text:
On the heels of a scathing inspection report issued by the FDA of PCA’s Blakely Georgia plant, PCA has voluntarily issued yet another recall of its peanut and peanut products. This new recall notice now includes peanut products manufactured in it’s Blakely plant since January 1, 2007; a recall that will now encompass more than two full year’s worth of products. PCA’s recall notice, which appears on the FDA.gov website, indicates that it has expanded its recall in the interest of public safety, while most would admit that products manufactured two years ago are likely long consumed. Since September 2008, more than 500 individuals have been sickened by salmonella, and nearly half of those were children. The items listed under PCA’s newest recall include products sold to institutions within the U.S., as well as some foreign countries including Haiti, Trinidad, Canada and Korea.
The massive recall of peanut butter products has negatively affected manufacturers, even those who did not purchase their peanut products from PCA. Those companies are now going on the offensive, listing statements on their websites to quell consumer fear of peanut butter.
Safe from the FDA peanut recall: Peter Pan
The last peanut butter recalled due to salmonella was Peter Pan peanut butter in 2007. That recall was a financial blow to the company, as not only were Peter Pan peanut butter products pulled from the shelves, but also generic peanut butters (includingWalmart branded peanut butter). To boost consumer confidence in its product, Peter Pan aggressively marketed its product offering $1 coupons in the Sunday Paper, lowering the prices in grocery stores to $1 to make the product free with coupon and also offering a satisfaction guarantee. This time around, Peter Pan is safe to consume, according to a Con Agra statement listed on the Peter Pan website, Peter Pan has confirmed that none of its products were manufactured with anyPCA peanut products. Peter Pan is not subject to the current peanut butter recall.
Safe from the FDA peanut recall: Jif
Like Con Agra’s Peter Pan, J. M. Smucker’s Jif peanut butter is also going on the offensive, placing a notice to consumers on its website. The J. M. Smucker site lists this disclaimer: “The J. M. Smucker Company does not purchase peanut butter, peanuts or peanut products from Peanut Corporation of America for any products…” Aside fromJif, Smuckers also manufacturers Uncrustables, a product that can be found in many schools throughout the country.
Safe from the FDA peanut recall: Hersheys (including Reese’s)
Hershey’s has also placed a PCA free disclaimer on its website. As Julia Bodeeb recently reported, America’s favorite chocolate bar announced outstanding profits in a sagging economy, and is taking no chances with customer confidence. Hershey’s peanut disclaimer is dated nearly two weeks ago and states that, “No products made by The Hershey Company, including items and brands in the iconic Reese’s franchise, are affected by the recent recall related to peanut butter. Hershey does not purchase any peanut butter, peanuts or peanut products from the Peanut Corporation of America.”
Consumers unsure of whether or not a product is subject to recall should do a search for the product on the FDA.gov’s searchable database.


text:
Last week, and ahead of the official launch of Windows Phone 8.1
, we reported that Microsoft had reached the RTM milestone
with its OS update, and that its code had been finalized ready for distribution to Microsoft’s partners. But it turns out that things are a little
more complicated than that.
As we reported, Microsoft did indeed sign off on the Windows Phone 8.1 build – what the company refers to as “the final feature build” – on March 26. On the same date, that build – 9651.12349 – was made available to Windows Phone partners via Microsoft Connect.
But that wasn’t actually the ‘final’ build; indeed, WPCentral
pointed out that a few bugs still needed to be exterminated in the OS, suggesting that this process was likely to take a couple of weeks.

domain: news


text:
Car rental firms react by withdrawing Toyota models
Toyota’s reputation could be severely dented given the slow manner the company has dealt with the faulty accelerator pedals in their cars.
The embroiling crisis engulfing Toyota has plunged to new depths with major car hire firms pulling the auto manufacturer’s models from their rental fleets, with US authorities launching a fresh safety probe, just as the carmaker estimated the crisis has already cost £1.3 billion.
The new twist in the drama witnessed Toyota suffering another terrible day on the global stock markets, with a total of $30 billion being wiped of the company’s vale since the crisis began.
The world’s largest car manufacturer has been running a global recall of eight million cars, including 180,000 in the UK. The company is attempting to ease customers’ fears over safety by placing adverts in newspapers and posting videos online.
The company’s UK managing director Miguel Fonseca said that he wanted to complete the UK recall within eight weeks, in spite of the parts needed for the repair not arriving from Japan until next week. Toyota service centres will be prioritising recall work as well as working extended hours and weekends.
Toyota yesterday predicted that the total cost of the crisis around the world would be $1.1 billion in repairs and $900m in lost sales in the first three months of the year. This is a further blow as it was revealed that Avis-Budget has taken over 20,000 Toyota’s out of circulation and Hertz is likely to remove even more.


text:
2020 has been a whirlwind year for the advancement of technology. Aside from the new gadget launches, brand collaborations and big strides into the e-commerce sector, the one-too-many virtual meetings and food deliveries we had in 2020 signalled how technology has truly integrated itself into our everyday lives. Along with ‘unprecedented’ as the People’s Choice 2020 Word of the Year by Dictionary.com, it would be safe to say that ‘digital transformation’ is not far behind.
One of the by-products of the pandemic is accelerated digital and technological adoption, as companies worldwide shift into full throttle nearly overnight to accommodate remote working and integrated workflow systems.
Centered on innovation some of the smartphone brands have been working hard to enable users to better adapt to the new environment using technology, for instance Vivo has generated a slew of products destined for this purpose. And the pipeline for 2021 is looking much brighter.
- Consumers to get a taste of the Internet of Things (IoT) with wearables
The Internet of Things (IoT), in its simplest sense, is the idea of machines talking to machines to exchange information. Imagine your alarm clock waking you up a few hours before an appointment it sees on your calendar, and tells the coffee machine to have a hot cuppa ready by the time you have showered, and notifies the car to start and choose the fastest route to your destination – and all of this can be triggered by adding an appointment into one smart device. In a broader sense, IoT allows for a more efficient and automated way of doing things and plays a big role in breaking into the fourth industrial revolution.
Bringing this concept and efficiency directly to consumers, smartphone brands are looking to conquer the smart home market and give users a way to control devices in their homes through their smartphones and integrated voice commands. Vivo’s new smart Watch features intelligent exercise and health recognition and analysis, near-field communication (NFC) for subway and bus access in 300 cities across China, and performs functions such as setting alarms, controlling music and execute commands through voice assistant.
Plans for 5G to gain momentum in Southeast Asia
Whilst many cities around the Southeast Asia region are still operating on a 4G network, 2020’s accelerated digital adoption shows a promising demand for 5G network, with governments and private sectors alike laying down plans to ensure that they are ready to reap in all the benefits the technology will bring in coming years.
The past decades have shown how fast technology has evolved within a short period and it comes to no surprise that 6G is already in the talks, especially as computing speeds enter the quantum realm.
Just as 5G is starting large-scale commercialisation around the world, industry leaders like vivo established a research team for 6G and explored the possible scenarios for digital life in 2030. Projected development trends shows 11 aspects closely related to people’s lives in ten years and offered a preliminary view of the vision for 6G and its possibilities. If 5G is all about maximising digital connections, the 6G vision is a seamless fusion of the physical and digital worlds.
2021 will see greater technological adoption from consumers and innovation from the industry, and the future of smartphones will not just be in people’s pockets, but also in their homes and the world around them. IoT, 5G and 6G, users will be able to stay on top of the latest advancements and reap in the benefits the future will bring.


text:
For some time Discovery has been talking about launching a subscription streaming service. Now it looks like with their deal to buy Scripps, the parent company of channels such as HGTV, that it’s close to becoming a reality.
This week Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav said when the Scripps deal is done they will be looking at a streaming service.
“We will be looking hard at that both domestically and internationally,” said Zaslav. “We could create a pretty compelling offering for $6, $7 or $8 that would look a lot different than Amazon Prime and Netflix, and it could be very attractive in every language globally. So we’ll keep our eye on that.”
Discovery is not the only service talking about their own streaming service. Recently Viacom announced plans to launch an ad-supported streaming service by the end of 2018.
While this is not true à la carte TV because you will be buying content from multiple channels at once not single channels, this is a step in the right direction.
Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.


text:
Brown-Forman offloads Finlandia Vodka for $220m
Jack Daniel’s owner Brown-Forman will exit the vodka category through the sale of its Finlandia brand to Coca-Cola’s bottling arm for US$220 million.
Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) made the proposed deal through its subsidiary CC Beverages Holdings II. Coca-Cola HBC is the bottling division of The Coca-Cola Company.
Founded in 1970, Finlandia is a leading vodka brand in Central and Eastern Europe.
According to the Brand Champions 2023 report, Finlandia’s volumes were stagnant at 2.6m nine-litre case sales in 2022. Coca-Cola HBC said more than 60% of the vodka’s sales are generated within its geographic footprint of 29 countries.
Brown-Forman has owned Finlandia Vodka for nearly 20 years. The brand has struggled to surpass its sales high of 3m cases in 2018, Brand Champions data showed.
In March, Brown-Forman recorded a non-cash impairment charge of US$96m for Finlandia in its financial results for the nine months to 31 January 2023.
It followed a US$52m non-cash impairment charge for Finlandia, recorded in Brown-Forman’s fiscal 2022 results. Brown-Forman said this reflected a decline in its long-term outlook for Finlandia as a result of the firm’s suspension of operations in Russia, a key market for the brand.
Lawson Whiting, CEO of Brown-Forman, called Coca-Cola HBC a “strong and reliable partner” for its brands.
“We believe Coca-Cola HBC is well-suited to support Finlandia’s future stages of development,” Whiting continued.
“I am confident that Coca-Cola HBC’s growth ambitions and capabilities in premium spirits, its critical mass and executional excellence, coupled with its leading sales and distribution credentials in the markets where it operates, will accelerate Finlandia’s growth trajectory.”
Coca-Cola HBC, which has distributed Finlandia for more than 17 years, said the deal ‘enhances its journey towards becoming the leading 24/7 beverage partner’.
The purchase also strengthens Coca-Cola HBC’s ‘premium spirits credentials’ and boosts ‘mixability opportunities’ within the non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) category.
Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC, said: “Having been associated with the distribution of Finlandia for 17 years in several markets, we are excited by this unique and regionally relevant opportunity that will support the acceleration of our on-premise business across more of our markets.
“The proven complementarity of our premium spirits business with our strong NARTD portfolio enables us to offer solutions for a broad range of 24/7 consumption occasions, particularly socialising moments.
“We view this as an attractive investment and a natural evolution of our role as one of Finlandia’s distribution partners, further attesting to the strength of our time-tested and wide-ranging partnership with Brown-Forman.”
Subject to regularly approvals, the acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2023.
Finlandia is distilled and bottled by Nordic spirits group Anora under a long-term production services agreement that is due to run until 2035.
Finnish alcohol producer Altia sold Finlandia to Kentucky-headquartered Brown-Forman in 2004. Altia merged with Norwegian alcohol wholesaler Arcus in 2021 to form Anora Group.
The partnership with Brown-Forman began in 2000 when Altia sold a 45% stake in Finlandia Vodka to Brown-Forman, marking the firm’s entry into the category. Two years later Brown-Forman acquired an additional 35% stake in the brand. In 2004, Brown-Forman acquired the remaining 20% stake in Finlandia, taking full ownership of the vodka.
Anora is also the brand’s distributor in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Pekka Tennilä, CEO of Anora Group, added: “Finlandia vodka, produced by Anora from the pure natural ingredients of Finnish barley and water, is an important part of Anora’s history and heritage, first as brand owner and later as the producer for global markets pursuant to a strategic partnership with Brown-Forman. We look forward to continuing and deepening the strategic partnership with Coca-Cola HBC.”


text:
A 2015 financial year beyond the objectives
The consolidated value of production increased by 23% in 2015 compared to the previous year, reaching 410 million euros, above the initial forecast of 403 million euros. EBITDA of ?7 million turned positive for the first time in 4 years. Losses are halved compared to 2014 with a net loss of ?29 million.
Return to profit in 2016
The figures for the beginning of 2016 confirm this trend, with a return to profit in the first quarter characterised by a net profit of ?5 million, compared with losses of ?8 million a year earlier. As a result, the forecasts for 2016 have been revised upwards with anticipated sales of 550 million euros, EBITDA in excess of 50 million and a positive net result.
Success of new models
According to Alberto Galassi, Managing Director of the Ferretti group, these good results are the result of the investment plan launched since the takeover of the company by the Chinese Weichai, known in France for the takeover of Baudouin engines. 80 million in 2015 and launched a programme to develop the sales network and create 27 new models. The first 6 launches in 2015 for the Ferretti Yachts, Riva, Pershing and Custom Line brands were a real success and should be followed by 9 new products between 12 and 37 metres in 2016.
Acquisition of a stake in Ferrari
The holding company F Investments SA, controlled by the Ferrari family, acquired the 13.2% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and Strategic Value Partners. Already Chairman of the Product Development Committee, Piero Ferrari joins the Board of Directors. For Alberto Galassi, "this great entrepreneur will bring his international experience, already at the service of the automotive industry, to the excellence of Italian water sports".


text: Nacco Industries Inc. (NYSE: NC) of Mayfield Heights said its Nacco Materials Handling Group unit will phase out production at its Irvine, Scotland plant, change the product mix at a plant in Northern Ireland and boost production at operations in the United States and Mexico. The moves are being taken to further reduce (Nacco Materials Handlings) manufacturing, component and other product costs, reduce its manufacturing footprint, significantly reduce working capital requirements and reduce currency exposures through increased manufacture of products in the market of sale, the company said in a statement. Nacco said the changes are expected to lead to about $20 million in annual cost savings and about $11 million in working capital reductions. The unit will take a restructuring charge of about $5.8 million in the third quarter, mainly related to future severance payments. The Irvine manufacturing facility, which employs about 220 people, is expected to scale down production of its pneumatic internal combustion engine line during 2008 and cease production of the product in early 2009, Nacco said. Production will increase at Nacco plants in Berea, Ky., and Sulligent, Ala., as well as at its Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.


text:
EBay isn't having a good security year. Back in February and March, it lost more than 120 million user names and passwords to hackers. At the time the news broke in May, I told you to change your eBay password.
Right after that, security researchers found a flaw in eBay that could give hackers your password if you visited a malicious site while still logged in to your eBay account. EBay fixed the problem, but it was a good idea to change your password again.
Then last week, I told you about an eBay phishing scam that could trick you into giving up your username and password. In that case, you didn't have to change your password - unless you think you fell for the trick.
Still, it seems like if you use eBay, you should get used to changing your password. There's been another problem with eBay and you - surprise! - need to change your password.
Four months ago, security researchers told eBay about a way hackers could force the "forgot password" system to reset account passwords to ones hackers already knew. The only thing a hacker needed was a valid username. At the time, An Egyptian security researcher demonstrated an eBay account hack that took all of about one minute.
Given that hackers had usernames for 120+ million eBay users thanks to the previous hack, this was a serious problem. If that wasn't scary enough, eBay took four months to roll out a fix.
That means for the last four months, your account has been vulnerable to hackers - and the repeated password changes from other hacks only made it worse.
Well, eBay has finally fixed the problem, so it's a good idea to reset your password again just to be safe.
Given how often you're being asked to change your password, it might be a good time to look at password manager software that can create strong new passwords for you. KeePass is a good place to start. Otherwise, make sure you follow my system for creating a strong, easy-to-remember password.


text:
Under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman Oil Marketing Company (OOMCO) has commenced the operation of its fifth service station in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located in the Eastern Province, Dammam, the one-stop-shop service station caters to customers living in the metropolitan area. The service station features an exciting range of on-the-go shopping, and food and beverage offerings, in addition to essential automotive services that go “beyond the pump”.
The latest addition is part of OOMCO’s strategy to accelerate its expansion in KSA as well as its global expansion footprint. The company will also add another five service stations around Jeddah to its portfolio in the Kingdom this year. The facility comprises a car care center, a convenience store, cafeteria, a drive through coffee shop and ATM. Customers can further take advantage of the quick car services provided including oil change, car wash and tire services.
“With customers being the key players of our success, the launch of our fourth service station in Saudi Arabia demonstrates our unwavering dedication to offer convenient and flexible shopping experiences, while catering to our customers’ refueling and car care needs,” said Ali Muqaibal, General Manager – International Relations at Oman Oil Marketing Company. “In addition to the five operating stations, we secured 11 sites that are at different stages of development. We opened our first mega station in Dammam in 2019, and we continue to harness more opportunities to strengthen our service offerings in the Saudi market while always putting customer-centricity first-and-foremost.”
Earlier this month, Oman and Saudi Arabia have signed 13 memoranda of understanding for joint projects worth $30 billion within the economic sector. The agreement continues to build on the strong bilateral relations between the two countries which reached $840 million in 2020. Moreover, with the objective of maximizing trade cooperation, the road and border port linking Oman and Saudi Arabia was recently opened and is expected to provide easy access and reduced time and cost of imports and exports.
With its forward-thinking strategy, OOMCO strives to transform the industry with the introduction of innovative products and services across all aspects of the business, both locally and internationally. Building a brand that provides much more than only fuel, OOMCO is creating an unparallel chain of service hubs that provide access to integrated offerings including quality shopping, food products and services.


text:
“Barbie” took the world by — perfectly pink — storm!
The movie’s influence was everywhere from fashion to gaming accessories to sporting events… Fans could even rent a Malibu Barbie dreamhouse! More than 100 brands and retailers did Barbie collabs, and we’re still in the pink era today.
Not to mention, Barbie’s power of pink made for some serious green at the box office — to the tune of $1.43 billion.
“Extra’s” Melvin Robert spoke with Variety magazine’s Angelique Jackson to break down the brilliant marketing that made Barbie a global phenomenon.
Melvin pointed out that stores had entire pink sections to help fans pick the perfect outfit to wear to the movie. Angelique replied, “So many brands wanted to get into Barbie nostalgia.”
She added the blockbuster was able to reach a multi-generation audience across all ages, gender and sexuality and everyone felt connected to the film.
Jackson explained how the movie made its mark on the small screen too when it was featured on “The Bachelor,” Progressive commercials, and with an HGTV dreamhouse.
Angelique said, “All of that is because of what Warner Bros. describes as the fusion of the network where the film arm and also TV and all of the brands they reach can all work together.”
The movie dominated on social media as well, and Jackson shared, “It has hundreds of thousands of social media impressions across platforms and that was in some ways by design by Warner Bros., but some was organic because of the fans.”
She said, “You look at something just like the ‘Hi Barbie, Hi Ken.’ They dropped that sound on TikTok, and to date there are 239,000 videos made with just that sound.”
Melvin called “Barbie” the gift that keeps on giving and a true “cultural phenomenon.”
Now, you can own your own copy! Click here to buy the movie on Digital now and on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD™ tomorrow.


text: NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Elizabeth Arden rden on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of $900,000 or 3 cents a share, down from $4.8 million, or 16 cents a share. Sales rose 7.2% to $227.4 million. Revenue rose to $227.4 million from $212.2 million. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call forecast earnings of 3 cents a share and sales of $225.8 million. The retailer set plans to buy back $40 million in stock. Elizabeth Arden said it sees second-quarter net income of $1.06-$1.11 a share and adjusted earnings of $1.09-$1.14 a share. Wall Street is expecting earnings of $1.25 a share. The company lifted its 2006 sales estimate to $980-$995 million.


text:
Nintendo Announces Super Nintendo World Direct Start Time
Nintendo surprisingly announces a new direct, but not one that is focused on games, as it is a Super Nintendo World Direct.
Nintendo has just announced a new direct live stream, with this one entirely focused on Super Nintendo World. The direct will not have any gaming content involved, as it will entirely feature the new Nintendo area in Universal Studios Japan.
Over the months, fans have looked for any bit of information on the Nintendo-based theme park area at Universal Studios Japan. Although images have leaked for Super Nintendo World early on and small bits of information has been shared, this 15 minute Nintendo Direct could reveal details that fans have been waiting for. Nintendo was careful to reiterate that this is a theme-park specific Nintendo Direct, so fans shouldn’t be looking for long-awaited titles like Mother 3 or Metroid Prime 4.
Although fans could be disappointed with a Nintendo Direct of only 15 minutes in normal circumstances, that amount of time is more than enough to reveal new rides, details of specific areas, the full menu at the Mario Cafe in Super Nintendo World, and more. The Direct live stream will take place tomorrow, December 18, at 3 pm PT.
Super Nintendo World is opening in February, just a couple of months from now. The success of the theme park is important in many ways, including the fact that there are plans to bring Super Nintendo World to both Universal Studios Hollywood in California and Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando. If Super Nintendo World is a hit in Japan, and tomorrow could point to that being the case, then it should not be too long until a Super Nintendo World Direct is in place for US locations.


text:
Indonesia International Auto Show kicks off
The Jakarta Post
The Indonesia International Auto Show 2017, the largest auto fair in East Asia, opened on Thursday at the Indonesian Convention Exhibition in Tangerang, Banten.
Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia’s automotive industry was getting strong, as indicated by investment reaching Rp 16.5 trillion (US$1.24 billion) in the first half of 2017.
Indonesia was now working to produce environmentally friendly vehicles with very low emissions and to develop electronic cars, said Airlangga in his opening remarks at the fair organized by the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo).Read also: Jakarta motor show to extend into cyberspace this year
"We are targeting to produce 2 million cars by 2025, 20 percent of which are electric vehicles," he said, adding that the Indonesian automotive industry had prepared prototypes for the electric cars.
Gaikindo chairman Yohannes Nangoi said the event was part of the association's support for the development of the national automotive industry. As of June, car sales in the country reached 533,570 units, a 0.3 percent increase from the same period last year.
The exhibition runs until Aug. 20. (rdi/bbn)
- Barack Obama returns to the political arena
- Marinda airport in Raja Ampat set to become international airport
- Survey finds Jakarta among world’s worst for women
- Government to crack down on fake supporters of Pancasila
- Across Asia, liver cancer is linked to herbal remedies: Study
- Preventing osteoporosis: How to boost bone health
- EDITORIAL: Jokowi grows on the job
- More drug dealers to be shot dead: BNN chief
- International Al Azhar conference promotes moderate Islam, tolerance
- Airline, bank reach for the sky with e-money


text:
For the past few months, LG has been teasing the Optimus G successor like crazy. It announced in back in June that it would feature a Snapdragon 800 processor, and later scheduled an event for August 7th in New York. Since then, the company has officially announced that it will be called the LG G2, dropping the Optimus branding, and today, another invite for the same event has been sent out that teases rear facing buttons on the device.
We first saw the rear buttons in a set of leaked presentation slides, and have since seen them in very clear image and video. The device also features a glass back, much like the Nexus 4 and Optimus G.
With LG teasing the G2 so much, it makes us wonder what they’ll have to announce on August 7th aside from pricing details. Hopefully it’s not a bunch of software “features” like Samsung crammed into its Galaxy S4 unveil.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


text:
Security researchers have demonstrated a way to bypass OpenSSL security restrictions by forging certain digital signatures, the OpenSSL project has warned. OpenSSL is used in many security products, secure Web servers and virtual private networks (VPNs).
SSL (secure sockets layer) is used to secure e-commerce transactions, among other purposes.
OpenSSL has released a new version fixing the problem, and urged users to upgrade or apply a patch.
The flaw only affects a particular type of signature — PKCS #1 v1.5 signatures — but these are used by some certificate authorities.
"If an RSA key with exponent 3 is used, it may be possible to forge a PKCS #1 v1.5 signature signed by that key," OpenSSL said in an advisory. "Since there are (certificate authorities) using exponent 3 in wide use, and PKCS #1 v1.5 is used in X.509 certificates, all software that uses OpenSSL to verify X.509 certificates is potentially vulnerable."
Versions of OpenSSL up to 0.9.7j and 0.9.8b are affected, according to the advisory.
The signature forgery technique was first demonstrated last month at the Crypto 2006 conference by Daniel Bleichenbacher, a cryptographer with Bell Labs, according to security firm Netcraft. OpenSSL credited Google Security with successfully forging various certificates and providing the fix.
OpenSSL is an open source implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols, with versions available for most Unix-like operating systems and Windows.


text:
Tesla rival Lucid rises on home turf
New York — Peter Rawlinson says the Tesla Model S is Electric Vehicle 1.0, and the Lucid Air is EV 2.0. People are listening because he’s been the chief engineer for both.
Following his breakthrough success with Tesla founder Elon Musk on the Model S sedan in 2011, Rawlinson moved on to his second Silicon Valley electric-car startup. At Lucid Motors, the chief technology officer is honing the lessons learned at Tesla to build the Air.
A prototype of the striking battery-powered sedan with a full-glass moon roof stretching the length of the cockpit — hence the name Air — premiered in April at the New York Auto Show. California-based Lucid is ramping up a $240 million fundraising campaign as a first phase toward a 2019 production goal in Arizona. The company aims for a sticker price starting at $60,000, similar to the Model S.
In a field of would-be Tesla fighters that include General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Bolt, Porsche’s Mission E, BMW’s i lineup and troubled prospects like Faraday Future and Detroit Electric, Lucid has emerged as the badge-du-jour largely on the shoulders of Rawlinson’s resume and the talented team of ex-Tesla engineers he has brought with him.
Yet, as Lucid attempts to woo capital and put its vision into production, it faces the same question that has vexed competitors: Can electric-car startups be profitable or is Tesla’s success built on the Cult of Elon Musk?
Based in Menlo Park not far from Tesla’s headquarters, Lucid is determined to prove that electric vehicles are the future. Investors have doubts and question whether Tesla’s sky-high market valuation is specific to mercurial CEO Musk. The visionary entrepreneur with a Midas touch created the online payment system PayPal and SpaceX, the private commercial space company that recently launched the world’s first reusable rocket.
“Elon Musk is Tesla,” said Jeff Schuster, vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, an auto industry analysis firm. “No one else has his kind of following. The luxury electric vehicle space exists because of him.”
Rawlinson, whose resume includes stints as boss engineering at Jaguar and Lotus, said the electric-vehicle revolution is bigger than one personality. So when Lucid came knocking in 2013, he brought his engineering brain trust to Lucid Motors to create a better Model S.
The Air would go head to head against the Model S sedan. It promises to have similar gee-whiz tech features such as a touch-screen tablet infotainment display and “over-the-air” software upgrades.
Rawlinson & Co. have created a car that is smaller than the midsize Model S or the Mercedes E-Class, but with the same interior space as a long-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class. With a top trim offering a 130 kilowatt hours or kWh of battery, Lucid said the Air can go 400 miles on a charge. Tesla gets 335 miles on a 100-kWh battery.
The 1,000-horsepower version of the Air that showed in New York is said to have hit 217 miles per hour in testing. Lucid said Air pricing will be similar to the Model S — starting at $60,000 ($52,500 after a federal tax break) to upward of $100,000.
“What differentiates us (from other EV startups) is that we are the team that did it before. We were largely responsible for the Model S,” Rawlinson said in an interview with The Detroit News in New York. “I brought all the key engineering people who were with me at Tesla.”
Anton Wahlman, a Silicon Valley-based auto analyst with the investment site Seeking Alpha, follows the electric-vehicle market closely. “I love the car,” he said about the Air. “It looks great, and Lucid has a first-rate team. It’s the Model S 2.0. Updated interior and a much more plush backseat. But is there market enough for it?”
Wahlman pointed to first-quarter sales results indicating that Model S and Model X sport utility vehicle sales are flattening out. Indeed, Tesla sales in the United States were down 30 percent from the 2016 third quarter.
Founded as battery-maker Atieva in 2007 with funding from Chinese electronics billionaire Jia Yueting, Lucid was spun off as a carmaker last October as its Air sedan was readied for public introduction. Atieva has continued as a battery-maker supplying power packs to Formula E racing in Europe.
LMC Automotive’s Schuster said EV startups are risky, but Lucid is among those that could make it: “What they’ve shown in prototype form is encouraging, that they can go after the Model S.”
As Lucid raises money for production, questions continue to dog the company. One concern is that Lucid has been without a chief executive since 2015 (chief technology officer Rawlinson is the senior executive).
Then there is Rawlinson’s insistence that the proof that electric startups can be profitable is that Tesla is making money. This even though Tesla says it has yet to turn a profit — it lost $773 million on $7 billion in revenue in 2016.
“It is a widely believed myth in the industry today that electric cars are somehow unprofitable. That is simply untrue,” Rawlinson said.
“There is potentially a larger profit margin on electric cars than its gasoline counterpart. Tesla is making money on its cars right now — and it very well suits Elon Musk. If you were pre-eminent in that business, wouldn’t it be the smartest play to convince all would-be competitors that it is unwise to enter and compete against you?”
Auto investment analyst Wahlman disputes the claim based on Tesla’s publicly released figures. “Tesla is not profitable; they are losing money hand over fist,” he says. “It’s in Lucid’s interest right now to make the argument that Tesla is making money because their money-raising depends on it.”
Rawlinson said Lucid has attracted investments from the Rockefeller family’s Venrock venture capital arm and Japan’s Mitsui Group conglomerate. One trend is particularly bright for EVs, he said: falling battery costs.
“The reality is battery prices are going to fall dramatically,” Rawlinson said. “You don’t need a ‘Gigafactory’ — the last thing we need is the financial burden of a ‘Gigafactory,’ ” referring to Tesla’s Nevada lithium ion battery plant. “We can rely on the supply base to carry that investment weight. The world is going to swing electric in the next decade as the price for batteries falls.”
Rawlinson said his team has worked with supplier Samsung on a new type of cell chemistry to improve battery degradation from fast charging.
Breaking the rules
Investment analysts like Wahlman are encouraged that Lucid is focused on just being a carmaker without the added infrastructure of a battery factory and charging stations that Tesla has taken on.
“They are not going to integrate as vertically as Tesla,” he said. “That will help them, but you have more established automakers like VW and BMW that are even less vertically integrated. And battery costs are going to come down for them as well — so that doesn’t give Lucid or Tesla an advantage. Samsung will sell any automaker the same (battery) from GM to VW to Hyundai.”
Startups, however, are in vogue. Barring a serious economic downturn, Wahlman and Schuster predict Lucid will reach its $240 million capital goal. “Like Tesla, they are the anti-car company. That has given them some cachet,” said Schuster, who added that Tesla and Lucid are specialty brands that will be swallowed up by larger automakers.
For now, Rawlinson said he is focused on producing a vehicle like no one has seen before.
“If The Model S hadn’t been an outstanding car, Tesla wouldn’t be the company it is today,” he said. “From that platform, all those possibilities can grow. We must not screw up Lucid Air.”
To that end, Rawlinson lured one of the industry’s acclaimed designers, Derek Jenkins, to pen the Air. An ex-Mazda designer, Jenkins’ achievements include the widely admired MX-5 Miata sports car and CX-9 SUV.
Like Rawlinson, Jenkins found Lucid a liberation from the gas-engine box.
“The transition from the gas engine to electric car is the closing of one book and the opening of another,” Jenkins said in New York. “I can break rules that I couldn’t have done anywhere else.”
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at firstname.lastname@example.org or Twitter @HenryEPayne.


text:
Known as the “Seed Warrior,” Debal Deb is keeping alive hundreds of varieties of heirloom rice to support food sovereignty
On Friday, September 27, at 5 p.m., Indian ecologist Debal Deb will visit NYU Steinhardt to offer a lecture and discussion on “growing culture” and resistance to the corporate control of seeds and agriculture. Deb’s talk will explore the social and political nuances of seed saving while advocating for community led models of agriculture and knowledge sharing.
Last year, Deb cultivated 1,340 traditional varieties of rice on land in Odisha, India. More than 7,000 farmers in six states in India were given the seeds – with the condition that they also grow them and give some away in their local communities.
Varieties of seed collected by Deb are individually germinated in a traditional way, using clay pots and cow urine. Photo by Jason Taylor.
This event is being hosted by NYU Steinhardt’s Nutrition and Food Studies Department, A Growing Culture, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting farmer-led research and innovation, and The Institute for Public Knowledge’s Food and the City Working Group.
The number of rice varieties in India have decreased from roughly 100,000 to 7,000 since the 1970s. Deb has established and maintained what is probably the last collection of the once vast rice diversity in eastern India. This diversity represents a fraction of the varieties that used to make up India’s rich rice culture. The resilience that manifests his collection of over 1,410 varieties is uncanny, withstanding drought and flooding, changes in temperature, climate, and soil, as well as multiple cultural and medicinal properties.
The loss of rice varieties is not unique to India, nor is the erosion of genetic diversity limited to one food crop. Food varieties are disappearing across the world and Deb’s efforts are part of a global movement to protect agricultural biodiversity.
A seed does not just contain genetic markers, it is the start of true food sovereignty. It is a driver of political and social change. Deb, a fierce advocate of farmer-led agrarian models and open-source seeds, will share his experiences with the NYU community, including the specific methods he has used to ensure these seeds’ survival.
Deb, founder of Basudha, a rice conservation farm in India, has created a massive seed bank that houses and is preserving rare indigenous rice.
India’s ‘Seed Warrior,’ Debal Deb, to Sow More than Just Seeds at NYU Steinhardt – Sept. 27 Known as the “Seed Warrior,” Debal Deb is keeping alive hundreds of varieties of heirloom rice to


text:
Shock and Awe
Many years from now, when India's millennials look back at the evolution of internet in their country, they might recall with 'shock-and-awe' the events that occurred on the first day of the ninth month in the calendar year 2016. For it was on this day that Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL) and India's richest man, announced a raft of initiatives that added ironclad intent to Prime Minister Modi's vision of a Digital India. The key points, related to Reliance Jio Infocomm, made by Ambani at RIL's 42nd AGM were:
- Free voice calling.
- Zero roaming charges across India.
- A free welcome offer for Jio customers - data services free for four months - from September 5th until December 31st.
- Ten tariff plans starting at INR 19 (USD $0.28) a day for occasional users, INR 149 (USD $2.37) a month for low data users and INR 4,999 (USD $75) a month for heavy data users. (In the current market, the base rate for 1 GB of data ranges from INR 4000 - 10,000. Reliance has cut this base rate by more than 90%.)
- Super-affordable handsets under the LYF brand starting at INR 2,999 (USD $45).
- 1 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the country by mid-2017.
- Reliance Jio is now the largest exclusively 4G LTE mobile network in the world.
About Reliance Jio and its parent, Reliance Industries
Reliance Jio was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Mumbai. Jio, also known as Reliance Jio and officially as Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited ("RJIL"), is the telecom leg of Reliance Industries Limited - an Indian conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mumbai, India. RIL owns businesses across India engaged in energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail and telecommunications and is the second-largest publicly traded company in India by market capitalization. As of 2016, RIL is ranked 215th on the Fortune 500 list of the world's biggest corporations.
Internet Penetration in India
RIL's initiatives need to be looked at in the context of the sluggish growth in internet usage in India. This year, with its internet penetration at 34.8% -- relative to emerging market peers like Brazil at 66.4%, Russia at 71.3% and China at 52.2% -- India, with the second-largest population in the world, is ranked at 127 out of 201 countries. This despite growing its internet users by a staggering 30.5% in the previous year. Until now, it was a combination of expensive broadband plans and poor infrastructure that had hamstrung India's internet usage (Service providers like Bharti and Idea have focused on increasing Mobile Data ARPU's to counter sharp declines in the average price achieved for voice calls)
The Origin of Audacity
Reliance's massive mobile broadband push promises to change that.
The loudest cheers for Ambani's announcements came from India's young (India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65% below the age of 35. By 2020, the average age of India's population is expected to be 29 - one of the lowest in the world). Jio is rolling Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. The plan is to set up nearly 1 million Wi-Fi hotspots by the middle of next year, near colleges, schools, and public places.
The company has deployed the largest 100% Voice-over-LTE network, providing crystal clear voice and video quality, instant call connectivity, the fewest dropped calls and a unique ability to use data and voice simultaneously. This in itself is a remarkable feat considering most legacy telecom service providers have not built their networks for data services; they had built networks to support voice and SMS. Jio, in sharp contrast, is an all-IP network. By March 2017, Reliance Jio expects its 4G network to cover 90% of India's population.
Ambani believes India will soon be among the Top 10 countries in the world for mobile broadband internet access.
Reliance Industries' intent to create a Digital India is great news for companies like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), which already have well-entrenched India operations.
The social media giant, in particular, has in the recent past, made numerous attempts to increase internet usage, especially in rural India, through their campaign for Free Basics (The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India supported Net Neutrality effectively sounding the death-knell for Free Basics). India is the largest market for Facebook outside the US with close to 150 million monthly active users. Ambani made references to Connected Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality during the Reliance AGM and told shareholders why a best-in-class mobile broadband network is essential for the success of innovations such as these. The significance of Reliance's announcements would not be lost on Facebook; Especially, the team at Menlo Park overseeing Oculus Rift.
Jeff Bezos loves India. When Amazon reported Q2 2016 sales that rose 30 per cent, Bezos was quick to pin-point the source. He said:
It's been a busy few months for Amazon around the world and particularly in India, where we launched a new AWS (Amazon Web Services) Region, introduced Prime with unlimited free shipping and announced that Prime Video is coming soon, offering Prime members in India exclusive access to Amazon Original Series and Movies - including original content featuring top Indian creators and talent. The team in India is inventing at a torrid pace and we're very grateful to our Indian customers for their welcoming response.
Reliance's initiatives are a shot in arm for India's e-Commerce Industry : Revenues are expected to grow exponentially, from $30 billion in 2016 to $120 billion in 2020, at an annual rate of 51%. This makes India the fastest growing e-Commerce market in the world.
A key-word search could be done over a 2G network. Viewing video is different though. At a minimum, it requires a 3G network. Reliance Industries has offered internet users in India an all-IP, ONLY 4G LTE network. This is a game-changing event for video content viewing in India and will catalyse YouTube's India Operations. According to YouTube, in 2015, overall viewing time in India grew 80% year-over-year. 55% of that viewing took place on mobile devices. Overall mobile watch time grew by 131%. Alphabet, as it steers its vast advertising business toward mobile and video, will watch the developments at Reliance Jio with interest.
Disclosure: I am/we are long RIL:IN. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.


text:
Would you like to receive local news notifications on your desktop?
Univera Healthcare on preventing skin cancer
Posted: 4:48 PM, Aug 15, 2019
Updated: 2019-08-20 11:07:44-04
Melanoma rates have increased in the U.S. in the last 40 years.
A Healthier U is sponsored by Univera Healthcare.
Rates of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, have increased in the U.S. in the last 40 years, according to a review of data by Univera Healthcare.
Here are some tips for preventing skin cancer.
Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


text:
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Irish Competition Authority Report Finds Competition between Grocers is Limited by the Retail Planning System
Posted by D. Daniel Sokol
The Irish Competition Authority released a report this week on competition in the supermarket sector. As regular readers of this blog know, supermarkets are hot topics in the US, UK, Australia, Chile and Ireland. In the Authority's press release, we learn that:
“The retail planning system limits competition among grocery retailers and as a result consumers are not getting the best possible choice or value for money”, according to Bill Prasifka, Chairperson of the Authority.
The report has found that the planning system has influenced the type of grocery retailers that trade in Ireland, where they locate, what they offer consumers and the prices that consumers pay. Despite growth in the number and size of grocery retail outlets in Ireland since 2001, the planning system acts as a barrier to competition in grocery retailing in three ways;
1. Restrictions on the size of a grocery retail outlet.
2. Restrictions on where a grocery retail outlet can locate.
3. The uncertainty regarding planning permission can raise the cost and delay the arrival of a new retail outlet.
These factors limit competition between retailers and also between grocery brands. Together they restrict consumer choice and value for money. As a result, Ireland does not have any large scale, low cost grocery retailers, as exist in other European countries; discount retailers face more stringent limitations on size than other grocery retailers; size restrictions on grocery retailers result in less shelf space and subsequently less competition between branded goods; and consumers all over the country are denied the benefits of competing grocery retailers in their local area due to prolonged planning delays.


text:
Tag Archives: ls400
The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has announced its 2021 inductees. Each year three vehicles representing milestones in the country’s auto industry are selected for the honor. This year, they include two cars from the Bubble Era and a classic … Continue reading
As we mentioned, 2014 was the Year of the JNC. As it draws to a close, let’s look back at the things that most interested JNCers over the last 365 days.


text:
Is Carvana's Ex-Con Co-Founder to Blame for Its Fading IPO?
Carvana, the company we previously razzed for its innocuous multistory automotive contrivances, has suddenly found itself facing some legitimate problems. The car dealer is now famous for two things: vehicular vending machines and a majority shareholder with criminal ties to a major savings and loan scandal — who also happens to be the father of the business’ CEO and co-founder.
The organization is also facing a share price that has dipped 40 percent since its April 27 IPO. However, that can likely be blamed on an over-saturated used car market. Secondhand cars are incredibly affordable at the moment so, if you wanted to support Carvana or any other used vehicle vendor, now would be a good time. You just have to be alright with doing business with Ernie Garcia II, the ex-con investors are likely going to blame if the share price doesn’t bounce back.
Bloomberg Technology is suggesting investors will want answers when the company releases its first earnings report. “A controlling shareholder having a fraud conviction is of interest to other shareholders,” John Coffee, a professor of corporate law at Columbia University, explained to Bloomberg. “I think a company doing a public offering should disclose this factor.”
While that is fair, establishing a company’s value on a CEO’s father’s business dealings from two decades prior is not. Still, with the majority of the tax benefits generated through the IPO going to early investors — including majority shareholder Garcia — is worth being mindful of his background.
Garcia pleaded guilty to bank fraud in the early 1990s for his involvement in the downfall of California thrift Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which resulted in a national political scandal (after five U.S. senators came were caught accepting bribes). Garcia avoided prison time by testifying for federal prosecutors and received three years probation.
None of that amounts to Carvana being worthy of glowing praise or condemnation, though. The company sells used cars online, with an inventory of roughly 7,300 used and reconditioned vehicles. Customers shop online and can schedule a delivery of the car, or go pick it up from Carvana’s multistory, coin-operated, vending machine gimmick. Considering its regional limitations, fleet size, and the abysmal condition of the used car market, Carvana may have been slightly overvalued. But that’s about all you can fault it with right now, and none of that has anything to do with the majority shareholder’s identity.
Join the conversation
Latest Car ReviewsRead more
Latest Product ReviewsRead more
- Art Vandelay Pour one out for the Motors Liquidation Corporation
- Bill Wade Norm, while true I'll leave you with this. My 2023 RAM is running Android 8 released in 2017.My wife's navigation on her GM truck is a 2021 release, I believe the latest. Android Auto seems to update very week or two. Now, which would you rather have? Anybody with a car a couple of years old NEVER sees any updates. Heck, if your TV is a few years old it's dead on updates. At least cell phones are rapidly updated. If your old phone won't update, buy another $200 phone. If your GM vehicle doesn't update do what, buy another $50,000 GM vehicle?
- Lou_BC Once again, Mustang is the last pony car standing. Camaro RIP, Challenger RIP.
- FreedMike Next up should DEFINITELY be the Cadillac Eldorado. On the subject of Caddies, I saw a Lyriq in person for the first time a couple of days ago, and I'm changing my tune on its' styling. In person, it works quite well, and the interior is very nicely executed.
- Probert Sorry to disappoint: https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/tesla-model-y-worlds-best-selling-vehicle-1234848318/and any list. of articles with a 1 second google search. It's a tough world out there - but you can do it!!!!!!
Carvana is bad. Well, not really. It could be if... Maybe it's good and bad. Or neither. Jeezes, what a "hit" piece of crap this article was.
Carvana stock is actually currently up about 20% today: https://www.google.com/finance?cid=710268635585811


text:
The world’s largest card company has doubled down on its bid to capture the crypto market. Visa today announced that it has launched a crypto advisory exercise for its clients and partners under its Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) arm.
The news came just a few months after Visa’s head of crypto, Q Sheffield, The declared property class had become “cool” At a fintech conference last month. Payments made waves when it bought cryptocurrency NFTs in August this year, but its move to launch a dedicated crypto consultancy shows that its attempt to capture crypto market share in a crowded field goes beyond a marketing stunt.
Sheffield told Nerdshala in an interview that Visa’s partnership with the crypto platform has doubled in the past 18 months. Consumers have spent about $3.5 million dollars using Visa’s crypto-linked card programs, Sheffield said, Up from $1 million in July,
It also announced the results of a new global survey conducted on consumer attitudes about crypto, which found that 40% of its 6,000+ respondents would be likely to switch primary banks to one that offers crypto products.
Sheffield said Visa has seen “an incredible amount of inbound calls from hundreds of customers and partners and traditional financial institutions” who are looking to integrate crypto into their offerings. Visa’s consulting arm has about 700 employees, although the company did not share how many would be affiliated with the crypto practice.
Sheffield said, “We see Visa well positioned as a global neutral brand, with deep expertise in crypto, which can help to overcome some of the complexities of these new technologies and allow banks to integrate it into their core products.” can help bring it in.”
To that end, Visa participated in a $60 million Series B investment in blockchain compliance firm TRM Analytics, announced yesterday, American Express and Citi also participated in the fundraising. Visa is one of many cardholders scrambling to make inroads into crypto, threatening their fee-dependent business model by replacing them as the new underlying infrastructure for payments.
MasterCard, for its part, Launched a crypto rewards program in October this yearUsing Bakkt as a custodian of digital assets. Visa does not hold cryptocurrency directly, but has partnered with Anchorage Digital – a company to provide this capability. It invested in the first in 2019. Visa is building its crypto API platform on top of Anchorage, allowing other banks to access its custodial services, Sheffield said.
Sheffield anticipates growth in use cases such as Visa’s crypto-linked debit card programs, as well as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Although only seven countries have launched CBDCs so far, 87 more are considering them, According to the Atlantic Council,
Sheffield said Visa hopes to capitalize on this interest by helping banks develop CBDC-related products.
“We are spending a lot of time researching what infrastructure CBDCs will use for consumer experiences, and how consumers will interact with them. We are taking that expertise and engagement that we are doing with central banks and banks. They are helping us to think about their role in preparation, because we think there will be many countries that are going down this route,” Sheffield said.


text:
‘’I am kind of polarizing. People either like me or they hate me. There’s not a lot of people in between’’- says the protagonist of the crypto platform Cardano. Charles Hoskinson, the creator of Cardano is a famous entrepreneur who carries some infamous stains due to his history with Ethereum. …Read More »
Oyster Pearl (PRL)
Oyster Pearl (PRL) is the altcoin I’ve been dreaming about for a while. It solves exactly the sort of problem you would expect the new generation of cryptocurrencies to solve: ads. Now if you’re using this website without adblock, you’ll notice advertisements within the content and in the sidebar. Someone has to pay the bills.
PRL eradicates that clutter and intrusiveness of display advertising while ensuring content creators like us don’t get punished for it. PRL uses the IOTA Tangle to store users’ files, and uses a website visitor’s GPU and CPU processing power to ensure those files are maintained on the distributed ledger. It also uses the Ethereum blockchain with its PRL ERC20 tokens to pay out content providers who have integrated this technology on their website.
Yes, I too have a lot of questions about the implementation of this tech over a wide variety of websites. But internet ad revenue grows every year, and if PRL can capture a small market of that, it has the potential to be huge.
- Solves a mass consumer problem with two existing technologies, IOTA and Ethereum.
- High volume compared to market cap, which is a good sign for growth.
Ripple’s Q3 2019 XRP Markets Report reveals a noticeable downfall in its XRP. With the sale of $66.2 million of XRP in Q3 2019, Ripple falls straightly down by 74% in comparison to its sale in Q2 which stood at $251.5 million. According to an official report displayed by Ripple …Read More »
The second-largest bank in the U.S, Bank of America has made a public announcement that they are using the technological solutions created by the Ripple cryptocurrency which famous for its blockchain payment service. The bank is also thinking about adopting Ripple’s distributed ledger technology or DLT. On the other hand, …Read More »
As we all know that there are ups and downs in the market and here is the recent example of this in the market. VET has gained around 6% on the last day and its value has become 0.0034 USD. There are 3 major price swings in this period and …Read More »
The UN district court, New York postpones the case hearing against Telegram Open Network (TON) which was filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The case will now be heard on February 2020. In accordance with the TRO filed, Telegram should have been in front of the court …Read More »
Ripple is very popular among financial institutions and banks for its multinational blockchain remittance service. Previously, Ripple has collaborated with a lot of famous banks and institutions around the globe. Also, recently the CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse has stated that the blockchain remittance company Ripple has signed over 30 …Read More »
Cardano has now stepped into the supply chain and starting to authenticity check of product in retail. It is one of the main jobs of the currency blockchain technology and it was until yet limited to firms like IBM and VeChain. But, now Cardano has stepped into this business by …Read More »
Current Price of Bitcoin: Currently, the currency trading at the value of $7,938.43 and its value is decreasing by 2.03%. The market capitalization of the currency is $142,883,413,333 and the 24-hour volume of the currency is $15,138,668,727. The circulating supply is 17,998,962 BTC and the ROI of Bitcoin is 5,767.28%. …Read More »
Heath Tarbert, head of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) talked about the future of cryptocurrency and the government regulations on cryptocurrency as well in the recently held Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit in New York City on October 10. The native derivative cryptocurrency of the Ethereum ecosphere, …Read More »
The Crypto Exchange BitFinex recently introduced its Affiliate program in an effort to attract new Customers to its Network. BitFinex Shared this update for the community through their official twitter account on 17th October. The latest Affiliate Program introduced by Bitfinex is offering unlimited commission earnings for affiliates. As mentioned …Read More »


text:
With YoY growth up 63 percent, the company sets its sights on bridging the gap between brands and their customers in the post-pandemic era
Discuss.io, a leading purpose-built, smart video platform for customer insights and empathy, today announced a series of milestones highlighting its accelerated growth in the first half of 2021.
Marketing Technology News:‘The Streaming Decade,’ Roku’s Annual Survey, Shows Industry Has Passed a “Tipping Point”
The company reached a 63 percent increase in revenue compared to H1 2020, and signed over 50 new customers, including Target, Ford and Ryder, as well as agencies like Gongos Research and Leede Research Group. Additionally, Discuss.io launched several new platform capabilities to adapt to a more agile consumer environment as COVID-19 accelerated the need for organizations to operate digitally and across mobile more efficiently.
During the first half of the year, the number of customer, user experience and market research conversations held on the Discuss.io platform more than doubled as compared to the first half of 2020, with the company on track for helping generate market insights from over 100,000 people by the end of 2021.
In addition, the company added Stan Sthanunathan to its leadership team as Advisor to its Board of Directors. Sthanunathan, a distinguished insights leader with previous positions at Unilever Global and Coca-Cola, will provide strategic direction to the company and help harness the power of insights for Discuss.io clients worldwide.
Marketing Technology News:MarTech Interview with Cailin Pitcher, VP of Marketing at Paubox
Just a few of the many innovations that helped continue to fuel Discuss.io’s growth in the first half of 2021 included:
- Respondent Management: a central hub allowing organizations to reduce friction in the consumer insights process by creating and managing their own panels and databases
- Mobile Screen Sharing: a specialized app that enables customers to see every tap, scroll, zoom, or pinch in real time on smartphones or tablet screens. With the ability to see the respondent’s face, voice and body language, in addition to real-time movement on their devices, companies can inform product and application development, digital experiences, usability and more.
- Augmented Insights: a suite of intelligence tools that includes sentiment analysis, tagging, and unique theme finding capabilities to help companies bridge live consumer conversation sessions and the insights gathered.
Marketing Technology News:Brightspot Positioned in Leader Section of the Globe for Content Experience Platforms 2021 by Aragon…
“In this ‘remote-focused’ era, it is critical for brands to adapt with innovative products and technologies that better serve the modern customer,” said Simon Glass, CEO of Discuss.io. “We’re excited to be providing our customers with industry leading innovation that helps drive their business goals.”
Amid a year of accelerated growth, Discuss.io was also named as The Most Innovative Company of the Year in the 2021 American Business Awards and made Greenbook’s annual GRIT Top 50 Innovative Suppliers list for the seventh consecutive year.
As companies continue to collaborate digitally in uncertain times, Discuss.io provides organizations with
forward-thinking solutions to navigate the changes and new normal brought on by the pandemic.
Marketing Technology News:MarTech Interview with Maggie Lower, Chief Marketing Officer at Hootsuite


text:
Birds are flying off decorating store shelves for Christmas treesBy NANCY BEAN FOSTER
Union Leader Correspondent November 26. 2012 6:33PM
While there's always room for glitter and glitz at Christmastime, said Betsy Deasy, owner of Woodman's Florist in Milford, the trend this year is back to nature, and birds - especially owls - are the stars of the show.
"Owls are very popular this year," said Deasy. "Everyone wants them."
At Woodman's, small snowy owls peer out from trees and wreaths, their big eyes creating a focal point and giving a little life to the decor. Feathers, eggs, even little nests and bird houses are combined with treasures that could be found in the back yard: pine cones, berries and dried flowers.
Nature has taken over at the Grenon Trading Co. in Bedford as well, and owls and birds are everywhere. Moss, twigs, bark, birdhouses and natural fabrics are blended to create soothing, fuss-free vignettes, illuminated only with some white fairy lights and a little dusting of glitter.
"I think people want to go back to nature this year," said designer Mary O'Connell. "It's time for something simple."
Birch, burlap and birds are the big sellers, said owner Joanne Grenon. There are even little birds and owls made of burlap.
"We can't keep burlap ribbon in the shop," she said. "People are buying it faster than we can get it in."
And Grenon said she's sold 800 tiny glass bird ornaments already this season, and people are plucking them right off the trees.
Ice is another big favorite this year and glistening white trees dancing with delicate glass icicles and platinum ornaments create a winter wonderland.
Platinum is the new silver, said Grenon, and copper is the new gold.
"We're not seeing much gold at all this year, but copper is huge, especially with younger people," she said.
But it seems no matter what the color scheme, owls and birds are finding their way into every tree and wreath. On the top of a massive tree at the front of Grenon's store, a pair of large brown owls gaze down on the shoppers as they come and go.
"Those owls are just flying out of here," said Grenon. "As soon as they come in, they're gone."


text:
by ANN M. COLFORD & r & & r & & lt;span class= "dropcap " & I & lt;/span & n the ever-volatile restaurant business, the only thing certain is change. Anthony Anton, president of the Washington Restaurant Association (and WSU alum), says many of the challenges facing restaurants stem from economic issues, but they're not the ones you might expect.
"In Washington, unemployment is less than 5 percent," says Anton. "The national rate is right around 5 percent. Anytime you get under that number, you're basically at full employment."
That translates into fewer available workers to fill positions. "That's especially true in the back of the house," Anton says. "It's a risk to find candidates to be prep cooks, entry-level cooks or dishwashers."
Complicating the labor crunch is the continually growing demand for restaurant meals. Even with low unemployment, people are working more hours than ever and families are finding their time crunched. That translates into more meals eaten at restaurants than ever before.
"With low unemployment and everybody wanting to be our customers, we've got to be able to serve them," says Anton. "That's going to be a trick for the restaurants, when you don't have the crew to fulfill the demand."
Because dining out is becoming more of an everyday thing, restaurants are adapting to accommodate whole families rather than just couples or adults-only parties. Anton says restaurants have become places where parents and kids can really pay attention to each other. "The TV is off, the phone is off, and Mom and Dad aren't busy cooking," he says. "So for quality time with the kids, restaurants are the place to go. And that means restaurants really have the opportunity to cater to kids."
Look for establishments to expand their kid-friendly offerings, from more varied menus to kids' cups to providing crayons and table games, he says.
"Most of our restaurants are still working on that niche," he says. "Something simple you see is the flooring -- we've seen this huge boom in acid-washed floors. There goes the slushy on the floor, and it's no big deal. It's easy for the staff to clean up, and parents don't have to feel bad that their kids made a mess. I think you'll see more things that look nice but allow more of a family atmosphere."
& lt;span class= "dropcap " & O & lt;/span & f course, the economy isn't the only factor affecting restaurants -- thanks to the Food Network and the explosion of information available at people's fingertips, diners are becoming more educated and more savvy. The National Restaurant Association recently surveyed more than 1,000 member chefs of the American Culinary Federation to compile a list of the hottest food trends for 2008, and all of the top trends have already found their way into the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene dining market.
Given the publicity about our epidemic of obesity and the resulting demand for more healthy dining options, it's not surprising that small plates -- for both the main course and dessert -- and local or organic produce topped the survey as the hottest trends in dining. Small plates allow frequent diners to have variety without waste, while local and organic produce is good for the individual, the community and the planet.
At Brix in Coeur d'Alene, Chef Adam Hegsted sees these top trends in action every day. "Especially on our tasting menu, we do a lot of small, bite-size things, similar to small plates," he says. "It's a good way to try something you might not ordinarily eat."
Like a lot of people in the food business, Hegsted likes sampling a variety of small dishes when he goes out. "It's the same concept as when you go out for sushi," he says. "You get to try a lot of different things, yet it's not real expensive."
Even when the menu doesn't specifically feature small plates, customers often order several items to share across the table. "We see that especially with our pizzas and salads," he says. "They'll get a bunch of appetizers and share everything together."
Hegsted is so keen on the concept that he plans to open a new small-plates restaurant in the Caf & eacute; Doma space on Sherman Ave., he says.
As customers become more educated about where their food comes from, more of them are requesting food from local sources, he says, but chefs have been quick to embrace local food as well.
"People look for [local food] and look to see it on the menu, but that trend is chef-driven, too, because chefs look to source the best products, and [local and organic] products are a lot more fresh," he says. "The organic stuff tastes better. It's more cared for, because it's a lot harder to produce. There's a lot more love that goes into it, and you can taste that. You get a chicken that tastes like a chicken."
Hegsted visits farmers markets in the summer and uses those visits to spark his own creativity.
"Going to the farmers market is a big thing for me," he says. "I really enjoy bringing in those products, seeing what we can do with them, and then letting the customers know about the farmers, and telling them where the food is grown."
By developing relationships with local producers, Hegsted becomes a conduit linking farmers and diners, spreading the web of food relationships.
"It's inspiring when you go to the farmers market and talk to the farmers and see how hard they work for their money," he says. "And part of the fun is finding that perfect product. If you do that, it's worth the time."
The new one is smart and funny and action-packed, and it’s bigger and better and sleeker. And Downey does it again, this time ramping up Stark’s arrogant wisecracking, telling anyone who’ll listen (mostly women) that, via the creation of his powerful Iron Man suit, he’s brought years of uninterrupted peace to the world.


text:
U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson have signed onto legislation to support removing industrial hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act. This will allow farmers to maximize their ability to grow and process this versatile plant. They join Representatives Glenn Grothman, Ron Kind, Mark Pocan, Gwen Moore and Mike Gallagher in listing industrial hemp as a crop.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) introduced the bipartisan Hemp Farming Act of 2018 on April 12 and announced he will attach the bill’s language to the 2018 Farm Bill.
“Wisconsin has a long history with industrial hemp and it’s heartening to see our congressional delegation publicly support its reintroduction as a crop,” said Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Jim Holte. “With so much interest in Wisconsin’s hemp pilot program, we are poised to once again became a national leader in hemp production once these federal barriers are removed.”
Co-sponsored by 27 Senators, McConnell’s Hemp Farming Act will accomplish four main goals:
- Remove industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act
- Allow states for set up their own system to best regulate hemp
- Allow researchers to apply for USDA grants to study hemp and its applications
- Make industrial hemp eligible for federal crop insurance
“In our nation’s and state’s Capitol, Farm Bureau has been a tremendous leader in pushing for the legalization of industrial hemp,” said Wisconsin Hemp Alliance’s General Counsel Larry Konopacki. “We need McConnell’s bill to remove crippling obstacles hemp growers and processors face in lending, financial transactions, crop insurance coverage and limitless possibilities for research. The WHA will be working very closely with Farm Bureau and our congressional delegation to make sure our members and the state’s farmers can maximize opportunities and profitability in hemp’s existing and emerging markets.”
The Wisconsin Hemp Alliance is a newly-formed state association bringing together growers, processors, retailers and consumers to further engage in the advocacy, education and promotion of hemp and hemp products.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization. Made up of 61 county Farm Bureaus, it represents agriculturists and farms of every size, commodity and management style.


text:
Dhe gas prices for private households rose by an average of 17.7 percent in the first half of 2022. Consumers paid an average of 8.04 cents per kilowatt hour for natural gas, as the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced on Monday. Electricity cost an average of 33.5 cents per kilowatt hour, 1.9 percent more than in the second half of 2021.
The rise in electricity prices for private households was therefore small, despite the sharp rise in energy and distribution costs. “The reduction in the EEG surcharge in particular had a price-dampening effect,” the Federal Office explained. The tax burden on electricity prices fell by an average of 15.4 percent.
In contrast, “non-households”, i.e. primarily companies and authorities, had to pay an average of 19.3 percent more for electricity. Large consumers were more affected than smaller consumers. For example, companies with large electricity consumption previously paid less EEG surcharge and therefore did not benefit as much from the reduction.
In the case of gas, too, the price increase for private consumers was significantly lower than for companies and authorities because they usually have shorter contract periods. On average, non-household customers paid 38.9 percent more for gas than in the second half of 2021.


text:
Vivo Enters European Market
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo officially entered European market. The company introduced a broad device line-up in six markets, including a 5G-enabled phone.
Vivo announced its entry in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK, as part of its “more local, more global” international business strategy. It marked the European launch of its X51 5G handset. It will go on sale in the UK first on 29 October, with pricing from £749.
Chinese vendor also introduced midrange Y series, the Y70, Y20s and Y11s, all powered by Snapdragon chipsets. Y70 and Y20s will be available from 29 October from £279 and £149 respectively, with the Y11 due later. Wireless Sport and vivo True Wireless Earphones will be available from 29 October at £69 and £129 respectively.


text:
Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE:AVYA) has announced Dino Di Palma has joined the company as President, Strategic Partners & Global Accounts, the company said.
In this newly created role, Di Palma will lead the strategy and execution of Avaya´s go-to-market in this important growth segment with system integrators (SIs), strategic partners and technology solution providers worldwide.
Prior to joining Avaya, Di Palma was chief revenue officer at Broadsoft, the company´s global sales operations. He has also held leadership positions overseeing global sales and business development, customer service and support, and manufacturing operations at Benu Networks and Acme Packet, prior to its acquisition by Oracle.
Avaya is a global provider of digital communications software, services and devices for businesses of all sizes. For more information, visit www.avaya.com


text:
As Spawn #300 draws ever closer, Image Comics still has a few teasers in store. More specifically, the Portland-based publisher has unveiled sneak peek at the vivid interior art readers can expect from the history-making landmark issue, with pencils by Greg Capullo and inks by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane.
In a post to its official Twitter account, the Portland-based publisher provided uncolored, unlettered versions of pages 7, 8 and 10 from the upcoming 72-page epic.
A charred Al Simmons stands naked in a plainly decorated room before his eyes surge with necroplasm and his iconic costume returns. In just a few pages the reader has a strong sense of mood through the use of light and shadow that goes back to the very origins of the character. Spawn looms above, his eyes narrowed with a sinister concentration unique to his character design.
This release marks the latest in a long line of promotional art for Spawn #300, which upon publication will make everyone's favorite demonic superhero the longest-running independent comic book series in North American history. The occasion has not only brought artists like Capullo and McFarlane back to the book for the first time in years but also writers like Scott Snyder of Batman fame. Collectors can find a wide variety of variant covers for the seminal issue.
Spawn #300 was previously slated to go on sale Aug. 28. According to Image's website, however, the issue's release has been pushed back one week to Sept. 4.


text:
Powercast Corporation announced that its radio-frequency (RF)-based long-range over-the-air wireless power technology has received three new certifications from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) - totaling seven since 2007 - adding retail applications to the company's existing FCC approvals for deployments in consumer, commercial and industrial environments. Powercast's technology works in the far field to charge multiple devices over the air, without range limitations from the FCC, and without wires, charging mats or direct line of sight needed. For more information see the IDTechEx report on Battery Elimination in Electronics and Electrical Engineering 2018-2028.
Two of Powercast's three new certifications clear updated versions of its FCC-Part-15-approved PowerSpot® and Powercaster® far-field transmitters, now under FCC Part 18, to provide wireless power over distance in on-shelf retail applications. Examples include wirelessly illuminated product packaging, interactive end cap displays, and electronic paper displays (EPD) such as electronic shelf-edge labels.
The Part-18-approved transmitters can provide continuous power to many devices, such as Powercast's Batteryless RFID Retail Price Tag with an E Ink screen, launched in 2018 at RFID Journal LIVE. Retailers can place a Powercast wireless power transmitter on a shelf to power electronic marketing features like illumination, sound, or color changes that are designed into packaging or displays to showcase products on a shelf. Retailers can also use these transmitters to charge or directly power any enabled consumer devices that they place on the shelf for sale, such as smart watches, headphones, or computer peripherals, ensuring customers go home with their new devices fully charged and ready to use.
These updated, Part-18-approved transmitters (FCC IDs: YESTX91513 and YESTX91511B) use, respectively, Powercast's existing PowerSpot and Powercaster three-watt (EIRP) hardware platforms with modified firmware. They are therefore available immediately from Powercast, and in the coming weeks from distributors Mouser, Digikey, and Arrow Electronics (TX91513 for $99, TX91511B for $280).
Powercast worked with the FCC to gain these additional Part 18 approvals as part of its partnership with PPG (www.ppg.com ). The companies are jointly developing ultra-thin and wirelessly powered printed electronics products that provide indefinite illumination and other electronic marketing features without wires, batteries, charging ports or contact with a power source. Information and visuals: https://www.powercastco.com/PPGTeslinDemo/
The third new FCC approval is a re-certification under Part 15 of Powercast's original Powercaster transmitter (FCC ID: YES TX91501B), which has been redesigned with updated components to enable large-scale manufacturing.
Powercast's history totaling four Part 18 and three Part 15 FCC approvals:
Powercast was the very first to receive FCC approval for long-range RF wireless power transmission, in 2007 under Part 18, for a wirelessly lit Christmas tree sold through retailer Frontgate. A Part-18-approved development kit followed in 2008. Powercast's first Powercaster RF transmitter, compact in size for affordability, gained Part 15 approval in 2010 for industrial and commercial applications, and has since been powering IoT and industrial sensors, waterproof designs, military devices and other devices that would otherwise be limited by wires or battery maintenance. Powercast then developed its even smaller PowerSpot RF transmitter to power consumer electronics devices, gaining Part 15 approval in 2017.
"We are proud to announce our fifth, sixth, and seventh long-range wireless power FCC approvals," said Charles Greene, Ph.D., chief operating and technical officer of Powercast. "From our first Part 18 far-field approval in 2007, we have worked with our customers to provide deployable solutions that meet their real-world requirements."
Greene continued, "We've enjoyed working with the FCC over the years to bring tangible RF wireless power to various applications, and now to on-shelf retail applications. We have a great relationship with the FCC because of our no-nonsense approach to deploying effective RF wireless power solutions. The FCC has never restricted the distance over which our technology can operate, differentiating it from other wireless power-over-distance technologies. Powercast plans to maintain our approach as we continue to lead the deployments of RF wireless power."
About Powercast's remote wireless charging technology:
Creating a coverage area similar to Wi-Fi, Powercast's RF wireless power transmitters automatically power enabled products that come within range for smart, carefree wireless charging. Charging range and rate depend on a device's power consumption; power-hungry products charge best at close range, while the transmitters can power low-power devices such as sensors up to 80 feet (24 meters). The transmitters use the 915-MHz ISM band to send RF energy over the air to Powercast's tiny Powerharvester® receiver chip embedded in products, which converts it to usable direct current (DC) to either directly power batteryless devices, or recharge devices' batteries. The robust technology complies with the FCC's current one-watt power limit for Part 15 deployments, but has power capabilities well beyond that to evolve as FCC standards evolve.
Powercast, established in 2003 with the vision of enabling untethered devices powered over the air, continues to create the most efficient, safe and highest power harvesting technology achievable while complying with the FCC and other global standards. Powercast's IP portfolio includes 50 patents worldwide (25 in the US) and 29 patents pending. www.powercastco.com .
Source: Powercast Corporation


text:
Zara will open a new flagship store at Trinity Leeds – upsizing and relocating into the centre from its current location on Briggate.
The new 46,000 sq ft store will take over Trinity Leeds’ former Topshop unit, and will include Zara’s Woman, Man, and Kids collections over three floors.
The new store is expected to open in 2024 and will showcase the latest technological innovations from Zara’s integrated online and physical store platform to give customers a seamless shopping experience.
The move is part of an optimisation plan from Zara’s parent group Inditex, which encompasses bigger, better and more beautiful stores in the best retail destinations globally.
Steven Foster, Centre Director at Trinity Leeds, said: “We’ve been working hard on securing a top retailer for the impressive unit that Topshop previously occupied, and we’re so pleased that Zara has seized the opportunity to create an exciting new shopping experience for guests within this incredible space at Trinity Leeds.
“This big signing is proof that prime retail locations like Trinity Leeds, which sits in the heart of the city centre, continue to be in demand, and we can’t wait for people to see what Zara has planned.”
Zara follows a number of brands including Levi, Space NK and Nespresso which have relocated into Trinity Leeds from elsewhere in the city for a more prime retail location.
For more information about Trinity Leeds, visit www.trinityleeds.com.


text:
The high-purity aluminum oxide manufacturer Altech Chemicals, which is listed on the ASX, has received a commitment of 7.38 million EUR (approx. 12 million AUD) for the potential development of a high-purity aluminum oxide (“HPA”) from the Saxon state government in Germany. Plant in the eastern German state. This comes after the Perth-based company recently signed an option agreement to purchase around 10 hectares of commercial space in the Schwarze Pump industrial park in the Saxon municipality of Spreetal.
Altech representatives visited the site in August. This marked the beginning of a due diligence phase, which will be incorporated into a feasibility study on the profitability of the construction and operation of an HPA plant in the region.
In a letter of commitment to Altech, the Saxon government stated that synergy effects from an Altech plant were expected against the background of the presence of electric vehicle and battery manufacturers in the region.
Essentially, the grant means that an amount of AUD 12.2 million would be available if we found that building a second HPA facility in Germany is economically viable.
Altech … remains focused on finalizing and resuming funding for our first HPA facility in Johor, Malaysia. By evaluating this opportunity in Germany, we are responding quickly to Europe’s urge to bring its supply chains closer to home and to increase its independence for critical raw materials – such as those used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
The company has developed close relationships with Germany and has a German connection to the executive board and share register.
In addition, the company has a close relationship with Germany’s massive SMS engineering group and state-owned KfW IPEX-Bank, which is the senior lender for Altech’s proposed $ 280 million HPA plant in Johor Bahru, Malaysia Has provided a $ 190 million credit facility.
Altech has also selected Macquarie Bank as the preferred mezzanine lender for a credit facility of up to $ 90 million for the Malaysian project.
Altech has raised just under A $ 40 million over the past 24 months to fund the first and second phases of Johor Bahru’s development, both of which were completed by the end of fiscal year 2019-20.
The company hopes to have the proposed Johor Bahru processing facility operational by around 2023 and deliver the first product to customers.
The plant has a planned design throughput capacity of 4,500 tons of HPA per year.
HPA is a high-quality, high-margin product that is a key component in the manufacture of synthetic sapphire and, increasingly, in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
Synthetic sapphire is used to make LED lights, semiconductor wafers for the electronics industry, and scratch-resistant sapphire glass for wristwatches, optical windows and smartphone components.
Lithium-ion battery manufacturers use HPA to coat the polymer anode / cathode separator sheets in batteries.
Is your ASX listed company doing something interesting? Contact: [email protected]


text:
In another boost for alternative securities trading systems, online retailer Overstock.com has won regulatory approval to issue company shares on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Overstock’s tø platform has been working on bringing equity trades and settlement to the blockchain since it was first announced in April 2015. According to Wired, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved an amended Form S-3 that would allow the company to issue public securities through the platform.
“In traditional equity trades today, the markets operate on a trade date plus three days (T+3) settlement mechanism in which the exchange of payment and securities can take up to three days to settle,” Bitcoin Magazine said. “With the blockchain, it can be instantaneous and occur at the same time as the trade.”
Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne told Wired that issuing stock on the blockchain is “high on our list of priorities for 2016,” adding that the technology “can do for the capital market what the Internet has done for consumers.”
In July, Overstock.com sold the first “cryptobond” on the blockchain. FNY Managed Accounts agreed to buy the $5 million bond, with assurances in place in case the technology failed.
“TØ is now just one of several efforts to reinvent the financial markets via the blockchain,” Wired said. Nasdaq OMX, the company behind the Nasdaq stock exchange, is building a system that uses the blockchain to oversee trades in private companies, but Nasdaq says it could also apply similar technology to the public stock markets.
Overstock.com’s technology “can not only ensure that there’s security in the transaction, but it provides a full record of ownership for things like corporate bonds and stocks,” said Jeffrey Steiner, counsel with the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. “It can increase transparency, reduce costs, and remove the middleman — in this case remove a [traditional] exchange or a broker.”
In January 2014, Overstock.com became one of the earliest large companies to accept bitcoin as payment for its products, considered a major milestone toward mainstream acceptance of the cryptocurrency.


text:
Reports of the demise of search engine optimization (SEO) have been greatly exaggerated, according to Chris Boggs, writing at Search Engine Watch.
Boggs writes that, despite the rise of cookie-based personalization, it still takes a certain amount of luck to create a wildly successful search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. The best, says Boggs, occupy a less-traveled SEO niche, with few sites or marketers working to increase their profile in a given area. Personalized SEO is important, according to Boggs, but organic search is still fertile ground.
The central component, however, to a successful search engine optimization (SEO) campaign, is the depth of consumer knowledge that the SEO practitioner uses in its design. Optimized content, says Boggs, is that which is carefully aimed at the specific interests of a targeted public, rather than simple word matches.
Personalized search – using the tracking cookies that are nearly universal to websites since the early part of the decade – is still on the rise, enabling the collection of extensive behavioral data on potential web consumers, despite widespread privacy concerns.


text:
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) released its final amendments to Article 6, Clear and Reasonable Warnings, of the California Code of Regulations – the Proposition 65 warnings regulation – following a multiple-year long regulatory reform process. The Proposition 65 reform regulation will be effective on August 30, 2018.
The new Proposition 65 regulation provides methods of transmission and content warnings deemed to be compliant. The new regulation retains the “safe harbor” concept by providing businesses the opportunity to use warning language that OEHHA has approved. OEHHA provides new safe harbor warnings for general consumer products and passenger vehicles. One major change in the Proposition 65 warning requirements is that businesses must now provide the name of at least one of the chemicals for which they are providing the warning.
Under Proposition 65, companies that do business in California are “required to provide a clear and reasonable warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing anyone to a listed chemical.” Businesses that do not provide the requisite warning may be subject to lawsuits and face stiff penalties.
For more information, please contact Laurie Holmes.


text:
Serie A newcomers SPAL are celebrating their 110th birthday this week and will wear a special anniversary shirt against Verona going back to its 1950s iteration. The Emilia-Romagna based club are making the occasion of the 110th anniversary of their foundation and also the last time they were in the top flight.
SPAL and kit sponsors Macron unveiled a new special edition jersey that is similar to that worn in the 1950s. Only 700 will be sold, at a cost of €110, with commemorative box, folder and postcards. See more at SpalFerrara.it


text:
With the cost-of-living crisis, South Lanarkshire Council’s winter clothing campaign, organised by the social work staff, was especially important this year.
The aim was to allow warm-hearted residents to donate some much-needed items to help others through the coming winter months.
With that in mind everyone who had some items they could spare was asked to hand them in to council office collection points from November 21 to December 19.
To assist with a variety of projects, the variety of items was expanded to include:
Pre-loved winter jackets for the annual winter clothing campaign.
Pre-loved bedding for the Rag Rug project (only duvet covers and sheets that could be cut up into rags) – finished products donated to SSPCA and Pathfinder Dogs charity.
Odds and ends of wool for knitting group – with seasonal products donated to various charities.
Councillor Margaret Walker, social work resources chairwoman, said: “Given the cost-of-living crisis and so many people struggling to cope with the cold weather, this campaign set out to help those in need as much as possible.
“I was delighted to see the huge response from local residents who always step up when it comes to helping those less fortunate than themselves. Their generosity will go some way to making this winter more bearable for so many people.”
Residents came up trumps with a staggering 550 items having been handed in which will now be sorted, cleaned and made ready for distribution to those most in need.
Soumen Sengupta, South Lanarkshire director of health and social care, said: “I was inspired by the commitment of staff across our services who worked very hard to respond to the overwhelming generosity of the people of South Lanarkshire.
“Now that the donations are all in our unpaid work team will make sure the clothing is laundered, sorted and redistributed to the people who need them the most.
“A big thank you goes out to our teams and the public, who have shown once again that the people of South Lanarkshire always step up when it comes to helping others.”