text: b'BY BEN QUIGGLEElectrical equipment suppliers are staying busy as more developments and expansionsoccur in the campground sector. Photo credit: EatonElectrical Equipment Suppliers SeeingMore Owners Switch to Metered SitesAs park developments and expan- Croteau said that he has heard fromsions continue to spring up throughout plenty of owners about campers whotheoutdoorhospitalityindustry, leave their RVs air conditioner unitsproviders of electrical equipmentsuch running all day or leave their lights onas pedestals and meterstell Woodalls when no one is at the RV.Campground Management(WCM) that It really is a huge deal, he noted. business has been growing.Maggie Linnell, owner of Lake Orion,At Keego Harbor, Mich.-based B&B Mich.-based Your Electrical SolutionsElectrical owner (YES), tells her cus-TerryLinnell told tomerstoalwaysWCMthat sales were placemeteredup15%in2019, pedestalsattheirwhichshecon- parks sites. tributedmainlyto Iwouldsayreferrals.around95%ofmyTerry Linnell Referralsare customersareget- Magie Linnellhugeforus,she tingmeteredsaid. We are also working more with pedestals now, she explained. Theydevelopers who are building new parks have to because electricity costs haveand park owners who are expanding gotten out of hand.their campgrounds. She told WCM that the new digitalPaul Croteau, senior sales engineer metershavemadeitaloteasierforandprojectmanageratKingston, owners to collect that information andWash.-basedUtilitySupplyGroup chargecampersfortheirelectricity(USG), said the company had another usage. great year in 2019.LisaSenior,generalmanagerofWe have had three very good years Hialeah, Fla.-based Hialeah Meter, saidin a row where we have seen double- that the company has noticed an in-digit growth, he told WCM. There is a crease in customerslittle bit of everything going on right lookingtometernow in the RV park and campground theirpedestalsassectors, from expan- well. sions to new builds. I They continue tohavebeendoinga understand the ben-lot of work on proj- efitsofitandalsoects.new owners are a lit- Lisa SeniorMostelectrical tle bit more techno-equipment suppliers logically savvy and they understand theReal Log Park Model Cabins Paul Croteau are telling WCMthat impact electrical costs can have on theirowners are becom- parks bottom line, explained Senior.ing more interested in metering their We live in the world of data and factselectrical pedestals, something that tra- now. We dont have to make decisionsditionally hasnt been done in the past.based on feelings anymore. The fact is Real Rustic Log Cabins Croteau said that as utility costs con- that if you can measure the energy con- Turn-Key! tinue to rise, it is smart to beginning sumption being used by someone, thenmetering electricity usage to get a han- its better to charge them exactly what Durable and Appealing dle on costs.theyuse.Theresnoreasontolose Highly Profitable It is a park owners No. 1 expense money from electrical consumption if Pays Off Within 1-3 Years and if there is any way to get a handle on you meter.Park Model Cabins it,theyneedtobedoingit,heex- OverthepastyeartherehasalsoStarting at $27,900 plained. Even if you dont read those been a lot of talk about the 2020 Na-meters or charge for electricity, just the tional Electric Code (NEC) and an at-Located in Lancaster, PA factthattheyarethereinviewof tempttorequiregroundfaultcampers tells them to maybe be a little protection (GFCI) on 30- and 50-amp717-445-5522www.LancasterLogCabins.com more conservative. pedestal circuits. A move Wade Elliot,28 -February 2020 Woodalls Campground Management'


text:
- Oil & Gas
- 2 min read
If you delink Aadhaar, oil firms will need bank account details again for gas subsidy
15 per cent of country’s 24 crore customers already receive payment through the NEFT route since they haven’t yet linked their bank accounts with Aadhaar
Aadhaar is essential to receive cooking gas subsidy but linking the unique ID to bank account is not, according to the court judgment.
So a customer wanting to receive subsidy must submit to an oil company her Aadhaar details that would get linked to her consumer ID. At the same time, she has the freedom to get her Aadhaar delinked from her bank account.
If she were to do the latter, she can potentially block the payment route for herself as about three-fourths of all consumers receive their subsidy via the co-called Aadhaar payment bridge.
Under the Aadhaar payment bridge, subsidy directly goes to the Aadhaar linked bank account of a customer with the oil company not necessarily knowing the customer’s bank account details. By delinking Aadhaar from bank account, a customer bars this payment route.
But she can still avail the cooking gas subsidy by providing oil company the details of her bank account in which benefit should go via NEFT, or national electronic fund transfer, an oil company executive said.
About 15 per cent of country’s 24 crore customers already receive payment through the NEFT route since they haven’t yet linked their bank accounts with Aadhaar. They are eligible for subsidy as they have given Aadhaar to oil companies for linking with their respective consumer ID.
Executives said oil companies incur similar transaction fee in both payment routes and can easily shift to NEFT. Customers, however, will have to submit their account details again to companies, they said.
Aadhaar has been central to the government’s direct cash transfer plan for cooking gas and helped identify bona fide consumers and cut out more than one subsidised connections to a consumer. Aadhaar enabled easier and speedier way of verifying consumer data, executives said.
The unique ID database for cooking gas consumers also helped states cut down on subsidised kerosene consumption as they could now easily identify consumers receiving both benefits, executives said.

domain: news


text:
Benelli 302R price has seen an increment when compared with the originally announced launch price last year.
Benelli first introduced the 302R in India last year in July but that was with its erstwhile partner DSK Motowheels. In a latest, the motorcycle has been relaunched in the Indian market, this time in collaboration with their new partner Adishwar Auto Ride India which is a part of the Mahavir Group.
302R is powered by the same 300cc parallel twin liquid cooled DOHC engine of the TNT 300. It produces 38.26 bhp of peak power at 11500 rpm and 26.5 Nm of maximum torque at 10,000 rpm and is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
- 302R comes with dual channel ABS. Back when it was first launched, it was the only motorcycle in the segment with the safety net. However, now both Ninja 300 and R3 get ABS.
- 302R gets dual-disc setup at the front. There are two 260 mm rotors at the front whereas a single 220 mm disc does duty at the rear.
- It gets chunky 41mm upside down forks.
The motorcycle is being offered in three colour options…
- White Rosso
- Silver Verde
- Red Nero
All the three colours are pictured on this page.
Benelli 302R Price
|Rs 3.70 Lakhs
*price ex-showroom in India
Initially introduced at 3.48 Lakhs last year, Benelli has increased Rs 22,000 on the ex-showroom price of the motorcycle and the company says that these are introductory prices for now! This makes it the costliest motorcycle between the trio (302R, Ninja 300 and Yamaha R3).
Fresh bookings of the motorcycle have commenced at all Benelli dealerships in India at a pre-payment of Rs 10,000. Production and dispatch will begin from the first week of December and deliveries will start from the second week of December in a phased manner.
Benelli, with its new partner, has increased the service intervals of its motorcycles to six months. And they have also been caught testing the brilliant TRK 502 in India. You can see its spy pics here.


text:
24th July 2018
Local Vanuatu social enterprise Aelan Chocolate has taken out the top prize in the 2018 Artisan Chocolate Awards.
Judged by a team of acclaimed chefs and experts from national and regional US magazines, newspapers and blogs, it was widely agreed that “all the Aelan Chocolate bars were lovely”.
Established in 2007, Aelan Chocalate has been working with local communities of cocoa growers to rehabilitate plantations and improve fermenting and drying methods. As a social enterprise led by Vanuatu trade organisation ACTIV, all profits are equitably distributed between suppliers.
“It took us some time to reach the quality that is recognised now, and we are very pleased to see those awards which help us to better market our AELAN Chocolate on the niche market of high quality luxury products. Aelan Chocolate Makers is now on the map of the world fine chocolate map!” Aelan Chocolate Founder and Director Sandrine Wallez told the Pacific Periscope.
The sensational results:
Aelan 70% Dark Chocolate | Malekula Origin (Gold for the Best Vegan Chocolate)
Aelan 70% Dark Chocolate | Malo Origin (Gold for the Best Dark Vegan Chocolate, Silver for Best Texture and Top Vegan Chocolate, Bronze for Best Texture)
Aelan 70% Dark Chocolate | Epi Origin (Silver for Best Dark Vegan Chocolate and Silver for Top Vegan Chocolate)
Aelan 70% Dark Chocolate | Chilli Pepper (Silver for Best Spicy Dark Chocolate)
A former volcanologist with a passion for chocolate, Ms Wallez established Aelan with little knowledge of the local industry. Up against a number of naysayers, Ms Wallez was determined to improve conditions for the islands cocoa producers and turn chocolate production into a viable Vanuatu trade.
“We were assisting the cocoa producers in the islands to increase the quality of their cocoa beans with farm management, post-harvest techniques, pruning and grafting trainings with the assistance of scientists from the Australian Centre for the International Agricultural Research,” said Ms Wallez.
“We are really proud of this, especially coming from zero. We started from the bottom for cocoa and for chocolate making, which didn’t exist in Vanuatu before. We are really proud that in less than a decade we’ve reached this high rank level while offering cocoa producers a better market for their beans to improve their livelihood.”
Returning home with two gold medals, five silver medals and a bronze, Ms Wallez has sights set firmly on the international market.
“We are now confident in the high quality of our AELAN Chocolate and we hope to open export market all around the world for high products quality boutiques and provide a better income for the producers we are working with.”


text:
As inflation continues to plague the nation, people are looking for someone or something to blame.
Agustin Forzani is an MA in economics from George Mason University. He has been published in National Review, National Interest, Washington Examiner, Inside Sources, and Discourse Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @agustinforzani.
Instead of protecting consumers, the FDA ended up harming them by creating a national shortage of baby formula.


text:
Higher subscription revenue from virtual kids world Club Penguin and lower marketing costs for Disney Online weren’t enough to offset increased costs and lower revenue at Disney Interactive Studios for Disney’s fiscal year or for the quarter. The underlying reason is fairly simple as outgoing CFO Tom Staggs explained during the company’s earnings call: “We’re making an investment (in self-published video games). We’re currently in a loss situation and would like to see that reverse itself as we build out to scale.” Disney Online with relaunched Disney.com and the multi-player games like Club Penguin is doing better.
But digital isn’t limited to that group at Disney (NYSE: DIS). The company doesn’t break out the digital results in the Media Networks group with ABC and ESPN, for instance, but CEO Bob Iger offered an example during the earnings call — citing ESPN’s “really encouraging growth on the digital front” including ESPN.com, ESPN360 and mobile. The Score Center app has been downloaded four million times; Iger says 2 million are using it regularly, making the ad-supported app into a small but visible revenue stream.
The details: For the year, the Interactive Media Group — which should be a growth engine at some point — lost $295 million on slightly decreased revenue of $712 million. Results were looking up by Q4 but no huge strides. The group lost $114 million — 5 percent better than the same quarter last year but still red ink. Revenues rose 8 percent for the quarter to $157 million.


text:
As e-commerce takes more of Americans' shopping dollars, the opportunity for web-based fraud increases. And as shoppers' comfort with e-commerce grows, risky behavior is increasing.
A state prosecutor's office in Pennsylvania was among hundreds of thousands of victims of a now-shuttered international cybercrime operation, paying nearly $1,400 in a bitcoin ransom.
What steps should you take to keep your business safe from hackers? With new threats emerging and longstanding ones still an issue, it pays to know how to recognize a hacking attempt.
A presidential commission made 16 urgent recommendations to improve the nation's cybersecurity, including creating a nutritional-type label to help consumers shop wisely.
ENTERPRISE SECURITY TODAY
ABOUT OUR NETWORK
TERMS OF SERVICE
SPONSORED CONTENT SERVICES


text:
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration should regulate the amount of salt added to foods to help Americans cut their high sodium intake, which can lead to high blood pressure, kidney failure and strokes, an influential federal panel said on Tuesday.
The Institute of Medicine said this was needed because Americans get most of their salt from processed and restaurant food, and merely telling them to eat less salt has not worked.
Meghan Scott, a spokeswoman for the FDA, which sponsored the IOM report, said the agency has not yet decided whether to regulate salt in U.S. foods. “We are not right now working on regulations,” she said, but the agency is considering the panel’s recommendations.
Scott said the FDA has been meeting with food companies, which have already begun making plans to lower salt content.
Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which the Institute of Medicine in February declared a “neglected disease” that costs the U.S. health system $73 billion a year.
The institute, one of the National Academies of Sciences, advises the U.S. government and policymakers in reports that are considered the definitive word on various medical issues.
“For 40 years we have known about the relationship between sodium and the development of hypertension and other life threatening diseases, but we have had virtually no success in cutting back the salt in our diets,” Jane Henney of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio, who chaired the Institute of Medicine panel, said in a statement.
“The best way to accomplish this is to provide companies the level playing field they need so they are able to work across the board to reduce salt in the food supply.”
Henney said on a conference call that lowering sodium intake could save 100,000 lives a year and billions in healthcare costs.
“There is now overwhelming evidence that we must treat sodium reduction as a critical public health priority,” said Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard School of Public Health and a member of the Institute of Medicine.
The panel said companies should be allowed to reduce sodium on a step-by-step basis so that they do not lose customers due to sudden changes in flavor, the panel of experts said.
Many U.S. food companies have already begun.
PepsiCo Inc. last month said it would cut salt, sugar and saturated fats by 25 percent in some of its top-selling Pepsi, Frito-Lay and Quaker brands by 2015.
Kraft Foods also said last month it plans to cut sodium by an average of 10 percent across its North American portfolio over the next two years.
“Overall, our plans call for the elimination of more than 10 million pounds of salt from some of North America’s most popular foods,” Kraft spokeswoman Susan Davison said by email.
Campbell Soup Co. said in a statement it has been voluntarily reducing sodium in its soups for decades.
General Mills, maker of Cheerios cereal and Progresso soups, last week said it is stepping up its goals to cut sodium by 20 percent across several product categories by 2015.
People only need about 1,500 mg of salt a day to maintain bodily functions, but the average American eats twice that, more than 3,400 milligrams a day, or the equivalent of 1.5 teaspoons of salt.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association said in a statement the food industry supports the overall goal of the IOM report to help consumers reduce their sodium intake.
The American Heart Association hopes it becomes mandatory federal policy, spokeswoman Dr. Alice Lichtenstein said.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Senator Tom Harkin said on a conference call they would pressure the FDA to regulate salt intake in the U.S. food supply.
“My view of self regulation is that it has not worked in the past,” DeLauro said. “We need to move this along.”
Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen, editing by Anthony Boadle
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


text:
Higher wages in Mexico's auto sector are a long way off: ambassador
'For us, it would be unattainable in the short-term, given that we have a different labour base'
Mexico's ambassador to Canada says the drive for higher wages for his country's auto workers in North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations is aimed at an "aspirational" goal — one that won't be met soon.
Dionisio Pérez Jácome made the comments in an interview on CBC News Network's Power & Politics Tuesday.
"As the secretary of the economy has put it recently, increasing wages in Mexico is aspirational," said Pérez Jácome. "For us, it would be unattainable in the short-term, given that we have a different labour base. But we're looking at it with all seriousness."
Many NAFTA critics blame Mexico's low-wage economy for plant closures and job losses in Canada and the United States.
Canadian and U.S. NAFTA negotiators want Mexico to increase that country's wages dramatically to bring them more in line with salaries earned by unionized workers in Canada and the United States.
Wages for Mexican auto sector workers have become a key issue in the NAFTA talks, which Pérez Jácome said could conclude with some sort of agreement as early as next month.
No wage increases, no NAFTA: Dias
But there's still a lot of work to be done, said Jerry Dias, the national president of Unifor, Canada's largest private sector union representing Canadian auto workers.
"The bottom line is, if dramatic wage increases in the (Mexican) auto sector are not a part of the agreement, then there can be no NAFTA," said Dias in an interview with CBC News.
Dias, who has the ear of Canadian and American negotiators, said Canada has an "aggressive" policy when it comes to fighting to increase Mexican auto sector wages and working conditions — factors he and other critics blame for the flight of jobs from Canada to a lower-wage economy he said pays workers between two and four dollars an hour.
Dias said North America has been producing about four million more cars per year since NAFTA came into force on January 1, 1994, and yet Canada has closed four assembly plants and lost more than 50,000 jobs.
"Why would Canada and the U.S. accept major migration of our jobs to Mexico, based on an industrial system of exploitation?"
$15 an hour is 'not on': Herman
Pérez Jácome said that his country is "analyzing a proposal to incentive high wages" and that Mexico is working hard to strengthen compliance with labour standards and pass laws that provide better protection for auto workers.
"What it means is a change in the proposal to try to incentivize production. It doesn't mean to include directly increasing wages."
Labour standards represent one of a number of major issues negotiators are trying to settle, said Lawrence Herman, an international trade lawyer with Herman & Associates and a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
The three countries, he said, could address the issue by agreeing to a phase-in period that would allow Mexican wages to increase gradually over a set period of time.
"There are possible solutions," he said in an interview with CBC News. "When you get down to talking about numbers, you're on a continuum of negotiations. Trying to get the Mexicans to agree to something like $15 bucks an hour is not on."


text:
Cyberweek Mac and iOS app deals: You are Hope, OBD Fusion, Starlight, and more
Welcome to the first of our Cyberweek roundups of the best Mac and iOS app deals. While there are still a nearly countless number of game and app deals still live from Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the prices will start to jump up at any second. And despite the hardware doorbusters (mostly) now being closed, we just saw huge deals on Apple Watch Nike+ editions hit this morning alongside Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio and Apple Pencil 2. As for today’s software highlights, you’ll find notable deals on You are Hope, Starlight – Explore the Stars, Incredibox, OBD Fusion, and more ready and waiting down below.


text:
Valuable birds worth more than £8,000 have been stolen from an aviary in Staffordshire.
Police said the specially bred birds, including a Siberian pied brown finch, were taken from the Belgrave area of Tamworth between 21:30 BST on Sunday and 08:30 on Monday.
Twenty-four birds were stolen, all of them ringed.
Officers said a white bullfinch with pink eyes was thought to be one of only three of its kind in the world.
PC Jamie Sargent, from Staffordshire Police, appealed for anyone with information on the theft to come forward, particularly breeders or pet shops that might have been offered the birds for sale.


text:
Netflix Lost Star Wars 13 Months Ago
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) just can't catch a break. The DVD rental and streaming video giant has endured more setbacks than all of its competitors combined. While Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) brags frequently about the addition of new content for Amazon Prime, Netflix is still reeling from the loss of Liberty Media's (NASDAQ: LMCA) Starz.
Up until 2011, Starz had an unusual partnership with Netflix. Per the terms of their agreement, Netflix was able to stream Starz content (including new films) to its own users. This gave the streaming video site access to content from Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Disney (NYSE: DIS).
When Starz announced that it would not renew its contract with Netflix, the service lost a plethora of big films, including Toy Story 3 and The Social Network.
By the time The Avengers was released and became the biggest film of the year, Starz had already moved on. Netflix attempted to compensate for the loss by signing a multi-year contract with DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA).
Meanwhile, Disney found a new home to stream its prized movies: Amazon Prime. In September, Amazon announced that it had signed a deal with EPIX that will allow it to stream films from Disney, MGM, Lionsgate (NASDAQ: LGF) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures. Thus, if consumers want to stream The Avengers and The Hunger Games, they will have to sign up for Amazon Prime.
If Netflix thought 2012 could not get any worse, then it must not have been prepared for yesterday's announcement. Disney acquired Lucasfilm -- and the entire Star Wars franchise -- from George Lucas for $4 billion. The studio will conclude the first Star Wars saga with three new films, along with new TV shows (including a series on Disney XD), video games and merchandise. Disney has hinted at additional theme park attractions, as well as additional Star Wars films that are separate from the primary saga.
This is potentially huge for Amazon, which may now be able to add the three Star Wars trilogies to its streaming video service.
For Netflix, this news is more depressing than receiving an apple instead of candy on Halloween. While the site could have benefited from the production of new Star Wars films, Netflix no longer has the ability to stream content from Disney.
Follow me @LouisBedigianBZ
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.


text:
Ice-T drives an electric car. He has solar panels on his house. “I’m not a fanatic when it comes to the environment, but I definitely try to do my part,” says the actor and musician.
Now he’s working to help Tide clean up some of TV advertising’s most well-worn elements.
Most ads for laundry detergent and other wash-and-dry accoutrements have relied for decades on the same themes. Someone pours a cup of blue liquid on a stained piece of clothing, and after a simulated wash and rinse, the garment comes out looking spotless and new. But in a new campaign that Tide parent Procter & Gamble hopes will have many cycles, Ice-T and professional wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have something more grandiose to offer.
There’s no chatter in the commercials about “brighter colors” or “whiter whites.” Instead, the two make “cold calls” to celebrities like Vanilla Ice, Mr. T and Annie Murphy, urging them to consider the fact that using Tide and a cold-water wash gets clothes clean, and helps save energy and boost the environment. Those antics may not sound particularly shocking or avant-garde, but the ads – which carry the quick-fire humor viewers might associate more closely with beer commercials – represent a radical step in the business of trying to sell consumer staples like detergent, diapers, or toothpaste.
“Traditional detergent advertising is the kind of stuff people work very hard to avoid these days,” says Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “Nobody wants to see that on TV or before a YouTube video plays. It’s completely predictable and expected.”
Tide has tried to scrub out old laundry ads in the past. A “talking stain” debuted to some fanfare in a commercial in Super Bowl XLII in 2008. In recent years, Procter & Gamble has put Tide at the forefront of some daring media executions in the Big Game. One had Fox Sports broadcaster Terry Bradshaw lead viewers from on-screen analysis to humorous spot. Another spread Tide all over various Super Bowl commercial breaks by running spots that looked like archetypal commercials but were eventually revealed to be ads for Tide.
Super Bowl commercials, however, are expected to break the mold. Commercials in a more general campaign are not.
Procter & Gamble is taking bigger swings to get consumers to pay closer attention. As part of its push to warm people to cold washes, the company has changed the colors of the Tide logo from its usual “Tide Orange” and “Sunrise Yellow” to “Denim Blue” and “Clean White” — a seismic shift for a brand that maintains a connection to millions of households.
“The Tide ‘Bull’s-Eye’ is very special, and it really has not changed much in 75 years,” says Amy Krehbiel, brand vice president for P&G’s North America fabric care operations. Tide has also struck a partnership with Hanes, the large garment manufacturer, which has put the Tide logo on some of its packaging to encourage customers to go cold. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and this may be the first time we’ve ever had another brand on our packaging,” says Jaye Powell, vice president and general manager for Hanes’ male underwear and sock businesses. “That’s a big deal to us.”
Any change in Tide advertising is likely to gain some notice. Procter & Gamble spent $241 million on traditional ads for the detergent in 2020, according to Kantar, a tracker of ad spending. And the product generated around $4.38 billion in sales for the company in the past 12 months, according to data from Nielsen.
Many of the biggest manufacturers of commercials are updating their old models.
General Motors, which runs dozens of ads each year highlighting luxurious auto interiors and vehicles on the open highway, recently tapped celebrities including Will Ferrell, Kenan Thompson, Timothee Chalamet, Winona Ryder and Sofia Vergara to draw potential customers to new electric cars. Verizon has put more emphasis on helping consumers get previously unavailable views of big events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Oscars with its 5G technology.
But getting consumers interested in even the next new thing can be a challenge. “Most people are fairly skeptical of traditional advertising,” notes Andrew McKechnie, senior vice president and chief creative officer at Verizon.
The big companies are spurred on by high levels of new disruption. More viewers who once endured commercial breaks on traditional TV have moved to streaming hubs, which run fewer ads — putting pressure on those commercials that remain to stand out. And the companies themselves have cutting-edge things to pitch, including new technologies and features that play upon emerging interests in global sustainability.
Changing the old approach is risky for these time-honored marketers, suggests Vann Graves, executive director of the Brandcenter, a program for advertising students at Virginia Commonwealth University. “These are things that are safe and sacred. ‘My mom used Tide. My mom used Comet. My mom used Listerine. Don’t mess with what makes me feel safe.’ These connections are sacred at a personal level for a lot of brands,” he says. “You do have to measure if it’s worth taking these risks and if so, how much market share are you really going to get.”
Yet if the stalwarts don’t embrace new consumer habits, upstarts will. A phalanx of digitally savvy new companies has begun to dig into time-honored categories like razor blades and mattresses that have long been the province of big consumer-packaged goods companies like P&G, Unilever, Kimberly-Clark and others. Case in point: Cloud Paper, a startup that makes toilet paper and paper towels from bamboo, says it aims to take “a direct hit at toilet paper industry giants and their use of old-growth forests.” Celebrity backers include Ashton Kutcher and Gwyneth Paltrow.
A product like Tide, says Calkins, might have to wage battle with a new competitor that speaks directly about how its use might help the environment or wellness. “The best thing you can do to stop that from happening is to get ahead of it,” he says.
But P&G executives aren’t just paying lip service to sustainability. The cold-water initiative is something Tide plans to talk about for the next decade, says Krehbiel. And the company did five years of research before unveiling its plan. “We looked end to end at product usage” and determined that 90% of the energy of a single load of laundry comes from heating the water, she says. The new ads were set to come out last year, but when the pandemic hit, Procter & Gamble and Hanes decided to put off the effort’s launch until consumers’ lives moved back to a more normal footing.
And the tone of the ads had to change. “It’s not the newest category out there, so you have to be thinking about what can bring it back to top of mind,” says Paul Bichler, executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi, which works on Tide advertising as part of a suite of agencies.
Agency creatives knew the topic of the environment was serious but realized preachy commercials wouldn’t land with consumers. So they had some of the celebrities give what they felt would be a natural reaction: mild annoyance at getting a pitch, even from Ice-T and Stone Cold. “They react like anyone would: ‘Why are we talking about this?’ We have celebrities in the shoes of the average person,” says Daniel Lobaton, Saatchi’s chief creative officer. “This is a big important brand telling you a big important thing. How do we get you there? Can we acknowledge that and at the same time encourage the change we want?”
Ice-T could be talking about cold water washes and Tide for some time, but he seems ready for it. “When you’re a celebrity and you do a commercial, you are kind of throwing yourself out there,” says the actor, who has done popular ads for Geico and Cascade in the past. “It’s always great when the ad is received well and people like it, but you don’t want to do something when people say, ‘Why the hell did you do that?’”
There’s little harm, he suggests, in talking about trying to make the world a better place.


text:
With the launch dates of the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 now in the distance and the focus now on their upcoming release dates, the next big smartphone launch of the year is likely going to be the new iPhone, presumed to be called either iPhone 5S or iPhone 6. Rumors have suggested a summer launch and now, we have a specific launch date that has emerged in the form of June 20th.
So far, a majority of leaks and speculation have pointed to Apple launching the follow up to the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5S sometime this summer instead of in the fall like the past two launches. Speculation has rested on a release date coming in July with a probable launch coming at WWDC which is typically hosted in June.
Recent rumors have indicated that Apple might be gearing up for a June launch as an allegedly well connected manufacturer is planning for the iPhone 5S arrival in June. Today, that bit has been backed by a specific date from magazine MacFan, courtesy of Macotakara, which claims that Apple may be planning an iPhone 5S launch date of June 20th with a release coming at some point in July. The cheaper iPhone would then hit shelves at some point during the month of August.
This rumor is far more credible than the June 29th date that we heard about as June 29th is a Sunday. June 20th is a Thursday. However, from what we’ve heard about the dates for WWDC, which is rumored for arrival earlier in the month, and given that Apple would likely use the WWDC platform rather than a second event shortly afterwards, this new June 20th date is a little bit fishy.
We should also point out that the magazine, MacFan, which produced the rumor, did so in its 20th anniversary magazine so it may have been trying to make a splash.
All the rumors we have heard about the iPhone 5S launch though have suggested a summer arrival to take on the Galaxy S4, HTC One and more, so it’s also possible that this could pan out. Obviously, we won’t know until Apple sends out invites for an event.
The iPhone 5S is expected to be the company’s follow-up to the iPhone 5. Rumors suggest that it will be keeping the same design as the iPhone 5 but also attaching several upgraded features including a new processor, camera, iOS 7 and at least one killer feature that Apple hopes will help it battle the opposition.
Rumors have also suggested it could have NFC or a fingerprint reader, or both on board when it arrives.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


text:
According to Global Animal, shopping center developer Macerich is banning sales of live animals in more than 70 shopping malls across the United States. Macerich confrmed to Global Animal that they will not renew the leases of existing pet stores that sell animals and in their place, are opening humane stores offering adoptions of rescued pets.
Some of the high profile shopping malls include Los Angeles' Westside Pavilion, which is opening a rescue store this month in association with the nonprofit Friends of LA shelters, Scottsdale's Fashion Square, Chesterfield Towne Center in Richmond, Virginia.
This new humane policy designed to break the puppy mill business chain is taking effect nationwide within 30 days. Read more about it at Global Animal and see the 70+ shopping malls nationwide that will be part of the pet sale ban.


text:
Kimberley Process Chairman, Karel Kovanda of the European Commission, who took over as KP chairman at the beginning of the year, announced today the publication of Kimberley participants’ figures on rough diamond production and trade data, to all interested parties.
“We are proud of what the Kimberley Process has achieved, bringing together governments, industry and civil society in a partnership which has ensured that the vast majority of diamond production is now conflict-free, and are committed to delivering further improvements in the areas identified by members last year,” Kovanda said. “This is a welcome advance in the KP, demonstrating participant countries’ willingness to open up statistics for scrutiny and analysis, helping to ensure that there is no room for any conflict diamonds in the legitimate KP certified diamond trade.”
Statistical data of trade and production, by value and volume, and Kimberley certificate counts for 2004 and 2005 are now available at the Kimberley Process website. 2006 data will be made available later in 2007.


text:
Tether Launch New Stablecoin – MXNT. How Will This Strike Into Latin America? – Coinpedia – Fintech & Cryptocurreny News Media
Tether has announced the creation of a new Mexican peso-pegged stablecoin, marking the company’s first strike into Latin America.
Tether said today that the stablecoin, dubbed MXNT, will initially be available on the Ethereum, Tron, and Polygon blockchains.
This is Tether’s fourth fiat-pegged stablecoin, following the US dollar-pegged USDT, the Euro-pegged EURT, and the offshore Chinese Yuan-pegged CNHT.
Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, stated in a statement that “we have observed a spike in bitcoin usage in Latin America over the previous year that has made it clear that we need to extend our products.”
“Introducing a stablecoin tied to the Mexican peso will provide a store of wealth for individuals in emerging economies, especially in Mexico.”
According to statistics from crypto payments startup TripleA, 40% of Mexican businesses are interested in using blockchain technology in some form, and over 3.1 million Mexicans possess cryptocurrencies.
MXNT To Pave Way For Future Fiat-Pegged Stablecoins
According to Tether, MXNT will serve as a testing ground for onboarding new users in Latin America and will pave the way for future fiat-pegged stablecoins in the region..
Tether’s Euro and Yuan-pegged stablecoins are more popular, however its USD-pegged stablecoin USDT has lately witnessed huge redemptions due to the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD (UST) earlier this month.
According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, USDT is still the world’s largest stablecoin, with a total supply of over 77 billion coins.
Tether’s supply, on the other hand, has dropped by more than 15 billion in the last month.
Tether, on the other hand, is upbeat. “We should stress the fact that Tether did not lose its peg and the simplicity with which Tether allows traders to make redemptions,” Ardoino recently told The Block.


text:
On August 1st, India’s Evo Foods opened preorders in Mumbai for its new plant-based egg products — protein patties and cubes in Original and Peri Peri flavours.
Just 24 hours later, sales had reached over a thousand units, despite the fact that preorders were only available to newsletter subscribers and the brand had not paid for any advertisements. This success is a testament to the growing demand for plant-based products in India.
In March, Evo unveiled what it claimed was the world’s first heat-stable plant-based boiled egg. The following month, the brand showcased the product in the US for the first time, alongside its existing liquid eggs.
Read more HERE


text:
Katharine Kelly reports that Tulsans put a great deal of trust in the restaurants, fast food emporia, and assorted eating establishments they frequent. And that’s all well a good, for the most part. But unless you would just rather not think about what it is that you are being served on that hot, steaming plate of organic matter that the waitress just served, read no further.
If you are just a bit curious, however, about what precautions are being taken by your local food service establishments and the state health department you might g-e this piece a reading.
How safe is the food you eat-at home or in a restaurant? The General Accounting Office in a May 1996 report stated that there are between 6.5 million and 81 million cases of foodborne illness a year. The wide range of cases is because of the uncertainty about the number that go unreported. One in every four Americans will get a foodborne illness each year, one in 1,000 Americans will be hospitalized each year. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates the number of deaths per year from foodborne illness to be 9,100.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that consumers spend 43 cents of every food dollar eating out. Also, an increasing amount of food prepared away from the home is then taken home for consumption, thus creating new challenges for mishandling and food contamination.
Adding to this challenge is that fact that microorganisms continue to adapt and mutate, often increasing their degree of virulence. For example, in 1990, the U.S. Public Health Service identified E. Coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni as the four most serious foodborne pathogens in the U.S. because of the severity and estimated number of illnesses they cause. Of these, Campylobacter, Listeria and E. coli were unrecognized as sources of food poisoning 20 years ago.
Bacteria is a fact of life. It is all around us. It occurs naturally in many of the foods we eat each day. These contaminants can be of microbiological origin, such as toxins produced by bacteria or they can be part of the food’s normal growth process.
Prevention depends on efforts from farm to table to reduce food contamination. Tulsa is not immune to bacteria outbreaks, and in part because of the check system of the Health Department, the chances for foodborne illnesses to happen are reduced.


text:
News and More: The Canby High School band is set to be featured on the new TBS show Chad. More severe Covid-19 restrictions are returning to Clackamas County bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses. Boss Exteriors raises the roof.
Canby Conversation: Canby entrepreneur Tate "Mr. Cheese" Koenig tells us about his revolutionary invention The Cheese Chopper, which will be featured on Shark Tank Friday, April 9. It's the best thing since sliced bread: sliced cheese!
After the Break: The Canby Farmers Market returns this month after a banner 2020. Organizer Alexis Purcell gives us a sneak peek.
Please support our show! To listen without ads, and ensure we can continue to bring you important news and amazing stories you can't get anywhere else, join Canby Now Plus today! For details, visit patreon.com/canbynowpod.


text:
Propelled by strong growth in its superstores and international operations, Wal-Mart Stores reported another year of record sales and profits yesterday. So, naturally, its stock declined.
The retailer, the largest in the world, said that its revenue for the year ended Jan. 31 was a whopping $165 billion, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.
The increase was all the more impressive because it came after a 17 percent revenue expansion last year and a 12 percent increase the year before, proving that the juggernaut is only gaining speed.
To put those sales in perspective, total retail spending in the United States was $3 trillion in 1999, according to the National Bureau on Income Statistics. So, stripping out income from international stores, which was some $22 billion, Wal-Mart accounts for nearly 5 percent of the entire American pie.
Not only was sales growth big at Wal-Mart, it was broad. All major divisions, from the Sam's Warehouse clubs to the discount stores, reported gains in sales and profits (the international division actually had an 85 percent expansion in revenue).Continue reading the main story
The retailer's profits rose 26 percent, or $1.25 a diluted share, for the full year. For the fourth quarter, the company earned 43 cents a share, ahead of the 42 cent estimate of Wall Street analysts, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.
Investors responded to the good-news fest by unloading stock. Wal-Mart's shares fell 87.5 cents, to $58, largely on concerns that the retailer would be hard pressed to exceed this year's blistering growth.
In a conference call with stock analysts, H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive, added to the worries by warning that the company would have to contend with higher oil prices and higher labor costs. Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., has about a million Americans working for it, making it the largest employer in the nation.
Wal-Mart is also experiencing a cyclical problem. Retail stocks have been depressed by investors' concern that continuing increases in interest rates by policy makers at the Federal Reserve will dampen consumer demand in the coming year.
''The stock's softness is more a reflection of institutional investors' concerns about how a Fed hike will affect consumer spending,'' said Jeff Feiner, a retail analyst with Lehman Brothers. ''But the underlying fundamentals of the business will continue to be strong.''
But Wal-Mart, which tends to err on the side of caution when predicting future growth, is positioned for another banner year.
For starters, it is still expanding its Supercenters. Supercenters are outsized stores that combine discount store merchandise with grocercies and a pharmacy, and they have been a particularly profitable form of retailing. Wal-Mart built 157 of these monsters last year and predicted an equally aggressive expansion this year.
More important, Wal-Mart could actually benefit from higher interest rates. Who better to benefit from consumers' watching the bottom line than a chain famous for its low prices? Gucci and Tiffany's might become jittery when the Fed raises rates, but Wal-Mart is full of consumer necessities.
Moreover, while rising wages and fuel prices are tough on businesses, Wal-Mart is better prepared than its competition is. ''Wal-Mart can spread out fuel and labor costs over a dense volume of merchandise because they are more efficient,'' said Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Reach Marketing, a marketing consulting firm in Westport, Conn. ''It could be a critical competitive advantage.''
The company, meanwhile, declined to confirm or deny a report yesterday in the retail industry trade paper, Women's Wear Daily, that it was set to buy Fruit of the Loom, the apparel manufacturer that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December. Wal-Mart has had great success reviving apparel makers, including Faded Glory and Catalina, and turning them into profitable house brands.Continue reading the main story


text:
Short-haul holiday firm On The Beach floats on the London stock market with a £240m listing
Short-haul holiday firm On the Beach has floated on the London stock market.
The £240million listing will generate a £83.8million windfall for existing shareholders including British buy-out firm Inflexion, which bought a 70 per cent stake in the business for £73million in 2013.
The big winners from the listing at 184p per share will also include On the Beach's founder Simon Cooper.
Short-haul holiday firm On the Beach has floated on the London stock market and will generate a £83.8million windfall for existing shareholders
The holiday company, based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, will receive only £6.4million from the float – with 62.6 per cent of the business sold to outside investors.
Cooper embarked on a career in the travel industry while still at university, setting up a ski company called On the Piste, which catered for students on a budget.
He started On the Beach in 2004. It now has a 17 per cent share of the online short-haul holiday market and competes against big firms such as Tui and Thomas Cook by selling holidays to destinations including Greece, Turkey and the Algarve.
The company is chaired by former Odeon Cinemas boss Richard Segal.
It generated earnings of £13.4million last year from 325,867 bookings.
Most watched Money videos
- Jaguar Land Rover opens UK's biggest state-of-the-art design centre
- Mazda's CX-30 family SUV scores incredibly high crash test rating
- Guy Martin sets new speed world record for a tractor at 135mph
- Scottish Mortgage: Why we hold Amazon, Tesla and Ferrari
- Michael Schumacher's son drives Dad's title-winning Ferrari F1 car
- Land Rover reveals the Defender is being used in next Bond film
- Bristol Mayor explains the 'logic' of a proposed diesel car ban
- What does Britain's General Election mean for investors?
- Are beaten up UK bank shares an opportunity to profit?
- How to invest in the new era of falling interest rates
- Couple reveal top three tips for buying a renovation property
- The all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E ad starring Idris Elba


text:
LATEST LAND ROVER NEWS
(HUNAN PROVINCE, CHINA) – February 12, 2018 – A dizzying 99 turns and 999 daunting steps didn’t stop the new Range Rover Sport from completing a world-first at one of China’s most famous landmarks. The performance SUV has become the first vehicle to climb the stairs to the natural rock arch of Heaven’s Gate.READ FULL ARTICLE
Welcome to rarity. Welcome to the Range Rover SV Coupe.READ FULL ARTICLE
(MAHWAH, N.J.) – January 23, 2018 – Today, Land Rover announces the introduction of an all-new full-size luxury SUV coupe. The Range Rover SV Coupe will be a dramatic and desirable addition to the Range Rover model portfolio featuring a seductive body design and a supremely refined interior.READ FULL ARTICLE
(RYTON-ON-DUNSMORE, UK) – January 17, 2018 – Land Rover today announces a limited-edition high-performance version of the iconic Defender, with up to 150 V8-powered examples re-engineered to celebrate the Land Rover marque’s 70th anniversary in 2018.READ FULL ARTICLE
LAND ROVER SPECIAL VEHICLE OPERATIONS OFFERS FIRST-CLASS PASSENGER COMFORT IN THE RANGE ROVER SVAUTOBIOGRAPHY
(LOS ANGELES) – November 28, 2017 – Land Rover has introduced a new benchmark in the luxury SUV segment with the launch of the 2018 Range Rover SVAutobiography.READ FULL ARTICLE
(LOS ANGELES) – November 16, 2017 – Partnering with Smorgasburg for the launch of their Holiday Market, Land Rover will make its Smorgasburg LA debut with a bespoke Land Rover Discovery, created for chef and TV personality Jamie Oliver. Jamie Oliver’s Land Rover Discovery adds to the incredible list of food market vendors and will feature a holiday-take on the Banh Mi sandwich. The ultimate chef’s kitchen on four wheels comes with a host of cooking features including a slow-cooker, barbecue and olive oil dispenser.READ FULL ARTICLE
(MAWAH, N.J.) – November 14, 2017 – Following key product introductions for both brands over the past few weeks, Jaguar Land Rover announced today it will show its largest ever range of vehicles at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, held December 1-10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.READ FULL ARTICLE
(MAHWAH, N.J.) – November 9, 2017 – Following its introduction earlier this year as a 2017 model, the fifth generation Land Rover Discovery has witnessed strong sales in North America. Now entering its second year of production, Land Rover continues its momentum with the introduction of new technology features, enhancements to its suite of driver assistance systems, expanded powertrain availability and new design options for the 2018 Land Rover Discovery.
2018 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT AND RANGE ROVER EVOQUE GET PERFORMANCE BUMP WITH LATEST INGENIUM ENGINE TECHNOLOGY
(MAHWAH, N.J.) – October 25, 2017 – Land Rover has announced two new Ingenium gasoline engines and a range of enhancements for its Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque compact SUVs in 2018, boosting the appeal of two of the brand’s best-selling vehicles.
(MAHWAH, NJ) – October 4, 2017 – Chef and TV personality Jamie Oliver and Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) have created the ultimate kitchen on four wheels highlighting the versatility of the Land Rover Discovery. Jamie’s bespoke family SUV comes with a host of cooking features including a slow-cooker, barbecue, ice cream maker, olive oil dispenser and will even churn butter as you drive.
(MAHWAH, NJ) – October 12, 2017 – Equestrian Events, Inc. (EEI), producer of the iconic Kentucky Three-Day Event, and the United States Equestrian Federation (US Equestrian) join with Land Rover North America to announce that Land Rover is assuming title sponsorship of the Kentucky Three-Day Event, signing a four-year agreement. Taking place at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, April 26-29, 2018, the event will be rebranded as the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event. Land Rover has also announced its continued support of US Equestrian, extending its deal with the federation through 2020.
NEW RANGE ROVER TO FEATURE SIGNIFICANT CABIN, TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN UPDATES IN 2018MY, FOLLOWED BY A PLUG-IN HYBRID MODEL JOINING THE LINEUP IN 2019MY
(MAHWAH, N.J.) – October 10, 2017 – More than ever, Range Rover represents the pinnacle of luxury travel, making every journey a treasured experience whether driving or being driven.


text:
UW Design Gallery opens virtual space
“Design 2012: First Annual Student Virtual Exhibition” will be shown from 1-1:30 p.m. Friday, May 4, before “Escape,” the Textile and Apparel Student Association runway fashion show, and again at 8 p.m. after the show, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Union South, Varsity Hall, 1308 W. Dayton St.
The exhibit will continue online at http://www.designgallery.wisc.edu.
Design Studies Department’s annual juried exhibition has been a department tradition since 1992. Throughout this academic year, students in textile, apparel and interior design studio classes reserve their best projects for this exhibition which typically includes a broad range of work from weaving samples, garments, color studies, sculpture and architectural models to computer-aided-design images and digital projections.
“We have been hoping to create an online version for several years now, and this year we finally make that a reality,” says professor Mark Nelson, faculty director, Center for Integrative Design. “In the future, we hope to have both a physical gallery show and a virtual show. This is a great opportunity for the UW Design students attending Fashion Institute of Technology in New York or on other off-campus sites to submit their work.”
This year’s jurors are Mary D’Alton and Eric Ferguson, a stylist/photographer team.
D’Alton’s background is in clothing design while Ferguson specializes in photographing products, art and design. Together, they own and operate the White School Studio and the table top and fine wine store Convivio in Spring Green, Wis.
Also serving as a juror is Ashley Phelps Wagner who has 11 years of interior design experience in hospitality, educational, corporate/commercial and healthcare markets. She is a National Council for Interior Design Qualification certificate holder and a Wisconsin registered interior designer. Wagner has served on the board of directors for the International Interior Design Association Wisconsin chapter for four years and currently serves as IIDA Wisconsin Chapter VP of communications.
Award winners on view include Xiaotong Zhao, Kung-Wei Chen, Olivia Zabel, Kaley Sundby, Ericka Napp, Ali Tackett, Kurt Schmidt and Jenny Moehring.
The Design Gallery holds exhibitions that relate to the processes and results of design. Exhibition programming supports the Textile and Apparel Design program and Interior Design program of the Department of Design Studies at UW’s School of Human Ecology. A new Design Gallery in the newly constructed Nancy Nicholas Hall will open in September. During construction, the gallery has used area venues to continue its mission.


text:
The future is here: Jetpack demonstrates technology at its best
It’s 2017, a time in which older movies predicted flying cars, jetpacks and time machines.
When living in a specific time period, the expectation for years down the road is that technology will have advanced so far that everyone’s daily lives are completely different.
Based off of a demonstration done by JetPack Aviation, it looks like the future may be here.
According to their website, the JetPack has been over 25 years in the making. The jet turbine powered backpack is “small enough to fit into the trunk of a car” and can go over 100 miles per an hour with a 10-minute endurance period.
Although it isn’t available for purchase yet, JetPack Aviation is hopeful its items can be available to “enthusiasts” one day.


text:
Samsung Readies 20MP Camera With Optical Image Stabilization For Galaxy S6
As it relates to the article, camera modules will play a role in boosting Samsung's Opto and Mechatronics Solutions (OMS) division, which performed poorly last year due to the lower operating ratio of camera modules. Pretty ho-hum stuff, except the report notes that the proportion of high value added products like the 20MP sensor with optical image stabilization will lead to sales growth and profitability this quarter.
Image Source: Flickr (Kārlis Dambrāns)
Here's the other piece of relevant information -- the report also says that the Galaxy S6 will release "2-3 weeks earlier than originally planned." So to summarize, Samsung's SEM sector is working on a more profitable 20MP camera that's expected to boost the company's Q1 performance, and the Galaxy S6 is releasing weeks ahead of schedule.
Put the two together and it seems logical to assume that the Galaxy S6 will sport a 20MP camera, representing an upgrade over the 16MP camera found on the Galaxy S5. It would also appear that the Galaxy S6 will launch in early March -- likely at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
In related news, it's rumored that LG will also use a 20MP shooter in its forthcoming G4 handset; though it was recently reported that LG won't be unveiling the device at MWC as it wants to "spend more time perfecting the new phone."


text:
As if the tie-in between the 2014 Dodge Durango and fictional anchorman Ron Burgundy wasn't already odd enough, Dodge has come up with an equally bizarre contest to give away one of its SUVs. The "Hands on Ron Burgundy" contest kicks off tomorrow, and whoever can touch Ron the longest will drive off in a new 2014 Durango.
Dodge has released several more of its Anchorman 2-themed commercials, starring Will Ferrell as inept newsreader Ron Burgundy. The four spots, one of which is a sequel to a previous commercial, follow roughly the same pattern as previous ads, with Ferrell's Burgundy misu
The guy who once made the Dodge Stratus a punchline of sorts is now a spokesman for the 2014 Dodge Durango, and the move appears to be paying off handsomely for Dodge. Will Ferrell, acting as 1970s-era TV news personality Ron Burgundy, has teamed up with the automaker for co-branded advertisements between the refreshed 2014 Durango and Ferre


text:
4 January 2005 – Las Vegas (NV): The Consumer Electronics Show is to take place this week in Las Vegas, and is expected the biggest ever – covering the equivalent of three football fields.
The trade show, which will run from 6 – 9 January, is famed for its big announcements. Last year’s show saw HP reveal its deal with Apple to sell HP iPods.
As well as tech giants such as Microsoft, Dell, Canon and Kodak, this year’s exhibitor list features a number of OP-specific manufacturers, including Avery Dennison, Fellowes, HP and Targus.
Exhibitor Brother has already announced the launch of its new personal laser printer range, featuring the HL-2040 and the HL-2070N, which are said to have faster print speeds than their predecessors, as well as a space-saving design that is 40% smaller.


text:
Enter a search term such as “mobile analytics” or browse our content using the filters above.
That’s not only a poor Scrabble score but we also couldn’t find any results matching
Check your spelling or try broadening your search.
Sorry about this, there is a problem with our search at the moment.
Please try again later.
Companies have been warned to show they are working towards complying with the EU cookie directive before it is fully implemented next year.
Speaking at digital privacy firm Evidon’s conference this week, David Evans of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), said, “Companies need to start showing they are moving in the right direction as the directive has been around since May. As a regulator, we can point to lots of people doing different things, but do something is the message.”
The directive, which came into effect on 26 May 2011, giving companies one year to comply, requires businesses to get informed consent from their website users before storing or using any cookies or similar technologies.
This event was well timed to be about half way between when the directive came into play and when it will be enforced. In this time, there has been a lot of confusion, particularly around the definitions in the policy. These are still being interpreted at a local level, so the advice to show you are making some effort is spot on.
The best starting point is to audit your cookies and find out what you are dealing with, before then understanding the level of consent appropriate for what you require.
However, how to acheive consent remains a contentious issue.
Philip Milton, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s lead policy advisor for eprivacy and internet policy, said there is no silver bullet. “There is no one way to get consent,” he said. “It should be a package of compliance, a larger ecology of solutions.”
Companies are advised by the ICO to first work out exactly what cookies are being used on their websites, assess how intrusive they are and then develop a solution that fully informs consumers of what is happening, but without bombarding them with unnecessary technical detail at every stage.
Colin O’Malley, Evidon’s CSO, agreed that an ecology of solutions is needed to comply with the directive.
“It can be very challenging for companies,” he said. “Many say ‘I can’t be compliant until other units within the business are first’, but in the interim companies should make sure they have robust notices and choices, and clear communication devices that ensure they are going above and beyond in telling consumers.”
According to Rob Reid, senior policy advisor at Which?, while 75% of consumers are aware of cookies, only 50% actually have a good understanding of what they are, so more education is needed.
Reid said that there is a real need for consumers to better understand how cookies are being used, because 38% said it made them feel uncomfortable and almost half see it as an invasion of their privacy.
It was suggested that if consumers are given more information and increased control, their level of comfort will increase.
Nick Stringer, the Internet Advertising Bureau’s director of regulatory affairs, said, “Transparency is the key first step. It’s important to let people decide and let them make choices. Not everyone is going to want to know, but let’s give them the option.”


text:
At the beginning of June, we were finally able to confirm the arrival of HarmonyOS 2.0, thanks to the presentation event organized by Huawei. In it, the Asian manufacturer showed a complete list with more than 100 devices that will have this next update. Something that attracted a lot of attention, since even the oldest terminals may have the new operating system of the Chinese brand.
However, the date that they had scheduled for the launch of this update to some of the models of their brand could have changed. And not exactly for the worse, since it is expected to arrive even earlier than they had proposed.
The Huawei P30, one of the chosen
The latest information that has been released reveals that Huawei’s P30 series they would become one of the smartphones chosen to receive this operating system ahead of time. Although it is true that, in China, they had opened a registration to be able to get the beta. Now, it would reach the general public.
Everything has been thanks to a publication on the Weibo portal. In this, it has been detailed that the Asian manufacturer will make the new version of its system available a quarter earlier than it was scheduled. Although, as we mentioned, it will not reach all your mobile devices. For now, the chosen models are those that make up Huawei’s P30 series, as well as the Honor 30 and V30 series.
Therefore, it is expected that this public beta of HarmonyOS 2.0 next July. In addition, since this publication they have been able to affirm that the company’s R&D team is constantly working in order to guarantee that this update reaches the rest of the users as soon as possible. Instead of having to wait until the end of the year, as they had advertised from the brand itself.
In addition, it should be remembered that this new HarmonyOS will offer Huawei mobile users a faster and more efficient operating system. Likewise, they will notice a higher speed of use in their terminals and a greater autonomy than using EMUI.
However, it must be borne in mind that nothing has been officially confirmed yet, so we will have to wait a little longer to be able to confirm it one hundred percent. In addition, it is speculated that these changes will be announced shortly, so much attention will have to be paid to the movements of the Asian manufacturer.


text:
Boulder County’s distilled spirits are standing tall in some of the best competitions in the world. Case in point: earlier this spring Spirit Hound, the nearly decade old distillery, in Lyons took home Whisky of the World for its single-malt whisky at this year’s London Spirits Competition. It scored 96 points and earned best in show for the competition which is known for highlighting the best spirits worldwide. It was the only US-based whisky to win gold.
We talked to Co-founder and Head Distiller Craig Englehorn and Spirit Hound’s new Chief Executive Officer Brad Stevenson, who was the former COO of Founders Brewing. Englehorn shared about the night he learned they won the award.
“I was up in my office and my events coordinator was with me. I got a congratulations email from a UK magazine. I turned to her and asked if we got notified that we won whisky of the year. She said she didn’t think so. We started doing internet searches and I saw an article headline that said ‘US Wins Big in London spirits competition.’ Turns out, the competition announcement went into spam and we didn’t see it right away.”
There’s been a lot of activity at the brewery since that fortuitous notification. Stevenson said they’re now getting visits from people who had often driven the distinctive brown sign that marks Spirit Hound’s entrance on Ute Hwy/Hwy 36 just before Lyons’ downtown. More liquor stores and distributors are calling.
Overall, the distillery said the award drove 125% sales growth. Even before the win, the Spirit Hound team was looking at expansions and are even planning to add on to the building and expand. Now there’s even more exciting growth.
When we stopped by the distillery, the prize winner was out of stock, but we had a close version of the award winner. “All of our malt whisky is made from the same recipe and are aged single barrel,” said Stevenson, “Very similar profiles.”
When we sampled the single malt and noted some peat profile, smoothness and some oak. We also tried it in a Robert Burns cocktail with Spirit Hound vermouth, a cherry infusion, cacao bitters, walnut extract and orange peel. We recommend both.
Avery Brewing Reunion Collab at Call to Arms
“I began to work at Avery in 2011. It was an amazing experience,” Bell said. “We brewed in the Avery alley and the best thing about that location is the people. My former boss there is now our production manager. We talked about what it would be like to get everyone together. Things went from there.”
Bell estimated that there may be as many as a half dozen breweries that have been founded by Avery alumni. In addition to Call to Arms, participating breweries for the collaboration included current Avery Brewing staff, Denver Beer Co, Ska Brewing, The Rayback, Rocky Mountain Barrel Co., Harmonic Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Stonecloud Brewing, and Station 26 Brewing.
“This was a great opportunity for all of us to get back together, make beer together, reminisce about making beer in several storage units in the Alley, which is what we did. We even had people flying in from both coasts, California and Vermont. Adam [Avery] was able to make it. It was amazing.”
The group brewed a 6.3%, fruit-forward, tart, tropical IPA. It was made with citra, waimea, galaxy, cashmere, and riwaka hops. The beer is currently available in 16 oz cans and in draft at breweries. Craft beer fans can view a video of the day at: https://f.io/pf1bIOGX


text:
Livista’s new lithium chemical plant, which is forecast to start output in 2026, is expected to initially produce 40,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium products, or 30,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide and 10,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) annually.
This is enough to supply the battery needs of around 850,000 electric vehicles (EV), with the potential to double production capacity to meet growing EV demand and requirements for high-grade, locally refined lithium chemicals, according to Livista.
The company said the recycled feedstock will be key to reducing the plant’s environmental impact while ramping up Europe’s energy independence and security. Many automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are focusing on securing recycled content material with a lower carbon footprint in a bid to meet net-zero emissions targets.
Black mass – the powdery residue made of lithium, nickel, cobalt and other raw materials that forms when lithium-ion batteries are dismantled and shredded – can be recovered and reused. Fastmarkets recently launched weekly payable indicators for black mass in South Korea.
In addition, the Livista refinery will accept spodumene, crude lithium carbonate and lithium sulphate, direct from mines.
Engineering and technology firm Technip Energies has been selected to deliver the front-end engineering and design (FEED) as well as the detailed feasibility study for the refinery, including early works for an expansion to double its capacity. Technip will also perform a pre-FEED for a second plant, based on the design of the first plant in a move to boost efficiencies and lower overall costs, Livista added.
“This collaboration will set the path towards filling a critical gap in the European EV and lithium-Ion battery supply chain, as nearly all lithium is currently refined in Asia,” Jean-Marc Ichbia, chief operating officer of Livista, said.
He added: “The capacity of our plants to accept recycled battery materials will make us a key part of the circular economy and will support our customers in sourcing lithium directly in Europe. Livista will also support the EU with its EV growth objectives, and sourcing of local materials, alongside moving towards energy independence.”
The development of Livista’s lithium chemicals refinery in Europe comes with the region’s move to comply with the requirements of the Critical Raw Material Act, which mandates that all batteries produced in Europe contain a minimum percentage of lithium battery grade product produced locally by 2030.
Outside of Asia, the choke point in the battery supply chain is at the mid-tier processing level. Although more processing supply is planned and mining companies have moved further down the supply chain, the midstream value chain that converts raw materials into lithium chemicals still remains under significant pressure.
According to Livista, Europe’s demand for lithium chemicals is expected to reach 400,000 tonnes per year by 2030.


text:
A pair of critical vulnerabilities in Sun Microsystems's Java technology for mobile devices could be used by hackers to surreptitiously make calls, record conversations and access information on Nokia Series 40 cell phones, a Polish researcher said M...
Some Australian iPhone users who have installed the latest iPhone OS update have reported difficulties re-connecting to their mobile providers.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has given MobileMe to the executive who heads iTunes, part of a shake-up over the sync service's public problems since its launch last month, according to a memo sent to company employees earlier this week.
Linux has the potential to power the bulk of mobile Internet devices, some analysts say.
Gartner is projecting 11 per cent growth in global sales of cell phones and related devices in 2008, citing healthy sales in the first half of the year.
Apple has issued a point release upgrade for its iPhone and iPhone 3G products to version 2.0.1 of the firmware, weighing in at a hefty 249MB.
After three weeks of testing and reviewing Apple's new iPhone 2.0 firmware and an iPhone 3G for use in large businesses, analyst firm Gartner said the device can be supported by IT shops -- but only for a narrow set of uses such as voice, e-mail, Web...
Virgin Mobile has become the fourth telco to officially sell the iPhone 3G in Australia.
Microsoft failed to meet its Windows Mobile sales target for its fiscal year 2008, the company said on Thursday.
Three today announced new mobile plans designed to draw customers away from competing iPhone 3G carriers.
LG Electronics plans to start adding Dolby Mobile to high-end phones later this year, it said Wednesday.
Mobile computing has become a dominant focus in the open source arena, a theme on prominent display at a major open source technology convention last week.
Research In Motion is hoping to further its advance in the consumer handset market with the launch of its BlackBerry Bold 3G smartphone
Mobile phones have always been about helping you keep in touch. Now they're helping you stay healthy.
Mobile executives at a Silicon Valley roundtable discussion threw down the gauntlet to Symbian, Android and other software platforms to match the impact of the iPhone.
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Sony Xperia Z5 Premium review: Is the world ready for a 4K phone?
- 2 D-Link Taipan AC3200 Ultra tri-band modem-router review
- 3 BlackBerry Priv review: When old habits die hard
- 4 Dell XPS 13 (2016) review: Making the very best Ultrabook
- 5 Microsoft Surface Book review: The verdict on Microsoft's first notebook
Join the PC World newsletter!
Best Deals on PC World
Latest News Articles
- Telstra restores mobile network after mass outage
- Optus moves into wearables space with Cash by Optus
- BlackBerry’s PRIV hits Australian shores
- Apple might show off iPhone 5se and iPad Air 3 at March 15 event
- 34 per cent of global online transactions made mobile: Adyen
GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
- FTDigital Marketing Specialist | Media BuyerNSW
- CCHelpdesk SupportNSW
- CCInfrastructure ConsultantNSW
- CCSenior Product Specialist - Cisco CPENSW
- FTWintel EngineerNSW
- CCSAP Business Intelligence SpecialistQLD
- FTFraud AnalystVIC
- CCRisk AnalystVIC
- CCFront End Developer - MelbourneVIC
- CCAutomation QAVIC
- CCOracle Business Analyst / TrainerSA
- FTVB6 DeveloperNSW
- CCTibco DeveloperNSW
- FTSenior Mobile Developer - IOSNSW
- CCEnterprise Architect - Network & InfrastructureNSW
- CCSenior Project Manager - ComplianceVIC
- CCBusiness AnalystACT
- CCData AnalystNSW
- CCContract Analyst Programmer (JAVA/Oracle/UNIX) 160203/AP/381Asia
- FTSenior Portfolio Manager - IT ProjectsNSW
- CCSharepoint AdministratorVIC
- CCOracle Project OfficerSA
- CCSenior Business Analyst, Enterprise Software SolutionNSW
- FTIT Technical LeadVIC
- CCSenior Business Analyst - Life InsuranceVIC


text:
"As the solid momentum at Black Diamond continues, we have promoted from within and hired exceptional talent for newly created positions that bolster our operational platform and augment our new apparel team," said Peter Metcalf, President and CEO of Black Diamond.
Mark Ritchie has been promoted to Black Diamond's newly created position of Chief Operating Officer. Ritchie joins CEO Peter Metcalf and CFO Robert Peay as one of three senior executive officers of the Company. For nearly 20 years, Ritchie has thoughtfully led the formidable global operational platform that supports the complex, yet highly efficient, modern businesses of Black Diamond Equipment, Gregory Mountain Products and now POC.
Additionally, Black Diamond promoted Zach Posner to Vice President of Information Technology. In less than two years, Posner has transformed Black Diamond's IT functions to better serve the global organization.
Wim de Jager has been promoted to Managing Director of Black Diamond Equipment Asia. Formerly Director of Operations at Black Diamond Equipment Asia, de Jager will now lead all manufacturing and distribution activities at Black Diamond's subsidiary in Zhuhai, China. Other promotions include: Lauri Hawkins, Director of Sourcing Development for Apparel; Doug Heinrich, Director of Line Planning; and Kasey Jarvis, Director of Design.
Black Diamond also welcomes new hires Laura Deuser, Joe Moak and Sven Mostoegl to several newly created positions. Deuser joins the apparel team as an Apparel Textile Engineer, formerly serving as a Research Assistant in the Center for Research on Textile Protection and Comfort.
Moak joins Black Diamond as Design Engineer and brings over a decade of experience in his field. Most recently, Moak worked at Apple, where he led the product design group and was instrumental in bringing the Mac Mini to production.
Lastly, Mostoegl joins Black Diamond Europe as the Apparel Product Manager. Mostoegl's recent experience includes working as a Product Category Manager for The North Face. In that role, he worked alongside their global team in Europe, the Middle East and Asia on a wide array of special projects including product creation and merchandising.
Metcalf concluded: "With this strong class of new positions, promotions and hires, we continue to evolve our corporate structure, strengthen our team and recognize those who have displayed leadership qualities capable of driving this organization forward to our boldly envisioned future."
Black Diamond, Inc. is a global leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of innovative active outdoor performance products for climbing, mountaineering,backpacking, skiing, cycling and other outdoor recreation activities for a wide range of year-round use.
Black Diamond Inc
Textiles | On 21st Jun 2018
ITMA, the trendsetting textile and garment technology platform, will...
Textiles | On 21st Jun 2018
Protectionism is the biggest political factor and threat affecting...
It will take some time for the people to change their buying choices
DLF Emporio and DLF Promenade
‘Each event and promotion is planned out keeping in mind the business of...
Wigwam Mills Inc
Wigwam aims to recycle discarded yarn that doesn’t make it through the...
Conceived in Europe and curated in New Delhi, NeceSera is a...
Colorjet is among the fastest-growing wide format digital inkjet print...
Sushila International, a well established textile organisation established ...
Biovation II LLC
Kerem Durdag, CEO, Biovation II LLC, provides an insight into future...
Iago Castro Asensio
RCfil Distribuciones S.L.
Iago Castro Asensio, International Business Manager of RCfil...
Technical Absorbents Ltd
Mark Paterson, R&D manager of Technical Absorbents Ltd talks about Super...


text:
Patients’ worries about supplies of insulin, as well as other diabetes medications and devices due to Brexit have not, so far, been born out in reality, but the long-term situation remains uncertain as cross-border movement of goods is set to rise, according to experts.
In particular, Northern Ireland puts a fine point on these concerns with difficulties already apparent at border crossings.
Experts also warn patients against stockpiling medicines and related goods, which would in itself create product shortages not directly related to Brexit border issues.
“In some areas the cure is worse than the disease,” cautioned Mark Dayan, MSc, Brexit programme lead at the Nuffield Trust.
At only 7 weeks after the end of Brexit transitional arrangements, it is reasonable to assume that the first few weeks are a relatively artificial reflection of the longer-term status quo around the bidirectional trade between the UK and EU.
Concerns around the supply of devices and medicines including insulin are very real to those whose lives depend on it, but in reality, how valid are they?
Back in 2018 when Brexit negotiations were in full-flow, the scene was set when senior officials expressed concerns around insulin supply. Sir Michael Rawlins, who was chair of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) at the time, told the Pharmaceutical Journal that: “We make no insulin in the UK. We import every drop of it. You can’t transport insulin around ordinarily because it must be temperature-controlled.”
Then a study of tweets posted in 2019 by people with diabetes reflected that these concerns were rife among patients too. At this point the outcome of Brexit ‘no deal’ or ‘deal’ negotiations were unknown.
Recently published in JMIR Diabetes on 27 January, the study investigated patients’ views around lots of disease-related issues, but of note, the tweets around diabetes product supplies were particularly poignant.
Insulin supply is a key concern for dependent patients because a lack of the replacement hormone can be fatal. The study found that 9% of tweets featured real worries among diabetes patients relating to insulin availability, whatever the outcome of Brexit negotiations.
Tweets emphasised the desperation and fear of some patients. One wrote: “INSULIN – for most of you it is just a medical term, but it is a lifesaver for me and other type 1 diabetics. Do I buy a big fridge to stockpile to make sure I can live while you #brexiters apply for your new blue passport?”
Another wrote: “Diabetics are not sure if their life-saving insulin will run out. So many medications CANNOT BE STOCKPILED! It’s a DEATH THREAT from the government and violates our human right to life. #NotoDeathbyBrexit #DyingforBrexit.”
Su Golder, PhD, from the University of York led the Twitter study. “UK-based patients with type 1 diabetes were all very worried and scared about supply,” she told Medscape UK in an interview. “We don’t know if these concerns were real, but the opinion expressed does show how vulnerable these people feel.
“Because insulin is a life-saving drug that needs storing in the fridge, it can’t really be stockpiled,” she adds.
Nikki Joule, policy manager at Diabetes UK, lends support but also contextualises these concerns. “The worry is understandable, particularly around insulin because people depend upon it for their lives,” she said, but added that, “I think much of the concern expressed by people with diabetes is really anxiety and hasn’t been borne out by reality, so far at least, and certainly not above and beyond normal short-term shortages that happen, Brexit or not.”
Diabetes UK says it has supported Government calls to suppliers of insulin and other diabetes medicines too, asking them to keep 6 weeks of stock in the UK. “Contingency plans comprised alternative routes into the country, extra stock being held on UK soil, and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) ensured those levels of stock with both medications and device companies,” said Nikki Joule.
“In fact, we were aware that some companies had three times more stock than a 6-week supply, and so far, to our knowledge at Diabetes UK, supply routes seem to be operating well,” she added.
The DHSC was always concerned about insulin given how essential it is for people with type 1 diabetes and others who are dependent on insulin, said Ms Joule, and this concern was not only due to the risk of ‘no deal’ but also for potential disruption due to restrictions or supply issues around COVID-19. “The same actions and contingency plans around supply would need to be taken whether issues were related to Brexit or COVID.”
She also noted that stock problems are unlikely for many diabetes medicines such as metformin or gliclazide, because they are made by a large range of companies in the UK.
Medicines Trading Arrangements UK-EU and Vice Versa
The default ‘no deal’ scenario never came to pass, and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement was signed on December 24, 2020.
In an interview with Medscape UK, Mr Dayan explained some of the new processes and challenges underpinning the movement of medicines and devices, including those for diabetes, across borders between the European Union (EU) and UK.
Essentially, concerns prevail around customs and regulatory processes, including medicines’ safety alert systems.
Since January 1, 2021, customs processes around the logging of import and exports declarations, as well as new permits and details have been required by hauliers to enable movement between countries.
In terms of diabetes-related products moving into the UK from the EU, the border checks and customs declarations required by UK authorities facilitate a smoother flow of goods into the UK than vice versa.
“Right now, things are relatively under control,” said Mr Dayan, adding that companies have some concerns, but this does not seem to have led to more shortages than normal. He pointed out that this reflected several years of work by the DHSC and companies in trying to negotiate the best way forward.
To minimise any difficulties associated with Brexit, the UK has provided various grace periods for products entering the UK from the EU, explains Mr Dayan. “For example, deferral on customs forms for 6 months at the UK border, and a 2-year grace period for regulatory issues. Most relevant are the border-to border easement measures, so the UK is accepting batch testing certificates until 2023.”
Some arrangements are more mutually beneficial than others and facilitate trade. “The trade and cooperation agreement that came out on Christmas Eve contains mutual recognition for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for medicines, and EU inspection certificates are still accepted here in the UK,” Mr Dayan highlights.
“Unfortunately, many of the easements applied by the UK are not reciprocated by the EU,” he pointed out.
The safety of medicines databases does raise some concerns, Mr Dayan says. When it left the single market, the UK also left behind its right to submit or receive safety alerts and data from the EU systems for pharmacovigilance (EudraVigilance) or devices (EudaMed). “The danger is that we are, as a result, less well informed about emerging or potential problems with drugs and devices on the market,” says Mr Dayan.
Alone, the UK has a smaller population to report safety issues than the EU, and safety issues become more visible with higher patient numbers. However, he points out that reporting systems in the EU and US should mean any safety issues or anomalies are visible but the UK will not necessarily have direct access to these databases. “I’m not overly optimistic about this changing. I’d like to have seen more on this in the trade agreement.”
Northern Ireland – Challenging
The complex situation in Northern Ireland, which is subject to the Northern Ireland protocol (to overcome the need for a border between the Republic of Ireland, which is still part of the EU, and Northern Ireland, which is no longer part of the EU, there is an arrangement whereby there is effectively a border check down the Irish Sea) is challenging and promises to continue to be so.
“The situation around regulatory switch overs in Northern Ireland is making it far more difficult for companies to move medicines from the mainland,” Mr Dayan remarks.
This will remain a live issue, with Cabinet Office Minister, Michael Gove, recently requesting an extension to the existing grace period beyond April. Mr Dayan highlights that this reflects genuine concerns around the situation there. “For medicines, Northern Ireland has effectively stayed in the EU, and the movement of medicines from the UK [mainland] faces similar hurdles as shipping them anywhere on the continent. This is certainly an area where there is more risk.”
Warning Over the Longer-term
The UK is only 7 weeks into Brexit and many companies gave January a wide berth, avoiding the borders for fear of confusion and delays. As a result, cross-border controls have run relatively smoothly to date. The next few months might paint a different picture with volumes of trade at borders picking up.
With all of the UK’s insulin imported from the EU, concerns are not without foundation. Supplies are all sourced from EU-based manufacturing and distribution centres, with the main providers being Sanofi (France), Novo Nordisk (Denmark), and Lilly (various EU locations).
But Mr Dayan explained that despite all the UK’s insulin supply being imported, insulin supply from the large pharma companies is less risky than medicines made by smaller firms. “These companies might be less capable of dealing with Brexit-related changes around operating across different markets,” he said.
On January 1, when the transition period ended, many companies responded to the anticipated pressures and extra administrative needs of Brexit by avoiding the border altogether. “However, at some point this will recover, and as trade volumes increase it might get more difficult. We need to start thinking about the longer-term, for example, around the introduction of new products and long-term cost implications,” he cautions.
People building their own personal stockpiles of medicines is the greatest concern stressed by both Mr Dayan and Ms Joule, and more widely. “It isn’t a good idea for patients to stockpile because that will create shortages. If people start stockpiling generally then it could apply to other types of medicines and be a greater problem than the effect of Brexit itself,” Mr Dayan says.
Arrangements Around Cross-border Movement of Devices
Most devices, notably continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and goods such as testing strips and sensors, are largely made and supplied by the EU. Exceptionally, the Abbott FreeStyle Libre is made in the UK, and digital interventions like Low Carb Program are also produced in the UK.
Supply of testing strips or sensors for CGMs might be more challenging than medications, especially ones that need frequent changes such as sensors that require replacement every 7 days.
In early January, people reported a problem obtaining sensors for a Medtronic pump, Ms Joule said, explaining that it actually turned out the delay was with the delivery firm and related to documentation rather than anything to do with the company directly. “This has been resolved now,” she says.
Mr Dayan identifies that a key issue for devices is the validity of the manufacturer’s CE mark. For UK firms wishing to export their devices to the EU, they would have needed to switch their CE (Conformitè Europëenne) mark to an EU regulator prior to January 1, he said. “A UK regulator would not now be able to grant them a CE mark for export to the EU. These firms also have to work through many new customs and border checks for export to the EU that do not reflect the grace period that the UK is applying.”
In theory, there is a UK equivalent of the CE mark known as the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking, which came into effect on January 1, 2021. It is a novel UK product marking that is used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland). It is not yet widely used in practice. “It covers most goods which previously required the CE marking,” says Mr Dayan. However, he adds, there is a grace period until mid-2023 when the UK will still accept EU-granted CE markings.
At the completion of the grace period, new devices made in the EU will need to obtain a UKCA marking as well as an EU CE mark. “This has the potential to increase costs at many steps,” Mr Dayan points out.
Cost Increases Due to More Complicated Procedures
Costs are predicted to increase once the grace period has passed and new checks, and a higher volume of checks, will need to be implemented.
Various studies have tried to work out the costs of having a free trade agreement versus being in the single market. One study showed a significant 5% increase in costs. “Given the NHS spends around £20 billion annually on medicines, that would require an extra one billion pounds,” says Mr Dayan.
However, many medicine prices are resistant to price fluctuations due to a set drug price tariff, and a voluntary scheme that caps medicine costs, he explains. ”Companies are more likely to decide it is unprofitable to supply the UK anymore.”
But insulin is unlikely to be affected, he stressed. “Lack of supply due to cost is unlikely to be an issue for insulin, which is a bulk product the UK is very willing to pay for.”
However, for higher profit margin items, or at the other extreme, generic medicines where the profit margin is very low, firms might stop supply and this could lead to shortages, he adds. This happens quite regularly despite Brexit, he explained, and has happened more frequently since the EU referendum, probably due to the fall in the value of the Great British pound, which makes some products less profitable. ”For generic products, we would probably just pay more for them.”
But the biggest concern will not be for medicines already on the market, but for new ones, said Mr Dayan. “The UK might be a lower priority market for new products. This tends to happen with smaller markets compared with the EU or US large markets.”
Firms might not invest time and resource in a market that has lower returns. However, noted Mr Dayan, size might not be the only consideration. “I suspect the UK will try to use its regulatory system to remain an attractive place to introduce new medicines,” he asserts.
“The MHRA granted approval to the COVID-19 vaccines quickly and the UK might be able to offer accelerated routes as an incentive.”


text:
Match's lawsuit is the latest to target Google's allegedly anticompetitive conduct with the Play store, joining ongoing cases brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games, dozens of U.S. state attorneys general and others.
Google did not have any immediate comment on the new filing. But it has said that developers have the option to bypass the Play store and that it has lowered fees and created other programs to address antitrust concerns.
It is notable because some of its apps have been exempted from Google policies for about the past decade. Now, Google says it will block downloads of those Match apps by June 1 unless they solely offer its payment system and share revenue, the lawsuit states.
"This lawsuit is a measure of last resort," Match Chief Executive Shar Dubey said in a statement. "We tried, in good faith, to resolve these concerns with Google, but their insistence and threats has left us no choice."
At stake for Match is what it describes as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that would instead have to be paid to Google.
Match said the majority of users on its most popular app, Tinder, prefer its payment system, which allows for installment plans, bank transfers and other features not provided by Google, according to the lawsuit.
Dubey also said that going around Play was unviable.
"It's like saying, 'you don't have to take the elevator to get to the 60th floor of a building, you can always scale the outside wall,'" she said.


text:
Nick Chong · 12 hours ago · 2 min read
Read the latest › ETH 2.0
Read the latest › Regulation
Shaurya Malwa · 1 min ago · 2 min read
Shaurya Malwa · 6 days ago · 2 min read
Earn up to 12% APY on Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD, EUR, GBP, Stablecoins & more.Start Earning Interest
The ongoing COVID-19-pandemic has served as a defining point of modern financial markets.
So-called “Crypto Twitter” has been enthralled by a widely circulated “money printer go brrr” meme that takes aim at the government’s incessant money printing, with many crypto enthusiasts pointing to the Fed’s current monetary policies as the reason why Bitcoin is so important.
Though Bitcoin started 2020 with a bang, it’s worth taking the start of a new decade to reflect on the state of the original cryptocurrency.
As foreign currency markets take aim at decades-old lows against a soaring United States dollar, one might wonder where global citizens will turn if they are unable to flee to the greenback — whether on account of shortages, barriers to purchase, legal restrictions, or all of the above.
Those new to the crypto industry often find themselves torn between two extreme views.
2019 will go down as the year when the world went digital currency crazy.
By Vincent Chok & Glenn Woo Trust, in the traditional finance context, used to lie in the hands of people.
Britain’s foremost financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, is contemplating a blanket-ban on cryptocurrency derivatives for retail traders as early as 2020, The Economist reported.
Hedera Hashgraph could be making fundamental tradeoffs to achieve its touted 10,000+ transactions per second.
The latest wave of giveaway scams has returned to Twitter and new suckers are entering the cryptocurrency sphere.
After Facebook’s Libra, it seems likely that other major brands like Amazon, Delta, and T-Mobile will create their own stablecoins.
The past month or so has been totally overcome with news about Facebook making a play for a slice of the cryptocurrency pie with its Libra project.
In Craig Wright’s latest marketing attempt, Bitcoin SV will increase its block size cap from 128MB to 2GB.
Justin Sun, the 28-year old CEO of TRON, just spent $4.6 million to have lunch with Warren Buffett in an attempt to change the Investor of Omaha’s mind about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Amidst hyperinflation, a leadership crisis, and international interference, Venezuela’s crisis has come to represent the failings of modern finance and highlights how cryptocurrency could reshape it.
The rapid growth of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in recent years, combined with seemingly unlimited potential applications for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies across a range of industries, has led to an unprecedented period of innovation and the emergence of some of the most disruptive technologies in decades.
We are now entering the sixth month of the seemingly never-ending bearish market that has become the new norm within the crypto world.


text:
Members from the Grapevine community gathered at BOSS Office + Coworking last Friday for the first every BOSS EXPO. It was a chance for local businesses and entrepreneurs to meet and connect. It was also a great chance for the Grapevine community to learn more about the great businesses that call BOSS Office + Coworking home. Check out some pictures from the event!
Upon graduation, many college graduates are skeptical about working in a traditional office space. A majority of them are looking for innovative