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The Latest News On The API Economy
Searching: No Search Term , Filtered By Category: "Shipping", Category: "Payments", Category: "Transportation"
At Intuit’s annual conference, QuickBooks Connect, some details were shared about the latest version of their QuickBooks Online API, currently open to partners. Included was a look at the Payroll functionality, long desired by Intuit’s developer community, and notes on the move to GraphQL.
Thirteen APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories including Messaging, Payments, and Shipping. Highlights include an unofficial Google News API and an API for enabling applications to accept Bitcoin payments. Here's a rundown of the latest additions.
UTRUST has a bold vision: to be the PayPal of cryptocurrencies. The Swiss startup has a number of APIs in beta, and plans on launching a publicly available crypto payment platform in early 2019. The platform will enable both online and brick and mortar merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments.
BlackVue has released an API for cloud access to its in-vehicle dashcams. The API is targeted to GPS and fleet management solution providers. Potential use cases include monitoring, safety alerts, and fleet protection. The API follows behind the first fleet-targeted product, the Fleet SDK.
Ripple provides blockchain payment technologies for banks, giving them more reliability, cost efficiency, and speed (transaction completion and recognition) that are infamous challenges within the banking industry. Its solutions enable banks to handle inter-bank transactions, liquidity and payments.
Stronghold has released a set of APIs that developers can use to add to apps a variety of payment instruments including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Lumens. The APIs also allow apps to leverage Stronghold platform capabilities such as generate quotes, trade cryptocurrencies, and get available venues.
12 more APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories such as Payments, Location, Infrastructure, and Security. Highlights include the GeoDataSource API which returns data about cities based on geolocation input. Here's a rundown of the latest additions.
Eleven APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories including Messaging, Insurance, and Supply Chain. Featured today is the Aidlab API for interacting with health and fitness biosensors, and Tyntec cloud communication APIs. Here's a rundown of the latest additions.
Clearcover has expanded its car insurance API platform to include SmartLink and a Lead API along with a Quote API. Using these APIs, partners can integrate with applications Clearcover platform capabilities such as data collection, display prices, and view changes to coverage elections.
Here Mobility has launched its HERE Mobility SDK. The SDK aims to democratize the mobile ecosystem by offering developers access to mobility services and map & location services. The SDK was originally beta tested by a select group and then tested through various hackathons.
Royal Mail, a UK based postal service and courier company has launched a new version of their Shipping API. The API, now in version two is meant to complement the release of a new shipping tool aimed at helping retailers fulfill their orders. The API is offered in two flavors, REST and SOAP.
Ten APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories including Validation, Email, Sustainability and Security. Also new to the directory is the official Clash Royale API and African bank-based Jenga API for payments integration. Here's a rundown of the latest additions.
MapAnything describes itself as a Location of Things company. Recently, the company introduced a suite of APIs that provide programmatic access to its routing and optimization engines. The company is specifically focused on fleets and routing B2B companies, and plans to introduce more APIs soon.
Square today announced the Square Reader SDK, a toolkit that will let Android and iOS developers design and deploy their own checkout experience for both sellers and buyers. The SDK makes it possible to run a custom UX on Square's hardware, opening up new possibilites for retail.
Stripe announced a new Issuing API and Partner Program. Stripe’s new API provides infrastructure for issuing physical and virtual cards via a single API call. The new partner program aims to provide members with documentation and best practices, along with an avenue for promoting integrations.
Microsoft has added waypoint optimization to the Bing Maps Routing API, which allows developers to create routes between driving locations. The API is ideal for delivery and transportation businesses, and the route optimization functionality is intended to address the traveling salesman problem.
Seventeen APIs have been added to the ProgrammableWeb directory in categories including Mapping, Sports, Shipping, Stocks, and Nature. Highlights include an API for the Figma design tool and and several APIs for integration with Bing Maps. Here's a rundown of the latest additions.
One of the cool things our directory data allows us to do is to get a glimpse at both short term and long term trends in the API space. One slice of data worth looking at is the categories have had the most growth. This article looks at which categories have grown the most in the last five years.
Revolut has expanded its Revolut for Business offering by extending banking services through an Open API. The API is designed to integrate with internal business systems and tools, as well as third party applications and workflows that businesses rely on to operate their businesses.
One of the more interesting views given by the directory is a look at what sectors are seeing the most growth in APIs. The directory data model allows for one primary category as well as multiple secondary categories and in this article we take a look at which categories are most represented.


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Investigative journalist Cam Simpson’s new book on human trafficking and strategic litigation in the U.S. government’s supply chain.
Coca-Cola and the U.S. State Department are part of a project to use blockchain technology to combat forced labor in supply chains.
A U.S. government contractor is being sued in federal court for violating the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
International Trade Union Conference launched a new web platform to help protect migrant workers by providing them with peer-to-peer reviews about recruitment agencies.
Five years after the collapse of Rana Plaza, investors take stock of progress made to safeguard Bangladeshi garment workers.

domain: news


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TLP has become the promotional agency of record for American Airlines and Fetzer Vineyards, accounts with combined billings of more than $12 million.
The American Airlines win followed a national review by the client. The account, which was first consolidated with DDB Dallas in 1994, was once held by TLP's predecessor agency, Tracy-Locke Partners, also located in Dallas.
Said TLP president and chief executive officer Gary VonKennel, "We're known to be big idea people and we're working on at least one big idea for American. They've challenged us to provide that and I think we're right on track."
The agency will be responsible for both national promotions and collateral advertising for the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier.
VonKennel, who took the helm at TLP last July, said two other large account wins would be announced shortly.
The Fetzer Vineyards account was awarded after a series of discussions were held with the client, VonKennel said.
A national consumer promotion for Fetzer is scheduled for September. The client's brands include Valley Oaks cabernet sauvignon, Eagle Peak merlot and Sundial chardonnay. Fetzer, based in Hopland, Calif., is a division of Brown-Forman Wine Group USA.
Sandi Means, TLP's chief operations officer, said all agency departments will be hiring new employees to accommodate the client growth. In addition to her role as COO, Means leads the agency account team for American Airlines.
TLP's other accounts include Harrah's Casinos, Pepsi-Cola Co. and Pizza Hut.
The Dallas-based marketing agency and promotional arm of Ominicom's Diversified Agency
Services division reports annual capitalized billings of more than $420 million.


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Continuum Launches Business Continuity Sales Kit for MSP Partners
The Boston-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform provider noted the new kit includes “a” that are .
Continuum’s Business Continuity Sales Success Kit features:
Continuum Vault: Here’s what MSPs need to know
Continuum currently offers introduced in Dec. 2011, to its MSP partners.that the company
“Zenith Infotech customers migrate to our offering every day,” Continuum CEO Michael George told MSPmentor in September. “Most already have migrated or plan to migrate to Continuum … Vault is an obvious choice for former Zenith partners; it has a great reputation in the market and most people can re-use their existing Zenith hardware.”
Continuum pointed out that it continues to search for ways to help


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A candlemaker has added seven new staff and plans to double production.
Shearer Candles has invested £700,000 in its manufacturing and distribution facility making it the only UK business to have the latest extrusion technology.
The machinery will increase production from three million candles a year to more than six million.
The Glasgow business also recently won the Best Value Range category at the Spring Fair Awards judged by home-ware designers including Sophie Conran and Linda Barker.
Jeremy Lane, marketing and sales director of the 112-year-old family owned company, said receiving the award was really important to the business.


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- Articles tagged "active shutter"
At a press event today, Epson unveiled six new 3D and two new integrated interactive projectors. Interestingly, not all six 3D projectors are aimed at home theater enthusiasts; a couple of them have education and business users in mind. As usual, we've all the info.
- Samsung launches Galaxy Tab A tablets in Singapore, available from S$398
- Forget Predator or Star Trek, cloaking devices are becoming a reality
- Unreal Engine 4 will support Valve’s SteamVR
- Autonomous has just launched a Smart office desk that aims to change your life
- Xigmatek launches Nebula C mini-ITX cube case in a light-hearted array of pastel colors
- Samsung unveils Tizen Store, available in 182 countries with 25 apps at launch
- Razer launches Seirēn Pro digital microphone with professional features
- Have trouble staying awake? Night Terrors can help you with that


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The most important breaking food and nutrition news stories.
Restaurant chains have some exciting offers and freebies lined up for Feb. 29.
The zesty potato-based snack is back on the shelves, and this time, it's not going anywhere.
The chain reported traffic declines throughout 2023—and it has yet to reverse the trend in 2024.
Both new cookies are inspired by classic desserts.
Make sure to check your pantry for these grocery items that are being pulled from stores.
The chain is building on the dozens of openings it saw in 2023.
The planned change is already garnering some pushback among customers.
First spotted late last week, the new bakery item is already garnering buzz among Costco shoppers.
The doughnut chain is celebrating Leap Day with some sweet offerings.
The chain opened dozens of stores in 2023—and it plans to do even better in 2024.
Now, you'll have the best and latest food and healthy eating news right in your inbox—every
Copyright 2024 Galvanized Media. All Rights Reserved. Eat This Not That is part of the Dotdash Meredith Publishing Family.


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Many analysts believe the current rebound will prove long lasting and they are forecasting healthy growth of 3 per cent or better in the second half of this year and into 2015″We have not been able to account for the shortfall through the sale of legal ivory by the selected selling sites,” Chinese officials reported in the document to Cites in 2003.
The province has launched a $25 million mental health assistance effort in the wake of the floods, which involves pro active counselling services.
We will not share your personal information for marketing purposes with third parties without your separate and explicit permissionSaturdays and Sundays are usually quite busy with day trippers but we’ve been rained out most weekends,” she said.
“Forbes Online has recognised Malaysia as the 10th friendliest country in the world, while Malaysia’s Perhentian Kecil Island in Terengganu, Juara Beach in Pahang’s Tioman Island and Tanjung Rhu Langkawi in Kedah are on C NNWorld’s 100 Best Beaches list,” he noted.
The sales goals and launch timing Kia’s current flagship, the Cadenza sedan, just went on sale in April signals the seriousness of Kia’s ambitions to become a formidable competitor to mainstream and luxury makes alike.
Nokia reiterates that ongoing tax proceedings in India have no bearing on the timing of the closing or the material deal terms of the anticipated transaction between Nokia and Microsoft,” the Finnish firm said


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A new high speed internet technology known as LiFi allows data to be sent at remarkably high speeds using visible light technology, as opposed to WiFi's radio waves. And this tech just moved out of the lab and into the real world for the first time. Estonian startup, Velminni, recently began tests in order to get ready for the commercial use of the product.
The company has started trials in offices and industrial centers in the Estonian capital, Tallinn. And so far, the results are staggering.
"We are doing a few pilot projects within different industries where we can utilize the VLC (visible light communication) technology," Deepak Solanki, CEO of Velmenni, told IBTimes UK. "Currently we have designed a smart lighting solution for an industrial environment where the data communication is done through light. We are also doing a pilot project with a private client where we are setting up a LiFi network to access the internet in their office space."
Reportedly, Li-Fi technology can send data at up to 1GB per second, which is a hundred times faster than WiFi technology available today. Notably, lab tests revealed that the LiFi connection could transmit up to 224 gigabits per second, but the first trial runs were obviously slower.
This method of transmission was first discovered in 2011 at the University of Edinburgh by Harold Haas. Ultimately, in his work, Haas showed that the flickering light from an LED could transmit more data than a cellular tower. If put into practice, such a system could provide for any number of devices.
Future of the Internet
However, LiFi technology, while promising, may not be able to completely used to replace WiFi networks because these networks are so built in to our society. To this end, it may make more sense to retrofit our current technology. Indeed, currently, researchers behind this technology are trying to develop systems that will integrate the current Internet system being used with the LiFi infrastructure. To this end, it could potentially be used simultaneously to improve services creating more secure and faster networks.
Given the success of the pilot study, LiFi technology should be seen hitting the consumer market within the next three to four years and, in so doing, giving consumers access to the internet via light bulbs in their homes.
"All we need to do is fit a small microchip to every potential illumination device and this would then combine two basic functionalities: illumination and wireless data transmission," said Professor Harald Haas, the inventor of Li-Fi, in a TED Talk. "In the future we will not only have 14 billion light bulbs, we may have 14 billion Li-Fis deployed worldwide for a cleaner, greener and even brighter future."
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The combination of smartphone proliferation, a surge in application storefront launches and new developments in hybrid positioning technologies are expected to help drive revenues from mobile location-based services (MLBS) to more than $12.7 billion by 2014, according to a new report from industry analysts at Juniper Research.
The Mobile Location Based Services report found that while MLBS had experienced in number of false dawns over the 2000-2007 period, improvements in handset user interfaces – exemplified by the iPhone – together with easier consumer access to an array of app distribution channels had led to greater interest from service providers in providing MLBS applications. In addition, growth was being further facilitated by the deployment of high capacity network infrastructure and attendant increases in mobile Internet adoption, providing greater opportunities for browser-based services.
Furthermore, the Juniper report noted that advertising was likely to form an increasing share of MLBS-related revenues over the next five years. According to report co-author Dr Windsor Holden, “Location-based applications are extremely interesting for brands and retailers in that they allow those companies to direct consumers to outlets in their vicinity while simultaneously providing information about the products on offer. When these are allied to measures such as mobile coupons and vouchers, you have the combination of information and financial incentive which can be compelling for consumers.”
Other findings from the Mobile Location Based Services Research include:… [more]


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The call for proposals for ATypI Tokyo 2019 is up
Submit your fascinating, enriching and thought-provoking proposals you have in mind! Deadline for submissions has been extended to Thursday, February 10, 2019. More information at atypi2019.dryfta.com.
The final result of Morisawa Type Design Competition 2016
Check the the list of winners. From 49 countries and regions around the world, a total of 739 works (205 works for Kanji category and 534 works for Latin category) was applied.
Morisawa font library now available outside Japan
Now, for the first time, Morisawa is expanding its offering by making over 500 fonts from its library available to users outside Japan. Via indesignsecrets.com.
Japan unveils Tokyo 2020 Olympic logos
Baseball legend Sadaharu Oh and Logo Selection Committee Chairman Ryohei Miyata announce the official emblems for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games during a ceremony in Tokyo on Monday. (more…)
Type & – typographic event in Tokyo
Type & offers seminars and workshop dedicated to multilingual type design. (more…)
The official Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo by Kenjiro Sano
Tokyo has unveiled the logos for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The brand identity was designed by Kenjiro Sano.


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Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.
No one ever said that gaming is an inexpensive hobby.
For example, take the Thrustmaster: TX Racing Wheel, Ferrari 458 Italia Edition for Xbox One. With this steering-wheel controller, players can feel like they are really at the helm of a $400,000 supercar in Microsoft’s upcoming Forza Motorsport 5 driving game (or other racing titles). It re-creates the actual wheel from a Ferrari, has paddle gear shifters, and comes with metal floor pedals.
Thrustmaster’s device is an awesome way to experience racing video games, but to pick it up on launch day (it comes out Nov. 22 alongside Xbox One) it’s gonna set you back $400 at GameStop, as first spotted by Twitter user LikChan.
That means the TX Racing Wheel costs the same as Sony’s next-gen PlayStation 4 console.
Of course, the new racing controller isn’t just old the same old Xbox 360 device repackaged for next gen. Microsoft is using an entirely new type of the rumbling force-feedback technology, and Thrustmaster’s wheel is taking full advantage of that.
“Force feedback has been done for over 15 years,” Xbox director of strategic alliance Branden Powell said in an interview with Microsoft spokesperson Larry Hyrb. “Previously, [game makers had] some canned forces that they could push down to the device to simulate the feeling that they wanted. What we’ve done is figure out a new way to do that using an equation language.”
Powell explains that with the equation language, developers can push down exactly what they want to devices like a racing wheel, and the controller can replicate it exactly.
“It delivers a level of precision [in force feedback] that we just haven’t had before,” said Powell.
Thrustmaster isn’t the only company making a racing wheel for Xbox One. Peripheral manufacturer Mad Catz revealed its Force Feedback Racing Wheel for Xbox One, but it didn’t specify a release date or price.
We’ve reached out to Mad Catz to ask how much it will charge for its controller, and we’ll update this post with any new information.
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you -- not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Discover our Briefings.


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This month, thousands of ASDA colleagues from its head office, stores and depots celebrated after clocking up a minimum 25 years of continuous service.
ASDA serves up silver celebration…
More than 5,000 ASDA workers have been recognised for their ‘silver’ service – helping the company achieve the highest retention rate in the retail industry.
The milestone followed a gala event held on the 18th November where more than 400 ASDA colleagues from stores and depots across the UK joined together to celebrate their 25th, 30th, 35th or 40th anniversaries – racking up almost 12,000 years of service between them!
ASDA is already one of the largest employers of over 50s, with the highest retention rates and lowest absence records in retail. It means that on average, every one of its 165,000 colleagues has at least four years experience serving customers – proof that its stores, depots and offices are some of the best places to work in the UK.
The Big Anniversary…
Each year ASDA hosts a special Big Anniversary event to celebrate long-service. This year, more than 422 colleagues were invited to join ASDA’s exec board for a slap-up meal, with 279 people recognised for having worked 25 years. The remaining 143 colleagues were celebrating either 30, 35 or 40 years continued service. Next year ASDA predicts it will need to invite more than 800 colleagues, double the number at this year’s event.
On their 25th anniversary, each colleague receives a £300 tax-free bonus, an extra week off to enjoy with their family and friends, a bouquet of flowers and a letter from ASDA’s CEO Andy Bond.
This year’s crop of colleagues joined the company in 1983, the year Bjorn Borg retired from tennis after winning five consecutive Wimbledon championships, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video aired for the first time, and compact discs made their debut on the high street.
A special thanks…
David Smith, ASDA’s People Director, said, “Our track record of retaining colleagues is second to none. Their hard work and commitment over the years is what makes our business so successful.”
He added, “I’m proud to recognise some of our longest serving colleagues and would like to personally thank them for all their hard work. It’s clear that thousands of people love working here, and it is thanks to each of them that ASDA is such a great place to work.”
For more information on the benefits of working for ASDA please visit www.asda.jobs
“Our track record of retaining colleagues is second to none. Their hard work and commitment over the years is what makes our business so successful.”


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A fresh series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have surfaced on the crypto space, dedicated to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The name of this NFT series is “Dogs of Elon” (DoE). A total of 10,000 unique dog-inspired NFTs are part of this series with several “K-9” options for users to choose from. A website with detailed information on this NFT series has also been made live online.
The announcement inviting Doge-like dog coin supporters to mint NFTs from this Musk-dedicated series has also made its way on Twitter. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are virtual collectibles that can be bought using cryptocurrencies.
After more than a few months of preparation, it’s time to announce our project. ????
MINT an NFT (Dogs Of Elon) & Join $ DOE Pre-sale! Our website is live!????
— Dogs Of Elon (@dogsofelon) October 19, 2021
Replying to a comment on the update, the Twitter handle of the Dogs of Elon wrote, “You can now MINT NFT and join pre-sale on our website!”
The NFT series will also feature special sub-collections containing DoE NFTs of 30 unique Elons and 70 zombies Doges.
“As a celebration of the strongest communities in crypto, the DoE NFTs can be staked to earn $renDOGE and $SHIBA, $DOE for a short period. Each deposited NFT will equal one share in this limited-time pool,” the website explained.
Each participating address will be permitted to claim only 20 of the 10,000 DoE NFTs to ensure a level playing field and reward opportunity.
While the development has been making the rounds since a few days, the centi-billionaire CEO of Tesla has not reacted to it as yet.
Several Dogecoin copycats like Shiba Inu, Kishu Inu and more have witnessed popularity in recent times. The values of these dog-based coins is not outlandish, making them easy purchasable crypto holdings for small investors.
Dogecoin is the most popular memecoin around and although the cryptocurrency did begin as a joke back in 2013, its growth in the US has been multi-fold in recent years.
A recent study that was conducted across 22 countries by an Australian cryptocurrency survey agency, found Dogecoin’s (DOGE) adoption rate in the US surpass that of Bitcoin and Ether— to a point where its adoption is almost twice as much as the global average.


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Mew has been the IAB’s Chief Operating Officer since September 2014. He joined in November 2008 as the first Head of Mobile, before moving into the role of Director of Mobile and Operations which involved merging mobile into the core part of the business. This year mobile overtook desktop to become the biggest digital platform, in terms of display adspend.
Mew has worked across a variety of media and prior to the IAB held senior marketing roles at Freeserve and Orange. [more…]
MRM Meteorite leads the DMA Awards shortlist with 14, as the full 2016 shortlist is announced The finalists for this year’s DMA Awards reveals MRM Meteorite leading the way with 14 nominations, for 4 campaigns.
This year’s shortlist also showcases one of the largest fields in the Awards history, with 171 brands vying for a Gold in one of the 34 categories, as well as being in line to take home the prized Grand Prix award.
Consumers’ obsession with their phones meant the amount companies spent on mobile display ads overtook that of PC/tablet display for the first time, as people, particularly women and 16-24s, now spend more internet time on their mobiles than on PCs. [more…]
From inspiration and entertainment to social interaction and knowledge seeking, AOL’s Global Content Moments Study highlights the need for advertisers and publishers to complement traditional audience segmentation and standard targeting demographics with an understanding of emotional motivations and everyday experiences to better connect with consumers.
The charity Guide Dogs has teamed up with award-winning agency Don’t Panic and paralympian Libby Clegg to create a detailed soundscape film - one that lets the viewer experience what it might be like to grow up with sight loss and a burning ambition.
The inspiring short film helps the viewer understand the challenges faced by blind and partially sighted people and how, with the help of Guide Dogs, they can realise their dreams. The emphasis on the audio helps sighted individuals to understand what it might be like for blind and partially sighted people growing up. [more…]
Mirakl, the leading marketplace platform provider, today announced that Darty, a leading European electronics retailer, is seeing better visibility in search, greater profit margins, and new category growth after implementing the Mirakl Marketplace Solution in 2014.


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Apple has hired Cable television juggernaut Jean-Francois Mulé as engineering director of an “undisclosed project”.
The move was revealed by Mulé’s LinkedIn page yesterday, disclosing that he had begun working at Apple in September. He also wrote that his role would leave him “Challenged, inspired and part of something big”, but what exactly is that “something big?”
Mulé’s experience is grounded in cable technology, and he has been involved in a several big time ventures, including CableLabs’ DOCSIS 3.0 program, and creating APIs for “second screen” video apps. With that in mind, it’s highly likely that the move is related either to Apple’s ongoing development of its Apple TV streaming service, or the development of a brand new Apple television set, which has been rumored for over a year now. It’s been rumored that Apple is creating a unique streaming device compatible with iCloud and iOS, which would probably make it the ultimate solution in streaming technology, if the rumors are true.
The move is likely to spark another massive wave of Apple television set rumors, with Tim Cook already revealing that the television market was of extreme interest to Apple, as a market that had been left behind by the rest of technology.
What do you think Mulé’s hiring will mean for Apple’s future venture in television? Leave your thoughts and comments below!
Via: Apple Insider


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The Agribusiness Update
Land & Livestock Report
Farm of the Future
Lease land from deer hunters
Drone Operators Cautioned to Not Disrupt Low-Flying Ag Aircraft
Gene Editing for Animal Welfare - Part Two
Fruit Grower ReportAnother big hit with Reveal Walla Walla Valley Wines trade auction.
Fruit Grower ReportMore success for Reveal Walla Walla Valley trade auction.
Fruit Grower ReportReveal Walla Walla Valley wine auction attracts bidders from across the country and Canada for chance to take home rare, locally made wines.
Fruit Grower ReportThe Second Annual Reveal Walla Walla Valley wine auction getting a lot of attention.


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Ticket prices set for T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes concert
Ticket prices have been announced for the T-Pain and Gym Class Heroes concert Feb. 9 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.
The first 1,000 tickets will cost $25. The remaining advance tickets will cost $29.50. Prices will rise to $35 on the day of the show.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 30, at the PCCC box office and through Ticketmaster, (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.
For information about the Snowstorm Music Tour, visit www.snowstormmusictour.com.


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Bitcoin is now officially more valuable than gold and experts are saying it’s mostly China’s fault.
On Friday, the price for the cryptocurrency soared to a record high, with a single bitcoin amounting to $1,280, Fortune reported. One bitcoin now costs $1,250 as of press time. Comparatively, an ounce of gold costs $1,219 as of press time.
Over the last year alone, the notoriously volatile cryptocurrency made an astonishing jump by over 200 times its value. Observers have noted that the growth of the digital currency’s value was greatly influenced by China’s currency, which began its a downward trend when Chinese money started pouring out of the country. The demand for the digital currency rose as the local currency dropped, driving up its value.
With bitcoin operating in an anonymous, decentralized system, it has allowed Chinese investors to evade government restrictions on moving money in and out of China. Interestingly, according to a report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, China has also become a major Bitcoin mining hub in the last few years, Quartz reports.
Despite the Chinese government’s supposed efforts to clamp down on the cryptocurrency, the volume of bitcoin use in the country has continued to climb as more and more Chinese keep mining and trading the digital currency. According to New York Times, 42% of all bitcoin transactions in 2016 occurred on Chinese exchanges.
When Bitcoin was created in 2008, it was known as a decentralized virtual currency, devoid of control of any single government or country. However, with a handful of Chinese companies effectively taking control of a significant network of Bitcoin production, the currency’s supposed decentralized identity is now being put into question.


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PhotonStar Ships Halcyon Retrofit Home Lighting System
PhotonStar LED Group plc (AIM: PSL, "PhotonStar" or “the Group”), the British designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting solutions, ...
PhotonStar LED Group plc (AIM: PSL, "PhotonStar" or “the Group”), the British designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting solutions, has commenced shipping of its HalcyonTM next generation retrofit home lighting system.
HalcyonTM is an intelligent wireless retrofit lighting system that includes sensors and is controlled wirelessly by a powerful, low cost server. It utilises the Group‟s proprietary ChromaWhite colour- tuneable technology and provides “Circadian” lighting that changes throughout the day to simulate daylight, with positive effects on health and wellbeing. The system was developed in the UK with the support of a grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
HalcyonTM is a highly compatible data centric solution with an open interface for developers, and PhotonStar aims to collaborate with partners looking to provide new services through the data that can be gathered by the system. The same technology will be incorporated into commercial products.
James McKenzie, Chief Executive of PhotonStar LED, said:
“The launch of this first wireless product signals a step change for PhotonStar. Our HalcyonTM wireless control technology can provide practical energy saving and Circadian lighting solutions featuring ChromaWhite, for the very substantial retrofit market.
“With the majority of buildings for the next decade already in existence, the capability to install advanced technology, without the high cost and installation inconvenience of wired controls, now opens up a considerable market opportunity for our smart lighting solutions.”


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Squeezable pouches have made their way from baby foods to booze.
As reported by the trade magazine Advertising Age, plastic pouches have been a popular choice for infant brands such as Gerber for quite a while, but now they’re popping up all over the liquor aisle for products such as wine, premixed cocktails and flavored malt beverages.
The packaging trend really gained traction this summer, thanks to new pouch versions rolled out by big brands like Smirnoff and Arbor Mist.
Sales of alcoholic beverages in pouches grew by 153% over the same period last year, according to Nielsen. Major retailers such as Walgreens are now stocking pouch brands in coolers in some store locations.
“All the companies are jumping on board,” said Megan Metcalf, editor of Wine & Spirits Daily.
Among the most prominent brands to enter the pouch category are Parrot Bay and Smirnoff, using the packaging to house fruity malt-beverage drinks meant to be frozen and squeezed into a glass. The single-serve 10-ounce pouches are marketed as a convenient, no-mess way to serve swanky mixology-style cocktails at home.
Pouches can simplify drink prep. “If you think about making mixed drinks, in a lot of markets you need to go to the liquor store for one ingredient, you need to go to the grocery store for another, you need to pull out the blender,” said Patrick Hughes, Diageo’s brand director overseeing frozen-pouch marketing, quoted in the Ad Age story.
This whole pouch trend makes me wonder if the familiar old road trip song needs updating. “Ninety-nine pouches of booze on the wall, ninety-nine pouches of booze, take one down, pass it around…”
For more insights and innovations check out CultureWaves®, the place to go for the latest observations in the World Thought Bank – events, ideas, trends and more. Add your own thoughts about anything in life – entertainment, design, technology, well-being and, yes, food trends. And, take a look at a few of our other Hot & Cool Food Trends.


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General Motors Mexico moves towards a zero-emissions future
MEXICO - General Motors de Mexico continues to implement actions to achieve a future with zero emissions, which is why it has expanded its distribution network of Chevrolet EV (electric vehicles) in our country, reaching a total of 19 points of sale and service.
"We are excited to reach more and more places in our country, reflecting the progress of electromobility in Mexico, in that sense our Chevrolet brand can offer more customers the best in technology, safety and design," said Hector Villarreal, Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing.
The Chevrolet EV dealer network is already operating in Mexico City and Metropolitan Area, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Queretaro, Toluca, Leon, Cancun, Tijuana, Morelia, Culiacan and Cuernavaca.
Chevrolet electric vehicle owners will be able to charge their vehicles at home with a Level 2 charger and professional installation included in their purchase. In addition, through the MyChevrolet application, they will be able to locate public charging points, among other personalized assistance functions.
With the extension of the Chevrolet Electricos network, GM takes a solid step in its path to bring electrification to more parts of the country with the expectation of reaching national coverage in the medium term.
Chevrolet currently markets Bolt EUV in Mexico, and has announced that during 2024 it will add to its electric vehicle portfolio the all-new Chevrolet Blazer EV and Equinox EV, which will also be produced during the second half of this year at the GM Manufacturing Complex in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila.


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Battlefield may have at least one free-to-play component in the future, as some parts of the game would make sense for EA in that form of distribution.
Battlefield could have free-to-play components in the future, according to what was reported by Electronic Arts and in particular by CEO Andrew Wilson during the recent financial meeting, where he confirmed how it is possible that at least partially the series may have free elements. .
The reference is obviously to Call of Duty: Warzone , the multiplayer mode in battle royale and free-to-play style that has been enormously successful for Activision and which has no equivalent in Battlefield 2042, which has instead developed in a different way.
On the other hand, Halo Infinite will also have all the multiplayer part distributed as free-to-play, which will represent another important test case for the business model in question.
In all this, Battlefield 2042 for the time being remains tied to the standard distribution, but Wilson said that EA is taking into account any of the free basic developments: ” I think when we look at our Battlefield franchise today with the knowledge that it probably makes sense to have a free-to-play component to that overall ecosystem in the future.” said the EA CEO.
Job number 1 was truly a reinvention of the action shooter category and I think that’s what they have seek — sort of do. And that’s what they’ve achieved through this 128-plan multiplayer [Indiscernible] expansion, deeper engagement in creativity to portal mode, and innovative new modes in and around the game. I think the next page of that is going to be the launch of the Battlefield Mobile total. And then as we continue to expand that — and that in itself will serve tens of millions of players. I think as we ever think about further expanding apply those over time, free-to-play will make sense for the franchise, but it’s not the focus right now. – Andrew Wilson, EA CEO
On the other hand, the upcoming Battlefield Mobile is based on that setting and it is possible that this too will work as a general test for the structure.


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The European Commission today said it has begun investigating Google for "possible anticompetitive conduct" in the market for online advertising technology.
The EC announcement said the formal antitrust investigation will "assess whether Google has violated EU competition rules by favoring its own online display advertising technology services in the so-called 'ad tech' supply chain, to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers." The EC said it will "examine whether Google is distorting competition by restricting access by third parties to user data for advertising purposes on websites and apps, while reserving such data for its own use."
Chrome and Android figure into the investigation. The EC said it will investigate "Google's announced plans to prohibit the placement of third-party 'cookies' on Chrome and replace them with the 'Privacy Sandbox' set of tools, including the effects on online display advertising and online display advertising intermediation markets." Google's Privacy Sandbox includes FLoC, or Federated Learning of Cohorts, a technology that would replace third-party cookies for advertising purposes.
Regarding Android, the EC said it will examine "Google's announced plans to stop making the advertising identifier available to third parties on Android smart mobile devices when a user opts out of personalized advertising, and the effects on online display advertising and online display advertising intermediation markets." The EC said it will also probe Google-imposed requirements that force advertisers to use certain Google services in order to purchase ads on YouTube.
Google dominates supply chain, Vestager says
Noting that "Google is present at almost all levels of the supply chain for online display advertising," EC Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the European government is "concerned that Google has made it harder for rival online advertising services to compete in the so-called ad tech stack." Vestager is the EC's executive vice president in charge of competition policy.
Vestager said the investigation will look into "Google's policies on user tracking to make sure they are in line with fair competition." She said that "Google collects data to be used for targeted advertising purposes, it sells advertising space, and also acts as an online advertising intermediary."
Google defended its practices in a statement sent to Ars and other news organizations. "Thousands of European businesses use our advertising products to reach new customers and fund their websites every single day," Google said. "They choose them because they're competitive and effective. We will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission to answer their questions and demonstrate the benefits of our products to European businesses and consumers."
Google’s FLoC controversy
FloC has been criticized by groups concerned about user privacy, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Rival browser-makers don't like it, either, as Firefox-maker Mozilla told The Verge recently: "We don't buy into the assumption that the industry needs billions of data points about people, that are collected and shared without their understanding, to serve relevant advertising." Browser-maker Brave said that "the worst aspect of FLoC is that it materially harms user privacy, under the guise of being privacy-friendly."
Google has said it developed the Privacy Sandbox in order to replace third-party cookies "with viable privacy-first alternatives, developed alongside ecosystem partners, that will help publishers and advertisers succeed while also protecting people's privacy as they move across the web." Google argues that its planned system is more protective of user privacy than current methods because it tracks groups of people instead of individual users.
As we wrote in January 2020, the planned system "uses browser-based machine learning and other techniques to determine user interests and aggregate them with other users." Google could roll out the new system and drop Chrome support for tracking cookies by 2022.
We covered Google's planned Android change earlier this month. It would start rolling out late in 2021 and, when users opt out of personalized ads, will show apps "a string of zeros" instead of the user's advertising ID.
Practices “may breach EU competition rules”
The EC today said that "Google provides several advertising technology services that intermediate between advertisers and publishers in order to display ads on websites or mobile apps" and that the investigation will focus on display advertising. Besides the Chrome and Android portions mentioned earlier, the specific Google practices that the EC said it will investigate are as follows:
- The obligation to use Google's services Display & Video 360 ('DV360') and/or Google Ads to purchase online display advertisements on YouTube
- The obligation to use Google Ad Manager to serve online display advertisements on YouTube, and potential restrictions placed by Google on the way in which services competing with Google Ad Manager are able to serve online display advertisements on YouTube
- The apparent favoring of Google's ad exchange "AdX" by DV360 and/or Google Ads and the potential favoring of DV360 and/or Google Ads by AdX
- The restrictions placed by Google on the ability of third parties, such as advertisers, publishers, or competing online display advertising intermediaries, to access data about user identity or user behavior which is available to Google's own advertising intermediation services, including the DoubleClick ID
"If proven, the practices under investigation may breach EU competition rules on anticompetitive agreements between companies," the announcement said.
Previous fines totaled $9.5 billion
The EC previously fined Google $2.7 billion in 2017 for abusing its search dominance "by giving an illegal advantage to another Google product, its comparison shopping service"; $5.1 billion in 2018 for "impos[ing] illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general Internet search"; and $1.69 billion in 2019 for "imposing a number of restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party websites which prevented Google's rivals from placing their search adverts on these websites."
The EC and Google have fought for years over Android's default search engine. Google was forced to offer a "ballot" that lets users pick a search engine from a list, but the company initially charged its competitors for the right to appear on that list. Google this month finally agreed to make the ballot "free for eligible search providers."
Correction: This article originally said that Google's Privacy Sandbox and FLoC are the same thing. The article has been corrected to state that FLoC is part of the Privacy Sandbox.


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Shares of Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC 1.02%) fell 12.1% during the month of August, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The Canadian cannabis company reported earnings during the month, which wasn't enough to sustain the company's late July surge, when it announced its direct-to-consumer e-commerce shop in the U.S. Continued struggles in the brick-and-mortar retail business in Canada revealed themselves in relatively low growth numbers and a worrisome decline in gross margins.
Part of the reason for the August decline was Canopy stock's strong performance at the end of July, after the launch of ShopCanopy.com, its new U.S.-based e-commerce site, on July 27. Given that cannabis is still illegal in the U.S., the site only features Canopy's hemp-derived CBD products; most notably, its new Martha Stewart CBD product line.
On the May conference call from the previous quarter, new CEO David Klein, who came from Canopy investor Constellation Brands (STZ 0.09%), noted that the U.S. CBD market is forecast to reach $10 billion in the next few years, so the company's aggressive moves in e-commerce with recognized celebrities backing its brands got investors enthusiastic.
That enthusiasm fell back to earth, however, when the company reported earnings in early August. Revenue grew 22%, somewhat underwhelming for a company in a high-growth industry. More concerning is that adjusted gross margin fell to just 7% from 20% in the year-ago quarter. According to Klein, the reason for the low margin is that Canopy has high fixed costs in anticipation of more growth -- enough to support $2.5 billion to $3 billion in revenue versus just CA$110 million in the quarter.
With continuing losses from its heavy infrastructure investments and demand still a question mark, Canopy's ample cash hoard has decreased by about CA$1.1 billion, from CA$3.1 billion to CA$2 billion in just one year. The company continues to struggle with demand in Canada, due to both regulatory delays for retail rollouts and COVID-19.
In addition, the cheaper black market continues to be a problem. Canopy has been able to lower its EBITDA and cash burn losses by cutting selling, general, and administrative expenses, but that can only go so far.
As such, I would still steer clear of Canopy -- or any other Canadian cannabis producer, for that matter -- until the various problems around Canadian retail distribution, black market sales, and U.S. legalization are clarified further, or until these companies show evidence they can turn a profit. Until then, the entire cannabis industry remains a no-go for me, and should be for all but the most speculative investors.


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New clearance rules boost Bahrain’s imports
Manama, April 7, 2013
New clearance procedures helped Bahrain's imports goods, clothes and food jump by 21 per cent in 2012 as against the previous year, according to a top official.
Goods worth BD103.1 million ($270.4 million) were imported into Bahrain last year, compared to BD85.5 million in 2011, Customs Affairs director of Sea Ports Customs Khalifa Al Shomeli was quoted as saying in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
He revealed the number of containers imported also rose from 85,818 to 89,832 during the same period as a result of a new computerised clearance system.
It was introduced following directives from Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa to improve services.
"Clearance procedures used to take two to three days, but thanks to the computerised system it now takes a maximum of 15 to 30 minutes," said Al Shomeli. "Such a cut in timing has helped move goods quickly and allows efficient control of the port.
"It also shows that local trade has been revived and Bahrain has regained its reputation as a business hub and a logistic area for the Gulf."
The system records information about the type of goods being imported and exported and the details of the agent or person involved.
"This way it can feed all remaining customs branches, whether sea, air or land, information about imports and importers as well as exports," said Al Shomeli.
"If someone tried to smuggle something to Bahrain through sea and was arrested, his information will be in the system to ensure he is identified if he tries to do it again via land, through the causeway, or air through the airport."
Plans are underway to link other government bodies to the system, including the Health, Industry and Commerce, and Interior ministries, Civil Defence and the Supreme Council for Environment.
Sea ports account for 82 per cent of Bahrain's imports, with the main one being the Khalifa Bin Salman Port.
Other key entry points include the Mina Salman Port and Asry Port in the Hidd industrial area, North Sitra Industrial Port and Ba per cento Wharf.
Remaining imports come in via King Fahad Causeway and Bahrain International Airport.
Bahrain has 170 port inspectors, 32 of whom work at the Khalifa Bin Salman Port.
"We have ambitions to increase the number of inspectors at sea ports," said Al Shomeli. "We also seek to have more patrols inside port premises to ensure security following the increase of imports and ships." – TradeArabia News Service


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VentureBeat, the leading news site for innovation in business, today announces the finalists for its Innovation Showdown at their CloudBeat 2011 conference. Ten finalists – ranging from new and emerging businesses to industry veterans – will take the stage to showcase how they are using new technologies to drive the cloud revolution.
During the Innovation Showdown, the finalists will take the stage and have four minutes each to deliver a dynamic presentation on how their products or services are disruptive cloud technologies. Each finalist will present to a team of industry experts, venture capitalists and actual enterprise customers. The team of experts will then deliberate to determine the overall winner, who will receive an editorial with VentureBeat, introductions to potential customers and investors, as well as other prizes. All 10 finalists have also been invited to attend a special boot camp session hosted by Sequoia Capital.
Without further ado, the 10 Innovation Showdown finalists are:
• GigaSpaces Technologies
• Oxygen Cloud
• Zadara Storage.
“The ten finalists represent the most innovative, forward thinking companies that are truly changing the cloud landscape,” said Matt Marshall, editor-in-chief and founder of VentureBeat. “Each company’s presentation will deliver a first-hand look at the technologies that are driving this sector and deliver a preview of what the future looks like. We can’t wait for the companies to take the stage and battle it out for the honor of being the number one cloud technology at CloudBeat 2011.”
Taking place December 1, the Innovation Showdown will be held at The Hotel Sofitel San Francisco Bay in Redwood City, California.
VentureBeat (venturebeat.com), founded in 2006 to cover news and perspective about innovation for forward-thinking executives, has emerged to become one of the “best blogs on the Web” according to the New York Times. VentureBeat runs several conferences, including GamesBeat, MobileBeat and CloudBeat. It also produces DEMO.com, the leading conference for emerging technology product launches.
VentureBeat has a new iPhone app. Download it for free today! NYSE is the Official App Launch Sponsor.


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|The Ferry Man: Manjusaka is the highest-grossing Chinese online feature film so far this year.[China Daily]|
A new focus on quality over quantity has seen the leading streaming platform iQiyi remove more than 1,000 videos from its servers and develop a better way of vetting content.
The move was revealed earlier this month at the iQiyi Technology & Entertainment World Conference by Yang Xianghua, vice-president of the company.
Many of the films were uploaded as early as 2014, the year when the term "internet feature film" was first used by iQiyi to describe the growing industry for films exclusively tailored to, and created for, the internet.
According to an industry report released earlier this year, about 1,900 such films went online nationwide in 2017, around 1,300 of which were released on the iQiyi platform.
"We want to encourage creativity," Yang explains. "Filmmakers should approach their work with a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment, rather than being opportunists who are only looking for money."
Withdrawing films is only the first step. At the conference, Yang revealed that 100 million yuan ($15.7 million) will be allocated as a bonus for online filmmakers who develop content that "promotes love and positive messages", he adds.
According to Zhang Hong, deputy head of the China Film Association, the total domestic revenue from online films was only 100 million yuan in 2014, which rocketed to 2 billion yuan in 2017. He predicts that the figure will continue its upward curve to reach 3 billion yuan this year.
In comparison, last year's total box-office revenue for domestic films in Chinese cinemas was 30 billion yuan, so Zhang believes that there is still a huge potential in the market for online movies. He estimates that internet features attracted 800 million Chinese viewers in 2017, around half the number of those who visited cinemas.
As China's paid-for video-on-demand market has taken off, Zhang sees the bigger picture and recognizes the potential for huge growth in the near future.
The biggest problem facing the burgeoning market, however, is that it is choked by a bottleneck of quality.
Up until now, Chinese online drama series like Day and Night and Burning Ice have proved incredibly popular and garnered widespread acclaim, with each scoring more than 8.5 points out of 10 on the popular TV-and-film-rating-platform, Douban.com. Comparably, online films have struggled to capture the public's imagination to the same degree. Some put this down to a lack of star power and, perhaps more importantly, quality in both content and production value.
For example, fantasy-romance The Ferry Man: Manjusaka garnered 40 million yuan in revenue from iQiyi's users, who were charged to watch it, making it the highest-grossing online film so far this year. Its 7.2-point rating on Douban.com is an improvement over the rating of its counter-parts from 2016 and 2017, which attracted no more than a 4-point rating.
Consequently, the industry is appealing for an improvement of quality, and iQiyi, with these new measures in place, is going to be a tougher sell than ever.
"Poorly made productions with inappropriate content and negative values will not be able to go online," Yang promises.
Ge Xufeng, a manager of online films with iQiyi, adds that at least 500 films were turned down by the platform in 2017 due to being "unqualified", as opposed to the handful that were rejected in 2015 and 2016.
In the past, online operators did not take enough time to evaluate content before offering space on their servers to miscellaneous filmmakers.
"We used to be undecided as to whether we set a high threshold to allow only high-quality products online," Yang says. "In the end, we gave the green light to a greater number of films, because many films are not able to be screened in cinemas.
"On online platforms, if only very few people watch a production, that at least means some feedback for its makers. However, we're rethinking whether this is the right policy."
As a result, Yang confesses, there are large swathes of erotic, overwhelmingly violent and improper content, as well those employing other eye-catching gimmicks, available online.
He observes that some filmmakers were producing work that was just on the edge of crossing the line of what is allowed.
"Their productions are based on where the bottom line of current regulation is," Yang notes. "And they sometimes crossed that line, which is why we had to keep withdrawing uploaded films."
To avoid such problems in the future, Yang says a new committee will be established to evaluate new projects from the beginning of their creation, rather than simply appraising them when the films are complete.
Then committee members will include many experienced scriptwriters drawn from the industry and external to iQiyi.
"If some topics have been repeated far too many times, or will create risk, we will suggest that the filmmaker puts the project on hold in case their efforts end up being in vain," Yang says.
Wang Hongwei, a director and an associate professor with Beijing Film Academy, observes: "Young filmmakers need more practice before taking on big projects for cinema. Online films give them a good platform to hone their craft, and they need to listen to advice."
Wang says online movies can be a channel to nurture a love of film within the new generations who are growing up in the internet era.
"Online platforms cannot be low-end copies of cinemas," he says. "Instead, they should be places for new formats, aesthetics and content to manifest, thrive and develop."
Increasing investment may be another solution to some quality issues.
According to Zhang, the total investment in online films in China reached 2.7 billion yuan last year, increasing 74 percent since 2016.
About 50 percent of the films produced have secured investment of 1 million yuan or more, while in 2016, that figure was closer to 20 percent.
"Bigger investments will gradually fill the gap between online films and those made for cinemas," Zhang believes.
The industry will take a more scientific approach as well.
Zhang says online films attracted about 8 billion clicks in China in 2017, 61 percent fewer than in 2016.
"That doesn't mean the market is shrinking," he explains. "That is because the major media-streaming platforms have made efforts to regulate their statistics and get rid of bubbles and traffic manipulation."
However, he also points out more works need to be done because iQiyi, Youku and Tencent - China's biggest three media-streaming platforms - have still not created a uniform standard to calculate traffic.
"If Hollywood is leading trends for commercial blockbusters," Zhang says, "then China is a pioneer for online film, which is in a position to establish standards for other countries around the world to follow."
|Chosen, an online feature film released through iQiyi, was also sold to Netflix earlier this year.[China Daily]|
(Source: China Daily)


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Two new techniques have been developed that could signal the end of
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification for sequencing
applications and dramatically increase the efficiency of sample
US-microfluidics expert Fluidigm has launched a new dynamic array
for its BioMark instrument that increases the efficiency of PCR
(polymerase chain reaction) genotyping while reducing the amount of
costly equipment and reagents needed.
SuperArray Bioscience has made available a range of pathway-focused
real-time PCR gene panels that allow scientists to use their
real-time PCR instrument just like a microarray in the multiple
stages involved in drug discovery and...
Stratagene announces a molecular diagnostics agreement, which aims
to focus on the growing molecular diagnostics market for infectious
diseases, currently worth $6.5 billion (€5.5 billion), expanding to
$12 billion by 2010 driven...
A US district court has denied a motion by Bio-Rad Laboratories to
enforce an alleged settlement agreement with Applied Biosystems
meaning the life science research product provider cannot continue
selling its thermal cycler products.
GenoID has announced a breakthrough in human papillomavirus (HPV)
testing with the first ever laboratory test kit that uses a
real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) method to
detect all virus variants that cause cervical...
SuperArray Bioscience has introduced a product that combines the
profiling capabilities of microarrays with the performance of
real-time PCR. This novel technology will bring expression
profiling to researchers who prefer PCR based...
Roche Diagnostics has announced it has settled all litigation in
the United States, Europe and Australia, with Promega concerning
Polymerase Chain Reaction Technology (PCR), ending a decade of
litigation between the two companies.
Applied Biosystems have taken out a permanent injunction against
Bio-Rad Laboratories and its affiliate, MJ Research. This
effectively forbids these companies from making and selling
infringing thermal cycler products in the US capable...
Applied Biosystems Group reported a 40 per cent leap in profits as
the company released its forth quarter 2005 figures. The rise in
sales reflects the increased demand for biosecurity and human
identification products as well as its...
A new algorithim, that enables a more accurate deduction of
oligonucleotide (oligo) melting temperatures under laboratory
conditions, could bring improvements in primers and probe design
for use in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)...
Swiss pharmaceutical firm, Hoffman-La Roche has announced its core
PCR patents have expired in an event that is expected to save
laboratories, which rely on this technology, millions of dollars a
year in royalties. It is also expected...
The ability of Applied Biosystem's 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR System
to reduce experimental time by almost three times from 2 hours to
approximately 35 minutes, in an industry standard 96-well format,
demonstrates the progress this...
Applied Biosystems has launched a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
system that allows real-time PCR runs to proceed three times
faster. The system's quantitative results are available immediately
without gel runs, purifying PCR...
Applied DNA Sciences, a specialist in the use of DNA as a security
and anti-counterfeiting technology, is to work with the US
Department of Energy to develop an improved process for identifying
its marker technology that should bring...
Applera subsidiary Applied Biosystems was awarded a US patent
covering real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instruments at
the end of last week, and immediately filed lawsuits against three
Exiqon has launched two new ProbeLibrary expression analysis kits,
covering the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and
Drosophila melanogaster, the most widely used models in
disease process and drug target studies.
Agilent Technologies has launched what it claims is the industry's
first fully automated, high-throughput 'lab-on-a-chip system' for
basic life science research and drug discovery. The Agilent 5100
Applied Biosystems has been victorious in a patent dispute case,
brought in the US by Promega, that strove to overturn the company's
patents on technology used in gene amplification using polymerase
chain reaction (PCR).
Tomtec has launched a new multipurpose pipetting workstation that
can handle tiny volumes (down to less than 1 microlitre) and has
features that allows the automation of a number of routine
laboratory liquid handling tasks.
After over a decade of litigation, Roche Molecular Systems has won
a 'significant legal victory' in a US court case challenging the
validity of patents on its polymerase chain reaction technology,
according to the attorney...
MWG links up with Quanta Biotech to launch a new offensive on the
market for thermal cyclers, often described as a "must-have"
laboratory tool. The deal also marks MWG's first entry into
real-time thermal cyclers.


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Luxury beachfront resort to be rebranded Fairmont Sanur Beach BaliFairmont Hotels & Resorts has announced it has been appointed to manage an all-suite beachfront resort in Bali, Indonesia. Scheduled to commence operation as Fairmont Sanur Beach Bali by December 2014, is it currently the Regent Bali and is owned by PT Pancaran Kreasi Adiprima. The addition to Fairmont’s luxury hotel portfolio comes ahead of the opening of Fairmont Jakarta early next year and a second Fairmont property planned for Bali in 2016.
Fairmont Sanur Beach Bali is located along 200m of Sanur’s pristine golden beach on the southern part of the island. Set amid four hectares of lush tropical gardens, it is 25 minutes from the Ngurah Rai International Airport.
Luxury accommodation at Fairmont Sanur Beach Bali comes in the form of 94 suites and 24 pool villas that are available in one, two and three bedroom configurations. Food and beverage offerings include two restaurants and a lobby lounge that offers unparalleled views of the grounds and ocean beyond. Other facilities range from a 55m infinity-edged lap pool and a well-equipped fitness centre to an expansive spa and kid’s club.
This will be one of two properties Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will manage on what is commonly referred to as Island of Gods. The second is Fairmont Bali, slated to open in 2016 and perched on a bluff along the southern coast.
“Fairmont Sanur Beach Bali is our first resort to open in Indonesia and it promises to be a slice of paradise on an island that is already highly acclaimed for its picturesque ambiance and dazzling beaches,” said Jennifer Fox, president, FRHI International and Fairmont Brand. “Bali remains one of Southeast Asia’s leading tourist destinations and we are very pleased that our portfolio in this part of the world continues to grow at a steady and strategic pace. This announcement follows recently signed agreements to open new hotels in Kuala Lumpur and across China - Nanning, Suzhou and Zhengzhou - and we are targeting additional expansion in top cities and resort locations throughout Asia in the future.”


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Submitted by: McDonald's Corporation
Categories: Community Development
Posted: Mar 27, 2003 – 11:00 PM EST
Jim Cantalupo, Chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation, has directed all McDonald's markets that offer Happy Meals to identify additional product choices for its popular children's meals to build on the quality and variety of its existing menu. These additional choices could include – but are not limited to - fruit, vegetable, or yogurt options as well as juice or non-carbonated drinks.
This expanded menu choice is already underway in several McDonald's markets around the world. For example, McDonald's United Kingdom offers sliced fruit, McDonald's France provides low fat yogurt and many countries including the U.S. offer beverage choices that include low fat milk, bottled water, juices and non-carbonated drinks. McDonald's Australia serves a Happy Meal with a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich, raisins and orange juice; and McDonald's Spain is the first market where customers can create their own Happy Meals, from a variety of entrée, side and beverage choices.
Cantalupo also announced the creation of "McDonald's Advisory Council on Healthy Lifestyles." This will be an independent group of the world's leading experts on nutrition and healthy lifestyles to help guide the company on activities that address the need for balanced, healthy lifestyles.
McDonald's Corporate Vice President Ken Barun will lead McDonald's Healthy Lifestyles activities, and work with the Advisory Council as programs are implemented in McDonald's markets worldwide.
"We will work with leading nutrition, fitness and lifestyle experts on these important subjects and will make the Advisory Council a top priority," said Barun. "Our plan is to announce the council members by early May and to bring them together shortly thereafter to begin working with us on key initiatives."
Cantalupo also announced that McDonald's is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization in a collaborative effort to help educate consumers about the role nutrition and fitness play in maintaining healthy lifestyles.
"We want to help consumers make informed choices not only when they come to McDonald's, but just as important, when they make decisions about exercise, diet, and other daily activities that can help maximize healthy lifestyles," said Cantalupo. "McDonald's has a history of providing nutrition information to our customers through in-store brochures, educational programs or interactive websites. Our goal is to work with the appropriate organizations to identify the most effective programs."
Tommy Thompson, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services said, "We welcome McDonald's providing additional healthy menu items, particularly for children, as well as its efforts to engage nutritional experts to advise the company. Consumers clearly want more healthy choices, and McDonald's deserves credit for being a leader in the private sector in responding to consumer needs."
Finally, Cantalupo asked McDonald's markets to allocate specific funding to support educational programs that promote active, healthy lifestyles through public service campaigns, restaurant materials and education outreach. The Advisory Council will collaborate with McDonald's to identify ways to help educate children and families on issues of health and well-being, ranging from physical fitness and activity to nutrition and personal safety.
For example, McDonald's is re-issuing its award-winning children's nutrition public service campaign entitled "What's On Your Plate" to markets around the world. The television vignettes feature clay animated characters including host "Willie Munchright," a fun-loving personality who speaks to kids about diet and exercise. The program also features educational materials for classroom instruction.
"Above all, McDonald's endeavors to do the right thing for our customers and the communities we serve," said Cantalupo. "This is a principle that guides our decision-making in all aspects of our business. Our customers take their family's health and fitness very seriously, and so do we."
McDonald's will implement these and other activities on a market-by-market basis, working with appropriate outside experts and government and regulatory agencies.
# # #
For more information, please contact:
For more from this organization:McDonald's Corporation


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European Central Bank President Mario Draghi defended the tools that the organization has available.Europe Newsread more
According to China's top economic planning body, some local companies are cutting back on their efforts to hire new university graduates.China Economyread more
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has presided over a tumultuous recent period, which for many, has left Europe on the brink.Commentaryread more
Tensions between China and the U.S. are threatening to slow global trade further, threatening some Asian economies.Asia Economyread more
U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was transferred to a detention facility in Manhattan on Monday ahead of an expected arraignment on state...White Houseread more
Airbus recorded orders and options for 123 planes, according to the aviation consulting firm IBA.iQ.Paris Air Showread more
Markets in Asia were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors awaited the start of a closely-watched meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve, set to kick off later stateside.Asia Marketsread more
Wall Street analysts think Facebook's cryptocurrency payments project will give the company a big boost.Marketsread more
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to North Korea this week for a two-day visit, ahead of a possible meeting between Xi and President Donald Trump at next week's G-20...Politicsread more
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Open-source search software company Elastic saw its stock fall as much as 5 percent on Tuesday after Amazon Web Services announced the launch of a separate library of open-source code for Elasticsearch, a set of technologies that can be use to build search engines for web sites, and an important part of Elastic's business.
The move shows Amazon acting with a higher level of platform power as the world's businesses, schools and governments become more reliant on cloud providers, which now deliver basic computing and storage tools as well as higher-level services. As AWS is ahead of every other cloud provider, including Microsoft and Google, its moves in the open-source world can have an outsized impact on the companies that focus on distributing it.
Amazon and Elastic are tangled in a complicated dance of cooperation and competition, as is often the case with open-source technologies, which are free for anybody to modify, use and share. AWS has its own cloud service that draws on the Elasticsearch open-source technology. It competes with Elastic's own cloud-based service, which is available on AWS.
AWS executive Adrian Cockcroft explained Amazon's move to create a separate Elasticsearch code library in an extensive blog post on Monday. He wrote that AWS decided to act because it felt that Elastic's own repository of Elasticsearch code has become a blurry mixture of some code that has an open-source license, and some proprietary code.
"We have discussed our concerns with Elastic, the maintainers of Elasticsearch, including offering to dedicate significant resources to help support a community-driven, non-intermingled version of Elasticsearch. They have made it clear that they intend to continue on their current path," Cockcroft wrote. He noted that Expedia and Netflix, both large AWS customers, will be involved in the new community.
On Tuesday Elastic CEO Shay Banon shot back with a blog post of his own.
"Our products were forked, redistributed and rebundled so many times I lost count," Banon wrote. "It is a sign of success and the reach our products have. From various vendors, to large Chinese entities, to now, Amazon. There was always a 'reason,' at times masked with fake altruism or benevolence. None of these have lasted. They were built to serve their own needs, drive confusion, and splinter the community."
Paul Dix, co-founder and chief technology officer of open-source start-up InfluxData, described AWS' Elasticsearch move as "pulling out a gun at a knife fight."
AWS has come out with open-source software in the past. Cockcroft pointed to Amazon Corretto, a free distribution of the OpenJDK software for working with the Java programming language. "Recently there was increased concern from our customers that Oracle would stop supporting the version of Java that customers relied upon, or change the licensing terms, and customers had good reason to be concerned, " Cockcroft wrote.
But Oracle is older and much more established than Elastic -- which went public in October -- and generates revenue from areas other than Java, like database and application software.
AWS has also released other services that depend on open-source technologies backed by other companies, including MongoDB, although it has not created separate code libraries for them.
Some analysts think Elastic has no reason to panic over Amazon's new library, known as the Open Distro for Elasticsearch.
"While details are limited, ultimately we believe this news validates that Elastic's strategy is working," RBC Capital Markets analysts led by Matthew Hedberg wrote in a note distributed to clients on Tuesday.
"Further, we don't believe the AWS news is likely to have a meaningful impact on Elastic's results in the short term, as we think it is too soon to tell whether AWS's Open Distro for Elasticsearch will serve as a more direct form of enterprise-grade competition, or simply noise."
The RBC analysts pointed to how MongoDB shares have performed after AWS started directly competing.
"On January 9, AWS announced Amazon DocumentDB, which initially caused shares of MDB (not covered) to fall 13 percent the following day, " they wrote. "However, over the next two weeks, MDB shares regained their losses, and they are now up nearly 40 percent from the initial move lower."


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MEXICO – After closing a historic year, in which expectations and records in wholesale sales, production and exports of heavy vehicles were exceeded, the National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor-Trailer Manufacturers (ANPACT) reported that 2024 began positively and dynamically.
ANPACT believes that the heavy vehicle manufacturing industry will have a good year if the conditions of regulatory consistency, security and facilitation of investment and business climate prevail.
Virginia Olalde López Gavito, Director of Foreign Trade and Economic Studies, informed that wholesale sales of heavy vehicles during the first month of the year totaled 3,754 units, which represents an increase of 10.3%, compared to the 3,402 units sold during the same period of 2023, which is the best January recorded since 2008, when the indicator totaled 4,166 units.
Especially in the passenger vehicle segment, a growth of 97.8% was observed, which means that there was an increase of 349 units compared to what was sold in the same month of the previous year, which reflects a recovery of this segment that had been affected by the pandemic, said Virginia Olalde.
As for heavy vehicles shipped abroad, 11,891 units were exported in January, which compared to the 15,221 units exported in January 2023 represent a 21.9% decrease.
Meanwhile, heavy vehicle production during the first month of 2024 totaled 15,587 units, which translates into a 16.1% decrease compared to the same month of the previous year, when 18,568 units were produced.


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Kashmir businesses to boycott Israeli products
Denouncing the Israeli attacks on Palestinian people in Gaza, the business community in Kashmir has decided to boycott sale and purchase of all Israeli products and appealed people not to consume these goods.
The decision of business community has come after the wanton killings of Palestinian people including women and children by Israeli forces by dropping deadly bombs in the residential localities of Gaza.
Chairman, Kashmir Economic Alliance, Muhammad Yaseen Khan told Greater Kashmir that the alliance has already conveyed the decision to all of its constituent members.
“Killing of innocent Muslims and business can’t go hand in hand. We can’t act as mute spectators to the carnage carried out by the brute forces of Israel of our brethren. Therefore, the business community in Kashmir feels it as moral responsibility to curtail all business ties and not to deal with the Israeli products,” Khan said.
He said that the constituent members of the alliance have already been intimated about the decision. “From today onwards we won’t deal in any Israeli products and people in Kashmir are also appealed not to consume any of the products manufactured in the Israel.”
“The only way for Kashmiri to retaliate and vent our anger against the Israeli brutality is by boycotting the use of their products, “Khan said.
General Secretary, Kashmir Trader and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), Bashir Ahmad echoed similar views:” Our hearts have been bruised by the killing of innocent people in Palestine. But the only tool to condemn such atrocious killings in our hands is to boycott all Israeli products,” he said, adding that the members of the federation have already been asked to stop dealing in Israeli products.
President, Kashmir Traders Federation (KTF), Jan Muhammad Koul said for the cause of humanity business community and traders in Kashmir have decided to boycott trade of products manufactured in Israel.
“Muslim community round the globe should wake up from the slumber and register strong protests against Israel. They are killing innocent people in Gaza, every day we come across the heart-rending pictures of innocent children being killed by Israeli soldiers,” he said.
Koul said that the message has already been conveyed to the traders in the Valley to shun business of products manufactured in Israel.
He said: “We have come up with a list of products/brands being supplied by Israel.”
Koul said: “Every bazaar committee has been asked to publish the list of products made in Israel and display them on bazaars with a message urging people to boycott use of these products,” he said.


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Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) stock owners have another reason for holiday cheer. It has been an exceptionally good year for AMD stock, with shares up more than 120% so far, year-to-date. And now, one of the big obstacles facing the company, the U.S.-China trade war, appears to be heading toward resolution.
Last week, the Trump Administration announced the framework for a Phase 1 trade deal with China. It’s easy to dismiss this as just more bluster. But there actually appears to be a real agreement here, with a clear fact sheet laying out what both sides will bring to the table.
Look through that and you’ll see that this Phase 1 deal isn’t just about the farmers, either. It offers measures toward stricter IP policy and preventing theft of trade secrets. That is to say, the real issues that have dampened U.S.-Chinese trade within the tech sector in recent months.
There’s still a ways to go before this potential deal turns into law. However, for the first time in more than a year, it appears that a solution is near. Unfortunately, for AMD stock, it’s also time to sell. Why’s that?
The trade deal will be a plus for AMD. However, we’re running out of positives for AMD. The short sellers are in full retreat, the trade deal is largely baked in now, and realistically how much more can you expect AMD to rally based on supposed weakness at Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) or Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)? The stars have aligned for Advanced Micro Devices stock in 2019, but these tailwinds will dissipate in the new year.
Short Sellers Have Waved the White Flag
A big part of the ongoing bullish thesis for Advanced Micro Devices stock has been that short sellers would have to cover their bets against the company. For years, bears have aggressively fought AMD’s rebound at every turn. As the share price has gone up, bears plowed more and more money into their anti-AMD bets.
Until now, that is. Over the past month, it appears the bears have finally seen the light. After AMD stock broke out over the $35 level, traders started aggressively covering their bets.
For more context, realize that AMD reached nearly 200 million shares shorted last year, at the peak of negativity. This figure dropped back toward 120 million for much of 2019.
In recent months, however, short interest mounted as bears tried to keep AMD stock under key resistance below the $35 level. Short interest built up from 120 million shares to 150 million shares this fall as the technical battle waged on. But once AMD stock broke to new highs, shorts quickly admitted defeat and gave up.
Short interest is now down to barely 100 million shares. That’s its lowest level in nearly three years; it also means nearly a third of short sellers covered within the past few weeks. Up until recently, short sellers coverage was a huge tenet of the bull thesis. Now, it just happened. So one of the major catalysts for AMD stock upside has been spent.
Advanced Micro Devices Stock: Way Overvalued On Fundamentals
In part due to the recent run in the stock price, AMD is selling at an absolutely jaw-dropping valuation. It is now going for more than 200x trailing earnings, and around 70x forward earnings. If this were some cutting-edge software company, maybe this sort of price would make sense. Maybe.
But for a low-margin, slow-growing commodity business, this sort of price is simply absurd. You had one analyst upgrade AMD recently on anticipation of double-digit revenue growth next year. Well yeah, if you are selling at 70x forward earnings, you better be growing revenues at a double-digit rate. That’s hardly impressive for a company at 35x forward earnings, let alone double that.
AMD simply isn’t an attractive business for long-term investors either. For the better part of two decades, the company has struggled to ever produce consistent profits or strong cash flows. You have to believe this time is different — and dramatically so at that — for AMD stock to make sense even back at $30 per share to say nothing of the current price. Remember that Intel tends to trade for between 10x and 15x earnings most years; this sort of low-margin capital intensive chip business simply doesn’t deserve to — and won’t — trade at super-premium valuations for long.
I’ve previously argued that AMD was an interesting case in that it had a most favorable technical outlook and a bearish fundamental one. Over the past month, the technical traders have clearly carried the day. Folks have ignored AMD’s poor business outlook and instead focused on the strong momentum behind the stock. That’s great; it has been a fantastic trade.
But it’s time to take profits on Advanced Micro Devices stock now. There’s nothing left in the tank. The stock is wildly overvalued based on its fundamentals and likely profits next year. Meanwhile, the technical factors that were supporting AMD stock are already played out. The short sellers have covered. The breakout has come and gone. If you were waiting for the trade deal-powered rally, that has happened now as well. Maybe AMD moves up a little more on the so-called Santa Claus rally into year-end. But don’t overstay your welcome, AMD is going to selloff sharply early in 2020.
At the time of this writing, Ian Bezek owned INTC stock. You can reach him on Twitter at @irbezek.


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The European Commission said on Wednesday it told Microsoft that it had competition worries about the firm's new operating system Vista, another antitrust concern that the software giant must answer in Europe.
He said although there was no formal investigation into this issue, the Commission expected Microsoft to react. The EU executive will open separate proceedings against the company should it find that the operating system broke competition laws.
"We assume Microsoft has its own interest at heart and it wants to launch another product without having to worry about the Commission instituting various actions under antitrust law because of this product," Todd told a news briefing.
The European Union's top competition regulator has warned Microsoft it won't be allowed to sell its new Vista operating system in Europe if it comes pre-loaded with certain features, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
Neelie Kroes, the EU's antitrust commissioner, told the newspaper she sent a letter last week to Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer citing concerns similar to those in the dispute between the EU and Microsoft over other Microsoft software packaged with the company's current Windows operating system.
The EU letter follows Microsoft's announcement last week that it would delay release of Vista until January due to a need for more tests of the software.
A Microsoft spokesman told the paper his company was not aware of the March 20 letter and was therefore unable to comment.
A spokesman for Kroes said the EU is concerned about Microsoft's plans for Internet searches, but did not elaborate, the report said. Google Inc and other Internet-search services have said they are concerned Microsoft could use its Internet Explorer 7 Web browser to unfairly direct computer users to Microsoft's own search service, the Journal said.


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On Monday, a Reddit user who goes by the username joycieejuice posted this photo of a gigantic bag of dark chocolates that her family casually picked up from TJ Maxx.
A large bag of dark chocolates my parents bought at TJ Maxx that has 2000 chocolates inside. (Next to my 5'7" dad). from
We want to buy one, pronto!


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WASHINGTON — In a move that sharply escalates trade tensions with America’s closest allies, the Trump administration said Thursday it would allow steep tariffs to take effect on imported steel from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.
That prompted swift retaliatory actions and raised the specter of an expanding global trade war, triggered by the U.S.
Despite last-ditch meetings in Europe and pleas from trading partners, as well as repeated vows of retaliation, the administration said it would not extend for a third time temporary tariff exemptions on steel and aluminum, which expire at midnight Friday.
Canadian leaders reacted angrily to the tariffs, especially because Trump justified them on the grounds of national security, a line of reasoning that Canadian officials called absurd, illogical and illegal. Canada, the largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States, said it would apply countertariffs on $16.6 billion worth of American metals and other products, to take effect July 1.
“That Canada could be a national security threat to the U.S. is inconceivable,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, noting the many Canadians who have died alongside U.S. soldiers in joint military operations over the years. “These tariffs are an affront.”
EU leaders have been bracing for the duties — 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum — and already had drawn up a list of American products worth several billions of dollars that would be subject to tariffs. Among the imports that would be targeted are such iconic American products as jeans, Kentucky bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles, products aimed at applying maximum political pressure as they are produced in home states of top lawmakers.
European officials on Thursday met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Paris in an effort to dissuade the administration from going through with the tariffs, but Ross was unmoved and, in a call with reporters from Paris, he announced that the tariffs would be imposed.
Earlier he had suggested that negotiations could continue even after the tariffs are imposed, but EU officials had insisted that the threat of metal tariffs must be lifted before broader negotiations could take place.
Ross, asked about concerns of retaliation that would target farm goods and other U.S. products, said: “Let’s see what evolves as things go forward.”
The tariffs also are likely to complicate ongoing negotiations with Canada and Mexico to reform the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Trump administration made it no secret that the threat of steel and aluminum tariffs was intended as a lever to win concessions from Canada and Mexico.
Mexico responded to the news Thursday by announcing retaliatory tariffs on products including pork belly, apples, grapes, blueberries and flat steel.
Trudeau suggested Thursday that NAFTA negotiations would continue. But the sides remain far apart on some critical issues, and there is little chance of reaching an agreement that could be ratified by U.S. lawmakers this year.
Trudeau said he had spoken with Trump last Friday about visiting the White House to finalize a deal on a revised NAFTA, as the parties appeared to have the makings of an agreement. But Trudeau said that Vice President Mike Pence contacted him Tuesday and said that Canada would have to accept a five-year sunset clause as a precondition to a NAFTA deal. A sunset provision would automatically dissolve NAFTA after five years unless the partners all agreed to extend it. Trudeau said that was unacceptable to Canada.
Republican lawmakers also blasted Trump’s move to levy steel and aluminum imports, predicting it would lead to higher prices for American consumers.
“This is dumb,” said Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, adding that similar protectionist measures contributed to the Great Depression in 1929.
In keeping with his campaign promise, Trump has been demanding lower tariffs and fairer terms from trading partners across the globe in a bid to reduce the U.S. trade deficit and bolster domestic production.
The administration’s biggest long-term trade challenge is with China. After sending mixed signals in recent months, earlier this week the White House said it would move forward with plans to apply tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods, to take effect as soon as next month.
That announcement threatened to scuttle continuing talks with China, but Ross said Thursday that he planned to go to Beijing this weekend, as scheduled, for another round of negotiations.
Canada is the single largest exporter of steel and aluminum to the United States, and its economy is highly integrated with that of its southern neighbor. Canadian officials have suggested that they too would retaliate in response to U.S. tariffs.
Earlier South Korea won a permanent tariff exemption on steel after it agreed to a quota, and similar deals have been cut with Brazil, Australia and Argentina. Japan, another major steel supplier to the U.S., earlier was slapped with steel duties as it has steadfastly declined the Trump administration’s overtures to sit down and negotiate a trade deal.
The EU as a bloc is the United States’ largest trading partner, and European officials, led by France and Germany, have balked at Trump’s bare-knuckle negotiating strategy, even as some officials have indicated a willingness to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S. to cover industrial goods such as cars.


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Americans would have to go quite a ways to find someone who hasn't heard of Wal-Mart. The general store with small beginnings has grown to a worldwide corporation, with over 3,000 "supercenters" across the country. Towns large and small have access to a wide variety of groceries and other goods through these discount stores, including approximately 20 locations in Denver alone. But Wal-Mart is not without detractors, and now it appears the corporation has crossed a line with a key segment of the American population: those suffering from a disability.
The problem appears to have stemmed from the location of credit card machines in the check-out aisles. The group that has brought the lawsuit, seeking class action status, claims that the location of these machines violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against customers with disabilities because the machines are higher up from the ground. As a result, the lawsuit claims, people in wheelchairs or scooters, or others with similar disabilities, are required to stretch unreasonably to swipe their credit cards, or risk identity theft by having to orally read their credit card numbers to the Wal-Mart store associate.
The lawsuit also claims that Wal-Mart has thus far refused to make changes to the check-out aisles, or replace the machines with newer, more accessible technology.
Wal-Mart has initially refuted the allegations, stating through a spokesperson that the corporation's goal is to fully comply with the ADA.
The ADA is designed to protect people from discrimination based on a disability. Public spaces and businesses designated as places of "public accommodation" are required to be accessible to all types of people, including those with disabilities, and this can require certain modifications to existing structures. Most people are familiar by now with modifications such as wheelchair ramps - one type of accommodation. Familiar to comply with the requirements of the ADA can lead to lawsuits like the one against Wal-Mart.
Source: Reuters, "Wal-Mart sued by disabled over payment machine access," Jonathan Stempel, July 25, 2012