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Leading key indicators suggest loss of momentum during January and mid-February, with the recovery in Indian economy entering a consolidation phase, according to a recent report. Leading and concurrent high frequency indicators are showing signs of plateauing at about 3 per cent below pre-lockdown levels, which is a cause for worry, says Axis Bank.
"Axis Bank's composite index of economic activity indicators suggest a loss of activity momentum since January 2021, but we think that recovery momentum might actually be somewhat stronger, for the following reasons. Both manufacturing and services sub-indices (although the number of indicators for the latter are thin) signal that activity is at pre-lockdown levels. (The slight gap in these levels is due to the difficulty of classification of the indicators which are included in the consolidated Index, largely mobility related)," says Saugata Bhattacharya, Chief Economist, Axis Bank.
As per the report, indicators on freight and transport show robust sign. Both rail and port freight growth are positive, indicating both internal and trade traffic (and consistent with export growth, although part of this is due to high commodities prices), it said.
The report, however, said that other signals are showing mixed sign. Growth in FASTag collections remains strong, but this is also likely due to increased adoption. This inference was supported by mobility metrics, which showed a broad tapering off of work-related travel, although rising recreation and shopping related movement (which are likely to be shorter distance), it said.
"Fuel consumption growth in 2021 had also remained at December levels, even as vehicle registrations have fallen sharply. E-way bill generation for GST have also remained quite static since October '20; this is a robust indicator of freight movement," it added.
Electricity consumption, which is also an indicator of activity, showed that demand converged to 2020 levels after strong increases in January and early February. The report suggests that the cold weather might have had a role in the earlier growth.
As per the report, official manufacturing and trade data support these inferences. "Base effects in the Index of 8 core sector industries have been minimal in growth over November-January, indicating that the growth rates are reflective of output. India's export growth, however, has been very good for the past couple of months, although the effect of high commodities prices need to be better understood," it said.
The report noted that jobs and employment remain a matter of concern. Data from CMIE, a private think tank, show an improving unemployment rate in urban areas, while it is rising in rural. This is also supported by MNREGA claims which say that the number of persons demanding work under this scheme has been rising since December 2020, and incremental person days work generated has also remained high, indicating continuing dependence on this income support scheme, it said.
The Union Budget has indicated high spends in fourth quarter of 2020, which is likely to have an effect on the final leading indicators signals for February and March, it said.
Recently, ICRA also claimed that Indian economy lost momentum in January and entered into a consolidation phase. However, ICRA does not see the fall in economic indicators as a sign of alarm regarding the sustainability of the recovery. The rating agency said 9 of the 15 economic indicators, including passenger vehicle output, vehicle registration, generation of GST e-way bills and petrol consumption, recorded a weakening in year-on-year (YoY) performance in January 2021 as compared to December 2020.
Copyright©2023 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today


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“North Hollywood Studio Creating New Holiday Tradition – The Mensch on a Bench”
The holiday season is revving up, you can tell from the pumpkin spice this and pumpkin spice that everywhere you go. Pretty soon you will start to hear “Jingle Bells” while wearing flip flops in November. For those of you who are tired of the same old holiday traditions, there’s hope. Move over Elf on the Shelf. Here comes the Mensch on a Bench!
Executive Producer and CEO of North Hollywood-based Pilgrim Studios, Craig Piligian, announced that the company has optioned television and film rights for “The Mensch on a Bench,” a property created by toy maker and entrepreneur Neal Hoffman.
A Yiddish word that translates to “a good person,” “mensch” is a fitting moniker for “Moshe,” Hoffman’s Hanukkah hero who tells the story of the Jewish holiday through adventures that always circle back to values of kindness, gratitude, humor and an independent spirit. Pilgrim plans to create an animated “Mensch on a Bench” holiday special that celebrates the season in a fresh, funny, inclusive way and demonstrates how many of Hanukkah’s themes are universal.
“We’re always looking for great storytelling and for stories that aren’t commonly told,” said Piligian. “We found both in ‘Mensch on a Bench,’ and we’re excited to launch what we believe will become an enduring holiday tradition.”
Hoffman created “The Mensch on a Bench” in response to the tinge of holiday “envy” that Jewish kids (including his own) often feel during the Christmas season.
Said Hoffman, “When my five-year-old asked if he could get an Elf on the Shelf, I joked, ‘We’re Jewish – you can have a Mensch on a Bench!’ That’s how the idea was born. It feels great to create new ways for Jewish families to celebrate and participate in the holiday spirit, and I’m thrilled to be working with Pilgrim to make the ‘Mensch on a Bench’ an even bigger part of the season for everybody.”
In 2014, Hoffman took his Mensch on the hit ABC show Shark Tank, where he struck a deal with investors Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner. Since then, Hoffman has secured deals with major retailers such as Target, Michael’s and Bed, Bath & Beyond, and continues to expand the Mensch brand with books and other plush toys.
**** For information on Los Angeles theatre, tickets to theatre in North Hollywood’s NoHo Arts District, theatre reviews, the NoHo Event Calendar, restaurants, news and local businesses in NoHo, or anything and everything about the NoHo Arts Community, bookmark nohoartsdistrict.com. Follow us on Twitter @OfficialNoHo.

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Moviegoers who want a seat at a blockbuster’s opening weekend more and more need to buy their tickets long before show time. Increasingly, that has led to a starring role for advance ticket sellers such as L.A.’s Fandango Inc.
Fandango’s sales this summer outpaced last summer by 26 percent, the company announced last week. In addition to the audience’s desire for advance seating, driving the growth was a deal with AMC Entertainment Inc. that increased by 18 percent the number of screens for which Fandango sells tickets.
Another noteworthy trend: Fandango is selling more tickets through cell phones. Sales through its mobile site and app increased 116 percent from last year and are now one-third of its business.
This growth comes even as movie ticket sales slumped 5 percent below last summer.
Executives at Fandango said younger moviegoers like the freedom of either buying tickets far in advance or on the way to the theater. Above all, they hate waiting in line.
“The Fandango app is a good fit for being able to go to movies on the go, and to make your decisions closer to show time,” said Jessica Yi, chief product officer at Fandango. “Many more people have a digital lifestyle now, and we’re a part of that.”
Fandango was founded in 2000 and acquired seven years later by Philadelphia telecom giant Comcast Corp. The company now has 100 employees at its West Los Angeles headquarters. It launched its iPhone app in 2009 and later released one for Android and other platforms. About 26 million moviegoers have downloaded Fandango’s app. Its competitor, MovieTickets.com Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., rolled out its app in 2010 and has had 2 million downloads since then.
People can buy Fandango tickets with credit cards or through Paypal. Ticket prices are the same as at the box office but the online ticket sellers add a fee – usually $1.25 a ticket. Fandango and Movietickets.com also make money through advertising.
In January, Fandango added more than 3,000 screens across the country when AMC Entertainment in Kansas City, Mo., switched from MovieTickets.com to Fandango. In April, Movietickets.com sued AMC for breach of contract; the case is still being litigated. With the addition of AMC, Fandango does online ticketing for nearly 20,000 screens in the United States, while Movietickets.com has about half that number. Fandango doesn’t have any international deals, while Movietickets has about 4,000 screens abroad.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, CLICK HERE.
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While employment statewide in manufacturing declined 23,930 jobs from the third quarter of 2006 to third quarter 2007 - 3.7 percent - the food segment grew 2.9 percent, adding more than 900 jobs in that same time.
It has shown slow and steady growth over the past two years, up more than 1,000 jobs since first quarter 2005, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
In western Michigan, that growth has buoyed some communities, including the Grand Rapids-Wyoming metro statistical area, where food manufacturing employment jumped 6.6 percent from first quarter 2006 to the same period in 2007, while every other sector of manufacturing declined in that same time. The same trend happened the year before, when food grew 1.2 percent in 2006's first quarter compared to the first quarters of 2005, leading all other manufacturing segments.
In Kalamazoo, food was at the front of manufacturing growth in that same period, up 4.8 percent.
Many of the region's food manufacturers continue to report growth - Sara Lee Corp. [NYSE: SLE], with a plant in Zeeland, recorded net sales of $3.1 billion in its fiscal year 2008 first quarter - up 8.3 percent. Kellogg Co. [NYSE: K] in Battle Creek posted continued positive net income in its third quarter, up nine percent, at $305 million.
Another Battle Creek cereal-maker, Ralcorp Holdings Inc., based in St. Louis [NYSE: RAH], grew net sales in 2007 more than 20 percent, to $2.23 billion, then acquired Post cereals, also with a plant in Battle Creek.
Butterball Farms Inc., which makes butter and employs 250 in Grand Rapids - and is not to be confused with Butterball LLC, the turkey company - has shared in the growth of its food-making peers, President Mark Peters said.
"We've probably been growing revenues about 12 to 13 percent" each year, he said.
When his father started the company in 1956, it was about a $12.5 million business, Peters said. In 2007, it tallied $40 million.
"Most of that growth probably came in the last four to five years," he said. "More recently we've really been going after different customers, different types of products, really looking at being a food-solutions company than just pushing our traditional products."
That has meant a transition from its typical customer base of restaurants and the food-service industry to serving other food manufacturers, including Request Foods Inc. in Holland, which makes private-label frozen foods. Creating flavored butters and other innovative products for its peers allows Butterball to make the most of the industry's growth.
"One of the things you notice as you walk through a grocery store ..., people aren't buying food anymore. They're buying time," Peters said. "Everything's got to be more conveniently packaged, it's got to be able to be prepared more quickly. There's room in food manufacturing to create products with decent margins that meet those requirements with the consumers."
To help create those innovative products, Butterball is building a research-and-development group, led by the food scientist who created the current formulas of Pam food sprays and Land O' Lakes Spreadable Butter. Asim Syed left the massive R&D department of ConAgra Foods in Omaha, Neb., two months ago to come to Grand Rapids to create Butterball's next generation of products.
"It's a step up," said Syed, who created 24 new products in two years at ConAgra. "I was a small part of the R&D department, which had maybe 60 people. I was one of them. Here, I have the opportunity to develop an R&D department from scratch - the way I like it."
And Syed intends to do that quickly. This year, he plans to hire food scientists, a research analyst and a packaging engineer. Together, the group will introduce five new products a year for Butterball.
And that should spur even more growth for the family-owned business.
"I'd like to see $100 million in five years," Peters said. "We'll see. We're pretty aggressive."
Food growth has translated into increased construction projects, including Kellogg's $40 million R&D expansion in Battle Creek, as well as real estate transactions - not all of them positive for the region.
ConAgra's Reddi-wip plant is closing in Holland in the next month or so, and consolidating in Indiana, noted Robert Horn of C.B. Richard Ellis in Grand Rapids, the broker representing the property.
"There's a lot of food groups looking for regional distribution centers," Horn said, noting that many in western Michigan are looking in Chicago for such facilities.
"Despite the hiccups and what's happening nationally ..., there's continued growth in the food industry," agreed Jeffrey Counsell, senior vice president at CBRE in Chicago, noting that food manufacturers, which are capital and labor intensive, should be a prized commodity. "They create a lot of jobs. It's not going to migrate offshore."


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The following is an excerpt from The Packer's Heartland Know Your Market section. Read the full feature HERE.
While the local produce trend is not specific to one region, Mike Orf, assistant vice president of produce operations for West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee Inc. said it is definitely a part of the Midwest market. It is not new either, as he said the founders of Hy-Vee sent out trucks to collect local produce nearly 90 years ago.
Local sourcing is just as important today.
“(Homegrown)is one of the biggest bets we have invested in the over the last few years,” he said.
For Hy-Vee, the produce managers at store level are key to the program. “I think they all have recognized that this is being driven by the consumer, not the corporate office,” he said.
Hy-Vee operates out of eight states, he said, but procurement for local produce doesn’t ideally run through the chain’s distribution center.
“We think the thing that is most important about local is really hyper-local - products that don’t ever have to come up to our distribution center,” he said.
Hy-Vee works with about 260 growers in eight states for the local program. “That number continues to grow and sales are growing at a rapid pace,” he said.
Orf said Hy-Vee is building relationships with growers closest to the stores. “We think it is very important to be very ingrained in the community (where) our stores are,” he said.
“Our first option is that we do not want our stores buying home-grown product from our distribution center when they can buy them closer to their store.”
The Hy-Vee Homegrown label requires that the produce must be grown within 200 miles of the store. He said consumers want the trust factor of knowing where their food comes from, and they invest more trust in local growers.
More and more consumers also are aware of food miles, and homegrown produce signage can tell the consumer the distance from the farm to the store.”If it is working the way it should, we have signs like that up in our stores,” he said.
Orf said Hy-Vee values the work it takes to produce fruits and vegetables. “We want to be good partners and good neighbors with these folks,” he said.


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The range is reworking classics and introducing new fabric innovation this season.
Stylish, performance-driven solutions for the modern urban cyclist.
Levi’s Commuter returns to dress this season’s urban cyclists.
Designed with an intent focus on the utilitarian needs of urbanites, the Levi’s® Commuter range
For 2014 fall/winter, Levi’s subsidiary Commuter label continues to present rider-friendly pieces
Levi’s Commuter presents a small preview of its upcoming Spring 2014 collection. Designed with
Wrapping up its Mobile Bike Shop Tour which kicked off last month in Portland, Levi’s presents a
Today marks the relaunch of the Bike Shop from Levi’s as part of a national effort in redefining
Levi’s Commuter Series has effectively brought a level of technicality that was once a rarity
Expanding its performance-minded line of cycle-centric goods, Levi’s kicks off the upcoming season


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Former child star Ricky Schroder was roasted on social media on Sunday after he filmed himself accosting two employees at a Costco over mask regulations.
Footage posted online shows Schroder, decked out in a “blue lives matter” cap, harassing an employee who politely explained that the guidelines require everyone to wear a mask in the Los Angeles location.
Schroder demanded a refund from a second Costco worker, then urged others to do the same:
Costco announced last week that in light of the latest CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated members will no longer be required to wear a mask in stores where allowed under local rules and regulations. As the Costco worker in Schroder’s video pointed out, California still requires masks ― and Costco’s policy is to follow that local regulation.
The manager also gave Schroder his refund outside the store. No one else in the video took up his call to arms over masks and refunds.
Schroder later issued a rambling non-apology saying he had nothing against the Costco workers but wanted “to make a point to the corporate overlords, and sorry that I had to use you to do it.”
“If I hurt your feelings I apologize,” he added, “but I do think that independence from medical tyranny is more important than hurting people’s feelings.”
Schroder is best known for starring in the 1980s sitcom “Silver Spoons” and, as an adult, in three seasons of “NYPD Blue.” His most recent IMDb credits were for a pair of made-for-TV Christmas movies in 2015 and 2016 where he played Dolly Parton’s father, Robert Lee Parton.
But it’s his latest move, as a wealthy actor accosting retail workers, that caused his name to trend on Twitter with reactions such as these:
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus


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Wearable maker Pebble is reportedly undergoing financial struggles and has resorted to a loan to stay afloat.
According to a TechCrunch report, Pebble "has turned to a Silicon Valley bank for a $5 million loan and $5 million line of credit," citing sources close to the smartwatch startup.
The report goes on to say that Pebble's request for additional funding has been turned down by venture capitalists from Silicon Valley.
While Pebble is one of the strong contenders in the smartwatch arena, the launch of the Apple Watch, and the huge figures that came along with it has somehow affected the company. On top of that, the increasing number of smartphone brands producing Android Wear devices have become additional competitors for the startup.
However, Pebble's CEO Eric Migicovsky expressed confidence in the company when he spoke at Wearable World Congress in San Francisco last week.
"We're focused on keeping is simple, affordable and useful. Google has put forth a dozen different watches. Apple has put forth a high fashion watch and this is great," he said.
The Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel just launched earlier this year and broke all Kickstarter records (opens in new tab), with $20,338,986 raised and 95,906 watches sold. However, it is said that these were not eniugh to keep the company afloat.
Pebble is not alone in this battle as fitness tracker Jawbone has earlier reported to have financial struggles as well due to its failure to make profit.


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If you've lived in Tucson for a while, you know the annual gem show is right around the corner.
But if you're not particularly interested in picking up any gems or fossils this year, the Pima Animal Care Center has an alternative for you — a new fur baby!
During this year's gem show season, Jan. 24 through Feb. 17, PACC will be offering discounts on pets aged four months or older.
Here's how it works:
There will be a treasure chest filled with plastic gems in PACC's lobby. Folks will get to dig through the chest to find a gem, which will reveal the adoption discount — which ranges from $5 off to free.
Plus, pets who have been at PACC for longer than 30 days, or pets aged five years and up, automatically come with a $0 adoption fee. Adoptions come with a microchip, spay or neuter surgery and vaccinations.
PACC currently has more than 350 dogs and close to 100 cats, so now's your chance to find your "hidden gem," as PACC says.
PACC, 4000 N. Silverbell Road, is open from 12 to 7 p.m. during the week and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.


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The Sunday Mail
Charlotte Musarurwa and Heather Charema
Bulk water suppliers and bottling companies are recording brisk business as more consumers exercise caution in light of concerns about the country’s tap water quality.
In particular, bulk suppliers are getting huge business volumes from residents in areas of limited water supply. Consumers are, however, also increasingly becoming wary of daring vendors who refill bottles with tap water.
Firms such as ZLG produce over 50 000 litres per day while one of the company’s major distribution points in Harare receives 5 080 litres daily.
Other companies like Cairns Foods Limited produce over 300 000 litres each month.
Tanganda Tea Company Limited also produces up to 12 500 litres of its Tinga Mira brand.
Another company which produces the Vivon brand confirmed enjoying brisk business.
Cairns Foods national sales manager Mr Jameson Jeche said: “Our water is distributed all over Zimbabwe, across all market segments. We have seen a rapid increase in sales in recent months.
“Nowadays, tap water is not guaranteed of purity. That’s why everyone is turning to bottled water.”
According to a latest report from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, 54 water bottling companies have been certified. The companies, in turn, supply their products to retailers.
“The bottled water brands were certified and based on satisfactory chemical and microbiological sample test results and the bottling factory meeting basic minimum hygiene requirements,” reads part of the report.
“While we make continuous random checks on the quality and safety of the water, the Ministry of Health and Child Care cannot be held responsible for cases of non-compliance or ill-health that may be caused by some of these certified water brands.
“This list is updated periodically. New ones may be added or old ones may be removed. The bulk of the companies offer purified municipal water, clearly supporting the allegations that the municipal water is not safe.”
Bulk water suppliers in Harare who spoke to The Sunday Mail said business was satisfactory as council still fails to supply water to certain areas.
Mr Josh Laubscher, who runs LS Waters, said he supplies bulk water to residents in suburbs such as Greendale, Mandara, Chisipite and Highlands as well as industrial sites almost daily.
Mr Gordon Watson of Orca Water said the booming sales are riding on the present Harare City Council water treatment problems.


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There has much speculation in the past two years regarding Volkswagen’s plans to expand its SUV lineup. The latest-generation Tiguan that was introduced two years ago gained in size, and no new model has been slotted in to fill the void it left in the smaller segment it had departed.
That segment happens to be where manufacturers are seeing their most robust sales, so there’s no doubt the pressure has been on at VW HQ to come up with a model to compete in it.
Now it looks like the VW model will soon welcome a new member that will slot precisely into that category. But the surprise is that the news of an upcoming North American crossover comes from… Argentina.
Volkswagen representatives in that country have announced that the automaker is making a big investment in its Pacheco plant, where the Amarok pickup is currently assembled. The goal of the cash influx is to pave the way for producing a utility model, to be called the Tarek.
The Argentinian branch of media outlet Autoblog posted images of a presentation regarding the Tarek, which shows the model that will also be built in Mexico for its domestic market, as well as for the U.S. and Canada. The new SUV will also be assembled in Russia for that country’s market.
The images indicate that the Tarek will be a close cousin of the Tharu currently sold in China. Assembled on Volkswagen’s MQB platform, the five-seat SUV is 175 inches tip to tip, which is 10 inches less the long-wheelbase Tiguan Volkswagen introduced two years ago. The Tarek, in fact, looks to model itself in good part on the older-generation Tiguan.
The new SUV won’t be hitting dealerships anytime soon, however, as production is only set to start in 2021. We also don’t have confirmation from Volkswagen in Canada or the U.S. regarding plans for the model, and if pressed it’s likely representatives of these divisions would limit themselves to the usual “we never make any statements regarding our future products” kind of statement.
Still, if this is a solid rumour and proves to be accurate, we should get confirmation of that before the end of this year.
There’s no doubt that the addition of an SUV to the Volkswagen lineup makes a lot of sense, since the roster has a gaping hole in it since the Tiguan was enlarged for its new generation. We can only keep our fingers crossed in hopes it will be infused with VW’s European DNA and not designed solely with the U.S. market in mind.


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Surfs up! A taco and tiki restaurant is planned for the banks of the Ohio River
We know no one's going surfing on the Ohio River anytime soon. But by next year, there will be another way for Metro folks to get into the coastal spirit.
New Albany restaurant owners Ian and Nikki Hall have plans for a taco and tiki restaurant that will bring the "California beach vibe" to the banks of the Ohio at 302 Pearl Street, Suite C.
"We've had the opportunity over the last two years to do some traveling, both to Mexico as well as some coastal cities in the states," Ian Hall said in a press release. "We found ourselves really inspired by the cocktail movement of the classic style tiki bars. We thought, what better way to pair our new tiki cocktail concept than alongside our take on the taco shop."
At Longboard's, the menu will consist of eight to 10 styles of tacos influenced by the traditional street food of Latin America, the release stated.
The menu will also include Poke bowls with rice, seafood ceviches, salads with fresh local greens, fresh tortillas and housemade salsas and guacamole.
Longboard's beverage menu will include plays on traditional margaritas and tequila cocktails, as well as a variety of rum and tiki-inspired drinks, the release stated.
The restaurant is expected to open in spring 2018.
"We are going to take our time with this one to make sure we build the right team, atmosphere and hospitality," Hall said in the release. "And when we do, we will be ready to ride the wave."
Follow Longboard's progress at tacoandtiki.com.
Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Xiaomi's first Mi Mix smartphone, which launched in late 2016, is largely credited as playing a large part in establishing the mobile industry's current love affair with bezel-less devices. In 2017 we've already seen Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6, as well as the upcoming Essential Phone, follow suit with eye-catching edge-to-edge displays.
Up until now we've only heard rumblings of a successor from the 'Apple of the East', but thanks to an alleged leaked image of a Mi Mix 2 prototype, we might finally have an idea what a next-gen Mi Mix could look like – and it's quite something.
The image, which surfaced on Chinese social media site Weibo, shows a stunningly lean handset which takes the concept of bezel-less a step further than any other smartphone to date.
In a slight tweak to the already ample-screened original Mi Mix, the prototype slims the bottom bezel down even further to create an Android flagship that all but eliminates any of its front panel that isn't a part of the display.
The device also appears to be thinner than the already ultra-slender 7.9mm Mi Mix and has rounded edges somewhat akin to the Galaxy S8's Infinity Display. As with the original Mi Mix phone, its speakers are nowhere to be seen – presumably Xiaomi will be iterating on its "cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic technology", which transmitted sound through vibrations.
While it's worth taking the 'leak' with a grain of salt for the time being, it's not too far-fetched to think Xiaomi will be looking to build on the 91.3% screen-to-body ratio achieved by the hugely popular Mi Mix.
Expected to launch in September, the Mi Mix 2 is rumoured to include Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chipset, up to 6GB of RAM, a 19-megapixel camera and an AMOLED display - the latter a welcome upgrade over the first phone's 6.4in Full HD panel.


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ShoppingGives, a Chicago-based startup pitching retailers a service that can integrate nonprofit donations into their sales and shopping platforms, has raised an undisclosed amount from Serena Williams’ venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, the company said.
ShoppingGives allows retailers to offer a donation on behalf of a shopper to any of over 1.5 million nonprofits that are on its list — all without leaving the retailer’s website.
The company said that retailers can use the donation data to create a more authentic and personalized engagement with customers based on the causes they support.
“ShoppingGives aligned with my values of investing in businesses and entrepreneurs who are making a difference. By creating opportunities to grow social impact with a seamless approach for retailers and brands, ShoppingGives is charting the course for all businesses to stand forth as agents of change in our society,” said Williams in a statement.
The company’s technology helps retailers manage and report donations and is already recommended by Shopify as one of a collection of apps for merchants setting up their online stores. Its service integrates with e-commerce content management systems and is already a partner for the PayPal giving fund.
ShoppingGives has already donated to more than 6,000 nonprofit organizations selected by customers, according to the company. Brands like Kenneth Cole, Natori, White + Warren, Margaux, Solstice Sunglasses, Tomboyx, Fresh Clean Tees, Blind Barber, Huron and Neighborhood Goods use the service already.


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Distributors for decades have been taking on services that their suppliers and customers no longer can – or want to – manage themselves. In element14’s case, those services have evolved into printed circuit board design and prototyping, which at one time would have put the distributor in competition with customers that provide the same services.
That hasn’t been a problem for the catalog distributor, and other channel players echo the same sentiment. As customers have become more proficient in component-level design, simpler board designs no longer provide significant differentiation for OEMs and EMS providers. “We’ve had customers come to us and say ‘we need a board design,’” said Andrea Koritala, global head of technology integration and strategic programs for element14. “One of the litmus tests we’ve always had here is ‘what does the customer want?’”
Engineers, like most workers in the tech field, are doing more with less. At the same time, the pressure to get new products to market quickly has increased. Element14 began centralizing its design service offerings online a little more than two years ago. Called the Knode at that time, the site provided a one-stop shop for a variety of engineering design solutions. Its tools enabled engineers to move from concept to final production, including component research, board design, development and prototype manufacturing capabilities. Element14 further expanded its offerings with the acquisition of Shenzhen Embest Technology Co Ltd (Embest), a provider of embedded system development boards and tools, in July of 2012.
Distributors say board design is a natural evolution from components sales, kits, cable harnessing, programming and other value-added services they provide. “We already have linkage with the customer,” said Koritala, “There is a trust factor and awareness. Our name is behind it.”
Distributors do have some advantages in the board design space. They carry hundreds of suppliers and thousands of data sheets and often have a view into suppliers’ technology roadmaps. Since distributors buy large volumes of components and supplies, they can offer cost-effective solutions. And many distributors already service the small-volume factories that manufacture prototype boards. “We are making the entire process as seamless as possible,” said Koritala.
Element14 emphasizes it is sticking to simple board designs; “this is not the ‘hard stuff,’” said Koritala. Customers still hold their own IP. “Customers just want to make a purchase that brings them closer to end-product development,” Koritala adds. Element14 has streamlined the procurement process by assigning part numbers to its customers’ boards and holding a number of those assemblies in inventory. And in July 2014, the company initiated a same-day ship guarantee.
“We assist our customers with getting the right parts together; building the board; verifying compliance [for environmental and other directives] and assembling all required documentation,” said Koritala. “That’s all directed at reducing customers’ time to market.”


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All In Wellness
The 2020 Wellness Special Report shows dealers are emphasizing wellness plans due to COVID-19.
Jason Knott · July 28, 2020
PureTech Alliance of 12 veteran independent reps will bring health and wellness suppliers and education to custom channel.
Jason Knott · July 14, 2020
Underground 15,000-square-foot doomsday wellness bunker is hidden below a non-descript home and includes incredible human-centric lighting.
Jason Knott · June 08, 2020
Coronavirus exposes health risks of assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Aging-in-place market is potential new market for integrators.
Jason Knott · June 05, 2020
Due to coronavirus, an estimated 144M Americans are working from home, which leads to staying up later and sleeping in. Human-centric lighting can help.
Jason Knott · March 25, 2020
Haier Smart Home’s ‘Internet of Clothing’ platform includes disinfecting shoe and clothes cabinets, thermal cameras and temperature measurement gates.
Jason Knott · March 24, 2020
Homeowners and homebuyers are learning more about the need for a healthy home, which integrators are well positioned to address in wide-ranging ways.
Arlen Schweiger · January 27, 2020
Panel at the Dallas gathering details how HTSA, Delos are pushing wellness opportunities and education; plus, is senior care tech the next big initiative?
Arlen Schweiger · October 30, 2019
For circadian lighting, LED intensity and color temperature are just the beginning of the wellness story.
Julie Jacobson · October 11, 2019
Savant kills it at CEDIA Expo 2019 with circadian lighting for wellness, energy storage and management, and more wrapped in a single home-automation platform.
Julie Jacobson · October 03, 2019


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The latest issue of Financial Standard now available as an e-newspaper
|Showing 1 - 10 of 42 results for "Coles owner Wesfarmers"|
|... but Rio Tinto dropped 24 cents to $58.55 while iron ore player Fortescue was down three cents to $2.42. Coles owner Wesfarmers has shed 26 cents to $42.89 after its quarterly earnings results showed a slowdown in Coles' growth. Rival Woolworths was also ...|
|... cents to $35.27 and Westpac was 19 cents lower at $38.10. Woolworths had dropped seven cents to $28.19 and coles owner Wesfarmers was 17 cents weaker at $42.28.|
|... The supermarket giants were among the worst performers, with Woolworths down 99.5 cents at $29.715 and Coles owner Wesfarmers 25 cents weaker at $43.60.|
|... though Wesfarmers are also down on their results." Woolworths shares dived $2.88, or 8.5%, to $31.07, while Coles owner Wesfarmers was down $1.25, or 2.8 per cent, to $44.19. Mr Le Brun said the energy sector was also pulling back after world oil prices ...|
|... in annual profit, while Suncorp was down eight cents at $13.85 and IAG was 4.5 cents weaker at $5.955. Coles owner Wesfarmers was another drag on the market as it traded without its recently paid dividend, dropping 91.5 cents to $45.797. Woolworths was ...|
|... The market opened higher but fell into negative territory as financial results from companies including Coles owner Wesfarmers and iiNet missed expectations, and the energy sector slumped on lower oil prices. Quay Equities head of trading Tristan K'Nell ...|
|... disappointing quarterly sales on Monday. The supermarket giant dropped 81 cents, or 2.37 per cent, to $33.43, while Coles owner Wesfarmers gained five cents to $44.20. The major banks are all up. Westpac rose six cents to $34.61, ANZ added 10 cents to ...|
|... brave enough to respond positively to a good set of numbers." All sectors had made losses. Conglomerate and Coles owner Wesfarmers had dropped 93 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $39.90 and Woolworths was 39 cents, or 1.2 per cent, lower at $33.34. Energy ...|
|... rising 3.5 cents to $8.955. The supermarket giants were lower, with Woolworths down 12 cents at $33.98 and Coles owner Wesfarmers 19 cents worse at $42.02.|
|... $31.81 and National Australia Bank was 25 cents weaker at $32.45. Woolworths was down 33 cents at $34.17 and Coles owner Wesfarmers had shed 30.5 cents to $42.435. The resources sector was also weaker, with BHP Billiton off 20 cents at $33.96, Rio Tinto ...|
| | |
T. Rowe Price launched a high-conviction global impact equity fund that is certified by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia.
| | |
GAM Investments has added to its distribution team with a new hire for its wholesale business in Australia.
| | |
Wages growth remains subdued ahead of this week's quarterly Consumer Price Index release, despite a tight labour market.
| | |
Demand for residential property is expected to cool down this year despite the number of auction figures recorded in the final quarter of 2021.
|Brought to you by|
|Keep up to date, don't be the last to know! Get the Financial Standard Daily Newsletter.|


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Epidemia global é urgente, montadoras mudam para ventiladores, produtos de luxo são trocados por desinfetantes e roupas protetoras
xinst26 de fevereiro de 2020
No caso de um surto, poucos países e regiões podem escapar da escassez de recursos médicos. Assim como a produção transfronteiriça de máscaras na China, realizada há mais de um mês, as montadoras de países ocidentais começaram a produzir equipamentos médicos, como ventiladores, sob a convocação do governo.
Ventilador internacional da empresa automotiva
According to the British Financial Times report, on March 18 local time, the two major US auto giants GM and Ford stated that they are negotiating with the White House to use vented car factories to make ventilators in response to the growing number of new cases of coronary pneumonia .
A spokesman for GM said that the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mary Barra, had contacted government authorities on the same day and provided an update on the car companies’ shutdown.
Bora also said that GM is working to help the United States find a solution during this difficult time and has partnered with Ventec Life Systems to produce respiratory care products, including ventilators, to fight the new crown virus.
Ventec will use GM’s expertise in logistics, procurement and manufacturing to make more ventilators to help save lives.
Ford claims, “We have entered into preliminary negotiations with the US government and are studying feasibility.” The company stands ready to help the government overcome the difficulties in any way, and it will support not only the United States, but also the United Kingdom.
Earlier, New York City’s Bill de Blasio tweeted that “a ventilator is needed” and hoped that Tes would stretch out a helping hand.
Tesla CEO Musk then responded that he would talk to De Blasio to “understand the potential needs.”
Trump tweeted on March 22 that three American car companies, Ford, GM and Tesla, will begin to assist in the manufacture of ventilators and other medical metal parts to help the US healthcare system weather the crisis.
Trump’s ending is still very Trump: “Come on, depot owners, see how much your conscience!
According to The Guardian, the British government on March 15 called on British automakers to switch to medical equipment such as ventilators. Toyota, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda, Nissan and other car companies have said they will help.
Ferrari and FCA Group also said on the 19th that they are negotiating with the country’s largest ventilator manufacturer.


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Poinsettias may be tricky to maintain for some people. But they continue to be popular as gifts and decorations throughout the holiday season.
Experts with Rocket Farms, one the largest poinsettia growers in the country, said they will ship 1.3 million poinsettias this holiday throughout the West Coast.
"They are part of our American culture. I think a lot of people growing up had a poinsettia at Christmas time," said Kyle Harmon, head grower at the farms in Salinas, Calif.
Though the selling time for poinsettias is only six weeks, they are considered the No. 1 potted plant in the United States, Harmon said.
The festive plants have been associated with Christmas since about the 19th century.
A popular Mexican legend tells of a poor girl who didn't have anything to give to baby Jesus on Christmas Eve. So she plucked some weeds on the way to church. The "weeds" blossomed into beautiful red plants.
In Mexico, you will often hear the plants referred to as Flores de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Flowers).
A few years ago, homeowners seemed to like the trend of colored poinsettias in different hues including blue.
But this year, painting is definitely out, and it's all about the reds.
"Eighty-five percent of what we do is pure red, and the rest is other colors like mixes of reds and pinks. We have a peppermint which is red with white splashes. We also have some peach varieties -- but red is the best selling," Harmon said.
The grower said the company is starting to produce some darker varieties of reds, such as a dark burgundy. Whites, which tend to look yellow, are also available at some stores.
Poinsettias come in a range of sizes and homeowners may notice that there are even mini poinsettias -- in 2.5- to 3-inch pots -- available in some stores this year.
Harmon has a few tips for caring for poinsettias once you bring them home from the nursery.
"You have to give it the right conditions and keep the plant in a well-lit area and not too drafty. And keep the temperature above 65 degrees," he said.
Harmon said people often make the common mistake of putting the plants near doors.
"The biggest issue is with the doorway where it tends to let cold air in. It tends to shock them; they don't like drastic temperature changes," he said.
Harmon suggests putting them on tables and on windowsills where the temperature will stay neutral.
He also recommends watering them well every four or five days.
After the holidays, adventurous people may try to hold on to their poinsettias. People will have better luck with their plants if they keep them inside, continue to monitor watering and give them fertilizer (such as Miracle-Gro).
"You can also put them in a bigger pot and loosen their roots a bit and keep them inside until there's no sign of a frost," Harmon said.


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BRANDING CAMPAIGN: Birmingham goes international to attract new business
Birmingham has unveiled a marketing campaign to attract national and international investment to the city.
Business Birmingham, launched at beginning of November, is a 'long-term strategy' and will consist of activity on London Underground national and Netherlands based train stations. It is being supported by a new website, online advertising, SEO and social media.
The campaign is designed to reach a corporate audience and support the attraction of 7000 new jobs to the city. The campaign is based around facts that underpin its business credentials e.g. The city's access to a workforce of 2 million and its large scale and geographical location.
Emma Gray, director of marketing services at Marketing Birmingham, the city's marketing partnership, said, "Business Birmingham is not just a marketing campaign; it is a long-term strategy that must work to grow the private sector over the next 20 years. With this in mind we will be working closely with our agency partners to ensure we keep all marketing collateral compelling and relevant to our target sectors and geographies."


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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is joining the ranks of a growing list of CEO’s and tech billionaires publicly shaming Trump!
The Verge published a company wide email that Jeff Bezos sent out to his employees regarding the immigration ban. In it, Amazon’s CEO claims the company contacted Congress in hopes of challenging the executive action.
The email reads:
“This executive order is one we do not support. Our public policy team in D.C. has reached out to senior administration officials to make our opposition clear. We’ve also reached out to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to explore legislative options.”
Amazon also announced that they would be working hand in hand alongside Expedia to challenge the immigration order in court. In another email sent by Amazon’s VP, Beth Galatti, the company states “from the very beginning, Amazon has been committed to equal rights, tolerance and diversity—and we always will be,”
Do you think Trump will get impeached?
Share your opinion in the comment section below!


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- Mobile penetration in the country has hiked surpassing the country’s entire population by almost 12 per cent.
- Originally the industry was focused on mobile money transfer services which rode the wave of exponential market adoption.
Kenya's Fintech hub has been termed as one of the hotbeds of financial technology innovation in Africa’s ecosystem, a continent whose tech progress has remained on a steady rise.
According to Baker McKenzie, a US based corporate advisory firm, the whisk in fintech is backed on the general African tech wave which has been occasioned by penetration of mobile phone technology and infrastructure.
Despite the turbulence of the global pandemic, mobile penetration in the country has increased, surpassing the country’s entire population by almost 12 per cent.
According to the Communication Authority of Kenya, about 59 million mobile phone devices were connected to mobile networks in the country for the quarter ending September 2021.
Originally, the industry was focused on mobile money transfer services which rode the wave of exponential market adoption between 2007 and today.
As it built on technology, similar to GSM text messaging, major players in the market were therefore able to expand its offering to users who did not have internet connectivity but had access to cellular phone towers and basic mobile devices.
This highlights some of the reasons why the country’s fintech has been so resilient.
The country has also been backed to presenting companies the opportunity to solve problems with vast potential user bases, without much initial challenge from incumbents or legacy competitors.
“Since these hotbed nations and Africa at large have populations that currently have adequate access to financial products, there exists a large opportunity to tech companies with an aim of offering digital financial solutions,” Baker McKenzie said.
A report by Statista indicates that fintech’s largest market segment in the country will be digital payments whose total transaction value is estimated at $7 million (Sh840.7 billion) billion by close of the year.
The number of users in the segment is expected to hit 39 million by 2027.
Average transaction value per user in the alternative lending segment is projected to amount to $26,000 (Sh 3.2 million).
The Neobanking segment is expected to show a revenue growth of almost 37.5 per cent by 2023.
Although, the report also notes that the country is still at the earliest stages of what it terms as true fintech as the future impact of cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence and blockchain cannot be estimated yet.
“Each year, tech companies are digging deeper into financial services value chain and also are creating new market structures in underbanked developing countries, as the players share the market with some banks which provide new digital-friendly banking services,” Statista says.
The ever-increasing access to mobile devices, internet connectivity and backbone network infrastructure has accelerated Africa into the second fastest market for global banking and payments businesses.
Seven out of Africa’s nine notable tech unicorns are fintech companies, with companies like Opay of Nigeria recently taking the single largest investment round secured by an African-based startup at $570 million ( Sh68.4 billion.
Others include Fawry from Egypt, Wave of Senegal, Interswitch of Nigeria, Tala, Cellulant and Jumo.
Lack of interconnection in the cross-border banking infrastructure and presence of huge migrant labour workforce across the continent, poses a clear need for ways to transmit money across regions safely.
As a result, mobile money and third-party payment systems, in particular, have been the segment responders.
The report notes that more than half of the world’s mobile money customers are now based in Africa.
The continent currently accounts for three quarters of the world's mobile money and peer-to-peer transactions by volume.
The report further notes there’s potential for rapid growth as serving the underbanked and migrant workforce has, and continues to create unique pain points for innovative financial solutions in the continent.
In the last two to three years, in Africa, the fintech industry made up more than 25 per cent of all venture capital rounds backed with regional leaders such as Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya with South Africa joining the sequence recently.
During the period, the region also saw majority of fintech investment capital coming from various offshore money markets, including the United States, United Kingdom and China.
“As confidence in African financial innovation rises, African fintech startups are also able to do more with dollar-based capital raises if they have locally based operations,” the report reads in part.
The heated attention in the sector has occasioned speculations whether the situation for African fintech is sustainable in the current global market, where current Venture Capital of startup valuations have been falling amid the ongoing economic crisis.
This is at a time when globally, the indicators are going in the other direction and where venture funding is starting to become more cautious.
The biggest challenge fintech may face is global stagflation, which could force investors to become more careful in their investment choices and the risks they are willing to take.
Nonetheless, as some of the segments such as payments are in their peak, there is a lot more room in others such as alternative lending, digital investment and neo-banking.
There are also many other countries that have not yet reached the heights achieved by Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
Therefore, the growth of fintech in Africa has a lot of room left.


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The City & Borough of Juneau began installing a Minneapolis bike rack maker’s coolest custom racks of 2013 this week.
The unique designs include rain boots at Marine Park, a tugboat at Sandy Beach, hockey sticks at Treadwell Ice Arena, a Raven at Sigoowu Ye Park, and planets at Twin Lakes.
The total project is cost about $25,000, says city parks and landscape superintendent George Schaaf.
“We were pleasantly surprised by the cost of the racks, that they really weren’t that much more expensive than a standard rack that you buy out of a catalog,” Schaaf says.
There will be 15 new racks with 12 custom designs. Each rack accommodates at least two bikes. Schaaf says he’s interested to hear feedback from the community.
The city worked with local landscape architecture firm Corvus Design and Minneapolis-based Dero Bike Rack Co. for the custom order.
The city hopes the bike racks will be installed by the end of October, weather permitting.
George Schaaf is a member of the KTOO Board of Directors.
- The cost of a single icebreaker would exceed the Coast Guard's entire yearly allotment for ship-building.
- "While I don’t think you’ll board to Beyoncé on us in the future, there might be ... a little fresher brand coming from us,” an Alaska Airlines representative told the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce.
- Anchorage is also at the silver level as a bicycle friendly community and Juneau is at the bronze level.
- “I don’t see why the state would want to forward fund a festival built around consumption of alcohol,” said Jeff Jessee, CEO of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.


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I don't think any of us though there was a redeeming quality about Anonymous and the way they hack credit card information and other personal details about people and then offered it up publically. Not too long ago, the hacker collective took on a project that had some redeeming qualities in an effort to out pedophiles online that were looking at child porn online.
The death of MySpace seemed near as News Corp. was rumored to either offload the platform or shut it down completely before this Thursday---its fiscal year end---to get the money losing property off its books. Thankfully, today a deal was reached to sell the property to Specific Media for $35 million, a disappointing number compared to the $100 million target and the original $600 million purchase price back in 2005. But, nonetheless, there is new hope today for MySpace, as it transitions to new hands and adds a celebrity stakeholder.
We weren't the only ones feeling a whole lot of love for the HTC Sensation - and its T-Mobile Sensation 4G cousin - but a report earlier this week suggesting the smartphone suffered "death grip" style signal issues threatened to sour the phone's flagship reputation. We've been chasing HTC for an official statement, and the company has just come through: perhaps unsurprisingly, the official line on whether the Sensation suffers from an antenna issue is "No."
Remember when Steve Jobs told everyone that the iPhone 4 had to be held correctly to avoid signal loss and dropped calls? Well, it looks like that same "death grip" problem may be affecting the HTC Sensation. When the Sensation is held in a certain way, it loses signal as well as its Bluetooth and WiFi connection.
The iCloud is not only usurping MobileMe and sounding really awesome at this point, it's also introducing a new Photo Stream feature that will bring your photos to the cloud. Right now, when you take a picture with your iPhone, its difficult to transfer it over to your iPad without first syncing to your desktop iTunes. Well, that's all going to change.
The moment of truth is finally here. The iCloud has been revealed after months of speculation. And one of the main questions that piqued many of our minds was what would happen to Apple's MobileMe device syncing product. Well, its official now. MobileMe is dead.
I suppose you could call this game more of a race and kill game, along the lines of Twisted Metal, if you know what I mean - does it sound like the kind of game you'd be seeing birds flying around in? Heck no! That's why we found it utterly baffling when @Rovio spoke of "Mighty Eagle" aka the pay-for-help element in the original Angry Birds game appearing here in this new game for iOS, a remake of the 1996 original, Death Rally GDC 2011. Thusly your humble narrator inquired on what the heck was going on, to which we received word that Angry Birds wouldn't be appearing in the game, but that Mighty Eagle would, aiding players in their tasks at hand. Oh eagle! Why weren't you around when I was trying to beat Final Fantasy 7!? Not even born yet.
Razer has been unveiling lots of special edition mice and keyboards over the last few months. The latest of these special editions is a mouse to go along with the Dragon Age II video game for serious fans of the title. The mouse has all the specs that we know and love from the normal DeathAdder with a red dragon on the top of the mouse and the red II.
The Chinese government has just sent out a joint notice to gaming companies, demanding that they provide parents with a method of monitoring, limiting and- if necessary- cutting off their child's access to the game. The Ministry of Public Security and seven other departments signed on to the notice, which has a deadline of March 1.
The so-called death grip issue some HTC HD7 owners have complained about has prompted an official comment from the company, who basically reckon that any device can suffer from the way it's being held. "It is inevitable that a phone's signal strength will weaken a little when covered in its entirety by a user's palm or fingers," an HTC spokesperson told Computer Weekly.


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The New Challenger Report Shows Retail Jobs Are Still Vulnerable
U.S. companies announced a total of 31,105 job cuts in June, an improvement compared to May. Retail, however, remains an area of concern as employment continues to plummet.
The report from consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. marked some good news for American employment but again painted a dark picture for the state of the retail business.
Announced layoffs in the first half of 2017 are the highest since the recession as big-box retailers are feeling the brunt of e-commerce and the loss of revenue at malls. Companies like Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) have closed stores, leaving dozens without jobs as companies facing these financial dilemmas seek out ways to cut costs.
The sector showed 60,127 job cuts through June, a considerable increase from the 42,095 job cuts reported through the first half of 2016. This marks a 42% increase in terms of jobs shed this year so far in the retail sector compared to 2016. In fact, this would be the highest rate of job loss in the sector since the first half of 2009, right at the start of the financial crisis.
So far, the retail sector has reported over 5,000 store closings this year, representing a grim year for retail companies and their hundreds of thousands of employees.
Retail has come under fire recently due to two main factors: e-commerce and the death of the American mall.
As Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other online operators continue to offer alternatives to shopping at malls and big-box retailers, many companies have found it difficult to adapt to the new online realities. Online sellers have begun eating a larger market share of retailer revenue, leaving many companies in a dismal financial situation where the only way out is often through store closures and the mass culling of jobs in order to settle the financial deficit.
At the moment, there is little in the way of good news for the retail business, as e-commerce continues to dominate and the chances of retail making a comeback become smaller as Amazon and other online providers only continue to grow.
“U.S. planned layoffs slow in June: Challenger,” Reuters, July 6, 2017.


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It was another hard winter in Spokane Wa. and we experienced record snowfalls. This is somewhat increases the slow down for us in regard to home sales. That coupled with the impact of negative news, much of which does not apply to our local market, has contibuted to lower numbers of homes sales. However, SPRING IS NOW HERE and all the snow is long gone! I am working alot of 12 hour days, and it is a great time to buy a home in Spokane Wa. as intrest rates and other perks such as the first time buyer tax credit make this an exceptional buyers market.
Here are the numbers recorded for March 2009:
March 2009 closed sales increased 68% over February 2009 closed sales. 326 closed sales were reported for March 2009. The average sales price was $200,229 while the median price was $176,200.For the first quarter of 2009 sales totaled 638 which are down 241 sales compared to the first quarter 2008. The average sales price for the first quarter was $200,475 which is approximately the same average price for the first quarter last year. The median sales price for the first quarter 2009 was down 1.5% from the median price for the first quarter last year, $175,000 in 2009 compared to $177,700 in 2008. Inventory for the fourth consecutive month is less than the inventory at the same time last year. Current inventory as of this report is 2,687 units compared to 3,044 a year ago. New Construction homes sales totaled 52 in March up from 39 last month.
BethAnn Long ~ Spokane Realtor- Coldwell Banker Tomlinson South Inc.
...there's no place like your home!


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South Oxfordshire Brewery, the fast-growing beer maker led by James Tomlinson, has acquired its neighbouring White Horse Brewery for an undisclosed sum
SOX plans to continue to build on White Horse’s successes, increasing brewing capacity and distribution across the wider region. Based in Stanford-in-the-Vale, Oxfordshire, White Horse has been brewing and distributing a selection of real ales to pubs across the county since 2004.
Commenting on the new collaboration, James Tomlinson, Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to be adding the White Horse Brewery to our existing SOX brewing operation and taproom. It’s a business that makes superb, balanced beers and we’re really looking forward to working with the team there to get these fantastic liquids into the hands of more cask ale fans.”
“There is a lot that the two businesses can collaborate on and there are a lot of commonalities – not least a shared love of fantastic beers. We will certainly aim to position them as sister companies, and help each other wherever possible”
The White Horse Brewery’s selection of cask beers include leading brand Village Idiot (4.1% ABV) as well as Stable Genuis (4.0%), White Horse Bitter (3.7%) and Wayland Smithy (4.4%).


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|NYC's Consumer Affairs Suing Cellcos Re: False Adverts (|
|Danny Burstein (firstname.lastname@example.org)|
Thu, 21 Jul 2005 17:10:05 -0400
"New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Acting|
Commissioner Jonathan Mintz today announced the agency has filed suit
in New York Supreme Court against three major wireless companies for
pitching cell phones and services in deceptive advertisements that
misled consumers. DCA filed suit against Nextel Communications Inc.,
Sprint Spectrum L.P., and T-Mobile USA Inc. seeking maximum fines and
compliance with New York City's landmark Consumer Protection Law.
" 'You can't promise a great deal in the headline and hide the true
( rest of article describes a whole bunch of "free long distance"
Minor disclosure: I'm a shareholder in Omnipoint ...
|Post Followup Article||Use your browser's quoting feature to quote article into reply|
|Go to Next message: email@example.com: "Is Co-Existence of HLR and HSS Possible?"|
|Go to Previous message: Gregory M. Lamb: "It Rings, It Plays, It Has TV"|
|TELECOM Digest: Home Page|


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Beer Porn and the Simplicity of Social Media Content
A few months ago I was having lunch with two friends, discussing the changing nature of social media. In particular, we talked about which content drives more engagement today.
One of the friends, Sierra Cook of Anheuser-Busch, made an offhand comment about the popularity of “beer porn” on Bud Light Platinum’s Facebook page, which piqued my curiosity. I asked what that meant and she said it was just pictures of beer, adding that fans seem to like simple images more than other posts.
I was perplexed, but then I thought about content I periodically post on the American Mustache Institute‘s Facebook page (a deep honor). Regardless of how interesting a posted link or promotion might be, the most popular tend to be either the “Mustached American of the Day,” or kids wearing fake mustaches — just photos of people with lower nose forestry units.
But that can’t be the case for commercial brands, can it? Well, yes, actually.
“We’re always looking to create engaging, sharable content on Facebook," Cook told me. “With Bud Light Platinum, we’ve found that close-up beer shots that capture the brand personality consistently perform 50-100 percent better than other posts.”
Those, my friends, are serious metrics, and it’s not just in the beer space.
“We’re seeing a simplification in the nature of social content that really resonates with brand advocates and fans of our channels,” said Doug Terfehr, global director of public relations for Pizza Hut. "Posting a link tends to not gain as much traction as, say, a great looking slice of pizza with cheese pulling away from the pie. After all, that’s why people for the most part are engaged with us. They love our product.”
In recent years, smart digital marketers have begun to understand that social media is actually a content play – content that is relevant, in tune with audiences, and timely (as real-time marketing has become essential). But the accepted notion of content, at least since roughly 2008 or so, has typically been elaborately crafted marketing programs that are perhaps based within a whiz-bang Facebook app and designed to engage consumers at a deeper level by ultimately offering them something. The thing is, these cost money, ranging from $5,000 – $150,000 to build, depending on the bells and whistles, as well as whatever the ultimate promotion may be.
So that begs the question: Does the content of today really need to be that expensive? Is “porn” enough? Does there need to be a beer cruise if you get as many likes, comments or shares from a picture? If Bud Light Platinum is sharing a simple picture of a beer and it’s then getting shared or liked 50-100 percent better than a link to a promotion, I’d suggest we consider Leonardo da Vinci, who said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” when thinking about pleasing our social media audience.
Online customization retailer CafePress is in a different position than a beer brand, as the company can use the Pinterest model – the culture of which, I’d suggest, is driving this change in social engagement.
“We see a lot of response to the designs alone because posting them comes across as showing art, not asking people to buy something,” said CafePress VP of Digital Strategy Jason Falls. “But when the right design is on the right product, the engagement can be not only more powerful, but also quite successful in terms of conversion. You wouldn’t think someone would see flip-flops in their Facebook stream and want to buy them. But you put Snoopy on flip flops and people go bananas.”
The nature of media and consumer information gathering changed because smart people led horses to water who began ravenously drinking from it. Therefore, if we are to follow the latest trend, we need to consider where consumers are seemingly driving – and that is the notion that simplicity sells.
Does that mean kill the Facebook app or $10,000 video? Is social media “porn” the new content model? No, not always. But more often than not, brands should think twice about the hefty investment, engage more simplistically, and understand that the right image at the right time can quite possibly deliver the necessary results.
A founder of digital marketing and PR firm Elasticity as well as the crowdfunding and crowdsourcing regional marketing engine Rally Saint Louis, Aaron Perlut has spent 20 years in media and marketing, helping both Fortune 500 companies and well-funded startups progressively manage reputation and market brands in an evolving media environment. His approach leverages creative content and ...
Other Posts by Aaron Perlut
Social Media Today


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151 Proof Movies: The Bye Bye Man Drinking Game - Don’t say it Don’t think it. And based off reviews, don’t watch it. Yes, we’re checking out The Bye Bye Man this week because when you do bad movies, you...
Apr 10, 2012
Capcom gives us three new trailers today
Today Capcom has released three big trailers for 3 big games at their Captivate 2012 event. First up is Resident Evil 6:
Now the new Devil May Cry (or DmC) trailer
that's umm, an innovated use for pizza, not for the lost planet debut trailer
all three games look great, and the DmC trailer has made me interested, in the game not naked daunte.


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Americans who eat fast food mostly are always at health threats and antibiotic resistance is one among the listed top 5 threats, says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A report reveals over 2 million Americans get infections every year which aer antibiotics resistant and about 23,000 die out of such infections.
The problem is further contributed with the use of antibiotics in animal rearing. It is usual trend to fatten up the livestock with drugs. This is done to prevent illness too. But these practice lead to the rise of superbugs resistant to drugs that otherwise would be able to kill those.
To address to the issue, some of the popular fast food chains and meat suppliers in the US have pledged to stop the unhealthy practise and use fewer antibiotics.
Lately, a new report has come up to analyze 25 such major fast food and fast-casual restaurants to check how they coping up with the promise made.
Only Chipotle and Panera have received an A grade on the report card. Both do not use antibiotics and it is found most of the meat that is sourced by Chipotle is free of antibiotics.
Panera claims all the pork and chicken they raise are without antibiotics.
In the B grade is Chick-fil-A. They have pledged to make their livestock grow free of antibiotics by 2019. Earlier this year, only 20 percent of their chicken found to be abiding by the standard.
In the C grade is McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts.
The remaining are in the F grade which includes Burger King, KFC, Denny’s Domino’s and Papa John’s Pizza.


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Pikmin becomes a flower
Find out about a real-life Pikmin flower.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
Nintendo of America has announced that it has reached an agreement with S&G Flowers USA to make a so-called Pikmin flower available to gardeners and video game enthusiasts. The five-petaled white flower with a yellow center closely resembles the characters from Shigeru Miyamoto's GameCube game Pikmin and will be available for sale in April 2002.
"This extraordinary marketing initiative to consumers demonstrates that at the core of Nintendo is creativity," said Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America. "We used a variety of innovative and unusual activities to build anticipation for the Nintendo GameCube. Naming a flower after a video game is just one more way Nintendo is seeding creative marketing."
Pikmin was released for the GameCube on December 3.
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IOVE study shows improvement of financial climate in September
A study conducted by the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOVE) shows that during September the…
A study conducted by the Foundation for Economic & Industrial Research (IOVE) shows that during September the Economic Climate Index increased to 83.1 (from 81.3 in July and 75.2 in August.
The study argues that the major disruption caused by the extreme uncertainty and introduction of capital controls resulted in a decline in business expectations and consumer trust in July and August.
However, September’s readings show that business expectations are improving. Consumer trust though continues to be in decline, having reached it lowest levels of the past three years.
The Foundation notes though that the majority of business and consumer readings were taken before the elections, so the index mostly reflects the climate during the election campaign period, which is typically a waiting period, for businesses at least.
On the other hand, the measures included in the new bailout and which affect the majority of consumers have a serious impact on expectations, both for personal finances and the country’s economy as a whole.


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A new MOM’s Organic Market is opening next week on Lee Highway, within walking distance to Courthouse.
The store, at 1901 N. Veitch Street, is planning a grand opening celebration between Friday, Nov. 13 and Sunday, Nov. 15.
“Join us for a weekend of local tastings, environmental activities, henna art and more!” the company said on its website. “Five percent of Grand Opening sales will be donated to Moms Clean Air Force, a community of moms and dads united against air pollution and climate change to protect our children’s health.”
There will also be meet and greets with environmental organizations, like the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, and live music Saturday and Sunday afternoon from Arlington singer-songwriter (and H-B Woodlawn student) Calista Garcia.
In addition to the grocery store, MOM’s is also opening a Naked Lunch storefront along Uhle Street. Naked Lunch is an organic, vegetarian and vegan-only eatery that serves soups, sandwiches, bowls and raw juices.
Other MOM’s features include free car charging stations, local beer and organic wine, and recycling drop-off for wine corks, CFL bulbs, eye glasses, plastic bags, household batteries and shoes.
MOM’s is located in the new Verde Pointe development, along with 162 luxury apartments and 36 townhouse flats.
If you’re thinking about purchasing an Electric Vehicle or would like to know more, stop by the Arlington Drive Electric event September 25 at Kenmore Middle School.
A group of Marines in their dress blue uniforms braved floodwaters along Columbia Pike to help a stranded motorist. Video of the rescue has gone viral on TikTok, racking up…
A nice late summer weekend is on tap as we start to dry out tonight after a soggy couple of days. Autumn officially begins on Wednesday, and the forecast currently…
The past, present, and future of Columbia Pike is rather easy to see.


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Shelter Point, Vancouver Island
From farmland on Canada’s Vancouver Island, the SMWS is delighted to welcome Shelter Point distillery into our ever-growing roster of exceptional international whiskies. Charlene Rooke reports on the distillery’s background and the introduction of the Society’s first bottlings from a Canadian location with a distinctly Scottish influence
Whisky lovers make pilgrimages here, often crossing a narrow strait by ferry or seaplane before driving up-island to a farm perched on an oceanside bluff. Sunlight gilds fields of barley, ripening on ground so fertile and special it was previously a prestigious university’s research farm. Inside a barn-style building (more like Kentucky than a pagoda-topped stone distillery), sloping light illuminates the patinaed glow of copper pot stills from Forsyths of Speyside.
The single malt that emerged from one of the thousands of barrels maturing on-site bears some hallmarks of this place: it’s golden in the glass then crisp on approach and creamy on the palate, with a shimmering whiff of sandalwood or driftwood, flavours of warm ginger spice and a mouth-wateringly maritime finish.
But we’re not in Scotland anymore. This very Scottish-influenced distillery is just south of Campbell River, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Shelter Point distillery is home to the first Canadian bottling to ever appear in an SMWS Outturn. Though some of the 230 bottles of release 152.1 appeared in UK Outturns in the autumn of 2022, the landmark bottling debuted in Canada this past January, sporting an aptly descriptive name: Vibrant and vigorous.
A GLOBAL WHISKY CONTENDER
“It’s a feather in our cap and we’re very proud of it,” says Stephen Goodridge, Shelter Point’s recently appointed general manager. In 2013 this veteran Barbados rum distiller founded one of Canada’s earliest small-batch distilleries, Goodridge & Williams, in British Columbia. (It was acquired by brewing giant Labatt in 2020.) “We express a classic Scottish style,” he says – with a measure of Canadian innovation.
Stephen lists some of the qualities that make Shelter Point a global whisky contender. Though the distillery has experimented with everything from unmalted barley to wheat and rye, “our malted barley has qualities that are special,” he says. Grain grown on the farm and sourced from other British Columbia growers create a 100 per cent local mash. It undergoes a patient, one-week fermentation to create a wash rich in complex esters. A down-sloped lyne arm on the still helps create “a very nice mouthfeel” according to Stephen: even tasted at 63 per cent, the new-make spirit has a notably creamy texture. Aquifer water sourced on the farm property is used at every stage of production. A former barn turned maturation warehouse is near an oceanside bluff on the longest stretch of privately owned waterfront in these parts. “There is coastal and seaside influence, for sure,” Stephen says
BACK TO THE SOURCE
The story of three Shelter Point casks acquired by the SMWS (Cask Nos. 152.2: Tropical Cornucopia and 152.3: A Fistful of Bananas have since also appeared) dates back to the infancy of this 12-year-old distillery. “It was a privilege to be involved in the first Canadian bottling by the SMWS,” says Leon Webb, an SMWS member and Shelter Point’s master distiller back in 2020, when the casks were sourced. Adam Bradshaw, spirit lead at SMWS retail partner Strath Liquor Merchants in Victoria, British Columbia, originally pointed Canadian SMWS branch founders Kelly and Rob Carpenter to Shelter Point, a few hours’ drive north of Victoria. “We’ve always thought it was part of the Canadian SMWS branch’s remit to help try to identify new distilleries and promote Canadian whisky,” says Rob, of the couple’s decade-long quest to discover worthy Canadian casks.
Leon and Shelter Point distillery manager Jacob Wiebe did a fireside tasting of cask samples with Rob and Kelly in March 2020 – shortly before the pandemic brought much global travel and trade to a screeching halt. Rob had planned to soon return to Edinburgh, where he co-founded Holyrood distillery in 2019. With those travel plans delayed, the Carpenters settled for shipping several promising cask samples to SMWS head of whisky creation Euan Campbell and the Spirits Team at SMWS headquarters in Leith, from which three were selected.
“The inaugural Shelter Point expression fits well into the traditional philosophy of the Society: exceptional single cask malt whiskies,” says Leon, who is now back in Scotland, as distillery manager at Tamnavulin.
ABOVE: Rob Carpenter from SMWS Canada joines Jacob and Leon for a fireside tasting
FIELD TO FLASK
Shelter Point has been gathering a buzz in the whisky world for years. When I first visited the distillery in 2017, I toured around the farm in a pick-up truck with James Marinus, right-hand man to Shelter Point founder and third-generation family farmer Patrick Evans. James, who distilled the liquid that became these debut SMWS releases, had pointed out hundreds of recently arrived casks awaiting filling, and explained that former Diageo distiller Mike Nicolson had originally been coaxed out of retirement on Vancouver Island to help with the start-up.
“This has always been a field-to-flask distillery, run by farmers,” current GM Stephen Goodridge proudly says today. After more than a decade of operation, an ambitious maturation and blending programme is levelling up the distillery’s output. There’s a bold exploration and reinvention of the Canadian whisky category currently underway nationwide, in no small part due to the so-called 9.09 per cent blending rule, which is famously flexible to New World-style innovation, allowing producers to add up to 1/11th of another spirit or wine into their blend.
Shortly after Stephen’s arrival, a new vatting of the distillery’s signature malt bottling won Double Gold in the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
“We’ve now got a lot of diversity and a lot of different wood,” he says – everything from British Columbia wine barrels to Barbados rum and Caribbean rhum agricole casks to more traditional sherry, port and peated-malt vessels. “And now we’ve got different ages [of whisky] to play with.”
SHARING THE LOVE
Though awards and the renown of an SMWS bottling will certainly help acquaint global whisky aficionados with Shelter Point, “our challenge now is to raise awareness domestically,” says Stephen. Many visitors to Shelter Point are not even whisky tourists, but locals or travellers who are in the Campbell River region for its world-class salmon fishing, whale-watching or to explore the heritage of Canada’s Coastal First Nations/Indigenous people.
Though tasting room patrons might not enter as whisky fanciers, most leave with a bottle. “Canadians like to support Canadian products,” Stephen says. The inaugural SMWS Cask No. 152.1 bottling was premiered at the Victoria Whisky Festival in January and at February Outturns in Canada. But much of the first and subsequent 152 releases will be available around the world – and that’s deliberate.
“The intention is to spread the Shelter Point love around other international branches,” says SMWS Canada’s Kelly Carpenter. Vibrant and vigorous: consider it Canada’s love letter to the whisky world.
Charlene Rooke is a Vancouver-based drinks journalist, consultant and spirits educator. You can find her leading Outturn tastings each month for the SMWS at Legacy Liquor Store in Vancouver.


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Saleen Automotive is developing an electric car, but did not provide any technical details or renderings. Steve Saleen, owner of the venture, said he will unveil scale models of the vehicle in early 2014. The electric car is believed to carry a design that will entice those seeking high performance, as Saleen is known for creating high horsepower versions of sports cars like the Ford Mustang.
In a statement, Saleen remarked that while he cannot provide all the details of the electric vehicle project, he said that it is “unlike anything currently in the marketplace." As early as this month, he released a statement saying to "throw out your pre-conceived notions and expectations,” noting that the vehicle will be “revolutionary in its aesthetics and mechanics."
Due to the high prices of electric vehicles, their sales have been slow. A recent survey showed that few buyers are willing to pay over $25,000 for an electric vehicle. This could be the main reason while carmakers are cutting the prices of their electric offerings or offering incentives. For instance, Nissan cut $6,400 off the sticker price of its Leaf EV to $22,150, including delivery.
After selling just 12 i-MiEVs last month, Mitsubishi recently cut the price of the vehicle by $6,130. Along with the $7,500 federal tax credit, the i-MiEV has a sticker price of $16,345. Saleen, however, said that he is not worried about slow sales of electric vehicles, saying that their business model does not require them to be high volume. He said that electric vehicles could be purchased from another carmaker as a glider sans the powertrain, and then they will have the electric motor and battery installed.


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HENTY’S men’s shed has spent the past fortnight trying to reconstruct a historical piece of engineering for the show.
Not many engines were built in Australia early in the 20th century, but the organisation has managed to get its hands on a vintage Aussie-built eight-horsepower engine from Ballarat’s Ronaldson and Tippets.
It is believed to date from the late 1920s.
The engine, usually imported from England at the time, was considered extremely multipurpose because it could be used to power several machines, including chaff-cutters.
The engine wasn’t in great condition when it arrived but, thanks to some good-old fashioned elbow grease, it is once again looking brand new.
Men’s shed member Ed Knight said the group had put a lot of hours into the project.
“We’ve been working on it for about a fortnight,” he said.
“We had to get it ready for the show so we had to get at it.
“We hope to have it running in the antique machinery section.”


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Want to join the conversation?
Pat Nolan with Deutsche Bank asks about the inventory issues in North America and if the industry can put through some upward movement in price. $GT said it can't comment on what the industry could do. The company's view is, it has a value proposition out there around products, innovation, brands, and promotion, which is what $GT tries to win.
$SBUX launched its annual “Starbucks for Life” competition in the U.S. and Canada. The winner of the competition will receive a credit of one drink or food item per day for a duration of 30 years.
$T shares rose 1.8%, as a big boost for the S&P 500. The company said its new streaming television service DirectTV has so far exceeded expectations.
$TXMD flying high.. anyone here to catch..?
$CMG crashing. There seems to be nothing good to read about this company.


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Thailand aims to export 9.5 million tonnes of rice this year, the Thai Rice Exporters Association said on Wednesday, a 14% decline from 2018.
The world's second-biggest rice exporter shipped 11 million tonnes of rice in 2018.
"This year's rice export situation will not sail as smoothly as last year," association president Charoen Laothamatas said in a news conference.
The lower volumes are due to a stronger Thai baht and increased competition from India and Vietnam, Chookiat Ophaswongse, the association's honourary president, said.
The baht has gained nearly 2.6% against the US dollar so far this year.
"Our competitiveness is lower, but our production remains the same," Mr Chookiat said.
He also said Indonesia will import less Thai rice this year due to ample rice stocks, and the Philippines and Malaysia are expected to turn from Thailand to Vietnam due to pricing.
The target of 9.5 million tonnes is expected to be worth US$4.8 billion (150 billion baht), Mr Chookiat said.
Thailand mainly exports rice to African and Asian countries. India is the top exporter of rice and Vietnam is third-largest.


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Nike signs UK's Towns, Louisville's Russell
Nike on Monday announced it has secured deals with the NBA draft's No. 1 and No. 2 players, both of them with heavy local connections.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns and Los Angeles Lakers' D'Angelo Russell were pictured side-by-side in the leading apparel company's tweet.
The big man Towns, of course, played at Kentucky, and Russell's a Louisville native.
"For me, the biggest thing is going to be making the playoffs with Minnesota after an 11-year drought," Towns said. "If I was blessed to be able to take them to the playoffs, that would be a big step in my career."
Added Russell, a one-and-done Ohio State guard: "I want to reach my full potential as a rookie and just keep adding to my game."
Terms were not disclosed, but also Monday, adidas offered James Harden $200 million to leave Nike. So consider apparel deals a significant addition to a guaranteed contract.


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Florida Division of Tourism officials are hoping a declining dollar will mean they can say bienvenida, bienvenue and welcome in other languages to many more foreign tourists this year.
A drop in the value of the dollar makes U.S. travel cheaper to foreigners.
This year, the state launches cooperative advertising programs in Latin America and Canada to complement a four-year-old program in the United Kingdom. Tourism from Latin America boomed until 1983, when an economic crisis forced many Latin governments to devalue their currencies. State tourism officials spoke Thursday at Hollywood's Diplomat Hotel as part of the Division of Tourism's Huddle XI, an event promoting Florida to U.S. and international travel officials.
About 3.8 million visitors arrived at Florida airports from foreign destinations in 1986, about 85 to 90 percent arriving in Miami, said Jose Estorino, the division's acting director. The 1986 total was up about 25 percent over 1985, and the division anticipates the 1987 increase would be about the same. Each traveler visits about 2.3 destinations, he said.
Later this month, a television, newspaper, direct mail and magazine campaign will be launched in Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela. The $1 million program is sponsored by the division, the United States Travel and Tourism Administration, Alamo Rent A Car, American Express and Pan American World Airways.
A $1 million advertising program in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec is being co-sponsored by Wardair Canada Ltd. airline.
A $130,000 United Kingdom promotion, Freedom of Florida, is in its fourth year. Last year, about 12,000 passengers participated in the program, which includes a gift pack of a beach bag, cooler bag, and coupon booklet. The state expects about 20,000 visitors this year, Estorino said. Costs are shared with British Airways.


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Posts from ‘Convertibles’
Class: Sporty/Performance Car
Miles driven: 420
Fuel used: 13.7 gallons
After skipping the 2017 and 2018 model years, Fiat is again offering the 1957 Edition package on the subcompact 500 coupe and convertible for 2019.
While the biggest 2019 news from Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has been covered in our First Spin of the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack and SRT Hellcat Redeye — and also in the Alfa Romeo and Maserati update — here is more from the car side. And there will be even more in our upcoming truck overview, so stay tuned ….
History has probably been unkind to the 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird. Ask your average enthusiast about the relative marketplace success of Ford’s retro-themed 2-seat convertible, and you’re likely to be told that the revived T-Bird was a flop.
Yikes, where does the time go? The MX-5 Miata is fast closing in on its 30th birthday, but Mazda apparently couldn’t wait until the pearl-anniversary year of its beloved two-seat roadster to roll out a welcome round of enhancements. Ever since the first Miata debuted at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show as a 1990 model, Mazda has stayed wonderfully true to its original MX-5 concept: a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, lightweight two-seat sports car with modest power, an easily removable roof, and a sporty-yet-compliant suspension.
Some may not know that Alfa Romeo and Maserati — both upscale Italian brands — are part of FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), and thus “corporate cousins” to Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Ram vehicles. But that’s about where the similarities end.
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2016 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Packard’s policy of gradual styling changes helped it to maintain a gold standard of resale value and allowed owners to keep their cars longer without looking dated. This linear styling policy served Packard well until the Forties. By then, though, American car design was changing at an incredible rate. Packard’s unhurried design evolution couldn’t keep up with the pace, and by ’41, its cars looked old fashioned.
Class: Compact Crossover
Miles driven: 700
Fuel used: 35.7 gallons
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the February 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Since news of “dieselgate” broke in September 2015, Volkswagen’s TDI diesel engines and the software that enabled emissions-test cheats have received tremendous attention. It’s probably an understatement that the resulting avalanche of bad press has overshadowed the company’s new-product news.


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Born in Bemidji, Minnesota and enrolled in the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Elias had a unique
childhood. Growing up in and around reservations led Elias to different perspectives on life. He
grew up in a rich Ojibwe environment and that directly translates to his strong work-ethic and
intense energy to help others.
Elias founded an apparel business called Real Nish during fourth grade to promote indigenous pride and cultural awareness. (Nish is short for Anishinabe which means the people in Ojibwe.) Elias later converted Real Nish into an online apparel store with personalized graphic designs during COVID. During his free time, Elias also is working on app development for a future startup.
Elias is a current undergraduate at Dartmouth College on the pre-med track. His major is
undeclared but he has a burning desire to learn and an insatiable curiosity. Elias sees the Peake
Fellowship as an opportunity to use his time to help others through local businesses.
Originally from Stone Mountain, Georgia, Tyler’s passion for entrepreneurship goes as far back as she can remember. As a student at Savannah State University, Tyler co-founded TigerCo Marketing, an initiative that took an inventor’s hot sauce to market with local stores. All of the company’s profits go toward a micro-loan program for other students at Savannah State. The overall TigerCo initiative, which was highlighted on the cover of Founder Magazine, has become a blueprint for rallying community support and joint innovation. As part of her service learning, Tyler also co-created an online marketplace for goods from student entrepreneurs across the campus. Beyond her interest in community commerce, Tyler also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in 2021 and received a Coca-Cola United Bottling Company Internship & Scholarship in 2020.
Tyler is a graduate of Savannah State University where she earned a Bachelors in Business Administration in December 2020 and an MBA in May 2022. Tyler hopes that her one-year Peake Fellowship will accelerate her strengths in mentorship and business.
Excerpt from Tyler’s nomination to the Mary S. Peake Fellowship Selection Committee:
“It is with great pleasure that I nominate Tyler Holloway for the Peake Fellowship on behalf of Savannah State University and President Kimberly Ballard-Washington. Tyler is a passionate, determined student who has repeatedly proven to be a dedicated and reliable scholar. I have no doubt that she will be an asset to the program.”
Dr. Shalonda Mullgrav
Interim Vice President of University Advancement
Dean of the College of Business Administration
Savannah State University


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OTOY and Facebook Release Revolutionary 6DOF Video VR Camera Pipeline and Tools
At F8, OTOY and Facebook launch partnership to produce affordable volumetric and interactive 360-degree video with six-degrees of freedom, creating the “workflow of the future” for virtual and mixed reality.
Los Angeles, CA – April 21, 2017
Today we are pleased to announced a new partnership to bring OTOY’s end-to-end rendering and publishing technology to Facebook’s revolutionary new Surround 360 x24 and x6 cameras that are world first accessible capture platform with six-degrees of freedom (6DOF).
We’ve been working with the very talented Facebook Surround team to provide a revolutionary artist friendly toolchain for fully immersive volumetric storytelling. This breakthrough has long been a goal of the VR community, and we are so excited this day has finally come.
Our collaboration allows millions of content creators to work with volumetric video footage across the full ORBX ecosystem of 28 different authoring and editing tools. We’re then bringing OTOY’s cloud rendering and light field streaming service to deliver final Surround 360 content with universal playback of interactive mixed reality media across all major platforms and browsers. It’s a simple and powerful publishing solution this game changing camera deserves.
Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY Inc. on the Surround 360 X-24 and X-6 cameras
The X-24 and X-6 cameras are planned to be released in 4Q 2017. Stay tuned for many more announcements coming in the weeks to come. For more information about the partnership, see the F8 announcement here and read about it on Upload VR.


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This week, 174 governments will meet at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London to discuss the pressing carbon emission
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have postponed the introduction of a container dwell fee for the second
The Singapore-headquartered ship manager is expanding its footprint in Europe with the new Hamburg office run by Synergy Marine Germany.
The third hybrid roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessel ordered by Finnish shipping company Finnlines was launched at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu)
Verifavia Shipping has launched the world’s first real-time Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) Dashboard to determine the operational efficiency and CII
The new service, solely operated by ZIM, offers significant advantages to customers on this important, fast-growing trade routeHaifa, Israel –November
Port of Long Beach Pier J SSA Marine (SSA), which operates three container terminals at the Port of Long Beach,
Lloyd’s Register (LR) has launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Register, a standardised digital register of LR certified AI providers and
Guangzhou port signed Letter of Intent for sister port cooperation with Alexandria port in Egypt.
The number of sister ports cooperating
Delayed by the pandemic Norwegian fertilizer producer Yara has launched Yara Birkeland, the world’s first electric and autonomous containership.