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NEW DELHI: Swiss food major Nestle lashed out at food regulators on Saturday after a government food-testing laboratory in Lucknow allegedly found lead beyond permissible limits in its pasta products.
"The laboratory is not NABL accredited nor is notified by FSSAI. The results of the laboratories which are not accredited cannot be relied upon. Maggi Pazzta is 100% safe. We will work with the authorities to resolve the situation as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement.
Nestle is no stranger to controversies on food safety. It brought back its Maggi noodles earlier this month after a country-wide ban on nine varieties of the product. In June, the country's apex food regulator FSSAI banned the noodles after it allegedly found lead in Maggi samples. The Bombay high court later lifted the ban and allowed Nestle to bring back the product only after it mcertain conditions.
On the current pasta issue, Nestle India said: "We have seen media reports claiming that lead has been found in the product and we are investigating these claims. We have not received any formal notification from the authorities in UP or from the FSSAI about such test results. The media reports also mention that the tests have been conducted at National Foods Analysis Laboratory, Lucknow."
Earlier this month, Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Atta Noodles also ran into a roadblock after FSSAI announced that the company didn't have approval to launch the product in the market. Ramdev hit back saying the FSSAI does not have the necessary framework in place to give product approvals because both the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court had quashed it. A Patanjali spokesperson had said the company has a relabeling license from FSSAI and noodles fall into the pasta category according to the regulator, which allows it to launch the product across the country.
Flipkart’s logistics arm Ekart and Reliance Retail-backed Dunzo have already integrated with ONDC for logistics services while PhonePe, which is also owned by Flipkart and Walmart, is joining the network and is in advanced stages of integration, these people said.
As the two global giants poured a combined $24 billion into India and captured 80% of the online retail market with aggressive discounts and promotion of preferred sellers, the kirana shops are fearful of an uncertain future.


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Captivate, North America’s leading location-based digital video network, has announced the Women In Business series in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. This hand-curated series highlights the contributions of women in history, culture & business, results from the latest Office Pulse survey and quotes from leading executive women in the business industry.
Kate Scanlan, Content Director at Captivate told us “As the role of the working woman continues to evolve and be redefined, we are very excited to bring this important and timely series to the network. While the personal and professional responsibilities have gone up, women are proving their resilience and we believe this series will provide uplifting, inspirational, real-life advice that encourages further camaraderie not only during Women’s History Month but going forward.”
While Women’s History Month continues to gain more recognition over time, this year marks a historical milestone. As the unemployment rate continues to be disproportionately skewed with women accounting for 100% of job losses in December 2020, those still in the workforce are juggling an unexpected amount of personal and professional tasks in the wake of Covid-19. This series will shine a necessary light on the vital roles women have and continue to play in business. Candid responses from prominent figures of top brands such as Hulu, Verizon Media, OMD, Initiative, Accenture and Hyundai will be featured throughout the month as they were asked to provide tips on time management, conquering stress, climbing the corporate ladder and advice they would provide to their younger selves.
The Women In Business series will launch on International Women’s Day across Captivate’s network of over 12,000 screens in office and residential buildings throughout North America. Example quotes that will be featured on screen include:
- “Hard things ultimately bring you the most joy and success – they set you apart and give you superpowers. Challenges are your fuel to grow.” – Jen Whelan, VP of Marketing at Verizon Media.
- “I prioritize based on urgency, need, time it will take to resolve the challenge and who is asking. Then, I set clear boundaries around my time.” – Dr. Debbie Donsky, TDSB Superintendent of Education.
- “My antidote for stress is exercise! Reserving an hour each morning to calibrate and reboot has been essential – now more than ever.” – Cathy Collier, CEO at OMD Canada.
- “Acknowledge those that help you. It may sound like a small gesture, but it will mean a lot to the person helping you out.” – Nedra Dickson, Europe Market Lead and Global Supplier Inclusion & Sustainability Lead at Accenture Procurement Plus.
According to the latest Office Pulse survey, 50% of women say their personal responsibilities have increased during the pandemic. This is echoed at the office, as 53% of women say their professional responsibilities have also increased. Yet, 76% of those surveyed say they have not fallen behind at work due to the additional workload.

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The lights are on
We chat with Yacht Club Games about Shield Knight's co-op potential, the unique checkpoint system, and what's next.
The studio behind Device 6
and Year Walk want to take you on a tiny dream voyage with their next
work, The Sailor’s Dream.
This week, we discuss two great episodic downloadable games and ponder Microsoft's recent struggles.
This week we talk about a couple of very unique 2D games, and discuss the phenomenon of retro-game nostalgia and the popularity of 8- and 16-bit aesthetics.
Mika Mobile has crafted an engaging action/RPG for iOS, even if a few features hold it back from greatness.
The excellent shooter has released a first expansion, and we take the new modes for a spin.
This new entry remains a high-quality puzzle game, but its lack of innovation disappoints.
Minecraft on Xbox 360 is getting a host of new mash-up skins.
The Game Informer editors chat about the indies that captured our attention at the big show.
As soon as you look beyond the stylish surface, Entwined is hollow.
These new First Light DLC screenshots give a close look at Fetch, the lead of the new adventure.
Sony announced that it would be partnering with Devolver Digital to release a handful of smaller projects


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Facing the tighter restrictions of health reform at home, WellPoint Inc. wants to follow just about every
other U.S. company in seeking growth in China. WellPoint CEO Angela Braly traveled to China last week to seek out a joint
venture partner to offer health insurance to the nation’s upwardly mobile population. "If everything moves on smoothly,
we are targeting 2011 for offering health insurance services through the venture,” Braly told the China Daily
newspaper. Indianapolis-based WellPoint already has a joint venture with three other American health insuers to provide medical
management consulting to Chinese insurance companies. But with China going through its own version of health reform, private
health insurance is poised to become a popular complement to government insurance programs, according to China Daily.
China's health insurance premiums totaled $1.6 billion in the first two months of this year, according to the industry
regulator, up 34 percent from the same period last year. Such growth is enticing to WellPoint, which has been losing customers
and premiums at home.
Whew! Bioanalytical Systems Inc. gets to stay on the NASDAQ Capital Market after a recent surge kept its
share price above $1 for three straight weeks. NASDAQ had threatened in March to delist the West Lafayette-based company if
its stock price didn’t improve. The company’s shares closed at $1 apiece on March 31 and haven’t dipped
below that level since. Bioanlytical provides contract research services and monitoring instruments to drug-development companies
and medical research organizations.
After months of rumors, Roche Diagnostics finally acquired Israel-based Medingo Ltd., which has a semi-disposable
insulin patch pump that Roche hopes to couple with its blood glucose meters. Roche, which is based in Switzerland but runs
its North American business out of Indianapolis, paid $160 million for Medingo and promised various payments if the company’s
product achieves key milestones in its development and sales. The product is set to launch in 2012. Roche holds the largest
market share worldwide in devices for diabetes care, but it has been losing ground to competitors in the U.S. market.
Warsaw-based Biomet Inc. posted a $3.1 million loss in its quarter ended Feb. 28, a big improvement from
its $479 million loss in the same quarter a year earlier. Last year’s results were dampened by a $449 million impairment
charge that Biomet recorded on its dental business. But this year, the loss narrowed as sales surged 9 percent to $670 million
in the quarter, driven by a 17-percent spike in sales of knee implants. Cash flow rose 9 percent to $251 million, up from
$229 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Biomet’s financial results often are a bellwether for other orthopedic
implant companies, which report their quarterly results later this month.
Carmel-based technology firm Gemms Inc. plans to invest $2.1 million to expand its headquarters and software
development operations here, more than doubling its staff in the next five years, according to the Indiana Economic Development
Corp. Gemms, which develops electronic medical record systems for cardiology practices, has 40 employees now and plans to
add 69 more by 2015.


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Knowing Your Neighbors: The Beaver House
The Beaver House in Grand Marais sells fishing lures sure to reel in the big one.
When tourists and locals alike go fishing near Grand Marais, there’s one place everyone stops first.
It’s not too hard to find, one just needs to look for one of the largest walleyes around.
Beaver House owner Tyson Cronberg might be hooked on making fishing lures. He’s held other jobs including being a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas, but the family business caught him hook, line, and sinker.
“I love fishing. I love talking about fishing and teaching people how to fish,” said Cronberg.
Cronberg’s dad and uncle started the Beaver House in Grand Marais in 1964. It began as a clothing store and shoe repair shop that also sold fishing lures. However when the lures began selling better than everything else, they dropped the clothing and shoes.
“I don’t remember names but I recognize thousands of faces,” said Cronberg.
Tyson’s uncle eventually sold his share of the business to his dad. His father and mother ran the business until their deaths in 2013.
“I was really fortunate I got to work with my parents my whole life,” said Cronberg.
It left the future of the business like a fish out of water.
“For three summers we didn’t know what was going to happen because it was for sale,” said Cronberg.
But with the help of friends and family, Cronberg bought the Beaver House and remodeled it.
“All the people, they know who they are, those who helped make this place better than before than what it was before in the past. I’m very thankful and fortunate,” said Cronberg.
Now this Beaver House is not only home to a walleye coming through the roof, but a whole lot of fishing stories caught with Beaver Flicks, the lure Tyson’s brother created.
“Never had one brought back and I’ve been guaranteeing them for forty years,” said Cronberg.
This is one business that lures them all in.
“The fishing is good right now,” said Cronberg.


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TRENDING ON ONEINDIA
- Jammu & Kashmir: IED Blast Leaves An Army Officer Dead In Rajouri
- Saina And Saurabh Emerge Champions In The National Badminton
- Xiaomi Mi 9 Is The Most Powerful Android Smartphone In The World
- CBDT Notifies Deadline For Mandatory Aadhaar Linking To File Tax Returns
- Tesla Sentry Mode — The Guardian Angel Of Your Tesla
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- Anushka Sharma Opens Up About Catfights In Bollywood
- Ever Faced Emotional Abuse As A Child?
Huawei's yet to be announced Honor 7 smartphone has been in rumors for quite some time. In fact, it is also speculated that the company will launch 2 variants of the phone, out of which one would be a standard while the other would be a high-end variant, though the launch date of the phone was not officially confirmed.
Huawei, however, has now released a teaser poster for the Honor 7 in which it confirms the arrival of the phone on June 30. In addition to the date, one can notice a fingerprint with seven highlighted on it in the poster, which confirms the presence of a fingerprint scanner on the phone. The presence of Fingerprint scanner on the phone was highlighted when the phone passed through TENAA certification earlier this month.
As for the specs of the phone, most of its specs details are known due to several reports on photo and spec leaks ahead of the launch of the phone.
Here we list down 7 such features and specs details that have leaked in the reports so far.
1. The Honor 7 is speculated to be Huawei's premium phone with high-end phone like features and specifications. As per the purported photos of the phone, it is likely to flaunt a metal chassis and unibody design with sleek frame.
2. If the previously leaked reports are to go by, the Huawei Honor 7 is rumored to come with a 5-inch display offering 1080x1920 pixels resolution, spread out to a 441ppi pixel density.
3. As for the processor, the smartphone is expected to run on the home-grown Kirin 935 octa-core chipset with 64-bit architecture, paired either with 3GB RAM or 4GB RAM, depending up on the variant.
4. Rumors have it that the phone will come in two variants - the standard version offering 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, and the premium version with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There is no clue on the availability of a microSD card in the phone.
5. Talking of camera, rumors suggest a 13MP primary snapper with optical image stabilization. There is no clue about the secondary camera. However, previously rumoured report mention dual-camera set up on the phone.
6. On the software front, the Honor 7 will boot Android 5.1 Lollipop wrapped under the native EmotionUI 3.1 version.
7. Falling in line with the rumors, the Huawei's latest teaser confirms the presence of a fingerprint scanner on the phone. However, the functionality of the finger impression feature will be known only when the company will announce the phone on June 30.
8. With such specs and features, the phone is likely to be powered by a 3,280mAh battery.
9. To end with the price, the phone is expected to hit the market at CNY 2,499 to 2,699 (approx Rs. 25,712 to 27,770).


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Bridgepoint has acquired UK-based Burger King franchisee Caspian UK Group as part of a management buy-in, and secured the exclusive rights to the Burger King brand in the UK.
Also backing the biotech startup were the Zürcher Kantonalbank and Greencross Medical Science Corp
Company plans to use the fresh capital to further expand, develop new features and scale up its team
EVentures, 468 Capital and HV Holtzbrinck back the round for the climate change mitigation app
Clessidra has been in negotiations for the acquisition of the Italian wine producer since February 2020


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A good corporate identity can be an elusive thing. The right one will boost sales and even help a company establish a worldwide presence. The wrong one could mean conceding market share to competitors, turning off customers, or losing jobs. Too many companies in the United States today lag their foreign competition in the identity department, argue a number of consultants, who are offering their services to corporations interested in presenting a better, or at least a more visible, image to the world.
``The most important strategy for a company is to have a precise articulation of what it is and where it wants to go. If you have no road map, your business is in great trouble,'' says Clive Chajet, chairman and chief executive officer of Lippincott & Margulies Inc., a management consulting firm here.
The need for a strong corporate identity, says Mr. Chajet, has been intensified by the recent rush to more and larger leveraged buyouts (LBOs), by which entire corporations or well-known divisions within corporations can disappear or be restructured overnight.
Seeking a clear public presence, of course, has always been an objective of most leading businesses. Companies have usually sought to hammer out a clear public recognition through an identifiable name (General Electric, IBM, or RCA, for example), or a widely-known trademark or advertising symbol (the Morton salt girl, or Buster Brown, for example). But today, according to specialists like Chajet, the need for ``identity'' goes beyond an advertising symbol or brand name.
``In an era of international change,'' Chajet says, where many companies are now giant conglomerates or the product of a merger or acquisition, ``it's vital that a company is understood for what it is now, as opposed to what it was yesterday.'' That image, Chajet says, must be directed at three target constituencies: the company's investors and employees, as well as its customers.
``Asians have spent a good amount of time and money on corporate identity,'' says Michael M. Smith, president of Larimi Communications Associates. ``A few years ago anything Japanese was considered junk. Now it's the very symbol of quality.''
Indeed, the corporate identity challenge has become so acute in the US that the Conference Board, a business-information organization, will play host for a conference on the subject later this month in New York. There is a particular need for many medium-sized businesses engaged in global commerce to have more information on the need for corporate identity, Mr. Smith says.
Overseas companies, or their US subsidiaries, Smith notes, have tended to lead the US in the image business. Case in point: BP America Inc., the US subsidiary of British Petroleum Company, has announced that it will create a single name this year for its 7,000 gas stations in the US. BP America currently markets its products under a number of logos, including Sohio, Gulf, and Boron.
A crucial reason for establishing a precise identification, says Chajet, is that many US firms must now go abroad for their financing. Competition for overseas capital is expected to intensify as the 10-nation European Community gets closer to 1992, when most national trade barriers will be eradicated in Western Europe.
For a typical middle-sized company in the US, a consulting study can cost from $250,000 to $350,000, says Larry Ackerman, president and CEO of Identica, a consulting firm in New York. Using focus groups, Identica attempts to single out how a company goes about ``establishing value,'' Mr. Ackerman says. ``We strip out assets,'' he says. Personnel, not products, are the key to the firm. In other words, the consulting team is looking for what can be described as the ``mind set'' of the employees, their talents, the ``unique contribution'' that they - and, thus, the company - offer to the marketplace.
Identica looks at three main aspects of a firm's day-to-day work: communication, strategy, cultural development. But Ackerman stresses that the analysis is not quantitative. Rather, the emphasis is on the contribution of the employees. This is what really establishes a company's identity.


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A latest report revealed the alleged specifications of next Nexus smartphone, reportedly to be made by the Huawei. The upcoming Nexus handset will retire the Nexus 6 manufactured by the Motorola.
The specs of the handset are spotted at the Weibo website posted by Jiutang Pan, Chinese IT analyst firm, who has leaked several news earlier regarding the Chinese smartphone makers including, Meizu, Huawei, and Xiaomi.
The unnamed Huawei Nexus device will sport a Samsung made 5.7 inch OLED screen with 1440 x 2560 pixels of resolution and is powered by a Snapdragon 810 chipset. In the case of resolution, the company is using 1080p in its own high-end smartphones, stating that there is no meaning to use QHD display once the users are unable to find the difference between QHD and FHD. Also, it uses its own Hi-Silicon Kirin chips on almost all Huawei’s high-end smartphones. It is pretty clear that moving to QHD display and Qualcomm’s chipset is the decision of Google only.
If the news is true, the Huawei will become the fist Chinese company to OEM Nexus phone. We hope to get more information soon, till the time, digest it with a big dose of salt.


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On May 28 2015, Amazon changed online delivery forever by announcing free same-day delivery in 14 major cities across the US. Since then, same-day delivery has unsurprisingly proved popular with online shoppers. Though the full implications of same-day delivery are yet to be seen, the development is set to transform the world of shopping forever. But how did same-day delivery, once a concept of fantasy, become a reality?
The answer lies in intricate technological innovations, and a race between online shopping giants to be the first retailer offering a reliable same-day delivery service across the globe.
How It Started
The origins of same-day delivery can be glimpsed in February 2005, when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launched Amazon Prime. This premium service guaranteed two-day delivery for its members. While two-day delivery is now the norm, this was revolutionary at the time. When Amazon Prime rolled out worldwide a few years later, it included free next-day delivery in most territories. Naturally, there was one development that consumers were waiting for, and Jeff Bezos was determined to make it happen.
In order to enhance their delivery speeds, online stores faced many technical challenges. One of these challenges involved extensive research into determining the cut-off point at which companies could still guarantee delivery within increasingly short time-frames. Since warehouses and headquarters are often positioned miles away from each other, this was no easy task.
One answer came in the form of an intricate and complicated system called SAP, which according to European SAP specialists Eursap, can help configure same-day delivery through automated means. Other technological solutions have been suggested. Amazon famously announced that drones would deliver its packages in 2013, though this is still a long way away from execution.
The Unlikely Participant in the Race for Same-Day Delivery
As same-day delivery slowly became feasible, online shopping giants sought to find the most effective way of implementing it. Google got to work on its Shopping Express service, which aimed to work with local businesses, and eBay looked into acquiring the fastest courier services it could find with the goal of bringing one hour delivery to the online marketplace. Despite the heated competition between online behemoths, it was not Amazon, eBay, or Google who made same-day delivery as widely possible as it is today in the USA. Instead, it was the forty year-old United States Postal Service (USPS).
In 2010, the USPS was in decline. It had made a $16 billion dollar loss in one year and the media began speculating about its demise, wondering if it would jettison some of its speedier services in order to save money. On the contrary, by 2012, there was word that the USPS was trialing an experimental same-day delivery service. Now, the former national embarrassment was overtaking the most cutting-edge of tech companies in the same-day delivery race.
One year later, Amazon struck a deal with USPS, and the postal service began to carry out same-day delivery of Amazon’s packages. The terms of the deal between the two companies were never announced, but it is thought that Amazon paid a large sum to secure exclusive rights. This is backed up by the fact that USPS still only provides same day delivery for Amazon packages.
This unprecedented team-up made Amazon the leader in the same-day delivery race overnight, but in 2013 Amazon’s service was still only available in a few cities. This meant there was plenty of time for other online retailers to surpass them.
Hot On the Heels
In 2014, Google announced a deal with Amazon’s old rivals, the high street bookseller Barnes & Noble, to offer same-day delivery of items from Barnes & Noble stores in New York and California. Combining online sales systems and the stocks of high street stores was an entirely different approach to Amazon’s warehouse-based solution, and showed there was an alternate route to achieving same-day delivery.
This store-and-online combo model has recently been implemented by the UK retailer Argos. Argos, in many ways the high street forebear of jack-of-all-trades online stores like Amazon, has utilized its many UK outlets and delivery service to be the first retailer to offer same day delivery seven days a week for an entire nation (albeit one much smaller than the US). With eBay already giving customers the option of having items delivered to Argos stores and collecting them there, is it only a matter of time before the two team up to offer nationwide same-day delivery for eBay purchases?
What Does Same-Day Delivery Mean for High-Street Shopping?
The novelty and convenience of physically owning an item the moment you buy it has long been seen as the major benefit high street stores have over online retailers. But this advantage seems to be losing value, especially when you consider the online successes of recent Black Friday sales. Now consumers don’t have to hit the high street to get a product on the same day, is the high street model doomed to irrelevance?
Actually, the opposite might be true – but it could spell bad news for small businesses. Perhaps seeing the merit of Argos and Google-Barnes & Noble’s approach, Amazon have recently opened a real life bookstore in Seattle. This move has been seen as threatening for a number of local independent book stores. Deborah Bass, an Amazon spokesperson has said:“We think successful stores will remain successful. Offline retail is a big space with room for lots of winners.” Meanwhile, the manager of general books at Seattle’s 116-year-old University Book Store has said that everyone’s had to adjust to Amazon online, but with the addition of Amazon stores just down the street, “the sky is falling”.
So, perhaps same-day delivery does not spell the end of high street shopping; but could it be a gateway for online retail behemoths to close-in on their high street counterparts?


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The Official Merchant Services Blog would like to wish everyone a very happy Halloween. As we speed our way into the last stretch of 2011, the holidays are going to zoom into view. Holiday shopping season officially tends to start on Black Friday. But in recent years, the boom in online shopping has holiday shoppers no longer traditionally adhering to the official shopping season trends. A 2010 survey conducted by Google and OTX found that 35% of internet users start their holiday shopping prior to the end of summer, months ahead of Black Friday.This trend is only continuing to grow as consumers find online shopping convenient to their shopping habits, easy to do, and the wide selection lets them find great deals on price.
This boom in e-commerce continues on past Black Friday. Cyber Monday, a marketing term coined in 2005 to describe a big push with incentives to shop online days after Black Friday, set records in 2010. According to a Star Tribune article from January 16, 2011, Cyber Monday sales rose 16 percent from 2009, and topped $1 billion overall –– marking the first time Cyber Monday hit the billion dollar mark. The record setting didn’t stop on Monday, according to comScore, a company that tracked the sales figures between November and December for the e-commerce industry. Sales on Thanksgiving Day were up 28 percent from the previous year, and overall e-commerce sales topped $32 billion in the holiday shopping period, a 12 percent rise from 2009. Even Black Friday, brick and mortar stores’ biggest holiday shopping day of the year, saw a 9 percent rise in e-commerce to $648 million.
This trend isn’t going away in 2011. Some preliminary predictions are suggesting that this year’s holiday shopping season is going to be robust, and online shopping will continue its rise in the eyes and wallets of consumers. You can see that e-commerce is heavily predicted to boom in the next four years through previous articles posted by Host Merchant Services. And while The Official Merchant Services Blog prepares to give you ongoing coverage of the holiday shopping season’s impact on the E-Commerce industry, we’re going to take some time to give merchants some helpful tips to get prepared for 2011:
- Start early. With your promotions and your sales, start getting the marketing as well as the products or services out there to your customers as early as you can. As seen with the statistics above, online shopping is not beholden to the Black Friday start date. Online shoppers make their lists, check them twice as soon as brick and mortar shoppers and start looking for deals from spring on through the rest of the year.
- Check and re-check your process. Make sure your online shopping cart is running smooth. The biggest draw of e-commerce for many consumers is convenience. So it’s very important for your online shopping experience to be hassle free to the users of your website.
- Consider your product line. With online business as booming as it is, it can be easy for your site to get lost in the crowd as shoppers surf around. Consider offering something your competition can not offer. A unique item. An eye-catching deal. Basic marketing plan, but even in the e-commerce industry, the basics still work.
- Gift certificates are a big holiday item, and that does not stop online. In fact tomorrow’s blog post is going to look at something specific to this year’s shopping season that takes gift certificates and gift cards a step forward in terms of convenience for holiday shoppers. One thing to remember about gift certificates is the post-holiday business they drum up for you. They are purchased during the holiday season, but get used after the holidays, giving your online store the potential to attract other purchases beyond the capacity of the gift certificate in the slower sales month of January.
- SEO and Keyword choices should be focused on with your advertising. Consumers gift shop online using search engines. You want to do everything you can to get your site in front of them when they search for these gifts. The focus of your e-commerce solution for your business should be an online store that your customers can find easily and then use conveniently. This will get them coming back to your site.
- Free shipping. This is something that if you can offer, you should strongly consider offering to your customers. It is a big boost for the e-commerce industry leaders each year that they can offer free shipping to holiday shoppers.
Those tips are just scratching the surface of things you can do to prepare for the holiday shopping season. It’s certainly not too late to get ready for the business rush that holiday gift-giving provides each year. Host Merchant Services provides e-commerce solutions to our merchants that will let them take payments smoothly and efficiently. And The Official Merchant Services Blog will continue to provide insight on how merchants can maximize this opportunity.


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The most popular blog posts written by web psychologist Graham Jones in 2013 on Internet Psychology
The blog written by Internet Psychologist, Graham Jones, was today voted in to the Top 10 UK Marketing Blogs by Cision UK, the country’s leading suppliers to the media industry. Pitching in at Number 6, Graham’s blog beat other well-known marketing blogs into lower positions. Graham said: “I am delighted. … Read more
Graham Jones is voted 4th in the world’s Top 100 Psychology Blogs
Attention spans are falling online says Graham Jones, Internet Psychologist
When choosing sales training there are several factors to consider. Psychologists look at the key issues.


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Google’s portable Virtual Reality (VR) headset DayDream View, which was unveiled along with Pixel smartphone last year, is now available in India for Rs 6,499 on e-commerce sites including Flipkart and Amazon. The headset is bundled with a hand-held controller to help users interact with virtual characters and objects using inbuilt smart movement sensors along with volume control buttons.
DayDream View works using smartphone displays; it processes display output from smartphone within its hardware and converts into VR output, which can be viewed via the headset’s lenses. The headset is a significant upgrade to the cheaper Google Cardboard headset, which is built using a cardboard box as housing. Google Cardboard’s VR hardware is detachable and can be attached to other ‘viewers’. This makes it more developer friendly and hence can be considered as a prototype.
However, with Daydream View, Google claims to provide a higher-resolution display and motion sensors, which aren’t available on Cardboard. “The headset is made with soft, breathable fabric and is designed to fit over eyeglasses,” the company added. And along with the controller, users can perform gestures, actions like swinging a bat, waving a wand or even drawing in a virtual space. As of now, DayDream View is available only Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL, Moto Z, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, and ASUS ZenFone AR in India
As of now, DayDream View is available only Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL, Moto Z, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, and ASUS ZenFone AR in India
Features, integrations, and applications of DayDream View
The Cardboard headset, which has moved away from months of prototyping and testing, has now evolved into DayDream, which is essentially a new VR platform with the following features:
- Video: Users can watch the entire library of YouTube videos on a virtual big screen, and experience custom VR videos from creators . Google’s YouTube VR was Daydream’s number one app by time spent, and around 50% of the time in Daydream was spent on video consumption as of Q1-FY17.
- Play Store support: Google had launched Play Store on new Google platforms including Daydream and Chromebooks early this year in January. It also has support for Play Movies and Netflix, with which users can watch shows and films on a computer-generated VR screen.
- Street View: Google says that with Street View users can watch “curated tours of over 150 Locations like the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal, fly over a city, stand at the top of the highest peaks, and even soar into space.” Basically, this is like teleporting to any location on a VR map.
- VR games: Google has added a number of VR based games on DayDream which include titles like Arcslinger, Wonderglade, Mekorama VR, Gunjack 2: End of Shift, Need for SpeedNo Limits VR, LEGO BrickHeadz Builder VR among others.
- DayDream SDK: Virtual Reality is still at a nascent stage, and most headsets are costly and bulky. But Google has priced it a lower rate comparatively, allowing not only users but developers to try and test new apps and functionalities using DayDream SDK.
DayDream View is one of the few VR headsets available in India alongside Xiaomi’s Mi VR headset which was priced at just Rs 999. Mi VR was launched in December last year and received an upgrade in April, but is yet to be launched in India. The Daydream platform is also synonymous to Microsoft’s Holo Lens (Augmented Reality) powered by Windows 10, and the Oculus platform which has Rift VR headset powered by PC’s and Xbox’s and Gear VR headset powered by smartphones.


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So, some BIG news in mobile marketing: a federal District Court in Illinois recently granted summary judgement dismissing claims brought by Helferich Patent Licensing LLC (Helferich) against The New York Times, CBS, JCPenney, Bravo and G4 Media. Helferich alleged that the defendants’ products and services infringed upon Helferich’s patents that, according to Helferich, covered the sending of hyperlinks in text messages via mobile devices. The District Court granted summary judgement based on the defendants’ affirmative defense of patent exhaustion. This decision has powerful ramifications for customers: companies can now freely send text messages via mobile devices that include hyperlinks, as Helferich does not have the right to seek licensing fees from content creators like the New York Times.
So, how did we get here? What is Helferich? What’s going to happen next? What does this ruling mean for mobile marketing?
Great questions – here’s everything you need to know:
“Patent trolls” and Helferich Patent Licensing LLC
Patents are part of the United States’ DNA, and an important protection for innovation. The United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has handed out patents for three centuries to make sure that inventors receive proper compensation for use of their ideas.
The past twenty years, however, have brought significant changes. In the mid 1990’s, the Federal Circuit held that algorithms used in general purpose computers could be patentable. Consequently, a flood of software patents hit the market. Initially this was good news as the government received an influx of revenue from patent applications, but problematic due to scalability issues. Some context: in 2012, the USPTO had an application backlog numbering in the millions, averaged 18-20 hours for each evaluation and issued 40,000 software patents by year’s end (that’s 110 complex innovations signed off on per day).
Putting aside whether the USPTO can responsibly evaluate applications at high volume (one argument why not), another related development is the type of company seeking to enforce patents issued by the USPTO. Today many “non-practicing entities” (NPEs) (commonly referred to as patent trolls), which do not make or sell any products or services, obtain patents. They use them to then threaten, or resort to lawsuits against, other companies to receive royalties.
The reason for this “troll” reputation has to do with the economics of NPEs’ business practices. According to PatentFreedom, legal fees for patent disputes average $1 – $5 million. Unfit to take on this monetary risk, many companies settle with patent trolls outside of court, agreeing to pay royalties instead of litigation costs. No value created, just money transferred from an active company to an entity that exists only to sue companies, not actually practice the inventions claimed in its patent portfolio. As stated by judge Richard Posner, “A patent blocks competition within the patent’s scope and so if a firm has enough patents it may be able to monopolize its market. This prospect gives rise to two wasteful phenomena: defensive patenting and patent trolls.”
Helferich, a patent troll, is unfortunately not alone. In 2012, 61% of all patent lawsuits filed through December 1 originated from NPEs, up from 45% in 2011 and 23% in 2008. According to a Boston University study, patent trolls have cost businesses $500 billion since 1990 and $29 billion in 2011, which amounts to 10% of funds (not) invested into research and development. In the words of Lee Cheng, chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Newegg, “[Money given to patent trolls] is protection money. It’s extortion.”
A Big Win For Companies Sending Hyperlinks In Text Messages Via Mobile Devices
Such was the prevailing negative sentiment toward Helferich for bringing suits against so many different types of companies that allegedly infringed upon patents supposedly covering the inclusion of hyperlinks in text messages. On one hand, “links in text messages” seems too commonplace to patent, and on the other, Helferich has no intention of actually building anything with the technology in question.
Helferich’s approach was to first seek compensation from mobile device manufacturers. Afterward, the company started after retailers and media brands. As of August 2012, an estimated 100 companies had settled with Helferich for a reported $500,000 to $750,000 licensing fee, resulting in total earnings in the neighborhood of $50-$75 million.
Some companies threatened with lawsuits decided to fight back. The most notable being The New York Times, which when sued, asked the USPTO to review Helferich’s patents to analyze their efficacy. After the court system consolidated the New York Times case with similar lawsuits filed by Helferich against CBS, JCPenney, Bravo and G4 Media, the companies argued on summary judgement that, because Helferich had already provided licenses for its entire patent portfolio to mobile device manufacturers, Helferich had exhausted its right to sue the defendants for its patents under the “Exhaustion Doctrine.” This law states that patent owners do not have the right to receive double compensation for an invention. Said differently, if a patent owner licenses its patent to Company A, it cannot then go and accuse Company A’s customers of patent infringement.
The District Court agreed with the defendants, holding that because Helferich licensed its technology to cell phone manufacturers, Helferich cannot seek compensation from other content creators farther down the value chain. The New York Times, CBS and every other company sending text messages with hyperlinks via mobile devices can operate freely without having to obtain a license from Helferich. The District Court noted that, “[t]he doctrine of patent exhaustion is designed to avoid double recovery by a patentee, promote the orderly administration of patent rights, provide an efficient method for determining the termination of a patent monopoly, and promote fair competition. To permit Helferich to recover multiple times on the same patent by selling licenses to the patents piece by piece (or claim by claim) is contradictory to these policies.”
The Decision & Its Aftermath
Two outcomes seem likely certainties as a result of this decision:
- Mobile messaging investment and innovation will increase
- Helferich will respond
With respect to the first outcome, this decision against Helferich has very positive implications for customer SMS, MMS, Facebook and other forms of mobile marketing. Without the threat of a lawsuit from Helferich, companies will commit more dollars creating better mobile campaigns that seamlessly link messaging, apps and the web. A higher quality of service, and a more user-friendly experience for customers, should follow. Said Casey Oppenheim, consumer- and privacy-rights attorney and co-founder of Disconnect, “This ruling is good for consumers. Forcing businesses to license a technology as commonplace as sending a link in a mobile message stifles communication. The application of the patent-exhaustion doctrine reaffirms its crucial role in protecting downstream purchasers from patent owners seeking to extract duplicate royalties.”
With respect to the second outcome, according to patent attorney Paul E. Godinez from Bailey Duquette P.C., Helferich will probably appeal. Grounds will likely be that the scope of the Helferich licenses to mobile device manufacturers does not apply to downstream content providers, or that Helferich can reserve claims from its patent licenses to ensure it can later take actions against content creators. Both grounds for appeal may not carry much weight given that the District Court relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s decision in Quanta Computer vs. LG Electronics, which may preclude such arguments. Helferich might also attempt to circumvent the ruling by suing any mobile device manufactures that have not already acquired a license from Helferich (if any exist), or those content providers interacting with customers on any mobile devices from that set of manufacturers. As a last resort, Helferich could try to threaten lawsuits based on other patents in its patent portfolio, a problematic argument due to Helferich’s own licensing terms to the mobile device manufacturers quoted by the District Court.
This case demonstrates a monumental decision not just for mobile marketing, but also for the patent troll economy. Company and industry resources applied toward legislative initiatives like the SHIELD Act in congressional committee (which includes provisions that would require plaintiffs to pay all defendant legal costs if patent lawsuit fails) may make a significant difference. Waterfall is playing a key role in the mobile messaging industry’s efforts to defend intellectual property rights; our CMO Matt Silk is co-chair of the MMA’s Patent Abuse Task Force. We’ll continue to keep you posted here at Mobile Demystified and please post any questions or thoughts to the comments.


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The usual plan is to become a billionaire and remain a billionaire but for some billionaires, 2021 became the year they lost a bulk of their fortunes.
While the top five billionaires have seen their fortunes expand even more rapidly in 2021, the same cannot be said of some others who have had to deal with huge net worth declines. From January 2021 through to the month of December, their collective losses amount to about $152 billion.
Of the ten billionaires to have had the most losses in 2021, six of them are Chinese. This may be as a result of a regulatory crackdown by the Chinese government on some businesses including e-commerce, prompting stock sell-offs that wiped billions of dollars from Chinese companies.
Zhong Huijuan, founder, chairwoman and CEO of the Chinese drugmaker, Hansoh Pharmaceutical lost $10.4 billion as shares in the company dropped more than 50% and is now at $1.82 per share. As a result of the drop of the company’s shares, her wealth has also dropped by 51%.
Zhang Bangxin, Co-founder and chairman of education services firm, TAL Education a child tutoring firm. The firm saw its stock plummet as the government imposed new regulations on the business among which includes that tutoring companies who teach the same courses as the schools should be listed and operate as a charity. The company dropped $11.3 billion and is now worth $1.2 billion.
Daniel Gilbert, an American born CEO of Rocket companies a mortgage company located in the United States of America, lost $13.2 billion leaving the current net worth of the company at $29.6 billion.
Lein Jun, the founder of the smartphone company, Xaomi lost over $14 billion as the company suffered from supply chain distribution issues together with opposition from its competitors. The company is currently worth $16.3 billion.
Mayasoshi Son, Japanese billionaire founder and CEO of Soft bank group, an investment company, which has invested in multi-billion-dollar companies like Ali baba and ride-hailing app, Didi, was affected by the Chinese government regulations, His net worth dropped by $13.6 billion and he is now worth $25.1 billion.
Tadashi Yanai, a Japanese billionaire shareholder lost some of his fortunes to the tune of $14 billion as his shares in Clothing retail companies like Uniqlo and Theory dropped about 34%. Factors responsible for the drop include and not limited to Covid restrictions and lockdowns affecting its factory in Vietnam, issues in its supplier facilities in Myanmar sparked by unrest in the country, and allegations of forced labour on minorities. His current net worth is $30.4 billion.
Zhang Yong, Singaporean businessman and CEO of Haidilao, China’s biggest hot pot chain with locations all over the world lost $15.9 billion as its expansion and opening of an additional 1600 stores was affected by Covid. The company has stated that 300 of the stores would be shut down. Yong is currently at a net worth of $4.6 billion from $23 billion he was worth in April.
Colin Zheung Huang, founder of e-commerce company, Pinduoduo. The shares of the company fell by 64% and so did his fortune, He lost $40.2 billion and is now worth $22.3 billion.
Hui Kai Yan, Chinese billionaire and CEO of the real estate company, China Evergrande Group lost some of his fortunes for the second year in a row. Share rate of the company dropped to $0.19 per share as the company defaulted in paying its debts to its international investors. The real estate mogul reportedly put $1 billion of his personal fortune into the company to keep it alive. He lost $18 billion and is now worth $9.1 billion.
Jack Ma, the billionaire and CEO of Ali baba lost $21.4 billion. A $2.8 billion dollar tax was imposed on the company, the highest ever anti penalty trust tax imposed by the Chinese government, with allegations that the company violated anti-monopoly rules this brought a 37% drop to his net worth. His current net worth is $37 billion.


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A Qatari woman who runs a successful dairy farm which has assumed great importance in the country especially after the blockade, has emerged as a role model for young girls and housewives.
Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has provided electricity connection to the farm which helped reduce the operation cost.
Nawal Hilal Al Mulla, the owner of “Al Reem Dairy” operating in Al Shamal resigned from her position as a coordinator at the Training Center of Doha Bank in 2012 to launch the dairy farm business.
“The project Al Reem Dairy is housing 25 cows, 600 sheep 80 goats producing over 55 liters milk in a day,” Nawal Hilal Al Mulla told The Peninsula.
She said that the dairy products include milk, yogurt, cheese and ghee among many others. The farm also produces cakes and ice cream mixed with fresh fruits. Speaking about the finances, Nawal said “I secured a loan from Qatar Development Bank to build an air-conditioned facility to increase the sheep.”
She said that Bedaya Center also supported her by providing stickers and advertisement materials and those related to packaging. The Center guides Qatari youths to launch their business and start their careers.
“The Center provided details to the Farm about different products and held a workshop for the development of the project. It also helped in obtaining commercial registration and market the products through Al Meera outlets,” said Nawal.
Nawal’s husband provided adequate support to run the business. “My husband encouraged me to start the project. He helped bring latest equipment required for dairy products. He is supervising the farm and arranged necessary fodder for animals,” said Nawal.
She said that green fodder is being cultivated at the farm which has enough space for this purpose. And a surface-water well is available inside the farm.
Regarding the demands of dairy products, Nawal said that the demand of her products increased during Holy month of Ramadan.
In addition, she did pretty good business at the exhibitions especially at Darb Al Saai on National Day and Halal Exhibition at Katara.
The dairy farm of Nawal also participated in Made-in-Qatar Exhibition and Manazilna (our homes) Exhibition of households and many more.
Manal said that she will participate to Manazilna Exhibition which is scheduled to be held from October 12 to 20 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center.
Manal said that her dairy farm received electricity connection recently which saved cost of generator adding that the generator costs about QR150,000 apart from the diesel and maintenance costs.
Speaking about the challenges, Manal said that gradually problems are getting solved. There was difficult earlier to get the material for packaging the products but now many factories opened in the country providing the materials at reasonable price.
Manal is eyeing to participate in the regional and international exhibitions to market her products.
“Now I can run a commercial shop and hire a shop within Furjan Market project or Souq Al Waqif to cater the residents,” said Manal.
Rents of such shops low compared to the shops in other commercial areas. “My project has some touch of traditional heritage which needs to be expanded by making a lot of products with dairy products like cake and other bakery items and hot beverages.”
Al Reem Dairy is also running an apiary with over 20 bee-hives inside the farm. “Four years ago, a strong wind destroyed the beehives,” said Manal adding that the Ministry of Municipality and Environment represented by the Agriculture Affairs Department provided 10 beehives.
She said that the beehives are increasing gradually.
Source and Cover Image: The Peninsula
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According to Clearwire's (NASDAQ:CLWR) latest quarterly filing, the company has dumped more than $100 million during the past year and a half into an Amdocs billing platform that has "encountered unanticipated delays resulting primarily from the discovery of defects in the new Amdocs software code." As a result, Clearwire warned the implementation of the new customer care and billing platform could be pushed back into next year, and that the situation could result in "additional, unplanned costs to the company."
The issue comes at a difficult time for Clearwire, which has been raking in new customers while laying the groundwork for tests of LTE network technology that would result in the WiMAX provider switching over to LTE. During its second quarter, Clearwire added 722,000 total net new subscribers, and raised its 2010 subscriber base forecast to 3 million, up from around 2 million. The company announced it will commence LTE network trials later this year.
Clearwire in 2009 inked a seven-year deal with Amdocs for the billing vendor's CES 7.5 products and managed services, products that support Clearwire's retail and wholesale businesses. (Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), Best Buy, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and others offer WiMAX services through Clearwire's wholesale business.) The Amdocs' product suite includes customer management, self service, billing, mediation, ordering and other products. Under the terms of the agreement, Amdocs said it would manage Clearwire's existing business-support systems and the conversion to CES 7.5.
Clearwire first disclosed its troubles with Amdocs in its first quarter 2010 Security and Exchange Commission filing, and again highlighted it in its second quarter filing. The company said that it has been forced to use its existing billing and customer care system while work continues on the Amdocs platform.
Additionally, Clearwire warned that "if we are unable to complete the development and implementation of the new customer care and billing systems being developed by Amdocs, and to transition from our existing systems to such new systems, in a timely manner, or at all, we may be forced to continue to rely on and upgrade our existing systems or to procure new systems from other vendors. In either case, we would likely incur significant additional delays and expense in completing modifications to our existing systems, or in procuring new systems, that meet our future business needs."
Representatives from Amdocs did not immediately respond to questions on the topic.
"It is not unusual to encounter some challenges during any large scale implementation and we have been working closely with Amdocs over the past several months to resolve any implementation concerns," Clearwire said in a statement. "We have recently achieved a significant implementation milestone with the new Amdocs platform and we are pleased with this progress. In the interim, our current billing platform that is also supported by Amdocs is working and scaling appropriately."
- see this Clearwire SEC filing
Clearwire to begin testing LTE, promises speeds of 20-70 Mbps
Clearwire adds Best Buy as 4G wholesale partner
The guts of wireless: OSS/BSS market on the brink of change


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No doubt about it, plenty of folks spent the long weekend glued to freshly acquired Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s. But as it turns out, quite a few people were playing PC titles, as well—enough to set a new record for most concurrent Steam users, according to VG247.
The site says utilization of Valve's service peaked at just over 7.19 million concurrent users on the morning of Sunday, December 1. That's a nice increase over the previous record of 6.6 million users, which was reportedly reached in January of this year. The record before that was 6 million concurrent users, and it was reached in November 2012.
The official Steam & Game Stats page still has a record of the, uh record, and it also shows the most popular games by current player count and by peak player count today. As of right now, the top three are Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Team Fortress 2. I'm a little surprised to see Football Manager 2014 in the number-four spot, but that game actually has a lower peak for today than Skyrim, so I guess there must be a lot of Europeans logged in right now. Or something.
In any case, this looks like another sign that PC gaming isn't just alive and well—it's actually growing, too.
|Friday night topic: your top movies?||22|
|Deal of the week: Corsair's 750D case and four fans for $100||16|
|Android on x86: A quick look at Asus' Memo Pad ME176C tablet||16|
|Triple-wide radiator defines Thermaltake's new water cooler||46|
|Report: Google proceeds with $1 billion Twitch.tv buyout||21|
|New Asus 802.11ac router can top 1.7Gbps||63|
|Early Unreal Tournament concept art reminds us how far we've come||31|
|Report: Intel targeting larger, pricier Android tablets||26|
|The new new name for the UI is called Retro.||+40|


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Consumer group protests against World Cup bill
Monday, February 27, 2012
SAO PAULO (AP) -- One of Brazil's top consumer rights groups opposes a World Cup bill that FIFA and local organizers say is crucial in preparing for the 2014 tournament.
The Brazilian Institute of Consumer Rights is urging citizens to demand on social media that congressmen vote against the bill. The group contends the bill would give FIFA too much power and few responsibilities.
The proposed law would put in place the final commitments made by Brazil's federal government when it bid to host the World Cup. Those include ticket sales, broadcast rights and trademark infringement.
The bill is expected to be voted on by a congressional commission Tuesday. If approved, it then goes to the lower house and the senate. Brazil President Dilma Rousseff also must sign it.


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California got a hefty part of the Staples Inc. security breach revealed last week that may have compromised the personal information of 1.16 million customers.
KrebsOnSecurity first reported the suspected breach in October after hearing from banks about a pattern of credit and debit card fraud that implicated Staples. Staples acknowledged the problem and two months later put out a list (pdf) of the 115 affected stores.
Sixteen are in California. Those stores were infected with point-of-sale malware sometime between August 10 and September 16 that potentially gathered customer credit card numbers, verification codes, expiration dates and full cardholder names.
Krebs suggested that thieves were making counterfeit credit card copies using data stolen from malware-infected Staples cash registers. Customers were finding out they had a problem when they saw their bills, not when Staples notified them of a breach.
Those notifications (pdf) are going out now. Krebs reported in October that Staples would only acknowledge it was looking at a “potential issue” and that it had notified law enforcement. The 5-page notices do
Staples, with 1,400 stores nationwide, is the latest in big retailers to suffer security breaches. Target kept escalating its damage estimate from a 2013 breach, starting at 40 million compromised customers and peaking at around 110 million. Home Depot said in September that 56 million credit cards had been compromised at their stores earlier in the year.
The breaches are becoming such common occurrences that commenters on stories at tech sites are worrying about breach fatigue. But “Anthony” at KrebsOnSecurity had something else on his mind about a visit he made to Staples. He wrote on Saturday:
“Its sad to say that I reported their computers on the sales floor were able to compromise the network by several very simple methods. I told him that I could see all of the I believe about 1200 servers at the time. Corp told the local store manager that I didnt know what I was talking about and full of B.S.
“Second visit to the store I showed the manager from the sales floor which computer was his that he did payroll on. I created a file on his desktop in the back of the office from the sales floor then deleted it right in front of the manager with his permission!!! That’s security at its finest.”


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Kendra Scott set to open first New York store
Jewelry designer, with affordable signature earrings, has opened 39 stores in 13 years
Kendra Scott's business is on fire.
The jewelry designer, who started her company 13 years ago in Austin home with only $500, now has 39 stores across the country, and New York City is on her list, according to New York Magazine's The Cut blog.
The store will open in 2017.
The article, "The Jewelry Brand That's About to be Everywhere," reports Scott's earrings have been worn by celebrities like Sofia Vergara and Mindy Kaling on the red carpet, even though they're priced under $100. "The combination of affordable — if not actually cheap — pricing and signature shape is a strategy that has put plenty of other brands on the map; the earrings are Scott's equivalent of Longchamp's Nylon tote, Tory Burch's signature logo flats, or Kate Spade's two-tone bag."
Scott already has a huge following in Texas. A native of Wisconsin, Scott moved to Houston as a teen and graduated from Klein High School and started her business in Austin.
In the Houston area, she has stores in The Woodlands, City Centre, Rice Village and Friendswood.


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Fortune Brands Declares Quarterly Cash DividendMay 3rd, 2013 by DWM Magazine
Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. (FBHS) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend payment to its shareholders. This represents both the Board’s confidence in the company’s long-term cash flow potential and its support of the company’s broader strategy for utilizing free cash flow to drive incremental shareholder value beyond the recovery. It is the first dividend paid to shareholders since FBHS became a public company in October 2011, according to a statement from the company.
The initial quarterly dividend payment will be $0.10 per share of common stock, which represents an annualized rate of $0.40 per share. The initial dividend payment will be made on June 19, 2013, to all shareholders of record on May 31, 2013. The company anticipates paying ongoing quarterly cash dividends. Any future dividend payments are subject to Board approval, and may be adjusted as business and industry conditions warrant.
“We plan to use our strong balance sheet, capital structure and cash flow to drive incremental shareholder value in a number of ways, including paying a dividend,” says Chris Klein, chief executive officer, FBHS. “We intend to continue to be efficient with our cash by investing in our businesses, pursuing accretive, strategic acquisitions and returning cash to shareholders.”


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Deathloop, Arkane’s upcoming time-based immersive sim, has been delayed to spring of 2021, the studio tweeted today. And just like that another next-gen game falls out of this year’s lineup.
The studio cites work-from-home and “the health and safety” of staff as reasons for the delay, writing, “This extra time will allow our team to bring Deathloop’s world to life with as much character and fun as you’ve come to expect from our team.” The game basically looks like Dishonored: Hitman Edition, which is everything I want out of a game this fall. Alas, 2020 continues to have other plans.
Deathloop was revealed back at Bethesda’s E3 2019 press conference with a cinematic trailer, but we learned a lot more about it during Sony’s PS5 showcase earlier this summer, including that it would be a timed-console exclusive (with a simultaneous launch on PC). While this delay isn’t completely unexpected given the ongoing pandemic and the number of other games that have had to shift release dates, it does feel like a major blow to the early PS5 lineup.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is currently still slated to launch this holiday, as is the the ever charming-looking adventure game Bugsnax. But with the Xbox Series X’s Halo: Infinite also getting pushed to next year, the number of reasons to immediately jump on buying a next-gen console feels like it’s shrinking by the week.


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According to a survey conducted by the Human resources startup, Chronobank, cryptocurrency enthusiasts wants their wages paid in cryptocurrency and also prefer jobs with payments in cryptocurrency rather than the regular fiat currencies.
Salary Payment In Cryptocurrency
The survey, which was conducted on 445 cryptocurrency enthusiasts globally to know the preference of cryptocurrency enthusiasts about remuneration. The findings of the survey show that most members of the cryptocurrency community are more than willing to get paid in cryptocurrency.
The survey shows that 66% of those surveyed would like their employers to change to a crypto form of payment and will be interested in getting paid using cryptocurrencies.
Notably, 83% of respondents stated that they look forward to receiving their bonus payment in cryptocurrencies as well. So also 72% of the participants prefer an employer that can pay cryptocurrencies for the services of their employees.
Meanwhile, the majority of the respondents believe in the growth of the value of cryptocurrency in the future. So also one-fifth of those surveyed would like to convert their cryptocurrency wages to fiat. 50% of the survey, however, shows that they prefer their salary in cryptocurrency because it helps them to spend less, while 19% prefer to use it for transactions.
The survey also shows that Millennials are highly interested in cryptocurrencies for speculative purposes. And about the countries who could switch to paying staffs cryptocurrencies, leading the pack in Japan with a 32% chance, followed by the U.S. with a 15%, and South Korea also with 15%.
The United States respondents stated that they believe more in South Korean 25% than in Japan 13%. Russia, on the other hand, thinks that Japan is the most dominant leader of the cryptocurrency industry.
57% of respondents are confident that the initiative will impact the economic growth of countries that adopt it.
As noted by IMF cryptocurrency might probably replace fiat currency. Thus most central banks are in the race of introducing blockchain feature to its industry, to compete with the nascent industry.


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Mexico's merchandise trade surplus decreased from last year in May, and came in below economists' expectations, preliminary data released by statistical office INEGI showed Monday.
The trade surplus dropped to $363 million in May from $538 million in the same month last year. Economists were looking for a surplus of $560 million.
Export of goods increased 6.7 percent annually to $33.165 billion in May. Shipments of petroleum products declined 13.6 percent annually, while dispatches of non-oil products rose 10.6 percent during the month.
The value of imports advanced 7.4 percent from last year to $32.802 billion in May. Arrivals of oil products gained 3.9 percent during the month, while imports of non-oil commodities rose 7.9 percent, data showed.
In the January-May period, the trade balance was a surplus of $2.688 billion. Exports and imports increased 9.4 percent and 9.8 percent respectively during the five-month period, the agency said.
Local retail investors’ net buying of QR66mn lend support to the QE 20-s
UAB-Turkey firms deal
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ADIB named ‘Best Islamic Bank in ME’
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Gulf Air starts double miles promotion
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, on Thursday announced the start of a ‘Double Miles Promotion’ to coincide with the launch of its newest destinations, giving its frequent fly


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Throughout 2014 the motherboard market was dominated by four major brands not including Foxconn. They were ASUStek, Gigabyte, ASRock and Micro-Star International (MSI) respectively. Together, these four vendors ship over half of the world’s motherboard product to consumers, with ASUS and Gigabyte both pulling in over 20 million motherboard shipments each this year alone. According to reports from Digitimes, though, some of the big brands are planning to shy away from price wars in 2015 and focus more on profitability for 2015.
Digitimes’ report notes that ASUS has been the main culprit of price wars using multiple SKUs with features cut and a flood of low-end Intel H81 motherboards to secure their position in the budget market. You’ve probably seen some of this in my System Builders guides this year as I’ve made mention several times of ASUS pricing their motherboards well, but chopping out features to give their products a wider audience that is mostly price-sensitive. Its not until you pony up for the H97M-E for around R1300 that you finally see an ASUS board with a M.2 port, while the board itself is otherwise very unremarkable.
According to sources close to the motherboard makers, Digitimes reports that ASUS will continue on with their slew of options at every price point imaginable, while the other three will drop out of the price wars and focus more on profit as the computer market shrinks.
“Asustek’s annual motherboard shipments are expected to return back to 22 million units in 2014, but the increased volume will come mainly from its competitors, especially second-tier players such as Micro-Star International (MSI), ASRock and Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), not growth in the overall motherboard market,” Digitimes reported.
“ASRock has been impacted the most from the price competition in terms of both shipments and profitability. MSI’s gaming notebook business is expected to contribute strong profits in 2014, helping the company to cover its motherboard business’ decline. But for 2015, the two players will both stop pushing for shipments and will try to keep their businesses profitable.”
This is going to be a crucial point for the motherboard industry next year. With Intel’s Broadwell processors no longer seeing a launch on the desktop, any current projects need to be scrapped for it and all the focus must be on Skylake, due to launch some eight months from now in 2H 2015. AMD has new products popping out early next year with the Carrizo APU family, but the volume from those product won’t be extremely high. With Intel as the driver for the industry, every motherboard vendor has to wait for Intel’s products to launch before they can scale up their operations.
Digitimes also notes that small China-based vendors like Colorful, Jetway and Topstar may see their markets shrink or disappear altogether as they struggle to fill in the gap as everyone waits for Skylake. Some consolidation may occur in the next few months and that will be a sad thing to watch.


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Looking for leads, investment insights, or competitive intelligence?
News about KKR
Private equity firm making initial $50 million commitment.
The deal creates an auto-parts maker with more than $17 billion in annual revenue and 65,000 workers from Tokyo to Milan.
At $75 billion, Bytedance would just eclipse Uber Technologies Inc., valued at $72 billion.
Must-read business news, delivered every morning.


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It appears that Facebook has very quietly announced when the new profile redesign will go live to all users of their site. In a developers wiki article about infinite sessions posted on August 7th, Facebook announced under the question, “I thought you were deprecating infinite sessions?”, that the new redesign will go live to all users on August 27, 2008.
This move should be a welcome one for developers. One of the largest frustrations amongst Facebook developers with the new design has been having to support both the old design and new until users all begin to adopt the new. The new design provides more integration points, protects users against spammy apps, and tends to side towards more useful applications on the platform.
The new profile redesign has been accepted by some, rejected by many. I experienced this first hand recently in trying to cover some missed changes, that within just a week had been changed due to the quick evolvement of the new platform. Initially rolled out to 5% of users, it will be interesting to see the reaction of users as all 100+ million users are forced to use the new design. It is my prediction that there will be backlash at first, but as with any change, users will begin to adapt and learn how to use it in a new way. You can switch to the new design yourself by going the http://www.new.facebook.com – it will from that point on take you to the new design every time you go to Facebook.
How was your adoption of the new design? You can follow my updates on Facebook at http://jessestay.socialtoo.com.


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As sure as the robin and the redbud, strawberry picking time is a sign that winter is long gone. It means that local farmers’ markets will be bursting with a variety of produce before long. And it means the growers are heading into the make-or-break season.
We are grateful to the farmers who bring locally grown food to our tables. We also appreciate the opportunity to have our families converge on their fields to pick produce, in the process educating new generations about why local farms are important, how plants grow and where items we see in produce section of the grocery store actually originate.
We hope this year is a financially healthy one for area farmers – whom are the recipients of this week’s Grit Award -- and we urge residents to visit during the picking season or a farm tour to learn more.


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Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are heading to Claire's for a makeover. The teen moguls' lifestyle and entertainment company, Dual-star Entertainment Group, said it is taking the first step beyond distributing the twins' cosmetics line exclusively at Wal-Mart.
LOS ANGELES - Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are heading to Claire's for a makeover.
The teen moguls' lifestyle and entertainment company, Dual-star Entertainment Group, said it is taking the first step beyond distributing the twins' cosmetics line exclusively at Wal-Mart by selling bronzers, lip glosses and other makeup under the Mary-kateandashley brand at 500 Claire's specialty stores in the U.S. and Canada starting this month.
Dualstar also launched the first print advertising campaign in its 13-year history last month, with full-page ads for fragrance and cosmetics in Ellegirl and Girls' Life. The goal is to boost Dualstar's growing four-year-old beauty business, which makes up 10 percent of the privately held company's estimated $1 billion in global annual retail sales.
"Ashley and Mary-Kate never had a real interest in beauty and body care [before]," said Diane Reichenberger, chief executive officer of Culver City, Calif.-based Dualstar. "We really focused on that and looked at new opportunities for a brand that is very successful."
The move comes as the Olsens, who are Dualstar's co-presidents, strive to evolve their company and attract shoppers who are older than their core fans: girls 12 years old and younger. While tween apparel for the Mary-kateandashley brand represents about 80 percent of revenue, cosmetics appeal to all ages, Dualstar said. Priced from $1 to $5, the cosmetics are produced under license by Nu World in Carteret, N.J.
For Claire's, the Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based jewelry and accessories specialty retailer, the cosmetics deal strengthens its existing relationship with Dualstar. Claire's began selling the Mary-kateandashley scents, called Coast to Coast NYC and Coast to Coast LA, last June. With more than 1,650 stores in the U.S., Claire's also carries cosmetics and body care lines such as Jessica Simpson's Dessert Treat, That's So Raven and Claire's private label.
Marisa Jacobs, a spokeswoman for Claire's, said customers are interested in celebrity brands and the company did very well with the Olsens' fragrances. "To extend the line into the early stages in what hopefully would be a broad cosmetics line would be a good opportunity," she said.
Reichenberger said Claire's enables Dualstar to reach 7- to 18-year-old female shoppers."We're looking at Claire's as a long-term relationship," Reichenberger said, hoping that the cosmetics eventually will be sold at all Claire's stores worldwide. "We're just taking the baby steps and seeing what they can do for future product categories, like accessories, bags, belts, jewelry [and] glasses."
Jacobs confirmed that Claire's is exploring other categories although no decisions have been made yet. "If we were to evaluate taking them overseas, one issue we would take into account is their level of popularity abroad," she said.
The debut of Mary-kateand-ashley cosmetics at Claire's will include new packaging that differs from what is used at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which launched the cosmetics line in 2002.
One striking difference is the absence of the twins' photos on the products sold at Claire's. Reichenberger said the decision stemmed from the fact that the Mary-kateandashley cosmetics line is one of just a few beauty brands carried at Claire's, unlike at Wal-Mart, where Mary-kate-andashley cosmetics compete within two or three aisles full of national names.
"There is something about reaching your core consumer who knows who Mary-Kate and Ashley are," added Nichole Addario-DiModica, Dualstar's executive director of publicity, marketing and operations. "We don't have to have a picture of them to relate to the brand."
Dualstar plans to run at least one ad in each issue of Ellegirl this year as well as an ad in the March-April edition of Girls' Life. It said fragrance licensee Coty Inc. created the fragrance ads and Ellegirl, Dualstar and Nu World collaborated on the cosmetics ads.
Marc Gobé, chairman and ceo of New York-based branding consultancy desgrippes gobé, said the campaign seemed to be "a timid investment" with only two publications. But he said the promotion will help Dualstar's relatively new cosmetics business build awareness and gain preference with consumers."If you want to reach a specific market, advertising in magazines can really get your message to the women - or the young women - you want to reach," he said.
EXCLUSIVE: @tomford is opening its first-ever beauty store. The boutique, which opens November 20 in London’s Covent Gardens, was designed with the over-the-top glam Ford is known for. Read the full story on WWD.com, link in bio. #wwdbeauty #wwdnews (📷: Simon Wagner) #TomFordBeauty
New York-based DJ @harleyvnewton threw a party to celebrate the holiday collection of her dress and pajama line @hvn at the Ladurée Beverly Hills. It Girls @katebosworth, @rashidajones and more joined in on the fun, which included cocktails, croque monsieur sandwiches and a photo booth. #wwdfashion (📷: Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com)
For the holidays, @Burberry partnered with 20-year-old artist @blondeymccoy on a series of three outdoor murals in downtown Manhattan. The murals are McCoy’s interpretation of a Christmas eve party, the idea of charity and the spirit of family. His third mural, pictured here, is the most personal. The image depicts McCoy’s grandparents and father in London’s Trafalgar Square in the Seventies. “My work often features lots of sentimental objects.” #wwdeye
For spring 2018, designers applied bold colors and cartoonish motifs on everything from sneakers and belts to key chains. See all the top men’s accessories trends on WWD.com. #wwdtrends (📷: George Chinsee; Prop Styling by @rnasti; Market Editor: @luiscampuzano)
The @dior-sponsored @guggenheim international gala pre-party has a history of drawing cool-girl musical acts to serenade the crowd –– and last night was no exception. @haimtheband performed songs both new and old, and lured a star-studded audience with the likes of Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Mamoudou Athie and more. #wwdeye (📷: @lexieblacklock)
In a partnership between the @metopera and the @englishnationalopera, “Marnie” was born. The opera, with costumes sponsored by @mrporterlive, is an adaptation of the 1961 thriller by Winston Graham. Arianne Phillips, who created the costumes, is no rookie: She’s styled Madonna for her tours and created costumes for a myriad of films in the past. Read WWD’s interview with Phillips, where she talks about her inspiration for the opera’s costumes on WWD.com #wwdfashion
@barneysnyc took a different approach to their holiday windows this year. Instead of Christmas decor, Barneys tapped @thehaasbrothers to tell a story of positivity, gratitude and inclusivity via heartwarming silliness and humor. “It’s about kids and it’s about coming together and being family and loving each other,” said Simon Haas. #wwdfashion (📷: @joshuascottphoto)
Beauty influencer @kandeejohnson makes her foray into hair care with a collaboration with @ogx_beauty — making it the first time that OGX has teamed up for a product creation. The collab includes shampoos and conditioners in three scents. At 39 and a mom, Johnson is a different profile than the emerging social media stars, but is considered one of the pioneers of the digital beauty influencer world. Read WWD’s interview with her on wwd.com, including the strangest beauty product she’s ever tried #wwdbeauty


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Recently, a 15-second promotional video of Samsung‘s upcoming Unpacked event on February 11 that teases two potential flagship phones was leaked, first seen on Max Weinbach’s social media.
The leaked promo reveals two shapes that block out the two letter A’s on the word Galaxy: a rectangle and a square. Curious. We’re thinking they’re the Samsung Galaxy S11 and the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 respectively.
The Samsung Galaxy S11 is the next iteration of the Korean tech giant’s flagship smartphone, which builds on the success of the Galaxy S10 and its other forebears. Visual renders made by OnLeaks and 91mobiles reveal that the S11 will continue the trend of squared camera cutouts, while retaining the Infinity-O Display that its predecessors possess.
While we’re still pretty much in the dark about the S11, we hear that it may boast a shiny new 120Hz refresh rate to one-up the likes of the Google Pixel 4, as well as a massive 108-megapixel sensor on the main rear camera (another trend that has been on the rise lately). What’s more interesting is that it might be dubbed the Samsung Galaxy S20 instead.
The other shape suggests that a sequel to the Samsung Galaxy Fold may be announced at the Unpacked event, though this one is a little more unlikely. Regardless, image renders have already been circulating on how the Galaxy Fold 2 may look like.
It seems that, if the Galaxy Fold 2 is indeed a reality, Samsung might be incorporating a clamshell mechanic (not unlike the Motorola razr’s) instead of the original’s fold-out feature. In terms of other features, the Galaxy Fold 2 is rumoured to have a more durable flexible glass display, as well as a more accessible sub-US$1,000 price (via The Verge).
Of course, all this is currently speculation. All will be revealed at the Samsung Unpacked event itself on February 11.
In other Samsung leaked news, it appears that a Lite version of the Galaxy S10 may be announced, either at the Unpacked event as well, or at the upcoming CES 2020.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.


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eBay Selling 32GB ‘Nexus 6’ For $299; Only 500 Devices Available
With the release of ‘Nexus 6P’ and ‘Nexus 5X’, Google stopped selling Nexus 6. It seems like Google has nothing to do with this old baby of theirs. eBay encashed this opportunity to increase the sale on its site and listed the product for just $299. The devices eBay is selling are brand new.Advertisement
As it is being sold that cheap, do not think that this phone is unworthy of buying. Nexus 6 is one of the best devices manufactured by Google. This Motorola Nexus comes with some wonderful specifications:
Display: 5.96-inch screen, Super AMOLED Display
Resolution: 2560×1440 pixels
Chipset: Snapdragon 805
Processor: Quad-Core 2.7 GHz Krait 450
GPU: Adreno 420
Battery: 3200mAh battery, Non-removable
OS: Android Lollipop v5.0
Camera: 13-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front camera
eBay is not just selling Nexus 6 dirt-cheap but is also offering “free shipping.” This is an unlocked phone and is available in Midnight Blue as well.
As the latest Nexus devices are out, it is possible that Google itself is clearing out stocks. Whenever a new gadget is launched, customers do not prefer buying older versions. Google has made a smart decision here to discontinue Nexus 6 on their own site and make space for the new devices in demand. Whether it is Google that has implemented this new strategy to get rid of unsold Nexus 6 devices is unknown, but still, this is a deal that no Nexus lover should miss.
Wait no more! Buy Nexus 6 on eBay right now.


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PropertyGuru.com.sg, Singapore's leading property portal and a flagship website of PropertyGuru's Network – Asia's Property Guru
Property prices expected to rise: survey
Jul 13, 2012
PropertyGuru.com.sg : By Romesh Navaratnarajah: The majority of respondents in a new survey by Credit Suisse feel that property prices are likely to continue rising and the government is expected to introduce more cooling measures. Out of 300 polled, around 47 percent believe that housing prices will rise next year, with three in every 10 predicting a 10 percent hike. On the other hand, 35 percent expect prices to decline. According to Yvonne Voon and Chok Sing Ping, research analysts at Credit Suisse, the survey shows that "the market has quite a mixed view on the direction of prices". But the report noted that "there is a slightly heavier weight towards the expectations of rising prices within the next 12 months". Meanwhile, six in every 10 respondents feel that the government will roll out another round of cooling measures with 40 percent expecting it to happen within a year. Respondents expecting a continuous rise in prices cite "genuine demand" from buyers as well as the ability to purchase a home. For every 10 respondents, six of them plan to buy a property within three years and 31 percent say that the purchase will be for investment. Those buying are looking for a place to live in, upgrade from their current home, or buy for their children or parents. As for shoebox units, six in every 10 would not buy an apartment that's less than 500 sq ft in size.


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The Summer is almost on its way and all the beauty aspirants are hopefully looking for classical cosmetic trends. 2020 was a lockdown year in world history and after jumping out of the walls, everyone is enthusiastic about their appearance, presentation, and beauty.
Fashion colors of 2021
The color trends of 2021 are clenching a reminder from the last pandemic year and giving people a sense of confidence, enthusiasm, hope, and positivity that everyone is looking for.
The Pantone Color Institute and Shutterstock have recently announced their 2021 color trend forecasts. They preferred bright and gentle colors that take inspiration from natural elements. Pantone stated in December that Illuminating a bright yellow hue and Ultimate Gray are its Colors of the Year 2021, which represents the themes of unity, stability, harmony, and hope.
Top Cosmetic Trends of 2021
Soaps and sanitizers might not be ample of beauty categories but beauty brands such as Byredo, Diptyque, and Nest Fragrances have already entered the space and they’re more bougie and impressive than ever. Joshua Ross, celebrity aesthetician in Los Angeles, Calif said, “2020 was the year of harsh hand sanitizers and soaps, this will change in 2021 as the industry balances efficacy with sensoriality that is less irritating on the microbiome.” Besides, beauty experts have upgraded scents and packaging with hydrating formulas suitable for the skin.
Studies conducted by beauty experts have indicated that cosmetic brands glorifying ingredient transparency are increasing in popularity. Customers want to know what’s in their products, and if it is suitable and adaptable for their skin. These demands of consumers have caused branded companies to shift towards more sustainable stocks. According to Barb Paldus, Codex Beauty founder, “If you can’t make the sustainable choice when creating a product, even if it costs you more, you don’t deserve to be creating a brand.”
Blue Light Protection
Blue light protection glasses are specially crafted lenses that are used to filter out the blue light given off from digital screens. The lenses insist to safeguard eyes from flash and can help curtail probable harm to your retina from continued exposure to blue glare.
One of the interesting innovations in cosmetic trends of 2021 is lip masks that will become the new lipsticks. Monika Blunder, Celebrity Makeup Artist & Founder of Monika Beauty, says that, “Because of face masks, people are moving towards treatments instead of color out of convenience,” she explains that, “Glosses can be sticky and high maintenance, and who wants to deal with smudged lipstick because of your mask? So, it’s better to make your pout beautiful by plumping and moisturizing its long-lasting treatments sting.”
Launch Of Multitasking Products
2021 is the rush year because 2020 was a tumultuous year. Several cosmetic brands are about to launch multitasking cosmetic products in 2021. Everyone wants a simple, as well as a quick, make-up routine daily. A series of makeup steps such as applying primers, concealers, drawing eyebrows, make-shadows, lipsticks, etc.. is always a burden for lazy girls. We are in the midst of a rush and want to save time and money because a hard period is expected to arrive.
According to Sheena Yaitanes, Founder of Kosas Cosmetics, “Fluffy brows, bold lashes, and multitasking products that marry skincare with makeup will continue to take over complicated beauty routines.” So they are expecting to launch more innovative products soon.
The world is approaching new trends in the cosmetic industry in 2021, so stay tuned to the latest updates on cosmetic trends. Being beautiful from the inside out is a great thing that we all want. However, the emerging cosmetic world is in search of new creative and worthwhile products for beauty aspirants.
“Stay safe, stay beautiful.”
Image Credits: Lifestyle Asia
Udisha Srivastav is a Freelance Content Writer with Femsay.com


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The spinoff of Kraft Foods (KFT) by Altria Group (NYSE:MO) was indeed a long and expected move; their official announcement to let them go on 30 March hammered in the final nail. But instead of a rise in their price, a drop actually made more sense. Of course, it is easy to claim this while looking back at it, but my thought is that the split was already valued into their stock prices. That is much the reason why every time "no news" on the split comes out, their stock prices sag given that the expectation was "wrong". This time around, investors are cashing out, and waiting for new news, like the separating of their US and international tobacco business.
My interest really lies with Kraft Foods and how the split will affect them. Much of the focus has been with MO, but it is interesting to see what also lies ahead for Kraft. My personal thought is that they have a good path ahead. The situation for them is much like a teenage kid. Over the past decade or two, Kraft has reluctantly part of Altria, more known for their tobacco business. With no recognition, and having a parent ordering them around, like any "teenager" they obviously tended to slack and rebel. By breaking free and becoming independent, we expect them to land on their feed and develop on their own.
The food business is stable. Everyone eats, everyone drinks, and everyone probably has some sort of food product from with Kraft, Campbell or Nabisco (per se) at home. But Kraft has been falling behind their competitors. Margins are lower, for example, compared to Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) at an average margin of 42%, or Kellogg Company(NYSE:K) at an average of 46%, Kraft is as low as 30%. Costs just aren't controlled tough enough! Their share prices have stayed flat over the past few years, whereas Campbell and Kellogg have risen over 50% and 80%, respectively. But don't run away yet. The split was almost definitely to be announced within the year, and in preparation for Kraft's freedom from MO's bitter bondage, CEO Irene Rosenfeld was hired to make the big changes.
In fact, later this month until possibly March, Rosenfeld is expected to make public her drastic changes, as another powerful woman as the CEO of a multi-national company. This includes selling of businesses, cutting costs, management restructuring to the issuance of debt (a good thing in this case, considering that the company has barely any) to buy back shares and boosting up EPS, paving the road to a good start. Her battles will probably be long and tough, since she will have to deal with changing consumer demands, most notably a more health conscious diet. Costs are also something to worry about; prices for food-related commodities such as corn and beans have jumped from global demand for food. Regardless though, being independent is good. Decisions will be made quicker and more efficiently, and I expect Kraft's stock prices to catch up with their counterparts during 2007, and possibly outpace them by 2008.
I expect a drop to about $30; get in and ride the waves. Reaching well over $40 over a year's time won't just be a dream.
KFT 1-yr chart


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EU approves Lufthansa bid for SN Brussels Airlines
EU regulators on Monday approved Lufthansa's plans to buy SN Brussels Airlines after the German airline dealt with concerns that the deal may hurt competition, the European Commission said.
After those remedial moves, the European Commission decided that "the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it."
In January, the commission had opened an in-depth probe into the deal amid concerns that it might create a monopoly on the key routes Brussels-Frankfurt, Brussels-Munich, Brussels-Hamburg and Brussels-Zurich.
"In light of the current consolidation process in the European airline sector, the commission takes great care to safeguard the interests of consumers in having a competitive choice of airline services in Europe," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
"The comprehensive remedies package offered by Lufthansa will facilitate market entry on the affected routes and thereby create alternative choices for passengers," she added.
The German carrier said in September that it planned to acquire full control of Brussels Airlines, the surviving rump of Belgium's former flag carrier Sabena.


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From the Kansas City Business Journal comes this exciting bit of news:
Google Inc. now is offering free Wi-Fi in Kansas City. And once again, the City of Fountains is the first to take one of Google's high-tech services on a test run.
After declining Friday to announce plans in Kansas City, Google has deployed a free, outdoor Wi-Fi network in the Crown Center area. The network, however, will be limited to the shopping area's outdoor amenities, Google said in a statement.
"As a part of our work to bring Google Fiber to Kansas City, we're testing an outdoor public Wi-Fi zone in the Crown Center area," Google spokeswoman Jenna Wandres wrote in an email. "In the future, we'd love to be able to launch more Wi-Fi zones throughout Kansas City. But for now, we're focused on this one test Wi-Fi zone in the Crown Center area."
Free WiFi at Irish Fest! As if you needed another reason to be here. We open in 120 days!


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to reports we have seen on the internet if you work in an
office and people share your computer, your computer keyboard
could cause life threatening illnesses.
Magazine, a UK consumer activist organization, tested keyboards
in its own offices in London and out of the 33 keyboards
it swabbed, one had 5 times the number of bacteria it found
on one of its toilet seats. The keyboard was apparently
so bad that health and safety officers quarantined it.
claim that colds and even gastroenteritis could be passed
on in an office through the keyboard.
food, going to the toilet without washing your hands and
sneezing could be to blame.
coliforms, staphylococcus aureus and enterobacteria were
all found in the tests.
Qwerty tummy be the number one sickie excuse in the coming