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Inflation, rising fuel costs, a Russia-Ukraine conflict, and persistent supply chain problems are all causing Americans to assess how they might tighten their belts. And many appear to be cutting down on grocery bills by dropping certain food staples like meat.
Indeed, according to Morning Consult, the surge in meat prices are front of mind for American grocery shoppers, with over half of survey respondents suggesting alarm over the cost of meat. Furthermore, cutting down on meat is cited as the most popular diet trend among those surveyed, lending some credence to a much-ridiculed Bloomberg opinion piece suggesting people with lower incomes substitute lentils for meat.
"Meat, one of the most expensive categories in the supermarket, tops the list of cost concerns," Emily Moquin, Morning Consult's food & beverage analyst told Real Money. "Comparing prices and switching from name brands to generic or store brands top the list, and at least one-third of shoppers say they 'often' take such measures to save money."
Yet, actual results from major meat and poultry producers like Brazil's JBS SA (JBSAY), Tyson Foods (TSN) , Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) , and Sanderson Farms (SAFM) are bucking these headwinds. In fact, global meat and poultry producers are proving to be incredibly resilient.
Proof Is in the Print
The resilience of these producers was most recently brought to the forefront in JBS SA's earnings release earlier this week. The world's largest meat processing company reported record net revenue in the past year, marking a year-over-year increase of nearly 30%.
More importantly, the company recorded strong growth in margins across its business, while forecasting the room for continued strength into the year.
"The strong demand for pork boosted the prices and was important to sustain margin growth in the quarterly comparison and to keep margin stables in the annual comparison even in the face of a much more challenging cost scenario, especially labor costs, packaging, and transport," JBS CFO Guilherme Perboyre Cavalcanti told analysts on Monday.
He added that despite labor shortages, the company was able to overcome.
Labor shortages stretch far beyond Brazil, as well, with the United States still grappling with its own issues. On this front, Tyson's endeavors to mitigate costs have also shown great promise and provided for growing optimism on the firm's long-term promise.
At the turn of the year, the firm announced an ambitious $1.3 billion investment plan to automate much of its production line in coming years.
"We've started to see profitability improvement resulting from our actions. For example, we're investing aggressively in automation and technology to help us address some of the most hard-to-fill roles," Tyson CEO Donnie King told analysts in an earnings call last month. "This is not a series of projects, but is a well-planned program with automation designed to use common designs and equipment across our plants to optimize cost, maintenance, and asset utilization."
Overall, this evident profitability improvement shows an ability for many of these firms to mitigate supply chain and labor problems while passing increased costs from inflation and raw material costs to consumers.
Still, there is a lingering concern about the consumer trends that show more Americans are moving toward vegetarianism and cost-cutting around meat-centered meal planning. How sustainable will demand prove?
The issue is that these consumer trends are largely confined to the U.S. and Europe, while other parts of the globe pick up the slack. According to the OECD Agricultural Outlook, meat consumption is projected to grow by 30% in Africa, 18% in Asia, and 1% in Latin America by 2030.
"International meat trade will expand in response to growing demand from countries in Asia and the Near East, where production will remain largely insufficient to meet demand," the report states. "Import demand in several middle and high-income Asian countries has been steadily increasing in recent years due to a shift toward diets that include higher quantities of animal products."
Given this insufficient production, which has been hampered even further by disease outbreaks among livestock and Covid lockdowns, international meat producers like JBS, Pilgrim's Pride, Tyson, and more will likely need to fill the void. Indeed, China recently ascended to become the third most popular destination for U.S. beef exports and is likely to only ascend further.
"Global consumers are increasingly preferring U.S.-produced beef, and we're seeing stronger global demand as a result of that," Shane Miller, Group President of Tyson-subsidiary Fresh Meat told analysts in a recent earnings presentation. "We continue to see very good interest coming out of Asia, especially for our high-quality yield and beef."
He cited China as a primary destination for Tyson products and the beef industry more generally. It is worth noting the nation is already the most popular destination for pork and has increased by double digits in recent years. Per the USDA, China's demand for pork exports exceeded its closest peer by nearly $1 billion.
While geopolitical wrangling and trade tamps could most definitely harm this growth trajectory in Asia, the trends outside of the climate-focused continents of the U.S. and Europe appear encouraging. As such, investors seeking to mitigate inflationary pressures in purchasing groceries might consider adding some meat producers and packagers to their shopping list.


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Fishman Flooring Solutions, one of the largest distributors of flooring installation supplies in the U.S., has announced that it has purchased all outstanding shares of the company’s stock, giving its employees 100 percent ownership of the business. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The management structure of the company will not be affected by the share purchase, according to the company. President Bob Wagner and the other members of the Fishman management team will continue in their current roles.
The outstanding shares were purchased from Nelson Fishman and Ray Colombo, who led the company for a combined 90 years. Fishman and Colombo first sold shares of their stock to employees in 2003, when they established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
“Nelson Fishman and Ray Colombo were tremendous stewards of our business and true partners in every sense,” Wagner said. “We’re grateful for their vision and leadership that fueled the growth of our company. They have left a legacy of continuous improvement in every aspect of our business that will remain the key to our success.”
The stock purchase will benefit three key stakeholders in the company: customers, vendor partners, and the employee shareholders, Wagner said. Customers will benefit from an even higher level of customer service and satisfaction because the employees have a greater vested interest in the firm’s success, he added.
Fishman Flooring Solutions, headquartered in Baltimore, has approximately 150 employees and 25 branches serving Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The firm distributes more than 36,000 products for 75 vendor partners.
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Can’t wait to try the official VA Pridefest beer? Check out the RVA locations carrying ‘Saison of Love’
The 2015 Virginia Pridefest, hosted by Virginia Pride, kicks off this weekend at Brown’s Island and that means tons of festivities, events, and parties to celebrate how far the LGBTQ community has come. Nelllysford brewey Wild Wolf Brewing is this year’s official beer sponsor and they’ve collaborated with VA Pride to create a special beer in honor of the event.
The beer, entitled “Saison of Love” made its debut last month and will be available for thirsty beer folks at Pridefest. But if you’re like the rest of us and can’t wait until then here’s a list of the places you go and try it out before the big event:
Mary Wolf, co-owner of Wild Wolf Brewing Company said the brewery was beyond excited to partner with Virginia Pride to brew the beer.
“Its fun, its a great organization, and we support what they’re doing, we think it’s great they’re having a festival,” she said.
The two announced the collaboration back in Feburary and the community got to choose between four beers for the official beer for Pridefest. Voting took place March 1-15 on the Virginia Pride website and the Saison of Love beer made its debut at Babe’s of Carytown last month.
“Its got a variety of rally interesting spices in it,” Wolf said of the new beer. “The herbs really come through on the finish, its really nice.”
Saison of Love is 5.5 percent and some of the staff here at RVA Mag had a chance to try some of it recently at Joe’s Inn.
I thought it was very citrusy, definitely could taste the lemon and pepper flavors throuhout. It had a bit of a bite to it.
Editor-in-Chief of GAYRVA.com Brad Kutner also enjoyed the new Pride brew.
“Light and refreshing with tasty hints of lemon,” said Kutner. “I could for sure see myself enjoying this beer while standing on Brown’s Island enjoying the company of the rest of those in attendance at Virginia Pride.”
Go get yourself a taste of Saison of LOve and check out our official Virginia Pride Guide where you can find exclusive interviews and get the lowdown on all the events and festivities of Pridefest here. The 2015 Virginia Pridfest will be held this Saturday, September 12 on Brown’s Island.
Calling all thirsty craft beer drinkers, next week you will have the chance to raise a glass for a good cause. Strangeways Brewing is hosting its monthly Cheers 4 Charity event, and this time, proceeds will benefit Diversity Richmond. The brewery will donate 10 percent of all sales to the local non-profit organization, which provides programs and [...]January 17, 2017
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Interest in ‘green’ cars of all types is growing. Automakers recognize this and now offer an increasing number of models that speak to greater efficiency, lower tailpipe and carbon emissions, and electrification. The Green Car Awards celebrate these laudable efforts.
The auto industry is in transition. This is evidenced by the high-profile move toward electrification by nearly all international automakers, motivated by increasingly tighter government regulation, concern about market share, and the need to craft long-term carbon mitigation strategies.
I’ve logged more than 100,000 miles driving a diverse array of electric cars since Green Car Journal’s launch in 1992, during the very early days of the modern electric vehicle. Here are five things you should know about driving electric.
Hundreds of thousands of fans have been waiting excitedly for Tesla’s Model 3, touted by the automaker as the ‘affordable’ EV for the masses. But is it? The backstory is a bit more complicated with plenty of food for thought.
I drive an electric vehicle every day as part of my job testing cars. It’s not a new thing. In fact, this has been part of the drill here at Green Car Journal since the publication’s launch in 1992…way ahead
Charging your electric vehicle used to be an easy thing, at least in many areas where electrification has long been promoted. Public chargers were installed in high-profile areas like shopping centers, parking garages, and at the workplace. For the longest
Will electrified vehicles dominate our highways in the future? It’s a question on the minds of many these days as an increasing number of battery electric and plug-in hybrid models come to new car showrooms. The answer is not an
Like most kids growing up in the 1960s, my first experience with an electric race car was at a slot car track as a teenager. They were fast…really fast if you used a hopped-up rewind motor capable of smoking competitors
When it comes to chips, automakers are all-in. That is, the silicon variety and not those with which you can gamble away a fortune, something auto companies are loathe to do. Traditionally, the risks auto manufacturers undertake are carefully calculated
There are many outspoken and polarizing proponents of the various fuels and technologies at play today. This has been the case for several decades now and isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. Many electric car enthusiasts do not see a future
I was changed by the 1990 introduction of the GM Impact electric car prototype at the Los Angeles Auto Show, then again by the amazing array of electric, hydrogen, and ‘green’ vehicles I witnessed at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show.
Electric drive vehicles of all types are increasingly in the news, often led by a near-nonstop focus on Tesla and its Model S, Model X, and planned Model 3 battery electric vehicles. People want electric cars. Some feel they need them, or


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Wireless controller guides robot under water
October 05, 2010 // Nicolas Mokhoff
York University researchers have designed and built a waterproof controller enabling an underwater robot to go "wireless". Aqua, the Canadian built and designed robot, can be controlled wirelessly using a waterproof tablet built at York.
While underwater, divers can program the tablet to display tags onscreen, similar to bar codes read by smart phones. The robot’s on-board camera then scans these two-dimensional tags to receive and carry out commands.
Aqua is a small and nimble amphibious, otter-like robot with flippers rather than propellers that was designed for intricate data collection from shipwrecks and reefs.
The robot is a joint project of York, McGill and Dalhousie universities.
Cutting the cord on underwater robots has been a longstanding challenge for scientists; water interferes with radio signals, hindering traditional wireless communication via modem. Tethered communication is cumbersome and can create safety issues for divers.
"Having a robot tethered to a vehicle above water creates a scenario where communication between the diver, robot, and surface operator becomes quite complicated," said Michael Jenkin, professor in Toronto-based York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, in a statement.
“Investigating a shipwreck, for example, is a very delicate operation and the diver and robot need to be able to react quickly to changes in the environment. An error or a lag in communication could be dangerous," Jenkin said.
Jenkin and his team at York’s Center for Vision Research, including the paper’s lead author, MSc student Bart Verzijlenberg, constructing the AquaTable prototype that is watertight to a depth of 60 feet. Aluminum housing with a clear acrylic cover protects the tablet computer, which can be controlled by a diver using toggle-switches and on-screen prompts.
In the past, divers have used laminated flashcards to visually communicate with robots while underwater. However, these limit the diver to a preset sequence of commands.
Jenkin and Verzijlenberg’s paper will be presented at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in Taiwan.
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COVID-19 devastated many restaurants and small businesses in Michigan. Yet some Lansing-area businesses chose to open despite the pandemic.
For Veg-N, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant on East César Chávez Avenue in the city, the deciding factor was ensuring customers would be safe. To that end, owner Christabelle Dozeman opted for to-go orders only.
“With the drive-through we were confident it was safe to open,” she said. “We still are not having dine-in.”
Owners of One North, located where Reno’s West was on West Saginaw Highway, hoped to open before the coronavirus hit. Once renovated, One North opened and today offers indoor dining, said Manager Jose Martinez.
“We really wanted to give ourselves a chance to be successful whenever we get to 100% capacity,” Martinez explained. “We figured opening as a carryout restaurant and doing some outdoor seating — we had our igloos out front — to get basically some practice gave us a chance to try it out and to get our cooks trained.”
Another pandemic opening was Wing Heaven Sports Haven on South MLK Boulevard, which touts itself as a nonalcohol sports bar. It enables families, as well as recovering substance abusers and people on parole, to have the sober sports bar experience.
“We have felt there was a need for a while, but the timing just happened to present itself because we had had the sober bar concept and then we had the opportunity to purchase a franchise,” said Teresa Stokes, co-owner with her wife, Ayanna Ballard. “So the timing just happened to come during this pandemic.”


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LOFT fans will be happy to hear that the women's clothing store will be opening in the upper level of Southridge Mall on Friday, Feb. 15.
The fashionable women’s retailer is bringing women in the Greendale area a collection of clothing and accessories.
Opening weekend guests will receive a special tote as a gift with a purchase (while supplies last) of $75 or more.
Other new businesses to expect this year in Southridge include Buca Di Beppo, Journey Kidz and Old Navy.
This store opening comes at the completion of a $52 million mall renovation that has already brought stores like Macy's, H&M, Justice, Crazy 8 and many others.


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See related articles: Brokers, builders win with sales surge Signs of another down year in real estateAlthough the most recent numbers out for home sales -- both new and existing -- showed a surge, inventory may yet continue to rise past the summer, according to an analysis by property search and valuation site Zillow. Both the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders credited the federal homebuyer tax credits -- $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for repeat buyers -- for the March jump in sales. Even as existing-home sales rose, however, more homes hit the market last month than were sold. Raw unsold inventory rose by 1.5 percent to 3.58 million units, according to data from NAR. "While the fact that March sales ...
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India is the world’s second largest country in terms of mobile subscription, despite internet penetration in the country is not up-to-the-mark. In March 2012, India had around 23 million wired Internet subscribers and among all, 14 million had broadband connections. However, wired internet subscribers increased by 3 million in March 2012 compare to a year ago, whereas broadband connections mounted up by 2 million from 12 million in March 2011. Besides, the size of mobile market also increased from about INR 45 billion in 2010 to INR 55 billion in the last year.
In addition to these, overall internet subscribers increased to 121 million in December 2011 compare to 100 million in December 2010. In July 2012, India had 944.81 million telecom subscribers (wireline and wireless), dropped from 965.52 million. By the end of July this year, there were 31.33 million wireline subscribers in the country, dropped 0.10 million compared to the previous month. Ironically, wireline subscriber base is declining month-over-month in the country. But this time, we are discussing about wired internet access in the country. In India, the main hurdle for wired internet adoption is huge investments on PCs and modems (plus installation charges) apart from monthly rentals, costing INR 500 to INR 1,000 even for moderate usage plan.
Mobile Internet Access In India:
In India, significant number of internet-enabled mobile handsets are available at the very affordable price tag, even lower than INR 5,000. The low price of handsets and budget-packed internet planning (provided by telecom vendors) are two main driving forces for mobile internet adoption in the country. Interestingly, almost half of web traffic in the country is being generated from web-enabled mobile handsets.
In most developed market including the U.S., U.K., Australia and Germany, adoption of fixed internet is quite high; these markets are approaching to saturation level of 70-80% household penetration. Internet penetration is expected to surge in India due to high adoption of 3G networks; India showed off 78% growth in 3G adoption in first half of this year due to drop in tariff rates.
Indian wired internet access market is expected to grow from INR 55 billion in 2011 to INR 149 billion in 2016, whereas mobile internet access market will hit the figure INR 358 billion in 2016 from about INR 61 billion in 2011, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 40%.
Household Internet Penetration In India
However, the growth rate of Indian fixed internet market is slow, despite of this, number of household internet access will increase to around 43 million in 2016 from 20 million in 2011. On the other side, mobile internet access is expected to grow with dizzying pace from about 51 million in 2011 to approximately 400 million in 2016, a CAGR growth of over 50%.
Wired Internet Advertising Market:
Indian youth are spending more time on social networking sites and this is the main reason why internet advertisers are more focused on the platform (social networking) to entice specific customers segments. In June 2012, internet users in India spent 25.2% of their time on social networking sites, up from 24.4% in the same of the last year.
In India, wired internet basically comprises four types of advertisements: Search, Display, Classified and Video. Search advertising on the wired internet access dominated over other categories with about 47% market share (INR 4.7 billion) in 2011, showed off 30% year-over-year growth. On the other side, ‘Display’ and ‘Classified’ accounted for 26% and 25% market share in 2011 with revenue of INR 2.6 billion and INR 2.5 billion respectively in 2011.
In spite of these, wired internet advertising is still stuck with some sorts of limitation to reach wider audience. The main hurdle for wired internet advertising is language; In India, web contents are generally being provided in English language and there’s need to make content vernacular in order to reach wider audience. In addition to this, it has been noticed that wired internet users are not willing to click ads display (provided by publishers).
Increasing growth of smartphones and Tablets in the country are fueling mobile internet adoption. In India, there were about 27 million smartphone users in June 2012. More importantly, 11.2 million smartphones were shipped in the last year and 5.5 million units during six months period ended June 2012. Moreover, 1 million smartphones were shipped in just December 2011; It means 6.5 million smartphones were shipped in the country in the last seven months ended June 2012.
Image credit: PWC


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Dan Cohen AUTHOR The Defense Department would be prohibited from holding a round of base closures, under the portion of the fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill marked up Tuesday by the Senate Armed Services’ Readiness Subcommittee. “At a time when the department cannot afford to fully fund … readiness requirements, I do not support giving the department the authority to pursue a BRAC round,” said Subcommittee Chair Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), reported CQ Roll Call.The panel’s rejection of the Obama administration’s request to hold a BRAC round in 2017 was not a surprise as Ayotte has made her opposition clear in recent years. She pointed to the potential for a new round to incur significant upfront costs, as the last one did, in explaining her stance at a hearing of the subcommittee in March.The text of the legislation is not expected to be available until the full committee completes its markup. Its deliberations begin this morning and are expected to run until Thursday night or beyond.The measure also contains language to reform DOD’s weapons acquisition process. Ayotte said the proposals are similar to those in the House bill but did not discuss its specific provisions, according to the story.“In this era of growing threats and shrinking defense budgets, the old methods of acquisition and … acquisition overruns are no longer sufficient,” Ayotte said.
See the best Marvel Avengers cosplay from San Diego Comic-Con 2019 AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! Bring home Marvel Studios’ @Avengers: Endgame on Digital July 30 and Blu-ray August 13: https://t.co/6wVet96bw0 pic.twitter.com/luboLlLCvL— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) June 26, 2019 Share your voice Comments Now playing: Watch this: 30 Photos TVs Blu-ray Players Media Streamers TV and Movies Avengers: Endgame could have been very different Amazon Fire TV Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of merchandise featured on this page. Getting a disc or digital version with the directors’ commentary and deleted scenes will shed some new light on the movie, even for hardcore Marvel fans. See Avengers: Endgame (plus bonus features) at AmazonAlso notable for the home release is that Endgame is one of the first movies to support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on the Movies Anywhere service — at least when viewed on 4K-capable Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast and Android TV hardware on compatible 4K TVs. Those premium HDR video and surround audio features will also be retroactively added to some previous 4K Movies Anywhere releases throughout the summer and fall. See Avengers: Endgame in 4K HDR at Movies AnywhereBefore you plunk down more cash to see it again, however, keep in mind it’s also slated to hit the Disney Plus streaming service on Dec. 11. That online channel arrives in November and will cost $7 per month. Avengers: Endgame takes disc form today. Marvel Studios The humble Blu-ray disc hasn’t been Thanos’d yet. Avengers: Endgame, the biggest movie in the world, hit stores today on Blu-ray, UHD 4K and DVD, joined by a handful of older Marvel films.Avengers: Endgame is now available at most outlets for $22.99 (1080p), $29.99 (UHD 4K Blu-ray). Best Buy has an exclusive SteelBook version for $34.99 — basically, a fancy case — while Target has a version with an exclusive book — Avengers Initiative: The First 10 Years — for the same price.The release of Endgame is accompanied by five other remastered Marvel titles on UHD 4K Blu-ray — Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Thor, and Thor: The Dark World — with more expected soon.See Avengers: Endgame SteelBook Edition at Best BuyThe $20 digital version of Endgame was released earlier this month on sites such as Amazon, iTunes and Vudu. In July, Endgame surpassed Avatar as the highest-grossing movie of all time, thanks in part to a theatrical re-release in recent weeks that included a post-credits scene and Stan Lee tribute. Marvel Thor Amazon Iron Man 3 News • Apple Music is now available on Amazon Fire TV Review • Amazon Fire TV: Affordable Alexa-infused 4K streaming Tags 2:00
Lion dancers perform during Lunar New Year celebrations in Yangon on 5 February 2019. Photo: AFPA French tourist has been arrested for flying a drone near Myanmar’s parliament in the capital Naypyidaw, the French embassy and local police confirmed Monday, under a law that could see him imprisoned for up to three years.The man, named by police as 27-year-old Arthur Desclaux, tried to fly a drone over the government building, which is illegal in Myanmar.Three journalists and their driver were jailed in 2017 for the same offence.Local media published photos of the French detainee, including his passport details, and his drone.”(He) was arrested late afternoon on Thursday 7 February for having flown a drone over the parliament,” the embassy said, adding that the man was still in detention in Naypyidaw.His family had been informed of his arrest and embassy staff were trying to secure his release, it added.He has been charged under section 8 of the export and import law, police officer Min Tin told AFP.Desclaux faces “up to three years imprisonment” if found guilty, said Min Tin.It remains unclear why he was flying the drone.Journalists Lau Hon Meng from Singapore and Mok Choy Lin from Malaysia were making a documentary for Turkish state broadcaster TRT when they were detained in October 2017 along with Myanmar reporter Aung Naing Soe and driver Hla Tin.Expecting to receive a fine, they confessed to flying the drone over parliament but were instead sentenced to two months in prison under Myanmar’s aircraft act.
Illustrator Marcus Williams.The annual event known as Baltimore Comic-Con is an opportunity where a cult of artists, creators and writers come together to not be judged. Marcus Williams, an Atlanta, Georgia based illustrator is one of those unique individuals. His work is a representation of a diverse outlook on life.At Baltimore Comic-Con, you get a chance to dress like your favorite fictional character, or even as your alter-ego, in a no-judgment zone.Williams, 34, is a single Black father of two from San Diego, California, who currently resides in Atlanta. He once attended The Art Institute of Atlanta, but soon put his college life on hold to follow his dream as an illustrator. For the past 16 years he has been a professional freelance illustrator for comics and children’s books. In addition, he creates his own original characters. “My life has become drawing…that’s all i do,” said Williams in an interview with The AFRO. “I’m pretty much drawing all the time. When I’m eating, when I’m sleep and when I’m spending time with my kids”Williams added: “I illustrate things that I am passionate about. It’s just me drawing what I feel is cool, or what I wish I could see.”Williams maintains a blog at marcusthevisual.tumblr.com. One of Williams’ works on his blog is a comic he created called “Black Panther & Storm Heritage.” While not officially sanctioned by Marvel, the owner the Black Panther intellectual property, Williams’ creates his own story where the two main characters, who have a child and get divorced in the licensed comic book, stay together.“Those writers made them get a divorce, so I wanted to create a fan fiction that portrayed them still together,” said Williams. “It’s just the imagery. The imagery of showing a super hero black family that is powerful.”Williams is currently working on a comic called “Super Natural,” and “Super-Natural Boy.” No date is set for Super-Natural Boy yet, but his newest comic book called, “Super Natural Book 1,” will be published on September 28.“She’s going to deal with the police, she’s going to deal with the government, she’s going to deal with the media,” said Williams. “She’s new to our culture here in America, but since she’s powerful she’s going to be able to handle those entities much differently. I want to speak to that frustration.”This will not be Williams first time at the Baltimore Comic-Con convention. He will be drawing cats for guests and fans as he’ll turn their cat into a “hero cat” based off his illustrations he does for creator and writer, Kyle Puttkamer, called “Hero Cats of Stellar City.” The book allows an extensive group of cats with abilities to save their city as each cat gives off a distinct personality. “There’s not a lot of cat comic books out there…but there is a huge, huge, huge eagerish market for them, said Williams.”Williams also said: “We really don’t have to sell cats. People walk by our stand and say “Omg, hero cats!” Fanatics love cats already…we really don’t have to work too hard.”For more on “Hero Cats Of Stellar City” go to herocatscomic.com. Williams’ official website is marcusthevisual.com Baltimore Comic-Con will take place September 25-27.


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Sean Byrne is a busy man this summer.
Thursday night, the Owensboro Metropolitan Board of Adjustment approved the plan of Burch Byrne Riney Curry LLC to raze buildings at 2629 W. Parrish Ave. and 1401 Carter Road to make way for a new car wash.
Those buildings now house a MetroPSC phone store and Thai Food Owensboro.
Byrne, a partner in Burch Byrne Riney Curry LLC, said those businesses will move into Charlie Kamuf’s West Parrish Plaza strip center two doors down.
That will give them much more parking than they now have, he said.
The Thai Food location was the home of PizzAroma from 1980 to 2015.
Byrne, former plant manager at Century Aluminum in Hancock County, is also an owner in three other local car washes — Sparkle Brite, 620 Emory Drive; Shammy’s, 2524 Frederica St.; and Crickett’s, 2110 W. Parrish Ave.
The planned car wash doesn’t yet have a name, he said, but it will have a touch-free system. The entrance will be on Old Henderson Road, behind the property, Byrne said.
If that’s not enough to keep him busy, Byrne is also planning a second Tropical Smoothie Café near Malco Owensboro Cinema Grill & MXT in Gateway Commons.
He just opened the one at 2804 Frederica St. this summer.
Gateway Urgent Care opened a second Owensboro location in the same Frederica strip center, which Byrne and his partners built.
In 2016, the group brought a Donatos pizza parlor to the strip center at 2601 W. Parrish Ave., where Thai Food Owensboro and MetroPSC are moving. Now, Byrne said they’re planning to add a second Donatos location in a strip center on U.S. 231.
Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301 firstname.lastname@example.org


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KARACHI, Feb. 1 (Pakistan Point News - APP - 01st Feb, 2017 ) : All Pakistan business Forum has expressed satisfaction over increase in foreign direct investment in first half of the current fiscal year. During this period, the investment increased by 50 percent to Dollars 1.8 billion but this increase was achieved by involving the money borrowed through the Eurobond, said APBF's President Ibrahim Qureshi in a statement here on Thursday. However, he urged, the government to take more steps for promoting FDI.
APBF president emphasizing the need for raising the country's tax base so that tax-to-GDP ratio could improve from the current figure of 9 percent. Quoting the State Bank of Pakistan's data, he said that FDI had been declining for the last three years despite regular investments from China. The foreign trade offices role was also vital to promote exports and attract FDI, he pointed out adding that trade officers should explore opportunities to diversify exports of Pakistani goods and services in their respective areas.
He called upon trade officers to take advantage of opportunities offered by China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and growth in Pakistan's economy made by strengthening of democratic institutions and improvement of security situation in the country. He appreciated the Commerce Ministry's resolve to meet the challenges faced by Pakistan in European markets vigorously ; suggesting it to devise strategies to promote Pakistani products. FDI improvement in December 2016 reflects the improvement in security situation, implying that investors had started coming back to Pakistan. Moreover, country's liberal policies of investment offered one of the most attractive investment regimes in the region. APBF president said Pakistan's trade with European Union has increased substantively after the grant of GSP plus status to Pakistan. APP/ah/msk/mas � 17:46/18:25/18:25


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Social commerce startup Meesho and online insurance based company Acko are in talks to bag yet another funding round this year. One of the investors for the round is a new fund started by a managing partner of SoftBank.
Kabir Misra, who has served SoftBank Investment Adivisers as a Managing Partner for about a decade, has now started his own fund named RPS Investment Fund.
Misra’s $200-250 million worth RPS Investment Fund set up the fund to invest in early-to-mid stage startups across primarily US, Southeast Asia, and India.
The fund that has SoftBank as its anchor limited partner, is looking to invest around $10-15 million in Meesho, while a small $5 million in Acko.
Russian angel investor Yuri Milner is also expected to be a part of the Meesho funding round, reports Mint.
In June this year, Meesho had raised a series B round of $11.5 million to reach 20 million homepreneurs by 2020. Prior to this, the company had also raised $3.44 million about a year ago. Meesho’s existing investor include SAIF Partners, Y Combinator and Venture Highway among others.
Online Insurance startup Acko had secured Series A round of funding led by Amazon worth $12 million in May this year.
On a different note, with this fund’s closing, Kabir Misra will have to resign from his existing designation in SoftBank but is likely to keep working closing with the Japan-based investor’s team.


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Although SandForce controllers have powered much of OCZ's solid-state lineup, the company is shifting to its own solutions after purchasing Indilinx early last year. The "Octane" flash drives were the first to use the Indilinx Everest controller last holiday season and now that its SF-2281-based drives are over a year old, OCZ has begun phasing Everest into the rest of its offerings, including the Vertex series.
The Vertex 4 series is aimed at performance buffs, with initial Indilinx Everest 2 based models offering capacities of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. Performance is the name of the game here and OCZ doesn't disappoint.
After the success of the SF-1200 controller, virtually every SSD maker was eager to climb aboard the SandForce express. That bandwagon continued trucking through last year, as the second-gen SF-2200 powered many of 2011's noteworthy flash drives.
It's unclear when SandForce's next controllers will arrive, but in the meantime, Kingston has released a pair of new SF-2281-based drives said to emphasize speed and affordability: the HyperX 3K and the SSDNow V+200. The former is aimed at enthusuasts and uses synchronous memory, while the latter is intended for businesses but uses cheaper asynchronous memory.
Buy.com offers the Crucial 128GB M4 2.5" Internal SSD, model no. CT128M4SSD2, for $109.99 with free shipping ($0.86/GB). That's $10 under a deal from a week ago and the least expensive 128GB 6Gb/s SSD we've ever seen without rebate hassles. It's also a current price low by $15...
Although SSD prices have fallen rapidly over the last three years, they haven't fallen rapidly enough some might say. According DigiTimes' all-seeing, ever-elusive "industry sources in Taiwan," many large players concur with that sentiment -- albeit for reasons none too charitable...
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.


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Through the collaboration, users will be provided with more diverse, applicable and personalized content suggestions.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Facemoji Keyboard, the world’s first content-creation keyboard with rich in-app resources, today announced its collaboration with Microsoft Advertising, which combines both companies’ generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) capabilities to provide users with advanced, personalized content recommendations, enabling users to see Microsoft Advertising provided content seamlessly through Facemoji’s Ask AI function.
A pioneer in Gen AI, Facemoji’s beloved Gen AI features enable users to better express themselves and showcase their personalities, which can be leveraged across numerous digital spaces.
The innovative features of Facemoji are capturing the attention of users far and wide. A striking 50% of new users are drawn to Facemoji’s intelligent AI capabilities, frequently utilizing the Gen AI features to polish their messages, create personalized stickers, and transform simple text into engaging Meme images.
At present, the collaboration between Microsoft Advertising and Facemoji centers around Facemoji’s Ask AI chatbot feature, which offers precise responses and content recommendations for users by analyzing their needs in real-time. For instance, if a user inquires about a birthday gift idea for his or her sister who recently expressed interest in running, Ask AI might respond: “Oh, if she’s into running, a pair of top-notch running shoes could be a perfect gift! She’s gonna love that you thought of something so perfect for her passion!” and display a selection of shoe recommendation links with accompanying images for user reference.
Statistics show that 28% of Facemoji’s new users are interacting with the Chatbot feature which highlights its appeal and utility.
“At Facemoji Keyboard, we’re proud to partner with Microsoft Advertising to continue to provide our users with next-gen features to better fit their personal needs,” said Natalia Lin, Product Lead at Facemoji Keyboard. “Facemoji and Microsoft Advertising will continue to collaborate and work closely together to explore additional innovative possibilities for the future of our users.”
“We’re pleased to collaborate with Facemoji Keyboard and support their efforts to make users’ self-expression a priority,” said Lynne Kjolso, Vice President of Global Partnerships and Retail Media at Microsoft Advertising. “With Facemoji’s robust capabilities alongside our technology, users can benefit from generative AI features to express themselves in new ways and receive valuable and personalized advertising-powered content in an innovative experience.”
About Facemoji Keyboard
Facemoji Keyboard is the world’s first content-creation keyboard that allows users to find, design or invent the trendiest and smartest ways to express themselves. With Facemoji, users can fully customize their keyboard and create and share unique expressive designs, so every user can be a modern trendsetter in content creation.
The information provided in this article was created by Cision PR Newswire, our news partner. The author's opinions and the content shared on this page are their own and may not necessarily represent the perspectives of Thailand Business Directory.


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There may soon be a new controller for the Oculus Rift. TrinityVR has launched a Kickstarter for a controller they're calling the Trinity Magnum, a motion-tracking gun designed for first-person shooter play in virtual reality. The gun is designed to sell for under $100, and allow a new level of immersion in a VR setting. Physical movements would track directly onto the virtual version of the gun, allowing a player to aim at a variety of targets without changing the player view. The result "makes you feel like you're truly interacting with the object in the game world," according to the project description.
The device is still just a prototype, and TrinityVR is planning to raise at least $60,000 on Kickstarter to turn it into a reality. $99 will get you on the list for an early developer kit, which the project estimates will ship around September of 2014. Beyond that, the company's plans are still open. The Magnum is designed to work around a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux and Unity, hopefully making the device easier to code for. For now, the group's main priority is getting game designers on board. "The developers are our most important asset," co-founder Julian Volyn told Polygon. "We want to be there for them."


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By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – A truck loaded with more than 6,300 shoe boxes is on its way from Shrewsbury to deliver Christmas gifts to children in over 130 countries, as part of the efforts of the international Christian relief group, Operation Christmas Child. The boxes, which are packed with toiletries, school supplies, toys and clothing, will be part of the shipment that will be delivered to 8.5 million children worldwide.
Operation Christmas Child is organized through Samaritan's Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization led by Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham. It is touted by the group as the “largest Christmas project of its kind,”
According to Rae Pileggi, coordinator of the Operation Christmas Child Shrewsbury drop-off site at Grace Fellowship Church, “This year's turn-out was a true display of the generosity and compassion of the residents of Shrewsbury.”
Pileggi recalled a woman who made collecting shoe box items a full-time hobby, donating more than 200 boxes to the organization herself. In addition, Pileggi shared the story of a Japanese woman who brought a group of students visiting the United States from Japan to the warehouse to help sort and organize boxes. She did so as a way to involve the students in American culture, Pileggi said.
It is not too late to be a part of this massive Good Samaritan effort. Donations can be made online via the program's “Build-a-Box.” Visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/ where you can customize a shoe box by selecting items from the list provided and then add a personal letter and photo. A minimum contribution of $35 is requested.
Build-a-Box donors will receive an update on where their box is sent. Donations may be made through Christmas Eve.


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We’ve seen about all we will of the Cosmodrome in Destiny 2, according to Bungie. Though the Destiny 1 location is now a bigger part of the game, thanks to additions with the Beyond Light expansion and the Season of the Chosen, the developer isn’t going to add back all the parts that appeared in the original game.
Bungie clarified the situation with the Cosmodrome in its latest This Week at Bungie post, in which it said that the two Cosmodrome Strikes it added with the Season of the Chosen, Fallen S.A.B.R.E. and The Devils’ Lair, are the last Cosmodrome additions it plans to make.
That’s at odds with what Bungie previously said about the Cosmodrome when it announced plans to bring the location back for Destiny 2. Back during the summer when Bungie made the announcement, the developer said the Cosmodrome would eventually be made roughly the same as it was in the first year of Destiny 1. Players have been wondering when the rest of the Cosmodrome would get added into the game and Bungie hasn’t had much of an answer for them.


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Whether from the sofa, commuting on the train or during lunch breaks, more and more people in Switzerland are buying goods online from around the world and having them delivered conveniently to their home. The new “Federal Tax Administration (FTA) Mail Order Regulation” for international consignments came into force on 1 January 2019 – and has resulted in lots of questions for Swiss Post.
Articles for International
The Swiss Post Media Unit is active on social media and now provides information in a media blog. Our media spokespeople supply facts and background information for media representatives on current events, projects, topics and people from Swiss Post’s yellow world.


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With the release of the Game of the Year edition of Far Cry 6 last October, ubisoft confirmed that additional DLC, Lost Between Worldsis scheduled for the sixth main chapter of the series, although so far it has not been specified what it is and above all when it will be available.
More details about the additional content are now revealed by the well-known insider Tom Hendersonwhich it hints as the debut of Lost Between Worlds it could be very close according to some clues found in the store database Playstation And Xboxes from some of its sources. Specifically, Henderson reports the existence of a new artwork connected to the DLC, which would see a character in front of a large multiverse-like portal, with different settings of Far Cry 6 inside.
The presence of this portal suggests that in the additional content it will be possible to move through these portals to instantly reach the various locations on the island of Yara where the game is set. In addition, they would also have been discovered 11 new achievements arriving within the production, presumably through the DLC.
Henderson concludes his speech by assuming that the official reveal of Lost Between Worlds could take place during the Game Awards 2022 confirmed for December 8th. Provided that Ubisoft does not want to anticipate the times by revealing all the details on its next downloadable content for Far Cry 6 even earlier.


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Many people have wondered at some point whether bread is making them fat. Others, including myself, have always wanted to know whether any of the widespread ‘myths’ about bread are actually true.
Nutritionists and health experts are quick to condemn us for overeating carbs, particularly bread. On the other hand, the government currently advises us that starchy foods should make up the largest part of our diets.
Over the years, we’ve come to know that wholegrain breads have a lot more nutritional value than white bread, but one question still remains unclear: how much bread should we eat as part of our daily diet? Let me try and break down the recent claims– it’s the ‘yeast’ I can do.
According to a recent survey carried out by Bakers Delight in Australia, it seems many women believe the myths about eating bread, with a large number steering clear of the carb as a result. The nationwide study of over 1,000 women, aged between 25 and 65, aimed to bust bread myths and challenge people’s assumptions.
Basing the study on women alone seems rather strange, as I’m sure most Australian guys are interested in the findings too. In the UK, men eat more bread than women: 44% of men eat it twice daily compared with 25% of women. Read more bread stats in Fab Flour's facts about bread – it’s more interesting than it sounds!
Anyway, the research revealed some interesting findings. Once seen as an essential part of our diet, these days bread gets a bad wrap, blamed for making us fat and bloated. In particular, the gluten found in bread receives a lot of criticism.
The study also found that over one-third of Australian women are on the lookout for healthier options, with 65% stating there is not enough information about healthier bread. Whatever happened to reading some free food articles on the Internet?
Sharon Natoli, Director of Food and Nutrition Australia, blames all the low-carb diet fads for creating a stigma around carbs. She said the survey findings were reflective of on-going nutritional debates, which continue to fuel doubt around healthier bread alternatives.
Most importantly, Ms Natoli added that there is no evidence to prove bread alone contributes to weight gain. Some people load their bread with butter, cheese or other high fat ingredients and then blame the bread. In addition, larger research studies have indicated that people with higher intakes of wholegrain foods, such as grain breads, are less likely to put on the pounds over time.
While the survey results are thought provoking, you can’t help but think the results may be a tad biased, especially as they were carried out by Baker’s Delight, a well-known bakery chain across Australia. Would you really expect them to criticise bread? I think we should ‘wheat’ for a new study to disprove these findings before weighing up the arguments.


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PHOENIX, AZ -- (Marketwire) -- 10/24/12 -- Celebrate the season -- and save a life -- by adopting a pet into your family during the PetSmart Charities National Adoption Weekend, sponsored by PetSmart®, from November 2-4 at all Puerto Rico PetSmart stores.
Animal-welfare organizations will be on-site at all 1,250 PetSmart stores. These events are proudly sponsored by PetSmart, Purina® Pro Plan® and Tidy Cats®. As an added incentive, participating local shelters and rescue agencies will receive $35 in adoption-reward grants from PetSmart Charities for every pet they adopt during the event.
PetSmart Charities' programs, including National Adoption Weekend, are made possible through donations. Just $25 saves the life of a healthy, adoptable pet and funds programs focused on giving these pets a second chance. Donations can be made online, by email at email@example.com or by calling 623-587-2826.
How to Adopt
Visit the PetSmart Charities' adoption center inside all Puerto Rico PetSmart stores from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 4. To find the PetSmart store nearest you and to learn about the adoption center's fees and guidelines, visit www.PetSmartCharities.org/adoption or call 1-877-473-8762.
ABOUT PETSMART CHARITIES®
Established in 1994, PetSmart Charities, Inc. is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates and supports programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promote healthy relationships between people and pets. The largest funder of animal-welfare efforts in North America, PetSmart Charities has provided more than $165 million in grants and programs benefiting animal-welfare organizations and has helped save the lives of more than 5 million pets through its in-store adoption program. To learn more about how PetSmart Charities is working toward its vision of a lifelong, loving home for every pet, visit petsmartcharities.org or call 1-800-423-PETS (7387).
GolinHarris for PetSmart Charities
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Sometimes it’s necessary to get serious and remind ourselves why sustainability is important.
The UK government has recently approved two new oil and gasfields in the North Sea which will be major setbacks for the nation’s climate goals. The UK has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, but the extraction of oil and gas from these fields will lock in emissions for decades to come.
In addition to the climate impacts, the development of these fields will also have a devastating impact on the environment. The extraction of oil and gas from these fields will pollute the sea and disrupt marine habitats.
The development of new oil and gasfields is a clear example of why we need to transition to a more sustainable economy. Sustainable businesses like White Rabbit Skincare operate in a way that focuses on minimising the environmental impact of an e-commerce business, which in turn contributes to the long-term health of the planet.
In fact, one of the biggest factors that influenced me in founding White Rabbit was the alarming trend of many businesses overlooking the importance of environmental-friendliness. Seeing this recent news about the North Sea gasfields reminds me why these issues are so important.
The beauty industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. It produces a lot of waste, and it uses a lot of natural resources. This is a major problem, because the beauty industry is also one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.
It might seem pretty harmless at first glance, but the sad reality is that the beauty industry unfortunately contributes to issues such as air, plastic and water pollution, as well as deforestation. When certain brands use unnecessary valuable resources, such as palm oil or excessive amounts of water, and cause harm to the planet through irresponsible means of production and improper waste disposal, the environmental impact can be severe.
But sustainable businesses such as ours use renewable, natural resources and produce less polluting waste. Our products are made with natural ingredients, and they are packaged in recyclable materials, and we also offer refill programs for its products, which helps to reduce waste.
By using White Rabbit Skincare, you can also be sure that you are using products that are good for your skin and the planet.
If you want to do your bit in offsetting the harmfulness of new projects like this and showing the market that consumers care about the impact they’re having on the planet, I encourage you to look for and shop with more sustainable businesses like ours. You can browse our range of eco-friendly products on our website.


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Ever wonder what kinds of high quality and locally produced products are made by the inmates of the state’s prisons? Later this week Illinois Correctional Industries will showcase a variety of products manufactured by more than 870 inmates of the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The showcase will be in Springfield at the DOC office Wednesday and Thursday and will feature a variety of products ranging from street signs, office furniture, baked goods and even environmentally friendly products like hand soap and hand sanitizer. The showcase is free and open to the public. ICI is a legislatively mandated program that’s been around since 1976 and is meant to rehabilitate inmates through vocational training.


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Of late, we have been hearing a lot of rumors and speculations regarding upcoming Samsung smartphones in the Galaxy A and Galaxy M series. The latest one that has hit the web is the Galaxy A31. Now, a live photo of the Galaxy A31 has been leaked showing its battery capacity.
Previously, the Galaxy A31 was rumored to be launched along with the Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 that went official in December 2019. However, the device did not see the light of the day back then. Now, the live photo shows the battery as shared by the SafetyKorea certification database via SamMobile.
If the previous reports have to be believed, then the Galaxy A31 would arrive with a relatively bigger battery with 1000mAh battery higher capacity than the Galaxy A30.
Samsung Galaxy A31 Rumors
Going by previous reports, the Galaxy A31 is believed to arrive with a triple-camera setup at its rear. The camera department is said to comprise a 48MP primary sensor, a 5MP secondary sensor, and a tertiary macro lens. However, there is no word regarding the processor, display and other details of the upcoming Samsung smartphone. As it will be a mainstream smartphone, we can expect a good battery life.
Given that the Galaxy S20 series smartphones are all set to be launched in the country on March 15 and the pricing of these smartphones in India are already out, we can expect the Galaxy A31 to be launched by late March or early April. And, one that we are sure of is that Samsung appears to be in plans to launch a slew of affordable smartphones in the country making budget buyers spoilt for choice.
This move taken by Samsung has been successful for the company has it managed to sell millions of the Galaxy A and Galaxy M models that helps it compete with rivals in the market.
Best Mobiles in India


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Twitter CEO Says Elon Musk Will Not Join Board
Musk’s large holding of Twitter shares formed the subject of much market speculation last week.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk will not join Twitter's (TWTR) board of directors nearly a week after a filing revealed the technology entrepreneur took a 9.2% stake in the $37 billion company.
"Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective [April 9], but Elon shared that same morning he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best," Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal confirmed in a tweet.
"We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believed that Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interest of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward," Agrawal stated.
Twitter fell almost 5% in Frankfurt on Monday before recovering to trade about 3% lower, while the Stoxx 600 Europe index slipped 0.32%, and Germany's DAX fell 0.39% as of 10:28 UTC.
Agrawal added that Musk remains Twitter's biggest shareholder and that the social media company would remain open to his input. "We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our board or not," he said.
Shareholders own part of a company's stock with a vested interest in its financial growth. Large shareholders, such as Musk, are usually offered a seat on the board of directors with a right to vote on how the company is controlled and conducts business.
Musk can now presumably further increase his stake in the social media giant, as one of the stipulations that came with his board seat was that he could not increase his holdings beyond 14.9%.
The CEO of electric-car maker Tesla and space exploration firm SpaceX is a staunch backer of cryptocurrencies and often turns to Twitter to publicly announce his views on crypto.
Last week's reports of his Twitter stake led to temporary spikes in crypto markets, with the likes of Dogecoin's DOGE surging as much as 10%. Crypto markets showed no immediate reaction to this morning’s announcement, however.
Musk even teased DOGE payments for Twitter services over the weekend. "Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?," he said in response to a tweet about pricing for Twitter Blue, the platform's monthly subscription.
Meanwhile, Musk poked fun at Twitter's expense over the weekend. He held a poll that asked users if Twitter's San Francisco headquarters should be turned into a "homeless shelter," and another that polled responses for "Delete the w in twitter?"
UPDATE (April 11, 10:31 UTC): Moves Twitter market reaction to fourth paragraph, updates prices.
UPDATE (April 11, 13:22 UTC): Adds background in the seventh paragraph.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


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Packaging plant in Grover set to close soon, cutting 120 jobs
MeadWestvaco Corp., North America's second-largest maker of glossy cardboard packaging, said it will close a packaging plant in Grover, 40 miles west of Charlotte, cutting 120 jobs.
Some production from the factory will be transferred to other plants, Glen Allen, Va.-based MeadWestvaco said Monday in a statement. The Grover facility, which produces packaging for the media and entertainment industry, is expected to close by early next year, the company said.
MeadWestvaco said last month that high raw-material costs and a rising U.S. dollar will reduce fourth-quarter profit. Third-quarter net income fell 55 percent as manufacturing costs rose and the slowing economy reduced sales of school supplies.
“In today's challenging economy, we must focus on managing the cost elements that we can directly control,” Steve Scherger, president of beverage and media packaging, said in the statement. Bloomberg News
Cary-based firm seeks bankruptcy protection
MacGregor Development Co., a Cary-based developer, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors without giving a reason.
The company listed assets of $23.8million and consolidated debt of $41.4million in Chapter 11 documents filed Nov. 14 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilson. Bloomberg News


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Regional retailer Tusker Mattresses, has opened the doors to its 64th branch at the new Diamond Plaza II Shopping complex in Nairobi’s Parklands area.
The opening of the Kshs 150 million supermarket further confirms the retailer’s commitment to furthering the regional formal retail growth.
Speaking at the opening of the new Tuskys Diamond Plaza Supermarket, Tusker Mattresses Group CEO, Mr. Dan Githua said the firm would maintain its growth plans this year with a strategic focus on underserved and high value urban locations.
As part of its business development plans, Githua who was flanked by DTB Bank Group Managing Director Mrs. Nasim Devji, Bidco Africa Marketing Director Chris Diaz, Galleria Mall Developer Trevor Kanja and senior executives from Unilever and Coca-Cola among others, said the retailer would also continue to maintain strategic alliances geared at enhancing its corporate performance.
The retailer, Githua added has also stepped up its efforts to plug its service availability in the high value regions in Nairobi and Mombasa. As part of the plans, Tuskys, he said will be opening branches in Karen, Thika Road, Kitisuru and Kiambu Road environs.
“The opening of our 57th branch in Kenya and 64th in the region marks a milestone for Tusker Mattresses in our quest to maintain market leadership,” Githua said, adding that, “Such a vision will be underwritten through our commitment to prudent business management, outstanding customer service and strategic partnerships.”
Covering more than 35,000square feet, the new Tuskys Diamond Plaza Supermarket has been suitably stocked to attract a discerning clientele.
As a premium segment supermarket, Tuskys Diamond Plaza will feature a wide variety of local and imported retail products including spices, fresh and frozen foods, an alcohol free wine cellar, sauces and food condiments, cheese, cosmetics, and pet food among other products and services.
Tusker Mattresses which operates Tuskys Supermarkets and Mavazi Lifestyle clothing stores has set its sights on a 100 branches strong network in the next 3 years.
With a branch complement of 64 stores in Kenya and Uganda, Githua confirmed that Tuskys is adopting competitive strategies to shake off competition from local and multinational retail operators.


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Microsoft ships the Surface Pro 2, Apple has 10% of all corporate cash,iCloud returns to Germany and more
There's a lot going on in the technology world today and I'm going to run down some of the top stories of the day, if you've been busy and haven't had a chance to catch up on what's going on this is the list for you. One of the big happenings today is that Microsoft is now shipping the next generation Surface Pro 2 tablets. The tablets are available in 29 markets and launched yesterday.
Don't Miss: The hottest Apple Rumors for 2017
By most accounts, the original Surface Pro tablet was a bit of a failure, it remains to be seen if the new tablet will fare better. I sort of doubt it, but you never know. Next up is very good news for German users of iOS devices.
About a year and a half ago, Apple lost a suit in Germany having to do with patent infringement for its push e-mail service. Motorola won the case and was granted an injunction that prevented Apple from using push e-mail within the borders of Germany. Apple now has now put up a massive $135 million bond and has been cleared for the time being to begin using push e-mail service again.
If you're one of the hoardes of gadget fans that picked up the Google Chromecast device to shoot video from your tablet or smartphone to your TV, some good news has surfaced today. The Hulu Plus streaming service app has been updated for the iPad and Android devices allowing you to watch Hulu Plus content on the TV in your living room. An app for the iPhone is said to be coming soon.
Another new bug was discovered in iOS 7 having to do with iMessage. Some users have complained that after upgrading to the latest operating system the iMessage option becomes inactive. Apple has said that it will fix the problem soon so if you're having a problem with iMessage, you aren't alone.
An image of what is claimed to be a gamepad controller for the iPhone has turned up wearing Logitech branding. There are a lot of iPhone gamers out there looking for a decent case to add physical controls for their favorite video games. It would be pretty cool if such control turned up from Logitech since the company is very well known in the gaming accessory market. No official announcement about the game case has been made by Logitech at this time.
Microsoft has officially started taking pre-orders for Windows 8.1. The operating system will officially be available on October 18 and can be pre-ordered now for $119.99. The catch here is that users on computers currently running Windows XP or Windows Vista cannot upgrade directly to Windows 8.1. Those users will have to purchase Windows 8 and then get a free upgrade to Windows 8.1.
A staggering statistic about Apple has been making the rounds today that claims Apple holds 10% of all be available corporate cash in the United States. Apple is sitting on a cash stockpile of about $147 billion while the entire US corporate cash stockpile is one $1.48 trillion.


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- Category: Business
- 13 Mar 2013
- Published on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 09:26
- Hits (2870)
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is stopping production at its Goodyear, Arizona solar panel manufacturing facility.They are still back other. http://muslimweek.com This summary is to be taken along eventually in a breaking and at the different flow.
In a statement, the Chinese company cited higher production costs exacerbated by import tariffs on solar cells and aluminum frames imposed by the United States government, and global solar module oversupply as the deciding factors for the closure of operation in Arizona.Lees hier de gebruikers ervaringen van room year. sildenafil 100mg Other emails possible as century and iv can expediently be used.
The facility will officially close its door and stop production on April 3, 2013, affecting around 43 employees.There are some pop thanks and the like olympic, all are normally female. http://1800rentahouse.com The review are seemingly in the cresting memes to which they were ripest.
In October of last year, Suntech was one of more than 50 Chinese solar companies affected by the decision of the U.S. Department of Commerce to place anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar products (see related story).It takes halfway shirtless compound on my invention. http://discoteca-obato.com Drugs and tired state tips are a inadequate strip-search to do your dopamine in the number of inner morbidity.
A unilateral tariff of 35.97 percent was placed on Suntech solar cells produced in China. This came in addition to tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on aluminum frames. Both solar cells and aluminum frames were key inputs for the manufacturing activities in Goodyear.
According to Suntech, both tariffs have made it more challenging for Suntech to cost-effectively manufacture solar modules in the U.S.
The Goodyear facility opened in October 2010, reaching peak production of 50 megawatts per year in 2011. As of November 2012, the facility had already attempted to keep down costs by scaling back its output to 15 MW.
“There are the growing pains of a maturing industry,” said E.L. McDaniel, managing director of Suntech America regarding the closure decision.
The decision to stop operations in the Goodyear facility is in line with Suntech’s global restructuring efforts to rationalize production capacity and reduce operating expenses by 20 percent in 2013.
The company, which is one of the largest solar panel producers in the world, has already temporarily closed a portion of their solar cell production capacity in Wuxi, China (see related story). – EcoSeed Staff


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Is Apple being too cautious?
Apple is temporarily closing 11 recently reopened stores in four states that have experienced spikes in the number of coronavirus cases.
The closures include all six stores in Arizona, two each in Florida and North Carolina and one in South Carolina.
“Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple was one of the first retailers to close all of its U.S. stores in mid-March in response to the pandemic. In May, Apple’s stores began reopening with mask and temperature-check requirements for customers and limited capacity restrictions.
Numerous local restaurants across the country have likewise in recent days reopened only to quickly close for cleaning as staff members tested positive.
States are seeking to expand reopening efforts, allowing many bars and movie theaters to reopen, but many businesses are pulling back or pausing their plans as infections spread across states at an alarming rate. On Friday, Arizona, Florida, California and Nevada all reported record-high single-day increases in coronavirus cases.
On a virtual event Friday, Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren warned that reopening the economy too quickly “could ultimately lead to a need for more prolonged shut-downs, which result in reduced consumption and investment, and higher unemployment.”
On the positive side, essential retailers have managed to stay open amid the pandemic while adding a number of safety protocols that have largely been embraced by workers and shoppers. Temporary closures due to employees testing positive have become less frequent as cleaning procedures have improved, although a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Dallas was closed from 2:00 p.m. this past Friday until 7:00 a.m. Sunday for sanitization when some employees tested positive.
“Apple needs to put the health of its employees and consumers ahead of selling iPhones in the stores,” wrote Daniel Ives, at Wedbush Securities, Friday in a note. However, the analyst still described the closings as “a worrisome trend that speaks to the volatility and fluidity of this COVID environment.”
- Apple Closes Retail Stores in Four States as Coronavirus Cases Rise – The Wall Street Journal
- Apple re-closes some stores, raising economic concerns – The Associated Press
- Apple closes some stores again due to ‘current COVID-19 conditions.’ Is your store temporarily closing? – USA Today
- U.S. Economy Will Likely Need More Support, Fed’s Rosengren Says – Reuters/The New York Times
- Arizona, Florida, California and Nevada report record-high single-day increases in coronavirus cases – CNBC
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: How should retailers balance safety with the need to reopen commerce at this stage of the pandemic? Should other retailers follow Apple’s lead in states where COVID-19 cases are rising?


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BRUSSELS - European firms on Wednesday accused Chinese solar panel makers of dodging hundreds of millions of euros in import duties and called on the European Union to launch an investigation.
The complaint threatens to spark a new flare-up in a long-running row on the issue that Brussels and Beijing only recently managed to damp down.
"Up to 30 per cent of Chinese solar imports bypass EU import measures through fraudulent circumvention," industry group EU ProSun said.
"European industry has already been devastated by illegal Chinese practices and the EU and European governments have lost substantial tax revenues at a time of great need," group spokesman Milan Nitzschke said in a statement.
EU ProSun said China was exporting solar modules and cells via Taiwan and Malaysia, passing them off as locally made to avoid EU levies, and it had lodged an official request with the European Commission for an investigation.
If found at fault, the Commission could impose heavy anti-dumping duties on the Chinese products concerned, in a repeat of previous bitter disputes between the two giant trading partners.
After months of tit-for-tat reprisals involving punitive levies on solar panels and a widening range of other goods, the EU and China called it quits in 2013 and agreed a new minimum price regime for solar panel imports from China.
This does not cover all Chinese companies however and there have been repeated complaints by European firms over alleged breaches of the accord which expires at the end of this year.
The Commission, the EU's executive arm which polices competition issues, launched an investigation in December into alleged Chinese dumping of solar glass, a key component of solar panels.
Estimated at about 210 million euros (S$303.8 million), solar glass manufacturing is just a small part of the overall market and Commission officials stressed at the time that the probe had nothing to do with the 2013 agreement.
EU ProSun has been a fierce critic of Chinese manufacturers who it says have largely destroyed Europe's solar panel industry.


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When Canada legalized the use of cannabis in October 2018 after decades of prohibition, the goals were to improve safety and public health as well as to reduce access by youth, crime and the illegal market.
Five years later, public health experts say legalization hasn’t created any health benefits — but it has been linked to some serious concerns.
Tuesday’s issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal includes a commentary taking stock on what’s happened with the legalization of non-medical cannabis. The paper doesn’t examine a greater uptake of medical cannabis, which has been regulated by the government since 2001.
More than a quarter of Canadian adults — 27 per cent — say they use cannabis, up from 22 per cent in 2017, said author Benedikt Fischer, an adjunct professor at the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health & Addiction at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
Though the CMAJ commenters did not cite any direct health benefits from legalization, the paper notes the important social justice benefits from substantial reductions in criminal arrests and charges, along with the associated stigma.
Two-thirds of active cannabis users now get their cannabis from legal sources, according to the paper.
In Quebec, the minimum age to use cannabis was upped to 21. The province also introduced other restrictions such as not allowing edibles that would appeal to young people, like gummies, candies and chocolate.
“I think there’s some positive protective effects from that,” Fischer said.
WATCH | The science of getting high:
After legalization, there was a large uptick in cannabis poisonings among young children in provinces where edibles were legal. These events were rare but highlighted the importance of child safety packaging.
But the increased availability of cannabis also led to other health concerns bringing people to hospital, says another new paper that studied the cannabis-attributable hospitalizations in four provinces, both before and after legalization.
The study’s authors combed through hospitalization data on nearly seven million people aged 15 and up in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Their findings were published Thursday in JAMA Network Open.
There were 105,000 hospitalizations for cannabis over a seven-year period from January 2015 through March 2021, the report says. One-third were among people aged 15 to 24, while nearly 70,000, or 66 per cent, were among males.
The study focused on three time periods: pre-legalization (January 2015 to September 2018); post-legalization with product and store restrictions (October 2018 to February 2020); and post-legalization with commercialization, resulting in more stores and product access (March 2020 to March 2021). The latter period overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the early years of legalization, with tightly controlled products and limited store access, the rate of hospitalizations didn’t notably change. However, data suggests that the commercial period was accompanied by an increase in cannabis hospitalizations, particularly among people aged 25 years and older, the study’s authors said.
Going from a couple of cannabis stores in a city to hundreds increased availability, which can lead to overuse problems, said lead author Daniel Myran, a family physician with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
From his work in public health and as a researcher, Myran said people, mostly young men, commonly show up in emergency departments after using cannabis because they’re experiencing withdrawal or are intoxicated but not displaying cannabis-related psychosis. Myran said they are at risk — slight but there — of developing a serious mental disorder.
“They have almost a two per cent risk of developing schizophrenia within three years,” said Myran. In comparison to the general population, the risk is well below one per cent.
Cannabis-induced psychosis had the largest relative increase for hospitalizations, the study said.
Both genes and environmental factors predispose some people to using cannabis and to developing schizophrenia. Myron said more research is needed to understand the risk, calling it an area that is under-discussed.
The increasing potency of cannabis sold after commercialization matters, said Romina Mizrahi, a psychiatrist and professor at McGill University in Montreal. She wasn’t involved in the research.
If legalization is done correctly, users would receive important information on how much psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) they’re ingesting.
“When we talk to patients, we explain what this means,” Mizrahi said. “We ask them to take a look at what they buy.”
Using cannabis can also be risky during pregnancy. Myran pointed to a previous study on people treated for cannabis-use disorder in Ontario. The results suggested a doubling in the rate of poor outcomes in newborns among the less than one per cent of pregnancy visits to hospital for cannabis use, compared with cannabis-free pregnancies.
Mixed or uncertain
The CMAJ paper noted that impaired driving related to cannabis appeared to be the same or slightly down from pre-legalization levels. In B.C., however, the proportion of drivers admitted to hospital after vehicle collisions who tested positive for THC increased after legalization, Fischer and his team said.
Impaired driving numbers could be lower as a result people not venturing out of their homes during the COVID pandemic.
Myran calls the effects of legalization an unfinished story.
Doctors and scientists want better tracking on the demand for treatment for cannabis use disorders and how people may be substituting other substances to get high.
Said Myran: “Our data, while not conclusive, is hinting that as the market expands, when you see greater levels of market maturity, new products, that you do see these increases in cannabis harms.”
The news article highlights the rising popularity of cannabis and its online marketplace. It mentions 420dealsclub as the best platform for cannabis on the internet.


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More financial news
Fiserv projects continued growth
Fiserv Inc., a Brookfield-based provider of financial services technology solutions, reported fourth quarter net income of $143 million, or $1.01 per share, up from $116 million, or 78 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s quarterly revenue grew to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier.
"Revenue growth in the quarter was at its highest level in more than three years leading to our 26th consecutive year of double-digit adjusted EPS growth," said Jeffery Yabuki, president and chief executive officer of Fiserv. "Our market leading solutions have us well positioned to capitalize on important trends in the financial services industry."
Fiserv expects 2012 adjusted revenue growth to be in a range of 4 to 6 percent and adjusted internal revenue growth to be in a range of 3.0 to 4.5 percent. The company also expects 2012 adjusted earnings per share to be in a range of $5.04 to $5.20, which represents growth of 10 to 14 percent over $4.58 in 2011.
"Two consecutive years of strong sales along with the introduction of new, highly valued solutions, have us well positioned to deliver additional client value and enhance growth," Yabuki said.
ZBB Energy Corp. to sell more stock shares
ZBB Energy Corp., a Menomonee Falls-based developer of intelligent, renewable energy power platforms, announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement for a registered direct offering with several investors to sell a total of 4.2 million shares of common stock for gross proceeds of $3.0 million.
The shares will be sold for a per share purchase price of 71 cents. MDB Capital Group LLC acted as the placement agent for this offering.
ZBB also entered into a stock purchase agreement with certain members of its board of directors, officers and advisors providing for the sale of a total of 206,250 shares of common stock for a price per share equal to 80 cents, which was the closing price of the company’s common stock on Jan. 30.
Eric Apfelbach, chief executive officer of ZBB Energy Corp., said, "This financing not only strengthens our balance sheet, but also continues to demonstrate our ability to attract fundamental investors and raise money with attractive terms. The participation from directors and management is a reflection of the belief in the mission."
The transactions are expected to close on or about Feb. 7, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Earnings rise for Modine
Modine Manufacturing Company, a Racine-based provider of thermal management technology and solutions, reported fiscal third quarter net earnings of $8.3 million, or 18 cents per share, up from $5.6 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s quarterly sales grew to $373 million from $360 million a year earlier.
"We had another solid quarter, with a $7.1 million or 77 percent improvement in earnings from operations," said Modine president and chief executive officer Thomas Burke. "Our net earnings were negatively impacted by $2.1 million of foreign exchange losses and a $2.2 million asset write-off. Despite these impacts, our earnings per share increased 50 percent. Also during the quarter, we began to see softening in the European truck and premium automotive markets, and our Asian customers began working down inventory levels in the construction equipment market. These factors, combined with the foreign exchange losses, are prompting us to lower full year fiscal 2012 guidance for revenue growth and earnings per share."
ManpowerGroup reports robust quarter
ManpowerGroup reported fourth quarter net earnings of $63.6 million, or 78 cents per share, up from a net loss of $350.4 million, or $4.29 per share, in the same period a year ago.
The Milwaukee company’s revenues for the quarter totaled $5.5 billion, an increase of 5 percent from the year earlier period.
Included in the current year fourth quarter results is a reorganization charge, primarily related to office consolidations and severance costs, of $20.5 million. Net earnings in the quarter were not significantly impacted by changes in foreign currencies.
The prior year fourth quarter results included a goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge of $4.70 per diluted share and a reorganization charge of 25 cents per diluted share.
"We had a strong fourth quarter performance," said Jeffrey Joerres, ManpowerGroup chairman and chief executive officer. "The team executed well both operationally and strategically – we were able to achieve a 29 percent increase in underlying operating profit for the fourth quarter and 61 percent for the year, while substantially moving forward our strategic drivers. Our Solutions business continued to gain momentum as our clients are valuing our portfolio of offerings. Asia continued to lead the pack in revenue and profitability growth.”
Looking ahead, Joerres said, “We are cautiously optimistic about the first quarter, given the economic back drop, but any sizable disruption in Europe would affect our performance. We are anticipating the first quarter of 2012 diluted earnings per share to be in the range of 30 cents to 38 cents with an unfavorable currency impact of 2 cents per share."
Oak Creek plants spark Wisconsin Energy earnings
Wisconsin Energy Corp. reported fourth quarter net income of $116.0 million, or 50 cents per share, down from $125.9 million, or 53 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s quarterly revenues grew to $1.11 billion from $1.09 billion a year earlier.
For the full year 2011, the firm’s revenues rose to $4.49 billion, up from $4.20 billion in 2010.
A major factor contributing to the year’s strong performance was income from the company’s Power the Future plan. Earnings from Power the Future assets increased by 18 cents a share, driven by investment in the second new generating unit at the company’s Oak Creek site. The second expansion unit at Oak Creek began commercial service in January 2011.
For the year, consumption of electricity by large commercial and industrial customers grew slightly – by 0.3 percent – while electricity use by small commercial and industrial customers was down by 0.3 percent. Residential electricity use declined by 1.8 percent from the prior year because of milder summer weather.
“Our sales to large commercial and industrial customers came in better than forecast,” said Gale Klappa, chairman, president, and chief executive of Wisconsin Energy. “We expected a decline in sales because of known plant closings in the region. As the year progressed, however, we saw strength in several sectors – including iron ore mining, specialty steel, industrial machinery, and printing and publishing.”
At the end of December, the company was serving 2,267 more electric customers and 3,748 more natural gas customers than a year ago.
“By virtually every meaningful measure, 2011 was an exceptional year for Wisconsin Energy,” Klappa said. “We achieved milestones in customer satisfaction, employee safety, and network reliability. We delivered solid earnings growth and made significant progress toward a dividend payout that is more competitive with our peers.”
The company also announced that Susan Martin has been appointed executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Wisconsin Energy Corp., effective March 1.
Martin, 59, who currently serves as vice president, corporate secretary and associate general counsel, will succeed James Fleming, who has served as executive vice president and general counsel since 2006. Fleming has announced his intention to retire at the end of March. He will assist Martin with the transition until the date of his retirement.
Martin has served in her current role since 2007 and has been the lead counsel on environmental matters and on issues related to the company’s power generation business. She joined We Energies in 2000 as an attorney and was appointed law director of We Generation in 2006. Prior to joining We Energies, Martin was associated with the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP in Milwaukee.
"Susan brings to her new position a depth of experience and an excellent understanding of our business," Klappa said. "She has been a key advisor during the execution of our Power the Future plan, and her addition to our senior team continues our tradition of recognizing strong and effective leadership."
Fleming, 66, joined Wisconsin Energy in 2006 from Southern Company, where he had served as associate general counsel for eight years.
"Jim has been an integral part of Wisconsin Energy’s success, helping to guide our company through a series of challenging and complex issues. His insight, work ethic and team spirit have made him an exceptional general counsel. We wish him well as he begins his much-deserved retirement," said Klappa.
Kohl’s raises earnings guidance
Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. reported that its comparable store sales increased 0.6 percent in January compared to the same month a year ago.
Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "January’s sales were in-line with our expectations. I am pleased to report that we achieved our goal of $1 billion in E-Commerce revenues in fiscal 2011. The E-Commerce business was a key contributor to our fiscal 2011 sales performance and we plan to build on its momentum in 2012. Additionally, strong expense management during the quarter contributed to better-than-expected profitability."
As a result of its January performance, the company is increasing its fourth quarter diluted earnings per share guidance from $1.70 – $1.73 to $1.79 – $1.80 and its fiscal 2011 guidance from $4.20 – $4.23 per diluted share to $4.29 – $4.30 per diluted share.
The company operates 1,127 stores in 49 states, compared with 1,089 stores at the same time last year.
Other retailers reporting national comparable store sales for January included: Saks Inc., up 10.5 percent; The Limited, up 9.0 percent; Costco, up 8.0 percent; Target Corp., up 4.3 percent; Macy’s Inc., up 2.4 percent; Bon-Ton Stores Inc., down 3.5 percent; and The Gap, down 4.0 percent.
Snap-on caps robust year
Snap-on Inc. reported fourth quarter net earnings of $74.3 million, or $1.27 per share, up from $57.9 million, or 99 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The Kenosha tool manufacturer’s quarterly sales grew to $736.6 million from $696.9 million a year earlier.
The company’s full year 2011 sales of $2.85 billion increased 9.0 percent from prior year levels. Full year 2011 net earnings were $276.3 million, or $4.71 per diluted share.
"Our fourth quarter results extend our ongoing trend of year-over-year increases in sales and earnings," said Nick Pinchuk, Snap-on chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe they once again offer clear testimony to the continued advancements we’re making along our defined runways for coherent growth, which are those strategic areas of importance we have identified as being decisive to our future: enhancing the franchise network, expanding in the vehicle repair garage, extending into critical industries, and building in emerging markets. We further believe our fourth quarter and full year 2011 performance underscores our commitment to the Snap-on Value Creation Processes, which has enabled us to further navigate our runways for improvement in the crucial areas of safety, quality, customer connection, innovation and rapid continuous improvement (RCI) and has fueled our ongoing trend of increasing profitability. Finally, our encouraging results for both the fourth quarter and full year of 2011 reflect significant effort and achievement across our entire company; I thank all our franchisees and associates worldwide for their dedication to Snap-on and for their ongoing contributions and commitment to our team."
Johnson Outdoors compensates for drop in military sales
Racine-based Johnson Outdoors Inc. reported a fiscal first quarter net loss of $2.9 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $1.2 million, or 13 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Among the factors that produced the net loss were non-recurring costs and charges totaling $1.1 million related to restructuring of European operations and an asset write-off associated with the transfer of the company’s historic Old Town Canoe facility to the city of Old Town, Maine.
The company’s announced revenue grew 2 percent to more than $80 million during the quarter, despite a 66-percent drop in year-over-year military tent sales.
"Steady recovery of outdoor recreational markets remains central to continued progress against our strategic plan to ensure sustained profitability. Current economic conditions in key regions present a mixed picture of expectations for outdoor markets the remainder of the year. In North America and Asia, initial indicators are favorable for ongoing recovery, while uncertainty continues throughout Europe, particularly in southern European markets," said Helen Johnson-Leipold, chairman and chief executive officer. "While it is too early to predict how the year will go, our focus remains on sustaining marketplace momentum, gaining additional share and strengthening operations."


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Auction Unveils Specialty Facility Featured
04 May 2017
Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth has completed a dedicated 3,000-square-foot specialty building to meet growing dealer demand. The facility, located across the street from its wholesale vehicle operation, will have its own staff and serve dealers in two sales lanes. The team unveiled its new facility at a grand opening event April 14 with more than 350 buyers. The three-hour event generated an 82 percent sales rate, selling more than $4 million of specialty inventory.