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A new report from the Federal Reserve shows that US factory output expanded in August, albeit at a much slower pace than in July, with disruptions related to Hurricane Ida to blame for a relatively weak print. Nevertheless, overall industrial output rose above its pre-pandemic level in August.
After rising 0.8 percent in July, total US industrial output increased by 0.4 percent in August, the Fed said in a September 15 release (PDF).
“The late shutdown related to Hurricane Ida resulted in an estimated 0.3 percent decline in industrial production,” the Fed noted in the report.
During the year, factory output grew by 5.9 per cent, up 0.3 per cent from its pre-pandemic level of February 2020.
Utilities saw the biggest gains, expanding 3.3 percent in August, after contracting 4.0 percent in the previous month. Consumer goods, the category with the next highest rate of expansion, grew 0.8 percent, followed by non-industrial supplies, which rose 0.6 percent in August.
While the storm caused plant closures for petrochemicals, petroleum refining and plastic resins, manufacturing managed to achieve 0.2 percent growth. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 0.4 percent.
“Despite an estimated 0.2 percent decline due to Hurricane Ida, manufacturing output grew 0.2 percent in August and was 1.0 percent above its pre-pandemic level,” the Fed said in the report.
A separate report from the New York Fed, known as the “Empire State” index on current trading conditions, rose from 18.3 in August to 34.3 in September.
New orders, shipments and unfulfilled orders all posted substantial growth, while labor market indicators pointed to strong employment growth. Specifically, the average employee workweek measure rose 15.4 points to 24.3 in September.
However, supply-side challenges remained, with the delivery time index reaching a record high of 36.5.
“Enthusiastic goods demand, rising business investment and rebounding demand from overseas are slated to propel activity at a healthy clip into 2022,” Oren Kluchkin, chief US economist at Oxford Economics in New York, told Reuters.
“While stagnant supply chains and hiring challenges will limit expansion, these headwinds will not subside until the COVID crisis at home and abroad is effectively contained,” he said.
Inflationary pressure continued, the price paid index near a record high and prices found a way to hit an all-time high of 47.8.
“Looking ahead, firms were very optimistic that the situation would improve over the next six months, and there was a significant increase in capital expenditure and technology spending plans,” the report’s authors wrote.
Reuters contributed to this report.
This News Originally From – The Epoch Times


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Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file.
Shooting Industry January 2013 - Page 14
Industry news GunBroker.com Hits $2 Billion In Sales unBroker.com announces it reached $2 billion in cumulative merchandise sales on Nov. 10, 2012. The site reached $1 billion in sales 10 years after its launch, and achieved $2 billion in sales less than three years later. “Doubling sales in less than three years to reach the $2 billion mark is an incredible accomplishment and one we are extremely proud of. We have made significant enhancements to the site over the past couple of years that are proving to be a catalyst for continued success,” said Steve Urvan, GunBroker.com CEO. G GunBroker.com reports the site ranks as the 646th largest U.S. website according to Quantcast (Nov. 10, 2012), and the third largest “Shopping and Classifieds — Auctions” site, behind eBay and eBay Motors, on Hitwise’s rankings. For more information, visit www.gunbroker.com. DoubleTap Selects New Manufacturer oubleTap Defense LLC announced in early November that it has chosen Florida-based Azimuth Technology LLC to manufacture the DoubleTap pistol. In October, Raymond B. Kohout, the pistol’s inventor and founder of DoubleTap Defense, announced, “We have terminated our relationship with Heizer Defense, our manufacturing partner, due to their inability to manufacture the DoubleTap pistol.” The DoubleTap has received a lot of attention since its introduction in November 2011. However, the ongoing delayed delivery of the DoubleTap led to numerous complaints. “When we announced that DoubleTap was looking for a new manufacturing partner, we were pleasantly surprised by the positive response from the firearms manufacturers and other precision manufacturing companies,” Kohout said. “Out of all the responses we received, it became very clear that Azimuth Technology was the perfect fit in corporate philosophy, facility capability and plain, old-fashioned, rollup-your-sleeves determination to bring this product to market in a timely fashion.” Kohout has not announced a delivery date for the pistol. For more information, visit www.doubletapfirearmsllc.com. D DoubleTap Defense DoubleTap 14 Subscribe to SI DIGITAL www.shootingindustry.com • NEW BUSINESS YEAR EXTRA 2013

domain: news


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BMW is finally going to be resurrecting the M8 nameplate, according to a new report from BMW Blog. This is coming about as the 8 Series is roaring onto the scene, apparently completely displacing the 6 Series and the M6.
Not content to make one version of the M8, BMW Blog says the automaker will churn out three versions of the M8. One will be a coupe, one a convertible, and one a Gran Coupe.
Don’t expect some monster V-12 engine like in the sole original M8, even thought that would be great. BMW is rumored to be hopping up the 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 from the current M5. Supposedly, it will whip out around 600 horsepower and about 500-plus lb.-ft. of torque.
BMW Blog claims the M8 won’t have a DCT. Before you get all excited, it’s also saying a manual transmission isn’t in the cards. Instead, the vehicle will pack an 8-speed automatic from ZF. Hey, at least it’s not a CVT. Apparently, this move is necessary since BMW will be using xDrive on the M8, plus a DCT would wither under the massive torque output. This is a big deal, because in the past BMW scoffed at the idea of using all-wheel drive on M cars, save the X5 M and X6 M. It seems attitudes inside the company are changing.


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E-cigarettes are battery power operated products that provide a nicotine-based, non-toxic vapor right to the user’s mouth. They furthermore allow the consumer to inhale vapors and vapor which contain less than five pct of smoking, which is far less than in smoking.
It is estimated that there are a lot more than twenty million smokers in america alone who make use of nicotine products on a regular basis. Most users have either found the nicotine items addictive or have gotten addicted to them as well.
These products have been linked to negative health effects like cardiovascular problems, respiratory problems, and adverse reactions to nicotine. Many health experts possess said they have no scientific proof to support states that these products are less harmful than smoking.
There are no strong longterm consequences for used exposure to the products, but the risk is definitely carried by them of leading to respiratory system difficulties. So not merely do they contribute to the spread of diseases such as lung cancer, but they put people at risk of establishing this condition furthermore.
Many medical researchers who’ve spoken out against e-cigarettes say that without comprehensive measures to control the smoking rate, the usage of the products will continue to rise as smokers substitute their regular cigarettes with the products. Unfortunately, this could mean a rise in the risk of lung cancer and other smoking related cancers.
The main problem for the e-cigarette industry is definitely they have no major competitors like cigarettes as well as the FDA does not permit the FDA to modify these products. In addition they don’t have some of the most common warning brands that cigarette companies have used to discourage smoking cigarettes.
This has made many smokers afraid to change from regular cigarettes to these less harmful, effective products. Many tobacco businesses are exploring a range of new products that would compete directly with these products, however they are prohibited by theFDA from promoting their items to the general public presently.
Others have needed banning the products outright because of the risk they pose to health insurance and the prospect of nicotine addiction. Because of this, public awareness strategies have begun to increase and there’s been a rise in the number of “vaping” clubs in places where smokers can meet and socialize.
A main team campaigning for the proper to use vaping products offers advocated for harm reduction. Damage reduction involves attempting to help smokers quit smoking while giving an alternative solution to the substance and cigarette smoking also.
So far the harm reduction campaign has prevailed in assisting many smokers break their nicotine addiction. But the use of vaping products is becoming so popular that even anti-smoking groups have realized that it might be their best hope to convince cigarette smokers to make the change to vaping items.
One area where harm decrease may face difficulties is persuading smokers to try these products. 1 reason for this is usually that most smokers may believe they’re dangerous and ineffective.
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With 2010 on life support, Ben Kelly and Brett Haggard hook up with Simon Dingle to talk tech. They discuss the launch of Cell C’s new network in Gauteng, discuss ADSL’s local inadequacies, talk about the MacBook Air, and wonder about Xbox Live and Kinect in SA
Consumerisation — the use by business of technologies that were first tested in the consumer market — is one of the IT industry’s buzzwords of the moment. One technology that Microsoft hopes will soon evolve from expensive toy into essential productivity tool is the motion and voice interface featured in Kinect.
One of the most curious and unintended side effects of rapid innovation is on language. Rather than making words up, we prefer to frame things in analogy and reference. That’s why we still talk about “opening a window” on a computer, and why we “cut and paste” text and save “bookmarks”
Xbox Live is finally set to launch in SA on 10 November, giving local Xbox 360 owners official access to the service for the first time. The Xbox Live Arcade — a veritable treasure chest of downloadable games — is one of the service’s most attractive features.
Police and governments around the world need to collaborate more closely to develop the security legislation and training needed to combat a growing tide of cybercrime. That’s according to Microsoft’s global chief security advisor, Roger Halbheer.
Nokia is replacing its CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, with a top Microsoft executive, Stephen Elop, as the Finnish handset manufacturer seeks to make up for ground it has lost in recent years to rivals such as iPhone-maker Apple and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion. But already a senior Gartner analyst is questioning the move. “I’m in two minds about this,” says Gartner vice-president Nick Jones.


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Aldi is looking for a couple to get married at one of its stores. The company will pay for the wedding and throw in a year of free groceries.
Aldi will pay for the couple's travel, hair and makeup, reception, cake, wedding favors, and photographer, and even throw in a year of free groceries.
Inflation-hit shoppers are opting for own brands, buying in bulk, and switching from beef to pork, Kroger says
Customers are "aggressively" starting to buy Kroger own-label products amid soaring inflation, its CEO said.
A Kroger store in Mississippi broke child labor laws by letting minors operate hazardous machinery, DOL says
Three stores in Portland operated by Kroger subsidiary Fred Meyer also violated laws on hazardous machinery, the Department of Labor said.
Photos show what it's like to shop at Aldi rival Lidl, from cluttered aisles to own-label products that look just like big brands
Lidl has around 11,500 stores worldwide. The store I visited was cluttered, with products in the wrong places and empty crates littering the aisles.
Say goodbye to a sea of pizza toppings and endless cereal varieties: The busted supply chain is forcing companies to eliminate your favorite products.
The pandemic isn't just causing shortages — to keep store shelves stocked, major brands are cutting back on the variety of food products they offer.
Some UK stores stock products, including Twinkies, A&W root beer, and Butterfingers but many cost twice as much as they do in the US.
Texas convenience store chain says around 13% of its products are out of stock because of manufacturer shortages
Kevin Smartt, CEO of Texas and Oklahoma chain TXB, told CNN: "We're probably averaging 6,500 to 8,000 outs a week from manufacturers."
From South Carolina to Washington, shoppers are finding bare grocery shelves due to supply-chain issues worsened by Omicron and winter storms.
Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons recall over 28,000 pounds of ground beef over possible E. coli contamination
Over 28,000 pounds of ground beef were recalled by the US Department of Agriculture after samples tested positive for E. coli.
I work at a grocery store. The customer isn't always right — and that phrase makes our jobs so much harder.
"When the pandemic began, people were saying, 'We appreciate y'all; you're great,'" a grocery worker told Insider. "Then they started cussing us out."
Products like Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Kellogg's cereal, and McCormick spices are expected to be low in stock in stores as more shortages hit the US.
Turkey production has decreased this year, and that could cause problems for shoppers looking for the right bird for their holiday table.
Pharmacies at retailers like Publix and CVS will offer you coupons and gift cards for getting a flu shot this year.
Grocery store shopper left terrified at the 'ferocious' speed of her cashier's scanning that felt 'like a slot machine'
"I asked the cashier to please stop scanning through more food and that it felt like he was throwing the items at me," the shopper told TeessideLive.
Costco is a wholesale retail store known for its great bargains. It offers food samples, cheap gas, and sale items to attract customers.
Los Angeles County will mandate an extra $5 per hour in 'hero pay' for frontline grocery and drugstore workers
Other West Coast cities, including Seattle, San Francisco, and Long Beach, have implemented similar hazard pay measures,
Amazon is officially America's favorite grocery store, thanks to a pandemic-driven boost to online shopping
Amazon edged out fan-favorite chains like H-E-B and Trader Joe's to take the top spot in the latest Retailer Preference Index.
Pepperidge Farm's Milano and Chessmen cookies may be tough to find in stores during the holidays due to a shortage
Increased demand and an inability to outsource the cookies elsewhere has created the perfect storm for this cookie shortage.
Staff at Trader Joe's have lower COVID-19 infection rates than the community average in 'virtually all' areas, the grocery chain says
About 2.4% of Trader Joe's staff have tested positive for COVID-19, and the figures are consistently lower than local averages, it said.
Walmart scrapped plans to let these 6-foot-tall robots check inventory at stores, after reportedly finding that it's simpler to let humans do the job
After a three-year trial that saw Bossa Nova robots rolled out to 500 stores, Walmart has reportedly found that staff can do the job effectively.


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To strengthen CBS's market segment in Sulawesi,
on 12th - 13th May 2017, at Gammara Hotel, Makassar, CBS segment team again participated in an important event to strengthen Grundfos position, this event is the first national congress of Indonesian Hotel General Manager Association.
Approximately 300 general managers and hotel owners in Indonesia attended the event. Grundfos put this opportunity to good use by participating as a platinum sponsor, getting more brand exposure, and of course the opportunity to present the product in front of the participants.
We hope that this will have a positive impact on CBS market expansion in general and certainly in South Sulawesi.


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Ford Motor Company (Ford) joined forces with 3M and GE Healthcare and the United Auto Workers (UAW), to increase the manufacturing and engineering to quickly expand production of medical equipment and supplies for healthcare workers, first responders and patients fighting coronavirus.
In addition, Ford issued a statement that explained the company plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week and leverage its in-house 3D printing capability to produce components for use in personal protective equipment (PPE).
“This is such a critical time for America and the world. It is a time for action and cooperation. By coming together across multiple industries, we can make a real difference for people in need and for those on the front lines of this crisis,” said Bill Ford, Ford executive chairman.
Ford is with 3M to increase the manufacturing capacity of their powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) designs and is working jointly to develop a new design leveraging parts from both companies to meet the surge demand for first responders and health care workers, according to the Ford’s press release. The respirator could be produced in a Ford facility by UAW workers.
“We’re exploring all available opportunities to further expand 3M’s capacity and get healthcare supplies as quickly as possible to where they’re needed most – which includes partnering with other great companies like Ford,” said Mike Roman, 3M board chairman and CEO.
Ford and GE Healthcare are working together to expand production of a simplified version of GE Healthcare’s existing ventilator design to support patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing caused by COVID-19.
“We are encouraged by how quickly companies from across industries have mobilized to address the growing challenge we collectively face from COVID-19,” said GE healthcare president & CEO Kieran Murphy.
Respirators and Face Shields
Meanwhile, Ford’s U.S. design team is also creating and testing transparent full-face shields for medical workers and first responders. The company states the face shields fully block the face and eyes from accidental contact with liquids and when paired with N95 respirators can be a more effective way to limit potential exposure to coronavirus.
The first 1,000 face shields will be tested this week. Roughly 75,000 of these shields are expected to be finished this week and more than 100,000 face shields per week will be produced.
Auto Parts Supplier Announces COVID-related Layoffs
As of Monday afternoon, there were five new companies, including Charlestown-based Mitchell Plastics. The company told the state it is implementing a temporary layoff and shutdown of its two plants, totaling 380 employees. The company is a parts supplier to Toyota Motor Manufacturing and Ford Motor Co. Both of those automakers announced last week they are suspending production at their auto assembly plants.


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To mark Toni’s Sushi Bar’s highly anticipated 40th anniversary as Miami Beach’s longest-running sushi bar, the iconic eatery is thrilled to announce the unveiling of its extraordinary redesign. The project was a collaborative endeavor between world-renowned New York City firm KONO Designs and four traditional artisans flown in from Japan to lend their inimitable knowledge of bamboo craftsmanship. The exciting transformation sets a new standard for sushi dining experiences, combining modern aesthetics with the essence of traditional Japanese culture. The new design pays homage to the culture and creates a truly unique experience.
Photos by Natalie Chaban


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Note: Firm is out of business. Do not use these products. Please discard or destroy these products.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Originally issued May 26, 1992; Revised July 10, 2001
Release # 92-085
Everything's A Dollar, Inc. Recalls Fish Style Jolly Rattles Due To Choking Hazard
PRODUCT: 11,616 Fish-Style Jolly Rattles (article 84567) sold at Midwest and East Coast Everything's A Dollar stores from November 17, 1991 to November 23,1991. The rattles sold for $1.00 each.
PROBLEM: Beads inside the rattle may separate posing a potential choking or aspiration hazard for young children.
WHAT TO DO: Take the rattles away from young children immediately and discard or destroy these products. Firm is out of business.
WASHINGTON, DC -- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Everything's A Dollar, Inc., of Milwaukee, WI is voluntarily recalling 11,616 Fish Style Jolly Rattles (article 84567). When CPSC tested the Jolly Rattle in accordance with regulations under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, three rings (on a rod between the fish's mouth and tail) and the beads inside the rattle separated, posing a potential choking or aspiration hazard for young children.
The Jolly Rattle is a circular, fish-shaped plastic rattle containing beads and three colored discs on a rod. The rattle comes in a variety of colors, and measures 3-1/2 inches in diameter. It has an opening at the top of the fish's back which creates a handle for small hands to hold. The rattle is sold in a cardboard-backed blister package, with a label on the front of the cardboard backing which reads in part: " . . . JOLLY RATTLE, ART.84567, MADE IN CHINA."
The Jolly Rattle, imported by Everything's A Dollar, was sold on the East Coast and in the Midwest exclusively at 73 Everything's A Dollar retail stores from November 17, 1991 to November 23, 1991. The rattle sold for a retail price of $1.00 each.
Consumers are urged to take the rattles away from young children immediately and discard or destroy these products. Firm is out of business.
Neither CPSC nor the company is aware of any injuries involving this product. However, this voluntary recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injury.
The potentially hazardous toys were identified at the Port of Chicago, IL, during a joint CPSC/U.S. Customs surveillance program.
The CPSC is announcing this recall as part of its mission to protect the public from unreasonable risks of injury and death associated with consumer products. The Commission's objective is to reduce the estimated 28.5 million injuries and 21,600 deaths associated each year with the 15,000 different types of consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of
thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the
nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or
mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to help ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household
chemicals -– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at
(301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing
to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.


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Apple is often hailed as one of the most creative companies in the world, and for good reason. They've passed Exxon in market value, the apparent triumph of product design and innovation over the claim on oil and processes and distribution outlets to turn that into energy.
When it comes to product design, I think you could argue that Apple is the most creative company operating today. They don't seem to do the really interesting research that AT&T did in its day or that IBM seemingly still does - the kind of research that leads to innovations like transistors or nanotechnology. But they make products that provoke feelings akin to love, and outside of chocolatiers, not many can make such a claim.
But Apple now has nearly $100 billion in cash, which seems to me fairly convincing proof that they aren't particularly adept at translating technological invention know-how into competence in social invention.
Of course, in their defense corporations generally don't see social invention of any importance.
Countries have learned to treat social invention - that is, entrepreneurship - as important for progress. Companies have not.
Imagine if Apple were to trust its culture enough to use its $100 billion to fund startups and initiatives from within the company. What if rather than sit on the cash like they were waiting for bad times or simply paying it out in dividends, they instead used what they've learned about products, projects, and employees to begin funding new ventures, most that would fail (think the Lisa computer) but all that could become fodder for future successes (think about how the Lisa computer became the foundation for the Mac).
Apple could go down in history as the GM of its time - a highly successful company that rode a wave of technology popularization. Or it could go down in history as a pioneer, using their success with one kind of invention (product) to fund and create expertise in a new kind of invention (social), learning how to evolve a company that makes products into a company that makes companies. If they learn how to do that, they'll need all $100 billion - and then some. But if they learn how to do that, their stock price of $600 could begin to look as quaint as did Berkshire Hathaway's stock price of $600 (Warren Buffett's Berkshire stock traded at $122,190 a share Friday, some days moving $600 a share.)


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Anyone who enjoys Fable will be excited about this news. Fable Legends was officially announced at Gamescom as a 5-player game. The disappointment many fans had with Fable 3 , and Fable multiplayer in general, may have them skeptical, but this looks like a title to at least pay attention to. In Fable Legends , players can choose between different characters that all have specific abilities like classes, and complete dungeons. Only four types were shown in the video, but I bet there will be more available. From what I've seen in the video, players will be fighting through whatever obstacles the villain player puts in their way.
Fable Fortune Interview: Of Alignments and Card Battles
Fable legends matchmaking
Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Scalebound, its Platinum Games-developed open-world action game, was cancelled. This marks the end of a game first announced at Microsoft's E3 presentation. That press event was key because it was the first event after the launch of the Xbox One and the first event with former Microsoft Studios general manager Phil Spencer as the head of the entire Xbox division. It was a look forward, promising more games and less of the general entertainment that categorized Microsoft's E3 press event a year earlier. The first up was Halo: The Master Chief Collection , a game that ultimately launched with a number of bugs and severe matchmaking issues.
Definitely not on rails
It's a grey January morning and the rain batters the windows of the taxi taking me from Guildford train station to Surrey Research Park. Typical English weather, then, as I head to the home of a developer which has been making typically English video games for a decade. A nearby lake adds a whiff of the countryside to the place, despite it being down the road from Guildford Town Centre. Inside over staff beaver away on the Xbox's premier exclusive role-playing game series, among other things. This is my first visit to Lionhead, which I am ashamed to admit.
This is a sorted by release date and name list of Games for Windows — Live titles ; 73 including released and former video games under Microsoft 's Games for Windows — Live platform, which include online gaming features. Two common features in all listed games are friends and achievements. With the closure of the Games for Windows Marketplace,  none of these games are available for purchase on demand from that store anymore, but the client software and the servers are still available.


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After news this week that America Online would exclusively use Excite's search engine technology, Excite's stock has risen 62% to close at US$9.88 per share.
Under the terms of the agreement, Excite says it will buy AOL's existing search engine, WebCrawler, for roughly 2 million shares of Excite stock. That will bring AOL's stake in Excite from 12% to roughly 20%. AOL bought WebCrawler in June, 1995 for $1 million.
The deal will establish Excite as the primary search engine on AOL -- which has 7 million users -- and will give AOL the right to an unspecified amount of advertising revenue generated by Excite's search service, Excite officials say. While "AOL Search powered by Excite" will be the default search engine for AOL users, they will be able to use any search engine they choose once connected to the Internet, officials say.


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Old brands, new rules in High Street
LOOK around at what remains of the publicly quoted retail sector and there are an awful lot of high-profile people, if not exactly on borrowed time, then certainly on probation.
There's Kate Swann, parachuted in to rescue WH Smith; Stuart Rose at the helm of Marks & Spencer, who has a 400p-a-share marker under him after Philip Green's bid; Justin King with the mighty task of turning round Sainsbury's; and Richard Baker, charged with reviving the hugely undermined Boots brand.
Consumer spending may be slowing in response to higher interest rates and, clearly, shoppers now want quality at a bargain price.
However, the real problem facing the probationers is that they are in charge of what used to be prestige brands that have not only lost the trust of their customers, but are confronted with formidable new competitors setting new rules. Only ten years ago, Tesco lagged far behind Sainsbury's, for example. Only recently, Rose admitted that Next would soon make more profits from womenswear than M&S.
The story of Boots, which this week unveils a trading update, is a textbook study of how a High Street titan can throw it all away and be left with years of playing catch-up if it is not to confront extinction. This, like several of the above, was a family company with a proud history stretching back a century or more.
Its reputation was built on providing value. When it had to accept a lesser profit to service core customers, such as selling packets of nappies to new mums, it did so knowing it could flog a little girl's dress and make a turn on that.
What is remarkable, however, is that at one stage, Boots became so divorced from its mainstream shoppers that it actually stopped selling nappies. It simply handed the enormous mum and baby franchise to anyone else who wanted it.
Under its previous management, prices were allowed to edge up each year until even employees with their 20% staff discount found it cheaper to pop down the road to Superdrug or Wilkinson.
The stores were bled of investment and looked tired and tawdry. The tills were old-fashioned, so paying by plastic was time-consuming and many people simply gave up and left their baskets on the floor.
Add to that the fact that shareholders' money had been frittered away on things that looked good at the time - like Botox injections, dentistry-and laser eye treatments, but which never had a hope of making money - and it is little wonder the 15m people a week who shop at Boots were planning to defect.
At the basic level, retailing is about three things: having the right goods on the shelves, providing them at a fair price and offering shoppers an efficient checkout service.
Baker has set about dealing with the price issue and has reduced the cost of about 2,500 items. He is also nearly halfway through a revamp of the company's IT systems.
More than 1,000 tills have been upgraded and he is spending on the stores. He is now tackling the supply chain to make deliveries to stores on a little-and-often basis. Remarkably, Boots still carries about ten or 11 weeks' stock. This is inordinately wasteful and working capital could be reduced by about £30m for every week lopped off this total. He has also hacked down the headcount at head office.
A start has been made, though this week's like-for-like sales growth figures may not match the 4.4% achieved in the first quarter. Baker believes there's another two to three years to go before real results show.
He has been in situ longer than most of the other probationers. So far, though, he's showing them a clean pair of heels.
THE Financial Services Authority's impending regulation of the mortgage market, which starts next month, is a dabble too far. In theory, it makes great sense. With general insurance coming under the watchdog's umbrella early next year, we will have one regulator overseeing the vast majority of financial services, from dodgy advisers to ailing investments, broken pensions and now mortgages.
But in practice, the mortgage market does not need the heavy hand of the FSA. It is fiercely competitive and largely scandal-free. The FSA's intervention will merely add to bureaucracy - piling up more paperwork and, of course, cost.
Also, the FSA's new rules are riddled with inconsistencies. Buy-to-let mortgages will fall outside its ambit, which is mad in view of the risks these loans pose for many amateur landlords. And unless mortgage advisers contact a borrower at least once a year, the FSA's regulations will bar them from re-establishing contact if, for example, a special loan comes to an end. That, in the eyes of the FSA, will be deemed to be 'cold calling'.
Crackers? Of course. But then this is the FSA.
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- Take a glimpse of the Bugatti supercar set to be auctioned for £2.1m


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This Week in Apple — a new roundup of the week's top stories
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AppleInsider has launched “This Week in Apple,” a new weekly video series summarizing and analyzing everything that has happened relevant to the iPhone maker over the last seven days. Tune in to be sure you’re never out of the loop.
This Week in Apple
You don’t want to miss a thing
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Tesla Motors ( TSLA - Get Report) went public last June in one of the few IPOs of the year. It had the support of high-profile underwriters Goldman Sachs ( GS - Get Report), Morgan Stanley ( MS - Get Report), JP Morgan ( JPM - Get Report), and Deutsche Bank ( DB - Get Report), as well as many well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalists. It priced at $17, the top end of its range, and soared 41% on its first day of trading. It's still trading over 24% above its IPO price three months later. The company has done a great job of funding themselves. Its IPO raised $250 million. It also received a $465 million loan from a Department of Energy (DOE). But they need it. Since inception, Tesla has lost $300 million. There are generally two types of Tesla investors: ones of love the company and ones who hate it. Tesla bulls point to electric cars being the future and Tesla sporting the biggest brand within that space. They are most excited about Tesla's planned second car -- the Model S sedan which is scheduled to ship in 2012. They argue that Tesla doesn't have to sell many units to make a lot of money. They also proudly point out that Tesla has struck important partnerships with Daimler ( DDAIF) and Toyota ( TM - Get Report). Tesla bears point to how Tesla keeps losing money, how further capital needs for the company are under-estimated, and the upcoming IPO lock-up expiration in December as a potential weight on the stock price. Flashy Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also a lightning rod for criticism. I have a short position in Tesla owing to the reasons cited above and what I perceive of as poor corporate governance structures in place for a public company. I spoke last month to Eric Noble and Mike Dovorany of The CarLab, an Orange, CA-based auto consultancy. They have recently expressed publicly critical comments about Tesla's currently planned Model S. Here's an excerpt from the interview: Jackson: You've said publicly that it will take Tesla $1 billion to develop the Model S. Noble: We believe that it would take an OEM (e.g., Toyota, GM) $500 million to $700 million to design a new car. That's conservative. For a new company like Tesla doing the Model S as it's been most recently shown, we think they will need $1 billion -- but that's before ER&D on the alternative power train (where the electric battery is).
This means that Tesla will likely need even more capital -- maybe $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion in total cumulative costs -- to get this to market. Jackson: So, they're going to have to raise a lot more money in the public markets. Noble: One would think. Jackson: Tesla has said that it will sell its Model S for a base price of $50,000. Is that realistic based on your experience? Noble: No, and here's why. The Model S sedan is basically a very similar car in size and specs to an Audi A8. Audi sells the A8 for around $80,000 base. Now, Audi and parent company VW are notorious for managing their supply chain very well and even they do not make great margins on the A8. They just don't sell that many units of this car at this price point. Luxury OEMs tend to make their money on midsize and entry-level luxury cars, not the large sedans, which mostly exist to halo the brand. So, we know that Tesla is unlikely -- for the first car it's manufacturing itself, because recall that Lotus manufactures the Roadster -- to be able to do it cheaper than what Audi does to produce an $80,000 car. But, then, remember that the A8 doesn't have an electric battery. Conservatively, the battery will likely cost another $30,000 -- and that's just the cost. You do the math and you get to a base price of $110,000 Model S with almost no margin -- and that's assuming they can do it as cheaply as Audi. Jackson: Tesla says they will sell 20,000 Model S cars a year. Noble: I just don't think that's realistic at that higher price. Jackson: How do you view Tesla's deals with Daimler and Toyota? Don't they suggest Tesla has something those guys are interested in? Noble: It's pretty common in the auto industry for the big guys do these kinds of partnerships. They don't have to do much and they get a window seat to see if the start-up is doing anything interesting. From the perspective of the start-up, they're desperate for capital and credibility that these partnerships bring. In the case of Tesla, these announcements also came out ahead of their IPO (in June) which helped them. From our perspective, these big guys haven't made any truly substantial commitments to Tesla. They issued a joint press release. Jackson: Plus, Toyota also got to sell their stake in the NUMMI plant to Tesla. Noble: Yes. In our view, Toyota unloaded an unsellable asset to Tesla shareholders for about one-third of what it would have likely cost Toyota to shut the plant down. Even though Toyota production was exiting the plant, a large facility like that costs them money as long as it's on their books. There's also the issue of the NUMMI plant being unionized but it's unclear how that will affect Tesla. When you look at everything around this deal, Toyota invested $50 million in pre-IPO Tesla stock and got to sell the NUMMI plant for $42 million and associated parts and equipment for another $15 million. Seems like a good deal for Toyota from what we can see. Jackson: So, you're bearish on Tesla's future. Noble: It's already obvious to us that this dog doesn't hunt. Investors just don't understand this yet.


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The new president will be faced with a range of important issues, not least of which will be the oncoming global recession, as governments attempt to deal with the downturn in world economies and the collapse of the banking sector that is bringing considerable pressure to bear on companies of all sizes. All this on top of the recent rises in food and energy prices.
Other important issues will include the environment and the need to cut down the carbon footprint, the growing importance of alternative fuels and the need to cut down on waste and improve our recycling performance.
And then, of course, there’s legislation. The new president will surely be mindful of how governments around the world have introduced legislation that has a profound effect on the efficient operation of important businesses, not least of which is businesses in the dairy industry.
So it is that we welcome Canada’s Richard Doyle as president of the International Dairy Federation. (Sorry, did you think I was talking about someone else?)
Doyle, who is currently executive director of Dairy Farmers of Canada, took over as IDF president at the recent IDF Global Dairy Summit in Mexico. He succeeds the UK’s Jim Begg who has completed his four-year term.
I spoke to Jim about two weeks before the Mexico event. When we were talking about the need for the dairy industry to get the health message about milk and dairy products across to the consumer, he said we must aim for a situation “where governments never have an opportunity to advise consumers not to consume dairy products for either nutritional or environmental reasons”.
And with the current volatility caused by the global economic downturn, he warned that we must not allow the doom and gloom merchants to prevail. If we do “it shatters confidence and you enter a vicious circle”.
As we approach a new year, we should make those two aims part of any list of new year resolutions.
We mustn’t take our eye off the ball, because there are detractors out there who will use any opportunity and any excuse to undermine this industry of ours. Show them, in the words of Jim Begg’s Dairy UK campaign, that you are ‘Proud of Dairy’.
I’m tempted to paraphrase a famous quote from another president, and this time it is an American president who took office nearly 50 years ago: Ask not what dairy can do for you – ask what you can do for dairy.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024


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A new study has revealed that 80% of top business owners aren’t afraid of hackers. We spoke to some top industry experts to find out why.
The independent research report from Advanced asked over 500 business executives what their thoughts on the issue of security were.
As a result, security (82%) and data protection (68%) is the main concern.
Then 80% of companies stated that they are not put off from using certain digital advances, such as cloud, following recent high-profile cyber attacks. After all, over a third (37%) admitted to recently adopting cloud computing for the first time.
Who can sort this problem out? A large 76% of the top executives asked said that governments should do more to protect both businesses and their customers from cyber attacks.
What do they experts think?
The Head of Cloud, Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence at techUK, Sue Daley told Compelo: “It is good to see that businesses understand the economic and efficiency benefits of cloud computing. Confidence continues to grow. Being better informed, however, is something both businesses and consumers need to do. Then cloud computing can offer much greater levels of security and resilience required by users.”
The Director of Innovation at CBI, Tom Thackray, told Compelo: “Digital technologies offer businesses the length and breadth of the UK the tools and platforms needed to start, scale and reach a global audience. Technologies like cloud now underpin much of the UK business infrastructure. There is a clear intent from companies to keep up with the pace of change. Then, however, with great digital opportunities comes an element of risk. Companies must ensure cyber security is a boardroom priority and work closely with suppliers and customers to remain cyber resilient.”
What does this study really prove about businesses and hackers?
Jon Wrennall, the CTO at Advanced, commissioned the study. He said: “It is encouraging to see businesses are undeterred from using the cloud. Sadly we are seeing the same concerns around security and data protection reported over and over again. It’s right to be concerned about security; it’s time that all of us as cloud services providers take a reality check.
“There’s still a job to be done in creating trust in the cloud. Also, most organisations want financially stable providers and prefer those that store data locally and offer local support; this will become even more pertinent as Britain leaves the European Union. They will trust the providers that offer certainty in an uncertain market and those with a vested interest in the UK and the cloud.”
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This year with more vehicles recalled than in any previous year, it is more likely that a vehicle you drive may have been recalled for a safety issue.
When a vehicle is recalled for safety concerns it makes sense to it repaired as soon as possible. How would you know if a vehicle you are driving or preparing to purchase or rent has been recalled and if the repair was performed?
Today the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an online tool at https://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/. Motorists enter a vehicle identification number (VIN) to determine whether the vehicle has been recalled and repaired. In addition, carmakers are required to provide a similar VIN search for their vehicles on their own websites and also to update the recall and recall repair data weekly.
What if you enter a VIN and learn there is a recall and the repair has not been made? Take the vehicle to the dealer. The National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) said in a statement, "To improve vehicle safety, NADA urges every car owner who receives a recall notice from a manufacturer to visit his or her local new-car dealership to have the vehicle inspected, and if necessary, fixed at no charge. Historically, less than 70 percent of all recalled vehicles get fixed. Our goal is to see 100 percent of those vehicles remedied.”
What if you are thinking of purchasing a used vehicle or you want to check safety recalls on a vehicle before renting it? The free online tool is available to individuals as well as dealers to learn whether safety recalls exist for used or rental vehicles and if the recall repairs have been performed.
"Safety is our highest priority, and an informed consumer is one of our strongest allies in ensuring recalled vehicles are repaired," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.


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Operating in the same segment as companies like Stripe, which provides infrastructure for electronic commerce transactions, the platform has focused on the needs of Latin America and can now compete globally.
“The lack of this license was a limitation. Until now, we had focused on providing basic payment connectivity services, which, by the way, were going very well. This license will allow us to reach our full potential,” reveals MK Li, one of the founders of the fintech.
Liquido has been operating in Brazil for just under two years and already conducts transactions equivalent to USD$1 billion annually in the country.
In Mexico, competing for the position of the main market for fintech, the current POS is the same. The startup also operates in Colombia and Chile, with smaller volumes.
With the new license, it will be able to serve its customers directly, but this is a long-term plan. However, there is great potential unlocked by the Central Bank’s approval for the platform to operate its WhatsApp e-commerce solution without intermediaries in the second-largest country with the highest number of users of this messaging platform.
Although Meta chat has already developed its own button for transfers and financial transactions, Liquido will not depend on it.
Its solution, called Payment Plus (PPP), allows creating an e-commerce within WhatsApp itself so that merchants can sell products without having to pay for them.
In addition to WhatsApp, Liquido is betting everything on Latin products. Outside the system of major banks, the platform is already one of the main transaction platforms for Pix.
It is also preparing to accept Drex in its transactions. It is a natural step, explains MK, as less than 30% of Latinos have a credit card.
Much of what the platform has built comes from the experience of its founders in large technology companies and with popular applications in the country.
While Li was a product director at companies like Google and Microsoft, his founding partner Shanxiang Qi worked at Uber and Didi, where he observed how Latin markets still relied on physical money.
That’s why Liquido has been concerned with anti-fraud solutions since its pre-operational phase. A tool called Payment Success Booster can flag scams and suspicious transactions, through a real-time control panel, block operations, and even recover payments via WhatsApp.
In 2021, Liquido raised two rounds before reaching Brazil. The fintech company raised a total of USD$26 million from funds such as Index Ventures, Base Partners, Restive Ventures, Mantis VC, and UpHonest Capital.
To obtain more capital, the fintech is waiting for a more opportune moment in the market and to achieve more attractive numbers for investors, with a break-even point from the second half of 2024.


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U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39) voted to support the CHIPS & Science Act (Senate Amendment to H.R. 4346) to invest in U.S. supply chain resiliency, economic prosperity, job opportunities and national security against growing threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Chips run just about every technology in our day-to-day lives, from cars to cell phones to computers, and are vital for important medical, research, defense and security equipment. Our economy and national security depend on being able to produce vital technologies here in the United States instead of relying on other countries,” said Kim. “The CHIPS & Science Act would make targeted investments to secure our supply chains, incentivize U.S. production of semiconductors, bring new businesses and good-paying jobs to the U.S., expand opportunities for all Americans and protect our national security. As the Chinese Communist Party becomes more aggressive towards Taiwan, which accounts for about 90 percent of the world’s most advanced chip production, and we see supply chain shortages during COVID-19, the United States must be able to keep our country running.”
Over the past 30 years, the U.S. global share of semiconductor manufacturing capacity has declined from about 40 percent to 11 percent. This bill will boost U.S. economic production, re-shore our semiconductor manufacturing, and secure our supply chains so the U.S. is not reliant on the CCP.
Also included in the package are three bills introduced by Rep. Kim:
- The Innovations in Informal STEM Learning Act (H.R. 3859), a bipartisan bill to support afterschool programs that expose students to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts;
- The Combatting Painful Inflation (CPI) Act (H.R. 7747), which would ensure the federal government is prioritizing addressing inflation; and,
- The Partnerships for Energy Security and Innovation Act (H.R. 4863), which would help promote U.S. energy independence by fostering public-private partnerships, deploying smart energy technologies and providing workforce development opportunities.
The bill includes targeted investments for:
- Building and expanding domestic semiconductor facilities and equipment;
- Increasing research and development for Department of Commerce semiconductor manufacturing;
- Supporting the U.S. semiconductor workforce;
- Bringing more semiconductor technologies to market;
- Boosting global information and communications technology security and semiconductor supply chain activities; and,
- Developing Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation (ORAN).
The bill contains guardrails to ensure money spent supports American manufacturers by:
- Prohibiting federal funding from being used to construct, modify or improve a facility outside of the U.S.;
- Prohibiting federal funding from supporting advanced chip manufacturing in China;
- Prohibiting a person or entity of concern from participating in U.S. research and development and technology development programs and receiving Department of Energy funding;
- Prohibiting malign foreign talent programs;
- Boosting research security;
- Requiring institutional disclosure of foreign support; and,
- Defining the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a “Foreign Country of Concern.”


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ABU DHABI, May 9 (Reuters) - The chemicals unit of Spanish energy firm Cepsa expects to start up its Indonesian joint venture by the end of this year, with exports due to commence in 2017, a senior company official said on Monday.
Cepsa Quimica is building a plant to produce fatty alcohols in Sumatra in a 50/50 joint venture with Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR), the world’s second-largest palm oil plantation company.
Fatty alcohols are derived from natural fats and oils and are turned into products including detergents, soaps and cosmetics.
“We are targeting to produce 75 percent of capacity initially after commissioning by end of the year but it also depends on the markets,” Jose Manuel Martinez, chief executive of Cepsa Quimica, told Reuters at a petrochemicals event in Abu Dhabi.
The emirate is home to International Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC), which fully owns Cepsa.
When fully operational, capacity at the plant was expected to be 160,000 tonnes per annum of fatty alcohols, he said, adding it was aiming to export to markets around the world.
The chemicals unit of Cepsa, Spain’s fourth-largest industrial group, accounts for 40 percent of the group’s revenue. It has manufacturing facilities in Spain, China, Canada and Brazil.
Cepsa also plans to expand output at its Salvador de Bahia facility in Brazil to 260,000 tonnes per annum from the current 220,000 tpa before end-2016, Martinez added.
The Spanish firm has partnered with Brazil’s Deten to produce at the facility linear alkylbenzene (LAB), which can be used in the production of detergents, paints and cosmetics.
Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by David French and David Evans


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Here are all of the posts tagged ‘social media’.
Mobile messaging apps used by 1.4 billion worldwide
eMarketer has released its first ever worldwide forecast for mobile messaging apps and the number of users is rapidly growing. More than 1.4 billion consumers will use mobile messaging apps this year according to the report – that’s a massive 31.6% increase on last year. eMarketer’s money is on the trend continuing; it predicts that by 2018, the number of chat app users worldwide will reach 2 billion – that’s 80% of smartphone users… which is heaps.
OMG! One Direction in emoji form
We’ve all tweeted something and thought ‘This could’ve been better conveyed with a Harry Styles emoji’, right? Well now you can tweet the face of any of the 1D dreamboats with a simple hashtag. Take your pick from the hashtags below. One of which may not be quite as it seems…
Rainbow vomit has a price
Have you ever dreamt of having something that money can’t buy? Something, for example, such as magical rainbow vomit? Well your dreams might just be coming true as rainbow chunder is now for sale and it could be yours for the princely sum of $1.49. While this sales pitch might sound convincing, anyone who has been on Snapchat in the last month or so will know that the almighty Snapchat rainbow vomit lens was once free. A free distraction for students (and We Are Social employees) everywhere. A free costume inspiration for Halloween parties. A free gift to the world. But sadly the best things in life are no longer free and Snapchat has opened up the Lens Store for all to try (and buy).
Tumblr gets instant messaging
Tumblr has granted its users the most requested feature to date – instant messaging. Before this, the only way they could communicate was reblogging with comments or by using Fan Mail and that wasn’t the most popular. Now, they’ve opted for a viral launch with only 1,500 people getting access for now but if they message you, you’ll then have it. Keep an eye out for that message!
Pinterest introduces visual search tool
While we all wish our homes looked like a Pinterest board, the reality is often quite different. To help you get a little bit closer to achieving that dream, Pinterest has introduced a search tool which means users can highlight something within a pin and get taken to that exact product. So highlight away and start hoping that everything is affordable.
Facebook’s first virtual reality ads revealed
Last week we talked about virtual reality being kind of a big deal and oh how we were right. Facebook has now entered the fold big time, with its first virtual reality-style video ads. This follows on from the roll out of its video creation tool in September, where brands could post 360-degree clips organically to their pages. In order to attract more brands to use the 360 vids (and therefore, make more $$$), Facebook has created a dedicated site to help get the low-down on creating 360-degree videos. You can see all of the ads from the brands who used the new format here, including Mondelez’s Ritz with a wonderful 360-degree holiday party and a tour of the “the most magical place on Earth” from Walt Disney World.
Snapchat reaches 6billion daily views
Snapchat is quickly growing to become the preferred social media platform of teenagers around the world, and it’s well on its way to social media dominance. Snapchat has now reached six billion daily views, which is triple the traffic it was getting in May 2015. In comparison, Facebook records 8 billion daily views, twice as many as they were recording in April 2015. Facebook’s video views, however, are across desktop AND mobile, so it’s pretty impressive that Snapchat is pulling in these kind of numbers solely on mobile.
Snapchat has, without a doubt, shaken up the way in which audiences are consuming content and what they are expecting from their content. The ephemeral nature of Snapchat content is what makes it so appealing, but it also makes it difficult to justify pouring big bucks into a video that is only going to be viewable for 24 hours. Similarly, Snapchat videos are viewed almost exclusively in portrait, an intentional decision by CEO Evan Spiegel, and they have a maximum length of 10 seconds.
eMarketer has predicted a 42% increase in digital video revenues this year (taking it to a whopping $7.5billion in the US alone), and with Snapchat becoming one of the big, if not the biggest, player in the sector, it looks like the game has well and truly been changed.
Facebook launches Music Stories
With the latest iOS app update, Facebook has integrated Music Stories into our Newsfeeds. Pulling in streams from Spotify and Apple Music users can sample 30 second clips of songs and albums without having to leave the app, with the end goal being for all users to be able to share entire playlists. Users don’t need to be subscribed to either service to be able to access the tunes, and there are capabilities to save favourite songs or purchase them directly from the iTunes store. With 900 million mobile users on Facebook every day, this is a definite win for the streaming industry. Unfortunately, it does mean that there is a chance you will be seeing significantly more of this guy…
Twitter shares the love
The stars are going out. Twitter has revamped the way users share positive sentiment towards one another, replacing the action of ‘favouriting’ a tweet with a star with ‘liking’ it with a little heart. The reason for the change, according to Product Manage Akarshan Kumar, is down to semantics:
“You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favourite. The heart, in contrast, is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people. And in our tests, we found that people loved it.”
With ‘likes’ already being used with great successes on Facebook and Pinterest, it’s pretty likely that this change will be a good thing for Twitter. The mechanic of liking will be exactly the same, the only real difference is the change of icon.
Finland immortalises National Pride in… Emojis?
Yep! That’s correct. The Finnish tourist board has just released a series of national emojis that they believe celebrate Finland and “reveal the weirdnesses and the strengths of the country and its people”.
Three of the eventual thirty have been released so far: a sauna, a headbanging rocker and a Nokia 3310. Guess that means the Finnish are hot, like to party, and are unbreakable.
Fortunately for Tourism Australia, we already have our national emoji:
YouTube moves into Virtual Reality
Say whaaaat? YouTube’s Android app now supports VR video, giving users realistic 360 degree perspectives of videos. To view, users simply have to get up a virtural reality app, enable VR mode and place their phone in Alphabet Inc’s “Cardboard” device. At the moment there are only a few VR compatible videos online, but the catalogue is slowly expanding as more and more people and companies experiment with the format – including the Hunger Games movies. A very exciting leap forward for technology – really exciting to see where this works and how it will change the way we currently consume media.
Facebook is dabbling in a ‘teleportation’ station set to launch by 2025
Well, kind of. Don’t go adding “Beam Me Up Siri” to your voice command centre just yet. After Facebook acquired Occulus Rift, they got straight to work on creating the technology to making a believable virtual world. The technology for beautiful virtual worlds already well and truly exists (hello Call of Duty), but making it believable is the struggle. Facebook is working on touch controllers that will trick your senses into believing that the virtual world you’re seeing is real. The aim is, according to Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer, to: “build a device that allows you to be anywhere you want, with anyone, regardless of geographic boundaries”.
This kind of tech would allow users to ‘meet up’ in online communities, for example coffee shops, and interact, as if they were doing so in real time. So not teleportation per se, but simulated teleportation. Brain me up, Siri!
You can now buy your fantasy Pinterest life
Similar to the buyable pins that were released a few months ago, Pinterest has just released Pinterest Shop, a marketplace of curated items picked by Pinterest editors and available for purchase. At the moment it is only on the mobile platform, but there are plans to expand it into desktop as well. Weddings throughout the world just got considerably more elaborate and photogenic.
You may already have heard about Essena O’Neill.
The 19 year-old Australian model has launched a very public rejection of social media.
First she re-wrote the captions on many of her posts, to point out to her 612,000 followers occasions where she was being paid to promote products, or to reveal that she had snapped up to 100 selfies to get the right pose. She slammed Social for its “fakery” and superficiality. Then she deleted her profiles. Or rather, pointed them towards a new site, which promotes the benefits of positive living and a vegan diet.
I first became aware of this story over the weekend, when my teenage daughter, who has recently become vegan herself, told me about Essena and her plea to young people to abandon social media in pursuit of a more meaningful existence.
It had clearly touched my daughter, who is very active on and influenced by social media. As the mother of a teenage girl, and Managing Director of Australia’s largest social media specialist agency, We Are Social, this story has certainly got me thinking.
Thinking about the risks our children may be facing, by growing up in a world where identity is formed and validated on our social networks. And from a professional perspective, thinking about whether Essena’s move was a sign that we could be seeing the beginning of a significant shift: the marketing industry is only just beginning to wholeheartedly embrace people like Essena as brand ambassadors and social media influencers; an entire economy is springing up around people just like her. Is that now under threat? Too early to call, but definitely one to watch.
My take on Essena is that her behaviour is actually no different to that of many a teenager, flailing from one slightly extremist position to another – bikini-clad narcissist to crusading vegan. So far so normal for a teen, except she happens to be having her existential crisis on the world stage, which exponentially compounds it. (See Miley, Bieber, Britney et al).
The fact is, we’re all responsible for maintaining our own integrity – privately and publicly – and sadly, it seems Essena feels she had taken a wrong turn. I do hope she isn’t too hard on herself. Personally, I think she was too young to be able to make the astute assessments and judgements necessary in terms of where to draw the lines in this space. That’s where I think parents have responsibilities to help guide and protect our children as they shape their delicate characters. The story highlights to parents the need to have an honest and open dialogue with our teenagers.
That’s what I will be doing this evening.
Finally I have to say that I did find it a little ironic that she was publicly decrying social media… on social media.
Something went wrong. Facebook failed and people had to talk to each other. Where were you when Facebook went down? Did you survive The Great Facebook Outage of 2015? Survivors shared their stories and memes via the hashtag#facebookdown
The story took over social media on Monday evening, except for on Facebook, which was down.
The moon went blood red during an eclipse, and many lousy photos were taken of the blurred red smudge in the sky. Those using the hashtag #SuperMoon or #SuperBloodMoon on Twitter received a little red blood moon emoji. Which was a better view of the lunar eclipse than most people got.
Our salty red neighbour
On Sunday, NASA was poised to make a big announcement about Mars, but held back their “major science finding”, probably to give the #SuperBloodMoon a bit of time in the err sun, …out of the sun. The news was embargoed until the live press conference on Monday at 11:30EDT. As #MarsAnnouncement trended, speculation ran rampant, from the discovery of life on Mars, to the announcement of a manned mission to the red planet. But today they revealed that they had discovered evidence of saltwater streams running over the red hills of our celestial neighbour. This is big news as flowing saltwater is one of the essential ingredients to generating and sustaining many forms of life. Some cynics wondered if NASA’s #MarsWater announcement was a tie in with Ridley Scott’s new film The Martian.
Bieber’s Snapchat rant
You can howl at the red moon (or the red planet), but just don’t yell at Justin Bieber. In a series of videos uploaded to his Snapchat, taken in the back of a limousine while being driven around Melbourne, The Bieb, The Biebster, The Biebmesiter General, J-Bieb… has asked fans to stop yelling and screaming at him as it’s not enjoyable for him. “I want to enjoy the moment like you’re enjoying the moment but I can’t really enjoy it if I’m not feeling there’s any respect given to me that moment. If you start screaming louder that’s not going to make me (want to) take a photo more,” Bieber continued. And no one enjoys having a horrible, repetitive noise stuck in their head all day.
The Government’s new Anti-Extremism Booklet, complete with ethically diverse photos of twenty year olds posing as teens, links environmental awareness and “alternative music” to radicalisation and terrorism. The helpful booklet includes a Case Study on a young girl named ‘Karen’ who fell victim to “the alternative music scene, student politics and left-wing activism”. Naturally the Internet, no slouch when it comes to snark, stepped up its game and along with sending the hashtag #FreeKaren into the top Twitter trends, they also released their own wry Case Studies on various Australian political figures. Good work, all.
Clean your tweets
Trevor Noah the next host of ‘The Daily Show’ has instructed staff to read all tweets by the show’s newly hired correspondents in order to avoid giving the Twitter Stasi any reason to tear them apart before they even begin. “I said, ‘This is a good exercise,'” Noah told The New York Times. “‘You go through every single tweet and tell me what you think we should get rid of.'” Noah received a backlash from the outrage brigade online when the sourpusses scoured his Tweet history looking for a reason to get offended and upset. “I tried to grow as a human being,” he told the newspaper. “Someone goes, ‘Yeah, but you wrote this in 2009.’ I go, ‘well, thank God I didn’t write it in 2015.’ That to me is progress.”
Facebook drives increased investment in social
Investment in social media is going up – and there’s a clear indication of whose pocket it’s ending up in. eMarketer stated last week that social media ad spend is accelerating even faster than expected, now predicted to hit $25.1 billion in 2015, over a billion dollars more than it initially projected in April. It won’t be a surprise to many that Facebook is the company responsible for this growth – Facebook and Instagram’s ad business is expected to grow 42 percent y-o-y to $16.3 billion, or 65 percent of brands’ social media budgets in 2015. The platform continues to out-perform poor old Twitter, which is expected to pull in $2 billion in ad revenue (roughly 8 percent of total social budgets). While this is a 62 percent increase over Twitter’s 2014’s revenue, eMarketer had previously expected growth of 67 percent for the platform.
Facebook lures in TV spend with new ad products
Facebook wants a slice of the ever-lucrative TV advertising pie and what Facebook wants, it gets. The platform has created a series of ad products to appeal to those launching big budget integrated campaigns, which includes target-rating points (TRP) buying, using Neilsen to verify how well ads on Facebook perform in conjunction with their TV equivalent. Facebook’s Director of Ads Product Marketing, Graham Mudd, told Adweek:
TV ad campaigns supplemented by Facebook advertising provide an ideal combination for marketers to both reach large audiences and build their brands. Now we’re making it even easier to extend and augment TV campaigns through the introduction of TRP Buying, so advertisers can plan, buy and measure Facebook ads using the same guarantees and Nielsen verification they’re used to with TV.
Facebook will be hoping that the data proves the value of investment in the platform, perhaps over and above that of traditional channels. Other new ad products include allowing videos in its carousel ad unit, which up to now only featured photos.
Facebook brings 360-degree videos to News Feeds
Next up – Facebook! Yes, this week’s mashup has a theme, folks. This time the platform is dabbling in a bit of virtual reality, with the introduction of 360-degree videos. Fittingly, the first 360 vid was made by Disney and Lucasfilm to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and brands like GoPro, Mountain Dew and Discovery are already lined up to try it out. Facebook coughed up $2 billion for VR company Oculus Rift last year, so expect more updates like this in the future.
Notes gets a revamp
Pinterest has recently launched… only kidding, it’s Facebook again! The platform’s Notes function, which allows you to write longer posts, has historically been pretty dull – so it’s had a revamp. Notes users can add a cover photo, caption and resize images, and format their text into headers, quotes or bullets. Facebook suggests that you might like to recap your summer vacation or update people with an important life event. I for one can’t wait to read long form versions of Sarah’s crazy holiday to Greece, Tom’s first birthday party and Laura and Steve’s fabulous Caribbean wedding.
Facebook updates Instant Articles
Facebook’s Instant Articles – which allows readers to consume news stories in-app rather than being redirected to an external site – was a controversial announcement last year, with publishers concerned about the level of control it would give Facebook. But it seems that the function is still very much on the platform’s agenda, with Facebook announcing plans to ramp up Instant Articles by expanding the number of users who can see them and the number of publishers that can create them. One of the function’s biggest fans is the Washington Post, which says it will start running every single one of its stories on Facebook via Instant Articles.
Instagram community hits 400,000,000
Facebook-owned (yep, we had to get it in there somewhere) Instagram has hit a massive 400 million users. It’s also getting more and more global, with 75 percent of its community living outside the US and, among the last 100 million to join, more than half live in Europe and Asia. Très bien.
Twitter tests polls within tweets
The latest Twitter feature to be bubbling up to the social surface is polls. Perhaps in an attempt to keep up with the ever evolving Facebook and Instagram this new Twitter format has been sighted on staff and a few verified accounts so far but it is unconfirmed when or indeed if it will ever be fully rolled out. For the time being you can only pose two options for polls so that rules out ‘Will you be my boyfriend? Yes/No/Maybe’ for now. Damn.
Periscope creates its own version of a retweet using screenshots
A new version of Periscope has been released where users are now able to share screenshots of the streams they watch, creating the Periscope version of a retweet and making the whole experience a lot more social. It also makes everyone else watching that stream aware that a screenshot has been taken. The screenshot sharing aspect will help promotion of streams which currently appear as quite an uninspiring link in Twitter.
Pinterest blows its developer sandbox wide open
Pinterest has announced that it is giving developers access to its APIs for building new apps and third-party integrations. Now anyone can start building away, they just need Pinterest’s approval before going public. That’s my ‘suet puddings for swingers serving suggestions’ app idea out the window then isn’t it. Since May, developers have submitted more than 5,000 ideas for apps and Pinterest has already been working with IFTT, Polyvore and Topshop to launch integrations. Polyvore has already reported that it has increased traffic from Pinterest by 35%, while the number of pins saved from the company has jumped tenfold.
Maggi presents Singapore’s first ‘social’ cookbook on Instagram
Nestlé Singapore with We Are Social has launched a new Instagram campaign in an attempt to engage a new generation of aspiring chefs, with an aim to put the fun back into cooking. The activity takes advantage of Instagram’s rising popularity in Singapore, with Maggi releasing two new recipes each month in line with their brand belief that ‘Happiness is Homemade’. Clicking on specific photo tags will direct users to the corresponding recipe page and also in the direction of their YouTube page for longer ‘how-to’ videos.
Tweet-powered sculpture raises awareness of gay blood donor restrictions
As part of the London Design Festival, a rainbow comprised of liquid has been created which is missing one vital colour: red. Users who tweet #PutRedBack will trigger a single drop of red liquid to fall into the empty part of the rainbow. The installation has been made to raise awareness of the restrictions on gay men donating blood in the UK and coincides with a petition started by charity Freedom To Donate that will lead to a government debate on current blood donation guidelines.
Twitter creates Popemoji for Pope’s US tour
Papal ferula? Check! Papal mitre? Check! Papal emoji? CHECK! It’s every modern pope’s prerogative to have their own emoji these days and that’s just what Pope Francis got from Twitter as he embarked on his US tour last week.
With four different emoji attached to respective hashtags, users tweeted by their tens of thousands in anticipation of his arrival and according to Topsy, an hour after landing in Washington, there had been 42,000 tweets about his visit.
Of course some brands were quick to jump on this spike of social activity, especially those with legitimate ties; for instance Fiat, one of the official ‘Popemobile’ providers and papal bed supplier Loom & Leaf. Data also showed that many big brands stayed quiet with the majority of the top 300 brands on Twitter steering clear of the conversation.
— Loom and Leaf (@LoomAndLeaf) September 19, 2015
Google is G
It’s been 17 years since a little search page on a desktop PC launched and over the years it’s evolved into the Google we know and love today. To mark this evolution, Google has debuted a new colourful G logo to replace the little blue ‘g’ icon that previously appeared in various of its products.
— Google (@google) September 1, 2015
Instagram Direct gets an update
Ever seen a photo on Instagram and wished for an easier way to share it with your friends privately? Well, Instagram has just made it a whole lot easier to send Direct Messages by placing a little arrow beneath all pictures in your feed so your always just a few taps away from private sharing. They’ve also added threaded messages making it easier to follow conversations on the platform as well as larger than life emojis (their words) to jazz up your chats.
Facebook sets new 1 billion logged in user record
It’s official: 1 in 7 people on earth logged into Facebook last Monday, a massive milestone for what started as a small exclusive network just for Harvard students back in 2004. Mark Zuckerberg posted this update to commemorate the occasion: Facebook introduces personal assistant ‘M’
Siri and Cortana better watch out, as Facebook has announced it’s acquiring the skills of MI6’s head, ‘M’ to help out with users’ day to day tasks. A bit of a down-step for the first lady of espionage but it can’t all be go go go, right? Only joking of course, but ‘M’ is the name of Facebook’s new personal assistant service, which will be a hybrid of human and computer assistance. ‘M’ is predicted to be able to help with gift buying, holiday booking and much much more. This news is exciting for brands (less so for other Chat Apps), but our own Marketing Director, Tom Ollerton has a reservation, telling Marketing Week: “I imagine there will be sponsorship opportunities for certain categories or locations, but Facebook will need to be careful not to lose the authenticity of any recommendations,”. Now when do we get our exploding pen?
Facebook add ‘Donate Now’ buttons for nonprofits
In a move to benefit charities and nonprofit organisations, Facebook has made a ‘Donate Now’ button available for pages and link ads. It is well known that Facebook is often now used for online giving, the new addition also furthers Facebook’s case to marketers that its pages can drive conversions. Charity win, Facebook WIN.
Instagram stops being so square
Did you know, one in five Instagram photos is currently uploaded with… I’m not sure I can even bear to type it… white space around it?! Luckily Instagram has taken steps to fix this terrible plague that has gripped the planet by now allowing photos and videos to be uploaded which AREN’T square. You have read correctly, non-square images and videos are now allowed on Instagram. Great news for giraffes! This brings pros and cons with it as brands will now more easily be able to incorporate Instagram into their campaigns but with horizontal space also brings fear of banner ads clogging up users feeds. Brands such as Victoria’s Secret and NBC’s Saturday Night Live have already tested the feature which enables more cinematic widescreen content.
Make music videos with your photos using Facebook Moments
Facebook Moments, an app designed to ease photo sharing among friends, has released a new update which lets you create montages of your favourite pictures from Facebook set to music, and share the video back to Facebook again. Now if only you could pick ‘We’re On The Road To Nowhere’ by Talking Heads, I think it would go well with my recent birthday snaps. Moments is an app created by Facebook’s Creative Labs initiative and the new music video addition should hopefully entice uninitiated users to try it out.
Twitter is up to something and Taylor knows the secret
It looks like Twitter is about to up its photo and video editing offering after Taylor Swift, Pharrell and Big Sean all posted some new ‘funky’ (look at me, talking like a mum!) images and videos up during the recent MTV VMAs. It seems that users should soon be able to add a little more creativity to their Twitter images, yes that’s right, even YOU could be able to overlay zebras AND giraffes onto your posts (second giraffe mention of the day).
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 30, 2015
SlideShare rebranded as LinkedIn SlideShare, new clipping functionality
Three years after acquisition, SlideShare has made it official and changed its name to LinkedIn SlideShare. Along with this, it has a new ‘clipping’ option which means you can save your favourite slides from presentations and also group the slides together a la Pinterest for later perusal and inspiration.
LinkedIn revamps its messages by adding gif and emoji capabilities
In a bid to encourage people to use LinkedIn more for messaging, it has introduced what all people want when contacting potential future employees, gifs and emojis. LinkedIn has hinted that there may be further messaging updates coming, including voice and video features or perhaps debriefings post meetings but this is as of yet unconfirmed.
Snapchat creates ‘Back To School’ channel, helping marketers target 13-24s
Snapchat’s Back To School channel has been created for users to upload their experiences of returning to school and college. It also tackles a previous advertiser gripe which is that despite its famously high advertising costs, Snapchat offers little in way of guaranteed user targeting, similar to television. This makes the Back To School feed a brand sweet spot for those wishing to target the 13-24 year old audience and it has subsequently seen Pink, Coca-Cola and the movie “The Visit” all taking this rare opportunity.
Snapchat is charging brands for video ads viewed for less than a second
Not all brands are loving Snapchat it seems, as it has been revealed that it is charging advertisers 2 cents per video view, even when the views are zero seconds long. Snapchat has purported advertising benefits such as vertical video content only (which means users don’t have to rotate their phones to view) and also the fact that the videos take up the entire screen, meaning users can’t look at anything else simultaneously. I would also like to argue that zero seconds of video can stay with you *coughs* lemon party *coughs*.
Target encourages fans to Share The Force
In a partnership with Lucasfilm, Target is encouraging Star Wars fans to upload their favourite memories, be it light sabre fights, Chewbacca impression or good old-fashion Princess Leia sex fantasy (joke – DEFINITELY DON’T DO THAT). Users can upload their photos and videos from Facebook and Instagram to receive galactic coordinates as to where their memories will then be housed. This is all leading towards the hotly-anticipated December release.
Reynolds rides #FoodPorn hashtag with interactive cookbook
If you imagine Nigella’s Instagram feed as a food porn image hub, then Reynolds’ new Instagram cookbook is a multi-screened XXX back-street food porn cinema. The brand has created whole tables of interactive food on Instagram which lead to sub accounts with instructions on how to make the lovely-jubbly grub.
What you need to know about the VMAs and also totally useless fun stuff
If the world thought they could get away with not see Miley’s nipple or Kanye announcing a presidential campaign in 2020 during MTV’s VMAs, they were wrong. With 26% of the 16.5 million tweets being positive, it seemed that the public even… liked it? But maybe that was just them enjoying Bieber crying. MTV also inserted a Moonman emoji into every tweet using the hashtag #VMAs or #VMA which people seemed to enjoy.
Vine was crowned the winning content platform during the ceremony with the most social interactions of all social networks, and with content such as Kanye pretending to be asleep, we’re not surprised (read: we are very surprised as to how this has happened).
Finally, 24 advertisers also signed up to sponsor what MTV called, the ‘Millennial Super Bowl’, feeding their content to users where the most conversations around the event were taking place, Twitter and Snapchat. This was mainly via real-time tweets, ads and, for the first time, branded Periscopes.
38 new emoji submitted for consideration
Exciting news for emoji fans as the Unicode Consortium has released 38 new emoji that it’s considering for next summer’s Unicode 9 release. Highlights among them are an avocado, bacon, a selfie and a dancing man for the long-suffering singleton, dancing woman. Let’s hope there’s a giraffe also included!


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Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted final approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Amlodipine Besylate Tablets, 2.5 mg (base), 5 mg (base) and 10 mg (base).
Commercial shipments of Amlodipine Besylate Tablets will commence shortly.
Lupin's Amlodipine Besylate Tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of Pfizer's Norvasc(R) Tablets, a long-acting calcium channel blocker indicated for the treatment of hypertension. The brand product had annual sales of approximately $2.7 billion for the twelve months ended December 2006, based on IMS Health sales data.
Commenting on the approval, Vinita Gupta, President and Managing Director of Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. said, "We are pleased with the approval of Amlodipine Besylate tablets." Ms. Gupta added, "This approval broadens our growing portfolio of cardiovascular medications, and we look forward to offering this cost-effective alternative to patients in the U.S."


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Crypto large Coinbase appears to be strategically steering its ship amid fixed crypto trade turbulence in 2023. The firm just lately unveiled its lending platform for institutional traders, aiming to fill the void left behind by main gamers throughout 2022’s crypto winter when corporations akin to Celsius Network, BlockFi and Genesis went bankrupt.
The transfer comes after the corporate shut down its Borrow service for retail clients in May amid regulatory scrutiny. The service allowed sure clients to make use of crypto as collateral to obtain a money mortgage. The new lending resolution, nevertheless, focuses on institutional traders — firms or organizations investing on behalf of their purchasers, akin to mutual funds and pension plans.
Coinbase’s new enterprise amassed hundreds of thousands in capital inside a few days of launching, paperwork filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) present. Despite headwinds and uncertainty, the service debut signifies that crypto lending amongst high-profile traders remains to be in demand within the United States.
This week’s Crypto Biz additionally explores Marathon Digital’s newest Bitcoin mining report, Hana Bank’s transfer to supply crypto custody and Google’s new crypto ads policy.
Coinbase launches crypto lending platform for U.S. establishments
Crypto trade Coinbase has rolled out a crypto lending service for institutional traders within the U.S., which reportedly seeks to capitalize on large failures within the crypto lending market. According to a submitting with the SEC, Coinbase clients have already invested over $57 million within the lending program because the first sale occurred on Aug. 28. In one other headline, Coinbase’s just lately launched Base community reached over 700,000 nonfungible tokens (NFTs) minted in August. The tokens minted have been a part of the launch’s technique to spur adoption. Base’s launch, nevertheless, has not been flawless. The community suffered an outage on Sept. 5 when its sequencer stopped producing blocks. Several scams have additionally been promoted on the community, together with a $6.5 million rug-pull by Magnate Finance.
Marathon’s Bitcoin mining charge fell 9% in August
Crypto mining operator Marathon Digital Holdings produced 1,072 Bitcoin in August — 9% lower than in July. According to the corporate, the smaller manufacturing resulted from elevated curtailment exercise in Texas on account of record-high temperatures. The time period curtailment refers back to the discount of electrical energy generated to take care of a steadiness between demand and provide. The momentary shutdowns greater than offset the progress made by the corporate to extend its operational hash charge and optimize operations, in keeping with its CEO, Fred Thiel. Marathon elevated its U.S. operational hash charge by 2% month-over-month to 19.1 exahashes in August. The performance improve is attributed to the improve of Bitmain Antminer S19j Pro miners to the extra environment friendly S19 XP fashions.
Google will permit ads for NFT video games beginning Sept. 15
Google has updated its cryptocurrency advertising policy to permit for blockchain-based NFT gaming commercials so long as they don’t promote playing or playing companies. The new policy will proceed to ban commercials for video games that permit gamers to wager or stake NFTs towards different gamers or for rewards. NFT on line casino video games providing gamers to wager or play for prizes — akin to NFTs, money or cryptocurrency — may even proceed to be banned. Google beforehand banned all cryptocurrency-related promoting throughout its platforms in March 2018.
NFT gaming commercials will quickly be welcome on Google’s Search platform so long as they do not promote any type of playing. https://t.co/gSVeHxxkjx
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) September 6, 2023
South Korean Hana Bank enters crypto custody enterprise with BitGo
One of the biggest South Korean banks, KEB Hana Bank, is moving to offer digital asset custody services by means of a new partnership with cryptocurrency custody agency BitGo Trust Company. According to native media reviews, KEB Hana Bank signed a strategic enterprise settlement with BitGo to collectively set up digital asset custody in South Korea. The industrial financial institution has a community of 111 branches with native banking property of practically $10 billion and fairness of $490 million. Together, Hana Bank and BitGo plan to launch their joint cryptocurrency custody enterprise within the second half of 2024.
Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the enterprise behind blockchain and crypto, delivered on to your inbox each Thursday.


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GREENSBORO, Ga. — The City of Greensboro and the Greensboro Main Street Program have made the tough decision to cancel the 2020 Southland Jubilee that was set to happen on April 18.
“After closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and speaking with the City of Greensboro's officials, we have decided to cancel this year's Southland Jubilee festival,” said Ivy Smith, Main Street program assistant and event coordinator. “This decision was not made lightly, but we feel that it is necessary in order to keep the staff, volunteers, and our community safe.”
Although the 2020 Southland Jubilee is canceled, the Jubilee staff is still making preparations for the 2021 Southland Jubilee. Save the date for our favorite Spring Festival on April 17, 2021!
Southland Jubilee is not possible without the support of community sponsors each year. We would like to thank all of our sponsors that we had set for the 2020 Southland Jubilee: Visit Lake Oconee, Reynold’s Lake Oconee, The Ritz Carlton Lake Oconee, C.W. Smith Insurance, Bughouse Pest Control, St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital, The Farmer’s Bank, BankSouth, Oconee Valley Healthcare, NIBCO, Chick-fil-a Lake Oconee, Pinnacle Credit Union, Advance Disposal, Higdon Electric, Greene County Farm Bureau, The Georgia Classic Cruisers, Easley’s Yard Care, and Dock 103.9.
The Greensboro Main Street Program is working hard for continuous updates within in our community to keep everyone safe during this time. There are many temporary changes being made in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
A closed door does not mean a closed business. Many of the businesses have transitioned into online shopping and curbside pick-up only. Many of the downtown businesses also offer gift cards that you can buy now and use later once it is safe to gather again.
Please follow the Downtown Greensboro social media pages on Facebook (Downtown Greensboro, GA) or Instagram (dtgreensboroga) for updates that will keep you informed and safe. Or call your favorite store to see if they have special shopping opportunities to help you.


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After 35 years of pricing almost everything at $1 or less, national retailer Dollar Tree announced Tuesday that it will soon be raising prices permanently. According to the Associated Press, the price hike will soon be rolled out in select locations, before more than 2,000 stores see the hikes next month.
All of the company’s roughly 8,000 locations will see price increases at some point early next year, the company said.
“(Dollar Tree) believes now is the right time to move away from the $1.00 price constraints to continue to offer customers extreme value,” the company said in a statement.
The company cited rising costs of goods and rising operating costs (such as wages) as reasons for the increase, saying the ongoing supply chain shortage was not a reason for the increase.
Dollar Tree executives don’t believe customers will have a backlash against the chain, as prices have been constant for decades and are still considered affordable.
“(Customers) believe that at $1.25 it will still be undeniable value because of what they see in the market,” said Michael Witynski, CEO of Dollar Tree, during a conversation with industry analysts. “And they know Dollar Tree hasn’t raised its price in 35 years, so they give us credit.”
UM statue Bo Schembechler destroyed with red paint, reports that he was aware of abuse
Michigan teacher says he quit after being ordered to remove Pride flag from high school classroom
Body of 4-year-old girl found after Flint . house explosion


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As part of its global expansion into Australia and New Zealand, Intermedia opens local data centre and enters into service agreement with Manage Protect to better support regional presence
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - May 11, 2016 — /BackupReview.info/ — Following the expansion of its global presence into Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Intermedia, a leading provider of cloud IT services, today announces the opening of a new local data centre in Sydney, featuring Microsoft® Exchange 2016, Skype for Business® and other critical services.
In addition to the rollout of its new Sydney data centre, Intermedia has joined forces with leading Australian cloud distributor, Manage Protect. Under this partnership, Manage Protect will manage and support Intermedia’s growing ANZ partner base. Key benefits of this partnership include:
Bob Leibholz, SVP of Business Development at Intermedia, says: “Keeping true to our Worry-Free Experience™commitment, it made perfect sense to partner with a leader like Manage Protect. This partnership and the growth of our data centre network serve as testament to our confidence in the Australian market. With 12 data centres worldwide and over a million paid users, Intermedia is well-positioned to continue expanding our global reach while delivering premium localised support to our valued partners.”
Local support presents greater opportunities for partners
Andrew Johnson, CEO at Manage Protect, says: “Intermedia is a global leader in delivering business-grade cloud email services, with an established partner program and tightly integrated suite of business solutions. Intermedia and Manage Protect share a common goal and commitment to deliver best-of-breed cloud technology to Managed Service Providers and resellers across Australia and New Zealand. We look forward to the opportunity to serve and grow Intermedia’s local partner base.”
For additional information, or questions about becoming a new partner, please contact email@example.com
About Manage Protect Ltd
Intermedia’s services are integrated, secure, mobile-ready and managed from a single control panel—which makes the cloud easier to use and more efficient to manage. All the services offer enterprise-grade security, a 99.999% uptime service level agreement and 24/7 phone support with typical hold times of less than 60 seconds.
Intermedia has over 700 employees who work relentlessly to provide more than 70,000 business customers and 6,000 active partners with a Worry-Free Experience™.
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