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What does the science say about the safety of America’s chicken farming practice?
A study of chicken bones helps tell the story of our Anthropocene times, which is when Sapiens began making a significant impact on the planet. What lessons can we learn from how we have, so significantly, altered a bird to fit our needs?
Just ahead of barbecue season, here's something to stress about: grilling and charring red meat, chicken, and fish at high temps could lead to high blood pressure, according to a recent study from the American Heart Association. But don't cancel your upcoming BBQ invites just yet — it's all in the way you cook your burger, and how often.
Here's some advice for you ambitious urban cowboys out there: Wash your hands after you touch your chickens. Cook your eggs thoroughly. And be on the lookout for predators.
If you believe the hype that the Organic Consumers Association puts out, you believe that organic foods are better for you than the conventionally raised variety. And you likely also believe that animals raised in line with organic principles are also treated more humanely. Oops!
The FDA has approved another GM animal. But unlike AquaBounty's GM salmon OK'd less than a month ago, nobody will be eating this one. These modified chickens will produce a drug in their egg whites, which can then be isolated and then administered to patients suffering from a rare genetic condition.


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BELLHOPS Moving just got a little easier. In May, Bellhops set up operations in Berkeley. Using a business model akin to Uber or Lyft, the company hires local college students, or “bellhops,” to provide customers with moving help. The company started three years ago in Auburn, Alabama, and rapidly expanded to 145 cities across the country. Currently, around 80 UC Berkeley students are available for customers within 15 miles of campus, according to co-founder Matt Paterson. Operations are decentralized, and the company doesn’t own any trucks or garages, but its employees can rent moving vans if the customer requests it. As Patterson puts it, Bellhops is perfect for those who don’t need a professional service and instead could just use some helping hands. And the company recognizes that letting strangers handle your possessions can be nerve-racking, which is why it sends customers pictures and profiles of bellhops before they arrive. Trust and exceptional customer service are central to the company’s mission, said Patterson.
BOXBEE Local storage company Boxbee has come to Berkeley and Oakland, according Allyse Sanchez, its public relations representative. The company offers storage services to urban dwellers tight on space. Boxbee sends customers a box in which they can store their items, and Boxbee picks it up and takes it to a secure storage facility. When the customer needs to retrieve their things, Boxbee will deliver the box back. Customers can track their box, schedule a delivery or pickup time, or send boxes to a friend using the company’s website. Rates go from $5 to to $20 a month, depending on the size of the box. The company was started by Kristoph Matthews last year and also operates in San Francisco and New York.
NEW PHILZ COFFEE COMES NEXT WEEK The local coffee chain will open its Gilman Street branch on Tuesday, according to a representative from Philz. This will be the second store to open in the East Bay, with the first located in North Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. Coffee connoisseur Phil Jaber started the company back in 2003 with the goal of combining delicious coffee with great customer service. His core mission is to make people’s day better, according to the Philz website. The coffee shop is opening in the new Gilman Street shopping district, which will be anchored by Whole Foods and Office Depot, and also house Roadrunner Sports, Soccer Pro, Doughnut Dolly, and Farm Burger, which plan to open in the coming months. Speaking of Whole Foods, the company announced its opening date — Nov. 4 — on Tuesday, and Berkeleyside had the scoop.
LA FABLE OUT The French bistro in the Gourmet Ghetto at 1508 Walnut St. — which was Chester’s Bayview Café until it became La Fable last year — closed its doors Sunday. It offered a variety of dishes, including french onion soup, filet mignon and scallops, as well as several breakfast options. The new owners plan to open a family-run vegetarian restaurant in the coming months, according to members of the Live Oak/Codornices Creek Neighborhood Association. Said one local resident: “They plan on offering something different and running the entire restaurant themselves with the help of their children and some staff. ” Stay tuned for details.
TOWNIE NOW OPEN IN BERKELEY As we reported last week in Bites: University Avenue’s newest neighborhood bar and restaurant, Townie, had its soft opening Friday. Owner and manager Nima Shokat said there was a great turn out and that he is looking forward to word about the business spreading. Heading up the kitchen at Townie is chef Dana Ryan, who formerly worked at Gather, State Bird Provisions and RN74. Said Shokat, who has run Berkeley’s Missouri Lounge for years: “We’re hoping to be a neighborhood bar where people can just come by for a drink and hang out, but also get some exciting food.” Townie is located at 1799 University Ave. in Berkeley, where Venezia used to be located until it closed last year. Connect with Townie on Facebook.
SANCTUARY BISTRO SET TO OPEN Also from Bites, the space formerly occupied by longtime Berkeley favorite Sushi Banzai — which closed in May — is about to open again. According to its website, Sanctuary Bistro is “a compassionate environment created for your mind, body and spirit, the animals and the earth. Sustainable, local, organic, food. Five percent of our profits will be donated to local animal sanctuaries.” The vegan restaurant is described by owners as a “fine dining, plant-based bistro,” and is brought to you by the catering team behind Local Love Catering. The grand-opening prix fixe menuwill feature five courses, and includes items such as “crab-less cakes” with ajalapeño kumquat gelée, and southern tofu served with a “twice baked cashew potato.” The menu is set to change regularly, but the business plans to serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. Sanctuary is located at 1019 Camelia St. in Berkeley and can be reached by phone at 510-917-0190. Connect with the business on Facebook. And stay tuned to Nosh for a longer feature coming soon.
TANDOORI NITE GETS GOOD REVIEWS An Indian restaurant that opened in Berkeley earlier this year is getting solid Yelp reviews and has just secured its beer and wine license from the state. We gave readers the skinny in Bites last week. We first tipped you about Tandoori Nite, at 2160 University west of Oxford Street, in March before it opened, but thought it was time for an update. There’s a $10 lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and diners say it’s one of the freshest around. One recent Berkeley reviewer raves that the eatery is “consistently awesome (I end up ordering from them like 90% of the days I’m too lazy to cook). The food is as good as or better than most Indian restaurants’ fare in Berkeley, the prices are great, the staff is very friendly and professional, the menu offers tons of options and the delivery minimum is $15. You really can’t ask for much more from a downtown eatery.” The restaurant still seems to be a bit below the radar, so let us know what you think if you check it out.
Shop Talk is our regular column in which we post updates on Berkeley businesses. If you’re a Berkeley business with news, or a Berkeleysider who has spotted a change in your neighborhood or on your travels, shoot us an email with the details. Read previous Shop Talk columns, and check out Bites for the latest East Bay restaurant news.

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The PlayStation Network Is In The Process Of Coming Back!
Have you missed the PlayStation Network? Have you been wandering around your PS3 games just wishing you could choose the “Online” option and get down to business? I know I have, as well as most of the other writers here at GodisaGeek.com. Well, we have some news that you may want to hear…
The PlayStation Network is back!
Well, almost. According to the press release that’s recently been released by Sony, it’s in the process of coming back but it’s still the best news we’ve had in what seems like an age.
Enough of my blathering, however, I’ll let you read it straight from the horses mouth:
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) will today begin a phased restoration by region of PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. The phased restoration will be on a country by country basis beginning in the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.
The first phase of restored services for North America and Europe will include:
- Sign-in for PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, including the resetting of passwords.
- Restoration of online gameplay across PlayStation 3 and PSP.
- Q Music Unlimited, for current subscribers, on PS3 and PC.
- Access to third party services such as VidZone and MUBI.
- ‘Friends’ category on PS3, including Friends List, Chat Functionality, Trophy Comparison, etc.
- PlayStation Home.
- Increased Security Measures
- Playback rental video content, if within rental period, of PlayStation Store Video Store on PS3, PSP and
As the result of a criminal cyber attack on the company’s data centre located in San Diego, California, USA, SNEI shut down the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services on 20 April 2011, in order for the company to undergo an investigation and make enhancements to the overall security of the network infrastructure.
Working closely with several respected outside security firms, the company has implemented new and additional security measures that strengthen safeguards against unauthorized activity, and provide consumers with greater protection of their personal information.
The company has made considerable enhancements to the data security, including updating and adding advanced security technologies, additional software monitoring and penetration and vulnerability testing, and increased levels of encryption and additional firewalls.
The company also added a variety of other measures to the network infrastructure including an early warning system for unusual activity patterns that could signal an attempt to compromise the network.
“I’d like to send my sincere regret for the inconvenience this incident has caused you, and want to thank you all for the kind patience you’ve shown as we worked through the restoration process,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation.
“I can’t thank you enough for your patience and support during this time. We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and are anxious to use their Sony products and services again. We are taking aggressive action at all levels to address the concerns that were raised by this incident, and are making consumer data protection a full time, company-wide commitment.”
“During the past 18 months, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the volume of cyber attacks, their sophistication and their impact on businesses. Thwarting cyber-crime requires an evolutionary approach to security that is well integrated, reduces risk exposure and improves efficiencies,” said Francis deSouza, senior vice president, Enterprise Security Group, Symantec. “Today’s cyber crime attacks are proving to be more covert, more targeted and better organized than those we’ve seen in years past. In working with Sony on the move of their data centre, it’s clear they’re implementing measures to reduce security risks moving forward.”
As an additional measure, Fumiaki Sakai, president of Sony Global Solutions Inc. (SGS), has been appointed acting Chief Information Security Officer of SNEI. In addition to his current role at SGS, Mr Sakai, in his role at SNEI, will work to further reinforce overall information security across the company’s network infrastructure.
Mr Sakai will lead the recruiting effort in finding a new and permanent CISO for SNEI. As CISO, Mr. Sakai will report to Tim Schaaff, president, SNEI, as well as to Mr Shinji Hasejima, CIO, Sony Corporation.
“While we understand the importance of getting our services back online, we did not rush to do so at the expense of extensively and aggressively testing our enhanced security measures. Our consumers’ safety remains our number one priority,” Hirai continued. “We want to assure our customers that their personal information is being protected with some of the best security technologies available today, so that everyone can feel comfortable enjoying all that PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer.”
The restoration of the services across the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East are beginning, and consumers will be able to enjoy some of the online functionality provided by both the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. The company expects to have the services fully restored by the end of May 2011.
The company will be offering customers a “Welcome Back” package of services and premium content to all registered PlayStation Network and Qriocity account services.
The details of this program will be available at eu.playstation.com/welcomeback shortly.
It’s been a while but it’s about time we had some good news!


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German headline inflation rate falls below zero in July, likely to return to positive territory in August
Philippine headline inflation accelerates in June, likely to average 1.7 pct in H2 2020
Philippine headline inflation accelerated in June to the higher end of the forecast range given by the central bank. On a year-on-year basis, the consumer price inflation accelerated to 2.5 percent from May’s 2.1 percent. On a sequential basis, the headline inflation jumped to 0.5 percent from May’s 0.1 percent.
The rise was mainly driven by transport cost and prices of alcohol beverages, which came in at 6.8 percent and 0.9 percent respectively. These large gains were slightly countered by lower prices in the ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ category, which came in at -0.2 percent sequentially. Meanwhile, core inflation accelerated to 3 percent on a year-on-year basis.
Higher inflation rate in the month has skewed the real policy rate into negative territory. These gains in inflation are believed to be narrow and transitory because they are concentrated only in a few categories, said ANZ in a research report.
There is no evidence of demand pull pressures on prices. Although, activity momentum has bolstered from lows of April-May but continues to be far off from full normalization. For instance, while PMI manufacturing number for June showed vase rebound.
“We expect headline inflation to average 1.7 percent in the second half of the year, a touch below the BSP’s 2–4 percent target band. We thus, reiterate our view that inflation will remain a non-issue for monetary policy for the remainder of the year”, added ANZ.


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P1Harmony Fans Outraged Over 2023 Tour’s Ticket Prices, Venues, And More
It’s only been nine months since their last tour, and the prices are notably different.
P1Harmony fans are expressing outrage over the choice of venues, ticket prices, and more for the group’s upcoming tour.
P1Harmony recently made their comeback with 5th mini album HARMONY : SET IN and its title track “Back Down.” Shortly after, FNC Entertainment announced the group’s next world tour 2023 P1Harmony LIVE TOUR [P1ustage H : P1ONEER] in USA and Seoul.
Firstly, P1eces (P1Harmony fans) expressed concern that P1Harmony is touring again so soon. Not even a year has passed since 2022 P1Harmony LIVE TOUR [P1ustage H : PEACE]. Even then, P1eces were concerned that the members were being overworked.
Besides that, many had mixed reactions to the venues. Some were more than happy over the venues that P1Harmony would perform at in the U.S., such as the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN.
Yet, others expressed great concern over their respective venues. They appeared small and cramped, and those who had attended previous events reported being unable to see the stage, no matter the location inside.
Above all, P1eces are criticizing the unreasonable ticket prices. If you look at the group’s recent TikTok uploads, you will see the comment section is filled with comments related to this topic.
The ticket prices will be General Admission and range from $60-$189 USD for just the ticket. VIP packages are sold separately and cost $170-$350 USD.
P1eces were shocked by the information that not only do the VIP packages cost so much, but they don’t even include their admission to the concert.
Many are joking that for those prices, the benefits better include personal interaction with the members.
Some are even claiming that they are not going at all considering these prices.
Not to mention it’s incredibly short notice. The tour was announced just a couple of days before tickets went on sale. The timing couldn’t be more inconvenient, too, since most people have already spent more money than usual due to the holiday season.
It’s only been about nine months since P1Harmony’s first tour, and the price difference is notable. The full VIP ticket was only $179 USD.
P1eces are incredibly disappointed by the small venues, higher ticket prices, and fewer benefits.
So, many wish that SubKulture Entertainment was the tour’s organizer again.
Will you be seeing P1Harmony in 2023?


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Safmarine moves in with Maersk
IOL Business - Feb 1st 2012, 08:19
The Safmarine shipping line – whose ships are a familiar sight entering and leaving Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth harbours – no longer has a separate corporate structure from the Danish Maersk line, whose owners, the AP Moller-Maersk group, bought it from Safren and Old Mutual in 1999.
But it would continue to function as a separate brand from the Maersk line, its new chief executive, South African Grant Daly, added yesterday.
It would continue to employ 1 400 people in 130 countries, and to carry exports ranging from fruit and vegetables to chemicals, clothing and footwear all over the world, with increasing business between emerging economies including the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc.
Daly said that although Safmarine was moving its head office from Belgium this week to share that of Maersk in Copenhagen, it would continue to exist as a separate brand within the group and its relationship with customers would be unchanged.
The decision to cut costs by ceasing to maintain separate head offices in two different European countries and to combine corporate functions, such as human resources, had been taken in view of the “challenging” economic conditions in the euro zone and concern that renewed growth in the US “may have been overstated”.
The headquarters of its South African operation would remain in Cape Town, in the offices in the V&A Waterfront to which it moved several years ago from nearer the city centre.
The future of logistics depends on four key elements: customer-centricity, sustainability, technology and people
01/10/2018 - 09:32
DHL, the world’s leading international express services provider, showcased the key trends that could impact the logistics industry in the next five to ten years, at an event held in Sandton, Johannesburg on Thursday 20 September.
Pargo partners with The Body Shop and grows pick-up point network to 1,500 stores
12/06/2018 - 13:38
Pargo, South Africa’s leading smart logistics company, recently announced a partnership with The Body Shop that will enable consumers to use The Body Shop stores as parcel drop-off and pick-up points.
DHL introduces the next evolution in international shipping
07/06/2018 - 12:25
DHL, the world’s leading international express delivery services provider, has unveiled MyDHL+, an industry-leading global shipping application that brings new levels of speed and simplicity to the often confusing and complicated cross-border shipping process.
Cross-border e-commerce: Barriers and solutions
10/04/2018 - 10:29
It’s about the lifestyle you are selling, not your product.
Blockchain technology and the logistics industry in South Africa
26/03/2018 - 08:38
Blockchain technology has been something of a tech buzzword of late, especially due to all of the publicity around Bitcoin in recent months. While cryptocurrencies are the best-known use of blockchain as far as most people are concerned, its uses outside of financial transactions haven’t failed to be noticed, and it is something that is now being leveraged heavily in the logistics industry.


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Domestic institutional buyers have been eyeing industrial deals outside their traditional comfort zone.
Once the domain of tech start-ups and creative agencies, large corporates are increasingly looking for ‘funky’ spaces on the outskirts of cities and presenting an opportunity for investors.
Logistics warehouse space in mainland China is projected to reach a record high in 2018.
Logistics has tpped investors’ lists as the most appealing commercial property type across the Asia-Pacific region, according to the latest Urban Land Institute/PwC report.
As the tit-for-tat trade dispute between the United States and China escalates, investors are looking to warehouses for the first signs of a direct impact on CRE.


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Social-media advertising networker IZEA Inc. said Wednesday it is poised to raise $12 million from investors that will finance its latest expansion and the creation of as many as 40 new jobs this year.
The publicly-traded company based in Winter Park is raising the cash through a stock offering that attracted a group of investors to acquire more than 34 million shares at 35 cents each, IZEA officials said.
CEO Ted Murphy said the new capital will fuel the company's expansion and hiring plans for the rest of 2014. The next round of hiring will nearly double IZEA's work force of 45 in Orlando, he said.
"We will be launching a new social-media platform later this quarter," he said. "We will be using these funds to accelerate that rollout and our new hiring in sales and engineering."
Murphy said the jobs would be high-paying positions relative to the metro area's average annual salary, which is more than $40,200. He would not disclose the salary range for IZEA. Positions being filled include web software developers and data engineers, he said.
IZEA generates revenues by connecting its advertising clients to a network of social-media users who write positive commentary about the clients on Facebook, Twitter and other online channels.
It also creates targeted, online display ads for clients, which include mainstream brands such as Colgate, Revlon and Kraft and celebrity-culture figures such as the Kardashians.
Its revenues have grown 20 percent to 30 percent a year since 2010 and totaled nearly $5 million through the first nine months of 2013, according to the latest available data. Amid its rapid growth, however, IZEA has absorbed cumulative losses of nearly $12 million since 2010.
"We are focused on growth, first and foremost," Murphy said. "And we are trying to do that in a prudent manner, controlling our costs as we grow. We think we have a very scalable model for the long-term that will lead to profitability."
The latest stock transaction is expected to close by early next week, Murphy said. Some investors in the group are expanding their holdings, while others are making their first investment in IZEA.
It will be the biggest capital infusion to date for IZEA, which has received millions of dollars in venture capital since it was founded in 2006. IZEA's stock (Stock symbol: IZEA) is traded over the counter in what is typically known as the penny-stock space.
Generally regarded as a pioneer in social-media advertising, the company has drawn a growing interest from the investment community. In January, Merriman Capital Inc., a San Francisco-based investment bank/brokerage, began research coverage of IZEA and gave its stock a "buy" rating with a target of 50 cents per share.
In December, IZEA added Lindsay Gardner, a veteran investment executive and former Fox Networks affiliate sales and marketing chief, to its board. Gardner is a senior adviser to Oaktree Capital Management, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm with $80 billion under management.
firstname.lastname@example.org or 407-420-5256


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There was a point in time when Honor had quite the presence in the mobile market. While it still stood under the shadow of its former parent company Huawei, it was, in fact, responsible for almost half of the shipments that pushed the embattled Chinese company to second place. It nearly suffered the same fate as Huawei but managed to escape by being sold off to a consortium. While US authorities are still pushing to have Honor blacklisted as well, it's business as usual for the company. Unfortunately, that "as usual" also means putting out flagship phones that you can't buy, like the upcoming Honor 60 and Honor 60 Pro.
It actually wasn't too long ago that Honor launched the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro. In fact, it was just last month that it made these phones available in global markets. What made these two phones special is the fact that they are the first Honor phones to once again use US products, like Qualcomm processors and Google Play Store, after the Huawei sub-brand was sold off.
Given the short gap between the two, it's probably not surprising that the Honor 60 being presented by 91mobiles doesn't look that different from the Honor 50, which in turn looks like a dead-ringer for the Huawei P50, but with a thankfully less obnoxious camera bump. In fact, in most cases, it does resemble the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro inside as well.
The most notable upgrade for the Honor 60 is the screen size, sitting between the Honor 50 and Honor 50 Pro with a 6.67-inch FHD+ OLED display. The processor inside also gets a slight bump to a Snapdragon 778G+ 5G, though the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage resembles some of the configuration options available for the Honor 50 series. The phone will launch with Honor's MagicUI 5.0 but, make no mistake, it's still based on Android 11.
The Honor 60's leaked set of cameras sounds exactly identical to the Honor 50's and might actually even be considered as a downgrade. There's a 108MP f/1.9 main camera, an 8MP f/2.0 ultra-wide shooter, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor, ditching the 2MP macro camera that few probably use anyway. The leak doesn't include details for the Honor 60 Pro, but going by the non-Pro model, we won't hold our breath for that either.
Honor was widely praised for making Huawei's high-end phones available at more accessible price tags, cutting a few corners to achieve that goal. It seems to have fallen behind, however, now focusing largely on the mid-range market that is already overcrowded with too many options at this point. Having an Honor 60 too soon that resembles the Honor 50 too much is a bit perplexing as well, but it might not matter for markets like the US where Honor's phones are not available anyway.


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The next iPhone could be a speed demon.
According to Clayton Morris of Fox News, the Apple iPhone 5S will pack an A7 processor approximately "31 percent" faster than the A6 in the current-model iPhone 5. "I'm hearing it's very fast," Mr. Morris tweeted yesterday.
Does this seem like putting the cart before the horse? Well, in a way it is. Apple has not yet confirmed the existence of a new iPhone, let alone an iPhone called the iPhone 5S. And certainly no specs have been released. But in recent weeks, an array of tech news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, have reported that a pair of new iPhones – the flagship iPhone 5S and a cheaper model iPhone 5C – will be unveiled on Sept. 10.
As for the speed, it certainly makes sense that Apple would ratchet up the specs on its next flagship handset, especially considering that the Cupertino company is extremely unlikely to fully overhaul the look and size of the device. (Consider the fact that the radically redesigned iPhone 4 was followed by the iPhone 4S, which looked like the iPhone 4, but packed a far greater punch in terms of speed and power.)
To that end, several news sites have posited that the next iPhone will be available not only in black and white – standard for past iterations of Apple's smart phone – but also in a gold hue. It sounds a little ... gaudy, but then again, Apple did release a gold iPod mini a few years back, so it doesn't seem entirely out of the realm of possibility. Who knows? Maybe they've still got a few cans of gold paint lying around.


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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America in February, cruise ships became a case-study for the rest of the world of how quickly and easily the virus could spread through a group of people in a confined space. The Diamond Princess, operated by Carnival Cruises, was a topic of national conversation when more than seven hundred of its passengers tested positive for the virus, and over a dozen people died.
Not surprisingly, the cruise ship industry sustained a significant blow as travel bans and lockdown orders were put in place. After months of entire cruise ship fleets were docked indefinitely, some companies, including Carnival Cruises, are preparing to hit the seas again- and passengers are clamoring to get on board.
Carnival Cruise Bookings Soar
It seems that the possibility of being stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean with hundreds of infected passengers is not a concern to many Americans. At the beginning of May, Carnival Cruise announced that some of its ships would be resuming in August, and within days of the announcement the number of bookings increased by six hundred percent .
What may come as even more of a shock to some, is that the number of bookings for August 2020 is up two hundred percent from the previous year, despite the fact that in 2019 no one had ever heard of the coronavirus or social distancing; the deadly pandemic was far from anyone’s minds .
Starting August first, eight ships will be departing from Port Canaveral and Miami in Florida, as well as from Galveston, Texas. In a news release, the cruise line stated that they are committed to supporting public health experts to help manage the COVID-19 situation.
“We are taking a measured approach, focusing our return to service on a select number of home ports where we have more significant operations that are easily accessible by car for the majority of our guests.”
Cruisers are Not Deterred
A poll conducted by the review site CruiseCritic.com determined that 75 percent of the 4600 cruise customers who were questioned said that they planned to continue booking cruises at the same rate as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic began .
Another survey conducted by The Harris Poll also found that only 22 percent of respondents said it would be “a year or longer” before they would get on another cruise ship .
As for the current surge in bookings, according to a Cruise Planners representative, people who are booking cruises are generally younger and healthier and thus are not concerned about travelling despite rising case numbers.
The representative also noted that other contributing factors for the increase in bookings could be the pent-up desire to travel after spending months in lockdown, and of course the low price tag, since you can now book a Carnival Cruise for as little as 28 dollars per night .
How Unsafe are Cruises?
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the CDC ordered that all cruise ships be docked for more than three months before resuming business. The hope, at the time, was that three months would be enough to get over the worst of the pandemic .
Cruise ships are the perfect place for a deadly virus to circulate easily and quickly. Hundreds- or sometimes thousands- of guests are all confined to a relatively small space, making social distancing a near-impossible task.
Activities on the ships focus on groups and bringing passengers together in places like pools, casinos, bars, showrooms, and buffets, where people crowd around tables and other small places. This creates a perfect opportunity for a virus to spread.
Claire Panosian Dunavan, professor of medicine emeritus in the infectious diseases division of UCLA’s School of Medicine, says that cruise ships are an inherently high-risk setting.
“A lot of people crammed together touching the same surfaces… I think this is the virus that is revealing the inherent vulnerability of this popular form of travel.”
The CDC has classified cruise travel as “Warning- Level Three”, and recommends that all cruise travel be deferred worldwide while the pandemic continues, stating that cruise passengers are at an increased risk for person-to-person spread of infectious diseases .
A Cheap Trip- But What’s the Cost?
The cruise line industry has lost billions of dollars of revenue as a result of the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such are eager to fill their rooms and get back out to sea. For this reason, prices are slashed and cruise travel is now more affordable than ever before.
The question is- as the novel coronvirus continues to threaten public health and safety, is the cheap price tag really worth the risk?
The post What pandemic? Carnival Cruise bookings soar 600% for August trips appeared first on The Hearty Soul.


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The Business Resource for Suburban Chicago
Breaking News Bar
'If you wish to become great, then you must not settle for good'
Apr 20, 2018 2:51 PM
An interview with Bruce Glawe, president and CEO of Oxford Bank & Trust, based in Oak Brook.
Vice president of Marcus Millichap says drone videos are hot in his industry
Mar 19, 2018 1:03 PM
An interview with Steven Weinstock of Marcus Millichap with offices in Oakbrook Terrace.
Oval Brand Fire Products CEO suggests surrounding yourself with experts in things you're not
Feb 19, 2018 1:00 AM
Coffee Break with Kevin Kozlowski, president and CEO of Oval Brand Fire Products in Glendale Heights
CEO explains how Kemper Lakes Golf Club turned into KemperSports
Jan 22, 2018 10:00 AM
An interview with Steve Skinner, CEO of KemperSports and KemperLesnik.
Getting to know Nicole Martin, CEO of HRBoost LLC
Dec 11, 2017 12:31 PM
An interview Nicole Martin, CEO of HRBoost LLC in Libertyville.
'All I ever wanted in life is an unfair advantage'
Nov 9, 2017 8:31 AM
'All I ever wanted in life is an unfair advantage" says Mark Sieron, president of Middleby Marshall Oven Company.
"Banking is no longer a place you go, it's a thing you do."
Oct 17, 2017 3:10 PM
An interview with Dave Mooney, CEO and President of Alliant Credit Union in Rolling Meadows.
Coffee Break: John Habermeier, CEO of Synergy Builders
Sep 5, 2017 2:32 PM
A Coffee Break interview with John Habermeier, CEO of Synergy Builders
Coffee Break: Mark Klein, Klein Tools in Lincolnshire
Aug 14, 2017 8:50 AM
An interview with Mark Klein, co-president of Klein Tools in Lincolnshire
Coffee Break: Jill A. Kerrigan, president and owner, JAK Creative Design, Darien
Jul 24, 2017 4:33 PM
A Coffee Break interview with Jill A. Kerrigan, president and owner of JAK Creative Design in Darien.
Show 21-30 of 68
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Disrupting B2B payments in 2020
Anyone working in a small to medium sized business knows that one of the biggest pain points is managing vendor payments. As a Treasury Management professional, our team regularly visits Accounts Payable (AP) departments only to find their AP clerks overwhelmed with paper and multiple processes to manage payments. While 2019 was the year of person to person (P2P) payment growth (think Venmo, Zelle, etc.), it's predicted that 2020 will be a year of disruption for business to business (B2B) payments. With so much digital advancement in the recent past, AP departments are now primed to take advantage of automated solutions to streamline their processes.
Unmasking the culture-killing leader
A company's culture isn't worth the piece of paper it's written on if your leader is crumpling it. When a bad boss is aboard, employees feel browbeaten and defeated.
New 401(k) and IRA law might affect how you plan your estate
On December 20, The SECURE Act ("SECURE") passed into law as part of a budget bill. SECURE drastically alters retirement account distribution requirements for a beneficiary inheriting a retirement account.
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In a statement on the British Plastics Federation (BPF) website, the company said it wanted to thank its customers for the ‘fantastic response’ to its appeal, which led to a number of leads, but a large quantity of the product was still missing.
Approximately 500 tonnes of Marlex packed in 25kg bags was stolen between February 22 and 23 from a warehouse belonging to a third party contractor in the north west of England.
The targeted grades were 5502BN, 50100 and TR131 which are used to manufacture bottles, film, pipe and sheet.
The producer is CPChem and the material is fully traceable via batch numbers and analysis.
“Biesterfeld Petroplas is the only authorised distributor for this material in the UK,” said the statement.
“Anyone offered a Marlex product from an unauthorised source or who has knowledge about the theft or whereabouts of the stolen brand should report the matter immediately to police.
“Any company or individual found handling this stolen resin will be prosecuted.”
The company said the theft will not affect customers as supplies will be available from another warehouse while the investigation continues.
A reward of up to £50k is being offered for information leading to recovery of the stolen polymer.
Anyone with any information can call Cheshire Police on 101 (from abroad +44 1244 350 000) quoting incident number 104 of 24th February. Information can also be left anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.


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An industry analyst says he believes Facebook will eventually find itself coding an indigenous operating system to optimize support for mobile versions of the popular site.
Google's popular social networking platform is now open to the masses - and does not require a specially sent invite to join.
It's always difficult to know what to buy without the help of reality TV stars. So Google is planning to help out its users by tipping them off when a celebrity's endorsed a product they're interested in.
In a move to ward off attack from Google's G+ service, Facebook is expected to launch a new live-stream ticker service on Thursday which will show what users are watching and listening to on the web.
Yes, there is Google+ and MySpace, but don't you ever get the feeling that Facebook is the only happening social networking site in town?
Microsoft has confirmed that Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) will not be supporting Adobe Flash in its upcoming Windows 8 Metro environment - a UI which has been specifically optimized to run on tablet devices.
Facebook's swiped an idea from Twitter and has introduced a new 'subscribe' button, allowing users to focus on the news they're most interested in and also follow celebrities.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told developers attending BUILD that Windows 8 would be a "re-imagining" of Redmond's flagship operating system, with every other product "pivoting" around the long-awaited OS.
Google's started to put to good use the technology it acquired with its purchase of travel software company ITA earlier this year.
With European regulators still grumbling over Google's privacy practices, the company is now to allow owners of residential Wifi routers to opt out of its controversial location-mapping system.
Facebook's taking another leaf out of Google's book, by introducing a feature that automatically groups friends into different circles.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini made short work of a persistent rumor that the chip firm may buy Hewlett Packard's recently spun-off PC unit during a Q&A session at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.
Microsoft kicked off its BUILD conference in Anaheim, California, by showcasing a detailed preview of Windows 8 to eager devs.
After analyzing more than three million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content and thousands of blog posts, a new study has concluded that the Arab Spring truly was fueled by social media.
A supercomputer at the University of Tennessee could have predicted the location of Osama Bin Laden to within 125 miles through analysis of the mood of international news stories and the geographical locations they mentioned.
The latest iteration of Microsoft's flagship Windows operating system is apparently capable of booting in just seconds.
Google is slated to debut a new programming language known as "Dart" at the GOTO conference in October.
Divorces are never pretty and the very public WinTel breakup was certainly no exception.
Nearly half the world’s PC users get most or all of their software
illegally, according to the Business Software Alliance - twice as many in some developing countries.
A new report claims Intel is poised to "temporarily discontinue" development of its nascent MeeGo operating system due to a lack of enthusiasm from handset and tablet vendors.


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New Kindle Oasis leaks - could have 20 month battery and buttons to turn pages
Amazon is set to reveal a new Kindle this week and naturally a leak managed to happen before they could officially announce it
There's a new Kindle set to be shown off this week from Amazon, but naturally a leak happened first.
The Kindle Oasis briefly appeared online before being taken down, but all of the important information had already been screengrabbed and shared everywhere. There's a new design with a larger bezel on one side that's designed to make it much easier to hold one handed. You also get physical buttons for turning pages right on that edge, which means you won't have to adjust your position to progress in your latest book.
The listing claimed a 300ppi screen, 131g in weight and just 3.4 mm at its thinnest point, and 8.5 at its thickest. Perhaps the biggest news is that this device also comes with a rechargeable case, something which we'd heard in the rumour mill. They're made of geniune leather (in Black, Brown and Red) and could expand your battery life to a massive 20 months. The case snaps on using magnets and charges at the same time as the Kindle, before discharging first.
Lighter, easier to hold and with a pretty amazing battery life - that sounds like plenty to be offering to customers in the new Kindle Oasis. Expect official news soon.


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We’ve put a lot of time into Comic Relief’s SEO and PPC campaigns, but looking at the results, it’s easily been worth the effort
(PRWEB UK) 9 May 2013
Digital marketing agency ClickThrough Marketing has raised money and search engine rankings for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day campaign on its 25th anniversary.
ClickThrough provided SEO and PPC management services for the UK charity, with paid search funds provided by Google Grants, a version of Google’s AdWords advertising platform designed for charities.
The strategies drove online visibility and traffic, encouraging people to start their own fundraising initiatives and donate cash to help Comic Relief change lives across the UK and Africa.
Thanks to ClickThrough’s best-practice SEO techniques, the charity occupied top organic search positions in Google for the keywords ‘fundraising ideas’, ‘fundraising kits’ and ‘fundraising kit’ – in time for Red Nose Day on Friday, March 15.
Compared to the last time ClickThrough handled Comic Relief’s PPC campaign in 2011, clicks were up by 238%, conversions by 158%, and donations by 250%.
ClickThrough’s efforts didn’t stop there, either. The digital marketing agency also raised money for the charity with office fundraising activities.
Staff baked sweet goodies to sell at ClickThrough HQ, and took part in a celebrity-themed Red Nose Day sweepstake to raise cash for Comic Relief.
As well as helping with digital marketing for Red Nose Day 2011, the agency managed SEO and PPC for Sport Relief 2012.
Krystle Lampshire, senior digital marketing executive at Comic Relief said: “For the third year running, we’re delighted with ClickThrough’s results.
“We rely on generous people to raise funds through wild, wacky or challenging endeavours – whether this means sitting in a bath full of beans, or completing a gruelling marathon.
“With this in mind, ClickThrough focussed its efforts on fundraising-related keywords, helping raise awareness of our work and encouraging people to download our fundraising kits.
“After the success of Red Nose Day, ClickThrough helped raise even more funds, focussing our PPC campaign on driving last-minute donations.
“The campaigns were expertly managed from start to finish.”
Phil Robinson, commercial director at ClickThrough, said: “We’ve put a lot of time into Comic Relief’s SEO and PPC campaigns, but looking at the results, it’s easily been worth the effort.
“Since we started working with Comic Relief, our staff have really pulled out the stops to show their support – not only by creating winning digital marketing strategies, but also by coming up with some creative fundraising ideas of their own.
“We hope we can continue driving Comic Relief’s digital strategies for many years to come – we’ve already got ideas for next year’s Sport Relief campaign.”
For more information about ClickThrough Marketing and its digital marketing services, visit http://www.clickthrough-marketing.com.
Notes to editors:
For more information, please contact: Oliver Pyper, senior online copywriter, ClickThrough Marketing.
Telephone: +44 (0)1543 410 014
About ClickThrough Marketing:
ClickThrough Marketing (http://www.clickthrough-marketing.com) is a search and Internet marketing agency, specialising in conversion optimisation. Since 2004, the company has helped clients in the UK, USA and Europe reach new customers using proven, ethical search marketing know-how, and our own unique technology. ClickThrough is committed to providing honest, actionable Internet marketing advice, with results-driven services for SEO, PPC bid management and online PR. ClickThrough’s Internet marketing experts include a double award-winning senior journalist, one of the UK’s most respected linkbuilders, and Dr Dave Chaffey, one of the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s top 50 people worldwide to shape the future of marketing. Call +44(0)808 231 1970 for more information on how ClickThrough’s experts can help with SEO, PPC, site content and web development.
About Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a UK charity, which aims to create a just world, free from poverty. The money raised by Comic Relief, through its fundraising campaigns Red Nose Day and Sport Relief as well as other initiatives, is spent at home in the UK, across Africa and throughout the world’s poorest countries to help people, families and whole communities stand on their own two feet.
Comic Relief was launched on Christmas Day in 1985, live on BBC One. At that time, a devastating famine was crippling Ethiopia and something had to be done. That something was Comic Relief. The idea was simple – Comic Relief would make the public laugh while they raised money to help people in desperate need. Before too long, Red Nose Day was created and the first ever event in 1988 raised a staggering £15m. To date, fourteen Red Nose Days have raised more than £675m. That money has helped, and is helping, to support people and communities in dire need both in the UK and Africa.
Red Nose Day 2013 took place on Friday 15th March when the British public were called on once again to Do Something Funny for Money.
Comic Relief, registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland)


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Google hands out patents in return for LOT network membership to tackle the patent trolls
Google plans to give small companies a couple of starter patents to help protect its own intellectual property (IP) and assist the establishment of a new business.
The scheme began life back in April this year as an experimental marketplace. Called the Patent Starter Program, Google said the marketplace is intended to curb the sale of intellectual property to entities known as “patent trolls” – which exist solely to exploit the patents they own.
That marketplace initially allowed companies to sell their patents, with Google being the sole buyer. But now Google has changed this marketplace and is now using it to give away, free of charge, “up to two non-organic patent families” according to Techcrunch. Companies can also apparently make offers to buy patents from it in the future.
This scheme is only be open to the first 50 eligible startups, and to qualify, companies have to have had 2014 revenues between $500,000 and $20 million.
Also, once the company applies, they will be sent a list of three to five families of patents. The company can only select two of them. “Google will retain a broad, nonexclusive license to all divested assets,” the company notes.
Participants will also be given access to a database of patents that Google has purchased from third parties, which they can use to find assets that it may be willing to sell.
Whilst the patent giveaway is free, Google does require the company involved to sign an agreement to join the LOT Network for two years.
The License on Transfer Network was founded by Google, SAP, Canon, Dropbox, US retailer Newegg and Asana last year as a patent licensing network. This network aims to protect members against patent privateering (i.e patent trolls), as the LOT database already has an estimated 325,000 patent assets.
“The LOT Network is a sort of arms control for the patent world,” according to Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google, speaking last year. “By working together, we can cut down on patent litigation, allowing us to focus instead on building great products.”
The constant threat of legal action has been blamed for slowing down the pace of innovation, increasing prices to consumers and lowering returns to shareholders, among other things.
Google of course owns thousands of patents, including the huge ‘war chest’ it acquired in the purchase of Motorola Mobility, the company which it later sold to Lenovo, minus the patents of course. SAP is though to be one of the biggest software patent holders in Europe.
Are you a patent expert? Take our quiz!


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A group of Albuquerque neighbors is fed up. They say every time they go to a nearby shopping center, they have to deal with trash, drugs, and even human feces. The group is now threatening to boycott the shopping center until the owners can clean up their act.
The Four Hills Shopping Center at Central and Tramway is home to Sprouts grocery store, Einstein Bagels, and Icon Cinema, but neighbors say they’re taking their business elsewhere until the property owners clean up the mess and crime. “This is a public health hazard,” said Colleen Aycock. “This is a menace to the public.”
Those are words not usually used to describe a neighborhood shopping center. “This is a great shopping center, but the problems that are existing in the shopping center are enormous,” said Byron Powdrell, a community member who has witnessed the issues firsthand. “To have all the store owners, management on the same team as well as the owner of the property and management, that will aid greatly in reducing the number of crimes that’s happening in this area.”
Neighbors like Aycock and Powdrell rely on nearby stores for their groceries. However, they say people are using the property after-hours, leaving behind broken glass, trash, drugs, and worse. “You don’t see as many needles today as we saw three years ago from people doing drugs, but what you see are the results of their shooting up through enema bags,” said Aycock. “It spreads terrible pathogens and people walk through this stuff.”
The “stuff” she’s referring to — fecal matter on sidewalks and outside store entrances. Aycock says that’s not the only issue. Earlier this week, she had a gun pulled on her. When KRQE News 13 went out to the shopping center Thursday, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office was doing a criminal round-up.
Aycock says the property owners don’t have full-time 24/7 security and rarely see guards during the weekend. “It’s forced all of these businesses to get their own security officers but they have no jurisdiction outside their own businesses,” said Aycock. “They can’t go farther than 16 feet.”
Aycock is an organizer with the group Women Taking Back Our Neighborhoods. She says she’s now urging fellow locals to stop shopping at Four Hills Shopping Center until property owners clean the place up. “This was on Sunday when I sent out the memo, ‘it’s not advisable to shop here until the area is cleaned up,'” said Aycock. “‘I don’t want you walking through feces walking into Sprouts.'”
The Four Hills Shopping Center is owned by Daskalos Development. KRQE News 13 reached out to them to see if there are plans to beef up security but did not hear back. The ‘Women Taking Back Our Neighborhoods’ group says in the meantime, if you see any suspicious activity at the shopping center, call 311 to report it.


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BT has been ordered to refund thousands of customers it overcharged for calls to its directory enquiries service, including one user who received an £81 bill for a single call.
The company, which has been censured for failing to make its charges clear to callers of its 118 500 number, was also fined £225,000 by the premium rate number watchdog PhonepayPlus. It imposed the fine and ordered the refunds after a tribunal ruled that the company's failures were "very serious".
The regulator said callers were kept hanging on the line, unaware in many cases that it was costing them £2.39 a minute, and many of the victims were elderly or vulnerable – those least likely to have access to the internet where phone numbers are freely available.
One customer ran up an £81 bill, while another seems to have been charged £454 in three months.
The tribunal decision was made in January, but has only just come to light. Customers who were overcharged need to apply to BT for a refund.
Guardian Money has long warned of the absurd cost of calling the various directory services now on offer.
The BT service carries a connection charge of 59p for the first minute, then subsequently charges £2.39 a minute. Callers must often listen to long automated messages before their request is dealt with, meaning they almost inevitably start incurring the higher rate.
Staff then ask callers if they want to be put through to the number they requested, rather than dial it themselves, which means they pay £2.39 a minute for the rest of the call.
The cost of ringing directory enquiries has spiralled since the system was opened up to competition in 2003, when the BT 192 directory enquiries service charged a flat fee of 40p a call.
PhonepayPlus said the majority of complainants stated that pricing was not shown in the promotional material, or that the pricing information was incorrect. It said some consumers experienced "bill shock" whereby the cost was hugely different to that expected.
It also said BT must refund all consumers who claim a refund, for the full amount spent by them on the service, within 28 days of their claim, unless there is good cause to believe that such claims are not valid.
A spokeswoman for BT said it had never intended to rip customers off and accepted it should have made the call cost clearer on its phone books. However, it denied other breaches of the industry code of practice.
"BT apologises for the breaches, which were due to oversights and different interpretations of the code rather than any attempt to mislead customers," the spokeswoman said. "We feel the pricing information on the website was correctly placed so as not to confuse customers and, while the customer message we previously used was a few seconds longer than the guidance recommends, customers tell us they found it helpful."
She said the company had already introduced a shorter message and refunded individual customers where they felt they had not had the "full information".
PhonepayPlus said any customers who have been unfairly denied a refund should contact them.


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Court rules e-mails not protected by client-attorney privilege
Court in Target trademark case rules e-mails not protected by attorney-client privilege, and give no work product protection either.
Attorney-client privilege is not protected in a trademark case against Target with respect to e-mails between a clothing company, its attorneys, and a public relations firm, reported Bloomberg Law.
The US district court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the PR firm in this case, used by Universal Standard Inc, was not necessary to the communications, was not an agent of the company, and was not hired to aid in legal tasks. The ruling highlights the narrowness of circumstances in which a company can maintain privilege after sharing information with third parties. The court rejected as inapplicable to the case multiple precedents cited by Universal Standard where third-party disclosure did not waive privilege. Universal Standard, which makes women’s apparel, accused Target of willfully infringing its trademarks with its “Universal Thread” line of women’s clothing in a 2018 complaint. Target’s brand used “universal,” and also copied the “brand concept” by stating it goes to “great lengths to perfect every fit, in every piece, in every size,” the clothing firm said. During a deposition, Target’s attorney questioned a witness about emails sent between Universal Standard, its lawyers, and public relations firm BrandLink. Universal Standard argued the emails were privileged.
No work product protection
The court ruled the emails are not protected by attorney-client privilege based on the general rule that disclosure to a third party eliminates the privilege. None of three exceptions to the rule argued by Universal Standard applied, the court said. The court said the emails in question involved discussion of a public relations strategy regarding the lawsuit. Universal Standard could have relayed such discussions directly to attorneys themselves without looping in BrandLink, the court said. The emails also aren’t protected by the work product doctrine. Universal Standard provided only a “conclusory” argument “confined to a single sentence” that the emails were documents prepared in anticipation of litigation, the court said. Judge Gabriel W Gorenstein wrote the opinion. The case is Universal Standard Inc. v. Target Corp., S.D.N.Y., No. 18 Civ. 6042, 5/6/19.


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Your industry news - first
Poppies celebrates ranking in 100 best UK franchises
Domestic cleaning franchise, Poppies, is celebrating after being named one of the best franchises in the UK.
From hundreds of entries across every sector, the business has made the ranking in the prestigious Elite Franchise Top 100 (EF100), coming in at an impressive 53rd place, competing against huge fast-food brands like Subway. A title the brand can proudly hold throughout 2022.
The EF100, established in 2017 in association with HSBC, recognises the sector's brightest businesses and ranks them according to a broad range of criteria; from their financial performance and heritage, to their contribution to the community and the way they embrace innovation.
Long-standing franchisee of 25 years, Chris Wootton, who took over ownership of the franchise in 2018, is thrilled to see Poppies get the recognition it deserves after such a challenging year.
"We're so proud to be part of these respected rankings once again this year, particularly as we have jumped up five places to now be the fourth best domestic cleaning franchise in the UK," says Chris Wootton, managing director of Poppies, which through its membership of the Domestic Cleaning Alliance is represented on the British Cleaning Council. "It has been another challenging year for the cleaning industry, but we have continued to develop and support our UK-wide network of 22 franchise businesses against the odds.
"I'm delighted to see that our people have been recognised for their resilience and commitment - without them and their positivity, camaraderie and determination, this year wouldn't have seen the success we've experienced.
"The EF100 recognises quality and outstanding service - both things that resonate heavily in our ethos. It proudly sits at the heart of everything we do, as we constantly raise the standards within the cleaning sector and champion the workforce. With a rich heritage of over 40 years, we pride ourselves on operating in an ethical manner, giving our workforce an environment that is safe, secure, flexible and rewarding - as a result we have happy, loyal staff and delighted clients who come back to us time and time again. Without both, we'd simply have no business. This ranking sets us apart once again and is a welcome boost for the year ahead."
Scott English, Brand Director of Elite Franchise, explains that this year, brands were also judged on any measures they initiated to survive the challenges of the pandemic, along with long-term planning they employed to experience prosperity and growth post-pandemic. He says:
"We feel that Poppies has well and truly earned their place in the Elite Franchise Top 100 list. Reaching this position is a testament to everything that Poppies has achieved - the organisation has consistently demonstrated a gold-standard level of franchising."
The franchise industry contributes over £17billion to the UK economy and more than 700,000 people are employed in franchising across the country. Despite a difficult economic climate, the last 18 months has seen Poppies survive and thrive thanks to its robust infrastructure and proven business model.
16th December 2021


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Studies in grape growing offered this fall
Aug. 4, 2011
HARRISBURG – HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, is expanding its Business, Hospitality and Tourism programs to include viticulture (grape growing).
“The college is responding to requests to add viticulture to the program line up after successfully introducing enology (wine making) a year ago,” said Linda Lefevre, HACC executive dean of academic affairs. “Students who enroll in either program will be able to earn an associate degree in applied science or a certificate in this rapidly growing industry.”
Robert Green, director of HACC’s Enology and Viticulture programs, added, “With our enology and viticulture programs, we’re trying to create a workforce that already has the skills required in today’s vineyards and wineries. HACC is filling a void for formal education in the industry.”
Green, a commercial winemaker and winery consultant for more than 20 years, continued, “Graduates of HACC’s viticulture and enology programs will have the necessary skills to help Pennsylvania’s wine industry to grow and will raise the quality of wine being produced in this region.”
Classes are delivered through online instruction and a blended format, which is a combination of online instruction and one or two weekend “camps” at vineyards and wineries in the region for required intensive hands-on experience. In addition, internships will be offered for workplace learning.
“These programs of study will definitely benefit our industry, which is growing by leaps and bounds,” said Bob Mazza of Mazza Vineyards in North East, Pa., and past president of the Pennsylvania Winery Association.
“Many of the personnel at our wineries are looking to take the courses offered to enhance or increase their knowledge of viticulture and enology,” said Jennifer Eckinger, executive director of the Pennsylvania Winery Association. “There is a need for further education in this growing field which was not available in our region prior to the HACC program.”
With about 14,000 acres of grapes grown and 230 wine grape growers, Pennsylvania is the fourth largest wine grape producer in the nation. The commonwealth also ranks seventh in the nation in the production of wine with 387,000 cases of wine produced annually. Since 2006, the number of licensed wineries has grown by nearly 40 percent from 104 to 140.
Please click the links below to share the latest #HACCnews on YOUR social media sites.


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AuchanSuper, a major retail brand of France, is planning to enter Vietnam with the opening of the first store in 2016, according to a recent report on Ho Chi Minh City’s retailing landscape for this year of the Vietnamese arm of U.S.-based realty consultant firm CBRE.
CBRE Vietnam said in the report last week that Ho Chi Minh City will be home to 15 AuchanSuper convenience stores, reinforcing the presence of foreign retailing brands in the southern economic hub.
As of 2015, only one foreign retailer, which is French-owned Big C, had been on the list of the top five players in Vietnam alongside such local competitors as Saigon Co.op, Mobile World, Nguyen Kim Trading Joint Stock Company, and Saigon Jewelry Company Limited.
Following the trend of other Asia-Pacific countries, operators of convenience stores will possibly gain a much larger market share, according to the report.
Established since 1960, Auchan, the largest retail brand of France, currently owns nearly 900 hypermarkets, 370 supermarkets and more than 860 shopping centers worldwide.
In Vietnam, Auchan has been present since 2014 through the Simply Mart supermarket chain, which is expected to grow to about 20 stores in Vietnam until 2020.
Big C, on the other hand, may be sold to other investors after Casino Group, the owner of the retail chain, issued a memorandum last month stating that it may seek a new owner for its supermarket chain in Vietnam, as the company plans to strengthen its financial flexibility by selling assets in the country, as well as Thailand and Colombia.
Despite a sustainable growth rate, earnings from the Vietnamese arm are miniscule in comparison with other foreign businesses of Big C.
In 2016 Casino Group is expected to enact what it calls a ‘deleveraging plan’ of more than two billion euros (US$2.2 billion), mainly through real estate transactions and the disposal of non-core assets, according to the memo.
The French group currently owns 10 retail brands across the globe, with a concentration in Asia. The Big C brand is used for the supermarket chain in Vietnam and Thailand.
Regarding the wholesale business in Vietnam, the sole foreign player, German-owned Metro Group, last week announced it had officially been transferred to Thailand's TCC Holding Co.
TCC acquired all of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam’s operations, including 19 wholesale stores and related real estate portfolios for an enterprise value of 655 million euros ($712.14 million), according to a Metro press release.
Metro said the deal resulted in a cash inflow of around 400 million euros ($434.9 million), adding that payment had already been made.


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Domino's - well known for its passion for delicious, freshly handmade to order pizza - is hosting a Talent and Technology Evening in Milton Keynes on February 1, 2018 from 6- 8pm.
The company says it is just as passionate about technology as it is about pizza.
Domino's took its first online order back in 1999, and is persistent in its pursuit of technology.
In a record-breaking 2017:
• 75% of UK orders were taken online
• They added Amazon Echo ordering to the list of already popular web and mobile app channels, including Apple Watch and Facebook Messenger
• They delivered award winning GPS delivery tracking for customers and stores
The company has further ambitious plans to roll out new systems, re-platform, and move much of its estate to the cloud. If you have a background in Software Development, Testing or Architecture, go along and find out more about how you could be a part of the next record-breaking year.
For more information and to arrange your attendance please email Vicki Croxford- email@example.com


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- Adhesives & Sealants
- Asia Pacific
- Authority & Legal
- Bakery & Snacks
- Bottling, Canning & Cartoning
- Colors & Flavors
- Convenience Foods
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- Rest of the world
Pharmactive Biotech introduces its new botanical combo, Isenolic Complex, composed of its branded Isenolic olive leaf extract (Olea europeana L.) and ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata). The complex is formulated to tackle cold and flu symptoms, including throat irritations, and coughs. It is highly water-soluble and can be readily formulated into multiple palate-pleasing applications, including foods, beverages, beverage shots, and gummies. “Incorporating botanical...
CTH, a Ferrero-related Company says it will acquire Fox’s branded and retailer own-brand, including M&S, biscuit business from Northern Food Grocery Group Limited (NFGG) for an undisclosed sum. The business being sold generated sales of approximately £157 million (US$203.178 million) during the last 12 months. Based in the UK, NFGG is the maker of biscuit brands Fox’s and Rocky among others. The business...
Olam International is calling for retailers and food brands to back the new Sustainable Rice Platform-Verified (SPR-verified) Assurance Scheme and consumer pack label, which will allow consumers to choose products that directly support efforts to increase farmer incomes and reduce the environmental impact of rice production. The label has been developed by the Sustainable Rice Platform, which comprises more than...
Unilever has signed an agreement to acquire Liquid I.V., a U.S-based health-science nutrition and wellness company. Based in El Segundo, California, Liquid I.V. was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Brandin Cohen. The company's electrolyte drink mixes utilise Cellular Transport Technology, CTT, which enhances the rapid absorption of water and other key nutrients into the bloodstream, helping people feel better, faster....
Givaudan and the University of California, Berkeley’s Product Development Programme, have released a research on trends in alternative proteins and explores the opportunities and challenges for manufacturers. Citing reasons for the popularity of plant-based fish products such as nutrition, clean eating and industry interest, Sylvain Jouet, global product manager, meat substitutes, fish and seafood, Givaudan, tells Food News International that...
Thyssenkrupp has won a contract for the construction of a bioplastics plant based on the patented PLAneo technology. The plant is to be built in southern China and will produce 30,000 tons of polyactide (PLA) annually. The compostable bioplastic PLA is obtained from 100 percent renewable biomass. This makes it an environmentally friendly, carbon dioxide-saving and at the same...
DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences (DuPont) today announced the launch of the latest series of dairy cultures and probiotic formulations for China, offering yogurt producers new solutions for differentiation today and positioning them for future growth. The ingredients include cultures Yo-Mix Fast 1.0 (for fast fermentation), DuPont Danisco LPC 800 (for beverages) and Howaru Bifido (for probiotic yogurt). Susan Jin, regional industry...
Greenpeace, some non-governmental organizations, non-GMO food associations and a food retailer, announced a public detection method for a gene-edited crop. The new research refutes claims by the biotech industry and some regulators that new genetically modified (GM) crops engineered with gene editing are indistinguishable from similar, non-GM crops and therefore cannot be regulated. The new method detects a herbicide-tolerant rapeseed variety...
The COVID-19 pandemic will have an unprecedented impact on global and regional trade. According to the World Trade Organization, world merchandise trade in 2020 could fall by as much as 32%. New policy guidance, part of the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme, describes how the current economic recession is raising serious concerns about hunger and malnutrition. It explains how...
Global nutrition company Dutch Medical Food has entered the medical food market, providing nutritional products and personalized solutions to people who need medical food. Its products will be designed and manufactured in Europe in FDA, EC or TGA compliant facilities, distributing products globally through its main office in The Netherlands, as well as through partners in the United States, India,...


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'On-demand' startups see surge in venture capital
Startups in the "on-demand" sector—such as Uber and Instacart, which offer speedy services on a smartphone app—are seeing an unprecedented surge in venture capital, a new report showed Thursday.
Funding for on-demand companies jumped 514 percent last year to $4.12 billion, and new investments in early 2015 have totaled at least $3.78 billion, according to venture capital research firm CB Insights.
The rush to funding highlights the growing ability of emerging tech companies to raise venture capital at an early stage, without resorting to a more complicated stock offering.
The on-demand sector is one of the hottest, led by the ride-hailing service Uber, which according to unconfirmed reports has been in talks to raise an additional $1.5 billion, an amount that could boost its valuation to $50 billion.
Uber has confirmed that it has already raised more that $5.5 billion, according to CB Insights. Others in this segment include ride-sharing rival Lyft which has raised $862 million, lodging service Airbnb ($794 million) and local delivery group Instacart ($275 million).
The on-demand sector also includes Thumbtack, a way to connect consumers and professional contractors such as painters ($148 million) and Handy, which offers services such as house cleaning and furniture assembly ($58 million).
The sector has raised $9.4 billion since 2010, but most of that has come in the past 18 months, according to the research firm.
"In 2010, there were under 20 (venture capital) investors that had done a deal in on-demand mobile services," the report said.
"At the end of April 2015, that figure has risen to 198. Said another way, there are 14 times the number of investors in the on-demand space."
Nearly two out of three of these firms are based in California, with 18 percent in New York, and significant numbers in Texas, Illinois and Massachusetts.
The most active investor groups in the sector have been SV Angel, Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital, the report said.
In addition to ride-sharing, a key segment includes startups in local delivery of food and other items, including Postmates, Sprig, Caviar and Doordash and others providing personal services such as errand-runner TaskRabbit and Shyp, which offers on-demand shipping.
© 2015 AFP


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The 2018 Africa CEO Forum Awards has named Nadia Fettah, MD of Saham Finances, as CEO of the Year; and startup Twiga Foods, has won the "Most Promising Company of the Year" award.
2018 Africa Forum CEO of the Year: Nadia Fettah, MD of Saham Finances,
Nadia Fettah, managing director of Saham Finances, won the prestigious CEO of the Year award at the 6th Africa CEO Forum Awards this week. In her speech, she thanked Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy of the Kingdom of Morocco and Raymond Farhat, CEO of Saham Finances, for their leadership and vision.
She also urged men to have more confidence in women in business. "Together we will succeed better and faster in building this Africa of which we all dream, an Africa that wins, an Africa of champions."
Twiga Foods, the Kenyan start-up that connects farmers and vendors for the sale of fresh produce, was voted Most Promising Company of the Year by a panel of specialist investors: IFC, TLCom and Omidyar).
CEO Grant Brooke, in his thank you speech, called on investors to mobilise more funds in the tech ecosystem.


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The Revenue Tipping Point
In recent years, some b-to-b magazine publishers have taken to crowing about their online growth, citing double-digit and even triple digit year-over-year gains. That’s impressive until you realize that the real revenue being generated online was still miniscule.
That’s changing. While online revenue is still dwarfed by print revenue for most publishers, many are starting to see real revenue growth online exceed the real revenue loss in print on a quarterly basis. That’s a huge justification for publishers investing online; a final warning shot for publishers resisting (and yes, there are still plenty of them out there) online investment; and a potential boon for the trade magazine industry if print continues to stabilize (and in some categories, even grow again).
Good News For Penton
In the first quarter of 2006, Penton Media reported $5.1 million in online revenue, an increase of $1 million over the same period last year. The company also reported $31.8 million in publication revenue, an $878,000 decrease from the first quarter of 2005. While it’s essentially a wash, Penton still made approximately $100,000 more online than it lost in print for the first quarter of the year. “The great promise of the Internet is fulfilling what that promise was said to be in the early part of the decade,” says CEO David Nussbaum. “There was a time five or seven years ago when the contrarian view was that e-media revenues were nice to have as ancillary revenues to our business but if print never recovered then there would be real issues for companies in our space. Most people thought e-media was like a lot of ancillaries over the past 20 years—nice to have but you better get your print straightened out.”
Today, publishers can’t afford to give priority to one channel over the other. “Now you have to look at it as merged items—e-media can truly be very significant revenue,” adds Nussbaum. “Because of that, it can grow fast enough to overcome slower growth in print.”
Online is still by far the smallest of Penton’s three revenue streams (which combined for $54.3 million in the first quarter, up 1.8 percent). However, online grew 24.1 percent in the first quarter, compared to an increase of 5.3 percent in events and a loss of 2.7 percent in print. While he won’t reveal specifics, Nussbaum said that March was the largest single month for Penton’s online revenue to date.
Still, Nussbaum sees print as an important component of actually driving the online product. “Powerful magazine brands—which have great readership, strong following, creative editors and salespeople—are terrific platforms for e-media development and growth,” he says. “You have to continue to nurture and grow your print brands even if the revenue and profits aren’t what they were back in the Nineties. They give you a recognizable entree into e-media.”
While Advanstar Communications has primarily benefitted from its thriving trade shows, much of its online efforts have been fledgling. In the first quarter of 2006, Advanstar generated $106.6 million in revenue, up from $90.6 million. However, also in the first quarter of 2006, Advanstar established a dedicated electronic media group assigned to develop electronic products.
Tech Publishers Leading the Way
If technology publishers were the first to bear the brunt of the dotcom bomb in 2001, then they are also among the first starting to enjoy the real pay off of “Web 2.0.” In 2004, CMP Media saw print revenue decline by $15 million, while the online revenue growth in real dollars was about $7.5 million. In 2005, CMP saw an $18 million decline in print and an online increase of $14.5 million in real, organic-growth dollars. While the company won’t discuss 2006 numbers, “The trend is obvious,” says Mike Azzara, senior vice president of Internet Business at CMP.
In 2001, during the depth of the dotbomb, CMP created an online-only group to develop online best practices, then propagate those best practices around the rest of the company. “That’s why you see the pace of increase doubled in 2004—we went from a small portion of the company being advanced in online sense to the entire company,” says Azzara. “We began to redefine the company, began to analyze where our expenses are going—are they going to those things driving revenue growth? And if they’re not, we’re making adjustments. We also need to reinvent our business processes to a certain extent. Until recently, they revolved around a print-centric approach.”
But like Penton, CMP won’t be turning its back on print (even if it is starting to reconsider certain forms of print, such as newsweeklies). “It’s a bit of a dance because you have to find the right balance,” says Azzara. “Nobody thinks print is going away. It’s still a healthy, profitable business. Our customers don’t want it to go away.”
At the American Business Media Spring Meeting in May, IDG Communications chairman Pat McGovern, head of a company that has been criticized for not committing sooner to the Web, spoke of how the company is now making more money online that it is losing in print. IDG Communications president Bob Carrigan goes a step further, saying that not only is online beating the print loss, but after a cutting period that saw the demise of several IDG-owned CXO titles, (including the celebrated CMO), print is coming back for IDG.
“The amount of online revenue in absolute dollar terms is exceeding any decline in print although print has been a little healthier lately,” says Carrigan. “Our online business in percentage terms is up 40 percent over the prior year and online is approaching 20 percent of our total U.S. revenues. It’s a substantial business and high-growth in absolute dollars.”
Still, markets tend to follow the health of the markets they serve and the IT industry is currently enjoying an upswing. “In some ways we as tech publishers have an unfair advantage,” says Carrigan. “Our readers and advertisers are tech enthusiasts.”
However, it’s something other publishers need to prepare for. “As a tech publisher, we had the pain and luxury of being first,” says Azzara. “Our core readers all went online in 1995 and haven’t looked back. Publishers are only beginning to grasp what they’re dealing with. They may not be able to grasp the extent to which they will change their business model.”


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ARDROID: One Plus is expected to unveil its new smartphone on October 17.
The phone 6T – expected to be launched in the coming weeks – will be the first smartphone from the company that does not have a 3.5 mm speaker jack, although this decision may not appeal to many of the company's Chinese customers, but the current time is "time Appropriate "to make this change, according to BP.
BN says 59% of the company's user base already has a wireless headset, which means that the new change will not cause any problem for the vast majority of potential users.
OnePlus will take advantage of the free space by removing the 3.5mm jack to increase battery size, so the OnePlus 6T will have a larger battery that offers a more integrated experience.
On the other hand, the company has unveiled a new model of USB Bullets V2 USB-C, and it is not yet clear whether this headset will be attached to the phone or will be sold separately.
A writer and blogger in technology, business administration, marketing and international education. I am interested in enriching Arabic content for everything that is enjoyable, interesting and useful.
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This content confirms the removal of a 3.5 mm port from the OnePlus 6T phone and reveals a USB-C headset, which is transferred by the Egyptian search engine 24 and transferred as it is from the source (Android), and does not express the view of the site or editorial policy But it is the responsibility of the news and its validity to the original publisher is Aardroid.


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This Bored Ape Yacht Club Member Sold His Porsche To Buy A Bored Ape Earlier This Summer
Updated: Aug 1, 2022
This Bored Ape Yacht club member is walking everywhere after he sold his 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S and used the money to ape into the Bored Ape Yacht Club earlier this summer.
Since the beginning of 2022, AsifR.eth wanted to join the BAYC, but he couldn’t justify or afford to spend $400,000 USD on an NFT.
“I wanted an Ape early part of the year, but they had gone up to 400k,” he told the Gazette. “Certainly, couldn’t afford or justify that. When I saw the ETH price come down and FP I just knew it was now it never.”
Asif seized the moment and sold his car in June for $85,000 USD in order ape into the swamp.
“So, I sold the car and took a gamble. Everyone around me thought I was mad because the Porsche was stunning,” Asif said. “However, a month later when I’ve more than doubled I am now getting the plaudits.”
Asif used the funds from the sale and purchased Bored Ape #8715 for 85.98 Eth or 85,499 USD.
Bored Ape #8715 is a six-trait black fur ape with a leather jacket and a safari hat. Based on these traits, Bored Ape #8715 is the 7237th most rare ape, according to Rarity Tools.
Since joining the BAYC earlier this summer, Asif’s told the Gazette that his bored ape has nearly doubled in value based on the current BAYC floor price and value of ETH.
Asif went on to tell the Bored Ape Gazette that he believes that there is still a lot of upside potential left in the BAYC.
“I think the BAYC community is unreal and the whole project will go from strength to strength," he said. "Met with U.K. apes last week and such a warm welcoming bunch.”


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Some of Earth’s mightiest industry leaders are assembling to take on the task of easing IoT deployment and management all the way from the edge to the cloud. (Image courtesy of VMware Blogs.)
Dell, Microsoft and VMware will collaborate to create an Internet of Things (IoT) solution geared toward vertical customers and aimed at simplifying the deployment of their customers’ own IoT solutions.
Microsoft will contribute its Azure IoT Edge application, while Dell will supply its Atom…
Source URL: Dell, Microsoft and VMware Partner to Simplify IoT Deployment
Source Website: IoT – Engineering.com


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Cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay is opening new offices in five European countries, increasing its presence on the continent to 26 countries.
Launched in 2011 in India, Zebpay grew into one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges before shuttering its operation in September 2018, due to the crypto ban in the country. Now, the exchange operates out of Singapore, and today’s expansion will make it available for users in Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Liechtenstein and Lithuania.
The exchange is also running a European trading competition which will debut today, February 1, 2019. The tournament will be used by the crypto platform to identify and reward expert traders in Europe. In part, the competition is a cheers to Zebpay’s expansion, but the self-proclaimed “new member of the European crypto community” said it’s also in a bid “to build a relationship with the crypto trading community and show why over 3 million consumers worldwide trust and enjoy using Zebpay.”
Ajeet Khurana, CEO of Zebpay, spoke with Bitcoin Magazine about the expansion. He said, “As we continue to expand into new territories, we want to build strong relationships with crypto communities, enthusiasts and traders in existing ecosystems. Our platform is battle tested with millions of users (many of whom are new to the space) with incident free handling of billions worth of assets. We can’t wait to see how the new countries that we’ve expanded to interact with our platform.”
“As on today we serve most of the EU countries and have also started accepting customers from across the globe including South America and Asia,” he added.
The trading competition will be open to all European countries where Zebpay’s services are available, including the five countries that are now available today.
“The goal of this competition is to encourage healthy competition amongst traders and for new traders to get a taste of the Zebpay platform,” Khurana told Bitcoin Magazine.
The exchange will select 50 participants randomly to compete in a trading challenge. Each participant will get €1,000 to trade with on the platform for 30 days. There will be a public leaderboard, where traders can monitor their progress on the platform and a 24/7 support team will be available to help participants every step of the way.
At the end of the competition, the top 10 traders will keep the balance in their account. Those who don’t make the cut will get a reward of €100 for participating in the tournament.
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.


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The Grand Veggie is celebrating its first spot and is teaming up with great brands to celebrate its arrival.
Ian Pearman, president for Asia at TBWA\Worldwide, reveals what it means to be the disruption agency and what impresses him the most about TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno.
Only in its first year, The Drum B2B Brave Awards has come out shining as TBWA\Chiat\Day NY and Earnest (London) take home the top prizes.
TBWA\UNITED give the public a sneak peek of the momentous arrival of the Dutch Masters at the Hermitage Amsterdam
To reinforce its experience in terms of Brand Thinking & Design, TBWA \ Groupe announces the launch of ZAKKA.
Thais Pedro, formerly Dentsu, joins LewLara TBWA as the new Brand Leader Nissan, leading all brand segments and departments of Nissan's account.
As TBWA's Sarah Rabia succinctly puts it, “There no more safe, happy place. You can’t exist in the middle.”
Meet the disruptive data and analytics hub that’s re-invented clients’ digital solutions with its unique ‘four fives’ model
Tessa Conrad, Global Director of Operations at TBWA Worldwide will be co-presenting at YMS with Bryan Rosenblatt of Reddit on how to tap into Reddit, the untapped focus group of 280,000,000 people.


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TikTok will soon be launching its first online retail store within the United States version of the app.
The store will include an array of consumer goods, from kitchen gadgets to toys, most of which will be manufactured in China, according to the report. The goal of the U.S. retail store is to mirror the success of the company’s Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok.
TikTok plans to buy inventory, manage warehousing and logistics, and handle customer service, the report said.
To build an initial base and facilitate a more competitive edge for its retailers, ByteDance is also working on a cost-free platform to promote its marketplace with no commissions, shipping fees, or warehousing costs, Bloomberg reported Friday (June 30)
The new venture has challenges, Semafor reported. ByteDance faces the costs of setting up a supply chain, including shipping, warehousing and payment; the risk of taking financial losses for unsold stock; and the challenge of the price war that is often present in eCommerce.
ByteDance has been expanding the offerings of Douyin — which features streaming video and messaging — to include food and grocery delivery in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
The Douyin app already includes links to place delivery orders or redeem coupons for products shown in videos, making it easy for users to make purchases directly from the app. Additionally, users can search for movie theaters, bars and beauty salons within the app.
All-in-one mobile applications, or super apps, are popular in Asia and are poised to expand to other markets.
It is estimated that 96 million people in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany are drawn to the idea of a super app, according to “Super Apps for the Super Connected,” a PYMNTS and PayPal collaboration.


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TikTok now has fresh worldwide licensing deals in place with all three major record companies.
After announcing deals with Sony Music in November and Warner Music Group in December, the ByteDance-owned video app revealed today (February 8) that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group.
Coincidentally, the timing of the announcement comes just days after UMG pulled its catalog from TikTok’s biggest rival, Triller, with Universal accusing that platform of withholding payments to UMG artists.
According to a statement, the new global agreement between UMG and TikTok “delivers equitable compensation for recording artists and songwriters and significantly expands and enhances the companies’ existing relationship”.
The deal covers recorded music from artists at UMG’s labels and songwriters with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). TikTok and UMG have additionally pledged “to experiment with exciting new features”.
As a result, TikTok users will now be able to incorporate clips from UMG’s full catalog of music.
An interesting move so soon after UMG pull their catalogue from rival video sharing platform Triller.


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Why the Global Chip Shortage Is Hard to Overcome
A global chip shortage is affecting how quickly we can drive a car off the lot or buy a new laptop. WSJ visits a fabrication plant in Singapore to see the complex process of chip-making and how one manufacturer is trying to overcome the shortage. #Chips #Computing
What steps can companies take to mitigate the chip shortage issue?
The global chip shortage, which has disrupted a wide range of industries across the world, has been a major concern for both consumers and companies. From automobiles to smartphones, the shortage has caused significant challenges for manufacturers, leading to a reduction in production and an increase in prices.
The shortage phenomenon is due to a series of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and growing demand for sophisticated technology. Since the pandemic hit the world, the demand for electronic devices increased and the work-from-home and the online classes system magnified it even more. As a result, the supply chain was disrupted, with factories closing down and production slowing due to shipping delays and limited staff.
The pandemic has also created a ripple effect that has reverberated across the entire supply chain, as countries that produce chips are still grappling with the lingering effects of the pandemic. The rising demand for electronic devices has put a strain on factories, while the closure of borders and reduced shipping capacity have affected the distribution of chips to different countries.
Geopolitical tensions have also contributed to the global chip shortage. For the past years, major players in the semiconductor industry, such as China and the United States, have been imposing tariffs and trade restrictions that have made it hard for other countries to acquire the chips they need. The United States, for instance, has restricted smartphone-maker Huawei from accessing American-made chips, further complicating the chip shortage issue.
The demand for sophisticated technology such as 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) has caused a surge in demand for chips. Companies in different sectors, including automotive and consumer electronics, have heavily invested in these technologies, further exacerbating the chip shortage issues.
To overcome the global chip shortage, companies have to take various steps. One way to mitigate the issue is to increase investment and production capacity. Investing in cutting-edge technology and creating more efficient production processes can also help in increasing supply.
Countries can also work together to create a stable and reliable supply chain by removing trade restrictions and tariffs, as well as shifting towards local production. This will create a more diversified and sustainable ecosystem that will foster innovation and growth across different countries.
In conclusion, the current global chip shortage has shown how interconnected the world is and how dependent companies are on the supply chain. While the issue is daunting, there is a need for a collective effort to find a sustainable and long-term solution. By investing in new technologies, increasing production capacity, and fostering a supportive ecosystem, companies can better weather the storm and make a positive impact in the long run.


text: The continuing rise in shares of First Solar (FSLR) makes it worth taking a second look at the solar energy sector. First Solar is up 140% after hitting a bottom in June 2012: By comparison, LDK Solar (LDK), Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL) and JinkoSolar Holding Co. (JKS) all reported weaker quarterly revenues. The industry is being hurt by oversupply, lower demand. This led to flat to negative margins for suppliers. Solar prices are down 21%, and Trina Solar may now want to set a floor price to cap further declines. If rivals do the same thing, this may mark the bottom for more losses. When Trina reported results, the company saw sales decline, to $298 million, nearly 40% compared to the year before. Shipments declined 9.2% to 380 megawatts. Trina is operating at 50% of capacity. By comparison, First Solar was operating at an 83% capacity, during its quarter. First Solar forecasts it will run at 90 to 95% in the next quarter. LDK, Trina, and First Solar Compared: Solar Prices Could Be At a Bottom Panel prices averaged 79 cents a watt on November 5, 2012, up from an all-time low of 67 cents a watt reached on September 24. Supply Glut Could Alleviate If manufacturers stop chasing market share, the excess supply of solar panels could alleviate in the next few quarters. This will also help companies generate a profit instead of a loss for each sale. Other Solar Energy-Related News Canadian Solar (CSIQ) received financing to construct a 49MW solar project. LDK Solar (LDK) beat estimates in its quarterly results, but guided far lower revenue. The company now expects revenue to be between $230 million – $290 million. The previous consensus estimate was $552.4 million. First Solar (FSLR) won a small project in China’s Xinjiang province to supply 2 MW of modules. Business Section: Investing Ideas Looking to follow the trend? Keep in mind First Solar has the strongest upside and should be the first solar energy company to look at. The company is concentrating on grid-energy supply instead of rooftop solar. First Solar, Inc. ( FSLR, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Manufactures and sells solar modules using a thin-film semiconductor technology. Market cap at $2.58B, most recent closing price at $29.61.