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Amazon’s move to New York shows how serious it is about advertising
Amazon’s move to New York is an indication of how serious the company may be about its burgeoning ads business — and may lead to a new talent crisis for agencies.
The Seattle-based company, which announced that New York City and Arlington, Virginia, will be its new locations this week, will invest $5 billion and open 50,000 new jobs across the two cities. This follows a new office in Manhattan that opened under a year ago that brought 2,000 jobs, mostly in advertising, to the city and closer to Madison Avenue.
The new HQ won’t be only focused on advertising — an Amazon spokesman said it will “host our natural growth as a company and will not be focused on a certain business — employees working in our new campus will be supporting all businesses.”
But it does provide some indications of how serious Amazon is about its $3 billion business, which is growing more rapidly than all of its other lines.
Amazon has made a lot of improvements in the business lately — ad buyers have reported that Amazon has consolidated and simplified its platform. On Thursday, it introduced a new agency certification program. The program asks employees to participate and showcase their abilities to complete specific courses and assessment, including sponsored ads optimization, reporting, strategy and targeting.
Jeremy Cornfeldt, president at iProspect U.S., which was one of the first “Amazon certified” agencies, said that “Amazon is very serious” when it comes to advertising. “We see first-hand how they’re evolving their products. We see they’re getting traction from a budget-growth perspective. It’s the highest growth channel they have.”
One thing that’s a little less tangible is what proximity to the metaphorical Madison Avenue really means. When Amazon’s growth in advertising began to be noticed about a year ago, the company made serious efforts to talk to agencies more — lunch-and-learns abounded, and the company grew its agency development group into hundreds of staffers, modeling it off Facebook and Google. And media, after all, is a people business — the company’s had enough complaints about a lack of “support” from Amazon from buyers, something it’s tried to solve with an increased outreach program to agencies. “Coming here is an interesting promise Amazon is making in a way,” said Cornfeldt.
Amazon has all the goods — data, targeting, attribution muscle. But multiple agency execs who asked that they speak on background said that they still want Amazon to learn their language — Amazon, said these sources, is still figuring out how to work with agencies. It’s an amorphous issue, but executives pointed to how when Google and Facebook built up their presences in New York, things changed as they got to know people. There’s a little bit of an expectation that this may happen here.
At MDC, there’s a new Amazon effectiveness capability created by its digital performance agency Unique Influence. Stella Voutsina, chief technology officer at MDC Media Partners, said that Amazon’s “vicinity to the media and marketing industry will ignite innovation,” and that she thinks she will see more startups also in the retail media space following the HQ2 announcement.
HQ2 in New York also could mean more talent flowing to Amazon. Already, a number of executives said that they’ve had programmatic specialists move over to Amazon to the Manhattan office in the past few months.
Cornfeldt said that he expects some “talent sharing” to happen with Amazon in New York. He, like other agency executives Digiday spoke to, likens to when Google and Facebook built up their ads teams in New York and plucked from the agency businesses to staff them.
Jay Haines, principal at ad recruiting firm Grace Blue, which works primarily with top agency talent, said that in the last six months, he hasn’t had a single conversation with top agency or ad talent and their career without Amazon being mentioned. “The news [of Amazon coming to New York] sharpens the conversation,” said Haines. “If I’m the CEO of an agency or a group, Amazon can be a benchmark of the kind of place people want to work. So it’s going to put some pressure on them.”
At VMLY&R New York, executive director Rosanne Johnson has a slightly different perspective. “I don’t think any of us see the news as being detrimental,” she said. “But talent is fluid, and, certainly, different folks like different experiences. This is an enhanced talent pool.”
There can also be a silver lining to agency employees at hot platforms like Amazon: “It opens up a new level of opportunity because they know us and know our skill sets. We have unique partnerships with companies where we have former employees,” said Johnson.
It also speaks to a different way of working, said Ronnie Felder, who is executive director of talent engagement and employee experience, also at VMLY&R. “It used to be that your credibility was based on how long you’re at one place, but there is a level of respect now for experience with an Amazon or an Adobe. It dimensionalizes employees. It’s not terrible for someone to go be at a platform like Amazon, then maybe come back to an agency and bring value.”
As for what kinds of jobs agencies may find moving, recruiters say it’s likelier to be sales, planning or account management roles. Jessica Peltz, a partner at MDC Ventures, said that the growth opportunity for sales reps inside Amazon is “huge,” especially as budgets keep increasing and the trajectory can be more lucrative at an emerging platform like Amazon versus a Google or Facebook even. “If you’re a rockstar salesperson, agency or media side, there’s an opportunity.”
“Amazon is a massively desirable brand for agency people because it speaks to all the cues — brand-driven, tech-driven, media-driven, high growth,” said Haines. “It’s a hot property.”
More in Marketing
If X has its way, 2024 will be the year it hits the long, twisted trail back to advertiser land, according to the platform’s pitch deck.
To some extent, the mainstream success of the “Fallout” series is a reflection of the massive scale of the Amazon Prime machine. But the consensus among viewers and critics is that it’s a damn good show, too.
The New York Times is not becoming a gaming company. But as it continues to diversify its editorial offerings for the digital era, the Times has embraced puzzle gamers as one of its core captive audiences, and it is taking ample advantage of its advantageous positioning in the space in 2024.


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JetSynthesys, an entertainment and digital technology company, and Mobicule, a debt collection solutions company, together announced the launch of a new mobile document scanning app called NetraScan.
According to a company press release, JetSynthesys will hold a majority stake in the joint venture with NetraScan, which aims to reach two million downloads by 2023.
Commenting on the partnership, Rajan Navani, Vice President and General Manager of JetSynthesys, said, “This partnership with NetraScan is timely and will further strengthen our ‘Livelihood’ product portfolio. By combining our deep market knowledge and technological prowess with Mobicule’s deep understanding of technical research and development, operations and the niche within the enterprise mobility segment, we will strive to create value for the target audience and allow for a wider reach.
Regarding this association, Siddharth Agarwal, Founder and Managing Director of Mobicule, said: “It represents the strong commitment of each organization to provide customers with the best solutions and product applications. »
NetraScan also has a PDF creator and editor. Seven to eight Indian national IDs would be part of the wallet which can be scanned and validated for customer onboarding/digital KYC, as well as patent-pending AI-based liveness and face matching, JetSynthesys claims.
NetraScan converts all images to PDF with a single click and is said to have features to improve the quality of documents while compressing their size. It is a business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G) and business-to-customer (B2C) offer, which is also supposed to be protected by data confidentiality.
Currently, the free Android version is available on the Google Play Store. The paid version is likely to help users have complete privacy while allowing them to access and store documents. The iOS version will be available shortly, the press release adds.

domain: news


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Credit unions’ ad campaigns are bashing banks over fees
In an attempt to capitalize on negative customer reaction to new bank fees, the region’s largest credit unions have launched television and radio advertising campaigns to present themselves as viable alternatives.
While larger credit unions have always advertised in print, billboard and radio, the television campaigns are a relatively new phenomenon.
Mike Wishnow, head of communications and marketing at the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, said there are two reasons why local credit unions have increased advertising spending. The PCUA’s “I Belong” advertising campaign is on a hiatus in the region. And he said credit unions are also looking to capitalize on last fall’s Bank Transfer Day, a nationwide campaign to lure big bank customers who are frustrated with new fees to make the switch to credit unions.
“It’s clearly an opportune time to advertise,” Wishnow said.
But Wishnow noted that Philadelphia is the fourth-largest media market in the country and it’s extraordinarily expensive — triple the cost of the next largest market in the state, Pittsburgh.
“So you need a certain budget to compete there,” Wishnow said. “That means it will probably be limited to larger credit unions, while the smaller and midsize credit union will stick to print and billboard.”
TruMark Federal Credit Union has began a radio and print advertising campaign May 14 that is scheduled to run through July 8 that features a partnership with the charitable foundation of Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels.
TruMark offers new customers $100 for opening a TruMark checking account and will result in a $100 donation to the Hamels Foundation — which has the dual mission to provide support for quality education in the United States and establish a school in the southeast African country of Malawi.
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Researchers have revealed another Android application that has reportedly targeted millions of users. They found a malicious Android keyboard app ‘Ai.type’ that generated premium purchase requests in the background.
Malicious Android Keyboard App Found
Reportedly, researchers from Upstream have found an Android app threatening millions of users. Elaborating their findings in a blog post, the researchers mention how a malicious Android keyboard app potentially affected around 40 million users.
Specifically, they noticed the customizable keyboard app ‘Ai.type’ generated over 14 million suspicious transaction requests from thousands of devices.
According to the researchers,
These transactions came from more than 110,000 unique devices and if not blocked, would have triggered the purchase of premium digital services, potentially costing users in 13 countries up to $18 million in unwanted charges.
The app from the Israeli developers masked itself as otherwise legit apps such as Soundcloud. Whereas, it continued to run in the background connecting the devices to advertising services. It then performed fake clicks and requested premium purchases from the devices.
No Longer On Play Store, But…
Ai.type caught the attention of researchers following an abnormally high number of transaction requests from it in July 2019. Moreover, they became even more curious when they found that Google had removed the app from the Play Store.
While the app removal seemingly protects any future Android users, it does not protect the devices already running the app. In fact, they noticed a further increase in suspicious requests after app removal.
Moreover, the app already boasted 10 million downloads and over 40 million users prior to removal. Therefore, the users of this app have been advised to delete this app from their devices as soon as possible.
It isn’t the first time that a nasty Android application surfaced on Play Store. In fact, the researchers have already found numerous ways through which the developers ditch Google’s app vetting process. Therefore, it entirely depends on the users to stay away from suspicious apps. They can simply choose not to install an app from low-rated or unpopular developers as a precaution.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


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AESSEAL Wins 6th Queen’s Award in its Silver Jubilee Year
AESSEAL plc, a Yorkshire engineering company with a world-beating innovative approach has won its sixth Queen’s Award for Enterprise – in the innovation category.
It is the latest development in the phenomenon that is AESSEAL, manufacturer of mechanical seals for pumps. From its acquisition in 1979 by current managing director Chris Rea, with just five employees, it now spans the globe, with 42 branches in 22 countries employing almost 700 people.
Its Global Technology Centre HQ is in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and it is the only company in South Yorkshire, and possibly in the Yorkshire & Humber region, to have won six Queen’s Awards. The latest is appropriate, for the company says its success is based on a simple but effective formula – investment in innovative new products and technology with a total focus on customer service.
In the past five years alone it has filed 30 patents and designed 52 completely new products in house and launched them to the world. It is one of those ranges, of seals for the petrochemical and refining industries, that has won this year’s award.
In 1998, AESSEAL identified a strategic opportunity in an industrial sector dominated by two competitors. It did not then have the product technology to enter that market, renowned for having some of the most demanding sealing applications in the world. To stand any chance of even being considered, it had to come up with something very special. It did.
With its focus on technology and customer service, AES went on to win its first Queen’s Award for Technology in 1988.
Its other four Queen’s Awards were in 1993, 1995, 2000 and 2002.
Source: AESSEAL plc.


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A Colorado Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill authorizing the industrial cultivation of hemp.
Hemp is a marijuana lookalike but with little or no THC, the psychoactive ingredient in pot that makes users high.
Advocates say hemp is poised to become a big industry in Colorado. The passage of Amendment 64 in November allows its legal cultivation pending legislative authorization.
The seeds and fibers of hemp have dozens of commercial uses in foods, cosmetics, textiles and building materials.
The bill sponsored by state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, would enable farmers to register for 10-acre research-and-development plots to test the viability of different hemp varieties.
The legislation would not prohibit larger commercial farms, but backers say it is unlikely that most farmers would choose to start on a large scale.
The bill requires passage from the full Senate and House before going to Gov. John Hickenlooper for signing into law.
By Steve Raabe


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Dell shares rocket 13% on strong outlook for PCs, enterprise tech
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) shares surged by practically 13% Friday as Wall Avenue threw its weight powering the computing large following its upbeat outlook and superior-than-expected initially-quarter earnings report.
Late Thursday, Dell (DELL) Main Fiscal Officer Tom Sweet mentioned on a conference connect with that the firm expects its second-quarter earnings, excluding just one-time products, will be in between $1.55 and $1.70 a share, with earnings in a vary of $26.1B to $27.1B. That outlook topped Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimates for Dell (DELL) to gain $1.45 a share, on $25.5B in gross sales.
That outlook extra to enthusiasm that Dell (DELL) is undertaking a very good career of weathering provide chain and COVID-19-associated lockdown in China that have weighed on many bellwether tech leaders for a lot more than a 12 months. Speaking on Dell’s (DELL) meeting contact, Chief Functioning Officer Jeff Clarke stated that even with the challenges in tech industry, “IT desire is currently healthier.”
Signals of that have been observed in Dell’s (DELL) initial-quarter final results. Dell (DELL) attained $1.84 a share, excluding 1-time things, on income of $26.1B, though Wall Avenue analysts had predicted Dell (DELL) to make $1.39 a share, on $25.23B in income.
“Dell executed properly on its offer chain regardless of a worsened offer ecosystem that is now impacting the huge majority of the IT hardware space,” claimed Deutsche Bank analyst Sidney Ho, in a investigation be aware. “[Product] backlog did not appear down, reflecting a potent desire natural environment.”
Dell (DELL) said its infrastructure solutions company, which is liable for servers, networking and storage products and solutions, noted $9.3B in earnings during the quarter, though customer computing, which handles PCs and associated solutions, totaled $15.6B.
Investors had been so enamored with Dell (DELL) that they exchanged 15.6 million shares of the company’s inventory on Friday–or more than 3 moments the 4.5 million shares traded on an typical working day.
Though Dell (DELL) seemed all set to head into the Memorial Day weekend on an upbeat notice, Workday (WDAY) was on the slide due to a to start with-quarter report that experienced analysts worried about the human-useful resource administration software program firm’s purchase backlog.


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Ember Labs has released Kena: Bridge of Spirits on PS4, PS5, and PC via Epic Games Store as exclusives. The team has made it past its launch day and, by many accounts they have finished in stellar fashion. The game is quite good and much of the gaming landscape from players to critics agree. Of course, that means those not on PlayStation and Epic Games Store want to know when they can play too. To that end, Ember Games Co-founder and COO Josh Grier said the team is going to get some rest, but they are very interested in taking Kena to other platforms.
Grier recently spoke to Kena: Bridge of Spirits past its exclusivity in an interview with SegmentNext. According to Grier, the team has every intention of exploring the transition of Kena to other platforms after its exclusivity, but that’s a little ways off. The team is going to take some time to enjoy the fruits of their labor first.
“We are currently focused in our launches for PlayStation and Epic Games store, which are timed exclusives,” Grier explained. “We will look into other platform releases after launch and a rest.”
Kena: Bridge of Spirits launched on September 21, 2021 on PS4, PS5, and the Epic Games Store, so outside of bug fixes and patches, one would probably assume Ember Labs is in that rest phase. Kena has been a very well received game for taking players on a beautiful and emotional journey through a magical forest. For all of its action and narrative excellence, it scored a high-praise review here at Shacknews. We weren’t alone in our praise, either.
It seems those waiting for a Steam or Xbox release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be waiting awhile, but it also seems Ember Labs is very interested in the steps to make it happen eventually. That will obviously come after rest and the timed-exclusivity period, but keep it tuned here to Shacknews as we watch for updates on further platform news for the game.


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What do you mean number plates are extra?
American millionaire Dave Ressler has paid $1m for the first Corvette ZR1 off the production line - despite the fact that the second would only have cost him $100,000.
The car was auctioned off for charity alongside the first of the new Dodge Challengers, which also went for a tenfold premium of $400,000 over the list price of $37,995.
The Challenger won't be built until after the official public unveiling of the new car at the Chicago Auto Show in three weeks' time.
Yes sir, your car might look like this....
The ZR1 is already in production, though, and will shortly go on sale to the public, making the $900,000 premium hard to comprehend. Collected Ressler has specified the car in Le Mans blue.... we just hope that metallic paint won't be charged as an optional extra.


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Arc System Works announced at Anime Expo 2018 that Kill la Kill the Game: IF will arrive to PS4 and PC next year. Here’s a closer look at its trailer along with some new screenshots.
Here’s its Anime Expo 2018 trailer:
As previously mentioned, Kill la Kill the Game will be playable at EVO 2018 next month.
Kill la Kill the Game: IF releases in 2019 for PlayStation 4 and PC.


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People who have been waiting to see colorful, scary images on their cigarette packs depicting the various health impacts of smoking will have to wait a while longer.
On Aug. 10, a federal court judge in Texas granted yet another motion from tobacco companies to postpone the imposition of new warning labels—this time until Oct. 6 of 2023.
This marked the eighth postponement of rules requiring 11 new health warning statements and images on the top 50% of the front and rear panels of cigarette packs and top 20% of cigarette ads.
The images depict conditions that smoking can induce -- including head and neck cancer, toe amputation, COPD and bladder cancer.
The Texas lawsuit was brought against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc. and several other entities.
Central to their case were the costs involved in complying with the new labeling and ad requirements.
“The Manufacturer Plaintiffs would have to redesign packaging, modify the printing process, purchase and engrave printing cylinders, print compliant packages and redesign, modify and replace point-of-sale advertisements at hundreds of thousands of retailers,” the suit stated.
“These steps would cost millions of dollars and thousands of employee hours, which would be unrecoverable if Plaintiffs prevailed, and that the balance of equities strongly favored granting a stay.”
The new requirements were supposed to take effect July 8, 2023.


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End of Year Show
Online Art Exhibition will showcase students’ work
Forth Valley College’s annual End of Year show is usually one the highlights of the Creative Industries Department’s year, but due to current Covid restrictions, it is not possible for the Stirling Campus to host the event.
However, innovative students and staff have come up with a free online Degree and Diploma exhibition for art and design students to showcase their work, starting on Friday 11 June.
The event will show off the work of a wide range of disciplines including painting, textiles design, printmaking, sculpture, installation, moving image, graphics and photography created by learners from the BA Art and Design, HND Contemporary Art Practice, HND Graphic Design, HND Photography and HND Art and Design.
Forth Valley principal Dr Ken Thomson, said: “The annual Degree and Diploma show is a real favourite in our Creative Industries Department’s calendar and it is a real shame it could not take place this year, like so many things. However, it is testament to the resourcefulness of our staff and students that they have managed to organise an online version of the show this year.
“I am very proud of them all and delighted that I will be able to view the high standard of work that will undoubtedly be on display online. It will also be an opportunity to showcase the tremendous work of our staff and students to the public, and I can’t wait to hear the feedback. Well done to everyone involved.”
The show opens to the public online on Friday 11 June. To view the online exhibition please visit the link: https://fvcshowcase.co.uk/coming-soon


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NEW ORLEANS — Wireless carriers are used to competing with each
other. The winning strategy is simple (although executing it isn’t):
offer better coverage, customer service, rate plans and features than
the other guy.
But as they look toward the networked home as an area of growth,
mobile moguls will clash with a formidable set of rivals, including
software makers, portal specialists and broadband network operators.
The looming battle is for control of the home gateway, the hub
connecting IP-based networked phones, computers, audio and video
entertainment systems and appliances.
“Who’s going to be the portal?” Scott Ford, Alltel’s president and
CEO, said at the CTIA 2005 Wireless show here today. “It’s nothing I
pretend to know the answer to, but it will be a fascinating set of
options that consumers will have.”
Len Lauer, president and COO of Sprint
, agreed that
it’s a promising market and one that will require mobile carriers to
“[The other competitors in the space] view us as telecom providers who
don’t know usability,” said Lauer, who noted that any digital home
system would be made up of partners with expertise in several areas.
That said, he believes wireless carriers can be the key enabler in the
convergence of communications technologies. Other issues, such as
digital rights management
The convergence of wireless technology, content and consumer devices and
settings is a key theme of this year’s CTIA.
One of the most popular exhibits is a
7,000-square-foot house that features wireless connectivity for
devices in nearly every room of the house, including the garage.
Another exhibit highlights the inclusion of a Motorola
network equipment vendors who supplied them, showcased products and
services to address the blurring line between consumers and business
Ford, Lauer and other wireless executives at CTIA today also discussed
other trends facing the industry. They urged audience members to
contact policy makers to reduce regulations and taxes on carriers,
saying they hamper investments in research and development.
Unsurprisingly, they said the wave of consolidation is good for the
industry and customers. Robert Dotson, president and CEO of T-Mobile
USA, said the roll-up will allow for faster rollouts
He also said network coverage will improve as a result of combinations
like the $41 billion Cingular-AT&T Wireless deal.
Stan Sigman, president and CEO of Cingular, the country’s largest
mobile carrier with more than 50 million users, said policy makers
seemed knowledgeable about the advantages of the current merger wave.


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Yahoo has been having a bad couple of weeks, first revealing that 500 million of its user's accounts had been exposed to hackers, followed by reports that it let the government have access to user emails. If you thought there would no consequences for that kind of press, you were sadly mistaken,
Verizon, which bought Yahoo's assets, including Yahoo Mail, Flurry and Gemini, for $4.83 billion in cash in July, wants a big discount, according to a report from the New York Post, citing anonymous sources. The company is looking to lower the price by as much as $1 billion, or nearly 21 percent of what it paid for Yahoo's assets.
The one driving that decision is Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, which was bought by Verizon for $4.4 billion last year. When Yahoo becomes part of Yahoo, the plan is to integrate it with AOL, to create a competitive digital ad unit.
Armstrong is said to be "getting cold feet," and sources told the post that he's "upset about the lack of disclosure" regarding these issues with Yahoo.
VatorNews has out to Verizon and Yahoo for confirmation of this report, but neither company would comment.
Yahoo's data breach
Two weeks ago, Yahoo revealed that it had been hacked back in 2014, in an incident that affected "at least 500 million user accounts."
The information that was stolen included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
What wasn't stolen, at least there's no evidence yet to suggest that it was, includes unprotected passwords, payment card data, or bank account information. The system that has card data and bank account information was, thankfully, not among those hit. So at least there's that.
There is currently an ongoing investigation into the matter, and Yahoo says it is working closely with law enforcement. Whoever was hacking the system is no longer there, which may suggest that, whoever it was, they got everything they wanted and left.
Yahoo also notified users, and is encouraged them to change their passwords.
A Verizon spokesperson told VatorNews at the time that the company learned about the breach "within the last two days."
Yahoo's government deal
The second scandal is a little more murky than the data breach, only because Yahoo is being vague about what exactly it did or didn't do.
This week, a report out from Reuters stated that Yahoo had allowed the government to look for "specific information," and "a set of characters," in hundreds of millions of its user's incoming emails.
Yahoo was also accused of building a custom software program specifically to help the NSA comb through those messages.
According to what surveillance experts told Reuters, this is actually the first time that an Internet company, based in the United States, agreed to let the government search all of its user's arriving messages. In previous cases, where permission was granted, the messages were either old, and had been stored, or the government was given access to a small number in real time. Never before have they had access to all messages, as they were coming in.
The company released two statements on the matter.
“Yahoo is a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States," was its first response, but a day later it came out with this:
“The article is misleading. We narrowly interpret every government request for user data to minimize disclosure. The mail scanning described in the article does not exist on our systems."
That could mean that the mail scanning did exist in the past, though.
While Verizon seemingly wanted Yahoo more for its ad network and video capabilities than it's e-mail, these scandals will no doubt hurt the company's image going forward. Whether or not that's worth $1 billion remains to be seen.
(Image source: gadgetsaroundyou.com)


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There has been a ton of talk about the cloud. Cloud this, cloud that. But what actually Is the cloud? It’s okay if you don’t know, most people don’t understand it and even some tech people tend to wave their hands towards the sky when trying to explain it!
Many businesses have already moved to the cloud with Office 365, finding the advantages of file sharing, co-authoring documents, mobile access and remote administration to be more than worth the short migration time. However, your cloud integration doesn’t have to end at your PC – you can bring your phone system into the cloud too.
December is probably the best time of the year to replace aging computer hardware. It is also the best time to think about introducing tools you might not have had before, like tablets. That is because the sales that begin on Black Friday generally continue. Last year saw computer prices in December coming in six percent lower than in November.
The cloud no longer represents the future of computing, it's the present-and you can find services to handle every aspect of your small business' IT needs. Frequently touted as the future of business technology, cloud computing's biggest benefit is that it makes enterprise-quality technology affordable for small businesses. It lets them compete at previously unattainable levels. In fact, it's now possible to completely run your small business in the cloud.


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Do you or does someone in your household periodically purge your refrigerator and cupboards of food that is past its expiration date? It turns out, those dates on food have nothing to do with whether or not it’s still safe to eat. Confusion over “sell-by,” “use-by,” and “best if used by” dates–and the complete absence of a “safe-if-used-by” date–contributes to our wasting 40% of American food production.
From Jane Black, Use by. Sell by. Doesn’t help us get by. – The Washington Post:
Sell-by, use-by and best-by dates do not indicate whether a food is safe to eat, or even if is still tasty. But many people — people far older than Trey — believe that they do: Fifty-four percent of consumers say eating food past its sell-by or use-by date is a health risk, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. A 2011 survey conducted by the Food Marketers Institute found that 91 percent of consumers occasionally discarded food past its sell-by date out of concern for the product’s safety; 25 percent said they always did so.
Food waste has reached record levels. In the United States, an estimated 40 percent of food is thrown away. It happens at the farm, in transport, at supermarkets and in people’s homes. Last year, a study estimated that the average American family of four wastes $1,560 worth of food annually.
Clearer expiration dates on food cannot alone solve the problem. But a new report, co-authored by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, argues that revising the convoluted system of date labels would be a simple and straightforward way to slash food waste.
“What we have now is an ineffective, ridiculous system that isn’t serving anyone,” says Dana Gunders, a staff scientist at the NRDC and one of the authors of the report, set to be released Wednesday. It costs manufacturers money. It costs consumers money. It leads us to throw food away unnecessarily.” . . .Date labels come in a dizzying variety of forms. A production or pack date typically designates when a product was produced or put in its final package. Sell-by dates provide information to retailers about how long to display a product. Best-if-used-by typically indicates a date after which the food will no longer be at its highest quality — as defined by the manufacturer. But the meaning of those terms varies from product to product, and even among manufacturers of the same products, because there is no industry agreement on definitions and on which labels should be applied to which foods.
The NRDC-Harvard report makes several recommendations aimed at cutting down on the confusion and reining in food waste. It suggests making sell-by dates invisible to the consumer. Those dates are designed to help retailers manage their stock; they offer no useful guidance once the consumer brings the food home. Instead, the authors recommend a uniform dating system with clear language. Wording such as “safe if used by” is clearer than “use by.” “Peak quality guaranteed before” is better than “best by.”
The report also suggests that dates should no longer be used on items that don’t deteriorate as much over time, such as chips, pretzels and beef jerky (which probably never goes bad). In its place, manufacturers might put the more useful “best within XX days of opening,” which would better guide consumers on how to judge the food’s freshness. The authors emphasized that any language should undergo consumer testing before being placed on packages.
“These ambiguous dates are a clear failure of the law which has led to a proliferation of labels that mean nothing,” says Emily Broad Leib, the director of the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic and a co-author of the report. “Helping consumers to make better decisions is a tangible thing we can do” to reduce food waste.


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The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) has fined Wegmans Food Markets Inc. for allegedly managing five affiliated liquor stores without a proper license.
Wegmans agreed to pay $750,000 in civil penalties to settle eight charges, including violations for availing its license to five upstate New York liquor stores, availing the license of a wholesaler, aiding and abetting illegal gifts and services, and illegally trafficking in wine, the New York SLA said. In announcing the case last week, the agency claimed Wegmans was “effectively managing” the stores in violation of state alcoholic beverage control (ABC) laws.
A spokeswoman for Wegmans declined to comment to Supermarket News. The Rochester, N.Y.-based retailer operates 98 supermarkets in six states.
The New York SLA said each of the five Wegmans-affiliated liquor stores also agreed to pay $75,000 in fines for availing their licenses to Wegmans and accepting illegal gifts and services from a wholesaler. Published reports said each of the liquor stores is owned by a member of the Wegman family.
Altogether, the Wegmans and liquor store fines totaled $1.125 million.
New York’s ABC law requires liquor stores to be independently owned and operated. It also bans chain liquor stores, prohibits grocery stores from selling wine or spirits and, under gifts and services provisions, bars wholesalers from giving anything of value to retailers to incentivize sales.
As part of the settlement, Wegmans appointed a new corporate compliance officer and implemented a new corporate compliance program to prevent future legal complications, the SLA said.
The matter began when the SLA received a complaint that Amherst Wine Partners LLC, a liquor store doing business as Amherst Street Wines & Liquors in Buffalo, N.Y., allowed Wegmans to “effectively control their business” by managing purchasing and pricing decisions and the store’s relationship with various wholesalers, the agency said.
In its investigation, the SLA determined that Wegmans exercised “significant control” over Amherst Street Wines & Liquors as well as over four other “affiliated stores,” even though the grocery chain isn’t licensed to sell wine or spirits in New York. The four stores included Whitehouse Liquor & Wine and Pittsford Century Wines & Spirits, both in Rochester; Johnson City Liquor & Wine in Johnson City; and Liquor City Wine & Liquors in Fayetteville.
In published reports, Wegmans disputed charges that it controlled the businesses of the five liquor stores, despite not contesting the SLA’s claims.
“What these stores have in common is that each is individually owned by a Wegman family member, and each owner is trying to run their store like we run Wegmans, with low prices, great selection and great service,” Wegmans said in a statement released to local media. “It’s unfortunate that the SLA chose to credit complaints from competitors of these liquor stores over the actual facts presented to them during the investigation.”
Also in the statement, Wegmans noted that it “conducts its business with the very highest integrity” and “immediately cooperated and corrected the alleged violation.”
In a separate but related case, the New York SLA said it also levied a $225,000 fine on Milton’s Distributing Co. for illegally allowing Wegmans to use its wholesale license to traffic in wine and spirits. The agency said that, during its investigation of Amherst Wine Partners, it discovered that Milton’s enabled Wegmans to use its license to negotiate and contract with suppliers to procure liquor and wines for the affiliated liquor stores.


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Take a breath, Seattle. The Mariners are back in the postseason for the first time in 21 years, ending the longest active drought in professional American sports after a stunning walk-off victory Friday night at T-Mobile Park.
If you’re new to Seattle or you’re a soggy, seasoned native, Seattle was undoubtedly a much different city in 2001. Heck, it was wildly different just five or 10 years ago!
The technology industry and the companies, personalities and products associated with it have reshaped Seattle into a hub of innovation. It’s a workplace destination for transplants galore, many of whom couldn’t pick Edgar Martinez out of a baseball lineup or tell you what “95 slide” means.
The last time the Mariners made the playoffs they did so riding a record 116-win season. They were dispatched by a New York Yankees team seemingly rooted on by an entire country bruised by the events of Sept. 11.
The 2022 Mariners are a dancing, Swelmet-wearing bunch built around rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez, who was less than a year old the last time the team saw the postseason.
GeekWire wasn’t born until March 2011, but plenty was going on in the prior decade that would shape who and what we would cover. We like to say, “What happens here matters everywhere.” Let’s hope that also translates to baseball in October.
So, get out the rye bread and mustard (or just order Uber Eats) and keep reading for a look back at some of the tech and cultural milestones from 2001:
- The dot-com bust which began in 2000 was fully realized in 2001 as a number of companies that operated in Seattle shut down, including charity website GreaterGood, group buying platform Mercata, computer software retailer Egghead.com, sports recruiting site Rivals.com, online delivery retailer Kozmo, advertising startup Mediapassage, online grocer Webvan, and more. But others, including Microsoft and Amazon, survived and later thrived.
- T-Mobile Park was a 2-year-old stadium by the name of Safeco Field back in 2001. The insurance company held 20-year naming rights before Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless carrier T-Mobile made a magenta splash in 2019.
- Sujal Patel and Paul Mikesell took the startup leap and launched Isilon Systems, anticipating a massive increase in unstructured data in the world. That gamble paid off as Isilon sold to EMC for $2.5 billion in 2010, one of the largest acquisitions of a Seattle tech company.
- As a burgeoning online book seller, Amazon reported record revenue of $3.12 billion in 2001 and the company inked e-commerce partnerships with Target and Borders. The much-transformed tech giant — which has changed the entire look of Seattle — had revenue of $469.8 billion in 2021.
- Microsoft reported revenue of $25.3 billion for its 2001 fiscal year, compared to $198.3 billion, 21 years later. The software maker released Windows XP and entered the video game console business that year with the release of the Xbox. The Rock was (mostly) a wrestler back then …
- Starbucks introduced the Starbucks Card for the first time and had 4,709 stores in 2001. The coffee giant has continued to invest heavily in technology — mobile orders account for about a quarter of U.S. transactions at company-operated stores — and Starbucks now has more than 34,000 locations in 84 markets.
- Hometown aerospace giant Boeing announced that it was relocating its corporate headquarters away from Seattle (where it had been based since its founding in 1916), eventually landing in Chicago. Boeing this year said it would move its HQ again, this time to Virginia. The company continues to make airplanes in Everett and Renton, Wash.
- Apple released the first iPod, as well as iTunes, and it opened its first retail stores, ushering in an era that would take its battle with Microsoft beyond operating systems and desktop computers.
- Long before Beast Quake, a bigger, scarier earthquake hit Seattle. The Feb. 28, 2001, Nisqually earthquake struck at 10:54 a.m. local time and lasted nearly a minute, with a magnitude of 6.8.
- The median home price in Washington state in 2001 was $179,900, according to the Office of Financial Management. The figure in 2021 was $560,400. Housing affordability in Seattle has become a critical civic issue.
- Some last gasps of post-grunge music can be heard in “Hanging by a Moment,” by L.A. band Lifehouse, which was Billboard’s No. 1 song on the Hot 100 charts in 2001.
- And there were a lot more Blockbuster rental stores…
Conclusion: So above is the As Mariners end historic drought, a look back at how much has changed in Seattle in 21 years article. Hopefully with this article you can help you in life, always follow and read our good articles on the website: Thaoam.net


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P&O survives duty free loss
P&O's ferry operations kept their heads above water last year despite being hit by the abolition of duty free, figures showed.
Although people spent less while on board the P&O Stena Line ships and fewer travelled, major increases in tourist vehicle ticket prices helped keep the operation firmly in profit, albeit at a lower level than a year earlier.
Headline profits at Stena Line, the world's biggest ferry operator, for the year to the end of December were £48.1 million against £54.5 million a year earlier.
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As the pandemic continues to grow, the cannabis Industry does too. However, due to a new order from the Federal Reserve, the coin change is posing to be a problem for the cash-heavy cannabis industry. Since the cannabis industry lacks access to proper banking services, all cash inflow and outflow within the industry remains crucial.
If dispensaries run out of change very quickly, the cost will burden the consumer as the cost is rounded off to a whole dollar. Consequently, with transactions as ambiguous as they are in the cannabis industry, the added cost would soon jump up to a huge dollar.
National Cannabis Industry Association’s media relations director states, “Customers don’t want to see their purchase costs rounded up during these tough economic times or be forced to find exact change elsewhere, and businesses can’t afford to round down on every transaction”.
A situation as small as coins may result in a much bigger problem towards the overall economy.
Read More from Us: Click Here maryjanespost


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Caobisco president Mary Barnard stresses need for Brexit deal
Having taken up her post nearly a year ago, Caobisco president Mary Barnard, who head’s Mondelez International’s chocolate division, reflects on an especially eventful period. Neill Barston reports exclusively
With the food and drink sector training its eyes on the outcome of Brexit, it has been an especially uncertain period for many businesses within the confectionery, bakery and key ingredients market segments.
As Mary Barnard, president of Caobisco, which represents the chocolate, biscuits and confectionery sector across Europe, explained, the industry is seeking urgent resolution on future British trading arrangements with the continent.
For an industry worth a total of around €5 billion in trade between the UK and its closest neighbours, there remains a huge amount at stake over the outcome of the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations.
“I think the message we would like to send is one of the sooner this is sorted, the better,” she says on the issue of the moment that has seen trade groups from across Europe, lobby hard for a customs union deal to be finally agreed with the EU.
The political sands have continued to shift on the issue, with the UK having been expected to have left by March 29th, a deadline that has now been extended until the end of October, with no resolution as yet in sight.
“We have been working very closely with Food and Drink Europe (which represents the entire European sector) on the matter of Brexit, given that amount of trade between the UK and the EU is significant. We think that it’s critical that we have the facility to trade across Europe, and that some form of customs union is agreed,” added Barnard, who remained hopeful a solution could be found.
Despite such challenges, the president believed there was plenty of cause for encouragement within the sector, based on her attendance at this year’s ISM trade show in Cologne, at which a significant number of products emerged.
“With my role at Caobisco I have been able to see some unique company successes that have showcased at this year’s ISM.
“I think it’s been fantastic to get know the industry even better in my role, especially with Caobisco representing 13,000 businesses, amounting to around 300,000 employees.
Across those businesses we have seen a lot of creativity within the European sector.”
Speaking on the key challenges which the organisation is tackling, among the most pressing is in lobbying for changes to the EU’s trade deal with Japan, in light of concerns emerging over a switch to volume-based valuation of product being traded instead of previous standards based purely around the value of goods.
Another major area of focus has been on offering a lead responding to growing calls around the world for products perceived to contain healthier ingredients with less volume of sugar within them.
“There are concerns around wellbeing and obesity levels, as well as other demographic shifts, and as a consumer driven sector, this is something that is important for us to consider. While people are looking for healthier products, they don’t wish to sacrifice the taste of their treats, which I think is something that’s a significant part of people’s lives. So, we want to see the industry respond with innovation – which is something that happened at ISM. We are also involved with initiatives such as B-Treatwise, helping consumers with portion sizes, which we feel is a really good plan,” explains Barnard on her varied and engaging key position within the sector.


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Most consumers want GM food removed from sale, shows a recent survey of UK shoppers. Even when subjected to misleading and deceptive trade practices two thirds of people remain averse to genetically modified food.
The findings of the UK food survey (1) demonstrate the importance of New Zealand protecting our GM-free status for agricultural exports to international markets demanding clean, safe GM-free food. The UK study echoes surveys showing similar rejection of GM foods by New Zealanders, as well as strong support for the positives of organically produced, locally grown and affordable food.
"Deceptive trade practices designed to make GM food 'more acceptable' may still be working, but only on a minority," says Jon Carapiet from GE Free NZ in food and environment.
"Even when people are told the GM product uses less pesticides or increases yields, despite undisclosed evidence that the opposite is true, most UK consumers are able to smell a rat."
Major supermarkets in New Zealand and in the UK have ensured their House Brands steer away from GE ingredients due to consumer aversion. Other food manufacturers are seeking to secure supply-lines of clean "identity-preserved" GE-free ingredients. After years of rapid expansion the use of soy has declined by around 15% as a filler ingredient in foods.
However the UK study shows a proportion of consumers remain vulnerable to deception with some believing myths about GE foods being properly tested for safety, good for the environment, or that they are helping improve global food security or feed the hungry.
The public demand for GE-free food is being subverted by government official�s support for imported GE ingredients, with worse to come if trade agreements like the TPPA are able to prevent labelling or testing of GE foods. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has just closed submissions for another GM application that seeks to allow Corn and Soy engineered with two new proteins, never before in the food supply, to tolerate the dioxin-producing herbicide 2,4-D and glufosinate.
�If authorities continue to rely on industry studies and approve GE foods, the observed health effects independent scientists have warned of will have an impact for generations,� says Claire Bleakley president of GE Free NZ.
�At least with smoking the associated cancers can be reversed by stopping the next generation from smoking, but if the integrity of the food system is impacted the downstream effects will not be able to be reversed. We must keep our food supply clean and green and GE Free.�
Jon Carapiet 0210507681
Claire Bleakley 06 -3089842 / 027348 6731
1) The Crop Protection Association's survey found that only around a third of shoppers think GM foods should even be allowed to be sold in the UK, unless they are given inducements. The inducements include GM foods being shown to keep prices down, be more nutritious or "proved safe for the environment".
Even under those entirely hypothetical conditions, there is still a majority (over 50%) of UK shoppers who do not think GM foods should even be allowed to be sold in the UK.
This is truly dreadful news for the GM industry. It means a clear majority of shoppers, indeed about two thirds except under hypothetical conditions, don't even want it allowed on the shelves, let alone to buy it!
And it gets worse. Well over 50% of shoppers wouldn't buy GM, or allow it into UK shops, even if it were cheaper, more nutritious and safe for the environment.
Shoppers back GM in face of rising food costs Caroline Stocks,Farmers Weekly, 3 August 2011
GBP66.88 - the average amount shoppers spend on food each week
68% want food from sustainable sources
82% think organic food is too expensive
58% prefer to buy British
53% prefer to buy locally-sourced food
78% believe the UK should be more self-sufficient
59% think increasing food production is a government responsibility


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Bridgepoint is preparing to exit Pets at Home, following a particularly strong year for the UK retailer.
For the fiscal year ended in May, Pets at Home reported a 29 percent rise in profits before tax and a 7.5 percent increase in like-for-like sales. It also opened 19 new stores, bringing its total number to 232.
Yesterday, Pets at Home said it had appointed JPMorgan as joint sponsor and bookrunner for a potential public offering in 2010. Subsidiaries have yet to be announced.
A source close to the situation said Bridgepoint is employing a dual track exit approach, meaning it is simultaneously pursuing a trade sale.
Pets at Home: Awaiting new owners
“Private equity firms are duty bound to cover all bases,” a European GP recently told PEO, noting that their firm has in the past pulled a portfolio company’s IPO in favour of a private sale.
Merchant bank Rothschild will advise on a potential M&A exit for Pets at Home.
Rothschild was also the M&A advisor hired by Bridgepoint in November 2007, when it was pursuing a similar dual track exit for Pets at Home after having more than doubled the retailer’s profits since its initial acquisition. Those plans were later shelved due to adverse market conditions.
Bridgepoint acquired Pets at Home for £230 million in July 2004 from 3i and Intermediate Capital Group. Four subsequent refinancings have generated £120 million for investors, according to UK newspaper The Telegraph, which estimated an exit could value the pet goods chain at £700 million.


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UK retailer John Lewis Partnership has reportedly revealed plans to reopen its department stores in a phased manner.
The announcement follows after the UK Government published a roadmap to reopen non-essential retail starting from 15 June.
John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two retail brands, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners.
John Lewis & Partners operates 50 stores across the UK, which include 37 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2. It also has an online presence.
The Telegraph reported that John Lewis stores in Poole and Kingston will reopen on 15 June.
Another 11 stores will reopen on 18 June. They are located at Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, Nottingham, Solihull, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich and Welwyn, according to the publication.
In a statement, John Lewis was quoted by media sources as saying: “We have been preparing to reopen our John Lewis stores, informed by what we have learnt from the social distancing measures the partnership has taken in Waitrose.
“Our plan sees us open our shops on a phased basis, to enable us to test the changes we are introducing and ensure the best and safest customer and partner (employee) experience.
“The safety of our customers and partners will govern everything we do and we are prepared to readjust our plan and make changes as we go to make sure we get it absolutely right and continue adhering to evolving Government guidelines.”
Last month, the company reopened its textiles factory ‘Herbert Parkinson’ in Lancashire, to make protective gowns for the NHS.
Last year, planned to open an experimental concept shop in its Southampton store.


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So it was mostly a case of “same old, same old” as the post-Lunar New Year bounce back failed to make a significant impact on the freight rates. Instead, the market appeared to be brought to an abrupt halt compared to the momentum that appeared to be picking up at the start of the year.
Iron ore prices have benefited from the slowdown in freight rates especially from the lower capesize levels and rebounded to over $90 per mt on Monday, marking a three year high in the commodity pricing.
The dip in capesize rates was attributed to the lack of ships for fixing off Western Australia due to the port closures last week because of bad weather. Across the Atlantic basin, capesize activity was lukewarm too and the market lacked clarity of direction. Fundamentally, the market was suffering from the phenomenon known as age-old case of “too many ships and not enough cargo” at the moment.
As a result of the tepid demand, capesize time charter average rates hovered around $4,630-$4,808 for most of the week, while panamax rates traded in the range of $7,478-$7,563. Meanwhile the Baltic Dry Index also exhibited lack of clear direction and yo-yo’d back to 688 points by Wednesday.
With few better prospects in sight, traders eyes are turned toward the Q2 market and further ahead where better demand for raw materials and higher construction activities are slated to grow.
“There are divided opinions on whether Q2 will give this market a much-needed recovery,” said a FIS freight forward agreement broker. He added that Q3 offered more stability and was well bid with limited selling interest at the moment.
So it looked like this would not be a love-struck week for freight but by Thursday the cape market was pushing higher from the London open as the traders felt that the physical market had bottomed in both basins.
It appeared the Atlantic was the stronger and the round voyage led the way with notable gains from charterers’ levels. March capes traded up to $7,500 and Q2 a tick above $9k before losing some liquidity in the afternoon but there was a feeling like there could be further gains to come.
Thursday was a static rangebound day again on panamax paper with little change in rates as the firmer cape market seemed offset another dent in the index. Despite the static nature of the market, some healthy volume changed hands with March continuing to trade $7,900-7,950 range while Q2 saw support tested at $8,500.


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Five sustainable - and delicious - fish you should eat
Sustainable seafood is one of the big buzzwords in food these days. And it is important: So many of our most popular fish are close to being overfished. The trick is expanding our palates, finding fish that we aren’t already loving to death.
But finding alternatives is daunting – most of us didn’t grow up with great markets, so the range of fish we know is limited. Still, there are great fish out there. So I put the question to a panel of seafood experts at Saturday morning’s “Field to Fork” segment of the Taste: What one fish would you want to put in people’s hands that is both sustainable and delicious?
Lisa Hogan, a vice president of Santa Monica Seafood – one of the leading seafood wholesalers on the West Coast – chose Santa Barbara spot prawns. They’re trapped off the Southern California coast and sold live from tanks. “They are so sweet and so delicious,” she said. “I guarantee you that once you taste these, you’ll never go back to farmed tiger or white shrimp again. They’re just amazing.”
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sheila Bowman, who manages their wildly successful Seafood Watch program, chose Pacific rockfish. “If it’s line-caught, not netted, it’s sustainable,” she said. “And as far as I’m concerned, it’s a fish that can do no wrong. It’s so delicious.”
She also offered a second choice: sturgeon. “We’ve got a growing caviar industry, and we all love that,” she said. “But you know these beautiful fish that the caviar comes from are often literally going into the garbage. They’ve got a great meaty texture, like swordfish.”
Michael Cimarusti, chef at Providence, one of the nation’s finest seafood restaurants, made what might be to some a surprising recommendation: salmon. But not just any salmon.
“Pacific salmon, wild salmon, is such an amazing fish, but we take it for granted,” he said. “It is one of the best fish that we have, but I think people’s minds have been polluted by all of the farm-raised salmon. I guarantee you that if you taste them side by side, there’s no comparison. I beg you to give it a chance.”
For me? I’d have to go with Pacific sardines. And when I said that, everyone on the panel nodded their heads. “That’s the fish that almost never leaves the kitchen,” said Bowman, “because the chefs keep it for themselves.”
Grill or broil them, serve with a chopped tomato raw salsa, and you’ll want to do the same thing.
Eat your way across L.A.
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Cannabis Briefs for March 8, 2022March 8, 2022
•Las Vegas-based cannabis retailer and producer Planet 13 completed its acquisition of Next Green Wave Holdings. Announced in December, the arrangement saw Planet 13 pay approximately $71 million for the California company, giving it a 35,000 square foot indoor facility in Coalinga, California that will form the backbone of Planet 13’s California operations going forward and allow the company to introduce its portfolio of exotic cultivars to its Santa Ana superstore and elsewhere across the state.
•Ontario finalized rules that made cannabis delivery a permanent fixture following its provisional implementation during the early days of the pandemic. The changes go into effect March 15. The final rules require retail locations to function primarily as a brick-and-mortar operation, requiring that orders be placed at a particular store and fulfilled using products stored on-premises.
•Many cities and towns across Vermont considered allowing cannabis retail within their borders during the state’s recent Town Meeting Day, with approximately 25 more opting in. Those 25 join more than 30 that had already opted in. Existing medical dispensaries will be allowed to begin adult-use sales on May 1, with new recreational retailers having to wait until October, VT Digger reported.
•Montana’s recreational cannabis industry reported $13 million in sales in February, its second month of operation. That figure was basically even with the $12.8 million in first-month sales in January. Sales appear to be accelerating, as the final week of February saw the highest single-week sales in the young program’s history, at $3.4 million.
•New Mexico expects to launch its recreational market on April 1, according to an update from state regulators. Victor Reyes, deputy director of the state’s Cannabis Control Division, said that the agency has issued nearly 100 licenses for producers, manufacturers, and retailers. The state also recently doubled the number of plants licensed growers can cultivate. New Mexico has estimated that annual recreational sales could reach $300 million in the first year.Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning. You will also receive the Cannabis edition as part of your subscription.


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Slashleaks has published what is supposedly a schematic of the upcoming iPhone 8. According to the picture, the upcoming iPhone looks nothing like its previous models, with an all new design and a plethora of hardware upgrades.
The iPhone 8 will boast an infinity display, just like the Samsung Galaxy S8. Besides, it is said to sport vertical dual camera, replacing the horizontal ones; and what’s most surprising is that the home button is moved to the rear side.
It is to be noted that the front panel in this alleged iPhone 8 schematic, resembles the Galaxy S8, a lot. Hence, this leak could be yet another fake one made to fire up the rumor mill until the official announcement of the device.


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Nintendo is finally bringing its hugely popular Mario Kart series to smartphones. A new app “Mario Kart Tour” will be released in the next financial year. But what this means is that it will be released sometime in the next fiscal year, so essentially anytime between April 2018 and March 2019.
Mario Kart is Nintendo’s biggest franchise. In fact, these series are the most popular and most talked-about titles. It is quite obvious that the Japanese consumer electronics and video game giant is attempting to increase the fan base among gamers.
The company announced the news via Twitter.
Mario Kart sees players race on gravity-defying tracks as their favourite characters from Nintendo’s back-catalogue, including Mario, Luigi, Link, Yoshi and Princess Peach. Likewise, Nintendo has several games such as Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing, and Fire Emblem series that have a huge fan following. Nintendo’s first mobile game, Miitomo, released in March 2016 did not taste much success. But two year ago, the Kyoto-based company once again attempted to penetrate the Gaming market via its much publicised Super Mario Run for iPhones.
Nonetheless there are rumours that Nintendo is now working on multiple titles for smartphones. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the Japanese Gaming major is developing a Legend of Zelda title for smartphones. The Legend of Zelda – the iconic series – has a cult following among fans.
Nintendo has also announced a “Super Mario” movie, a strategic collaboration between Nintendo and a American film and animation studio Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind Minions and Despicable Me. The movie will be co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, a veteran video game maker who created the Mario character in 1981. The company however, failed to disclose the date when the movie will be released.


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The spread of the coronavirus in California has forced some economists to place an asterisk next to their forecasts for good job growth and strong regional economies in 2020.
It’s unknown how long the crisis will last, and opinions are divided on how much time has to accrue before it becomes a serious threat to Southern California’s job market. At least two regional economists who made predictions more than a month ago are now watching the developing situation closely.
Job sectors being scrutinized include the transportation and warehousing fields, which largely depend on a flow of goods from China, and the service sector, including retailing, entertainment and tourism-related businesses.
Chapman University’s economists have predicted job growth of about 1.4% for all of California in 2020, a boost of almost 270,000 jobs. Regionally the school’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research called for a 1.3% increase in Orange County jobs and 2.4% in the Inland Empire.
Raymond Sfeir, a Chapman economist, said it’s possible the coronavirus could lower those predictions, putting state jobs growth closer to 1% or lower, effectively wiping out 90,000 new jobs.
“How much it would go down we do not know,” Sfeir said. “It’s still very early in this scenario, so it is all speculative at this point.”
Sfeir said that retail jobs, including clothing stores and restaurants, are at risk of losing business.
Redlands-based economist John Husing delivered a 2020 forecast for the Inland Empire in January and predicted 28,150 new jobs, an increase of 1.8%. Now, with traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach down 25%, the region’s logistics traffic could be in peril.
Husing said the coronavirus slowdown could drop that growth rate to 1.5% or possibly as low as 1.25%.
“It’s going to slow down growth if this keeps up,” Husing said. “I don’t think it’s going to go negative, but all bets are off until we see how this plays out.”
Sfeir and Husing agree the situation should not affect hiring in the construction industry because lower interest rates make investing in new projects attractive. Construction jobs are up sharply in Los Angeles and Orange counties in the last few months.
There is very little recent job growth data to indicate whether the virus has had an effect so far. Sfeir said the 273,000 new U.S. jobs created in February is based on information collected about three weeks ago — before coronavirus fears began to grow.
The most recent state data, covering January, is due out Friday, with the February report coming out on March 27.
Chris Thornberg, founding partner of Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics, said there shouldn’t be much of an effect on jobs in the short run. For more than a year, businesses’ biggest job-related problem has been the low unemployment rate that made it hard for them to fill positions.
“You talk to any hotel owner, any restaurant owner, and that’s the biggest problem they have right now,” Thornberg said. “So, in this market, you should not lay people off because of a two-month slowdown.”
Thornberg added that if the medical issues last until the third quarter then he would say it was a serious economic problem. “We have to wait a month or two to see what’s happening,” he said.
Slow shipments from China are expected by logistics industry executives in mid-winter because China virtually shuts down for its New Year celebration. Valerie Liese, vice president for operations at JJT Logistics, an Ontario-based trucking and logistics company, said they were “super-busy” right now.
“That’s because China finally came through,” Liese said. “But I think the stock market will have an effect. It’s panicking a lot of investors.”
A statement released Monday by the National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, acknowledged that Chinese goods are moving again but that issues remain, including a shortage of drivers there to get these items to ports.
Palbinder Badesha, owner of the Corona office of Express Employment Professionals, said most of the jobs he office handles are for local manufacturing companies. She said most of them have enough materials to last until May or June, meaning the extent of economic impact won’t be known for a few months.
“That would be a real challenge for us,” Badesha said. “I don’t know for how long companies will be able to absorb that kind of disruption. and it’s quite a worry that a lack of consumer spending will have a ripple effect. Companies are being really cautious.”
Badesha said the owner of a Express Employment Professionals office in Rancho Cucamonga said that one client had to shut down operations because it could not get the safety masks it needed, and another, a furniture company, was forced to lay off all its temporary workers.


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It seems like everyone and their roommate is getting into podcasts these days, so it should come as no surprise that Netflix is jumping on the bandwagon, and its first scripted narrative podcast is set within the lore of its new post-apocalyptic teen drama, Daybreak.
The new Netflix TV series dropped on October 24, with 10 episodes fleshing out the season, in which adults have become mindless zombies and high-school cliques rule the resulting wasteland.
The spin-off podcast – The Only Podcast Left – is set to expand the world of the show, with its characters hosting their own six-episode, in-world podcast. It will be a timed exclusive for Spotify, too – coming to the music streaming service on October 30 and releasing on other podcast platforms later in the year.
- Read our Spotify review
- Best music streaming services
- Apple Music vs Spotify: which is right for you?
The podcast description is as follows: "After you tear through Daybreak Season 1, you'll want to meet the AV Club. They’re a group of kids who survived the apocalypse by using their skills to rig cameras and spy on warring tribes all over the valley. And now they’re making a show about it, while juggling their own personal drama and trying to stay alive as mutant pugs, ghoulies, and a mysterious new tribe all try to kill their vibe. It's The Only Podcast Left."
Speaking to Variety, Daybreak showrunner Aron Coleite said that “Netflix is an amazing creative partner. When they asked us to do a narrative podcast in the Daybreak world, we came back with the most insane idea we could think of and they didn’t even blink. In fact they got even more excited about what we were trying to create."
You can listen to the podcast 'trailer' below.
Podcasts: everybody's doing it
Podcasts are increasingly being seen as a smart and cost-efficient way to get beloved content to audiences, given the average podcast episode will only need a few people sitting around a table, compared to the comparatively massive production budgets of most Netflix shows.
Apple is looking to produce exclusive podcasts too, though Spotify has been ahead in this regard, with a Daily Drive playlist feature that throws podcasts and news items into the mix alongside your music.
Netflix has proved itself pretty adept at shifting to different production and distribution methods, first by pivoting to online streaming and then by producing its own video content for the platform – so evidence suggests that podcasts could be similarly fertile ground for the media giant.
- What Disney Plus shows are being made for the service?
- Interested in Disney Plus? Check out our Disney Plus price guide


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The Peruvian Table Grape Association become latest organisation to join the organisation as its membership continues to grow
The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE) has announced the incorporation of a new organisation, Provid Peru.
“We are very happy to be adding more and more representative bodies as well as countries to our association,” said SHAFFE’s secretary general, Nelli Hajdu.
“We recently added Zimbabwe and now we are welcoming Provid, the Peruvian Table Grape Producers Association. This shows that the work we have done to date is important and reflects the needs of the Southern Hemisphere.”
The addition of Provid to SHAFFE’s expanding membership was announced by Provid during a meeting with SHAFFE on 18 May.
“We participated in a board meeting of AGAP, the Association of Agricultural Producers Guilds of Peru, where we explained the work that SHAFFE is conducting together with the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce in addressing global cost hikes in logistics and supply chain disruptions,” said Charif Christian Carvajal, current SHAFFE president.
He added that the Peruvian fruit sector as well as those in other countries in the Southern Hemisphere is prioritising looking for proactive solution finding to tackle the key issues along the supply chain, which currently impede the economic viability of fresh produce exports.
Carvajal commented: “During this meeting, Provid, a trade association that is part of AGAP, confirmed its interest to join SHAFFE, which we welcomed positively and with great pleasure.
“The addition of Provid Peru to SHAFFE’s membership will strengthen the table grape representation within the organisation and complete global trade perspectives on this leading commodity, which currently comprises 17 per cent of all Southern Hemisphere fresh fruit exports with a market value of US$3bn.”


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Solar Powered Cars Shaping the Automotive Future with Renewable Energy
The automotive industry has been going through a sea of change since the advent of newer technologies that have transformed how vehicles are designed and manufactured. Companies are now focusing extensively on the impact of cars that run on fossil fuels, and are moving towards renewable energy sources.
Ongoing activities to discover innovative technologies that can mitigate the carbon footprint of conventional vehicles have increased the demand for ‘cleaner’ and ‘greener’ cars. However, solar vehicles that are viable for individual use have not yet hit the road. This has opened up a major opportunity for auto manufacturers to gain the first mover’s advantage in the solar powered car market, which is likely to hit the ~US$ 1 billion mark by 2023.
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Leading automotive companies as well as new businesses are concentrating on introducing prototypes and demo cars, which are expected to reach the market by 2023. Stakeholders are currently focusing on introducing solar powered utility vehicles with compact, minimalistic, as well as aesthetically appealing designs. However, the integration of solar technology is likely to be observed more commonly in hatchbacks and sedans in the coming decade.
Lightyear – a start-up based in the Netherlands – released the design of its first fully-electric, solar car – Lightyear One, in 2017, and important sketches of new improvements for the front and rear of the car were released in January 2019. The company announced that, it is focusing on developing pioneering technologies to introduce low-cost, energy-efficient, and low-maintenance solar powered cars that have a longer lifecycle than conventional vehicles, tapping into the commercial potential for its business.
Another company to have entered the solar powered car market with a design and a production plan is German start-up – Sono Motors. After carrying out multiple crowd-investing campaigns and financing events, the company released the first images of the design of its first solar electric car – Sion’s series, in 2019, and announced that it will commence production in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company also declared that, it is mainly concentrating on embedding full-surface integrated solar cells in hard-wearing, resilient polymer, while improving the design aesthetically with optimized color matching.
Furthermore, key players are collaborating within and outside the automotive industry to keep abreast of this fairly new business landscape that is changing with technologies. In August 2019, Lightyear announced that, it collaborated with Granstudio – a car and mobility design studio based in Italy – to partner with its in-house aerodynamics and design teams, to meet the technical performance requirements of Lightyear One. In January 2019, Sono Motor announced that, it partnered with Bosch to leverage its technological expertise in enhancing the design of Sion’s central control unit, and to introduce a software-based solution for the car’s intelligent networking.
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Falling Prices of Solar Panels Could Mean a Resurgence in Adoption of Solar Energy
Another important factor that is likely to contribute to the growth of the solar powered car market is the fall in the prices of solar panels around the world. This fall in prices, most significantly in the last decade, is expected to spark a surge in the adoption of solar energy more readily. Even as the demand for solar panels is greater than the supply, there is a rising demand for renewable sources of energy being integrated into everyday lives and systems.
Along with technological advancements, this resurgence to switch to cleaner energy is set to increase the efficiency of solar powered cells, which is likely to boost the growth of the solar powered car market.
The Push for Cleaner Air and Climate Change to Boost Market Growth
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 4.2 million deaths were recorded in 2016 as a direct result of ambient air pollution. This has led to a surge of interest in the adoption of renewable sources of energy. The increasing negative impact of fossil fuels, in conjunction with the growing preference of people to cleaner sources of energy, is likely to boost the growth of the solar powered car market during the forecast period.
Governments around the world are encouraging stakeholders in the renewable energy market, though sanctions and initiatives, towards solar powered cars over conventional fossil fuel vehicles. Worsening air quality and rampant land & noise pollution is expected to lead to significant steps by governments around the world to keep a check on energy consumption and reduce emissions.
This comes in the wake of the recent summit on climate change in 2018, to emphasize on the impact of carbon emissions on the environment and regulate pollution levels around the world. This is expected to have a positive impact on the solar powered car market, as electric cars are an important factor in meeting the objectives related to global climate change.


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George Yu, CEO and founder of Variable Technologies, explains some of the capabilities of the Node device. The device incorporates various sensors -- including movement, heat, light and radioactivity -- into a palm-sized cylinder that connects to a smart phone via Bluetooth.
Photo by Jake Daniels .
published Monday, October 21st, 2013
Stories this photo appears in:
A Chattanooga startup is on the verge of winning a spot on Wal-Mart's virtual shelves, if online voters give it the thumbs up today in a contest against a cross-state rival.


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To some, it’s a digital revolution that promises to liberate workers from the constraints of their bosses. To others, it spells the end of paid holiday, the minimum wage and stable employment prospects.
Whatever its pros and cons, the so-called “sharing economy” has given five million Britons paid work, a new survey has found.
Relatively new to the list of business sectors, the sharing economy involves people letting out their properties, possessions or services online in exchange for a fee.
The rise of this unconventional type of employment, known as “Uberisation” thanks to the popular car-sharing app, has been embraced by consumers. Yet, at the same time, it has prompted concerns that new tech firms are not respecting workers’ rights and consumer protection.
It has heralded a massive shift towards self-employment. As well as on-demand apps such as Uber, it is typified by companies such as the home-rental service Airbnb and TaskRabbit, an online service that lets you outsource errands and everyday jobs, and Upwork, a platform for freelancers to find commissions.
Uber alone is used by more than 30,000 drivers, labelled as self-employed partners across the UK in 15 towns and cities, with more than 1.5 million regular passengers in London. Last summer it was valued at around $50bn, making it the world’s most valuable tech start-up.
The new survey, conducted by Ipsos Mori, found that more than 5 million people are now being paid for work through online platforms.
It also found that 42 per cent of respondents – equivalent to more than 18.5 million people – said they have turned to apps and online services to find taxi drivers, builders, designers and accountants.
Backers of these services, which last year PricewaterhouseCoopers said could be worth as much as £9bn to the economy by 2025, are reinventing employment.
However, the new study, commissioned by the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, is likely to prompt calls for action over the implications of new technologies for workers’ rights, consumer protection and tax policy.
Professor Ursula Huws, an academic from University of Hertfordshire, who led the survey of more than 2,200 adults, said: “The size of this crowd-working army is surprising even to me and our findings confirm that policymakers and academic researchers have been caught on the hop by the explosion of what we might call platform labour.
“There is a real risk that the proliferation of online labour platforms will lead to an erosion of labour standards and employment rights, and hit tax revenues.
“It has been labelled the ‘sharing economy’, but many of those participating in it are doing so not for altruistic reasons or in their spare time but relying on it to earn a living.”
Some sharing economy businesses are facing legal challenges from regulators across Europe. Uber will fall in the sights of the GMB Union this summer, while Airbnb has had to navigate decades-old subletting laws that can stop people from renting spare rooms.
Yet the Government is keen to harness the sector. In 2014 it set up its own trade body, Sharing Economy UK, which has received warm words from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.
The European Commission has also said it wants to resolve clashes over the new kinds of employment and legal issues to boost economic growth across the EU.
The Uber driver: ‘I don’t have to work more hours than I want to’
Jonathan Esseku, 46, from south-west London, joined Uber as a driver in 2014 and works 30 to 45 hours a week, for which he earns £500 to £600, while working towards his “big break” as an actor.
I had worked locally for private-hire taxi firms for 10 years, but a friend told me about Uber and I quickly realised it was right for me. It’s flexible as there is no fixed fee and they just take a percentage of your earnings. This means I don’t have to work more hours than I want to in any given week. That’s great if I have an audition or some acting work. I was in an anti-bullying advert for Stonewall and was able to make the time for it.
I disagree that Uber doesn’t protect workers’ rights. I feel as well-protected under Uber as I would expect under any private-hire firm. It does all I would expect.
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Inspire Brands, the parent company of Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Dunkin’, named Kate Jaspon as its new finance chief. Jaspon was previously chief financial officer of recently acquired Dunkin’ Brands. She joined Dunkin’ Brands in 2005 as assistant controller and was later promoted to vice president of finance and treasury and corporate controller. She was appointed chief financial officer in 2017. Jaspon led Dunkin’ through several transactions, including its 2011 IPO and follow-on equity offerings, securitization, and other debt transactions, the divestiture of the Togo’s brand, and the sale to Inspire. She replaces David Pipes, who is retiring after 18 years at the company.
Marcus, the consumer banking arm of Goldman Sachs, promoted Liz Ewing, a nine-year veteran of the bank, to CFO. Ewing joined Goldman in 2011 and co-managed its regulatory policy team before becoming chief of staff to Goldman CFO Stephen Scherr in 2019. She replaces Sherry Ann Mohan, who left Goldman Sachs for JPMorgan Chase in May.
Melissa Lee was named CFO at plant-based food company Daiya Foods. Lee most recently was vice president of corporate FP&A at Walmart. Lee held senior finance roles in merchandising, supply chain, store operations, and e-commerce over her 10 years with Walmart Canada. She started her career at Unilever Canada, where she held a range of business partnering and FP&A roles.
Patrick McClymont joined home selling startup Orchard as chief financial officer. Most recently, McClymont served as CFO and executive vice president at movie theater chain IMAX. Previously, he was chief financial officer at Sotheby’s and a partner in Goldman Sachs’ investment practice. He takes over for Sean Roberts, who will become chief operating officer.
SolaREIT hired Laura Klein as the solar real estate investment fund’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Before joining SolaREIT, Klein founded Oriole Solar, a consultant to solar asset owners and a partner in KL Solar Development. She was previously managing director for development at Eagle Solar Group. Klein began her career in renewables at SunEdison in the project finance group, rising to managing director for project finance and later managing director for development for SunEdison’s distributed generation portfolio.
Lordstown Motors chief financial officer Julio Rodriguez has resigned from the electric vehicle pickup truck maker. Becky Roof will serve as interim CFO until a permanent replacement is named. Rodriguez’s immediate departure was part of a C-suite shakeup a week after the company issued a “going concern” warning. The management changes also include the exit of CEO Steve Burns.
Social dating platform Spark Networks appointed David Clark as CFO, effective August 10. Clark has served as chief financial officer at software company Synchronoss Technologies since 2018. Before that, he was CFO of interactive dating platform The Meet Group. He also held CFO roles at Nutrisystem and Suncom Wireless, where he scaled the company to more than $800 million in revenue, before ultimately merging the company with T-Mobile.
Wine.com named Derek Yung as the online wine retailer’s chief financial officer. He most recently served as CFO of eHealth. Over his three years at eHealth, Yung helped the company grow revenue over 200% and more than triple its stock price. Before that, he was CFO at Hotwire, TicketFly, Tria Beauty, and NexTag. Yung began his career as a management consultant at Accenture.
RAVE Restaurant Group, the parent company of Pizza Inn and Pie Five Pizza, promoted Clint Fendley to chief financial officer, effective July 5. Fendley joined the company in January 2020 as its vice president of finance. Before joining the restaurant group, Fendley worked for 7-Eleven’s finance and data analytics teams. He began his finance career as an auditor for Price Waterhouse. He also served as a senior research analyst at Davenport & Company before becoming the company’s first vice president in 2009.
Momentive, formerly SurveyMonkey, promoted Justin Coulombe to finance chief, effective June 28. Coulombe joined the company in 2019 as vice president of finance and was promoted to senior vice president in early 2021. Before that, he held various finance leadership roles at internet company Box. He previously held financial planning and analysis, strategy, and corporate development leadership positions at Autodesk.


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Damask Rose Oil Exports Exceed $200m in Fiscal 2020-21
EghtesadOnline: A total of 2.5 tons worth $202.43 million of damask rose oil were exported from Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2020-21), which makes Iran the biggest damask rose oil exporter in the world, according to the executive manager of the Agriculture Ministry's National Medicinal Plants Project.
“The base export value of each liter of Iranian damask rose essential oil is $1,000, which is far behind the essential oils worth $5,000-12,000 exported worldwide,” Hossein Zeynali was also quoted as saying IRNA.
A total of 302 tons of dried damask rose and rosebuds worth $1.6 million tons were also exported during the same period.
“Iran with 30,000 hectares of damask rose cultivation and production of about 55,000 tons of flowers ranks first in global output and has the highest area under damask rose cultivation,” he added.
Iran is also a major producer of damask rosewater.
Isfahan’s Kashan, the hub of damask rosewater production in Iran, is home to 1,740 traditional rosewater distillation workshops, 36 industrial rosewater factories and 78 semi-industrial rosewater workshops plus thousands of hectares of damask rose.
All these have created jobs for 70,000 people, but as Reza Seyyed-Navvabi, the head of Traditional Rosewater Producers Association, said last year, all of them have become jobless due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Noting that half of rosewater annual sale takes place in March-May during the visits of tourists, he said, “With the closure of tourist centers and cancelation of rosewater production festivals, retail sales plummeted at the worst rate on record. Apart from the retail market, rosewater is being sold in large quantities to confectioneries. Coronavirus has cut purchases by this guild and by dairy factories to zero.”
“Over the years, mosques have been our major customers, particularly in the holy month of Ramadan; cemeteries where you could smell the rich scent of rosewater is now filled with the smell of alcohol [used as disinfectant]. As you see, the coronavirus has left this valuable industry in tatters,” he told the Persian-language daily Iran.
The official noted that last year’s production of damask rose increased 1.5-fold to stand at 100,000 tons compared with 60,000 tons of the year before, “but unfortunately in the absence of demand, we have no choice but to destroy our own product”.
Calling on the government to allow export of rosewater or import of machinery used to convert damask rose and rosewater into essence, Seyyed-Navvabi said farmers are bearing the brunt of losses.
Referring to hurdles in the way of supplying packaging materials, including bottles and cartons due to the road closures, he said storehouses are full of rosewater but the prospect of selling it appears dim to many producers.
He put losses sustained by traditional rosewater workshops in Kashan at 2,000-2,500 billion rials ($7.4-9.2 million) and said low-interest loans and tax and insurance waivers might help this troubled industry to survive.
According to Zeynali, Iran is the world’s biggest producer of damask rose, accounting for 70% of the global production.
Iran, he had said earlier, meets 90% of global rosewater demand and accounts for 8-10% of rose essence production in the world.
Fars Province has the largest area under rose cultivation.
Iran’s rosewater is exported to 23 countries.
Rosewater is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a byproduct of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. It is used to flavor food and tea, as a component in cosmetic and medical preparations, and for religious purposes throughout Europe and Asia.


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Kanye West’s Yeezy line has kept busy over the past few months, teasing a handful of new styles for winter. After debuting its sock-like Knit Runner model in a “Sulfur” color, the brand now plans to release another version of the shoe in “Stone Carbon,” a muted gray with yellow accents.
The Knit Runner, made as a cold weather alternative to the perforated Foam Runner, can be described as the hypebeast’s Ugg boot. Albeit much more limited, and harder to get, the Adidas Yeezy slipper offers similar comfort and easy styling, as well as a chunky look. Promoted by Ye himself, the Knit Runner is less likely to be paired with Starbucks and skinny jeans — but hypebeast counterparts like Aimé Leon Dore lattes and Yeezy x Gap hoodies make up for that.
Slip into something more comfortable — Pictures leaked by Yeezy Mafia detail the new Knit Runner, which still boasts two-toned details. The majority of the slipper is filled in by the gray “Stone Carbon” hue, while the dark tan collar features the shoe’s respective size. Like most Yeezy models, branding is kept to a minimum, seen in tonal fashion across the outsoles and stamped on the insole.
With an upper made of a single knit panel, the Knit Runner encapsulates heat and allows for easy on-and-off access — not unlike an Ugg boot. A slight indent at midfoot and matching gray chevron-patterned outsoles help shape the shoe to the wearer’s foot and provide traction, although the Knit Runner is presumably a house slipper. If Yeezy fans are interested in wearing their shoes outside of the house, they can explore the brand’s Knit Runner Boot — which is exactly what it sounds like — or its NSTLD Boot, a quilted boot already modeled by Justin Bieber.
Dropping next year — Yeezy has a growing list of shoes dropping at the end of this year, pushing the gray Knit Runner’s release to 2022. The “Stone Carbon” iteration is expected to launch globally next February, marking the first time the model has released outside of the U.S. Pairs will be available at Yeezy’s website, as well as select Yeezy retailers, for $200 — granted you’re fast enough to cop a pair for retail price.


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October 8, 2001 – Taipei, Taiwan – United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) has revised its annual financial forecast for 2001.
Due to a worse than expected semiconductor industry downturn and slow economic recovery, for fiscal year 2001, UMC expects to post net sales of NT$63.55 billion, an operating loss of NT$5.3 billion, a pre-tax loss of NT$6.4 billion and net loss of NT$3.2 billion, resulting in a net loss per share of approximately NT$0.24.
Weakness in the global communication market has been the primary reason leading to the downward revision of UMC’s financial forecast, according to the company. Its strength in the communication segment has resulted in a significant negative impact on near-term performance. Not only has volume demand from communication customers shown a significant decline, ASP per wafer is also under pressure given that communication customers are the key clientele for leading-edge capacity, UMC said.
Secondly, UMC remains committed to retaining industry leadership in the area of advanced technology, and it continues to make progress in the deployment of deep sub-micron processes and the 300mm manufacturing platform. R&D expenses is expected to grow 47% year over year to reach NT$8.75 billion or 14% of our revenues in 2001. Although our short-term financial performance is affected by the increase in R&D expenses, UMC expects the long-term payoff to be rewarding.
Furthermore, UMC has taken this downturn as an opportunity to enhance its competitiveness. Other than its plan to reduce its 200mm wafer capacity by one-third, UMC has closed its Licensed Product Division in order to protect itself from the volatile memory market, according to the company. Write-off losses associated with the closure of LPD have caused the deterioration of its financial performance in 2001.