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Fidelis Munyoro Chief Reporter
Banking services should be free of charge to inspire informal traders to formalise their business by banking proceeds and rely more on plastic money, an economist has said.
In an interview with The Herald, Mr Tendai Chinamasa said the solution to the prevailing liquidity crunch should start with the banking business model.
He said using plastic money was too expensive in view of current bank charges.
“In some cases, plastic money facilities and services are poor in rural and remote areas because of poor signal connectivity and people don’t have bank accounts and/or the mobile device to transact. So this puts cash on high demand,” said Mr Chinamasa.
The majority of Zimbabweans are in the informal sector where millions in cash circulate on a daily basis, with cash shortages leaving the transacting public at the mercy of illegal dealers who are charging extortive commissions.
While some economists are urging the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to inject more notes into circulation, Mr Chinamasa has a contrary solution to the cash crisis.
He noted that during the passing phase of austerity measures underway, Government put in place economic safety nets like subsidised public transport to ease financial hardships on citizens.
Such reforms, he said, must also cover the banking sector to instil confidence among its customers.
“Some suggestions are that RBZ must put more cash in circulation, but I disagree”, said Mr Chinamasa.
“I think payment methods and alternatives should improve at cheaper transaction charges.
“Bank and electronic transaction charges are too high. I believe this problem has created the selling and scarcity of cash. I suggest the banks introduce a perhaps flat bank charge per month to cater for the general transacting public.”
Mr Chinamasa said a flat fee of up to $10 a month depending on usage of bank services would suffice.
This, he said, would mean the maximum charges per month will be capped at $10.
“Minimum charge might be two percent of a transaction,” said Mr Chinamasa.
“This example, if implemented throughout the banking and financial sectors, will see most consumers embrace plastic money and hence a drop in demand for physical cash.
“Fair bank charges will boost confidence and people will deposit cash in the banks and allow adequate circulation of cash in the economy.”
Mr Chinamasa urged Zimbabweans to focus on the “bigger picture” of production of local goods and services and exports to international markets.
This, he said, would build a stronger and respectable local currency all over the world and eliminate cash and other financial challenges the country is facing.
“One key to economic growth is to have our own currency that is functional and accepted internationally,” said Mr Chinamasa.


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My friend Dave got into the bottled water biz in the 1980s in Hamilton, Ontario, providing those 5-gallon jugs for water dispensers at home and offices. I never was into that stuff, but the 5-gallon plastic carboys that people haul to the grocery store for a refill are excellent secondary fermentation vessels for home beer production.
But, for those who work in an office, the water cooler is, I’m told, the place for gossip, flirting and bacteria.
The Sunday Herald reports that tests for watchdog organization, Consumer Focus Scotland, found potentially dangerous bacteria in drinking water dispensers in workplaces, schools and care homes. The group says the dispensers need to be better cleaned and maintained, and that the Scottish government, along with the Food Standards Agency, should review existing legislation because it is difficult to enforce.
Environmental health officers found bacterial contamination in 23 out of 87 water dispensers sampled in Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders. They tested for five types of bacteria known to cause illness, particularly in people who are vulnerable due to frailty or ill-health.
Water from bottle-supplied coolers was the most contaminated, with 14 out of 35 samples containing bacteria. Eight samples showed the presence of coliform bacteria, usually associated with faeces, and three contained staphylococcus aureus, which can cause serious illnesses.
Nine of the 52 samples from plumbed-in coolers taking water from the mains were also found to be contaminated, sometimes by more than one type of bacteria.
The contamination is thought to be due to the poor hygiene habits of some drinkers. Unwashed hands, putting mouths to taps and refilling dirty bottles could all be to blame.
Being that I’m living in the middle of Kansas, I just caught a live broadcast of President Obama announcing his nomination of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Media sources emphasize that, as Secretary of HHS, Sebelius would be implementing the president’s plans for health care reform, along with Nancy-Ann DeParle – an American expert on health care issues and Obama’s pick for “Health Reform Czar”.
However, Obama pointed out in his announcement that it’s not all about health insurance; the position is also responsible for the oversight of several agencies that serve as protective forces, including the FDA and the CDC.
The president alluded to changes in that area of the department as well, and noted the importance of science over politics when determining the best approaches to protecting the health of Americans.
Sebelius will have her work cut out for her on many levels, so I hope she holds that mind: Keeping the poop out of food safety policy is a great way to keep poop out of food.
Dlisted reports that Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson were on Germany's Wetten Dass... to promote that movie about a dead dog when they had to eat a doggy biscuit after losing a bet.
People magazine says that the bet was that a woman claimed she could correctly identity her team of Husky dogs just from listening to them drink soup. Jennifer and Owen and the host all indulged. People magazine even asked readers, “Have you ever tried your pet’s food?”
This is a bad idea. Salmonella has been routinely found in dried dog food and doggy treats. People worried about barfing should wash their hands after handling either – dog food or treats, Jennifer or Owen.
Restaurant inspection disclosure systems, like the ‘Scores on Doors’ scheme in the UK or online databases available in some states, are ways to display inspection information to consumers. Many jurisdictions are adopting these systems after positive consumer reception, and increase in compliance among restaurants in jurisdictions where disclosure programs have been implemented.
In the Canadian province of New Brunswick, public posting of restaurant inspection results has resulted in improved compliance, reports Times & Transcript.
One year after the health department started posting inspection reports on its website for everyone to see, officials have seen a definite increase in compliance by restaurants who want to make a good impression.
Nina van der Pluijm, regional director for health protection programs for the New Brunswick Department of Health, says,
"Compliance has gone up and if our inspectors find something, the restaurants want to hurry up and comply. If we give them five days to fix something, they usually say they'll have it done in two days and want us to come back for the re-inspection."
In New Brunswick restaurants are inspected, unannounced, every one to three years depending on their risk category. Establishments are termed satisfactory, unsatisfactory, minor infraction, major infraction and critical infraction; and respectively color-coded green, yellow, dark yellow, red with warning stripes and critical red, indicating a shutdown.
van der Pluijm indicated the program has gotten good feedback from the public and the food service industry, but like most disclosure systems, there is concern regarding the manner in which grades are presented to the public.
Luc Erjavec, a spokesman for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association in Halifax, indicated industry generally doesn’t like color-coding schemes since the public may not try to understand it.
"They might look and see a yellow and move on without taking the time to see why, and the reports could give a restaurant a bad name for a relatively minor incident."
This may be true, but it may also encourage establishments to strive for a higher level of food safety. During development of the Toronto disclosure system – with green, yellow and red cards – a similar situation was encountered (right, above). Establishments didn’t want to receive yellow cards, and as a result over time yellow cards became nearly non-existent, being replaced by green pass.
There are many ways to communicate inspection results to the public, and each has pros and cons, but these schemes help to increase overall awareness of food safety amongst restaurant staff and the public.
As van der Pluijm said,
"The public likes to know what is going on and be able to read a report on a certain restaurant, see the ranking and be able to see what they did to get that ranking."
The Fat Duck is apparently a fancy restaurant in Berkshire, UK, run by TV chef Heston Blumenthal; it was voted Best Restaurant in the World by fellow chefs in 2005, or something.
The Independent reports that Blumenthal (right) spent a sleepless night before deciding to close the restaurant last Tuesday in the face of a steady stream – between 30 and 40 – of complaints from customers who suffered vomiting, diarrhoea and flu-like symptoms.
"I made the decision to be transparent about it. Who knows if it was the right or wrong decision to make. But my gut reaction, the moral feeling about it all, was that's what we had to do. It was an incredibly emotional decision." But tests for viral infections and food poisoning have proved negative and there is speculation that the winter outbreak of norovirus could be the real reason why they became sick.
Yeah, check out the staff. And handwashing facilities. And suppliers. And places chefs rarely think to go when it comes to basic microbiology, from farm-to-fork.
I’ve been known to buy the odd slice of pizza or bucket of fried chicken from the ready-to-eat counter of grocery stores, often a result of shopping on an empty stomach. And truthfully, I’ve never thought much about how these food establishments were inspected, perhaps assuming they fell under the local health department’s umbrella, like most restaurants.
An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicates my assumptions may not always be correct. The story indicates that in the state of Georgia salad bars and ready-to-eat food counters in grocery stores are not inspected the same way as restaurants, nor are they required to publically display their inspection grade like restaurants in this state.
Local health departments inspect restaurants, and the state requires eateries to post the reports prominently on site, using a clear point system and letter grade.
The state Agriculture Department — the same state agency that was responsible for inspecting the peanut plant linked to the nation’s deadly salmonella outbreak — inspects grocery stores. But it doesn’t issue points or grades, and stores don’t have to post their most recent report.
In Georgia restaurants are required to display an “A” “B” “C” or “U” (for unsatisfactory) letter grade and numerical score near the establishment entrance so that patrons can make an informed dining decision. This includes drive-thru windows and other take-out entrances; unfortunately, since grocery store ready-to-eat counters aren’t inspected by the same department as other food establishments, customers won’t see a letter grade at these counters.
Sarah Klein, of the food safety program at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest, said of public posting of restaurant grades,
“Once they know that an inspection report is going to be published, there is an incentive created to make food safety a priority. It is something you have to do because, otherwise, your business … will suffer.”
I agree. Restaurant disclosure systems can be an incentive for those within foodservice to increase compliance with regulations, while providing the public with inspection results to make an informed decision. If other Georgia foodservice establishments are required to put the score on their door, why not the fried chicken counter in the grocery store?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asks an important question beyond how did the salmonella get into PCA's Blakely, Georgia Plant -- how did the 2007 Peter Pan outbreak strain get into the PCA plant?
From the AJC article: Experts at the FDA and the CDC said they are intrigued by an unusual clue. Two years ago the ConAgra plant in Sylvester launched a nationwide recall of Peter Pan peanut butter after consumers were sickened by a less common strain of the bacteria, called Salmonella Tennessee. It had a unique genetic fingerprint. On Jan. 22, tests by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture found salmonella with that same genetic fingerprint in an unopened 5-pound container of King Nut peanut butter produced late last year at the Blakely plant.
The possible on-farm link to the peanut butter outbreak has been circulating around for a while (including being something ConAgra suggested during the investigation of the Peter Pan 2007 outbreak). This link reminds me of some of the stuff my good friends Linda Harris and Michelle Danyluk have looked at in the almond industry -- the environmental persistence of Salmonella PT 30 and it's subsequent transfer to the nuts (even frequent barfblogger Don Schaffner got in on some of this action). Maybe there is an environmental reservoir near of in some peanut fields. And if there is, maybe there are things that peanut producers can do to address them. The impact that this outbreak has had on peanut farmers suggests that any food safety hurdles that could be put in place is worth some investigation.
From the AJC article: Some food safety experts questioned whether the peanut industry is aware some farming practices may increase the risk of salmonella contamination. Only one Georgia peanut farm has sought and received certification of using good agricultural practices, said Arty Schronce, a state Agriculture Department spokesman. “My impression is the farmers really don’t have good agricultural practices,” said Michael Doyle, who has served as a consultant for ConAgra and the American Peanut Council. Doyle is director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. When peanuts are roasted, Doyle said, the focus may be more on achieving the right flavor rather than on safety. If salmonella is present in very large numbers, the roaster may not kill all of it, he said. Doyle said he recently got a call from a peanut industry adviser in Georgia. “The bottom line I got from him: The farmers feel the processor is at fault and should process the salmonella out of the peanuts,” Doyle said. “They’re looking at the peanut as a commodity, rather than a food.”
I hear a lot of talk and read a lot of articles that quote food folks saying that food safety is a farm-to-fork responsibility. True. That's why it's a good idea that the peanut industry (and heck, other nut and seed folks as well -- check this out) take these two outbreaks as indicators of something bigger -- that there may be on-farm Salmonella reduction strategies employable that .
It's not up to me to assign blame for the outbreaks (That's the law and Bill Marler's job) although I'm sure that some peanut growers will feel that's what the AJC article is all about. It's not -- this is the first step in the public dialogue around the good agricultural practices that peanut growers currently have. If there isn't much there, as Mike Doyle alludes to, then it's a good idea to do the research on what the risks are figure out how to address them.
Last month's congressional subcommittee revelations revealed that there's a bad operator in the middle of this outbreak, but peanut farmers, one of the groups hit hardest by the fallout, need to make sure they are part of the solution and truly make peanut butter food safety farm-to-fork.
In a nice intersection of music and food safety, Gasoline Magazine reports that Jack White (one of my very favorite thrashers) brought some poorly-handled Detroit pierogies to Jesse Hughes of the Eagles of Death Metal resulting in some celebrity barf. Hughes says that the pierogies arrived before a show in Toronto last fall and gave him the squirts and a queasy stomach for most of the performance:
"Dude, I had botulism... Jack White bought pierogies in Detroit and brought them up to the gig, and I ended up eating one far too long after it had expired. I ended up contracting mild botulism and sweating out of every hole, so to speak, for about 12 hours. I was the worst f'n experience I've ever had. But you can't call in sick to rock & roll"
Amen, brother; that's why I love rock & roll.
Working in a restaurant, that's different. Call in sick.
It probably wasn't actual botulism (would have been difficult to pound the guitar with a body full of neurotoxin) but sounds like a nasty foodborne illness experience.
Actual botulism did appear this week in WA, where a woman in her 30s and two children under 10 fell ill from eating improperly-canned green beans from a home garden. The woman is reportedly recovering slowly and remains on a ventilator.
Here's some Sunday rock & roll, Jack White and the Rolling Stones, Loving Cup:
And a bonus video, The Dirty Mac's Yer Blues from the Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus:

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F.E.A.R. 3 needs a few more months of gestation. Previously announced for March 22, 2011, Joystiq has confirmed with a Warner Bros. representative that those looking for supernatural pregnancy scares will have to wait until May. So far, Best Buy is the only major retailer reflecting the change.
We want to make sure we're prepared for those earth-shattering Alma contractions, but WBIE isn't currently sharing a more specific due date.


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Oklahoma U.S. Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin were among 43 Senate Republicans and 77 House members who urged the Biden administration this week to dump its proposed fuel economy regulations, something referred to as a de facto electric vehicle mandate.
In a letter to the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Lankford, Mullin and the others made the argument that the corporate average fuel economy standards proposed last July would raise costs and restrict consumer choice.
“We strongly urge NHTSA to withdraw its misguided proposal, go back to the drawing board and reissue new CAFE standards that comply with the law, rather than ones that seek to pick winners and losers in the free market and remake our country’s economy,” they wrote to NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman.
“Nowhere in law did Congress authorize NHTSA to set fuel economy standards that effectively mandate EVs while at the same time force the internal combustion engine out of the market,” the letter continued. “In fact, federal statute expressly prohibits NHTSA from considering the fuel economy of EVs when determining maximum feasible CAFE standards for passenger cars and trucks.”
They also pointed out it’s’ clear the new standards are meant to force consumers to purchase EVs.
“NHTSA’s out-of-touch de facto EV mandate ignores the reality that most Americans still prefer the internal combustion engine vehicle, and the fact there is a lack of consumer demand for EVs,” they added in the letter.
“The low consumer demand for EVs can likely be attributed to the various unappealing aspects of these vehicles, including the typically higher sticker prices and insurance premiums, shorter average driving ranges, lower resale value, inadequate battery technologies for severe cold weather and lack of operational charging infrastructure, particularly for drivers in rural areas,” they wrote. “EVs are not a practical option for most Americans.”


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The stunning Ferrari Roma has made its Australian debut this week, following its international unveiling in November last year. This is Ferrari’s new grand touring model, pitched as a somewhat subtle sports coupe alongside the company’s lineup of sharp-edged supercars.
This is a relatively rare philosophy that Ferrari has taken. But think along the lines of some of Ferrari’s classic models from the 1950s and ‘60s, such as the 250 GT. These cars are built for spirited roads as well as refined motoring in urban areas. Hence why this is named after the city of Rome.
The Roma is loosely based on the Portofino (review here), incorporating around 70 per cent new parts, and sits in the range somewhere between the Portofino convertible and the F8 Tributo (review here). Ferrari describes the cabin as offering a “2+” layout, with two tightly-fit seats in the back perfect for kids or extra storage.
Power comes from the company’s relentless 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8, similar to the engine used in the aforementioned models. In the Roma it produces 456kW of power between a versatile 5750-7500rpm, while a monster 760Nm of torque is spread between 3000-5750rpm. This perfect overlap should provide awesome cross country performance and effortlessness.
Ferrari says 0-100km/h comes up in just 3.4 seconds, while 0-200km/h is clocked in just 9.3 seconds. These times are very near fully-fledged supercar times, and in fact Ferrari’s core V8 supercar models were achieving this just a few years ago.
Although outright driving agility isn’t the top priority, the Roma weighs only 1472kg. It also uses a quick-shifting eight-speed dual-clutch auto transmission (up from seven in the Portofino), with rear-wheel drive. Drivers can toggle between a new Manettino switch as well, providing a Ferrari-first five different settings.
Even though the Roma is designed to be an exquisite driver’s car, the cabin has been developed to pamper its passengers more than many other Ferrari models. There’s a vertical 8.4-inch touch-screen media interface, for example, packed with on-board apps and climate control, while the driver views a configurable 16-inch digital instrument cluster. Even the front passenger is presented with their own touch-screen, including controls for the audio and climate.
The Roma is expected to become one of the most popular models for Ferrari, potentially drawing in new customers; more female buyers and middle-aged executives who want something ultra exclusive and exotic but not necessarily at the elite end of speed and power. Its modest coupe design is also set to lure in buyers who may want a less conspicuous drive than a traditional mid-engine supercar.
Prices in Australia start from $409,888 (excluding on-roads), and orders are being accepted now. The first local deliveries are scheduled to commence during the first quarter of 2021.


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A midlands-based company that converts ambulances for the Health Service Executive and other health agencies has told its workforce it will be laying them off for a three-week period because of problems with the supply of components from the UK caused by Brexit and customs issues.
Management at the Wilker Auto Conversions plant in Clara, Co Offaly, say over 80 staff members will be affected by the move.
Wilker is one of the largest specialist vehicle converters in Ireland and the UK, employing up to 100 people in Clara where they assemble ambulances and other vehicles for the emergency services.
Key components for the production lines come into the country from England and staff at the Wilker plant have now been told they will have to shut down for at least three weeks from 15 February due to a lack of materials to work with.
The company is blaming Brexit and customs delays for the problem.
The SIPTU services division, which represents almost 60 Wilker employees, has asked for an urgent meeting with management today.
Offaly Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen has called on the company to outline full details of the nature of the delay to its workforce and the authorities here as soon as possible in a bid to ease concerns over longer layoffs.
Wilker Auto Conversions CEO Donnacha Hurley said the company is confident that the three-week layoff is the "worst case scenario."
He said the company started its Brexit-ready preparedness in the middle of 2019 and engaged outside expert support.
In a statement, Mr Hurley said the company has worked with supply chain partners to meet the new requirements to keep goods flowing into Ireland since 1 January, "but despite the best efforts of all involved we are faced with critical shortages which have resulted in this three week shutdown.
"This situation is devastating news for all our employees which is something we very much regret. We are working with our employees to ease the financial burden that has been brought about by this interruption and of course are continuing to work with our supply chain to eliminate or shorten the impact.
"The company focus is on these matters and we will be making no further comment on the situation."


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This content was published prior to the merger of equals between BKD and DHG on June 1, 2022. See all FORsights for the most up-to-date articles, webinars, and videos.
Missouri Reverses Course on Delivery Charges
Missouri Senate Bill 16, which exempts usual and customary delivery charges that are separately stated from Missouri sales and use tax, was recently passed through the Missouri legislature and signed into law by Gov. Eric Greitens. The new law goes into effect August 28, 2017.
Historically, taxpayers would regularly treat separately stated delivery charges as exempt, and the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) seemed to agree. Taxpayers looked to regulatory language stating, “When a sale involves both tangible personal property and a nontaxable service, the sale of the tangible personal property will be subject to tax, and the service will not be subject to tax, if the sale of each is separate,” and “If the purchaser is not required to pay the service charge as part of the sale price of tangible personal property, the amount paid for the service is not subject to tax if the charge for such service is separately stated.”1
A Missouri Supreme Court decision in Alberici Constructors, Inc. v. Director of Revenue on January 13, 2015, caused a seismic shift in the taxability of delivery charges. The case focused on statutory language, which trumps regulatory language, and found if the parties intended the delivery service to be part of the transaction, it didn’t matter whether such charges were separately stated—they were taxable.
The DOR responded by sending letters to sellers of tangible personal property, putting them on notice that it intended to follow the new interpretation as a result of the Alberici case. If parties intended delivery to be part of the sale of tangible personal property, the delivery charge would be taxable, even when separately stated.
The number and types of businesses potentially affected were significant, ranging from florists to restaurants to lessors of construction equipment. Those businesses, in turn, contacted legislators, who passed the new law. Now the definitions of “sales price” and “gross receipts” for sales tax purposes specifically state that it “shall not include usual and customary delivery charges that are separately stated,”2 which, in effect, returns the law to the way it had been interpreted for years.
1Mo. Code Regs. 10-103.600
2Senate Bill No. 16, 99th General Assembly, 2017


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All Things Digital reported yesterday that video streaming provider and prospective telco partner Vudu is in talks to be acquired, with retailing giant Wal-Mart mentioned as the possible buyer. Vudu for a time was pushing itself hard as a possible partner for small, independent telcos for whom IPTV was too big and risky an investment, but who wanted to leverage existing broadband connections to provide customers with more video choices. Vudu also has partnered with companies like Entone to put its technology into set-top boxes and other products.
If Wal-Mart buys the company, it seems likely that Vudu's technology would become more embedded in TVs and other devices, and it's not immediately clear what that would mean for the company's other service provider and vendor partners.
- All Things Digital has this report
Entone and Vudu partnered last year
Toledo Telephone Co. in Washington partnered with Vudu


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Hackers nab data on nearly 300,000 Canadian Honda ownersby Andrew Ganz
Honda says that a security breach led to hackers gaining access to some Canadian owners' personal information.
A security breach at Honda's Canadian offices exposed some personal information of about 280,000 vehicle owners to malicious hackers, the automaker admitted.
Honda sent out a notice to 283,321 customers last week stating that hackers might have gained access to their names, addresses, vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and, in "a small number of cases," account numbers to the automaker's financial services.
"The information was limited and is not typically used for the purposes of identity theft or fraud," Honda Canada executive VP Jerry Chenkin said in an statement released to members of the media. "We would like to sincerely apologize to our Canadian customers for this incident. Honda and Acura are working diligently to protect our customers' personal information and improve our data security procedures on an ongoing basis."
Concerned consumers can contact Honda directly at 1-800-839-2826.


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The client behind a large development in Huntley whose identity was kept a secret throughout the entire planning and zoning process with the village was revealed Tuesday to be Amazon, the online shopping behemoth that employs more than 1 million people in the U.S. and abroad.
After more than three months of suspense, it was announced in a news release Tuesday afternoon that the large plot of land at 41W368 Freeman Road will be used to build an Amazon receive center, which will bring 1,000 jobs with a starting wage of $15 an hour and guaranteed benefits for all employees.
“A project of this magnitude will be a catalyst for future growth and will assist in the village’s ongoing efforts to attract and promote new business development,” Huntley Mayor Chuck Sass said in the release. “We are excited to see what lies ahead as we welcome Amazon to Huntley.”
The new receive center will be used to bring in large orders of product and break them down before shipping them out to Amazon fulfillment centers where individual orders are mailed out to consumers, according to the release and statements made by Sass in an interview Tuesday.
“I have nothing against Amazon or any big warehouse distribution center like that,” Sass said. “I don’t shop it, but everybody in my family does and everything. It’s amazing that you put an order in and it’s there like the next day. ... It’s the wave of the future I guess.”
Sass said he feels this Amazon facility will be the key to unlocking a period of swift economic growth in the village, pointing to other potential developers who cited not enough workers in Huntley to patronize their businesses during the day for not moving forward.
Tax dollars generated by the development will be a great thing for local school districts, libraries and other entities supported by taxpayer dollars, Sass said.
“All these taxing bodies are looking for ways to supplement and hopefully this helps keep them from raising the property taxes,” he said.
In a March interview, Sass said he had a feeling it may be Amazon and said Tuesday that he was glad to have his suspicion confirmed. He was notified mere hours before the information was made public and nearly one month after the Huntley Village Board approved the final development plan, he said.
The idea of approving a new development without knowing the company that would inhabit it would have been unthinkable “back in the day,” Sass said in March, but the practice has become increasingly common in recent years.
“It’s a different way of thinking about it, but I’m proud that we did it this way,” he said then. “You’ve got to adapt.”
Amazon’s developer for the project, Chicago-based Venture One Real Estate, began work on the 282-acre Freeman Road property in mid-March, the Northwest Herald reported.
In the coming months, the company plans to construct a 629,186-square-foot distribution center with a 44,186-square-foot office space as well as a parking lot big enough to accommodate more than 1,000 parking spaces for employees and 720 semitrailer parking spaces, according to the development plan presented to the village.
Once finished, the Huntley receive center will bring an estimated 1,000 jobs to the community once it is operational in 2022 and all employees will receive benefits that include “full medical, vision, and dental insurance as well as a 401(k) plan with a 50 percent match starting on the first day of employment,” according to the press release. Amazon currently employs 35,000 people across the state of Illinois.
Despite these benefits, Amazon has come under fire recently for its treatment of employees and attempts to block workers from unionizing in multiple states, culminating in a closely watched union vote among Amazon workers at a fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama.
Sass said he is not concerned about these kinds of reports and said that the potential for community backlash is a reality that comes with every big decision made.
On the issue of labor unions, he said “people have a right to organize.”


text: ISLAMABAD - The price of 24 karat gold witnessed a decrease of Rs.300 per tola and was sold at Rs.141,400 on Monday against its sale at Rs. 141,700 the previous day in the local market. The price of 10 gram 24 karat gold also decreased by Rs.257 and was sold at Rs.121,228 against its sale at Rs. 121,485 whereas the prices of ten gram 22 karat gold also decreased to Rs.111,125 against its sale at Rs. 111,361, All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association reported.


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Madrid, Spain-based GMV, provider of Checker ATM security software, and AGS Transact Technologies Ltd., an Indian provider of end-to-end payment solutions, have entered into a strategic partnership.
According to a press release, GMV will leverage the strong industry presence of AGS to tap India's ATM market for the company's latest Checker ATM Security software.
"At GMV we are excited to partner with AGSTTL, as this will provide our customers in India with a competent and reliable partner to address the Indian market and ensure the best possible cybersecurity protection is available to Indian ATM networks," said Juan Jesús León Cobos, director of products and new developments for GMV secure e-solutions. "Taking into account the growing number of ATMs in India and the latest reported malware attacks in the region, this partnership will certainly contribute to fraud prevention in ATMs and security in general in ASEAN."
"With growing cyber security threats globally, fraud prevention technologies are the need of the hour, AGS Group CTO and President Mahesh Patel said in the release. GMV's Checker ATM Security solution meets our sought quality standards and will further our objective of providing [a] robust security solution along with a seamless service, enabling Indian customers to opt for the most reliable solution to meet their security requirements without impacting on operations."


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Ceconomy, the owner of electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn, has appointed a new CEO and a new CFO. After the exit of Pieter Haas, Jörn Werner and Karin Sonnenmoser will take over.
» Read more
Ceconomy, parent company of MediaMarkt and Saturn, is putting its alliance with Fnac Darty on hold for now. The company wants to find a solution for its ongoing poor performance and financial troubles first.
» Read more
Famous British music chain HMV has filed for bankruptcy for the second time. After a much more modest restart in 2013, the "tsunami of challenges for British retailers" has brought them down again.
Voice commerce, shopping through a smart speaker like Amazon Echo, struggles to gain popularity. eMarketer had hoped that almost a third of users would be shopping through smart speakers by 2019, but it turns out less than one percent has adopted the practice.
Ceconomy, the holding owning electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn, has had a bad year: after CEO Pieter Haas' departure in mid-October, now financial director Mark Frese also quits.
Bernard Darty, co-founder of French electronics chain Darty, has died at age 84. The group was founded in 1957 by Bernard Darty and his brothers Natan and Marcel, but became an international electronics group.
Europe's biggest electronics retailer MediaMarktSaturn has installed a self-checkout in its flagship store in Hamburg. Customers can now shop without passing by a cash register, if they so choose.
An international group of companies is set to test drones at the DronePort campus in Brustem, Belgium. Internet giant Amazon is among its members.
A new employee called Toru is starting in Zalando's warehouse in Erfurt, Germany. You might consider this nothing special, but Toru is an autonomous picking robot that can not only move whole boxes, but even individual objects.
Ceconomy CEO Pieter Haas leaves the holding company of German electronics chains Media Markt and Saturn with immediate effect, after another series of disappointing results.
German electronics group Ceconomy has released a profit warning: disappointing sales in its MediaMarkt and Saturn stores have caused the company to miss the profit forecast.
Dutch electronics retailer Coolblue has launched its website and app in English as a third language (after Dutch and French), aiming to increase their service for English-speaking customers in the Benelux. However, the retailer does not (yet) speak of a step towards foreign markets.
Ceconomy, MediaMarkt's parent company, has sold its onerous Russian division to local electronics chain M.video. The German electronics giant does not quit Russia altogether however, as it continues as shareholder of M.video.
BackMarket, a French start-up that wants to be a marketplace for refurbished smart phones, tablets and laptops, has secured a 41 million euro investment. The most famous new investor is Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury group LVMH.
Dutch e-commerce group Coolblue has terminated hundreds of its web shops, instead preferring one central web shop at coolblue.be/nl. This may be the precursor to an international expansion, the company says.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi just opened a physical store in Paris, part of its ambitious European expansion plan. The brand is also dreaming of an American launch.


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Social media marketing and analytics company Salorix has shut down its operations, the company CEO Santanu Bhattacharya has confirmed to The Economic Times, without giving any explicitly reason for this. The company apparently shutdown in May 2013. The report cites sources to say the company shut down following a disagreement between the founder and investors over an acquisition offer from Google. The investors were keen on the acquisition offer while Bhattacharya was not impressed with it. On being contacted by Medianama, one of Salorix investors Nexus Venture Partners declined to comment on this development. We are yet to hear back from Salorix and Inventus Capital Partners. Strangely, a TechCrunch report from last week had also suggested that Salorix had acquisition talks with Facebook in October 2013, which eventually failed and Facebook ended up hiring Bhattacharya earlier this year. However, the Inventus Capital Partners Managing Partner Kanwal Rekhi has refuted this in the report's…
- PrivacyNama Session: Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable; October 7 October 1, 2022
- Delhi police deploys drones to monitor anti-CAA protest centre Shaheen Bagh October 1, 2022
- India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) orders ISPs to Block 67 Porn Websites October 1, 2022
- AI Law and Policy Diploma Course (CCG-NLUD) 2022 #Ad October 1, 2022
- RBI’s card storage rules kick in today, but is the payments ecosystem ready in India? October 1, 2022
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Today Azur Lane publisher Yostar announced a livestream that will be aired next week and will reveal the next major event within the popular shipgirl-focused mobile game.
The livestream will air on Monday, April 25 at 8:00 pm Japan Time. It will be titled “Azur Lane Official Spring Live Broadcast – Iron Blood SP: Hanami with Beer and Sausage.”
The title seems to indicate that the major spring event will focus on the Iron Blood faction, which is the game’s parody of Germany. For those unfamiliar, “Hanami” is the Japanese tradition of going out with friends and family to watch the cherry blossoms, often entertaining rich feasts under the trees (hence the beer and sausages).
The event will be hosted by popular entertainer Mafia Kajita and among the guests we’ll see Admiral Hipper’s voice actress Yuri Yamaoka.
Below you can find the embed with the event, in case you want to watch along when it airs. Of course, report on anything newsworthy will be available here on Twinfinite after the livestream ends.
If you’re unfamiliar with Azur Lane, it’s is a free-to-play mobile horizontal scrolling shooter/RPG hybrid currently available for iOS and Android.
We also know that a new console game following Azur Lane Crosswave is in development at Compile Heart, even if no further information has been shared for the moment.
Perhaps, we may hear something about it during this event, as it happened with Crosswave a while ago.


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Free Market, Better Medicine
The solution to our drug pricing problem involves less government, more transparency.
TWO THINGS HAPPENED after the FDA approved a novel new treatment for hereditary blindness in December, neither of which was surprising. First the company that makes the drug announced they would charge nearly a million dollars for it. Next, the uproar began. No one asked what the costs research and regulation were, but it didn't matter: No matter what, the price was going to be too high.
Drug prices have become so contentious, it's practically impossible to announce the price of a new drug without facing widespread public outcry. Ultimately, I think this is a good thing: It means that the American people are engaged in one of the major public policy debates of our time. More and more people are coming to realize that the system is broken and are demanding a change.
While I am glad to see this kind of citizen engagement, I am disheartened by how many people think that the way to make drugs more affordable is to increase government control of the economy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is we do need to fix the way we pay for prescription drugs. But the solution to our drug pricing problem involves less government, not more – and much more transparency.
The problem with drug prices – especially for the coming wave of innovative cures and personalized, precision medicines – is not that they start out expensive, but that they stay expensive for years after they have been on the market. The main culprit here is the regulatory environment that limits the creation of a free, functioning and competitive market for prescription drugs. To illustrate this point, consider how differently things work when other high tech products come to market with a high list price.
When the first iPod was released in 2001, it cost $399 and could hold 1,000 songs. Over the next three years, as more alternatives came to market, Apple felt the competition and created an iPod that held four times as many songs as the original and cost $170 less. These days, when 77 percent of Americans own a smartphone, the idea of a $400 dollar iPod seems ridiculous. Competition spurred innovation, which drove down prices. That is what free markets do when unencumbered.
Of course, prescriptions drugs are different than iPods, and having access to portable music is much less important than having access to affordable medicine. As a patient and a physician, a father and a grandfather, I am personally interested in solving our drug pricing problem. But this kind of concern is no reason to treat drugs differently, in an economic sense, than any other product on the market.
Right now, the federal government prevents competition by impeding how many new drugs get approved, and how they are paid for when they come to market. Fortunately, there are ways to produce safe, effective and affordable drugs while decreasing government regulation.
First, we need to increase the number of generic drugs available, and be able to know their prices offered before we buy. This is called price transparency – and economical markets need price transparency. In 2016, patients paid an average of $5.54 out of pocket for generic drugs and $28.31 for branded equivalents. In addition to providing a cheap alternative for patients, generic competition is crucial to lowering prices. After multiple generics are approved, prices fall by 80 percent across the board, saving money for everyone. Fortunately, under Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the FDA is taking steps to streamline generic drug approvals, putting us on a path to a more robust generic drug market. In fact, we have already seen the results of the efforts as the FDA approved a record number of generic drugs in 2017.
Additionally, we need to ensure that the list prices of these drugs are displayed front and center for the consumer to see at the point of sale. This kind of price transparency is crucial for the functioning of an open market, and will help encourage patients to opt for cheaper alternatives whenever they can.
Once we increase the number of new drugs on the market, we need to find new ways of paying for them. This is especially important for those new drugs that come with high price tags. I have a personal interest in ensuring that we solve the payment issues for these personalized medicines. I have stage-four prostate cancer, which is close to remission, and my doctors have already engineered a personalized medicine to give me next. This is truly a new frontier in medicine – using our own cells to cure cancer – but I am awaiting the sticker shock associated with it. This is why our real concern should be developing ways to pay for precision medicine that won't bankrupt patients.
One way, which is much talked about, is to pay for medicine based on outcomes instead of by dose or injection, which federal regulations now inhibit. If we rolled back these regulations and instead let market forces allocate the costs down and the competition up, we will see costs brought down without jeopardizing safety or efficacy. Rather than raging against a high initial price, we should accept that precision drugs will cost a lot initially, but also that they should be priced based on outcomes. With market forces restored, the initial list price won't matter, as prices fall and everyone can afford precision medicine.
The actions we take to address drug prices over the next 10 years will affect how we develop, approve and pay for medicine for a generation. Rather than doubling down on government regulation, we should rely on the free market, which is the best way to allocate these scarce resources, increase competition, lower prices and continue to foster medical innovation for years to come.
This piece originally appeared at U.S. News & World Report
Dr. Tom Coburn is the Nick Ohnell Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a former two-term U.S. Senator from Oklahoma.
This piece originally appeared in U.S. News and World Report


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Phil MeekinView Profile
Latest statistics from the Government Insolvency Service show a 6.5 per cent increase in total company liquidations in England and Wales in 2011 compared to 2010.
Figures showing the number of administrations within various industries are more telling than those showing the overall number of corporate liquidations, says a leading Sheffield insolvency expert.
Latest statistics from the Government Insolvency Service show a 6.5% increase in total company liquidations in England and Wales in 2011 compared to 2010.
However, industry specific figures showing the rate of companies going into administration vary dramatically.
A 38% increase in administrations within the construction industry this year demonstrates how the building sector is still taking a hit. A 34% decrease in administrations in the transport, storage and communication industry may seem positive news but figures suggest a different story.
Administration figures usually closely mirror liquidation figures as one often leads to the other. While the overall figures show the total of corporate liquidations has increased by 6.5%, the breakdown of administrations within the different industries vary much more dramatically illustrating the effect the recession has had on various trades.
“When the figures from the most recent quarter of 2011 are compared with the same quarter in 2010, almost all industries have seen a rise in the number of companies going into administration. The manufacturing industry has seen an increase of 7 per cent, construction has shot up by 38 per cent, and administrations within the wholesale and retail trade are up 20 per cent, while hotel and restaurant administrations have increased by 26 per cent.
A figure that stands out is the 34 per cent decrease of companies going into administration in the transport, storage and communication industry. Many might assume that this is a sign of improving business within the industry but I’d view this figure with caution. I would say that it illustrates the extreme challenges this industry has faced over the last two or three years. It demonstrates that the haulage and transport companies were the first to be hit hard by the economic downturn and many companies fell early on, leaving fewer companies to go into administration as time progressed.”
A lack of consumer confidence is probably to blame for the continuing increase in corporate liquidations. The Government needs to focus on restoring that confidence.
The overall increase in corporate insolvencies and increase of administrations within the retail and hospitality industries is unsurprising. A focus needs to be placed on improving consumer confidence which in turn should lead to growth for businesses.
It is likely the retail and leisure industries will take another hit in the first quarter of 2012. Those industries usually face a dip once the festive season has passed.
The companies that survive will be the proactive thinkers and those who act in advance.
Putting off seeking professional advice is key to not falling at the first hurdle. Many people find taking that first step a challenging and difficult step, but it is crucial if you’re to survive.
Despite challenging economic times for many businesses, Wilson Field has recently expanded its own portfolio. We have opened an office in the West Midlands, complementing its existing bases in Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds.
We have built a reputation for professional and personal service as well as exceptional industry knowledge. We’re confident we can continue to help businesses across the UK with their business recovery, insolvency and debt solution needs.


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Remember Pokemon Go?
It was the craze that was everywhere for about three weeks before fading into irrelevancy (a bit like the chick who wore 100 shades of her foundation on her face). Luckily the creators of Pokemon Go have realised that the app is dying, so they’ve released new Pokemon from the Johto series of games.
Now up for grabs are a bunch of the extremely adorable ‘baby pokemon’. Togepi, the cute egg-shaped pokemon made famous by Misty is now available in Pokemon Go, as is Pichu, the baby form of Pikachu. You won’t be able to catch these ones in the wild though, you’ll have to hatch them from eggs collected at Pokestops.
The game has also made some changes for the festive season. There’s a new Christmas themed loading screen, as well as the possibility of catching yourself a Santa Hat Pikachu between now and December 29.
The updates certainly aren’t the whole new generation of Pokemon that fans were hoping for (ALL JOHTO POKEMON NOW PLEASE), but the Pokemon Go team still have lots in plan for the end of the year, and for 2017.
BRB gotta go catch ’em all.


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As most of us know about Apple not because of its nice looking and fast performing device but also as the trendsetters on its previous model of iPhone Apple already has uses technology like 3D touch, live picture, Force touch and more but this time, Apple is going for a big change on its upcoming iPhone model as we know that data-transfer is common task for each device lover but it takes so much time if size of data is too large that’s why Apple developers are thinking to phase out this situation they are working on a new Data transfer technology Li-Fi
According to a New report announced by a twitter User that, Apple is working on Li-Fi wireless technology for its upcoming device this information were spotted by Chase Fromm a Twitter user and later this info was confirmed by Apple Insider.
Li-Fi testing is already imminent. May appear in the next iPhone 7 according to iOS code in iOS 9.1 firmware. pic.twitter.com/MPK65QwLvp
— チェイスフロム (@kyoufujibaya) December 31, 2015
The iOS code reference in the latest version iOS 9.1 suggest about Li-Fi capability basically, Li-Fi is light-based wireless data transfer technology that transfer data using the visual spectrum instead of radio wave.The Li-Fi technology uses the light pulse for data transfer and in near future, this technology will replace the Wi-Fi uses of data transfer Li-Fi technology is 100 times faster than a Standard Wi-Fi connection which means you can download multiple data files with in a second.
The average speed of Li-Fi is 224 Gigabits per second with this high-speed you can download multiple HD movies, Games and Video in less than two seconds although this technology currently in early development stage but after looking the reference code in iOS 9 we can assume that Apple is only experimenting with this technology and may be we can also see its practical use with upcoming iPhone devices.
So what you think about this new revolutionary technology Li-Fi for future Electronics devices.
Also, Know About Battery That Don’t Explode Due to Overheat.


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Intu Properties – formerly Capital Shopping Centres – is placing 86m shares as part of a move to buy Milton Keynes mall Midsummer Place for £250.5m.
Peel, which already has a 20.2 per cent stake in Intu, is buying around 14.5m shares at 342.9p, with the remainder going to institutional investors.
Intu, which also has a 48 per cent stake in Manchester's Arndale Centre, revealed revenues for the year to December 31 were up 2% to £525m, while pre-tax profits soared from £33.6m to £158.6m.
Net rental income dipped by 0.3 per cent - or £1m - to £363m. Intu said it had plans to invest £30m in its Barton Square annex in 2014/15, and added it was in talks with a “major fashion retailer not currently represented at the Trafford Centre” about locating there.


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E-commerce service provider eBay Inc. ( EBAY )-owned mobile payment processor company - Braintree recently unveiled a modular software development kit ("SDK") called the Braintree v.zero for developers.
Braintree v.zero SDK allows developers to easily and quickly integrate any of PayPal or Braintree's payment services to a website or mobile app. The SDK takes approximately 15 minutes to install and configure. Braintree intends to offer more payment methods in the coming months.
The new software toolset enables companies to subtract payments directly from a shopper's PayPal account. Also, it allows shoppers to easily make payments from their smart devices.
Today, smartphones, tablets and other mobile Internet devices are the biggest growth drivers. Consumers, nowadays, prefer the convenience of ordering and paying online over the hassles of shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.
Therefore, removing the hurdle for mobile customers to feed in their credit card details on their phones for every purchase will help eBay ramp up its sales.
Last year, eBay acquired Braintree for $800 million in cash in a bid to enhance PayPal's mobile payments capabilities. The latest launch is the first big move by Braintree since its acquisition. Braintree is a payment processing company, which helps businesses set up online payments through merchant accounts, mobile apps, credit card storage and payment gateways.
PayPal is taking all the necessary measures for continued growth in the mobile payment business. It is pushing beyond its online payments service and expanding its offline, mobile and online offerings to stores, restaurants and other businesses.
Though eBay's payment business shows great promise, competition remains a major headwind. However, the latest move will likely put PayPal in a better position against rival mobile payment systems such as Amazon.com Inc. ( AMZN ) recently launched Amazon Payments, Google Inc. 's ( GOOGL ) digital wallet, Intuit Inc. 's ( INTU ) GoPayment and Starbucks ( SBUX )-backed Square Inc. and others.
Currently, eBay's shares carry a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.


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HOUGHTON LAKE – The Houghton Lake Chamber of Commerce Business Expo took place at The Northern Center on Stone School Rd in Houghton Lake recently.
The Business Expo is a free event that gives the community and businesses an opportunity to connect. Jay Jacobs, executive director of the chamber of commerce, describes the event as “an opportunity to find out what is happening in the community”.
With over 50 participating vendors, attendees were given a chance to meet with a variety of new and existing small businesses. The expo offered a blend of media groups, non-profits, financial services, home improvement companies, health and wellness services. In addition to getting familiar with businesses in our area, attendees were treated to door prizes, raffles and food samples.
If you are interested in participating in the 2023 Business Expo, you can contact the Houghton Lake Chamber of Commerce at 989-366-5644 or by email at firstname.lastname@example.org. For information on upcoming events, please see the event calendar at houghtonlakechamber.net or visit their Facebook page.


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The company said that with over 10 years of experience, Gaurav will play a key role in growing OYO’s business in South Asia.
“His appointment further strengthens OYO’s South Asia leadership that is dedicated and focused towards building the most loved and preferred hospitality brand,” Aditya Ghosh, chief executive officer for India and South Asia said.
The SoftBank backed hospitality chain Oyo was started by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013. The startup was started from a single hotel to over 8500 hotels at present. It is the fastest growing network of hotels, offline and online.
It operates in more than 800 cities in 80 countries, including the US, Europe, UK, India, Malaysia, Middle East, Indonesia, Philippines, and Japan.
“In my new role, I look forward to enabling OYO to continue and excel in its mission of creating quality living spaces across India and South Asia. I am super excited to be working closely with Aditya to make this vision a reality,” Ajmera, Chief Operating Officer, India & South Asia, OYO Hotels & Homes, said.
Ajmera holds a B.Tech and M.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.


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Researchers at MIT have created a new wearable sensor that helps athletes to identify and evaluate head injuries in real-time.
The ‘Jolt Sensor’ is a small clip that attaches to any bit of head worn equipment, such as a helmet or headband.
When a player experiences a dangerous impact, the sensor vibrates to alert them and then sends a notification to an accompanying iOS or Android smartphone app via Bluetooth.
It also connects to the parents’ and coaches’ smartphones , and athletes can evaluate their symptoms using the Jolt app’s cognitive test and concussion symptom checklist.
Ben Harvatine and Seth Berg, the MIT creators behind the sensor, came up with the idea after Harvatine suffered a concussion during wrestling practice.
"Through the ensuing hospital visits and months of recovery, the same thought kept crossing my mind – how could this have been prevented?" Harvatine said in his Kickstarter video.
"Many athletes like myself continue to play without realising they’ve been concussed, so there needs to be a way to alert parents, coaches and athletes of dangerous impacts as soon as they happen."
The sensor, which is waterproof and protected by soft silicone rubber, also comes equipped with a micro-USB port and a battery that lasts for several weeks on a single charge.
The sensor is currently seeking to raise $60,000 on Kickstarter following success trials.


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NetherRealm Studios’ upcoming DC Universe brawler, Injustice: Gods Among Us, hits in the U.S. on April 16 (followed by Europe and Australia a few days later), but that won’t be the first time you’ll be able to get your hands on it. Publisher Warner Bros. announced plans to release a demo for the game on April 2 (April 3 for Europe) on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PlayStation Network.
The game’s full roster of DC Comics characters won’t be available in the demo; players will have the option of playing as Batman, Wonder Woman or Lex Luthor. Only one of the game’s many destructible environments, set in Batman’s home base of Gotham City, will be available in the demo. Along with the announcement, NetherRealm released a new trailer for the game, this one featuring archer Green Arrow going toe-to-toe with ancient Egyptian powerhouse Black Adam. Other playable characters will include Aquaman, the Flash, Doomsday, Sinestro and others.
[youtube id=mvs8L6vWq5M width=”620″ height=”360″]
Injustice is set in a dystopian version of the DC Universe. After the Joker kills most of Superman’s friends and family – and tricks Supes into murdering his pregnant wife, Lois Lane – the Man of Steel goes off the deep end, ruling the planet with an iron fist alongside Amazon warrior princess Wonder Woman and a crew of loyal heroes. Another sect of heroes, led by Batman, begin a resistance movement against Superman, with the supervillains thrown in for good measure. The game’s story has shades of the seminal Kingdom Come storyarc by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, but centered less on philosophic ruminations on power and apocalypse and more on dudes punching each other through walls.
With the game’s release just a couple weeks away, are you excited for the game? Still on the fence? Let us know in the comments below.


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For the second year in a row Toyota has walked off with the Overall Gold at the annual Southern African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (SAVRALA) awards.
SAVRALA – whose car rental and leasing members manage more than 400 000 vehicles a year in South Africa – hold its annual industry Manufacturer of the Year (MOTY) awards as a barometer of the relationship between the industry and itself.
Toyota placed first in both the Rental and Leasing categories, which also secured them the position of overall winner for the second year consecutively. Hyundai and Kia came in second and third position respectively.
For 24 years, the MOTY awards has aimed to reward motor manufacturers for the level of service and support provided to SAVRALA members. At least 33 of the largest Rental and Leasing companies in South Africa complete two comprehensive surveys annually, assessing 38 criteria across various areas of their business, such as communication and contact with manufacturers, support on both a manufacturer and dealer level, maintenance issues, various financial aspects and B-BBEE compliance.
To eliminate any personal bias when these surveys are completed, companies hold panel discussions involving employees who are knowledgeable about each criterion.
This approach ensures that an objective and company-wide perspective is obtained and that the results can be used by the manufacturers to identify and address any gaps in their service delivery to the Rental and Leasing industries.
The results clearly show the bar has been raised yet again, with the Rental score rising to its highest level since 2011. Leasing was not part of the MOTY process in 2015 or 2016, hence it is encouraging to see more emphasis being placed on this industry since its return.
Rental Results for 2019:
Toyota improved its Rental score by 3,7% and retained its winning position. Renault continued its upward march by moving into joint second position, one position up from third spot last year. For the first time in MOTY history, Kia broke into the top three by sharing the second position with Renault. Hyundai completed the podium positions by taking third.
Kia also received the award for the most improved Manufacturer, having improved its Rental score by 13,6% since 2018.
The Value award is presented to the automotive member that has scored the most combined points for the Financial section, and for the second consecutive year, Toyota has taken top spot.
The Tutuka award recognises the best scoring automotive member who supplies lower and niche vehicle volumes to the car rental industry. This year, the award went to Mini.
|2018||Toyota||Shared BMW and Volkswagen||Renault|
|2019||Toyota||Shared Kia and Renault||Hyundai|
Leasing Results for 2019:
On the leasing side, Toyota is the winner for the third consecutive year, followed by Hyundai, who came second for the third consecutive year.
Nissan made a return to the podium. The last time Nissan was in the Top 3 was in 2013, but it has managed to claw its way back in 2019 by taking the third position in the Leasing category.
The award for the Manufacturer who improved the most since 2018 was presented to Datsun, who improved their 2018 score by 18,8%.
The Value award for the Manufacturer scoring the best for the Financial section on the Leasing survey was awarded to Toyota, who also won this award in 2018.
Best Representative Awards for 2019:
While success is seldom the result of the efforts of one individual, it certainly requires someone to ignite the spark. For their part in maintaining a successful relationship between supplier and customer, the awards for the Best Account Executive for Rental goes to Queen Ramaliwa from BMW and for Leasing to Faan Fourie from Toyota. The Best Technical Representative, as voted by both the Rental and Leasing participants, was once again awarded to Ramatjitla Penyane from Toyota.
Congratulating all the winners on their achievement, SAVRALA President, Winston Guriah, lauded Manufacturers on both the Rental and Leasing side for their commitment to true partnership.
“At a time when the economy faces what seem to be insurmountable challenges, it is reassuring to know we have customer-focussed partners on whom we can depend unwaveringly. My hearty congratulations to all the deserving winners today. Your efforts inspire continuous improvements, which bodes well for all customers, not just the members of SAVRALA. We are grateful for your commitment and support,” says Guriah.
MOTY helps each manufacturer identify their strengths and work on the areas of weakness as highlighted to them by their customers. It is clear from this year’s results that the industry is prepared to award those that are willing to take up the challenge, lift their level of commitment and align their efforts with the needs of the industry.


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According to authorities, the teens he targeted were blatantly victimized.
Upper Darby Police say 14-year-old Hezakye York's hands were up and he was backing away when the owner of Dollar World zapped him with a stun gun several times.
"For you to try to use that on me - like really I'm an animal? That's how you see me? Not as a person? That's how I felt," York said.
The teen and his friend, 15-year-old Nasir Edwards, say they were in the West Chester Pike store Wednesday picking up some pasta for Nasir's mother.
Hezakye picked up an item he couldn't afford, but put it back in the wrong place. He says the owner immediately accused them of shoplifting.
"When he's coming at me, my thought was can somebody help me. It's all citizens in there," York said.
"My friend was running. I was trying to get (the owner) to calm down. I was like the only person in the store who was trying to get him to calm down. That night I was real angry and right now I just don't understand it all. I'm not sure how to feel," Edwards said.
The Upper Darby High 9th graders say as they ran out the store the 42-year-old owner You Yang pulled out a handgun and threatened to shoot them.
Police responded and arrested Yang, confiscating his legally owned shotgun and 9mm.
"I could see people wanting to defend their property, but in this case, the store owner was 100% wrong," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.
One look at Yang's storefront and customers can see he's aggressive about catching suspected shoplifters. Yang posts surveillance images on the doors and windows.
But now Yang is the one in trouble.
"Boys are going to stores all over and this is happening and it's like more and more you see outrageous stories in the news where people believe it or not are not even phased by it anymore, I want people to be phased by this," York's mother Viola Bell said.
Hezakye, who only suffered a couple of Taser marks, on his arm says there's a reason he spoke up.
"What would he do to the next person? He could really harm that person when he did nothing wrong," York said.
As you would expect, the young men say they don't plan to ever walk into the Dollar World store again.
The owner is free on bail.


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The average person in the United States now consumes more than 35 gallons of bottled water per year, according to data from market research firm Beverage Marketing Corp. That’s about 270 bottles per person, and that number is only going to go up: By 2017, the average American is expected to drink almost 300 bottles annually.
Here’s why that’s terrible news…
Bottles Dripping in Oil
Did you know that, every year, the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil are used to produce plastic water and soda bottles in the U.S.—not including transportation? Or that bottling water produces more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year?
What an incredible waste of precious resources and a foolish threat to both national security and the climate—all for a bottle you use once and throw away!
The more we squander what little accessible oil we have on really stupid things like single-use plastic bottles, the more we have to procure from other countries and dangerously and expensively drill out of pristine ecosystems.
Given all the war, corruption and environmental devastation caused around the world by the U.S. demand for oil, this is neither politically nor environmentally sustainable.
I mean, would you go to war or take someone’s land by force just to procure the resources to keep making plastic water bottles?
Anything we can do to quickly and permanently phase out disposable plastic bottles would help improve our relationship with the people living in oil and gas-rich nations, reduce economic and environmental waste at home, and ease the burden that extracting fossil fuels places on communities and ecosystems worldwide.
The Price of Convenience
“The bottled water industry says correctly, but misleadingly, that the plastic the water comes in is recyclable,” says Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute. “It’s misleading, because recyclable is not the same thing as recycled.”
By Gleick’s estimate, only about a third of all bottles of water consumed in the United States are recycled, meaning that about two-thirds end up in the garbage.
Even the minority of bottles that do get recycled are simply down-cycled. In other words, after one more incarnation, they will end up in the landfill (or as litter) anyway.
Next to plastic bags, plastic bottles are the most prevalent (and unsightly) source of pollution found on our beaches and shores. Each year, over 500 billion disposable bottles and cups end up littering our soil, rivers, lakes and oceans, killing countless fish and animals. The sad image above is becoming all-too-common at lakes, rivers and beaches across the U.S.
According to Gleick:
“There is no comparison with the environmental footprint of bottled water. Of course, the plastic footprint is the same as it is with other drinks which come in bottles. But that argument is disingenuous, because for bottled water the alternative isn’t soda, it’s tap water. And the environmental footprint of bottled water vastly exceeds the environmental footprint of cheap, high-quality tap water. It’s not even close.”
As of 2006, it took 3 liters of water to produce 1 liter of bottled water, according to the Pacific Institute. In other words, before even adding up the energy needed to produce the actual bottles—which is significant—bottled water was already three times as inefficient as tap water.
But when NPR looked closely at this issue, it found that it failed to consider the entire chain of waste that goes into producing and selling bottled beverages:
Bottled water companies (along with many other beverage companies) should include the water in their supply chain, says Ertug Ercin with the Water Footprint Network. Ercin says a true water footprint includes all freshwater used in production, including the water used for packaging.
“Packaging makes a significant footprint,” he says, adding that three liters of water might be used to make a half-liter bottle. In other words, the amount of water going into making the bottle could be up to six or seven times what’s inside the bottle.
Drilling for oil to make plastic, Ercin says, uses a substantial amount of groundwater. And you need water to make the paper labels, too, he adds.
Bottled Water is No Safer Than Tap Water
Although many people believe bottled water to be healthier than tap water, the truth is, the federal government does not mandate that bottled water be any safer than tap water. In fact, the chemical pollution standards are nearly identical.
Even worse, while most public water utilities are required to disclose their testing results to the public every year, bottled water companies are not required to release their testing data to the public at all, except in the state of California, where a minimum of information is required. So if you buy bottled water, you just can’t be sure of what you’re getting.
Extensive research done by The Environmental Working Group (EWG) found 38 contaminants in 10 popular brands of bottled water, including disinfection byproducts, industrial chemicals, arsenic, fertilizer residue and pain medication.
The study also included assays for breast cancer cell proliferation, conducted at the University of Missouri. One bottled water brand spurred a 78% increase in the growth of the breast cancer cells compared to the control sample.
Separate testing done by the Natural Resources Defense Council also found many contaminants in bottled water. There have also been many recalls of bottled water due to contaminants like E. coli.
It is clear that confidence in the purity of bottled water is largely unjustified, and in many cases the industry may be delivering a beverage little cleaner than tap water—but sold at a 1,900 times the cost.
Plastic beverage bottles are made from PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) polymer. According to the EPA, toxic pollutants, including styrene, butadiene and methanol are released into the air during its production—for all of us to inhale.
And air pollution is an ongoing by-product of plastic bottles as they are made, filled, packaged and transported to consumers.
According to the National Resources Defense Council:
In 2006, the equivalent of 2 billion half-liter bottles of water were shipped to U.S. ports, creating thousands of tons of global warming pollution and other air pollution. In New York City alone, the transportation of bottled water from western Europe released an estimated 3,800 tons of global warming pollution into the atmosphere. In California, 18 million gallons of bottled water were shipped in from Fiji in 2006, producing about 2,500 tons of global warming pollution.
From creation to disposal, these bottles contribute to air pollution. And many of the chemicals that go into their production continue to leach out into the air and into the water they hold.
If the threat to our security and natural resources weren’t enough, there is also overwhelming evidence of adverse health effects tied to Bisphenol A, or BPA, including reproductive problems, infertility and cancer.
BPA is a widely-used chemical in the manufacturing of food and beverage containers, including baby bottles, plastic beverage bottles and aluminum cans. BPA is even absorbed into your skin from your dental sealants, toothbrush bristles and the receipt paper you get at the grocery store!
Many countries and a handful of U.S. states have strongly regulated or banned the use of BPA, but corporate lobbyists are spending billions influencing government regulatory authorities, so—absent public pressure—there’s no incentive to ban it here…yet.
The Healthiest Option: A Reusable Bottle
There is nothing healthier for you, your wallet, and the planet than filtered tap water in a reusable bottle. (Where to find water filters online.)
Most bottled waters brands contain nothing more than filtered tap water anyway, so a good filter for your tap water at home will pay for itself quickly. Plus you can use the filtered water for cooking, too!
There are many types of reusable bottles to choose from, and it can be hard to know which are safe and do not leach toxins into your beverage.
A recent study published in the Environmental Health Perspective Journal tested baby bottles, water bottles and other products advertised as BPA-Free, and found that, while indeed BPA-free, they all released other toxic, hormone-affecting chemicals. In fact, some BPA-free plastic containers tested higher for harmful chemicals than the “regular” ones with BPA!
“BPA-Free” is no guarantee that your reusable bottle isn’t leaching toxic, hormone-disrupting chemicals into your beverage.
The safest and most eco-friendly reusable bottles are made from glass or stainless steel. Both glass and steel bottles are made in lots of fun colors and designs, and some are thermal, allowing you to keep hot beverages hot and cold ones cold.
Choose one (or two) you like, and carry it with you so you always have it on hand at home, work, the gym, or on the town. That way, you’ll never have to risk your health or the health of the planet by buying beverages in plastic bottles again!
The True Cost of Bottled Water
This little video by Annie Leonard explores the bottled water industry’s use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the precious oil it squanders and the mountains of plastic waste it produces.


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The Whole Foods that opened in Englewood six years ago to live music, TV-ready politicians and outdoor lines will close Sunday with little fanfare.
The grocery store was once a point of optimism and pride in one of Chicago’s most economically distressed South Side neighborhoods. But by Saturday, Whole Foods’ hot bar had cooled. The freezer aisle was empty, save for a few fancy pints of avocado “frozen dessert” and low-calorie ice cream.
Items still available in the store are marked down by 60 percent. Some shoppers took advantage of the deep discounts, pushing what looked like mountains of carts and piled on top of the rest. Others mourned the store’s closing.
Barbara Harris, who eats a vegan diet, goes to Whole Foods almost every day for nuts and fresh fruit, she said. But by the time he arrived on Saturday, most of his regular items had sold out. I wish it would go sooner.
“This is a great place for us. And now he’s leaving, I’m just disappointed,” said the 61-year-old Englewood resident.
In the future, Harris will have to shop at the more expensive and further away Hyde Park store. The people working at the grocery store he designed were always friendly, he added.
“It seems like every time we get something good in our neighborhood, there’s something to take it away,” Harris said.
The city spent $10.7 million to subsidize the construction of the shopping center where the store is located. Whole Foods opened at 832 W. 63rd St. in April. announced the closing of its location, local activists said they felt betrayed, adding that the closure would limit access to fresh and healthy food in the neighborhood.
The company closed five more stores nationwide at the time, including one near DePaul, “to position Whole Foods Market for long-term success.” It opened an almost 66,000-square-foot location in the Near North neighborhood the same week.
There are few food options left in the neighborhood. A handful of remaining grocery stores include a location nearby for low-budget grocer Aldi and a smaller Go Green Community Fresh Market run by the nonprofit Inner-City Muslim Action Network. Another nearby Aldi in Auburn Gresham closed abruptly in June.
It is not yet clear what will replace Whole Foods. The sales agreement with the city calls for a full-service grocery store to operate in the Englewood Square development by the end of 2027.
The deal calls for the new store to open within 18 months of the Whole Foods divestiture. That puts a May 2024 deadline for a new grocery store.
Saturday night shopper Chanda Daniels is vegan, as is Harris. Whole Foods sold the ingredients to support his diet. He has a car, so he can go places, but “a lot of people don’t,” the 52-year-old said.
“It’s a health food store in a poor Black neighborhood,” he said. “They had to find a way to keep it.”
Daniels moved west to the Courthouse neighborhood, but the former Englewood resident continues to occasionally shop for elderly family members in the neighborhood and still remembers when the store first opened.
“I was happy because I didn’t have to go far,” he said, adding that older people nearby would have a harder time getting quality food. “We really need places like this in these kinds of neighborhoods.”
Sekhema Williams also recalled the opening of the store. He was starting an organic juice business, so it was convenient to have fresh produce nearby.
He was born and raised in the neighborhood but has since moved to Oak Lawn. Still, he stopped to pick up two gallons of water, a piece of pea soup, and a loaf of bread. Inside, the 29-year-old woman said, the store she was once excited about felt kind of sad.
“If you want to get healthy food, you might just have to travel. It was definitely a great thing we had,” Williams said.
Her grandmother lives nearby but doesn’t drive much, so she would buy things for him. Williams added that her grandmother liked the juice.
Derek Bassett, 70, recalled former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel demanding the store open in the community. He wasn’t surprised to see her up close, he said as he carried the brown paper bags to his car.
“The way the community is structured, unless certain things are in place, it’s not going to work,” said the Englewood resident, adding that the neighborhood generally doesn’t have enough economic stability to support an expensive grocery store.
Teresa Mack couldn’t buy all her groceries at the grocery store because the prices were high, but she stopped in often to get specifics.
“I bought brown. Me and the butcher were trying to get enough short ribs for dinner that I could eat for a while,” said Mac, who bought a sparkling water and juice at the store Saturday night.
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The store is close to home on the border of Englewood and Auburn Gresham, he said. Now he will have to travel farther to buy quality food, he said.
“I can’t get in the car and run here,” Mac said.
He buys small items like bananas from Aldi two blocks down the street, but the low-cost grocery won’t fill the hole left by the high-quality Whole Foods leaves.
“My understanding is that they received a subsidy to come here in the first place. I feel like they should have stayed here… They could have kept it open,” Mac said. “It’s a choice they made.”
Chicago Tribune reporter Talia Soglin contributed.


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Wayans Bros. New Kids Property Under Way for Videos26 Jan, 2005 By: Angelique Flores
Keenen Ivory, Marlon and Shawn Wayans have announced plans to launch Thugaboo, their first endeavor into a children's animation property. Based on the Wayans' own original source material, Thugaboo is a broad character-based property that takes a humorous look at the trials and tribulations of nine kids growing up in the inner city. Through a series of misadventures, the characters learn valuable lessons from the importance of friendship to never giving up on one's dreams.
The Wayans — the brains behind the TV series “In Living Color,” Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2 and White Chicks — will support the property by producing, writing and lending their voices to a direct-to-video series that is already under way. Additionally, they have inked deals with toy company Playmates, consumer products company The Betesh Group and children's book publisher Scholastic for products that will follow the launch of the video series, targeted for the 2005 holiday season.
The Wayans recently partnered with trading-card company Topps to launch “The Dozens,” a new trading card game arriving in spring 2005. They also signed a deal with Bonus Mobile to develop and publish “The Dozens” as a multiplayer mobile phone game.


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Next week sees the 2016 Game Developers Conference (GDC) and the first ever Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC) get underway in San Francisco, California. The videogame industry will gather at the events to talk about creating VR software and make announcements regarding its future. One company with big plans for the show is tech team AMD. This week, the group is announcing its own press event to showcase its latest hardware to be hosted at the show, which is expected to make have a big focus on VR technology.
The event, named ‘Capsaicin’, will be held at 16:00 PT on 14th March 2016 and is said to take a look at the company’s latest GPU, which is powering both traditional videogames and VR experiences. Radeon Technologies Group’s Senior Vice President and Chief Architect Raja Koduri will be hosting. Crucially, the major VR figureheads will be at the show, including representatives of Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD) creator Oculus VR, HTC Vive HMD creator HTC and Crytek, a developer that’s current working on several VR exclusive videogames such as The Climb and Robinson: The Journey.
For those not at GDC, a livestream of the event will be hosted over on AMD’s own website and will be replayed after it’s done.
For more on AMD’s work in VR, check back with VRFocus.


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May 23, 2007 |
Nike Inc. and Foot Locker Inc. said they would open as many as 50 House of Hoops stores in the U.S. in the next three years as they seek to boost flagging sales of basketball shoes. Most of the stores will be converted Foot Locker locations, the companies said. Stores are planned in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Houston and New York. New York-based Foot Locker and Beaverton, Ore.
June 28, 2002 |
Nike Inc., the world's largest athletic-shoe maker, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 28% as the firm cut inventory and sold more products, including basketball shoes, at full price. Net income climbed to $208.4 million, or 77 cents a share. Sales rose 8% to $2.68 billion. Shares of Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike rose $2.34, or 4.8%, to $51.42 on the NYSE. Results were released after the close of regular U.S. trading.
March 28, 1997 |
Teen-age girls paid 20 cents an hour to make $180 Nike sneakers are worked to exhaustion and fondled by their supervisors at Vietnam factories, a labor activist said. "Supervisors humiliate women, force them to kneel, to stand in the hot sun, treating them like recruits in boot camp," said Thuyen Nguyen, founder of Vietnam Labor Watch. Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike Inc. said it suspended one plant manager for forcing women to run laps.
September 25, 2008 |
Nike Inc. said its fiscal first-quarter profit fell from a year earlier, when it benefited from a one-time tax gain. Excluding that item, profit rose in the quarter on sales growth around the globe. The Beaverton, Ore., company said its net income in the quarter that ended Aug. 31 fell to $510.5 million, or $1.03 a share, from $569.7 million, or $1.12, a year earlier. Last year's first-quarter profit included a special item that increased earnings per share by 20 cents. Without it, net income would have grown 10%. Revenue jumped 17% to $5.43 billion.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
November 14, 1995
Shoe manufacturer Nike Inc. agreed Monday to remove a billboard message in South-Central Los Angeles near USC that a national Islamic organization contended was offensive to Muslims. The billboard features a photograph of former Los Angeles Clippers basketball player John Williams with copy that reads ". . . and they call him Allah." Williams, who starred at Crenshaw High School, picked up the nickname as a youth, a Nike spokesman said.
November 10, 1997 |
An audit of a Vietnamese factory producing 400,000 shoes a month for Nike Inc. indicates that unsafe conditions existed when the audit was conducted a year ago. The report by Ernst & Young found that laborers at Korean-owned Tae Kwang Vina Industrial Ltd. were exposed to carcinogens and forced to work up to 65 hours a week for only $10. The factory employs about 10,000, mostly women. The report on the November 1996 inspection was submitted to Nike in January for internal use.
November 30, 2002 |
Nike Inc. knows who's been naughty and nice. So now that it's nearly Christmas, is it time for a little retail revenge? Some say that's exactly what the athletic shoe behemoth has in mind for its biggest customer, Foot Locker Inc. Although Nike will be releasing limited editions of Air Jordan models to Foot Locker's rivals during the holiday shopping season, it won't be sending a single pair to the New York-based retail chain.
November 12, 1999 |
Nike Inc. is offering college activists a different kind of spring break, one that would take them on an inspection tour of the sports shoe and apparel company's factories around the world. Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike is trying to improve the perception of working conditions at its contract factories. Many of the company's harshest critics have been students, who contend the factories are dangerous sweatshops that hire underage workers and pay too little.
August 10, 2001 |
Nike Inc., the world's top maker of athletic shoes and apparel, cut in half the annual bonus of Chairman Philip Knight as the firm's stock price slipped and rival Reebok International Ltd. picked up market share during the last year. Knight, 63, received a $663,000 bonus for the fiscal year, compared with $1.33 million in 2000, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The bonuses of other top executives at Nike also were cut, according to the filing. Beaverton, Ore.


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Tuesday June 9,2015 : SCIENTIFIC GAMES SIGNS NEW NORSK TIPPING CONTRACT
Three year agreement to provide instant games and services.
Scientific Games Corporation has announced that it has signed a new 3-year contract with Norsk Tipping (the national lottery of Norway) to provide instant games and related marketing services after the conclusion of a competitive process.
SG currently supplies Norsk Tipping with gaming system and retail technology.
Torbjorn Almlid, CEO of Norsk Tipping, said, "Our focus will be on assessing how we can expand our instant game portfolio and segment our retailer network as a means of growing the instant product category."
With total sales of 26.9 billion Norwegian Kroner in 2014, Norsk Tipping offers a range of lotto, sports, instant scratch, VLTs and interactive games in the Norwegian market. The Lottery's products are sold through a nationwide network of more than 4,000 retailers and via mobile platforms and the internet.
Scientific Games has worked with Norsk Tipping since1995.


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This just popped up — United Airlines said today it is teaming with Chicago's Garrett Popcorn company to serve a popular cheese and caramel popcorn combo called Garrett Mix on all flights longer than two hours starting May 1. And today, the Chicago-based carrier set a date for the debut of its new coffee service.
The Garrett Mix, first introduced decades ago, is a Garrett fan favorite. The popcorn maker is said to use 1 million pounds of cheese and 20,000 bags of brown sugar every year to make enough Garrett Mix.
The Garrett Mix on offer won't be a free snack on United however. The cost will be $3.99 per bag.
Separately, United also said it will offer a new kid's snack pack, the Ben Flyin' Snack Box, with turkey stick, animal crackers, apple sauce and a game — said to be the first kid-friendly snack box made available on a United States airline.
And a firm date, July 1, has now been set for the long-awaited introduction of Illy coffee on all United flights and in United Club lounges around the world. Late last year, United chose Italian coffee firm Illy after a protracted search for a new coffee vendor began in the fall of 2015.
United Airlines is a unit of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL).