text:
That’s probably what a lot of people thought when they first heard of the Equifax breach last week. After a bankruptcy rebuilding your credit score quickly is important. You don’t want anything getting in the way like a data leak. There have been a lot of mixed messages on what to do to protect yourself, now that most likely, your social security number, birth date, address and other personal information is floating around the universe. The breach affected 143 million people, which is basically every adult living in the United States.
What we have learned since the announcement is that consumers are largely on their own in trying to figure out what to do. Check to see if your social security number was affected? Freeze your credit reports? Sign up for monitoring through the company that failed to protect your information in the first place? Do nothing?
Was I part of the breach?
If you check to see if your social security number was part of the breach, you will still be able to be part of a potential
How to freeze my credit?
Equifax is temporarily offering to freeze your credit free of charge. This can protect you against scammers trying to establish new credit accounts under your social security number. A freeze basically puts your credit file “on ice” by preventing the report of information to third parties, like credit card companies. Lenders won’t be able to access your credit score or file without you “thawing” the account by giving the creditor your secret pin number that will allow them to access the information.
Sign up for fraud alerts?
A fraud alert will give you a heads up if anyone is trying to access your account. It’s like a red flag that will be waived to creditors to make sure they take extra steps to verify the legitimacy of the credit request. Fraud alerts are valid for 90 days at a time and can be placed with the three major credit bureaus including Equifax, at no cost.
Do I Enroll in Equifax’s credit monitoring?
Whether your information was exposed or not, Equifax is offering a year of free credit monitoring. Monitoring your credit is a typical first step to do after a breach, but it’s the credit monitoring agency that got breached.
Right now you have to sign up on its website, receive a pin and the company will give you a date to come back and enroll in the program. Equifax has been unclear in when the monitoring will actually start. If you sign up and receive this benefit, Equifax’s arbitration clause may prevent you from joining a class action lawsuit in the future.
An alternative is to sign up for credit monitoring elsewhere with a different company. It is low cost, the monitoring would start immediately, and you could still be eligible to
The data has already been leaked. Leaked more than a month before consumers even found out about it. Thieves tend to sell and use this data quickly when it has the most value. Less than 5% of financial crimes are prevented from freezing credit. Freezing and monitoring may hold but it’s all incremental.
This data will be floating out there for years for scammers and thieves to use. Consumers need to be diligent for years to come, not just in the short term immediately following the breach. It’s still recommended to monitor bank accounts and credit reports and to file tax returns as early as possible to prevent anyone trying to file a fraudulent return under your social security number.


text:
Demographic changes are having an impact on all aspects of healthcare, and dental care is no exception. With an ageing population, people are living longer and retaining their teeth longer, points out dentist Soha Dattani. This means that there is greater potential for dental problems, meaning that education on the importance of oral disease prevention and a stronger focus on general oral care will be even more important in the future.
‘Promoting the benefits of the daily oral care routine is a must,’ says Ms Dattani. One in four people, and one-third of men, don’t brush their teeth twice a day, she says. But if you brush only once a day, you are 33 per cent more likely to get decay. ‘It’s essential to look after your teeth and gums: 73 per cent of people suffer bleeding of the gums at some point, but only one in six do anything about it. Gum disease is the leading cause of tooth decay – we need to stop it.’
Consumer education is going to be core to ensuring the preventative message gets across, she says. ‘Compliance with a tailored oral care routine is key to getting consumers to change their behaviour. Just using toothpaste and a toothbrush is now no longer enough.’
Because there is a range of different oral care issues that can affect quality of life, there is an opportunity for a personalised approach to oral care advice in pharmacy, she suggests. ‘Every mouth is unique and we need to give people advice about the right products.’ For example, sensitivity affects half of adults at some point, but less than one-third buy a product to help.
Using a product that will help with sensitivity, such as GSK’s Sensodyne, is a ‘quick win’ for sorting out the problem, she says. Dental practices have changed, but the ageing generation has lots of metal fillings and bridges that need to be maintained. ‘These are not easy to keep clean, so people need to use specialist product. Corsodyl forms a protective layer over the teeth for 12 hours. If they see that initial bleeding: are they using the right toothbrush and the right toothpaste or need specialist products?’
Dry mouth is also an area that pharmacy teams are aware of, she says. ‘As we get older there’s an increased chance of taking multiple medications. If they are taking three medicines or more, people have a 50 per cent higher chance of xerostomia. As saliva is protective, this brings an increased risk of future oral disease and it’s so important to maintain a salivary balance.’
She suggests having conversations around GSK’s Biotene product. Denture care is also an area that is not focused on enough, she suggests. ‘Missing teeth can be a huge burden for people, but they don’t know what to use to clean dentures properly. Acrylic is softer than natural teeth and people shouldn’t clean denture with a toothpaste as it will scratch the surface, making it more likely to harbour bad bacteria and bad breath.’
GSK’s Poligrip cleanser cleans without scratching, she says, and is a product that people are more likely to buy at the pharmacy as it’s a product they don’t want other people to be able to see in their shopping trolley in the supermarket. ‘They don't otherwise have anyone else to talk about issues with their dentures.’
‘The pharmacy team has a role in explaining the products and they provide trusted advice and research suggests that people see the pharmacy environment as more trusted to ask questions, she says. Messages to help consumers to explore the shelf, are needed because the oral care shelf ‘can be confusing’.
‘Think about the vital role you can play in treating conditions. You understand formulations and ingredients and can help to explain the pros and cons.’She suggests that pharmacists and dentists should be working as closely together as possible to ‘reinforce the messages’. The dental contract now focuses on communication skills and helping patients to take more ownership of their own oral health, she says.
‘Oral health is part of general medical health. The opportunity in this category is much more than a sticker in the window.’

domain: news


text:
Sales in fast fashion brand QUIZ were up 30% to £116.4m in the year ending 31 March 2018, driven by strong growth across all channels, in particular online.
The AIM-listed business said online revenue had increased by 158% to £30.6m during the period, while international revenue was up 32% at £21.2m, and UK stores and concessions were up 12% at £64.6m. Underlying EBITDA was up 24% to £12.7m and profit before tax was up £0.4m at £8.5m.
Other key achievements during the year included an 87% increase in active online customers to 370,000 and the opening of five UK stores and six UK concessions. It also launched a local language Spanish site to complement its three Spanish standalone stores and opened its first wholly owned store outside of the UK in Dublin.
Chief executive Tarak Ramzan said he was pleased with what was “a very good performance” and that the business had made “excellent progress” with its omnichannel strategy.
“QUIZ is continuing to grow its reputation as a leading fast-fashion brand known for fantastic value and quality. We have further expanded the brand with the successful launches of our CURVE and Bridal ranges as well as the recent launch of QUIZMAN.com. More recently the QUIZ X TOWIE collection, our first male and female capsule collection has been very well received.
“With our attractive customer offer, well-invested infrastructure and omni-channel business model with the flexibility to increase investment in higher return areas, QUIZ is well positioned to deliver strong growth in the year ahead in-line with the Board’s expectations,” he said.
QUIZ was floated on AIM last July in a move which raised £10.8m of new money to fund its expansion.


text:
LOS ANGELES — John LaBonty, formerly vice president and general manager of international for Smashbox Cosmetics, has joined Boldface Group Inc., the Santa Monica, Calif.-based celebrity beauty licensing company, as president and chief executive officer.
Nicole Ostoya, who cofounded Boldface with Robin Coe-Hutshing and served as its ceo until LaBonty’s hire, will transition to the position of chief marketing officer.
“John brings incredible operational and leadership skills to the company. We have done over $8 million in the last 12 months, and we needed somebody that had broader experience to help the company grow into the size we think it can be,” said Ostoya. “We always envisioned bringing on somebody once we got to a certain growth point, and we had the good fortune of meeting John in early January, and the timing was right. We are getting ready for very big international expansion, and we are expanding domestically, too, and we felt like he was the perfect fit.”
The potential of Kardashian Beauty, the brand Boldface developed and marketed under a licensing agreement with sisters Kourtney, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, drew LaBonty to Boldface. Kardashian Beauty is now available in more than 4,000 doors at U.S. retailers, including Ulta, CVS and Duane Reade. Outside of the U.S., Kardashian Beauty has spread to Australia, South Africa and the European Union, and will soon enter the Middle East.
LaBonty sought the advice of Budd Taylor, who was the president of Smashbox when it was sold to the Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. in 2010, before signing on to Boldface. “He felt that this opportunity had the most upside for me,” said LaBonty. “When you look at different brands and companies, it is not that frequently that you can find one that you can look at and see a very rapid opportunity to expand the business. I think we can rapidly grow this company. This is a business you can come into and make a tremendous impact, and very quickly drive top-line and bottom-line growth.”
LaBonty asked Ostoya to remain with Boldface to leverage her marketing know-how. “I felt her vision was important to the company. I wanted continuity in the business,” he said. “She knows all the brands that we are either developing or have in the market right now, and I just felt for a lot of reasons that it was the right thing to do.”
In fall 2012, Boldface launched Khroma Beauty by Kourtney, Kim and Khloé, but the brand’s name was changed to Kardashian Beauty last year. Boldface has been enmeshed in a legal dispute with Lee Tillett Inc., which markets Kroma cosmetics products, since 2012. Through sales of Kardashian Beauty, Boldface generated revenues of nearly $1.97 million and gross profit of $325,960 in the three months ended Dec. 31. During that time, the company also posted a net loss of almost $1.8 million.
In addition to the Kardashian license, Boldface holds the license to develop and market Mario Lopez’s fragrance, and beauty merchandise associated with the plush toy brand Uglydoll. Both of those product launches are expected next year. Ostoya noted that Boldface is in discussions to secure other licenses as well.
“We are not about loading up on a ton of licenses and herding them and burning them. We are more about finding a couple of great licenses and building them to be really big,” she said. “With Kardashian Beauty, we really feel that we are building a brand that has longevity, specialness and unique items, and we want to make it really, really big.”
“What he has done at Vuitton is really exceptional,” said @gameofthrones’ actress Gwendoline Christie on @mrkimjones’ final show for @louisvuitton. “He has rebooted luxury in terms of making it commercial, viable and contemporary. And most importantly artistic. He has never compromised his artistic vision for the sake of commodity.” (📷: @zefashioninsider)
After seeing a demand for men’s wear from its customers, British contemporary women’s wear label @ariesarise has added a men’s wear component and will launch a unisex collection with @mrporterlive. The 20-piece collection includes jackets, denim, logo T-shirts and more with deconstructed ‘90s vibes. Set to launch on January 18, you can shop the pieces on Aries’ website and on mrporter.com. #wwdfashion
“And so spending so much time with a character who thinks like that, inevitability you try and analyze yourself and go back and think about your own demons and dark chapters that you had in your life,” says @thedanielbruhl of his role in TNT’s “The Alienist.” The show, set in the Gilded Age of New York, also stars Dakota Fanning and Luke Evans. Head to WWD.com to read about how 39-year-old Brühl prepared for the role and why he thinks the show is so relevant to today #wwdeye ( 📷: @Eriktanner)
Now that Celine Dion’s collection has topped $10 million in sales, the pop superstar, fashion icon and newly-minted industry player is eyeing growth in Asia. Read the full report by @tiffanyap, link in bio. #wwdnews #celinedion
“My personal philosophy to beauty is paying attention to oneself. I love to be outdoors, lots of fresh air, trying to take care of yourself as best you can. I always notice that comes through,” says Felicity Jones, the global face of @shiseido-owned @cledepeaubeauteus, which launches today. Head to WWD.com to read more about the actress’ love for beauty and how she prepared for her new role in “The Basis of Sex,” playing the young Ruth Bader Ginsburg. #wwdbeauty (📷: @dandoperalski)
Among the familiar faces at @off____white’s show was a surprise figure: Japanese artist @takashipom, pictured here on Wednesday morning. Other show-goers included @jerrylorenzo, who spoke about his upcoming project: a @nike collaboration for back to school, with designs inspired by his childhood on the West Coast. Sitting in the front row were Future, Don Crawley, @miguel and more. See the rest of the photos on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: Stephane Feugere)
According to @laurentsai, former “Terrace House: Aloha State” cast member, she didn’t know she was auditioning for the Japanese version of “Real World.” “I was telling a couple of my friends and someone’s like, ‘That sounds a lot like Terrace House.’ I was like, ’No it can’t be.’” Turns out, it was. But Tsai isn’t just a reality star — she’s an illustrator who has worked with Starbucks Japan and most recently, she’s dipping her toes into the fashion world. Head to WWD.com to read about her time on the show, modeling and her art. #wwdeye (📷: @danieldorsa)
More changes are coming to New York Fashion Week: Beginning with the spring 2019 collection, @alexanderwangny will move his New York show to June from September, adopting a biannual schedule with collections shown in June and December. Additionally, the @cfda is planning for an official summer/winter fashion season taking place as soon as June and December 2018. Read more about the upcoming changes on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @slovekinpics)


text:
aiexpress – A California cannabis company has taken the proactive step of recalling one of its products due to the presence of a pesticide that was banned in 2020.
Grizzly Peak Farms, an indoor farm situated in Oakland and San Diego, recently notified state regulators on December 7th regarding the presence of chlorfenapyr, a pesticide, in a batch of its flower product named “Zoap.” The batch, which was produced and packaged on September 15th, has been identified as containing the pesticide.
The duration of time the marijuana has been available on the market, the quantity of pesticide that was found, and the number of consumers who may have been impacted remains uncertain.
In October 2019, the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), a department under the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), made an announcement. They stated that the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos in California would come to an end. This decision came after an agreement was reached with manufacturers who agreed to withdraw their chlorpyrifos products. Chlorpyrifos has been commonly used for termite control and crop protection purposes.
The ban on chlorpyrifos products took effect in February 2020, prohibiting marijuana growers across the state from possessing or using these products beyond December 31, 2020.
In August 2018, a scientific review panel on toxic air contaminants brought its findings on chlorpyrifos to the attention of the DPR. The panel stated that exposure to this chemical is linked to developmental neurotoxicological effects, which have been observed in both human epidemiology studies and laboratory animal studies. Additionally, chlorpyrifos has been found to cause serious health effects in children.
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) has recently identified the presence of chlorfenapyr and has taken swift action. Starting from December 7, the department has been sending notices to retailers and distributors who have the contaminated product in their possession.
According to an email obtained by MJBizDaily, a notice has been issued, warning that all retail sales and distribution of the adulterated batch must immediately cease. The notice emphasizes that it is illegal to distribute, sell, hold, or offer for sale any cannabis product that has been adulterated.
According to reports, the DCC has instructed the companies involved to take action regarding the affected flower batch. They have been directed to collect, segregate, and quarantine all units of the batch until the recall process is completed. The goal is to ensure that the product is either transferred to the responsible licensee or destroyed appropriately.
According to a spokesperson from the DCC, they believe that Grizzly Peak’s call for the recall is the appropriate course of action and aligns with the goal of safeguarding consumers in our state.
According to the Grizzly Peak website, the farm is committed to being pesticide-free, ensuring that their products are free from any harmful chemicals.
“Our approach to pest control is centered on cultural practices and the use of safe products,” states the website. “We prioritize the use of OMRI certified solutions and primarily rely on biological methods for pest control. To ensure the highest level of safety, each batch of our flower undergoes lab testing.”
The city of San Diego filed a lawsuit against Grizzly Peak Farms in 2020, seeking nearly $10,000 in penalties and interest. The company was accused of not paying taxes on cannabis products that were delivered to dispensaries in San Diego from their Oakland location. The alleged failure to pay taxes occurred between January 2018 and June 2019.


text:
It’s great to be able to pass on the news when a Singapore fashion label succeeds in getting a foot-in-the-door of international retail fame. Cult multi-label fashion store Oak, based in New York City, has picked up Singapore fashion brand Stolen to be sold at it’s New York and Los Angeles shops as well as via its online store.
Looks from Stolen’s latest collection. Images: Stolen
Stolen first showed in New York for the Spring Summer 2014 season at the internationally respected trade show Coterie that is held during New York Fashion Week. Stolen was picked up by Oak to go with it’s existing roster that includes brands like Preen, Costume National and Jeremy Laing.
Designer of Singapore fashion label Stole, Elyn Wong. Image: Stolen
Established in 2007, Stolen is known for easy-to-wear dresses and tops that have a soft structural feel. Designer Elyn Wong says that the brand’s focus is on “minimalist silhouettes that expose the wearer’s back as a signature design detail”. A look that’s obviously popular in New York; two of Stolen’s looks sold out with two weeks of being launched on Oak’s online store.
For more information about Stolen, go to www.stolenstolen.com. You can follow the brand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stolenstolen and on Instagram at @stolenstolen. For more information and to shop Oak, go to www.oaknyc.com.


text:
A Weak Payments LinkSeattle Hack Proves Payments Chain Security is Broken
Let's take a look at the hack of Broadway Grill in Seattle. The October cyber attack, which was initially suspected of including only a handful of hits to merchants in Seattle's Capitol Hill area, has now been linked to an overseas cyber operation.
Federal authorities believe that in a single day, one hacker targeted only Broadway Grill after accessing a server in the transaction process that housed cardholder and account information. The hacker allegedly made his way to the server after breaking into the restaurant's network. That connection from point A to point B compromised the chain.
It's a domino effect -- one that could not have been prevented by compliance with PCI or the EMV chip standard.
It's a domino effect -- one that could not have been prevented by compliance with PCI or even the EMV chip & PIN standard. As Tom Wills, a fraud analyst with Javelin Strategy & Research, explains it, "This incident shows us simply that security in the card payments system today is inadequate to meet the techniques that criminals are now using."
In a nutshell, "Hackers will always to go the weakest point in the system." Just securing a part of the system or chain doesn't stop the fraud.
One link in the chain could comply with PCI, for instance, but if security is not integrated across the enterprise, throughout the system, that single link's compliance won't really matter. And what about compliance with EMV? Well, EMV secures card data -- preventing it from being skimmed in the way card data can be copied from a magnetic stripe. But if the POS system is not protected and/or does not encrypt cardholder data transmitted to the acquirer, it leaves a security gap that's easy for today's high-tech cybercriminals to slide through.
"EMV would not have prevented this attack," Will says, "since it was targeted against a merchant's back-end systems, where card data has already been captured." Encryption between the retailer's system and the acquirer may have prevented the attack. But Wills is quick to add that even encryption might not have made a difference, "since we don't know whether the hacker used a log-in mechanism or intercepted the communications channel to retrieve the card data."
There are almost too many channels and gateways to think about.
Still, it's no secret that merchants are often the most vulnerable to attacks. And restaurants, well, they tend to be the worst when it comes to payments security. They definitely could benefit from cybersecurity education, and perhaps it's the job of banks and credit unions or the acquirers to spearhead that education. After all, when a breach occurs, it's the financial institution and its cardholders who bear the weight of the blow.
Wills says so-called siloed systems are usually to blame, and the only effective way to secure the payments chain will come from the development of global standards for end-to-end encryption. I agree. Enterprise-level management and full channel integration would help. It's something I'm hearing more about, and it's not impossible to accomplish -- but it is expensive.
Banks and credit unions have talked about enterprise-level security for some time, but I don't know that most entities connected to the payments chain -- at least on the merchant side -- are thinking along those same lines.
Yet, as this latest incident in Seattle clearly shows, merchants should be re-evaluating their thoughts.


text:
The Council will consider a number of questions related to the regulation of recreational marijuana in the City, such as:
- Whether existing medical marijuana cooperatives should also be allowed to sell recreational marijuana;
- Whether to limit the number of recreational marijuana dispensaries;
- Whether to regulate where recreational marijuana dispensaries can be located;
- Whether restaurants or nightclubs can sell marijuana-related products, such as edible pastries or THC-laced cocktails; and,
- Whether marijuana smoking should be allowed where tobacco smoking is allowed.
Weed is big business, and can bring a lot of revenue to the city, as well as some public safety and quality of life concerns.
Twenty years ago, the City of West Hollywood embraced medical marijuana as a treatment for side effects of the AIDS cocktails and as a middle finger to puritanical middle America, and developed a model ordinance for the regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Yet today, the City seems to be behind the 8-Ball, catching up to the change by discussing regulation just months before an ordinance must be passed and recreational marijuana is legal in California starting in 2018.
At its core, however, this discussion is about more than just weed, it is about the future of our City.
West Hollywood is being torn between its historical libertarian instincts and rising puritanical forces. Homeowners and developers no doubt agree that less is more when it comes to marijuana dispensaries in the City and will weigh heavily on the City Council, as they always do.
There used to be a time when West Hollywood was easily America’s Funnest City–with Rock and Roll on the Sunset Strip and a veritable Gay Disneyland on Santa Monica Boulevard. But the Strip has been converted into Hotels and high-end restaurants with only a few of the old nightclubs surviving, and Santa Monica Boulevard risks the same fate if it is ignored.
West Hollywood could become America’s Highest City, if it wanted–and market marijuana tourism like it was Amsterdam in the 1990’s–or it could, “just say no”… But we will get some idea of which forces will prevail when council discusses the matter on Monday.


text:
- Subscribe NowNewsletters & Alerts
Joe’s Jeans stitches itself to rival Hudson in $97.6M deal
The UpTake: Although apparel and accessory buyouts have been slow this year, premium denim hasn't lost its allure, with Joe Jeans announcing plans to acquire its rival, Hudson.
Two Commerce, California-based premium denim brands are about to get hitched: Joe’s Jeans has agreed to acquire Hudson Clothing Holdings in a $97.6 million deal that will streamline costs, but keep the brands distinct.
Joe’s is buying the privately held Hudson from Fireman Capital Partners and Webster Capital in a deal that includes convertible notes and cash, and which hinges on obtaining $80 million in financing by August, reports Women’s Wear Daily this morning.
After getting an MA in journalism from Syracuse University, Teresa worked as a general assignment newspaper reporter—general on purpose because besides the usual city hall and police articles, there was the chance to fly an F-18 with the Blue Angels and tag along with bounty hunters on a stakeout—all good preparation for covering entrepreneurs.
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- California Resources drops bid for Carson oil drilling project
- Disneyland's 60th anniversary plans include new parade, fireworks
- After 'American Sniper's' success -- what's next at the box office?
- Disney launching second startup accelerator program
- J2 Global extends tender offer for Carbonite
- Lionsgate in talks with China's Hunan TV for $1.5 billion deal
- Weekend box office: ‘American Sniper’ hits $200M target
- Fox Animation wins film rights for Sanrio's Mr. Men Little Miss
- Cargomatic raises $8 million to 'Uberize' local trucking
- ￼Jakks wins licensing deal for Microsoft’s Halo products
Partner Engagement Manager AVID Center | San Diego, CA
Customer Service Representative TMX Finance | Upland, CA
Manager, Category Constellation Brands, Inc. | Los Angeles, CA
Fatburger General Manager Fatburger North America Inc. | Los Angeles, CA
Hiring Travel ICU RN'S-$1,500 Bonus. Concentric Healthcare Solutions | Los Angeles, CA


text:
SEATTLE—Fans of farmers’ markets don’t always agree on the fine points of what defines the folksy bazaars, but they concur on what farmers’ markets aren’t: chain grocery stores selling fruits and vegetables on their supermarket doorsteps.
Farmers and their supporters have spent several decades building “farmers’ market” into a brand that signifies something specific to consumers, namely, locally grown produce fresh off the farm. Now, to the dismay of farmers’ market representatives, two large grocery chains in the Northwest recently began posting store banners advertising displays of tomatoes, corn and other items as farmers’ markets.
In June, several Safeway Inc. stores in the Seattle area posted signs with the term “Farmers Market” above produce displays in front of their stores. When local farmers’ market groups complained—the offerings included mangos, which aren’t suited to Washington’s climate—Safeway changed the signs to say “Outdoor Market.” A Safeway spokeswoman said the chain has no plans to call its outdoor events “farmers’ markets” in the future.


text:
After a frugal March, U.S. consumers hit car dealer lots and stores with a vengeance in April and pushed retail sales up by 1.2 percent, the biggest increase since last fall, the government said on Tuesday in a report that brightened the outlook for the economy's continued recovery.
The Commerce Department said retail sales in April rose 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted $300.27 billion, while sales outside of autos rose 1.0 percent. The gain in overall sales was the biggest since October, when sales surged 6.2 percent as shoppers returned to malls after a lull caused by the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
The numbers suggest that consumers — the lifeblood of the economy — are helping to support the budding economic recovery by keeping their pocketbooks and wallets open.
The April advance came after retail sales nudged up by 0.1 percent in March and was much larger than had been expected by Wall Street economists. The advances also may ease concerns about the strength of the economy's rebound from the shallow recession it entered in 2001. Federal Reserve officials have been wary of raising interest rates to head off inflation until they are convinced the recovery has taken root firmly.
Consumers, whose spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States, snapped up cars, building materials, garden supplies and health care and beauty products last month. They also ate out more.
Higher prices at the pump for gasoline also contributed to the increase in overall retail sales in April.
However, excluding sales at gasoline stations and at car dealerships — which tend to bounce around from month to month — retail sales still rose a solid 1 percent.
The strong showing last month came despite the fact that the nation's unemployment rate jumped to an eight-year high of 6 percent during the month. And, there was unseasonably cold weather and the Easter fell in March this year.
Tuesday's report showed that car sales went up 1.9 percent in April, following a 0.8 percent decline in March. Sales of building materials and garden supplies rose 2.7 percent, on top of a 1.7 percent gain.
At health and beauty stores, sales rose 1.9 percent, a turnaround from the 0.5 percent drop in March. Sales at clothing stores rose 0.7 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent dip. At department stores, sales increased 1.2 percent, after edging up 0.1 percent.
Sales at gasoline stations rose 2 percent, following a 4 percent increase. Increases in recent months reflect higher prices at the pump.
At bars and restaurants, sales rose 0.6 percent, after being flat.
Sales of electronics and appliances nudged up 0.1 percent, after being flat in March.
There were some weak spots. Sales of furniture and home furnishings dropped by 1.4 percent, following a 0.1 percent decline the previous month. Sporting goods stores saw sales dip 0.1 percent, after a 0.6 percent increase.
Concerns about how consumers, who kept on spending during the recession, will hold up during the recovery was a factor in the Federal Reserve's decision May 7 to keep short-term interest rates — now at 40-year lows — unchanged.
The Fed has held rates steady at all three of its meetings this year and many analysts say the central bank will not begin to push rates higher until fall, after unemployment peaks and begins to improve.
Economists expect the nation's jobless rate will top out at around 6.5 percent in June or July.
Economists worry that rising unemployment might make consumers scale back. Low interest rates, however, might persuade them to keep on buying and help along the economic recovery.
Last week, the nation's largest retailers, including Wal-Mart and Target, said April's sales were dampened by cool weather and the earlier Easter, making shoppers less inclined to hit the malls.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.


text:
Many semiconductor stocks rallied strongly over the past year, fueled by robust demand for chips across various industries. That’s why the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index advanced 32% over the past 12 months, easily beating the S&P 500‘s 14% gain.
Two strong performers in that sector are NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY), which rallied 75% and 35%, respectively, during that period. Let’s take a fresh look at both chip stocks to see which is the better buy today.
What do NVIDIA and Cypress do?
NVIDIA is the world’s largest producer of discrete GPUs. It controlled nearly two-thirds of that market during the first quarter of 2018, according to research firm JPR. Most of NVIDIA’s GPUs are designed for PC gaming, but it also sells higher-end GPUs for professional visualization and data centers — where they’re used for machine learning purposes.
NVIDIA also sells ARM-based Tegra CPUs, which power connected cars, its Shield devices, and the Nintendo Switch. In addition it produces Drive PX, a series of onboard “supercomputers” for cars for autonomous driving.
Cypress is the world’s largest producer of Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chips, auto instrument cluster microcontrollers, auto NOR flash memory chips, SRAM memory chips, and USB-C controllers. Most of its growth comes from the automotive and industrial markets.
Cypress built much of its business through acquisitions. Its merger with Spansion in 2015 formed the foundation of its flash memory and microcontroller business, and its acquisition of Broadcom‘s wireless Internet of Things (IoT) business in 2016 expanded its reach into Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chips.
Which chipmaker is growing faster?
NVIDIA’s revenue rose 41% to $9.71 billion last year, mainly due to strong demand for gaming and data center GPUs. Wall Street expects that momentum to continue with 35% sales growth this year.
On the bottom line, NVIDIA’s GAAP EPS jumped 88% to $4.82 per share last year. Analysts expect its earnings to rise another 51% this year.
Cypress’ revenue rose 21% to $2.33 billion last year, thanks to the Broadcom deal and strong demand for its IoT and automotive chips. But for the current year, analysts anticipate just 7% sales growth as the year-over-year boost from the aforementioned deal fades.
Cypress was unprofitable on a GAAP basis in 2017, mainly due to the Broadcom deal. But on a non-GAAP basis, its earnings climbed 82% to $0.89 per share. Wall Street expects that figure to climb another 39% this year.
Understanding the headwinds
NVIDIA is growing at a faster pace than Cypress, but it also faces tougher headwinds. New AMD GPUs, mainly aimed at the low-end market, could throttle its gaming growth. The collapse of cryptocurrency prices could cause used GPUs to flood the market and reduce demand for newer cards.
Intel‘s (NASDAQ: INTC) development of its own discrete GPU, along with its recent launch of a combo CPU/GPU chipset (Kaby Lake G) with AMD, could also impact NVIDIA’s long-term growth. Lastly, NVIDIA’s stock isn’t cheap at 36 times this year’s earnings — and its paltry forward yield of 0.2% doesn’t offer much downside protection.
Cypress’ advantage is that it leads niche markets, and it bundles many of those products together to lock in customers and gain content share in industrial machines, cars, and other devices. Cypress’ main growth strategy, called “Cypress 3.0,” is to become a one-stop shop for IoT embedded solutions.
Cypress doesn’t face many direct threats, but macro slowdowns across the automotive and industrial IoT markets could derail its growth. However, Cypress’ stock is fairly cheap at 14 times this year’s earnings, and its forward yield of 2.6% could attract income investors.
The winner: Cypress Semiconductor
I believe NVIDIA’s leading position in gaming, data centers, and autonomous driving will drive the stock higher over the long term. But for now, Cypress’ milder headwinds, lower valuation, and higher dividend make it the safer buy.
10 stocks we like better than Nvidia
When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them! That’s right — they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
Click here to learn about these picks!
*Stock Advisor returns as of June 4, 2018
Leo Sun owns shares of Cypress Semiconductor. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom Ltd and Cypress Semiconductor. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


text:
By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were falling in early trading as unrest in China sparked by protests against strict COVID-19 containment policies ignited worries about global growth.
Protestors took to the streets across China over the weekend in clashes over strict lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus. Disruptions from protests and lockdowns could have ripple effects through the manufacturing sector there. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) shares fell 1.4% after a report that production shortfalls for its iPhone Pro will follow disruptions at the Foxconn (TW: 2354 ) plant in Zhengzhou.
Retail stocks were getting a boost from a busy holiday shopping weekend in the U.S., where consumers pushed Black Friday sales to a record and where today's Cyber Monday sales are also expected to reach into the billions. Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT ) shares rose 0.4%, and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT ) shares rose 1.2%. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ) rose 2%.
It's a week filled with economic data reports, including the latest on job openings and private payrolls on Wednesday and the government's November jobs report on Friday. Also, investors will see another estimate for third quarter gross domestic product and personal consumption and spending data.
Add Chart to Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
- Enrich the conversation
- Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
- Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically.
- Use standard writing style. Include punctuation and upper and lower cases.
- NOTE: Spam and/or promotional messages and links within a comment will be removed
- Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user.
- Don’t Monopolize the Conversation. We appreciate passion and conviction, but we also believe strongly in giving everyone a chance to air their thoughts. Therefore, in addition to civil interaction, we expect commenters to offer their opinions succinctly and thoughtfully, but not so repeatedly that others are annoyed or offended. If we receive complaints about individuals who take over a thread or forum, we reserve the right to ban them from the site, without recourse.
- Only English comments will be allowed.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.


text:
Safaricom recently launched Baze, a digital video platform for content creators and smartphone customers. Baze further provides an avenue to generate earnings by taking a revenue share on customer subscriptions.
Baze is a video-on-demand service that offers a wide selection of local and regional short form videos in entertainment, music, news and sports.
The platform, is placing the entertainment Kenyans want at their fingertips while providing local content creators an additional platform to share their stories worldwide and earn from their content.
The company also has announced an increase in Skiza revenue share for content creators and artists by 33%. With this move, about 20,000 artists and content creators are set to benefit from increased earnings of 40% from all their tunes on the platform
Launched in 2019 as a bridge to link content-creators to their fans and it has since grown to become a preferred mobile entertainment service. This decision to increase revenue share by 33% will act as a further boost to the creative industry to support talent growth and sustainability.
The move comes amid a shot in the arm for artists and content creators who have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has reduced physical engagement with their audience massively cutting their earnings.
The entertainment sector has been adversely affected by the pandemic and most content creators have been forced to adapt online.


text:
Better Buy: Costco vs. Dollar General
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) and General dollar (NYSE:DG) are both resilient retailers. Both companies opened new stores as other brick-and-mortar stores succumbed to the ongoing retail apocalypse, and they easily weathered the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year.
Over the past 12 months, shares of both companies have risen more than 30% as S&P500 advanced by about 16%. Let’s see why Costco and Dollar General outperformed the broader market last year, and see if one is a better overall investment today.
How have Costco and Dollar General survived and prospered?
the retail apocalypsewhich began after the Great Recession of 2008-09, was mainly caused by the rise in Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other e-commerce options, the expansion of hypermarkets like walmart (NYSE: WMT)and the excessive expansion of malls and other physical businesses in urban and suburban areas.
Costco’s warehouse club business, which derives most of its profits from membership fees instead of product sales, has been shielded from these headwinds for two reasons. First, its products were generally cheaper when purchased in bulk, especially after factoring in shipping costs from online marketplaces. Second, its membership platform blocked buyers.
Dollar General isn’t a true dollar store, but it still sells most of its products at lower prices than Walmart, Amazon, and other major retailers, making it a go-to destination during tough times. economic downturn. It opens most of its stores in rural areas rather than urban and suburban areas, allowing it to avoid direct competition with big box stores and other retailers.
When the pandemic started, many shoppers flocked to both retailers to stock up on essentials. This trend helped Costco and Dollar General grow as smaller brick-and-mortar businesses closed.
Both companies opened new stores throughout the crisis. Costco ended its last quarter with 803 warehouses worldwide, up from 785 locations a year ago. Dollar General ended its latest quarter with 16,979 stores in 46 states, up from 16,094 stores a year earlier.
How fast is Costco growing?
Costco’s adjusted same-store sales increased 9.2% in fiscal 2020, which ended August 30, with growth of 9.2% in the U.S., 7.4% in Canada and 11.2% in its other international markets. His comps. e-commerce grew by 50.1%.
In the first quarter of 2021, Costco’s adjusted comps increased 17.1% year-over-year, with growth of 17% in the U.S., 16.8% in Canada and 17.7 % in its other international markets. Its e-commerce comps jumped 86.2%. He attributed this acceleration mainly to tailwinds related to the pandemic.
Costco’s renewal rate remains above 90% in the United States and Canada, and in the 1980s internationally. These high renewal rates indicate that its shoppers are fiercely loyal, which should keep it from losing ground to Amazon, Walmart’s Sam’s Club and other competitors.
Analysts expect Costco’s revenue and profit to rise 10% and 15% respectively this year. Next year, they expect its revenue and profit to rise 6% and 9%, respectively, as it faces tougher post-pandemic comparisons.
How fast is Dollar General growing?
Dollar General’s same-store sales increased 3.9% in fiscal 2019, which ended Jan. 31, marking its 30th consecutive year of positive same-store sales. In the first nine months of 2020, its same-store sales were up another 17.5% as a pandemic-induced spike in average ticket size offset a slight decline in its in-store traffic.
Like Costco, Dollar General attributed the acceleration to the pandemic, which triggered robust sales of its consumables, seasonal products, home products and apparel. During this period, it recorded its strongest year-over-year growth in home product sales.
Dollar General’s gross margin also increased year-over-year in the nine months, driven by fewer markdowns and a growing mix of higher-margin non-consumables. This trend should ease concerns about competition or tariffs on Chinese products weighing on its margins.
Analysts expect Dollar General’s revenue and profit to rise 21% and 59% respectively this year. Next year, they expect its revenue to rise just 1% and profits to fall 6% against tougher year-over-year comparisons.
Costco trades at 38 times forward earnings, while Dollar General has a much lower forward P/E ratio of 22. Both stocks pay forward dividend yields of around 0.7%, which doesn’t probably won’t attract serious investors.
The winner: Dollar General
I believe both Costco and Dollar General are strong long-term retail investments. Both companies have a loyal customer base and their businesses are understandably isolated from Amazon and Walmart.
However, Costco’s high P/E ratio will probably limit its gains this year, especially as the pandemic passes and its growth slows. Therefore, I would pick Dollar General right now for its lower valuation, and only consider hoarding a few shares of Costco after its valuations cool down.
This article represents the opinion of the author, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a high-end advice service Motley Fool. We are heterogeneous! Challenging an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and wealthier.


text:
A new report from Tata Communications says 2019 will be a “tipping point” for the global sports industry as digital technology innovation leads to a new era of unprecedented commercial growth for broadcasters, rights holders and sports organisations.
The report, titled Show Me The Money!, features insights from Formula 1, MotoGP and European Tour as well as DAZN, and highlights that streaming platforms, esports, VR apps and other technology innovations are quickly becoming new crucial revenue drivers for sports alongside media rights, event attendance, sponsorship and merchandising.
Describing digital technologies as the “secret sauce” for monetising fan engagement, the report suggests a successful digital strategy is all about augmenting the fan experience. This could mean enabling people at the stadium or trackside to experience sports in new ways or connecting people around the world to the live action in the most immersive ways possible.
Other key findings of the report include:
- The lines between traditional and digital media platforms have blurred, causing a seismic shift in the entertainment landscape, tearing down traditional geographical barriers, and highlighting the need for the sports ecosystem to rethink how revenues are generated.
- Digital platforms are giving sports access to geographies and audience demographics they were previously unable to reach.
- The approaches the sports ecosystem is taking to reach new audiences and improve fan engagement are highly interrelated: the desire to get more people streaming live content on Facebook does not negate the necessity for packing stadiums full of fans.
“This report demonstrates that 2019 can be a defining tipping point for the sports industry,” said Mehul Kapadia, managing director of Tata Communications’ F1 Business and the company’s global head of marketing. “Digital technologies are kick-starting a new era of fan engagement, and it’s going to be fascinating to see where the journey takes us. Yet, it’s important to remember that digital technologies are the friend, not the enemy, of the live experience. So, as the digital fan experience gets better, the pressure is increased to ensure that fans at venues can engage with the action in new ways too. A holistic fan engagement strategy enables broadcasters, rights holders and other key players in the sports ecosystem to maximise the commercial opportunities that digital platforms offer.”
The full report can be found here.


text:
BitPesa has launched in Ghana and will be offering new currency pairs, allowing Ghanaians to make GHS payments that settle in more than ten currencies, including NGN, UGX, and ZAR.
With the launch, BitPesa aims to significantly lower the cost of payments from Ghana to other important trading partners such as Nigeria. Since Nigeria is a very important market for BitPesa already, Ghana was a natural choice for expansion, as these are the two largest economies in West Africa.
According to Elizabeth Rossiello, CEO of BitPesa, “We are constantly looking for ways to promote intra-African trade, so we’re very excited about our services in Ghana. Ghanaians should be allowed to make global payments using their own currency and we are excited to facilitate this. We will continue to improve service offerings, compliance, and value for our new Ghanaian customers.”
Earlier in 2018, BitPesa acquired TransferZero, a leading digital payments company based in Madrid, expanding its footprint across LatAm, the Caribbean, and other frontier markets.
The company helps businesses make high-speed and low-cost B2B Payments in multiple currencies across and beyond Africa with operations in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal, DRC, the UK and across Europe. As of today in Ghana, customers are able to buy and sell bitcoins on the online platform. Businesses are also able to make payments intra-Africa to Ghanaian mobile accounts. BitPesa is connected to two mobile networks in Ghana now, with more services to come soon.


text:
As we all know, there is not a single mainstream automaker not fazed by the global recession. Mitsubishi is no exception. The company reported a 54% decline in its January 2009 production, bringing it down to 53,339 units.
According to Mitsubishi, its production volume in Japan was down 65.0% to 25,392 units. Its overseas production totaled 27,947 units, a 35.3% drop from January of last year. This makes it eleven months straight that the company has realized a decline in production. Output was down by 66.5% in North America and by 20.3% in Europe. Both declines were attributable to sluggish sales in the respective regions.
Mitsubishi has been a struggling company for many years and its volume sales have been abysmal for about two decades. For this company to be still around means it’s one hell of a fighter.


text:
GM's China auto sales up 15.3 pct in April
BEIJING May 6 (Reuters) - General Motors Co and its China joint ventures sold 261,870 vehicles in the country in April, up 15.3 percent from a year earlier, the U.S. automaker said on Monday.
That compares with a 12.6 percent year-on-year gain in March.
GM makes vehicles in China in partnership with FAW Group and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd.
- Malaysian plane presumed crashed; questions over false IDs |
- China draws 'red line' on North Korea, says won't allow war on peninsula
- Warning shots fired to turn monitors back from Crimea |
- Libya threatens to bomb North Korean tanker if it ships oil from rebel port


text:
Three Phonesats with amateur radio downlinks in 437 MHz are slated to launch December 17.
The YouTube description reads:
Did you know your smartphone is more powerful than most computers in space right now?
A few smart folks at NASA realized this as well and thought… hey… why don’t we turn a Phone into a satellite.
And so Phonesat was born. NASA is taking Google Android phones and turning them into cheap spacecraft. And by cheap I mean under $10,000. EACH.
Watch Satellite powered by your smartphone[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tqFd8Vv3n8E’]


text:
Wada Ayaka’s 1st PB, currently untitled, has been announced.
After many speculations and fears from fans who thought that her first solo DVD will not be accompanied with a PB, I’m sure it’s a relief to all to know that indeed there is a PB addition along the DVD release.
Although not much information is out now, it’s always great to see that the news has been confirmed since fans will probably want to pre-order it soon to support Ayaka and have an idea about what she’s capable of.
It’s not been assured yet, but since Yuuka was the first member to get a solo release, followed by Ayaka, Kanon and Saki probably should be next since they are the last 2 active H!P member (from the mobekimasu groups) to not have any solo release until now, so hopefully an announcement about a solo release from those last two members will be out soon.
I encourage all Ayaka fans to preorder a copy of the PB since it will definitly be a great release.
The release date is set for 2/25.


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
BofA mobile app usage tops a million
Send this story to a friend
More than one million small business owners are now using Bank of America’s mobile app, the Charlotte, N.C. banking giant announced this week.
The app allows small business customers the ability to manage their finances from mobile phones and tablets. They can check account balances, transfer funds, pay bills and track transactions.
Marc Warshawsky, senior vice president and digital product executive, called the million-plus mark a “milestone” for the bank.
“The number of small businesses now using Bank of America’s mobile app is a testament to today’s growing demand for better integration of technology and greater online, mobile and self-service banking options,” he said in a release.
Bank of America is the sixth-largest bank in Western New York, with $1.3 billion in deposits, according to the most recent data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Allissa Kline covers financial services, accounting and trade
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- Here's the latest list of local corporations
- One Seneca’s assessment drops; Pegula may be “interested” in the tower
- Database of high-end homes in Upstate New York
- Schwabl's is back in business
- State's takeover of Outer Harbor will begin to bear fruit
- Landmark trucking case decided in Buffalo
- Buffalo weighs two Waterfront Village condo proposals
- Amherst, Clarence and Buffalo make top 10 for high-end homes
- HarborCenter revises retail component
- BUDC greenlights downtown projects
Director of Employment & Training City of Buffalo | Buffalo, NY
Chief Manufacturing Engineer Key Resource Group | Buffalo, NY
Employee Benefits Consultant Northwest Insurance Services | Buffalo, NY
Corporate Tax Compliance Associate Tax Technologies, Inc. | Buffalo, NY
Secretary/ Bookkeeper James I. Myers, PLLC | Buffalo, NY


text:
It is here. The eagerly anticipated week that influences fashion's next step, be it trends to favor or celebrities to take style tips from. Lakme Fashion Week Festive Winter 2011 was treated to a grand launch early this week as the post Rohit Bal off-site show escalated into a fun-filled night of revelry at Tote in Mumbai. Seen at the party were the city's party circuit regulars Queenie Dhody (in a cerise one-shoulder dress) and Pria Kataria Puri (wearing BCBG). Super stylist Aki Narula and fellow designers Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Rohit Bal and Rahul Mishra partied with Manasi Scott, Gaurav and Pratima Bhatia and actor/model Arjun Rampal. All in all, the party was a mix of fashionable faces that toasted luck to the now on-going fashion week in style.
YOU SHOULD ALSO SEE: Lakme and IMG Reliance Fashion Week Party
YOU SHOULD ALSO SEE: Manish Malhotra talks couture


text:
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Latest on the first day of legalized marijuana in Maine (all times local):
Maine Gov. Paul LePage says he’s using an executive order to shift oversight of licensing and enforcement relating to legal marijuana.
LePage sparred with state lawmakers about who should have authority over marijuana sales in Maine. He gave the authority to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations on Monday.
The order is an outgrowth of a row LePage had with lawmakers last week about his desire to move oversight from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations.
The Republican governor says the alcoholic beverages bureau has expertise in managing retail sales, licensing and enforcement, and thus should have oversight.
A committee of Maine lawmakers that will work to implement the rules around legal marijuana will get started this week.
Maine Senate President Michael Thibodeau announced the members of the Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation on Monday.
The Waldo Republican says the committee faces a tremendous amount of work related to safeguarding public safety, regulating retail sales of marijuana and crafting state government oversight rules.
He says the committee will make recommendations to the full state legislature.
The state has until February 2018 to craft rules about legalization. Use, possession and home growth are all legal as of Monday.
Opponents of legalized marijuana in Maine say they will continue fighting to make sure its implementation is done with public safety in mind.
It became legal to grow and possess marijuana in Maine on Monday. But the state rulemaking process will help determine where people can buy it and use it.
Voters narrowly passed the ballot question in November.
Scott Gagnon is director of Maine’s chapter of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group opposed to legalization.
He says those who opposed the ballot question have gone “from a campaign to doing everything we can to mitigate the risk.” He says advocates will be there every step of the way as state legislators hammer out rules governing marijuana sales.
The state has until early 2018 to craft rules.
It’s a green Monday in Maine.
The first tangible results of state voters’ decision to legalize marijuana are being felt as possession and home growth of marijuana becomes legal.
Voters narrowly passed the ballot question in November, and the waiting period between the vote and legalization has expired.
Contentious aspects linger, including what rules should govern businesses that will sell marijuana, such as retail stores and social clubs. But it’s now legal to smoke it, gift it, grow it and possess up to 2.5 ounces of it.
The vote was close, and opponents are continuing to push for restrictions.
Cannabis Infused Creativity at LA’s Puff Pass & Paint Class
Florida’s Largest Police Force Stops Detaining People Over Pot Smell
Beyond the Streets: Cannabis Isn’t the Only Counter Culture en Vogue
What’s in Your Stash? Sharon Letts, Producer, and Writer
Two Plead Guilty to Using United States Postal Service to Traffic Marijuana
Raid of Massive Illegal Cannabis Grow Site in California Took Four Days to Complete
Does Feeding the Endocannabinoid System Make Us Healthier?
What Was Said at Today’s Congressional Hearing on Federal Marijuana Law Reform
News7 days ago
Someone Planted 34 Cannabis Plants in the Vermont Statehouse Flower Beds
Health4 days ago
Cannabis and Mental Health: Bipolar Disorder
News5 days ago
Notorious Drug Kingpin ‘El Chapo’ Sentenced to Life in Prison
Culture7 days ago
What’s in Your Stash? Autumn Saylor, Stay-at-Home Mom, Treating PTSD With Cannabis
Sponsored5 days ago
I Take CBD Oil. Will I Pass a Drug Test?
News5 days ago
West Hollywood Set To Get “First of Its Kind” Cannabis Café
News4 days ago
Federal Agents Question Missouri Officials Over Medical Marijuana Program
News5 days ago
Senate Schedules Hearing on Cannabis Banking Bill


text:
Second Street has a brand new look
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- Macon Mayor Robert Reichert and commissioners officially opened Second Street in downtown Macon.
County leaders celebrated the opening of the street between cherry and poplar this morning to traffic.
Mayor Reichert And commissioners welcomed residents and visitors to check out businesses along the street, especially those who have been closed due to construction.
Also, we’re told there are many new businesses expected to open on Second Street.


text:
In case you were wondering what Bovi has been up to after his last ‘Naughty by Nature’, show in 2021, well, the comedian spoke at the press conference held on 8th July 2022 at Eko Hotel on how much has been put in place to make the next edition of ‘Naughty by Nature’ coming up on 17th July, 2022 at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, a great success.
According to the comedian and actor, Bovi Ugboma, comedy has progressed from making jokes to assisting people in keeping their sanity.
“I ensure that people get value for their money. It is not just about entertainment, it is also a form of therapy. I feel comedians should be designated as doctors” he said.
Dapo Akinwale, one of the sponsors, Tulcan Energy speaks on why they chose to sponsor Bovi brand, he said, “We understand that Bovi brand has a sustainable value, it’s not a brand that is bound to fall tomorrow that’s why we chose to stand by Bovi.”
He also stated that his company, Tulcan Energy decided to support the ‘Bovi brand’ after years of watching from the sidelines.
However, according to Bovi, ‘Naughty By Nature’ was influenced by two things: the fact that he had often been called ‘naughty’ over the years, and his propensity to say a lot of ‘naughty’ things at the concert on July 17.


text:
«It’s going down on Societal Gloves on June twelve , and I am happy are a part of it. It is good observe all of these YouTubers and you may TikTokers setting up the tough strive to plan these battles,» said Lil Baby. «Our company is bringing huge opportunity so you can Societal Gloves. I’m waiting around for this very day, and you may I understand fans won’t be disturb.»
Social Gloves will face off the world’s biggest social media stars from YouTube against the icons of TikTok, including the highly-anticipated main event featuring Austin McBroom (The ACE Family founder) and teen idol Bryce Hallway with additional tough matchups from AnEsonGib, DDG, Deji, FaZe Jarvis, Michael Ce , Nate Wyatt , Ryland Storms , Tanner Fox , Tayler Proprietor and Vinnie Hacker . The star-studded event will feature celebrity appearances and musical entertainment from major names in hip-hop, Latin, pop and country music.
Taking place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens , the historic live PPV event will be produced and distributed by LiveXLive Media (Nasdaq: LIVX) («LiveXLive»), a global platform for livestream and on-demand audio, video, and podcast/vodcast content in music, comedy, and pop culture, and owner of PodcastOne, Slacker Broadcast, Act Gift suggestions, and Custom Personalization Solutions. Tickets for in-person seats at Hard Rock Stadium are on sale now to the general public at Ticketmaster outlets and online at ticketmaster. LiveXLive early bird PPV livestream packages are on sale now at socialgloves.livexlive.
Cazers ‘s the mastermind at the rear of the brand new Logan Paul versus. KSI step one strive, putting the new electronic recreation commander at the forefront of the fresh social media boxing phenomenon interrupting the activity now. Paul vs. KSI, and that out of stock Manchester Arena inside England , still holds new checklist for the most purchased spend-per-glance at broadcast for any non-elite group boxing match in history.
«Societal Gloves was a groundbreaking pop music-community experiences joining together sports, music, trends, NFT’s and people. Admirers have a tendency to feel recreation like never before in-individual from the arena you to definitely hosted six Extremely Bowls and you can via this new PPV livestream. «Our company is excited towards quality of audio and you will author ability, the incredible internationally started to of your personal influencers in addition to of several of many unexpected situations we have arranged for our audience round the all platforms»
«Merely after you thought Societal Gloves failed to get any bigger, our company is delivering Migos and you will Lil Child, the latest stylish-switch labels throughout the video game now, on stage having volatile activities,» told you executive producer Paul Cazers . «Fans being heading in love with the fighter lover pub presale entry, therefore expect this new hype to continue to expand top upwards to combat nights. «
During Hard-rock Arena assets, face masks are expected for everyone travelers (many years 2 and up) at all times, other than whenever earnestly restaurants otherwise taking, Travelers need certainly to realize all stadium regulations, and additionally health and safety regulations, and you can published guidelines during arena and on arena https://hookupranking.com/craigslist-hookup/ basis.


text:
CitationDownload as .RIS
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 42, Issue 2
A draft new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) published by the European Commission is likely to leave British farmers hooked on factory farming that is wrecking rainforests and increasing food prices, Friends of the Earth is warning. EU documents seen by the green campaigning charity show that Europe is failing to make the important policy changes needed to support farmers investing in sustainable farming practices, and end the need for environmentally damaging imports of soy to feed animals in our factory farms.
Friends of the Earth says Britain is blocking progress on CAP reform by standing in the way of plans to ensure farm subsidies are only awarded to planet-friendly farms. The green campaigning charity is calling on the government to support measures that will stop UK farming depleting natural resources and using climate-changing fossil fuels, provide fair incomes for British farmers, and reduce the UK’s impact on volatile global food prices – currently so high that some of the world’s poorest can not afford to eat.
As the European Commission publishes its proposals for the CAP, which is due to be reformed by the end of 2013, which? says:
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) should be scrapped. This is an archaic policy, which all consumers pay for through taxes and higher food prices. It’s all the harder to justify at a time of soaring household bills and falling disposable incomes. The food supply chain is facing unprecedented challenges including rising food prices and tackling problems of food security, with enormous implications for consumers. The CAP should therefore be replaced with an EU food strategy that puts the consumer at its heart. We can’t go on with a policy that does so little for sustainability, food quality and healthy eating.


text:
Beef + LambNZ's (BLNZ) awards dinner scheduled for Wednesday 2 February is postponed due to the arrival in the community of the Covid variant Omicron.
Producers are already struggling against imported pork and recent lockdown restrictions.
General manager of Harrington’s Smallgoods, Angus Black, claims this decision is counterintuitive to the current reality NZ pork farmers and producers are facing, at a time when they need local support the most.
New laws were passed in late 2018 around the origin of food products, including cured pork like bacon and ham. However, due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has announced a 12-month delay in recommending the regulations.
“MBIE has cited disruption in the food sector due to COVID-19 as a reason for the delay. However, the need for consumers to be able to identify and buy local has never been so urgent,” Black says.
“Our farmers are struggling. Before the Level 4 lockdown, around 40% of all NZ born-and-raised pork went to restaurants, bars, cafes and independent butchers. With reduced capacity and demand in the foodservice sector, as well as butchers not being permitted to open to customers, our farmers are under intense pressure to get pork to consumers,” Black says.
Local pig producers have been encouraging people to only to buy NZ-raised and farmed pork. But Black says current labelling is confusing and makes it hard for consumers to identify where their bacon or ham comes from.
“Now we face a lengthy wait to gain the clarity we have been promised and deserve,” he says.
“I’m urging the Government to listen to the sector and deliver what it is asking for – not wait another 12 months.”
Black says the new labelling regulations are now not due until June 2021 and will only come into force in December 2021 – more than 18 months from now.
He says Harrington’s Smallgoods has submitted and provided feedback on the Consumer’s Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Act at each stage, and is currently asking the Government to also include sausages within the regulations and more clearly prescribe the rules around the size and placement of the country of origin labels.
The NZ Pork Board estimates the NZ Pork industry is worth $750 million each year to New Zealand.


text:
Search CSP Daily News
Votes to block China-Unocal deal
Augusta, Ga., businessman Clayton P. Boardman Jr. died last week at age 78.
MAP changes name to Marathon Petroleum Co. on completion of Ashland deal
Deal's consummation awaits stockholder's approval; readers say no to Chinese bid
David Higgins of Coastal Wholesale Grocery wins SOI crossword contest
Home Depot to test c-stores, fuel at four Nashville locations
Wal-Mart heir dies in ultralight airplane accident
SuperTest Oil Co. will auction off 111 sites this summer76 currently operating gas stations, most with convenience stores.
Exxon Mobil Corp said that it has determined to take an aftertax charge of $200 million, which will be reflected in the corporation's second-quarter results.
Rutter's has added convenience store veteran Bob Sleeper to its information technology staff as software application support manager.
Get today’s need-to-know convenience industry intelligence. Sign up to receive texts from CSP on news and insights that matter to your brand.
The latest from CSP, sent straight to your inbox.
CSP’s Top 202 details the largest chains in the convenience-store industry and the biggest M&A stories of the past year. Welcome to a deep dive into the c-store landscape.
Category sales performance in Beverages, Candy, General Merchandise, Packaged Food/Foodservice and Snacks.
The industry’s largest distributors by sales volume
Corporate retail news affecting the convenience-store industry
The latest information on products and trends in the convenience-store and foodservice industries.
Peek inside new convenience stores to uncover the best in retail store design across North America.


text:
Another scam he got involved in in spite of himself The WhatsApp It can cause a Data theft Sensitive devices in the phone. The goal is the owners Iphone: A fake version of the world’s most popular messaging app was suggested on unofficial channels (so it didn’t launchApple Store). But instead of the desired app, unfortunate users found themselves installing a code that could cause affected phones to remotely send confidential information.
WhatsApp, fake iPhone version stealing phone data
The high prevalence of The WhatsApp Long ago to commit fraud. Among the world’s most downloaded apps, it has been attracting hackers on the planet for years who want to exploit its popularity to break into the phones of thousands of victims.
The latest attack on iPhone users was born in Italy. Second MotherboardEverything, together with computer technicians at the Citizen Lab of the University of Toronto, the system appears to have been built by the Italian company. Cy4Gate, To be sold for surveillance purposes.
Motherboard discovered that the scam was carried out through specially crafted sites, created with graphics attributed to the real app that belongs to the group. The social networking site FacebookA: There are also instructions on how to install it on your iPhone.
Once the download started, the phones were spied by a file MDM configurationA special profile that defines the iPhone’s behavior according to certain parameters, which are usually used in the company to provide employees’ phones with special settings for internal communications.
WhatsApp, a fake iPhone version that steals phone data: How a hacker attack works
Victims of the fraud, via fraudulent sites, implicitly gave the ability to hackers to install software that the App Store did not approve, as in the case of the fake version of The WhatsAppThe danger, then, is that those who did not trust the official store allowed their phones to do so To send a distance Data such as the SIM and device identification code, as well as other information that researchers have been unable to isolate.
The surveillance company Cy4Gate, which is believed to be behind the creation of mock sites, will also have institutional themes inside and outside our borders, like the UAE, among its clients. It is not known why and for how long the counterfeit version of The WhatsApp Used it: The premise is that the install page has been suggested for a limited number of topics of interest to Cy4Gate customers.
“Bacon trailblazer. Certified coffee maven. Zombie lover. Tv specialist. Freelance communicator.”


text:
As Lilly Ghalichi gets settled into her new home, she's organizing every room, including the kitchen. The Shahs of Sunset alum recently let her followers peek inside both of her gleaming refrigerators, and revealed that she's still working on stocking the food fridge. However, the new mom does have plenty to snack on in the meantime — just wait until you see inside of her pantry.
In a recent Instagram Story, the eyelash expert shared a snap of her well-stocked snack shelves. "Getting organized!" Lilly wrote to caption a photo that showed off her goods. It looks like there are snacks for both Lilly and her toddler in the pantry, filled as it is with Cheerios (a wee one's fave!), Lucky Charms, chocolate-chip cookies, bread, and more.
Keep scrolling to see inside the beauty mogul's pantry. Don't you just wish you could reach into the screen and grab something to snack on?
The Feast is Bravo’s digital destination serving culinary inspiration and essential food news. Like us on Facebook and visit daily for diet and wellness trends, kitchen hacks and tools — and the buzziest celebrity, chef, and restaurant happenings you need to know about right now.


text:
Apple has recently launched its new iPad Pro, redesigned iMacs and other company products at its “Spring loaded” event. Now, Apple has also started to roll out its much anticipated mid-cycle OS updates. The company has finally released iOS 14.5, macOS 11.3, iPadOS 14.5, and watchOS 7.4.
The iOS 14.5 aims to bring new exciting features to the iPhone. As the third wave of the pandemic has hit the global community, Apple’s new installment of updates is more covid-centric and privacy-oriented. It brings the ability to unlock iPhone with Apple Watch while wearing a face mask, more diverse Siri voices, new privacy controls, skin tone options to better represent couples in emoji, and much more.
The new iOS 14.5 software update builds on the latest iPhone experience introduced in iOS 14, and it is free and available to download now. Let’s narrow down some of the significant changes the iOS 14.5 has brought in the iPhones.
Unlock your iPhone with Apple Watch
Despite the half-covering of the face via a mask, now users will be able to unlock their iPhone using the FaceID feature. To get into their phone more quickly, now the users only need to put a glance at their unlocked iPhone; they will receive haptic feedback notification on their Apple Watch. This update will be available to the users of iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3, and later.
In order to impart a more natural tone to Siri, iOS 14.5 brings a lot of diversity to it. Now users have plenty of different voice options to select for Siri’s voice. The Neural Text to Speech technology has been put in practice to ensure this variety of voices. Siri also has been enabled with Group FaceTime that will help users to initiate calls with multiple contacts. Siri can also now announce incoming calls via AirPods or the compatible Beats headphones.
In a brave move, Apple has also released an App Tracking Transparency feature to give users more authority over their personal data usage by the downloaded applications. Users will be able to monitor which app has been navigating their data for advertising purposes, and users can also change their choice anytime later from the Settings.
More Customized Emojis
A set of new emojis has also been introduced in the latest update as they were already surfaced on the internet. The customized emojis include more skin tone choices for common emojis and various new smiley faces and hearts. The brand new emojis include breathing out face, cheek shrouded in clouds, heart on fire, bandaged heart, and frontal face with spiral eyeballs, to name a few. In addition, Emoji 13.1 will introduce a wide variety of beard-wearing people to the iPhone in the months to come.
Additional iOS 14.5 features include the new interface of Apple Podcast, AirTag support, 5G improvements, sorting ability in Reminders, redesigned tab in Apple News, and Apple Fitness+.
macOS Big Sur 11.3
Apple brings the third major update to the macOS Big Sur operating system. This update mainly deals with the optimization of iOS apps on M1 Macs. It also features additional customization for Safari browsers, rearranging the different sections of the Start page. On M1 Macs, users can set a preference pane called Touch Alternatives that allows them to set keyboard shortcuts for touch input, and iPadOS apps open larger with Mac’s display. Touch Alternatives lets you choose what touches, swipes, and drags to use for different applications.
Apple has rolled out an update for watchOS 7.4 to incorporate a Face ID feature in iOS 14.5 that lets users unlock their iPhones by wearing a face mask. Users can let the Apple Watch download the update on its own or trigger it manually. The process for executing a manually initiated download is as follows: open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone and select My Watch, General, Software Update, then select Install.
When you download the update to your iPhone, you must place the Apple Watch on a charger to install the update.


text:
The First Coast real estate market remains robust in the face of the coronavirus outbreak with increasing values on homes and sales going up as well in July.
There were substantial jumps in home sales both on a monthly and annual basis, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Northeast Florida Realtors Association.
There were 3,514 homes sold in July on the First Coast, a 15.8% increase over July 2019. July’s figure is also a notable jump of 339 home sales over June when 3,175 homes were sold across Northeast Florida.
The latest data continues a streak of upbeat home sales which seem impervious to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic on the First Coast. June’s figure was an increase of 684 home sales over May’s total of 2,337 residential properties sold in the region.
Fueling the run on home sales in Northeast Florida is a dwindling supply of houses on the market. The inventory for residential properties for sale continues to fall with only 6,943 houses on the market in July. That’s a dramatic 30% plunge from July 2019 when 9,905 homes were on the market.
NEFAR officials said the region is in the middle of a strong seller’s market as those with houses on the market are getting strong returns on their asking prices.
“Buyers are taking full advantage of extremely low interest rates, despite dealing with fewer available home choices. If any homeowners are even considering becoming sellers, there couldn’t be a better time for them to make their move,” said NEFAR President Ron Harris.
As a result, home prices on the First Coast are on the rise with no signs of slowing down. The median price for a Northeast Florida home in July was $265,000, a 9.8% hike over a year ago and up from June’s median sales tag of $255,000.
The average price for a home in the region now stands at $325,665, a whopping 15.3% increase over July 2019 and more than a $15,000 one-month hike over June’s average of $309,757.
Given the shrinking inventory and increasing prices, some 15.8% of July’s home sales went for more than the seller’s asking price.


text:
In the past few months, Marc Jacobs has been busy creating the costumes for the "Amoveo" ballet at Paris' Opera Garnier, launching the Marc Jacobs Waterford tabletop collection and signing a deal with Zannier Group for an extensive collection of...
In the past few months, Marc Jacobs has been busy creating the costumes for the "Amoveo" ballet at Paris' Opera Garnier, launching the Marc Jacobs Waterford tabletop collection and signing a deal with Zannier Group for an extensive collection of Little Marc children's wear that will be launched in the spring. And Jacobs has been doing all that while on a strict diet and workout regime that has resulted in a newly svelte figure.
The momentum looks set to continue next year with several initiatives that will further the brand globally.
The year will kick off with a new advertising campaign for Jacobs featuring Dakota Fanning. The ads, which will break in February issues of W and Vogue, were shot by Juergen Teller on location in Los Angeles in mid-November. "Marc loves her as a character and thinks she is beautiful and a great actress," said Robert Duffy, president. "He loved the idea of having this young, small girl in the clothes, and we made them in her size to shoot her in."
Jacobs and Duffy are getting ready for a move of sorts. The duo has decided to stage the Marc by Marc Jacobs show during London Fashion Week in February. "We have a really nice Marc by Marc business in Europe," Duffy said. "I always felt when we showed it in the U.S. we would do it the day after, because Marc had to get back to Paris for Louis Vuitton. I always felt bad, because Marc by Marc has such a strong identity but would always get lumped in with the Collection show. I also always wanted to show in Europe."
The aim is to present the collection on Feb. 16, which would coincide with the opening of the first Collection store in London. The 2,800-square-foot unit will be located in a former antiques store at 24-25 Mount Street in Mayfair and offer women's and men's apparel, children's wear, home furnishings, accessories and an in-house public relations office. The store was designed by architectural firm Stephan Jaklitsch Design.
In addition, a Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc boutique is scheduled to open in February in Moscow, and a Marc by Marc store is slated to open in Savannah, Ga. A Dubai Marc by Marc boutique is opening next week, and the company just signed a deal to open a Marc by Marc boutique in Tokyo's Omotesando area. There are also plans for a large unit on Madison Avenue in New York that will house all the categories and is scheduled to open next year, though few details could be learned at this time.
EXCLUSIVE: Two and half months after John Targon, cofounder and codesigner of Baja East, was hired as creative director of the contemporary division at Marc Jacobs, he has left the company, WWD has learned. Marc Jacobs International, which is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, confirmed Targon’s departure in a statement: “John Targon is a talented designer and we appreciate the work he has done here. Ultimately working together did not make sense for the brand and we wish him the best.” Read the story by @jessiredale, link in bio. #wwdnews
@theluxurycollection is officially launching a collection, tapping Sofia Sanchez de Betak for the capsule. Over 30 styles will be featured in the Chufy x The Luxury Collection, debuting next month at Bergdorf Goodman, The Webster, FiveStory and more. De Betak, known as “@chufy,” drew inspiration for the collection from her trips to Japan in the past year #wwdfashion
@lhd, founder and CEO of @thewebster, has teamed up with @lebonmarcherivegauche for the European launch of her ready-to-wear line, LHD. The launch will come with an exclusive pop-up opening today that’s set to run through May 20. Located on the second floor, it carries her debut Miami-themed resort collection, launched in November as see-now-buy-now. #wwdfashion
@longchamp, which marks its 70th anniversary this year, just opened its biggest U.S. store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. On the lower level there’s a floor-to-ceiling display of the brand’s iconic Le Pliage bag – in all of its different colors, shapes and sizes. Customers can also have their product personalized in-store by imprinting names, initials or emblems. #wwdfashion (📷: @ericmtownsend)
“Whenever I’m in that place of sound and music, I don’t have fear or nervousness…This album has a lot of themes of courage and boldness and I want to be the soundtrack for people’s lives. I’ll be so happy if [my songs] evoke strength in people, which I know music has done for me,” says @kimbramusic of her newest album “Primal Heart.” The New Zealand-born singer sat down with WWD to talk about her music, newest tour and connecting with hear fans — read more on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
Luxury handbag resale company @rebagofficial is planning to sell a rare collectible for $70,000: the @hermes White Crocodile Himalayan Birkin. The exclusive Birkin sold for about $100,000 in 2008, when @davidbeckham bought one for his wife @victoriabeckham to add to her collection. Read more about the rare Birkin on WWD.com #wwdaccessories
With her costume pearl necklace and what-you-see-is-what-you-get style, Barbara Bush, who died Tuesday at age 92, was a straight-shooter from start to finish.
Born Barbara Pierce in New York City, Bush served as the 37th first lady, as well as the country’s second lady from 1981 to 1989. In addition to being part of the longest presidential marriage — 73 years — Bush also had the unlikely distinction of having one son, George W., become the 43rd president and another son, Jeb, run unsuccessfully in 2016. Having served as second lady during the Reagan administration’s two terms and lived all over the world during her own husband’s ascending political career, Barbara Bush made it clear that literacy — not fashion — was her priority. Read more from Rosemary Feitelberg’s obituary on the late First Lady in WWD.com, link in bio. #barbarabush #wwdnews
Western and ’90s trends have influenced denim for fall 2018. Think raw, dark and coated jeans mixed with bold prints and tough leather. #trendtuesdays #wwdfashion (Styled by @thealexbadia;📷: @ryanplett)


text:
Hennessey Turns the Ram TRX Into a 3-Row 1012-Hp Mammoth
While the 2021 1500 TRX is certainly incredibly capable, the high-powered Ram truck has some downsides. For one, that power comes with a large thirst for fuel. And, because it’s a pickup truck, there are only so many seats for the speed show. However, while Texas-based tuner Hennessey can’t do much about that first issue, it might have something for that second one. It’s called the Hennessey Mammoth SUV, and it’s a genuine three-row Ram 1500 TRX.
The Hennessey Mammoth SUV lets you send it with the whole family
Hennessey has some prior experience with turning pickup trucks into SUVs, Autoblog reports. It did that same process a few years ago to turn some first-gen Ford F-150 Raptors into enclosed VelociRaptors. And now, Hennessey has decided to do the same to the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX.
Turning a Ram TRX into a Hennessey Mammoth SUV isn’t as simple as slapping a roof on the bed, though. The Mammoth also has custom windows and C-pillars as well as a functional rear hatch, Roadshow reports. And because it’s a 3-row SUV, the Hennessey Mammoth has an extra row of seats instead of a bare bed.
As of this writing, Hennessey hasn’t released any interior photos of the Mammoth SUV. However, the tuner promises there’s still “‘excellent luggage space'” behind the folding third-row seats, Motor1 reports. And instead of the standard second-row bench seats, the Mammoth SUV has dual captain’s chairs, MotorTrend reports. In short, this is a Ram 1500 TRX that seats seven.
But Hennessey didn’t stop at giving the TRX more passenger space. It also gave it even more power.
When the Ram 1500 TRX isn’t fast enough, there’s the Hennessey Mammoth
Normally, the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX makes 702 hp with its 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8. And despite weighing almost 6900 pounds, that’s enough to let the TRX go 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, Car and Driver reports. The Hennessey Mammoth SUV, though, is even faster.
Hennessey makes several tuning kits for the Ram TRX, but the Mammoth SUV gets the most aggressive one. The V8 gets a new supercharger and pulleys, upgraded fuel injectors, high-flow catalytic converters, a retuned ECU, and a performance air intake system. As a result, the 3-row SUV makes 1012 hp and 969 lb-ft, Automobile reports.
That’s enough power to let the Mammoth go 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds and run the ¼-mile in 11.4 seconds, Hennessey claims. That essentially ties it with the Lamborghini Urus, Car and Driver reports, which only has two rows of seats. For comparison, the standard Ram 1500 TRX needs 0.9 seconds more to finish the ¼-mile, Car and Driver reports.
But the six-figure horsepower output isn’t the only thing the Hennessey Mammoth SUV offers. It rides on 20” wheels with 35” off-road tires and has a 2.5” lift, Autoblog reports. The SUV also has new bumpers, with the front one sporting extra LED lights.
How much is it?
Although it’s just as fast as the Urus, the Hennessey Mammoth SUV is more expensive; prices start at $375,000. That’s over $300,000 more than a base 2021 TRX. Hennessey does include a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty, though.
However, the Mammoth will be more exclusive than the Urus, because Hennessey is only making 20 examples. But, if you miss out, the tuner is making 200 examples of the Mammoth truck for 2021. And while it doesn’t have three rows of seats, it does offer the same kind of performance.
Follow more updates from MotorBiscuit on our Facebook page.


text:
Microsoft will open a pop-up holiday store in the Time Warner Center tomorrow. TVNewser managing editor Chris Ariens snapped a picture (embedded above) of the store.
Crain’s New York has more about the nationwide effort: “The company will temporarily lease space in Related Cos.’ prestigious Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. The store will be one of 30 such holiday shops throughout North America, in other malls in Nashville, Columbia, Maryland and Garden City’s Roosevelt Field … A real estate insider said that Microsoft still does not have plans yet for a long-term Manhattan store, though a site is expected to do well.”
Do you think a permanent Microsoft store survive in New York City? Follow this link for all our coverage of the Microsoft Surface launch.


text:
updated 12:05 pm EDT, Fri May 8, 2009
Fractus Sues HTC Palm More
Fractus has revealed that it has sued 10 cellphone manufacturers this week over their allegedly violating nine different patents relating to internal cellphone antenna technology. The Spanish company's targets are most important world firms and involve HTC, Kyocera, LG, Palm, Pantech, Research in Motion, Samsung, Sharp, Sanyo and UTStarcom. These companies were aware of the patents but violated their use all the same, Fractus claims.
It's not known if Fractus believes any other companies might tread on the patent.
The complaint was filed in an Eastern District of Texas court in Tyler, a region infamous for being favored by companies relying primarily or exclusively on patent lawsuits for income. Fractus is keen to state, however, that it's an "active supplier" that has shipped millions of antennas in the past. A successful lawsuit would likely require that the prices for BlackBerries and many other mainstream phones include a small royalty payment to Fractus.
Most companies haven't commented on the lawsuit, though HTC has gone on record in Taiwan's Commercial Times newspaper as claiming the patents are not HTC's "core technology" and doesn't affect any of its current smartphones. The Touch Diamond creator plans to fight the allegations in court. [via Unwired View]


text:
The spotlight on R&D and innovation, which has historically been synonymous with multi-nationals, has shifted more recently towards small and medium-sized businesses, according to The State of Engineering 2015 report. Dr Graeme Malcolm shares his experiences of bringing the SolsTiS to market through building his own business M-Squared Lasers.
Manufacturers’ business confidence has taken an across the board beating following last month’s vote for Brexit, according to a new report out today from EEF and accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP.
Birmingham-based manufacturer, Hills Numberplates has received almost £10m of investment from Finance Birmingham; Birmingham City Council; NatWest Corporate and Commercial Finance, and RBS Invoice Finance.
Rize has made huge leaps in the development of 3D printing technology with the Boston-based startup creating a new 3D printer that doesn’t require any post processing of the object after it is printed.


text:
Fuel Delivered At Doorstep: People will soon be able to get CNG at their doorstep in Mumbai. Energy distribution startup The Fuel Delivery has signed a letter of interest (LOI) with Mahanagar Gas Limited to set up mobile CNG stations in the city. With the help of these mobile CNG stations, fuel will be delivered to the customers at their doorstep.
This service will be available 24 hours and every day
The Fuel Delivery said in a statement that the service will be available 24 hours a day and will meet the fuel requirements of CNG-powered auto rickshaws, cabs, private and commercial vehicles, school buses and other vehicles. With the introduction of this service, customers will not have to wait in long queues for CNG.
Service will start in next three months
The startup said that it has received approval from MGL (Mahanagar Gas Limited) to operate two mobile CNG stations in Mumbai. The service will start from Sion and Mahape in Mumbai over the next three months and will gradually be extended to other parts of the city.
Rakshit Mathur, Founder-CEO, The Fuel Delivery said, “After successfully delivering doorstep diesel across the country, we are taking a step forward by announcing doorstep delivery of CNG.”