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iHeartMedia in Riverside and San Bernardino counties has named Ryan Lieberman as senior VP of sales for the region. He will report to Melissa Forrest, president of iHeartMedia San Diego and Riverside-San Bernardino.
iHeart said Lieberman will utilize his experience in marketing, advertising and digital marketing to lead the sales team in building existing partnerships and developing new ones. He also will work with client partners around the United States and in the San Diego region to create a comprehensive advertising footprint throughout Southern California.
Lieberman is a seasoned radio professional, having spent nearly two decades with CBS Radio in both Chicago and Los Angeles. During his tenure in LA, he oversaw sales at KAMP, KRTH, KTWV, and KCBS. For the past three years, he has served as market president for Townsquare Media in Tri-Cities, Washington.
“I am thrilled to return to Southern California as part of the iHeartMedia family by joining the Riverside team,” said Lieberman. “Having spent the better part of my career competing against iHeartMedia, and being envious of how their teams execute marketing solutions for their clients, I’m excited to lend my expertise to an already high-functioning team.”
“We look forward to having Ryan on board,” said Forrest. “His knowledge, leadership and passion will be a tremendous addition to the region and to our team.”
The iHeartMedia cluster in Riverside and San Bernardino includes five radio stations, including KGGI-FM 99.1 (top 40), KTMQ-FM Q103.3 (classic rock), KMYT-FM 94.5 (adult alternative), KPWK-AM Fox Sports 1350 (sports talk) and Black Information Network affiliate KFOO 1440-AM. KPWK owns the broadcast rights for the California Baptist University Lancers men’s basketball team.
Cordial Add Marketing Exec Emily Culp to its Board
San Diego-based Cordial, offering a cross-channel marketing platform for retail brands, has named retail and omni-channel marketing exec Emily Culp to its board of directors. Culp, with experience as a chief marketing officer, is the company’s first outside director, the company said.
Culp was named by Forbes Magazine to its list of “World’s Most Influential CMOs” in 2018, and by Business Insider as one of the “50 Most Innovative CMOs” in 2017. She recently served as chief executive officer for Cover FX Skincare and as CMO for Keds.
Cordial said Culp also sits on the boards of Mizzen & Main, Stio and Izzy Zero Waste Beauty. She has served the past seven years as an advisory board member for the Women in Retail Leadership Council. Culp earned a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a master’s in business administration from Columbia University.
“We are delighted to welcome Emily as our newest director to the Cordial board at such an exciting phase of growth,” said Jeremy Swift, co-founder and CEO of Cordial. “Emily brings a unique and valuable perspective from her tenure as a leader in retail and ecommerce, and we are incredibly excited and grateful to have an executive of her stature and esteem on our team.”
“I am thrilled to be joining Cordial as they continue to rapidly scale, and to leverage my experience to help the company’s roster of innovative brands tap into the full potential of the platform to create better messages for each individual consumer,” said Culp. “The Cordial platform truly blew me away with its ability to orchestrate omni-channel messaging, dynamic build-out of content, and focus on driving LTV. With Cordial, brands can reach the right audiences with personalized messages and as a result cultivate meaningful relationships which will drive value creation over the long term.”
Cordial assists clients with email marketing and mobile marketing. Clients include Revolve, L.L. Bean, Backcountry, Purple and Eddie Bauer.
KPBS Launches Redesigned Website
San Diego public-broadcasting station KPBS, an affiliate of PBS and National Public Radio, has launched a redesigned website that offers a more powerful search function and streamlined navigation features.
The station said its new website offers a digital publishing platform that increases efficiency and allows for faster and wider sharing of local news, information and entertainment. The website is based on a format designed by NPR that is tailored toward public media stations.
Among other new changes: A modern design that is mobile-friendly; Live radio streams for news and classical music are available in a persistent player delivery mode so users no longer need to keep open a pop-up window; A TV live stream is accessible from a “Watch Live” link. KPBS said some changes were based on feedback from the audience and staff members.
Website changes were prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing digital audience that was expanding at a faster rate than the broadcast channels, the station said. “We’ve known for a few years that we needed to upgrade our website’s technology and design,” a statement said. “The pandemic simply made it a more urgent necessity to do so in order to meet our community’s demand.”
KPBS is available on 89.5-FM on radio and Channel 15 on local cable TV.
PRSA to Host Panel with Journalists
The Public Relations Society of America San Diego-Imperial Counties Chapter will host an online “Meet the Media” webinar with four journalists from noon to 1 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2.
The four journalists include: Julie Watson, Associated Press; Jonathan Wosen, The San Diego Union-Tribune; Susan Delos Santos, publisher, The Filipino Press; Gina Diamante, KPBS. Moderator will be Kim Coutts, PRSA board member. Discussion topics will include tips on pitching news stories and storytelling techniques in order to improve media relations and outreach.
Cost to attend the webinar is $5 for students, $10 for PRSA members and $15 for nonmembers. For more information, visit www.prsasdic.org.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.


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EML Payments: Game on
With live sport banned, EML Payments' share price might just be the best substitute for a Friday night thriller at the 'G. Having soared to an all-time high of $5.70 just a month ago, news of the coronavirus's impacts on shopping centres, sports betting and EML's acquisition of Prepaid Financial Service sent EML's stock plummeting 79% to a recent low of $1.20. The rapid turn of fortunes has been tough to stomach, so given today's announcement that EML Payments will now buy Prepaid Financial Services on drastically improved terms - sending the stock 66% higher to $3.10 at one point - you'd be forgiven for celebrating with the rapturous fist pumps usually reserved for an after-the-siren goal.
The rally has subsided somewhat, leaving the stock a mere 22% higher at $2.28, but the details of the new terms are good. While the vendors will receive an additional 6m shares as part of the deal - currently valued at around $14m - and the earn-out bonus of roughly $110m remains unchanged (contingent upon organic 3-year operating profit growth of at least 20%), total cash consideration has been slashed from $346m to $199m. Just $159m will be paid upfront, followed by $20m tranches in both 2024 and 2025.
EML is now left with a $100m cash pile - not including $25m of breakage to be received in due course - which will ensure its future and leave it well placed to buy other businesses if opportunities arise. Prepaid Financial Services will be well incentivised to hit growth targets to trigger its earn-out payments. And, as covered in EML Payments revisited, the combined business will boast card programs as diverse as sports betting, government disbursements and digital banking. We're confident it will find new niches to enter in due course, too, thereby increasing its sliver of global payments over time.
EML Payments remains 27% below our original Buy price, and as much as 49% below our highest buy price ($4.47). But the possibility of insolvency or a capital raising has been removed and with it a large chunk of risk. EML now has time to ride out the turbulence and emerge with strength on the other side. SPECULATIVE BUY.
Disclosure: The author owns shares in EML Payments.

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We are delighted to bring to you Estafeta’s take on current market challenges, their vision for the coming years and how pricing optimization helped them […]
The parcel services market has gone from stability to volatility since Covid and now has to manage rising fuel costs, inflation, recession… We discuss, fuel […]
All started 4 decades ago with the first Revenue Management (RM) systems
In 1986 American Airlines introduced the first revenue management system as a […]
We are glad to share our latest insights in the new article ” How should parcel networks reposition their prices […]
Open Pricer is glad to announce the publication of the article : Analytical Solution of kth price auction by Martin Mihelich, Mathematical Researcher at […]
Open Pricer is conducting a survey of experts and executives of the parcel industry!
CPT is our brand new pricing solution for Hotel Groups. It is an easy to use tool that has been designed by Open Pricer to increase team efficiency and help make the most accurate and quick quotes for contracts. In addition, CPT generates price increase recommendations by contracts, based on a thorough price and cost analyses (price sensitivity, optional services such as last room availability, costs...).
Open Pricer has conducted a study to assess the maturity of transportation companies in terms of Pricing in partnership with ESSCA (Graduate Business School) / […]
Open Pricer, as a pricing expert, is always keen to support efforts to create knowledge and new theories to improve the pricing field. […]


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Online sales for J.Jill are growing and hit $228 million for the 12 months ended Oct. 29.
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Resources and scale dictate that Allen handles search marketing activity on his own, but that doesn’t work for larger companies that must drive higher volume to show any results, so they turn to more complex search initiatives. As such, they must look beyond simple search strategies that may be helpful to smaller concerns toward something more sophisticated.
Not like direct marketing
Take the strategy of starting with a broad keyword list and then cutting out those that don’t convert. Though it’s proved useful to companies just getting their feet wet in search, companies that need to produce sales on a larger scale must look beyond that. Marckini notes that by starting broad and then refining keyword buys based solely on what converts, marketers may be missing a significant part of their market. “When you first got a MasterCard, did you sign up for it the day you got the first piece of direct mail on it, or did you see TV ads, hear radio ads, and watch a lot of friends and family members pull out a card to pay for dinner first? People search in all stages of the buying cycle, and treating search engine marketing like pure direct response marketing is fatal,” he says.
It’s such complexities of the search engine marketplace that have retailers looking around for outside help, but where to turn? Companies with roots in specialties as diverse as algorithmic optimization, web site design, affiliate marketing and analytics, and media-buying outlets such as advertising agencies and even public relations firms now offer search marketing services, not without some overlap.
Like many other providers who started out in algorithmic search optimization before the advent of paid search, OneUpWeb now offers management of paid search programs and direct feeds of client’s page content into major search engines. “As the technology changes, you’d better be changing with it,” says Lisa Wehr, president. “There are no longer search engine optimization companies, there are search engine marketing companies.”
MoreVisbility.com followed the same path, focusing on optimization when it launched four years ago. It then expanded into paid search and paid inclusion management services as those markets developed, forming partnerships with various search engines and portals. Today, it’s a search engine marketing company that offers a full spectrum of services. MoreVisibility’s offering doesn’t include conversion analytics that track past click-through to completed transactions, leaving that to other providers that specialize in it. “That is a whole different arena, and there are companies that have spent many millions to develop that software,” says MoreVisibility president Andrew Wetzler.
Other search marketing providers bundle the analytics into their offering as resellers. iProspect, for example, distributes a customized version of NetIQ Corp.’s WebTrends Live as the analytics reporting piece of a broad search marketing offering. Analytics provider Coremetrics Inc. has agreements covering search engine results reporting with search marketing service provider Performics Inc., among other search-focused relationships.
And the dotted lines leading to search from an increasing variety of companies that do business on the Internet don’t stop there. Traditional media buying outlets such as advertising agencies, seeing online banners supplanted by more accountable search marketing, are looking to get in on the act as well.
PR agencies, too
“Increasingly, agencies are acquiring or partnering with folks who provide any of the search engine optimization or search engine marketing services,” says Berk, adding that he’s also been approached by a public relations agency arguing that it is in the best position to provide search marketing services. A San Francisco- and Boston-based PR firm that launched in March, SEO-PR, already does that, taking search into a new realm. It charges corporate clients to algorithmically optimize marketing communications posted on the web, such as press releases, to boost their rankings in informational search queries, thus expanding their reach.
Affiliate marketing has gotten in on search as well, with providers that started out in affiliate services stretching themselves to add search marketing. Performics launched in 1998 as an affiliate marketing services provider but it wasn’t long before it expanded into keyword management. In investigating some network affiliates to determine whether unusually large sales volumes they were generating were legitimate, Performics discovered that the sales were coming from keywords purchased on engines by the affiliates.
“We decided to get directly into that business ourselves on behalf of our clients,” says Performics vice president of marketing Stuart Larkin. “There was an opportunity to drive sales for our clients and also, to protect the client’s brand by having control over where the keywords were purchased, and which ones.” Performics built its technology to submit keywords to engines and manage bidding on the backbone of its affiliate marketing technology. Today, the company positions itself as a direct marketing services organization with search, now a core competency, representing about 35% of its business and slated to hit 40% this year.
One Performics client, for example, a high-end audio retailer, has expanded from affiliate marketing into search services from Performics right along with Performics’ expansion into the search market. “Algorithmic optimization didn’t seem to be doing anything for us, and though we contracted with Performics as an affiliate provider, we’ve been open to any new opportunities they bring us,” says the retailer’s online program manager. Over the past 18 months, paid search has become such a productive part of the retailer’s online marketing mix that search was recently pulled out of the affiliate program budget where it had started and given its own strategy and budget.


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TechDeville: Apple posts apology on their UK website over the Galaxy Tab UK based case. This was as a result of an appeal they recently lost
As a result Samsung lost Apple as client at the hardware division. Not only the loss of orders but the loss of R&D might hurt Samsung in the future...
Apple apologizing? What??
TechSpy is a community of awesome people posting and discussing the latest tech news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Raw Material Company announces the exhibition Boulevard du Centenaire Made in China, a series of photographs by Senegalese artist Kan Si on Dakar’s China Town.
In the last two decades, the Chinese population in Africa has grown rapidly. Recent estimates account for a presence of over one million Chinese traders and workers—excluding the diplomatic corps and corporate executives—living and working across Africa. Every year thousands of Chinese immigrants make the long journey from mainland China to cities and villages throughout Africa.
e-flux » Announcements
// From our friends at E-Flux


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Dallas Summer Camp Hosts Annual Shoe Giveaway For Children With Struggling FamiliesA Dallas summer camp is making sure their program boosts the confidence of students as they go back to school this fall.
Payless ShoeSource To Close All Remaining US StoresPayless ShoeSource is shuttering all of its 2,100 remaining stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, joining a list of iconic names like Toys R Us that have closed down in the last year.
Texas Police Trying To Get "Controlla" Of Drake Look-A-Like Shoe ThiefPolice in Southlake might have been in their feelings as they began searching for a shoe thief who is being compared to Drizzy Drake.
Dallas Organization Hands Out Shoes, Toys To Kids In NeedA North Texas organization handed out toys and shoes to children in need in Dallas Saturday.
Payless Pranks VIPs, Sells Discount Shoes At Luxury PricesThe VIP shoppers paid as much as $645 for shoes that sell from $19.99 to $39.99 at Payless.
Crocs To Close Remaining Manufacturing Facilities; Executive To ResignCrocs Inc. said that it's closing all of its manufacturing facilities, and announced that its chief financial officer will resign.
Chicago's Zobrist Keeps Defying MLB Rules With Black ShoesBen Zobrist posted a letter from the MLB online on Saturday that cited him for violating regulations that require at least 51 percent of a player's shoes be the club's designated shoe color.
News Now: Primary Election Day In TexasIt's primary election day in Texas, the first primary to be held in the country.
NBA Players Take Steps Toward Equality In Limited Edition SneakersStarting with MLK Day and coinciding with Black History Month, NBA players and shoe companies are honoring the past and creating a dialogue about the future through footwear.
Airbnb Launches Local Tours In NYC With Sarah Jessica ParkerAirbnb is launching local tours and other experiences in New York City this week, with one listing promising "an unforgettable shoe-shopping experience" led by a New Yorker whose bio describes her as "an actor, producer, businesswoman ... and a proud New Yorker."
Texas Tax-Free Weekend Is Now UnderwaySchool is just around the corner, and the annual Texas tax-free weekend is helping students get ready to return to class. The sales tax holiday is officially underway, now through Sunday.
Michael Kors Puts Best Foot Forward, Buys Jimmy ChooCBS News partner BBC News is reporting that Michael Kors is buying luxury shoemaker Jimmy Choo for $1.2 billion.
Is Nike Joining The Amazon Roster?Shares in several major sports chains hit 52-week lows on word that Nike may soon be selling its gear directly on Amazon. The deal would give Nike better exposure to Amazon's huge customer base.
Nike To Slash 1,400 Jobs, Cut Sneaker Styles In ShakeupThe sneaker maker said Thursday that it plans to focus on the hottest-selling sneakers, slash the number of styles it offers and sell more shoes directly to customers online as part of a restructuring in which it also will cut about 1,400 jobs.
LaVar Ball Ups Shoe Deal Asking Price To $3 BillionThe outspoken father of former UCLA star Lonzo Ball said Wednesday on Fox Sport 1's "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" that it will now cost a shoe company $3 billion to make a deal with his Big Baller Brand.


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Flipkart and Tamil Nadu trade body tie up to promote local weavers and artisans
The partnership, under Flipkart's 'Samarth' programme, would enable the artisans, weavers, craftsmen, and small industries to showcase their products from the house of Flipkart.
Ecommerce gianton Thursday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu Micro, Small Medium Enterprises Trade and Investment Promotion Bureau to serve local artisans, weavers, and craftsmen.
The partnership, under the Flipkart 'Samarth' programme, would enable the artisans, weavers, craftsmen, and small industries to showcase their products from the house of Flipkart.
The trade bureau would support Flipkart with its state-owned affiliated enterprises and undertakings, which work with the crafts producers and farmers.
"There are 294 industrial cooperative societies functioning under the department. Many of them are involved in production of handicraft items, including GI-registered products. This MoU will provide these societies with a new vigour and link them to a national market for their products," Industries Commissioner Anu George said.
"Flipkart Samarth is a nationwide initiative and aims to help skilled local artisan communities set up their business on the Flipkart Marketplace in an efficient, transparent manner. The programme seeks to break entry barriers for local artisans and weavers by extending incubation support, which includes benefits in the form of seamless onboarding and cataloguing,"Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar said.
The Samarth programme was launched in 2019 to build a sustainable and inclusive platform for underserved domestic communities and businesses to empower them with greater opportunities and better livelihoods. It works with NGOs, government bodies, and livelihood missions to reach out to a large number of rural entrepreneurs, with a special focus on women-led enterprises, differently-abled entrepreneurs, artisans, and weavers, who often face obstacles such as the lack of access to working capital, poor infrastructure, and inadequate training.
Under the programme, Flipkart also signed an MoU with the Government of Assam, last year, to promote the state’s local arts, crafts, and handloom sectors by bringing them into the ecommerce fold.
Currently, the programme supports over 7.50 lakh artisans, weavers, and craftsmen across the country, the press release said.
Edited by Kanishk Singh


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Officials from Ukraine and the United Kingdom have signed an agreement on the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade. The agreement should hold for at least a year and can be extended by mutual agreement of both parties, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine noted.
It will now be possible for Ukrainian producers to sell flour, grain, dairy products, poultry and semi-finished products, tomato paste, honey, corn, wheat, juices, mushrooms, sugar, etc. to the UK without duties. These are the goods that Ukraine traditionally sells to the UK. The agreement will also increase the flow of foreign exchange earnings in the country, the Ministry of Economy said.
Photo source: Dreamstime.com


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One key reason: The technology that powers bots, artificial intelligence software, is improving dramatically, thanks to heightened interest from key Silicon Valley powers like Facebook and Google. That AI enables computers to process language — and actually converse with humans — in ways they never could before. It came about from unprecedented advancements in software (Google’s Go-beating program, for example) and hardware capabilities.
While messaging and voice interfaces are central components, they fit into a larger picture of increasing infusion of technology into our daily lives, which in turn is unlocking new potential for brand-to-consumer interaction. The fact is, technology overall is becoming more deeply woven into our lives, and the entire ecosystem is enjoying tighter cohesion through the increasing availability and sophistication of APIs. Smart companies are finding new and innovative touch points with consumers that are contextual, relevant, highly personal, and yes, conversational. Commerce is becoming not only more conversational but more ubiquitous and seamlessly integrated into our lives, and the way we interact with brands will be forever changed as a result.
The term "ChatterBot" was originally coined by Michael Mauldin (creator of the first Verbot, Julia) in 1994 to describe these conversational programs. Today, most chatbots are accessed via virtual assistants such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, via messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger or WeChat, or via individual organizations' apps and websites. Chatbots can be classified into usage categories such as conversational commerce (e-commerce via chat), analytics, communication, customer support, design, developer tools, education, entertainment, finance, food, games, health, HR, marketing, news, personal, productivity, shopping, social, sports, travel and utilities.


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London — A Dunnhumby study finds that 85 percent of retailers worldwide lack the capabilities, technology, people and processes to monetize their data and drive consumer experiences.
Despite the lack of factors to properly leverage data, 84 percent plan to use data to develop consumer strategies, while 82 percent will use datasets to make business decisions, Dunnhumby reports. Obstacles around building strategy through data include inability to derive insights from the information, inability to develop a holistic view of consumers and lack of necessary technology and skills.
“The global grocery market is in a fight for survival against pure play and other non-traditional competitors, who are further squeezing razor-thin margins,” says David Clements, global retail director at Dunnhumby. “We commissioned this study to better understand why so many retailers aren’t taking advantage of new revenue streams, while improving the shopping experience for their customers. We believe the study findings highlight the growing importance of the role of customer data in attaining sustainable growth.”
Dunnhumby finds that 96 percent of grocers that offer media opportunities to CPG companies on their apps saw an increase in revenue during


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2 hours ago
Meanwhile, there’s no word on the third location in Wrigleyville at 3500 N. Clark Street. That location has been in the works since 2014, before the new development around Wrigley Field really kicked into gear. RedEye first reported the news.This article has 2 other Chicago locations (Show)
Chicago’s first Culver’s is set to open on Tuesday in Bronzeville at 3357 S. King Drive. The fast-food chain, which peddles burgers served on buttered buns, already has restaurants in...
...in limbo, the Portage Park location could open by the end of the month at 4939 W. Irving Park Road...
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- 417 W Briar Pl Lake View
6 hours ago
Updated 3 hours ago
Hi there, I have a couple of vintage fashion items and am looking for a consignment store. Not a consignment store for modern brand name clothing. Do you know of one?
3 days ago
Updated 5 hours ago
We are selling our 2 Bedroom Condo in Lakeview. We plan to take out the existing wood floor in family room and also take out bedroom carpeting. We plan to replace with a new wood floor through out the unit. We plan to buy at Home Depot. What flooring sells the best these days? Looking for a reco to appeal to prospective buyer.
7 hours ago
Near the Lakeview/Lincoln Park border at 2833 N. Sheffield Avenue, Replay will debut its Rick and Morty pop-up on Wednesday, January 24 through February...This article has 2 other Chicago locations (Show)
The Rookery, 2109 W. Chicago Avenue, will celebrate Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece starting on Saturday through February 11 at a pop...
...starting today, January 17 through February 11 at Emporium’s Logan Square pop-up space, 2367 N. Milwaukee Avenue. The project’s called The Light Times Club. Expect of slice of classic Chicago with...
Updated 8 hours ago
Approx 50 boxes (most a mix of small and medium boxes) available near School St and Ashland Ave Wens. or Thurs. morning. A handful of mediums brand new and the rest used only once, for our move this month. PM if interested. Will honor FCFS. Happy holidays everyone!
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ENAZ (3432 Southport Ave., enaz.com) will bring its annual Jewelry Warehouse Sale to its city location on January 18. The event takes 40 to 60 percent off baubles from brands such as Silver Fountain and Designed by Denise.This article has 7 other Chicago locations (Show)
In case you need a reminder, heavy-duty coat weather has arrived. Just in time, Nordstrom is bringing the Pop-In@Nordstrom x The North Face to its Mag Mile store (55 E. Grand Ave., shop.nordstrom.com).
Rag & Bone (25 E. Delaware Pl., rag-bone.com) is offering up to 65 percent off select items for men and women. Score a red-check jacket with a shearling collar (reduced from $1,195 to $600) and an oversized bomber jacket in mauve wool (reduced from $750 to $525).
Rent the Runway (710 N. Wabash Ave., renttherunway.com) is hosting a clearance sale while supplies last. The sale offers up to...
Marc Jacobs (11 E Walton St., marcjacobs.com) is still holding its Holiday Sale, which offers 60 percent off select items. Pieces include a shrunken denim jacket (reduced from $895 to $358) and denim culottes (reduced from $295 to $118).
Swarovski (540 N. Michigan Ave., swarovski.com) is holding its Winter Sale. Select pieces are up to 50 percent off, including a choker inspired by ice crystals (reduced from $199 to $99.50) and a bangle with rose-gold plating (reduced from $149 to $74.50).
Tommy Bahama (664 N. Michigan Ave., tommybahama.com) has a January clearance event happening now. The sale offers savings up to...
The Spa at JW at JW Marriott Chicago (151 W. Adams St., marriott.com) launched its Bling in the New Year package to celebrate the dawn of...
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Updated 9 hours ago
10 hours ago
Five Mile Lake by Shattered Globe Theatre continues at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, through February 24. Tickets are $35 (discounts available for students, seniors and under 30s) for performances Thursday-Sunday.
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3750 N. Greenview Ave. in Chicago: $2,395,000
4 days ago
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About 3:30 p.m., the woman, who was traveling south in the 3200 block of North Lake Shore Drive in an unknown type of vehicle collided with a cement barrier, police said.


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Chip designer AMD, recently announced several promotions and a new hire to strengthen its senior leadership team to further enable the company’s continued growth.
AMD announced four senior vice president promotions including Nazar Zaidi to senior vice president of Cores, Server SoC and Systems IP Engineering with continued responsibility for leading the development of leadership CPU cores, server SoCs and system IP.
Andrej Zdravkovic was promoted to senior vice president of Software Development, leading the teams responsible for all aspects of AMD software strategy and development across AMD graphics, client and data center products while Spencer Pan takes the senior vice president of greater China Sales and president of AMD Greater China, with responsibility for leading all sales and go-to-market activities for AMD in greater China and expansion of strategic partner and customer relationships in the region.
Jane Roney has been elevated to senior vice president of Business Operations, responsible for aligning and scaling critical business processes across the company to support growth and help ensure consistent execution.
In addition, AMD also revealed it has hired industry veteran Daniel McNamara as senior vice president and general manager, Server Business Unit. McNamara is responsible for building on the successful introduction of the second generation of AMD EPYC processors to further accelerate adoption of the company’s high-performance server solutions with cloud, enterprise and ecosystem partners.
“Strengthening and expanding our leadership team is key to building on the significant momentum we have generated over the past several years,” said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. “I am delighted to announce these additions to our senior leadership team. Each of these leaders will play key roles in helping us achieve our long-term growth objectives in the coming years.”


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Husband and wife team grow turnover to £2 million and double workforce
Rob and Sam Simpson, who bought Drain Doctor Anglia in 2009, are celebrating 10 years in business, during which time they’ve built a £2-million-a-year franchise, doubled its workforce and relocated to larger, state-of-the-art premises.
Covering six territories, Drain Doctor Anglia provides emergency plumbing, drain unblocking and drain repair services to domestic and commercial customers in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Kent and south east London.
Keep up to date with the latest What Franchise News sent straight to your inbox. Sign up here.
Rob, who along with Sam, won Drain Doctor’s Franchisee of the Year award in 2018, says: “In 10 years we have achieved a huge amount of growth and success and we’re immensely proud of the business we have built.
“Today we have 15 skilled and qualified technicians out on the road dealing directly with customers and seven support staff who are the day-to-day operations behind the business, providing a best-in-class service to our customers, some of whom have been with us throughout this decade.
“Our revenues have grown significantly over the years and last year alone we reached our biggest turnover of £2 million, which is testament to the great team we have in place.
“2018 was a year of expansion for Drain Doctor Anglia and 2019 has proved to be equally strong for the business. Our code of values and company ethos stands central around integrity and honesty and this has enabled us to provide superior customer service for every job we carry out.
“It has been an incredible journey so far and the next 10 years are going to be as exciting for us both personally and professionally.”
Rob and Sam’s business is part of a national franchise network of around 57 Drain Doctor locations in the UK.


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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Joint Base Charleston (JBC) on Tuesday will begin offering online shopping and curbside pickup to authorized commissary shoppers. It is the seventh Defense Commissary Agency location nationwide to implement the program.
Through CLICK2GO, customers can browse offerings based on the selected locations’ products and schedule a pickup time.
When picking up, customers park in a designated space, the order is brought out, and the transaction is completed.
Eddie Williams, store director, explained that “internet grocery shopping has certainly picked up as folks cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, so we’re especially pleased to be able to offer this to our community.”
Although Williams is excited about the venture, he is warning customers that the pandemic may create a few bumps in what is otherwise expected to be a smooth road.
He says that product availability has bene “impacted by COVID-19 shopping patterns,” meaning “online product selections might not be available when pickers go through the store to fill the orders.” If this happens, pickers are sure to let the customers know.
For the first 30 days, the program will be free. After the introductory period, there will be a $4.95 service pay for each CLICK2GO order.


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Suez Canal open again
Salvage teams on Monday dislodged the massive Ever Given cargo ship that had blocked an essential pathway of international trade for nearly a week. Tugboats pulled the container ship through the water to reopen the Suez Canal in Egypt, and it sailed into the Great Bitter Lake for inspection. The ship ran aground during a sandstorm on March 23. The incident held up about $9 billion in global trade per day.
What does this mean for shipping? Traffic resumed on Monday evening, starting with vessels carrying livestock, said Lt. Gen. Osama Rabei, the head of the Suez Canal Authority. Some 420 ships were waiting for the Ever Given to move. At least 113 should cross the canal by Tuesday, Rabei said. Dozens of ship crews ran out of patience and decided to sail more than 3,000 miles around the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost point of Africa instead.
Dig deeper: Read Daniel James Devine’s report about how the COVID-19 pandemic strained the global supply chain.
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OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - A spunky business owner realized she wanted to follow her passion for loving dogs after taking time to focus on her sobriety.
Not only has Amanda Colanino helped nearly 30 foster dogs find forever homes but she has taken her hobby of making dog treats and turned it into a growing business. It’s a business that's taking off and becoming larger than her wildest dreams.
"Once I got my head clear, and made it a business, I mean still today, the people in Arby's were like, "Oh my God, do you sell that out of your van?" I'm like, "I do." So it's just, I don't know, it's weird. It's weird to me that my tiny dream is you know an actual business," said Colanino, owner of DogGurt.
DogGurt is a frozen yogurt made by hand and with ingredients pet owners will recognize. Colanino had her product at a Hy-Vee event when the manager of the Hy-Vee store asked her about selling her product at that location.
"They saw how often I was restocking, then other stores jumped on board. Now I am in five Hy-Vee's, and three, soon to be four Pet Supplies Plus stores, and then on top of all of the smaller local pet stores in Omaha and Lincoln," said Colanino.
With the help from an area Pet Supplies Plus manager, she has her product in stores in other states.
"With his help, I am in two Colorado stores, and then I am delivering to Minnesota next month," said Colanino.
With all of that DogGurt, you might think she has a large staff. But it is all made by hand by Colanino. She has already run out of room and had to expand her office.
"I had my grand opening on September 25th of 2020, and it was a huge success. Within that same year, I had to move to a bigger office next door because I have grown so much, but it's exciting,” she said.
Colanino has an ambitious five-year plan that she is really excited to make into a reality.
"Turn the Omaha operation over to somebody, which is going to be really hard because this is my baby. I want to do that and get somebody here to do the dailies, while I spread the DogGurt love to Colorado and maybe more of the Midwest,” said Colanino.
She also hopes to combine her passion for fostering animals with her passion for DogGurt.
"My dream is always when I thought about DogGurt on paper, was to do like the lost kids milk carton thing and I would like to adopt a rescue a month, and put adoptable dogs on my label and keep them on the label until they find their home," said Colanino.
Colanino hopes that sharing her story of building a business around a simple or unusual idea will inspire others to follow their passions.
On top of finding DogGurt products in stores, you can always find the DogGurt van at farmers markets or community events in the metro.


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Where was Donald Trump's stylist?
Trump is guilty of a fashion faux pas.
For his White House meeting with South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on Wednesday, the president wore a navy jacket with black slacks.
The mismatch was particularly conspicuous next to his far more fashionable guest.
Though suits are traditionally worn as matching garments, Trump has never been one to stick to convention. And to be fair, the navy and black combo is not entirely unprecedented.
Christian Dior was quoted by Vanity Fair, saying, "Among all colors, navy blue is the only one which can ever compete with black, it has all the same qualities."
But needless to say, Twitter did not approve.
Some were reminded of another presidential suit scandal...
Perhaps it's his subconscious crying out for help...


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May is shaping up to be a crucial month for California's dairy farmers. After numerous delays, committees on both sides of Capitol Hill are planning to reconsider a multiyear farm bill that could determine if dairy farmers in our area survive or fail.
The nation's consumers also have a stake in this effort. If Washington doesn't pass a farm bill this year, consumers could again face the possibility of government-induced high milk prices in 2013. This so-called dairy cliff was delayed, but not done away with, at the start of this year.
Of course, the farm bill is important to all California farmers. But, after a disastrous milk price collapse in 2009 and another tough year in 2012, Central Valley dairy farmers are really struggling.
Their best chance for survival is a series of reforms to today's dysfunctional federal dairy program reforms drafted by the farmers themselves and known as the Dairy Security Act.
DSA reorients government dairy programs from an emphasis on price to a focus on maintaining adequate margins, the crucial gap between what farmers receive for their milk and what it costs them to produce it.
It was a crushing cost-price squeeze caused by record-high feed costs and weak demand that forced many California dairy farmers out of business at the height of the recession in 2009. And it was high feed costs that squeezed dairy farmers again last year, even with better mailbox milk prices.
DSA starts by scrapping the current failing dairy safety net, made up of price supports, direct payments and export assistance. No longer will the government buy and store dairy products to support market prices.
Instead, the bill establishes what amounts to an insurance program jointly funded by government and the farmers themselves to help protect farm income when margins shrink. To prevent steep price declines, or prolonged periods of low margins, a standby program will encourage farmers to cut their milk production.
Best of all, these programs are voluntary. Dairy farmers can choose between a basic federal safety net or no program at all. But if they accept help, they must agree to adjust the amount of milk they produce when cuts are needed to balance supplies with demand.
These reforms protect producers, allow dairy markets to grow and assure an abundant supply of milk for consumers. They are the only comprehensive set of dairy reforms on the table as Congress settles down to revisit the farm bill.
Still, DSA is not without its critics. Some call it a heavy-handed government intrusion in the marketplace. Nothing could be further from the truth. In addition to being completely voluntary, DSA would probably be the most fiscally responsible of all federal farm programs. Those who choose to participate in it are required to help keep federal spending under control by agreeing to reduce their milk output when government costs start rising.
By contrast, an alternative approach, defeated in the House Agriculture Committee last year but likely to resurface this month, is totally irresponsible. It makes farmers free riders. It offers them federal help with no limit on insurance payouts if milk prices collapse.
Milk is California's No. 1 farm commodity. In 2011 it added nearly $8 billion to our state's struggling economy. We need a safety net that works for California and Central Valley dairy farmers while avoiding catastrophic milk price increases for consumers.
The Dairy Security Act is that safety net. It deserves support from the six members of Congress from California who serve on the Agriculture Committee, and especially 10th District Rep. Jeff Denham.
Carvalho operates Carvalho Farms in Crows Landing.


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by Naomi Carter, GLOBUS Correspondent
I love to have a clear argument in a debate, but I’ll admit that this is a tricky one. Although I haven’t bought clothes from fast fashion brands for a considerable amount of time, and I now find myself overwhelmed by the bright lights, discounts and cheap-yet-tempting products at shopping, I am still not convinced that boycotting fast fashion brands really is the best way to create change within the fashion industry.
Growing consumer awareness around fast fashion is always encouraging when thinking about the dire need for change; after all, it is hard to remain passive when faced with the shocking facts about the industry’s impact on climate change (the fashion industry is responsible for up to 8% of carbon emissions), environmental degradation (three out of five fast fashion items end up in landfill) and workers’ rights (with 93% of brands not paying garment workers a living wage). The obvious, and most touted, action to address these awful facts is boycotting – simply resisting the temptation to buy more and more of the latest trends. With consumers practically addicted to the instant gratification of fast fashion, the process of breaking up with high street deals can be a challenging one but it is possible. The real question
is, however, is whether it is beneficial?
To a certain extent, yes. A boycott directly tells brands that we, as consumers, will not tolerate the greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, poor working conditions and exploitation of garment workers that have become integral to fast fashion. From a moral perspective, we can argue that we should not continue to pay for fast fashion, as we are rewarding brands for bad practice and perpetuating a cycle of worker exploitation. After all, it is consumer demand that drives fast fashion in the first place – and shifting demand may force brands to shift their mindsets too. However, this fails to recognise the enormous power that fast fashion brands have over workers and consumers. With Boohoo recording a 51% rise in profit before tax in the six months leading up to August 31, 2020, despite (or maybe because of) a global pandemic, we can see that brands have significant financial power and are highly lucrative. Refusing to buy a £5 T-shirt then, may not have a significant impact on these companies, instead directly harm the workers who are the most vulnerable to supply chain volatility. With incredibly low pay and conditions imposed by suppliers, workers are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and dependency, meaning they often do not have the means to free themselves from the oppression of fast fashion.
This dichotomy between the revenue of brands and the treatment of workers isn’t just the case in the Global South; Sir Philip Green, who owns the Arcadia retail group, ranks 154 in the 2020 Sunday Times Rich List despite the pandemic threatening 13,000 jobs. Worldwide, an estimated 60 million people work in the garment making industry, with around 80% of these workers being women. Whilst pay is often dismal – a recent investigation into Spice Girl charity T-shirts found that they were manufactured in factories paying workers the equivalent of 35p an hour– many argue that some form of employment is better than nothing or more dangerous alternatives such as prostitution. For those with this mindset, it can be easy to fall into a neo-colonialist mentality, where we, the privileged consumers in the Global North, can exclaim ‘but I’m employing people in Bangladesh when I buy this Primark top!’ and then happily ignore more fundamental problems that occurred within that top’s supply chain. Therefore, it is essential to keep perspective and privilege at the forefront of our minds when taking action against fast fashion. Boycotts are a good start, but we must be more active than simply avoiding clothes. It is critical that actions and campaigns are led by garment workers who are at the intersections of fast fashion’s social, economic, and environmental impacts. Fashion already has capitalist, colonial and patriarchal ties; actions to change the system must disrupt these systems of oppression too. We need to push for fundamental, systemic change that challenges all aspects of supply chains, including working conditions, workers’ rights, and transparency. According to the Fashion Transparency Index, 2020, major brands Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Forever 21 all score less than 10%, indicating how much these brands actually disclose to their customers.
Additionally, over-emphasis on boycotts can overemphasise individual purchasing actions without pushing for systemic change. Instead, we need to vocalise our opposition to exploitative practices, through participation in the #PayUp or #WhoMadeMyClothes campaigns, following movements such as Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) or the Clean Clothes Campaign (@cleanclothescampaign), and continuing to research and get angry about what major brands hide from us on a daily basis. However, some believe that awareness campaigns are too intangible and slow; the planet cannot sustain the constant consumption and throwaway culture that has been bred by the fast fashion industry. Potentially, some (i.e. garment workers in the Global South) have to suffer the short-term costs of boycotting in order to preserve the planet in the long term. However, this argument is problematic in so many ways; we cannot separate fast fashion’s social, environmental, and economic impacts, and place the cost of the Global North’s demand on the workers of the Global South who are least responsible for our damaging lifestyles. It is easy for privileged consumers to call for mass boycotts because we don’t have to suffer the consequences. It is equally easy for privileged consumers to play the blame game, ignoring the fact that both making clothing in the Global South, or buying that clothing in the Global North, is not always a choice, but often a matter of survival and financial means.
Therefore, we need to take a holistic view of fast fashion and boycotts, weighing up the factors involved in garment supply chains before either mindlessly buying more, or blaming ourselves for failing to resist a sale. Whilst, of course, limiting our consumption and taking action for more sustainable fashion is vital, so is the use of perspective to see the bigger picture– we require absolute, systemic change on so many levels, and it is only through pushing for this that transformative change in the fashion industry’s problematic supply chains can occur.
As The Good Trade highlighted, “Garment workers may not be crushed by boycotts, but only because the system is already crushing them.”
Photo by Rio Lecatompessy on Unsplash
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Black History Month 2022: A Celebration of African American Businesses
When John T. Ward, a free African American living in Richmond, VA, moved to a farm in Columbus, OH in 1836 with his wife, he probably wasn’t aware that he was going to make history several decades later.
After using his farm as a stop on the historic Underground Railroad until the titanic American Civil War broke out, he joined his son, William S. Ward, to launch EE Ward Moving & Storage in 1881 – the nation’s first and oldest African American-owned business. The company has thrived and is still operating today as an industrial moving and storage company. In 2001, Ward’s descendants sold the business to family friends Brian Brooks and Otto Beatty.
A Lasting Legacy
The only thing more remarkable than the fact that the company is still thriving today is the legacy Ward and his son left behind after they started it. Indeed, if small businesses are the backbone of the US economy, African American-owned businesses are the backbone of small businesses.
According to the US Census Bureau, since Ward and his son launched their endeavor in 1881, the number of African American-owned small businesses has continued to grow. Also according to the US Census Bureau, as of 2020 there are 134,567 black-owned small businesses in the U.S, with about $133.7 billion in sales revenue and $40.5 billion in combined payroll. Just under 30% of those businesses are in health care and the social assistance sector, the largest percentages out of any minority-owned small business group.
This Week’s Spotlight
Kapitus is proud to celebrate every African American small business owner who has followed in the footsteps of John T. Ward by overcoming the odds and following his or her dreams and passions to successfully run their own small business. Each week during Black History Month (February 2022), Kapitus will profile one of these businesses.
To kick off the celebrations, Kapitus had the honor of interviewing Adria Marshall, owner and founder of five-year-old Ecoslay, which produces environmentally friendly hair care products in Avondale Estates, GA. The company has handled more than 300,000 orders since it began.
Following Her Personal Passion
Marshall was inspired to launch the company after spending 16 years experimenting with various hair products, seeking what she called “The Holy Grail of hair care.” She found that she could grow many of the ingredients in her garden, and it quickly developed into a passion.
“I discovered that natural ingredients worked far better for my own hair than the ones that I couldn’t even pronounce nor easily access. And from this realization, Ecoslay was born,” she said.
For the first year in operation, Marshall and her oldest daughter, Sydney (who still works for the company), spent long hours in their kitchen making natural hair care products, boxing them up, and taking them to the 24-hour post office near their house on a daily basis. The company has since grown to five employees. Like many small business owners, Marshall has found that following her passions instead of working in the corporate world paid off. While her journey has been exhilarating and exhausting, the rewards of doing something that she loves and being financially independent have been well worth it.
“Black owned and operated, we popped onto the map when we released our Orange Marmalade flaxseed and aloe curl definer in 2018,” she said. “We now have over 40K followers on social media and can be found in over 100 stores worldwide…I’ve always believed that it’s best to work in a field that lights your passion because the work doesn’t feel like work at all. Being passionate about hair care and gardening, starting an eco-friendly hair product company was a natural fit for me. I rarely ever realize that I’m working because it’s so much fun.”
Barriers Still Need to be Broken
While the US has come a long way when it comes to providing opportunities for minorities, Marshall still faced challenges in starting Ecoslay – especially being a woman of color in business.
“Being a Black-owned business comes with several stereotypes,” she said. “You combine that with being woman-owned, and there are quite a few barriers that still need to be broken down. Often-times vendors, merchants and partners are seemingly surprised at our professionalism, growth, tech-savviness, eco-consciousness and effective product range. As the world becomes a bit smaller, it’s been nice to see the tides start to turn – we welcome the opportunity to continue to push boundaries and change mindsets.”
Customer Service is Key
While offering great products is imperative for any small business, Marshall said what differentiates her company is customer service,
“Our world is becoming more and more impersonal each day,” said Marshall. “Outstanding customer service is a way to make someone feel special – like more than just a number. Giving our customers a great experience from the moment that they discover us on social to how we follow up with them after their purchase falls directly in line with our Kindness core value. Even if the customer is unhappy with their products, we feel that it’s critical that they feel special and valued.”
Facing Today’s Challenges
Like every other small business in America, Marshall is also facing the tidal wave of rising inflation,
supply chain disruptions and worker shortages. Being a small business owner, however, means being tough in all situations, she said.
“Small business owners naturally have quite a bit of grit,” she said. “Every day, we fly by the seat of our pants as we navigate social media changes, tax laws, shipping regulations, international trade rules, insurance requirements. The list goes on and on. So, honestly, when the pandemic hit, it was just another set of challenges for us.
“Yes, the degree of supply chain disruption, staff impacts and purchasing patterns was more extreme, but we were relatively easily able to dig deep and find creative solutions for these problems. Our revenue actually doubled during the pandemic, enabling us to increase our charity contributions so that we could bless our community and like-minded businesses in need.”
Who Else Will We Meet This Month?
As Black History Month marches on, Kapitus will travel to Chicago to profile a remarkable young attorney Maria M. Barlow, who overcame the odds and societal barriers to launch her own law firm for underserved residents in her community.


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Industrial applications are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI). You can see some of the clearest examples by looking at the merging of AI and manufacturing. Production facilities use artificial intelligence to track trends, reduce resource usage, cope with labor shortages and much more. As decision-makers scale up their AI use, they often create smart factories where most processes and equipment run with connected and highly advanced technologies.
What can today’s leaders expect by choosing AI? How are some companies already benefiting from the technology?
A 2022 survey indicated manufacturing professionals do not just consider smart factories nice to have — they increasingly see such facilities as drivers of future success. That was the belief of 83% of respondents. Another finding was the smart factory adoption rate experienced 50% year-over-year growth. A lower barrier to entry was one of the leading factors attributed to that change.
It also helps that manufacturers felt upbeat about smart manufacturing, with 85% of respondents expressing optimism about it. Additionally, 74% of the manufacturers polled were using or planning to implement artificial intelligence.
These takeaways emphasize people frequently consider AI and manufacturing together. If manufacturers continue seeing artificial intelligence as something they must use to stay competitive, the world will progressively see more smart factories.
It may seem like all the leading manufacturers are already using AI. However, a 2023 Manufacturing Leadership Council report revealed they are still in the relatively early stages of adoption. For example, 57% of manufacturers are still piloting or experimenting with AI. Twenty-nine percent turned their AI initiatives into formal plans. However, only 4% of respondents did not plan to use artificial intelligence.
Other survey questions asked respondents to envision the extent to which automation would dominate smart factories by 2030. Those results indicated 40% expected circumstances where such facilities are largely autonomous, with humans still significantly influencing operations. It is too early to predict whether that situation will happen, but the survey’s respondents indicated they know how peers respond to the increasingly common combination of AI and manufacturing.
Interestingly, 43% already felt their companies were behind competitors regarding how they use AI. Thirty percent felt their adoption levels were equal and 16% believed they were ahead of competitors. These statistics suggest even people familiar with today’s AI-driven smart factories should prepare for their continual evolution.
The manufacturing industry is in the middle of a workforce crisis. A study indicated there could be as many as 2.1 million unfilled jobs in the industry within the United States by 2030. That issue has led more manufacturers to consider how to attract and keep workers. Sometimes, that means raising wages and expanding benefits packages.
In other cases, leaders may look to hiring from other countries. More than 70% of the world’s nations have data protection laws. Thus, any global recruitment efforts must include responsible information handling, including becoming familiar with the regulations in relevant countries. A 2022 study found 20% of respondents were hiring workers from abroad to fill skills gaps. Plus, 26% reported using technology to automate or enhance workflows.
Whether a manufacturer fills roles with locally sourced workers or those from abroad, focusing on AI could show new hires and candidates the respective companies are on the cutting edge. Relatedly, once people see how AI and manufacturing come together in real-life applications, many will realize the industry has come much further than they thought.
Increased investment is one of the clearest indicators of activity within the realm of AI and manufacturing. If the industry’s leaders are ready to spend more on artificial intelligence, they likely have already seen promising results.
A 2023 study showed 63% of manufacturing leaders intend to increase their AI budgets during the year. Conversely, only 3% planned to spend less on artificial intelligence. Moreover, the top priority was to use AI to upskill their workforce.
Elsewhere, when an MIT Sloan Management Review investigation examined how companies want to use AI, data-related improvements emerged as the primary focus. For example, 82% of companies will make data modernization improvements in 2023. Some decision-makers may have felt compelled to make changes since another finding was only 24% of respondents described their organizations as data driven.
Smart factories can quickly make data collection more valuable than ever. The most progressive manufacturers often have real-time information streams for everything from equipment health to the output of individual assembly lines. AI algorithms can also reveal trends, ultimately making manufacturing leaders proactive and responsive rather than reactive and struggling to address problems.
These findings emphasize why the people overseeing successful production facilities must pay attention to how AI could help them create competitive, smart factories. Even if they are not immediately ready to deploy the technology, now is an excellent time to explore the possibilities and identify the most feasible solutions.
Emily Newton is a seasoned industrial writer who explores the impact of technology in the industrial sector. She has over six years of experience providing insights on manufacturing and supply chain automation.


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Baton Rouge, Louisiana (PRWEB) February 12, 2009
In spite of the economy, not all businesses are suffering. Environmental Waste Solutions (EWS) announces that, across the country, their affiliates are seeing their profits soar while so many others are forced into change just so they can work around a consistently lagging economy.
While stocks on Wall Street continue to fall sharply and fear for a recession spreads across the country, EWS affiliates working across the United States have easily avoided the influence of the economy.
According to EWS, this is precisely because, "EWS is a recession-proof business," enabling affiliates to see their profits soar despite an economy that only seems to be getting worse.
However, many tend to wonder how a business can be "recession-proof". EWS reminds affiliates and those that are interested that it is not the typical corporation that will survive through millions of dollars of loss through government help or simply because it is that rich. Instead, EWS is a business that the economy will always have a hard time affecting because its success lies entirely in solid waste.
EWS operates by training its affiliates to look at solid waste from a drastically different perspective than is normal. Instead of looking at trash as something with no value, EWS affiliates view it as more of an opportunity. With the knowledge given to them by EWS, affiliates work with businesses in their areas and scrutinize their waste streams. In doing so, they can help their clients dispose of their solid way more efficiently--through better recycling and materials exchange programs. For larger and more complex clients, affiliates work with EWS in what they call a joint venture.
One unique aspect of EWS' business model is the fact that it costs clients nothing out of pocket, they simply sign a contract with the affiliate paying them half of what they save every month. EWS says that this approach not only helps them save money, but it helps them become greener without spending anything extra.
For EWS, their waste-centered business is not only recession proof for affiliates, but it also helps clients work around the economy as well. By helping them save money, EWS enables business to continue operating without cutting jobs or slowing down--strengthening business to help cope with an economy that is all but easy to work with.
For more information visit http://www.environmental-waste.com/ or call 1.800.650.5225.


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Richard Guebert is getting ready to plant corn, wheat and soybeans in southern Illinois, about 50 miles south of St. Louis. But for reasons connected to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, he and his fellow farmers are concerned about how their upcoming growing season will go.
Even though only a fraction of the food eaten in the United States is imported, with much of that coming from Mexico and Canada, the ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine will conspire to further drive up food prices and keep them high into next year, analysts say. And because Russia is a main producer of fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals, the conflict is likely to have an impact what is grown this year on American soil.
Guebert has seen the effects firsthand. His fertilizer cost was $510 a ton last year, he said. This year, it’s $1,508. He has no choice but to pay it to meet his target crop yields, he said, and while the price he is paid for his grain will rise, too, “prices will reach a point where no one can afford to purchase them.”
Even before the conflict, input costs had surged for key segments of the consumer packaged goods industry, said Geoff Freeman, president of the Consumer Brands Association, with food manufacturing prices up 14.2 percent overall since February 2021. While goods that travel by truck or ship are seeing price increases because of rising fuel costs, grocery categories that lean heavily on cooking oils, aluminum packaging or commodity grains such as wheat will see higher prices and tighter supply because of the uncertainty associated with the conflict. That would include breads, baked goods, pasta, cereal and many items in the center aisles of the grocery store.
“We knew the first two quarters of 2022 were going to be rough coming out of covid, with the addition of some weather events,” said Patrick Penfield, professor of practice in supply chain management at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management. “But the thinking was that this would subside by the third quarter and inflationary pressures would go down. But that’s all off the table now.”
Penfield predicts consumers will see many food prices go up further in the next month, and he foresees double-digit inflation by the end of this year.
While there is no shortage of wheat in the United States, the global supply was the tightest it had been in 14 years even before the conflict. That left the market primed to be sensitive, said William Osnato, senior research analyst for the Gro Intelligence agriculture data platform.
Wheat futures are up 29 percent since Feb. 25, with corn up 15 percent since that date, soybeans up 6 percent and other commodity grains dragged along with them.
“Last Tuesday was a bananas day for wheat, one of the most volatile days in the history of the wheat market,” Osnato said. “During the wild ride it hit an all-time high.”
And on the eve of planting season, American farmers are poised for even more significant impacts. High fuel and input prices will affect what farmers grow, and a worldwide shortfall of wheat, corn and vegetable oils such as sunflower and canola will mean that “for China, India and other countries around the world, it will go to auction and there will be a bidding war, and the highest bidder wins,” Penfield said.
“The number one issue right now … is energy prices; then fertilizer prices, because Russia is the second-largest supplier; then you have the chemicals farmers need for their soil,” Penfield added. “Farmers are going to see increased costs across the board.”
Jed Bower farms corn and soy in southwest Ohio. He is hoping to start planting this year’s crops the second week in April, but he’s nervous not just about the prices of the chemicals he needs, but also about their availability.
“Fertilizer and herbicides are hard to get; retailers are holding supplies pretty tight. If I need 1,000 gallons of Roundup for the year, I might only be able to get 50 right now,” he said, explaining that farmers and agricultural supply stores don’t know how much will be available this year. “They are trying to make sure that every grower has access to some. We saw the run on the toilet paper during covid — and that’s what they’re trying to prevent.”
If he can’t get the fertilizer and other chemicals he needs, Bower may be forced to pivot from corn, which requires more nitrogen fertilizer, to soy, and from genetically modified crops to older technology — all of which will affect his bottom line.
“I don’t want to do that,” he said, “but I’d have to make that decision in the next two weeks.”
Higher gas prices also have a psychological effect on consumers that will drive some prices higher, said Tinglong Dai, a Johns Hopkins University business professor.
“Gas at more than $5 per gallon will discourage a lot of people from driving, and that is going to make the labor problem even worse. Retailers and restaurants won’t be able to find workers unless they pay higher wages — and they will have to figure out ways to recoup those prices,” he said. “It’s not about the food, per se; it’s about the people who bring the food to the shelves and tables.”
Dai added that high prices for gas and for new and used automobiles will cause a hesitancy to expand trucking capacity, which will make the recovery of the supply chain harder. Even consumer behavior will lead to shortfalls and higher prices, he said.
“High gas prices make consumers drive less, so they will buy more at each visit to the grocery store, which makes it harder for grocery stores to plan and replenish their inventory,” Dai said.
Higher fuel prices drive up the prices of other commodities, too, Osnato said. Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sugar. With higher fuel prices, it may be more lucrative for Brazil to use more of its sugar cane to produce ethanol, which will tighten up the global supply of table sugar and drive prices higher.
Osnato said that food and beverage manufacturers are now 18 months into feeling the pinch of higher input costs. Many have already announced that they are passing those costs on to consumers via across-the-board price increases.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Companies will continue to pass on costs as much as they can for at least another year.”
Sophia Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says that because the food system we have is sufficiently concentrated — 80 percent of U.S. beef is controlled by just four companies; Walmart sells more than a quarter of all groceries; Unilever owns more than 400 food brands — consumers will see prices surge right away, even if tight supplies for things such as wheat and corn are a ways off.
“Companies will ask the consumer to bear the cost,” she said. “Every corporate boardroom is protecting shareholder interests, looking to hedge risk and thinking about what consumers will bear.”


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Coinbase-Partnered Social Finance (SoFi) Lending Project Finalizes $500 Million Funding
Sofi—A Lending Startup Closes Qatar Led $500 Million Funding Round
Social Finance, popularly known as Sofi is an online lending startup that just closed its Qatar led $500 million funding round. The firm intends to use the cash injection to assist it to invest in its growth, as it continues to strengthen its balance sheet.
Despite having injected half a billion dollars into its balance sheet, its valuation is expected to remain at $4.3 billion dollars. It is the same valuation it had two years ago after completing a funding round that at the time was led by Silver Lake.
Qatar Investment Authority is Sofi’s newest backers. The investment authority is based in Doha and operates as a sovereign wealth fund as well as private equity. At the moment, the company has investments totaling $12 billion and has major interests in companies such as HelloFresh, Flipkart, and Uber, among others.
Prior to this new round of funding, Social Finance had also attracted funding totaling $1.9billion from various companies and individuals. According to PitchBook, the money had been raised by names such as Peter Thiel and SoftBank Capital. Bloomberg News first reported in April that Social Finance was looking to raise more money to invest in its operations.
The latest round of funding has come at a time when the investment space has started recording a massive uptick in private capital interests. By the end of 2018, Venture capital investments had risen to $4.4 billion in the personal finance sector. Market statistics indicate that this was quite an increase, given that the venture capital investments only totaled $1billion five years ago.
Introduction Of New Products
Sofi, based in San Francisco has lately been on a product introduction spree that has seen it introduce a variety of products into the market. It started the year by announcing cryptocurrency trading, a fete that was achieved by partnering with Coinbase.
It then went ahead to launch its zero-fee Sofi branded ETFs. Currently, it has plans to introduce a credit card by the second half of 2019. The first half of the year saw the company rolling out a product known as SoFi Money. This is a cash account that also comes with a 2.25% APY.
According to its CEO, Anthony Noto, the company has worked aggressively over the past few months to grow the company into a mobile-first financial platform. The product development team has been working round the clock to come up with a platform where clients can invest, spend, save, borrow, and even get to protect their money.
Social Finance was launched in 2011. At the time, its primary focus was on refinancing millennial student loans. However, the company has been changing with the times and has since grown to include wealth management services, mortgage refinances, mortgage loans, and personal loans.
The company is said to have more than seven and a half million registered users, and around seven hundred thousand members. According to its CEO, the company does not have any plans to go public this year, although this may happen down the line.


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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – For more than a decade, unsuspecting Americans have been paying charges on their phone bills for unauthorized services, according to a Senate investigation released Wednesday, and lawmakers said it’s time for the government to set some rules.
Each year, about 20 million households are estimated to be the victims of the fraudulent practice of sneaking charges onto a customer’s phone bill, dubbed “cramming.” The bogus charges, ranging from $10 to $50, are for services like long-distance calls, voicemail or even diet plans or yoga classes that the customer neither requested nor used.
The charges have cost consumers, small businesses, nonprofits and even government agencies billions of dollars, according to a study presented by Senate Commerce Committee investigators. The report said most victims don’t know they’re being overcharged.
At a hearing on the issue, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia noted that after insisting for more than ten years it would solve the problem, the phone industry still hasn’t been able to stop the practice.
“The minute Congress decided to trust that the industry would fix this problem, the crammers moved right back in,” Rockefeller said at the hearing. “And American families and businesses have been paying the price ever since.”
The Senate hearing was held one day after The Federal Communications Commission proposed new rules to combat the mystery fees.
Walter McCormick, president of the United States Telecom Association, which represents phone companies and broadband providers, acknowledged the cramming problems.
“Consumers should not be charged for services they did not purchase,” he said.
But service providers have trouble stemming such consumer fraud because technology and sophistication of scammers is increasing so rapidly, McCormick said.
Rockefeller said it’s pretty obvious at this point that voluntary guidelines aren’t solving the problem. “It’s time for us to take a new look at this problem and find a way to solve it.”
The new proposed FCC rules would require landline service providers to notify customers about how to block the fees and to separately list any additional charges added to a bill. They also would require both landline and wireless phone companies to put FCC contact information on their bills so that consumers can contact them more easily about bogus charges.


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As everyone know about the strong sales of Apple iPhone 5, the organization decided that on last week they experienced exhausted their first stock and lots of repeated orders were planned to visit in coming next week.
Tim Cook the CEO of Apple stated that their organization is now struggling more hard to make sufficient iPhone 5s for everybody. Visions regarding to Apple’s new products and services were really at high level, a number of specialists predict that Apple achieved the sale up to Ten million smartphones during the its opening week. The share market went down to around 2% at $690.45 in yesterday closing trade.
Because of the requirement, Apple, the most leading company in all over the world, has been seriously checked out for just about some dealer issues that may possibly reduce the iPhone 5 manufacturing. An expert of Apple name as William Power, gives his statement in the its note that all of us have faith in that the sales might have possibly been a lot greater if we control supply restrictions. Stock delivery restrictions will probably weigh up upon Apple because the iPhone 5 were released more than 20 new countries in coming week.
One of the Apple’s biggest legal manufacturers named Foxconn Technology in Taiyuan’s city Northern Chinese, they shut down their one factory due to insurrection in between their workers, so this kind of un-pleased matters make things worse for Apple. Foxconn Technology still not doing verify about that from which plant of their they will deliver the iPhone to Apple, yet a worker leaked out the inside information about Foxconn Technology that the factory is in between the process of assembling and making the components for Apple’s iPhone 5.
Around the parts side, Apple’s main provider of display screens named as Sharp Corporation continues to be experiencing the high expense and struggling to boost finances to pay for credit debt. This is leaked by some solid source that the organization’s production of latest iPhone 5 shows had gone down at the rear of timetable.
The starting complete total for the iPhone 5 smothered sales from the iPhone 4S that sold a lot more than 4 million pieces during its very first week when Apple launched this in last year October 2011. Huge range consist of pieces which have not yet been delivered or sent to clients as Apple order reserve for sales only if online clients approve for the buy. Apple’s iPhone is the biggest profit item and makes up about 1 / 2 of their yearly incomes. Now a days, specialists are expecting that Apple will sell more than the 25 million iPhones till the October end and they will reach at 50 million pieces till the end of December.
Apple iPhone 5 continues to be among on the most powerful worldwide roll-outs[checklist][/checklist] up to now. Apple’s iPhone 5 is going to be ready for sale again in more than 30 countries in the end of October as well as in a lot more than 90 countries in the end of current year.


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Archive of ‘Uncategorized’ category
- Google Wants to Be Handier for Handymen (WSJ)
Google is planning a service to connect users with plumbers, electricians, roofers and other home-service providers, according to two people familiar with the matter.
- Apple Watch and Beats Music Unite in Pulse-Activated Playlist App, recommend tracks playing nearby based on changes in your pulse (PSFK)
- The electric grid’s latest threat? Rooftop solar cells (QZ)
Power-generating panels, called solar photovoltaics (PV), represent the fastest-growing source of electric power in the United States. In percentage terms, installed PV has grown four-fold over the past several years, and costs have fallen as rapidly as installations have risen.
- Amazon Hints at Smart Home Future Through Echo Device (WSJ)
The company is adding new capabilities to its Wi-Fi-connected speaker and virtual assistant, such as the ability to remotely operate lights and appliances. With just voice commands, for example, someone in bed could turn a television on and turn off the lights. Amazon informed Echo owners about the new services in an email Wednesday.
- Android Creator Andy Rubin Launching Playground Global (WSJ)
The creator of Android, the world’s largest mobile operating system, is returning to his roots in hardware.Mr. Rubin said Playground had raised $48 million from investors including Google, Hewlett-Packard Co., electronics manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., and other tech companies. Playground won’t invest in startups, but will take equity stakes in return for its support.
The iPhone is a much bigger business for Google than Android http://t.co/HMfNC2wgy3 pic.twitter.com/qL1ce1es24
— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) April 9, 2015
Apple iPhone 6 BOM $228 vs. Samsung Galaxy S6 $275 $AAPL $SWKS $NXPI $SNDK $BRCm $MU $AVGO $INVN pic.twitter.com/0DhJLvkful — Craig Bujnowski (@craigbuj) April 8, 2015
BOM Analysis – Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Samsung Galaxy S5 pic.twitter.com/zcroc1P8Eq
— Craig Bujnowski (@craigbuj) April 8, 2015
@pmarca in 1-3 days of 2015, humanity launches as many web and mobile apps as we did in 30 days of 2013. I did a scraping of crunchbase. — Kumar Thangudu (@datarade) April 6, 2015
Modeling mediums of communication http://t.co/ep3GXF41Xx pic.twitter.com/x89RXao41A
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) April 8, 2015
6 mio iOS developer’ı
407 Apple Mağazası, günde 1 milyon ziyaretçi
Appstore 5 yaşında, 50 milyar download
Appstore 900 bin iPhone, 375 K iPad uygulaması
575 milyon İTunes hesabı
Developer’lara ödenen para 10 milyar dolar (diğer platformların toplamının 3 katı)
72 milyon Mac (5 senede katına çıkmış)
Mac OS X : Mavericks (Kedi serisi sona erdi)
Yeni MacBook Air pil süreleri 11 inch 5-9 saat, 13 inch 7-12 saat
1.8 milyon iBooks
300 milyon iCloud hesabı
şu ana kadar 7.4 trilyon push mesaj gönderilmiş.
800 milyar iMessage
600 milyon iOS cihazı satılmış.
Smartphone kullanım araştırmasına göre iPhone’da kullanım süresi 75 dk, Android ortalaması 45 dk’nın üzerinde.
Mobile web trafiğinin %60’ı iOS’dan geliyor. Tablette trafiğin %82 iPad’den
iOS6 dağılım oranı %93
Siri daha kaliteli ses
iOS Car : 2014
Apps (Yaş kategorisi eklendi)
AppStore updateleri otomatik, background’da
1 2 3 … 12 Next


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Numara Software deal leads Florida M&A activity
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The sale of Numara Software led merger and acquisition activity in Florida in the first quarter of 2012.
The $300 million acquisition of Tampa-based Numara by BMC Software Inc. (NASDAQ: BMC) had a higher value than any of the deals reported in Florida in the first three months of 2012, according to a report from mergermarket.com.
Two other sales of Tampa companies also made mergermarket's list of top deals. The $50 million sale of Kforce Clinical Research Inc. by Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ: KFRC) to inVentive Health Inc. on March 19 was No. 3 on mergermarket's list, and the $14 million acquisition of E Solutions Corp. by Knology Corp. (NASDAQ: KNOL) on Jan. 10 was No. 8 on the list.
Deal value and count dropped in Florida in the first quarter of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, mergermarket said. There were 34 deals valued at $600 million in Q1 2012, compared to 46 deals worth $5.2 billion in Q1 2011. Technology, media and telecommunications was the largest sector by value, with seven deals worth $313 million. Leisure was the second most active sector by value, with two deals valued at $175 million.
Nationally, total M&A transaction volume decreased 21 percent in Q1 2012 compared to the prior year, according to a report from Hyde Park Capital, a Tampa investment banking firm. Overall deal value declined 10 percent to $153 billion.
"Consistent with the first quarter of prior years, Q1 2012 experienced a seasonal dip in transaction volume; however, M&A activity is expected to pick up for the remainder of 2012," Hyde Park's report said.
Margie Manning is Quality and Content Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She also covers banking, finance and professional services.
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A look at the day's business stories from media outlets around Tampa Bay.
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Software Quality Assurance Engineer American Express | Fort Lauderdale, FL


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Facebook: 60 percent of government requests come with gag order
The overall number of government data requests have also increased.
Google grabs ex-Motorola president to unify its hardware groups
Rick Osterloh is back at Google and in charge of Glass -- and much more.
On the Brink of Greatness short: Standup
Standup comedy is rough these days.
YouTube's first live 360-degree videos were little more than tech demos
Creators are still figuring out the best way to use this new platform.
Chrome extension blocks out the names of mass shooters
It replaces their photos with pictures of the victims, too.
Google revamps search in its Photos app for Android
You can also now customize the mini-movies the app automatically creates.
Periscope lets you scribble on your livestreams
The feature is iOS-only for now.
Vudu's latest iPad app finally has picture-in-picture
Netflix multitaskers are still waiting for the feature.
Google Play warns you when apps contain ads
The program is designed to make the app shopping process more transparent.
Google and Fiat Chrysler are reportedly partnering on autonomous cars
The 'technical partnership' is apparently close to being finalized.
How Instagram became the perfect platform for streetwear resellers
For some, the social network is more than just pretty pictures.
Curiosity snaps a pic of the most rugged plateau it crossed
The 360-degree panorama shows the plateau's craggy surface.
NFL Sunday Ticket adds out-of-market games at no extra cost
Subscribers won't have to splurge for an upgrade to watch every game.
A viral VR sex suit and what it says about us
Whatever you do, do not stick your penis in this machine!
Windows 10 update message interrupts live weather report
Microsoft recommends an upgrade to Windows 10 before tonight's thunderstorm.
Facebook, Messenger and Instagram apps arrive for Windows 10
Social apps for desktop and mobile leverage Windows features like Live Tiles.
Artificial intelligence now fits inside a USB stick
🎵Everywhere you go, you'll always take the neural network with you🎵
Time-bending FPS 'Superhot' heads to Xbox One next week
SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT. SUPER. HOT.
Comcast buys DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion
'Shrek' now lives in Comcast's house.
Dyson's first beauty product is a hair dryer
The company expands beyond fans and vacuums. A little.
'Blockhood' is a beautiful game about eco-architecture
Part fun, part tool, this Early Access game has much more room to grow than its towers.
Beautiful images could lead to quieter supersonic jets
Hover Camera is a safe and foldable drone that follows you
The Hexo drone is your flying selfie companion
Hands-on with Fotokite Phi, a pet drone on a leash
This drone follows you down the trail after you toss it up in the air
3D Robotics' new drone can follow you around, carry a mirrorless camera
Nixie is a wearable drone that captures your activities on the fly
Apple's updated MacBook is indeed faster with longer battery life
Your call if you actually want it in rose gold, though.
Roku's $50 Streaming Stick makes 1080p set-top boxes obsolete
There's a ton of power in this tiny gadget.
The Xbox One revisited: Microsoft's console has gotten better with age
Two years, several price drops and one big firmware update later, this doesn't feel like the same machine we reviewed at launch.


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Smith & Wesson to produce rifle
Thursday, January 19, 2006
By WILLIAM [email protected]
Smith & Wesson yesterday announced it will sell a military-style rifle, the first time in 20 years the handgun maker has sold a long gun.
The new model M&P15 tactical rifle will be unveiled Feb. 9 at a trade show, and will immediately be available for sale.
Because it includes an adjustable-length stock and a 32-round magazine, the gun cannot be sold legally in Massachusetts, California or some other states that have restricted sales of so-called assault weapons, company officials said. Company officials said the semiautomatic rifle will be sold to law enforcement agencies and the military, but also to target shooters and hunters in states where it is legal.
"Extending the military and police family of firearms is important to us," said Thomas L. Taylor, vice president of marketing for Smith & Wesson.
The tactical rifle market has been growing in recent years, in part thanks to police departments switching from shotguns to rifles, Taylor said.
More traditional rifle types have languished, he said. The U.S. Repeating Arms Co. said Tuesday that it would close a factory in New Haven, Conn., that made Winchester-brand bolt-action and level-action rifles.
Springfield-based Smith & Wesson has parts for the gun made by other manufacturers in the United States, the company said.
The rifle is based on the design of the AR-15, a 1960s-era rifle that evolved into the fully-automatic M16 carried by the United States military as a standard rifle today. Many companies make variants on the design.
Smith & Wesson officials had said the decision to enter the long gun market was made following market research that shows gun buyers wanted to be able to purchase a Smith & Wesson branded rifle or shotgun.
Smith & Wesson spokesman Paul Pluff said the rifle offers more features for the price than many competitors.
The basic version will include an adjustable stock, removable carry handle and adjustable sights for a suggested price of $1,200, while a second version will include folding sights and a rail system to add laser aiming devices and lights at a price of $1,700


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Value-priced Irish retailer Primark is expanding its footprint in the Northeast with a new store opening this month in East Rutherford, N.J., the company's 10th in the U.S. and 378th globally.
Primark, founded in Ireland in 1969 and owned by Associated British Foods, opened its first U.S. store in 2015, in Boston. The company now has nine locations in the Northeast, with plans to open stores in Florida, Chicago, and Philadelphia during the next 12 months.
The East Rutherford store will feature 42,200 sq. ft. of retail space over one floor. The merchandise mix will include the latest trends in women's, men's and children's fashions, footwear and accessories along with lingerie, beauty and homeware. It will also feature Primark's ranges of products made using sustainable, recycled and organic materials.
"The unique make-up of American Dream and its offering to customers is reflective of our own ethos to provide something for everyone, and we look forward to being part of the mall's vibrant and diverse retail offering,” said Andy Stewart, president of Primark U.S.
Currently, Primark has stores in Downtown Crossing, Boston; King of Prussia Mall and Willow Grove Mall in Pennsylvania; Freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey; Danbury Fair Mall in Connecticut; South Shore Braintree and Burlington Mall in Massachusetts; and Staten Island Mall and Kings Plaza Shopping Center (Brooklyn) in New York.


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Orange France has just announced an unlimited mobile phone tariff called Origami Jet. It'll be available from tomorrow and will include:
Our weekly free podcast is now online at TheFonecast.com. It's a show packed with big names; Apple, BT, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, O2, Sony Ericsson, Symbian and Vodafone all make appearances.
Last night Apple announced financial results for the financial quarter ending 26th June 2010. It revealed record revenue of $15.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion. International sales accounted for 52% of quarterly revenue.
Mark Bridge writes:
They were a proud race. Proud of their individuality. Proud of the simple yet high-tech environment they inhabited.
But their population wasn’t growing as quickly as it had. They weren’t dying out – far from it, because they were committed to the cause – but there weren’t as many bright new faces as there’d been before. And now the Others were moving closer.
Yes, they’d done their best to resist the Others. They’d tried moving into new areas; not running away but expanding. It seemed to work. A new generation – a new race, some said – had been born. Different, yet the same. So why did they still feel as though the Others were getting dangerously close?
That’s not the opening of the worst science-fiction novel of all time. It’s the place where some people think Apple finds itself at the moment.


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(ConservativeSense.com) – As the old axiom goes: desperate times call for desperate measures. Shoplifting is getting so bad in New York City that some stores are resorting to new measures to mitigate the situation, such as special lids on ice cream cartons to make them less desirable to steal.
One Upper West Side supermarket, Fairway, is resorting to locking ice cream carton tops with a special plastic lid that can only be taken off at the register with a specific device.
Some shops have padlocked their entire freezers, such as a Duane Reade on 53rd Street and another on 71st Street. One employee said that shoplifters used to come in “with garbage bags,” fill them up with ice cream, “clear out our freezers,” and then run away with the loot.
The supermarket Fairway put a sign up explaining to customers that the protective locks were placed on ice cream to “maintain the lowest possible cost,” informing them that the lids will be removed at the register, and apologizing for the inconvenience. In March, the store also announced that they would begin using facial recognition technology in order to crack down on shoplifters.
Shoplifting is only one of the worries that law-abiding citizens have to deal with, often by taking matters into their own hands. On the J train in Brooklyn last week, a man stabbed another man in self-defense after being attacked. And in May, Jordan Neely, a mentally ill homeless man who was threatening straphangers on an F Train, died after being put in a chokehold by another passenger, Daniel Penny, to subdue him.
Not to mention the migrant crisis, which is pushing the city to the brink and placing great strain on its resources. Mayor Eric Adams, who seems to be running out of ideas on how to deal with the situation, is dropping in popularity according to recent polls, as he continues to plead with the federal government to assist the Big Apple with the crisis.
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