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Vitalik Buterin, a powerhouse in crypto, the mastermind behind the Ethereum network, effectively denounced those obsessed with the price of crypto and its possibility for breeding derivative financial instruments, tweeting recently “I think there’s too much emphasis on BTC/ETH/whatever ETFs, and not enough emphasis on making it easier for people to buy $5 to $100 in cryptocurrency via cards at corner stores. The former is better for pumping price, but the latter is much better for actual adoption.”
But this too misses the point.
Crypto provides no value to the average Westerner. Making crypto more accessible is not enough.
There’s no reason for the average Westerner – my aunt and uncle for example – to care, because crypto brings no additional functionality to their lives. They ask me about it practically every time we talk. When they ask me what to do with it, despite my five years of involvement in the industry, I have no answer.
All crypto, Bitcoin included, is a speculative play at this stage. Like any early-stage technology, we have yet to figure out many uses in which Bitcoin beats the legacy competition in functionality.
As an example, for payments, credit cards are better than crypto. So is PayPal. Cash is better too, if only for the network effects, but in reality for far more. That’s why more people use those methods for payments than Bitcoin.
Cheering on or otherwise attempting to rush the price movements of Bitcoin is futile. Praying for its movements is futile. Pitching its potential with slick marketing is more than futile, such marketing is in fact most likely counterproductive as it will leave early adopters disillusioned.
A curse of Bitcoin is that it is a currency and it is unable to be far removed in people’s minds from its very volatile price. Of course, the beauty of Bitcoin as well is that it is a currency. Through it and similar technologies, we will come to know the folly of applying natural monopoly theory to currency.
In disabusing ourselves of such thought, we will come to know the vast potential to humanity that awaits us by subjecting the currencies to an unregulated marketplace where no government enforced monopoly prevails. Much like the commercially successful iPhone came approximately 23 years after the end of a government enforced monopoly in telephony in the US, we have no idea what may come 23 years after an end in the government enforced
monopoly in currency in the United States.
Like telecom, like railroads, like motorized carriages, like the internet – Bitcoin will become adopted when it has a level of functionality so obvious that by word of mouth people know its value in their lives so profusely that it would be foolish for them to do anything but to start using the technology.
That moment has yet to arrive.
It will require simple ideas made better, it will require time, reputation, and funds ventured, likely many failed businesses, and probably only a few long term successful businesses for us to get to that point. Eventually, some mastermind will figure out a way to commercialize an idea that no one has successfully commercialized.
The time for that work is now. Opportunity is ripe for the picking. The immature cryptospace awaits the person who can make crypto not just utilized as a speculative play but as a technology far more valuable than the alternatives that preceded it.
Groundwork has been laid, mostly by people who history will forget. The Horatio Allens, William Norrises, and Stephen Balzers of crypto have done their work. These are likely unheard of names by the readers of these pages. Similarly, the early crypto founders that history will forget will give way to the next cohort – The Pullman of Bitcoin, the Westinghouse of crypto, the Ford of digital assets, the Gates, the Jobs – the innovators that made the technology usable and accessible and desirable.
Those few who succeed in the next stage will become Bitcoin billionaires and be immortalized as the fathers of an industry. It won’t matter who came before, at least not in the history books. The few of us who know the early innovators in crypto will have some fun trivia one day because we will know the names of the people that did things that the world will eventually consider trivial.
The people who take the next step and make the technology indispensable to the average American will be the ones who become household names, because in a marketplace utility drives adoption of a technology.
The main issue that matters to a consumer is utility -“What’s in it for me?” Only with an undeniably simple and in demand answer to that question will we see adoption. In his brief tweet, Vitalik missed that point. Convenience does not drive adoption, utility drives adoption.
What’s in it for the average Westerner? So far, the answer is nothing. Many in the cryptospace work hard for the answer to that question to change.
We are now accepting pre-orders for our healthy and delicious storable food. Stock up today!


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Digital marketing spending has been setting new historic heights every year in recent memory. In 2017, total marketing expenditures shot above $500 billion, and digital marketing spending actually surpassed that of television for the first time on a global level.
Market forecasters expect digital advertising expenditures to continue its double-digit growth in years to come, but rampant fraud across digital formats looms as a major contender to this prediction.
Fraud in digital advertising accounted for over 20% of total ad spending. Digital marketing fraud manifests itself in a few different ways, most commonly through the use of nonhuman bots to generate ingenuine impressions or form submissions. Marketing experts are aware of these perpetrators, although the sophistication of these bots has made identifying and cracking down on fraudulence in advertising incredibly difficult.
The rise of blockchain technology has allowed developers to create effective, decentralized networks and breath new life into nearly every industry in which use cases have been proposed.
Beyond the financial sector, healthcare, computing, content, and many more areas are quickly researching and adopting blockchain-powered business solutions. Now, ClearCoin is using blockchain to address the problem of ad fraud and inaccuracies in digital advertising.
Powered by ClearCoin tokens (CLR), ClearCoin’s global marketing platform connects advertisers and publishers, tracking all transactions on its distributed proof-of-history ledger to create a system of trust and transparency in the digital advertising community. The proof-of-history ledger has the power to solve this issue of fraudulence in digital marketing just as blockchain solved the double spending problem.
By recording all digital advertising impressions that the platform has access to, the ledger is able to separate real impressions from fraudulent ones. The introduction of blockchain to digital advertising guarantees every transaction and impression is accounted for, while ClearCoin can ensure the privacy and security of each user’s information through smart contracts and data encryption.
An additional benefit of blockchain’s application to this industry is its ability to drastically improve the supply chain in global advertising. The ClearCoin platform removes intermediaries from the process by allowing users and publishers to transact directly.
In this way, ClearCoin removes spending inefficiencies in the global advertising ecosystem. Furthermore, this means ClearCoin caters to more than just marketers and media publishers. The platform offers solutions for brands and agencies looking to securely and transparently grow their consumer or client relationships. ClearCoin also benefits supply and demand side platforms and publishing networks in need of aggregating digital media bids and inventory.
By virtue of existing on the blockchain, ClearCoin operates in real time. This allows both the supply and demand side of the digital advertising industry to always transact and continuously track live data to improve marketing strategies.
As decentralized apps continue their massive wave of development, ClearCoin is seeking to stay ahead of the curve. While ClearCoin’s platform is the foundational layer for this global marketing solution, they also intend to become the partner of choice for decentralized apps in need of filling advertising inventory. ClearCoin also has supply and demand APIs for partnered decentralized apps to provide valuable data for market analytics.
ClearCoin’s platform creates a great user experience by making purchasing and tracking your advertisements easy for any user. Integration with major digital publishers such as Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Display Ads simplifies the process of ad placement, while on-board tools including artificial intelligence and machine learning, demographic, and sentiment cohorts offer users access to advanced statistics to deepen understanding of each media buy’s impact.
ClearCoin also supports a multitude of digital advertising formats. Native, mobile, video, audio, virtual reality, social, and search ad formats are all options for media buys, and barriers to entry are removed by the platform accepting dozens of crypto and fiat currencies.
The ClearCoin team is leveraging their past entrepreneurial and tech careers and experience in major corporate marketing, previously working with brands across a wide range of sectors including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, General Motors, and Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. As a whole, they are able to increase their network effects through their strong business connections.
The ClearCoin token sale launched in mid-November with a total supply of 1,000,000,000 and is set to close on March 31. The platform is currently only allowing media buys for over 5,000,000 CLR, but will be open to all users beginning in June. As they continue to add on new advertising partners and develop innovative solutions for fraud in the ad industry, they will demonstrate a clear value proposition for any investor.
Advertising has been a rapidly evolving space over the last few decades, but as data has allowed advertisers to make more informed decisions, they inherently learned about some of the problems with existing structures.
Ad fraud has long been a difficult problem for the marketing industry. With ClearCoin’s unique approach of monitoring ad performance via the blockchain, marketers can trust the ad dollars they spend are translating to genuine performance.

domain: news


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Ford, apparently, will be taking Missouri up on its offer for tax breaks to bring new production to the Claycomo plant in Kansas City. A spokesman for Ford will not say what line will be coming to Missouri, but will only confirm that a new vehicle will be built at Claycomo to replace the Escape SUV, which will now be built in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ford builds the F-150 pick-up at Claycomo. The move of the Escape placed in jeopardy a portion of the 4,000-person workforce. State lawmakers approved tax break incentives during a special legislative session to keep Claycomo at full production.
Ford will invest $600 million in its Louisville plant to build the next-generation Escape. It plans to hire 1,800 more workers there.
Gov. Nixon’s office released the following statement on Ford’s announcement:
We have been working closely with senior Ford officials for months to make sure the vehicles of the future are manufactured at the Claycomo plant, and it’s clear that our hard work will pay real dividends for Kansas City and suppliers in communities across Missouri. We look forward to putting the finishing touches on this agreement in the coming weeks. Automotive manufacturing has a bright future in the Show-Me State.


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U.S. Postal Service Says Village Offices Will Stay Open
Move will cut hours at several local branches
In an effort to keep the doors open to more than 600 small-scale post offices, the U.S. Postal Service announced Monday it will trim the hours at those locations as part of a multi-tiered plan to save money.
The new strategy was implemented in place of a plan introduced in November 2011 which looked at closing rural and suburban offices like Salford and Woxall and Upper Salford Township to make the organization financially sustainable.
Offices which had not been closed by May 15 would stay open, officials said.
The retail window hours at the village offices will now reportedly match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and to post office boxes will remain unchanged.
The town’s zip code and community identity will also be retained, officials said.
“The post offices in rural America will remain open unless a community has a strong preference for one of the other options,” said Megan Brennan, Postal Service chief operating officer in a press release issued May 14.
Other options include contracting with a local business to create a village post office, offering service from a nearby post office or providing mail delivery to residents and businesses in the affected community by rural carrier or highway contract route.
The new changes won’t be fully implemented until September 2014. The Postal Service said it expects to realize a savings of a half billion dollars annually.
Area offices to have shorter hours include Lederach, Milford Square, Old Zionsville, Palm, Sumneytown, Salford, Salfordville, Sassamansville, Woxall and Zionhill.
Postal Service officials said Wednesday the new hours for those offices were not determined to date. Previous reports stated that Salford and Sassamansville branches would have hours reduced from eight to six and the Woxall branch would only be open two hours a day.
The organization also announced a voluntary early retirement incentive for more than 21,000 non-executive postmasters.
The Postal Service, which receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to stay afloat, has been losing business due to the increasing use of e-mail and electronic communication, as well as online bill payment services.
The organization, which last made a quarterly profit in 2009, posted an $8.5 billion loss in 2010. Most recently, in the quarter that ended on March 31, it realized a $3.2 billion deficit.


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'Dell Dude' Arrested for Marijuana in NY
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Benjamin Curtis, the Dell Computer Corp. pitchman "Steven" who says on television, "Dude, yer gettin' a Dell," was arrested for possessing marijuana in New York, officials said on Monday.
Curtis, 22, was charged with criminal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor that carries a prison sentence of up to three months if he is convicted, a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney's office said.
Curtis, who lives in New York and was arrested on Sunday night, was scheduled to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court later on Monday.
A spokesman for the Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said he was not familiar with the details and declined to speculate on future plans for the advertising campaign.
"We're following the situation closely and working with our ad agency to understand what's transpired here," spokesman Venancio Figueroa said. The ad agency is DDB of Chicago.
Dell, the No. 2 personal computer company, makes most of its money selling to businesses and schools. It began the TV and print commercials featuring the wise-cracking "Steven" three years ago.
Ben Curtis, can you say, "Dude, I'm going to jail."?


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Andhra Pradesh Paper Surges by Limit on Sale; Rivals Advance
March 30 (Bloomberg) --Andhra Pradesh Paper Mills (APPM) Ltd. surged by the daily limit in Mumbai, sparking a rally in its domestic rivals, after International Paper Co. (IP) agreed to pay more than twice the market price to buy the Indian company.
The world’s top paper producer will buy 53.5 percent for $257 million, or 544 rupees a share, and make an offer for 21.5 percent, spending a total $361 million. Andhra Pradesh Paper closed at 197.5 rupees before the announcement yesterday.
International Paper is making the acquisition to benefit from growth in India and as consumption in the U.S. and other regions declines, Paul Brown, Asia president, told reporters in Mumbai after trading ended yesterday. Demand may increase 57 percent to 14 million metric tons by 2015, according to the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association.
“The only way to grow in this industry is through mergers and acquisition because capacity takes time to set up,” said Kishor Ostwal, managing director of CNI Research (India) Ltd., a publicly traded equities research provider in Mumbai. “The deal with Andhra Pradesh Paper has set a benchmark in a booming industry. Paper mills will now get better valuations.”
Andhra Pradesh Paper surged 20 percent to 236.95 rupees, a record close and the best performer on the BSE Small-Cap Index. (BSESMCAP) Ballarpur Industries Ltd., India’s biggest paper maker, surged by the daily 20 percent limit before closing 17 percent higher at 37.60 rupees, the steepest advance since April. JK Paper Ltd. rallied 20 percent to 57.8 rupees. The nation’s seven paper mills still trade at an average 7 times earnings, compared with 10 times for the small-cap gauge, according to Bloomberg data.
Andhra Pradesh Paper, India’s fifth-biggest producer with a capacity of 250,000 tons, posted profit of 542 million rupees ($11.4 million) in the year ended March 31, 2010, more than double from a year ago. Net debt was 4.7 billion rupees, about half the current market value, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
International Paper’s total acquisition cost is 32 times Andhra Pradesh Paper’s 2010 net income and about 30 percent of the combined market value of its six rivals.
“The price we are paying is commensurate with the levels at which deals are happening,” Brown said. “We are focusing more on the opportunity that we are getting.”
International Paper owns and operates plants in the U.S., Russia, Morocco and Turkey. It paid $200 million in June for Svenska Cellulosa AB’s Asian packaging business. It may consider opportunities to expand in Eastern Europe and China where it sees greater profitability, Chief Executive Officer John Faraci said on Feb. 23.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Hit2Split available at Unibet and Mercur online casinos
The Unibet and Merkur online casinos have announced the availability of an exclusive new slot from Net Entertainment titled Hit2Split.
The new product is a 5 reel, 30 pay-line game with an innovative split symbol feature, which can be previewed here:
Online Casino News Courtesy of Infopowa
About the Author... Total Posts Written: 1,831
Infopowa news was a staple of Casinomeister’s news from 2000 until 2019. Brian Cullingworth was the main writer, contributor, and was one of the most knowledgeable persons I have ever known involved in the online casino industry.
We first met in January 2001 at the ICE in London where I observed him going booth to booth interviewing online casino, software, and licensing jurisdiction representatives. Brian was also heavily involved with our forum as “Jetset“, he was involved as an informal consultant to eCOGRA, the OPA, and was a player advocate who assisted countless aggrieved players with his connections to industry folks. He also published “Casino Cautions” via Infopowa news for quite a number of years. These can be found in our news archives.
His passing in February 2019 was a dark day for us. He will be forever missed.


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Target cuts outlook as data breach costs hit earnings again
Target Corp. lowered its earnings projections for the rest of the year as it continues to cope with costs from last year's data breach and soft business in Canada.
The Minneapolis-based retailer said Wednesday its second-quarter earnings fell 62 percent from a year ago as it recorded $148 million in charges to cope with costs related to the breach. Target (NYSE: TGT) reported earnings of $234 million, or 37 cents a share for the period, down from $611 million, or 95 cents per share a year ago.
Excluding data-breach costs and other one-time expenses, earnings were 78 cents per share (versus last year's 98 cents). Sales rose 1.7 percent to $17.41 billion.
Target had warned investors weeks ago that its quarterly numbers would be weak; the final results met analysts' lowered estimates on earnings and exceeded them on sales. The early heads-up may have helped Target on Wall Street today; its shares are up slightly on the earnings news.
The Wall Street Journal has a report on the earnings— and the outlook for the rest of the year, which Target said could also be thorny. The company now expects to earn $3.10 to $3.30 per share for the full year, versus earlier expectations of $3.60 to $3.90.
CFO John Mulligan, in a statement, said, "While results from the quarter didn’t meet our expectations, we are seeing some early signs of progress as we work to improve results in the U.S. and Canada." Same-store sales, an important retail metric, were up more than 1 percent in July, he said.
Mark Reilly manages daily and weekly coverage at the Business Journal newsroom.
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International Trade Daily™ provides rapid, reliable notification of the most significant developments affecting U.S. trade and international business policy, as well as the policies of major U.S....
Aug. 3 — U.S. and Mexican trade officials are working to broker a new deal on sugar trade to prevent U.S. antidumping duties of about 80 percent.
The new agreement would be a renegotiation of a U.S.-Mexico suspension agreement that was put into place in December 2014, following findings that Mexican sugar had been sold below market prices in the U.S. market in 2013 (246 ITD, 12/23/14).
“The Department of Commerce is engaged in consultations with the Mexican government and the Mexican sugar industry to explore concerns that have been raised about the operation of the agreements,” an official at the U.S. Department of Commerce said in an e-mail to Bloomberg BNA.
The new negotiations aim to ensure that U.S. beet and sugar cane farmers are better protected, according to Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar Alliance. It also could include additional requirements for refining sugar in the U.S., Hayes said, to make sure that cane sugar refiners have access to an adequate supply of raw sugar for processing.
“The suspension agreements are not market access agreements for Mexico,” Hayes said in an e-mail to Bloomberg BNA. “They are the settlement of litigation under U.S. laws in which the government of Mexico and Mexican sugar producers were found to be guilty of injuring the U.S. sugar industry.”
The 2014 suspension agreement established price limits and volume quotas for Mexican sugar exports, requiring Mexican sugar to be sold in the U.S. at or above 26 cents per pound, while all other imports of sugar from Mexico were to be sold at or above 22.25 cents per pound. It was put into place following a sugar dumping investigation by the Commerce Department, which found that in 2013, Mexican sugar had been sold in the U.S. below market price between 40.48 percent and 42.14 percent.
The suspension agreement also established periodic meetings two to three times a year between the relevant trade officials to discuss the progress of the suspension agreement. If the agreement is terminated, antidumping and countervailing duties of up to 80 percent could be applied to sugar imported from Mexico.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who opposes import restrictions on Mexican sugar, has expressed concern about the renegotiation of the sugar suspension agreements by the Commerce Department without allowing for public comment.
“The sugar managed trade agreements between the United States and Mexico have restricted the sugar supply available in the U.S. to a level far too low to meet domestic demand and have caused an unjustified price hike for American businesses and consumers,” Shaheen wrote in a July 21, 2016, letter to the Commerce Department. “These new trade restrictions have effectively reset government-supported sugar prices nearly 20 percent higher than the levels Congress agreed on in the 2014 Farm Bill.”
Mexican sugar industry trade officials have said they support the suspension agreement, which still gives them the preferential access to the U.S. market provided by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) even if it falls short of the full access.
“We have a relationship in commercial terms with the U.S. market going forward that is based on a formula that was negotiated by both governments,” said Juan Cortina, the president of the Mexican Sugar Chamber. “We are left in an advantageous position as the supplier of choice. We can live with it, even if it is not something that we really like. But the rules are quite clear now.”
Other Mexican trade experts, however, note that the use of such agreements ensures that the sugar industry in the U.S. continues to be protected.
“It is a settlement. It is not free trade any more, because it is a limitation of Mexico's access to the U.S. market,” said Beatriz Leycegui, a former senior trade official in the Felipe Calderon administration and partner with SAI Consulting in Mexico City. “But these are instruments that countries can legitimately use to ensure that the conditions of trade are fair.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Emily Pickrell in Mexico City at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jerome Ashton at email@example.com
Copyright © 2016 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Those who are planning to upgrade to Intel’s next-generation Alder Lake CPUs designed around the LGA 1700 socket, have only but one worry. And that is related to the supporting upgrade for their existing coolers. As they need to compensate the CPUs which they will be working with, every cooling system needs to be properly integrated with the socket.
But, Noctua recently confirmed that PC builders running their Noctua cooler inside their rigs will now have no problem with their migration to the Alder Lake platform. The company stated on Twitter that they will be providing an upgrade kit for their existing line of coolers.
According to the official statement, the upgrade kit for its NH-U12A heatsink cooler will arrive sooner and there will also be upgrade kits for the rest of the cooler lineup. The company will ship the upgrade kit to customers of Noctua CPU coolers for free and will be bundled in new units.
This is a great initiative by the company, as intel’s Alder Lake CPUs make use of a brand new socket type which is different than all of the sockets released since Sandy Bridge hence cooler compatibility will be a major concern for users. On the other hand, the processor line-up will also be the first desktop processor family to feature a sub 14nm process node known as 10nm Enhanced SuperFin.
Intel Desktop CPU Generations Comparison:
|Intel CPU Family||Processor Process||Processors Cores (Max)||TDPs||Platform Chipset||Platform||Memory Support||PCIe Support||Launch|
|Sandy Bridge (2nd Gen)||32nm||4/8||35-95W||6-Series||LGA 1155||DDR3||PCIe Gen 2.0||2011|
|Ivy Bridge (3rd Gen)||22nm||4/8||35-77W||7-Series||LGA 1155||DDR3||PCIe Gen 3.0||2012|
|Haswell (4th Gen)||22nm||4/8||35-84W||8-Series||LGA 1150||DDR3||PCIe Gen 3.0||2013-2014|
|Broadwell (5th Gen)||14nm||4/8||65-65W||9-Series||LGA 1150||DDR3||PCIe Gen 3.0||2015|
|Skylake (6th Gen)||14nm||4/8||35-91W||100-Series||LGA 1151||DDR4||PCIe Gen 3.0||2015|
|Kaby Lake (7th Gen)||14nm||4/8||35-91W||200-Series||LGA 1151||DDR4||PCIe Gen 3.0||2017|
|Coffee Lake (8th Gen)||14nm||6/12||35-95W||300-Series||LGA 1151||DDR4||PCIe Gen 3.0||2017|
|Coffee Lake (9th Gen)||14nm||8/16||35-95W||300-Series||LGA 1151||DDR4||PCIe Gen 3.0||2018|
|Comet Lake (10th Gen)||14nm||10/20||35-125W||400-Series||LGA 1200||DDR4||PCIe Gen 3.0||2020|
|Rocket Lake (11th Gen)||14nm||8/16||TBA||500-Series||LGA 1200||DDR4||PCIe Gen 4.0||2021|
|Alder Lake (12th Gen)||10nm (ESF)||16/24?||TBA||600 Series?||LGA 1700||DDR5||PCIe Gen 5.0?||2021|
|Raptor Lake (13th Gen)||10nm (ESF)||16/24?||TBA||700-Series?||LGA 1700||DDR5||PCIe Gen 5.0?||2022|
|Meteor Lake (14th Gen)||7nm (EUV)||TBA||TBA||800 Series?||LGA 1700||DDR5||PCIe Gen 5.0?||2023|
|Lunar Lake (15th Gen)||TBA||TBA||TBA||900 Series?||TBA||DDR5||PCIe Gen 5.0?||2023+|


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They're on the road this year and it would have been an utter TRAGEDY! if they'd missed Glasgow out.
But don't worry, they haven't, it's been announced today that noughties pop legends Steps are making their way to the SSE Hydro in November!!!
And if that isn't enough to get all you closet Eurodance fans out there excited, maybe the news that Dutch chart-toppers the Vengaboys will be the support act - yes, the Vengabus is coming to Glasgow.
Announcing the news on social media earlier, members revealed they're going back on tour to celebrate 20 years of the band's music.
The gig takes place on November 16.
The group is also releasing brand new album Tears On The Dancefloor, arriving April 21, featuring new single Scared of The Dark.
The album features tracks from the biggest songwriters in pop including Ina Wroldsen (Calvin Harris, Britney Spears), Steve Mac (Jess Glynne, Little Mix), TMS (Years & Years, Sigma), Carl Ryden (The Saturdays, David Guetta), Fiona Bevan (1D, 5SOS) and Metrophonic (Cher, Olly Murs).
Tears On The Dancefloor marks the Steps' first full album of original material since 2000 and is full of huge pop classics that are sure to get everyone back on the dancefloor.
Speaking of the forthcoming album, Steps said: “This is the album we think our fans have been waiting for. It was very important for us to have a hint of the past but to try to blend it into modern day music.
"We think Steps are a little bit of what everyone needs right now. We can’t wait to take the new album plus all our favorite hits out on the road."
Pre-sale tickets go on sale tomorrow morning, March 7 if you sign up to their mailing list.
Then tickets will go on general release on Friday, March 10 at 9am via Ticketmaster


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WeBrokr is pleased to announce the successful acquisition of N4G, which has been acquired by UK-based By Gamers For Gamers (BGFG). N4G.com was founded in 2007 by Vegard Aure & Haavard Aure of HAVA Media.
Vegard, Haavard and the Hava Media team grew the N4G brand into one of the largest gaming communities in the world over the past 15 years.
Also included in the acquisition were the brands FilmWatch, TechSpy & AnimeShinbun.
WeBrokr represented and advised HAVA Media & N4G from listing through successful completion of sale.
Vegard Aure of HAVA Media had this to say regarding the N4G acquisition, as well as his experience working with WeBrokr:
“It was important for us to find a buyer that would want to continue N4G as a community focused website. Logan helped us get in touch with potential buyers that had the right team and resources to accomplish this. With the help from Logan and WeBrokr.com we found a new home for N4G in BGFG , and we are very happy about how everything turned out.”
Logan Abner of WeBrokr had this to say regarding the N4G acquisition:
“We are very pleased to announce the successful Sell-Side representation of N4G, FilmWatch, TechSpy & AnimeShinbun. N4G has long been known as the go-to gaming community and news aggregator in the world. Hava Media was far ahead of its time when it launched N4G way back in 2007. N4G was rivaling the likes of Reddit and Digg for gaming specific traffic for many years. We’re excited to see what the great team at BGFG has in store for the N4G brand going forward!”
Official BGFG Press Release – BGFG


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Three news items worth noting:
- The FDIC closed two smallish banks, again on a Friday evening. Both banks were owned by the same holding company, so you could think of it as one bank. I think they’re calling it two to help get us used to the idea of bank failures. We may see a parade of small-to-medium-sized banks shut down over the next few months. If the feds have to shut down 4 of the 5 largest banks next year, hopefully by then we won’t be too shocked to see it happen.
- Chrysler has decided to stop leasing its cars. They figured out that in the process of screwing their customers with auto leases, they were also screwing themselves, having to take back near-worthless pickup trucks and SUVs when the leases expire, and sometimes sooner. That’s the way the free market system works sometimes. Other auto makers say leasing remains an essential part of their business plans.
- California is banning trans fat ingredients from restaurant food, joining the trend that started in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. We’re still a long way from the idea of holding food makers responsible for the safety of their products, but the trans fat ban helps to establish the idea that items sold as food can’t just be dressed-up poison.


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By Creative Media Times
“Ticketmaster Presence,” the ticket sales and distribution company’s next generation venue access control and fan engagement platform that replaces paper tickets with digital passes is Sports Business Awards’ “Best In Sports Technology” winner.
Winners are selected by industry editors, writers, and researchers and winners were announced on Wednesday night’s Sports Business Awards 2018, now on it’s 11th year.
The event was held at New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square in New York City.
“We’re honored to be named ‘Best in Sports Technology’ at this year’s Sports Business Awards. Ticketmaster Presence and digital tickets are primed to change the way fans experience live events. And it’s all happening in the palm of your hand with your mobile device. It’s the kind of technology that venues, teams, artists and fans have been waiting for,” said Justin Burleigh, Chief Product Officer, Ticketmaster North America.
Ticketmaster Presence’s digital passes essentially replaces paper tickets that has been in use for generations to check people into venues. With paper tickets being somewhat anonymous, digital tickets are personalized and has all the entry and event information.
Presence’s ticketing system has been a boon to reducing event patron’s waiting time and improving overall experience. Its already in use in 100 venues and have been used by 13 millions to check into events.


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There are 87 days until CII, which will measure carbon emissions from ships, comes into force. The new regulation is disputed. Some carriers say they know their ship emissions, others find it complicated. ShippingWatch dives into the world of CII.
Dry bulk and tanker carrier Norden ups its full-year 2022 guidance for the fifth time this year due to, among other reasons, profitable sales of two product tankers and three bulkers, according to a statement.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Pureteq has become the world’s largest digital service provider for scrubbers, CEO Anders Skibdal tells ShippingWatch. He thinks the market will get going next year but holds that some are exaggerating their growth forecasts.
Norwegian chemical tanker operator Stolt-Nielsen closes the third quarter with a doubling of profit compared to the same period last year. The upturn in the chemical tanker market comes at a good time before contract renewals, says CEO Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen.


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Updated 14 December 2021
Inflation, and its effect on the standard of living, is becoming a major concern for households and policymakers. From rising food prices to pay packets of diminished value, a rising cost of living effects everyone.
But what exactly is inflation, what causes it and how long is the current rate of inflation going to be in place?
If you’ve been keeping a close eye on the news, and your weekly shop, you might have noticed that the price of things is going up: a litre of unleaded petrol is today (2nd December 2021) 33p more expensive than a year ago, electricity and gas costs have increased by almost 25%, while even crisps and soft drinks are becoming more pricey.
So why are prices going up all of a sudden?
The answer is something called inflation and it’s not just happening in the UK either – a whole host of countries across the world are experiencing what some people are calling an inflation ‘crisis’.
There are a few different ways of measuring inflation, but one of the most common measures used in the UK is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which looks at the changing prices of some of our favourite products.
Very simply, inflation happens when the costs of things increase. As an example, if a £1 jar of jam goes up by 5p, the price has inflated by 5%. Inflation isn’t always a bad thing, but when prices increase too much or keep rising for too long, it can present some problems. So, what’s really going on?
Many countries around the world are struggling with inflation, and one of the biggest reasons for this is the pandemic.
When Covid-19 struck, countries around the world were forced into lockdowns: factories shut down, workplaces closed and many businesses stopped trading altogether. During this time, most governments stepped in to provide massive investments and support to keep people out of poverty and to keep the economy alive.
In the UK, the biggest source of support was the furlough scheme through which the government started paying many workers’ wages.
Many households built up unexpected savings as a result of having fewer opportunities to spend when working from home and the shops being closed, for example. When restrictions started to lift, these savings poured out into the economy exactly as hoped.
The problem is that with many countries around the world still facing strict Covid-19 regulations, lacking access to or uptake of vaccines or continuing to dip in and out of lockdowns, there just aren’t enough products to go around: there are fewer businesses working with fewer staff producing fewer items.
Despite all the money going around, businesses can’t quite keep up and prices are going up as a result.
The UK is also facing the additional problem of Brexit disruption. Since the UK has left the EU, many businesses are finding it much more difficult to get things in and out of the country.
Between both supply chain disruption and the pandemic, the UK is looking at some persistent inflation rates.
Everything. As consumers all need to start paying more for day-to-day items, households will increasingly find their money is worth less. After all, if everybody has to pay more for the grocery shop, there’s less money to spend on other things.
But inflation can have a particularly challenging effect on savers, homeowners and those already retired. If you’ve been saving for a long time, are paying off a mortgage or are drawing on a fixed pension pot, all of a sudden you can find yourself having to pay more with less.
The last time inflation was this high, the UK was suffering from the effects of the 2008 housing price crash. Back then, inflation reached just above 5% - a figure some economists think the current bout of inflation could reach again. As inflation rose, savings accounts were no longer able to keep pace with the rising cost of living. The costs of mortgages and associated household bills increased and the value of pensions shrunk.
While the causes and effects of the 2011 inflation high were of course different, should inflation reach 5% percent once more, this could all happen again.
One of the most common ways central banks and governments try to combat inflation is by changing interest rates – the amount of interest you will earn on your money when placed in a savings account.
If the interest rate goes up, people will save more and spend, making item shortages less acute and, in theory, bringing prices down. This will also impact things like mortgages though. Higher interest rates can mean the amount you will need to pay on a mortgage could increase.
As with all financial questions, having sound, expert advice is paramount. If you aren’t sure, it’s better to get clear guidance rather than trying to guess what to do next.
So, the big question on everyone’s lips is: how long will the current rate of inflation persist?
There’s unfortunately no straightforward answer to this question. Countries around the world are all facing inflation, meaning that these countries need to find the right solution together, so as to not unfairly disadvantage other countries. Particularly for the UK, facing twin concerns over inflation and supply chain issues, it doesn’t look like inflation will be going away anytime soon.
The bigger question is what both the UK government and the Bank of England will do to combat inflation and support households. It seems only a matter of time before interest rates rise.
This will be good news for savers, but potentially concerning news for homeowners who aren’t on a fixed-rate mortgage. This would bring down the rate of inflation, however, making it by far the most likely policy to be pursued by central banks around the world.
A lot will also come down to the continued global recovery from the pandemic. Successful vaccination campaigns will get global supply chains operating back at normal levels which will also go some way to improving item shortages.
Inflation in the UK is being driven by Covid-19- and supply chain-related issues. These shortages are driving prices higher, making the cost of living more expensive
Should this rate of inflation continue, savers, homeowners, pensioners and lots of other people will be looking at some challenging times ahead
Inflation is likely to continue throughout 2022, but it might be at a higher or lower rate than it is currently.
The most likely way governments and central banks will try to bring inflation back down is by slowly increasing interest rates.
In such challenging times, getting the right financial advice for your circumstances is key.
Find your perfect financial adviser now.
Let us match you to your
perfect financial adviser


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The Internet of Things (IoT) is enabling a slew of new business models. However, due to new requirements the traditional monolithic commerce platforms are not the best choice for the IoT-enabled use-cases. Learn why API-first platforms are the way to go for the digital new world.
A weekly roundup or recap on commerce-focused topics and issues. For this week’s Wicked Quick, we caught up with Carla Gonzales, Commerce Business Manager at Wurth Louis and Company.
eProcurement platforms allow businesses to rationalize supply chain and eProcurement processes, providing greater accountability and facilitating collaborative supplier relationships. EProcurement on its own isn’t a complete solution to supply chain cost management, but it is an essential component in creating collaborative supplier relationships, reducing error, and taking control of spending and procurement.
The future has arrived, but how can manufacturers pivot to direct fulfillment? The issue comes down to change management. Manufacturers need to realize that while the old way of selling products has been successful, they will be left in the dust unless they pivot to a new sales model before direct-to-consumer sellers gain a stranglehold on the IoT ordering market.
Former Forrester Analyst, Andy Hoar, has set out on a new venture with his company Paradigm B2B. Now he's about to disrupt the industry again with the release of his new research report. In this short clip, he discusses the report and the surprises he came across conducting this research.
We caught up with former Forrester Analysts and now Founder and CEO of Paradigm B2B, Andy Hoar. He's getting ready to release a disruptive new research report into the market with Paradigm B2B Combine Report and we got the latest scoop.
As distributors and manufacturers of all makes and sizes convened in Chicago for the annual B2B Online conference they were determined to solve for their most pressing challenge - how to transform their organizations for the digital era.
Empowering customer service reps with conversational marketing tools to cross-sell or upsell should inventory be out of stock. The ecommerce chatbot feature also allows customer service reps to engage with more than one customer at time, reducing lag time between serving clients.
Before setting out on this digital transformation journey, let’s go over the challenges the industry currently faces and what to look for in the search for B2B ecommerce technology partners.
There is no hiding from the truth: today’s buyers are demanding contextual and personalized buying experiences, rich with product information, relevant pricing and recommendations, and frictionless fulfillment options.


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Motorola Razr foldable mobile phone that introduced past 12 months is established to get a successor. Lenovo South Africa normal supervisor Thibault Dousson before confirmed in an interview that the future-gen Razr mobile phone will be introduced this 12 months in September. A new report now sheds gentle on requirements of the 2nd-era foldable system from Motorola. It is tipped to arrive with enhanced components and operate on the latest Android ten software program. The model quantity of the Motorola Razr 2nd-era mobile phone is noted to be XT2071-4.
XDA Builders reviews that the future-gen Motorola Razr has been codenamed ‘smith’ and has the model quantity is noted to be XT2071-4. The publication cites an anonymous resource to assert that the mobile phone will be run by the Snapdragon 765 SoC and pack 8GB of RAM. Interior storage is tipped to be at 256GB.
The report suggests that the future-gen Motorola Razr will see a camera enhance to Samsung’s 48-megapixel ISOCELL GM1 sensor at the back and a 20-megapixel selfie camera in the entrance. It is leaked to operate on Android ten and offer improvements to the Fast View Show. The proportions of the most important Flex View and Fast Shows are predicted to be the similar.
Ideally Motorola will introduce Samsung-like Ultra Slim Glass technological innovation on leading of the foldable exhibit for far more toughness. It really should keep the clamshell-like open up and shut style, however this is pure speculation from our conclusion. The report also states that the 2nd-era Motorola Razr is becoming formulated in China and North The usa now. The mobile phone will go on sale in marketplaces like India, Europe, or Latin The usa.
Motorola Razr (2019) Foldable Mobile phone With Snapdragon 710 SoC Introduced in India
As talked about, Dousson confirmed past 7 days that Motorola is working on another iteration of Razr, and is predicted to launch it sometime in September. To remember, the Motorola Razr (2019) model generated combined testimonials when it introduced past 12 months thanks to problems with the monitor. The mobile phone lastly arrived in India in March with a value tag of Rs. 1,24,999.
For the latest tech information and testimonials, follow Devices 360 on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Information. For the latest movies on gizmos and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Xiaomi Mi Television set Professional E32S With Bezel-Considerably less Structure, 32-Inch Comprehensive-Hd Display screen Introduced


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Thursday’s Headlines: Why Is Ford Motors Up 9%
Here were the biggest movers in the MyWallSt shortlist yesterday:
Moving Up ⬆
Lemonade (LMND) +10.7%
Peloton Interactive (PTON) +10.2%
TrueCar (TRUE) +9.6%
Ford Motor Company (F) +8.5%
Stitch Fix (SFIX) +8.0%
Moving Down ⬇
Nordstrom (JWN) -5.8%
Ericsson (ERIC) -1.9%
Sea Limited (SE) -1.3%
Pinterest (PINS) -1.3%
Mastercard (MA) -1.2%
1. Shares in Ford (F) soared on Wednesday as investors got a glimpse of the company’s EV ambitions and a future under CEO Jim Farley. Before its Investor Day event even began, Ford revealed that it expects electric vehicles to make up 40% of its global sales by the end of this decade. The company’s latest turnaround plan includes increasing its investment in EVs to more than $30 billion through 2025, up from the $22 billion pledge it made back in February. The automaker announced the plans as part of a new “Ford+” initiative it will be taking, which plans to achieve an 8% adjusted global profit margin by 2023. For the official press release and more information on Ford+, read here.
2. Despite our Head Analyst Rory’s near-certain belief that it would not happen, Amazon (AMZN) confirmed Wall Street’s worst-kept secret yesterday regarding its acquisition of MGM Studios. The 100-year-old studio is going for a cool $8.45 billion and will bolster Amazon Prime Video’s already impressive library with over 4,000 movies and 17,000+ TV shows — which have won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys between them. “The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling,” said Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Read Amazon’s official press release here.
3. “The Happiest Place On Earth” is about to make Disney (DIS) investors a lot happier, with the company’s California-based parks soon easing even more restrictions. Disney’s largest profit generator, Parks, has seen massive closures over the past year, but as of June 15, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will accept non-California-based visitors for the first time since reopening to locals on April 30. While parks are still limited to 25% capacity, further easings are expected soon as more than 130 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, with daily case rates slowing. Read the full story here.
Some more earnings from last night:
The cloud enterprise leader beat across the board with losses per share (EPS) of $0.19, down from $0.68 a year ago, while revenue jumped 15.4% year-over-year to $1.18 billion. Co-CEO Aneel Bhusri was bullish on the upcoming year for Workday: “As we look to future growth and innovation, our values are stronger than ever with our employees foundational to continued customer success, which is why we’re investing heavily in growing our workforce.” Read more here.
There are 6 companies on the MyWallSt shortlist that will report earnings today:
Get this week’s full earnings calendar here.


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OECD Report Shows Rise Of Internet ServicesPublished on 7 October 2012 @ 10:25 am
Intellectual Property Watch
Internet firms continue to drive global economic growth and job increases in the information technology sector, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found in a new report.
The report provides details on the rise of employment in the ICT sector, led by internet firms such as Amazon and Google, but also provides a number of other data such as revenue earned and projections.
“Total worldwide ICT spending is estimated to reach USD 4 406 billion in 2012, of which 58% (USD 2 572 billion) is on communications services and equipment, 21% (USD 910 billion) on computer services, 12% (USD 539 billion) on computer hardware and 9% (USD 385 billion) on software,” the report found, according to an OECD press release. “Estimates suggest that in 2012, software spending will increase more rapidly (by 7.6% a year) than computer hardware (6.1% a year), as hardware prices continue to fall. Spending on communications, both services and equipment, will also increase rapidly (by 7.6%), reflecting the uptake of more advanced services and the rapid spread of mobile services in developing countries.”
Computer and Communications Industry Association Vice President and Brussels Director James Waterworth issued a statement on the report, saying: “This report underlines the key role of the Internet in job creation and restoring growth both via the value ICT firms create and the indirect effects on the rest of the economy The ICT sector, especially Internet services with 31% average annual revenue growth between 2000-2011, grew tremendously at a time when most other sectors were seeing flat growth and declines. This underscores the need to promote Internet openness and balanced approaches to intellectual property policy so that the tech sector can continue to thrive and help lead the economic recovery.”
OECD press release here.
OECD report here.
Categories: Access to Knowledge, Copyright Policy, Education/ R&D/ Innovation, English, European Policy, Finance, Information and Communications Technology/ Broadcasting, IP-Watch Briefs, Patents/Designs/Trade Secrets, Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains


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Microsoft’s HoloLens was an thrilling prospect as soon as upon a time… after which we really tried it. With the explosion of VR, and Microsoft’s personal mixed-reality platform, it appears poor HoloLens has been lengthy forgotten. Well somebody hasn’t forgotten, sadly they’re an organization referred to as HoloContact they usually’re suing Microsoft for 2 patent infringements.
Physical switches aren’t useless simply but. Here are the best gaming keyboards round.
Microsoft’s HoloLens promised a future the place individuals can be waving their arms wildly round and staring blankly at seemingly nothing in ski goggles – after all, they’d be experiencing their very own holographic hallucinations blanketed the world over round them. As with many growing edge applied sciences, it didn’t solely have one use, it will change every thing.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, VR took the highlight lately. Microsoft’s personal exploits into their so-called Windows Mixed Reality have renegaded HoloLens from its focused enterprise market – and sadly it’s much more unhealthy information for the Holo-headset.
HoloContact, an organization that specialises in holographic controls, are suing Microsoft for breaching their patents relating to their ‘touchless holographic human-machine interface technology’, which the corporate say Microsoft have been in breach of for a few years, regardless of HoloContact reaching out for acceptable licensing on many events.
HoloContact concentrate on human-machine interface (HMI) expertise. This tech permits a holographic button or swap to be actuated as soon as the picture is disrupted by human motion, foregoing the necessity for a bodily enter.
HoloContact personal the patents in a number of nations too, which may get significantly messy for Microsoft’s secondary mixed-reality enterprise. The damages sought are sure to be fairly intensive, particularly contemplating that HoloContact aren’t solely going after Microsoft for the damages, but in addition additional penalties as they declare the tech large has been effectively conscious of HoloContact’s tech since, a minimum of, 2006.
It appears Microsoft’s clear tech has yet one more hurdle to leap if it ever plans on making it to market, as if the obvious early-stage awfulness of the viewing window wasn’t already sufficient of a leap for the tech large to make. Maybe there’s a future for Microsoft’s AR brainchild, however a consumer-ready product, that was price all the effort, feels nearly as distant because it did on day one.


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Please join the GMSDC family in celebrating National Black Business Month (NBBM) throughout the month of August. Since 2004, the nation has observed a month-long commemoration of the history, contributions and accomplishments of black-owned businesses. It is important that we take note of this all-important business segment and the role it plays in the US economy. There are roughly 3 million Black businesses in the US that employ more than one million people and generate $200 billion in revenues annually.
National Black Business Month was founded in August of 2004 by engineer Frederick E Jordan and Historian John W. Templeton, two prominent business owners and leaders in the National Black Chambers of Commerce. The goals of the initiative were to bring awareness to the Black business community, encourage people to patronize Black businesses, reduce unemployment in Black neighborhoods and generate economic mobility for African Americans. Atlanta has the second highest percentage of black business ownership nationwide, at 20% of all companies in the state. It is worth noting that the very concept of supplier diversity got its start as a way for progressive corporations and governments to do more business with Black suppliers. This concept was later expanded to include other ethnic groups and categories. Black businesses are well represented in practically every business category. Today, they are most prominent in health care/social services, professional services, transportation/logistics, personal services, retail and construction.
Georgia is home to some of the largest and oldest Black businesses in America, many of whom are long-term MBEs in the GMSDC family. Some of our long-standing, black businesses include:
• B&S Electric
• Battle & Battle Distributors
• Corporate Temps
• Dove Mailing
• H.J. Russell
• Prestige Packaging
Our state has been recognized on multiple occasions for a positive climate for startups, minority business and entrepreneurs. Even in the midst of these challenging times, it is appropriate that we pause to celebrate the milestones and achievement of black businesses not only in Georgia, but across the nation. Many of these firms are fighting for their survival in a pandemic-driven recession. We must do all we can to protect, preserve and sustain these companies who are so critical to our economy, and that means creating opportunities to utilize their goods and services in the months ahead.
We look forward to sharing new opportunities with our minority businesses during Minority Business Opportunity Week. Please mark your calendar for our Virtual Business Opportunity Exchange on September 14 – 18, 2020. This year’s BOE will be full of opportunities, matchmaking, and networking.


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The Palm Beach International Boat Show has dropped its anchor in downtown West Palm Beach. You will see everything from inflatable boats to pricey yachts.
Dozens of yachts big and small have pulled in to Palm Beach County, and among them, some with a hefty price tag.
Broker Dean Anthony stood aboard one with luxurious detailing inside and out.
"It has a hot tub, on-deck seating, it has four cabins," he explained.
He says recent but not new model yachts are attractive to the right buyers. A 2009 108' yacht he brought to the show would go for about $10 million new, but is a deal at $5 million, Anthony explained.
"That supply is being bought up and that's driving new boat buyers," he said.
On a different ramp, a yacht for $29,750,000
Broker Kevin Callahan explained, "She can accommodate ten guests in five state rooms, and she carries nine crew."
Callahan says the economy had an affect on people with enough disposable income to afford a yacht. The industry took a hit in recent years, but it is bouncing back, he said.
"There weren't a lot of boats launched in the last three years because of the economy, but now, it's been picking up and sales are strong," he said.
The Palm Beach International Boat Show continues through Sunday on Flagler Drive in Downtown West Palm Beach. For information on tickets prices and boat show hours, click here. bitly link: http://bit.ly/GQvrDs
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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DALLAS -- A number of Southwest vendors are studying the classics.
They're expanding their offerings of traditional styles in a bid to broaden their appeal and to attract cautious, conservative consumers.
The firms include those that once offered only embellished Southwestern looks, dress houses that have spun off traditional styles via sportswear lines and young companies that have taken the tack from the start.
Firms interviewed projected total sales up 15 to 25 percent this year, partially propelled by the classics.
"Customers started talking to us about non-Southwest looks about six months ago," said Penny Hays, co-owner of Gerard here, a better separates maker. "We needed to broaden our base."
The four-year-old firm, known for upscale Southwestern looks, answered the call with a capsule collection of traditional looks, including body-conscious denim and linen dresses.
"We're trying to streamline the collection to make it more appealing across the country," Hays said. "This helps us reach more country classic stores and regular women's boutiques, too."
About 30 percent of Gerard's summer styles will take the traditional approach. In this group are pima cotton or linen sundresses, tropical wool handembroidered cropped jackets and slim cotton twill trousers, among other looks.
Wholesale prices for January range from $36 for cotton twill shorts to $295 for a handcrocheted cotton skirt.
"Offering classic, traditional styles is a way to diversify," said Hays, clarifying that Southwestern looks will still abound at Gerard. "For fall and winter, western and Southwestern silhouettes will dominate. For spring and summer, though, traditional may eventually get more emphasis."
Gerard is anticipating a 15 percent sales jump this year, partly attributed to the infusion of traditional styles.
"We heard that traditional looks were popular in the Northwest," said Hays. "And the business that we get out of Los Angeles as well as Chicago is all traditional. We can show anything in those two cities as long as it doesn't have a western hat." The company also shows in Atlanta and Denver.
"The appeal of traditional clothing is the casual elegance," said Mike Ferguson, owner of Focus Apparel, a dress and sportswear firm here. "It's an enduring, conservative look."Focus launched its Hill Country Clothiers traditional label two years ago, and sales are booming.
Volume for the line is projected to hit $4 million this year, up 60 percent over 1993's $2.5 million.
"We're getting lots of play in the Southwest since we've denim-based the line," Ferguson explained. "But as we expand into other fabrics, other regions of the country are showing interest, too."
For early fall, to be shown at market, the 125-piece line will be cut from cotton twills, wool blends and denim, among other fabrics. Colors include brick, hunter, chamois and black.
Prices range from $19 for a 19-inch cotton twill skirt to about $50 for a color-blocked denim barn jacket. Other silhouettes include vests, pleated trousers and long side-button skirts.
Focus, which shows in markets across the U.S., is projecting total sales of $23 million this year (1994), up almost 10 percent.
Rebecca Harrison, who founded her dress firm here about two years ago, moved into traditional sportswear last year as a way of fostering further growth.
Her sportswear line updates traditional shapes with trendy colors, prints and details. The line, called Richard Ellis, is named for her husband and business partner.
"Classic shapes are not overpowering, are less regional and they don't go out of style," reasoned Harrison. "Accessories, buttons and detailing are pivotal to the look."
The Richard Ellis summer sportswear collection will wholesale from $79 for a linen and rayon jacket to $89 for a lightweight double-breasted blazer. Other looks in the 40-piece collection include zippered cotton-twill pants, vests and shirts.
For summer, the Rebecca Harrison dress collection will feature lined linen sundresses in transitional colors such as lavender, teal, jade and cocoa, wholesaling for $79, and lightweight dresses with jackets, at $92. Prints include a starfish and stripe combination as well as abstracts. Hemlines vary from 25 to 33 inches.
The two labels are projecting sales this year of $500,000 each, up 20 percent over 1993.
Both lines are represented at markets in New York, Dallas, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. The company is considering showing on the West Coast and in the Midwest.While some firms have used traditional styles as a springboard to new business, other startup companies have taken a traditional approach from the outset.
"Traditional apparel is timeless, not trendy," said Barbara Mason, a principal at Henry & Harvie Inc., a traditional sportswear firm here, founded almost two years ago. "With the economy, people want things that don't go out of style -- looks that a woman can mix with existing items in her wardrobe."
"The traditional market is definitely becoming more individualized, too," added Leslie Light, also a principal. "It's not a set look anymore. Customers are seeking a modern edge that doesn't scream 'trendy.' Looks with kicky yet classic buttons and trims are hot."
The firm, founded almost two years ago, is projecting sales of $850,000 this year, up 25 percent.
At market, the firm will show four groups cut from fabrics such as sandwashed cotton and linen, paisley cotton jacquard and cream and blue ribbon-embroidered rayon and acetate.
Silhouettes include wide-leg drawstring cotton pants; long side-button, A-line rayon skirts; mandarin-style cotton and linen vests, and ruffled cotton shirts.
Prices start at $28 for a white cotton shirt and climb to $72 for a lined, glen plaid cotton jacket.
Henry & Harvie is shown in wholesale markets in Dallas and San Francisco, and the line is shown on the road across the Midwest.
London’s newly opened @designmuseum will look back on the life and work of Azzedine Alaïa in a show that the designer helped to curate before he died of heart failure last month. The retrospective, which Alaïa had worked on with Mark Wilson, chief curator of the @groningermuseum, will look at the impact of his work worldwide. The show, “Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier,” will run from May 10 to October 7. Read more about the exhibit on WWD.com #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @zefashioninsider)
@Pharrell and his wife Helen Lasichanh were among the stars that came out to celebrate @rimowa’s first pop-up concept shop. The space, which is located on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, draws inspiration from airport luggage carousels and lounge areas – and features the company’s luggage and accessories. If the pop-up is successful it could pave the way for addition temporary shops throughout the world. #wwdfashion (📷: Owen Kolasinski/BFA)
@carineroitfeld celebrated @crfashionbook’s first calendar last night with a dinner party at Spring Place in Manhattan. Photographed by @stevenkleinstudio, the calendar takes on a fitness theme and features @joansmalls, @gigihadid, @danielle_herrington_ – pictured here – and more. “[Carine Roitfeld] wanted me to feel sexy and she wanted me to be myself and feel it out on my own and do what I felt was right,” said Herrington, aka Miss October. #wwdeye
@saintrecords and @virgilabloh last night at @americanexpress’ “A Night With Success Makers” event. “I always bring it back to community because without that I wouldn’t have the courage,” said Knowles when asked how she has gotten where she is now. Read more highlights from their conversation on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @lizdoupnik)
This Just In: Industry sources have told WWD that Anastasia Soare is rumored to be considering selling her beauty business, @anastasiabeverlyhills. According to those sources, Soare has tapped investment bank Imperial Capital to explore sale options for her eponymous beauty brand –– and with at least $340 million in net sales, this would be a big deal. Put in context of other recent transactions for makeup companies, Soare’s price tag could be in the billions if she were to sell the whole thing. #wwdnews #wwdbeauty (📷: @clint_spaulding)
@assouline’s latest book, “The Spirit of Bentley: Be Extraordinary” captures the adventurous attitudes and opulent lifestyles of @bentleymotors’ most creative owners and enthusiasts throughout the U.K. The 292-page hardcover has a section dedicated to showing its team of skilled artisans and photos of its most colorful owners, from George Bamford to designer @alicetemperley, pictured here by Aline Coquelle. #wwdeye
@google released its report on the most popular search terms this year. For fashion brands, the list was led by @gucci, the luxury brand that stunned the market last October when it pledged to stop using fur. Runner ups were @supremenewyork and @fashionnova, along with more established brands like @louisvuitton, @chanelofficial and @ysl. #wwdfashion (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
In yet another fashion show shuffle, @elleryland is moving its show in sync with the Paris couture calendar — though the brand is still keeping one foot on the city’s ready-to-wear schedule. Their runway show in January will coincide with the launch of a new strategy: designing two main collections each year instead of four, which will then be released in four drops. “As we all know, the system needs to change. We need to show sooner to give time back to artisans and designers to do what they do best — create,” said founder Kym Ellery. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)
@maxmara’s classic 101801 coat was the cornerstone of its pre-fall 2018 collection. The design team expanded the traditional double-breasted, kimono-sleeved style into a trapeze coat, lean belted styles and a peacoat and presented them in monochromatic looks – like the camel one pictured here. #wwdfashion #prefall18 (📷: George Chinsee)


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Skylanders Outselling All Other Action Figures
The booming toy sales are just one part of a wider success story for Activision's kid-focused gaming series.
A new press release from Activision claims that Skylanders toys are outselling all other action figures in the US in 2013, according to the US NPD Group and internal Activision numbers.
Including both toy, game, and related sales, the mammoth Skylanders property has produced $1.5 billion in revenue around the world. And while other games have sold more units, Activision claims that the recent Skylanders Giants is the best-selling console and hand-held game in overall dollars spent thus far in 2013.
Taken together, it's clear that Skylanders has established an impressive foothold in the business of mixing toys and games.
This touting of Skylanders' success comes a couple of months in advance of the release of Skylanders Swap Force in October. More significantly, the timing of the release is suspiciously close to the release of Disney Infinity on the 18th, in just a couple of days. Activision is about to get some big competition in the toy-meets-game space, and the company is eager to reassure gamers (and investors) of its established dominance.


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The BBC is at last reporting the lorry queues at Dover which it is suggesting is a result of the upcoming Easter holiday and the lack of P&O ships.
According to Cieran, The Euro Courier:
Yet there are no queues on the French side of the channel …..
French customs are enforcing the rules and British customs are not – indeed HMRC’s own computer clearance system has broken down – so goods coming in to the UK are very largely unchecked. Goods leaving are. Because French customs are in charge of protecting the EU border from goods originating in a third country – the UK.
Nobody dares mention it but -oh joy! – the 24 hour delays for lorry drivers parked up on a Motorway with no food or toilets is actually another Brexit dividend – that we were told was ‘project fear’.
It’s only been going on for three weeks – and government has done absolutely nothing other than look the other way.


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Import bill payment posted a10.64-per cent growth in April this year compared with that of 2.30 per cent growth in the same month last year due to a rise in payment of bills for food products imported to meet demand in the upcoming Ramadan.
According to the Bangladesh Bank data released on Sunday, the total import bill payment stood at $3.04 billion in April this year.
The figure was $2.74 billion in April 2013 and $2.68 billion in April 2012.
A BB official told New Age on Sunday that the businesspeople were now importing more products as political unrest in the country eased significantly in recent months.
Importers also increased imports of certain food products in April ahead of Ramadan, fasting month for Muslims.
The import of edible oil (both crude and refined), dry foods including dates and pulses rose significantly in April as the demand for the commodities usually rises in Ramadan, he said.
The import of refined edible oil increased to $61.55 million in April 2014 from $23.77 million in April 2013, that of crude edible oil to $82.29 million from $62 million, that of dry foods (including dates) to $3.04 million from $1.94 million, and that of pulses to $29.23 million from $24.76 million, the BB data showed.
The BB official said that the import of rice and wheat had also posted a robust growth in April like the previous months as the prices of the two food products in the global market were now maintaining a decreasing trend.
The import of rice increased to $54.30 million in April this year from $2.46 million in April 2013 and that of wheat to $69.60 million from $58.48 million.
Moreover, the import of garment industry-related products, capital machinery and petroleum products also increased in last month.
The businesspeople are now raising the import of the products as the political unrest has recently eased, the official said.
The import of back-to-back products (fabrics, accessories and other materials) for garment sector, chemical products (including fertilisers) and capital machinery increased to $559.70 million, $163.40 million and $240.20 million respectively in April 2014 from $529.31 million, $150.64 million and $158.28 million in April last year.
The BB data showed that the opening of letters of credit, or also known as actual import orders, posted a 5.35-per cent growth in April this year compared with that of 19.28 per cent growth in the same month of 2013.
The higher growth in opening of the LCs means that the imports be will increased more in the coming months, the BB official said.
In April this year, LCs worth $3.49 billion were opened by the banks.
LCs worth $3.32 billion were opened in April 2013 and $2.78 billion in April 2012.
-With New Age input


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Hitmaker Ne-Yo confirms that he is about to start working on new songs for Beyonce‘s new album. Details after the jump…
Speaking with Billboard at the Z100 Jingle Ball over the weekend, the singer-songwriter adds: “I’m actually about to do some stuff for Beyonce soon — she’s on her way back.”
The pair collaborated on her 2006 mega smash ‘Irreplaceable’ which has sold 3.1 million copies in the States so far (according to Nielsen SoundScan). Check out his confirmation below.
Ne-Yo’s admission comes hot on the heels of Miguel and The-Dream who have all recently confirmed their contribution to the hotly anticipated project. The album is preceded by her upcoming Super Bowl performance and HBO special, all of which ties in nicely with her recently unveiled Pepsi deal. Pow.


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Instacart, the grocery delivery service led by former Amazon.com engineer Apoorva Mehta, is raising $220 million in a huge financing round that values the 2-year-old company at $2 billion, according to a report today by Re/code.
The financing will certainly help the San Francisco-based company expand service, taking on the likes of Amazon Fresh and Safeway.
A spokeswoman for Instacart declined to comment beyond a public filing on the financing, noting that the company will “release more detail in the coming weeks.” According to the filing, Instacart has raised $210 million of a $220 million round. (The filing was made under the name Maplebear Inc., the parent company of Instacart).
The financing follows a $44 million round from June, one which valued Instacart at $400 million. At the time, Instacart offered service in San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, DC. It said that it planned to reach 17 cities by the end of this year. The company has since added Atlanta, Portland, Boulder, Denver and Houston to its lineup, bringing the total to 15.
Instacart charges $3.99 for two-hour delivery, and $5.99 for one-hour delivery when orders of $35 ore more are placed. Unlike Amazon Fresh, which operates its own grocery distribution facilities, Instacart employs personal shoppers who hand-pick grocery items at established stores such as Whole Foods, Costco and Kroger.
Mehta recently said that he planned to expand Instacart’s inventory beyond groceries, signaling perhaps even deeper competition with Amazon. Instacart is expected to hit $100 million in revenue this year.
Previously on GeekWire: Grocery Delivery Wars: How Amazon Fresh, Instacart and Safeway stacked up in our tests


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Starbucks has decided to exclude the Anti-Defamation League, a group whose mission is to fight anti-Semitism, from assisting with the mandatory anti-bias training scheduled for May 29. The coffee giant made the decision in response to pressure from African-American activists who took issue with ADL’s support of Israel and lack of involvement with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“The ADL is CONSTANTLY attacking black and brown people, said Tamika Mallory, an organizer of the Women’s March, in a tweet. “This is a sign that they are tone deaf and not committed to addressing the concerns of black folks.”
According to a report by Politico, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project Car Brooks said she supported Mallory’s assessment, stating, “You can’t be a piece of an anti-bias training when you openly support a racist, oppressive and brutal colonization of Palestine.”
Starbucks scheduled the mandatory anti-bias training day in response to the arrest of two black men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.
The men asked to use the restroom while waiting for a business associate to arrive but had not made a purchase.
Local law enforcement was called to the Starbucks, and the two men were arrested.
Video of the arrest spurred a public backlash, prompting numerous protests and the creation of the #BoycottStarbucks hashtag.
Kevin Johnson, the Starbucks CEO, responded to the incident, calling it “reprehensible, and apologizing for what occurred.
On April 17, the company announced that over 8,000 locations in the US would close so that employees could participate in training designed to present racial bias.
The curriculum was being designed as a joint effort between Starbucks and multiple anti-bias groups, initially including the ADL. While the ADL will remain in an advisory role as part of the company’s long-term goal to fight discrimination, it won’t participate in the development of the curriculum.


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NEW YORK (AP) -- Hospira Inc. said Wednesday it turned a profit in the fourth quarter after taking a large loss a year ago, when it wrote down the value of two of its overseas divisions.
However, the drug and device maker's 2013 guidance fell short of Wall Street estimates, and Hospira shares lost $2.62, or 7.5 percent, to $32.33 in afternoon trading.
Hospira earned $5.3 million, or 3 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $214 million, or $1.30 per share. A year ago Hospira wrote down the value of its Asia-Pacific business by $171 million and its Europe, Middle East and Africa unit by $74 million. During the latest quarter the company took a series of smaller one-time charges, the largest of which were related to problems at a manufacturing facility in North Carolina. It reported a similar charge a year ago.
If one-time charges are excluded, the Lake Forest, Ill., company said its income totaled 55 cents per share in the latest quarter.
Revenue rose 8 percent to $1.1 billion as sales of injectable drugs like the sedative Precedex and the chemotherapy drug oxaliplatin increased.
Analysts were expecting income of 54 cents per share and $1.05 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
Hospira said sales in the Americas rose 11 percent to $869.7 million during the fourth quarter, and sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa grew 5 percent to $139.7 million. Asia-Pacific sales fell 5 percent to $89.5 million.
In April 2010, the Food and Drug Administration said manufacturing processes at a Hospira facility in Rocky Mount, N.C., did not comply with regulatory standards. The company has been trying to fix its problems since then. During the fourth quarter Hospira reported $44 million, or 20 cents per share, that were mostly connected to those problems. In the fourth quarter of 2011 it reported $39 million, or 15 cents per share, in similar charges.
CEO Michael Ball said during a conference call the FDA started a new review of the facility on Tuesday, and the inspection "could be extensive and lengthy."
In 2012 Hospira turned a profit of $44.2 million, or 27 cents per share. In 2011 the company lost $9.4 million, or 6 cents per share. Its revenue edged up 1 percent, to $4.09 billion from $4.06 billion.
The company expects an adjusted profit of $2.05 to $2.20 per share in 2013, and said revenue will grow 1 to 3 percent, which implies a total of $4.13 billion to $4.21 billion.
Analysts had forecast income of $2.31 per share on $4.23 billion in revenue, on average.


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very bad state which forces them to seek all kinds of treatments. Fortunately, anxiety is a condition which can be effectively treated with the help of CBD oil. It has anxiolytic properties which help keep stress and anxiety at bay without inducing any psychoactive cannabis oil side effects. Studies involving healthy volunteers have shown that CBD oil is not only beneficial for treatment of anxiety, but can also be used to treat various other mood disorders, including depression.
Some risk of side effects are present when using lower-quality CBD oil that may be “contaminated” with THC, which is psychoactive. One case report that was published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology described two children who were using CBD oil to treat epilepsy, but were experiencing classic signs of being high: frequent laughter, bloodshot eyes, and reduced attention (10).
I was arrested and charged with a FELONY in Saratoga, WY on Sept 2017 for possession of CBD hemp oil ‘THC liquid’ by a banjo playing member of the Hitler youth named Robert The Bifano. The state’s crime lab found a “presence” of THC and even violated state statutes by weighing the glass bottle! Due to atrocious legal counsel–Steven Titus of Gillette, WY whom I found on the NORML site–out of duress from threats to my physical safety while incarcerated and Titus warning that I couldn’t “trust” twelve “moronic [email protected]#%s in Carbon County” in a jury trial and that “You’ll go to prison,” I accepted a terrible alford plea that turned me into a felon for life under 3 years of supervised probation. I was also charged with a second bogus felony for good measure. Stay out of Wyoming folks–the state where Matthew Shepard was beaten to death and strung up on a fence and left to die like a dog by two Neanderthals– especially steer clear of the towns of Rawlins and Saratoga and along Interstate 80—-the ‘ju$tice’ sy$tem in Carbon County is corrupt. “Vacation in Wyoming–Leave on Probation.”
Wyoming has a particularly narrow law for CBD oil. It is only legal for patients with epilepsy that has not responded to other treatments. Neurologists have to give the state's Department of Health a statement about how the patient needs and would benefit from the CBD, made from hemp extract, and then the patient may be able to receive a card that allows them to receive cannabis with high concentrations of CBD and trace amounts of THC.
Since 2014, NuLeaf Naturals – our Editor’s Pick – has been committed to creating high-quality CBD oil products. As one of the oldest and most reviewed companies in the industry, NuLeaf Naturals has established themselves as a trustworthy CBD manufacturer. All of their products are tested by third party labs and their cannabinoid profile is impressive. They offer a unique range of concentrations for their organic CBD products ranging from 240mg to 4,850mg.
It’s thought that CBD might affect your health by attaching to receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system—a complex biological system involved in maintaining certain aspects of your health. Emerging research shows that endocannabinoids may play a role in regulating such functions as memory, sleep, and mood, as well as metabolic processes like energy balance. In addition, CBD oil may play a role in improving a variety of health conditions.
CBD Oil can also contain ZERO amount of THC. If this were coffee, it’s all in the grind. It still is, figuratively, for hemp CBD oil. We developed a product from listening to our customers that needed 100% certainty their oil didn’t contain trace amounts of THC. Like who? First responders, athletes, military personnel, or anyone that wants 100% confidence they’re consuming only CBD. Read more about it here.
Martin Lee, co-founder of Project CBD, told Leafly that hemp fiber and seed contain no usable amounts of cannabinoids. “Cannabidiol can’t be pressed or extracted from hempseed,” he writes. “CBD can be extracted from the flower, leaves, and, only to a very minor extent, from the stalk of the hemp plant. Hemp oil start-ups lack credibility when they say their CBD comes from hempseed and stalk.”
Hemp producers who sell CBD products will often use the 2014 Farm Bill to claim that it is legal. This bill includes a provision that allows for the legal cultivation of hemp provided it is used for academic agricultural research or under a state pilot program. But there is still confusion about whether the legal allowance for cultivation also includes selling it.
When it comes to buying CBD oil, you must be exceedingly cautious because there is a tremendous amount of misinformation and outright deceit within the industry. Many online resources may try to mislead you for profit or other disingenuous reasons. For instance, some Cannabidiol oil companies advertise that their products contain a specific concentration of CBD (displayed in either percentages or milligrams (mg). However, independent research has shown that many of these sellers and their products do not live up to their claims as their products contain far less CBD than they state in print. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to specific companies in 2016 because their products were found to contain far less CBD than advertised.


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Nintendo’s successes in the field of nostalgic re-release of old consoles could not go unnoticed by their old competitors. The company Sega announced the release in Japan of Mega Drive Mini consoles filled with well-known gamers 90 games. The release is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of the original console.
The desire to return to the market of “iron” in the company started talking last week. Sega abandoned this line of business after the failed Dreamcast console in 2001.
— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) April 14, 2018
So far details about the future console is very small. It is only known that it will be released before the end of the year. Originally only in Japan. It is not known, and what games will be included with it.


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Microsoft Office rumoured to hit iPads on 27 March in first event for new CEO Satya Nadella
Software has previously been kept off Apple's tablets to improve the draw of Microsoft's Surface hardware - it seems the company can wait no longer
Could Office finally be coming to the iPad? This is the rumour currently being trafficked ahead of the first major Microsoft event chaired by new CEO Satya Nadella.
Certain media outlets have received an invitation to “a special cloud- and mobile-focused event” on 27 March with sources suggesting that the company will be launching a version of its productivity suite for Apple’s tablets.
Investors have been urging Microsoft to port its popular software onto iOS devices for years, but it seems the company was loathe to undermine its own operating system by making Office available elsewhere.
It’s thought that Microsoft will be duplicating the format of its Office for iPhone software (launched last June), meaning that users can view Office documents on their iPad for free (including Word, PowerPoint and Excel files) but will need to take out a subscription to Office 365 to do any actual editing.
Office 365 is the cloud-based version of the software that charges users a monthly or yearly fee instead of buying a single perpetual licence, bundling in all sorts of Microsoft cloud services including 60 minutes of Skype calling and 20GB of cloud storage.
Up until now Office 365 has only really been aimed at small businesses buying multiple licences, but if Office is coming to the iPad then we can probably expect more focus on individuals. Apple made it clear when they made their own productivity suite iWork free back in October 2013 that they’re determined to steal more casual customers away from Microsoft.
The event on 27 March will be followed by Microsoft’ s developer conference, Build, on 2 April. At the latter it’s expected that the company will unveil the latest update to its mobile operating system, Windows Phone 8.1, as well as offer some sort of glimpse into what Windows 9 will look like.
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Britain's kitchens so filthy that they present a health risk, says new research
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KickassTorrents down: new Isle of Man domain taken offline just hours after launch
What do the emoji on Snapchat mean?
The sickening truth about food banks that the Tories don't want you to know
Katie Hopkins on LBC: Listen to caller taking The Sun columnist to task over migrant comments
Migrant boat disaster: Ukip candidate mocks victims in sickening Twitter post
Nigel Farage wants the BBC to stop making programmes like Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing, and Top Gear
Global warming: Scientists say temperatures could rise by 6C by 2100 and call for action ahead of UN meeting in Paris
Rupert Murdoch berated Sun journalists for not doing enough to attack Ed Miliband and stop him winning the general election
- 1 'We're not heroes, just tourists': Swedish police officers on holiday stop vicious assault on New York subway
- 2 Black Mass trailer: Johnny Depp might have started making good films again
- 3 Jacob Lescenski and Anthony Martinez: Straight student asks gay friend to High School prom and makes a million Twitter friends
- 4 Buckingham Palace guard who attacked passers-by in 'most most violent piece of CCTV footage' police officer had seen walks free
- 5 Australian student Tommy Connolly, 23, adopts his pregnant, homeless 17-year-old cousin to give her a chance at 'a better life'
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Twitter has until April 1 to begin removing the platform’s legacy blue checkmarks.
The removal of legacy checkmarks has been anticipated.
Musk tweeted in December that the checks would be removed “in a few months” because “the way in which they were given out was corrupt and nonsensical.”
Since then, when legacy blue checkmark holders click on their checkmark, they have seen a pop-up that says, “This is a legacy verified account.” It may or may not be notable.”
Before Musk bought the company, checkmarks were used to verify individuals and entities as active, authentic, and noteworthy accounts of interest. Free verified checkmarks were distributed.
Twitter users can now purchase a blue check for $8 per month through the Twitter Blue subscription model (iOS and Android signups will cost $11 per month due to app store costs). Other checkmark colours and badges, for example, to indicate whether an account is a business or a government, are also available for purchase.
According to Twitter, purchasing a checkmark grants users access to subscriber-only features such as fewer advertisements on their timeline, prioritized ranking in conversations, bookmark folders, and the ability to craft long tweets, edit tweets, and undo tweets.
The announcement comes just hours after Twitter announced the global availability of the Blue subscription.


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In December, PepsiCo disclosed for the first time a 6.7% stake in online bulk grocery retailer Boxed. The disclosure was prompted by the start of trading for Boxed as a public company by way of a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The stake wasn’t new, however. PepsiCo had first invested in the privately held Boxed several years earlier, PepsiCo Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston told BD in a recent interview. That was around the time PepsiCo was ramping up a separate ecommerce unit created within the company in 2016. “At the time, we essentially said we need to lean in on e-commerce,” Johnston said in the interview. “We didn’t know exactly when, but we thought it was going to be big as a channel.” Hence, the Boxed investment. “One, we thought it was an interesting business,” Johnston said of Boxed. “And two, it was for learning.” By 2018, PepsiCo’s ecommerce sales reached $1 billion in retail sales. Johnston said PepsiCo was working under the notion that every product category will eventually see an infection point within the ecommerce channel, and PepsiCo wanted to be prepared. “Obviously in the food and beverage space, the big inflection point was the pandemic,” Johnston said, “which I’m not going to in any way claim that we saw it coming.” In May 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic washed over US consumers and they fled to their homes for protection, PepsiCo launched two direct-to-consumer websites. PantryShop.com and Snacks.com sell core PepsiCo brands ranging from Doritos and Quaker to Starbucks and Mtn Dew Game Fuel. “We did put ourselves in a position that we were prepared,” Johnston said. “Boxed was just part of that strategy to really learn about how e-commerce works.” He declined to disclose any plans by PepsiCo to increase its stake in Boxed. For years, PepsiCo has negotiated with various independent bottlers in the US to ease the path for products such as Pepsi and Mtn Dew to be sold into those bottlers’ exclusive franchise territories. The negotiations are in various stages, with some agreed. However, PepsiCo already controls distribution for about three-quarters of the volume sold in the US by way of its company-owned bottler, Pepsi Bottling Group.
REVENUE MODEL. Boxed describes itself as an “ecommerce platform selling bulk, high repeat essentials to consumers and businesses,” according to a presentation to Wall Street analysts last August. That’s just part of the business model. Boxed says its platform is “powered by the company’s own purpose-built storefront, marketplace, analytics, fulfillment, advertising, and robotics technologies.” That platform also is used for a “software & services” business that offers “customers in need of an enterprise-level ecommerce platform access to its end-to-end technology.” (PepsiCo does not use technology from Boxed.)
UPSIDE. Boxed generated net revenue of $187 million in 2020 and is targeting at least $1 billion in sales by 2026, according to the August presentation to analysts. US grocery ecommerce sales reached $106 billion in 2020 and could reach $248 billion by 2021, according to Boxed. Of the $106 billion in 2020, 75% of sales were generated by Amazon, Costco, and Walmart, the company said. The remaining $31 billion in sales came from other online retailers including Boxed, which expects that total to more than double to $63 billion by 2024. Ecommerce accounted in 2020 for about 10% of US grocery sales, according to Boxed. The company expects that to reach 21% by 2025.
LEADERSHIP. Boxed was cofounded in 2013 by CEO Chieh Huang, who previously founded a social gaming company called Astro Ape Studios that he later sold to Zynga in 2011. Boxed Board Chairman Gary Matthews served as a VP of marketing for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division during the early 1990s. He later ran Diageo’s Guinness unit and spent 12 years as a managing director of private equity for Morgan Stanley.
PRODUCTS. Boxed’s core categories are groceries such as oatmeal and condiments, snacks, household goods such as detergent, beverages, and personal care products such as body wash. In beverages, PepsiCo brands on the platform include Pepsi, Mtn Dew, Gatorade, Propel, Bubly, PureLeaf, and Lifewtr. Competitor brands on the platform include Coca-Cola, Bodyarmor, Smartwater, Aha, Coke with Coffee, Dunkin’ ready-to-drink coffee, Dasani, Fairlife, Red Bull, Califia Farms, Poland Spring, Arizona Tea, Spindrift, Voss, Perrier, S.Pellegrino, Hint, Hal’s New York Seltzer, LaColombe, Bai, and Ito En tea.
PRIVATE LABEL. Boxed offers a private label brand called Prince & Spring that stretches across the platform’s product categories. Prince & Spring beverages include electrolyte water, coffee pods, and sparkling water, but not a carbonated soft drink. There is no private label carbonated soft drink. Prince & Spring seltzer sells for $10.99 per 24-pack of 12-oz cans, or 46 cents per can. That compares to $11.99, or 50 cents per can, for Polar; and $12.99, or 54 cents per can, for LaCroix and Aha (Coca-Cola). Meanwhile, PepsiCo’s Bubly sells in 18-packs for $12.99, or 72 cents per can.
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