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July 21, 2016 — The FDA is investigating reports of hair loss, hair breakage, balding, itching, and rash associated with the use of WEN Cleansing Conditioner by Chaz Dean.
As of July 7, 2016, the FDA has received 127 adverse event reports directly from consumers. The FDA is also investigating another 21,000 complaints reported directly to Chaz Dean and Guthy-Renker.
It is the largest number of complaints ever associated with any cosmetic hair-cleansing product, including cleansing conditioners.
“It contains virtually no cleanser. It’s like using lotion to wash your hair, so instead of removing the product, when you rinse it off, it just becomes impacted in your hair follicle.”
Last year, over 200 people joined a class action lawsuit against Chaz Dean and Guthy-Renker. The manufacturers of WEN are accused of ignoring thousands of complaints and continuing to sell the product.
While the investigation continues, the FDA recommends that anyone who experiences a reaction should stop using WEN and contact a dermatologist or other healthcare provider.


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Many stores not warning of mercury / Survey finds that signs about fish often missing, unreadable
Shoppers who were picking up seafood along with their Thanksgiving turkeys and stuffing on Sunday said they think warnings about mercury in swordfish, tuna and shark should be prominently displayed, and disapproved of stores that don't do so.
Natalie Wells of Palo Alto, who was shopping for her mother at a Safeway in Lafayette, said she's so aware of the need for warning signs that she noticed last week when a market she popped into didn't have any posted.
"I was really surprised," said Wells, who said she's been eating more fish lately for health reasons. "It's an established thing. They need to have a sign big enough to get your attention."
According to a new survey by an environmental group, many supermarkets in California aren't properly warning customers about the risks of high levels of mercury in some fish.
The survey of 109 grocery stores, including stores owned by Albertson's, Kroger Co., Safeway, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, found that 41 percent had no warning signs at all in the fresh or frozen seafood areas, and 40 percent had signs that were difficult or impossible to read.
The survey was conducted by staff and volunteers of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, a Forest Knolls (Marin County) environmental group.
"Mercury is a dangerous substance. The public has a right to know when their food contains any toxic substance. That way people can make informed choices," said Andy Peri, marine species campaigner for the nonprofit group.
The Chronicle, meanwhile, reported Sunday that four popular varieties of fish sold by high-end markets in the Bay Area contain mercury at levels suspected of causing health problems.
The state attorney general in January sued five major California grocery chains claiming that signs warning of the risks of mercury must be posted near where five specific varieties of fresh and frozen seafood are sold. The suit alleges the stores were failing to comply with Proposition 65, which requires warnings for toxic substances, because they weren't adequately alerting consumers of risks from varieties of fish containing high mercury.
The suit has not gone to trial, but four of the five supermarket chains have publicly said they will post warning signs.
The potent form of methylmercury in fish can cause nervous system damage in developing fetuses, infants and children as well as serious health problems in adults.
Brian Dowling, a Safeway spokesman, said Sunday that the chain had voluntarily decided "early on" to post 8 1/2-by-11-inch warning signs, which carry an outline of a fish along with information about the hazards, on both fresh and frozen fish counters.
However, a large Safeway in downtown Concord did not have the warning sign on the frozen fish display, and had only a postcard-size warning in small type taped on the fresh fish display window.
"You can't even hardly read that," said Larry Miller, 42, of Concord, who was shopping with his family for fresh crab. "Older people, they couldn't read that."
Dowling said he would check with the store to find out why the signs weren't up, adding "they should be posted."
The survey by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, which had filed intent- to-sue notices against grocery chains before the attorney general's office took over the case, was conducted in June through October. The group said of the stores it surveyed, the best posting record was by Trader Joe's, with only 22 percent of its stores failing to warn customers. Next best was Whole Foods, where 25 percent failed to warn.
Twenty-nine percent of surveyed Albertson's stores and 41 percent of Safeways did not have warning signs, the survey found.
Eighty-eight percent of the surveyed Kroger stores had no signs posted at their fresh or frozen sections. Kroger owns Ralph's and Bell Market, among other stores.
Kroger representatives could not be reached for comment. Earlier this year, the chain objected to the warnings, and filed an unsuccessful challenge to the posting requirement.
Safeway's Dowling said he didn't believe that the signs hurt overall sales of seafood.
"I don't think it's had that impact," he said. "It's been an awareness- raising thing more than anything else."
Wells said she appreciates being aware of the risks, and that she doesn't eat fish with high mercury levels.
"I don't buy swordfish," she said. "I used to eat it, but not anymore."
In its suit, the attorney general's office asked that the warning read: "Pregnant and nursing women, women who may become pregnant and young children should not eat the following fish: swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish. They should also limit their consumption of other fish, including fresh or frozen tuna."
The suit seeks posting of visible signs in the area where the fish was sold, with a suggested size of 8 1/2 x 11 inches, the state said. The state suggested that the grocery chains use some educational material on the signs, including Web sites of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.
Sue Fiering, the deputy attorney general in charge of the case, said an interim warning is required.
"If they post the warning, they are in compliance with Prop. 65. If they don't post any warning, they are out of compliance," Fiering said. "If they post a different warning (than the one suggested by the state), we would have to look at it to see if it were 'clear and reasonable' under Prop. 65."
Violations of Prop. 65 carry a fine of up to $2,500 per violation per day.

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Gaming Innovation Group signs iGC agreement with large casino operator
GIG has communicated ambitions to expand its iGC operations, focusing on larger clients. Improvements of platform infrastructure and architecture has increased capacity to support the scale of all operators in the industry. The agreement with this undisclosed operator is considered a validation of GIGs strategy.
CEO of GIG, Robin Reed comments:
“This agreement has been won in competition with international solution providers and is a major milestone for GIG as it confirms the attractiveness of our iGC platform also when targeting larger clients. The agreement is strategically important as it positions GIG towards an important and growing iGaming market.”
The initial contract term is 5 years, and the online casino will be developed by GIG’s design and development team in collaboration with the operator. The operator plans to launch its online offering in 2018.
iGC is a cloud based platform offering the full spectrum of services for an iGaming operator. It has the potential to be a game changer for the wider community of the iGaming industry as its three core functions are to eliminate technological bottlenecks, reduce costs and increase the technological capability for operators and white labels alike.
For further information, contact: Robin Reed, CEO, +356 9999 0382, [email protected].
Gaming Innovation Group Inc. is an emerging gambling solutions and interactive entertainment provider. The Company offers cutting-edge cloud-based services and B2B performance marketing, and owns B2C gambling operators offering games from the best-of-breed suppliers across the online sports betting and casino industry. Gaming Innovation Group operates out of Malta and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GIG".
AnnouncementFriday, February 16, 2018GiG will host co-founder of Apple and legendary Silicon Valley tech wizard Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak in Malta at an event celebrating the company’s five year anniversary. GiG will also invite over 400 university and MCAST tech students, developers, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and...[Continue Reading]
GiG reports fourth quarter revenues up 29% from third quarter 2017, and up 86% from fourth quarter 2016Tuesday, February 13, 2018In Q4 2017 Gaming Innovation Group Inc. (GIG) continued its profitable growth, reporting all time high quarterly revenues of EUR 39.9 million and EBITDA of EUR 7.9 million. The increased profitability is driven by...[Continue Reading]


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GE, Fanuc Split Up
FANUC, GE Fanuc Automation Corporation grew to become a leading high-performance technology company that serves a vast array of industries around the world including the energy, water, consumer packaged goods, government & defense, and telecommunications industries. The partnership delivers hardware and software solutions, services, automation and embedded computing systems; as well as industry-leading CNC products.
FANUC Honorary Chairman Dr. Seiuemon Inaba said, “Our joint venture has achieved great success toward its original mission, which was to cooperate on the global growth and technical development of the PLC and CNC business. Over this time period, markets and opportunities also have changed dramatically, and both companies further expanded into adjacent segments. Today’s market conditions are such that it’s imperative we pursue these expanded opportunities, and while we have achieved great things together, it’s in both our best interests that we focus our efforts on industry opportunities unique to our respective companies and that will deliver greater benefits to both our companies.”
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE)


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Rainbow Beauty Supply III
Retail store now open 7 days a week in Winter Garden, FL
Online store now open!
Sep 20, 2023 — Fans hence will be able to watch this match live on their TV sets in India on Sony Ten 3 SD/HD channel. For live streaming options, fans can ...


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JAYSON Westbury, chief executive AFTA
As this issue of travelBulletin arrives in your hands I hope that the Australian bushfires are contained and we are well into recovery. Late last year and the early parts of 2020 have certainly been shockers for the country as the bushfires ravage our country with an indiscriminate ferocity.
It is hard to reconcile just how many hectares of our great land has burnt this summer and it is going to take a mammoth effort to get things back on track. For the travel and tourism industry the aftermath and recovery has a combination of issues.
First for our inbound friends and the Australian domestic market there are all the challenges of the global media who have covered the stories so well — perhaps almost too well — that people who may have been thinking about a holiday in Australia may reconsider it.
Our government agencies are doing all they can, along with the foreign service, ministers and Prime Minister to ensure the right message is being heard about the fact that while the fires have been dreadful, the country is very much open for business and the lion’s share of our tourism assets remain unaffected. If the global media get behind this point as well as they got behind the fires, the inbound pipeline will remain intact and thrive.
For the outbound side of the industry the fires present a different challenge. So many Australians feel bad about the fires even if they have not been directly impacted or connected. It is just a patriotic feeling that we get and rightly so. The key for the government from the outbound industry is to ensure that consumer confidence does not take a decline, which is always the first indicator of people not wanting to book overseas travel.
And then there is the issue of unaffected people just not feeling like it is the right thing to take a holiday right now as the country is in recovery mode. Again this is all in the communications and messaging, as their decision to take an overseas holiday in fact has nothing to do with the fire.
For all reports from AFTA members there has been some triage requirements for bookings around these two factors, but not in any way significant from an industry-wide impact point-of-view.
We all want to support and help and whenever there are issues either homegrown or internationally the travel industry always steps up. I remain confident that this will be the case once again as the bushfire situation becomes more controlled and the country starts to move on, respectfully as would be expected.
It is a difficult time for us all, but we must remain positive and confident as we hope the Australian people will — the travel industry depends on confidence and AFTA will be advocating this point with all stakeholders over the coming months.


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DUBLIN, Ireland-- Research and Markets’ report on the "Global Rail Equipment Manufacturing and Services Industry 2013-2018, suggested that the industry is moderately consolidated with the top 10 players accounting for just over one-fourth of revenue in 2012.
The market is expected to grow as rail transportation industry continues to expand, relatively unfettered by rising fuel prices and environmental concerns that hamper other modes of transportation, said the reoirt, Long-term growth prospects are expected to be good for the industry, driven by population growth, urbanization, global trade expansion, and increasing environmental awareness.
A combination of factors such as increasing urban population, replacement of aging rail equipment, rail infrastructure development, environmental issues, and government regulations also greatly affect industry dynamics, the report added.
The report analyzes that the industry faced challenges from the increasing global unemployment rate due to the economic meltdown and the Euro zone debt crisis. This adversely affected the global consumption rate, especially on consumer electronics and the real estate industry. The global inflation rate rose during 2011, which had a negative impact on the food, retail, consumer electronics, and real estate industries.
This report discusses the key drivers of the industry. Increasing GDP per capita possesses a positive impact related to demand, which is reflected in the ability and propensity to pay for travel by rail. The industry made large investments in technological innovation globally during the last five years, a key driver for the industry.
This study is intended to provide industry leaders with a competitive benchmarking of global rail equipment manufacturing and services industry. It also provides up-to-date information on the market share, profit margins, capabilities, and strategies of the leaders. It helps current suppliers realistically assess their performance vis-a-vis leading competitors. It is designed for executives with strategically significant data analysis and insight, critical to the development and implementation of effective marketing and sales plans.


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Defining ‘family business’: Did Credit Suisse get it wrong?
A recent study by Credit Suisse Group AG, cited by the financial news site 24/7 Wall St., found that family-controlled public companies outperform non-family companies on several metrics. According to the “Credit Suisse Global Family” analysis, as reported by 24/7 Wall St., family businesses have a 4.3% higher return on equity than the benchmark, and a cash flow return on investment that is more than 9% higher. (The “Credit Suisse Global Family” index is limited to companies with a market cap that exceeds $1 billion.)
This news is nice to hear, especially since it confirms earlier studies. For example, Morgan Stanley reported in 2005 that family businesses listed on the S&P 500 outperformed the index in 2000-04 by 4.4% over one year, 19.6% over three years and 109.7% over five years. And a 2003 study by researchers Ron Anderson and David Reeb found that return on assets for companies still controlled by the founding family was 6.65% higher on average than for non-family businesses.
All well and good. But when I examined the companies in the latest Credit Suisse study, something seemed amiss.
The 24/7 Wall St. article identified the top 10 U.S. companies from the Credit Suisse Global Family list. The first company is no big surprise: Wal-Mart. Descendants of founder Sam Walton have a stake of about 50% in the retail giant, and the late founder’s grandson-in-law Greg Penner just succeeded his father-in-law, Rob Walton, as the company chairman. Though it’s publicly traded, Wal-Mart certainly qualifies as a family firm.
But farther down the list, things get murkier. Oracle? Google? Facebook? Kinder Morgan? Nike? Does anyone other than Credit Suisse consider those to be family companies?
What makes a company a family business? No one knows for sure. As researchers Melissa Shanker and Joseph Astrachan wrote in Family Business Magazine’s Spring 1996 issue, “When pressed, even experts in the field have trouble articulating a precise definition.”
When Shanker and Astrachan set out to measure the impact of family businesses on the U.S. economy in the 1990s, they didn’t settle on one definition -- they used three alternatives. To quote from our article:
• In the broadest and most inclusive definition, family has an influence over strategy and major policies, and has at least stated the intention of keeping the business in the family. Family members may own significant portions of stock and sit on the board, but none necessarily work in the business.
• The middle group is defined by the same criteria, plus one other: The founder, or descendants of the founder, still run the company on a daily basis.
• The tightest definition includes only firms in which multiple generations participate; family members are involved in daily operations, and more than one of them has significant management responsibilities.
Dan Rottenberg, my predecessor, came up with his own definition in 2000:
• A single family controls the company’s ownership.
• Members of the controlling family are currently active in top management.
• The family has been involved in the company for at least two generations -- or seems likely to be.
• The company must pass an indefinable “feel test”: Does it feel like a family business?
In compiling its “Global Family” list, Credit Suisse used a simple criterion: Companies on the list have a family shareholding of at least 20% of shares outstanding. But while Larry Ellison (Oracle), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Richard Kinder (Kinder Morgan) and Phil Knight (Nike) own large stakes in the companies they founded, their companies feel more like sole proprietorships (or, in the case of Google, a two-person partnership) than family businesses. In my view, they don’t fit any of Shanker and Astrachan’s definitions, nor do they fit Rottenberg’s.
If the U.S. government required companies to register as family businesses (as businesses must register as C or S corporations or LLCs, or file for IPOs), researchers would have an easier job of identifying which ones qualify as family firms and which ones don’t. But given business families’ desire for privacy and dislike of government regulation, that seems unlikely to happen in the U.S. anytime soon.
One thing is clear, no matter which definition of “family business” you prefer: There is plenty of room for debate on the issue.
Bringing gender diversity to your board
Last month our sister publication Directors & Boards hosted a webinar entitled “Women on Boards: Teeing Up Talent for Your Board’s Future.” The program presented recent research studies linking gender diversity in the boardroom to improved financial performance, better decision making and an enhanced corporate image, among other advantages.
The webinar focused primarily on public company boards, but much of the discussion was also relevant to privately held family companies. Nancy E. Sheppard, founder and CEO of Women2Boards -- a referral service for women director candidates -- provided evidence demonstrating how the presence of female board members can help a company. Among the studies Sheppard cited were the following:
• A 2013 report from Credit Suisse on gender diversity and corporate performance, based on the performance of 2,360 companies globally, found that “companies with one or more women on the board have delivered higher average returns on equity, lower gearing, better average growth and higher price/book value multiples over the course of the last six years.”
• Aaron A. Dhir of York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School found that gender diversity on boards results in enhanced dialogue; better decision making, especially around the value of dissent; more effective risk mitigation and crisis management; higher-quality monitoring of and guidance to management; positive changes to the boardroom environment and culture; and more orderly and systematic board work.
• A 2015 analysis by MSCI Inc. found companies that invest in gender diversity at high levels are less likely to fall prey to fraud, corruption and governance-related controversies.
Family businesses have been making slow progress in this area. A report in the March/April 2015 issue of Family Business Magazine focusing on women directors noted, “Over the past three decades, an increasing number of business families have recognized that granting leadership opportunities to qualified women makes good business sense. But in most family companies with women directors, the women who serve on the board are members of the family that controls the company. Women independent directors are still a rarity.”
In our article, Susan Stautberg, CEO, co-founder and co-chair of WomenCorporateDirectors (a global membership organization for female directors), said, “Boards can’t afford to have directors who all think alike. They need men and women who will bring the best ideas to the table and offer the broad thinking companies need to deal with the challenges they face.”
In addition to Sheppard of Women2Boards, speakers who participated in Directors & Boards’ webinar were Jim Kristie, D&B’s editor; Jeffry Powell, executive vice president of Diligent Board Member Services; and Gabrielle Greene-Sulzberger, who is a director at Whole Foods and Stage Stores and a general partner in the private equity fund Rustic Canyon/Fontis Partners (and the wife of Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher and chairman of the family-controlled, publicly traded New York Times). A replay of the webinar is available, free of charge, here.
What ‘Consumer Reports’ missed in its ‘Made in America’ exposé
In its current issue (dated July 2015), Consumer Reports explains that the “Made in America” label often gets misused, and the standards for permissible use of the label are confusing. The article listed a number of U.S. companies whose products are not 100% made in America with all-American components.
The Consumer Reports article noted that nearly 80% of U.S. consumers say they would rather buy an American-made products than an important one, and 60% say they would be willing to pay 10% more for an item made in America.
We at Family Business Magazine thought Consumer Reports missed something: an appreciation of U.S. family businesses whose products are 100% made in America by American workers.
I wrote a letter to the editor of Consumer Reports, which you can read below.
A coalition of family business education programs across the country -- spearheaded by Ira Bryck, director of the UMass Amherst Family Business Center -- has developed a website, madeinusabyfamilybusiness.com, to highlight family companies committed to making their products in the USA.
Here’s what I wrote to Consumer Reports:
To the Editor:
I read with interest your July 2015 article “Made in America.” You provided a public service by explaining that the Federal Trade Commission’s standards for acceptable use of the “Made in the USA” label are confusing, and that some manufacturers misuse the label.
Your article helpfully included a list of American companies whose products contain components made outside the country or assembled overseas.
At the same time, it is important to note that there are American family businesses that are committed to making their products here in the USA and employing American workers.
Family businesses face the same competitive issues as other companies, which is why many family firms have opted to use overseas labor or materials. However, one can indeed find family businesses whose products are truly “Made in America.” Here is a sampling:
• Just Born Candy, makers of Peeps, Mike and Ike and other brands: www.justborn.com
• The Wiffle Ball Inc., producing equipment for the classic backyard game since 1953: www.wiffle.com
• K’nex, makers of the popular building toy: www.knex.com
• Thorlo Inc., sock makers: www.thorlo.com
• Annin Flagmakers, American flags made in America: www.annin.com
Editor-in-Chief & Associate Publisher
Family Business Magazine
Podcast discusses ‘Daughters in Charge’
I recently participated in the “Daughters in Charge” podcast, hosted by family business consultant Amy Katz, Ph.D.
Amy and I discussed trends related to women in family businesses. Among other topics, we talked about the various roles available to family business daughters, even if they don’t work for the family’s operating company.
Listen to the podcast here: http://daughtersincharge.com/barbara-spector/
A nuanced view of family enterprise longevity
As I have noted before, leading scholars in the field of family enterprise have debunked the notion that selling a family business -- even one that has been in the family for many generations -- represents a “failure” or that sustaining a family business indefinitely is always a desirable goal.
A landmark study published in Family Business Review in 2012 -- known as the FFI/Goodman Study on Longevity in Family Firms -- assessed more than 100 business families from around the world and found that nearly 90% owned multiple businesses, and that over their history, these families had spun off an average of 1.5 companies. In other words, these successful business families do not hesitate to sell businesses when circumstances warrant doing so.
Current thinking in the field emphasizes that value is created by a family rather than a family business. Families who are continuing to invest together profitably and harmoniously after selling their operating company -- such as the Power family, featured on the cover of Family Business Magazine’s May/June 2014 issue, or the Agnew family, who appear on our May/June 2015 cover -- represent what family enterprise is all about.
Dave Power and his family sold J.D. Power and Associates to McGraw-Hill in 2005. Dan Agnew and his family merged their beverage distributorships with another family beverage company in 2008 and then sold the merged company in 2012. Both families capitalized on attractive opportunities and are continuing to work together to create wealth, engage in philanthropy, and develop governance structures to ensure long-term sustainability
In a recent edition of The Practitioner, an online publication of the Family Firm Institute, Patricia Angus notes that the myth of the family business as monolith (that a family controls only one business) has had dangerous implications for estate planning.
Angus, a consultant on philanthropy and family governance and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, writes: “Trust agreements often prohibit sale of a family business, or at least relieve the trustee of the duty to diversify so that the family business can be held in trust. Provisions forcing the retention of the business can be so inflexible that they can have adverse consequences for the family and enterprise…. A mandate, even if unspoken, to keep a business intact can become quite troublesome; a little flexibility can go a long way to help the family over the long run.”
In other words, think about your real long-term goal. Is it to perpetuate a particular operating company, no matter what the marketplace conditions may be, or to continue collaborating on ventures that provide income and satisfaction to family members? Think about your family’s future entrepreneurs, and make sure you aren’t tying their hands.


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1 food you do need to refrigerate, 10 you don't
Fast food workers. Telemarketers. Loan collectors. These and other professions have the highest share of employees who say their jobs make the world a worse place, according to a survey by PayScale.com.
Fast food workers. Telemarketers. Find out who else thinks their job makes the world a worse place.
The ousted CEO of Market Basket is urging the company to reinstate the workers who have been fired over recent protests.


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Children’s Place to Exit Disney Store Business
New York City Children’s Place on Thursday said it is in advanced talks with The Walt Disney Co. for Disney to regain ownership of two-thirds of Disney Stores in North America.
Disney confirmed it was talking about potentially buying back a portion of the Disney Store chain, which Children’s Place has operated under a license.
“Given the challenging macro-economic environment, we believe the steps we are taking today, while difficult, will put The Children’s Place in position to realize its full potential,” Chuck Crovitz, interim CEO of The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc., said in the earnings release.
Children’s Place also on Thursday posted a net loss for the fourth quarter, compared with a year-ago net gain, hurt mostly by one-time charges regarding its exit of the Disney Store North America chain.
The company reported a quarterly net loss of $58.5 million compared with a net profit of $44.7 million a year earlier. Excluding items such as asset impairment charges, the company earned $20.5 million.
The company said it recognized a pretax asset impairment charge of $80.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, related to exiting the Disney store. The company said it plans to cut 80 positions from its shared services work force.
Children’s Place said consolidated comparable sales for all its stores in the fourth quarter rose 3%, while the Disney Stores comparable sales fell 4%.
Apart from the charges, Children’s Place said a tough economic environment and high inventory hurt earnings.
“By any measure, fiscal 2007 was a very tough year for our company. For the majority of the year, our merchandise assortments … did not resonate with the consumer and our inventory levels were too high, particularly given the challenging economic environment,” Crovitz said.
Amazon.com completes Audible buy
SEATTLE Amazon.com today announced that Audible has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. All remaining outstanding shares of Audible, other than those held by stockholders who properly perfect appraisal rights under Delaware law, were converted into the right to receive $11.50 per share in cash.
Audible is the leading provider of spoken audio information and entertainment on the Internet. Through its websites in the US and UK and alliances in Germany and France, Audible offers over 80,000 programs, including audiobooks and other spoken word content from more than 520 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Content from Audible is downloaded and played back on personal computers, CDs, or AudibleReady computer-based and wireless mobile devices.
Retailers come to aid of HD-DVD owners
MINNEAPOLIS The sudden end to the high-definition DVD format war has retailers scrambling to find ways to compensate customers who bought into the losing HD-DVD format.
Best Buy reported today that it is giving $50 gift cards to customers who bought an HD-DVD player or HD-DVD attachment from its U.S. stores before Feb. 23. In addition, starting on March 21, the company is offering customers who don’t want to get rid of their HD-DVD players the chance to trade them in for a value determined by the Best Buy’s Online Trade-In Center.
“The DVD format war has divided our customers in a way we haven’t seen since Betamax took on VHS more than 20 years ago,” said Brian Dunn, president and coo for Best Buy. “At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers’ frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other. Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs.”
Circuit City is giving customers who jumped on the HD-DVD bandwagon this year a longer period of time to return their players. The chain last week extended its 30-day return policy on purchases to 90 days for HD-DVD players. The policy applies only to players though and not to HD-DVD discs.


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Toyota Motor sold nearly 300,000 more vehicles than General Motors in the first half of 2008 and appeared to be on its way to ending GM's 77-year rule as the world's largest automaker.
Toyota said Wednesday that it sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide in the second quarter, 2 percent more than a year ago. GM said its sales for the quarter fell 5 percent, to 2.28 million.
Both companies had record sales in emerging markets like China, but falling demand in the United States took a larger toll on GM, whose lineup includes more of the big trucks that consumers are shunning in response to high gasoline prices.
"Over all, the global market remains strong," GM's chief sales analyst, Michael DiGiovanni, said in a conference call with reporters and analysts, but in the United States, "the short-term outlook remains challenging."
In the first quarter, Toyota sold 2.4 million vehicles, to GM's 2.26 million. Toyota was widely expected to displace GM at the pinnacle of the auto industry last year, but fell about 3,000 vehicles short.
GM, which is commemorating its 100th anniversary, is unlikely to hold off Toyota this year, given the difficulties it faces in North America and the production cuts it is making. Its sales rose 10 percent overseas last quarter but fell 19.7 percent in the United States and Canada.
Total industry sales fell 10.1 percent from January to June, causing all three Detroit automakers to significantly reduce truck production and announce more plant closures. On Wednesday, Chrysler told employees that it would eliminate 1,000 of its 18,500 salaried jobs worldwide by Sept. 30, largely because it expected a continued downturn in domestic car sales, said David Elshoff, a Chrysler spokesman.
The cuts will be made through buyouts and early retirement offers, as well as involuntary layoffs if necessary. When they are completed, Chrysler will have reduced its salaried employment by 4,000 since early 2007.
"It's intended to build a company that's right-sized to meet the challenges of this year and next," Elshoff said. "This should help us be well-positioned going forward, and no additional cuts are expected."
Toyota's sales have fallen in the United States this year as well, but it has not suffered as much as the Detroit companies. The company now expects to sell slightly more than 9.5 million vehicles globally this year, fewer than the 9.85 million it originally projected. The record for sales in a single year is 9.55 million, set by GM in 1978.
Toyota recently said it would halt production of its largest vehicles for several months and would build its popular hybrid sedan, the Prius, in the United States for the first time, starting in 2010, to capitalize on surging demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.
GM is also working to increase production of hot-selling small cars, but those increases are smaller than the cuts it is making in truck output.
DiGiovanni said that July was shaping up as another gloomy month for GM and most of its competitors but that there was reason for optimism, as gas prices had stopped rising in recent weeks.
"That's the first sign of stability we've seen in a long time," he said, "and that's a positive development."


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Nettie's cafe, in Leith, today unveiled an experimental chicken and haggis pie, cooked in a delicious Irn-Bru sauce.
Lynette Shields, who opened the Newhaven Road eatery in December last year, credits husband Thomas for the idea for the unique recipe, jokingly adding: "Aye, not bad for an electrician."
Describing it as a 'must try for all Irn-Bru lovers', Nettie is hoping her creation will have Scots saying 'aye to the pie'.
She told the Record her secret recipe was just a bit of fun: "With the lockdown, we were put on hold so we were looking for something to grab people's attention."
The delicious recipe is already a big hit with Nettie's kids and some customers also came in for a special taster.
She added: "It's going really well so far, we are already experimenting with other recipes including the Stornoway Stoater, which consists of Stornoway black pudding, a poached egg and hollandaise sauce."
Nettie said the special pie will cost £2.40 when it goes on sale on Monday, June 22.
The takeaway which only reopened this week after being closed during lockdown, specialises in pies but also sells a range of rolls, wraps, paninis, and lunch specials.
"We are also planning a Festival range which over the next few weeks too with a pork and prosecco, steak and red wine, and even a surprise Jagermeister pie," she said.
Customer Nikki Forrest from Bonnyrigg, who tried the incredible looking pie said: "It was phenomenal, will definitely be back for more."
While local resident Kenny Smith added: "Didn't know what to expect but it was amazing, can't wait to see what they come up with next."


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Black Friday is the biggest name of the biggest deals day of the year in the United States. It takes place on the Friday after Thanksgiving and frequently lasts until the Monday after, known as Cyber Monday. It’s a periodic retail extravaganza. Every year brands and retailers run special offers, outstanding deals, and discounts on lots of products.
History of Black Friday:
Apparently, the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper first pictured the phrase ‘Black Friday’ back in 1981. The term ‘Black Friday’ refers to the day between Thanksgiving and the Army-Navy game. ln those days, financial accountants wrote their statements with pen and paper, using Red ink to record losses, and Black for earnings. Today the term takes a more retail context and marks the starting of the holiday shopping season that starts the day after Thanksgiving.
In 2016 E-commerce deals on Black Friday surpassed Store purchases for the first time in history. Black Friday has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since 2005. Black Friday in 2021 will observe on November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, on November 25. The days denote the starting of the holiday shopping season.
Black Friday in India:
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not something new in the Indian shopping calendar, as Indians often shop big during their own major festivals, Dussehra and Diwali. Over the last decade, western brands have coined the concept of Black Friday in India by offering lucrative discounts. As the deals coincide with the festive season in the country, it provides the perfect opportunity for Indian buyers to get the last-minute shopping done.
Deals on Household accessories:
This year Black Friday sale is hosted by Amazon from 22 November, where the products will be available at up to 95% off. According to Amazon India over 70,000 Indian exporters who are part of Amazon’s global selling program will showcase millions of “Made in India” products to global customers during the annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale. The exporters are launching over 52,000 new products across the country, categories including home and kitchen, STEM toys, apparel, health and personal care, jewellery, and beauty on Amazon’s global websites for the forthcoming Black Friday deals.
Abhijit Kamra, Director of Global Trade Amazon India said, “The sale marks the beginning of the global holiday season. Coming right after the festive season in India, it has traditionally been a key growth period for our selling partners and with more and more people relying on E-commerce for products globally, we believe that the 2021 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale period with help accelerates the exports business for our sellers.”
Offers on Fashion:
Fashion E-commerce brand Myntra has started offering massive discounts indeed before Black Friday arrives, starting the ‘Made for Winter’ collection which offers the hottest styles for the winter season at up to 70% off.
Offers on Beauty Products:
beauty brand Body Shop India is offering a discount of 50% on products from 27 November to 30 November. Beauty, wellness, and fashion products brand Nykaa paint the Black Friday into Pink hues with it’s special Pink Friday sale which begins on November 26 and will go on till November 30. The brand is offering up to 40% off on products online and at all Nykaa stores at the #BiggestBeautySaleEver.
For numerous Indian customers, the Black Friday sale is simply one of the dozens of sale events in a year, and the sale Points to how companies are using Black Friday as a ruse to run discounts, experts said. Experts pointed out that such discounting doesn’t build brand fidelity, and harms companies in the long run as consumers become so used to discounts that retailers find it gradually difficult to encourage purchases during non-sale days.


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The organic industry is mounting a protest against pending changes for its Organic Products Regulation (OPR) that it says has potential to “undo the entire Canadian organic supply chain.”
In 2012, the passage of the Safe Foods for Canadians Act resulted in a number of regulations, including the OPR, being combined into a single document called the Safe Foods for Canadians Regulation.
Organic advocates say the move will turn the Organic Product Regulations into “just another set of clauses in a massive food safety regulation” and result in needless and confusing requirements for the sector.
In 2012, the passage of the Safe Foods for Canadians Act resulted in a number of regulations — including the Canadian Agricultural Products Act, the Fish Inspection Act, the Meat Inspection Act, and the food-related provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations — being combined into a single document called the Safe Foods for Canadians Regulation.
The move codifies the OPR as Part 14 of that regulation. The industry agues the OPR is not a food safety regulation and therefore doesn’t belong there.
Canadian Organic Growers and the Organic Federation of Canada plus other industry groups voiced their related concerns about it during a public comment period which ended April 21.
One of the main issues is that housing OPR in food safety regulation would restrict organic commodities permissible for certification to food, livestock feed, aquaculture and seed. That would mean being unable to realize what are otherwise sizable market opportunities for non-food products such as organic textiles, pet food, Natural Health Products, body care and marijuana, the COG asserted in a recent release.
The sector is also unprepared to comply with new rules that would mean transporting and storing organic goods be certified, it said. Activities such as slaughtering, transportation and storage of organic products will now require organic certification, overriding the current system of attestations of compliance.
It would mean, for example, organically raised cattle could not be transported on the same trucks as commercial non-organic cattle. These requirements are needless, sector officials say.
“Our organic supply chain is not prepared for these dramatic changes and they are not necessary in maintaining organic integrity,” the COG stated in its release.
As well, organic certificates would have a 12-month expiry date even if the activity and product remains compliant with the Canadian Organic Standards and the operator was in the process of renewing their certificate. A related concern is that this will create confusion when products bearing an organic claim remain on store shelves beyond the expiry of their certificates.
Another concern is organic certificates will now need to declare the exact organic content percentage of multi-ingredient products on the organic certificate.
“This is not a realistic expectation,” the COG asserted in a release last week, noting that the percentage of organic contents may vary depending on the availability of organic ingredients at the time of processing. It wants the current system of categorizing the product as either organic (95 per cent or more) or 70-95 per cent organic content should be maintained.
The OPR was established in 2009 through an industry-government partnership. It is enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).


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I’ve come direct from our man on the wire, who seemed to spout excitable gobbledegook for the longest time. Simplicity? Awfully mauve? Only when we had him repeat each syllable as a standalone bellow did we learn the unlikeliest of truths: that the famously online SimCity is getting an offline mode.
Maxis’ Emeryville studio is in the later sages of wrapping up development on the new Single Player Mode, which will reach players in update 10. Before then, it’ll be tested by a volunteer group of dedicated players – the DevTesters.
Saved games in the new mode will be stored locally – which means there’ll no reason to touch base with EA’s servers, even for a second.
The online game will continue on as it was – with leaderboards, global market and region play intact. That’s where previous save games will stay – unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any means to convert existing saves for offline play.
“Bringing the game Offline means big things for our wonderful community of Modders,” wrote Emeryville studio manager Patrick Buechner. “They can now make modifications to the game and its components without compromising the integrity of the Online game. Modding is a big part of our studio’s legacy and we’re excited to see what you guys create.”
SimCity’s modding rules were announced over the weekend.
So, yes: all this with update 10 – and without any bizarre caveats we can spot from this distance. All previous downloads will be available at any time, without any need for an internet connection.
That’s worth double-checking – because at one time, Maxis manager Lucy Bradshaw suggested that an offline mode for SimCity would be technically unfeasible. In October, however,Buechner announced the existence of a team “specifically focused on exploring the possibility of an offline mode”.
And here we are. All credit to Maxis, who have ensured the game’s existence long beyond such time EA choose to turn off its servers. But are their efforts six months too late to snare you lot?


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By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 5 -- BASF AG and Royal/Dutch Shell Group agreed to sell their 50-50 joint venture Basell Polyolefins Co. to a consortium led by Access Industries, a New York holding company, for $5.7 billion, including debt.
The transaction is subject to approval by antitrust authorities. Closing is expected during the second half of 2005.
BASF and Shell announced plans to review options for the Netherlands-based joint venture in July 2004. The two companies established Basell as an independent company in 2000. It has production sites in 21 countries.


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techno.rentetan.com – Wear OS does not need useless, but a quicker chip. Qualcomm is time to stop playing.
The many causes of the wear platform in Google have been difficult over the years are mostly attributed to Qualcomm’s tricky smartwatch chips.. The current chipmaker, Snapdragon Wear 4100+, is more than a year old and runs antiquated manufacturing technology, and will probably not run the future Wear OS 3 or the newest Samsung watch chip. The corporation appeared to have obtained the message when Qualcomm declared its renewed interest in wearables. However, new reports show that its next-generation intelligent watch chip, 5100, cannot be faster than the existing one.
In order to be fair, Qualcomm has a new Snapdragon Wear platform in its early phases and things may change. However, WinFuture (via Android Authority) states initial wear samples for Snapdragon 5100 employ Cortex-A53 CPUs from quad-core ARM—not much more reliable A73s, as stated originally by XDA developers. The A53s are also employed in the current 4100 platform, which, according to the Google smartwear system, may not deliver the greatest Wear OS 3 experience in 2022.
Qualcomm appears to have 1 or 2 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 8 or 16 GB of flash storage. The present 4100 platform would be an uphill blow. WinFuture also observes that, once again, Qualcomm stick to the 3100 chip-listed low-power co-processor and should deliver better battery life in theory. It sounds quite Qualcomm up to now. The strange part is WinFuture notes that some sample models also experiment with two 5MP and 16MP cameras, which would indicate at a double cameras smoking clock.
In Menlo Park, the only smartwatch believed to have double cameras is whatever Facebook monstrosity is building about. And this smartwatch on Facebook isn’t even there yet. The latest smartwatchers, such as Apple Watch, Fitbit Sense and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, are currently without even worrying about cameras. Samsung had a camera on her smartwatches from ancient times on the Galaxy Gear, so is it any wonder that feature disappeared? Wear OS users have been begging for watches which have not stabbed and lagged for ages in the meanwhile.
Reader, tell me: who’s requesting a smartwatch camera, let’s just say two? It is not impossible. It is not. Recently, I have been experimenting with the Wristcam for Apple Watch, a camera band built in for video messaging and flight shots. (In the shot above, you can see it.) It works like announced. But it’s also huge, costly and it’s a nuisance to charge. We might want to add Face ID to our watches one day, but it would be at the price of battery life right now — and most people believe that the present battery life on the smartwatches flagship is already too short.
It’s good to up the RAM and Flash Storage but the 5100 isn’t going to enhance battery life considerably compared to the 4100 based on the statistics we have seen. Fossil just revealed its 4100 chip-powered Gen 6 Wear OS watch. The battery life is predicted to be 24 hours. If you have dual cameras, please, I don’t even want to fathom what that would mean.
Qualcomm can’t allow the ball to drop. Google has just revealed that it is the Snapdragon chips from Qualcomm in favor of its own in-house pixel silicon. It is also rumored that Google is working on Chromebooks and tablets on its own CPUs. Samsung is now the pal of Google’s OS wear. It’s not an extension for Google to imagine that it could likewise abandon waiting on an acceptable Snapdragon Wear chip to make its own for any premium Fitbit smartwatch. (Or maybe a watch of a pixel?)
Again, the days are early. Qualcomm might just shoot the crap and tinker to see what’s possible. But the diking around quality could come later, honestly, Qualcomm. Annually, Apple is iterating on his wearable SoC. The new unified Wear OS has already been out here with a 5 nm wearable chip. Android users are allowed to finally have a full smartwatch functionality which can compete with Apple Watch. Anyone who wants to be here are the good Snapdragon wear chip to produce a solid Android smartwatch basically any brand save Fossil and Samsung. Can you keep an eye on the award here, Qualcomm? Does this really require so much?


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PEORIA — Caterpillar Inc. will join the ranks of multiple multinationals with a new headquarters in Lake County, near a network of highways that allow easy access to Chicago and its airports.
The global headquarters later this year will move to Deerfield, a village of fewer than 19,000 people about 25 miles north of Chicago, the company announced Wednesday.
"Following a thorough site selection process, we chose this location because it is approximately a 20-minute drive to O'Hare airport and convenient to the city of Chicago via commuter train, achieving our goal to be more accessible to our global customers, dealers and employees," said Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby. "This site gives our employees many options to live in either an urban or suburban environment. We know we have to compete for the best talent to grow our company, and this location will appeal to our diverse, global team, today and in the future."
Caterpillar in January reversed course on plans to build a new headquarters campus in downtown Peoria and confirmed its intention to relocate top executives, some officers and support staff to the Chicago area.
The company cited the need for easier access to global markets as the primary motivation to move its headquarters from the city Caterpillar and its predecessors have called home for more than a century. About two-thirds of Caterpillar's business is now international.
About 100 employees total are expected to move by the end of the year, with the first executives and officers expected to relocate in the fall. The new, "lean" global headquarters in Deerfield will house about 300 Caterpillar employees once fully operational.
In the wake of the original headquarters announcement, Caterpillar stressed that a majority of its 12,000-member workforce will remain working in the Peoria area, including at the current corporate headquarters on Northeast Adams Street.
Deerfield is home to more than 5 million square feet of office space and the headquarters of major corporations such as pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. and medical device maker Baxter International.
The village's marketing materials also highlight its proximity to global transportation hubs. O'Hare International Airport is about a 20-minute drive from Deerfield, while Chicago Executive Airport is about 10 minutes away.
Caterpillar has faced years of declining revenue since peak sales of more than $66 billion in 2012. The company will announce its first-quarter earnings results for 2017 next week and has forecast $37.5 billion in sales and revenue for the year.
The company's board of directors voted last week to maintain a 77-cent dividend, payable to shareholders in May, and elected its newest member, former AT&T executive Ray Wilkins. Former CEO and Chairman Doug Oberhelman retired from the board at the end of March.
-- Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.
Resident population: 18,215
Daytime population: 29,710
Median household income: $133,093
Median age: 44
Caterpillar Inc. will join several other large multinational corporations with headquarters in Deerfield. Among its neighbors will be:
Walgreen Co. — Second-largest pharmacy chain in the United States with $117 billion in sales in fiscal 2016.
Baxter International Inc. — Medical equipment maker with $10.2 billion in revenue in 2016.
CF Industries Inc. — Nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer and distributor with $3.7 billion in sales in 2016.
Essendant Inc. — Workplace essentials supplier of products and services with $5.4 billion in net sales in 2016.
Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. — Hardware manufacturer that owns multiple brands, recording $5 billion in sales in 2016.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. — U.S. subsidiary headquarters of Japanese drug maker.
Mondelez International Inc. — Snack maker with net revenue of $26 billion in 2016.


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All our articles on Android in one place. Find everything here from the latest news, reviews and rumours.
Samsung struggles to keep details under wraps ahead of 29th March launch.
Smash hit game heading to Google platform with string of new features.
New report points points towards big plans for Samsung Pay.
Feature used to be confined to Gmail on the web.
Latest leak suggests there’ll be little new information come 29th March.
New tech could be used instead of much–hyped iris scanner to unlock device.
Search giant is offering replacement phones for those affected.
Another clear look at Samsung’s new smartphones.
New smartphone would be latest to lose traditional slot.
Google exec hints at plans to bring Siri rival to Apple device.


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It is an additional investment of more than 1 billion dollars which has just been sealed between Epic Games and Sony. What to give the means to deepen the market of the metaverse which is in full expansion.
It’s a drop of water Epic Gameswhich is now valued at $31.5 billionbut Sony is making a significant investment that supports the metaverse development. This famous virtual world that everyone is talking about and which dares eventually compete with the real world.
This investment of sony which took place in multiple rounds of funding is added to KIRKBI partnershipwhich is a holding and investment company.
A news that delights the Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida:
“As a creative entertainment company, we are delighted to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse realma space where creators and users share their time”.
“We are also confident that Epic’s expertise, including its powerful game engine, combined with Sony’s technologies, will accelerate our various efforts such as the development of new digital experiences for fans in sports and our production initiatives. Virtual.”
But also Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney:
This investment will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friendsbrands can create creative and immersive experiences, and creators can build community and thrive.
There is no denying, Sony and Epic Games see the future in a big way with the metaverse.


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- Google’s mobile advertising business, AdMob, formed a partnership with game development platform Unity Technologies that will help marketers reach more gamers, according to a statement. The new partnership gives Google’s advertisers direct access to Unity’s global mobile gaming ad inventory.
- Marketers can now use Google's universal app campaigns that also place ads in search, Google Play, YouTube and the Google Display Network. The partnership between the two companies is available now to Unity developers and Google advertisers.
- Unity claims to be the world’s most popular real-time development platform for mobile games, with 3 billion devices reached and more than 24 billion installs in the last year.
The partnership expands Google's reach into mobile gaming at a time when Facebook is also ramping up in this area. More than 50% of all new mobile games are developed with Unity's platform, according to the company. The Unity ad platform reaches 1.5 billion devices and serves more than 9.4 billion ad impressions on a monthly basis, giving mobile marketers a chance to reach a large audience that is comparable with those of social media apps like Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook in March opened its Ads API to game developers, letting them integrate interstitial and rewarded video ads, powered by Audience Network, into games. The social network let developers create games for its HTML5 cross-platform Instant Games service, which gives users a way to play games on News Feed and Messenger without downloading other apps.
Unity benefits from the agreement with AdMob because developers will have access to a wider group of advertisers worldwide than the company reaches through its own ad solutions. The agreement should also help game developers make more money from advertising. Already, the partnership has resulted in video completion rates of 87.3% compared with the overall average of 32.5% among publishers such as NHN Entertainment, Yodo1 and Doodle Mobile, based on internal reports cited by Unity.
Mobile gaming is on track to be a $70.3 billion market in 2018, according to a forecast by Newzoo. One out of every three app downloads is a game, which also benefit from high user engagement compared with other content. Almost two-thirds (60%) of Americans play video games daily, while 36% play them on a smartphone, the Entertainment Software Association found.


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According to a Computerworld Singapore report quoting newly published research, 2012 will be the year of the Linux mobile phone, with some 31 percent of all smart phones, or 331 million devices, running Linux. The prediction is based largely upon the fact that Linux has a much faster growth rate than either Symbian or Windows Mobile, some 75 percent year on year.
Symbian is probably likely to be the main casualty, as outside of the US (where it enjoys a market share of less than 10 percent) it claims in excess of 70 percent of the global smart phone business, although the majority of this is restricted to Europe. Things are already very different in Asia, where Linux has a 30 percent market share in China and Japan for example.
The main driver as far as mobile handsets are concerned would seem to be Motorola which has announced it plans to get Linux running on 60 percent of its devices within a two year time frame with the help of the newly created LiMo group.
Motorola has also just announced its Linux based RAZR2 V8 mobile phone handset which it showcased at LinuxWorld in San Francisco a few weeks ago. The Linux RAZR2 V8 has already shipped in India and Vietnam, and the US joins the list this week. It's an important push forward for the mobile Linux market, because this is no niche handset, no geek toy, but rather a mainstream multimedia phone replete with USB 2 connectivity, Windows Media Player 11 codec and an external touch screen display for text messaging. There's also the 2 MP camera with MPEG4 video, and an 8x zoom. The quad-band global support, and a decent HTML browser.
Priced at around $500, perhaps the year of the Linux mobile has actually already arrived.


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The FBI’s phone for criminals included a special Android version
Phones The FBI sold to fraudsters Only a special application did not work for Sting operation – apparently, the operating system was also designed for this purpose. Motherboard var was obtained One of the “Anom” phones (actually changed) Pixel 4a) and in the mysterious “ArcaneOS”, there are a number of personalizations that you will not necessarily expect even for a privacy-oriented phone.
There is no app store for one. You can’t change location tracking either. Do not assume that you can simply turn off the device third party software to ensure that it behaves like normal phones – the bootloader is locked, even if the start screen indicates that the device has been replaced.
Some users said that Anom was based on the existing GrapheneOS, but Anom lied to buyers about the software to instill a false sense of trust.
The interface includes a secret chat program (obtained through a “calculator” when it runs) and some security features that will appeal to the target audience, including PIN encryption. There is also a delete code feature that allows you to delete a phone from the lock screen, although the Ministry of Justice clearly did not like this feature when it accused some Anom manufacturers of obstructing law enforcement.
At least one second-hand Anom phone owner says they bought one Pixel 3a, Claimed that the FBI switched to different devices as the sting opened.
You don’t even want to buy one of these devices out of curiosity. However, it is already known how far the FBI went for the bust of criminals. The agency no doubt wanted to give drug dealers the impression that they were using the truth encrypted phoneDespite the fact that the device was silently exposed to law enforcement, immediately to the OS.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial staff, regardless of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something with one of these links, you can earn a joint commission.


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NEW YORK, Dec. 31, 2020 — Gathering restrictions have hit casinos hard in 2020, including in Atlantic City, where the city’s nine casino operators reported a $89 million drop in profits during Q3 2020.
According to data from New Jersey gaming regulators, the jurisdiction is embracing online gaming to help offset the tax revenue losses from these land-based casinos. Atlantic City isn’t alone in this shift, as several legal gambling districts are looking to online gambling service providers to provide secure, smooth, and fun transitions into the digital area, including from Bragg Gaming Group (TSXV: BRAG) (OTCQX: BRGGF), Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD), Landcadia Holdings II (NASDAQ: LCA), Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR), and GAN Limited (NASDAQ: GAN).
In Germany, where new regulation on online gambling will enter into force in July 2021, Bragg Gaming Group (TSXV:BRAG) (OTC:BRGGF) has enhanced its position in the German market through a new partnership with Greentube-owned brand StarGames to provide content through Bragg’s wholly-owned subsidiary ORYX Gaming.
Through the deal, Bragg/ORYX has not only solidified its position in the German market, but will also further expand its EU footprint. ORYX is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and is currently compliant, certified, or approved in 18 other major jurisdictions, including Schleswig-Holstein (Germany).
The StarGames announcement comes on the heels of a series of Bragg’s deals involving EU markets (including Nordic markets, and Switzerland). It’s been a year of positive momentum for Bragg Gaming Group, which recently announced an exceptional revenue growth of 72% in Q3 2020. By continuing to focus on expanding its market presence, the company onboarded 14 new customers in the third quarter alone.
Earlier in December, Bragg/ORYX signed on with international operator Paf to provide exclusive Remote Games Server (RGS) content across several regulated markets and brands, including Paf’s online casinos in Sweden, Estonia, Spain, Latvia, and its home nation of Finland.
Turnover for the Paf Group in 2019 amounted to €114.2 million (more than US$139 million). Earlier this year, Paf was named Sweden’s most sustainable gaming company at the annual Swedish Gambling Awards. Paf’s generated profits are used to benefit the society every year.
The benefits from tax revenues generated from gaming are undeniable. However, COVID-related restrictions are indeed hurting this revenue source, as witnessed by the 33% decline in November in Massachusetts where curfews were enacted.
States are stepping up their efforts to make up revenues in this field, as the casino industry’s national trade group, the American Gaming Association, acknowledges that 44 states plus Washington, D.C., have now legalized some form of casino gaming, including sports betting. Even to the north in Canada, attitudes are shifting on sports betting, in particular single-event wagers, for which Bragg Gaming Group recently spoke out to support.
Groups such as Bragg and GAN Limited (NASDAQ:GAN) help to facilitate gaming institutions by providing RGS services, which help to securely publish and distribute content across social and real-money gaming channels around the world.
During his company’s Q3 2020 Financial Report call, GAN CEO Dermot Smurfit spoke about his company’s “Super RGS” for content delivery in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as well as preparing for a launch in Michigan as well.
“The significance of the Super RGS is that it will permit internet gambling companies who are operating on a proprietary or competing third-party platform [to integrate] GAN Super RGS and launch our entire games portfolio on their website and mobile apps,” said Smurfit on the call. “This creates a technical and commercial vehicle for GAN to deliver its casino content across the entirety [of] the relevant US intra-state markets and not just onto our platform client’s websites and mobile apps.”
Not stopping at just the North American market, GAN recently made a splash by buying one of the fastest-growing iGaming and sportsbook operators in Europe, Coolbet, for $175 million.
As large as the Coolbet deal was, it was the $3.9 billion deal whereby Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) acquired British sportsbook experts William Hill that may have created a bigger splash. After much criticism for its cold feet, it appears that Caesars is finally beginning to take online gambling seriously. Costly as the deal was, it was a risk that the resort owner felt it needed to take.
“We’re looking at different activities and bolt-on acquisitions. This (William Hill’s European business) can definitely fall under that category,” Caesar’s CEO Itai Pazner told Reuters.
Since the lows observed in March, Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) has seen its shares surge 200%. Primarily, those lows were due to working out the strategic arrangements of its deal with FanDuel for sports betting and online gaming platforms.
Overall, the US online gaming and sports betting market is expected to reach a staggering $40 billion, which Boyd was wise to get ahead on through the FanDuel deal. However, after a subsequent deal with Flutter Entertainment was struck later in the year, Boyd Gaming is only retaining 5% ownership of FanDuel moving forward—perhaps leaving Boyd with less of the reward should the FanDuel valuation reach new heights.
Weeks prior, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission (CCC) approved a license for the proposed merger entity, making the new Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) brand a publicly traded entity. Already, GNOG has said it’s entering into an agreement to access the West Virginia market, and will later enter Michigan and Pennsylvania next year.
Upon its Nasdaq debut, GNOG will become the second pure-play online gaming company in the US, joining DraftKings in that distinction.
With its ongoing success in the European gambling market, Bragg Gaming Group has the potential to start seeing opportunities to expand overseas and become another strong contender in the US market.


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NEW YORK – Fast Company’s annual Most Innovative Companies issue honors leading businesses, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Target along with such rising newcomers as Square, Fab and Tumblr. Ford Motor Company is the only full-line automaker named to the 2013 list. Nike ranks No. 1 following the release of two major innovations, FuelBand and Flyknit technology.
Fast Company editors highlighted an array of recent efforts by Ford, including the opening of a Silicon Valley Lab in Palo Alto, Calif. in June 2012 where Ford engineers can collaborate with some of the best and brightest technology minds.
Among the innovative features already available in Ford vehicles, the award-winning SYNC® connectivity system enables drivers to stay connected with the latest mobile technology using voice commands so that hands can stay on the wheel and eyes on the road. The all-new 2013 Ford Fusion offers one of the industry’s most complete suites of advanced driver assist systems, including adaptive cruise control and the Lane Keeping System all in an affordable midsize family sedan. Ford researchers are also hard at work on future systems including a driver workload estimator to help drivers manage stressful situations on the road.
The Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company’s most significant, high-profile editorial effort of the year. The editorial team spends months gathering and sifting data to identify those enterprises that exemplify the best in business from across the economy and around the world. The end result is a package that dares to be different, emphasizing not just revenue growth and profit margins but also progressive business models and an ethos of creativity. This year’s honorees include major brands like Samsung and Coca-Cola, creative upstarts like Nasty Gal and Uber, and social disruptors like Coursera and D-Rev. Internationally Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies package spans the globe celebrating such companies as Kenya’s Safaricom (No. 9), Israel’s SodaStream (No. 23), Russia’s Oktogo online travel service (No. 35) and China’s Landwasher (No. 38).
In addition to the Top 50, Fast Company also ranks the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in 10 categories, including Big Data, Entertainment, Finance, and Food — all of which are featured in the print edition and on FastCompany.com. Additional Top 10 lists will continue to be rolled out online and through social channels in the weeks to come. Special online-only coverage: The Most Innovative Moments in Business, from Apple to Starbucks, Airbnb to Disney.
Notable on this year’s list: the absence of social media giants Facebook and Twitter. “Neither produced innovations worth celebrating,” the magazine explains in an accompanying article. “In the history of our list, fewer than one-third of the companies return from one year to the next. This year, only seven are consecutive honorees, an indication of how more companies in more corners of the world are innovating to seek a competitive edge, with the stakes only getting higher.”
Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March 2013) is on newsstands beginning Feb. 19 and available online at www.fastcompany.com/MIC as well as in app form via iTunes.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 171,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.
About Fast Company
Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business-media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. In print and through digital and social channels, as well as live events, Fast Company reports on and addresses the most progressive business leaders. Editor Robert Safian was named AdWeek’s Editor of the Year in 2009. Under the leadership of publisher Christine Osekoski, Fast Company made AdWeek’s Hot List for three consecutive years, and FastCompany.com executive editor Noah Robischon has tripled traffic and revenue. Fast Company is owned by Joe Mansueto, founder, chairman, and CEO of Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research.


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Kartesia, the European specialist provider of capital solutions for small and mid-sized companies, is pleased to announce that it has provided a Unitranche financing facility to support Maguar Capital Partners’ and Oliver Krizek’s investment in Navax Consulting GmbH (“Navax” or “the Company”).
We are delighted to announce that Kartesia has won one of the most prestigious and selective awards in the industry, the 2021 Creditflux Best European Direct Lending fund, for Kartesia Credit Opportunities V (KCO V).
We are thrilled to announce that Kartesia Credit Opportunities III and IV have been recognized as best performing funds by The Hedge Fund Journal Alternative & Private Credit Awards 2021, for the highest IRR amongst their respective vintages i
European consumers change smartphones every 2 years on average and the production of these smartphones leads to high CO2 emissions, consumes precious resources, only to leave electronic waste at the end of their lives, which is dangerous to the en
Kartesia is delighted to announce that Kartesia Credit Opportunities V has been shortlisted for the category “Best European Direct Lending Fund” at one of the most prestigious and selective awards in the industry, the Creditflux Manager Awards 2021.


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Google has announced that it will follow new policies with the Google Play App Store to improve the data privacy of Android users.
The company recently said on its official website, “We are working closely with software developers to maintain the Google Play Store as a safe and trusted place for billions of users around the world to download, so we are creating a new security section to improve the privacy of users’ data in the Store.”
According to Google, applications that will be allowed to be manipulated through the Google Play Store in the future will be transparent enough to notify users of data, and their developers will be required to notify users of multiple points, including:
Indicates whether the app follows certain security policies, such as data encryption.
Announcing whether the application adheres to the “Family Safety” policy is what some parents use to control the quality of their children’s reach.
– Gives users the freedom to choose to share data through the app.
– The application allows users to delete data if they decide to uninstall the application.
Google is expected to begin adopting new policies regarding its online application store from next year, after collaborating with application developers and announcing all the conditions necessary to promote their products through the store.
Source: 3 News


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A Pre-K2016 Experience in Belgium
Lilli Manolis Sherman, senior editor at Plastics Technology, wrote a blog with some personal observations about our recent Pre-K multi-client press conference:
"We were all at NPE2015 just last year and now K2016 is around the corner. But with each of the big shows I get even better ideas for shoes that will save my feet (e.g., minimalist Ninja-looking things) and allow me to get the latest news. Flip flops did the trick for my visit to Antwerp, Belgium when we were treated to a great walk-about town headed by a very scholarly local guide. So, I thought I’d share some photos, including one of the old churches, Antwerp harbor from above, and a Belgium chocolate shop to which you can bet I returned.
But, back to business. The Antwerp trip was organized by the international communications consultancy EMG, and it was one of several pre-K events that take place every three years just a few months before each K show. As members of the trade press, we have no clue beforehand how valuable such a press junket might turn out in terms of news generation. There were 25 of us from all over the world, and I would say we were generally very pleased with the outcome of the event."
Read the full post on the blog of Plastics Technology.
More on these subjectsEvents Media Relations


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US President Donald Trump gave popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok six weeks to sell its US operations to an American company, saying Monday it would be “out of business” otherwise, and that the government wanted a financial benefit from the deal.
“It’s got to be an American company… it’s got to be owned here,” Trump said. “We don’t want to have any problem with security.”
Trump said that Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok, which has as many as one billion worldwide users who make quirky 60-second videos with its smartphone app.
But US officials say the app constitutes a national security risk because it could share millions of Americans’ personal data with Chinese intelligence.
Trump gave the company’s Chinese parent ByteDance until mid-September to strike a deal.
“I set a date of around September 15, at which point it’s going to be out of business in the United States,” he said.
Whatever the price is, he said, “the United States should get a very large percentage of that price because we’re making it possible.”


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The Boscov's department store chain - which has stores at Lehigh Valley Mall and Palmer Park Mall - will stop selling major appliances and TVs to make more room for furniture, according to multiple reports.
The stores will begin selling off major appliances and televisions at discounts of 30 percent or more. Large appliances including washers, dryers, refrigerators and stoves will be phased out; stores will continue to stock small appliances.
Store Vice Chairman Jim Boscov told the Citizens Voice that there has been an increase in the company's furniture sales -- and from hearing customer feedback, he said he thinks that this is a department that needs more space in stores. Boscov's is based in Reading.
Lehigh Valley Live reports the stores will stop selling major appliances and TVs by the end of the year.
Retail analysts say this change in Boscov's selling focus is long overdue, according to a Pennlive report.


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The Green Party says it is very disappointing that Horticulture New Zealand is criticising a heath professional for trying to keep the public safe.
HortNZ launched a scathing attack on the Canterbury Medical Officer of Health, Alistair Humphrey, who informed the public this week that bagged lettuces and carrots had been linked by a government scientific report to severe gastroenteritis that affected 127 New Zealanders.
Its president Peter Silcock described Dr Humphrey as an uninformed alarmist for publicly discussing the ESR report.
Green Party health spokesperson Kevin Hague said Dr Humphrey was putting public health first - and Horticulture New Zealand should do the same.
"I think Alistair Humphrey did exactly the right thing. In fact, the thing he is legally required to do, which is to put the public health ahead of all other considerations," said Mr Hague.
"New Zealanders needed to know that there was potentially a risk from these products - Alistair Humphrey made them aware of those risks. I know that there will be growers whose product is entirely safe to eat who will have suffered some commercial damage and that is unfortunate. But the fact is the risk to public health has to be put ahead of that risk."
Mr Hague said it was disappointing that Horticulture New Zealand attacked someone for doing their job.
"I think Horticulture NZ's long-term interests are also served by closing down this epidemic as quickly as possible and doing everything that we can do to ensure public safety."
Mr Hague said the subsequent quarantining of farmland by a supplier of supermarket operator Foodstuffs, thought to be linked to the yersinia peseudotuberculosis outbreak, and the ESR report show Dr Humphrey did the right thing.
Foodstuffs said a paddock at its supplier Living Foods had been quarantined and that independent testing on this farmland was now being carried out.
It said based on the timeline of the food illness outbreak, and the ESR report, it believed the most likely source of contamination was farm based.
Foodstuffs said it can assure all consumers that Pams bagged lettuce for sale now was safe for consumption.


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Two-wheeler industry: Facing a crisis?
The two-wheeler industry has seen an unexpected slump in the current year. Firm interest rates are being cited as the obvious reason. Maruti shows the way
Country Head, Retail Centurion Bank of Punjab
The two-wheeler has always been an intrinsic part of the Indian milieu. It offered and continues to offer the Indian middle class the freedom from the clutches of an often non-existent or unreliable public transport system. It offers mobility at a reasonable cost. For a large portion of the population a scooter or a motorcycle is a necessary accessory for their livelihood.
Of late, the two-wheeler industry has been under an analytical microscope with volumes slowing down and even showing a negative growth. Financiers are being more cautious in their lending, leading to greater pressure on volumes. The industry seems to be caught in a negative downturn at the moment but the key question remains — is this downturn temporary or is it here to stay?
From the financiers’ perspective, servicing this industry and this customer segment is an operationally intensive exercise, covering locations that fall outside city limits and being dependent on correspondent banking relationships and a robust collection infrastructure. In the case of a downturn, caution enters the equation as financiers look to keep NPAs under control.
The customer typically belongs to the lower-middle and middle class. For this segment, aspirations have outpaced real income growth leading to a greater propensity to borrow and spend. With rising inflation, this segment has found itself over-leveraged. The hardening of interest rates at such a juncture leads to the customer postponing or deferring a new purchase. This is what has happened to the two-wheeler industry today.
The one-lakh-rupee car is seen to be another threat to the two-wheeler industry but the truth is that the running and maintenance cost and the sheer convenience of a two-wheeler, given our infrastructure, are difficult to replace. However we must wait and judge the aspirational impact of owning a car on the Indian consumer.
This environment has prevailed for the past six months but this is beginning to see a change with inflation showing a definite decline and interest rates showing the first signs of softening. As a general trend the industry has begun to lower interest rates, in a segmented fashion. Given these changes in the environment I expect to see an increase in demand with a certain lag effect — the time it takes the benefits of reduced inflation to impact the customer’s cash flows.
Manufacturers are also working at increased segmenting of the market launching products aimed a newer segments like girls and women. Newer products, such as electrically powered motorbikes are also being introduced in the market. The market also is seeing a lot of action in the 150cc plus market with new models slated to hit the market. At the same time, brand building and promotional spends of top manufacturers have not shown significant reduction, keeping the category in the minds of potential customers. I expect that the festive season will bring in price-offs and discounts along with other promotional offers that will provide another fillip to sales.
While this will have a temporary impact, it is imperative that the manufacturers, dealers and financiers work together even more closely. Manufacturers have a very strong relationship with their suppliers and dealers but very often view the financier as an external ‘service provider’. The financier has to have greater integration in the entire supply chain, working towards maximising customer solutions and services.
To sum up, I would like to state that all the economic indicators remain positive. The demographics of the country remain favourable for the industry and there is a tremendous tailwind in the economy and a spirit of prevailing optimism in the country, which makes me very confident that a turn around in the two-wheeler industry is just around the corner.
TVS Motor Company
There is no doubt that the two-wheeler market in general, and the motorcycle market in particular, is witnessing a demand slowdown.The domestic sales of two-wheelers is down by 9.47% in the first six months of the fiscal 2007-08, according to statistics published by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Within the overall two-wheelers category, motorcycles and step-throughs are down by 15.2%. The domestic sales of the largest category — motorcycles of engine capacity 75 cc and above, but less than 125 cc — were down by over 21% in the first six months. The domestic sales of scooters were, however, up 20% in the period April-September 2007 over the corresponding period last year.
The issue, I feel, is three-fold. Firstly, there has been a slowdown in the rate of economic growth. That should not be mixed up with a slowdown in the economy. But we must remember that we are coming off a high growth rate. And any slowdown in the rate of economic growth, indeed even a one per cent decline, tends to get exaggerated many times over.
The second reason for the demand skid in motorcycles is the credit squeeze. With the money supply going up really fast, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to cut back. As a result of the tightening by the central bank, loans to two-wheelers got severely pinched.
There is another angle to that story. Last year, two-wheeler loans saw a huge amount of delinquency. So when the credit squeeze happened, two-wheeler financing was the first to feel the pinch as banks cut back.
The other reason for the two-wheeler demand slack is, of course, inventory levels. Last October-March saw stock rising for the big three bike manufacturers — Hero Honda Motors Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd and TVS Motor Company. Everyone expected demand to pick up speed. It did not and that led to higher inventory levels. All of that finally impacted overall demand and offtake.
Typically, motorcycles are bellwether products. At the bottom of the economy, motorcycles are the first thing that people actually buy; not a car. So the way demand performs in two-wheelers is an indication of things to come. In that sense two-wheelers are a lead indicator of sorts for the economy. And sure enough, the two-wheeler demand got hit first, then commercial vehicles dropped and then the slowdown hit the car market as well. And now it’s no longer just the automobiles; consumer durable demand has started to take a knocking as well.
That brings me to the important question: is the two-wheeler slowdown a temporary blip or a long term trend? I don’t believe the demand for two-wheelers will perk up till the money supply eases out and banks start giving out loans once again. Even the launch of new models will not make much of a difference to the demand situation. The new launches may lead to marketshare changes but overall sales won’t increase very much.
Do I see light at the end of the tunnel any time soon? Not really. I believe there is still a lot of pain to come. Subsidies on petroleum products and fertiliser are rising rapidly on account of the increase in global crude oil prices — the price of Indian basket of crude has gone up from a low of about $63 a barrel in May this year to about $78 a barrel now. This will soon start to bite.
Right now a strong rupee — which has appreciated by about 15% against the dollar in the last one year — is propping up economic activity in the country by boosting imports. But that is not sustainable in the long run.
Principal, The Boston Consulting Group
Over the last decade the two-wheeler industry has been one of the highest value creators, recording annualised shareholder returns of over 40%. One of the chief drivers of this value creation has been the strong sales growth, which has sustained at over 15% over the last five years.
However, in the last six months of this financial year the industry recorded an overall decline of 7% on the back of a rising interest rate regime. Further, the prospect of the much awaited “1 lakh car” has raised apprehensions of cannibalisation of demand. These events have the raised the question of whether the industry is facing a crisis and is the negative growth the start of a long-term trend.
If one examines the recent decline, it has largely been for the entry level segment — both the 125cc+ motorcycle segments as well as the ungeared scooter market have expanded. The primary reason for the decline has been the limited supply of credit. Several financiers have withdrawn from the market, or reduced their exposures, driven primarily by high delinquency levels. Thus ironically it has been the supply (of finance) that has been the hurdle and not customer demand.
The threat from the “1 lakh car” appears to be limited. The current substitute in the form of ‘used cars’ already exists. The relevant segment that could migrate is the ‘premium’ commuter segment which comprises only 5-10% of the overall volumes. Further, we estimate that the total cost of ownership (TCO) for the “1 lakh car” would be ~3x that of a two-wheeler and this would deter customer migration.
Finally, fundamental demand drivers remain strong — rising income levels, increase in youth population, absence of quality public transportation, low penetration levels in particular in smaller towns and rural markets and shorter replacement cycles.
Having said that, for the industry to realise this demand and sustain the growth momentum a different approach is required from the past. The focus needs be on innovation across product-markets and to redefine their scope of business operations.
In the domestic market two segments are expected to contribute significantly to growth.The urban middle class (annual household income between Rs 2-10 lakh) and the rural aspirers (annual household income between Rs 1-2 lakh). Both these segments offer unique challenges. The growth in the urban middle class will be driven by increasing number of households and rising income levels. Thus product demand will get created and the focus will be on delivering affordable financing. Existing financing sources are going to be challenged given the reach required and the cost of serving these “higher credit risk” segments.
Two-wheeler players will need to develop captive or alliance opportunities for credit provision in such markets. (In Indonesia, the absence of a developed financing infrastructure has prompted local players to create their own captive arms for their customers).
The growth in rural aspirers will be primarily driven by an increase in penetration levels (current figures are at 15 vehicles per thousand household). The challenge here is to create a unique product for this market, rather than an adaptation of the existing urban vehicle, which meets the needs and price expectations of the customer.
Finally, local players need to explore global markets to de-risk local demand cycles. India has players which have the scale and capabilities to compete on a global basis and there is a significant opportunity available in developing markets, in particular in SE Asia and Latin America. The critical aspect is to not view this as an exports option but as an opportunity to create a local dominant position in these markets.


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Nike’s most popular Flyknit silhouette, the Flyknit Racer, has finally received the always sought-after triple black treatment. While ‘heads have been long-awaiting the arrival of a pair like the “Midnight Racer,” you can now look forward to a release taking place soon, very soon.
The “Midnight Racer” Flyknit Racer in turn boasts an all-black midsole and outsole, paired with a black and anthracite Flyknit upper. Dynamic Flywire technology then adapts to your foot for a custom-like fit and secure lock-down, while a waffle rubber outsole with a diamond pattern designed specifically for racing delivers durable traction.
For now, we know that the “Midnight Racer” Flyknits will be releasing in Europe on December 1, while a U.S. drop date has yet to be revealed. When more information arises, however, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Also, don’t miss out on some fresh kicks you can go ahead and pick up this weekend.
Subscribe to Highsnobiety’s sneaker chatbot on Facebook to receive lightning quick updates on release dates, sneaker street style, shopping tips and more.


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9 April 2007
SINGAPORE, April 9 (Reuters) - Singapore said it will reopen a small granite quarry on one of its islands to supply its booming construction industry after Indonesia interrupted granite exports and banned all sand exports to the city-state.
The government fears that Indonesia -- which was Singapore's main sand supplier until it banned all sand exports to the city-state on environmental grounds -- may halt granite exports as well, potentially damaging the city-state's fast-growing building sector and the economy.
Grace Fu, minister of state for national development, told parliament on Monday that the government would look at restarting a quarry on the tiny island of Pulau Ubin to provide local supplies of granite.
"It is necessary to carry out some limited quarrying to understand the issues involved in reactivating quarries," Fu said, adding that Singapore was also importing granite from other countries in the region.
The construction sector has already been hit by the sand ban, as builders are being forced to buy more expensive sand from the government's stockpile and from other countries.
Goerge Yeo, Singapore's foreign affairs minister, said on Monday that Indonesia has not banned granite exports to the city-state. However, Yeo said that supply has been disrupted after 22 Singapore-bound barges and tugboats carrying granite were detained by Indonesia in February and March.
Yeo said seven of the 22 tugboats and barges were alleged to be carrying sand, while the rest were detained for violating other Indonesian shipment and custom regulations.
Indonesia has said that the detention was part of "administrative verification procedures".
Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said last month that Indonesia would continue to export granite to Singapore as long as the shipments were checked by appointed surveyors to guard against damaging the environment.
The price of concrete, which is made of sand, granite and cement, has nearly tripled to S$200 ($132) per cubic metre from S$70 ($46), according to the local Straits Times paper. The higher raw material prices would add about S$100,000 ($66,100) to the cost of building a S$2.5 million house, the paper said.
Singapore has turned to other sand suppliers including China, Cambodia and Vietnam since Indonesia's sand ban in January. Singapore's Foreign Affairs Ministry said last week that Myanmar could also be a long-term supplier of sand and granite.
Ties between Indonesia and Singapore have soured since the ban, with Singapore criticizing Indonesia for using the sand export ban to pressure it into negotiations on an extradition treaty and border delineation.