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THE revised Focus ST, unveiled at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed, receives a number of updates highlighted by new front springs, adjusted shock absorber settings, retuned electronic power-assisted steering and a new flat-bottom steering wheel.
The remaining changes will see a redesign to the front and rear fascias, a bump-up in standard equipment and a rework of the instrument panel center stack.
Although the refreshed Focus ST is confirmed for Australian shores in 2015, don’t expect to see the European-bound diesel powered Focus ST anytime soon.
Martin Gunsberg, Public Affiars of Ford Australia, said that, “There’s not a huge demand for that engine here and with the efficiency we’re achieving with the EcoBoost engine, we think that’s the right option to offer for this market.”
The EcoBoost engine Gunsberg mentions is heavily rumoured to make its Focus debut in Australia alongside the usual mid-generation updates, also due in 2015.
The tiny 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine – found in the Ford EcoSport and Fiesta Sport – has recently been named engine of the year and produces 92kW and 170Nm.
With a fuel consumption rating of just 4.9l/100km, an EcoBoost engine would be the powerplant of choice for frugal Focus buyers.


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The 2020 Tour de France features 22 teams battling it out over 21 stages. The riders are the best in the world and they ride the most advanced bikes money can buy – in fact, the Tour de France is cycling’s biggest shop window for sponsors, putting the latest machines in front of the paying public.
Launches this year have been low-key affairs but we’ve still seen a range of new bikes likely to be raced at the Tour, from brands including Specialized, BMC, Merida, Factor and Trek.
However, there’s been nothing new on the high-end groupset front since SRAM AXS in early 2019, and we’ve not seen the usual torrent of “saves 3 seconds at 55kph” type stuff attached to wheel launches.
We’ve put together a complete list of the bikes in this year’s Tour de France, along with the kit they’re fitted with, and have picked out some

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Update: A Sprint spokesperson confirmed to Cnet that it will no longer carry the iPhone 4 in its retail stores starting this Friday. While we originally thought the carrier might stop selling the device completely, it also confirmed it will continue selling it online:
“iPhone 4 will become a Web only device effective on September 21. We will certainly still be selling it,”
When Apple introduced the iPhone 5 earlier this month, starting at the usual $199 price point, the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 both received price cuts with an 8GB iPhone 4 going free on a two-year contract. Apple noted in its press release, while announcing the iPhone 5, that the free iPhone 4 would be available through select carriers only. It now looks like Sprint is one of the carriers dropping the iPhone 4 from its lineup. While the exact reason is unclear, we were sent the Sprint Phone 5 pre-launch materials above —which seem to be authentic— that appear to confirm the carrier will no longer offer the iPhone 4 starting Sept. 21 (iPhone launch day).
Perhaps Sprint feels it cannot afford to offer the device at $0 on a contract. There is a possibility the carrier will move the iPhone 4 to a Virgin-only prepaid offering, which we expect would bump the cost of the device close to the $399 price point. The device currently sells for $549 on Sprint, but that price has yet to come down following the iPhone 5 launch.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Henrique de Castro's 15 months as Yahoo's chief operating officer may have ended on a sour note, but it was sweetened by a severance package valued at nearly $58 million. All but about $1 million of de Castro's severance was based in the value of his equity award in Yahoo, which began appreciating after former Google colleague Marissa Mayer joined the company in July 2012. - Full Article
Henrique de Castro Biography Wiki
Google’s next major smart phone project won’t just be competing for the same customers as Apple’s iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy S5, or even Amazon’s rumored upcoming smart phone.
Google is aiming for the “next 5 billion” mobile consumers who are poised to jump from feature phones to low-cost smart phones as the technology and mobile access expand to further corners of the globe than ever before. - Full Article


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Under Armour is creating the world's largest digital health and fitness community because the more people exercise, the more shirts and shoes they buy, the sports company founder and CEO Kevin Plank told CNBC on Thursday. He also said he wants Nike and Adidas to know what it feels like to be No. 2 and to "get used to that."
Instead trying to play in the highly competitive wearables market, Plank said in a "Squawk Box" interview that he sees value in building a community that users can tap into with any device. "[It's] a place where we weren't tied to a consumer electronic but where we could be the destination regardless of what the best 'widget' on the market was," he continued. "Whatever you had, it would plug in and we would read and synthesize that information as easy as possible."
Under Armour announced late Wednesday a deal to buy for $475 million the San Francisco-based fitness app MyFitnessPal, a leading resource for healthy living and nutrition with over 80 million registered users. The company also said it completed in early January its $85 million acquisition of Denmark-based Endomondo, with about 20 million registered users primarily in Europe.
Austin, Texas-based MapMyFitness became part of the Under Armour digital portfolio in December 2013, and since then registered users on that platform have grown from 20 million to 31 million.
After Wednesday's closing bell on Wall Street, Under Armour said it earned 40 cents a share in the fourth quarter on a 31 percent increase in revenue to $895 million. Both were higher than expectations.
Under Armour is now the second largest sportswear maker in North America, overtaking Germany's Adidas but still trailing No. 1 Nike.
Adidas shrugged off the competition's push later Thursday. "We're in the midst of our most aggressive effort to drive growth in the U.S.," including signing the University of Miami and Arizona State University, said Mark King, Adidas' North American group president. He noted that Adidas is also launching new shoes, including "Damian Lillard's new signature shoe that goes on sale tomorrow."
"Our competitors have a lot more money," said Plank, who added that he needs to spend smart.
"That's what really led to getting behind wearables," he continued. "For the first time we can say we're No. 1 in the world. I want my team to know what it feels like to be the largest in the world, the largest health and fitness digital community in the entire world."
King added that Adidas is also making digital moves and will be "unveiling a new sneaker reservation app that's changing the industry and launching a new brand campaign next week."
Nike did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.


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FS Disruptor Forum: Learning from other industries
The digital revolution has reshaped the way in which customers interact with products and services, and there is an almost universal demand for high levels of personalisation and real-time responses. As financial services companies seek to transform their operations to meet this demand, there is much they can learn from other disrupted sectors.
Attendees at the latest FS Disruptor Forum, led by Apex Group, heard how businesses such as Netflix and Amazon are influencing financial services sector disruptors; the ways in which the highly regulated financial sector can help companies move towards automation, and how all organisations can give customers the best experience as they transform their operations.
Financial services companies need solid foundations on which they can transform from a traditional client-facing organisation to one that successfully interacts through apps and online platforms.
“Retaining customers’ trust is important for all banks but it is particularly important to digital channels because when something goes wrong, we can’t tell them to come into the branch to discuss it,” says Jason Maude, Chief Technology Advocate at Starling Bank. “We can’t be sure 100% of the time that everything is working. We must make sure we recover gracefully from any failures, and that there is minimal impact to customers.”
Maude says financial services companies can learn from the resilience that is built into many online retail platforms. He gave the example of Amazon’s customer returns policy, which provides replacements for faulty goods with no charge and minimal disruption for users.
“Amazon have considered that things will go wrong with their ordering process and have something in place to make that be minimal as possible on the customer. Starling has the same idea; our systems are designed so that if they fail, they can catch up so the customer can continue their transaction where they left off.”
By its nature the digital transformation implies scaling back human intervention, yet Maude argues people still have an important role to play.
For a digital channel to be truly resilient when something goes wrong, there needs to be what Maude calls the “human touch” to not just solve the problem but to acknowledge the customer’s experience.
“For more serious problems, customers want organisations to acknowledge the problem and have an emotional connection. Computers aren’t good enough to take that emotional load; people need another human to talk to.”
Financial services organisations can also learn from the over-automation and excessive personalisation of processes witnessed in some online digital platforms, which Maude says creates an ‘unprofessional’ experience.
“Using data to really drill down into a customer’s preferences and personalise everything can become a bit creepy when you try to use it to become too intimate,” he says.
Overcoming regulatory challenges
Panelists also discussed the unique challenges for companies that are disrupting the heavily regulated financial services sector.
Louisa Williams, Head of Communications and Content at Apex Group, says: “If the financial services sector is going to transform, we have to learn more than we’ve ever learnt and be more fleet of foot than we have ever been.”
She argues that while regulation is undoubtedly a barrier to disruption, it cannot prevent progress.
“Change can be shocking, but you can either be put off by the regulation, or you accept that you can’t achieve everything today and instead break it into small bits, and get the right people on board to drive change through.”
Williams says Apex “values engaging with right people at the right levels” and adds: “For financial services that means working with government bodies, industry and other businesses that are looking to embrace change and make things happen.”
Gurdeep Singh Kohli, a member of SC Ventures at Standard Chartered Bank, encouraged financial services companies to be courageous and to look at other sectors where organisations have branched out.
“We can look at Netflix and see how it transformed from DVD rental deliveries to a major streaming service before becoming a production powerhouse. Amazon is an entirely different business entity today, having added new business lines.”
He concludes: “Banking will look phenomenally different in five ten years to how it looks now, but it takes courage to move beyond digitisation and disrupt your core business and the industry.”
Missed the chance to attend our previous think-tank sessions in the FS Disruptor Forum?
Make sure you register here to be the first to hear about the next virtual event! Join the group of industry leaders challenging the way we do things to drive innovation and positive change:


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The first Northumberland Beer Festival will take place later this month to raise money for HospiceCare North Northumberland.
Organised by Coquetdale Round Table, it will take place at Longframlington Memorial Hall on Saturday, June 22 with a special sponsors’ night on Friday June 21.
It will feature 12 beers, two ciders, Pimms and wine as well as free soft drinks for children and drivers.
And the Saturday will see events for children such as face painting with live music in the evening and food available throughout the day with the event running from noon to 11pm.
Tabler Andrew Findlay said: “About two months ago we decided just to have a go and do it and see how much we could raise for Hospice Care.
“We have talked about it for years but never managed to get round to organising it.
“Knowing nothing about how to do it we have just given it a bash.
“We are grateful for the advice and offers of help that we have had from VIP Brewery, Bin21 and Hadrian and Border Brewery.
“Alnwick Round Table, who have their festival later in the year, have also been great.”
Entry to the beer festival will cost £5 which includes a commemorative glass and your first beer token. More tokens are £1.25 each for a half pint.
All proceeds will go straight to HospiceCare.
There are also a few barrels of beer left to sponsor should any local business be interested.
For a donation of £80 you will get 10 guest passes to the Friday night and your name on the beer menu.
More information is available through Facebook at Northumberland Beer Festival and Twitter @FramBeerFest13.


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EntertainmentEarth announced today’s Doorbuster!!! It’s Star Wars The Emperor Jumbo Vintage Kenner Action Figure! The sale will be live at 11am PST!
Check HERE every weekday at midnight PST to see what the day’s doorbuster will be! We will then announce the price on Our Twitter Feed at 10 am PST. Each doorbuster goes on sale at 11 am PST! This will continue throughout the holiday season!
Please let people know about our Cyber Week Sales!


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Ciena Corp. on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire two companies for about $637 million in stock, as the optical networking systems maker looks to expand its market reach and product portfolio.
The announced acquisitions of Catena Networks Inc. and Internet Photonics Inc. occurred at the same time the Linthicum, Md.-based, Ciena reported a narrower loss for the first quarter on a continued revenue slump.
Under the Catena deal, Ciena will buy the broadband-access company for 77.5 million common shares, valued at $486.7 million, based on Ciena's Wednesday closing price. The transaction is expected to close by the end of Ciena's third fiscal quarter.
Following completion of the deal, Catena will form Ciena's Broadband Access group led by Jim Hjartarson, president and chief executive of Catena, which has offices in Canada and Research Triangle Park, N.C.
In the Internet Photonics deal, Ciena will buy the supplier of carrier-grade optical Ethernet transport and switching equipment for 24.4 million common shares valued at $150 million. The purchase is expected to close about the same time as the Catena deal. Internet Photonics, which has offices in Shrewsbury, N.J., and Marlborough, Mass., will be part of Ciena's Metro & Enterprise Solutions group.


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By: Ken Chase.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
As many analysts predicted, the U.S. Federal Reserve ramped up its efforts to rein in persistently high inflation by increasing its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points on Wednesday, the largest increase in nearly three decades. The move came on the heels of news that consumer prices in May rose more than expected while the most recent producer price index showed an increase of 10.8% from the prior year.
In a June 15 statement, the Fed reaffirmed its commitment to reducing inflation to its target 2 percent goal and suggested that the overall outlook for the U.S. economy remains positive. In support of that view, the Board of Governors cited “robust” job gains, low unemployment, and second quarter economic activity that “appears to have picked up after edging down in the first quarter.”
In a briefing on Wednesday, Chairman Jerome Powell said, “We at the Fed understand the hardship that high inflation is causing. We’re strongly committed to bringing inflation back down and we’re moving expeditiously to do so.”
For weeks, the Federal Reserve had been signaling a 50 basispoint increase for June, as officials seemed to believe that inflation would slow without more aggressive action. Powell’s Wednesday comments suggest that the Fed no longer believes that to be the case. In fact, he hinted at a similar rate hike next month, noting that “either a 50 basis point or a 75 basis point increase seems most likely at our next meeting. We anticipate that ongoing rate increases will be appropriate.”
Ongoing supply chain issues have left the Fed with few options other than to raise interest rates in an attempt to dampen consumer demand. With the U.S. administration unlikely to reverse policies that discourage domestic energy production, the high energy costs that have contributed to higher prices throughout the economy may continue for the foreseeable future. The Fed’s challenge will be to reduce demand in a way that slows the economy without causing a recession.
Powell seems to recognize that challenge and has suggested that there is a good chance that the Fed can manage a guided “soft landing” for the economy that slows inflation and growth without sending the economy into negative territory. However, the Fed’s previous attempts to achieve soft landings with tightened policies have been spotty at best. As former Federal Reserve Board vice-chairman Alan Blinder noted in his research, eight of eleven tightening cycles have resulted in recessions since 1965.
Many outside observers also doubt the Fed’s ability to manage a soft landing in this instance, particularly in light of its belated response to rising inflation. According to Quill Intelligence CEO and chief strategist Danielle DiMartino Booth, “The window for the Fed to engineer a soft landing has likely closed, since the economy is already starting to deteriorate before the bulk of the Fed’s inflation-fighting tightening actions have taken place. The last economic pillar standing is the jobs market, but we’re already seeing a weakening in new job posting.”


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Readers have been asking since last summer why the Federal Reserve and many prominent economists say there isn’t any inflation. They see higher prices when they go to purchase things, and they wonder why it doesn’t show up so much in the data. One reason, which you’re probably aware of, is retailers charge the same price while reducing either the quantity or quality of what you buy. The New York Times looked at the changes at grocery stores in some detail.
Most companies reduce products quietly, hoping consumers are not reading labels too closely.
But the downsizing keeps occurring. A can of Chicken of the Sea albacore tuna is now packed at 5 ounces, instead of the 6-ounce version still on some shelves, and in some cases, the 5-ounce can costs more than the larger one. Bags of Doritos, Tostitos and Fritos now hold 20 percent fewer chips than in 2009, though a spokesman said those extra chips were just a “limited time” offer.
Trying to keep customers from feeling cheated, some companies are introducing new containers that, they say, have terrific advantages — and just happen to contain less product.


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Biotronik begins ICD MRI study
August 31, 2012 -- German biomedical device company Biotronik has initiated its Prospective Assessment of Risk Factors for Appropriate ICD Intervention in Patients with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy (PARCADIA) multicenter study.
Philips to showcase EchoNavigator at ESC
August 24, 2012 -- Philips Healthcare will highlight its new EchoNavigator product, set to be launched later this year, at the 2012 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich, the company said.
Toshiba launches US cardio package at ESC 2012
August 22, 2012 -- Toshiba Medical Systems Europe plans to introduce a cardiovascular package for its Aplio series of ultrasound systems at the upcoming European Society of Cardiology (ESC) meeting in Munich, the company said.
Philips hosts ESC meeting-related online roundtable
August 6, 2012 -- Philips Healthcare is hosting an online clinical roundtable for cardiac professionals in conjunction with, but prior to, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress, to be held in Munich from 25 to 29 August.


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A Peloton Interactive Inc. brand on a stationary bike on the firm’s showroom in Dedham, Massachusetts, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
Take a look at the businesses making headlines in noon buying and selling.
Peloton — Shares of the stationary bike firm jumped 8.4% after asserting the launch of a corporate wellness program as Peloton goals to achieve new customers and develop its membership base. Companies that join will be capable of provide staff sponsored entry to Peloton’s digital health membership and its high-end cycles and treadmills.
GameStop — The online game retailer’s shares gained 10% after the corporate stated it sold 5 million additional shares, elevating $1.13 billion in capital to speed up progress. The unique Reddit-favorite meme inventory jumped as a lot as 12.7% at one level as traders had been inspired by the transfer and appeared previous the dilution of their stakes. That is the second inventory sale GameStop has provided because the buying and selling mania.
MicroVision — The laser know-how firm noticed its share worth sink 10.6% after it stated it could promote as much as $140 million of inventory “sometimes” and use the funds to common company functions.
MicroStrategy — MicroStrategy shares closed 5% decrease after the worth of bitcoin briefly fell below the $30,000 level Tuesday morning. The enterprise intelligence agency holds a major quantity of bitcoin in its company treasury; the corporate introduced it owned over 100,000 bitcoins after its latest purchase Monday.
Coinbase — Shares of Coinbase fell practically 2% following bitcoin’s worth decline, however closed practically unchanged amid bitcoin’s comeback. Coinbase is the most important cryptocurrency alternate within the U.S.
Nvidia — Shares of the chipmaker rose 2.5% after Raymond James reiterated its “strong buy” rating on the inventory and hiked its worth goal to $900 per share from $750. Analyst Chris Caso stated even contemplating Nvidia’s 23% rally during the last month, the corporate is exhibiting indicators of momentum and must be set for robust efficiency in a number of of its enterprise segments within the quarters forward.
CrowdStrike — Shares of CrowdStrike jumped 8% after Stifel upgraded the cybersecurity stock to a purchase ranking. Stifel hiked its worth goal for CrowdStrike to $300 per share, 26% larger than the inventory’s closing worth on Monday.
Sally Beauty Holdings — Shares of the wonder retailer rose jumped 13.6% after Cowen and Oppenheimer upgraded the stock to outperform. The funding corporations stated in separate notes to purchasers that the inventory appeared enticing after a latest slide, with Cowen highlighting Sally Magnificence’s enhancements through the pandemic.
Cruise traces — Shares of cruise traces retreated. Royal Caribbean and Carnival dropped about 2%, whereas Norwegian slid about 1.7%.
Airways — Airline shares additionally took successful. American Airlines, and Alaska Air Group every dipped greater than 1% whereas United Airlines and Delta Air Lines shed about 0.9%.
— CNBC’s Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald, Tom Franck and Jesse Pound contributed reporting
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The saga behind the San Bernadino iPhone 5c is about to heat up again, as Apple and the Department of Justice begin their court battle on March 22. At stake is the possibility of Cupertino being forced to create a back door into iOS, and The New York Times points out a surprising number of Apple’s competitors and business colleagues who are showing their support for the tech giant’s stance.
Who is in Apple's corner?
"We stand against the use of broad authorities to undermine the security of a company’s products," said Dropbox general counsel Ramsey Hominy.- The New York Times
Apple’s supporters include such big names as Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Snapchat and Yahoo. It’s taken time to draw this favor, though, as several of the companies’ lawyers discussed and debated the issue for quite some time before deciding to lend their support to Apple. Worry about the consequences should Apple lose its case made for a strong influencing factor.
What can these tech companies do to help?
Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel, expressed Apple's gratitude for the support. “The groups filing briefs with the court understand, as more and more people have come to realize, that this case is not about one phone — it is about the future and how we protect our safety and our privacy.”- The New York Times
Each of the more than 40 tech companies rallying behind Apple has agreed to file amicus briefs ahead of the court battle. Amicus briefs are filed by parties not directly involved in a court case in order to provide additional information to an argument, while also adding further weight and context to the discussion.
What does it mean?
The outpouring of support rallying behind Apple signifies an almost unified consensus among Silicon Valley that the government is overreaching its authority. After all, the government is trying to use the All Writs Act, a more than 200-year-old piece of legislation, to bolster its case. What truly needs to happen is a debate over such issues in Congress, as Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell argued for yesterday, March 2, before the House Judicial Committee.


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Supermac’s has committed to spending €32million on Irish farm produce in 2018.
The increase spend is largely driven by the expansion plans of the group with 6 new stores opening throughout the country in the 1st half of 2018 bringing the total number of outlets to 114 with a number of others in planning.
The announcement was made following a meeting with IFA President, Joe Healy.
Supermac’s MD, Galway man Pat McDonagh, said that the family chain of restaurants was projecting a spend of €32million on Irish farm produce in 2018. “This is a very strong endorsement of the quality of Irish produce on Irish farms,” Mr. McDonagh said “and I am proud to serve it in each of our restaurants. We are strongly committed to Irish farmers and the farming community in general. We are 40 years in business this year and since we started in Ballinasloe in 1978 we have always looked to local suppliers wherever possible, be that for farm produce or construction materials,” Mr McDonagh said.
The group currently employs over 2,700 people throughout the country. Supermac’s also operates Papa John’s Pizza, SuperSubs and Macs Place Diners. The latest store to open was in Headford, Co. Galway. The Só Hotel Group as well as the Claddagh Group of Pubs in the United States are also owned by Pat and Úna McDonagh. The company is on a major recruitment drive for management staff in particular at the moment.
Pat McDonagh says they are offering career opportunities at all levels, - looking for staff in the area of managers, store managers, assistant managers and catering assistants. For more details check www.supermacs.ie/careers.”
Supermac’s is Ireland’s largest indigenous quick service restaurant chain. The franchise currently has over 100 outlets across country.


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Linda Evangelista has settled a lawsuit with the company responsible for a cosmetic procedure she says left her “deformed.”
The 57-year-old filed a lawsuit against CoolSculpting’s parent company Zeltiq 10 months ago, claiming their fat-freezing procedure left her disfigured and unable to work as a model because her body was covered in hard, fatty lumps.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Supermodel shows photos of procedure that ‘disfigured’ her
For more Celebrity related news and videos check out Celebrity >>
Evangelista has not disclosed how much money the lawsuit was settled for but she was angling for $50 million in damages.
She has since taken to Instagram to thank her friends and followers throughout what she called a “horrific ordeal” that left her a deeply depressed recluse.
“I’m pleased to have settled the CoolSculpting case,” the 57-year-old shared with her 1.2 million followers.
“I look forward to the next chapter of my life with friends and family, and am happy to put this matter behind me.
“I am truly grateful for the support I have received from those who have reached out.”
Evangelista revealed in September last year that a routine fat-reduction procedure had the opposite effect.
She said the procedure “did the opposite of what it promised and left me permanently deformed, even after undergoing two painful, unsuccessful corrective surgeries.”
“I have been left, as the media has described, ‘unrecognisable’.”
In an interview with People magazine, the model said she developed paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH), a rare side-effect of the procedure.
“Remarkably, Zeltiq’s marketing material and the CoolSculpting website failed to mention the risk of PAH until after Ms. Evangelista underwent the procedures,” her attorney claimed in a statement released around the same time.
The model - one of the best-known and highest-paid of the 1990s - lived as a recluse for around five years after the procedure, while some of her contemporaries like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Christy Turlington maintained ongoing careers.
“I loved being up on the catwalk. Now I dread running into someone I know,” she told People.
“I can’t live like this anymore, in hiding and shame.”
In a follow-up Instagram post, she wrote: “I’m not done telling my story, and I will continue sharing my experience to rid myself of shame, learn to love myself again, and hopefully help others in the process.”
News that her lawsuit had been settled drew an outpouring of support and well wishes from her followers.
“Bravo Linda!” Carla Bruni wrote.
“Love you Linda!” fashion designer Anna Sui added, while celebrity hairstylist Orlando Pita added: “Amazing! Great to put that in the past.”
“The most welcomed comeback of the century!” fellow model Kristen McMenamy enthused.
And it seems Evangelista is beginning to step out of the shadows and into the beginnings of a resurgent modelling career.
She recently revealed a campaign she had shot for Italian fashion house Fendi, and on Wednesday she posted an image of herself being made up, with the caption: “It takes a village” and the hashtag #grateful.
“Gorgeous Linda!” one follower wrote.
“Wow wow wow, then and now!”
“MORE PLEASE!” another demanded.
Fellow supermodel Helena Christensen also chipped in.
“The face that launched a thousand magazine covers,” she wrote.
For more engaging celebrity content, visit 7Life on Facebook.
Stream Big on


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A Boston anaesthesiologist has come up with what will likely be themost sought-after Game Boy accessory on the market — a retrofit for anitrous oxide cannister.
“PediSedateis a medical device consisting of a colorful, toy-like headset thatconnects to a game component such as the Nintendo Game Boy system or aportable CD player,” according to the company Web site. “Once the childplaces it on his or her head and swings the snorkel down from itsresting place atop the head, PediSedate transparently monitorsrespiratory function and distributes nitrous oxide, an anesthetic gas.The child comfortably becomes sedated while playing with a NintendoGame Boy system or listening to music.”
Last time I was comfortably sedated while playing a Game Boy, it involved Skittles-infused vodka, but I digress.
Geoffrey Hart, the anaesthesiologist inquestion, is the founder of the company. The device has won two awardsfor medical product innovation. It’s in a second round of clinicaltrials.


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The expanded CVS store at South Lakes Village Center will feature a MinuteClinic, CVS’ walk-in health care clinic.
CVS has begun expansion into the former Footsteps running store space. That storefront has been empty since Footsteps closed at the end of March 2013.
CVS’ MinuteClinic has served more than 20 million patients since it opened the first location in 2000, a CVS spokesman said. There are more than 800 locations in 28 states. This will be the first location in Reston.
MinuteClinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who can diagnose and treat common illnesses and conditions such as ear infections, strep throat and ankle sprains. They also offer vaccinations, sports/school physicals and wellness programs.
Patients do not need an appointment for MinuteClinic, which is open seven days a week, including weekday evening hours. MinuteClinics accept most health insurance plans.
A local mental health practice is on the move. Dr. Goldberg & Associates plans to open move into a larger location by Nov. 1, a business representative tells Reston Now….
Thank you for subscribing and your continued support of local news.
A Food Lion in Herndon (via Google Maps) Fairfax County’s new plastic bag tax, set to take effect on Jan. 1, drew both support and opposition from the supermarket industry….
A pet food store is switching locations after being at Fox Mill Shopping Center for a decade. Weber’s Pet Supermarket plans to move from 2599 John Milton Drive to 2280…


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Ethoca, the Global Fraud-Fighting Leader, to Sponsor Address by Founding Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Ridge Global CEO Tom Ridge will be the special keynote opening speaker at the Merchant Risk Council’s 7th annual e-Commerce Payments and Risk Conference, in Las Vegas on March 11, 2009. Ethoca, the leader in collaborative fraud management and an MRC Signature Sponsor Member, will sponsor the keynote presentation by the nation’s first secretary of Homeland Security.
The MRC’s annual e-Commerce Payments and Risk Conference is the premier gathering of its type and is attended by e-commerce leaders worldwide.
“Secretary Ridge will deliver an important message on cyber threats and security at the MRC Annual Conference,” says Andre Edelbrock, Ethoca CEO. “As cybercrime grows increasingly sophisticated, it is rapidly becoming the domain of international organized criminal gangs and is also being used to fund terrorism. Lessons learned by Homeland Security in fighting these same threat sources can prove invaluable to the online merchant community.”
Ethoca is making e-commerce safer and more profitable through technology that enables and empowers the Global Fraud-Fighting Community—a partnership of e-commerce businesses, law enforcement organizations, fraud solution vendors, credit issuers and payment processors.
By providing a global platform for cross-industry collaboration, Ethoca enables businesses that operate in customer-not-present environments (Internet, phone, fax or mail) to make more informed decisions about their customer transactions, by pooling transaction experience data from the community in a way that is secure, automated, effective and ethical. Community members see reduced fraud, lower fraud-related costs, increased revenue from fewer wrongly rejected orders and improved customer satisfaction rates.
Ethoca™ is a registered trademark of Ethoca Limited. For more information about Ethoca visit www.ethoca.com.
About the MRC Annual Conference:
The Merchant Risk Council’s 7th Annual e-Commerce Payments and Risk Conference will be held at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort on March 10-12, 2009. The 7th Annual e-Commerce Payments and Risk Conference unites the world’s top Internet merchants, credit card companies, risk management providers, law enforcement agencies and various consultants and educators in discussing how to make shopping on the internet easier, safer and more profitable for all involved.
For more information about the MRC and its upcoming conference, please visit www.merchantriskcouncil.org.
Ethoca Contact: Chris Iafolla +1-617-779-1857 (SHIFT Communications)
Ridge Global Contact: Michele Nix +1-202-833-2008


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Uber wants to come to Houston. Will city council let the new transportation tech company in?
Something big could be coming to Houston’s transportation scene.
No, it’s not a new light rail line or an airline. It’s an app.
Uber Technologies Inc. wants to come to Houston. The problem is, they need a few city regulations changed first.
Uber is a San Francisco-based transportation technology that has taken more than 30 cities by storm. Currently, Dallas is the only market in Texas that has access to Uber technology, but the company recently revealed that Houston is its next target. Uber wants to roll out its UberBlack service, which allows anyone to order a town car limousine with their smartphone, to Houston in the coming months.
Here’s how UberBlack works:
Uber works with existing town car or limousine companies. Any company can sign up to use Uber, and Uber gives the company’s drivers a smarphone with its app on the phone. Through this app, the drivers will get customer requests.
Customers, or anyone who is looking for a town car ride, can download the Uber app on their smartphone and order a ride from an Uber-approved driver who is nearby. All they need to do is set a pickup location and enter their credit card information. Whenever the ride is finished, there is no exchanging of credit cards or cash — the Uber user simply confirms the payment on their smartphone, and the money is sent to the town car company.
“You can use Uber as your own private driver,” said Nairi Hourdajian, an Uber spokeswoman. “It will reduce congestion and provide reliable transportation to all (Houston) neighborhoods.”
Instead of paying to use a town car for a whole evening, which can cost a significant amount of money, Hourdajian explained that by just ordering specific rides to and from certain locations, customers can save money. Also, drivers get access to a new pool of business.
Molly Ryan covers manufacturing, technology, the Port and logistics for the Houston Business Journal. For her breaking stories and industry insights, follow her on Twitter.
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Stephen Jacobi, Executive Director of NZIBF, traveled to San Francisco for APEC Leaders’ week and writes his thoughts on the outcome.
Remarks to the International Symposium on Building a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific and Promoting Global Economic Governance
SANYA, HAINAN, CHINA
15 AUGUST 2017
STEPHEN JACOBI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NZ CHINA COUNCIL, NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS FORUM
FTAAP AND HOW TO GET THERE
My thanks to China PECC and the organisers of this meeting for the opportunity to be with you and for the excellent arrangements that have been made for us.
I’m pleased to offer a business viewpoint on economic integration and global economic governance.
I do so from the perspective of three organisations I am associated with:
- the NZ China Council, which promotes the NZ/China relationship;
- the NZ International Business Forum, which promotes NZ’s integration in global markets;
- and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) which advises APEC Economic Leaders on the regional integration agenda.
The Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) was a business idea before it was adopted by APEC Leaders.
The idea was first coined in ABAC in 2004 and adopted by governments two years later.
It is a source of dismay to the business community that some thirteen years later we are still talking about FTAAP as a long-term vision rather than an idea whose time has come.
This morning I’d like to offer a few thoughts about how we can move from vision to action, as the theme of this session suggests.
I’d like firstly to take stock of the state of economic integration, then move on to consider whether the existing pathways to FTAAP might actually arrive at their destination, before considering what can be done at this point to bring FTAAP a good deal closer to reality.
Economic integration – how far have we come?
The English writer Charles Dickens began his work “A Tale of Two Cities” with the immortal phrase – “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”.
We find something like this when considering the environment for regional economic integration today.
The worst of times refers to the threat of protectionism which never quite went away after the global financial crisis but which finds new currency in some parts – but by no means all – of the region.
Before I left New Zealand to come to Sanya, the Premier of the state of Queensland in Australia was openly threatening to set aside the non-discrimination rules of the CER Treaty between our two countries and favouring by a weighted preference of 30 percent local suppliers for government procurement.
“If the Australia-New Zealand Government Procurement Agreement gets in the way of that, we will go it alone”, the Premier is on record as stating.
It’s a small example – by no means restricted to the Western Island – but if it can happen in Queensland it can happen anywhere.
Certainly, the members of ABAC are committed to resisting protectionism in all its forms and regularly encourage APEC Economic Leaders to do the same.
But let’s not just see the glass as half empty – we are in the best of times because integration has continued to advance steadily, largely driven by business and the continuing evolution of global value chains.
The WTO tells us that merchandise trade has rebounded after a sluggish period, which is good news for us in business.
But the bigger picture here is that trade is changing.
Trade is not trade anymore.
Trade has been replaced by a set of much more complex economic interactions between firms and whole economies.
Professor Peter Petri and colleagues, in a report to ABAC in 2015, captured this well when he said:
“Businesses (today) engage in more varied activities, with a wider range of partners, and in more markets than ever. Major technological and economic trends are disrupting the business environment, including the emergence of global value chains, the digital/Internet revolution, the rise of a giant middle class, and dramatic improvements in connectivity.
Professor Petri sees this movement as “an Asia Pacific innovation”.
In our region the fact of the matter is that the market is moving faster than the regulatory system and has been doing so for some time.
Models of international economic governance have been challenged to respond to this evolution.
The late lamented Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was one instrument for governments to play catch up.
That’s why TPP was styled as a “next generation” or “21st century” agreement.
TPP covered not just tariffs but non-tariff barriers, not just goods but services, not just trade but investment, not just border measures but behind the border measures, not simply regulatory harmonisation, but processes for regulatory coherence and convergence, not “one size fits all” but “one fit for all sizes”.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was also a tilt in the same direction, although certainly not as ambitious as TPP, nor as we are discovering as comprehensive as its name suggests.
In Latin America the Pacific Alliance is setting some new benchmarks for deep integration amongst its members.
And we also have FTAAP which, as I said, has been around for some time and making excruciatingly slow progress.
In his address to the APEC CEO Summit in Lima last November President Xi Jinping described FTAAP as “a strategic choice concerning the long-term prosperity of the Asia-Pacific; We should steadfastly promote its construction and provide institutional guarantees for fostering an open regional economy”.
Demographer and geo-strategist Parag Khanna, in his fascinating book Connectography, points out that now, and for the foreseeable future, the global centre of gravity will be in Asia.
He also argues that one of the defining features and determinants of success in the global economy for the decades to come will be around how well economies connect with each other, through trade and supply chains and investment.
In other words, what we try to achieve in the Asia-Pacific, and how we try to achieve it in terms of connecting our economies, really matters.
The conventional wisdom for some time has been that the means to achieve FTAAP lies in the so-called “pathways” – TPP, RCEP and the Pacific Alliance.
It’s a simple equation really TPP+RCEP+AP=FTAAP.
Let’s turn then to examine the state of those pathways in an environment where market-driven integration is already driving the way in which business is done in the region.
State of the pathways
I referred a moment ago to the “late lamented” TPP.
In fact, while I have no doubt about the lamentation, at least in business circles, that the Trump Administration caused when it announced US departure from TPP it now appears that reports of TPP’s demise were premature.
It is true of course that as things stand, TPP cannot enter into force without the United States.
This is because of the provision whereby a threshold of 85 percent of the GDP of the original twelve members must be met.
Latterly however the remaining eleven members have indicated a willingness to pursue their co-operation to see if TPP might yet see the light of day as a high quality, ambitious and comprehensive agreement.
A number of Ministerial and officials’ meetings have been held – the last meeting, held in Hakone, Japan, has been described as positive, with all eleven parties aiming to reach consensus on a way forward by the time APEC Economic Leaders meeting in DaNang in November.
What is not clear at this point is whether any substantive changes to TPP will be pursued beyond the entry into force provisions.
TPP took eight years to conclude and represented a finely constructed balance of provisions – re-opening the process is not attractive to the business community, which has already waited too long for the sort of environment TPP might put in place.
Meanwhile, in Asia, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) continues to make progress – of sorts – between ASEAN and its six FTA partners.
I say ‘of sorts’ because once again progress – at least to a business observer – seems frustratingly slow with little prospect that the agreement will be in place by the end of the year.
This is certainly not for want of trying – 19 rounds of RCEP have been held with at least two more scheduled for this year and with a significant amount of engagement on the part of the business community.
The negotiation is characterized by different levels of ambition amongst the parties applying particularly to goods but also services and investment.
Some negotiating groups are only just getting started, suggesting there is still water to flow under the RCEP bridge before the negotiations can be brought to a conclusion.
On the other side of the Pacific the Pacific Alliance continues to deepen integration between its four existing members and in July decided to extend its membership to others including New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Canada.
The significance of the Pacific Alliance should not be overlooked.
It already represents 221 million consumers equal to the world’s sixth largest economy.
It fulfils the objectives of being high quality, comprehensive and ambitious – what’s more it is now taking a step across the Pacific Ocean.
All of its new associate members are of course TPP participants too.
The Pacific Alliance may make faster progress than RCEP or even TPP(11) and is certainly one to watch.
Alongside these pathways – TPP, RCEP and PA – a number of other initiatives in the region are also underway.
New Zealand and China, for example, are upgrading our high-quality FTA, which entered into force in 2008.
China is likewise in talks with other existing FTA partners in the region to deepen or strengthen trading relationships.
An increasing number of countries are participating in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which while not a trade negotiation, aims to improve connectivity and foster economic co-operation in the region and beyond.
And although BRI is not a new set of trade rules, this and accompanying instruments, such as the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, are unquestionably contributing to the development of a new model of global economic governance for the decades ahead.
While this progress is to be welcomed, how does it get us closer to FTAAP ?
If that question is hard to answer, then perhaps we should look at the size of the opportunity.
FTAAP is about untangling the noodles of overlapping sub-regional arrangements.
We know that if it can be realized, FTAAP would be the largest and most diverse trade zone ever conceived.
Aggregate benefits are believed to range from $1.3 to $2.4 trillion per year by 2025 and show the region’s trade to grow by a conservative estimate of over 25%.
These are gains that simply cannot be left on the table.
We know too that FTAAP cannot simply be another trade negotiation – a super mega FTA.
The consensus required to launch such a negotiation has always been elusive and seems even further off today than it was in 2006.
The first A in FTAAP has always stood for “Area” rather than “Agreement” and advisedly so.
FTAAP has been a “top down” approach to liberalization with actual negotiations coming from “bottom up” through the pathways.
Conventional thinking has always been to see FTAAP as the way to realise the Bogor goals.
But given the imminence of the Bogor deadline in 2020, perhaps we should see FTAAP rather as being the next phase of Bogor, one characterized by greater commitment on the part of APEC members, greater structure and accountability and a more ambitious set of goals for the economic future of the region.
ABAC has always said that FTAAP needs to characterized by three pillars – inclusiveness, comprehensiveness and transparency.
The formal launch of FTAAP (A for Area) by all APEC members would meet the inclusive criterion, as would a design that remains open to expansion beyond APEC in future.
The adoption of a multi-year FTAAP work programme – already foreshadowed in the APEC Beijing Roadmap – would address the comprehensiveness criterion.
Such a work programme would focus on the specific priorities to advance critical elements of the integration agenda and would draw on and consolidate the negotiated outcomes of the pathways as they come to hand.
It would not simply encompass the “old economy” issues (to use a rather pejorative description), that drove the Bogor Goals but would reflect new business models and realities around connectivity such as services, digital trade, regulatory coherence and GVCs and a recognition that the “noodle bowl” problem is best addressed by a region-wide model of economic governance.
The last criterion – transparency – would be met by the structures put in place to manage the work-plan including a rigorous process of continuing self-review which is already an APEC habit.
Trade negotiators will doubtless question the serious intent of FTAAP conceived in this way.
Under the scenario just outlined negotiations still happen in the pathways.
The FTAAP serves as a structure for casting vision, sharing ideas and banking outcomes which can assist the region on its path towards integration and shared governance.
The region has spent the last decade talking about FTAAP – now is the time to do it.
FTAAP embodies the concept of an Area where free trade happens through a variety of pathways, each making progress at their own pace but with an overarching vision and a structure to ensure coherence between them.
As Bogor in the past has pointed us to a brighter future, so can FTAAP, as governments respond to the challenges set by business and market-based integration.
In these best and worst of times, moving to initiate FTAAP will signal to the world that the APEC region is serious about ensuring the benefits of integration are harnessed for the good of the region’s people.
 Peter A Petri et al: “The FTAAP Opportunity – a report to ABAC”, October 2015 – https://www2.abaconline.org/assets/2015/4%20Manila/FTAAP%20OPPORTUNITY%20(1).pdf accessed 1 February 2015
 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-11/20/c_135843072.htm accessed 2 February 2017
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Chocolala OÜ, an Estonian maker of handmade chocolate, has begun selling its products on the Swedish and Japanese markets.
Kristi Lehtis, founder and owner of Chocolala, told BNS that the company recently sent its first batch of chocolate bars, consisting of a couple bars, to Japan.
In addition to Japan, Chocolalahas begun selling its products on the Swedish market as well. The amounts sold in Sweden are greater and the variety of products sent there includes boxes of chocolate, chocolate bars, various chocolate figures as well as chocolate with reindeer lichen.
Chocolala, which went into business in 2014, has established contacts with partners mostly at fairs, Lehtis explained. The next event the are scheduled to attend is the ISM Cologne trade fair for sweets in Cologne, Germany early next year.
On its domestic market, Chocolala has its own storefront and workshop in Tallinn's Old Town and also supplies its products to retailers including Stockmann, Tallinna Kaubamaja, Selver as well as Tallinn Airport.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla


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“The new era of luxury mobility starts here,” stated Lucid Motors from their prototype shop in Fremont, CA, who were formerly known as Atieva. Their new model named the 'Lucid Air' claims to have everything you need for a truly modern vehicle which include being a fine daily driver, luxury vehicle and a 1000 Hp to take on the sports car market.
The similarities with the Tesla model S is no coincidence as Peter Rawlinson who was once Tesla's Model S chief engineer is now the chief technology officer at Lucid and the 300 strong company also boasts few other Tesla employees. The team also includes designer Derek Jenkins who previously worked on the Mazda MX-5 Miata. Maybe adding a bit of insult to injury, the launch of the Lucid Air was just down the Freeway from Tesla's lair, but the Lucid plans to take the EV market even further than ever before with new advancements and pushing the boundaries of the technology.
A bigger and better electric car?
If the electric vehicle market is to move forward at any significant rate, there has to be a healthy rivalry between makers to push the boundaries and this now seems to be the case. The sumptuous curves of the lucid is inspired by luxury jets, with a hyper modern exterior features such as the thousands of tiny lenses in the 10 individual headlights which pivot to follow the car.
The interior would please any luxury car being around the same size as a a Mercedes E-Class, with loads of legroom and being fully electric, has all the modern conveniences you would expect. You also get a glass canopy roof, flush door handles and being all electric, a front and rear trunk.
“We wanted something that was long and low and sleek, something that could really pierce the air,” Jenkins said. “It’s almost like a liquid-metal aesthetic.”
Two electric motors in the front and the back provide the car with 1000 hp and a possible 300 mile range from a 100-kWh battery pack. This provides a 0 to 60 mph time of 2.5 seconds. A 130-kWh battery pack is in the works which will push the range to 400 miles, further than any present EV vehicle. The car boasts an 'inter-systems spatial optimization' which translates to a multi-link rear suspension, switchable volume inverted air-springs and active damping, which is to increase interior space for things like jet style reclining seats. Autonomous driving is also in the works with panels on the front and the back of the car hiding cameras and sensors, but full autonomous driving will be for future releases at this point.
The company also seems to have a healthy future being backed by LeEco, a Chinese technology company and a partnership with Samsung to supply the lithium ion cells for each vehicle. The amount of funding has not been disclosed, with possibly more money to be raised in the next year a spokesman stated. Electric vehicles are a costly business, so we wait to see how this trickles down to the final vehicles.
So, how much will this new wonder of the EV market cost?
The limited edition Lucid Air but be on sale for $160,000 said company Director of Marketing Zak Edson. Full production models of the Air will possibly be around $65,000, and a standard model $85,000.
Production from their plant in Casa Grande, Arizona should start from late 2018 and hope to produce up to 130,000 vehicles every year.


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From Seeking Alpha
The world's leading smartphone manufacturer Apple Inc (AAPL) has recently released its quarterly results that disappointed investors as its stock tumbled and Exxon (XOM) - temporarily - recaptured the crown of the world's biggest listed company. In mid-day trading on 25th January, Apple's stock fell by 2.32% to $440.4 per share as Exxon surpassed Apple's market cap by $5.23 billion. The sole "bright spot" in Apple's earnings was China. The country is Apple's third biggest market behind the Americas and Europe. Apple's quarterly revenues in China (including from Hong Kong and Taiwan) increased by 67% from last year to reach $6.83 billion. This was the biggest revenue jump that Apple reported out of all of its geographic segments.
Apple is clearly having an impact on this market, but so far, its numbers aren't really impressive. Here, it faces intense competition from Samsung (SSNLF.PK), Lenovo (LNVGY.PK), Huawei, Coolpad, ZTE (ZTCOF.PK) and Xiaomi Technology.
The Chinese smartphone market is growing and growing fast. In the final quarter of last year .... read more


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NORTH SYDNEY — The Formally Yours dress sale will return for the third consecutive year to offer young women the chance to purchase a previously owned dress for prom or Valentine's at a fraction of the formal wear's usual price.
"We are a bunch of women with daughters and saw the exorbitant prices of prom dresses and what people do with their dresses afterward and felt if we provided a forum for people to resell their dresses we might get something going," said Dr. Stephanie Langley, one of the organizers of the Feb. 8 event at Emera Centre Northside.
"You see people spending thousands of dollars on dresses. I'm not that kind of person. I'm quite frugal."
The event returns to the month of February after trying it on in September in 2013. Langley said it seems to fit better in the month of February.
"I think it is more timely. We did it too early in the year last year and probably didn't get as much buyers but lots of sellers. That's the main thing."
Langley said organizers work hard to provide a nice atmosphere for people to buy and sell dresses that includes a fitting room and a seamstress to offer alteration advice. The result is buyers and sellers from across Cape Breton come to the sale.
"We always see some beautiful dresses. People are obviously not going to get what they paid for their dress, but if they want to get rid of their dress it is a great way to do it and help raise money for youth that need it. They are also allowing young women that we know can't afford an expensive dress to get a wonderful dress at a bargain price."
As in previous years the proceeds from the dress sale will benefit a local charity. It was Transition House in the first year and then the McKeough Family Trust in 2013. This year, the children at Clifford Street Youth Centre will benefit.
While the event will assist a local organization, Langley said the community has assisted it with donations to cover the cost of renting a room at Emera Centre. That means 100 per cent of proceeds go to Clifford Street.
Contact firstname.lastname@example.org for more details. You can also visit the event's Facebook page.
Date: Feb. 8
Time: 1-4 p.m.
Location: Emera Centre Northside
• A $5 entrance fee to come and browse the dresses.
• Facilities available for fitting.
• A seamstress on hand to offer alteration advice.
• Set your dress resale price - 100 per cent of the sale is yours.
• Drop off your dress between 9-11 a.m. the day of the event.
• $10 fee to sell one dress, $20 to sell two and costs $25 to sell the three dress maximum.


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A Better Native M-Commerce Experience
While a majority of consumers’ online retail browsing is done on mobile devices, a much smaller percent of retail dollars are spent on these devices.
Mobile commerce may be the future of retail and shopping, but the technology to ensure an even "somewhat" decent experience has been elusive. Fortunately, that's changing.
PredictSpring, for example, just announced its new technology platform for brands to make the most of the opportunities in m-commerce by offering up a better gateway to that experience. The company's new Commerce Gateway and Mobile Platform is launching with brands like Cole Haan, Eddie Bauer, Bluefly and Woodcraft.
“For the past 15 years, brands and retailers have focused on ad formats to promote products, but these strategies were designed for desktop and have largely failed on mobile," said Nitin Mangtani, the Founder and CEO of PredictSpring, and one of the visionaries behind Google Shopping. "We have arrived at a time when every form of mobile content will be ‘shoppable’ – whether via a retailer’s own app, social media platforms, or publisher apps.”


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Medicinal hemp products have not been subject to rigorous FDA oversight, but many pet product companies tout multiple health benefits for pets. In addition to potential health claims, the anxiety-reducing potential makes it an attractive “natural” option for pet parents with fearful pets.
Rob Silver, DVM, a holistic veterinarian and founder of http://nurseyourpet.com, and veterinary pain specialist Robin Downing, DVM, from https://downingcenter.com weigh in on the subject. Updates have been provided from Stephen Cital, RVT, SRA, RLAT, VCCS, CVPP, VTS- LAM (Res. Anesthesia), director of education and development at www.ellevetsciences.com.
Hemp Data for Pets?
Unfortunately, few studies offer clear guidance for veterinarians or pet owners. That makes species-appropriate recommendations nearly impossible. Dr. Downing believes that “whole plant” extracts versus single-agent extracts should be further examined.
Joe Wakshlag, DVM, at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, has completed a CBD study that demonstrated pain reduction in dogs with osteoarthritis. Cital says that while not clinically significant, ALP increases were noted for animals in the study that were on NSAIDS at the same time, and that a CSU study saw the same thing, along with diarrhea. Dr. Downing says important details about the formulation, manufacture, certificate of analysis, and sourcing of raw material must be determined, but feels hopeful and excited by the results.
At least five published studies using phytocannabinoid-rich hemp products show bioavailability in both dogs and cats, Cital says, with evidence suggesting better bioavailability of CBD products when given with a meal. He says it is also critical to understand that pharmacokinetic studies from will vary product to product depending on the concentration of the product’s phytocannabinoid constituents, carrier oil, and dose.
Auburn University has data (as yet unpublished) on theoretical drug interactions that have not proven to manifest in the clinical setting. Slow dissemination of these studies can leave veterinarians without good information for making recommendations of CBD products. This is complicated by legal restrictions, which vary from state to state.
Confusing Hemp and Cannabis Terms
Definitions of marijuana, cannabis, and hemp depend on the use and the content of THC.
The word “marijuana” refers to the cannabis plant containing the psychotropic component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is a controlled substance. “Hemp” refers to the industrial cannabis product used for rope, textiles, and other products. Hemp may contain no more than 0.3 percent of THC.
Both marijuana and hemp are members of the cannabis family of plants. The flowers of this plant may contain more than 100 different cannabinoids. CBD oil most commonly appears in pet hemp supplements.
Complicated Marijuana Drug Laws
The law ties veterinarians’ hands because marijuana is not legal in most states and is still illegal at the federal level. “Any investigator who is funded by federal monies runs the risk of having that funding withdrawn if they are found to be in violation of federal law [e.g., assessing products that remain illegal at the national level],” says Dr. Downing.
With passage of the Farm Bill of 2018, hemp products no longer fall under the same legal restrictions as marijuana. As of January 2020, California is the first and only state that has adopted laws protecting veterinarians from penalties for discussing use of marijuana for pets with clients. They are, however, restricted from profiting by recommendation of a marijuana product. On the other hand, most states don’t forbid or discourage veterinarians from discussing use of hemp products with pet owners.
What to Consider
Look for red flags on cannabis products, such as misspelled words on the label or no phone number to call to ask questions. Packaging should indicate strength of formulation and recommended dosage.
Products should also come with a certificate of analysis. “This is a way for a producer to affirm and assure the public that what they produce is consistent, not contaminated, and has a specific concentration of active ingredients,” says Dr. Downing. “Reliable companies are interested in acquiring and repeating independent analyses.”
This article was reviewed/edited by board-certified veterinary behaviorist Dr. Kenneth Martin and/or veterinary technician specialist in behavior Debbie Martin, LVT.


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OnePlus is launching Ace 2 Pro soon, and the phone will come with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. The device was recently benchmarked on AnTuTu and the listing reveals more spicy details – it will have a variant with a staggering 24 GB RAM and 1 TB storage.
It will also come with Android 13, which is less of a surprise, likely with ColorOS 13 on top, since it will be initially launched in China.
OnePlus would use LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, which are the fastest standards currently on the market. The screen will support 120 Hz refresh rate, as stated by the UX section.
Read more on gsmarena


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A world where The injections they no longer exist and the way to receive medications is painless, it seems impossible, but this future is much closer than we think. In fact, it already has a date: 2023. That is the moment when Medicsen expects first drug delivery device to be available to the public no needles they have developed.
The device is actually a patch no 4x2x1cm needles capable of delivering drugs through the skin. It works through ultrasound and, according to the CEO and founder of the company, Eduardo Jorgensen, its waves’ beat the skin like a drum ‘, allowing it to relax and the drugs to be absorbed’ without


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Best SUV in india: The company’s SUV has achieved a special milestone. This SUV ( SUV ) has exceeded the sales figure of 1 lakh units in India. This has proved to be the ‘turper’s ace’ for MG.
MG Hector SUV Sales: MG Motors entered the Indian market about 3 years ago. In such a short time, it has joined the top 10 cars of the country. It ranked 10th in terms of car sales in November. It has beaten car brands such as Volkswagen, Nissan and Jeep. Now the company’s SUV has achieved a special milestone. MG Hector SUV ( MG Hector SUV ) has exceeded the sales figure of 1 lakh units in India. This has proved to be the ‘turper’s ace’ for MG. The company has rolled out one lakhth unit today from MG Motor Facility located in Halol, Gujarat.
MG Motors entered the Indian market along with Hector SUV. It was launched in 2019. Hector, known as India’s first ‘Internet SUV’, is still the best-selling model of MG Motor. At an average of about 1,500 units each month, Hector topped MG Motor’s portfolio in terms of sales since its launch in India three years ago. Apart from Hector, the company also has cars like MG Gloster, MG Astor, MG ZS EV.
Hector coming in new avatar
The price of this SUV in India starts at Rs 14.42 lakh ( X-showroom ). The top-spec variant of the Hector SUV is currently available in 20.36 lakhs ( X-showroom ). It has options for both petrol and diesel engines. Customers also get the option of manual as well as CVT transmission. It is contested with cars such as Tata Harrier, Hyundai Alcazar, Mahindra Scorpio N and Mahindra XUV700. A new generation version of MG Hector is also expected to come up with several upgrades by next month.
The design of the updated Hector will be changed and more features will be given. The company said it would have a new look grill, around which there would be gloss black elements as well as headlamp housing. MG Hector will also claim the largest infotainment screen in its segment. It will also feature a 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and the ADAS ( Advanced Driver Aids System ) feature.


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Zwift, the online cycling gaming platform, turned heads on Wednesday with the announcement that it had closed a $120 million round of funding to fuel its ambitious expansion plans. Among them: create an official e-sports cycling league and get e-racing into the Olympics.
“We’re creating an entirely new category of sports,” Zwift CEO and co-founder Eric Min said.
Zwift has grown rapidly since its founding in 2014. The company claims at least 1 million people have signed up for the service, which offers cyclists (and, as of earlier this year, runners) the chance to take part in what is essentially a massive multiplayer video game, powered by real-life exercise.
More From Bicycling
And it has big plans. Zwift wants to use the cash to expand into new disciplines, like rowing, and to launch a series of e-sports tournaments. Days ago, the company announced the creation of the KISS Super League, with four real-world men’s pro teams—including U.S. Pro Continental development team Hagens Berman Axeon—as participants.
Min said a women’s league will be announced shortly, and that he expects more teams to join both fields soon enough. The first race in the KISS Super League is slated for January 23.
Zwift’s massive funding round—totaling about three times what the company had previously raised since its launch in 2014, and nearly twice as much as what Strava has raised in its entire nine-year existence—may seem bloated. But Min said it’s necessary for some of the long-term investments the company envisions, and to support the rapid growth that’s led to an eightfold increase in users over the last two years.
It also comes at a time when e-sports, as a category, is blowing up in the venture capital world. Funding for e-sports start-ups grew by 1,100 percent between 2013 and 2017, according to a report on Crunchbase, which tracks privately funded companies. That explosion continued this year: A Goldman Sachs report estimated that the total revenue from e-sports will pass $800 million in 2018 and could reach as much as $3 billion by the end of 2022.
Much of that is due to the overnight successes of games like Fortnite and Overwatch, as well as streaming outlets like Steam and Twitch. But Min said there’s a place in this rapidly expanding field for Zwift’s unique blend of video-game experience and real-life physical activity.
And that Olympic goal? It only sounds far-fetched. E-sports are already under consideration for the 2024 Games, and in the next few weeks both British Cycling and Cycling Australia, the governing bodies for competitive cycling in their respective nations, will award the first-ever national championship jerseys for e-racing.
E-racing, Min said, “ticks all the boxes that the Olympics want. It’s real athletes, in a digital sport, to reach a new audience that skews younger. We are the bridge between traditional athletic sports and a new digital age.”


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Westlife serves over 200 million customers, annually, at its 341 (as of December 31, 2022) McDonald’s restaurants across 52 cities in India.
Dwayne Henriques, 8, was eating at a McDonald's outlet in Hyderabad when the rat climbed up his leg and bit him.
This customer especially drove to a McDonalds outlet but still had to order on Swiggy.
The fast-food giant notched 12.6 percent comparable sales growth globally in the quarter ending December 31.
In a TikTok video, Josiah Vargas showed the contents of his breakfast order which contained a Sausage McMuffin and the bag of cash.
The UK Parking Control said there was ample signage at the entry to the car park as well as on lamp posts to display the rule.
The US man shared a screenshot of his Doordash app for his McDonald's order, which showed this message: “Restaurant is confused as to what you want on your order.”
60 per cent of the new stores are likely to be in the southern region and the rest in the western zone.
McDonald’s is launching a Happy Meal geared towards adults as part of its collaboration with streetwear brand Cactus Plant Flea Market.
The job also gave Jeff Bezos an insight into customer service. “I learned that it’s really hard,” he had said.
Blockchain enthusiasts believe there is potential for collaboration with the food and beverage sector for dining in the virtual world
The announcement was applauded by Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, who acknowledged that the actual reopening "will take a while," in a message on Facebook.
The incident took place in Brooklyn on August 1. The victim is in critical condition in hospital.
The Chicago burger giant said its revenue fell 3 percent to $5.72 billion in the April-June period. That was short of Wall Streets forecast of $5.8 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
The moment a woman climbed through the window of a McDonald’s outlet to cook her own food has been captured in a now-viral video.
The french fries are served up on a Baccarat crystal Arabesque Plate worth about Rs 18,000, with a matching bowl to carry the dipping sauce.
The new restaurant chain, “Vkusno i Tochka,” which translates to “Tasty, period,” is grappling with a potato shortage, according to Russia’s state news agency Tass.
Kevin Ozan, who will leave the fast food company in the middle of 2023, will be replaced as financial chief by Ian Borden, a seasoned corporate employee and president of McDonald's worldwide operations.
The restaurant that launched McDonald's in Russia in 1990, heralding Moscow's opening after decades of Soviet rule, reopened on June 12 with a new name and logo, a reminder of the upheaval sparked by the war in Ukraine
McDonald’s restaurants are reopening in Russia this weekend, but without the Golden Arches. A Siberian oil mogul bought McDonald's 840 Russian stores and the gambit might just work — underscoring the Russian economy’s surprising resilience in the face of one of the most intense barrages of sanctions ever meted out by the West.
The fast-food chain all set to replace McDonald’s in Russia has unveiled its new logo as it prepares to relaunch on Sunday.
Akshay Jatia will lead the overall business strategy to further strengthen McDonald’s as the food tech destination across platforms in west and south India
Old rumours about Starbucks scamming its customers by serving the same amount of coffee in cups of different sizes were revived, thanks to a resurfaced video.
A McDonald's customer in Ahmedabad claims he found a dead lizard floating in his beverage.
Donald Gorske had his first Big Mac in Wisconsin in 1972. He said it was “love at first bite”.


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French Luxury stocks took a hit after the Trump administration proposed tariffs against the European country in response to its new digital service tax that would hurt U.S. companies.
The Trump administration proposed “additional duties of up to 100 percent” on $2.4 billion of French products that would include wine, cheese, and other goods, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement on Monday. After the announcement, French luxury brands saw a drop in stocks, reported Business Insider.
Shares in LVMH, Christian Dior, Kering, and Hermes dropped almost 3 percent on Tuesday, with Hermes taking the biggest dive at 2.6 percent. LVMH, the brand behind Louis Vuitton, suffered a loss of 2 percent.
LVMH is behind major luxury brands and subsidiaries including Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Bvlgari, Tiffany & Co., and more.
The move comes after France in July imposed a 3 percent tax on American tech companies that is set to go into effect in early 2020. The digital service tax would affect Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon, the USTR said.
The USTR said that an investigation into France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) concluded that the policy is “unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdens U.S. commerce,” saying in a statement that it’s “inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies.”
“USTR’s decision today sends a clear signal that the United States will take action against digital tax regimes that discriminate or otherwise impose undue burdens on U.S. companies,” said Ambassador Robert Lighthizer.
Lighthizer added that the “USTR is focused on countering the growing protectionism of EU member states, which unfairly targets U.S. companies, whether through digital services taxes or other efforts that target leading U.S. digital services companies.”
The USTR said it is also considering whether to open investigations into the digital services taxes of Austria, Italy, and Turkey.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday on Radio Classique that the U.S. tariff threat is “simply unacceptable” and threatened a “strong European riposte” if the Trump administration follows through with the tariffs. He said France has talked with the European Commission about EU-wide retaliatory measures and claims that the French tech tax is not discriminatory against the United States because it targets European and Chinese companies too.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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19th February 2021 - 2 min read
Boost has officially announced its partnerships with Lazada Malaysia and McDonald’s, where Boost users can use the e-wallet to pay for their Lazada online shopping and fast food orders from McDonald’s. To mark the occasion, Boost is offering discounts and cashback for Lazada and McDonald’s spend.
For the Lazada promo, you can get a voucher worth RM5 off a minimum spend of RM50 which is valid from now until 28 February 2021. The voucher can be collected via the Lazada website or mobile app and is applicable for selected Lazada purchases paid for using Boost.
Meanwhile, you can get RM5 cashback in your McDonald’s Partner Wallet if you spend a minimum of RM25 in a single transaction on the McDelivery website or mobile app using Boost. Cashback is limited to the first 50,000 transactions and each user may receive cashback once throughout the campaign period, which will run for the month of February. You can use the cashback on your next order through the McDonald’s website, app, or participating physical outlets.
Boost first appeared as a payment method on Lazada at the end of last month, while both McDonald’s online platforms and physical stores were Boosted from the beginning of February. “This is part of our goal this year to chart the way into the now normal – a digital and contactless world – by building Boost to be the essential toolkit for everything you need online and offline through an omni-channel e-wallet platform,” said Mohd Khairil Abdullah, CEO of Boost.
“Together with our partners, we will push ourselves to introduce more innovative features for both consumers and businesses that will enable easier and instant access to day-to-day lifestyle necessities at the tap of the screen. Concurrently, continue facilitating digital and financial inclusivity as we navigate the now normal,” Khairil concluded.
You can find out more about the Lazada and McDonald’s deals as well as other promotions offered as part of Boost’s ongoing Online Festival here.
Subscribe to our exclusive weekly newsletter and we’ll bring you the week’s highlights of financial news, expert tips, guides, and the latest credit card and e-wallet deals.
Stay tuned for what’s to come next in the personal finance world


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Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, one of the leading airline companies in Europe, stated that the era of cheap air travel is over and it will not be possible to find plane tickets in the 1-10 euro band in the coming years.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Michael O’Leary announced that it will not be possible for many years to see the airline tickets, which have become one of the symbols of the company, at the price of 1-10 euro.
According to AirportHaber; O’Leary said that they plan to increase ticket prices by an average of 10 Euros in the next 5 years, which are seriously affected by the world’s energy crisis and oil prices. It will have to increase to 50 euros in five years,” he said.
Michael O’Leary continued his speech as follows:
“There is no doubt that you will not see our promotional prices in the 0.99-9.99 euro range, which is the cheapest on the market, in the coming years. We think people will continue to fly frequently. But I think people will become much more price sensitive.”
Following the easing of coronavirus restrictions, in July last year Ryanair launched a £5 one-way ticket campaign from the UK to European destinations including Athens, Lisbon, Faro, Madrid, Seville and Dublin.
According to the British media; The cheapest flights to the cities in question today became much higher today, after 1 year. A one-way flight from London to Lisbon now costs £130, Athens £189, Madrid £130, Dublin £149.
According to experts, this increase in ticket prices is due to a combination of extremely high inflation and the increase in demand since the end of lockdown restrictions. Long-haul flights during shutdowns, rising costs, and the impact of layoffs in the aviation industry have caused some airline companies to struggle to keep up with demand.


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Women continue to be held back from launching their own companies by a range of barriers including education, stereotypes, lack of confidence and difficulties with access to finance and access to networks. Female creativity and entrepreneurial potential are an under-exploited source of economic growth and new jobs that should be further developed. Encouraging the creation of more women-led businesses will not only bring fresh and creative business ideas, but will also empower the role of women in the society and create new sources of prosperity and jobs. The Commission has just published a study on statistical data on women entrepreneurs in Europe, which shows that women entrepreneurs constitute 29% of entrepreneurs (11.6 million) in Europe*. Since 2008 there has been a slight increase of 3% of women entrepreneurs in the EU. In Europe women constitute the majority of one person enterprises (78%). The areas of business that women prefer are health and social work activities, services and education.
*EU-28 + Albania, FYROM, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Turkey


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The Central Bank of Nigeria has added an additional $196.2 million into the foreign exchange market as part of its intervention.
It was gathered that on Tuesday, the nation’s chief bank offered $100 million to authorized dealers at Tuesday’s forex wholesale auction.
Last month, the apex bank increased allocation to authorized Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to $20,000 per auction for two times a week; Tuesdays and Thursdays.
According to spokesman of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okorafor, the sum of $44.2 million was released for invisibles such Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), Medicals and tuition.
Mr. Okorafor further said the central bank released $52 million to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment.


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150 bitcoin in usd
Bitcoin Schmitcoin — Bitcoin MagazineQuote from: specgamer on March 08, 2015, 09:13:24 PM Since USD is going up because of oil, and currencies like CAD and EURO are dropping.Ukraine is expected to install 150 bitcoin ATMs in the country by the end of the year, with 30 expected to be in place by the end of August. 4044.94 USD. LOW:.
We looked at current methods of currency transfer, and the ATM was an obvious and simple solution to our problem.Token Sale LakeBanker Participate in Phase 1 Trade at LakeBTC.com.Bitcoin is a worldwide cryptocurrency and digital payment system:3 called the first decentralized digital currency, since the system works without a central.Furthermore, according to Kumar, the existing methods of purchasing cryptocurrency are making it an impractical business investment for entrepreneurs willing to develop Bitcoin ATMs.
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The price of bitcoin rival Ethereum (Ether) is soaring
Putin's Aide Seeks $100 Million to Rival China in BitcoinLakota Lustig and Sagar Kumar plan to develop their ATMs regardless of the crowdfunding campaign results, however, as they have invested a great amount of their own capital into the BitSell project.Learn the value of 150 United States Dollars (USD) in Bitcoins (BTC) today, currency exchange rate change for the week, for the year.
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Can DASH/USD Stay Above $150? - thebitcoinwire.comBuy Bitcoin, Create Bitcoin Wallets, Read Bitcoin News, and more, at Bitcoin.com.Find a live Bitcoin price chart, exchange rate data and Bitcoin news.
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The global resale market is on a rapid rise, predicted to reach a staggering $350 billion by 2027. We’re seeing a new wave of thrifters, as consumers are increasingly seeking deals and embracing sustainable options. ThredUp predicts that 60% of resale growth is expected to come from new-to-resale shoppers. Continuing the momentum in this market, Treet, the industry leader in branded resale, is thrilled to announce its partnership with Beni.
Beni has developed a unique free browser extension designed to meet consumers where they already shop. Shoppers will be shown resale deals automatically when viewing items, making secondhand more integrated and accessible to everyone. By surfacing secondhand listings on Treet via Beni, shoppers can explore a wide range of more sustainable alternatives similar to the items they browse online. This integration is ushering in a new wave of consumers by providing unparalleled access to a diverse range of secondhand finds and sustainable alternatives.
Signing up for Beni is easy. Shoppers can download the chrome extension or mobile app to access the secondhand listings available while browsing any brand. By clicking on the Beni icon located at the bottom of any product page, you’ll be shown secondhand options like this dress from Girlfriend Collective.
The partnership between Treet and Beni is a significant step forward in the mission to transform the way people shop. Treet powers the most branded resale shops and Beni extends the shops’ reach. Together, we are committed to enhancing the overall secondhand shopping experience, ensuring that consumers can find high-quality pre-owned items with ease.
As the demand for more sustainable and cost-effective shopping options rises, Treet and Beni are at the forefront of innovation. This collaboration enables consumers to make conscious choices while embracing the benefits of the circular economy.


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Cyberpunk 2077 is Another Reminder of Why It’s OK to Ship Late
They shipped too early and are now added to the list of 2020 victims
A lot of people who’ve built successful products and companies will say ambition is great but timing is the ultimate difference maker.
During 2019’s E3 we watched everyone’s favorite human Keanu Reeves deliver a presentation that had the gaming community the most excited its ever been. There was going to be a new game coming out by the creators of the successful The Witcher franchise that won a ton of awards and even had a Netflix series created from its success.
What followed for the next 18 months was hype from the gaming community that rivaled that of Grand Theft Auto V, a game that has sold over 130 million copies since it’s launch and is set to launch on 3 generations of hardware.
The game promised a lot of features and people were excited. It’s an ambitious project with a lot of money behind it and a game development studio that has consistently delivered awesome games before.
The original release date was slated to be April 2020, and then the pandemic hit. The release was then delayed until September. A few months later they announced another delay until November, then December.
Gamers were confused and slightly upset but understood that the promises made by the studio needed time to deliver and this was a work-from-home year where everyone seems to be working more but getting less done.
December comes around and the game ships. Community is excited. The pre-orders and debut sales have already helped the company break even with development costs.
Then people start playing the game
Bugs. Lots of bugs. Everywhere.
Here are just some examples posted by the subreddit r/cyberpunkgame:
A Cautionary Tale
A studio that could have collected two of the biggest wins of the gaming generation now has to deal with being seen as a team that rushed a product only to flop.
We all know that rushed products flop, yet people still seem to repeat the mistake. Not only did this hurt the company’s sales, it stained their reputation of being a company that was unorganized and couldn’t deliver after delaying three times.
We should all learn from this. Delivering a great product experience is more important than getting it out on time. Had the development team spent an extra year fixing most of the bugs, we’d be having a completely different conversation and this could be talked about as a game that would rival Grand Theft Auto V in terms of longevity.


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LEGO Architecture has released a new box set—and from the looks of it, this isn’t your grandmother’s architectural plaything. The new LEGO set is not the usual plastic-brick model of Rockefeller Center or the Empire State Building. No, this new set is cutting-edge. It goes where no other LEGO box set has gone before: it’s a replica of an icon so iconic that it doesn’t even exist yet. It’s a limited-edition replica of the Bjarke Ingels–designed LEGO Museum in the company’s birthplace of Billund, Denmark.
Bjarke Ingels, architect of mountains, now has set his eyes on Everest. The New York and Copenhagen-based architect’s firm BIG has been tapped by the Rockefellers to design one of the world’s tallest buildings at 1,929 feet for a new commercial development in Tianjin, China, a city of nearly 13 million people. Ingels revealed a cryptic, fog-shrouded rendering of the tower on his web site—indicative of the scarcity of detail yet released on the tower—but this being the information age, AN found more information and views of the tower on a clear day.
It’s hard to imagine that the cool and suave young architect who launched Minimalism on Park Avenue with the Jil Sander Store in 1983 is the same man who brought us the modern apotheosis of Art Deco at Top of the Rock. Is it a space? Is it a ride? It certainly has a chandelier!
The Venice biennale will just not end! It opened in the warmth of September with mobs of well-known architects in attendance and officially closed on a cold November Sunday with scores of Italian schoolchildren roaming the pavilion grounds. I locked the doors of the U.S. Pavilion, put models and drawings into shipping containers (the show will be reprised at Parsons School of Design in February), and floated our Kartell-donated furniture down the Grand Canal on a barge—just in time for the highest floods in La Serenissima’s post–global warming history. Read More