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New scientific research has linked cow-milk-based infant formulas such as Similac and Enfamil to a dangerous neonatal medical condition known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). A growing number of parents of infants who were fed with these I baby formulas and subsequently developed NEC are filing NEC formula lawsuits against the manufacturers (Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.). The lawsuits allege that Abbott and Meade had a duty to warn about the risks of NEC and their baby formula products, but deliberately failed to include any such warning while continuing to market their products as safe.
Example of a Recent NEC Infant Formula Lawsuit
The case of Grosshuhesch, et al. v. Mead Johnson Nutrition Company, et al., is one of the many Enfamil NEC infant formula lawsuits filed over the last half of 2021. The plaintiff, Abigail Grosshuhesch, brought the lawsuit on behalf of herself and on behalf of her deceased daughter, Isabella. Their Complaint was originally filed in Illinois State court against Mead Johnson Nutrition Company. On November 19, 2021, however, Mead Johnson removed the case to federal court (Southern District of Illinois).
Baby Isabella was born on October 13, 2013. She was born preterm at just 30 weeks and weighed 3 pounds. Despite being preterm, Isabella was healthy and was doing well on her mother’s breastmilk. Ten days after her birth, however, Isabella was fed Enfamil Liquid Human Milk Fortifier, a cow’s milk-based formula. Isabella did not tolerate the Enfamil very well and had trouble keeping it down.
On October 30, 2013, just 10 days after starting the Enfamil HMF, Isabella had a bloody stool and was diagnosed with Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). The next morning, Isabella underwent emergency surgery and a large section of her small intestine had to be removed. After several hours of aggressive medical intervention, Isabella’s parents made the difficult decision to withdraw further life-saving measures. Isabella died the following day.
Grosshuhesch’s Complaint asserts that Isabella developed NEC and died as a direct result of the Enfamil HMF formula. The Complaint identifies extensive scientific evidence showing that cow-milk formulas, such as the Enfamil HMF, are known to cause NEC in premature infants. In light of this scientific evidence, the lawsuit contends that Mead Johnson knew or should have known that its Enfamil formula product “caused and/or significantly increased the likelihood that a preterm baby will develop NEC.”
Lawsuit Highlights “Practice of Silence” by Enfamil Manufacturer
The lawsuit accuses Mead Johnson of deliberately ignoring the known risks of its Enfamil formulas to preterm babies:
Mead was aware of the significantly increased risk of NEC, devastating injuries, and/or death associated with its cow’s milk-based products, and instead of warning of the dangers, providing instructions for safe use, conducting a scientifically-based risk-benefit analysis, or removing the products from market altogether, Mead has continued to use cow’s milk as the foundation of its products.
According to the Complaint, not only has Mead Johnson ignored the evidence about the risk its formula poses to preterm infants, the company has falsely marketed Enfamil as a safe and healthy alternative to breast milk for all babies:
Mead has aggressively marketed its Enfamil cow’s milk-based products as both medically endorsed and as a nutritionally equivalent alternative to human milk, including prior to Baby Isabella’s birth.
Mead has designed a powerful misleading marketing campaign to deceive parents into believing that: (1) cow’s milk-based products are safe, including for preterm infants; (2) cow’s milk-based products are equal, or even superior, substitutes to breast milk; (3) cow’s milk-based products are necessary for proper growth and development of preterm infants; and (4) physicians consider their brand’s cow’s milk-based products a first choice.
This marketing scheme is employed despite Mead knowing of and failing to warn of the extreme risk of NEC and death that cow’s milk-based products pose to preterm infants.
Mead’s pervasive marketing over decades has caused parents in general, and Abigail Grosshuesch in particular, as well as hospitals, doctors, nurses, and medical staff to believe that Enfamil is safe for premature infants.
After detailing Mead Johnson’s misleading marketing efforts, the next section of the Complaint explains that company failed to provide any sort of warning about the risk of NEC on its product labeling or package.
Mead has known that its Enfamil products are significantly increasing the risk of NEC, devastating injuries, and/or death in preterm infants, and is aware that there are safer alternatives to its cow’s milk-based formulas, such as human milk-based products, that would reduce the risk of NEC, devastating injuries, and/or death, yet Mead chose to continue to promote, market, and sell its cow’s milk-based products, with no warnings, safety measures, or alerts, which results in the Enfamil products continuing to be fed to preterm infants, causing thousands of babies to be exposed to an unnecessary risk, many of whom will suffer from NEC and/or die.
The Grosshuesch Complaint asserts 11 individual causes of action against Mead Johnson. The primary tort theories are: (1) Strict Liability for Design Defect, (2) Strict Liability for Failure to Warn, and (3) General Negligence.


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Harsco Environmental has joined ArcelorMittal, Daimler, BMW and others in the world’s first sustainability standard for the steel industry.
ResponsibleSteel™ is the industry’s first global multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative, dedicated to defining and promoting responsible practice, aimed at improving climate change and GHG emissions, water stewardship and biodiversity, human and labour rights and community relations and business integrity.
According to Harsco, steel is the world’s most widely-used material, and those who us it in the transport, automotive, infrastructure, packaging, construction, energy and white goods industries are under increasing pressure to ensure that materials are responsibly-sourced. As the world’s first responsible sourcing certification scheme, ResponsibleSteel aims to help the steel industry meet these expectations.
Cope Willis, Harsco Sustainability and Environmental Solutions vice president, said that this latest collaboration was 'another step in Harsco's continuing efforts to lead the steel industry into a more sustainable future'.

domain: news


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Nintendo will take the Switch on a ‘Preview Tour’ next month
Nintendo’s next console launches in March, and the company wants everyone to know about it. Following its showcase on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the Mario maker has confirmed a global tour for the Switch. It’ll be shown off first in New York this January (13-15), followed by Toronto (27-29) and Pax South in San Antonio (27-29). It’ll then head to Washington for three days in February (10-12), before making its way through Chicago (17-19) and San Francisco (24-26). The tour wraps up in March with stops in Los Angeles (3-5th), Pax East (16-18) and SXSW (16-18).
In each major city, the first two days will be an invite-only event. The third and final day will be open to everyone, however, so that curious fans can try the hardware for themselves. The PAX and SXSW showings will be a little different, allowing full access to the general public. While the new system has already been unveiled, we know little about its power, capabilities and software library. Nintendo has promised a “Switch Presentation” on January 12th, however, which should reveal more and lead nicely into its world tour. As much as I love The Legend of Zelda, it would be nice to see and play a few games that aren’t Breath of the Wild.
Source: Nintendo (Press Release)


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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Stater Bros. Holdings here said earnings rose and sales declined for the fiscal third quarter and the 39-week year-to-date period, which ended June 28.
Net income for the 13-week quarter rose 64.1% to $15.1 million while sales dropped 0.43% to $928.6 million and like-store sales, excluding the shift of the Easter holiday from last year's second quarter, declined 1.8%. For the year to date, net income fell 11% to $29.8 million, while sales rose 0.6% to $2.8 billion and like store sales, excluding the Easter shift, rose 0.09%.
"During these tough economic times, we remain committed to assisting our customers by providing them the best possible purchasing value for their shopping dollar," said Jack Brown, chairman and chief executive officer.
Read More of Today's Headlines


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Hewlett Packard Enterprise says its latest innovations transform HPE Storage into a cloud-native, software-defined data services business.
On the same day that Apple launched a range of new products, Huawei has popped up to offer "a host of exciting new benefits including extended warranty, 50GB HUAWEI Cloud Storage, discount on spare parts, free screen protector application, and free handset surface and storage clean-up."
Planning approvals for data centres and warehouses will be assessed under a new accelerated pathway to help stimulate the State’s post-pandemic economic recovery, according to the government of The Australian state of NSW.
That's a shame they decided to decommission such a cool distro. Any decent CentOS8 forks yet?
I'm hoping to show the powers that be how bad of a player I am soon, so I can get[…]
I've got the same problem, and we're not alone. I was permanently banned about a week ago, and have no[…]
Once in a data centre some distance away in both space and time, a switch component failed in the bowels[…]
I drool over your drollness. ... And some people say that Latin is dead, but your quotations prove that it's[…]


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A 52-year-old Chicago woman has been charged with stealing about $694 in merchandise from the Macy’s department store at the Oakbrook Center shopping mall in Oak Brook.
Tanya Tidwell faces one felony count of burglary and two felony counts of retail theft.
Judge Michael Reidy on June 30 ordered that Tidwell be held in the DuPage County Jail on $125,000 bail. Tidwell would have to post $12,500 to be released from custody.
Oak Brook police responded to a report of a burglary in progress at the Macy’s store about 1:48 p.m. June 29.
Prosecutors said Tidwell went into the Macy’s, selected Polo and Calvin Klein merchandise and entered a fitting room. Tidwell concealed the Polo clothing in a foil-lined bag she brought with her, left the fitting room and then the store without paying for the Polo items, prosecutors said. Officers were waiting for Tidwell when she exited the store and she was taken into custody.
“What I find noteworthy about this case is the allegation that Ms. Tidwell brought a foil-lined bag with her, which are commonly used by shoplifters to evade security systems,” DuPage State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.
Tidwell is next scheduled to appear in court July 17.


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According to a Reuters-Ipsos poll of 24,000 in 23 countries, 21 percent of adults would rather spend Feb. 14 with their pet than their spouse.
The survey found that younger, less affluent people were more likely to prefer the company of their pet: “John Wright, senior vice president of Ipsos, said 25% of people aged under 35 opted for their pet over their partner compared to 18% of those aged 35-54 and 14% of people aged 55 plus.”
Men and women were evenly divided over the question.
The top six countries:
- Turkey: 49 percent would choose their pet
- India: 41 percent
- Japan: 30 percent
- China: 29 percent
- U.S.: 27 percent
- Australia: 25 percent
The bottom of the list:
- France: 10 percent
- Mexico: 11 percent
- Netherlands: 12 percent
- Hungary: 12 percent
The New York Daily News has a story about the poll (though it doesn’t quite have the numbers straight), and they talk to New Yorkers who understand the phenomenon.
“It’s more of a hassle and a headache with humans,” said Helen Tong, 29, who plans a Feb. 14 dinner with both her boyfriend and Butter, a German Shepherd-Husky mix.
“It’s different with a dog, more of an unconditional love,” she added after leaving a pet store with Valentine’s Day gifts — doggy treats and a toy — for her four-legged loved one.
I spend a lot of time with Bandit as is, so I have no problem with leaving him at home for a nice Valentine’s Day dinner (or dropping him off with friends for a weekend away). I’m a bit surprised by the results, but maybe nothing should surprise me any more.


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On April 14, 2015, Shopify Inc., an e-commerce software provider, revealed its intentions to go public with an initial public offering. The Shopify IPO release is expected to raise $100 million and list the company’s stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
As most tech IPOs this year, Shopify is currently unprofitable. But is it worth a second look?
Shopify IPO Making Waves in E-Commerce
The Ottawa, Canada-based software as a service (SaaS) provider plans to list in New York under the ticker “SHOP” and in Toronto under “SH.” With more than 162,261 merchants using its platform, Shopify enables small to medium-sized businesses to design and manage storefronts. (Source: Securities and Exchange Commission, April 14, 2015.) The sales channel, which Shopify manages for its clients, can be online, on a mobile device, or at a brick-and-mortar location.
E-commerce software solves a major problem often faced by retailers: Shopify reduces costs. No longer are there prohibitive start-up expenses involved in the retail business, as virtually anyone can sell via Shopify; just an idea or product and an e-commerce platform will have you ready for business. But while there are clear benefits to users, Shopify has yet to transition into profitability.
The Shopify business hinges on generating subscription revenue. For example, Shopify’s basic service costs $29.00 per month and enables the customer to set up a virtual storefront. Users can work through their existing web domain or create a new one. There is no need to worry about web hosting services, as Shopify provides the required data storage and processing.
The platform also permits merchants to list an unlimited amount of products and it enables merchants to interact with customers through chat and e-mail support services. Subscription revenue grew at an impressive 87%, on average, from 2012 to 2014, totaling $67.0 million by year-end 2014.
Shopify also generates revenue from the sales of storefront themes, apps that increase functionality, the registration of domain names, and processing payment fees. These revenue streams, together dubbed “merchant solutions,” added another $37.0 million to Shopify’s 2014 sales, or 36% of the total.
This Canadian start-up provides an excellent service. It has also posted solid revenue growth. But like several other IPOs in April 2015 (notable mentions going to GoDaddy Inc. [NYSE/GDDY] and Etsy, Inc. [NYSE/ETSY]), it has no profits to show for it.
Shopify IPO 2015: The Verdict
So is this Shopify IPO release worth a closer look?
The proceeds of the IPO will let the Ottawa native get a foothold in a rapidly evolving industry, which requires not only the latest software, but also heavy marketing. Shopify spent a whopping 41% of its 2014 revenues on marketing efforts.
The expected $100 million in IPO proceeds are also likely to be directed towards Shopify’s balance sheet. Even though Shopify has $59.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, the company continues to report operating losses. This isn’t good news for investors.
In fact, over the life of its business, Shopify has accumulated $33.0 million in losses, or nearly 50% of its shareholders’ equity. The large accumulated balance of loss doesn’t look like it will reverse either.
The problem is that Shopify has already experienced exponential growth as the number of merchants using the platform grew from 41,000 in 2012 to 162,000 as of March 31, 2015. Growth rates of this kind will be hard to replicate and in the preliminary Shopify IPO filing, company management states, “We expect to continue to incur losses in the near term.” (Source: Ibid.)
Adding to the concern is the fact that management hopes that future revenue growth will eventually bring the company into profitability. So, if you’re bullish on Shopify, this must be your primary reason: the expectation of much higher revenue growth in the future—and revenue growth that outpaces costs. That’s an uphill climb, but you can’t blame Shopify for testing the waters in this accommodative IPO environment.


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FDI in Retail: The Illogical Claims
Prime Minister in his address to the nation, has given various arguments, legitimising his government’s decision to open up FDI in retail. In the following analysis, an attempt is being made to put the things in right perspective. The arguments put forward by the Prime Minister are as follows:
i. Growth of organized retail will create millions of good quality new jobs.
ii. Infrastructure would be built and help saving agricultural produce from wastage.
iii. Farmers will be benefited in form of high prices for their produce.
iv. Consumers will be benefited, as they will get goods at cheaper price and thereby inflation can be curbed.
Prime Minister has further stated that, “We recognize that some political parties are opposed to this step.
That is why state governments have been allowed to decide whether foreign investment in retail can come into their state. But one state should not stop another state from seeking a better life for its farmers, for its youth and for its consumers.”
To expose the hollowness of the government’s arguments, let us take the last statement first. It seems that the argument has been made in order to persuade those state governments, who are opposed to the policy of FDI in retail. It is known to all that even Kerala, a state ruled by congress led alliance, has openly opposed the policy of FDI in multi brand retail.
Flawed Argument as States’ hands are tied
Government says that this is only an enabling policy and the States can determine if they will issue licenses under the Shops and Establishments Act to the multinational retailers to operate within their areas. This is in direct conflict with something called “National Treatment” that the Government has committed to investing countries.
As of July, the Government of India has entered into Bilateral Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement (BIPAs) in order to promote and protect, on reciprocal basis, the investment of the investors. Such agreements have been signed with 82 countries, out of which 72 BIPAs have already come into force and the remaining agreements are in the process of being enforced. This information is available on the Ministry of Finance Web site.
The relevant clause defining “National Treatment” under this agreement reads as follows: “Each Contracting Party shall accord to investments of investors of the other Contracting Party, including their operation, management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or disposal by such investors, treatment which shall not be less favourable than that accorded either to investments of its own investors or to investments of investors of any third State.”
In effect, what this means is that if a Nilgiris can operate in Chennai, a Big Bazaar in Kolkata or an Easyday in UP, the governments of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal or UP cannot prevent a Walmart or Tesco from opening shop.
If the licence is denied under the Shop and Establishment Act, this can be legally challenged under the BIPA agreements. The entire country, including all State governments, is obligated under the BIPA agreements.
Who knows better than Prime Minister about the implications of international agreements. It seems that government in its hurry to open up FDI in multi brand retail is using flawed arguments like this.
i. Employment: FDI in Multi Brand Retail will kill employment
Prime Minister says, “The growth of organised retail will also create millions of good quality new jobs.” Crisis managers of the government, including Prime Minister has been trying to sell the argument that the proposed policy would lead to creation of 10 million jobs in the next 3 years. Argument of the government was that huge investments in the retail sector will see gainful employment opportunities in agro-processing, sorting, marketing, logistics management and front-end retail. This is no new argument of the supporters of FDI in retail. Present Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia has been pushing this policy for a long time. During NDA regime when he was a member of Planning Commission, as chairperson of Task Force for creating 10 million jobs a year, he stubbornly supported FDI in retail and wrote in his report that FDI in retail would create quality employment for millions of people in the country. At that point, of time, the then government rejected his report; and for suggesting ways and means for creating additional employment opportunities, another committee under the stewardship of S.P. Gupta, was constituted. S.P. Gupta Committee made several recommendations for creation of 10 million employment opportunities annually in the country by way of labour intensive techniques and self-employment.
No takers of the government’s arguments
However, crisis managers of the government are trying hard to sell this argument, but there are no takers of this argument. In fact, there is no basis of this argument and the same has been borrowed from ‘publicity material’ of multinational retail giants. India has the highest shopping density in the world with 11 shops per 1,000 people. Even according to the ‘Discussion Paper’ issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, indicating Government’s Intention to open this sector for FDI, also conceded that there are 120 lakh big and small shops in the country, employing 3.5 crore people directly. Apart from this, there are about 1.5 crore people engaged in wholesale, transportation and other related services for retailing. This is important to mention that 95 percent of small shops are being run by self-employed people.
International experience tells that small retail has virtually been wiped out in USA and Europe. Many restrictions have been imposed by many states in USA and governments of various European countries to safe guard the interests of the small retailers. Many Southeast Asian countries also imposed stringent zoning and licensing regulations on Super Markets run by multinational retailers, after small retailers were being displaced. Entry of multinational corporations in the retail sector started in 1960s. These companies have taken over the majority of retail business in many developed and some of the developing countries. 80 percent of USA’s retail business is under the control of multinational business. Similar is the situation in England and other west European countries, where more than 70 per cent of the retail business is run by these MNCs. Brazil’s and Argentina’s 40 per cent retail trade is in the hands of organized retailers. Even in China their share has surpassed 20 per cent. Organised retailers, who were totally absent in 1960, have displaced small retailers in different proportions in several countries. Today top 200 largest retailers account for 30 per cent of the worldwide demand. Over 50 Fortune 500 companies and around 25 out of Asian top 200 firms are retailers. It is obvious that organised retailers pushed those, who were gainfully employed in retail sector, out. Even the report of ICRIER, which though cannot be accepted, because of its bias towards organized retailing, concluded that 2 per cent shops would close every year, if FDI were allowed in multi brand retailing. Looking at the international experience the small shops will close down at a much faster pace than this, as these multinational retail giants like Walmart practice predatory pricing policy (selling goods at much cheaper price than the procurement price). At present government is saying that they intend to allow opening of retail stores by these MNCs in 53 big cities of India. This may lead to a large-scale unemployment because of closure of small shops in these cities.
Unemployment is going to increase not only because small shops would close down, but also because of decline of manufacturing in the country. These retail giants are always in search of cheap products, in order to maximize their profits. Taking a clue from USAs experience, we find that most of the goods sold in the stores of Walmart in USA come from China. Off shoring is the normal practice of these retailers. It is no secret that Walmart is the largest buyer of Chinese products in the world. Today American shoe industry, which was world renowned, is totally closed because multinational retailers do not procure shoes from America. If we look at the employment in the manufacturing sector in USA, we find that it was at its peak at 195 lakh people employed in manufacturing sector. This number has gradually being declining and by 2011 it has come down to merely 118 lakhs. This means that manufacturing employment in USA has gone down by 77 lakh in just 32 years. Situation is no different in countries of Western Europe.
Thus, it is very clear that if FDI in retail is allowed, there will be a sharp increase in off shoring of products in the country and thus a widespread unemployment in manufacturing sector also. While announcing its policy for opening up of retail sector for FDI, government tried to confuse, though unsuccessfully, that opening up of retail for FDI is along with a rider that they will procure at least 30 per cent of their items from small-scale industry. Later on, the government had to concede that this condition is not for procuring from SSIs from within the country. This condition is also not in tune with WTO agreements. Therefore, if FDI in retail is allowed, most of our small-scale industry, especially in the consumer goods sector will be forced to close down. Apart from manufacturing, other sectors, which are likely to hit badly, are transport and wholesale retail, which again are providers of significant employment opportunities.
The company which is pushing itself and aspiring to open business in India, with total turnover of 422 billion dollars globally; provides employment to only 2.1 million people. With much more turnover as compared to India, the company provides less than 5 percent of India’s retail jobs. The claim about employment is bogus. What Walmarts and Tescos could not do elsewhere, they would not do here. From where Anand Sharma (Commerce Minister), gets the figure of 10 million jobs from FDI in retail is a big question. Yet, the UPA certifies Walmart and its ilk as “compassionate” to small retailers and farmers. It guarantees they will employ “millions” here. But the evidence in the US is to the contrary. According to Atlanticcity, Walmart entered the Austin neighbourhood of Chicago in 2006. And, by 2008, out of the 306 small shops in business before its entry, 82 had closed down. The Economic Development Quarterly study found the closure rate around an average Walmart location at 35-60 per cent. Walmart radiated closure of 20 per cent of drug stores every mile from its stores; and 15 per cent in home furnishing, 18 per cent in hardware and 25 per cent of toy stores. Studies in the US nail the UPA’s lie that FDI in retail will not hurt small shops. On job creation, a latest report (Jan 2010) titled “Walmart’s Economic Footprint”prepared for the New York City Public Advocate says that Walmart kills three local jobs for every two it creates.
ii. Myth of infrastructure growth and food safety
One of the major arguments, justifying decision of the government to open retail sector for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), or in other words opening up of more than 22 lakh crore of huge retail sector for multinational corporations is that this decision of the government would result in all-round development of rural infrastructure, especially warehousing and cold storages. Argument of the government is that, a significant amount of agricultural produce go waste due to lack of storage facilities in the country. It is said that due to lack of investment in cold storages more than 50 per cent of the vegetables go waste, and the one and the only solution to these problems is FDI in retail. Government argues that when these multinational giant corporations in retail sector will come they will make a huge investment in warehousing and cold storages. Government also says that, these corporations would be asked to channelise at least 50 per cent of their investment into infrastructure.
If we look into the reality, even going by government’s argument of need of foreign investment in infrastructure, it would be interesting to note that, FDI in warehousing and cold storages was allowed more than a decade back. However, no FDI could get attracted into this sector (warehousing and cold storages).
There is no denial of the importance of storage infrastructure for agriculture and farmers’ well-being. This is also true that because of lack of storage agricultural produce goes waste. However, the basic question is that, whose responsibility is the provision of storage infrastructure. We understand that, about 60 per cent of India’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture, and storage constitutes a major need for agriculture. However, even after 64 years of Independence the government has failed to provide this important infrastructure.
In the process of taking a decision to open retail sector for FDI, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India, issued a ‘Discussion Paper’ and cited Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan. The ‘Discussion Paper’ says, “Mid-Term Appraisal of the Tenth Five Year Plan made a strong case for FDI in modern retailing as entry of modern foreign retailers through joint ventures in India would help develop backward linkages to sources of supply and thus develop a domestic supply chain capable of meeting international standards.” It further says, “Allowing FDI in joint ventures is likely to provide access for domestic suppliers to international retailing which purely domestic modern retailers may not be able to offer.”
Infrastructure: Essentially government’s responsibility
It is unfortunate that to legitimise the entry of the multinationals in retail sector, the government is taking the shield of lack of storage facilities for agriculture produce. Is this not the responsibility of the government to either create this storage capacity on its own or encourage private sector to create this by way of subsidies, fiscal concessions or other incentives. In the 65 years after Independence, the government has failed miserably on this front. Government has no right to penalise the small retailers for no fault of theirs. The paper circulated by the government gives an argument that creation of this infrastructure requires an investment of rupees 7,687 crore and therefore we need FDI in retail, so that multinational retail giants would create this infrastructure. This argument is not tenable. In a country where the size of annual budget is more than Rs 12 lakh crore, for this small investment of merely 7,687 crore, we cannot legitimise the death warrant for small retailers, especially when they are not at fault. Further if at all these multinational companies would provide storage infrastructure, it would only be provided to strengthen their own supply chain. We cannot expect that the cold storages built by these multinational corporations would keep potatoes produced by our farmers and save them from hardships.
Big retailers actually cause food wastage
If we think that, entry of multinational retail companies would reduce wastage of food, we are highly mistaken. Global data about food wastage indicates that, the USA, European countries and other developed countries are much ahead of India and other Asian countries in terms of wastage of food. According to international data, in Europe food loss and waste per person per year is 280 kg, in North America it is 295 kg and in South and South-East Asia it is only 125 kg. It is not mere coincidence that the countries where food wastage is maximum, are the countries which are dominated by multinational organised retailers. Answer to this dilemma, is provided by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations. According to FAO, a major reason for food wastage is that, organised retailers (supermarkets) in order to look more quality conscious reject a major portion of agricultural produce at the farm gate due to rigorous quality standards concerning weight, size, shape and appearance of crops.
Therefore, large portions of crops never leave the farms. Even though some rejected crops are used as animal feed, the quality standards might divert food originally aimed for human consumption to other uses.
FAO further says that, “Large quantities on display and wide range of products/brands in supply lead to food waste in industrialised countries. Retail stores need to order a variety of food types and brands from the same manufacturer to get beneficial prices. Consumers, also expect a wide range of products to be available in stores. A wide range of products does, however, increase the likelihood of some of them reaching their ‘sell-by’ date before being sold, and thereby wasted. When shopping, consumers expect store shelves to be well filled. Although certainly beneficial for sales statistics, continually replenished supplies mean that food products close to expiry are often ignored by consumers.”
Direct sale of food products by the farmers to the consumers or from shops is the solution to the food wastage provided by FAO. Therefore building of big warehouses and cold storages infrastructure as a part of supply chain management by multinational retail giants is neither in the interest of farmers nor is in the interest of the people at large, as farmers may lose due to ‘rigorous quality standards’ and loss of food due to the marketing policies of the supermarkets.
In a country like India small vegetable shops are actually key to food safety and minimisation of food wastage. In this context building of warehouses and cold storages are important, but they should be built near villages by government, maybe with the help of private sector. Mega stores or giant multinational corporations are certainly not a solution for wastage of food. If FCI is not able to handle its affairs properly, solution does not lie in surrendering to Walmart. We have to ensure food security of our people by building our own infrastructure. This has become even more important in view of the proposed food security legislation.
iii. FDI in Retail is Anti Farmer
Government had tried to boil down the debate on the need to permit FDI in retail with reference to farming community, stating that it would bring boon to farmers and farming in the country. Government borrows this argument from the pamphlets of multinational retail giants like Walmart, arguments put forth by officials of US government and other interested parties. It is obvious that those who have business interest in opening up of FDI in retail would advocate FDI at any cost. It is unfortunate that the government, who is supposed to be the protector of national interests, also buys the arguments of the stake holders. Pamphlets of Bharti Walmart say that they give 7 to 10 percent higher price to farmers, then what they get from Mandi. They claim that farmers get expert advice on better crop planning and management. Because of the support from the company, farmers will have an opportunity to maximize and improve income by offering better quality. Officials of the USA government, who have been acting like agents for change in policy framework, also are trying to argue that FDI in retail would be in the interests of the farmers. They claim that large organized retail would not only benefit consumers, who would enjoy lower prices owing to cost efficiencies, but also farmers, as these companies would provide stable market and purchase their produce at reasonable prices.
The (borrowed) arguments of the government in this regard require verification in light of the experiences of the countries, where these multinational retail giants have been operating. If we look at the experience
in the United States, we understand that USA is a country of large farmers, farming activity is operated on a large scale, and in a way, it is an industrial agriculture. On the other hand, retail trade is getting more and more concentrated in the hands of large retailers. Therefore as per the argument of the government and multinational retail giants, farmer would have got greater share on the sale of agricultural produce. However, experience tells a different story. In USA aggregate food expenditure increased from $833 billion in the year 2000 to $1200 billion in 2009 (increase of nearly $370 billion). On the other hand, cash receipts at farm increased from nearly $197.6 billion to $282.2 billion (nearly $85 billion). Therefore, it is clear that over the years multinational retail giants have tried to fleece the farmers more and more. According to the Department of Agriculture, United States, estimates during the period 2000 to 2009, the farm share of the retail price fluctuated between 23 and 28 percent in case of fresh vegetables and between 25 and 30 percent in case of fresh fruits.
Justification that ”farmers will get better prices” is a clever ploy; so needs a closer look. It suppresses the vital fact that Walmart does not buy, or pay, over the counter.
It buys the nation’s next harvest in the futures market and buys at prices pre-fixed. It also imports cheap goods — from China — and destroy the local production like it has done in the US. Take the first case, with the recent experience of US and the world. Rice prices in the US and world markets shot up by three times in April 2008 as compared to January 2007. It was then that the US President George Bush made that funny remark that prices had gone up because the newly prosperous Indians had begun eating more! But what was the truth? USA Today (April 23,.2008) and CNN (April 24,2008) quoted the California Rice Commission and USA Rice Federation as denying shortage of rice and saying there was enough stock. Why then were prices rising?
Because, said CNN, Sams Club (Walmart’s wholesale division), was holding huge stocks and was pushing up the prices. American farmers accused speculators and the futures market for the high prices. Farmers sold, but did not trade in, farm futures. Investment funds accounted for 40 per cent of the wheat futures trade in the US in January 2008, which rose to 60 per cent by April. Wheat futures, which was $4 a bushel in early 2007, rose to $14 per bushel in April 2008. The US farmer, who had sold his harvest in futures market, lost and Walmart, which had bought the futures, gained. When some farmers wanted to sell their small balance stocks, Walmart, with cheaper stockpile, refused to buy at higher prices, pointed out the media. Look at it this way. If the US farmers get remunerative prices from Walmart why does the US, with 2 per cent farming population, grant annual farming subsidies of $20 billion? And, the EU, for its 5 per cent farming population, gift a subsidy of $74.5 billion annually?
If we compare the experience in other countries where these retail giants are operating with that of India, there are some interesting observations. In 1950 US farmers were receiving over 40 percent of consumer expenditure on food, today it is down to average 25 percent. In USA, farmers get 45 percent of retail price in case of milk, 41 percent of eggs and 32 percent of meat products. In India (where FDI in multi brand retail is yet to come), farmers get Rs. 26 out of Rs. 34 retail price of milk (Amul), which comes to 76.5 percent, Rs. 22 out of retail price of Rs. 35 per kg of sugar. Farmers do get a rough deal in case of vegetables and fruits, because of lack of infrastructure. Nevertheless, Indian model tends to give more benefit to farmers as compared to USA’s model.
Government argues that opening of the FDI in retail would wipe off intermediaries and thus would benefit the consumer. Theoretically, it may be correct but practically it is not. International experience tells that there are hardly a few multinational giants that control majority of the food sales. These companies enjoy some degree of monopsonic power (a situation where each buyer has some monopoly over purchases). In Western Europe, there are 3.2 million farmers, selling over 160 million consumers but there are only few firms making purchases from these farmers, thereby enjoying monopsony over food purchases. In UK there are only 4 firms controlling about two third of food products purchase. Similar is the situation in the USA, where more than 60 percent of the food sales are in the hands of only 5 companies. Even India has had the experience of procurement of food grains by big corporate and we find consumers paying Rs20-25 per kg as price of wheat flour, whereas farmers get meager Rs 11-13 per kg for wheat sold. About 10 years back, this was not the case. Difference between wholesale price/ procurement price of wheat and consumer price of wheat flour never was more than 20 percent.
If the government claims that foreign retailers would provide rural infrastructure like warehousing and cold storages, it is grossly misleading, as FDI in warehousing and cold storages was allowed more than a decade back, but no foreign investment could be attracted in this sector. Therefore, any infrastructure they build would be for exploitation of farmers and not for their benefit. Provision of infrastructure is the responsibility of the government (both state and center). Government even after more than 6 decades of independence has failed miserably in providing infrastructure in the form of warehouses and cold storages. Now to cover up its own inefficiency in providing infrastructure in rural areas, the government is arguing for FDI in multi brand retail, stating that these multinational companies will provide infrastructure in the rural areas. As per government’s own admission, we need hardly Rs. 7,687 crores to build infrastructure in the rural areas. This is no big an amount to justify FDI in retail, destined to ruin crores of small traders and causing heavy loss to crores of farmers.
International experience shows that farmers are caused heavy loss by multinational retail giants in the name of quality and standards. According to a report of ‘Food and Agriculture Organisation’ (FAO) of UN farmers lose due to ‘rigorous quality standards’ and the marketing policies of the supermarkets. Building of big warehouses and cold storages infrastructure as a part of supply chain management by multinational retail giants neither is in the interest of farmers nor is in the interest of the people at large. This is so because farmers are forced to destroy their rejected products or use those as animal feed, which in case of small retailers would have been channelized for consumption of human beings and farmers and would be paid for the same. This is the loss, which a country like India can hardly afford, as majority of population is reeling under severe hunger and malnutrition.
iv. Illogical claims on controlling price rise by MNCs
One of the major arguments put forward by the government in justifying its decision to open retail sector for Foreign Direct Investment is that it would control inflation. Perhaps the common people reeling under inflation may welcome any policy that provides relief from inflation. But why the government is pushing this policy despite opposition from almost all non-Congress political parties, whether in government or in opposition, social organisations, labour and farmers’ organisations, forces us to verify the claims of the government in this regard.
What Government claims?
Government says that, bringing multinational giant retail companies into retail sector in the country would reduce the distribution cost of the goods. Government claims that these companies procure goods from farmers and manufactures directly and therefore the margins earned by the intermediaries would be eliminated. Benefit of lower cost of procurement would be passed on to the consumers and therefore these MNCs would be able to bring a check on inflation. Government also claims that these companies make use of latest technology in handling the material, supply chain and distribution. This can help in reducing the prices paid by the consumers. Government even claims that these companies can even pass on the benefit of their efficient system to the small retailers.
Government claims are devoid of any research
Though government makes this rhetoric, it has failed to give any basis for its claims. Even the sponsored researched reports of ICRIER have failed to justify this policy on these grounds. Even committee of secretaries has also repeated the same argument without any basis from international experience. Interestingly Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) headed by chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu was also found arguing for opening up of multi brand retail to FDI on the pretext of controlling food inflation. It said that the government should consider such liberalisation at the earliest as “India’s retail sector continues to be primitive and there is evidence that there are large losses that occur as products pass through the supply chain from farm to the retail customer.” It argued that because of dated technology and managerial methods used to move products from one part to another there is value erosion that occurs all the way which, in turn, raises the prices that consumers have to pay. Therefore, IMG argued that reform in this sector can be an effective inflation busting measure. Whereas IMG has failed to give any basis for their recommendation, Food and Agriculture Organisation of UN has given a contrary research finding, that these MNCs are actually causing a big loss of food material for various reasons. Therefore, this argument of IMG is not tenable. If we go deep into the arguments of the government and its officials, they are actually not based on their own research. These arguments are in fact ‘borrowed’ from the sponsored reports of multinational retailers like Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour.
Higher mark-ups of retail giants
In India margins of wholesalers and retailers are much less than the mark-ups of multinational retail giants. Higher mark-ups of multi-brand retailers are in-built in their business model. Markup is difference between the consumer prices and production costs. For comparative analysis of mark-ups of small Indian retailers and that of multi brand retailers, let us take different product groups separately. In case of consumer goods, like food products etc., margin of distributors and wholesalers is between 4 to 8 per cent and that of retailers is between 8 to 14 per cent. This margin is added to the production cost. Therefore, channel cost of distribution chain in India is between 12 to 22 per cent. If we look at multi brand retailers, their mark up on procurement price is nearly 40 per cent. In case of garments segment in India, total margin of wholesalers and retailers is between 35 to 40 per cent. However, the experience of multinational retailers shows that they put a price tag on garments of 2 to 4.5 times of their procurements price. As such their mark-up is 5 to 9 times of Indian retailers. In case of drugs and medicinal product we find that margin of retailers is up to 20 per cent, wholesalers up to 10 per cent and of C & F agents is up to 4 per cent. On the other hand, multinational retailers like Boots (UK) and Wallgreens (USA), have a mark-up of 2 to 3 times that of their procurement price. Therefore their mark-up is at least 6 times that of Indian retailers. In case of kitchenware, Indian small retailers’ channel cost is hardly 30 per cent, whereas retailers like Walmart etc. put a mark-up of 100 to 200 per cent on their procurement price. As such in case of kitchenware mark-up by multinational retailers is at least 5 times more than small Indian retailers. If we consider these mark-ups in different categories, then even if they announce sales from time to time, their prices would be much larger than the prices charged by present day small retailers. This is due the fact that these multinational retailers enjoy monopoly power, as there are only a few retailers (normally not more than 5) in any country.
As already stated above higher mark-ups of organised retailers (MNCs), built-in their business model, are due to the fact that process of retailing involve much higher costs as compared to small retailers. Though they maybe able to procure goods at a lower price by exploiting farmers and manufacturers due to their monopsony (monopoly as a buyer) power, but they may not be able to sell cheap in the long run, as they face high selling costs in terms of rentals of stores, warehousing and cold storage, other fixed costs and high rate of profiteering. In the words of Shekhar Swamy these multinational retailers open their stores with much fun and fare, announce lower prices for products sold in their stores, and will continue to sell these products at those prices till competition from small retailers is totally finished. It is an open secret that multinational retailers sell their products at ‘predatory prices’ to wipe-off competitors. Predatory price strategy has been adopted by these giant international retailers world over, wherever they had gone. Predatory prices are the prices, much lower than the procurement prices. This is made possible by their deep pockets. We understand each of these international retailers control significant share of markets in their respective areas of control, in countries, where they are operating. This makes their financial muscles strong. We cannot imagine small shopkeepers incurring loss even for a month in order to keep them in competition with international retailers, but we see these international retailers ready to forgo billions of dollars to push small retailers out of business, as they are eying on more than 22 lakh crore of rupees of Indian retail market.


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For more than 35 years, Silva International, Inc. has been providing dehydrated vegetable, herb, and select fruit ingredients to the food industry.
Featured from Silva
Purple Sweet Potato
Our Recent News
All of us in the food sector realize how FSMA will have a significant impact on our industry. With final rules published late last year, the Silva team is currently going through both interpretation and then implementation of the new FSMA rules.
Our raw material supply partners in China continue to appreciate the efforts that Silva International makes in helping them develop and progress by holding educational workshops. One business owner said that Silva is the only company that comes in to support this type of development of our partnership.


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Creditinfo appoints Satrajit Saha as Global CEO
By Delisha Fernandes
Creditinfo, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, has appointed Satrajit Saha as its Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
With over 20 years of experience in banking and credit bureaus, Satrajit will drive the growth of Creditinfo and the maturity of its credit bureaus globally. He joins the company from TransUnion Europe, where he held the position of CEO for the last five years.
In his role, Satrajit will lead Creditinfo in advancing its strategic initiatives, with a particular focus on promoting financial inclusion worldwide. Drawing on his background in the credit information industry, spread across Asia, Africa, and Europe, he will lead the next phase of Creditinfo’s growth on a global level as it strives to become a truly global bureau and the leader for facilitating access to finance in both developed and emerging markets.
Monty Ismail, Director at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and Creditinfo Group Board member said, “We are delighted to welcome Satrajit “Satty” Saha as our new Global Chief Executive Officer. He is an accomplished executive with successful leadership experience relevant to our business, including his time as CEO of TransUnion UK. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Creditinfo, and we are excited to see Satty, with extensive knowledge of our key markets, take over as CEO. We are looking forward to working with Satty in continuing to expand our global footprint and unlocking access to finance for millions of consumers and businesses worldwide.”
As an experienced strategic leader, Satrajit has an impressive reputation in the financial services space. At TransUnion Europe, he led the board of all TransUnion’s European owned entities. Before joining TransUnion Europe, he was Chief Business Officer at TransUnion India, where he was responsible for crafting and executing TransUnion’s CIBIL’s market strategy. He was also Cards Head, Africa Region, at Barclays Bank.
Satrajit Saha, newly appointed Global CEO at Creditinfo said, “I am honored to take on the role of Global CEO at Creditinfo, a company that is at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion. Together with the talented team at Creditinfo, we will continue to leverage innovative data sets and solutions to bridge information gaps and create opportunities to facilitate access to finance for individuals and businesses globally.”
IBSi Daily News Analysis
February 23, 2024
Regulated firms battle surge in financial crime attempts, research revealsRead More
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Months after the 2018 groundbreaking, the company was racing to hire the 260 people needed to receive the first tranche of payments from the lucrative subsidy package passed by then-Gov. Scott Walker. Recruiters were told to hit the number but given little in the way of job descriptions. Soon, the office began to fill with people who had nothing to do. Many just sat in their cubicles watching Netflix and playing games on their phones.
Exactly when these new computers both designed and manufactured by System76 will become available for purchase is anyone’s guess. Quite frankly, based on the System76’s blog post, it seems they are still at very early stages. With that said, it will be interesting to see what is born inside that factory in Colorado.
Additive manufacturing—the industrial version of 3-D printing—is already used to make some niche items, such as medical implants, and to produce plastic prototypes for engineers and designers. But the decision to mass-produce a critical metal-alloy part to be used in thousands of jet engines is a significant milestone for the technology. And while 3-D printing for consumers and small entrepreneurs has received a great deal of publicity, it is in manufacturing where the technology could have its most significant commercial impact
Instead of starting from a silicon wafer or other substrate, as is usual today, researchers have made it possible for the structures to grow from freely suspended nanoparticles of gold in a flowing gas.
The structures are referred to as nanowires or nanorods. The breakthrough for these semiconductor structures came in 2002 and research on them is primarily carried out at Lund, Berkeley and Harvard universities.
They claim the Popigai site is unique in the world, thus making Russia the monopoly proprietor of a resource that’s likely to become increasingly important in high-precision scientific and industrial processes
Russian scientists say the news is likely to change the shape of global diamond markets, although the main customers for the super-hard gems will probably be big corporations and scientific institutes.
According to the folks at Applied Materials, trying to build 3D NAND structures in real life would be like trying to dig a one-kilometer-deep, three-kilometer-long trench with walls exactly three meters apart, through interleaved rock strata — and that’s before we discuss gate trenches or the staircases. Conventional etching systems deal with aspect ratios of 3:1 – 4:1, 3D etching requires an aspect ratio of 20:1 or more — and that’s not easy to pull off.
However, they all share the same Achilles heel – their electronic components come from just one region – south-east Asia. And the really worrying bit? Many of the 10 big players in the IT field are not making good profits, and economic pressure could result in the 10 becoming seven.


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US STOCKS-Wall St dragged down by weak data, Ford results
* Oil prices drop 2 pct
* Ford falls 10 pct, weighs most on S&P
* Indexes down: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.2 pct, Nasdaq 0.05 pct (Updates to early afternoon)
By Yashaswini Swamynathan
July 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index and the Dow edged lower on Thursday as investors fretted about weak economic data and disappointing earnings from Ford.
The carmaker reported weak China sales and declared that the U.S. auto industry's long recovery was at an end, triggering a 9.6 percent fall in its shares. The stock was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 index.
Ford's dismal forecast rattled the automobile market, with shares of General Motors falling 4 percent and Fiat Chrysler 6 percent.
A report by the U.S. Labor Department showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose more than expected to 266,000 for the week ended July 22.
Energy shares took a hit after oil prices fell 2 percent. Exxon and Chevron dropped more than 1 percent. Continuación...


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Team Southern California Jerseys Released
Check out the Anaheim Bullfrogs themed jerseys for Team Southern California. "Team So Cal" will be wearing these jerseys at 2024 State Wars 19!
Joe Cook is a huge name in the sport who has helped revolutionize the sport of roller hockey. Cook also wore the Bullfrogs jerseys back in the 90's!
Tryout dates and times are being scheduled and will be released soon!


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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a invoice Wednesday that will block Amazon and different corporations from punishing warehouse employees who fail to satisfy sure efficiency metrics for taking relaxation or meal breaks. The California Senate permitted the measure earlier this month.
The legislation permits warehouse employees to problem efficiency targets that many say discourage them from taking lavatory breaks or different relaxation breaks all through the work day. The invoice was written in response to excessive charges of reported accidents at Amazon warehouses the place efficiency quotas are algorithmically enforced.
The legislation doesn’t explicitly title Amazon in its textual content, however each Republican and Democratic lawmakers acknowledge that the e-commerce large could be vastly affected by the enactment of the laws. Over the previous couple of years, Amazon has come underneath intense criticism for its efficiency quotas with a number of shops reporting that employees have peed in bottles as a way of assembly their warehouse success targets and sustaining their jobs.
The legislation will even drive corporations like Amazon to make these efficiency algorithms extra clear, disclosing quotas to each employees and regulators. The corporate didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Verge.
Nonetheless, supporters of the brand new legislation have introduced it as a breakthrough towards algorithmic monitoring of employees usually. “The bill is the first attempt to create transparency and protections against unsafe algorithmic-enforced quota systems used by corporations like to push warehouse workers’ bodies to the breaking point,” Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D) said in a tweet earlier this month.
Enterprise teams have come out in opposition of the bill, suggesting that it will hurt the trade by empowering workers to file lawsuits that could possibly be pricey and time-consuming for corporations.
Up to date 9/23/21 at 3:08PM ET: Modified headline and physique textual content to replicate the invoice was signed into legislation.


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Oxford, England – Mini has announced its Countryman crossover, the fourth model it will add to the Mini lineup. It will be the first Mini with four doors and a wide-opening rear hatch, and will offer four-wheel drive.
The new model combines larger body dimensions, greater ground clearance and four doors with Mini’s traditional short overhangs and high window line.
Inside, the Countryman features a unique Center Rail, extending from front to rear instead of a conventional centre console, offering the ability to integrate storage boxes, cupholders, music players and cell phones.
Four seats will be standard, while a three-seat bench will be available. In Europe, it will enter the market with a choice of three gasoline and two diesel engines. The optional Mini ALL4 all-wheel drive will use an electrohydraulic differential, sending 50 per cent of power to the rear wheels under normal driving conditions, and up to 100 per cent in extreme conditions.


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Going an entire day without buying anything might seem alien to us within an age of instant gratification, though when did you last reflect on the damaging impact that excess consumerism has on our planet and society? You may never have, but the annual recurrence of ‘Buying Nothing Day’ – which takes place this year on Friday 26th November – can give us all food for thought and help improve our lifestyle habits for good.
What is it?
Buy Nothing Day all started in 1992 with Canadian artist Ted Dave, gaining traction through promotion from the pro-environment campaign Adbusters. Since then, many more people around the world have been inspired to dedicate a day to examining the corrosive impact that consumerism has on our minds and planet.
Each day after Thanksgiving, people in over 65 countries observe a deliberate aversion to purchasing material goods or, indeed, anything at all. It might seem fruitless given that many will return to old habits, and capitalism might seem a permanent fixture of our society, though symbolically participants find it necessary to fight against it and raise awareness.
Why do it?
As we verge towards a climate emergency, Buy Nothing Day is more important now than ever. The importance of leading more essential lives cannot be stated enough, as it prevents waste and unnecessary fuel emissions.
Though more than that, Buy Nothing Day allows us to evaluate how we behave as human beings. We’ve all seen the videos of floods of people in supermarkets on Black Friday, battling it out for the last television or smartphone, all in the name of consumer greed. This is exactly the behaviour that Buy Nothing Day stands against.
Buying nothing can have a purifying detox effect, as we purge the material instincts that have been conditioned by society. Letting go of an obsessive desire for stuff, we can connect with one another as people, the natural world, and come to understand what truly matters.
What can you do to help?
Where many supporters of Buy Nothing Day exert themselves through radical protest, there are many smaller things that you can do to inspire piecemeal change such as clothes exchanges and donations.
Though if you are inclined towards more direct action, here are ways in which activists have demonstrated against consumerism:
- Zombie walk: participants wander around busy stores with a blank stare to mimic the soul-sapping nature of consumer culture.
- Whirl-Mart: protestors wheel empty shopping trolleys around stores without purchasing any products.
- Credit card cut-up: participants head to shopping centres and encourage individuals with a shopping addiction to cut up their credit card with scissors.
Overall, a more proactive attitude in day-to-day life, rather than in late November each year, will help to address the levels of waste and overconsumption that plague our global community. Ultimately, if on an individual level we can adopt better habits the world will become a better place.
Whilst it was originally a North American occasion, the message of Buy Nothing Day has become increasingly universal: if our planetary home is to survive, we must address our consumer habits and redirect our focus to the things that truly matter.


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PlayStation 4 will be a “renaissance of gaming,” according to lead system architect Mark Cerny.
“Variety of experience is key to PlayStation 4,” Cerny told VG247 at a recent Sony event. “I think we’re going to see an incredible variety on PS4.”
“I feel like the magical time was the early years of the PlayStation because there was such a variety of products coming out,” Cerny said. “There wasn’t this sort of consistent overarching pattern that you might have seen in the last few years in the PlayStation 3 generation, and I really think we’re heading back to that time. I think that’s a very good thing.”
During that time, according to Cerny, “there was no rule book, teams were small, projects were cheap,” and “you could make a game for just a couple of hundred thousand dollars,” resulting in projects like Xi and PaRappa the Rapper emerging at retail.
“They finished them, they put them on retail, and they sold,” Cerny said of these games. “It wasn’t this case where people are talking about how the middle of the market is dropping out a bit today, it isn’t the case where these games were made and did not succeed. Some of these games that were made by these tiny teams with these tiny budgets went on to be phenomenally successful.”
PlayStation 4 will help the industry return to this “magical time,” Cerny added. “The barrier to entry that existed on PS3 technologically is gone. If you can make games for PC, you can make games for PS4. So it’s much easier to bring games to the platform, or if you’re going to [develop] on the platform, it’s once again much easier.”
If you’re a smaller, indie developer, it all starts with tweet to Shahid Ahmad. “That’s the way we do business now,” Cerny said.
“We have the opportunity with PlayStation 4 to fundamentally alter the landscape of gaming,” Cerny told VG247. “We can have the highest richness and variety of content.”


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MICHAEL STEDMAN, SUE NEALES, Mercury
THE $500,000 mystery television ad scrapped by the State Government was intended to launch a $14 million campaign. The campaign’s aim was to change the national view of Tasmania as a redneck state.
And the Mercury was told yesterday the secret commercial was the brainchild of former premier Paul Lennon.
The advertisement was commissioned and overseen by Mr Lennon’s political office, without the involvement of any departmental tourism, marketing or brand experts.
But the expensive commercial was ditched early last year after a furious row about its suitability within Tasmanian tourism, government and business circles.
It was also discovered at the last minute that a song that featured on the ad — Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now — was already being aired in NSW to promote the Sydney autumn racing carnival.
Yesterday the Government was again accused of a cover-up over the aborted “feelgood” advertising campaign as it failed to release details to Parliament for the tenth day in a row. But Acting Premier Lara Giddings promised all information would be released as soon as it had been collected.
“We have nothing to hide,” Ms Giddings said.
… The Mercury was told yesterday the ad campaign was dreamt up by Mr Lennon and his department chief Evan Rolley in September 2007.
The former premier had decided a $14 million campaign was needed to help rebrand Tasmania as a creative, innovative and forward-thinking state after damaging publicity in Melbourne and Sydney caused by the pulp mill proposal.
Mr Lennon’s political adviser on marketing and communications matters, Jane Lonergan, took control of the $500,000 project.
It was hoped the commercial would counter the impression held by many mainlanders of Tasmania as a state obsessed with logging its forests, stuck in the 1960s and populated only by “hillbillies, bogans and greenies”. Read more here


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Can music guys make music subscription work?
Producer Jimmy Iovine thinks that, unlike tech companies, music companies will be able to persuade people to subscribe to a music service - and he’s about to test his theory
Making a music subscription service work is a nut which has yet to really be cracked. While there have been many attempts over the last decade or so, none have really struck gold based on the model of getting people to pay a monthly fee for access to music. However, one of the big players in the music industry thinks he knows why music subscription services haven’t really worked yet: because they’ve all been done by people who don’t know music.
Jimmy Iovine, the famous music producer, label executive and co-founder of Beats Electronics (the headphone maker) thinks he has music subscription all figured out. Last year, Beats bought the music subscription service MOG, and is planning to rework and relaunch it later this year under a new name, Daisy. To help make it happen, Beats has hired Ian Rogers from Topspin Media as Daisy’s CEO and named Trent Reznor its chief creative officer.
Those are some big names, to be sure, but why should we think Daisy will succeed where so many others haven’t? Because, Iovine told AllThingsD last week at CES, previous attempts have been led by tech companies, not music companies. “Subscription needs a programmer. It needs culture. And tech guys can’t do that,”
Iovine said that in order to make music subscription work, curation is the key, and to do that properly takes knowledge of music and the culture around it - knowledge which tech guys don’t have but people like him do. As he said to AllThingsD:
Right now, somebody’s giving you 12 million songs, and you give them your credit card, and they tell you “good luck.” You need to have some kind of help. I’m going to offer you a guide. You don’t have to use it, but it’s going to be there, and it’s going to be a trusted voice, and it’s going to be really good.
Iovine also talked about his efforts to convince Steve Jobs to launch a music subscription service. While he said Jobs, eventually, was “feeling it,” he also felt that the licensing fees the record labels would demand were too high. Iovine thinks that Beats, using its music know-how, can build a service that draws in enough users to justify paying the licensing fees that will be required.
Can music people make music subscription finally work? I’m skeptical. There are too many free options for streaming music (e.g., Pandora, Spotify), so long as you’re willing to put up with the occasional ad (still much less than traditional radio, and with no annoying DJ chatter). If you really want to hear something specific that you don’t already own, you can buy that song or album without paying a recurring monthly fee.
Can Beats really add enough value to make subscription appealing enough? It would have to be some pretty good (and high volume) of curation. Sure Iovine et al. can identify new talent, but can they do it well enough and frequently enough to get me to commit to paying $10 (or more) per month to hear their latest finds? It’s hard to picture.
I think the best prospect for music subscription to work would be the collapse of the Internet radio, which isn’t an impossible thought given the high Internet royalties that Pandora and other streamers currently have to pay. If Internet radio essentially went away, that might drive people to subscription. On the other hand, if high Internet royalties kill off free music streaming, that would presumably make the cost of direct licensing of music (which would be required for subscription services) even higher, driving up subscription costs and making it even harder for subscription to work.
But, who knows? Iovine is a sharp guy and a proven success in several different endeavors. Maybe he’ll prove that he was right and Steve Jobs was wrong about music subscription. For me though, even though he’s dead, I think I’ll still side with Jobs on this one.


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Publix promotes Gino DiGrazia to vice president of finance, replacing Kelly Underhill, who is retiring
May 16, 2012
– Publix Super Markets Inc. announced today a promotion for Gino DiGrazia to Vice President of Finance. In addition to his current responsibilities for business analysis and reporting (BAR), DiGrazia assumes many of the responsibilities previously held by Kelly Underhill, director of tax and treasury, who retired from Publix on March 30, 2012 after 22 years of dedicated service.
“Developing our leaders for future opportunities is important to our long-term success,” said CFO David Phillips. “I am pleased we have leaders like Gino who are prepared to take on new roles.”
DiGrazia joined Publix in 1992 as manager of BAR. In 1997, he was promoted to director of BAR and in 2002 was named vice president and controller, BAR. Prior to joining Publix, DiGrazia was an audit manager with Deloitte & Touche in Tampa. He graduated summa cum laude from Ohio State University in 1984 with a double major in accounting and finance and is a certified public accountant.
Publix is privately owned and operated by its 151,500 employees, with 2011 sales of $27.0 billion. Currently Publix has 1,051 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. The company has been named one of FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” for 15 consecutive years. In addition, Publix’s dedication to superior quality and customer service is recognized as tops in the grocery business, most recently by an American Customer Satisfaction Index survey. For more information, visit the company’s website, www.publix.com.
© 2021 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.


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Wheels turn on eco-friendly invention
Students win manufacturing award for bike chain guide and bash guard
Chico State students are really stepping up to the plate when it comes to efforts in sustainability. Take, for example, the fact that just this month, the university’s Sustainable Manufacturing Program was awarded the top prize for their mountain bike chain guide and bash guard.
A team of 12 students entered their invention, which included the design and fabrication of the chain guide and bash guard as well as the plan and tools for mass production, according to a university press release. What makes their product so eco-friendly is the packaging is both made with recycled materials—plastic and cardboard—and includes a fully compostable plastic package.
This is the 11th time since 1987 that Chico State has taken top honors at the Manufacturing Challenge, sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.


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Printer maker Lexmark International Inc. LXK like others in the technology industry, has spent years wrestling with a maturing hardware market that drags down its top line.
Unlike many of its competitors, however, Chief Executive Paul Rooke says the company can succeed by sticking to its core business and adding software around it. That approach is different from peers like Xerox Corp. XRX, +0.13% which have diversified further afield with new offerings, such as outsourcing.
Lexmark has spent the past three years focusing on software that helps companies scan and manage images like papers, records and media files that can't fit so easily onto an electronic spreadsheet--everything from written job applications to surgery videos.
"We're attacking this broader unstructured information problem," Mr. Rooke said in an interview following the company's recent investor summit in New York. "Nobody is bringing all these diverse sets of content together in one place and connecting it into the core, other than Lexmark."
The pressure is on the Lexington, Ky., company to make its case to customers after revenue last year declined 9.1%, hurt by a 17% drop in hardware sales that drove sharply lower earnings. The International Business Machines Corp. IBM, +0.31% spinoff now faces some of the same headwinds that afflicted its former parent two decades ago--squeezed margins and weaker growth from developed economies.
The company this spring responded by divesting the last assets in its less-profitable inkjet printing business, selling patents, equipment and a manufacturing facility to supplier Funai Electric Co. (6839.OK) last month for $100 million.
Shares have surged 30% this year, outperforming the S&P 500 index as investors appear more bullish on technology companies. But the stock is still off 37% from its three-year high in 2010.
Analysts also remain skeptical of Lexmark's long-term chances in light of the risks it faces. Raymond James analyst Brian Alexander said the company's "nascent software strategy makes sense" but kept a neutral stance on its stock in a recent report, noting "the pathway to consistent growth and profitability remains uncertain."
Lexmark's biggest recent acquisition, Perceptive Software, lends its name to division that has since collected several smaller software products all centered around creating or managing images.
The company on Tuesday set a 30% average growth target for the Perceptive Software suite, a goal that would deliver about $500 million of revenue a year to Lexmark's by 2016. Much of that new revenue will come from more acquisitions, though Mr. Rooke said the company aims to keep its investment-grade credit rating, which constrains the size of possible future deals.
Printing hardware and supplies still drive almost 90% of Lexmark's sales, so the company's strategy calls for more acquisitions to eventually revive its top line.
"It's a mature market, and it gets more mature every day," Mr. Rooke said. "While it's still a large market--$70 billion worth, and still a lot of paper in the world--we think now is the time to get more aggressive."
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text: The boss of WA’s biggest independent food distribution company believes the lack of supermarket competition is “absolutely” resulting in higher prices at the checkout — and especially delays in passing on falls in wholesale costs. New West Foods managing director Damon Venoutsos has endured the rollercoaster of supply chain disruptions, labour shortages and extreme weather that placed a rocket under the price of thousands of household staples since the start of the COVID pandemic. While some of those pressures have now eased, especially when it comes to imported goods, Mr Venoutsos said food inflation in some categories remained stubbornly high. However, he added it was clear Coles and Woolworths had dragged their feet trimming prices for items where costs had fallen or levelled out. Frozen vegetables, cooking oils, dairy products — especially cheeses — ham, bacon and eggs were among the items Mr Venoutsos singled out as having fallen in price much faster among food distributors than in supermarket aisles. “I would absolutely say the pricing that the supermarkets have on certain items appears unreasonable when comparing them with food services pricing,” Mr Venoutsos said. “That is purely due to market forces and competition — we have that and the supermarkets don’t. Just here in Perth there would be 30 other companies doing the same thing (New West Foods) does and nationally it would be in the hundreds.” Earlier this month, Allan Fels — the former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission — released a report into price gouging that claimed supermarkets employed a “rockets and feathers” approach to pricing. The report, which was commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, described the method as sharply increasing prices when costs rise — like a rocket — but dropping them slowly — like a feather — when inputs fall. Mr Venoutsos said the exact opposite occurred in food distribution because of the level of competition. “If we see any price decreases happening in our market, it’s a fight to see who can get their new price lists published and out quick enough to move the dial,” he said. “Whereas when we see price increases, it is everyone holding out to the last possible moment to pass those on.” Since being hauled into the spotlight through a series of inquiries and investigations — and blistering rhetoric from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on down — both Coles and Woolworths have slashed prices across a range of items. “In my opinion, there were some significant price reductions being taken that even (the big supermarkets) would struggle to have negotiated (with their suppliers) so quickly,” Mr Venoutsos said. “To me it was actually a big admission.” He added that two decades ago he supplied around $2 million worth of fresh seafood to a range of Action supermarkets but that the contract was “cut off immediately” when the stores in question were bought out by Woolworths. “I have supplied into retail multiple times and every time have left the market due to the methodology of their business,” he said. “It is their world, their rules and if you don’t like it — pick up your bat and ball and go home.” New West Foods’ clients now include Optus Stadium, King Edward Memorial and Sir Charles Gairdner hospitals, multiple aged care homes and hundreds of restaurants and cafes. The food service industry nationally is valued at around $27 billion, a fraction of the $132 billion supermarket market. While Coles and Woolworths account for around two thirds of the grocery market between them, Mr Venoutsos said the largest food distributor, Bidfood, accounted for only 10 to 15 per cent.


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You may have heard of Myles Kovacs. Most recently, Kovacs’s name has been synonymous with high-end wheels as the owner of TIS Wheels, a cutting-edge off-road wheel brand distributed through American Tire Distributors (ATD). Yet this trendsetter and off-road junkie has taken his talents to the tire space this past year with the launch of the TIS UT1, the first ever UTV and ATV tire from TIS Wheels that is co-branded with ATD’s Hercules Tires.
“We’ve been working on some type of deal for over 11 years,” Kovacs says about snagging the partnership with ATD. “We’re the new kids on the block in the tire industry. Our goal is to bring a uniqueness to the market and shake things up a little bit.”
Shaking things up has always been Kovacs’s MO: In the early 2000s, he co-founded DUB Magazine, the publication of record for all things car culture. As he saw the off-road craze take shape, he launched the off-roading magazine LFTDxLVLD (Lifted & Leveled) in 2014 and later Adventure Rigs, an overlanding publication, in 2019. The latter two lean into Kovacs’s personal interests.
“I grew up being on ATVs and UTVs and racing motocross,” he says. “Off-roading is my yoga.”
That’s why the collaboration with Hercules on the TIS UT1 tire, which became available for dealers to order in March, is not only a milestone as the first tire for the TIS brand but also a personal coup, as he told Tire Review in an interview earlier this year. Yet, he doesn’t want to stop there, as he looks to use the aggressive marketing and branding skills he employed at DUB into his tire and wheel business.
“Eventually you’ll see trucks, trailers, wheels, cars, whatever it is with TIS tires and TIS wheels matching on it.”
Bringing Mainstream Marketing to the Tire World
While the TIS UT1 might be Kovacs’s first go at tire design and development, he’s definitely not a stranger to the tire and wheel industry. When he co-founded DUB Magazine in the early 2000s, he and his team used the magazine to highlight celebrity high-performance vehicles. His expertise in pop culture marketing also led him to partner with tire manufacturers on marketing and consulting.
“We’ve been doing marketing for Tier 1 and Tier 2 tire companies for the last 25 years,” explains Kovacs, who has since sold DUB to focus on his TIS Wheels business. “They paid us to do huge programs. For us, we knew that we could do it for ourselves.”
Marketing and branding have played a huge role in the success of Kovacs’s businesses throughout the years. DUB wasn’t only a magazine; it expanded into a $25 million toy business, an auto show and an over $9 million video game business. This led him to become a multi-million dollar entrepreneur, later branching out into consulting. He worked as a high-performance car expert for the show “MTV Cribs” and also consulted for Fortune 500 companies like Pepsi Co. and carmakers like Hyundai and Toyota.
“My background is in marketing and branding for the biggest brands in the world,” Kovacs adds.
He brought that marketing prowess to TIS Wheels, and it shows. The brand grew 300% in sales over the last two years (Kovacs cites the return to recreational activities during the pandemic as a huge driver). Last year, it had 295 million impressions across the brand’s social media platforms and had 87 million views on TikTok alone.
“That’s why this collaboration works. We told Hercules and ATD, ‘Hey, we’re going to push the envelope on design and marketing.’ But, they’re the tire experts and constantly pushing the envelope on engineering and quality,” he says. “It’s really the best of both worlds: Hercules is excellent at what they do and we’re really good at what we do.”
The way Kovacs thinks about marketing in the tire and wheel space comes from his background as an off-roader, as many off-roaders are matching their wheels and tires across their other vehicles, like their daily driver and trailer.
“We took the Nike approach to designing this tire because we wanted to match the wheels and the trucks and everything else…We’re taking that mindset, and we’re mimicking that in the tire world.”
Turning Passion into Product
In creating the TIS UT1, Kovacs had a say in how he wanted it to feel as a UTV driver himself. He and the Hercules team also met with other off-roaders to see what their common concerns were when it came to tires.
Sidewall punctures were the main worry, which is why the TIS UT1 comes with a dual compound–one to enhance shoulder strength and the other to enforce the sidewall. Aesthetics were also top priority, yet “trail people,” as Kovacs says, were worried that the tire’s massive tread blocks might make the vehicle push and pull in the sand (it didn’t). The gaps on the bead protector were another area of study. Giving the tire a squared shoulder design gave it a more rugged look.
“I wanted it to look meatier. That actually gave it more traction,” he says. “We worked really hard to make sure that we came out with something that not only is aesthetically pleasing, but also something that’s going to work.”
To test the tire, they hired Baja 1000 champions and UTV national champions to tear it up. “They were blown away with the tire performance,” Kovacs adds.
Kovacs feels that to be a player in the tire space, he had to prove himself in the marketing realm first–showing that he can take brands to new heights. He’s done that in the wheel industry with TIS, one of the most expensive brands in the cast wheel market. Now, he’s looking to do that in the tire industry with ATD.
“We feel that with ATD and Hercules, we have the right players to win championships and be a key component in off-road racing today and in the tire industry,” he says. “We don’t just want to play in this industry; we want to be a player.”


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Valve has clarified its position and policies surrounding AI-generated game content through a blog posted to the Steam Community forums.
The Washington-based company’s Steam app and store is home to one of the market’s largest selections of PC games.
After spending the last few months reviewing and learning about AI technology and talking with game developers, Valve says it would change its guidelines regarding how it handles games that use AI technology.
Valve will update the content survey developers fill out when submitting their games to Steam. The survey will now include an AI disclosure section, requiring developers to describe how they used AI in the development process of their games. Valve has made two AI categories to separate the different types of AI usage during game development.
The first category is pre-generated AI content, which is any asset created with the help of AI tools and software, such as art and sound. Developers must “promise Valve that your game will not include illegal or infringing content, and that your game will be consistent with your marketing materials.”
The second category is live-generated AI content, which includes any content created by AI while the game is running and being played. Like the first category of pre-generated AI, developers will need to tell Valve what kind of “guardrails” it will put on their live-generated AI content “to ensure it’s not generating illegal content.”
Once submitted by the developers, Valve will use the disclosures as part of their review of the game before it releases on Steam. Valve is also creating a system which allows players on Steam to report any illegal content inside games that live-generated AI creates. Players will be able to do so through the in-game Steam overlay.
Valve said these new guidelines around AI “will enable us to release the vast majority of games that use it.” It also expects to continue learning more about AI use in games and review its changes if needed, “we’ll continue to learn from the games being submitted to Steam, and the legal progress around AI, and will revisit this decision when necessary,” Valve said in the community forum post.
Image credit: Valve


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The most stolen car in America is either a muscle car or a truck, all depending on who you ask.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the most stolen car of 2011 was the Dodge Charger. Their figures say that there were 4.8 thefts for every 1000 cars produced. It makes me think that somewhere there are some really incompetent thieves with just .8 of their stolen Chargers.
Rounding out the top of this list is the Mitsubishi Galant, Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet HHR counting only vehicles with at least 5,000 units produced for the year. Not a truck in sight at the top of this list.
If you own one of those cars and are now feeling compelled to double-check that you locked the doors, you might want to put your faith in the rankings released by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) instead. According to them, the top stolen car in America isn’t even a car, but the Ford F-250 crew-cab with four-wheel drive.
Their rankings go on to include more trucks. They’ve got the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Avalanche 1500, GMC Sierra 1500 crew, and Ford F-350 crew with four-wheel drive in their top five.
Why such a difference?
It all comes down to methodology. The NHTSA bases its numbers on stolen car reports made to the police. The insurance industry funded HLDI uses reports based on insurance claims.
The reason the two reports are wildly different has a lot to do with the fact that a stolen truck can mean the lost of far more than just the truck. Depending on what was in the flatbed, the owner might be looking at a significant loss that will make it more likely he’ll file a claim.
One thing both parties agree on is that thefts overall have been on the decline. On average, thefts have gone down about 13% each year since 2006 which was the last year that saw an increase.
Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.


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Automotive supplier Eberspaecher Group opens an exhaust-systems plant in Tondela, Portugal.
The 296,000-sq.-ft. (27,500-sq.-m) plant, built in less than 10 months on a 4.7-acre (11.5-ha) site in the municipality of Tondela, supplies European automakersʼ plants in Spain, Portugal and northern Morocco with hot-end and cold-end components for diesel and gasoline vehicles. This includes complete exhaust systems as well as gasoline particulate filters and catalytic converters, Eberspaecher says in a news release.
By 2020, the plant is scheduled to reach annual production capacity of 2.5 million exhaust-system components. This equates to manufacturing a catalytic converter on the automatic and flexible production lines every 25 seconds at full capacity. The facility initially has 120 employees and will have as many as 550 in the medium term, the release says.
‟Recently acquired orders necessitated expansion of production capacity of the European Exhaust Technology division,ˮ Esslingen, Germany-based Eberspaecher says. The supplier last enlarged its European production capacity with a plant for car-exhaust technology in Oradea, Romania.
“This plant represents an important milestone for the expansion of our European exhaust technology production network,” Thomas Waldhier, chief operating officer of Eberspaecherʼs Exhaust Technology Div., says at the ceremonial launch of production at the facility.
“Tondela provides us with the optimal starting point for establishing closer ties with our customers on the entire Iberian Peninsula. In addition to the excellent logistical integration, the availability of very well-trained personnel also represented a persuasive argument.”
There is an office complex in addition to the production and logistics building.
Eberspaecher has 30 global production sites and currently is constructing an Asian Tech Center for exhaust-system testing and prototyping in Shanghai, China.


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Realme GT3 Launched In Europe [w/ INSANE 240W Fast-Charging]
Realme just launched the world’s fastest-charging smartphone in the global markets. Here’s everything you need to know!
Realme, the sub-brand of Oppo, has brought its 240W SuperVOOC fast-charging tech to the international market. It is currently the fastest charging smartphone available, with the ability to fast charge from 0-100% in under 10 minutes.
Realme announced this at the MWC 2023 event. This is the same smartphone Realme launched in China last month as Realme GT Neo 5.
Let’s talk about Realme GT3 and everything you need to know!
Realme GT3: Pricing & Availability
Realme GT3 will be available on these RAM and internal storage configurations: 8/128GB, 12/256GB, 16/256GB and 16/512GB. The pricing starts at $649 for the 8/128GB variant. The phone will be available in two colours: Booster Black and Pulse White.
Realme has not mentioned when the phone will go on sale, and the availability of the phone will be announced later. The phone is expected to go on sale in May or June, depending on the region.
Realme GT3: Key Features & Specifications
Realme GT3 comes with a fresh new design, a camera array on the back, two rings, and an RGB LED strip housed around the Snapdragon logo.
Realme GT3 has a 6.74-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1.5K and a refresh rate of 144Hz. It has a brightness of up to 1400 nits and supports HDR10+ certification.
Realme GT3 is powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, the previous generation Snapdragon flagship. It still makes the phone one of the top-performing Android phones in the market, just below Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones.
Coming to the cameras, the phone comes with a triple camera setup, one with a 50MP main snapper featuring a Sony IMX890 sensor and has OIS support. The secondary cameras are abysmal, as it comes with an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro sensor. On the front, you get a 16MP selfie shooter.
Now coming to the talking point of the phone, it comes with a 4,600mAh battery with 240W SuperVOOC fast charging. The phone takes to get fully charged in around 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The phone hits 20% in just 80 seconds and charges up to 50% in 4 minutes.
The company claims the phone has the “fastest charging power for years to come, as it has reached the maximum charging power possible under USB-C standards”. But that maximum limit has already been breached. And Realme isn’t using the native USB Type C standard for charging anyway.
The phone uses three 100W charging chips to attain 98.5% charging efficiency. The phone uses a dual GaN charger, which is almost the same size as that Realme’s 150W charger from last year. It also uses the first 12A USB cable to support the high current it uses the phone to charge.
Realme has mentioned that the battery retains upto 80% of its original capacity after 1600 cycles.
The phone features a “Pulse Interface System” at the back and a C-shaped RGB light beside the camera array. It will pulse Red for the first 80% till the phone reaches 20%. Then for the next 7 minutes, it will pulse Purple till it reaches 100%. It will also double up as notification LEDs, and when taking timed pictures, the LED will flash according to the timer.
Faster Charging Speeds Are Coming
With Realme breaking the 240W barrier in charging speeds, Redmi, Xiaomi’s sub-brand, today made its own announcement of fast charging tech, which can reach speeds of 300W. It was only a technology demo, using a customised version of the Redmi Note 12 Discovery Edition with a 4100mAh battery. It charged the phone from 0-100% in 5 minutes, with 0-50% charging completed in 2 minutes and 11 seconds.


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New Delhi: Amid the rumours doing rounds that there would be restrictions in vegetable markets to contain spread of coronavirus, the premier wholesale vegetable market Azadpur Mandi has clarified that they are not going to close its operations.
The officials in Azadpur Mandi Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) told City Spidey that precautionary measures have been initiated to prevent spread of deadly COVID-19 due to fear of infection, and the market will not be closed.
Adil Ahmed Khan, Chairman of APMC said, “To prevent the infection of Coronavirus, precaution and safety measures are being adopted in Azadpur Mandi, however, the market will not be closed due to the fear of infection.”
Khan also informed that sanitisers are being distributed to the businessmen and soaps have been replaced for washing the hands. “The department is closely monitoring the cleanliness in the market,” he said.
Moreover, the management of the market informed that they have been following the advisory issued by the Health Department to check the coronavirus spread.
Further, Khan assured people that there are sufficient stocks of fruits and vegetables in the market. “Retail traders are constantly picking fruits and vegetables from the market,” he stated.
Anil Kumar, vegetable wholesaler told the prices of almost all the vegetables and fruits have surged but not because of shortage in Mandi.
“Consumers have stared purchasing extra vegetables and fruits hence prices have slightly surged. Onion’s price have increased by Rs 10-25 per kg but it is happening because supply of onion was almost stopped from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. However, there is no shortage of vegetables or food in Mandi,” he said.