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Back in January, right before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, Brooklyn-based fashion label Vaquera faced a threatening financial crisis. To the public, all seemed well — stores were placing orders on the latest collections and media outlets shared high acclaim for their recent fashion shows — but behind closed doors, the brand's budgets were stretched to a breaking point. Its lead designers, Patric DiCaprio, Claire Sullivan and Bryn Taubensee were unsure if they would even be able to stage their next runway that February.
Just as the brand's future was looking dim, a last-minute offer gave the Vaquera team a glimmer of hope. Dover Street Market New York asked the designers to show their Fall 2020 collection at its Murray Hill store, where attendees stood around the garment racks and watched each of the looks weave their way through in-store displays.
The makeshift show proved to be a life-saving success, and now, Dover Street Market has established a long-term relationship with Vaquera, signing the design house onto its Paris-based alternative luxury group.
"I've always been interested in them," Adrian Joffe, chief executive officer of Dover Street Market and president of Comme des Garçons International, told The Cut. "We are delighted to welcome them to the family." (DSMP is owned by Comme des Garçons.)
Several emerging brands already folded into the Dover Street Market Paris incubator program — including Paccbet, Youths in Balaclava, Liberal Youth Ministry, and Eli Russell Linnetz and Honey Fucking Dijon — operate under individual business relationships and receive aid in brand development and production.
For Vaquera, DSMP will take care of its international sales and control the majority of its production and distribution; however, the brand will remain fully independent — it's a partnership, not an acquisition.
A lifeline for Vaquera, Dover Street's involvement will allow the brand to flourish once again, and plans for the unveiling of its Spring 2021 collection are already in full swing. Stay tuned.
Photo via Getty
- RIP: Vaquera Threw a Funeral for New York - PAPER ›
- Vaquera Model's Angsty Walk Goes Viral - PAPER ›
- Vaquera's 'Everything Must Go' ›
- Vaquera Kicks Off Instagram Butt Challenge in New York City - PAPER ›


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Bare Beauty Loft opens in Landrum
Published 8:00 am Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Landrum natives open new business
LANDRUM––Bare Beauty Loft opened a second location in Landrum.
Owners Maya Barren and Lexi Brannon opened their first location of Bare Beauty Loft in Spartanburg in February 2021. Barren and Brannon, both Landrum natives, have been friends for years and decided to merge their businesses. Barren owned a lash studio, and Brannon owned a vanity facial bar.
Together, they combined their specialties and opened Bare Beauty Loft in Spartanburg and more recently, Landrum. Barren and Brannon both desired to open a business in their hometown and saw a need for a beauty loft in Landrum.
Bare Beauty Loft offers hair and skin products, body waxing, lash extensions, facials, brow shaping, teeth whitening, spray tans, and more.
Hours are Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

domain: news


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The disputed domain names included, www01-natwestt.com, www02-nattwest.com, www02-natwestt.com, www03-natwestt.com, www04-natwestt.com, www05-natwestt.com, www06-natwestt.com, www07-nattwest.com, and www3-nattwestt.com.
NatWest explained that the infringing domains resolved to websites identical to its own and "display only minor, sequential changes”.
The websites used the same design, colour scheme, pictures and text, in an effort to confuse users and steal their personal information, according to NatWest
The original registrant did not respond to the complaint.
Sole panellist Clive Elliott said the registrant used “purposeful misspellings” of NatWest’s domains and that this amounted to typosquatting.
Elliott also discovered evidence of bad faith, finding that the registrant was “using the domain names to take bad faith advantage of Internet users who may wish to communicate with or use [NatWest] banking and related services and that these Internet users are likely to be attracted to the said pages or landing sites or other online presence and be misled as to their origins, sponsorship or association”.
The UK bank has held the NatWest trademark since 1973 and has rights in the UK, EU, Canada and the US.


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The sky may be the actual limit when it comes to what types of transportation we can electrify. We know electrification is a great fit for passenger vehicles. But trucking and aviation are iffy for battery electric transport, as the weight of the battery doesn’t work so well for powering long-distance trips.
But short-haul trips may be another matter. A company in the United Kingdom wants to electrify short plane trips from places like London to Paris and Amsterdam, per the Guardian:
Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s chief executive, said the aerospace industry would follow the lead of the automotive industry in developing electric engines that would cut emissions and noise.
“For the first time in my career I can envisage a future without jet fuel and we are excited to be part of it,” she said. “It is now more a matter of when, not if, a short-haul electric plane will fly.”
The airline said it was the next step in making the airline less harmful for the environment, after cutting carbon emissions per passenger kilometre by 31% between 2000 and 2016.
Wright Electric claims that electric planes will be 50% quieter and 10% cheaper for airlines to buy and operate, with the cost saving potentially passed on to passengers.
It’s pretty amazing to imagine the reduction in noise and air pollution from electric airplanes. Like trucking, other fuels will be needed for long trips (ideally low-carbon biofuels). But short-haul electric flights may be an idea ready to take off soon.


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McLean, Virginia – Manufacturing technology orders saw year-over-year gains for the third consecutive month in October 2016, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Report from AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. Orders for the month were valued at $335.48 million, up 0.2% compared to the same month last year. Year to date, orders are down 5.6% compared to the same point in 2015.
Orders have begun to emerge gradually from the trough seen through most of 2016, and other signs indicate that the manufacturing economy is improving, albeit slowly. Housing starts grew 25.5% in October, a good sign for manufacturers who make appliances, cars, and electronics. Additionally, the November 2016 PMI from the Institute for Supply Management was 53.2, indicating expansion in manufacturing, and factory output improved slightly in October. However, global trade remains largely stagnant.
“It’s certainly welcome to see signs of recovery for manufacturing overall, but marked improvement for manufacturing technology orders is not forecast until the second quarter of 2017,” said AMT President Douglas K. Woods. “Unless manufacturers feel pressed on capacity, they aren’t likely to make substantial capital investments in machinery and equipment. Those signs of gradual improvement and increased utilization rates are emerging, albeit slowly.”
Month over month, order value dropped 32.9% compared to September 2016, which accounted for high order volume generated by IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show. Year-to-date orders for 2016 stand at $3,244.07 million. USMTO data is a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing companies invest in capital metalworking equipment.
The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO)
The United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) report These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals of actual data reported by companies participating in the USMTO program. This report, compiled by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Analysis of manufacturing technology orders provides a reliable leading economic indicator as manufacturing industries invest in capital metalworking equipment to increase capacity and improve productivity.
About AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology
AMT represents U.S.-based builders and distributors of manufacturing technology – the advanced machinery, devices, and digital equipment that U.S. manufacturing relies on to be productive, innovative, and competitive. Located in McLean, Virginia, near the nation’s capital, AMT acts as the industry’s voice to speed the pace of innovation, increase global competitiveness and develop manufacturing’s advanced workforce of tomorrow. With extensive expertise in industry data and intelligence, as well as a full complement of international business operations, AMT offers its members an unparalleled level of support. AMT also produces IMTS – The International Manufacturing Technology Show, the premier manufacturing technology event in North America.
IMTS – International Manufacturing Technology Show
The largest and longest running manufacturing technology trade show in the United States is held every other year at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. IMTS 2018 will run Sept. 10-15. IMTS is ranked among the largest trade shows in the world. Recognized as one of the world’s preeminent stages for introducing and selling manufacturing equipment and technology, IMTS attracts more than 114,000 visitors from every level of industry and more than 112 countries. IMTS is owned and managed by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology.


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Wayfair, one of the largest online home furnishings retailers, has signed a deal for an additional 170,000 square feet of office space at Copley Place in Boston’s Back Bay.
Last year, the company, which is based at 177 Huntington Ave., signed an initial lease for 105,000 square feet at Copley Place with plans for a June 2014 move-in date. But following a year of growth and expansion, Wayfair now requires additional square footage to accommodate its 1,100 Boston employees in the headquarters relocation, the company said. Wayfair’s new office space totals 275,000 square feet.
Copley Place is a mixed-use complex with 845,000 square feet of Class A office space in four towers. On site amenities include 75 shops, two hotels, and 1,500 parking spaces.
Simon has plans for a $500 million expansion that would add nearly 800,000 square feet to the Copley Place complex with an expanded Neiman Marcus and a 52-story tower that would include 109 condos and 433 apartments.
Transwestern/RBJ represented both sides of the transaction.


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In New York City, fitness studios are like restaurants: you have your go-tos, the top-reviewed places you’re willing to spend your dollars on, the hidden gems, the spots your friends drag you to,
Fitness trackers are all the rage, and now your kids can get in on the fun, too. Today, Garmin announced its new vivofit jr fitness trackers just for kids. The band tracks steps, sleep and how long your little one has been active. The vivofit jr shares … ... Pocket-lint.com ... TechCrunch ..
Dave Whelan, the former JJB Sports owner, has sealed the acquisition of Fitness First UK in a deal that is worth an estimated £70 million. The entrepreneur’s DW Sports group, which runs 78 clubs under the DW Fitness brand, is acquiring 62 Fitness First … ..
But not only was the 25-year-old the only member from Mandopop star and judge-mentor Jay Chou’s team to get through, he also emerged the front runner of the six finalists named on last night’s episode aired on Zhejiang TV. Individual scores were … ... The Straits Times ... TODAYonline ... Mothership.sg (registration)
Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik switched off their street lights for an hour on Wednesday (Sept 28) to give residents and visitors an unforgettable view of the Aurora Borealis. The city council ordered street lights to be turned off for an hour in … ... CDA News ..
When US presidential candidate Donald Trump called a 19-year-old beauty queen names back in 1997, he probably never thought it would come back to haunt him. But Venezuelan beauty Alicia Machado, who won the Miss Universe Crown in 1996, has got … ... Channel NewsAsia ... USA TODAY ..
AsiaOne It is a shame the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Balestier Road, mostly used as a landmark by pedestrians to find their bearings, is often overlooked as a destination. After all, the pre-war Art Deco building has interesting features,
Rihanna came dangerously close to a full blown nip slip at Paris Fashion Week today, risking all in a plunging dress. The star joined more famous faces at the Dior Show, wearing a cut-out white patterned mini dress,
New Atlas ... Mars has as much land area as our own Earth, so we should have more than a few options when it comes to choosing a settlement site, right?(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona). View gallery – 8 images. Assuming that SpaceX can refuel an orbiting … ... Christian Science Monitor ... Daily Mail ... UPI.com ... – ... – ...


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Image via Marvel
Marvel's Avengers launched more than a year ago and later this month everyone’s favorite neighborhood hero Spider-Man will be joining the game for those on PlayStation, however, fans are not satisfied.
Many have been waiting for Spider-Man to join the roster of this game that already boasts so many iconic Marvel heroes, however, the character’s execution has disappointed some fans. .
Earlier this week, the first gameplay footage of Spider-Man in Marvel's Avengers was introduced, and fans quickly took to social media to criticize the way the character looked “dull” while surfing the web.
Of course, Spider-Man is known for his ability to move quickly by swinging from a spider’s web but in this game, things look a bit grotesque and not as smooth as we’ve seen in previous Spider-Man games. this. Since Spider-Man is not the focal point of this game, it’s unlikely that the mechanic will look as slick as it has been lately. Spider-Man PS4 But that didn’t stop fans from being disappointed.
Spider-Man will be participating Marvel's Avengers on November 30, and it’s not just the web rotation that annoys fans. At the time of replenishment, no new story quests will be added Marvel's Avengers. In the past, with the addition of new characters, there have been coincidental quests, but despite his popularity, Spider-Man has not received this treatment.
For now, Spider-Man is a PlayStation exclusive character that you can choose from next week.


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The Bookseller reports that literary agents in Britain are steering clients away new deals with Random House UK over different royalty schemes offered to authors based on their sales potential. Lower-selling authors are being offered between 17.5 percent and 20 percent royalties on e-books compared the emerging standard royalty of 25 percent for electronic editions.
A publisher wishing to build a stable of successful authors should not begin the relationship by offering them less than a “proven” author for electronic rights, because the inventory risks are lower with e-books and, more importantly, the authors’ online efforts on behalf of new books can produce far greater results than traditional marketing. If publishers are concerned about sinking costs into the paper publication of new books, they should start the titles out on an e-book and on-demand release and make decisions about paper editions based on the success of these less costly editions.
By “stupidity” in the headline, I mean a lack of judgment.


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• Borro lends against super value Hermes handbags
• Average handbag loan is £9,000
• £210,000 loaned against designer handbags since December 2013
On the day of the Hermes fashion show at Paris Fashion Week, Borro, the UK’s leading personal asset lender, reveals a number of their clients are using luxury bags from the designer as collateral for loans.
In response to popular demand, Borro launched its service offering loans against handbags from the classic French fashion house Hermes in December 2013 and since then, business has blossomed.
Just last week, a client in London bought a Hermes blue crocodile skin Birkin bag, with a value of £40,000 new, to Borro and secured a £16,500 loan, while in the US, Borro worked with one client to lend $30,000 against another Hermes crocodile Birkin bag. These types of loans are not unusual as Borro has seen other clients borrow £12,500 for school fees against a burgundy crocodile Hermes Birkin bag, and another who borrowed £10,500 against a slate grey crocodile Birkin.
Since launching this proposition in December last year, the lender has issued £210,000 against designer bags, with an average loan value of £9,000. Using both its in-house valuation experts, as well as external third party valuers, Borro authenticates and values the handbags, and offers clients up to 60 per cent of the market value of the bag based on its condition and age, as well as market desirability.
Samantha Lilley, director of valuations at borro, commented:
“The classic designer bag is very collectable, especially to the fashionista. The Hermes Birkin bag in particular is exceptionally sought after, but buyer beware – there are myriad fakes and replicas flooding the market, from the primitive to the exquisite. Provenance is imperative when purchasing so always buy from authentic dealers and respected auction houses.”
Paul Aitken, founder and CEO of borro, added:
“The luxury handbag market is not only high growth, but a global market that is synonymous with our wealthy clientele. We decided to add high end handbags to our asset classes to match demand for loans against these assets, and have seen clients capitalise on the service ever since. One came to us with a vintage Chanel 2.55 handbag which she used to secure funds for launching her own online business. All the handbags we lend against are checked and authenticated by an internal and external authority to make sure they are the genuine article, and if possible we ask for proof of purchase too.”


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Intel shows off its tech horsepower, revealing more details about its upcoming 45 nm CPU generation: Penryn, a processor core that will replace the current 65 nm Core 2 processors, uses a new transistor technology to boost performance and reduce power consumption. The Penryn quad-core will carry a stunning 820 million transistors.
A-Data, a Taiwanese memory and peripheral company, has shown off prototypes of an upcoming solid-state drive for ExpressCard, IDE and SATA interfaces. Mainly built for notebook computers, the drives have capacities of 32, 64 and 128 GB.
Silicon Systems, a provider of commercial solid state storage solutions, today added a 1.8" flash hard drive to its existing 2.5" line of products. The new drive is available with a capacity of up to 16 GB.
Seagate claims to have developed the world's fastest hard drive: The new Savvio 15K expands the existing 2.5" SAS enterprise hard drive series with two 15,000 rpm models. According to Seagate, the drive will not only increase the storage performance in rackserver environments but provide greater power efficiency and reliability as well.
Intel informed system builders that it is phasing out its remaining three 90 nm Pentium 4 600-series processors.
The production volume of Intel's quad-core processors is still very limited, but the company hopes to deliver a total of one million Kentsfield and Clovertown processors by the time AMD announces its first processor with four cores.
Alienware said it "will" launch Intel's second quad-core desktop processor, the 2.4 GHz Core 2 Quad Q6600, on its Area-51 7500 desktop system.
SGI today announced that it will offer Microsoft's Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 on its Altix XE cluster systems based on quad-core and dual-core Intel Xeon processors. The software will be made available beginning in March of this year.
Matrox Graphics has announced its DualHead2Go Digital Edition external multi-display upgrade device featuring digital outputs.
Nvidia announced the latest version of its Preface Personal Media Display platform, a secondary processor and display subsystem that enables users to access information from their notebook or PC when the main system is powered down.
In addition to being one of the top-two optical disc makers in Taiwan, Ritek has extended its presence to the memory business through its RiDATA-branded memory cards and the company is now preparing for volume shipments of its first NAND flash-based solid-state drive (SSD) in the second quarter of 2007, according to company IA planning division manager Richard Lin.
Infiniti announced its second car that will use a 2.5" hard drive to store digital music. The firm's refreshed SUV monster, the QX model, will offer a hard drive as storage unit for digital music as standard equipment for the 2008 model year, which will go on sale in April.
A patch has been released for a vulnerability in the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, a problem rated as "highly critical".
Web users are being urged to upgrade their Adobe reader software as a security flaw is found in older versions of the program.
Shuttle recently announced its Shuttle XPC mini X 200 series small form factor (SFF) PC computers. Similar to models of the X 100 series, the computers measure only 55-mm in height and barely takes up the size of an A4 sheet of paper, according to the company.
Seagate has reacted to rumors that the company may be showing a 1 TB version of its Barracuda 3.5" desktop hard drive at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Roxio, subsidiary of Sonic Solutions, today announced the latest version of its RecordNow CD/DVD burner software. The new software adds a handful of features for music editing and management.
Making an early mark in the green electronics market for the new year, NEC today announced the availability of a solar-powered system that uses energy from the sun with a reduced amount of regular electricity, and is compatible with the entire line of its desktop monitors.
Thermaltake Technology announced the launched of its new line of Purepower RX series ultra-low noise power supplies incorporating the ultra-silent 140 mm fan found on Thermaltake's high-end Toughpower Series power supplies.
Longmont (CO) - Having shipped an apparently small number of holographic storage systems in late 2006 and in the first days of 2007, Inphase today said that it has signed Germany-based DSM as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of its Tapestry drives.


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Thanksgiving has come and gone, and retailers are already hanging the lights and setting up trees. It’s spending season! It can be easy to overspend this time of year, but you don’t have to. Read on for our tips.
More By Désirée Fawn:
Rising back-to-school costs are stretching many household budgets this year as Stats Canada reports the Consumer Price Index has reached 1.3%. Check out these tips for saving, even when things cost more.
Trying to make your family budget work? Desiree Fawn of sofawned.com shares her parent-proven tips for family-wide savings! Check out her special guest post!


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Toronto-based national carrier Rogers has shared its Black Friday 2018 deals with MobileSyrup.
This Black Friday, Canada’s largest carrier is offering a free Lenovo Smart Display unit with the activation of any Android device in every region other than Quebec.
Alternatively, customers who activate a Huawei P20, P20 Pro or Mate 20 Pro will receive a Huawei T3 Media Pad tablet as a free gift.
Lastly, the carrier is offering 4GB of bonus data on a primary line to subscribers who activate a secondary line.
The carrier is offering discounts on a number of premium and flagship Android smartphones:
- Samsung Galaxy S9 from $0 down on a two-year Premium plan
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ from $0 down on a two-year Premium+ plan
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9 from $0 down on a two-year Ultra plan
- Google Pixel 3 from $0 down on a two-year Premium+ plan
- Google Pixel 3 XL from $0 down on a two-year Ultra plan
On the cable side, Rogers is offering a $100 Amazon gift card with purchase of a new cable bundle. Additionally, customers who buy two and three new product bundles will receive a free 12-month subscription to Bell’s new Crave + HBO service. Last but not least, new Ignite TV customers will receive six months free Crave and Super Sports Pack BTL and a $100 Amazon gift card.
Meanwhile, Rogers flanker brand Fido is offering the iPhone 8 for $0 upfront on a two-year Large plan.
Additionally, customers who purchase the Samsung Galaxy A8 on a two-year Fido Medium plan will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.
Finally, Fido is offering a 24-month 4GB bring-your-own-device plan for $50 per month.
Correction: an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Fido was offering 5GB for $50 per month.


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By Emily Hamann
The Bellingham Business Journal
Sometimes inspiration comes from unlikely places. For inventor Mark King, a snorkeling expedition gave rise to a new wallet company.
In August, Trayvax Enterprises wrapped up its second crowdfunding campaign.
The campaign raised $64,235 for a new computer-automated CNC machine which will allow Trayvax to manufacture its latest line of wallets.
The company was born in 2013, after King pitched his original wallet design to the internet in a Kickstarting campaign. That raised almost $45,000.
Since starting the company, the 26-year-old has set out to create a culture that one would expect to find more at a tech start-up than a machining warehouse.
“I come here everyday and I feel like we’re a family,” King said, of his warehouse with around 32 employees.
He offers a book club – employees can get up to a $100 bonus for reading one of the offered books; options range from books on self-improvement and leadership to books on outdoor skills and adventures.
When an employee wants to leave the company, they can get $1500 to do so.
“If somebody doesn’t want to be here, we want to make it easy for them to move on,” King explained.
Building a company with this kind of culture has always been King’s goal.
He had a hard time finding a good fit in college.
He dropped out of both Western Washington University and Whatcom Community College.
It finally clicked when he enrolled in a CNC machining program at Bellingham Technical College.
Through machining, he’s able to turn the ideas he’s always coming up with into physical objects.
“It posed a solution to bringing a product from inception to reality,” he said.
It took a couple of tries before he got his big break. After pitching a number of inventions, King read that General Mills was looking for a new machine that analyzes and tests the texture of chewy granola bars.
He pitched his idea for the machine and it drew the company’s interest.
They flew him and his prototype out to Minneapolis to see it in action.
He used the money from General Mills to buy and set up his manufacturing warehouse in the Irongate neighborhood.
He’s now using that warehouse to make Trayvax wallets.
He got inspiration for that product in an unusual place.
“I was snorkeling in Hawaii and I saw a plastic bag float by me,” he said.
He started thinking of ideas for something people could carry around and collect plastic bags in.
“It ended up being a wallet because you don’t ever forget a wallet,” he said.
It’s especially hard to forget this one. The original Trayvax wallet looks unlike most others – it’s made of two pieces of metal held together with paracord.
It has a carabiner clip, finger grips, a bottle opener and, of course, a pocket for carrying plastic or reusable grocery bags.
After developing the final prototype, King put his last $70 into video editing software, and made a video to put on Kickstarter.
He pitched it as a “wallet for life” for outdoors and industrial use.
He set a fundraising goal of $5,000. He raised $44,312.
The Trayvax Facebook page has almost 350,000 fans, and King said word about his products are mostly spread through word-of-mouth.
“You can’t sell any product unless its worth talking about and worth raving about,” he said.
Trayvax now offers four different models of wallet, plus the recent Contour, which was the focus of the most recent crowdfunding campaign.
But King isn’t stopping with wallets.
He has a dream to expand Trayvax to manufacture all kinds of outdoor equipment.
His dream is for Trayvax to one day have 5,000 employees working to manufacture products made entirely in the USA.
“I think that would do something good for the world,” he said.


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A 3D printer and a 'RecycleBot' are all that one needs to turn waste plastic into 3D printer filament - at home.
By turning plastic jugs into 3D printer filament, one can cover 99 percent cost of buying a new product and help save three percent less energy than what is required in conventional recycling process, a new study shows. A RecycleBot is a waste plastic extruder that creates 3-D printer filament from waste plastic and natural polymers.
"Energy savings skyrocket to 70-80 percent where even conventional recycling programmes are not ideal," said Joshua Pearce, associate professor at Michigan Technological University in the US.
The researchers did a life-cycle analysis on a run-of-the-mill milk jug made from HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic.
After cleaning it and cutting it in pieces, they ran it through an office shredder and a 'RecycleBot'.
The researchers also compared the cost of making your own filament with buying it.
"There's a clear incentive, even if you factor in the cost of buying the RecycleBot," Pearce said. IANS


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Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
August 30, 2006 Wednesday
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff
From Lexis Nexis
In an aggressive bid to boost its broadband Internet offerings, Verizon Communications Inc. this week is launching a free service to let online gamers meet and compete.
The new PlayLinc system will act as a hosting service for several popular online games, including Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament 2004, Battlefield 2, and America’s Army. Gamers who now pay as much as $100 a month to rent game servers from Internet hosting companies can instead run these multiplayer war games for free.
Mitch Dornich, Verizon’s group manager for new product development, said PlayLinc is open to gamers worldwide, even if they don’t subscribe to Verizon’s broadband Internet services. “We think it gives us additional brand exposure,” said Dornich, “and additional validation of the broadband connections we make available to our customers.”
Both Verizon and rival broadband provider Comcast Corp. have already moved into online gaming. The two companies offer Games on Demand, a service that lets subscribers choose from hundreds of games. But Verizon’s move into online hosting could make the company a leader in Internet gaming, a key market for Verizon’s new FIOS high-speed fiber-optic network.
PlayLinc aims to exploit the surging popularity of online gaming. Most games for desktop computers, or consoles like the Microsoft Xbox or Sony PlayStation 2, let two or more people compete against each other. About 6.6 million people worldwide pay around $15 a month to play the online game World of Warcraft. Millions of other gamers subscribe to game hosting services that provide them with private gaming servers. These gamers can form teams or “clans,” then use their rented server to compete against each other or face off against rival clans.
The PlayLinc service, which debuted Monday, comes with software that will display advertising on the user’s computer before and after a game is played. Dornich said that revenue from the ads should offset the cost of providing free game servers.
Michael Cai, Internet analyst for Parks Associates in Dallas, said that Verizon sees online gamers as a crucial market for advanced Internet services. “The core gamer segment is known to be heavy digital media consumers,” said Cai, with a big appetite for digital music and video as well as games. This makes them likely customers for Verizon’s DSL broadband Internet service.
Gamers are also a prime target for Verizon FIOS, the company’s new residential optical fiber network. FIOS is now available to 4.5 million homes and businesses in 16 states.
The service offers up to 2,500 video-on-demand titles and dozens of digital TV channels,
as well as Internet download speeds of up to 30 million bits per second, 10 times faster than Verizon’s 3-megabit DSL service. This superfast broadband service costs $180 a month, but a 15-megabit connection is priced at $45 a month, about the same as the typical cable Internet connection but nearly twice as fast. In fast-action games, players with speedier connections have a better chance to win.
Along with free game hosting, PlayLinc offers an online chat service based on America Online’s popular AIM instant messaging service. It also includes a voice-over-Internet feature that lets players speak to each other during a match, making it easier for clan members to plot strategies.
With so many free features, Cai said Verizon’s new service could pose a threat to the many small companies that sell online game services. “If you can get free service, why are you going to pay $100 a month?” he said.
But Ray Parker, founder of VSK Gaming Servers in St. Louis, isn’t losing any sleep. Parker said that most avid online gamers modify their server software to add new virtual battlefields or weapons. “I’d say 99 percent of our clients customize their servers,” said Parker. Since the PlayLinc servers only support generic versions of the games, Parker believes his clients won’t want to use them.
Verizon officials say that PlayLinc isn’t aimed at hardcore gamers, but people who are just discovering the joys of mutual online destruction.


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There are just 12 days to go before Apple ’s 2018 event, and in the run-up, several rumours have been circulating about what the firm may reveal.
In the latest leak, images of a phone dubbed ‘ iPhone XS ’ and the Apple Watch Series 4 have been posted online by 9to5Mac.
The phone looks almost identical to the current iPhone X , but is slightly larger.
The image also suggests that the iPhone XS could come in a brand new gold colour.
This could tie-in well with the gold press invitation sent out by Apple this week.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 4 appears to have a much larger display that the current models, with a thinner body.
It is unclear where 9to5Mac obtained the photos from, although they look like they could be official marketing materials.
Thankfully, we don’t have long to wait to find out what Apple has in store.
The event will take place in Cupertino, California, on August 12.


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New York's attorney general is suing Sprint for $300 million, claiming the wireless carrier failed to collect and pay sales taxes since 2005, USA Today reports.
Verizon reported far fewer new mobile phone customers in the first quarter compared with a year ago, perhaps signaling a slowdown in the wireless market's growth, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Verizon is promising to put its marketing weight promoting the new Windows phone in hopes of developing a strong competitor to Apple and Google, Reuters reports.
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The market for online casinos in the United States has long been stagnant, but recent approvals to open online casinos to residents of some states, such as Nevada and New Jersey, offered a glimmer of hope for change. With the recent withdrawal of support from the American Gaming Association, there are fears that any progress is now in jeopardy.
The American Gaming Association has been the biggest proponent for opening the doors to legal online gambling in the United States. While many players in the U.S. enjoy slots, table games, and video poker in foreign online casinos that reportedly are earning more than $35 billion per year, those revenues do not benefit the United States. Until recently, the American Gaming Association supported online gambling in the United States saying that a ban only helps those participating in black market gambling.
Currently, large casino groups like Caesars Entertainment and MGM International fully support online gambling. The CEO of the Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon Adelson, is firmly against online gambling and has been spending money from his own pocket to lobby against it.
Per a the CEO of the American Gaming Association, differences of opinion between casino owners has led the association to pull support. They believe that casinos need to first solve their disagreements before the American Gaming Association can help fight for the U.S. to legalize online gambling.


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Paul Pogba in FIFA 18 career mode. FIFA WC18 FIFA 18 FIFA 17 FIFA 16 FIFA 15 FIFA 14 FIFA 13 FIFA 12 FIFA 11 FIFA 10 FIFA 09 FIFA 08 FIFA 07Od: https://sofifa.com/player/195864/18/159124
FIFA Ultimate Team 18 Player - Paul Pogba | Find the lowest BIN, Prices, Stats, Details, Graphs and more!Od: https://www.futbin.com/18/player/130/Paul Pogba
09.12.2017 · Paul Pogba virtual pro lookalike fifa 18. Want music and videos with zero ads? Get YouTube Red.Od: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu1uqNGKz1A
11.07.2018 · Saint Petersburg: Paul Pogba dedicated France's World Cup semi-final win against Belgium to the 12 boys who survived a harrowing ordeal trapped underground in Thailand. The final five members of a young football team were rescued from a flooded Thai cave on Tuesday after spending 18 …Od: http://www.news18.com › Football
fifa wc18 fifa 18 fifa 17 fifa 16 fifa 15 fifa 14 fifa 13 fifa 12 fifa 11 fifa 10 fifa 09 fifa 08 fifa 07Od: https://sofifa.com
11.02.2018 · WTF 89 POGBA GOAT! FIFA 18 Ultimate Team Road To Fut Champions #131 RTG Second Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/MoreAA9skillz Twitter: …Od: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6_neGiuaNc
Paul Pogba dedicated France’s FIFA World Cup 2018 semifinal win to the members of a young football team were rescued from a flooded Thai cave after spending 18 …Od: http://Hindustan Times
A host of new celebrations have been added to FIFA 18, with fans now able to mimic Paulo Dybala's famous poseOd: http://www.goal.com/en/news/fifa-18-celebrations-how-to-do-pogbas-dab...


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Pepsi's loyalty program puts cash in your Venmo account
Or PayPal, if you're of a certain age.
How to pay for things securely
Make sure the only person buying stuff with your money is you.
Venmo can instantly transfer money to your bank account
You might never have to worry about having money on hand.
Snapchat Stories are coming to Tinder
And you can now have your Bitmoji avatar on Fitbit smartwatch faces.
Tidal is the first music streaming service to accept Venmo
New and existing users can pay their monthly fee using their digital balance.
Hulu is the first streaming service to take Venmo
For now, it's just for new customers.
Venmo lost a lot of cash due to payment fraud
It's why the company had to restrict genuinely useful features.
Venmo increases fees on instant money transfers
Convenience comes with a higher cost.
New York sues US treasury for allowing fintechs to become banks
NY doesn't want financial tech firms going nationwide without the need for state licenses.


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Drought Takes Toll on Oceania Output
DailyDairy Vol. 9, No. 19 / April 28, 2020 REPORT
Oceania milk production is dropping. New Zealand’s season-to-date milk production trails last year by almost 1%, while Australia’s milk collections are down 2% from year-ago levels. Dry weather throughout much of New Zealand is responsible for March’s 1.9% drop in production to 1.68 million metric tons, or 3.7 billion pounds, compared to year-earlier levels. Current soil moisture maps indicate that conditions are drier than a year ago and markedly drier than average. Drought has hit the North Island, which produces 60% of New Zealand’s milk, harder than the South Island. In New Zealand’s pasture-based dairy system, dry weather means less milk overall as cows are culled or dried off sooner than usual due to a lack of high-quality forages. New Zealand’s milk solids production in March increased 0.1% to 161,600 metric tons, compared to March 2019 levels. Season to date, milk solids are 0.3% higher than the same period a year ago, despite lower overall milk production due to farmers supplementing pasture feeding with more high-energy feeds. USDA’s Dairy Market News reports that concerns over both exports and New Zealand’s 2020-21 pay price are increasing due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that exports for the balance of this season are expected keep pace with supply. Exports in the upcoming season, however, are less certain. Long-term weather forecasts indicate dry conditions will likely continue and feed is in short supply as winter approaches. Australia’s milk collections in March came in 7% higher than last year at just over 643 million liters, or 1.46 billion pounds. After a slow start to Australia’s milking season, March is the fourth consecutive month in which milk collections increased relative to year-ago levels. The recent increases in milk collections can be credited to improving drought conditions. Australia has produced 2% less milk so far in the 2019-20 season compared to the previous season. The country has seen a steady decline in its dairy industry over the past 20 years, as dairies exit the business due to the country’s multi-year drought.


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CAPZA, an established European private investment platform focused on small and mid-cap companies, has participated in the refinancing of Sterimed Group’s debt, a specialist in the medical sterilisation packaging industry, and is supporting the acquisition of the European hospital packaging division of the listed group Amcor.
Founded in 1911, Sterimed is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical sterilisation packaging. Sterimed develops, produces, converts and markets various types of ready-to-use packaging solutions for both hospitals and medical device manufacturers. Today, the group benefits from a global footprint with a broad industrial and commercial base.
Positioned in a market with strong structural growth, Sterimed continues to strengthen its downstream value chain by acquiring the European hospital packaging manufacturing and distribution business of the Amcor group. This activity, which includes a manufacturing site in France and two sales offices in Spain and Germany, has total sales of approximately EUR42 million. With this acquisition, Sterimed is expanding its converting business and broadening its product range for hospitals and medical device manufacturers in Europe and worldwide.
Including this new activity, Sterimed now has more than 1,100 employees and has nine industrial sites and 22 sales offices on all continents, generating approximately EUR200 million in revenue.
In the context of this acquisition and of the refinancing of Sterimed’s debt, CAPZA arranged a PIK bond financing on top of a senior financing arranged by the group’s banks for a total leverage of around four times the Ebitda.
“This acquisition is in line with Sterimed’s vertical integration strategy, which has been successfully led by its high quality management team. We are delighted to support Sterimed, a major player in its sector, in its development ambitions,” says Guillaume de Jongh, Partner CAPZA.


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Honda to cut 800 jobs in UK by second quarter
London: Car manufacturer Honda said that it planned to cut around 800 jobs at its south Marston plant near Swindon in Britain by the second quarter of 2013, as per a news wire.
The company, which makes the Civic, Jazz and CR-V models at the South Marston plant near Swindon, said on Friday it would enter into formal consultation with staff over the cuts which would likely take place in the second quarter of 2013.
Honda employs some 3,500 staff at the South Marston plant, which produced around 150,000 vehicles last year. The plant has the capacity to make 250,000 cars annually.
Last year Honda expected a surge in demand and hired 500 workers and invested 267 million pounds in the Swindon plant.
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Bay of Plenty police are warning Christmas shoppers using contactless cards such as Paywave to to avoid would-be thieves after a rise in theft complaints.
Police have experienced an increase in reports of the contactless cards being exploited and are warning shoppers to heed caution.
Inspector Steve Bullock, prevention manager for Bay of Plenty police, said a lot of dishonesty offending was committed by people seizing an opportunity.
"The best way to counter their actions and reduce the risk is to remove the temptation," he said.
"It is crucial that people treat contactless cards like cash. Most people wouldn't leave cash in a visible place, such as a desk or a car, and contactless cards should be treated in the same way."
Contactless cards don't require a security PIN or signature when being used for purchases of up to $80.
The tap-and-go technique was favoured among some shoppers as being more convenient but also made it easy for thieves to use if they got their hands on them, he said.
"Any loss or theft of a credit or debit card should be reported to the bank or credit card company as quickly as possible so that it can be blocked from further purchases," Mr Bullock said.
He said police also advised card holders to check their balances and statements at least every few days.
"Gone are the days where you have to wait for a monthly paper statement; mobile apps and internet banking now allow people to keep a real time track of their finances. The quicker you spot an anomaly and report it, the quicker the bank can assist you and prevent any further fraud."
In New Zealand, the cards set a limit of $80 for each contactless transaction without a PIN but thieves could make multiple purchases before the card issuer asked for a PIN as part of its security measure. Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said it had received about 25 inquiries and one complaint about contactless cards over the past 18 months.
"Complaints are referred back to the respective bank's internal complaints process and only come back to us if the customer and bank cannot find a resolution," she said.
Ms Sladden said the inquiries were mainly from people not wanting the technology and a few concerned about security but none relating to theft.
About your contactless cards
* Look after your card and stick to the terms and conditions you agree to when you get the card.
* Generally speaking, you will not be liable for loss arising from unauthorised contactless card use unless you yourself have acted negligently or fraudulently, or if you have contributed to the unauthorised use of your card.
* The Banking Ombudsman has no concerns about security on contactless cards and said questioning the current spending cap was not an issue.
- Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden


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Starbucks owner in Brazil takes over Subway operation
- May 23, 2022
- No Comment
Until recently, coffee shops Starbucks were present only in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. That started to change in 2018, when American investor Ken Pope, based in Brazil for 14 years, took over the brand here. Since then, the network has grown to around 60 stores and reached seven states. Now, the investor wants to guarantee the expansion of another American brand here: Metro.
Behind SouthRock Capital, a fund specializing in investments in the food and beverage sector, is Pope, 37 years old. The executive has been in Brazil since 2008, when he paid a visit to the country shortly after finishing his university degree in the USA.
“I was looking for an opportunity in an industry that I love to work in, which is food and beverage retail. It’s been an absolute pleasure so far. And I look forward to the many decades to come in this country and in this industry,” Pope told Estadão.
In the case of Subway, Pope’s first contract with the company took place at the end of 2021. Unlike what happened with Starbucks, which still had a modest presence in the country, Subway already has a considerable size: there are 1,600 stores , in the 27 units of the federation. Brazil is already the fourth largest market for the fast-food chain.
Now the company’s master franchisor in the country, Pope sees room for more openings, with stores closer to each other. In addition to putting his foot on the gas, he also wants to create new store formats. It is the first contract of its kind that Subway closes in Latin America.
Subway, however, is going through a difficult time. Founder of Food Consulting, consultant Sergio Molinari recalls that the company went through a period of downsizing of operations in the country – around 500 units closed their doors. “I believe that the stores that closed were already on the razor’s edge or with overlap”, says the specialist.
Although the sector’s numbers are improving with the cooling of the pandemic, 38% of bars and restaurants operated at a loss in February, according to the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel), an entity that brings together the sector. Even bigger brands had problems: IMC, a publicly traded company that owns KFC and Pizza Hut in the country, for example, made layoffs and postponed the opening of stores.
The moment of recovery for food outside the home is positive, because of the demand that was dammed in the pandemic, but Molinari believes that the investor will make a careful analysis of the assets. “The reasoning will be more financial, and stores will only open where there is economic and commercial viability”, he says.
Despite saying that the plan is for expansion, Ken Pope did not reveal the projected openings for Subway or Starbucks – in the case of the coffee shop chain, about 60 stores were opened in four years (the company had 113 units in 2018) .
Pope gained strength in Brazil when he took over Starbucks after the brand had been under the management of the parent company for a while. The chain was brought to the country by businesswoman Maria Luísa Rodenbeck, who died in a car accident in 2007 – she had already been responsible for setting up McDonald’s here in the late 1970s.
In addition to Starbucks and Subway, SouthRock also has the rights to the TGI Fridays chain in its portfolio – a model that never caught on here – and also Brazil Airport Restaurants, aimed at airport food courts.


text: Shortly after finishing his term in 2017, then-Vice President Joe Biden engaged in email exchanges with General Motors to get a special vehicle — a 2018 Cadillac ATS-V with a few special upgrades. Responding to Biden’s request, the car boasts the exclusive distinction of featuring the only Kona brown leather interior ever installed in this model, adding an extra layer of rarity to its ownership history. Beyond its notable former owner, the ATS-V stands out as a formidable sleeper, driven by a 464-horsepower, twin-turbo 3.6-liter V6 engine. The current owner has personalized it further with bronze 18-inch wheels sourced from a CT4-V Blackwing, and the vehicle’s history indicates a few minor dings accumulated over its 15,900 miles. This unique vehicle is currently available for auction on Cars & Bids.


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The video-content app, Triller, has been making headlines this year and has made an especially big splash as the first few months of 2021. While the hype around TikTok is still looming heavily in the media, it’s clear that Triller wants to seriously compete.
Claiming to have 65 million monthly active users the app is gaining traction as a social media platform. Ahead of its planned public offering, the app is launching TrillerTV, a linear programming bid featuring 40 half-hour shows hosted by well-known celebrities and digital stars. The lineup includes: Jennifer Lopez in the Morning, where J.Lo will walk viewers through a morning beauty routine using items from her cosmetics brand; The D’Amelio Family Must Haves, where the TikTok family will talk their favorite products, innovative businesses and brands; a workout series from rapper 2 Chainz; and a Perez Hilton talk show.
Below we will be diving into the platform, what it’s all about and who is doing it well.
So grab a cup of coffee & dig in.
At this point the Triller name has been around the block. With the Covid-19 pandemic pushing more people onto social media than ever before it’s been hard to miss the talk around up and coming platforms. The app was launched in 2015 (2 years before TikTok), by co-founders David Leiberman and Sammy Rubin. Initially the app was a video-editing service, using artificial intelligence to automatically edit distinct clips into music videos. By 2016 however the app had pivoted to a social-networking service by allowing users to follow each other and share their videos publicly. Early last summer we saw the app rise in popularity when the Trump administration threatened to ban its rival, TikTok. By August, Triller was the #1 downloaded app.
How is This Different From Other Video Platforms?
It’s easy to think that Triller & TikTok are the same because they are both short-form video content social media platforms, so let’s break down the major differences:
Influencer Marketing & Triller
With these differences in mind you may want to think before copy & pasting your TikTok strategy on Triller. Because of the app’s AI-based video editing abilities and ability to have an overall more polished look, a large campaign may look more cohesive on Triller.
It’s still early on for Triller’s relationship with the influencer community but we’ve seen many big TikTok influencers migrating to Triller, such as the D’ Amelio family (Charli, the most followed user of TikTok has amassed 6.1M followers on Triller) family and the Sway Boys, some of them creating content on both platforms regularly. Another content house in Los Angeles, The Hype House, has also had their members set up shop on Triller and they will also be a part of TrillerTV with a show called Hanging with the Hype launching on TrillerTV.
While the app has started to solidify partnerships to sell programmatic ads on the platform, it is still early and influencer marketing is still the most effective way to get your brand in front of users at scale and marketers are catching on to this trend. A recent study from Takumi, saw 73% of marketers looking to increase influencer marketing spend across all platforms with 10% specifically looking at boosting investment in Triller.
Who is Doing it Well?
Now that we know what the app is all about let’s talk about who’s on it and who is doing it well. In the past year we’ve seen a few brands stand out on Triller, a large majority of them being beauty brands. Below are a few of our favorites:
NYX Professional Makeup
In December of 2020, L’Oreal’s NYX brand of cosmetics kicked off a campaign spanning across Triller and Snapchat. The campaign debuted a first of its kind, multi-platform digital strategy to promote their Spring 2021 collection which included a virtual Triller concert by Bebe Rexha and an augmented reality pop-up shop within the platform.
NYX Professional Makeup was the first beauty brand to launch an AR shopping experience on both Snapchat and Triller, leveraging Snap’s Camera Kit to make the experience available in Triller’s mobile app. This gave users the ability to interact with the custom Snapchat Lens without leaving the Triller platform. Users were able to access the virtual pop-up through a variety of entry points. Either through the custom branded Snapchat Lens in the Snapchat Lens carousel or in the Triller app, by using Snapchat to scan a Snapcode, and by using Snapchat to scan NYX Professional Makeup’s Marsh Mellow Smoothing Primer, one of the products in the Spring 2021 collection.
The free Triller concert took place on December 18, 2020 featuring a performance from Bebe Rexha and streamed live on the @nyxcosmetics page while also streaming simultaneously on Twitch and YouTube. Check out the full campaign details here.
Pepsi sponsored a virtual hip-hop competition on Triller. The soda brand partnered with rapper Fat Joe for the “Your Wildest Dreams” contest, which gave the winner a spot in a Pepsi Wild Cherry commercial this year. Triller users had to create a video on the platform to audition for the competition using the Pepsi Wild Cherry #YourWildestDreams filter and hashtag.
This campaign included a panel of top industry individuals including Fat Joe, Mike WiLL Made-It, Mulatto, Quay Global and Kenny Burns. Three finalists were given the opportunity to perform at “Triller house” in Atlanta and had a mentoring session. Pepsi used the Triller platform to reach a younger audience through this activation. See full campaign details here.
Last year Boost Mobile and Triller joined forces to give an aspiring artist the chance of a lifetime to collaborate with some of the biggest names in the industry. The “Step Up to the Mic” powered by Boost Mobile™, a nationwide digital elimination-style talent search competition was open to the public and served as a platform for someone to get their big break and begin their music career with support from Triller, Boost Mobile and prominent artists Starrah, Murda Beatz, Quavo, and Takeoff.
One talented individual was awarded a record label and management deal, the chance to record an original song written by prominent songwriter Starrah and produced by Murda Beatz, and shoot a professional music video. Check out the winner and more information here.
All in all Triller poses some awesome opportunities. If you’re curious about activating on the app as part of your next campaign, reach out to firstname.lastname@example.org and let’s strategize!


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How are Edmonds businesses faring during the COVID-19 pandemic? Two recent online surveys provide some insight into that question.
One effort — an Edmonds Business Needs Survey — was formulated by the Citizens Economic Development Commission (CEDC) and distributed by the City of Edmonds
A total of 116 businesses responded to the survey, which was conducted via Survey Monkey and publicized via social media and through the city’s business organizations (Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Edmonds Merchants Association and the Edmonds Downtown Alliance), said Patrick Doherty, the city’s Community Services and Economic Development Director who also staffs the CEDC.
Edmonds has a total of 2,134 licensed “in-city” businesses, with another 1,278 licensed to do business here but located elsewhere, Doherty said.
Of those responding, 28% were in the retail sector, 22% in hospitality (restaurant/catering/lodging), 17% in personal services (such as a salon or gym), 10% in professional services and another 10% in arts and entertainment. The remainder were in banking/finance, education/child care, and nonprofits.
The survey included a range of questions, from the percentage of normal activity at which the responding business operating to the biggest challenges a business is facing during the pandemic.
Among the takeaways:
– A third of businesses responding — 33% — said that they were operating at 50-74% of normal activity, and 32% said that operations were 25-49% of normal. A total of 11% were operating at less than 25% of normal and 8% were currently closed. Just under 5% of businesses said they were operating at 100%.
– Open businesses have taken a range of measures to operate safely during the pandemic. For example, 87% require face masks for employees, 85% have changed how they engage with customers, 67% have rearranged their workspace or floor plan and 50% take temperatures of employees or customers. Of those responding, nearly 47% have changed how they engage with suppliers while nearly 34% have adjusted the locations of their workers, such as having them work from home or adding another workspace for social distancing.
– In response a question regarding the biggest challenges in operating their business, there were three main answers: For nearly 67 percent, it was the concern of safety for employees or customers. For 65%, it was a shortage of cash/capital on hand due to business closure or slowdown. And for 63%, it was the worry that customers may not return, or will return too slowly.
– Addressing a question regarding what resources they need to be successful during the pandemic, nearly 85% of those responding said it was working capital, such as loans or grants. The second greatest need, according to 33% of respondents, was protective equipment such as face masks/shields and rubber gloves. Other needed resources were workers/employees (17%), education or training on customer or employee safety (nearly 12%), nd thermometers (nearly 10%).
– Asked what education/collaborative resources would help their business stay open/thrive, 72% responded it was loan or grant information, nearly 26% said it was information on lessons learned/better practices from other Edmonds businesses, and nearly 26% replied they could use finance seminar/information. Just over 3% of those responding said they would like information on bankruptcy.
Businesses were also asked an open-ended question: If there was any help they could use from local city leaders “to help you sustain your businesses at this time.” The answers (see full list here) ranged from the need for more financial help in the form of grants or loans, to talking to landlords “to convince them to reduce rent,” to “finding solutions that will help business in all of Edmonds not just downtown core.” There were also a range of opinions expressed regarding the city’s decision to partially close Main Street on weekends, with some supportive and others opposed.
Related to that city initiative, known as Walkable Main Street, the Edmonds Downtown Association last month conducted its own survey, which had a 57% response rate among the 115 survey invitations sent. Of those responding, the majority (61%) were retail businesses while 29% were restaurants, and 9% defined as other.
Edmonds Downtown Association President Pam Stuller said the survey was aimed at addressing “a fair amount of discord amongst our downtown Edmonds business community” after the city implemented Walkable Main Street. The initiative, which involves closing Main Street between 6th and 3rd Avenues South to vehicles on weekends, is designed to give customers a pedestrian-friendly environment and businesses room to expand services outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s set to run through the weekend of Oct. 10-11.
Of those responding to the Edmonds Downtown Alliance survey, 58% were located within the closed area of Walkable Main Street. Two-thirds of those responding have been at their current location six years or more, while the remainder at their location for five years or fewer.
Among the Edmonds Downtown Alliance survey results:
– 59% of those responding, regardless of whether they had a business in the closed zone, said they supported the Walkable Main Street concept, while 22% were neutral and 17% were opposed. A total of 70% of those located within the Walkable Edmonds zone supported the idea, with 13% neutral and 17% opposed.
– 36% of those responding said Walkable Main Street has increased their business, 29% said it has decreased it and 31% said it had no impact.
– Among the top reasons given for supporting Walkable Main Street, 21% cited safety and 16% pointed to increased foot traffic. Other reasons included that it is good for restaurants, brings others to Edmonds, and demonstrates community spirit.
– The top three concerns regarding Walkable Main Street included parking (27%), that it doesn’t help business (10%), COVID and pedestrian safety (9%) and the aesthetics of the signs and barriers (9%).
– When asked to rate how Walkable Main Street was implemented, 37% of respondents said they were satisfied/very satisfied, 33% were dissatisfied/very dissatisfied and 28% were neutral.
The goal of the survey, Stuller said, was to “try to get more information from members to open the dialogue so they could learn more about issues and come to a consensus and take that input to the city.” There was also a roundtable discussion via Zoom, with about 20 businesses participating, she said.
While Walkable Main Street has been “really fabulous” for the restaurant community, Stuller stressed that she wanted to ensure that all types of businesses were heard.
— By Teresa Wippel


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New Delhi, Nov 30 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has called upon the people to be more vigilant on their democratic rights particularly in relation to the consumer rights.
Addressing the National Consumer Convention 2007 here today she said, " You have the great tool of RTI in your hand to safegaurd your interest".
She said Government had enacted the RTI act for the benefit of the consumers and also for bringing in more transparency in the entire system.
The CM said, ''In our system even the legislature (politicians) are accountable for their various ommissions and commissions and people has the power to vote them out if they are not satisfied.'' She said peole have to be continuously vigilant about democracy as it is the consumers biggest tool.
Participating in the convention G C Mathur, Convenor-Trustee Treasurer of one NGO Binty, said consumer justice is an important element of good democratic governance of a country, particularly where the variety of economic activities supposedly operate on the principles of free market economy, specially in the globalised market.
He said market is not free if it is guided by promoters of any form of unfair business practices, negligent handling of consumers, unduely high price mark- ups, cartelised supply or competition is mission, and all the environment for the movement of conusmers is not healthy.
Citing an example, Mr Mathur said the conusmer is facing injustice at almost every stage. He said while fixing Maximum Retail Price (MRP) inclusive of all taxes, as has been done in the case of medicines by NPPA, the consumer who pays the taxes through his nose has been denied the right to information under CPA as at what rate the taxes are being charged and at what prices keeping in mind the fact that consumer is not supposed to pay tax on the bargained sales price.
Speaking on the occasion Amrit Lal Saha, President, Consumers' Protection Association, Agartala, said law alone can not provide the necessary consumer protection it should be possible only when there is good governance.
Mr Saha said the CM assured the members that Government would ncrease its involvement towards acheiving the desired objective of providing consumer protection.


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Yamaha India has introduced the new Metallic Red paint scheme for the YZF-R15 V3.0. The new red colour variant is priced at ₹ 152,100 (ex-showroom, Delhi). It will be available alongside the 3 colour choices – Racing Blue, Thunder Grey and Dark Knight.
R15 v3 shown his craze among youngsters of India. Thatswhy its sale shown boom in bike industry. The company is looking forward for Yamaha R15 v4 variant with some new modifications. But they are thinking to launch in 2022. Hope so we could see some good new features in this new variant.
The 2021 red metallic variant will give only some cosmetic changes only. Mechanical changes are not available for this new cosmetic variant of bike.


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Black & Veatch announced the completion of the acquisition of MJ Gleeson's water business. The UK-based MJ Gleeson has annual water business revenues of nearly $380 million (200 million GBP), and the transaction more than doubles the size of Black & Veatch's existing UK water operations, bringing added project delivery capabilities to clients.
"With these additional construction capabilities, Black & Veatch will now be a single-source provider of engineering design, process engineering and construction for UK water clients," said Dan McCarthy, president and CEO of Black & Veatch's global water business. "This is a new business model for the UK water industry that allows us to extend to all UK water clients our offer of a truly integrated, multi-disciplinary global workforce."
With the addition of more than 900 new professionals, Black & Veatch now has nearly 2,000 professionals in its UK workforce to provide client services to the UK water business sector. Also, Black & Veatch's total employment has increased to approximately 8,500 professionals across its global business lines.
McCarthy added that the approach continues Black & Veatch's tradition of innovation and leadership and that the company plans to apply this new model to benefit clients elsewhere in the world.
Black & Veatch is committed to a rigorous growth program in its core business lines of energy and water; the completion of this agreement allows Black & Veatch's global water business to move to nearly $1 billion (530 million GBP) in revenue, McCarthy said.


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All of Audi's research and development has been put on hold as the diesel-gate has forced the premium carmaker to speed up the production of its e-tron Quattro electric SUV.
The company will be pooling all its financial and engineering resources towards the development of e-tron Quattro and hydrogen fuel cell Quattro. Audi is hoping the e-tron to pull the company out from the diesel-gate crisis.
Audi is setting up its production plant in Brussels purely to produce electric sport utility vehicles. The manufacturer is will hold back the plans for its Q4, TT Off-road and TT Sportback concepts.
The e-tron SUV was first introduced at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Three electric motors will be used to propel the all-electric sport utility vehicle. The cars will have an approximate range of 500 kilometers, and the e-tron's high-capacity battery will be produced at the Brussels plant as well.


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Products purchased with federal taxpayer dollars will now need to be made with at least 60% American-made component parts in order to meet Buy American requirements.
The Biden administration revealed on Tuesday that it is increasing the domestic content threshold for products purchased with federal taxpayer dollars.
New Made in America Director Livia Shmavonian announced on Twitter that at least 60% of the component parts of federally procured goods must be manufactured in the United States. That’s up from the previous threshold of 55%, and eventually the requirement will reach 75%, Shmavonian tweeted.
In a statement to The Hill, Shmavonian noted that the move is part of a wider effort to boost American manufacturing, reshore supply chains and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign-made goods.
“This increase in the domestic content threshold is a key part of the Administration’s strategic approach to leveraging federal purchasing power to invest in American industry and all of America’s workers,” Shmavonian told The Hill.
“We’re sending a clear signal to the business community to drive new investments, to create good-paying jobs, and to fill gaps in our supply chain — and it’s working.”
Shmavonian said on Twitter that the new threshold is part of President Biden’s “ambitious vision for a future that is Made in America—and for an economy that works for everyone.” And the Biden administration has proven successful thus far, Shmavonian argued, pointing to the 700,000 factory jobs created since Biden took office, which amounts to “100,000 more manufacturing jobs than before the pandemic!”
Indeed, both the Biden administration and Congress have taken a number of steps forward when it comes to strengthening Buy American requirements for federal procurement.
The new Made in America Office, which Shmavonian overseas, has launched a number of initiatives to maximize the investment of taxpayer dollars back into American workers, businesses and communities, including via the new website MadeinAmerica.gov. Meanwhile, the “Build America, Buy America” requirements in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law aim to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on American-made materials whenever possible.
But, there’s a lot of work left to do to ensure Buy American reaches its full potential. Part of that will include enforcement; the administration cannot allow unnecessary waivers to be granted, for example. And part of it must involve proactive steps to strengthen Buy American. The new threshold announced today is another strong step forward.


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A lot has changed over the years and while the Rav4 has lost a lot of its adventurer charm, the Toyota crossover has slowly evolved into more of a touring-oriented vehicle, straying farther from the rugged “let’s-get-dirty” scene it once had.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because from a styling standpoint the Rav4 now embodies Toyota’s design language found on the front-end of the newly launched Auris and it does boast some rather aggressive lines. That said, despite its city slicker attire, under the skin the Rav4 does retain some of its adventurous elements and ergonomics.
Available in South Africa with a choice of three engines, the 2.2-litre diesel is the pick of the litter. Developing 110kW of power and 340Nm of torque, this smooth-revving powertrain is mated to a six-speed manual transmission and comes in all-wheel-drive guise. Toyota has found a healthy balance between power and consumption with this 2 231cc engine, as its claimed fuel consumption is a very respectable 5.6 litres/100km with of Co2 emissions of 149g/km.
The other engine derivatives on offer include the smaller 2.0-litre petrol engine, which turns out 107kW of power and can generate 187Nm of torque. The engine may be mated to a choice of six-speed manual or CVT automatic transmissions and is available exclusively in two-wheel-drive. The big daddy in the line-up is a 2.5-litre petrol motor, which has been recalibrated for the Rav4, delivering 132kW of power at 6 000rpm and 233Nm of torque at 4 100rpm.
The Rav4 has found the perfect balance of power and driveablity while its looks are also appealing and the powertrain line-up impressive.
The Toyota design team didn’t forget about the interior either. Cramming it with a host of creature comforts, including Bluetooth, a touch-screen multi-information display and keyless entry (available in VX trim) to name but a few.
On the safety front, this Toyota continues to elevate the brand with higher levels of active and passive safety. While the RAV4 hasn’t yet undergone its Euro NCAP crash test programme, the guys at Toyota believe it has what it takes to achieve a five-star rating. The new Rav4 comes standard with a 3-year/100 000km warranty and 5-year/90 000km service plan.


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We reported that FHTM came under fire back in 2010 with North Dakota and Montana.
A receiver appointed by the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois raided the headquarters and warehouse in Lexington, Kentucky.
The court also froze Fortune Hi Tech’s assets.
Here is a snip from the FTC site:
“At the request of the Federal Trade Commission and the states of Illinois, Kentucky, and North Carolina, a federal court has halted an allegedly illegal pyramid scheme pending trial. The FTC and the state attorneys general seek to stop the allegedly illegal practices of the Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing (FHTM) operation, which claimed consumers would make substantial income by joining the scheme. The operation affected more than 100,000 consumers throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico, and Canada. In some areas, including Chicago, the scheme targeted Spanish-speaking consumers.”
You can read the full complaint here.
Last updated byat .


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The TNHA is pleased to announce that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and Minister of Health have reconsidered their stance towards Cannabidiol (CBD) as a prescription-only medicine. New exemptions for companies selling CBD-containing products now allow for the public to access CBD products without a prescription. This is a significant victory for all South Africans, who can now gain free access to CBD and CBD-containing products for the first time since all cannabis-related products were banned decades ago.
There are no CBD or CBD-containing products currently registered as medicines in South Africa. Until now there was no way for South Africans to access CBD legally, except through a laborious Section 21 exemption permit scheme, applied for by a doctor importing CBD for a bona fide patient for a period not exceeding three months.
All existing CBD and CBD-containing products were deemed illegal up until now, and resulted people resorting to buying products on the black market, many of which were of poor quality, questionable safety and even fake.
The new exemptions now open up legal access to products produced with CBD oil in South Africa as over-the-counter / non-prescription items.
This comes after the TNHA successfully motivated the SAHPRA to review their earlier restrictive scheduling of CBD as a schedule 6 and then schedule 4 medicine in 2017. The TNHA believed that the higher schedules for this non-psychoactive, non habit-forming and low risk substance did not have the same comparative risk profile of other high risk medications in schedule 4 and schedule 6, and that when used judiciously (at a suggested 20mg upper daily limit) with low risk / health supporting claims would be more appropriate.
We also noted the international trend of progressive regulators around the world allowing CBD to be sold as a health supplement and an approved food ingredient. Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recognized and acknowledged that CBD is a non-addictive, non-habit-forming and safe substance in appropriate daily upper dosage limits, and have recommended the substance not be scheduled by Medicines Regulatory Authorities, or be listed as a banned substance in competitive sports.
The TNHA’s call for a more appropriate scheduling and regulatory framework for CBD and CBD-containing products began in October 2017 when a group local CBD product importers formed a CBD task group under the banner of our association and decided to challenge the restrictive schedules.
The task group, led by TNHA National Chairman Anthony Rees, consulted with Prof. Karen Du Toit (lawyer and expert pharmacologist) and our then legal counsel Albert Grobbelaar on the matter.
On the 31st of January 2018 the TNHA served a letter on the Minster of Health requesting reasons for the scheduling of CBD in schedule 6 and schedule 4 respectively. A written acknowledgement of receipt was received on the 1st of March 2018 from the Minister’s office stating that the matter would be brought to his attention. It was expected that he would consult with the SAHPRA on the matter and revert to us timeously in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (Act 3 of 2000).
In March 2018 the majority of the SAHPRA’s staff, which were still Department of Health employees, joined the industrial action (stay-away) initiated by National Education and Health Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), the Public Servants’ Association (PSA) to protest against the poor working conditions in the Civitas Building (Pretoria) where the National Department of Health’s main administration and SAHPRA were housed. This industrial action continued for almost a year and resulted in a small handful of the then 220 SAHPRA employees remaining in active service, literally crippling the launch of the new SAHPRA regulator, which had just replaced the former Medicines Control Council.
With no official in over 10 months, and CBD products being seized by the Port Health Authority on instruction by the SAHPRA, the TNHA launched a North Gauteng High Court application to review the scheduling of CBD through our new attorneys of record, Jacobs Liebenberg Attorneys Inc. We received a notice to oppose our application.
On the 12th of February this year, a few days before the SAHPRA’s and Minister’s answering affidavit was due, we received a letter from the Acting CEO of the SAHPRA Ms. Portia Mkhambule suggesting that the TNHA and the SAHPRA have a round table meeting to find a more ‘rational’ approach to the issue at hand. We accepted the invitation and met with the SAHPRA on the 25th of April at their offices in Pretoria.
At the meeting it was agreed that CBD should be either down schedules to either Schedule 0, or be exempted from the schedules at a reasonable daily upper dosage. It was also agreed that products should be of good quality and not make health claims for serious diseases. The TNHA agreed to park our court case, pending the future resolutions of SAHPRA in the matter. We then received a written undertaking that the SAHPRA would publish their final resolutions within 15 working days.
Yesterday, on the 23rd of May (15 working days later, as promised), the exemption notice was published in the government gazette, signed by the Minister of Health earlier on the 15th of May.
We have also received notice that the blanket Port Health embargo on CBD imports has now been lifted.
The TNHA is pleased with the SAHPRA’s resolution and gazetting of the exemption notice, as this will allow companies to continue to trade legally and in a responsible manner. The public will now have the benefit of having free access to good quality CBD products in South Africa, for the first time legally.
The TNHA’s CBD working group are committed to assist the SAHPRA and legislature in creating a fair and appropriate regulatory framework for CBD products in future, and to make sure that products sold in South Africa are ‘true to label’.
We invite all current CBD importers and interested parties to join the TNHA so that they can be kept up to date on evolving regulatory matters, and to form part of the ongoing realization of a safer, ethical and vibrant CBD industry.
We thank all our loyal industry supporters and the public who signed our recent petition to free CBD oil.
We will soon be releasing a technical commentary document on the specifics of yesterday’s exemption notice and how it applies to TNHA members, so please visit our website in the next few days.


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Home furnishings giant to buy 3-D imaging and augmented reality startup
Williams-Sonoma is buying a San Jose-based startup that specializes in replicating physical home furnishings and decor products in high-quality 3-D imagery that can be used on retail websites and apps.
The retailer on Thursday announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Outward in an all cash deal of $112 million. Williams-Sonoma has been a customer of Outward’s for three years and originally used its technology to allow customers to get a 360-degree view of a piece of furniture on its websites and swap out different color choices, according to Recode.
“We are excited to own and collaborate in the further development of Outward’s technology that enables applications in product visualization, digital room design, and augmented and virtual reality," said Laura Alber, president and CEO of Williams-Sonoma. “Together, we will drive digital innovation to create highly engaging and interactive consumer shopping experience.”'
Home furnishing retailers across the board, from Ikea to Wayfair to Houzz, have been among the early retail adaptors of augmented reality, using it enhance their online shopping experience. In October, Target launched an augmented reality feature for home décor called "See It In Your Space."
Outward will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, and will be managed by Outward’s current leadership team. The company will maintain existing operations under the Outward brand.


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After spending seven years with Restaurant Brands International, Global chief marketing officer Fernando Machado has stepped down from his position. Machado has been overseeing marketing several subsidiaries of RBI including Burger Kind, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes. He had joined the company as the head of brand marketing in 2014. In January 2020, he was promoted to the post of CMO in 2017. In January 2020, he became the lead of RBI’s marketing. Machado has apparently resigned from this company as he has accepted another offer. Without giving any detail about his future role, Machado said that it’s a ‘great opportunity’ for him and he will soon announce his next role.
Machado also said that he had a great time during the last seven years during which he worked for Restaurant Brands International. “I am extremely proud of the impact of the team on the brands, especially Burger King. The way the team works around good quality, sustainability, diversity, and inclusion are commendable. The company really has a very strong and talented marketing team. I am more than confident that the team will continue to do great work,” Machado said. A spokesperson for RBI, Paloma Azulay, said one of the best things Machado did during his tenure is to build a strong marketing talent within the organisation.
During his tenure at RBI, Machado became one of the most influential marketers in the world. He played a key role in raising Burger King’s profile as a brand. He is known for spearheading risky but successful campaigns. “He created a strong marketing talent. We are fortunate that because of Machado, today we have exceptional home-market chief marketing officers in Bruno Cardinali, Hope Bagozzi, and Ellie Doty. All three of them have made strong teams at Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Burger King,” Azulay said and wished Machado the very best for the future. Azulay also said that the global CMO of Popeyes will be promoted to the post of the global chief brand officer of RBI.


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A new short-term lease program makes it easier for small business owners to get started | Streetwise
GREEN BAY - One of the hardest and most expensive hurdles to starting a small business is finding a place to open.
Purchasing a storefront or signing a lease, many of which last between one and five years, is daunting.
With this in mind, Downtown Green Bay Inc. and Olde Main Street Inc. are looking to make it less of a risk to open a brick-and-mortar store in the heart of Green Bay, by offering short-term leases.
The Downtown Green Bay Pop-Up Shop Program allows participants to sign a three-month lease, rent-free. Participants also receive a $500 stipend to cover the cost of fixtures, point-of-sale systems and other necessary expenses.
"We are aware that there's this growing entrepreneurial sprit," said Jeff Mirkes, the executive director of both Downtown Green Bay Inc. and Olde Main Street Inc. "If (entrepreneurs) know that downtown is a location that is ripe for new small businesses, we want to make sure that they know about this."
The program, which launched late last week, is accepting applications. Mirkes said it has no planned end date.
Advertisements for the program are also seeking property owners who might be interested in leasing their space and businesses owners who would consider mentoring.
Mirkes said they currently have between three and four available spaces for pop-up shops — some of which are able to house multiple businesses — and several more in the works.
Wanda Sieber, the owner of Unishippers with her husband, Bill, is planning to offer up a storefront, 1240 Main St., for the program. The space, which has been for sale for the last 13 months, is being called the "poster child" by Mirkes.
Sieber said she decided to offer the space to the program while they continue to look for buyers because she would like to help a new business get started.
"I hope for someone this is a good bounce," Sieber said. "This is the leg up they need to move from hoping and dreaming into a viable business."


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March 25, 2020
Coronavirus exposes the weak links in the pharma supply chainMadhav Durbha, LLamasoft group vice president of industry strategy, wrote an article for The Pharma Letter.
"While much is being written and said about the short-term supply chain challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak, this ongoing outbreak is also bringing to the fore some systemic challenges in the pharma supply chain," Durbha writes. "The coronavirus' impact on the pharma industry is yet another reminder of the need to factor risk and resiliency into designing the supply networks."
-China as a strategic growth market for pharma companies, dominating supply
-The effects on the pharma industry
-Shortages of essential supplies
-The need to plan for launch for companies racing towards a vaccine
Read the full article (subscription required) here or download the PDF.


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The preliminary programme for the VDMA’s fourth International International Rotating Equipment Conference – Pumps, Compressors and Vacuum Technology, is now available.
The conference will take place on 24 and 25 September in Wiesbaden, Germany. Christoph Singrün, managing director of VDMA Pumps + Systems as well as Compressors, Compressed Air and Vacuum Technology, promoting the conference said: “Our participants can look forward to an extensive programme that is all about Rotating Equipment. One focus is on the effects of Industry 4.0."
Industry 4.0 topics such as digital transformation, digitalisation and data management are among the 28 session titles, along with energy efficiency, condition monitoring, cavitation and reliability.
The conference offers visitors nearly 70 technical lectures and an accompanying trade exhibition. The conference offers participants and exhibitors expert knowledge, science-based papers, a technical exhibition, details of the latest technical trends and an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. Further information can be found on the conference website.


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Aries Car Rental, a premier car rental service company in Perth, adds two new vehicle models on their list of cars for hire. The Nissan Pathfinder... ...http://pressreleaseping.com/aries-car-rental-offers-two-new-vehicles-hire
WASHINGTON: American motorists stand to save billions of dollars a year from higher fuel economy vehicles now on the road, the said on Wednesday.... ...http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/et-auto/news/passenger-vehicle/cars/u-s-fuel-economy-hits-new-high-in-2013-model-year-epa/articleshow/44742463.cms
From the Wires Finalists Announced for KBB.com's New Premier Awards; Winners to be Revealed in November, Honoring Best Vehicle Choices Available in... ...http://in.sys-con.com/node/3204257
From the Wires Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar Become Brand Ambassadors of the Las Vegas Dealership Sep. 23, 2014 01:09 PM LAS VEGAS... ...http://in.sys-con.com/node/3195974
Mumbai : Nissan has just launched the new Pathfinder range, which includes the first-ever Russian-manufactured petrol-electric hybrid. Also at the... ...http://www.cardekho.com/india-car-news/nissan-launches-the-new-pathfinder-at-the-moscow-motor-show-13883.htm
But just a soft device driver may...


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- 2 min read
Over 2,600% growth in no. of bar hotels in Kerala in 8 years
Kerala has witnessed a staggering growth rate of 2,662% in bar hotels, rising from 29 in 2016 to 801 presently due to liberalization of excise policy. The growth is concentrated in districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Thrissur, while Wayanad and Idukki have low business.
From being a state with one of the least number of bar hotels in 2016, Kerala presently has 801 functional bar hotels, a whopping growth rate of 2,662% in last eight years.
After LDF govt liberalized the excise policy, the number of bar hotels in state rose to 801 presently from 29 in 2016. During the second LDF govt under Pinarayi Vijayan, 97 new licences have been issued so far. Of these 97, three districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Thrissur— together constitute 53% of bar hotels.
The previous LDF govt under Vijayan had issued 200 fresh bar licences, taking the total number of bar hotels at the end of first LDF govt to 671, including renewing the expired licences.
While there are several applicants from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam, districts like Wayanad and Idukki, known for tourism, the number of takers for bar hotels is comparatively low. While no fresh licences were issued in Kasaragod and Pathanamthitta, the number of bar hotels that have come up were very less in Idukki (2), Malappuram (2), Kannur (4), Wayanad (5) and Kozhikode (5) in last two-and-a-half years.
The reason for low takers in Wayanad and Idukki has been attributed to low business on weekdays. “For survival of bar hotels, a steady and regular business is required. They will not survive with just weekend business, which is the trend in resorts in Idukki or Wayanad,” said general secretary of Federation of Kerala Hotels’ Association K B Padmadas.
As per the association’s assessment, Rs 1-1.5 lakh is the average per day sales in a bar hotel in the state. At least Rs 2 lakh worth sales per day is required for bar hotels to turn profitable. Govt has been increasing the licence fee and liquor prices.
Also, stiff competition from Bevco outlets is forcing the bars to maintain their selling rates within a limit. “The business has become unaffordable for bar hotel owners. Most owners have availed huge loans to set up the hotels. Also, every five years, the star classification has to be conducted. According to our estimation, some of these may shut down because of a non-profitable business in the coming years,” said Padmadas.
Even with its 272 outlets, of late, Bevco has been able to attract more customers. “Bevcohas focussed on improving services offered to customers.
The supermarket system where customers need not wait in long queues, automated billing, online payment facilities, etc, have made Bevco a place where any citizen, irrespective of male or female, can visit without hassles,” said Yogesh Gupta, chairman and managing director of Bevco.


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First official teaser images of the 2017 Chevrolet Beat is out. The image was revealed during a presentation at the SIAM conference held in New Delhi last week. The new Chevrolet Beat will be launched in 2017 and the company is also working on a compact sedan version of the car based on the standard Beat hatchback.
Features and specification of the new Beat is still in the realm of speculation. But it is more or less certain that the dimensions of the car will remain somewhat unchanged. Features of the new Beat might include things like sloping rake, redesigned headlights, a somewhat rising beltline etc. Underneath, the new Beat may use the same structure that Chevrolet used to build the older one. But as we said, this is all just speculation for now.
On the inside, the new Beat may feature a new infotainment system, possibly General Motor’s MyLink touchscreen Infotainment system and a dual-tone dashboard. As far as the engine is concerned, nothing is known about it yet.


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Search For "consumer education"
Updated : 3 months, 3 weeks ago IST
New Delhi [India], November 30 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Amazon India today announced the launch of "Mission GraHAQ"- a multi-phase campaign on consumer education and awareness through street plays (Nukkad Naataks). With this campaign, Amazon aims to proactively interact with online shoppers
Updated : 1 year, 1 month ago IST
New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI/BusinessWire India): Cargill, the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in India are proud to announce the Nutrition Innovation Mini Challenge as part of the 'PoshanPehal aur Pragati' project, for improving
Updated : 1 year, 6 months ago IST
Panaji (Goa) [India], September 5 (ANI): National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) urged for regulation of tobacco sales to prevent tobacco usage among children during an orientation programme and a stakeholders workshop organized with the Delhi-based organization Voluntary Organi
Updated : 3 years, 6 months ago IST
Gurugram (Haryana) [India] Sept 23 (ANI/NewsVoir): Paisabazaar.com, India's largest digital marketplace for financial products, released a consumer insight report today on India's rising credit awareness -'Making India Credit Fit'.


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Kingston introduced the KC3000, the next generation NVMe SSD
Kingston Digital Europe has announced the KC3000, its new generation of PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSDs for desktops and laptops.
Photo Credits: Kingston / promo
The KC3000 SSD offers the next level of performance using the latest Gen 4x4 NVMe controller and 3D TLC NAND ideal for advanced users who demand the highest speeds on the market.
Using Gen4 technology, the KC3000 delivers speeds of up to 70000/7000 MB / s read / write1 top performance and full capacity of up to 4096 GB2 for optimal storage. Users can work according to demanding workloads and experience better performance with software applications such as 3D rendering and the creation of 4K + content by upgrading system storage. The KC3000 is built with high-density 3D TLC NAND housed in the M.2 2280 industry-standard form factor for additional storage and enabling users to take advantage of PCIe 4.0 speeds. Combining performance and durability, the KC3000 is enhanced by a low-profile, aluminum graphene heat exchanger for efficient heat dissipation and cooling of your drive during intense workloads.
“With the rise of big data applications, consumers are demanding high performance and high capacity solutions,” said Tony Hollingsbee, Director of SSD Business, Kingston EMEA.
"Using next-generation PCIe 4.0 technology with the KC3000, we can deliver fast and reliable storage that meets the needs of a wide range of consumers in the market," says Hollingsbee.
By: Olivia J. - Zexron