text:
In these uncertain times, the tech sector has been one of the few areas that has proven resilient. And while some tech stocks have struggled in recent months, there are still some companies that have been performing well. Here are two tech stocks with upgrades and a positive outlook.
Positive Outlook for Two Tech Stocks
Zoom Video Communications (ZM)
Zoom Video Communications has become a household name in 2020. With remote work and online meetings becoming more common, the company’s video conferencing platform has seen an enormous surge in demand. The company reported a 355% increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2020 and raised its revenue guidance for the fiscal year. With many companies likely to continue remote work even after the pandemic subsides, Zoom has a positive outlook for the future.
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that has seen significant growth in recent years. The company reported a 97% increase in revenue for the second quarter of 2020, driven by a surge in online shopping during the pandemic. Shopify has also been expanding into new areas, such as payments and fulfillment. With the shift towards online shopping likely to continue, Shopify has a positive outlook for the future.
Upgrades Boost Prospects of Tech Companies
Salesforce is a cloud-based software company that specializes in customer relationship management. The company has been growing steadily in recent years, and its recent acquisition of Slack has further boosted its prospects. Salesforce recently received an upgrade from analysts at Morgan Stanley, who raised their price target for the company’s stock. With the demand for cloud-based software likely to continue growing, Salesforce has a positive outlook for the future.
Adobe is a software company that specializes in creative tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator. The company has been expanding into new areas, such as marketing software and e-commerce. Adobe recently received an upgrade from analysts at Jefferies, who raised their price target for the company’s stock. With the shift towards digital marketing and e-commerce likely to continue, Adobe has a positive outlook for the future.
While there are no guarantees in the stock market, these two tech stocks with upgrades and positive outlooks are worth considering for investors looking for growth opportunities. As the world becomes increasingly digital, companies that provide the tools and services to support this shift are likely to continue seeing strong demand.
Ainu Token aims to offer impartial and trustworthy information on cryptocurrency, finance, trading, and shares. However, we don't provide financial advice and recommend users to conduct their own studies and thorough checks.


text:
Scandinavian Tobacco Group has announced a successor to Craig Reynolds, the company’s executive vice president and president of STG’s North American online and retail division. Effective January 1, Sarah Santos will take over his responsibilities.
STG announced Reynolds’ impending departure in August. According to an official release, Reynolds will support the transition until May 31, when he will officially retire. Following his retirement, Reynolds is expected to stay on as a consultant until December 2020, or later.
Santos currently serves as senior vice president of STG’s North American online business. She started in 2003 as a marketing consultant for online retailer Cigars International (owned by STG), and joined full-time in 2008.
Her new title will be president of the company’s North American online and retail division and senior vice president of STG.
“Sarah has played a pivotal role in both the strong performance of Cigars International and the professionalization of our online organization,” said Neils Frederiksen, CEO of STG. “I am confident that she ... is the right person to take over the reins.”

domain: news


text:
Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has increased his wealth by a healthy $4.7bn (£3.2bn), despite taking home just a $1 salary.
The social network's latest earnings pleased investors, sending stock soaring nearly 10 per cent and helping Zuckerberg add billions to his wealth.
The additional cash in the bank (well, shares) helped the 31-year-old leapfrog Oracle's chairman Larry Ellison in the Forbes rich list of the world's wealthiest people and the publication estimates his wealth now stands at $51.9bn.
When it comes to personal fortunes, Zuckerberg goes toe to toe with Ellison and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, regularly rotating their mid-table positions in the top 10 list of the world's richest people.
Zuckerberg has embarked on a plan to give away most of his fortune by handing over 99 per cent of his shares over coming years to the to the Chan Zuckerberg initiative he set up with wife, Priscilla Chan.
Facebook yesterday revealed revenue of $5.38bn for the first quarter, ahead of analyst expectations and up 53 per cent on the same quarter last year. Earnings per share hit 77 cents well ahead of the 62 cents expected. It also revealed impressive numbers for mobile revenue and its user growth.
Several of the biggest Wall Street firms raised their stock price targets after Facebook smashed earnings.
The company also announced plans for a stock split to ensure that Zuckerberg can retain control over the company in future.


text:
Portugal is gaining popularity among Chinese travellers this autumn following the travel and tourism rebound.
Along with other EU destinations such as Malta, Portugal has seen a noteworthy increase in Chinese travellers, becoming a popular destination for upcoming trips between September and December 2023, in contrast to the same period in 2022, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On the other hand, similar to the previous year, France remains the top choice for Chinese travellers, with 47 per cent of the 1,000 respondents including it in their autumn 2023 itineraries, according to the latest Long-Haul Travel Barometer survey by the European Travel Commission (ETC).
The ETC conducts 1,000 online interviews in each of the six key markets—Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, and the United States—with the aim of understanding the travel intentions of long-haul travellers.
Chinese travellers have also shown a growing interest in exploring less popular destinations, including Bulgaria, Iceland, Sweden, and Ireland. Notably, some of these destinations were not among the top choices back in the autumn of 2019.
Following France, other destinations favoured by Chinese travellers include Germany, chosen by 23 per cent, and Italy and Denmark, both tied for third place at 20 per cent.
When travelling to Europe, Chinese travellers expressed their preference for gastronomy experiences, with 40 per cent of respondents favouring this choice.
Specifically, the younger Chinese respondents aged 18-34 and 35-49, planning to visit Europe between September and December 2023, have a strong focus on savouring local cuisine and participating in cooking classes.
City life activities, such as street art, culture, and history, closely followed at 32 per cent, while nature-based activities, such as tourism and hiking, also drew significant interest, chosen by 29 per cent of the respondents.
Luxury shopping held a lower level of appeal, as it was the preferred activity for only 17 per cent of the respondents, making it the least favoured choice among Chinese travellers considering a trip to Europe.
In terms of transportation, the majority of Chinese respondents, roughly 83 per cent, plan to travel between European countries using full-service flights. An additional 29 per cent consider low-cost flights as an option.
Furthermore, train passes were the second choice among Chinese travellers, slightly lower at 25 per cent, while motorhomes, including campervans and truck campers, were the least preferred option, selected by only seven per cent of the respondents.


text:
NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) - Deputies with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office made arrests in two unrelated aggravated robberies Monday.
Ladarius Damon Agnew, 22, of Mt. Enterprise, and Gakavion Jarod Bagley, 23, of Nacogdoches, were each charged with aggravated robbery, which is a first-degree felony. Agnew's bail was set at $75,000, and Bagley's bail was set at $50,000.
According to one of the arrest affidavits, Nacogdoches Police officers responded to the Lucky Stop convenience store at 1218 Douglass Road on Oct. 27 in reference to an aggravated robbery that had just occurred.
The store clerk told them that two black men, one of them brandishing a handgun, had just entered the store and demanded money. The clerks complied with their demands, and one of the suspects entered the area behind the counter, where he removed a container of money and a stand of lottery tickets, the affidavit stated.
The second suspect fired his gun into a cigarette stand.
When the officers questioned the store's clerks, they remembered a customer who entered the store about an hour before the robbery and was acting suspiciously. The affidavit stated that the clothes he was wearing matched those of one of the robbery suspects.
NPD detectives looked at the video surveillance of the robbery and the customer who entered the store an hour before. According to the affidavit, the video revealed that the suspect was wearing the same shoes and pants as the customer from an hour earlier.
In addition to the fact that the shoes were a specific brand and size and had a recognizable color scheme, the robbery suspect left clear shoe prints throughout the store. Plus, the man appeared to be wearing an inside-out black T-shirt.
After the detectives identified the suspect as Agnew, they brought him in for questioning. Although Agnew admitted to being in the store an hour or so before the robbery occurred, he denied being involved in the crime.
However, the statement he provided about his whereabouts during the robbery turned out to be false. The NPD detectives seized the shirt and shoes he was allegedly wearing during the robbery, and both items were a match.
The second robbery took place on Nov. 30. According to the arrest affidavit for Bagley, Nacogdoches County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched out in reference to an aggravated robbery that had just occurred at the Rudy's convenience stor4e located at 432 U.S. Highway 59 North in Garrison.
When they arrived on the scene, the deputies learned that two black men entered the store and started yelling that it was a robbery. One of the suspects was armed with a black handgun, the affidavit stated.
The two suspects allegedly got away with $450 in cash and the wallet of one of the victims.
Later that day, a Nacogdoches Police officer stopped a 2002 Buick Park Avenue on North Street. When the officer made contact with the four people in the car, he found a wallet on Bagley's person that contained a Social Security card from the victim who lost his billfold in the robbery.
The NPD officers also found a small black semiautomatic pistol wedged in the seat next to Bagley. Two of the subjects in the vehicle were able to ID Bagley as one of the suspects in the convenience store robbery in Garrison via the store's surveillance video.


text:
Welcome to the 7th newsletter from Techonomics.
This week I did something a bit different. There are still the Interesting Reads, Visual of the Week, Bites, and Follow-ups, but in the Longer Take I took a bit more time to deep dive and create tools to help us analyze this week’s announcements of S-1 filings as companies prepare to go public. If you want to understand what to look out for as these companies go public, check out my post here or below in the One longer take.
For first time readers, Techonomics is a weekly newsletter exploring the intersection of technology, business, and the economy from an engineer’s point of view. We will deep-dive into tech industry news, including niche news that may fly under the radar.
Each week I will bring my personal learnings and commentary on content around tech’s intersection with current events, markets, and the overall economy. Content and commentary to help make sense of the technology sector.
I am really excited to share my learnings and have you follow along the way.
One longer take
📊 Software IPOs and S-1s: playing with numbers
The US technology sector is growing rapidly due to the great acceleration of innovation trends that were occurring before the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote workforce productivity tools, telehealth, consumer electronics, AI investments, and video games, to name a few, have more demand than ever. The underlying internet infrastructure that powers these products is riding the same wave and seeing huge year-over-year increases in revenue and growth. All this to say that the tech-heavy Nasdaq is at its all-time-high.
Given the all-time-highs, there’s a clear demand for technology investment due to low interest rates and a profit-seeking shift to equities. With 2020 IPO proceeds already catching 2019, it was no surprise that last week we saw a bunch of activity with S-1 filings of private US technology companies looking to ride the IPO wave and go public to increase capital for growth, pay down debts, and provide liquidity for investors and employees.
Let’s use the S-1 numbers and take a deeper look at the main software companies who announced this week: Asana, JFrog, Palantir, Snowflake, Sumo Logic, and Epic Games competitor, Unity. Who’s your pick?
Visual of the week
🎮 Video games FTW: It’s not a surprise that video games are taking off in the COVID-19 economy, we are all stuck at home in need of some entertainment. It’s still cool to see the impact on the industry in numbers. (link $)
🌎 The internet from first principles: I am on a kick with the explain-to-me-like-I’m-five articles, and this is really impressive. It uses regular language to explain how the internet works. Super neat information anyone can pick up. (link)
💸 Who inspired the 30% platform tax? We can blame that one on… drumroll please… Nintendo! Epic Games has them to thank for Apple and Google’s 30% platform tax. It’s a really neat story. (link $)
🧠 I’ve got a computer on the brain: Elon Musk had quite the demo of Neuralink, a computer implant for the brain. While I think it’s creepy as heck and makes me not want to watch any cyborg movies, the potential benefits are astounding. Think blind people being able to see again. (link)
⌚ The therapist band: Amazon released their new Fitbit competitor, but theirs will listen to your feelings. (link)
📕 Naive Regulation: California technology companies in particular are getting hit with a lot of regulation recently. We have seen Australia try to smack down Google News and California try and regulate the gig economy with Lyft and Uber classifying their drivers as employees. While I think some regulation is important, the way in which it’s happening feels like a naive and misunderstood approach that may leave us worse off. The most recent example is here. (link)
📲 What’s next for the App Store? Really solid breakdown of the potential fallouts of any App Store changes prompted by the Facebook and Epic Games pressure on Apple. (link)
💰 2/3rds of the economy is consumer spending: and it’s cooling down. (link $)
🤖 AI fighting algorithm bias: LinkedIn’s new AI tool fights bias in your algorithms. This is huge. (link)
💩 It’s all in the poop: The answer to who has COVID-19 may just get a little easier, and a little more anonymous. (link)
📦 Amazon is delivering more than half of their packages: by themselves. (link)
📡 5G in your home is a reality for some: Last week we discussed in Cable Companies and the Innovator’s Dilemma, that 5G could be in your home and competing with the cable companies. Well, that’s already here. There’s also more headwinds for the cable industry. (link)
If you want to take a look at posts written prior to this week, check out:
- Cable Companies and the Innovator’s Dilemma: Round 2
- Music’s Profit Journey
- India is where it’s at for tech investment
See you next week!
Views expressed in “content” (including posts, podcasts, videos) linked to or created in this newsletter, website, posts, or posted in social media and other platforms (collectively, “content distribution outlets”) are my own and are not the views of any person, company, or entity I am affiliated with or each entities’ respective affiliates. The content is not directed to any investors or potential investors, and does not constitute an offer to sell -- or a solicitation of an offer to buy -- any securities, and may not be used or relied upon in evaluating the merits of any investment.


text:
Olympic athletes are no different than professional sports players: they all have superstitions. Hockey player Bruce Gardiner used to baptize his stick in the toilet before games. Speed skater Chad Hedrick kept a cache of fortune cookies. Skier Michelle Roark wears a certain perfume when she competes. Some sports psychologists say it's a harmful distraction. Others say a good prep routine helps. Either way it comes down to what the athletes think. The Canadian Olympic team talked with The Globe and Mail about their own superstitions, which include lucky purple underwear, drinking orange juice and acting like a deer.
Follow me on Twitter, or e-mail me at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
WASHINGTON -- A Food and Drug Administration panel of outside medical experts backed an experimental prostate-cancer treatment designed to stimulate a person's immune system to fight the cancer, despite concerns it might not be that effective.
The panel unanimously said the first-of-a-kind treatment, Provenge, by Dendreon of Seattle, was safe. It also said the FDA should consider approving Provenge despite two clinical studies showing it didn't meet study goals. The Provenge studies showed the treatment failed to meet a goal of reducing so-called time to progression, or the advancement, of cancer.
Walmart 4th of July Rollbacks - Best deals on top picks
- Best Buy:
Save 15% or more on the Best Buy deal of the Day
Up to 15% off + free shipping at Wayfair
- The Home Depot:
Home Depot Daily Deal: $130 off cordless 6-tool combo kit
Nike Independence Day Savings: Up to 60% off hot summer gear
- Dick's Sporting Goods:
10% off sitewide - Dick's Sporting Goods coupons


text:
Maybe it’s a suspicious tax document flagged by your HR staff or a customer concern about an unauthorized charge. Identity theft can reveal itself in many ways. Regardless of the tip-off, there’s a new one-stop federal resource – IdentityTheft.gov – to help people report and recover from ID theft.
People usually think of beacons as radiant lights that attract attention. But the FTC has charged that two Ohio auto dealers (among other things) used the word in a way that kept consumers in the dark.
Mark February 9, 2016, on your calendar. That’s when the FTC’s Start with Security roadshow moves to Seattle and you’ll want to be there.
For online retailers, Cyber Monday can set the stage for a gleeful gift-giving season. Here are five tips to help make your “presents” known to holiday shoppers.
We don’t expect to win over fantasy sports fans, but if you’re a stats geek (and we’re proud to say we are), the FTC just published a resource that will keep you occupied for hours – and helps shape our approach to Do Not Call policy and enforcement.


text:
Ever wondered how it would feel to play your favorite mobile games on your PC? Well, Google has just made that wish come true, as it is launching a limited beta of Google Play Games for PC in overseas markets, bringing popular Android games such as Mobile Legends, Summoners War, State of Survival: The Joker Collaboration, and Three Kingdoms Tactics on both laptops and desktops.
The beta test will roll out in three markets in Asia – Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. Registrations begin today (the exact date and time will be announced by Google later on). If you were playing a game on your Android phone, and wish to continue playing on your laptop, you do not need to fear losing your progress as Google said that players will be able to pick up from where they left off when switching from another device, that is, the gameplay will sync between devices.
If you are a beta tester, you will have access to over 25 games – you can browse through the catalog, download the games, and then play it on your laptop or desktop. You can still earn Play Points while playing Android games on your PC. If this works, Google Play Games could have 25 billion monthly active users across multiple platforms.
There are a few requirements if you want to have Google Play Games on your PC, though, You need to have an OS that is Windows 10 or higher, any 8-crore processor, 8GB of RAM, any gaming-class GPU, and 20GB of free space.
The Google Play Games for PC is a new application, unveiled only a month ago at The Game Rewards, and yet is a sound move at a time the gaming industry has “leveled up.” With the number of gamers reaching new heights and the gaming frenzy continuing, more and more companies are focussing on the area. Recently, Microsoft strengthened its footprint in the gaming sector with the acquisition of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, which has received much flak over sexual harassment claims recently.
Microsoft is also planning to bring Android apps to its Windows 11 and built an underlying Windows Subsystem for Android.


text:
Press Release Summary:
- Meryl® 7-Ply antimicrobial face mask inhibits bacterial, viral and fungal growth
- Creates zero water waste and no microfiber or microplastic waste
- Utilizes 3D cut 5-ply replaceable filter inserts inside a double layer of permanent antimicrobial premium Nylon 6,6 fabric
Original Press Release:
Introducing The Meryl® 7-Ply Antimicrobial Face Mask with Permanent Silver Ion Technology
Medical, healthcare workers, and now everyday people can breathe a sigh of relief as Meryl releases their new breathable and reusable face masks to help fight coronavirus infection.
USA - January 2021 - Since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, many companies that manufacture medical equipment and kits have been working around the clock to devise ways of protecting healthcare workers. In the US alone, over 20 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported, with the number of deaths exceeding 400,000.
Many employers and customers have scrambled to acquire a face mask that is comfortable, provides the best level of protection, the best possible price per use, and is made in the USA: The 7-Ply antimicrobial face mask ticks all of these boxes.
It utilizes 3D cut 5-ply replaceable filter inserts inside a double layer of permanent antimicrobial premium Nylon 6,6 fabric. This provides comparable protection to N95 and KN95 masks, but with the benefit of using laboratory tested reusable silver ion technology.
The Meryl face masks are the most comfortable face-coverings on the market today. The company prides itself on ensuring superior protection and unmatched comfort for the wearer. The masks are made using HeiQ's Viroblock Silver Ion technology to inhibit bacterial, viral, and fungal growth as well as reduce foul odors by up to 93.8%.
Meryl’s sustainable technology is set to revolutionize the fabric industry, which is a leading polluter. Meryl creates zero water waste and no microfiber or microplastic waste because the material used is 100% post consumer recyclable. The company uses a chemical-free production process to ensure the products are safe for all applications.
Businesses and healthcare facilities looking for affordable ways to protect their employees can now turn to Meryl face masks. Meryl products are certified by HeiQ, Oeko-Tex, Leitat, and the EPA.
About Meryl Technologies:
Meryl Technologies is a fabric manufacturer dedicated towards reducing textile pollution through our innovative sustainable methods and providing unparalleled microbe protection with our permanent silver ion technology. Our goal is to create an industry that produces zero water pollution, zero microplastic pollution, and 100% reusability.
For any questions please reach out to: Lina Barcelo, 305-968-5462, firstname.lastname@example.org
For more information on the 7-ply face mask please visit: https://merylusa.com/collections/all/products/7-ply-hydrogen-antimicrobial-earloop-face-mask


text:
Avalanche Studios, the developers behind Mad Max and the upcoming Just Cause 3 have announced that the company had to let go 24 staff members this year, 12 in New York recently while 12 were given notice during summer in Stockholm.
While lay-offs are routine in game development world and as projects are finished, team sizes are changed and some of the staff is let go to prepare for another project and open up some spaces, it certainly does raise a few questions why these lay-offs happened so close to the release of both the games the company was developing this year.
Talking to GameInformer, a representative of Avalanche Studios mentioned that the studio is in process of rehiring some of the old staff members in preparation for their next projects, which will not be affected by these layoffs.
According to them, in the early phases of development, it’s easier to mismatch the team sizes and skills which is why as development continues, lay-offs tend to happen.
Avalanche’s second game this year, Just Cause 3 is set to release on December 1st for PS4, Xbox One and PC. While highly unlikely since the game has already gone gold, do you think these lay-offs will have an impact on the game after its release? Share below.


text:
Almost 70% of all freight tonnage moved in the U.S. is transported by trucks, says American Trucking Associations, which says, “The trucking industry is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy.”
That said, “a large chunk of the trucking industry remains a fractured, phoned-in, faxed-out, paper-driven mess,” according to LaneAxis, self-described advocates of the trucking, transportation and freight logistics industries.
In an effort to wipe out layers of inefficiency plaguing the $700 billion industry, LaneAxis has introduced a Virtual Freight Management System “that gives shippers unprecedented end-to-end visibility and control over their freight. The desktop and mobile app delivers real-time analytics and insights that eliminate the need for error-prone manual reporting. By utilizing real-time Internet and mobile GPS data, LaneAxis renders obsolete old and unreliable trucking technology such as the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system.”
The company says several major shippers have started utilizing the LaneAxis platform, including a prominent grocery chain.
"Ninety-seven percent of the trucking industry is small and independent," says Rick Burnett, LaneAxis Founder and CEO. "That's over one million trucks, licensed DOT carriers in the U.S. There's no visibility into that network.”
He believes the cost-savings realized by making the trucking industry more efficient could ultimately benefit consumers at the retail level. The apps' ability to match shippers and carriers also benefits the environment by reducing the number of empty trucks ("dead-head loads") on the highways.


text:
London, UK — February 7th, 2013 — Today, Ubisoft announced that its forthcoming title Rayman Legends, already announced for the Wii UTM system from Nintendo, will also be released on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. All versions will now hit shelves in early September 2013.
The Microsoft Xbox 360® and Sony PlayStation® 3 versions of Rayman Legends are being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, the same team behind the Nintendo Wii UTM game. Rayman Legends has been praised for its stunning visuals and innovative gameplay by media around the world and labeled as one of the most anticipated platformers of 2013.
“We heard from many Xbox & Playstation owners and Rayman fans who told us they really wanted to play Rayman Legends on their current system”, says Geoffroy Sardin, EMEA Chief Marketing & Sales Officer. ”We decided to give the fans what they wanted while at the same time broadening the audience exposed to this innovative and memorable game.”
Rayman Legends retains the fantasy appeal of its predecessor while adding a multitude of clever and entertaining gaming modes, new characters, new environments and a new soundtrack. The award-winning team of artists, designers and composers from Origins has also returned with an advanced UbiArt engine to include multi-dimension gameplay elements, an improved lighting system and updated game rendering that elevate Rayman’s graphics to the next level.
For more information on Rayman Legends, please visit:
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified lineup of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 29 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2011–12 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of 1.061 billion euros. To learn more, please visit http://www.ubisoftgroup.com
Wii U is a trademark of Nintendo.
KINECT, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. “PS Family Logo”, “PlayStation” and “PS3” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “PS3 Slim Logo” is a trademark of the same company.


text:
Afrox released its annual financial results for the year ended 30 September 2005 with the industrial business growing by 16 per cent.
Following the successful disposal of the healthcare business, plans have been announced for significant investments to drive further growth. The final dividend has been increased by 29 per cent, and the total for the year by 25 per cent.
Rick Hogben, chief executive of Afrox, said: \\$quot;Continued growth of our core business, at 16 per cent per year, is in line with our expectations and our gearing at 16,1 per cent allows for future expansion. With the disposal of Afrox Healthcare, over and above our normal capital expenditure, we have allocated R453 million specifically for new growth projects. We believe this will add further growth to profits in the future.\\$quot;
\\$quot;The projects will include six new bulk gases projects and the total re-engineering of our gases operations centre in Germiston. This centre is already the biggest gas production, cylinder filling and distribution centre in the southern hemisphere. We will also expand the capacity of our welding consumables factory in Brits and will be adding new products for both local and export customers.\\$quot;
Once again, Afrox produced very sound results, but as a result of the sale of Afrox Healthcare in March this year, the interpretation of the results is somewhat complicated. Afrox as it stands today includes gases, welding and related products, and a 20,1 per cent interest in Life Healthcare. On this basis, revenue increased 14 per cent to R3,3 billion, operating profit was higher by 12 per cent at R685 million and headline earnings per share were 37 percent higher at 160 cents.
Finance director, Cor van Zyl said that the profit before tax from the industrial operations, excluding associate profit and related income, increased by 11 per cent to R654 million and headline earnings per share improved by 16 per cent to 135,9 cents. The cash generated from operations increased by 30 per cent to R829 million.
For further information:


text:
To borrow from the beloved TV rerun of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” some stocks in that sector known as Toyland — even with Black Friday nigh — are teetering on a trip to the Island…
To borrow from the beloved TV rerun of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” some stocks in that sector known as Toyland — even with Black Friday nigh — are teetering on a trip to the Island of Misfit Toys.
Just take a look at Hasbro (ticker: HAS), which since Sept. 19 and Halloween fell a sickening 16 percent, just in time for the holiday shopping stampede. Prior to that, it had been on a rally, up 30 percent between April and September. And then? A 30 cents-a-share earnings miss on a 7 percent decline in revenues in its latest quarterly report.
So what happened to send Hasbro back to Santa’s workshop for badly needed repair?
After shuttering all its stores at the end of June — and there were more than 700 when the retailer announced plans to go out of business in March — Toys R Us created a vacuum far bigger than its now empty airplane hangar-sized locations. And that giant sucking sound you hear today is toy and board game stocks sweating the prospect of life after Geoffrey the Giraffe and his retail empire.
“The bankruptcy of Toys R Us makes it more difficult for toy retailers to sell their products,” says Robert Johnson, professor of finance at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. “Toys R Us was a large and steady product buyer and the loss of the biggest toy retailer sent shock waves through the toy industry.”
What’s more, every day was Black Friday at Toys R Us — at least for Hasbro and its ilk. Says Johnson: “It bought toys year round while many retailers that toy manufacturers have to rely on now, such as drug stores, have more seasonal demands and buying patterns.”
Yet if you can believe it, HAS is in good shape compared to Mattel ( MAT). With its most recent report, Mattel posted adjusted earnings per share of 18 cents compared to analysts’ expectations of 20 cents. That might not sound so bad, until you look at the larger picture of workforce attrition and sales.
“The firm recently eliminated more than 2,200 jobs and while Barbie sales were up 14 percent globally, Hot Wheels sales fell 6 percent, Fisher-Price sales fell 12 percent and American Girl sales fell by an astounding 31 percent,” Johnson says.
In fact, the death of Toys R Us was enough to kill Mattel’s dividend, at least temporarily. Citing the bankruptcy, MAT stopped its quarterly payouts — which dated to the 1970s — at the end of 2017 and has not restored them. But the hope is that the extra $50 million per quarter this freed up created a stopgap that will allow the dividend to resume once other retailers pick up the slack.
It’s been an opposite story for Hasbro, which actually raised its quarterly dividend by more that 10 percent — from 57 to 63 cents per share — as of its July 31 payout. The new amount more than doubles the dividend in 2011, which was 30 cents.
Meanwhile, the Toys R Us drama may mean some ideal buying opportunities for investors. D.A. Davidson & Co. recommends HAS as a “buy,” adding that, “it’s all about 2019.” Davidson has set a price target of $112 per share in the next 12-18 months, which would mark a jump of 15 percent. Shareholders already seem poised for the comeback, as Hasbro has rebounded by 6 percent since Oct. 24.
“In the third quarter of 2018, about a third of the lost Toys R Us sales were replaced and we expect that figure to go even higher in the fourth quarter,” says Linda Bolton Weiser, senior research analyst with D.A. Davidson.
Weiser also points to a number of movie franchises that could bolster any toy franchise: “Growth drivers next year include Disney’s ( DIS) ‘Frozen 2’ and ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Star Wars Episode IX,’ and ‘Captain Marvel’ and ‘Avengers’ from Marvel.”
As for MAT, Davidson remains in a “neutral” mode, as that toy company’s struggles have been complicated by reductions in inventory headed for China. Davidson recently revised its MAT forecast for estimated sales in the fourth quarter of 2018, from minus 1 percent year-over-year to minus 11 percent.
In any event, the Toys R Us void isn’t bound to last too long.
“Many retailers are there trying to fill the gap: Walmart ( WMT), Target ( TGT), Bed Bath & Beyond ( BBBY), Michaels ( MIK), Five Below ( FIVE), and of course, Amazon ( AMZN),” says David Tawil, president at Maglan Capital in New York City. “I think that toy manufacturers and wholesalers will not see a massive drop during the upcoming holiday season.”
In fact, one brand that could come riding to the rescue at some point in 2019 is the very same one that started the toy sector shakeup in the first place.
On Oct. 2, a group known as Geoffrey LLC announced it was moving forward with a plan to restart Toys R Us. “The new owners are actively working with potential partners to develop ideas for new Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in the United States and abroad that could bring back these iconic brands in a new and reimagined way,” said a statement posted on the former Toys R Us website.
Perhaps the would-be saviors should’ve stayed silent as a giraffe. For if there’s anything toy manufacturers hate, it’s someone having fun and playing games — with their stock, of course.


text:
November 17, 2014
View all 5 Followers
View all 195 Related Articles
Related Articles (195)
With Pokémon GO seemingly taking over the world as players walk around in search of the virtual creatures, one developer used the Watson Visual Recognition API to analyse screen shots of the app to locate nearby Pokémon, winning Best Use of Watson challenge at the AT&T Shape Tech Expo Hackathon.
APIs are not only critical when it comes to extending the digital reach of an organization; they can also provide tangible brick and mortar benefits as well. Walgreens, for example, recently announced that it has developed an API and software development kit that allows developers of mobile applications to include the ability to print out photos within their applications at any one of 7,907 Walgreens locations.
HTC announced the One smartphone this week, its new flagship device for the year. The One is a sequel to last year's well-liked smartphone and ratchets up the sex appeal with an all-aluminum design. Its feature set, which includes a luscious 5-inch HD display, zippy four-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and shiny metallic colors, will let it compete well against similar phones from other manufacturers. HTC believes developers can plan a role in the One's success, too, with new APIs for the camera and BlinkFeed.


text:
Canadian consumers get to mark "Food Freedom Day" on the same day in 2012 as in the previous three years, having earned enough on average to pay the total bill for groceries for the year.
The occasion, which in Canada commemorates what Canadian ad agency AdFarm dubbed "one of the most affordable food systems of all the industrialized countries," falls again this year on Feb. 12 — in this case, Sunday.
The date for Food Freedom Day each year, as designated by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, comes from a calculation comparing Canadians’ disposable income and the amount they spent on food during the previous year, AdFarm said in a release.
"Food Freedom Day serves to further demonstrate the value that Canadian farmers deliver to Canadians not only through quality food, but by supporting one in eight jobs, which in turn translates into vital economic contributions for our rural communities," the Calgary agency said.
The CFA, however, also interprets the data to show that an average consumer has earned enough income to pay the farmer’s share of those total food expenditures in only about three weeks.
"This is a common story for many players along the value chain — the share they get does not adequately compensate their costs," CFA president Ron Bonnett said Monday.
"The CFA strongly believes all stakeholders would benefit from a National Food Strategy," he said. "A plan to optimize our food system would strengthen agricultural businesses, create long-term value and make significant contributions to society."
Based on the CFA’s data, Canadians in 2011 spent 11.8 per cent of their disposable income on food, compared to 13.5 and 14.2 per cent respectively for France and Japan, for example.
The Canadian figure is based on an estimated disposable income per capita of $30,255 in 2011, during which time expenditures on food, beverages and tobacco were about $3,583, the CFA said.
The occasion has held steady at Feb. 12 since 2009, the CFA said, because "any growth in food expenditure, which has been relatively slight when compared to areas like recreation, rent and fuel, or transportation and communications, has not come close to matching growth in disposable income."
For Food Freedom Day to shift by one day, there would have to be a 2.5 per cent change either way in disposable income spent on food, the CFA said.
"As a comparison, Food Freedom Day in Iceland is in late February, while in Mexico it doesn’t come until early March," Ontario Federation of Agriculture executive member Keith Currie said in a separate statement Wednesday.
"This data highlights just how important Canadians’ food decisions are to our nation’s economic future," AdFarm Canada president Ben Graham said in a separate release. "Our nation’s farmers are producing food that is safe, secure, of high quality and relatively inexpensive."
Purchases of Canadian-grown food, he added, "directly lead to a stronger, home-grown agriculture sector and dramatically benefit the country as a whole."
AdFarm on Thursday afternoon held an event in Calgary to mark Food Freedom Day and collect food for local food banks. Calgary’s Kingsland Farmers’ Market has agreed to continue that food drive and accept food donations through the weekend up until 3 p.m. Sunday.


text:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The U.S. Postal Service is raising stamp prices.
Now is a good time to stock up on forever stamps, because the cost of mailing a letter will increase 1 cent more starting January 27. Right now, a stamp to mail a first-class letter of up to 1 oz. costs 45 cents if it goes through the U.S. Post Office. If you’re using a 45 cent stamp to mail packages, you will need to add an additional 1 cent stamp after January 27, but forever stamps will be good regardless of postage increases now or in the future. New Forever Stamp The U.S. Postal Service is also unveiling a new kind of forever stamp.This one will allow customers to mail letters anywhere in the world. The price will be $1.10. Postcard Postage Increase The postage price for mailing a postcard will also go up 1 cent to 33 cents. They …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thanks to a very special U.S. Postal Service program, "Santa" will reply to children who mail him their Christmas wish lists this holiday season.
Every year, millions of children sit down to make a wish list for Santa, hoping he will make all of their Christmas dreams come true. But what if Santa actually wrote back? The United States Postal Service is now accepting "Letters From Santa," a program that allows any person to play Santa by sending a letter signed by Saint Nick to any child. According to a postal service news release, "The 'Letters From Santa' program helps parents fulfill the dreams of their own children." Instructions to send a letter from Santa: TELL US: Do your children or children in your family plan on writing a letter to Santa this year?
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The deadlines for mailing Christmas presents is closer than you may think. Find out the shipping deadlines for USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
Next week is Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the day which kicks off the holiday shopping season. Many people ship holiday cards and gifts to family and friends. There are deadlines for shipping, if you need a package to reach its destination by December 24. Below are deadlines and policies for the United States Postal Service, UPS and FedEx. United States Postal Service Deadlines for domestic shipping: Locations Extras: The USPS website has deadlines for shipping internationally and to military personnel. You can also order packaging supplies, holiday stamps, and find store operating hours on the USPS website. FedEx Deadlines for domestic shipping: Locations Extras: The FedEx website offers location information and ideas for packing and …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
In 2011, I had 30 penpals and was just beginning to experience the world. Almost a year later I have 130 penpals and have loved every word of every letter.
In November of 2011 I wrote about my penpals, about the thirty or so individuals around the world that I wrote letters to. Over the last year I haven’t changed much. I’ve kept up with those thirty penpals, and today I have over one hundred and thirty penpals in twenty-four countries and twenty-eight states. From Tunisia to Poland, Radnor to Tacoma, Washington and everywhere in between I correspond with friends and strangers (until I write to them at least). As of August 21st I have sent a total of 485 pieces of mail, spending a total of $283.15. While this may seem like a steep price to pay, every dime is worth it. I’ve had friends who are bisexual, gay, and questioning come out to me. I’ve helped depressed friends in Belgium and Poland …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Post office boxes will be moved to the Wayne Post Office.
Friday, November 18 will be the last day of business for the St. Davids post office, which has survived multiple moves over multiple decades but did not survive the United States Postal Service's reduction plan. It's "very sad" said local resident and longtime user Arthur O'Neill. St. Davids resident Ted Pollard has also been using the branch for decades three or four times a week. Pollard said going to the Wayne Post Office will add congestion to the downtown. And then there's the parking. Multiple people in a span of a few minutes in the post office branch Thursday lamented going to the Wayne post office because of a lack of free and readily available parking. So what will people do? "I'll go to the Wayne Post Office and stand in long …


text:
Waymo — formerly the Google self-driving car project — is taking the self-driving to another level, when it announced to do away with “safety drivers” and launch full-fledged driverless vehicles.
The autonomous car company will chauffeur people in minivans, initially in a limited region of Phoenix, without any driver manning the steering wheel.
According to experts, the move, a first for any company, is a major milestone for the internet giant’s bid to lead the crowded pack trying to commercialize driverless technology.
“We want the experience of traveling with Waymo to be routine, so you want to use our driver for your everyday needs,” John Krafcik, Waymo’s chief executive officer, said at the Web Summit conference in Portugal. “Fully self-driving cars are here.”
He added that Waymo service will arrive soon, allowing people to hail the cars with a mobile app, similar to services like Uber and Lyft. Waymo has partnered with Lyft but hasn’t shared details on that deal.
At the summit, he also discussed how the vehicles may replace personal car ownership, an existential fear of the car industry.
“Because you’re accessing vehicles rather than owning, in the future, you could choose from an entire fleet of vehicle options that are tailored to each trip you want to make. People could claim the cars for a day, a week or even longer,” said Krafcik.
Waymo’s driverless cars will roll out in selected areas of Chandler, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb. In his speech, Krafcik said the test without drivers will soon expand to the entire metropolitan Phoenix area.
Last month, Google parent firm Alphabet announced the investment of $1 billion in ride-hailing platform Lyft.
The latest investment was aimed to help Lyft go aggressive in many markets, where Uber has market lead. However, it is surprising for many as Alphabet backed Uber earlier. Uber also got an infusion of about $250 million from Google in 2013, earning Google’s David Drummond a seat on Uber’s board.


text:
The iPhone 13 should be able to come up with new features such as a 120 Hz display. In order to realize this, Apple will probably rely on the new LTPO technology, as new statements from the rumor mill now confirm. For the time being, Apple will mainly use panels from Samsung.
Apple’s next generation iPhone will in all likelihood use a new display technology. These LTPO panels allow even more targeted control of individual ones Pixel, which further depresses the energy consumption of the panels. buy remdesivir generic gaetzpharmacy.com no prescription
This, in turn, is an important prerequisite for realizing functions that still haven’t made it into the iPhone. canadian pharmacy langleyrx.com no prescription
This includes a 120 Hz display, which is already available in the iPad Pro and which Apple calls ProMotion there. However, quite a few manufacturers have now also integrated such a panel into their smartphones.
iPhone 13 probably relies on Samsung displays
Like a recent report by the South Korean media outlined, Apple will continue to purchase a large number of displays for the iPhone 13 from Samsung Display. The LTPO panels will most likely only be used in the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Once again, four models of the new top model are expected. LG Display, so it is said in the statements from South Korea, will further modernize its production this year in order to be able to deliver LTPO panels to Apple for the iPhone next year. In addition to 120 Hz, these screens can also be used to implement always-on properties, another function that is now found in many modern smartphones.
India and Pakistan’s steroid-soaked rhetoric over Kashmir will come back to haunt them both clenbuterol australia bossier man pleads guilty for leadership role in anabolic steriod distribution conspiracy


text:
Royal Mail Deliveries Go Greener
Royal Mail has announced a ten-fold increase in the number of electric vehicles it runs across its UK fleet with plans to introduce around 3,000 additional, low-emission vans throughout the UK.
The vehicles, liveried in traditional Royal Mail red (rather than the green test vehicles), are a new chapter in the Company’s ongoing drive to reduce its operational emissions still further, with charging points installed to all the Delivery Offices set to receive the vehicles as part of the plans.
Specially designed to help deliver letters and parcels in a secure and environmentally-friendly way, with load capacities ranging from around 3.7m3 to 6.3m3, the vehicles will operate as part of the Company’s usual delivery routes. Initially focusing on ultra-low emission zones and green cities, such as the all electric fleet in Bristol.
With the UK’s largest “Feet on the Street” network of over 85,000 posties, Royal Mail already has the lowest reported CO2e emissions per parcel amongst major UK delivery companies. Like our own reduce, recycle, reuse policies, the expansion of alternative fuel vehicles demonstrates their commitment to reducing emissions and to delivering a cleaner future.
The ‘last mile’ electric vehicles follow the launch of 29 low emission gas powered trucks in May, fuelled by Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG). The 40 tonne Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are similar in size and look to a conventional Royal Mail truck but are significantly quieter, emitting roughly 84 per cent less CO2e than a typical diesel-fuelled vehicle of this size, helping us all to make the right move for the environment.


text:
BIRMINGHAM Women’s Hospital is to stop the supply of formula baby milk to new mums.
The ban, which comes into force from July 1, was announced to staff yesterday, sparking heated debate.
Mums will have to provide their own formula milk from that date, except in emergencies.
Bosses say that it is a move designed to promote breast-feeding but some staff last night branded it “just another cost-cutting exercise.”
One said: “We will only be able to give a bottle in an emergency, and have to sign for it.
“If we give more than one bottle, we will be in trouble.
“It’s a scandal. It is a worryimg enough time for new mums without this added concern.”
A spokeswoman for the Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust defended the move.
“This is not new,” she said. “It is already in operation at Walsall, and it is good practice across the country.
“We want to promote breastfeeding rather than mums using formula milk for their babies.
“From July 1 we will not provide milk for babies unless it is an emergency, or a mum is having trouble breastfeeding.
“This will not apply in the neo-natal unit, the delivery rooms or intensive care.
“It will only be on the wards where it will be the responsibility of patients to provide milk for their babies.”


text:
- Home Page
- Washington Post Live
- Live Chats
- Real Estate
- WP BrandConnect
Meanwhile, shares of Nintendo fell sharply after the gaming giant clarified its relationship to the mobile game.
In a single stroke, Verizon would own the biggest website in the world.
That moment when you realize your Pokémon Go obsession has gone too far.
The company is asking those using an “extraordinary” amount of data to switch plans or leave.
Gotta catch a date?
Now anyone can apply for that all-important blue checkmark.
Yahoo seems to be going out with a whimper.
The company is rolling out a new widget that appears in certain search results.
Deciding to announce the release of the most expensive model first is a little puzzling, particularly when press coverage of its $300 model was so extensive.
Users can pick from a small but versatile range of tools to draw.


text:
's Vacancy Details Name Jazzmyride.com Job Title Sr.Executive-Accounts Location New Delhi Required Qualification B.Com Required Skills Key Responsibilities: 1. Perform accounts book-keeping ... CAclubindia, 6 days ago
3 images for "naaptol"
Seattle-based e-commerce major Amazon delivered a parcel to pin code 790002 in India recently, and sees it as an achievement of sorts. It may look like any other six-digit address code, except that the destination was a remote place called Balemu in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi-headquartered Snapdeal gets 70 per cent of its orders from towns, which are not in the top 10 list of cities in India. Flipkart aims to offer a seamless last-mile delivery ...Rediff.com, 1 week ago India Post gets deliverance from the web Smart Investor, 1 week ago
The past couple of weeks have been quite exciting for Indians. First, the Internet.org release, then Google's plans to bring Project Loon to India; the Indian cricket team qualified for the World Cup semis and DataWind launched their economical ...The Sunday Guardian, 1 week ago DataWind partners with Reliance Communications to provide one year free internet browsing Times of India, 1 week ago DataWind launches Android phones at Rs 1,999 with free internet Indian Express, 1 week ago DataWind launches entry-level Android smartphones starting Rs 1999 with free Internet access on reliance communications Telecom Tiger, 1 week ago
One Spring evening some years ago, in a moment of alcohol-induced exuberance, two friends decided to set up a fast-food business. Fed up of the burgers and pizzas on offer in the market, they decided their baby would sell the very Indian kathi-kabab ...Times of India, 1 week ago
JP Morgan Asset Management is likely to acquire the India portfolio of Canaan Partners for over $200 Mn. If the deal goes through, it would be one of largest secondary portfolio sale in the Indian market. Madison Capital is also among the likely ...Deal Curry, 2 weeks ago Jp morgan close to buy canaanand#8217;s india portfolio for over $20 CAclubindia, 2 weeks ago JP Morgan emerges frontrunner in race to buy Canaan's domestic portfolio for over $200 million Economic Times, 2 weeks ago
MobiKwik, India's leading Mobile Wallet with over 15 million users, today announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with PAYBACK, India's largest multi-brand loyalty program. This partnership will enable PAYBACK's over 30 million ...EFYTimes.com, 2 weeks ago MobiKwik in advanced talks to raise $100 mn Business Standard India, 2 months ago
MUMBAI: India's retail landscape has changed rapidly in recent years. Owing to increasing disposable incomes and a growing number of nuclear families with evolving lifestyles, the country is experiencing a shift towards organised retail. ...Indian Television, 2 weeks ago
Junglee.Com In line with the success that online shopping festivals for apparels and electronics have witnessed in India, the recently concluded 'Online Auto Mela', which was hosted by Amazon India's price comparison portal Junglee.com, saw a ...Business Standard India, 2 weeks ago Junglee.com sees 3X rise in auto category demand during its online 'mela' Agencyfaqs!, 2 weeks ago
Snapshot on Online Retail (E-tailing) Market in India - 2015; Market size, Market trends, Growth drivers, Future forecast, Market opportunity
FEATURED COMPANIES Fashion and You Future Retail Home Office Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd. VAS Data Services Pvt Ltd Xerion Retail Pvt. Ltd. MORE ...Research and Markets, 3 weeks ago
The department of posts (DoP) will soon move a cabinet note on approval for an investment of Rs 650 crore for its proposed payment bank venture, for which it had applied last month to the Reserve Bank of India. And, for an independent entity to do ...Business Standard India, 3 weeks ago
on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked!


text:
With beaming faces, three small children scampered off in different directions throughout the department store, grabbing whatever caught their eyes and yelling, “I want this one!”
Maiky, 7, jumped on a rocking horse right away, and his sister Nourita, 6, grabbed a Barbie doll that she’d been wishing for, while Marky, 2, couldn’t decide what dress was the prettiest. They were the proverbial kids in a candy store, overwhelmed by the stuff that dreams are made of while shopping Tuesday at Ross Dress for Less in Kapolei.
The shopping frenzy started when Kawika Freitas called out, “Come on! Let’s spend!” with an arm gesture akin to waving the magic wand that made it all possible. He had $500 in his pocket, raised by his volleyball friends this month to enable a needy family to go on a Christmas shopping spree.
Freitas, president of the Hawaii Beach Volleyball Association, chose this family of six from a list of hundreds being assisted by Helping Hands Hawai‘i through the Adopt A Family program. The annual Christmas program is supported by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s annual Good Neighbor Fund drive so people struggling to get back on track can receive a special holiday dinner, needed items and a few extras from Santa. Readers may “adopt” a family or individual, or just donate to the general fund. The most requested items are clothing and shoes, household items and popular toys. Information on how to donate is available next to this article.
Freitas said the HBVA, which has about 100 members, held a volleyball tournament Dec. 5 with its corporate sponsors at Queen’s Surf Beach in Waikiki. “We try to do something every year” to benefit other nonprofits, he said.
His wife, Christine, came along on the Ross trip to help search for the right sizes in shoes and clothes, and their little girl Kawena got into the act, picking out her own favorites.
In the thick of it all, Freitas said, “It’s awesome! It makes me feel great! I love it when I see kids running around, all excited and happy. It’s amazing that they’re so happy just to get a pair of shoes. It’s not like I’m buying them the fanciest toy. They’re buying necessities and they’re happy about that.”
The cost of everything came up to about $511, said Kelly Asinsin, the case manager for the Micronesian family assisted by the HBVA-raised funds.
The family moved from Chuuk almost three years ago; the parents of four children, including a baby girl, didn’t want to publicize their last name because of their embarrassment about accepting charity, Asinsin said. “I had a hard time getting her (the mother) to agree to it because she was ashamed.”
Asinsin has worked with the family at the Ulu Ke Kukui transitional shelter in Maili for the past eight months, and recommended them for the Adopt A Family program because “they show potential.”
“They’re a very grateful family, and I believe that they will succeed, they will get permanent housing, and that they will overcome everything that they’re currently going through,” she said.
More than a year ago, the family was living with relatives, who evicted them, Asinsin said. They ended up living on the beach for six months before entering an emergency shelter. The parents are not fluent English speakers, which has been a barrier to employment.
The father has been able to find only a part-time job as a custodian, and is trying to improve his English through an education program for the homeless. The mother bears the brunt of the stress that comes with taking care of an infant born with medical problems, Asinsin said.
After filling several shopping bags for the children, the parents were “very, very thankful,” Asinsin said, adding, “The kids were excited — they wanted to open everything and use the new clothes right away — because they don’t (usually) get to shop like this. I would say the family was blessed.” The mother plans to wrap some of the clothes, shoes and backpacks they picked out, and make them wait for Christmas to open their presents, Asinsin said.
Freitas said, “Growing up — I’m from Hilo — you see other kids that have had hard times when their backpacks are broken or they don’t have a backpack” and they lack many basic necessities. “I’m very fortunate that my parents busted their butts to give me what I needed.”
“So now I see kids going through that (hard times), and I’m in a situation where I’m able to give back, and I feel it’s only right. … Being a father now, I can’t imagine not being able to provide for my kids. It would be devastating. So any little help I think we can do, we should do it as a community,” he said.


text:
In addition, Crawford said the growth of the blueberry category does affect the strawberry sales.
“I think as the demand for blueberries increases, it takes more from the strawberries,” he said.
Strawberries are still the leader in terms of volume, he said, although he’s not sure if they are still the leader in revenue.
“I think blueberries are on target to surpass strawberries,” he said.
Blackberries aren’t as popular as blueberries, but Gregory Atkinson, West Coast manager and domestic grower relations for Giumarra International Berry, Los Angeles, said that could simply be because they haven’t had the publicity.
“There is definitely a demand for them,” he said. “There’s not as much information on the health benefits and antioxidants of blackberries, but they are supposedly just as good for you, if not better, than blueberries,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson said blackberries are growing in their share of the market.
“They aren’t as highly demanded, but they are gaining ground on them,” he said.
In some cases, bush berries are already encroaching slightly on the strawberry display space, inching up from 50% to 60% of the display. Blueberries, especially, are more in demand.
“Before, the bush berries, especially blueberries, were always kind of regional while being strong in the northeast. Now they are all over, evenly spread across the U.S.,” Jewell said.


text:
11/14/2022: The New Face of Identity Theft: Synthetic Identity Fraud
Like many aspects of our day-to-day lives, the expansion of technology has both enhanced and complicated the ways in which we operate. As more and more of our information lives online, identity theft — once more likely to occur because of a stolen wallet — has also assumed a digital appearance: synthetic identity theft.
What is Synthetic Identity Fraud?
Synthetic identity fraud is defined as the use of a combination of pieces of personally identifiable information (PII) to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain.
This form of identity theft has allowed bad actors to combine a stolen Social Security Number (SSN) and other false information — such as a fake name, address, date of birth, or phone number — to create a counterfeit identity to steal funds, escape prosecution, or any other number of criminal and fraudulent activities.
An Alarming Trend
In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named synthetic identity theft as the fastest growing financial crime in the United States. Fraud targets are often those who do not typically use credit or are less likely to monitor their credit activity — including children, homeless individuals, and the elderly. These victims may find themselves blindsided as fraudsters create a new identity, apply for credit, and after years of building good credit by making payments for a time, abandon the account without paying anything back to the financial institution.
While this type of fraud is already difficult to detect due to its elusive or “normal” nature, many bad actors go to incredible lengths to appear as such, states Forbes. In addition to establishing good credit by making payments quickly and on time, some create digital profiles or use P.O. boxes for addresses.
Not only has technology and access to the dark web made PII more accessible to fraudsters, in 2011 the Social Security Administration (SSA) began randomizing the nine-digit social security codes rather than assigning them to individuals based on their geographical location and group number. No longer do social security numbers raise red flags when enrolling or opening accounts “out of state.”
As online banking grows in popularity, so too do concerns for synthetic identity theft. Between prevalent phishing schemes and heightened risks for data breaches — accessing PII and conducting synthetic identity fraud has become much easier than in years prior.
How to be Proactive Against Bad Actors
Inconsistent categorization and reporting make it difficult to identify and mitigate this type of fraud — as far as banks and credit bureaus can tell, these individuals are just like anyone else. . . until they “bust out” or abandon the maxed-out account with no intention of repayment.
After abandoning the false identity’s account, a fragmented file is created. This additional file not only becomes associated with the original SSN but also holds the additional credit report information and other fabricated PII. Unfortunately, this information could negatively impact the credit rating of the real individual.
While victims of identity theft typically are not liable for fraudulent purchases or accounts, as long as they can prove they are the real SSN holder and not the thief, financial institutions are left to absorb the cost and oftentimes it is challenging to dig out all of the impacts to ones credit. So it’s important to stay vigilant with credit:
- Do frequent credit report checks or freeze unused credit at credit bureaus throughout the U.S. as to deter criminals or catch them early.
- Protect your child’s profile. Parents can protect their children from fraudsters by requesting their child be added to their credit profile. By adding a child to an adult’s credit profile, not only does the child’s own credit profile become established in his or her name and SSN, but the child is also able to begin building their credit.
How to Protect your Existing Accounts
Unfortunately, synthetic identity fraud isn’t the only fraud out there. It’s also important to monitor your existing accounts for fraud and to act quickly if you see something suspicious.
- Check your debit and credit card transactions regularly.
- Set up alerts in your mobile or online banking that would flag unique activity.
- Install the Brella app on your phone so you can freeze and unfreeze your cards at a moment’s notice. You can also set up alerts for suspicious or high-risk transactions.
If you have any questions about possible fraud with your account, please contact us immediately. If it’s after bank hours, remember you can cancel your debit or credit card by contacting:
•Debit: call Shazam at 1-800-383-8000
•Credit: call Elan at 1-800-558-3424
(Shazam and Elan are national agencies that provide our card services).
*Article courtesy of Wisconsin Bankers Association.


text:
More than 75 percent of women admitted they don’t know what purpose ammonia has in hair color, according to Wella Professionals’ “Are You Color Savvy?” survey. With confusion and concern about hair damage and product ingredients, why not invite clients to bring friends for a special evening of “beauty eye-openers?” To encourage women to ask their colorists questions, Wella Professionals kicks off an eight-city Color Discovery Tour, June 21, 2011,in NYC. Women will receive free hair consultations with top local pros. Visit wellausa.com
for more information.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.


text:
iPhone 5 will be just white ? Wintek sole touch panel supplier.
Wintek to be the sole touch panel supplier for white iPhone 5, says report
Wintek reportedly to be the sole touch panel supply for white iPhone 5s and may replace TPK Touch Solutions to become the leading touch panel maker worldwide in 2011 as Apple plans to focus on white models for the iPhone 5, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report.
Wintek declined to comment, the paper noted.


text:
The case hits a major snag as Apple punches holes in the plaintiff's purchases, rendering the suit eligible for dismissal.
The trial kicks off to determine whether Apple illegally used iTunes software updates to keep consumers locked in its digital music ecosystem.
A programmer who is part of the class action lawsuit against several tech giants says $324 million isn't enough.
The social network will have to contend with a class-action lawsuit over its refusal to provide refunds when children spend money on the site without the permission of their parents.
Judge Lucy Koh in August rejected the companies' initial $324.5 million offer to settle the case accusing four Silicon Valley giants of conspiring to stay away from each other's employees.
A pair of class-action lawsuits, alleging anticompetitive behavior related to Android handsets, have been dismissed in a California court.
Social network's detractors say proposed class-action settlement over ad feature that displays images of users doesn't go far enough. Facebook argues otherwise; says if plaintiffs don't like it, they can opt out of deal.
Elon Musk's electric-car venture has lured more than 150 employees from Apple over the last few years, more than from any other company. Bloomberg reports.
That's $90.5 million more than the previous settlement offer in the case accusing four Silicon Valley giants of conspiring not to hire away each other's employees.
Apple and Google are among the companies accused of conspiring not to hire away each other's employees.


text:
Facebook will be going on a hiring spree in the United Kingdom post Brexit as it struggles to rebuild trust in its platform continues. The social media giant, reportedly, plans to hire 1,000 employees who will be specially tasked to take down and harmful content from its platform.
UK is Facebook's biggest engineering center outside the US and the social media giant wants to use London's appeal as a technology ecosystem. Facebook has been long struggling to reinstate users' faith in its platform since it got embroiled in a data breach scandal in early 2018.
What are Facebook's plans?
Facebook, reportedly, is planning to add another 1,000 employees to its workforce in the UK. According to a Reuters report, Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook's vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in an interview said that the hiring will be essentially in technology that includes software engineering and data science. She further said that the company is waiting for a certainty on Brexit before making the announcement.
A large number of jobs will also be in Facebook's Community Integrity team, who will be specifically assigned to take down harmful content like terrorist propaganda and child pornography. The job announcement is likely to be made by Sheryl Sandberg ahead of her visit to Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum.
Facebook already has 3,000 employees in the UK, which will now go up to 4,000. UK is an important center for Facebook and it wants to use London's appeal as a technology ecosystem to expand its business in Europe.
A planned move by Facebook
Facebook and its chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg has been under tremendous pressure from regulators both in the US and Europe to do a better job of policing its service. The company has also been criticized for the way it handles political ads and has often been asked to review its political ad policy.
European regulators have particularly been stricter with Facebook than the US. On Monday, Nick Clegg, Facebook's public affairs chief and a former British politician said that the company aims to do a better job this year by eliminating bad factors that may manipulate this year's US Presidential election.
Moreover, antitrust bodies across Europe have been constantly building pressure on Facebook to police its services and content. Facebook and other Internet company could also face fines if they fail to take down post that may incite violence or put the personal safety of its users at risk.
Although Facebook is citing economic benefits its platforms bring to business in Europe, it is quite evident that is trying to rebuild the trust among its users. The company's image started getting dented following the data breach scandal involving Cambridge Analytica that exposed the personal information of more than 80 million users.


text:
Around 1992-93, the media hype machine was all obsessive about which local music scene could have become “the next Seattle.”
Now the frenzy is back. Only this time, it’s got real economic stakes.
Now, just about every locale from Texas to Ontario, from California to New York, wants to be the 21st Century’s next Seattle.
Way-early one Thursday morning in early September, Amazon announced it wanted a second “co-headquarters” (or “HQ2”) city, somewhere in North America, preferably at a big city (or metro area) with at least a million residents and an international airport.
Amazon says the new office campus, wherever it is, will eventually have 50,000 workers and 8 million square feet.
It’s got 40,000 workers in Washington already, with at least 6,000 positions “open.” It occupies 8.1 million square feet in Seattle, or 20 percent of our current office space, across 33 buildings. Even more Amazon space is under construction or planning in greater downtown. It’s taking all the office space in the mega-tower going up next to Rainier Square.
While Amazon said the new corporate campus would be administratively equal to its current one, it also said Seattle “will always be home.”
Can you think of any company that had two “co-equal” headquarters cities? The Seattle Times’ John Talton has pointed out that some of the big bank mergers in past decades included promises of such co-head offices, but that they all eventually settled on one single “home base.” So did several merged biotech companies in the previous decade.
No, the only long-term co-headquarters I can think of is that of the Royal Dutch-Shell Group.
The oil giant has traditionally had a confusing web of global subsidiaries, leading up to parallel head offices in London and The Hague. But even that arrangement ended in 2005, with the Dutch office taking predominance.
Likewise, the Amazon “HQ2” campus will likely be the home base for several of the e-conglomerate’s growing array of operating divisions. Maybe hardware devices, or physical stores, or even Amazon Web Services (the company’s one consistently profitable unit, providing web servers and computing services for other dot-coms).
Novelist Ryan Boudinot, who worked for Amazon in two stints, has a different idea. Boudinot calls the HQ2 plan “an opportunity to build redundancies and compete against itself to arrive at the most innovative ideas.”
“Built-in redundancy” is a common buzz phrase in the computer data-center realm, a big part of Amazon Web Services. It means having multiple physical sites, each having multiple sources of electricity, each storing duplicates of the same files, so that if one site “goes down,” services are maintained.
In that respect, redundancy’s good for mega-computers and the files that live on them.
But redundancies in people?
I’m not so sure about that.
Besides, in Britain, the term “workforce redundancies” means what we call “layoffs.”
In the past month, over 130 cities, counties, states, and Canadian provinces have asked to be considered for HQ2. Even though the company’s not specified any subsidies or tax breaks it wants, localities are offering, or getting ready to offer, the proverbial moon and stars.
Philadelphia columnist Will Bunch wrote on city/state groveling to attract Amazon’s “HQ2”, at the cost of potentially massive “incentives”: “Should Philly screw over its schoolkids to make the world’s second richest man even richer?”
UW prof Margaret O’Mara said to GeekWire: “In an age where cities and states are starved for resources, often times these efforts at economic development, the costs of tax breaks for the city, will far outweigh whatever benefits come from the number of jobs created.”
Steven Strauss in USA Today was more terse: “Taxpayers and politicians, hold onto your wallets.”
Some local politicians’ responses to HQ2 could be summed up as: “It’s never too late to say ‘we’re sorry.’”
But sorry for what?
For aasking the outfit almost singlehandedly responsible for our traffic hell, hyper-gentrification, and mass evictions to give back a little more to alleviate the effects of its presence?
City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, never one to act subsurvient to corporatations, said HQ2 “is reminiscent of Boeing’s ongoing efforts to ship jobs out of the Seattle area and hold us hostage.”
The week after Amazon’s announcement Ballard’s Waterwheel Lounge posted a dry-erase-board message: “Special: The Bezos Burger. Like a regular burger, only 200 times more expensive and looking for another sleepy drinking town to gentrify into oblivion! Only $2,000 a month for 400 square feet.”
But seriously folks, any burg that wants HQ2 had better be ready for a big investment that might have a small tax-revenue return—perhaps too small to pay for the roads and schools and utility services an office mega-campus and its humans would need.
On the other hand, the “lucky winner” would get (if it doesn’t already have it) instant recognition on the corporate “world stage.”
And it’d get a lot of fancy lunch places and loud bars.


text:
Amazon reminds us Americans should explore free market healthcare alternatives
Last week, Amazon injected itself further into the healthcare space by launching a new prescription drug program. Called RxPass, the service allows Amazon Prime members to fill prescriptions from a list of roughly 50 generic medications for a flat fee of $5 per month.
It’s yet the latest example of the free market rescuing patients from a healthcare system run amok by middlemen, large hospital networks, and insurance companies that are contributing to inflated prices.
The news is welcome as a record number of Americans are sacrificing their health due to a combination of tight finances and ballooning prices. According to a January Gallup poll, 38 percent of U.S. adults report they or a family member have delayed medical treatment within the past 12-months because of high costs. And even more concerning, the figure has jumped 12-points compared to the previous year.
As the Biden administration continues to play hide-and-seek with classified documents and Congress is in gridlock, there are a growing number of free market options that circumnavigate the old school healthcare cartel so Americans can access affordable, more personalized care.
Last year, Mark Cuban opened an online pharmacy that now provides roughly 350 medications to consumers at discounted prices. For example, the cancer medication Imatinib sells for just over $14 on the website when the retail price is 170-times that. The trick to the platform’s seemingly magic cost cutting ability is avoiding the middlemen of the drug supply chain that have been given a government pass to collect kickbacks.
Called Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), these entities are normally able to leverage their middlemen status to inflate prices and financially profit on the backs of consumers. By purchasing medicine directly from the manufacturers and bypassing the PBM bloat, Cuban’s company can offer patients affordable drugs while still making a modest profit.
Notably, the platform recently announced it is exploring adding insulin to its growing portfolio of available drugs—a welcome development for Americans living with diabetes. One analysis finds PBM rebates boost insulin prices by nearly $300; therefore, the online service is expected to provide meaningful savings. (California should keep the true culprit of high insulin costs in mind as it pursues legal action in an effort to rein in prices.)
Beyond prescription drugs, direct primary care is a supplement to traditional insurance-funded, hospital-based healthcare that is gaining popularity. Because these practices operate outside the purview of insurance providers and middlemen funny business, care is provided at more affordable, transparent prices without the bureaucracy.
How does it work? Similar to a gym membership, patients pay a modest monthly fee to access regular exams, telemedicine, and routine procedures. Care not covered by the regular membership expense—such as more elaborate tests, complex procedures, or unique medications—are presented as a menu of options with upfront prices. And rather than being a slave to paperwork and insurance companies, direct primary care physicians are able to forge strong relationships with their patients.
In 2021, I realized the benefits firsthand. After experiencing a series of family tragedies at the hands of cancer, I gave direct primary care a try when the traditional healthcare system—clogged in bureaucracy and red tape—delayed the lifesaving tests I needed for six months.
After my first hour-long meeting with a direct primary care physician and learning about my family history, she agreed I should have the tests and immediately ordered them. The test confirmed what we suspected, and I was able to get the necessary preventative treatment to avert a future cancer diagnosis. Direct primary care helped to save my life and proves that reducing the complexity and bureaucracy of any system cannot only reduce costs but save lives.
Amazon’s announcement last week is a good reminder that although some aspects of American healthcare are falling short of what patients deserve, there are free market alternatives created by entrepreneurs that can help keep us healthy. At the very least, if policymakers can’t agree on meaningful reform because of Washington gridlock, they should help keep these options wide open.
Elaine Parker is the President of the Job Creators Network Foundation, which supports free market healthcare reform through its policy framework HealthcareForYou.com


text:
David Cariello, owner of Campus Connection, wanted to come up with a silly way to market a new T-shirt celebrating the 20-year anniversary of Tulane’s undefeated 1998 football season. So, in one Tweet, Cariello concocted an improbable backstory for the shirt.
Just got a call from Starter. Apparently they lost our shipment of Tulane National Champions shirts from 20 years ago and just found it sitting in their warehouse. They were very apologetic. Hopefully these will be in our store soon. #rollwave pic.twitter.com/GolCq3QEfy
— CampusConnection💚🌊 (@TulaneShop) January 3, 2018
While the story about the missing shipment is fictitious, the shirt’s popularity is no joke. Cariello said he underestimated how many people would be interested in a t-shirt celebrating the 20-year-old National Championship.


text:
With 140 UK retailers already on our ‘critical’ watchlist, and our recent research highlighting over 13,700 retailers experiencing 'significant' distress in the 11 weeks to 17 December 2012, a 35% increase from the third quarter, news of the administration of the third major retailer in less than a week will create a serious new year hangover for landlords across the country and employment in the sector.
It can also only serve to damage consumer confidence in the retail sector further in the months ahead.
More top news
A teenage racing driver who lost part of both his legs after a horror crash has thanked emergency workers for "saving my life".
The actress plays Rhona Goskirk, who was raped by her new husband on their wedding day in the ITV soap.
Detectives working on the Madeleine McCann case say they are pursuing "significant lines of inquiry", a decade after she went missing.


text:
Kiatnakin Bank is preparing to launch a special campaign “HP Approval Revolution” for the first time in the “24th THAILAND INTERNATIONAL MOTOR EXPO 2007” featuring an approval process for car buyers in the Motor Expo that is superior in terms of speed and convenience compared to conventional procedure requiring a day or two for credit approval.
Mr.Tawatchai Sudtikitpisan, Director and President of Kiatnakin Bank Public Co., Ltd., said, “Kiatnakin Bank now handles 33,809 million baht of car hire purchase loan or 59% of our total loan. The ratio of new and used vehicles is 50:50, the vehicles being mostly pickup trucks with 7-10% market share of new vehicles. We have a total of 150,000 clients, making us one of the top 5 in car hire purchase loan market.”
“These reasons prompted us to join in as an official sponsor of the Motor Expo 2007 and prepare a special campaign for the Motor Expo 2007. We are confident in the Expo organizing potential that will pull together a large number of car companies and customers. With our customer base, Kiatnakin Bank will be more widely recognized especially among clients wanting to buy new vehicles wherein the proportions of used cars and new cars in hire purchase business today are very close,” said Mr. Tawatchai.
Should you require further information, please contact: Ms. Pornchanok Saowamol,
Mr. Waseenat Sookthis, Project Public Relations, Professional Media Business Co., Ltd.
T: 089-457-0567 F: 02-559-0650 E: waseenat_s[.]pmb.co.th


text:
Audible Escape is a standalone subscription package for Romance audiobooks. The program launched in 2017 under the name Audible Romance, and rebranded two years later. It cost around $6.99 per month and ranked the titles with flavorful names, such as Sweet, Simmering, Sizzling, Hot Damn, and O-O-OMG. Audible has announced that they are discontinuing Escape on November 1st, 2020.
Audible has been revising their entire membership platform in the past month. They added a new entry level program Audible Plus. It will provide subscribers access to 68,000 hours of audio content from more than 11,000 original productions, audiobooks, and podcasts. The new offering will be available for $7.95 per month. They are also are changing their Audible Gold program and are now calling it Audible Premium Plus, which costs $14.95 per month, users will continue to get 1 credit per month.
Audible has stated that if you have downloaded Escape audiobook titles in your library, they will completely disappear on November 1st. If you have an active subscription, I am sure it will be cancelled, although in the email I received, they never stated if the cancellations would be automatic or not.
Michael Kozlowski has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past twelve years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.


text:
Standard Life Investments has appointed an investment director for Sweden to its European sales team as it expands its presence in the region.
The firm has announced the opening of its new office in Stockholm, Sweden.
SLI has also hired Christopher Andersson as investment director for sales in Sweden. He will be based out of Stockholm and will report to head of Nordics and co-head of European business Asa Norrie who is Edinburgh-based.
Andersson has fourteen years experience in the Nordic investment markets having worked as sales manager at boutique asset manager Lannebo Fonder as well as Intervalor in Stockholm.
SLI’s institutional sales team in Europe has also been boosted with the appointment of Selcuk Acar as business development manager in Germany and Austria. Selcuk joins the existing Germany sales team of three based out of Frankfurt.
Norrie says: “”It’s great to welcome Christopher on board, to drive our Swedish business activity. His appointment and the opening of an office in Stockholm signifies the commitment we have to our clients in Sweden, and our ambitious expansion plans across the Nordics.
“Christopher and Selcuk both bring a range of experience and skills which will help to propel Standard life Investments further into Europe, as part of our commitment to expand our global franchise.”


text:
New Scientist, April 2006
Globalisation has brought on lifestyle changes in India, particularly amongst the youth. Suddenly, all the cosmetics yous saw in glossy magazines published abroad, are now available in, say, Bandra, across a fancy counter, and whats more , it looks like cash flow is not a problem for some people.
We are now replicating something, which must have happened in the US and Europe in the sixties and early seventies .Extravagant attention to personal looks, familial pressures, the obsession with "gora pan" (fairness), and the easy availability of Cosmetic surgeons willing to reshape (for the better), everything about you, except possibly your bank balance....Sunscreens are now the rage in summer, with several cosmetic companies vying with each other to market, waterproof, state -of-the-art stuff. Its not as if the sun has suddenly got stronger in India, or peoples' skin has suddenly become delicate etc. But the advent of real time sports on TV, combined with smart marketing by sports icons, has created a market.
In the meanwhile, in 2001 Swiss researchers reported that 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor (4-MBC), among other sunscreen chemicals, mimicks the reproductive hormone oestrogen and accelerates the development of the uterus in rats. Now German scientists say they have data from rats showing the extent to which this chemical can disrupt thyroid hormone and change the volume of the gland itself.
Josef Kohrle of Charite University of Medicine in Berlin and his colleagues fed various amounts of 4-MBC to rats. They say that feeding the animals the compound makes sense because environmental surveys in countries such as Switzerland have detected it in lake waters.
Rats that received a daily dose of 33 milligrams of 4-MBC per kilogram of their bodyweight for five days showed a 15% increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone, which prompts the thyroid to produce metabolism-regulating hormones. Rats that received a daily dose of 33 milligrams of 4-MBC per kilogram of their bodyweight for five days showed a 15% increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone, which prompts the thyroid to produce metabolism-regulating hormones
Danish researchers recently reported that 4-MBC from topically applied sunscreen can enter the blood.
Sunscreen creams also contain some UV blocking chemicals like benzophenone 2 that act on the thyroid.
Today in India, with while females are now reaching puberty earlier and earlier (as early as 8 years), hormones being added to cows diet resulting in hormone studded milk for humans, and huge amount of estrogen mimicing chemicals in our environment, it is important that some study be carried out on harmful cosmetics, and the results be widely publicised.


text:
IBS Under Pressure in Q3, Divests Brasilian Unit
November 10, 2008 Timothy Prickett Morgan
As readers of The Four Hundred are aware, Swedish ERP software maker International Business Systems, has been rejiggering its management and business model in an attempt to get its midrange hardware and application software revenues growing again. The third quarter ended in September proved difficult for IBS, as it was for most companies thanks to the economic crisis.
In the quarter ended in September, software license sales fell at IBS by 12 percent to 89.4 million Swedish krona. (SEK is the accepted abbreviation for this currency, which is valued at about 13 cents as we go to press on Friday.) Professional services sales at IBS dropped by a smaller 7 percent to 259.4 million SEK, but most dramatically, hardware and other sales at IBS fell by 24 percent to 73.2 million SEK. A lot of IBS’ sales comes from System i and Power System i platform sales, even though its applications have been ported to Java. The company’s IBS Enterprise applications are also available in RPG, and while the company does have 5,000 customers and most of them are on an IBM proprietary midrange platform, in late September IBS picked Windows running Java as its strategic platform going forward. IBS has no intention of dropping support for the i platform, but it will use the Windows-Java combo on X64 iron to chase new customers.
In any event, for the three months from July through September, IBS had total sales of 422 million SEK, down 11 percent, and gross profit of 135.8 million SEK, down 26 percent. The company posted a loss of 110.6 million SEK, which was obviously not as good as the miniscule profit it had in the year-ago quarter.
The situation clearly worsened for IBS as the third quarter rolled on. For the first nine months of the year, IBS had software license sales of 283.7 million SEK, down 8 percent, with professional services of 845.2 million SEK, down 4 percent. Hardware and related sales were down 19 percent, to 293.2 million SEK, in the nine months. The company had a loss of 172.9 million SEK, considerably larger than the 24.7 million SEK loss from the first nine months of 2007.
IBS said that several customers deferred signing of contracts in the third quarter, which hurt sales, and not only that its System i sales declined, but that profit margins on hardware dropped to 20 percent, down from 24 percent a year ago.
Interestingly, IBS said that while it is working on its Windows/Intel port, it is also readying a version of IBS Enterprise that can be sold as a software-as-a-service product. This SaaS version of the IBS apps has been in beta testing for a while, and is going to be sold in the United States before the end of the year.
In a separate announcement, IBS said that it has sold off its IBS Brasil Informatica subsidiary, which employs 90 people in that South American country, to the company’s management team, lead by managing director Marco Esteves. (The press release said nine people, but the interim financial report covering January through September said 90 employees for the unit.)