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Earlier this week economists were projecting the official government jobs report due on Friday, that is tomorrow, would show that the U.S. economy added just 200,000 jobs in June. This morning, however, the ADP Research Institute’s survey of private employers showed the economy added 497,000 jobs in June. That’s more than twice the 220,000 gain that economists had projected for this report. And way above the 267,000 jobs reported by this survey in May.
Today’s Trend of the Week is U.S. Economy Last Man Standing. The U.S. economy is moving along at a surprisingly positive rate given the Fed’s repeated rate increases. Earlier in the year I expected a summer recession, but that no longer appears to be the case. We may see a recession later in the year, but as of now, the U.S. economy hasn’t dropped into a negative quarter–and the U.S. economy looks like the strongest in the world. Which my not be saying much. China is growing faster by the official numbers, but it needs to maintain at least a 5% growth rate to keep up with population growth. At the moment, with 4% growth, China’s unemployment rate for 16-24 year-olds is over 20%. This has led to country-wide dips in consumerism and has hammered the overall economy. We’re now seeing a slowdown in the EuroZone. The European Central Bank announced that they’re still seeing 6% inflation and raised interest rates by another 25 basis points. This policy is likely continue as the central bank tries to reach a 2% inflation rate. Growth in the EuroZone has been down for the last five months, and hit a new low in June. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 50.3. 50 is considered the break points between contraction and expansion. There’s a good possibility that the second quarter could be negative for the Eurozone, bringing the bloc closer to a recession. With China and the eurozone flailing economically, the U.S. economy is the last man standing.
Investors and traders have been riding a Goldilocks market that has rested on a belief that all news is good news. There are signs that belief is facing challenges that might, just might, lead to a replacement of Goldilocks with some other narrative. Right now, the golden child is still resting peacefully at the Three Bears’ house with a stomach full of “just right” porridge, but sentiment in the last week has at least been willing to countenance the possibility that some bad news is bad news. And, I can see a lurking suspicion in the market that may be in the weeks to come all news if bad news.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was revised lower to 47.3 in February. That’s up from a 46.9 reading in January. But it’s still below the 50-level that separates expansion from contraction in this index.
This week’s Trend of the Week is How Tired Is the Consumer? Consumer spending makes up 70% of the economy, so if consumers get tired and start spending less, the economy as a whole will slow down. The current consumer data doesn’t look good. Credit card debt is at an all-time high and delinquency rates are up to 4%. On February 21, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) came out worried about the full year, noting that consumers were purchasing less-expensive goods, and lowered its guidance for 2023 below Wall Street expectations. However, the lowered guidance didn’t affect the stock price. Why? As consumers are looking more tired, investors will look for stocks like Walmart and Costco, where a consumer would go to substitute products with lower prices. If you’re looking to put some money somewhere if the consumer is looking tired, Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Dollar General (NYSE: DG) are good options. If you believe the consumer is REALLY tired, you may want to look to put your money somewhere outside of the market, like a CD with a 5% yield. For other 5% options, check out my recent post “The best way to get a 5% yield–my choices and their pluses and minuses”: https://www.jubakpicks.com/the-best-way-to-get-a-5-yield-my-choices-and-their-pluses-and-minuses/.
The U.S. economy grew at a 2.9% annual rate in the December quarter of 2022. That brought growth for 2022 as a whole to 2.1%. Consumer spending was strong enough to offset slowdowns in housing and manufacturing. So good news. But growth in the quarter was still slower than the 3.2% growth rate in the third quarter
Granted these are all reports from outside news sources but there are a number of them. Where there’s smoke there might well be fire. U.K. broadcaster Sky News has reported that Microsoft plans to cut about 5% of its workforce or about 11,000 roles.
The U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs in September (after seasonal adjustments), the Labor Department reported this morning. The total was down from 315,000 in August but it was enough to bring the unemployment rate down to 3.5% from 3.7% in August. This good news for workers and families, is, of course, bad news for the financial markets, which keep looking for signs that the economy is slowing enough to slow the Federal Reserve’s aggressive round of interest rate increases.
First-time claims for unemployment rose to 219,999 for the week ended October 1, Labor Department reported this morning. Economists had projected a rise to 203,000. The prior week showed a revised 193,000 initial claims. Financial markets aren’t sure how much this means for tomorrow’s report on September employment. It could be the harbinger of a drop in the rate of job creation and an uptick in unemployment. On the other hand, the ADP job survey came in hotter than expected.
My one-hundred-and-ninety-first YouTube video: “Trend of the Week Housing Prices Fall, Finally” went up today This week’s Trend of the Week is “Housing Prices Fall, Finally.” We’ve recently seen a big increase in mortgage rates, but the housing market hadn’t really slowed, until July. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the year-over-year housing prices went up 18.1% in June of this year, and 15.8% in July. While it’s still a big increase over last year, there is a noticeable deceleration. Month-to-month housing prices in the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller Index fell 0.4% in July, marking the first drop in month-to-month housing prices since 2012. If you look at Lennar Corporation (LEN), a good representation of the housing and building market, you can see the decline in mid-August where investors started to truly believe home and building prices are indeed going to fall. Watch the housing sector. It’s the first place where the Fed’s interest rate increase is having a tangible effect. We’ll continue to see housing prices fall as mortgage rates go up. And it’s an early sign that the Fed’s tightening is working to slow the economy.
Walmart beats lowered revenue and earnings forecasts and reaffirms guidance for the second half of 2022
Walmart shares were up 5.11% today, August 16, at the close. I think it’s fair to call that a relief rally as the company beat lowered earnings and sales forecasts for fiscal second-quarter earnings today. And then confirmed its guidance for the second half of 2022. Remember that the company had slashed guidance twice in the last three months on May 17 and then again on July 26.
I’m starting up my videos on JubakAM.com again–this time using YouTube as a platform. My ninety-third YouTube video “What if the Fed is wrong?” went up today.


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by Sigmund Leominster
Following the appointment of Mark Kingdon as CEO for Linden Lab® back in April 2008, this magazine speculated that an IPO might not be far away. 18-months on, the IPO has not happened and there have been no comments regarding a possible sell-off over this period of time. However, the prospect of an IPO is still there if you read between the lines.
First, Linden Lab started 2009 by buying the online marketplaces OnRez and XstreetSL. The purchase was made against the background of how Second Life® residents had purchased and sold more than USD $360 million of virtual goods and services in 2008. With the global market for virtual goods in 2008 being estimated as USD $1.5 billion, LL clearly saw an opportunity to be a part of this and also take some control over Second Life’s economy.
Second, later the same month, Linden Lab appointed Brian Michon as Vice President of Core Development and Judy Wade as Vice President of Strategy and Emerging Business. This expansion at the VP level is indicative of either an intent to grow or confidence in current growth. Wade’s role was described as being to, “identify new opportunities to grow the business in key vertical and geographic markets.”
Next, in May 2009, the Lab announced that the use of voice over IP (VoIP) in the Second Life environment had reached over 15 billion hours of use. This was a prelude to the eventual release of the AvaLine – or Dial-an-Avatar – service in August. Although there is still some uncertainty about the actual value of this service as opposed to using any other VoIP service (such as Skype), the message from LL is that there is a capability for Second Life users to communicate within and between worlds – a feature that may encourage more business and academic users to spend more time in-world.
Then, in June, Stratim Capital, another private equity firm, picked up an undisclosed stake in Linden Lab, allegedly in a buy-out of one of the current investors, although who that is and for what amount is still unknown. When asked to confirm the transaction, Stratim managing partner Zach Abrams said, “We bought almost the entire position of an existing shareholder… I don’t think this is a company that anyone will be able to put new money into, because it doesn’t look like it will need to raise another VC round.” The not-needing-more-capital suggests some confidence in Linden Lab’s current financial state.
In September 22nd, 2009, Linden Lab released a slew of figures promoting the successes of the Second Life platform. Key statistics included the following:
• Second Life Residents have transacted the equivalent of more than one billion US dollars
• World-wide users have spent more than one billion hours in Second Life
• User hours grew 33% year-over-year to an all-time high of 126 million in Q2 2009
• The in-world economy grew 94% year-over-year from Q2 2008 to Q2 2009
• Almost USD50 million is spent each month in user-to-user transactions
• Roughly 60% of active Second Life Residents are based outside of the US, representing more than 200 countries, with the Second Life Viewer being available in 10 languages
The Second Life blogosphere community has been critical of the accuracy of these figures but veracity aside, the tone of this press release is undoubtedly one of “talking up” the company, and the two major reasons for doing this are to satisfy shareholders and attract buyers. Linden Labs current shareholders are private equity firms, who, in the medium term, would be focused on turning a profit – which mean selling the company.
In the same week, Linden Lab’s Director of Marketing and PR Manager, Catherine Smith, and CEO Mark Kingdon were in Amsterdam setting up a new marketing office that officially goes live in January 2010. According to Kingdon, “We want to approach the European market from Amsterdam.” There are other reasons to do this. Setting up in Europe can have tax advantages for a US company as royalties on earnings that go through a holding corporation are tax exempt. If you want to bring that into the US, the Treasury then wants a slice, but so long as you use the capital for European investments, it’s a neat way of leveraging European earnings. One other advantage: Potential European investors/buyers may feel much more comfortable with a “local” presence.
In June 2009, Global Silicon Valley Partners, under their Next Up Research brand name, released a report on Linden Lab that provides an analysis of the company’s value as an investment opportunity. The report was not commissioned by the Lab, nor is it an “intention to sell” on behalf of any of the investors, however, it makes interesting reading.
Using a mergers and acquisition transaction analysis, they arrived at a valuation of $658 – $700 million for Linden Labs or an estimated price per share of approximately $12.16 – $12.93. they note that on the upside, Second Life users spend more time in-world than any other online game; that it has been resilient to the current economic downturn; and that the $700 million valuation is a good price. They balance this with some negatives; of the 16 million registered users (which will include alts) only one percent – some 170,000, have premium accounts; 20% of recent growth has been from emerging markets and these are non-paying members; a number of nations are thinking of taxing virtual transactions that are currently untaxed; and grid stability issues make the Second Life experience unsatisfactory.
Given the current state of the market, no-one is really looking to invest significantly in virtual worlds. An IPO now would be unlikely to raise significant amounts of revenue and so it’s therefore unlikely to happen until next year at best. The events outlined above over the past year hint strongly of a move toward positioning Linden Lab for an IPO but the investor market is far too bearish for the bullish needs of high-tech virtual worlds.
 SLentrepreneur Magazine: Mark Kingdon Is New Linden Lab® CEO: http://www.slentre.com/second-life-news-mark-kingdon-is-new-linden-lab%C2%AE-chief-executive-officer/
 SLentrepreneur Magazine: Linden Lab Goes Shopping, Buys Virtual Goods Marketplaces: http://www.slentre.com/second-life-news-linden-lab-goes-shopping-buys-virtual-goods-marketplaces-to-integrate-web-shopping-with-second-life
 Linden Lab Press Release January 27th, 2009: Linden Lab Expands Leadership team: http://lindenlab.com/pressroom/releases/27_01_09
 Linden Lab Press Release May 20th, 2009: Over 15 Billion Minutes Of Voice: http://lindenlab.com/pressroom/releases/19_05_09
 PaidContent.org: Stratim Capital Buys Stake In Linden Lab: http://paidcontent.org/article/419-stratim-capital-buys-stake-in-linden-lab/
 Linden Lab Press Release 22nd September, 2009: 1 Billion Hours, 1 Billion Dollars Served: http://lindenlab.com/pressroom/releases/22_09_09
 DeHoeksteen.Live: Amsterdam Gets European HQ For Linden Lab: http://hoeksteen.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/amsterdam-gets-european-hq-of-linden-lab-second-life
 Sharespost: Linden Lab: http://www.sharespost.com/companies/linden-lab

domain: news


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Aug 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand’s a2 Milk Co Ltd said on Wednesday its full-year profit nearly tripled in the 2017 financial year, fuelled by soaring demand for its infant formula products in China.
Net profit after tax rose to NZ$90.6 million ($65.94 million) for the year ended June, from NZ$30.4 million a year ago, beating an average estimate of NZ$81.5 million from three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue jumped 56 percent to NZ$549.5 million, in line with the company’s June guidance of NZ$545 million.
The dairy company had originally predicted that sales in the second half of the year would drop, but strong Chinese demand for its flagship a2 Platinum infant formula product prompted the firm to reverse its forecast and raise its revenue outlook. ($1 = 1.3740 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by Christina Martin in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Alison Williams)


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Apple mini-stores coming to Target
Target announced on Thursday that it will be setting up Apple "mini-stores" in multiple locations within the retail giant itself. Customers will be able to take care of their retail, grocery, and top-of-the-line gadget needs in one quick stop at the Bullseye. Seventeen participating stores have been announced and are already beginning to set up (Apple) shop starting this month. Check the official list to see if you happen to live near any of the locations:
- 1811 Hillsdale Ave., San Jose, California
- 800 Christiana Mall, Newark, Delaware
- 2747 Gulf To Bay Blvd., Clearwater, Florida
- 3970 SW Archer Rd., Gainesville, Florida
- 10101 W Flagler St., Miami, Florida
- 2155 Town Center Blvd., Orlando, Florida
- 101 Commerce Way, Woburn, Massachusetts
- 1447 E 7th St., Monticello, Minnesota
- 600 Amherst St., Nashua, New Hampshire
- 675 Troy Schenectady Rd., Latham, New York
- 13924 N Pennsylvania Ave., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- 125 Witchwood Dr., North Wales, Pennsylvania
- 150 E Stacy Rd., Allen, Texas
- 10900 Lakeline Mall Dr., Austin, Texas
- 1400 Precinct Line Rd., Hurst, Texas
- 7845 N Macarthur Blvd., Irving, Texas
- 18255 Blanco Rd., San Antonio, Texas
Much like the one-on-one assistance you can receive from an Apple Genius at official Apple store locations, Apple is currently training "Target Tech Consultants" to give Target customers the classic luxurious Apple shopping experience within the Bullseye walls.
Furthermore, Target's online services showcase the expanded collaboration through a dedicated Apple landing page which includes vast product selections, AppleCare+, live chat with Apple experts, and Apple phone support directly from the Target website.
Some Target customers are expressing concern that the Target RedCard (both debit and credit) is incompatible with Apple Pay, which certainly may be something the two companies should work out at this degree of collaboration. It would definitely enhance the appeal of the 5% discount Target is offering on Apple products if you buy them using a Target RedCard. Free two-day shipping and easy returns are also part of the deal if you choose to shop Apple at your local Target.
Also check out:
- Black Friday 2021 Target deals: what to expect


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NEW YORK Liz Claiborne brand Juicy Couture is getting a new president, Juicy announced this week.
Edgar Huber, a 15-year L’Oreal veteran will take over the position in August. Most recently, he was managing director for L’Oreal Europe, managing such brands as Lancome, Ralph Lauren Fragrances and Giorgio Armani Beauty. Prior to August, he was L’Oreal USA’s president of luxury products.
Huber will be in charge of Juicy Couture’s global expansion strategy. Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy founded the label in 1994, marketing clothing, accessories, jewelry and fragrances.


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Two men involved in an international computer hacking ring pleaded guilty in Federal Court in Delaware today.
The men, 28-year-old Sanadodeh Nesheiwat of Washington, New Jersey and 22-year old David Pokora of Ontario Canada, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud.
Nesheiwat and Pokora are part of a hacking group that called themselves the “Xbox Underground.”
The group allegedly hacked into accounts including the U.S. Army, Microsoft, Zombie Studios, and others. Once inside the accounts, they were able to access items such as trade secrets and financial information.
From 2011 to 2013 the group accessed data from a U.S. Army flight simulator for Apache helicopter pilots.
Prosecutors believe they were able to access the simulator through a video game company that was developing software for the Army.
The hackers were also able to obtain enough information to produce a counterfeit Xbox One gaming console ahead of its official release date last year.
The counterfeit Xbox was sold online for $5,000. The hacker group attempted to sell another counterfeit system for $20,000, according to prosecutors.
Microsoft had no comment on the case.
Damages are estimated between $100 and $200 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward McAndrew called the group “extremely sophisticated computer hackers.”
“Don’t be fooled by their ages,” he said.
Two other group members have been indicted in the United States, a fifth member is being prosecuted in Australia.
Prosecutors believe as many as a dozen members could be involved in the hacking ring.
The defendants were brought to Delaware because of the state’s ability to handle intellectual property cases.
McAndrew added that this is the first time the United States has been successful in prosecuting a foreign hacker.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 13. They each face up to five years in prison.


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The Ministry of Industry and Trade is once again discussing an increase in salvage fees, this time for heavy trucks. In the falling truck market in the Russian Federation, sales of Chinese vehicles are growing rapidly, but they are mainly replacing European players who have left the country. At the same time, a strong ruble, analysts say, creates risks for sales of KamAZ. Kommersant‘s sources agree that this is more about protecting KamAZ’s positions than about trying to raise additional funds for the budget. One of them notes that we are talking about indexing for heavy dump trucks – a segment in which most of the trucks are now sold. Another says the discussion is for all heavy trucks. According to him, the amount of the increase has not yet been determined, but consultations are underway with all domestic players.
Another source of Kommersant says that the indexation will be basic – by 25%, and only for the » tipper and onboard equipment, where there is a «dominance of Chinese trucks». At present, the salvage fee, for example, for new dump trucks weighing from 12 tons to 20 tons is 55.8 thousand rubles, but in case of an increase it can grow to 69.7 thousand rubles, for dump trucks over 20 tons – from 126 thousand to 157.5 thousand rubles
According to Avtostat, in January-October, sales of trucks in the Russian Federation fell by 19.4%, to 65.7 thousand, in October – by 21, 2%, up to 7 thousand pieces. KamAZ remains the leader with a share of 36%. In October, the concern sold 2.5 thousand trucks (a decrease of 15.3%). It is followed by Chinese players, which, on the contrary, show growth, including Shacman/Shaanxi (up 2.1 times, to 890 units), Sitrak (736 units) and Faw (up 3.8 times, to 638 units). The top 5 is closed by the GAZ group, whose sales decreased by 49.5% to 386 units. The model rating is headed by KamAZ 43118, followed by the Sitrak C7H tractor, KamAZ 65115, Faw CA3310 and Shacman/Shaanxi SX3258 dump trucks. , Volvo, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, DAF, Iveco, Renault, which was also discussed in KamAZ (see Kommersant dated July 20). EU-7 companies have not been supplying products to the Russian Federation since the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine and do not produce products at Russian enterprises. In one of the commercial offers, the Sitrak C7H was announced as “manufactured using MAN technologies (frame, cabs, engines, axles, ZF gearbox)” and as “a complete replacement for European cars” (Scania, Volvo, Mercedes).
A number of Kommersant‘s interlocutors note that the withdrawal of Western players from the Russian Federation and the ban on the supply of trucks due to EU and US sanctions have greatly reduced the supply in the segment, and players from China can only partially reimburse it.
Kommersant‘s interlocutors see inconsistency in creating additional pressure on Chinese brands in the conditions when companies from China are now supplying components to the Russian auto industry. One of them, however, admits that the idea of increasing the waste collection arose from the need to “save the industry and replenish the treasury.” We are talking about the accumulation of funds that can be directed to state support for domestic players.
The last time an increase in the scrappage fee for cars was discussed at the beginning of 2021 – also by 25%. After widespread protests from manufacturers, farmers and other industries, the government froze the proposal and, as Kommersant‘s interlocutors said, considered the idea of filling the budget for state support in this way to be unworkable.
A number of Kommersant‘s interlocutors doubt that that due to the indexation of the waste collection, a significant amount can be collected. They are sure that it is simply about protecting the market for KamAZ. KamAZ did not comment on the discussion of indexation, but noted that the share of foreign manufacturers in the market for trucks over 14 tons now exceeds 40%. Kommersant’s interlocutor, close to the concern, says that companies from China have already begun to “eat off” KamAZ’s share.
Dmitry Babansky from SBS Consulting states that Chinese players are now actively entering the truck market: “ With fewer supply chain problems, a larger domestic market and a weakening yuan, they could quickly bite market share away from Russian manufacturers.” At the same time, their products are interesting mainly due to the strengthening of the ruble, in contrast to the EU-7, where buyers still counted on the premium quality of equipment and service.


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As the MegaUpload execs taken into custody on Friday make their way through their preliminary court proceedings, the chill is already setting in around the world.
The case is being heard as the debate over online piracy reaches fever pitch in Washington, where Congress is trying to craft tougher legislation. Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation on Friday, postponing a critical vote in a victory for Internet companies that staged a mass online protest against the fast-moving bills.
The movie and music industries want Congress to crack down on Internet piracy and content theft, but major Internet companies such as Google and Facebook have complained that current drafts of the legislation would lead to censorship.
Critics of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Protect IP Act (PIPA), quickly showed their opposition to the shutdown of Megaupload.com, with the hacker group Anonymous launching attacks on many of the websites of companies that were involved in the indictment, including the Justice Department, the FBI, the MPAA and the Recording Industry Association of America.
The shockwaves of the case appear to be spreading among rival websites offering lucrative file-sharing. FileSonic, a website providing online data storage, said in a statement on its homepage that it had halted its file-sharing services. “All sharing functionality of FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally,” it said.
The Justice Department’s indictment includes emails sent between MegaUpload executives that make it clear that they know they’re profiting from copyright theft, and there’s a legal precedent for shutting down sites that can be used to trade files legally, if they’re mostly used for copyright infringing file-sharing.
Peer-to-peer file-sharing services like Napster, Grokster and LimeWire have all been forced to shut down after battling with copyright holders.


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OPERATORS looking for a business which offers a lifestyle change might be interested in a West Highland restaurant with rooms which has come onto the market.
Dunvalanree, in the Kintyre hamlet of Port Righ, sits on a sandy cove overlooking the Isle of Arran in what is described as an “outstandingly idyllic location”.
The business, which has previously been graded a four-star restaurant with rooms by VisitScotland, has seven letting bedrooms, a lounge and restaurant, as well as a detached, self-catering cottage and four-bedroom owner’s flat.
Alistair Letham of Colliers International, which is seeking offers of around £450,000 for the guest house, said: “It is an ideal opportunity for those seeking that definitive lifestyle change, with the potential of a good little income.
“The Kintyre peninsula is a sought after destination by many and Dunvalanree can easily capitalise on this appeal.”


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The country’s largest tire maker Hankook Tire is launching a safety campaign and a social contribution campaign, both of which will run until the end of the year, from Monday.
In the safety campaign, the company’s employees will show customers visiting sales outlets tire-related safety tips that are specific to different seasons of the year.
In addition, those purchasing selected products ― Ventus S1 evo, Ventus V12 evo, XQ Optimo Nova and Ventus ME01 ― will be provided with 2-year guarantees. Those taking part in the campaign will also be given a chance to enter a prize draw.
Along with the safety campaign, the company is operating a social contribution event in which the company will donate 1,000 won (90 cents) on behalf of each customer taking part in the event. The donations will be given to a non-governmental organization supporting underprivileged children at the end of the year.


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LOVELAND — A Loveland CBD manufacturer prepared the first shipment today of its latest product: Hand sanitizer with a touch of CBD.
Colorado Green Films Technology LLC has begun creating a hand sanitizer to offer for free to essential employees, who have no choice but to work during the COVID-19 crisis. The company also plans to sell the 4- and 8-ounce bottles to retailers, asking for the retail price to remain low.
Rich Crawford, co-founder and CEO of Colorado Green Films Technology, wants to provide essential workers, such as dispensary employees working curbside exchanges, with sanitizer because, “there’s such a big shortage out there.” Donations will start near the company’s base in Loveland and extend to Northern Colorado and Boulder Valley communities.
Though donating to local businesses is priority, the sanitizers will eventually be commercialized. The co-founder, David Currie, and Crawford are selling the sanitizers for $6 and $10, asking retailers to “not price gouge.”
“Really we saw the price gouging going on and that doesn’t fit our business model. I don’t appreciate it. I don’t think anybody does,” Crawford said.
Colorado Green Films Technology manufactures locally-sourced private and white label CBD, wholesale CBD and bulk hemp processing and will continue those operations. The company sells its topical products on its sister site coloradocarebydesign.com.
The sanitizers are a temporary product that will continue while Colorado grapples with the pandemic.
The small team of four, including Currie and Crawford, believe that they can yield 800 to 1,000 bottles a day, provided that materials are available.
Scott Birmingham, CEO of Mead’s Boulder Scientific Co. LLC, and Brad Stone, CEO of Timnath-based Bold Ideas LLC (dba: Bold Xtracts), aided Colorado Green Films Technology’s project. Along with other state businesses, they donated raw materials and packaging for the sanitizers.
The sanitizers consist of isopropyl alcohol, vegetable glycerin, certified organic lemon extract for scent and a small amount of CBD dissolute. Crawford said that the CBD is mostly for brand recognition, not topical benefits.


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Strategy review could see Renault pull out of markets
20 November 2019
20 November 2019
Renault could withdraw from some markets or reduce the number of models it offers as part of a review of its strategic plans.
The carmaker announced earlier this month that under interim CEO Clotilde Delbos, it would investigate the plans rubber-stamped by Carlos Ghosn under his tenure in charge of the French carmaker. The company wants to move beyond his influence as it looks to stabilise following a year of upheaval.
′We will avoid it if we can, but we have to ask ourselves the question: Can we just keep up the same strategy? I do not think so. The market is changing; we have to adapt,’ Delbos said at a conference.
The review is expected to be completed within a few months, with investors hoping that it will allow the carmaker to close the book on the long period of uncertainty after the arrest of its former CEO and Nissan chairman Ghosn following accusations of financial misconduct while in charge at the Japanese carmaker.
Since then, Nissan has struggled with profitability and falling sales as the previous management board fought to take more control of its company in the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Renault currently has a 43.4% stake in Nissan, with seats on the board and therefore voting rights on its decisions. However, the Japanese carmaker only has a 15% non-voting stake in the French manufacturer.
The acrimony was one point that led to the break-up of talks between Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) about a possible merger. The Italian company has since opened talks with French rival PSA Group, a move that is likely to lead to a true rival to Volkswagen’s position as Europe’s market leader.
Delbos said she was sure it was possible to make Renault’s alliance with Nissan a lot more efficient than it is.
Renault is set to finalise a shortlist of candidates for its new chief executive in the coming days, with SEAT’s boss Luca de Meo the front-running candidate, according to reports.
Former Airbus executive Fabrice Brégier, chief executive of automotive suplier Faurecia Patrick Koller and Renault’s interim boss Clotilde Delbos are also in the running. Interviews are yet to complete and a decision is not expected before the end of this year.
French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told the country’s television station BFM on Sunday that he wanted the new boss to be an ′auto industry professional’. The French state is Renault’s largest shareholder, with a holding of just over 15%.
De Meo is seen as a natural fit, having raised SEAT’s profitability since taking charge, pushing the brand into the SUV market and taking it to China. The carmaker has been one of Volkswagen Group’s most consistent marques this year.


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Andy Tomka was at his breaking point. “I couldn’t take it anymore,” he said.
Now the VP of product for MVMNT, which provides a transportation management system for freight brokers, Tomka had known there was a dire need for a better tech interface than what was currently in the market.
“This all started when a company built software for a shipper or carrier consumer and then asked out loud, ‘Who else can we sell this to? Someone said, ‘I know, boss! Brokers.’ And that guy looked like a hero,” said Tomka, theorizing on why software for brokers hasn’t been effective (because it was built for shippers). “I know why brokerage software was garbage for its customers, and after years of looking at the products it got to me.”
The idea of a transportation management system is not exactly new. A lot of goods in the United States need to be moved from place to place with trucks: roughly 72.6 percent of the nation’s freight, according to the American Trucking Association.
Right now, the way most shipments find a truck is through a broker. The manufacturer will call a shipping broker, explain what needs to be moved and the deadline, then the broker arranges a truck and a driver to meet that need. An article in TechCrunch notes that the financials of this arrangement often lead to the details being hammered out through fax, phone and in spreadsheets.
This is where MVMNT saw an opportunity to make a TMS that offered a new level of ease and versatility.
“Brokers need technology to help them run their business, but they are not usually technologists,” said Tomka. “The technology they can access is a copy of another segment of the U.S. transportation markets platform, and that is just not how they need to operate. I needed to build the product because consumers of brokerage tech are being sold a lemon.”
“I needed to build the product because consumers of brokerage tech are being sold a lemon.”
“There are other TMSs in the space, but with MVMNT, small- to medium-sized freight brokers are the hero of our story,” said VP of Engineering Mark Greshammer.
Greshammer went on to say that the pedigree of MVMNT is in freight brokerage. The company has fine-tuned what is needed in a TMS for mid-sized freight brokers to thrive, compete and win against larger brokerages. This kind of direct attention to a specific customer base is what sets MVMNT apart.
“I’m a maniac about our customers,” added Tomka. “When I came in, I was like, ‘This is wrong, this is wrong and that is also wrong. Why would anyone use this product?’ We needed to build a TMS platform that ran right at the problems of logistics tech and not deliver another oversimplified narrative on what supply chain tech should be.”
Tomka sees himself as the voice of the customer during product design. “Our TMS is highly complex, and as a result, it is very much a relationship business,” he added.
What Makes it Different
Even though shipping is rapidly growing — the freight shipping market is projected to grow from 11.09 billion tons in 2021 to 13.19 billion tons in 2028, according to Fortune Business Insights — it remains behind in terms of technology and user experience, especially for brokers.
“The freight industry is lacking a practical, efficient TMS that is affordable yet highly functional,” said Director of Engineering Stuart Fettinger. “MVMNT has a unique approach to a TMS that puts the actual, not the perceived, needs of a brokerage first. Our customers appreciate how well we get what they do, and how well our product complements their business rather than trying to change it.”
“Our customers appreciate how we get what they do, and how well our product complements their business rather than trying to change it.”
The sentiment is shared across the company.
“Transportation technology has been well invested in over the past 10 years, but unfortunately for our customers, those investments haven’t helped them create more valuable businesses,” said Tomka.
He added that MVMNT’s TMS platform is being built to complement the U.S. domestic brokerage business. “The product team started with the fantastical functions we wanted to unlock at a brokerage business,” said Tomka. “We then returned to the practical functions we needed to build to help our customers realize those opportunities.”
“We are excited about our TMS,” added Greshammer. “It is the core of our product offering and sets us in a unique space with a focus on enabling freight brokers with world- class technology.”
Collaboration into Creation
During the product design process, the voice of the customer was front and center during the team’s collaboration.
“Just like a supply chain needs to be a sum of parts and not an individual effort, building supply chain tech needs to be cross-functional,” said Tomka. “All parts of MVMNT are used to launch products.”
Tomka explained how engineering, design and product put the pieces together, while marketing, sales and operations managed the launch and created the critical customer feedback loop.
“Agility and the ability to adapt on the fly is critical at our stage, and our entire team bought into keeping that as a core strategy for delivery,” said Fettinger.
Fettinger noted that the product, design and leadership teams worked closely to make sure that the end product matched with the company vision. With fewer than 30 team members as of 2023, the nimble environment makes clear communication that much more important.
“We are a startup where cross-team communication is paramount,” said Greshammer. “With that, we embrace agile methodologies that involve traditional daily stand-ups, team retros, planning sessions and sprint demonstrations.”
The sprints are a great way to get visibility on the team’s progress across the organization, according to Greshammer — especially for folks that are not part of the day-to-day of the product.
“We also solicit feedback across the cross-functional team through discovery and design review sessions,” he added.
Greshammer noted that there were several big milestones along the way, such as the teams’ first sprint kickoff in January and seeing the first version of the TMS available online to enable sales.
However, the biggest moment by far was seeing the first customer on the platform.
“We’ve iteratively launched the product, so it hasn’t been a big-bang approach,” explained Fettinger, noting that they rolled their first customer on “as a team, with everyone supporting the effort.”
The initial rollout happened quietly for now, but the team plans to celebrate more as features come out in 2024.
“Launch day was quiet, but it won't be like that for long,” concluded Tomka. “Logistics brokerage is an industry that loves noise. They play loud music at work and celebrate sales wins by banging large gongs. Looking at 2023, it was all about delivering expectations.”


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SimpliPure CEO Jeffrey Sharpe walks reporter Michael del Castillo through the process of filtering water taken from a Central Park pond.
Edward "Eak the Geek" Arrocha (left) prepares to try his first sip of SimpliPure water with the company's CEO Jeffrey Sharpe. Michael del Castillo
The UpTake: This socially-minded entrepreneur might have a heart of gold, but that doesn't mean he isn't after profit too.
Edward “Eak the Geek” Arrocha, a retired circus performer and eater of lightbulbs, was at the Central Park pond this afternoon for some catch-and-release fishing. While he was there he ran into Jeffrey Sharpe, CEO of SimpliPure, who was giving tests for his new product, the Life Can, designed to purify some of the most polluted water in the world. Arrocha volunteered to take a sip.
"They’re purifying Central Park pond water," he said as he took his first sip. "I never thought I'd be drinking this." And then, the verdict: "This is good water."
I had two cups of the water myself, just to be sure, and I have to agree. In spite of a technical difficulty with the mount that held the pump in place, the water tasted bottled, and so far, no ill side-effects. Which makes me think Tareq Risheq, the founder of the Aliso Viejo, California-based company might be onto something.
Founded in 2009, SimpliPure employees have spent the last five years developing water filtration devices designed to purify pretty much any non-salinated water, no mater how extreme the conditions, including, I hope, Central Park.
“It can remove all biological pathogens in the water, all bacteria and viruses,” Risheq, 49, told me. “It starts with a pre-filter that takes out chemical and sediment and then it goes into ultra filtration which removes the rest of the pathogens.”
Last week the team launched a Indiegogo campaign to raise $150,000 to bring the LifeCan pump that pushes water through a specially designed hollow-fiber membrane to market, according to Risheq.
The devices are expected to retail for $300 when they hit the market, and for every filter they sell, they'll donate one to someone in need, similar to Toms shoes and Warby Parker glasses.
It’s been a busy year for the serial entrepreneur, whose tech security company, Arkami, Inc. raised $473,333 of a $150,000 Kickstarter goal in February for its myIDkey fingerprint password technology.
The Kuwait-born entrepreneur, who also founded Cellynx (now 5Barz) in 2007, and raised $6 million lead by Palomar Ventures, says that for all of his companies he hires a CEO and gives him or her a 10 percent stake in the company, even before there’s a product.
“I know I’m not good at running companies,” he said “I’m good at starting them.”
In spite of the rather palatable water, I’m concerned about the Toms Shoes-style incentive of giving away a product for every product they sell. Considering the price-point, only those with money to spare will be able to afford a device. But unlike Toms, many buyers who can afford the device probably won’t ever need it, which leaves extreme campers, survivalists, and philanthropists as the most obvious potential buyers.
As for Arrocha, the tattooed former circus worker, he ended up taking his own pictures of the spectacle.
"I can't wait to show the freaks the other freaks drinking water from Central Park," he said. And then later, in a Facebook post, "I actually felt quite hopeful when drinking this purified park water, man, it could really be helpful to people who do not have access to clean water." For every cup drank, SimpliPure will donate a LifeCan to an area in need through the Global Angels Foundation, according to a statement.
As far as the Indiegogo campaign is concerned, it runs through November 27, and the founder said if the for-profit model doesn’t end up gaining traction he’s open to switching gears to a non-profit, charity structure.
Michael earned his BA from Mercer University, along the way excavating a Roman bathhouse with the American School of Archaeology. Plus, he provided security at Oxford University, where he also studied literature and philosophy. He earned his MS from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism while training for and running in the New York marathon.
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Gwyneth Paltrow, who recently boasted she has the derriere of a ’22-year-old stripper’ thanks to the celebrity trainer, showed off her super-trim figure in a tight-fitting brick style bandage skirt as she promoted her book on Tuesday.The “40-year-old star’s slender frame – honed after hours of Tracy Anderson led workouts”.
Criticised: Recipes from her culinary collection has been labelled too expensive for the average person. Earlier this month she released the literature, a health-conscious cookbook.
The actress may have been launching a book in Beverly Hills, California, but it looked more like it was an official unveiling of her amazing legs.
Moving on to another appearance on the red carpet.
For even the most seasoned actresses, photocalls and red carpet events can prove nerve-wracking. But Gwyneth Paltrow was also given the task of having to put up with her comedic co-star Robert Downey Jr. at the Munich photocall for upcoming movie Iron Man 3.
Robert, who is renowned for his red carpet capers, arrived for the event wearing a customised pair of traditional German lederhosen.
It looks like Robert Downey Jr was not going to let Gwyneth Paltrow steal the show this time. 🙂


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Overwatch Year of the Rooster was announced earlier this week in celebration of Chinese New Year.
The event starts on January 24 and was confirmed via Blizzard's various social media accounts.
At the time Blizzard only showed off two character skins for Mei and D.Va, but now a further four character skins have leaked via the Overwatch Reddit page.
"Some Chinese player accidentally found an ad about the "free week" event of [Overwatch] in China." wrote hythl0day
The picture, which you can see in the gallery below reads: "Journey to the West" limited skins.
Included on the picture are four new character skins based on the original classic novel "Journey to the West".
This includes: Zenyatta's Tang Sanzang skin as the Sun Wukong's Buddhism master
- Zenyatta's Tang Sanzang skin as (Sun Wukong's Buddhism master)
- Winston's Sun Wukong skin (The monkey king)- Roadhog's Zhu Bajie skin(The pig monster, another apprentice of Tang Sanzang)- Reinhardt's Sha Heshang skin (The river monster, yet another apprentice of Tang Sanzang)
A teaser clip has been posted on the Overwatch Twitter account, accompanied with the caption “Good luck and great fortune await!” and a picture of Overwatch character Mei sporting a new Overwatch skin.
The official name for the event appears to be Overwatch: Year of the Rooster but currently there's no word on how long the event could last though with Chinese New Year on January 28th, we doubt it will run too far into February.
It's also unclear what extra features the event contains.
Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch: Year of the Rooster will be roughly same size and scope as previous events, it's possible we'll get a new mode, redesigned maps and plenty of new character skins to fit the theme.
Unfortunately, however, Blizzard has ruled out a Overwatch Valentine's Day event, telling Facebook users that it had no plans.
One fan asked if a Valentine's Day event was on the cards, to which Blizzard replied: "No Valentine's event."
with that in mind, it's unclear what the recently discovered voice lines are alluding to.
In one clip, Genji asks Hanzo if he has any chocolates today, while a second clip sees Genji tell Mercy that he has some chocolates for her.
The news follows an announcement from Blizzard regarding an important new feature for spectator mode in Competitive games.
Coming soon is the ability to view health bars to give viewers a better understanding of which team is winning.
The recent PTR update, which will eventually rollout to all PS4, Xbox One and PC players, also makes various other changes to the game.
For one thing, Blizzard has made it easier to purchase Loot boxes by streamlining the process and giving players more payment options.
There's also plenty of bug fixes, which include map and character improvements.
Blizzard is also thought to be working on a fix for a potentially game-breaking Overwatch bug.


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Analysts are predicting that a new 3G iPhone will appear sooner than later based on supply problems at 20 Apple retail stores nationwide. Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster called a number of Apple stores and found that most had no iPhones in stock. Because the supply lead time for Apple is about seven days, this is highly unusual and either points to supply problems or a 3G iPhone appearing in the next few weeks. Munster does not believe that the new iPhone will be significantly different from the old version and will sell at around $400. Keep in mind that these are all rumors and innuendo and unless Apple is getting much worse at keeping secrets, I’d give this a 70% chance of being true.
Uber is not the only tech company that mishandles sexual harassment claims| Megan Rose Dickey
In San Francisco, lease prices hold steady, but landlords offer more perks| Connie Loizos
New Zealand High Court upholds Kim Dotcom extradition ruling| Ryan Lawler
WhatsApp launches Status, an encrypted Snapchat Stories clone| Josh Constine


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Pot tax revenue to go beyond regulating
Revenues from the 31/2 percent local sales tax on recreational marijuana, ballot Question 1B that passed in Tuesday’s election, will go to more than enforcement and regulation in Pueblo County.
Commissioner Sal Pace said Wednesday that the statewide campaign to legalize marijuana was sold on generating sales tax revenue that would first go to schools and then other resources.
In Pueblo, Pace said the local tax will first go to enforcement and regulation and then roads, bridges and public safety.
“The pro-marijuana lobby always said this would bring tax dollars into help local governments (and) 1B is no different,” Pace said.
“Let’s say that even if this generated $10 million a year, we’re not going to bring in 1,000 enforcement officers. It would be cockamamie.”
The ballot question read that about $400,000 tax revenues would be generated annually, going first to regulation, enforcement and administration of retail marijuana industry and then “other general purposes of the county.”


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NieR: Automata is getting a TV anime adaptation. Aniplex is producing the anime. A teaser trailer was revealed during a stream, along with @NieR_A_Anime Twitter handle. The news came during a 5th-anniversary special event for the game, which was live-streamed on Square Enix’s YouTube channel.
A special visual for the NieR: Automata anime project was also unveiled:
NieR: Automata creative director Yoko Taro, game producer Yosuke Saito, designer Takahisa Taura (who also worked on the original Nier game and supervised the sequel), and music composer Keiichi Okabe made an appearance during the stream, which you can watch in full below:
NieR: Automata is an action role-playing game originally released in 2017. PlatinumGames developed it as a sequel to the 2010 Nier game, with Square Enix as the publisher. Initially, the game was available on PS4 and Windows (through Steam), but an Xbox One version was also released a year later. In 2021 a remake version of the game, titled Replicant ver.1.22474487139., was released. NieR games are a part of Yoko Taro’s Drakengard universe.
NieR: Automata tells the story of androids 2B, 9S and A2 and their battle to reclaim the machine-driven dystopia overrun by powerful machines.Official Synopsis, Steam
Humanity has been driven from the Earth by mechanical beings from another world. In a final effort to take back the planet, the human resistance sends a force of android soldiers to destroy the invaders. Now, a war between machines and androids rages on… A war that could soon unveil a long-forgotten truth of the world.


text: An increasing number of Minnesota cities are considering or have passed ordinances to prohibit the sale of drug paraphernalia. Store owners who sell bongs, cocaine spoons and other items have challenged these laws in court. The City of Red Wing expects that its new ordinance will be tested. However, local law enforcement and community coalitions often feel that these ordinances protect the public because the items promote drug use. For more on Red Wing’s ordinance, click here. Stillwater is also considering an ordinance, available here. While we are not aware of any distributors of drug paraphernalia in Kanabec County, a store recently opened in Pine City.


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The long-expected cancellation of the Vietnam 2020 race has struck another COVID-19 blow to Liberty Media’s finances.
In an interview with the New York Times in 2018 after announcing Vietnam as a new race, Chloe Targett-Adams, the sport’s global director of promoters and business relations (boy do they love their job titles) explained Liberty’s strategy.
“Formula 1 saw an opportunity to capitalize on its growing Asian market, building on existing races in Singapore, China, and Japan.
“In Vietnam, we have an incredibly exciting and emerging market, it is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and it hasn’t before hosted major events on a global scale.”
For Liberty, the race held a significant departure from the usual contract to host a race.
The race unlike most of the calendar is financed not by a large government cheque but by the private sector in the form of Vingroup, the country’s largest private conglomerate.
Liberty has extracted an annual fee of $60m on a ten-year deal making the Vietnam race a top earner.
Will this be a blueprint in a post-COVID-19 world where countries may be reluctant to underwrite the hosting fees and Liberty instead must rely on the private sector?
This trend has already started with private money funding the Mexican and Singapore races, amongst others.
Vingroup is owned by Vietnam’s richest individual billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong.
Vuong, worth $8 billion, made his fortune selling instant noodles, his company was purchased by Nestle for $150m in 2009 and Vuong used the proceeds to fund his move into property development, and as they say, the rest is history.
Vuong is using the race to promote his car manufacturing business VinFast with the race being named the ‘VinFast Vietnam Grand Prix’.
Vuong has invested $1.5 billion in the business.
VinFast launched its first car in June 2019 and is widely regarded as the first volume automotive manufacturer in Vietnam.
The manufacturer is rumoured to be developing a new model, the VinFast President, aimed at the luxury car market.
So, Liberty bags itself a nice healthy fee but does the rest of the paddock also gain?
Well, Vietnam’s economy ticks all the right boxes, pre-COVID-19 the International Monetary Fund stated Vietnam’s GDP would increase by 6.7 per cent. This means Vietnam’s economy is larger than Singapore ($337 billion) and Malaysia ($336 billion).
Vietnam Grand Prix Chief Executive Le Ngoc Chi summed it up when she told Reuters, “Vietnam is the right country at the right time in the right place.”
It looks like F1’s major players tend to agree.
Mercedes first opened a factory in Ho Chi Minh City in 1995 and is now expecting wealthy Vietnamese to fulfil their dream of buying a German luxury car.
Ferrari opened their first dealership in October of last year in Phu My Hung, a luxurious residential district of Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr. Dieter Knechtel, CEO of Ferrari Far and Middle East Hub at the opening ceremony commented, “It’s a great honor for us to be here officially in Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. This fantastic development underlines the importance of the Vietnamese market for Ferrari.”
Aston Martin has also joined the party in Ho Chi Minh City with a plush dealership.
Renault has officially returned in August of this year to the Vietnamese market through a local importer after a five-year absence.
It’s also worth noting when F1’s richest individuals get their chequebooks out to sponsor and fund teams, part of the calculation is F1’s global reach.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group has licensed INEOS Technology to manufacture polypropylene, a plastic polymer that is used in everything from fridges to carpets to car parts to a Vietnamese refinery – Vung Ro Petroleum Limited.
Dietrich Mateschitz’s Red Bull announced in 2017 an investment of $120m in Vietnam over three years. The Vietnamese energy drink market is estimated at $757m with Red Bull holding a 50% market share.
So F1 going to Vietnam was like most of Liberty’s strategy – primarily about the money.
On a footnote, Mercedes use a motto at their Vietnamese factory, ‘Don’t follow! Be followed!’
Garry Sloan is the author of “In the pit lane – F1 exposed” details at inthepitlane.com
Copyright ©2020 Garry Sloan
[Note: The opinions expressed on this website are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors and/or publishers.]


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Obama signs Export-Import bank bill
President Barack Obama has signed legislation that renews the charter of the Export-Import Bank for three years and increases the bank”s lending cap to $140 billion from the current $100 billion. The bank is the government”s vehicle for promoting U.S. export sales.
Obama says the move will help thousands of businesses sell their products and services overseas and help them create jobs at home.
The president says the independent federal agency is a key factor toward reaching his goal of doubling exports over five years.
Lawmakers passed the legislation earlier this month amid resistance from conservatives who argued that the bank distorts the market. The bank had support from numerous business groups.
Last year it provided about $32 billion in loans, loan guarantees and credit financing, helping support 290,000 jobs.
City OKs Facebook campus expansion
Facebook got a big thumbs up from the city of Menlo Park, which cleared the way for the company”s headquarters there to expand.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to back an environmental impact report and development agreement that will let Facebook employ thousands more.
Facebook will now be able to have about 6,600 workers on its Menlo Park campus, up from 3,600. It currently has about 2,200.
It”s paying Menlo Park millions of dollars over 10 years to cover the extra load on the city.
Next, Facebook will begin negotiations for another campus that it plans to build on the other side of the Bayfront Expressway. That campus will have five new buildings, giving Facebook room for as many as 9,400 staffers.
The neighboring city of Atherton is still unhappy about traffic headaches that will come with the expansion.
Jobless rates fall in most U.S. metro areas
Unemployment rates fell in nearly all large U.S. cities in April from March, aided by summer hiring on farms and in tourist destinations.
The Labor Department says rates fell in 356 of the 372 largest U.S. metro areas. That tops last April, when 339 areas reported declines.
The economy has generated steady job growth for the past five months. That”s helped lower the national unemployment rate from 9.1 percent in August to 8.1 percent last month.
Some cities that experienced steep declines last month depend heavily on summer tourism, such as Ocean City, N.J. Others, such as Visalia, are farm communities likely staffing up for the harvest.
New campaign fights counterfeit fashion
The French body that fights fake luxury goods has launched a campaign against counterfeit products that will be displayed in airports across seven European countries including France and Italy.
The Comite Colbert posters went up Wednesday in Paris, featuring photos of fake handbags, phones, shades and watches next to text such as, “With this phone, you better be ready to call your lawyer!”
The campaign aims to highlight serious criminal activity that the national anti-counterfeiting committee estimates costs French industry $7.46 billion.
Though counterfeit-sellers often target foreigners in Paris” tourist hotspots, Comite Colbert”s president, Elisabeth Ponsolle des Portes, says that “the growing counterfeiting on e-commerce websites make it more and more difficult to regulate.”
— Herald wire services


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Get ready to call your credit card provider again -- another major US retailer has reported that its payment system has been compromised. Kmart's IT team quietly announced that malware has been found in its stores' register systems, noting that both debit and credit card numbers have been stolen. The breach seems to have occurred in early September, meaning any purchase made at the chain in the last month and a half is potentially at risk. Security experts say attackers have enough information to possibly duplicate payment cards, but not necessarily steal your identity: personal information, pin numbers, addresses and social security data have not been compromised. Still, it's a big enough breach that Kmart shoppers will want to call their financial providers. Ugh. Happy Friday news dump, everyone.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]


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WASHINGTON, D.C. (WMC) - A Tennessee staple is part of Made in America week in the nation's capital.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation at the White House ushering in the new tradition. Business leaders from all 50 states were welcomed to the White House to showcase products that are made in America.
Among those products....Gibson Guitars.
The president pledged to wipe out unfair trade practices with other nations, despite some Trump family products that are being manufactured overseas.


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WELCOME TO The POINT OF SALE REPORT
Scotts and Co.
Feature market insights and perspectives from top C-Level executives, elite technology influencers and thought leaders from your company here. This signature initiative has garnered immense support...
retaildive | January 13, 2020
A rollercoaster year in athletics retail was capped off this fall with the departures of Nike CEO Mark Parker and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank. Paired with another executive change at Adidas as Eric Liedtke, head of global brands, stepped down, the moves amount to “seismic changes” in the category, according to NPD Vice President and Senior Industry Advisor of Sports Matt Powell. All three announced their departures over a two-day span in October. The announcements were defining mome...
DECK 7 | March 23, 2020
Since the implementation of Data Protection Act in 2018, the approach behind the use of data has changed dramatically. Our clients and customers don’t just want a great experience, they also want to make sure they can trust us. Tweet This! And it makes perfect sense in the present time and space. But as data is considered a key factor in positive customer experience, the U.S. brands and agencies have found it to be increasingly complicated to earn customer trust while remaining compl...
pymnts | February 06, 2020
Before Drishay Menon helped start Bottlecode, he struggled with acne as a kid an experience that that impacted his confidence and his ability to feel happy in high school. He turned to his mom for help, and she did what any and all good moms would do: “She helped me the best that she could,” Menon told PYMNTS in an interview. But the assistance resulted in over-the-top skin peel treatments and light therapy that made him feel even more insecure about his skin. Menon ended up struggli...
PredictSpring, Adyen | May 27, 2021
PredictSpring, a Modern POS leader, said today that it has expanded its partnership with Adyen, the global payments platform of choice for many of the world's leading enterprises, to add enhanced global payment features to its Modern POS platform. PredictSpring now provides its retail and brand partners with the ability to simplify and speed global payments from customers all over the world by integrating new payment technology from Adyen into its existing platform. PredictSpring's Moder...
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Cara Delevingne is a Classic Beauty in 'W' Magazine
Cara Delevingne rocks her usual casual look in lip-printed sweatpants, a “Trapstar” sweatshirt and knitted beanie on Tuesday afternoon (September 23) in London, England.
The 22-year-old model was spotted stopping by the Apple store later that day.
Recently, Cara was featured in the October of W Magazine for the fall fashion spread Ladies of London.
FYI: Cara is wearing GUESS Jeans in a photo from the W spread.
10+ pictures of Cara Delevingne in the fashion spread and out and about…


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5 tax breaks that business groups want extended
Most business groups support comprehensive tax reform, which would reduce overall tax rates by ending a wide range of highly specific tax breaks.
Tax reform isn’t going to happen anytime soon, however. That’s why business groups are pushing Congress to act now to renew tax breaks that encourage businesses to invest in new equipment, hire more workers and spend more money on research and development.
“These provisions need to be extended as expeditiously as possible to eliminate business uncertainty that is causing delays in investment and hiring,” said Rachelle Bernstein, vice president and tax counsel for the National Retail Federation.
The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing today on these so-called “tax extenders” -- 101 breaks that either expired in 2011 or will expire this year. Here are five tax breaks that are particularly important to the business community:
1. The research and development tax credit. Congress created this incentive for R&D in 1981, but it expired Dec. 31. Other countries now offer more lucrative R&D tax breaks, as well as other incentives to attack R&D activity.
“We wrote the playbook on how to encourage innovation, and now other countries are using it to beat us,” said Shawn Osborne, president and CEO of TechAmerica, an advocacy group for the high-tech industry.
President Barack Obama has called for strengthening the R&D tax credit and making it permanent, something supported by many business groups. In the meantime, they say, revive the old break.
“The failure to, at the very least, simply maintain our current credit increases the risk that the jobs, capital investment, and intangible property developed in the R&D process will move outside our borders,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote the committee.
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Carrefour France reduces sales area of its largest hypermarkets
According to reports in French newspaper Le Figaro, Carrefour France is going to reduce the sales area of its largest hypermarket in the country by 6,000 square metres. The hypermarket located in Portet-sur-Garonne (suburb of Toulouse), with a sales area of 25,000 square metres, is one of Carrefour's less profitable hypermarkets as its sales per square metre are lower by a third than the average for the 218 French hypermarkets. The larger the hypermarket, the weaker the performance appears to be. "It is no longer a model that customers are looking for," according to the retailer. The area for household goods, consumer electronics, books and DIY goods will be abandoned and will be either sold or rented to specialist chains. CEO José Luis Duran has already given his approval for a reduction of the sales area of seven further hypermarkets. Further reductions could occur thereafter. Carrefour Property is currently scrutinising Carrefour's 40 largest hypermarkets in France. All options are open including a reduction in the sales area, a reallocation of the sales area, or even an increase of the sales area. The only condition is that the new option creates more value.
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OCS India has been named the Best Agency - 2018-19 by Lulu International Shopping Mall.
This is the third consecutive year that OCS has been presented with this award, which recognises the outstanding service and innovative solutions we provide to our retail customer in Kochi, Kerala.
Shibu Philips, Business Head at Lulu, said: "We are happy to partner with OCS India and its committed teams, which have set new benchmarks in the unparalleled services they have provided, especially during Kerala floods."
Sumit Sabharwal, Managing Director, OCS Group India, said: "Our customers are akin to our own family and we strive to help them successfully build and sustain their business interests. It is an honour to receive this award for the third time. We look forward to many more years working together to deliver the highest quality of service."


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DPR fines, seals six stations
Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has fined six filling stations the sum of N1million each in Kano for allegedly violating its earlier seal sanction. Also, the affected stations whose identities and locations were not disclosed had been placed under maximum closure for six months.
DPR stated that no fewer than 90 stations in Kano and Jigawa had also received various penalties between December 1, 2017 and February 13, 2018. More than 60 per cent were sealed in Kano.
Briefing journalists, the operations manager, Kano-Jigawa operations of DPR, Alhaji Buba Abubakar said the effected marketers were being sanctioned for diverting the scarce products, under-dispensing, fragrant disregard of regulations and selling their products above the approved pump price.
The DPR boss who said that Kano and Jigawa states are grossly under supplied the premium motor spirit (PMS), however, denied alleged connivance with the marketers to fuel the protracted scarcity.
“On whether we are monitoring those selling above price, we have monitoring team with NNPC and also we have our own team with DSS. We visit the stations and make sure they comply with the regulations but you know we cannot be everywhere.
Also we have intelligent reports that the marketers monitor our teams and the moment they notice we are around they start dispensing,” Buba said.
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By Andy Sambidge
Kele Contracting awarded contract for car parking project as China-themed mall expands
Dubai-based Kele Contracting has been awarded the contract to build a multi-storey car parking facility for Dragon Mart as part of its major expansion plans.
The multi-storey car park facility is being built to cater to the increasing number of visitors and shoppers expected at the centre once expansion plans at Nakheel's Dragon Mart is complete.
The gate-controlled car park will add approximately 1,894 parking spaces spread over four storeys as well as underground parking.
Construction of the car park started in the first quarter of this year and is due for completion by the last quarter of 2012.
Andrew Elias, CEO of Kele Contracting, said: "We are glad to be awarded the contract to construct the Dragon Mart Car Park, which demonstrates Nakheel's faith in us and our performance."
The Dragon Mart is a retail complex consisting of various retail outlets, a hypermarket, cinema, children's amusement area, gym and food and beverage venues, and is open for traders in the wholesale and retail business.
Nakheel said in December it has leased 35 percent of retail space at its extension in its Dragon Mart Mall.
The developer, which is expanding its China-themed mall, said it had leased more than one million sq ft in just five days.
Nakheel in August said it planned to more than double the size of the Dragon Mart Mall, which at 1.2km long already makes it the largest trading centre for Chinese products outside mainland China.


text: NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Select Comfort Corp. scss shares slumped 16% after the mattress retailer and manufacturer said on Monday its February sales have missed expectations and it will likely miss its internal goals for the first quarter. Tuesday Morning Corp. TUES, +1.79% shares tumbled 12% after the company said Chief Executive Brady Churches has resigned and the company has named board member Michael Rouleau, former CEO of Michaels Stores, as interim chief. Vera Bradley Inc. VRA, +3.67% known for its bags with floral prints, fell 1.8% after Sterne Agee initiated the coverage of the stock with an underperform rating. In its initiation note of 12 specialty retailers, the firm also rated Gap Inc. GPS, +1.69% underperform. It gave Coach Inc. COH, +5.50% and Limited Brands Inc. LTD, -0.19% among others a buy rating while assigning retailers including Tiffany & Co. TIF, -0.51% a neutral. Among the gainers, Barnes & Noble Inc. BKS, +0.78% shares rose 4%. A Barron's article said the bookstore operator still has "considerable upside" because the combined value of the company's stores and its Nook media unit seems "comfortably above its stock price." AutoNation Inc. AN, +1.67% rose 2.3%. The largest U.S. car retailer said its retail new vehicle unit sales rose 6% and was up 3% on a comparable-store basis.


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According to a Major Australian Retailer, Dick Smith, a Halo Collection will be announced at Microsoft’s E3 press conference. Dick Smith posted a listing for a “Halo Collection” to purchase. It can be seen at the following link: Halo Collection
My guess is this is clearly a place-holder for some Halo title that will be announced at Microsoft’s E3 conference or this may very well be a confirmation of a Halo Collection coming to Xbox One. We will find out in about 12 hours when Microsoft holds their press conference.
We previously wrote an article where Engadget as well as a reliable industry insider, revealed that this collection was coming. See the article below:
FYI, the header image of this article is fan art and is used for display purposes only.
Stay tuned to G4X for all of your Xbox news.


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On 8 July 2022, JELU-Werk officially marked the completion of its new warehouse facility at the company's Rosenberg site. Although the building has been in use since 2021, the official opening planned for November could not go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Climate change has become part of our political and social consciousness. Companies are coming under increased pressure to disclose and reduce their carbon emissions. The road to becoming a net-zero economy poses them the major challenge of eliminating the production of greenhouse gases harmful to the environment and of improving their carbon footprint. They can achieve this by using climate-friendly products like JELUCEL®, JELUXYL® and JELUPLAST®.
As part of her Design course at the Universität der Künste Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts), student Amelie Graf has developed a sustainable packaging. What is ingenious about it is that the packaging is edible and thus itself becomes food! JELUCEL® cellulose powder was used as a raw material in this. The design student has now been nominated for the German Sustainability Award Design (DNP Design) with her edible food packaging, called the Meal Bag.
JELU-WERK is a medium-sized business specializing in the manufacture of cellulose powder and cellulose. For our JELUCEL® cellulose, we use natural fibre extracts, and we refrain from using any chemical additives. As a German cellulose manufacturer with an international sales network, we supply companies all over the world.
From 21 to 22 May 2019, more than 15,000 visitors came to the world’s biggest private label trade show in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to learn about innovative products and make new contacts. JELU is satisfied with the outcome of the trade fair and draws a positive balance.
JELU-WERK exhibited for the first time at the pet supplies trade fair Zoomark from 6 to 9 May 2019. Trade visitors to the fair were able to catch up on the latest trends in the pet supplies sector. On its show stand JELU presented its dietary fibres for pet food and organic litter products to an interested audience. The response to both product lines was great.
From 21 to 22 May, JELU will again present itself at this year’s edition of PLMA’s World of Private Label trade show in Amsterdam. The company will exhibit its organic litter and bedding products made from untreated wood fibres. All litter and bedding products, COSYPET®, COSYFLOCK® and COSYCAT®, are low in dust and serve the needs of different animals. With COSYCAT®, JELU will showcase to the trade audience an organic cat litter with excellent clumping properties. Its low weight as well as its eco-friendly manufacture and disposal set it apart from other products. We look forward to your visit at stand F-8508 in hall 8.
JELU is to exhibit for the first time at the international Zoomark trade fair in Bologna. From 6 to 9 May, JELU will present two product lines to the international audience: plant fibres for pet food, and organic pet litter and bedding products. Come and visit us at stand C87-C89 in hall 30!


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Dunkin’ is teaming up with Coca-Cola for the launch of three new Girl Scout Cookie-inspired bottled iced coffee flavors.
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Produced and distributed by Coca-Cola under the Dunkin’ brand, new Girl Scout Cookie-inspired bottled iced coffees debut in the following three flavor options:
- Thin Mints features the classic cookie’s combination of rich chocolate and refreshing mint.
- Coconut Caramel features toasted coconut mixed with the flavor of creamy caramel.
- S’mores combines notes of graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow flavors.
The new iced coffees can be found at retailers nationwide in 13.7-fl-oz bottles.
To celebrate the launch, Dunkin is releasing limited-edition bundles of Dunkin’ and Girl Scout merchandise made for chillin’.
Dubbed “The Chill Collection“, each exclusive bundle includes three bottles of the new Dunkin’ iced coffee in Girl Scout Cookie-inspired flavors, a sweatshirt, sweatpants, cozy socks, iced coffee tumbler, ice cube tray and enamel pins.
A limited number of merch boxes will be available to fans for free, while supplies last, beginning at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, March 26, 2021 at dunkinanytime.com/chillcollection.
The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners have been manufacturing and distributing Dunkin’ branded bottled beverages since 2017.
Images – Dunkin’


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India has been slowly, yet consistently, been getting a trickle of Android-based smartphones into their market over the last several months. And, even if people might expect that these handsets would be lesser than the ones found
Sprint has officially confirmed that its version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab will arrive on November 10. The slate will be priced from $399.99 with a new, two-year agreement – just like Sprint’s version – but
Digital photo frames are very common today and are one of the things that is given very frequently as a gift around the holiday season. There are a huge number of the things on the market today and Nikon is set to offer up its
In the immortal words of Home Simpson – d’oh. Someone over at PayPal hit the go button too early on the official announcement that PayPal was now supporting the Android Marketplace. Apparently, the announcement was
If you are a big fan of Facebook on the Android platform, you will be interested to hear that you can now get Facebook Places integration with Loopt. The new version of Loopt for Android comes on the heels of the new version of
Google CEO Eric Schmidt was pretty clear when he said the company “didn’t have to” make a second Nexus-series smartphone back in July, but according to UK business paper City AM all that has changed.
ASUS has apparently secured exclusive rights to use Garmin’s PND software on their Android handsets, promising Garmin branding on the devices themselves. News of the deal follows confirmation that the Garmin-Asus
We know many carriers have a stance on allowing their devices to share it’s connection with other devices. Here in the US it’s a big deal with carriers rarely just allowing it for free. T-Mobile is going from not
So Sony Ericsson is going to blast out a phone branded with none other than the ubiquitous PlayStation marking on it. The greatest controller ever is being applied to a telephone, and not just any telephone, one with Android 3.0
HTC’s brand new HTC Desire HD has just received a new over-the-air update. The update for this phone is named Software Number 1.32.405.3. It is quite a large update so it is recommended to turn on your wifi connection.


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Name a tech stock going into 2010 that:
- Is a market leader.
- Has more than $900 million in the bank.
- Holds the pole position in an important, emerging industry.
You could have answered salesforce.com
2009 in review
Long-term holders of Akamai have enjoyed this year, but not nearly as much as the newbies. Those who bought shares in January are up 59%. Investors who chose to buy when the stock dipped to just $9.25 a share last fall are sitting on a double.
Insiders didn't do that well, but they didn't poorly, either. Executive Chairman and former CEO George Conrades, CEO Paul Sagan, and co-founder Tom Leighton all bought at around $16 a share over the summer, and they're up more than 50% since.
Price cuts helped to produce those returns. Industry watcher Dan Rayburn reports here that Akamai has been gutting margins on delivery of video for its media and entertainment clients, leading to higher volumes profits.
Akamai recently revised its fourth-quarter guidance to $0.42 to $0.43 in adjusted per-share profit on $230 million to $235 million in revenue. Earlier estimates had called for $0.39 to $0.41 per share on $217 million to $224 million in revenue, Dow Jones reports.
The revision itself is interesting. What makes it more so is the amount of competition Akamai faces from Limelight Networks, Level 3 Communications, and several others. BT Group joined the fray last week.
2010 in preview
And yet, at 17 times its projected 2010 earnings, Akamai appears priced for further gains. Video should supply more than enough tailwind for the underlying business.
"Currently, only about 1% to 2% of total video viewing in the home is done over the Internet, but that number is increasing and we believe it is poised to at least double and double again in the next few years," Sagan told investors during Akamai's third-quarter conference call. "That growth will generate a great deal of opportunity for our media customers and for Akamai."
Sagan's being modest; Akamai's video highlights include delivering for Apple
Web-delivered video is catching on broadly. For example, during the third quarter, consumers spent 35% more time watching clips on the Internet than they did the year before, according to a new survey from Nielsen.
Analysts expect the pace of growth to continue. The Diffusion Group projects online video delivery to TVs will blossom into a $5.7 billion business by 2014. Over the same period, Pyramid Research estimates that revenue from mobile video services will reach $16 billion here in the U.S., News.com reports.
To these researchers and more, Web video is a budding business where upstarts such as Netflix's
The Foolish bottom line
But even if it doesn't, some back-of-the-napkin math shows that the video opportunity could still be a massive catalyst for this company.
Akamai has generated $834 million in revenue over the trailing 12 months. That's equal to 5% of Pyramid's projection, and 15% of Diffusion's estimate. Either way, Akamai shouldn't have to win a majority of the resulting content delivery business in order to realize revenue hypergrowth.
And that's just from video. Akamai also delivers ads, applications, e-commerce transactions, and more. Most recently, the company began offering managed security services for those running their businesses via cloud computing.
A second wave of growth for Akamai is coming, and it's going to begin in 2010.
Is Akamai the tech stock to own 2010? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
To see the full list of candidates for the Best Tech Stock for 2010, use the sidebar at right or click here.
Apple and Netflix are Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections. Akamai and salesforce.com are Motley Fool Rule Breakers recommendations. Microsoft is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation. Motley Fool Options has recommended a diagonal call on Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the market-beating Rule Breakers stock-picking team. He had stock and options positions in Apple and a stock position in Akamai at the time of publication. Check out Tim's portfolio holdings and Foolish writings, or connect with him on Twitter as @milehighfool. The Motley Fool is also on Twitter as @TheMotleyFool. The Fool's disclosure policy is too techie for this shirt. Too techie for this shirt. So techie, it hurts.


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Yahoo announced Monday that its Panama search advertising platform is now open to third parties.
Under Panama, which was launched in February, sponsored search results are based on items such as relevancy and not just on the advertiser's bid price.
Through its new Yahoo Search Marketing Commercial API Program, both businesses and individual developers have access to a series of application program interfaces (APIs) so that they can tweak the Panama platform to suit their individual needs.
The company is offering three levels of partnership, ranging from a free "basic" deal for small advertising agencies and technology companies, to "advanced" and "elite" levels with varying subscription rates.
All participants in the Panama APIs, regardless of partnership level, have access to the software platform and any related technical support. Advanced partners also have account management support and a listing in Yahoo's partner directory.
Elite partners, according to Yahoo, can "leverage the Panama platform, resources and brand via regular business review, product council, road map coordination and joint marketing activities." The inaugural Elite partners in the API program include SearchIgnite, Efficient Frontier, Omniture and The Search Agency.
Yahoo launched Panama earlier this year as a direct competitor to Google's successful advertising programs. So far, Panama's biggest success has been a deal with media giant Viacom to provide sponsored search and contextual ads to 33 of its entertainment sites. Viacom, meanwhile, is famously at odds with Google over a billion-dollar copyright infringement lawsuit over YouTube video clips.
In another strategic move to bolster its place in the online advertising market, Yahoo purchased ad exchange Right Media in late April.


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Alright Overwatch fans, time to power up that Meka of yours, Blizzard is hitting us with a D.Va themed event!
Recently Blizzard unveiled their newest animated short Shooting Star. The short is centered around everyone’s favorite “bunny hopping” mech pilot, D.Va. Along with the new short, Blizzard is presenting us with “D.Va’s Nano Cola Challenge”.
The announcement was made earlier today on Twitter.
The official tweet reads:
Shoot for a new high score! Unlock D.Va-themed cosmetics including sprays, a player icon, and an epic skin now until Sept 10.
Starting now through September 10th, players will have the chance to participate in the challenge and earn some sweet in-game loot!
How do I participate, you may be wondering? Well that’s easy! Just win a total of nine games across Quick Play, Competitive, or Arcade mode. For the first set of three victories, players will receive two new D.Va sprays, with three more unlocking a new player icon, and the final three granting players the awesome new Nano Cola D.Va skin! It should be noted that these unlockable items will be in addition to normal earnings, such as loot boxes.
Not only will winning matches grant you new in game loot, but so will watching Twitch streams. That’s right for every two hours of partnered Twitch streams, players will unlock exclusive D.Va emoji sprays (eight in total). Act fast as this event won’t be going on for long. Do you have what it takes to achieve a “new high score”?
More information regarding stream schedules and participating streamers can be found here.


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Airtel Africa is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. The company which is under Bharti Airtel established its presence in the region after acquiring Zain Telecom’s Africa exactly 10 years ago, in June 2010.
At the time, Zain Telecom’s Africa was operating in 15 countries with a total of 36 million subscribers.
Throughout the 10 years of operating in the region, Airtel Africa has grown its userbase and currently serves slightly over 110 million customers.
Airtel Africa is available in 14 different countries, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa. These include Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, and others.
The company provides voice, data, and mobile money services.
Out of the 110.6m total, Airtel Africa says provides data services to 35.4m customers and mobile money services customers to 18.3m customers. In the recently concluded financial year, the company had a turnover of $3.4 bn(approx. KSh 340bn).
The company’s biggest milestone recently is being listed on the London and Nigerian stock exchanges.
“Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. I want to take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues, partners, suppliers and distributors for their support as we have worked together to deliver on our purpose,” said Raghunath Mandava, CEO, Airtel Africa, reflecting on the company’s 10-year journey.
Airtel Africa’s Kenyan subsidiary Airtel Kenya is the second-largest telco locally. The company holds a 14 million user base according to the latest Sector Statistics Report from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK).


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It seems there were problems with Toronto's Trump Tower from the get go. Fraudsters were outed, major investors pulled out at the last minute, and those left as part of this major project in Canada were put together by the person outed. What's worse, none of...
Toronto Civil Litigation Law Blog
Jehovah’s Witness leaders face class action litigation
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Oct 27, 2017 | Class Action Litigation
Former and current members of the Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the church protects members who sexually abuse children. The members in Canada have launched a $66 million claim against the leaders of the church. In the class action litigation, they allege that...
False advertising and products liability in Canada
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Oct 20, 2017 | Products Liability
Advertisements are created to sell products and services. But there are times when they're more than just a little embellished. Sometimes they falsely highlight the product or service in an over-the-top pitch to entice further purchases. However, the Competition Act...
Pharmaceutical liability: Health Canada wants codeine off shelves
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Oct 5, 2017 | Pharmaceutical Liability
Nonprescription codeine is readily available on shelves at pharmacies and most grocery stores in Canada. If Health Canada has anything to say about it, that will be changing in the near future. These sorts of products have been associated with pharmaceutical liability...
Class action litigation: Record award in talc powder case
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Sep 15, 2017 | Class Action Litigation
A woman from Virginia has been awarded more than $110 million in compensation in a suit against the manufacturer of baby powder. The class action litigation alleged that the baby powder created by manufacturing giant Johnson & Johnson caused the woman's ovarian...
Products liability in Canada: Metal-on-metal hip replacements
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Sep 7, 2017 | Products Liability
British researchers have found that metal-on-metal hip replacements are highly likely to fail. This paves the way for the launching of products liability suits by the tens of thousands of people over the world -- many of whom are in Canada -- who may be affected by...
Class action litigation: OxyContin users waiting for compensation
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Aug 22, 2017 | Class Action Litigation
Legally prescribed painkillers Oxycontin and OxyNeo have caused many Canadians to be addicted to opioids. Purdue Pharma, the company that manufactures the drugs, has agreed to settle a number of class action litigation lawsuits in Canada to the tune of $20...
Hydroxycut facing products liability suit in Canada
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Aug 15, 2017 | Products Liability
Health Canada is urging consumers not to use the product Hydroxycut because of the number of adverse reactions reported. Although not authorized for sale in Ontario or the rest of Canada, consumers can still purchase the product. A products liability suit...
Ontario cycling advocate suing for personal injury re fall
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Aug 8, 2017 | Personal Injury
A well-known Ontario cycling advocate has launched a lawsuit against the City of Windsor, the University of Windsor and a number of contractors. The $600,000 personal injury suit stems from a trip-and-fall accident she had two years ago in a campus construction zone....
Ontario pharmaceutical liability and the dark side of Tylenol 3
On Behalf of Rochon Genova LLP | Aug 2, 2017 | Pharmaceutical Liability
When people get sick, they believe over-the-counter drugs or those prescribed to them will help them to feel better. But many Ontario residents get sick from what they can buy off the shelf or are prescribed and as such may be entitled to compensation by...
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This article was written by NEWSREP guest author, Dustin Ivers.
Ripple’s XRP made huge gains overnight reaching 26.8 Billion on Friday. Cryptocurrency investors are “buying in” on the news of a product anticipated to be released in the coming months that utilizes XRP to lower liquidity cost of payments cross-borders.
XRP’s boom is a fine example of perception becoming reality. The world of investments is notorious for succumbing to massive gains and losses from mere rumors or a figurehead stating an assumption in the form of a prediction. The baffling trend that emerges over and over is that when someone with any level of perceived credibility talks, investors react in the form of buying or selling – quickly manifesting whatever was said to become true.
This latest gain of 185 percent in XRP value owes its boost to the Head of Regulatory Relations for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at Ripple, Sagar Sarbhai. Sarbhai told CNBC that Ripple was making progress with a new product, xRapid, which is designed to aid banks in reducing costs and speeding up transactions by using solely XRP cryptocurrency. “I am confident that in the next one month or so you will see some good news coming in where we launch the product live in production.”