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(Feb 20, 2015, 2:52pm HST, Duane Shimogawa, Pacific Business News)
Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, will open its new two-story flagship Hawaii store in Honolulu across from Ala Moana Center on Saturday at 9 a.m., the Illinois-based company’s Hawaii district manager told PBN.
Located at 1488 Kapiolani Blvd. at the corner of Keaaumoku Street, the 35,576-square-foot store, which employs about 125 people, is Walgreen Co.s (NYSE: WAG) 15th flagship store in the United States and 18th location in Hawaii.
“This was a big project and something we felt we wanted to do for the Honolulu community,” Scott Sutton, Hawaii district manager for Walgreens, told PBN. “This is not a typical store, so we want to make sure it fits right for everyone.”
The company opened its first Hawaii store about eight years ago at the site of the new store, in a former leased space that had previously been a Tower Records. About three years later, Walgreens bought the former Tower Records site and a neighboring KFC for $15.05 million.
The original store was 11,000 square feet with 20 employees and just eight parking spots. By stark contrast, this new flagship store is more than triple the size, has more than 100 additional e
It also includes the company’s first Sunglass Hut in-store location, as well as a pharmacy aimed at encouraging greater interaction between pharmacists and patients, a beauty department, beer cave, food items, cafe, souvenirs, frozen yogurt and a sushi station.
Several local businesses also have their products for sale at the store, including Hawaiian Chip Co.
The store will be open 24 hours and seven days a week, with the second-floor pharmacy open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
The store’s design includes several architectural elements unique to its location, including references to mauka and makai (mountain and sea) through format, colors and lighting.
The 14,267-square-foot first floor represents the sea and the 12,643-square-foot second floor represents the land. Above the first floor space netting is displayed to portray the fishing culture that previously was part of the area.
Honolulu-based firms Architects HawaiiLtd. and dck pacific construction did the work on the new flagship store.
Late last year, Walgreens put this store’s property on the market for another firm or investor to own the property and lease it back to the drugstore chain. Walgreens purchased the property from Kourin Hong Kong Ltd. in 2007 for $24.2 million.
In a similar arrangement, Walgreens recently sold its property on Beretania Street in Honolulu to the Honolulu-based real estate investment and development firm The Malulani Group Ltd. for $28 million, as first reported by PBN.


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Marks & Spencer's annual general meeting lived up to its thrilling expectations as it revealed that... one in five men who purchased slippers in 2013 bought theirs from the retailing giant.
Although this may seem like a rather dull and pointless statistic, it actually represents a fairly significant sum.
This means that 1.3 million men of the great British public are in possession of a pair of M&S slippers, and that 6.5 million men wear any brand of slippers – over a tenth of the UK population.
Looking at it from a different angle, more men in Britain own a pair of M&S slippers than there are people in Iceland, Luxembourg and the Bahamas – combined!
Although you may almost collapse from a lack of oxygen after sighing so heavily as you read this, it will at least give the once dominant retailer something to boast about after reporting three straight years of falling profits.
CEO Marc Bolland has been under intense scrutiny as he promised to revitalise the faltering brand within three years when he joined in 2011.
This proved to be a false promise in May's annual results when it was revealed that annual profits to the end of March 2014 were £623m, down from £665.2m a year earlier, M&S said.
Disappointing sales year after year will have led to many sleepless nights for M&S's boss but at least Bolland will have no trouble relaxing with the 1.3 million pairs of slippers he bought last year...

domain: news


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Competitiveness requires modern, agile, and efficient transport
Santo Domingo.- A more competitive Dominican Republic requires a modern, agile, and efficient transportation, National Competitiveness Council director Rafael Paz affirmed Tues..
He said the goal is to modernize and strengthen the transport system to make the logistics chain more efficient. and improve the business climate. “Inter-institutional coordination is key to make the Dominican Republic the Caribbean logistics hub, which in turn will lower costs for exporters and consumers. This is a priority in the competitiveness agenda.”
Paz spoke after signing an agreement with the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), the National Land Transport Institute (INTRANT) and the National Competition Defense Commission (ProCompetencia) to work on institutional policies linked to the issues of inter-modality, competition and productivity needed to facilitate trade and exports.
Port Authority director Víctor Gómez Casanova said truck drivers will be trained on road education, so they can meet the requirements to access ports and carry out their activities.
It also emerged that the truckers’ unions will be called to a dialogue to discuss some issues related to the sector.


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Venture Block Pte. Ltd has partnered with RFID tech company ISBC Innovations (ISBC), based in Singapore to provide blockchain solutions to radio-frequency identification card products. This marks a milestone achievement for Venture Block in its push to expand its blockchain solutions to various industries in Southeast Asia.
Venture Block offers blockchain software solutions mainly targeting the financial and technology industries. Through the ISBC partnership, Venture Block aims to use its expertise in blockchain technology to enhance the products of ISBC.
“Blockchain has tremendous potential in improving our current processes and products,” says Nikita Kozhemiakin, Managing Director for ISBC Group. “Through our partnerships with Venture Block, we are looking forward to greatly enhancing the security and reliability of our products minimizing threats such as counterfeiting.”
Easily verifiable security for RFID products
The ISBC manufactures patented RFID paper products, access control, multifunctional wearables and security systems. The biggest security challenge it faces is counterfeiting and current anti-counterfeiting solutions on the market have been fallible due to reliance on centralised systems to verify authenticity.
Venture Block seeks to eliminate these challenges by adding RFID smart paper security hangtags, labels, and certificates that are verified through blockchain technology, a decentralised system, to provide an additional layer of security that is easily verifiable.
Drawing from in-depth industry knowledge and understanding the specific needs of clients, Venture Block is working on developing near-field communication (NFC) software platform for ISBC’s RFID Smart Paper products that provide unique URLs and identification codes that cannot be copied or reproduced.
A blockchain-based solution will also fortify the integrity of the RFIDs and provide other benefits integration to match an authenticated physical object with a digital blockchain asset, among many others.
Venture Block to apply blockchain solutions to other Singaporean industries
Having recently opened its doors in Singapore in March earlier this year, Venture Block is poised to expand even more and leverage Singapore’s local talent pool to not only provide a variety of solutions but also forge more partnerships with the region’s top companies.
“We’ve just scratched the surface of what we can do with blockchain technology. The more companies realize how this software solution can impact their growth, the faster we can come up with entirely new and better ways to improve our lives with this technology,” said Daniel Mackle, Founder of Venture Block.


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My Weblog: kutahya web tasarim umraniye elektrikci uskudar elektrikci umraniye elektrikci istanbul elektrikci satis egitimi cekmekoy elektrikci uskudar kornis montaj umraniye kornis montaj atasehir elektrikci beykoz elektrikci
dVentus is expecting a deal with Ethiopian Electric Utility to supply smart electric meters soon, as they are currently waiting on the Utility to give them the green light.
dVentus introduced its smart electric meters along with a distribution automation system this year in May. The renewable technology company held a workshop on Tuesday July 8th at Capital Hotel where representatives from different governmental institutions such as the Ethiopian Electric Utility, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy, were present.
The workshop titled “Smart Grid and Distribution Management” focused on creating awareness on smart grid systems, implementation lessons from other utility experiences as well as demonstrating dVentus’ smart electric meters and a distribution automation system.
The company stated that its smart meter will ensure reliable and efficient energy supply, accuracy in billing and tariff management, saving in distribution cost and revenue increment as well as in improving the customer service system of the utility.
Once dVentus’ deal with Ethiopian Electric Utility is signed off, the smart electric meters are expected to replace the current postpaid meters installed on many houses in Addis.
dVentus is a US based company with engineering and manufacturing plant in Ethiopia and sales, customer support and sourcing divisions in Asia, Europe and emerging markets in Africa and the Middle East.
Since 2005 dVentus Technologies has strategically developed into a leader of electro mechanical solutions to accommodate the constantly growing energy and transportation market needs. The company aims to make products and solutions engineered to provide maximum power, performance, flexibility and efficiency in energy and transportation.


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Intel has warned that its first 10nm CPUs won't be available in volume for more than a year, due to its ongoing struggle with production yields.
The first parts will finally hit the shops by the second half of 2019, the company has admitted, but added that they would only start appearing in volume in the fourth quarter - from around October 2019.
While parts for the consumer market would initially be prioritised, 10nm Xeon CPUs would follow shortly after. In the meantime, Intel has pushed its 14nm products, with leaks suggesting that it plans to crank-up clock speeds in the interim.
It is also planning a renewed push into graphics technology following the hiring of Raja Koduri in November 2017. Koduri had been senior vice president and chief architect of AMD's Radeon Technology Group graphics division.
The news was revealed by Intel chief engineering officer Venkata Renduchintala in a conference call with investors following the announcement of the company's second quarter results last week. It was the first results announcement following the sudden departure of former CEO Brian Krzanich, which also enabled company executives to come clean on bad news following repeated production delays to 10nm parts.
The timing means that the 10nm chips will be a good four years late - Intel had originally slated 10nm for the second half of 2015, but has repeatedly delayed the introduction of the products citing production difficulties.
In the meantime, rival foundries have not just caught up with Intel, but claim to have overtaken it. Both Samsung and TSMC are now ramping up ARM-based CPUs on 7nm. Meanwhile, Intel's direct rival AMD will have launched its third generation of Ryzen microprocessors on 7nm process technology, based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture, having already shifted its second generation line-up to 12nm.
AMD's 7nm Ryzen CPUs will be produced by GlobalFoundries, but its 7nm Epyc server CPUs, codenamed Rome, will be produced by TSMC.
Using photocatalysts to convert carbon dioxide into usable energy such as methane or ethane
Trained on curated data from Moorfields Eye Hospital, the neural networks show clinicians how they reached their decisions
Yokohama National University demonstrate technology that could lead to a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer
Top-of-the-range Threadripper 2990WX now available from Scan, Ebuyer, Overclockers, Novatech and Amazon


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UK mobile retailer Handtec has published the picture of what looks to be yet another high end Android-based smartphone from HTC, the Bass otherwise known as the Runnymede.
Handtec doesn't disclose (opens in new tab) the price or the delivery date but only says that it will be available in white and in unlocked mode.
The handset will feature the latest version of Android Gingerbread, v2.3.4, a massive 4.7-inch WVGA capacitive screen - which is a disappointment, a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core SoC clocked at 1.5GHz, 16GB onboard storage, an eight megapixel camera, a 1.3-megapixel front one, GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
The phone will come with Beats technology like the Sensation XE released yesterday. Speaking of the latter, it will be interesting to find out where the Bass will fit given that the newest version of the Sensation is almost identical except for the screen size.
Expansys has already put the Sensation XE on preorder for £500 which means that the Bass should carry a small price premium.
The rise of yet another large screen smartphone means that the HTC Desire HD will amost certainly be relegated to the "obsolete devices" page soon.


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LG’s next-generation Optimus G will take advantage of Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon 800 silicon, according to a joint press release.
The upcoming chip promises speeds up to 75% faster than that of the Snapdragon S4 Pro, which the 2012 Optimus G was one of the first phones to integrate. Snapdragon 800 boasts four Krait 400 cores alongside a new Adreno 330 GPU, both of which are more than just incremental speed upgrades from the current flagship Snapdragon 600.
Anandtech recently took a look at Qualcomm’s Mobile Development Phone and Tablet equipped with the MSM8974 and found that the system-on-a-chip is not only faster than any current-generation ARM-based combo, but approaches some of Intel’s x86-based internal graphics capabilities, albeit from previous hardware generations.
It may appear strange for a hardware manufacturer like LG to pre-announce the existence of a smartphone, but in many ways it’s the only method of keeping the customer excited in the lulling months before the actual unveiling. Since LG only plans to release one flagship non-phablet smartphone a year, the Optimus G brand must survive on the promise of its hardware; the Korean company doesn’t hold users’ anticipation in its hands like Samsung or Apple.
This is also LG flexing the muscle of its considerably potent partnership with Qualcomm, with whom they’ve struck an unspoken deal to debut new silicon. The Optimus G was one of the first widely-released devices with a Snapdragon S4 Pro, while the Optimus G Pro was similarly one of the first to boast a Snapdragon 600.
Snapdragon 800 will support Category 4 LTE speeds up to 150Mbps by using asynchronous carrier aggregation techniques. Unlike Dual-Carrier HSPA+, this allows network providers to take advantage of extra spectrum that does not need to be paired, or parallel. It also promises 4K video playback and multichannel DTS-HD and Dolby Digital Plus decoding.
Expect the next-gen Optimus G, as well as the Snapdragon 800, to debut in August.
Via: Android Central


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Cigarette maker British American Tobacco Kenya #ticker:BAT has said further increases in excise duty could deal a hard blow on its profitability by putting its products out of consumers’ reach.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed cigarette maker which on Friday reported a 21.2 per cent drop in net profit to Sh3.3 billion said “unpredictable” tax increases are a threat to its Kenya business.
“We would encourage the government to have a much more stable tax environment so that their revenues can be more predictable and we can have a more predictable operating environment,” BAT Kenya managing director Beverly Spencer-Obatoyinbo said at a media briefing.
“Smaller increases in specific excise rates are easier for us to manage and easier for the consumer to handle and will give consistent revenue gains for the government.”
Tobacco control advocates have been urging the government to raise tax on cigarettes from the current Sh2.50 per stick to Sh3.25; claiming it is still low.
“Currently, the average growth in the nominal price of a pack of cigarettes is lower than that of kerosene and food, and therefore cigarette smoking is going up,” said Rodgers Kidiya, the programme officer in charge of research and development at the Nairobi-based International Institute for Legislative Affairs earlier while justifying the calls for increase.
The tax increase proposal, Mr Kidiya said, is based on a predictive model that takes into account inflation to show the future prices of products.
The current tobacco excise tax regime was instituted in 2015, but in March last year Treasury secretary Henry Rotich gave low-end cigarette smokers a price relief with significant cut in excise tax that saw the price of non-filter sticks fall by 70 cents.
Mr Rotich split the tax structure for cigarettes keeping it at Sh2.5 per stick for cigarettes with filters and introducing a new rate of Sh1.8 for those without.
The two types of cigarettes had been attracting a uniform tax of Sh2.5 per stick.


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QuickBooks 2007 will include several services that provide an easy way for small businesses to use Google to get their businesses and products noticed on the Internet – right from an icon on the QuickBooks Home page.
Currently used by hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide to gain new customers in a cost-effective way, AdWords relies on keywords to precisely target the delivery of an ad to Web users seeking information about a particular product or service. Starting with $50 in Google AdWords credits, QuickBooks users can use AdWords to advertise themselves online.
QuickBooks users can select search terms related to their product or service and create customized ads that show up when shoppers search on Google for those products or services. This feature gives small businesses full control over their budgets, allowing them to stop or pause their campaign, monitor their spending or change their advertising messages at any time.
First Crush Wine Bar and Restaurant (www.firstcrush.com), a San Francisco restaurant, found that using AdWords tripled the number of visitors to its Web site and now provides 25 percent of the restaurant’s leads.
“With more than 4,000 restaurants in San Francisco, you need to stand out above the crowd, which means getting as much visibility as possible,” said Shahram Bijan, owner of First Crush Wine Bar and Restaurant. “Before joining AdWords, our Web site received about 200 unique visitors each day. Today, that number has more than tripled.”
Google Maps – Businesses using QuickBooks can more easily be found online with a free business listing – even if the business does not have a Web site. Google Maps gives QuickBooks users a tool to reach qualified prospective customers by simply creating and managing an online business listing. The mapping capability allows customers to find a business, see a satellite image of it and get driving directions. The feature also lets small businesses provide information such as their hours of operation, payment forms accepted and printable coupons. The listing can be updated at any time by the business owner, which means the business listing is always relevant and topical.
QuickBooks Product Listing Service-
Product-based businesses will now have the ability to turn local shoppers into their customers with the new QuickBooks Product Listing Service, which will be in Beta at time of the QuickBooks 2007 launch. Small businesses can let online shoppers know they carry a specific product by using this service to make their merchandise searchable on Google through Google Base. Powered by technology from StepUp Commerce, Inc., recently acquired by Intuit, this feature enables users to automatically transfer inventory information to Google Base and attract local buyers to their shops.
Research by iProspect, a leading search engine marketing firm, found that 47 percent of consumers who researched a product online drove to a store and bought the product during the 2005 holiday shopping season. Additionally, 63 percent of those who researched online went to a retailers’ Web site for product information – more than to any other type of online site.
“QuickBooks continues to expand the problems we solve. The product listing service helps businesses attract new customers by making their products findable on the Web,” said Brad Smith, senior vice president of Intuit’s Small Business Division. “This is the first step in creating an open and connected community that builds value around small business data.”
Greater Efficiency and Ease-of-Use
Intuit will also incorporate Google’s powerful search engine, Google Desktop™, into QuickBooks 2007 so users will be able to quickly find customer, vendor or financial information anywhere within QuickBooks or on their desktop. For security, the new tool can search QuickBooks data only when it is accessed from within QuickBooks and is tied to QuickBooks user permissions so search results are limited by the searcher’s authorization level.
The Google marketing tools will be available with U.S. versions of QuickBooks 2007 products and services, including Simple Start, Pro, Premier, Enterprise Solutions, QuickBooks Point of Sale, Invoice Manager and Credit Card Processing Kit, which will be available in the fall of 2006. Google Desktop will be available with U.S. versions of QuickBooks 2007 Simple Start, Pro, Premier, Invoice Manager and Credit Card Processing Kit.
Intuit CEO Steve Bennett and Google CEO Eric Schmidt will host a conference call at 1:15 p.m. PDT today to discuss this news. To attend the conference call, dial 866-837-9787 in the U.S. or 001-703-639-1424 from international locations. No reservation or access code is needed. A replay of the conference call will be available from 4:15 p.m. PDT today to 8 p.m. PDT tomorrow, September 14th. To hear the replay, dial 888-266-2081 and enter the access code 962345.
For free video content about the Intuit and Google alliance, please log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/google to preview and request video. Registration and downloading is free to the media. Broadcast-standard video digitally or by tape is available on this site.


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Nestlé and Danimer Scientific, a leading developer and manufacturer of biodegradable plastic products, today announced a global partnership to develop biodegradable bottles. Nestlé and Danimer Scientific will collaborate to design and manufacture bio-based resins for Nestlé’s water business using Danimer Scientific’s PHA polymer Nodax™. In 2018, the University of Georgia (U.S.A.) confirmed in a study that Nodax™ is an effective biodegradable alternative to petrochemical plastics. PepsiCo, an existing partner of Danimer, may also gain access to the resins developed under this collaboration.
Read the full press release


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Warm weather is on the horizon and spring is in full bloom at CityCenterDC. As the Nation’s Capital prepares for the 105th Anniversary of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, CityCenterDC will come alive with enchanting installations and experiences that will transform downtown D.C into a seasonal oasis.
In addition to best-in-class luxury shopping and dining, keep reading for the top events at CityCenterDC to keep on your radar in the upcoming months:
Bloomia’s Field of Tulips
If you missed out on last season’s chic igloo lounge, make sure that you are first in line for CityCenterDC’s Field of Tulips. The first ever festival of tulips will delight the District and allow visitors to get lost in over 80,000 tulips in The Park at CityCenter. Presented in partnership with Bloomia—an innovative, sustainable flower producer with state-of-the-art greenhouses in Northern Virginia, Chile, and South Africa—the Field of Tulips will take place from Friday, March 23 through Saturday, March 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The best part is that entry into the garden is free of charge and the tulips may be taken home for $1 a stem with a portion of all proceeds benefiting DC Central Kitchen.
While the Field of Tulips will be for one weekend only, you can still satisfy your floral fixation by stopping by the pop-up flower shop hosted by Bloomia. From March 15-April 15, visitors can purchase an assortment of flowers for any occasion at Bloomia Market. Open Monday-Sunday in The Park at CityCenter, it’s the perfect way to end a fun-filled day spent shopping and dining at the city’s ultimate luxury destination.
Palmer Alley Overhead Installation
Bringing back a seasonal tradition, the imaginative Palmer Alley overhead installations have become a favorite for locals and tourists alike. This season’s display, which embodies the spirit of the Cherry Blossom festival, is inspired by one of the festival’s largest events, the Blossom Kite Festival! CityCenterDC teamed up with Design Foundry, a local design firm, to design and create this new concept which will cover Palmer Alley with 500 kites. Visit Palmer Alley starting on March 20 to discover the exciting new installation.
Standing Seasonal Events
Don’t worry—the addition of these exciting new activations won’t take away from the warm weather events locals have grown to love at CityCenterDC. Toned Up Tuesdays, the Farmer’s Market and more will be returning this season.
- Toned Up Tuesdays – Tuesdays, 6:00 p.m., April 17 – May 29
- Farmers Market – Tuesdays, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., May 1 – October 30
- Kids’ Corner – Stay tuned for dates/times
- Mini Golf in The Park – Wednesday, July 11 – Wednesday, July 18, 11am-7pm
All events are free and open to the public. Follow @CityCenterDC on social for updates and visit CityCenterDC.com/Events for more information.


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TC: Microsoft hires ex-OpenAI leaders Altman and Brockman to lead new AI team
TechCrunch reports: Microsoft has hired OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to head up ...
Unicorn Flexport is revolutionizing the world of logistics, serving as a freight forwarder with software that enables customers to manage their shipments. But there are still thousands of smaller freight forwarders, many running on outdated ERP software or spreadsheets. A startup called GoFreight wants to help them compete by providing the “Shopify of freight forwarding,” with backend software that makes their operations run more smoothly, and a frontend that lets them set up a storefront and provide quotes in a few minutes.
The Los Angeles and Taipei-based startup has raised $23 million in Series A funding, co-led by Flex Capital and Headline. The round included participation from LFX Venture Partners, Palm Drive Capital and returning investors Mucker Capital, Cornerstone Ventures and Red Building Capital.
GoFreight, which currently has about 1,000 customers, helps manage transportation of goods through ocean, air and land routes. It also lets them set up online storefronts with a few clicks. Potential customers can connect to freight forwarders by sending them an inquiry through storefront and getting a quotation within a few minutes, instead of the 24 to 48 hours usually necessary.
Once a freight forwarding job is underway, shipments can be tracked with an EDI-integrated, real-time tool, so freight forwarders and customers know exactly where their shipment containers are. Tracking software also integrates with accounting tools on GoFreight’s platform, so users know how the performance of shipments is impacting their earnings…
To read the full post, please click here.


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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Google Cloud is teaming up with Comair, operator of the British Airways brand and the Kulula budget carrier in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The collaboration will accelerate the aviation group’s digital transformation plans, in line with its mission to deliver seamless travel experiences for customers and help the travel industry regain momentum, according to Google cloud this month.
Comair completed its infrastructure optimization plans as it migrated six labor-intensive, on-premises data centers to Google Cloud.
The migration of traditional IT infrastructure enables the airline to run key workloads that include important financial data, secure customer records, airplane navigation information, and more.
Google Cloud helped increase the airline’s efficiency during high-traffic seasons and peak travel times, as it needed to scale to meet consumer travel demand.
Comair is also now better positioned to build a data foundation with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) using Google Cloud tools. In particular, Comair will be able to analyze customer data in a deeper manner, creating personalized products and services, opening up more opportunities and improving the customer experience.
Google Cloud is supporting Comair in modernizing its legacy applications, such as its kulula.com booking application, and using prominent tools like Firebase and Flutter to upgrade its functionalities and provide the scalability. Comair customers now turn to the kulula application as the main channel to interact with the airline, following upgrades that have enabled more seamless booking and flight payments.
Comair’s digital transformation journey started before the pandemic and was accelerated by it, but the airline took a head start to digitization before the global lockdown was even in sight by migrating to the cloud, said Niral Patel, director of Google Cloud Africa.
Also, by accelerating cloud adoption, Comair is able to reduce processing power for its systems and become more sustainable.
Avsharn Bachoo, chief information officer of Comair, said, “The sooner you digitally transform, the quicker you’re able to respond to uncertain times. As a result, the digital maturity measures we’ve put in place have helped drive a post-lockdown recovery.”


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When the COVID-19 outbreak emerged, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged all manufacturers to increase the production of PPE significantly.
If your calling is to be a fashion entrepreneur in today’s digital age, you will need specific tools in your
Last month, the online platform for fashion and lifestyle Zalando announced their new collaboration to accelerate a global sustainability standard
The world has had no choice but to adapt to a new normal, but how we adjust to those realities
The apparel market, which is worth $65 billion, has an enormous waste problem. Whether worn by a consumer or not,
As states begin to reopen and move to a new normal, businesses are taking the first steps to return to
COVID-19 has affected various industries in ways that they would never have foreseen. As the economic fallout continues, very few
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15 June 2009 - Suzuki soars on possible VW tie-up
Shares of Suzuki Motor raced to a 10-month high after a source said Volkswagen is exploring a deal to cooperate with the Japanese car maker to boost its presence in ultra-small cars.
Cooperation with Suzuki, which dominates Japan's 660cc minivehicle market along with Toyota unit Daihatsu Motor, could yield a new model for Volkswagen below the upcoming "New Small Family" range of small cars, the source said.
Such a tie-up would mark the second attempt for Europe's top automaker and Japan's No.4 car maker, which in 1992 signed an agreement to jointly develop small cars, although that deal ultimately fell through.
Volkswagen is looking to secure a cooperation deal by taking a 10 per cent stake in Suzuki, reported manager magazin, a German magazine. A spokesman for Suzuki could not comment, saying he had not heard anything about a potential tie-up, while Volkswagen declined to comment.
Investors cheered the prospects of ties between the two automakers, which have weathered the global industry downturn better than many rivals due to their heavy presence in emerging markets. Volkswagen is China's top seller, while Suzuki is No.1 in India through majority-owned unit Maruti Suzuki India.
"I think it's certainly possible," said Mitsuru Kurokawa, an analyst at IHS Global Insight.
"It could help Suzuki pick up its pace in the hybrid and electric vehicle field as those segments look set to grow faster than expected now. Meanwhile, Volkswagen could gain a partner in Asia that it always wanted and develop smaller cars as consumers downshift more and more from bigger cars," he said.
Suzuki is cooperating with former top shareholder General Motors in the field of hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles despite the US automaker's bankruptcy filing this month.
At its annual general meeting on Friday, chief executive Osamu Suzuki told shareholders Suzuki would continue to do the best it can with GM in developing cleaner cars, a spokesman said.
Still, Suzuki has repeatedly said he would welcome any calls for cooperation, acknowledging that his company lagged in hybrid and other fuel-saving technology.
Suzuki already has a broad range of projects with rivals, including an original equipment manufacturing deal with German brand Opel. It also produces diesel engines using licensed technology from Italy's Fiat.
Shares of Suzuki ended up 5.5 per cent at 2195 yen after rising as much as 7.7 per cent to a 10-month high. Tokyo's auto index gained 0.3 per cent.
Some took a more cautious view.
"If they are really going to make cars together, bringing together production facilities and linking their logistics, this could help both," said Kazuyuki Terao, director at investment fund RCM Japan. "But a capital tie-up by itself will not stimulate demand."
Vehicle demand, especially in developed markets such as North America, Japan and Europe, has yet to recover as a recession and job losses have tightened customers' purse strings.
"A deal would not be a negative, as there is a limit to doing things on one's own in an auto market like this," said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. "But I would have to take a look at what they actually do."
Suzuki has fared much better than its domestic rivals thanks to its focus on the relatively steady 660cc microcar segment in Japan, and its dominance in India, its biggest market.
A day earlier, Suzuki said its overseas production grew 1.4 per cent in May from the year before for the first rise in 10 months, as production in India grew for the fourth straight month.
Global output in May fell 14 per cent but that was much better than a 27 per cent to 55 per cent drop at the seven other Japanese car makers.
During the July-September quarter, Suzuki will return to a full schedule at its domestic car plants for the first time since December, a spokesman said. The factories had taken extra days off since January to work down inventory.


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Cheats and Walkthroughs
There will be another Call of Duty game released later this year, the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: Black Ops. As Activision sorts out the future of the Modern Warfare section of the franchise, the Call of Duty franchise moves forward from another developer. But reader Severnik wonders if it's too much, too fast. Is Activision going to burn this out like Guitar Hero?
"Activision seems to lie saturating markets. First Guitar Hero, now COD. I would be happy with one COD game every two years. Would ensure quality from the studio and would open their developers to flex their creative muscle and make new IPs."
Of course, we haven't actually seen Call of Duty: Black Ops yet. Maybe that will change minds.


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Arm TechCon 2018: Arm to reveal details on the 5G, cloud and IoT infrastructures for a trillion connected devices
What: Arm® TechCon 2018 has a new home at the San Jose Convention Center, and as the industry’s leading event for showcasing the latest advancements in computing and IoT, attendees can expect:
- New details on Arm’s visionary plans for securing a world with a trillion connected devices and forward-looking roadmap of future CPU IP uniquely designed for cloud and 5G infrastructures.
- Across the billions, and ultimately trillions of connected devices, Arm will provide updates on its latest IoT offerings that enable enterprises to better connect, manage and monetize their IoT devices and data.
- Lessons learned from “Spectre” and “Meltdown” security vulnerabilities from one of Arm’s lead CPU architects.
- IoT and artificial intelligence (AI) insights from senior leaders at SoftBank and Boston Dynamics.
- More than 100 companies from the Arm ecosystem, which has shipped more than 130 billion chips to-date, will showcase, discuss and debate how the industry can advance a full spectrum of computing use cases, including autonomous vehicles, bringing AI closer to the edge, and ensuring a trusted, secure foundation for the IoT.
Who: Engineers, architects, developers, and product designers, along with Arm’s renowned ecosystem of leading companies across the embedded, mobile and technology industries. Keynotes include:
- COO of Softbank Group and CEO of Softbank International, Marcelo Claure
- CEO of Boston Dynamics, Marc Raibert
- CEO of Snips, Rand Hindi
- Arm CEO Simon Segars
- Arm CTO Mike Muller
- Arm president, IoT Services Group, Dipesh Patel
- Arm president, IP Products Group, Rene Haas
- Arm senior vice president and general manager for Infrastructure, Drew Henry
- Arm vice president of technology and fellow, Peter Greenhalgh
When: Tuesday, Oct. 16 – Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. Register here.
Where: Arm TechCon has a new home: San Jose Convention Center (SJCC), 150 W San Carlos St., San Jose, CA 95113
Program Details: Arm TechCon 2018 provides 70+ hours of learning opportunities led by subject matter experts and educational sessions spanning seven unique conference tracks that reflect the areas where Arm-based solutions have been created and continue to advance:
- Automotive, Industrial & Functional Safety
- Connected Devices & Cloud Services
- Edge Computing & Machine Learning
- Embedded Software Development
- High-Efficiency Systems
- System Design Methodology
- Trust & Security
Press and Analyst Registration: Press and analysts interested in attending, please register for Arm TechCon 2018 here. If you’d like to receive the latest news from Arm, you can opt-in to our e-news alerts here.
Arm technology is at the heart of a computing and data revolution that is transforming the way people live and businesses operate. Our energy-efficient processor designs and software platforms have enabled advanced computing in more than 225 billion chips and our technologies securely power products from the sensor to the smartphone and the supercomputer. Together with 1,000+ technology partners we are at the forefront of designing, securing and managing all areas of AI-enhanced connected compute from the chip to the cloud.
All information is provided "as is" and without warranty or representation. This document may be shared freely, attributed and unmodified. Arm is a registered trademark of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries). All brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. © 1995-2022 Arm Group.


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IBM ramps up sustainability efforts with Envizi acquisition
The company is aiming to help customers better measure their environmental impact
IBM has acquired Envizi, an Australian data and analytics software provider for environmental performance management, as it looks to help customers better measure their environmental impact.
The company said the acquisition adds to its investments in AI-powered software to help organisations create more resilient and sustainable operations and supply chains. It added that companies are under mounting pressure from regulators, investors, and consumers to progress towards more sustainable and socially responsible business operations while demonstrating these measures in a robust and verifiable way.
Financial terms of the deal were not announced. IT Pro contacted IBM for more information, but the company had not responded at the time of publication.
Envizi’s software automates the collection and consolidation of over 500 data types and supports major sustainability reporting frameworks. It helps companies analyse, manage, and report on environmental goals and identify efficiency opportunities while assessing sustainability risk.
IBM said by using Envizi with its broader AI-powered software, companies will be able to automate feedback generated between their corporate environmental initiatives and the operational endpoints being used in daily business operations. Envizi is set to be integrated with IBM Maximo, IBM Sterling, IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite, and IBM Turbonomic and Red Hat OpenShift.
"To drive real progress towards sustainability, companies need the ability to transform data into predictive insights that help them make more intelligent, actionable decisions every day," said Kareem Yusuf, general manager of IBM AI Applications.
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"Envizi's software provides companies with a single source of truth for analyzing and understanding emissions data across the full landscape of their business operations and dramatically accelerates IBM's growing arsenal of AI technologies for helping businesses create more sustainable operations and supply chains."
Envizi is available as a SaaS product and runs in multi-cloud environments, serving companies like Microsoft, Qantas, and Uber.
In February last year, IBM vowed to become carbon-neutral by 2030. It planned to procure 75% of its electricity from renewable sources and cut its greenhouse gas emissions 65% from its 2010 emission levels by 2025. By 2030, it plans to reach its carbon-neutral goal by obtaining 90% of its electricity from renewable sources and implementing tech to neutralise residual emissions.
IBM isn’t the only tech company helping customers to monitor their emissions. In October, Microsoft launched a preview of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability to help organisations more effectively record, report, and reduce their carbon emissions on a path to net-zero. The SaaS product connects to data sources and centralises and organisations data in a common format to provide a more accurate system of record that enables more comprehensive sustainability management.
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What the heck ?! Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs as they are better known, there aren’t many headlines these days, but that doesn’t mean people have stopped giving huge sums of money for them. A collection of 101 NFTs featuring computer-generated cartoon monkeys sold for $ 24.4 million.
Images sold through online sale at Sotheby’s are part of Yacht Club Bored Ape (BAYC), a set of 10,000 semi-randomly generated monkeys created by Delaware-based Yuga Labs. According to the BAYC website, each monkey is unique and programmatically generated from over 170 possible traits, including facial expressions, headwear, clothing, and more.
Monkeys are stored as ERC-721 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and hosted on IPFS. Buying one monkey for 0.08 ETH gives owners access to the club, bringing members-only benefits, which until now have been limited to exclusive merchandise and NFTs, as well as access to The Bath, an online graffiti board. Buyers also receive intellectual property rights to the images; this is not usually the case for NFTs.
#AuctionUpdate NFT 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club just sold for $ 24.4 million and NFT 101 Bored Ape Kennel Club reached $ 1.8 million in our Ape in! auction is the most significant #BAYC sale to date. Congratulations to all monkeys pic.twitter.com/e7UghlgtKy
– Sothebys (@Sothebys) September 9, 2021
A lot containing 101 monkeys, from which six new mutant monkeys can be obtained, was sold for $ 24,393,000. The sale also included a batch of NFT 101 Bored Ape Kennel Club designed as pet dogs for monkeys, which sold $ 1,835,000 for a total of $ 26,228,000.
The sale is one of the most expensive in the NFT space, beating a set of nine CryptoPunks sold earlier this year for $ 16.9 million. Meanwhile, the NFT of the world wide web source code went for $ 5.4 million. All of them are far from a record: Christie’s and artist Mike Winkelmann, known professionally as Beeple, made $ 69 million with EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS (see below).


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Goodyear has released details of the group’s performance in various markets, for the year to date, to end February. Brief details are as follows:North American Tire: February industry shipments of consumer replacement tyres were 8 per cent up on last year. Goodyear shipments to dealers were flat, as some dealers pre-bought at the end of last year. Goodyear shipped 400,000 tyres as part of the Ford replacement programme. Industry shipments of commercial tyres were 14 per cent up on last year’s levels. Goodyear’s shipments were up, but not as high as the industry figure. Industry shipments of OE tyres were up 10 per cent for car tyres and down 17 per cent for commercial tyres. Goodyear’s unit shipments outperformed the industry.European Union: Consumer replacement tyres: industry shipments + 3 p.c. Goodyear shipments lower. Commercial replacement tyres: industry shipments – 6 p.c. Goodyear shipments reflect this figure. Consumer OE tyres: both industry and Goodyear shipments up. Commercial OE tyres: both industry and Goodyear shipments down.Eastern Europe: No segmentation available, but Goodyear replacement tyre sales were up, due mainly to market recoveries in South Africa and Turkey. Goodyear OE tyre sales were down slightly.Latin America: Goodyear replacement tyre sales down, mainly in Brazil and Argentina. OE sales were up. Currencies in Brazil and Mexico were revalued, but this was offset by devaluations in Argentina and Venezuela.Asia: Replacement tyre sales were up from last year, while OE unit sales were slightly down. Improved volumes in China and India helped improve operating margins over last year.
South African company Bridgestone Firestone Maxiprest is expanding and forming a new organisation. The company is to acquire West Cape Bandag and merging four outlets of tyre distributor Prima bande to form Primax Tyres. The outlets will distribute the Maxiprest range of retreads and related tyre services. Maxiprest has 100 retail outlets and 20 retread factories across South Africa.
In South Africa, the tyre industry has established a non-profit-making company, SA Tyre Recycling Process, to collect scrap tyres. This scrap will be made available to organisations for recycling and tyre-derived fuel. Etienne Human, the SA Tyre Manufacturers’ Conference director, said that the project would reduce the country’s growing scrap tyre problem and benefit the environment. The new company will deal only with new scrap arisings and the industry is looking towards international organisations to fund the removal of existing stockpiles of scrap tyres.
The group’s turnover fell from US$ 3.66 bn (1st quarter 2000) to US$ 3.41 bn for Q1 this year. Last year the group achieved earnings before taxes of US$ 80.3 million; this has turned into a loss of US$ 48.2 million. Earnings after tax fell to a loss of US$ 46.7 million. Despite these poor figures, analysts – especially from Deutsche Bank – have confidence in Goodyear, which is based on the hope that the effect of the disastrous Firestone recall will create a big advantage for first brands, and is also based on the assumption that price increases will stick. Last but not least, Goodyear has said that its on-going restructuring programme will lead to further significant cost reductions.
In South Africa, Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone have announced that the split between the two companies in the USA will not affect their 50-year relationship. Ford SA’s director of corporate affairs Craig von Essen said that the recall problem was a matter for the US companies and that, as far as the South African company was concerned, it was “business as usual”. Bridgestone supplies South African companies with ATX and R45 Wilderness tyres, manufactured locally. As well as Ford SA, it supplies tyres to BMW SA, Toyota SA and Nissan SA.
Jim O’Donnell (50) has been appointed Managing Director of BMW (GB), effective June 1. He succeeds Kevin Gaskell, who left the company in February. O’Donnell’s former roles include Sales & Marketing Director for BMW South Africa and, most recently, Sales Director of BMW (GB).
Velocity is the name of a newly created summer tyre. The program includes eleven sizes from 185/60 R14H to 205/45 ZR16. Continental and Dunlop South Africa are producing the tyre for the Tiger Wheels Group.
Czech tyre manufacturer Mitas is to purchase the motorcycle tyre manufacturing business from Trelleborg. The purchase (the price of which was not revealed) includes the license of the trade mark ‘Trelleborg’ and increases the Mitas motorcycle tyre portfolio by 15 designs in 57 sizes.
German company Degussa Hüls is building what it says will be one of the most modern industrial carbon black plants in the world at Paulinia, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. Production will begin in early 2002 and initial annual capacity will be 60,000 tonnes. Degussa Hüls says the new site will strengthen its role as a global partner of the rubber industry.
Karl-Friedrich Schmidt (59), previously Fulda manager with Europe-wide responsibility for Manufacturing Efficiency and Information Systems, took over as Director Global Manufacturing Efficiency of the Goodyear parent company with effect from 1st October. In this new function he reports directly to Goodyear’s world headquarters in Akron/Ohio, where he will also be based. “My principal aim is to raise the efficiency and profitability of all Goodyear production facilities worldwide”, said Schmidt. K.-F. Schmidt began his career with the group in 1983 when he joined Gummiwerke Fulda as Manager Industrial Engineering. In 1986 he moved to the personnel and welfare department with the rank of Deputy Managing Director. Four years later he became Manager Organization Effectiveness Europe for group divisions not directly product-related. He held his most recent position since 1993, during which time he was responsible for the integration of company acquisitions, among others Debica (Poland), Sava (Slovenia) and the repurchase of Goodyear South Africa.


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“This is the Real Meaning of ‘Bipartisanship’”
Yes, so no tax internet shopping harms some local retailers. The solution? Harm the internet retailers too. That’s government in one lesson. Hobble everyone.
After his 20-year old son overdosed on drugs, Mike Stollings decided to post a photo of his body at the funeral home on Facebook out of grief and guilt. The...Read More
Associate Professor of Economics, North Carolina State Univ.
Chicago’s electrical workers union is making ready to cut costs of its services with a unique solution to the high
Obama has a “carbon footprint” estimated, conservatively, to be 41,000 metric tons. That’s the equivalent of the footprint of 2200
Yes, yes, I know, we are supposed to be boycotting The Politico for their idiotic lawsuit threat against The College


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One Horizon Group (NASDAQ:OHGI) announced on Thursday that it has entered into an Exchange Agreement with the members of MAHAM LLC for a 51 percent stake in MAHAM. As quoted in the press release: MAHAM yoga offers 60-minute, high-intensity yoga ‘flow’ classes set to upbeat hip-hop and pop music ranging from Biggie Smalls to Justin … Continued
One Horizon Group (NASDAQ:OHGI) announced on Thursday that it has entered into an Exchange Agreement with the members of MAHAM LLC for a 51 percent stake in MAHAM.
As quoted in the press release:
MAHAM yoga offers 60-minute, high-intensity yoga ‘flow’ classes set to upbeat hip-hop and pop music ranging from Biggie Smalls to Justin Bieber. Classes take place in a world-class, infrared and heated facility in the heart of Miami Beach. Featuring a one-of-a-kind video wall, MAHAM implements 3D mapping and visual effects transporting its members from Bali to the Swiss Alps. Attracting top celebrities who make MAHAM a must-stop when passing through Miami, not to mention the many celebrities who live in Miami and frequent the studio along with a trend-setting, wellness-minded crowd, MAHAM is transforming the yoga industry. MAHAM is run by Skylar Hauswirth, the concierge to high-profile celebrities and ultra-high net-worth individuals, who is one of the founders of the highly successful Model Volleyball tournament that has taken over Miami Beach for the past ten years.
“With the hottest studio on Miami Beach, our exclusive Yacht Yoga and the upcoming launch of our subscription-based streaming service featuring live and on-demand classes with some of the sexiest people in the world, we could not be more excited about our future as a One Horizon company,” commented Skylar Hauswirth, Founder and President of MAHAM. “From inception, our concept has been to bring yoga to the next level and create an experience that is as addictive as it is fun – this is high-intensity yoga that will get you sweaty, sexy and in the best shape of your life. With our video wall and cutting-edge, multi-angle camera system and pulsing music, MAHAM members love our vibe and our streaming service will be like none other. Together with One Horizon, we welcome all to try our inviting form of yoga that is disrupting the industry.”
“MAHAM yoga innovation in combination with our 123Wish Platform technology and streaming media capabilities led by our Chief Technology Officer, Spencer Christopher, who joined us from Apple several months ago and who has been leading the MAHAM technology integration and expansion efforts, places us poised to bring MAHAM yoga from Miami Beach to the world,” said Mark White, Founder and CEO of One Horizon. “We fully expect that the digital engagement from the launch of the streaming platform will be a significant growth driver for the MAHAM business.”


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Market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) has projected that global e-commerce sales for physical goods, like clothes and consumer electronics, will grow 18 percent annually on average from 2012 to 2017, outpacing U.S. growth of 7 percent in the retail industry.
According to Michael DeSimone, CEO of international e-commerce strategy firm Borderfree, U.S. retailers have been slow to capitalize on the overseas e-commerce market and he estimates that over a third of U.S. retailers are failing to tap that market. Russia and Australia are two attractive markets, alongside the Middle East, according to Borderfree.
Mobile technology will also puch e-commerce sales according to DeSimone. “Mobile commerce might be one of the largest factors for e-commerce growth,” said DeSimone, highlighting Indian, Chinese and Brazilian consumers who may lack traditional terminals. “They have a relationship with a mobile carrier who has to get paid, and that increasingly gives them the power to buy online,” even if they lack credit cards, he said. To read more, click HERE.


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Jason Ofield—one of Canada’s next-gen retail leaders—is quick to tell you that studying Business at Niagara College was a big factor in fueling his future career success.
But before he set foot on any campus, Ofield had other aspirations: The talented junior hockey player dreamed of becoming a pro—until the time, at a hockey camp for young prospects, NHL superstar Erik Lindros walked into the room. He remembers the moment well.
“When he sat down, the whole bench moved,” Ofield says. “These guys were so big, so incredibly good. I weighed 150 pounds soaking wet. By the end of the week, I knew the dream was over.”
Ofield set his sights on a career with Bulk Barn Foods Ltd, the grocery chain his grandfather started from a single store more than 40 years ago.
To develop his business skills, Ofield enrolled in Niagara College’s Business, Sales & Marketing program. Nights and weekends he worked at a local Bulk Barn store, learning front-line operations in real time. But in class he soaked up everything from strategic planning to consumer behaviour and new venture development.
“Niagara fosters a very specific culture with students, a culture in which you feel comfortable, that allows you to thrive, feel you’re part of something,” says Ofield, whose diploma now hangs proudly in his office. “I knew instantly this was going to be the start of something big for me.”
After graduating in 2006, Ofield spent the next decade working in every department of the company, analyzing processes, meeting employees, absorbing the business plan, and scrutinizing the logistics in stores where customers scoop their own bulk foods from aisles lined with bins and containers.
By 2015 he led a rebranding project to raise Bulk Barn’s appeal and relevance for a broader scope of demographics in a fast-changing, competitive market.
Whatever file he was working on at any time, Ofield knew he had to go the extra mile.
“I needed to show that I deserved to have my job,” he says. “As someone who was third-generation in the family business, I didn’t want people thinking I was there just because I had the name.”
Ofield’s business and leadership skills grew. In 2018, he was appointed President and CEO. Then within 18 months, the entire retail sector got hammered by a stunning crisis that nobody saw coming.
When COVID-19 swept the world in 2020, lockdowns meant that streets were abruptly empty, stores went dark, and commerce was devastated. Canadian retail sales suffered their biggest collapse ever.
Bulk Barns are self-serve operations where shoppers touch the same scoops to serve themselves. With people terrified about contracting the new virus, that business model couldn’t continue. Suddenly the livelihoods of thousands of employees and 275 stores were in jeopardy.
“That was the toughest part, for myself as a leader and for the Bulk Barn brand,” Ofield says. “We didn’t have a pandemic guidebook to turn to, but closing our doors was not an option. Our stores always operated on the self-serve model. Within two weeks of COVID-19 arriving, we realized that we needed to quickly pivot away from that model and figure out another solution.”
Ofield and his team worked 24/7. Within a week, Bulk Barn had online ordering and curbside service up and running, as well as safe in-store shopping. Staff members would be assigned to accompany shoppers and scoop product into their bags. Everyone stayed masked and distanced to protect customers and staff alike.
There were hiccups: It was costly to operate and employees had to learn on the run. But it worked. It saved Bulk Barn and the jobs that supported thousands of Canadian households.
Ofield also credits Niagara College for inspiring the idea behind what he calls “his proudest moment”: launching a reusable container program that empowers shoppers to help protect the environment just by getting their groceries.
As a millennial concerned about the environment, Ofield established “Bring your own container @Bulkbarn”—an initiative where customers can use their own clean reusable containers.
Initially the concept encountered pushback from store managers and others within the company, who worried about hygiene and logistical challenges. But there was also support for the nature of the effort, and Ofield got to work finding solutions for every potential obstacle that was raised.
In 2017, Bulk Barn rolled out the Canadian grocery industry’s first reusable container program. It slowly gained momentum, especially resonating with younger customers who are more passionate about sustainability.
Today more than a million waste-free transactions take place in Bulk Barn stores across Canada every year.
“We empowered consumers to make a difference,” Ofield says with pride, “and they got onside.
“It takes many people to make it work, but its impact continues to grow, and it’s an important impact.”
This story is part of a series featuring seven distinguished members of Niagara College’s alumni community, who have been nominated for Colleges Ontario’s prestigious 2023 Premier’s Awards.


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Article originally posted by Racked on March 13th, 2013
Leah Chavie, the woman who brought DNA CryoStem Cell Therapy (Vampire Facials) to Lincoln Park has achieved success with her skincare boutique and just opened a second location directly across the street from the first. Leah says the new boutique was designed to be an ultra private oasis to cater to celebrity and VIP clients. In fact, the facility is so private that it remains unmarked by signage and the blinds remain closed. Leah is the only certified medical esthetician and laser technician to service clients out of the VIP boutique, giving 8 on-staff estheticians space to take on more clients at the original boutique.


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The Subaru WRX Keeps Its Long-Term Value Best Of All Small Sports Cars
Is the 2022 Subaru WRX a good value for performance car buyers? As soon as you drive them off the dealers’ lot, all cars depreciate, but some models drop in value much less than others. The Subaru WRX and STI drop in value the least of all small cars, according to a new iSeeCars study.
iSeeCars ranked all small cars on how much they depreciate on average over five years and found the Subaru WRX drops in value less than all small cars in its segment. The average new vehicle depreciates 40.1 percent, while the Subaru WRX has an average 5-year depreciation of 29.4 percent.
How does the Subaru WRX compare with other compact sports cars?
In contrast, the Honda Civic (including Civic Si and Type R) depreciates 30.4%, Hyundai Veloster (38.3%), and Volkswagen GTI (39.8%).
How do the Subaru WRX and BRZ compare with all sports cars?
The Ford Mustang depreciates the least of all sports cars at 21.0%, followed by the Chevrolet Corvette (22.7%), Chevrolet Camaro (26.6%), Dodge Challenger (24.4%), Corvette Convertible (27.7%), Subaru BRZ (28.0%), Subaru WRX (29.4%), Mazda MX-5 Miata (31.2%), Camaro Convertible (31.4%), and Mustang Convertible (39.3%).
Why are the Subaru WRX and BRZ a good value? “If you plan on trading in or selling your vehicle after a few years, a car that retains most of its value can put more money in your pocket for your next car purchase,” iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said.
The next-generation 2022 Subaru WRX and STI should be an even better value for sports car shoppers. Last year the study found the previous generation WRX and STI depreciated 39.8 percent, while in 2021, the sports cars retain their value even better, declining 29.4 percent, over 10 percent less.
More best resale value awards
According to Kelly Blue Book’s (KBB) 2020 Best Resale Value Awards, Subaru has the least depreciation of any automaker. Subaru also earned five individual awards in the 2020 KBB awards. Subaru won the KBB Best Brand award five times in 2011, 2015, 2016, and 2020.
What is the price of the 2022 Subaru WRX?
The current price of the 2021 WRX is $28,420, including the destination fee. Subaru has not announced 2022 model year pricing, but the next-generation WRX will likely get a significant bump in price. The base model will still be less than $30,000, making it a good performance value.
When will the 2022 WRX be available in the U.S.?
Look for the all-new 2022 Subaru WRX to be in Subaru showrooms in early 2022. With the recent production shutdowns and microchip shortages, there are more delays.
All Subaru models hold their value well over the first five years, and the latest iSeeCars study says the Subaru WRX and WRX STI depreciate the least of all other small sports cars in their category. The 2022 Subaru WRX is still one of the best sports car values.
You Might Also Like: Expect Delays On New Subaru WRX And STI - Huge Markups On Used Models
Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Subaru Report - We’ve got you covered! Check back tomorrow for more unique, informative SUBARU news, reviews, and previews you can trust.
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Photo credit: Subaru USA


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Canon Japan has just issued a press release about the short supply of Canon cameras and lenses. According to Canon Japan, new EOS R3 ( B&H/Adorama/Amazon/Focus Camera/Canon Store) and RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM lens (B&H/Adorama/Amazon) orders may be delayed for more than 6 months. And new EOS R5 C (B&H/Adorama/Canon Store), RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, RF 400mm f/2.8L, RF 800mm f/5.6L (B&H/Adorama/Canon Store), RF 1200mm f/8L (B&H/Adorama/Canon Store) lenses orders also may take longer than usual to deliver.
Today, Canon Japan issued a press release “Apology and guidance regarding the supply status of products”, says due to the impact of global parts supply, it could take more than six months before it is able to deliver on new EOS R3 (B&H/Adorama/Amazon/Focus Camera/Canon Direct Store) and RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM lens (B&H/Adorama/Amazon) orders.
According to Amazon US, they currently have some “out of stock” RF lenses in stock soon:
- RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens – $1,699 – In Stock Soon at Amazon
- RF 28-70mm f/2L USM Lens – $3,099 – In Stock Soon at Amazon
- RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens – $1,399 – In Stock Soon at Amazon
Al these lenses are expected to be shipped in next few days.
Canon Japan has just announced that the following Canon RF lenses are in high demand, you may not get your lens on time if you pre-order now.
Read More »
Here are first leaked specs of Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM lens. See below:
- 16 elements in 12 groups
- Minimum shooting distance 0.2m (zoom range), maximum shooting magnification 0.15x (14mm) /0.38x (35mm)
- Number of aperture blades. 9 lenses (circular aperture)
- Filter diameter 77mm
- Size φ84.1 x 99.8mm
- Weight 540g


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T-Mobile US added 1.5 million new customers in its Q2; the fifth consecutive quarter when T-Mobile US added more than one million net customers said John Legere, T-Mobile US CEO.
Overall, T-Mobile US has added 7.6 million net new customers over the past 15 months. During the second quarter, T-Mobile US added more postpaid accounts than the other three national mobile service providers combined.
As a result, T-Mobile US grew its quarterly revenue eight percent, year over year. T-Mobile US also captured virtually all growth in the prepaid customer segment during the quarter.
T-Mobile US service revenue was up seven percent, year-over-year as well. And T-Mobile US booked adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $1.45 billion, growing 33.4 percent quarter-over-quarter.
T-Mobile US had branded postpaid phone net adds of 579,000 and branded prepaid net adds of 102,000, with tablets responsible for mobile broadband net additions of 329,000, up by a factor of five compared to the prior quarter.
At the same time, T-Mobile US saw record low branded postpaid phone churn of 1.5 percent, flat year-over-year and sequentially.
“This company has completely transformed and changed trajectory in an insanely short time,” said Legere.
The T-Mobile US challenge is to sustain high rates of subscriber growth, as its aggressive marketing efforts will lead to lower average revenue per account.
In fact, in the second quarter, branded postpaid phone average revenue per user (ARPU) decreased sequentially by 2.3 percent to $49.32, due to customer adoption of lower-cost plans.
But a couple of non-recurring items, including regulatory surcharges and a revenue adjustment for expected customer refunds on premium SMS charges, also affected service ARPU.
Adjusting for these non-recurring items, branded postpaid phone ARPU would have declined by $0.55 or 1.1 percent sequentially to $49.93, T-Mobile US says.
Branded postpaid “average billings per user (ABPU),” which consists of branded postpaid service revenues plus equipment installment plan billings divided by the average branded postpaid customers in the period, was $59.79 in the second quarter of 2014, up 1.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2013 and up 0.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014.
Branded prepaid ARPU increased by 3.0 percent in Q2 of 2014 to $37.16 compared to the first quarter of 2014.
One way or the other, Legere has said, T-Mobile US needs more scale. Organic growth helps. But a combination with Sprint would help T-Mobile US get the scale it requires, much faster.
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Artificial intelligence is changing the way businesses interact with customers. Facebook's announcement this week is just another example of how this …
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Monday, September 17th, 2007
Donruss has confirmed the existence of an unlisted autograph in 2007 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia football.
The cards feature autographed embossed logos of rookies from this year’s draft. The rookies signed the logos during the NFL Rookie Premier. There are two versions, a base foil card with a signature, standard swatch and serial-numbered out of 25 and a holographic version featuring a signature, prime swatch and serial-numbered out of 10.
Tags:Donruss, Football, Playoff-Absolute-Memorabilia
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
Topps has launched the 2007 eTopps Football product line. On Monday, they made available 5 cards for this year’s set. The highlight from these first five is rookie Adrian Peterson who had over 100 yards rushing in his debut and a 60 yard receiving touchdown.
The cards released on Monday are as follows:
|Adrian Peterson (R)
|Brandon Jackson (RRO)
These cards will be on sale from Monday 9/10/07 until Thursday 9/13/07 1:00 PM ET
Tags:Adrian-Peterson, eTopps, Football
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007
Donruss is offering one lucky collector the chance to attend the first NFL regular season game in London on October 28. The game will be played between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants.
The grand prize includes two game tickets, hotel and airfare. Ten runner-ups will receive an autographed mini-helmet from NFL rookies. 20 second place winners will receive a 2007 Score football factory set.
Collectors can enter by sending in an entry card found exclusively in 2007 Score Football at Walmart or a 3 1/2″ x 5″ piece of paper mailed to NFL “Game In London, England” Sweepstake, 2300 E. Randol Mill Rd., Arlington, TX 76011-6333.
Donruss will be distributing a special six card set during the game. The set will include Eli Manning, Steve Smith, Jeremy Shockey, Jason Taylor, Ted Ginn Jr. and Ronnie Brown.
Tags:Company News, Donruss, Football, Promotion
Monday, August 13th, 2007
Donruss has announced that they are producing a special 6-card set for members of the Dallas Cowboys Kids Fan Club. The players featured in the set will be Tony Romo, Terry Glenn, Jason Witten, DeMarcus Ware, Roy Williams and Terence Newman.
Every child that registers will receive the following Cowboys collector items:
- Personalized welcome letter from Jerry Jones
- Rowdy Rookies exclusive Donruss football cards
- Autographed 8 x 10 by Rowdy (The Official Mascot of the Dallas Cowboys)
- 8 x 10 Official membership certificate
- Drawstring bag with the Rowdy Rookies logo
- Rowdy Rookies coloring book
- Rowdy Rookies sticker set
- Die-cut Rowdy Rookies logo sticker
- Logo button with Rowdy Rookies logo
- Rowdy logo fridge magnet
- Personalized wallet-size membership card
- Access to the Kids Club website featuring games, downloads and Football 101 for kids
- Two free tickets to a Dallas Desperados home game
For more information, visit www.DallasCowboys.com
Tags:Dallas-Cowboys, Donruss, Football, Promotion
Sunday, July 29th, 2007
Upper Deck and Donruss have decided to pull Michael Vick cards from all future releases that have not been printed yet. Upper Deck also pulled all UD Authenticated memorabilia items from its website.
[tags]Michael Vick, Donruss, Upper Deck[/tags]
Tags:Donruss, Football, Michael-Vick, Upper-Deck
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
Upper Deck has announced that the upcoming Ultimate Collection Baseball and Football brands will have three times more game used and autograph cards than in prior years.
Each pack will now contain one autograph and two game used cards per pack. Each pack has a suggested retail price of $100. Every box will have at least one patch card numbered to 50 or less.
Ultimate Collection Baseball is set to arrive in October and will include signed rookie cards of such hot rookies as Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, Kei Igawa and Akinori Iwamura.
2007 Ultimate Collection Football will be available in November.
[tags]Upper Deck, Ultimate Collection[/tags]
Tags:Baseball, Football, Ultimate-Collection, Upper-Deck
Tuesday, July 10th, 2007
Donruss Playoff has teamed up with Pepsi to release a limited edition trading card set at the annual National Sports Collectors Convention. The National will be held in Cleveland, Ohio from August 1st through the 5th.
Attendees will have to bring a special Pepsi coupon to exchange the the set. The coupons are available at participating grocers through July 31st. No purchase is necessary.
The six-card set includes Brady Quinn, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, Dwayne Jarrett, Tony Romo and Torry Holt.
Tags:Donruss/Playoff, Football, Promotion
Friday, July 6th, 2007
||122 – George Blanda
||171 – DeShawn Wynn
||178 – Sidney Rice
||251 – H.B. Blades (Autograph)
||242 – Danny Ware Timeless Tributes (#’d 100)
|Jersey / Memorabilia Cards:
||SS-1 – A.J. Hawk Saturday Stars (#’d 250)
||M-9 – Laurence Maroney VIP Membership (#’d 250)
||CS-13 – Thurman Thomas Classic Singles (#’d 1000)
||CS-17 – Deacon Jones Classic Singles (#’d 1000)
||M-2 – Leon Washington Membership (#’d 1000)
||MNH-25 Marc Bulger Monday Night Heroes (#’d 250)
||SB-7 – T.J. Houshmandzadeh Sunday’s Best (#’d 1000)
||SS-19 – Roger Staubach Saturday Stars (#’d 1000)
One autograph of a minor rookie, and two jersey cards of 2nd year players make this break pretty mediocre.
No rookie stars.
Tags:Box Breaks, Donruss-Classics, Football
Monday, July 2nd, 2007
Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson, who was the 7th selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, has signed an endorsement deal with Donruss/Playoff.
Donruss/Playoff will use Adrian Peterson’s images on packaging throughout the year and will include his autograph in all their football products.
“Adrian Peterson had an outstanding career at Oklahoma and should be one of the most exciting rookies this season,” said Donruss Playoff Marketing Director Scott Prusha. “He is an electrifying performer that will shine on the NFL stage. We are excited to have him aboard and look forward to working with him throughout the year.”
It is not clear if this will prevent Topps and Upper Deck from including autograph and memorabilia cards of Adrian Peterson in their 2007 NFL card products, but there is no mention of it being an exclusive deal.
[tags]Adrian Peterson, Donruss/Playoff[/tags]
Tags:Adrian-Peterson, Company News, Donruss/Playoff, Football
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
Donruss Playoff recently announced the two grand prize winners of the the 2006 Leaf Rookies and Stars “Kickoff Classic” Promotion. The Target exclusive promotion sends the two winners to the opening day game of their choice.
The promotion featured a 10-card set that was inserted in Target blaster boxes with the “Kickoff Classic” logo. The players in the set included Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Shaun Alexander, LaDainian Tomlinson, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown.
The two winners were Richard Wood of Conroe, Texas and Wanda June of Springfield Missouri.
[tags]Donruss Playoff, Rookie and Stars, Promotion[/tags]
Tags:Donruss-Playoff, Football, Promotion, Rookie-and-Stars
Friday, June 8th, 2007
The NFL Rookie Premiere event was recently held in Los Angeles. Thirty-four of the top rookies from this years NFL Draft gathered for photoshoots, autograph sessions and more.
NFL Rookie Premiere autographs will be included in the upcoming Topps Football which is scheduled for release in July.
Each card will feature a Hologram Authentication sticker. There will be a red ink version which is limited to 10 copies. Dual and Quad autograph cards are also available and will be limited to five copies.
TOPPS NFL ROOKIE PREMIERE AUTOGRAPHS CHECKLIST
[tags]Topps, NFL Rookie Premiere, Autographs[/tags]
Tags:Autographs, Football, NFL-Rookie-Premiere, Topps
Monday, May 21st, 2007
The annual event where the top rookies from the NFL draft participate in photo shoots and sign autographs for trading card companies Donruss Playoff, Topps and Upper Deck took place over the weekend in Los Angeles.
This is the 12th year that the top rookies are brought together for autographs, photos, a Madden Tournament, hobby shop appearance and more.
The 35 rookies and alternates that where scheduled to attend were:
- Gaines Adams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- John Beck, Miami Dolphins
- Lorenzo Booker, Miami Dolphins
- Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs
- Michael Bush, Oakland Raiders
- Craig Davis, SanDiego Chargers
- Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills
- Yamon Figurs, Baltimore Ravens
- Ted Ginn Jr., Miami Dolphins
- Anthony Gonzalez, Indianapolis Colts
- Chris Henry, Tennessee Titans
- Johnnie Lee Higgins, Oakland Raiders
- Jason Hill, San Francisco 49ers
- Tony Hunt, Philadephia Eagles
- Kenny Irons, Cinncinnati Bengals
- Brandon Jackson, Green Bay Packers
- Dwayne Jarrett, Carolina Panthers
- Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
- Kevin Kolb, Philadelphia Eagles
- LaRon Landry, Washington Redskins
- Brian Leonard, St. Louis Rams
- Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo Bills
- Robert Meachem, New Orleans Saints
- Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
- Antonio Pittman, New Orleans Saints
- Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns
- Sidney Rice, Minnesota Vikings
- JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders
- Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns
- Steve Smith, New York Giants
- Troy Smith, Baltimore Ravens
- Drew Stanton, Detroit Lions
- Paul Williams, Tennessee Titans
- Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
- Garrett Wolfe, Chicago Bears
According to Beckett, Craig Davis and LaRon Landry were no-shows at the event.
Upper Deck will be releasing a 30 card set later in the year that will feature the players from this event.
[tags]Upper Deck, Topps, Donruss Playoff, Rookie Premiere[/tags]
Tags:Donruss-Playoff, Football, Rookie-Premiere, Topps, Upper-Deck


text:
Sage announced the company’s 2015 fiscal year results, reporting organic revenue growth of 6 percent globally and nearly 4 percent in North America, increasing organic recurring revenue by 9 percent over last year.
Recurring revenue for the fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, 2015, was driven by 29 percent revenue growth for software subscriptions.
Sage’s 6 percent organic growth was up from 5 percent last year. In North America, Sage also reported growth for Sage 50 and X3, with the latter achieving 19 percent revenue growth in the region.
After beginning his tenure last November, Sage CEO Stephen Kelly conducted a business review of the company’s products, organizational structure, and operating model and policies. Sage released several new products this year, including a host of offerings at Sage Summit. The company also experienced a number of executive changes, including the recent departures of chief technology officer Himanshu Palsule and Gabrielle Boko, EVP of marketing.
“For the next two to five years, we will continue to innovate at a rapid pace,” said Jennifer Warawa, Sage’s global vice president of product marketing for accountants, during accounting solutions conference Sleetercon in November, where the company showcased only cloud solutions, including the newly launched Sage Value and Sage Match. “Our foot is duct-taped to the gas pedal, and the gas pedal is taped to the floor.”
Sage is also close to launching a reimagined partner program with accountants, Warawa and Kelly said. The company has widened its ecosystem, introducing partnerships with companies like Salesforce in the past year.
“In the areas we play—accounting, payroll, accounting solutions—it’s an exciting evolution with disruptive solutions and we’ve got to be the best, to stand tall,” Kelly told me at Sleetercon. “To be in the Sage ecosystem, [the solutions] will be the best-in class. And right across our business, we reach out for open APIs.”
Sage Group reported FY15 organic revenue of $2.11 billion, with an organic operating profit of $573.93 million and profit margin of 27 percent.
“Technology disruption has accelerated,” Kelly stated in his CEO review. “The market opportunity is growing through cloud-platform, mobile-first applications, browser access to information and big data analytics. Within this context, we are prioritizing new customer acquisition to capture increased market share. Sage is seeking to ‘leap-frog’ first generation cloud competitors through integrated latest generation cloud-platform products and through scalable digital distribution channels. Digital presence is a vital enabler so we are also improving our digital marketing, including by reducing the number of website domains we operate from over 50 in support of a compelling and consistent experience.”
Sage's full fiscal year 2015 earnings report is available here.
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text:
Notebook vendors considering battery cells from China, says paper
Commercial Times, March 31; Joseph Tsai, DIGITIMES
Due to the current battery cell shortage, worldwide first-tier notebook vendors are thinking about adopting battery cells from China, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
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text:
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - UPS will have some explaining to do when it releases its fourth-quarter earnings Thursday.
The Atlanta-based package delivery giant cut its forecast two weeks ago, citing weather issues and sluggish demand in the last week of the year. The explanation left analysts unconvinced.
"We expect UPS management to admit several planning and execution shortfalls," Bear Stearns analyst Edward Wolfe said in a research note.
UPS is projected to earn 76 cents a share, up 8 percent from the year-earlier period. Sales are pegged at $9.76 billion, up 9 percent from the same time last year, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Before it lowered its forecast, the company had targeted a profit in the range of 83 cents to 87 cents a share.
Shares of UPS
So what's gone wrong?
Analysts sense rival FedEx is nipping at the heels of UPS in the ground delivery business. And DHL is looking to take market share as well, undercutting UPS on price.
In addition, UPS might be running into problems rolling out new technology to deliver packages. When completed, the overall is expected to save the company $600 million a year.
Despite the expected profit shortfall for the fourth-quarter, UPS did reaffirm its financial guidance for 2005, a signal that the company plans to recover from its recent hiccup. Its international business remains robust, with projected double-digit volume growth for the quarter ended Dec. 31.


text:
By Megan Rule | Staff Writer
Waco kicks off the holiday season this weekend with the fourth annual Waco Wonderland event downtown at Heritage Square Park.
“Basically, we’re just kicking off the holiday season,” said Jonathan Cook, who oversees the event management and production for the city of Waco. “The event is built around the large, 32-foot tree downtown. It’s a family friendly event for all ages and a good way for people to come and hang out downtown.”
Waco Wonderland is an event put on by the City of Waco Department of Parks and Recreation for people of all ages to get in the spirit of the holiday season. There will be food from 12 food trucks and the Mistletoe Market with 20 distinct vendors. There will also be a Ferris Wheel and a snow hill that attendees can ride down in a tube. Holiday-themed entertainment and music will be provided on a stage.
“I’m really excited to give our customers a chance to put a face to the name,” said Hunter Gorman, founder and owner of E2 Creative, one of the vendors at the Mistletoe Market. “We don’t have a retail store or a physical location for people to come and meet us, so I’m really excited to get out there and see the community and the people that order stuff from us all the time.”
Gorman graduated from Baylor in May. E2 Creative is a custom wood and metal work shop in Waco. E2 Creative will be selling some of its products and showcasing custom work. Gorman said the Mistletoe Market will be a cool, fun way to engage the community with the things E2 Creative is doing.
Cook said this event is a collaboration with the city of Waco, the downtown public improvement and the City Center of Waco. Cook’s department is in charge of management production, but it is a true community event where everyone works together, Cook said. A similar event took place in the past then fizzled out, but about five years ago the city realized that it needed a downtown event centered around the holidays, and then came the idea to create a weekend centered around the lighting of the Christmas tree. Now it is one of the largest events hosted in downtown Waco, Cook said.
“I’m personally most excited for the snow tube, because in the past years we have had an ice rink,” Cook said. “I’m a kid at heart, though, and I’m looking forward to going down the hill.”
A $5 wristband will allow unlimited rides on the Ferris Wheel, access to the snow tube hill, train rides and visits to the petting zoo. Downtown carriage rides are $5 per ride and not included in the wristband price. A full schedule for these events can be found on the Waco Wonderland website, as well as a schedule of the holiday entertainment stage.
“We call it food, fun and cheer because it’s a good way to showcase downtown Waco,” Cook said.
At 6:45 p.m. Friday, the tree will be lit. The tree lighting ceremony will be followed by a fireworks show over downtown Waco. The holiday parade will kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday along Austin Avenue, beginning at 14th Street and ending at Heritage Square. Santa will also be available for photos in a wooden Santa house from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and then from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday Dec. 10 and Dec. 17.
“We would love to see a ton of Baylor kids out there,” Gorman said. “It’s an awesome event and a great time for everyone in between kid and adult. We would love the support.”