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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG
FORT MADISON – This corner coffee shop is everything it should be.
Chris Swed, has been tinkering with coffee since college and is now just hours away from a grand opening for his coffee shop and roasting business in downtown Fort Madison.
The current manager of the Fox Theater has been not-so-quietly roasting his way into the palates of coffee aficionados in Fort Madison and beyond for the past several years. It’s not uncommon to see him pedaling brews in neighborhood parks, on sidewalks downtown and at citywide events.
All while popping popcorn and ushering in movies at the downtown theater.
He said the idea of having his own cafe and roasting business came about quickly
“We were originally going to do just a cart and buy coffee from somewhere else and just prepare it. Because it’s the social aspect that I enjoy,” Swed said.
“After running the numbers, it was hard to make that work so we thought maybe we should just do all of it. Maybe we should roast and do coffee – and that was a really big change for me because there is nothing social about roasting coffee.
“It’s just me sitting in a room by myself for four, five, six hours sometimes doing the same over and over again – a lot of science, which I enjoy. But it’s not overly social.”
To that end is Swed & Co. Coffee, a business that has gone from the cart in the park to a full spectrum coffee house at the corner of 7th and G in Fort Madison.
Swed has launched a wide open space with WiFi and room for about 30 people to spread out. There’s also nook where he has a stainless steel roaster that pipes the warm tones of coffee roasting into the air above downtown Fort Madison.
The new location has been four months in the making with the past two months being the aesthetic parts. The building is owned by Barker Financial Group, who Swed said “is catching on to the heartbeat of the town.”
“I think they’ve really bought into the idea that this is the opportunity for Fort Madison to really make some strides forward,” Swed said.
The partnership that formed between Swed and Barkers resulted in moving the timeline up for the completion of the project.
Located just east of “The Bunker” which is another downtown endeavor underway by the Doherty Baseball Academy, under a Barker lease, Swed has created a comfortable, bright, and inviting cafe with roasts for every taste bud.
Swed is offering a full range of coffees brewed in-house, and an array of lattes and other different drinks. They will also have homemade pastries, gluten-free snacks, oatmeal, and a rotation of lunch menu items.
A grand opening will be held this Saturday Feb. 27, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch being served. He said the kitchen will close for a while after the grand opening to assess the needs and efficiencies of the opening. The cafe will remain opened.
Hours going forward will be Monday through Friday 8 to 2 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday will be 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Swed said those hours will be fluid and will react to business trends and demands.
“Our hope for this is we wanted people to realize a place like this can be in Fort Madison, although most would say this seems like a feel of something you would get in bigger city,” he said.
“We made this just as much for the town as we did for ourselves because we wanted to create a cool place to hang out.”
He said the timing is good considering the addition of riverboat excursions, the Amtrak depot moving back into Riverview Park, the addition of four or five new businesses downtown, and even the news of the new marina. All of this is creating renewed energy around the downtown area.
In the northeast corner of the cafe is a polished four foot coffee bean roaster that is vented through the ceiling. Swed said on the right days with heavy roasting, the aroma can be waft up to four blocks away.
He said his roaster will do up to nine pounds per batch. He can do different temperatures and closely monitor to the process to allow for tweaking for taste and depth profiles.
Green coffee beans go into the top and burners in the bottom heat up the drum where the beans hang out and release gases and break down. After the prescribed amount of time, the beans are dropped into a cooling bin where they are then packed up and shipped to customers, or used at the cafe.
He said coffee beans come from different parts of the world with different prices based on processing. The roasting process is what fine tunes the flavor profile.
“We are trying to continue that on. We can only take what is in the coffee and just bring out certain flavors.
His passion for the beans came from a small cafe in Greenville, Illinois, where spent a lot of time and got to know the owners.
He then learned there was barista competition and saw that aspect of the trade.
“I’m really competitive and that really got me into it, but then my brother-in-law started a roasting company and cafe and I was helping him at a lot of his events,” he said.
“I fell in love with brewing coffee for people because of that social aspect. It wasn’t until I moved to Fort Madison when I decided to start my own company.”
In addition to the drinks, Swed also sells the beans packaged for individual sale.
More information on the new location can be found Swed’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/swedcocoffee


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Resurrected Gamers Undergo Login Points, Need Refunds
For the previous six days, Diablo II: Resurrected gamers in america, Asia, and the UK have skilled intermittent difficulties when trying to log in to the sport’s on-line servers. Now, some are taking to social media to demand refunds.
According to Blizzard’s customer support Twitter account, the outages could also be as a result of a difficulty affecting the sport’s authentication servers, which may result in gamers experiencing both “failed” or “gradual” login makes an attempt.
These server points started after Blizzard patched the Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Change variations of the sport on October 6. The patch gave the impression to be routine fare, addressing points like participant profiles not having the ability to share names with on-line characters they created, and gamers not being notified when the sport linked to their Xbox Stay accounts. One repair made it in order that gamers have been now not prevented from making a sport of their area after they becoming a member of a sport in a unique area.
Blizzard’s buyer assist Twitter account has posted quite a few updates letting gamers know it’s conscious of the problems they’re experiencing, and of the group’s efforts to implement fixes. The account has repeatedly tweeted that “At the moment’s login and sport creation points have been resolved,” however these upkeep efforts appear to solely briefly deal with the issue.
Gamers have taken to each Twitter and Reddit to vent concerning the challenges they’ve encountered when trying to play Diablo II: Resurrected. Whereas some customers on r/Diablo have made memes about the game’s login issues, others have said that the problems are carrying them into “i would like a refund territory.” Sure, though Blizzard’s assist Twitter account has repeatedly thanked gamers for his or her persistence, some have clearly gotten fed up with the continued difficulties, and have began the hashtag #RefundD2R. “Rattling guys, login issues are like as soon as a day,” one person tweeted together with the hashtag, while another exasperated player commented, “similar day, similar time, similar channel. That is unbelievable. 5 days on this shit.”
One participant who requested a refund posted a response from Blizzard apologetically denying the request. Different gamers on Reddit mentioned that Blizzard had denied their refund requests due to the amount of time they had spent playing the game previous to experiencing outages.
Kotaku reached out to Blizzard for remark, and obtained phrase that the corporate intends to publicly deal with the difficulty in an in depth method “quickly.”

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Indian couture Asia-bound, but eyeing West
By David Lalmalsawma
NEW DELHI (Reuters Life!) - Demand for Indian couture has surged in the Middle East and East Asia in the last five years but the West remains out of bounds due to lack of exposure, designers and buyers said at India's largest fashion event.
Most Indian designers focus on a burgeoning market at home, where a rapidly growing middle class is consuming high fashion like never before, but a significant number are expanding abroad.
"Buyers from Japan, Arab countries are growing by leaps and bounds," designer Kavita Bhartia told Reuters at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, where 130 designers are vying for the attention of 150 domestic and international buyers.
Bhartia, whose skirts and tunics are major sellers in the Middle East and warmer regions such Ibiza, said foreign clients look for something unusual but modern, and Indian designers can address all these issues.
Vineet Bahl, whose overseas clients account for 90 percent of his sales, agrees.
"Four years ago, you had to hunt them (buyers) down, but now they hunt you down."
High fashion in India, which emerged after the country's liberalization in the early 90s, is still comparatively small accounting for barely 0.3 percent of the international industry's net worth, according to a 2008 estimate by industry body the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India


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The 2014 festive period delivered healthy sales and profits to convenience store retailers across the country.
Mandeep Singh, who owns three Premier stores in Sheffield, said sales were up 24% across the board on New Year’s Eve compared to the previous year.
He attributed the sales success to well-executed promotions on social media, especially Facebook. “We pay a company to do our ads, so they’re done really well. A lot of people don’t do it properly. It’s how you tell people about your deals.”
He sold out of Ciroc vodka, which was on offer at £19.99 instead of the usual £34.99. However, despite losing margins on that particular product, overall margins were healthy on New Year’s Eve.
Mandeep also delivered to 17 customers on 27 December, when Sheffield was engulfed in snow, from his Tenyham Road store.
Mukesh Patel of Moat Stores, in Malvern Worcestershire, traded throughout the festive period but said business was “noticeably busier on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day”.
Sales at Paul Wilks’ Budgens store in Bedgrove, Bucks, were also up “in line with expectations”.
“Sales were positive, and strong across all the key categories including alcohol confectionery and chilled goods” he said.
“We were closed on Christmas day so trade on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve was very brisk. Fortunately I have fantastic staff to deal with the rush and offer great service and festive spirit.”
The store had received a substantial amount of local and national press attention in the lead up to Christmas Day after it was revealed that long-serving sales assistant Josie Brown had handwritten more than 4,000 cards for local customers.
Josie, who was the Sales Assistant of The Year independent category winner in 2008, had spent around £400 on cards for local people and many late nights writing out the greetings.
“Josie is quite simply a lovely person and that’s why she got as far as she did in the Sales Assistant of The Year awards,” Paul said. “She’s a real asset to the store, and particularly at this time of year,” he added.


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U.S. Senator and former state attorney general Amy Klobuchar publicly sent a letter to the department of Health and Human Services to urge guidance on the use of fitness trackers and other networked devices that capture personal data. Klobuchar’s request for guidance just weeks before the inauguration of a new administration likely signals an interest in pushing more aggressive regulations over the devices sold directly to consumers over health care.
Senator Klobuchar highlighted the Amazon Halo as an example of these highly aggressive devices. The Halo encourages users to take full-body pictures to measure the “body composition” of body fat and to record the wearer’s voice to provide a “voice analysis” for the user. Senator Klobuchar’s letter also reminded HHS over the concerns regarding Google’s purchase of Fitbit:
While new wearable fitness devices make it easier for people to monitor their own health, these devices give companies unprecedented access to personal and private data with limited oversight. The Halo enters the consumer market at a time where there are very few federal regulations in place to require privacy and security protections for consumer’s personal health data collected by these wearable fitness devices. This lack of federal guidance persists despite the fact that nearly one in five Americans use a smart watch or fitness tracker. Concerns over health data privacy became particularly relevant last year when Google bought Fitbit—a health tracking device company—and data privacy experts cautioned that current laws and regulations do little to hold Google and other companies accountable to adhere to basic privacy standards, notwithstanding these companies’ public claims that they safeguard users’ “privacy” and “security” and promises to never sell private health information to others. More must be done to ensure the privacy and security of health-related consumer devices.
Amazon acknowledges the privacy concerns. The FAQ explains that “speech samples are deleted automatically after being processed so no one ever hears them.” Although Halo provides privacy protections and user controls over the storage of the images and recordings, there are no regulations that would stop Amazon from amending those policies or deciding that the services need access to the devices for additional services.
Amazon has also released a Mickey Mouse edition Echo Wall Clock to extend the Echo/Alexa ecosystem into the baby’s room. Other devices from Fitbit, Apple, and others offer equally intrusive and unregulated products. Apple, for example, offers sleep monitors, posture trainers, scales, thermometers, glucose monitors, jump ropes, shoe inserts, and more. Soon every part of a person’s health care can be privately monitored.
Car insurance companies are now using collected devices to adjust automobile insurance policies. Without regulation, it is only a matter of time before insurance companies will do the same regarding health insurance.
In 2019, Klobuchar sponsored bipartisan legislation to give HHS regulatory authority over such devices in the Protecting Personal Health Data Act. The legislation called for regulations of personal health devices. Presently only the FTC has regulatory authority, and only to the extent that the devices violate the prohibition against unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.


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Report: Alfa Romeo’s own crossover SUV should surface in 2016
Alfa Romeo may be officially back in the United States, technically beginning with the sale of the 8C Competizione and soon with the highly-anticipated Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan. But that’s not all as Alfa also plans to take advantage of the insane crossover demand, according to AutomotiveNews.
This is part of Alfa’s plans to reveal and launch up to eight new models by 2018. The new Giulia and this new crossover count as two of these eight new models.
So far, the Italian luxury automaker has plans to reveal their own crossover sometime in mid-2016 with sales commencing in 2017 here in the states. It’ll be of the compact luxury type, meaning Alfa’s first crossover will be built and released to compete with the BMW X3, the Mercedes-Benz GLC, and the Audi Q3. Internally named Project 949, speculation points to the Kamal Concept from 12 years ago for inspiration.
Though not much else is known about Project 949, other than it sounds like something that would be secretly in the works by Porsche. Either way, FCA’s Sergio Marchionne has a goal to sell at least 400,000 Alfas globally, but not all of the eight new models will make it to our shores.
– By: Chris Chin


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Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
More shops being turned into homes
SCHEMES which saw shops in York turned into flats and houses more than doubled last year - and more small business sites could be in line for changes.
Figures from City of York Council have shown 11 planning applications to convert retail premises into homes were approved by the authority during 2011/12, more than the combined total for the previous two years.
Some of the schemes involved part of the building remaining as a shop or available to be used for that purpose, while other sections of the site - often the first floor - became living accommodation, but others have seen the entire business become a house or flat.
In recent weeks, three new “change of use” applications have been submitted to the council, with business organisations saying the need for their owners to pay empty-building rates if a retail establishment closes could be contributing to the increased number of schemes.
Recent applications have been made for a vacant shop in Boroughbridge Road and a butcher’s business in York Street, Dunnington, to become houses, and a change of use from “retail” to “residential” at a newsagents shop on Bishopthorpe Road.
Permission for similar conversions is also being sought for shops in Burton Stone Lane, Haxby Road and Blossom Street.
The council approved four such applications in both 2008/09 and 2009/10 and five in 2010/11, but the total reached double figures last year.
Planning policy states applications which lead to the loss of a “local or village shop” can only be given the go-ahead if “a local need for the shopping facility no longer exists” or there are alternative businesses in the area.
Katie Stewart, the authority’s head of economic development, said: “Our figures for registered business-rated properties reflects our position as the third fastest-growing city in the UK and we have seen a fall in empty business premises since this time last year.
“We are committed to supporting the future of our city’s economy, and remaining competitive by adapting to market challenges and opportunities is key to any business’ survival.”
Simon Williams, regional chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said converting retail premises to houses was sometimes the “only option” for property owners who would otherwise have to make empty-building rate payments.
“We believe this system needs looking at as it is hitting individual traders and proving to be a big problem for some of them,” he said.


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Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has announced the launch of a $2.2 billion crypto fund. The firm is “radically optimistic about crypto’s potential to restore trust and enable new kinds of governance.”
Andreessen Horowitz Launches $2.2 Billion Crypto Fund
Andreessen Horowitz announced the launch of a new $2.2 billion crypto venture fund Thursday. The Silicon Valley venture capital firm, also known as “a16z,” was founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz in 2009.
Chris Dixon, Katie Haun, and Ali Yahya, partners on the crypto team at Andreessen Horowitz, explained the new fund in a blog post titled “Crypto Fund III.” They wrote:
The size of this fund speaks to the size of the opportunity before us: crypto is not only the future of finance but, as with the internet in the early days, is poised to transform all aspects of our lives.
“This fund allows us to find the next generation of visionary crypto founders, and invest in the most exciting areas of crypto,” the a16z partners explained. “We invest in all stages, from early seed-stage projects to fully developed later-stage networks.”
Haun told CNBC Thursday that the fund is not a hedge fund but a venture fund. She clarified that the fund invests in tokens and protocols as well as businesses.
The company’s first crypto-focused fund was launched three years ago during a crypto winter when the value of bitcoin plunged roughly 80% from its 2017 highs.
The partners further detailed:
We believe that the next wave of computing innovation will be driven by crypto. We are radically optimistic about crypto’s potential to restore trust and enable new kinds of governance where communities collectively make important decisions about how networks evolve, what behaviors are permitted, and how economic benefits are distributed.
“That’s why today we’re pleased to announce a new $2.2 billion fund to continue investing in crypto networks and the founders and teams building in this space,” the partners emphasized.
What do you think about venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz launching a $2.2 billion crypto fund? Let us know in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.


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Hoping to encourage a dialogue around race-related issues, the Seattle-based coffee giant devised the now partially dismantled "Race Together" campaign where baristas write the slogan on Starbucks coffee cups, and engage select customers in a conversation on race.
Starbucks' consistent success comes down to three things: a strong loyalty program, excellent operational execution and product innovation.
The California-based juice bar and smoothie concept hired its first-ever VP of Business Development in November, and Laina Sullivan is ready to take it nationwide.
A projected 1.4 million pounds of small lot coffee will be roasted in the first year at the new Roastery, doubling current production rates.
After years on the rise, gluten-free cuisine has fallen out of the top 10 list of the National Restaurant Association's annual survey.
I can't tell you how many photos from friends I receive of restaurant bar menus that feature gluten-free beer. The photos are sent out of enthusiasm for the gluten-free movement making its way to the beer menus across the country...
Fast casual operators can pull away from the pack by offering trendy beverages like handcrafted sodas, specialty teas and alcohol. But will margins be high enough to make it worth it?
When 82 percent of U.S. adults own smartphones, and 91 percent keep them with them at all times, a mobile strategy for retail becomes more important than ever.
Food sales drove two points of comp growth in the U.S., and the breakfast sandwich platform surged 40 percent.
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Mobile Payments Today Editor Will Hernandez believes robust rewards could help such an initiative take off.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf began brewing at its 1,000th store location worldwide in its home town of Los Angeles
Just three years after buying up La Boulange as part of its strategy to be a bakery brand, Starbucks is shuttering all 23 La Boulange bakery café locations and the brand’s two manufacturing locations by the end of September.
Bruegger's Bagels has launched its new summer menu, adding two new menu items and bringing back some seasonal favorites.
Hot brewed coffee is the most consumed beverage in America after tap water, according to Datassential's latest report, the MenuTrends Keynote on Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
Maui Wowi Hawaiian locations are adding Midnight Kona, a premium dark roast coffee, to the menu this summer for a limited time.
Starbucks is opening its first-ever express format store at 14 Wall Street, across from the New York Stock Exchange.
Peet’s Coffee today introduced Javiva Blended, a new blended iced coffee beverage now available in all Peet’s stores nationwide.
More than 3 million Match.com members list "coffee and conversation" as one of their interests, and Starbucks wants to make sure those conversations take place in one of its locations. Match members can now use the "Meet at Starbucks" feature...
The 13th annual World Tea Expo will take place May 6 – 8, 2015 in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach Convention Center.
Mars will offer Peet's French Roast, Café Domingo and Columbia Luminosa in its proprietary, recyclable Freshpacks.
Starbucks Coffee Company has announced the launch of the Flat White espresso beverage.
The new Huntington Beach Juice It Up! is located in the Huntington Beach Promenade at 21008 Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach.
The Mexican Chocolate Latte, Mexican Chocolate Ice Blended drink and Mexican Hot Chocolate feature chocolate and cinnamon.
HMSHost has signed an agreement with Westfield to bring four new restaurants to Los Angeles International Airport's Terminal 6.
According to a news release, the first restaurants are scheduled to open in June of 2015, with the last being completed in May 2016.
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The International Wine, Spirts & Beer Event, a perennial feature of the National Restaurant Association Show in May, has been renamed as BAR, which stands for Beverage Alcohol for Restaurants. The BAR branding will debut at the NRA Show in...


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78 jobs saved as packaging firm sold out of administration
Seventy-eight jobs have been saved in Nottinghamshire after a plastic packaging designer and manufacturer was sold out of administration.
iTEC Packaging (Mansfield) has been snapped up by European firm ALPLA Group. The plant specialises in the production of closures mainly for dairy, but also food and beverage sectors. All remaining staff at the Mansfield plant will transfer to the new company.
Martyn Rickels, Allan Kelly and Simon Farr of advisory firm FRP were appointed as joint administrators to iTEC Packaging (Mansfield) and iTEC Packaging (Chester-Le-Street) on 5 April 2023. The sites employed 247 people.
ALPLA UK managing director Jens Seifried said: “With our global know-how, with this acquisition we can increasingly offer the UK dairy industry sustainable, efficient and innovative packaging solutions.”
The takeover was contractually agreed on 26 May. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms and conditions.


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Research in the new material is being headed by Imperial College London and includes a number of partners, one of which is Volvo, the only automaker. After more than three years of development, the researchers have now built a Volvo S80 prototype featuring the panels. The material has been used for the trunk lid and the plenum cover (located in the engine bay).
The breakthrough was creating the nano structured batteries and super capacitors, and then researchers found a way to sandwich the energy storage systems in the carbon fiber, which is pre-formed to fit the car, such as the door panels, trunk lid and wheel arches.
Like conventional batteries and super capacitors in electric cars, the special panels can be recharged and energized by brake energy regeneration or by plugging into a mains electrical grid. The panels can then transfer the energy to an electric motor spinning the wheels.
Impressively, researchers found that the special panels not only charge and store energy faster than conventional batteries can, but that they are also lighter, stronger and more pliant. Their production is also said to be cost effective eco-friendly.
The best part is that conventional internal combustion cars can also benefit. The new plenum made out of the material is stiff enough to replace the rally bar, a strong structural piece that stabilizes the car in the front, and it holds enough energy that it can replace the small battery located in all cars, helping to save weight. The researchers say it’s powerful enough to start the engine and power a car’s 12-Volt system.
For a full, battery-powered electric car, it is believed the complete substitution of the car’s battery with the new material could cut overall weight by more than 15 percent. With the materials used on the doors, roof and hood, estimated range for a mid-size electric car is around 80 miles.
An early version of the technology, as shown by the Imperial College London, can be seen in the video from 2010 below.


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If you click the source links at most of our posts about Google products, you might notice there is a lot of Google blogs. Almost every Google product has its own blog - Android, Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Google Fiber, you name it. I think Google finally realized the need to consolidate, and has created 'The Keyword.'
The Keyword replaces the former Google company blog (googleblog.blogspot.com), which has been mirrored by the Internet Archive if you want to compare. The blog is a mix of product announcements and coverage of various events. In the official announcement post, Google says The Keyword combines content from 19 other blogs - but doesn't say which ones. Read More
Google Drive has recently added an enhanced search and regular expressions support, but those features have not yet made their way to the mobile apps. Now the Android application exclusively has a new feature, simply called Quick Access. This uses machine learning to predict what documents you are most likely to open, based on your Drive activity and recurring patterns. Google claims this "saves 50 percent off the average time it takes to get to the right file by eliminating the need to search for it." Read More
Google has started rolling Android 7.0 Nougat out to Nexus devices, but no watches have gotten the corresponding Wear 2.0 update. The beta test has been ongoing for months, and today Google has released the third dev preview. That's good, but there's also some bad news. The developer preview is now expected to continue into early 2017, which is a significant delay. Read More
Google Allo, the second of Google's two new messaging apps, has just hit five million downloads in the Google Play Store. All the anticipation for Allo (let's forget about the subsequent letdown for now) has made its download numbers soar. However, the aforementioned letdown is quite apparent in its current ranking in the Play Store; while Allo sat at #1 in Top Charts just five days ago, it's since fallen to #8. Read More
Five years - that's how long Indians have had to wait for Google Play Music to come to their country. However, it appears that the massive delay may finally be over. Several India-based AP readers have tipped us that Play Music is now showing up on their devices with songs available for purchase. This news comes just a day after Google's big announcement regarding the Indian market. Read More
Regular expressions are common in the programming world as a way of finding (and filtering) text based on patterns. regexes can range from extremely simple, such as the example above for finding whitespaces, to longer expressions for more general inputs. If you are one of the wizards who can actually comprehend phrases like Read More
(?<=^|(?<=[^a-zA-Z0-9-_\.]))@([A-Za-z]+[A-Za-z0-9]+) (a regex for identifying Twitter usernames), then Google Docs' latest feature is just for you.
Google News & Weather has an interesting history. After years of being included on Android devices with almost no changes, it moved to the Play Store and received a Material Design facelift in 2014. Now Google has added a 'Lite mode' to the application, designed to save bandwidth for users in India and other regions where data is at a premium.
As indicated in the screenshot, you can set Lite mode to activate automatically, or force it on or off. When Lite mode is on, the application won't load as many images on the main screen. More importantly, opening a link in Lite mode causes an optimized version of the page to load instead of the full content. Read More


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Following the studio’s recent Cyberpunk 2077 appearance at E3 and the announcement that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, CD Projekt Red has released a brand new trailer for GWENT: Novigrad. This will be the next big expansion coming to GWENT: The Witcher Card Game, and it’s launching surprisingly soon.
What We Know So Far About GWENT: Novigrad
The last expansion to release for GWENT was Crimson Curse; a sizeable addition which added a new faction leader to each faction and a whole host of new cards, especially those themed around vampires. GWENT: Novigrad will also have a theme, but it will be a bit different to Crimson Curse. In fact, the expansion will be adding an entirely new faction to the Witcher Card Game. Interestingly, this will be the first new faction to ever be added since the card game first appeared in The Witcher 3!
The Syndicate is a new GWENT faction inspired by the criminal gangs of the free city of Novigrad, which indeed, played a big role in The Witcher 3. In GWENT, these gangs have formed an alliance in order to better control the city’s criminal underworld, forming a single “Syndicate,” led by characters like the King of Beggars and Cleaver. The Syndicate will feature five new leaders, all with unique abilities to complement the faction’s own new play-style. Additionally, the Novigrad expansion will add more than 90 new cards to the game. (Most of these will presumably be for the new faction.)
Of course, like all GWENT expansions, Novigrad will be completely free to download. In fact, the expansion will be available surprisingly soon; it is set to launch on the 28th of June, in just over a week’s time. It will be available on all versions of the game, including Xbox One, PS4, and PC on GOG.com.


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New Direct Mail Discounts for Innovators?
Direct mail incorporating QR Codes, augmented reality (AR) and near-field communication (NFC) tools already gets discounts from the U.S. Postal Service, but more promotions may be in store for other "mail innovations," such as video in print.
So says the "Mail Innovations" report released on Monday by the USPS Office of Inspector General (Opens as a PDF). Webkeys, conductive ink, mobile in print, "interesting inks," customized MarketMail and 3D mail round out the report's list of 10 types of mail innovations. For an explanation of each technology, please see the bullet points below.
The USPS OIG paper hints that more discounts may be on the way for mailers who use these emerging technologies.
"The promotions for 2014 have already been set, with two remaining," according to the report. "The U.S. Postal Service released a list of proposed 2015 promotions, but it has not yet released its final promotion calendar."
To promote this report, the USPS OIG sent out an email Monday morning that allowed subscribers to vote "yes" or "no" to "Have you received ad mail with digital technology included?" After voting within the message, recipients landed on a blog post titled "Ad Mail Goes High-Tech." There, voters discovered six survey-takers had received high-tech direct mail, while four had not and one, saying so in the comments section, hadn't gotten any but wanted to know about it.
The post explains what mail users may see.
"How about something the size of a postcard that uses radio waves to send detailed product information to your smartphone and lets you to buy the minute you want to," asks the post. "Or a piece of mail that has an embedded, paper-thin video screen that you can control? The first example is called near field communications, the second a type of electronic mail (which is not at all the same as email)."


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There is good news for Japanese merchants, they no longer need to worry about failed Bitcoin transactions as they can now receive insurance to cover that risk. This new facility will, in all likelihood drive adoption of the crypto currency to new high levels.
Since Bitcoin was officially declared legal in Japan, there has been a tremendous growth in the adoption of the currency and the currency has grown to be mainstream in Japan. The decentralized nature of the currency, however, posed a challenge with some merchants incurring losses in the case of failed Bitcoin transactions. This problem has stopped the currency adoption from reaching its potential level as there are many merchants who shy away because of the risks involved.
To solve this problem a leading Bitcoin exchange in the country, BitFlyer, came up with a solution. The company has agreed a partnership with leading insurance company Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance to offer all Bitcoin merchants Bitcoin insurance. The insurance policy is specifically custom made to provide a solution against failed Bitcoin transactions.
This insurance product was officially launched on Friday and this has already generated a significant amount of interest from merchants. The likelihood is that innovation will drive more companies to provide similar insurance products which will, in turn, lead to further growth in bitcoin adoption.
It is hoped that this innovation will lead to the introduction of similar bitcoin insurance policy products in other countries making the currency grow even further; this is an innovation that has long been desired to promote the increased acceptance of bitcoin and will ensure that merchants are fully covered against damages and will be compensated in case of any problems that may arise due to failed Bitcoin transactions.
There have been previous failed attempts by insurance companies to launch products that are Bitcoin related, these earlier products, however, focused on the risk of hacking and theft. Insurance companies needed to customize their products and processes to suit Bitcoins needs, something that was difficult to achieve. This latest solution circumvents these problems by taking on a much simple domain problem of immediate interest and benefit to merchants looking to accept bitcoin without requiring wholesale process changes to accomodate.
News has it that there is another Bitcoin insurance company shortly to announce further products; this company has been formed through a collaboration of CoinCheck, Tokio marine and Nichido Fire Insurance. We wait with anticipation to see what they offer.


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May 2, 2019
Under Armour lifts full-year forecast on bright international sales
May 2, 2019
Under Armour Inc raised its full-year earnings forecast after quarterly results beat estimates on Thursday, propped up by higher sneaker sales in international markets and an improvement in its sluggish North America business, sending shares up as much as 9 percent.
The company has launched premium products such as HOVR running shoes and mineral-infused clothing line Rush in efforts to get customers to switch from sneaker giants Nike Inc and Adidas AG.
Under Armour has also been expanding its international business through new stores, primarily focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, as it looks to cushion itself from stagnating sales in its home market.
At the same time, the company is reducing inventories to be able to sell more of its apparel at full price after years of discounting.
Sales in North America fell 3 percent, but performed far better than Wall Street’s expectation of a 5.5 percent decline, according to brokerage Bernstein.
“We’ve stabilized this region ... And we clearly see that when we’re providing newness into the channels, it works really well for us,” Chief Operating Officer Patrik Frisk said on a post-earnings call.
The company’s smaller-than-expected decline in North America sales compares with a 7 percent surge that Nike reported in its quarterly results in March.
Under Armour’s international revenue rose 12 percent, with Asia Pacific driving the gains.
The company said sales in its main apparel business rose 1 percent, while its smaller footwear business registered an 8 percent rise, driven by new launches.
The company reported a net income of $22.5 million, or 5 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $30.2 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier, when the company recorded restructuring charges.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to break even, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
“The SG&A management was better than expected, which led to the more substantial operating profit beat,” Berstein analyst Jamie Merriman said.
The upbeat quarterly results prompted the company to raise profit forecasts. It now expects profit of 33 cents to 34 cents per share for the year, up from a previously expected range of 31 cents to 33 cents.
Net revenue rose 2 percent to $1.20 billion and edged past analysts’ average estimate of $1.18 billion.
Under Armour’s shares were up 4.5 percent at $23.02, adding to a near 25 percent gain this year.
© Thomson Reuters 2023 All rights reserved.


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Apple had not made public the number of your Apple Watch clock sales, released in April, and it is now possible to understand his reasons. The case is that, in spite of promising indicators at the time of your release, the Apple Watch has been accumulating falls of up to 90%.
- SEE ALSO: Apple Watch is coming to Brazil?
The data are from the retail research firm Slice. According to your latest study, intelligent watches Apple went from an average of 200,000 units sold in the week of release for 20000 a few days later.
This average remained until the end of may, when sales fall again, going below 10000 in mid-June.
Second Slice, two-thirds of the watches sold are of the ‘Sport’ model, the cheaper version, sells for $350. The rest of the cake is divided between the more expensive models, sold from $550, and some luxury edition sold for $10000. According to the company, the rare ‘Edition’ had less than 2000 units sold.
Size of tombo
But how bad are these numbers? Before your launch, Apple said she hoped to sell 20 million units by the end of the year.
Second Slice, Apple sold 777,000 units in may–in comparison to smart bracelet Fitbit had 850,000 units sold–in addition to 1.5 million in the week of release (see DISEASESLEARNING.COM).
Assuming, therefore, that the company has sold 2,300,000 until the end of may, the average of June onwards should be 83000 units sold by the end of the year.
If it continues at this rate, the 20 million dream will only be further away.


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Property regeneration specialist Urban Splash is filling up commercial spaces at an iconic grade II listed building in Sheffield.
Park Hill is to become a new creative and digital hub in the city as more Sheffield-based businesses plan to move there over the next six months.
Simon Gawthorpe, managing director of Urban Splash, said: “The work we are doing at Park Hill is not just about creating some fantastic living accommodation but is also using this amazing building with its great spaces, views and natural light to develop the commercial space for businesses, retail and hospitality.
“Park Hill is an award-winning listed icon of a building and around it we are aiming to create a new mid century modern quarter of Sheffield.
“That is why we are delighted to be welcoming more businesses to Park Hill over the coming months who have bought or rented offices varying in size from 1,000 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft.
“We are also excited by the fact that by the end of this year the business community at Park Hill could have grown to 200.”
Warp Films, Cloaked, Yoomee, Airship, Kada Research, Can Studios and Alpha Recruitment will join Uber and Human who have been based at Park Hill for two years.
Established in 2002, Warp Films is an independent film and television production company based in Sheffield and London.
Yoomee builds community platforms, websites, apps and other digital services to help charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit organisations further their impact.
Urban Splash partnered with Great Places to develop 78 apartments in the first phase completed in 2013.
These have all been sold and there are over 100 residents currently living at Park Hill.


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Forget about the algorithm: France has troubles meeting its budget requirements, so it’s turning its attention on Google‘s secret recipe.
A truly radical move — and one coming from the French.
Moreover, that’s truly unexpected, isn’t it?
“Google pays as little as 2.4 percent tax on its offshore earnings, compared with the official 35 percent tax rate on American profits and the 21 percent rate in Britain, its second largest market,” Newsweek reported in December, in a story headed “How Google and Apple Make Their Taxes Disappear”.
It’s the algorithm — I hear you!
No, it’s not!
“France (is) Trying To Force Disclosure Of Google Algorithm, Wants To Regulate the SERP,” was the headline from Search Engine Land on Monday.
Are you kidding me?
Should Google throw its unique selling point out of the window?
It’s better to face regulators than several powerful stakeholders.
Playing Hard Ball
The situation is serious, but is not critical, although the press is “all over” Google and regulators are going to play hard ball with the tech behemoth.
In fact, Google “will soon be served with a formal charge sheet alleging that it breached antitrust rules by diverting traffic from rivals to favour its own services,” the Financial Times reported last week, adding that the initial charge would focus on product searches where Google is accused of harming other shopping sites, but could be extended to other areas.
More disclosure would be great news for SEO operators around the world.
We have been fighting Google’s dominance ever since 2011, which was the watershed for search engine optimisation. Now we want to put our hands on Google’s algorithm, of course!
That will never happen, however, and it doesn’t look like South Europeans really get the point when it comes to intellectual property.
Nevertheless, changes spanning higher taxes based on volumes and number of searches as well as additional disclosure of alternative search engines may ensue, I’d argue.
(Incidentally, for SEO folks like us, it wouldn’t make any substantial difference doing our job running a Google-like analysis on Yandex, Bing or Baidu.)
But anything more than that may simply mean Google could decide to exit markets where demographics are not particularly appealing and where higher tax rates dilute earnings.
Try and ask for the Coca-Cola formula.
Easy does it, France.
If you want to discuss this topic further, feel free to email us at firstname.lastname@example.org


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As oil prices continually dip below $60/bbl and margins tighten, E&Ps are facing more pressure than ever to manage costs in order to deliver more shareholder value. After recent second quarter results, even top E&Ps suffered stock plummets upwards of 30%, which analysts have attributed to rising costs of production. The challenge – and the opportunity – is for operators to exercise greater capital discipline by more surgically executing cost-cutting strategies.
- Many industry players operating in the Lower 48 have a large amount of cash on their balance sheets in 2019 due to accommodative tax policy and cheap debt
- Longer-term strategic capital deployment will help firms lay a foundation for continued business growth, hedging against weakening macroeconomic fundamentals
- These economic conditions are expected to drive more funds towards M&A activity
- However, to capture M&A value by realizing merger synergies, operators should evaluate whether they have the right data insights on enterprise spend, costs, and market trends to build a savings roadmap
- The US raised tariffs on $200 billion of imports from China from 10% to 25% in early May. China responded with retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of imports from the US, effective June 1.
- This is the third round of US tariffs on imports from China, which now affect $250 billion of imports. The US has threatened a fourth round of tariffs on $300 billion of imports, or nearly all remaining trade with China.
- The new tariffs cover 1,200 chemical and 500 metal products. They are also the first to include consumer products, which raises the prospect of accelerating price increases for US consumers. Neither List 3 nor List 4 includes rare earth minerals.
- Trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington remain underway. Slowing economic growth in either country would add pressure to advance the negotiations, but supply chain teams must prepare for potential price risks.
We’re thrilled to share that over sixty industry executives across more than forty firms attended the 4th Annual Oil & Gas Executive Forum on May 22nd at the Petroleum Club of Downtown Houston for our best event yet.
- As China’s economic expansion matures and its GDP growth rate slowly declines, global supply chains will shift as they restructure around new economic realities in China
- A major contributing factor to declining GDP growth rates in China is a slowdown in manufacturing, which constitutes nearly 30% of the country’s GDP
- Increasing costs of production, which include rising labor wages, are making manufacturing in China costlier and thereby exports more expensive to global markets
- The current US-China trade war, in which up to $250B of imports from China are subject to tariffs by the current administration, is adding additional pressure to global trade
- It is imperative that Oil & Gas firms leverage better market data to stay abreast of global macroeconomic developments that can potentially impact their supply chains
As the new year begins and E&Ps continue to face pressure to focus on returns, operators remain on the lookout for incisive market data and forecasts that provide greater visibility into potential risks and opportunities.
Utilities are in the thick of an industry transformation driven by technological and competitive forces. 2019 shows no signs of slowing down. We have highlighted 5 key trends to stay ahead of in the coming year, so utilities can continue to position themselves for success.
With cost volatility and a need to continue adapting to an evolving industry, Oil & Gas firms have increasingly turned to innovations such as "digitalizaton" as solutions, with many industry leaders citing it as a top of mind focus in 2018 and beyond. But what is digitalization, and how can firms think about leveraging it effectively to drive greater cost competitiveness and overall higher EBITDA?
To help answer these questions, PowerAdvocate's sister company Wood Mackenzie recently published a report outlining the digitalization landscape in Oil & Gas, including a case study of how one operator drove >$1B in savings and a 25% reduction in third party costs through digitalization and big data from PowerAdvocate.
Global trade continues to keep energy companies on their toes. With 60-80% of business line costs coming from supplier activities, owners and operators need data and insights to better understand supply risk. With that in mind, our analysts have built out a comprehensive report summarizing the latest impacts of the 301 trade case.
Platinum, a key input to critical refining catalysts, has already faced steep multi-year price declines and has recently hit a long-term low. However, recent hints at a price rebound point to substantial possible cost risks for downstream firms.


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Hartland-based EmbedTek announced it plans to hire 72 full-time employees and grow its revenue from $13 million to $36 million by the end of 2015.
The company, which manufactures embedded computers and integrated displays, has already started hiring, said Tom Fotsch, chief operating officer. It has added about 30 employees this year and now has 65 total employees.
EmbedTek plans to move its operations from its 26,000-square-foot facility to a new location that has at least 50,000 square feet with room to expand, Fotsch said. It will spend $4.3 million on leasing and equipping the facility it chooses.
“We are looking at our options within the area and we will, through this time period, be moving into a new facility,” he said.
One of EmbedTek’s new customers recently transferred production work from Asia to its Hartland facility. The company’s value proposition, which includes quality, time to delivery, flexibility and value, has driven its growth, Fotsch said.
“It’s really winning new business and new customers,” he said. “We’ve won business and brought business back from (Asia) to Hartland.”
The company has invested $4 million into operations and increased revenue from $1 million to $10 million since 2009.
If EmbedTek meets its growth goals by the end of 2015, it is eligible for $300,000 in tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
“Small businesses are such an important part of growing our economy and it is exciting to see EmbedTek’s investments paying off,” said Gov. Scott Walker. “Companies, like EmbedTek, are taking risks each and every day to push the limits and gain further success. They should be proud of their accomplishments, and we are excited to see another Wisconsin company thriving and expanding.”


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Those who want an early Christmas treat can look to Lenovo to some nice presents. Lenovo has just launched their latest S and A series smartphones at a special unboxing for the media, with Lenovo Mobile’s brand ambassador KC Montero.
“I consider myself a techie person, and to be given the chance to be the first to explore the newest Lenovo smartphones is just fantastic!” says KC. “What I love about these smartphones is that they are budget-friendly, yet loaded with top features like high-quality cameras and fast processors,” he added.
The first device on the lineup is the A526. This phone is perfect for those looking for the perfect first smartphone, or as a secondary device to communicate with work contacts on a separate device from their personal mobiles.
The A526 runs the Android 4.2 Jell Bean operating system, has a 4.5-inch display, packs a 1.3 quad-core processor for a fast, smooth, smartphone experience. It comes with all the connectivity basics such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 3G, as well as a capable 5MP main camera. The A526 is currently available for PHP 5,999.
Revealed nest at the unboxing was the S660. The S660 is a solid mid-range smartphone that brings everything you might need in a mobile device, without skimping on style. KC himself calls the device “manly.” It has a nice heft to it, and the brushed metal exterior gives it a more premium feel than other smartphones in its class.
The dual-SIM S660 runs a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM, and carries a massive 3,000mAh battery to ensure all-day connectivity wherever you go. Imaging is handled by the phone’s 8MP main camera, and extra storage is available via an internal microSD card slot. The S660 is available now for PHP 9,999, and comes with a free case. While the phone does ship with the Android Jelly Bean OS, we were told a KitKat update is in the works, and will be pushed out over the air in August.
The last phone at the event was the S860. This beast of a phone is Lenovo’s answer to those who need a device that can do it all. The device comes in an elegant brushed metal finish that makes it look great, and allows it to withstand more than a few bumps from daily use. It comes pre-loaded with Lenovo’s three “Do It Apps” that give the device increased functionality.
The first of the three is the Share It App. This allows users to share files quickly and easily, using the phone as a hotspot to make the experience that much simpler.
The second is the Secure It App, which serves as the user’s own free security software, and protects the phone from malware, spam, viruses and identity theft, and allows the user to track data use.
The last of the three apps is Sync It, which is a cloud-based application that backs up one’s contacts, messages and files.
By far the best feature of the device, however, is its massive 4,000 mAh battery that gives users an astounding 24 hours of talk time and a whopping 40 days of standby. The S860 is available for PHP15,999.
Again, all three phones are available today. Go now. We know you want to.
The event also previewed the Lenovo s850, their all-glass, ultra-thin, light Android device. It comes with a 5-inch HD screen, 13mp rear camera, 5mp wide front camera, and is dual sim, dual standby. There isn’t a release date at the moment, but we were told it is coming soon.
For more info, head over to Lenovo’s website at www.lenovomobile.com.ph
Photos from GSMarena.com


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Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Garth Brooks To Sit Down for SiriusXM Town Hall
"SiriusXM's Town Hall with Garth Brooks," which Brooks announced live on Mornings with Storme Warren on SiriusXM's The Highway from SiriusXM's studios in Nashville on Friday, April 3, will include Brooks talking about his latest album Man Against Machine, his current tour and his iconic career. The "Town Hall" will also feature special guest Trisha Yearwood.
"Garth is a country music legend who has created some of the most loved and memorable songs in country music. Having him make this personal visit with SiriusXM and our subscribers will be an unforgettable moment for some very lucky fans," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer, SiriusXM.
Hosted by The Highway's Storme Warren, "SiriusXM's Town Hall with Garth Brooks" will air Wednesday, April 15 at 11:00 am ET via satellite on The Highway, channel 56 and through the SiriusXM App on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at siriusxm.com. For rebroadcast times, please visit www.siriusxm.com/townhall.
After the broadcast, "SiriusXM's Town Hall with Garth Brooks" will be available on SiriusXM On Demand for subscribers listening via the SiriusXM App for smartphones and other mobile devices or online at siriusxm.com.
Visit www.siriusxm.com/ondemand for more info on SiriusXM On Demand.
The Highway plays new country music. Listeners will hear music from Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, Trisha Yearwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood.
Posted 3:10:00 AM


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The chemicals, cosmetics, plastics and pharmaceutical sectors are set to get acquainted with the benefits offered under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
This will occur during the virtual workshop on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that will be hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) on Wednesday, 11 October 2023.
The dtic has already embarked on provincial awareness workshops, which provided a platform for information sharing with the private sector on the benefits offered under the agreement.
The workshops were also used to identify South African companies in various provinces, in the targeted sector masterplans and other priority sectors that have the capacity to export to the rest of the continent.
More workshops focusing on different sectors are being organised.
The workshop seeks to engage the chemicals, cosmetics, plastics, and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as industry agencies, associations and export councils, including their members on the benefits of exporting under the AfCFTA.
According to the Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina, the interactive workshop is critical as it will afford the department an opportunity to provide a status update on the progress made in the development of the National Implementation Plan of the AfCFTA.
This also includes the establishment of the National Implementation Committee.
“The department will update the sectors on the role expected of them in the implementation of the AfCFTA and essentially obtain challenges that the sectors may be facing in accessing the market in the continent. Obtaining this intelligence will assist the department to unlock the bottlenecks that the sectors may be facing,” Gina said.
Additionally, the workshop seeks to communicate and engage with the private sector, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as women and youth-owned export ready businesses, on the status of the implementation of the AfCFTA, including opportunities for South African companies to participate in preferential trade beyond the Southern African region.
“I am making a call to all these sectors to take advantage of the opportunities that the agreement is expected to unlock for companies.
“This agreement intends to create a large single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately USD3.4 trillion and we cannot lose out on it,” she said.
Gina describes the chemicals, cosmetics, plastics and pharmaceutical sectors as important to the South African economy as they play a critical role and are interwoven with the manufacturing sector which creates much needed employment.
South Africa is Africa’s largest market for cosmetics and personal care products.
In 2018, the sector recorded close to US$3.2bn in revenue. Imports of cosmetics have almost doubled in the last 10 years, presenting opportunities for localising production.
Against this backdrop, Gina says it is critical to support the sector and all others to produce locally and export to other markets particularly to the continent. This she says will reduce the import dependency and create more jobs.


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If meat is grown in a lab without slaughtering animals, what should it be called?
That question has yet to be decided by regulators, but for the moment it's pitting animal rights advocates and others against cattle ranchers in a war of words.
Supporters of the science are embracing "clean meat" to describe meat grown by replicating animal cells. Many in the conventional meat industry are irritated by the term and want to stamp it out before it takes hold.
"It implies that traditional beef is dirty," says Danielle Beck, director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
The spat shows the power of language as a new industry attempts to reshape eating habits. It's why the $49.5 billion U.S. beef, poultry, pork and lamb industry is mobilizing to claim ownership of the term "meat."
Squabbles over language are erupting across the food business as established definitions for mayonnaise and milk are also challenged by the likes of vegan spreads and almond drinks.
What gets to be considered "meat" is a particularly touchy subject as new companies come up with substitutes they say are just like the real thing.
Impossible Burger's plant-based patty "bleeds" like beef.
Companies such as Memphis Meats are growing meat by culturing animal cells, though it could be years before products are on shelves. Big meat producers like Tyson Foods and Cargill Inc. are among Memphis Meats' investors.
There's some confusion over how meat grown by culturing animal cells will be regulated. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees meat inspections, while the Food and Drug Administration oversees other aspects of food safety, including the "standards of identity" that spell out what ingredients can go into products with specific names.
The FDA -- which in the past has called out Kraft's use of the term "pasteurized process cheese food"--plans to hold a public meeting to discuss "cultured" meat next month.
In the meantime, all sides are scrambling to frame the issue in their own words.
The Good Food Institute, an advocacy and lobbying group for meat alternatives, is embracing "clean meat," which channels the positive connotations of "clean energy." Other options it tested: "Meat 2.0," "Safe Meat" and "Pure Meat." "Green Meat" was dismissed early on.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association is fighting to defend what it sees as its linguistic turf. The cattlemen's group prefers less appetizing terms such as "in vitro meat," "synthetic meat" or even "meat byproduct" for meat grown through cultured cells.
For meat alternatives more broadly, it likes "fake meat."
The U.S. Cattlemen's Association, a smaller group, also petitioned the USDA in February to enforce that "beef" and "meat" only be used for animals "born, raised and harvested in the traditional manner."
Anne Curzan, a professor of English at the University of Michigan, says the term "clean meat" highlights the positive and pushes into the background aspects that may make people uncomfortable.
"It is smart branding to try to keep the product from being associated with 'frankenfood'," Curzan says.
It's just the latest front in the war of words in food.
Last year, the dairy industry revived its quest to abolish terms like "soy milk" and "almond milk," saying that milk is defined as being obtained from a cow. That came after a vegan spread provoked the ire of the Association for Dressings and Sauces, of which Hellmann's is a member, by calling itself "Just Mayo."
Even grains aren't immune from controversy. With cauliflower "rice" becoming popular with low-carb eaters, the rice industry is punching back with its own term for chopped-up vegetable substitutes: "rice pretenders."


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Despite urging buyers to venture far from the beaten path with its new Bronco, Ford knows the bulk of its customers will want to keep their tires planted firmly on blacktop, and chances are they’d like the car to handle some of the responsibilities, too.
With that in mind, Ford reached a deal with Mobileye to develop and provide a key element of the brand’s driver-assist hardware. Note that we’re not calling it semi-autonomous, and with good reason.
Mobileye, the Israeli company that supplies camera-based driver assist technology to a host of automakers, just received a black eye.
While one of its Ford Fusion Hybrid testbeds cruised through the streets of Jerusalem to show off its autonomous driving abilities, the sedan, equipped with 12 cameras (three of them forward facing), four advanced EyeQ4 chips, and a television audience, drove merrily through a red light.
It’s technically not the car’s fault, Mobileye said. It’s the TV crew’s.
Is ride-hailing company Uber backing away from self-driving cars now that one of their test vehicles was involved in a fatality?
Following the death of a pedestrian hit by one of Uber’s experimental autonomous vehicles in Tempe, Arizona, the ride sharing company suspended the testing Uber was doing with AVs on public roads in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and California in the United States and Ontario in Canada. Now comes word that Uber has informed California’s Department of Motor Vehicles that it will not be renewing its license to test autonomous vehicles on that state’s public roads. That license expires at the end of this month.
After collaborating with Mobileye to help BMW put a fleet of roughly 40 self-driving test units on the road before the end of this year, Intel has decided that it would rather just buy the cow. The acquisition of autonomous driving technology leader Mobileye is going to cost the computing giant a colossal $15.3 billion.
More specifically, an Intel subsidiary will offer $63.54 per share for all issued and outstanding shares, which carries an equity value of $15.3 billion and an enterprise value of $14.7 billion. No matter how you slice it, it’s the world’s largest purchase of a company solely focused on the autonomous driving sector. The motivation is clear. Mobileye accounts for around 70 percent of the global market for modern driving aides, anti-collision systems, and advanced autonomous safety.
Tesla Motors isn’t backing down in its public falling out with Mobileye N.V., and neither is its former supplier.
This week has seen a constant back-and-forth between the two companies after Mobileye claimed it broke ties with Tesla after becoming concerned about the safety of its Autopilot system.
Clearly, it was a messy divorce.
Existing cameras on General Motors cars could help the automaker draw detailed maps for future self-driving cars, the automaker announced Tuesday.
GM said the technology, which it’s developing with Mobileye and will be called “Road Experience Management,” would use existing cameras and OnStar systems to upload “crowd-sourced” maps to the automaker to support future autonomous driving.
“GM is committed to bringing semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles to our customers, and this technology will be a critical enabler to getting us there,” Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, said in a statement. “We are planning to explore the integration of REM into existing GM program launches sometime later this year.”
But I don’t even like bagging my own groceries.
Bloomberg published an interview with hacker-slash-inventor George Hotz earlier this week where it showcased his efforts in building autonomous car technology. While many readers might be quick to jump on his ideas as the first coming of affordable autonomous vehicles, we need take a step back and look at the details.
Latest Car ReviewsRead more
Latest Product ReviewsRead more
- Mark This is what it cost to drive a Tesla Model S Plaid for 11k+ miles in one year. You would pay more to drive a Yaris that far, never the less a performance car on the Plaid level. I don’t know where they got their math, but mine is actual real world results. We live in a cold climate and have removed our wheel covers, both of which hurt range, so your mileage may vary.
- Jack Bummer, his successor sounds like just another electric car shill :(
- IH_Fever Nissan should call for a real pickup before they call for electrification...
- Bobbysirhan Direct injection cuts certain emissions that were already so small as to be completely meaningless, but it introduces particulate emissions that aren't a problem on port-injected engines. Stay tuned for a particulate emissions panic to be used as a justification for banning all of the ICE engines produced under recent EURO emissions standards tiers.
- Kosmo I want to know why Mazda thinks anybody is interested in multiple teasers on a CUV!


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Puerto Rico’s reputation as the “Rum Capital” was reinforced last weekend with the overwhelming success of the third annual Taste of Rum Festival.
Rum Capital Hosts Rum Fest
Looking at the success of this past weekend’s 2011 Taste of Rum Festival in San Juan, one thing is obvious – rum is more than just a drink. It is also a tourism and economic driver for Puerto Rico.
The third annual Taste of Rum provided patrons with the opportunity to show local pride and celebrate Puerto Rico’s centuries old rum industry. As news of the festival has traveled beyond the Island, visitors from the mainland United States and throughout the Caribbean are now coming to San Juan to learn more about rum. The festival has become so popular that it was extended to two days this year.
“Our goal with the Taste of Rum festival is multi-faceted,” said Nicole J. Rodriguez, Director of Rums of Puerto Rico, the sponsor of the event and the umbrella marketing program for the collection some of the world’s finest rums. “The festival started as a way to showcase all rums produced internationally. This year we’re highlighting only the finest rums in the world, Puerto Rican rums. The festival gives us the opportunity to show the impact that the rum industry has on our economy and promote rum tasting as an additional reason for rum fans to visit Puerto Rico on vacation.”
This year, the two-day event attracted 3,000 visitors, more than double the attendees in 2010. Approximately one-third of the attendees came from outside Puerto Rico. In addition to sampling rum drinks created by celebrity mixologists, visitors were able to enjoy foods, such as barbeque seasoned with rum, listen to local music, watch skilled flair tender competitions and participate in exclusive seminars to learn more about what makes Puerto Rico’s rums so special.
“Puerto Rico’s rum industry already provides more than 70 percent of the rum sold in the United States,” said Jose Ramon Perez-Riera, Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce, which oversees Rums of Puerto Rico operations. “Rums continue to remain both a driver of the Puerto Rican economy and an ambassador for the Island. By adding a tourism component to the rums campaign, we hope to attract additional visitors to the Island and increase sales of our fine products”
“Our goal is to establish the Taste of Rum festival as the preeminent rum event in the world,” continued Rodriguez. “We want rum fans to think about coming to Puerto Rico in the same way that wine fans plan to travel to Napa Valley or scotch whiskey fans schedule a vacation in the United Kingdom. Taste of Rum is the backbone in this effort.”
This is the first festival held since the launch of the “Just Think, Puerto Rican Rum” campaign in February. The campaign underscores the award-winning attributes that make Puerto Rican rums stand out from their competitors. For example, the campaign reminds consumers about Puerto Rico’s centuries old tradition of rum making; the legally-mandated, one-year aging of certain rums in white oak barrels; and the Island’s commitment to excellence. The result: Puerto Rican rums, including Bacardi, Don Q, Ron Llave, Ron del Barrilito and Palo Viejo, are the finest rums in the world.


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This weeks UN climate summit is raising hopes for a new treaty in Paris next year. Meanwhile, global greenhouse emissions hit a record in 2013 and fossil fuel usage is expecte ..
It's been almost three years since the last correction. However, some analysts and policymakers, including the powerful G-20, are starting to get concerned a bubble is br ..
Detroit's water department defended its shutoff policy Monday and warned that free service to people with unpaid bills could be "very devastating" to the bottom ..
When you think of the craft food genre, Pizza Hut probably doesn't come to mind. But that might change. ..
The World Bank warned that the economic costs of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will escalate to "catastrophic" proportions if the virus spreads, while Ghanaian P ..
The underwriters bought an additional 48 million American depositary shares from the company at the IPO price of $68 each, according to a statement from Alibaba today. Includi ..
Despite recent concerns, a review of publicly-traded companies in the bubbliest tech segment, Internet cloud services, found all had at least two years of cash left. ..
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Monday will meet bondholder and billionaire financier George Soros, whose portfolio includes a 3.5 percent stake in Argentina's ..
CNBC's David Faber provides insight to reports saying EMC held merger conversations with Hewlett-Packard. Faber says HP wanted a market deal, and EMC wanted a large premi ..
The phones, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, drew more than 4 million pre-orders on Sept. 12, more than double the 2 million orders for the company's iPhone 5 model in the sam ..


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The Environment Agency has released guidance on what data should be included by producers of EEE and batteries in the UK.
It seeks to clear-up confusion over the definition of "Placed on the Market".
Producers of EEE and batteries are required to report the weight of the products they placed on the UK market. There has previously been some confusion about when products are deemed to be "Placed on the Market", as the term is not defined within either regulation. Many producers have used sales information to approximate this figure. However, the new guidance explains that all products entering the UK and made available for sale to UK customers, regardless of the actual end destination, should be reported under the regulations.
Products that arrive in the UK and are subsequently exported may only be omitted if it is known at the time of import that they will be exported or there is evidence to suggest they were always destined for export (instruction booklets, non-UK voltages, specifications, packaging). Only battery producers are invited to voluntarily provide data to their compliance scheme regarding the amount of products sold to customers outside the UK that were deemed to be placed on the UK market. There is no provision for export reporting in WEEE.
We welcome this information from the Environment Agency. However, we do not feel that producers should be obligated to recycle batteries that do not end up in the UK waste stream. We have fed back member opinion to lobby government to make changes, as part of our own feedback, and through contributions to the stakeholder groups we actively participate in. In the next revision of the regulations, we hope to see exported products discounted from producers' obligation in a similar way to that which currently exists for the packaging regulations.
Innovation and Policy Director
Robbie is innovation and policy director at Ecosurety. Having spent years building an intimate understanding of the industry’s policies and politics, he uses this knowledge to help shape new legislation and oversees Ecosurety’s growing portfolio of cross-industry innovation projects including Podback and the Flexible Plastic Fund. He has worked closely with Defra during the most recent packaging consultations, outlining the impacts and required transitional arrangements of the UK’s new EPR system and is a member of the government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP). He is also a spokesperson for the company and regularly uses his influence to communicate the importance of environmental responsibility to external stakeholders.
The recently published Q3 collection data indicates a steady progression toward the annual target, currently reaching 76%.Read More >>
In the second quarter of 2023, the WEEE collection figures show that a total of 118,953 tonnes of WEEE has been collected from households across April – June, which is a 3% increase compared to Q1 collections.Read More >>
Across the first quarter of 2023, a total of 120,433 tonnes of household WEEE has been collected, showing a slight increase of 562 tonnes compared to WEEE collected in Q1 2022.Read More >>


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With a Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct presentation announced for later this week, many (including us) are curious what new information it will reveal.
Reliable leaker billbil-kun (thanks, VGC) suggests that one announcement may be a Nintendo Switch – OLED Model – Mario Red Edition, which may launch before or alongside Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
The OLED Model will have red Joy-Con controllers and a red dock, but billbil-kun says no Mario-themed logos or iconography. The packaging might feature Super Mario Bros. Wonder imagery, but that’s it.
Its release date is unknown, but billbil-kun says “it will be released before October”. As a reminder, Super Mario Bros. Wonder releases on October 20, 2023, so this new console is unlikely to come with it.
The August 31st Direct presentation at 3pm BST / 7am PT / 10am ET / 12am AET may reveal whether this leak is real.


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Consumer tech giant Samsung is looking into launching a central bank digital currency in a collaboration with the Bank of Korea.
The South Korean electronics firm said Monday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the country’s central bank to conduct technical research on the digital currency.
Samsung said such a CBDC, which refers to a digital currency issued by a central bank, would work “offline” and could be sent between owners of its Galaxy smartphone and smartwatches thanks to a secure chip in the devices.
Payments could be made between devices through the use of near-field communication technology, which is built into smartphones to enable contactless payments, Samsung said.
Samsung said it developed a solution applying NFC technology to CBDCs last year. This allowed users to make a payment even when they had no internet connection, the company added.
In a press release Monday, Samsung said the firm, along with Bank of Korea, would look to “continue researching how to minimize security risks associated with offline payments, to support reliable transactions in emergency situations even without network connections.”
“We are very pleased to be the first central bank to develop offline CBDC technology in partnership with Samsung Electronics,” Seungheon Lee, senior deputy governor at the Bank of Korea, said in a press release.
“Through the establishment of this MOU, we hope that the Republic of Korea will continue to lead the way in the field of offline CBDC technology, a sector that is being actively explored by global central banks,” he added.
Won-Joon Choi, Samsung’s executive vice president of mobile experience, said: “This collaboration with Bank of Korea has allowed us to apply Samsung’s advanced security innovations to the digital currency field.”
“We expect our collaboration to make a valuable contribution to the advancement of global offline CBDC technology,” he added.
Countries from China to the U.S. are advancing their research and experimentation with so-called CBDCs in the hope that it could become easier for consumers to send money instantaneously.
China has already created a digital version of the Chinese yuan and is trialing its CBDC in numerous cities, while the U.S., too, is closely examining whether to roll out a digital version of the dollar, and how this would work.
The practicalities of issuing CBDCs has been called into question by some commentators, given how easy it is to make transfers with currently available methods such as online banking and money transfer apps, and cryptocurrencies.
Various privately developed digital currencies currently allow people to make near-instant payments too. But the vast majority of tokens like bitcoin are highly volatile. Stablecoins have been touted as a possible solution to this — although governments are wary of tokens issued by private companies.
Still, there remain clear headaches for businesses when it comes to instant settlements of transactions. The way the banking system is set up means that it can often take days for payments from merchants’ customers to actually settle.
This is a pain point private companies and governments are hoping to address through new technologies, including blockchain and digital currencies.


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A24 – In an exclusive interview with A24.com, economist Aldo Abram recommended attacking inflation by stopping issuing pesos and devising a suitable economic plan to prop up the local GDP. In addition, he spoke about the impact of inflation on small businesses.
He started by stating that he sees “the president’s messages with great concern because rather than a war against inflation it seems like a war against the productive sector.”
“The Government has a terrible diagnosis of the causes of inflation. They believe that it is caused by concentrated powers that form prices”, he criticized.
ARGENTINA’S BIGGEST PROBLEM
According to the economic analyst, “the aim is to combat price increases by closing imports and withholdings exports. This increase in withholdings is unconstitutional and does not have positive results because it affects few.”
“In an average year for Argentina, inflation in February is usually much lower than in January. This year it was much higher in the second month. We have a phenomenal acceleration of prices”, reflected Abram.
Contrary to what the president said in his speech on Friday, March 18, when he announced the War against Inflation, Abram explained that “the first thing to understand is that inflation is not multi-causal. It occurs because the government in power makes the BCRA print more currency than the people want“.
THE CENTRAL BANK’S ROLE
In addition, he stressed that “for Argentines, having pesos is synonymous with fraud. We are saving so the BCRA can appropriate what we are generating. People don’t want their money stolen anymore.”
He added that: “the only cause of out currency’s loss of the purchasing power is the Central Bank, since is the only entity that can produce it.”
“If we continue on this path, we are going to lose the peso as a currency, which is what happened to Venezuelans in recent years and to Argentines in the 1970s and 1980s, when the phenomenon of hyperinflation occurred,” he diagnosed.
AN URGENCY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Towards the end of the talk, the economist recommended that SMB entrepreneurs be very “cautious”, because “it is very unlikely that the economic recovery can be sustained over time“.
“It is impossible to produce in the current conditions we have,” he concluded.


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If you have used the YouTube Android app, you will agree with me that it is not the best in terms of functionality. The app gets the job done but it is not perfect and does not offer the same experience you get from the website. YouTube has been making changes to its app but most of the recent changes have to do with the visual aspect and not functionality aspect.
It finally looks like Google is ready to give YouTube a major update that improves functionality. This update will be rolled out very soon according to the guys at XDA who took apart the APK for the latest version of the YouTube app. This is version 11.20.54 of the YouTube app and the developers over at XDA have found some strings that confirm that the app has a few additional features in search results.
What it’s all about
This feature is still being tested but we should expect to see it very soon since the strings are already included there. when implemented, you will be able filter your search results by relevance, rating and view count. This feature has been available on YouTube’s website and it will be a good thing to see it on the mobile app. At the moment, you can only filter the search results by duration, content type and date.
It makes sense for YouTube to give mobile users the same experience that those on its website get because at the moment over half of all YouTube views come from mobile devices. This number will be going up with time and YouTube has to be prepared for that.
Right now YouTube is testing these features and we are not sure when they will be available to the end users. we will keep you informed incase this happens.
Read More: YouTube is building a native messaging feature platform on its app


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The next summer time of the pandemic is almost below, but the outlook is totally various this time all around. With tens of millions of People in america vaccinated and eager to get out of their rapid and unchanging surroundings, there is certainly a great deal of anticipation of an almost-regular vacation year ahead. And there will be aggravation, also. There are even now pandemic-linked limits and precautions, but a lot more to the issue, pandemic-linked shortages and source chain difficulties are likely to influence all of us. We’re speaking about gasoline shortages, scarce rental vehicles, and vehicle output delays, between other items. It really is going to jam up our summertime plans, to some degree, and running anticipations from pent-up travel desire is heading to be critical.
Let us lay out what we know about these shortages and what to assume this summertime in advance of hitting the street.
Let the Chips Slide How They May
The semiconductor chip scarcity crippling the field these days is only tangentially related to the pandemic—we’re not quick of chips (and, thus, new-automobile inventory) since, say, workers received too sick to make them. It can be a offer-and-desire challenge. At the beginning of the pandemic, demand was really high as individuals isolating at household geared up to perform remotely, or spent revenue saved up on new equipment to improve their in-residence leisure. And with chips operating their way into ever far more courses of consumer and enterprise devices, provide constraint was now likely to be an difficulty.
That said, at minimum just one automaker predicted that a semiconductor scarcity was a critical menace to small business perfectly in advance of the pandemic. The Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in 2011 discovered to Toyota that the source chain for semiconductors was vulnerable to disruption, and the corporation resolved to stockpile numerous months worth of chips. Which is remaining the enterprise in a great placement to weather the situation, despite the fact that other offer chain problems have afflicted production. Even so, Toyota is arguably the ideal-positioned huge motor vehicle firm in the earth ideal now to leverage the circumstance to go a lot more models.
The base line is that the semiconductor scarcity issues is not going to be solved in time for summer—it could acquire until finally future calendar year for provide to capture up with demand—despite desire from the Biden administration in bringing some of the business to the U.S. And that will mean continuing delays and dropped revenue. Ford could experience as many as 1.1 million unrealized profits in advance of this is all about, just by alone. And that signifies that ultra-warm motor vehicles like the 2021 Ford Bronco won’t be cruising to summer months destinations this yr. Meanwhile, count on to maintain shelling out sky-higher selling prices for vehicles new and made use of this summer time, as the stock pinch allows sellers get absent with charging sticker (or bigger).
Could We Run Out of Gas?
There is also some anxiety that gas stations might experience place shortages of gasoline, as the Nationwide Tank Truck Carriers marketplace group warns that a nation-vast driver shortage means that up to 25 percent of the nation’s tanker trucks could possibly be parked this summer. There are a several explanations for that, as CNN Enterprise particulars: an growing old workforce, extra certifications needed to push tankers, and a closure of driver schooling facilities. The supplemental stresses and basic safety protocols of the pandemic haven’t assisted any. It’s a situation that was not exclusively brought about by the pandemic, but has definitely been exacerbated by it.
How quite a few gas stations might see shortages, and what in general influence it’ll have on an typical consumer, aren’t wholly distinct and maybe usually are not predictable. But as buyer demand from customers for gas returns, and the nation begins to act on a pent-up motivation to vacation, it is yet another worrying variable.
Rubber Source Faces Dire Issues
By all accounts, there is not a tire shortage—yet. But there are a number of headwinds facing the world’s provide of natural rubber, which is a significant part in many tire compounds even however artificial rubber is accessible. Natural rubber has one of a kind homes that provides tires the capability to much better resist use like tearing and cracking. The US Tire Manufacturer’s association claims the normal passenger tire is 19 percent pure rubber to 24 p.c artificial rubber. The relaxation of the tire’s composition is manufactured up of preservatives, fillers, textiles, and metal.
That will make rubber a big tire component—and a critically important 1. But you will find poor information on both of those the economic and environmental fronts. As the BBC reviews, the charges that producers receive are small and not as related as you may feel to marketplace prices. But when price ranges spike, deforestation to expand far more rubber does, as well. There are concerns on both equally facet of the equation, but for now, reduced charges are hurting offer as producers shift to crops with far better return on financial commitment.
And there are other challenges with pure rubber. The BBC also notes the chance from South American leaf blight, a devastating crop sickness that wiped out that continent’s industrial rubber generation. Were being that illness to vacation to rubber-developing areas in Asia, the result could be catastrophic. Researchers are doing work on alternatives, like synthetics that much better match the attributes of all-natural rubber, but it’s however an additional headache for the tire market.
In the short time period, illness isn’t really a massive worry. But if organic rubber demand from customers outstrips source, we may possibly see the same sort of crunch the industry is struggling with with semiconductors. Bloomberg reviews that China is concerned ample to commence stockpiling rubber, a little something the U.S. won’t keep. Individuals concerns could induce a operate on the product, as manufacturers hurry to safe more than enough to continue on production through lean times. For the meantime, these strain are resulting in source price ranges to rise, but not affecting the tire supply—yet.
Rental Motor vehicle Blues
If you are contemplating of staying away from the difficulties with new motor vehicle manufacturing and possible gasoline shortages together the route, and simply just renting a automobile at your desired destination … we have some much more poor news. The pandemic hit a lot of industries tough, but at the commencing of the pandemic, with all the things locked down and lots of remain-in-position orders across the state, rental car businesses ended up stuck with 1000’s of cars and no consumers. Corporations scrambled to uncover locations to retail store them all although they figured out their following transfer. Hertz went bankrupt.
In the encounter of this existential threat, rental car or truck companies created some short-expression moves to stay afloat. As The Washington Put up particulars, the significant providers offloaded much more than 770,000 vehicles—more than a 3rd of the pre-pandemic fleet. And they cut bait on long run purchases, as very well.
It was just one of the handful of moves an sector backed into a corner had, but it worked out properly for most. Demand from customers for used autos is way up, specially with provide of new autos affected by various troubles, and that suggests it is a seller’s market place. Now that rental automobile demand from customers is coming again, and is very likely to continue on increasing all through the summer months, the rental agencies’ inventory hasn’t kept up. Rental costs consequently are extremely large, and, for the second, so are profits.
But presented the shortage of new automobiles, it also signifies that it can be really hard for the businesses to get new kinds to hire. If the firms want to insert rental capability to optimize income, they may possibly not be ready to do so promptly adequate to capitalize on a summer season rental growth. What’s more, as the Post notes, you can find a issue as to what the suitable fleet sizing is, and if corporations will in excess of-develop. In the meantime, some rental businesses are getting used cars and trucks as an expedient remedy to the new motor vehicle crunch.
In the meantime, all of this is educational to customers hoping to get out in the planet this summertime, if those people ideas include a rental vehicle. In popular tourist places, fees are exorbitant. In March, Hawaii Information Now reports, the least costly rental motor vehicle on the island of Maui was $772 a day, producing some vacationers to flip to U-Haul rental vans as a charge-powerful different. Lengthy delays at rental counters are a further true-entire world headache.
At some point, rental inventories will stabilize with need and prices will return to more ordinary degrees. But not this summer. Rental auto bookings are often an afterthought to the journey system, so make sure to investigation in advance of you ebook.


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Traders in part of Gateshead say work to build a new supermarket close to a busy shopping centre is driving business away.
Work is now underway to build a Morrison's supermarket close to a Blaydon's main shopping centre.
But the work has drastically reduced the available car parking space.
Traders say the disruption is putting people off shopping there and fear many will go out of business before the new supermarket is even finished.
More top news
The University of York is building several new teaching and leisure facilities during the next 18 months at a cost of £59m.
A former asylum seeker who arrived here after his parents were murdered has won a national award for his educational achievements.
Brand new homes have been built on the Middlehaven site in Middlesbrough as a key part of the regeneration of the area.


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United States embargo against Cuba
According to Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, “A smoke in times of rest is a great companion to the solitary soldier.”
On February 7, 1962, United States President John F. Kennedy imposed a trade embargo on Cuba to sanction Fidel Castro‘s communist government. According to Pierre Salinger, then Kennedy’s press secretary, the president ordered him on the evening of February 6 to obtain 1,200 H. Upmann brand petit corona Cuban cigars; upon Salinger’s arrival with the cigars the following morning, Kennedy signed the executive order which put the embargo into effect. Richard Goodwin, a White House assistant to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, revealed in a 2000 New York Times article that in early 1962 JFK told him, “We tried to exempt cigars, but the cigar manufacturers in Tampa objected.” The embargo prohibited US residents from legally purchasing Cuban cigars on the market, and Cuba was deprived of its major customer for tobacco.
In the United States, authentic Cuban-made cigars are seen as “forbidden fruit” for Americans to purchase. Upon the expropriation of private property in Cuba, many former Cuban cigar manufacturers moved to other countries (primarily the Dominican Republic) to continue production. Dominican Republic’s production of tobacco grew significantly as a result. After reallocation, most Cuban manufacturers continued to use their known company name, seed, and harvesting technique while Cubatabaco, Cuba’s state tobacco monopoly after the Revolution, independently continued production of cigars using the former private company names. As a result, cigar name brands like Romeo y Julieta, Gloria Cubana, Montecristo among others, exist in both Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Honduras and Nicaragua are also mass manufactures of cigars. Some Cuban refugees make cigars in the U.S. and advertise them as “Cuban” cigars, using the argument that the cigars are made by Cubans.
It remains illegal for US residents to purchase or import Cuban cigars regardless of where they are in the world, although they are readily available across the northern border in Canada and the southern border in Mexico. While Cuban cigars are smuggled into the USA and sold at high prices, counterfeiting is rife; it has been said that 95% of Cuban cigars sold in the USA are counterfeit. Although Cuban cigars cannot legally be imported into the USA, the advent of the Internet has made it much easier for people in the United States to purchase cigars online from other countries, especially when shipped without bands. Cuban cigars are openly advertised in some European tourist regions, catering to the American market, even though it is illegal to advertise tobacco in most European regions.