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Why the FCC Just Botched Net Neutrality
If you want to see a Washington bureaucrat, tech giant, or telecommunications activist froth at the mouth, just mention two words to them…
In simple terms, net neutrality is a guarantee that big cable companies and internet service providers will treat all data equally.
For example, they can’t deliver Google’s (GOOGL) data at different speeds than Yahoo!’s (YHOO). They can’t block sites that they deem offensive… or keep consumers from visiting their competitors’ web pages.
The idea sounds great in theory. And net neutrality proponents shouted loud enough and long enough that they finally got what they wanted.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just reached a historic decision to accomplish its net neutrality goal.
Great news, right? Not so fast.
The FCC has made a massive mistake…
The Idea of Equality
“All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others.”
So goes George Orwell’s famous line in Animal Farm.
The net neutrality debate follows a similar theme.
To achieve equality – or neutrality – the FCC designated internet service providers as “common carriers.”
The idea of a “common carrier” isn’t new. It dates as far back as the 15th century, when wagons offered to carry people or goods on predefined routes without discrimination. A prince and a pauper had an equal right to travel on a common carrier (as long as the pauper had the fare, of course).
Later, common carrier status was conferred on railroads, airlines, trucking companies, pipelines, and finally, on phone companies. The idea is that – in exchange for privileged access to things like rail lines, routes, roads, pipeline rights-of-way, and telephone poles – common carriers agree not to discriminate among customers. In other words, the president’s phone call isn’t privileged over yours.
The Netflix-Comcast Debacle
In 2013, Netflix subscribers using Comcast found that their streaming speed was slowing, affecting video quality.
Nexflix blamed Comcast. Comcast blamed the internet providers that Netflix was using. And poor customers, caught in the middle, became angry.
The issue was only resolved when Netflix agreed to make a direct connection to Comcast and pay the company an undisclosed fee.
But the damage was done. Angry internet users soon demanded some form of “net neutrality.” They didn’t want big internet providers like Comcast controlling their access.
For their part, Comcast and the other internet providers consistently rank last in customer service among Americans. Even worse than airlines and health insurers!
Meanwhile, companies in favor of net neutrality – like Netflix and Google – are wildly popular. And even when they do something customers don’t like, they have a reputation for responding to concerns. Cable companies that tried to win the net neutrality argument on “facts” had no hope. Nobody trusts them or their “facts”!
However, the facts are important – whether we like them or not…
You Can’t Handle the Truth!
For example, at peak times, Netflix was responsible for up to 30% of internet activity. In fact, usage was so heavy at times that it actually slowed down speeds for everyone, not just its own customers.
Think about it: A Netflix customer streaming a movie in high definition sucks up hundreds of times more internet capacity than a neighbor who’s just checking his stock prices… but pays the same amount for access.
Here’s another hard fact…
Despite the protests of net neutrality advocates, the truth is, some data is just more important than other data. Or at least more time-sensitive.
Think about emergency situations… the stock market… or situations that involve Homeland Security, the defense sector, or NASA.
But in granting “common carrier” designation to internet service providers, the FCC – at the behest of the Obama administration – has made a huge mistake. Some applications are so big that by treating them “equally,” it would essentially crowd out other users.
Perhaps that’s why a couple of important applications – like internet heart-monitoring services – are exempted from the FCC’s order.
But what about new services that haven’t even been invented yet? For example…
- Why should an internet provider have to plead with a bunch of bureaucrats to get permission to give fire alarms priority?
- Less importantly, how about online gaming? It’s a huge industry in the United States. Why shouldn’t Sony (SNE) or Microsoft (MSFT) be able to give some of their revenue to internet service providers in exchange for eliminating “lag” – thus improving the gaming experience for PlayStation and Xbox users?
- Why shouldn’t E*TRADE (ETFC) be able to throw some of its revenue to internet service providers to ensure that stock prices and orders from its day-trading customers aren’t delayed while a neighbor uploads pictures of his cat?
The telecommunications industry is waking up to the fact that digital data is different from crude oil or something you’d put on a UPS (UPS) truck. Unfortunately, most of the industry has woken up too late.
The ink was barely dry on the FCC’s decision before one of its primary proponents, Netflix CFO, David Wells, decided that he and his government-loving friends had unleashed a monster. At Morgan Stanley’s (MS) Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, he said that if it were up to him, the FCC wouldn’t have gone as far as it did.
Even Wall Street Daily Founder, Robert Williams – a net neutrality advocate – was surprised at how far the FCC has gone here.
Netflix is now trying to “clarify” Wells’ remark. But it’s already out there.
Besides, he’s not alone. Net neutrality was a big topic among wireless providers at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. That’s because the looming disaster is even more pronounced in the wireless world…
The FCC Just Squashed Internet Innovation
Yes, the FCC included wireless providers in its order.
Right now, it doesn’t matter much, since the carriers already manage their data by charging customers instead of content providers. But with the onset of 5G (which I’ll focus on in an upcoming article), there will be many new services fighting for priority.
I don’t imagine that a customer riding in a driverless taxi will be grateful for net neutrality when his car is competing with his Twitter feed to get data!
In addition, a general theme at the conference was that many new products and services that could be developed right here in the United States will now be developed elsewhere, due to net neutrality requirements.
In time, there may be a case for the FCC to ensure that all providers can reach all consumers. After all, it’s not like internet providers haven’t deserved their poor reputations.
But the day for that action hasn’t come. In the meantime, the FCC’s decision was a massive overreaction to a problem that largely hasn’t occurred yet. Its only real effect will be to slow the innovation of wired and wireless internet products in the United States.
To living and investing in the future,


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Intel has announced it is to chase after rival Nvidia in the automotive market with a deal to acquire sensor specialist Mobileye for £12.6 billion - representing the largest ever acquisition of an Israeli technology company.
While self-driving cars are still an uncommon site on public roads, there are those who believe autonomous vehicles are the future. Nvidia, in particular, is bullish about the potential for technology to transform transportation: in 2013 the company opened a dedicated automotive technology centre in Michigan
, and in 2015 launched the Tegra X1 'superchip'
with features designed specifically for the sort of high-speed computer vision and sensing applications you need for a safe autonomous vehicle.
Rival Intel is now coming up fast on Nvidia's heels, though, and it's splashing its not inconsiderable cash to catch up: the company has announced a £12.6 billion deal to acquire Mobileye, a company specialising in sensor applications. As part of the deal, company co-founder, chair, and chief technical officer Amnom Shashua will head up a newly-formed company consisting of a merger between Mobileye and the Intel Automated Driving Group, with oversight from Intel senior vice president Doug Davis.
'This acquisition is a great step forward for our shareholders, the automotive industry and consumers,
' claimed Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich during the announcement. 'Intel provides critical foundational technologies for autonomous driving including plotting the car’s path and making real-time driving decisions. Mobileye brings the industry’s best automotive-grade computer vision and strong momentum with automakers and suppliers. Together, we can accelerate the future of autonomous driving with improved performance in a cloud-to-car solution at a lower cost for automakers.
'We expect the growth towards autonomous driving to be transformative. It will provide consumers with safer, more flexible, and less costly transportation options, and provide incremental business model opportunities for our automaker customers,
' added Ziv Aviram, Mobileye co-founder, president, and chief executive officer. 'By pooling together our infrastructure and resources, we can enhance and accelerate our combined know-how in the areas of mapping, virtual driving, simulators, development tool chains, hardware, data centres and high-performance computing platforms. Together, we will provide an attractive value proposition for the automotive industry.
Mobileye is perhaps best known for the company's acrimonious breakup with electric car maker Tesla
, following the fatal crash of a Tesla vehicle under the control of its built-in Autopilot system and for which Tesla publicly blamed the camera and radar system supplied by Mobileye.

domain: news


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The MLB The Show 22 cover athlete reveal is officially on the clock, and we've got details on exactly when the announcement will be made.
Make sure to come back here to watch live as the countdown rolls on and we find out who the confirmed MLB The Show 22 cover athlete turns out to be.
MLB The Show 22 Cover Athlete Reveal Date & Time
The countdown has begun! After weeks of silence as many wondered when MLB The Show 22 news could finally arrive, Sony San Diego has cracked the floodgates ahead of a huge reveal.
As confirmed just a few short days ago, the MLB The Show 22 cover athlete reveal is now on the way, and we know exactly when fans can look forward to its arrival.
The announcement of the announcement, which is just a reality nowadays, stated the MLB The Show 22 cover athlete will be unveiled on Monday, January 31, 2022.
This matches perfectly with our predicted reveal date, which was based on the Monday, February 1, 2021 timing used for the MLB The Show 21 cover reveal.
They're going huge with the news, as it will be announced in a live stream direct from Times Square in New York City, and the countdown is now on.
MLB The Show 22 Cover Athlete Reveal
The timing we've detailed above is when the actual MLB The Show 22 cover athlete announcement is expected, while the stream itself will start a bit earlier.
The live stream begins at 8:35am PT / 11:35am ET, but in the announcements they've also specified that the reveal itself will happen just before 9am PT / Noon ET, so the countdown above should line up right about with that news.
WATCH LIVE: Stream the MLB The Show 22 cover reveal here
If you're hoping to watch everything go down live, you don't have to go any further as we'll have a live stream right here as the MLB The Show 22 cover athlete officially gets announced.
Don't bother going hunting for the live stream, we've got it right here so you can watch and see the MLB The Show 22 cover athlete reveal as it happens.
We're expecting Shohei Ohtani to remain a favorite, but with the choice to hold the reveal in Times Square it raises big questions about a potential New York Yankees legend being chosen as well.
Another big name on the table is Vladimir Guerrero Jr as he had an amazing season that culminated by winning the Silver Slugger Award and being the MLB Home Run Leader.


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Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
| On 31st Jul 2021
As supply chain disruption remains a significant challenge, American...
GBG USA, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Global Brands Group...
Although Asia's garment market rose in size in value terms before the ...
India-EU FTA will provide EU with better access to a huge & rapidly...
Donating 20,000 N95 masks to hospitals & NGOs
Strongly believe in 'people first' policy.
With production sites in Klagenfurt and Kufstein, Zimmer Austria is a...
Akram Tariq Khan
E-commerce brand YourLibaas meaning "garment or attire" in Udru, was...
In the financial hub of eastern India, Kolkata, a humble production...
Alexium International is a specialty chemical development company...
Garware Technical Fibres Ltd
Garware Technical Fibres Ltd (formerly Garware-Wall Ropes Ltd) is a...
Wearable Technology Lab, University of Minnesota
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota's Design of...
Abhishek Bajaj & Samiksha Bajaj
Samshek is a fashion forward tech brand which combines digital experience...
Ramya Rao & Kavea R Chavali
<div>The journey of Kalaneca (kala-Art, Neca- Nikaah) formally began in...
Anjali Bhaskar has an experience of 12 years in the fashion industry. She...
Letter to Editor
Subscribe today and get the latest update on Textiles, Fashion, Apparel and so on.
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The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will introduce new marketing campaigns aimed at boosting travel over the coming peak hot season to ensure it meets this year's domestic tourism revenue goal of 453 billion baht.
Visitors walk over a pool filled with suffering souls in hell at Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai. The spot is one among several popular Buddhist symbols that attract dhamma tourism travellers. SAYANT PORNNANTHARAT
It will try to give an alternative meaning to "full moon" with its Full Moon Meditation campaign in a bid to send a message that the lunar event is good for more than just partying.
This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here.


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Sony Indicates It Might Not Jump Into The Android Wear Bandwagon
Sony doesn’t sound too keen on launching an Android Wear smartwatch this year. This comes after several major Android OEMs like Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC and ASUS committed to launching a smartwatch based on the new wearable OS soon.
The two smartwatches unveiled by Sony so far haven’t exactly flown off the shelves, so it’s a little baffling that the manufacturer wouldn’t join the potentially lucrative alliance.
“We’ve already invested time and resources on this platform, and we will continue in that direction,” said Ravi Nookala, head of Sony Mobile U.S., in an interview with CNET.
Perhaps Sony could launch an Android Wear smartwatch in the future and still work on its own smartwatch simultaneously. This is what Samsung is doing, having recently launched the Gear 2 and the Gear Fit smartwatches, while committing to launching an Android Wear smartwatch.
It seems like the only smartwatch we’ll get to see from the Japanese manufacturer this year will be the the Sony SmartWatch 3.


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“Staples’ ‘Plan B’ is off to a rough start,” a recent headline in The Boston Globe reads.
It’s not media coverage that any PR pro wants to see—and for the company’s communicators, it looks like more hits are on the way.
On Thursday, the company announced disappointing fourth-quarter sales results—and then said that it would close 70 stores in North America.
In its press release, Staples explained:
Total company sales for the fourth quarter of 2016 were $4.6 billion, a decrease of three percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $615 million, or $0.94 per share. Fourth quarter 2016 results from continuing operations include pre-tax charges of $791 million primarily related to goodwill impairment, restructuring costs, and the impairment of long-lived assets.
The subpar earnings announcement also caused the company’s stock price to drop to the lowest it’s been in nearly seven months.


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Contract will bring local work for Burlington Industries
A $5.3 million contract awarded to Burlington Industries for manufacturing clothing for the U.S. Air Force will bring some work to Burlington.
The Greensboro-based company will produce micro denier polyester fabrics for the Air Force for use in physical training shorts. The fabrics will be produced at the company’s facilities in Cordova and at a finishing plant on North Anthony Street in Burlington.
“These advanced woven polyester fabrics are part of Burlington’s MCS family of performance fabrics, which are 35 percent lighter than the current fabrics used for PT shorts and have improved breathability and inherent moisture management properties,” according to a statement from Burlington Industries. “Using Sorbtek fiber technology made by Unifi, the lightweight MCS fabric works by absorbing moisture, moving it away from the skin, and releasing it for quick evaporation. This allows the wearer of the shorts to remain cool, dry and comfortable. In addition, Sorbtek fiber provides inherent soil release properties to protect the fabrics against everyday soils, like sweat and grass.”
The company says it has been “an integral part of the defense supply chain for more than 50 years and is uniquely positioned as one of today’s most diversified R&D centers for performance and technical fabrics for the military.”
Burlington Industries has been awarded a total of seven military contracts this year totaling more than $236 million over a five-year period. Awards include dress uniform and physical training uniform fabrics for the Air Force, Marine Corps and the Navy.
Burlington Industries was started by James Spencer Love in Burlington in 1923 and is now part of International Textile Group, Inc. The company employs approximately 5,000 people worldwide with operations in the United States, Mexico, and China.


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Plastic Jungle, a marketplace for gift cards, has just raised $10 million in new funding led by Jafco Ventures with Redpoint Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Bay Partners, and First Round Capital participating. This brings the startup’s total funding to over $23 million.
Plastic Jungle lets you buy, sell and exchange gift cards online. Instead of receiving cash for your gift card, Plastic Jungle also lets you trade the value in for an Amazon gift card or give your money to charity. Users can receive cash for unwanted gift cards for up to 92% of the unused balance and buy gift cards at up to a 30% discount.
The company is also trying to partner with online retailers to power a payment portal in the checkout process that will allow shoppers to use a credit from a different store to make an online payment.
While Plastic Jungle doesn’t reveal revenue numbers, the company’s former CEO Garry Briggs told us earlier this year that revenue is eight times more that what it was a year ago. The company also revealed in the release that it is on track to transact more than $10 million in gift card value in 2010. Plastic Jungle faces competition from CardPool and others.


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MALAYSIAN crude palm oil futures rose 0.6 per cent by midday today,
boosted by hopes of a recovery in demand in coming months, traders said.
said investors are less concerned about the high inventory levels and
kept betting on demand prospects as exports continued to rise and
production may dip due to rainy weather.
Exports of Malaysian
palm oil products for Nov 1-20 rose 14.53 per cent to 930,133 tonnes
from 812,095 tonnes shipped between Oct 1 and 20, cargo surveyor
Intertek Testing Services said earlier today.
anticipating good export numbers for coming months because eventually
buyers need to buy and hedge their positions,” said a trader at a Kuala


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On Friday February 26th 2016, Wari Cape Verde was officially launched in Praia.
The ceremony was held in the presence of Wari's CEO Mr Kabirou Mbodje, Deputy Managing Director, Mr Mouhamed Seye, Chief Communications Officer Mrs Awa Dia and Wari Cape Verde Country Manager, Ms Sandra Horta.
The Wari Group and its branch in Cape Verde were presented to an audience of reputable guests such as :
- Representatives of the Cape Verdean Ministry of Finance
- Senegal's, Portugal's and Guinea Bissau's Ambassadors
- CEOs of partner companies such as Financial and Micro Finance Institutes and oil partners (Vivo, Ecobank, Asdis, Famf, Bank of Cape Verde, etc.).
The event will be covered by the local press, which was also invited.
This launch has enabled the representatives of the Government and these partners to express their satisfaction with the launch of Wari's activities in Cape Verde.


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may have gotten its MTV, but investors don't seem too excited.
The largest search engine and MTV parent
are planning to test video advertisements. Starting next month, Internet publishers will be able use clips of shows such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" with commercials embedded in them on their Web sites and blogs. Google also will sell downloadable episodes of MTV programs to expand the cable network's reach on the Web and give Google an additional source of advertising revenue.
Shares of Viacom, down 15% for the year, fell 12 cents to $34.25, while Google was up $3.93 to $377.78.
"If this same announcement was made a year ago, the shares would have been up meaningfully," says Ben Schachter, an analyst with UBS, who rates Google shares neutral, in an interview.
Scott Kessler, an analyst with Standard & Poor's, who raised his rating on Google to buy from hold, adds: "I can't remember when this type of news was greeted with such a resounding yawn."
Investors may not be keen on the partnership since it isn't exclusive. Viacom already has a similar arrangement with
AOL and is interested in pursuing others, says Michael Wolf, MTV Networks chief operating officer.
Still, MTV believes that Google will help it expand its audience more efficiently than it could have done otherwise, he says, adding that many details are still being worked out, including whether the ads will be at the beginning or the end of the clips.
The companies plan to rotate the clips to encourage repeat viewing. Rafat Ali, of the
PaidContent.Org site, argues that this will make it difficult for publishers to generate buzz for their sites because users won't be able to share videos with their friends.
Allowing people to comment on videos is one of the reasons why
YouTube has surged in popularity, he says.
The New York Times
reports that YouTube, the No. 1 video site, plans to test advertising in a few months.
Establishing a foothold in Web video advertising is a priority for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, which is shooting to gain a bigger share of the advertising market. Video ads are priced at a premium to text-based banners, since they keep users on Web sites longer than they would remain otherwise.
"Google is one of the few companies that bring together the advertising aspects along with the technology capabilities," Kessler says.
Google is under pressure from Wall Street to diversify its revenue outside of search advertising, which is showing signs of maturing. So far, efforts such as Google Finance, its business news portal, haven't excited much interest in users. Shares are down 9% this year after more than doubling in 2004 and 2005.


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Apple is refocusing on the games market to try and boost revenue growth and maintain profitability.
Steve Jobs, the PC supplier’s interim chief executive, said the company had mistakenly ignored the games market for a while, but was now renewing its focus on the area.
“We want games to come back to the Mac. Somehow we forgot about gaming. We went to the games manufacturers and asked them what they wanted. They said they needed better hardware 3D acceleration and better software. We adopted open GL and we’re seeing some great games coming to the Mac,” he explained.
And he claimed that Apple’s “resurgence” over the last year was largely due to the number of developers coming back to the Mac platform.
“Some 3,935 new and renewed Mac applications have launched since the iMac shipped last August. This means developers are coming back to the Mac and are recommitting to the Mac platform in a big way,” he said. He added that the company’s iMac consumer desktop was another major factor in Apple’s renewed success over the last year.
“iMac is doing phenomenally well and we shipped more iMac last quarter than in any other quarter since its launch. In fact, by its first birthday in a handful of weeks, we will have shipped 1.9 million,” Jobs said.
About 90 per cent of iMacs in the US were used to surf the Web and 33 per cent of all iMacs bought worldwide were purchased by first time computer buyers, he continued, concluding that: “The iMac has become almost pervasive”.
IBM and Technical University of Munich team demonstrate how Shor's algorithm, which can't be cracked by conventional computers, can be solved quickly with quantum computing
Hubble Space Telescope finds superflares from young red dwarfs could strip away planetary atmosphere
Younger stars are 100 to 1,000 times more energetic than when they're older
Two of the big four supermarkets will use the system to control sales of restricted products
PUBG news and updates: November's Update #23 to bring new Skorpion pistol and changes to blue zone visibility
Genuinely useful side-arm coming to PUBG in Update #23


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During an investor call, Sony’s executive vice president and chief financial officer Masaru Kato stated that a “future platform” to follow the PlayStation 3 was “already under way”.
Kato stated during the call:
“For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life. but this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we’ll be introducing what product I cannot discuss that – but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there.”
Of course, this could be a line fed to investors questioning Sony that if Nintendo was releasing a new console, where was Sony’s? Three months ago, Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai flatly stated that development on the PlayStation 4 was on the “backburner” as the company focused on the NGP – PS4.
Let us know what you think.
Jonah Falcon is a blogger for TMRzoo and GameStooge.com and covers all gaming consoles and platforms including Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PSP and computer games designed for Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews, release dates and up to date gaming industry news, trailers and rumors.


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Though it seems a little odd that Apple has chosen the 4th day of a month to announce the 5th version of the iPhone, that’s what the gang at All Things D are reporting today. They feel very confident that this will be the date that newly-appointed CEO, Tim Cook, will take the stage and introduce the highly anticipated successor to the iPhone 4.
The report also suggests that the next Apple smartphone will be available at retail mere weeks after it makes its worldwide debut.
But this is by no means a sure thing. T-Mobile in the U.S. has already said that it is not going to offer it this year – a surprising statement given the cloak of secrecy that Apple usually enforces around all of their new products. Perhaps T-Mobile is right, insofar as AT&T is likely to be Apple’s chosen launch partner in the U.S., a relationship that dates back to the very first iPhone. T-Mobile might just have to wait their turn.
Of course, most of the speculation so far has been around which features will or won’t be a part of the next iPhone. We’ve pretty much heard it all. Every one of the following items has been tossed around as potential inclusions:
- LTE (the next iteration of 4G connectivity which both Bell and Rogers have recently launched in Canada)
- NFC (Near Field Communication) which is the technology behind Google Wallet and which has already been included in several other handsets including the newest BlackBerry and Google Nexus S phones.
- A5 processor – this one seems almost a given because it’s already at the heart of Apple’s iPad 2.
- 8 Megapixel rear-facing camera – I think this is a strong contender as Apple has made it clear they consider the iPhone’s camera to be a major feature. I would add to this that a dedicated camera shutter button on the iPhone 5 makes sense, given that the volume buttons are poorly positioned on the current iPhone 4 to act as shutter releases, even thought that is exactly what Apple is enabling in iOS 5.
- Larger display, thinner chassis – While it’s unlikely that Apple will re-tool the pixel ratio and resolution of their Retina Display, they might very well enlarge the dimensions of the screen itself. Most of the new “superphones” that have come to market this year are sporting displays in the 4″ range and it definitely gives these handsets an edge when it comes to readability and multimedia. A thinner chassis feels logical but I expect Apple to maintain the heft associated with the iPhone 4 – it’s one of the reasons the phone feels so solid in your hand.
But the other thing that some folks feel is a strong contender for October 4th’s announcements is a cheaper iPhone 4 – likely to be dubbed the iPhone 4s – that will be used to give Apple a more competitive product for emerging markets where price is a bigger barrier and where Apple has traditionally been outsold by RIM and other players.
We hope to find out more in the coming days so stay tuned!


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LUBBOCK, TEX. — A good cotton farmer used to be someone who understood how to control boll weevils, but now a successful producer needs to understand currency rates, an industry expert says.
``If a profit is to be made with cotton, you`ll surely have to understand cotton`s world market position,`` said David Cox, senior vice president of Cotton Inc.`s corporate finance division. ``We in this country have had such an advantage with a large domestic market that we`ve been spoiled. We have not had to prepare ourselves to be really good at doing business in an international way.
``Clearly, that day is over.``
At the recent annual meeting of Plains Cotton Growers Inc., Cox said the dollar`s high value played havoc with U.S. producers` exports. He compared overseas prices for cotton from Texas and its biggest competitor, Pakistan.
``With their lower prices, Pakistan is moving their cotton available for export while ours is staying in our inventory, unsold,`` he said. U.S. cotton sold for 62 cents a pound, while Pakistan cotton sold for slightly under 50 cents a pound, in Europe during the first quarter of 1985.
``Pakistan`s cotton is generally quoted in dollars, but when the dollars are converted to rupees--which of course is what the Pakistani farmer gets paid--well, you see it has made all the difference,`` Cox said. ``The change in the dollar`s value has allowed the Pakistan cotton grower to undersell you by 20 percent, yet get for himself the equivalent of a mid-80-cent price.``
American cotton farmers must understand more than currency rates if they expect to make key moves overseas, he added.
``All kinds of foreign cotton producers are after our export market,``
Cox said, using Australia as an example. ``Their production has come from nowhere in the past 10 years, from 100,000 bales a year to a million. It`s almost all exported.``
He quoted the director of Australia`s cotton marketing board, Peter Harris, as saying Australian producers needed to watch the American cotton industry`s role on the world cotton market.
``I think one reason they have been so successful doesn`t have so much to do with how well they farm, but with how carefully they follow the world cotton industry and how they use every business trick possible,`` Cox said.
Foreign cotton farmers are not the only ones the American producer has to worry about, Cox said. He said synthetic fiber prices had dipped below cotton prices in most major textile countries.
``Back in the `70s, that wasn`t the case, but there have been a lot of new, big, modern polyester plants built in the Far East, and now mills in these areas can buy polyester below U.S. price levels,`` he said.
Cox said E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. recently sold polyester for 50 cents a pound in the Far East while polyester sold for 68 cents a pound in the United States.
Various commodity organizations have requested provisions in the upcoming farm bill to encourage U.S. exports. Plains Cotton Growers board members suggest some sort of export adjustment to account for currency rates.
Cotton Inc. is a national producer-funded research and market promotion organization that says it does not lobby lawmakers.
``First of all, no matter what happens with farm legislation, I suspect that we will get some changes in our national tax policy that will help our cotton and other farm exports,`` Cox said.
Other countries have various national sales taxes that are paid only at the final or retail sale, he said.
``I expect to see a value-added tax in this country before long and would welcome it,`` Cox said. ``With a VAT, all goods, whether imported or domestically produced, would have that federal tax applied.
``One way or another, the domestically produced goods bear their share of the federal tax burden today, but we actually subsidize the foreign goods by not taxing them at final sale.
``With VAT the cotton you grow that is exported would escape the VAT, since no tax is applied until retail, so we would subsidize our exports to make them more competitive.
``With a VAT that imported cotton would pay its share of the federal tax when the final consumer paid the tax at the retail counter. A VAT works, and it`s accepted in international trade circles as being fair.``


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Honor View 10 with 5.99-inch FullView display, dual rear cameras, 3750 mAh battery launched in India for Rs. 29999
Honor has just introduced its new Honor View 10 in the Indian market. The company announced this phone last month in London and started restoration on Amazon last week. The phone will be available in India for Rs. 29999.
Honor View 10 comes with 5.99-inch (2160 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:9 FullView display. It runs on Android 8.0 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.0. It is powered by Octa-Core Huawei Kirin 970 processor with i7 co-processor and Mali-G72 MP12 GPU. It also has 6 GB RAM and 128GB of storage.
View 10 comes with dual camera setup where you get 16 megapixels RGB sensor and 20 megapixels monochrome sensor. The camera also has LED flash, PDAF, CAF and 4K video recording support. It also got 13 megapixels front camera.
The phone has 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS, USB Type-C and NFC connectivity. It packs 3750 mAh battery with support to fast charging.
It comes in Midnight Black and Navy Blue colors. It will be available starting from Monday, January 8 on Amazon.in.
This phone will directly compete with OnePlus 5 and is priced lower. It surely has a better camera and larger battery. It will be interesting to see how tough competition it can give.


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At its education event in Chicago earlier this year, Apple announced a $49 Logitech Crayon that was only available exclusively to schools and educators. As of last week, Apple has changed its tune, and the Crayon is now available for the rest of us at $69.99. The question of “which stylus to get” between the Logitech Crayon and Apple Pencil is really only an issue if you have the latest $329 iPad, which is the only iPad the Crayon is compatible with.
Though it can be seen as a cheaper Apple Pencil alternative, it’s the lack of pressure sensitivity that costs it the $30 difference. Yes, you heard that right, this $70 stylus doesn’t have pressure sensitivity. It does, however, have tilt support, which lets you adjust line weight depending…
from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/2Mmhq66


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By law, an automaker must mention "mobility" during any press event. Hyundai knows this but instead of just talking about how their cars can be configured to drive us around in the future, they went full-on flying machine. In a partnership with Uber, they announced the SA-1 air taxi at a press event. Sadly, at said press gathering what we saw was a tiny model. Fortunately, the full-size model was in the booth and we checked it out.
The SA-1 is far larger than anticipated. The four-passenger mock-up vehicle is impressive in its size and thanks to redundant propellers, it seems like a viable air transportation system. While Hyundai is known primarily for its automotive manufacturing, the company seems keen to branch out into aircraft.
The issue is that the company is honing in on Bell and Airbus' turf. Both aircraft companies have air taxis in development. It's going to be tough to beat established players in the market but Hyundai looks like it's going to at least try.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.sonos sonos One (Gen 2) - Voice Controlled Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa Built-in - Black read more
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In 1942, artist Allen Bellman answered an ad in the New York Times to work on a new comic book called “Captain America.”
His life would never be the same.
“I always wanted to tell stories through pictures,” Bellman told The Denver Post on Wednesday.
The now 88-year-old, who helped fashion one of the most popular comic book characters in history, will come to Denver in May for another appearance at Denver Comic Con.
“What can I say, back by popular demand,” Bellman joked.
Captain America is a patriotic creation, first published in 1941, telling the story of a frail man transformed into a super-solider by a special serum so he can help fight and win World War II.
“Pictures of him punching Hitler were very popular,” Bellman said.
Bellman said the first issue of “Superman” sparked his interest in comics.
“I was a kid when I worked on Captain America and never thought about the intensity of the character or what he would mean to so many,” Bellman said.
Bellman said he looks forward to seeing his friend, former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, at Denver Comic Con.
“I idolize him,” Bellman said.
Denver Comic Con will be May 31-June 2 at the Colorado Convention Center.


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Windows Mobile Doesn't Fear iPhone, Android
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"One thing we get asked a lot by media and analysts is 'What's going on with Windows Mobile?'" said Scott Rockfeld, Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) group product manager for Windows Mobile.
In response, Rockfeld and Microsoft can point to the fact that Windows Mobile-based devices continue to proliferate, even while Google's big plans for Android loom.
"We've launched thirty new Windows mobile since Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced Android," he said.
While the year-old Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone continues seeing meteoric growth -- it now controls 17 percent of the smartphone market by some estimates -- and is praised for making the mobile Web more accessible, Rockfeld argues Windows Mobile devices offer more choice.
"If you're a photographer, we have phones with much better cameras. If you want a real QWERTY keyboard, we have that," he said. "It comes down to personal choice."
As for offering advanced features -- an increasingly important selling point for high-end phones -- he points to several recent unveilings. Last week, for example, AT&T and Samsung released the Windows Mobile-powered Samsung Epix that incorporates optical mouse technology to supplement its advanced touchscreen interface. The built-in stylus offers better accuracy when making selections, though users can also use a simple swipe of the finger. The Epix also includes a QWERTY keyboard for typing.
An additional new Windows Mobile device, the Samsung Omnia, includes a five-megapixel camera with "smile recognition" technology designed to help capture the right facial expression, while another new model, the HTC Touch Diamond, includes videoconferencing features.
Rockfeld won't comment on rumors of Windows Mobile 7 -- a major upgrade to the software being planned. But he insists there's plenty of major innovation being done in devices based on the current Windows Mobile, version 6.1.
"We haven't announced anything about our mobile roadmap, but we're always working on future versions," Rockfeld told InternetNews.com. "We're happy to get 6.1 phones out there now and through the holiday season."
Rockfeld said Microsoft would be ready to start talking about future versions of its mobile OS next year.
Microsoft also doesn't shy away from touting the more than 19,000 applications available on its platform, compared to the 5,500 offered by the Apple iPhone store, as of last week. The Android Market application store launched on Monday with 50 to 60 available downloads.
Rockfeld also described Windows Mobile as a success in terms of the number of manufacturing partners it has (56 worldwide) and the number of developers it's attracted (numbering in the thousands.)
Many of those relationships were built over time, and he expects Google will go through a learning curve of dealing with multiple partners.
"Google will have to prove to them it can offer mutually beneficial relationship," he said. "Partnerships aren't always love at first sight."
One hurdle that Rockfeld sees is that the Android initiative is more about promoting Google's services, noting users are required to activate Google's Gmail service.
But while a Google spokesperson agreed that T-Mobile's G1 includes a lot of Google products, they said it also offers access to other services. They also said the system's log-in requirement is designed to make it easier for users to get started right away.
Google also said its well on its way to striking key partnerships beyond its deals with T-Mobile -- the G1's exclusive U.S. carrier -- and the G1's Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC.
"Working with industry leaders is a crucial component of our mobile strategy," the spokesperson told InternetNews.com. "We've forged relationships with some of the most prominent carriers and equipment manufacturers in the world, in some of the most strategically important markets in the world."
Who wins the smartphone race?
Even with Google and Apple joining the fray among established device players like Microsoft, Nokia and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, the smartphone industry may be poised to have multiple winners.
Industry analyst Tim Bajarin said he expects over 65 percent of mobile phones sold in the U.S. will be smartphones by 2012 -- up from around 10 percent today.
"The demand for smartphones is going to rise for Apple as well as Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, BlackBerry and others," he said. "The growth is going to be explosive."
Bajarin said he believes Windows Mobile isn't getting the attention of the iPhone and others because it's largely been optimized for the enterprise.
"Windows Mobile is already a very powerful platform," he said. "Whatever Microsoft does with the OS going forward has to appeal to a much broader audience."


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Solid waste: Is it time for a smaller garbage can?
by Katya A Williams, Editor, Sustainability & Social Responsibility
People are creatures of their habits and patterns, where purchasing goods makes a part of a person’s daily routine. American businesses produce and promote a wide variety of services and products, available and accessible anywhere and anytime, for shoppers with all possible needs and demands. America is the nation of consumers!
The more goods humans buy and use, the more waste gets produced. American businesses and homes generate an overwhelming amount of trash, also known as municipal solid waste (MSW), which is food, paper, carton, plastics, glass, yard debris, leather, metal, rubber, and much more. With clear evidence of environmental pollution caused by toxins in the atmosphere, water, and soil, it is important to understand that disposing of trash is a critical matter. Many will argue that they already separate recyclable items and trash. They may wonder, what else is there to be done? The answer is – just recycling is not enough anymore.
Does anyone ever think what happens with their trash? Where do all their food scraps, cans, boxes, bags, bottles, wires, tires, mattresses, couches, sinks, pipes (and the list goes on), go to after it all gets picked up and sorted? For those who do not know yet – trash travels. Solid waste gets moved from one site to another, from a wealthier country to a low-income country with fewer regulations, from one region of the U.S. to another region with more space for accommodation. And if it is not disposed of properly, it may enter lakes, rivers, and oceans, causing a great hazard for marine species and eventually affecting the lives of all living organisms.
The acknowledgment of better technology today than decades ago brings a great sense of relief. Solid waste does not get burnt on the streets anymore as it used to, and less amount of waste gets buried in the landfills today than yesterday. But even with the modern recycling systems in place, America still generates much more waste than it can dispose of. Joann Gonchar in her article “Talkin’ Trash,” published in Architectural Record, confirms that according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2015, the U.S. produced nearly 262 million tons of MSW, where less than 35 percent of this amount “was recycled or composted,” while the majority ended up in landfills or was destroyed by burning (Gonchar, 2018). In order to understand how important this data is, it is necessary to know that even though the methods of burying solid waste in the landfills have improved over the years, and most of the combustion (trash burning) facilities currently produce power by burning waste – both of these strategies are severely toxic for the environment. Another critical factor is that these practices contribute to the greenhouse gas effect. Landfills, for example, generate methane gas, which along with other greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone, and etc.) collects in the atmosphere and traps the heat, resulting in warming of the globe and rising of the sea levels. Logically, combustion and landfills are not appropriate strategies. What about recycling?
Let’s look at New York City. According to Gonchar’s article “Talkin’ Trash”, at this time only 20 percent of NYC’s trash gets rerouted, and a little over a half of recyclable materials (glass, plastic, and metal) disposed of by the residents, get gathered for recycling. And only four percent of food and other organic waste is collected by volunteers for composting. So to help to prevent an ecological catastrophe in their city, the residents should do more and start focusing on reduction and reuse of their waste, which goes beyond recycling.
While waste management is the local government’s duty, waste reduction and reuse should become each and everyone’s responsibility. Implementing a practice of putting tin cans, carton boxes, and glass jars into a separate recycling bin is an impressive accomplishment for this nation, considering many other countries do not have those rules in place. However, reducing the number of recyclable materials should be the new goal for businesses and individuals, considering the number of goods the American nation consumes daily. Recycling industries do not have a capability to turn absolutely all old products into new ones, so reduction and reuse should become a new habit!
Old routines are hard to change overnight, but some changes can be made, with communities working together on taking small steps towards a sustainable future.
These are some examples of reducing and reusing solid waste:
• Use less paper – utilize electronic communications instead.
• Do not try to “keep up with The Joneses.” Shop smart – not hard. Remember, less “stuff” – less waste.
• Explore thrift stores and online services for used goods. Donate old items to those that can reuse them, instead of throwing it in the trash.
• Use a shopping bag instead of plastic or paper.
• Avoid buying canned and packaged foods – buy fresh produce instead. Support local farms.
• Learn composting.
• Buy eco-friendly products. While buying an item, be mindful of how much waste it will produce.
Gonchar, Joann. “Talkin’ Trash.” Architectural Record. Vol. 206, Issue 11, pp.117-122, Nov.2018.
Wright, Richard T., and Dorothy F. Boorse. Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future. 13th ed., Pearson, 2017


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Some varieties of VitaFusion gummy vitamins being recalled
Church and Dwight is recalling different varieties of VitaFusion gummy vitamins, after two reports of customers finding metallic mesh in the products.
The items were manufactured between Oct. 29 and Nov. 3 of 2020. They were sold online and in-store between November 2020 and April 2021.
The recalled VitaFusion products include children's melatonin, fiber well, sleep well, and multivitamins.
Only bottles with certain lot codes and expiration dates are included in the recall. Check out the full list of affected products here.


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As consumers become increasingly savvy about labels, formulators are keen to reduce ingredient numbers and keep what is on the label as comprehensible as possible.
With the launch of Grindsted Pectin Prime 139, Danisco is exploiting the potential of this clean label trend. Ellen Trost, director of pectin marketing, told FoodNavigator-USA.com that pectin has a wholesome natural image that gels well with the ‘clean label, back to the kitchen’ movement that is particularly well developed now in the US and the UK.
At the same time Danisco is also looking to offer formulators a stabilizer that does not compromise on quality, and offers flexibility. Trost said the Pectin Prime 139 has a good texture and mouthfeel, great flavour release, and high heat stability.
All too often stabilizers offer one thing, only take something else away. This means you can find a product with good flavour but a gummy texture, or an inexpensive option with a poor flavour.
In the development of its latest pectin product Danisco claims to have combined different requirements. It claims the Pectin Prime 139 delivers “functionality, exceptional versatility and a clean label.”
In addition to offering good flavour release and avoiding texture and mouthfeel problems, Trost said the pectin enables fruits, herbs, and other pieces to suspend well in formulation.
Range of applications
In terms of potential applications, Danisco gave a list of products covering sweet and savory sauces as well as glazes, marinades, soups, dressings, salsas, and condiments.
Trost said that stabilizers are often highly targeted and only suitable for a very narrow range of products. She said Pectin Prime 139 stands out because of its flexibility, claiming formulators will appreciate the simplicity of having one go-to stabilizer for a variety of applications.
The ingredient will be making its food industry debut at the Research Chef Association’s Culinology Expo next week in Phoenix.


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When it stays cold for this long, it begins to affect many things including food prices and food production.
"If people can't find their root beer-flavored milk, they get mad!"
That was the somewhat sarcastic, somewhat accurate bottom line that local Shatto Milk Company co-owner Leroy Shatto shared with KCTV5.
Shatto says his milk production is down about 20 percent and it's all thanks to the lengthy stretch of colder-than-normal weather.
"The cows are eating feed, about 100 pounds per animal per day," Shatto advised. "But, it's going to keep the animals warm not to produce milk, so the cows are eating the same amount of feed, but are producing less milk."
Shatto has 400 cows. He says the cold weather has been bad for them and bad for him.
And, as he points out, "I can't afford heat for the girls."
Shatto says they've now purchased more cows to keep up with the demand.
With production down, Shatto said he's having to limit the number of flavors of his prized milk he can deliver to area stores.
"Our milk's in close to 100 stores. My poor cows can't produce enough to get caught up, especially with you city people rushing in and buying everything up each time it snows," Shatto said with just a hint of a laugh.
He adds that when it does get cold and people hunker down, they stock up on milk and bread, keeping the milk company busy.
"We have lost a little production and most dairies do. On the other hand, when it gets too hot, then they don't eat because it's too hot and then the milk production goes down. The dairy farmer, they are at the mercy of the weather," he said.
Still, the milk shortage is no laughing matter. Making things worse is the fact that the drought in California is driving up the price of hay, increasing the cost of Shatto's feed by about 10 percent.
So you've got cows producing 20 percent less, and you're paying 10 percent more to feed the cows. That's not a recipe for success. But Shatto said he can do a little more than wait for the weather to break and for spring to arrive sooner rather than later.
The cold weather also affects beef products and seafood and people may notice it on their bill at restaurants or stores.
"Lately it's been difficult just to meet our demand," said Vic Allred, the owner of Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen.
Allred said prices have gone up from all kinds of weather-related problems - from the West Coast drought to the East Coast snow storms.
"If I were to bring in a truck full of groceries, everything from seafood to beef to produce, that cost was about $3,000, but today it's about $4,000, so it's a direct hit," he said.
Items such as crawfish and shrimp are hard to get.
"We're about ready to head into Fat Tuesday next week so were going to sell a lot of crawfish. Well they've gone from $3 per pound to $5," Allred said.
Jazz's owner says he's trying to keep prices low for customers but, as you notice a change in grocery prices, so do they.
Copyright 2014 KCTV (Meredith Corp.) All rights reserved.
Tuesday, July 22 2014 10:00 PM EDT2014-07-23 02:00:37 GMT
Tragedy has repeatedly touched the life of the mother of a 5-year-old girl shot to death in Leavenworth Friday night.More >
Tragedy has repeatedly touched the life of the mother of a 5-year-old girl shot to death in Leavenworth Friday night. And some wonder if more could have been done to protect the children of Christina Harris from violence.More >


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More fees? Now all the major cell phone carriers are charging a fee, on top of any other charge they might dream up, to upgrade your phone.
After all the fuss over bank fees - the fuss, that, if you don't remember, stopped Bank of America from charging for the privilege of having one of their debit cards - it is unfortunate that another enormously profitable business has gone the fee route.
How about making a fuss about this? It stinks. Doesn't it?
Who hasn't looked forward to the end of the two years or so of their cell phone contracts and making an additional commitment to get a new - and free - phone. Thank you Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, for ruining the fun.
Verizon this week became the last of the biggies to charge this new fee. AT&T and Sprint are the priciest at $36. Verizon undercut them by $6 and is charging $30, while T-Mobile looks practically generous levying half the fee of AT&T and Sprint. That's still $18 more than they were charging before this fee-fest.
"I am very concerned that consumers have little choice in the cellular phone marketplace except to pay this new activation fee when upgrading to a new phone," state Consumer Affairs chief Barbara Anthony said. "With the announcement this week by Verizon, all four cellular phone carriers are charging upgrade fees â€“ in addition to the price of a new phone."
The idea of long-term cell phone contracts has always been a risk for consumers - with the reward being the free phone - so Anthony cautions consumers to be particularly attentive to what they are agreeing to.
Here are some tips from her office:
- Ask for all information in writing up front.
- Understand what you are buying.
- Try to negotiate the most consumer-friendly plan.
- Donâ€™t sign any documents without fully reading all the material.
- Pay special attention to cellular phone contract terms.
The author is solely responsible for the content.
About the author
Mitch Lipka is one of America's leading consumer journalists and advocates. He is an expert in product safety, recalls, scams, and helping consumers get out of jams. He is a nationally known consumer columnist and runs TheConsumerChronicle.com. He lives in Worcester. You can find him on Facebook or reach him at ConsumerNews@Aol.com


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GM OnStar app, only available to some Volt owners, spells out charging cost and has potential to tie into home automation system.
Martin LaMonicaFollow @twitterapi
I'm a Boston-based journalist with more than 20 years of experience covering technology and business. I come to MIT Technology Review from CNET, where I wrote about energy and science as the lead reporter and manager of the Green Tech blog. Along the way here, I've written about the Web, Internet startups, open source, enterprise software, and nearly everything else in the IT industry. Contact me at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Martin LaMonica's Stories
Monthly sales data show the Volt and Plug-in Prius are outpacing the Nissan Leaf and other electric vehicles.
Nest Labs' smart thermostat reveals the potential of remote software updates for home appliances.
Once-hot thin film solar company Miasole sold for only $30 million but it's technology may now be deployed at larger scale.
As gesture of good will, Nissan to buy back Leafs that lost driving range from high temperatures and long-than-average mileage.
Fisker Automotive brings in an additional $100 million which it needs to expand sales and plan production of its second car.
Broadscale will pair large corporations with clean-tech startups that are crossing the "Valley of Death" from technology development to market.
A test of driving range by Nissan Leaf owners seeks to find out if the electric car's battery capacity is being negatively affected by hot temperatures.
Siemens Energy cuts 37 percent of U.S. workforce due to uncertainty over whether wind tax credit will be extended.
Government plan to idle nuclear stations will mean increase in fossil fuel use, including imports, and a larger role for renewable energy and efficiency


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Apparently it seems Gionee is all set to launch a new budget Android device in the market. Dubbed the GN5001, the budget Gionee device was spotted at TENAA earlier today.
As expected from a Gionee device, the GN5001 pays impetus to the design aspect by sporting near minimum bezels. However, it may end up being a painted black bezel too - already many a Chinese companies are painting their bezels black to give a bezel less look!
Nevertheless the GN5001 sports an unknown MediaTek quad core SoC clocked at 1.3GHz each under the hood along with 1GB of RAM. So far it seems that the budget Gionee device will be using a MT6582 SoC under the hood.
The front of the device sports a 5 inch HD (1280x720) display along with three non-backlit capacitive buttons. There's however no mention of screen protection.
The optics of the GN5001 is handled by a 8MP Autofocus camera with a LED Flash and support for Full HD (1080p) videos. There's also a 5MP selfie snapper on the front which supports HD video recording. Gionee gets their camera spot on most of the times, and the GN5001 won't be an exception.
In terms of storage the device comes with 8GB of on-board storage along memory expansion via MicroSD card upto 128GB! Coming to connectivity the alleged device comes with support for TD-LTE and FDD-LTE along with the common set of WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. The devices measures at 8.6mm according to the TENAA listing.
Having passed TENAA today, the Gionee GN5001 can be expected to hit market in a few weeks in China. Gionee is also expected to bring this device to India rather soon.


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Preparations for the arrival of House of Fraser's huge new multi-brand store in Wolverhampton's Mander Centre will begin in the new year.
Tycoon Mike Ashley is launching one of the first Frasers stores in the city, which will feature a mix of his House of Fraser, Flannels, Sports Direct and USC brands.
It will be based in the store currently occupied by Debenhams, which will exit Wolverhampton in the coming weeks and is currently holding a closing-down sale.
Discounts of up to 70 per cent were being advertised on certain lines with up to 30 per cent discounts on clothes and boots inside the store.
The fit-out for its replacement will begin in January with Frasers to open its doors to shoppers in early 2020.
It is thought the various different brands of Mr Ashley's retail empire, from luxury Flannels to budget Sports Direct, will operate on separate floors.
The move will represent a big shake-up for the city centre and will result in House of Fraser leaving the historic Beatties building, bringing an end to more than 140 years of retail history.
After the Mander Centre's owners Benson Elliot announced Wilko would be coming to the shopping centre, the company said "the positive news for West Midlands shoppers will continue in 2020 as, in January, the fit-out begins for one of the UK’s first new Frasers multi-brand store concept stores".
Benson Elliot said the arrival of Frasers would deliver "a huge boost to the customer experience at the heart of the city centre".
The deal is a huge boost for the Mander Centre and will come as a relief to bosses following the blow of losing anchor store Debenhams, which will close in early 2020.
Negotiations are continuing over the future of Beatties with the University of Wolverhampton hopeful of completing a deal for the iconic site over the coming weeks.
Michael Murray, head of elevation at Sports Direct International, which owns House of Fraser, said when the announcement was made: “We are really proud to have secured this retail destination in the heart of Wolverhampton and look forward to bringing our new elevated multi-brand concept to the Mander Centre in 2020.”


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Two Teens Headed to Prison Over Nike Foamposites
A pair of Nike Foamposites is at the center of the latest sneaker crime, which has two Michigan teens headed for prison.
Malik S. Manuel and Ricky H. Morgan, both 17, are charged with two counts of unarmed robbery stemming from an incident in January where they allegedly pulled knives on two other teens. Manuel grabbed a pair of Foamposites from one of them, while Morgan robbed the other of $50.
During cross-examination, Manuel's lawyer questioned one of the victims about him possibly losing the sneakers in a bet with Manuel at a YMCA in Saginaw, Mich. Manuel's brother said he saw the victim lose the bet, supposedly over a one-on-one basketball game.
Manuel and Morgan will go to prison for more than two years each.


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While Danish crypto currency exchange CCEDK. The author is a Forbes. who has also written about the theoretical application of the blockchain.Computerweekly.com Editor in chief Bryan Glick was in Singapore to cover the Sibos financial services conference.Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is aiming to pilot.The price of tokens during the ICO will vary based on how many tokens are sold during the pre-sale.By now we all know the huge impact that Bitcoins have generated in the currency marketing world.Olympus Labs aims to create a decentralized, privacy-centered ecosystem of financial products, services, and applications.The decentralized blockchain distributed ledger cryptocurrency technology and applications are starting to gain.Alexandrov is the co-founder of Bitcoin7, which was one of the first bitcoin exchanges all the way back in 2011.Blockchain is much more than. the online digital cryptocurrency that simplified online transactions by bypassing government control of currency exchange. IBM.
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Free Online Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange Rate Conversion
Goldman Sachs wants to put foreign exchange trades on the blockchain. esque digital currency for traders). Foreign exchange markets are. exchange markets a.As financial institutions invest in blockchain. in driving digital currency exchange,. and seller being directly written into lines of code.
Since the first transaction in 2008 there has been a high wave of curiosity surrounding Bitcoin.Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are a highly lucrative and dynamic investment that can provide a significant profit.The development team started working on LockChain in April 2017, with a testnet launch occurring in September 2017.Tokyo-based bitFlyer has become the fourth digital currency exchange to receive approval from the New York. The Distributed Ledger Blockchain News (Thursdays.
Japanese Banks Plan Blockchain Currency Exchange — Steemit
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HIVE Blockchain has gone live under. TSX Venture Exchange represents the group’s public. 1 Comment on "HIVE Blockchain Technologies Goes Live on TSX.Mercatox has been founded in 2016 and is a high-tech UK based exchange that offers all crypto currency. Blockchain & fiat. LOC and this exchange listing.New Ada cryptocurrency token will tradable on one of the largest digital currency. Cardano cryptocurrency launches with Bittrex as first. on our exchange.LockChain claims that property owners can charge the same rates, while guests can pay 20% less than they do on other websites.
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Crypto Currency Exchange Software supporting BitCoin
WIRED’s biggest stories. the vast online ledger underpinning the bitcoin digital currency. The blockchain is essentially. With Winklevoss Bitcoin Exchange.Blockchain builders. Blockchain: Cardano cryptocurrency launches with Bittrex as. said “We’re excited to launch the Cardano platform on our exchange.Online Currency Converter Free Online Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange Rate Conversion Calculator. Source: Blockchain.
Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Con 2018 is an international conference for both blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiasts set to take place for three days- from 22nd to.LockChain allows property owners and hoteliers to add their short-term rentals and hotel rooms to the decentralized LOC ledger with a one-click interface.The pre-sale will end automatically on October 29, or when a hard cap of 50 million tokens has been sold during the pre-sale.BOA is one of the most active banks filing for blockchain and. an electronic request for a currency exchange and determine exchange rates for.Disrupting Foreign Exchange with Blockchain. proved as a concept with the digital currency Bitcoin. Blockchain enables moving from a batch base system to.Blockchain 101: Assessing the Potential of the Building Blocks Behind Bitcoin. Without needing to use a central bank or currency exchange,.LockChain claims property owners can list properties on their platform at 20% lower prices without affecting their profits.Individuals. Cryptocurrency investing and trading is often described as the "wild west." But if you are a trader that has been harmed by an exchange's fraud or.


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After seven days since adverse flooding throughout several communities in Central, North and South Trinidad, landslides and fallen power lines, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (...
You are here
Montserrat Hills launches new chocolates from Gran Couva
The Montserrat Cocoa Farmers Co-operative (MCF) launched its chocolate manufacturing facility on Sunday at Lee Sam Cocoa Estate in Gran Couva.
The MCF introduced five chocolates on the market that carry the brand name Montserrat Hills.
The facility was opened by Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat who praised the MCF for its work in developing the chocolate industry and noted that the MCF is poised to be a exemplary leader in the export of chocolates.
The chocolates would soon be available at hotels, souvenir stores and supermarkets.
The MCF also has a Facebook page where more information can be sought.


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For the sales decline, Apple still has not found a good response. The road to price cuts will certainly not be the main means. As for now, data from Gartner shows that in March of this year, Apple’s iPhone share in the global smartphone market fell to 11.9%, compared with 14.1% in the first quarter of 2018, and sales fell from 54.1 million to about 44.6 million.
The list is still led by Samsung, but its sales are also falling. At the same time, the market share of the South Korean manufacturer fell from 20.5% to 19.2%. Huawei’s smartphone market share rose from 10.5% to 15.7%, surpassing Apple. Its sales were 58.4 million units. OPPO’s and VIVO’s share increased from 7.3% and 6.1% to 7.9% and 7.3%, respectively.
Due to such a poor sales performance, Citigroup has lowered its earnings forecast for Apple. It said that the recent trade situation has led to a decline in iPhone sales in the second half of this year, and thus lowered iPhone’s target price from $220 to $205. Citigroup also pointed out its research shows that Chinese consumers see the iPhone as a brand with decreasing appeal.
At present, some analysts said that the iPhone is becoming less and less attractive in the Chinese market. With higher prices and weak innovations, Apple can’t compete with domestic smartphones. This is the main reason why the iPhone is slipping.
Previously, Apple has been running a price policy that wasn’t accepted by millions of users though it was bringing a lot of benefit to the company. Now seems this strategy is outdated. That’s why Apple is continuously reducing prices for the iPhone. This may be a good solution in a short period of time, but in the long run, it should offer more innovation to make competition to the Chinese brands.


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According to a recent study conducted by CXL Institute, marketing leaders haven’t closed the skills gap—despite spending almost $1,000 per employee and billions annually on training.
The study surveyed 462 marketing leaders across a variety of sectors, including travel, publishing, non-profit and ecommerce, who all identified that developing and retaining marketing talent is a common challenge.
After sifting through the results, we came away with seven key takeaways on marketing training:
- Bigger companies feel better about their skills.
- Training budgets aren’t big, but they’re getting bigger.
- Companies that live online have better marketing skills.
- Direct managers own marketing training.
- Autonomy at small companies applies to training, too.
- A structured process doesn’t guarantee training success.
- Finding talent who want to learn—and keeping them—is hard.
Those seven findings have two patterns: Smaller companies struggle more than larger companies, and marketing talent remains in high demand.
For companies that don’t already have an online presence, the skills gap in marketing is even wider. When asked to rank their company’s strength in marketing, offline business leaders gave an average score of only 6.6 out of 10—online business leaders gave a score of 7.4.
Structured, well-funded training programs might be the solution to closing the skills gap. Marketing leaders from larger organizations were more confident in their marketing talent—they also led the way by offering regular, recurring training for employees. Leaders from enterprise-level organizations were also more likely to increase training budgets in 2019.
“It’s easy and common for even the most experienced marketers to gloss over the basics and lose touch with the fundamentals of good marketing,” says Hana Abaza, Head of Marketing at Shopify Plus, an enterprise ecommerce platform for large and growing online stores. “A good training course is rooted in these principles, even if the topic is more tactical in nature.”
For the full report visit www.conversionxl.com/blog/state-of-marketing-training-2019/.


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Herbs On The Wall
As consumer interest in herbs grows, growers are looking for new or unique ways to present herbs to consumers. One particularly unique concept is the Herb Xchange, a program Scott Hutcheon came up with that involves proprietary living wall panels of herbs.
Hutcheon is planning to work with growers throughout the United States to pre-grow the living walls.
“We will be working with them to pre-grow herbs panels to garden centers and through our e-commerce site,” he says. “We will be shipping pre-grown living wall panels, replacement plants and other products surrounding herbs and edibles throughout the U.S.”
The Herb Xchange concept is to have consumers buy pre-grown panels of herbs, use them and return a month or so later for new herbs.
“If customers go to the garden center, they’ll buy pre-grown panels of herbs for $50 or $60,” Hutcheon says. “When their herbs are all gone, they’ll bring it back to the garden center and buy their herbs–just the herbs because they already have the panel.”
First, though, herb panels will be available online at TheHerbXchange.com.
“If a consumer goes online and wants to buy an empty panel, it gets drop shipped from distribution through Commerce,” Hutcheon says. “If someone wants a pre-grown panel or a shuttle tray of 3-inch pots, we’ll source it from one of our local growers.”
One greenhouse operation Hutcheon has approached is Armstrong Growers.
“They’re just starting to grow panels of herbs and put them in the garden centers,” Hutcheon says.
Panels measure 10 x 20 inches, and they’re 4 inches deep. A second panel, one that measures 8.5 x 18 inches, will be available later this year.
Learn more about the program at TheHerbXchange.com.


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The 2015 edition of Anti-counterfeiting: A Global Guide featured a chapter announcing the publication of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy’s (BASCAP) ground-breaking report, “Roles and Responsibilities of Intermediaries: Fighting Counterfeiting and Piracy in the Supply Chain”. The report looked at the intermediaries operating in both the physical and online world that are particularly susceptible to counterfeiting and piracy.
Since the publication of that report, BASCAP has worked with many of the intermediaries identified in the report in order to implement its recommendations and jointly identify additional best practices and voluntary actions that can be taken in partnership.
One part of this work has focused on the maritime shipping industry and what can be done to stop the shipment of counterfeits. The historic Declaration of Intent to Prevent the Maritime Transportation of Counterfeit Goods was signed in November 2016 by brand owners, major shipping companies, freight forwarders and trade associations, including BASCAP and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations. The declaration was made possible thanks to brand owners and vessel companies working cooperatively to discuss broad categories in which they could collectively find solutions to the shipment of illicit goods. This cooperation has now been extended through the establishment of joint cross-industry working groups to brainstorm and pursue concrete action steps relating to information sharing, know-your-customer and know-your-supplier best practices, awareness building and risk profiling. All of this effort has the goal of turning the declaration of intent into a set of mutually acceptable solutions.
Most recently, BASCAP has targeted another category of intermediary channel. As noted in the report, landlords can play a role in counterfeiting and piracy when they knowingly or unknowingly provide a place to manufacture, store or sell illicit products.
Physical marketplaces are being exploited by criminal actors to trade in counterfeit goods on a massive scale, using properties that are easily accessible to consumers – whether large malls, shopping complexes or flea markets. Criminal actors in the counterfeiting supply chain generally do not own the property where these sales take place. The property owners are vulnerable because they may be unaware of the illegal activity or that they could be liable for the same. As landlords are not typically involved in inspecting goods on their premises, they allow this activity to continue unchecked until they receive notice from rights holders or the property gets raided by law enforcement. While landlords may oversee multiple properties or dozens of tenants, and may be more concerned with collecting rent from business owners than monitoring tenant activities, they are nonetheless important intermediaries in the supply of goods.
At the same time, responsible landlords and property owners want their buildings to be used for lawful purposes, and most of them see the value of offering a safe and clean place to do business for legitimate tenants. BASCAP believes that there are opportunities to make landlords more aware of the risk of their premises getting infiltrated by criminal networks, as well as the benefits of maintaining premises that are free of illicit goods. Likewise, local and national governments do not want local markets and neighbourhoods to be used for criminal activities, and many are looking for ways to resolve the problem.
As a first step in working with landlords and governments to find solutions, BASCAP recently launched a new paper, “BASCAP Measures to Engage Landlords in the Fight against Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Best Practices for Landlords, Governments and Enforcement Agencies”. This chapter summarises some of the case studies and best practices contained in the paper and recent updates.
Holding the landlord liable – recent trends in the fight against counterfeits
In the last few years, landlords have become more vulnerable as law enforcement officials, supported by new laws and regulations in some areas, have started to target owners and landlords that support counterfeiting operations. This can be witnessed in the following examples.
The Beijing Higher People’s Court has issued decisions that clarify the duty of care of the Silk Street Market and other landlords. It found that failure to take reasonable measures in dealing with infringers could make the landlord jointly liable. The rulings appear to have raised the duty of care for Chinese landlords and required them to take “positive measures” against specific vendors to stop infringements and avoid their repetition.
Several sources have reported on seizures in markets or flea markets selling fake goods in the United States. In 2008 police in New York seized over $1 million in counterfeit merchandise during the city’s largest counterfeit bust, which shuttered 32 stores, closed three whole buildings on Canal Street and resulted in indictments being issued against the landlords. In 2011 a $3 million bust shut down a farmers market in Washington DC, and in April 2012 US customs authorities broke a record for their largest counterfeit seizure at the Patapsco Flea Market in Baltimore, recovering almost 220,000 counterfeit luxury items worth $47.3 million, including clothing, shoes, jewellery, handbags, DVDs, CDs, perfume, make-up and other personal care items.
The Singapore police seized $1 million worth of goods that were being sold from makeshift stalls in Choa Chu Kang and Bedok, totalling 176,000 pieces of counterfeit toys and stationery. In 2013 the Bangkok Post reported that police conducted a raid to seize $167,000 in counterfeit goods from a Thailand market that had just been listed on the Office of the US Trade Representative’s notorious markets list. Although counterfeiting through landlord intermediaries happens primarily through flea markets and malls, a January 2013 raid on an apartment building in Dubai revealed a hidden assembly workshop and 17,000 fake Swiss watches, according to local media reports.
The recent increase in the number of prosecutions confirms that landlords that are not vigilant about the activities taking place in their premises are becoming victims of counterfeiters, and incurring a dramatic increase in costs in the form of penalties and legal fees. Most landlords are responsible partners that do not want to do business with criminals engaging with illegal counterfeiting and piracy; they are increasingly implementing practices to deter this activity.
Ending the use of properties for trade in counterfeits
If rights holders, landlords, governments and enforcement agencies worked together to identify and address risks and then implement clear policies, they could effectively deny physical premises to counterfeiters. This would have a substantial negative impact on the ability of counterfeiters to continue their operations.
BASCAP’s “Best Practices for Landlords, Governments and Enforcement Agencies” provides a blueprint for all parties to remove fakes from physical markets. The paper addresses a wide range of challenges faced by landlords and presents measures designed to assist them in keeping fakes out of their facilities. Consistent and enduring application of these practices in markets is the best defence for disrupting trade in counterfeit and pirated goods and the best protection from fraud for customers.
Landlord deterrence programmes and know your customers
The focus of efforts thus far to deal with landlords as an intermediary has been on the landlords renting to retail sellers. As these efforts prove successful, more attention needs to be paid to the landlords of manufacturing spaces, storage spaces and office spaces used by counterfeiters and criminal networks. Some groups have established voluntary programmes and memoranda of understanding for better cooperation and to ensure that laws and regulations are being applied successfully to deter counterfeiters. However, measures to date have been no match for the enormous global use of malls and flea markets for the distribution of counterfeit goods.
Landlords are encouraged to take additional steps, such as sustained due diligence checks, implementation of strict policies in physical markets to ensure tenants are not engaging in illegal activities and increased cooperation with brand owners to facilitate the detection of infringing goods. One shining example of a voluntary best practice programme among landlords is the Real Deal Campaign, started by the National Markets Group for IP Protection in 2009 in the United Kingdom. The programme is based on the premise that buying at a market is synonymous with legitimate and enjoyable experiences. Landlords, retailers, law enforcement and market organisers need to support these shopping benefits while managing the sale of fakes. A unique feature of the programme is the template code of practice given to law enforcement, which is based on the charter’s core principles but can be customised to match local practices or protocol.
Model provisions for lease deeds
The paper also suggests six key model provisions for landlords to include in their lease agreements as an additional measure to deter tenants from engaging in any form of trade in counterfeit and pirated goods. The provisions provide landlords with authority to evict tenants and forfeit their initial tenancy deposit if they are found to undertake any activity on the leased premises that amounts to the manufacture, storage, assembly, repackaging, offer for sale, sale or trade in counterfeit or pirated goods. The provisions also empower landlords to enter and inspect the leased premises for illegal undertakings. These provisions also equip landlords with indemnity against any loss, damage or liability that they may incur from any act resulting from the tenant’s engagement with counterfeit or pirated goods. The Office of the United States Trade Representative’s “2017 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets” recognises these model lease provisions as a useful tool for property owners to prohibit counterfeit and piracy activities.
Governments must lead by example
Distinction must be made between private and government-owned or supported markets; in doing so, governments must exhibit stronger commitment in ensuring that tenancies in their markets are strictly regulated to prevent the trade in counterfeits and pirated goods and lead as a model for privately owned markets. The establishment of clear and precise landlord liability conditions by governments can further help to improve cooperation between brand owners and landlords in dealing with counterfeit goods on a much more cost-effective basis and without the need to resort to government resources.
Dialogue and sustained partnerships with law enforcement
Successful efforts to engage landlords in the fight against counterfeits and pirated goods also require ongoing coordination with law enforcement. While there are some positive examples of voluntary programmes and the enforcement of laws and regulations, the steps taken to date have not been sufficient to deter or prevent counterfeiters’ exploitation of malls and flea markets for the distribution of their goods. Efforts are most successful when law enforcement coordinates with landlords and rights holders in conducting regular and sustained enforcement actions, and promotes and implements voluntary programmes for landlords that will help them to avoid renting their premises to criminals. This will also allow landlords to understand that not only can they avoid prosecution, penalties and loss of property value by fighting counterfeiting, they can also benefit from marketing their place of business as a “counterfeit-free” marketplace.
The research in the paper clearly indicates that landlords now have an additional responsibility for keeping counterfeiting and piracy out of their premises. If implemented, the overarching best practices can benefit all stakeholders and have significant impact in the global fight against counterfeiting and piracy. Sharing and dialogue among stakeholders will ensure the ability to connect disparate pieces of intelligence across these supply chains, which remains crucial for effective action.
While there are several initiatives in place to assist landlords in fighting counterfeiting, a great deal more can and must be done by landlords, governments, enforcement agencies and rights holders in transforming these efforts into a comprehensive and collective response to this massive problem.
BASCAP will continue to offer support to interested landlords, governments and law enforcement agencies in implementing the best practices outlined in the paper, and more generally to strengthen the enforcement of copyright and trademark laws in order to mitigate the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods.
It is vital to encourage the adoption of responsible practices among intermediaries, rights holders and authorities. Sharing and dialogue among stakeholders in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy will ensure that the best practices for deterring illegal activity in one area can be usefully applied in others.
As intermediaries align themselves with voluntary efforts and raise the bar for keeping counterfeiting and piracy out of genuine commerce, those that are complicit or wilfully negligent become more visible and can become the focus of enforcement efforts where needed. The development of new initiatives built on the lessons learned thus far will deliver a more prosperous future for the businesses that deliver the world’s products and services – and secure for consumers the safety and reliability that they deserve.
BASCAP, International Chamber of Commerce
33-43 Avenue du Président Wilson
Tel +33 1 49 53 28 28
Fax +33 1 49 53 28 59


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This year Anheuser-Busch earned public attention for its television commercial prepared for the Super Bowl.
The one-minute advertisement recreated the travails of brewer Adolphus Busch emigrating from Germany to the United States, where he would meet Eberhard Anheuser. The pair would go on to make history in the business of beer.
In 2017, Budweiser is far from the only beer on store shelves as beer aficionados have started craft breweries around the country.
Soon two entrepreneurs hope to open the doors of one in Lorain.
The Bascule Brewery and Public House LLC was founded by Lorain native Fred Lozano Jr. and Chris Kambouris, a Youngstown native.
The pair are working to get their brewery opened at 1397 Colorado Ave. in Lorain. It could be the first brewery to make beer and open a public tasting room in Lorain in decades.
So far the Bascule Brewery exists online with an active profile on Facebook. It also exists on T-shirts sold to supporters.
It also exists in beer brewed from recipes refined by Kambouris.
“It’s been kind of like a game of hurry up and wait,” he said.
Kambouris and Lozano met through a mutual acquaintance in early summer 2015.
Lozano, the son of former Lorain Councilman Fred Lozano, has a long family history in Lorain. His family and city have pride and a great work ethic, Kambouris said.
With experience in production breweries, Kambouris said he was looking for an opportunity to start a business, but he knew little about Lorain.
“I was totally naive to what this area was like,” Kambouris said. Although he was expecting a bustling town, Lozano told him the truth: “It was, but it took a hit.”
“Coming from Youngstown, that didn’t scare me away,” Kambouris said.
Youngstown already has had several waves of revitalization efforts, he said.
“Whereas here in Lorain, there’s so much inspirational material here to work with, there’s every reason to open up a brewery in Lorain,” Kambouris said. “I guess that’s what I’m trying to say here, a brewery is not just some novel business you decide to put into a successful area. Yeah, you could do that, but why would I want to do something that’s already been done?”
The Bascule Brewery already has evolved within Lorain.
Although Kambouris and Lozano first considered locating on Broadway, they found a workable space at the former M & M Mower building at the corner of Colorado and Kansas avenues. Kambouris estimated there is about 1,700 square feet of retail space and about 700 square feet for a brewing area.
“The building is structurally everything we need,” Kambouris said. “It’s structurally sound, it’s a blank canvas, as far as I’m concerned.”
The schedule for the opening is fluid.
There are steel barrels that will become the kettles brewing about 210 gallons of beer a week. Kambouris is refining their recipes.
For any brewery, a basic menu likely will have beers that are light, dark, hoppy and seasonal, he said.
Bascule Brewery patrons could drink glasses and fill growlers to take home. The brewers would consider bottling or selling beer for some local restaurants, but likely would not sell bottles for a normal grocery store.
Lorain County has a health agricultural economy and would like to tap into that. Kambouris noted now is maple season and that would be an excellent ingredient to add to beer.
Making a brewery
The pair have amassed a collection of supplies that eventually will make a brewery.
Among the items are Kambouris’ family table from his youth. There are wood pallets stacked on a concrete floor that needs polishing.
Kambouris has obtained brick and tile from the renovation of a church near his Youngstown-area home.
“I apologize, it looks like a bomb went off,” he said on a recent visit. But a picture is beginning to emerge through the stacked materials.
But if you look between the clutter, the picture starts to come through, Kambouris said.
The Bascule Brewery takes its name from Lorain’s iconic bridge over the Black River.
Its logo was designed so it could be cut from a single sheet of metal. The brewery already has one metal version of the sign donated by the Lorain steelworker to show encouragement, Kambouris said.
“I definitely wanted something easily recognizable, but I wanted it to almost look like it was issued by the Port Authority itself,” he said. “I wanted that feel like, if you were a 19th century immigrant or something like that, and you’re just looking for, Where is the nearest place to warm your feet and get a pint? This obviously would immediately get that message across.”
Bascule Brewery has made beer, but not sold it. The brewers are waiting for the proper state licenses to sell their products.
With one bathroom in the building, the brewery needs a second one, and at least one must be handicap-accessible, Kambouris said. That project is a basic necessity and enough renovation that it needs architectural drawings, building permits and a contractor.
For now Kambouris and Lozano will continue to invest their money and raise more by appealing to anyone who wants to own a piece of a brewery in Lorain.
“I’ve never understood why, if so many people want something, why we can’t make it work?” Kambouris said. “This is me putting that theory to the test.”


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Lyft has announced that it will offer savings to Canadian riders on October 17th to coincide the Canadian federal government’s legalization of recreational cannabis use across the country.
To discourage people from driving impaired with their legally purchased weed, Lyft says it will offer $10.17 off rides in the Greater Toronto Area on the 17th.
Riders can take advantage of the deal by using the promo code ‘TOKYOSMOKE1017.’ The savings come as part of Lyft’s partnership with cannabis lifestyle company Tokyo Smoke.
“Combatting impaired driving is an important and ongoing goal for Lyft,” said Aaron Zifkin, vice president of Lyft Canada, in a press statement.
“We are excited to work with Tokyo Smoke to mark the legalization of cannabis and provide an affordable and reliable transportation alternative with Lyft, on 10/17 and every day,”


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Ukrainian flour exports will grow annually by 30-35%, the Chairman of the Board of Directors the agricultural holding KSG Agro Sergiy Kasianov said.
According to him, high demand for wheat flour from foreign buyers forms the growth of the export volumes. Milling enterprises of KSG Agro do not have any alternative to find access to export markets, as the domestic consumption of flour continues to reduce gradually. In fact, the exports of flour helps the industry to survive, said Kasianov.
To date, the share of China in the geography of Ukrainian flour exports totals nearly 50%, and the index will grow in future. Kasianov noted that Israel, Africa and the Middle East would also increase the consumption of Ukrainian flour. At the same time, he stressed that the EU and China were the highest priority markets for Ukrainian exporters.
KSG Agro has managed to successfully develop flour exports. The company exports the products under trademark Pererobnyk to Chinese partners. The company plans to increase flour exports, Kasianov added. (APK-Inform/Business World Magazine)