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Credit card repayments too expensive? Now may be the ideal time to transfer your debt thanks to some highly competitive interest-free deals.
Facing a hefty post-Christmas credit-card bill? Help could be at hand in the shape of a new 0% interest transfer deal – but watch out for the small print.
When it comes to reviewing your finances, it makes sense to focus on the areas that could save the most cash with the least effort.
Confused about credit cards? We’ve put together 10 facts to enlighten you about your plastic, some of which might just end up saving you money.
If you need some extra money, you may be looking at a credit card or a personal loan. But before you decide, read our guide on the best way to borrow.
Barclaycard, Sainsbury’s and Tesco have all released new 0% credit card deals this week - the latest saga in the ongoing price war between providers.
Banking regulators say that charges on overdrafts have become too complicated – and they are also one of the most expensive forms of credit.
Tesco has launched a new market-leading credit card today that doesn’t charge a penny on balance transfers. We take a closer look.
Nearly half of credit card holders have been offered a credit limit increase by their provider in the past year despite not asking for one.
Lloyds bank has launched two new credit cards this week, one with a low balance transfer fee of only 0.4%. We look at why it could pay to switch now.
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Keith and Ginger Myers have announced Coteau Grove Farms plans to expand its breeding operation and reduce its racing stable. The farm said it will sell 21 Louisiana-bred yearlings and horses in training at Louisiana sales.
Equine Sales Co. of Louisiana has announced that the catalog for the inaugural 2-year-olds in training sale will be held on April 28 is now online.
Equine Sales Company has cataloged 174 horses to its consignor select yearling sale that will be held at 10 a.m., Sept. 4, in the company's sales pavilion in Opelousas, La.
The Aug. 27 Fasig-Tipton Texas yearling sale, to start at 4 p.m., offers a 170-lot catalog that includes 47 Texas-breds, 27 Oklahoma-breds, and 65 Louisiana-breds.
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Titan International Inc. (NYSE: TWI) announced plans Friday to offer $275 million of its 7.875 percent Senior Secured Notes due 2017.
The notes are being offered by the initial purchasers to qualified institutional buyers.
Titan intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay a portion of the existing indebtedness of certain indirect subsidiaries under the European credit facilities assumed as part of its acquisition of Titan Europe PLC in the fourth quarter of 2012. Titan intends to use any remaining net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.
Titan announced quarterly earnings of 9 cents per share on Monday, well short of the consensus estimate of 47 cents per share. The low return was caused by the purchase of Titan Europe PLC and damage from an earthquake to a facility in Italy.
Titan International, Inc., a holding company, owns subsidiaries that supply wheels, tires, assemblies and undercarriage products for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving, construction and consumer all terrain vehicles.


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On February 13, 2018, the Green Latin America Bioeconomy Workshop was held at the Shanghai Room of the Nuremberg Convention Center, organized by Planeta Organico with support from GIZ, the Itaipu Technological Park and the Secretariat of Family Agriculture and Agrarian Development.
The Shanghai Room was filled with 92 people who had the opportunity to see the presentations of 18 speakers who dealt with various topics of Bioeconomy, considered by many to be the economy of the 21st century.
Valuing a healthy soil, the quality of water, is one of the challenges of the bioeconomy. Bringing financial institutions to work on sustainable finance and payments for ecosystem services is an issue that is starting to unfold, but there is still a lack of understanding of what a bioeconomy is.
The participation of civil society is indispensable for an effective transition from a fossil fuel economy to a bioeconomy.
The president of the Julius Khün Institute, Georg Backhaus, has defined a bio-economy as “production and use of natural resources (including knowledge / research) that provides products, processes and services in all sectors of commerce and industry in the context of a sustainable economy.”
At the opening of this event, Maria Beatriz Martins Costa, director of Planeta Organico, highlighted that the idea of doing this workshop in Germany was during Green Rio 2017, when the first German-Brazilian Bioeconomy Workshop took place, where representatives from Brazil and Germany discussed potential partnerships between the two countries in the Bioeconomy scenario.
Due to the success of the first edition of this bilateral workshop, the second edition of the German-Brazilian Bioeconomy Workshop will be held again at Green Rio, which will take place from 24 to 26 May 2018 at Marina da Glória, as highlighted by Tilman Schachtsiek (Coordinator of the Bioeconomy Secretariat / Ministry of Agriculture of Germany) at its presentation in Nuremberg. Tilman also pointed out that there will be a Bioeconomy / Germany booth at Green Rio 2018.
In the morning, the following themes were addressed: Small Business and Bioeconomy, Forests and Green Markets, Nexus Water, Energy and Agriculture.
After a brief break for lunch, the afternoon brought panels with questions for the public that debated the following questions:
- – Innovations for sustainable value chains
- – Alternatives to ensure transparency and sustainability developed by civil society and companies under discussion: why are these alternatives limited in scale and applicability? How can we better promote these alternative approaches?
Know more about the complete program and the respective speakers.
The Green Latin America Bioeconomy Workshop has already unfolded and several meetings were scheduled to be held during the Green Rio 2018:


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A recent report from the Cigar Association of America (CAA), an industry trade group, found that the United States imported a total of 338.87 million premium cigars between January and September 2023. This number is only 2.61 million less than the import volume during the same period in 2022. down 0.8%.
Daniel Cotter, chief statistician at CAA, said in a press release: "By the end of the third quarter of this year, premium imports have returned to near break-even levels compared with the third quarter of 2022. Data show that compared with last year, the lowest point this year was at the end of April. As of April 30, 2023, premium imports fell by nearly 7% year-on-year."
Nicaragua remains the largest supplier of high-quality cigars to the United States, importing 181.41 million high-quality cigars in the first nine months, accounting for approximately 53.5% of total imports.
The Dominican Republic accounts for 30.7% of imports, with exports increasing for most of 2023 compared with 2022.
To exceed 2022 imports, the United States will need to import an average of 41 million cigars per month. CAA calculated the numbers based on import data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Customs Services, as well as information provided by the cigar companies themselves.


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Tracking innovation, development and experimentation
in information studies and library science and spotting new technologies, trends, fun stuff and much more.
Friday, April 06, 2012
People who read e-books read more
People who read e-books read more books than those don't. According to Pew, as the number of Americans that own tablet computers and e-book reading devices has increased, so has the percentage of adults who report that they have read an e-book in the past year.


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This week, the spotlight is on key regulatory risk issues currently faced by companies in the food and drink sector. Today we focus on advertising and labelling.
Commission consults on TV and online ad rules
The EU Commission is seeking comments on plans to amend advertising rules under the 2010 Audio-Visual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), as part of a wider attempt to cut down on red tape and unnecessary rules for businesses. The deadline for responding is 30 September.
The results of the consultation will feed into next year’s review of the AVMSD, which lays down content and culture rules but also guidance on advertising to minors.
The Commission has indicated that it will examine whether the current system under the AVMSD should be adapted. It will also consider whether its current scope should be broadened so as to apply to new services and players that are outside the definition of 'audio-visual media services' set out in the Directive.
Manufacturer in Denmark fined for using violence in marketing
Energy drink manufacturer Cult has been fined DKK 100,000 (EUR 13,400) for using violence in an advertisement aimed at children. This is understood to be the first time that an adverse finding has been made against a business regarding violence in advertising in Denmark.
The decision is based on the fact that the advertisement promoted a product (energy drink) that can be legally bought and drunk by children and that it indirectly called for violence by featuring a youth who commits a series of violent acts (including stealing a car, robbing a kiosk and attacking people) after consuming the Cult energy drink.
The fine was set on the basis of the advertisement’s production cost and was also influenced by the fact that the advertisement had been publicly available for five years and could still be found online even after the ombudsman had requested Cult to remove it.
Cult does not agree with the outcome and, according to the consumer ombudsman website, is now considering whether to appeal against the judgment.
Is COOL worth it?
This week, the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee is considering two Commission reports issued in May 2015 under the 2011 Food Information to Consumers Regulation. The reports found that the benefits of mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) do not clearly outweigh the costs for products such as milk and dairy, minor meats, unprocessed foods, single ingredient foods and ingredients making up more than 50% of processed foods.
Some MEPs have already criticised the Commission's methodology, insofar as it arguably overestimated the costs of COOL that it put to consumers in a survey before asking them whether they would be willing to pay this much extra for the products concerned.
In February, a two-thirds majority of MEPs in plenary backed a resolution calling for mandatory COOL on processed meat products. Only Parliament’s largest political group - the European People’s Party - came out against the resolution.
Traffic light labelling system in Poland
In a drive to hamper the spread of obesity, the Polish Government is considering whether to adopt the UK approach to food labelling by introducing a compulsory colour coded traffic light system for food producers. This is despite the controversy that the UK system has attracted, with a threat of legal action by the EU Commission following complaints from Italy.
The Polish traffic light system would show the amount of calories, sugar, fat, saturated fat, salt and other nutrients in each product and would also indicate whether a given amount is low, medium or high, compared with the guideline daily amount. The labels would use colours (green, yellow or red) with the aim of clearly indicating each of the three levels, respectively.
If taken forward, the draft measure to adopt the traffic light system would form part of the new National Health Programme under which the government aims to set up a special fund designed to combat obesity and raise awareness on its negative effects. Warsaw plans to allocate PLN 60 million (EUR 14.5 million) to the programme which will be implemented in 2016 to 2020.
If you would like to discuss any of these issues please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS) is looking to build the value of advertising on its newspapers’ websites by making the process of selling ads private, breaking ties with third-party ad selling networks.
News Corp. has been under pressure to prove that newspapers are still a profitable enterprise in an era of online news. This new advertising exchange will allow advertisers to bid on ad space on more than 50 websites owned by News Corp., including The Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.com and The New York Post’s NYPost.com. The new exchange will allow “marketers to collectively leverage the company’s leading online and mobile products and rich first-party data for programmatic buying and real-time bidding,” according to a company statement.
“News Corp enjoys a strong direct relationship with its premier audience of affluent, engaged subscribers and users, while the exchange will allow advertisers to target a number of audience segments on a global scale via premium quality inventory and unique data,” the company said in its release.
Basically, News Corp. is trying to convince advertisers that space on its sites is more valuable than other places because users are more loyal and have more expendable cash. According to industry experts cited by the U.K. paper The Guardian, News Corp. has had a tough time using that logic to convince advertisers to pay more to advertise on its sites, especially ones with less traffic.


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The final days of April have seen the value of bitcoin make soaring gains in what has been a positive month for the cryptocurrency in a dramatic 2017.
On Thursday, bitcoin price reached a high of $1,338 on the Bitstamp Price Index (BPI), $12 away from the all-time BPI high of $1,350 scaled on March 10. On a global average exchange, bitcoin is already trading beyond an all-time high.
BPI data shows the world’s most prominent cryptocurrency gaining over 8% in value since the turn of the week.
On Wednesday, price climbed above $1,300, hitting a new high for the month. A dip followed toward $1,285 in the late hours of the day (UTC) that quickly proved to be short-lived. While trading began at $,1287 at the dawn of Thursday, bitcoin was back up toward $1,310 at 06:00. The spike occurred at 13:15, when price shot up to $1,327 in a 60-minute period. By 15:30, bitcoin price hit a new monthly BPI high of $1,338.
At the time of publishing, price has dipped slightly, just under $1,330.
On a global average, according to BitcoinAverage, bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high of $1,331 today to build on a series of highs set throughout the week.
April has seen a handful of notable positive developments in the bitcoin space, starting with the cryptocurrency gaining acknowledgment as a legal method of payment in Japan. Japanese retailers have taken notice, partnering with bitcoin companies to accept bitcoin as legal tender. Huge growth markets like Russia and India have softened their previously abrasive stance to hint at regulating the cryptocurrency.
This week, bitcoin received a boost with optimism among traders following an announcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review its March decision to reject the Winklevoss twins’ application for a bitcoin ETF.
Speaking to CNBC , Thomas Glucksmann, an executive at Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange, stated at the time:
The news of the review has definitely excited speculators, although it’s unclear if this will alter the SEC”s decision. So the gains in the last 24 hours may be temporary.
48 hours later, those gains have advanced further in a bullish month for bitcoin, which has risen over 20% in value since the beginning of April.
Featured image from Shutterstock.


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World Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a way of focusing on the importance of freshwater and supporting the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
With deforestation being a notable contributor to global warming, protecting forests is crucial to lessening the impacts of climate change and to maintaining “healthy, resilient communities and prosperous economies”.
With media reports attesting to the impact of synthetic materials on our planet, consumers have expressed concern with the overuse of synthetics in our day to day lives.
Fabian de Armas, CEO and Chairman of Sustana Group, shares his insights on the company’s strategy and sustainability highlights.
In the spirit of looking ahead to 2019, we’ve identified three important societal trends for 2019, relating to sustainability in business.
According to a recent survey, Wisconsin ranks third in terms of being supportive of recycling, with almost 80 percent of residents reporting that they recycle. However…
This week, we had the pleasure of announcing our exciting Cup to Cup: Closing the Loop partnership project — an innovative collaboration between Sustana Fiber and three other supply chain partners, working together to demonstrate that Starbucks cups could be recycled and turned into new cups.
Two types of recycled fiber – composed of either post-consumer reclaimed material or pre-consumer reclaimed material – can be used to make recycled paper. The two are fundamentally different, as specified in these definitions from the FSC®
Sustana partners with Alpine Waste & Recycling to recover items from trash Tens of billions of single-use coffee cups, many of which could have been recycled, end up in landfills each year in the United … Continued


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In June 2013, global brand extension agency Beanstalk launched Tinderbox, its digital division to help brand licensing extend into new media.
The Toy Industry Association will induct two new members into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.
Bluefin Distribution, a U.S. distributor for Japanese toys and collectibles, has appointed John Parker as its new president.
Discovery Communications and Hasbro will re-brand the jointly owned The Hub Network as Discovery Family Channel.
Amelie Govett has joined the marketing agency Brand and Deliver as licensing and sponsorship director.
Saban Brands has created a new internal global content distribution unit to support its worldwide growth and expanding portfolio.
Lionsgate has named Kerry Phelan, to the newly created position of executive vice president of global franchise management and strategic partnerships.
SEGA Europe has hired Kay Ferneyhough to join its London-based licensing team as retail license manager.
Richard Goldsmith has been given an expanded role at the Jim Henson Company as executive vice president of global distribution and international consumer products.
Licensing agency The Joester Loria Group has announced a series of promotions and new hires.
Vince Klaseus will join Universal Pictures as president of the newly created brand development division.
Brand strategy agency IMC has promoted two members of its management team to the position of vice president.
Egmont is bringing its international children's publishing activities together under a new management structure.
FremantleMedia has appointed Rick Glankler as executive vice president and general manager of its Kids & Family Entertainment division.
Turner Broadcasting has appointed former Mattel executive Johanne Broadfield to the role of vice president, Cartoon Network Enterprises, EMEA.
Ben Richardson has been promoted to senior vice president and general manager of Viacom International Media Networks Australia and New Zealand.
Tim Juckes has been tapped as the new sales director of U.K. consumer products at Saban Brands.
U.K. children’s research and consulting firm The Pineapple Lounge is planning to open a U.S. division and has Cheryl Gotthelf to lead it.
Gregg Steinhafel is stepping down from his positions as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors at Target.
Life Like Touring, which develops children’s live entertainment, has appointed Antonio Huab as vice president, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Roth was a mentor to many, loved by most, generous to a fault and committed to family, friends and to a moral and ethical business methodology in the licensing and merchandising field.
©2014 ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. All rights reserved.


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Scammers use UI exploit and OpenSea bug in NFT phishing attack
Bored Ape community members need to be careful after a Bored Ape Yacht Club scam became active over the weekend. Malicious actors used NFT marketplace OpenSea on Saturday, April 2nd to carry out their phishing attack. The hack is the latest in a long line of recent high profile scams to hit the industry. Will continued attacks start affecting platforms’ economies?
- Scammers piggybacked on hype surrounding BAYC metaverse Otherside
- It’s worth knowing how to spot a scam before it’s too late
- Blockchain technology still in its Wild West phase
- BAYC ApeCoin and overall economy unaffected by scams, for now
Scam patterns emerging
Scams are having their cultural moment. Go to your favorite subscription TV platform and you don’t need to look hard for an exquisitely produced biopic about a brazen, charming con artist. The Axie Infinity hack was a record-breaking example of an ultra modern techno heist. And now we have some unscrupulous hustlers attempting to steal people’s money on the back of the recent hype around Bored Apes Yacht Club’s new metaverse Otherside.
This latest scam saw a suspicious wallet address pass itself off as the official BAYC team. They then sent fake NFT land packages to a string of influential people inside the web3 ecosystem. The phishing attempt was designed to part holders from their blockchain assets. We have received no reports yet that anything was stolen.
The really worrying part is the methods the hackers used in the deception. They exploited a suspected bug inside OpenSea’s platform. This bug provided a loophole allowing the scammers to initiate an NFT transfer from the official BAYC account, or at least make it seem as such. The fake transaction enabled the scammers to pose as the real BAYC team and attempt to defraud their unsuspecting victims out of their assets.
Here’s a screenshot of the offending account. You can see the lengths they’ve gone to to create something that looks fairly believable.
Fortunately, there are ways to identify when a con is taking place. DappRadar recently put out a helpful article explaining how to spot scam tokens. There’s also a watchful community on Twitter and helpful people in Discord servers who call out the bad actors when they see them.
Web3 opportunities and risks similar to Wild West
The Wild West we know from the movies was about adventure, freedom and opportunity. In reality, it was an unforgiving desert where most people lived without protection from malicious rustlers and violent bandits. Formal police forces had to be established to shield the population from criminal activity.
Similarly, the truth about web3 often gets lost behind the glamorous stories. The big wins and huge profits make good stories for the decentralized marketing machine. But the untold stories of thefts, scams and bereft victims are as much a part of the narrative as overnight millionaires.
Companies will develop online security solutions as NFT heists grow more complex and audacious. But as things stand, it’s important that users of decentralized platforms think twice before engaging with anyone they don’t know.
Bored Ape economy unaffected, for now
It’s too early to tell what effect the attempted theft has had on the overall BAYC economy. Looking at DappRadar’s Token Explorer, we can see the price of its native token ApeCoin is down over the past 24-hour and seven-day periods.
Similarly, if we look at the BAYC analytics page, the average sale price of a BAYC NFT went down 19.09% over the last day.
This probably has more to do with the astounding sale price of this Ape two days ago which put the average sale price up to an unrealistic height, before it dropped down to normal levels again. But if more hacks take place, attacking the same collections, it will be very interesting to see what effect it might have on the price of NFTs.
You can use DappRadar’s tools to track token prices and monitor your own blockchain asset portfolio. Similarly, you can use our rankings page to keep up to date with how dapps and NFTs are performing. Stay tuned with our blog for the latest news and follow our Twitter feed for the latest updates.


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Arriving as part of Jordan Brand‘s 2021 Holiday lineup, we now have an official look at the Air Jordan 4 “Red Thunder.”
Expressing a mix of “Black/Red/White,” the upcoming take on the beloved silhouette builds on the color blocking found on the AJ4 “Thunder” retro’ed last month. The upper of shoe is constructed of black nubuck and accented by hits of red. Branding comes in the form of tongue tags, printed insoles and Jumpman motifs at the rear. Rounding up the design of the shoe are red midsoles assisted by Air units paired with black rubber outsoles.
Priced at $190 USD, the Air Jordan 4 “Red Thunder” is set to release October 2.
For more footwear news, the CLOT x sacai Nike LDWaffle “K.O.D. 2” recently receives a release date.
Source: Read Full Article


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Alibaba is not as unfriendly to shareholders as some of its big tech colleagues, like Facebook and Google. But don’t get too excited. It’s not that friendly to shareholders, either.
Central bank makes a second surprise stimulus move as it looks to counter slower-than-expected growth.
Time Warner has a gem in HBO. But can the ay-TV service make up for other struggling businesses?
An abundance of supply has hurt agriculture stocks and created a buying opportunity for investors.
What shipping can tell us about the global economy.
The market may be hitting new highs, but it’s destined to sink if interest rates rise.
Why many women still don’t manage their own money.
An analysis of the Chinese e-commerce giant’s financials shows that Alibaba is an economic profit superstar. From that perspective, the stock actually looks like a good deal.


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- Venture capital company with a recent investment in Bitcoin mining infrastructure
- Has invested in companies such as blockchain company Arcology and ICO Ranker
- Subsidiary Code Cannabis Investments focused on the expanding CBD market in North America and Europe
What Codebase Ventures does:
Codebase Ventures Inc (CSE:CODE) (OTCMKTS:BKLLF) is a tech-centric investment firm. The venture capital company invests in early-stage technology and cannabis companies and is made up of a team of financial and technology experts.
The Vancouver-based company aims to take stakes in fledgling companies with a focus on investing in those with “outstanding talent, teams and technology,” according to the firm’s website.
Codebase has a number of companies within its portfolio including stakes in the blockchain company Arcology, as well as investments in ICO Ranker, the standard for reviews and analysis of token sales, and Blockchain Ranker, a business-to-business directory of blockchain software, service providers and platforms.
Arcology, in which Codebase owns a 30% stake, runs a hierarchical blockchain that uses proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence to eliminate inefficiencies that hinder rival blockchain platforms. ICO Ranker is a collaborative platform for the rating of ICOs and blockchain projects.
The company also targets early-stage assets and startups in the emerging and promising cannabis sector through its subsidiary, Code Cannabis Investments. For now, the company is focused on the expanding market for CBD products in North America and Europe.
London-listed World High Life PLC is the crown jewel of Code Cannabis’s portfolio. World High Life is focused on backing or acquiring companies operating in the CBD wellness and medicinal cannabis industry and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Love Hemp, is a leading CBD supplier in the UK.
Codebase Ventures is led by CEO George Tsafalas, an entrepreneur who has extensive experience in senior operational management, corporate business development and corporate finance in the private and public sectors. He is currently a senior partner at Stadnyk and Partners Inc, specializing in the execution of strategic budget plans and monitors the development of the portfolio programs.
How is it doing:
In mid-March, 2021, Codebase Ventures announced that its Bitcoin mining machines, the first tranche of 115 state-of-the-art Canaan A1246 miners, are currently being prepped for immediate release to its hosting facility in upstate New York and are expected to be delivered and operational in the coming weeks.
The company agreed to pay $2.5 million to acquire the bit mining infrastructure in the US for long-term revenue generation.
Earlier in the same month, the company revealed that it had engaged seasoned investor and entrepreneur Jacob Chernoff in order to maximize results for the company’s Bitcoin mining operations and ongoing blockchain investments.
Codebase noted that Chernoff has worked with a number of public companies over past six years, evaluating and revising blockchain-based business proposals, raising seed capital, and deconstructing complex technical aspects of blockchain and cryptography into an easily-digestible format.
As well, Codebase said its investee company Arcology has optimized its version of the CrytpoKitties blockchain platform. Arcology considers CryptoKitties, which allows users to collect and breed digital cats, to be the “most popular game on the Ethereum blockchain.” It noted that when the game debuted in 2017, its popularity congested the Ethereum network to the point that noticeable shutdowns hurt the performance of other apps.
Arcology also recently revealed the successful deployment of version 2.0 of its Testnet system. Codebase said Testnet 2.0 also includes the unveiling of Ammolite 1.0, Arcology’s custom-built Python application programming interface (API), which allows developers to query blockchain data from browser, built wallet, and other applications.
The company noted that since its launch in 2020, Testnet has “consistently achieved very high results” with more than 33,000 transactions per second (TPS) running decentralized applications written in Solidity, a programming language most famous for being the basis for Ethereum’s smart contracts.
- Revenue from Bitcoin mining infrastructure
- Growing sales of Love Hemp, LH Botanicals and other World High Life products
- Increasing portfolio of companies through further investments
What the boss says:
Commenting on the company’s entrance into the Bitcoin mining space, Codebase CEO George Tsafalas told shareholders: “The level of acceptance indicated by this first big US bank (Morgan Stanley) to enable ownership of Bitcoin broadens the opportunities and applications for cryptocurrencies, aligning with Code’s efforts in establishing Bitcoin mining infrastructure for the long-term.”
Contact Sean at [email protected]
Story by ProactiveInvestors
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Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD Co. posted a fivefold jump in its first-quarter profit on Thursday as the company consolidated its leadership in the domestic market, Reuters
reports. Net profit for the first three months of the year was 4.13 billion yuan ($596.56 million), up 410.9% from 808.41 million yuan a year earlier, on revenue up 79.8% at 120.17 billion yuan, the company said in a stock market filing, the news agency adds.
According to Insider
, BYD launched one of the best deals on the electric-car market. The Seagull model costs roughly $11,000 to start and offers up to 251 miles of range, the news site writes. Insider notes that BYD "is swiftly taking over the country's competitive EV market and making lots of trouble for Tesla and Elon Musk".
The Chinese carmaker has also provided further details on its impending luxury/performance YangWang U9 model, GOEC
writes. Its over-1,000-horsepower motor and smart Disus suspension system will be its key attractions, it adds. "The vehicle as a whole may bounce a few inches off the ground thanks to the clever suspension system. Additionally, it allows the electric supercar to operate without one wheel, much like a Citroen DS from the 1960s with its hydropneumatic suspension," it explains.


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"Given the focus of the product, Microsoft's concept was, 'This is a new kind of tablet, a new kind of notebook. It's either one and both at the same time,'" said Baker. By offering a Surface RT minus a cover, Baker argued, Microsoft was muddying that message.
"They could have set $599 as the opening price," Baker said, referring to the 32GB Surface RT that does include a Touch Cover.
He was also dismissive of any interpretation of the quick sell-out of the $499 model. "[Sell-outs] don't ever really mean anything," he said. "They could have made just 10 of them, then said, 'We're out!'"
Nonetheless, out-of-stock reports are not uncommon, especially for new devices. Availability of Apple's products, particularly the iPhone and iPad, sometimes even its Mac notebooks, are regularly tracked by the technology media and bloggers as one of the few available clues to sales.
Microsoft may mention the Surface RT, and perhaps hint at early sales, during its upcoming quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts. The conference call, which will cover the quarter that ended Sept. 30, is slated to start Thursday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
The lowest-priced Surface RT is now backordered, and won't ship for as long as three weeks.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.org.
Read more about tablets in Computerworld's Tablets Topic Center.


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The head of Microsoft's gaming division, Phil Spencer, revealed one of the key reasons for the acquisition of Bethesda Softworks.
Speaking at the hearing in the FTC case against the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard deal, the head of Xbox said that Sony regularly pays developers to bypass the Microsoft platform, and the company found it necessary to buy Bethesda in order to remain competitive.
"When we acquired ZeniMax, one of the triggers for this was that Sony made a deal for Deathloop and Ghostwire, paying Bethesda not to release these games on Xbox," Spencer said.
In addition, according to Spencer, they had received information that Starfield could potentially also skip the Xbox, so the company could not afford to further increase the backlog in content, and so being in third place among other platform holders.
"We had to provide ourselves with content to stay viable in the business." Most of Spencer's testimony was devoted to showing Sony as an aggressive and hostile competitor.
"Every time we release a game on PlayStation, Sony gets 30 percent of our revenue on its platform, and then it uses that money along with its other revenue to try to reduce the chances of Xbox surviving in the market.
We are trying to compete, but, as I said, over the past 20 years we have not been able to achieve this in an effective way."
Microsoft bought ZeniMax in 2021 for $7.5 billion, and in the case of Activision Blizzard, the deal is estimated at $68.7 billion.


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May 10, 2018
Looking for the Los Angeles chicken shop of your dreams? We’ve found a lineup of new spots worth checking out. Here are the newest places to check out the next time you’re in search of some tasty new fried birds near you.
Honeybird is a chicken shop and Southern spot, serving up fried chicken, biscuits and more in University Park.
Chef Phil Lee tells the Daily Trojan that there’s a lot to love about Southern food. “There’s just something so amazing about it, it’s very humble yet very delicious.” Read the full article.
April 4, 2018
USC Village welcomes its second clothing store with the opening of Kaitlyn Clothing, a “SoCal style destination” women’s clothing shop located across from Starbucks. After the opening of their flagship location in Downtown Brea and the re-opening of their online store in 2014, Kaitlyn Clothing has expanded its brand through pop-up shops, fashion truck meets and social media. Read the full article.
March 15, 2018
Sleepy La Cañada fixture Honeybird has fully expanded to USC Village. The fast-casual fried chicken shop opened quietly this week while most of the students were away, and looks to ramp up to longer hours and full production in the coming weeks. Read the full article.
February 23, 2018
USC’s massive new Village project is up and running, bringing off-campus housing, basic services like a Trader Joe’s, and a slew of fast casual food offerings all together in one gigantic brick-lined plaza. Among the new tenants at the 15-acre development is Kobunga Korean Grill, a takeaway fast casual option that will hold its official opening this weekend. Read the full article.


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|HOME||MEDIAVILLAGE.com||WOMEN ADVANCING||HOOKED UP||MEMBERSHIP INFO||MEMBER COMPANIES||MEDIA BUSINESS REPORT||ECONOMIC FORECASTS||RESEARCH|
Published: March 18, 2008 at 07:55 AM GMT
Last Updated: April 7, 2008 at 07:55 AM GMT
What a week last week was -- and what a week this is already shaping up to be! The Eliot Spitzer affair was beyond comprehension. The John Malone/Barry Diller soap opera played out in a Delaware courtroom. But for long-term impact, the Bear Stearns debacle was the major story, with the economy taking a turn that could have significant impact on this year's advertising marketplace. Plus NBC and News Corp. launched video website Hulu last week. Debbie Richman left OMD to join Lifetime. Curt Viebranz was unceremoniously dumped by AOL and replaced by insider Lydia Clarizio. Joanne Bradford departed MSN, where she was GM, to join Spot Runner, a company that is gaining increased recognition and that former MTV and IPG executive Mark Rosenthal recently joined as Vice Chairman. There were multiple acquisitions and far more major personnel announcements than in an average week. The rate of industry change is accelerating.
While I am not yet prepared to revise my relatively bullish ad spending forecast and I continue to believe most media other than newspapers will experience revenue increases in 2008, the economy is clearly heading into a recession. And while our analysis of the historic impact of a recession on ad spending supports our bullish forecasts, the combination of a severe economic downturn with the dramatic erosion of broadcast network audiences resulting from the recent writers' strike could cause advertisers to finally resist the cost-per-thousand (CPM) increases the networks will undoubtedly be seeking. Although, for reasons I point out below, I expect the Upfront market will once again be a good one for the networks.
Broadcast networks, buoyed by their success in generating higher than expected CPM increases last year, expect buyers to once again pay mid-to-high single digit CPM gains in this year's Upfront marketplace. These increases are anticipated although strike-related ratings declines were dramatic and the ratings recovery has been slow. Leading cable networks are projecting double digit CPM increases. But agency executives are quietly expressing concern that the network run of year-after-year CPM increases may be at an end due to marketers' economic concerns.
Compounding marketers’ concerns, the writers' strike has caused unprecedented disarray at the networks and studios. With the launch of Hulu, with investors financing alternative programming studios like Next New Networks ($15 million more invested last week), with accelerating audience fragmentation, and with networks struggling to bring viewers back into the fold, agency media departments and media sales executives are facing unprecedented demands.
Yahoo!, AOL, Google and MSN should be well positioned to benefit. But, except for Google, these companies are also in a state of unprecedented disarray. Microsoft’s focus is on its battle to acquire Yahoo!, and Yahoo!'s focus is obviously on its response. Both should be concentrating on maximizing brand advertising revenues. But who at either company is leading the charge? While they both have competent executives, the lead dogs at both companies have virtually no experience in the traditional media marketplace.
In recent months Yahoo! lost Greg Coleman, Wenda Millard, Jackie Kelley and others who had Madison Avenue experience. At Microsoft, while the aQuantive acquisition brought several executives experienced in the digital ad market, only Bradford was well known in traditional ad circles. AOL should capitalize on the brain drain at Microsoft and Yahoo! but it has suffered its own executive departures. Neither Viebranz nor Clarizio have traditional ad industry sales and marketing credentials.
Google's acquisition of DoubleClick finally gained EU approval last week, but Google’s most active executives in the ad community also lack experience in the traditional media marketplace. While Microsoft, AOL and Google have been actively acquiring companies and recruiting talent to bolster their bona fides in the digital ad marketplace, none can field a team with experience and credibility in the network TV departments of traditional media agencies and among the senior brand and advertising executives at top 200 marketers.
Attention is being paid to vertical ad sales networks, behavioral targeting, administrative backbone companies like Rapt (acquired last week by Microsoft), and social networking, but very little attention is being paid to brand advertisers' needs and opportunities. Nor is attention being paid to developing quality content to offer a trusted environment for brand advertising. The focus instead, it seems, is on advertising as a commodity rather than advertising as a tool for building brand awareness and sales.
This is an industry in disarray. In chaos. In a chaotic marketplace, advertisers and agency buyers will, like consumers, turn to those brands they know best. And that means that for one more year at least, the TV network Upfront marketplace should be a strong one.
Only at JackMyers.com: TV Maven:
"The Bachelor": British Banker Rejects a First-Round Love Thong
This Year's Upfront Events -When Are They?
Find Out at JackMyers.com
The 2015-16 schedule NBC revealed Monday to advertisers and the press seemed sturdy enough, but not nearly in the same league as everything else the network does.Read More
My one big gripe with “Mad Men” has to do with the inexplicable downsizing or marginalizing or status reduction or whatever you want to call it of Betty.Read More


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Wells Fargo Enables Mobile Wallet Compatibility on 40% of ATMs
Wells Fargo has enabled near field communication technology on 40% of its ATMs. This allows customers to use “tap and pay” banking at over 5,000 locations throughout the country. Wells Fargo will continue to expand its mobile wallet compatibility over the next year, reaching all 13,000 ATMs in the United States by 2019.
This spring, Wells Fargo added cardless ATM withdrawals to its system. Users could withdraw money from an ATM without a physical debit or credit card. Doing this required a one-time access code, followed by a PIN.
With NFC, users can bypass the access code and simply hold their phones near the ATM. The machine communicates with the mobile wallet on the phone to securely gather card information.
Wells Fargo customers have already conducted close to three million card free ATM withdrawals via the one-time access code option. That number could increase significantly now that the bank’s 20 million mobile banking customers have a faster method available.
NFC-equipped ATMs work with Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Android Pay and Wells Fargo Wallet. Phones must have their NFC activated turned on to use the system.
This entry was posted in Credit Card News and tagged mobile wallet , ATM , Wells Fargo , NFC , ATM transaction , ATM withdrawal , cardless ATM , tap and pay , Wells Fargo ATM , NFC ATM , near field communication , mobile wallet compatibility
The information contained within this article was accurate as of October 10, 2017. For up-to-date
information on any of the terms, cards or offers mentioned above, visit the issuer's website.


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Uh oh. Looks like advertising for Sprint’s “Cut Your Bill in Half” promotion is on the chopping block.
The National Advertising Division (NAD) recommended Sprint end airing of its Half Off commercials and tweak its Internet and in-store advertising to clarify carrier price comparisons following a complaint from T-Mobile challenging the claims made in Sprint’s campaign.
At T-Mobile’s behest, the NAD said it reviewed a number of claims made in the Sprint ads, including statements that customers could “come save 50% on most Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile rates,” and “cutting your rate plan by 50 percent is easy.” The NAD also looked at Sprint’s disclosure practices for its $36 activation fee in the campaign.
T-Mobile in particular took issue with Sprint’s implied claims that its 50 percent off deal applied to any T-Mobile plan when it was only relevant to T-Mobile’s 2 GB 6 GB and 10 GB Simple Choice Plans.
Sprint argued the distinction was made clear in the fine print of the ads, but the NAD said that wasn’t enough.
“NAD determined that references to the limitations are blurred by the fast-moving audio and visual elements of the commercials which also make the supers, which refer to rate plans as well as limitations and restrictions, difficult to read, notice and understand,” the NAD wrote in its ruling. “NAD determined that the overriding message – that you can have the same rate plan for half the price simply by switching to Sprint – was not supported by the evidence in the record and recommended that the commercials be discontinued.”
The NAD said Sprint permanently discontinued its “Cut Your Bill in Half” ads during the division’s review.
Though T-Mobile told CNET it “called Sprint out on their total BS promises” and was pleased with the result, the Un-carrier has faced criticism of its own marketing practices in the past.
In December, a coalition of consumer groups filed a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) accusing T-Mobile of “misleading advertisements and abusive debt collection practices.”
Change to Win alleged T-Mobile has engaged in deception by billing its services as “no contract” obligations though many month-to-month services are tied to two-year equipment financing plans that carry financial penalties for early termination.
Last week, Change to Win took its concerns to the FCC in a letter asking Chairman Tom Wheeler to investigate T-Mobile’s advertising and business practices.
In particular, the group urged Wheeler to review the fairness of T-Mobile’s “no contract” claims as they relate to equipment installment plans; T-Mobile’s offer to pay off early termination fees; and its “pattern of fraudulently enrolling customers in services without their consent or knowledge.”


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York Cleaners closed unexpectedly after being evicted from its Jerome Avenue building and customers say they want their dry cleaning back.
Customers who have been inconvenienced by the closing say weeks have passed with no notice from the store. They called phone numbers listed for the dry cleaners, but found the lines were disconnected. Some said they suspected the company knew they were going to be evicted but continued without notifying customers.
A representative from Sopher Realty says the store will open on Tuesday, May 15 so customers can pick up their clothing. The company will also post updated information outside the store as to when customers can retrieve their clothing, if they cannot do so Tuesday.


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Van Fossan worksfor Select Brands
YOUNGSTOWN -- Van Fossan & amp; Associates helped Select Brands of Kansas City unveil two new products recently at the International Housewares Show in Chicago.
The Youngstown agency provided public relations, marketing, packaging designs and trade advertisements for the Pancake Factory, an electric pancake maker, and the Fruit Saver, which circulates cool air throughout its bowl-like chamber.
German companyeyes site in Pa.
MEADVILLE, Pa. -- A German company looking to build a clean-burning power plant in the United States is considering a former waste treatment plant in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Officials with the Fraunhofer USA Center for Energy and Environment, based in Pittsburgh, this week visited the former treatment plant at the Crawford County Industrial Park near Meadville.
The plant burns biomass materials such as wood pulp, sawdust, grass or other organic materials, turning them into a flammable gas in an enclosed chamber with no outside emissions. The gas then fuels an internal-combustion engine that drives electrical generators, company officials said.
Steel imports rise
WASHINGTON -- American companies imported more steel in 2002 than in the previous year, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department, despite steep tariffs that were slapped on certain kinds of foreign-made steel last March.
Nearly 2.5 million tons of steel were imported to the United States in December, according to the Commerce Department. That comes on top of the 27 million tons that had been imported though November 2002 -- appearing to surpass the total 27.3 million ton watermark for 2001. That would make 2002 the fourth-highest year for steel imports.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports


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What do you want to know
- Microsoft is trying to buy Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion.
- Sony is a huge opponent of the deal, going to regulators to denounce the proposals, often using Call of Duty as a bargaining chip.
- Microsoft said it offered Sony a 10-year contract for Call of Duty, up from the previous 3-year offer.
- Sony declined to comment.
A new report from The New York Times has given us an update on the ensuing drama between Microsoft and regulators over its $69 billion merger with Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft has battled with regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to get approval for its mega-deal for the creators of Call of Duty, Warcraft, Candy Crush and various other major games. Microsoft said the deal is more about mobile games, where Microsoft’s footprint is relatively small in an industry dominated by Chinese giants like Tencent.
Merging with Activision would give Microsoft the tools it needs to bring Xbox games and Xbox developers to a whole new audience on phones and tablets. The growing mobile games segment has become a dominant force in many major economies, and there’s no reason to think it won’t also start to eat away at the relatively static console market in the years to come. To that end, Microsoft is looking to integrate titles like Call of Duty Mobile, while supporting its fledgling Xbox Game Pass subscription service with a slew of new content, offering games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for $10. per month alongside hundreds of other games, instead of picking up the game for $70 like it is now.
One of the main opponents of the deal is Sony, which is Microsoft’s biggest console competitor. While most other publishers generally haven’t said much to decry the deal, rival platform owners like PlayStation and Google have quietly (and not so quietly) expressed “concern” to regulators that Microsoft could end up with too much power in space if it seeks to exclude games like Call of Duty from their platforms. Microsoft hit back, saying it had no plans to remove Call of Duty from PlayStation at least, initially offering Sony a 3-year deal that would guarantee access to the game. was not enough.
Now a new report has suggested Microsoft didn’t concede three, but now Ten years of access to Call of Duty. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has also conducted various interviews to stress that there are no plans to remove or downgrade Call of Duty on PlayStation, despite Sony’s claims to the contrary. Sony declined to comment on the 10-year licensing deal report while claiming that Microsoft has a “history” of “dominant” industries while claiming that “gamer choices will disappear”, without explaining exactly which choices they refer.
Analytically, I’ve already written how Sony knows it won’t lose access to the Call of Duty license, given that the game’s business model is entirely dependent on it being available literally anywhere and everywhere. Sony is more concerned about losing a bargaining chip and value proposition since Call of Duty in Xbox Game Pass for $10 a month absolutely exceeds the $70 you have to pay to get the game on PlayStation in this moment.
The deal has become a big tech regulatory focal point for media commentators and political zeitgeist as scrutiny of Facebook’s total dominance in social media and Google’s total dominance in search algorithms truly led to less competition and a whole host of issues that both companies had to pay billions of dollars in fines for. Regulators may seek to draw parallels between these situations and the Microsoft-Activision deal as a result, with Sony exploiting the lack of gaming industry knowledge among lawmakers.
#Xbox #offered #PlayStation #10year #contract #Call #Duty #Sony #declined #comment


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Media execs unwilling to sign a deal with the suits at Cupertino HQ have scotched hopes for an Apple TV in 2012, Bloomberg reports. Wrangles for control in such areas as the user interface have kicked Apple's TV plans into the long grass, and we won't see a TV of any sort in Apple's 12 September reveal, according to the site.
Despite months of rumours about the Apple TV's hardware, it's the legal side Apple is still grappling with. Apple reportedly wants an on-demand TV service – a simple set-top box that would let users watch the shows live or recorded from an archive.
The negotiations with media companies and cable providers have been going on for years, at least since 2007 when the first Apple TV box was released. A CBS exec recounted a few months ago how 2011 negotiations floundered after Steve Jobs started yelling at him.
While the cable companies are generally suspicious of Apple's plans for control, and fear losing their link to their customers, it was arguments over who gets to design the user interface – which includes ways in which the viewer might access other content supplied by the media companies – that scotched this particular round of talks, according to Bloomberg.
There is also friction over who would sell the device: whether it would be available through the cable networks as part of a customer's subscription, or whether it would be on sale from Apple directly, thus cutting out the cable firms. Of the big media firms, Time Warner is said to be the most receptive to Apple's negotiations, but it is unlikely that Apple will introduce a new product if there is no comprehensive deal.
For Apple the importance of the content in a TV device is a no-brainer. Steve Jobs' negotiations with music labels over the iPod was what made the device the runaway success. Cable companies are just proving harder to negotiate with. ®


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Given the struggles Island small businesses have been facing for the last three years, the Premier should have considered the negative impact of a third statutory holiday in the month of September, says Liberal Economic Development Critic Hal Perry.
“The Premier cannot forget about small Island businesses when he’s making big decisions. They are the backbone of communities and employ Islanders tip to tip,” says Perry.
In recognition of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Premier Dennis King and his Cabinet have declared Monday, Sept. 19 as a one-time statutory holiday on Prince Edward Island.
“The Island was built on small and medium sized businesses, that’s what we love about this place. But many have struggled to survive the last three years and now they’re being hit with an unexpected statutory holiday.
“Island businesses want to know the rationale for making September 19th a statutory holiday when other provinces are simply marking it as a provincial holiday to ease the burden on small business. What is this Premier doing to ease pressure on small businesses?”


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There isn't a market that's more "mass" than China. And thanks to a powerful shove from the government, China is where electric vehicles are going to go mainstream.
China is already the world's largest consumer of electric vehicles, with more than 300,000 sold last year and a similar amount made. But the Chinese government would like to see e-production capacity to increase to two million units per year by 2020.
That's part of a broader push to meet a target that electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel-cell cars make up at least 20% of total vehicle sales by 2025. And when the government sets a target in China that it controls, it gets its way.
The world's car companies are lining up to lead that charge, if you'll forgive the pun. Since foreign companies are restricted to owning no more than 50% of an auto producer in China, that means setting up a joint venture.
The new company, eGT New Energy Automotive, will design, develop, produce and sell electric cars entirely within China. Dongfeng will own 50% of the joint venture. Renault and Nissan will each own 25%, the companies said.
Its first vehicle will be based on a small sport/utility car model that Renault and Nissan already produce jointly. While Nissan has been producing the all-electric Leaf in China, it has yet to design a new-energy vehicle here.
The alliance is a "Golden Triangle," according to Dongfeng chairman Zhu Yanfeng. The actual Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet, is better known for another form of production -- heroin. That sells better than electric vehicles, it's true, and has a very loyal customer base, but it isn't nearly so healthy.
Actually, the new team is more of a square. Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors (MSBHY) have already united as an "alliance," and together have sold more mass-market electric cars than anyone else in the world. Combined, they have shifted 481,000 units of cars such as Nissan's Leaf, Renault's Zoe and Mitsubishi's i-Miev as of the end of June.
China is home to the top six producers of electric vehicles, according to Bloomberg's New Energy Finance unit. BYD (BYDDY) tops the unit's global index of the industry's e-makers, followed by Jiangling Motors SZ:000550 and BAIC Motor (BCCMY) .
The top of the list was filled out by Japanese and European car companies. No U.S. producer made the top 10. Daimler (DDAIY) has a joint electric-car brand in China with BYD and BMW (BMWYY) has set one up with China Automotive Holding.
But last week, Ford Motor (F) said it will study the opportunity to establish a joint venture with Anhui Zotye Automobile to produce electric vehicles. The other U.S. car companies would do well to follow their lead.
Dongfeng produces Nissan X-Trail, Qashquai and Murano SUVs in China. It also has joint ventures with Honda Motor (HMC) and with Citroen, having taken up a 14% stake in the parent of Citroen and Peugeot, PSA (PUGOY) , when it bailed the company out in 2014.
Dongfeng is backed by a bunch of state-owned asset managers, including China Huarong Asset Management HK:2799 and China Chinda Asset Management HK:1359. They bailed out Dongfeng's predecessor, Second Automobile Works, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis.
The eGT New Energy Automotive unit wants to make mass cars that are not only electric, but also smart, networked and highly wired. The production line will initially be Dongfeng's existing factory in Shiyan, a five-hour drive northwest of Wuhan but also in Hubei Province. It has a capacity of 120,000 vehicles per year. Production is due to start in 2019.
Carlos Ghosn, who is chairman of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, revolutionized the Japanese auto industry when he came to Asia to head Nissan. After bringing that company back from the brink of bankruptcy, he became a celebrity CEO in Japan, where he even has his own manga comic book depicting his life story.
Ghosn championed the production of Nissan's Leaf, which became the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle when it went on the market at the end of 2010. But its high cost deterred many prospective buyers.
The right model could capture huge sales in China. Through July, production of new-energy vehicles (both all-electric battery cars and plug-in hybrids) in China hit 272,000 units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, up 26% over the prior year.
Sales rose 22% to 251,000 units. That suggests the full-year figures will see almost 500,000 made, and close to that sold in 2017, too.


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New cannabis product tracking platforms may improve customer and patient experience by improving their knowledge of cannabis products’ effects. Additionally, accompanying loyalty programs offer an incentive for consumers to shop at safe, compliant cannabis dispensaries.
The United States cannabis industry has seen rapid growth in the past decade, both in terms of overall sales and social acceptance. April 20th, or 4/20, marks marijuana’s High Holy Day, described by noted cannabis actor and comedian Adam De La Pena as, “Ramadan rolled into Easter, Halloween smeared all over St. Patrick’s day, Kwanzaa [making love to] Christmas until it cries.”
Once a date known only to the counterculture, 4/20 has become nary a mainstream holiday, with NBC News reporting on the celebration, businesses like Lyft offering $4.20 ride credits inside state’s like Colorado with recreational cannabis laws, and many other businesses making sly, indirect references on their social media pages to the cannabis holiday.
Colorado sales on and leading up to 4/20, 2015, nearly doubled the monthly average
New Markets and New Customers
The popularity of cannabis’ cultural celebration, or 4/20, demonstrates strong forward momentum for the onward push toward mainstream, national marijuana acceptance. The buzz surrounding the holiday is a boon for cannabis businesses and those ancillary to the industry as well.
According to Flowhub’s Cannabis POS database, which tracks sales data in legal marijuana states like Alaska, California, Colorado, Michigan, and Oregon, dispensaries can expect to see a 41%-51% increase in sales on and around the 420 holiday. Ancillary businesses, like fast food restaurants, friendly to those with the “munchies,” also see a significant bump in sales.
In fact, a group of restaurants near the University of Connecticut has reported they experience much higher sales on the marijuana holiday. According to Corey Hill, owner of DP Dough, a calzone shop, “We do a week’s worth of business in one day...4/20 is like our Black Friday.”
As radio personality Lou Milano put it, “Your lawyer, your doctor, your mom -- they are all smoking right now. You have major corporations building entire ad campaigns around 4/20 and marijuana.” Pot sales rose by 111% last 4/20 alone, and with all the hubbub and craze surrounding the cannabis industry, plenty of new cannabis users are lining up to try to the product.
However, today’s cannabis market, both medical and otherwise, offers so many different types of cannabis products, like vape pens, edibles, concentrates, topicals for the skin, and many more.
Oftentimes, first time patients and customers alike face apprehension at the product selection, asking questions like, “what does this item do, what does it work for?” While many of their questions can be answered by knowledgable bud tenders, this may increase patient wait times, clogging checkouts, and hurting the overall bottom line for the dispensary.
In anticipation of this, new technology aims to gather immense sales and health data generated by recreational and medical programs across the United States to provide patients and customers a more in depth knowledge of cannabis products’ effects, all while increasing customer retention and profits.
The marijuana market place has grown in terms of the variety of product offered, but this can cause confusion
Rthm Technologies COIL Systems
COIL systems, developed by Rthm Technologies inc, a subsidiary of Australis Capital Inc, seeks to revolutionize the cannabis buying experience by providing real time, biometric data regarding cannabis strains general effects. This will help improve dispensary business while helping customers and patients better understand their products.
Rthm Technologies, Inc, a leading developer of health statistics tracking technology, famous for their eponymous mobile genetics and circadian rhythm mapping platform, recently announced a foray into the cannabis industry with the pilot launch of COIL systems. Australis Capital Inc, Rthm’s parent company, believes COIL will give consumers more information regarding cannabis product choices, improving their experience and business overall.
The CEO of Rthm, inc, Alexander Mosa, described the United States cannabis industry as, "growing rapidly, but consumers are largely alone in navigating both the diverse array of chemically distinct products, and the burgeoning number of retail vendors which vary widely in quality, safety, and regulatory compliance.”
Instead of asking first timers to educate themselves, or placing the burden on already time pressed bud tenders, COIL technologies could do the hard work for them, speeding up purchases and helping improve patient/customer experience.
COIL Systems pool consumer data from a decentralized network of dispensaries in legal marijuana states like California, and Nevada. Much like the original Rthm app, the COIL platform will analyze sleep, heart rate, and daily activity to “see the effects of different cannabis strains, dosages, and consumption forms on overall measures of health.”
COIL may help new patients learn about various types of cannabis in an easy manner, with information based on chemical profile and psychological effect, not simply flowery language next to a strain name. By measuring biometric feedback from real cannabis patients/customers, COIL systems will offer an objective description of effects.
However, COIL systems’ biometric feedback model only represents the first step in improving cannabis customer experience. The system can also improve customer loyalty.
Business models focused on customer retention perform better in the long run then those focused on maintaining the status quo.
Alongside their bio tracking technologies, COIL Systems also provide a loyalty rewards program for cannabis patients and enthusiasts. When purchasing from a COIL partnered compliant dispensary, COIL systems allow consumers to photograph their receipt in exchange for loyalty points at non cannabis businesses.
Cannabis business regulation and compliance can be a pain for owners and customers alike.
As Mosa described earlier, cannabis dispensaries throughout the United States vary in terms of quality, safety, and compliance to industry regulation. To remedy this, according to Mosa, “The COIL network of certified dispensaries will include only the highest caliber of retail vendors, to whom foot traffic from geofenced app users will be directed.”
In their accompanying phone app for customers, COIL evaluates dispensaries based on their product availability, licensure, experience, and digital payment options. To honor both customer and dispensary for conducting regulatory, safe, compliant business, COIL offers a rewards program to customers at these compliant stores, where they may scan receipts and earn loyalty points.
Customers may then redeem their loyalty points for non marijuana items, like Uber rides, or groceries at Whole Foods. By offering a loyalty program and guidemap to proper marijuana dispensaries, COIL systems can help increase customer retention, which in turn will increase sales and overall dispensary profits.
According to Scott Dowty, CEO of Australis, "The launch of COIL into the fragmented United States cannabis space will immediately resonate with MSOs and SSOs alike delivering new loyal customers with minimum cost of acquisition.”
Anticipating nationwide cannabis legalization in the not so distant future, Dowty also believes that COIL Systems, “will have significant leverage in driving traffic to partner dispensaries while building a valuable data set.”
About the Author
Chris Matich is a professional writer, journalist, SEO specialist, and editor living in Pittsburgh, PA. Chris blogs for Schenley.net. His writing interests include LGBT+ people/issues, sports writing, and cannabis. Chris currently writes for SEO purposes for cannabis clients, as well as creative pieces about medical cannabis, and cannabis lifestyle. He writes fiction and creative nonfiction in his spare time. Linkedin, Twitter


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Xbox One is selling well, though not as well as Sony's PlayStation 4
Microsoft let the world know that it's sold 5 million Xbox One consoles since launching back in November of last year. That's a strong start, expecially compared to the Xbox 360, the latter of which saw 60 percent fewer sales during the same time period when it launched many moons ago. However, Xbox One console shipments haven't been keeping up with Sony's PlayStation 4, which has notched 7 million unit sales to date.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sales contributed to a 118 percent jump in semi-custom SoC revenue
Propped up by next-generation console launches by Microsoft (Xbox One) and Sony (PlayStation 4), AMD today announced first quarter revenue $1.4 billion, which is a decrease of 12 percent sequentially but up a whopping 28 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. Unfortunately for AMD, the jump in revenue still amounted to a $20 million loss, or $0.03 per share, though the Sunnyvale chip designer feels good about where it's at.
A potential solution to rising smartphone theft is still a year away
It's easy to take for granted how much your smartphone is worth. You may have picked one up for free or not much more than that by agreeing to lock yourself into a two-year service agreement with a wireless carrier, but despite the subsidized price you paid, smartphones are worth several hundred dollars. It's no wonder that thieves stole around 3.1 million smartphones in U.S. last year.
Eurocom's latest laptop is an ultraportable that starts at $825
Most of the time when we receive word of a new system offering from Eurocom, it's a desktop replacement-class laptop with all the bells and whistles, and price tag to match. This time around, Eurocom dropped us a line to let us know about its new Electra 2, a thin and light ultraportable that starts out at $825. It comes standard with a 15.6-inch Full HD 1080p IPS display and Intel Core i5 4200M (Haswell) processor clocked at 2.5GHz (3.10GHz Turbo).
Declining hardware sales and expensive layoffs hurt IBM's bottom line
It was another rough quarter for IBM, which reported a drop in revenue. That marks eight quarters in a row of revenue declines. For the first quarter of 2014, IBM's total revenues reached $22.5 billion, down 4 percent from the first quarter of 2013. On the plus side, IBM is still making a profit -- $2.4 billion in Q1 2014, though even that figure is marred by the fact that it's down 21 percent year-over-year.
Infants raised on iPads have trouble using building blocks, teachers say
Maybe parents should rethink giving their children a tablet this holiday shopping season, especially if their lifestyle makes it difficult to limit use to such devices. Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers are speaking out against overexposure to tablets, warning that a growing number of infants aren't developing the proper motor skills to play with building blocks due to their "addiction" to tablet PCs and smartphones.
An all-in-one keyboard with an integrated touchpad
It's been 20 years since Microsoft released its first keyboard. Called the "Microsoft Natural Keyboard," the Redmond outfit went after the ergonomic category with a curved design intended to reduce or prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and other stress injuries associated with typing at awkward angles. Two decade later, Microsoft is adding to its peripherals line with the All-in-One Media Keyboard (N9Z-00001).
Google made available its Glass Explorer program to the general public for a single day on April 15, and while we don't know how many of the $1,500 wearable devices it managed to sell, we do know that the "Cotton White" (white) version proved most popular. That color option sold completely out by mid-day, so anyone who purchased a Glass device afterwards had to choose from Charcoal (black), Tangerine (orange), Shale (gray), or Powder Blue (light blue). Now that the sale is done and over with, what comes next for Google Glass?
As Intel's Haswell refresh looms, Asus and other mobo players look to other areas to boost profits
Intel is getting ready to refresh its Haswell platform, and when that happens, it should spark some sales in the motherboard industry. Motherboard makers should also get a boost from XP users looking to upgrade their ancient boxes. Despite these market drivers, however, word on the web is that Asus and other motherboard players have begun pushing their other products much more aggressively in hopes of pulling in a bigger profit.
Earnings report sends Intel's stock soaring to a 52-week high
Talk is cheap at the end of the day, so despite doomsayers predicting the demise of the PC, Intel's sales and revenue proved those notions wrong. Intel, the largest semiconductor company in the world, beat out analyst expectations by reporting first quarter revenue of $12.8 billion, operating income of $2.5 billion, net income of $1.9 billion, and earnings per share of 38 cents.


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CHPA, Healthy Advice Networks partner to develop PSA regarding cough-cold medicines
CINCINNATI Healthy Advice Networks, a provider of physician office-based, patient-education programs, earlier this week announced a partnership with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to deliver a public service announcement to remind parents about the safe use of children’s over-the-counter cough-cold remedies.
The PSA features Chandra Wilson, a mother of three and star of ABC’s Emmy Award-winning “Grey’s Anatomy,” that has reached nearly 102 million consumers and 8,300 physicians’ offices this cough-cold season through three of Healthy Advice’s patient-education networks — the Primary Care Network, Women’s Health Network and Healthy Advice for Children.
CHPA’s television PSA provided the foundation for in-office digital screen programming about children’s cough-and-cold medicine safety in the waiting rooms of 18,488 primary care and women’s health physicians. Additionally, to reinforce the message to parents at the beginning of cough-cold season, the print ad appeared as a billboard campaign in the exam rooms of 6,400 pediatricians and in a takeaway Healthy Advice Cold and Flu brochure.
“We wanted to remind parents that OTC medicines, like all medicines, are serious medicines and need to be used carefully-especially when giving medicine to children,” stated Linda Suydam, CHPA president. “Healthy Advice Networks was the perfect partner to deliver this message because of their excellent reputation for respected and credible health information. Their extensive reach gives us the ability to educate a large universe of consumers and impact them when and where they are most focused on their child’s health — in the family physician’s office.”
Lansinoh, Teva make donations for Haiti earthquake relief
ALEXANDRIA, Va. A supplier of breast-feeding products and a drug maker are participating in providing relief to Haiti following a devestating earthquake that struck the country last week.
Lansinoh donated $10,000 to UNICEF in support of the organization’s disaster relief efforts, while Teva contributed more than $7 million in medicine to benefit earthquake victims in Haiti.
UNICEF was chosen for its support of breast-feeding in emergency situations, Lansinoh said.
“Breast-feeding support is crucial right now for the people of Haiti,” said Gina Ciagne, certified lactation counselor and director, breast-feeding and consumer relations with Lansinoh. “Breast-feeding is a safe, sanitary and reliable food source for the thousands of infants in danger. The devastation in Haiti calls for relief workers to support mothers in breast-feeding their babies, and protect them from disease and risk of malnourishment.”
- Breast milk is the ideal food for the healthy growth and development of children. It provides valuable protection from infections, which is all the more important in environments lacking adequate water supply and sanitation.
- Feeding such breast-milk substitutes as infant formula during emergencies offers no immune protection against diseases and poses health risks because mothers have to depend on the quality and supply of formula, water and fuel for preparation and cleaning of feeding bottles.
- Mothers also should be aware that they can increase their milk supply and relactate after having stopped breast-feeding.
“Our hearts go out to the tens of thousands of devastated Haitians,” said Gary Downing, CEO of Lansinoh. “We’re encouraging others to donate what they can to UNICEF and the Haiti disaster relief efforts. There is no better time to make a small sacrifice for those who are in need.”
Meanwhile, Teva said it is working with several of its nongovernmental organization partners to ensure these drugs are delivered to Haiti without delay.
“As a company, Teva was devastated to hear about the earthquake, and our hearts and thoughts go out to the country of Haiti,” said Shlomo Yanai, Teva’s president and CEO. “Working with our partners, we are providing essential medical products to assist in the relief efforts.”
Former Hershey executive joins PBM Products
GORDONSVILLE, Va. PBM Products, an infant formula company that supplies store-brand infant formulas to Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens and other retailers, announced the hiring of a former Hershey executive.
Thomas Hernquist was appointed PBM’s new EVP foods, liquids and U.S. marketing. Most recently, he served as SVP and global chief growth officer at Hershey. In that capacity, he was responsible for companywide strategic plans, global brand marketing and innovation, research and development, acquisition strategy, and corporate social responsibility. In addition, Hernquist currently is the chairman of the board for the American Marketing Association.
“The growth of private label in the United States is staggering,” PBM CEO Paul Manning said. “When a seasoned national-brand marketer like Tom switches gears to market store-brand nutritional products, you know that a transformation is happening across the country.”


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- The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Shopify and China Construction Bank
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Shopify and China Construction Bank
Zacks Equity Research. Zacks. Tue, 21 Sep 2021 11:52:00 GMT.
- Farmers market staple Obour Foods opens first brick-and-mortar location in Ferry Building
The San Francisco-based brand was started in 2017 by a former analyst for HP who decided to turn his experiments in the kitchen into a full-fledged company.
Alex Barreira. American City Business Journals. Tue, 31 Aug 2021 20:37:15 +0000.
- As homebuilder stocks sell off, analyst lays out key level to watch
Homebuilder stocks sell off after sentiment weakened and Home Depot disappointed with comparable sales. J.C. O'Hara of MKM Partners shares one level to watch.
CNBC. Tue, 17 Aug 2021 22:54:27 GMT.
- Housing Data Mixed for June: Swoon on the Way?
Housing Starts rose +6.3% month over month, better than expected, while Building Permits were -5.1% from analyst estimates.
Mark Vickery. Zacks. Tue, 20 Jul 2021 14:26:00 GMT.
- What We Get Wrong About Building Rapport, According To An Expert.
How do you build quick connection with strangers? It's not about small talk. I spoke with expert conversational analyst Dr. Elizabeth Stokoe to find out what rapport really is.
By Tanya Tarr, Senior Contributor. Forbes. Wed, 30 Jun 2021 21:46:22 -0400.
- Tesla Could Build A Factory In Russia, Analyst Slashes Price Target
According to Bloomberg, CEO Elon Musk told attendees at a conference in Moscow that the automaker is looking into constructing a production hub in Russia.
Michelle Jones. Entrepreneur. Tue, 25 May 2021 15:31:17 GMT.
- Is Amazon Building The Next Generation Bank?
Analyst Melody Brue examines whether or not traditional banking institutions should be worried about Amazon's financial ambitions.
By Melody Brue, Contributor. Forbes. Fri, 30 Apr 2021 12:04:10 -0400.
- ISIS attempting to build chemical weapons
ISIS is looking into developing and deploying chemical weapons. Fmr. Deputy National Security Advisor and CBS News senior national security analyst Juan Zarate joins CBSN to discuss.
CBS News. Sat, 10 Apr 2021 16:33:10 -0400.
- Boohoo may be forced to shift 40% of its production overseas
Credit Suisse analyst Szilvia Bor said the fast-fashion group may need to make considerable changes to its business model as it works to rebuild its reputation.
Daily Mail. Fri, 17 Jul 2020 21:12:26 GMT.
- Row over Turkish monument 'a test for the country's future'
A court battle over the use of an ancient building in Turkey is being seen as a test of the future direction of the country, an analyst says.
Sky News. Wed, 01 Jul 2020 11:41:00 +0100.
The word analyst is a noun. Analyst means (1) a licensed practitioner of psychoanalysis, (2) someone who is skilled at analyzing data, (3) an expert who studies financial data (on credit or securities or sales or financial patterns etc.) and recommends appropriate business actions.
Copyright © 2012-2021 Construction-News.org. All rights reserved.


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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
The Superstore Challenge
Following the recent successful community campaign to keep Wal-Mart out of Inglewood, Los Angeles continues to move ahead in the effort to mitigate the “Wal-Mart effect.”
Thirteen of the fifteen members of the Los Angeles City Council support a proposed law that calls for certain superstores to perform additional fiscal and social due diligence. If it passes on Tuesday, the ordinance will require an economic study that “would forecast whether a proposed store would eliminate jobs, depress wages or harm neighborhood businesses in many parts of the city,” according to the L.A Times. Retail environments larger than 100,000 square feet with 10% of the space dedicated to nontaxable merchandise would be held to this development condition.
The complexities and paradoxes of globalized retailing once again reveal themselves. Opposing sides are pleased with this measure. While Council members, labor groups, and progressive activists tout the ordinance, Wal-Mart also sees it as a potential victory. From Wal-Mart's POV, this law is preferable to what could have been a far stricter regulatory measure. The outright ban against large-scale retailers in low income communities that Councilmen Ed Reyes and Eric Garcetti initially introduced was thwarted, and instead evolved into the proposal currently on the table.
We'll soon know if city residents will be able to get their hands on the latest Mary-Kate and Ashley fashions at nearby future locations. If not, the South L.A. store will remain the lone Wal-Mart outpost within Los Angeles city limits.
Cruise off the highway and hit locally-known spots for some tasty bites.
Fentanyl and other drugs fuel record deaths among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County. From 2019 to 2021, deaths jumped 70% to more than 2,200 in a single year.
This fungi isn’t a “fun guy.” Here’s what to do if you spot or suspect mold in your home.
Donald Trump was a fading TV presence when the WGA strike put a dent in network schedules.
Edward Bronstein died in March 2020 while officers were forcibly taking a blood sample after his detention.
A hike can be a beautiful backdrop as you build your connection with someone.


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Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2's planned summer content update, Trouble in Zombopolis: Part One, is now available on PS4, Xbox One and Origin, EA has announced.
Included in the update is Zombopolis, the biggest zombie city the development team has created so far.
"In the streets of Zombopolis, Dr. Zomboss and the zombies are plotting to build a Mega Zombot that, when charged, may put the fate of plant-kind in grave danger," explains creative director Justin Wiebe.
"We're also introducing two crazy new characters, Toxic Citron and Breakfast Brainz. Toxic Citron must emerge from the shadows of toxicity to save the plants from Dr. Zomboss, but before he does that, he must defeat the watchful bacon-caped crusader - Breakfast Brainz."
Check out the launch trailer below.


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* CVS says stores had nothing to gain from selling pills
* US govt cracking down on prescription pain killer abuse
By Ian Simpson
ARLINGTON, Va, April 25 (Reuters) - A federal hearing began on Wednesday on whether to bar two CVS Caremark Corp drugstores in Florida from selling potentially addictive painkillers as part of a government crackdown on prescription pain pills, especially oxycodone.
The CVS drugstores, both in Sanford, ranked 23rd and 37th respectively among the thousands of U.S. pharmacies for distribution of oxycodone, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) district supervisor Gayle Lane told the court.
The DEA has increased its focus on drug wholesalers and pharmacies as it tries to battle what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call a prescription drug abuse "epidemic." Deaths from narcotic painkillers now top those of heroin and cocaine combined.
A pharmacist at one store told investigators in October 2011 that sometimes the store would run out of oxycodone as soon as 30 minutes after opening at 8 a.m and most days between 10 a.m. and noon, DEA investigator Heather Wehrle testified.
"He stated he could fill oxycodone prescriptions all day long if he had the manpower and the inventory," Wehrle said.
The DEA has alleged that the two stores, about 30 miles (48 km) south of Orlando, were inappropriately filling prescriptions for oxycodone, which can be highly addictive, and also had suspicious sales of other controlled substances.
The hearing before Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney II is expected to run through the end of next week, with a decision to follow later.
CVS has contended that the high volume of oxycodone and other prescription painkillers from the two stores arose because they were busy pharmacies, being close to Interstate Highway 4, and one store was open 24 hours a day.
The hearing follows a move by the DEA to prevent the two CVS pharmacies in Florida from selling controlled substances and to suspend Cardinal Health Inc's license to distribute controlled substances from its plant in Lakeland, Florida. The companies also are fighting the orders in court.
NOTHING TO GAIN
CVS attorney Catherine O'Neil told Mulrooney the two stores had effective controls in place, such as taking hours to verify prescriptions, and had installed new guidelines in October 2011.
The company also has replaced the chief pharmacists at the stores.
She said employees had no incentive to sell painkillers, adding, "They had nothing to gain and everything to lose if they failed to meet their obligations."
DEA group supervisor Ruth Carter said her checks with Cardinal Health, which supplies oxycodone, had shown that Cardinal had shipped 7.5 million pills to the two CVS stores over 36 months.
Carter said records at the two stores showed that they consistently were filling "prescription cocktails" - a mix of oxycodone and anti-anxiety drugs and muscle relaxers -- with the same diagnosis of lower back, or lumbar, pain.
The DEA has suspended Cardinal Health's license to distribute controlled substances - drugs that are liable to abuse - from its plant in Lakeland, Florida.
Florida has long been considered the center of prescription drug abuse. Susan Langston, the acting DEA manager overseeing the diversion of prescription drugs in Florida, testified that 98 of the top 100 doctors prescribing oxycodone in the United States were in Florida, and more of the painkiller was dispensed in the state than the rest of the country combined.
The DEA this month said it was inspecting six Walgreen Co pharmacies and its distribution center in Florida after the agency noticed a jump in purchases of oxycodone.


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UK retailer Tesco is to enter the Indian market, five years after many of its biggest rivals, in a joint venture with local partner Tata.
Tesco’s slow move into the Indian subcontinent may be, in part, due to strict foreign investment rules which do not allow overseas supermarket chains to operate as retailers, resulting in many big retail chains, including Wal-Mart and Carrefour, forming strategic alliances with local partners in order to operate as wholesalers.
Tesco will invest $120m in building three wholesale outlets – the first of which will be launched in Mumbai next year – and sell its hypermarket expertise to Tata, which will act as a retailer for Tesco’s products.
Tesco already employs 3000 Indian employees at its service centre in Bangalore. The new agreement is expected to generate additional local employment, according to Tesco’s international director Philip Clarke.
“We believe the only way to be tuned in to the needs of the market we serve is to recruit local talent. Tesco has already invested $4.3m in setting up a campus which provides IT, financial and business services to the entire Tesco Group,” he said.
While Tesco has significant services operations in India, the government only allows 100% ownership of retail stores when companies solely sell products under their own name, such as Marks & Spencer and Gucci.
Tesco is the last of its rivals to enter the Indian market. A McKinsey report issued in September estimated that India would become a $450bn retail market by 2015, compared with the Indian government’s current estimate of $322bn, and that organised retail would increase its market share from 5% to between 14% and 18%.
The firm’s global expansion strategy has been measured compared with its competition and the retailer has made the decision not to follow rivals Auchan, Metro and Wal-Mart into the Russian market. Instead Tesco is focusing on expansion into India, China and the US.
But despite selecting relatively safe business environments, international expansion still carries risks. Tesco’s rapidly expanding US Fresh & Easy grocery business is facing a formal call for union recognition from its workforce, following organising efforts by the United Food and Commercial Workers, the largest US grocery union.


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Although earlier hints from Cadillac suggested that there may not be a second generation successor to the Cadillac ELR, General Motors Company’s [NYSE:GM] premium division goes ahead and releases and updated version for the 2016 Cadillac ELR with more power and better technology overall.
The old ELR wasn’t a bad looking car at all, but it did need some minor tweaks in styling here and there and thus it received some, but that was basically a new grille and a crest logo. The big news comes in the powertrain that gives this lovely luxury coupe its power. How much? The previous engine produced 207 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.. This has been upped to 233 hp and 373 lb-ft of torque which isn’t substantial but just enough. These slight increases in performance happened due to software upgrades to the battery system which increased the ELR’S electric drive system output.
You did know that the 2016 Cadillac ELR is just another extension to the electric car range of Chevrolet and Cadillac right? A 1.4 liter-four-cylinder engine charging the car’s battery to power the electric system on board which powers the front wheels only.
This means power and econonmy, how about 39 miles of range and a fuel economy rating of 85 mpge which means the new 2016 Cadillac ELR can cover 330 miles before it runs out of battery juice. 0-60 mph happens in just 6.4 seconds which is miles better than the previous 7.9 seconds. Top speed gets a bump and is now raised to 130 mph with the available performance package that gets you additional upgrades like; better tires, brakes and an uprated sports suspension. Don’t want that top speed? Then you can settle for the measly 106 mph, since the 2016 Cadillac ELR’s curb weight is 4,065 lbs (1843 kg), considering the battery alone weighs 432.5 lbs.
Since we are getting into the age of batteries and electric cars, you might want to know it takes up to 4-5 hours to full charge the 2016 Cadillac ELR’s 17.1 kWh lithium-ion batter considering you used a 240 Volt outlet, that increases to 13 hours with a standard 120 Volt outlet. The car can also charge the batteries using the 1.4 L engine and regenerative braking which can be controlled via paddles behind the steering wheel (make sure you use all of it..)
Expect the 2016 Cadillac ELR to sell at $65,995 which is $10,000 less than the previous generation ELR which is a major upside. Would you spend that much money for an electric semi sport luxury coupe?


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Win a birthday party at Assembly Chef’s Hall Chef's Party
Toronto's sprawling new food hall Assembly Chef’s Hall is hosting another Chef's Party this September. Want to go? We've teamed up with them to give you a chance to win a special birthday experience at the next party on September 15.
Check out all the contest details here.
Join the conversation
How pudding that looks like ramen became Toronto's newest food craving
Toronto is getting an outdoor pumpkin patch with food and drinks next month
Brewery that supports clean drinking water opening in Toronto
Toronto's prettiest brunch spot has officially closed and this is what's taking its place
Toronto is getting its first location of a popular all-day breakfast restaurant
Toronto's beloved cookbook store that closed in 2018 has surprisingly reopened
Doug Ford is promoting Tim Hortons again and people have thoughts
Markham is getting the first Canadian location of a 100-year-old noodle chain


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EH STAFF – New Delhi
TripAdvisor has declared the results of the TripAdvisor Industry Index with findings about hospitality trends for India and around the world. With more than 25,000 responses from hoteliers around the globe, the Asia Pacific region accounted for slightly over a fifth of the entire sample and India formed the largest segment of this region with just over 1,500 respondents.
As much as 50 per cent of Asia-Pacific respondents reported optimism about the economy for the remainder of the year believing the economy would improve. The report further shows that hoteliers in Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America were twice as likely to report being profitable in the last six months than hoteliers in the EMEA(Europe Middle East and Africa) region who are the least optimistic about the future.
Indonesia and India have the highest proportion of respondents in Asia Pacific reporting their business as extremely profitable (six per cent for both areas) or very profitable (38 per cent for Indonesia and 29 per cent for India) in the last six months. India shows optimism with the highest proportion of businesses in APAC that expect the economy to improve in the next six months. Sixty-six per cent respondents support the claim that the economy will improve a little/lot in the second half of 2012.The positive business outlook also seems to be evident from the staffing plans in second half of 2012, as India ranks highest globally among all countries surveyed, for staff turnover based on increased staff levels. While most respondents in APAC reported that there would be no change in their staffing levels in the next six months, respondents in India were more likely to increase their staff (39 per cent), followed by Thailand (31 per cent) and Indonesia (30 per cent).