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Venezuela takes over plants left by U.S. firm Clorox
Venezuela announced on Friday the "temporary" takeover of two plants belonging to U.S. cleaning products maker Clorox Co which has left the country because of difficult economic conditions.
After Clorox management abruptly left, many of the firm's 400 workers occupied two plants in the Valles del Tuy district to the south of Caracas and in central Carabobo district for several days.
"Here's the workers' government of President Nicolas Maduro temporarily occupying these installations together with the workers," Vice President Jorge Arreaza said with officials at the Valles del Tuy plant on Friday evening.
"We're going to reactivate the plant," he said, accusing Clorox of an "evil" example by abandoning its staff.
In the latest sign of dissatisfaction from private businesses with Maduro's running of the South American OPEC nation's economy, Clorox announced its exit on Monday, saying its business was not viable and that it would sell its assets.
The company said operating restrictions imposed by the government, economic uncertainty and supply disruptions would have led to considerable operating losses. Its share price rose on the announcement, despite the company saying it expected to incur after-tax exit costs of $60 million to $65 million, or 46 cents to 50 cents per share, in its fiscal 2015.
Various multinationals, from Colgate-Palmolive Co to Avon Products Inc, have been warning of hits to their balance sheets and scaling back operations in Venezuela, citing Byzantine currency controls and a slowing economy.
Though official GDP data for 2014 is not available, economists say Venezuela is in recession. Annual inflation is more than 60 percent and the complicated multi-layered currency controls make it difficult for importers to access dollars.
"We've temporarily occupied the plant because the boss has abandoned it," Luis Pinango, one of more than 200 workers at the Valles del Tuy plant, told Reuters shortly before the government delegation arrived.
Arreaza gave no further details of the government's plans for the Clorox installations.
Clorox managers in Venezuela have been unavailable for comment, and there was no response to Reuters' requests for information from the company's U.S. headquarters.
Workers, some holding banners decrying the "illegal closure" and proclaiming "we want to work," said they were bitter at the manner of their dismissal, via a text inviting them to call a telephone number and listen to a pre-recorded message.
"It's the first time a multinational has done anything like that in Venezuela," said Zairo Roman, a machine-repair worker in Carabobo.
Venezuelan analyst Diego Moya-Ocampos, of IHS risk consultancy, said the Clorox case was symptomatic of risks to companies seeking to scale back operations or leave Venezuela.
"Clorox is looking to sell its facilities, but the union seizure risks scaring away potential buyers and could result in property damage," he wrote in an analysis.
"There are several international companies in Venezuela facing the same core problems of rising costs, controlled prices, and the elimination of their profit margins.


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Elgin, Illinois – October 2017 – Quantum Plastics has announced that it has acquired the medical drinkware product line of Thermoserv. Based in Dallas, TX, Thermoserv is a leading manufacturer of innovative drinkware and tableware.
The acquisition includes certain proprietary molds, molding machines, auxiliary and secondary equipment, as well as a viable book of business with several top-tier customers in the medical device industry. The business will be transitioned from Thermoserv’s headquarters in Dallas to Quantum’s molding plant in Fort Smith, AR. The deal helps Quantum Plastics expand in the medical industry and also gives it a proprietary line of drinkware products. From Thermoserv’s perspective, the sale provides capital and frees up floor space in its factory, which will allow Thermoserv to pursue growth opportunities closer to its core business in drinkware and tableware.
“Quantum Plastics will continue to grow through both organic growth and M&A. We are excited to market this propriety drinkware through our Hospitec division. As with our previous acquisitions, we anticipate this new line to ensure our growing company a stronger foothold in the plastics industry,” said Ron Embree, President and CEO of Quantum Plastics.
The acquisition marks the eighth M&A transaction completed in the plastic molding industry for Quantum Plastics, which purchased Master Molded Products in 2014. It followed this initial deal with acquisitions of River Bend Industries, Apollo Plastics and Hospitec USA in 2015. Quantum added 3D Plastics and Plasticos Promex USA in 2016.
About Quantum Plastics
Quantum Plastics was established in 2014 and now offers over 300 molding machines ranging in size from 8 to 3,000 tons and a multitude of capabilities including custom injection molding, blow molding, insert molding, gas assist molding, decorating, assembly and other value-added services. Quantum Plastics operates with the objective of being a world-class plastics company centered in the idea of offering a variety of processes within multiple product segments with a growing footprint. The fundamental vision to be the undisputed leader in engineering and quality is the driving force behind Quantum Plastics. Visit www.quantumplastics.com to learn more.
Thermoserv is a leading manufacturer and provider of innovative drinkware and tableware products that are Made in America and designed to fit every lifestyle. Thermoserv supports businesses in the retail, food service, specialty advertising and healthcare markets. For more information, visit www.thermoserv.com.
Molding Business Services of Florence, MA (MBS) advised Thermoserv in connection with the deal, which became the 88th successful M&A transaction for MBS in the injection molding and engineered components space.
Plastics News also wrote an article on this transaction. Click here to read.

domain: news


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Guns Drawn in Raid on Raw Food Store in Venice
For many, the crux of the raw foods debate has to do with the politics of eating. Should the government tell us what we cannot eat?
On June 30th, Rawesome, an organic co-op grocery in Venice, was the subject of a raid conducted "by federal, state and local authorities," which targeted the store's raw dairy products, according to the LA Times.
Guns drawn, officers of the Los Angeles County's District Attorney's office entered the premises and seized the contraband, including "cartons of raw goat and cow milk and blocks of unpasteurized goat cheese," and other items.


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April 5, 2013
Mobile phone celebrates 40-year anniversary. Back on April 3 1973 that Motorola employee made a call in New York on a Motorola DynaTAC. This globally considered as the first public cellphone call.
July 7, 2011
Sudhanwa Chavan, has created a space-saving roll-up cellphone concept. Named as i Roll, this innovative cellphone concept is sure to make waves in the modern world.


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Google’s expected to launch two new Nexus smartphones before the end of the year, and if you believe the rumors and leaks, one will be a 5.2 inch phone built by LG, while the other is a 6 inch phone from Huawei.
In fact, just about the only things we haven’t already learned from leaks are how much the phones will cost and when they’ll launch.
Now it looks like the wait will be over in a few weeks, because CNET reports that Google is holding a Nexus launch event in San Francisco on September 29th.
Google hasn’t confirmed the report, but it certainly sounds plausible, given the large number of leaks we’ve seen in recent weeks.
The new Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 phones are expected to be among the first to ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which should also be available this fall. Google recently released a third developer-preview of Android 6.0, saying it’d be the last preview before the official launch of the operating system.
The new Huawei Nexus 6 is expected to feature a 2560 x 1440 pixel display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (or newer) processor, while the 5.2 inch model should feature a 1920 x 1080 pixel display and a Snapdragon 808 chip.
Both are expected to feature reversible USB Type-C connectors, stereo front-facing speakers, and fingerprint sensors on their backs.
So two years have past and the Nexus 5 2015 is now 0.2″ bigger and has the same resolution screen as Nexus 5 2013….Its faster though.
Why wait so long? I can order my Moto X Pure today, Google is waiting too long.
You’ll wait with Moto, that’s for sure. You’ll wait for Android updates.
Hopefully they go back to the affordable price point of the Nexus 5. I feel like the Nexus 6 flopped because it was: 1) Boring in contrast to most flagships. 2)Priced like those aforementioned flagships.
Agreed. The Nexus 6 was practically an overpriced Moto X.
I hope they go back to the Nexus 5 price too. Won’t be surprised if they do though, since the Moto X Pure will only be $400, so that pretty much puts a cap on what the Nexus series will cost (at least, that’s what I hope :))
It “flopped” because of absolutely zero advertising.
The Nexuses have never been great sellers for this reason (I think the only Nexus that was ever advertised was the Nexus 7). The 4 and 5 at least sold better through word of mouth because of their low cost.
If they drop the cost, I hope it doesn’t come at the expense of quality – I love my Nexus 6, and don’t want to go back to Nexuses with shitty cameras.
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Executive Creative Director, Antony Parham, has been announced as a judge for the VM&RD Retail Design Awards 2021.
The VMRD Awards is the most prestigious event for the retail design community in the Indian Retail industry, judged by a panel comprising of some of the most reputed names in the retail industry.
Executive Creative Director
Antony is a hands-on strategic Executive Creative Director at Imagination London. Creating memory-making emotional experiences has been Antony's passion for the past 24+ years.
Antony's experience has taken award winning creative pedigree to the nuances of many global markets including Europe, Russia, China, Middle East and India. He is also a regular speaker on brand experience and a recognised judge for leading industry design award programmes.


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Slack Technologies said yesterday it had filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft. Slack bypassed U.S. regulators to lodge its grievances about Microsoft with the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm.
Slack accuses Microsoft of unfair competitive practices
Slack’s complaint with the EU is aimed at Microsoft’s Teams app. Teams competes with Slack’s namesake app in the workplace chat and collaboration software market, which is on course to hit $18.3 billion in annual sales in 2026, up from $8.5 billion in 2018. Since it is a fast-growing market, the competition is intense. The coronavirus pandemic has boosted workplace chat and videoconferencing app demand as people switch to working remotely.
Other workplace collaboration and chat software providers include Cisco, which has WebEx, and Zoom Video, which offers online videoconferencing. The others are Google, with Google Meet, and Facebook with Messenger Room.
Slack has complained that the multinational tech company is applying unfair practices. Specifically, Slack faults Microsoft’s building of Teams app with its dominant Office products. It believes that bundling Teams with Office is an attempt by Microsoft to shield Teams from fair competition.
But Microsoft has rejected Slack’s claims. According to Microsoft, Slack’s fortunes have been shrinking in the coronavirus pandemic because its app lacks a videoconferencing function.
EU has been aggressive when it comes to antitrust issues
The EU has proved to be aggressive on antitrust matters, which may explain why Slack took its complaint about Microsoft there first. The European Commission’s antitrust office has hit Google with nearly $10 billion in antitrust fines in the past three years.
Spotify has also taken complaints about Apple before the EU’s antitrust regulator. The companies compete in the online music streaming market. According to Spotify, Apple is being unfair by taking a cut of its sales booked through its App Store.
Antitrust issues aside, what about the stocks?
Slack and Microsoft stocks have both been on fire this year. Slack stock is up 38 percent, while Microsoft has gained 34 percent. Slack’s antitrust complaint came the day Microsoft reported its June quarter earnings and beat forecasts.
Among the analysts covering Microsoft, 91 percent recommend buying the stock, while 9 percent recommend holding it. At $212 per share currently, Microsoft stock may have a 20 percent upside based on analysts’ $260 peak target price.
Last week, FBN Securities initiated coverage on Slack stock with an equivalent of a buy rating. According to FBN, Slack may be equipped to defend its turf against Microsoft. FBN’s $45 target price for Slack stock implies a 45 percent upside from the stock’s current price of $31. Last month, Goldman Sachs raised its target price for Slack stock to $31 from $30, but maintained its sell rating.


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The Associated Press tweeted a few minutes ago that a Chinese court says Apple will pay $60 million to Proview Technology over an ongoing dispute regarding the iPad name. A subsequent story said that the agreement was reached through mediation in Guangdong High People's Court.
A Chinese court in Shenzhen rejected the trademark infringement suit in December. Proview tried to sue Apple in California, but that suit was thrown out in early May. Around the same time, Apple offered Proview $16 million to settle the dispute. Proview balked, reportedly saying they wanted $400 million to settle its debts. This was down from $1.6 billion that an earlier profile on the company claimed.
Proview sold global rights to the iPad trademark to Apple in 2009, but never transferred the Chinese trademark. Proview has owned the naming rights to the iPad there since 2000.


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Nine of the rapper’s 12 albums are no longer on the Swedish music streaming service, with only his first three records available plus two collaboration records with R. Kelly and a handful of other big singles.
Spotify told Newsbeat: “We can confirm that some of Jay Z’s catalogue has been removed at the request of the artist.”
Jay Z bought his own streaming service, Tidal, in 2015 for £45m.
But it only has around three million subscribers.
That compares to Spotify’s 50 million paying subscribers and Apple Music’s 20 million while Deezer, Google Play Music and Amazon Music still lag behind.
Other artists have withheld music from Spotify.
Taylor Swift removed her entire back catalogue in 2014 after a row over artist payments and Adele’s last album, 25, was only available on CD for the first seven months of release.
Jay Z’s wife Beyonce also withheld her latest album, Lemonade, from Spotify.
Prince’s back catalogue returned to Spotify, Apple Music and Napster in February after only previously being available on Tidal.
Spotify was valued at £6.8bn in 2015 but hasn’t made a profit in the nine years since it was launched.
But that could change after it signed a new long-term licensing deal with Universal Music Group last week, the world’s largest record label.
Its artists could now offer their music on Spotify’s Premium tier before they appear on its free service.
It’s thought that Spotify currently pays 55% of its revenue to record labels in royalties, with extra money going to music publishers.
Meanwhile, Spotify is still thinking about going public and listing on the stock market, which could raise much needed cash for the firm.
Jay Z sold a third of Tidal to US telecoms company, Sprint, in January for £162m.
Because of the deal, Sprint customers in America now have access to exclusive Tidal content.
Most of Jay Z’s music is still available on Apple Music.
Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter (1999)
The Dynasty: Roc La Familia (2000)
The Blueprint (2001) – also unavailable on Apple Music
The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse (2002)
The Black Album (2003)
Kingdom Come (2006)
American Gangster (2007)
The Blueprint 3 (2009)
Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)


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Bee Icons main window screenshot
The new McAfee has a new mobile app to offer: McAfee Mobile Booster (Boost & Clean). But since the new McAfee isn’t really new, neither is this mobile app. So to get things started, the first important...
Great news for Batman fans in general and Batman Arkham fans in particular. To celebrate the release of Batman Arkham VR, Steam is having a Midweek Madness sale and it’s offering discounts of up to 75% on all Batman Arkham Games.
Become A Fan!
Link To Us!


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Tesla says it will fight lawsuit claiming racial discrimination (TSLA)
Nov 15 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc said on Wednesday it would fight a class-action lawsuit filed against it earlier this week claiming the electric automaker's California production plant was a "hotbed for racist behavior."
The lawsuit, filed on Monday by former Tesla worker Marcus Vaughn on behalf of a group of black workers at the plant, claimed that they were addressed using racial slurs and that the company ignored their complaints.
Tesla contested details of the lawsuit in a blog post on Tuesday and signaled it would fight it.
"At Tesla, we would rather pay ten times the settlement demand in legal fees and fight to the ends of the Earth than give in to extortion and allow this abuse of the legal system," the blog post said. http://bit.ly/2mrs8R5
Vaughn had said in the lawsuit that he was routinely called the "n-word" by supervisors and coworkers after he began working at the factory in April, and that Tesla never investigated his claims following written complaints.
Tesla said it had investigated "disappointing behavior" several months ago involving a group of individuals who worked on or near Vaughn's team and fired three employees.
Monday's lawsuit was at least the third filed this year against Tesla by black workers who say the company ignored their complaints of racial harassment.
Vaughn in the lawsuit also said he was fired in October for "not having a positive attitude."
Tesla said in its blog post that Vaughn was not fired, he left when his six-month temporary contract had simply ended.
"Tesla is absolutely against any form of discrimination, harassment, or unfair treatment of any kind," said Tesla. "When we hear complaints, we take them very seriously, investigate thoroughly and, if proven to be true, take immediate action." (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Bill Rigby)
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NMI has been serving ISOs, independent software vendors (ISVs), value-added resellers (VARs), and other fintech innovators with payment enablement technology since the year 2000. Based in Roselle, Ill., the company now has branches in New York City; Pleasant Grove, Utah; and Bristol, U.K. The firm processes more than $50 billion in payments annually and supports more than 1,250 technology partners and 128,000 merchants across the retail, transportation, hospitality, medical, nonprofit, parking and vending verticals.
The company's website states NMI's mission is to use its expertise, "to enable more payments, in more ways, and more places." It further explains how NMI provides clients with, "the freedom to focus on what they do best, liberating them from restricted payment solutions, and giving them access to the latest payment technology now and in the future."
NMI prides itself on providing tools and technologies that help ISO, ISV, and VAR partners offer merchants a way to create a seamless payment experience for customers. The NMI product set includes everything for the merchant to offer payments across multiple points of engagement, including retail, ecommerce, mobile and unattended channels. In 2015, NMI also launched its FACe platform for the payment facilitator market. With FACe, payfacs can extend NMI's single-source processing, secure sign-up, gateway, accounting, reporting, security, redundancy, and chargeback management functionality to their own ISO, ISV, and VAR networks, the company noted.
In 2017, NMI announced that through separate private equity relationships with Great Hill Partners and Francisco Partners, new capital would enable the firm to continue expanding core capabilities and customer service levels. Accordingly, in 2018, NMI performed a strategic acquisition of omnichannel payment gateway and EMV solutions provider Creditcall. Following the acquisition, NMI also appointed Vijay Sondhi as the firm's new CEO.
Sondhi shared his enthusiasm about the opportunity in a formal release. "I am honored to become NMI's next CEO," he said. "With the core NMI platform now combined with Creditcall, we have a tremendous amount of opportunity in front of us to deliver true omnichannel solutions to our partners and continue to drive payment innovation more broadly." The acquisition set several more milestones into motion for NMI, including launch of a new brand
mark, which according to an NMI post, was "aimed to visually reflect the fusion of what used to be two separate payments powerhouses – NMI and Creditcall."
The company recounted how the new mark was designed to resemble an infinity symbol – incorporating the three letters of the parent name – and represented NMI's enablement services, "by unifying all payments channels: in-store, mobile, online and self-service." NMI also released its Unified Commerce Enablement Platform in 2018, describing it as a one-stop-shop of commerce capabilities. Sondhi said the platform, "places our partners in a league of their own" with the ability to offer "a plethora of payment device certifications, along with unmatched shopping cart integrations and processor connections."
In 2019, NMI launched Collect.js, a java script library, enabling NMI partners to help merchants collect sensitive payment information via websites using a simple, easy-to-install, PCI-compliant script. According to Sondhi, NMI's evolution has helped to set the company apart from other providers. "Over the past year, NMI has brought together the industry's leading ecommerce white-labeled payment gateway (NMI) and card-present gateway (Creditcall) to expand the breadth of solutions we offer, all on one platform, forming a unified commerce enablement solution that others in the industry simply don't have," he said.
Furthermore, Sondhi indicated NMI will continue to release technologies that help the company's ISO, ISV, VAR, and payfac partners ensure merchants are equipped for today's new era of commerce. "Our industry-leading technology provides our customers with a multifaceted platform for every point of payment, with one token stored on one database, all while giving them access to our unattended and payfac enablement solutions," Sondhi said.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
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847-352-4850, ext. 111


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Drawing from the Federal Trade Commission’s recent policy statement and its own past enforcement actions, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a new circular for companies offering negative option subscription services, that highlights examples of unlawful behavior by companies that have used dark patterns and other manipulative tactics to trick consumers into paying recurring charges for unwanted products and services. The two agencies are partnering in efforts to combat dark patterns and expressed their commitment to bringing action where necessary.
According to the CFPB, negative option marketing practices may violate the law if they do not clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms, fail to obtain consumers’ informed consent, or make it unreasonably difficult for consumers to cancel services.
The circular emphasizes that such practices may be particularly harmful when paired with digital dark patterns — or, “design features used to deceive, steer, or manipulate users into behavior that is profitable for a company, but often harmful to users or contrary to their intent” — because consumers may be misled into purchasing subscriptions and other recurring services and be unable to cancel the services or avoid recurring charges.
The circular provides in-depth guidance on disclosure, consent and cancellation, and draws from past CFPB enforcement cases to highlight relevant examples, including its action against Transunion for violating a consent order and for deceptive marketing, including digital dark patterns, when selling credit scores, reports and other credit monitoring products; its suit against ACTIVE Network for tricking consumers into enrolling in a costly membership club through the use of dark patterns; and its consent orders with numerous credit card issuers for deceptively marketing optional “add-on” products that charged recurring fees until consumers affirmatively cancelled.
“Consumers shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to cancel subscriptions they don’t want, and they shouldn’t have to worry about a trial marketing offer turning into an unwanted monthly charge,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB has made it clear that misleading consumers about products or subscription services they don’t want is not only dishonest, but also a violation of law.”
“Deceptive practices that seek to trap consumers into subscriptions they don’t want are a violation of the law,” added Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “[The CFPB’s] circular puts companies on notice that there is a government-wide effort to stop these manipulations.”
“Consumers shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to cancel subscriptions they don’t want, and they shouldn’t have to worry about a trial marketing offer turning into an unwanted monthly charge. The CFPB has made it clear that misleading consumers about products or subscription services they don’t want is not only dishonest, but also a violation of law” -- CFPB Director Rohit Chopra


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Alan Greenspan, head of the Federal Reserve Board, has confirmed that he`s now more worried about an economic slowdown than about inflation. President Bush and his economic aides must have sighed in relief, and so should the American public. It means they can look forward to somewhat lower interest rates and modest growth.
After Greenspan`s two-year squeeze on the money supply, the administration feared that his obsession with controlling inflation could plunge the nation into a recession. In 1981-82, Greenspan`s predecessor, Paul Volcker, stuck to a tightfisted, anti-inflationary strategy and produced the deepest recession since the 1930s. An economic downturn now would be disastrous-adding to the budget deficit, jeopardizing heavily indebted companies, throwing people out of work and likely ending Bush`s honeymoon with Congress.
While not giving up the inflation battle, Greenspan told a House banking panel last week that the central bank has redirected its focus. ``Recent developments suggest that the balance of risks may have shifted somewhat away from greater inflation,`` he said. ``What we seek to avoid is an unnecessary and destructive recession.``
In response to weakening retail sales and lagging industrial production, the Fed loosened its grip on credit in early June and early July. And although Greenspan wouldn`t say flatly that interest rates will continue to drop as a result, a further decline is likely because the central bank probably won`t shift direction anytime soon.
Greenspan hopes he can engineer a soft landing for the economy, with the nation`s output slowing gradually and prices remaining stable. But in a remarkable bit of candor for a central bank chairman, he warned that, although he didn`t think it likely, he may not be able to avoid slamming into the runway and causing a recession. ``The balance we`re seeking is a delicate one,`` he said. ``I can`t rule out a policy mistake as the trigger for a downturn.``
So far, however, Greenspan has managed to maintain that balance, controlling inflation as well as sustaining growth. Most economists see no reason why that course can`t be stayed. They foresee continued reductions in growth this year and next, with the real output of goods and services growing at below 3 percent this year and under 2 percent next year, compared with 3.9 percent in 1988. Inflation is expected to stay around 5 percent this year and next, up from 4.4 percent last year.
That may seem like a substantial slowdown, but it doesn`t qualify as a recession, which is defined as a sustained period-usually two successive quarters-of economic decline. In August, the expansion that began late in 1982 will become the nation`s second longest ever. It would have to last two more years to surpass the era of prosperity during most of the 1960s.
We may get close to that mark, but don`t hope for much beyond it.
``Someday, some event will end the extraordinary string of economic advances that has prevailed since late 1982,`` Greenspan told the lawmakers. Meantime, the Fed chairman appears in control and realistic about the course he must steer to maintain price stability and continued expansion.


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New Zealand's stupid new copyright law that would cost you your Internet connection if you were accused of copyright infringement three times (without proof of any wrongdoing) is officially dead. Massive, global interest in the law, as well as a series of savvy Internet- and meatspace-protests convinced the government to climb down off the ledge that the American movie and music companies had lured it onto.
"Allowing section 92A to come into force in its current format would not be appropriate given the level of uncertainty around its operation," said Commerce Minister Simon Power in a statement. "These discussions have exposed some aspects of section 92A which require further consideration. While the government remains intent on tackling this problem, the legislation itself needs to be re-examined and reworked to address concerns held by stakeholders and the government..."
"3 strikes" strikes out in NZ as government yanks law
Users and ISPs were most concerned that the rules would apparently disconnect even huge businesses after a few employees downloaded illicit files. A high-profile judge raised concerns that the procedure could run afoul of contract law in New Zealand. ISPs weren't keen on disconnecting their own customers for the benefit of one set of industries, and they couldn't believe the law provided no indemnification from lawsuits; the ISP could be sued both by users and rightsholders if they didn't like the way it was handling the three strikes program. And users wanted some form of third-party or judicial arbitration before any Internet disconnection...
As for all those worries about false positives and the quality of evidence? RIANZ has never taken them too seriously, since (like the RIAA) it insists that its detection methodology is basically foolproof. In a recent interview posted on the RIANZ website, CEO Campbell Smith was asked if he would "eat his hat" if music industry copyright notifications turned out to contain numerous errors.
As Oracle desperately tries to reanimate its wretched, failed attempt to destroy everything Sun Microsystems stood for and end computer science as we know it, there’s never been a better time to rock one of these “You Wouldn’t Reimplement an API” tees, which were an underground hit during the earlier trial.
Kyohazard’s Lament Configuration is a terrific piece of fan-art for those of us who loved the Hellraiser movies (the good ones, at least).
This is a pretty amazing vacancy: “You will lead Consumer Reports in our effort to realize a market where consumer safety is protected through strong encryption; consumers’ rights to test, repair, and modify their devices are supported by copyright, security, and consumer protection laws; and consumers are empowered to make informed choices about IoT products […]
Finding quality icons is a challenge for designers, and can also get pretty costly if you use them often. And when you’ve got a lot to do, the last thing you want to spend your time on is creating new icons from scratch That’s why we recommend using the Noun Project ($49). Noun Project is a site […]
While Netflix and Hulu have seemingly dominated the streaming market with their limited selections, we’ve looked a little outside the box and found something pretty great as an alternative. SelectTV combines all the content of cable with the convenience of streaming, and it’s affordable too.SelectTV is an online subscription service that packs an impressive library of over […]
These days, the vape market is saturated with low-quality products, making it nearly impossible to separate the gems from the duds. The Atmos Rx Dry Herb Vaporizer stands out from crowd for two reasons: its impressive battery life and durable construction. This high-end little gadget is compact enough to fit in your pocket, and packs a powerful punch, […]


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Tech giants unveil cyber risk management solution
Tech giants Cisco, Apple, Aon and Allianz on Tuesday unveiled a cyber risk management solution for businesses that has cyber resilience evaluation services from Aon, a secure technology from Cisco and Apple and options for enhanced cyber insurance coverage from Allianz.
The new solution, which is now available, is designed to help organisations better manage and protect themselves from cyber risk associated with ransomware and other malware-related threats.
Aon cyber security professionals will assess interested customers' cyber security posture and recommend ways to help improve their cyber security defenses. Jason Hogg, CEO, Aon Cyber Solutions, said in a statement,
This holistic solution provides our clients with an integrated approach to addressing ransomware risk. We can provide customers with guidance on what cyber defenses, resources and processes to deploy to improve their cyber posture. It's the improved cyber posture that makes them eligible for enhanced/broader cyber insurance protection.
Allianz evaluated the Cisco and Apple technical foundation of the solution and determined that customers using "Cisco Ransomware Defense", and/or qualified Apple products can be eligible for the Allianz-developed enhanced cyber insurance offering.
"This strategic alliance with Aon, Apple and Cisco allows us to provide a unique solution to companies using this integrated platform to manage risk and ultimately strengthen their battle against high-profile threats," added Bill Scaldaferri, President and CEO, Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty (AGCS) North America.
The solution has "Cisco Ransomware Defense" that leverages industry leading threat intelligence from "Cisco Talos" to see threats once and block them everywhere.
The solution includes advanced email security, next-generation endpoint protection and Cloud-delivered malicious internet site blocking.
"Cisco Security technology is central to the new holistic risk management solution and we are excited to bring another important benefit to our customers with greater options for cyber insurance," Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO, Cisco, said.
The tight integration of hardware, software and services on iOS devices ensures that each component of the system is trusted. Users benefit from always-on hardware encryption, as well as support for secure networking protocols.
"We're thrilled that insurance industry leaders recognise that Apple products provide superior cyber protection and that we have the opportunity to help make enhanced cyber insurance more accessible to our customers," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.


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Travelers can visit Lisbon’s Oceanarium, learn to bake baguettes in Paris, and more.
The two new North American trips will each include a two-day rail segment.
Each of the tours complies with the U.S. government's "Support for the Cuban People" category of travel.
Baron left A&K last summer.
Ultimate Driving Tours, a tour operator offering luxury supercar road trips, is expanding to the U.S.
Trending destinations, longer trips, themed tours, and more.
Brightline's much-anticipated travel professional program is finally here.
Eight new itineraries will be added to the National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures collection.
The newest offerings span the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
She is the first new CEO since the company was founded.
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Anti-profiteering measures have been initiated by the Hyderabad GST Commissionerate on the theatres and multiplexes which have not reduced the ticket prices from Januray 1, 2019. M Srinivas, Principal Commissioner informed that some multiplexes have reduced the rates but some did not.
The GST reduction decision was taken during the GST Council’s 31st meeting held on December 22, 2018. Under which GST was reduced for movie tickets from 28% to 18% for tickets priced more than Rs.100 and from 18% to 12% for tickets priced Rs.100 and less.
Hyderabad GST Commissionerate officials verified sample tickets from Inox at GVK One mall and PVR at Punjagutta. The prices were reduced as per the decision. However Prasads Imax ticket prices were not reduced, the prices remained Rs 150 for screen 1-5 and Rs 250 for screen 6. Under section 171 of the CGST Act 2017, Anti-profiteering measures were initiated against Prasads Imax.


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Is This The Best It Will Get For A Bush Recovery?
Three years into the Bush recovery, we still have not crawled our way back to where we were when he came into office, nor are we generating enough jobs to keep pace with population growth.
The economy added 112,000 payroll jobs in November, far fewer than the month before and not enough to keep up with average increases in the adult population, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
The gain was well below Wall Street forecasts, and employment in manufacturing was flat for the third consecutive month.
The report cast a shadow on expectations for holiday spending this year, given that consumers face higher gasoline and heating prices without much rise in real personal income.
Three years after the last recession officially ended in November 2001, the rebound in jobs remains slower than in any previous economic recovery since World War II.
Unemployment inched down by 0.1 percentage point last month, to 5.4 percent, but the United States still has at least 200,000 fewer jobs than it did before the recession began. At the same time, the adult population has grown by about four million.
Itís bad enough that we arenít even generating enough jobs to keep up with our population growth. Itís even worse that the one good month we had recently was actually an aberration for which the original results will be revised downward again.
Many analysts were stunned last month when the government reported a spectacular jump of 337,000 jobs in October. But on Friday, many said that the October jump was mostly an aberration in the more enduring trend of slow growth in jobs and wages.
On Friday, the Labor Department revised down its October estimate to 303,000 jobs from 337,000. But analysts said even that number was exaggerated by special events and statistical issues.
"October now clearly stands as an outlier, partly thanks to the hurricane effect and partly, we think, to plain old sampling error," wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y.
Ah, there we go again, sampling error. But then we know that the pollsters and the GOP are experts at that, donít we?
Check out some of the comments from analysts about our jobs picture:
"The economy is adding jobs, but not at a feverish pace," said Richard Yamarone, chief economist at Argus Research, an economic research firm in New York. "Economic growth is not expanding at a pace that can engender stellar job growth, and I think you have to get used to these kinds of numbers."
Mr. Yamarone, if we have to ďget used toĒ job growth of only 100,000-200,000 a month, then we are all in trouble, given that many of these jobs are temp help, lower wage jobs. How will the Bush Administration finance its deficits if more and more people are making less than they did last year? Who will be buying what Corporate America has to sell if wages keep failing behind inflation?
"Available data suggest the recovery remains surprisingly resilient, despite concerns about energy costs," wrote Robert V. DiClemente, a senior economist at Citigroup. "Gains in employment of 185,000 per month suggest an expansion proceeding at cruising speed."
Job growth of 185,000 represents an expansion at "cruising speed?" Remind me not to pay attention to anything said by anyone at Citigroup from now on.
And why is the economy slowing? Well, sure it is good that the well-off are doing just fine. But what happens when the middle class and the lower-income households lose ground because their wages havenít been keeping up with inflation? Retail suffers, thatís what.
Retailers actually added nearly 300,000 more workers last month. But hiring was far less robust than usual going into the holiday period: Adjusting for seasonal hiring patterns, the figure represents a decline of 16,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department. It is the fourth year in a row that November retail hiring has fallen on a seasonally adjusted basis. Gasoline stations, department stores and stores selling clothing, sporting goods, books and music all reported declines last month.
The fall reflected several factors, analysts said. Many retailers cut back on holiday hiring as they sensed weakening demand from middle- and lower-income households, whose wages have not kept up with inflation.
But that is your Bush recovery. Only the upper third are doing well, and the gap between them and the rest of the economy is only growing.
I hope the red staters who voted for Bush are happy.


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Google and Levi has come together in a surprising collaboration that will soon introduce the very first “smart jacket” to the world. The impressive new product, called Project Jacquard, is an experiment that comes from technology that is incorporated right into the fabric and will become the first garment that will use this technology.
The jacket, called the Levi’s Commuter Trucker jacket, will be made for both women and men and will be priced at $350. The announcement was first made by Google at the 2017 South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival.
But just how does the jacket work and what exactly makes it “smart?”
There is a capacitive touchpad located on the left sleeve which allows the user to control apps with just a tap or swipe, similar to touch-screen phones. It will work in tandem with a smartphone app which will allow the wearer to customize the jacket’s uses. These uses include controlling your music, answering calls and text messages, using Google Maps and Calendar, and being able to tell the time with just a swipe of your finger.
The touchpad is controlled by a small tag, which is rechargeable, that is clipped on the side of one of the sleeves. The battery life of the tag is nearly two days. However, project lead Ivan Poupyrev says that he hopes to improve the battery life by several days in upcoming updates.
The technology is found in a special conductive yarn that can actually be woven into any type of fabric. The goal of the project is to have a wide variety of Jacquard-enabled clothes.
Although the technology of the jacket is barely noticeable, it is still possible to make the technology completely invisible. That choice is left to the clothing makers.
The project is a part of Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) and is the first to be released for commercial availability. Poupyrev said that: “It was a long road but what’s really impressive, is the entire journey, we stayed true to our vision and what we wanted to achieve. This jacket is going to be sold as a piece of apparel, that was always the vision from the very beginning.”
Who knows, maybe one day every piece of our clothing will be “smart.”


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Hewlett-Packard re-upped with DoubleClick Performics for search marketing. DoubleClick Performics had worked with HP for two years, and will continue to buy and manage search terms for HP for another two.
Gorilla Nation hired Matt Stodder as VP, sales strategy and operations. The online ad rep firm hired Stodder from Yahoo, where he was director of ad solutions for Yahoo Entertainment.
Style.com tapped Enpocket to power its mobile Web experience and mobile advertising efforts. The fashion site launched the mobile system in conjunction with the Fashion Week event.
Woods Witt Dealy & Sons launched campaign, including a microsite, for Butternuts Beer & Ale. The New York State microbrewery had not done any formal marketing before selecting the agency.
Teen-oriented virtual world Habbo named Peter Levin to its board of directors. Levin is currently president and co-founder of Bellrock Media.
Millennial Media hired Peter Bassett as SVP of advertising sales. The cross-platform mobile advertising company hired Bassett from Community Connect, where he was senior vice president of advertising sales.
Retailers understand the importance and potential of omnichannel marketing, but implementing it is the hard part.
Despite not being one of the juggernauts, Avocados From Mexico made a big impression during the Super Bowl. Meet Ivonne Kinser, who heads the ... read more
While CTRs may have worked in the 1990s, and still do have a place in email marketing, when it comes to banner ads, they’re not your friends when it comes to measuring ad effectiveness. But what other options do we have?
The past month has been filled with big management changes at Twitter, Taco Bell, PayPal, Havas Worldwide, DigitasLBi and Google.


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Scottish soft-fruit sector growth needs solid labour schemeScottish soft fruit growers from Angus yesterday ramped up the pressure in their campaign to get a seasonal workers scheme in place this summer. They sought the support of Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing who visited East Scryne farm, to meet farmer James Porter and other members of the Angus Growers co-operative, which supplies strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries to major outlets in the UK and Europe.
Porter, NFU Scotland’s soft fruit chairman, said the business had enough workers at this stage of the season. However, he expected to be 15% short of requirements by August and EU labour would not be enough to meet demand. “We urgently need a seasonal workers scheme which will apply to people from outside the EU, because the weakness of the pound no longer makes working in the UK such an attractive option,” he said. “There are already Ukrainians working in Germany and hundreds of thousands of them in Poland where there’s not a minimum wage. We have a national minimum wage and we used to get a lot of Ukrainian students. We know they’re willing to come here.”
Secretary Ewing toured the fruit tunnels. The soft fruit sector contributes an estimated £134 million to the economy. Speaking after the meeting, he said that the industry’s growth was at risk from Brexit due to the prospect of barriers to trade and labour being introduced.
Mr Ewing added that he had pressed the UK Government on the need for a seasonal workers scheme at his last two meetings with Environment Secretary Michael Gove. Pressandjournal.co.uk further quoted him as saying: “The UK Government could end this ongoing uncertainty by committing to remaining in the EU single market and customs union – a position the Scottish Government has continually argued for since the referendum. Such a position would demonstrate to seasonal workers that Scotland, and the whole of the UK, remains an open and welcoming place to live and work.”
Publication date: 5/11/2018
Other news in this sector:


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As retailers reallocate their IT budgets, many are evaluating task-management systems. Simply put, task management is an application that electronically manages the tasks that need to be executed throughout a specific store-level operation. These could be stocking shelves, updating displays and promotions, or executing planograms.
While it sounds rudimentary, too many chains fail to execute their daily plans. For example, slightly more than half (59%) of retailers’ plans are executed in a timely manner, Rob Garf, VP and general manager, retail strategies, AMR Research, Boston, said during the recent Technology and Operations Store Summit (TOPSS) sponsored by Chain Store Age and Retail Technology Quarterly.
“Companies are spending $12 billion on planning systems, but less than $100 million on execution solutions,” he said during the panel discussion, “Task Management.”
Retail Winners Payless ShoeSource, Topeka, Kan., is one company that understands the value of task management, especially as it manages approximately 5,000 stores. But in the past, Payless often fell short.
“Getting ahold of thousands of stores via phone is difficult and takes time,” explained panelist Tony Briggs, the chain’s VP, IT. “E-mails are better, but the high turnover in retail presents challenges in setting up addresses. And we haven’t made the move to instant messaging yet.”
Instead, the company began testing a task-management solution directly through the company’s intranet.
At presstime, the solution was being tested in 300 stores. The application helps associates to manage resets.
“We are saving associates time in our stores and they are able to reallocate that time into customer service,” Ron Baker, director of retail systems, Payless, said at the meeting.
“We started small so we could learn from it and understand the value. It clearly helps our business,” he said.
Impressed with these early improvements, Payless plans to expand the solution to more stores this fall.
Memphis, Tenn.-based AutoZone is also an advocate of task management. AutoZone’s store-level associates are responsible for a variety of operations, from resetting stores and assortments, to updating pricing, signs and fixtures.
“If we wanted some tasks done simultaneously, however, it was inevitable that some operations didn’t happen,” Ken Brame, the chain’s former CIO, said during the session.
“It wasn’t that our associates didn’t want to do them,” he recalled. “We didn’t always give them the right processes or guidance to complete these tasks, and that made successful completions too hard for them.”
After pinpointing the obstacles, AutoZone created a store-level plan and delivered it via a task-management solution.
“The secret was to remove these obstacles and deliver tasks that are priorities,” Brame said. “Now our stores know which operations are most important to do each day.”
Currently, most companies communicate task-management information via PC or POS. Garf predicted that the next generation of delivery could be streamlined and accessed through a handheld unit.
“An employee-facing handheld is fine as long as it is a multifunctional device that can support price look-ups, line busting or customer-service returns,” noted Brame. “We can’t underestimate this technology, However, we also need to leverage and harness what can be done with one piece of equipment.”


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U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in South Korea
U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in South Korea as part of a tour of Asia with the North Korea issue high on the agenda, as the country grieves over the ferry disaster. Rough Cut (No Reporter Narration).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposes a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, potentially subjecting the $2 billion industry to U.S. federal regulation for the first time. Mana Rabiee reports.
BMW has been adding an M badge to its craziest performance cars for more than 40 years. To see just how far the performance game has moved on, we’re going to drive four of the most extreme M cars ever built.
There's a new 911 GT3 on the horizon, which will come with an automatic gearbox only. We take this previous generation of the GT3 on a farewell drive to see what we'll been missing out on...


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Shop Local: Hampstead designer’s ‘uplifting’ lifestyle products for a ‘dreary’ lockdown
- Credit: Sara Miller, London
“Over lockdown everyone wanted bright and colourful uplifting things for their houses, as life was dreary and people were stuck at home, and they came to us to get them.”
Sara Miller’s eye-catching prints bring a splash of colour into a miserable November. Drawing from her travels around the world, the award-winning designer told the Ham&High her products capture a sense of the exotic, allowing users to escape the everyday.
Launched in 2016, the Hampstead-based luxury lifestyle brand now offers more than 1,000 products in 60 countries, and is stocked in John Lewis and House of Fraser, as well as having its own sales website
The founder has been widely recognised for her work, and last Monday won the Best Licensed Fashion or Talent Brand award at the industry’s Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards. She won the same award in 2018, beating fellow nominees Paul Hollywood and David Beckham.
The designer lives with husband Philip and two-year-old daughter Lyla, and is expecting a baby boy in March.
Like business owners across the UK, Ms Miller was hit hard by lockdown restrictions.
She said: “I felt I had a pretty stable business model, and the diversity in our products and our territories meant we were secure. Then Covid came and turned everything upside down.”
- 1 The most expensive homes sold in Haringey in November 2021
- 2 Air ambulance mobilised as boy, 15, knifed in South Hampstead
- 3 'We're proud of what we do': Kossoffs celebrates six months in Kentish Town
- 4 'We don't need to drink more coffee' say cafés as Joe & The Juice moves in
- 5 Cops swoop on cannabis farm rumoured to be 'largest ever' busted in Haringey
- 6 Ex-manager admits defrauding Paddington Sports Club
- 7 Sexual offence reports at record levels in Camden, Haringey and Barnet
- 8 Italian sandwich shop opens in a Hampstead telephone box
- 9 Ricky Gervais behind new benches for people grieving to 'talk and reflect'
- 10 Fundraising year begins at William IV pub in Hampstead
Two weeks before March’s lockdown the business had exchanged on its new Hampstead Gate office.
“That was a huge financial commitment and a leap of faith, even in the best of times. [Lockdown] was just awful,” she said. “I had the most stressful, choking feeling.”
Most of her small team were furloughed in March, and Ms Miller added she was grateful for the government’s support during that time.
But she is frustrated that under current lockdown restrictions supermarkets remain open and have a monopoly over household items.
“Little independent shops whose lifeline is greeting cards aren’t able to compete, and there’s a danger that supermarkets steal our business and consumer habits change in that process.”
She said she’s praying lockdown, due to be lifted on 2 December, isn’t extended, and people can go return to the high street.
Visit www.saramiller.london or find them on Instagram @saramillerlondon


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New York's hometown paper is once again owned by a Chicago-based newspaper holding company, following the 'New York Daily News' sale on Monday to Tronc Inc. In a way, it's like deja vu. Tronc wasformerly Tribune Publishing, the publisher of the 'Chicago Tribune,' which originally created the 'New York Daily News' nearly a century ago.
NYS Entity Status
NYS Filing Date
JANUARY 10, 2013
NYS DOS ID#
NYS Entity Type
DOMESTIC BUSINESS CORPORATION
2013 - ENO 39 INC.
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- Burger King's Machado, GE's Comstock Among Ad Club Of NY Honorees
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Highlights from the shows, including a celebrity-packed front row at Calvin Klein and a trek to Bedford Hills, N.Y., to see Ralph Lauren’s vintage cars.


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Hospitality sector pleads for compensation, perspective from new parliament
One day after the election and as the results are trickling in, hospitality association KHN called on the new parliament to please offer catering entrepreneurs some perspective and compensate all of the damage they suffered as a result of measures against the coronavirus.
This plea is not new and no different from previous appeals, but it bears repeating, KHN director Dirk Beljaarts said to ANP. The association believes that catering establishments can open safely under the current coronavirus restrictions.
Catering establishments have been closed for everything except takeaways since October. These measure aren't only impacting the sector, but also entrepreneurs, their staff and their families, Beljaarts said. According to him, catering entrepreneurs have already invested at least 5 billion euros of their own money and resources to keep afloat during the crisis. And that while the crisis was not caused by the sector, he said.
If the government does not come with perspective, the KHN worries that it will face a whole series of lawsuits from entrepreneurs who want to enforce rent discounts and other arrangements. The government can intervene though rental law and prevent this, the KHN said.
Beljaarts also called on the banks to take the "corporate social responsibility" they brag about in their brochures and communications, and step up to help the catering sector. "After the first payment break had ended, banks came up with the magic word of customization. We know that in practice this means that they did not listen and that entrepreneurs had to make payments again," he said to the news wire.


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Don’t look for eye-popping growth out of most Greater Cincinnati companies as they post first-quarter earnings in the next few weeks.
The median growth rate for 29 locally based public companies that have analysts’ estimates available is just 3.3 percent, according to data compiled for the Courier by Chicago-based Zacks Investment Research Inc.
That’s pretty meager, but it’s better than what analysts are expecting the broad market to do this time around. They see earnings for the S&P 500 companies declining by 1.8 percent, according to Zacks’ earnings guru Sheraz Mian.
After last year’s double-digit growth, that’s a downer. But the stock market doesn’t seem to care. It hit all-time highs earlier this month and has held up well. The market is looking ahead – as it always does – and in this case it sees expectations for earnings growth to pick up and hit double-digits in the second half of the year, Mian said.
Some of the biggest Greater Cincinnati-based companies are expected to post the largest earnings growth. Payment processor Vantiv Inc. (NYSE: VNTV), department store giant Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), corporate uniform maker Cintas Corp. (Nasdaq: CTAS) and supermarket operator Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) make up half of the local companies that are predicted to turn in greater than 10 percent profit gains. Click here for the full list of local companies and their earnings growth expectations this quarter.
On the flip side, nine local companies are expected to turn in earnings declines of more than 10 percent. Those include health care names AtriCure Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRC) and Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HRC), as well as Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB).
Overall, there’s nothing to worry about even if earnings growth does match expectations and come in on the low side, said Terry Kelly, a principal and investment adviser at downtown-based money management firm Bartlett & Co. After big profit growth the past few years, it’s tough to sustain that pace as the earnings base expands.
“At this stage of the recovery, this is normal,” Kelly said. “The economy has been growing at a low level, so you’d expect earnings to follow that.”


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Germany's inflation slowed as initially estimated in October, final data from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Wednesday.
The consumer price index rose 1.1 percent year-on-year in October, after a 1.2 percent increase in September.
The statistical office confirmed the preliminary estimate published on October 30.
Energy prices declined 2.1 percent in October, while food prices rose 1.1 percent. Excluding energy, inflation was 1.4 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, the consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent in October as published earlier.
The EU measure of harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose 0.9 percent year-on-year, the same rate of growth as seen in September. This was same as the initial estimate.
Compared to the previous month, the HICP climbed 0.1 percent in October as estimated.


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ASEA Power Systems and Newmar DC Power Onboard have aligned under the newly formed MCE Marine Group in Huntington Beach, California. Both companies will retain their brand names, while all operations will move to its Huntington Beach headquarters.
MCE Marine president David Brown said the brands will focus on developing new product lines while also expanding distribution footprints. "In uniting ASEA and Newmar, we've strategically positioned MCE Marine to become a major single source power solution with strong growth prospects," said Brown in a statement. "With applications ranging from commercial and naval vessels to large yachts, we engineer and manufacture our products to surpass expectations in terms of durability, reliability and performance."
Brown, who joined MCE in 2016, also named new hires. Eric Herman has joined MCE Marine as its director of engineering. Herman is responsible for designing and developing new products for existing vertical and immediate adjacent markets. With a B.S. in electrical engineering, he has worked for companies involved in electromagnetic power conversion technology, distribution switchgear, paralleling controls and power generation technology.
Brian Giannini was promoted to MCE Marine Group sales manager. He was most recently national sales manager for Newmar Power.
Gabriel Vargas was promoted to service manager and application engineer, having worked for ASEA Power for nine years. A specialist in power and inverter modules, he oversees the test department.
ASEA Power Systems manufactures marine AC shore power voltage, frequency and phase converters, with levels ranging from 250VA to 800kVA. Newmar DC Power Onboard builds battery and inverter chargers, DC converters, power supplies and control, distribution panels, and meters and instruments.


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May 12, 2016
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Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini predicts the company will grow to over $200 million in revenue by early 2022 — up from $150 million last year.
As Barstool expands into virtual dining, frozen pizza, and sports media rights, the brand is evolving from brazen disruptor to ubiquitous player that’s now “everywhere” in the sports ecosphere.
That will be the digital media brand’s message Wednesday during its upfront presentation to ad agencies.
Barstool’s revenue grew 57% to $150 million in 2020. If the company surpasses $200 million by the end of 2021, that would represent a roughly 33% increase.
It would be double the $100 million in revenue it generated back in January, 2020, when Penn National acquired a 36% stake in Barstool for $163 million in cash and stock.
The deal valued Barstool at $450 million.
The rowdy upstart has feuded with the biggest names in sports, from the NFL to ESPN. It also boasts 135 million followers on social media, and its sports and pop culture content generates 1.6 billion monthly video views.
Also notable is the fact that more than half of Barstool’s audience is under 30 years old; a third are female. It boasts the No. 1 sports podcast in America with the humorous “Pardon My Take.”
As Barstool transforms into an entertainment/lifestyle brand, it is forging partnerships with Fortune 500 giants like Walmart that might have looked down their noses at its sometimes notorious past.
“I really believe Barstool is everywhere. There isn’t a category that we haven’t disrupted,” Nardini said. “Whether it’s finance, sports, lifestyle, entertainment, military, parenting. We’ve really disrupted so many great categories. We create content that is funnier, smarter, sharper, shorter, more dynamic than most anybody else out there. That’s the reason our brand and our company are growing so quickly. That’s the reason we perform so well for our advertising partners.”
Entering Wednesday’s upfront, Nardini believes Barstool has a strong story to sell:
Barstool Bites: Jumping on the “ghost kitchen” trend, Barstool will launch its own “virtual dining experience” in October. The company will team with hundreds of restaurants to offer a “Barstool Bites” menu, including chicken wings, sandwiches, chips and “game buckets,” deliverable to your home.
With Barstool Bites, the company hopes to do for “couch food” what it did for vodkas with its Pink Whitney brand. Barstool wants to “bring its content, our products and our brands to our fans — no matter where they are,” she said.
One Bite: Founder Dave Portnoy’s new frozen pizza line will hit 3,600 Walmart stores at the end of September. The global frozen pizza market reached $14.5 billion in sales, according to IMARC Group, and is predicted to grow at a rate of 6.8% between 2021 and 2026.
Barstool Arizona Bowl: On Dec. 31, the company will not only title sponsor the Arizona Bowl but stream it across its platforms. Look for Portnoy and Dan “Big Cat” Katz to serve as analysts while Barstool brings in a play-by-play announcer to steer the game telecast from Tucson.
Barstool’s selection sparked a backlash from the Pima County Board of Supervisors. which voted 4-1 to withdraw nearly $40,000 in funding from the bowl due to Portnoy’s history of “inflammatory statements and tweets.”
Barstool was recently named a bidder to stream a package of midweek MLB games. It seems to only be a matter of time before a league sells rights to Barstool. The Arizona Bowl approached Barstool, Nardini said, not the other way around.
“Sports and teams are really looking for a couple things. They’re looking for viewers and young fans — and we have both of those.”
New talent: Over the last year, big names such as Deion Sanders and David Oritz signed with Barstool. At the upfront, Barstool will tout new hires such as TikTok stars Alex Bennett and her mother Kim as well as sports betting personalities “Megan Makin’ Money” and “Kelly in Vegas.”
Sports Books: Barstool’s online sports book is now live in nine states (New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, and Colorado).
Branded Bars: Barstool is planning to open its first stand-alone, branded sports bars in Chicago and Philadelphia this year.
Super Bowl: Despite its feud with the NFL, Barstool’s planning a party and other live events in Los Angeles before Super Bowl LVI.
The controversial brand has come a long way. Nearly four years ago ESPN cancelled “Barstool Van Talk” after one episode due to Portnoy’s offensive comments about ESPN talents. The feud between Portnoy and the NFL came to a head with “El Presidente ” physically ejected from Super Bowl LIII in 2019.
Barstool recently launched an exclusive channel on the SLING TV streaming service. But Nardini doesn’t seem them doing another cable TV show: “You’ll see us do streaming. You’ll see us doing our own broadcasting.”
The media industry is still recovering from billions lost during the sports shutdown. Barstool’s ability to reach young consumers is opening doors previously closed along Madison Avenue.
Since 2016, the number of Barstool advertisers has grown from fewer than 10 to over 300. They include Chevrolet, Pepsi and Verizon.
“The world is opening up for us,” said Nardini.“We’ve gotten to a big enough scale where someone like Walmart says, ‘Hey, we want to sell more pizza. We want 22-year olds to come into Walmart.’ So what’s the best brand to work with if you want a 22-year old to come into Walmart? I think that’s us.”


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Hawley proposes bill revoking China's preferential trade status
Senator Josh Hawley is introducing legislation to permanently revoke China's "most favored nation" trading status as a means of protecting American workers.
China economic espionage 'top threat' to US commercial, military secrets
Intelligence community leaders rated China as the top threat to America's economic and technological competitiveness in congressional hearings on worldwide threats held last week.
South Korea says US Chips Act subsidies have too many requirements
SK Group of South Korea has pledged a $15 billion U.S. investment that includes semiconductor research and development.
US challenges Mexico’s plan to phase out imports of corn from GMO seeds
During 2022, Mexico purchased nearly $5 billion worth of corn from the U.S., making it the second largest importer after China. US exports to Mexico are GMO based.
Huawei export licenses could be revoked by US
Huawei was previously placed on the US Commerce Department’s blacklist over concerns China could use the company’s telecommunications tech for spying.
US manufacturers urge House select committee on the CCP to help American businesses compete with China
The National Association of Manufacturers is calling on the House select committee on the U.S.-China competition to take steps to enhance the American manufacturing sector.
How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed financial markets
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, one year ago, could have permanent negative consequences for the global economy, inflation, and financial markets caused by reduced trade.
US aims to create semiconductor manufacturing clusters with Chips Act funds
US Secretary of Commerce Gin Raimondo lays out Washington's plan to organize and shape the semiconductor manufacturing industry from the top, down, through 2030.
UK trade chief rips Biden's 'protectionist' policies
U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch on Tuesday slammed President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act as "protectionist" and warned it could cause supply chains to fail.
War in Ukraine: The economic impact on energy and food one year after Russia's invasion
The one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine arrives on Friday and the war has caused major economic volatility, particularly in energy and food commodities.
Biden admin declines to overrule trade court's import ban on Apple Watch
The Biden administration declined to block the U.S. International Trade Commission's import ban on Apple Watches that allegedly infringed on AliveCor's patented technology.
Apple Watch faces potential import ban over patent dispute with Masimo
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US restrictions on goods from China made with Uyghur forced labor worries Vietnam exporters
Exporters based in Vietnam are concerned about violating a U.S. ban on imports from China's Xinjiang region which aims to block goods made with Uyghur forced labor.
India billionaire scandal a 'hitjob' by US firm attacking financial systems, supporters claim
A New York City-based forensic financial group accused Gautam Adani's company of running the "largest con in corporate history," causing investors to pull back.
House panel on China economy: 'Single greatest threat to America's global standing'
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US trade deficit hit record in 2022
The trade deficit in goods and services was a seasonally adjusted $67.4 billion in December, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, up from a revised $61 billion in November.
Turkey earthquake causes massive shipping container fire caught on video, Maersk says
A fire is raging Tuesday at the Port of Iskenderun in southern Turkey following a devastating earthquake there Monday, shipping giant Maersk says.
China continues to lead world in counterfeit and pirated products: USTR report
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Russia boosts China trade to counter Western sanctions
Russia and China have spent years building stronger economic ties, including a $55 billion gas pipeline and Russia’s increased usage of China’s yuan.
China solar panel shipments scrutinized over forced Uyghur labor
Customs and Border Protection is scrutinizing imports from China's Xinjiang region under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Solar panels are the most commonly flagged product.


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Apple, Google and other firms are stepping up security measures to regain public trust following in the wake of news from Edward Snowden that the NSA and other government agencies may have been using backdoors to access data from tech companies.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently said that the security in iOS 8 makes it almost impossible for Cupertino to pass information over to the feds, and Google's new Android L operating system will ship with encryption out-of-the-box. Amid all of the bragging of increased security, Google's Eric Schmidt has stepped in to suggest that Google has long offered more secure servers than Apple.
"We have always been the leader in security and encryption," Schmidt explained to CNNMoney recently. "Our systems are far more secure and encrypted than anyone else, including Apple. They're catching up, which is great." Schmidt's comments were likely made in response to a letter from Tim Cook that suggested "other companies" were selling customer's private data, a clear jab at Google, which makes a bulk of its profits on ad sales. Schmidt said that it was "unfortunate" Cook believes this about Apple and said Cook must have been briefed by someone who wasn't up to snuff on Google's security measures.
We're happy to see Google and Apple fighting for customer privacy and security, even if it means fighting against one another, because it should lead to both working round-the-clock to beef up protection against hackers. Still, the U.S. government and the FBI in particular aren't fond of the new measures. FBI director James Comey recently suggested that both firms were acting above the law by keeping the government out.
"I just want to make sure we have a good conversation in this country before that day comes," Comey said recently. "I'd hate to have people look at me and say, 'Well, how come you can't save this kid,' 'how come you can't do this thing."
The FBI and the Justice Department are both working to stop Google and Apple from moving forward with new software that will block the government from getting court-ordered access to data. On the other hand, security experts have argued that increased encryption prevents all attackers from accessing data, even data owned by the government.
Win an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with the Reader's Choice giveaway!
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AXA acquires XL Group in $15.3bn deal
AXA CEO Thomas Buberl
AXA’s business mix will fundamentally change once its acquisition of XL Group is completed. Property/casualty (P&C) business will represent half its book of business as it diversifies away from being mainly a life & savings insurer.
AXA is acquiring Bermuda-based property/casualty commercial lines re/insurer XL Group for $15.3 billion (€12.4 billion) in cash.
P&C business represented some 39 percent of AXA’s 2016 pre-tax underlying earnings. After adding the XL Group and excluding AXA US, which is set to be sold, P&C will represent around 50 percent of its pre-tax underlying earnings, according to a March 5 presentation.
The benefits of the move include risk diversification, a reduction of exposure to fluctuations in the financial markets while it also reinforces the group’s growth potential, according to the company.
XL Group, AXA, M&A, P&C, Insurance, Reinsurance, Thomas Buberl, Gregory Hendrick, Mike McGavick, Europe, Bermuda, North America


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Shares of Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, fell 25 percent in the past six months, becoming the biggest loser among auto stocks in this period.
The stock underperformed the Nifty Auto index, which declined about 10 percent, and the Nifty 50, which gained more than 9 percent.
The drop in the Hero MotoCorp share price is attributed to competition, shrinking market share, lower monthly sales volumes during the second wave of Covid-19, rising commodity prices, and regulatory changes in emission norms and safety parameters.
The auto sector as a whole has been a major underperformer in this period, when the benchmark indices touched record highs on hopes of strong economic and earnings growth due to the vaccination drive and efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic.
“Hero MotoCorp is one of the underperformers in the last few years mainly due to a decrease in market share as it is facing tough competition… Hero MotoCorp has a decent presence in entry-level bikes, where it is losing its grip to Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor,” said Gaurav Garg, head of research at CapitalVia Global Research. “Rising commodity prices have been putting pressure on profit margins.”
Rising fuel prices along with higher vehicle prices have been a drag on the momentum in two-wheeler sales, Garg said. Potential buyers are taking to public transport or opting for electric vehicles instead, he said.
“Two-wheeler affordability has also been impacted by many regulatory changes in insurance, emission and safety parameters,” Garg added.
Hero MotoCorp reported a 36.8 percent drop in profit in the three months ended June from the previous quarter, while its gross margin declined 210 bps following a sharp increase in metal prices. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 57.5 percent QoQ to Rs 514.8 crore against estimates of Rs 679.3 crore.
Hero MotoCorp is the market leader in the two-wheeler segment in India and has been the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, in terms of unit volumes sold by a single company in a calendar year, for 19 years in a row.
Given its strong fundamentals, research & development and progressive work on electric vehicles, investors should hold the stock for the long term and accumulate at current levels for strong returns in the coming quarters.
“Hero is doing enough R&D and working on their first e-scooter. Two-wheeler volumes may grow in CAGR 14 percent in FY2023 as compared to FY2019 peak, therefore we can see some traction in the coming festive season. The stock is worth investing in the long term as its fundamentals are intact along with a strong balance sheet,” said Garg.
“The company has superb fundamentals. The company has launched its first EV recently. It follows a cost-plus strategy, so in the long run, any additional cost will be transferred to customers through price rise,” said Rahul Sharma, cofounder of Equity99.
He recommended maintaining positions in the counter for a target price of Rs 3,650. Any further dip should be used as an opportunity to buy more shares, he advised.
Sharma said the situation has started to normalise and sales volumes are again expected to climb.
“The auto sector is expected to be a huge beneficiary of the EV theme and most companies have launched EV models,” he said.Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.


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Timely, comprehensive, professional and accurate information and data to understand the latest information about blockchain, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin
Mark Zuckerberg’s tech empire appears to be setting its sights on new crypto-related endeavors. He is the CEO of the social media giant Meta, formerly Facebook. The company filed eight trademark applications on Friday for its logo to cover a wide range of digital purposes, including cryptocurrency tokens, wallets, and exchanges.
Among the eight trademark filings, six explicitly refer to cryptocurrency and blockchain-based technologies. (The filings can be viewed by searching the serial numbers on the Patent and Trademark Office website.)
The news comes just a few months after Meta’s exit from Diem, the cryptocurrency formerly known as Libra.
So what does this all mean? Well, Meta recently announced it’s looking to integrate NFTs on Instagram, one of its most popular apps. At the SXSW Conference, Zuckerberg said he envisions Instagram users being able to mint their digital avatar’s clothing as NFTs.
Because NFTs are unique crypto tokens that exist on a blockchain like Ethereum and signify ownership, NFTs would be included under Meta’s broad filings that cover any “crypto tokens.”
This would allow Instagram and Facebook to add an NFT profile picture feature similar to Twitter’s.
(Article Courtesy of Decrypt)


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Sonos is preparing a new generation of smart speakers, known as the Era 300 and Era 100, that will debut in the coming months, The Verge has learned. The speakers, which The Verge previously detailed under the codename Optimo, will be pitted against Apple’s $299 HomePod and other smart home speakers from Google and Amazon. The flagship Era 300 is designed to showcase spatial audio music tracks and Dolby Atmos content. Both speakers have a completely new design compared to existing Sonos products.
The Verge can exclusively report the consumer-facing names as Sonos finalizes plans for the Era 300 and 100. As further evidence of the new Sonos product family, a document from Sanus, a manufacturer of TV mounts and speaker accessories, directly mentions the Era speakers. The document is for an $80 wall mount that’s compatible with both products. There’s also a second document that mentions floor stands for the Era speakers. Apparently priced at $220, the stands have a weighted base and will allow for “17 inches of height adjustment for optimal listening.” Both Sanus documents were published last month, according to a Google web search.
Back in August, The Verge revealed that Sonos plans to release multiple new speakers as part of a new product series. The most premium of those devices is codenamed Optimo 2 — this is likely the Era 300 — and it will be a multidirectional speaker built to get the most from spatial audio. Featuring a completely rearchitected acoustic design, the Era 300 will offer the richest fidelity of any single speaker that Sonos has ever released. Aside from being better suited for immersive spatial audio music tracks, the Era 300 is also likely to offer USB-C line-in, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, and potentially Bluetooth playback as well. These features were all explored during development, though some could change in the final hardware.
Less is currently known about the Era 100, but it is likely that an Era 100 SL (without built-in voice mics) will also be part of the 2023 Sonos lineup. This could potentially end up being a Sonos One successor with up-firing Dolby Atmos drivers — a missing piece of the company’s home theater portfolio that Sonos fans have long clamored for.
All speakers in the Era lineup will support automatic tuning and sound optimization. Sonos plans to highlight the company’s progress in using sustainable and environmentally friendly materials with the Era portfolio.
The “300” branding of the flagship Era is also likely to raise memories of the long-retired Sonos Play:3. It was previously a middle-ground speaker between the Play:1 (now the Sonos One) and Play:5 (Sonos Five).
Sonos has ambitious plans for the coming months and beyond; CEO Patrick Spence has previously stated that the company will enter four new product categories — with the first device in a brand new category due this year.
Sonos fans are in for an exciting 2023
Whatever that product is, it will be different from the Era speakers, which fit into one of Sonos’ core businesses. Spence hinted at the pending arrival back in November, promising that Sonos would “reset the bar in our existing product categories, further differentiating Sonos as the choice for premium home audio.”
For the first time, The Verge can also report that development is currently underway on a second-generation Sonos Move speaker. As the larger, more powerful model of Sonos’ two Bluetooth speakers, the Move has gained popularity for its versatility and impressive sound quality. The first-generation Move was announced in 2019, so a refresh in 2023 would make a lot of sense.


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SALINAS, CALIF. — Salad and fresh food producer Taylor Farms is entering into the greenhouse growing market with an investment in Pure Green Farms, a Midwest leafy greens producer.
The company’s expansion into greenhouse-grown offerings will complement Taylor Farms' existing 122,200 crop acre field-grown program and 16 salad-producing facilities across North America.
"We're excited to venture into the industry of indoor growing with this investment," said Bruce Taylor, founder and chief executive officer, Taylor Farms. "Our customer partners have asked for a national solution and this is our first step."
Pure Green Farms' already established facility in South Bend, Ind., offers a climate-controlled environment equipped with high-tech machinery that grows, packs and ships leafy greens year-round. Pure Green Farms' first harvest was in March 2020 and operates on a site that can potentially expand up to 300 acres.
"We are thrilled to work alongside an industry-leading company like Taylor Farms," said Joe McGuire, CEO Pure Green Farms. "We know this is just the beginning of a fantastic relationship with Taylor Farms and we're looking forward to continuing to address the increasing demand for local product offerings."
For more produce industry news, click here.


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A popular type of Christmas tree, the Scotch pine, may have a gift for people with arthritis. A chemical in its bark fights inflammation, which could ease arthritis pain.
The news comes from a country close to Santa’s North Pole home — Finland. Finnish scientists studied Scotch pine bark, reporting their findings in the Dec. 15 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Scotch pine bark’s potential healing powers have been tapped before. A Scotch pine bark extract is concocted for traditional folk medicine and is still used as a dietary supplement in Europe, say the researchers.
The study doesn’t say why people take the extract, but the pine bark is loaded with potent antioxidants. That made it irresistible to researchers including Maarit Karonen of the University of Turku’s environmental chemistry department, who were hunting for plant chemicals with functional uses.
Karonen and colleagues brewed their own Scotch pine bark extracts in a lab. They examined the extracts in extreme detail, looking for key ingredients.
They identified 28 compounds, zeroing in on eight that looked particularly promising. All of the chemicals had been noted before, but not much was known about them.
Next, the researchers pitted the extracts against inflammatory cells called macrophages from mice. They tested several versions of the extracts. The most purified brew drastically reduced the cells’ ability to produce chemicals that trigger inflammation.
One of the chemicals that was blocked, called Cox-2, is the same chemical blocked by a group of prescription medications, such as Bextra and Celebrex, that fight inflammation and ease pain.
However, it’s too soon to know if Scotch pine bark will inspire new drugs for arthritis and other conditions involving inflammation. So far, the extracts haven’t even been tested on living mice, let alone humans.
Still, the possibilities are worth exploring, say the researchers. Meanwhile, don’t try to brew your own Scotch pine bark extract at home, they caution.
SOURCES: Karonen, M. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Dec. 15, 2004; vol 52: pp 7532-7540. News release, American Chemical Society.


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You already know that Russia hacked our election. What you might not have heard is how Russia has also inadvertently hacked our American wine market. And the two main culprits currently under investigation are from Agawam, the husband and wife team of Andrei Birsan and Daria Ratnikova from VinDistributors.
Daria is originally from Moscow and Andrei is from Moldova. Moldova? Is that another country made-up by our Russian-compromised commander-in-chief? Turns out, no. Moldova is a former Soviet republic nestled between the Ukraine and Romania. By some estimations, it’s the poorest country in Europe. It also turns out that Moldova is one of the top 20 wine producing countries in the world. (At least it was in 2014, according to the Food & Agriculture Association.)
Their language is Romanian, but romantic enough in its construction that Andrei says, “If a Moldovan moved to Italy, they would be fluent in a few weeks.” If you have heard of Moldova, perhaps it’s because there is a rather large Moldovan population in Greenfield. But seeing as they are predominately made up of of devout Baptists, there’s not a lot of recreational wine drinking in that community. As the old joke goes: Catholics believe the wine is literally changed to the blood of Christ and Baptists believe the wine is literally changed to grape juice. Moldova is just about the same latitude as Burgundy, so the climatic potential to make great wines is there in the geography-and in the rich soil near the Black Sea. But if Moldova is such a big-deal wine country, why haven’t we heard of them? Because, at least for a while, they didn’t need us.
According to Daria, Moldova elected a largely pro-European parliament. Three years ago, in retaliation, “Russia stopped buying Moldovan wine. Twenty five percent of Moldovan GDP comes from wine. So when that big sale didn’t happen, the economy started to suffer.” That’s where Andrei and Daria come in. They decided to emigrate wines from his native country into their new homeland: New England.
“We saw that there was absolutely no good Moldovan wine on the market, at least in Massachusetts.” Daria told me. “Moldovans already know how great the wine is. We want everybody to know how great the wine is, and how inexpensive the wine is, so we decided to open up the market and let everybody try Moldovan wine.”
“We started the company just over two years ago.” Andrei says, “It was a good time because the government was looking into opening new markets, especially looking towards the West.” Daria and Andrei were in their early 20’s, just out of college, living in their adopted homeland of Western Mass and in go-nowhere jobs they didn’t love. What to do? Drink. And, since they started importing wines themselves, bring a favorite part of their homeland home and drink for free.
“There was a Moldovan initiative to create a public/private partnership called Wine of Moldova which created marketing opportunities to target new markets,” Andrei said. Andrei and Daria seized the opportunity and are double-handedly tearing down the Iron Curtain between the U.S. and Moldova’s wines here in New England.
It’s a nice New-American love and business story, but how’s the wine? Pretty dang good.
The Cricova Brut is a sparkling blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir with some Aligoté and Sauvignon Blanc blended in. The interesting thing about Cricova, a winery based in the Moldovan city of that name, is they store their wine in 75 miles of underground tunnels in a former limestone mine. And you thought The Big Dig was big.
“You’re actually going to find traffic lights and intersections underground,” Andrei says, “The streets are named after the types of wines that are stored on those streets.” Apart from being the perfect microclimate for wine storage, Cricova has built banquet halls to entertain foreign ministers underground,” Daria says, “Putin’s 50th birthday was actually in Cricova.” Who knows? Maybe Trump was there.
The Brut is made in the bulk Charmat method (long story, another column) but has a yeastiness that alludes to some Champagne. And at $8.99 or so a bottle, I find it hard to make excuses not to get one for every evening. “It pairs with tomato bruschetta or brie cheeses,” Daria says, “but my girlfriends really like to pair it with caviar.” Andrei adds, “I usually like to drink it right from the bottle.” Some gender stereotypes know no geography. I’ll have it right out of the bottle with caviar, thank you very much.
Then there is the Purcari Winery. According to its website, meetmoldova.com, “By 2015, no other winery in all of America, Germany, Austria and all of Central Europe won more prestigious Decanter Worldwide Wine Awards than Chateau Purcari.” (Decanter is a very good British wine magazine). Allegedly, Queen Elizabeth loves one of their 1990 offerings so much she still yearly orders it by the case. I tried the 2011 Rara Neagră de Purcari.
It’s easy to find because of the large “1827” printed on the label, the year Russian Emperor Nicholas I declared Purcari to be officially fancy. Rara Neagră is an indigenous grape and it means “rare black”. It looks light in color, like a Pinot Noir, but it’s much richer, it tastes like sour cherry with some earthy notes on the nose. (Euphemism for poop smell. That’s not a bad thing. Another column). And like most Moldovan wines right now, it’s dirt cheap: $15.99.
With little-to-no American name recognition and more than 200 miles of driveable underground wine storage, Moldovan wine is figuratively and literally an underground wine culture. But Andrei and Daria want to change that here in New England, and that’s the best news I’ve heard out of the former Soviet Union in a long time. I really like the wines, especially the sparkling. And I, for one, know where I’m heading when the Putin/Trump Apocalypse is nigh: the 200 miles of underground limestone wine bunkers of Moldova.
Tweet Monte Belmonte at @MonteBelmonte.