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Attractive Trades to Take Advantage of CoronaVirus and Grounded Airlines
Future of Wealth Head Trader Lance Ippalito joins Midas Letter to discuss how traders can capitalize on current market conditions pricing in the effects of airlines being suspended in China, FAANG stocks reaction to the Coronavirus and earnings results. Lance is looking at names like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) – both company’s with massive short sellers. Traders can take full advantage of big short squeezes as capital flows from China into these large US stocks. Watch the full interview to hear about other opportunities in today’s market to profit from these current market themes.
[stock_chart width=100% symbol=FB:US,AMZN:US,AAPL:US,NFLX:US,GOOG:US,TSLA:US]
James West: Lance Ippolito is back from The Future of Money. Lance, welcome back.
Lance Ippolito: Hey, James, how are you?
James West: Lance, what are the opportunities today in The Future of Money?
Lance Ippolito: We are seeing a complete 180 from Friday. You know, we’ve had, with the Coronavirus, we’ve had the markets sell off. The DOW was down 600 points on Friday, and then today, you had Shanghai open up limit down about 9 percent, but you actually had the China ADR stocks – like a Baidu, Alibaba, JD – these stocks are raging higher today. Tesla is up $101 now; that I’m speaking of over 15.5 percent.
You have Google earnings after the close…the money, the big institutional money, is pouring in today. Just a complete change, and I think these FAANG stocks – your Google, your Netflix, we saw it with Amazon Thursday night as they reported earnings, the stock was up 200 points – you’re seeing big rotation into tech, and I think it’s going to continue. There’s nothing, nothing really slowing down this market. Even the whole Coronavirus taking over.
James West: Sure. So in the context of a global marketplace, and a connected marketplace, is it safe to say that large institutional pools are selling China and buying US tech, FAANG stocks in particular?
Lance Ippolito: I think you’re spot-on, right there with you.
James West: Okay, so this is interesting, because if you look at, technically, the trading of the FAANG stocks tend to fall – like, the RRSIs have been through the roof, the Bollinger Bands have been…like, it’s trading outside of the B-Bands, where normally, in a traditional market, you would be expecting them to fall back into the pattern. And that’s just not happening, because we’re actually seeing exponential growth of cash into the US market at the expense of the Chinese market, fuelled by coronavirus.
But I mean, Europe is looking weak, China is looking weak, Asia by extension. And so it looks to me like there must be one hell of a long trade options side in the US market.
Lance Ippolito: Well, yeah. You’re completely spot-on, and what I’m looking at, actually right now, is, these stocks like a Tesla, like a Netflix, that have massive short sellers – you know, we have Chanos with Tesla, Green Light Capital, David Einhorn, just came out ahead of Netflix earnings short Netflix – and these stocks are causing massive short squeezes.
So I’m actually looking at Netflix now that we speak, just because I do feel like Tesla is a little overextended, and I know – you know, it can have a crazy high RSI, and it will continue to move higher, that RSI, but the stock keeps going up. I’m looking, actually, at Netflix. It was trading around 340 on earnings. The stock actually went lower, about 2, 2.5, 3 percent. Now it’s bringing around 356, and up 3.33 percent today.
I like, even going out of the money on options, looking at about 30 to 45 days out, and looking at some of these Netflix 380 call options. So again, they’re out the money, but they’re cheap, and you get a couple 3 percent up days, and Netflix is going to be right there.
James West: Right. So the guys who were short these stocks, I mean, those are some big names who can probably afford to be short for quite a while. But nobody can afford to be short longer than the market can afford to be irrational. What are they banking on, just a technical cover? Or are they actually looking at a fundamental weakness from the over-bought state driven by this explosive growth in capital flowing into those names?
Lance Ippolito: Well, the rationale on Tesla was, Solar City was a fraud; Tesla is running out of money; they’re in debt, and they’re not producing. That has completely changed. Every analyst on the Street has upgraded Tesla over the past 30 days, and the stock is soaring. It went from 300 to now, 755.
With Netflix, what’s actually insane about this name is, they’re burning through cash. The fundamentals, in my opinion, and from these large hedge fund managers, they’re not there. You know, they’re spending so much money on content, and subscribers, international subscribers, are actually going down. But, and this is huge, especially for Netflix, they continue to – even with bad earnings, even with bad fundamentals – they continue to move higher. And once these names get going, this massive short squeeze occurs, and it just really drives the prices higher.
You could call it, you know, with Netflix doing reverse splits, whatever you may, financial engineering, but they continue to move higher, and these shorts eventually have to throw in the towel. They have to cover, and when they do, that’s just another bullish sign for these big momentum stocks.
James West: Yeah, you bet. So is it safe to say that option side, this is the only game in town right now?
Lance Ippolito: No. Is it fun? Is it entertaining? You’re darn right it is. It’s a fun game. There is earnings approaching. When we saw Amazon report, we had Facebook actually report some pretty bad numbers, especially international. You do have opportunity in earnings; in fact, I was looking at Hartford Financial today. I know some big large tech names and retailers start to report earnings, like Capri Holdings, TPR, which was the old Coach, some of these luxury retailers. You have the cruise liners like Royal Caribbean reporting earnings.
There’s opportunities, because a lot of these names, especially with the situation in China, you know, the transports, the airliners, they’ve been all over with the whole coronavirus. There’s opportunities out there. Do I think they’re, you know, opportunities that are three to six months long? No. But there’s things in the options market that you can play that is short-dated, that is news, that actually offer favourable risk vs. reward if you want to be active.
James West: Sure. I noticed that, pertaining to the coronavirus stocks, as the new category has emerged to be called, Gilead came out with a statement suggesting that they were actively developing a vaccine and a treatment, and cautioned, though, that it may be up to a year, or at least 10 months, before this was ready for mass market deployment. That had a beneficial influence on the stock price of Gilead in the nearer term, but is that something where, you know, there’s longer-term opportunities in companies that are in the business of creating vaccines for situations like ebola and coronavirus?
Lance Ippolito: I think, and you brought up Gilead, which was a perfect example, I think a lot of these names, like Gilead, for example, had actually printed up to about 68.5 right at the open; now it’s about $2.00 off the highs. I think if you’re in these names, it’s sell the news. So you get that pop, you take your profits, and you move on. I don’t think it’s, you buy and hold them hoping they’re going to come, you know, with a cure that, you know, it could be months down the road. It’s just, if the money is there, why not take profits, put it in your pocket, and move on to the next opportunity?
James West: Sure. So, specifically any parting advice for trades that you think are particularly attractive at this point, Lance?
Lance Ippolito: I think you have the airliners that yes, with all the negative news and with all the stopping flights from China, I think if you actually want something that is cheap, that is beaten down, I actually think airliners and transports right around here, it’s not a bad thing to start bottom fishing, especially if you’re, let’s say, a buy and hold investor and you want to buy something that’s beat down. You’re having opportunities, and as a trader or as an investor, that’s all you can ask for.
James West: Sure. Now, when you say airline stocks, are you focusing on the US names only? Or, are you including, you know, things like British Airways, Qantas, etcetera?
Lance Ippolito: I tend to like the airline stocks that management and the fundamentals are there, and they’ve had a history of reporting greater than expected results. Specifically, like a UAL. They came out with good numbers; the stock is about $6 from the pre-earnings levels. And another name I like is Alaskan Airlines, ticker symbol ALK. Really good management there, and they kind of, they’re really the only airliner that goes in and out of Alaska, for the last time I checked.
So, two names there that I find very solid. Names like an AAL, I just, the fundamentals aren’t there, and they’ve just had too many problems, especially with the whole Boeing situation over the past few weeks, as well.
James West: Sure. All right, Lance, that’s a great update as usual. Appreciate your contribution. We’ll come back to you next week. Thanks for joining me.
Lance Ippolito: Thank you, James.


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The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) have announced that they are joined in a coalition that seeks U.S. country of origin labeling, or COOL, provisions that are in agreement with international trade agreements.
The coalition calls itself the Canadian Livestock Producers Against COOL (CLiP COOL), and insists that the mandatory COOL provision of the latest U.S. Farm Bill violates U.S. trade obligations as set forth in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Mandatory COOL, as it is currently written, has to be repealed or significantly revised to conform with NAFTA and the WTO.
Additionally, CLiP COOL says that the so-called “fix” that the U.S. Congress is presently considering still falls woefully short of complying with U.S. obligations.
In the United States, CSPI (the Center for Science in the Public Interest) has been calling for more regulations with regard to U.S. COOL labeling for some time. They claim that the relative absence of labeling on U.S. exports of beef and pork are disguises for producers, packers, and others in the agricultural industry who are not taking proper safety precautions and endangering the health of buyers.
Other commentators say they find U.S. food industry workers trying to place blame for anything that goes wrong with food shipping on “personal responsibility” instead of seeing themselves as responsible for taking all precautions to ensure food health safety.
The new labeling would include U.S. producers distinguishing between livestock born and raised in the U.S. and that which was raised and slaughtered in the U.S. but which had been born elsewhere, such as in Canada, and then shipped to the U.S. at a very young age to continue being raised for eventual slaughter.
However, U.S. critics of the newly proposed COOL standards, including the president of the American Meat Association, say that food from American farms is already quite safe by all national and international standards based on reports made by the Center for Disease Control. Implementing new labeling would cost producers, shippers, and others in the industry amounts of money totaling in the millions of dollars while not being necessary, they say.
CLiP COOL is calling for a trade barrier to be erected unless the United States complies.
“We have never been concerned that Canadian beef and Canadian pork could not compete. In fact we will market our meat products aggressively to ensure they can do well under this law. The problem is that access for live animals to U.S. slaughter facilities will be impaired if those facilities do not want to incur the burden of tracking which product satisfies which origin label. So even though Canadian meat might do well with U.S. consumers, Canadian livestock producers will face lower prices for their animals,” says Hugh Lynch-Staunton, president of the CCA.
Canadian Pork Council (MarketWire), “Canadian Livestock Producers Join Forces Against U.S. Country of Origin Labelling Provisions”

domain: news


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Stellantis plans to "explore alternative business models," such as subscriptions and car sharing, when it launches its all-electric Fiat 500e in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2024, Fiat CEO Olivier Francois told TechCrunch at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The exec did not rule out limiting the 500e's U.S. launch entirely to subscriptions come early 2024, saying: "Maybe you will never have a price. Maybe it will just be usership. Maybe there will be there will be a combination of both."
The executive added cryptically, "There will be a healthy dose of digital, that's for sure. We all collectively need to reinvent the business model."
The all-electric Fiat 500e launched in Europe in 2020 and is considered a massive success for Stellantis. Whether it will be embraced by U.S. buyers is unclear. The original 500e, which was essentially a retro'd version of an internal combustion version of the same model, didn't fare so well and was largely regarded as a compliance car in the U.S.
This time, Francois suggested it would be different. When the Fiat 500e comes to North America in early 2024 it will have an estimated range of more than 150 miles, the ability to charge the 85 kW battery up to 30 miles in five minutes and will come with an advanced driver assistance system that provides "Level 2+" features such as lane centering and adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, blind spot detection and 360-degree parking sensors. The Fiat 500e will also come with the UConnect 5 connected car system and a 10.25-inch touchscreen.
If there was a theme to Francois' comments around the North American rollout of the Fiat 500e, it was experimental. It seemed the brand is ready to try a variety of sales and launch tactics for the region.
Image Credits: Kirsten Korosec
Stellantis isn't the first automaker to suggest that subscriptions could remake the car business. At the tail end of 2018, Volvo went as far as to say "don't buy our cars" during an event for its Care By Volvo subscription. Though Volvo intended to make "having a car as easy as having a cell phone," the program turned out to be anything but for some subscribers, who said they encountered delays and mixups with dealerships. Today, Volvo's subscription site greets visitors with a note that "inventory is currently unavailable online."
For its part, Francois claimed Fiat's strategy had little to do with cranking U.S. sales, saying he was "capacity constrained" and instead focused on figuring out the "future of mobility with a car that's designed for the city."


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Amidst the boom and bustle of the SoHo district sits Brendan Babenzien’s Noah flagship store at the corner of Kenmare and Mulberry in New York City. Despite having only launched last year, the nascent menswear label continues to impress with sustainable pieces made up of traditional fabrics. The label’s brand new offering for the colder months tout contemporary looks that cull nautical aesthetics—including graphic tees, military shirts, heavy wool sweatshirts, varsity jackets, and an eclectic range of headwear. The 2016 fall/winter collection will be dropping incrementally over the next few weeks, so keep an eye on the brand’s site for more info.
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HYPEBEAST 100: The innovators from all realms of creativity in the spotlight.
With in-depth interviews, focused features and fashion-forward editorials, our print publication features long-form coverage of the topics valued by readers.
Explore and be inspired by the latest women's fashion news and trends.


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The Caribbean is one of the world’s greatest plastic polluters — of the 30 countries that produce the most plastic pollution per capita, 10 are from the Caribbean region. (source: http://greenmatters.com)
Reducing plastic waste can help improve a country’s environment and economy. Less plastic pollution can help reduce flooding from clogged waterways, lower the risk of mosquito-born diseases and food chain contamination. Unsightly litter also lessens.
The most important reason to ban single-use plastics and styrofoam is that ocean plastic is becoming more and more of a problem. It negatively impacts marine life, underwater ecosystems, the climate, and more — so reducing single-use plastic could make a significant difference on ocean pollution.
Single-use plastic ban
Many Caribbean islands already implemented a single-use plastic ban over the last several years.
As of April 1st this year, St. Eustatius, together with Bonaire and Saba, joins this important trend.
The main goal for implementing the ban is to reduce the amount of waste generated on the island and to create a cleaner environment for inhabitants and visitors. (source: https://www.thedailyherald.sx)
The public entity has agreed to adapt a phase-out approach to the products now used, which ends in two to six months, depending on the product. This gives businesses the chance to use up their existing stock of single-use plastic products. To facilitate the process, the public entity St. Eustatius will assist in finding alternative materials to those currently in use.
This ban is a great step towards a cleaner and greener, more attractive Statia. Just what our beautiful island, surrounding seas and wildlife deserve!


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In addition, the company has promoted VP of technology & product development Luis Caballero to the role of chief technology officer.
Caballero, previously technology director at Vitrue, has been working for BLiNQ since March 2010 and played an instrumental role in the development of the company’s proprietary Facebook advertising platform, BAM (an acronym that stands for BLiNQ Ad Manager).
So why buy Calculated Combustion?
Well, first of all, it’s not really an acquisition as you might imagined it to have gone down.
When Caballero started working for BLiNQ, he brought on his former Vitrue colleague Micah Wedemeyer to work with the company as well, on a contract basis, when the latter was still Calculated Combustion’s CTO.
Wedemeyer later recruited Calculated Combustion CEO and President Ryan Felton to further enhance the BLiNQ development effort, and by the end of April 2010 all three were working on BAM full-time. In essence, BLiNQ simply hired some Ruby on Rails talent.
Be that as it may, BLiNQ founder and CEO Dave Williams says the open-source Web application framework is important for the company because it enables its team to respond instantly to Facebook API changes, where it may delay other companies for “up to three months”.


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In 2017, senior executives at Amazon set a goal of securing incentives for real estate projects in addition to any money it got from government money for building its second headquarters. (The Wall Street Journal)
Talking point: Eleven Canadian cities submitted bids to host HQ2. None won, but Amazon has since increased its presence in many. It’s announced new distribution warehouses in cities including Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton; it’s also hiring 3,000 people in Vancouver. Amazon is interested in getting money from governments across Canada—at least when it comes to procurement dollars. As The Logic reported in August 2018, the firm started lobbying for billions in cloud services contracts after it shortlisted Toronto for its HQ2. Whether it received any real estate incentives, in Canada or elsewhere, is less clear. One source told The Wall Street Journal that the US$1-billion goal set for 2017 was abandoned for 2018 after the firm failed to meet it.


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One of the the ‘Big Four’ UK supermarket chains, Morrisons, has received an unsolicited bid approach valuing it at £5.5bn. But it has rejected the offer, despite it being above its closing share price as of Friday.
Few individuals had a more romantic life in the past half-century than Peter Beard, the photographer, playboy, artist and lover of Africa who inspired the latest menswear collection from Tod’s on Sunday.
Fendi’s invitation to its Spring/Summer 2022 collection, unveiled Saturday, classily telegraphed its designer’s message: a sophisticated ode to the Eternal City and its fashionable dolce far niente sense of style.
It’s being billed as a £10 million ‘trailblazer’. Sports Direct is reopening its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street following a major refurbishment with a “modern, innovative, and sleek new look".
Eyewear specialist Inspecs reported results for last year on Friday with plunging revenues and a net loss, although the company highlighted its “positive momentum in 2020 creating a strong platform for growth in 2021”.
Christian Dior unveiled a caryatid Cruise 2022 collection in Athens on Thursday evening, metaphysical mode by its creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, unveiled inside the city’s giant Panathenaic Stadium.


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Eurostat, the societal statistics office, reported Monday that China was the main trading partner of the European Union in 2020, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom.
In the last year, which witnessed the outbreak of the epidemic, exports of goods from the European Union to China increased by 2.2% and imports increased by 5.6% compared to 2019.
Specifically, EU exports to China in 2020 amounted to 202.5 billion euros, while imports amounted to 383.5 billion euros.
In contrast, imports (-13.2%) and exports (-8.2%) to the US decreased compared to 2019, according to data from the European Union’s Statistical Office.
Exactly, exports from the European Union to the United States in 2020 amounted to 353 thousand million euros, while imports amounted to 202 thousand million euros.
Trade with the United Kingdom, with which the European Union has a trade and cooperation agreement since January 1, has also declined dramatically in the past year.
Goods exports from the European Union to its former partner decreased 13.2% (277 billion euros) and imports decreased 13.9% (167.2 billion euros), compared to 2019.
Overall, the European Union’s trade with the rest of the world decreased by 9.4% in terms of exports and 11.6% in terms of imports compared to 2019).
However, Eurostat estimates indicate that EU trade began to recover during the second half of the year to the point that in December 2020, EU exports of goods to the rest of the world, as well as intra-EU trade, were higher compared to the same month of the previous year.
Thus, international trade in goods in the euro area with the rest of the world recorded a surplus of 29.2 billion euros in December, compared to a surplus of 22.6 billion in the same month in 2019, according to Eurostat.
“Future teen idol. Hardcore twitter trailblazer. Infuriatingly humble travel evangelist.”


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The Enchantment of the Seas was due to set sail on Friday from the Port of Miami for a weekend cruise to the Bahamas. But with Irma barrelling toward the region, company bosses canceled that voyage and decided to use the ship to evacuate employees and their relatives to safe waters.
“Enchantment of the Seas was scheduled to sail on Friday for a weekend cruise,” Royal Caribbean’s spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez told CNNMoney on Thursday. “That sailing was canceled. So we offered our employees and their family the option of evacuating on the ship.”
The 990-foot-long ship can carry just under 2,500 passengers. It’s currently unknown how many of its staff plan to take advantage of the evacuation offer. It’s also not known exactly when the ship will set sail, to where it will head or when it may possibly return to port.
Irma has also forced Royal Caribbean to cancel a Friday sailing to the Bahamas on the Majesty of the Seas and a Saturday cruise to Cuba on the Empress of the Seas, according to the company’s website.


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Airway Therapeutics, LLC
Please contact Sales at: (212) 520-2765 or email PharmaNewsSales@informa.com
Latest From Airway Therapeutics, LLC
China's top regulator grants approvals to a record number of novel drugs, including multiple oncology products from domestic companies, which are increasingly shifting to innovation, supported by positive regulatory changes over the past few years.
Following cyberattack, chief information officer Mukesh Rathi said Dr Reddy's was “anticipating all services to be up within 24 hours,” adding that “we do not foresee any major impact on our operations due to this incident.”
Recent venture capital rounds funded the start-ups Airway, Alladapt, ALX Oncology, Azafaros, CANbridge, NeoTx, Spruce and Transcenta.
The iconic sunscreen brand aims to capitalize on growing demand for mineral sunscreens – widely perceived as consumers’ safest option in sun defense – by positioning offerings that contain mixes of mineral and chemical UV filters as “mineral-based,” according to a suit filed in December in California federal court.


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Celcom Axiata Berhad made available the Apple iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in Malaysia– at the stroke of midnight today.
More than 200 customers started queuing at Celcom’s flagship Blue Cube at Sunway Pyramid since Wednesday morning, braving the afternoon heat and the sudden torrential rain later at night just to be the first to get their hands on Apple’s brand new smartphones from Celcom.
The first Celcom customers to get their hands on the Apple iPhone 5s were Mohd Abdullah bin Mohd Adam and his wife Agusliali bt. Nurmansyah(picture), who had waited in line since 8am that morning. The couple, who are five months pregnant, were overwhelmed when they received both their gold iPhone 5s phones for free as a special surprise from Celcom.
At the midnight launch, Zalman Aefendy Zainal Abidin, Chief Marketing Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, said, “We share our customers’ excitement as the first to have the iPhone 5s and 5c, bundled with excellent Celcom First voice and data plans that will allow them to take full advantage of our lightning fast, 4G-enabled network.”
“With Celcom, new iPhone 5s and 5c users can look forward to the fastest, widest and reliable network coverage, dynamic rates and exclusive services that fit their usage perfectly and the best customer experience to make the new phones their best digital lifestyle companion in Celcom’s Fastest Territory,” Zalman added.
The first 100 customers who stood in line were also rewarded with a chance to get further discounts of up to RM500 as well as chance to get an additional official iPhone 5s or 5c cover, self-repair screen protector worth RM150, or a mystery gift.
Celcom’s Apple iPhone 5s & 5c device and plan bundles offer total savings of up to RM1,931, monthly data volumes of up to 6.2GB, monthly rebates of up to RM1,220, monthly commitments from as low as RM98 per month, and final device prices from as low as RM418 (iPhone 5s) and RM88 (iPhone 5c) after savings and rebates on 12 or 24-month contracts.
The Apple iPhone 5s and 5c is now available from Blue Cubes, Celcom branches, Celcom Exclusive Partners, and authorised dealers nationwide.


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Since the advent of gaming systems with online digital services, Sony has been among the companies at the forefront of this development. They did launch their PlayStation Network digital service in time with the introduction of their PS3 console, and the online platform expanded with every succeeding version of the PlayStation, as well as derivatives like the PSP and Vita. Like their rival/contemporary Microsoft and their Xbox Live, Sony has a paid subscription service on PSN to avail of premium features, the PlayStation Plus tier. And recently the PS Network leaked a new perk for PlayStation Plus subscribers: streaming movies.
Forbes has it that Sony may have a value-added feature for their premium-tier PlayStation Plus service on the PSN, one that will remind PS4 and PS5 users that their console’s creator, Sony, is also an international media provider. This feature probably is not yet ready to be announced; all the same, word of the new “PlayStation Plus Video Pass” started going around after the official Sony PlayStation website for Poland briefly posted a page promoting the feature on Wednesday, April 21…then removed it. Keeping the thing secret seems difficult considering when this Video Pass is supposed to launch in Poland.
The page information described PlayStation Plus Video Pass as a limited-time new benefit for subscribers of that tier on PlayStation Network. Beginning on April 22 this year until the same day in 2022, this trial service will enable PS Plus subscribers to watch a selected library of films on digital streaming. The Polish PS page even showed banners of sample movies that can be seen on Video Pass, all of them productions of Sony Pictures: 2018’s “Venom,” 2019’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” and last year’s “Bloodshot.” It seems safe to say that Sony Pictures and its studios will be providing the content for Video Pass in the year of its implementation.
Sony’s idea of a Video Pass for their PlayStation Plus subscription service looks to be their idea to counter Xbox Game Pass, the so-called “Netflix for Videogames” that Microsoft launched for multiple platforms: not just their Xbox One and new Xbox Series X/S, but also Microsoft Windows 10 and XCloud on Android. Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan mentioned such a move on PlayStation Plus last 2020, so perhaps this is the plan, close to launch. Perhaps more information will be shared by Sony Interactive soon, now that the internet is in the know too.
Image courtesy of Game Rant


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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Sunday, 30.04.2017, 04:27
Estonian Agriculture ministry wants a label on meat content on sausages
The ministry wants to create a label that could be used on different types of sausages if they contain at least 60% of meat and no mechanically recovered meat.
Using the label would be voluntary for entrepreneurs.
The initial idea about creating a classification for sausage products was proposed to the ministry by Tallinn Technical University food institute researchers who noted that the differences in meat content in different sausages in Estonia are very big and these cause confusion for consumers.


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Legal Metrology Dept. has booked 146 cases against several jewellery shop owners
The Legal Metrology Department has booked a case against Joy Alukkas store at Punjagutta on Monday for charging 22 carat rate for an 18 carat ornament sold to a customer.
Controller of Legal Metrology R.P. Thakur said during Akshaya Thritiya, the department had booked 146 cases against several jewellery shop owners across the State, including the one against Joy Alukkas. These cases were booked for selling gold ornaments without deducting the stone weight from the gold weight, not using one mg accuracy electronic weighing machine and few other violations. Among 146 cases, 19 cases were booked against jewellery shop owners in Karimnagar, 12 in the capital, 10 in Warangal and rest in other districts. He urged customers to lodge complaints against the shop owners for short weighing in gold jewellery, for not weighing gold on the one mg electronic weighing machine and not mentioning the purity of the gold in the bill. In case of any complaints, officials urged customers to call helpline: 1860-425-3333 or SMS to 94901-65619


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Wetherspoon launches into takeaway hot drinks market with tea and coffee for 99p across its 950 pubs
- 99p takeaway tea and coffee up for sale across chain's pubs from today
- In-store tea and coffee prices across chain vary, but are around £1.60
- Wetherspoons' chairman speaks out against 'undemocratic' EU
Wetherspoons pubs are moving into takeaway teas and coffees from today with hot drinks will available for 99p at the chain.
In a bid to compete with the likes of McDonalds and Greggs - and even smart coffee chains like Starbucks and Costa - the popular low-priced pubs group is rolling out the scheme across all of its 950 branches.
JD Wetherspoon, whose chairman Tim Martin has spoken out staunchly in favour of a Brexit, already sells around 50million cups of coffee every year.
Takeaway: Wetherspoons is now selling takeaway tea and coffee for 99p across its 950 pubs
Mr Hutson said: 'Our coffee is extremely popular with customers. We sell around a million cups a week in our pubs across the UK, and believe customers will welcome the opportunity to enjoy a takeaway cup too, at 99p.'
For those needing a caffine fix, the coffee will be from Italian Lavazz beans, while tea drinkers will be offered up Tetley's finest.
With 950 pubs spread across the country, prices of tea and coffee drunk within Wetherspoon's pubs, rather than takeaway vary.
But, as an average, punters with more time to spare can enjoy a cup of tea or filtered coffee at one of the chain's branches for around £1.60.
In the past year, Britons spent £7.9billion in coffee shops, with sales across the sector 10 per cent higher than a year earlier, the Project Cafe 2016 UK report from Allegra World Coffee Portal said.
Costa, Starbucks and Caffè Nero, which together control more than half of the branded coffee market, led the sector's 15 per cent growth to £3.3billion in annual turnover, the Allegra Group said.
Thirst quenching: Wetherspoons, whose chairman Tim Martin has spoken out staunchly in favour of a Brexit, already sells around 50million cups of coffee every year
The country's biggest coffee chains, including Starbucks and Costa, are increasingly finding themselves up against 'non-specialist' sellers like McDonalds and Greggs, who are tailoring to a market wanting low-cost, but high quality hot drinks in a relaxed environment.
Jeffrey Young, boss of the Allegra Group, said: 'Britain is becoming a nation of coffee connoisseurs . Coffee is becoming like wine – people want to learn how to taste it, where it's from, how its made.'
Get your fix: For those needing a caffine fix, the coffee will be from Italian Lavazz beans, while tea drinkers will be offered up Tetley's finest
One topic an increasing number of Britons may be engaging in over a cup of tea or coffee in the next few week's is the European referendum on 23 June.
Wetherspoon's chairman, Tim Martin, has come out in favour of a Brexit. He said: 'One point which has not been challenged by the IMF, the OECD, the Treasury, Goldman Sachs or any of the other organisations which favour "Remain" is that democracy, prosperity and freedom are inextricably linked.
'The EU is fundamentally undemocratic, and that contention has not been challenged.'
He added: 'Continuing to give away power to the unelected elite in Brussels is a dangerous and unpredictable path.'
Pro-Brexit: Tim Martin, chairman of Wetherspoons, has come out in support of a Brexit
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The East Germany state of Thuringia has said its citizens can make their own choices with regards to the lockdown becoming the first place in Europe to end any formal rules. This does not follow Chancellor Angela Merkel’s advice of not moving too fast as the states compete to get their economies back going. Chancellor Merkel has made it clear the country is still “fragile” and “not out of the woods” with regards to COVID-19. Thuringia will lift its ban on mass gatherings, the compulsory wearing of facemarks in shops and a requirement for people to stay 1.5 metres apart.
The restrictions will be officially lifted on June 6.
Germany has been less affected by COVID-19 than many other European countries and began lifting its lockdown on April 20.
The rate of infection has been declining in the country, with only 431 new infections over the past 24 hours this weekend…
View original post 249 more words


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Obela, part of the global international dips and spreads joint venture held in equal shares by Pepsico and Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS), will start selling hummus products in Germany. This follows the acquisition of Florentine, a Netherlands based company, in June this year and the establishment of a dedicated production line for Obela at the Florentine premises.
Entry into the Western European market is an important milestone for Strauss. Its Sabra brand (also part of the joint venture with Pepsico), under which it produces dips and spreads for the US and Canada, has become the biggest hummus producer in the world. Strauss hopes that through Obela, which currently produces for Mexico and Australia, it will take a significant market share in Europe, where consumption of hummus is high.
According to IRI, Sabra's market share in money terms of the chilled foods category in the US was 23.8% in the second quarter of 2017. Its share of the hummus market was 57.4%. Its sales totaled NIS 1.33 billion in 2016.
Obela, founded in 2011, has a 38% share of the hummus market in Australia and a 70% share in Mexico. Its sales totaled NIS 31 million in the second quarter of 2017, up 58.3% in comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2016. More than 30 million households around the world currently use Obela and Sabra products.
Shali Shalit, CEO of Sabra, which is responsible for the international operations under the Obela brand name, said, “We are excited to continue our global journey and translate our love for hummus as a tasty, healthy and connecting product, into additional countries. Our experience coupled with our uncompromising use of the highest quality raw materials and production processes, have turned Sabra and Obela’s hummus products into global leaders and the Dips and Spreads JV of Pepsico and Strauss to the most meaningful global company in the space."
Strauss Group CEO Gadi Lesin said, “The launch of Obela in Western Europe is a significant milestone for Strauss Group, as part of the group’s global journey overall and the Dips and Spreads business specifically. Over the past decade Sabra has become the largest producer of hummus in the world and the unique partnership with Pepsico creates real value to millions of consumers globally. We are confident that even in countries already familiar with hummus, Obela’s products will gain traction with local consumers and will thus enable us to continue with our global expansion.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 14, 2017
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017


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Our favorite Gossip Girls and boys gathered in NYC today to score some swag at the Sex and the City by HBO shop and Lucky Club before their big upfronts event tonight. I'm sure they were swarmed with questions about last night's episode that beyond showing off the usual gadget, enviable fashion and beauty fun, involved a whole lot of plot crammed into an hour of television. Lori Loughlin was getting into the swing of things too celebrating yet another return to TV on the 90210 spinoff. Plus, sounds like Donna Martin may be joining Kelly Taylor back in those halls.
To see more including Judah Friedlander, Ryan Eggold and others just
Images Include: Ed Westwick, Lori Loughlin, Mark Indelicato, Michelle Trachtenberg, Connor Paolo, Jessica Szohr, AnnaLynne McCord, Judah Friedlander, Ryan Eggold


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Associated Foods to shutter three Fresh Markets
Salt Lake City A report released Thursday said that Associated Foods Stores will close three of its Fresh Market stores in October. According to a report by Supermarket News, the three Utah stores — two in Salt Lake City and one in Provo — were among the group of 34 Albertsons that the member-owned cooperative purchased last November from Minneapolis-based Supervalu.
The closures are slated for Oct. 29.
Besides the 34 Fresh Markets, Associated operates 22 other corporate stores under banners that include Macey’s, Dan’s, Lin’s and Dick’s Markets.
CBL partners with Horizon Group Properties to develop Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties said it has formed a joint venture with Norton Shores, Mich.-based Horizon Group Properties to develop The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City in Oklahoma City.
Once complete, the 350,000-sq.-ft. project will be the only outlet center in the state of Oklahoma and the only outlet center within a 145-mile radius.
The Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City is currently under construction with the grand opening scheduled for late summer 2011. CBL and Horizon are co-developing the project with Horizon responsible for leasing and management.
The project is currently over 80% leased with offerings including Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Banana Republic, J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Coach, Guess and more.
CBL has received a $48.9 million construction loan commitment from U.S. Bank for the project. The loan will have an initial term of three years, with two, one-year extension options.
PREIT, American Express team to launch gift-card program at malls
Philadelphia Mall owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) said Thursday that it has introduced a new American Express mall gift card that will be redeemable nationwide.
“The new PREIT Mall American Express Gift Card is redeemable in all of our malls, as well as most retail and restaurant locations nationwide, which offers greater flexibility for our shoppers and corporate clients’ gift-giving needs,” said Judy Trias, PREIT VP retail marketing.
PREIT Mall American Express Gift Cards will be available for purchase at 39 PREIT owned and managed malls.


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Garena always comes first in the list of introducing very new and epic things in Free Fire to make it more delightful and exciting. The latest Free Fire Battle in Style event is up in the game with an addition of new web events and rewards. The best aspect of this event is the calendar for July 2022 which lets players explore the subsequent updates patch rewards and more. The Battle in Style event has been live in the game since July 11 and will continue till the arrival of the new Free Fire OB update i.e on July 20, 2022.
Free Fire Battle in Style event calendar for July 2022
Players can now visit the entire event by clicking on the Events section and gathering fantastic free goodies. Here, we’ve included the complete details of the event calendar.
1. Player Report Web event
Users here have to find out their in-game stats and share them on any social platform to get free rewards. Event Duration: 11th July to 20th July.
2. Daily Mission and Token Exchange event
Players here have to complete daily missions to earn tokens that they can redeem to get grand prizes like craft land, hair skin, and more. Event Duration- 11th to 19th July.
3. Level Up CR ranks
Players have to enhance their CR ranks to become eligible to win grand prizes. Event Duration- 15th to 19th July.
4. New Updates Login rewards
Players have to update and login into the game only on the 20th of July to win a Diamond Royale Voucher, Weapon royale voucher, Universal fragment, and Pet food rewards.
According to the calendar, gamers will receive more thrilling goodies with the new patch, such as car skins, emotes, pet skins, and more. The developers have also added a new PP- Bizon SMGs in the game. Many advancements are also planned for the OB35, including new modes, characters, and especially a new UI system with a brand new lobby layout.
What are your thoughts about the details of the Free Fire Battle in Style event calendar for July 2022? Let us know in the comments below


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WOMEN may love trying out faddy diets – but many soon put the weight back on again.
New research shows that over 70pc of women who have tried a fad diet are unsuccessful at maintaining weight loss.
Half of women aged between 24 and 44 in Ireland have tried a fad diet and while most have achieved results, the majority were unsuccessful in maintaining the weight loss, according to research published by Kellogg's.
While the majority of participants (70pc) believe they were successful in losing weight on a fad diet, less than a third (29pc) of participants managed to maintain any weight loss and 76pc of those surveyed are now seeking a long-term solution to weight loss.
The study also targeted dieticians from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetics Institute (INDI) and found that the majority (95pc) of those surveyed agreed that individuals who follow fad diets are not successful at maintaining their weight loss on a long-term basis and run the risk of vitamin and mineral deficiency.
Richelle Flanagan, president of the INDI said: "We see fad diets come and go but none can replace the advice of a balanced diet for optimal health and well-being. Fad diets tend to focus on cutting out major food groups or very low calorie diets that are often imbalanced and lacking in key nutrients."
Nearly 20pc tried fad diets because they heard of so many celebrities successfully doing it.
Over three-quarters (78pc) of consumers understood that fad diets cannot be part of a healthy lifestyle.
When dieticians were asked the same question 94pc believed that they cannot be followed as part of a healthy lifestyle and 96pc believe that fad diets can have significant health risks to those who follow them including vitamin and mineral deficiency (91pc), long-term weight gain (65pc) and impaired kidney function (49pc).
Meanwhile, separate research unveiled yesterday found that 90pc of women aged between 18 and 30 fear gaining weight.
The U Magazine body image survey revealed that none of the 253 respondents were completely satisfied with their body with 57pc admitting they began dieting at or before the age of 18.
A total of 67pc confessed to being unhappy when they look in the mirror while a massive 90pc are conscious of their body shape.
Some 32pc of respondents admitted size 8 is ideal and a further 39pc said size 10 is their perfect size.
Celebrity and the media are playing a part in women's body confidence issues.


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Just the Peaks
This newsletter at a glance
If short-term rentals are your thing, follow the latest travel trends
2020 was a tough year for short-term rental investors. Widespread lockdowns and travel restrictions had families cancelling their vacations and staying home for what seemed like an eternity. But once pandemic worries faded, people packed their bags, grabbed their stimulus checks, and returned to the travel scene with a vengeance.
In some lucky locations, landlords went from vacant to booked seemingly overnight. After being locked up for so long, travelers were finally ready to let loose during the 2020-2021 winter season. The boom brought in much-needed funds for owners, but we also noticed some interesting inquiries and a slew of unique requests coming from renters.
A new way to getaway
With coronavirus fears still a factor, sightseers skipped the airlines and sought vacation locations closer to home. Working remotely also gave folks more time to spend.
“Interest in rural and more remote properties jumped,” says Aly Yale of Million Acres. “Travelers looked for places to isolate and socially distance rather than party it up or hit cultural hotspots. Stays [also] got longer.”
In years past, owners could bank on their properties being booked at the end of December, early January, and during spring break in March and April. Now, they will have to pivot significantly since seasonality isn’t as predictable as pre-pandemic.
Greater work flexibility is allowing families to travel outside of peak season. We’re also seeing lots of interest in single-family homes over hotels, and local charm over exotic faraway destinations. People are paying big bucks, but they’re playing it safe.
So, what’s the best way to ensure your short-term rental property is profitable during the 2021-2022 winter season? Consider these five current travel trends, courtesy of Everest.
1. Anytime bookings
A recent Airbnb survey revealed that 25% of vacationers are looking to travel during off-peak seasons. This means beachfront abodes are booking well into winter, while snowy destinations are attracting families into late spring and summer.
Families are also choosing weekday getaways as opposed to weekends. Renters should keep remote work and learning in mind when determining availability. Don’t write off Tuesday and Wednesday bookings, as they may be some of your most lucrative.
2. Extended stays
Time and money aren’t a problem anymore.
An AirDNA report shows that travelers continue to book stays well beyond the typical week-long limit: “It seems that longer-term stays weren’t just a flash in the pan. Not only have stays of eight-plus days not returned to pre-pandemic levels; they’ve been steadily rising since the summer.”
When prepping your Airbnb or VRBO rental for winter, be sure to let your lodgers linger. Expand your stay limits to accommodate families’ demand for time. According to AirDNA, “Hosts relying on short, pricy weekend stays will likely need to adjust.”
3. Larger lodgings
Over the past year, families have continued to embrace ‘pod travel’ in which multiple households pull funds and vacation together in isolation. What started out as a quarantine trend has now become a much-desired rental: spacious single-family homes.
“Hosts who managed bigger, single-family units made out best,” says Yale. “[AirDNA] projects these properties to outperform other segments again this year, so if you’re thinking about a new investment, keep this in mind when choosing your property.”
4. Neighboring locales
The closer to home, the better. The majority of Americans are still keeping their plans domestic, as Airbnb reports over 50% of today’s renters choose to stay local. This includes 20% who want to travel but refuse to go anywhere outside of driving distance.
If your rental is located in a small city, tiny town, the mountains, or country, you’ve got great prospects for winter 2021-2022. Be sure to market your property with emphasis on its local charm and rural safety. And don’t forget to enhance your listing by featuring local shopping, events, attractions, and outdoor activities.
5. Purposeful plans
This season’s greatest travel trend is a newfound focus on family. Airbnb reports that 20% of American travelers “rented a vacation home for 28 days or more since the pandemic began. Another 24% say they plan to take more long-term stays in the future.”
Clearly, people aren’t looking for crowded landmarks or hotel lobbies. Instead, they’re hunkering down with the ones they love. As an investor, you can take advantage by offering discounts for longer stays. Consider allowing children and pets to occupy your space. And with solid Wi-Fi and other amenities, families can’t help but move in.


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Brick-Force begins closed beta
Brick-Force, a unique new shooter published by Infernum, has begun closed beta testing.
Closed beta will continue to invite players through several waves as the testing continues, and registration is still being accepted at www.brick-force.com. The new website offers an official home for the game, and will feature tutorials, media, community features, and a forum. The game is currently playable in six languages on the PC; browser-based versions and a sandbox mode for smartphones and tablets will be available later in the game’s testing phases.
Brick Force Gameplay Screenshot
Successful Launch of Brick-Force Closed Beta
Closed beta phase and launch of new website for cross-platform online game
BERLIN, Germany – February 29, 2012 – Yesterday evening, Brick-Force‘s closed beta phase was unleashed. The first selected players are blasting and building their way through Brick-Force already, and more will be released onto the servers during several waves. Those who wish to access the Brick-Force universe to “Build, Share and Play” can still register over at the brand-new official www.brick-force.com.
Just in time for yesterday’s beta launch, the Brick-Force website was placed online. Visitors can expect a range of tutorials, media, community functions and features that will be expanded upon. A community forum will also be implemented very soon.
In the current test phase Brick-Force is playable on PC in six languages, and the browser based version will be within the next weeks. Furthermore, sandbox mode will be playable on smartphones and tablets, thanks to the Unity 3 Engine. The open beta phase and official release will follow later this spring.
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The government is looking at linking the refund of goods and services tax (GST) to "risky and new" exporters with remittance of foreign exchange apart from accessing bank transaction details as part of an exercise to plug revenue leakage. The issues were discussed at a meeting of top tax officers with revenue secretary AB Pandey on Tuesday.
This sub-group will examine and recommend the business process, policy and legal aspects for generation of e-invoice.
The GST Council has taken a number of measures, such as the introduction of electronic way (e-way) bills, to clamp down on tax evasion.
The proposal to convert GSTN into 100 per cent government-owned company was earlier approved by the all-powerful GST Council.
Blockchain technology has a huge potential to iron out glitches and improve efficiency in India’s mammoth GST Network.
Exporters flagged concerns related to refunds, exemption of GST, classification of Goods and services and place of supply for service exports and GST Network at the meeting.
The Finance Ministry is examining various issues including overhaul of procurement procedures and the salary structure of employees as part of the proposal to convert GST Network (GSTN) into a government company.
Currently, private financial institutions are the majority owners in GSTN with 51 per cent stake, while the centre and states together hold 49 per cent.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has sanctioned Rs 4,000 crore worth refunds to exporters in 4 months since October.
Starting February 1, the e-way bill will be mandatory for every inter-state movement of goods beyond 10 km with a value of Rs 50,000 and above.
The GST Network that powers India’s biggest reform since independence received a lot of unnecessary flak for a rocky GST transition. It is one of the most open, versatile and scalable systems built anywhere in the world.
The meeting assumes importance as there has been Rs 12,000 crore revenue decline in GST in October over the preceding month.
A new functionality has been introduced on the GST portal for ease of the taxpayers under which questions will be posed as soon as the taxpayer enters the Returns dashboard and only relevant tiles will be displayed to the taxpayers based on the answers to the questions posed.
Pandey said the return filing on the portal has been increasing by 5 lakh every month on an incremental basis and expressed hope that the new leadership at Infosys would carry the momentum forward.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had last month started refunds for exporters of goods who have paid IGST and have claimed refund based on shipping bill by filling up Table 6A.
"The number of taxpayers filing their GSTR-3B returns is showing marked improvement month after month with about 43.67 lakh of them filing their GSTR-3B returns for October till November 20, 2017, the highest so far," GSTN said in a statement.
The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), which went live on November 8 last year, has over the year improvised the system to help lakhs of businesses to pay taxes and file returns under the new GST regime every month.
“It has been a disappointing experience,” said one of the officials, adding that the software provider is now expected to improve service delivery.
The immediate priorities for the GST Council would include stabilising the GSTN, issue clarifications on anti-profiteering provisions and other contentious issues, ensure functioning of the advance ruling authority and address procedural challenges
In June, the finance ministry had already deferred the TCS once when the government announced switching to the new GST regime.
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NEXT Biometrics CEO on mainstream adoption of fingerprint technology
Tore Etholm-Idsøe, CEO of NEXT Biometrics and fingerprint sensor expert, recently appeared on National Public Radio’s (NPR) syndicated talk show “Here & Now” to discuss the growing use of fingerprint technology in daily life, including in smart cards, PCs, tablets, access control for homes and businesses, smart phones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
“Here & Now” is produced by NPR’s Boston affiliate WBUR and hosted by Jeremy Hobson. The show is broadcast weekdays by more than 500 NPR stations in every state, city and region of America.
The NEXT Biometrics CEO told Hobsen, “We target markets for our advanced fingerprint sensors in the mass market one-to-one context, for which you need to be able to process fingerprint identification and authentication in typically less than one second.”
Etholm-Idsøe said, “Think of it, every day we authenticate ourselves tens of times or more, even up to hundreds of times in different contexts, as we increasingly use fingerprint technology to enter smart phones or tablets or even our homes and more.” He added, “Rather than having to type in a password, fingerprint technology will be used in a lot of different contexts such as access control for homes and businesses, for small devices that are entering the market now at an increased pace, as well as in keyfobs and many more applications.
“The fingerprint sensor market was slow until 2013 when Apple put a fingerprint sensor on its iPhone and that changed the dynamic of the market considerably. Now you have fingerprint sensors in almost all smartphones.”
Etholm-Idsøe also told NPR that the company has focused its resources on quality dependent market segments that require high levels of security and convenience coupled with the ability to serve close to 100% of a given population. These markets include smart cards, NEXT-enabled markets, traditional markets, high-end smartphones and quality notebooks – markets that Etholm-Idsøe says NEXT technology is well suited for.
“Throughout 2015, NEXT and its partners realized several key smart card related development milestones regarding using NEXT fingerprint sensors for this important market,” said Etholm-Idsoe in the company’s 2015 financial results. “During this period and continuing into 2016 NEXT has focused large parts of the R&D resources to smart card activities, and NEXT sees significant opportunities within several of the major volume smart card market segments.”
NEXT also detailed in its 2016 outlook that the company will ramp up its smart card related plans and activities, increasing business based on its newly launched 1411-Series fingerprint sensors, and serving the notebook segment.
NEXT Biometrics is based on Oslo, Norway and is publicly traded on the Oslo Bors.
Click here to listen to the NPR interview.
biometric cards | biometrics | fingerprint authentication | fingerprint sensors | fingerprint technology | Next Biometrics | smartphones | Tore Etholm-Idsøe
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By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY
NEW YORK Top U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch (BUD) will launch its own Web entertainment network, Bud.TV, in February.
The seven-channel operation, costing an estimated $30 million to start, is an attempt to develop a new way to reach consumers ages 21 to 27, who increasingly favor customized content over mass media — and distilled spirits over beer.
The money is being redirected from the budget for cable and late-night TV ads and, along with what A-B spends on its sites and ads on other sites, will bring the Internet share of its $600 million annual ad budget to about 10% in 2007.
The themed channels will have two- to three-minute segments of original content. The sales pitch will be muted.
"This is meant to sell more beer, but consumers have to see it as entertainment, not a commercial-generated machine," says Tony Ponturo, head of global marketing.
Among channels on tap:
•Bud Tube. Consumer-generated video, including homemade ads for Bud or Bud Light.
•Reality. One show is a live version of The Dating Game show from the 1970s aired from bars and restaurants in 25 cities.
•Comedy. The channel will feature up-and-coming and wannabe stand-up comics.
•Happy Hour. Updates on news and unusual events, designed to give viewers something to chat about over a beer.
Channels for sports, Hollywood and TV round out the lineup.
Overseeing Bud.TV will be James Schumacker, recently named vice president digital marketing and branded entertainment. Two producers from A-B's longtime ad agency, DDB Chicago, will manage production.
"We certainly couldn't do it by ourselves," says Schumacker, who compared what viewers will see to "cable and late-night TV."


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Africa is not new to fiber-optic networks. According to some estimates, African nations have installed more than 1.389 million kilometers of terrestrial fiber lines, 936,000 ….
Author: Joel Nwankwo
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has advised that the country establish a formal schedule for the phase-out of 2G and 3G ….
More startups are beginning to explore for alternative funding sources, like crowdfunding and revenue-based finance, to help them expand. Because of the failure of many ….
Skrmiish, a South African-based mobile “play-to-earn” platform that enables gamers of all skill levels to profit from each match they take part in across the ….
The fintech startup Retail Capital, which finances South African Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs), has been purchased by South African digital bank TymeBank for an ….
Nigerians and users from other African countries have in recent times severally recounted their negative experience while trading with Binance. Reports suggests that they were ….
The SAB Foundation has issued a call for applications for its Tholoana Enterprise Programme, which is looking for growth-oriented business owners committed to reaching new ….
Angel and Venture Capital investors from South Africa and beyond can now choose from vetted prospects to make rapid, secure investments of R1000 (approximately $60) ….


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The rumors turned out to be true. Minecraft is about to become a Microsoft property.
Microsoft's massive list of IFA announcements shows it refuses to be counted out of the smartphone race. Meet the Lumias 830 and 735.
Microsoft's following in the footsteps of Dropbox and Google Drive by removing OneDrive's 2GB file size limit, albeit with little fanfare.
Prompted by numerous customer complaints, Microsoft says it is cracking down on Windows Store apps that attempt to deceive you into downloading them.
As promised, Microsoft will deliver its standalone Kinect sensor for the Xbox One, tossing in a free game to sweeten the deal.
Core i7 users should expect some extra heat, but shouldn't be getting temperature warnings.
After two years of losing money, Huawei is giving up on Microsoft's mobile operating system.
The temperature icon of death is just the latest headache for Surface owners.
Microsoft researchers develop a technology that can mask up to 250 milliseconds of network latency when playing cloud-based games.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Microsoft is in talks with Warner Bros. to revive its shuttered business for developing original video content.


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The ubiquitous warnings about online shopping risks are well founded. As numerous experts are reminding consumers and businesses, the high season for shopping is also the high season for cybercrime.
To paraphrase the song playing in the mall, "It's the mo-o-o-ost dangerous time of the year."
But IT crime is not limited to the cyber world. There are real-world risks as well, from sophisticated hardware that can steal your personal information just as effectively as any online scam.
That doesn't mean the major focus on cyber risks is misplaced they are more varied and abundant than real-world threats.
As CSO reported recently, millions of spoofed emails are already clogging in-boxes, purporting to be from online retailers or shipping notifications from FedEx, UPS and others. Cyber criminals are all over social media sites, trying to get you to click on links from your "friends," or to open up fake e-cards. Or, they're trying to scam you into purchasing fraudulent gift cards for unbelievably low prices.
There are also multiple risks from specialty mobile apps, which tend to collect much more information from devices than their users may know, including contact lists.
And the dangers from public Wi-Fi are, or ought to be, well known. They have spawned yet more revised versions of holiday jingles like, "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not use that public Wi-Fi..." Anyone who enters user names, passwords or credit card numbers while using such a service is asking for trouble.
But it is also important to be aware of physical risks, besides those from parking-lot thieves hoping you'll leave a bunch of parcels in your car and then return to the mall to do some more shopping.
These are more subtle. As is the case with most online theft, they are designed to steal your credit or bank card information without stealing your card. By the time you are aware of it, some or all of your money is gone or fraudulent purchases have been made on your cards.
One of the most popular is the so-called skimmer, which is used on point-of-sale (POS) credit card devices, ATMs and gas pumps. Security blogger Brian Krebs, who has written about them multiple times, had a recent post on one that he described elegantly simple "little more than a false panel which sits atop the PIN pad and above the area where customers swipe their cards," which could be installed and removed in seconds.
"The underside of the device includes a tiny battery and flash storage card that allows the fake PIN pad to capture the key presses, and record the data stored on the magnetic stripe of each swiped card," he wrote.
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Facebook is going all-in on the current live video trend. It is rolling out a new update to its Android and iOS apps that adds new ways to livestream video from the social network, along with additional ways to share and interact with those videos.
The update adds support for livestreaming within Facebook Groups and Facebook Events. The company states:
If people want to offer their opinions on the video as it is being streamed, they can do so with the new Live Reactions emoji:
Users can also pick from one of five video filters to change the look of the video, and Facebook says that a future update will allow users to draw and doodle directly on the stream. A new icon will be added to invite friends to join users to watch live video together, and a dedicated section of the app will be added to showcase trending live and non-live video streams.
All of these features will be rolled out "over the coming weeks" to the Facebook app, so they may not appear immediately.
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While exploring the narrow alleyways, or hutongs, of Beijing, it is easy to spot locals twirling a pair of walnuts across the palm of their hand while walking. They gently play with the walnuts, not for crushing them to eat the edible meat, but for training their hands and also polishing the outer shell by rubbing.
The hobby of rotating walnuts, and treating them almost like pieces of jewelry, has a long history that can date back to the Ming dynasty or even earlier. Wenwan walnuts have been collected by noblemen and aristocrats for more than 2,000 years. These walnuts were used for their medicinal qualities, but also offered as gifts or used to create nut-based sculptures. Today, quality walnuts are rare and pricy, yet, demand is still high, which has also led to the creation of a counterfeit market.
Wanwu Dezhi, an Hangzhou-based e-commerce platform that specializes in Wenwan products, or traditional Chinese goods such as walnut jewelry, jade pieces, wood carvings, and other collectibles, wants to provide users with certified goods while reducing the risk of encountering counterfeit products.
“As China’s economy continues to rise and Chinese residents are living a better life, the appreciation of cultural inheritance is reviving, which reflects a pride in Chinese people’s national identity,” Tang Jinshang, founder and CEO of Wanwu Dezhi, told KrASIA.
“However, the market for Wenwan products lacks transparency and standards,” he added. Tang, himself a Chinese handicraft enthusiast, hopes to leverage the format of livestreaming and standardize the authenticity verification to make shoppers feel comfortable when buying Wenwan goods.
Founded in 2018, Wanwu Dezhi went online in 2019 and has gained 42 million registered users so far, according to Tang. Its average monthly transaction volume has exceeded RMB 1 billion (USD 151.2 million) as of October, and Tang predicts to surpass the annual gross merchandise value (GMV) goal of RMB 10 billion by the end of 2020.
In November, Wanwu Dezhi raised USD 80 million in its recent Series C round, from investors including China Renaissance’s Huaxing New Economy Fund, Source Code Capital, GGV Capital, and United Media FOFs.
Creating a trusted Wenwan marketplace
Wanwu Dezhi’s app provides an e-commerce platform with a wide range of traditional Chinese goods including walnuts, jade, tea, Yixing clay teapots, calligraphy items, Chinese paintings, and porcelain. The company also organizes auctions and sales, as well as livestreaming sessions on the platform.
“To be a senior collector of Wenwan, previously, you had to pay for counterfeits,” Tang said, mentioning that people in the sector call this “tuition.” Wanwu Dezhi tries to solve this pain point for new collectors, Tang explained.
To ensure the authenticity of products, Wanwu Dezhi has set up several depots, with the main center near Hangzhou, where the company’s staff will conduct authenticity tests on the goods from sellers. If approved, the firm will then re-package the vetted goods and send them to customers with a certificate. If a user still finds a fake product, he can report it to Wanwu Dezhi’s customer service, and the firm will refund the full purchase price, Tang told KrASIA, adding that sellers promoting fake products could be temporarily removed from the platform.
In addition, shoppers and merchants can also request online verification on the app to get professionals to check their Wenwan items through livestreaming. Overall, Wanwu Dezhi has around 500 appraisers, Tang specified.
The company generates revenue by charging merchants an average of 3% to 5% of sales, while Wanwu Dezhi’s product verification service also contributes to the firm’s income, although Tang didn’t mention more details.
Wanwu Dezhi is also betting on livestreaming to boost sales. “Although e-shopping was popularized in China for a while, the Wenwan industry went online in 2018 when livestreaming e-commerce became a trend,” Tang said, adding that livestreaming offers viewers a more direct and interactive experience.
Physical store owners, who used to do their businesses in traditional Wenwan marketplaces, such as Beijing’s Panjiayuan flea market or professional clubhouses, can reach more users by listing their products online on the platform, he said.
On the back of Chinese traditional aesthetics
Most of the platform’s customers are people born in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, with men accounting for around 70% of total users, Tang told KrASIA. However, he explained that demand for Wenwan products is also growing among younger generations, as products like clothing and accessories incorporating unique Chinese cultural elements have become trendy.
“It’s a consequence of the nation’s financial growth and soft power,” said Tang, who positions Wanwu Dezhi as a marketplace for all cultural goods.
“However, to transform the old Wenwan market, aside from our efforts, producers and designers also need to be more innovative to meet younger consumers’ tastes,” Tang said.
Wanwu Dezhi is not the only player in the Wenwan e-commerce sector. Competitors include Tencent-backed collectible auction platform Weipaitang, ByteDance investee Tiantian Jianbao, and BAI-invested jewelry marketplace Zhizun Baowu. Top e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, instead, don’t focus on such a niche market, where goods are unique and therefore less salable in high volume than standard products like T-shirts or smartphones.
When asked about competitors, Tang highlighted his platform comprehensive verification system for sellers and the background of the firm’s team members in Wenwan and technology companies. Tang himself previously worked for JD.com and Alibaba, responsible for retail businesses.
The firm has set a sales target of between RMB 20 billion (USD 3.02 billion) and RMB 30 billion for the next year, two to three times this year’s figure. The fresh capital secured in Wanwu Dezhi’s recent Series C round will go towards platform upgrades as well as talent recruitment and training, Tang said, to reach the company’s ambitious goals.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “Inside China’s Startups” series, where the writers of KrASIA speak with founders of tech companies in the country.


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LeasePlan USA has released the results of its first USA EV Readiness Index, an analysis of the preparedness of all 50 states and the District of Columbia for an electric vehicle transition.
According to the company, data show that Nevada, Mississippi and Hawaii are the best prepared states for EVs. All three have a welcoming climate for EVs, with Nevada and Mississippi also providing a reasonable amount of public charging stations. Hawaii already has begun integrating EVs into its overall vehicle market.
The company says it ranks states on a weighted scale based on five unique factors, including favorable state legislation and incentives; EV penetration; charger-to-vehicle ratio; public charger availability; and climate suitability. And unlike other EV studies, LeasePlan USA assessed the balance of EVs and public chargers instead of evaluating cost of charging and cost parity between battery electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles.
“Although the states that rose to the top in this year’s index are surprising, it’s clear that individual states are making progress towards a greater adoption of electric vehicles,” says Matt Dyer, CEO of LeasePlan USA. “Public charging infrastructure and meaningful federal policies are critical to taking EV adoption from aspirational to attainable in the U.S.”
Key findings of the USA EV Readiness include the following:
No state ranked as fully EV ready: No states are ranked in the top bracket for readiness. States that ranked highest are better prepared than others, while in lower-ranked states, drivers might encounter more challenges.
Climate suitability is crucial to EV readiness: Cold environments are not yet ideal for EV operation due to the impact low temperatures have on driving range, charging speed and duration. On average, states that experience colder weather need to take additional measures in their EV transition efforts to secure a successful transition.
Public charging infrastructure lags: Developing a network of chargers will likely take years and make public-only charging solutions unfavorable in the near term.
To download the full report, click here.


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March 26th is MTS India Day and to mark this occasion MTS India has decided to offer their existing customers to browse the Internet on their MBlaze and MBrowse devices free of charges today. This means that you can connect to the Internet and use it as much as you want, without paying for any data transferred, for the whole day on the 26th of March 2011. The same applies if you have a limited data plan also. As per the offer, uses in India can browse the Internet for free of data charges starting from 0000 hrs till 2400 hours.
This offer has come in celebration of the MTS India day that marks the onset of MTS in India. MTS had celebrated this day last year in the same manner by offering lucrative offers.
MTS has made the mobile broadband market competitive and has done a great deal by decreasing the ridiculous pricing schemes on mobile broadband. This has brought it a slew of customers. We, the telecomGyaan team, wishes MTS a very Happy MTS India day.


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Canalys’ latest report puts Apple’s iPhone line at the top of the premium segment in Q1 1350. According to their estimates, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the best-selling flagship product, followed by the iPhone 002 Pro, iPhone 14 and iPhone 002.
31 % of all shipments between January and March 2023 is a high-end device over $17 MSRP, the highest in the past five years. This particular segment grew 4.7% year-over-year, far outstripping the overall smartphone market, which declined 05.3% year-over-year.
According to the data, the best-selling Android flagship in Q1 was the Samsung Galaxy S17 Ultra. The top 14 is dominated by Samsung and Apple devices, which is understandable given the much wider availability of their high-end devices.
For example, Google sells Pixel 7 series in 14 countries; Oppo keeps Find N2 in China, And Honor is still trying to catch up and was late when it launched the Magic5 Pro in April.
Canalys analyst Nicole Peng said earlier this week that it will take some time for suppliers to get back on track and record healthy growth in shipments. The forecast for 2024 is that demand will remain slow, but it is hoped that 2024 will resume growth.


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Rachael Ray has gotten by with a little help from her musical friends during the past 11 years at South By Southwest. And this year that’s particularly true.
The syndicated TV host’s annual Feedback day party at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, taking place on March 17, will be headlined by Dr. Pepper’s Jaded Hearts Club Band, the Beatles tribute side project from Muse frontman Matt Bellamy that also includes Jet’s Chris Cester, Last Shadow Puppets’ Miles Kane, the Zutons’ Sean Payne and others. The lineup also features Salt-N-Pepa, Girl Talk, Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, Albert Hammond Jr., Hinds, Erika Wennerstrom, Ron Gallo, Caroline Rose and Lucy Dacus, along with mainstays Bob Schneider and The Cringe, which is fronted by Ray’s husband John Cusimano.
“John and I are both Beatles-obsessed, so we’re so excited for (Dr. Pepper’s),” Ray, who recently appeared with Cusimano as guest DJs on SiriusXM’s Beatles channel, tells Billboard. “It’s such a fresh, hot, loud, cool take on it, and they’re such gentlemen. They just want to take the main stage and lift people up with how essential and quintessential the Beatles are for music.”
Dr. Pepper’s of course, received the endorsement of Paul McCartney when he joined the group for “Helter Skelter” at the launch of daughter Stella McCartney’s new clothing line during January in Los Angeles.
Feedback is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Ray will again feed the masses with a menu that includes “Refried” Beans hot dogs, Pimento Cheese Dogs, Lil Veg-Head Corn Dogs with Tamatillo Gazpacho Shooters and serious Three-Meat Sloppy Joes. Modelo Beer, King’s Hawaiian and Ray’s Nutrish pet foods are sponsoring partners.
The event, Ray says, “means everything to me. I hope people get my sincerity. I fell in love with Austin 20 years ago, and 11 years ago I tried to figure out a way to go and hang out there and become part of the community in some small way. The idea that we could marry music and food and a cocktail and create an event I would stand on line for…that’s what we always strive to do. It’s part of the fabric of my life now, and I just add a stitch every year.”
Previous Feedback parties have featured early career performances by Imagine Dragons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, the Strumbellas, Of Monsters and Men, JR JR and others, along with headline sets by Weezer, Train, Kenny Loggins, De La Soul, the New York Dolls, Blondie, She & Him, the late Scott Weiland, CeeLo Green, Wanda Jackson and more. Green Day side project Foxboro Hot Tubs played in Stubb’s tiny indoor room during 2015, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons has made several guest appearances with the Cringe. Attendance at the 2017 Feedback was estimated at 3,400 throughout the six hours.
Ray will also operate her invitation-only Feedback House from March 15-17, hosting performances by Naked Giants, the Teskey Brothers, Arlie, Jukebox The Ghost, Hayley Coupon with David Garza, the Cringe and more. And Ray will re-open the Moxie Shop pop-up shop she introduced last year, selling fashion and lifestyle items curated by Ray and stylists Gretta Monahan and Cara Apotheker in a vintage Airstream from March 14-18.
Information and updates will be available at www.rachaelray.com/feedback.


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City Council Gives Final Approval On Beer, Wine Sales At SCSU
ST. CLOUD - Husky fans can now enjoy a beer or a glass of wine at the men's hockey games this year. The St. Cloud City Council has approved an application to sell wine and 3.2 beer at all of the St. Cloud State University athletic facilities, and the adjacent properties. The application was applied for by Chartwells, which is the food and beverage provider for St. Cloud State University.
Councilwoman Carol Lewis says she's not happy with the plan to be able to allow alcohol sales at all athletic facilities. She says she thought the original plan was to just sell at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, and would prefer starting with just that one facility.
Councilman Jeff Johnson asked about policing the sales, and making sure there were no underage drinkers. He also says beer and wine sales now seem like a backward step, after the university cancelled Homecoming a few years ago.
Council President Jeff Goerger says he thinks it's a step in the right direction, and doesn't see it being an issue.
The approval of the liquor licenses passed on a 5-2 vote, with Lewis and Johnson voting "no".
Athletic Director Heather Weems says while the license allows them to sell beer and wine at all athletic facilities, and adjacent parking lots, their main focus this year will be at the men's hockey games.
An example of a special event where beer will be available would be at this Saturday's "Celebrate St. Cloud State" football game there will be a beer tent.
Weems says everyone who buys alcohol will have to wear a wristband, it will be sold at separate stands, it will not be allowed in the student section.
Weems says they expect to make some money off the sales, but increased ticket sales may be the biggest revenue generator.
The cost for a wine license is $500, and the cost for a 3.2 beer license is $300.
Earlier this year the Minnesota State Legislature approved a special law that would allow the city to issue liquor licenses to SCSU. The city council approved the special law at its August 8th meeting.
SCSU did a test of the plan during the men's hockey season last year, selling beer and wine at two home hockey games, under a temporarily license.


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Tobii, the company behind eye-tracking sensors in gaming laptops, desktops, and computer peripherals, wants to bring its tech to mobile. The Stockholm, Sweden-based company announced on Monday plans to raise $50 million to develop a version of its eye-tracking technology compact and power-efficient enough to fit in a smartphone, tablet, or virtual reality headset.
The new round of fundraising is subject to review by the company’s shareholders. If approved, Tobii intends to put it toward “substantial investments in technology and market development,” a market which it characterized is experiencing historic growth. “The interest for eye-tracking in various consumer application have developed at a substantially more rapid pace than we anticipated at the time,” Tobii CEO Henrik Eskilsson said during an address to investors. “At that point, we believed it would take a longer time for eye-tracking to become current for use in smartphones and VR headsets than what see see today.”
Specifically, the company said the cash infusion would give it more “financial flexibility” to carry out acquisitions. It revealed it has inked a deal with a major smartphone manufacturer that will integrate its eye-tracking technology into a future phone, though the company refused to divulge additional details.
Tobii’s eye-tracking system, currently in its sixth generation, relies on a custom-designed processor — or EyeChip, the company calls it — for dedicated processing. It crunches numbers generated by a proprietary EyeCore algorithm, which in turn draws data from an array of infrared illuminators that track a user’s head position, eye gaze, and movements. It is impressively capable — Tobii’s sensors work regardless of physical attributes like pupil size, makeup, or other factors that could inhibit eye-tracking like glasses and contact lenses. And it supports features beyond basic biometrics, like Microsoft’s Windows Hello login.
The tech is integrated into some of Acer’s high-end monitors, Dell’s Alienware-branded devices, and Micro-Star International’s
Tobii’s bent on expansion — the VR and augmented reality industry is expected to hit $150 billion by 2020, according to some projections. And it is chasing the coattails of its competitors. Google recently purchased Silicon Valley-based eye-tracking company Eyefluence, a firm specializing in eye-tracking technology for augmented reality glass and headsets. HTC, which manufacturers the Vive, announced a $10 billion VR venture capital alliance earlier in 2016. At an Oculus developer conference in October, Facebook pledged to inject an additional $250 million in VR content on top of the $250 million the company already invested.
“We are convinced that the time is right to expand our investments and that there is good potential to create value for our shareholders,” Eskilsson said. Judging by the broader industry, that sounds like a safe bet.
- HTC offers cheaper Vive Pro Eye bundles, expands eye-tracking in VR
- T-Mobile wants to give you a free smartphone when you add a line
- Google is bringing new ad formats to its products on mobile devices
- The Vive Pro Eye uses Tobii eye-tracking technology to make VR more lifelike
- Google awarded patent for using eye tracking to detect expressions in VR


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GENEVA — One of the world’s largest apparel unions has criticized proposed amendments to Cambodia’s labor laws aimed at extending the use of temporary work contracts as a setback for ethical sourcing and the promotion of core labor standards.
Neil Kearney, general secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, said pressure for the changes has been coming mainly from Hong Kong, Taiwanese and South Korean investors. He said the pressure on the government is being channeled through the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia.
Kearney said the amendment would enable employers to hire workers on indefinite short-term contracts and marks a departure from the current labor code that requires employees who have worked on temporary contracts for two years to be treated by employers as permanent. The union also highlights that contracts of less than one year allow employers to avoid core obligations to workers, including maternity and sick leave.
The global union has taken up the case with the government, urging it not to extend the use of short-term employment and is also lobbying major brands to oppose the move. Major brands that source in Cambodia include Spain’s Inditex Group, Gap Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Nike Inc. and H&M.
“We have written to all the key buyers from Cambodia asking them to insist that suppliers only use workers on full-time contracts,” said Kearney, whose Brussels-based group represents 220 affiliated organizations in 110 countries with a membership of 10 million workers.
In the last decade, he said, there has been a major effort to make Cambodia a center for ethical sourcing, but added this would be difficult to maintain if management is allowed to hire workers for short-term contracts. Kearney is concerned such a move would undermine good corporate codes of conduct that ban companies from using short-term contracts as a means of avoiding legal obligations such as freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Inditex and Gap are part of the ethical trading initiative, he said, adding that some companies have indicated to their suppliers they want them to continue to employ a permanent workforce. However, Kearney has also urged brands that are taking part in Cambodia’s Better Factories Program to publicly state their suppliers will refrain from short-term contract workers.
The program, which is overseen by the International Labor Organization, seeks to improve conditions in Cambodia’s apparel factories by monitoring plants to ensure they adhere to core international standards. Stakeholders in the ILO program includes international buyers, Cambodia’s Garment Manufacturers Association, unions and the government. The project is supported by funds from various sources, including from USAID and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Kearney said with short-term contracts “no worker would have any rights if they want to join a union. The company would just not renew their contract.”
In 2007, Cambodia’s apparel exports were valued at nearly $2.9 billion, representing 70.6 percent of its total merchandise exports, with the U.S. the principal destination with purchases worth $2.5 billion.
@chanel and @pharrell dropped what’s being dubbed as the world’s most exclusive sneakers yesterday. The Adidas Originals NMD Hu, which Williams designed in collaboration with Chanel and @adidasoriginals, has a waiting list of over 120K people who pre-registered online at chanelatcolette.fr –– and only 500 pairs are on sale. The singer predicted the resale value of the shoes could reach $40K. Read the full interview on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdfashion (📷: Dominique Maître)
@imanshumpert is diving deeper into his creative endeavors and relaunching his clothing line, Post 90s, and is helping to raise money for the hurricane victims in St. Maarten with a jersey he’s designed with his brother. The Cleveland Cavaliers player talked to WWD about kneeling during the national anthem, working with fashion brands and how he wants to be more than an @nba player. Read the interview on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)
Not only does #TheProfit return to CNBC tonight, but @marcuslemonis has launched @shopmarcus, a new shopping and lifestyle retail experience in Aspen and Chicago, with more locations to come. The retail stores offer in-store stylists and a variety of contemporary womenswear selections.
“It’s life, I’m going to face it,” @mingxi11 sighed. “I fell, but you know, I think the most important thing is that I get back up. I had the love, the help from my sister — the girl next to me Gizele [Oliveira] — she’s so nice. When I went backstage everybody was trying to comfort me like ‘Oh Ming, it’s OK.’ I’m really, really touched. I think it’s them who gave me the courage to go back on stage for the finale,” Xi told WWD of her fall at the @victoriassecret fashion show. (📷: David Fisher) #wwdfashion #vsfashionshow #victoriassecret
@louisvuitton tapped @therealpeterlindbergh for its latest city-centric photo book, which is part of a series called Fashion Eye. The primarily black and white book captures the spirit of Berlin in 57 images shot between 1989 and 2019. “Berlin is an inspiration for me, more than a city. I mean @millajovovich is simply Berlin!” said Lindbergh. #wwdfashion
“You know, I think audiences expect a certain performance so I have to deliver to them what they’re expecting to a certain degree. But I’m also a different actor and a different person, I have my own spin on the character,” says @noahegalvin of his takeover of the leading role in “Dear Evan Hansen” following the departure of @bensplatt, who originated the role. Read WWD’s interview with the 23-year-old actor on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
For pre-fall 2018, @etro created richly-colored wonderland, using tapestries, textiles and wallpapers from the Eastern world at large. The line featured floral and graphic prints and jacquard motifs, like this two-piece look featured here. #wwdfashion (📷: Giovanna Pavesi)
@kith is moving into children’s. The men’s and women’s streetwear brand has launched Kidset, a Kith kids line located in New York at 64 Bleecker Street. The line includes mini versions of staple Kith pieces like the Astor bomber jacket and the Kith box logo sweatshirts, along with a wall that can display up to 120 pairs of shoes from @adidas, @newbalance, @timberland and more. #wwdfashion
“I just wanted to create this fully rounded character, but I do think what excited me most was just the opportunity to give a group of people representation that I feel needs it. I like to do characters in projects that stand for something and Karolina definitely does, so that was really exciting to me,” @ginnygardner says of her new role in @hulu’s “The Runaways.” Gardner plays Karolina Dean, a queer superhero, which is a rarity for @marvel. Read more about Gardner’s character on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @dandoperalski)


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Code of Princess and Sayonara Umihara Kawase are just two games that Agatsuma Entertainment has developed for the 3DS, but the studio has revealed it doesn't plan on stopping there.
In a recent interview with Game Modo, producer Yasuo Nakajima said the company is aiming to develop more titles for the platform:
Yes, we are planning to release more and more titles with 3DS! Please don’t miss them!
Code of Princess was released way back in April of last year in Japan, and in North America in October. It reached Europe as a digital-only release, and you can read our honourable review of the title right here.


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All burger chains are judged by their fry-to-box quotient — if a carton is so full, you have to scrape loose fries from the bottom of the bag, that’s a win. Per this arithmetic, Mickey D’s has been generous in the past, but now the chain is having to push back against an allegation that some workers were trained to intentionally under-fill fry boxes. Replying to an AskReddit thread about things employers asked redditors “to hide from customers,” several users claiming to work (or have worked) for McDonald’s said their stores had a policy of quietly shortchanging customers on fries. They say employees were taught a trick where they’d pinch cartons at the base before adding fries. That obviously kept fewer fries from going in, but the redditors claim that from the top, boxes would look just as full.
User ExperiMENTALbunny explains the maneuver, which sounds like the French-fry equivalent of when you buy a bag of chips that’s essentially all air:
I worked at McDonald’s and they taught me how to pinch the fry carton just right while putting the fries into them so that it looked full, but actually wasn’t.
Another redditor says this was common practice at their store, too:
I fucking hated that practice and basically refused to do it. Never got fired, but managed to have a few customers ask me when my shifts were the next week so they could have me filling their fries.
The fries were dirt cheap too! Case held 6 bags, each bag made 8 or 12 baskets, and each basket made 4-5 large fries filled my way. They only cost 20$ a case, so if they just filled them like I would they would net 288$ with all conservative numbers(8,4,1.5$) and assuming they were all sold in meals. This is coming from management side because I was shipping manager so I had to know all this shit.
ExperiMENTALbunny says only one customer ever realized they were being swindled. “He shook the fries out into his bag and poured them back into the fry carton himself and it only filled up half way,” the user writes, adding: “So I had to give him more fries. I was impressed and embarrassed. It’s been 7 years and I can still see his face.”
It’s unclear where these two supposedly worked, but McDonald’s seems to be going the Reddit-truther route on their allegations, regardless. A statement released by the chain says, “We believe these claims to be fictional,” as “there are no ‘secret tricks’” at McDonald’s — it has “strict operational procedures in place to ensure that fry portions are not under-filled.” A rep adds, “Without a verified source, we are unable to investigate this further.” Sounds like Malcolm Gladwell has his next podcast topic.