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The legislation, known as the Consumer Review Freedom Act, would ban businesses from bullying their customers as a way of insulating themselves from public criticism. If you think that doesn't happen, think again: One infamous case resolved last year saw KlearGear, an online retailer, charging a Utah couple $3,500 after they wrote some harsh words about the company on a review site. In the company's eyes, the pair had run afoul of its "non-disparagement clause" that barred them from "taking any action that negatively impacts KlearGear.com, its reputation, products, services, management or employees."
The couple refused to pay up — perhaps not unreasonable, considering KlearGear had never actually delivered the products they'd ordered. KlearGear escalated by sending the case to collections, resulting in a hit to the couple's credit score. After years of litigation, a federal judge finally ruled in their favor, awarding them nearly $307,000 in damages.
"Online customer reviews have become an integral part of not just e-commerce but consumer choice everywhere,” Thune said in a statement. “This free market system, which empowers customers, cannot thrive if reviewers face intimidation against airing truthful criticisms."
The Internet Association, a Washington trade group representing firms like Yelp, Google and others, is praising the effort.
"Creating a strong national standard protecting freedom of speech online is fundamental to the success of the Internet," said Michael Beckerman, president of the Internet Association. "Meritless lawsuits filed for the sole purpose of intimidating consumers and stifling public debate must be addressed by Congress."
The bill's sponsors hope to move the bill to a markup before the year is out. A similar bill in the House was introduced in April.


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AUSTRALIANS who "set and forget" their savings are missing out on $4 billion a year in lost interest, according to a new survey.
While consumers are quick to shop around for the best deals on everything from home loans to mobile phones, when it comes to their savings account 85 per cent of people haven't gone looking for a better interest rate in the past 12 months and 40 per cent haven't changed their main account for more than a decade.
Overall a new national survey found Australians were pretty good savers, with four-in-five people sacrificing some of life's little luxuries such as eating out, to put away an average of $540.20 a month.
Women tend to save $188 a month less than men but were savvier, with more women choosing to save their money in a high interest savings account.
Commissioned by RAMS the survey found 86.2 per cent of people worried they weren't saving enough with almost half - 46.7 per cent - saying the main barrier was a lack of income.
RAMS boss Melos Sulicich said the findings indicated Australians were "precautionary savers" still wary of an uncertain jobs market and sustained economic pressures in the wake of the GFC.
"Over the years Australians savings' psyche has changed," he said.
"Up to four or five years ago Australians were spenders.
"I think Australians are now much more concerned about the future and being able to pay for the future."
Worryingly, however, he said people took a "set and forget" attitude towards their savings account.
"One third of respondents find it difficult to save money and when they do save, the amount is not as much as they wanted," he said.
"It is concerning that potentially $4 billion in savings is being lost annually simply because less than half, 45 per cent, are putting their money into a high interest savings account."
"Our results indicate that people tend to have an everyday transaction account allowing anytime access to their money but earning little or no interest."
Holidays ranked highest on a list of what people were saving for but when asked about their real motivation, most people said they were saving for a rainy day.
Nicole Eason's rainy day came four years ago when her husband Tony was made redundant shortly after the birth of their first son Alex.
Fortunately the couple had enough tucked away until he found another job but now the mother-of-two uses a high interest offset savings account to drive down the mortgage on the family's four bedroom home at Kellyville Ridge in Sydney’s north west.
"That's the goal, hopefully in 10 years we'll have paid it off," she said.
"Just to have that freedom would be good."
Online comparison site RateCity spokeswoman Michelle Hutchison said there were no exit or sign up fees but consumers should be wary of high introductory rates that elapsed after a few months or bonus rates that come with strict conditions like monthly deposits and no withdrawals.
"Many savers aren't aware that you can haggle with most financial institutions about the introductory rate," she said.
"So when your intro rate is coming close to the end of its term, call your provider and ask them to extend it or you will switch to a different institution and they are likely to continue offering you the promotional rate."
Originally published as Aussies lose $4b in savings per year

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#PennCraves Food Truck serves hot and fresh meals-to-go
As temperatures get colder and bellies get a little grumblier, a new Penn food truck is crafting hot and fresh meals-to-go that aim to satisfy even the most persistent cravings.
The new, aptly named #PennCraves Food Truck is now serving up seasonal, artisanal grilled cheese sandwiches, soups, and more at Pennovation Works (formerly known as the South Bank) at 3401 Grays Ferry Ave.
“Everybody loves grilled cheese and soup, especially on cold winter days like we’ve been experiencing,” says Stephen Scardina, resident district manager for Bon Appétit, Penn’s on-site restaurant and catering company. “But we’ve also incorporated different types of Philadelphia street foods to meet the needs and wants of our customers [at Pennovation Works.]”
The menu is anchored by classics such as a three-cheese sandwich made with sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, and muenster cheeses, along with twists on traditions such as a goat cheese and cremini mushroom sandwich layered with shredded kale. Customers can warm up with a cup of old-fashioned tomato soup or one of the daily rotating soup options.
The truck also features two types of French fries, Philly-style street tacos with lime-jicama slaw, and a weekly rotating fresh salad menu.
Scardina says the food truck strives to use local ingredients when available, including pork from Country Time Farm in Hamburg, Pa., beef from Roseda Beef in Monkton, Md., and mushrooms from Basciani Mushrooms in mushroom-capital Kennett Square, Pa.
“We keep in mind that that it’s important to have vegan and vegetarian options for those who have that preference, and so far we have been able to meet customized requests from the community,” Scardina says.
Though the truck is currently exclusively available to customers at Pennovation Works, Scardina says Penn hopes to use the truck in the future for special catered campus events.
The #PennCraves Food Truck is open for business Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Menu items range from $2 to $7. Though the truck is currently cash-only, Scardina says credit cards will be accepted for payment in the near future.
For more information about the #PennCraves Food Truck, and to view the full menu, visit the Penn Dining website.


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Sony’s PlayStation Network headaches continue, with security researchers claiming that the hackers who broke into the company’s databases are offering to sell credit card numbers stolen from PSN users. Trend Micro threat researcher Kevin Stevens, reports the NYTimes, says that not only are the hackers seeking in excess of $100,000 for the database – which Sony has insisted is encrypted, but which other security experts warn may too have been infiltrated – but that they even offered it back to Sony.
Sony spokesperson Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications and social media, denies the suggestion, however. “To my knowledge,” he told the newspaper, “there is no truth to the report that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list.” Earlier this week, Seybold confirmed that not only was Sony reworking the PSN systems, with the help of both an external security firm and law enforcement teams, but physically “moving our network infrastructure and data center to a new, more secure location.”
Still, there’s ongoing concern that the horse has already bolted. “Sony is saying the credit cards were encrypted,” Mathew Solnik, iSEC Partners security consultant points out, “but we are hearing that the hackers made it into the main database, which would have given them access to everything, including credit card numbers.” Experts in credit card fraud have estimated that, if true, the potential for false payments could total $24bn.


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With consumption of packaged foods rising sharply both in India and abroad, the world’s largest producer of food grade anti-oxidants, Camlin Fine Chemicals Ltd (CFCL), is planning to set up a second factory in Maharashtra to cater to growing demand. Anti-oxidants are used to halt the decaying process of foodstuffs.
This factory apart from producing foodgrade anti oxidants, will also produce industrial anti- oxidants and other products of the company that are currently manufactured at its unit at Tarapur in Maharashtra. The Tarapur unit has an annual capacity of 4,000 tonnes.
“We have already acquired land at Pali and the factory would be set up next year. Final details and estimates are yet to be made,” said Ashish Dandekar, managing director, CFCL.
The company has been exporting 10 types of anti-oxidants to over 40 countries and 90 per cent of its produce is for the export market.


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SEVERAL Southport restaurants are facing closure as a result of banks’ tough policy on lending.
Chairman of Southport Restaurateurs’ Association, Dave Rimmer, says he is aware of a number of eateries “treading water” and unable to secure funding.
Mr Rimmer, who owns The Dining Rooms on West Street, has backed the Visiter’s campaign to encourage banks to back local businesses through the recession.
He said: “We want the banks to allow us to get through this sticky patch and work with us to achieve that.
“ We don’t want them to pull the plug on people unless there is no other alternative.
“There are a lot of restaurants treading water, simply getting by on their Saturday night takings.
“Unfortunately, banks don’t appear to be lending to high-end quality businesses, which the majority of Southport restaurants are.”
Mr Rimmer has also called on Southport residents to eat out in the town, instead of venturing to nearby towns and cities.
He said: “Southport’s more well-established restaurants are doing okay because they’ve built up a loyal customer base, but some of the new restaurants seem to be forgotten about.
“Times are tough for everybody, but we need people to actively support our restaurants where they can”.


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- McDonald’s is expanding its push into delivery in the United States. In partnership with UberEats, McDonald’s will now deliver out of 1,000 stores (up from 200), including locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix. The chain already has a robust delivery business in Asia and the Middle East, and earned $1 billion in delivery sales worldwide last year.
- Yesterday Google announced Google Lens. Users will be able to point their smartphone camera at any restaurant and the app will offer information about the place, including reviews, menus, reservations, contact information, and more. Also: Google Assistant (which lets you order delivery, or call up restaurant information) is now available on iPhones. Read more on The Verge.
With Google Lens, your smartphone camera won’t just see what you see, but will also understand what you see to help you take action. #io17 pic.twitter.com/viOmWFjqk1— Google (@Google) May 17, 2017
- In Detroit, the iconic American Coney Island hot dog stand celebrates its 100th year in business this month. Here’s a look back at how one hot-dog-and-chili push cart grew into a beloved Motor City brand.
- A grand jury in Kentucky has indicted the leader of a Girl Scout troop for stealing $15,000 worth of cookies.
- Here’s Gordon Ramsay teaching “students” how to be outraged. It’s pretty great:


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Apple Cars Coming, Sez Woz
“If you look at a company the size of Apple . for Apple to think about doing things that are progressive for the company moving forward, it has to be something pretty large in terms of the amount that is spent on that category,” Wozniak told the audience at an Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association conference in Melbourne.
“That’s why I tend to believe all the rumours about Apple working on either electric or self-driving cars . because there’s a lot of money in vehicles. It’s trillions of dollars,” he said.
Wozniak suggested that venture capitalists should pump money into technologies which would support the self-driving car revolution. “It’s such a huge market when you consider the cost of roads, the cost of cars, the costs of the lasered traffic. Insurance will be a different issue, accidents will go way down,” he said.


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Recently, Samsung opened its new Miami Store, bringing a new shopping experience to buyers interested in purchasing branded products in Brazil. In addition to sales, it also provides detailed information to consumers about TVs, Soundbars, refrigerators, washing and drying machines, smartphones, and more.
New Samsung Space at Miami Store in Campinas: Schedule
- Inauguration of the Samsung Space at the Miami Store
- When: May 5th
- Opening hours: 10 am to 8 pm (Samsung Space opens at 6 pm)
- Where: Miami Store (Rua Castro Alves, 508, Taquaral neighborhood, Campinas – SP)
Samsung’s strong partnership with Miami Store, closely related to our product in the Campinas region, has enabled the creation of this special space dedicated to customers who want to test our technology products closely before purchasing.
Anelise Righi, Channel Marketing chief executive officer at Samsung Brazil’s Consumer Electronics division said that this Samsung Space is designed in a way that everyone has complete and up-to-date knowledge of the features and variations offered by devices throughout our line.
However, the Samsung Space in the Miami store will feature the presence of digital promoters in honor of the opening. This Samsung store is located in Rua Castro Alves, 508, Campinas.


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Accessorize your tractor build with this new figure from SKP Model.
Alexandros announced new kits:
Elan 13 announced new bust:
MikroMir has released images on Facebook of the test shot of the fuselage and box lid illustration of their 1/72 scale Tupolev G-1 with floats
Special hobby has announced on Facebook that it’s working on a 1/32 scale Fokker D.II
October sees the re-release of Eduards 1/48 scale MiG 21SMT as a ProfiPACK with resin rocket pods included
Roden has released a BL 8-inch howitzer Mk. VI from the First World War.
Leopard Workshop has been busy producing a good number of update and conversion sets for the German tank, see here the details.
W-Model has two new kits for release this month, one that fires and another that puts out fires!
Italeri shares test build photos of its upcoming kit of this iconic Fiat model. Also, for an additional fee you may order it with a customized license plate!
Hornbys TTS (Twin Track Sound) functionality has previously only been available pre-fitted in selected locomotives, however for 2017 Hornby is offering a range of TTS Sound Decoders that can be fitted to a DCC Ready locomotive
Wolfpack Design has moved a step closer to releasing its 1/48 scale T-38C Talon 'USAF' with the posting of the box lid design on Facebook
Fujimi has announced the November 2017 release of a full hull version of the IJN Shinano in 1/700 scale.
Fujimi has announced the August 2017 release of a full hull version of the IJN Soryu in 1/700 scale.
Fujimi has announced the September 2017 release of a full hull version of the IJN Junyo in 1/700 scale.
Fujimi has announced the August 2017 release of a full hull version of the IJN Chikuma in 1/700 scale.
Fujimi has announced the August 2017 release of a full hull version of the IJN Atago in 1/700 scale.
Masterclub sent us details of their newest releases.
Hornet adds two more sets to its line of replacement heads.
Yannis V. Papadopoulos kindly informed us about the late August and September releases of ETA Diorama Accessories.
Hobby Boss has released the marking options for their 1/18 scale Fw 190 A-5
Trumpeter has posted images of their new 1/48 scale model of the L-39C Albatros
ToRo Models continues with their civilian line of 1/35 scale figures. This line of figures is inspired by pre-WW2 photos.
Corsar Rex released a big set of figures in 1/48 scale depicting a group of US Paras at rest.
Live Resin makes an update to their 1/35 scale catalogue, releasing state-of-the-art turret for Humvee/MRAP vehicles and new Special Ops figures.
Riich is working on a new M1240 MRAP All Terrain Vehicle at small scale.
Fonthill Media would very much like to announce the publication of Marco Santarini’s Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait – A Technical Analysis for a New Perspective.
Eduard is to release its new tooled 1/48 scale Fw 190A-4 in October
Up next from MiniArt is a set of WWII Soviet infantry in various poses of rest.
Bronco announces a new Hungarian Turán II
Special Hobby has released images of their work updating the former Classic Airframes 1/48 scale IMAM (Romeo) Ro.37bis
Blackbird Models has released images on Facebook of their forthcoming 1/72 resin conversion sets to create a P2V-5/Neptune MR.1 and a Neptune AP-2H
The latest release from Ace Model depicts an early production model of the M2A1 field gun.
And another announcement from Panda, an M109A7 Paladin self propelled Howitzer.
Special Hobby is to release a 1/72 scale HAL Ajeet
Hataka Hobby has released an acrylic paint set containing standard colours of RAF aerobatic and test aircraft since 1950s
The latest announcement from Dragon is an IDF 1/4-Ton 4x4 Truck mounting of two ex-German MG34 machine guns.
Thunder Model has advised us that the Scammell Pioneer R100 Heavy Artillery Tractor will be released late in October, and has also shared images.
Eduard is to release a 1/48 scale Ranger Typhoon Mk.Ib Special Edition this October
Up next from Hobby Boss is an early variant of the Marder III, a heavy-duty KrAZ truck with trailer, and an armored train in braille scale.
Trumpeter has updated its upcoming product release list with subjects depicted in various scales.
OKB Grigorov has recently released its third KV-4 kit that depicts one of the proposed super heavy tank designs.
HpH has released images of the marking options and the design for the photo etched set for their forthcoming release of the 1/32 Grumman F7F Tigercat
TwoMikes Resin has re-branded and is now known as Phase Hanger Resin Accessories
Werner’s Wings has announced a few new upgrades and decals designed for the Kitty Hawk 1/48th scale UH-1D Huey kit.
Dodo Models is happy to announce that 1/700 Dodomodels 70011 Royal Netherlands Navy De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate is now available.
AZ Models has announced on Facebook the release of two boxings of the Curtiss P-36 / H-75 in 1/72 scale
Coastal Kits is to release a model base of the USS Essex [CV-9] in both 1/72 & 1/48 scales.


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CPA Club Connect, in partnership with SiGMA Group, has announced that the CPA Club International forum’s official meetup will be held this March 12th in Dubai.
Meet the Wolf of Wall Street
The event, which will take place in the run-up to the SiGMA Eurasia Dubai expo, will feature Jordan Belfort – an influential speaker best known in financial circles as the legendary Wolf of Wall Street. The event aims to connect industry experts, foster new business relationships, and provide an opportunity for participants to discover new marketing trends and boost their skill set.
Featuring on the agenda will be topics that seek to guide investors and entrepreneurs on best practices for improving business performance, and in building the right sales strategy. Q&A sessions will then follow, opening the floor up to the audience.
Bringing things to a close, a ritzy afterparty, featuring a world-class DJ and a thrilling dance show, will take place at the legendary Sky2.0 nightclub.
Jordan Belfort is an influential former stockbroker and motivational speaker who rose to fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s – chronicled in his memoir “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which was later adapted into a film of the same name. With his profound knowledge of the evolution of sales technology, and his expert grasp of classic and cutting-edge marketing techniques, Belfort has become a sought-after speaker and advisor.
Belfort founded Stratton Oakmont, a company that traded cheap stocks over the phone. The firm’s financial turnover reached a billion dollars.
The SiGMA Eurasia expo, held in Dubai from the 13th to 16th of March at the InterContinental Dubai Festival Arena, provides invaluable opportunities for delegates from the digital marketing, gaming, and emerging tech sectors to network with industry professionals, enjoy exposure to the latest innovations in the sector, meet key decision makers, and gain insight into new markets.
The event brings operators, affiliates, high-ranking government officials, and influencers together for 2 days of expert-led conferences, a buzzing expo floor – including a Startup Village, world-class gala awards, a competitive startup pitch event, and nightly networking dinners.
Enjoy 10% off by registering using the discount code: SiGMA23.


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Being trapped inside the house for months during the COVID-19 lockdowns gave everyone new options for how to spend their newfound free time: one could turn to binge-watching a new Netflix series, picking up a new hobby, or for many, attempting a new workout regimen. Thanks to social media, during quarantine, it became a trend to dedicate those extra hours every day to “exercise”. Noting this trend, fitness influencers (individuals who publish engaging content to their sizable audiences) capitalized on the opportunity to promote their workout routines, diets, merchandise, and paid services. Social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram promoted their fitness content creators heavily during this period. Such social networks heavily promoted videos of perfectly chiseled men and women on everyone’s feed, inspiring viewers to take part in countless fitness challenges and routines. Although these influencers assisted many individuals in reaching their goals—there was a nefarious undertone to their work. This abundant fitness culture catalyzed social media users, particularly young women, resorting to unhealthy measures to conform to unrealistic fitness expectations. This spike in the popularity of “FitTok” (a slang term for Fitness TikTok) and “Fitspo” (a slang term for fitness inspiration) during lockdowns made young people suffer at the expense of the millions of dollars social media companies and their fitness influencers raked in.
Isolation during COVID-19 increased sensitivity and obsession regarding body image, giving individuals some sort of control over their lives in a time when they had none. Teens and young people seeking information on how to improve their physical health and appearances turned to the internet, only to find troves of videos and pictures that promote toxic “Fitspo.” According to the National Library of Medicine, fitness content increased on YouTube more than five-fold during 2020. Specifically, young women were thirteen times more likely to go in search of this content in comparison to men. As teens were trapped inside, their time spent on screens and social media increased by almost two hours a day on average. While social media platforms facilitated safe communication between family and friends during the pandemic, the acute uptick in screen time combined with heightened anxiety and misinformation regarding weight loss fostered an overall rise in body negativity.
Social media influencers and companies wasted no time exploiting the insecurities of young people during the pandemic by marketing their products to struggling teens. Adolescents’ timelines on varying social media platforms were overwhelmed with the abs of fitness influencers, most notably Chloe Ting, who marketed quick 10-15 minute abdominal workouts to young people looking for shortcuts to getting in shape. Participating in such quick-fix videos may help in overall weight loss but cannot spot-fix certain parts of one’s body, like the abs. Videos like Ting’s may contain helpful exercises to increase stamina and assist in weight loss, but claiming the regimens will give you abs in two weeks is misleading and develops false conceptions of exercise.
While there are minimal studies that analyze the effects of fitness influencers on youth during the pandemic, the existing empirical studies and plethora of anecdotal evidence note that the effects were detrimental to the health and body image of teens. On TikTok, influencers with no expertise heavily glorify restrictive eating as a legitimate means to achieving weight loss. Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of the fitness influencers on social media have promoted advice that has no sound evidence or merit, making it no shock that teens absorbing this information find themselves in health dilemmas. According to a study by the Tech Transparency Project, Facebook marketed weight-loss products to teens as young as 13 in both the US and Australia. Adolescents that use weight loss products such as over-the-counter diet pills are four times more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder. This content promoted to young teens is severely detrimental by providing false information on how to “get fit” with products that cannot guarantee any success.
During the pandemic, demand for eating disorder treatment from adolescents increased by 300%at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. While some of these cases may have not been a direct result of Fitspo, the problematic and deceitful nature of fitness culture on social media undoubtedly affected the number of adolescents in treatment. Medical expert Dr. Lizzy Pope of the University of Vermont claims that the deceitful medical information promoted by TikTok influencers points users toward an eating disorder. Furthermore, epidemiologist S. Bryn Austin, a professor at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and researcher at the Boston Children’s Hospital, stated that teens impulsively compare their bodies to others online, leading to spirals of mental health and body image. Social media companies and influencers are desperate to market their products to anyone—so much so that they are willing to prey on the insecurities of teens. Promoting dangerous supplementals and fake advice to teens to achieve an unattainable body is a prime example of the consequences of a profit-incentive economic model.
While it may appear that influencers created these videos out of the kindness of their hearts by providing free and accessible workout tutorials online, they had quite an incentive. During 2020, Chloe Ting gained nearly eleven million subscribers from February to July of 2020, and a net worth of nearly 9.5 million dollars. Fitness influencers on Instagram can make roughly 72 thousand dollars per post. Ting and her fellow fitness influencers generate this lofty profit from the sale of their health products and ad revenue. Social media platforms receive revenue from the work of these influencers, providing another incentive for fitness content to be prevalent amongst young people’s timelines.
This dilemma illustrates the commodification of fitness and mental illness, whether the content creators are aware or not. Before the pandemic, fitness influencers existed but on a smaller scale. The pandemic fostered the growth of the fitness market on social media, to the point where it became an extremely lucrative business for creators. The reasons why this market skyrocketed during the pandemic produce many of the ethical paradigms. While people traded in their gym memberships for online services during the pandemic, this was not the sole reason for the spike in revenue and views across social media platforms. Many of these problematic fitness influencers that took off during the pandemic were catering their videos to a younger audience, with the average influenced age ranging from 16-23 years old. This is what poses the largest issue: easily influenced young people during a time of already heightened social media usage and anxiety, being exploited by their desire to achieve the unachievable, fit body.
Influencers—regardless of knowledge about the effects on youth from misinformation on dieting and exercise—are accountable for the distress plaguing adolescents that consumed their content. The mere fact that these influencers would rather not think about the detrimental, albeit unintended, consequences of their content to make a quick buck demonstrates the predatory nature of a profit-driven economy. Producers of a commodity, whether it be fitness content or weight-loss pills, are willing to put moral conflicts in their peripheral so long that they see a profit. Social media provides yet another marketplace for commerce to be done, and this sphere has yet to see sufficient regulation or ethical opposition from institutions with the agency to make change.
Featured Image Source: Sirona Therapy


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Over 10 more African stars have joined the quest for Africa’s First economic independence led by economic activist Charles N. Lambert.
He has today confirmed that 10 stars from Fulani group and their two leaders have joined the Black Wall Street Economic War.
Hausa/Fulani ethnic group is the largest ethnic group in West Africa and the most fanatical people when they support a cause.
“On the 5th of August 2020, the BWS House received proposal from Kannywood, offering 10 of the biggest Hausa speaking stars as Ambassadors for the first Pan African Economic War.
We immediately received the proposal with open hands and quickly tidied up the agreements.
The Black Wall Street and Redirect Mall revolution is pleased to welcome, Alih Nuhu, Maryam Yahaya, Sadiq Sani Sadiq, Rahama Sadau, Uzee Usman, Nuhu Abdullahi, Aminu Sharrif, Tijjani Faraga, Hafsa Idris, Hadiza Aliyu Gabon, Fatima Abdullahi (washaFati), MC Tagwaye ( Mr President). Common Economic Interest is the key to Africas unity and this platform will aid in the quest to achieve this all important unity. Welcome to the Final Revolution, the first Pan African Economic War. Africa First,” Charles N. Lambert said.


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Corvette Stingray has been named North American Car of the Year for 2020.
It was nominated thanks to its mid-engine design and performance on the road.
“It’s humbling to be selected for this award by such an impressive jury of automotive journalists,” said Juechter. “Our team poured our hearts and souls into this vehicle, and to see such an overwhelmingly positive reception makes it all worthwhile. We are sure our customers will love the new Corvette as much as these jurors and we can’t wait to get them behind the wheel.
They previously took home the award in 1998.
“The 2020 Corvette represents a new era for the iconic brand,” said Lauren Fix, North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year president. “The excitement from consumers has been overwhelming. From a journalist's perspective, this is one of the best-built GM products that exemplifies what it means to be the North American Car of the Year.”


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Delhi High Court has restrained a website and its owners from using any mark/name comprising of the word, “NAUKRI” as part of their trade name, style or any other manner that is likely to confuse or deceive the public at large into believing that it is connected to popular job portal “NAUKRI.COM”
Justice Hima Kohli has granted an ex parte ad interim injunction on a plaint filed by Info Edge and the website is restrained till the day of next hearing.
The plaintiff said that ‘Between the years 2011 to 2013, the plaintiff had been receiving sporadic complaints but in the year 2014, as the number of complaints shot up, a complaint had to be filed with the police, which is pending investigation. In the year 2015, the plaintiff again received some complaints due to which, it has decided to take legal action against the defendant by instituting the present suit’.
The modus operandi adopted by the defendant website owners, according to the Plaintiff-company is that they access the database of subscribers of naukri.com and send mails to them. Some customers register with their website and they tell them that they are sister concern of naukri.com. ‘It is only when the said customers encounter deficiency in services that they realise that there is no connection between the two”, the plaintiff job portal company said in its plaint.
They submitted that their customers are being duped due to the fraud committed by the defendant use of the word, “NAUKRI” in relation to domain names which have no connection with them is an infringement of the plaintiff’s well known and registered trademark, “NAUKRI” and amounts to passing of the defendant’s services as that of the plaintiff, thus resulting in confusion in the market.
Hearing the plaintiff’s version, the court said it ‘is prima facie of the opinion that the plaintiff is entitled to grant of an ex parte ad interim injunction in its favour’.
Read the order here.


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DURHAM, North Carolina (WTVD) -- The FDA has come out with new draft guidelines about how much lead should be in cosmetics.
According to Duke dermatologist and professor Dr. Jennifer Powers, lead can be poisonous to anyone depending on the concentration and may be specifically harmful to the development of children.
The FDA released new draft guidelines in late December recommending there be fewer than 10 parts per million in cosmetic products - the same amount that's acceptable in food.
"One of the main concerns with products that contain even a small amount of lead is the incidental or accidental ingestion of the product," Powers said.
She said it's difficult to know exactly how much toxicity can be absorbed through skin on most of the face and arms, but skin inside of the lips or near the eyes is a different story. She said those areas are more likely to be absorbent.
Though Powers said she takes comfort in knowing most of the cosmetics tested by the FDA are within their new guidelines, she still some advice on keeping you and your family safe.
"One, is the cosmetic that you're using on that higher end of the spectrum? Look it up," she said. "Do you have small children in the house who could be affected by a cosmetic that's lying around? Don't let your kids play with things that they might be ingesting on a regular basis.
"And lastly, if you are an adult who does bite your lip, or apply cosmetics in other ways that are non-traditional, you might want to think twice about how this could affect your health," she added.
Check the amounts of lead in your lipstick here
Report a Typo
Duke explains new FDA guidelines on lead in cosmetics
More TOP STORIES News


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The Google I/O event, we get to hear about all things Google, is set to start at the end of next month.
The real highlight, as always, will be the keynote. While thisis not an event dedicated entirely to Android, we do expect to hear quite a lot about the Google’s mobile OS.
There’s sessions for all sorts of Google related stuff scheduled, and it looks like the Android talks will center largly around enhanced developer integration. Other Google products to be covered include Maps, Chrome, Drive, Google+ and YouTube.
Full detail of Google I/O event is available here.
Entry into the popular event costs $900 for general admittance – although Google were offering Academia tickets for $300, if you can prove you’re a student, staff or faculty member of a university – the event is sold out.
The even will be streamed live on their website.


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China Mobile’s Second-Quarter Profit Rises 5%
China's most valuable phone carrier, China Mobile Ltd., reported Thursday that its profit rose 5.1% to 39.8 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) in the second quarter, while its revenue inched up 0.7% to 206 billion yuan.
The company had 906 million mobile customers by the end of June, representing a net addition of 19 million subscribers from six months earlier. China Mobile, along with the country's two other major telecom operators, have been ordered by the regulator to slash the cost of data services on mobile devices by at least 30% by the end of the year. In July, the three companies stopped charging domestic data roaming fees after eliminating the fees for domestic phone calls last year.
The following is an updated table of Chinese company earnings between April and June, starting with the most recent to report.
- 1Exclusive: Fallen Chief of Bad-Asset Manager Had Tons of Cash — Literally
- 2 Opinion: Trump’s China ‘Poison Pill’ May Hit Australia
- 3Shenzhen Has Billion-Dollar Bailout Plan For Local Companies
- 4Spy Camera Discovery Creates Outrage at Apartment Leasing Specialist
- 5China's Stock Rout Puts $613 Billion of Share Pledges at Risk
- 1Power To The People: Pintec Serves A Booming Consumer Class
- 2Largest hotel group in Europe accepts UnionPay
- 3UnionPay mobile QuickPass debuts in Hong Kong
- 4UnionPay International launches premium catering privilege U Dining Collection
- 5UnionPay International’s U Plan has covered over 1600 stores overseas


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Ford’s first entry into the new world of electric vehicles has been revealed. The company unveiled the Mustang Mach-E SUV on Sunday night following months of teaser images, years of hype about a $11 billion push into EVs, and a last-minute leak that spoiled a good amount — but certainly not all of — the details about the vehicle.
Unlike a lot of the electric competition from automakers like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, or Jaguar, the Mustang Mach-E will be offered in a slew of variants and trims, to an almost dizzying degree. Ford will sell versions of the five-seater SUV that can travel 210 miles on a full battery, and also ones that go 300 miles. One of the Mustang Mach-E options will beat most sports cars from 0 to 60 miles per hour, while others will just barely edge out a Chevy Bolt. Some ship in late 2020, and some in Spring 2021.


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IFSU Tourism pulls off 1st ever Travel Expo
This is in partnership with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and Department of Trade and Industry.
The general objective of the event is to bring the tourism industry to the students and to the practitioners.
The opening remarks was given by Dr. Rommel Sumeg-ang, Dean, CAS.
Dr. Serafin L. Ngohayon, IFSU President also gave his message.
Series of speakers were also present in the said event.
Mr. Rodolfo Lumague Jr., lectured on the ‘Trends in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry’ while Ms. Minnie Brillante, Brillante Travel Services lectured on ‘Hospitality and Travel Marketing Trends.’ Ms. Lilian Umanhan, Department of Trade and Industry talked about ‘Product Development in the Tourism Industry’ and Mr. Al Santos, Boracay Options Travel and Tours Services talked on ‘Multi-Lingualism and Advantage in Global Industry.’
Afterwards, skills demonstration of Fruit Carving, Bartending, Flower Arrangement and Napkin & Towel Folding to showcase what the students learnt during their skills training workshop on April 24-28, 2017 in the IFSU Main Campus were made.
The booth exhibits are from the different Municipal Local Government Units of Ifugao (Alfonso Lista, Kiangan, and Lamut); Travel Agencies like Brillante Travels and Tours and Boracay Options Tours and Travel, Inc.; Students’ booths for EcoTourism; Philippine Destinations; and Foreign Language.
The closing remarks was given by Dr. Sumeg-ang. #
Photos from Ms. Eulalie Dulnuan, Chairperson, Tourism Department


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MINNEAPOLIS – The bankruptcy trustee for Genmar Holdings Inc. has moved to collect a number of payments paid to Genmar’s creditors within 90 days of the company’s June 2009 bankruptcy, which is against federal bankruptcy law, according to Matthew Millis, who represents Trustee Charles Reis.
Millis said notices were sent out to any creditor that had received a preferential transfer, or a payment during the 90-days prior to Genmar’s filing, to recover the amount they had already received.
Preferential transfers do not necessarily mean wrongdoing on behalf of the debtor or creditors, Mill said; the purpose is to ensure all of Genmar’s creditors are paid fairly by the trustee.
According to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court notice of settlement, Help Systems, McDaniel Yacht Basin and Strongwell were asked to return more than $25,000 in payments that the companies received within the 90-day preference period. A number of other companies also received similar notices, according to Millis.
Ries said the situation is ongoing, and they are still looking into more possible preferential transfers.
Genmar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy during a difficult period for the industry when the company didn’t have “the necessary time to complete any alternative financing acceptable to the banks,” Chairman and CEO Irwin Jacobs stated in a release shortly after the filing.


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Tags: romance games
, otome games
, dating video games
, japanese girls
, female video games
, romance novel games
Categories: News of the World
Female-oriented video games are growing in Japan. The market is predicted to reach 20 billion yen ($261 million) in the next five years, a large leap from last year's 6 million yen. The reason is that young girls are getting addicted to "otome" games, electronic versions of romance novels.
"When I wake up in the morning, I play these games for a while before I really get up," says Takako Suzuki, 28, an office worker. "I need to play otome games because I’m so stressed out by my nagging boss at work."
Suzuki was once playing 10 different romance games at the same time, courting a cute millionaire in one while flirting with a samurai warrior in another.
Plus, she plays on a variety of devices, not just Nintendo or Playstation consoles. Online social network games are becoming more popular, played on computers, phones and tablets. While most are free, companies profit by selling virtual items or chapters of an interactive comic.
Japanese girls like Suzuki just can't stay away from the romantic action. "I have to play them for 10 to 15 minutes before going to bed," she says. Seeing how successful this romance game genre has become, the trend may spread to other countries.
"Developers must target women to expand their market instead of only focusing on men," said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Inc. in Tokyo. "Dating games became a blockbuster category among women because characters in those games give them what they want from men in the real world."
Source, Photo: Bloomberg


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If you think you’re playing too much on your tablet or phone, you should have a look at the latest study from NPD Group. That study shows that kids under 13 spend as much as 2 hours a day playing mobile games.
The survey was conducted between November 24th and December 5th 2014 and included responses from 5566 individuals, aged 2 and older. NPD found that the amount of time spend gaming on a mobile device has grown 57% compared to two years ago. For respondents under 18, a parent helped the child complete the survey or completed it for them. The gamers who spent the most time playing were those in the 2 to 12 year old age group.
This means that parents are offering them portable gadgets quite early in their life. Meanwhile, the same 2 to 12 year old age group is a big cash cow, the second biggest generator of revenue for mobile game makers. The first one is the segment of people aged 30 to 44, since they spend more. Interestingly enough, most of the surveyed people also own consoles and in spite of that, they still play quite a bit on their mobile.
Also, one in five people in the study said they’re a mobile only gamer. Is 2 hours too much for a kindergarten kid?


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The minimal luxury trend has been growing for a while, but 2024 is expected to be big. In the past year, searches for'minimaluxe' have surged by nearly 3,000%, say design experts.
Plywood will remain a prominent cabinetry material in 2024 after years of growth. Plywood is a cheaper alternative to real wood.
Over the past year,'stainless steel kitchens' searches have doubled. Originally from professional kitchens, stainless steel has become popular as more people want high-quality homes.
The rise of wabi-sabi will lead to kitchens that showcase natural materials. Layering stone and marble creates a distinctive, colorful, and uneven effect.
Slab splashbacks are a top kitchen trend for this year. Slab splashbacks are rectangular stone pieces that cover the wall behind your stovetop, unlike typical splashbacks.
Like interiors, curves will dominate kitchen design, creating a "harmonious ambience to the hustle and bustle of the modern home."
We've been adding more bright colors to our houses to raise our moods for years, and this trend shows no signs of slowing.
This is one of the most anticipated kitchen design trends of 2024. More of us are choosing black cabinetry and worktops for our kitchens as we embrace the velvety depths of deep blues, rich greys, and blacks.


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Amazon will be bringing its voice assistant, Echo to India some time later this year if recent reports are to be believed. This news was reported by Factor Daily, who reported that Amazon is said to have said that it is “putting together content and localizing the service.” There has been no official confirmation regarding the same from Amazon as yet.
Amazon’s Echo, the voice activated speaker with Alexa AI assistant, was launched in 2014 and has gained incredible popularity since. The device allows users to manage everyday tasks in a better fashion. Users can ask Alexa to play music, or even get information regarding the weather, or the stock market. The Amazon Echo is priced at $179.
Last year, Google had also ventured into this space with its Google Home voice assistant that comes with the Google Assistant (which we’ve seen on Google Allo). It will be interesting to see if Google too follows Amazon’s footsteps and launches the Google Home in India in the subsequent years ahead.
Amazon has been keen to tap into the Indian market. In December last year, the company launched Amazon Prime Video services. While there are already several competitors to the Prime Video, the Amazon Echo will be the first of its kind to launch in the country.


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Mug shots: Meth takes frightening toll on addicts
Since the 1920s, auto-show models have been hawking cars -- giving gear heads a little extra enticement.
One thing all auto shows seem to have in common these days are scantily-clad spokesmodels showing off the cars. But using sex appeal to sell cars dates back nearly as far as the car itself.
Powerball is a game of numbers, and lottery officials say the majority of possible combinations have already been purchased ahead of Saturday night's near-historic $600 million drawing.


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A pair of work pants recovered from an 1857 shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina and described as the ”oldest known pair of jeans in the world” have sold for USD 114,000 (INR 94 lakhs). SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, was traveling from Panama to New York in September 1857 when it sank in a hurricane with 425 people aboard. Explorers found the pants in a trunk belonging to John Dement, a veteran of the Mexican-American War from Oregon.
US auction house Holabird claims the Levi Strauss Company, one of the oldest and most popular jeans manufacturers in the world, potentially made the jeans. But there is still doubt surrounding the claim. The discovered pair is 16 years older than Levi’s. The San Francisco-based company made its first pair in 1873.
The jeans were among 270 never-before-offered artifacts from the California Gold Rush era, which all sold for £815,000. The SS Central America was carrying treasure from San Francisco when it sank 7,200 feet deep in the Atlantic. Tonnes of gold coins and ingots were in the ship’s treasure room, the keys to which sold for £84,155.
Sunken treasures have recovered many fascinating objects over the years. These provide us with a glimpse into how people lived before our time. In the early 1990s, a team of divers, led by marine archaeologist Mike Nash, ventured into a shipwreck. They found sealed glass bottles containing yeast that was still alive. The merchant ship Sydney Cove was transporting goods from India to the then-British colony of Port Jackson when it sank near Tasmania’s Preservation Island in 1797. The site’s frigid waters preserved many of the goods onboard, including the alcohol.
Dozens of Byzantine-era ships uncovered at the archaeological site of Yenikapı in Turkey unearthed a ‘smart tablet’. The 1200-year-old artifact consists of five intricately carved wooden slabs stacked on top of each other. It apparently served many functions, with wax panels for etching notes and a compartment with small weights. The largest monetary treasure haul was on the wreck code-named Black Swan, discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2007 off of Gibraltar. The salvage team reportedly found 17 tons of coins valued at $500 million.


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Sure, the Samsung N140 netbook hasn’t begun shipping in the US yet. But you can already pick up this successor to the popular Samsung NC10 in parts of Europe, and one owner was nice enough to pry open his netboook’s case so we could see the computer’s insides.
OK, actually he did it so he could swap out the hard drive for a faster solid state disk. But if you’ve been wondering what this laptop looks like under the hood, wonder no more. SammyNetbook Forum member Dezmond has posted a series of photos on Flickr showing the motherboard, hard drive, RAM, and WiFi module.


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Fed up with widespread non-compliance, the city of Montreal will start imposing $50 tickets to e-scooter riders and electric Jump bike users caught in the act of parking illegally.
As well, Lime, and Uber, the companies that have been running Montreal’s first pilot-project electric-scooter and electric-bike sharing services, respectively, will be fined $100 for each scooter or bike police or city workers find illegally parked. The new regulation is expected to come into effect Oct. 21, after being adopted in council.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
E-scooter sharing has proved popular since it debuted a month ago, with an average of 1,570 rides daily, for a total of about 47,000 trips. Uber’s Jump electric bikes, which rolled out June 26, have averaged 1,700 rides a day.
Bixi, Montreal’s long-standing docked sharing service that has 7,250 bikes in its fleet, averages 36,000 trips a day.
Even though 239 designated e-scooter parking spots have been painted on city streets, and the number of available e-scooters has been limited to 215, scooters being left illegally on sidewalks or parks is a recurring problem, said Éric Alan Caldwell, city executive committee member responsible for mobility.


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Gasoline prices are falling in Grayson County, matching trends in the rest of the state.
Over the last week, the price of a regular gallon of unleaded has fallen from $3.89 at some Leitchfield stores to $3.78 Friday morning, with one store — Center Court on Brandenburg Road — at $3.72.
In the past two weeks, average retail gas prices in Kentucky have fallen more than 14 cents per gallon, averaging $3.66 per gallon Friday, according to the gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. In comparison, the national average has fallen about 4 cents in that time, to $3,80 per gallon.
“Unsurprisingly, the average price for a gallon of regular self-serve continues to drop in a majority of communities across the United States,” said GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan. “The national average now stands nearly 10 cents per gallon lower than the same date a year ago, but will we hear an end to complaining about gasoline prices at the pump?
“Perhaps the rhetoric will wind down, but with summer around the corner, any sudden increase in price of gasoline will have Americans virtually calling for the heads of politicians in November,” DeHaan said.
In late March prices suddenly rocketed up statewide, topping $4 a gallon in Louisville. They climbed more slowly in Grayson County, but did jump 21 cents per gallon to top out at about $3.89 — where they had seemingly stalled from about mid-April on.
And as is usually the case, prices have fallen faster and farther in neighboring communities, according to personal observations and pricing information from GasBuddy.com.
Prices Thursday ranged from $3.59 per gallon in Hardinsburg to $3.65 to $3.69 per gallon in the Elizabethtown and Radcliff area. They were a little higher west of Grayson County, with a gallon of regular selling for $3.69 to $3.73 in Owensboro and $3.75 in Morgantown.
In Bowling Green, regular gas was selling for $3.59 throughout most of the city, according to GasBuddy.com — with the exception of Key Oil Co. on Industrial Drive, where it was $3.67.
Including the change in prices statewide during the past two weeks, prices Friday were more than 22 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago.
(Optional trim starts here!)
The slide in gasoline prices likely will continue in the coming weeks, since oil prices are continuing to drop. Crude oil prices fell sharply early Friday after the Labor Department reported weaker than expected job gains last month. Benchmark West Texas crude oil sank 4 percent to $98.52 a barrel, its biggest one-day drop this year, and the first time crude had fallen below $100 since February.
Tensions in the Middle East, where a possible showdown with Iran had driven speculators to push crude oil prices up sharply since the start of the year, had led to predictions that gas this summer would top the record $4.11 a gallon average set in July 2008. Those have eased in recent weeks.
But with consumption down, global economic weakness and rising production, the price run-up ran out of steam six weeks before the peak of summer driving season.


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What are the odds that a gaming industry giant could be brought to its knees by a court ruling made thousands of miles away in another country?
Apparently pretty good. One of Costa Rica’s largest sports gambling call centers, BetonSports, closed its doors late last week citing an order from a U.S. district court in Missouri to stop accepting bets from U.S. gamblers.
The closure has shaken the gaming industry here and left approximately 1,200 people without a job.
BetonSports is an arm of a multibilliondollar operation referred to in a U.S. indictment of its founder, Gary Kaplan, and 10 others as the “Kaplan Gambling Enterprise” – an empire of dozens of companies that ran a massive, allegedly fraudulent advertising campaign in the United States and other countries.
The call center here, located in the Mall San Pedro in east San José, worked mostly with U.S. customers, processing phone calls and e-mails from that country, and the court order made it unprofitable to keep it open, explained Francisco Conejo, an attorney for BoS Costa Rica, the local branch of the London-based BetonSports PLC.
The U.S. government may have won the battle, but it’s anybody’s guess whether it will win the war on online gambling by playing the industry’s game: maneuvering through jurisdictional gray areas and loopholes created by the Internet and a globalized world.
For Costa Rica – a country dubbed by U.S. media as the “Las Vegas of the Internet” and home to some 200 online gaming call centers employing an estimated 10,000 workers – the outcome of the BetonSports case carries high stakes.
Is the BetonSports closure an isolated incident or could it be the beginning of the end for the online gaming industry here?
Arresting a Company?
After a month of limbo for employees of the BetonSports call center in San José, all bets are off for the company’s Costa Rican enterprise and its 1,200 employees are out of work, Conejo said.
Additionally, the company laid off approximately 2,000 employees from its operation in Antigua, though BetonSports offices in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador and Malaysia remain open, he told The Tico Times.
“This is the saddest day in the company’s history,” Conejo said Aug. 11. “Our directors are very sad to be forced to make this decision.”
The news of BetonSports shutting down in Costa Rica followed the high-profile arrest July 16 of the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Carruthers in the Dallas, Texas airport, where he had stopped on a layover flight to Costa Rica (TT, July 21).
Carruthers – who told The Tico Times in 2002 he favored industry regulation and lamented the unjustified bad rap given to sportsbooks (TT, Dec. 20, 2002) – along with Kaplan and nine other people, have been indicted by a federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri on 22 counts of raqueteering, tax evasion and fraud. The charges are outlined in a 26-page document posted on the U.S. Department of Justice Web site.
The indictment ordered the forfeiture of $4.5 billion in assets as well as nearly a dozen vehicles and computer equipment.
Carruthers, who was released on bond Wednesday with restrictions, and all other defendants but one have pleaded not guilty.
As party of the case, on July 17 the court issued an order requiring BetonSports to cease doing business with all U.S. customers.
The company immediately shut down its Web site, BetonSports.com.
Following news of the closure last week, about 30 employees remained working this week to close up shop. They will keep working for 60-90 days as payments due to employees under Costa Rican law are processed and pending wagers to gamblers are paid out, Conejo explained.
Meanwhile, their coworkers poured out of the mall Thursday, Friday and the beginning of this week with cardboard boxes of their belongings in their hands as they left the office for the last time (see separate story).
The company is negotiating with the SanPedroMall to get out of its lease and plans to move out within 90 days, Conejo said.
Though rumors circulated industryrelated Web sites saying BetonSports was forced to close because it lacked enough assets to pay pending wagers, Conejo called these speculations “nonsense.”
“We have enough assets to pay all of our debts, starting with liquidations to employees and then to customers.We have all kind of assets,” Conejo said, though he couldn’t give a timeframe as to when these debts would be paid.
Online Gaming Jackpot
A reliable telecommunications system and an ample supply of bilingual workers has made Costa Rica a Mecca for the online gaming industry in the past decade.
The industry has long benefited from the jurisdictional labyrinth that Internet gambling has created: a largely U.S. customer base sending money offshore to make bets.
Some in the online gaming industry are saying the BetonSports case is its own monster, an isolated incident that will not affect the rest of the industry in Costa Rica. Others worry the political climate in the United States – where online gambling is illegal – might be shifting, and this could mean big changes for Internet gambling companies in Costa Rica.
Eduardo Agami, president of the Costa Rican Call Centers and Electronic Data Association, told The Tico Times the BetonSports closure is an “isolated case” that “shouldn’t be interpreted as picture of things to come.”
“The fact of the matter is that (online sports betting) is regulated and legal in other parts of the world,”Agami said.However, the industry should keep abreast of developments, he added.
BetonSports had launched a heavy, allegedly fraudulent, advertising campaign in the United States targeting potential gamblers via mail, e-mail and phone. Ads claimed the company was “legal and licensed,” according to the indictment.
Some of the charges stem from such ads. The indictment lists at least six cases of the “Kaplan Gaming Enterprise” soliciting bettors in the United States and instructing them to send money to people such as “Rod Jones” in Ecuador and “David Allen” in Belize to start up gambling accounts.
The sheer size of the multibillion-dollar company – which went public in 2003 – and the magnitude of its ad campaign may have been what prompted the indictment, said Nelson Rose, a law professor at Whittier College in California who specializes in online gambling law.
Also, gaming mogul Kaplan had a prior record. He had been arrested on New York state gambling charges in 1993, after which he relocated his gambling business to Florida, then moved to Aruba, then Antigua and finally Costa Rica, according to the indictment. His whereabouts are now unknown, though La Nación reported he took a recent flight from Costa Rica, where he has legal residency, to Spain.
Rose said the big mistake was when Carruthers took a flight from Europe to Costa Rica that had a layover in the United States. Carruthers’ arrest in the United States gave the U.S. Department of Justice leverage to order BetonSports to close its doors, Rose told The Tico Times.
“The major problem for the federal government here is that it doesn’t have a lot of good legal weapons to go after online gambling,” he said. Carruthers’ arrest was a new weapon, he added.
The U.S. Department of Justice has said it will continue to go after illegal online gambling businesses and that it plans to continue prosecuting the BetonSports case even though it has closed shop.
“Illegal commercial gambling across state and international borders is a crime,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Catherine Hanaway said in a statement.
“This indictment is but one step in a series of actions designed to punish and seize the profits of individuals who disregard federal and state laws.”
Whether or not the U.S. government can completely do away online gambling, the case is likely to affect the industry’s largely U.S. customer base.
Off Shore Gaming Association (OSGA) president Jim Quinn said the BetonSports closure is a “huge dent in the industry in Costa Rica and the way that U.S. players perceive playing in Costa Rica.”
He said the Costa Rican Internet gaming industry “should be concerned that their market share and business could be affected by the climate here in the U.S.,” which has made “a lot of people hesitant about sending money offshore.”
OSGA was implicated in the indictment as an agency that was advertised as an independent watchdog group to bettors but was actually “controlled” by the Kaplan Gaming Enterprise. Quinn denied the allegations.
Also, pending legislation in the United States and Costa Rica could mean more regulation for the online gaming industry here.
The U.S. Senate will soon discuss a bill that would clarify the 1961 Wire Act to make it illegal for credit card companies to collect money on a debt from a gambling Web site (TT, July 21).
Agami said there is “cause for concern” as long as initiatives are being taken against sportsbooks, making it especially important for online gambling companies to “stay abreast of the law in the jurisdictions where we reside.”
In Costa Rica, a bill in the Legislative Assembly would better regulate online gaming operations here, requiring companies to report all financial transactions.
Vice-President Laura Chinchilla said BetonSports closing will give steam to regulation legislation in Costa Rica.
“I believe we can convince them that regulation is good,” she said, adding that peoples he has talked to within the industry invite regulation for the sake of stability.


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The resulting 3D mapping data is perfect for reproduction in VR, but it's a time-consuming process. “It depends on the size of the caves. Normally it takes several months to complete the 3D scanning and reconstruction [of one area],” Ding says. This is.
and 3D Laser Mapping (a global provider of 3D LiDAR solutions). The company specializes in the design and manufacture of geospatial SLAM hardware and software solutions, including the ZEB1 and ZEB-REVO handheld mobile indoor mapping systems.
Professor Ryan and Tasmanian author Professor Henry Reynolds – whose books documented the "forgotten" and "silent" colonial wars against Aboriginal people – said it was time for the Australia War Memorial to recognise this war. "Certainly it is time.
We're talking about bioprinting and new filaments, trade shows and business in today's 3D Printing News Briefs. CollPlant has filed a patent application for bioprinting organs and tissues, while both Graphene 3D Lab and BigRep introduced new filaments.
Soul Machines wants to produce the first wave of likable, believable virtual assistants that work as customer service agents and breathe life into hunks of plastic such as Amazon.com's Echo and Google Inc.'s Home . ... Years of drawing portraits and.
Australia's Charles Darwin University (CDU) has used a 400,000 AUD ($313,000) government grant to acquire a LIGHTSPEE3D metal 3D printer from Australian additive manufacturing specialist SPEE3D. The printer ... 3D printer. And Michael Gunner, Northern.
The wonders of 3D modeling can help people create all sorts of things, including topographical maps and puzzles, like this TopoTopo puzzle from HUSH and a 3D printed map of Ireland, created using digital topographic data. 3D topographic ... This month.
Whether you're dealing with a project, a complex contract, an organisational restructure or an insurance review, a mind map can be the best way to scope it out and understand the relationships between the elements. For group brainstorming, it's invaluable.
Day and Carmera co-founder and CEO Ro Gupta have been developing software that uses data processing and machine vision to create 3D streetscapes. Carmera operates a visual network of road sensors that gather the 3D data, change detection, and .
We've taken a look at the work that Reef Design Lab has done, as well as Fabien Cousteau and Dr. James Gardiner, and while the methods and locations may differ slightly, the goal is the same – to help failing coral reefs to restore themselves with the.
All robovacs use short-range infrared or laser sensors to detect and avoid obstacles, but iRobot in 2015 added a camera, new sensors and software to its flagship 900-series Roomba that gave it the ability to build a map while keeping track of their own .
“I went home ... 3D printed maps of their own campuses in exchange for grant money. “It can get someone more CAD experience while also helping the campus be more inclusive,” he explained. Wooten has since gotten much more experience in CAD software.


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Store Ad Review: July 4 Promos Strike Balance for Strapped Consumers
July 15, 2022
US Inflation surged by +9.1% during the 12 months ending in June, according to newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the largest year-over-year spike in the consumer price index in more than four...
Ceria Founder Also Says Non-Alcoholic Beer Market Will Rival Craft Brew Market
June 23, 2022
Keith Villa, the PhD brewmaster who created Blue Moon almost three decades ago
for Coors Brewing, is credited with using that beer to help introduce scores of consumers to more flavorful craft brews. Blue Moon was a gateway brew for light beer drinkers who would eventually consume everything from IPAs to Saisons as craft beer went mainstream during 2000s. In recent years, Villa has been toiling away on his latest gateway project: cannabis- infused and alcohol-free beers. Villa’s company, Ceria Brewing, relaunched its beers with
a new look this month after first introducing the brand in 2018. Villa uses a proprietary process to get Ceria’s beers to 0.0% ABV. Ceria’s lineup includes a Belgian-style white ale called Grainwave (Villa’s latest Blue Moon) and an IPA called Indiewave. Versions of these alcohol-free beers with psychoactive THC and non-psychoactive CBD are available at licensed marijuana dispensaries in Colorado and California, where the recreational use of cannabis is permitted. The beers have less than 100 calories per 12-oz can. A six-pack of Ceria’s alcohol- free beer sells for about $10. THC versions sell at regulated cannabis dispensaries for about $6 - $8 per can, plus taxes. Given the growing interest in low- and no-alcohol beers and cannabis-infused beverages, BD took the opportunity to discuss both segments with Villa, who runs the company with his wife Jodi Villa, who is CEO. The following has been edited for length and clarity...
Solutions Sought as Booze Market Taps Non-Alcoholic Brands
June 23, 2022
Coca-Cola is considering compensating its franchise bottlers in the US for company- sanctioned ready-to-drink alcohol beverages sold in bottlers’ exclusive territories, BD has learned from bottling executives. Just last week, Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman and Coca-Cola announced a “global relationship” for a Jack & Coke canned cocktail to be launched in Mexico later this year. While other...


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With Wall Street collapsing and advertising spend rates waning, where should advertisers look to reach consumers? Well, online trading sites are seeing a huge bump in traffic, according to Nielsen Online. Visitors to Internet financial sites surged by 30 percent last week compared to average weekly traffic.
It's good news for publishers that cater to nervous investors. The company also notes that according to its Blogpulse engine, there have been huge surges in searches for "401K," "Wall Street," and "bailout." Advertising networks like Alacra, which caters to financial websites, may actually be in for boom times as millions of worried consumers find themselves checking their 401K more often than they check their email.
For those outside of the financial sphere, are there any bright spots? Well, maybe not. In MediaPost article today Diane Mermigas warns that the recently lowered ad spend forecasts are likely to go even lower:
Bottom line: The six- to-18-month outlook is dismal for industries that are dependent upon advertiser and consumer spending.In other words, it's time for most ad agencies to focus on direct sales and hope for the best. Purveyors of consumer goods that rely on credit, which is pretty much anything over a thousand dollars, may be due for a steep decline. Branding doesn't mean much when people are focused on paying bills and keeping their family's financial situation solvent.
Since all of the existing 2008 and 2009 advertiser and consumer spending forecasts were made prior to the worst of the current turmoil, it is likely that most will be revised downward in the coming months. How low will they go, and how will that adversely impact media companies?
At some point, businessesâ€"which are potential marketersâ€"may need to decide between making their payroll or advertising; consumers will have to choose between putting food on the table or buying the latest electronics. The choices won't be difficult.


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Terming the high reserve price as the reason for firms like Reliance Industries,Sistema,Aircel and RCom staying away from the spectrum auction,telecom industry bodies today said operators see no “business case” in buying airwaves at such a high price.
“We have always maintained that there will be muted demand for the auction process as the reserve price set by the government is too high,” GSM industry body COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said.
In a surprise move,Russia’s Sistema decided to stay from the auction while Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run RIL also refrained from participating in the process.
RIL was widely anticipated to bid in the November auction of airwaves to complement its wireless broadband services with voice call facility.
“There is no business case for companies to participate in auction with such a high reserve price,” former secretary general of AUSPI,which represents dual technology players,SC Khanna said.
He added after paying such high price for spectrum,the companies won’t be able to offer tariff at lower rates.
“After paying such high price,the companies can be able offer services to customers with tariffs ranging between Rs 1 and 1.50 paisa a minute while the existing players are offering tariffs of 40 paisa a minute… there is no business case for them,” he added.
The government has fixed Rs 14,000 crore as the minimum or base price for the auction that is to begin on November 12.
This is several times Rs 1,658 crore price at which pan-India licence bundled with 4.4 megahertz of spectrum was given by the then Telecom Minister A Raja in 2008.
Videocon Industries Chairman Venugopal Dhoot,however,differ with the associations.
“This time the competition will not be high… but still it’s a good line (up) and … this is not small…2G licences are big and people will be very much interested,” Dhoot said.


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London – Natural rubber (NR) prices across key physical and futures markets remained subdued during the two weeks to 2 July, with some markets performing more strongly than the others.
All Far East markets monitored by ERJ over the two-week period posted a decline, with RSS3 nearby prices falling 6.9% in Osaka.
The most-active rubber contract for September delivery in Shanghai posted a marginal weekly average decline of 0.7% during the period, while slowing rubber gloves demand saw latex prices continue to tumble.
Prices generally remained subdued or bearish during the second week of June, except for a limited number of days between 22 and 25 June, said a 5 July report by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC).
The bearish trends were mostly due to the global resurgence of Covid-19, particularly the Delta variant and poor vaccination rates globally, said ANRPC’s bi-weekly NR trends analysis.
Adding to that, a slowdown in China’s manufacturing activity in June impacted rubber prices.
Citing a private survey, ANRPC said China's Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 51.3 in June from 52.0 in May, due mainly to supply chain disruptions caused by the resurgence of Covid-19 in Guangdong province.
Global logistics disruptions, higher ocean freight costs, shipping delays, chip shortages, automotive slowdown, a stronger dollar and the increase in supply of natural rubber all had a negative impact the price trends across the markets.
According to ANRPC , NR prices are not expected to make a noticeable recovery in the short-term despite rising demand from the US, Europe and India.
Shanghai SHFE ru2109: Yuan12,795 (18 June) Yuan12,705 (2 July) down 0.7%
Osaka RSS3 nearby month: Yen234.5/kg to Yen218.2/kg –down 6.9%
Singapore SGX TSR20: $160.8/100kg to $157.1/100kg – down 2.3%
Kottayam RSS4: $228.60/100kg to $224.39/100kg – down 1.8%
Kuala Lumpur SMR20: $162.15/100kg to $161.48/100kg – down 0.4%
Kuala Lumpur Latex: $135.04/100kg to $127.39/100kg – down 5.6%


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Noah J Nelson on Wednesday, Feb. 5th
The details of the security breach at Target stores which lead to millions of customer’s credit card information being stolen just keeps getting stranger. KrebsOnSecurity has the latest scoop:
Last week, Target told reporters at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters that the initial intrusion into its systems was traced back to network credentials that were stolen from a third party vendor. Sources now tell KrebsOnSecurity that the vendor in question was a refrigeration, heating and air conditioning subcontractor that has worked at a number of locations at Target and other top retailers.
Our networked world, ladies and gentlemen. Where your HVAC vendor can lead to your senior executives being brought before Congress to beg forgiveness.
At the rate the news about Target is developing and given that more retailers are coming clean about breaches of their own I’m beginning to wonder if there are any systems out there that are not compromised. Maybe it’s time to go back to using cash.


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FTC sues Endo, others on pay-for-delay allegations
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday that it had filed a complaint against Endo Pharmaceuticals and several other drug companies alleging that it violated antitrust laws by paying settlements to drug makers to delay the introduction of generic versions of Opana ER and Lidoderm.
The FTC said this is the first case that’s challenged an agreement to not market an authorized generic of a particular drug, which it calls no-AG commitments.
“Settlements between drug firms that include ‘no-AG commitments’ harm consumers twice — first by delaying the entry of generic drugs and then by preventing additional generic competition in the market following generic entry,” FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez said. “This lawsuit reflects the FTC’s commitment to stopping pay-for-delay agreements that inflate the prices of prescription drugs and harm competition, regardless of the form they take.”
The complaint alleges that Endo paid Impax Laboratories and Watson Laboratories, which were the first companies to file for FDA approval for generics of Endo’s Opana ER and Lidoderm — actions that violate the Federal Trade Commission Act. It charges that Endo in 2010 agreed not to market a generic of Opana ER (which the branded drugmaker is allowed to do at any time) until 2013, paid $112 million to Impax and moved patients over to a new Opana ER formulation, which the FTC said kept “its monopoly power even after Impax’s generic entry.”
Additionally, the FTC contends that in May 2012, Endo paid Watson hundreds of millions of dollars — including $96 million worth of free branded Lidoderm patches — in order to keep Watson from competing with Endo and partner companies Teikoku Seiyaku and Teikoku Pharma. The complaint also alleges that Endo and Watson agreed that Endo wouldn’t introduce its generic version of Lidoderm for about seven months after September 2013. This move, according to the FTC, “ left Watson as the only generic version of Lidoderm on the market, substantially reducing competition and increasing prices for generic lidocaine patches.”
The complaint also names Endo parent company Endo International and Watson parent company Allergan. Alongside the complaint, the FTC also filed a stipulated order of permanent injunction against Teikoku Seiyaki and Teikoku Pharma, preventing them for 20 years from engaging in some types of reverse-payment agreements, including no-AG commitments. It does not restrict settlement agreements whose value are unlikely to present antitrust concerns.
The FTC voted 3-to-1 to file the complaint, with commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen voting no, suggesting that administrative measures would be a better course, noting, “I have reason to believe that the Defendants violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by entering into pay for delay agreements. I do not believe, however, that it serves the public interest to seek disgorgement in this case.”
MedM Health Cloud integrates Walgreens’ Balance Rewards API
DEERFIELD, Ill. – Walgreens on Wednesday announced that MedM Health Cloud has now integrated the Balance Rewards API.
MedM has built a healthy activity cloud platform, allowing users to track everything from step tracking to blood glucose/pressure monitoring. Walgreens is bringing in an integration that stores healthy activities from more than 200 connected devices.
“We see Walgreens is making a revolution in remote monitoring by solving a key problem – patients tend to give up any kind of monitoring after a while rendering all tools and technologies useless,” stated Michael Pliskin, chief technology officer, MedM. "By actually rewarding Balance Rewards points directly to patients for tracking their health condition, Walgreens changes the industry landscape completely and we at MedM are happy to be part of it and bring our technology and 200-plus medical device portfolio into the program."
The MedM Platform is a complete remote patient monitoring software package. It includes apps connecting to medical devices, cloud services, cloud portal and a set of EMR/EHR integration APIs. It is compatible with more than 170 medical sensors by 50 vendors.
A state-of-the-art Patient and Caregiver portal is an integral part of MedM Platform. It allows anywhere and anytime web-based access to Patient Health Information and features historic and realtime data views, trend graphs, thresholds and notifications and reports. Cloud Storage is a HIPAA-compliant scalable medical data storage component available in both Cloud and Hosted editions.
Humanwell Healthcare Group, PuraCap to acquire Epic Pharma
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. — Humanwell Healthcar Group and PuraCap Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday that they would be acquiring 100% of Epic Pharma’s membership interests for $550 million. The purchase of the Laurelton, N.Y.-based company will expand the two businesses’ generics footprint and manufacturing capabilities in the United States.
Epic’s generics portfolio contains 15 products currently on the market and a 37-product pipeline. The acquisition will also bring the two companies a 110,000-sq. ft. GMP manufacturing facility and add 215 employees to Humanwell’s and PuraCap’s operations team.
“This acquisition is a major step in the growth of our company,” PuraCap CEO and Humanwell president Dahai Guo said. “The addition of Epic is an important addition to the PuraCap family. We look forward to it being a platform for the development of our generic pharmaceutical business, both in the USA as well as internationally.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.
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Consumer Report’s annual carrier assessment has just been released, detailing the best, and worst, of cellular carriers in the US.
This year’s report isn’t likely to surprise anyone; it’s right in line with how things have been playing out for several years now. AT&T was ranked as the worst carrier in the US as far as voice, data and text quality are concerned. Ma Bell did manage to take first place when it comes to LTE networks, but Verizon took the overall top spot as the best carrier in the US.
Sprint and T-Mobile both found their spot right around the low-end of the quality spectrum.
As with most reports like this, personal experience makes up a huge part of the equation. Here in mid-Michigan, all four national carriers and even some regional carriers offer great service. What about your area? Does Verizon reign supreme, or has a different carrier taken the top spot in your book?


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This is being touted as a strong report, but, again, looks to me like it’s dropped since year end and at best is moving sideways from there, and not to forget that a large share of auto sales are imports.
But I do agree the Fed is heck bent on raising rates in Sept, even without ‘some’ improvement, and will do so unless there’s a stock market decline severe enough to hold them back. So far that’s not happening.
Big upward revisions underscore a very solid and very important retail sales report. Retail sales rose 0.6 percent in July with June revised to unchanged from an initial reading of minus 0.3 percent and with May revised to a jump of 1.2 percent from 1.0 percent. The revisions to June and May point to an upward revision for second-quarter GDP.
Vehicle sales, as expected, were the standout in July, jumping 1.4 percent to nearly reverse June’s 1.5 percent slide and nearly matching May’s historic 1.9 percent surge. But even outside vehicles, retail sales were strong with the ex-auto reading rising a solid 0.4 percent. Restaurants, in another strong signal of consumer strength, rose an outsized 0.7 percent following June’s 0.5 percent gain. These are very strong gains for this component. Excluding both vehicles and gasoline, retail sales rose 0.4 percent, again another solid reading.
Strength in both vehicles and restaurants point to the health of the US consumer and will likely give the hawks the courage, despite all the troubles in China, to push for a rate increase at the September FOMC.
Tough times for department store sales continue, which explains some of the weakness in construction:
‘Some’ deterioration for Fed hopes of higher inflation. It’s been failing to hit its target for longer than I can remember…
Excess inventory building in June helps Q2 GDP but the likely subsequent production cuts will hurt Q3. The now persistently too high inventory to sales ratio is overdue for a correction:
United States : Business Inventories
Inventories rose relative to sales in June but the news isn’t that bad given that the build was centered in autos. Business inventories rose 0.8 percent in June which was well ahead of a 0.2 percent rise in sales. The mismatch lifts the inventory-to-sales ratio to 1.37 from 1.36.
But retail inventories at auto dealers were to blame, up 1.4 percent in June and contributing to a 0.7 percent rise for the retail component. Inventories at manufacturers and wholesalers, the two other components of the business inventory report, also rose, up 0.6 and 0.9 percent respectively.
Inventories are on the heavy side but the concentration in autos is welcome given how strong sales are, evidenced by the 1.4 percent surge for the motor vehicle component of the July retail sales report released earlier this morning. Note that this report, along with the retail sales report, are likely to lift revision estimates for second-quarter GDP.
Global weakness continues:
Japan : Machine Orders
June seasonally adjusted machine orders (excluding volatile items) declined for the first time since February. They dropped a larger than anticipated 7.9 percent on the month and were up 14.7 percent on the year. Core orders were up 16.6 percent based on the original series. This was in contrast to expectations of a 17.5 percent increase.
Core machine orders are considered a proxy for private capital expenditures. The downward move followed a 0.6 percent gain a month before. The government repeated its assessment that machine orders would advance in the third quarter.
Nonmanufacturing orders excluding volatile items were up 5.0 percent while manufacturing orders dropped 14.0 percent. All orders including volatile items dropped 6.2 percent on the month. Manufacturing orders likely softened on continued weaker export demand while the sluggish domestic economy weighs on nonmanufacturers.”
Another weak looking index:
And I’d call this ‘some’ deterioration in the ‘labor market’. Looks like it was weakening before the 2014 oil capex boom supported it, and then has fallen off since the oil price collapse:
This is to the point I’ve been making that surveys are one man one vote, not one dollar one vote, so optimism remained high even as retail sales, for example, were fading. Yes, a lot more people saved $10 per week on gas but an equal amount of income was reduced for sellers of oil, including those earning royalties and holding leases, and investors of all sorts, and seems the spending cuts on domestic product by that group outweighed the additional spending from pump savings.
By Jarrett Renshaw
August 11 (Reuters)
U.S. motorists are paying an average of $2.58 per gallon, nearly a dollar less than a year ago, according to AAA, the nation’s largest motorist advocacy group. And a quarter of respondents expected prices to continue to decline, up from 10 percent a month ago.
The survey found that nearly 80 percent of people say gas prices influence how they feel about the economy. And with gas prices down nearly $1 from a year ago, U.S. motorists are feeling positive about the direction of the economy, the survey found.
“There is good news for retailers as consumer optimism picks up during peak vacation season,” said NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard.


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The Wall Street Journal reports the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) e-commerce project, code-named "Project Brazil," would have had a wide number of merchants, a unified shopping cart and a variety of shipping options.
Microsoft also pondered subsidizing the price of goods on the site to lure shoppers. It's not know exactly why or when Microsoft pulled the plug on the online shipping project.
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I have mixed feelings about the iPad Mini, Apple's new pint-size tablet. I like its featherweight design, solid-feeling case and access to the entire library of appliciations available for the full-sized iPad. From those ...
Those who follow Apple believe they have figured out most of the particulars of a smaller iPad expected to be revealed on Tuesday. One big question remains, though: What will it cost?
The new Kindle Fire HD may not stir you to pass along your old iPad as a hand-me-down. But if you own an earlier small tablet running on Android or another operating system, or even last year's original Kindle Fire, you'll ...
(AP)—Amazon says buyers of its new Kindle Fire HD tablet will get the option to turn off the advertisements that appear on its standby screen for $15.
(AP)—Buying movies and TV shows to watch on the Kindle Fire will be a lot more appealing now that Amazon's tablet computer sports a much more vibrant screen.
Amazon's Kindle Fire is to go on sale in Europe for the first time later this year, the company announced Thursday, as it unveiled new versions of the tablet computer.
Amazon unveiled four new Kindle Fire tablet computers on Thursday, including ones with larger color screens, as the online retailer steps up competition with Apple ahead of the holiday shopping season.
(AP)—Amazon.com is expected to update its Kindle Fire tablet computer on Thursday.
Nokia and Motorola have unveiled five new smartphones between them, while Amazon is expected to announce a new Kindle Fire this week before attention turns to a new iPhone from Apple next Wednesday.
Amazon.com Inc. says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season.


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Amazon announced today that it has beat Wall Street’s already optimistic Q1 projections. The e-commerce giant’s revenues have slowed a bit, contributing to moderate fluctuations in after hours trading, but the company’s greatly benefit by ever-increasing profit margins.
Net income for the quarter hit $3.6 billion, a new record for the company. Much of those inflated margins can be chalked up to online services, including advertising and, most notably, cloud services through AWS.
Earnings - Report - Site - Portfolio - Earnings
The earnings report demonstrates just how much the site has diversified its portfolio, with earnings that now include results from Whole Foods, which Amazon absorbed last year. The grocery store chain has seen the impact of multiple rounds of price cuts since becoming a part of Amazon, though growth on that side is slow compared to the company’s cloud offerings.
Jeff Bezos took the opportunity to note the company’s increased investment in education. Amazon’s been pushing to highlight its softer side of late, as its been the target of...
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Health, wellness and medical travel gained increasing recognition last year as a profitable new niche for travel agents who learn to fulfill the specialized needs of both medical travelers and healthcare providers, in the U.S. or abroad.
There will be a growing market for medical travel, spurred by increased demand for healthcare services from the aging baby boomer, coupled with rising costs due to the declining supply of physicians and nurses in the U.S., David Boucher, president of Companion Global Healthcare, Columbia, S.C., told Travel Market Report in an April article.
Media continues to report favorably on medical travel, he said, and the more Americans hear about medical travel, the more attractive it becomes as a choice for healthcare, especially as out of pocket expenses increase.
The travel agent industry is recognizing the potential for growth. Two key indicators: ASTA conducted a webinar on how agents can engage in medical travel last spring, and the 2012 Well-Being Travel Conference, the first-ever medical travel conference designed for agents, was announced for June 19 to 21 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Here’s a look at these and other top stories about health, well-being and medical travel that were covered in Travel Market Report in 2011.
PepsiCo Med Travel Benefit Expands Market for Agents (Dec. 22)
News that PepsiCo will cover certain medical travel costs for nearly 250,000 domestic employees led experts to conclude that travel agents can expect opportunities to serve medical travelers to increase. PepsiCo will now cover medical and travel costs for employees and dependents who elect to have certain surgeries at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
PepsiCo’s well-publicized decision is one more indicator that opportunities for both corporate and leisure agents in medical travel are growing quickly, said Anne Marie Moebes, executive vice president of Well-Being Travel.
The move will raise awareness and generate momentum for other companies to offer medical travel benefits, other experts said.
Wellness Travel Is a Road to Health – and Profits (Oct. 31)
Wellness travel is emerging as an important and increasingly lucrative travel market – one that is growing in size and scope. Today, wellness tourism is a $106 billion global industry, according to “Spas and the Global Wellness Market,” a 2010 study by the nonprofit research and consulting firm SRI International.
The SRI study described wellness tourism as one of nine sectors in a larger “wellness industry” that also encompasses medical tourism, which it estimates to be a $50 billion industry globally.
Spa stays associated with medical travel are an emerging trend that travel agents should keep their eye on, Susie Ellis, SpaFinder president, told Travel Market Report.
Agency Distribution a Key Focus of Med Travel Conference (Oct. 6)
The announcement of plans to hold the Well-Being Travel Conference 2012, the first-ever medical travel conference designed for the travel industry, was another major development in 2011.
Opportunities for travel agents in the medical travel field, along with education and training on how to serve medical travel clients, will be the focus of the conference, June 21 to 23, 2012, at the Phoenician resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. The conference also will provide travel agents with information on how to present medical travel as a benefit to their corporate clients.
More than 1,000 travel agents, suppliers and destination marketing organizations are expected at the event, which is co-sponsored by Well-Being Travel and Travel Market Report.
University’s Tourism School Plans Medical Travel Program (Aug. 11)
The Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management said it planned to implement a medical travel curriculum, including courses leading to certification for travel agents who want to develop a niche in medical travel. The school is responding to clear signs that medical tourism is an emerging opportunity for growth in the global travel industry, Mike Hampton, dean of the Chapin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, told Travel Market Report. The curriculum’s emphasis will be on the travel marketing and accommodation aspects of medical travel, with a heavy focus on practical training through internships.
Major U.S. Destinations Look to Medical Travel
Houston, Orlando and Las Vegas were among major U.S. tourist destinations that in 2011 actively promoted medical travel, providing new opportunities for agents.
Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, which serves 6 million patients a year, including numerous medical travelers from the U.S. and abroad. For travel sellers who want to develop this niche market, educating the medical travel industry about the services and value agents provide is key, Jorge Franz, vice president of tourism and international marketing of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, told Travel Market Report. (See Houston CVB Positioned to Help Agents Serve Medical Travelers, Aug. 1.)
Visit Orlando president and CEO Gary Sain discussed plans to leverage Orlando’s growing Medical City at Lake Nona, together with its leading position in the medical meetings market, to promote medical training. (See Orlando Eyes Niche in Travel for Medical Training, June 23.)
And Las Vegas is just starting to promote medical travel, keying on the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. (See Las Vegas Places Its Bets on Medical Tourism, Nov. 17.)
ASTA Webinar Discusses Medical Travel and Agents (Feb. 24)
An ASTA webinar in February explored opportunities for the agency distribution channel to serve the growing medical travel industry. The fundamentals of medical travel, its potential for agents, and key issues were discussed by two medical travel experts.
Among the recommendations: a triangular model that includes a medical travel facilitator, a medical records custodian and a travel agency.
Travel professionals have to be aware of the special needs of medical travelers before, during and after a medical procedure performed at medical facilities in the U.S. and abroad, the experts said.
The presenters were – Dr. Arlen Myers, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer for MedVoy Inc., a global healthcare medical tourism company, and Anne Marie Moebes, executive vice president of Well-Being Travel, a travel industry company that brings together the travel and medical travel industries.