text:
More Craft Beverage Producers Are Choosing New York Ingredients for Their Products
Farm-Based Manufacturing Licenses Incentivize Producers to Buy Local
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the number of craft beverage manufacturers holding a farm-based license has grown by over 150 percent since the first Beer, Wine, Spirits and Cider Summit in 2012. Immediately following the Summit, Governor Cuomo implemented important legislative and regulatory reforms to promote the state's craft beverage businesses. Since then, 433 new farm-based craft beverage licenses have been issued.
"New York's craft beverage industry is booming, and by cutting red tape to industry development, we have seen significant growth in the number of manufacturers supporting our local farms and spurring job creation across the Empire State," Governor Cuomo said. "Home to more farm-breweries, wineries, distilleries and cideries than ever before, I encourage visitors and craft beverage enthusiasts to enjoy some of the best products around, right here in New York."
"As I travel the State, one of the clearest signs of life in a downtown is the existence of a craft beverage facility," said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "By removing barriers, we have opened up new industries that are creating new, exciting jobs all over the State. New York offers among the best products in the nation, and we're proud to promote craft beverage producers and encourage New Yorkers to buy local."
Since the Governor's first Summit in 2012, the Empire State has experienced a surge in craft manufacturing with the vast majority of that growth coming from farm-based producers. Of the 523 craft beverage manufacturing licenses added since the first Summit in 2012, 433 are farm-based manufacturers that use New York grown agricultural ingredients in their production, accounting for over 80 percent of all new craft beverage manufacturers.
A list of all farm wineries, distilleries, cideries and breweries, by region and city is available here. The total number of all farm-based manufacturers is included below by region:
Central New York
New York City
Western New York
Major legislation helping to spur New York's farm-based craft industry includes Governor Cuomo's Farm Brewery Law that went into effect on January 1, 2013, followed by the implementation of the new Farm Cidery Law, effective January 15, 2014. These laws mirrored the 1976 Farm Winery Act that lead to a tremendous growth of wineries and grape production in New York State. The Governor also overhauled the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control laws to give more privileges to manufacturers that use ingredients grown in New York, including hosting tastings, operating gift shops selling any farm-produced wine, beer, cider and spirits by the bottle and by the glass from their tastings rooms. Farm manufacturers may also open branch stores, with 127 farm producers operating no-fee offsite tasting rooms across the state.
As a result of these reforms, more manufacturers are choosing farm-based manufacturing licenses and in each craft beverage category, there are more farm-based licenses than any other type. New York is now home to 348 farm wineries, 202 farm breweries, 123 farm distilleries and 42 farm cideries.
In addition, 80 farm wineries, 29 farm breweries, 12 farm distilleries and 6 farm cideries have opened branch stores due to legislation allowing farm breweries, cideries and distilleries to open branch stores. The growth in the number of farm-based licenses has led to an increased demand for locally sourced agricultural products in New York and a synergy between the craft beverage, tourism and agriculture sectors.
State Liquor Authority Chairman Vincent Bradley said, "Governor Cuomo recognized from the start the value that craft producers have for not just their own businesses, but for the State's entire economy. Policies enacted over the past seven years including modernizing laws, cutting taxes, eliminating fees, and creating new farm-based licenses have led to the resurgence of the craft beverage industry throughout New York State."
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said, "It is incredible to see the explosion of craft beverage manufacturing across New York State. With every new brewery, winery, cidery and distillery, producers are supporting new jobs, tourism and growth in the agricultural sector. We have only just begun to tap into the full potential of our craft beverage industry and I look forward to continue working with the Governor, producers and our research partners keep the momentum moving forward."
Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, "By establishing farm-based licenses, New York State changed the craft beverage landscape and today the industry is thriving. Our farm-based producers are creating jobs, supporting regional economies and encouraging tourism statewide."
Senator Patty Ritchie, Chair, Committee on Agriculture, said, "It's amazing to see how much the craft-beverage industry here in New York State has grown in such a short amount of time. We have producers not only creating great tasting beverages, but also connecting with our state's incredibly hardworking farmers who grow the very ingredients they use. I have been proud to advocate for changes that have helped the industry grow, create new jobs, attract more visitors and boost economies across our state - and thank Governor Cuomo, as well as Commissioner Ball for being partners in that effort."
Senator Rich Funke, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation said, "Since taking office, I have seen firsthand the economic boom that the farm-based craft beverage industry has had in the Finger Lakes region, representing a key component of the nearly $3 Billion generated in tourism spending in this part of the state alone. As Tourism Chair, my primary role is to make New York State more Tourism friendly, by cutting red tape and passing common-sense measures to spur business growth and I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue building on this newfound success."
Assembly Member William Magee, Chair, Committee on Agriculture, said, "We have eased up on restrictions and cut red tape for producers which has allowed farm cideries, distilleries, wineries and breweries to grow and flourish. This has strengthened these businesses, boosting our economy and helping to create jobs while benefitting the agricultural sector as well as local tourism."
Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell, Chair of the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development said, "The impact the Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cider Summit has had on the craft beverage industry is undeniable. The farm-based licenses show the benefits of empowering smaller community-based producers. It's a beautiful thing, for New York and the whole country."
New York Cider Association Executive Director Jennifer Smith said, "The happy union of agriculture and economic development that was encouraged by the farm-based manufacturing licenses is powerfully expressed in the growth of New York Cider, a category where orchardists can add value to their apples at the same time that they affirm New York's identity as a leader in craft beverage and culinary culture. We are grateful for Governor Cuomo's vision for our industry."
New York Wine & Grape Foundation Executive Director Sam Filler said, "Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, New York's craft beverage industry continues to grow at historic rates, supporting not just farm wineries, breweries, cideries and spirit producers, but also our farmers across New York. Thanks to the commitment of Governor Cuomo and the State, our industry continues to grow and thrive."
New York State Brewers Association Executive Director Paul Leone said, "With more farm licenses than micro licenses in New York, it's clear that the quality of our locally grown barley and hops is the best it's ever been. Thanks to the Governor's proactive approach to farm-based legislation, craft beer growth has reached record-breaking levels in our state, and the quality of the beer is some of the best in the country."
New York Distillers Guild President Cory Muscato said, "New York State is looked to as the poster child for alcohol beverage law reform throughout our nation. This is predominantly due to the introduction and success of farm-based licensing across all sectors of craft beverage manufacturers. Not only does the farm-based license prompt producers to choose local NYS agriculture over out-of-state resources, but more importantly it acts as a catalyst for the increasing relevance and participation in a craft consumer culture that has become so visible in many of our communities. The distilled spirits industry here in New York would not be where it is today without having a Governor and Legislature that is open and eager to work for and with us, championing our products here in state and beyond!"
New York State now ranks in the top five in the U.S. for its number of craft beverage producers in every category. The state ranks first in U.S. for the number of hard cider producers, second for the number of craft distillers, fourth in the country for the total number of wineries, and third in the country for the total number of breweries.
The changes have not only ushered in an explosion in the craft industry, but have also generated employment and economic development for supporting industries, including bottling, construction, freight, printing and advertising. New York agriculture has benefited directly from the Farm Brewery and Farm Cidery legislation through increased demand for locally sourced farm products. According to Cornell University, the acreage of hops grown in New York State has nearly doubled from 2014 to 2016, and the acreage of malting barley has increased by 374 percent in the same two-year period, from 422 to approximately 2,000 acres. New York is also now home to thirteen malt houses, all of which have opened following the demand generated by the new farm brewery license. At the same time, to the growth of agritourism in the craft beverage sector further bolsters New York's massive $100 billion tourism industry.


text:
Checkout-free stores are now live in 20 countries across the world: RBR
The number of stores across the world using checkout-free technology increased threefold during 2021 to more than 250.In most cases this is installed within the physical infrastructure of the store, tracking customers as they move around. Other retailers have deployed smart carts for larger basket sizes, which have the technology fitted to the carts themselves.
Amazon has the largest number of checkout-free stores globally, mostly in the USA and the UK, with plans for expansion in these markets and others. These locations use its Just Walk Out solution, although other retailers are also using the firm’s technology, including travel convenience store chain Hudson.
RBR’s research shows a wide range of suppliers are present in the market, with technology from firms such as AiFi, Zippin and Trigo live in an ever increasing number of stores.
A number of large supermarket chains, including Ahold Delhaize, REWE and Tesco, are also piloting the technology in existing outlets.
In addition, startups have been opening concept stores to showcase their own checkout-free offerings. To date, checkout-free stores have mainly been small in scale, with cart-based technology deployed in larger supermarket formats.
RBR forecasts the number of stores with checkout-free technology around the world will reach more than 12,000 by the end of 2027. If pilots at big box and grocery retailers are deemed successful there will be more extensive roll-outs across store networks.
The USA, China and large European markets will see the strongest growth in the number of checkout-free stores in the years ahead, with many other markets right across the world expected to see expansion too.
RBR’s Alex Maple comments: “Physical retail is undergoing unprecedented change, with retailers investing heavily in technologies to transform their stores, making customer journeys smoother, and helping to offset rising labour costs and shortages in several markets.
“While the deployment of checkout-free technology in some countries has been faster than in others, these stores have been set up in every region across the world.”

domain: news


text:
Marc Jacobs Proposes to Charly Defrancesco at Chipotle with a Flash Mob
When you go to Chipotle, the only question you expect to have to answer is whether or not you want to pay extra for guac. But on one particular Chipotle visit, Charly Defrancesco was asked a life-altering question by his boyfriend, fashion designer Marc Jacobs.
In a video posted to Jacobs’ Instagram Thursday, the couple was met with a flash mob dancing to Prince’s “Kiss” upon entering the restaurant. Even the employees behind the line got in on the action, and you can see Defrancesco's face light up as he records the excitement on his phone, not knowing what's coming next. As the dance comes to an end, Jacobs drops to one knee, completely surprising Defrancesco who quickly nods his head yes. Jacobs then springs to his feet to embrace him in a hug.
Defrancesco, who has his own candle line Lit by Char and also works as a model, and Jacobs had likely been dating for a couple years before Jacobs proposed in what has to be one of the most epic proposals inside a Chipotle ever. Now that the ring is on, we can't wait to see this stylish couple tie the knot. Congratulations Marc and Charly!


text:
Las Vegas, NV, USA — Leading Nevada elected officials, including Governor Brian Sandoval and US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined Genting Group Chairman KT Lim in announcing plans for a transformational new development project at the Echelon site along the Las Vegas
Strip. Genting, operator of major casino resorts operating under the label ‘Resorts World’ in Malaysia, Singapore (which includes a Universal Studios theme park among other attractions), New York City, the UK, and the Philippines has announced it has acquired from Boyd Gaming Corporation the 87-acre parcel, which will be used to create ‘Resorts World Las Vegas,’ Genting’s first destination resort in Las Vegas.
“We are incredibly grateful to the leaders of the State of Nevada, Clark County and the City of Las Vegas for joining us in announcing what will be a fantastic addition to the top resort destination in the United States,” said KT Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Genting Group. “This is a great day for Genting, Las Vegas, and the State of Nevada, and we look forward to taking full advantage of this exciting new opportunity.”
“The entrance of one of the world’s leading resort gaming developers into Nevada is another fantastic sign that Las Vegas and The Strip are poised for great things moving forward in 2013 and beyond,” Governor Brian Sandoval said. “The Genting Group and Resorts World Las Vegas will bring several thousand new jobs to our State, and will help us in keeping our economic resurgence on the right path towards success. I’d like to welcome Genting to the great state of Nevada, and we all look forward to the ground breaking of this new dynamic project.”
Resorts World Las Vegas will be a world-class destination resort with 3,500 rooms in the first phase, as well as 175,000 square feet of total gaming space across several gaming floors, and several luxury dining and retail amenities. The resort will also include additional convention space for Las Vegas trade shows, helping the city attract international business travelers with a distinct focus on business-to-business events and conferences. Over the course of the construction and operation process, Resorts World Las Vegas will bring tens of thousands of jobs to Southern Nevada for many years to come.
“Las Vegas is considered the gold standard in the world of gaming, resorts, and entertainment, and this project is an incredible addition to the thriving industries that call Las Vegas and Nevada home. A project of this size and magnitude will not only attract more visitors to our State, but will be a boon to the Nevada economy both in terms of jobs and Southern Nevada’s continued economic recovery and growth,” Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) said.
“This is an unparalleled opportunity to showcase what has made the Resorts World brand a globally recognized success for the past several decades,” added Lim.
More information on The Genting Group and Resorts World Las Vegas is available at www.genting.com.


text:
It’s hard to believe the humble VHS cassette and VCR are still being used to watch movies, not just as fodder for fan tributes. One of the defining mediums of the 1980s, the VHS and its magnetic tape now mostly turn up in yard sales, and VCRs are the domain of catalogues for the elderly. But it turns out the VCR’s last day wasn’t back when the DVD was introduced, but sometime next week, as the last manufacturer of VCRs gets out of the market.
Funai, the last holdout, was one of the original VHS VCR manufacturers. Back in 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that VCRs could be sold in America, despite the potential for copyright infringement, thus creating the entire home video industry almost overnight. Movie studios quickly discovered that cheap plastic tapes with their movies on them were a huge market, and that eventually shifted the industry to the home video model.
Now, of course, we have streaming video, Blu-Ray and a host of other technologies, but VHS was still popular. In fact the last VHS tapes shipped out in 2008, and Funai would probably have kept building them except for two factors. One, sales have hit an all-time low of 750,000 units, and two, people simply aren’t making the parts for VHS machines anymore. So they’re impossible to fix.
It seems unlikely the VCR is gone for good, however. In an era of desktop manufacturing and hipsters, there’s sure to be a revival. But for now, at least, “be kind, rewind” is a thing of the past.


text:
LawBreakers developer Boss Key Productions has finally broken its silence to talk about the game’s future and what’s in store for the studio moving forward.
LawBreakers didn’t exactly have the best start, while it was highly praised by most critics (other than ourselves) it struggled to find its player base and pretty much fell to the wayside. What’s more, Nexon effectively ditching the game was also a pretty big hit. Now, Boss Key have spoken out about the game admitting that it didn’t quite go to plan.
In a post on the game’s website, the company wrote that while the game wasn’t the success they’d hoped for, they’re not abandoning the game.
“The fact is LawBreakers failed to find enough of an audience to generate the funds necessary to keep it sustained in the manner we had originally planned for and anticipated. And while a pivot to free-to-play may seem like easiest change to make, a change of this magnitude takes publishing planning and resources to do it,” read the post.
“The team here has worked hard on this game over the past three and a half years and our studio is determined to give this game the second life it deserves. However, between now and then, we cannot sit idle. We will continue to support the game in its current state, but we also need to focus on other projects with fresh creative leaders. We have been working on something new and we can’t wait to share more about it! It’s a passion project that we’re in complete control of.”
So while Boss Key will continue to support the game which has all of 12 recent players on PC, there’s a high chance that we’ll see another game from Boss Key before LawBreakers can really make a comeback.


text:
Profits over People
Profits over People
Ford’s transmission will hurt them. But it also reinforces the perception of American small cars as inferior to Asian.
Here’s my prediction: when interest rates rise, our fake economy will take a hit like 2009. Sales of cars in general will plummet, especially the more expensive ones (trucks and big SUVs)
This will coincide with a spike in oil prices, leading to $5 gas. Spike could be due to the financial problems with fracking, or some hot geopolitical event. This means small cars will suddenly be popular.
The Americans won’t have them.
GMs EV fantasy will be just that, a fantasy. EVs require subsidies to compete, and in any case GM’s ability to crank out Bolts is rather limited. There are no Volts.
So the Detroit Three will lay-off. Even so, their revenues will drop so much, GM and Ford will burn thru their cash stash, at the same time they have to spend billions to recreate the ability to make small cars, which they have jettisoned in the past few years. And they will have to sell those at a discount to compensate for the c-aptastic transmissions, ignition, and perception.
Also, demographically, America is different. Americans who are of Hispanic, and especially Asian, descent, much prefer the Asian brands, which conveniently assemble many of their cars in the USA.
In this perfect storm, will GM and Ford be around in 2030? Or will they be bought out and rescued? Perhaps by the Chinese? Bailed out by a US government that is carrying 3x the debt it had in 2009?
As I think of how foolishly, IMO, GM and Ford abandoned small cars for current profit margins, and how much debt we have in America—the federal govt, college debt, 72 month car loans, rather ordinary houses in Royal Oak going for $500k, I can’t say I’m optimistic.
We created a whole systems engineering group but after a few years felt it was too expensive and layed off half the people.
Once the NHTSA auditor was gone, half the people were let go.
They are now running programs like Ultra Cruise with a half a– systems engineering approach to just get it done.
The article is just talk. All OEMs still have a lot more they can do.
We are no better. People knew about the ignition switch and got promoted too.
Would it surprise you that the chief engineer got promoted to being the chief engineer of Ford of Europe after she made the call to put that c-ap into production?


text:
Telus Corp. announced a deal Tuesday with electric vehicle charging network operator Flo to help improve reliability as adoption of clean vehicle technology is expected to ramp up.
Flo will use Telus' technology to monitor at least 60,000 chargers in Canada and the U.S. over the next five years and help provide support when they aren't working as they're supposed to.
"This agreement really helps support the development of critical infrastructure to meet the future demand," said Ali Barakat, Telus vice-president of commercial sales for Quebec and Atlantic.
All light-duty vehicles sold in Canada are required to be zero-emission by 2035, but the availability and reliability of public chargers remains a concern as uptake increases.
By 2030, Canada will need to have around 200,000 publicly accessible chargers, according to an analysis last year by the federal government.
An April 2022 study conducted by Pollution Probe, a Canadian charitable environmental organization, found 59 per cent of electric vehicle consumers disagreed with the statement that there is currently an adequate level of public charging stations in Canada.
Asked about charging maintenance, 21 per cent of respondents agreed that charging stations they attempt to use are often out of service. The study, commissioned by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, found 43 per cent of respondents have had concerns about being stranded due to charging stations being out of service.
With its network of charging stations located across Canada, more than 1.5 million charging sessions occur each month through Flo's infrastructure, according to the company.
It said its charger network is functional about 98 per cent of the time, while Telus said its network is 99.99 per cent reliable.
"As EV adoption is increasing, the infrastructure is becoming more and more an essential service so we want to make sure that we have a very good uptime," Flo chief network and experience officer Martin Brière said.
"What this allows us to do is to have real-time status of our chargers to be able to do remote diagnostics and ensure that if a station is not working to its full capability, that we are able to dispatch either one of our own technicians or (a contractor)."
The companies did not disclose terms of the agreement.
Barakat said the partnership builds on previous forays by Telus into the electric vehicle space.
Earlier this year, Telus announced a partnership with Australian electric vehicle charging company Jolt to install up to 5,000 public fast chargers across Canada, running on the company's network.
"It really demonstrates Telus' long-standing commitment to leverage technology, products and services to build a better and more sustainable future," Barakat said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:T)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press


text:
General Electric Company's 1963 annual report, mailed yesterday to 525,000 stockholders, stressed two out‐of‐the‐ordinary aspects of the company's business—sales of electric generation, transmission and distribution equipment in over 100 foreign lands and the growth of its atomic business.
At year‐end G. E. had 36 nuclear reactors in operation or in various stages of design and manufacture for worldwide customers.
The company had previously reported record 1963 sales of $4.92 billion and the second highest earnings in company history—$270.6 million, equal to $3 a share.
This latest report devotes more space to international business than any previous annual statement. Under a headline, “International business continues to increase,” it noted that G. E.'s efforts in the field made “modest progress against intense competition.” Export sales, it said, were second only to the 1962 level.Continue reading the main story


text:
NEW YORK — Teenager Kate Walz is living a grown-up dream — showing her own clothing line at a New York Fashion Week show.
The 16-year-old arrived in the Big Apple Wednesday with her family to premiere her fashion collection for the Fall 2013 season at Fashion Week on Friday.
It's a journey that started eight years ago, when her mother bought her a sewing machine. That's when the self-taught 12-year-old fashion hopeful started creating formal-wear collections — by hand — that she would end up showing at Omaha Fashion Week.
"I've sold in a local store and I sell my custom dresses for $75 to $400," Kate told DNAinfo.com in the lead-up to her first New York show. "From homecoming dresses to skirts for my mom's friends, I make for all age groups."
It wasn't until Gordon Josey, co-founder of FashionCampNYC, the Manhattan-based summer camp for aspiring teenage fashion designers, got wind of her story that New York became a possibility.
"She's a rising young star," said Josey, who has made Kate the face of his popular summer program. "She works hard and has a great following, and is driven and talented. She's already doing what [other] 16-year-olds only dream about."
"Kate's the latest young designer we've had, and she's immensely talented," said Plitzs founder Wayne Shields. "I commend her and her mom for getting good brand exposure, and we hope their participation in Fashion Week helps facilitate the introductions they need to grow their label."
Friday will mark a turning point in Kate's budding fashion career. In the evening runway show, she will present 30 looks in total — 20 of which were designed during the past four years, and 10 new looks.
"I'm so excited to expose my work in New York," said the 10th-grader. "The new collection is inspired by New York in the '60s, and that was my inspiration even before I knew I was showing in New York!"
Kate describes her designs as inspired by "the architecture of New York" with "softer details to get the Central-Park-in-the-fall feel."
She's using cranberry, charcoal gray, black and champagne as her color palette.
But Kate's dream hasn't come cheaply. The teen's mom, Jackie Walz, who supports her daughter's ambitions with a job at the chain clothing store White Label/Black Market inside their local mall, said funding a teenage fashion designer is "a serious challenge." But she said she'll "do anything" to help her daughter make it.
"I figured it would cost $5,000 for travel and lodging and another $2,000 for materials," explained Walz, Kate's self-described "momager."
She's already dipped into her 401(k) and, when she feared she couldn't afford the trip, the community helped her throw a fundraiser, which raised $3,200 to send Kate to New York.
"The community has been so supportive of her," Walz marveled. "We've blown the budget, but it's worth it."
In addition to the costs to make her dresses and to fly to and stay in NYC, participating in a Fashion Week event is not free. As with all runway shows, there are costs. Plitzs Fashion Week, one of many spin-off events held concurrently with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, charges a fee.
Shields explains that Plitzs has a stringent vetting process, but that the designers who are chosen must pony up to participate. He offers three packages: $300 to show 10 looks, $700 for 25 looks, and a deluxe package that includes a hotel room for 50 designs at a cost of $1,700. All three packages include professional photography, models, show production and publicity.
Walz sprung for the $700 package and negotiated with Shields to allow Kate to show 30 designs.
The next step will be turning Kate Walz into a viable company. "Our goal is to land her a manufacturer or get advice on limited distribution," explained her mom, who handles all of the business end of Kate's label.
Until then, it's a dream weekend in New York for a suburban blonde who loves hanging out with friends, shopping and making clothes. After Fashion Week is over, Kate will return to high school, where she takes an independent studies class in sewing.
This year she took on a 10-year-old intern, who helps her out after school. "She wants to be a fashion designer, too — just like me."


text:
Here at TheFIX we've been diligently following Romeo Beckham's fledgling modelling career since he signed on with major fashion label Burberry last year.
The 10-year-old son of Spice Girl-turned-fashion mogul Victoria Beckham and global soccer champion David Beckham has decided to follow in his famous mum's footsteps, at least for now.
Featuring in a series of über-chic ads, Romeo brings a charismatic and youthful approach to the classic English brand. We saw his modelling debut a month ago, and now his latest campaign video showcases the luxury label's brand new runway bag. What 10-year-olds and handbags have to do with each other, we'll never know, but we still want one!
Romeo and models
were shot by world famous photographer
Fresh-faced fashionisto: Romeo Beckham modelling Burberry's new runway bags. Image: Burberry.
According to Burberry's creative director Christopher Bailey, baby Beckham "stole the show" during the shoot, sporting a toothy grin and playful demeanor on set.
"This season's campaign lights up with the infectious energy of an amazing young cast of old and new Burberry family," said Bailey.
"We had such fun shooting the campaign and I think that comes through in the images, which really reflect the upbeat spirit of the collection," he added.
Well, we're hooked! While football fans may be disappointed, we just can't wait to see Romeo grow up and take over the fashion world, one super cute campaign at a time.
He may well grow up to be as handsome as his dad, who also just unveiled a new ad yesterday for H&M underwear:


text:
By inserting platinum atoms into an organic semiconductor, Univ. of Utah physicists were able to “tune” the plastic-like polymer to emit light of different colors—a step toward more efficient, less expensive and truly white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for light bulbs of the future.
“These new, platinum-rich polymers hold promise for white OLEDs and new kinds of more efficient solar cells,” says Univ. of Utah physicist Z. Valy Vardeny, who led a study of the polymers published online in Scientific Reports.
Certain existing white light bulbs use LEDs, and some phone displays use OLEDs. Neither are truly white LEDs, but instead use LEDs made of different materials that each emit a different color, then combine or convert those colors to create white light, Vardeny says.
In the new study, Vardeny and colleagues report how they inserted platinum metal atoms at different intervals along a chain-like organic polymer, and thus were able to adjust or tune the colors emitted. That is a step toward a truly white OLED generated by multiple colors from a single polymer.
Existing white OLED displays use different organic polymers that emit different colors, which are arranged in pixels of red, green and blue and then combined to make white light, says Vardeny, a distinguished professor of physics. “This new polymer has all those colors simultaneously, so no need for small pixels and complicated engineering to create them.”
“This polymer emits light in the blue and red spectral range, and can be tuned to cover the whole visible spectrum,” he adds. “As such, it can serve as the active [or working] layer in white OLEDs that are predicted to replace regular light bulbs.”
Vardeny says the new polymer also could be used in a new type of solar power cell in which the platinum would help the polymer convert sunlight to electricity more efficiently. And because the platinum-rich polymer would allow physicists to “read” the information stored in electrons’ “spins” or intrinsic angular momentum, the new polymers also have potential uses for computer memory.
Not quite yet an OLED
In the new study, the researchers made the new platinum-rich polymers and then used various optical methods to characterize their properties and show how they light up when stimulated by light.
The polymers in the new study aren’t quite OLEDs because they emit light when stimulated by other light. An OLED is a polymer that emits light when stimulated by electrical current.
“We haven’t yet fabricated an OLED with it,” Vardeny says. “The paper shows we get multiple colors simultaneously from one polymer,” making it possible to develop an OLED in which single pixels emit white light.
Vardeny predicts about one year until design of a “platinum-rich pi-conjugated polymer” that is tuned to emit white light when stimulated by light, and about two years until development of true white organic LEDs.
“The whole project is supported by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) for replacing white light from regular [incandescent] bulbs,” he says.
The Univ. of Utah conducted the research with the DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Using platinum to tune polymer color emissions
Inorganic semiconductors were used to generate colors in the original LEDs, introduced in the 1960s. OLEDs generate light with organic polymers which are “plastic” semiconductors and are used in many of the latest cell phones, digital camera displays and big-screen televisions.
Existing white LEDs are not truly white. White results from combining colors of the entire spectrum, but light from blue, green and red LEDs can be combined to create white light, as is the case with many cell phone displays. Other “white” LEDs use blue LEDs, “down-convert” some of the blue to yellow, and then mix the blue and yellow to produce light that appears white.
The new platinum-doped polymers hold promise for making white OLEDs, but can convert more energy to light than other OLEDs now under development, Vardeny says. That is because the addition of platinum to the polymer makes accessible more energy stored within the polymer molecules.
Polymers have two kinds of electronic states. They have a “singlet” state that can be stimulated by light or electricity to emit higher energy, fluorescent blue light. Until now, OLEDs derived their light only from this state, allowing them to convert only 25% of energy into light—better than incandescent bulbs but far from perfect. They also have a normally inaccessible “triplet” state that theoretically could emit lower energy phosphorescent red light, but normally does not, leaving 75% of electrical energy that goes into the polymer inaccessible for conversion to light.
Vardeny says he and his colleagues decided to add platinum atoms to a polymer because it already was known that “if you put a heavy atom in molecules in general, it can make the triplet state more accessible to being stimulated by light and emitting light.”
Ideally, a new generation of white OLEDs would not only produce true white light, but also be much more energy efficient because they would use both fluorescence and phosphorescence, he adds.
For the study, the researchers used two versions of the same polymer. One version, Pt-1, had a platinum atom in every unit or link in the chain-like semiconducting polymer. Pt-1 emitted violet and yellow light. The other version, Pt-3, had a platinum atom every third unit, and emitted blue and orange light.
By varying the amount of platinum in the polymer, the physicists could create and adjust emissions of fluorescent and phosphorescent light, and adjust the relative intensity of one color over another.
Source: Univ. of Utah


text:
Global express service provider, DHL Express, has opened its expanded Johor Gateway facility in the Senai Airport City industrial park. The facility, which is more than twice as big as its predecessor and is worth MYR 10.8 million (USD 2.37 million), would promote brisk trade growth in Malaysia’s southern region.
With its high-speed conveyor system, the new Johor Gateway can sort up to 1,900 cargo per hour. This offers improved shipment processing for more than 1,800 parcels and documents bound for and coming from the facility’s busiest trade lanes, namely the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, China, and Japan. Customers in Singapore and Johor benefit from improved service due to the shorter transit times. According to Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) guidelines, the Johor Gateway is run by 135 Certified International Specialists and is built to the highest security standards.
Besides modern X-ray and explosive trace detection (ETD) equipment, high-definition digital cameras that track and record shipment movement piece by piece will be implemented. The facility is equipped with cutting-edge solar panels and energy-efficient infrastructure that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 22%, in keeping with Deutsche Post DHL Group’s objective to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Johor Gateway is one of six gateways across the DHL Express Malaysia aviation and ground network. This entails 11 service centers, 137 retail stores and service points, 347 vehicles, 73 weekly flights, four dedicated aircrafts, and 1,500 employees.
(Sources: Airfreight-logistics; Stattimes)


text:
Hearing Monday on marijuana proposal
Local Roots eyes site in Marlborough
MARLBOROUGH — City councilors Monday will hear residents’ say on a proposed adult use marijuana dispensary planned for Boston Post Road.
The council will hold a public hearing on Local Roots New England Inc.’s request for a special permit to open an adult-use marijuana dispensary at 910 Boston Post Road East (Rte. 20). The hearing will be held virtually at 8 p.m. Residents interested in participating are asked to call 617-433-9462 and enter the conference identification number of 735831157#.
Local Roots is seeking to join Garden Remedies and Vedi Naturals as marijuana dispensaries in the city. Garden Remedies opened a medical and adult-use dispensary last year in the Marlboro Square Plaza on Rte. 20 on the city’s east side. Vedi Naturals recently received a special permit to open an adult-use dispensary at the Twin Boro Crossing Plaza on Marlborough’s west side and hopes to open soon.
Local Roots' proposed 1,885-square-foot dispensary will feature 885 square feet of retail space, with the remainder of the facility used for security, an employee break room, bathrooms, a vault and a management office. The property will feature 25 dedicated parking spaces, with additional parking available, according to plans filed with the City Council.
Company officials called their proposed location a perfect site for the dispensary because it is within the city’s recreational and medical marijuana regulated zone — which on Rte. 20 extends from the Sudbury line to Phelps Street on the east side and from the Northborough line to Interstate 495 on the west side — and its neighbors are mostly commercial. Hence, there will be minimal effects on residents.
The company plans to install a state-of-the-art security system and will ensure the interior of the sales floor and products will not be visible from the outside, per Cannabis Control Commission regulations.
Local Roots, which also operates dispensaries in Fitchburg and Sturbridge, strives to be a good neighbor and plans to hire local personnel for its store and area contractors.
Dean Iandoli and Catherine Trifilo started the company in 2016 after learning the benefits of medical marijuana in treating their 15-year-old son for symptoms he experienced with Tourette’s syndrome. The pair partnered with Michael Staiti and Richard Olstein in 2018 to bring business, construction and financial expertise, to the team.
Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.


text:
We have published a handful of blogs focusing on how important it is to have an excellent website,...
ARTICLE: YouTube answers common questions about their algorithm.
I didn’t read the article, what is it about?
Recently the folks at YouTube did a question and answer session where they gave advice and insights to help creators better utilize YouTube to grow their reach and following. Want to read the article for yourself? Check it out on Social Media Today!
Why does it matter?
This article is important because video marketing has been on a steady incline for years. We have seen numerous brands turn to video to connect with customers and provide value for the people who fit their ideal audience. We had a few takeaways from the article. The first is that YouTube doesn’t give preferential treatment to channels that post more often than others. Instead, they reward channels where users consistently come back to watch videos. The second is that according to the article chasing trends is not seen as a long-term strategy. They also mentioned that this strategy should be avoided if you don’t have content that will stand out amongst other videos about trending topics.
How can Castnet help?
At Castnet, we help businesses understand how to best take advantage of powerful marketing tools and channels. If you are curious about how Castnet can help you take advantage of social media. Head on over to our social media page and check it out.


text:
Can your investments reach new highs with cannabis stocks or will it all go to pot? How to back controversial start-ups
- Cannabis was legalised for medicinal use in the UK in 2018
- Six million people in Britain are said to have tried CBD
- Some analysts warn that investing in it is a bad idea as the future is uncertain
- We look at the growth and opportunities of the UK CBD market
In March, Alphagreen Group, which claims to own Europe's largest consumer marketplace for legally certified cannabis (CBD cannabidiol) products, secured £500,000 in its first equity funding round.
Several tech angel investors were behind the deal alongside cannabis-focused investment company Enexis AB, which has backed several cannabis industry businesses in the past.
While some angel investors and investment companies have invested in the CBD industry, is it a good idea for amateur investors to get in on the game as well?
Legal: CBD use in Britain was legalised in November 2018 - smoking cannabis is still illegal
Six million people in the UK have tried CBD, according to claims by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis and its report for 2019.
This year has seen a particular acceleration in CBD product use as lockdown has resulted in many suffering from stress and anxiety, the industry also claims.
CBD is a chemical compound found in cannabis. Unlike the illegal form of marijuana, it doesn't contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – this is responsible for the 'high' from the plant. CBD is marketed as having health and wellness benefits.
The CMC says almost 90 per cent of users purchase CBD online in Britain.
Sales already outstrip those of Vitamin C with €336m (£301million) versus €133m (£119.22million) respectively, according to the statistics from CMC.
Going green - George Vincent director of Handpicked CBD says he's seen record sales of CBD products during lockdown
CBD retailer, HandpickedCBD.com, says it's seen record online sales of CBD in May.
Sales in that month were 125 per cent higher than in February and website traffic has shot up by 67 per cent since lockdown began in March.
George Vincent, director of Handpicked CBD, says: 'While CBD sales have been soaring since the country went into lockdown, this nascent market was already seeing exciting growth before Covid-19 struck.
'A great deal has been written about the benefits of using CBD with many advocates using it to help relieve stress and anxiety.
'And that could explain why sales have been so strong during April and May, as large swathes of the country have been house-bound, and stress levels may well be at breaking point.
'CBD is one of the most exciting products to enter the wellness market in years and we expect to see rapid growth in the next few years.'
Potential for the CBD market
Cannabis was legalised for medicinal purposes on 1 November 2018 in Britain, while recreational use of cannabis is still illegal.
Surprisingly, only around 153 prescriptions have been issued in England since medicinal use was legalised according to global consultancy Prohibition Partners.
It says patient access has been mired by limited specialists able to prescribe the medicine.
Promotion of medical cannabis has also been hampered by the lack of clinical evidence showing cannabis' effectiveness in treating various conditions, including chronic pain.
It is estimated that 7.3m people use CBD in the UK every year and more companies are listing on exchanges with cannabis as their core offering
But there are promising signs that this will change. Prohibition Partners points out that more clinical trials are being carried out.
One notable trial Project Twenty21 aims to recruit up to 20,000 patients to the UK's first ever medical cannabis registry by 2021.
By 2024 the UK medicinal cannabis market is predicted to be worth nearly $1.3billion (£1.03billion), servicing nearly 340,000 patients, according to lofty predictions from the CMC.
The health and beauty industry are also getting in on the act with increasing number of consumers using brands containing CBD.
The food industry is still somewhat restricted in creating edibles that contain CBD and this is thanks to EU foods regulations.
This, says Prohibition Partners, could change once the UK exits the European Union where it could then emulate the Canadian edibles market which, according to reports, is leading the cannabis market this year.
Michael Klein, CEO of God's Greenery and cannabisMD.com says that the UK is seeing more listed companies with cannabis as their core business
More UK listed companies
When the industry was initially legalised for medicinal use, a few operators dabbled in the product, but it was by no means their core offering. Things have changed now though.
Michael Klein, chief executive of God's Greenery and cannabisMD.com says that the UK is seeing more companies listed on the public markets with cannabis as their core business.
He points out that on the New Securities Stock Exchange (NEX) has a few medical cannabis companies listed on it such as Freyherr International Group and Sativa Group.
Klein adds: 'More companies have been raising capital with the potential to list in the near future.
'Cannaray announced plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in summer 2020.
'The CBD marketplace continues to expand with fourfiveCBD, founded by rugby players Dom Day and George Kruis, with significant retail expansion in Boot's stores in the UK.'
Cannabis is said to have many health benefits and can help people who suffer from stress and anxiety
Should you invest?
CBD stocks have suffered thanks to panic created by the pandemic.
While products sold online have seen a surge in sales, the same can't be said for those that need a prescription.
This means that listed UK pharmaceuticals have seen a drop in sales as the pandemic has prevented patients from seeing their doctors. Clinical trials are also affected by Covid-19 social distancing measures.
Will recreational use of cannabis ever be allowed in the UK?
There are no plans to allow recreational use of cannabis in the UK. However, Prohibition Partners believes that this could changes in five to ten years' time.
This is supported by the fact that attitudes to cannabis among adults in the UK are softening.
In 2018 a YouGov survey revealed that 51 per cent supported liberalisation on recreational cannabis, either through legalising (24 per cent) or decriminalising (27 per cent).
In 2019 a similar YouGov survey showed that 53 per cent of adults would support legalising cannabis.
Other countries in Europe are also relaxing their laws on the medicinal use of cannabis. Meanwhile, Luxembourg is set to legalise the recreational use of cannabis from 2021.
Klein points out: 'There is a lot of disruption in the market right now. Which means there are a lot of opportunities.
'Consumers should do their research on companies beyond recent stock performance to unlock those opportunities.
'Consider if the company has a unique proposition and a clear execution plan. And, crucially, is it supported by a premium management team.
'Vireo Health International Inc. recently closed on a new round of funding to accelerate growth under the leadership of executive chairman, Bruce Linton.
'I have been impressed with Trulieve, a vertically integrated medical cannabis company in Florida. Strong management team and vision, with consumer need, is at the core of what they do.
'GW Pharmaceuticals PLC signalled the power and potential of cannabis with the FDA approved Epidiolex.
'Halo Labs have been doing a number of thoughtful acquisitions and partnerships to create value, including international expansion in Canada and South Africa.'
Investing in marijuana stocks is not for the faint hearted and performance can is volatile.
For example, in late January pharmaceutical and cannabis company Tilray's share price dropped by nearly 97 per cent price (see below).
Whether it will return to its former highs is not certain as it has reported large net losses, but it did enjoy a bounce of 22.4 per cent in May this year according to reports.
Clem Chambers, chief executive of ADVFN, which owns InvestorsHub, says CBD stocks among private investors that have proved popular include CBD Life Sciences Inc, Grow Solutions Holdings Inc., GRN Holding Corp., OWC Pharmaceutical Research Corp., Global Consortium Inc., Cannabis Strategic Ventures and Amfil Technologies Inc.
He adds that marijuana stocks that could be considered in the UK include Sativa Group, Ananda Developments, Zoetic, Spinnaker Opportunities and GW Pharmaceuticals - but, they will require plenty of research and it won't be for the fainthearted.
GW Pharmaceuticals is known for its multiple sclerosis treatment, nabiximols, which was the first natural cannabis plant derivative to gain market approval in any country.
Dejan Ilijevski of Sabela Capital Markets thinks investing in cannabis is a bad idea because there is uncertainty around the sustainability of cannabis cultivation companies
Once you've narrowed down your options, investing can be relatively straightforward.
Howard Lee, chief executive of Sorse Technology says: 'After doing their research, investors can buy stock through a broker or use an online broker.
'Both will allow someone to buy and sell stocks once they've registered and funded the account.
'Most brick and mortar brokers charge a brokerage fee for investment accounts.
'It is possible to avoid these charges depending on the broker you choose. These days, more online brokers offer investors commission-free trading.'
However, Chambers warns that this sector is still one for speculators. He says: 'Investors should think twice before considering any shares in this sector.'
Dejan Ilijevski, investment advisor and president at Sabela Capital Markets agrees that investing in cannabis stocks is a bad idea.
He explains: 'This doesn't deny the exciting potential of cannabis for medical use. The question is whether you'll get anything in return. The answer is no.
'We don't know which cannabis cultivation companies will survive, which among them will consolidate and which will prosper. Secondly, we don't know how regulation will play in all of this.'
For those still keen to invest in this sector, Chambers advises hanging on until the crash has played out before buying any shares. 'That means waiting for perhaps a month after the initial fall we are seeing.'
Industry commentators concur that if you are going to invest in marijuana stocks its best to think of it as part of your overall portfolio, which means not putting all of your money into it.
Chambers says he'd recommend that investors put no more than 2 per cent of their portfolio into it.
He adds: 'Diversification is always rule number one for successful investing. If [these] shares make you at all nervous do not buy these kinds of shares.'
Could investing in psychedelics be the next investment opportunity?
Could the next investment with potential for good returns be in psychedelics? Christian Angermayer, founder of Atai Life thinks psychedelic medicine will become mainstream
Christian Angermayer, a German investor who has recently founded biotechnology company Atai Life Sciences, believes the next decade will be remembered as the decade where psychedelics medicine hit the mainstream.
His company is the largest shareholder in Compass Pathways, the UK biotech exploring magic mushrooms in treatment resistant depression.
In May the company raised a $24million (£19.04million) convertible note – drawing new investment from Silicon Valley venture capitalists such as Peter Thiel, Steve Jurvetson and Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures. To date Atai has raised $100million (£80.2million).
Angermayer says: 'This round demonstrates that interest in mental health solutions is not a trend. Rather, it reflects growing awareness that existing therapeutics are not meeting patients' complex needs – and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the situation.'
Most watched Money videos
- Dacia unveils its new and improved third generation Duster SUV
- How to save on a home in the buyer's market
- Harry Redknapp encourages retirees apply for Pension Credit in DWP ad
- Ad spoofing! Trick fraudsters use to know who you are calling
- Rare 1988 Ford Escort XR3i with 2,800 miles auction estimate £30K
- HMV returns to historic Oxford Street shop
- The Autumn Statement winners and losers
- Ofcom cracks down on out-of-contract broadband charges
- How do Premium Bonds stack up against a savings account?
- Explorer finds 'incredible mansion' with abandoned wine bottles
- Autumn Statement: Jeremy Hunt considers cuts to inheritance tax
- JCB pothole pro machine can fix a pothole in eight minutes


text:
Deluxe Entertainment Dives into Virtual Reality
Deluxe Entertainment Services Group recently announced that they’re launching a creative services production division called Deluxe VR to develop VR experiences.
The company is based in Los Angeles and they offer a variety of services including complete production for enterprise applications, entertainment, promo material and now they’re diving into virtual reality.
Deluxe’s CEO, John Wallace, said, ““The way audiences and enterprises can experience media is evolving, and we have evolved our approach to production and post so that clients can create whatever they envision,” said Deluxe CEO John Wallace, in a statement. “We’ve invested heavily in laying a strong technical foundation for our proprietary VR workflows and in building a dedicated VR team, with the ability to leverage the artistic and technical talent of Deluxe companies worldwide, to handle projects of any complexity and scale.”
Deluxe VR supplies their clients with complete VR production and they offer post production services as well for all of the different VR platforms. They even create pre-rendered and real time animations and 360-degree live action videos. The company is planning on utilizing over 3,000 artists across the world including Rushes, StereoD, Iloura, Company 3 and Method Studios.
Malte Wagener has many years of experience in the entertainment industry. Now, he’s leaving his VP role at Method Studios and Company 3 to head Deluxe VR. Peter Shipkov is going to lead the engineering and PJ Nachman is going to head the business development initiatives for the company.
Nokia recently announced a partnership with Deluxe and Deluxe VR to help with VR post production that’s developed with their Ozo VR camera.
Deluxe VR is going to be releasing two new virtual reality experiences in the near future. One is an interactive demo that has fighter jets in it and the other is “Reco” which is an interactive story about some robots and alienist that grab the viewer’s attention pretty quickly. Deluxe Entertainment is a large company that was founded in 1915 and now employs over 7,000 people.


text:
2023-09-21T09:00:00Z By Megan Robinson
Retail news round-up on May 28, 2015: Philip Marshall QC to act in Tesco profits legal case, Tesco partners with Weve, M&S execs get small payout from share scheme
Philip Marshall QC to act in Tesco profits scandal
Philip Marshall QC, who fought over Liverpool FC’s last change of ownership, will represent on behalf of Tesco Shareholder Claims in a legal battle over the grocer’s profit overstatement scandal, according to Sky News. Sources said that a number of institutional investors had agreed to sign up to the case being represented by Marshall, although they refused to name them.
Tesco partners with Weve for mobile couponing in London concept stores
Tesco has teamed up with O2-owned Weve to trail a mobile couponing initiative in an attempt to raise awareness of its new concept stores in London and drive footfall, thedrum.com reports. Before the trial went live, Weve set a habitual location geo fence, creating a bespoke segment for Tesco comprising consumers who passed by the Villiers Street store or travelled in and out of Embankment Station at least six times over a two-week period. In addition, Weve also created a real-time location geo-fence around the store to engage with consumers over the age of 18 passing through the vicinity from Weve’s zone one commuter segment. Consumers were sent a message which when clicked on, brought up a unique mobile coupon barcode giving £1 off a £3 shop on food to go. The mobile coupon was then swiped though a new scanning system the company is rolling out in all of its stores during 2015.
M&S top executives to get tiny payout from share scheme
Scores of top senior managers at Marks & Spencer, including chief executive Marc Bolland, were informed that the retailer’s 2012 Performance Share Plan (PSP) will reward them just 4.7% of the maximum possible share awards. The meagre return comes just days after the chain’s first rise in annual profits in four years.
This means that Bolland and other executives will receive a bonus for last year, with 60% of their annual incentive derived from the company hitting a range of profitability thresholds, Sky News reported citing people close to the company.


text:
SEATTLE (CBS.MW) -- Getty Images said it agreed to buy the Image Bank, owner of the largest archival-image collection in North America, for $183 million in cash.
The acquisition will broaden Getty Images' gety stock footage collection. The Seattle-based company said the market for moving footage is growing, driven by emerging broadband Internet technology and the burgeoning number of people using it to enhance their Web activities.
The purchase positions Getty to address the needs of the online market, the company said. The acquisition is expected to add immediately to pre-tax profit and earnings per share.
Jonathan Klein, co-founder and chief executive officer of Getty Images, told CBS.MarketWatch.com the Image Bank brands will expand the choices on its first portal Web site, Gettyone, which is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Eastman Kodak fell 1/8 to 74 13/16, while shares of Getty rose 1/4 to 23 1/4.
Getty bills itself the leading e-commerce provider of imagery, with over 30 million photographs and more than 15,000 hours of film. It's is in the process of digitizing content and making it available on the Web.
Getty will now be able to take advantage of Image Bank's archive collection, which includes still images from the collections of UPI, the New York Times and Reuters. Its archive film collection includes newsreels, Hollywood features, silent films, television programs and music performances.
Eastman Kodak is getting rid of Image Bank to focus on core operations, a spokesman said.
"The company is working its way through its second year of a restructuring," said Charlie Smith, an Eastman Kodak spokesman. "Image Bank is a great business. It will do better in the hands of an owner that views it as strategic," Smith said.
It's unclear whether Image Bank's management will stay in place.
Klein said personnel changes haven't yet been determined. "Some managers will stay on after closing, and some won't" he said, as Image Bank's assets are merged with Getty's.
Gettyone will serve the creative professional market, which includes the advertising, graphic design, Web design and corporate communications industries. It will feature licensed images, royalty-free images, historic photography and sports photography.
The division accounts for more than 80 percent of revenue, Klein said.
The portal will allow customers to search all of the collections from one place, rather than having to search separately right now, he said. Getty Images plans to launch a second portal for its press and editorial division in the second half of 2000, he said.


text:
angry tapir writes: "Sony says it will start selling a head mounted display that provides a 3D theatre for music videos, movies and games, targeting people who prefer solitary entertainment rather than sitting in front of a TV with family or friends. Sony Corp said on Wednesday that the 60,000 yen ($A730) "HMZ personal 3D viewer" is set to go on sale on November 11 in Japan, and is planned for the US and Europe, perhaps in time for Christmas, although dates have not yet been set. HMZ uses Sony's own OLED screen"
The most difficult thing in the world is to know how to do a thing and to
watch someone else doing it wrong, without commenting.
-- T.H. White


text:
The battle for the small phone market is on. First there was HTC’s Tattoo, the Sony announced the Mini X10 And Mini Pro with a keyboard. Now the Pulse Mini enters and it is bringing a weapon to the battle, a stylus.
This is a very interesting move by Ericsson. They just announced a partnership with Opera to bring the eStore, this is a new way to buy apps other than the traditional Android Market or that other phones AppStore. This store will
The phone we originally known as the Bravo has been officially named the Desire by HTC is the hottest phone around the internet and now their are a few rumblings around that the first carrier to offer this phone is T-Mobile UK.
Video number two of the day from HTC official library. This video features the hot hot HTC Desire. This is essentially a Nexus One with Sense UI slapped on. This phone is rumored to be offered by multiple carriers around the
The evolution of Android and its apps are progressing at really good pace. The ability to customize Android has taken off seemingly since the introduction of the platform. Home replacements are some of the biggest modifications
This phone, codenamed Halo has been announced officially at this years MWC. It will feature a 3.7 inch screen as well as a plethora of other features including the aforementioned Pico Projector.
After months of waiting on Garmin’s Android based smart phone, it seems that it is really close to being in our sweaty Android loving hands. The guys over at MobileBurn was lucky enough to get their hands on the device and


text:
Even in sluggish markets, though, retailers will find profitable niches, such as selling luxury products to the very rich. As populations age—one in seven Americans will be over 65 in 2014—the desire for certain items (skin-care products to hide wrinkles, for instance) is rising.
Wealth, undeniably, is moving east but China’s slower rate of growth is causing concern; so too is a campaign to discourage showy displays of affluence. Some firms will indeed suffer; many Chinese luxury malls will remain disconcertingly empty. But the outlook is brighter than these forecasts may suggest. In 2014 five Chinese cities will join the four that already boast 100,000 or more denizens with incomes over $25,000. The newly affluent will travel to ever more foreign places, where they can splurge on luxury goods that are taxed at much lower rates than in China.
To watch: Boots on the ground. Burberry, a clothing retailer, is convinced China is still the place to be, after watching sales rise by 20% in the year ending March 2013. The company’s popularity among the wired Chinese nouveaux riches owes something to its online savvy—it has more than half a million fans on Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like service—but probably more to its physical presence in 35 Chinese cities.
From The World In 2014 print edition


text:
A beauty company that appointed a director to represent nature on its board last year has slumped to a loss and its sales were cut after it increased prices because of a rise in costs.
Faith in Nature, which is based in Greater Manchester and sells soap and haircare products, as well as household cleaners and shampoo for dogs, said that by taking "the right long-term decisions" its short-term profits have been hit.
The company added that it is "confident in delivering the right balance between profitable growth with respect for nature and the planet".
For the 12 months to June 30, 2022, Faith in Nature's turnover fell from £15.7m to £14.8m while it went from a pre-tax profit of £228,189 to a loss of £774,290.
At the end of its prior financial year, Faith in Nature said it was targeting a turnover of £20m for the 12 months to June 30, 2022.
The firm's latest financial figures, which have been filed with Companies House, come ahead of Faith in Nature launching a fundraising bid on Crowdcube.
Last September, Faith in Nature hit the headlines when it appointed a director to represent nature on its board.
A statement signed off by the board said: "In sales overall we were actually ahead of the categories in which we operated, performing well across the high street, multiple retailers and with our wholesale customers and it's fair to say that the second half of the year was better than the first, as consumer confidence grew coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In order to secure our longer term profitability we faced into some restructuring decisions with our international and online channels around our distributor base and promotional mix.
"Finally, and to offset some of the anticipated cost pressures, we implemented a cost price increase in the second half of the year.
"Whilst these were the right decisions for the longer term it impacted our growth trajectory and we are happy to report our sales are now beginning to rebuild and in line with our revised expectations.
"Taking the right long-term decisions have impacted our short-term profitability as we continued to face increased cost pressures stemming from a worsening economic situation, the war in Ukraine and a channel mix drift towards customers with lower prices and higher promotional costs.
"Despite the headwinds we have taken the opportunity to introduce new processes around forecasting, budgeting and reshaped many of our internal departments aligned behind a new existing company strategy.
"The board are motivated and are confident in delivering the right balance between profitable growth with respect for nature and the planet."


text:
At this week's SC08 conference in Austin, Texas, NVIDIA announced several breakthroughs with their Tesla supercomputer.
NVIDIA Tesla Makes Personal Supercomputing a Reality
Today, scientific research is carried out on supercomputing clusters, a shared resource that consumes hundreds of kilowatts of power and costs millions of dollars to build and maintain. As a result, researchers must fight for time on these resources, slowing their work and delaying results. NVIDIA and its worldwide partners have releaesd the GPU-based Tesla Personal Supercomputer, which delivers the equivalent computing power of a cluster, at 1/100th of the price and in a form factor of a standard desktop workstation.
"We've all heard 'desktop supercomputer' claims in the past, but this time it's for real," said Burton Smith, Microsoft Technical Fellow. "NVIDIA and its partners will be delivering outstanding performance and broad applicability to the mainstream marketplace. Heterogeneous computing, where GPUs work in tandem with CPUs, is what makes such a breakthrough possible."
Priced like a conventional PC workstation, yet delivering 250 times the processing power, researchers now have the horsepower to perform complex, data-intensive computations right at their desk, processing more data faster and cutting time to discovery.
"GPUs have evolved to the point where many real world applications are easily implemented on them and run significantly faster than on multi-core systems," said Jack Dongarra, director of the Innovative Computing Laboratory at the University of Tennessee and author of LINPACK. "Future computing architectures will be hybrid systems with parallel-core GPUs working in tandem with multi-core CPUs."
Leading institutions including MIT, the Max Planck Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cambridge University, and others are already advancing their research using GPU-based personal supercomputers. "GPU based systems enable us to run life science codes in minutes rather than the hours it took earlier. This exceptional speedup has the ability to accelerate the discovery of potentially life-saving anti-cancer drugs," said Jack Collins, manager of scientific computing and program development at the Advanced Biomedical Computing Center in Frederick Md., operated by SAIC-Frederick, Inc.
At the core of the GPU-based Tesla Personal Supercomputer is the Tesla C1060 GPU Computing Processor which is based on the NVIDIA CUDA parallel computing architecture. CUDA enables developers and researchers to harness the massively parallel computational power of Tesla through industry standard C.
"Dell has led the workstation category for almost a decade and GPU computing represents a massive leap forward in performance that will bring supercomputer power to the masses," said Antonio Julio, director, Dell Product Group. "The Dell Precision R5400 and T7400 will allow the scientific community to harness the capabilities of the NVIDIA Tesla C1060 GPU with up to two teraflops of computational power."
As well as Dell, GPU-based Tesla Personal Supercomputers are available today from the following leading HPC OEMs, Systems Builders and Resellers: AMAX (U.S.), Armari (U.K.), AsU.S. (WW), Azken Muga (ES), Boxx (U.S.), CAD2 (U.K.), CADnetwork (DE), Carri (FR), Colfax (U.S.), Comptronic (DE), Concordia (IT), Connoisseur (IN), Dell (WW), Dospara (JP), E-Quattro (IT), JRTI (U.S.), Lenovo (WW), Littlebit (CH), Meijin (RU), Microway (U.S.), Sprinx (CZ), Sysgen (DE), Transtec (DE),Tycrid (U.S.), Unitcom (JP), U.S.tar (U.K.R),Viglen (U.K.) and Western Scientific (U.S.).
To learn more about the industry-changing applications benefitting from NVIDIA GPU Computing technology, visit www.nvidia.com/cuda and for more information on the GPU-based NVIDIA Tesla Personal Supercomputer, visit www.nvidia.com/personal_supercomputing.
NVIDIA Tesla Gives Bull Customers a Revolutionary Performance Boost
Bull, a supplier of high performance computing (HPC) technologies, is partnering with NVIDIA to provide the Tesla S1070 GPU Computing System as the accelerator option for their HPC solutions. With this announcement, HPC customers in Europe can now get integrated solutions and services from Bull that combine Tesla GPU Computing solutions with Bull's range of other products for HPC.
"NVIDIA's Tesla parallel GPU technology is truly disruptive, delivering performance increases that are transforming industries," said Fabio Gallo, VP and director of HPC Solutions at Bull. "The Tesla S1070 is a world-class solution for HPC users wanting to handle large datasets and solve complex problems fast."
In addition, Bull has assembled a team of technical experts to work with customers and optimize their Tesla based solutions to deliver best performance for their given workload. This team is also able to provide training and other services as an integral part of a full service solution.
GENCI - the French national High-Performance Computing Agency -- together with CEA, the French Atomic Energy Authority -- is one of the many organizations utilizing the massive parallel processing power of NVIDIA Tesla in a large scale supercomputing project. Built and installed by Bull, the NovaScale supercomputer takes the available power at the scientific computing complex in Bruyeres le Chatel (in the Ile de France region) to more than 300 Teraflops, making it one of the most powerful hybrid supercomputer in Europe.
The Tesla S1070 1U system is based on the NVIDIA CUDA parallel architecture. This architecture is accessible through an industry standard C language programming environment that allows developers and researchers to tap into the parallel architecture of the GPU more quickly and easily than any other solution shipping today.
For more information on NVIDIA Tesla S1070, visit: www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_s1070.
NVIDIA Tesla Turbocharges High-Performance Computing Industry with HP ProLiant Servers
NVIDIA's Tesla S1070 Computing System is now being offered in the highly successful range of HP ProLiant servers. Several Tesla GPU based systems are already installed and are transforming a wide range of industries.
Acceleware, a company that specializes in enabling software vendors to leverage parallel processing architectures, has been working with Kodak to deliver a solution of clustered Tesla GPU servers for accelerating their large engineering simulations.
"Acceleware's cluster solution on NVIDIA Tesla GPU server-accelerated HP hardware enables Kodak to develop market-leading, high-performance image sensor products for consumer, professional, and advanced applications," said Herb Erhardt, Manager of the CMOS Sensors business unit at Kodak. "We have already seen significant productivity improvements that amount to greater than 10 times."
"Customers can respond rapidly to changing markets and maintain a competitive advantage by dramatically increasing the performance of their systems," said Ed Turkel, product marketing manager, Scalable Computing and Infrastructure organization at HP. "Through participation in the HP Accelerator program, NVIDIA Tesla GPUs on HP ProLiant servers deliver unparalleled performance boosts and, in some cases, enables computations not possible with previous generation technologies."
Tesla GPUs are available through HP's innovative HPC Accelerator program -- for more information, visit: www.hp.com/go/accelerators. For more information on NVIDIA Tesla S1070, visit: www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_s1070.
NVIDIA and Cray to Deliver Tesla-Enabled Cray CX1 Deskside Supercomputer
The NVIDIA Tesla C1060 GPU Computing processors in the new Cray CX1 line of supercomputers are now available. With "ease-of-everything" features and the ability to fit into a standard office setting, the Cray CX1 product reflects NVIDIA and Cray's goal to drive high productivity computing solutions into a broad array of markets including financial services, oil and gas, life sciences, government and academic.
"NVIDIA GPU computing technology can powerfully accelerate computational capability on important classes of applications. The Cray CX1 system is a flexible platform for individual scientists, workgroups and departments, and coupled with NVIDA's Tesla computing processors and Quadro GPUs, the Cray CX1 delivers an industry-defining supercomputer", said Ian Miller, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Cray.
Each Tesla processor has hundreds of processor cores that deliver nearly one teraflop of peak computing performance. The Cray CX1 delivers up to four teraflops of performance, right at the deskside, when configured with four Tesla processors.
"Many organizations today are investigating ways to augment the computational resources of their cluster and increase productivity," said Andy Keane, GM of the GPU Computing business at NVIDIA. "The Cray CX1 combined with NVIDIA Tesla GPUs makes massive compute power accessible to scientists and engineers, transforming their workflow and enabling them to get results fast, dramatically increasing the pace of discovery."
Using GPUs, researchers have reported up to 100x speed-up on applications in fields such as molecular dynamics, quantum chemistry, finite element analysis, particle simulation, and electronic design automation. The highly parallel architecture of the GPU has been made accessible for these industries through the NVIDIA CUDA architecture. With NVIDIA's award-winning C-compiler and software development kit (SDK) for developing parallel computing applications on GPUs, developers can exploit the GPU's parallel computing architecture and automatically distribute computing work across tens of thousands of threads and hundreds of processor cores.
NVIDIA and NEC Collaborate to Deliver GPU Computing Solutions to HPC Market
NVIDIA has begun a close collaboration with NEC to integrate NVIDIA Tesla GPUs into its systems for the high performance computing (HPC) industry. NEC brings extensive experience as a major solution provider in the HPC market to the partnership which will see powerful, parallel GPU Computing solutions deployed into a range of industries.
"This partnership is an important step for NEC to promote a total solution business including heterogeneous or hybrid computing technologies," said Fumihiko Hisamitsu, GM of NEC's High performance computing marketing promotion division. "NEC will offer unique HPC solutions to our joint customers and will work with NVIDIA globally to specify Tesla solutions for customers designing high performance computing clusters."
The first customer to leverage this collaboration is the Global Scientific Information and Computing Center (GSIC) at Tokyo Institute of Technology, whose TSUBAME supercomputer has lead the supercomputing scene both in Japan and globally for the past 2.5 years. TSUBAME was upgraded in Oct 2008 with 680 NVIDIA Tesla GPUs, unprecedentedly while the system remained in operation. The newly upgraded system recorded 77.48 Teraflops in Linpack, ranking it high in the global Top 500 supercomputer listing.
NVIDIA Tesla GPU Computing processors are revolutionizing industries such as oil and gas, finance, medical and life science. In many cases, processing tasks that are simply not possible on CPU-based clusters and workstations are being enabled by the Tesla 10-series products. Each Tesla processor has 240 cores, providing 1 Teraflop of processing power, along with 4GB of onboard memory. The new NVIDIA Tesla S1070 1U system features four Tesla 10-series processors -- for a total of 960 cores and 4 Teraflops of processing power.


text:
LeasePlan logo (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/LeasePlan Luxembourg) - Credit: LeasePlan logo (Picture: Wikimedia Commons/LeasePlan Luxembourg)
Thursday, 23 July 2015 - 10:00
Car leasing company LeasePlan sold for €3.7 billion
German car manufacturer Volkswagen and banker Friedrich von Metzler are selling Dutch auto lease company LeasePlan to a group of investors for 3.7 billion euros. Volkswagen made this announcement on Thursday, NU reports. Volkswagen and Von Metzler each owned 50 percent of the shares. "With the expansion of our fleet management activities at Volkswagen Financial services, the time has come for our idea to transfer LeasePlan to new investors", the group said. Volkswagen acquired its stake in LeasePlan in 2004 and the investment saw a good return. "That is also reflected in the sales prices." The group of investors buying LeasePlan includes Dutch pension administrator PGGM, ATP pension fund, sovereign wealth funds ADIA and GIC and investment funds run by TDR Capital and Goldman Sachs. A spokesperson for PGGM told NU that none of the buyers acquired a majority of the shares. The transaction is expected to close later this year, pending De Nederlandsche Bank's approval. DNB needs to approve the transaction due to LeasePlan's banking license. The Almere based car leasing company currently operates in 32 countries and employs more than 6,800 people. LeasePlan is the largest car leasing company in the world with a fleet of around 1.5 million vehicles. Last year the company made a net prfit of 372 million euros.


text:
Market response to the risks of sitting (I am looking into laptop holders for our spinner):
The research comes more from observing the health results of people’s behavior than from discovering the biological and genetic triggers that may be associated with extended sitting. Still, scientists have determined that after an hour or more of sitting, the production of enzymes that burn fat in the body declines by as much as 90 percent. Extended sitting, they add, slows the body’s metabolism of glucose and lowers the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood. Those are risk factors toward developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
“The science is still evolving, but we believe that sitting is harmful in itself,” says Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor of health services at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Yet many of us still spend long hours each day sitting in front of a computer.
The good news is that when creative capitalism is working as it should, problems open the door to opportunity. New knowledge spreads, attitudes shift, consumer demand emerges and companies and entrepreneurs develop new products. That process is under way, addressing what might be called the sitting crisis. The results have been workstations that allow modern information workers to stand, even walk, while toiling at a keyboard.


text:
As more TV and sports broadcasters are making programs available via mobile devices and offering live content to their subscribers, the storm of available content and consumers demanding it has led to the growth of video content across all devices, particularly tablets and smartphones. Our U.S. Digital Video Benchmark Report for 2012 uncovered some interesting trends.
CONSUMPTION OF ENCRYPTED CONTENT IS SURGING
TV Everywhere video content, which grants access to encrypted content through subscriber authentication, has grown over 12x year-over-year (YoY) in 2012. The hockey stick growth curve is due partially to major sporting events and partially to the increased adoption by affluent, tech savvy tablet device users. Mobile viewership accounts for over 70% of the TV Everywhere views.
However, the most engaged viewers come from the small portion of those accessing the content via Xbox game console, averaging over 14 plays per unique visitor. Apple users, which are largely made up of iPads, are also highly engaged with 14 plays per unique visitor.
TABLET ACCESS DRIVES GROWTH
Online digital video content consumption has also ramped up in 2012, growing at a rate of 30% YoY. Like TV Everywhere, online video consumption growth is related to mobile devices. Online video starts, defined as the initial access of any video, have grown 360% for tablets and 300% for mobile phones in 2012.
WILL DIGITAL VIDEO REPLACE OR AUGMENT TRADITIONAL TELEVISION?
Although the growth trends are very strong, they do not imply that viewers are throwing out their television and moving exclusively to digital video consumption. In fact, most content consumption patterns indicate that digital and premium video content consumption augments rather than replaces traditional ways of watching TV. However, the collision of mobile penetration, high speed data availability and usage patterns of digital video content demonstrates that consumers will be demanding that broadcasters provide additional levels of access to their content in the future. We expect these shifts to have profound impact on the future of the media business.
- For advertisers, targeted ad content will become more of a reality with large TV programmers beginning to latch onto the multiple digital video distribution methods. With mobile devices continuing to shape the way consumers respond to media content, the data shows that multiple forms of digital video access are here to stay and mobile continues to be a viable medium for TV and sports related video content.
- For broadcasters, new platforms are providing incremental value and targeting capabilities. Early adopters of digital video are affluent, engaged, multi-device consumer which should spur advertisers to pay extra to gain access to this crowd. With strictly online media companies producing unique content, it may only be a matter of time before all TV publishers are wanting to make more content readily available because it is the most beneficial for them and the consumer.
- For consumers, digital video leads us to an entirely different way to consume content, where we pay one time for digital access to content and are then able to gain access on a variety of different technology platforms. Challenges still remain before TV Everywhere is really everywhere, with the majority of consumers deciding to remain with standard TV for broadcast content. However, the future is bright for technology already adopted by many large TV and sports broadcasters as a valuable way to reach a growing mobile consumer base with valuable video content.
Marketing practitioner and media executives will want to ask themselves if they are utilizing these channels well enough yet. We want to hear from you. What video content are you viewing online? Where do you feel digital video viewing is moving?
"Onde Quando e Como eu Quiser"
subscreve ✅ http://bit.ly/ONDEQUANDOCOMO


text:
Porsche has confirmed that it will make a new electric SUV that will sit on top of the Cayenne. The production plan of this electric SUV is expected to take advantage of the success of the Taycan which was launched earlier.
This confirmation was revealed on the Porsche capital market day in Weissach, Germany. Porsche made a presentation to attract investors prior to the German manufacturer’s initial public offering.
We plan to add a new luxury, all-electric SUV model to our attractive portfolio, which will roll off the production line in Leipzig. This will further expand our position in the luxury automotive segment. We are targeting the higher margin segments in particular and aim to tap into new sales opportunities in this way”. said Oliver Blume, Porsche CEO
Blume describes their latest EV as a very sporty SUV with relatively high ground clearance.
The electric SUV is codenamed K1 and will be produced at a production facility in Leipzig from the mid-20s. Porsche will use technology from the Porsche Mission R, including an oil-cooled electric motor.
The race car concept debuted last year with up to 1,073 hp (800 kW / 1,088 PS), and a 920 volt architecture. The use of the 920 volt architecture allows for fast charging.
Previous rumors said Porsche’s electric SUV would be coming in the second half of the decade with a three-row cabin layout, something that has yet to be confirmed.
The Porsche Taycan, which is the German manufacturer’s first EV, has already outperformed the sales of the 911. Porsche is preparing to add to its electric vehicle portfolio with a target of 80 percent EV sales by 2030.


text:
General Motors to wrap India sales: Chevrolet cars that will say farewell
While GM has promised to continue providing service to Chevrolet cars owners, here's a look at its current offerings that will now bid farewell to Indian shores.
General Motors in talks with Isuzu Motor for sharing engines, vehicle platforms in India
The discussion happens when GM is undergoing a makeover in India, a market where it has been present for two decades but remains a fringe player.
General Motors to export cars from India
General Motors India Ltd is keen to tap the export market to utilize idle capacity at its Talegaon plant in Maharashtra.
GM's new strategy focuses on exports & new segments to boost sales
The export push is part of the de-risking strategy of the company, with volumes in the domestic market falling continuously despite new launches.
GM may shift lanes to boost lagging sales
Hit by falling market share, accumulated losses and low capacity utilisation, General Motors India is reworking its strategy with a focus on exports and entry into new segments such as sub-4 metre sedans.If implemented, the short sedan based on the M300 platform and the new generation Beat hatchback are expected to hit the market in 2017.
Top 10 deals on Hatchbacks in August 2014
Heavy discounts this month, but some might run out in a hurry. Read on to find out more
General Motors reduces prices by up to Rs 49,000
General Motors India has reduced prices of its various models by up to Rs 49,000 following the excise duty cut across car categories.
General Motors to shut its Gujarat's Halol plant to double Maharashtra plant's capacity
The company said it plans to invest $1 billion in India by 2020, money that will go toward doubling capacity at its second factory, located in Maharashtra.


text:
No Approval in App Store costs Developer 600 000 Dollars
FreedomVoice Systems‘ CEO, Eric Thomas informed his company that development on Newber app will stop. Apple have neither rejected nor approved approved it for the App Store after making FreedomVoice wait more than six months for an answer. “We followed all guidelines set by Apple”, says Thomas, “and never received comment from Apple as to why Newber application has not even been reviewed”. FreedomVoice have spend more than six months developing Newber and incurred 600 000$ in associated costs.
Many developers in the App Store are getting their feet wet with iPhone development, but for larger companies who have established software histories and large staffs, such doddling by Apple is a huge financial burden. Perhaps because of their friendly turtlenecks and ‘familly’ of software and hardware, Apple remain a quaint company who desire to be accepted by everyone – in instances where this image crosses an unknown hurdle, Apple cannot remain mum. They need to gird their loins and speak up: either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Thomas’ company’s experience is that the App Store is the ‘worst deal going’. As Apple approve or reject apps from FreedomVoice and many other developers, the attitude towards iPhone development will become even more dissatisfied. Just one month after submitting FreedomIQ Voicemail to the store, FreedomVoice received Apple’s approval and the app went live. Thomas cannot understand why Apple have ignored Newber which allows calls taken on the iPhone to be transferred to different lines so that a call never has to be ended to save that mobile bill.
For FreedomVoice, a simple ‘no’ would be enough, but after half a year and 600 000 dollars and more than six months of waiting for Apple’s rejection or approval, the damage has been done.
Via wired.com’s blog.


text:
The Euro one and two cent coins are basically worthless, and several countries have already decided to do away with them, rounding cash prices to the nearest five cents. Now the EU has bowed to the inevitable and decided to scrap these coins across all Euro countries.
This is a good thing:
The proposal is based on a study dating from 2018, which shows that there is no majority in any European country that is in favour of keeping the 1 and 2 cents in use, reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Rounding off al prices at 5 cents will save on the production costs of the smallest coins, and would also simplify cash payments. The 1 and 2 cent coins are expensive to produce because of the cost of raw materials, the striking of coins, and the transport, according to the Commission.
I have never carried these coins if I could avoid it. Until Belgium got rid of the things a couple of months ago, any of these coins that came my way would end up in a tube to be used to represent monkey poos, which is probably the best you can do with them.
Even with that in mind, the glass beads that we now use make for much better gaming tokens.


text:
Schoolwear group Banner has announced that it is transitioning its whole Aptus sportswear brand to sustainable fabrics for 2023.
Every garment will be made using polyester from recycled plastic bottles, including the new Aptus Sports Bra – the first fully reversible sports bra made from sustainable fabrics designed specifically for the schoolwear market.
The move to make all Aptus garments from sustainable fabrics brings Banner closer to its goal of transitioning 100% of its garments to “eco” by 2025. With the Aptus ranges and many more of its brochure stock transitioning to eco for 2023, Banner is two-thirds of the way towards that goal.
All of Banner’s brochures will also be transitioning to digital-only versions for next year, with this year’s brochure being the last to be printed. This year’s collateral is available for customers on the Banner Media Hub.
Banner revealed the move to eco for Aptus at The Schoolwear Show in Cranmore Park in the West Midlands last week.
It also launched its new website, at banner.co.uk, for garment decorators and retailers to explore and learn more about the brand, product ranges and the company’s sustainability journey so far.
The website also includes information on how Banner can support retailers through tendering for new school contracts in response to the latest Department for Education requirements for making sure uniforms are affordable.


text:
Vale Brewing confirms reluctant sale
Global financial adviser Deloitte is seeking expressions of interest for the sale of a controlling share in Vale Brewing, the McLaren Vale, South Australia company.
Vale is being represented by David Egan, a partner in Deloitte’s mergers and acquisitions advisory practice in Adelaide.
“The shareholders are open to exploring a range of possible deal structures (including the current owners retaining an ownership interest in the business),” says an investment brochure seen by Brews News.
Vale’s identity is not explicitly revealed in the document, which refers to the investment opportunity under the pseudonym of ‘Project Galaxy’.
“Having operated for c.10 years, Galaxy is well-established and has cemented its presence in Australia’s booming craft beer industry,” it says.
“Galaxy’s flagship brand is one of the most recognisable independent craft beer brands in Australia.”
That flagship is likely top seller Vale Ale, which in 2010 topped the GABS Hottest 100 poll, making it the last beer to achieve this honour prior to the six-year shared dynasty of Stone & Wood Pacific Ale and Feral Hop Hog.
Reluctant sale by family
Vale became family-owned in 2015 when the Collin brothers bought out the other shareholders in the business.
Director Tim Collin told Brews News on Tuesday that the reluctant sale is due to a change in family circumstances.
“My younger brother spent 2016 battling a brain tumour and as a result of that he is no longer allowed to drink alcohol for the rest of his life, which has severely taken the shine off owning a craft brewery,” he said.
“We are very proud of the products and the business that we have been able to build and we are very keen to see it continue to develop long into the future, but our position as a family owner group has changed and this has led to the decision to seek a partial or full exit from the business.”
Improved margin mix
Vale last year launched Fox Hat Brewing, a separate label for more challenging and experimental beers.
Collin said that while the company has lost some volume overall in recent years, improvements to its margin mix have kept its bottom line in good stead.
According to Deloitte, the company has a successful export business, with an established presence in several international markets for more than four years.
Collin confirmed that former CEO Stuart Mosman left the company in April, having joined early in 2016.
Mosman has been replaced by Vale’s longstanding head brewer Jeff Wright, who now holds the CEO role in a dual capacity.