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These are the stocks posting the largest moves before the bell.Market Insiderread more
The Fed is expected to cut rates Wednesday, but it is unlikely to tell markets what they want to hear on future rate cuts.Market Insiderread more
Corporate executives and money managers have grown increasingly pessimistic about the economy as growth around the world slows.Trader Talk with Bob Pisaniread more
Facebook unveils the Portal TV, a streaming device that comes with a camera and microphones for making video calls via television.Technologyread more
Four Wall Street firms downgraded FedEx after the company's poor earnings report.Marketsread more
FedEx says trade around the world is starting to feel the squeeze of increased tariffs.Marketsread more
U.S. stock futures point to a modestly lower Wednesday morning open on Wall Street ahead of what the markets in the afternoon expect to be the Fed's second interest rate cut...Marketsread more
Mortgage applications to purchase a home increased 6% for the week and were a strong 15% higher annually.Real Estateread more
The House subcommittee that oversees consumer product investigations launched its a probe of Juul in June, holding two days of hearings in July. In a letter to Juul sent...Health and Scienceread more
Pelosi said Trump should not have tried to address China's trade practices in a way that opened Americans up to financial pain.Politicsread more
Corporate buyback trades are ripe for being picked off by high speed firms, effectively siphoning millions of dollars from the companies.Marketsread more
The Food and Drug Administration recently issued warnings to two businesses that are illegally marketing and making "unproven" claims that their products, which contain a drug called kratom, can treat or cure opioid addiction and withdrawal.
Kratom, which is an herbal extract that naturally grows outside of the U.S., is not approved by the FDA. The drug acts as a stimulant at low doses, according to the Mayo Clinic, but can reduce pain and potentially cause euphoria when taken in higher quantities.
Though some advocates say kratom can be used to quell the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and be used as an alternative to pain medications, the FDA says the drug affects the same brain receptors as morphine and can expose users to addiction and abuse.
The FDA has issued a number of safety warnings associated with the use of kratom, including a multi-state salmonella outbreak that was linked to kratom products. Negative side-effects of the drug can include dizziness, drowsiness, breathing suppression, coma and even death.
On Tuesday, the FDA also advised consumers not to use products made by one of the companies, KratomNC, because of various microorganisms found in the products the FDA said could potentially cause illness. The agency said on June 14 it recommended the company recall all of its products, but KratomNC has yet to do so.
"Despite our warnings, companies continue to sell this dangerous product and make deceptive medical claims that are not backed by science or any reliable scientific evidence," acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless said in a statement Tuesday.
By marketing kratom as a potential treatment for opioid abuse, the FDA says the two companies — California-based Cali Botanicals and North Carolina-based KratomNC — could prevent people who are addicted to opioids from seeking proper care.
"As we work to combat the opioid crisis, we cannot allow unscrupulous vendors to take advantage of consumers by selling products with unsubstantiated claims that they can treat opioid addiction or alleviate other medical conditions," Sharpless said.
Reliance on products that don't work put those who abuse opioids at "greater risk of addiction," the FDA said.
The agency's warnings come as lawmakers across the country look to tackle the devastating opioid epidemic, which kills more than 130 people a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The FDA said the two companies also asserted their kratom-containing products could treat other conditions like anxiety, depression and cancer.
KratomNC claims on its website that the drug is used for energy, to increase attention, relaxation and to treat pain and addiction. "Here is just some of what our customers have used kratom to treat," the company's website says. "Chronic Pain, Migraines, Opiate Addiction, ADHD/ADD, Anxiety, Depression, Arthritis, Insomnia and much more!"
The description is still available on the company's website.
Cali Botanicals on its website claimed kratom can be used to treat chronic pain, depression and anxiety and "has essential uses in combating opiate addiction and the harrowing withdrawal that comes with trying to kick the habit," according to the FDA.
Cali Botanicals has since removed it's webpages that said kratom can treat opioid addiction.
The FDA said the companies have up to 15 working days of receiving their warning letters to inform the agency of the steps they have taken to correct their violations. KratomNC and Cali Botanicals were warned on May 16 and June 11, respectively.
The FDA said both cases are currently open and deferred additional comment on responses to the warnings to the companies.
Cali Botanicals and KratomNC did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.


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SourceCode Communications has further expanded its adtech and martech client roster with the addition of two agency of record partnerships. The New York-based tech PR agency has signed Connatix—the next generation video platform for publishers—and Octoly, an influencer marketing platform geared toward micro-influencers.
SourceCode Communications has expanded its consumer tech client roster with the addition of two Agency of Record partnerships. The New York-based tech PR agency has signed Scruff—the gay app for chat, dating and social networking with guys worldwide—and Elvie, a health and lifestyle brand developing smarter technology for women.
As a business focused on building connections, relationships and humanity in the work we do for clients, with the media and each other, we find the current state of affairs at our southern border appalling. Putting politics aside, we believe first and foremost, that all human beings are entitled to certain unalienable rights.
At SourceCode, near and dear to our hearts is the value of diversity of our team, the way we think and the experiences we all have. We believe a diverse team and an open and welcoming culture is not only the right thing to do, but the way to provide better client service. From this position, we assure you we'll never waiver. Thus, we're excited to sign the Diversity and Inclusion Pledge by our friends at the PR Council. The full pledge we signed is below.
This year, the role of PR executive was ranked at number eight out of the nine most stressful jobs in the US. To everyone in the industry, this is no surprise. With the stress brought on by unrealistic client demands, tight deadlines, and long hours, it’s a job the practitioner really needs to love in order to find happiness and be successful.
We had wondered how best to mark or celebrate being in business for six months but we hadn’t quite anticipated something quite this awesome.
We started our week by being notified that we had been shortlisted by The Holmes Report as one of its Best New Agencies in its Agency of the Year Awards. Now, I’m not going to lie… there were tears. And squeals. And stunned silences.
New York tech agency SourceCode Communications announces today a new client engagement with Yotpo, an eCommerce digital experience and marketing technology fresh off a $51 million Series D lead by Bessemer Partners, Access Industries and Blumberg Capital. The team will focus on telling the brand growth and corporate narrative and building creative campaigns that position Yotpo at the forefront of brand commerce. The signing marks seven consecutive months of growth off the heels of the agency launch this past September.
Just over a year ago I was at a PR Council debate about the outcome of the 2016 election, the rise of ‘fake news’ and the role of brands in trying to grab back some of the trust that had been eroded throughout. One data point in particular struck me as odd back then - a consumer survey showed that the majority of Americans did not want their most loved brands getting involved in politically charged debates.
Becky and I are thrilled to share that SourceCode Communications won for our work with Hinge in the Micro Marketing category last night at the In2Sabre Awards in New York. To be recognized by the team of judges at The Holmes Report is such an incredible honor. We’re truly humbled.
New York tech agency SourceCode Communications announces today the latest in a string of new international client wins with the launch of engagements with Adzuna, Blis, and Zailab. Each of these relationships will see the SourceCode team providing strategic counsel, integrated campaign creation, narrative development and campaign execution. The team will be working closely with the marketing teams to drive tangible business and revenue growth.
Last week, I participated in a Facebook Live interview with Marlow, a career design platform, about launching SourceCode Communications earlier this year with Greg. Entrepreneurism can be a scary undertaking but we’ve been surrounded with endless support.
We’ve got just 50 slots to recognize the city’s top PR firms every year, but there are scores of specialist agencies that merit honorable mention. With that in mind, Observer ranked agencies in 10 major categories that define their industries.
It’s an exciting time for SourceCode. We’ve just announced the signing of three amazing consumer technology clients and we’re wrapping up 2017 having doubled our projections with a roster of truly exciting clients. I’m humbled and excited to see what 2018 brings.
On Wednesday, I spent the day at Digital Media Strategies USA which was hosted in the beautiful Edison Ballroom in midtown Manhattan. As a PR person who specializes in advertising technology and digital media, it’s vital to understand what keeps key people in the industry up at night. From learning about WashPo’s headline algorithm and Henry Blodget’s journey to acquisition to the stance, the day was filled with surprises and key learnings.
Here are some of my favorite tips and insights that I learned from the variety of speakers who shared their expertise on stage.
Many PR pros await Thanksgiving festivities with anticipation—some with dread.
Chock full of over-indulgence, “quality” family time, horrendous travel delays, screaming children and full-contact family brawls, this time of year is intense, exciting, stressful and wonderful all at the same time.
For those of you that partake in the glory and agony of presenting your proposal to a potential prospect, you know how losing feels. You know the effects it has on morale and the ability to get team members to eagerly jump on board next go-round.
Winning has an enormous effect on all aspects of your business, so I figured I'd share with you some lessons I learned the hard way. Let me know what you would add to the list—I'm still on my quest for a 100% win rate.
From things that go bump in the night to a cold spell in the Upside Down, Halloween brings its fair share of spooks and scares. Needless to say, 2017 has already had it’s more-than fair share of PR horror stories. Ghosts, ghouls and wizened-faced witches are nothing compared to the spine-chilling, bone-trembling effect that these PR horror stories have had on us this year.

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HAMTRAMCK -- A new interactive gaming center that combines soccer with pool, otherwise known as "FootPool" will open its doors Dec. 9 in a building already known for sporting innovation.
The Gamer's Gallery will be located in a 6,500-square-foot space above Hamtramck's Fowling Warehouse, where a combination of football and bowling has grown into a popular game in recent years.
The FootPool concept is similar to pool, but players use soccer balls on a 12-foot by 8-foot table.
The Gamer's Gallery will offer 10 large FootPool tables that can support up to six players each.
Co-owner Ashliegh Brock said she noticed how popular FootPool was in Europe while doing an internet search, and wanted to bring it to the Detroit-area. Once she saw the available space in Hamtramck, she went for the new business idea with "no extra thought."
"I thought it would be good with all the new development that's happening here," Brock said. "I'm a mother of four and I'm very passionate about interactive gaming. Everything is a sitting game so I thought with FootPool, it would be interactive... something new."
The space will host its grand opening from 6 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 9 at 3901 Christopher St. in Hamtramck. The opening event will also host a toy drive collecting new board games or stuffed animals to be donated to The Ronald McDonald House of Detroit.
The Gamer's Gallery also offers karaoke, video games for Xbox and Playstation and dart boards. The menu will feature local Detroit brands such as Faygo and Better Made.
- Noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
- Closed on Monday.
- 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
- 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday.
- Noon to midnight on Saturday.


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Warning!You must be at least 21 years of age or older to buy cigarettes
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New Items | Menthol Cigarettes | Non Filtered Cigarettes
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European Parliament has obliged manufacturers of cigarettes to place on cigarette packs images about smoking consequences
May 5, 2014
European Parliament has voted introduction of stricter measures for smoking control. Now cigarette manufacturers will have to warn consumers about dangers that this habit has not only with the help of text but also visual images.
Such pictures are already printed in cigarette packs in some countries. But now they will become larger and will be obligatory for use in all 28 countries-members beginning with 2016.
Warnings about smoking harm will take 65% of front and back sides of the pack and also 50% of flanks. Traditional text warnings are also kept, like "smoking kills - quit right now". For today they cover only from 30 to 40% of the pack.
Law also foresees toughening the regulation of the market of electronic cigarettes, requirements to advertisement and fully prohibits most of flavored tobacco products. Experts maintain that flavoring agents with chocolate or vanilla scent, for example, hide tobacco taste and in such a way, habituate youth to smoking.
Cigarettes with menthol got delay and will be present on the market till 2020. Then, according to the decision will be also prohibited.
Politicians and those who support healthy lifestyle have accepted these changes with inspiration, considering the important step that will help reducing number of smokers in Europe. Representatives of tobacco industry, on the contrary, condemn them and consider these measures burdensome for the industry that pays huge taxes as it is. Law needs also to receive approval of governments of European Union countries in March. It is expected that they most likely will adopt it.
Ban on smoking in public places, restrictions for advertisement and other measures taken for the last 10 years have reduce number of smokers in Europe from about 40 to 28% of 50 million-population of European Union.
European Union Health Commissioner Tonio Borg has declared that adoption of this law is "the proof of political will that makes citizens' health the cornerstone".
Philip Morris International that owns several famous tobacco brands, such as Marlboro, considers that the law will make EU economy less competitive and will further the growth of cigarettes sale on black market. "It will be a stroke for hundreds thousand of people that work in legal business and also for authorities of countries-members of EU that now will have to fill the holes in the budget" - says Drago Azinovic, the head of European division of the Company.
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We do not claim to be affiliated with the manufactures or tobacco company


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The multi-million dollar figure that cost the development of God of War: Ragnarok
God of War: Ragnarok It has become one of the most outstanding games of the year 2022. Santa Monica Studios initially planned to launch a trilogy to tell the story of Kratos and Atreus; however, due to time and budget issues, the decision was made to close the plot with Ragnarok. Recently, Sony has shared the financial data of the production of the title after a few months on the market.
Shuhei Yoshida, head of PS Indies, spoke about his experience within the video game industry in a recent interview for The Guardian. @MauroNL3 He was the one who picked up the revelation that God of War Ragnarok had cost close to 200 million dollars, which represents about 5 times what the third game of the original trilogy cost (44 million dollars).
God of War: Ragnarok Development Cost
He commented this in the context of the fact that video game developments have increased their costs and it is not an easy industry. “Getting funding for games is hard, but even when you make an amazing game, there are so many great games on the market that no one knows about. The good thing is that today there are very good and high-quality independent publishers”, explained the manager.
“When I was in São Paulo last year, there were scouts from Devolver, Curve Digital, Team17, all trying to find the talent from these places, the games that only they can make: the cultural background (of a game), the mythology, the illustrations , music, everything can be something special to stand out in the market…
It’s all a matter of economics. Some big games sell tens of millions of units and justify putting all those resources into expensive regions, but I think the industry needs to diversify, and I think that will happen naturally and organically.”, picks up the middle vandal of his statements.
Of course, being a very popular franchise in the market and having the endorsement of PlayStation, it ensured sales that have covered the cost of development or production. In February 2023, just four months after its release, it reportedly sold 11 million copies worldwide.
Listen Dale Play on Spotify. Follow the program every Monday on our available audio platforms.


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Coimbatore-based denim fabric manufacturing company KG Denim recently introduced a rechargeable chlorinated- finish smart technology fabric called ‘BioRefresh’. Developed in house, the technology enables the fabric to repeatedly absorb chlorine from commonly available detergents to disinfect the fabric and remains effective up to 80 washes.
The products anti-microbial and anti-viral power is renewed with every bleach wash, during normal laundry processes, according to Indian media reports.
The chlorine on the surface of the fabric has been found not harmful. Tests have shown that the effect on the fabric lasts up to two weeks.
Textiles are a good media for the growth of bacteria, fungi and viruses under humidity and warmth and surface contamination is a major cause for transmission of infectious diseases.
BioRefresh products can be used in hospitals, schools, canteen and the food packaging industry. The company is in the process of patenting both the technology and the trademark.
An environmentally-sustainable neem-based product is also in the offing for mask production.


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Viber in a reply to email to one of the user, has confirmed that the company has currently Paused the development for its Windows 10 PC and Mobile App until further notice. The company says that the development will be paused until any further notice.
The email does not state or give any timeline as to when the company plans to start pushing the updates for the Viber App for Windows 10. Below is the Email text.
The email suggest that the company is planning for a reorientation of its human capital in order to optimize it as best as possible, and it seems that among those plans is to move personnel to the most used platforms in the market. It all depends on whether there are major changes to the application that involve resuming development for Windows 10.
This could come as bad news for users of Viber App on Windows 10 since the company had maintained a good pace of development for the Windows 10 App both on PC and Mobile.


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A security vulnerability that could allow attackers to access sensitive data has been discovered in some Apple silicon GPUs.
A recent investigation by cybersecurity firm Trail of Bits discovered the security flaw, named “LeftoverLocals,” which allows attackers with local access to a device to retrieve data processed in the GPU’s local memory. The issue is particularly concerning because of the expanding use of GPUs in processing Large Language Models (LLMs) for AI applications.
According to the firm, the vulnerability enables an attacker to eavesdrop on another user’s interactive LLM session, potentially accessing sensitive information. Apple told Wired that newer devices with the A17 Pro and M3 chips have received patches to address this flaw, and Trail of Bits found that the third-generation iPad Air had also received a fix.
Most older models with vulnerable GPUs, including the iPhone 12 and M2 MacBook Air, are still vulnerable. While Apple has taken steps to patch certain devices, it remains unclear if and when all impacted models will receive security updates to directly address the problem.
The nature of the LeftoverLocals vulnerability is such that it requires physical access to the device, making remote exploitation highly improbable. As always, Apple encourages users to install the latest available software update to ensure they receive security fixes.Tags: Apple Security, Apple Silicon
This article, “Apple Silicon Security Flaw Discovered in iPhone 12 and M2 MacBook Air” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums


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Tuesday, August 01, 2017 3:15 PM /ARM Research
According to management, the improved top-line performance over H1 17 (+31.6% YoY) reflected impact of price hikes across product portfolio, sales of completed projects at UPDC as well as higher volume at its animal feeds business (Grand Cereals Limited and Livestock).
Importantly, only three operating segments (CAP, MDS, UAC Foods) recorded flat to lower revenue while sales in the remaining five subsidiaries rose.
The company’s outgoing1 CEO, Mr. Larry Ettah, noted that sustained weakness in the real estate sector continued to weigh on demand, whilst corporates desire to cut down cost adversely impacted the logistics business.
With regards to UAC foods, Mr Ettah attributed the weak turnover toloss in market share following the company’s attempt to pass-on higher input cost prices to consumers.
Management noted that despite price increases, the company recorded steep gross margin compression (-6.4pps YoY to a record low of 16%) largely reflecting elevated cereal prices as well as uptrend in flour and refined sugar prices.
According to the group CEO, the upsurge in finance charges reflected monetary tightening which have raised the company’s borrowing cost to 24% in the current year. Management noted that the capital raising success at its subsidiaries as well as planned disposal of a N5 billion investment property at UPDC should lower the company’s need for debt.
In addition, the group (UACN) plans to raise a N15.4 billion rights issue in Q4 17 alongside a N20 billion bond for its real estate subsidiary which would be used to refinance currently elevated ST debts.
On the back of this, the company’s management projects a moderation in finance charges going forward.
UACN’s M.D noted improved dollar availability at the currency markets with the company currently obtaining all required FX at the NAFEX window.
Management guides to further price hikes across its product portfolio over the rest of the year. This, together with sustained demand for Agro-allied products, should boost top-line performance.
UACN’s CEO also expects moderation in input cost on the back of naira gains and improved market supply of farm produce in the main harvest season of Q4.
In addition, lower diesel prices (energy constitutes 6% of the company’s cost) and capital raising plans, which should reduce the need for expensive debt, should bolster earnings in the second half of the year.
We expect price hikes to sustain revenue growth in the seasonally stronger H2 17. Given expected moderation in a key driver of food inflation (transport cost), we project a more modest rise in COGS especially in the last quarter.
Hence, we expect an improvement in gross margin over the second half of the year. Elsewhere, the late timing of the planned debt refinancing and capital raise should taper potential impact on interest charges over 2017.
Nonetheless, we expect pressures on this front to be offset by expected sales of a N5 billion investment property at UPDC, which buoys our earnings outlook for the company.
UACN trades at current P/E of 9.9x vs. 18.5x for its Bloomberg middle east and Africa peers. We have a NEUTRAL rating on the stock (FVE: N19.04).


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Pay by QR code? UnionPay and Razer Merchant Services partner to enable this capability in Malaysia
As emerging technologies continue to grow, the rise in merchants delivering a variety of payments option to customers has become commonplace, especially due to the pandemic.
UnionPay, a global payment network with over 2,400 organizations worldwide, card acceptance in 180 countries and issuance in 70 countries and regions, and Razer Merchant Services (RMS), a fintech company, have partnered to enable UnionPay Quick Response (QR) codes at all Razer Merchant Services (RMS) physical merchant locations and online merchants in Malaysia. The widespread use of UnionPay QR codes will introduce digital payments to UnionPay-enabled electronic wallets, creating the opportunity for more local consumers to become cashless. In addition, the partnership will enable QR acceptance of merchants of all sizes across many industries (e-commerce, education, government services, healthcare, beauty, hobbies, parking, retail, travel and more).
UnionPay was Malaysia's first global payment network (2018) to launch UnionPay’s QR code for payments nationwide. UnionPay QR is Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) compliant, a global standard for inter-operation of secure transactions helping to reduce the risk of fraud.
Currently, UnionPay's QR code is accepted by approximately 100,000 local merchants, in addition to reaching over 30 million merchants and 44 countries outside of Malaysia (Australia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to name a few). Huiming Cai, General Manager, UnionPay International (UPI), commented that customers can reduce the need for physical contact and commute by simply scanning UnionPay's QR code online for purchases and services, making this a convenient and unified payment experience for clients.
Razer Fintech, Razer Inc.'s financial technology division, founded in April 2018, has evolved into Southeast Asia's (SEA) largest O2O (online to offline) digital payment network. Currently, Razer Fintech’s online SEA payment network serves over 60,000 merchants in the region, with its offline payment network reaching over 1 million merchant retail sites.
Lee Li Meng, CEO, Razer Fintech, further elaborated that QR codes will provide Malaysia's online and offline merchants with a secure, easy-to-use and affordable alternative payment option.
For more information on Razer Fintech’s merchant services, please visit the website here.
Japan’s outlook of issuance of digital yen by FY2022
A Digital Currency Forum of approximately 74 Japanese organizations, including three mega banks (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Mizuho Financial Group Inc and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc), plan to launch yen-based digital currency that will function much like a bank deposit by FY2022. Mitsubishi Corp. (MC) will lead the research and testing scheduled to commence in January.
Kazuhiro Tokita, Chief Executive of Cryptocurrency Exchange, DeCurret, said the digital currency, tentatively called "DCJPY", will be backed by bank deposits and utilize a common platform to facilitate large-scale fund transfers and business-to-business transactions.
Some key highlights stated from the Digital Currency Forum report:
- Ensure the stability of digital currencies by modelling bank deposits.
- Members include: banks (such as MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Mizuho Bank, Japan Post Bank), companies (such as Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., East Japan Railway, and Mitsubishi Corp.) and local governments. The Bank of Japan, Financial Services Agency of Japan and three ministries will oversee the activities.
- Plans to experiment with large corporate transactions using the digital yen as early as January.
- The Mitsubishi-led Industrial Distribution Settlement Consortium Subcommittee will test the "automatic execution of contracts using digital currencies in the settlement of maritime transportation transactions."
- A beta version of the non-fungible token (NFT) digital currency, unique cryptographic tokens/assets that exist on a blockchain and cannot be replicated, will be released into marketplace by 2022.
- Set to be the first central bank digital currency (CDBC) on business transactions (previously focused on retail transactions) to be adopted by one of the top economic indexes.
As more and more countries aim to promote cashless transactions to increase productivity within their footprint, policymakers are working closely with the private sector to remain compliant with CBDC regulations.
The increasing shift to cloud from bank legacy systems to keep up with competition: Large Canadian banks are transitioning.
According to the Canadian Press, banks are accelerating a major shift from older computer systems to the cloud, given the intensifying competition with start-ups, rising consumer expectations, and rising digital demand of COVID 19. The transition to move to more sophisticated systems began before the pandemic, but the unexpected closure of branches and offices in March 2020 pushed banks to speed up their effort to become more dependent on online systems, according to Robert Borks, Managing Director of Financial Services, Canada at Accenture.
Cloud-based systems, occasionally operated by banks and usually by third-party tech companies, enable faster, free data exchange and allow banks to customize and automate transactions for customers while reducing potential costs. Because of the great need, many banks have committed to embracing this cloud technology.
The Canadian Press stated that Bank of Montreal recently completed its first major system change by migrating all of its transportation finance operations (approximately 1000 servers of data) to the cloud since its partnership with Amazon. Sid Deloatch, Chief Information and Operations Officer for North American Commercial Banking, Bank of Montreal, stated the cloud infrastructure was established and reliable enough for the bank to make that transition. Deloatch further added that Bank of Montreal saves approximately thirty percent on operating cost while offering automatic loan decisions in many circumstances.
Small banks and start-up financial companies have the advantage over banks with complex legacy systems, as they are able to embrace cloud technology faster and meet customer digital expectations in a seamless manner. Hillery Hunter, Chief Technology Officer, IBM Cloud, stated that financial institutions are transitioning their main systems onto the cloud because data integration and access to information is key to making informed banking decisions such as loan decisions. However, the reliance on third parties, which host most of the banking operations, has heightened concerns among regulators. In order to mitigate the financial stability risks from third-party organizations, additional policy procedures are needed, according to the Bank of England.
Earlier this month, Canadian bank regulators launched a tech and cyber risks draft plan on exit strategies from third-party cloud providers. This guide will allow banks to move data from one cloud provider to another. A more detailed guideline for third-party vendors will be published early next year.
National Bank of Egypt goes digital
The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) announced an introduction of B2B electronic payment services for businesses of all sizes (wholesalers and retailers) for the first time in the Egyptian banking market. The new service provides electronic collection and payment tools for transaction processing and security.
NBE, Vice Chairperson, Yehia Aboul Fotouh, said the bank will digitize payments in line with the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) plans for digital transformation, transitioning to a less cash-dependent society and financial inclusion. Karim Soos, CEO of Retail Banking and Branches, NBE, aims to support small, medium and large businesses with the necessary technology tools. Therefore, NBE developed automated payments and receipts products for corporate credit card and debit card products for all sizes of businesses. According to Soos, NBE’s B2B product offering meets the financial inclusion requirements designated by the Central Bank of Egypt.
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Nokia has made quite a buzz with its special HERE Maps program for the last couple of months, undetermined whether to let it go to BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler, but after intense and tough negotiations, the program ended up into the pocket of the three important players in the auto […]
Post Tagged with: "volkswagen"
A company that started with the simple Volkswagen beetle and ended up producing the world’s fastest ever production car, the Bugatti Veyron, Volkswagen has had a long history in the world of car manufacturing. The Volkswagen Company was born in 1937 and it is now the biggest automaker in Europe. […]
With the growing industry of electric cars, an increase in demand of more car fast-charging sites all over the United States was inevitable, so BMW and Volkswagen have recently partnered ChargerPoint to decide the future of charging services. The partnership between the network operator ChargePoint and the two major carmakers […]
According to the 6th annual Automotive News Europe/SupplierBusiness OEM-Supplier Relations Study the Bavarians at BMW AG are the automaker that most suppliers want to do business with. This new survey shows that BMW rose to the top spot which if you consider that last year it ranked fifth.


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How to Invest in Wheat and Agriculture
Wheat prices are higher and other agriculture prices could follow as the demand for wheat is up around the world, but prices could drop back down. Here are some ways you can invest and profit in rising or falling wheat prices.
As of this writing, Russia is having the worst drought in at least 50 years and banned all wheat exports. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently reported that the severe drought in Russia and lower wheat outputs in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Canada are causing concerns of wheat and food shortages.
On a positive note, they also say that the past two years saw record wheat production and wheat supplies should cover these current shortages. Is it boom or bust for wheat and other agriculture prices now, deflation or inflation, shortage or surplus?
You can trade wheat and other agriculture commodities in the futures market. That is a more complicated way to trade or profit in wheat and takes knowledge of the commodities and futures market. This article will talk about more common ways to invest in wheat and the other agriculture products.
This market is not for the person looking for safe or risk-free investments. December wheat had a gain of 17.5% at the start of trade last Friday, August 6, but lost 7.4% for the day. Wheat still had a gain of 8.9% for the week. Even though this information is just for one recent week, it shows how the prices can move.
The reason that wheat dropped last week was because traders started to believe that more farmers would plant more wheat in response to the recent rise in price, causing a drop in future prices. You can watch the daily price of wheat contracts at TradingCharts.com and wheat prices at Bloomberg.
Invest in Wheat and Agriculture ETFs and ETNs
The ETF (exchange traded fund) and ETN (exchange traded note) market has really grown in the past decade, with ETFs covering almost everything. And there are ETFs to trade in the rising prices of wheat and other agriculture commodities. Here are some of these ETFs and ETNs you can trade or invest in for rising wheat and agriculture prices.
Keep in mind, the percentage of wheat or other agriculture futures in each ETF can change over time. At some time, one will have more soybean futures than wheat for example.
- PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA). This ETF holds futures contracts on wheat, corn, soybeans and sugar.
- iPath Dow Jones UBS Grains Total Return (JJG) is composed of wheat, soybeans and corn and follows the performance of these grains. JJG is probably the closest to trading or investing in wheat you can get without actually buying wheat futures.
- ELEMENTS MLCX Grains Index (GRU). This ETN tracks the performance of futures contracts of wheat, soybeans, soy meal and corn.
- Elements Rogers Intl Commodity Agriculture (RJA), this ETN attempts to replicate the Rogers International Commodity Index – Agriculture Total Return index. This index represents the value of a basket of 20 agricultural commodity futures contracts.
- iPath Dow Jones UBS Agriculture Total Return Sub-index (JJA). This ETN has seven agriculture futures contracts; wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton, soybean oil, coffee and sugar.
- Market Vectors Agribusiness (MOO): This ETF invests in stocks of US and foreign companies that derive at least 50% of their revenues from agriculture business.
Something else you should look at with these is their trading volume. A low trading volume could make the price more volatile. Of this list, DBA and MOO have the highest average daily volume followed by RJA, JJG and GRU.
Photo by Cyron/Flickr
If you would rather invest in the companies that sell agriculture equipment, seeds or fertilizer, you can buy those stocks.
- John Deere (DE). Most people know Deere as the company that sells farm equipment like tractors but they also provide agriculture with combines and other harvesting equipment, seeding equipment, sprayers and even agriculture software.
- Bunge (BG), which sells fertilizer to North and South America among other agribusiness related products.
- Potash (POT) is a large company that sells fertilizer and recently reported a very good quarterly profit.
- Mosaic (MOS) is another large seller of fertilizer and other agriculture products.
- AGCO (AGCO) sells farm machinery.
- Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) also sells farm machinery.
To look at more companies involved in agriculture, you can look at the S&P Agribusiness North America Index, which is comprised of 24 of the largest agriculture related companies.
Profit from Dropping Wheat and Agriculture Prices
Now that wheat has risen 90% in the past several months and the news is widespread about the Russian drought and wildfires, the price could start to drop. You can still make money with wheat or other agriculture prices falling.
I do not recommend shorting stocks or ETFs unless you are a seasoned trader since shorting can be very risky.
You can buy put options on DBA, which will give you a profit if DBA drops in price. There are also ETFs that you can buy that are shorting ETFs; they do the shorting for you. Make sure you understand leveraged and double short ETFs before you put your money into these. The ETFs you can buy when you expect a drop in wheat and the other food items are:
- DB Agriculture Short ETN (AGA); is comprised of equal percentages of wheat, corn, soybeans and sugar.
- Short Wheat Exchange Traded Commodity (SWEA) is traded on the London Stock Exchange will change the opposite of the daily price of wheat.
Before you invest or trade in any of these financial instruments, make sure you completely understand them and the markets they represent.
© Sam Montana August 8, 2010


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Qualcomm and ZTE jointly announced that they have successfully achieved China’s first smartphone-based 5G millimeter wave interoperability test, using the 26GHz band, ZTE 5G NR base station, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G baseband smartphone test terminal. Achieving millimeter wave mobility was once regarded as an impossible technical challenge by the industry, and Qualcomm proved that millimeter wave can be used in smartphones. The first smartphone-based 5G mmWave interoperability test in China completed by Qualcomm and ZTE this time marks an important milestone in mmWave technology verification and paves the way for further discussions on China’s mmWave commercial deployment strategy.
Qualcomm accounts for most of the world’s 5G cores
At the Internet Conference held some time ago, Lei Jun announced that Xiaomi will launch more than 10 5G mobile phones next year, covering multiple price points. Many people have questioned that Qualcomm’s chips have not yet integrated 5G baseband flagship chips, but now such doubts It has dissipated, because Qualcomm has quietly released a new 5G baseband some time ago, which supports both NSA/SA network modes.
Previously, except for Huawei, other brands of 5G mobile phones used the X50 plug-in regulator, which only supported the NSA mode network, which was criticized as “fake 5G” by everyone. But the technology will always be upgraded. According to Qualcomm’s official introduction, the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G baseband will be officially commercialized in 2020. The biggest feature is to support NSA/SA dual-mode.
The Snapdragon X55 baseband is still plug-in and is not integrated into the chip, but it is also built using an advanced 7nm process. It can fully support 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G, with a maximum download rate of 7Gbps, and the efficiency is effectively improved. It is worth mentioning that Qualcomm’s 5G baseband has been reserved for adoption by more than 30 OEM manufacturers around the world, and domestic brands account for more than half.
In addition to domestic mobile phones, Apple may also be equipped with Qualcomm’s baseband next year. According to a new report, next year’s iPhone will have the most advanced 5G chip on the market. The report echoes previous reports that all three 2020 iPhones will be 5G compatible. The Nikkei Asian Review also cited four anonymous sources. Four people familiar with the matter told the Nikkei that all three new iPhones will be equipped with the most advanced 5G modem chip, the X55. .
ZTE’s low-key return
On October 28, 2019, ZTE officially released the 2019 third quarter and 2019 annual performance reports. It took ZTE 9 months to achieve a revenue of 64.241 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.3%. The profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of listed companies has finally turned losses into profits, with a huge loss of 7.26 billion last year. In the case of yuan, ZTE achieved a net profit of 4.127 billion yuan this year, a year-on-year increase of 156.9%.
In terms of chips, on July 8, 2019, ZTE President Xu Ziyang officially announced that ZTE’s 7nm process chip has been designed and mass-produced, and it is also a 5G chip. This chip is the same as Huawei’s Balong 5000 chip. It will support SA/NSA dual-mode 5G at the same time. In other words, this is China’s second self-developed 7nm-class 5G chip after Huawei.
In terms of 5G patents, in June 2019, the German patent data company Iplytics released a statistical report on the number of 5G SEP patents. The report shows that in the SEP patent ranking, ZTE ranks third with 1,424 SEP patents, that is to say, in the global 5G essential patents, ZTE has quietly surpassed Qualcomm and Samsung, and is very close to the level of the second Nokia.
As of the end of September 2019, ZTE has fully participated in the large-scale deployment of 5G networks in China, won 35 5G commercial contracts around the world, and carried out in-depth 5G cooperation with more than 60 operators around the world.
5G bearer end-to-end products have been deployed on a large scale, with a cumulative shipment of 20,000 units, and more than 30 5G bearer network commercial deployments and live network pilots have been completed with global operators. Over 100G optical transmission products have deployed more than 50 networks globally, and commercial 200G optical transmission network has set a record of the longest transmission distance of 1,700 kilometers. The market share of the overall optical network and the three major areas of access, metro and backbone increased sequentially in the second quarter of 2019 The fastest in the world.
The first batch of 5G commercial cities
It has been said before that 5G commercialization is imminent, and now 5G has come. On October 31, at the opening ceremony of the 2019 China International Information and Communication Exhibition, Chen Zhaoxiong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, and the chairman of China Tower jointly launched 5G commercial use. The three major operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom have officially launched their own 5G commercial packages, and China Unicom and China Mobile have also announced the first batch of 50 5G commercial cities.


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In celebration of John Lennon’s birthday (Oct. 9), Epiphone has teamed with eBay to auction a set of
limited-edition reissues of Lennon’s Epiphone Casino. The sale of the “1965” and “Revolution” models
kicks off a series of worldwide events, including a new exhibit in the John Lennon Museum in Tokyo
and an exhibit at the Hilton hotel in Amsterdam.
The Casinos auction opens at 10 am Eastern Time on Saturday, Oct. 9, which would have been Lennon’s 64th birthday. The two guitars are #25 from the original limited run in 1999 and are based on Lennon’s personal 1965 Epiphone Casino. The “1965” model features the original sunburst finish while the “Revolution” model replicates the natural wood of Lennon’s guitar after he stripped the finish off. A percentage of the proceeds from the auction will to benefit directly The John Lennon Scholarship Fund, which is operated by BMI Foundation Inc. To bid, go to www.ebay.com and click on the charity auctions or search by seller, User ID “myepiphoneguitar.” The auction closes at 10 am ET on Tuesday, Oct. 19.
In a separate celebration across the globe, Epiphone and Gibson have delivered a collection of Lennon
models to be displayed for one year at a special exhibit in the John Lennon Museum in Tokyo. The
collection is highlighted by a limited-edition trio of Gibson J-160E guitars that replicate the acoustic/electric
model Lennon used throughout his career. The Fab Four model features the original sunburst finish, the
Magical Tour model has the pink and purple psychedelic finish that Lennon commissioned an artist to paint
on the guitar around 1967, and the Bed-In model has the natural look of Lennon’s guitar after he stripped
In Amsterdam, Gibson will bring back memories of the “Bed-in for Peace” that Lennon and his wife Yoko
Ono created for their honeymoon in 1969. A Gibson John Lennon J-160E Peace model, the current
production version, will be on semi-permanent display at the Hilton and available for viewing beginning
Oct. 9 in the hotel’s main lobby. A special unveiling by the hotel accompanied by photos of the famous
“Bed-in” will be on display for three months and is free to the public.


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The supplier pricing charter for the 2012 Olympics being headed by Visit London is on track to be unveiled by the opening of this year’s Beijing games in August, it was announced at Confex this afternoon.
The Fair Pricing and Practice Charter is being backed by industry associations such as Eventia, MIA and ISES as well as the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), Visit London and Visit Britain.
Speaking to C&IT, Visit London commercial director David Hornby said: “The world’s largest event is coming to the capital and we want London to be an exemplar host. One of our main objectives is to boost the amount of events in London and the UK before, during and after the games. London and Britain are often challenged on value and it’s therefore vital that in the run up we don’t send out the wrong messages.”
The charter is set to establish fair trading principles, although it stops short of demanding exact pricing restrictions. “Venues and other suppliers want to have a relationship with partners long after the games are over. If they are seen to be gouging people by suddenly increasing prices by four or five times, it’s not good for them as a brand, brand London or brand UK,” Hornby said.
Despite the lack of specific price controls, Hornby was confident the charter has teeth: “If there is a letter on the wall stating that an organisation has signed up to the charter, there is a very high likelihood that they and their staff are going to deliver on that,” he added. To add weight to the charter, Hornby said he envisages the setting up of a steering group that corporate and brands partners can go to with any disputes on price and practices.
The next stage of the charter’s development will see the industry associations and other trade partners go to their memberships to seek backing for the concept. The charter will then be finalised in time for Beijing and Visit London and LOCOG will start an awareness programme aimed at corporates later this year. To encourage its members to sign up, Hornby confirmed that Visit London will be giving a higher profile to those that are on board in terms of which companies it recommends to corporate enquirers.
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Tourism minister Ivan McKee said the funding would help Scotland’s “world-class” tourist industry survive what is “clearly an especially tough winter period”.
The funding comes after restrictions imposed by the Scottish Government resulted in many of the country’s Hogmanay celebrations, which traditionally attract visitors from across the world, being cancelled.
Tourism body VisitScotland will distribute the funding, with bosses pledging to get the money out to businesses “as quickly as possible”.
The money includes £6m from a £375m business support package already announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as £3m that has been “repurposed” from the first phase of the Tourism Recovery Programme.
It will be split between affected businesses across the tourism sector, with coach operators, day tour operators, hostels, inbound tour operators and visitor attractions all eligible for help.
However, the tourism minister was realistic and acknowledged the funding would not “cover all losses” – as he promised the Scottish Government will continue to lobby Westminster for more support.
Mr McKee said: “We recognise that the public health measures necessary to limit the spread of Omicron have had a severe economic impact, especially for affected businesses in the hard hit tourism sector.
“We have now allocated up to £9m to help ease the impacts of the pandemic on Scotland’s world-class tourism sector and ensure that affected businesses can survive what is clearly an especially tough winter period and be ready to trade fully in the spring and summer months.
“We know this won’t cover all losses and will continue to press the UK Government for more comprehensive support.”
VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: “Scotland’s valuable tourism industry is still facing significant challenges posed by the pandemic.
“This funding will provide crucial support to businesses affected by the necessary steps taken to tackle the spread of the Omicron variant.
“We recognise that many businesses are struggling, and we are working to ensure that those eligible can access this funding as simply and as quickly as possible. Further details on this will be shared next week.”


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Decades ago, electricity bills were easier to interpret. This was done by obtaining the magnitude of current used, multiplied by the prevailing cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh), in addition to other non-specific charges stress-free. Recently, power companies like PG&E have made moves on changing the method of payment for electricity. The costs of electricity production are […]
An analysis done by an online real estate website named Zillow showed the amount that homes with solar systems sold for as against those without solar systems. In the United States alone, it was found out that homes that had solar power had about 4.1% more sales than homes that didn’t. This summed up to over 9,250 of most homes. In the result of the […]
Solar has become a vogue thing in 2019 and a lot of daring homeowners are starting to think about “do it yourself solar installation”- the idea of building a PV system by yourself. Obviously, there is a lot involved in a solar installation and there is a correct and incorrect model of do-it-yourself solar projects. Here are a few DIY Solar installations […]
When you are purchasing for efficient solar panel make sure to purchase from a top company that offer you quality in exchange for money and can last longer.


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How DeFi Boom could change the gaming industry
- Polygon has partnered with blockchain game platform Firstblood®.
- The partnership can help drive cryptocurrency adoption through games.
- Polygon has invested cash and NFT for game rewards on Firstblood®.
Polygon has invested in blockchain game platform Firstblood® in a move that could take DeFi to new heights. In fact, Polygon invested $ 10,000 and some NFTs for rewards for competitive games played on Firstblood®.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is an industry that has grown rapidly in recent times. As a result, a new range of DeFi-based projects has emerged and many current DeFi projects have reached their all-time highs. However, the implications of the DeFi boom don’t end here. Many industries can benefit from the DeFi boom, and one such industry is the blockchain game.
With over 2 million active gamers, gaming is one of the most popular industries today. While the traditional game has its own rewards and methods of compensation, blockchain-based games go one step further. Blockchains make it possible for players to earn real, tangible benefits in the form of DeFi and NFT-based tokens (non-fungible tokens).
Now, to take blockchain-based gaming to the next level, blockchain scalable platform Polygon has partnered with Firstblood® to bring exciting gaming competitions to esports players around the world.
What is Polygon?
Formerly known as Matic Network, Polygon is a layer 2 solution that brings mass scalability and interoperability to blockchain. It aims to address some of the major shortcomings of the Ethereum network such as delayed transactions, network congestion, high gas fees, and lack of community governance.
The Matic Network was formerly a side-chain solution that used Plasma technology to process off-chain transactions before sending them to the Ethereum mainnet. However, the revamped Polygon aims to be an official platform for the development of interoperable blockchains.
Using Polygon, developers can harness the power of existing technologies and programming languages to build next-generation blockchain networks. These blockchains can interact with each other without any friction and can be customized to suit the needs of the developer. Polygon has retained its original MATIC token for utility and administration.
Polygonal partner with Firstblood®
Now, in a recent development, Polygon has partnered with Firstblood® to bring exciting gaming competitions to esports players around the globe. This partnership provides a way for esports players to earn tangible rewards by excelling in today’s popular games.
Firstblood® is the world’s first esports and gaming platform powered by blockchain. It aims to empower esports players by encouraging them to play on their platforms. The Dawn protocol created by Firstblood® allows gamers to challenge each other to compete on the field and earn rewards. Dawn tokens are used to play paid games on the Firstblood® platform. Firstblood® has strived to gain attention from professional gamers and enthusiasts around the world and it has over 120,000 monthly active users.
What this partnership means for the Blockchain-based gaming industry
This partnership between Firstblood® and Polygon could be a game changer for the emerging blockchain gaming industry. To celebrate this partnership, Polygon is investing $ 10,000 and several NFTs into the Firstblood® platform’s award pool. This means gamers around the globe will be able to participate in esports tournaments run by Firstblood® to earn live rewards in the form of NFT. The scalability and interoperability provided by Polygon will make it possible for this platform to serve millions of current and emerging gamers without any difficulty.
This partnership could drive the adoption of blockchain technology among traditional gamers. As Joe Zhou, Co-Founder and CEO of Firstblood® believes,
The polygon network is a leading PoS side chain that empowers game use cases in the blockchain. With this partnership, we look forward to exploring solutions provided by Polygon to attract more users to play traditional games from AAA titles.
Even though blockchain gaming is still an emerging industry, it looks like it has a bright future. In fact, all games in the near future may be blockchain-based. This is because the gap between in-game assets and actual financial assets is blurred out on the blockchain. In-game assets can be converted to NFT and proven to have real monetary value in the outside world. These monetary rewards could attract more and more mainstream gamers towards the blockchain game, and the Polygon and Firstblood® partnership could be a step in the right direction.
This article was first published on coinquora.com


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A quick update from Lake Geneva (Wisconsin, alas, not Switzerland), where Rec Boat Holdings is hosting its first combined dealer meeting for its Four Winns, Glastron and Wellcraft brands.
Those here have been pretty blunt about the fact that the brands were in need of a refresh when Platinum Equity brought them together a few years ago and Rec Boat Holdings is certainly doing that now. The Four Winns and Glastron brands are already seeing that investment, with Wellcraft not quite as far along in the process. A few quick highlights for Four Winns and Glastron after the morning business meeting:
- Four Winns is being positioned as the luxury brand; Glastron as the sportier brand, harkening back to its 1960s/70s glory days. (Think its appearance in the James Bond flick, “Live and Let Die.”) The idea, execs say, is to make sure they don’t steal business from each other.
- The two brands are being designed by two different sets of engineers, one in Michigan (Four Winns), one in Sweden (Glastron)
- The company has invested $8 million in product development the last two years for the brands
- 28 new boats are bring introduced this year between Four Winns and Glastron
- The dealers here are enthusiastic about the new offerings and seem confident they can sell them
One side note: According to GE data that Rec Boat Holdings President Roch Lambert shared this morning, we’re seeing some nice industry growth across the board through the first 7 months of 2012. It’s shipments, not sales, but still positive: sterndrives up 9.8 percent; ski boats up 42.6 percent; aluminum boats up 48.3 percent; and saltwater boats up 46.2 percent.
I’ll also be updating with some tweets along the way today (follow me @SweetEdit on Twitter). Plus, I’m going to have a one-on-one (well, one-on-two, really) during the meeting with Roch Lambert and head designer Christophe Lavigne. I’ll be posting that article later this week.


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State’s Exports Down in 2019
But survey shows 67% of businesses support Trump tariffs.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis found exports from Wisconsin have declined since the United States began exchanging retaliatory tariffs with China, Canada and other countries.
Using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve found Wisconsin exports were 4 percent lower in the first four months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. The report found aircraft parts saw the largest decline in Wisconsin, but it also noted the data doesn’t always capture agricultural products and other goods that travel within the U.S. before being exported.
Taggert Brooks, economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said the change in exports is significant.
“Our economy is growing and while there has been a slow down across the world, there are still plenty of countries that are growing and so to have a decline in exports is really unheard of,” Brooks said.
Brooks said uncertainty about foreign trade has disrupted Wisconsin producers’ trade relationships, whether or not increased tariffs have been applied to their products.
The Federal Reserve report found exports to China were 25 percent lower this year, with goods targeted by tariffs declining 18 percent and untargeted goods down 63 percent.
“Chinese firms are looking for different suppliers and they found different suppliers of the goods that are targeted and the goods that are not targeted,” Brooks said. “So there’s just a shifting of the trading relationship, which is an incredibly complex system of suppliers and supply chains.”
Exports to Canada and the European Union were each down 4 percent, while exports to Mexico increased by 4 percent.
Some Wisconsin business leaders say the decline in exports is worth it to improve markets long term.
“You’ve got to try and flex the muscle and use the leverage that you have as the world’s largest economy in order to open up markets for the future — that’s the argument,” said Kurt Bauer, CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. “We’ll have to see whether or not it works. Frankly, I’m concerned about it personally. I think that it’s a risky strategy but I also have to concede that what we’ve been doing has not been working.”
Bauer said American producers haven’t had an even playing field when exporting to China, citing problems with theft of intellectual property and currency manipulation. With much of the world’s economic growth happening in Asia, Bauer said some Wisconsin business leaders feel the U.S. needs to take a stand with China now to access future markets.
“We’re all hoping that we can resolve this and truly develop a free, fair reciprocal trade relationship with China going forward and put this behind us,” Bauer said.
But Brooks said business leaders’ support for the trade strategy likely has more to do with politics than economics.
“This political environment is such that people will go to great lengths to justify the actions that previously they would not have,” Brooks said. “(It has) more to do with ‘My team is doing this, and I want my team to win.’ This is not a basketball game or a football game, this is economics; and we benefit from more efficient exchange of goods and taxes and tariffs don’t achieve that.”
Brooks said it’s uncertain if exports will return to previous levels if the remaining tariffs on U.S. products are removed.
Listen to the WPR report here.
Federal Reserve: Wisconsin Exports Down In Beginning Of 2019 was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
- Op Ed: Trump Tariffs Have Failed - John Torinus - Sep 27th, 2020
- Murphy’s Law: Trump Tariffs Slam Wisconsin Economy - Bruce Murphy - Jun 29th, 2020
- Baldwin Calling on Trump Administration to Take Action and Support Wisconsin Hardwood Businesses Hurt by Trade War - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Feb 25th, 2020
- Trade War Wounds May Heal Soon - Erik Gunn - Feb 21st, 2020
- How China Trade Agreement Impacts Wisconsin Farmers - Miranda Suarez - Jan 16th, 2020
- Trump Tariffs Have Cost State $800 Million - Miranda Suarez - Dec 10th, 2019
- U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Seeks Investigation into Possible Market Manipulation Regarding Market Bets Timed to Trump’s Comments on Trade War & Other Geopolitical Events - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Oct 21st, 2019
- Port Milwaukee Shipping Up in 2019 - Danielle Kaeding - Oct 21st, 2019
- Stuck to Gallagher: Does Your Party Care About Small Business? - State Rep. Amanda Stuck - Oct 10th, 2019
- Evers Blasts Trump “Tweet” Trade Wars - Erik Gunn - Sep 16th, 2019
Read more about Trump Tariffs here


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Luxury watchmaker Movado Group Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings, as a gain from the sale of a building more than offset an accounting loss.
Paramus, N.J.-based Movado, whose brands include Coach, Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, earned $14.1 million, or 54 cents a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared with $11.3 million or 44 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time gains and charges, Movado earned 51 cents a share.
Revenue rose 12%, to $141.7 million. Sales at stores open for at least a year grew 10.8% in the latest three-month period.
The latest results topped Wall Streets estimates, which called for a profit of 48 cents on sales of $142 million.
During the quarter, Movado logged a gain of $2.6 million from the sale of a building it acquired when it bought Swiss watchmaker Ebel in March 2004, which offset a $1.6 million loss associated with the accounting for foreign currency hedge derivatives.
"In a period that presented several challenges including hurricanes and higher energy prices, we are very pleased with our overall results delivered in the third quarter, said Movado Chief Executive Efraim Grinberg in a statement. "As we head into the important holiday selling season, our brands are distinctly positioned at retail, in print, and on television."
The company affirmed its forecast for fiscal 2006, which ends Jan. 31. It expects earnings in the range of $1.21 to $1.27 a share, in line with analysts forecasts of $1.23 a share.


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1. Snapchat Punks Facebook
Easter and April Fool’s Day both fell on April 1st this year, which won’t happen again until 2029. Brands took advantage of this iconic dual holiday; from Elon Musk announcing Tesla’s bankruptcy to Burger King’s chocolate whopper and to Netflix acquiring the personal autonomy of Seth Rogen, the jokes were on point. The snarkiest prank might have been Snapchat vs. Facebook. Snapchat added a filter to make photos look like a Facebook post, with Cyrillic writing, mocking Facebook’s recent scandal with the Russian government. A move that some may say was made in spite of Facebook “borrowing” numerous Snapchat features. (Source: The Verge)
2. Walmart Travels to Shenzhen
Walmart is partnering with JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company. They opened their first small-sized high-tech supermarket in China, which will stock products that customers can also buy online at JD.com. Walmart first partnered with JD.com two years ago as both companies struggled to overcome the retail dominance of Alibaba, China’s e-commerce juggernaut.The first store will open up in Shenzhen with 8,000 items ranging from fresh fruit to seafood. Customers in a 3-kilometer radius from the store will get their food delivered within 30 minutes and will be able to use a new shopping application available through WeChat to skip the checkout line. The new stores step up the competition for big retailers like Amazon and Target.
3. Robot Takeover
German engineering company, KUKA Robotics has built a robotic arm that is indeed building more robotic parts. The arm is synced with MakerBot 3D printer where the arm recognizes parts on the build plate and moves them along the assembly line. The robotic arm is able to retrieve its own parts and use them to improve itself. The arm is predicted to significantly speed up manufacturing rates. KUKA predicts the arm will shorten manufacturing time from several months to 4-6 weeks. We can only hope this leads to new job opportunities in the future.
Want to learn how to build your own e-commerce giant site? We’ve compiled 8 essential steps: http://bit.ly/2pTsUWg


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Europastry launches new varieties of Dots
Europastry continues to innovate within the pastry sector with new launches in its Dots range, one of the most widely-distributed signature products of the leading frozen dough company in Spain and Portugal.
For 2016, Europastry has launched the new ClassicDots, which are made following a traditional recipe used by the bakers of yesteryear. With a sweeter taste, softer texture and larger size, there are two varieties to choose from: ClassicDots and ClassicDots Duo, with a chocolate-flavour semi-coating.
Other new launches for this year are the Dots Colours and Dots Cookies, varieties which are decorated by hand.
When it comes to MiniDots, Europastry has also increased its product portfolio with two new varieties that have a chocolate and cream filling: MiChoc MiniDots and Boston Cream MiniDots.
Finally, there is the launch of the new Forest Fruits BallDots, with a cocoa half coating on the outside and a delicious blend of fruits of the forest filling.
All of the Dots produced by Europastry are made with sustainable palm oil and have no preservatives, artificial colourings or added Trans fats.


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We know that millions of Americans have become gun owners for the very first time in 2020, but how many others are twiddling their thumbs and waiting for approval from their state or local governments before they can join them? Given the local issuance of gun permits in some states, it’s nearly impossible to know for certain exactly how many people are stuck in a bureaucratic limbo at the moment, but it’s fair to say that hundreds of thousands of Americans are currently being denied their right to keep and bear arms because of the long backlogs of applications in many jurisdictions.
On today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co. we take a closer look at the situation in Illinois, where the state police are currently wading through a backlog of more than 140,000 FOID card applications and more than 26,000 concealed carry applications. The problem has persisted for months despite repeated assurances by the Illinois State Police that more staff were being hired and trained to process the applications, and the wait times have only grown longer as the months have rolled by.
Even those who already possess a FOID card are running into issues. The state police have extended the life of existing FOID cards an additional 18 months, which will supposedly allow them to process new applications faster, but Second Amendment groups and even some lawmakers in Illinois are pointing out that the extension doesn’t solve all of the problems.
Despite a temporary rule that extends the expiration dates for Firearm Owners Identification cards and concealed carry permits, many Illinois gun owners are still finding it difficult to buy weapons and ammunition.
That was one of the issues that came up Wednesday, Oct. 14, during a meeting of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a legislative body that oversees the state’s regulatory processes.
“The problem that that a lot of my constituents are having is firearms dealers and businesses are not accepting the FOID cards that are expired, even though they know … that the state of Illinois has said, hey, they’re still good beyond the expiration date,” state Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, said during the hearing.
Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, confirmed Schimpf’s allegation that legal gun owners are being denied their ability to purchase firearms and ammunition because their FOID card has expired on paper, even though the state maintains it’s still valid.
“I know that they’re worried about liability,” he said. “And so, (the rule) might say that they’re okay, but the law says you can’t do it, and the executive order overrides the law. It is a big quagmire. Plus the fact that these people can’t buy ammunition in Illinois.
“And so they have to go on online and buy it, and to get it online, you have to supply the provider of that ammunition, the seller of that ammunition, with a valid FOID card and they don’t have a valid FOID card.”
Pearson said that has been especially frustrating for hunters because deer and waterfowl hunting seasons are coming soon.
“And deer slugs in some places are in short supply,” he said. “So, you know, you’re supposed to have a valid FOID card while you’re out hunting. But of course, the executive order overrides that, so they’re not doing anything about it.”
This is a huge problem, and Pearson notes that there are currently a dozen lawsuits in progress challenging the FOID card delays and the FOID card mandate itself.
The issues aren’t just confined to Illinois either. In North Carolina, wait times for pistol purchase permits (which are required in order to legally buy a handgun) stretch out for months in some counties, though under state law local sheriffs are supposed to process the applications within 14 days. In Illinois as well, police have an obligation to process applications within 30 days, but suffer no penalties if they fail to do so.
Nor are the problems limited to applications for pistol purchase permits or Firearm Owner ID cards. We’re also seeing extraordinary backlogs in concealed carry applications, including a wait time of more than a year in Philadelphia, which has prompted a lawsuit on the part of Gun Owners of America.
A right delayed is a right denied, and it’s clear that hundreds of thousands of Americans are being denied their ability to protect themselves and their families with a firearm. My hope is that the lawsuits challenging the bureaucratic backlogs will be successful, but ultimately these delays should serve as evidence for the scrapping of gun permit laws in their entirety.


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Munro Footwear Group has committed to a new $50 million distribution centre in the $600 million MidWest Logistics hub in Truganina, Victoria.
The site is owned by Charter Hall’s flagship $8.3 billion Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund (CPIF) and is located at Founders Place in Melbourne's west.
The move comes after Munro and supply chain and property consultancy TMX undertook a comprehensive review of its warehouse and distribution functions.
The move to the Truganina site from its current space in Thornbury will see Munro optimise, integrate and consolidate its domestic supply chain into a new purpose-built 26,354 sqm national DC for its in-store and online operations, on a total site area of 49,815 sqm.
"We are on a strong growth trajectory and have made a major investment in optimising our supply chain operations to support our increasing in-store and online sales," Munro Footwear Group (MFG) chief operating officer Marcus Bartlett said.
"This new facility is a key initiative in our multi-year growth plan to expand our business, optimise our customer experience and strengthen our distribution capability, particularly to support online sales," he said.
The new site will feature Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) solutions with a capacity to store over 1.2 million units.
The AMRs will allow MFG to absorb volumes currently supported by external third-party logistics providers.
The AMRs will also increase picking speed and accuracy, streamlining productivity and efficiency in operations, while reducing lead times to customers.
The new facility will assist in optimising inventory levels, integration with transport carriers and enhancing customer experience across the group’s 260 stores and the 11 eCommerce sites, which MFG states have been growing at 25% per annum.
The site has also been designed to achieve a minimum five-star Green Star rating.
Charter Hall head of development, industrial and logistics Andrew Simons welcomed MFG to the portfolio.
"We are pleased to welcome the Munro Footwear team to our growing portfolio, securing for them an outstanding new facility that provides premium access to distribution channels including the Port of Melbourne.
"The integration of leading-edge technology and AMR solutions will ensure the facility delivers exceptional supply chain efficiencies and productivity for Munro’s customers," he said.
MFG will join existing tenant customers including Coles, Uniqlo, Toll, Ingham’s, Encore Tissue and Bridgestone at MidWest Logistics Hub.
TMX director Sam Dellios added that MFG's new site will greatly benefit the business' retail and eCommerce operations.
"This new facility will have one of the largest AMR goods-to-person deployments in Australia and is an exciting milestone for Munro.
"Munro has gone through a major boost in sales from the recent retail explosion, so our team has designed this new facility to flexibly support Munro’s dynamic growth from both in-store and online sales," he said.
The site is expected to be operational in the second half of 2022.


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Tetsuya Nomura, character designer and game director at Square Enix, has stated in an interview with Game Informer that a new installment in the Kingdom Hearts series will be unveiled at the upcoming E3. At this time, it is known that three titles in the series are in development, with Kingdom Hearts III not expected to be released before 2012.
Nomura confirmed that the revelation would not be Kingdom Hearts III, but rather one of the other two titles he is working on. He further added that this particular title is intended to be “something for the American fans.” With Nomura having stated in the past that he intends to release a single Kingdom Hearts title in each financial year, this unannounced title is expected to be released prior to April 2011. It is unclear whether this new title will be released for the Playstation 3 or the Playstation Portable.
2 thoughts on “Nomura to Reveal New Kingdom Hearts at E3”
More spin-off projects? This franchise is getting really close to Guitar Hero syndrome…
Possibly, but it could be Kingdom Hearts III (I am going to assume it is for the PS3, cause of the past games). Gavin, please find out for us.
Comments are closed.


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Here at Re-Nest, we talk a lot about how every small green move is still a move in the right direction. We point out that whether you're saving a couple of gallons of water a month, or you've completely moved off the grid, it's still making a difference—we applaud them all! Whether you're just turning an earthy shade of khaki, or you're a tree-hugging activist who boycotts all things that consume petrol, it's highly commendable.
So this online article from the New York Times last week caught our eye by bringing up this point: "What shade of green are you, exactly?"
This article points out that all of us showcase our green-ness at different levels. Some of us are very public about it, letting our coworkers know that, "Yes, this is organic free-range chicken on top of these home-grown greens and I'm wearing shoes made from recycled bike tubes and fair-trade cotton." Others take a quieter approach, swapping out old-school lightbulbs with CFLs at home and taking reusable bags to the grocery store.
The NYT article points out that the "dark greens" are still viewed by some as crazy fanatics. Others call them catalysts who embrace small carbon footprints.
If we had to assign a shade of green to ourselves, we think we'd fall at a pretty solid kelly—darker than mint, but lighter than forest. We're vocal about how we've reduced our footprint by using public transportation, growing a little bit of our own food in a container garden, shopping local, recycling as much as we can, and greening all of our habits. We think about how each decision can become more sustainable...but we haven't sold our cars and we probably won't be "off the grid" for quite a while, as we still rent an apartment. So, we'd consider ourselves somewhere in the middle of the green spectrum, but always aspiring to become darker green.
So, we want to know...where are you on the green scale? And do you plan on moving around from shade to shade?
Photo by Jonathan Alcorn for the New York Times


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Cerrado Nutrição Animal produces a complete range of high-quality dairy and beef products from complete feeds, concentrates, nucleus, mineral supplements and mineral protein supplements. It has a manufacturing capacity of 50,000 tons per year, and a strong regional position, especially in the market for beef cattle in the Brazilian Midwest, said De Heus.
Rinus Donkers, director of De Heus Brazil and Latin America, said, by combining forces with Cerrado, it makes the expansive knowledge and experience of De Heus accessible to livestock farmers in that region.
“The acquisition also aligns with the strategy of De Heus Brazil to produce its ruminant products as close to its customers as possible and increasing synergy in the supply chain,” he added.
The founder of Cerrado Nutrição Animal, Antonio Pedroso, will be retained under the new ownership. He will be responsible for sales and customer relationships.
De Heus first entered the Brazilian market in 2012 when it acquired a pig feed company. It now competes in multiple animal categories in that South American country, offering nutrition products for pigs, beef and dairy cattle, poultry, pets and aquaculture. The Dutch group constructed a dedicated feed factory for young animals in Toledo in 2017; that plant has a focus on piglets and one-day-old chickens.
The Brazilian deal comes on the back of another recent acquisition. In November last year, De Heus bought Spanish compound feed plant, Evialis Galicia, from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM). The move was said to be in line with its strategy to strengthen its position in the large Iberian animal feed market.
Evialis Galicia has production volume of more than 50,000 tons of compound feed annually, targeting multiple animal categories, but with a focus on feed for dairy cattle and rabbits. It deals mainly on the open feed market, selling its products to farmers directly as well as through a dealer network.
De Heus is now optimizing production processes at Evialis Galicia. A spokesperson told us last year that the planned revamp will cost around €3.3m and was expected to last around two years.
Active in Asia as well, De Heus opened a third feed factory in Myanmar, also in November 2019 - the new facility is focused on the aquaculture space.
Beyond Brazil, Spain and Myanmar, De Heus has business units and production plants in the Netherlands, Vietnam, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Portugal, South Africa, Indonesia, Cambodia, Ghana and joint ventures in Egypt, Ethiopia, Russia and Ukraine.
Additionally, it is active in more than 50 countries through the export of concentrates and premixes to countries that are mainly located in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America.


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Economic ministry announced Wednesday that 750 businesses in capital Male had been inspected with action taken against 20 violators over the past five days.
Speaking at the press conference regarding the on-going operation to cease expatriates working in violation of regulations at businesses, registrar of companies Mariyam Visam stated that the ministry inspected every business brought forward through complaints, and that ten businesses are inspected daily.
Elaborating on the operation conducted jointly by Maldives Police Service and Maldives Immigration, Visam added that all businesses had previously been stipulated to register and unregistered businesses had been fined MVR 10,000.
“(We look into) whether active businesses have been registered and follow regulations. The highest amount of complaints we receive concern expatriates working at retail enterprises,” she said.
Speaking during the press conference, housing ministry’s executive coordinator Abdulla Shareef disclosed that the government has confiscated the goods of traders conducting business illegally on the roads of the market area. He added that some of the goods have been destroyed.
“We still see traders conducting business on the road. We’re working with the police to take action against them,” said Shareef.
The head of Maldives Immigration’s monitoring department Abdulla Waheed further revealed that 56 expatriates working illegally as cashiers in stores have been detained by Immigration during the operations carried out this year. Currently, operations are focused on the Travellers Market on the northern front of Male.


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Inside Retail Asia latest news and trends in Store design within the Asia retail sector.
Latest Store design News - Inside Retail Asia
Luxury fashion label Burberry was delivering solid growth in sales last year – until Covid-19 stopped the momentum in its tracks.
Clarks, the UK-based shoe retailer, will cull the ranks of its corporate staff by a net 700 people worldwide, including in Asia during the next 18 month.
The future of lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret China business is under review as the company moves to permanently close 250 of its US stores as it seeks to restore profits.
Italian jewellery firm Bulgari has launched an e-commerce platform in Singapore prior to opening online services in its home territory.
Sephora China has launched a flagship store on Alibaba’s Tmall Global, featuring brands including Fenty, Bon Parfumeur, Farmacy and Dermalogica.
South Korea is set to introduce disposable cup deposits at coffee shops and fast-food outlets, starting 2022, in its latest efforts to cut carbon emissions.
The roadmap towards a safe Singapore retail reopening is in the hands of a task force established by the Singapore Retailers Association and Restaurant Association of Singapore.
Disgraced Chinese firm Luckin Coffee has resumed trading on Nasdaq despite being sent a delisting notice.
Popular Thai tea brand ChaTraMue is expanding its footprint in Hong Kong with two new stores about to open in the territory.
Amazon has been tipped to take over collapsed US department-store giant JC Penney in a move which – should it proceed – could rewrite the nature of retailing.
Hong Kong specialty coffee chain The Coffee Academics has launched its own version of Dalgona coffee at its Thai flagship store in Bangkok.
Hyundai Development Company has opened a distinctive new dining zone in Seoul’s Yongsan district.


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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will release a series of sweeping proposals on Thursday to reshape the market for payday loans and other expensive types of credit that the agency and consumer advocates call “debt traps.”
The proposed settlement, to be released ahead of a hearing in Kansas City, Mo., comes after years of preparation by the bureau, which since 2013 has released several reports critical of the payday loan industry.
The rules would limit the number of payday loans a consumer can take out each year, change how lenders collect payments and require them to take a closer look at borrowers’ finances to ensure they can afford to repay their loans.
Although consumer groups support parts of the proposal, some worry the rules don’t go far enough, leaving consumers with plenty of opportunities for bad business. Lenders, meanwhile, are chafing at the proposal, which they say will increase their costs and make it unprofitable to provide loans to many consumers.
In prepared remarks for Thursday’s hearing, CFPB Director Richard Cordray said lenders too often made loans knowing borrowers would not be able to repay them, locking them into a cycle of indebtedness.
“If a lender can succeed while borrowers fail, that’s a telltale sign of market failure,” he said. “When the balance between lenders and borrowers is upset, the ‘win-win’ dynamic found in healthy credit markets disappears and puts consumers at great risk.”
The bureau wants to make sure borrowers won’t repay a payday loan, then find they don’t have enough money to make any further payments, forcing them to take out another loan — the kind of ‘trap. debt” he is trying to end.
The CFPB has previously required mortgage lenders to determine borrowers’ ability to repay when applying for a mortgage, but lenders who make small loans, typically for just a few hundred dollars, typically don’t do as much analysis. detailed.
California borrowers who walk into an Advance America payday loan branch, for example, can walk away with a $255 loan after just 15 or 20 minutes, company spokesman Jamie Fulmer said. Spending much longer than that on such a small loan, he said, doesn’t make sense.
“Going through an arduous and detailed analysis of take-home pay and household expenses for a $255 loan is onerous,” Fulmer said. “It would add time to the process, expense to the process, and complexity to the process, none of which is good for consumers.”
The Consumer Bankers Assn., a trade group made up primarily of banks, not payday lenders, agreed, saying in a report that the CFPB’s proposed underwriting requirements are “as comprehensive and rigorous for a small $500 loan than taking out a $500,000 loan. mortgage.”
Kris Kully, an attorney in the consumer financial services practice at law firm Mayer Brown, said the underwriting requirements would naturally prevent some consumers from getting loans. What’s not clear, she says, is what those consumers might do instead.
Rebecca Borné, senior policy adviser at the advocacy group Center for Responsible Lending, which generally supports the CFPB’s proposal but has called for tougher rules, said some consumers who cannot meet the new requirements will turn to other less harmful forms of borrowing.
That includes pawnshops and loans from friends and family — alternatives, she said, that many payday loan borrowers end up turning to at some point to repay their loans. at high interest rate.
The CFPB proposal offers lenders a few ways to circumvent repayment capacity rules. For example, they don’t have to do a full analysis if they limit the number of times a borrower can refinance the loan and meet other requirements.
But the limitations wouldn’t prevent borrowers who can’t get additional payday loans from taking on other types of high-cost debt, including installment loans, which often carry triple-digit interest rates and are repaid over years rather than weeks, said Alex Horowitz. , a researcher with the non-profit organization Pew Charitable Trusts.
The repayment capacity rules proposed by the CFPB would also apply to installment lenders, but because they provide loans that are repaid over longer terms, individual payments can be smaller – and therefore appear more affordable, even if borrowers often end up paying more interest. that they borrowed in the first place.
“We’re going to see loan terms get longer, but we probably won’t see prices go down,” Horowitz said. “The reason this proposal misses the mark is that it moves the market to longer terms but not at lower cost.”
The office will be accepting public comments on the proposed rules until September. The rules could go into effect in about a year.


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First State Governor John Carney signed the Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act (the DPDPA) into law on September 11, 2023.
For those keeping score, Delaware increases the number of states to have passed a comprehensive data privacy law either to twelve – "Delaware Becomes Twelfth State to Enact Comprehensive Privacy Law" – or thirteen – "The 'First State' Officially Becomes the Thirteenth State with a Comprehensive Data Privacy Law" – depending on how one defines "comprehensive."And for those concerned with the confusion and cost caused by the growing patchwork of inconsistent state laws, the fact that commenters cannot agree even on what the current total is underscores the extent of the problem.
In "More States Compound the Dreaded Privacy 'Patchwork' Problem," a July 2023 Perspectives from FSF Scholars, I noted that the DPDPA cleared the Delaware legislature on June 30, 2023. I also made the case that:
[T]he … "patchwork" of laws has become so complicated that interested observers can no longer agree even on the precise number of comprehensive data privacy statutes that have been passed. That fact alone speaks volumes about how difficult it has become for both companies and consumers to make sense of the ever-evolving regulatory landscape – and how important it is for Congress to establish a uniform national data privacy framework that preempts state laws.
For what it's worth, I am one of those keeping score – and I do include the Florida Digital Bill of Rights (FDBR) for a running total of thirteen. While many provisions of the FDBR apply only to companies with at least $1 billion in annual gross revenues, its requirements regarding the handling of "sensitive personal data" apply to all for-profit businesses. As such, "it undeniably represents yet another item on the growing list of data privacy statutes with which businesses must grapple."


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SALT LAKE CITY -- Equifax discovered a data breach on July 29th, but hackers had already been in their system since May, which was plenty of time for them to learn a lot about 143 million people.
“A lot of personal identifying information like name, date of birth, social security number, address and phone number and what not,” said Sgt. Jeffrey Plank with the Department of Public Safety's State Bureau of Investigation.
Utah has taken a proactive approach to cyber security with a model other states are starting to follow. Instead of relying on federal agencies to handle all cyber crimes, state investigators team up with them to tackle everything from national security to cyber fraud.
“The key to it now is not only being able to go after the bad guys that are doing this, but also create a deterrence that didn’t exist before," said DPS Commissioner Keith Squires.
Squires said it is all about prevention, and while Utah is leading the way in cyber security, it is still up to you to stay safe.
“No matter sometimes how much we trust that our information is protected, it can be vulnerable," Squires said.
DPS has four tips for everyone:
- Change your password and change it often. Make it complex with numbers, letters, and special characters. Do not use the same password for everything.
- Enable 2 step verification on your email. Plank called email a "treasure trove for identity thieves."
- Monitor your checking and credit card accounts frequently.
- Look into establishing a credit freeze and credit monitoring.
“The credit freeze will actually prevent you becoming a future victim of a cyber crime," Plank said. "The monitoring simply will tell you that you were a victim of a cyber crime."
If you are worried you may be a victim of the Equifax breach, you can safely check here.