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The Friends of the Fairview Public Library are busy sorting books for the upcoming book sale and trying to get the word out that the popular semi-annual sales are moving back home to the library where they started in 2008.
“The move was necessary because of the renovations at the Rec Center in Fairview, but we plan to keep it here. We’ve purchased a shed to hold our books which makes it very convenient,” said Friends President Cheryl Hamilton.
The sale is set for February 21, 22 and 23 at the Fairview Public Library, 2240 Fairview Boulevard. It will be open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. This will work within library hours.
The change in venue is not the only thing new. So are many of the books. No matter how many times you’ve attended, the inventory is always fresh.
“We get probably about one thousand new books donated each year,” explained Hamilton. “We also have a cycle that we use. If a book has not sold over the course of four sales, we remove it. We are constantly updating our inventory.”
The Friends of the Fairview Public Library semi-annual book sales are popular not only in Fairview. The sales attract people from all over the area, including Hickman County, Dickson County, Cheatham County and Bellevue.
There is a need right now for children’s books and autobiographies. Donations can be dropped off at the library.
Also, if you’d like to volunteer, set up will begin on Saturday, February 16th. “People in need of service hours are welcome to join us. It’s a big job to move and set up the books,” Hamilton shared. The Friends approximate they have 7,500 books in storage. If you are able to help, you can email email@example.com.


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Kuo: 2022 iPhone SE Will Be the 'Cheapest 5G iPhone Ever'
Apple is planning to launch an updated version in the first half of 2022, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a note to investors.
As he has said previously, the design of the new iPhone SE will be "roughly the same" as the existing SE, which is modeled after the iPhone 8.
Kuo says that the new 2022 iPhone SE will support 5G, and it will include processor updates. The device will be positioned as the "cheapest 5G iPhone ever." The most affordable iPhone with 5G right now is the iPhone 12 mini, so presumably the iPhone SE will be a good deal more affordable than the $699 price point of that device.
There have been rumors of an "iPhone SE Plus" with a larger display and a Touch ID power button, which Kuo has also mentioned in the past, but there's no word of this bigger iPhone SE in Kuo's note and we haven't heard new details about it for some time, so it is not clear if it's been scrapped or is something that's coming at a later date.
Kuo also previously said that Apple is developing a new version of the iPhone 11 with a 6-inch LCD, Face ID support, and 5G, and it's possible thst this future device, which is said to be launching in 2023, will also be in the SE family.
There is no specific word on when we can expect the next-generation iPhone SE, but the first half of 2022 perhaps suggests a spring event.
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Shares of Micron (MU - Free Report) gained more than 6.5% in early morning trading Monday after one key analyst took the most-bullish stance on the stock among their Wall Street peers.
Nomura Instinet raised its 12-month price target for the memory chip maker to $100 from $55. That call represents about an 83% upside to MU’s latest close and marks the highest price target out of the 26 research firms that cover the company, according to FactSet.
“We see DRAM pricing resuming an upward trend in Q2, a first-time dividend and share buyback announcement in May, continued margin expansion in NAND and increased M&A discussion as important catalysts,” wrote Nomura’s Romit Shah in a note to clients Monday.
Shah mentioned that memory prices have only slumped about 3% year to date, which compares favorably to the 10% to 20% seasonal decline that the market has seen over the past three years. He also predicted that prices will increase by about 10% over the next six months.
“Our research indicates that suppliers will begin raising prices in Q2 and Q3,” Shah added. “This outlook sharply contrasts with Street expectations of a 5-6% sequential decline in each of the following 4 quarters (May-Feb 19).”
Micron has emerged as one of Wall Street’s hottest stocks over the past two years. In what has been a rocky start to 2018 for many trendy tech companies, the semiconductor maker has already added another 33% climb to its monumental surge.
The company has achieved these strong gains on the back of rapid earnings and revenue improvements—an expansion trend that is expected to continue in the near term. In fact, our latest Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for EPS growth of 113% and revenue growth of 41% in the current fiscal year.
And Nomura’s bullish sentiment is part of a broader trend of analysts becoming more optimistic about the stock. Within the past 60 days, we have seen eight revisions, with 100% agreement to the upside, for Micron’s full-year earnings estimates. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved 74 cents higher over that timeframe.
Micron is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), as well as an “A” grade in each of the Value, Growth, and Momentum categories of our Style Scores system.
Want more market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>


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Another set of renders depicting what's said to be Motorola's upcoming Moto Z3 Play emerged online earlier today, giving even more credence to previous reports and indications that the modular Android mid-ranger will be equipped with a fingerprint reader embedded into the side-mounted power button installed alongside its right edge. The latest leak is entirely in line with the render of the device AndroidHeadlines shared last month, revealing a handset with an elongated 18:9 display panel which lacks a physical home button, as well as a metal rear plate featuring a dual-camera setup.
The main imaging system of the Moto Z3 Play is said to utilize two 12-megapixel sensors, with the Android device being expected to feature a 6-inch screen with an FHD+ resolution of 2,160 by 1,080 pixels. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 636 clocked at 1.8GHz is also said to be part of the package, together with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage space. A smartphone variant with 64GB of flash memory is understood to be in the works as well but Motorola is unlikely to offer both on a global level, as evidenced by its previously employed product practices. The Moto Z3 Play should feature a microSD card slot allowing for up to 256GB of extra storage, previous leaks suggested.
The Lenovo-owned electronics maker is reportedly planning to introduce its next modular mid-ranger next Wednesday, June 6, at a dedicated launch event in Brazil, one of its largest foreign markets. The Moto Z3 Play is expected to debut alongside a number of new Moto Mods, including a 5G module which should make the device compatible with the upcoming fifth generation of mobile networks. Following its early June announcement, the Android mid-ranger is likely to become available for purchase worldwide by early summer, though it remains to be seen how many wireless carrier partnerships Motorola manages to secure in order to promote it domestically and abroad.


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Source of Picture: ChinaMonthlyReview.Org
Polyester operating rates in China have started to rise on anticipation that the global economic recovery has arrived, according to Leonard DeGuzman, chemicals consultant with DeWitt & Co.
Is this another example of a dangerous price bubble or further proof that we are really emerging from the woods?
“The impact of more plentiful lending only started to affect polyester markets from the second half of July when the synthetic fibre makers started tapping into extra credit lines,” he said.
“It’s the result of greater confidence that textile and garment exports to the West will rise because the economic recovery is really here.”
Polyolefin resin converters have been taking advantage of the huge increase in bank loans since as early as the first quarter.
But their polyester counterparts have displayed more caution because of the textile and garment industry’s bigger export dependence.
“You have to realise that it’s not just clothing exports that have been affected. Non-apparel going into automobiles and housing have also been hit hard,” said DeGuzman.
He warned that the poly-condensation players have yet to see any actual improvement in demand.
“They are just making the assumption that the next big order season from the West for textiles and garments, which begins in September, will be much better than in the spring season.”
Another key measure will be the third phase of the next Canton Trade Fair, which includes textiles and garments. This takes place between 31 October and 4 November.
The recovery in pricing and confidence in upstream markets arrived a long time ago.
Benzene was trading at or below naphtha on several occasions late last year.
But prices soared to a ten-week high of $900/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea for the week ending 7 August, according to ICIS pricing – a $55/tonne increase. Naphtha was at $651-652/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Japan.
Overall, reformer margins looked very healthy with toluene at $905-915/tonne FOB Korea and mixed xylenes (MX) at $835-837/tonne FOB Korea.
“Target spreads are $150-180 and so this is a very good position,” said DeGuzman.
“This is generally true when crude remains under $100/bbl. When WTI surpassed the $100/bbl mark, reformers expanded their target spreads to $200-220/tonne. They grew as high as $250-270/tonne when oil was above $130/bbl.”
The rebound goes back to the deep refinery operating rate cutbacks in China in the fourth quarter of last year, which left the country short of benzene.
Imports, as a result, soared to approximately 507,933 tonnes in January-June compared with 327,982 tonnes for the whole of 2008, according to DeWitt.
Where is it all going? Could a substantial amount have gone into speculation and inventories given that the styrenics and phenol chains have been weak?
The phenol chain had improved in early August, however, although later fell back again on weaker crude prices, said DeGuzman.
“Total benzene inventories in China were at 43,500 tonnes in July which is considered extremely high,” he said.
“At above 38,000 tonnes local producers started discounting ex-factory prices in order to move material. Prices start increasing when stocks are at 15,000-23,000 tonnes.”
But as of the week starting 10 August, DeGuzman said that inventories had fallen to a “snug” level of 25,000 tonnes.”
This is another example of persistently high levels of volatility and uncertainty, making operating rate and inventory mistakes all too easy.
A clear sign that confidence in benzene is high is that pricing is closely tracking crude, he said.
Hydrodealkylation and toluene disproportion units are running flat out in Asia, DeGuzman added.
China’s economic recovery has also led to a big rise in coal-based benzene output – a co-product of steel production.
“Operating rates at the coal-based plants were 50-70% in March, but in May rose to 80-85%.
“Logistics have also improved because it’s the summer season, making benzene buyers more willing to off-take from the steel producers.”
Toluene inventories totalled around 95,000-100,000 tonnes in May and in June were at 90-95,000 tonnes.
At the beginning of August, however, they had fallen to 65,000 tonnes and last week to 53,000 tonnes. Normal inventories are 40,000 tonnes.
The drawdown could be because China’s refineries are running harder on the July increases in domestic gasoline and diesel prices.
Moving back down the chain, the overall spreads between mixed MX and paraxylene (PX) look healthy
PX supply has also been tight on several delayed start-ups in China.
Japanese producers have been reluctant to raise PX rates on what they say are poor economics with availability from Japan further constrained by outages, said DeGuzman.
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) producers seem to have had little trouble absorbing the cost push from PX.
PTA prices were $1,120-1,130/tonne CFR (cost and freight) China on 7 August, a $10/tonne increase over the previous week. Four weeks earlier they were at $1,085-1,095//tonne CFR China.
But, to repeat – what is the extent of the actual improvement in synthetic fibres demand?
There are genuine reasons to be a lot more cheerful than a few months ago.
Chinese manufacturers in general are seeing stronger orders from the West as global oil prices and stock markets remain infused with optimism.
But export improvements are on month-on-month bases.
The textile and garment industry, for example, exported $14bn goods in June, up 13% from the previous month but 10% down on a year ago, said the National Development and Reform Commission.
Positive comparisons are also being drawn with 2006.
This was before capacity in many product chains was ramped up in expectation that 2007 to first half 2008 demand-growth levels would be maintained; synthetic fibres were no exception to this.
The longer the commodity-price rallies continue the harder the potential hard landing.


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Gibson Guitars has announced a new collaborative partnership with legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
The news was announced during the launch of Gibson Garage London, which officially opens to the public on Saturday, February 24. It’s the guitar company’s first flagship store outside of the U.S.
“When I met with (Gibson President and CEO) Cesar (Gueikian) and he explained what the future of Gibson looked like, I knew I needed to be involved,” Page shares. “There is a spirit in the place; after seeing the people working at the factories and getting a connection with them, I knew that picking up that Les Paul Custom and the Doubleneck all those years ago was certainly the right decision.”
Details regarding the partnership have not yet been revealed, but Gibson previewed the collab with a video trailer featuring Page posing with his doubleneck guitar.
And Page wasn’t the only superstar guitarist at the Gibson Garage London launch. Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Queen’s Brian May were on hand for the celebration, with May sharing a photo with his fellow guitar greats on Instagram.
“The new Gibson Garage London will be just what we all used to dream a guitar shop should be, a place where a young player can feel welcome and mix with the finest instruments, amps, and ancillary gear-and NOT be told to keep their hands to themselves! It’s a new era in Rock – and the Twang is still the Thang,” May said.
“It’s really great that Gibson have chosen London to create a new Gibson Garage,” Iommi adds. “It’s not your average guitar shop-it’s a place where musicians can go to get inspired.”
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.


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Social Media Week took over Toronto last week. The citywide event featured lectures and workshops hosted by a bevy of advertising agencies and digital service providers.
But Toronto isn’t alone. Cities across the globe, from Hong Kong to New York have organized their own versions of the event.
Wherever Social Media Week took place, young professionals rubbed shoulders with industry leaders as they attended sessions led by social media managers, marketing analysts, creative directors and web developers.
And the best part? It was free for everyone.
Your online identity crisis is over
Remember when it was the norm to create false identities online? You could be a 40-year-old professional mountain climber living on a vineyard on your MySpace page, while over at your MSN account, you were an aspiring poet studying philosophy at Berkeley.
Jennifer Rossini, associate creative director at Y&R, calls this the “Online Disinhibition Effect.” In the past, websites like MySpace made it easy for us to loosen our social inhibitions and abuse our online anonymity by saying and doing whatever we pleased.
But now, says Rossini, “the recent popularity of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts sparked a shift in identity, where we’ve begun to use our real names and attached them to our online identity, where being faceless and anonymous is now a negative thing.”
Say goodbye to the days of online make-believe. Whatever you say or do on social media is permanent and traceable. Not even your alter ego, Henry, the 35-year-old FBI secret agent, can save you.
Switch up your event invite list
The good people at Grip Limited, a multiplatform ad agency with a slew of international clients, hosted a session on the dos and don’ts of planning branded events.
Turns out the same groups of people are getting invited to the same industry events, which in turn makes these events repetitive and boring (#firstworldproblems).
Meg Button, associate art director at Totem, and Miranda Voth, Grip’s community engagement manager, made it clear that when it comes to spreading the word about a party, it’s best to use brand influencers instead of social media celebrities.
Thanks to their numerous Twitter followers and Facebook friends, social media celebrities have the power to change a brand’s reputation. But brand influencers are passionate about the brands they love, making them more suited (and willing) to trumpet a brand’s message.
Ads and content go hand in hand
Let’s face it: online ads can be annoying. Pop-ups and embedded ads that play during streamed shows drives people nuts. They’re also often useless because they don’t relate to the content. But there’s good news, folks: Advertisers are noticing.
Panelists at the AgilityCMS presentation, for example, suggested that as long as the ads are relevant, audiences won’t mind.
The consensus among the panel of web designers, user experience experts and content producers was that the future of online advertising depends on the respect it earns from the industry as a whole. Because it’s so new, it has yet to prove itself. This is a great opportunity for ad agencies and marketers to find innovative ways to stay ahead of their competitors.
Selling a story > Selling a product
On the same panel, Laura Baxter, President of MitreBox Media, argued that there’s a difference between copywriters and content marketers. The former sell products, the latter sell stories.
This difference was emphasized throughout SMW. Josh Muirhead, founder of Socialmark Media, for example, thinks that in the future, advertising content will be created by editorial and writing teams. That’s because journalists and screenwriters are trained to tell stories, and stories sell.
Sometimes you have to piss people off
Lindsay Renwick, social media manager at Critical Mass, hosted a discussion about the power of social storytelling and the strategies that make it work. Renwick claimed that typically, 25 percent of a company’s marketing budget is devoted to content.
During his presentation, John Muirhead argued that content is designed “to inspire people and at the same time piss people off.” In other words, content is successful if it elicits an emotional response – whether it’s inspiration or frustration.
In sum, Social Media Week provides a great opportunity for folks across industries and disciplines to share ideas, strategies and stories. Too bad it’s only a week.


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This Friday, also known as inauguration day, Melania Trump will need two key outfits: one for daytime when her husband, president-elect Donald, will take the Oath of Office on live television, and then another for the evening's grand inauguration ball.
So far, Ralph Lauren has been named as the soon-to-be First Lady's top choice, but WWD has thrown another name in the ring—Karl Lagerfeld. She could, hypothetically, be wearing both designers: relaxed, all-American Lauren by day, and a couture gown by Lagerfeld at night.
It's unknown what brand Lagerfeld is apparently designing under (is it Chanel, Fendi or his own label?), but the legendary designer has reportedly been enlisted by the soon-to-be First Lady, who is "likely" to wear a creation by the German-born designer on Friday.
It wouldn't be entirely a surprise for Lagerfeld to take the controversial job of dressing Trump. While other designers have refused to dress the future First Lady on moral grounds, Lagerfeld is famously a provocateur who doesn't mind taking the divisive route.
We'll have to wait and see.


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Philip Clarke and former finance director walk off with £2m from Tesco
The two executives who ran Tesco in the run-up to the discovery of a huge accounting scandal are to receive more than £2 million in “golden goodbyes” after the supermarket chain gave up a legal battle to withhold the money.
Philip Clarke, the former chief executive, is to receive £1.2 million, while Laurie McIlwee, who stood down as finance director last year, will receive a payoff amounting to £970,880 under separation agreements. The payments represent a year’s salary as compensation for loss of office.
Payment of the sums was frozen late last year by Dave Lewis, the new boss of Tesco. However, after legal discussions, the company has decided that it cannot avoid paying the money.
“The company is contractually committed to make the relevant


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HEFEI, May 16 (Xinhua) -- During the Labor Day Holiday in early May, Zha Liguo, a veteran tour guide, enjoyed five sunrises and sunsets over Huangshan Mountain, a UNESCO world heritage site in east China's Anhui Province.
He was joined by hundreds of thousands of travel aficionados who enjoyed the stunning views on their mobile devices in what has come to be known as "cloud tourism."
During the five-day holiday, Zha, 44, would begin his day with a broadcast of the sunrise at the top of the mountain at 5 a.m. He then would trek more than 10 km across the grand canyon and wait for the sunset with his only companion -- three mobile phones.
"Cloud tourism" has become a new trend in China as people are advised not to go on long trips due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Thanks to live streaming, people can visit tourist attractions virtually and appreciate the scenery without going outdoors.
A live tour of Shanghai Wild Animal Park attracted over 10 million viewers in less than a month. During the Labor Day Holiday, more than 1 million tourists virtually visited several cultural sites, scenic spots and museums in Taiyuan in north China's Shanxi Province.
Having worked in the tourism industry for more than two decades, Zha began experimenting with live streaming in 2020 due to the impact of the epidemic. His affable attitude, engaging presentation abilities, and high-quality filming have helped him accumulate more than 700,000 followers within three years.
"The epidemic has made it hard for many people to travel far away. I hope to share the magnificent view of Huangshan Mountain in different seasons from my own perspective," Zha said.
In 2021, he lived on Huangshan Mountain for more than 280 days, and the live broadcast lasted for more than 2,000 hours, attracting over 51 million viewers.
Not far away from the Huangshan Mountain, the ancient Hongcun Village, a renowned cultural heritage site in Yixian County, is also exploring new possibilities.
In less than a year since the village created an official live streaming account on Douyin in August 2021, it has gained more than 100,000 followers.
"In addition to the landscape, we also take the audience closer to local traditional folk customs and intangible cultural heritage, such as lantern making and wood carving. Compared with the traditional cursory tour, 'cloud tourism' can give them a much deeper understanding of a place," said Huang Jie, deputy general manager of a local tourism company.
"Cloud tourism" has not only increased the appeal of tourist attractions but also spurred the growth of local industries and products. The sales of relevant products in the scenic zone shot up in live-streamed shows, said Cheng Qiuping with the Huangshan Tourism Development Co., Ltd, adding that at present about 40 tour guides regularly livestream from Huangshan Mountain.
The live video streams have also cultivated a huge potential customer base for the years to come.
"I enjoy mountaineering and would love to go to Huangshan Mountain in the future," read a message left in Zha's live stream. ■


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As scheduled, Apple’s annual shareholders meeting took place at Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park today. The 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders — previously held at Town Hall at 1 Infinite Loop — is the first to take place at Apple’s new campus. While there were no surprises during the voting procedure, Apple CEO Tim Cook did throw out a few tidbits regarding Apple Watch, Apple Pay, who might replace him one day, and much more.
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Robotics: Software trial could help engineers build skills
Bright spots of robotic sales could make free development software even more useful.
Denso Corp. is encouraging engineers to take the next three months to try out—for free—its WinCaps III software with 3D simulation feature.
Engineers can prepare for better economic times ahead by learning how offline robotic programming software can save valuable development time. Although sales of robotic systems are down, according to the Robotic Industries Association, the time is right to use downtime to improve skills. Denso Corp. is encouraging engineers to take the next three months to try out—for free—its WinCaps III software with 3D simulation feature.
“Our customers constantly tell us how much time WinCaps III saves them and how much easier it makes their jobs,” said Peter Cavallo, robotics sales manager, Denso Sales California. “We are confident that this free trial will show many others how they can benefit too.”
Denso’s WinCaps III software allows users to import computer-aided design (CAD) drawings in standard VRML and DirectX formats, and a 3D simulation feature enables layout of an automation workcell in a virtual environment, without the robot having to be in operation. Users can verify reach, determine obstacle clearances, detect collisions, troubleshoot and debug programs, and determine cycle time.
The software also allows remote monitoring of workcell operations via realtime I/O status indicators and detailed control logs. A panel‑design feature enables customization of the robot controller’s teaching-pendant display.Obtain a three-month free trial of WINCAPS III offline programming software by visiting Denso’s Web site .
Denso, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is reportedly the world’s largest user of small assembly robots, with more than 17,000 used in its own manufacturing facilities. Denso Robotics also offers a full line of robots, controllers, and software, and more than 42,000 Denso robots
Use of robotics up in food, pharma industries
Separately, according to new statistics from Robotic Industries Association (RIA), North American robot orders dropped 31% in first quarter 2009 (compared to first quarter 2008), but rose 16% over fourth quarter 2008. “As expected, the current economic crisis is having a major impact on robotics companies, not just in North America, but throughout the world,” said Jeffrey A. Burnstein, president of RIA. Certain industries, however, revealed bright spots.
Tammy Mulcahy of ABB Robotics , who chairs RIA’s Statistics Committee, said the food and consumer goods industries posted a 50% increase in robot orders in the first quarter, while the life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical/medical devices industries saw a 76% increase. “These industries, along with many others, offer promising long-term applications for robotics that are largely untapped,” Mulcahy said.
RIA estimates that more than 188,000 robots are now being used in the United States, placing the U.S. second only to Japan in overall robot use.
RIA hopes to jump-start demand at the upcoming International Robots, Vision & Motion Control Show slated for June 9-11 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois.
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Annual Salary Survey
In a year when manufacturing continued to lead the economic rebound, it makes sense that plant manager bonuses rebounded. Plant Engineering’s annual Salary Survey shows both wages and bonuses rose in 2012 after a retreat the year before.
Average salary across all job titles for plant floor management rose 3.5% to $95,446, and bonus compensation jumped to $15,162, a 4.2% increase from the 2010 level and double the 2011 total, which showed a sharp drop in bonus.


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He's going to lead the company's Pixel division.
Gadgethemes.com - Google has employed one of the key employees in Amazon's hardware division, according to The Information. The Big G has obviously joined David Foster to Promote (no, not the composer) to head up the growth and growth of its Pixel mobile phones and fill a new position in the Company. He's now Google's vice chairman of product enginering, underlining Mountain View's bigger focus on hardware going forward. David was with Amazon.com for five years, leading hardware development of the Echo speakers, the Kindle Paperwhite and Voyage, among other devices at Lab126.
That lab, as you might know, is Amazon's formerly secret elements service, which was initially established to develop the Amazon kindle e-readers. It eventually produced not just the Echo sound system, but also the Company's other gadgets, such as the Dash buttons, Fire Tablets, TV and even the late Fire phone. The last one turned out to be a huge fail -- Amazon kept cutting its prices for a year in an effort to move stocks before eliminating the item completely. Due to its failing, the Company decided to shelf its follow up and several other tasks in the pipeline.
Before Amazon, Foster worked on hardware for Microsoft, helping make the Microsoft zune HD. He was also with Apple for five decades, developing elements components for its devices. It's not clear what role he performed in creating the Pixel mobile phones Google is expected to expose the next day. But the Company's future gadgets will have his finger prints all over them.
Google just hired a key Amazon Lab 126 hardware guy to lead development of the Pixel phones you'll see tomorrow. https://t.co/ohmQ9qi8VA— Amir Efrati (@amir) October 4, 2016


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According the NRF, we are expected to top last year’s record at $21.8 billion spending in 2021, despite coronavirus impacting the holiday. “There is no question the pandemic has disrupted many aspects of Americans’ daily interactions and activities,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “However, there remains a special significance around Valentine’s Day, and consumers are committed to celebrating friends and loved ones, even if that means having to alter those traditional holiday celebrations.”
When we were in elementary school, most of us have fond memories of receiving cards and candy on every February 14th. We would bring a decorated shoe-box to school and by the end of the day, it would be filled with sweet notes from our classmates and lots of candy.
But how many of us knew then, or know now, the history of Valentine’s Day? Or how big Valentine’s Day business really is? Let’s explore.
A Muddled History of Valentine’s Day
The history of Valentine’s Day is shrouded in mystery – and some would say its origins are anything but romantic. But most historians agree that today’s holiday can trace its roots through both Christian and Roman history.
Many historians suggest that the ancient Romans are responsible for our modern Valentine’s Day because Emperor Claudius II executed two men – both happened to be named Valentine – on February 14th of different years in the 3rd century. Legend suggests that one of the Valentines, a priest, performed marriages in secret despite the fact Claudius had outlawed marriage for young men because he decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives. When Claudius discovered that Valentine was performing marriages, he was put to death.
Other historians suggest that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February to “Christianize” celebration of Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival – as well as a pagan one – dedicated to the Roman god of Agriculture, Faunus.
The Business of Valentine’s Day
No matter your historical perspective, no one can argue that in 1913, Valentine’s Day forever changed when a Kansas City-based firm named Hallmark Cards began mass-producing Valentine’s Day cards.
And today, Valentine’s Day is huge business:
- According to the National Retail Federation, consumers in the U.S. will spend an estimated $21.8 billion on gifts for Valentine’s Day, up from $20.7 billion the previous year.
- More than 10 percent, or about $2 billion, will be spent on flowers. And this one day represents 13% of the annual flower sales.
- According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year (2.6 billion cards are sent during Christmas).
- Women purchase approximately 85% of all valentines. But men spend almost twice as much as women on Valentine’s Day gifts.
- $165 is the average amount we will each spend on Valentine’s Day in 2021
- $3.7 billion is the total amount spent by couples planning a night out on Valentine’s Day.
- 94% of Americans want chocolate as a gift.
Valentine’s Day & Financial Planning
So, you’re probably wondering, “what does Valentine’s Day have to do with financial planning?”
Well, I could suggest that the amount of money we spend each Valentine’s Day is reflective of the overall economy, much like Black Friday signifies the health of the upcoming shopping season. Or I could suggest that the $21 billion is a big part of our consumer spending, which makes up 2/3 of our GDP (but remember U.S. GDP is about $21.5 trillion).
But truthfully, Valentine’s Day is simply something we need to consider as apart of our overall budget to ensure we can celebrate the holiday without panicking about the price.
Unsure what to get an adored elderly relative? Read my list of creative ideas.
Unsure how to factor Valentine’s Day into your budget? Learn how to manage large or irregular expenses right now!
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Adapted from FMEX Direct with permission.


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Everyone has their own happy foods and their… not-so-happy foods. Foods that we really look forward to eating, and foods that we avoid like the plague if they happen to be listed on a menu. Food that makes you really miserable if you’re forced to eat it.
But there is a whole new field of research that is focused on the serious connection between diet and mental health. And while many of the discoveries are still being researched, the statistics so far are significant – and definitely worth taking into consideration.
You see, depression currently affects 121 million people worldwide. And while there are many reasons for why someone might develop depression, one of those reasons might be directly related to what they eat.
A study has been published in the Public Health Nutrition journal, detailing exactly which eating habits have been found to correlate strongly with the development of depression. The study found that junk food was the most likely culprit – with consumers of fast food being 51% more likely to develop depression.
It’s a scary statistic, yes. Researchers looked at people who consumed foods such as hamburgers, sausages, pizza and baked goods, and assessed them over a period of 6.2 years. It was found that at the end of the period of assessment, 493 cases of depression – as diagnosed by a physician – were reported. These cases were associated directly with the consumption of fast food.
Interestingly, the results didn’t change after the adjustment for the consumption of other food items. Those with the lowest level of consumption of junk food were not at such a high risk of developing depression.
It’s not the only study that has highlighted the link between unhealthy food and mental health. A new study out of Oxford University in the UK was recently shared with the general public; it revealed that the consumption of processed junk food consumption can lead to aggression, irritability or violent tendencies.
The study was based on a group of prison inmates. The doctor who led the study, Dr Drew Ramsey, gave vitamin supplements to some prison inmates, and compared their behaviour to prisoners who ate junk food.
Those who took the vitamin supplements were found to be less aggressive than those who ate junk food. Dr Ramsey linked this back to nutrient deficiency in general, which he said is becoming correlated with violent behaviour.
Penn State researchers also did their own study in relation to women and unhealthy eating behaviours. They found that women – particularly those attending university – reported that their moods worsened after they experienced a bout of unhealthy eating, such as binge eating.


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GREENVILLE, PITT COUNTY - Greenville Police said they are looking for three suspects who stole a wallet to make almost $1,000 in purchases.
According to investigators, the suspects stole the wallet from a shopping cart at a Walmart on Greenville Boulevard, while the victim's back was turned. The crime happened on July 20, police said.
The suspects took cash, credit and debit cards, checks and other items from the wallet to make purchases that totaled almost $1,000, police said. The victim's cards were also used at a WilcoHess station near North Campus Crossing and at Rose Nails before the victim canceled the cards, according to investigators.
Police are asking for the public's help to identify the suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call Greenville Police at 252-329-4315. CrimeStoppers will pay a reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case. Call CrimeStoppers at 252-758-7777.
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“For bitcoin enthusiasts, it’s been a tense few months watching the price of the cryptocurrency rocket to shocking highs and crash to worrisome lows,” Catherine Clifford reports for CNBC. “But not for Apple co-founder and bitcoin-curious Steve Wozniak. That’s because the inventor bought bitcoin when it was trading at $700 and pulled out at just the right time.”
“I remember getting interested in bitcoin some time ago,” Wozniak told CNBC in 2017. ‘It was $70 for a bitcoin, man and I went online and you had to have a special bank account at a special bank and I couldn’t buy any bitcoin so I gave up. Eventually I got some of them at the $700 stage,'” Clifford reports. “That means Wozniak made a lot of money. But ironically, his reason for getting out at a high point had nothing to do with profit. ‘The Woz,’ as the inventor is affectionately called, sold his bitcoin because riding the roller coaster stressed him out.”
“‘I don’t want that kind of care in my life,’ Wozniak says to an audience at the Nordic Business Forum in Sweden on January 2,” Clifford reports. “”Part of my happiness is not to have worries, so I sold it all — just got rid of it — except just enough to still experiment with,” Wozniak says. He is interested in using bitcoin to pay for things, he explains. Wozniak, a lifelong engineer, wrote his own formula for happiness when he was 20. Back then, even before he came into his own significant wealth as the co-founder of Apple, he decided that laughing and being happy is more important than gathering wealth and having yachts, he says.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As always, we love Woz. We hope he sold a boatload!


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Lenovo has just announced three new products for consumers – a 2-in1 camera smartphone device, an Android smartphone with Dolby Atmos support, and a compact Pocket Projector gives you up to a 110” projected display.
For traveling professionals looking for a super-compact projector to bring around, ASUS has just updated its portable LED projector portfolio with a couple of new high brightness models.
To overcome the current bigwigs of the projector market, LG intends to focus on projectors using LED light sources, as well as the B2C market.
Still deciding whether or not to check out the International Sound & Sight Exhibition 2014? Here are some of our top picks from the show.
Sony's new 4K ultra-short throw laser light source VPL-GTZ1 projector has finally debuted in Singapore, and features the ability to project high-resolution images of up to 147" from a mere throw distance of zero inches its edge.
Sporting brightness of 3,200 to 4,000 ANSI lumens, each of these six projectors comes with a 1.7x zoom lens, horizontal and vertical keystone corrections, and a variety of connectivity options.
The two 1080p projectors are equipped with Texas Instrument’s DarkChip3 tech for superior contrast performance, and are ISFccc-certificated for professional calibration service.
Epson aims to maintain its projector market share leadership with brighter and enhanced interactive models
Following the launch of the world's first 3LCD, touch-enabled interactive projector, the EB-595Wi, in May this year, Epson will be progressively rolling out strategic new products and updated models over the next five years. Here are a few that are arriving this month.
The new projectors come with DLP BrilliantColor technology and a long lamp life span of about 6,000 hours. Of the five models announced, two are short throw models.
The compact PW700 LED projector will be available in key European markets starting in September, followed by countries in Asia and the Middle East in October.


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Rumors have been going around lately that DJ Black Coffee who recently collaborated with Alicia Keys might be in studio with queen B, Beyonce herself. Black Coffee responds to those Beyonce collaboration rumors.
Well, from the horse’ mouth, it’s not happening just yet. Black Coffee denied the rumors in a tweet after Trace Urban tweeted their excitement over the “must happen” collaboration.
“@TRACE_Inter @Beyonce we are? that would be a dream,’ Black Coffee replied. Oh well, sorry if you had your dance shoes on already but we know it won’t be long before these two legends come together to make a hit.


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Is Walmart Ethical In 2022? (Staff, Clothing, Wages + More)
Major retail chains around the world are under increasing pressure from consumers to adopt ethical and environmentally-friendly practices due to their large social impact.
Walmart is ethical in 2022
There are conflicting reports as to whether Walmart is an ethical brand as of 2022. Walmart gives regularly to charitable organizations, and it pays employees low wages. However, they do not provide access to health insurance. Walmart says it wants to grow and be more sustainable.
Walmart Is It Ethical To Buy From?
Walmart is ethical to an extent, so it is ultimately up to you whether you choose to shop there or not.
Walmart donates significantly to local charities, such as Youth Build and Higher Education Policy.
In fact, Forbes magazine published that Walmart is one of the biggest philanthropic companies in the United States.
Walmart’s unethical behavior can lead to increased air pollution, water pollution, and the loss and destruction of natural ecosystems.
Walmart’s construction of stores on land once used for critical and endangered species is one example of unethical behavior.
Apart from that, the company closes down its stores and leaves behind vacant buildings.
Does Walmart Use Sweatshops?
Walmart previously claimed that it used child labor and sweatshops for its production.
Walmart discovered that a Chinese factory supplied the goods in 2000. It was accused of beating its employees, low-wage workers, and forcing them to work for around 90 hours per week.
Walmart ended its contract with the factory after news of the treatment broke.
Walmart also cancelled agreements with suppliers located in Burma (Bangladesh), Nicaragua, and Bangladesh. Rumours abound that each of these places was home to sweatshop-based factories.
How ethical are Walmart’s ethics?
The following ethical issues have landed Walmart in some bad press concerning its engagement with environmentally-conscious practices:
What amount of money has Walmart donated to charity?
Walmart has donated over 500 million dollars to nonprofit organizations and charities across America in the past.
Walmart FYE provided the following data to help calculate this number:
Walmart Makes Their Clothing Ethically
Walmart is reported to have sourced its clothing from factories that don’t treat employees ethically.
The Business Insider reported that Walmart was still purchasing clothing made in Bangladesh from Mars Apparels.
Walmart had announced in 2011 that Mars Apparels was being terminated from its contract. The garment company’s employees were exposed as having been forced to work long hours for very low pay.
Walmart ended the contract two years ago, but the Bangladeshi owners still confirmed to Walmart that their business was continuing.
The U.S. shipping records confirmed this news. It is becoming increasingly difficult to prove that Walmart clothing is ethical.
What are Walmart’s Sustainability Goals and Efforts?
Walmart has now published the following set of aims that detail its efforts towards a more sustainable future for the business:
Walmart Has Increased Its Sustainability: What Can They Do?
Walmart engaged in these actions to raise its sustainability levels:
Walmart might interest you if you want to know more about it. You can also read up on Walmart’s unionization, Walmart’s market target, and why Walmart hates people.
Walmart has mixed reviews regarding its commitment to ethical behavior.
Walmart will continue to be a strong, sustainable, and ethical corporation in the years ahead.
Walmart will use only 100% recycled and compostable packaging in its products by 2025.
Walmart plans to meet its 2040 emissions goal and use 100% renewable energy by 2035, according to the company.
Are Walmart Clothes Legal?
Walmart’s environmental rating is not good enough. Walmart does not make use of eco-friendly products. It does not reduce textile waste. No evidence is available to show that the company has done anything meaningful in order to decrease or eliminate dangerous chemicals.
Does Walmart Have Any Ethical Issues?
While it’s the largest private employer globally and has had a major economic impact in the U.S.A, it still faces many ethical challenges regarding the compensation of employees, the exploitation of workers and the health of its workers.
Walmart Has Unethical Business Practices
Critics include allegations of racism and gender discrimination as well as foreign product sourcing and anti-competitive practice, treatment of suppliers and environmental practices.
Does Walmart Use Sweatshops?
Three years after the tragic collapse of a Bangladeshi manufacturing plant, Asia workers are being still being exploited in sweatshop conditions at Asia factories, which supplies H&M, Gap and Walmart.
.Is Walmart Ethical In 2022? (Staff, Clothing, Wages + More)


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It's easy to forget that not so long ago, no one was sure if Android would ever be relevant.
I believe that someday most buildings, vehicles and devices will be solar-powered. And that includes our personal gadgets -- phones, laptops and digital cameras.
Nokia is taking over the development of the Symbian smartphone OS, and is still committed to the platform, the company said on Monday.
The latest Firefox 4 Mobile beta for Android and Maemo promises more speed and a fresher look, but it's still not ready to replace the default browser.
Dell dumped RIM's BlackBerry as its business smartphone and announced that it would be supplying 25,000 of its employees with the Windows 7-powered Dell Venue Pro. The move is yet more gloom for RIM that has already been having a stinker of a bad yea...
Mozilla has released an faster, smaller beta version of its Firefox 4 browser for Android-based smartphones with an improved user interface, according to a Thursday blog post.
Dell is moving its 25,000 employees from BlackBerrys to its own Windows Phone 7-based smartphone as the company prepares to offer a service that enables customers to make the same switch, Dell confirmed Friday.
Google on Thursday started offering Google Instant on some Android devices and iPhones, as promised when it launched the service for computer users in September.
A new PDA (personal digital assistant) has hit stores in North Korea, according to a student who writes a blog from the secretive state.
This issue of Network World features the 2010 edition of Cool Yule Tools. For the last 11 years, I've been collecting, reviewing and highlighting the coolest electronic (and geeky) products for the holiday season. This year is no different; we tried ...
A computer security researcher says he plans to release code Thursday that could be used to attack some versions of Google's Android phones over the Internet.
The global smartphone market grew nearly 90 per cent in the third quarter, with enormous gains by Samsung and HTC, market research firm IDC reported Thursday.
If you noticed that your iPhone 3G or 3GS started running more slowly and/or crashed more often after you upgraded to the iOS 4, you're not alone.
Steve Jobs, be damned!
Microsoft is really working the "save us from our phones" angle for Windows Phone 7, claiming that its platform is 20 per cent more efficient than rivals like the iPhone and Android. Computerworld reports on internal Microsoft research, which found t...
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Liqvd Asia, digital marketing and advertising agency announced that its chief creative officer Anish Varghese has stepped down from his position at the agency. Prior to this,Varghese was the chief creative officer at Isobar.
Furthermore, the agency announced the appointment of Saptarshi Banik as the new national director – Business and Services, while Sunil Gangras has been promoted from his previous role as joint national creative director to head of creative services.
With over 15 years of experience, Banik has worked with companies including Leo Burnett, McCann, JWT, Ogilvy, and Publicis, across brands such as Sony Sports, Sony YaY, Skoda 2.0 in India, and CEAT Specialty tires in the US and Europe. As per the company, in his new role as National Director – Business and Services, Banik will lead the charge in elevating Liqvd Asia’s digital offerings across the country.
Sunil Gangras, who has been with the agency for more than 4 years as joint national creative director, has been promoted to head of creative services. In his new role, he will be the head of the agency’s creative prowess across locations even beyond India.
Commenting on the structural changes in the agency, Arnab Mitra, managing director, Liqvd Asia, said, “We are thrilled to restructure our leadership team at Liqvd Asia, adding a new national director for Business and Services and promoting Sunil Gangras to a higher position. These changes signify our dedication to delivering high-quality services to our clients and consolidating our position as a leading digital marketing agency of the future where we are not limited by archaic agency structures but by a forward-looking approach in creating service-specific cohorts that deliver results. We are confident that these structural changes will enable us to better serve our clients and achieve even greater success in the future.”
According to the company, the restructuring of the leadership team reflects Liqvd Asia’s commitment to focusing on creating vertical-specific SBUs, attracting and retaining top talent, enhancing its services.


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Mxit has announced the immediate departure of CEO Alan Knott-Craig Jr, and a “R100-million investment”. Arthur Goldstuck (@art2gee) unravels the shock move.
Alan Knott-Craig Jnr has stepped down as CEO of Mxit, barely a year after he bought it through his investment company, World of Avatar (WoA). He is also departing WoA.
“While the shareholders and I share the same vision, we differ on how to get there. Therefore, I agreed to go my own way. I wish them all the best for the future. Mxit is Africa’s biggest tech success story, and can be a global success story,” said Knott-Craig Jnr in a statement issued yesterday afternoon. The statement added that he would not be drawn further on the issue, suggesting that the terms of his departure include a confidentiality clause.
His departure comes as a shock, as he was seen as being heavily invested on an emotional level in the future of Mxit and social networking in Africa – as evidenced by his book Mobinomics, jointly authored with Gus Silber.


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WELCOME TO The WHEELS REPORT
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
Stord | March 20, 2023
BRANDED Group, the leading operator of global digital-first consumer brands, today announced its partnership with Stord, the Cloud Supply Chain leader, to unlock faster and more efficient logistics for its portfolio of brands while exceeding customer delivery expectations.
BRANDED acquires and works with top-performing businesses to transform them into global consumer brands and, since launching in 2020, is known for identifying brands with potential for rapid expansion and forw...
SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY, FREIGHT
Convoy | July 01, 2022
Convoy, the nation’s leading digital freight network, today announced an expanded partnership with MercuryGate® International, Inc., (MercuryGate), the largest independent Transportation Management System (TMS) provider, to help freight brokers automate the brokerage process, control costs, and access elastic capacity from more than 400,000 connected trucks through the recently launched Convoy for Brokers offering.Building upon a multi-year partnership between the two companies, the ex...
Semtech | May 27, 2022
Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a leading global supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced that Boluda Corporación Marítima, a leading global maritime services provider, will leverage an asset tracking solution from WITRAC, a Valencia-based company offering innovative technology solutions that connect and provide visibility to the value chain. Integrated with Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® stan...
Einride | March 25, 2022
Einride, a Swedish freight technology firm, announces that it will deliver its Freight Mobility platform to A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk). In the largest operational contract for electric heavy-duty road freight deployment to date, the solution includes 300 Einride connected electric trucks. The cooperation is Einride's first big expansion in the U.S. after launching operations in New York City.
“Our customers are looking for tangible actions on sustainable supply chains &...
SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY, LOGISTICS
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Google says all Glass units allocated to the public sold out, but doesn't reveal how many were bought by @jonrussell
Nintendo cuts 2013-2014 sales forecast of its Wii U consoles by more than a third to 2.8m units by @kaylenehong
Gartner: PC shipments slip 6.9% to 82.6m units in Q4, as 2013 sees the worst yearly decline in history by @epro
Beyoncé's iTunes-exclusive album sets store record with over 800,000 units sold in three days by @beijingdou
Microsoft starts clearing first-generation Surface units with giveaways, discounted models for developers by @alex
Sony reportedly mulling proposal to spin-off its movie and music units to aid electronics division by @thekenyeung
PC shipments post steepest decline ever in Q1 2013, down 13.9% year-over-year to 76.3m units by @epro
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In parallel with F-Secure's report, fellow security vendor Avast says this summer has seen the million pieces of mobile malware milestone crossed.
Back at F-Secure, during the second quarter of the year, the firm says that 295 new threat families and variants were discovered – 294 on Android and one on Apple iOS. This is up on the first quarter, when 277 threats were logged, 275 of them targeting the Android portable operating system.
The top Android threats in the second quarter were Trojans that either send text messages to premium numbers, or exfiltrate data from a device for remote forwarding.
F-Secure says that the most notable piece of Android malware was the Slocker code, which appeared in June and was/is the first TOR-encrypted ransomware.
Unlike the earlier Koler malware, says the report, the Trojan:Android/Slocker malware actually encrypts image, document and video files on the device.
"Like Koler, it also disables the back button to interfere with the user's control of the device. Slocker variants can communicate with their controlling server either via the Tor anonymising network or SMS messages," says the report.
Over at Avast, meanwhile, Ondrej Vlcek, the firm's chief operating officer, says his research shows that mobile malware is growing exponentially - and is now ten times up on 100,000 samples seen in its database back in 2011.
Despite this, he says, the security threat posed by mobile malware is still relatively young, with most code displaying a pretty simple structure, even if it is designed to effectively steal people's money.
"Newer mobile malware is, however, adapting and evolving, slowly embracing more deceitful and complex tactics to target users," he says in his analysis of the mobile malware landscape, adding that the focus of mobile malware has always been on monetisation, meaning that even early mobile malware posed real-life threats to its victims, stealing money from them.
On top of this, he explained, even though malware targeting smartphones and tablets is still young, it is developing much faster than PC malware did in its initial years.
Against this backdrop, Vlcek predicts that, with the emergence of new technologies, malware authors will find new ways of taking advantage of them.
For example, he says, as the use of new payment methods like Near Field Payment increases, he expect hackers will change the way they go after money.
Rob Bamforth, Quocirca's principal analyst for business communications, says that one of the mobile malware challenges facing companies us that the malware exploits gaps in the security of the employee in a typical business.
"The problem is that, even on a corporate device, employees want to download apps. This creates holes in the enterprise," he said, adding that this has created the need for multiple layers of security that covers mobile devices.
Bamforth went on to say that it is interesting to note that Avast confirms that the mischief seen with early mobile malware has now been superseded by cybercriminals tapping mobile malware to generate money through various means. This, he says, highlights the speed with which malware has developed on mobile devices.
Tony Kenyon, technical director for EMEA and Latin America with A10 Networks, said we are rapidly moving to a world where everything is done on the move - personal banking, shopping, image capture, contacts, email and blogging - and if you add location based services, identity, cloud storage, credit card use, and virtual money to the mix it's easy to see just how attractive a target the mobile phone has become for hackers.
"Since Android continues to be the firm favourite for mobile hackers the attack surface is becoming ever more focussed - why bother writing malware for multiple platforms when almost everything we do is converging at the smartphone? As things stand this trend is only going in one direction," he said.
As a result, Kenyon says we - as a security industry - need to think more holistically about the shift toward mobile for virtually everything we do.
"This includes how to protect users at a device level, the mobile operating system, the transaction level, securing cloud storage, the policing of applications and the traffic passing over backend service provider networks, as well as increasing interaction with the Internet of Things. Achieving all this whilst keeping mobiles simple to use is going to be no easy task," he explained.
Mike McLaughlin, a senior pen tester with First Base Technologies, said that corporate clients are starting to wake up to the realisation that mobile pen testing now needs to form part of their pen testing processes.
This stems from the rising usage of mobile devices in the workplace, he says, adding that many companies simply buy their staff an iPad or an Android device, give it to the employee and forget about the need for security.
"The result is that mobile devices are protected by the company VPN, but no thought is given to the data that is actually stored on the device itself. Then there is the additional problem that people do not treat text messages in the same way that they treat emails from a security perspective," he explained.
McLaughlin went on to say that, because of this, he has seen users clicking on links in text messages without a second thought, even when they are fully aware of the security issues that emails now pose.


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While admitting that in categories such as honey, the company has been impacted by products from Patanjali, Dabur India said being in the healthcare segment, the company is confident that quality will eventually decide consumer choice and not pricing alone.
"There is a difference between faith and science. We provide all products, which are science-based and we have some impact (on sales) on account of 'faith-based'," Dabur India CFO Lalit Malik told PTI.
Malik said playing the pricing game in the segment will not pay in the long run despite consumers' tendency to look at value for money.
"These are more healthcare products and people are very careful. We do see consumers coming back but having said that in the short run we have seen some impact on account of this competition," he said.
Merely keeping low price may help in the lower segment initially but people have become much more aware and careful about their health and it will eventually determine value for money, Malik said.
When asked how much the company sales have been hurt by competition from new entrants, he said: "We will not be able to say anything in specific or particular but there is some impact of about one to one-and-a-half percentage, that has been the impact on honey."
He further said: "The impact we have on account of Patanjali is primarily because of the price differentiation. However, we do see the traction's coming back as we have better quality and standards."
Citing an example, he said, "If you look into the oral care, in spite of the competition we have been growing at high level digit. So it is helping us to grow because we are already ayurvedic and our products do not have any side-effects."
Malik said due to competition in the segment, the market for ayurveda and herbal products has expanded.
Dabur has products such as honey, chyawanprash, Meswak tooth paste, hair oil, skin care, which directly compete with Patanjali Ayurveda's items.


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Corium International on Monday updated its plans to go public, saying it could raise up to $76 million.
The Menlo Park company led by CEO Peter Staple plans to sell 5.5 million shares in an IPO priced between $10 and $12, with another 825,000 shares available to underwriters.
Corium has publicly disclosed about $40 million in venture funding, including money from Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, which holds about a 56 percent stake in the company.
It adapts its technology to help deliver drugs developed by five partners, two of which have made it to the U.S. market. They are a clonidine patch developed with Teva Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of hypertension and ADHD and a Fentanyl patch developed with Par Pharmaceuticals for treatment of chronic pain. It also developed a tooth whitening system with Proctor & Gamble that is on the market.
Corium said its revenue rose from $35.7 million in 2012 to $37.7 million in 2013. During that time its net loss more than doubled from $5.4 million to $13.9 million.
Click here to read the SEC filing about Corium's IPO plans.


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By Max Milano (Tech Writer)
The week of Oct 4, 2021, wasn't a good week for Facebook. In fact, it was perhaps the worst week so far in the company's history.
Is the tech giant mortally wounded or too big to fail?
Like a bad Bob Geldof song, Facebook's bad week started on a Monday, with the longest outage since the company entered the public's consciousness. For six long hours, Facebook and all their affiliate sites and apps were down, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and more crucially Facebook Ads Manager, forcing Facebook media buyers to join the worldwide cry of "what will we do with ourselves now that Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp and derivatives are down?" During the outage, media buyers were losing real money in undelivered Facebook ads, forcing them to make serious decisions about their future with Facebook as a destination for their paid ads. Could an ad platform like Facebook, with increasingly diminishing returns, afford a worldwide day-long outage? This was the question hitting Facebook ads forums from Australia to Palo Alto and beyond on Monday, Oct 4, 2021.
But that was Monday, the bad Monday. It would have been remembered as Facebook's Black Monday, only that Tuesday, Oct 5, 2021, was even worse.
Tuesday, Oct 5, 2021
If Monday, Oct 4 was Facebook's black Monday, with a six-hour outage and media buyers "running for ze hills," what senators chairing a Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Hearing about protecting kids online were about to hear from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen on Tuesday, Oct 5, was nothing short of reputation ending. A pure corporate P.R. hell-storm unleashed by a data scientist scorned who knew what she was talking about because she'd worked closely with Facebook's top leadership in her former role as product manager hired to oversee election interference on the platform. So Facebook's Black Monday was now being followed by an even more disastrous Tuesday.
Frances Haugen told Congress of all manner of evil going on at Facebook: from promoting eating disorders amongst 12-year-old girls to endangering democracy in the USA and abroad.
Haugen told senators about a leaked internal Facebook study that found that 13.5% of U.K. teen girls in one survey had more frequent suicidal thoughts and increased eating disorders after joining Instagram.
Haugen continued to explain how Facebook encourages hate speech for profit, encourages political parties in Europe to become more radical, ignores foreign espionage like CCP spies using Facebook to track Uyghur dissidents around the world, and turns a blind eye to genocide in Africa and human trafficking in various parts of the world.
Sadly, like a late-night infomercial, the whistleblower continued to deliver "but wait, there's more" blows, one after the other, including the fact that Facebook's leadership knew about human trafficking on their platform and did nothing at all about it. They put profits above human lives in their obsessive gathering of user data (plus its involvement in the United States PRISM surveillance program) in order to continue feeding the beast that was their pre iOS14 eerily accurate and profitable ads targeting platform.
Is This The Last Straw For Facebook Media Buyers & Investors?
Is this the last straw? Time to take your money and run? While most investors seem to be hanging in there after deciding to weather the storm, the panic for the exits has already gripped the media buying community.
It had been carnage out there for most media buyers in Facebook-ads-land post the infamous iOS14 update. And now, after the daylong outage and a reputational deathblow in Congress, was it time to cut losses and head for the greener, albeit, more (way more) expensive pastures of Google ads?
Facebook ads' fall will only benefit Google as the only other tech giant in Silicon Valley that can fill the crater left behind by the potentially civilization-ending comet that Apples' iOS14 update exploded right in the middle of Facebook's Ads business.
That is until Apple ads are unleashed on the same fan base currently praising Apple for its "stand on privacy".
Until then, it will be Google and its ubiquitous Google ads that will benefit from Facebook's fallout. But the iOS14 update is just part of Facebook's targeting problems. Like most online advertisers outside of search, Facebook built their ad targeting platform around cookies. But cookies are on the way out. And Google already announced it will ban third-party cookies from Chrome beginning in 2022. This basically means that post iOS14 and post cookies Google search will be the only game in media buying town (because let's be honest Microsoft Ads are not a threat to Google's search empire yet. Not even close).
So the issue is that Google owns all the chips, plus the casino where all media buyers have to play in, and the house is always set up to win.
Google's monopoly on search and search ads sure has the whiff of evil around it. How easy is it for them to throttle search results to favor paying customers? Already over half the results on their first page are all ads, leaving organic SEO to begin resembling some arcane lost art.
How many remember Google's early days and their, with hindsight, incredibly naïve "Don't Be Evil" slogan?
But Facebook's problems don't end with Google; they began way before the infamous iOS14 update was unleashed in early summer 2021. The first real crack in the Facebook ads secret sauce of data mining came out around the 2016 Election, culminating with Facebook being slapped a massive 5 billion dollar fine by the Federal Trade Commission in 2019 (by far the largest penalty ever imposed on a company for violating consumers' privacy rights). After the FTC's expensive slap on the wrist (which included over 130 million to insulate Mr. Zuckerberg himself from having to give testimony), Facebook more or less promised to "regulate itself" and took out some deep targeting options from Facebook ads. Still, for the aforementioned media buyers, Apple's iOS14 update has been the real Facebook ads killer.
But What's So Bad About The iOS14 update?
Most regular consumers may not be aware of how damaging the iOS14 update has been to Facebook's ad business. In fact, the average consumer probably thinks iOS14's enhanced privacy defaults to be a good thing. But for media buyers relying on the accuracy of Facebook Ads' targeting, it has been disastrous. By simply opting out from all tracking permissions on their devices, Apple now forces third-party apps on their devices to explicitly request users' consent if they intend to track users' activities across apps and websites. In other words, if you're on an Apple device, Facebook simply won't be able to track you, and that translates into inaccurate targeting for Facebook ads delivery. In other words, Facebook ads are now shooting blanks and making their media buyers pay for it.
Media buyers know Facebook ads goose is cooked when their ad reps are telling them to "forget targeting" and that "some of their customers have found success by running ads (get this) WITH NO TARGETING!" In other words, Facebook reps are asking media buyers to send them money for nothing. Not unlike the type of Craigslist ads you can commonly find in Silicon Valley: $3000 per month for a bedroom inside a house in Palo Alto, no cooking allowed, shared bathroom, and preferably only a tech professional who's a commuter that won't be home on weekends should apply. Only that said tech commuter without cooking privileges, while being fleeced, still gets a room to sleep in midweek, while media buyers for Facebook ads are being asked to throw good money after bad to an ad system that has lost the only reason they were scary accurate pre-iOS14.
But Facebook ad's former scary accuracy came with a price. Not in ad costs, because Facebook's accuracy offered media buyers incredible value for money. The actual cost was the amoral level of surveillance and personal data mining, driven by Facebook's internal policies that encouraged misinformation, outrage, and conspiracy theories, simply because those were the emotions that kept the punters coming back for more.
But that's not even the worst of Facebook's problems. Because at the end of the day, no one will shed a tear over media buyers having to scramble to get away from Facebook Ads implosion. The fact that these amoral practices that encourage divisive content coupled with laxity over foreign involvement behind conspiracy theories are enshrined as policy at Facebook H.Q. is what's truly costly to us as a country and a society. Still, we do live in a country that not so long ago enabled corporations to sell cigarettes as being "good for you and recommended by doctors." Hence, morality is only relative to the amount of lobbying dollars and profits for investors.
But savage corporate laissez-faire is all fun and games until the party is over and we're all holding the broken pieces. For Facebook, that party may or may not already be over. The fallout from iOS14 and the whistleblower hearings may still prove to be unsurvivable. Or they might figure out how to weather the storm and salvage their ads business via AI or other methods.
So Facebook is currently at a crossroads. Apple has delivered what could still be a death blow if rapid action is not taken. One thing is clear: Facebook has to DO SOMETHING. Staying the course is not an option. Some investors and top Facebook brass may think that they are too big to fail. However, like the once mighty and "unsinkable" Titanic, now rusting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, complacency can be just a harsh mistress in the cold North Atlantic as in Silicon Valley, where ubiquitousness can be quickly followed by irrelevance and/or bankruptcy and where no one is too big to fail. Let's remember Netscape, Yahoo (there were even Yahoo ads once), Myspace, and other tech pioneers that once dominated their markets and that most TikTokers today haven't even heard of. Even mighty Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy in 1997 after following a misguided policy of skewing innovation and "we'll make money off our overprized ink cartridges." At the very least, Facebook should take a lesson from recent history and realize that they are indeed not too big to fail.
Is There A Moral To This Story?
There must be a moral to the story of these tech giants that new tech entrepreneurs can heed. Because the story arch of a successful tech giant seems to follow a tried and true formula where the youthful naivete of the garage days (Don't Be Evil!) is soon to be shed as success blesses the startup and rapid growth turns into power.
But like in a Shakespearean drama, power corrupts. What started as a passion project between tech buddies has morphed into founders hobnobbing with presidents and leaders of industry. The beast must be fed. Shareholders demand growth. The success of a tech startup can soon turn into complacency over what may not be technically legally wrong but morally questionable. This malaise of ethics driven by demands for infinite growth can begin to creep in until your monstrously successful tech giant starts to resemble a parody of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," where the good Doctor's facade of public ethics is betrayed every night by the ghoulish needs of Mr. Hyde. But the beast is not going to feed itself. Your competitors want you dead, your shareholders have yacht payments due, and the president is on the phone. You may be a paradigm of Silicon Valley success, but your moderators downstairs have seen things they will never unsee and then have to come back for more the next day, and the trail of suicides, troll farms, and blatant misinformation is not really your fault is it?
Yes, there must be a morality tale somewhere in this story for new tech entrepreneurs to heed. But will they?


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In the traditional financial landscape, Bank of America, one of the most important American banking institutions, finds itself in the spotlight following allegations of closing customer accounts related to cryptocurrency transactions.
It all started when Muneeb Ali, co-creator of Bitcoin’s Layer 2 platform Stacks, claimed that BoA had closed his personal account without giving a reason. Ali believes this shutdown stems from his Coinbase transactions related to buying and selling Bitcoin:
SO @Bank of America I just closed my personal bank account which I have been using for 15 years. No reason given.
Real reason? I do Coinbase transactions through this account for bitcoin.
It’s a war against bitcoin and crypto. Please RT to warn others. We will not remain silent.
— muneeb.btc (@muneeb) July 12, 2023
The controversy was heightened by Brian Armstrong, the CEO of leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
Armstrong, who has more than 1.2 million Twitter followers, conducted a survey to find out if Coinbase customers, who also do business with BoA, had their accounts terminated due to interactions with its exchange. This poll followed a series of rumors on Twitter about abrupt account closures at BoA, with speculation pointing to a possible correlation to cryptocurrency transactions.
— Brian Armstrong 🛡 (@brian_armstrong) July 13, 2023
Out of 13,746 respondents at the time of writing, around 1,200 (about 9%) confirmed that their accounts had been closed. Meanwhile, 19.3% of participants refuted such an event. The other respondents abstained from voting, preferring to monitor the results instead.
Ali called he “Operation Choke Point 2.0”, indicating that legal action could take place in the near future.
Operation Chokepoint is from the Nic Carter podcast What Bitcoin has done. Carter declared“Certain Biden administration officials who work with specific regulators, particularly banking regulators to marginalize the Bitcoin and crypto industry in the United States in reaction to FTX (…) Their preferred way of doing this, c is a high leverage tactic, is to delegate banks to do their dirty work for them, saying “don’t deal with crypto companies, don’t cash them”:”
“They think: Crypto is out of control, and we need to do something about it.”
Bank of America has yet to comment on these allegations or the growing unrest among its customers who use crypto.


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Apple will launch the iPhone 12 later than usual this year, according to the CEO of Broadcom Inc, one of its key component suppliers.
As reported by Bloomberg, Hock Tan is said to have tipped a “major product cycle delay” at a “large North American mobile phone” customer during a conference call with analysts on Thursday.
The delay is likely due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on global supply chains. It forced Apple to scrap its spring iPhone event in favour of an online-only announcement of the iPhone SE.
With the many major airlines effectively grounded, Apple's engineers may be finding it tricky to fly back and forth between suppliers in China to finalise the design of the iPhone 12.
So, when can we expect the grand unveiling of the hotly-anticipated iPhone 12?
Apple typically unveils iPhones in the second week of September, but Tan hinted that he expects to see a big uptick in "wireless revenue" in Q4 – between October and December, then.
In other words, there's no need to strike 'iPhone 12' off your Christmas list.
As we've previously reported, Apple's next super phone – rumoured to be the company's first ever 5G iPhone – should be worth waiting for. The device is said to feature a 6.1-inch OLED screen and may even be capable of capturing 8K video.
Can't wait that long? Take a gander at our review of the most powerful iPhone on sale right now.


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The image of milk as a wholesome drink for children, promoting growth and strong bones and teeth, remains rooted in our images of child health – which is largely why the idea of taking away free milk for under-fives was quickly vetoed by David Cameron. Milk is still recommended for young children, despite controversies over the fat and saturated fat content of whole milk and arguments over hormone contents, lactose intolerance, milk allergy and a range of other suggested health disadvantages.
In the UK in the pre-school years, milk is still a major provider of energy and nutrients: children under three obtain about a quarter of their energy and protein from the milk they drink, two-thirds of their intake of calcium, at least half of their intake of the B vitamins riboflavin and vitamin B12 and the mineral phosphorus, a third of their intake of vitamin A and significant amounts of folate and vitamin D.
It can be argued that these nutrients are available in other foods, and some may not be in short supply in the diets of many young children, but it is difficult to unpick the contribution that free milk for under-fives might play in their overall diet – not least for those children from households where other food and drink choices may not be optimum. As safety nets go, milk provided in childcare settings may well be one of the cheaper ones we can offer.
If we can't say for sure how important subsidised milk might be in the diets of children who spend time in childcare settings, we can consider the impact of taking it away. Some will continue to serve milk and pay for it themselves, but there is at present limited advice to childcare settings on what, and how much, food and drink are needed by pre-school children.
This is something the current Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years hopes to correct when it offers its recommendations to the Department of Education later this year.
Current evidence suggests that many settings offer too little energy to children, possibly as a result of fears over rising obesity, but possibly to limit costs, and many smaller settings may replace milk with water (most health professionals recommend milk and water as the drinks that do not damage children's teeth) adding to this dilemma.
Hungry children leaving childcare and returning home in a culture where milk is seen as "less important" are likely to be given fruit-based drinks, perceived and marketed as "healthy alternatives", but these can damage teeth (with or without sugar in them), offer few other nutrients and will habituate children to sweet-tasting drinks. We already live in a culture where soft drinks dominate: it is sobering to remember that more than 80% of our young people drink sweetened soft drinks regularly, with average intakes among teenage boys somewhere around 138 litres a year – 60,000 empty calories and a lot of sugar-swilled teeth.
Messages encouraging young children to drink milk are about more than just whether milk matters to an individual's nutritional intake or to whether children living in poorer circumstances can be proven to benefit from it: we need to think about what message taking the subsidy away might send in an environment where the high profit margin, heavily marketed alternatives are already pernicious enough.
What are you views on the whole saga surrounding the U-turn on free milk for children? Get involved in the debate by leaving your thoughts below!


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Expanding Metal Manufacturing Capabilities in Western United States
Firestone Metal Products, a sister company of Firestone Building Products,
has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with a new metal roofing
plant and distribution center in the western United States. Site selection for
the new location is underway.
The new facility is expected to manufacture a range of UNA-CLAD® by Firestone
products, including architectural metals in coils and flat sheets, in addition
to factory-fabricated roofing systems. The company expects the new facility to
include a light gauge cut-to-length line with corrective leveling, coil slitting
and roll forming capabilities.
The plant will be Firestone Metal Products' first metal facility in the western
United States; it currently operates five metal production sites, located in Anoka,
Minn., Pompano Beach, Fla., Warren, Mich., Jackson, Miss., and Morrisville, Pa.
"Investing in a sixth manufacturing plant reflects our commitment to providing
customers with one source for high-quality products engineered and manufactured
from the deck up," said Mike Gorey, president of Firestone Building Products
and chief executive officer of BFS Diversified Products LLC.


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#BoycottNike Fake News Buster: Viral tweet of man setting fire to his shoes while wearing them is actually satire
Nike, a sportswear company, announced recently that it has launched a new advertising campaign to mark 30 years of its famous slogan,
Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt https://t.co/SRWkMIDdaO— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) 1536002445000
Nike's decision to feature Kaepernick in its ad — and that too with the caption "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" — has led to
One user, Phil Braun, who goes by the handle @playazball on Twitter, shared three photos. The first two show him setting his Nike shoes on fire – while he is still wearing them! The third photo was just an image of two burnt feet. He captioned it with the line, "i am in the hospital".
My name is #Mustard and I stand for the #flag and to honer @bigandrich and their Soundman & the Prresident I am goi… https://t.co/SGDqTaF6lr— Phil Braun (@playazball) 1536023973000
i am in the hospital https://t.co/b9JmlE77EQ— Phil Braun (@playazball) 1536027786000
Naturally, Twitterati went all out, slamming Phil for being stupid enough to not remove his shoes before he burnt them. However, those who are regular followers of @playazball understood that he is being satirical. Several people who saw his tweet did a reverse image search on Google and spotted that the image of the burnt feet was actually taken from the website of a hospital in Australia.
@playazball @bigandrich This is a parody account. This guy did not actually set his feet on fire. The burn photo is… https://t.co/YpuLfmik5G— Bri (@theorosa) 1536084505000
Thank god this is a parody. LOL https://t.co/3NEHA6TeYM— Anthony Kingdom James (@MyNameIsKingdom) 1536099748000
Both are correct. It is satire, and I am the biggest idiot in the country. https://t.co/cMWSsm3J8V— Phil Braun (@playazball) 1536095600000
While Phil's satirical post may have been taken as truth by many, it does throw light on one important truth – that burning a product you have already bought does no harm to the company. They already have your money, after all.


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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers (CBPOs) in Memphis have seized 2,509 lbs of drugs since the beginning of this fiscal year. The countries of origin for most of the drugs were China, Mexico and Brazil. Fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, ketamine, DMT, marijuana, prescription opioids and steroids are among the contraband intercepted at the port in the express consignment environment. In the first month of 2022, they seized nearly 1,000 lbs of drugs, and the most frequently seized were: Methamphetamine, other drugs such as DMT, tramadol, ketamine, etc., with marijuana coming in third.
Smugglers are always attempting new methods to conceal their contraband. Officers have found drugs in shoes, ceramics, within the sides of cardboard boxes, in furniture, in sealed bags of tea, chips, soups, and baked into bread, among myriad other ways.
“Every shift, my officers and agriculture specialists are preventing shipments of dangerous narcotics, invasive pests and other contraband from reaching their recipients in your neighborhood,” said Michael Neipert, Memphis Area Port Director. “Sending narcotics via express consignment makes the carriers unwitting transporters. When fentanyl is shipped from Mexico to Massachusetts, you are putting everyone who handles it at risk: the pilots, drivers, sorters, all the way until it reaches the doorstep of the consignee, unless, of course, we find it first.”
CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo, and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.


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Science blasphemed when tries to eliminate scarcity in economy.
A mental disease has swept the planet: banalization. Everyone is hypnotized by production and comfort — sewage system, elevator, bathroom, washing machine. This state of affairs, which arose out of a struggle against poverty, overshoots its ultimate goal — the liberation of humanity from material cares — and becomes an obsessive image hanging over the...
In a society in which nearly everybody is dominated by somebody else’s mind or by a disembodied mind, it becomes increasingly difficult to learn the truth about the activities of governments and corporations, about the quality or value of products, or about the health of one’s own place and economy.In such a society, also, our...
Oil prices have certainly become a threat for the world economy.
So the American economy needs the world, and the world needs the American economy.
The Illinois housing market continues to be a solid driver of the state’s economy and, in 2006, REALTORS(r) anticipate strong demand for homeownership and favorable price appreciation. Home sales in Illinois tend to follow a seasonal trend with the strongest months being April through September, so it’s no surprise that fourth-quarter activity over the holiday...
None of it made any difference. The hollow feeling refused to go away. The next days were very hard. I found myself in the grip of a crippling ennui. I was back at square one, but I couldn’t bring myself to resume my job hunt; it was all I could do to drag myself from...
The housing market only has a smaller impact to any slowdown in the economy.
Technology fuels economy, unfortunately in today’s world it’s the fuel that drags economy
It’s important to stress that we do have some very good things going on in this economy, which Greenspan reiterated yesterday. What we should be thinking about is that this is a move that’s designed to be a little bit preemptive to make sure that this rapid growth does not start resulting in higher inflation.
This should be an exciting and informative presentation by our state attorney general because as our economy in California has resumed a very rapid growth rate many corporate boards of directors are struggling with pressures to meet new challenges from both a highly competitive global environment and more restrictive legal oversight.
That fact alone could act as a stabilizing force for the market this week. The U.S. consumer has been the linchpin of this economy. So this number doesn’t bode well, especially as we enter the Christmas shopping season and retailers are already suffering because of the West Coast ports dispute .
Public servants say, always with the best of intentions, “What greater service we could render if only we had a little more money and a little more power.” But the truth is that outside of its legitimate function, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector.
We’ve gone from a psychology a month and a half ago that the economy is growing too quickly, and the Fed is going to have to raise rates, to we’re going to go towards a recession because the economy’s slowing too quickly. That’s like turning around the JFK on the Hudson: it doesn’t work that...
The economy is clearly cooling or downshifting somewhat,
The economy and the job market are not out of the woods yet,
Even though the political risk profile has shifted toward an adverse trajectory, the economy should remain on its robust pace in the near future. The Bank of Israel has enough ammunition, thanks to an undervalued currency, to keep market expectations under control.
We need a reset in the way the economy grows around the world.
Modest inflation is certainly not a negative for stocks. The general feeling is that this economy can handle these rate increases. You’re getting to a point where people are starting to look back at stocks as a place to go in a time of economic growth.
Products produced cheaply create ugly work lives and ugly households and ugly communities. Profits produced quickly cannot purchase patience and care. Patience is beautiful. Restraint and care are beautiful. Peace is beautiful. A small, diversified organic farm is beautiful.
This is more a readjusting of expectations as opposed to a readjusting of the economy.
The economy is picking up and corporate profitability has recovered.
When we find new markets for our harvest, we ensure the security of our state’s economy,


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New jobs at Designer Outlet
Eight new jobs have been created at Ashford’s popular shopping centre.
The vacancies follow the announcement that leather goods brand Osprey London will be opening at the Ashford Designer Outlet in Kimberley Way.
The new store, 1,500 sq m in size, will sell handbags, purses and accessories and will open its doors this week.
Centre manager Peter Corr said: “Osprey London is a great fit for the Ashford Designer Outlet; the beautifully crafted leather accessories for men and for women are exactly the kind our customers look for.
“We look forward to their opening – just in time for spring when our shoppers are looking for standout accessories for the season ahead.”
The brand was founded in 1980 by Graeme Ellisdon and the products are made by skilled craftsmen using traditional saddlery techniques.
The opening of Osprey is not the only change to take place at the Outlet this year. In February, Next closed after facing a huge rise in rent.
There are also rumours that outdoor clothing chain Trespass will move out of the centre, although a date for its closure is yet to be confirmed.
Another change saw hot drink venue Lost Sheep Coffee opening in the food court, selling specialty coffee, as well as cold drinks and snacks. It has been launched by owner Stuart Wilson who already runs an outlet in Canterbury.


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Retail sales showed promise in May with some assistance from car-buying consumers.
Consumer spending increased 0.3 percent in May, according to a new report from the Commerce Department. The sales increase in May follows a 0.5 percent rise in April and 1.5 percent growth in March. Three months of consumer spending increases are good for the economy, but the May numbers were lower than what economists were hoping for. According to a poll conducted by Reuters, respondents believed sales would grow 0.6 percent for the month. Although the sales increase over the past month was a bit under expectations, economists only see this as a hiccup.
One area of the economy that showed healthy growth over the past month was auto sales. The Commerce Department reported auto sales rose 1.4 percent in May. This comes after the auto industry reported sales in May were the highest they had been in nine years. The jump in sales is primarily due to a higher demand for pickup trucks and SUVs.
Sales also fell below expectations for clothing and electronics stores, but these industries posted a gain of 0.6 percent in May. Chris Rupkey, an economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, said that sales increases are good, even if the numbers fall below expectations.
"Consumers have not bought this much from your friendly neighborhood retailer or from over the internet up in the clouds since early 2012," Rupkey said. "Consumers may have dialed it back a touch in May, but overall spending for the second quarter is through the roof."
Economists are optimistic about activity for the rest of the year, as the overall economic growth is projected to be 3 percent, according to the Associated Press.