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WISeKey Helping Governments Prepare for the Metaverse
Register to Attend our Davos 2022 Event: The Human Metaverse at https://www.wisekey.com/wisekey-webinar/
Geneva, Switzerland – April 8, 2022 – WISeKey International Holding Ltd (SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY), a Swiss based cyber security, IoT, AI platform company, today announced that it is helping Governments prepare for the Metaverse. Recent developments have forced governments around the world to take steps to quickly understand how Metaverse, this new frontier of innovation, is challenging the traditional conception of Sovereignty.
With data being stored virtually on the Metaverse anywhere in the world and government employees and citizens using information technology systems that are hosted and operated from anywhere (even outside of their jurisdiction), the expected sovereign rights over that date on the Metaverse needs to be reconsidered. Many information technology companies are telling governments that that their versions of the Metaverse will be enough to ensure sovereignty over their data and citizens. Others are stating that new legislation is needed to protect citizens. All in all, the solutions they propose are partial and unsatisfactory.
WISeKey, has been at the forefront of balancing technology, law, policy, and geopolitics from its headquarters in Switzerland for over 23 years. Over the years, WISeKey has developed solutions to the problems of State sovereignty and the challenges brought on by technology, including now the metaverse, that can be defined as a virtual world where citizens can exist simultaneously and interact in infinite ways with their government services and among themselves. Citizens can use their digital identities to conduct Metaverse-government transactions like, voting, pay their taxes, get married, while they also run private activities such as work, meet, collaborate, shop, stroll, watch movies and concerts, and do almost anything else they could do in the real world.
WISeKey has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Seychelles, represented by the Department of Information Communications Technology (DICT), to initiate a pilot project for the development of an innovative Digital Identity platform for Seychelles. The Digital Identity platform is expected to be integrated with different national initiatives especially the eGovernment and potentially eTourism and eHealth. Last year WISeKey also signed two MoUs with the Government of Gibraltar and the Mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, for the development of a joint 4th Industrial Revolution Center of Excellence (LLG 4IR Center of Excellence) spearheading innovation in the region with the objective to build a collaborative metaverse.
The metaverse is a great way for governments to interact with their citizens and the next step in the evolution of the internet from a two-dimensional interactive to a three-dimensional immersive experience. Governments should take the future opportunity represented by the metaverse seriously. The metaverse will present entirely new ways, for example, to create employment, impart education, deliver healthcare, and plan urban spaces. It will be the next major labor organizing platform. New organizations, products, and services will handle everything from payment processing to identity verification, hiring, ad delivery, content generation, and security. The Metaverse is based on Web 3.0, also known as the decentralized web, is an evolution of the Internet that allows users to interact with each other in a more secure and private way. It does this by using blockchain technology to create a peer-to-peer network where users can transact without relying on intermediaries. This makes it ideal for developing virtual worlds, as it provides a platform for users to interact without fear of censorship or data theft.
WISeKey is teaming with governments to facilitate services related to the complex regulatory issues that a metaverse would present and establishing MoUs allowing the governments to test the technology and participate in working groups on anticipatory regulation commissioning research on the regulation process that would become necessary and collaborate with the private sector to explore regulatory approaches for a metaverse.
The company is also providing the WISeID second generation Digital Identities in Metaverse that includes an identification module that its built into the protocol, while supplementary applications will be developed. Users will have autonomy over their identity meaning that they are in full control of their personal identification information and hence need not to rely on any central entity or third party for identity verification. With a truly NFT identity, users can create, sign, and verify claims, while parties who interact with a user will be able to prove their identity. Additionally, users will be able to selectively disclose their information.
Users can establish a reputation on Metaverse through digital identities, improving the way we exchange value. Value is exchanged through digital signatures, requests for verification and transactions; these transactions then allow a user to gradually build a reputation which can be inspected and verified by other digital identities and value intermediaries. You can download your ID from WISeID.com.
Register to attend our Davos 2022 event: The Human Metaverse at https://www.wisekey.com/wisekey-webinar/.
WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing shaping today’s Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.6 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens.
Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey’s Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (“RoT”) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.
Press and investor contacts:
WISeKey International Holding Ltd
Company Contact: Carlos Moreira
Chairman & CEO
Tel: +41 22 594 3000
WISeKey Investor Relations (US)
Contact: Lena Cati
The Equity Group Inc.
Tel: +1 212 836-9611
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance, or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.


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TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, April 29, 2022 /CNW/ — Neither the publication of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report into the governance of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), nor the the latest US arrests of Leading Andrew A. Fahie and other folks, ought to be conflated with the BVI fiscal companies sector, which is operationally impartial.
BVI Governor John Rankin confirmed again when announcing details of the COI report these days that this was “not an investigation into the BVI’s economic services sector” and presented his “ongoing aid for the work of the BVI’s Commercial Court docket, the Money Expert services Fee and other regulatory bodies that continue to operate as usual acting in accordance with worldwide regulatory standards and a robust English Frequent Regulation framework.”
The Governor went on to welcome the BVI’s “ongoing fantastic cooperation with law enforcement organizations in the monetary (products and services) industry and the techniques becoming taken with regard to the introduction of publicly available useful ownership registers.”
BVI Finance welcomes these remarks and the jurisdiction will proceed to supply its goods and services as a revered globe-course worldwide economical centre.
Watch original written content:https://www.prnewswire.com/information-releases/bvi-finance-reaction-to-the-coi-report-and-arrest-of-leading-301536631.html
Supply BVI Finance
Look at first information: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/29/c4993.html

domain: news


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PlayStation breach affects 77M customers
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- Carla Caldwell, Morning Call Editor
A U.S. Senator is questioning why it took Sony almost a week to tell customers that hackers had gotten into its Internet-based PlayStation Network and illegally accessed customers’ names, addresses, birth dates, purchase history and credit card information. A Sony official responded late Tuesday on Sony’s official PlayStation blog that while the company learned of the breach on April 19 and took the system down, it took working with forensic analysts until Tuesday afternoon to determine what the company was up against regarding exposure of customers’ personal information and credit card data, reports USA Today.
U.S.Sen.Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., questioned in a letter sent to Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton whether Sony promptly enough informed users of the PSN breach and risk to personal data. In the letter, Blumenthal wrote, "Although the breach occurred nearly a week ago, Sony has not notified customers of the intrusion, or provided information that is vital to allowing individuals to protect themselves from identity theft, such as informing users whether their personal or financial information may have been compromised. The letter is posted on the senator’s website.
The senator says Sony should provide the PlayStation Network’s 70 million subscribers with access to financial data security services and insurance to counter "the possible financial consequences of identity theft,” according to USA Today.
According to the newspaper, Sony senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold said the company did not know the scope of the breach’s impact until Monday.
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China accepts anti-dumping petition against U.S. DDGs exports
BEIJING - China has formally accepted a petition from Chinese producers of distillers' dried grains (DDGs) seeking anti-dumping duties on imports of the feed ingredient from the United States, according to a report by U.S. agricultural attaches i...
BEIJING - China has formally accepted a petition from Chinese producers of distillers' dried grains (DDGs) seeking anti-dumping duties on imports of the feed ingredient from the United States, according to a report by U.S. agricultural attaches in Beijing.
The producers are also seeking countervailing duties, also known as anti-subsidy duties, on the DDG imports, said the report. The U.S. embassy received notification of Beijing's acceptance of the petition on Dec. 15, it said.
Under Chinese law, the commerce ministry must make a decision on whether to start an investigation within 60 days of accepting a complaint, but it often makes decisions faster than that, the report said.
The United States is the world's top exporter and China is the top buyer of DDGs, a protein-rich byproduct of corn ethanol used as a substitute for corn and soymeal in animal feed. China relies on imports for almost all DDG needs, with most of the shipments coming from the United States.
Chinese imports of DDGs in the first 10 months of 2015 rose to 5.9 million tons, up 14.3 percent from the same period a year ago, as feed mills sought alternatives to expensive domestic corn.
Buyers have slowed their purchasing of imported DDGs recently, however, expecting Beijing to launch an anti-dumping investigation.
U.S. export prices for DDGs were up about $3 on Friday to $160-$165 per short ton, the highest in about a month, with a major exporter covering its short position, three DDG traders in the United States said.
Import restrictions were widely expected and to some extent already factored in to prices, the traders said. Vietnam, the No. 3 importer of U.S. DDGs after China and Mexico, has also stepped up buying, further underpinning the market, traders said.
China previously launched an anti-dumping investigation into DDG imports from the United States in late 2010, later extending the probe before dropping it in mid-2012.
The earlier investigation slowed China's imports of the feed ingredient but did not stop them entirely.
Chinese commerce ministry officials were not immediately available for comment, but the ministry has previously declined to respond to questions on the issue


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One web user armed with some wigs, a makeup palette and a photoshopping app has published yet another series of images showing just how deceiving photos posted to social media sites really can be. The pictures have gone viral on the Chinese web and may leave you thinking twice next time you’re chatting with a seemingly exquisite looking stranger online.
While it’s known that most people generally like to put their best face forward when it comes to presenting themselves online, the extent some people will go to for a perfect profile picture leaves for some pretty shocking before-and-after pictures.
This woman appears to be relying mainly on makeup and facial angles. She’s seen wearing fake lashes and circle lens contacts, a trend that has picked up across China, South Korea and Japan and is meant to make the irises look larger.
Smartphone users can also turn to beautifying apps to produce similar results. From enlarging the eyes to smoothing the jaw line, app users need only swipe their screen to see touch-up results that would take a photoshop pro several minutes to do. The MeituKiss cell launched by Chinese company Meitu Xiuxi was created for this very reason.
Phone app BeautyPlus caters specifically to Asian females, and allows users to enlarge their eyes, change their skin tones and remove blemishes, among a series of other altering features. As TechinAsia explains “It’s cosmetic surgery without going under the knife, and a slimming center without actual slimming.”
Here, she uses makeup and photo editing to change her skin color completely.
The epidemic has become so problematic that one Japanese company launched an app for phones that actually removes touch-ups from images and restores them to their original, unaltered form.
It probably doesn’t work for wigs, however.
by Luke Sun
[Images via Yuemei.com]


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Lyst and Business of Fashion have released their second quarterly Index, a report which ranks the hottest brands and most buzzed-about products in the fashion industry – and their findings are testament to the growing pull of streetwear.
Balenciaga has climbed two places since the last quarter to take the top spot, making it the hottest brand of the third quarter of 2017 according to data analysed by BoF and search platform Lyst. The reason behind this jump in popularity, which has caused Gucci to drop into second position? As BoF points out, ‘a new logo and a Colette residency kept the brand top of mind, while Demna Gvasalia continues to design products that drive the fashion narrative online.’ With its click-baiting re-makes of staple styles like Ikea’s FRAKTA carrier bag, the brand has taken the hyper-modern, self-referential streetwear aesthetic of Vetements (the fashion collective of which Gvasalia is a founding member) and re-imagined it for a high fashion audience.
While Gucci might have fallen into second place this quarter, there’s still plenty of cause for celebration at the storied fashion house, which is currently reaping considerable rewards from Alessandro Michele’s eclectic creative direction. A report last month showed that the brand was the biggest contributor to parent company Kering’s profits and revenues in the last quarter, and according to BoF, ‘Alessandro Michele and Marco Biarri’s partnership is the most consistent performer in the brand rankings to date.’
The biggest leap, though, comes from Virgil Abloh’s streetwear label Off-White, which rose from 34th place last quarter up to third place, knocking Kanye West’s Yeezy from the top ten. This buzz has been generated in part by the brand’s sell-out collaboration with Nike, and its most recent S/S’18 show, which saw Abloh pay unexpected homage to the fashion legacy of Princess Diana.
Other streetwear-infused labels featuring in the top 10 include Vetements, Stone Island, Moncler and Raf Simons, all of which show growing popularity with millennials and have been favoured by rap stars, adding mass appeal to their fashion klout.
Read more about Lyst and Business of Fashion’s latest Index at businessoffashion.com
WATCH NOW: The Most Expensive Dresses In History


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The city of Kenai has received word that Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse will not be building a retail and garden center across Marathon Road from the proposed Wal-Mart Super Center, at least not this year.
Lowe’s had planned to build a 139,000 square-foot store and 32,000 square-foot garden center on 15 acres of city land.
In January 2006, the firm applied to lease the land from the city. Then, after about one year, Lowe’s instead proposed purchasing the city property. The sale contract was never signed.
“Lowe’s is not going to move forward with construction this year,” City Manager Rick Koch said Wednesday.
“They want to keep their options open for the 2008 (construction) season ... while they determine the financial feasibility of the project,” he said.
The parcel borders the Homer Electric Association access road on the north, three privately owned vacant lots on Airport Way to the west and nine smaller vacant lots to the south. Lowe’s would have needed to purchase one of the smaller lots in order to build an access road to Airport Way.
Originally, Lowe’s indicated construction would begin in April 2007, and hoped to be open for business by Thanksgiving Day this year.
The estimated value of the improvement was approximately $15 million, and estimated tax revenue to the city would be about half that estimated for the proposed Wal-Mart, which was put at $1 million annually.
The Lowe’s center was expected to employ about 100 people.
Lowe’s earlier expressed concerns over soils in the area where it plans to build its retail store along Marathon Road. Koch said then, the issue involved uncompacted sandy soil beneath the ground.
Vehicle access to the store would be from Airport Way as well as two driveways off Marathon Road. Additional access would be from the HEA access road.
The city manager has signed a purchase agreement for the sale of nearby city land to Wal-Mart for a combination grocery and retail store to be built behind the Kenai Chrysler Center. The giant retailer has applied for a U.S. Army corps of Engineers wetlands mitigation permit required for about 1 1/2 acres of the property, which has been designated wetlands.
Wal-Mart already agreed to the purchase of 38 acres for $3,580,000. The contract has been sent to Wal-Mart for signature.
Under terms of the contract, Wal-Mart agrees to build a store of not less than 170,000 square feet within four years of the close of the sale.
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Intel has hit back at the claims of security concerns over some of its chips by issuing a bullish statement. Earlier this week, reports emerged of Intel chips being prone to being hacked due to a flaw...
'When you look at the success of Apple Silicon in iPhone and iPad, this can only be good news for Mac,' says Roger Whittle, CEO of Jigsaw24
VIP regains authorised status to target system builder channel
Chip makers offer view of how the PC market might play out in 2020
Chip manufacturer tipped to have another strong year
Purchase of Wrike expected to speed up vendor's cloud and SaaS ambitions
Microsoft's VP of education and its UK director of education speak to CRN about the opportunities around hybrid learning post-pandemic and the industry-wide supply constraints
Watch this short animation to learn how VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud is solving enterprise network challenges.
New UK boss says he aims to make the UK reseller a top 100 VAR in the UK by the end of the year


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As if you didn’t already have enough reasons to not want an iPhone 5, right?
Verizon has just confirmed that Apple’s new iPhone 5 will not support simultaneous voice and data on its network. Here’s the official statement:
The iPhone 5 was designed to allow customers to place a voice call on the Verizon Wireless network, while letting customers access the Internet over the WiFi.
Sprint and Verizon will be selling the same model of iPhone 5, which means that Verizon’s statement applies to Sprint, as well, although the latter carrier hasn’t confirmed the news itself at the time of this writing.
Meanwhile, AT&T’s LTE model will allow its users to simultaneously talk on the phone while using data.
For a lot of people, the iPhone 5 was already a disappointment – and this latest unfortunate fact just adds another nick to the iPhone’s aluminum body.
How do you feel about the iPhone 5’s lack of simultaneous voice and data on the US’ two biggest CDMA carriers? Or don’t you care at this point, as the iPhone 5 isn’t worth buying?[The Verge]


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When we reviewed the Chase bank current account at last autumn, it stood out amongst its digital banking peers (Starling and Monzo) for its generous 1.5% easy access savings account.
Back then the Bank of England base rate was just 0.25%. Record inflation has seen that rise to 2.25%, but Chase has been slow to pass on the new rate to customers.
Its tardiness in increasing interest rates on savings had seen some customers look towards higher paying accounts such as Nationwide’s limited access saver at 2.1% or Santander’s instant access saver (only available until 19th November) at 2.75%.
Today Chase announced it will increase the rate on its saving account to 2.1% AER (2.08% gross) from 24 October.
Interest on the account is paid monthly, and this new higher rate will automatically be applied to both new and existing customer accounts.
Managing director of everyday banking, Shaun Port said: “We’re increasing the rate on our saver account to help new and existing customers make their money work harder, in what we know is a challenging time for everyone.”
Current savers can do better
When Chase launched its UK current account in 2021, it offered market leading rewards including 1% cash back, 5% interest on rounded up savings, and the 1.5% easy access saver. What’s interesting about this latest announcement is that the increase to 2.1% isn’t market leading at all.
In fact, with the UK base rate expected to reach 5% by this time next year, this announcement by Chase falls short of the headline grabbing rewards that saw it grow to over a million customers in its first 12 months.
Chase now holds more than £10bn in customer deposits, but could face growing competition for savings from traditional banks and building societies as interest rates increase. For existing customers it’s a welcome boost, but with the market heating up, it’s far from the only game in town.


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'...this year’s Out of Bounds Bali contest will allow winners to kick back, relax, take in their surroundings and also create new relationships and meaningful connections.' - Farshad Fardad, CEO, GlobalWide Media.
Victoria, B.C. (PRWEB) July 15, 2014
GlobalWide Media, Neverblue and Pulse Mobile announced today that they will be taking their top 18 publishers, along with 1 randomly chosen winner, to an all-expenses-paid trip to Bali, Indonesia for their 12th Out of Bounds contest taking place in March of 2015.
Known as ‘the Island of the Gods’, the winners of Out of Bounds will enjoy Bali’s splendor, beauty and serene surroundings, in addition to fun and cultural activities for five full days.
Out of Bounds is a bi-annual contest - the largest contest of its kind in the performance marketing industry – where publishers from GlobalWide Media, Neverblue and Pulse Mobile can enter to win the trip of a lifetime.
“We like to provide value to our partners wherever we can and this year’s Out of Bounds Bali contest will allow winners to kick back, relax, take in their surroundings and also create new relationships and meaningful connections,” said Farshad Fardad, Chief Executive Officer of GlobalWide Media. “Bali truly is paradise and we look forward to showing our gratitude to some of the best in the industry,” he added.
Since its inception, seven years ago, the bi-annual Out of Bounds contest has earned legendary status in the industry after we’ve whisked our partners off to locales such as: Croatia, Rio de Janeiro, Whistler, Costa Rica, Cancun, Thailand, and more.
This year’s contest is sponsored by software solutions company, Boost Software, and will run July 15th to January 15th, 2015. Participants can enter to win in one of five categories: Top 10 revenue generating; top 6 incremental increase, top Boost Software publisher, top revenue mobile publisher, and 1 randomly chosen publisher.
For more information, please visit: http://www.outofboundscontest.com.
About GlobalWide Media
Neverblue and Pulse Mobile are businesses of Globalwide Media, a leading digital marketing agency that offers clients access to display advertising, search engine marketing, mobile platforms, lead generation and email marketing. With offices in Los Angeles, Victoria, London, and Hong Kong, GlobalWide Media generates approximately five million monthly conversions while delivering unparalleled reach across all digital distribution platforms.
Public Relations Manager
Phone: +1 (250) 386-5323 x 1637


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Trading restrictions (Russia)
Trading restrictions imposed against Russia
- Asian Gypsy Moth
Far East Russia is considered an area of potential risk.
- European Union Regulations concerning Ukraine / Russia
- USA sanctions concerning Ukraine / Russia
- UK sanctions on Russia
Trading restrictions imposed by Russia
On 6 August 2014 the Russian President signed an Executive Order “On Applying Certain Special Economic Measures to Ensure the Security of the Russian Federation.”The Executive Order bans the import of certain agricultural products, raw materials and food products (beef, pork, fruits and vegetables, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and dairy products) that originate from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway which declared economic sanctions against Russian organizations and individuals and will be valid for one year.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions


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Picture pallets of vegetables lingering in a grocery store’s back room. Turnover in the produce section is slow and there is no room on the shelves. The vegetables are still edible, but will most likely be sent to a landfill, according to MIT Sloan MBA students Emily Malina and Ricky Ashenfelter, both members of the class of 2015.
But now there’s an app for that. Spoiler Alert, which was founded by Malina and Ashenfelter last year, will address food waste issues by helping organizations and companies manage their surplus food and organic waste by connecting them with organizations that can use them.
With the Spoiler Alert app, the store with the surplus vegetables can post what is available, and nearby food rescue organizations can respond and pick up the food in time to provide the still-fresh items to people who could use them.
“It is designed to seamlessly connect all aspects of the food supply chain,” Ashenfelter said. The app is available through the Apple App Store, and businesses can sign up on the company’s website. The team is working on a web version and a version that will be compatible with Android devices.
Eight Massachusetts-based food organizations—retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and food-recovery non-profits, including the Greater Boston Food Bank—took part in a pilot program, which ran from January through March. According to Malina and Ashenfelter, about 8,000 pounds of food were posted for donation.
The Bon Appétit Management Company, which supplies food to five residential dining halls at MIT, also took part in the pilot. Claire Cummings, who is the waste specialist at Bon Appétit, said the pilot was an achievement.
“Spoiler Alert has brought flexibility and reliability to our food recovery program at MIT,” Cummings said. “The app has the potential to enable chefs and catering managers to easily communicate what is available for donation and when it’s available, which addresses some of the most difficult logistical barriers to food recovery.”
Now that the pilot is complete, Ashenfelter and Malina plan to release the app beyond Boston and start raising capital. Once they graduate in June, both plan to work on Spoiler Alert in Cambridge.
Prior to management school, both Ashenfelter and Malina worked for Deloitte, but they didn’t meet until an MIT Sloan event in 2013. They discovered many shared interests and both pursued course offerings from the Sustainability Initiative at MIT Sloan and the Entrepreneurship & Innovation MBA Track. During their first year at MIT Sloan, they explored issues of food waste in classes taught by Professor Ed Roberts and Senior Lecturer Bill Aulet, and took advantage of resources at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship.
Ashenfelter said the MIT ecosystem has been “phenomenal” for the pair. Jason Jay, director of the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, has been an early and vocal supporter of the startup, which has placed in several national pitch competitions. Malina said an entrepreneurial marketing class taught by Aulet, HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan, SF ’05, and Kayak co-founder Paul English also provided inspiration. MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service has also been a great resource in developing the business, Malina said.
Waste not, want not
The need for an app like Spoiler Alert seemed obvious to Malina and Ashenfelter. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that 14.5 percent of American households experienced “food insecurity” in 2012, meaning they could not always be sure where they would get their next meal.
At the same time, Americans throw out a third of their food annually, said Ashenfelter and Malina. Grocery stores and other businesses are often unsure of how to donate extra food, and many don’t realize that liability protections are in place via a good Samaritan law, according to Ashenfelter.
Malina described Spoiler Alert as technology that creates new connections and enhances existing relationships, all in an effort to improve efficiency and reduce the amount of food going to waste. “Users can quickly post what they have, notify our network of recipients, and confirm discounted food sales and food donations, all in real time,” Malina said.
The app is free for organizations that wish to donate food. Spoiler Alert will eventually feature a subscription-based model for other users.
If food does spoil, it can potentially be converted into fertilizer or other products. On Oct. 1, 2014, a commercial food waste disposal ban went into effect in Massachusetts, meaning any entity that has at least one ton of organic waste per week will have to donate or re-purpose the useable food, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The remaining waste would have to be shipped to the likes of an anaerobic digestion facility, a composting operation, or an animal feed operation.
Malina and Ashenfelter are excited about this new development, and plan to integrate it into Spoiler Alert’s offerings. “There are a lot of different uses for food, depending on its quality and geography,” Ashenfelter said. “When we think about the food recovery hierarchy, feeding people is at the top, and as you move down, it’s animals, industrial uses, and compost. But the end goal is to keep as much of it out of the landfill as possible.”


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This Week in Social brings you the latest news from the most popular social platforms, with some creative inspiration thrown in too.
So, what’s been happening in the world of social this week?
Periscope reaches 10 million accounts
The popular live video streaming platform announced this week that it has surpassed 10 million accounts and revealed that users are apparently watching the equivalent of “40 years of video per day.”
Instagram: the place to be for musicians
A recent report from Instagram revealed that users following musicians increased from 51 million in June 2014, to 283 million by the end of May 2015!
In another step to help improve the relationship between brands and customers, Twitter has officially removed the 140 character limit for direct messages. The new limit is 10,000 characters.
The big news this week was the increase in UK authorities doubling the volume of requests it sends to Twitter for personal data information of users.
Twitter has created a new ‘full-archive search API’ and opened it up to allow marketers access to every public tweet ever published.
Facebook announced this week that it’s expanding its autoplay video ad format to third-party publishers that plug into its mobile ad network. It is also making available slideshow-like carousel ads, and dynamic product ads that target based on your online purchasing considerations.
Facebook is also currently testing a stand-alone mobile news app, designed to let publishers push out breaking stories. Subscribers will be notified via a 100 character alert, linking to a more in-depth article on the partner publication’s own website.
Beats knocks it #StraightOutta the park
Social networks have been dominated by the #StraightOutta meme generated to promote the upcoming ‘Straight Outta Compton’ film. Some brands have even jumped on board!
Stabilo highlights where Bic went wrong
Stationary competitor Stabilo saw an opportunity, and they took it. See the Social Loser story below for more details.
Hillary Clinton getting down with the kids
In an attempt to reach out to the the youth on Twitter, Clinton’s presidential campaign asked students to express how they feel about their student loan “in 3 emojis or less”, and it all went wrong from there…
The pen manufacturer has caused Twitter outrage over sexist adverts telling women to ‘Look like a girl…think like a man’ on National Women’s Day.
The TV channel has creatively promoted its rebrand by sharing thousands of randomised idents created by an algorithm so no two will look the same.


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BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 14
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Fergana region of Uzbekistan exported first batch of peaches, Trend reports referring to the press service of the regional customs department of Fergana region.
According to the information, as an example, peaches were sent to many foreign countries in small quantities. Due to the great demand from abroad for peaches with a unique taste and quality, entrepreneurs began to export the first batch of peaches.
It was noted that peaches grown in Kuvasoy, Oltiarik, Besharik districts are in great demand abroad.
Regional customs department of Fergana region noted that for the purpose of timely and high-quality execution of the process, the customs posts of the Fergana regional customs administration Vodiy and Margilan, located in the Oltyarik region, carry out customs clearance of export agricultural products 24 hours a day.
In 2021, the first consignments of peaches began to be exported to Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Dolina, Kuvasoy and Kirguli customs post of foreign economic activity carry out the registration of peach products for the export customs regime.
It is noted that last year 12,450 tons of peaches were exported from the region for a total of $15.6 million to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine. Also, this year, the export of the first consignments of peaches to Russia and Kyrgyzstan has begun.
Earlier it was reported that Russia is the second-largest consumer of fruits and vegetables in Uzbekistan. Since the beginning of 2021, 58,800 tons of vegetables and fruits have been exported to Russia, with a total value of $37 million.
Follow the author on Twitter: @romakayeva


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Late last month, Missa Bay announced that it was recalling over 75,000 pounds of salad products that contain meat or poultry because the romaine lettuce may be contaminated with E. coli. This salad recall has impacted dozens of people across the United States.
The latest outbreak information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that 67 people have been infected with the E. coli outbreak, and the health risk is currently considered to be high.
The investigation regarding this outbreak is ongoing, but for now, the CDC advises that you stay away from romaine lettuce grown in the Salinas, Calif. region.
On Nov. 21, 2019, salad product items produced by Missa Bay, a Swedesboro, N.J. establishment, produced from Oct. 14, 2019 through Oct. 16, 2019 were recalled because of possible E. coli contamination.
The FDA reported that in total, 75,233 pounds of salad products containing meat or poultry were recalled. These items were shipped to distribution locations in the following states:
These most recent recalled salad and lettuce products have the establishment number “EST. 18502B” inside the USDA mark of inspection. When the Maryland Department of Health tested a package of Ready Pac Bistro Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics Caesar Salad, the lettuce tested positive for E. coli.
After that, all products from the same lot of lettuce were included in a salad recall.
Based on this salad recall and prior recalls on lettuce products, the CDC currently advises that consumers not eat any romaine lettuce grown in the Salinas, Calif. growing region. This includes all use-by dates and brands of romaine lettuce from this region.
Lettuce products that fall within the group of recalled items include:
The USDA classified the health risk regarding this most recent recall as “high,” as it comes amid a multi-state outbreak of E. coli infections — affecting a total of 67 people from 19 states, according to the CDC’s latest outbreak information.
Of the 67 people affected, 39 have been hospitalized, and six people have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure.
The CDC recommends throwing out any of the following products:
If you had romaine lettuce from the Salinas region in your refrigerator or salad products with the establishment number “EST. 18502B,” it’s important to wash and sanitize the drawers and shelves where it was stored.
If you were exposed to contaminated food products, contact your health care provider immediately.
The E. coli symptoms typically occur three to four days after swallowing the germ. The most common symptom of E. coli is diarrhea, often bloody, and vomiting.
Other possible side effects include:
Some later symptoms of the infection are shortness of breath, nosebleeds, excessive bleeding and even seizures.
The infection can be diagnosed by testing a stool sample, so seek medical advice if you believe you’ve been infected. A health care professional will provide rehydration and other supportive care if you test positive for this nasty bacteria.
Most people infected recover within a week, but in few cases, some people develop a severe infection that can lead to a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. This is most common in children under five years old, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
Symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome include:
If you experience any of these symptoms, seek medical care immediately.
The post 2019 Salad Recall: 67 people Affected and Counting appeared first on Dr. Axe.


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Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreens and PetSmart are among the retailers selling through Google’s voice-activated devices.
The next meeting for new and returning Board members will be in Huntington Beach, California during Shop.org’s Online Merchandising Workshop in July.
Washington, June 27, 2013 – Shop.org today announced the addition of six new members to its Board of Directors and welcomed back three members that currently serve on the Board. Each member will serve a two-year term. The next meeting for new and returning Board members will be in Huntington Beach, California during Shop.org’s Online Merchandising Workshop in July.
The Shop.org leadership team represents the needs of Shop.org members, provides strategic and financial guidance on the operation and mission of the group, and contributes to Shop.org's authority in the digital retail industry.
Newly-elected Shop.org Board members include:
• Elaine Boltz, senior vice president of e-commerce, The TJX Companies
• Jill Braff, executive vice president of digital commerce, HSNi
• Ivy Chin, senior vice president of e-commerce and omnichannel digital, Belk
• Jason Goldberg, vice president of commerce strategy, Razorfish
• Kasey Lobaugh, principal – chief retail innovation officer, Deloitte Consulting, LLP
• Matthew Kaness, chief strategy officer, Urban Outfitters, Inc.
Additional members of the Shop.org Board of Directors who were re-elected to serve another two-year term, include:
• Miki Berardelli – chairman of Shop.org board and chief marketing officer, Tory Burch, LLC
• Scot Wingo – chief executive officer, ChannelAdvisor
• Bernardine Wu – chief executive officer, FitForCommerce
View the current Shop.org Board members.
“The new additions to the Shop.org board bring another level of expertise and professionalism to an already stellar list of digital leaders,” said NRF Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Shop.org, Vicki Cantrell. “Shop.org is confident that each member of the board will bring value and insight to the issues online retailers face each day, resulting in revolutionary solutions.”
Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the world's leading community for digital retail, offering thought leadership through original research and gold standard events. The community is made up of exclusive networking groups and committees that lead the global conversation surrounding innovative e-commerce trends and digital retail. Shop.org members include some of the world’s largest most respected retail, technology, research, and consulting companies. www.shop.org


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On 9 March 2019, the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications published its report on “Regulating in a digital World”. It included a number of recommendations to the government, including 10 guiding principles for the development of regulation online, a new public interest test for data driven mergers and a new Digital Authority, to oversee regulation of the digital … Continue Reading
On 27 and 28 March, our global IP team will take a look at some of the emerging opportunities and risks for brand owners exploring opportunities in the esports market: from innovative advertising and marketing activities during tournaments and within games, sponsorship of tournaments or teams, to merchandise and fan items (see earlier post here). Esports refers … Continue Reading
Drama at the European Parliament: whoever thought the dispute within the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) around the adoption of a new regulation dealing with online transmissions by broadcasters and retransmissions (COM(2016) 594 final) could not become more exciting when JURI voted on its final report at the end of November, was wrong. The rapporteur Tiemo Wölken made … Continue Reading
On 29 November 2017, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) handed down a decision on a video recording service that stores TV programmes online in a cloud (C-265/16 – VCAST). According to the Court, the cloud recording service has a dual function that enables its users to create reproductions on the one hand but also makes copyright protected … Continue Reading
On 6 July 2017, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) confirmed a decision of the Paris court of appeal dated 15 March 2016 (RG No. 040/2016) which held that Internet intermediaries must bear the costs for implementing blocking measures against illegal streaming websites.
Article L. 336-2 of the French intellectual property Code (“IPC”) allows … Continue Reading
Instagram recently rolled out a new feature to a select group of its users who use the social media platform for promotional purposes. This tool allows influential users to add a new subheading to posts that reads “Paid partnership with…” It is designed to help users clearly and conspicuously tag the brand that sponsors a post. The announcement comes just … Continue Reading
DSM Watch has been tracking this, the first legislative proposal published by the Commission under the Digital Single Market strategy banner, since back in December 2015. The Commission’s aim was to allow consumers who pay for online content services in their home country to access them when visiting another country within the EU.… Continue Reading
There is no end in sight regarding CJEU decisions on the meaning of “communication to the public“. On 26 April 2017, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled (C-527/15 – Filmspeler) that the sale of a multimedia player with pre-installed add-ons that contained links to illegal streaming websites constitutes a copyright infringement. At the same time, … Continue Reading
On 8 September 2016, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) handed down judgment C-160/15 on the means of hyperlinking which caught quite some attention. It has become known as the GS Media decision (see our blog post). In essence, this CJEU judgment imposed new verification duties on commercial website owners who embed hyperlinks to third-party content in their web … Continue Reading
The US Copyright Act of 1976 allows artists, writers, and musicians to “get back” grants of copyrights that had been previously licensed or assigned away. Specifically, artists can “terminate” their copyright arrangements simply by serving notice upon the grantee between 46 and 59 years after the date that the rights were granted. This means that, for the hit songs of … Continue Reading
On November 7, 2016, the People’s Republic of China’s highest legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, passed the Film Industry Promotion Law (Film Law). The Film Law takes effect on March 1, 2017.
The Film Law is the first comprehensive “law” in China targeting the film industry specifically and is more than 13 years … Continue Reading
Is it permitted to reproduce out-of-commerce works and make them publicly accessible under European copyright exceptions? So far, there is no explicit regulation at European level dealing with out-of-commerce works. However, a few member states, including Germany, have already complemented their copyright by way of introduction of new provisions governing the use that one can make of out-of-stock works. In … Continue Reading
On 10 November 2016, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) rendered a landmark decision on the lending of e-books. Public libraries may rely on statutory copyright exceptions when lending out e-books and are not required to obtain a contractual license explicitly covering such e-lending right. With its decision, the CJEU applies the same legal principles to e-books that already govern … Continue Reading
Guests entering hotel rooms expect to be able to turn on the TV or listen to the radio. Accordingly, TVs and radios feature in almost any hotel room around the world. However, this commodity has been the trigger for numerous legal disputes in recent years. As always, the quarrel is about money.
In this post we look at proceedings which … Continue Reading
A recent decision by India’s telecom regulator to prohibit differential charges for Internet content – which effectively blocked Facebook from offering its Free Basics service in the country – highlights how regulators around the globe continue to work through whether and how “zero-rating” data services may be permissible under their country’s net neutrality framework. Zero-rating services allow consumers to access … Continue Reading
On 4th November, together with Santa Clara University’s High Tech Law Institute and the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, we hosted our second Law in the Global Marketplace symposium on Intellectual Property and related issues.
Topics covered thought-provoking issues concerning global aspects of intellectual property law, including the impact of patent reform in the EU and U.S. on international … Continue Reading
In today’s world, copyright works and related rights form the cornerstone for numerous services and products. Of course, the entire media and broadcasting sector is reliant on copyright protection, as are the software, music and publishing industries. But, copyright protected content is at stake in many more industries such as IT, luxury goods, education and research. Taking into account that … Continue Reading
Emerging technologies. Rapidly evolving markets. Changing regulatory frameworks. Businesses around the globe are affected by these influences and intellectual property (IP) plays a central role. On 4th November, Hogan Lovells, Santa Clara University’s High Tech Law Institute, and the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology are bringing together the IP industry’s thought leaders to discuss these issues and start a … Continue Reading
On July 10, 2015 the Court of Rome issued a very important decision in favor of Wikimedia Foundation (the organization managing the online encyclopedia Wikipedia), represented by Hogan Lovells, in relation to the Foundation’s lack of liability for the content created by its users.
The Court has confirmed the Foundation’s role as hosting provider as well as its neutral role … Continue Reading
On 26 March 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered a most interesting and instructive verdict on the matter of live streaming of sports events on the Internet (C More Entertainment vs. Sandberg, Case Ref.: C‑279/13). The 9th Chamber ruled that Member States may grant statutory broadcasting rights that go beyond the … Continue Reading
On 24 November 2014, the Russian President signed into law a bill introducing amendments to the so-called Anti-piracy Law and expanding its scope to all types of copyright-protected content available on the Internet, except for photographs (the “Law“). The Law will take effect on 1 May 2015.
Under the Law the following procedure will become … Continue Reading
In a recent decision of the Paris Court of Appeal dated 2 December 2014, the French video-sharing website Dailymotion was held liable to pay more than 1,2 million Euros in damages to the French TV channel TF1 and other stakeholders on the grounds that Dailymotion did not promptly remove around 60 videos unlawfully made available online in breach of TF1’s … Continue Reading
The First Vice Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has reportedly ordered the Russian Ministries of Culture, Communications, Economic Development, Finance, and Justice to assess a proposal from the Russian Union of Right Holders (“RUR“), to fight piracy by introducing a fixed royalty fee to be paid to rights holders in exchange for unlimited use of content on Internet. … Continue Reading
On 17 October 2014, in the case of Cartier International AG and Others v BskyB and Others, Arnold J ordered the five major UK ISPs to block a number of websites that were advertising and selling counterfeit goods and on 17 November 2014 he handed down his judgment on the form of the Order. The case is interesting because, according … Continue Reading


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There is no shortage of ways to share photos from your iPhone, with the Facebook app the most popular by far. However, new app Path has been launched as a counterpoint to that, promising to create a ‘personal network’ limited to just your closest friends and family.
Specifically, you can sign up to 50 people – but no more – to share photos with, tagging them with people, places and things, and getting notified when contacts have looked at them. The idea is that you’ll share more private pics than you would on Facebook. Interesting and intriguing, and very stylish.
Rating: 4 out of 5


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URBANA — As consumer demand for naturally raised beef continues to increase, researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered that naturally raised beef can be produced effectively for this niche market as long as a substantial premium is offered to cover additional production and transportation costs.
Naturally raised beef is produced without hormones or antibiotics, whereas traditional systems take advantage of technologies the industry offers such as ionophores like Rumensin® to improve feed efficiency and implants to improve gain and efficiency.
“Producers are asking many questions about the value of natural programs and the premiums needed to remain profitable,” said Dan Faulkner, U of I professor of animal sciences. “Our goal was to find out the costs involved in natural systems focused on producing environmentally friendly, locally raised beef.”
Researchers studied the effects of finishing management (confinement versus pasture) and production system (traditional versus naturally raised) on performance, carcass and economic characteristics in a group of early weaned Angus x Simmental steer calves at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in Simpson, Ill. The calves were fed on fescue pastures or confinement feedlots.
The study revealed that naturally raised steers can be produced effectively in either confinement or with a pasture finishing system, but they require a substantial premium of $110 with today’s feed prices to justify the costs and returns.
Faulkner said that pasture finishing is $35 more profitable than confinement feeding using current feed prices, making it an attractive option for producers interested in raising locker beef for local markets with either natural or traditional production systems.
“I think this information will benefit smaller operations that would like to pursue a naturally raised market in a pasture finishing system, but may not be able to use a traditional confinement system,” Faulkner said.
In addition, naturally raised beef in either pasture or confinement settings resulted in beef with higher quality grades.
“There continues to be more interest in naturally raised beef because organic beef standards are so high,” Faulkner added. “We need to increase consumer education efforts because naturally raised beef is actually what many consumers are looking for these days.”
Both organic and naturally raised steers do not receive hormones or antibiotics. The major difference between naturally raised beef and organic beef is that organic beef comes from cattle that are raised on organic pastures that have not been treated with chemicals or chemical fertilizers. In addition, these cattle can only be fed organic certified feeds.
Faulkner also differentiated pasture-fed beef from grass-fed beef.
“Grass-fed cattle cannot be fed any concentrate — they can only receive roughage,” Faulkner said. “And that roughage must meet strict guidelines set by the USDA. On the other hand, pasture-fed cattle have access to a finishing diet and pasture.”
Pasture-fed cattle have carcass and meat characteristics that are the same as traditionally finished cattle, he added. The meat characteristics of grass-fed cattle are quite different than the average consumer is used to eating.
Faulkner said naturally raised beef, regardless of finishing management, is a niche market that has great potential if consumers will pay premium prices.
“As producers, we need to be responsive to consumer demand,” he said. “Currently, naturally raised beef is a very small percentage of the market. But it is a market that is growing at several hundred percent a year, and has been identified as a niche that consumers are very interested in.”
This research, “Confinement vs. Pasture and Traditional vs. Naturally Raised Finishing Influences Performance, Carcass, and Economic Characteristics of Early-Weaned Steers,” was published in The Professional Animal Scientist. Researchers include Faulkner, Dan Shike and Frank Ireland, all of the U of I.


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Apple rose from the #2 spot to #1, edging out Coca-Cola, which has held the top spot for 13 consecutive years. Google rose two places to #2.
How did a pair of technology companies—whose headquarters are just nine miles apart in Silicon Valley—rise to clobber the likes of Coca-Cola and McDonald’s?
Here are seven ways:
1. They Did It With Mental Imagery
Apple and Google are highly visual companies, and that’s a huge boost to the value of their brands.
When you close your eyes and think about Apple, you imagine their appealing commercials and elegant hardware. And Google conjures up images of primary-colored everything, as well as mental pictures of the company’s splash projects, such as the self-driving car.
2. They Did It With Design
Apple has long been design-centric, which has always helped their brand value.
Google has recently embraced very elegant design in their apps and online web services, which has boosted them into the top two.
3. They Did It With Increasing Positive Daily Experiences
Every top consumer brand gets there by giving millions or billions of people around the world small, positive experiences.
Whether it’s a refreshing Coke, McDonald’s french fries, Apple’s iOS user experience, or Google Search, the key to a valuable brand is a very large number of very happy customers who interact with the brand very often.
4. They Did It By Getting Huge, Splashy Press Every Day
Apple gets into the news by having the best product launch events in the industry, punctuated by long periods of secrecy. Into the void of its quiet periods, the press comes rushing in to speculate, predict and guess what Apple’s working on for the next big announcement. Apple can thank Steve Jobs for this one.
Google gets into the news by having a large number of consumer-facing products that are constantly updated. They also gain a lot of their mainstream media attention through attention-getting projects like Google Glass, self-driving cars, and the California Life Company.
5. They Did It With Multimedia
Apple and Google assert their branding images online on their own web sites, on mobile, on TV, in movies and in Apple’s case through their many retail stores.
Google’s brand gained big by the release of the movie “The Internship,” which was a comedy that doubled as an infomercial about the Google brand and company culture.
6. They Did It By Thrilling Influential Groups
Apple dominates the user markets in Hollywood, in graphic design and other influential groups. This influence makes Apple’s brand ubiquitous to the point of being ambient. Whenever a generic “computer” is called for, for example, for an ad or TV show or movie, the go-to iconic image for that is an Apple computer, because that’s what the content makers are most familiar with.
And just about every influential taste-maker, from journalists to politicians to movie stars use Google products every day. To look for something online is to “Google it.” As Xerox and Hoover know, you can’t buy that kind of brand boost.
7. They Did It By Being Aggressively Global
Both Apple and Google have pushed hard into all significant markets worldwide, devoting resources to the support of even relatively obscure languages and local sites, both on the user experience side and the marketing and advertising side.
I think Google’s second-place ranking is more impressive than Apple’s top spot. After all, Google doesn’t have retail stores, doesn’t have as much—or as aesthetically beautiful—hardware, doesn’t have a decade of movie and TV product placement, and it doesn’t advertise on TV or in print nearly as much. Plus, Google is a smaller company.
Google’s impressive showing can be partly attributed to the leadership of founder Larry Page, who became the company’s CEO two and a half years ago. Since taking the reins, Page has cut underperforming services, consolidated products under Google+, refocused the company on a total design overhaul based on an appealing “cards” interface, and generally focused the company for the success they’re now enjoying.
Although very few companies will ever get near the top spot in brand value, every company can strengthen its brand in exactly the same way Apple and Google did.
What can you learn? Weigh in with a comment below...
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Play.com Sold for £25 Million
Play.com, one of Amazon.com’s biggest competitiors in the UK has sold for what seems like quite a low sum, £25 million; especially since the site’s annual turnover is thought to be around £500 million from UK DVD sales alone.
However, one of the reasons this site does so well is that it’s Guernsey location allows it to enjoy a tax loop hole. Sales of items from the island that are under £18 can avoid VAT. This allows the site to sell products under this threshold for prices that UK mainland competitors can’t match. The free postage that Play has offered since it’s creation has also helped set it apart from other sites.
As of next year though, this threshold is expected to be lowered to £15 in November, with no loop hole at all as of March next year, meaning Play will lose much of its DVD sales market; there is also the fact that DVD sales are going to decrease rapidly over the coming decade as Blu Rays and digital downloads of movies and games become far more dominant.
The company behind the buyout is Japanese firm Rakuten who for the next year at least is likely to do quite well on their acquisition.


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Japanese consumer spending in February rose for the first time in six months, but slowing wage growth and worries about overseas economies means the government remains under pressure to come up with stimulus to boost the economy.
Labor demand remained at the highest in two decades but the jobless rate rose slightly in February, in a tentative sign of a pause in recent improvements in the labor market.
Slowing wage growth and worries about risks posed by weak emerging market economies is likely to fuel speculation that Japan's government will launch a new round of stimulus spending and delay a sales tax increase scheduled for next year.
"I expect consumer spending to rise further, but the gains will be very moderate given low demand for durable goods," said Hidenobu Tokuda, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
"It would still make sense for the government to consider some form of stimulus, because it may want to act in response to concerns that the global economy is slowing."
Japanese household spending rose 1.2 percent in February from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, the government data showed on Tuesday.
Increased spending on medical care, cars, dining out and mobile phone data plans drove gains in household spending, the data showed.
The rise compared with the median forecast for a 1.5 percent annual decline and followed a 3.1 percent annual decline in January.
Separate data showed retail sales rose 0.5 percent in February from a year earlier, less than the median forecast for a 1.7 percent annual increase.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose in February to 3.3 percent, from 3.2 percent in the previous month. The median estimate was for the jobless rate to remain unchanged.
The jobs-applicants held steady at a 24-year high of 1.28 in February, less than the median estimate for a rise to 1.29, separate data by the labour ministry showed.
Domestic consumption has mostly struggled since the government raised the sales tax in 2014.
A second sales tax hike is due in 2017, which is part of a two-step plan to raise more money for healthcare spending.
Some prominent overseas economists have recently joined advisers close to the prime minister in calling for next year's tax hike to be shelved in favour of more stimulus spending.
Companies raised wages an average 2.1 percent at this year's annual spring salary negotiations, Japanese Trade Union Confederation data show, less than the 2.4 percent average increase last year, a negative factor for the consumption outlook.


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Here's what automakers are unveiling this week at the nation's biggest car show.
1 of 12
Toyota hybrid concept
This new compact hybrid car, almost two feet shorter than today's Prius hybrid, is just a concept car for now, but it represents a first step in Toyota's plan for a whole "Prius" family of hybrid vehicles for North America.
The FT-CH, for "compact hybrid," is sized to be more nimble and maneuverable than the Prius, Toyota said.
Toyota said it plans to sell more than a million hybrid cars per year, most of them in North America, by the early part of this decade.
Some CEOs and founders agree to salaries of just $1 a year. But once goodies like bonuses and stock options are added in, some of those executives end up taking home many millions of dollars a year. More


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NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Get content from adidas at:
The adidas miCoach app for Android is being presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week in conjunction with Google. The new miCoach app for Android provides a whole new group of smart phone users with the chance to use this free personal and real-time audible training system to become fitter and faster in 2011. The miCoach app for Android will be free to download from Android Market in late April. Launched in August 2010 for the iPhone and BlackBerry, the miCoach app has had one million downloads so far and was named the Stuff magazine mobile app of the year 2010. The miCoach app turns an Android phone into a personal coach: pace triggered voice coaching, personalized and sports-specific training plans, workout calendar, and workout feedback are some of the features.
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Supply chain optimization never goes out of season for candy manufacturers, but it's a particularly important process leading up to the Halloween holiday, one of the biggest from a standpoint of production. And this year's iteration will likely prove to be no exception, based on new polling data.
An estimated 95 percent of Halloween revelers will celebrate the holiday with candy, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Retail Federation. That's well ahead of the 72 percent who intend to buy decorative items - like bats, ghosts and pumpkins - and the 69 percent who plan to purchase costume supplies.
Candy sales could surpass $2.6 billion
Operational excellence is something that the confectionary industry strives for and are often successful in reaching, given its multi-billion dollar valuation. Candy sales in the run-up to Halloween are poised to top $2.6 billion, according to the NRF's data projections.
Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO, indicated that the economy's health is a boon for the retail sector as a whole, which companies are factoring into their strategic sourcing methodologies.
"The economy is good and consumer confidence is high, so families are ready to spend on Halloween this year," Shay explained. "Retailers are stocking up to supply children, pets and adults with their favorite decorations, candy and costumes for the season."
Given that 70 percent of Halloween celebrants intend to distribute candy as part of their festivities, manufacturers will need to ensure they have all the proper systems and ingredients in place to produce, package and deliver at a swift clip.
Just how much candy - and what type - manufacturers will need to produce the most is often dependent on the state. For example, according to CandyStore.com, Skittles is the top selling candy in California - the U.S.' largest state by population - with producers pumping out over 1 million pounds of the rainbow-colored treats per year. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are Texans' favorite sweet treat, a state whose candy lovers consume north of 1.1 million pounds annually.
For Halloween, in particular, chocolate is the most preferred candy of them all, with 68 percent of respondents in a National Confectioners Association survey saying it's their favorite flavor. Candy corn comes in a distant second at 10 percent.
In addition to the confectionery industry satisfying Americans' collective sweet tooth through procurement adaptability, the candy craze during holiday periods like Halloween helps fuel the U.S. economy. In a September report from the NCA, confectioners contribute around 600,000 jobs to the country's economy both directly and indirectly. Of this total, 54,000 are in candy manufacturing.
John Downs, NCA president and CEO, said the candy sector also adds about $44 billion in yearly wealth to America's coffers.
"The industry spans the entire country - with nearly 1,300 manufacturing facilities in all 50 states, American workers are creating American products in American towns and cities," Downs explained.
"We're providing good-paying jobs in the communities where our members work and live. That's what we call the power of sweet."
Purveyor and namesake of John Dunham & Associates added that candy companies add $35 billion in annual retail sales and $1.8 billion in manufacturing exports, totals that wouldn't be possible without supplier relationship management.


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Gretchen Barretto, Richard Gomez fragrances announced
MANILA, Philippines -- Several Kapamilya stars are donning bright colors to welcome the summer as part of a local clothing line's latest ad campaign.
Dubbed "Summer Break 2013," the summer ad campaign of the lifestyle brand Bench taps several ABS-CBN talents to pose in its latest line of casual wear and underwear.
In a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign's photo shoot (above), Kapamilya celebrities like Piolo Pascual and Kim Chiu are seen wearing a denim polo and a pink shirt-and-yellow shorts combo, respectively.
Other ABS-CBN stars who will be seen in "Summer Break 2013" are Julia Montes, Kathryn Bernardo, Joseph Marco, Angeline Quinto, Billy Crawford, Rayver Cruz, Enchong Dee, Ella Cruz, Sam Concepcion, Jason Franciso, Melai Cantiveros, Jessy Mendiola, Diether Ocampo and Shaina Magdayao.
Stars seen sporting Bench's signature swimwear-inspired undergarments are Jake Cuenca, Karylle, Georgina Wilson, Lovi Poe, Enzo Pineda, Benjamin Alves, Bela Padilla, and Jennylyn Mercado.
Other celebrities and models who are taking part in the campaign are Borgy Manotoc, Catriona Gray, Pauline Prieto, Valerie Weigman, Vince Ferraren, Pancho Magno, Carla Abellana, Anthony and David Semerad, Isabelle Daza, Aljur Abrenica, Rocco Nacino, Richard Gutierrez, and Sarah Lahbati.
|Gretchen Barretto's new fragrance "Greta" is among Bench's new celebrity scents. Photo courtesy of the official website of Bench
Coinciding with the introduction of "Summer Break 2013" is the announcement of Bench's latest celebrity scents.
According to the local brand's official website, five new fragrances has been added to its line-up of celebrity perfumes.
"Princess and I" actress Gretchen Barretto is behind the scent dubbed "Greta," while Leyte congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez helped in formulating "Love." The former model's husband, Richard Gomez, also has his own packaged scent called "Conquer."
Singer Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, meanwhile, birthed the fragrances "Reigne" and "Songbird." Her husband, Ogie Alcasid, on the other hand, made "OPM."


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An Xbox 360 Streaming Stay is supposed to be released in June 2021. According to Jeff Grubb, a said industry insider, smartphone will look like a little Roku puck or The amazon website Fire Stick. However , Ms has not however made any official story regarding the product. The Xbox Loading Stick will be available in the coming months, nonetheless it is likely that the company can announce this at E3 in Summer. Ultimately, the stick only will be a more affordable option than consoles, but it surely will be a vital tool to get Xbox players.
Microsoft offers dabbled in hardware over the years, but https://www.bluewhalesng.com/how-to-choose-antimalware-tool its Xbox 360 brand is still one of its most popular undertakings. The Xbox Streaming Keep will permit consumers leap into the Game Pass ecosystem and never have to buy an ardent console. The system is anticipated to be available sometime in the next month and will offer the same lady features since the Game Circulate. The Xbox 360 system Streaming Keep will cost around $50, which makes it significantly less expensive than a devoted console.
The Xbox Lady Stick’s intro to probiotics benefits will build up the number of units that can stream content. It may not be a keep, but rather a dance shoes puck, and will stream content to displays and television. There are many rumours regarding the machine, but the enterprise did confirm that it ideas to “pivot away from current interactions” with games and media. The Xbox 360 system Streaming Keep will be available inside the first half of 2018, therefore the company hopes it can release the product sooner than later.


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What did GM say about electric vehicles?
General Motors has said it’s aiming to produce only EVs by 2035, with 30 new plug-in models arriving by 2025, marking a $27-billion investment. Ford, which previously committed $22 billion to EV development, just announced that 40% of its vehicles will be electrified by 2030.
Is GM going all electric by 2035?
General Motors plans to completely phase out vehicles using internal combustion engines by 2035, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra announced Thursday. The automaker will go completely carbon neutral at all facilities worldwide by 2035.
Who is GM partnering with for electric cars?
General Motors wants to sell electric vehicles that can travel 500 to 600 miles on a full charge in the near future. To get there, it’s partnered with lithium metal battery developer SolidEnergy Systems, which is based in Singapore, but has U.S. operations in Boston.
Is GM going to electric cars?
GM is on its way to an all-electric future, with a commitment to 30 new global electric vehicles by 2025. We are aggressively going after every aspect of what it takes to put everyone in an EV because we need millions of EVs on the road to make a meaningful impact toward building a zero-emissions future.
Who sells more Ford or GM?
Ford: Recent Performances. GM is a smaller company than Ford. GM’s total revenue for 2020 was $122 billion, a 10.75% decrease from the previous year. Ford’s total revenue was $127 billion, an 18.45% decrease from the previous year.
What percent of cars will be electric by 2035?
Targeting 100% all-electric car and truck sales by 2030/2035 is ambitious, but several countries and California have recently adopted these targets, and other states are following suit. California, which has recently seen EVs emerge as the top manufacturing export, just established a 100% zero-emissions sales target …
What is the future of GM?
GM has said it aspires for all of its light-duty vehicles to be zero emissions by 2035. Barra said GM’s focus on “equitable climate action” centers on four areas: The future of work: GM will prioritize its current salaried and UAW-represented workforce in its shift to EVs.
Will all cars be electric by 2035?
Study: All new US vehicles can be electric by 2035, saving households $1,000 annually. As California and Washington move to end sales of new gasoline vehicles, a new study claims all new vehicles in the United States could be made electric by 2035.
Who is making GM batteries?
Ultium is GM’s next-generation batteries and platform, which are expected to debut this year in the GMC Hummer EV pickup.
What does GM say about Nikola?
But G.M. will no longer make an electric pickup truck for Nikola or take an 11 percent stake in the company — once valued at $2 billion. “This is better than what it was because it gets us back to what is most important to both of us, which is fuel cells,” Nikola’s chief executive, Mark Russell, said in an interview.


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An invite-only conference began today at the American Press Institute with a singular directive: “generating revenue from online content.” At the morning session, which just wrapped up, Greg Harmon of Belden Interactive and Greg Swanson of ITZ Publishing presented their survey of 2,400 U.S. newspaper executives. The cardinal finding, first reported this morning by Alan Mutter: 51% think they can successfully charge for content on the Internet.
I honestly have no idea what to make of that number, but there’s a ton of really useful data in Harmon and Swanson’s research, including some online revenue figures and in-depth traffic statistics for newspaper websites. The API has kindly posted their 80-slide presentation, which you can follow above.
If you do, the essential accompaniment is Bill Densmore’s liveblog of the presentation, below. (Densmore is a founder of CircLabs and the Media Giraffe Project.) You’ll also want to apply a helping of salt because ITZ Publishing consults for Steve Brill’s pay-for-news firm Journalism Online, which just touted the results as an “API study” without noting its business interest.
Here are some datapoints I found interesting:
— In nearly all markets, newspaper websites receive 2.5 visits and 10 pageviews for each unique visitor.
— “Core loyalists,” who visit a newspaper 2-3 times a day for 20 days a month, comprise 25% of unique visitors. Not surprisingly, then, core loyalists account for 86% of pageviews and are “overwhelmingly local.”
— Seventy percent of core loyalists online are also readers of the print edition (meaning they subscribe or they picked up a copy in the past seven days).
— Newspaper sites made next to no revenue from behaviorally targeted ads or local search advertising in 2008.
— Classified advertising accounts for 16% to 22% of online revenue for newspapers, though that’s expected to decline this year.
— Most newspapers are selling roughly half of their online advertising inventory, but small newspapers only sold 29% in 2008.
What to make of all that? Harmon and Swanson pursue several arguments that you can follow in the slides and Densmore’s notes. I think it’s particularly noteworthy that 70% of those core loyalists online are also print readers, but others can decide what that means for the newspaper industry.


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Beast Wars Masterpiece Dinobot To Be MP-41, But It's Gonna Cost You
Over on Facebook, Loopaza has uncovered new info about Masterpiece Beast Wars Dinobot! After what's seemed like forever waiting, we're finally inching towards a real release for our third Beast Wars MP mold, which is reported to be designated as MP-41. But while the release info offers no new images or other details about the figure directly, we do get to find out a release date, and a price to go with it. And it's a bit of a shocker. Take a seat, and keep reading for the details!
Right now, MP-41 Dinobot is scheduled to hit retail in July of 2018, and it is listed at a price of ¥28,000, putting it on similar footing price-wise with MP-36 Megatron or MP-10 Optimus and its variations. We're assuming the 28,000 includes Japan's 8% sales tax, which would make the base retail price ¥25,760. Either way, it looks like Dinobot may go down as the most expensive retail Masterpiece yet.
In the TV show, Dinobot was one of the tallest characters in the first season, standing distinctly taller than Optimus Primal, and being nearly as tall as Megatron. It's conceivable that a combination of that required volume as well as an unusual degree of complexity in order to turn Mainframe's CGI "magic" to something that can be achieved in the horribly constraining confines of reality have worked together to reach such a price point.
Dinobot is expected to be a featured debut in Figure King magazine this month, and we anticipate general preorders to open at roughly the same time the article is published, and that means one thing: We should finally have good pictures of both modes, in color, and finally get to see exactly what those of us so inclined will be paying so much for.
Image (click to enlarge)
More MasterPiece News


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Marine Corps Reserve and Salvation Army passed out toys donated for Toys for Tots
YAKIMA, Wash.- The Salvation Army and Marine Corps Reserve passed out all the toys you donated for this year’s Toys for Tots.
Over 40 volunteers helped get toys into over 500 people’s cars today at the fairgrounds.
Toys were dropped off at KIMA and other businesses throughout the Yakima Valley to bring toys to kids that might not have any under the tree.
“They know they don't have to worry about buying toys for the kids. They can use their money to spend on their rent or utilities and things like that,” Lieutenant Nicholas Helms with the Salvation Army said.
Helms said they were able to help out about 1000 families if you include the lower valley and wants to thank everyone that helped.


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Wireless and mobile rewards developer Adfone are rolling out a rewards app and program called Ad It Up, the companies said Tuesday. Using the app, Cricket Wireless customers across the US can choose to view ads on their phone and, in return, earn points that can be redeemed for bill credits.
The Ad It Up app will come "preloaded on millions of select Cricket Android phones," the companies said, but customers can choose to opt in or out from their devices.
When customers register for the program, they'll be asked to choose their interests so the program can show them targeted ads.
"This deployment represents a sizable opportunity for both advertisers reaching Cricket customers as well as telecom companies looking to build and generate revenue in revolutionary ways," Adfone CEO Brian Boroff said in a release.


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Made in America
More from Lorne Cook
EU, US Reach Deal to End Airbus-Boeing Trade Dispute
The U.S. imposed what could have amounted to $7.5 billion in tariffs on European exports in 2019.
Jun 15th, 2021
Food & Beverage
Court: EU States Must Label Israeli Settlement Products
The European Court of Justice said that when products come from an Israeli settlement, their labels must provide an "indication of that provenance" so that consumers can make "informed choices" when they shop.
Nov 13th, 2019
US-Europe Dispute Threatens World Trade Artery
The exchange echoes how the U.S. and China ratcheted up a tariffs fight in recent months that has bruised businesses around the world and stunted economic growth.
Oct 3rd, 2019
EU Vows to Hit Back Over US Tariffs
The latest tariffs target large aircraft but also many typical European products such as olives, whiskey, wine, cheese and yogurt.
Oct 3rd, 2019
EU Threatens Tariffs on $20B in U.S. Goods
A dispute has been escalating over airplane industry subsidies the EU says are hurting Airbus.
Apr 17th, 2019
U.S. Criticizes EU for Slow Trade Talks
"The president's patience is not unlimited," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters in Brussels.
Oct 18th, 2018
EU Investigates German Carmakers
The probe focuses on whether the automakers agreed not to compete against each other in developing and introducing technology to restrict pollution.
Sep 18th, 2018
EU to Trump: Stop with the Threats
The EU said Thursday it is prepared to discuss trade — but not at gun-point.
May 17th, 2018
Many Businesses Warn of Tariffs
The Consumer Technology Association, which represents more than 2,200 companies, said the tariffs could cost far more American jobs than they would create.
Mar 9th, 2018
Tainted Eggs Have Reached 17 Countries
Millions of eggs have been destroyed after it was discovered they had been contaminated with an insecticide.
Aug 11th, 2017
Google Hit With $2.7B Fine
The fine is for abusing weaker rivals.
Jun 28th, 2017


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Bridgestone is returning to Bauma, one of the world’s leading trade fairs for the construction and mining markets, to present a selection from the premium and innovative range of tyres, industrial products and targeted solutions.
Bridgestone is renowned for producing premium quality tyres for everything from bicycles to aircraft, including the world’s largest mining trucks. One of these four-metre-tall tyres, the largest in the world, will be on display at the Bridgestone stand.
It will be joined by a number of other tyres, including brand-new products such as the VSDL Loader tyre 33/65R29 and the VLTS Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) tyre.
The stand will also present rubber tracks, pads, hydraulic hose, cabin and engine mounts. Thanks to its extensive R&D, design and testing resources, Bridgestone offers a wide and high quality product portfolio to meet the OEM’s construction industry requirements.
There will also be technology on show that falls under the Firestone brand including the Firestone Airmount and the Firestone Marsh Mellow.
Technical experts and application engineers will be present at Booth 218 to explain and discuss how these technologies function reliably and durably in driver cabins, engines and other industrial devices, outperforming pneumatic and hydraulic solutions, even when put under the most challenging conditions.
Of course, business success relies on more than high performance tyres and targeted industrial tools. Bridgestone has developed digital solutions that maximise the potential of these products, making the most of the digital technology that is being increasingly integrated into vehicles and machinery to increase productivity, decrease downtime, maximise operational potential and minimise the risks to personal safety.
As part of the Total Tyre Care approach, two specific solutions will be presented at Bauma, Tirematics TPMS and FleetPulse.
FleetPulse consists of vehicle checklists that the driver performs, tyre-pressure measurements performed by Tirematics technology and scheduling to resolve defects, as arranged by the Fleet or Maintenance Manager.
The data FleetPulse gathers is consolidated to offer insights into the operation of a fleet, ranging from validation of maintenance/repairs to data extraction to ensure compliance.
Bauma takes place from April 8-14 in Munich, Germany.


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Well here it is guys, today’s news from LG as usual. This time the company released a teaser image hinting at the durability and water resistance of the upcoming model, saying:
Resist More. Under Pressure
We can all understand that this confirms that the G6 flagship will be water resistant and dust-proof, meaning it will have IP68 certification no doubt. So it will be able to withstand submersion in 1m of water or more, and endure any type of contact with dust, humidity etc.
Gizchina News of the week
Some other leaks however hint on the phone’s battery as well, insisting that it will have a 3200 mAh capacity (at least) and – thanks to the IP68 certification we just told you about- it will be non-removable of course. According to the same leaks, the device will feature an LG G6 Smart Doctor app diagnosing potential problems with the hardware /software and suggesting possible solutions to users.
Perhaps LG wants to avoid problems of… explosive nature, such as the ones that Samsung had, with the Galaxy Note7? Not bad LG, not bad at all…


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New Delhi: Food inflation surged to a 10-week high of 14.44 per cent for the week ended December 18 as prices of vegetables, particularly onions, fruits, cereals and protein-based products, continued to escalate.
Food inflation stood at 12.13 per cent in the previous week. This is the fifth consecutive week when the price of food items has increased.
However, food inflation is still far below the level of 21.19 per cent seen during the same week last year.
On an annual basis, onions became costlier by 4.36 per cent, whereas on a week-on-week basis, the increase was 3.49 per cent, government data released here shows.
The rate of price rise of vegetables was 5.78 per cent on an annual basis, while on a weekly basis, it was 4.58 per cent.
Fruits became 19.01 per cent more expensive, while milk grew 24.64 per cent costlier on a year-on-year basis during the week under review.
Similarly, eggs, meat and fish prices rose by 31.21 per cent on an annual basis.
Overall, the price of cereal went up by 7.77 per cent year-on-year, while pulses became 13.82 per cent dearer.
What is more, the price of rice rose by 7.36 per cent year-on-year and wheat by 8.32 per cent.
On a weekly basis, however, the price of most items — barring vegetables — appreciated in a narrow range.
A good monsoon and prospects of a bountiful kharif harvest had prompted the government to exude confidence about a decline in food inflation.
However, after moderating for a few weeks in November, resurgent inflationary pressure has made all the government’s calculations go haywire.
Unseasonal rainfall in Maharashtra, which resulted in damage to onion crops, saw prices of the staple vegetable soar by over Rs 80 per kg in mid-December. This prompted the government to ban exports of the product and also remove import duty to increase availability in the domestic market.
High food inflation could prompt the Reserve Bank to hike key short-term rates at its policy review next month.
RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn had last week hinted that more tightening monetary measures were likely to be taken by the apex bank at its next policy review, as headline inflation is not easing as fast as the apex bank would like and the upside risks still remain high.
“Inflation is not easing as we would like it to be. Upside risks to inflation are still high,” he had said.
Overall inflation for November was at 7.48 per cent, down from 8.58 per cent in the previous month.
Experts have said that the rise in food inflation is likely to have repercussions on the final WPI inflation figures for December.


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America has a massive truck driver shortage. Here’s why few want an $80,000 job.
About 51,000 more drivers are needed to meet the demand from companies such as Amazon and Walmart that are shipping more goods across the country, according to the American Trucking Associations. The driver shortage is already leading to delayed deliveries and higher prices for goods that Americans buy. The ATA predicts that it's likely to get worse in the coming years.


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Yahoo may rethink use of cash from Alibaba deal
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 9 Yahoo Inc may re-evaluate plans for the cash it gets from a multibillion-dollar sale of half of its 40 percent stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group.
March 15 New Sports Group Ltd
* Expected to record a further loss (on a consolidated basis) in second half of year 2016
* Expected result due to further impairment losses on goodwill and other intangible assets Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
* Penalty is largest FTC has ever imposed for violating an order


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Electro-Sensors will Return to IPPE! Feb. 12-14, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA. Booth A2756!
Electro-Sensors will once again exhibit at IPPE. This year the show will be held from February 12-14 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA. Electro-Sensors will be exhibiting in booth A2756.
Join Electro-Sensors at the GFAI Annual Convention and Trade Show! Feb. 17-19, Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel, Schaumburg, IL. Booth 208!
Electro-Sensors will be exhibiting at the GFAI (Grain & Feed Association of Illinois) Annual Convention and Trade Show. From Feb. 17-19 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel in Schaumburg IL. Electro-Sensors will be exhibiting in booth 208.


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The plan by the State refinery RECOPE to replace super gasoline with an ethanol mix called Eco95 starting at the end of May faces appeals before the Constitutional Court or Sala IV and objection from opposition political parties.
On Monday, the press office of the Sala IV confirmed the receipt of a ‘recurso de amparo’ (writ) filed by Erick Mirando Picado, Félix Miranda Quesada and Jadiel Quesada Monge, private vehicle owners.
In addition, former libertarian legislator, Natalia Díaz, and the PUSC party legislator Pedro Muñoz, have filed writs.
According to the vehicle owners, Recope’s decision to incorporate ethanol into super gasoline can cause “considerable damage to the vehicles that use it, as it has been recognized by the same officials of the refinery”.
In their filing, the explain, Recope cannot guarantee that gasoline mixed with ethanol will not damage automotive systems. In addition, they add that the option of modifying vehicles to alter manufacturers design does not guarantee that the vehicles will not suffer any damage.
Meanwhile, former legislator Diaz asks the high court judges to suspend the distribution and sale of the ethanol mixture, “for its arbitrary imposition of forcing us to use it.”
Legislator Muñoz claims that Recope has not consulted with the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the coordinating minister of the Economic Council, Edna Camacho, or the ministers of Science, Technology and Telecommunications, Economy, Industry and Commerce, or Finance.
Neither, demanded the legislator, has Recope consulted the project with the different groups that defend the rights of consumers and owners.
“It could be violating the principles of proportionality and rationality embodied in our Constitution; since the decision has been taken unilaterally and arbitrarily, affecting consumers and owners of gasoline vehicles,” Muñoz claimed in his court filing.
In addition, the PLN legislators Roberto Thompson and Franggi Nicolás presented a motion on Monday to the Public Income and Expenditure Control legislative committee to convene a hearing for Recope officials to clarify doubts about ECO 95.
The doubts of the legislators revolve around the criteria to select the mix percentages to be offered, the updates of the investment budgets, or the technical studies to define the performance of the fuels or the pollution that it produces.
The plan by Recope is not only to introduce an ethanol mix to consumers, rather the mix is a replacement to the super, forcing consumers to use the mix and possibly suffer mechanical damage to their vehicles, in particular, older vehicles or use a lower grade – regular or Plus 91 – in their engines.


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Rapper 50 Cent's move to accept bitcoin for his 2014 "Animal Ambition" album has resulted in a multi-million dollar windfall.
On Tuesday, celebrity gossip site TMZ reported that 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, had garnered about 700 BTC after moving to accept the cryptocurrency for the album. At the time, the rapper was accepting payments through processor startup BitPay. At the time, that amount was worth about $400k, and by the publication's estimation, his holdings are now worth somewhere between $7 million and $9 million.
The performance artist has confirmed the TMZ article, posting its text to Instagram and writing: "Not Bad for a kid from South Side, I'm so proud of me." In a comment on the social media site, he claimed that he had forgotten about the cache of bitcoin in the years since the Animal Ambition move.
Jackson has a history of entrepreneurial success, most famously as an early investor in Glaceau, which Coca-Cola later acquired for $4.1 billion. He has an extensive portfolio that includes a clothing line, dietary supplements and real estate among other things.
Yet he made waves by taking the step to accept bitcoin for the album, joining the ranks of other musicians who in past years have made similar moves. That year, for example, rock group Mastodon similarly started taking bitcoin via BitPay, and in November of last year, Icelandic singer Bjork revealed that her "Utopia" album would be available to buyers using multiple cryptocurrencies.
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in BitPay.
Image Credit: Jamie Lamor Thompson / Shutterstock.com
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.