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Is your Car Hacking Into Your Phone?
Smartphone Privacy & Security: Is Your Car Hacking Into Your Phone
Something slipped quietly into news feeds in the midst of the hype about China’s smartphones being porous, and India demanding data security assurances from her Asian neighbour. This quiet clip appeared in an article on an Orlando news site titled ‘Car tech privacy: Your car’s infotainment system might be grabbing data from your phone’. We decided this needed a closer look.
Cars Increasingly Have Minds of Their Own Computers
The snowballing number of computers in cars is another surprise encircling us in the Internet of Things. There are dozens of them adjusting the fuel and air that enters engines, triggering airbags, tensioning seatbelts, preventing brakes locking, and even allowing us to open the door, sit behind the wheel, and operate a computer-controlled key.
If Google has its way, our cars could soon be driving hands free. Someday we may even send the car solo to collect our internet shopping – what a pleasure that would be!
And Their Car Stereos Do More than Simply Play Music
In 2013, the United States Cyber Security Division wanted to know more about what was happening in cars. This makes sense given the worrisome attacks by car drivers nowadays in mainland Europe. Early experiments focused on planting physical surveillance devices with cellular communication capability.
Then they went one stage further, potentially affecting the privacy of the very citizens they were hoping to protect, by hacking into a car’s digital memory.
The U.S. Cyber Security Division’s project piggybacked onto a motor accident reconstruction system able to interrogate a car’s infotainment and telematics. This enabled them to geo-locate a vehicle at a particular split-second in past time, and calculate its speed and trajectory on impact. The company concerned was Berla, based in Maryland.
It does not take a leap of science to realise this information could travel live over a cellular connection. In 2016, Berla released this video detailing the seventy different computing devices it knew of in the average car.
Berla believes the most sophisticated cars may have up to one hundred different computers managing their advanced systems. Most vehicles have up to five networks joining these up. Together, this represents enough data to fill a one-terabyte drive in forty hours. More than a few of these devices report metrics to manufacturers over cellular space.
They Have Stereos Able to Hack Our Smartphones
Hands-free mobile while driving links our smartphone into this network of car computing devices. Entertainment systems now have Bluetooth and USB connections. Soon wireless near field communication will do away with wires as smoothly as Apple Android describes here. NFC can connect with passive devices and power them with an electromagnetic field.
Prepare to be worried about your car entertainment knowing more about what’s on your phone than you know about yourself. This could include call history, contacts, login codes and more travelling via USB or Bluetooth to the infotainment computer.
This Technology Is Not New, It Is Proven to Work
On 15 January 2017 Forbes staff writer Thomas Fox-Brewster posted ‘Car Tapping: How Feds Have Spied on Connected Cars for 15 Years.’ We should take him seriously. Thomas has freelanced for The Guardian, Vice Motherboard, Wired, and BBC.com since 2010, among many others. He was named BT Security Journalist of the year in 2012 and 2013 for a range of exclusive articles.
In 2014, he landed Best News Story for a feature on US government harassment of security professionals. We will draw the threads together with this quote from his article:
“It was little surprise to find General Motors had repeatedly worked with cops to hand over not just location, but also audio where conversations were recorded when the in-car cellular connection was switched on”.
There is no regulatory standard over this we know of, and as far as we are aware no way to turn the snooping off without interfering with the digital that manages our cars and keeps them safe. The message is clear. We are no longer private when we use our smartphones in our cars, in the hope of nobody eavesdropping on what we say.


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Google said on Thursday it would abolish a program through which independent bookstores have been selling e-books, a blow to small booksellers that have benefited from the large and recognizable platform Google provides.
In a blog post, Scott Dougall, Google’s director for product management for digital publishing, said that the so-called reseller program, which allowed bookstores to offer e-books for sale through their Web sites, was not a success.
The program “has not gained the traction that we hoped it would, so we have made the difficult decision to discontinue it by the end of January next year,” Mr. Dougall wrote. “This change will help us focus on building the best e-books experience we can across hundreds of devices with millions of books. Books will continue to be a major content pillar alongside apps, music and movies in the Google Play store.”
When it made its debut in 2010, the Google e-bookstore was seen as a positive development for smaller bookstores that were frustrated by their customers’ rapid shift from print books to e-books.
As an enormous technology company with a recognizable name, Google provided independent bookstores an easily accessible platform on which to sell e-books, often at the same prices offered by Amazon or BN.com, the Barnes & Noble Web site.
Customers could buy e-books through a Google account, store them in a password-protected library and read them on their smartphones, laptops and e-readers.
More than 350 bookstores are currently using the program, said Meg Smith, a spokeswoman for the American Booksellers Association, a trade group for independents.
But Google e-books proved to be less of a draw to customers than many in the publishing industry had hoped. Even after offering e-books through Google for more than a year, many bookstore owners have said that e-book sales make up a tiny fraction of their overall revenue. Despite attempts to promote the program, bookstores had trouble getting the word out to customers or persuading them to use a retailer other than Amazon to buy e-books.
Nevertheless, Emily Pullen, a manager at Skylight Books in Los Angeles, said that just being able to sell e-books through Google was an advantage for many independent bookstores.
“At this point, most indies weren’t able to make a lot of money selling e-books,” she said. “But offering it was something that made us be able to give some of our customers something that they wanted and to be a part of some of these changes in technology.”
Ms. Pullen said that the store would try to devise an alternative to Google before the program ends.
Oren Teicher, the chief executive of the American Booksellers Association, told members in an e-mail this week that he had been notified on Tuesday afternoon that Google would be discontinuing the program.
“To say the least, we are very disappointed in Google’s decision, but it was not entirely unexpected,” Mr. Teicher said in a statement on Thursday, adding: “As an enormous, multinational corporation, Google has interests far beyond independent bookstores, and the book world at large, and, at times, it has lacked understanding of many basic principles of our industry.”

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Win a Club-branded LEAGOO T5 smartphone!
29 September 2017|Tottenham Hotspur
To celebrate the presale of the Tottenham Hotspur branded LEAGOO T5 smartphone this week, we have teamed up with our Official Mobile Phone Partner, LEAGOO, to give fans the opportunity to win one.
To be in with a chance of getting your hands on one of these new phones, simply register for our prize draw here.
Former Club captain Ledley King has been in China this week for the launch of the T5 Tottenham Hotspur Limited Edition phone in Shenzhen, together with the brand’s new S8 and S8 Pro. He also attended a ground-breaking ceremony at the site of the new LEAGOO Intelligence Valley in Yibin.
LEAGOO and the Club announced a five-year partnership in August with a launch event at Hotspur Way, where Harry Kane, Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier welcomed LEAGOO guests from across Asia.


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To apply you need to attempt one skill assessment test as recruiter has attached skill assessment test with this job and wants to see your obtained marks,
So be carefull while attempting this skill assessment test
Android Took 79% Global Share Of Smartphones In 2013 â€” But Grew At Its Lowest Rate Yet, Says Analyst
TECH CRUNCH MOBILE | Posted By : Chatur Ranganathan|4 years ago |615 Views
TECH CRUNCH MOBILE
2013 has been dubbed the year of Android by Strategy Analytics, which has just put out its smartphone OS shipment figures for the year. Google's Android platform accounted for 79% of global smartphone OS shipments in the year, according to the latest Strategy Analytics estimates. It reckons a record 781.2 million smartphones shipped globally running Google's mobile OS, out of a total of 990 million smartphones.


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» View Trik Internet Smartfren Gratis Page 2
View Trik Internet Smartfren Gratis Page 2
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Want to buy the BlackBerry 10 but doubt whether it can be better than Android or iPhone? There are ways to overcome these doubts.
Quoted from Cnet, Tuesday (2/4), you can try this new OS directly either on Android or iOS devices via the browser.
Although the majority of smartphone users prefer to communicate via messenger applications, many of them are also fond of making phone calls.
Some of the applications are available both on the iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry can be used for free calling [...]
Fujitsu, Japan’s IT development company today announced the newest technology in the field of health is to know the pulse of a person through face image as reported by Cnet.com (18/03).
This technology uses a camera that has been embedded in a [...]
There is a new leaked about brother Z10 is equipped with a physical QWERTY keypad, BlackBerry Q10.
Quoted from Techradar, Friday (22/3), BlackBerry Q10 reportedly will be launched on 26 April.
On price, smartphones with OS BlackBerry 10 is estimated [...]
Given the importance to always be vigilant when surfing the internet, here are some practical tips from Microsoft Indonesia.
- Lock your computer and other accounts with strong passwords, as well as a unique four-digit PIN on the mobile phone.
- Do not [...]
Smartphone Sony Yuga is estimated by some analysts will be the mainstay.
A number of people have stated that Sony was preparing his most recent flagship smartphone, which is rumored to be a major competitor iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S III.
According to [...]
The workings of the technology they have is to change the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the air and make it as synthesis gas.
A genius engineer from England middle pioneered a new technology that can produce fuel (gasoline) made of [...]
Right now who do not know Instagram, a photo sharing application. If you include people who have an account Intagram, here’s how to play smart application.
Not a photographic aesthetic interest to many people but that enshrined [...]
According to research from GameStop, as many as 60 percent of gamers not interested in buying the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720.
This is related to the possibility of a second next-generation gaming consoles can not play the game used or resale.
Among other things, failing to hide bank accounts.
Millions of Android app users, according to a research, be lured to reveal personal data.
The researchers tested 13,500 Android apps and found nearly 8 percent failing to protect his bank account and [...]
Samsung claims to have sold three million units since the smartphone Galaxy Note II or smart mobile phone was introduced in late September. Giant technology, from South Korean said sales of Galaxy Note II, which are sold in 100 countries, is rising faster [...]


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While Montgomery County politicians introduce proposals to make it more difficult for Wal-Mart and other big retail stores to open, neighboring Prince George's County is working hard to attract both large national stores and high-end retail chains.
The divergent approaches to large discount stores is a reflection of the two suburban counties' disparate retail offerings. Montgomery is filled with highly developed retail centers and is home to many big-box outlets and shopping malls. Prince George's has had a harder time attracting national retailers.
"We look to bring in [big-box] stores, but we also look to bring in more upscale stores," said Prince George's County Council Vice Chairman Samuel H. Dean (D-Mitchellville), a member of the council's zoning committee. "We are still trying to raise the bar and make sure that we bring in upscale stores."
The Montgomery County Council is considering two proposals that would require large stores to obtain a special permit to open there. County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) has proposed legislation that would force stores larger than 120,000 square feet and that use at least 10 percent of their floor space for food, beverage or prescription drug sales to get the extra permit. Membership club stores, such as Costco and Sam's Club, would be exempt. Montgomery County Council President Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large) proposes that all stores larger than 120,000 square feet, except for home improvement stores and membership stores, get the extra permit. The additional permit would increase the length of the approval process and invite more public input. Next month, a public hearing will be held to discuss the proposals and whether Montgomery County should limit the future growth of big retailers.
Big-box retailers are welcomed in Prince George's. Home Depot won county approval three months ago to build its sixth Prince George's store in Upper Marlboro. Other large retailers -- including shoe seller DSW Shoe Warehouse, Sports Authority and Circuit City -- opened at the Boulevard at the Capital Center in Landover in the summer.
In two weeks, a 125,400-square-foot Target store will open in Forestville, in large part due to the support of the county government. At the request of developer Walt Petrie, chairman of Petrie Ventures in Annapolis, the county fast-tracked the Target project. All of its permits were approved in three or four months, not the years that it takes for some permits to be approved.
"Target had a certain date they wanted to open. Had we not been able to get that date for them, we may not have been able to make the deal," Petrie said.
Petrie worked closely with Dean, who helped make the Target store a "priority project." Dean said he hopes the Target store, which fills a spot left vacant by K-Mart, will revive the Forestville mall.
County Executive Jack B. Johnson also has supported the project, saying at the groundbreaking for the Target store last year that "continued economic development is essential to the future of Prince George's County."
"It's especially important to continue our efforts in attracting high-quality retailers in our inner-Beltway communities," he said.
Petrie, whose company develops retail projects throughout the region, said his company has avoided Montgomery County in recent years and focused on Prince George's, Anne Arundel and parts of Virginia.
"What we do is retail," Petrie said. "We try to focus on areas that have the need. Montgomery doesn't have much retail-zoned land left."


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The quality, look and feel of old construction materials — not to mention the stories these remnants tell of another era — are attracting the interest of entrepreneurs and others setting up shop in Detroit.
“It makes us feel much more connected to the city,” said Kevin Borsay, co-owner of the recently renovated Stella Good Coffee in the Fisher Building in Midtown. Borsay and his partners used 100-year-old wood from a home on Cadillac Boulevard for the coffee shop’s countertops.
“It’s like (having) a piece of Detroit history,” he said.
While not a new industry, the popularity of reclaimed wood and other materials from Detroit has spiked in the past few years, thanks to the creation of a nonprofit that makes them easily accessible.
Founded in 2011, Reclaim Detroit — a branch of the WARM Training Center, which promotes green jobs and sustainable housing — has dismantled about 15 homes in the city and Wayne County. The materials — from wood and bricks to doorknobs and windows — are stored in a 6,000-square-foot warehouse on Oakman Boulevard in Detroit.
The salvaged wood has been used in bars and restaurants in Midtown, Corktown and downtown. Companies from Birmingham, Ann Arbor, Woodhaven and other suburbs have bought materials, too.
Even billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert is pining for old Detroit wood. He tapped Reclaim Detroit for a project under construction at the Dime building — now called Chrysler House, said Bob Chapman, executive director of Reclaim Detroit.
Read the entire article via Reclaimed materials from old Detroit buildings finding new life | The Detroit News.


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The tricky way hackers are stealing from major corporations
Phishing scams are going big time.
Email scammers have moved into the big leagues.
Everyone gets phishing emails—messages purportedly from a friend or relative but actually from a scammer—but rarely do they cost people hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now that some hackers are focusing their phishing attempts on corporations, however, the stakes are much higher.
Fraudulent wire transfers due to falsified information or stolen credentials cost businesses more than $1 billion in the year and a half from October 2013 to June 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some of these schemes combine the basic phishing techniques affecting countless Internet users every day with the more devious methods deployed to steal sensitive data from major corporations.
“Once the thieves have your personal information, they can use it to open credit accounts, buy homes, claim tax refunds, and commit other types of fraud.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued an alert in January about the Business Email Compromise, “a sophisticated scam targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments.” The FBI said that almost 1,200 U.S. companies had fallen victim to the scheme between October 2013 and December 2014.
In one example, Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm, investigated a misdirected wire transfer from Mega Metals, Inc., that was supposed to go to a German company selling titanium shavings but instead went to an unknown third party.
Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz told the Journal that the thieves put spyware on the computer of Mega Metals’ broker to steal the passwords necessary to fake a wire transfer.
The Journal also found instances of criminals modifying the routing information on real wire transfers to steal the money.
When private citizens use weak security to protect their email and bank accounts, they risk being robbed by criminals or hacked to facilitate what’s known as social engineering. The latter technique, in which hackers impersonate one victim to fool another, often achieves results through human error even when the second victim is using robust security methods. Some insurance companies, WSJ reported, are now offering fraud protection specifically for losses related to social engineering.
The Social Security Administration has warned recipients about a new scam in which “identity thieves pose as Government officials in an attempt to convince you to provide personal and financial information.”
“Once the thieves have your personal information,” the SSA’s inspector general said, “they can use it to open credit accounts, buy homes, claim tax refunds, and commit other types of fraud.”
If criminals impersonate a trusted third party convincingly enough, the consequences for individuals can be devastating. The consequences for corporations like construction firms—to say nothing of defense contractors or government agencies—can be far worse.
While large companies typically have the security budgets to accommodate robust protections—even if they aren’t always smart enough to deploy them—the criminals hijacking wire transfers have found small businesses to be riper targets.
“They don’t have the same budgets for security and investigations,” Brian Hussey, global director of incident response at cybersecurity company Trustwave Holdings, told the Journal.
The Business Email Compromise often targets open-source email clients that typically have weaker security than systems designed for corporate use, the FBI said in its January alert.
Among the markers of BEC scams was the fact that “fraudulent e-mails received have coincided with business travel dates for executives whose e-mails were spoofed.” That suggests a level of coordination beyond the blind phishing emails from Nigerian scammers to which most Internet users are accustomed.
Eric Geller is a politics reporter who focuses on cybersecurity, surveillance, encryption, and privacy. A former staff writer at the Daily Dot, Geller joined Politico in June 2016, where he's focused on policymaking at the White House, the Justice Department, the State Department, and the Commerce Department.


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Triumph, the iconic British motorcycle maker, is all set to mark its debut in the Indian market. The company said on Tuesday that it has appointed Ashish Joshi, the former Europe Head of Royal Enfield, as the managing director of its India operations.
In a statement given on Tuesday, Triumph Motorcycles UK Chief Executive Officer Nick Bloor said, "India is a very important motorcycle market and Triumph has assessed it carefully before deciding to step in. We see it as the next step in our global business model."
Though the company is yet to reveal the timeline of the launch of its products in the Indian market, but it is expected to mark its debut in the country within next few months.
The British motorcycle maker sells a range of its products in the UK market including 2.3L Rocket III, Speed Triple, Daytona 675 and latest Tiger 800, in the price range of Rs 4.77 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. The company hasn’t revealed that weather its products will be imported or assembled in India.
The company will be fighting for the space against the premium bike makers like Harley Davidson, BMW Motorrad and Ducati in the Indian market.


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Communication between farmers and consumers should be treated like a friendship
Toban Dyck says communication needs to be ongoing
By Diego Flammini
Producers and consumers need to speak with one another as if they’re friends, according to Toban Dyck, director of communications for the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers.
If friends don’t speak to one another on a regular basis, they may wonder how they fit in that relationship, he said, adding the dynamic between farmers and consumers is similar.
“If you don’t talk to a friend for a long time, you may wonder what’s going on with your friendship and negative feelings may rush in,” he told Farms.com today. “But once you start talking again, everything seems to work out. It’s an ongoing process.”
One of the hurdles farmers face, Dyck says, can be impatience.
Many agricultural topics are complex and require extended conversations, but consumers don’t seem to have the patience to hear a farmer’s explanation.
“People are after one-answer solutions, but there’s never going to be that golden ticket that tells people what they want to hear,” he said. Even with scientific evidence, people have the choice whether to believe it or not, he added.
The relationship between farmers and consumers is like a one-lane road with two cars trying to pass each other.
Farmers need to take what the public says into consideration but producers also need to be given the opportunity to explain themselves, Dyck said. Some farmers have even given up on trying to explain agriculture to consumers, he added.
“Farmers get tired and fatigued from having to defend themselves all the time,” he said. “At the end of the day, farmers have to ask themselves how much energy they want to put into these conversations.”


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Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories:
J. K. Rowling has filed a libel lawsuit against the Daily Mail over a recent article about Rowling’s struggles as a single mom. In response to the lawsuit, the Daily Mail removed the article. (Guardian)
Amazon announced its net sales increased 22 percent in 2013, compared to 2012, totaling over seventy-four billion dollars. (GalleyCat)
In bricks-and-mortar bookstore news, an independent store named Writer’s Block Book Shop opened in Las Vegas, and a Books-A-Million shuttered in Michigan. (Shelf Awareness)
Classicist Dirk Obbink recently discovered two unknown poems by Sappho. Obbink, a lecturer in Papyrology and Greek Literature at Oxford University, was shown the ancient papyrus by a private collector. (NPR)
Julie Bosman showcases Book the Writer, a new enterprise launched by novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz, which pays authors to appear at book clubs. (New York Times)
Norman Mailer was born on this day in 1923, and to mark the occasion Brain Pickings gathered Mailer’s thoughts on success.
The archives of the late Barney Rosset’s legendary Grove Press are on exhibit at the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Library. (Melville House)


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The company's S-1 lays the groundwork for what is widely expected to be one of the largest initial public offerings of the year, second only to Uber's IPO in May. It's also...Technologyread more
Fraud investigator Harry Markopolos' accusations extended beyond GE's management to actuaries, auditors and analysts who he claims overlooked billions in liabilities.Marketsread more
Trump's tweet comes a day after Apple put out a press release describing the money it spends on U.S.-based suppliers and vendors.Technologyread more
CNBC combed through Wall Street research to see which stocks are still a buy after their earnings reports.Marketsread more
President Donald Trump held a call on Wednesday with the CEOs of three major U.S. banks, according to people with knowledge of the situation.Marketsread more
Despite aggressive strides, Waymo needs one thing before their self-driving cars become a seriously useful transportation system: people. We talked to the ones closest to it.Technologyread more
Scientists say the smoke plumes, filled with megatons of tiny, harmful particles, could travel to other areas of the world and cause serious respiratory problems for people.Weather & Natural Disastersread more
Some Weight Watchers loyalists applaud Kurbo by WW. But nutritionists worry Kurbo promotes an unhealthy relationship with food during an especially impressionable time.Health and Scienceread more
Benefits from what President Trump called "the biggest reform of all time" to the tax code have dwindled to a faint breeze just 20 months after its enactment, writes John...Politicsread more
Epstein, 66, was found in his cell in Manhattan federal lockup Saturday morning and transferred to a nearby hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead.Politicsread more
Air travelers faced delays at U.S. airports on Friday afternoon after a computer issue snarled processing of international arrivals.Airlinesread more
Amazon has struck a deal to fund the construction of a wind farm in rural Indiana, as part of plan announced by the company in November to power its massive cloud computing business with renewable energy.
Amazon Web Services is one of the largest providers of cloud computing services, with a long list of customers that includes names such as Johnson & Johnson, Dole, Siemens, and Netflix (as well as NBC Universal's parent company, Comcast). The company already operates three carbon-neutral regions—one in Oregon, one in Frankfurt, Germany, and the AWS GovCloud region in the Northwestern United States. However, this is its first publicly announced wind farm, and the first major renewable energy project the company has announced since committing in November to power its cloud computing division with renewable energy.
For the next 13 years, Amazon will buy the bulk of the output from a wind farm that Pattern Energy plans to build in Indiana. The company estimates it will draw about 500,000 megawatt hours from the farm, enough to power about 46,000 homes, according to a report released by Pattern Energy. The project may be completed as early as January 2016.
"Amazon Web Services Wind Farm (Fowler Ridge) will bring a new source of clean energy to the electric grid, where we currently operate a large number of data centers and have ongoing expansion plans to support our growing customer base," said Jerry Hunter, vice president of infrastructure at Amazon Web Services, in a report released by both Amazon and Pattern Energy.
Amazon is far from the first major company to turn to renewable energy to power its facilities. In fact, it drew criticism from Greenpeace for lagging behind cloud computing providers such as Microsoft, Google and Rackspace, as well as other tech companies, such as Apple and Facebook. Greenpeace analyst Gary Cook said he hopes this new deal is "just the beginning."
"From what I have seen so far, this is a good step," Cook said. "They kind of quietly announced this commitment to using renewable energy back in November, so it is great to see them them taking real steps to make good on that. They are starting a bit late compared to some of their peers, especially Google, who has been signing these contracts since 2010."
He added that Amazon has been far less transparent about its energy policies than many of its tech industry peers.
Among Google's renewable contracts is a $75 million deal it made with Pattern Energy in early 2014 to buy power from a wind farm in Texas.
One of Amazon's retail competitors, Wal-Mart, is already by far the largest corporate buyer of solar capacity in the United States and recently signed a 10-year deal with Pattern Energy to buy nearly 60 percent of the output from the Logan's Gap wind farm, also in Texas.
Representatives from Amazon and Pattern told CNBC they did not have any details beyond what is already publicly available.


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Congress says no, but the Small Business Administration says yes.
Despite pushback from numerous lawmakers on the House Small Business Committee, the new head of the SBA, Maria Contreras-Sweet, insists a new $2.5 million agency program will launch, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Under the new program, the agency will competitively award 50 grants each worth $50,000 to early-stage technology businesses.
"We want to export the Silicon Valley model across the nation," Contreras-Sweet said in San Francisco, where she announced the new program during a kickoff event for National Small Business Week.
Lawmakers think the agency should "stick to its core programs and stop funding new initiatives," the Washington Post reported.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., pointed out that more than 100 types of these technology businesses, often dubbed "accelerators" or "incubators," already exist across the nation, backed by a combined $5 billion in investor commitments — or simply, without federal assistance.
SBA said it will require the recipients to report updates every three months, including the number of new jobs created, money raised, start-ups launched and corporate sponsorships received.
Read the full article here.


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Yahoo will roll out targeted mobile ads through its partnership with ad network Chitika, the vendor confirmed. Chitika has worked with Yahoo since 2006 and already uses the company’s location and time-based ad targeting technology to deliver paid search listings across its web properties and across Chitika’s network of publishers.
Yahoo has now tapped the Westborough, MA-based company to help it tackle the “fat finger syndrome” of mobile advertising, according to Chitika CEO Venkat Kolluri. Yahoo is interested in “finding a way to insert touch-based text ads into the mobile world that are better than the advertising you see with mini banners,” Kolluri told AdExchanger. “On mobile devices, a lot of the clicks are accidental, so we are taking a two-prong approach to make sure people want to come to your site.”
If a consumer in Manhattan opens a Yahoo-owned site at noon, such as Yahoo Answers, Chitika will show the user icons for dining, travel, parking, etc. on the app. By tapping on the dining icon, users will be asked if they would like to see page listings related to local eateries. Using a last click – or, as Kolluri calls it, “a second-click” attribution model – advertisers pay a fee if users click a link on the listings page which will direct them to the brand’s website. Chitika’s mobile ad serving technology will be applied across Yahoo’s mobile properties.
“We’ve taken the consumer through two stages to make sure that last click was not accidental, and this drives revenue for Yahoo,” Kolluri claimed. The company did not yet have any conversion rates to share for its mobile platform, Kolluri said, but he noted Chitika ads (web and mobile-based) are served four billion times per month and shown on more than 250,000 websites. Chitika has about 100 employees and its other advertising partners include Superpages and Yellowbook.
Despite the increased traffic, Yahoo’s display ad sales decreased 11% from the same time last year, and search revenue, excluding sales passed to partner sites, dropped 10% to $425 million. Yahoo is also competing with Mayer’s former employer, Google, and with Facebook, which command a larger portion of marketers’ online budgets.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV earlier this year, Mayer explained that partnerships would play a large role in Yahoo’s mobile strategy. The Chitika deal suggests that strategy extends to the advertising arena as well.
“Given that we do not have mobile hardware, a mobile OS, a browser, or a social network, how are we going to compete? I think that the big piece here is that it really allows us to partner,” Mayer said. “It means there is an opportunity for strong partnerships. That is what we will be focused on.”


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Now the fee for transfers to Europe, the CIS and Georgia is only 0,49%, min. 1 pound.
Moneyto Ltd is opening new directions for its customers. You can now send money to Portugal using our service. Receivers can pick up the transfers in any of payout locations of our partner.
Moneyto Ltd is opening new directions in Latin America. Since the new year, the Moneyto transfer system has allowed customers to send money to Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
Moneyto Ltd has just been awarded «The best online money transfer system to Moldova» by International Association of Money Transfer Networks during the International conference on payment systems, money transfers and innovations «Future Bank Conference 2016» held on 2-3 December 2016 in Athens.
Moneyto Ltd has partnered with Unistream money transfer network and acquired the rights to use Unistream Money Transfer brand name in the European Union.


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Music, design, fashion, architecture — what will Kanye West try his hand at next? According to Radar, the multitalented creative may be opening up his own restaurant in Calabasas.
“Kanye’s shopping for the ideal premises to create a flagship restaurant in Calabasas,” a source told Radar. “He has this vision of creating high-end comfort food just like his mom used to make, but with a price tag that’s as eye-watering as it is mouth-watering, of course.”
A vast number of celebrities have been keen on opening their own restaurants over the years, some successful and others not so much. Taking into account the overwhelming popularity surrounding the Wests, Kardashians, and Jenners, as well as Kanye’s eye for aesthetics, one would think this establishment would be set up to succeed.
Nonetheless, you’ll have to stay tuned for more on ‘Ye’s possible Calabasas restaurant, and in the meantime, visit Radar for their original report.
In related news, author Bret Easton Ellis recently revealed that Kanye asked him to write porn videos for ‘The Life of Pablo.’


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IKEA official meets Sharma, discusses business plans
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Swedish furniture major IKEA's senior official Jessica Anderen, who is responsible for South Asia, today met Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and is understood to have discussed the company's business plans in India.
IKEA, which had earlier this year announced an investment of Rs 10,500 crore for opening 25 stores in India, filed the final document on Monday seeking permission to open its own stores in the country after the relaxation of sourcing norms for FDI in single brand retail.
While both Sharma and Anderen, who is IKEA's Trading Area Manager for South Asia, declined to comment, official sources said the two discussed the company's plans for India.
Yesterday in Mumbai, Ikea India Country Manager Juvencio Maeztu had said that the company would take a long term holistic approach for the Indian market.
"Our goal is to have a long-term approach here and that too in a holistic way. Combining the trend and the sourcing, so we need time," he had said.
Maeztu had also said IKAE would consider creating a new product range for the Indian customers.
"India is an excellent place for us to develop a good product with our approach...May be we need to develop new functions and a product range which we don't have yet, for this market. Maybe we need to tweak the style but will never compromise with price. We will make affordable products," he had said.
Last month, the government had tweaked sourcing norms for FDI exceeding 51 per cent in single-brand retail and diluted the previous condition of sourcing 30 per cent of requirements "mandatorily" from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India by stating that sourcing should be done "preferably from MSMEs".
This was one of the major issues raised by IKEA while approaching the government in June with its plans to invest 1.5 billion euro (Rs 10,500 crore) in India to set up 25 stores.
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Racing greyhound dies, 72 dogs sickened at Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club
Dog dies after eating apparently bad meat, report says
SANFORD, Fla. – A racing greyhound died and 72 other dogs became ill, apparently after eating bad meat at the Sanford-Orlando Kennel Club earlier this year, according to a newly released report.
On the morning of Jan. 17, trainer Edel Figueroa found a greyhound named SWG Mother Neff dead in its crate with vomit and feces saturating the carpet, a Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation investigative report states.
Seventy-two other greyhounds were sick and had feces covering their crates' carpets, the report adds.
The dogs had been fed a type of meat not approved for human consumption called "4-D meat," according to the company that sold the meat to the trainer.
4-D meat is made of dead, dying, diseased or disabled livestock.
Although 4-D meat is legal to sell and has been used in the greyhound racing industry for decades with only a small number of documented reports of death or illness, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration believes it "may present a potential health hazard to the animals that consume it and to the people who handle it."
"The use of 4-D meat is one of our concerns with this industry," said Carey Theil, co-founder of Grey 2K USA, an organization opposed to greyhound racing. "It's fed to greyhounds raw, which is a terrible, terrible idea. Cooking the meat would remove pathogens like salmonella and E. coli, but the greyhound industry won't do that."
In 2014, two greyhounds died and 97 others became ill at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club after eating food that contained raw 4-D meat.
The morning before SWG Mother Neff died and the other dogs were sickened, Figueroa began defrosting the frozen meat, records show.
"The meat was left out for approximately 23 hours without refrigeration so it would thaw," a DPBR investigator wrote. "He stated that he made a 'stew' of boiled macaroni and rice with the raw meat, which he served to the greyhounds."
Track veterinarian Bruce Olson told state investigators that slaughtered cattle may contain bacteria that can cause illness and death in greyhounds.
He also believed the rice and macaroni could have allowed bacteria to grow and produce toxins if not handled correctly, according to the report.
Another veterinarian, Mark Anderson, believes meat left out for 23 hours could have caused the greyhounds' health issues, the investigative report states.
The company that sold the 4-D meat to the trainer, Seminole Animal Supply, said it recommends that the meat be defrosted for no more than 12 to 16 hours in the winter months and seven to eight hours in the summer.
"You just can't let it lay out all day," general manager Mark Nicholas told News 6.
Seminole Animal Supply reported no other issues or complaints with meat it sold in January, a company official said.
Figueroa did not respond to multiple phone messages left by News 6.
DBPR investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to show any animal welfare violations occurred.
Theil acknowledged that even meat approved for human consumption could cause illness if left out to defrost for an entire day. However, he believes 4-D meat is more susceptible to such problems.
"That dog died because the industry wanted to save money by using this meat, and because the trainer then chose to take this dangerous product and handle it in a way that made it even more dangerous," Theil said.
Copyright 2017 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.


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Microsoft said on Thursday it had been granted a license from the U.S. government to export software to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
Read more: Microsoft granted license to export ‘mass-market’ software to Huawei
In his speech before the Anti-Defamation League, Sacha Baron Cohen said hate groups are rising all around the world, and Big Tech is part of the problem.
Read more: Borat actor: Facebook, Google, Youtube and Twitter are ‘greatest propaganda machine in history’
President Obama said technology has increased inequality and made available so much information that people don’t know what to believe.
Read more: Obama: ‘People don’t know what’s true’ with YouTube and social media
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, in her year-end letter, said YouTube hustlers can take some time off without worrying about burnout.
Read more: YouTube CEO implores video creators to take some time off
Microsoft’s chief product officer Panos Panay said the company’s AirPods competitor, Surface Earbuds, will now launch in spring 2020 instead of the 2019 holiday season.
Read more: Microsoft delays its AirPods competitor to spring
Click to view a price quote on NYT.
Read more: Best Franchises to Buy in 2019
BOSTON—Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Baker Library Special Collections announced today the opening of a new exhibit, Photography and Corporate Public Relations: The Case of U.S. Steel, 1930 – 1960. The exhibition, catalog, and website examine the ways in which U.S. Steel employed photographs in a variety of public relations campaigns to instill public favor at a time when the steel industry, like today’s technology behemoths, reigned central in the world economy. Organized by Baker Library Special Collections, the exhibit runs through October 6, 2020, in the North Lobby of Baker Library | Bloomberg Center on the HBS campus.
Read more: HBS Announces New Exhibit on U.S. Steel Corporation’s Use of Photography as a Public Relations Tool
Google said Wednesday it would accept political advertising, but police ads with false claims, and would let advertisers target ads only on very broad categories.
Read more: Google is taking the middle ground between Facebook and Twitter on political advertising
“Cases like this aren’t just about criminal defendants,” an ACLU lawyer said. “It’s about all of our rights under the Constitution.”
Read more: Police used Google location data to find an accused bank robber. He says that’s illegal.
“When you build in the United States you don’t have to worry about tariffs,” Trump said on Wednesday.
Read more: Apple’s Tim Cook and President Trump toured a Texas computer factory to tout US manufacturing


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- Fortnite is back on the iPhone thanks to Microsoft The Washington Post
- Fortnite is back on iOS through Xbox Cloud Gaming TechCrunch
- Now you can play Fortnite on your iPhone or Android for free with Xbox Cloud Gaming The Verge
- ‘Fortnite’ returns to iOS, Android devices via Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming Reuters
- Despite the Epic v. Apple battle, Fortnite is officially back on the iPhone Ars Technica
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Brought to you by Google News. Read the rest of the article here.


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The forecast for the weekend’s frost in Brazil with a very low likelihood of damage has prompted strong liquidation speculation due to previous overbought.
At the end of the last trading session of the week, the price of Robusta coffee on the ICE Europe – London floor continued to decline. The September spot futures dropped another 99 USD to 1,786 USD/ton and the November delivery term also fell 99 USD to 1,801 USD/ton, extremely strong reductions. Trading volume very above average.
Similarly, the price of Arabica coffee on the ICE US floor – New York extended the losing streak to the fourth session. September spot futures fell another 16.95 cents to 179.55 cents/lb and December futures fell another 16.85 cents to 182.45 cents/lb, huge reductions. Trading volume remained very high above average.
The price of green coffee beans in the Central Highlands provinces decreased by 900 – 1,000 VND, to fluctuate in the range of 35,800 – 36,500 VND/kg.
Price of export Robusta coffee grade 2.5% black broken, standing at 1,721 USD/ton, FOB – HCM, with a deduction of 70 – 80 USD/ton according to the November futures price in London.
The reais plummeted by 2.55%, the exchange rate fell to 1 USD = 5.2090 Reais due to program concerns “family allowance” will break the government’s spending ceiling, while news from abroad that there has been a sign of “freezing” that causes investors to not accept risks has dragged emerging currencies down sharply.
Coffee futures prices fell sharply when World Weather said that a patchy frost appeared over the weekend but only caused limited damage to Arabica coffee in some highlands of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, during the weekend. when Robusta coffee is only grown in the lowlands of Espírito Santo and the harvest is complete.
The thawing frost combined with the sharp decline of the Reais also made Brazilians promote protective selling, so the price of coffee dropped again is not unexpected. Besides, there is also the liquidation of speculative positions when the margin level of the two exchanges is said to be high “surprise” not only with small speculators.
According to forecasts of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), this year Indonesia can harvest about 11.35 million bags of coffee, down nearly 2.2% from the previous year.
Currently, the lack of conts and no space on ships is a common situation of coffee exporters not only in Southeast Asia, while the new strain of covid-19 is breaking out in this region. . However, the consumer markets are not too worried because it is the summer vacation, so the activity of the roasting industry has also slowed down.


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While we've been drip-fed either official specs or rumored features over the last few months about the latest sports cameras awaiting arrival, there's been fresh speculation on when they Canon EOS R3 and the Nikon Z9 will make it to retailer shelves.
One recent report suggested the Canon R3 would be announced on June 29, but that's now purportedly a September launch date. According to Canon Rumors – which usually has a good track record of providing reliable information – the EOS R3 will arrive in a couple of months as per "good sources".
The exact date hasn't been revealed yet, and no other features have been leaked either, but if this rumored launch date is accurate, then Canon is likely going to beat Nikon to the finishing line.
As per a report from Nikon Rumors, the Z9 will officially debut only in November or December 2021. This seemingly is in line with a Nikon executive's recent revelation that "the development team is [also] struggling to reach the goal" of bringing the "flagship feeling" that users are expecting.
Expect further delays?
There's a good chance that at least the Canon EOS R3 might be in the hands of some sports journalists during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as a testing ground before an official announcement. However, given the current global shortage of crucial parts, there's no guarantee that a September announcement for the EOS R3 is final.
And if Nikon feels the "pressure is considerable" to produce a camera that's "something beyond D6" and "that photographers of all genres can use", the company might decide to push the launch of its flagship to early 2022.
Sony was officially set to announce its new vlogging camera on July 7, but had to abruptly postpone it – with no alternate announcement date provided – likely due to part shortages. Nikon Japan has also issued a notice that it can't keep up with the demand for the retro-chic Zfc.
Comparing the availability of more mainstream cameras like Sony's vlogger and the Nikon Zfc to specialist cameras might seem superfluous, but the ongoing pandemic is definitely causing problems for several companies, not just camera makers, affecting big product launches.
- Check out our guide to the best cameras you can buy right now


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- With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) going into effect on Jan. 1, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) released website and app opt-out tools for publishers, brands, agencies and ad-tech firms across industries, according to a press release.
- The tools provide a text link and green icon that, when clicked on, will take users to a publisher page with information and options, including the ability to opt out of the collection and sale of their data to third parties. The new tools are primarily for third parties' data usage, and the DAA urges publishers to develop tools for managing their own first-party data.
- DAA notes that its opt-out tool provides more privacy control than required by CCPA, as users can choose not to have their data sold across all participating third-party firms from a single site or app.
The DAA, an independent, not-for-profit organization that focuses on establishing and enforcing privacy best practices, is the latest entity to help marketers prepare for the CCPA as the era of a largely self-regulated digital ad economy comes to a close. Various levels of solutions have debuted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), OneTrust Pro and TrustArc, among others.
Many of the trade organizations, like the IAB, have pushed for a single federal data privacy law that would override what they view as a growing patchwork of state-level bills that are difficult to comply with comprehensively and could impede certain marketing practices. Maine and Nevada, for example, are also working through new data privacy legislation akin to the CCPA. Barring the passing of such a federal law, the wide-ranging CCPA will remain a core focus for businesses in 2020.
Marketers have in some ways laid important groundwork for navigating complex data privacy laws thanks to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect in May 2018. As a result, many internet companies with European users have already complied or begun compliance with GDPR and have set up consent mechanisms and more rigorous infrastructure, such as data management or privacy compliance staff.
The CCPA has some key differences with GDPR, and the DAA's cross-platform tools to help marketers meet compliance standards could be welcome to those scrambling before the Jan. 1 deadline. The DAA still cautioned that the CCPA is subject to change and interpretation, and that it's not offering legal advice or a full guarantee of compliance through its new solution.
For marketers, another looming question is how the uptick in data privacy regulations will effect advertising growth. A new forecast by Publicis' Zenith Media agency estimates the growth of programmatic advertising will slow to 22% this year from 35% last year. Zenith suggests challenges like GDPR and CCPA, plus browser changes such as Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention, have contributed to the downturn.
However, Zenith also acknowledged that other factors, including the rise of private programmatic marketplaces as a response to ad fraud, will impact the market. Another element affecting growth rates over the next few years will be the general maturation of the online ad market, Zenith said.


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Washington's apple crop this year had exceeded expectations. The fruit is plentiful, of high quality and there's strong demand, which is good news for the state economy.
Washington apple shippers and packers say this year’s fresh apple crop will reach record highs despite early worries about hail damage and not enough pickers.
The apple crop is expected to hit 121.5 million boxes, according to a recent poll by Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association.
That number of 40-pound boxes is what Jon DeVaney, the association’s executive director, said they estimate based on what packers have in storage. It reflects the apples they think will be packed for fresh market, and does not include apples for processing.
The nationwide shortage of apples has spiked demand for Washington’s fruit, DeVaney said.
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“We had a good perfect storm of crop size and market demand,” he said.
That means the industry can continue to expect good prices, bringing a large amount of money into the state economy from apples, he said.
Washington is the nation’s top apple grower, representing about 60 percent of U.S. fresh apples. Harvest continues this month, including Pink Lady and Fuji varieties.
A record crop sets Washington up to benefit, as other apple-growing areas and other nations have not been as fortunate, said Dan Newhouse, state Department of Agriculture director.
“We are one of the few regions of the world that have actually had pretty ideal weather conditions this year,” he said.
Along with the sheer number of apples, the state also is seeing large, high-quality fruit, Newhouse said.
At Middleton Organic Orchards in Eltopia, Franklin County, owner Gary Middleton said growers saw a strong demand for their Gala, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples early in the season, thanks to the smaller harvests in other states and countries.
That caused Middleton and his workers to finish up harvest about two to three weeks ahead of normal. He said they had the apples picked by September.
“This year, the quality of the apples for us was especially good,” he said.
Rebecca Lyons, international marketing director for the Washington Apple Commission, expects the state will export less than the one-third of the crop that normally heads to foreign markets because of the increased demand within the U.S.
“I think we will be able to move this fruit both domestically and internationally at prices that will be quite good for the grower,” Lyons said.
Mexico is the No. 1 destination for exported Washington apples, followed by Canada. Taiwan has the largest demand for Fuji apples, and India’s demand for Red Delicious has grown in the past five years, she said.
Mexico’s own apple crop is down by about 50 percent this year, she said.
“There is definitely going to be a market for every apple that Washington state can pack this year,” DeVaney said.
Demand for Washington apples for processing also is up because of lower harvests in the Midwest and East Coast. So far, 5.4 million boxes of the state’s apples have gone to processing, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That compares with not quite 3 million boxes at this time in 2011.
Washington’s apple crop has been trending up. Overall, the state’s apple industry has continued to grow, DeVaney said.
Washington farmers have planted denser orchards, added acres and increased the efficiency of production, Newhouse said.
DeVaney said the crop is about what people thought it would be in early summer before hail hit orchards across the state. Then, the estimate dropped to about 110 million boxes.
However, there were more apples on trees and less hail damage than people thought, he said.


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The chance to learn art of beekeeping
THE art of beekeeping is something Paula West passionately believes in.
She and husband Gary are the proud owners of Adopt A Beehive, where they teach the wider community about the significant role bees play.
The kicked off their business in 2012 after spending a lot of time visiting events to sell their Kookaburra Organics products, which is their other business.
"We were running workshops and visiting events and each year people would come over to our Kookaburra Organics exhibit," she said.
"They would say things like they don't have any lemons in their garden this year.
"The first question we would ask is, how many bees do you see in your garden?
"Many would say that they have never seen bees in their garden.
"If you don't have bees coming to your garden every day there's no pollination going on."
Paula said worldwide the global bee population is in serious decline.
"With an increasing number of beehives collapsing and many bee species becoming extinct or threatened," she said.
"If this disturbing trend continues, it could lead to a global food crisis due to the vital pollination role that bees play."
Paula said this is what brought Adopt A Beehive to life and they are on a mission to pollinate Australia.
"We decided we needed to do something about it," she said.
"People can now sponsor a beehive that we look after and we send eight kilos of honey to them every year."
Paula said while they started small, putting beehives in locations across the Sunshine Coast, they hope to grow enough to go national.
"As we expand we'd like to see this as an Australian initiative," she said.
As well as the Adopt A Beehive project, Paula also runs Introduction to Beekeeping workshops, teaching people the art.
"We teach people about how to become artisan beekeepers," she said.
"It's about teaching people to do things with respect for the bees.
"We do everything by hand and, yes, it's more labour intensive but thequality of honey is far better.
"We want a chance to contribute to something we passionately believe in and saving honey bees is a very big task."
Paula and Gary also run courses on organic food growing, pasta making, cheese making, worm farming and many other courses to teach people about living a natural, wholesome life.
For more information about Adopt A Beehive, visit www.facebook.com/ adoptabeehiveaustralia/.
To sign up for the next Introduction to Beekeeping workshop, visit www.adoptabeehive.com.au/ workshops-events.


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Associate Director of Podcasts Hilary Ross Joins the Discussion at the 2018 Conference
“There are a lot of brands that are coming into the podcasting space that might not have previously had the budgets to even test radio… One of the best things about [podcasts’] live embedded ad reads is they are not necessarily cut off at 60-seconds, like you would find in offline traditional media. I think that’s priceless.”
– Hilary Ross, Veritone One’s Associate Director of Podcasts, in conversation with fellow industry experts at the 2018 Podcast Movement Conference.
Read more of Hilary’s insights as a featured panelist over at Inside Radio: http://www.insideradio.com/free/with-podcasting-audio-door-swings-open-wider-to-advertisers/article_48c2ba76-90a3-11e8-8c03-cf929dd52e38.html


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Small businesses can use all the help they can get these days, and now a new show coming to Amazon Prime is helping out entrepreneurs from across the Delaware Valley.
The show is called “Wolf PAC of Philadelphia.”
It’s mean to be the same style as reality show “Shark Tank,” but with a different style. Entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses and the “wolves” will decide if they want to collectively invest capital in the idea.
The man behind the show is comedian and Philly-native Craig Shoemaker. Well-known Philly names including Tony Luke Jr., Eagles Insider Dave Spadaro, and two former Eagles players will be featured.


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Revolut has officially begun operating as a bank in the Republic with the launch of protected deposit accounts for Irish customers.
The fintech, which has 18 million customers globally and 1.7 million in Ireland, said it has operationalised its European specialised banking licence here. The result is that Irish customers can upgrade to Revolut Bank to avail of additional services.
These include deposit accounts and personal loans with rates starting from 5.99 APR (annual percentage rate).
Revolut said the upgrade process to become a banking customer only takes a few minutes and can all be done via its mobile app.
The launch of Revolut Bank comes amid a period of change in the local banking sector with both KBC and Ulster Bank exiting the market.
The launch of Revolut Bank comes after the fintech recently dropped plans to use an e-money licence it had secured from the Central Bank of Ireland.
The company, which was awarded a full banking licence by the European Central Bank in December, said last month it intended to use that licence to offer services – including personal loans – to customers here rather than the one approved by the Irish regulator.
The fintech’s banking licence allows it to provide bank accounts to Irish customers covered by the deposit guarantee of up to €100,000 per customer.
Revolut Bank is now live in 29 countries in the European Economic Area. The specialised bank licence used by Revolut allows it to provide limited services via its app along with an array of financial services and products offered by other group companies.
More than 150 million transactions a month are done via Revolut currently, the company said.
"Revolut is one of the fastest growing fintech companies in Europe because we put the customer at the heart of everything that we do. Our customer experience is second to none, we have no hidden fees, and we are constantly building new and innovative financial products," said Joe Heneghan, chief executive of of Revolut Bank.
“Launching the bank in Ireland will provide a greater level of security and confidence for our customers, and will enable us to launch a host of new products and services in the future,” he added.
Founded in July 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut is best known for consumer-oriented services. However, it has also been pushing deeper into business banking in recent years.
The company was valued at $33 billion (€30 billion) after raising $800 million from backers last year.


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Following an announcement this week by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission that it was filing charges against 12 firms for allegedly selling phantom gold to investors, The Mines reached out to veteran coin dealer Bob Walter of Westport-based Sam Sloat to get some tips on avoiding these scams.
“The most important thing, if you’re buying gold, is to take physical delivery of it,” Walter said. “So many times, people are selling gold they just dong’ have. It’s very easy to make it appear they have the gold.”
Walter, whose been in the business for 41 years, says the phantom gold investment scheme is an old one and he remembers a Florida firm int he 1980s that went so far as to spray paint blocks of wood and photograph them stacked in a vault to help it attract investors.
He said another thing to consider when buying gold from an out of state vendor is ask why you need to do business with that firm when there are local dealers who can provide you the actual gold.
Often the investor is lured into the scam by a low price, he said, noting he’s heard customers say they saw an internet ad offering to sell gold coins at price below what dealers would pay for them.
The alleged scam the CFTC is pursuing took investors for more than $46 million and customers were told they only had to provide part of the purchase price while the company would finance the rest of it.
Right now interest in gold is strong as people look for a safe investment that will hold its value in a low interest environment and fears inflation will finally spread beyond food, energy, healthcare and education. We know prices have risen in other areas, but remember, the flatscreens are still still cheap.
Walter said another thing gold buyers should do is their research. They should make sure the company they’re dealing with is legitimate and check the references.
As we say in the Mines, don’t be the fool that rushes into a deal.


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The iPhone 12 emits too much radiation and Apple must take it off the market, a French agency says
By Associated Press
PARIS: A government watchdog agency in France has ordered Apple to withdraw the iPhone 12 from the French market, saying it emits levels of electromagnetic radiation that are too high.
The National Frequency Agency, which oversees radio-electric frequencies as well as public exposure to electromagnetic radiation, called on Apple in a statement Tuesday to “implement all available means to rapidly fix this malfunction” for phones already being used.
Corrective updates to the iPhone 12 will be monitored by the agency, and if they don’t work, “Apple will have to recall” phones that were already sold, according to the French regulator’s statement.
Apple disputed the findings and said the device complies with all regulations governing radiation.
The agency, which is known by the French acronym ANFR, said it recently checked 141 cellphones, including the iPhone 12, for electromagnetic waves capable of being absorbed by the body.
It said it found a level of electromagnetic energy absorption of 5.74 watts per kilogram during tests of a phone in a hand or a pocket, higher than the European Union standard of 4 watts per kilogram.
The agency said the iPhone 12 met the threshold when radiation levels were assessed for a phone kept in a jacket or in a bag.
Apple said the iPhone 12, which was released in late 2020, has been certified by multiple international bodies and complies with all applicable regulations and standards for radiation around the world.
The U.S. tech company said it has provided the French agency with multiple lab results carried out both by the company and third-party labs proving the phone’s compliance.


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Feb 5 (Reuters) - Nu Skin Enterprises Inc, a direct seller of anti-ageing and nutritional products, reported a near 63 percent drop in quarterly profit as revenue more than halved in Greater China, its largest market.
The company’s shares fell 2 percent in premarket trading.
Nu Skin’s net income fell to $46.5 million, or 77 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $125.3 million, or $2.02 per share, a year earlier.
Total revenue fell 42.3 percent to $609.6 million, while revenue in Greater China fell about 56 percent. (Reporting by Shailaja Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D‘Souza)


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When it comes to anniversaries and video games, this year was all about Super Mario turning 35, but in 2021, another legendary platformer character will have their own celebration.
Sonic the Hedgehog is turning 30, a big milestone for everyone and especially for such an iconic character.
The fastest hedgehog in the universe was first introduced to the world on 23rd June 1991.
That Sonic the Hedgehog game from 1991 was Sega Genesis' flagship title. Following the success of the game, Sonic quickly became a mascot for the company and one of the most beloved video game characters of all time.
To this day, Sonic is still one of the most valuable brands Sega owns, and by far the most recognizable face amongst their IPs.
Sonic Mania was a huge success and highly praised amongst Sonic fans (Picture: SEGA)
Sega quite clearly understands his value and they are planning to utilize its full potential next year to celebrate his 30th birthday.
As noticed by Tails Channel, earlier this month SEGA shared an advertisement for investors regarding Sonic, which highlights the strength behind the Sonic the Hedgehog brand.
This advertisement was featured in Licencing Source Book Europe, and it features some of the key values behind the brand.
It emphasizes that Sonic the Hedgehog is a globally popular and recognizable brand with over $6 billion USD in franchise revenue to date, and with more than 920 million games sold.
They mention the huge success of Sonic the Hedgehog movie, but the most interesting thing is located at the bottom and it's about plans for 2021 and Sonic's 30th anniversary.
After the initial fiasco with Sonic's design, Sonic movie eventually became a huge worldwide hit with $300M+ revenue (Picture: Paramount Pictures)
They are not sharing too many details yet, but this is the first time they are revealing their plans in public for this occasion.
They are planning "a year of celebration" with "new games, digital content, events, and major announcements."
This means that we can expect to see multiple new Sonic games, and our guess is that some of them will be completely new, while others will be some remakes/remasters of the old classics, and probably some mobile games as well.
There's also a mention of a "tailored licensing programme," which could mean a Sonic TV show is on the way.
It's worth noting that around Sonic's 25th anniversary Sega released Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces, so maybe we can expect two "major" Sonic games for the 30th anniversary.
Sonic advertisement in Licencing Source Book Europe (Picture: Sega)
These are, of course, all just our guesses, and we can probably expect to see more details later this year, or even early next year, but one thing is for sure - Sonic fans will have a blast next year.


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So not dead yet, but not tastefully handled last week
Yahoo will not shut down Delicious and instead is trying to sell it to another company. At least, that's what Yahoo wrote on the Delicious blog Friday, a day after reports circulated that it planned to shut down the social bookmarking pioneer.
"We're actively thinking about the future of Delicious and we believe there is a home outside the company that would make more sense for the service and our users," the blog post says. "We're in the process of exploring a variety of options and talking to companies right now. And we'll share our plans with you as soon as we can."


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Universal Forest Products unveils structure changes
Building products supplier will rebrand and realign in 2020.
As of Jan. 1, 2020, Universal Forest Products, Inc. will be rebranded as UFP Industries, Inc.
The company also plans to organize itself around the markets it serves rather than geography. According to Universal Forest Products, the changes are designed to drive sales and profits while providing employees with more opportunities.
The company will be organized so that each business segment aligns with the market it currently serves: UFP Retail, UFP Construction and UFP Industrial. These segments will each consist of multiple business units, or “profit centers,” led by entrepreneurial members of the UFP team. Each profit center will have a general manager who will continue to operate his or her facility to enhance customer service, create manufacturing and transportation synergies and improve overall profitability.
The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company said it plans to ratify the name change at its annual shareholder meeting on April 22 of next year. UFP Industries will continue to trade under the ticker symbol UFPI.
“We have the best team in the industry, and we want to position our people for the greatest success,” said CEO Matthew Missad. “The markets are changing quickly, and we need to not only adapt to changes, but to anticipate future changes. As the complexity in our product offering increases, our teams need to be able to focus on products and services that bring more value to our customers. The only way to lead the next era of growth is from the front.”
Missad noted that the while the name Universal Forest Products is a source of pride for employees, it no longer accurately describes what the company does. “UFP Industries, Inc. is a better fit for what we do and for our new organizational structure,” he said. “Our companies serve a diverse group of customers, and our products include many materials, not just wood.”
Under the new structure Allen Peters, will become the president and COO of UFP Retail, Patrick Benton will become president of UFP Construction, and Scott Worthington will become president of UFP Industrial.
Each of these three segments currently exceeds $1 billion in annual revenue. Each division will look to double sales and profits over the next 10 years, the company said.
Despite lower lumber prices and lower sales, UFPI saw profits rise 24% to $54.5 million for the second quarter this year.
During a transition period, Pat Webster will maintain his duties as COO of UFPI and will take on COO responsibility for UFP Construction and UFP Industrial. Jonathan Westwill become executive vice president of Factory Built Housing in the construction segment. Chad Eastin will become executive vice president of ProWood.
“Our focus is on being the expert solution providers for our customers. This new organization enables us to accomplish that much more efficiently,” Missad said.
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Amazon says its tenth California order-processing center will open in Sacramento by the end of 2017 and will create over 1,000 full-time jobs.
Employees will pick, pack, and ship smaller customer items, such as books, electronics and toys.
Amazon says the Sacramento center is in the preliminary stages of construction and will measure 855,000 square-feet. The building will be located near Interstate 5 and Powerline Road.
The company says more than 14,000 Californians work in Amazon fulfillment centers across the state.
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Mérida, March 10, 2010 (venezuelanalysis.com)– Four thousand tons of sugar hoarded in the warehouse of the Santa Elena sugar mill in the central state of Portugesa has caused the Chavez government to seize the plant.
Richard Canán, Venezuela’s Commerce Minister, announced the occupation of the plant after an inspection carried out on Tuesday.
“We’re going to guarantee that these plants are operating in a way to ensure the supply of sugar for the Venezuelan people.” Canán said “We have the power to initiate expropriation processes of sugar mills or any type of plant where there are irregularities.”
Venezuela has been facing severe sugar shortages for many months, attributed by government officials to a series of irregular activities being carried out by sugar producers seeking to increase profit margins.
The government regulates the price of sugar for the domestic market at 3.73 BsF per kilogram. Producers seeking to avoid the regulated price engage in a series of practices, which include illegal export to Colombia, selling unrefined sugar to producers of chocolate products and other sweets, and keeping large amounts of the product from the domestic market.
Hoarding, by creating an artificial shortage, propagates an informal market in the country, which some producers and middlemen exploit in order to maximize profits. Sugar on the informal market can sell at more than double the regulated price.
According to Canán, this month’s sugar cane harvest will produce some 200,000 tons of sugar. As such, there is no reason for shortages of the product in Venezuela.
Authorities became aware of Santa Elena’s involvement in illegal distribution practices when sacks of sugar originating from the plant were found being sold on the informal market.
The mill was also cited for various labor and environmental violations including unsafe working conditions and the illegal disposal of untreated wastewater in a local creek.
Another sugar plant, Santa Clara in the state of Yaracuy, has also been implicated in distribution irregularities and has also been temporarily occupied by the government.
The seizures of the sugar mills will last for 90 days during which time the Ministry of Commerce will work to ensure that the product reaches its appropriate and legitimate local markets.
The inspection leading to the occupation of Santa Elena was carried out in collaboration with the workers of the mill, local community councils, members of the Institute for the People’s Defense and Access to Goods and Services (Indepabis), the Social Comptroller, and the Superintendent of Silos.
Inspections were carried out throughout the country on Tuesday, with a special emphasis being placed on 15 sugar mills and more than 107 sugar packaging plants.
Throughout the inspections, the government emphasized participation of community members. Neighborhood residents, organized in community councils, have exercised their rights to perform duties of social comptrollers as granted under the country’s Community Council Law.
In the Caracas neighborhood of San José, community participation led to the identification of a tractor-trailer filled with 30 tons of sugar alleged to be hoarded on land with a history of irregularities.
According to the Civil Registrar of the neighborhood, Carlos Urbina, 34,600 tons of sugar were seized on the same plot of land last January 12th.
“We have to guarantee that basic food commodities reach the people” said Urbina.


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Maiden Outdoor’s results last week (MW May 26) prove that the combination of an economic upturn and a new attitude to the industry can make outdoor a highly successful medium.
Maiden increased pre-tax profits by 88 per cent from 2.3m in 1993 to 4.3m in 1994. Turnover increased by 22 per cent to 29.4m, compared to industry growth of 15 per cent last year.
The buyout team bought the company from family ownership in spring 1993 and immediately changed the direction of the company. Until Avenir’s purchase of Mills & Allen in 1989 and the Maiden buyout, UK outdoor had been seen very much as a property industry.
That fixed-cost property business suffered from cyclical upturns and downturns in the economy, making long-term growth and planning difficult.
More O’Ferrall managed to be a publicly-quoted company in those circumstances by restricting itself to the highest quality poster sites and the innovative Adshel medium.
Maiden’s new team brought in a marketing-led strategy intended to create premium products and services with added value. The idea was to purge the medium of its commodity nature and allow it to ride out cyclical downturns more successfully.
It has also followed a strategy of marketing the medium generically – with initiatives such as the free Scallywags bubblebath campaign to attract new advertisers. Last year, 12 per cent of its packages were sold to advertisers using the medium for the first time.
This led to better prices for its sites last year and, crucially, higher occupancy levels.
The management team em-phasises that flotation plans are an indicator of its long-term investment in the medium, but it is impossible to predict the company’s future market capitalisation or the precise date of the flotation.
Maiden’s planned flotation will have received a boost – at least for the moment – from the interest the City is taking in More O’Ferrall.
Since the company’s annual general meeting in late April, its share price has shot up from about 360p to 440p – putting it more than 27 per cent up on its year low of 344p.
Chairman Russell Gore-Andrews maintains the share price rise is due to the company’s growth – 1994 turnover was up nine per cent to 73.8m and profits were up 23 per cent to 9.5m – combined with a small number of tradable shares.
“There is quite a narrow market in our shares,” he says. “So if people want to buy in then the price will rise substantially.” He denies that any takeover bid is imminent.
About 70 per cent of More O’Ferrall stock is held by institutional shareholders, including 3i and Framlington, which have traditionally supported MO’F’s management. The City believes a buyout would be near-impossible to engineer without a very substantial war-chest.
Whatever the date of Maiden’s planned flotation, the City seems likely to be ready and waiting for another poster company.


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Temasek backs India’s HealthKart in $135 million funding
Indian client diet platform HealthKart has raised $135 million in a brand new financing spherical because it seems to increase in worldwide markets and shore up money to purchase corporations, it mentioned Monday.
Temasek led the Gurgaon-headquartered agency’s Series H funding, valuing the 11-year-old startup at about $350 million. The startup, which additionally counts Sequoia India, Sofina and IIFL amongst its backers, has raised about $225 million up to now, based on market analysis agency Tracxn.
HealthKart, which sells protein dietary supplements and well being equipment, mentioned it’s at the moment on observe to generate over $122 million in annual income.
“Driving fitness and preventive health by addressing the nutritional gaps is a systemic trend which is taking off in a big way in India. With HealthKart’s R&D capabilities and omni-channel distribution infrastructure, we are excited to lead the way,” mentioned Sameer Maheshwari, founder and chief government of HealthKart, in a press release.
The startup mentioned it should deploy the recent funds to increase its offline presence and likewise scale its operations in worldwide markets. The omni-channel diet retailer at the moment operates over 140 shops throughout 50 Indian cities.
In 2015, 1MG spun off from HealthKart and have become a separate firm. Tata Digital acquired majority stakes in 1MG at a valuation of over $400 million final 12 months.
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The tournament will feature streamers from games other than VALORANT, however. Twenty streamers from Call of Duty, Overwatch, Fortnite, CS:GO, and other games will be split into four teams and compete for a $10,000 grand prize.
The event will highlight LG’s new monitor, which features the $799.99 4K UHD 27-inch screen. “After over six years of broadcasting and live streaming experience, the Tempo team is excited to debut our new virtual stage with LG UltraGear,” said Ryan Turner, senior partnerships and marketing manager of Tempo Storm.
The winner will also receive the title of “Game Changer.” Here’s the list of all the participants:
The LG UltraGear Face Off will also debut Tempo’s new virtual stage. Fans can watch the event go live this Saturday, Oct. 3, at 3pm CT on the Ultra Gear Gaming Twitch channel.


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Last night, over a hundred people showed up at a book launch party to celebrate advertising executive Tom Doctoroff’s new book on China. One of those people was his brother's boss, Michael Bloomberg.
Tom's brother is Dan Doctoroff, the former deputy mayor of economic development who left to head the mayor’s company, Bloomberg L.P., in early 2008. Dan mingled with the crowd in the Midtown offices of J. Walter Thompson, along with representatives of the company's clients including Rolex, Macy’s and Diageo and, briefly, Bloomberg and his transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan.
Story Continued Below
Tom, 49, who has worked at the firm for nearly 20 years, heads the company's China operations. He got an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and went into advertising “because it was about insights.” He eventually moved from Chicago to Hong Kong, then to Shanghai. Tom Doctoroff (whose brother, as deputy mayor, tried to bring the 2012 Olympics to New York City) was a torchbearer in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“It’s just been an intellectually stimulating past decade that I’ve enjoyed quite a bit,” he said.
His book, What Chinese Want, is his second on marketing in China, and looks at the country from a consumerist prespective. It’s a field manual, of sorts, for marketers looking to make inroads into China.
In an excerpt posted on the Huffington Post, it is explained that many of the same products can sell in China if they’re sold in the Confucian context of stability, progress and society. For example, according to his book, “McDonald's restaurants, temples of childhood delight in the West, have morphed into scholastic playgrounds in China.”
Doctoroff said it’s hard to generalize about a country of 1.3 billion people without devolving into ethnic stereotypes. But, he said, “I think as long as you don’t convey cultural arrogance, you’re OK. And I find that my friendliest audiences tend to be mainland Chinese.”
At one point, Dan Doctoroff introduced the mayor, who stood with one foot on the stage, partially obscured by bamboo in a red bucket. He credited Bloomberg’s leadership, vision and willingness to ignore critics.
“I hope all of you would agree that in about, what 570 days...” Doctoroff said.
Bloomberg cut him off: “581.”
Bloomberg took the stage.
“I keep saying in this city, where the press is rushing to blame China for every mistake that we make, from our economic policy, our immigration policy, to our education policy, we blame China for all of that rather than looking in the mirror and realizing that we are the problem,” he said.
Bloomberg, who is also a bit of a writer, in an as-told-to kind of way, joked he read the first chapter of Doctoroff's book, and predicted a sequel.
“I am sure I’ll be joining you here in a couple of years for your next book, which may be called What Bloomberg Wants,” he said.


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The importance of odour management
The sense of smell is one of the body’s front-line defence mechanisms, designed to set off alarm bells if an unpleasant smell is detected. A bad smell is a warning of a bad experience to come.
“People’s trust in the cleanliness and safety of a building can be negatively impacted if it smells bad, as they will wonder why, and suspect that it is not hygienic,” says P-Wave sales and marketing manager, Mark Wintle. With many retail premises having been closed for the past four months, he says the air quality in some retail destinations is likely to be poorer as cleaning has been carried out less frequently during the lockdown period.
The biggest culprit of bad smells, he says, is the washroom facilities. According to The World Health Organisation, Coronavirus can spread in an infected person’s urine. This is called ‘viral shedding’, which means that if traces of contaminated urine become aerosolised and inhaled while using a urinal, the disease can infect others in the washroom.
To tackle this, P-Wave, which specialises in creating washroom deodorisers, developed a new angle on splash prevention, marking what Wintle says is ‘a major step forward in urinal deodorising technology’ with the launch of a new highly-fragranced urinal screen.
He also suggests that it is worth installing bio-enzymatic cleaning solutions in cisterns: “They release billions of beneficial bacterial to consume bio-materials that cause odours, keeping the bowl clean, blue and fresh, while also reducing water consumption by displacing water that would normally be present.”
Cleaning practices should not put all their focus on toilets, says Wintle, as improving the air quality and freshness throughout will ease the anxious minds of shoppers.
“Cleanliness and hygiene are the most important aspects of managing premises, but with the heightened awareness created by Covid-19, facilities managers need to action every option available to ensure safety and reassure employees and visitors,” he explains.
For small areas where consistent fragrance is important, such as near bins or by in washrooms, he says that Passive air fresheners are ideal. For bigger areas, he advises discrete wall or ceiling mounted active air freshener systems, which can comprehensively freshen up to 16m3, and feature an intelligent fan which powers down when the lights go off to conserve the battery. And for less frequented areas, he suggests motion-activated solutions to reduce ‘fragrance overload’.
“When specifying air freshening solutions, facilities managers should also have the environment on mind and only choose and install products and consumables that are 100% recyclable,” says Wintle.
“As shopping centres reopen, there’s no doubt that first impressions are hugely important and restore confidence. Facilities managers need to do all they can to ensure that visitors and shop workers trust that premises are hygienic, safe and clean.”


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Draper, UT -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/24/2012 -- Two months ago it was concluded that the recruitment of Norwegian Xocai distributors had increased by 103%, from about 75 new Norwegian distributors per week to about 158. The effect of the massive positive media attention this summer therefore had a tremendous impact on the further spread of the "Healthy Chocolate" concept and it looks like this trend also spread internationally. Since 2008, the recruitment pace has been increased by 2/3 on a global scale and this year in particular has been a historical high for the company with over 11,220 new distributors enlisted.
Sjokoservice Norway’s spokesperson Roger Meyer, the man behind the serious growth had their websites on the domain Sjokolade4you.no but these websites are now updated. The same goes for the website to Sjokoservice Norway.
Growth not just for skeptics but consumers of chocolate everywhere. This is the Streisand Effect is full motion.
Here are the latest statistics on Xocai Norway Growth:
- Added NEW EU / Scandinavian Manager (Christel Frank) email@example.com
- Active Distributors in Xocai Norway 2011: 1,960
- Active Distributors in Xocai Norway 2012: 5,823
- Annual Sales in Xocai Norway 2011: $4,370,000+
- Annual Sales in Xocai Norway 2012: $13,600,000+
- New Consumers in Xocai Norway 2011: 123
- New Consumers in Xocai Norway 2012: 654
- Average New Xocai NORWAY Distributors per Month: 154
- Average New Xocai Distributors Worldwide per Month: 621
“Join the Chocolate Revolution!”
“Xocai Preferred Customer”


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The venture includes Del Monte branded retail outlets featuring nutritious foods and beverages to meet an increasing demand for healthier food options as well as collaboration on a line of chilled juices, prepared refrigerated fruit snacks, and guacamole and avocado products.
In addition to retail and new product ventures, the companies have agreed to expand Del Monte product sales in various markets around the world and they will share expertise and optimize economies of scale in product development, operations, sourcing, supply chain, marketing and distribution.
The retail food and beverage concept has already seen success with Fresh Del Monte Produce in the Middle East.
The joint ventures will be launched initially in the US with the potential to expand into other territories where the two businesses complement each other.
Commenting on the agreement, Rolando Gapud, chairman of the Board, DMPL, said it was pleased to have resolved its differences and put to rest the financial uncertainty that can arise from prolonged litigation.
The long-standing litigation between the two companies which were once part of America’s Del Monte Corp. centered on licensing rights and product distribution in various territories around the world.
“We look forward to combining the resources of Del Monte Pacific, our US subsidiary Del Monte Foods, and Fresh Del Monte Produce, and focusing our joint efforts on exciting new business opportunities that will provide consumers with more premium quality, healthy products,” said Gapud.
The food and beverage stores will sell a medley of Del Monte branded healthy snacks, such as salads, including some with protein, fresh-cut fruit salads, savory sandwiches, crisp vegetables in a wrap, smoothies, chilled juices, warm beverages, hummus and yogurt.
“We are in the early stages of creating the businesses, so we have a lot of work to do. We need to build separate organizational structures, finalize capital structures, and other customary transition steps.”
Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of the Board and CEO, Fresh Del Monte Produce agreed and said the partnership ‘offers tremendous opportunities for both companies to innovate on a much broader and deeper scale than either company can accomplish individually’.
“Each company brings a high level of knowledge, experience and commitment that comes from developing and building the iconic, trusted Del Monte brand,” he added.
“We also share similar visions for creating products and experiences that will meet the evolving needs of today’s consumer.”
Fresh Del Monte Produce through certain of its subsidiaries, has 16 locations in the Middle East region. These are a combination of grab and go and dine-in locations and it has selected a location for what will be its first dine-in food and beverage store in Europe.
It currently sells chilled juices in Kenya, the Middle East and Europe.


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Vehicle rental app Citybee has faced opposition to its scheme to roll out hire cars in Tallinn. Tallinn City Government has said that such cars as unnecessary, and says free parking for the vehicles, which would be hired short-term in much the same way as the company's electric scooters, is off the table.
Citybee, a Lithuanian firm, started offering electric scooter hires in the capital in June, in competition with taxi hailing app Bolt which launched a similar service around the same time.
As reported on ERR News, the company brought a fleet of small cars to Tallinn recently, planned for a four-wheel version of the scooter hire setup, as already available in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
If available the service would bring over 100 cars to the streets of Tallinn, which the city government says cannot be parked for free, as well as being an unnecessary addition to the traffic and taking away from public transport volumes.
"The city government sees low-cost car rental customers primarily as current public transport users, since those who already drive, drive their own cars," said Deputy Mayor Kalle Klandorf (Centre), according to ERR's online news in Estonian.
"There is no need for such a service. It will pollute the environment more," Klandorf went on, speaking at a press conference.
"These things aren't so straightforward that you just start parking on the city streets [for free]. We discussed the matter and our view is that the city cannot support free parking on the streets because it is not environmentally friendly," he continued, also claiming road safety may be compromised by the Citybee cars, in addition to contributing to congestion and obstruction.
"We need to clear the snow off the streets in winter; when that happens, who is going to move those cars?" Klandorf enquired, adding that even cheaper parking fees for the rental cars would not be an option.
"In addition, it [the rental cars] would take away from parking for locals. Parking restrictions and parking fees are set to prevent cars from obstructing pedestrians and traffic, so paying parking fees would motivate people to vacate the parking space as soon as possible," he continued.
Klandorf also rebuffed Citybee's claim that talks between Tallinn City Government and the company are ongoing, saying he could not identify who Citybee had been negotiating with so far.
Another Deputy Mayor, Aivar Riisalu (Centre) said that Citybee had left it too late to assume that the car rental service was a given, and shouldn't have announced the roll-out before it was agreed, regardless of how the scooter service had gone.
Citybee took its scooters off the streets recently, for the winter, with the idea that the cars would replace them. Under the proposed service, both refuelling and parking costs would be a matter for Citybee and not users.
Citybee spokesperson Triin Adamson said that there was never any plan to require free on-street parking, simply that users could not park in parking lots on the company, adding that negotiations, including on parking, are still underway so a start-date for the service cannot be announced yet.
Editor: Andrew Whyte