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Brexit bites back
Mark Lynch, partner at corporate finance advisory firm Oghma Partners, says Brexit’s systemic rather than teething problems are damaging UK food exports
Problems in exporting to EU markets for the food industry have been witnessed early this year by empty shelves in Northern Ireland, the complaints of Scottish fishermen and shellfish exporters, and a 63.6% decline in UK food exports to the EU in January.
A detailed report, published yesterday, from the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) reviews the impact of the first three months of trading under the new Brexit regime. Its conclusions make uncomfortable reading for those arguing that the current issues are ‘teething problems’ and they once again highlight the cash cost of leaving the EU single market and customs union. Oghma Partners estimate that full-year food and drink exports to the EU will fall by between £2-4 billion.
In essence, the problems boil down to the need to provide additional documentation, which was not needed prior to Brexit. Certification is costly and, as importantly, time-consuming.
Due to the short shelf life of some of the exported meat products, the report suggests that: “Nor will it be possible to replace that lost trade by sending product to markets further afield. The nature of the fast-moving, high-value chilled fresh food trade we have with Europe cannot be replicated with countries that are not on our doorstep.”
Oghma Partners has seen first-hand that businesses are voting with their feet and moving operation from the UK to the EU single market, which is a loss of jobs and tax revenue for the UK.
The BMPA recommends three key action points that need to be taken to help repair the damage of Brexit to the UK food industry:
- A Switzerland-like deal with the EU on a common veterinary area
- An integrated, end-to-end electronic tracing and certification system
- Establishing a government-led veterinarian and auxiliary inspection and certification system.
The government has had four years to prepare for leaving the EU and has failed, despite industry warnings, to do so adequately.
It seems it would be better to accept that these problems exist and to seek to rectify them through investing some of the suggested £350 million saved each week from leaving the EU in the UK food industry than accept a de facto permanent loss in business.


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The full statement reads as follows.
The pizza battle continues...
An appeal lodged in the Federal Court of Australia by Liquidator Bob Jacobs at Auxilium Partners on behalf of the franchisees, will be heard on May 15 in the Federal Court of Appeal NSW Branch.
The legal action was taken after a class action on behalf of a number of Pizza Hut franchisees against former parent company Yum! Restaurants Australia Pty Ltd failed in March 2016.
Jacobs, who is the Liquidator for three companies representing eight pizza hut stores, put up $50,000 of his own money to file the appeal when he failed to get support from any other litigation funder and before he approached the Australian Taxation Office.
The ATO is providing an indemnity available to Trustees and Liquidators (insolvency practitioners) under The Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997.
(The case will be heard on May 15 with a legal team including Mr. Allan Myers QC representing the franchisees.)
Yum! sold the business to Sydney private equity operator Allegro in September 2016.
Photo credit: Pizza Hut Facebook page
Do you know more about this story? Contact us anonymously through this link.

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Zinpro Corporation, the world’s leading innovator and manufacturer of high-performance trace minerals and animal nutrition solutions, has announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art blending facility in Marialva, in the state of Paraná, Brazil.
"This new facility marks an exciting growth milestone for Zinpro,” said President and CEO Rob Sheffer. “But even more important is our ongoing commitment to serving customers in Brazil. We look forward to delivering greater efficiency and flexibility for producers and agribusinesses in this critically important region of the world – especially as the demand for animal proteins continues to increase with the growing global population.”
According to Sheffer, the new plant will give Zinpro increased flexibility to innovate and develop breakthrough solutions for animals and producers. “By delivering products locally, we can increase speed and efficiency while enhancing sustainability.”
“Through our close partnerships with customers across Brazil, we have discovered a need for innovative nutrition solutions in this market,” said José Francisco Mendes, Zinpro vice president of sales – Latin America. “This new, modern blending facility allows us to offer our proven Zinpro products, solutions and tools more efficiently than ever before. We look forward to working with our customers to enhance animal health and wellbeing and drive better animal performance.”
For more than 52 years, Zinpro has improved the health and wellbeing of both animals and people as a pioneer in the research and development of performance trace minerals and innovative nutritional solutions. As a family-owned, privately held company, our steady growth can be attributed to employing a world-class team of experts, manufacturing quality products and our steadfast commitment to helping our customers advance the health and performance of their animals. With products marketed in more than 70 countries worldwide, Zinpro is the global leader in advancing animal performance through greater nutrition and is dedicated to creating smarter practices for a better, more sustainable world.


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Response to UK announcement on use of microbeads in cosmetics.
The Scottish Government has confirmed it will legislate to regulate the use of plastic microbeads in cosmetics.
It follows an announcement from DEFRA which sets out the UK Government’s plans to work with the devolved administrations to ban microbeads in personal care products.
Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham, said:
“Plastic microbeads contained in cosmetics damage our marine environment after literally being washed down the drain.
“Here in Scotland we have already been undertaking research on this issue, raising awareness amongst consumers, and encouraging the use of alternatives.
“That’s why I am pleased to confirm Scotland will introduce legislation regulating the use of microbeads.
“We will also work with Whitehall and the devolved administrations to ensure the ban is implemented effectively across the UK.
“Our Marine Litter Strategy is designed to reduce the amount of litter on our coastlines and in the marine environment.
“We will consider the recommendations of a forthcoming consultation and work with local stakeholders to develop regulation and effective implementation across Scotland.”
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Edited By: Bharat Upadhyay
Last Updated: January 17, 2023, 20:38 IST
new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max are available to order today.
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro is priced at Rs 1,99,900, and Rs 1,84,900 for education, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at Rs 2,49,900 and Rs 2,29,900 for education.
The Cupertino-based tech giant Apple on Tuesday silently announced the launch of the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the latest M2 Pro and M2 Max processors — Apple’s next-generation pro silicon that brings even more power-efficient performance and battery life to pro users.
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro is priced at Rs 1,99,900, and Rs 1,84,900 for education, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at Rs 2,49,900 and Rs 2,29,900 for education. The new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max are available to order today on apple.com/in/store and in the Apple Store app.
They will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorised Resellers starting Tuesday, January 24. With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new Mac.
“Today the MacBook Pro gets even better. With faster performance, enhanced connectivity, and the longest battery life ever in a Mac, along with the best display in a laptop, there’s simply nothing else like it,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
With M2 Pro and M2 Max, the new MacBook Pro tackles demanding tasks, like effects rendering, which is up to 6x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro, and colour grading, which is up to 2x faster. Also, the battery life on MacBook Pro is now up to 22 hours — the longest battery life ever in a Mac.
For enhanced connectivity, the new MacBook Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E, which is up to twice as fast as the previous generation, as well as advanced HDMI, which supports 8K displays for the first time
The company said that, with up to 96GB of unified memory in the M2 Max model, creators can work on scenes so large that PC laptops can’t even run them. MacBook Pro has Liquid Retina XDR display, extensive array of connectivity, 1080p FaceTime HD camera, six-speaker sound system, and studio-quality mics.
With M2 Pro and M2 Max, MacBook Pro is capable of transforming pro workflows across a wide range of disciplines, from art to science to app development. Users looking to upgrade from Intel-based Mac models will experience even more dramatic improvements in performance, battery life, connectivity, and overall productivity.
MacBook Pro with M2 Pro features a 10- or 12-core CPU with up to eight high-performance and four high-efficiency cores for up to 20 percent greater performance over M1 Pro. With 200GB/s of unified memory bandwidth — double the amount in M2 — and up to 32GB of unified memory, users can tackle large projects and run multiple pro apps with blazing speed.
MacBook Pro with M2 Max pushes workflows to the extreme with a much larger GPU featuring up to 38 cores and delivering up to 30 percent greater graphics performance over M1 Max, and also includes 400GB/s of unified memory bandwidth — twice that of M2 Pro. M2 Max has a next-gen 12-core CPU with up to eight high-performance and four high-efficiency cores that delivers up to 20 percent greater performance over M1 Max.
Read all the Latest Tech News here
Bharat UpadhyayBharat Upadhyay, Senior Sub-Editor at News18 Tech, writes about technology and consumer gadgets. He has been covering the technology beat for over fiv…Read More


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The world was introduced to a new pair of Nike Air Force 1 X Off-White when Virgil Abloh was spotted rocking a pair of unseen Off-White X AF1s in the Paris fashion week 2020 during the runway show of his Louis Vuitton mens’ Fall/Winter of 2020 collection.
While enthusiasts and followers were looking forward for some official announcement regarding these shoes, Interestingly enough, Zarek Valentin of the Houston Dynamo, an athlete currently signed to Nike, out of nowhere received a shipment from Nike. The package contained a pair of sneakers which were none other than the unreleased Nike Air Force 1 X Off-White. Since no official information regarding the release was circulated even after Zarek posted the pictures online, He believes that the package was sent to him accidentally. Many outlets speculate that the launch is scheduled for this holiday season.
Whilst we wait for the launch, Valentin was spotted wearing these unreleased sneakers in a practice session.
For more updates and information
At a time when the sneaker game is rapidly gaining popularity, and more and more resellers and collectors are becoming a part of this ecosystem, The lack of a proper Authentication system and resale forums have caused inconvenience to a lot of enthusiasts; but not…
As we step into 2022, the past year hasn’t exactly been a cakewalk. The virus continues its presence with habitual lockdowns and strict norms all over the country. Despite this, the sneaker culture slowly but surely experienced a good number of new collaborations, album releases,…


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So Autoblog has been overrun with VW news today, but I've still got one last tidbit to share: in Europe's largest independent comparison test, the new Golf took home top honors in the sub-20,000 euro segment, beating out the Seat Altea and Skoda Fabia. The test is conducted by company car fleet managers from various industries, and rates the vehicles according to handling, practicality, comfort, design and price. The win is a major plus for VW, as fleet sales comprise one-third of its new car sales in Europe. News about the fifth-gen Golf has been overwhelmingly positive, which bodes well for the car's U.S. introduction next year, when hopefully it will be available as an Autoblog company car.
- Most and least efficient car companies
- Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States
- Find and compare 2017 Models


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Safari retreats and beachside getaways dominated the list of favorite resorts for Conde Nast Traveler readers in a year bereft of travel.
African safari spots, castles in Ireland, and one converted sheep farm are among the world's best resorts — but only one in the US made the cut.
The hotels that make this list range in price point, style, and destination. Here's a look at the best hotels in the world, as ranked by travelers.
Condé Nast Traveler released its 2020 Gold List of the world's best hotels, resorts, and cruises, and five New York City hotels made the list.
Condé Nast Traveler just released its Gold List – and its top cruises are all luxurious excursions with boutique cruise lines.
Melinda Stevens, the editor of Condé Nast Traveler, thinks we all have a part to play in the overcrowding of cities like Venice.
Condé Nast Traveler just released its annual Gold List Award, which recognizes some of the most incredible, far-flung hotels.
Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked the best hotels in world — and a hotel in Co. Laois, Ireland, topped the list. See what else made the cut.
Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked the best cities in the world — and Tokyo, Japan, took the top spot. See which other cities made the list.
Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked the best airlines in the world.
Condé Nast Traveler just released its 2016 Readers' Choice Awards, and its readers ranked the best islands in the world.
Thousands of readers picked their favorite hotels across the world. See which 25 made it to the top.


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16th May 2022
High-Performing Client Travelworld Shortlisted For Business Awards
Erwin Hymer Centre Travelworld has capped a record-breaking 12 months by being shortlisted for two prestigious business awards. The...
21st February 2022
Travelworld Hosts Event to Celebrate 10 Years With HYMER
Luxury motorhome dealership, Erwin Hymer Centre Travelworld in Stafford, is holding a special event to mark 10 years of...
5th November 2013
Aquila breaks new ground with luxury motorhome deal
A leading commercial vehicles supplier has clinched a deal which will see three of its vans converted into stunning...


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Washington, D.C. – President Biden loves to call his agenda, “Build Back Better,” but the only thing building is inflation.
Today, more bad news was announced that confirmed what Americans are feeling in their wallets: Consumer prices rose higher than estimates in September.
The Consumer Price Index rose nearly half a point last month alone, a 5.4% year-over-year increase – the highest rate in 13 years. The two most shocking figures came in the areas that Americans feel the most: Energy and food costs.
“Gasoline prices rose another 1.2% for the month, bringing the annual increase to 42.1%. Fuel oil shot up 3.9%, for a 42.6% year over year surge.
“Food prices also showed notable gains for the month, with food at home rising 1.2%. Meat prices rose 3.3% just in September and increased 12.6% year over year.”
Supply chain, employment, and other issues caused by the Biden Administration’s bungled policies continue to plague our economy, with more spending and regulation on the way.
Statement from NRSC Spokesman T.W. Arrighi: “Wallets across America are screaming for mercy from the economic policies of President Biden and congressional Democrats. Inflation is at a thirteen-year high, and energy and food costs continue to skyrocket. Unfortunately, economic illiteracy in the Democrat Party appears to be running as rampant as inflation as they plan to double down on their errors. Hopes for ‘transitionary inflation’ are fading quicker than Democrats’ hopes in 2022.”


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Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster Sells 800,000 Copies
2016 marks Resident Evil's 20th anniversary.
Capcom's latest remaster, Resident Evil 0 HD, has sold approximately 800,000 copies, the publisher has announced as part of its latest earnings report [PDF]. The game launched in January this year, and Capcom's reporting period ended March 31, so this only counts copies sold through then.
Additionally, Capcom mentioned the 800,000 figure when it was specifically talking about digital games. As such, this number may not include copies of the game sold via the Resident Evil Origins Collection, a physical bundle that included not only Resident Evil 0 HD, but also the Resident Evil 1 remaster.
Whatever the case, Capcom said Resident Evil 0 HD "performed favorably" (via VideoGamer.com).
The Resident Evil 1 remaster was released in January 2015. Capcom is currently working on a "full remake" of Resident Evil 2, though a release date for this game has not been announced.
In May 2015, Capcom said it was encouraged by the success of Resident Evil HD remastered version so much so that HD remasters and re-releases would become a key area of growth for the company.
Additionally, Capcom brought Resident Evil 6 to to PS4 and Xbox One earlier this year, while the company also plans to launch Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5 for the same platforms in the time ahead.
2016 is the 20th anniversary of the Resident Evil franchise. Beyond everything mentioned in this post, Capcom has also teased a "full-scale offensive" to celebrate the occasion. It could be that Capcom is planning a series of promotional activities to mark the milestone (like what's being done for Pokemon's anniversary), but some have also wondered if Capcom may finally announce the rumored Resident Evil 7.
Interestingly, just recently, Capcom announced that it is working on three unannounced games that will be released before April 2017. One of these games is expected to sell 4 million units in that window, suggesting it comes from an established franchise, though nothing yet links it to Resident Evil.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.


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Microsoft had unveiled Kinect (What is Kinect?) at the E3 2010 event earlier this month. Though Kinect is scheduled to be released on November 4, Microsoft has announced that Kinect will be available to test and play around with at 4 Microsoft stores in the US.
If you walk into a Microsoft Store in San Diego, Arizona, California or Colorado, you will be able to play games using Microsoft Kinect accessory for Xbox 360. The above picture is from Microsoft’s San Diego store opening where a user played using hand movements.
Kinect for Xbox 360 is also available for sale at the official Microsoft Store. The accessory for Xbox 360 will sell at $149.


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Famitsu has published another preview for Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Plenty of new characters are introduced, with new details provided regarding abilities, battalions, and how players can spend their time outside of combat.
RPGamer Latest Updates
God Eater 3’s 1.30 patch is now live. The update includes a new post-game story chapter, as well as new Aragami to face and a ocuple of new NPCs to fight with.
After spending half a year in Early Access, neko.works’ Light Fairytale: Episode 1 is now fully launched on Steam. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases are planned in the coming months.
This week’s new releases feature three new lower-profile tiles, as well as a trio of games coming to new platforms. Meanwhile, there are plenty of new sales across all of the systems, with the Humble Store offering by far the biggest selection.
Akupara Games and Oscar Brittain’s hoverbike-racing RPG Desert Child is getting a physical release from Limited Run Games. The PlayStation 4 editions will be available to order in two batches tomorrow.
Bigben Interactive is adding another World of Darkness title to its portfolio. The Council developer Big Bad Wolf is working on a new Vampire: The Masquerade title, with more details expected in August.
It wasn’t enough that there were elves around, it’s that there apparently weren’t enough of them. And there’s going to be a lot of Dark Elves
Not all vampires are wanton beasts, some consider themselves to be rather classy. Meet the Toreador, the vampire clan that thinks exactly that.
D3 Publisher is continuing the Omega Labyrinth series in Japan. The new entry will come in two versions: one for the Switch, with a “milder” version coming to PlayStation 4.
The SteamWorld Quest continues as it makes its way to computers around the world. The game’s release on Steam is coming ever closer.
Return to a time when Azeroth was still in its infancy. Choose between Horde and Alliance and get ready to experience WoW like it’s 2004 when World of Warcraft Classic drops in August.
Virgo vs. the Zodiac will be present at BitSummit 2019 at the start of June, and a new trailer has been released ahead of its appearance. The game has also been given a fall release window on PC.
It was unclear whether Hideo Baba’s departure was the prelude to further news regarding Square Enix’s Studio Istolia. The company has now confirmed that the studio is no longer in operation and that its planned debut title is cancelled.
Aiming Inc. has confirmed the North American release date for free-to-play MMORPG Caravan Stories. The game will be coming to PlayStation 4 in late July, preceded by a week-long open beta.
Roadwarden is an upcoming adventure RPG from Moral Anxiety Studio. The game puts players into a fantasy realm based on the late European Dark Ages and is planned for release in the first half of 2020.
In Outward, the player is not some hero who is destined to save the world, but an ordinary person who needs to etch out a living in this harsh land. Phil Willis helps us determine if this is a life worth living, or better left behind.
Free-to-play Behemoth-hunting RPG Dauntless has a PC and console release date. The game will be fully launching very soon.
Developer Quarter Onion Games has announced a new dungeon-crawler, which is set to release on PC in August. Emberlight focuses heavily on the theme of corruption as party members eventually turn on the party and become bosses down the line.
RPGamer’s ad hoc Kickstarter Check-In feature returns for a look at two ongoing crowdfunding campaigns. This edition features Atelier 801’s Transformice Adventures and Meringue Entertainment’s Hegemone Pass.
Titan Quest has received another expansion on PC. Atlantis sees players hunting for Diary of Herakles, which is supposedly the key to finding the mythical kingdom.


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BW FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS — The packaging equipment supplier in Duncan, S.C., named Chris Frank vice president of operations.
CADENCE INC. — The contract manufacturing partner in Staunton, Va., named Rob Werge president and CEO.
CARPET AMERICA RECOVERY EFFORT — Nick Flore, president of Circular Polymers, and Kent Singleton, owner of Georgia Carpet Recovery Center, were named Persons of the Year for 2021 by the Dalton, Ga.-based nonprofit group formed to divert and reuse post-consumer carpet.
DAVIS-STANDARD LLC — The extrusion systems manufacturer in Pawcatuck, Conn., named Markus Lehmann area sales manager for German subsidiary ER-WE-PA GmbH.
GFBIOCHEMICALS LTD. — The sustainable chemical company in Paris named Mathieu Flamini CEO.
IMCD GROUP BV — The specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor in Rotterdam, Netherlands, named Nicolas Kaufmann Americas president, succeeding Marcus Jordan, who becomes chief operating officer.
INSTITUTE OF SCRAP RECYCLING INDUSTRIES INC. — The trade group in Washington, D.C., named Holly Arthur chief operating officer.
KIEFEL GMBH — The machinery supplier in Freilassing, Germany, named Anne Dierkopf chief financial officer.
NEXUS CIRCULAR LLC — The recycler in Atlanta named Jodie Morgan CEO, Robert Shaw CFO and Clint Thompson chief commercial officer.
SELIG GROUP — The packaging firm in Naperville, Ill., named Adam Sheridan president, effective June 1, succeeding Steve Cassidy, who remains CEO.
SPARTECH LLC — The manufacturer of packaging, rollstock materials, specialty products, and visual and structural sheet in Maryland Heights, Mo., named Marshall Scott CFO.
TOMRA RECYCLING — The sensor-based sorting equipment supplier in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, named Parker Bynum sales manager, succeeding Nick Doyle, who was promoted to key accounts manager, North America.
TRELLEBORG SEALING SOLUTIONS — The supplier of custom-molded polymer components in Fort Wayne, Ind., named Caio Beraldo technical manager.
TRICORBRAUN — The packaging supplier in St. Louis named Scott Beamer CFO and Declan McCarthy president, TricorBraun Europe.


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Minimum wages are highly topical today. In an era of growing inequality, business, government, employees and the agencies that advocate on their behalf, seem pitted against each other, with few willing to take a broad, multi-disciplinary, integrated approach to a fair solution. Economic policy positions and business opinions on the whys and why nots are plentiful.
While governments remain stuck in neutral on adopting fair policies, citing a slow-recovering economy post-financial crisis, circa 2008, employees mired in minimum or low wage paying jobs are taking their fight for higher wages through a call for raising the minimum wage to the streets. After a Walmart store in Canton, Ohio started a local food drive, asking for food donations for its own employees, OUR Walmart, an independent non-profit organization advocating on behalf of Walmart associates, increased its protest events against Walmart, particularly around Black Friday, the largest retail-generating sales day of the year.
To provide some background and context, in the latest full year financials, Walmart reported $469.2 billion in sales and $17 billion in profits. And yet, Walmart is cited as the worst paying company in America by Yahoo, in its list of 10 worst paying companies. Yahoo used NELP methodology to capture those employers with the largest number of low and minimum wage workers, and found Walmart as the worst. Abetted by a recent push towards hiring part time staff and seasonal fill-ins in place of full timers, to save the cost of health benefits, the average hourly rate at Walmart is now less than $9.
Think about that for a moment. Nine dollars an hour, 15-25 hours a week, if they’re lucky. To pay for a roof over their head, put groceries on their table, clothes on their back and pay for necessary transportation. At a minimum. Best not have any hungry mouthes to feed, other than their own. Or get sick.
With $17 billion in profits, Walmart can clearly afford to pay its staff. As OUR Walmart’s Facebook page points out, each Walmart store requires $400,000 of social safety net dollars spent by the U.S. government, to supplement its workers wages; of the 1.3 million Walmart employees in the U.S., only 475,000 or 36.5% make more than $25,000. With 4,156 stores in the U.S., in essence, the feseral government is subsidizing the business operations of Walmart to the tune of $1.66 billion. I am unsure whether that even covers shelter or healthcare costs.
As for the other companies found on Yahoo’s list: McDonald’s, Target, Kroeger, YUM Brands round out the top 5. Their profits range from $1.5-5.5 billion. They too have sufficient profits to cover higher employee wages.
One can then empathize with Walmart associates or foodservice and retail workers, another category of wage earners making minimum wages, in their Black Friday protests or protests of any kind.
How can the average shopper show support? Through your purchasing decisions. Every dollar you spend and where you spend it speaks volumes whether you are consciously aware or not. Sure you can complain to Walmart’s head office of their employee practices or “like” the OUR Walmart Facebook page, march alongside their demonstrations outside your local store or bring the protestors a cup of coffee to warm up, but ultimately the only thing Walmart responds to are direct actions affecting it’s bottom line. In other words, your purchases. Shop elsewhere while informing them of your decision and you’re sure to get their attention.
Look, I don’t offer this suggestion lightly. I led the Sunbeam small appliance team that won Walmart’s Vendor of the Year in Canada in 2002. I’ve worked for McCain Foods and had McDonald’s as a client. But I have also worked with Costco, whose CEO Craig Jelinek has been vocal in 2013 in calling for an American minimum wage of $10.10 per hour, and whose average employee earned $45,000 in 2011, vs an average of $17,500 for Walmart. These are the real numbers. Numbers that cannot be ignored by talking heads.
Yes, Walmart has a greater number of sales associates across a greater number of stores versus Costco’s floor staff in fewer stores, which has a disprortionate weighs on the average salary, but it’s the commitment Costco shows its employees through investment in training and development, healthcare benefits and full-time status that further differentiates Costco.
That commitment also shows in the starting hourly wage of its new employee hires at $11.50 an hour. All those companies on yahoo’s 10 worst list were mostly under $9 an hour.
I’m no economist, but when you raise the minimum wage, don’t you increase the earning power of each employee, which translates into greater spending power? Doesn’t greater spending power in the marketplace translate back into a stronger economy, while also reducing the government’s need to spend social safety net dollars?
Could be wrong, but I can personally attest to the fact that investment in your own employees most certainly draws greater loyalty, productivity and efficiency which ultimately improves profitability. It certainly proved so with the team I assembled at Sunbeam, the same one that won that Walmart award, ironically enough.
Take a moment before you shop online or in store, and consider the wages of the person helping you find your size, confirming your ship date or ringing up the sale. Your choices do make a difference. Hold Walmart and every other retailer, restaurateur and product or service provider responsible for the choices they make in the respect they show their employees through their renumeration.
If Walmart was as concerned for its employees as it’s spokesperson claimed, when responding to calls about that food drive in Canton, wouldn’t it make more sense to increase their hourly wage, and hire full time staffers so they could put food on their own table rather than rely on the kindness of the public?


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When Brandon Winner first heard about the destruction of the environment in the form of events like forest flattening in the Amazon, he was shocked.
Winner, now 12, was reading through a textbook in second grade when he saw a picture of the Amazon with just a small patch of trees left.
“It amazed me that we could cut down all of the Amazon just to make farms,” he said.
That was one of many moments Winner has had over the past few years that triggered his inner activist. Like when he watched, during a class at Chadwick School, the documentary “The Cove,” which analyzes Japan’s dolphin- and whale-hunting culture. Or when he turned on the Discovery Channel and saw a man hunting bears and mountain lions in the San Bernardino Mountains. The hunter didn’t even take the animals back home with him to eat.
“What a waste of the animals’ lives to just leave them and not even eat them,” Winner said.
Winner decided to find a way to make money to save the planet. He started out by selling tangerines from his Manhattan Beach backyard. This year, his mom recommended that he put his passion for doodling with a Sharpie to good use. Thus the idea “Doodle4Earth” was born.
Several of his friends and family members had asked him to paint portraits of them and their pets on a canvas, doodle on their canvas shoes or create illustrations on corkboards.
At last weekend’s Earth Day Festival in Manhattan Beach, Winner doodled on canvas to make money for the charity “Save the Earth.” Winner will dedicate 100 percent of his proceeds to environmental charities.
Since he began his business just a few weeks ago, Winner has raised a few hundred dollars. And interest is growing. His mom, Denise, couldn’t be more proud.
“As a parent you’re always trying to encourage your kids to touch the world … this is also a great exercise in him learning how to run a company,” she said. “It’s a nice thing.”
For more information on Winner’s fundraiser, visit www.doodle4earth.com.


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The U.S. Department of Justice has come out against the proposed agreement to settle copyright lawsuits that authors and major publishers filed against Google over the search company's book search program.
"This Court should reject the Proposed Settlement in its current form and encourage the parties to continue negotiations," reads a filing the DOJ submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York late on Friday.
The proposed settlement must be modified by Google and the plaintiffs so that it complies with U.S. copyright and antitrust laws, the DOJ said in its filing, a 32-page Statement of Interest.
The DOJ also expressed concern that the proposed settlement doesn't satisfy the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which sets parameters for approving settlements of class action lawsuits.
Delays Settlement -- Again
The DOJ's opinion is likely to be seen a major blow against Google, which has been in court over this matter for about four years and is eager to get the case settled.
"We are considering the points raised by the Department and look forward to addressing them as the court proceedings continue," Google and the plaintiffs -- the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) -- said via e-mail in a brief joint statement reacting to the DOJ's filing.
The DOJ had until Friday to submit a written report to the court on the findings of a formal investigation over whether the proposed agreement violated U.S. laws.
In fact, the DOJ's Antitrust Division continues investigating the settlement, the DOJ said in Friday's filing, which nonetheless contains "a preliminary explanation" of the agency's antitrust concerns.
Despite its criticisms, the DOJ said it recognizes that a settlement of the case would benefit the public by making millions of hard-to-find books easily accessible in digital form, something Google and the plaintiffs highlighted in their statement.
The DOJ said in the filing that it is "committed to working with the parties constructively with respect to alterations the parties may propose."
"Because a properly structured settlement agreement in this case offers the potential for important societal benefits, the United States does not want the opportunity or momentum to be lost," the filing reads.
Rumors that the DOJ had started reviewing the proposed agreement surfaced in April. The DOJ confirmed that it was conducting a formal investigation in July.
Those following the case have been widely anticipating the result of the DOJ's probe of the proposed agreement, which has been loudly praised and criticized since it was announced in October of last year.
Authors Cry Foul
In 2005, book authors and the Authors Guild filed a class action lawsuit, while five large publishers filed a separate lawsuit as representatives of the Association of American Publishers' membership.
The lawsuits were brought after Google launched a program to scan and index sometimes entire collections from the libraries of major universities without always getting permission from the copyright owners of the books.
Google made the text of the books searchable on its book search engine, claiming it's protected by the fair use principle because it only showed snippets of text for in-copyright books it had scanned without permission.
However, after two years of negotiations, Google and the plaintiffs reached middle ground, hammering out a wide-ranging settlement agreement that calls for Google to pay US$125 million and in exchange gives the search company rights to display meatier chunks of these in-copyright books, not just snippets.
In addition, Google would make it possible for people to buy online access to these books. The agreement would also allow institutions to buy subscriptions to books and make them available to their constituents.
A royalty system would also be set up to compensate authors and publishers for access to their works via the creation of the Book Rights Registry. This would be an independent, nonprofit entity entrusted with distributing payments to copyright holders earned through online access to their works. Revenue will come from institutional subscriptions, book sales and ad-revenue sharing.
The Registry, whose board of directors would be made up of an equal number of author and publisher representatives, would also locate and register copyright owners, who in turn have the option to request to be included in or excluded from the project.
A big portion of Google's $125 million payment would go towards funding the Registry, while the rest would be used to settle existing claims by authors and publishers and to cover legal fees.


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Augmented Reality (AR) technology has come a long way in recent years, and it’s no surprise that the industry is expected to experience significant growth in the near future. According to a recent market research report, the global AR market is projected to reach $198 billion by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 42.2% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2023. Check: AR Trends 2023
One of the key drivers of this growth is the increasing adoption of AR in various industries such as retail, healthcare, and gaming. Retail giants like Ikea and Sephora have already begun incorporating AR technology into their mobile apps, allowing customers to virtually try on products before making a purchase. In the healthcare industry, AR is being used to enhance surgical procedures and medical training. And in gaming, AR technology is being utilized to create immersive and interactive experiences.
But the growth of AR isn’t limited to just these industries. In the coming years, we can expect to see AR being integrated into a wide range of devices and applications, from smartphones and tablets to smart glasses and even contact lenses.
One of the most exciting developments in the AR space is the emergence of smart glasses. These devices are designed to be worn like regular eyeglasses, but they have the capability to project virtual images and information directly into the user’s field of view. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have all invested heavily in the development of smart glasses, and we can expect to see more products entering the market in the near future.
Another exciting development is the integration of AR into contact lenses. Researchers are currently working on developing AR contact lenses that can project virtual images directly onto the user’s retina. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with the digital world, making it more seamless and intuitive.
In addition to these developments, we can also expect to see a continued growth in the number of AR-enabled mobile apps and games. These apps and games allow users to experience augmented reality in a variety of ways, from interactive storytelling to location-based gaming.
Overall, the future of AR looks bright, with a wide range of devices and applications set to hit the market in the coming years. As the technology continues to evolve and improve, we can expect to see even more exciting and innovative use cases for AR in various industries.


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The Argentine Diet Is A Perfect Recipe For Unhealthy Living
Like other Western countries, Argentina is struggling with an obesity epidemic. As young city dwellers adopt more diverse diets, the less well off rely on monotonous diets with low quality food.
BUENOS AIRES- Petrona Carrizo de Gandulfo, born in the 1898 and known familiarly to Argentines as Doña Petrona, was the first woman in Argentina to teach cooking recipes in the media. Her dishes were typically laden with copious amounts of sugar, butter and cream.
Dishes that may seem excessive today were common in the mid-20th century, and for a reason. They were made for Argentines doing physical work for long hours. As they expended more energy then, the average diet (which was an eating regimen, not a slimming plan), meant an intake of some 4,000 calories a day.
Today, that has halved, and as labels will tell you, percent daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The challenge now, living as we do with technology and the Internet, is not eating enough, but sedentary lifestyles. Clara Iturralde, a nutritionist at the private Cliníc Integral in Buenos Aires, says it was "totally necessary" to change to 2,000 calories, as people do much less physical work. "Today, people walk less, take transport to work, machines have replaced people in various industries, and people spend many hours sitting at the computer, which means you need less energy."
The head of CEPEA, a research center for nutrition policies, Sergio Britos, says calorie intake has steadily dropped through recent history. Today, he says, the Argentine table "is monotonous" and "of low nutritional quality."
Fast, junk and sugary
Britos told Clarín that the monotony refers to the "regular presence" of a few foods that made up the bulk of all the food eaten. Eighty per cent of all calories consumed every day, he said, "comes from just 40 products." He listed the nation's top 10 foods including potatoes, bread, meat, chicken, milk, onions, sugar, bananas, rice and pasta, which he pointed out, largely included fast-digesting carbohydrates "of middle to low quality."
Argentines are looking to incorporate new foods that are "not processed, and more natural."
Other nutritionists commented to this daily on a typical Argentine diet today. Araceli Vallone said the Argentine diet remained "classical," with simple dishes prepared fairly fast. Argentines were not fond of vegetables, she said, with their intake mostly consisting of lettuce, tomatoes and carrots. They also "tend to forget" to eat fruit, she added.
This all changes at gatherings, she adds. "Our tradition is to get together in the Spanish or Italian style, and we know that the more food there is, especially if there is variety, the more is eaten, which doesn't help a country where so many people are obese or overweight."
But, she adds, Argentines are today looking to incorporate new foods that are "not processed, and more natural," in spite of the predominance in society of fast, junk and sugary foods. "I personally note greater awareness and interest among the general population, which will bring positive changes to the Argentines' table."
Woman preparing food for young people in Argentina
The pandemic effect
More Argentines, including vegans (1% of all Argentines), vegetarians (12%) and "flexitarians" (10%), are adopting a more sustainable diet. Flexitarians are those reducing their meat intake with a view to eliminating it altogether from their diet. Together, says Sergio Britos, "we're talking around 23% of the... population that has made or are making changes to their diet."
The change is gaining momentum, he said, in part because of the pandemic. "Probably the isolation we had for so many months has pushed a good portion of society toward buying ingredients and preparing food, returning to what's natural and including a greater variety of healthy products in their diet."
CEPEA estimates that 89% of Argentines eat badly or very badly, feeding principally on a restricted number of foods and of low nutritional quality. Nutritionist Laura Romano says water biscuits and bread were a constant at all meals. Bread is not bad per se, she says, "but having it with food means we lose count of how much we are eating." Iturralde cited other villains as including boxed juices and soft drinks, which for many "are their main source of hydration," while Vallone adds "biscuits and snacks."
Photo of Doña Petrona, cooking pioneer of Argentina
Labels and schools can help
Britos points out that 42% of Argentines are presently "poor" and that the trend in dieting changes and diversification pertained more to "younger city-dwellers, with medium to high incomes."
Iturralde says her clinic's task included "guiding a family or person to better administer themselves when buying food: choosing seasonal fruit and vegetables, reducing soft drinks and juices... the money could be spent on other foods. Planning meals is another issue that greatly contributes to more efficient, healthy shopping."
Six out of 10 are obese
All our consultants agreed that Argentines need to change their eating habits. The latest National Risk Factors poll (ENFR) found that six out of 10, or 26 million Argentines, were overweight or obese. Britos says "we need to significantly change the way we eat, which I think is an enormous challenge." He said schooling needs to include nutrition, but policies must also ensure healthy eating becomes affordable, labels were clearly visible and schools serve their pupils better meals.
- What's Behind The Vegetarian Boom In Meat-Loving Argentina ... ›
- Climate Change & The Food Factor: The Planet Needs A New Kind ... ›
- The Pure Folly Of 'Food Nationalism' In Argentina - Worldcrunch ›
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With the cost of watching Premier League football on Sky Sports being £18 per month, fans are turning to other mediums such as online streaming to watch Football and other sports.
The influence of social media and the internet in today's society could well be the downfall for television companies, and it could be as soon as five years before everyone is watching sport on online platforms. Netflix totally changed the game in the film and TV department by providing an online service in which people can pay a subscription fee and watch new TV series and films on this.
Amazon taking over?
Online giants Amazon have already seemed to snatch up the TV rights to broadcast the US Open tournament on a five year deal which cost around £30 million, with rumours that the same fate could well happen to the Premier League. In a bid over its competitors BT and Sky, Amazon have added 40 TV streaming channels in the UK which includes Eurosport, French Open Tennis and Olympic coverage.
Forbes writer Juan Pablo Manterlo said "A generational shift is happening, and viewers are no longer interested in shelling out hundreds of dollars for channels they don't watch."
Another reason for this change of power in the sport world can be compared with the cost of cable in contrast to internet TV, and when people are paying for a service they want to be able to have a wide selection of sports on offer to them which cable TV cannot always provide.
The scope of this new change could be massive,and include sports that are often not shown on the major TV cable companies with sports such as Handball, Water Polo etc. So will cable eventually be cut out? We will find out the answer to this question within the next few years.


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Currys details zero contact services
Electricals retailer Currys has detailed its zero contact services to help shoppers purchase tech quickly and safely during the new pandemic wave
Services like its on-demand ShopLive video calling offering enables people to speak to live human experts via any phone, tablet or laptop, so they can get expert advice without leaving their living room.
All 294 Currys stores in the UK also offer Order & Collect services with each able to fulfil same and next day orders to ensure people get the tech they want in time.
Currently, 95% of these stores also offer car park collection if a customer needs it, and all shoppers can also opt to use a ‘check-in’ system when placing their order to have a colleague meet them outside the building, meaning customers needn’t step foot in-store if they don’t feel comfortable doing so.
Finally, the retailer has recently introduced new zero-contact partnerships, such as the Uber delivery trial, which allows tech-lovers in London to receive small-tech items straight to their door in as little as 30 mins.
Mark Allsop, COO at Currys, said: “We want to reassure the public that we have a robust plan in place, that will help ensure customers up and down the country feel safe and secure when shopping for amazing technology.”


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Better late than never, you might say. Five years after the financial crisis almost instantaneously wiped out the funding market for small and medium-sized enterprises across the European Union, the European Commission has finally got round to addressing its own contribution to the blockage.
New rules unveiled by the Commission today finally free the EU’s member states from the red tape that has prevented them from doing more to help SMEs - and medium-sized companies too – to access the funding they need to grow and develop. At least that’s the idea.
Start-ups and growing small businesses seeking funding have been caught by a perfect storm since the credit crunch.
The banking industry, facing mounting bad debts and ever-tougher capital constraints, particularly for high-risk ventures (including support for small businesses) has retrenched, substantially reducing the chances of growing companies being able to access debt finance.
Elsewhere in the private sector, appetite for risk has been equally hard hit, with business angels, private equity firms, venture capitalists and investment bankers all pulling back from support for small companies that would have felt perfectly comfortable prior to the crisis. New types of finance have emerged, but not yet at sufficient volumes to replace what has been lost.
Meanwhile, the tough economic environment across the EU has prevented small businesses from growing organically. SMEs have had to concentrate on day-to-day survival, with working capital in short supply for ongoing operations, let alone investment in new ventures.
In such circumstances, small companies understandably look to policymakers for support. Governments should not be in the business of trying to pick winners, but they can oil the wheels for others to do so – particularly given the importance of the SME sector in driving the EU’s economic recovery.
Unfortunately, the Commission’s strict rules on State Aid have limited EU governments’ ability to intervene where market failure has prevented SMEs accessing private sector finance. The rules were designed to ensure free-market competition between EU businesses – where, say, a company in France gets support from its Government that isn’t available to its rival in Spain, the French business has an unfair competitive advantage.
However, the problem since the credit crisis hasn’t been the lack of a level playing field for Europe’s growing businesses – rather the fact that so many providers of finance to the sector have taken away the ball.
Until now, the Commission has failed to recognise this shift, leaving policymakers anxious to support their small businesses but frustrated by their inability to do so as fully as they would like.
In the UK, for example, the Government has sought to expand its venture capital trust and enterprise investment scheme initiatives, which offer tax breaks to investors in small companies, but has had to limit the generosity of its offer in order to comply with the EU’s State Aid regulation.
So will the new State Aid regime for smaller companies unveiled today by Commission Vice President Joaquin Almunia finally clear the way for more generous incentives for the SME sector? The EU’s civil servants are certainly hopeful – they are already scrutinising the small print of the regulation.
We’ll get a better idea of what is now possible as the EU’s member states unveil their finance bills and budgets over the course of the year – look out for new incentives designed to encourage private sector investment in SMEs that go much further than in the past.
However, there is an obvious irony in today’s announcement. With much of Europe now in the early stages of economic recovery, there is less need today for this support than at any time since the financial crisis. It is something of a cliché to say that the European Commission’s response to events beyond the corridors of Brussels is glacial – on this occasion, however, it has lived up the stereotype.


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Posted by Linda Bonvie
October 2, 2014
If there’s one thing for which you can’t fault the soft-drink industry these days, it’s procrastination.
While the nation’s three largest soda manufacturers – Coke, Pepsi and the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group – may have given themselves until the year 2025 to reduce individual consumption of “beverage calories” by 20 percent, they seem to have wasted no time in getting that effort off and running.
In fact, no sooner had this corporate trio announced its long-range plan at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative last week (described in our previous blog), than they rolled out what appears to be the first phase of the plan – a slickly designed commercial campaign on both the airwaves and the Internet whose apparent target audience consists of teenagers, the biggest consumers of their products.
The newly launched program is called “Mixify,” described as “a new project from America’s beverage companies that’s all about making balance easier. Because even if your body is feeling less like a temple and more like— say, a truck stop—balancing the calories that you eat and drink with the calories you burn is key to finding the right mix to keep you feeling like the majestic creature that you are.” Its website also contains “Tips, tools and inspiration to help find a balance that’s right for you” and to “share your mix with mymixify,” the term used in the website’s address.
But why the “my” added to “mixify”? One reason, of course, is because it’s always more effective to personalize this sort of campaign. But there’s obviously another as well – the fact that the name “Mixify” is already in use at the website mixify.com, where it’s described as “a never-ending electronic music festival where DJs stream live to fans around the world.” It’s even got its own app that allows you to chat 24 hours a day with DJs and other attendees.
So right from the get-go, the ingredients of a ‘Mixify mixup’ are already in the mix.
And we couldn’t help wondering — was this identical identity accidental, which would seem to indicate a failure on the part of the creative team behind it to do fundamental research, since the music-based “Mixify” site was launched back in late 2012 with accompanying media hype? Or was it deliberately meant to use a term that’s already familiar to many teens, and perhaps even confuse them into thinking there’s somehow a connection?
Whichever the case, the new name – the one being used by the makers of carbonated beverages – also has a “TM” designation next to it, meaning a trade mark application is already in the works. So don’t be surprised if you should hear that the name “Mixify” has become the subject of a copyright dispute in the near future (unless, of course, that issue has already been settled behind the scenes).
‘Those little buggers matter’
Such concerns aside, however, the newly introduced site has all the elements talked about in the announcement for the calorie-cutting initiative. For example, on its :Find Your Mixify” page, it offers the following “Realtalk: Coke, Dr Pepper and Pepsi understand that balancing your mix of foods, drinks and physical activities can get a little tricky. And since our products can play a part in that equation, we’ve teamed up to help make it easier to find a balanced mix that feels oh so right.”
It then goes on to provide advice about how to “stay active” (“Chase a wild animal. Dance till it hurts.”) and “mind your mix” on days that you might just spend on the couch, and various “resources” such as the U.S., Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate.gov, the “Smart Snack Calculator” from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (one of the initiative’s sponsoring organizations), and the Calorie Control Council’s calorie calculator.
Besides this calorie coalition, it also offers the services of a panel of unnamed experts who know “what’s up,” ranging “from nutritionists and dieticians to coaches and athletes,” all of whom are “standing by to make dreams come true and answer all your balance inquiries,” complete with several sample questions and answers. And then there are “tips and tools,” which include advice to “get real about calories – because those little buggers matter.”
Something else that matters even more than calories, however, is the continued presence of the obesity-and-diabetes promoting artificial sweetener high fructose corn syrup in carbonated beverages. And rather than chasing wild animals or dancing till it hurts, the best way to “get real” about that — no matter what age you are — is to keep the products containing it from playing a part in your “equation.”
Once you do that, the calories will most likely take care of themselves. And you can limit whatever “mixifying” you do to music festivals.


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P&G recalls nasal decongestant spray
CINCINNATI Procter & Gamble voluntarily recalled its 4-hour decongestant nasal spray, a product distributed nationwide in the United States.
P&G said it is taking this voluntary precautionary step after finding that the product formulation for VapoSpray 4-hour nasal spray by Sinex may not meet the expiration dates on the package. This recall is not a result of consumer complaints, the company noted.
Consumers who have product with the UPC codes listed below and marked with an expiration date prior to June 2013 should simply discard the affected product:
- VapoSpray 4-hour nasal spray by Sinex with a UPC code of 3 23900 00082 7. Prior to June 2009, this product was also sold as Sinex Nasal Spray in both a spray (UPC Code 3 23900 00082 7) and Ultra Fine Mist package (UPC Code 3 23900 00085 8).
CHPA commends Calif. Senate’s PSE e-tracking legislation
WASHINGTON The Consumer Healthcare Products Association on Tuesday commended the California Senate Public Safety Committee for passing AB 1455. The legislation calls for the implementation of a statewide, industry-funded electronic tracking system to monitor and block illegal purchases of over-the-counter cold-and-allergy medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient that can be diverted to “cook” methamphetamine.
“We applaud the Public Safety Committee for supporting a solution that will fight domestic methamphetamine production while maintaining consumer access to important cold-and-allergy medications,” stated Linda Suydam, CHPA president. “E-tracking is the only solution that will stop illegal sales of pseudoephedrine by providing a real-time, stop-sale function across all stores statewide.”
In California, there currently is no mechanism in place to curb the practice of “smurfing,” which is where criminals move from store to store to purchase illegal amounts of PSE to be used for the production of meth. AB 1455 would provide the state’s retailers and pharmacists with a consolidated, real-time electronic logbook — accessible only by law enforcement — that is more secure than current paper logs.
E-tracking, which has been adopted by 12 states nationwide, also will give local law enforcement officials a powerful investigative tool to track meth production across state lines. E-tracking allows law enforcement to find previously undiscovered meth labs and helps them identify meth cooks. Most importantly, AB 1455 preserves Californians’ over-the-counter access to the PSE medications they use and trust for cold-and-allergy relief while stopping illegal sales.
Kimberly-Clark realigns agency support for consumer brands
DALLAS Kimberly-Clark Corp. on Wednesday announced it is realigning creative agency assignments within WPP Group agency roster shops in order to receive single agency support globally by sector.
Effective immediately, Ogilvy & Mather will be responsible for K-C’s baby and child care and adult and feminine care brands globally, and JWT will be responsible for the company’s family care brands globally.
According to K-C’s chief marketing officer, Tony Palmer, the decision to align its consumer brands globally with existing WPP roster shops better positions the company to more fluidly transfer ideas and best practice while ensuring greater efficiency and speed to market.
“This move is made to better position Kimberly-Clark to capture global growth and efficiency opportunities while eliminating potential conflict barriers,” Palmer said.


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British Car Auctions (BCA) is claiming a new UK sale record for a current production model, with a Rolls-Royce Phantom going for £208,000.
The model was registered in 2005 and had covered only 5,000 miles.
It was worth £275,000 when new and bidding for the car started at £140,000 before quickly escalating in £5,000 increments, as prospective buyers put in their offers in the hall and over the internet.
The £208,000 record exceeds the previous figure of £192,000, which was set in 2005 and was also paid for a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Paul Dunn, national account manager for BCA, put the popularity of the Phantom down to its exclusive nature and scarcity within the market.
"We had hundreds of buyers attending the sale, but the auction hall fell silent when this very rare car was offered," Mr Dunn said.
"The atmosphere was electric and when the hammer came down two and a half minutes later there was a round of applause from the buyers packing the auction hall."


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Stonington approves pastry, coffee shop for vacant Pawcatuck building
Stonington — The Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a zoning permit for a pastry and coffee shop planned for a vacant building on Route 1 in Pawcatuck.
The building, at 148 South Broad St. across from Brookside Village, previously housed a Penny's, Bess Eaton and Tim Hortons doughnut shops, the Levant coffee shop, and a home spa company.
The pastry shop will be located within a few hundred yards of three new apartment complexes and across the street from one being planned for Brookside Village, all of which did not exist when the former doughnut shops occupied the site.
The commission voted Tuesday night to approve the application by GBD Realty LLC of Taunton, Mass., to open a 30-seat restaurant with a drive-thru window.
Attorney Ted Ladwig, who was representing GBD and its owner, Bruce Thomas, explained that GBD never abandoned the use of the building's drive-thru window after commission member Fred Deichmann expressed concerns about its use after the closure of the other businesses. Deichmann voted against the permit.
The building has a large parking lot and Ladwig said it has space for 14 cars in the drive-thru lane. Commission members also said they wanted to see a "no left turn" sign for drivers leaving the shop because westbound cars on Route 1 crest a hill just before the shop and cannot see exiting cars.
The application even got a boost from state Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, who sent a letter to the commission urging approval. He called GBD and Thomas "good corporate citizens" who support local youth sports organizations and said the shop would provide a service for nearby residents.
Pawcatuck Little League President Adam Linicus echoed Howard's comments in his own letter to the commission, saying that this year alone Thomas made a substantial donation to the league that will allow it to supply each of its more than 350 players with masks to protect them from COVID-19.
"Mr. Thomas has been, and I am sure will continue to be, a pillar in the community. His kindness and support have allowed hundreds of local Stonington children to learn to be athletes, good teammates and upright citizens. We appreciate all he has done," Linicus wrote.
Thomas, who purchased the building in 2011, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
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Major building works at the UK’s largest grain terminal at the Port of Tilbury reaches a milestone with the construction of ten new giant metal grain silos. The works got underway earlier this year following a fire* in 2020 which damaged part of the concrete silo.
Building of the ten silos, at a height of 30 metres, and a total combined capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes, was completed this month. The industry leading design has been constructed to the highest health and safety standards and with an independent transfer and reclaim system also now being constructed, these silos will be back in operation for the 2022 harvest.
Demolition of the damaged concrete silos at the terminal is also now complete and the port will shortly appoint a contractor to replace these concrete silos for a return to full operations in 2023, restoring the original storage capacity.
Peter Ward, Commercial Director at The Port of Tilbury said: “The sight of the completed ten new grain silos at the grain terminal is great to see. The terminal is a key facility in the South-East of England and an essential part of the UK agricultural supply chain for imports and exports.
These new metal silos will be ready for the 2022 harvest and once the concrete silo is rebuilt, the terminal will be back to full capacity on one site. Although there has been no interruption to our service throughout the rebuild, we would like to thank our customers for supporting us during this difficult period as we rebuild the facility.”
The Tilbury Grain terminal has been in operation for over 50 years and is a key strategic facility in the South-East of the UK for the grain import and export markets handling over 2million tonnes of product from around the world. Grain is a key commodity in the UK food supply chain for a number of uses, most notably within the flour milling and bakery industries.
Throughout the works there has been no interruption to customer service as the terminal remains fully open for import and exports and once complete, the terminal will be restored to its full storage capacity of 135,000 m/t and continue to benefit from the full multimodal services at the port including river barge transportation into central London.
The terminal also operates a monthly coastal shipping service from Tilbury to its sister port in Kirkcaldy, Scotland for Carr’s Milling.
*The fire at the grain terminal was in July 2020 and damaged the silo tower and some other equipment. No one was injured.


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In partnership with OneTreePlanted, London-based ethical jewellery brand Lebrusan Studio has launched its Treasure for Trees initiative, wherein 10 trees are planted for every piece of jewellery sold.
This is an unconditional commitment that applies to every single purchase, from made-to-order engagement rings and wedding bands to unique bespoke commissions. The jeweller has announced this plan in conjunction with Valentine’s Day, referencing its love affair with Mother Nature. “Valentine’s Day is all about showing love to those who deserve it, so today we’re paying our respects to the lady who will always have our hearts,” the team says.
“At Lebrusan Studio we’re committed to transparent supply chains, sustainable manufacture and only the most ethical metals and gemstones we can find,” the brand’s award-winning Creative Director Arabel Lebrusan explains.
“But in our minds, it’s not enough to simply sell an ethical product. As an ethical brand, we are always on the lookout for new ways to put our money where our mouth is and improve how we operate as a business. Inherent in doing so is ensuring we’re actively giving back.
“Throughout history, metal and gemstone mining has been the catalyst for catastrophic levels of environmental destruction. We feel it’s the responsibility of jewellers like us to start trying to right some of these wrongs.”
With the help of OneTreePlanted and Sustinere, Lebrusan Studio’s trees will be planted in the Chocó, a department of Western Colombia and one of the world’s most biodiverse areas. The district is home to over 8,000 species of plant, 6,000 species of bird and significant volumes of endemic wildlife. In spite of this, gold mining and logging operations are decimating an estimated 13,474 hectares of the Chocó per year.
Reforestation projects are a means of restoring habitats, reversing biodiversity loss, slowing global warming, decontaminating soil and water and addressing conditions of poverty by including trees and plants that yield fruits and vegetables, which can then be sold to local markets. In this instance, this fresh produce will generate a group of 50 women entrepreneurs, increase the household income of 100 families by 20% and train young people in agro-forestry and sustainability. In the end, these new trees will also absorb 15,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
OneTreePlanted is a non-profit organisation dedicated to global reforestation, having planted more than 40,000,000 trees in over 43 countries since 2014. Its aim is to make reforestation accessible, providing an easy opportunity for individuals and businesses alike to give back to the environment.
Lebrusan Studio’s commitment to the initiative is announced shortly after the team donated £1,000 to the Global March Against Child Labour, the pinnacle of a six-month campaign dedicated to raising awareness of child labour in jewellery supply chains.


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Why Phoenix should be looking up to Seattle, not Austin
A lot has been made lately of Phoenix competing with Austin for technology and high-wage jobs.
So, GM is adding 500 jobs and Apple 3,600 jobs to Austin.
That’s created some hand-wringing here about Texas’ penchant for offering big incentives for projects like that, and how Arizona competes.
But Phoenix may not totally want to look to Austin as its role model. Instead, when the Valley grows up, its goal may be to be more like Seattle.
We have a story this week in our print edition about continued concerns about Phoenix losing or not attracting young professionals, new college graduates, and creative and technology types. The Center for the Future of Arizona has new report out that says the state and Valley need to be more attractive to education and skilled young workers lest we get left in the dust by the likes Austin, Denver and Seattle.
Seattle has many of the things Phoenix probably needs if it is going to attract and keep professional workers and compete globally. And, while Austin is an emerging high-tech center, it is still a second-tier U.S. market in many respects, such as population and transportation.
Seattle has well-known corporate headquarters that impress supply chains, industry brethren and talent: Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco, Amazon, Nordstrom and RealNetworks. Seattle also has major manufacturing for Boeing and a huge aerospace supply chain.
It has international flights to China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Dubai, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, France and Britain. Phoenix only has one direct European flight (to London) and none to Asia, where the global economy’s future is likely centered.
Mike Sunnucks writes about politics, law, airlines, sports business and the economy.
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- Could Kroger disrupt the $9 billion Albertsons-Safeway deal?
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Web Summit is an annual technology conference held in Lisbon, Portugal, considered the largest tech event in the world. Web Summit has been described as the most important tech event in the world. Web Summit brings together the people and companies redefining the global tech industry.
The director of the Office of The Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission, Ľuboš Kukliš, who is currently the chairman of The European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) took the stage in a panel debate on the topic of “The digital age of consent: Over 18s only?”.
Find a video from this panel debate HEREMore information »


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Luxury motorcycle brand Ducati
announced the launch of Panigale V4 R in India at an introductory price of Rs
51,87,000 (ex-showroom India).
The Panigale V4 R will be
limited to five units in India and bookings for the motorcycle are now open
across all Ducati dealerships in India. For bookings made before November 30,
2018, deliveries will commence in the early part of Q1 2019 – for all bookings
post November, deliveries will begin in Q2 2019.
The Panigale V4 R is a
road-legal WSBK category racing bike and constitutes the technical platform for
the official Ducati Superbikes that will compete in the 2019 season. The 1,103
cm3 90° V4 engine has been replaced with the 998 cm3 Desmosedici Stradale R
which brings it within the displacement limits established by WSBK championship
The bike features a new
fairing incorporating wings elements of MotoGP origin. It also has race-grade
Öhlins suspension with mechanical adjustment and an aluminium swingarm with an
adjustable four-position axle. Moreover, the Front Frame has been modified to
achieve the stiffness targets set by Ducati Corse. Sophisticated electronic
controls borrowed from the Panigale V4 S now have revised threshold levels to
make them more compatible with pro rider requirements.
The modifications extend far
beyond the engine and suspension set-up: for the first time they also include
an Aero Pack designed directly by Ducati Corse in close collaboration with the
Ducati Style Centre to improve on-track aerodynamic efficiency.
ReadyAssist, an autotech startup plans to invest USD 8 million over a year to augment EV infrastructure in the country. It will kick-off the initiative by setting-up Grid, a phygital store (Physical s...
Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has announced its new campaign with the 6- and 7-Seater SUV – Alcazar, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and the four 4 Indian Women Cricketers -Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigu...
Leading two wheeler automobile manufacturer TVS Motor Company has announced the integration of the innovative location technology, what3words into its customer app – TVS Connect. TVS Connect users ca...


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Summer drought affects apple orchards in Minnesota
As Minnesota apple orchards open for the season, summer drought is impacting some early crops.
“2021, weather-wise, has been very interesting,” said Chris Aamodt, president and owner of Aamodt’s Apple Farm, Stillwater. “It’s kind of a hodgepodge of different things that sums up how this season is going to be.”
Aamodt said the mild onset of winter followed by very cold temperatures affected fruit budding. Then, the onset of spring caused some types of trees to flower earlier than usual.
“We’re basically seven to 14 days ahead of some varieties,” Aamodt said.
Minnesota also experienced a very hot and dry summer. Much of the state is currently in “exceptional” or “extreme” drought conditions, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
“Some of the early apples, I would say, are a bit undersized because they need that moisture to grow,” Aamodt said.
He said a few varieties may also have limited availability this year.
“I know First Kiss is an apple that’s going down statewide in Minnesota. I’m guessing First Kiss is going down 50 percent,” Aamodt explained.
He said the state of the overall crop will largely depend on where you are in the state. He noted that many varieties from their farm, including the fan-favorite Honeycrisp, have bounced back with the recent rain.
“We were really lucky that some of these little popcorn storms showed up and gave us some moisture; even if it’s a quarter inch, it helps,” Aamodt said. “As soon as it rains, you can almost hear them growing.”
Apple Farm in Aamodt planted 350 new SweeTango trees this year. Aamodt said these saplings were among their biggest concerns about the drought.
“We watered them by hand, meaning a tank on a trailer on a tractor,” Aamodt said. “We watered them about three or four times, so it took about 1,000 gallons a time to water them. We didn’t want them to be stunted. We wanted them to have a good first growing season in the orchard. .”
He noted that the early start of the apple picking season does not necessarily mean the season will end early. He said the weather this fall and the use of the orchard by apple pickers will determine the end of the season.
Aamodt’s opened for the season on August 1. Apple picking will take place seven days a week until Labor Day, then Monday through Friday after Labor Day, with other activities available on weekends. Click here for more information.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Regis Corp. RGS, -0.28% fell more than 11% on Wednesday after the hair salon operator cut its third-quarter forecast, citing weak product margins and sales. On a conference call Tuesday afternoon, company executives said they were disappoitnted with the quarter but they expected a rebound. "We are highly confident that in either fiscal 2007 or 2008, we will return to more normalized comps in excess of 2%," said Chief Executive Paul Finkelstein. RBC Dain Raucher analyst Michael Hamilton cut his rating on Regis to sector perform from outperform and said that execution needs to be demonstrated. The shares were down 10.6% at $33.45 in midday trading, after hitting a 52-week low of $33.10 earlier in the session.
Regis shares tumble on lowered view


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A Facebook representative told a Senate committee hearing on mobile privacy on Thursday that protecting consumer privacy was important to the company’s survival.“For Facebook — like other providers of social technologies — getting this balance right is not only the right thing to do, but a matter of survival,” Facebook’s Bret Taylor said in written testimony before the committee.
“At the same time, Facebook is fundamentally about sharing, and adopting overly restrictive policies will prevent our social features from functioning in the way that individuals expect and demand,” Taylor said in written testimony. Taylor is Facebook’s chief technology officer, the former CEO of FriendFeed, and co-creator of Google Maps.
Taylor said that to satisfy the expectations of Facebook users, they have to both protect their information but also “ensure that new protections do not interfere with people’s freedom to share and connect.”
“We need to continually evolve our services and the privacy safeguards included in them to respond to the feedback that we receive from the community and as required by law,” Taylor said.
Facebook, said Taylor, cannot adopt a “one-size-fits-all approach” to consumer privacy because “some people want to share everything with everyone, some want to share far less and with a small audience, and most fall somewhere in between.”
The company’s privacy practice, said Taylor, “help us build and maintain peoples trust as we continue to pioneer the new social and connectivity features that people who use Facebook expect and demand.”


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Bitcasa, which three years ago tried to sell the idea of infinite storage in the cloud for $10 per month, is killing its entire cloud storage business to focus full attention on its platform business.
In an email dated April 21 to its customers, the San Mateo, California-based company said the following:
“This message is to inform you that the Bitcasa Drive service will no longer be supported. You will need to take action to avoid losing your files.
“All data must be downloaded by 11:59pm PST on May 20, 2016, after which time all accounts and stored data on Bitcasa Drive will be permanently deleted.
“To learn why this is happening, please click here.
“Thank you for being a Bitcasa user. We have appreciated all of your support.”
Business Strategy Change to Sell Driver
More than a year ago, Bitcasa made a central business strategy change to its CloudFS software driver, which allows any device to access cloud storage automatically at the operating system level, eliminating the need for storage on desktop or portable drives.
The idea was to help users not to have to think about storage—by using this driver, all content was to flow directly into the secure Bitcasa cloud and not into any type of physical storage.
Not anymore, however. There will be no Bitcasa cloud storage after May 20. Anybody using a Bitcasa CloudFS driver will have to channel all content to another cloud service provider, such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.
Actually, Bitcasa doesn’t appear to like the storage business as a whole anymore. It is killing its own cloud service, and it also doesn’t want anybody to store files in physical stores.
To that, we at eWEEK say: Everything has to be somewhere, and this includes digital files.
The company explained:
“Bitcasa Drive Discontinued”
“We are discontinuing our Bitcasa Drive service in order to focus our full attention on our growing platform business. All account owners must take action to avoid losing their files. For more information, please visit our Help Center. Thank you for being a Bitcasa Drive user. We have appreciated all of your support.”
A Bitcasa representative did not respond to an eWEEK request to know how much data will be vacating the company’s cloud store by May 20.
Not the First Time Bitcasa Has Been in Trouble
This isn’t the first time that Bitcasa has changed the rules for its storage customers. In November 2014, the company dropped the “unlimited” service after a number of customers went crazy with storing content, causing the company to consider bankruptcy. CEO Brian Taptich, who didn’t create the original business plan, called the whole strategy a “wildly money-losing proposition.”
Angry customers filed a class action lawsuit against the company for allegedly breaching its contract through the sudden switch.
The lawsuit ended in Bitcasa’s favor, with U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordering the plaintiff to shell out $99 for an additional month under Bitcasa’s new pricing plan if he wants more time to move data. However, financial details unearthed in the lawsuit painted a bleak picture for the startup.
Taptich told GigaOm at the time that removing unlimited storage was not a pleasant experience but a necessary move for the company to get its finances back on track. Bitcasa simply could not afford to keep unlimited-storage users as customers; one user who was storing 82TB of data was costing the company around $3,000 to $4,000 a month, he said.


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Richmont Holdings, a closely held company that invests in consumer brands, is arranging financing for a bid for Avon Products, said two people familiar with the matter.
Richmont has hired financial advisers and is well along toward assembling a bid, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter isn’t public.
Avon, the world’s largest direct cosmetics seller, rejected a $10 billion bid from Coty last month, saying the offer was too low and that the company was undertaking a turnaround. Avon held its shareholder meeting in New York yesterday, and new Chief Executive Officer Sheri McCoy told attendees that stabilizing the business is her top priority.
The appointment of Avon’s new CEO hasn’t dissuaded Richmont, which would continue Avon’s direct-selling model, said one of the people.
Richmont founder and Chairman John Rochon served as CEO of Mary Kay, a door-to-door cosmetics seller that awarded its signature pink Cadillacs to top representatives. Richmont’s plans may depend in part on Coty’s next move, said one person.
Avon didn’t respond to Coty’s April 30 deadline to consider further talks, a Coty adviser said yesterday.


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January 22, 2015 - Industry News
Ryder is now using 10W-30 grade oil to service all Ryder lease, rental and maintenance customer vehicle as part of the company’s preventive maintenance program.
Tags: OIl, Ryder System, Low-Viscosity Oil, Preventive Maintenance
Class 8 truck orders in 2014 were up 42% over 2013, with 380,200 net orders being placed last year, according to data from ACT Research. Class 5-7 truck orders also performed well, selling 223,250 units.
Tags: Class 8, Medium-Duty Trucks, ACT Research, Truck Orders
December trailer orders were second only to October 2014 in volume, and trailer orders for the year hit an all-time high.
Tags: Dry Vans, FTR, Manufacturing, Trailer Orders, Trailers
January 21, 2015 - Press Release
Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. has announced that it will celebrate its centennial throughout 2015 with a variety of special events and activities.
Tags: India, Allison Transmission, Hungary, Corporate Anniversaries
January 21, 2015 - Industry News
The Teamsters Union has lost another vote in its recent efforts to organize more drivers at FedEx Freight.
Tags: Con-way Freight, Truck Drivers, Fleets, Teamsters, Labor Unions, FedEx Freight
The Blue Water Bridge international crossing in Port Huron, Michigan will be partially closed beginning April 1, likely leading to traffic backups between the U.S. and Canada.
Tags: Canada, Cross-Border Trucking, Michigan, Road Construction, Bridges
Constellation will acquire seven compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations in Indiana and Ohio under an agreement with CNG Fuel, Inc., the company has announced.
Tags: Ohio, Indiana, CNG Fueling Stations
Zenith Freight Lines LLC is selling the remaining 51% share not owned by Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. to the furniture manufacturer.
Tags: Fleets, Mergers & Acquisitions
The former CEO of the trucking company USA Dry Van Logistics has pleaded guilty in federal court in Texas to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.
Tags: FBI, Crime & Fraud, Fleets, People
President Obama used his State of the Union address to repeat his call to reform corporate taxes and spend some of the proceeds on a long-term highway bill.
Tags: Congress, Highway Funding, President Obama, ATA
The U.S. housing market showed its best signs of recovery last year, well above 2013’s level, according to a new Commerce Department report.
Tags: Economy, Housing Starts
The 2015 Ford F-150 has been rated to have the lowest impact on the environment, lowest cost of ownership, and the top-rated production chain in terms of social justice among full-size pickup trucks, according to an automotive research firm.
Tags: Ford F-150, Full-Size Pickups, Ford, 2015-MY, Fuel Economy, TCO, Lifecycle Costs
A section of southbound Interstate 75 in Cincinnati has reopened following a bridge collapse late Monday evening resulting in its closure.
Tags: Accidents, Ohio, I-75, Interstate 75
The difficulty and cost of including crash fault in the CSA safety enforcement system appears to outweigh the benefits, according to an analysis by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The long-awaited report to Congress, which will be made public today, says that police accident reports probably don’t provide enough information to support determinations of fault.
Tags: FMCSA, CSA, Crash Accountability
Rates on the spot market continue moving lower while truckload capacity jumped, the first indication of a more typical slow, winter freight season, according to the freight matching service provider DAT Solutions.
Tags: Spot Freight, Freight Rates, DAT Solutions
Lytx reached a record growth of 57,000 new subscriptions in service for 2014.
Tags: Lytx, Driver Behavior
January 20, 2015 - Industry News
CCC Parts Company has completed the purchase of TOR Truck Corporation, a wholesale distribution company specializing in providing drivetrain solutions and components. CCC Parts Company is a wholesale distributor of heavy-duty truck and trailer products.
Tags: CCC, Distributors, Mergers & Acquisitions, Parts and Service
Fuel prices continue a big decline with diesel posting its biggest weekly drop in recent memory, according to U.S. Energy Department figures.
Tags: Oil Prices, Diesel Prices, Gasoline Prices
Washington-based Radiant Logistics Inc. announced on Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Wheels Group Inc., one of the largest non-asset based third party logistics providers based in Canada.
Tags: Canada, Cross-Border Trucking, 3PL, Fleets, Mergers & Acquisitions
Volvo Trucks reached a market share of 15.3% of the Canadian heavy-duty retail market, a record for the manufacturer. It also saw an all-time high market share in combined U.S. and Canadian sales.
Tags: Canada, Volvo Trucks, Truck Sales
A new report shows the amount of freight moved in the final month of last year was unchanged from the month before but posted a healthy gain for all of last year.
Tags: Economy, ATA, Freight, Truck Tonnage
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes declined just one point to 57, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Tuesday.
Tags: Economy, Home Building
Mercedes-Benz will debut its 2016 Metris mid-size van at the Work Truck Show on March 4, prior to offering the commercial vehicle for sale in the U.S. in the fall, show producer NTEA has announced.
Tags: Cargo Vans, Mercedes-Benz, Work Truck Show, Mercedes-Benz Metris
The dip in oil prices is temporary and will not affect the way federal agencies set fuel economy standards, including upcoming new requirements for heavy trucks, said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
Tags: Fuel Economy Standards, EPA, NHTSA, Regulations, GHG
A section of an old overpass collapsed Monday evening along southbound Interstate 75 in Ohio, closing a part of the route for potentially several days.
We offer e-newsletters that deliver targeted news and information for the entire fleet industry.
The expert, Mark Betner from CITGO, will answer your questions
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Ultimate Test Drive Video: Western Star 5700XE Walk Around
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Video: Life on the Road With Women Truck Drivers
PDA Provides Quick Estimates Across the U.S.
ALK Maps Releases Weather Alert Module Module for Maps
New Option Packages Now Available for Freightliner Truck
HD PowerSmoke Tester Helps Find Air, Exhaust Leaks


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What would a week be without another game-changing update to Fortnite (opens in new tab) Battle Royale? Just another week, I’d imagine, but best not to dwell on worst case scenarios like that.
Instead, let’s have a look at what’s new in Patch 3.5, which has been rolled out by Epic Games today, and comes bearing lots of big changes to the crafting-survival deathmatch formula that the game now has a monopoly over.
- Fortnite Battle Pass Challenges guide (opens in new tab)
- Fortnite Tier 100 Challenge guide (opens in new tab)
- Fortnite weapons guide (opens in new tab)
The big stuff first: the much talked about Port-a-Fort (opens in new tab), a grenade which instantly creates a metallic sniper’s perch when thrown, is now available in the game as an item. That means you’re about to see a lot more towers than you might be used to, though it’s not yet clear how rare an item the Port-a-Fort is, or how quickly it builds said tower upon hitting its target.
Next, Replay Mode, which was originally shown off at GDC 2018 (opens in new tab), is also live on PC and console (sorry mobile players), complete with “a suite of cinematic settings [that means] you can now capture your most memorable moments, highlights and cinematics.”
Fortnite tips (opens in new tab) – 12 things I wish I knew before playing Fortnite Battle Royale
With the in-game video editing software, players will be able to speed up and slow down time, hop between multiple perspectives, tweak with filters and camera settings, and toggle information like player outlines and name plates, all in the name of creating the perfect replay.
In the patch notes published on Epic’s website (opens in new tab), the studio also teases the possibility of competitions and prizes for those who create memorable films via the Replay system, so reliving those Victory Royales isn’t just an erstwhile pastime, but a chance at nabbing some real life Fortnite loot.
And finally, the limited event known as 50v50 Mode is back and better than ever, with an updated variant called 50v50 v2. No, that doesn’t mean two teams of 50 players are up against a very unlucky duo, but version 2 will offer new tweaks to the old formula, such as two different Battle Buses, more loot, and a more aggressive storm.
As expected, Epic has also brought in a number of smaller hotfixes to Fortnite with Patch 3.5, all of which you can read in full on their website (opens in new tab).
TLDR? Here’s the main stuff you need to know; Loot Llamas can now be opened with destruction as well as interaction, there’s a new Squad Comm wheel for communicating with strangers in your team, a Builder Pro controller configuration is available on console, and you’re now able to distinguish friendly traps from enemy ones, thanks to a blue tint painted across the former.
As for any news regarding that impending comet (opens in new tab), Epic still hasn’t made an official comment on the matter, but today’s patch may well have sneakily updated its appearance, so have a look in the sky once you’re in a match and see if you think it’s got any closer since last week…


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Kevin Trudeau accused of violating customer privacy.
This week Consumer Health Digest has a new matter on Kevin Trudeau:
The New York State Consumer Protection Board (CPB) has warned that consumers who purchase Kevin Trudeau's book, "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About," may have their contact information sold to telemarketers, junk mailers, and other direct marketers. In a news release, CPB's chairman said that consumers were not notified that this might happen. [Without notice to consumers, Kevin Trudeau is selling customer names & addresses from infomercial orders: Consumers also being hit with unexpected charges for Trudeau newsletter and discount purchase programs. CPB press release, Oct 27, 2005] http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/trudeaucpb.html Trudeau's attorney (David Bradford) stated that Trudeau didn't promote the idea that buyers can "opt out" of their information being used, but they can be excluded by notifying the Trudeau's company. [Agency: Natural cures guy selling names. Associated Press, Oct 27, 2005]


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Over half of supply chain organizations have improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as an objective or goal, but only a quarter have formal targets, according to a report published by Gartner, Inc. and the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM).
Nearly 59% of surveyed supply chain organizations reported having some form of objective to improve any dimension of DEI, and 23% of those organizations have formal target or goals included in management scorecards.
“This makes sense when you look at the social justice movements of 2020. The largest global companies have globally recognizable brands, so they were under a lot of pressure to take action,” says Dana Stiffler, VP analyst with the Gartner Supply Chain Practice. “In a global organization, it’s more likely they’ll have a DEI officer or an HR leader that owns and cascades the DEI strategy. Where this is not happening fast enough, some chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) have designed and launched their own initiatives.”
“Building a diverse workforce is essential, not aspirational,” says ASCM CEO Abe Eshkenazi. “Diversity of thought, influence and input — particularly from women and people of color — is crucial to today’s global supply chains.”
From Gartner Inc.:
- Only 24% of small business supply chains have improved DEI as an objective.
- Only 9% of vice presidents in supply chain organizations in the United States, Canada, and Europe are people of color.
- 36% of respondents said that the supply chain organization is leading initiatives, while 20% said their company has enterprise-wide initiatives. This leaves 44% who don’t have any kind of initiative or are still considering starting one.


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HOLIDAY PERFORMANCE SHOWCASE 2018
posted Dec 16, 2018, 8:46 PM
On December 16 the Glen Cairn Skating Club hosed our annual Holiday Performance Showcase at Jack Charron Arena, featuring figure skating by Glen Cairn Skating Club's own STARSkaters.
We had hot chocolate and popcorn and a chance to earn prizes from a raffle and a 50/50 draw.
After the show, all were welcome to stay and enjoy a family skate.
Please stay tuned for photos from the event!
SKATE CANADA CHALLENGE
posted Dec 3, 2018, 1:32 PM
Glen Cairn Skating Club's own Victoria Gardner competed at the Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton, Alberta from November 28 - December 2.
It was great to be able to watch the performances on live streaming through the Skate Canada website. You made us proud, Victoria!
Victoria with her coach, Marie Palladini-Hamelin, and Coach Robert Tebby at Skate Canada Challenge