text:
Walmart could offer cryptocurrency and NFTs. This is suggested by documents filed with the USPTO.
The early 2020s clearly saw the emergence of technologies around blockchain. This trend should be further accentuated in 2022 and it is now a question for the giants not to miss the boat.
Everyone wants to position themselves to have their share of the pie, so to speak. The tech giants are present, but other big names, sometimes quite far from all that, want to taste it too. It could be the case of Walmart.
Walmart could offer cryptocurrency and NFTs
The American retail giant Walmart does not want to miss the crypto bandwagon. CNBC has learned that the brand filed several trademarks with the USPTO – the United States Patent and Trademark Office – at the end of December for the sale of virtual goods and in another filing, it would be question to offer a crypto-currency as well as NFTs.
Although these documents do not guarantee that such products will become reality, trademark attorney Josh Gerben told CNBC that these marks were extremely detailed – Walmart seems to have clear intentions to enter the market of digital currencies and products -.
This is suggested by documents filed at the USPTO
In a statement, a Walmart spokesperson told Engadget that the company is “constantly exploring” how new technologies might influence shopping and is filing trademarks “very frequently” in this regard. In other words, do not expect the American giant to officially confirm or deny anything at this stage.
In any case, it would not be strange for Walmart to get into cryptocurrencies or NFTs. After Facebook’s rebranding to Meta and its stated desire to dive into the metaverse, there has been a real push from many major brands to invade the market for either digital currencies or NFTs, or even both.
Adidas, Nike, Gap and other big names have already started selling NFTs and more or less obviously expressed their desire to create virtual spaces. Walmart probably doesn’t want to miss the boat, without rushing.
Rachel Maga is a technology journalist currently working at Globe Live Media agency. She has been in the Technology Journalism field for over 5 years now. Her life’s biggest milestone is the inside tour of Tesla Industries, which was gifted to her by the legend Elon Musk himself.


text:
You have searched for "domestic trade and consumer affairs"
Showing 51-60 of 4833
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s anti-monopoly authority, which has slapped over RM160mil in penalties against companies, is now focusing its investigations on bid-rigging in government tenders worth billions of ringgit.
PUTRAJAYA: It is a thumbs up for sellers as traders in the retail and wholesale sectors have largely been cooperative when it comes to following Covid-19 standard operating procedures, says the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
PETALING JAYA: With the March 31 deadline nearing, most documented foreign workers in four major economic sectors have been tested for Covid-19 screening, says the Human Resources Minister.
KOTA KINABALU: A wedding planner was instructed to refund his client’s deposit after the Consumer Claims Tribunal Court deemed his company’s no-refund policy unfair.
Through the licence, sellers would be subjected to conditions while consumers would be able to make online purchases without worrying about the legitimacy and reputation of the traders.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Veterinary Services Department has conducted site visits to obtain samples from an egg producing company following the alleged discovery of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) in one of its consignments to Singapore.
Consumer Affairs Ministry to monitor domestic egg supplies following alleged discovery of Salmonella
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is assessing the impact on egg supply in the domestic market in collaboration with the Veterinary Services Department and Health Ministry.
Domestic Trade Ministry to review compounds issued to couple for not wearing face masks in empty shop
JOHOR BARU: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry is reviewing the compounds issued against a couple here for not wearing their face masks even though there were no customers in the premises.

domain: news


text:
Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
British brand ‘more valuable than ever’
8:37am Saturday 28th December 2013 in Business news
“BRAND Britain” is more valuable than ever, according to leading York accountants Garbutt & Elliott.
The firm said following growth of eight per cent, boosted by last year’s Olympics and Diamond Jubilee, “Brand Britain” was now worth £1.4 billion and had become the world’s fourth most valuable nation brand.
In conjunction with Garbutt & Elliott, Brand Finance, the world leading brand valuation consultancy, has released the 2013 edition of its Nation Brands report, which ranks countries by their nation brand value.
David Dickson, Senior Partner of Garbutt & Elliott, said: “David Cameron has just returned from championing UK businesses in China. In a country so concerned with ‘face’ and reputation, one of the Prime Minister’s key assets is the strength of ‘Brand Britain’.”
Comments are closed on this article.


text:
Ag-tech startup Indigo raises $100 mln new funding round. » Read More
The Japanese messaging app firm is now on course to raise up to $1.3-billion in its initial public offering.
Jack Dorsey had his account briefly hacked Saturday, as OurMine tweeted out a link to its site, The Verge reports.
Managing partner at GGV Capital Glenn Solomon weighs in on Brexit's short term impact and what's moving in the tech industry, specifically startups.
The start-up airline will initially provide trips to and from London, Zurich, Geneva and Cannes in October.
Matt Clifford, CEO of Entrepreneur First, discusses the tech industry and whether or not start-ups will choose to leave London and relocate to Europe.
Darrell Zhang of Intraix explains how the company is delivering smart home and energy management solutions.
Sam Altman has pivoted his nonprofit, YC Research, toward civic engagement and curing societal ills. BuzzFeed News reports.
Two weeks after Twitter bought London-based Magic Pony, Google has purchased French firm Moodstocks.
A billboard advising start-ups to move to Berlin has been spotted in London following the EU referendum.
Meet the makers of House Beer, the craft brewers are now going at international brewers head-on.
Singapore is rushing to reinvent itself as Asia's financial technology hub to fend off a regulatory threat to its wealth management industry.
With an inside look at Silicon Valley’s “cult”-like culture, one author poked some holes in how technology gurus get ahead.
Antonio Garcia Martinez, author of "Chaos Monkeys," discusses the culture at Facebook. Martinez says "Zuckerberg is a genius."
SAN FRANCISCO, June 30- Software startup Zenefits has cut a highly unusual deal with investors to increase their ownership while slashing the once-hot firm's valuation as it seeks to avoid litigation and mend damage in the wake of revelations of cheating. The deal, a concession to investors in the firm's latest funding round, will boost the investors' combined...
Embattled Theranos still has not taken advantage of the Cleveland Clinic's offer to test the Silicon Valley startup's new blood diagnostic technology, says Dr. Toby Cosgrove.
Julie Sandler, Madrona Venture Group, provides insight to how Brexit will likely impact tech startups in the United Kingdom.
Chambers warns that while Israel, India and France are leading the way in digitizing their nations, the U.S. has no game plan.
What3words, a start-up that is looking to overhaul the world's addressing system, has raised $8.5 million.
June 28- Apartment-sharing startup Airbnb is in talks for a new round of funding that would value the company at $30 billion, a source close to the company said on Tuesday. Airbnb, which expects to achieve profitability in 2016, raised over $100 million in a round of funding late last year that valued the company at $25.5 billion. The San Francisco- based startup,...
June 28- Apartment-sharing startup Airbnb is in talks for a new round of funding that would value the company at $30 billion, a source close to the company said. Airbnb intends to use the financing to support new investments and growth opportunities, the source added. The New York Times first reported the news on Tuesday.


text:
First up the good news. A quick search of Apple’s 2020 sustainability report reveals 11 matches for “shipping”! Encouraging…
They say they are extending their goal of “total carbon neutrality by 2030″ across their whole supply chain, “All the way down to the shipping that moves our products around the world”.
“In addition to transportation efficiencies that reduce our carbon footprint, we continue to partner with our shipping suppliers to leverage fleet improvements, sustainable fuels, and supply chain efficiencies.”
This sounds good, but remains infuriatingly vague. If Apple wanted to invest some of its mind-boggling $192.8 billion cash reserves, it could fundamentally shift the shipping sector onto new propulsion systems. (See our “Solutions” page)
So we have to assume Apple are just talking about pseudo-science “offsetting” to meet their net zero 2030 goal – i.e. paying poor people to cut emissions while leaving its own world-straddling fossil fuelled supply chain as is.
Steve jobs would be rolling in his grave at the lack of ambition and vision.


text:
Regulatory review is a hot-button issue this legislative session, and business groups were all over it today at a meeting of the House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee. "It's very important that we get the government off the backs of our small businesses. They're ready to hire," Allen Douglas, of the National Federation of Independent Business told the group.
As an example, Douglas singled out licensing requirements for commercial interior designers. Florida is one of only three states in the country that requires a license for interior designers. It requires a college degree, three years of experience and a test that has only a 30 percent pass rate, he said. Defenders of the license will say it's a health and safety issue, because, for example, an inexperienced designer might place furniture in a way that blocks fire exists. But Douglas said that's the purview of fire inspectors. "They cannot point to one instance in Florida where anyone has been hurt because of the actions of an interior designer," Douglas said. "And yet the state continues to defend this law and spend money to do so." (A law suit challenging in the regulation is in federal appeals court.)
Jose Gonzalez of Associated Industries of Florida highlighted county rules that prohibit application of fertilizers during the rainy season. Those regulations have been passed in recent years at the urging of environmental groups that say run-off from the applications pollute surface water. But Gonzalez said the industry wants the state to pre-empt the local laws in favor of less restrictive state guidelines to maintain sales of fertilizer and pest control products. Gonzalez also advocated for eliminating rules that require only allow parimutuels to operate card rooms if they also offer live racing.
Committee chairman Rep. Esteban Bovo, R-Hialeah provided members with a list of industries regulated by Florida and compared to other states. Among the highlights: Florida is one of only 15 states that regulates auctioneer apprentices; one of 11 states that regulates dance studios; one of eight states that regulates health studies; one of 13 states that regulates travel agents; and one of six states that regulates talent agents.
Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, said in reviewing regulations it's critical to determine which are necessary and which stifle businesses.
"Once these regulations are on the books, they are very difficult to get rid of. We need to tread carefully," she said. "This year, we may be able to do just that and get rid of regulations that don't make sense."


text:
Billionaire Duan Yongping pushes further into foreign markets
Smartphone manufacturer Vivo launched its X20 model in Hong Kong today and has plans to expand into Africa early next year, and consolidate its worldwide position.
Less known outside of its native China, Vivo is poised to expand into parts of the APAC, specifically Taiwan and Singapore, and onto the West.
Vivo and its stablemate Oppo are startups created by reclusive billionaire Duan Yongping and are known to produce smartphones that are powerful for their relatively low price.
In the domestic market, Yongping’s companies are a serious player, having beaten outside competition from Samsung and Apple, and are beginning to challenge Huawei’s dominance.
Now ranked third in the Chinese market, Vivo has launched models such as its selfie-oriented V7+ in Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.
Yongping’s tactics for Vivo and its sister company Oppo have been highly successful in China, often employing a deeper understanding of the majority of Chinese consumers than that of his overseas rivals, Apple and Samsung, whose handsets appeal largely to a highly wealthy minority.
The majority of Vivo & Oppo’s smartphones in China continue to be sold through traditional, physical premises. Yongping concentrates on rural areas and smaller, lesser-known towns, where competition either has yet to penetrate or is unable to reach.
The enormity of the geography and economic scale of the Chinese hinterland is often not grasped by overseas competitors, who historically have failed to capitalize in the country.
Google and Apple phones, for instance, have not gained significant traction in the country – some commentators put this down to factors such as a basic misunderstanding of the Chinese economy; an amalgam of socialist and capitalist practices not encountered elsewhere.
Vivo was formed in 2009 and, together with Oppo, replaced Xiaomi’s second place in market share relatively quickly. Vivo began its expansion outside of China in 2014, making an initial overseas foray into Thailand. The company’s external PR efforts include sponsorship of the 2018 soccer World Cup and India’s domestic cricket league.
While the launch of the V7 in Russia is only a first step, (according to Counterpoint Research) Samsung and Apple combine to dominate nearly 70 percent of the Russian smartphone market. However, other Chinese imports are gaining market share – Xiaomi and Huawei among them.
Huawei makes the most technologically advanced and expensive models of the four main Chinese manufacturers and is currently concentrating on consolidating its market share in European countries Spain, German and the UK. The company’s other product lines, such as network infrastructure equipment, have made inroads in these geographies already.
All the Chinese smartphone manufacturers are pushing into emerging markets such as Indonesia and India with lower-end phones, but even those models’ power makes previous generations of handsets seem archaic in comparison.
Vivo and Oppo currently have a 24 percent share of the global smartphone market, according to research by Gartner.
- What does Beijing’s new crackdown mean for cryptocurrency in China?
- China’s digital yuan won’t be replacing the US dollar
- First self-driving robotaxis hit the road in China
- China vs. US e-commerce – How they’re very different
- Are geopolitics strangling the global telecom supply chain?


text:
Enhanced assistance under the revised program is expected to help India’s agricultural exporters cope with rising freight and logistics costs, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement. Under the TMA, the government reimburses a certain part of the transport costs and provides support for the marketing of agricultural products. It was launched in 2019 to boost exports of these raw materials to certain countries in Europe and North America.
The device has been extended until March 31, 2022.
âNow, the Ministry of Commerce has notified a revised TMA for the regime of specified agricultural products for exports made from April 1, 2021 until March 31, 2022. The existing regime will remain in effect for exports made until March 31, 2022. March 2021. âsays the ministry.
Dairy products, which were not covered by the previous scheme, will now be eligible for aid, he said, adding that aid rates have been increased, by 50% for exports by sea. and 100% by air.
The program was introduced to provide assistance for the international freight component, to alleviate the inconvenience of higher freight costs faced by Indian exporters of agricultural products.
It was initially applicable to exports made from March 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 and was subsequently extended until March 31, 2021.
The General Directorate of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will soon notify the procedure for appealing to the revised regime.


text:
Dutch quantum algorithm and software developer Qu&Co has announced a merger with Pasqal, a French developer of neutral-atom-based quantum hardware. Continuing as Pasqal and headquartered in Paris, executives from the two firms say the combined company will deliver a 1000-qubit quantum solution in 2023, on pace with the announced roadmaps of the most advanced quantum platforms.
Founded in 2017, Qu&Co develops quantum-computational algorithms and software to solve problems in the fields of chemistry, materials science, fluid dynamics and computational finance. The startup’s clients include Airbus, BMW, Covestro, Johnson & Johnson and LG while partners include Siemens, Schrödinger and Amazon Web Services.
“Working with Pasqal on joint research convinced us their neutral atom technology is the best solution to attain real-world commercial applications in quantum computing,” said Qu&Co CEO Benno Broer. “We were impressed by the performance of our algorithms on their hardware and the many contributions the company has made in the quantum industry.”
Whereas many quantum computers are based on ions, Pasqal uses non-charged atoms. These are easier to stabilize, allowing the quantum computer to operate at room temperature. Pasqal has demonstrated a 200-qubit processor and has sold several units to high-performance computing centers.
The merged company will have operations in seven countries. Qu&Co’s pan-European activities will continue under the names Pasqal Netherlands, Pasqal Germany, Pasqal UK and Pasqal Spain. Georges-Olivier Reymond will remain CEO of the combined commpany, while Broer will take on the role of chief commercial officer.


text:
ESPN+ scores 1million subscribers
With everyone in a rush and always on the go, ESPN has made it easier to keep up with with your favorite shows and watch every game. In an effort to keep up with consumers, Disney launched ESPN+. Since launching in April of 2018, ESPN+’s streaming service has passed 1 million paid subscribers.
What is ESPN+
The subscription service costs $5 a month. It features thousands of hours of live programming including the NHL, MLB and college sports. Subscribers will also have access to on-demand content and past sporting events. Subscribers won’t see display ads or pre and post roll video ads anywhere on the app or ESPN.com.
This summer, ESPN Insider, a separate subscription service featuring commentary from experts and daily fantasy tools, merged into ESPN+ boosting the subscriber counts.
The streaming service is available on the ESPN app, website or through TV connected devices such as Amazon and Roku.
ESPN for the win
ESPN has marketed the service to existing cable subscribers on its TV networks and website. Through ESPN+, Disney plans to increase its presence in the OTT streaming business. The goal is to create a direct link to consumers during a time when more people are watching TV through smartphones and other mobile devices. Last month, app signups generated $1.5 million in revenue for Disney. And – for ESPN – that is a home run!


text:
Pokémon Unite, the MOBA title being developed by TiMi Studios, won’t be launching simultaneously on Nintendo Switch and mobile. Instead, the game will be released on Switch first.
The Pokémon Company has confirmed that Unite will launch on Switch in July, followed by a mobile release in September.
TiMi Studios will be hosting a network test for the Switch version of the game from June 24 to 26, though it appears this will only be available in Japan.
Prior to this announcement, the only news shared about the game came from the most recent beta that began in March, which revealed new features. Many of those features, including the ability to change the appearance of your Pokémon and trainer, have now been confirmed for the first time.
When the game does launch across both platforms, it will feature cross-platform play between Switch and mobile. Players will also be able to use their Pokémon Trainer Club account or Nintendo account on platforms to share progress between devices.
More details will be released about the game, including deep dives into how the battle system and gameplay elements will work, as we get closer to its launch in July, though no official date has been shared yet.


text:
Eurozone GDP Set to Contract during first Quarter of 2021
Eurozone Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced substantial growth during Q3 of 2020, seeing a 12.5% increase compared to the previous quarter. However, a negative outlook with regard to COVID-19 saw a contraction during Q4, with ING now downgrading their outlook for Eurozone GDP in 2021.
With regard to December’s disappointing activity and data, Chris Williamson at IHS Markit stated that “service sector activity, in particular, fell more sharply than estimated by the earlier ’flash’ PMI estimate, as more countries stepped up their fights against rising virus case numbers.”
“While the data indicated a renewed decline in Eurozone GDP in Q4, the downturn appears to have been far less severe than seen in the second quarter, thanks to sustained strong manufacturing growth, rising global trade and lockdowns having been less onerous than earlier in the year.”
Rises in COVID-19 figures across Europe have caused many countries to tighten lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of infection. With coronavirus restrictions continuing into the beginning of 2021, Europe’s economy has had a bleak start to the year. ING predicts that Q1 will see negative growth, with Q2 potentially following suit.
Coronavirus struggles within the Eurozone mean that ING has downgraded their GDP forecast for 2021 to 3%, as it’s thought that 2022 will see growth of 3.5%. As a result, it’s likely that the Eurozone economy will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023.
Fears of double dip recession
The extension of coronavirus lockdowns across the Eurozone, have sparked fears of a double dip recession. Many businesses have been forced to shut their doors, with consumer activity coming to a halt. Figures from Fable Data indicate that consumer spending was down 25% during the second week of January, year-on-year, with spending taking a hit on all areas with the exception of groceries.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has pledged to inject EUR 1.85 trillion into the economy, extending the stimulus programme for 9 months. However, many economists are of the belief that the ECB’s fiscal measures will have little effect on the Eurozone economy in the long-term.
Christoph Weil, senior economist at Commerzbank, stated that “interest rates are already so low and policy is ultra-loose, so for now, monetary policy cannot impact investment or consumer demand. Thus, we do not think the ECB can influence the economy strongly at this time.”
Eurozone vaccine developments
Coronavirus Vaccine developments within the Eurozone have experienced some delays, with some countries not rolling out vaccines until January this year. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved and available in the Eurozone, though it’s thought that the Moderna vaccine will become available later in January. Germany is the most ambitious country within the Eurozone, hoping to have 60% of the population vaccinated by the summer.
Whilst the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines across the Eurozone may have hindered economic developments in the short-term, any continued progress is likely to strengthen the economic outlook as the prospect of herd immunity becomes a greater possibility.
British pound (GBP) struggles against euro (EUR)
Recent weeks had seen the British pound (GBP) edge higher against the euro (EUR) with vaccine progressions creating a more positive outlook for the UK economy. Today, however, has seen the British pound to euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate dwindle around the EUR 1.12 mark.
The UK is still subject to a national lockdown which is casting a shadow over the future of thousands of businesses and economic recovery.
Thu Lan Nguyen, FX and EM Analyst at Commerzbank, stated how the outlook for the British pound (GBP) in the long-term has become more pessimistic as a result of Sterling’s uninspiring response to the Brexit trade deal as well as the economic scars left by the national lockdown.
“The market has apparently quickly come to the realisation that, even with an orderly Brexit, the economic outlook for the UK remains bleak.” Nguyen said. The “ambiguities of the trade relationship between the EU and the UK” also do help matters.
However, with the UK on track to vaccinating 15 million people by mid-February, it’s hoped that the UK will be on the path to normality.
Pick your currency, check the rate
✓ Award-winning service ✓ Secure bank transfer ✓ Peace of mind


text:
Greenhouse Grille, a local restaurant focused on creating “conscious cuisine,” won the US Foods Next Top Product Contest, beating more than 1,000 competitors from across the country.
The black bean slider, a variation of the restaurant’s black bean burger, was the dish that competed in the competition and later won the title as Next Top Product.
Many items from Greenhouse Grille were submitted, but the black bean burger was the only item that made it to the top 55 recipies, co-owner Jerrmy Gawthrop said.
“The overall versatility of the product was a huge bonus to the judges,” Gawthrop said. “Not to mention vegan or vegetarian burgers or cakes don't always taste that good because they are often dry and crumbly. Ours is moist, delicious and versatile.”
The Next Top Product Contest, open to more than 250,000 foodservice professionals across the country, aimed to find the best new product for chefs by inviting US Foods customers to submit their favorite bakery, hot appetizer, sauce or dips and spread recipes.
Competitors participated in three rounds of competition, including a social media round seeking online votes from the supporters of the 54 semifinalists. The chefs whose recipes received the most votes in each of the eight regions moved on to the final head-to-head cook-off at the World Food Championships, a four-day, high-stakes culinary competition, according to a US Foods news release.
Greenhouse Grille co-owners Clayton Suttle and Gawthrop entered the contest during the summer and gained a spot in the top 55 finalists to compete in an online vote that ended in September, and by August, Greenhouse Grille won the central division to qualify for the final eight cook-off at the World Food Championship competition in Las Vegas Nov. 8
Judges scored the winning dish based on set criteria. In addition to taste, US Foods was also looking for an appealing product.
“World Food Championship judging is based on the E.A.T. method,” Gawthrop said. “E is for efficiency of the recipe, how you perform, and how the recipe works. A is for appearance of the finished product. T is for taste.”
Gawthrop and Suttle were awarded $15,000 to remodel the restaurant’s kitchen and a $5,000 cash prize.
Greenhouse Grille’s black bean sliders will join the US Foods product line up for distribution to chefs everywhere in 2014, according to a news release.
“My hope is that from this award and attention Greenhouse Grille has received, more people will hear about the restaurant and want to try it,” said Brittany Cusanek, a Greenhouse Grille employee.
US Foods is the 10th largest privately held company in America. The company offers more than 350,000 products and now the black bean slider will be one of them.
“It was a great experience all around,” Gawthrop said. “We owe the victory not only to the recipe, but also to all of our employees, customers, family and friends that helped us get through the voting phase of the competition – not to mention the massive support of our vision over the years. We live in a truly great community.”


text:
The National Association for Business Economics says the U.S. downturn is over. About 200 of the group's economists are meeting in Washington to discuss global economic growth.
Association President Harvey Rosenblum, a Dallas Federal Reserve board researcher, says he believes the economy has been growing since December.
Mr. Rosenblum said the turnaround came when consumers concluded that the country had withstood the shock of the September terrorist attacks, that their jobs were probably safe, and that it was all right resume normal activity. "That was when the inkling of a turnaround began," he said. "Who knows how it is going to be dated statistically. We need many more months of data before anybody is going to have confidence in that. But I will stick my neck out and say the recession ended December 15."
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic decline. America's first recession in a decade is said to have begun in March 2001.
Mr. Rosenblum said the recovery is stronger than many experts anticipated. "We keep raising our estimates of how good the economy is going to be this year," he continued. "Suffice it to say that it will be a decent year, not statistically the very strong bounce back from recession that we usually see, because this was a very short and mild recession. The consumer sector which was very, very strong during the recession, there is not very much room for a bounce back. People bought an awful lot of cars last year. [because of low financing charges] They bought a lot of homes and furniture last year. So there is not that much room for a bounce back. But it will be a pretty good year, but not the kind of seven-percent bounce back you usually get."
The business economists forecast about 4 percent growth for this year. They expect short-term interest rates to begin to rise and they believe unemployment will not go much above the current 5.7 percent rate.


text:
December 13, 2012
MSE has announced improvements to its website that it states adds “many new and outstanding features” in an attractive and easy-to-navigate format.
The company states that the new website design reflects the “value and quality proposition” of MSE, with content featured on the website including the latest product offerings, up-to-date information on patented technologies and propriety processes. The website also now features online core collection capabilities, and MSE says that multilingual versions of the site are currently in development and expected to be introduced in early 2013.
Yoel Wazana, President of MSE commented on the newly improved website: “The content and look of the new mse.com is greatly enhanced and we believe customers will be pleased with these improvement, as well as the easy access to information that matters most to them.”
Categories : Products and Technology


text:
In recent news, the EU and US are to begin talks on data privacy as it relates to personal data security. Why? Isn’t online security getting more and more robust? Isn’t transacting online business a safe practice that needs no additional worry on behalf of the consumer?
The answer to those questions, in general, is a resounding “yes”. However, online fraud in the EU is dropping while the US is experiencing a surge in fraudulent online activity. Europeans are obviously concerned and, as outline in a recent article, EU citizens are concerned that Washington is not providing enough oversight to properly safeguard data. Continue reading


text:
Synthetic versus tobacco-derived nicotine
Cheryl K. Olson and Willie McKinney
Every year, the National Youth Tobacco Survey gathers data from U.S. middle school and high school students about all sorts of nicotine products and how they’re used. In 2021, for the first time the most popular brand of e-cigarette among underage users was a synthetic nicotine vape. Puff Bar was named “usual brand” by 26.1 percent of underage vapers, equaling the sum of the next three most popular brands: Vuse (10.8 percent), Smok (9.6 percent) and Juul (5.7 percent). While the summary of these latest findings in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report didn’t mention the word “synthetic,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration certainly took note.
One reason the FDA pricked up its ears is that synthetic nicotine, also known as nontobacco nicotine, lives in a legal gray area. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 expanded the FDA’s authority to regulate products “made or derived from tobacco” and created its Center for Tobacco Products.
This begs the question of whether the FDA has regulatory authority over synthetic nicotine. Predictably, manufacturers who use it in ENDS products claim that the FDA does not have that authority. If that’s true, those manufacturers can bypass the lengthy and expensive premarket tobacco product application process and go directly to market. But there are others, including attorneys who’ve studied this law, who believe that even if synthetic nicotine is technically not covered by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, it meets the definition of a drug and is therefore subject to FDA regulation.
The substitution of synthetic nicotine for tobacco-derived nicotine has profound implications both for manufacturers and distributors of reduced-harm nicotine products. Is it a smart workaround, a temporary shelter or a costly dead end? Here are some of the key issues as well as ways to limit your risk as a company.
Over the past few months, many makers of flavored e-cigarette products have received marketing denial orders (MDOs) or fear receiving one. An MDO gives that manufacturer a limited number of choices: reapply for approval, get out of the business or sue the FDA for redress—or search for what it hopes is a legal loophole to the FDA’s regulatory authority. Hence, the move to synthetic nicotine as a too clever by half solution that carries with it underlying scientific, economic, legal and ethical issues.
Let’s start with an economic issue, which may trump all the others. Synthetic nicotine is expensive. In fact, it’s up to 10 times the cost of tobacco-derived nicotine, according to Kevin Burd, CEO of North America Nicotine. One reason is that tobacco-derived nicotine is made from leftover scraps from processing tobacco leaves—often literally the stuff left on the factory floor. Synthetic nicotine, most of which is manufactured in China, is created through a variety of proprietary chemical processes.
“As volumes increase, I can’t see the price of chemicals used in synthetic coming down to the price of waste tobacco, including dust,” said Burd. “It’s highly unlikely ever to be competitive.”
Both synthetic nicotine and tobacco-derived nicotine occur in two structural forms (enantiomers) known as R-nicotine and S-nicotine. More than 99 percent of the nicotine in tobacco is S-nicotine. In synthetic nicotine, that balance can be 50-50.
“Little is known about the pharmacological and metabolic effects of R-nicotine in humans,” says a 2021 article on the rise of synthetic nicotine in Tobacco Control (Jordt SE. Synthetic nicotine has arrived. Tobacco Control 2021. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056626). In other words, synthetic product users could be unwitting research subjects. There are inexpensive tests for distinguishing between R- and S- forms of the chemical and ways of separating the R-isomer from the S-isomer. By comparison, telling the difference between synthetic S-nicotine and tobacco-derived S-nicotine can be quite costly.
This leads to an interesting paradox. We don’t know how much of the supposed synthetic nicotine is actually tobacco-derived nicotine. There’s a financial incentive for a manufacturer simply to replace the more expensive version with the cheaper chemical and mislabel it. In fact, on its website, Next Generation Labs warns prospective customers, “There are several companies from China claiming to have synthetic nicotine. NGL has tested several of these products and discovered they are made or derived from tobacco.”
Burd adds, “Quite likely, many [products that claim to be synthetic] are not really synthetic.”
Some companies are weighing the cost of regulatory compliance versus the higher manufacturing cost of using synthetic nicotine. That’s a false choice, for it underestimates the costs of unknown safety risks, product testing and emerging regulations. Simply marketing a new synthetic nicotine product without providing the necessary scientific and behavioral research data to the FDA will, at the very least, generate a warning letter.
Remember that the key reason for generating research data on a new product is to explore whether it will harm people. The FDA uses the term APPH (appropriate for the protection of public health). Not doing so puts your business at risk not only from regulatory actions but from civil litigation if someone gets hurt.
A regulatory update by FDA Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller at an Oct. 27 Food and Drug Law Institute conference addressed the challenge posed by synthetic nicotine. Zeller’s slide deck makes clear his belief that e-liquids that do not contain tobacco-derived substances “may still be components or parts of tobacco products and, therefore, subject to FDA’s tobacco control authorities.” It also states that the FDA is “in discussions with Congress about a potential legislative fix.”
The Wild West
Burd expressed concern that synthetic nicotine, and the regulatory uncertainty driving its use, have put the vaping industry “back to the Wild West.” Even the pure S synthetic may contain residues from the unknown solvents that some new manufacturers use. Burd recommends that manufacturers who use synthetic nicotine “test their incoming material (emphasizing impurities and solvents), audit the supplier, do a toxicology review for product safety and be sure to use S-nicotine only.”
That type of analysis is impractical for end users, of course.
Finally, there’s the issue of whether a company is a “bad actor” that focuses on short-term financial profits at the expense of both public health and the lives of their customers. The FDA runs the risk of encouraging such unethical behaviors if it broadly bans products from those companies making sincere efforts to reduce the harm done to smokers of combustible cigarettes while ignoring companies that look for legal loopholes.
A Marketing Throwback?
The issue of synthetic nicotine regulation is likely to be resolved fairly soon. One reason is that the attractiveness of e-cigarettes to youth is rightfully a major concern of the FDA. Marketing materials for synthetic nicotine products have the tone of advertising done by an earlier iteration of Big Tobacco when it claimed that paper filters, toasting and other irrelevant variables reduced cigarettes’ negative health effects.
- American Tobacco Company (1930): “20,679 physicians say Luckies are less irritating. Toasting removes dangerous irritants.”
- Liggett & Myers (1931): “Chesterfield Cigarettes are just as pure as the water you drink.”
- Brown and Williamson (1949): “Viceroys filter the smoke. As your dentist, I’d recommend Viceroys.”
- Puff Bar (2021): “Our nicotine products are crafted from a patented manufacturing process, not from tobacco. The result? A virtually tasteless, odorless nicotine without the residual impurities of tobacco-derived nicotine.”
- Next Generation Labs (2021): “TFN Nicotine is not derived from tobacco leaf, stem, reconstituted sheet, expanded or postproduction waste dust. The nicotine is made using a patented manufacturing process that begins with a natural starter material and progressively builds around the molecules of that material to create a pure synthetic nicotine.”
These claims (from company websites) about differences between synthetic and tobacco-derived nicotine misleadingly hint at safety without providing real data. They skirt the important scientific issues and focus on emotionally resonant phrases like “begins with a natural starter material,” “without the residual impurities” and “create a pure synthetic nicotine.”
Adolescents in particular may make the false inferential leap that synthetic nicotine somehow carries less risk or is less addictive than tobacco-derived nicotine, according to new research from Rutgers University and the National Institutes of Health. This, in turn, may lead nonsmoking, nonvaping teens to use the products often enough to become addicted. The risk of any new product to children is a tried-and-true political plank, so it’s likely to gain the attention of members of Congress, who could pass a law declaring all forms of nicotine to be under the purview of the FDA. —WMK and CKO


text:
As returns continue to plague retailers, Affirm has acquired Returnly, a returns payment platform, for about $300 million, the installment payment company announced on Wednesday. The two companies are expected to close the deal by the end of June.
The company is acquiring Returnly, which gives eligible consumers instant merchant credit upon initiating a return, as U.S. consumers have returned more merchandise, especially with online orders. The National Retail Federation estimates that customers returned $428 billion worth of merchandise last year.
Returnly currently serves more than 1,800 businesses and has processed more than $1 billion in returns. More than 8 million customers have used the platform, per the announcement.
An early investor in Returnly, Affirm's acquisition comes two years after the company raised $8 million in Series A funding. That same year it introduced a returnless refunds feature and debuted instant exchanges via Shopify Plus. Given that returns remain challenging for retailers, the company wants to expand its reach with Affirm, Eduardo Vilar, CEO and founder of Returnly, said in a statement.
Per the NRF's research, online returns doubled from 2019 to 2020 and are a significant catalyst of return growth. In addition to causing financial challenges for retailers, companies also have to deal with the environmental impact of returning items that — due to the complex logistics of evaluating returned goods — largely don't wind up back on shelves for sale.
"We started Returnly to fix the broken returns model that offered consumers and merchants nothing but downside and frustration," Vilar said in a statement.
As Returnly raised money and enhanced its offerings, so has Affirm. Last year, Affirm added Shopify and David's Bridal to its roster of partners, as the company has steadily expanded its customer base. The buy now, pay later platform also raised $1.2 billion in its IPO earlier this year, with an initial price of $49 per share, higher than the anticipated range of $41 to $44 per share.
"In 2019, Affirm invested in Returnly because we recognized their technology's ability to help merchants remove friction from returns, drive loyalty, and retain more customers," Max Levchin, CEO and founder of Affirm, said in a statement. "Store credit, issued before the item is actually returned, is now a practical requirement in highly competitive segments like fashion and lifestyle."


text:
Boohoo Group (LON:BOO) had its price target increased by equities researchers at HSBC from GBX 280 ($3.66) to GBX 290 ($3.79) in a research note issued on Friday, ThisIsMoney.Co.Uk reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.54% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BOO. Shore Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Boohoo Group in a report on Monday, May 20th. Numis Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Boohoo Group in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Boohoo Group in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Liberum Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Boohoo Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Peel Hunt reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Boohoo Group in a report on Monday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 260 ($3.40).
BOO opened at GBX 218.80 ($2.86) on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.38. Boohoo Group has a 12-month low of GBX 146.40 ($1.91) and a 12-month high of GBX 249.20 ($3.26).
In related news, insider Brian Small purchased 20,000 shares of Boohoo Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 222 ($2.90) per share, for a total transaction of £44,400 ($58,016.46).
About Boohoo Group
boohoo group plc operates as an online fashion retailer in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company designs, sources, markets, and sells clothing, shoes, accessories, and beauty products through the Websites to a market of 16 to 30 year old consumers. It offers its products for men, and women.
Featured Story: How to interpret a stock’s beta number
Receive News & Ratings for Boohoo Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Boohoo Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.


text:
Prashant Agarwal, senior vice president of Marketing at DBS Bank has left the role after one year.
When contacted by Marketing, DBS declined to comment on a replacement for Agarwal.
Agarwal (pictured) has taken up a new role as director - EDGE (Group Innovation) at AIA.
Both Agarwal and AIA has confirmed the move to Marketing adding that in his new role he will focus on the communications agenda in AIA's Innovation team across Singapore and Hong Kong.
Agarwal has over 15 years of industry experience and Prior to DBS, he was the regional marketing director (Asia Pacific Japan) and global director for emerging markets at Dell.
He led regional marketing for Dell's consumer and small business units. In August 2012 his role was expanded to include global leadership of marketing strategy for worldwide emerging markets.


text:
Stakeholders Vie on Digital Solutions to Augment Cocoa Agricultural Productionby Basant K. Global Market Research Reports
Amongst the potent rising commodities, cocoa is soaring to new heights. While chocolates are a sweet treat for consumers, producers face daunting challenges. According to the World Cocoa Foundation, over 5 million family farmers in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Cameron and Cote d’Ivoire produce over four and a half million tons of cocoa beans. Chocolate manufacturers, financial institutions, farm-level input providers, and development organizations are vying to create a digital solutions to augment agricultural productivity, enhance access to finance for a sustainable and climate smart cocoa supply chain.
Digital Evolution in Cocoa: Traceability goes paperless
When cocoa is traceable physically, companies have little idea about which farmers contributed to a truckload of coca shipped to their factory. Given the digital evolution in cocoa, cocoa can be mapped down to the GPS coordinates of the farm. In addition, digital dashboards empower buyers to know if a farm is within a protected forest or is contributing to the loss of forest cover by comparing GPS coordinates of farm with a satellite data showing modification in the leaf coverage.
The cloud based systems maintain a record of every cocoa transaction. To bring a paradigm shift in the industry, software companies are piloting bar codes that can be stitched or stapled onto jute bags unique to each individual farmer.
Cocoa Gains Traction in Food and Beverage Industry
Growing consumption of chocolates reveal the rising appetite for cocoa, thereby making cocoa one of the most widely consumed flavors in the food and beverage industry. Cocoa barons are profoundly using fine or flavored cocoa in traditional recipes and different food products to expand its consumer base. On the other hand, rising demand for cocoa liquor is projected to augur well for the cocoa barons.
Underpinned by Huge Popularity Cocoa Production leap frogs
To spark the industry into further popularity, chocolates’ retail shelves are observing the presence of a variety of chocolates ranging from dark chocolates, milk chocolates to drinking chocolates. Cocoa, a food item previously termed as a luxury item, has now become an affordable item which could be attributed to growing discretionary income.
Manufacturers focus more on Gluten-free and Organic Consumer Trends
There has been considerable transition in the way food products are purchased as consumers shift towards organic and gluten-free food products. With the view to expand its customer base, manufacturers are relying upon healthier and innovative cocoa products along with constraint in sugar content. At the time when consumers are shunning chocolate consumption, manufacturers have glanced their focus on gluten-free and organic products.
Cocoa Farmers Reap Benefit from Satellite Technology Project
In order to enhance the productivity and sustainability, Ghana came up with an initiative—SAT 4farming, designed to use satellite imagery and digital technology to create individual Farm Development Plans (FDPs) that is expected to guide farmers over a seven-year duration. The FDPs offer a planning and monitoring tool ranging from suggestion on climate-adaptation, farm practices and investments to certification training. Moreover, the relentless monitoring offer farmers, along with women and youth, field agents with unparalleled data-based guidance aimed at a viable and sustainable future.
The governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire put onus on higher farm productivity ushered by cocoa and chocolate industry for the oversupply of cocoa. Lessening risks of structural overproduction of cocoa to assure that prices don’t plunge is imperative. Faltering agricultural production conditions in various regions are underlying problems manufacturers lament. Having said that, major initiatives taken by stakeholders appear as a bright prospect for the cocoa market.
The integration of satellite imagery in Ghana is estimated to organize the process of creating farm development plans, empower monitoring and offer invaluable insights on environmental conditions.
The cocoa and chocolate industry has begun to integrate crop diversification into their promising programs to underpin farmers. However, such efforts lack strategic and macroeconomic approach. Steps such as incorporating farmers’ crop diversification, assessing macroeconomic impact, evaluating opportunities with the assistance of evidence-based policy and governments of the major cocoa producing countries should come up with county-specific development strategies.
More Research for Sustainable Development Strategy
The industry for cocoa demand more robust research on development strategies, the progress of a flourishing network of small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) and agro-processing.
In the midst of growing popularity of cocoa ingredients in food and beverage products, the manufacturers are vying for additional investments to keep up with a sustainable growth. Meanwhile, increasing prices of cocoa have further piled up economic unpredictability in the international cocoa sector.
The emergence of new players with promising strategies has had the impact on the global cocoa industry. A market such as cocoa is prone to disturbance as the functioning of the market needs an interplay of consumers and producers, of shippers and warehouses, of speculators and commercials, of risk takers and risk avoiders of long term participants and short-term players.
Created on Feb 1st 2019 06:49. Viewed 151 times.


text:
Supply chain disruptions cause bottlenecks for Fort Worth bars, liquor industry
A bottleneck in supplies is affecting suppliers, distilleries and bars that make specialty cocktails. To compensate, distilleries are ordering more supplies and paying more for supplies and bars are finding alternatives to the name-brand liquors.
When Alden Aldrich, the general manager for Thompson’s Bookstore bar in downtown Fort Worth, orders liquor for the bar, he never knows what will show up. He has to make orders on a weekly basis so bartenders can make the specialty cocktails the bar is known for.
“I’ll order like a case at a time or half time, and sometimes two or three bottles show up,” Aldrich said. “Sometimes all of it shows up. Sometimes none of it shows up.”
About 40% of distilled spirits on U.S. package store shelves are imported, Lisa Hawkins, senior vice president of public affairs for the Distilled Spirits Council, said in an email to the Fort Worth Report. Backlogged ports, shortages of truck drivers and pallets are part of the challenge for distillers, Hawkins wrote.
Consumers are in luck, Hawkins said – because there are more than 16,000 spirits brands in the U.S. marketplace, there’s no shortage of options to choose from. Aldrich said Thompson’s bartenders can often find an alternative for cocktails.
“If you’re following a template, you could swap out the ingredients and spirits and, you know, mash the flavors up to make a good drink,” Aldrich said. “But as long as you’re following the ratios, it’ll probably end up good.”
Distilleries, suppliers keeping up with demand
For local distillers, beating the supply chain means paying more money to buy more supplies than needed in the event of a shortage. Markus Kypreos, owner and president of Blackland Distillery in Fort Worth, said a normal wait time for supplies is about six to eight weeks. Now, it’s much longer.
When he placed an order in March 2021, he received the order nine months later in December. He said that he gets his glasses and corks imported, and ships are backlogged at the Port of Houston.
“When you turn the faucet off for (COVID-19) and everyone shuts down and stops working and then you turn it back on, there’s this very long line of work that needs to get done,” Kypreos said. “And you can’t do it all at once. You are limited in time and space and employees and what you can produce, and so it has created a backlog that people are still working through.”
To adapt, Kypreos makes his forecast and projections for what he needs to keep running the business way in advance, he said. That means making more orders — and spending more money — on supplies such as bottles and corks.
Kypreos said his business is growing every year — he expects he sells 15,000 of his 12 bottle cases in Texas and surrounding states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. He sees the supply chain issues as an opportunity to introduce his product to new customers as they seek alternatives to other brands that are short in supply.
The supply chain puts him in a difficult situation. Advanced ordering is risky. If his orders don’t match his projected growth, he will have too much supplies and not enough sales. If he plays it safe, he might not have enough supplies to meet the demand, he said.
“The troublesome part in the long run is, what are your options?” Kypreos said. “You have to spend this money now to secure packaging or you have nothing to sell later on. You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.”
John Rydman, the president of alcohol distributor Spec’s, said the bottleneck affectis every sector of the alcohol industry. A common comment is about a shortage in glass to bottle liquor. Big liquor companies release a certain amount of product to each region to adapt, but it’s often not enough, he said.
“Most of the time what they’re giving me is not enough to even feed my own premise division,” Rydman said. “That’s not enough to even supply the bars and restaurants, much less the retail side for all the other consumers.”
Spec’s can’t move liquor over county lines, Rydman said, which means some regions might have more supplies than others. He said Fort Worth seems to be taken care of better than most because it has several distribution centers close by and receives a bigger portion of the allocation.
Texas has a three-tier system for alcohol, which dates back from the Prohibition era, said Tony Formby, the owner of Acre Distilling. Distillers can’t distribute directly to bars and restaurants, he said.
Distributors also can’t retail the liquor. In addition, bars or restaurants have to buy their product from a sub distributor, called a Class B distributor.
“So the problem when you’re trying to fill the pipeline with product, is making sure that my distributor, a Class B distributor, always has inventory,” Formby said. “Otherwise, the bar and restaurants … get an order and stuff’s missing.”
Meeting demand or being undersupplied is the lesser of distillers like Kypreos and Formby’s concerns.
The big fear is that they will run out of charred oak barrels, which is a requirement for bourbon whiskey to be considered legitimate, according to the American Bourbon Association. There’s no barrel cooperage in Texas, Kypreos said. Most are made in California and in the midwestern states.
The barrels also have to be made from white oak that is dried for one to two years, Formby said.
“The big concern I have is whether some of the barrel makers start going, ‘OK, we’re going to use 6-month-old (wood),’ which is green, and that’s going to have an impact on our whiskey,” Formby said.
Formby and Kypreos are stocking up in preparation for more shortages. Formby said his business has felt the price increases, but he’s hopeful that will subside. The demand is causing prices to increase — both from shortages and demand and from businesses trying to make more money.
“I think a lot of people have just taken advantage of this and (are raising their prices), because everybody else is even though their supply chains may not be impacted,” Formby said. “I think that once we get back to where we used to be, prices will come back down and inflation will hopefully drop a little bit.”
Seth Bodine is a business and economic development reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at email@example.com and follow on Twitter at @sbodine120.


text:
Boca Raton, Florida, 16th February 2021, ZEXPRWIRE – Looking ahead in 2021, there are many ways businesses and individuals can plan their transition to more sustainable operations and living, not just building back but building forward. Some ideas involve bringing back into focus the areas that were paramount before COVID-19.
The pandemic put limitations on the business world’s ability to focus on long term goals, including their carbon footprints, this forced business leaders to reimagine their entire operations while working through a logistics nightmare, soaring shipping costs, and a global economic downturn. While figuring out how best to operate in the new normal, we must also renew our commitment to sustainability.
In the past month, we have seen several industry titans announce ambitious new goals towards greater environmental stewardship and responsibility. One notable example is Société Bic S.A., a world leader in stationery, lighters and shavers, the French company announced that it will transform their approach to make plastic improvements. They committed that by 2030, it aims for 50% non-virgin petroleum plastic for its products and that by 2025, 100% of their consumer plastic packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
Kraft Heinz is also designing for recyclability. By producing and utilizing the most effective materials to pack and protect their products to reduce food waste, the company has reduced its operational packaging impacts even further into 2021.
Another industry leader, True Green Enterprises, Inc., the leading manufacturer of tree free paper products since 2013, have started manufacturing their toilet paper and facial tissue in the USA. This change allows the company to lower their carbon footprint while continuing to supply the pandemic with much needed paper goods. Terry Lehmann, CEO of the Women Owned Business says, “we plan to manufacture all our bamboo paper products in the USA by the end of 2022. Paper towels consumption is up over 20% since the COVID-19 pandemic started, so we are manufacturing our paper goods locally to keep up with the demand and help grocers, restaurants, and schools with their supply chain.” Smart entrepreneurs like Terry are making a world of difference.
Dow, another leader in the paper industry, have affirmed their targets towards protecting the climate in 2021, closing the loop, and achieving carbon neutrality. They are confident that in this next year, they will continue to see many more companies do the same.
In the developing world, where countries typically have fewer resources to deploy, and, in some cases, larger yet much poorer populations, the challenges of the pandemic have been especially burdensome to the people living there. At the same time, these regions face a range of sustainability issues that will be more difficult to solve than through emulation of the more prosperous countries.
A key driver for sustainable growth not just in the developing world, but everywhere, is collaboration – creating change through partnerships between the corporate sector and local businesses, governments, and universities.
If the 2020 business mindset was focused on how to survive, the slogan for 2021 will be about how to thrive – and the key to achieving this will be innovation. This is especially the case when it comes to innovative solutions for advancing sustainability, reducing carbon emissions, eliminating waste, and pushing the world towards becoming more circular.
Mark Reiman, EVP
True Green Enterprises, Inc.
55 NE 5th Ave., Suite 502, Boca Raton, FL 33432
Email ID: firstname.lastname@example.org
Website: Click Here
The post Looking Ahead In 2021 – Renewed Sustainability Goals appeared first on Zex PR Wire.


text:
As Australian Manufacturing Resurges, Victorian FMCG Producer Benefits from Timely Tech Reboot to Improve Service with
Leader in private cloud, hybrid and multicloud computing, Nutanix
and Nutanix partner Australian Sentinel, today announced it is helping Natures Organics lower its technology and carbon
footprints, reduce IT costs, and future-proof its infrastructure as Australia’s manufacturing industry reignites.
Since 1981, Natures Organics has played a vital role in Australian homes as the nation’s pioneer in environmentally
responsible initiatives, manufacturing eco-friendly cleaning products with a range of popular brands including Earth
Choice, Australian Pure, and OC Naturals. It creates over 50 million units of high-quality, affordable, and naturally
derived products sold through major retailers including Woolworths and Coles each year.
In keeping with its ethos, the company sought to overhaul its ageing IT environment to improve its overall technology
efficiency, a move which would complement its $3 million, 1299kW roof-mounted solar deployment
on its Victorian manufacturing plant. Its prior IT environment consisted of an array of fragmented and overly complex
three-tier infrastructure that was inefficient, expensive, and cumbersome to manage, which negatively impacted speed and
productivity in important areas such as business intelligence and management of critical applications.
“We receive thousands of customer enquiries per year, and it’s vital we log and record those emails so the information
can be transformed into actionable data,” said Alex Plattfuss, Head of IT, Natures Organics. “Our old environment slipped and stumbled to manage this, causing internal delays and headaches to get the data we
needed. It was becoming prohibitively expensive and out of sync with our ethos and environmental commitment.”
Natures Organics engaged the services of trusted IT partner Australian Sentinel, which identified Nutanix hyperconverged
infrastructure (HCI) as the ideal solution to meet the company’s needs. The initial deployment leverages Nutanix’s AHV
hypervisor, Prism Central centralised management platform, and Files software-defined storage for data management and
The company projects IT-related energy consumption to fall 55 per cent, reduced costs of 32 per cent, as well as an 700
per cent improvement in business intelligence reporting capacity and performance, eliminating the complexity that was
hindering Plattfuss and the Natures Organics team. The deployment has also had a huge positive impact on critical
application management performance and security, eliminating 70 per cent of risks identified by Australian Sentinel in
its analysis of the company’s IT infrastructure.
“Just by switching Nutanix on, the vast majority of these risks were mitigated or eliminated, with a clear pathway and
simple platform to address the remainder,” said Tim Crouch, Director, Australian Sentinel. “This frees Natures Organics to securely launch new products, services, and digital programs as it continues to expand
in an exciting time for the manufacturing industry.”
Timely tech reboot as Australia’s manufacturing industry resurges
The upgrade comes at a crucial time for Natures Organics, with the manufacturing industry poised to play a pivotal role
in Australia’s post-pandemic recovery. The company sees the upgrade as essential to enable it to drive new eco-friendly
products, such as Cove – a new line of refillable cleaning products that aims to reduce single-use plastic by up to 80
“Nutanix has given us a digital reboot to help us capitalise on Australia’s resurgent manufacturing industry, and we’ve
only scratched the surface of what the platform can do,” said Plattfuss. “We’re seeing more Australians wanting to buy
local and buy green, and we now have an IT environment in place that can match our growth and support us as we develop
new refillable and other eco-friendly products in a secure, economical, and efficient way.”
A recent report
highlighted in-store refill as one of the major packaging trends dominating the retail industry in 2020.
“One of the key areas highlighted in the Government’s $1.5 billion manufacturing strategy
is for manufacturers to leverage digital tools to optimise operations and processes,” said Lee Thompson, A/NZ Managing Director, Nutanix.
“Natures Organics is an exemplar of this, leveraging technology to drive its business, reinforce its values, and deliver
quality homemade products to Australia and the world. Technologies like HCI and hybrid cloud are essential to enable
manufacturers to eliminate unnecessary costs, accelerate their scale up, and make the most of this resurgence to create
new advanced manufacturing capabilities.”
Nutanix is a global leader in cloud software and a pioneer in hyperconverged infrastructure solutions, making computing
invisible anywhere. Organizations around the world use Nutanix software to leverage a single platform to manage any app
at any location at any scale for their private, hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Learn more at www.nutanix.com
or follow us on Twitter @nutanix.


text:
Hollywood’s heavy hitters are all betting on virtual reality to some degree, but the size of those wagers varies.
Fox was first with a “Martian” VR experience unveiled at last year’s CES show in Las Vegas and has since gone all-in with multiple projects. tied to some of its biggest franchises, like “Alien” and “Planet of the Apes.” On the other hand, current box office champ Disney recently announced a Marvel VR game, but has been relatively slow to push out VR experiences linked to its big-screen content.
With the box office growing slowly and the pay-TV landscape in flux, studios feel like they can’t miss out on what could be a big part of the future of filmed entertainment. But is it a wise move?
“It’s almost like a chicken-and-the-egg situation,” Aaron Sauceda, a senior analyst with Accenture’s Global Strategy Practice, told TheWrap. “The biggest challenge is obviously going to be adoption, but the challenge with adoption is if there’s no content to consume, then adoption is going to be pretty limited.
“On the flip-side, if content creators are seeing adoption being pretty limited and thus monetization being limited, then they’re not going to really want to invest the time and resources to make that content. It’s a tough situation there, and maybe that’s where Hollywood’s opportunity is — maybe they can invest the resources in the content.”
And as TheWrap takes a look at the state of VR in the entertainment business, here’s where the Big Six stand right now:
20TH CENTURY FOX
Twentieth Century Fox is probably the major studio most enthusiastic about virtual reality, forming a dedicated division for video gaming, location-based entertainment, virtual and augmented reality productions called FoxNext earlier this year.
Fox’s “The Martian VR Experience” was the first foray into the technology from any of the major studios, followed by one tied to “The Revenant” re-creating the experience of being attacked by a bear.
In April, Fox unveiled a VR experience tied to its “Alien: Covenant” film, titled “Alien: Covenant In Utero,” where the user was transported inside a womb alongside a Neomorph, a white-headed creature new to the movie that is born when alien spores are released from pods and enter people’s bloodstreams — before the creature burst from the body in disgustingly impressive fashion.
The experience was developed by the FoxNext VR Studio along with RSA VR, MPC VR, a Technicolor company, Mach 1 and technology partners AMD Radeon and Dell.
“In Utero” was hardly an afterthought to the film. It was produced by Ridley Scott, who directed the first “Alien” movie and both prequels, “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant.” Scott was actively involved in creating the experience, offering advice on details like what the Neomorph’s breathing should sound like, “In Utero” director David Karlak said at a panel following a demo of the experience.
FoxNext has also partnered with VR studio Within to develop more VR experiences tied to some of its big franchises, with new “Planet of the Apes” slated for the fourth quarter and “Alien” on deck for the first half of 2018.
Both of those will be for sale across tethered platforms, including the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The studio is also developing an “Alien” free-roam VR experience, where users can move around a large, dedicated open space. The studio also is partnering with Annapurna on an original VR film to be produced and directed by Within CEO Chris Milk.
Warner Bros. has also embraced high-end wired VR, making it a major part of the marketing strategy for a movie that seems to be perfectly suited for it, Steven Spielberg’s upcoming sci-fi film “Ready Player One,” which takes place inside a virtual reality game.
The studio partnered with HTC Vive to produce multiple pieces of VR content that will be available on a variety of platforms from the premium-priced, PC-based Vive to mobile headsets. Vive will also bring its “Ready Player One” experiences to its Viveport Arcade platform for location-based entertainment.
Last fall, Warner Bros. VR rolled out a “Batman: Arkham VR” video game first available for PlayStation VR and extended to Vive and Oculus. In addition, the studio signed a co-financing deal with IMAX in March to develop three VR experiences, two of which will be tied to “Justice League and “Aquaman.”
Warner Bros. declined to comment about its future VR projects.
Paramount Pictures held a virtual reality conference, the VRTL Summit, on its Hollywood lot in April, during which new studio chief Jim Gianopulos gave his first public remarks. His boss, National Amusements President Shari Redstone, even strapped on a set of goggles herself.
The studio debuted its first movie-tied VR earlier this year, an Oculus-exclusive “Ghost in the Shell” experience created by Here be Dragons.
Paramount also declined to comment about its upcoming VR releases.
Sony unveiled an experience for its recent comic-book hit “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” which allows wannabe Spideys to practice their web-shooting skills and swing above New York. The VR experience, produced by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality and developed by CreateVR, came out June 30 — and is available for free on the Vive, Oculus and PlayStation VR.
The studio also has what’s essentially a slate deal with VR firm Madison Wells Media, headed by veteran Hollywood producer Gigi Pritzker and film finance vet Clint Kisker.
The two have an exclusive partnership to create original, stand-alone VR experiences related to specific Sony titles, including “Passengers: Awakening VR,” released in March and featuring the voice of big-screen “Passengers” star Chris Pratt.
The studio has also produced VR projects for “The Walk,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Goosebumps.”
Sony declined to comment about its future VR initiatives.
Universal may have gotten more buzz for its VR experience tied to Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” than for the film itself. The project, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, was the result of a collaboration between the studio and 5th Wall, an agency specializing in VR, AR and 360-degree video services.
In Austin, viewers were escorted into a fully staged airplane hanger and seated in a hydraulic chair from Positron that mimicked the movements of the “Mummy” experience as they unfolded in an Oculus Rift. The content was a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s buzziest scene — an escape from a crashing plane shot in zero-gravity. The experience rolled out in cinemas in the U.S. and abroad, where the box office numbers fared much better for the film.
5th Wall and Universal had previously partnered for an experience built around “Fifty Shades of Grey,” where users could tour title character Christian Grey’s expensive apartment in 360-degree video — including his notorious “red room” full of BDSM toys.
Disney, which set a record last year and became the first studio ever to gross $7 billion in worldwide box office receipts, may not need the bells and whistles of virtual reality to sell films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.”
However, some of Disney’s franchises like “Star Wars” are natural fits for VR, and there’s a “Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine” experience available for free on the Vive.
The Mouse House is also using VR for other, less lucrative but more fulfilling purposes — like cheering up sick kids. “Star Wars: Force For Change,” developed by Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB, will debut in late 2017, is described as a “physical program geared toward entertainment and distraction purposes for use with children” that incorporates exclusive “Star Wars” content. It will be sent to children’s hospitals and similar facilities across the country.
And just a couple weeks ago, Disney announced a new VR game developed with Oculus, “Marvel Powers United VR,” which is set to hit the Rift exclusively in 2018 — and will be an interesting test of Disney’s ability to monetize its IP, which has been so successful in basically every other medium, in virtual reality.
Disney also declined to comment about its virtual reality pipeline.
Sean Burch contributed reporting to this story.
TheWrap’s Special Report on Virtual Reality:


text:
When the Hilton Worldwide hotel group suffered a data breach the news was met with some surprise. Many expected the hotel chain to have better security in place and it soon became clear the attack went back as far back as over a year ago.
So what do we know? Firstly, it’s claimed the attack originated from a Point of Sale (PoS) terminal which was infected with malware. While customer addresses and PIN codes were not compromised, credit card numbers, names and security codes were. Secondly, the attackers came back for more. The original attack was between 18 November – 5 December 2014 with a second attack carried out 21 April – 22 July 2015. That suggests security mechanisms were not up to scratch in both detecting the original breach and in preventing a second wave. Hilton since claims it has strengthened its security.
So why has this happened? It’s likely that the malware was deliberately targeted to exploit weaknesses specific to this industry, demonstrating the importance of sharing sector-specific threat intelligence. Trump Hotels, Starwood and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group had all been targeted over recent months. And the attack was engineered to exploit a weak point in many industries: the link to a third party supplier.
The attack bears comparison with the Target data breach two years ago which saw the compromise of 25 PoS terminals and was found to have originated from a heating, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) subcontractor which was privy to certain network credentials. Both go to show how difficult it can be to secure the supply chain.
Systems serviced or provided by external suppliers can often be the achilles heel for credit card processing operations. Supplier relationships are often built on trust and retrofitting indemnity and liability clauses in contracts can be awkward at best. Many organisations rely on annual audits under standards such as ISO 27001 as a catch-all solution but this can miss potential weak spots when new processes are put in place or new systems brought online.
For now, organisations must steer their own supplier management policies. Start by listing the suppliers you do business with and classify them according to their relationship with you. Go further back from Tier 1 to Tier 2 and beyond to ensure you have an understanding of how data is used. Avoid alienating suppliers by involving them in the process without overburdening them. Look at the frequency with which you assess channels of communication and data management processes: is it monthly, quarterly or annually? No doubt Target thought any data held by an HVAC supplier would be worthless. They were wrong.
We don’t yet know the full extent of the Hilton Worldwide data breach, and without full disclosure there’s no way of knowing how deep rooted the attack became, making it even more difficult for other organisations to learn from one another’s experiences. Greater transparency post breach has to be the way forward, together with better supply chain security, and dare I say it regulation. There is currently no de facto supply chain standard for security. Perhaps that would be a good place to start.


text:
The warning contrasted with the accompanying half-year results from Denby, with profits for the period to March rising 16 per cent to pounds 3.5m and sales up by 15 per cent to pounds 19.3m. However, Carl Short, an analyst at SGST, downgraded full year figures by pounds 300,000 to pounds 6.6m. Stephen Riley, chief executive (above), said that competing companies like Wedgwood and Churchill China had been increasing their presence in the growing casual tableware market and away from the mature fine china sector. "The competition has seen what we've been doing and are emulating it," he said. With 40 per cent of Denby's tableware sold outside the UK, the strength of the pound was also eroding revenue. Mr Riley said the group would respond to growing competition by broadening its brand beyond pottery and glass to table accessories like cutlery, tablemats and candles.Reuse content
Denby, one of the success stories of the UK china industry in recent years, has fallen victim to increased competition in casual tableware and the strong pound, writes Sameena Ahmad. The company warned yesterday that profit growth this year would be slower than expected, sending its shares down 10 per cent to 222.5p. Some analysts said the price fall left the group open to a takeover bid.


text:
Restaurant/brewhouse and another Dollar General store are planned in Millcreek Township
A new restaurant planned for construction at the Millcreek Mall will have patio dining, exterior murals and a unique architectural element.
California-based BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse plans to build a restaurant near the southern entrance to the mall off Peach Street, on a portion of the property previously occupied by a Sears Auto Center. Sonic Drive-in opened on the other half of the property in July 2019.
Millcreek Mall:Dick's Sporting Goods' new location to include outdoor athletic field
BJ's architecture will evoke its brewhouse heritage, said Michael Takacs, of Bohler Engineering, Pittsburgh. Takacs detailed construction plans for the Millcreek Township Planning Commission on Tuesday.
"One new element that (BJ's) is putting into their restaurants is a silo that's not actually functional but plays on the brewing heritage of the restaurant. It really adds to the overall architecture, adds to the theme of the restaurant, and I think is a pleasing element," Takacs said.
BJ's Restaurants Inc. owns and operates more than 200 restaurants in 29 states, including four others in Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh, Upper St. Clair, Allentown and Lancaster, according to the company website.
The restaurant/brewhouse specializes in deep-dish pizza and craft beers.
The 7,662-square-foot restaurant at the Millcreek Mall will face Peach Street. Its entrance driveway will be from the mall parking lot.
Township planners recommended the development plan for consideration by township supervisors on May 23. The recommendation is contingent on BJ's meeting greenspace requirements and township consideration of whether a sidewalk will be required in front of the building, along the west side of Peach Street.
BJ's will apply for a zoning variance from the township to provide 109 parking spaces for the restaurant. Millcreek zoning regulations allow up to 92 spaces.
"BJ's (has) restaurants that need up to 150 spaces," Takacs said. "But they're comfortable with extra parking available (here) in the mall."
Erie's Werner Books:Plans to add coffee shop, move to a new larger home in Liberty Plaza
Also recommended for approval by township supervisors Tuesday are plans for another Dollar General Store, at West 38th Street and Atlantic Avenue.
The 10,640-square-foot store is planned for construction on the south side of West 38th Street.
Dollar General has more than 19,000 stores in 47 states, including dozens in Erie County, according to the company website.
Millcreek supervisors approved plans for another Dollar General store, on West Ridge Road at McKee Road, in November.
Contact Valerie Myers at firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has set up a new website to double the number of global brands on its flagship online mall, taking an important step toward fulfilling its global ambitions.
The e-commerce giant began offering an English-language portal on Tmall for the first time on Wednesday to entice more merchants from around the world to sell to Chinese consumers. Alibaba is counting on the initiative to help double the number of foreign brands on Tmall Global to 40,000 in three years, said Yi Qian, deputy general manager of the service, which caters to buyers of foreign goods.
Alibaba is seeking new growth engines to offset a cooling economy at home as the trade war rages on, while fending off increasingly aggressive competitors including JD.com Inc. and Pinduoduo Inc. Billionaire co-founder Jack Ma had set a goal of generating more than half of the company’s revenue from outside of China by 2025.
“The website will widen our reach to merchants, especially to those medium and small sized businesses around the world,” Yi said in an interview. “We will help them with our logistics and marketing services.”
Alibaba grew to become China’s largest public company by popularizing e-commerce across the world’s No. 2 economy, on which it still depends for the vast majority of its business. It’s begun making inroads into Southeast Asia through the acquisition of Lazada, but now aims to broaden its reach even further.
Tmall’s new portal allows English-speaking merchants to fill in details online about their products. Alibaba then vets them based on category and quality, and will contact merchants within 72 hours to gauge if their products are a fit, Yi said. Previously, such sellers could only join Tmall through personal introduction, or by signing up at trade fairs. Other foreign-language versions of the website are in the works, including Spanish, Japanese and Korean.
Alibaba doesn’t disclose dealings over its Tmall platform, which helps merchants sell goods to 600 million-plus buyers, but it’s one of the single largest online retailers in China’s $1 trillion e-commerce arena. Jiang Fan, one of Jack Ma’s closest lieutenants, said in April the company wanted to double transaction volumes on its Tmall service in three years.


text:
Buy Sleeping Pills Online uk
You can buy sleeping pills online uk but there’s always a risk you could be buying fake drugs. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched a new campaign to help people shop safely. It gives tips and practical steps to avoid buying unlicensed or counterfeit medicines and medical products online. Previous campaigns have looked at fake erectile dysfunction medicines, dodgy diet pills and bogus self-testing STI kits.
Sleeping pills like melatonin do a roaring trade in the US but in the UK they’re prescription-only. Strong sleeping tablets containing benzodiazepines are also prescription-only in the UK. These are often called ‘benzos’ and are known to carry a high risk of addiction, dependence and withdrawal. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the pandemic may have fuelled a rise in people buying these drugs online.
A Comprehensive Guide for Insomnia Sufferers”
Sky News has seen figures showing a significant increase in the number of diazepam and alprazolam tablets bought illegally online. These are then sent for testing at the public lab WEDINOS. The figures show that almost a quarter of the benzo samples tested by WEDINOS in 2020 contained benzodiazepines, up from less than half in 2019.
You can find effective insomnia treatments at EU Meds, including the prescription-only Z medicines, zolpidem and zopiclone, and zaleplon. But the best advice is to see your doctor. They’ll be able to check your health and medical history and advise you on the most appropriate treatment for you.


text:
join our Wire Channel to stay updated on breaking news coverage
The non-fungible token market has still not recovered from the recent crash that saw the floor price of many of its NFTs drop by more than 70% of their value. However, the downtrend in the NFT market seems to be abating now, and the NFT market shows positive signs of partial recovery in the coming weeks. In this article, we will take a look at the NFT market performance and events over the past seven days.
NFT sales dropped 13% this week
Data compiled by cryptoslam.io, an on-chain data aggregator, shows that the NFT market has experienced a slight decline over the past seven days, recording a trading sales volume of $83 million. This figure of trading sales has fallen by 13% from the previous week. Nonetheless, this week has seen some acceptance in the market, with the number of NFT buyers increasing by 21% compared to the previous week.
Source: cryptoslam.io, NFT sales over the past 7 days
The non-fungible token hosted on Ethereum, the largest blockchain for NFTs, has been the most traded NFT collection this week. Over the past seven days, the NFT collection has registered sales of $49 million, marking a 17% decline from the previous week.
Solana-based NFTs were the second most-traded NFTs, registering $6.7 million in traded sales volume. Unfortunately, the sales volume of Solana NFTs is down by 23% this week compared to last week. Polygon NFTs followed suit, recording a trading sales volume of $5.8 million.
Source: cryptoslam.io, NFT sale by blockchain
Digital Collectibles hosted on the Mythos Chain, a permissioned EVM blockchain and gaming ecosystem that operates on the MYTH utility token, was the fourth most traded NFT collectible this week, earning $5.7 million in trading sales volume is of. The sale of Mythos Chain-based NFTs has decreased by 3% over the past week.
The immutable X-based NFT was the fifth most collected NFT this week, generating $4.5 million in trading volume. The non-fungible token hosted by BNB Chain, a decentralized network created by crypto exchange Binance, has been the sixth most-traded NFT this week. Immutable X and BNB Chain NFTs have increased sales by 19% and 7% this week.
It is worth noting that bitcoin has been active again after falling into a deep slumber over the past several weeks. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin Ordinals has recorded a trading sales volume of $2.5 million, up 18% from the previous week. Bitcoin Ordinal is expected to reclaim its market dominance following the decline in Solana NFTs.
Source: cryptoslam.io, general bitcoin sales over the last 7 days
In terms of wash trading, the Ethereum network recorded the most number of wash trades this week. Over the past seven days, the Ethereum network recorded a trading volume of $23 million, followed by Solana with $75,256 and Polygon Chain with $6.5 million.
By description, wash trading is a form of market manipulation in which NFT collectors simultaneously sell and buy identical financial instruments or NFTs, thereby creating a false impression of market activity without incurring market risk or changing the entity’s market position. . Wash trading is considered illegal in most jurisdictions around the world.
Five best selling NFTs this week
Source: cryptoslam.io, best selling NFTs in the last 7 days
1. Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT
Bored App Yacht Club, an NFT collection from popular digital asset incubation studio Yuga Labs, has been the most traded NFT collection this week. In the past seven days, Bored Ape Yacht Club has recorded a trading sales volume of $6.2 million. Nonetheless, sales of NFT collectibles are down 34% this week compared to last week.
2. DMarket NFT
DMarket is an NFT collection from the DMarket virtual item market platform hosted on the Mythos Chain. Over the past seven days, DMarket has been the second most traded NFT repository with a sales volume of $5.5 million. DMarket NFT sales have declined by 5% since last week.
3. Sorare NFT
Sorare is an NFT collection from Sorare, a fantasy sports crypto-based video game hosted on the Ethereum network. Over the past seven days, Sorare has been the third most traded NFT collection, registering a trading sales volume of 3.8 million. Sorare NFTs have seen an 8% increase in sales this week compared to last week.
4. Gods Unchained NFT
Gods Unchained is an NFT collection of the digital trading card game Gods Unchained, hosted on the Immutable X network. Gods Unchained has been the fourth most traded NFT collection over the past seven days, attracting $2.7 million in merchandise sales volume. Sales of this NFT collection are up 67% this week.
5. Cryptopunks NFT
Cryptopunks, an NFT collection that previously belonged to digital asset firm Larva Labs but is now owned by bored app creator Yuga Labs, has been the fifth most-traded NFT collection this week. Over the past seven days, the NFT collection has recorded $2.6 million in merchandise sales volume. The Cryptopunks NFT collection is up 21% in sales this week.
The most expensive NFT collectible was Bored Ape Yacht Club #7485, which sold five days ago for $172,923. Bored Ape Yacht Club #8295 was the second most expensive NFT collectible, selling for $143,627 seven days ago. Cryptopunks #616 was the third most expensive NFT collection, selling for $128,371 five days ago.
Top NFTs New This Week
1. Airline Behemoth Lufthansa Launches NFTs
Lufthansa, one of Europe’s largest airline groups, announced the launch of its non-fungible token (NFT) loyalty program on the Polygon network. The NFT loyalty program will allow passengers to convert their trips into NFTs which can unlock rewards such as miles and business lounge vouchers. Lufthansa NFT adoption shows that many institutions are still bullish on NFTs, despite the decline in recent weeks.
2. Impact Theory accused of selling unregistered NFTs
Earlier this week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission charged California-based media company Impact Theory with offering unregistered digital collectibles sometime in 2021. US regulators ordered the Los Angeles-based company to compensate investors who bought NFTs.
BREAKING: SEC alleges LA-based “media and entertainment company influence theory” for unregistered offering of NFTS pic.twitter.com/3LMcYIh6nc
– Degenerate News 🗞 (@DegenerateNews) 28 August 2023
3. Wall Street Memes Presale Raises Over $25 Million
Wall Street Memes is another irreplaceable token-related project that is making headlines this week after raising over $25 million from its crypto token “$WSM” presale. The crypto project was launched in June by the famous crypto community Wall Street Memes. The crypto conglomerate came into limelight in 2021 after launching an NFT collection, “Wall St. Bulls”, which sold out in a record time of 32 minutes. The same crypto conglomerate has also recently launched an ordinal collection ‘Wall St Bulls’, which is gaining popularity among investors.
Related NFT News:
Wall Street Memes – The Next Big Crypto
- Early Access Presale Live Now
- Established community of stock and crypto traders
- Featured on BeInCrypto, Bitcoinist, Yahoo Finance
- Ranked Best Crypto To Buy Right Now In The Mem Coin Sector
- The team behind the OpenSea NFT collection – Wall St. Bulls
- Elon Musk replied to the tweets
join our Wire Channel to stay updated on breaking news coverage