa Quemada, who have argued that the fish poo released by the farm is causing changes to the sea bed in the area and attracting predators.
Read more about Playa Quemada.


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Spirit AeroSystems and Norsk Titanium AS have entered into a commercial agreement to produce 3D-printed structural titanium components for the commercial aerospace industry. Norsk Titanium's proprietary plasma arc Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) technology will be used to build up the parts to a near-net shape, reducing waste, using less energy and reducing product costs by up to 30 percent.
Spirit currently builds thousands of titanium parts for multiple customers around the globe and expects that at least 30 percent of them could be candidates for the RPDTM process.
"We are pleased to enter into this innovative commercial agreement with Norsk Titanium to fabricate compliant and high-quality parts for our customers," stated Spirit President and CEO Tom Gentile. "Reducing our material cost and our environmental impact is a win-win for Spirit, our customers and the communities where we do business."
Spirit AeroSystems and Norsk Titanium have been working together to develop this technology for the aerospace industry since 2008. This commercial agreement between the two companies solidifies and extends the partnership and identifies specific parts that can be immediately produced using RPD.
"As the Spirit and Norsk Titanium relationship approaches its 10th year, we reflect on the value of this partnership and the significant milestones achieved during the transition from R&D to production," said Norsk Titanium CEO Warren Boley. "We recently announced becoming the world's first FAA-approved 3D-printed structural titanium provider and Spirit is the ideal tier-one aerostructures partner to leverage this pioneering capability."
Spirit AeroSystems is one of the largest manufacturers of fabricated parts for the aerospace industry. The company recently announced plans to expand its fabrication business to support other manufacturers around the globe.
Information provided by Spirit AeroSystems Inc.


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TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA said on Monday they would invest $600 million to make six new models in India, one of three markets in which the two automakers plan to coordinate closely in a revamped alliance announced last week.
The move will help address falling market shares for the Japanese and French companies in a market with rising global importance.
“This investment is very significant not only on products but on technologies like EVs to really capture the growing Indian market, which is the third-largest market in the world, and also to use India as a base for export,” Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta told reporters.
The two companies said in a statement that each would make three new models in India, all built on joint platforms – components and engineering that can be shared between designs.
Two models would be electric vehicles (EVs), the companies’ first in India; the others would be sports utility vehicles.
All will be made at the underemployed car plant that the companies jointly own at Chennai, in southern India. They have a research and development centre there, too.
Under a new structure for their two-decade-old global alliance announced on Feb. 6, Nissan and Renault will also cooperate closely in Latin America and Europe.
The two companies together had around 3% of the Indian market in 2022. Unlike Nissan, Renault does not have a significant presence China, the United States and Japan, raising the stakes for its success in India.
Industry-wide sales in India surged 23% last year to 4.4 million vehicles, overtaking the Japanese market, according to S&P Global Mobility.
The Chennai plant can produce about 500,000 vehicles a year, but last year Renault sold only 87,000 in India and Nissan 35,000.
(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Edwina Gibbs and Bradley Perrett)


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Valley Bounty: Upinngil Farm
Published September 2, 2023 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette
At Upinngil Farm, a fruit-filled fall awaits
“At this point, for us, advertising seems like a waste of time,” says Sorrel Hatch of Upinngil Farm in Gill. “If you have a good product, it will sell itself. Our business has succeeded by following the pull of the market, rather than trying to push; by growing and making the things that sell themselves.”
After more than 35 years, Upinngil Farm and their farm store at 411 Main Rd. have evolved into a destination in rural Gill. As the calendar turns to September, the sweetest treasure beckons from just behind the store – bright red fall raspberries, waiting to be picked.
These raspberries are one of many projects Hatch and the other farmers have dabbled in across 100 acres of farmland.
“When my father Clifford started the farm in the 1980s, the first things he raised were Finnsheep (a hardy breed of sheep raised for both meat and wool), and bees,” she says. “We were Upinngil Finnsheep and Apiary. We’ve come a long way since then.”
Indeed, the sheep are gone and only a few beehives remain. Now it’s grass-fed raw milk and a newly expanded bakery within their farm store that anchor the business. They also make cheese from their milk, raise other livestock for meat and eggs, and grow a variety of produce and even grains for the bakery. That’s nearly a complete diet coaxed from the hills of Gill.
About 15 staff help all these pieces come together. Founder Clifford Hatch oversees the dairy and serves as head cheesemaker. Sarah Porrovecchio is the resident herdswoman, monitoring the health of the cows and pasture. Crop manager Simon Eaton is responsible for most of the produce they grow, and other employees and family members take on the rest of the pieces.
“My job has shifted more to managing the retail side and being the head baker,” says Hatch. “I’ve had to learn to delegate, train, and trust others with growing things.”
Arguably, the Upinngil Farm that people know today began to take shape in 2007, when they found their niche selling raw milk. Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized, or heated to high temperatures to kill any bacteria, whether harmful or beneficial. Farms that sell raw milk in Massachusetts follow rigorous sanitation guidelines and are required to sell their milk directly from the farm.
“Once you’ve had it and tasted how great it is, you have to come to the farm to get it,” says Hatch. “That creates a big customer base coming here regularly.”
Their other year-round draw, the Little Red Hen Bakery, was born out of Hatch’s baking experiments with wheat her father began growing on the farm – an experiment of his own. The viability of growing, harvesting and storing their own grains has proven tenuous, but their baked goods are here to stay. What began with simple breads and cookies has expanded to a selection of muffins, scones, cinnamon buns, croissants, granola, and other pastries available daily.
“Three years ago, we renovated the space adjacent to the store into a commercial bakery,” Hatch explains. “Now our baked goods are right up there with our milk, in terms of bringing in reliable customers.”
To supplement their homegrown wheat, Hatch buys whole organic grain from Farmer Ground Flour, a farmer co-op in upstate New York, and mills it fresh in-house. They also buy some lighter bread flour from King Arthur Flour in Vermont.
The focal point of Upinngil Farm is their farm store, stocked with milk, bread and a lot more. This time of year, shelves are filled with produce from their fields, food from other local farms and staples that save rural neighbors a trip to supermarkets further afield. It’s also a jumping off point for pick-your-own crops.
Many customers know Upinngil for pick-your-own strawberries. Unfortunately, this year a late May frost literally nipped that crop in the bud – one of many examples this year where increasingly erratic weather fueled by climate change has impacted local farms. Luckily, they were still able to offer pick-your-own snap peas, cut flowers, and another coveted red berry – fall raspberries.
“Because they’re fall-bearing, these plants didn’t flower until long after the frost,” Hatch explains, “and the rain has helped their growth.”
The raspberry patch is located right behind the farm store and open for picking 8am – 7pm daily. The fruit began to ripen in mid-August, and barring major cold snaps, the harvest could continue throughout September. Any extra berries are frozen and used later in the bakery, adding a hint of summer to things like maple raspberry scones.
Hatch is a big proponent of pick-your-own crops, highlighting the mutual benefits it offers to farmers and pickers. Farmers are spared a bit of labor, and eaters often pay less (at Upinngil, pick-your-own raspberries are half the price of pre-picked). Meanwhile, picking offers a moment of respite and connection with nature that many crave.
“I feel like everyone needs some work with their brain and some work with their hands to live a balanced life,” she says. “This is a perfect chance for many people to rebalance.” Balance and sustainability are often on Hatch’s mind as she contemplates how Upinngil Farm can best serve their land and their community long-term.
“I think the key to sustainability is maintaining a connection and a natural feedback loop between farmers and customers,” she offers. “If the farmer knows who they’re growing food for, it creates an extra level of commitment to the quality of our food and how we grow it. Customers continuing to buy from them demonstrates their support. It’s a two-way street, and a natural feedback loop.
“Our tagline is ‘food you need from the land you love.’” she continues. “We’re not a gift shop, or a place where only people coming from Boston can afford to buy anything. This is food you need, and I want to see my neighbors here shopping. That’s the most important thing.”
Jacob Nelson is communications coordinator for CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). To learn more about local farms and farm stores you can visit in your neck of the woods, check out buylocalfood.org/farmguide.


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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the ground beef items were packaged on Nov. 2, and the issue was discovered after several customers found this mirror-like material in their meat after purchasing it from a grocery store.
The products part of the Tyson recall are as follows:
- 10-pound chubs containing “Hill Country fare ground beef 73% lean/27% fat with best before or freeze by: Nov. 25, 2022.”
- 5-pound chubs containing “Hill Country fare ground beef 73% lean/27% fat with best before or freeze by: Nov. 25, 2022.”
- 5-pound chubs containing “H-E-B ground chuck ground beef 80% lean/20% fat.”
The FSIS advises individuals who purchased these items to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase immediately. The impacted products were sold in retail grocery stores in Texas.
The specific labels for the ground beef that Tyson is recalling can be found here.
It’s been a tough time for meat-lovers: Last week, the CDC warned that many people should “not eat meat or cheese from any deli counter” unless it was “steaming hot” due to a listeria outbreak.
But there could be some more meat alternatives on the horizon.
The Tyson recall news came as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that meat grown in a laboratory setting is safe for human consumption.
“Advancements in cell culture technology are enabling food developers to use animal cells obtained from livestock, poultry, and seafood in the production of food, with these products expected to be ready for the U.S. market in the near future.,” the FDA said. To be clear, such products are not yet on the U.S. market, but they have now received this preliminary vote of regulatory confidence.
And earlier this week, the CFO of Tyson Foods apologized to investors during a company earnings call after he was arrested early on the morning of Nov. 6 after being found sleeping in a house that wasn’t his.


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Nestle joined IBM’s food credit blockchain platform as early as 2017 and has since used technology to track the origin and production process of food. Nestlé announced yesterday that its Swedish coffee brand Zoégas will also join the platform so that the blockchain can be recorded from the raw materials to the production, which is recorded on the platform to let customers know the coffee information they drink.
Zoégas coffee beans come from Brazil, Rwanda, and Colombia. These raw materials are certified by The Rainforest Alliance and provide relevant product information. Nestlé said this is the first time it has cooperated with the Rainforest Alliance to ensure the correct production information. At the same time, everyone can track the production of coffee through the data recorded on the IBM food credit platform.
When customers scan the QR code on the coffee package, they can understand the production process from the origin of the coffee beans to the Zoégas factory, and it will include information about the farmer, when to collect, roasting time, and shipping. Nestlé pointed out that since becoming a founding member of the IBM Food Credit Blockchain platform in 2017, it has continuously expanded its application scope in the past three years to let customers know the sustainable development of its products such as milk and palm oil.
Nestlé stated that it will continue to use related technologies in the future to create a more transparent environment for the entire industry. Problems such as unfair trade of coffee beans and exploitation of farmers have aroused a lot of attention over the years. The industry also hopes to use blockchain to solve related problems so that customers can buy with ease. For example, Starbucks has cooperated with Microsoft to track with blockchain Coffee beans.


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Epic Games have just revealed that their incredibly popular Battle Royale game, Fortnite Battle Royale, will be heading to iOS and Android.
“Fortnite Battle Royale is coming to mobile devices! On phones and tablets, Fortnite is the same 100-player game you know from PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Mac. Same gameplay, same map, same content, same weekly updates. Starting Monday, you can sign-up for the Invite Event on iOS. Support for Android will be coming in the next few months.”
The full reveal can be seen here.
The other amazing reveal to come from this announcement is that the game will also have cross play and cross progression between PS4, PC, Mac, iOS and Android (sorry Xbox).
“This means players across devices can squad up with friends and play together. We believe this is the future of games. The same game on all platforms. Console quality graphics and action. Play when you want, where you want.”
With no more information yet revealed, it will be very interesting to see how this actually plays out. And how Epic can keep a balanced playing field across all devices.


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Please join EverSlim Weight Management Services for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony April 12, 2019!more»
carGO, a Missouri-based provider of on-demand restaurant food, alcohol, rides, and small package delivery debuts in Springfield on April 1st. An unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction, ongoing delivery monitoring from the downtown headquarters, and the ability to access all services via a singe platform sets carGO apart from its competitors.more»
Grand opening event for the new Holiday Inn Wxpress & Suites, Springfield North. April 2nd, 2019 from 4PM to 6PM. Ribbon cutting ceremony at 4PM.
Join us on Tuesday, April 23rd to hear from Mike Edwards, ACTCP Director/Missouri Coordinator, as he goes over the ADA accessible parking regulations.
Location: 2864 S. Nettleton Ave.
Time: 9:00-11:00 ammore»
Springfieldian Dennis Lewis, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, will be presenting a local workshop on Workplace Violence on Wednesday, April 23.more»
Whiskey Tango owners, Stephen and Karen Williamson, will be sharing their story with attendees at the Las Vegas Nightclub and Bar show.
PFI Western Store’s 44th Annual Spring Tent Sale is from March 20th-31st. Shop incredible deals, on your favorite brands, in their 18,000 sq. foot tent. Over a 1,000 men’s, women’s and kid’s boots up to 50%-70% off.more»


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| Qupé owner Vintage Wine Estates is looking to go public so it can continue to invest in new brands.
By Liza B. Zimmerman | Posted Tuesday, 09-Mar-2021
Few companies in the wine business have historically been publicly owned. Pegging the number precisely Rob McMillian, the executive vice president of the Silicon Valley Bank, says that the total would be fewer than 20 currently worldwide.
Generally, the wine industry has not been friendly to these types of business models. “It can be a bit tough for publicly traded companies. It really requires some long-term investments [which can] can tie up a lot of capital and the agricultural cycles can make it hard to generate predictable, consistent returns in the short term,” shares Stephen Rannekleiv, a global sector strategist for beverages, in Rabobank’s New York City office.
“Compared to wine, investments in other categories [such as beer or spirits] can look more attractive. Wine is also a highly fragmented market, where it has been traditionally harder to build very strong brands, as the market is extremely crowded.”
“The obvious negative aspects of becoming a publicly traded company are a loss of control over the organization and the threat of a sudden change in the business culture of a closer-knit, privately owned winery,” notes Mario Zepponi, a wine merger and acquisition advisor at the Santa Rosa-based Zepponi & Company.
This is why Vintage Wine Estates (VWE)’s recent IPO – scheduled to close in mid-May – has attracted so much attention as it is one of the few American wine conglomerates to have recently gone public. The company’s recent partnership with the Toronto-based Bespoke Capital Acquisition is slated to give VWE greater access to public markets and “additional capital to continue building on and accelerating our history of acquisitions [20-plus completed in the past 10 years] and enable us to continue to invest in our brands,” shared Terry Wheatley, the president of the California-based VWE, which owns brands such as Qupé and BR Cohn. “The proceeds from the transaction will provide a long runway of growth that will allow us to achieve the scale we need to be successful and profitable.”
Duckhorn Vineyards, which declined to comment for this story, is believed to be the next major wine company slated to go public. This move was confirmed by several major wine industry analysts.
Wine’s public reluctance
Aside from some major players – such as Constellation Brands, Pernod Ricard and LVMH as prime examples – most wineries tend to be privately owned, notes Rannekleiv. A public offering can also make a winery seem much less like an accessible family business, which is an important part of the mystique that is so essential for promoting wineries and attracting customers.
There will always be a stigma to going public that can compromise a winery’s investment in family values. “There will always be a tension between pursuing growth via access to public capital markets and preserving a private company’s image, authenticity and grassroots values. One should not assume that a publicly traded company lacks genuineness and authenticity [e.g. Apple, Southwest Airlines and Tesla]. However, it will be essential for the executive leadership of the publicly traded company to cultivate, promote and protect such core values,” shares Zepponi.
Another issue is that the wine industry doesn’t always generate steady revenue.
“Operating returns are quite low in the wine industry compared to many other industries. Really big returns are usually the result of selling the vineyards or brand later. There’s a substantial overhead burden in going and remaining public that only larger wine companies can really support. The business doesn’t really lend itself to the quarterly earnings and profit reporting that obsesses Wall Street,” says Christian Miller, the proprietor of Full Glass Consulting based in Berkeley, California.
However, concerns about losing family-owned, brand equity card can be mitigated if the company in question has solid brands and knows how to market them. “The consumer generally doesn’t look at the total portfolio of the company. They engage with individual brands. As long as Vintage [VWE] can effectively support and manage the brands, [going public] it isn’t an issue,” Rannekleiv adds.
© VWE/Dan Mills
| Terry Wheatley says that the pandemic has made wine acquisitions look worthwhile.
However, he notes, that “smart companies like VWE often keep the founders involved”. That was the case with the sale of Robert Mondavi to Constellation Brands in 2004, when founder and family patriarch Robert remained involved in running the winery. Few consumers even knew the company had been sold and no longer belonged to the Mondavi family.
One of the keys to a smooth transition during an IPO is keeping family members as “the face of the business and having them invested in assuring its ongoing success. For a winery owner looking to take a step back from day-to-day operations, selling to someone like VWE can be a nice pathway to put some money in their pockets,” Rannekleiv says.
However, given the bigger picture, there are a number of clear hurdles for wine companies to effectively go public. “While Wall Street operates on a quarter-to-quarter cycle, the wine industry operates on an annual growing cycle, with 40 percent of sales backloaded to the holidays, while Wall Street is more interested in quarter-to-quarter change. The investment in vineyards can be extensive, yet the appreciation in vineyard assets never goes into accrual earnings but is recognized when the vineyard is sold. Individuals who own a vineyard asset can be patient and take the capital gains at the time they are ready to turn over the vineyard. Public companies are on the other hand are pressed by investors and analysts to show accrual earnings,” says McMillan.
Because of this, there has not been much of a history of pubic wine companies. “Wineries have to a large extent been started by individuals and non-institutional investors,” confirms McMillan. “Vineyards have had more institutional ownership within public and non-public funds, often as alternative assets in a portfolio. Winery acquisitions are more often pulled off with bank debt supported by institutional or private money.”
The advantages of a SPAC
These types of acquisitions – SPACs, an acronym for a special purpose acquisition company that is publicly traded and has no operations, no assets other than cash and a plan to eventually buy another company – are fairly new to the market and the wine industry. Previously, most wine entities with corporate ambitions, merged with other entities or went public on their own. Using a blank slate as an investment shell allows the company guiding the collaboration to have a solid cash influx – allowing it to buy new brands – without a cultural imposition or threat of a clash from the company with which is it partnering.
McMillan adds that a SPAC can be “be a simplified way to take a company public. With the shell already public and funded, months can be shaved off the timing of an acquisition.” He goes not to note: “For the investors, the benefits are more about the speed of offering and the terms of the target acquisition … For the winery, a single purpose SPAC – as in the case of VWE – allows the existing management team to continue on with added acquisitions. Being the target of an acquisition by a larger company with multiple brands means the target has to adapt to the acquirer and most often loses control.”
This type of acquisition is also cost effective. “For a company the size of VWE, there would be very short list of potential buyers that could afford it and then effectively integrate it. I think they had been thinking an IPO was likely their best exit plan for some time,” says Rannekleiv. He adds that the deal with Bespoke was done at a price known in advance and came with additional capital for future acquisitions.
Zepponi thinks IPOs can be positive for some wine conglomerates. If the “company is well capitalized, professionally managed and operates within a corporate structure …[then an IPO] should not create a departure from its standard operating practice once it becomes publicly traded”.
A company, such as Bespoke, was also perfect partner for VWE because Paul Walsh, Bespoke’s chairman, was CEO of Diageo for more than a decade. According to Wheatley, going forward he will be the non-executive chairman of VWE.
Wheatly also notes that because of the pandemic the acquisition market in the wine industry is looking particularly favorable. “We didn’t necessarily have to go public but the unusual market circumstances presented us with great opportunities for consolidation and synergies of this $45-plus billion and growing industry.” An additional benefit of the deal is also “greater access to capital, enhanced visibility and for the company and a currency for acquisitions”.
She adds that while VWE previously focused on the $10-20 sweet-spot sector, it will now expand to the $10-30 range as pricing channels continue to grow.
What the future holds
A handful of other major wine industry players are likely to soon go public: including Duckhorn in the United States and Virgin Wines in the United Kingdom, according to Rannekleiv.
Many analysts think going public is the right move for some companies. “The SPAC phenomenon should not carry a negative connotation as it relates to the wine industry. So far, there have not been any recent examples of companies abusing their attempts to access public capital markets,” Zepponi says.
Rannekleiv adds: “The amount of liquidity that is being pumped into the market – to help stimulate the economy in the wake of the pandemic – is playing an important role here.”


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Spar is hopeful that its new £5m media campaign will provide a shot in the arm for customer footfall and retailer recruitment when it launches this summer.
The seasonally-focused TV advertising campaign will kick off with a showcase of Spar’s new Italian range of fresh pizzas, breads, pastas and sauces, pictured here in Kevin Hunt’s Penwortham store in Lancashire.
The campaign will be supported by a bi-annual ‘magalogue’ for shoppers, as-well as in-store leaflets and point of sale, said Spar’s head of marketing Philippe Rondepierre.
The Autumn months will see Spar’s range of Winter Warmers highlighted, such as toad in the hole and chicken kiev, before embarking on an earlier than usual Christmas push to take better advantage of pre-festive sales.
It will then take a break between Christmas and December 31 to return in the New Year with a value driven campaign. “The hangover will have kicked in and people will need to save money and diet,” Rondepierre added.
“We’ll then deliver a much more relevant Easter campaign. There will be an opportunity for key branded suppliers to work with us on this,” he added.


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Future Nokia Lumia handsets will sport the 41-megapixel camera on the 808 PureView.
Speaking to HowardForums, Chris Webb, Nokia US president, said, “You can expect we’ll be bringing PureView technologies to the Windows Phone platform and Lumia devices.
“We’re absolutely committed to doing that.”
The 808 PureView’s powerful camera technology will be coming to future Nokia Windows Phone handsets. Sadly, Webb failed to mention when the Finnish firm would be launching these phones. For now, make do with a 5-megapixel camera on the Lumia 710 and 610 or an 8-megapixel camera on the Lumia 800 and 900.
Webb adds, “At the same time we’re working with Microsoft to make sure their platform supports the broad set of things we want to do with the PureView imaging.”
We might get to see a glimpse of these PureView camera-sporting Lumia handsets on the 20th of June at Microsoft’s Windows Phone Summit. The software giant promises “a sneak peek of the future of Windows Phones”.
Want to know more about future Nokia Lumia handsets sporting PureView cameras? We’ll keep you posted once we know more.


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Prices & Quotes - UK Markets - FTSE 250 (MCX)
Risk Warning The value of investments can fall as well as rise and any income from them is not guaranteed and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
- Change Today:
Homeserve buys CET Structures for £53m
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Wednesday 27 Oct 2021
LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - HomeServe on Wednesday said it had bought CET Structures, a UK home emergency assistance business, for £53m and added that current trading was in line with guidance.
CET provides outsourced emergency plumbing, heating and electrics services to home insurance policy holders on behalf of consumer brands, via its digital claims handling and job management platform.
HomeServe has acquired the CET on a debt free, cash free basis, and is funding the deal through existing debt facilities. The transaction is expected to be modestly enhancing to HomeServe's adjusted earnings per share in the current financial year.
|TBC Bank Group||1,600.00p||+2.6%|
|JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust||676.00p||+2.4%|
|Baillie Gifford Japan Trust||986.00p||+2.3%|
|Crest Nicholson Holdings||336.80p||+2.1%|
|Baltic Classifieds Group||216.00p||+1.9%|
|Wood Group (John)||183.40p||-6.4%|
|Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings||1,368.00p||-3.1%|
|Network International Holdings||270.90p||-2.7%|
|Babcock International Group||295.10p||-2.7%|


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South African agri-tech startup Desert Green is developing mobile solutions to improve the informal agricultural value chain across Africa.
Formed in 2016, Desert Green started out with the intention to build a crop nutrition platform to help small-scale farmers improve their yields and quality in order to supply larger retailers with guaranteed demands.
“After securing some off-take agreements from a retail and wholesale buyer, we quickly realised that many small-scale farmers were unable to satisfy these off-takes due to limited scale, and lack of infrastructure and investments to comply with retail certifications,” founder Tumelo Chiloane told Disrupt Africa.
“But nevertheless, farmers were somehow still selling produce, so we decided to follow the value chain, which led us to the informal markets.”
Like many other African countries, a majority of South Africa’s farmers are small-scale. These farmers rely heavily on informal market channels to sell their produce, and are also more directly responsible for food security at household level. Yet what Chiloane and his team observed was a significant disconnect between the demand-supply needs of informal traders and small-scale farmers.
“The demand-supply of fresh produce is invisible and unpredictable in the informal value-chain, causing a lot of instability for traders, income losses for farmers, unstable prices and produce wastage along the value chain,” he said.
Desert Green’s solution to this problem is GreenKart, a B2B marketplace platform for small-scale farmers to sell their fresh produce directly to informal traders. Traders can access more affordable stock at farm-gate prices, with shared logistics services, delivered directly to their market stall within 24 hours of placing an order.
“We believe this can be done cheaper, faster and more transparently than it currently is,” said Chiloane.“That’s why we are building mobile solutions to enable small-scale farmers and informal traders to buy directly from one another, at farm-gate prices.”
Desert Green was bootstrapped from foundation, but after taking part in a host of programmes was last year selected as part of the 2021 SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards, which Chiloane said was currently its primary source of funding apart from sales revenues. Those have been relatively strong.
“Uptake has been overwhelmingly positive. We believe we launched at the right time, when farmers and traders have been looking for a more convenient option apart from the current traditional way of conducting their business. We are currently in the middle of a controlled pilot which we launched in March this year and still has a few more months to go before we launch full scale,” Chiloane said.
“We have a total network of over 600 street vendors and over 200 small-scale farmers that we should be fully servicing by the end of our financial year.”
Desert Green operates primarily in Johannesburg and Pretoria, which are the largest consumer markets for fresh produce in South Africa, but in the next five years plans to expand to all the major agriculture provinces of South Africa, as well as major neighbouring markets such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“Our business model centres on a marketplace that will efficiently enable a direct link between small-scale farmers and informal market buyers,” said Chiloane.
“It’s a freemium subscription model for informal traders, with a big opportunity to up-sell value-added services. For farmers we charge a five per cent commission for all produce sold through our platform. This business model approach drastically improves the way the informal value chain currently operates, which is offline, with no data and is unable to predict what may happen tomorrow in terms of supply and demand.”


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The Czech government is requiring children to get examined for COVID-19 as part of efforts to curtail a latest steep rise in cases. California is among three states now allowing coronavirus booster shots for all adults. A federal court docket has declined to raise its keep on the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or extra employees. Cambodia has reopened its borders to completely vaccinated travelers two weeks earlier than originally planned, because it emerges from a prolonged lockdown bolstered by one of many world’s highest charges of immunization towards COVID-19. The rollout of COVID-19 shots for elementary-age kids has uncovered another blind spot within the nation’s efforts to deal with pandemic inequalities.
Consumption of those hemp seed-derived components isn’t capable of making shoppers “excessive.” Numerous other authorized requirements apply to dietary complement products, including necessities regarding Current Good Manufacturing Practices and labeling. Information about these requirements, and about FDA necessities throughout all product areas, may be found on FDA’s web site. FDA isn’t aware of any proof that may call into question its current conclusions that THC and CBD merchandise are excluded from the dietary supplement definition beneath section 201 of the FD&C Act. Before sharing delicate data, be certain to’re on a federal government website.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is notifying the public of a lacking radiographic digicam, an industrial gadget that contains radioactive material. The materials is sealed within multiple layers of protection, and the risk of exposure is very low. … Read the rest


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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that passing GST is a question of time and as and when it is put to vote he sees it going through. He was speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) hosted along with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
He further added that Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill when passed will allow for the levying of a national comprehensive tax on goods and services manufactured in India.
The theme of the meet is ‘Delivering Growth in the New Context’.
Key points from his opening address
-First tranche of corporate tax reduction when the next Finance Bill comes: Jaitley
-Fear of retro tax gone now; 2-3 issues remain because of legal hurdles, says FM
-GST only a question of time; when it’s put to vote, we will be able to pass it: Jaitley
-Land Ordinance Bill remains with Select Committee; govt to explore possibility of consensus in the upcoming session
-Huge increase in indirect tax collection; 36.5 pc rise in revenue receipts till October 31
– We have finalised power sector reforms, which are likely to be announce soon
– Bankruptcy Bill to be introduced in next session of Parliament
The Congress, which is the main opposition and which had drafted the key GST Bill, is also against the NDA version of the bill saying many key provisions of the original bill have been altered.
Since the government does not have majority in the Rajya Sabha, it needs to get the opposition on its side to pass the GST Bill that involves amending the Constitution.


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Wendell P. Weeks, the Chairman, CEO and President of Corning Incorporated last week faced his shareholders at his company’s annual meeting and delivered a firm message:
The business he leads is built for longevity.
Corning is a 163-year old company that’s had to face a series of recent challenges in a tough business environment.
Chief among them is the fact that it’s industry-leading Gorilla Glass – a component in almost all tough-screen smart phones made throughout the world – will not be used in the next-generation Apple iPhone 6. That has caused many market watchers and sector analysts to wonder aloud about the future of the iconic glassmaker.
I’m sure every leader can relate. When change hits a particular business, it’s only natural that people question the ability of leadership to adapt. Weeks demonstrates a textbook strategy for dealing with that kind of scepticism.
Rather than downplaying the obvious challenges Corning was facing, Weeks expressed his belief that the company is now firmly focused on creating new opportunities to fuel the company’s next surge of growth.
Weeks told shareholders Corning has had a history of innovating their way through challenging times. He noted that Corning has always been a company that found the next generation of solutions that made a positive difference in the lives of its customers.
“Our products change, our markets change, and our businesses change,” said Weeks. “But what doesn’t change is our capacity for innovation, our unique capability set, and our ability to transform and lead markets.”
Corning’s story isn’t unique. Every business and every leader face similar challenges as they try to grow. Yet, not all businesses thrive in these periods of transition and change. When the moment calls for innovation, some businesses simply fall back on past practices and products.
Corning’s story made me wonder: just how many leaders aspire to build a business for longevity?
Far too many businesses seem to focus solely on the next quarterly results, rather than looking years down the road to identify the future opportunities and challenges that will come into play. This isn’t a new observation. And yet, so many leaders seem stuck in this short-term rut.
One of the best ways to fulfill your leadership obligations is to build a company with real longevity. One that is able to withstand the shock of abrupt market shifts and unforeseen changes in business trends.
That’s pretty easy to say. But what does it take to create that kind of leadership?
It’s essential that you doggedly focus your organization – from front-line employees to the board of directors – on long-term goals. This means fending off the tendency to focus too much on the present.
In place of that quarter-to-quarter, whack-a-mole approach, push your people to build a truly sustainable business model – one that has solutions in place for any contingency and new ideas queued up and ready to go to replace the old ideas.
What about you? This week’s gut check question asks: Are you leading for the long haul?
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About the Author
Vince Molinaro is the Global Managing Director of Strategic Solutions at Lee Hecht Harrison. He is also the author of The Leadership Contract – a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. Vince has spent more than 20 years as an adviser to boards and senior executives looking to improve leadership in their organizations.Follow on Twitter More Content by Vince Molinaro