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As a purveyor of gourmet and specialty meats, Ariane Daguin’s business, D’Artagnan, was growing across several marketing channels, including restaurants, retail and online.
But when the COVID-19 crisis struck, the Union, New Jersey-based company was dealt a mighty blow.
“When restaurants had to close, we lost 75% of our business overnight,” said Daguin, who is the owner and CEO of D’Artagnan. “We had been growing nicely in the retail and e-commerce sectors, but not enough to compensate the loss of the restaurant business. It was tough.”
In order to survive the disruption to the supply chain, Daguin placed more emphasis on the retail and e-commerce sectors, which were already in place but required more labor, energy and investment to increase production and sales.
For example, whereas the company once supplied a 5-pound uncut tenderloin for chefs in restaurants to cut their own steaks, that meat might now be packaged in pre-cut, smaller portions for the home cook.
Today, the 75% loss in business resulting from the initial closure of restaurants has been reduced to 10-15%, Daguin said. D’Artagnan’s e-commerce sales alone have increased by nearly 500% since mid-March as a result of the change in consumer purchasing behavior.
But for many in the food supply industry, the future remains uncertain.
Any rebound depends on when, and to what degree, businesses begin to reopen in large cities, Daguin said.
And that could take time.
“We expect it to be slow and not back to normal for a long time. We don’t know what the regulations will be and how restaurants are going to reopen,” Daguin said. “Will they have only half the tables, separations between tables, employees wearing masks and taking the temperature of customers?
“This is not going to be a healthy two years for restaurants.”
But that doesn’t mean the demand for food has decreased. It’s shifted, Daguin said, as people are cooking more meals at home from raw ingredients.
That’s a good change for farmers, she added, because the increase in meals cooked at home places more emphasis on the importance of where food comes from. That’s an aspect that Daguin incorporated into D’Artagnan, which sources many of its meats from small family farms, including Pennsylvania poultry operations.
The small Pennsylvania farms produce chickens for D’Artagnan’s Green Circle brand. The chickens are fed a diet of leftover vegetables collected from commercial kitchens and farmers markets. Daguin said the chicken is selling very well on the retail front.
“The diet produces a chicken with flesh that becomes much more complex and tasty,” she said. “It is flying off the shelves, and the Pennsylvania Amish and Mennonite farms are doing really well right now.”
Being able to adapt to the change of more people cooking at home is a key to keeping the food supply chain strong, Daguin added, and it all begins with how animals are raised on the farm. Diet and living conditions do impact the taste, whether it’s a chicken or steer, she said, and even though the end product may cost a little more at stores, it’s worth it.
“A happy chicken is a tasty chicken,” Daguin said. “The food chain in America has been very dependent on big industry, and the small farmer had a tough time staking a place. But now, this is a chance for them to get a better return by doing things a better way.
“People are realizing how important the beginning of the supply chain is, and that’s the farmer.”
The changes brought on by the pandemic have also created an opportunity for producers of heritage breeds and specialty meats to increase their presence in the supply chain. While consumers will always buy beef, pork, poultry and lamb, Daguin said, she hopes they will be more adventurous and try things like bison, quail and venison. The demand for exotic cuts, which are preferred by chefs, has flattened as consumers typically look for familiar cuts.
“It takes education and time for people to try something new, and the heritage breeds cost a little more,” Daguin said. “But these exotic species have benefits, and if the popularity increases that will benefit farmers as well.”
While Daguin has adapted her business model in order to keep the company’s network of family farms in business, she also had the extra burden of keeping D’Artagnan viable for her 260 employees. So far she hasn’t had to furlough any employees and she wants to keep it that way, but it can only be done by adapting to the changing demand resulting from the pandemic.
“You adapt or die. Every day brings new challenges, new nightmares and the need to reinvent ourselves,” Daguin said. “It’s amazingly stressful, but it’s also a little bit exciting to identify new ideas that are sustainable for our company and consumers.”


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ISlide and Warner Bros. have joined forces — which means slide sandals representing more than 100 franchises are afoot.
Horror movies — including The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and The Shining — are already represented in creepy, cool styles. Fans can find cartoon versions of their childhood nightmares, the brands’ logos, and even a pic of demonic (iconic) eyes from The Exorcist.
For those who prefer their footwear less spooky, slides inspired by DC Super Heroes Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman will be available on Nov. 5. Each collection will have multiple designs to choose from, including one featuring Wonder Woman herself and another featuring the Joker.
Each slide begins retail at $44.99 and will become available here. Fans can expect more Warner Bros. items from Caddyshack, Elf, Rick and Morty, and Friends on their way soon. Could we BE any more excited?

domain: news


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If you’ve ever worried yourself sick wondering whether your friends and family were affected by a disaster, Facebook's new tool is designed to ease your mind.
With these three tools getting everyone together to create a shared photo album is simple and quick.
Teenage users have been drifting away from Facebook for the last few years, and now we know where they're going.
The network could be eyeing anonymous discussions around health for its rumored new app.
A new ad format lets businesses target users by geographic radius
Facebook's mobile advertising network is now open for business, and the company is hoping to leverage partner relationships to make money.
The social network’s move into Venmo territory could signal future financial features.
Unlike Apple, Facebook doesn’t want to track your vitals. Yet.
A rebuilt advertising server makes use of Facebook user data across the wider Web
The network cleaned up its research guidelines to prevent unnecessary experiments.


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The number of people unable to work because of COVID-19 is likely being underestimated and will rise in the new year, a Canadian economist is warning, putting further strain on businesses already facing restrictions related to the Omicron wave.
Vancouver-based clothing retailer Lululemon Athletica gave markets a sign of the looming impact of isolated workers on Canada’s economy Monday, signaling that its full-year earnings would be on the lower end of expectations thanks to a series of pandemic-related concerns including “limited staff availability.”
Word that shifts are going unfilled at Lululemon follows Friday’s latest jobs numbers from Statistics Canada, which showed more than 55,000 net new positions added in December.
But some economists watching the Omicron wave sweep across the country say other figures in Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey could point to a tough month ahead for the Canadian economy.
Despite the jump in jobs during the typically busy holiday season, total hours worked in Canada saw “little change” from November to December, the agency reported.
This figure, which accounts for lost hours due to sickness as well as extra hours taken for overtime, is key to measuring Omicron’s impact on the workforce, according to Stephen Brown, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.
Current case figures in Canada would suggest maybe 0.5 per cent of workers are sidelined with an active COVID-19 infection, Brown tells Global News.
But given the way the fast-spreading Omicron variant has overwhelmed testing capacity in provinces such as Ontario, he believes the rate of “absenteeism” among Canadian workers on any given week is closer to 1.5 per cent.
Metro Inc., parent company of drugstore chain Jean Coutu, said in a statement on its website recently that it’s adjusting staffing models at the retailer to minimize the impact of “absenteeism” on its operations. Other sectors are also needing to adapt on the fly, including airlines cancelling trips without flight attendants available.
Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), says Omicron is a new beast when it comes to workplace disruptions.
“Almost every employer has somebody that may be touched by this, either themselves or a close family member, and they now might need to isolate. … That’s way, way up compared to other waves of the pandemic,” he told Global News on Monday.
While he applauded policy changes to shorten isolation periods for the virus to five days from 10, Kelly pointed to a lack of clarity around testing procedures in the latest wave as a significant obstacle for businesses who are unsure whether they can plan to have an employee back at work in a week’s time if they’re exhibiting even mild symptoms.
Many owners are opting to close temporarily rather than attempt to run the ship with a skeleton crew, Kelly said, but he’s concerned that businesses already weakened by successive lockdowns will not reopen at the end of this current wave.
Brown says sectors such as construction and public-facing industries like retail and food services are going to feel outsized impacts from even marginal reductions to staff, depending on where they’re hit.
“If you’re a restaurant and your two chefs have got COVID, then you need to close the restaurant, even if the rest of your staff are absolutely fine because no one’s cooking. So that’s where the issues lie,” he says.
Brown expects employment figures in January will show a reduction in total hours worked and possibly net jobs as well, with Capital Economics trimming its gross domestic product projections for the first month of 2022.
Many businesses forced to close or reduce their hours due to lack of staff or other pandemic-related pains are eligible for support such as the new Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program.
“If they have a revenue fall, for whatever reason — and a shortage of workers could be that reason — they could be covered,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters last week.
Brown believes current supports should be sufficient to get a majority of retailers and others affected by restrictions through a difficult first quarter of the year.
Brown said that while most businesses should be able to subsist on the current government support program, he sees pain points on the horizon when government support lifts and the Bank of Canada raises interest rates, a move his firm projects for April.
That’ll hit hard the businesses that took out loads of debt to survive the Omicron wave, he warns.
According to CFIB figures, the average small firm has taken on $170,000 in COVID-19-related debt.
Kelly said he’d like to see the Canada Emergency Business Account program, with forgivable loans built into the relief, reopened to help alleviate the burden.
— with files from The Canadian Press


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Article on Mashable features a series of brands who are leveraging the rising popularity of Vine.
Seems to be a natural lean towards retail and FMCG brands who are using Vine to deliver both brand experience and rapid product information. I think it will be interesting to see how other sectors could potentially leverage Vine. (Energy? Banking?)


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This post has been read 17548 times!
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 18: Homes are core of green societies with many Kuwaiti families setting up traditional and modern gardens with eyecatching products. Kuwaitis are not new to gardening which has contributed to food security, and many citizens recently started home gardening and thus producing daily and seasonal vegetables. Home farmers overcome some diffi- culties, like limited resources, by seeking new methods that enabled them to see fresh products on their tables. Some farmers, in different statements to KUNA, said home farming has become a passion which taught them discipline and patience, as well as being a good way to spend free time in a productive manner.
Nasser AbalKhail said he was using fresh water to irrigate his garden to keep his products “green and fresh.” Some produce like thyme, celery, parsley, cucumber and spices need higher water quality than the regular fresh water, said AbalKhail, in order to maintain soil alkalinity. “High alkalinity will raise alkalinity of water used to irrigate plants, which would increase levels of sodium in the soil thus negatively affect the produce” and the harvest die, he said. AbalKhail said the use of phosphoric acid helped maintain alkalinity of irrigating water, and this product was available in the market. He said farmers should wear goggles and gloves when using phosphoric acid. Nora Al-Ahmad, a farmer, said hot weather was affecting her crops like carrots, radish, rocca and lettuce which usually needed moderate and moist atmosphere. She told KUNA building a home nursery was “one of the new solutions to overcome scorching heat in order to guarantee sustainability of plants and production.”
Khadija Al-Refae, another farmer, said home gardening has “beautiful and positive” impacts on physical and psychological wellbeing of people which contributed to better condition of the heart, bones and muscles. “Exposure to sun rays while farming increases Vitamin D, from which many people suffer deficit,” she said. Home farmers can use empty spaces like the yards, roof tops or windows to plant their domestic gardens. Nouri Al-Ostath, with an experience in home gardening, said farmers could plant vertically by using pots which could produce many fruits like peach, apple and figs. The Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources was also encouraging experienced and amateur farmers to do their own home gardens, contributing to better food security. The authority published guidelines to help farmers design their gardens to ultimately have better produce. These guidelines range from preparation of soil, irrigation system and water quality, fertilizers and spacing. One of the main objectives of the home gardens is producing daily needs of leafy vegetables, tomatoes and carrots for example, (KUNA).


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March this year, the leaders of 44 African countries endorsed the African
Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Since then more countries, including
South Africa, have joined in.
Th agreement is expected to favour small and medium-size businesses, usually known by the acronym SMEs, which are responsible for more than 80% of Africa’s employment and 50% of its GDP.
Obviously, any economic policy that facilitates imports and exports among member countries - with lower or no tariffs, free access to the market and market information, and the elimination of trade barriers - offers numerous benefits to SMEs. And as history’s largest free trade agreement, which has a market size in the region of $3 trillion, most people are excited at the development. But skeptics have pointed to impending challenges, especially those which affect SMEs. These must be addressed if the AfCFTA is to achieve its objectives. But first, let’s look at who stands to gain.
The AfCFTA will allow African-owned companies to enter new markets. This expands their customer base and leads to new products and services, making investing in innovation viable.
Manufacturing represents only about 10% of total GDP in Africa, on average. This is well below the figure in other developing regions. A successful continental free trade area could reduce this gap. A bigger manufacturing sector will lead SMEs to create more well-paid jobs, especially for young people, thereby alleviating poverty.
With restrictions lifted on foreign investments, investors will flock to the continent. This adds capital to expand local industries and boost domestic businesses. New capital enhances an upward productivity cycle that stimulates the entire economy. An inflow of foreign capital can also stimulate banking systems, leading to more investment and consumer lending.
The AfCFTA will ease the process of importing raw materials from other African countries. It will also enable SMEs to set up assembly firms in other African countries, in order to access cheaper means of production and thereby increase their bottom lines.
Global companies have more expertise than domestic companies to develop local resources. That’s especially true for businesses in the manufacturing sector. The AfCFTA will allow multinationals to partner with local firms to develop raw materials, training them in best practices and transferring technology in the process.
A Guest Editorial


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this is the info on those supposed products that claim large and dont do crap.
To top it off, the fine folks and experts at Discovery’s popular TV show Myth Busters, which I highly recommend, have also tested these same devices. All of these tests were done with the hope that these items would indeed provide the gains in fuel economy and horsepower as the manufacturers claimed as this would be very beneficial to consumers. Unfortunately in test after test, and in the Myth Busters case it was done live for TV viewers so everyone could see, they all failed. In fact, not only did they not work, but in many cases these items were actually found to be detrimental.
Headlight Restoration, Repair and Cleaner from the best in the business!
The Turbonator along with the Tornado were found to restrict airflow and actually decrease horsepower. It didn’t matter which car these so called vortex generator products were installed in it happened every time. Definitely not what the manufacturers claim. So, how can the manufacturers make these false claims? Just ask STP, Fuelmax and Zmax. All manufacturers of various products and additives that all claimed similar gains in fuel economy and horsepower. The FTC and EPA has sued all three of them (some numerous times) for false claims and selling products that just did not work. Some of these cases are still pending and the others have resulted in million dollar fines and changes in product claims and more.
If one researches the Turbonator and Tornado along with other similarly claimed vortex generators you will find sufficient evidence that their time will soon come to pass with the legal system. What makes a company sell a product that they know has no benefit and sell it with outrageous claims to the contrary? Pure and simple Greed. And look, these products are sold at your local PepBoys, Autozone, Advanced Auto, etc… I’m sure the fine folks at PepBoys must have heard by now that these products do not work in any circumstance as found by the EPA and Myth Busters staff. If not all they have to do is look it up on the internet. .
if you wish to read it all for yourself here is the link.http://www.mdwholesale.com/Mythbusters_Turbonator.html


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The Bayonetta and Vanquish 10th Anniversary Launch Bundle is arriving this week on PS4 and Xbox One. Fans have had to wait a long time to relive the original titles from PlatinumGames that launched on Xbox 360 and PS3. But this will all change relatively soon, with the new bundle going live on both platforms in the coming hours.
WHEN DOES BAYONETTA & VANQUISH BUNDLE RELEASE ON PS4 AND XBOX ONE?
The Bayonetta and Vanquish 10th Anniversary Launch Bundle has a release date set for Tuesday, February 18, 2020, on PS4 and Xbox One.
Both games will come with enhanced specs if you own a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X, with the official game description confirming support for 4K at 60fps.
Reviews have started coming in for the Bayonetta & Vanquish bundle and it appears it will scoring quite high on Metacritic.
And from what has been shared so far by the dual digital storefronts of Microsoft and Sony, Bayonetta & Vanquish will be unlocked relatively early on February 18.
The PlayStation Store lists the game going live at midnight EST, while the Microsoft Store states that it will be available to play at 11pm on February 17.
It’s unclear if these times have only been set for the United States and at the moment, we can’t be certain if they apply to the UK.
For example, the Microsoft Store also lists the bundle going live at 6pm today in the UK, although it’s unclear if this is accurate.
But even if they don’t, it looks like Bayonetta & Vanquish will be available to play in the morning of February 18.
Other buying options are available to fans, with SEGA announcing last year: “We know how special Bayonetta and Vanquish are to fans, and they’re an important part of SEGA’s history as well, so we wanted to go big for their 10th anniversary.
“That’s why we’re happy to announce that the physical release of the Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle will come in an embossed SteelBook with brand-new cover art for both games produced by Weapons Van, supervised by Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya and Sega.
“If you’re brand-new to either Bayonetta or Vanquish, you’re in for a treat. Bayonetta takes fast-paced third-person action to the extreme, pitting the unflappable Umbra Witch Bayonetta against hundreds of angelic foes with an arsenal of interchangeable weapons, powerful abilities, and mystical beasts summoned through her incredible hair.
“Meanwhile, Vanquish redefines the cover-based third-person shooting genre by introducing elements from action games and beat ‘em ups, a wide variety of weapons, and some of the craziest boss fights you’ll ever see, creating an entirely unique experience that shouldn’t be missed.
“We’re so excited to give even more players the opportunity to experience these classic action game gems, and we look forward to the deluge of new playthroughs, combo videos, and speedruns for both games!”
Source: Read Full Article


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One month ago, on May 18, Target (NYSE:TGT) reported a deeply disappointing Q1 non-GAAP EPS of $2.19, missing expectations by $0.87. Additionally, while Wall Street expected the company's operating margin to decrease as a result of the macroeconomic pressure squeezing the entire retail industry, few observers could have anticipated a drop to 5.3% from 9.8% year-over-year. Predictably, Target's already plunging share price took a nose dive, lopping off a full quarter of the price:
At the closing bell on May 17, Target was selling for $215.29 per share. By the start of trading on May 18, shares were selling for $162.17, the stock's worst single-day drop since Black Monday in 1987. After the company revised its fiscal guidance for the rest of 2022 last week, shares dropped even more. Today, they're selling for just under $140. That is quite the tumble from its 52 week high of $268.98 in November.
In the short and intermediate term, the sell-off appears to be justified. Target's return on invested capital dropped from 30.7% one year ago to 25.3%, gross margin dropped from 30% to 27% over the same time frame, and supply chain disruptions don't look like they're going to dissipate anytime soon.
I completely understand traders and growth investors unloading Target.
But I am a dividend growth investor and, even with Target share prices likely to shed even more weight, I am buying. Here's why:
The Company Is Fairly Valued (Finally): As we have all heard ad nauseam, retail stocks have been hammered in 2022 and, as I mentioned at the top of this article, Target has been one of the hardest hit retailers out there. Indeed, there's no way to put a positive spin on adjusted earnings contracting 40% last quarter, but the company's plummeting stock price likely has more to do with the stock's recent climb into the stratosphere during the most recent bull market than any fundamental weaknesses with the company long-term. In fact, if we look at Target's P/E ratio over the past five years, we see that the company's average P/E ratio is roughly 16%. This year's precipitous drop represents a reversion to the mean:
In other words, for those of us who believe the company is a good buy-and-hold stock, now might be a really good time to buy some shares at a substantially more reasonable price than we have seen since at least 2019.
So, yes, shipping costs are way up and customers are spending less on big-ticket items as inflation bites their wallets. Moreover, CEO Brian Cornell reports that Target ended Q1 with 15.1 billion dollars in inventory, much of its excess bulky items costing the company a great deal to store in warehouses. Still, Target is an extraordinarily well-run company whose parking lots are still full of loyal customers and whose aisles are lined with the consumer staples cash-strapped customers will still look for when they pass up on discretionary purchases. Indeed, more than a quarter of the company's sales come from household goods and hygiene products, another 20% comes from groceries, a further 20% comes from home furnishings, while apparel accounts for another 17%. Hardlines such as sporting goods, patio furniture, and appliances--the sorts of products consumers are most likely to forego during inflationary or recessionary milieus--make up only 18% of the company's sales.
The company's stock price may take a long while to return to nosebleed altitudes, but buy-and-hold and income-oriented investors can accumulate shares now and enjoy a steady, growing dividend while they wait.
Which brings us to...
The Yield: At current prices, Target's quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share yields nearly 2.6%, one of the stock's best yields in the past three years:
More importantly, the company announced it will be hiking its dividend a whopping 20% to $1.08 per share beginning in September. The boost brings Target's forward yield to 3.10%, a level it has not reached since August of 2019 and, excepting the three-year period between November 2016 and August 2019, is the stock's highest yield over the past thirty years:
At 27.86%, Target's current payout ratio is well within the company's historical range. Even with the large forthcoming dividend hike, the payout ratio remains safely within the company's historical range:
In fact, a payout ratio hovering around 30% remains substantially lower than Target's historical norm of around 50%. Barring some sort of cataclysmic black swan event, Target's dividend is both well-covered and likely to continue climbing for years to come.
But, is Target a buy at this price point? Plenty of my fellow Seeking Alpha contributors make strong cases arguing that now is not a good time to pick up shares. Albert Lin and Ian Bezek, among others, make particularly compelling arguments to avoid Target and I strongly suggest reading their articles as a counterpoint to my own view. That said, I do not have as bleak an outlook on Target's numbers as they do.
It is true that despite reporting 3.4% same-store sales growth in Q1 2022, comps were negative year-over-year when adjusted for inflation. Furthermore, when compared with Q1 2021's 23% comps, the most recent quarter looks even worse.
But a few other numbers are encouraging. The company did report revenue of $25.17B, a year over year increase of 4.02%, beating estimates by $688.71M. Significantly, despite stiff competition from Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT), among others, Target has made significant strides in e-commerce with online sales responsible for $13 billion of the $28 billion dollar increase in Target's revenue over the last two years. Importantly, in addition to the company's growing presence in the online retail space, Target enjoyed a 4% increase in foot traffic over the past year. Even with the weight of Target's bloated inventory dragging on earnings, the company's updated fiscal guidance assures investors that it "continues to expect full-year revenue growth in the low- to mid-single digit range, and expects to maintain or gain market share in 2022."
For investors looking for share appreciation in the short-to-medium term, I echo the cautions of my fellow Seeking Alpha contributors who rate Target a hold or even a sell. I simply do not see the stock taking off anytime soon and I would not be surprised if inventory concerns, inflation, and supply chain disruptions continue to drag on the company's growth for the foreseeable future. However, for dividend growth investors such as myself, I do believe that Target represents a wonderful opportunity to secure a safe, growing income stream. While Target's share price may certainly continue to drop in the short term, I would expect the strong dividend to buoy the stock as dividend investors jump in. If you're looking for a SWAN with a robust dividend and don't mind waiting a while for capital appreciation to kick in again, you won't find many better companies out there.
This article was written by
Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of TGT, WMT, AMZN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.


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While banks have their elbows out to claim firsts in tap-and-go mobile phone payments, a new banking survey suggests that consumer demand for them is, at best, soft.
Fewer than 30 percent of consumers who responded to an Effective Measure survey indicated that they intended to use mobile device payment services over the next six months.
And while banks have been investing heavily in mobile banking services to attract younger consumers, fewer than six percent of under-24s who responded to the survey said such services would be their basis for a decision to change banks.
IBRS analyst Guy Cranswick, who wrote the survey on behalf of market intelligence firm Effective Measures, said the results were surprising.
That fewer than 30 percent of consumers across all age groups – and in most age categories fewer than 25 percent - were prepared to use mobile payments in the next six months inferred that take-up of mobile contactless payments would be weak, he said.
While the survey didn’t specifically tighten the wording of its questions to “contactless mobile phone payments” the wider sentiment toward mobile payments indicated that demand for them would be weak, he said.
“What it does say about mobile payments generally is that there is just not a huge level of interest," Cranswick said.
“The younger age group really surprised me – it’s all EFTPOS and debit cards as a way of monitoring spending without getting carried away. It’s even true of contactless credit [card payments]. Mobile services perhaps works as a means of checking your balance, but there’s not a great upswing in mobile payments."
Australian banks have been experimenting with tap-and-go mobile payments using bridging technologies such as near-field communication (NFC) enabled mobile phone cases and stickers.
However, they have been slower to produce a system based on NFC capability built into handsets.
Westpac and Commonwealth Bank have been jostling to be first to offer tap-and-go mobile phone payments based on Visa payWave and Mastercard PayPass payments platforms respectively.
Commonwealth Bank announced it would offer the service last October but remained vague on its timeline. Last December it narrowly beat Westpac to launch a service employing NFC built into Samsung’s Galaxy S4.
At around the same time Westpac announced that customers with would be able to make tap-and-go payments using Samsung’s Galaxy S or Galaxy Note 3 smartphones.
Cranswick said banks could benefit from further segmenting their marketing to demonstrate the value of mobile payments among consumers in the 25 to 55 age brackets.
“They’ve probably been relying on the young consumer as a way of gaining and keeping accounts, but they need to be looking at delivering some of the messaging to older consumers," he said.
The survey also uncovered a few other surprise findings. Among them; respondents who indicated that they did not check their accounts using mobile services said it was due to a lack of necessity rather than security concerns.


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India’s import PVC market records fresh decreases
The PVC market has been on soft terms since end-November given a drastic decrease in trading activities amidst the government’s decision to withdraw the high-value banknotes from circulation. The overall range for ethylene based PVC k67 prices is currently quoted at $880-950/ton on a CIF India, cash equivalent basis, showing decreases of $30-50/ton when compared to last week.
Source: ChemOrbis Price Wizard
A global trader reported selling Japanese PVC k67 at $950/ton CIF India, cash. “More competitive offers are achievable for deep sea origins like Russian, Argentinean, Brazilian and US. Sellers are willing to give additional discounts of around $20/ton after negotiations. We believe that our done deal level for Japanese origins is reasonable although not many buyers are interested in it. Demand is mostly coming from traders, rather than converters,” he noted.
A second trader reported that they placed a $30/ton lower bid at $900/ton CIF, cash for a South Korean PVC k67 offer. He commented, “Demand is currently quiet and we expect it to improve after the second half of January in line with the end of winter. The Taiwanese major was only able to sell out their January quota yesterday.”
Meanwhile, a source from a Chinese acetylene based PVC k67 producer stated that they lowered their offers by $85/ton from last week to $903/ton CIF India, cash. “We see thin demand from both export and local buyers,” he stated.
More free plastics newsPlastic resin (PP, LDPE, LLDPE ,HDPE, PVC, GPS; HIPS, PET, ABS) prices, polymer market trends, and more...
- Turkey shattered as PP prices shoot up to surreal levels
- Polymer markets face one of most chaotic times
- Turnaround season set to get underway in Asia
- Crude oil heals COVID-inflicted wounds; now what lies ahead?
- Global shipping turmoil deepens, adding to the upheaval in plastic resins
- China’s post-holiday polymer outlook supported by supply limitations, crude oil
- US PE exports hit record high for 2020 despite production and logistics hurdles
- African PP, PE markets firmer on continued tightness in supplies
- Lack of sales pressure supports SEA PE markets
- Will soaring prices attract PP, PE imports to Europe?


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EDF Report Details Shipping Efficiencies
New technology and thinking are unlocking a raft of previously unattainable environmental and economic efficiencies in the commercial shipping industry, according to a report released this week by Environmental Defense Fund.
Examples of shipping best practice detailed Smart Moves, include:
- A retailer utilizing rail instead of trucks to move goods from warehouse to stores, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and cutting carbon emissions by over 40 percent;
- Competing candy companies using a collaborative distribution model with the potential to slash costs by more than 30 percent and increase carbon efficiency by 25 percent;
- Smarter load management strategies that helped a major dairy company save $7.5 million a year, and helped a national food company eliminate 6.2 million miles worth of truck trips.
The report has been launched to coincide with a new collaboration between EDF and logistics providers, shippers and other experts. The initiative is designed to accelerate the adoption of cheaper, less emissions-intensive ways to transport commercial cargo of all kinds, EDF says.
Energy Manager News
- New Energy Efficiency Law Could be Boon for HVAC Industry
- Black & Veatch World Headquarters Microgrid
- Caterpillar, First Solar Join to Develop Microgrids
- Hospital Reduces Energy 12%
- Cree LEDs Light 42-Campus Toledo Public School District
- Soraa Offers LED with Wireless Control
- States Use Energy Resource Permanent Funds for Various Purposes
- One Man’s Experience with Engaging Building Operators


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Tokopedia emerges as primary battlefield in war against counterfeit goods
Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia is being criticised for a lack of engagement with rights holders and inconsistent action on counterfeit goods, so brand owners are urged to push for stronger anti-counterfeiting measures.
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Government Botanical Garden gets ready for 23 lakh visitors expected this year
With just a few weeks to go for the curtain to go up on the tourist season for summer of 2014, in this vacation destination work on sprucing up some of the popular scenic spots has gained momentum. As part of the efforts to beautify the Government Botanical Garden, the best-known tourist spot in this hill station which attracts, on an average, about twenty-three lakh visitors a year, the Department of Horticulture is now focusing on footpaths which have been in a state of neglect for several years.
Pointing out that they had developed holes and cracks, the Joint Director of Horticulture N. Mani told The Hindu here on Sunday that the footpaths extending over 1000 square metres are being set right at a cost of rupees 15.5 lakh, under the Hill Area Development Programme.Simultaneously, irrigation sources are being strengthened at a cost of rupees 15 lakh and planters boxes are being provided near the threshold to facilitate an attractive backdrop for photographs and videos.
“The idea is to enhance the natural beauty of the 55-acre garden with appropriately designed structures,” he said.
Stating that work on improving the footpath at the Government Rose Garden here has also commenced, he said that a sum of rupees 15.5 lakh has been set aside for the purpose. Pruning of 30,000 rose plants representing 3800 varieties would commence on Monday. The operation has been planned in such a manner that all the roses would be in full bloom by the first week of April. Within a few months, another 500 varieties would be added.
Beautification works have also commenced at the Katteri Park along the Coonoor-Mettupalayam national highway. The Tea Park which is coming up at a cost of rupees 79.9 lakh on the Ooty-Kotagiri Road is expected to be ready for commissioning by April or May.
Sources in the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation said that the wooden jetties in the Boat House are now in the process of being replaced with concrete jetties, at a cost of rupees 40 lakh.
The mini garden near the Ooty lake, which has, for some time now, been wearing an unkempt look, is now being improved. Meanwhile, concern is growing over the town wearing a shabby look.
Observers, particularly those in the hospitality and travel sectors, hoped that before the tourist season begins, the town would be made presentable to the tourists and comfortable for the locals.


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Summer Game Fest Air Date Announced
Summer Game Fest will be back again. An air date and time has been announced for the event. We have the information below, plus some thoughts on it.
Summer Game Fest will live stream on June 9th at 1pm central/2p ET. It’ll be online and will be on select imax screens too! The event will include announcements, reveals, and Day of the Devs.
Since it looks like E3 isn’t happening this year, Summer Game Fest will likely be as close to an E3 replacement as we get. Xbox/Bethesda will be holding an event on June 12 too. There has been no announcement for a Nintendo Direct yet. Summer Game Fest will likely be the place to find some third party games and many indies. Geoff Knighley will host as always.
What do you think of Summer Game Fest? Will you miss E3?


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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been announced as a co-founder of recently launched blockchain-focused venture capital fund EQUI Global, global business outlet Verdict reports Monday, Oct. 15.
Following an announcement about his plans to become “involved” in a blockchain project earlier in August, Wozniak has been revealed today as a co-founder of EQUI Global, a venture capital fund focusing on blockchain technology and built on a blockchain-powered backend.
The new venture capital fund aims to change the concept of the traditional industry by enabling non-institutional investments, as well as allowing investors to trade on external crypto exchanges via EquiTokens. The EquiTokens infrastructure is reportedly based on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, which is widely used by decentralized applications (DApps) developers.
According to Verdict, EQUI Global will target “sophisticated” investors that are focused on venture capital funds through investing in EquiToken. The model intends to facilitate the trading experience by allowing for the easy liquidation of tokens through cryptocurrency exchanges. The report further notes that 80 percent of EQUI Global’s investments will be put in technology companies, while the rest will be invested in other fields like real estate and art.
As Wozniak stated, the company’s mission is to “seek, support and fund the blockchain and tech stars of tomorrow.” Wozniak noted that the company has already partnered with “over 20 businesses” that have not been launched officially. See more...


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Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk says that the company has completed building the 1,000th body of its Model S electric cars, according to a tweet (hat tip Green Car Reports). Musk included a photo of the 1,000th car shell surrounded by Tesla employees and said: “V proud of Tesla team for completing 1000th Model S body. More cars made this month than entire rest of year.”
Tesla is currently going through a difficult period where it needs to scale up production of the Model S at a pretty rapid rate. Tesla said about a month ago that it was about four to five weeks behind schedule for its 2012 delivery goals for the Model S. As of September 23, Tesla said it had produced 255 completed Model S cars, delivered 132 of those cars to customers, and estimated it will be able to make 300 Model S cars in the third quarter, and deliver 200 to 225 of those to customers. Tesla also estimated it can eventually get to a weekly production rate of 400 Model S vehicles before the end of 2012, which could lead to between 2,500 to 3,000 cars made in the fourth quarter.
Those new figures are a downgrade from the company’s previous plan to produce and deliver 5,000 of the Model S cars before the end of the year. Because of the slower schedule Tesla had to cut its revenue forecast. Reservations are high for Model S, though, and Tesla says as of September 23 it had 13,000 reservations minus its deliveries.


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Utah’s customer communications and payments platform, Podium, hit another benchmark on Monday, announcing a new funding round of $ 201 million and a market valuation north of $ 3 billion.
Podium co-founder and CEO Eric Rea said his company is well positioned to continue to grow its customer base, which currently numbers more than 100,000 companies, as transactions and interactions with consumers continue to grow. mediated by digital tools.
“We see this as a watershed moment for local businesses around the world, especially as the world is opening up again and local businesses are tasked with responding to the changing preferences of consumers who have welcomed the first digital interactions for the pandemic, ”Rea said in a statement. “Our goal is to help communities get back on their feet and to help local businesses participate meaningfully in the digital evolution that is happening at the local level. “
Podium’s latest funding, a Series D round, is led by YC Continuity with participation from Durable Capital Partners, Arpex Capital, Accel, Album VC, IVP, Sapphire Ventures, Summit Partners and Sorenson Capital.
YC Continuity chief executive Ali Rowghani said Podium excels in finding and serving a segment of small and medium-sized businesses that most tech companies have long lacked.
“Podium brings world-class marketing and payment tools to the small and medium-sized businesses that power our economy and employ the lion’s share of workers,” Rowghani said in a statement. “These companies have traditionally been overlooked by technology companies. Podium products level the playing field for SMEs and help them compete in a changing world.
The company began life in 2014 as an online customer review mediation tool for physical businesses, but has since grown into a multi-tool suite that includes customer messaging, mobile payments, online chat, Online reviews and customer feedback using messaging channels that customers actually use and trust, according to Podium.
In a Deseret News profile in 2017, Rea said the idea of starting a business focused on providing advanced digital communications tools to small businesses arose out of a conversation he had with his father, who was a small business owner at the time.
“My dad owned gas stations and a tire store in Calgary,” Rea said. “When all of these findings, reviews and comments started posting, he didn’t know how to deal with them.
“It showed me how out of sync with the technology the average local business is. “
It took a few years for the seed to germinate, as Rea graduated with an information systems degree from BYU and then took a job in Austria as a programmer for the International Atomic Energy Agency. But he did not thrive in the work he was doing in Vienna.
“It didn’t take me long to realize that working for one of the biggest bureaucracies in the world really wasn’t for me,” Rea said.
In this profile piece, Album VC founder and general partner Sid Krommenhoek, who was one of the company’s early investors, said Podium’s subsequent success came as no surprise at all.
“Eric and Dennis (Steele) put their heart and soul into everything they do,” said Krommenhoek, who is also a member of the Podium board of directors. “As an entrepreneur myself, having created and grown a business, you never really know how things are going to turn out, and there is some serendipity, but the founding of Podium is a great product and a lot of hard work. “
Krommenhoek said Podium’s success was not limited to developing an effective product.
“These guys have a hustle and bustle that permeates everything they do,” Krommenhoek said. “From building their product to selling their product, including proximity to their customers. “
While Podium debuted in a small office above a Provo bicycle store in 2014, the company has since invested in two new office buildings in Lehi, employs over 1,000 people and has become a regular figure. on America’s fastest growing Inc. 5000 list. companies.
Last year, following the announcement of a $ 125 million Series C funding round, Podium said it has negotiated business interactions on behalf of more than half of all cellphone users in the United States. United States.
The company has attracted nearly $ 420 million in venture capital investments to date, according to business data site Crunchbase.


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Daily Archives: February 26, 2010
Debenhams today became the first High Street retailer to use a disabled model in its advertising campaigns.
Shannon Murray, who is confined to a wheelchair, took part in a photo shoot for the department store last week.
The actress and model, 32, revealed the news on her blog: ‘I’ve been modelling for over 14 years but this was different,’ she wrote.
‘It is a first and as I was getting ready in hair and make-up, the potential of this shoot suddenly struck me – another small step towards inclusion and representation.
‘I hope the images challenge a few misconceptions about disability; it’s been a long time coming.’


text: According to a recent AP story on Yahoo!, the internet is being declared as one of the largest threats to rare wildlife, including corals. The article focused mainly on newts, tigers, and ivory, but it did touch on the coral trade to some extent. The corals threatened were described as red and pink corals, which find their way into expensive jewelry and sold extensively on the internet. These corals are comprised of 32 species harvested from Mediterranean waters. The particular proposal to regulate coral trade was shot down over concerns that the regulations my negatively impact poor fishing communities, but concern for corals is seemingly increasing due to an increase in proposed reguations and bills.


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As part of Apple’s iOS 14.5 beta 6, Apple is making a few notable changes to Siri.
First off, Siri longer defaults to a female voice with the release of iOS 14.5. This means that when the voice-activated assistant is set up for the first time, users are now prompted to select a voice. Apple is also adding two additional options to Siris’ selection of voices. Though it’s still unclear, these changes will also likely apply to Apple’s HomePod.
TechCrunch says that this change is part of Apple’s “commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
“We’re excited to introduce two new Siri voices for English speakers and the option for Siri users to select the voice they want when they set up their device,” reads a statement Apple sent to TechCrunch. “This is a continuation of Apple’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, and products and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in.”
The two new voices have also been run through Apple’s Neural text-to-speech engine, making them sound more natural and human-like. Further, iOS 14.5 beta 6 brings Siri voice improvements to Ireland, Russia and Italy. According to TechCrunch’s reporting, Siri now handles 25 billion requests on 500 million devices and supports 21 languages in 36 countries.
While it’s great to see Apple updating Siri on the inclusivity side of things, the voice-activated assistant still lags behind Alexa and Google Assistant when it comes to functionality. Apple recently announced that it’s discontinuing its original HomePod to focus on the HomePod mini.
Apple’s upcoming iOS 14.5 update will also bring a battery recalibration feature to the iPhone 11 series that aim to fix performance and battery life issues with the smartphones.


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FDA issues warning after synthetic marijuana tainted with rat poison sickens hundreds
Last Updated: Wednesday July 28, 2021
(USA Today, July 20) A bad batch of synthetic marijuana – sold under brand names like Spice, K2 and AK 47 – is behind a rash of uncontrolled bleeding incidents in Washington, D.C.
Local emergency officials say that the drug was involved in over 200 cases of severe bleeding, vomiting and people collapsing during the course of less than seven days.
"We’re joining together to send a strong warning to anyone who may use synthetic marijuana products that these products can be especially dangerous as a result of the seemingly deliberate use of brodifacoum [rat poison] in these illegal products," a statement from the Food and Drug Administration, released Thursday, said. Read more.


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Apple could produce up to 22 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, the majority of which would be the iPhone 4, or a comparable cheaper model, reports Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar. He says that Apple will continue to produce the iPhone 4 in quantity, which fits with previous years when Apple continued selling ‘last years model’ at a lower price point even as they introduced a new one.
Kumar says that according to supply chain estimates, Apple could produce high volumes of the current iPhone 4, downgraded in price. This fits in with the persistent rumor that Apple is revamping the iPhone 4 to be cheaper to produce, perhaps even lowering the flash memory capacity to 8GB in order to serve the lower-end market.
Total iPhone volumes could be up high single digits sequentially to around 22 million units with the upgraded iPhone representing almost quarter of the volume. The “new” iPhone is expected to be a spec upgrade and not a complete redesign. It is likely that the existing iPhone 4 could be repositioned as a “lower” cost device and will continue to ship until the rollout of the completely redesigned iPhone sometime next year.
Kumar seems to think that both models of iPhone will look very similar as the ‘new’ iPhone, meaning the iPhone 5, would receive a bump in performance, with the addition of the A5 processor found in the iPad 2, but not a full redesign.
The estimates seem sound, if a bit conservative. Apple sold 20.3 million iPhones in Q3 of this year, after it had already been out for a year, and had only been available on Verizon for a couple of months. We see sales of the new iPhone, or iPhones, to exceed that by far as it will be available on more than one mobile carrier for the first time in US history. Of course, that depends on how many Apple is able to actually produce. Manufacturing of the iPad 2 only recently caught up to demand.
Rumors have also persisted of the iPhone coming to Sprint and T-Mobile, which would provide further sales boosts to whatever new device Apple offers in October. We’re still holding out hope for a redesigned iPhone 5 with a slimmer profile though, perhaps something like this concept.


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Monument’s downtown business district is known for iconic small business like the Covered Treasures Bookstore, and newer signature shops like Lolley’s Ice Cream, as well as popular restaurants and breweries that give the district its distinctive mountain-town flavor.
“I really love that our shopping is broken up into different areas,” said Terri Hayes, president and CEO of the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce. “Downtown Monument is a great place to go to have lunch and do some interesting shopping, pick up some gifts for people. Jackson Creek is more what I like to refer to as errands — it’s the necessities area.”
Small-town main streets don’t usually change a lot, Hayes said. Outside of a few stores and restaurants coming and going over time, they generally look pretty much the same.
But a big change is coming to Monument’s downtown. It’s a project that will not only expand downtown’s commercial and retail footprint but also will add housing for the people who work and shop in the business district.
The land, which abuts the intersection of those two streets, is the former site of the Sibell family home. The red barn built by the late Elwood “Si” Sibell, former Monument mayor, still stands, But it soon will give way to make room for the new uses.
Plans are still in development, and details of the project have not been released, but Hayes and Monument Planner II Debbie Flynn said that when the project is completed, it will greatly benefit downtown Monument.
“I’m very excited about what that development is going to be,” Hayes said. “The developer is someone that definitely cares about the community and wants to do a project that fits and helps the businesses downtown.”
The project’s retail stores will bring more people downtown, “which will help our existing businesses,” Hayes said.
Planned apartments and townhomes are expected to be attainably priced for tenants such as seniors, teachers, police officers and firefighters, and employees who will be able to walk to work, Flynn said.
Depending upon when plans are submitted, it could be a year and a half before those commercial and residential spaces are occupied, Hayes said.
“But it’s going to be a great addition to downtown Monument,” Hayes said. “Right now it’s just an empty piece of property, but that year and a half is going to fly by before we know it,” she said.
The heart of Monument’s L-shaped downtown business district consists of about four square blocks, Hayes said.
On the land to the west of Second and Front streets, the structures on the property fell into disrepair after the deaths of Si Sibell in 2018 and his wife Dorothy the following year.
The property went up for sale and was purchased earlier this year by Randall Estes, who formed Investing in Front Street to develop the parcel.
Hayes described Estes as a local person “who is very selective in what he does.”
Evidence of his commitment to the town is that he has been allowing Monument firefighters to store some of their equipment in the barn, she said.
Flynn said she has met with the developers to discuss their vision for the property.
“They have already done some lot line adjustments with the property owners on either side of them, and they annexed into the town, so the whole property’s in the town of Monument,” instantly extending the downtown area.
“So far, they’ve knocked the mercantile building out because it was in disrepair,” she said. “They wanted to keep it and use it as a façade, but you couldn’t even step in it. The barn will eventually come down too.”
The developers are working with Bucher Design Studio, an architectural design firm in north Colorado Springs, on final design of the project, Flynn said.
Flynn emphasized that details of the plans could change before the developers submit them, but her understanding is that the project will consist of up to nine townhomes near the railroad tracks and several structures, some with shared walls, on Front Street that will house retail or commercial businesses on the ground floors and apartments above. Parking will be provided on the site.
Monument does not have design standards for the business district in its code but encourages development and redevelopment that preserves and enhances downtown’s unique character, she said.
She expects the developers “are going to make it look very nice — you can’t even tell that this is going to be attainable housing.”
Flynn noted that high-end, market-rate multifamily projects are being developed at Monument Junction and the Village at Jackson Creek. These also are mixed-use projects, she said.
The downtown project “isn’t going to add a whole lot of apartments, but it does fill a niche,” she said.
The next step for the developers will be submitting a preliminary final site plan, Flynn said. Since the property is already annexed, it won’t need to be rezoned.
The plan will undergo review but will not have to go before the Monument Planning Commission.
“We might do a little neighborhood meeting so people know that this is coming,” Flynn said.
She said the average time for approvals to be completed on a project like this one is about four months.
Monument’s downtown has seen some turnover in the past couple of years, Hayes said, but when businesses move out, the spaces don’t stay vacant for long.
The district has attracted some businesses that are second locations for flagships in Colorado Springs, she said.
The Trail’s End Taproom brought a self-pour concept that had proved popular at its Colorado Springs location when it moved into a Monument building at 252 Front St. that originally was a 19th century log cabin.
The owner unearthed the bones of the old building during renovations and made them a part of the business’ character.
Like the Springs location, Trail’s End and its outdoor patio have become gathering places. The business encourages people to come to Monument with events such as the Trail’s End Christmas Market, which the venue hosted the last weekend in October.
One of Monument’s newest businesses is Faery Grove, which sells one-of-a-kind, handcrafted candles, bath and body products, and home décor.
The shop, which had its grand opening Oct. 29-31, moved into a space in Front Street Square that previously was occupied by The French Ruffle Market, Hayes said.
Renew Beauty Bar, which offers skin-care services and products by appointment, is in a neighboring space in Front Street Square that previously housed Bee’s Knees Embroidery.
“We haven’t had anything downtown that was beauty-oriented, so a lot of the people that shop here love that,” Hayes said.
Lolley’s Ice Cream at 175 Second St. has become a signature business even though it’s less than a year old, she said.
Founded by a Monument family that creates ice cream, pastries and other goodies from scratch, and housed in a 145-year-old house that the owners gutted and renovated, Lolley’s had a soft opening at the beginning of this year and a grand opening in late Spring.
Besides these newer faces, legacy businesses located downtown continue to be popular with Tri-Lakes residents and visitors, Hayes said.
The Coffee Cup Café has been a Front Street landmark for breakfast and lunch since 1978. Other legacy businesses include La Casa Fiesta New Mexican Restaurant at 230 Front St., which opened in 1957.
“Everybody remembers the Mexican food restaurant on the corner with a huge patio. I hear that a lot from people,” Hayes said.
Covered Treasures, at 105 Second St., has survived as an independent bookstore when many others in its niche have gone out of business.
Tommie Plank and a partner opened Covered Treasures in 1993.
“We’ve been through some hardships like any business has,” she said. Over the years, the store has seen a nighttime robbery and a flood caused by a burst pipe that destroyed the main room and all of its inventory.
The flood turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise, as it spurred renovations that expanded the store.
“And of course, we’ve been through COVID with everybody else,” she said. “But through all of these hardships, our community has grown to support the bookstore more and more.”
Plank has heard from many of her patrons that they redeveloped their reading habits during the pandemic. The store also carries games, puzzles and greeting cards, which have been popular items during the past 18 months.
Last year, the store enjoyed a 30 percent increase in sales over 2019, Plank said, and is on track this year to increase “by a considerable amount.”
“It’s partly because people are staying home,” she said, but also because the store has a large and loyal customer base.
“It’s important to know your clientele, especially when it comes to their reading preferences,” she said. “Our clientele is a little bit more conservative than some of the independent bookstores across the country, in larger cities especially. We’re very sensitive to that.”
The store closed to in-person shopping in March and early April last year, but Plank and her employees offered curbside pickup and home deliveries for Monument’s dedicated readers. The shop still offers those services.
The bookstore also joined Bookpage, an online book-selling program that supports independent stores.
“We get some of the proceeds for our sales, and it’s been very good for us,” Plank said.
One of her two employees spends about an hour a week updating the store’s Bookpage listings.
Plank said the changes she’s witnessed in downtown Monument “reflect the growth we’re seeing in our community. We have a lot of younger people, some with families, moving into the area. So the demographics have changed a little bit over the years.”
She looks forward to the new project in town and thinks it will be helpful to her store and downtown as a whole.
“A walkable downtown is really important,” she said. “That is exactly what small downtowns like ours thrive on. It’s a perfect addition to our town.”


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Steam's updated privacy settings, which now hide a user's library by default, was a blow to Steam Spy and every developer who uses its data.
Steam Spy's Shut Down Hurts Developers
As expected, these game developers did not take the updated privacy policies too kindly. Steam Spy relied on the gamers' profiles to provide statistics and estimate game sales. Having the information hidden from public view, it can no longer operate.
This means that developers would no longer have access to valuable data that they use to assess market demand and estimate the success of similar titles. Chris Wilson, Path of Exile lead designer, said that they will be forced to rely on data from a more expensive market research. This will hurt indie developers more, as noted by Sergey Galyonkin, creator of Steam Spy. Other people even noted that this move might make some developers quit altogether.
Game designer Andrew Crenshaw also noted that Steam Spy encouraged transparency in sales figures. Ragnar Tørnquist, director of Dreamfall, shared the same sentiment, adding that this would have been great for the industry.
Other Developers Say Steam Made The Right Call
However, there are some who see the benefits of Steam's move. The developer Sean Barrett agreed to the move, saying it was the right decision even if it took down Steam Spy, a service that he also liked.
Furthermore, others noted that Steam Spy might be doing more harm than good. It is not exactly a reliable source of accurate data due to its methods, and it was often branded as "unreliable."
While the data from Steam Spy was helpful to those who know how to crunch their numbers, it was misleading to those who took it at face value.
"Unfortunately, the vast majority of Steam Spy armchair statisticians I've witnessed completely misinterpret every little bit of data on there," said Mike Rose, founder of video game publisher No More Robots.
There were even cases of using the data to harass developers. A victim was Scott Benson, developer of Night in the Woods, saying that Steam Spy's data about his game was not even accurate.
Why Did Steam Update Its Privacy Settings?
The timing of the update curiously lined up with Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook privacy scandal and new EU privacy laws rolling out in May. According to Valve, though, the move was a response to users demanding more privacy. Some also doubt that this was for the betterment of the users but for Steam's bottom line.


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CTIA 2010: Vlingo Takes On Oprah
Oprah takes the abstinence-only approach and has so far gotten 401,508 to sign her No Phone Zone Pledge, promising not to use the phone at in the car. But, Vlingo's recent study shows that the majority of those people may be lying to the world's most powerful woman.
Vlingo's survey of 5,000 Americans reports that 35 percent of phone users continue to text behind the wheel even with 30 states banning it by law. That's up from 26 percent in 2009, and the percent climbs to 62 percent in the 20-to-29-year-old category.
To buck this trend, Vlingo InCar is entirely voice-controlled. It's powered on by a "wake-up word" and responds to voice prompts for texting, calling, navigating through Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Maps integration, and even social networking. Vlingo president and CEO Dave Grannan showed off the sleek-looking app and demo at CTIA. Check out the in-car version below.
The wireless operators typically take a third parental approach to texting-while-driving -- the not-saying-much-of-anything tactic. That's because the laws are different in every state and are often ambiguous, Grannan said, causing the carriers to tread lightly. He said that the Vlingo InCar app will be available to other carriers and connected devices soon.
— Sarah Reedy, Senior Reporter, Light Reading Mobile


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Telstra quietly switched on its internet of things network last month, which the telco claimed was already larger than its 4G network.
The network was upgraded with long-time partner Ericsson to enable CAT-M1 devices, a technology that allows low-power, wide-area technology to connect to licensed spectrum.
CAT-M1 devices can run on a single battery for years and are suitable for mobility, voice support and moderate bitrates in the order of hundreds of Kbps, such as vehicle telematics, asset tracking, consumer and healthcare wearables and smart electricity metering.
Telstra’s IoT network covers three million square kilometres across Australia and 99 percent of the population.
Brendon Riley, Telstra group executive of global enterprise and services, said the telco’s IoT network may possibly be the largest in the world.
“We’re already strong today, particularly in logistics. Today, if we look at everything we’ve got connected across logistics and meters, there are about 2.1 million devices that are connected to the IoT network,” he said, during the opening keynote of Telstra Vantage in Melbourne.
He said Telstra would "progressively bring out more platforms and more capabilities to light this up" in the coming weeks and months.
The network is being used by customers for location services, vehicles and logistics and is popular in industries such as agriculture and mining operations, he added.
The telco’s new security operations centre, which was opened last month, will monitor the IoT network.
Voice over LTE
Telstra managing director networks Mike Wright used Vantage to announce that the telco ran its first voice over LTE (VoLTE) call over the IoT network in a partnership with Qualcomm and Ericson.
“When standard voice calls are made on a VoLTE-enabled handset, VoLTE works by integrating the call into the 4G data stream.
"When it comes to IoT, adding VoLTE to CAT M1 devices means those devices will have the ability to make voice calls to other devices, applications and use cases which could benefit from voice,” Wright wrote in a blog post after the announcement.
“This will pave the way for new types of devices, applications and services for both consumers and enterprise.”
Wright used Telstra’s recent eSIM technology as an example, which allows wearables such as the soon-to-be launched Apple Watch to operate over Telstra’s 4G network.
The journalist travelled to Telstra Vantage as a guest of Telstra.


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TOKYO — Kate Spade Saturday opened its first freestanding store this weekend, appropriately enough on its namesake day.
Kate Spade’s new accessibly priced lifestyle brand makes its debut in a prime spot on Tokyo’s trendy Cat Street in the Omotesando district, just across a narrow path from Ralph Lauren’s massive flagship and a heavily trafficked Marc by Marc Jacobs store.
Steve Aoki held a presentation, a runway show and outdoor concert for his men's line Dim Mak. Here's a look from his spring 2018 collection, which was titled "Paradise Found." #wwdfashion #wwdmens (📷: George Chinsee)
"It's really hard sometimes. I think I have a reputation for being really tough and aggressive and pushy but I really am a very shy person who wants to be liked, and that's the conflict constantly. There's something that takes hold - I want people to like me, I don't want to be mean - but if I see something that just cries out to be answered, I go for it," says renowned NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell. (📷: @axeldupeux)


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Biz Buzz: Beer and business collaboration
On a brewery theme, Jack Pine Brewery — which has a tap house in Baxter — is partnering with The Classic Grill’s opening at Madden’s resort.
This Saturday, April 5, Jack Pine Brewery beers will accompany a five-course menu at The Classic Grill.
The shake-up at Wausau Paper continues as a new CEO is installed who is in favor with investors.
This week, Wausau announced a change at CEO with the resignation of President and CEO Henry “Hank” Newell.
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The two automakers – General Motors and Honda will work together to create two new electric vehicles that will go on sale in 2024, the latest step in their ongoing relationship.
The automakers will concentrate on their individual fields of competence under the strategy. The electric-powered vehicles’ exteriors and interiors will be created by Honda, and GM will provide its Ultium batteries and new electric vehicle architecture. 19 various battery and drive-unit configurations are possible with this complete redesign, which GM introduced last month to highlight its EV intentions. Large-format pouch battery cells made as a result of a joint venture between LG Chem and GM are included in the design.
The automobiles will have GM’s OnStar security and protection equipment and will bear the Honda nameplate. Additionally offered in the new cars is GM’s hands-free Super Cruise sophisticated driver assistance system.
The cars will be manufactured at GM facilities in North America. The 2024 model year is when Honda’s U.S. and Canadian markets are anticipated to start selling cars.
As per Rick Schostek, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., the goal is to leverage the capabilities of both businesses to open upscale advantages for electric vehicles. He also stated that the two organizations are already in talks about further extending their relationship.
To create hydrogen fuel cell technology, GM and Honda formed a strategic alliance in July 2013. This collaboration has resulted in the issuance of almost 1,200 patents. To manufacture hydrogen fuel cell systems, the automakers established a joint venture in 2017 named Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC. According to GM, production should start this year when FCSM installs the production machinery for their first high-volume fuel cell production plant in Brownstown, Michigan.
Honda made a $2.75 billion commitment as a result of a confidential deal with GM and its self-driving technology business Cruise to create and produce a new category of an autonomous vehicle when GM purchased Cruise in 2016. On January 21, the company unveiled Cruise Origin, its first EV, a self-driving, shareable automobile.


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Zinpro® Announces Fortify the Future™ Sustainability Commitment in Conjunction with 2023 Report Release
Results showcase company’s commitment to people, communities and animal wellbeing
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – March 26, 2024 – Zinpro Corporation, the world’s leading innovator and manufacturer of high-performance organic trace minerals and animal nutrition solutions, announced today its Fortify the Future sustainability commitment and the release of the company’s 2023 Sustainability Report.
“At Zinpro we believe that livestock, poultry and aquaculture can be a part of the climate change solution, aiding in carbon reduction while providing healthy, wholesome protein for a growing global population,” said Dr. Terry Ward, Zinpro global director of sustainability and strategy. “Fortify the Future is our ongoing commitment to sustainability in all we do, fortifying not only animals, but families, communities and the earth, now and for future generations.”
Sustainability Report Highlights: Reduced Environmental Impact, Improved Economic Outcomes and Enhanced Animal Wellbeing
The Zinpro 2023 Sustainability report shares the four pillars that represent the company’s foundation for sustainability – environmental, economic, technical and social – with safety at the core of all activities.
Highlights of the report include the following:
- Recent research showed a reduction in environmental impact through less phosphorus excretion in broiler chickens that were fed a diet including Zinpro® Availa® Zn.
- Zinpro tools and solutions led to positive economic outcomes for customers in the dairy, beef, swine, broiler and shrimp industries.
- Nutritional technologies that enhance animal wellbeing and performance led to improved outcomes such as decreases in liver abscesses and death from bovine respiratory disease in feedlot cattle.
- As part of its commitment to people and strengthening communities, Zinpro funds Anderson Foundation, whose goal is to educate, inspire and create opportunities for women and girls worldwide, including those who are part of the global agricultural labor force.
Demonstrating Sustainability Through Innovation and Expansion
“Our sustainability accomplishments reach beyond our four pillars”, said Dr. Ward. “We pride ourselves on innovation, and our unique product, Zinpro® IsoFerm®, continues to contribute to sustainability efforts through improved fiber digestion resulting in better feed efficiency for the dairy cow.”
“Another key highlight for 2023 was the opening of our new plant in Brazil, demonstrating more efficient and effective product delivery by decreasing the need for cross-continental shipping and transport,” concluded Dr. Ward.
To learn more about Fortify the Future, the Zinpro commitment to sustainability, and to download the full report, visit Zinpro.com/sustainability.
March 26, 2024


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Taking every business training opportunity she could find, 25-year-old Mariam Kobalia has developed a thriving business in Georgia running a flower shop and growing roses in her own greenhouses.
Source of original article: News from the International Labour Organization (www.ilo.org).
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Meanwhile, Tesla administration has requested workers to limit their journey and work remotely each time doable, as one of some methods to keep away from losing costs.
In a modern e-mail that Musk despatched to Tesla workers the CEO warned of more belt-tightening to return again. He wrote:
“In the coming weeks, we will be evaluating all areas of our sales and marketing organization to understand where there are operational efficiencies, and how best to support the transition to online sales, while also continuing to deliver a truly awesome and educational Tesla buying experience.”
In Fremont, small objects like rivets and fasteners have been in restricted present currently, when there was a surplus on-site, one employee talked about.
At the Gigafactory, administration has despatched hourly workers residence mid-shift or requested them to take personal time off or volunteer for unpaid time off in newest weeks, leaving some with a lot much less earnings than they consider to earn. These people talked about that some Gigafactory shifts have been cancelled attributable to snow-related closures on Donner Pass, a freeway Tesla depends upon for fixed circulation of supplies to and from the Gigafactory.
Gigafactory workers moreover talked about that whereas the company’s semi-automated battery manufacturing traces have improved by leaps and bounds to date yr, Tesla stays to be not always making 7,000 automotive batteries each week there. Workers talked about they’re striving to hit an 8,000 per week goal, which must allow Tesla to make 416,000 automobiles in a yr.
Tesla gave steering in its fourth-quarter earnings exchange that it was aiming to ship 360,000 to 400,000 vehicles in 2019, about 45 p.c to 65 p.c more than its deliveries last yr. More currently, Musk reiterated in a set of controversial tweets that Tesla must hit an “annualized production rate” of spherical 10,000 automobiles per week by the tip of 2019, and nonetheless anticipated to ship about 400,000 automobiles this yr.
In 2016, Musk talked about: “What really matters is the machine that builds the machine — the factory. And that is at least two orders of magnitude harder than the vehicle itself.”
That stage of operational excellence stays a work-in-progress at Tesla.


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Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global founder Yuri Milner have backed a $50 million Series B round for Indian B2B e-commerce start-up Udaan. It follows a $10 million Series A led by Lightspeed in 2016.
Capillary Technologies, an Indian cloud-based software provider that focuses on customer relationship management (CRM), has raised $20 million from existing investors including Warburg Pincus and Sequoia Capital.
Indian education technology start-up IMAX Program has received a $13.5 million funding round from a group of venture investors including the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF).
Mahindra & Mahindra will invest up to INR1.76 billion ($27 million) in Zoomcar as part of a $40 million round for the Indian car-rental start-up. The rest of the capital comes from existing backers.
Indostar Capital Finance (ICF), an Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) backed by Everstone Capital and other PE investors, has filed for an IPO.
Fullerton Financial Holdings has led an $87 million Series C round for Indian financial technology platform Lendingkart.
Omnivore Partners has reached a first close of $46 million on its second fund targeting agriculture investments in India.
Sistema Asia Fund, a VC unit of Russian conglomerate Sistema, has led a $12 million Series B funding round for Indian fitness lifestyle app operator HealthifyMe.
Indian GP Faering Capital is seeking $200 million for its third growth capital fund, with a hard cap of $250 million.
B Capital Group, a venture capital firm established by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, has raised $360 million for a fund focused on start-ups that are ready to scale globally.
Indian online food-ordering and delivery platform Swiggy has raised a $100 million Series F round led by South African internet giant Naspers Group, with participation by China-based online-to-offline (O2O) local services provider Meituan-Dianping.
Mintoo Bhandari (pictured), the head of India for Apollo Global Management, is planning to scale back his involvement at the firm to focus on social impact investing.
French IT services company Capgemini has acquired US-based customer engagement firm LiquidHub, providing an exit for Indian private equity firm ChrysCapital.
India-based food processing company Capricorn Food Products has filed for an IPO that will provide a partial exit for private equity backer Quadria Capital.
Warburg Pincus has called off a planned $360 million investment in Tata Technologies, the engineering outsourcing and product development IT services arm of Indian conglomerate Tata Group.
Indian mobile game platform Nazara Technologies has filed for an IPO that will provide an exit to its private equity backer WestBridge Capital Partners.
India’s latest Union Budget promises strong support for domestic entrepreneurs and venture capital investors, but provides few specific measures to benefit the private equity industry.
Chinese online retailer Alibaba Group has led a $300 million funding round for Indian online grocer Bigbasket.
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has sold its stake in Sterlite Power, the power grid subsidiary of Sterlite Technologies, an India-listed transmission solutions provider for the telecom and power industries, via a buyback.
Accel Partners has invested $50 million in BrowserStack, an Indian IT company that supplies enterprise clients with internet and mobile software testing infrastructure.
LeapFrog Investments backs NeoGrowth Credit to provide financial backing for digital payments among Indian retailers
Despite favorable regulatory moves in recent years, Indian financial institutions remain reluctant to invest in private equity. Investors see room for optimism, but they know they are in for a long wait
Unilever Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Unilever, has committed $3 million in pre-Series A funding to Indian grocery delivery start-up Milkbasket.
PremjiInvest, the family office of Wipro Group chairman Azim Premji, has led a INR3.1 billion ($48 million) funding round for Indian mortgage lender Shubham Housing Development Finance, providing an exit for Accion International and Saama Capital.


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As consumers become understandably frustrated at the direction of the home 3D market, three companies are working to set new standards.
Mercedes-Benz is ready to bring in-car information and entertainment systems to the next dimension.
Jeffrey Katzenberg isn't excited about the state of 3D movies today.
The zany, spherical avians who first gained popularity on the iPhone are about to bring their anger to a whole new dimension.
Despite a lot of competitors entering the space over the last couple years, the one who pioneered it is still the leader.
In a bid to attract more consumers to its 3D graphics offerings, Nvidia has introduced a cheaper set of 3D glasses.
What is perhaps the most technologically sophisticated 3D TV is now a fait de compli in Japan.
You'll soon be able to watch 3D movies from 30,000 feet in the air.
A very old American war is about to get a very modern technological makeover.
James Cameron's Avatar was a highlight for the 3D film industry, but it was missing something...
George Lucas is very bullish on the market for 3D movies.
A new standard for stereoscopic 3D glasses has been proposed.
Sprint has struck gold with its 'Evo' brand of 4G smartphones, and it looks like it's about to throw glasses-free 3D technology into the mix.
The market for "glasses-free 3D" technology is still very nascent and hasn't achieved broad market appeal or scaled manufacturing costs, but Samsung is trying to innovate nonetheless.
Despite a slower than expected race to adopt 3D TV in the home, content providers are still pushing to get as much 3D material out there as possible, and that move just took a big step forward with Comcast's own 24/7 3D channel.
There has been a lot of doom and gloom in the media when it comes to the future of home entertainment 3D products, but it looks like that's not stopping the industry from pushing forward.
Sony, one of the strongest supporters of the new 3D movement, is set to be backing one of the most ambitious new TV channels and is ready to go live with it in just a few days, according to a new rumor.
The man whose 3D movie made more money than any movie in history will be the inaugural recipient of the International 3D Society's Harold Lloyd Award, honoring excellence in the art of 3D filmmaking.
If you walk into a theater, chances are the vast majority of its screening rooms do not have the capability to air a 3D movie, but if that theater happens to be owned by Regal Entertainment Group, that may soon change.
Ask someone in America if they have a 3D Blu-ray player and they'll probably either say they can't afford one, don't have a 3D TV, or - the most likely - they have no idea what you're talking about. But ask the same question in Japan, and your response is likely to be very different.


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Plans for Paramount at Pearson Airport
Choosing between a window or aisle seat won’t be your only dilemma next time you fly as plans for Paramount at Pearson Airport are set.
They don’t kid around. President and CEO Mohammed Fakih has stormed Southern Ontario with the expansion of Paramount Fine Foods which most recently opened a second Mississauga location making this their sixth restaurant in total to date — with no signs of slowing down.
Fakih is now apart of a much larger culinary expansion set to start this Summer 2014 with global restaurateur HMSHost and Greater Toronto Airports Authority who operate Pearson Airport. Together, they present Paramount, featuring the freshest Ontario barbeque grilled halal meats, and favourites such as shawarma, freshly baked pita bread, hummus, sandwiches and pizza, among additional Middle Eastern dishes.
While Paramount is the only halal option currently confirmed within the larger project, they will be featured at two locations within the airport. One in Terminal 1 before security screening gates and the second in Terminal 3 after passengers clear security and make their way to their departure gate.
Aside from offering more ethnic alternatives to airport dining, they’re also bringing in a plethora of celebrity chef inspired restaurants to the full mix. Names such as Lynn Crawford, Susur Lee and Roger Mooking, among additional award-winning chefs, will transform Toronto Pearson’s Terminals 1 and 3 into a foodie hot spot, with the opening of more than a dozen new dining locations.
Adding halal options to an airport that is situated in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world is not only smart it will give travelers even more culinary experiences that reflect the exciting, diverse dining the city has to offer.
“Together with our long-time partner HMSHost, we will deliver an exciting range of restaurants featuring ethnic cuisine, comfort food and halal options that are sure to delight our passengers. With completion of this project in 2015, Toronto Pearson will have an extensive collection of dining experiences with the greatest number of chef-inspired restaurants of any airport worldwide.” said Janine Gervais, Associate Director Retail and Food Programs with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.


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Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today addressed Ministerial Session at the CII Partnership Summit 2020 whose theme is ‘PARTNERSHIPS FOR LIVES, LIVELIHOOD AND GROWTH’. H.E. Lyonpo Loknath Sharma, Minister of Economic Affairs, Bhutan, H.E. Uz. Fayyaz Ismail, Minister of Economic Development, Maldives, H E Andres Allamand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chile, H.E. Dmytro Senik, Deputy Foreign Minister, ,H.E.Caio Mario Paes de Andrade, Special Secretary (Vice Minister) for Debureaucratization, Management and Digital Governance, Ministry of Economy, Brazil took part in the session.
Shri Goyal said that coming together of friendly nations will help all of them to explore new opportunities, support each other, build upon the friendship and bring benefit for the well-being of their citizens. Mentioning about the close and deep-rooted relations with the participating nations, Shri Goyal said that India is looking forward to further expand and deepen its ties with them. Narrating about India’s support to the world during the pandemic, he said that India has always risen to the occasion in helping other nations. India provided free medicines to about 50 countries through grants, and supplied medicines to over 150 countries. Shri Goyal said that during the initial days of Covid-19, India had put restrictions on the export of medicines so that purchase of Indian medicines is not monopolized by rich nations, and these are available to less developed countries as well.
Talking about Aatamnirbhar Bharat, Shri Goyal said that self-reliant India will not be closing its doors to the partner countries, but there will be greater engagement with the world from the position of strength. He said that let us offer the best to each other, so that there can be prosperity for everyone.
Shri Goyal said that India is making efforts to deregulate its economy for greater investments from other parts of the world. “We have opened up defence, manufacturing, mining, finance, capital market sector. We have further liberalized agricultural laws to encourage greater investment in agri processing, investments in rural India, opening up market to increase incomes for our farmers.Overall we are looking at making doing business in India simpler, easier and more attractive.”, he added.
Shri Goyal said that India provides huge opportunity for investments, and procurement of goods and services. India is looking forward for working with friends and neighbours, and having a global footprint. He said that India is working to turn the Covid crisis into an opportunity, and is confident of reaching the target of $5 Tn economy by 2025, and $10 tn in another 7-10 years.


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WaiveCar debuted earlier this year in Southern California with ad-wrapped Chevrolet Spark EVs.
- Joel Stocksdale
- Oct 13, 2016
We've compiled a list of ten cars that could easily be made into factory hot rods with just a little effort from the automaker.
- Biggest automotive sales disappointments
- Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States
- Find and compare 2017 Models


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There’s a lot of talk on Wall Street right now about a new “bubble” in tech stocks.
But this euphoria has hardly spread to the rest of the sector. The Nasdaq is no higher than it was at the beginning of the year. And while many tech stocks are soaring, there’s no mania like the one that took place in late 1999 and early 2000. Solid fundamentals underpin the current tech rally.
That wasn’t the case in the last real tech bubble – one we called “the greatest investment mania of our lifetimes and perhaps of all time.”
Eleven years ago, the Nasdaq hit an all-time high of 5,048. Valuations hit nosebleed levels. Many tech stocks sold for more than 100 times earnings. Others didn’t even have a multiple. After all, you can’t calculate a P/E if you don’t have an E (earnings).
Things are different today. For starters, the Nasdaq, more than a decade on, trades at less than 60% of its March 2000 high.
Sales and earnings are solid and rising. Valuations are reasonable. And the outlook for tech companies remains solid…
Tech Sector Skeptics Are Ignoring These Bullish Forces
Here are just a few key indicators:
- Profit margins at U.S. technology companies are near record highs.
- Chipmakers – who saw sales rise 28% in 2010 – are seeing stronger demand for consumer items and businesses are finally making purchases that were delayed in the recession.
- Respected research firm, Gartner, reports that sales of server systems are climbing, a sign that large technology firms are spending again on big tech projects. (Sales of server systems generally precede spending on other technology products, such as storage systems and software.)
- There’s plenty of fuel for merger and acquisition activity. U.S. corporations are currently sitting on nearly $2 trillion in cash.
- The Fed’s Beige Book reports that manufacturers of high-tech products are operating near maximum capacity of late.
- Due in part to record demand in Asia and Latin America, the market for mobile devices such as handsets and media players is expected to top $2 billion this year.
- International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that worldwide IT spending will top $1.5 trillion in 2011, with spending on PCs, servers, and storage and networking gear expected to soar.
- Global capital spending on wireless infrastructure will rise dramatically as carriers in the developed world start deploying next-generation 4G networks.
- The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) reports that broadband stimulus funds will contribute to double-digit growth in backbone infrastructure spending this year and next.
Do NOT Deposit Another Dollar in Your Bank Account Until You Read THIS
A CIA insider has launched an urgent mission to expose the government’s secret money lockdown plan…
Once you see what could happen next time you go to an ATM, you’ll understand why he’s sending a FREE copy of his new book to any American who answers right here.
Investing in Technology: A Smart Business Move
With the economic recovery weak and consumer spending soft, most businesses aren’t willing to hire in a big way right now or commit funds to major building projects. But they’re eager to cut costs in order to maintain or increase corporate profits.
That makes investing in technology a smart business move. And that, in turn, indicates that business for many tech firms will keep rising in the months ahead.
Right now we’re sitting on more than a dozen double- and triple-digit gains on the tech stocks in our paid advisory portfolios.
Outside of social networks, we see no tech bubble. Quite the opposite, in fact. Leading technology firms should see rising sales, earnings and share price appreciation in the months ahead. In our view, the best is yet to come.


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Till now, TDMore has released the giveawayofthedayfor TDMore DVD Converter, I believe that many users have benefited from it.
And the large promotion on tdmore website has lasted for several days, which will save up to 30% on TDMore products, and it will Valid to: October 20, 2014. You cannot miss it.
Please stay tuned for the following TDMore event.:flower::flower:


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Disney+ is launching in 42 additional countries and 11 territories in Europe, the Middle East and Africa this summer. Notable new countries include South Africa, Turkey, Poland and the United Arab Emi
The EU has cleared Meta/Facebook’s acquisition of CRM maker, Kustomer — accepting a set of commitments from the tech giant to allay competition concerns linked to the fact it also owns a s
bloss is a U.K. startup that connects would-be or existing parents to pre-vetted parenting experts. It has now raised £1million in a pre-seed round led by Antler, the early-stage VC, and is also back
The son of Iranian immigrants, Arman Hezarkhani spent his senior year of high school brainstorming a three-part thesis on what he wanted to dedicate his career to. First, he said that education is the
A startup with the easy-to-remember name of The.com aims to modernize website building while also ensuring that web creators get credit for their work. The company, which is today emerging from stealt
Companies led by Black women were abundant in our pipeline. The failure to invest was the only failure to be found.
The IPO market is flatlining at an awkward moment. While private markets remain heavily risk-on, a key avenue for startup exits – and investor liquidity – is seemingly shut. What’s next for IPOs
When Finmark founder Rami Essaid built a previous startup, he saw firsthand how hard it is to build accurate financial models. When he sold that startup, Distil Networks, to Imperva 2019, he decided t
Nissan teased one of the first cars based on one those platforms, an all-electric compact that will be sold in Europe to replace the automaker's popular Micra.
We are continuing to see fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the tech industry, with one of the latest developments coming out from France. Sigfox — a high-profile IoT startup t
QuizUp founder Thor Fridriksson is at it again. The Icelandic serial entrepreneur is two-for-two in creating viral mobile games, but has thus far struck out in turning those into viable businesses. To
If you keep up with financial technology, you likely know that the fintech community is a tight-knit, large (yet small) group of enthusiasts that includes all sorts of people — from founders, to
The Vets, a tech-enabled pet healthcare platform that provides at-home care, has raised $40 million in seed funding led by Target Global, PICO Venture Partners and Bolt Ventures. Founded last year as
South Korean internet conglomerate Naver Group continues to ride the hottest internet trends targeting young users. It has been the name behind messaging giant Line and popular selfie app Snow. And no
Bug bounty and penetration testing startup HackerOne has raised a $49 million Series E following a year of massive cloud adoption fueled by work-from-home orders. The company — which mediates betwee
Last year we covered how early blockchain startup Propy planned to use the technology to smooth real-world real estate sales by introducing the concept of smart contracts. It went on to actually sell
More than 100 million Americans spend an average of $1,100 (over $1.4 trillion per year) on their largest monthly household spend: rent. But reports say 90% of these people don’t get credit for pay
Offering monthly flexible payments at the point of sale has resulted in customers seeing an increase in policy purchase conversion, in some cases at double the rate.
Censys, a search engine for Internet of Things devices and internet assets, has secured $35 million in Series B funding and a new CEO. The internet security startup, based in Michigan tech hub Ann Arb