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Huawei Technologies Co showcases the latest version of its self-developed cloud database GaussDB in Shanghai on Wednesday. (CHINA DAILY)
Huawei Technologies Co on Wednesday unveiled the latest version of its self-developed cloud database GaussDB, marking another breakthrough for the company in crucial technology despite Washington's prolonged restrictions, experts said.
The Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based firm's latest innovation represents an organized collection of information that can be searched, sorted and updated, and it is of growing importance to the efficient management and use of data, which has now become a crucial production element and can create enhanced value.
Zhang Ping'an, CEO of Huawei Cloud, said at the company's global finance conference in Shanghai on Wednesday: "If we compare the entire software industry system to a towering tree, the database is at the core foundation of the tree. It gives birth to and supports almost all software ecosystems, thereby enabling the smooth operation of all the core business systems across various industries in digital China."
Therefore, the database is known as the root technology of the software industry, and its high-quality development is of utmost importance for its growth and strength, Zhang said.
Huawei said GaussDB is the only database in China that is 100 percent independently researched and developed, with software and hardware operating synergistically.
Zhang said the research and development of the GaussDB database began as early as 2001 and that it has already been used within the company's internal IT systems and several core business networks.
Several major lenders such as Postal Savings Bank of China and China Merchants Bank have successfully adopted GaussDB for the core systems of their operations.
"Many Asian banks are already testing and using GaussDB, and customers in South America are also showing an interest," Zhang added.
The senior executive also called on software developers in China to partner with Huawei to leverage their domestic market experience to expand globally and provide reliable digital services to global businesses and government agencies.
Huawei's participation in the database market also provides new choices in a market that has long been dominated by US companies such as Oracle and IBM, and it is setting a positive example for the whole cloud data storage industry in China, as the cloud and AI sectors grow rapidly and generate tremendous demand for data processing and management, experts said.
Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, said domestic companies are expected to gain a bigger share in the global database market amid growing geopolitical uncertainties, and such a trend is already being seen in the financial and telecommunications sectors.
Domestic database firms received at least 51 bids in China in 2022, according to data compiled by Modb.pro, a Chinese online community for data professionals. The largest bid amount was awarded to a consortium consisting of ZTE, OceanBase and another two companies who won a bid from China Mobile amounting to 146 million yuan ($20.5 million).
Meng Wanzhou, rotating chairwoman and chief financial officer of Huawei, also said on Wednesday that the company is committed to continuing investment in "root "technology research, improving product resilience and achieving high-performance, security and reliability so as to better facilitate digital transformation of the financial sector.
Neil Shah, vice-president of research at global industry consultancy Counterpoint Research, said earlier that: "Huawei is well-positioned to scale its cloud business outside the telecom world into enterprise. It's already gaining traction in China and it can scale in other markets outside China, such as India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa."


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Adidas is being sued by its investors over the handling of Kanye West
Is Kanye West being sued? Adidas has been hit with a lawsuit over its partnership with the billionaire rapper, who hasn’t been served himself.
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According to the most recent note to clients by Ming-Chi Kuo of TF Securities, the most reliably of Apple analysts out there, iPhones released in 2021 will feature both the Face ID authentication method and a new under-screen Touch ID sensor.
An expert from Kuo’s note to clients, obtained Monday by MacRumors:
In terms of technology, we predict that four critical technical issues of fingerprint on display technology will significantly improve in 12–18 months, including module thickness, sensing area, power consumption and lamination yield rate. Therefore, we believe that Apple will launch the new iPhone equipped with both Face ID and fingerprint on display to enhance security and convenience thanks to the multi-biometrics.
He thinks Apple will source the large-area sensing ultrasonic technology from GIS while Qualcomm will supply the ultrasonic module and lamination. Moreover, the revered analyst went on to speculate that Apple Watch could support the feature in the future.
Now, Kuo has earned his fame by having excellent sources in Apple’s supply chain in Asia who provide pieces of information that he puts together to form a bigger picture. This particular prediction, however, is based on Apple’s patents and the Android smartphone market.
Under-screen fingerprint sensing has matured enough to be now used more or less reliably as an authentication method on some Android handsets, like OnePlus 7 Pro. But the experience of using under-screen fingerprint readers on several Android phones that I’ve tried this far leaves a lot to be desired, especially on Galaxy S10. The technology just isn’t reliable enough to be used as a viable Touch ID replacement, in my humble opinion.
On top of that, various comments from Apple executives acknowledged that Apple at no point in time was testing in-screen fingerprint readers ahead of the iPhone X introduction, as the likes of The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg suggested. Put simply, Apple didn’t spend years developing a Touch ID replacement only to supposedly decide to perhaps drop it for another form of fingerprint sensing which doesn’t work as great as the original Touch ID.
There’s also the case of security. Two-step verification stemming from two different biometric methods is more secure than having a single biometric solution, but it also makes the user experience less intuitive. But more importantly, fingerprint sensing is significantly less secure than infrared-based facial recognition employed by Face ID, with a 1 in a million chance someone could unlock your phone with their face versus the one in 50,000 odds of someone else’s fingerprint falsely unlocking it.
That being said, as someone who has used Face ID-outfitted iPhones for nearly two years now, I can definitely see how having both authentication methods actually could improve the user experience (rather than security): Face ID would remain as the primary authentication method for Apple Pay, App Store purchases and the like while Touch ID could be used to quickly unlock the device without having to stare at the TrueDepth camera.
Does that make any sense to you? For the sake of completeness, let’s point out that investment bank Barclays recently predicted that iPhones released in 2020 would adopt acoustic fingerprint sensors behind the display area, allowing for a full-screen Touch ID.
Thoughts on Kuo’s reports?
Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.


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Supported Windows Phones are getting the June 2018 update
Microsoft rolls out the June 2018 security patch
Windows 10 Mobile Build 15254.489 has been released this week as part of the monthly cumulative update cycle. The security patch brings some minor improvements and tweaks for supported Windows phones. Here are the release notes:
This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update. Key changes include:
- This build includes all the improvements from KB4284874.
- Addresses a mobile-only issue in which Enterprise files could be saved as Personal files although the Windows Information Protection policy is enabled on the device.
- If you installed earlier updates, only the new fixes contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.
You can grab the June’s update from Update & Security → Windows Update. Microsoft will keep supporting the last high-end Windows phones until December 2019, according to the official support page. However, more and more users are probably looking for alternative hardware, as Microsoft hasn’t released a new smartphone for more than 2 years, while according to our sources, the rumored ‘Andromeda / Surface’ device might have been delayed to early 2019 or even cancelled. Even if Andromeda sees a daylight this year, it will be very unusual and expensive device to become a real alternative of the smartphone.


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A CORK company has been scammed out of hundreds of thousands of euro in a fraud targeting businesses and charities.
Gardai are warning businesses to be on the alert for any emails claiming to be from a respected figure in the company seeking the transfer of large sums of money in the wake of the incident.
According to gardaí, the successful fraud attempt is one of several made in the Cork area in recent months. No details are being revealed about the nature of the company, or its location.
Typically, an email purporting to be from a company’s chief executive is received by staff in charge of finances in the company, asking for a sum to be transferred to an account. Typically, the money is wired outside of the country, making it very difficult for gardaí to investigate. The scam is an international one which has targeted businesses across the world. It is known as CEO fraud.
Gardai say that in some instances, the requests to transfer money are made late on a Friday afternoon, adding to the note of urgency to have the transaction carried out before the weekend.
The recent attack involves criminals hacking into a target company’s email system.
It follows an attempt last autumn to target Cork City Council, where a suspicious email was received by the council’s finance department, claiming to be from the council’s chief executive, Ann Doherty. However, a red flag was raised in that incident when the email was prevented from going through the system by the spam filters and finance staff discovered that the format of the email address was not the same as the legitimate email address for Ms Doherty.
Last October, more than €4 million was transferred to Hong Kong from Meath County Council but the funds were frozen when the fraud was detected.


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Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed a slew of groundbreaking IOS features for the iPhone. With everything from allowing Siri to be manipulated by developers to the fresh and explosive iMessage, Apple showboated amazing elements that will be implemented in future IOS updates.
After Apple WWDC 2016, Tim Cook was interviewed for additional questions on the updates. He was specifically excited about a new technology his developers were working on. When asked about this technology, he stated, “Donald Trump receives too much media attention. With this feature, iPhone users will have the option to block any reference of his name. In addition to that, using revolutionary face recognition technology, any photo of Donald Trump will now be replaced with a potato because a potato has the same importance as a man who runs a campaign on racism.”
Apple fans from all over the world are excited to see this feature implemented. A recent poll shows that 72% of iPhone users would definitely rather see a potato over Donald Trump.


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Starbucks is offering a new carrot to its non-union workforce as it works to stem the labor movement within its ranks: Savings and loan management benefits.
The coffee giant, which has been making massive changes to its business in recent months from new worker benefits and pay packages to an overhauled management team, said the benefits would improve workers’ financial stability.
They follow pay increases given to workers in non-union stores, to an average of nearly $17 an hour, early last month. The company has said it has invested $1 billion this fiscal year on new pay and benefits packages.
“We’ve heard from our partners and know that pressures of inflation, in addition to debt and savings are weighing heavily on them,” Ron Crawford, SVP of total rewards at the Seattle-based company, said in a statement.
Starbucks is working with the financial firm Fidelity on My Starbucks Savings, which is designed to help workers save money. Employees will be able to contribute a portion of their after-tax pay into a personal savings account. To incentivize such savings, the company will contribute $25 and $50 credits, up to $250 per worker.
The company said it is also creating a student loan management benefit through Tuition.io. The benefit will help workers manage student loan payments, including new tools, resources and individual coaches. There are also loan repayment and refinancing options.
The benefit could also include income-based repayment and refinancing options and how to best finance education.
Starbucks has faced a substantial labor push around the country, though at least some analysts suggest that the effort has slowed down since the company bolstered pay for non-union workers last month.
Peter Saleh, an analyst with BTIG, said in a note last month that union filings were at their lowest level all year in August. Employees at more than 200 restaurants have voted to form unions. “We believe the recent wage hikes … are having an adverse effect on the labor unions,” he wrote.
The new benefits come on the eve of Starbucks’ Investor Day, when it’s expected to announce a broad set of changes to operations, relationships with its workers and new programs. The company has already announced an expansion of its Starbucks Rewards loyalty program into “Web 3,” giving customers the ability to purchase non-fungible tokens or NFTs, that can be used for various rewards.
The company has also named Laxman Narasimhan to be the company’s next CEO. Narasimhan will start at Starbucks Oct. 1 and will work under Interim CEO Howard Schultz through next April, when he takes over the full-time job.
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Ballygowan Activ+ made Official Fitness Partner of GAA/GPA
Ballygown Activ+, a new product from Britvic Ireland, has been launched in conjunction with the announcement that the brand will be the official fitness partner for the GAA and GPA.
20 August 2019 | 0
Ballygowan, part of the Britvic Ireland soft drinks group, has teamed up with the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association to develop a fitness drink for active lives. Ballygowan Activ+ is now the official fitness partner of the GAA/GPA. Through the partnership, a contribution from each bottle sold will be directed to GAA initiatives to fund grassroots GAA and GPA player development programmes.
Delivering on Britvic’s ‘A Healthier Everyday’ strategy to help consumers make healthier choices and lead healthier lives, Ballygowan Activ+ was developed by Britvic in consultation with the GAA/GPA based on the refreshment needs of both elite sports people and today’s everyday health-conscious consumer. Development of the product took 18-months and included intensive research in sports nutrition, packaging development and the Britvic liquid development team, with extensive consumer research at every stage.
Ballygowan Activ+ has zero sugar and only 25 calories per 500ml bottle with two tempting fruit flavours to choose from; Orange or Apple & Raspberry. It is available nationwide at an RRP of €1.75/£1.35.
Launching the new partnership, John Horan, Uachtarán CLG, thanked Ballygowan for its commitment to supporting GAA players through the initiative. “Our players are great ambassadors for our games and prepare themselves to the highest standards,” he said, “so that they can perform at their very best.
“I’m certain our players will benefit hugely in their preparation and hydration from the new Ballygowan Activ+ drink as well as off the field through the allocation of funding to Player Welfare initiatives.”
Paul Flynn, GPA chief executive officer said Ballygowan has long been leaders in sports hydration, making it a perfect fit as official fitness partner of the GPA.”A percentage of sales from every bottle will benefit our players,” Flynn said, “with proceeds contributing to the GPA Player Development Programme. These programmes play a key role in developing our amateur players as professionals. In addition, it will enable the growth of football and hurling across the country, driving Gaelic Games from grassroots up.”


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Constantia Flexibles signs agreement to acquire Drukpol Flexo
The company is growing with the Polish Drukpol Flexo sp. Z.o.o.
Vienna, March 2, 2023
Constantia Flexibles, the third largest producer of flexible packaging worldwide, has signed an agreement to acquire the Polish company Drukpol Flexo.
“We are delighted by this opportunity to invest in the growth of our European flexo printing platform whilst reinforcing our successful footprint in Poland,” said Pim Vervaat, CEO of Constantia Flexibles. On March 2, 2023, Constantia Flexibles has agreed to acquire the Polish flexible packaging company Drukpol Flexo sp. Z.o.o. “I am convinced that Drukpol Flexo has found the right partner for the future and continues to grow under Constantia Flexibles’ wings,” states the founder and owner of Drukpol Flexo, Zenon Ziemak.
We are delighted by this opportunity to invest in the growth of our European flexo printing platform whilst reinforcing our successful footprint in Poland.
Founded in 1992, the company has grown to 183 employees and is a well-established player in the Polish flexible packaging market with strong capabilities in flexo printing, extrusion lamination, and vertical integration. Drukpol Flexo mainly serves domestic food and HPC markets for local and international customers. It brings two additional sites close to Poland’s capital, Warsaw. Therefore, it is highly complementary to Constantia Flexibles’ existing sites Constantia Teich Poland in Rogowiec and Constantia ColorCap in Jejkowice.
By becoming part of Constantia Flexibles, Drukpol Flexo has the possibility to continue its growth and enhance its offering with the more sustainable product portfolio of Constantia Flexibles.
Terms are not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to competition clearance and other closing conditions, and completion is expected in Q2 2023.
Constantia Flexibles is the world’s third-largest producer of flexible packaging. Based on the guiding principle of ‘People, Passion, Packaging’, some 8,750 employees manufacture tailor-made packaging solutions at 38 sites in 16 countries. Many international companies and local market leaders from the consumer and pharma industries choose the sustainable and innovative products of Constantia Flexibles. Sustainability is a top priority in product development at Constantia Flexibles: the company was rated Level A- by Climate Change Leadership (CDP) and Gold by EcoVadis in 2022. www.cflex.com


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One Punch Man started as a superhero manga series but was so successful that it has been adapted into other media, including anime and a live-action film in the works at Sony. The manga has also been adapted for video games and it has just been announced that a new manga is in the works.
The game, titled One Punch Man: World, is in development by Perfect World Games and is published by Crunchyroll Games. As far as we know, the video game will be adapting the first season of the anime.
what’s more It seems that consoles – PlayStation, Xbox and Switch – will miss out on the game as the announcement only promises a release on PC and mobile platforms.
Along with the game’s announcement, Crunchyroll Games released a gameplay trailer that gave us a first look at the game. As far as we can see, One Punch Man: World will be action-packed. The trailer shows the game’s heroes taking on villains of various shapes and sizes.
We have to admit that the fights looked cool and exciting, especially considering the powers on display that were brought to life by special effects.
Of course, Saitama will be featured in One Punch Man: World. However, the game will also feature many of our other favorite heroes including Genos, Mumen Rider, Atomic Samurai and Lightning Max.
What we find interesting about the game is that it’s not just about fighting and destroying enemies. Players have the option to take a break and just explore the city. Among other things, you can take advantage of discounts and special offers, play games in the Gaming Center and take a walk around the city.
Next to the trailer there is a short description of the game. It states: “A sinister wave of monster attacks has pressured the cities of Earth and the Heroes’ Association. But after three years of special training, Saitama has become so powerful that he can defeat opponents with a single blow.”
The synopsis continues: “The thing is, Saitama does the hero thing just for fun, but when every enemy goes down in one hit, overwhelming power can be kind of… boring. Now before the relaxed strongest hero.” , a new enemy appears. Will he be able to show his full power today?”
There is currently no confirmed release date for One Punch Man: World. Still, we can confirm that the game will be released sometime this year. As mentioned, it will only be available for iOS, Android and PC.
For fans who can’t wait to get their hands on the title, Crunchyroll Games is offering the option to pre-register through its official website.


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dem10 / iStock.com
YouTube said it intends to “expand its ecosystem” and is looking at adding NFT features to help support the work of creators. In a Jan. 25 letter to address economic and technological priorities for 2022 shared to its website, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote that the business is “looking further ahead to the future and have been following everything happening in Web3 as a source of inspiration to continue innovating on YouTube.”
“The past year in the world of crypto, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and even decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) has highlighted a previously unimaginable opportunity to grow the connection between creators and their fans,” she wrote. “We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube.”
She elaborated to say that creators are coming to YouTube to “share their lives, to make a living, and to shape the world around us in meaningful ways ,” adding that the number of channels around the world making more than $10,000 a year is up 40% year over year.
Bloomberg reports that while YouTube’s plans do not appear to concern specifics at this point, it marks the first time Alphabet Inc.’s Google, YouTube’s owner, is becoming involved with the cryptocurrency collectibles.
Discover: 10 Best NFT Stocks To Watch Right Now
Twitter Flies Into NFT Territory
Several of YouTube’s rivals have already jumped on the trend, as Twitter plans to allow users to post NFTs as profile photos and Instagram is reportedly working on a similar offering, per Bloomberg.
Twitter recently said it was adding NFTs as one of several ways to customize Twitter profiles — “so you can show off the NFTs you own in a hex-shaped profile picture on your Twitter account” — according to its website.
“Setting up an NFT profile picture means people can associate your Twitter account with your connected wallet’s public crypto wallet address. This means your Twitter account will be associated with your current and historical crypto wallet transactions and holdings, including all other NFTs in that wallet, because this information is all available on the public blockchain,” Twitter said.
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Built to Last: Cheshire hardware store marks 100 years (video)
CHESHIRE -- As small independent hardware stores across Connecticut fall victim to the unforgiving economy and competition from the big-box retailers like Home Depot and Lowes Home Improvement, R.W. Hine just keeps rolling along.
A century after Raymond W. Hine opened for business at 231 Maple Ave. in what was then a more rural community, the hardware store now blends modern touches with homespun charm.
"I don't know of too many hardware stores that have a cat in residence," said Sheldon Dill, president of the Chamber of Commerce and a lifelong resident of the town. "And they do a lot in the community in terms of making donations and things like sponsoring teams. You don't see that with Home Depot or Lowes."
But 2010 has been a difficult year for independent hardware stores in Connecticut.
Centerville Lumber Inc. in Hamden is closing at year's end after 81 years in business. Last spring, Whalley Hardware & Supply, New Haven's last independent hardware store, closed after 20 years. A pair of hardware stores in Plainville and Plymouth that were affiliated with the True Value dealer-owned wholesale cooperative also went out of business this year.
R.W. Hine's careful balancing act has been achieved due to the efforts of Patrick Bowman, whose family bought the store in 1979.
"People like the down-home charm of the store, but they also want to be able to get in, get what they need, and get out," said Bowman.
R.W. Hine hasn't been immune to the recession, Bowman said, "but we're holding our own."
"People aren't spending as much as they used to, but where we have benefited is that they are spending more on repairing things," Bowman said. "A guy came in the other day to buy some parts to repair his clock. Five years ago, that same guy would have thrown out his broken clock and bought a new one."
David Cadden, a management professor at Quinnipiac University's School of Business, said stores that last as long as R.W. Hine are able to compete because they have a laser-like focus "on what it is their customers value and then provide them with it."
"The big-box stores are able to beat the smaller stores on a cost basis, so the smaller store responds by providing items that the large stores won't carry because of volume," said Cadden, who along with his wife, Sandy Lueder, is writing a book on small business called "Small Business in the 21st Century" that is scheduled to be published next summer.
"R.W. Hine has a knowledgeable and friendly staff that is willing to take the time to work with customers. People are willing to pay a premium for that kind of service," Cadden said.
Bowman learned the hardware business from the ground up, working in the store when he was still in high school. And much like the character George Bailey, who worked in his family's savings and loan business in the holiday movie classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," Bowman never left R.W. Hine.
"I never saw any reason to go anywhere else," Bowman said. "I like the community."
And the community likes R.W. Hine. Dill said the chamber is honoring the retailer Jan. 20 at its annual meeting and awards dinner at the Farms Country Club.
The same could be said for some of the nearly three dozen people who were at the store during one its busiest times. Janet Brown, who was working at the front cash register one morning this week, has been employed at R.W. Hine for 29 years.
Brown said she has been impressed with the efforts that Bowman has made to keep the store current with retailing trends. An example of that is the radio headset that Brown and all R.W. Hine employees wear while working the floor in the 20,000-square-foot store.
"That way, we can contact someone else in another part of the building without ever having to leave the customer's side," Brown said.
During the years that Bowman has been in charge of the business, he has made other improvements as well, the most noticeable of which is combining what had been series of free-standing buildings on the grounds into a single store. The store also has a computerized system in its paint department that allows customers to have their paint sample scanned in and then precisely mixes the colors needed for an exact match
"If you don't change at all, you go out of business," Bowman said.
But Cadden said that Bowman's willingness to use technology to improve his customers' retailing experience is the sign of a savvy businessman.
"It's not about deploying technology just because its the latest technology," Cadden said.
Call Luther Turmelle at 203-789-5706.


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Despite maxing out a $15 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury last month, the U.S. Postal Service can scrape by at least through March.
That’s according to Ruth Goldway, chair of the Postal Regulatory Commission, the agency that oversees the Postal Service. The commission meets with USPS officials following the release of each quarterly financial report, the last of which was in August. In the ensuing review, the Postal Service “projected that they would be able to continue operating without disruption until at least midway through the fiscal year without any action by Congress,” Goldway said in a statement to Federal Times. Fiscal 2013 began this month; the mid-point arrives at the end of March. The projection included the presumption that the Postal Service would hit the $15 billion borrowing cap, a commission spokeswoman said.
The mail carrier reached that unwelcome threshold Sept. 28. In an email, USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer acknowledged that cash flow will be a particular concern in the second half of fiscal 2013 unless lawmakers approve a comprehensive fix to return the Postal Service to long-term financial stability (a very big if at this point). While declining to comment on any particular date, Partenheimer added that the Postal Service will prioritize payments to ensure that workers and suppliers get paid. Customers “do not need to worry about any interruption in our operations.”
One other factor in the Postal Service’s favor: it expects to pick up a fresh $1.3 billion in fiscal 2013 revenue courtesy of a series of rate hikes scheduled to take effect in late January.
Here’s the dope: Postal Service spent more than $31 million on Lance Armstrong sponsorship, documents indicate
The U.S. Postal Service is getting plenty of free media exposure today, but probably not the kind USPS execs were hoping for when they ponied up big bucks years ago to be a primary sponsor of cyclist Lance Armstrong’s team.
Instead, this is how the organization appears in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s statement on the results of its investigation into Armstrong’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs: “The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.”
That should sell a lot of stamps.
Of course, there’s no indication that the Postal Service itself had any role in the alleged doping (and please, hold the jokes about speedier delivery), but, as the sponsor, the mail carrier’s name turns up dozens of times in the anti-doping agency’s 202-page report.
USPS spokeswoman Patricia Licata had no comment on the findings. While the Postal Service sponsored the team from 1996 to 2004, officials could not confirm how much was spent “because it was so long ago,” she said in an email. The total was substantial, however, according to contract documents posted online.
A 2003 contract modification, for example, pegged the amount at $31.8 million, but leaves unclear the duration of the agreement.
Postal pooh-bahs may have gotten something out of the deal, too. Another document says that Tailwind Cycling would provide “a complete hospitality package for selected guests of the sponsor at the Tour de France.”
The package would include lodging and meals, as well as transportation in Paris, the document said. Tailwind also agreed to “customize the VIP package for postal officials attending and will bill back those charges to the United States Postal Service for their respective lodging, meals, transportation and other related charges.”
Nice, n’est-ce pas?
[This post has been updated]
For anyone who’s keeping count, a grand total of 4,189 postmasters took advantage of a $20,000 buyout/early-out deal, according to a final tally from the U.S. Postal Service. The vast majority of those left in July; several hundred more departed in August and September.
USPS executives announced the package in May at the same time that they unveiled plans to reduce customer service hours at some 13,000 post offices. The final number is a bit more than the Postal Service had predicted back in August; it represents about one-fifth of all postmaster positions on the rolls earlier this year.
For clerks, drivers and anyone else out there represented by the American Postal Workers Union, if you’re considering (or have already made a decision on) taking the $15,000 buyout offer announced this week, we at Fed Times are interested in speaking with you for a story about the reaction this offer is getting from the USPS career workforce.
Just send me an email at email@example.com and let me know how to reach you and what’s the best time.
Key members of the U.S. Postal Service’s executive lineup will be back in their normal jobs as Ellis Burgoyne, the agency’s chief information officer, returns to work next Monday, according to a notice on an official USPS web site.
Burgoyne has been out since June because of illness. With his return, Joe Corbett—who has been filling in as CIO—will return to his regular job as the Postal Service’s chief financial officer; Steve Masse, who has been acting CFO, will revert to his normal position as vice president for finance and planning; and Cynthia Sanchez-Hernandez, who has been handling Masse’s responsibilities, resumes her job as manager of finance and planning.
Some seven months after inquiring about overseas travel by Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway, Sen. Tom Carper is pressing some recommended changes for the commission as a whole. So far, it’s not clear whether the five-member oversight panel will go along.
In a Sept. 6 letter to Goldway, Carper questioned “the amount of time and resources devoted to international travel in recent years, particularly as the commission has struggled at times to fulfill its higher-priority statutory responsibilities in a timely manner.” He urged the PRC to limit such trips to what is “truly necessary” to fulfill its legal role in setting international postal policy. He also pressed the PRC to do more to document that it has explored other options—such as phone, fax and email—to conduct business before putting someone on a plane. Carper, D-Del., chairs the Senate subcommittee that oversees the commission and the U.S. Postal Service.
In a Sept. 11 reply, Goldway said she appreciated the “thoughtful review” and accompanying recommendations, but committed only to giving “serious consideration to those recommendations, which are in the spirit of improvements we have already made to our policies.” She added that the commission has come in “more than 30 percent” under its 2012 travel budget.
A PRC spokeswoman confirmed Friday that Goldway and two commission staff members are attending the Universal Postal Union’s quadrennial congress, which got under way Monday in Doha, Qatar, according to an official web site. Goldway is serving as deputy head of the U.S. delegation, the spokeswoman, Gail Adams, said.
Goldway, however, will be leaving for the event Oct. 3 and returning to Washington on Oct. 12, Adams added in an email. One staffer is already in Doha, while the other leaves today.
As Federal Times reported in February, Goldway at that point had taken 34 trips –11 of them overseas–costing almost $71,000 since becoming PRC chair in August 2009. Her predecessor, Dan Blair, had taken 25 trips worth some $59,000 during a slightly longer tenure. Since then, Goldway has attended a UPU meeting in Switzerland, as well as a weeklong “Postal Regulatory Dialogue” in Rio de Janeiro, where she was a speaker, according to commission records obtained by Federal Times. As of late last month, Goldway was the only commissioner to go abroad this calendar year, although some PRC staff have also attended overseas events.
Goldway has staunchly defended travel as relevant to her work and the commission’s role in helping to set international postal policy. “I know that travel raises questions,” she said in an interview earlier this year, “but I really feel that I’m doing an honest job and the right thing for the Postal Regulatory Commission and the country.”
In case anyone missed it, (this particular FedLine correspondent was away when the decision came down), the Postal Regulatory Commission last week officially dismissed a union complaint seeking to block the U.S. Postal Service’s downsizing of its mail processing plant network.
The complaint, filed in June by the American Postal Workers Union, argued in part that the Postal Service had first to receive an advisory opinion from the PRC on the proposed changes to first-class mail delivery standards that are accompanying the downsizing. But while that approach is “preferred,” it’s not mandatory, the five-member commission ruled in its 16-page order.
The decision is no surprise, given that the commission had earlier declined to issue an emergency injunction to stop the first round of 46 plant consolidations from going forward. The Postal Service wrapped up that round last month and–as previously announced-is taking a breather for the rest of the year “to allow employees to fully focus on the processing and delivery of election mail and the volumes of mail expected during the busy fall and holiday mailing seasons,” a spokeswoman said in an email.
In all, the Postal Service plans to close or consolidate roughly half of its plants during the next two years. The agency currently has 433 processing facilities.
“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine,” a proverb goes.
By that standard, it should come as no surprise that the U.S. Postal Service now has until Oct. 9 to respond to allegations in a $180 million lawsuit filed by contractor Northrop Grumman over the handling of a major automation project.
The suit was filed in early May, with the Postal Service’s response originally due two months later. But Federal Court Claims Judge George Miller later pushed back the deadline until Sept. 3 and—in a ruling this month—delayed it again to Oct. 9 following a motion from USPS attorneys that they still need more time.
While those lawyers are conferring with Postal Service employees and reviewing documents, “scheduling issues and the limited availability of relevant USPS personnel have delayed progress toward filing a response,” Miller wrote in an order summarizing the mail carrier’s rationale for a second postponement. According to the Postal Service, Northrop Grumman did not object.
The U.S. Postal Service’s forthcoming cutbacks at thousands of post offices have gotten a qualified thumbs up from an independent overseer.
In an advisory opinion released today, the five-member Postal Regulatory Commission said that the Post Office Structure Plan, or POStPlan, makes sense from a public policy perspective, but added a few recommendations, such as giving local customers a clear choice between keeping an individual post office open with reduced hours or closing it altogether and providing replacement delivery service.
Under the plan, announced in May, the Postal Service intends to reduce customer service “window” hours to as little as two hours a day at some 13,000 mostly rural post offices in hopes of eventually saving about $500 million annually.
The commission’s opinion is non-binding (in fact, the Postal Service is already winding up a buyout and early retirement deal for postmasters that’s linked to the plan), but its endorsement is further evidence that this approach is a much easier sell than the Postal Service’s now discarded strategy of closing up to 3,700 post offices.
“Given the difficult financial reality facing the Postal Service, I am relieved that the Postal Regulatory Commission has approved the Postal Service’s initial cost-cutting measures,” Sen Tom Carper, D-Del., said in a statement, adding that he is “grateful” that the panel acted expeditiously.
“I will be carefully reviewing the recommendations offered by the commissioners and plan to closely monitor the Postal Service’s implementation of its plan to ensure that it’s done appropriately,” Carper, who heads the Senate subcommittee with responsibility for the mail carrier, continued. “That being said, the hard truth is that cost-saving efforts of this scale are not enough on their own to fundamentally fix the Postal Service’s financial problems. ”
No doubt about it: The U.S. Postal Service’s third-quarter financial report was–on the surface–a bloodbath. With $5.2 billion in red ink spilled in just three months, you might think Freddy Krueger was keeping the books.
Amid all the gore, though, the numbers reflect some faint flickers of hope. The question is whether those glimmers represent: (1) A blip; or (2) An early sign that finances are at least stabilizing, if not actually turning around.
USPS leaders are naturally eager to accentuate the positive, particularly after this month’s failure to make a required $5.5 billion payment into a fund for future retiree health care. During a conference call with reporters last Thursday, acting Chief Financial Officer Stephen Masse called it “unfortunate” that attention focused on those requirements often overshadows the agency’s success “in growing the business.” A case in point was the continued expansion of package and shipping services, where revenue was up by about 10 percent (or almost $950 million) for the first nine months of fiscal 2012 from last October through June.
Longer-term, there is evidence that the Postal Service’s financial slide is bottoming out. Here are the mail carrier’s operating revenues at the nine-month point for every fiscal year since 2007. (Note, incidentally, the recession’s devastating impact in 2009.)
2007: $56.3 billion
2008: $57.2 billion +1.7%
2009: $52.4 billion -8.4%
2010: $51.1 billion -2.4%
2011: $49.9 billion -2.4%
2012: $49.5 billion -.72%
As you can see, revenue for this year almost (but not quite) held steady with last year’s figure. The numbers are still headed in the wrong direction, but at least not as quickly. Other benchmarks aren’t so encouraging. Total mail volume dropped 3.6 percent in the three-month quarter from April through June, a significantly larger decline than in the same period a year ago.
At the same time, however, two big restructuring/downsizing efforts mentioned in the report are gaining traction, thanks in part to what appears to be some politically astute retrenchment.
Just four months ago, for example, a plan to close up to 3,700 post offices was withering on Capitol Hill. For lawmakers eager to score election-year points, defending the sanctity of small-town P.O.s was a godsend. Also in trouble was the push to close or consolidate almost half of about 460 mail processing plants by the end of next year.
What happened? In May, USPS officials dropped the post office closure plan in favor of cutting customer service hours at some 13,000 facilities–but leaving them open. So far, Congress is going along; the projected long-term savings of a half-billion dollars annually are actually more than what had been anticipated from the original closing plan.
On consolidation of the processing plant network, the Postal Service backed off its original schedule and deferred most of the pain until after the November elections. Still, it has made a start toward what is supposed to be a savings of some $2 billion a year.
Of course, any progress is relative and the list of long-range challenges is daunting: The continued loss of business to the Internet; workers’ compensation costs that threaten a cash crunch this October; and Congress’ reluctance thus far to drop or soften the retiree health care pre-funding requirement. Also, the Postal Service is currently benefiting from a boomlet in election-year mail that could bring in an extra $300 million this fall. Come January and revenues will resume their nosedive, said Gene del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce.
Still, it’s worth remembering that at this time a year ago, USPS officials were predicting that the agency would be broke by now. That didn’t happen and it suggests some unexpected–and badly needed–resilience.


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Whether those herbal supplements you’re taking actually work is only half the question.
Now you have to wonder if there are any herbs in them at all.
The New York Times reports recent DNA testing by Canadian researchers shows one out of three herbal supplements tested had no trace of the supplement at all.
Many others were mostly cheap fillers like powdered rice and weeds.
The study looked at 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 companies.
A nonprofit group that supports herbal supplements says quality control is an issue, but not as bad as in this study.
The findings were published in the journal BMC Medicine.
For more information, go to: www.biomedcentral.com


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|Day Low/High||4.16 / 4.36|
|52 Wk Low/High||0.57 / 13.97|
We'd suggest you pick up some protection for your portfolio.
Economic, sociological and technological events are converging in this sector.
Here are two possible long entries and two possible short-side plays.
Jim Cramer says McDonald's is a 'buy' under $100, and if Sprint is able to finalize a deal with T-Mobile, shares of Sprint could go to $12.
Given the current situation, here are some new rules to live by.
Despite reporting a 17% rise in fiscal third-quarter profit, Tommy Hilfiger parent PVH Corp. offers a muted outlook for the fourth-quarter, citing competition and a highly promotional environment.
Apparel retailers are seeing a swath of red as investors flee Express Inc., Aeropostale and Wet Seal on low expectations.
This week should offer more insight on the big shopping bonanza.
The first full week of the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season will be a busy one for retail earnings.
The August jobs report, Infoblox earnings and retail sales will be key market movers in the coming week say TheStreet's Lindsey Bell and Andrew Krill.
The current milieu likely means a capped market in the coming week.
Here are some less-followed names in Joel Greenblatt's portfolio.
Major U.S. stock averages are weak Tuesday as the markets lie in wait for financial earnings reports and worry about the debt ceiling issue.
When searching for new potential short plays this is one of the first sectors I hit.
The bullish movement in the options market has cancelled out my bearish outlook on this chart.


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"Spicy world of NanoScience"
A new Nanotechnology Coloring Book is available for free download from NanoSonic, an American company that designs and produces nanomaterials. It helps fourth-to-fifth grade students learn about the tiny world of…Continue
Added by TINC on May 2, 2012 at 10:01pm — No Comments
As nanotechnology swells in popularity, some high school students are able to participate in the emerging sector.…
Added by TINC on January 11, 2012 at 6:44pm — No Comments


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Meet Spongecell, a Profitable Ad Tech Company With $10 Million in New Funding
This is the pitch, more or less, for Spongecell, a start-up that helps produce “rich media” Web ads. That’s not a new idea, by any stretch, and there are plenty of competitors that do similar stuff. But last year the company’s story still attracted angel investors like Google chair Eric Schmidt.
And now the company has new funding: Tech investor/holding company Safeguard Scientifics has taken all of a $10 million B round.
The money will go to help Spongecell expand smaller product lines, like video ads, and eventually move into new ones, like mobile ads, says CEO Ben Kartzman.
Spongecell is a full-fledged “pivot”: Prior to 2008, it had raised $3 million and was trying to sell some sort of “event management” widget that Kartzman readily admits got no traction. Then it moved into ad tech, and things have been humming since. Kartzman says that last year he grossed around $10 million and cleared “seven figures” of profit.
Big picture: Smart people keep telling me that the ad tech ecosystem has too many start-ups funded with too much money, and that something has to give. But then I keep hearing about another ad tech start-up raising another round. Assume we’ll see more of these for a while.


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In a world where slogans and policies like ‘net zero’, ‘carbon neutral’, ‘climate change’ and ‘reducing consumption’ are everywhere, driving social and political changes, is it time we looked at the internet?
We are told to cut down on driving, eating meat, and flying. Still, so far, internet use has not really been mentioned as problematic, despite the fact, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden predicts that the internet will use 20% of the world’s total electricity consumption by 2025.
That’s a staggering number, up from a still admittedly large 8% in 2012. As more people get online and more activities move online, this number will soar even higher.
however, that headline figure of 20% has been criticised as excessive. In 2011, Justin Ma and colleague Barath Raghavan of ICSI and the University of California attempted to measure how much electricity the internet uses.
To get to a credible number, they worked on the following assumptions. The world uses 750 million desktop computers, 750 million laptop computers, 1 billion smartphones, and 100 million servers.
In addition, the power needed to create computers, network connections, mobile reception towers, and other hardware was added to their maths. The hardware was referred to as ‘embodied energy’ or ‘emergy’.
The hardware was weighted on the average life cycle and given an average energy value, assuming that not every device uses the same amount of power.
Ma and Raghavens’ calculated that the internet used 84 to 143 gigawatts of electricity every year, between 3.6%-6.2% of all electricity worldwide. This rose to 170-307 gigawatts if related hardware was added to the total.
It’s still a significant number, and while it’s now a decade out of date, it equated to only less than 2% of total worldwide energy consumption at the time. No need to panic yet then, right?
The move to clean energy
Still, even with the best minds differing over the numbers, we know the internet uses a lot of power. Headlines like ‘Silicon valley’s dirty secret’ splash the vast energy consumption of massive servers run by the likes of Amazon and Google to keep their operations running over front pages.
But much of the debate misses a crucial point. Amazon and Google are two of the smartest businesses on the planet, running on complete efficiency. Wasting energy at the scale they operate on would hurt profits – a lot.
The average data centre (which powers everything from news domains to online entertainment sites like Raptor Casino) will have a power usage efficiency (PUE) of 2.0. Google has got their PUE score right down to 1.12, and it is getting lower all the time. It’s only a matter of time before it hits the perfect 1.0.
Facebook’s Lulea centre in cold Sweden runs on clean hydroelectric power and uses outside air for cooling.
The big three of Facebook, Alphabet (Google) and Apple, among other high-profile tech names, are committed to using 100% renewable energy. Google has been carbon neutral since 2007 and remains the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy.
Microsoft has sought to push its climate policies even further, promising by 2050 to have removed all the carbon it has emitted since it was founded in 1975 using new technologies by 2050.
Future profitability points to changes
So, while the internet does use a tremendous amount of energy, that is not necessarily a bad thing if that energy is clean.
There is still a long way to go, though. Greenpeace IT analyst Gary Cook says that overall only about 20% of the electricity used in the world’s data centres is so far renewable, with the other 80% still coming from fossil fuels.
Massive internet players like Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba have yet to commit to any climate policies. But as clean energy becomes more reliable and affordable, the profit motives should be enough to ensure that even the internet’s biggest polluters change their ways rapidly.


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The COVID-19 pandemic effectively landed a right hook on the chin of the restaurant industry. While it knocked out many, others—especially in the quick-service segment—took the blow in stride.
As the number of restaurants dwindle, thriving brands are putting plans in place to take advantage of the post-pandemic landscape by investing in robust growth strategies. In many cases, these expansion plans call for store redesigns that cater to convenience, including an emphasis on smaller footprints, drive thrus, and takeout.
Despite the global crisis, these 12 small- to mid-sized concepts are eager to increase their footprint and share in the marketplace.
Only 77 of the brand's more than 350 units are in the U.S., but the Pollo Campero team brought on Sam Wong in February to change that. The industry veteran, who's helped grow brands such as Dairy Queen, Popeyes, and Sonic Drive-In, plans to help Pollo Campero open more than 250 restaurants in the next five years.
The restaurant, known for its Fried Chicken, Citrus Grilled Chicken, and Extra Crunchy Chicken, will target major metro markets in the Southeast, including Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Wong believes Pollo Campero will become a 300-unit chain in the U.S. by the end of 2025.
The brand’s growth aspirations are backed by consistent sales growth, even through the COVID crisis. Mother’s Day was Pollo Campero’s best sales day yet. July was the highest selling month of all time, until the record was broken again in August. And even more recently, the chain experienced its best sales week ever.
The burger concept has retracted unit count in recent years, with a net closure of 78 stores in the past three years. The goal is to change that in 2021 with the opening of 40 or more stores. To ensure success, the approach will be different. Smashburger President Carl Bachmann explains that Smashburger has grown like a vine across the country when it really needs to flourish as a bush by growing outward from core regions.
The development will be spread across two basic areas—uber urban and suburban retail. The suburban units will be positioned beside big box retailers and highly residential areas. The urban locales, places like Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, New York, and Washington, D.C., will be Smashburger’s ionic, high-volume stores that create brand awareness.
The brand is creating a design that’s more modern and chef-inspired. Bachmann says it will feature contactless pickup via cubby systems and an open kitchen to “make food the star.”
The restaurant started franchising in 2015 and has grown to roughly 20 locations. More than 30 are in the pipeline in Texas, Missouri, and Colorado.
Fajita Pete’s recently signed agreements for 15 new Texas restaurants, including five in Austin, a new market for the brand. The company is also adding five locations in Dallas and five locations in Houston. Additionally, Denver-based franchising group Four Guys Franchising, LLC, will open five new locations in Colorado.
CEO and Founder Pete Mora began with a full-service restaurant in 2002, but he realized that most of the orders came from catering and to-go. So he closed the casual-dining concept and opened Fajita Pete’s in 2008, a quick-service brand focused on speed and convenience with a much smaller footprint. Since then, roughly 90 percent of business has come outside the four walls; some stores do as much as 97 percent. Mora's goal is to one day reach 100 units.
CEO Zach McLeroy says Zaxby’s boasts a current pipeline of more than 300 committed units from existing licensees. That growth is expected to pick up swiftly after the brand announced it agreed to sell a “significant” stake to sector giant Goldman Sachs for an undisclosed amount.
McLeroy says Goldman Sachs will help Zaxby’s achieve what it always aimed at from a distance—to go national. Goldman Sachs’ particular expertise includes digital platforms and strategic growth. McLeroy says there’s even been early talk about taking Zaxby’s international long-term.
The firm was attracted to Zaxby’s core differentiators, runway, ownership history, and licensee base. Of the chain’s 904 units at 2019 close, 755 were franchise-run. The brand has grown that side of its business by 77 locations in the past three years. In total, Zaxby’s has expanded by net 86 restaurants since 2016. Georgia is the largest market today with 190 stores. North Carolina is next at 97.
Development hasn't missed a beat during the COVID pandemic. Forty-two stores are in the pipeline for 2021. The nearly 200-unit brand is growing so much that it’s actually having to reassess its goals. The concept originally wanted to open 500 restaurants, claim a top-100 spot in the quick-service segment, and reach $1.2 million in AUV. One year in, the AUV mark has been exceeded and now the company is projecting somewhere between 500 and 600 restaurants by 2030.
In July, Golden Chick announced a 20-unit deal to expand into Las Vegas, a new market. Late last year, Golden Chick signed a 55-unit deal in Houston, and even before that, a 35-store deal in West Texas. A few months ago, the restaurant opened its first store in Louisiana. There are plans to sign a five-store deal in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and move into the Gulf Coast next year.
The parent company is pursuing growth across its each of its three brands, Charleys Philly Steaks, Lennys Grill and Subs, and BIBIBOP Asian Grill. In total, the company expects to expand by more than 100 stores in 2021.
The 600-unit Charleys has roughly 50 out-of-mall stores—29 of which have a wings menu—and it’s looking to more than double that total in 2021. Charleys is also looking to grow in retail stores via a pilot program with Walmart. The restaurant will work with the retail giant to open 10 stores in 2021.
The 78-unit Lennys shares some commonality with Charleys in terms of the cheesesteak identity, but it’s also more of a traditional sub shop with a full line of deli sandwiches. GOSH, which executed meticulous research with Lennys, plans to leverage the high brand awareness in core Tennessee markets with 10 new stores in 2021.
GOSH’s most differentiated brand, BIBIBOP, expects to add 15 stores to its 43-unit total.
CAO Bakery & Café
The South Florida concept was borne out of Vicky Bakery, a chain founded by Tony Cao’s grandfather in 1972. Cao and his childhood friend, Carlos De Varona, opened and operated six Vicky Bakery units from 2010 to 2018. The duo then transitioned to CAO Bakery, which has grown to 12 units across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
CAO Bakery is leveraging the momentum to forge a new franchising growth initiative. It plans to open 10 locations in 2021 and 35 additional stores by 2024. The strategy is to target other areas in Florida with strong Cuban-American populations like Tampa, West Palm, Lake Worth, Gainesville, and Tallahassee. After that, the next phase will be to extend outside the Sunshine state into markets like New Jersey, Los Angeles, Louisville, Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
A part of that development will be an emphasis on off-premises, including a drive-thru prototype in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Right now, the brand is focusing on second generation locations where the initial investment is almost halved.
The brand's growth will be driven by serial entrepreneurs Mark Urness and Matt Jeffries, who recently purchased the Gyro Shack after running four stores and working as one of the company’s first multi-unit franchisees.
The company is building a more comprehensive budget and investing in site analytics for franchise sales and in public relations for brand awareness. It’s also boosting its tech infrastructure as COVID continues to push the industry toward that model.
The brand’s franchise expansion plans are focused on single-unit and multi-unit deals in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. The plan is to open four to six stores in 2021 and 10 to 12 in 2022.
After an initial dip when COVID first hit in March, the brand has grown significantly thanks to its drive-thru. The channel has increased 50 percent while delivery has lifted 300 percent. Approximately 80 to 85 percent of orders are now delivery or drive-thru.
The brand is one of the largest players in Mexican fast-casual space with roughly 730 units—half of which are franchised. And because of its performance during the pandemic, the 25-year-old brand put itself in a position to launch an aggressive multi-unit franchising growth strategy that Chief Development Officer Tim Welsh believes will lead to 1,000 units and potentially north of 2,000.
The chain is interested in more drive-thru units, 1,000-square-foot takeout stores in urban areas, and ghost kitchens. There’s about 40 in the pipeline for 2021, but as the brand brings on new partners and investments, Welsh says that number may grow. Ultimately, Qdoba wants to reach a pace of more than 100 units per year.
Target markets include Arizona, Southern California, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, New England, and Pennsylvania. Welsh expects real estate to be favorable as COVID continues to desaturate the restaurant industry.
The 600-unit brand identifies itself as the leading quick-service chain serving the impulse pizza occasion. With that recognition in mind, the concept is targeting growth in malls, areas of transportation, entertainment venues, and health, education, and employment.
CEO David Karam believes Sbarro will bolster its pipeline enough to open 80 restaurants globally in 2021. A decent portion of those will be in malls for specific reasons. For one, mall conversions reduce franchisee investment from approximately $400,000 to fewer than $100,000. Additionally, because of the decline in mall traffic, rent is decreasing significantly. In 2018 and 2019, same-store sales were positive in those units despite the downward trend of malls.
EG Group, a U.K. retailer that operates fast-food outlets, has 25 stores under development domestically and internationally, and Karam says that number will grow. Sbarro is also working with a number of other convenience store companies as well as travel centers such as TravelCenters of America, which has a 25-year history with the restaurant.
The Crack Shack
In September, Savory, a Mercato Partners Fund, announced a controlling investment in The Crack Shack, with a goal of expanding the six-store restaurant by 35 to 50 units in the next four to five years.
The plan is to place The Crack Shack in secondary and tertiary markets in states like Utah, Arizona, and Idaho where areas are less affected by the pandemic and people are still eager to dine out and enjoy a sit-down atmosphere. The strategy plays into the brand’s greatest strength.
When it comes to store design, Savory Managing Director Andrew Smith says his team doesn’t want to lean too far into digital or lean too far into sit-down—they’d prefer a happy medium. The Crack Shack’s initial boxes were around 6,000 to 6,500 square feet, and Smith says there will be smaller ones with less dine-in capacity, but there’ll also be bigger stores than what people would expect.
Torchy’s Tacos is firmly on the growth path after selling a $400 million stake to a new group of investors, including General Atlantic, D1 Capital Partners, T. Rowe Price, Lone Pine Capital and XN. Bloomberg reported the new funding is “likely a precursor” to Torchy’s filing an IPO “as soon as next year.”
Torchy’s said it will use the capital injection to enter 10 more states in the next four years. In January at the ICR Conference, CEO GJ Hart said Torchy’s plans to reach at least 160 stores in the next three years. Since it was founded in 2006, the chain has grown to 83 locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Kansas, with an AUV of $3.8 million. The chain has managed to open 12 stores and add three new markets amid the pandemic.
The growth will coincide with a new managing partner model and revitalized kitchen that will cut wait times from 12 to 15 minutes to 7 to 9 minutes. The reduction will prove crucial as off-premises orders now account for 60 percent of sales, according to the CEO.


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Redbox, the company best known for its DVD rental stands, said Monday it’s going public in a deal with Seaport Global Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. The deal values Redbox at $693 million.
Redbox is expected to use some of its funding to pay off debt and make further investments in its business. The company, which said on Monday it has 39 million customers, will have about $209 million in cash after the deal closes.
“Today’s announcement brings us one step closer to building an entertainment ecosystem and underscores our steadfast commitment to enhancing our customer value proposition,” Redbox CEO Galen Smith said. “We are pleased that Seaport Global Acquisition shares our confidence in the opportunities ahead and are grateful for their team’s expertise and support. In Redbox’s next chapter as a public company, we will be focused on delivering a differentiated, affordable entertainment experience for our millions of loyal customers, and seeking profitable growth for shareholders.”
The company will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol RDBX once the deal closes. Beyond its DVD rental business, Redbox is also looking to build a subscription video service. Additionally, Redbox said it will focus more on its original content, aiming to expand to about 36 original releases per year (the company currently has 16 exclusives under its umbrella).
“Over the past year in particular, the resilience Redbox has demonstrated through the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic reaffirms our confidence in the value and growth potential of the business,” Seaport CEO Stephen Smith said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Redbox’s team as they work to transform in-home entertainment and deliver long-term growth.”
All existing shareholders will roll 100% of their equity into Redbox as part of the deal. That includes the funds managed by Apollo Global Management, which acquired Redbox in 2016. Those shareholders will hold about 59% of the company’s common stock once the SPAC starts trading.


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A pair of odd coloured diamonds have become the world’s most expensive EARRINGS after they were sold for a staggering £45 million.
The Apollo and Artemis Diamonds are described as “truly exceptional stones” which are in a “class of their own” when considered as a pair.
Apollo is a 14.54 carat vivid blue diamond which has been cut and polished into a pear shape. Artemis is a 16 carat fancy intense pink diamond.
Both gems are phenomenally rare, with less than 0.1 per cent of diamonds having any blue in them. An “infinitesimally” small percentage of those is graded Fancy Vivid Blue like Apollo.
Apollo sold for £33 million and Artemis fetched £12 million – with both earrings snapped up by the same anonymous bidder.
The £45 million final figure ($57) is a record for a pair of earrings.
David Bennett, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s International Jewellery Division, said: “It has been a privilege for Sotheby’s to be entrusted with the superb ‘Apollo Blue’ and ‘Artemis Pink’, which have now been renamed ‘The Memory of Autumn Leaves’ and ‘The Dream of Autumn Leaves’.
“I am delighted that the stones will remain together as earrings.”
Despite the staggering figure paid, the final figure was short on what was expected – with the diamonds carrying an estimate of up to £55 million.
Prior to the sale, Mr Bennett described the diamonds as “the most important pair of earrings ever offered at auction”.
He added: “These exquisite coloured diamonds are enormously rare and each is a wonderful stone in its own right. Together, as a pair of earrings, they are breathtaking.”
It was a successful overall sale for Sotheby’s, with 90 per cent of the lots selling for a combined £118 million. Two-thirds of the gems sold for above their high estimate.


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Xebec Adsorption Inc. has signed a master service agreement (MSA) with a U.S.-based renewable natural gas (RNG) dairy farm project developer for the purchase of BGX Biostream units.
The MSA will support the order of an initial 18 units, with the potential for additional orders under the same service agreement. This agreement represents the single largest unit order the company has received to date for Biostream.
As a result of the MSA and additional expected orders, Xebec has also started the production of 30 Biostream units for delivery over the next year. The company’s increased manufacturing requirements are in part supported by the recently announced acquisition of Tennessee-based Nortec. Xebec’s Canadian manufacturing facility is being modified and is expected to allow for the annual production of approximately 30 to 40 Biostream units. In addition, the company is exploring new capacity in the U.S. as more purchase orders are signed.
Starting at a list price of $1.5 million, Biostream is a containerized and fully automated design that offers easy and quick installation and commissioning. Xebec’s Cleantech Service Network (CSN) supports these installations locally throughout the entire setup process and for the lifetime of the renewable natural gas equipment.
“The team has worked hard over the last two years to develop this containerized system, which offers many benefits to customers, such as short delivery times, fast installation, modularity, ability to automatically handle fluctuating flow rates, low operating costs and, equally important, a very competitive price,” says Kurt Sorschak, chairman, CEO and president of Xebec.


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Liquidmetal adds Metal Injection Moulding production line to its amorphous metal expertise
May 23, 2017
Liquidmetal® Technologies, Inc. has added Metal Injection Moulding capability as part of its expansion into a new 3,800 m2 (41,000 ft2) manufacturing centre in Lake Forest, California, USA. As well as being equipped with a state-of-the-art MIM line, the new facility offers globally unmatched amorphous metal forming capabilities and equipment.
Paul Hauck, one of Liquidmetal’s manufacturing experts and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, told PIM International, “We are excited to be able to offer customers both MIM and amorphous metal technologies, ensuring the right process is applied to the right application. Liquidmetal is also working with EONTEC to establish China sourced tooling through EONTEC’s in-house mould making operation for both metal moulding technologies. The outcome is intended to provide customers with globally competitive mould costs.” Hauck added that, “the decision to go into MIM was an easy one for the company. EONTEC is an established MIM supplier in China and our US engineering and sales staff includes MIM industry veterans.”
With the addition of MIM, Liquidmetal will now be able offer two metal forming technologies from two continents. Working from a clean slate also allowed the company to match its MIM process technology to the needs of the marketplace. Arburg injection moulding machines and automation matched with large scale Elnik debinding and sintering furnaces are used in the company’s first MIM manufacturing line. Liquidmetal plans to use BASF feedstock, but its technology partner EONTEC also has in-house custom compounding capabilities.
The company will offer customers both US and China sourced amorphous metal and MIM production. To simplify the offshoring interests of US customers, Liquidmetal will manage all purchase order transactions and scheduling, including inventory management services with warehousing capacity, through its Lake Forest location.
The new facility is a short drive from the current Liquidmetal manufacturing centre. The company stated that ample floor space is now available for expansion in all primary manufacturing operations; MIM, ENGEL cold-crucible amorphous metal production and EONTEC hot-crucible amorphous metal production. Secondary operations will also grow, providing customers with a greater range of finished-part options; these operations include CNC machining, waterjet cutting, bead blasting, vibratory deburring, heat oxidising, passivation and PVD.
Currently, Liquidmetal has two operational ENGEL amorphous alloy moulding machines. Two EONTEC amorphous alloy moulding machines have just recently been delivered to the new Lake Forest facility. Along with the introduction of complementary EONTEC machine technology, the company has successfully completed several biocompatibility tests including an implant study of LM105 alloy and is introducing new low-cost amorphous alloys developed in cooperation with EONTEC.
“Our engineering and operations teams are working aggressively to qualify lower-cost amorphous alloys, implement new production processes and prepare our new building for move-in this summer. This investment provides us the increased capacity we need to serve customer opportunities and space to grow our business substantially over the next three to five years,” stated Bruce Bromage, Executive Vice President of Engineering & Operations.
In 2016, Liquidmetal signed a cross-licence agreement with EONTEC, a publicly-traded global manufacturer located in China. The agreement has made the two businesses the recognised global leaders in amorphous metals with over 160 combined patents and patents pending. In addition, a stock purchase by the now CEO and Chairman of The Board, Professor Lugee Li, generated $63.4 million for the company. The investment has put the business in a position to grow with customer demand and make other important investments into its future.
The company recently released an updated design guide, version 4.2, covering cold and hot-crucible amorphous metal processing, an expanded alloy offering and new design characteristics. Liquidmetal is also in the process of finalising a new website that will help communicate useful information to engineering and procurement professionals on amorphous metals and Metal Injection Moulding. Liquidmetal plans to host an open house following its move into the new facility.


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It’s cliché to say that technology and innovation are taking over our lives, but that doesn’t make it any less true. In 2016, we saw Amazon’s cloud-computing unit become a profit-producing behemoth. Also, though constrained by regulatory challenges in important markets, Uber raised enormous amounts of capital and spearheaded ambitious projects. Google, meanwhile, continued to generate head-spinning digital ad revenue, and in a world where content is increasingly reigning supreme, Facebook established itself as the undisputed king, thanks to the popularity of its video and news feeds.
In a sign of the times, last year closed with the three most valuable companies in the world (Apple, Google and Microsoft), based on market cap, all hailing from the tech sector. With 2017 just underway, here’s a look at the trends that will define the industry in the coming year:
Virtual reality becomes more mainstream. Most people of a certain age remember the stir created by the Atari. Exceptionally crude by today’s standards, the console brought video games to the mass market and sparked a cultural revolution that eventually produced its technological descendants, the Nintendo Entertainment System, Playstation and Xbox.
Virtual reality will make an exponentially larger imprint on society, transcending gaming and having the potential to touch on everything from education, sports, entertainment and medicine. The obstacle right now is the price: The hardware required (a VR-ready PC, headset and controller) to yield the best experience, all in, goes for nearly $2,000.
That price point has to come down to make VR more accessible. Thankfully, the first step in that process is likely to occur sometime in 2017, when Microsoft releases an update to the Xbox, Project Scorpio, which at a rumored cost of $500-$600 is expected to be the first console to have built-in VR capabilities.
This could be a game-changer in the world of VR, finally putting this technology in the hands of more people and putting Microsoft and Facebook, via headset maker Oculus, in prime position to capture this still burgeoning market from rivals Google and Samsung. Another big winner will be chip maker Nvidia, a top provider of graphic processing units (GPUs), which quickly convert code into graphics. Though the stock has taken off since the beginning of 2015, given the possibilities surrounding VR, it still has more room to grow.
Tesla begins to lead an electric car awakening among the masses. Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that his administration will pursue policies that will result in the burning of more fossil fuels – which nearly every reputable scientist alive agrees contributes to changing climate patterns that produce more frequent and destructive extreme weather events. From his perspective, however, relaxing regulations that constrain energy production will create more jobs.
The problem with that viewpoint is that the world is already awash in oil, which has put a lid on prices and made further production unprofitable. The key, therefore, is to cut demand. This is where Tesla could play a vital role.
The Model 3, the company’s much-awaited midsized economy sedan, is slated to come out at some point this year, and with preorders exceeding 400,000 it's poised to become the best-selling electric car of all time. This stylish new entry into the electric car market could gain mass appeal – unlike uninspired versions of the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt – not only ushering more widespread adoption of such technology but neutering Trump’s energy plans and helping reverse current climate trends.
Yes, Tesla always misses production deadlines. Chances are, the Model 3 will be late coming off the assembly line, perhaps delayed into 2018, but investors who get behind this phenomenon and align with Tesla now will likely reap the rewards in the years that follow.
The rise of alternative news sources. The recent election highlighted a deepening distrust among many Americans for large, traditional media entities like CNN, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which, as the prevailing narrative goes, have an overt bias and cater to elites living on both coasts. Whether that assessment is valid is immaterial. The main takeaway is that a growing number of news consumers are hastening the rise of alternative sources that only a few years ago were not considered reputable, including partisan political websites and influencers who leverage podcasts, webcasts and social media to get their message out. This is highlighted by Trump’s use of Twitter, which he believes allows him to provide his supporters with unfiltered access to his thoughts and policy positions.
This shift has quickly made social media companies a more potent news distribution channel than perhaps even they had realized. Facebook, for one, understands the power of content, having pursued partnerships with a host of media companies in recent years to fill its news feed with material, but when users flood the platform with other content that is less reliable (but nonetheless popular) that creates a dilemma, and how Facebook sorts out this issue going forward will be a significant test. Meanwhile, due to Trump, more people are aware of Twitter than perhaps ever before, but unless it gets better management, the company won’t be able to translate its newfound name recognition into more profits.
Whatever the fallout, it seems clear that the reliance on social media, influencers and other alternative media sources will continue in the coming year, all at the expense of traditional news services. Twelve months from now, the refrain will be the same: Technology is changing our lives. And 12 months from then, and on and on and on. That’s the way things go. But for investors, the key is knowing what changes will be transformation, and, thus, worth getting behind.
Ross Gerber is CEO and president of Santa Monica, Calif-based Gerber Kawasaki, an investment advisory with approximately $500 million in assets under advisement. Clients and employees of Gerber Kawasaki own positions in Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Tesla.


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A strike involving 200 workers at the Nex-T Apparel factory in Phnom Penh turned destructive on Saturday when angry protesters broke several items in the factory.
Nex-T manager Chea Sovann Chansambath said yesterday that workers destroyed office windows, bikes, cupboards, flower pots and other items.
“The workers have a legal right to protest, but on Saturday they broke national and international law,” she said, adding that she did not know whether the company would file a complaint against the strikers.
Workers say they will continue striking on Monday to demand better work conditions, that the company treat them with more respect and that it reinstate three fired union members.
To contact the reporter on this story: Khouth Sophak Chakrya at [email protected]


text: The winds of change are blowing through Post Ave and evidence of that is our loss of a long time staple, Alfredo’s pizzeria. The building which housed Alfredos was sold recently and they closed this week. We are awaiting word of a new exciting business to open there soon and when we get word of it we will post about it on our website and social media platform including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, Instagram and Nextdoor. Don’t forget that Saturday November 25th is small business Saturday and time to start using your BID Dollars for all of the other participating businesses on our list (below). BID dollars were in the most recent Westbury Times and Hometown Shopper last week and a mailing to local residents will go out shortly so look for that in the upcoming days!


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Valve is pushing out its 356th update for its free-to-play Team Fortress 2 since the game shipped in 2007. But this is not just some standard refresh filled with bug fixes and tweaks. Instead, the update brings a slew of new content created entirely by fans of the game. Dubbed Robotic Boogaloo, it will feature 57 virtual items and a comic that ties it all together with the game's constantly expanding story.
In a blog post announcing the release, Valve was quick to point out that the fresh batch of fan-made content does not mean the company is going to stop producing its own new goodies for the game. Valve believes there is room for items from fans and developers to coexist.
Created entirely by the TF2 community, a total of 51 people worked on the content from the latest update, and each of them will share the revenue generated from the $2.49 RoboCrate Keys required to access the new toys. Even all these years after the release, Team Fortress 2 still has a very dedicated player base, and this could end up being quite lucrative for those involved in making Robotic Boogaloo.
Another game where Steam Workshop - Valve's platform for users to create in-game content - has proven quite lucrative is Dota 2. Between these two free-to-play games, players with a bit of creativity can actually make some pretty serious money. In an interview with The Verge earlier this year, Valve's Gabe Newell said that the company has seen people "making $500,000 per year building items for other customers."
The update for Team Fortress 2 is available now on Windows, OS X, and Linux.


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With iOS 10.2 now out, all eyes are on Pangu and its alleged iOS 10 jailbreak. Will the Chinese hacking group really deploy the much-awaited Apple crack?
WWE heavyweight champion is confirmed for the Dec. 13 edition of WWE SmackDown where he will stake his title against James Elsworth. Dean Ambrose is likely to be involved with possible swerves happening.
Triple H and Shane McMahon may have a feud brewing and word out is that a match between the two could happen at Wrestlemania 33.
Niantic has rolled out a new and improved tracking system, one that shoudl help "Pokemon Go" players out in their pocket monster hunting.
2K Sports just made NBA 2K17 more realistic with changes on how a player can shoot with patch 1.07. Other improvements include more tournaments for avid basketball gamers.
The Microsoft Surface Phone could end up using a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC if Intel is unable to supply the necessary chipsets in 2017.
iOS 10.2 may be nearing its release following the release of the 7th beta for the Apple Beta Software program. Fixes highly awaited include the battery drain issue plaguing the iPhone 6s.
The Dallas Maverick find themselves at the bottom of the NBA Western Conference standings though there is still time to recover. To do that, some personnel changes may be needed and one name has surfaced – Andrew Bogut.
Duke Roufus has been handling a couple of mixed martial arts fighters, most notable of which is CM Punk aka Phil Brooks.
There is great anticipation for “Super Mario Run” - that surprise mobile game which was announced back in September by Apple though an Android version is also set to be released.
The filed Apple patent includes a touch-capable portable device made of glass. These are wraparound displays plus optional sidewalls shaped like half-oval or steep angular slopes.
AJ Styles continues to thrive in the WWE, barely a year since his arrival. He is currently the WWE SmackDown heavyweight champion, perhaps one of the wrestlers to make the quick shift up the ranks.
Ronda Rousey made headlines recently though it wasn’t the traditional friendly exchange. Rather, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion avoided talking to media when she appeared at the UFC 205 weigh-ins.
Apple is expected to release a new breed of iPad Pro 2 tablets in 2017, likely to sport all-new features both internally and externally. With most eager to see how the alleged three tablets will be, can the Cupertino company come up with impressive mobile devices?
The collaboration of Starbucks and Niantic may not only bring the "Pokemon Go" Frappuccino but possibly legendary and rare critters this Holiday season.


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Galaxy Fold: iFixit speaks of fundamentals Proproblem of the hinge
After all Proproblems with the Galaxy Fold iFixit was able to take the device apart. Samsung won't like what came out of it.
And while iFixit could see that it's a big one ProThere is a problem with the Galaxy Fold hinge. Samsung seems to have focused too much on making it stable enough. Apparently, it was not considered that dirt can get into the housing via this component. Michael Fisher, among others, was able to experience this up close – there are small foreign bodies under the display of his test device, as he reports on Twitter. In the case of The Verge, the panel even broke completely.
Sigh. A little grain of something found its way beneath my Galaxy Fold display. Like the saying goes: "not surprised; just disappointed." Sending this back to Samsung hoping they figure out a way to seal up that hinge.
Silver lining: video tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/9UfYDMOEul
Michael Fisher (@theMrMobile) April 23, 2019
The fact is: Samsung has now withdrawn all review devices and completely postponed the launch of the Galaxy Fold to avoid all the devices that have occurred Proproblems to investigate. It is still unclear when we will see the smartphone in public again. It's a shame that Samsung took that risk with the hinge. Whether it's Huawei with the Mate X will go better?
Street: The Verge
I think they didn't quite “work out” during development?
Would your colleagues from Germany say “Can you bend”?


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Don't-Miss Macs Stories
Mac and iOS developers attending next week's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco tell Macworld they're eager to see where the company is going with its hardware and software.
Apple and Motorola won't have their day in court, Barnes & Noble doesn't cotton to the DOJ's lawsuit, and John Sculley gets a big screen alter ego.
The Macintosh II made its debut 25 years ago. Here's the story of how Steve's worst nightmare--an expandable Mac--built a bridge to the future.
Google says it's not about to leave iOS users high and dry for maps, Apple may be planning a flood of new Mac releases for next week, and buckle up--mobile displays may soon provide a bumpy ride.
Look out, information technology managers: The era of "keep Macs out" is coming to an end.
June 11 is the first day of Apple's 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference, and Apple will hold a keynote that morning. On Tuesday, June 12, we're holding an Insider chat to talk about what Apple announces with some of Macworld's editors.
Macworld's Jason Snell attended last week's D Conference, and returns from Southern California with some thoughts on what went done, highlighted by Apple CEO Tim Cook's appearance.
The iPhone may get another prepaid offering, many Macs might be getting makeovers, and Woz may be getting even more ... eccentric.
Microsoft Office for iPad may appear this fall, and a new dock-connector port might appear on iPhones and iPads some day, but you can download several of Steve Jobs's appearances right now.
The Apple TV may get a software makeover at WWDC, Apple's decided it's in the mood for Italian, and Tim Cook in living color.
At AllThingsD's D10 conference, superstar screenwriter Aaron Sorkin talks about bringing Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple founder to life.
At the D10 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company is doubling down on Siri, played coy about Apple’s approach to the gaming and television markets, and spoke emotionally about Jobs’s death.
Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at the D10 Conference in Southern California Tuesday night. Here are the highlights of what he had to say.


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Fat in America, Part 1
Americans are among the fattest people in the world. According to the World Health Organization, over 60 percent of the general population of the US is obese.
What's even more disturbing, the US is the only country in the developed world to label obesity as a prime national security health risk.
It’s all part of a growing epidemic. Why are Americans so fat? And what brought the fast-food nation to rely heavily on foods most developed countries banned decades ago.
"There is a lot of innovation going on in America at all levels, whether it be organic or at a genetically engineered activity," said David Snively, the general counsel for agro-giant Monsanto.
Monsanto is the former manufacturer of the killer herbicide, Agent Orange, which was sprayed through the jungles of Vietnam during its war with the US in the 1960's and 1970's. Exposure to Agent Orange resulted in illness and birth defects that were only recognized decades later. But Monsanto is now responsible for more than half of the US's food and produce supply.
The United States also holds the record for the largest production of genetically modified products in the world. 95 per cent of American corn and 85 per cent of soybeans are genetically modified. All processed foods contain GM ingredients, which means that 70 to 75 per cent of the food we eat every day is genetically engineered.
"I believe that food is medicine and genetically modifying the food that we eat is going to have a great health impact on us," said Caroline Alexander, a doctor and principal at Healthy Muse.
Jeffrey Smith, the author of “Seeds of Deception” and a medical expert specializing in the effects genetically modified foods have on the human body said, "This is one of the most dangerous massive experiments we have ever conducted on our planet."
In the mid 1990’s, the FDA and the USDA allowed genetically modified food products and ingredients to flourish through the American food supply and farming industry. Suddenly, processed foods filled with chemically altered ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, canola oil and modified soybeans hit the shelves of America’s supermarkets.
"When GMOs were introduced in 1996, 7 per cent of Americans had three or more chronic illnesses. Within nine years, that went up to 13 per cent, food allergies doubled in less time, food related illnesses doubled between 1994 and 2001. Autism is up, obesity is up, and diabetes is up. No one is checking to see if the most radical change in the human food supply, the introduction of genetically modified foods, is contributing to these dangerous statistics," said Smith.
According to a separate report by the Trust for America's Health, minority communities such as the African-American, Hispanic and Native American communities have four times more cases of obesity than white Americans.
Dr. Caroline Alexander suggests that the alarming numbers plaguing minority communities are directly linked to the genetically modified foods.
"I believe that these are certainly the root cause, especially in low income communities because they don't have access to real food," said Alexander.
"We're feeding the products of an infant science to the entire population," said Smith.
So if the food is slowly killing us, making us unhealthy and fat, why is it on our supermarket shelves? And more importantly, why aren't genetically modified products labeled?
Coming up in part two of fat in America, we'll delve into those questions and more.


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This isn't the first time in recent memory Ubisoft has made DLC available exclusively for Sony's console. Back in October, it was revealed that Assassin's Creed III would also be getting PS3-exclusive DLC in the form of Benedict Arnold missions.
High Tides DLC will be available in January for a yet-undisclosed price.
Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.
If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more.


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Janet Jackson has a secret daughter. The revelation has been made by Jackson's ex-husband James DeBarge.
After the Samsung Galaxy 7 disaster, Samsung is not disappointed and planning to launch Samsung Galaxy S8 in 2017. The new Galaxy 8 has some exciting features.
"Longmire" Season 6 s scheduled to be filmed in March 2017. The news is a relief for the series's fans.
"Ricky and Morty" Season 3 release date has triggered a lot of speculations. One of the producers Dan Guterman said that half of the animation of Season 3 is already completed and the team is eagerly waiting for its premier. But till now there is no confirmation about Season 3's release date.
Adrian Pimento is back and there is a surprise for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" fans. Adrian and Rosa are going to announce their wedding. The gang will be busy preparing for the wedding and the fans will have a lot of fun.


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With a development and manufacturing plan, Fisker starts to take form. Mini aims for several more EVs, but they’ll coexist with gas and diesel. And one major survey finds Americans’ attitude about EVs hasn’t changed in the pandemic. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
After inking a deal with Magna to build the Ocean electric SUV and help provide engineering, Fisker has announced that it will be establishing a footprint in both California and Germany. The news also included an update on reservations for the Ocean, anticipated to start at $37,499.
A periodic survey from J.D. Power finds that Americans’ attitude about electric vehicles hasn’t actually changed much during the pandemic. Contradicting what some other surveys have found, relating to connections to air quality when commutes and traffic ground to a halt, Power claims that feelings about EVs remain neutral, but expected driving range has risen even this year.
As it pushes toward separate local-assembly plans in China, BMW’s Mini brand has announced that a whole family of electric vehicles are on the way, although they’ll still coexist with gas and diesel models globally. Only one of those models, a small crossover, will be exclusively an EV.
Over at Motor Authority: Daimler and Waymo have partnered to help accelerate the arrival of self-driving trucks—although that doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with electric, yet.
And don’t miss our first drive of the 2021 Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan, posted yesterday, or the full review of the 2021 Sienna you can find over at The Car Connection.