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30 of the Punniest Commerce Clause Obamacare Supreme Court Puns You Can Find
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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Three Taiwanese semiconductor makers plan to invest a combined $14.6 billion to build five Taiwan-based factories in a bid to counter growing competition from Japanese and South Korean technology firms, according to reports Wednesday. The commitment, by chipmakers TSMC TSM, +0.33% Powerchip Semiconductor, and Vanguard International, involves the establishment of new chip foundries in Hsinchu Science Park, an area known as Taiwan's Silicon Valley, according to reports citing the Chinese-language Commercial Times. TSMC, the world's largest contract chip maker by revenue, will invest in two factories to produce semiconductors with circuit widths of 45 nanometers and other advanced technology. Powerchip Semiconductor, Taiwan's largest computer memory chip maker by revenue, will open two factories to manufacture advanced NAND flash memory chips, commonly used personal computers and digital camera's. Vanguard International, Taiwan's smallest contract semiconductor maker, will invest in a factory to bolster its production of communication chips.
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domain: news


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BENGALURU: City-based online gaming startup Mobile Premier League (MPL) has raised a series C funding of $90 million from SIG, RTP Global, and MDI Ventures. MPL had earlier raised $35.5 million in series A investment from Sequoia India, Times Internet, and GoVentures in April 2019. Post covid-19, many gaming startups have seen significant growth in terms of new users and time spent by them on their platforms. This has attracted new investments into gaming startups. According to Venture Intelligence, the last double digit funding in Indian gaming startups in a single quarter was in Q2 2019.
Source: Mint September 21, 2020 07:41 UTC


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Brian Nicholson, Deseret News
Our take: A recent study found that nearly half of college graduates are overqualified for their jobs. Mary Beth Marklein from USA Today writes about the implications of this study:
"Nearly half of working Americans with college degrees are in jobs for which they're overqualified, a new study out Monday suggests.
The study, released by the non-profit Center for College Affordability and Productivity, says the trend is likely to continue for newly minted college graduates over the next decade.
"'It is almost the new normal,' says lead author Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economist and founder of the center, based in Washington.
"Vedder, whose study is based on 2010 Labor Department data, says the problem is the stock of college graduates in the workforce (41.7 million) in 2010 was larger than the number of jobs requiring a college degree (28.6 million)"
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Toyota has officially denied the information about the SUV Land Cruiser next generation, appeared online in mid-September. Recall, the Japanese edition of Best Car wrote that the model that will receive the index “300”, debuted in the fall of 2020.
Is reported that the main distinguishing external feature of the new SUV will be a wide grille with three wide horizontal bars, lower front bumper and new optics.
Finally, the publication noted that the current eight-cylinder motors will come a brand new hybrid power plant based on the gasoline V6 engine with two turbines, which will be paired with electric motor and 10-speed automatic transmission. Total return units will be about 350 horsepower. Official representatives of Toyota have called all of this data is “false”.


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July 19, 2009American Consumers to Lose Affordable Access to Justice through Nation's Largest Administrator of Consumer Arbitration Disputes
BusinessWire -- The National Arbitration Forum (FORUM), the largest U.S. administrator of consumer arbitrations, today announced that it will voluntarily cease to administer consumer arbitration disputes as of Friday, July 24, 2009, as part of a settlement agreement with the Minnesota Attorney General.
"The National Arbitration Forum remains committed to consumer arbitration as the best and most affordable option for consumers to resolve disputes quickly and efficiently. However, the FORUM lacks the necessary resources to defend against increasing challenges to arbitration on all fronts, including from state Attorneys General and the class action trial bar," said Forthright CEO Mike Kelly. "Mounting legal costs, a challenging economic climate, and increased legislative uncertainty surrounding the future of arbitration have prompted the FORUM to exit the consumer arbitration arena. At this time, the costs of providing consumer arbitration services far exceed the revenue generated. Until Congress resolves the legal and legislative uncertainty the cost is simply too high for users and providers of consumer arbitration."
Legislative proposals pending in both houses of Congress threaten to eliminate pre-dispute arbitration as an effective means of alternative dispute resolution. The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 (S. 931/H.R. 1020) would invalidate every pre-dispute contractual arbitration agreement that is part of a consumer, financial or franchise dispute – in effect, every contract. The Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act (S. 512/H.R. 1237) would eliminate pre-dispute mandatory arbitration in all nursing home contracts. Legislation before the House to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (H.R. 3126) addresses arbitration and would give broad regulatory authority to restrict or eliminate all consumer arbitrations.
"The National Arbitration Forum provides fair and affordable access to justice to American consumers regardless of size of their claims. Without access to arbitration, consumer disputes will now be forced into an overcrowded and underfunded legal system, where many consumers who cannot afford attorneys will have to navigate complex court procedures," continued Kelly. "The consequence to American consumers is that there will be no meaningful alternative to costly and unpredictable litigation."
Notably, nothing in the Minnesota Attorney General’s complaint alleges that arbitration proceedings administered by the FORUM are unfair; the fairness of arbitration is ensured by the independence of the neutral arbitrators.
National Arbitration Forum consumer arbitration claims are decided by an independent panel of more than 1,600 highly experienced and impartial legal professionals, including former judges and experienced attorneys. FORUM neutrals are bound to a code of professional ethics, and decide cases outside of any influence from the FORUM or the other parties.
About the National Arbitration Forum (FORUM)
Founded in 1986, the National Arbitration Forum (FORUM) is a world leader in arbitration and mediation services. The FORUM provides accessible civil justice through the recruitment, selection, and management of a highly experienced and distinguished panel of over 1,600 former judges and seasoned lawyers. Now optimized by Forthright, the FORUM is the faster, lower cost, and superior alternative to litigation, that ensures parties receive the same outcomes they would in court. www.adrforum.com


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OAKLAND — A California judge has ordered drugstore chain Walgreens to pay $16.57 million to settle a lawsuit claiming more than 600 of its stores in the state illegally dumped hazardous waste.
The settlement announced Thursday stems from a lawsuit filed in June by district attorneys around the state, including Butte County”s Mike Ramsey.
The legal action followed inspections of trash bins at Walgreens stores.
It accused the stores of illegally handling and disposing pesticides, bleach, paint, pharmaceutical waste and other items. The stores were also accused of unlawfully disposing of customer records containing confidential medical information.
Walgreen Co. spokesman Jim Graham said the company did not acknowledge any wrongdoing and settled the case to avoid protracted litigation.
He said Walgreens ships all hazardous materials are shipped to a hazardous waste disposal facility, where they are incinerated.
According to Ramsey, all eight Walgreens” stores in Butte County were involved in the lawsuit.
Under the settlement, the Butte County Environmental Health Department will receive $7,500 and the Butte County District Attorney”s Office $26,250 in civil penalties and cost recovery, according to a press release from Ramsey.


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Infamous scam artist Billy McFarland is adding more fraudulent charges to a lengthy list of scams.
McFarland pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud back in March, with sentencing scheduled for June 21st. But after this plea, McFarland disregarded the note and continued to pursue fraudulent activities.
Just recently, McFarland was also caught selling fake tickets to lavish events, including the Grammys, Met Gala, Super Bowl, and Coachella. Maybe he’s not understanding that fraud isn’t legal or a reputable business to operate.
“William McFarland, already awaiting sentencing for a prior fraud scheme, allegedly continued to conduct criminal business as usual,” United States Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement.
Billy McFarland’s new charges are equally as shocking but no less expected.
In total, McFarland sold $100,000 worth of fake tickets to the various high-profile events. When prospective attendees purchased their tickets, the money was simply sent to a separate bank account.
Perhaps most mind-boggling are that McFarland committed this ticket scam after he already pled guilty to the aforementioned wire fraud in March.
The new charges carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. His fraudulent activity days would hopefully be over after that. That is, assuming McFarland doesn’t figure out a way to scam innocent people from behind bars.
“In March of 2018, William McFarland pled guilty to defrauding investors and vendors of the Fyre Festival, but it is apparent that he did not stop there,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said in a press release. “McFarland allegedly went on to sell fraudulent tickets to many grand events, totaling $100,000 and affecting 15 people. Today’s charges depict our intolerance for such fraudulent activity, and we will continue to diligently investigate acts such as this.”
McFarland’s claim to fame was his atrocious and epic fail, Fyre Festival.
The infamous Fyre Festival was billed as a “life changing” experience in the Bahamas that left attendees stranded. Shocked guests had very little to eat and no living quarters. Additionally, attendees were expecting to see artists like Blink-182, Migos, and Disclosure — none of which happened.
The 26-year-old failed businessman was also slapped with a $26 million fine for defrauding Fyre Festival investors.


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The National Dairy Council (NDC) has appointed Mark Keller as strategic operations director.
Keller has over 25 years' experience working in international sales and marketing for multiple industries including dairy food ingredients, luxury tabletop and gifting, luxury retail, fast-moving consumer goods and telecommunications.
Keller held many senior leaderships and customer-facing roles within these industries and has built several partnerships across the UK and Ireland.
Spending over six years as head of sales and marketing at Dairygold, Keller was charged with delivering the commercial strategy following the abolishment of milk quotas in early 2015.
He was responsible for building a sales and marketing team to support customer acquisition, manage critical customer relationships and expand Dairygold’s market reach.
"Keller forged many relationships with key external partners and took part in several ministerial trade missions to the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, advocating the sustainable and nutritious benefits of Irish dairy, with particular focus on developing partnerships in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia," the NDC said in a statement.
He also, the NDC added, drove key dairy nutrition projects promoting the grass-based diet and sustainability credentials for Irish dairy across multiple markets.
Speaking following his appointment, Keller said that his experience in the dairy industry globally will equip him to drive the NDC forward into the future as challenges continue to face the sector.
“I am delighted to be joining the National Dairy Council as it continues to promote and protect the success of Irish dairy both at home and abroad," Keller said.
Mark holds a BA in English literature from Providence College in Rhode Island, USA, where he had been awarded a full athletic scholarship in track and cross country. He also holds voluntary support positions with Guaranteed Irish and Paralympics Ireland.


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Foreign companies with operations in China can find their intellectual property (IP) and trade secrets slipping into the hands of a competitor, as one US-based chemical manufacturer discovered the hard way.
The company found profits and product quality in its Chinese subsidiary began to decline but an investigation did not uncover anything definitive, other than poor corporate governance controls. However, the company had its suspicions that local executives had taken the formula being manufactured at the plant, adjusted it and then allowed a rival Chinese firm to begin making it.
Whatever the reality, the incident, which occurred a few years ago, proved costly for the US company, says Dawn Williford, risk advisory service partner at accountant BDO’s Houston, Texas office. The CEO and vice-president of China operations had to resign and the company wound up losing several customer accounts, says Ms Williford, who began working with the chemical manufacturer after these events took place.
Microsoft makes an exception
This is not an unusual occurrence in China, a country notorious for its ability to siphon away foreign companies’ intellectual property, particularly trade secrets. Nor is it a new issue. For years, partner countries have complained – most recently it has been the subject of US president Donald Trump’s bellicose Tweets. The EU Chamber of Commerce in China’s annual report also cited, among other concerns about market access, the issue of forced technology transfer.
This is not to say that all foreign companies have lost IP from their China operations. A few years ago Microsoft formed a joint venture, called C&M Information Technologies, with the China Electronics Technology Group Corp. The joint venture, in which Microsoft owns a 49% stake, was to develop a customised version of Windows 10 for the Chinese government and state-owned enterprise clients in China, according to Xiaomeng Lu, manager of international public policy at Washington, DC-based Access Partnership.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that its Windows 10 Chinese government edition was ready to go. “It is unclear whether there was any technology spillover in this arrangement and how Microsoft protects its IP at a time [when[ the Chinese government and companies intend to replace foreign technology with indigenous ones,” says Ms Lu.
Microsoft, though, appears to be the exception to foreign companies’ experiences in China, while Ms Williford’s chemical manufacturer client is the rule. This is because even if the latter company had been able to prove that its formula had been stolen, there would have been little that it could do about it.
What many people do not realise is that there is no legal protection for trade secrets even as China has worked assiduously to improve its patent protection, says Brian O’Shaughnessy, a partner at law firm Dinsmore & Shohl in Washington, DC, and the president and chair of the Licensing Executives Society board.
“China is using the ruse of a strong patent system to give foreign companies false comfort in the hopes that they will bring in foreign dollars and technology into [the country’s] border so it can access it,” he says. This is done by a variety of means but the most common is requiring a foreign company to form a joint venture with a domestic firm, he adds, saying: “That joint venture usually necessitates the sharing of trade secret technology.”
In addition, the Chinese government is notorious for monitoring everything that goes over the internet, including consultations with local attorneys or discussions with the home headquarters overseas, according to Mr O’Shaughnessy. “So if you are exchanging data or trade secrets over the internet, the government can take possession of them.”
It should also be noted that almost every expert or businessperson fDi spoke to emphasised the cultural gap between how the Chinese view IP and trade secrets and how the West does.
“In many ways, IP doesn’t exist in China,” says Andrew Pearson, founder and president of Intelligencia, a Hong Kong and Macau-based analytics and social media company. “They don’t have that feeling that if you create something you should own it,” he adds.
Perhaps more tellingly, Mr O'Shaughnessy says: “In the Chinese language there is no symbol for trade secret; it is a foreign concept.”
At the same time, the Chinese view technology as an important lever to be used for world market domination. Indeed, the appropriation of foreign technology does not have to take place in China: it can also be seen it in the acquisitions and joint ventures that Chinese companies form in foreign markets, according to Steven Shill, partner and national leader of the BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation in Orange County, California.
“Just recently we saw a publicly traded radiation oncology business acquired by a private equity firm that’s China based, with the intention of taking the technology to China,” he says. “We warn risk managers and compliance departments to be aware of this because the value of the investment will be diluted.”
Guidance for investors
Does any of this mean that China’s market should be shunned? It is unlikely that any ambitious business embarking upon international expansion will consider such a possibility. However, any foreign company with valuable technology would be wise to follow certain guidelines.
First, understand who your partner is, says BDO Consulting managing director Pei Li Wong, who is based in New York. “You never know when you are doing business with someone who might have less than honourable intentions,” she says.
Even after you vet your partner, ensure that you understand all of the rights and obligations of both parties, advises Mr O’Shaughnessy. “To the extent possible, avoid having any cutting-edge technology in or accessible to China,” he adds. Instead, he advises, use the country for low-end manufacturing or activities that do not require much IP.
Ms Lu says firms should also try to form partnerships with non-state-owned enterprises, preferably one with a significant overseas presence. Better yet, this company should be publicly traded in a stock exchange outside China.
For example, when Microsoft first launched Windows Azure in China, it did it through a partnership with the Shanghai municipal government and the Chinese company 21Vianet Group, which has close ties to the Chinese government but also is traded on Nasdaq. “If the US company’s IP is stolen by the Chinese partner, the US company can file a lawsuit outside of China where it has more legal leverage,” says Ms Lu.
Microsoft did not follow this advice for its next go around in China; its joint venture partner in C&M Information Technologies was a state-owned enterprise with no overseas operation, she adds.
Leave or stay?
Even if a company takes all of these steps, it might still find its technology has been lost to the China market. That does not necessarily mean it should decamp. Ms Williford’s client, the US chemical manufacturer, did not leave China even after it suspected that it had been robbed. Instead, it doubled down on its corporate governance, she says.
The parent company no longer allowed the subsidiary to do new product development and also sent in its own people as managers, and increased communication at all levels of the company so it did not have to rely on just one narrative being told by upper management, she says.
Finally, it established a rule that the functional head of every department had to be able to speak English. Since those changes, there have not been major problems, according to Ms Williford says. “All it took was better visibility and communication,” she says.


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A little over a month ago, it was announced that Riccardo Tisci is leaving the British fashion house Burberry, and that he will be replaced as creative director by Daniel Lee, the former creative director of Bottega Veneta. Tisci did not wait long to reveal to us what he will be doing after this engagement, so yesterday he published a photo of the first dress he created for his own brand. It was worn by Michaela Coel at the London premiere of the new film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in which she plays the warrior Aneka alongside a number of great co-stars including Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o and Angela Bassett. The dress, was a collaboration between Tisci, Coel and her mother, who sewed her clothes from a young age. It consists of a silk bodice over which layers of Chantilly lace are strung. Tisci also designed the socks and shoes Coel wore last night, marking it the first time he has designed something under his own name in 17 years.
The first time I met Michaela, I immediately understood that she represents and expresses everything a woman means to me – freedom, beauty, a sense of adventure. So today, 17 years after I started my first label, Riccardo Tisci, Michaela and I decided to create a look that would celebrate our creativity and friendship, for the London premiere of her new film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. – Riccardo Tisci


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Sleep expert Neil Robinson shares some useful advice to get us through sweltering summer nights
With the current UK heatwave prompting warnings to stay at home and speculation rife that tomorrow could be the hottest day on record (39C!), Sealy UK's chief sleep officer Neil Roberts has provided six tips to getting a good night's rest this summer. 1. Sleep separately "One in 10 Brits already opt to sleep separately from their partner , and it seems that they may have the right idea - especially in the hotter weather," he said. "Not only are partners more likely to disturb you in the...
Aon’s tenth UK Benefits & Trends Survey
Blue Monday round-up
Thursday 12 March
YouGov survey shows
For women more so than men


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LONDON (Reuters) – An MP is to demand that the TV watchdog probes new hacking claims against News Corp, piling more pressure on BSkyB chairman James Murdoch whose fitness to own a broadcast licence is already under scrutiny.
A BBC documentary broadcast late on Monday alleged that NDS, a pay-TV smartcard maker recently sold by News Corp, hired a consultant to post the encryption codes of ITV Digital, a key rival of BSkyB, on his website.
LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) – A British lawmaker is to demand
that the TV watchdog probes new hacking claims against News Corp
, piling more pressure on BSkyB chairman James
Murdoch whose fitness to own a broadcast licence is already
A BBC documentary broadcast late on Monday alleged that NDS,
a pay-TV smartcard maker recently sold by News Corp, hired a
consultant to post the encryption codes of ITV Digital, a key
rival of BSkyB, on his website.
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) – A controversial attempt to
expand Internet addresses far beyond the likes of .com, .org or
.net has provoked a rare threat from the U.S. government to
withdraw a key licence from the body that runs the Internet’s
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) depends on its U.S. government contract to coordinate
the unique addresses that tell computers where to find each
other, without which the global Internet could not function.
LONDON (Reuters) – The maker of the hit mobile game Angry Birds has struck a deal with Wal-Mart (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to embed clues to a new version of the game in merchandise sold in Wal-Mart stores, hoping to drive Angry Birds fans into the stores, and shoppers to the game.
The world’s biggest retailer will stock limited-edition T-shirts, soft toys and snacks containing clues that unlock bonus levels of Angry Birds Space, which will be available in app stores from Thursday.
LONDON (Reuters) – Angry Birds maker Rovio is teaming up with a major U.S. retail chain to sell its merchandise, and plans to open themed activity parks in Britain, as it continues to expand beyond mobile games to establish a Disney-style brand, it said on Tuesday.
Peter Vesterbacka, marketing chief of the Finnish start-up behind the world’s most downloaded game, told Reuters that Rovio saw itself as an entertainment brand, not just a games company.
LONDON (Reuters) – Angry Birds maker Rovio is teaming up with a major U.S. retail chain to put its branded toys, books and T-shirts in dedicated areas of thousands of stores nationwide, the Finnish company’s marketing chief told Reuters on Tuesday.
The maker of the world’s most-downloaded game plans the launch to coincide with the debut later this week of Angry Birds Space, the latest in the series of puzzle games currently being played for a total of 300 million minutes per day.
LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) – Mark Thompson is to step down
as the director general of the BBC after guiding the
world-renowned state broadcaster from one of its lowest points
to again providing leading entertainment and news through a time
of enormous technological upheaval.
Thompson, who will step down after the London Olympics and
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations this summer, said on Monday
he had decided to leave after almost eight years in the job.
LONDON (Reuters) – A growing dissatisfaction among office workers with the clunky computers their employers force them to use, in contrast to the sleek Apple devices many have at home, could yet benefit incumbent suppliers like Dell, a top Dell executive said.
As Apple’s third-generation iPad went on sale on Friday, accompanied by the now traditional scenes of fans queuing round the block , Dell’s chief commercial officer Steve Felice said the tablet market was still wide open.
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s press has a good chance of avoiding new legislation to curb its freedom despite a phone-hacking scandal that shocked politicians and the public, David Hunt, who has a key role in reforming press regulation, said on Thursday.
Hunt told Reuters he was confident that compliance with a code of ethics could be enforced by commercial contracts voluntarily signed by Britain’s newspaper and magazine owners, as could the power to impose fines for breaking the code.
LONDON (Reuters) – Trinity Mirror Plc (TNI.L: Quote, Profile, Research) chief Sly Bailey has had her pay frozen this year, she said on Thursday, after the newspaper publisher posted a sharp drop in yearly earnings and forecast a drop in sales in the first quarter of the current year.
Bailey had been criticised by both shareholders and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) for taking a pay package of 1.7 million pounds in 2010 as chief executive of the publisher of the Daily Mirror, the People and a host of regional titles.


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We might end up seeing Kazuma Kiryu once again in the next Yakuza game as hinted by the Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato. For those who don’t know, the next Yakuza game is in development and will have a new protagonist named Ichiban Kasuga.
During a recent interview, Yakuza series producer Daisuke Sato was asked about whether Kazuma Kiryu (the protagonist of previous Yakuza games) would return. In reply, Sato said, “At this time, that is not a question I can answer”.
There wasn’t a yes or no by Sato which means that we might be rewarded with the presence of Kiryu (voiced by Takaya Kuroda) one more time in the next Yakuza game. It’s possible that we will see Kiryu in one of the cutscenes of the upcoming game or even get to play as him if we are lucky enough. We can do nothing but speculate at the moment. To find out, we will have to wait.
Apart from Kiryu, Sato confirmed that we will know more about the upcoming Yakuza game soon.
On July 10, we will announce the supporting actress for the new title, as well as share the latest information on the new title, so please look forward to it.
Now that is great news for Yakuza series fans. We haven’t heard much about the game since its announcement. The new Yakuza game was announced back in 2017 with a trailer showing that the game will star Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza Online (a Japan exclusive card game). Interested folks can check out the announcement trailer for new Yakuza game below.
The next Yakuza title starring Ichiban Kasuga is in development by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio exclusively for PlayStation 4. We can expect the game to arrive sometime next year before the release of Sony’s PlayStation 5. The next Yakuza title (Yakuza 7) can also turn out to be a cross-generation title.
In the meantime, players can play Judgement, from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio which is available in Japan and scheduled to release worldwide tomorrow on July 25 for PS4.
Judgment is also published by Sega and set in the Yakuza world of Kamurocho. The game stars Japanese actor Takuya Kimura and has a fighting system similar to Yakuza 0, allowing players to choose between different fighting styles like crane-style and tiger-style. There’s also a demo of Judgement available via PlayStation Store.
On July 10, we are expecting to receive a new trailer of the next Yakuza game focused on detailing characters and gameplay. A release date reveal of the game on July 10 also seems very likely.


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SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) has been one of the top performers on the market this year, with its stock price up about 77% year to date as of Oct. 10. The fintech, or financial technology company, is trading at around $8.18 per share, which makes it a cheap stock as far as its entry price goes. However, a cheap entry price does not always indicate that a stock is good value.
Let’s take a deeper dive and examine whether this popular fintech is trading at an attractive valuation or if the huge run-up has made it a stock to avoid right now.
SoFi has some key advantages
SoFi is a fintech with a couple of unique advantages. The company started as a lender for student loans, but over the years, it has branched out by providing a broader suite of financial services. It has three main business lines: lending, technology and financial services. The lending business is its largest revenue generator, accounting for $331 million in revenue in the second quarter or about two-thirds of the $498 million in total revenue in the quarter.
A couple of things have provided this segment with a boost in recent years. The first is the banking charter that SoFi obtained in early 2022 via the acquisition of Golden Pacific Bancorp, a small California bank. Very few fintechs have bank charters, so it gives SoFi an advantage because it can accept deposits and use those deposits to fund loans, as opposed to other fintechs, which have to partner with third-party lenders to fund loans and either pay fees or share revenue. This has helped SoFi ramp up the number of personal loans it has issued. In the second quarter, it had a record $3.7 billion in personal loan originations, up 51% year over year and 27% from the previous quarter.
This has also helped offset some of the losses in the student loan segment, as the post-COVID moratorium on student loan repayments in the U.S. has hurt this business segment. However, the moratorium was lifted this past spring, and student loan repayments started up again on Oct. 1 after a more than three-year pause. This should provide SoFi with a revenue boost in the fourth quarter and beyond.
The bank charter has also helped bolster SoFi’s financial services business, which includes its traditional banking services, investment platform, credit cards and other financial services. Revenue in this segment hit a record $98 million in Q2, up 223% year over year.
The other key advantage that SoFi has is its technology platform. It acquired a company called Galileo Financial Technologies in 2020, which allows it to provide other businesses with banking-as-a-service (BaaS), or the ability to offer their own payment platforms and financial services. This segment generated $88 million in revenue in the second quarter, giving SoFi a revenue stream that its main competitors don’t have.
Growth has been staggering
SoFi has grown rapidly in the past few years. In the most recent quarter, revenue was up 37% year over year, led by the the technology platform and financial services, which both had record revenue.
SoFi added 584,000 new members, or customers, in the quarter, giving them 6.2 million overall, up 44% year over year. It also had 847,000 new product additions, which refers to the aggregate number of SoFi products that customers use. Overall, SoFi had 9.4 million total products at quarter-end, up 43% from the second quarter of 2022.
While growth has been steady and strong, the company is still not profitable. It had a $47.5 million net loss in the most recent quarter, down from $96 million a year ago in the same quarter. This is due to the high expenses associated with ramping up the growing business. However, the company is gradually moving toward profitability.
The stock was up about 77% year to date as of Oct. 10. However, in 2022, SoFi shares were down 70%. With a net loss, there is a no price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, but you can look at other metrics, like the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, which measures the stock price in relation to its revenue. The P/S ratio is just over 4, which is down from 4.5 on June 20.
That’s normally considered high, but for a high-growth company like SoFi, which should get an additional boost from the end of the moratorium on student loan repayments, it looks like it still has room to run.
In fact, management raised its guidance for full-year adjusted net revenue in the last quarter to a range of $1.974 billion to $2.034 billion, up from its previous guidance of $1.955 billion to $2.02 billion. The company also expects to achieve net income profitability in the fourth quarter, which would be a major milestone.
At the end of the day, while SoFi is not a stock one would call cheap despite its roughly $8 entry price, there remains some solid upside growth potential in the name. Stay tuned for third-quarter earnings, which should bring more visibility.


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It is not always that a firm’s internal anniversary translates to an award-winning documentary, but it has happened for Procter & Gamble. In 1992, the biggest advertiser in the globe became one of the first 500 companies to include sexual orientation to its statement of Equal Employment Opportunity. The matter boiled down to Michael Chanak, the only gay employee whose courageous narration prompted the firm to assure protection rights for P & G’s LGBT employees.
The documentary won a Cannes Lions Silver award in 2018 because it relays a powerful message on the bias and the ability of determined individuals to bring change into a company. ‘The Words Matter’ film also added a human touch to P & G and ensured credibility which at times lacks in other businesses in terms of the diversity space.
The story concurred with the P&G’s Winter Olympics advertising which happens to be the first ad on American TV to have a Pride flag. Brent Miller, P&G’s associate director of global beauty communications and leader of LGBTQ communications, says that it is necessary to apply brand voices and not always depend on the company voice to pass a message of inclusion.
Miller says that the Pride flag is interesting because it was done with the absence of fanfare. Thus, there is so much that needs to be done regarding the depiction of the community, and P & G aims at demonstrating the diversity that exists in the world.
The ad for Head & Shoulders’ shampoo is about the first out US Olympic athlete, Gus Kenworthy. Miller says that the ad was an extension of the “Shoulders of Greatness” campaign which focusses in the various challenges that athletes have to surpass.
Miller asserts that Companies like P & G have the advantage of a big reach and huge voice and it is their responsibility to proceed with the dialogue on diversity. Additionally, the younger generations will be looking at brands with purpose and also drive loyalty to P & G.
Miller adds that there has been a dramatic shift in the roles of companies because young people tend to believe more in the private sector than the public and this explains why they are purchasing and selecting their brand affinities.
However, Miller acknowledges that the advertising world is yet to attain diversity particularly with ads that feature the LGBT people. He adds that there is more work to be done and being the largest advertiser in the world, they can use their voices to bring the change they need.


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In England they call it "the Prince George Effect."
It refers to the infinite ways large and small that the birth and existence of the new heir to the British crown is affecting the economy of the country.
Let's start with the small ones that so help to sell magazine and newspapers, not just in Great Britain but around the world. Here's an example: The Associated Press coverage of the swaddle worn by the infant prince when he emerged from the hospital with his mum, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and his dad, Prince William:
“It took 45 seconds, but it was enough. Newborn Prince George, carried from the hospital to the royal car, appeared in a cotton swaddle with the tiny birds on it. Mums-to-be around the world wanted to know: Who are you wearing?”
Less than four hours after that photo appeared on the Internet, the website of the relatively small American company that produced the item, Aden and Anais crashed under the weight of orders. Over the next nine days, the company enjoyed a 1,000+% increase in sales in the U.K., 890% in Australia, 790% in Japan and 458% in the U.S.
According to the Daily Mail “little Prince George is already having the same effect on sales of baby-themed paraphernalia as his mother has on fashion.”
The swaddle incident was repeated with the white merino wool christening blanket wrapped around the little prince, produced by a small, family-run, Nottingham-based firm that has since been inundated with orders. GH Hurt & Son Ltd, which has a long-standing connection to the Royal Family, sent the new parents a £45 merino blanket, identical to one William had when he was a baby. "The phone has been ringing off the hook and we have been taking more online orders than we have ever seen before,” the company’s director told the paper.
“From the sublime to the ridiculous, everyone is cashing in on the birth of the royal baby. Even the royal family is getting in on the act – the Royal Collection Trust has produced a range of named memorabilia that includes single mugs for £195 and teddy bears for £90,” The Guardian reported.
According to a study posted by the Small and Medium Engagement Program (SME) a few hours after his birth on July 22, 12% of all web traffic globally related to the royal baby. "Analysts were predicting big things from Prince George in terms of the role he could play in helping the struggling economy get back on track.”
The sectors most likely to benefit from the prince's 'marketing gold effect' are tourism and retailing. Much has been written about the incredible quantities of memorabilia being produced and sold since his birth.
“Everything from key rings, tea towels, commemorative plates and keepsakes can be expected to skyrocket as royal baby mania takes hold and demand grows,” SME concludes.
Royal-themed baby clothes and toys are expected to be extremely popular over the next months while luxury and expensive items used by the prince or his parents will also become sell-out items. The baby retail market has been predicted to grow to over £2.3 billion over the coming years, an increase of nearly 20%, as a result of George's arrival.
The Royal Wedding in 2011 brought an estimated 800,000 visitors to the U.K., and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee the next year contributed a further increase in tourism. Prince George is expected to have a similar effect, with the welcome benefit to hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and retail.
“Organisations which are already jumping on the baby bandwagon in an attempt to gain a share of the £243 million expected to enter the UK economy over the next three months is VisitBritain, which has been using images of Prince George in advertising campaigns to promote the U.K. as a family-friendly holiday destination,” SME reports.
For some analysts, it's not just the boost to the economy but also a general lifting of the national mood that translates into making Britons' wallets a little looser, especially related to purchasing British products. According to food and grocery research group IGD, the prince will generate over £60 million pounds to the economy in their sectors.


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Fourth annual event designed to encourage reading worldwide
Organized by Disney Publishing Worldwide and Lucasfilm, the fourth annual initiative will celebrate reading with events across the globe as fans of all ages as they gear up for the theatrical release of
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
on Dec. 18.
Participants in this year’s program include Disney, Marvel, DK Books, Scholastic, Abrams, Chronicle Books, Del Rey, Quirk Books, Workman, Egmont, Studio Fun, Phoenix International Publishing and more.
The robust lineup of events will feature
-themed games and activities, author-related signings, meet-and-greets, panels and readings at bookstores, libraries and other venues to promote literacy and unite fans of the iconic franchise.
Since the inaugural Star Wars Reads Day in 2012, there have been more than 2,500 events encouraging fans to read the films’ timeless stories, but for the first time, this year’s festivities
This year, thousands of events will take place in cities in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.
“We are thrilled to be working so closely with Lucasfilm and our publishing partners in planning this year’s Star Wars Reads Day,” says Jeanne Mosure, senior vice president and group publisher, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “The growth of this initiative globally is a true testament to the force of the
franchise and the importance of reading.”
Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
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As cannabis transitions from the black market to a legal industry, big shot marijuana investors with their eyes on the "green rush" want to make pot seem "mainstream" enough that white soccer moms will forget it was ever a crime. Their hope is that the industry will continue to expand as the stigma fades, and one of the most important ways to make that happen is to eradicate the racially charged "criminal" association with weed.
The problem is that most of today's stoners were participating in the black market for years before legalization hit the United States. They just didn't perceive themselves or their dealers as dangerous people who fit the description of a "criminal." Instead, the counterculture associated with the black market was a community of dissenters who rejected government propaganda and relied on trust to create an underground industry.
Now, hip-hop artists, who helped usher underground pot culture into popular culture, are trying to trying to employ the same entrepreneurial spirit they used to launch clothing lines and liquor brands to take the reins of the legal-weed industry.
Early this year, Wu-Tang's Ghostface Killah and Killah Priest busted into the California weed industry with Wu Goo, a 70 percent THC oil made to be smoked out of their Dynamite Stix vaporizer. The product comes after the success of West Coast rapper Kurupt's line of marijuana products. Kurupt's Moonrocks are girl-scout cookie buds rolled in CO2 oil and dipped in kief. Kurupt also sells THC-infused "lean" called "Moonwalk." Flavored and bottled like grape cough syrup, the purple drink is a not-so-subtle homage to sizzurp.
Both products are produced in a partnership with Dr. Zodiak, an entrepreneur and hip-hop artist who credits their success to their approach. "We just do things the way they should be done organically. We're not going to take Wu-Tang and try to turn it into Betty Crocker or something like that. We're gonna keep it original and authentic and keep the fans happy. We're not going to change for anybody."
The initial success of Moonrocks, which included a social-media campaign and natural endorsements from the hip-hop community, including Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, and 2Chainz, encouraged Kurupt's partners, Zodiak and Michael Solo, to reach out to Ghostface and Killah Priest in hopes of developing Wu Goo. Although Ghostface famously dreamed of having "enough land to plant to go and plant [his] own sess crops" in the classic Wu-Tang track "Can It Be All So Simple," it never occurred to him that there'd be a legal-weed business and he might be a part of it. "No, never. Never. Nope. Nope," Ghost tells VICE. But looking back, it makes sense to him how we got to this point. "At the end of the day, it's all about money. The government says you were a criminal if you were getting money off of this weed. Then they saw the demand. They saw it was a growing business. Now they wanna take it and put a dollar on it, so they can get a dollar. They do this with whatever is blowing up. They'd do crack and heroin, too, if it wasn't for people dying over that shit."
Though Ghostface and Killah Priest are joining other rappers who are known to love pot by breaking into the legal-weed industry, they aren't exactly weed heads like Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man, who's about to release a sequel to his stoner comedy classic How High next year. But the respect and renown Ghost has garnered for his art is what Solo believes will help propel their business forward.
"I just think hip-hop is the number one way to brand weed. I think hip-hop and weed go hand in hand together, and they alway have," he says. "The fact that we were the first ones really to combine weed with the hip-hop element with Kurupt and with Wu-Tang, you can see from the results. It just took off and blew up bigger than we ever thought it would, and now we're just coming out with new flavors and new products under our umbrella. It's a beautiful thing."
To stand out from the pack, Wu Goo must keep it real while staying in the lines. "We're a social-media-driven company, and we drive sales through our ability to reach millions of people through social media," Solo says, "Our company makes noise because of all of our friends. The entertainment industry is wrapped around our company, and they're supporting us—but not because we're throwing money at them like big corporations are."
The company has hired Brian O'Dea, a major pot smuggler in the 1970s and 1980s, to expand the company in legal states and internationally, with their eyes set on his home country of Canada. The illicit-turned-licit entrepreneur helps the company expand and keeps the product in line with regulations. That's no easy task given the variety of regulations from state to state, especially as they prepare to potentially convert from medical to recreational in California. I couldn't help but ask Ghostface if he could have ever imagined selling drugs with a white senior citizen from Canada. "Hell no," he says, albeit not dismissively. ""You know, things just happen in life."
"I'm glad he understands it," Ghost adds on O'Dea. "He sees everything, so that just makes you more confident."
"My history actually works to my benefit," O'Dea argues. "It's one of those few instances in your life when your criminal past is actually a qualifier for your legitimate presence."
Solo's call to O'Dea to help expand into Canada turned into a plan to tackle more US states. Now, he is legally selling the drug he smuggled decades ago. "The last thing that I did was 75 tons and $250 million, and we did that with the DEA watching us and somehow we pulled it off. To be able to do this in the legitimate world, to know that everything that we're doing is actually benefitting people, it's just an extraordinary opportunity for me," he says.
That criminals who sparked the cannabis culture in this country are in jail while investors are getting rich is not lost on O'Dea. He says that while speaking to stockbrokers in Canada about the cannabis industry a couple of years ago, he noticed the room was full of men in Tom Ford suits and Prada shoes. To them, he says from the stage, "You owe the seats you're sitting in to people in prisons in orange jumpsuits. You have to stand on those chairs and say let those people out." But, he adds, "Of course no one did."
Now Wu Go looks to expand to other states and convert to a recreational license in the Golden State if marijuana legalization passes the California ballot in November. O'Dea spends his time comparing these regulations. "The compliance in every state has to be dealt with very carefully and a lot of the compliance is around packaging and content. So our labels are different in every state because every state requires different info on the label. We have to put certain symbols on the label in Colorado that we don't have to use in Washington. As we get along, we will have our own person who does nothing but compliance in the markets that we go into," O'Dea says.
O'Dea thinks marijuana will "definitely" be legalized for recreational use in California, and that when that happens, "a lot of smaller companies, a whole lot of companies in general, they're going to get wiped out by big corporations. It's unfortunate that that's going to happen. But I feel very confident with the number of stores that carry our product, we're not going anywhere."
Ghostface is a bit more enthusiastic about the prospects of average people getting into the weed game and turning it into something positive. He simply tells me, "Go in your backyard and grow that shit."
Follow Kristen Gwynne on Twitter.


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The dual SIM support is interesting for a couple of reasons.
We're nearly certainly going to get Android Q arriving with the Pixel 4, ready to take advantage of that dual-SIM functionality. But later in the year, the company will likely launch the new Pixel 4 line sometime around October. Like Apple's newest iPhone, those Pixel phones have a tray for one SIM card while the second is provided by an eSIM.
While the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 3 can technically support two SIMs through eSIM technology, it's not the more advanced version of the tech available in many other handsets, including the latest iPhones.
Like those older dual SIM phones, the current Pixel use Dual SIM Single Standby or DSSS. Most Android smartphones come with Dual-SIM, Dual Active (DSDA) support, meaning users would be manually able to choose which SIM to be used for calls and data. You'll have to switch between the two networks to receive calls and messages from the respective network. In other words, you can't have simultaneous calls on both SIMs (though why you'd want this I dunno). DSDS is what's used by most dual-SIM Android phones and the newest iPhones; here, the second SIM can receive calls and texts if the main SIM isn't being used at that moment for the same goal. Ideally, phones would have Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA) capabilities but those require two wireless radios instead of one.
The Google Pixel 3 series of smartphone may have been out on the market for less than six months, but that isn't stopping the search engine from marching forward with the development of its successor. You can not use Dual SIM, Dual Standby to be on two calls at the same time, or have two text messages going on simultaneously. The Googler also points out that Dual SIM, Dual Standby is being tested internally on the Pixel 3 in preparation for use with the Pixel 4 models.


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2017 Inc. 5,000 list
Annual list of fastest-growing private firms includes manufacturing, home improvement and travel from northeast Wisconsin
Six firms from the New North B2B readership area made the sought-after Inc. 5,000 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies. Inc. released the annual list in late August. This year’s count is up from four companies a year ago and the same as the six local companies appearing on the list in 2015. Here’s a look at the region’s accelerating companies making the Inc. 5,000 list for 2017 by order of rank:
Tundraland Home Improvements
Kaukauna-based Tundraland Home Improvements reported growth of 366 percent over the past three years and 2016 revenues of $29.1 million. The company (tundraland.com) specializes in bathrooms, windows, decks and sunrooms for residential improvement projects. This year marks Tundraland’s first year on the list. The company employs 157 people and was founded in 2009.
This year marks Little Chute-based Midwest Restoration’s second year on the Inc. 5,000 list, having secured a spot at No. 1,219 in 2015. The company reported three-year growth of 314 percent and 2016 revenues of $2 million. Midwest Restoration (mwrestoration.com) restores and reconstructs commercial and residential properties damaged by weather, vandalism, mold or fire. It was founded in 2008 and employs 12 people.
Greenville-based Blaak-Haak Heating (black-haak.com) made its debut on the Inc. 5,000 list this year, with three-year growth of 85 percent and 2016 receipts of $4.8 million. Black-Haak provides residential and commercial heating and cooling services, as well as geothermal system installation across the Fox Valley. The company was founded in 1956 and employs 35 people.
Drexel Building Supply
Campbellsport-based Drexel Building Supply (drexelteam.com) marked its eighth year on the Inc. 5,000 list, reporting three-year growth of 65 percent and 2016 revenues of $143.5 million. Founded in 1985, the company employs 310 people. Drexel Building Supply ranked No. 3,718 on the 2016 list. It’s highest ranking had been at No. 311 back in 2009.
The family-owned company has six locations, including local retails stores in Campbellsport, Wrightstown and Berlin. Its specialties include home design, roofing, siding, walls, millwork, doors, windows, pole buildings, cabinets, decks, floors and countertops.
Fox World Travel
Oshkosh-based Fox World Travel landed its fifth consecutive year on the Inc. 5,000 list of fastest-growing private companies, reporting 58 percent growth over the past three years and revenues of $28.4 million in 2016. The company ranked No. 4,659 on the 2016 list. The 2017 ranking marks Fox World Travel’s highest spot in the five years it’s been on the Inc. 5,000 list.
Founded in 1960, the travel management company (foxworldtravel.com) employs 238 people. In addition to its Oshkosh headquarters, Fox World Travel has a dozen locations in northeast Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area.
Vehicle Security Innovators
Green Bay-based Vehicle Security Innovators (vsilocks.com) scored a position on the Inc. 5,000 list for the fourth consecutive year this year. Boasting 41 percent growth over three years and 2016 revenues of $10 million, VSI provides locksets for the heavy truck industry. It was founded in 2005 and employs 44 people. Last year the company ranked No. 3,843 on the list. It recorded its highest ranking back in 2015 at No. 3,305.


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HONG KONG - Hong Kong's market regulator said it is investigating Chinese solar firm Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd., adding that the probe is “active and is continuing.
The e-commerce company announces free same-day shipping on over 1 million items in 14 metro areas across the US. by Ben Fox Rubin · @benfoxrubin; 28 May 2015 11:02 am BST.
McDonald's has announced that it will no longer publicly announce its sales figures each month, as it focuses on improving the 'small things' - such as how long it toasts its burger buns.
The Federal Reserve should refrain from using interest-rate policy to address risks to financial stability "even as a last resort," San Francisco Fed President John Williams said Thursday.
U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, after equities rebounded Wednesday, as concerns reignited about a Greek debt deal. Standard & Poor's 500 Index E-mini contracts expiring next month slipped 0.1 percent to 2,119 at 6:25 a.m.


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Discounted European beach holiday prices at top resorts such as the Algarve are being offered in a special September sale by British Airways.
The sale also coincides with a campaign by Algarve tourism authorities to attract “last-minute” tourists. In a promotional video released earlier this month, and narrated in English, the one-minute video showcases the Algarve’s popular attractions.
These include traditional cuisine, award-winning beaches, outdoor leisure pursuits and abundant wildlife – all of which can be enjoyed with respect for social distancing guidelines and safe contact with nature ensured.
President João Fernandes said the board was focused on regaining the region’s emotional connection with its main markets, while consolidating a message of safety, well-being and confidence in a destination that holidaymakers from the UK and other areas are already familiar with “and where they know they will be welcomed genuinely and warmly”.
Holidays in the Algarve
In the meantime, the sale by British Airways and British Airways Holidays is due to run until 21 September 2021 and includes reductions across a range of flights and holidays through to summer 2022. “Whether reuniting with loved ones, taking a long weekend break, indulging in some Mediterranean sunshine or embarking on the holiday of a lifetime, there are big savings to be made for travel across the globe.”
According to the company, all bookings “will fall under British Airways’ and British Airways Holidays’ ongoing flexible booking policies, allowing customers to rearrange their trip free of charge before 31 August 2022 for the utmost confidence and security”.
Explained British Airways Holidays managing director Claire Bentley, “With optimism about future holidays continuing to grow, we know that many of our customers are keen to get back to travelling. This sale is about giving as much choice as possible to those who are preparing to get away, whether in the near future or next year. We recognise that there’s still an element of uncertainty, which is why we recently extended our flexible booking policy. Low deposits on holidays and free amendments or cancellations offer the kind of peace of mind that we know our customers need.”
Specifically for the Algarve, British Airways Holidays is offering seven nights at the four-star Quinta Pedro Dos Bicos hotel from £199 per person, travelling on selected dates between 1 November and 30 November 2021 (inclusive). Bookings must be made by 21 September 2021.
A series of safety measures introduced by British Airways in recent months – “to make the travel experience simple and enjoyable during and after the pandemic” – includes a new interactive map, as well as partnerships with testing providers, mobile travel health app VeriFly and cleaning brand Dettol.
In addition to quality, the Algarve also offers excellent value for money, as highlighted in a report by Post Office Travel Money.


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Making a difference with old textiles
Chamber of commerce Ruby Award winner and owner of Textile Waste Diversion Daniela Siggia explains how she repurposes used clothing, glasses, shoes and more as part of her business located at her home in Welland. Michelle Allenberg/Welland Tribune
A Welland business that focuses on diverting waste from local landfills hopes to make a positive difference to Niagara.
Textile Waste Diversion and owner Daniela Siggia won the Welland–Pelham Chamber of Commerce RBC Small Business Award at the annual Ruby Awards ceremonies in October.
Her business collects used clothing, glasses, shoes, toys and much more, and repurposes those goods by selling them to the global resale market, local charities and other organizations. Materials that are too worn are sold to companies that sort and export the materials as rags. Siggia said there is a huge market in the U.S. for rags for industry use.
The company also assists with community fundraisers.
Within Niagara, Siggia asks businesses to place a small container on their properties to collect goods. She said the location at Mark’s No Frills on Lake Street in St. Catharines does well. Every day about 270 kilograms of goods are collected from that location alone.
But Siggia said the business has been struggling in the current market and is hoping more businesses will offer space for collection bins to improve overall revenue. Anyone wanting to host a bin on their property can call Textile Waste Diversion’s toll-free number 888-980-8756.
“People’s jobs are on the line,” she said about the textile waste industry she has been working so hard to make a success.
For Siggia, there are too many lobbyists for large corporations that make her job difficult. She said the lobbyists have control over the textile waste industry and are preventing growth and change.
In Europe, countries recycle used clothes into completely new products using advanced machinery.
“They can take a shoe and turn it into a couch with the machinery,” she said.
But Siggia said in Canada this isn’t happening. Instead, used clothes are being shipped to East Africa and saturating the market overseas. She hopes this can change in the future.
“Let’s turn it on its head … I need to make a positive difference,” she said.
Siggia said her company is innovative within Canada, but not globally, because Europe has such advanced technology and access to diverse machinery.
Textile Waste Diversion is the first textile waste company to advocate for curb-side collection, which she’s proud of. Siggia said she is determined to make a difference in the industry and will continue to spur innovation by promoting European practices.
When it comes to diverting waste from landfills, Siggia said it makes a huge impact on the environment. Most materials don’t decompose — organic materials can take up to 100 years to decompose. Siggia said organic fibres can also create carbon dioxide, contaminate water tables, and create a chemical reaction which makes the material combustible.
Another reason to divert waste from landfills is to diversify the economy. Siggia said the materials sent to landfills have a lot of value that could contribute to the economy. By repurposing materials, she said she is able to create a business and boost the economy.
Textile Waste Diversion has 50 people working for the company as shareholders who essentially run their own businesses. Siggia and two other employees run the main division of the business.
“Without my father and brothers this wouldn’t be possible,” she said.


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Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a California-based animal rights group that stages dramatic in-store protests around the world, conducted a year-long investigation of a “certified humane” farm, and what they found was so compelling that the New York Times ran a lengthy (though slanted) story about it, exposing the mainstream public to the myth of “humane” animal agriculture.
During approximately 10 visits to Petaluma Farms, a Whole Foods egg supplier in California, DxE took video footage of the horrific conditions in which the “humanely raised” hens are living. In addition to documenting the typical aspects of “life” on factory farms, such as disease, stress and overcrowding, they encountered birds languishing in manure pits; struggling to breath and already dead. One of the worst conditions, the “overwhelming” smell, could not be captured on camera.
In this extraordinary video, DxE uses video footage from its investigation to demonstrate that, even in the “best” of circumstances – on a farm that is “certified humane” – animals are abused, neglected and deprived of the chance to do anything that comes naturally to them.
Because Whole Foods is spending tens of millions of dollars to duplicitously market animal abuse as “humane” and slaughter as an “act of compassion,” DxE is launching an international campaign against the grocery store chain – with protests planned in 50 cities – demonstrating that there is no humane way to slice off hens’ beaks, castrate baby pigs, suffocate animals in gas chambers and slit their throats. Whole Foods, they argue, has built a “house of lies” around a “dark and violent reality,” where their “farms are prisons, and every inmate is on death row.”
Please visit Direct Action Everywhere to learn about, support and/or join their provocative campaigns to expose the truth about animal farming and promote a cruelty-free lifestyle.


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Rec Room has raised $145 million, funding it will use to continue building out its tools and audience of gamers to create their own experiences across mobile devices, game consoles, PC, and VR headsets. The funding is being led by Coatue Management, with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group, and it is coming in at a $3.5 billion valuation.This hike on its valuation earlier this year, in March, when it raised $100 million led by Sequoia at a $1.25 billion valuation. It has seen some awe-inspiring growth. It noted 2 million people playing and creating content in March; now, it said it has 37 million.
The funding is coming on the back of very significant growth and scale for Rec Room, amid a more comprehensive climate where suddenly more attention is being focused on VR and immersive experiences, specifically, companies building content that engages users in those mediums. Rec Room is a “social gaming” company in a couple of regards: The key to its growth has been not just the ability to create games and play those created by others and to join in rooms to play together, but the ability to provide a well-used, virtual social space for users to hang out beyond gameplay.
It is not clear how many active users there are out of that 37 million figure, Rec Room said that the monthly user count has grown by almost 450% in the last year and that mobile users are driving some of that growth, up tenfold in that period.


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If you're starting a small business, you're likely frazzled from working long hours bringing your idea into the world. But don't let your full workload delay you in protecting your fledgling enterprise.
Getting business insurance is... Continue
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In 2014, an average of 12.3 non-residential fires happened every hour. The impact of out-of-control flames can be extremely expensive. Even if... Continue
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While the average loss during a burglary is over $2,000 dollars, that number can rise if you have a home business. This is due to operation... Continue
At 10:30 on a Sunday evening, Steve Lapenta's phone rang. An employee of Lapenta's small natural foods business, The Bridge in Middletown, Conn., was on the line.
“You should come down here," the employee said. “A truck just crashed... Continue
Mark Twain wrote that “many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising." And it's true. Smart advertising can make a relatively unknown brand or product famous.
Yet it's also a legal minefield. Whether on TV,... Continue
For three days in August 2016, parts of Louisiana saw rains that exceeded those of Hurricane Katrina. The torrential downpours dropped more than 30 inches of rain in some regions of the state—three times that of the infamous hurricane.... Continue
When the electricity goes out at home, it's often a simple inconvenience. Usually you can remedy this temporary situation with a flashlight and a good book or some board games. But for small business owners, the cost of power outages due... Continue


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Pret A Manger will open its first Veggie Pret outside London, in Manchester’s Deansgaete, chief executive Clive Schlee has announced.
The opening is expected to be a conversion of Pret’s store on 79 Deansgate, and was revealed on Twitter by Schlee.
There are currently three Veggie Pret sites trading in London, with the concept starting life as a pop-up in Soho.
The fourth Veggie Pret will have a new menu (which will launch in Veggie Pret shops in London at the same time), and it will combine veggie classics with new dishes, such as Pret’s Butternut & Cauliflower Gratin and a Spicy Halloumi & Peppers Toasted Baguette.
Hannah Dolan, head of food development at Pret, comments, “When we asked customers on social media where they’d like to see the next Veggie Pret, Manchester was the top request. We’re delighted to be able to reveal today that the city is our next location.
“Veggie Pret is still growing and the future is looking as green as ever. We want customers to keep telling us what they think – and where they’d like to see Veggie Pret next.”


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Asian Paints has roped in cricketer Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador for its new launch - Neo Bharat Latex Paint, a product with special polymer technology that provides "superior finish, higher coverage, and better washability" the company stated. These “colours of progress”, as is the tag line for Neo Bharat, are an ode to the millions of Indians who are in pursuit of a better life, and Asian Paints aims to partner with them in their journey, highlighted the company.
"Kohli embodies the values and spirit of the brand reflecting Asian Paints' leadership and commitment to excellence and performance, making him the perfect face for both Asian Paints and the innovative Neo Bharat Latex Paint," Asian Paints shared in a statement.
Amit Syngle, MD & CEO, Asian Paints Ltd., said, "Our upcoming launch, Neo Bharat Latex Paint, marks one of Asian Paints' biggest moments in history, and having Virat Kohli as the face of this disruptive brand adds to our excitement. Kohli is credited today to transform the game and the Indian team in a way that many have not. His popularity cuts across regions, his persona exudes the confidence of the new India. Kohli’s influence and resonance with the masses perfectly align with this revolutionary product. Neo Bharat is set to not only redefine the paint category but also fuel the industry's growth in India. We welcome Virat Kohli to the Asian Paints family and look forward to this journey together.”
Commenting on his association with Asian Paints, Kohli stated, “Asian Paints for me represents more than a brand and is like cricket; being a part of almost every Indian Home bringing joy and exhilaration to our lives."
The campaign is set to go live across all mediums in the next few weeks.


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In case, like us, this year made you want to exit reality completely, the Metaverse is here to save you. And, if you wanted some virtual drip whilst doing so, Nike’s got you covered. In a major move announced last night, Nike is set to acquire RTFKT – a leading virtual fashion platform that specialises in creating virtual sneakers.
Joining the roster which only currently includes two other major brands (Jordans and Converse), the acquisition of RTFKT is huge, and indicative of Nike’s belief and investment in the Metaverse. Founded less than 2 years ago, the brand has quickly come to dominate the virtual sneaker space, taking inspiration from Nike’s own strategies by developing a cult following and fanbase through well-curated collaborations and limited drops.
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RTFKT capitalised on the NFT boom that began earlier this year, releasing several virtual sneaker designs in collaboration with the artist Fewocious in February, and quickly making more than US$3 million by selling 600 pairs. In March, it partnered with Atari on a virtual sneaker, and in November, partnered with the artist Takashi Murakami on an NFT auction which put 20,000 3D avatars up for sale.
Still with us? It’s unclear what the terms of the deal will be for now, but Nike said that their “plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their innovative and creative community and extend Nike’s digital footprint and capabilities,” in a statement.
So why should you care? Well, this move from the sportswear giant signals the start of a wider social shift into virtual spaces. In essence – this is about to affect us even if we don’t care about virtual sneakers. The move to acquire a standalone company, for comparison, has only been done once before by Nike, who bought Converse in 2003. This means it’s super important, and indicates that Nike will be investing a lot of money into virtual endeavours in the future.
And, as such a huge company, this will have knock-on effects: other brands will be taking note, and trying to dip their own toes into the ever-expanding pool of the Metaverse. Which means we’re about to see a lot more virtual reality, goods and landscapes as consumers. With so much money being pumped into the digital realm, this will also impact on real-world consumer behaviour: with the price of Nike Air Force 1 sneakers almost doubling in the last decade, why would you not buy a virtual pair for a significantly reduced price?
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With money spent comes the time spent: people paying for metaverse-exclusive drip are going to be spending a lot more time online, to show it off. It remains to be seen as to what impact this will have on physical sales, but with the pandemic already accelerating the death of the high street, we’re not convinced it’ll be good news.
The stats agree: according to the BoF, 50% US consumers are interested in purchasing some kind of digital asset in the next 12 months, and analysts predict the currently negligible market for luxury NFTs could grow to more than €20 billion (US$22.6 billion) by 2030. We can see the merit in this prediction already through gaming, with many gamers already buying ‘skins’ that allow them to change the appearance of their avatar in the game world.
So, in all, it seems that we’re entering the Metaverse whether we like it or not – with big brands like Nike leading the way. Are you in?


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ALTOONA – Sheetz, one of America’s fastest-growing, family-owned and operated convenience store chains for over 65 years, is excited to reveal the recipients of its Time Back initiative in honor of Global Pay It Forward Day on April 28.
As the Ultimate One-Stop Shop, Sheetz’s goal is to give customers time back in their everyday lives to do more of the things they love most.
Committed to listening to what’s really important and engaging its customers in a meaningful way, Sheetz recently gave customers more “time back” by surprising them with prizes that are important to them, including donations to charities they are passionate about, brand new vehicles, dream vacations and more.
“As a family-owned and operated company, connecting with our customers and giving back are core values ingrained in Sheetz’s DNA,” said Ryan Sheetz, assistant vice president of brand at Sheetz.
“Standing behind those core values, we had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to surprise a few of our lucky fans with more of the things they love in order to help them enjoy all of that time back they get from shopping at Sheetz.”
Time Back recipients included:
- April McDuffie-Hodges (South Boston, Va.), who was surprised with a $25,000 contribution to her business, Alexia’s Closet, which had been severely damaged from several major floods in recent years, as well as a new car, camper and $5,000 donation to the American Heart Association in honor of her son.
- Emily Spears (Confluence, Pa.), who was surprised with $10,000 to help save the lives of homeless pets as well as a dream vacation to Turks & Caicos and a brand-new car following a recent car accident in which her vehicle was destroyed.
- Todd Spurrier (Finksburg, Md.), a cancer survivor who was surprised with a $25,000 contribution to his charity, Destination X Ride, which seeks to make more people aware of the dangers of colorectal cancer, as well as a van that was custom-wrapped with his charity’s logo and $500 Sheetz gift card.
- Alan Jamieson (St. Mary’s City, Md.), who was surprised with a $25,000 donation to St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where he is an associate professor, as well as a dream vacation to London and $2,500 Sheetz gift card to help fuel his students.
- Chris Bizzell (Raleigh, N.C.), who was surprised with a $25,000 donation to East Cary Middle School’s athletic department, where he coaches track & field, as well as a new truck and all expenses paid trip to the Sheetz headquarters.
To learn about each recipient’s story and view their surprise reveal video, go to www.SheetzTimeBack.com.


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Nest on Tuesday announced an update to its mobile app that expands the functionality of its offerings and helps to reduce unwanted alerts.
For Nest Cam users, there's now automatic door detection built into Nest Aware, the company's premium subscription service for its cameras. The new feature, which works with both the Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor, will be rolled out over the coming weeks at which time Nest Aware will learn to recognize doors in your home and using deep learning algorithms, automatically create Activity Zones around them.
Nest Aware subscribers have been able to manually create Activity Zones around areas they want to keep an eye on for a while now; this just simply automates the process for doorways.
Nest is also improving the alerts it provides. Now, Android 7 and iOS 10 users will receive push notifications with animated previews of what's going on. Nest Cam owners with a Nest Protect that warns of smoke or dangerous levels of carbon monoxide will automatically receive a live video feed from all Nest Cams to help assess the situation.
The handful of new Nest updates aren't exactly game-changers that'll influence your buying decision one way or another. Instead, they simply help to make life a tiny bit easier and more convenient.


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Despite the maximum for 10 years rise of the eurozone economy in 2017, the growth rate of corporate profits in Europe lags far behind the United States, The Wall Street Journal writes. The profits of the companies from the S & P 500 index in the first quarter increased by 25%, and of the companies from the Stoxx Europe 600 index - only by 6.5%, data of FactSet showed. Experts at Morgan Stanley note the maximum for 30 years gap between the earnings per share of companies from the MSCI USA and MSCI Europe indices, which is due to a strong euro, a significant reduction in taxes in the US and a jump in profits of US technology companies. Companies from Stoxx Europe 600 receive half of the proceeds abroad, and strong euros have a negative impact on their performance. Indicators of more than 90% of US technology companies, which account for about a quarter of the S & P 500 index, surpassed the market forecasts in the past quarter.
S&P and Nasdaq close on record gains amid hopes on new China stimulus19.02.2020
EU to propose plans to boost European firms and compete with U.S. tech giants18.02.2020
Hang Seng and Nikkei underperform after Apple’s revenue warning14.02.2020
Japanese policymakers prepare for Q4 GDP decline and virus risks


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Police respond to grocery store armed robbery
CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Charleston Police say the BI-LO grocery store in West Ashley was robbed early Thursday morning by two men.
The two robbers entered the store at 6:19 a.m., and one of them was armed with a handgun, according to Charleston Police spokesman Charles Francis.
The pair left with an undisclosed amount of money, Francis said.
No injuries were reported in the incident and no arrests have been made.
The investigation is continuing.
Copyright 2014 WCSC. All rights reserved.


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By Claus Hetting, Wi-Fi NOW CEO & Chairman
Denmark-based Icotera lands Telenor Sweden as first Wi-Fi 6 router client
Residential broadband services provider Telenor Sweden has picked router manufacturer Icotera to develop its new Wi-Fi 6-capable router. Telenor Sweden has – according to Wikipedia – 645.000 home broadband subscribers. The deal marks a Wi-Fi 6 market breakthrough for the small Denmark-based Wi-Fi router and fibre CPE provider.
The new Icotera Wi-Fi 6 unit for Telenor Sweden is powered by ON Semiconductor’s 8×8 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi 6 chipset. Read the full press release here. For more about the 8×8 solutions for Wi-Fi 6-capable home gateways and routers also see this extended Wi-Fi NOW interview with Telefonica.
Nokia launches Wi-Fi 6-capable ‘Beacon 6’ mesh router
Last week Nokia launched their first Wi-Fi 6 product in the form of the ‘Beacon 6’ mesh router to complement their existing whole-home Wi-Fi mesh portfolio, which includes the Nokia WiFi Cloud Controller for remote management and optimisation.
The new unit is the first among Nokia Wi-Fi routers to support the EasyMesh standard, Nokia says in their press release here. Nokia hasn’t released the specs for the unit except to say that it is up to 40% faster than previous systems and that you only need four units ‘to cover a huge house’.
Nokia Wi-Fi’s only official service provider client thus far is Thailand’s AIS Fibre although rumour has it that a major Scandinavian client is in the pipeline. New Zealand fibre operator Chorus says they are testing the new Beacon 6 unit. Nokia also says that Beacon 6 technology includes a Nokia Bell Labs innovation called ‘Proportional Integrated Controller’ or ‘PI2’ to substantially reduce latency.
Aptilo Networks and Espressif Systems announce end-to-end interoperability for zero-touch Wi-Fi IoT
Aptilo Networks and China-based Wi-Fi chipset and module vendor Espressif last week confirmed end-to-end interoperability between Aptilo’s zero-touch IoT device authentication and onboarding platform and Espressif’s SoC platform for Wi-Fi devices. This is – as far as we know – the first partnership agreement for Aptilo in their quest to enable zero-touch, secure onboarding for Wi-Fi IoT devices. Aptilo’s solution is available on Amazon Web Services’ AWS IoT Core. For more about Aptilo’s zero-touch solution for Wi-Fi-based IoT device onboarding read here.
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Belgium’s Proximus deploys AirTies for remote Wi-Fi optimisation
Last week whole-home Wi-Fi solution provider AirTies announced that Belgian leading ISP Proximus has deployed the ‘AirTies Cloud’ home Wi-Fi optimisation and management solution. “AirTies Cloud is a flexible management platform that continuously optimizes the network and gives service providers real-time visibility into their subscribers’ Wi-Fi performance, allowing remote diagnostics and troubleshooting,” AirTies says in their press release.
Proximus serves about 1.6 million broadband subscribers across Belgium. AirTies says their Wi-Fi technology has been deployed by more than 50 service providers across four continents.


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They will be able to recognise gestures of the users and operate accordingly
Intel has displayed its latest gesture-controlled laptops that will be rolled out later this year.
The company has displayed models of its ‘ultrabooks’ at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 press conference, which will be able to recognise gestures of the users and operate accordingly, also allowing users to create more content rather than just accessing it.
The ultrabook technology campaign is the biggest marketing effort since Intel’s 2003 campaign for Centrino wireless internet.
Intel Vice President Mooly Eden, unveiling the gadget, said people want their device to be nice, small, sleek and give them pride, and that Intel was working with its partners to reduce prices and boost screen sizes, adding more than 75 models will feature their touchless technology.
Nuance provides speech recognition technology to Intel, and the ultrabooks would not require a headset , but sill gives "great performance" said Peter Mahoney, chief marketing officer and general manager of Nuance’s Dragon software.
Another exclusive feature enables the swiping of credit card over ultrabooks to make a purchase, rather than having to type in details.


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In his recent Xerocon keynote, Xero’s chief marketing officer Andy Lark noted a compelling statistic: Seventy percent of the 600,000 start ups launched in The UK in 2015 were millennials in the 18-34 demographic.
There is a lot that’s been said about Millennials, their social and spiritual habits are topics of intense media attention. But for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the socio-economic aspects (the comment section is there for the other stuff). As PwC notes in its recent report ‘Millenials and financial literacy’, “[Millennials] are better educated than their predecessors, more ethnically diverse, and more economically active”.
Simultaneously, Millennials confront greater difficulties than previous generations, including economic uncertainty, student debt than those who came before them. “Millennials owe a lot. They know too little. Millennials’ struggle with debt may eventually become our problem, too,” according to Annamaria Lusardi, Academic Director of the global financial literacy excellence centre at the George Washington University.
From an accountants’ perspective, you have a new generation of client financially industrious entrepreneurs, screaming out for financial advice. In PwC’s report, just under a quarter (24%) indicated basic financial knowledge. “Millennials are the least financially literate among all age groups,” writes Terry Sheridan on AccountingWEB US. “They understood more about mortgages and ‘numeracy’ than inflation, diversification, and bond concepts.”
The generation that is financially burdened is also easily amazed and satisfied. Just by doing what accountants do best, something like day-to-day compliance and tax optimisation, a practitioner can gain a new, loyal client.
Meg Pope, a millennial and events manager/digital marketing consultant, typifies this experience. “For my first ever tax return this year, I was expecting to pay £4000,” she says. “But my accountant worked his magic and brought it down to £940.” For members of financially strained, debt burdened generation - a tax run-of-the-mill saving on tax is a welcome gift. “For what I saved, I would’ve gladly paid him more than the fee he ended charging me,” says Pope.
“Everyone pays <taxes>, but you can help minimize them,” says AccountingWEB columnist Bryce Sanders. “Teach them simple things like recording the mileage when using their car for work and tallying the costs of publications they buy connected to their field of expertise. Every deduction counts.”
Millennials need you
“The research has documented that the gap between the amount of financial responsibility given to young [people] and their demonstrated ability to manage financial decisions is rapidly widening,” the PwC study states.
“This ‘knowledge deficit’,” wrote Sheridan, “could be a personal, economical, and social disaster”.
Simply put millennials need accountants. But do accountants want to deal with clients that have been cast as “selfie-posting, social-media-crazed underachievers”? Well, to return to Andy Lark’s statistic - you don’t really have much of a choice.
And you should want millennial clients, too. Even for young people who aren’t start-up innovators, the ‘side hustle’ - or second job - has become the norm. As The New York Times quipped, “The forward slash…is evolving into a kind of identity marker (paralegal/actress; fashion publicist/D.J.; advertising executive/gluten free baker)”. And for many of these young people, with forward slashes in their professional identities, their ambition is to go into business for themselves eventually.
Now, all they need is an accountant.
About Francois Badenhorst
I'm AccountingWEB's business editor. Feel free to get in touch with comments, tips, scoops or irreverent banter.


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BMW was firmly established as a premium vehicle brand by the top of the 20th century. The automaker is now busy promoting its new Tremendous Obligation, which is manufactured with brawny and sophisticated Ford truck body components. With its iconic SUV brand slowing down in 2017, it’s no shock this automaker fell behind its closest opponents in September.
That’s especially true within the auto industry, where the rising clout of money-wealthy private fairness corporations mixed with the declining capital of automakers is making even the giants extra prone to takeovers. Sure sufficient, Nissan has made sure that this popular automotive from the company would stay to be one of the topnotch selections of consumers in the auto market.
German automaker Volkswagen earned an overall score of sixty four, good for 23rd on the listing. In fact, fluctuations in gasoline prices and the shift of the automotive market to compact cars didn’t have an effect on much its automaker’s prominent standing in gross sales reports.
Though, the automaker entertained important modifications, tested parts like the EBC brake rotors will likely be retained within the model. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has waged a protracted public campaign to find a merger associate for Fiat Chrysler, the smallest of Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
In its annual auto problem, Shopper Reviews ranked 31 automakers in their report card, taking the typical take a look at rating from all the brand new models bought and tested by the journal, which takes street exams, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and security into consideration for each car.Tags: automakers, japanese, three, ultimate


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Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai has effectively reached 70% of its pre-lockdown weekly output levels. The milestone came as Tesla added a second shift of workers to augment Giga Shanghai’s vehicle production capabilities.
Tesla’s Shanghai-based plant serves as the company’s primary vehicle export hub. When Shanghai initiated its stringent lockdowns near the end of March, however, the facility’s vehicle production was halted. It took 22 days before the plant was allowed to resume its operations.
While Giga Shanghai has already reached 70% of its pre-lockdown vehicle output levels, plans are underway to increase the plant’s production further this week. The information was provided to Reuters by two people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named because the topic is private.
After it reopened its doors on April 19 and despite only having one shift of workers, Giga Shanghai was still able to produce 10,757 Model 3 and Model Y until the end of April. Tesla was able to sell 1,512 vehicles during the month as well, as per data released by the China Passenger Car Association.
Giga Shanghai’s April numbers represented a 97.7% decline month-over-month, seeing as Tesla sold 65,814 in March. It also represented the company’s lowest sales tally since April 2020, about four months after the company started delivering its cars to consumers.
Giga Shanghai’s return to its pre-lockdown levels would likely accelerate in the coming weeks, especially as authorities would be canceling numerous conditions for businesses to resume work starting Wednesday. With China opening up after a long lockdown, it would appear that Giga Shanghai would indeed be, as Elon Musk noted, coming back with a vengeance.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to firstname.lastname@example.org to give us a heads up.


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A 2017 Brand Love study conducted by youth research firm Smarty Pants named Cuties the preferred produce brand of parents at the start of the citrus season.
Following this season’s ‘100 Days of Sunshine’ campaign, marketing research by W5 shows Cuties remains the preferred mandarin brand of parents.
“The positivity of our brand and family-friendly focus resonates with parents. Our goal this season was to nurture deep, long-lasting relationships with parents to increase engagement, brand preference and drive customers to our retail partners”, said Howard Nager, Sun Pacific’s vice president of marketing and business development.
Cuties’ innovative partnership with iHeart Media and social influencers during the campaign allowed for custom experiences with audiences, approaching nearly half a million people in total.
Two contests, one in which two children went backstage at the iHeart Media Jingle Ball in Miami to interview celebrities, and the other encouraging Cuties fans to share stories under the hashtag #ShareSomethingSweet with the chance to win thousands of dollars, garnered nationwide entries across different social media outlets.
Cuties also partnered with hundreds of popular parenting, food and lifestyle influencers, who curated DIYs, recipes, and family-friendly activities, reaching more than 36 million parents.
This content was then reposted on Cuties’ own social media channels, with the brand seeing a 200% growth in its Facebook page and a newly-launched Instagram page.
The 100 Days of Sunshine campaigned started on November 1st and concluded on February 17th, National Random Acts of Kindness Day.
“100 Days of Sunshine was more than a campaign. At a time when families across the country needed it the most, Cuties reminded them to share sweetness and kindness with those around them”, said Nager.
He said Cuties will be in most retailers through April or until they sell out, and Summer Cuties will be in select retailers by June.


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Cantabil Retail India is planning to put its expansion plans on hold and is shutting down its non-profitable stores to minimize losses. The company has already closed down 150 stores of Lafanso, its casual men's wear brand, and about 10 stores of Cantabil leaving the company with 45 and 300 stores of Lafanso and Cantabil respectively. The company recorded a net profit of INR 125 million on a turnover of INR 1.86 billion in 2010-11 against INR 2.02 billion in the previous fiscal. The total debt recorded on its books was INR 500 million in March 2011.
Vijay Bansal, MD, Cantabil Retail India Ltd, says: “Many competitors have closed down their non-profitable stores, mainly their second brand stores which ran on larger discounts. There has been a sharp decline in the purchasing power of middle class buyers due to inflation."
The company has seen its sales drop by 20% in the past 8 months which has compelled the company to completely do away with its discount-driven strategy and sell the current stock at maximum retail price.
A new premium brand called 'Kaneston' has been launched, to be sold on net price ranging from INR 1100 to INR 2000. Among other steps being taken by the company to check losses are - cutting down on marketing and advertising expenditure, reducing manpower and preferring company owned stores. Cantabil now prefers to work with franchisees on a commission basis rather than using the minimum-guaranteed income model.