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Feb 27 - The rollout of state-level online gaming continues to pick up
traction with New Jersey, Nevada, and Massachusetts recently passing or
considering online gaming legislation and Fitch Ratings believes that
state-level online gaming could become operational by the end of this year or
early next year. Longer term, a successful initial rollout in states like
Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware would spur an acceleration; other gaming states
would move quickly to adopt similar measures if the regulatory, legal,
practical, and social hurdles and concerns prove manageable.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed an online gaming bill,
paving the way for the state to become the most meaningful individual state to
pass online gaming legislation so far. This was largely anticipated following
his conditional veto on Feb. 7 of an online gaming bill passed by the state's
legislature in December 2012. Governor Christie pushed for an increase in the
gaming tax rate to 15% from 10%, a 10-year sunset provision to allow for a
review of online gaming in the state, and additional safeguards.
We believe the passage of online gaming in New Jersey is a positive ratings
consideration for Borgata and to lesser extent for Caesars Entertainment Corp
(Caesars). We rate Borgata's issuer default rating (IDR) 'B-' with a Stable
Rating Outlook and Caesars' IDR 'CCC' with a Negative Rating Outlook. (Marina
District Finance Company, Inc. is the issuing entity for Borgata).
Nevada and Delaware previously passed online gaming legislation, but their
population bases are much smaller and therefore less meaningful on a stand-alone
basis. Nevada rushed to pass a bill last week allowing it to enter into
agreements to pool players with other states as passage of the New Jersey bill
became apparent. The Massachusetts legislature also recently introduced two
bills related to online gaming encompassing the ability to sell lottery tickets
over the internet and the ability to grant internet gaming licenses, providing
additional political momentum.
Nevada's legislative action reinforced our view that the state will continue to
strive to remain at the forefront of the evolving gaming industry and recognized
its online gaming market would be limited on a stand-alone basis. As gambling
has become more socially accepted and proliferated across the United States over
the past 25 years, we have seen states become increasingly competitive with
respect to gambling expansion initiatives.
Gaming expansion typically follows a path of least resistance to establish
initial operations, then grows from there. For example, language in the 1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act permitted "electronic, computer, or other
technologic aids" to bingo ultimately resulted in slot-like terminals initially
and full-service casinos over time, fuelling what is today a $27 billion Native
American gaming industry. Rarely do we see a contraction of gaming offerings.
The potential agreements to pool players between states as contemplated by the
Nevada bill can likely be attributed to similar practices in the lottery
industry, such as Powerball.
New Jersey was incentivized to be an early mover with online gaming, as its
gaming revenues have declined from a peak of more than $5 billion in 2006 to its
current level of roughly $3 billion as Pennsylvania and New York gaming markets
ramped up. Implementing online gaming may help offset concerns relating to the
possible gaming expansion in New York in the near term and an additional
Philadelphia casino longer term. If the New York legislature passes an expansion
bill this session (which may include table games at Aqueduct and Yonkers), the
measure will go to a referendum this November.
The biggest question surrounding online gaming expansion is whether an
acceleration of state-level gaming initiatives spurs federal-level regulation at
some point over the next several years. We believe this is possible, but not
necessarily probable. In the meantime, New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware are
bearing the initial implementation risk, but we expect other states to follow
aggressively if operations commence without material issues.
For more information this topic, please see our reports: "Fitch: Imminent Online
Gaming in N.J. Positive for Borgata & Caesars," dated Feb 19, 2013 and "States
and Locals Turn to Gaming: Expansionary Trend Will Produce Winners and Losers,"
dated Sept. 20, 2012 both available at www.fitchratings.com.
In addition, we regularly summarize various online gaming bills and provide an
overview of recent trends in online gaming and of companies that may benefit
from proliferation of online gaming in the U.S in Fitch's Online Gaming Monitor,
last published on Feb. 19, 2013


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Mt Gox Trustee sells $400 Million in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
Since from September 2017, Japan Mt Gox trustee has sold over$400 million of bitcoin. The Tokyo lawyer and trustee for defunct bitcoin exchanger has disclosed on March 7.
The details of the cryptocurrency sales were revealed by Trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi who is overseeing the Mt. Gox creditors’ claims investigation. Nobuaki Kobayashi said that approximately $406.6 million in bitcoin cash.
Kobayashi told that the decision to sell the cryptocurrencies and bitcoin was follow through the consultation with the court to set out on sale to reimburse Mt Gox’s creditors. Approximately 90% of the cash raised came from the sale of bitcoin and the remaining in bitcoin cash.
Nobuaki Kobayashi declared,
“As a result of the consultation with the court, I considered it necessary and reasonable to sell a certain amount of BTC and BCC at this point and secure a certain amount of money for distribution resources, and thus, I sold the amount of BTC and BCC above. I made efforts to sell BTC and BCC at as high a price as possible in light of the market price of BTC and BCC at the timing of sale.”
In fact, the amount generated from the sale roughly matches the number of claims made against Mt. Gox , which went on bankruptcy in 2014 amid claims of insolvency. Just for a rough estimation hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin were lost at that period. Though 200,000 BTC was recovered later on.
In Kobayashi report, additional liquidations might be coming, pending approval from the bankruptcy court.
“I plan to consult with the court and determine further sale of BTC and BCC,”
As per report, Kobayashi at present possessing 166,344.35827254 BTC – an amount worth $1.7 billion at press time – as well as about $197 million worth of bitcoin cash.
Image source: shutterstock

domain: news


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August 11, 2018
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Box, one of the earliest providers of cloud file storage recently announced a brand new version of its API that is a complete rewrite of the API. Based on its extensive research on how V1 was used, the Box Platform team has designed its new V2 API keeping in mind the demands from developers, who want to get up and running quickly while at the same time paying attention to API design and clearer documentation.
This week's new API entries came from both very large and quite small organizations. Google released two notable APIs, the Google Analytics API and the Google O3D API, both of which we reported on earlier this week (here on Google Analytics and here on Google O3D). The slick image editing service Aviary now offers an API, we've added another financial web service from the folks at Xignite (over 40 of their financial web service APIs are listed here), there's the FuncNet service for those in the computational biology community, and our own ProgrammableWeb API that gives you an API to find APIs. Here's the full rundown:
ForWhereIAm is a service that offers real-time, short-lived and localised information. Businesses use it as a place to post information they want to share with their customers, and users can visit the site to get information on deals and announcements that are relevant to their specific location. The ForWhereIAm API makes some of this data available to third-party developers.


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A prolific car thief went on a "spree" of stealing vehicles from victims such as an Amazon delivery driver and a taxi driver.
Joseph Baker, 31, carried out the thefts over a month in Cardiff and targeted drivers in opportunistic offences.
These included the theft of a Ford Transit containing more than £3,000 worth of Amazon parcels, a Peugeot belonging to a Dragon Taxis driver, a BMW from a man who dropped his keys and a Mercedes C2220 from a takeaway delivery driver.
READ MORE: Go here to read all the latest stories from the courts in Wales
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard Baker was on drugs at the time of the offences and was regularly smoking crack cocaine.
Prosecutor Rosamund Rutter ran through each of the offences committed by the defendant.
The first car theft took place on December 9 last year in Splott when Amazon delivery driver Simon Gibbs was delivering parcels at around 8.15am. The defendant took his Ford Transit, drove it away and crashed into a taxi driver causing damage.
There were several parcels in the van which had a value of £3,947, but the vehicle and the parcels were not recovered, and the items had to be refunded by Amazon.
Mr Gibbs said he felt "upset and tearful" following the theft and he lost his ability to work after losing his van.
The second car theft on December 18 involved Baker taking a Peugeot Partner belonging to Nuradine Jally who worked as a taxi driver. At 9.30pm, the victim received a call for a pick up in Lamby Way but when he arrived at the location 10 minutes later he was approached by the defendant and a female who asked him to help them change a flat tyre.
When Mr Jally left his car to assist the pair, Baker jumped into the vehicle and drove off. It was later recovered but a phone worth £1,300 and cash was taken.
The victim said he felt scared as a result of the theft and was impacted financially.
On December 26, Baker stole a BMW belonging to Joshua Jones who had dropped his keys while attending a Tesco store in Cowbridge Road East.
When he returned to where he left the vehicle, he noticed both the car and the keys in his pocket had been taken. His wallet had been left in the car and he later received a notification that credit cards belonging to him and his mother had been used.
The total value of the transactions was £220, and while the car and a coat were recovered, a pair of trainers remained missing.
The next day on December 27, Junayed Hussain was delivering food to a customer in Bedford Street when he was confronted by Baker who snatched keys from his hand and attempted to punch him in the face.
He then ran to the car and started to drive it away but Mr Hussain tried to stop him. The defendant put the car into first gear and the victim was forced to get out of the way as he drove off at speed.
Mr Hussain called the police and Baker was later arrested but two mobile phones had been taken from the car.
Check crime figures for your area:
The defendant was also responsible for a theft on November 26 when he broke into a Mercedes owned by Hassan Akram and stole a number of items including perfume, a log book, a vape pen, a cleaning kit and a HSBC bank card.
He was caught after blood was left on a charging cable and had a positive DNA match linking him with the crime.
Baker, of no fixed abode, later pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, four counts of theft, six counts of fraud and three counts of driving while disqualified.
Addressing the court on behalf of her client, defence barrister Sophie Stannard said: "These were opportunistic offences. This plainly is a spree of offending over a month. I can't seek to minimise that. Mr Baker is deeply ashamed of what he's done.
"Since his diagnosis of ADHD and receiving the correct course of methadone [he] has significantly changed his manner. At the time of this offending he was on drugs and smoking crack cocaine but he's now off drugs since being in prison."
Recorder Mark Cotter QC sentenced Baker to a total of three years and 10 months imprisonment.
To get the latest news from WalesOnline sent straight to your email inbox click here.


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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In 2019, the Oregon Food Bank served 856,000 people. Last year that number skyrocketed to 1.7 million. And while the numbers for 2021 aren’t in yet, officials believe they will serve about 1.2 million people this year.
CEO Susannah Morgan said the Oregon Food Bank is the last stop on the supply chain — and they are definitely seeing fewer donations. Some of that is because many of the donations in normal times are leftover seasonal items or new products that manufacturers decide not to market.
Oregon Food Bank — Food Finder
“We will still get the too big/too small things that are grown, which is great, but at the manufacturer level they’re busting to fill their current demand so they aren’t trying new things,” Morgan told KOIN 6 News. “They aren’t making experiments that would end up with us.”
She said COVID outbreaks at different manufacturers have also slowed things. Some crops are also not being picked because of labor shortages.
But Morgan said they do have a very high supply of food coming from the federal government at this time which is helping offset the supply chain issues.


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Female-oriented brands have made the battle against breast cancer a favorite cause, but do all those pink-ribbon-bedecked ads have much effect on women’s actions? An ABC News poll gives reason to wonder. As the chart shows, many women worry about breast cancer. Yet, fewer than half (44 percent) had a mammogram in the past year. Even for those 40-plus with a family history of breast cancer, the figure is an unimpressive 61 percent. Forty-two percent of all women have never discussed the topic with a doctor.
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Today's highs and lows of creativity


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Ending bedlam in Lok Sabha: Speaker suspends 25 Congress MPs for 'grave disorder'
Oct 28, 2013
BSNL launches mobile app for Android, Windows Mobile Phone
Feb 14, 2013
No Plan B when it comes to Windows Mobile, says top Microsoft exec
Jun 22, 2012
After launching 'Surface' will Microsoft make its own smartphone?
Jun 21, 2012
Microsoft's Windows 8 for mobile A look at the key features
Microsoft's answer to iOS 6 and Android Windows 8 for mobile
Apr 24, 2012
Windows 8 'near final' release preview coming in June


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• The FBI is warning investors that criminals are posing as NFT developers in crypto phishing scams.
• Fraudsters gain access to or create identical social media accounts and refer victims to spoofed websites.
• Victims risk losing their funds if they connect their cryptocurrency wallets to these sites.
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing As NFT Developers
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning regarding bad actors who are posing as developers of non-fungible tokens (NFT) projects in order to run crypto phishing scams. The Bureau claims that these fraudsters either gain access to legitimate NFT developer’s social media accounts or create almost identical ones in order to deceive users into connecting their crypto wallets to spoofed websites.
Risk Of Losing Funds
If a user connects their cryptocurrency wallet to one of these fraudulent sites, they risk losing all of the funds and assets stored on it, as well as any associated non-fungible tokens (NFT). These stolen funds are then often processed through cryptocurrencies mixers and exchanges in order to hide the path and final destination from the victim.
Advice From The FBI
The FBI has recommended that investors be cautious when they see posts about surprise new releases from well-known NFT projects, double check that the social media account isn’t a fake clone, and verify any website they connect their crypto wallet too is legitimate.
Phrases To Look Out For
Fraudsters use phrases like ‘limited supply’ or ‘surprise release’in order to create a sense of urgency for victims so they will connect their wallets quickly without verifying its authenticity first.
It is important for investors to remain vigilant when dealing with NFT projects online, especially if there is something sudden or unexpected happening related to it – make sure you do your due diligence before investing!


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Bubble Bursts for Flights Between Cuba and the United States
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 17 March 2017 — A year ago the headlines
left no doubt: Cuba was Americans' new destination and that country's
airlines fought for their piece of pie of flights to the island. After
the initial enthusiasm, several of these companies have cut back on the
frequency of their trips and others have seen a reduction in passengers.
In March 2016 the most important airlines in the United States requested
permission from the Department of Transportation to include the island
in its commercial destinations. Among them are big ones like American
Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as well as United Continental Airlines,
Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Air Group and Silver Airways.
Expectations grew and climaxed when JetBlue's 387 flight arrived in Cuba
on August 31, 2016 from Fort Lauderdale airport in southeastern
Florida. The plane arrived in Santa Clara in just over an hour,
completing the first commercial flight between the two countries in more
than half a century.
Everything was all positive predictions at the time, and the Cuban
ambassador to the United States, José Ramón Cabañas, cut the inaugural
tape of the flight with JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes. In all, the routes of
all the airlines reached 110 flights daily, 20 of them to Havana, the
most popular destination.
Earlier this year, American Airlines sounded the alarm when it cut its
daily service by 25% and decided to use smaller planes. At the end of
last year the company was operating two daily flights from Miami to
Havana, Varadero and Santa Clara and daily service to Camagüey and
Cienfuegos, but many of the aircraft flew with more than half of the
Americans are still banned from traveling to the island as tourists but
can travel within 12 other categories. The most used are cultural and
educational exchanges. In January 2017, Cuba received 43,200 visitors
from Cuba, a growth of 125% compared to the same period last
year, according to Cubadebate.
However, the numbers of travelers have not grown as expected. The causes
range from the slow economic changes implemented by Raúl Castro, up to
the arrival of Donald Trump and the fears that have been generated
before a possible reversal in diplomatic normalization between the two
The low number of customers also points to Cuban-Americans' caution in
visiting the island. "With the immigration changes implemented by the
Trump administration, many rumors have surfaced that exiles could have
problems if they travel," Idania Consuegra, a middle-aged Cuban living
in Miami for two decades, told 14ymedio.
Idania had plans to visit her family in the spring, but preferred to
"cancel everything until further notice, because you do not know what
will happen in this country."
For some airlines this is a test of persistance rather than
speed. "Patience is the word for now," said Gary Kelly, chief executive
of Southwest Airlines. The executive clarifies that the company had no
expectations about its six daily flights to Havana and two other cities
since this route had not be served for 50 years.
Silver Airways was forced to cut its weekly flights to six cities in
Cuba, according to Bloomberg. The inability to sell tickets to the
island through major online travel agencies such as Expedia and
Priceline are some of the causes of these cuts according to company
Frontier, a low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado, has announced
that it will operate its last daily flight from Miami to Havana on June 4.
The cruise ships stay afloat
On the other hand, the president of the Norwegian Cruise company, Frank
del Río, is elated due to the high sales levels of the cruises that
include Cuba in its itinerary. During the Seatrade Cruise conference
this week in Fort Lauderdale, the manager said he believes the island
"is going to be a home run" for his company.
The declarations come a few days after the company's first cruise
arrived at the port of Havana with 1,250 passengers on March 9 on
its inaugural trip to Cuba.
Norwegian plans to make nine more trips from the US during this year
with two other of the company's brands also participating: Oceania
Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
The reception of the imposing ship was the occasion for the president of
the Enterprise Cuba Travel Group of the Ministry of Tourism of the
island, Jose Manuel Bisbé, to predict an increase in the number of trips
of this kind.
According to the official, during 2016 88,000 cruise trip passengers
visited the island and in the first two months of 2017 the number is
55,000. Visitors have arrived on the twelve cruise lines that have
agreements with the country.
For the first time in its history Cuba received 4 million tourists last
year, a record that represented a growth of 14.5%. For this year it is
expected that the numbers will exceed 4.2 million visitors.
Source: Bubble Bursts for Flights Between Cuba and the United States –
Translating Cuba -


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Diesel has launched the Full Guard 2.5 touchscreen smartwatch as it expands its tech timepiece offering.
The ‘next gen’ smartwatch offers the latest in wearable technology, including heart rate tracking, NFC payment capabilities, and GPS tracking.
The new smartwatch is compatible with both iPhone and Android phones, and is powered with Wear OS by Google and the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC.
Diesel has also optimized features including rapid charging, music control, customizable watch faces, and smartphone notifications.
The new collection features four styles; a matte steel case on a black leather strap, a gunmetal steel case on a brown leather strap, a matte black steel case on a black silicone strap and an all-over gunmetal stainless steel case on a three-link bracelet.
Earlier this month, Diesel announced a new partnership with global superstar DJ and producer, Steve Aoki, who signed on as the brand’s newest ambassador.
Continuing the collaboration into 2019, Aoki will be the face of Diesel’s Full Guard 2.5 touchscreen smartwatch.
The Diesel Full Guard 2.5 smartwatch will be available in select stores and at Diesel.com from the beginning of October.


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Shares in 3D body implant printer Osteopore up 300pc on ASX debut
Health & Biotech
Link copied to
Shares in 3D body implant printing stock Osteopore (ASX:OSX) are having a monumental debut day on the ASX, up a whopping 300 per cent above its initial public offering (IPO) price.
Osteopore, which specialises in the production of 3D printed “bioresorbable” implants, raised $5.25m in its IPO offering 26.3 million shares at 20c a pop.
Those OSX shares today opened at 63c, and have hit as high as 80c — that’s a remarkable 300 per cent improvement for those who bought in during the IPO.
Brett Sandercock, chairman of Osteopore, said the support received from investors would allow the company to grow.
“We are excited by the possibilities for improving health outcomes for patients as the Osteopore technology is increasingly used by surgeons globally,” he said.
“The funds from the IPO will greatly accelerate our sales and marketing efforts and enable the company to increasingly supply products to key global markets.”
Sandercock has an eye for success, too. He is the long-time chief financial officer of medtech ResMed (ASX:RMD).
“Obviously there’s a big difference between ResMed and Osteopore but what I think from talking to the team is that there are global aspirations and global market opportunities that have similarities to ResMed 20 or 30 years ago,” Sandercock recently told the Australian Financial Review.
Geoff Pocock, director, added, “We are extremely pleased by the support for the company from Australian and international investors, and the success of Osteopore’s IPO raising shows the strong appetite from ASX investors for well-priced technology investment opportunities.”


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Vol. 6 No. 114
Allergan’s journal ad for its ketorolac tromethamine ophthalmic solution Acular LS “is false or misleading” and suggests that the product “is effective for an entirely new use,” according to a warning letter from the FDA’s Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications.
The warning letter, sent May 25 to Allergan President and CEO David Pyott and posted to the agency’s website recently, states that the ad misbrands Acular LS because it “broadens the indication, presents unsubstantiated superiority claims and omits important risk information.”
The ad presents data intended to show a favorable result in a study of patients undergoing phacoemulsification who received either Acular LS or Nevanac (nepafenac ophthalmic suspension), the agency said. However, “Acular LS is not approved for any use in patients undergoing phacoemulsification. … The inclusion below these statements of the approved indication for Acular LS does not mitigate this misleading presentation,” the warning letter said.
Moreover, the data presented “do not constitute substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience supporting use in patients undergoing phacoemulsification,” the warning letter said.
The FDA also cited the company for the advertisements:
The FDA asked Allergan to immediately cease disseminating the ad and to submit a written response on or before June 11 stating whether it intends to comply with this request and listing all violative promotional materials for Acular LS that are the same as or similar to the ad cited.
The company was also requested to detail a plan to discontinue the use of misleading ads, as well as “to disseminate truthful, nonmisleading and complete corrective messages … to the audience(s) that received the violative promotional materials.”
“Allergan is committed to supporting the needs of eye care professionals and patients and providing balanced and accurate information about our products. We are working with the FDA to address the details provided in the letter,” Heather Katt, Allergan’s senior manager for corporate communications, told DID.
The warning letter can be accessed at www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6376c.htm. — Martin Gidron
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) recently introduced legislation to expand tuberculosis (TB) research in the U.S. to find new diagnostic tools and new treatments.
All currently available therapies are ineffective against “extremely drug-resistant” tuberculosis, known as XDR-TB.
The “Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act of 2007” would give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the authority to respond to international outbreaks of XDR-TB and increase funds for the CDC’s National Program for the Elimination of Tuberculosis.
In addition, the bill would increase TB research at the CDC and the NIH for new diagnostic and treatment tools, vaccines, at-risk populations, drugs and effective public health interventions. The legislation would also expand the CDC’s efforts to prevent, detect and treat TB, particularly in groups with high infection rates such as African-Americans and Asian-Americans, the lawmakers said.
There are currently 49 reported cases of XDR-TB in the U.S., the lawmakers added.
The move may come as good news to Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which is working on a new antibiotic against TB that uses the first new mechanism to treat the disease in 40 years, the company said. The company recently started a mid-stage trial of the drug, called TMC207, in people with drug-resistant TB in South Africa, J&J announced.
Although the incidence of TB has been increasing worldwide in the past several years, no TB-specific drugs have been discovered in 40 years, J&J researchers said in a 2004 article published in Science. TMC207 inhibits growth of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB bacteria, the article said.
Kennedy and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) also recently sent a letter to CDC Director Julie Gerberding asking for information on current quarantine laws and the federal government’s ability to coordinate a response in case of an infectious disease outbreak.
Approximately 1.6 million people worldwide die from TB each year, according to the World Health Organization. — Emily Ethridge
A court has ruled in favor of Perrigo in a patent infringement suit over Pepcid Complete, the company announced.
Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil unit and Merck had sued Perrigo for infringing on a patent related to the formulation of Pepcid Complete (famotidine/calcium carbonate/magnesium hydroxide). But the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled last week that the patent is invalid, Perrigo said.
Following final FDA approval, Perrigo will begin marketing its generic version of the OTC drug under store brand labels in 2008. The company already markets a generic version of Maximum Strength Pepcid AC 20-mg tablets.
Pepcid Complete, which is indicated for the relief from acid indigestion, has annual retail sales of approximately $90 million, according to Perrigo. The company said it expects to have 180-day marketing exclusivity for being the first company to successfully challenge the Pepcid Complete patent.
Perrigo is the largest manufacturer of OTC pharmaceutical products for the store brand market, according to the company. — Breda Lund
Eli Lilly said it will appeal recent rulings by the Canadian Federal Court and the German Patent Court that could result in the entry of generic olanzapine Zyprexa into the Canadian and German markets. The company called the rulings “deeply flawed” and inconsistent with facts and legal principles, and said it would seek damages in its appeals.
“These decisions, if not overturned, undermine intellectual property protection in Canada and Germany and erode the incentives of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to make the high-risk investments necessary to discover and develop breakthrough medicines,” Eli Lilly Senior Vice President and General Counsel Robert Armitage said, adding that the company will seek to protect its Canadian and German patents for Zyprexa (olanzapine) until 2011, when the U.S. patent for the drug expires.
The company said it does not expect the court rulings to have a material impact on its earnings. In the first quarter of 2007, the antipsychotic was Eli Lilly’s best-selling drug, bringing in $1.108 billion, 10 percent more than in the first quarter of 2006. On the down side, the company has said that it could end up spending as much as $500 million to settle most of the remaining product liability claims over the drug (DID, Jan. 5). — Martin Gidron
Barr announced last week that its Pliva subsidiary received tentative FDA approval for a generic version of Janssen Pharmaceutica’s Risperdal. Barr said the pediatric-exclusivity period for the schitzophrenia drug is set to expire in June 2008, which is when it could win final approval.
The company filed for approval of 0.25-, 0.5-, 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-mg generic Risperdal (risperidone) tablets, which had sales of approximately $2.5 billion during the 12-month period that ended March 31, Barr said.
Caraco has reported that the FDA tentatively approved its abbreviated new drug application for generic Zyrtec (cetirizine HCl) 5- and 10-mg tablets. The company said it expects to receive final approval Dec. 25 when Pfizer’s patent expires. The antihistimine had U.S. sales of roughly $1.21 billion in 2006, Caraco added.
The FDA has granted Mylan Pharmaceuticals tentative approval to market generic Paxil CR (paroxetine HCl) tablets, 12.5- and 25-mg, the company announced. Mylan is eligible to receive final approval June 29 when GlaxoSmithKline’s pediatric-exclusivity period for the extended-release depression drug expires. Paxil CR 12.5- and 25-mg tablets had U.S. sales of approximately $307 million during the 12-month period that ended March 31, Mylan said.
The company has also received final approval for generic azithromycin 250- and 500-mg tablets. The product is a generic equivalent to Pfizer’s Zithromax. Brand and generic versions of the antibiotic in the same strengths had U.S. sales of roughly $886 million during the 12-month period that ended March 31, according to Mylan.
Wockhardt announced it won tentative approval for generic Lamisil (terbinafine HCl) tablets. The U.S. market for the nail infection drug is worth approximately $680 million, the company said. Novartis’ patent on the product expires June 29, which is when Wockhardt plans to begin marketing its product. — Breda Lund
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WASHINGTON (AP) - An Ohio company is recalling 2.5 million
ride-on toy buggies because a design flaw can allow them to roll
The buggies, which resemble cars, have long handles so parents
can push them like a stroller. The Consumer Product Safety
Commission says the push handles on select Step2 Push Around and
Whisper Ride buggies can detach, allowing the buggies to roll away
without any means of control.
The company has received 28 reports of detached handles,
including two reports of injuries that required medical treatment.
The push handles on the recalled buggies are attached by a pin
with a yellow knob on the head. Buggies with handles attached by
bolts with black or white plastic heads are not included in the
The U.S.-made buggies were sold between August 1999 and March
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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JP Morgan has initiated coverage on the stock with a neutral rating and CRISIL upgraded rating on bank facilities
The stock price of Avenue Supermarts (ASL), the operator of retail chain D-Mart, touched a record high of Rs 746, up 12.4 percent intraday Friday after JP Morgan has initiated coverage on the stock with a neutral rating and CRISIL upgraded rating on bank facilities.
ASL, with a strong execution track record, is a quality play on the Indian F&G retail sector, being the fastest-growing and most profitable retailer, says the brokerage house which expects 27/34 percent revenue/EPS CAGR over FY17-20.
Food retailing is about format and execution and according to the brokerage house, ASL has been able to achieve this combination well. It likes ASL's execution capabilities, single format focus, best-in-class productivity metrics (sales densities around 2-3x peers), prudent store expansion strategy and strong focus on customer satisfaction partly aided by its 'everyday low price' positioning.
Despite its capital-intensive strategy of ownership (against renting), its asset turns are similar to peers. JP Morgan believes it is a relatively "safe" play on India's consumption growth story, given the non-cyclical nature of the food retail business.
Despite low gross margins (owing to low price positioning), ASL has amongst the highest EBITDA margins (against peers) owing to tight control on operational costs (employee, selling, general & administration) and high sales comps, the research house says.
"Significant headroom to gain share with prudent store expansion (around 2.1 million sq ft over FY18-20); sustaining healthy average same-store-sales growhth momentum at around 18 percent over FY17-20 (against 25 percent over FY12-16); scope for margin improvement exists with scale benefits, though we build stable margins; and private label growth and contribution from online over the medium term," would be growth drivers, JP Morgan says in its research note.
Post the bumper listing (more than 120 percent above offer price), valuations at 55x/42x FY18/19 P/E leave little room for disappointment, it thinks. Hence, it set a target price on the stock at Rs 635 for March 2018, which is far lower than current stock price.
E-Commerce threat – upside risk to investments in the online channel (global retailers have already witnessed margin erosion with higher E-commerce outlays); high capex intensity; and slower-than-expected network expansion and/or tepid same-store-sales growth could be risks, it feels.
Meanwhile, credit rating agency CRISIL has upgraded its rating on the long term bank facilities and non-convertible debentures of the company to AA/stable from AA-/positive.
At 14:40 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 742.25, up Rs 78.30, or 11.79 percent amid high volumes on the BSE.Posted by Sunil Shankar Matkar


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How would you like to have 120 days to pay your creditors?
Adopting a tactic widely used by 3G Capital, the Brazilian private investment group behind the recent merger of Heinz and Kraft Foods, a growing number of the world’s largest food and packaged goods companies are asking their suppliers to give them as much as four months to pay their bills — even though they typically require payment from their own customers in 30 days.
The tactic has gained in popularity ever since an affiliate of 3G Capital put it to use after it bought Anheuser-Busch in 2008.
In the past, extended payment terms often were a signal that a company was experiencing worrisome cash flow problems, but these days big, robust companies are imposing new schedules on suppliers as a business strategy, analysts say.
Bea Chiem, a credit analyst who follows food companies at Standard & Poor’s, offered several reasons that companies might use the tactic: “Their recent performance has been soft, many are in the middle of restructuring and all are trying to balance the need for cash for their business and shareholder returns.”
Diageo, the European spirits company, now asks for 90 days to pay its bills. Mondelez, Mars and Kellogg seek 120 days. The list of companies doing the same reads like a grocery store version of Who’s Who — Church & Dwight, Procter & Gamble and Heinz are among those wanting more generous payment terms, suppliers said.
Most are trying to maximize use of their capital, bankers who work with supply chain finance say. By pushing out payments to suppliers to three and four months, companies have more cash for any number of projects. Mondelez, for one, is buying back stock. Kellogg is in the middle of a restructuring. Procter & Gamble’s move to extend its payment terms to 75 days in 2013 has probably added $1 billion so far to its cash flow, according to one estimate.
“Extending our payment terms allows us to better align with industry practice and ensures we compete on a level playing field, while simultaneously improving transparency and predictability of payment processes,” Valerie Moens, a spokeswoman for Mondelez, maker of Cadbury chocolates, Honey Maid graham crackers and other brands, wrote in an email.
Kris Charles, a Kellogg spokeswoman, wrote that the company started a new supply chain financing program last year, extending payments to 120 days. “It gives Kellogg and our suppliers more flexibility to manage our businesses effectively through better cash flow management,” she said.
The companies would not make executives available to speak about the matter, sending brief statements instead. And most suppliers would comment only without attribution, an illustration of the power imbalance with their big customers.
“Eventually,” said V. G. Narayanan, chief of the accounting practice unit at Harvard Business School, “the additional financing costs that suppliers incur because they aren’t being paid promptly work their way back into higher prices for consumers.”
The practice is often crippling for suppliers, especially smaller businesses that have little cushion. In Britain, the Marketing Agencies Association called on its member advertising agencies to “strike” in April against Anheuser-Busch InBev, the beer behemoth created by an affiliate of 3G, after the company began seeking new terms. Those included acceptance of a payment period longer than 120 days and a request for pro bono work.
Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of WPP Group, the advertising titan, has warned that such practices could turn suppliers into lenders. “I don’t think our purpose is about banking — we’re not a bank — or extended payment terms or agreeing to supply payment terms in low-interest conditions,” he told Advertising Age in an interview shortly after Diageo moved to extend its payments to 90 days.
Stephen Brock is surprised that a revolt against Anheuser-Busch InBev did not happen sooner. Mr. Brock, the owner of Supplied Industrial Solutions in Granite City, Ill., had provided valves, processing instrumentation and mechanical systems to Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser and other beers.
Anheuser-Busch was bought by an entity controlled by Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, also the principals behind 3G, and merged into InBev in 2008. A year later, Mr. Brock was told that he would no longer be paid for his goods in 30 days; rather, Anheuser-Busch InBev imposed a 120-day period.
The beer giant represented about 5 percent of Mr. Brock’s sales. He ultimately concluded he could better afford to lose the business than wait four months to be paid.
“This really had a dreadful effect on our bottom line,” he said. “And because it hit right in the middle of the recession, it took us about a year and a half to recoup those lost revenues.”
He still does a small amount of business with Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company pays him using a credit card.
“Banks have tightened up lending, especially to small businesses like mine, so it becomes even harder to manage,” Mr. Brock said. “You still have a payroll to make, your own suppliers to pay, electric and other utility bills — they can’t wait four months for payment.”
There are other signs that suppliers are fighting back. Last month, Diageo, which owns Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray and other spirits brands, had to backtrack in Britain after the Forum of Private Business, an organization representing small and midsize businesses, challenged the practice.
The spirits company is a signer of a voluntary agreement, the Prompt Payment Code, made by about 1,700 companies doing business in Britain after regulators threatened to take action against extended payment terms. The agreement holds those companies to 60-day payment terms, so when Diageo began asking suppliers for 90 days, the Forum of Private Business appealed to the group charged with its enforcement.
Diageo now says it will pay its British suppliers in no more than 60 days.
“The practice of implementing grossly unfair trading terms is a growing trend” among some of Britain’s best-known companies, one that “risks breaking the backbone of the economy — small business,” said Phil Orford, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business.
So far, most of the pressure seems to fall on so-called ancillary suppliers, those providing companies with packaging, advertising, equipment and so forth. Diageo, for example, has asked for more extended terms from European suppliers of components for its manufacturing plants, but not from suppliers of sugar, an ingredient it cannot easily do without or readily find alternative providers for.
That may be changing, though. Two major commodities houses, which supply raw materials like coffee, flour, sugar and cocoa to food companies, confirmed that many of their customers were demanding longer payment cycles.
Irit Tamir, a senior adviser in the Oxfam America program aimed at ensuring that big global companies do not take advantage of small farmers and suppliers in the developing world, said she was concerned that such businesses, like Cargill, Bunge, the Noble Group and Archer Daniels Midland, were coming under pressure.
“These things tend to make their way down the supply chain, and we know that the small farmers who produce palm oil, coffee, cocoa and the other commodities those companies need already have an inordinate amount of risk in their lives,” Ms. Tamir said.
Diane Shand, senior director of S.&P.’s consumer products group, said companies asking for longer payment terms today often worked to help their suppliers shoulder the burden. Banks have developed “supply chain finance” practices that will arrange loans to a supplier on the same terms they offer that supplier’s big customer, say, or buy a receivable at a slight discount so the supplier does not have to carry the receivable on its books.
“It’s more of a trade-off these big companies are offering,” Ms. Shand said. “They may tell suppliers, O.K., now we’ll pay you in 120 days instead of 60 or 90 but give you more business, or offer to pay in cash in five or seven days if the supplier will give them a small discount.”
But outside the financial industry, few observers approve of the trend. “I think the whole idea is very bad,” Professor Narayanan of Harvard said. “They essentially are going to their suppliers for credit, rather than their banks — and for big, creditworthy companies like these, that’s ridiculous.”
Professor Narayanan said that major retailers had begun extending payments to their vendors some time ago, which in turn encouraged those vendors to put the squeeze on their suppliers. More recently, he said, Wall Street has gotten into the act, pushing companies to extend terms because their competitors are.
Investment analysts “compare one manufacturer to another and say, ‘How come you’re not managing your working capital the way that other company is?’ ” he said. “It becomes a matter of benchmarking, so if one company does it, then other firms fall in line.”


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Romania’s internet infrastructure is highly developed and competitive, boasting the top connection speed in the region, while also coming in 8th by average speed.
Technology’s rise to prominence stems from the good internet infrastructure. Leveraging it falls into the hands of a handful of an increasing pool of very talented developers, who are ever growing in numbers. The internet infrastructure has developed along with the developers, who are using the network to offer high quality outsourcing services, although the focus is now shifting towards product design and, consequently, startups.
Developing at a fast rate, fixed broadband coverage has now come to cover 89% of households.
3G now covers almost the entire country, while 4G is at 66% and telecom operators promise even further expansion.


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This year’s COINEX international numismatics show was eagerly anticipated and once again well attended by both local and international visitors. Those who were fortunate enough to take advantage of both a favourable exchange rate for the dollar and euro against the pound additionally benefited from the considerable amount of items on offer, including the items advertised in numerous auctions taking place during the week of COINEX.
The 39th year of COINEX, which was sponsored and organised by the British Numismatic Trade Association, was again hosted at Grosvenor Square’s Millennium Hotel, London Mayfair, in their main ballroom, from the 22nd to the 23rd September. Only BNTA members and international coin dealers invited by the BNTA had their stock on display for sale. The first day of the show is always open exclusively for dealers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a concessionary fee and, thereafter, the show opens to the public for a nominal fee. The number of attendees had increased this year on both fronts. Dealers and collectors from last year who attended Friday described the event as especially busy. COINEX dealers in attendance numbered just over 80 this year and represented both U.K. and foreign companies with a very wide assortment of coins and some additional limited collectibles. On show was a variety of ancient, historical, and modern coins with everything in between. Bullion coins and products were prevalent once again as the show attracted investors as well as dedicated collectors.
COINEX coincided, as usual, with several high-profile auctions in London, including Baldwin’s St. James from the 20th to the 22nd, and DNW auctions, which are being held from the 25th to the 28th, where there will be a selection of bank notes, medals, and ancient, British, and foreign consignments.
For more information about the next COINEX dates and about the British Numismatic Trade Association, please visit their website.


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Samsung has announced the Evo Plus 256GB microSD card. This is the highest external memory offering on smartphone, tablets, and other compatible devices so far. Competitor SanDisk currently offers a maximum capacity of 200GB in its microSD portfolio.
The price of the Samsung Evo Plus 256GB microSD card is going to be at $249.99 (roughly Rs. 16,700). SanDisk, on the other hand, offers its 200GB microSD card for Rs. 10,800 on Amazon India currently.
The company claims that its in-house V-NAND technology increases performance levels, and the card is in the UHS-1, Class 10 speed class. It offers high read and write speeds of up to 95MB/s and 90MB/s respectively. In comparison, SanDisk reads at 90MB/s, while the write speed is much lower.
The microSD card works with smartphones, tablets, 360-degree video recorders, action cameras, and drones. It can record up to 12 hours of 4K UHD video, or 33 hours of full HD and 46 hours of HD video without the need for replacement. Furthermore, the company claims that the microSD card can store up to 55,200 photos and 23,500 mp3 files.
The Evo Plus 256GB microSD card is waterproof, temperature proof, magnetic proof, and X-ray proof. The card comes with a ten-year warranty period and will be available from June in 50 countries including US, Europe, and China.
In the Evo Plus microSD portfolio, Samsung also offers 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB storage options. The company currently has Evo, Evo Plus, Pro, and Plus lines that offer microSD cards in different markets.


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Nothing Phone (1) Launch in India: Time, Where to Watch, and Other Details
Nothing Phone 1 launch event is here.
The Nothing Phone 1 has been causing some massive waves in the industry even though the people still do not know the specs this smartphone will be released with. The people have only seen the design of the smartphone and the flashy LED panels that are present on the back of the device. The people also know that this project is being handled by the former OnePlus CEO, Carl Pei and that is enough to create massive hype for the Nothing Phone 1.
The smartphone company is holding a new event for the launch Nothing Phone 1 on July 12, 2022 at 8:30 PM IST. Interested people can tune in to Nothing's official YouTube channel or their official website to experience the launch live. The smartphone company has also stated that they are done talking about the smartphone and now they finally want the people to see its capabilities in person. Check out the YouTube link for Nothing Phone 1 launch embedded below:
The event has been dubbed as 'Return to Instinct' as the company has stated that the Phone 1 will be a reminder of everything that people love about Android. There are many details that are expected to be shared at the event. Firstly, the people will learn about the availability of the smartphone and when they can get their hands on it. The people will also get to witness the Nothing OS in action along with the price details for this highly anticipated smartphone.
Moreover, the people will be provided with the full specification list for the smartphone along with the camera details. People should know that this smartphone will be released on an invite only basis. Nothing could have a lot more in store for us, but the people will just have to wait for the event to take place to know what the company has to reveal about the Phone 1.


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For the second consecutive quarter Gaia Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIA), a Louisville-based yoga and lifestyle-focused streaming video service, was profitable in Q4, the first such streak for the company.
Gaia posted $18.6 million in revenue during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, up from $14.7 million during the same period in 2019.
Net earnings in Q4 were just $310,000, but that’s up from a loss of $2.8 million in the fourth quarter last year.
The annual results were even more positive, with net 2020 earnings of $500,000, compared with a $18.2 million net loss in 2019.
At the end of 2020, Gaia counted 727,600 paying members.
“We had a very successful year in 2020, generating net income and cash flows while maintaining our revenue growth rate over 20%,” Gaia CFO Paul Tarell said in a statement. “Beginning in July  we reached the scale necessary to sustainably grow and maintain profitability.”
© 2021 BizWest Media LLC


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(VIANEWS) – SuperFarm (SUPER-USD) Cryptocurrency is currently on bearish momentum by 20.20% in the last 6 hours. At 10:15 EST on Thursday, 15 July, SuperFarm (SUPER-USD) is at $0.63.
Today’s last reported volume for SuperFarm is 91219806, 398.72% above its average volume of 18290873.77.
All-Time High and Low
SuperFarm’s current value is at $0.63, 86.93% below its all-time high of $4.74 on Wednesday, 31 March.
SuperFarm’s current value is at $0.63, 117.02% above its all time low of $4.74 on Tuesday, 22 June.
Market Cap and Supply
SuperFarm’s current market cap is at 135138034. The total supply is 999,998,077.42, maximum supply is 999,998,077.42, and the circulating supply is 216,276,077.42.
SuperFarm (SUPER-USD) Range
About SuperFarm’s daily highs and lows, it’s 0.37% up from its trailing 6 hours low of $0.63 and 16.8% down from its trailing 6 hours high of $0.76.
Currently, SuperFarm (SUPER-USD) has 127144 Twitter followers.
SuperFarm’s last week, last month’s, and last quarter’s current volatility was 5.07%, 0.30%, and 9.68%, respectively.
SuperFarm’s current volatility rank, which measures how volatile a financial asset is (variation between the lowest and highest value in a period), was 11.50% (last week), 8.51% (last month), and 9.68% (last quarter), respectively.
Crypto Price Classification
According to the stochastic oscillator, a useful indicator of overbought and oversold conditions, SuperFarm’s crypto is considered to be oversold (<=20).
News about Bitcoin
Has Tesla stock decoupled from big tech stocks like Apple, Facebook due to Bitcoin?. According to Benzinga on Thursday, 15 July, "Tesla CEO Elon Musk later caused a stir in the cryptocurrency markets when he said in May that his company will no longer accept Bitcoin for vehicle purchases over concerns of the cryptocurrency’s environmental impact. ", "Silverman was quoted by Bloomberg as saying she has received feedback that the decoupling of Tesla’s relationship with the largest technology companies ahead of the EV maker’s upcoming earnings report is related to the Pal Alto-based company’s Bitcoin exposure."
Btc/usd forecast: Bitcoin reaching for $30,000 level – 14 July 2021. According to DailyForex on Wednesday, 14 July, "I believe that Bitcoin is on the verge of breaking down, and it is likely that we could see a nice buying opportunity at much lower levels. ", "In fact, I believe that Bitcoin needs to break above the $40,000 level before it can be bought, unless you are a longer-term holder of Bitcoin, and in that scenario, it is more about investing than anything else. "
Bitcoin inflation hedge mantra put to test as momentum falters. According to Bloomberg Quint on Wednesday, 14 July, "Just think how far Bitcoin has come in the past year, that had to correct. ", "The price of Bitcoin is nearing the lower band of its Trading Envelope indicator — which smooths moving averages to map out higher and lower limits — suggesting it’s near a critical inflection point. "
More news about SuperFarm (SUPER-USD).


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Bigger, better EuroMillions is the way organizers are describing the revamped European bloc lotto game. The higher priced tickets went on sale on September 24.
“The new price (€2.20) for the main jackpot game, previously (€2) reflects all of the enhancements that the EuroMillions operators have introduced to make the main community-wide jackpot game and their own additional local games (meaning the price per line is €2.50 in several countries) even bigger and more exciting for players,” said Andrew Pilkington, General Secretary, Services aux Loteries en Europe (SLE).
The price of the EuroMillions grid had not been changed for years. “It was a question of increasing the volume of stakes in order to allow different and higher allocations, notably to the jackpots,” said Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, CEO of Loterie Romande.
Sales for the new-look EuroMillions game got off to a great start in launch week, “with a significant increase in the number of lines bought for the first two draws in EuroMillions countries,” reported Pilkington.
EuroMillions was designed as a game to deliver big rolling jackpots, big winners and lots of millionaires. “However, there has been a natural sales decline across the EuroMillions community over the last couple of years, and that hasn’t been helped by a lack of big rollovers and, in turn, a lack of huge jackpots that players have come to expect from the game,” said Pilkington.
“That decline needed to be addressed, which is why the 10 EuroMillions operators collectively agreed to reinvigorate the game by making it more exciting and appealing for players through, among other things, offering bigger jackpots more often and creating significantly more millionaires. That will help to keep the game healthy and thriving in the years ahead—ultimately delivering even more for society,” he said.
Total YOY bloc sales should increase in calendar 2016. “It is indeed clear that we expect an increase in sales of EuroMillions but that should not only result from the price hike but from all innovations that we have introduced to the game,” stated Moner-Banet.
The €190 million cap on the EuroMillions top prize remains intact. “The ceiling will remain the same but can be rolled over four times before being allocated to the lower price categories. Previously, only one rollover was possible,” said Moner-Banet.
If the jackpot still hasn’t been won, “the entire €190 million—plus any additional money in the jackpot prize fund over and above this amount—will roll down to the next highest prize tier where there are winners (most likely the 5+1 tier),” said Pilkington.
In its new EuroMillions advertising campaign, the U.K. National Lottery touts:
– Bigger jackpots more often
– More U.K. millionaires
– More spectacular events
– All this for just an extra 50p and one extra lucky star to choose from
EuroMillions members are activating marketing campaigns on a local level to inform the public of the game changes.
The revamped EuroMillions will feature bigger jackpots more often—average jackpots are expected to be around €24 million (currently £21 million) higher than they were in 2015. The organizers expect to see more than twice as many jackpots of over €50 million/£50 million over the next year.
“The EuroMillions jackpot will increase faster and go higher not as an essential result of the price hike but due to a higher allocation to the first tier (jackpot) and that varies in order to be more important during the first six draws of each cycle,” said Moner-Banet.
Pilkington said changing the number of Lucky Stars will also make jackpots grow faster. “Changing the number of Lucky Stars that players can choose from (now two from 12, previously two from 11) will mean that the game is likely to roll more often, with higher rolls more likely,” he explained.
Starting jackpots will also be higher at €17 million (currently around £15 million) compared with €15 million (£11 million) previously.
EuroMillions will also create even more millionaires with the launch of a new must-be-won pan-European raffle, the first of which will take place at the end of October and will create an additional 25 millionaires across the community.
Finally, EuroMillions will offer even bigger special promotional draws, which will offer massive guaranteed jackpots of €130 million (currently around £117 million) compared with €100 million (£75 million) previously. “The first of these has already taken place and saw a lucky ticket-holder from Belgium scoop [win] the amazing €168 million jackpot on Tuesday 11 October,” said Pilkington.
In the News
Lottoland, a reseller of lottery tickets, made news in September when it continued to sell EuroMillions at its old price.
“EuroMillions has indeed opened legal actions against Lottoland, notably for an abusive use of our trademark and logos,” stated Moner-Banet. “We were proved right at first instance; the procedures continue as the action of Lottoland and other operators of this type is totally illegal and causes important harm to lotteries.”
Pilkington added that “Lottoland does not impact all countries where EuroMillions is sold.”


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Since its entry into the market, Reliance Jio has caused many disruptions to the status quo. And now, with its entry into the wired broadband sector with Jio GigaFiber, the company has caused another one that currently appears to be sweeping the whole industry.
The telecom giant has forced existing broadband players to reduce tariffs for their services, and even come up with innovative new ways to woo customers. The latest one to do so is ACT Fibernet which has launched two special tariff plans for gamers offering high-speed internet experience starting Rs 500 a month.
ACT Fibernet has introduced new ‘ACT Gaming Booster’ packs in India at the World of Warships (WoW) launch event. The ‘ACT Gaming Booster’ packs have been released in two variants: Basic and Ultra. While the former is valid for a month, the latter comes with a validity of six months.
Because of their duration, the two plans also differ in price. While the Basic plan costs Rs 500 + GST, the Ultra pack is priced at Rs 2,000 + GST.
Since they are special packs, they bring interesting additions with them. The ACT Gaming Booster packs include two gaming boosts: Speed Boost and Data Boost.
ACT has also revealed the exact specifications of the plans. It has revealed that the Basic one month plan will bring 300MBPS of boosted speed for three hours from your activation. The company has claimed that this plan can be activated five times a month. Users will also be given 200GB of extra data every month.
On the other hand, the Ultra six month plan also gets special boosts. Under this plan, users get 300Mbps of high-speed data 10 times a month for five hours per activation. With this plan, users get 1,800GB of extra data for six months.
ACT Fibernet has also signed an exclusive partnership with World of Warships for the promotion of these plans. This ACT Fibernet promises will bring exclusive content as well as benefits that can be used with the game.


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Google has not done its best to keep upcoming Pixel phones under wraps ahead of their announcements and the Pixel 8 Pro is no different. The Porcelain white version of the upcoming Google flagship was spotted on the Google Store for a brief time period which shows us yet another confirmation of its design.
While the image is not the best quality, we can see the updated unfied visor house the alleged 50MP main, 64MP ultrawide and 48MP telephoto modules. The cameras are housed next to the LED flash and the infrared temperature sensor which will allegedly allow users to measure their body temperature by pointing it to their temple region for a few seconds.
Pixel 8 Pro is also expected to launch with a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED with QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The flagship will be powered by the upcoming Tensor G3 chipset alongside 12GB RAM and 128/256GB storage. Pixel 8 Pro is expected to come with a 4,950 mAh battery with 27W charging and will boot Android 14 out the box. The Pixel 8 lineup is expected to launch in October.
LOL. Seriously? The Pixel is overall compatible with Samsung's and Apple offerings, which are overall the best phones. Tensor may not be the fastest for games, but it has significant advantages for the processing tasks Google is building in...
I think all models would be $50 more.
Then you willhave to wait for 2030


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Argentina Best Selling Cars ranking in 2021 reports the Fiat Cronos still on top of the leaderboard, while the Chevrolet Onix plummets at the edge of the leaderboard. The Toyota Corolla performs impressively, rising 16 spots and entering the leaderboard.
Argentinian Auto market in 2021 rises by 16.4% with 394,576 sales, reporting a very strong first half and then remained mostly flat in the second half. Toyota reports the best performance this year and reaches the top of the leaderboard.
Argentinian auto market in 2020 falls by 22.7% as the pandemic and lockdowns affect sales. Full-Year sales have been 338.945, while Fiat gains over 3% share and enters the podium.
Argentina Best Selling Cars ranking in 2019 was led by the Toyota Hilux with a safe gap over all other competitors, closing at a new record share of 5.7%. Behind, the Ford Ka managed to stay ahead of Chevrolet Onix, while the Toyota Etios lost 2 positions.
Argentina Auto Sales in 2019 have collapsed, falling below half a million units, the worst performance in the last 15 years. Indeed Total annual sales were 449.477, down 43.1%. The new President, Alberto Fernandez, just elected at the end of October found a country in the edge of the financial disaster.
Argentina Auto Sales in 2018 collapsed - down 11.5% - after the great performance registered of previous year. Volkswagen was the market leader, while Toyota managed the first 1-2 ever with the Hilux and the Etios.
Argentina Best Selling Cars ranking in 2018 ended with the Toyota Hilux gaining the leadership after an harsh battle with the Toyota Etios. Outstanding perfomance was scored by the Volkswagen Polo at 11th position.
Argentina Auto Sales 2017 hit the second best level ever, improving 29.8% from the previous year. Next year outlook is still positive and the market could hit the 1 million units, for the first time. Volkswagen dominates with a save gap over Chevrolet.


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Thai pancake seller grilled by police over cleavage-revealing cardigans that attracted customers
A Thai pancake seller has been grilled by police over her cleavage-revealing cardigans that pulled in customers.
Nursing student Olive Aranya Apaiso, 23, was selling around 30 boxes a day of the popular street food snack before she borrowed her friend’s skimpy tops to wear at the stall in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand.
With her chest on show, her sales quadrupled and eager locals were lining up at the stall for a taste of the crepes while posing for selfies as she cooked them.
However, some locals complained to police that her outfits were inappropriate and officers descended on the stall this morning November 26.
Police took Olive to the local station where she was given a warning and lectured on food hygiene and ‘respect for the city’s culture’ before being released without charge.
The tearful entrepreneur said: ‘I need to make my own money. I was just trying to support myself.
‘Customers were queuing up even before the shop opened. Some would even pose with me and share the pictures online, making my stall even more popular.
‘It has only been three months since I opened but now I have selling more more than a 100 boxes of the crispy pancakes a day.’
Olive apologised for offending anyone with her revealing tops, which were held together with a pin. Tape on her nipples stopped them from slipping out.
She added: ‘I am willing to follow the instructions of all officials. After this, I will dress differently and cover up more of my body. I’ll also follow the sanitisation advice.’
One of Aranya’s customers said he started buying pancakes from her because she has a unique selling style and the pancakes taste good.
The treats cost 35 THB (about 0.80 GBP) per box and have different flavours such as green tea and cocoa. The stall opens every day from 11.00 AM to 9.00 PM.
Despite gaining instant popularity, Aranya was subject to a police complaint from the city’s ‘culture department’.
They said Olive needed to keep her hair in a net, wear an apron, use gloves, and ‘keep a distance between customers during baking’.
A spokesman from the Chang Phueak district council office said: ‘Chiang Mai is a cultural city and people have expressed concern about the dress.
‘We have asked the lady for co-operation, to wear a bra that is flesh-coloured and an outfit that is less obscene. We invited her to the police station to discuss the matter.’
Olive was given a warning and ordered to change her tops. She was released but faces being arrested for public indecency if she carries on flaunting her breasts.
Lieutenant Colonel Weerapat Khamlapich said: ‘The lady co-operated and no charges were made against her. Officers will check her stall to make sure she is following the advice.’
Public indecency in Thailand is punishable with a fine not exceeding 5,000 THB (117 GBP).


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Spiceworks, the Texas-based social business platform for IT professionals, is launching a new European headquarters in London, to expand its presence in the region and meet demand from technology brands.
By the beginning of 2012, Spiceworks intends to have six full-time employees in the UK, focused on serving European-based advertisers. The company has already partnered with more than 60 technology brands to run marketing campaigns in various countries in the region.
“Spiceworks has become the best place in Europe for technology brands to connect with IT pros at small and medium enterprises,” said Scott Abel, co-founder and CEO of Spiceworks. “Our online traffic in the UK alone is expanding by 70 percent year-over-year.”
The Spiceworks social business network combines free network management, network monitoring and help desk software with a Facebook-like community of IT professionals. Members can use the application to discuss issues, share advice and information on particular technologies and services, and even get quotes from vendors for new products.
Meanwhile, IT vendors can set up profile pages, converse with members of the community and deliver targeted advertising on the network. Spiceworks claims that $300 billion worth of technology products and services are transacted on the network each year.
Since launching in 2006, Spiceworks has mainly targeted the SMB market, but Abel said that around nine percent of usage is now by enterprises with more than 1,000 employees. He said that this was a big growth area for the company, adding: “The bigger the installation, the more they use Spiceworks.”
As most of the applications are offered for free, the company monetises its platform through a combination of advertising, platform fees for large vendors and commerce within Spiceworks. This is the first year that the company has broken even, and it is forecasting positive revenues for 2012.
Looking ahead, the company's focus will shift from simply presenting data to providing the information that users need to solve problems. This could range from collaborative help desks – allowing users to share their help desk tickets to collaborate on problems – to creating a 'social knowledge base', where members can post their own FAQs and 'how-to' guides for use by other members of the community.
“Today, Spiceworks has become this very rich data environment where, if you know what you're looking for, it's probably in there; but about 75 percent of the IT pros we've met ended up in the job accidentally,” said Abel. “That means they don't know, early in their career, what's the right way to solve a problem. We can help because we have the knowledge of 1.5million IT pros to go on, and so we can stream that content into the app.”
Spiceworks is also keen to expand its cloud offerings and mobile portfolio. The company already offers applications for Android smartphone and Apple's iPhone, and is now looking at apps for the iPod, Android tablets and Windows Phone.
The company’s first European conference, SpiceWorld London 2012, will take place on 24-25 May 2012. The conference is designed to connect IT professionals from small and medium enterprises with leading technology brands in the UK.


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Earlier this month, L’Oréal Canada and their subsidiary, SalonCentric Canada, have announced a definitive agreement to acquire the operations of Icon Salon Systems Canada.
Opened in 1995, Icon Salon Systems is a full-service professional beauty distributor, based in Surrey, B.C., with seven professional-only stores in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Langley, Prince George, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. This acquisition will help expand SalonCentric into the province and further solidify its footprint in Canada.
“We are pleased to welcome Icon Salon Systems to the SalonCentric team,” says Bertrand Fontaine, president of SalonCentric North America. “Their commitment to the professional salon industry—and specifically in providing exceptional customer service to salons and stylists—aligns with SalonCentric’s strong values of providing stylists and salon owners with everything they need to grow their businesses and further build their success. This includes offering dynamic and innovative brands and products, providing digital innovations that inspire and support the stylist, and business-building tools that help stylists maximize their time and create efficiencies.”
“L’Oréal Canada’s Professional Products Division has always been committed to serving the 100,000 stylists across the country in the best way possible,” says An Verhulst-Santos, president and CEO of L’Oréal Canada. “The expansion of SalonCentric Canada in British Columbia, after a successful launch in Ontario last year, will allow us to meet the evolving needs of all stylists.”


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To mark Gran Turismo’s 15th anniversary last year, Kazunori Yamauchi, Gran Turismo creator and president of Polyphony Digital Inc., invited leading automobile manufacturers to contribute to the successful game series. Design departments were called upon to look into the future and share their ground-breaking concept models with the gaming community. The virtual cars will be gradually integrated into the new Gran Turismo 6 game through online updates.
BMW was the first automaker to announce its Vision Gran Turismo concept, one of a series of virtual cars designed exclusively for Gran Turismo 6. The Vision GT looks like something BMW could actually deliver if they wanted to.
Looking like an even more extreme version of the M235i Racing, the BMW Vision Gran Turismo concept builds on “the tradition of the successful BMW touring cars of the 1970s”. It’s got more extreme aero than the aforementioned M235i Racing and a striking take on the M division’s signature light blue, dark blue and red stripe over white livery.
The imaginary specs are very impressive. The BMW Vision GT’s 3.0-liter, twin-turbo inline six-cylinder makes 549 hp and 501 lb-ft of torque, which is channeled to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox. It tips the scales at just over 2600 lbs, with a 50:50 weight distribution.
“The development of the BMW Vision Gran Turismo combines our many years of motorsports experience with signature BMW Design. The race car anticipates future racing trends and allows gaming fans even more to experience BMW racing quality,” says Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Vice President Brand Communication BMW, BMW i, BMW M.
Karim Habib, Head of Design BMW Automobiles said: “The BMW Vision Gran Turismo is pure BMW sportiness and dynamics. It’s a precise driving machine engineered and designed to race and win.”
“I was eagerly awaiting what kind of car the people at BMW would come up with. The resulting Vision Gran Turismo car was a sports car that was so clearly BMW, that really shows the DNA of BMW. What makes the Vision GT car so recognizable as a BMW, is in things like its compact size, its wide front and rear overfenders. It maintains the strong angular forms from the past, but the car is also given modern, elegant lines”, said Yamauchi.


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Nvidia lets mobo makers show nForce 500 chipsets
Quad SLI and other goodies supported
Nvidia has announced it will show off its as-yet-unannounced nForce 500 chipset family this week, even though the part won't ship until "mid 2006", the company said. No surprise there: that's exactly when AMD's Socket AM2 - a key component of the nForce 500 series - is due to be launched.
Nvidia said it will offer four nForce 500 chipsets: the 550, 570, 570 SLI and the 590 SLI. A variety of motherboard makers will have mobos based on the chipsets fixed to the walls of their booths at CeBIT, it added.
The two top-end 500s will both support dual x16 PCI Express graphics cards, but Nvidia said the chipsets will also support four-board set-ups. The 500 series will also incorporate support for ten USB 2.0 devices and six 3Gbps Serial ATA drives. The chipsets' MediaShield component has been upgraded to support dual RAID 5, Nvidia said. ®


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April 10, 2008
IOWA CITY — The Official Iowa Hawk Shop will hold its annual Spring Cleaning Sale at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, April 19. The sale will be held prior to the Iowa football team’s spring practice from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Southeast corner of the Stadium.
Merchandise at the Hawk Shop Sale will be discounted up to 75 percent off. Fans interested in attending the sale will be able to enter the sale area through Gate M.
In case of rain, the sale will be moved into the South concourse. All sales are final; no refunds or exchanges will be accepted on items purchased at the sale. Cash, personal checks, and credit cards will be accepted. All Iowa Hawk Shop proceeds directly benefit UI athletic and student programs.
For more information, call 1-800-HAWKSHOP, or visit www.hawkshop.com.


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Gen Z and Gen Alpha are becoming avid podcast listeners, making them a hot target for media brands and producers. In fact, 30% of Gen Z and 23% of Gen Alpha individuals listen to podcasts every week, according to Edison Research.
To better engage with this growing “Gen Zalpha” listener base, Claire’s is partnering with podcast and audio entertainment production studio Audio Up Media on a series of new scripted audio shows. The partnership will kick off with two original concepts that will include opportunities for merchandise development, publishing and other cross-platform extensions.
Claire’s has been working extensively on expanding its intellectual property (IP) portfolio and becoming a true content production house. The accessories and lifestyle retailer started its own production arm, CMedia; launched a dedicated video series called Dear Claire; and has successfully grown the ShimmerVille brand into a robust universe that includes a digital experience in Roblox, physical products and activations, and possibly even a TV show developed with Sony Pictures Television – Kids.
This new strategic partnership will bring the brand’s vision to the next level by harnessing Audio Up Media’s multi-platform outlets for original programming and tapping into Claire’s highly loyal global audience. “For more than 60 years, Claire’s has been a beloved brand and cultural trendsetter, inspiring self-expression in teens, tweens and young adults,” said Kristin Patrick, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Claire’s in a statement. “As we continue to unleash our brand lifestyle, we see an opportunity to build on our power and equity through storytelling. As purveyors of intellectual property across the products in our stores, original content, platforms and experiences, we are continuing to build on the love our Gen Zalpha consumers have for us as a powerful brand force in partnership with Audio Up.”


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Boxx TV, is celebrating a decade of designing and supplying game-changing digital microwave solutions to the broadcast industry. The first company to bring zero-delay wireless solutions to the industry has a consistent track record in innovation and is currently working on the first true solution for 4K UHD RF transmission.
The launch in 2008 of the Boxx Cobalt RF transmission system marked Boxx TV as a brand to watch by immediately challenging the status quo of niche expensive wireless units with an affordable high end solution for the mainstream.
The Boxx Meridian, launched two years later, was the industry’s first zero delay HD wireless system and quickly became the product of choice for the most high-profile live productions on the planet including Australia’s Got Talent and The X Factor. Boxx’s long range wireless product, Zenith, became the standard solution for covering events such as Top Gear Festival, Glastonbury and the Surfing Professional World Tour.
Recognised with an Emmy for Engineering Excellence and Oscar Nominated in 2013 for the Academy SciTech Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievements, Boxx next delivered the Atom wireless Video Assist solution. The Atom’s uncapped range and crucial ability to broadcast a signal without needing to be paired has seen it adopted by DPs and ‘A Camera’ operators on multi-camera award winning shows from American Gothic to The Expanse, Star Trek Discovery to The Handmaid’s Tale as well as recent Bruno Mars and Pink tour productions.
“Right from the inception of the company a decade ago, our technology has been especially engineered for the needs of live-to-air broadcasts, ENG operations and also for Steadicam, portable field monitoring or video-assist applications,” Co-founder and CEO Darrell Bilton, says. “We strongly believe that close contact with the industry, listening to feedback and understanding issues from the camera operator’s point of view is vital to product design and ensuring we have a service tailored to their needs.”
Scott Walker, Boxx TV co-founder adds, “Although the industry has changed almost beyond recognition since we started out in 2007, Boxx TV’s approach to design hasn’t. We make breakthrough systems that provide quality the industry relies on at a fraction of the cost. We are now taking our expertise as well as knowledge gained from operators in the field to develop the industry’s first true solution for 4K UHD RF transmission. Watch this space!”


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It’s hard not to see B. Nektar Meadery’s blue bottles on grocery store shelves in Metro Detroit, but the craft brewer has expanded way beyond Michigan to the eastern half of the U.S. and it has plans to go even further this year.
The Ferndale-based maker of fine honey wines doubled its production in 2010 and expects to do so again this year. That allowed the company to hire two people last year, and it’s looking to add one more now and a few others later this year.
“We have been expanding outward into other states,” says Brad Dahlhofer, co-founder of B. Nektar Meadery. “Last year was a big expansion year for us. We’re in nine states right now, including Michigan.”
They include Wisconsin, Maine, and Florida, and a number of other East Coast states. The company also plans to keep that North American expansion going, along with going international. Plans are in the works to open markets in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
That’s a big leap for a company that seriously began production in August of 2008. Dahlhofer and his wife Keri, longtime home brewers of meade, began making their version of the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man in 1,500 square feet on Jarvis Street.
“We knew this was what we wanted to do,” Dahlhofer says. “It’s nice that people responded so well. It makes the job of expanding easier.”
Source: Brad Dahlhofer, co-founder of B. Nektar Meadery
Writer: Jon Zemke


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Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton who was an unofficial adviser when she was U.S. Secretary of State, arrived to testify before House of Representatives.
BlackBerry is considering equipping an upcoming smartphone with Google Inc.'s Android software for the first time.
Blackberry controls 0.3% of the smartphone market. In 2014 it controlled 0.5% of the market, while in 2015 it had a more impressive 2.9% stake.
The leather address book of legendary singer Frank Sinatra has been sold for $8,960. The book had numbers of friends such as John Wayne and Sidney Poitier.
In the 1940s, Smith starred in such Broadway productions as "Men to the Sea", "Mamba's Daughters", "Beggar's Holiday".
Hillary Clinton did not hand over at least 15 emails from her time as secretary of state, the US State Department said on Thursday.
This year's top business books come from journalists, economists and academics on a range of topics. Here are some books to catch up on.
Burns uses early-morning hours to get caught up on emails, getting up at 5:15 and sometimes working until midnight, according to Yahoo Finance.


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Happy Friday, Blockfolians
Coinbase has been the talk of the town this week, what with their absurd Q1 volume and revenue and net income and (it seems) valuation when they go public next week).
It’s one of their competitors, however, that is getting the attention today.
Robinhood announced that it had 9.5m users trade crypto in Q1. That’s especially insane given that in Congressional testimony they said they had 13m users today.
For those keeping track at home, that’s 50% more than Coinbase’s 6.1m active users from the same period.
You know who benefits from all this competition around retail crypto trading? The whole industry, which has more new people than ever joining the space.
Enjoying Blockfolio’s Market Refresh? Sign up to have it delivered every day.
Highly Relevant Reading
Bitcoin miners are stacking! Bullish.
Coinbase joins the DeFi Alliance
Revolut adds 11 new cryptos including some popular DeFi coins
Neptune DAO raises $20m in attempt to decentralize VC
Lottttttta folks not loving these comments from a board member of the European Central Bank
Bitcoin does not fulfil the basic properties of money. It is a speculative asset without any recognisable fundamental value and is subject to massive price swings. Trust in cryptocurrencies might rapidly evaporate, causing disruption in financials markets. 13/14
This is a joke, right?
HSBC will not let clients buy Microstrategy stock due to their newly changed policy on “virtual currencies”.
A Really Big Number We Should Be Paying Attention To
$19B to $230B
That’s the range of valuations for Coinbase’s upcoming IPO


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Automotive professors Tom Witt, left, and Norm Chapman supervise as advanced student Mike Murphy prepares to fire up the one-of-a-kind, $250,000 Dodge Viper SRT in the automotive shop at South Puget Sound Community College in Tumwater, Wash., on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Chapman received notice Tuesday morning that Chrysler was ordering the entire collection of educational Vipers -- believed to be about 93 cars worth tens of millions of dollars -- to be crushed. / Tony Overman/AP Photo
Chrysler is defending its request of community colleges and trade schools to destroy Dodge Vipers it donated about 20 years ago.
The automaker says it wants the colleges to abide by agreements they signed when the cars were loaned. Some colleges, however, have grown attached to the cars and are reluctant to destroy a coveted piece of auto history.
According to a newspaper in Olympia, Wash., professors and students at South Puget Sound Community College were shocked after Chrysler told them to destroy the $250,000 preproduction Viper within two weeks.
“It’s like the day Kennedy was shot,” Norm Chapman, automotive technology professor at SPSCC told the paper. “No one will forget where they were when they heard the news.”
The school’s 1992 Dodge Viper was the fourth one Chrysler made.
“Whenever we donate a vehicle it comes with stipulations that when the vehicle is past its intended use, it is to be destroyed,” said Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese.
Reports about Chrysler’s order to destroy of the sports cars has triggered an emotional debate on some Web sites.
“Limber up your petition-signin’ fingers and prepare to channel some outrage,” Jalopnik wrote in a story published Thursday.
Some media outlets reported that some of the Vipers — which were never certified to be driven on the road — have been involved in traffic accidents.
“We have no records of any crashes, or any records of any lawsuits,” Palese said.
Chrysler said the 30 to 40 Vipers it donated have outlived their educational purposes.
“Chrysler Group fully understands and appreciates the historical significance of the Viper and is very active in preserving many of its legendary models and designs for historic purposes. However, none of these vehicles fit into this category,” the company said in a statement.
Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely


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Nearly double the amount of working-age men participate in entrepreneurial activity compared to women, but if the number of female entrepreneurs was boosted then more than £180bn could be delivered to the UK economy.
Every hour, two people in the UK are told they have Parkinson's disease. A device created via additive manufacturing has enabled the precise delivery of a new drug candidate that could potentially reverse the condition.
During the course of the National Manufacturing Conference in February, the organisers EEF announced a change of name, a change of brand and a more sharply defined mission that will make them more attuned to the needs of the modern age of digital manufacturing. And thus the venerable 100 year-old organisation became Make UK.
First we had the cronut, then came gin-flavoured everything and most recently we were gifted with Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls that have reportedly driven the company's profits up… It seems if you can merge two trends together, you may be on to a winning combination.


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It was just about 3 years ago to the day that I wrote in my Forbes column how we had a shortage of over 50,000 truck drivers and that would create a huge problem for our food industry.
Forecasts back then in June of 2018 estimated that by 2026 the shortage of drivers would be upward of 175,000. Today, for those who listen to the radio, we are being bombarded by ads attempting to recruit new drivers by raising wages, offering sign up bonuses and other perks. A month or so ago, Tyson reported that the cost of refrigerated transport increased by 12% and that would translate to higher prices for their products sold in supermarkets. Food suppliers of all kinds are desperately trying to find drivers to transport their goods are hiking up wages for truckers to as much as six figures — and some have to raise their food prices as a result, according to a report by The New York Post. The head of outsourcing company Regional Supplemental Services (RSS) that hires truckers, Rich Jennings said he gets "calls from desperate Fortune 500 companies every day that need to move perishable food. One company, the Post writes, said that as well as boosting trucker salaries, it had raised the price of meat by 20% and chocolate by 30% to cope.
Bronx-based food supplier Chefs' Warehouse told the publication that over the past few months it had been hiring some truckers from Alabama and paying for them to stay at hotels in the Bronx because it couldn't find any drivers in the area, despite offering wages of at least $20 an hour. Chefs' Warehouse said it had lost 40% of its drivers and warehouse workers during the pandemic. Chefs' Warehouse's prices across its 55,000 products rose 7% on average in the first quarter of 2021 the biggest price hikes included a 54% increase for 35-pound tubs of canola and soybean fry oil, 30% for cases of kosher salt, chocolate, and olive oil, and 20% for meat.


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Melbourne food/wine fest to replace fall art festival
MELBOURNE - A new flavor-tasting event — the Downtown Melbourne Food & Wine Festival — will debut Saturday Nov. 12, replacing the city's annual fall art festival.
The food-festival footprint will likely extend from Hell 'n Blazes Brewing Co. along New Haven Avenue to Matt's Casbah, and 20 to 30 restaurants will offer cuisine, Melbourne Main Street Executive Director Jarin Eisenberg said.
"Picture a beer garden, a VIP tent hosted by Hell 'n Blazes. At each pod of restaurants, you will have a beautiful white tent with white linens and white chairs for people to sit," Eisenberg said.
"We also want to reach out to international communities and welcome them to the festival, as well as different arts and cultural groups, and provide them a space to show off what they do. There will be a band — we're looking for a jazz-type feel," she said.
"It's an opportunity to do something fresh and new," she said.
Next month, Melbourne Main Street will likely launch an event website and start selling 500 all-inclusive tickets for the four-hour event for $45 each. Other attendees can sample food and beverages by buying $2 tickets.
Eisenberg has discussed event logistics with organizers of the Las Olas Wine & Food Festival in Fort Lauderdale. Last week, a group of downtown Melbourne restaurateurs met on the topic.
The past decade, Melbourne Main Street officials have struggled to update the fall art festival, which has bounced between a juried art show and an arts-and-crafts showcase. Eisenberg said that event, which drew 136 artists and vendors last year, is now "retired."
"There is an art festival in spring. It's free, and it's done really well. (The fall festival) just wasn't the quality we wanted it to be, and it was very taxing on a very small organization to do a three-day event," she said.
Last November, Melbourne's 23rd annual fall art festival merged with the fourth annual Florida Institute of Technology's Homecoming Fest, offering events from Thursday through Sunday. Matt and Kim headlined the Friday street party with a free concert at a large stage near U.S. 1. Badfish - A Tribute to Sublime also drew large crowds Saturday night.
Proceeds from the inaugural Downtown Melbourne Food & Wine Festival will finance a future aesthetic lighting project intended to upgrade the New Haven Avenue corridor's existing lampposts. Eisenberg said these lights will add atmosphere and create "a certain type of feel downtown."
"We would like to wrap the palms in lights. We would like to have blue lights up on trees that we could change the colors. So when FIT wins a big game, we could put up maroon. When it's holiday season, we could do holiday colors," she said.
Melbourne Main Street's board of directors will likely discuss bids for lighting costs next week.
Contact Neale at 321-242-3638, email@example.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter


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Selfridges has restructured its top two buying positions into one role, six months after the departure of David Walker-Smith.
Sebastian Manes, buying director of womenswear, accessories and childrenswear, has been promoted to the role of buying and merchandising director with immediate effect.
The newly-created role expands Manes’ responsibilities to include menswear, home and leisure. He will continue to report into managing director Anne Pitcher.
Manes joined the luxury department store in 2003 as a senior accessories buyer, rising to his most recent role in February 2011.
Walker-Smith, who took on the role of buying director for menswear, home and beauty at the same time, left last December to become managing director of Fenwick’s Bond Street store.


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Quiet success: Acoustics specialist Silentium raises an additional $20 million in extended series D funding
The company, which has raised over $60 million in total, specializes in active noise control solutions in personal and commercial spaces and eliminating unwanted noise
Israel-based Silentium, a tech company specializing in solutions for active noise control, has extended its Series D round with another $20 million of funding. Following the new investment, the company is scaling up the development and roll-out of its patented Active Acoustics software solutions.
Silentium, which was founded in 1998, has raised $30 million as part of its Series D round, and approximately $63 million in total. The latest extended round was led by Menora Mivtachim and Meitav Dash, both Israeli institutional investors. Existing strategic investors, including global electronics leader Molex, also participated in this latest round.
Yoel Naor, CEO of Silentium, commented: “We welcome new partners that share the same passion for acoustics and see the value in enhancing privacy and wellbeing through personal sound spaces. With this new investment, we will scale up the development and roll-out of our Active Acoustics software solutions for vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers – especially as noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) requirements evolve in the new era of electric and autonomous mobility.”
Silentium creates personal in-car sound environments by reducing, canceling, or enhancing any sound inside all types of vehicles. Since its recent launch into automotive, Silentium has been working on several global vehicle production programs for low-cost, flexible Active Road Noise Cancellation (ARNC) software integration. Already available in new cars including Jaguar and Land Rover, the broad-band ARNC technology works across an unprecedented spectrum of frequencies (20Hz up to 1kHz).
The company has 50 employees and is based outside Tel Aviv, it also has satellite offices around the world with sound engineers embedded within various global vehicle manufacturers. Within a year Silentium hopes to double its workforce.