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Manufacturing is making a gradual comeback in the United States. “Reshoring”, as many call the recent trend of manufacturing relocating from overseas back to the U.S., is occurring in a steady stream of steps. Numerous examples of reshoring are being regularly reported in the media. This includes K’Nex Brands LP, a toy manufacturer, bringing back […]
Originally Posted in March, 2013 Connecticut Business and Industry Association Business Day March 6, 2013 Steve Wilson, Chairman of Crescent Manufacturing, asking Governor Malloy a question at CBIA’s (Connecticut Business and Industry Association) Business Day event March 6, 2013 at the Capital.
Originally Posted on January 12, 2012 Harry Moser Presents ReShoring at NEFDA Meeting Steve Wilson, President of NEFDA and Chairman of Crescent Manufacturing, introduced NEFDA’s education program about reshoring Thursday evening on January 12. All of Crescent Manufacturing’s products are totally manufactured in the United States and many economic forces are now favoring a return […]
Originally Posted March 2011 Recognized as a Patriotic Employer Steve Wilson of Crescent Manufacturing Steve Wilson of Crescent Manufacturing is recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve In March of 2011, Crescent Manufacturing received an award from the United States of America Department of National […]
The staff of Crescent Manufacturing mourns the passing of Dick Gates, the former owner of Crescent. Dick Gates, Crescent’s former majority shareholder from 1980 to 2005, passed away on February 5, 2011. Dick purchased Crescent Manufacturing in July of 1980 from the original three founders. Dick’s autobiography from “Hartford Courant” follows: Richard Judson Gates […]
Originally Posted January 2011 Steve Wilson, Crescent’s Chairman, asks newly elected Governor Malloy a question about regulations in the State of Connecticut. In the foreground is Dick Hrinak, Crescent’s President. This summit is a large annual event with hundreds of business and political leaders in attendance including numerous media outlets. This was Governor Malloy’s first […]
By Kimberly Ellert Guerrette Article from the Spring 2010 edition of Distributor Link Magazine Rural America = Crescent Manufacturing Crescent resides at 700 George Washington Turnpike, Burlington, Connecticut, on property purchased from the towns largest landowner, a farmer. Across the street was a small farmhouse with a barn, cows, and that couple […]
Fastner Experts Celebrate 50 Years! For over 50 years Crescent Manufacturing has been supplying fasteners and miniature screws through domestic and international distributors. Our custom fasteners and stock fasteners have been used in a wide variety of industries: electronics, automotive, computer technologies, aerospace, military, marine, aeronautics, telecommunications, consumer products, industrial products, medical equipment and much […]
Crescent Manufacturing celebrates our 50th Anniversary in August 2010. Read the article “Crescent Turns Golden” published in The Distributor’s Link magazine.
Originally Posted April 2009 Burlington, CT On April 9, 2009, Crescent Manufacturing was awarded the “Distinguished Business Award for 2009” by the Burlington, CT Chamber of Commerce. Crescent has been one of only a handful of manufacturing companies in Burlington since 1967. Over the past 40 plus years the company has employed many of […]


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In conclusion, there are three typical approaches, including DOS command, inbuilt disk utility of disc or USB drive, and third-party low-level format tool.
Best Low-Level Format Tool Here comes to the crucial part, what's the best low-level format tool that facilitates a low-level formatting manner. Even a computer novice could make full use of it.
But it's no longer just activists the industry needs to worry about. In recent weeks, politicians have suggested various options to curb the SUV boom from outright bans in cities to heavy taxation on larger more CO2-emitting vehicles.
EU regulation increases pressure on car makers to 'green up' The surge in SUVs may come back to haunt carmakers in Europe in That's when experts expect new EU regulation for CO2 emissions to really start biting.
Discover which two vehicles are joining The Crew® 2's lineup this month! Audi RS3 LMS offers up to horsepower under the hood. The November Vehicle Drop for #TheCrew2 brings us the Audi RS3 LMS – and the Aeroboat – SV12, ! Season Pass holders get.

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MoneyGram has begun supporting transfers to any bank in Ghana. Funds can be sent either online, on a mobile device, or at one of the 350.000 MoneyGram locations worldwide. The received money is accessible in minutes* through an ATM, in person or online.
Discover your way to send and receive money
The service aims to offer consumers in Ghana more digital transfer options while also expanding the company’s digital growth. “We see a potential in the increasing adoption of banking services in Ghana and want to drive financial inclusion in the region by offering our consumers more digital money transfer options,” said Grant Lines, MoneyGram’s global chief revenue officer.
According to the World Bank, in 2017, $2.2 billion flowed into Ghana, up 4.3% compared to 2016 what makes the country fifth largest remittances recipient in Africa. The inflows come mainly from the United States ($585 million), Nigeria ($395 million), the United Kingdom ($286 million), Italy ($145 million) and Germany ($115 million).
Zero fee for online sends**
In Germany for example, senders benefit from a great introduction price. Customers who send money online to a bank account in Ghana pay NO transfer fee, irrespective of the amount sent. Customer who prefer to send money in person directly to bank account benefit from a flat rate of €3. In order to process the money transfer, MoneyGram only needs the receiver’s full legal name, the bank name and bank account number.
More information on current exchange rates, to send money online or to find the nearest location please visit moneygram.de
Check out the bank account money transfer service to Ghana https://youtu.be/Kqx6M6pR2Fg
* Subject to agent operating hours and in compliance with regulatory requirements.
** In addition to the transfer fees applicable to a transaction, a currency exchange rate set by MoneyGram or its agent will be applied. MoneyGram also makes money from currency exchange. Prices are subject to change.


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Dave & Buster’s will open to the public on Monday in the Northridge Fashion Center.
Located at 9301 Tampa Ave. Suite 212 in Northridge, the restaurant and entertainment venue will feature more than 50,000 square feet of arcade games, sports viewing and food and beverages.
On Thursday evening at a V.I.P. opening event, some 200 attendees sampled items on the menu as they played arcade games.
The Northridge location represents the 10th Dave & Buster’s to open in Southern California, and the 117th location overall for the Dallas-based chain.
“The San Fernando Valley has been on Dave & Buster’s roadmap for a few years, with Northridge and its vibrant community serving as the area’s central hub,” said the location’s General Manager Jeff Bollenbeck in a statement. “We are proud to become part of this bustling community, and we look forward to providing new and existing Dave & Buster’s fans with the class-leading entertainment we are known for.”
In addition to providing more than 200 new jobs to the San Fernando Valley, Dave & Buster’s is the latest component in a renovated Northridge Fashion Center. Charles Dunn Co.’s Encino office is currently marketing an entire floor of Northridge Fashion Center as converted office space.
Among the 145 arcade games offered at Dave & Buster’s in Northridge are video games based on Burbank-based DC’s Justice League of America, Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and a virtual reality experience inspired by Universal’s “Jurassic World.”


text: Menlo Park, Calif. -- Facebook said it has acquired San Francisco-based Face.com, developer of a facial recognition platform that identifies and tags individuals in social media photos. Though financial terms were not disclosed, TechCrunch pegged the price at $55-$60 million, citing a source familiar with the matter. "By working with Facebook directly, and joining their team, we'll have more opportunities to build amazing products that will be employed by consumers," wrote Face.com on its blog. Face.com's mobile facial recognition technology potentially could allow Menlo Park-based Facebook to begin offering automatic mobile photo tagging. The news comes two months after Facebook also acquired San Francisco's Instagram, developer of a popular photo-sharing app.


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NEW YORK (
was among several stocks trading under $5 on above-average volume following a report that the jewelry retailer will sell a minority stake to a private-equity firm.
is planning to sell a minority stake to Golden Gate Capital, two people familiar with the decision told
late Tuesday. The report said Golden Gate Capital could take a $100 million to $150 million stake in the struggling retailer, although a deal has not been finalized.
Zale shares were up 21 cents, or 6.6%, to $3.39. Volume topped 1.15 million shares about an hour into the trading day, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 2.3 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.
shares surged by 9 cents, or 21%, to 53 cents after the company said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent covering a method of using Bionovo's proprietary drug candidate Bezielle for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Volume topped 7.35 million shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 779,000, according to the
jumped by 75 cents, or 12.9%, to $6.58 after the bank swung to a first-quarter profit of $10.4 million, or a penny a share, compared with a year-ago loss of $2.49 billion, or $6.79 a share. Volume topped 47.7 million shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 22 million.
rose 3% to $1.29, as more than 1.3 million shares changed hands. On Tuesday,
will being to sell its Gaba line of beverages in May.
rallied 31.7% to $2.37 after the company said revenue in the first quarter rose 26% from a year ago to $5.2 million. Volume topped 595,000 shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 68,000.
Pacific Capital Bancorp
jump 16.4% to $4.10 on 3 million shares, more than double the 50-day average daily volume, in the absence of any company-specific news.
-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston
Follow Robert Holmes on
and become a fan of TheStreet.com on


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Carmakers Strive to Stay Ahead of Hackers
The effects of a breach of a car, or fleet, could be devastating. Auto manufacturers and suppliers have aggressive plans, and a lot of firewalls. By Eric A. Taub, THE...
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Fitted furniture supplier for kitchens and bedrooms, Daval, has shared an insight into what kitchen trends will be seen during 2021.
Creative Director, James Bodsworth, shares his thoughts about the 2021 trends that will influence how our kitchens look into the year ahead and beyond.
Green, both in colour and credentials
“There will be a real shift towards kitchens that seamlessly combine style and sustainability in 2021, as more of us place significant importance on the eco-credentials of the products we have in our homes”, says James.
“Our Renzo collection, which features doors made from 100% recycled materials, has already proved hugely popular with those of us looking to make a statement with an eco-friendly kitchen that reflects its sustainable credentials from the inside out – and this popularity is only set to grow in 2021.”
He explains: “Aesthetically, earthy tones of green combined with the darker wood textures such as Character Oak Tobacco and Charred Japanese Wood will become front runners alongside darker, forest green shades used in shaker-style kitchens to reflect our growing desire to bring sustainably and the colours of nature into our homes.”
Islands and Peninsulas as multi-functional surfaces
James says: “The kitchen is the heart of the home, and 2020 has seen this important room become so much more than simply somewhere to cook and eat. Instead, it has become a space to create joyous moments, capture precious memories and house the changing pace of our everyday lives.
“Kitchen islands have been key to creating this multi-functional space. They are the hub of a kitchen that function as somewhere for us to work, bake, eat or just sit and chat, and they are only set to grow in popularity in 2021 as we re-kindle our love affair with spending slower days at home.
Peninsulas will also be a key trend as a multi-functional solution for those of us who don’t want the permanence of a full-size island but still want the convenience of an extension to their surface space”, adds James. “Juxtaposing textures will also be a key trend, for example combining a striking marble effect island or peninsula with the earthy tones of woods such as Cuban Oak.”
Beautiful boot rooms and useful utilities
“We’ve all spent much more time among nature this year and creating a practical yet stylish connection between outdoors and in with a beautiful boot room or fully fitted utility space is set to become a ky 2021 kitchen trend”, James explains.
“Providing that dedicated extra space to help keep muddy boots and wet dogs neatly tucked away from the main thoroughfare , shaker-style fitted units like those found in our Bramham and Pembroke collections will be popular to sitting alongside the original features of heritage homes or to add character and charm to more modern newbuilds.”
James continues: “On a practical level, finishing touches such as the anti-scratch thermo-healing technology of Falmouth, or a dedicated dog bed built into a boot room drawer, will ensure these spaces work hard to accommodate and withstand the rigour of our daily lives.”
A focus on heritage and quality craftmanship
James explains: “As consumers, we are increasingly looking to buy locally from British brands that have a story to tell and demonstrate unfaltering commitment to quality craftmanship. This is a trend that is only set to grow throughout 2021, as the pandemic has made us realise the importance of investing in independent brands with products that have a back story we can relate to.”
He explains: “Many of our customers have told us they specifically choose Daval because we are a British brand rich in heritage and with a long history of quality craftmanship; traits which are only going to become more sought after when it comes to choosing products for our homes.
“Unlike off the shelf solutions, every Daval kitchen is individually made to measure before being personalised to our customers’ exact specifications, resulting in a kitchen that blends exquisite British craftmanship with functionality and style, brought to life through a design that is entirely bespoke to every individual home.”


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Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands Inc (NYSE:CAG) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,754,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.44% of Conagra Brands worth $66,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CAG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,392,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,786,000 after buying an additional 31,340 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 120.2% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 19,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 10,700 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 204.8% during the second quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 17,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 11,681 shares during the period. Koch Industries Inc. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 6,018.5% during the second quarter. Koch Industries Inc. now owns 338,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 332,520 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 22.1% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 142,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after buying an additional 25,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.
In other news, SVP Robert G. Wise sold 23,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.87, for a total transaction of $877,447.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 51,859 shares in the company, valued at $1,963,900.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Colleen Batcheler sold 120,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.50, for a total transaction of $4,516,912.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 211,514 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,931,775. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,121 shares of company stock valued at $5,793,780 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.
Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 21st. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.03. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. equities research analysts expect that Conagra Brands Inc will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.213 per share. This is an increase from Conagra Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 29th. This represents a $0.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.90%.
Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Sunday, October 29th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Conagra Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Conagra Brands from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Conagra Brands from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $40.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.
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About Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands, Inc, formerly ConAgra Foods, Inc, operates as a packaged food company. The Company operates through two segments: Consumer Foods and Commercial Foods. The Company sells branded and customized food products, as well as commercially branded foods. It also supplies vegetable, spice and grain products to a range of restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers.
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Wendy Fultz can say it with a smile, a cool confidence that this is the right thing to do for her and Cool Beans.
The eight-year owner of Cool Beans sold the cafe to Sherry Nelson.
“I can really say it now,” Fultz said. “It’s sold, and I couldn’t think of a better person to sell it to. She’s going to take it to the next level.”
That’s what Fultz tried to do — take the cafe to the next level from where it was when she bought it — and she feels it was accomplished. The coffee shop that sits below street level off West High Street is a cornerstone of the community, she said, one that is frequented at a frenzied pace.
Fultz will continue to work at Cool Beans through June.
“Wendy’s done a great job, and I can learn a lot from her about all the ropes and input on my ideas,” Nelson said. “I’d really like to get more groups in to occupy the room where there is more seating available, give it a facelift, maybe change some hours and try to be open more evenings and explore opening on Sundays. We’ll also see how we can promote Cool Beans and Bellefonte in new ways.”
Nelson, who will keep the name Cool Beans and the menu, felt like she needed a shake-up.
“I was looking for a new adventure, and my husband and I saw it was for sale and it all kind of fell into place,” Nelson said. “So here we are today, closing on it. I’m ready for this. I’m really excited to put my touch on Cool Beans.”
Fultz will begin to train Nelson, who has been a regular customer since growing up in the area, to take over on April 25.
“I remember thinking my first day, ‘what did I do,’ ” Fultz said. “I remember feeling so isolated and so alone, and I don’t want her to ever feel that. Thankfully, our customers gave me a second chance after my first day. We won them over and we’re so thankful for that. Some people have said it won’t be the same, and I say they’re right, because Sherry will make it even better. I hope everyone embraces her and gives her a chance like they did for me.”
Fultz will also have something new to promote — a downtown Bellefonte boutique.
She will open Helen Foxx and Company, a women’s clothing boutique in an undecided location. Her partner in the new venture will be Joyce Mills, a three-year employee of Fultz’s. Mills previously owned an antique store in Pittsburgh.
The boutique will feature a mixture of classic styles and current trends to give the store a broad appeal. The business could also feature things like accessories, home goods and jewelry.
“We want everyone to feel and look good,” Mills said. “We as women like to feel good and look good, no matter our age or size. I think we want to particularly focus on customer service and take what we do here (to Helen Foxx and Company). When you come in you know we’re going to give you a personal experience where we get to know you. That is what will set us apart from the big box stores.”
“We want to make people feel loved and special and cherished,” Fultz added. “We want to make them feel treasured. Everyone should feel that way.”
The inspiration for Helen Foxx and Company, which could open this summer, was in part to conquer a new challenge and also to diversify Bellefonte’s business community.
“We have great restaurants and shops, and it’s important that we’re all great businesses,” Fultz said. “It’s also important that we’re all different to keep more people shopping in our little town and to bring more people here. We need a little more retail, and we’re going to offer that. We’re excited to add more dimension to Bellefonte.”


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Majestic Wine defies order cancellations in the wet summer to raise profits - and share price
Majestic wine warehouse: Average spend per customer? £126
Majestic Wine saw half-year profits rise a healthy 4 per cent despite the washout summer ruining a large number of outdoor events.
The wine merchant, which has 189 stores and generates around 10 per cent of retail business online, said the improvement to £9.2million for the six months to October 1 demonstrated the resilience of the business.
Sales through the store network grew by 4.7 per cent to £108.7million.
In the six weeks since then, like-for-like sales have risen by 1.2 per cent.
Majestic Wine shares rose 2.58p (0.5 per cent) to 467p.
Majestic said: 'During the summer sales were adversely affected by unseasonable weather that resulted in the cancellation of a large number of outdoor events.'
It saw an 11 per cent increase in the number of customers on its database who have made a purchase in the last 12 months and said average spend per transaction was up by £1 to £126.
The average bottle price of still wine purchased at Majestic is now £7.46, up from £7.13 a year earlier.
Chairman Phil Wrigley said: 'We recognise that the environment in which we operate is likely to remain challenging.
'We are most encouraged by the number of new customers attracted to Majestic and we are well prepared for the very important Christmas trading period.'
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Sunday, 25 Jun, 2017
An escalator at a Hong Kong shopping mall suddenly reversed, sending passengers tumbling. At least 18 people were injured in the incident, according to CCTV.
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In the 17th Century, poet John Donne implored us not to ask for whom the bell tolls. But nearly everyone who hasn't been living in a cave is wondering whether the iPhone's ringtone will toll for them.
Those who have been living in a cave, on the other hand, probably have pretty spotty cellular service anyway.
The iPhone is often described as a smart phone, one that integrates the functions of other devices. But its novel "multitouch" input method and finger-based method at the expense of a keyboard aren't the only things that set it apart from other such devices.
It adds an advanced operating system previously reserved for PCs, complete with rich animation effects, to the media consumption tasks often associated with thin (in profile but also in capabilities) feature phones. For example, RIM's BlackBerry 8800 includes a GPS receiver for navigating, but it lacks a camera. The iPhone has a relatively high-resolution two-megapixel camera, but no GPS receiver.
Unlike with other Apple products, buying into the iPhone entails a two-year commitment with AT&T.
The iPhone Impact
Looking at the iPhone's features compared to products that have similar features can help determine where it is likely to have the most impact. Apple is aiming the iPhone at three areas -- voice calling, digital media and Internet access.
The iPhone will be one of the slimmest smart phones on the market. In 2006, a wave of slim Windows Mobile devices were released from Motorola, Samsung and HTC, and the unit share of such smart phones in the first quarter of 2007 was more than double what it was in the same time period a year ago.
Unlike the iPhone, though, these products have been available for less than $150 or even less than $100 with a new contract -- a far cry from the iPhone's low-end $500. In fact, phones over $300 accounted for less than one-half percent of the handsets sold in the United States during the first quarter of 2007.
But for that price, one gets a mobile media experience that Apple describes as the best iPod it has ever created. Consumers are warming to such integrated devices. In the first quarter of this year, 38 percent of phones were music-enabled compared to just 15 percent in the first quarter of 2006.
At the same time, sales growth of stand-alone music players has slowed a bit. From January through May, mp3 players grew 15 percent over the same time period in 2006, a decrease from last year's 40 percent year-over-year growth. Still, for music players that use flash memory, like the iPhone, the average selling price was just $122.
Finally, the iPhone promises a great Web experience using the Safari browser long on the Mac (and now coming to Windows). There haven't been many devices that have used a large screen for Web surfing. One of the few has been the Nokia N800, a $399 device that is not a mobile phone, but can take advantage of high-speed wireless connections using Bluetooth.
Other mobile Web devices include the $349 Sony Mylo, which has a smaller screen, and Palm's Foleo, which takes more of a notebook form and will retail for $499. All three include Wi-Fi capability for higher speed access in wireless hot spots such as coffee shops and college campuses.
Then there are the intangibles. Few mp3 players come with a camera, and while the iPhones won't replace a DSLR (or even capture video), its photo management has strong visual appeal. The iPhone blends the old, the new and the unknown. Consumers will justify its premium if they believe that it is more than the sum of its parts.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis for consumer technology at The NPD Group.


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Sales of certified used vehicles rose at a double-digit clip in the first five months of the year, stoked by more off-lease vehicles re-entering the market, stepped-up marketing support and improved warranties.
Through May, industrywide U.S. certified used-vehicle sales rose 14 percent from the year-earlier period, the fastest rise in 10 years. Sales picked up to a 19 percent gain to 187,050 units in May and are on track to surpass the first-half record set last year.
Toyota Division remains the certified used-vehicle sales leader with a sales increase of 16 percent in May to 32,359 units and 13 percent for five months to 152,579.
Dave Depew, Toyota corporate manager of fleet, Toyota Rent A Car and certified used vehicles, says Toyota dealers have a "healthy amount" of off-lease vehicles -- the bread and butter of certified used-vehicle sales -- from which to choose.
In 2010, an aggressive 36-month lease program was one of the tools Toyota used to aid its recovery from negative publicity stemming from its massive recall to correct sudden acceleration. Now, Depew says, those vehicles are returning to the market in good numbers.
"The quality and quantity of vehicles available to our dealers for certification is the best it's been in quite a while," he says.
About 1,150 of Toyota's 1,230 dealerships participate in its certified used-vehicle program. Depew predicts that 2013 will be Toyota's best year for certified used-vehicle sales.
"We are tracking to exceed last year's number. Last year we were just under 331,000," he says.
Ricky Beggs, managing editor of Black Book, agrees that certified sales this year are buoyed by the increase in the number of off-lease vehicles returning to the market.
He says the number of off-lease vehicles returning to the market annually bottomed out in December 2012 and is climbing gradually.
"I've seen estimates anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 off-lease vehicles coming back into the marketplace this year over last year," Beggs says. "That's driving that increase as much as anything."


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When you ask Aphria CEO Vic Neufeld if he would hire people who have illegally worked with cannabis in the past, he’ll give you a blunt answer.
“So, it helps.”
Earlier this month, Neufeld announced the cannabis producer was raising $225 million for expansions, with $55 million set aside for “cannabis extraction.”
And with legalization of recreational marijuana consumption fast approaching, Aphria will be hiring more workers with product knowledge — regardless of how that knowledge is acquired.
Employing the most qualified workers
Neufeld has been waiting to finally hear the official date for legalization — now set for Oct. 17. Ahead of that, the Leamington, Ont. company has already increased its marketing efforts and signed a deal for “street execution of distribution.”
“We’ve done a lot of things in advance and prepping for what we now know is Oct.17,” Neufeld said.
The company currently employs more than 250 people and needs another “20 to 25” skilled workers who specialize in product innovation, oil extraction, research and development, marketing and sales. And for Aphria, one way to find the most qualified candidates is to hire those who have worked with cannabis in the past — illegally.


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YouTube is adding ways for content creators to make money from Shorts videos, a company post said Tuesday (Sept. 20).
Shorts are videos up to 60 seconds long. The YouTube Partner Program (YPP), introduced in 2007, works with creators to share revenue. In early 2023, Shorts-focused creators will be able to apply to YPP by meeting a threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. The partners will be able to access the benefits, such as ads and Fan Funding. In addition, YouTube will soon be offering some YPP benefits with lower audience requirements.
It comes as short-form video has exploded in popularity and has over 30 billion daily views on YouTube.
As ads run between videos in the Shorts Feed, YouTube plans to put revenues from the ads together and reward the creators, helping offset costs.
The creators will keep 45% of the revenue distributed based on their share of the total Shorts views, with the revenue sharing remaining the same if they use music or not.
Earlier this month, YouTube also debuted a new tool for education, which it says is a big reason why some users visit the site, PYMNTS wrote.
The update will offer more accessible learning tools for users and will come without ads or external links as other videos have.
YouTube has observed the ways people use its site for learning, which encompasses help on class assignments, practicing new languages and exploring different careers, with a study saying 93% of YouTube users have made use of the site to gain new knowledge.
In that spirit, the company is also working alongside EdTech companies like EDpuzzle, Purdue University and Purdue Global to offer educational experiences. And creators will be able to offer free or paid courses for more learning.


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At this week’s Lift Cannabis Business Conference in Toronto, industry professionals gathered to discuss the current state and future of Canada’s cannabis industry.
The event came on the heels of significant news last month with British Columbia joining the list of provinces allowing consumers to order cannabis products through their delivery app. This expansion is the latest development in the distribution of recreational cannabis in Canada, which has been navigating several complex hurdles and barriers since legalization just under five years ago.
Despite this, the industry has worked hard to enhance its competitiveness. As highlighted in EY Canada’s ‘state of the industry’ report, the Canadian cannabis market has continued to grow at a double-digit rate since legalization — rising from a market size of $1.2 billion in 2019 to $4.7 billion in 2022 — with more than 3,000 retail locations in the country.
As the first G20 country to legalize cannabis for adult use and create a national marketplace, Canada stands to set a regulatory blueprint for the rest of the world. But first, there are kinks to be ironed out. Being a new industry, there are many challenges hampering progress before we can fully cultivate the industry’s potential and act as the north star for others to follow.
In an EY Global Cannabis survey of CEOs, executives identified excessive competition (76%), ongoing pricing pressure (73%), and scarcity of capital (42%) as their primary concerns. Others pointed to oversupply and inventory buildup, inefficiencies in the supply chain and excessive government taxes and markups making it difficult to compete with the unregulated and untaxed illicit market. This leaves many cannabis companies unable to reach profitability, with 58% of public cannabis companies surveyed failing to meet board expectations in 2022.
Going forward will require operators to pivot their strategies and realign their goals to see greener pastures ahead, while regulators take the necessary steps needed to strengthen the sustainability of the industry and further reduce the illicit market.
Challenges facing operators and retailers
With more than half of cannabis companies requiring funding in the next 6-12 months, industry leaders need to make strategic decisions today to avoid exiting the industry or becoming insolvent down the line.
Operators need to laser focus on executing efficiently with resolve, grit and a value-oriented mindset — along with a heavy emphasis placed on flawless operational execution and financial management. They must streamline operations overall and learn to operate with limited capital availability, especially given that 50% of global executives in the survey shared that they plan to maintain or reduce overall capital investment.
This will require a strategy based on an understanding of the operator’s financial foundation and the wants or needs of their consumer base. Focusing on clear fields of play where their capabilities can deliver an advantage, will result in a distinct consumer-centric value proposition.
Many of the same challenges exist for cannabis retailers. Notably, numerous retail chains have overextended their location footprint and need to optimize the profitability of those storefronts, based on location and consumer demand.
And there is reason for hope, with 76% of global cannabis executives claiming to have a well-defined business strategy for 2023. But even with a strategic approach in place, operators and retailers will continue to face challenges.
The role of the cannabis regulator
Regulators have a critical role to play in realizing Canada’s ambitions for the cannabis industry.
One regulatory area that has provided relief and helped to address the third objective of the Cannabis Act — i.e., keep profits out of the pockets of criminals — is reducing price margins. The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) recently did this, which they estimate will put $35 million back into the hands of licensed operators in 2023, and a further $60 million in 2024.
Operators have also called for the need to revisit promotional prohibition and packaging restrictions. They have also called for a single national excise stamp to replace the current requirement for a different stamp in each of Canada’s thirteen provinces and territories, which significantly increases packaging costs. This would be contingent on harmonizing existing federal and provincial excise duty rates into a single uniform national rate.
Ultimately, if operators and retailers reapproach 2023-2024 with an operational excellence mindset and regulatory changes are implemented to improve the industry’s ability to further reduce the competitiveness of the illicit market, we’ll see a new-found sense of confidence in the future of Canada’s cannabis industry — further strengthening our position as a global leader.


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A video of a seemingly functional AirPower prototype has been shared on Twitter by Apple device collector Giulio Zompetti, in what appears to be a first-of-its-kind hit on the elusive charger in use.
The video shows a unique iOS animation on the screen when the iPhone is placed on the irAirPower charging mat, which has only previously been seen in Apple’s early marketing material, making it the first time this animation has been seen in nature. An iPhone on the AirPower charger would have shown the charge for all the devices placed on the pad.
IrAirPower was an Apple-designed charging mat designed to charge Qi-based iPhones, Apple Watch and AirPods that Apple announced in September 201
IrAirPower missed the launch date 2018, and after a large number of development issues, the Apple AirPower project canceled in March 2019.
Pictures are supposed to depict AirPower appeared on social networks in August 2020, showing a multi-coil design and the device’s internal circuit, but this is the first video image of a rare and seemingly functional prototype that probably leaked from Apple’s development supply chain.
According to reliable Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, Apple is still looking at AirPower-like charging solutions for the future.
Zompetti is an avid collector of Apple prototype devices and has previously shared photos of an Apple Watch Series 3 prototype with extra connectors, an original iPad with two 30-pin ports, an iPhone 12 Pro prototype, a third-generation iPod touch with back cover camera and rare original Apple Watch prototypes.


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On his maiden visit to India after taking over as Chief executive officer (CEO) of Microsoft Corp, Satya Nadella announced that the company would set up local data centres in the country. Microsoft will offer cloud services from its Azure and Office 365 stacks to local business and government clients. The move is expected to give Microsoft a leg-up over competitors Google and Amazon.com, which offer similar cloud and office productivity suites to businesses.
Data centers in India will enable access to customers in banking and financial services, as well as the central and state governments, which are restrained by regulations that require data to be hosted within the country. New initiatives of the government such as Digital India, smart cities and the financial inclusion scheme-Jan Dhan Yojana, offer significant opportunity for hosting data and cloud services. Microsoft’s centres in three cities will be operational by the end of 2015.
“There can’t be a mobile first world without a cloud first world,” Nadella said at a press conference here.
The Hyderabad-born 47-year-old Nadella, who took over as the third CEO of Microsoft earlier this year, added that the company’s cloud business in India grew over 100 per cent.
Having local data centres is part of a global strategy, which is being “started from India.” Nadella said India already had 250 million smartphones and the number was only going to grow. And the cloud is necessary to connect all the touchpoints and rivitalise “productivity”.


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Tencent technology news on August 23, when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of the company in August 2011, many people thought that the era of Apple innovation under his leadership might be over. However, few people were surprised by his choice of successor.
Tim Cook, who has long served as Apple’s chief operating officer and the helm of Apple’s global supply chain, has been preparing for the thankless task of replacing jobs for many years. Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 8 years ago and asked for leave many times. Cook took over his work during this period.
Figure 1: Apple CEO Tim Cook
Mike Slade, a former strategic adviser to jobs, recalled: “jobs told me that he absolutely trusted cook. I thought, ‘this is good enough for me’. This is probably the highest praise jobs can give you. ”
Tuesday is the 10th anniversary of Cook’s appointment as Apple CEO. During his decade of leadership, doubts about Apple’s ability to produce the next popular product have never completely disappeared, but few people question cook’s success.
Apple’s annual revenue was about $108 billion a decade ago and is expected to reach about $370 billion this year. A few days before jobs left office, apple briefly overtook ExxonMobil as the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $343 billion. Apple’s share price hit an all-time high last week, with a market capitalization of more than $2.4 trillion and an average annual return of 22% for shareholders.
Ben wood, an analyst at CCS insight, said: “if you go back to cook and start his role as CEO, everyone says, ‘it’s over. This guy from the supply chain doesn’t have the charm of jobs’. This is considered a safe but rather conservative bet. But if you look at Cook’s performance during his tenure, you will find it shocking. ”
Wood also said that cook effectively launched a new popular product, which at least alleviated the concerns of some investors. Meanwhile, cook vigorously promoted Apple’s digital services businesses, such as app store, Apple Music and icloud, which turned iPhone users into monthly consumers. “He made the iPhone franchise the most profitable consumer electronics product in history”.
Apple smart watch and wireless headset airpods are the two most successful new products in the cook era. They are “larger than almost all similar electronic products on the market”.
But with cook’s second decade in charge of the world’s largest company approaching, rumors about his eventual departure have become louder. Earlier this year, when asked whether he would stick to it for another ten years, cook responded: “I feel good now and don’t want to retire. But another 10 years is a long time, and it may not be that long. ”
Cook turned 60 last year and will receive the last of the 10-year stock incentive plan this month. Last September, Apple announced a new plan to put cook at the helm until 2025, although his 23 year career in the company and being one of the highest paid CEOs in the United States have made him a billionaire.
Looking for heir to the throne
Over the years, cook’s most obvious successor has always been regarded as Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, who has been in Cook’s previous role since 2014. Although not a household name, Williams has been responsible for the company’s new product development and sales since 2019.
Williams has become a regular guest of Apple’s keynote speech activities. Face to face exchanges with millions of audiences around the world need to be carefully planned. He released a new Apple smart watch and the company’s health measures, which are regarded as an increasingly important part of Apple’s business in the future.
Figure 2: Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer
Like its strictly confidential product plan, Apple has given no indication of who will become cook’s successor, although the company’s corporate guidelines stipulate that the board of directors must “conduct an annual review of the management development and succession plan of senior management, including the CEO”. However, whether to choose to retire mainly depends on cook. He may feel that some things have not been completed.
In addition to his economic success, cook also played the role of diplomat and activist. Many people who have dealt with him pointed out that cook’s decision to disclose his homosexuality in 2014 was a critical moment. He was the first CEO of a fortune 500 company to do so. In addition, unlike many other executives, cook openly contacted former president Donald Trump to seek to limit the former president’s power or exempt apple from some tariffs.
Cook also positioned the company as a defender of freedom, especially privacy, called for regulation and attacked competitors whose businesses rely on data collection. These years of reputation building means that cook may lead apple through the current regulatory storm. Regulators and competitors targeted Apple’s lucrative app store business, which is one of Cook’s golden geese to enter digital services. They criticized apple for charging excessive commissions to application developers.
Conceive iPhone successor
A silicon valley executive said that cook may still want to get rid of the only regret left after ten years in power, that is, he did not lead apple to produce anything comparable to the iPhone. The two most likely candidates are augmented reality (AR) helmets and electric vehicles. The early version of the former is expected to be released as soon as next year, but the development direction of the latter has changed many times.
Recently, Apple has been negotiating with manufacturing partners on a car that may be launched in 2025. An apple investor said that with Disney’s $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox ending Bob Iger’s rule, the acquisition of this stroke era may become an example for apple.
The core figures in Apple’s current executives are still the core of the jobs era. They have worked in the company for decades. Among them, eddy cue, head of service business, and Greg joswiak, head of marketing, are 56 years old and have worked for Apple since 1989 and 1986, respectively. Williams, 58, joined in 1998. Deirdre O’Brien, retail director, has worked there for 30 years. Craig federighi, software director, first joined jobs in 1997 when Apple re hired him after acquiring Jobs’s computer company next.
These lifelong employees have made great returns at Apple, in part because outsiders often find it difficult to adapt to the company culture. John browett, the former Dixons boss hired to run Apple’s retail business, was fired by cook in 2012 after only six months. Angela ahrendts, former chief executive of Burberry, was hired to replace brauert for five years and left after an expensive but unpopular renovation of the company’s stores in the capital AUP. Her departure was surprising because she had been seen as a potential successor to cook.
The core that jobs built has begun to split. In 2019, sir Jony ive, Apple’s long-term design director, left the company after 27 years. Last year, Phil Schiller, a close friend of jobs, resigned from his full-time position. He was responsible for Apple’s app store and marketing.
Perhaps realizing that succession will not be just about cook, the company has begun to introduce a new generation of executives at the recent virtual product launch. In the ten years since cook took office, his resignation does not seem imminent, but consistent with his meticulous management of the company, it is undoubtedly necessary to formulate a succession plan in advance.
A long-time business acquaintance said Apple might seek to return and let a product genius run the company instead of someone like cook. “Apple did the right thing because they didn’t try to replace jobs, but maybe they need another visionary,” the person said However, the fact that it may be more difficult to succeed cook than jobs may prove his great success, but it will not make things easier（ Tencent Technology (reviser / Jinlu)


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The Writers Guild of America is on strike, and we’re turning out to support workers on the picket lines. Westside Branch will be joining workers on the picket lines at Amazon Studios in Culver City. Wear red if you can, and look for the DSA banner. We’ll be bringing empanadas and coffee.
Can’t make it to the picket line but want to support the strike? Donate to the snacklist: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/the-snacklist-support-striking-workers


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Earlier today, we published a list containing almost all the Samsung Galaxy smartphones receiving Android 11-based One U.I 3.0. The list topped with the Galaxy S20 series that was due to receive the update in December. Well, it seems like this is happening as the update has started to roll out.
Verizon Users Can Now Upgrade Their Galaxy S20 to Android 11
A few minutes ago, reports started to appear worldwide that the Verizon variant of the Galaxy S20 is receiving the One U.I 3.0 update, which is, of course, Android 11. However, the update brought the October 2020 security patch, which made us think that it might be a glitch and the update will soon rollback, but soon after that, more and more reports started coming out about the same update. It is still unclear if this was done by mistake at the time of writing, but if you own a Verizon-based Galaxy S20, you can go ahead and download the Android 11 on your phone.
Twitter user Khidaking4 shared a screenshot of the notification showing that the update is ready to install, so it certainly is happening. There are a lot of similar reports all over Reddit as well.
They did. pic.twitter.com/zewn41e2uV
— Khidaking4 (@khi_daking4) December 2, 2020
Whether or not Verizon decides to rollback on this update is still unclear, but those who have received it can start enjoying it right away.
For those wondering, One U.I 3.0 brings several changes to the Android version of Samsung. Including a streamlined notification shade and an overall different look of first-party apps, and new features such as a double-tap to turn off the screen, and additional camera filters, along with more changes to the Single Take feature.
Needless to say, if you have received the One U.I 3.0 updated on your Galaxy S20 device, you can start enjoying all these features right away, and let us know how your experience has been so far.


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Apple has used its “Shot on iPhone” ad campaign for a variety of uses, but keeping the focus on the spectacular images and videos iPhone owners can capture.
In 2011, I switched over to the beautiful world of OS X after being frustrated with just how unstable Windows was. Things have been rosy for me inside Apple’s walled garden over the years, and I was happy paying the ‘Apple tax’ for its hardware since it worked flawlessly and without any issues.
Financial Times reports that Japanese company SoftBank will be acquiring ARM Holdings for $32 billion deal. The all-cash deal is expected to be announced on Monday. SoftBank is an internet and telecommunications conglomerate in Japan that is best known for investing money in startups in China and India.
Amidst a military coup, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave an interview to the press via FaceTime. With the Turkish military declaring martial law and censoring media networks, Erdogan appeared on CNN Turkey using FaceTime as a reporter held her phone towards the camera.
Despite a onslaught of more powerful and bigger Android phones six months after its release, the iPhone has always stood tall and remained more than a formidable competitor to them. This time around, things have been different. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus offered relatively modest improvements over their predecessors, and six months later, Samsung managed to hit a home run with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.
It hasn’t even been available for two weeks yet, and Pokémon GO is already the most popular mobile game in U.S. history. The title now has over 21 million active daily users, which breaks the previous record of 20 million set by Candy Crush Saga in 2013.
The Supreme Court will be hearing Samsung’s appeal in the never ending legal battle between the Korean company and Apple for a $548 million patent dispute settlement, which the former has been ordered to pay. As per the October 2016 term of the court, the hearing will take place on October 11, 2016.
Apple has posted an open casting call for its first original TV show Planet of the Apps. As previously revealed, the show is about the app economy, apps, and the developers behind these apps. The show will feature will.i.am, Ben Silverman, and Howard Owens as their executive producers.


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Bajaj Auto on Friday reported a decline in motorcycle sales by 5.52 per cent to 2,46,233 units in December 2014.
The two- and three-wheeler manufacturer had sold 2,60,645motorcycle units in the corresponding period for 2013, Bajaj Auto said in a statement.
The company said exports were up 10.20 per cent during the reporting month at 1,66,134 units as compared to 1,50,753 units in December 2013.
In the commercial vehicles category, Bajaj Auto‘s sales stood at 43,011 units, 15.83 per cent higher as against 37,131 units in the year-ago period.
The total vehicle sales of the company during December stood at 2,89,244 units, down 2.86 per cent, as against 2,97,776 units in the same month a year-ago, the statement added.


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The widespread use of Emails (electronic mail) and SMS (short message service) has given opportunity to cyber criminals to defraud unsuspecting users with various techniques of Email and SMS phishing and spoofing.
In September 2013, the CryptoLocker, a form of Malware was discovered. CryptoLocker encrypts the files on users hard drive then prompts them to pay a ransom in order to receive the decryption key. This "ransomware" infects computers through programs and zip files attached to credible-looking emails, taking files and images hostage. Hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals were affected and victims had 72 hours to pay up or face the keys that would unlock their files being destroyed.


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Colorado’s Mary’s Medicinals has announced a licensing agreement with a Glenwood Springs, CO medical-marijuana dispensary for exclusive access to a high-CBD strain known as Mary’s Healing Heart.
Market Analysis: After substantial increases last month, the US and Kind indices were both down in September. The Kind Index experienced the biggest drop, falling $42 from its previous month’s average to hit a year-low price of $372 an ounce. Blue Dream is on the ri...
Our edibles expert reviews entries from the 2014 Washington U.S. Cannabis Cup.
Hyapatia Lee answers all of your questions regarding cannabis and sexuality.


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Posted by Salon on November 23, 2018 05:06:48 Hair Forever is a website that allows you to upload your own photos, and post them to Instagram with the hashtag “#hairforever.”
The company makes money by charging customers for “hair tutorials” and “hair color extensions,” and by allowing them to post photos and comments to the site, which are then published on its Facebook page.
The company also charges people to use the service, which has about 15,000 followers.
Salon wrote that the site allows people to upload their own photos and comment to it, but the photos are deleted after 30 days, and the comments are not.
The site also allows users to create hashtags for their photos and posts, and it allows users who are using the service to link their Instagram photos to the company.
Hair Forever’s owners claim that the platform is not a “hacking” tool and that their service has been used by celebrities like Rihanna, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kelly Osbourne.
The blog post that Salon published on November 20 states that “Hair Forever has been around for a long time and has been one of the first sites to enable people to post and comment on their own selfies.”
The blog also claims that it’s not a hacking site, because it has “an active moderation system that allows users not to delete posts and comments that are deemed abusive or spam.”
Salon’s post is being shared on Facebook and other social media platforms.
A spokesperson for Hair Forever told Salon that the company does not condone or encourage the use of hacks to access and/or upload photos, as the site does not have access to private user information.
The spokesperson also said that Hair Forever has never asked celebrities to use Hair Forever, and that Hair is a site that provides an easy way to share and comment.
Salon also told Salon, in an email, that the blog post is false and that the owners are not affiliated with Hair Forever.
A representative for the company also told the website that Hair has never requested celebrity permission to share their photos or comments, and “hits like this do not represent the views of Hair Forever.”
“The hair salon has been an integral part of my life for almost 40 years,” Kelly Osbourn, Rihanna’s mother, wrote in a statement to Salon.
“The world will be forever changed by the beauty industry.
The hair salon is one of my favorite places to work.
The whole salon experience was a gift and I look forward to continuing to work with Hair forever.”
Hair Forever did not immediately respond to Salon’s request for comment.


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SLO County’s proposed bag ban moving forward
July 18, 2011
Single-use paper and plastic bags could be banned at San Luis Obispo County’s larger grocery stores as early as Jan. 1, 2013, under an ordinance proposed by the county’s Integrated Waste Management Authority.
At an authority meeting last week, board members agreed the proposed ordinance would outlaw single-use plastic and paper bags at large grocery stores beginning in Jan. 2013, and then over a year long period, phase in all county businesses including dry cleaners. An exemption would be made for pharmaceuticals.
The board plans to continue refining the ordinance with a draft to go before the board on Sept. 14.
The proposal also requires that county retail stores sell reusable bags.
Proponents of the ordinance say plastic bags are an environmental hazard — ending up in waterways, poisoning marine life and polluting landfills.
The Atascadero City Council came to a consensus that it is against the proposed ordinance because some people may not be able to afford the reusable bags. In addition, councilman Jerry Clay noted plastic bags come in handy at dog parks.
Dozens of U.S. cities and counties now outlaw the use of plastic bags with some also restricting the use of paper bags. In addition, several retailers, such as Whole Foods, voluntarily stopped the use of plastic bags at all of their stores.
On Thursday, the California Supreme Court upheld the right of cities to ban plastic bags in a unanimous decision called a victory by environmentalists. The court ruled that local governments can ban plastic bags without conducting a full-scale environmental review.
Even so, a lawyer for plastic bag makers said the manufacturers would continue to sue municipalities that impose bans without environmental impact reports, the Los Angeles Times said.


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According to a survey conducted by Retrevo, a third of the iPhone 4 owners believe that their phone supports 4G wireless technology.
When asked if they are planinng on buying a 4G phone this year, 34% of the iPhone users replied that their phone is already 4G capable. Also notable is that 24% of Blackberry users also replied that they have are already using a 4G phone. This is despite the fact that neither Apple nor RIM has released any device that supports 4G.
The iPhone 3G had “3G” in the name because it supported 3G. That might have led to the iPhone users believing that the “4” in iPhone 4 means 4G. But for 34% of them to have this mistaken belief just goes on to show how technology ignorant are the common people are.
I have no explanation about why the Blackberry owners might think that they their phone is 4G capable.
In the same question, 29% of Android users also replied that they already own a 4G phone. There are already 4G Android phones out there in the market, but still I think that 29% of them cannot be using 4G already.
When asked if they will buy the new iPhone if it does not have 4G, 40% of the current iPhone uses replied that they will buy it while 21% replied that they will consider buying it. This should be good news for Apple as the iPhone 5 which is expected in October is rumored to not have 4G.
When asked the same question, only 8% of Android users said they will buy the new iPhone even if it does not have 4G while 18% said they will consider it. RIM, though, is in trouble as 23% said that they will buy the new iPhone, with another 18% saying that they will consider it.


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The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake gets a gold star for its customer service.
Staff improved their overall service rating by 34 percentage points between 2021 and 2023, says chief administrator Marnie Cluckie.
That’s an overall service satisfaction rating of 86 per cent, up from 52 per cent almost three years ago.
Coun. Erwin Wiens said the improvement was huge given the number of calls staff get that have nothing to do with town business.
He also noted good people skills are especially important because of how often staff receive calls from upset residents.
Lauren Kruitbosch, the manager of customer service, presented the results of a survey to council Oct. 24, which showed marked improvement in the town’s customer service department since it first surveyed the town in 2021.
The survey was filled out by 267 people, more than twice the number who responded to the first survey in 2021.
Surveyed residents are 17 per cent more likely than they were in 2021 to describe staff friendliness as “good” or “excellent.”
Kruitbosch said they received one comment in this year’s survey saying, “Your team is so friendly and helpful.”
That is what the department is striving for, she said.
The town has provided customer service training across departments in an effort to improve the public’s interactions with town staff, she added.
Another improvement spearheaded by the customer service department was the town’s updated website, which went live summer 2022.
Kruitbosch said it was clear from survey results in 2021 that the town needed a new website.
The town is also receiving many more after-hours phone calls and might need to increase customer service hours to meet the need, she said.
“Our aim is to create a community that is known for exceptional customer experience.”


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The Port of Los Angeles processed 961,833 TEUs in August (2020), a 12 per cent increase on the corresponding period last year.
Imports drove the volume growth, increasing 18 per cent to 516,286 TEUs compared to August 2019. Loaded exports decreased 10.2 per cent year-on-year to 131,429 TEUs. Empty containers increased 13.3 per cent to 314,118 TEUs.
There was one cancelled sailing in August, with none scheduled for September.
Year to date, the port’s overall cargo volume has decreased 11.7 per cent compared to the same point of 2019.
“In May we saw our lowest container volumes in more than a decade,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
“Since then, there has been a significant replenishment of warehouse inventories. Coupled with retailers planning for consumer holiday spending, it has created a surge of imports.”
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Filtered by Category: Country Information
Posted By Ivan Shen
China celebrates National Day on October 1 to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. National Day also marks the beginning of the week-long holiday known as Golden Week (黄金周, huang jin zhou) from October 1 to October 7.
Posted By Jackie Charney
Like many aspects of global mobility, we are now seeing an increase in activity across all areas, including the need for temporary living and long-term rental solutions. Here we discuss the current challenges, what Cartus is doing to overcome them, and key recommendations that organizations can…
Posted By Tom Lacey
At the start of the pandemic, household goods services across the U.S. either slowed down or stopped completely. As demand continued to build during 2020 and the start of this year, the lack of capacity has only become worse with time, now significantly impacting some organizations’ U.S. mobility…
Posted By Paul Franco
After a year of delays due to the pandemic, Tokyo is set to host the 2020 Olympic Games from July 23 to August 8, with the Paralympics following from August 24 to September 4.


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VERNON, Calif. -- Smart & Final here is preparing to expand into Florida next year with its grocery-warehouse style format.
As the first step in that expansion plan, Smart & Final said last week it had agreed to acquire a 90% interest in Henry Lee Co., one of the largest independent food-service distributors in Florida, for $18 million in cash and notes.
The acquisition would pave the way for the 1995 opening of six Smart & Final warehouse stores in Florida, an official of the California company told SN last week. The company plans at least 34 additional Smart & Final units in Florida, depending on the results of the initial rollout, the official said.
Smart & Final's hybrid format features a large food-service-style offering and grocery items in large-sized packs. It does not charge a membership fee to shoppers.
Roger M. Laverty 3rd, president
and chief executive officer of the 145-unit Smart & Final operation, said the acquisition of Henry Lee Co. should lead to "the potential for an aggressive expansion throughout Florida.
"Henry Lee's 230,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in northwest Miami will provide Smart & Final with the initial distribution infrastructure to serve as many as 40 Smart & Final stores in Florida," he said.
With the addition of Lee's $150 million sales, Smart & Final said its annual volume will exceed $1 billion.
The Smart & Final format features fewer stockkeeping units (about 11,000 SKUs) than a conventional supermarket and emphasizes items that appeal to small independent food-service operators as well as the general public. Its deli and frozens departments offer large institutional sizes and quantities.
Laverty said Smart & Final, which operates in California, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico, has been contemplating for some time its expansion into new markets.
"The Florida market has shown great potential for this unique warehouse food concept due to its overall growth, significant Hispanic presence and the strong concentration of small independent restaurants and businesses, which are the company's most significant customer base," he said.
Henry Lee Co. distributes 10,000 food-service products to 2,500 customers in Florida, Central and South America and the Caribbean, but carries virtually no private label items.
Edward Sternlieb, Henry Lee's chairman, president and chief executive officer, will retain a minority interest in the company and will continue to manage it, Smart & Final said.
Securities analysts who follow Smart & Final welcomed the expansion news.
"It was the right opportunity at the right time," said Rick Church, an analyst at Smith Barney, New York. "Smart & Final jumped on it because it enables them to leverage off an established business to help subsidize the expansion."
Church said Smart & Final had been talking about a major entry into a new market -- such as Dallas, where the company owns land, or Florida -- for some time. "It chose Florida first because the Henry Lee acquisition was an opportunity that raised its head," he said.
Church said he expects Smart & Final to open its first group of Florida stores in Broward and Dade counties in southeast Florida, eventually moving into the Palm Beach area.
Jonathan Ziegler, an analyst with Salomon Bros., New York, said Smart & Final already has experience running a food-service business in Port Stockton, Calif. "The company has opened warehouse stores around that facility, so it's already doing the same thing in an existing market that it plans to do in Florida, where it's already located store sites," Ziegler said.
Monroe Greenstein, an analyst with Lazard Freres, New York, said the initial group of six stores Smart & Final will open in Florida should allow it to establish the Smart & Final concept among consumers and businesses in that area.


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According to Pro Publica, Walmart accepted shipments from factories in Bangladesh unsafe for workers despite explicit promises not to. This violation of Walmart’s own stated policy comes shortly after the world’s attention fell on Bangladesh’s troubled manufacturing sector with the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people.
The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, last month released a list of more than 200 factories it said it had barred from producing its merchandise because of serious or repeated safety problems, labor violations or unauthorized subcontracting.But at least two of the factories on the list have continued to send massive shipments of sports bras and girls’ dresses to Walmart stores in recent months, according to interviews and U.S. customs records.
In June 2011, Walmart said, it banned the Bangladeshi garment factory Mars Apparels from producing goods for the retail giant. But over the last year, Mars has repeatedly shipped tons of sports bras to Walmart, according to U.S. customs records and Mars owners. The most recent shipment was in late May, almost two years after Walmart claims it stopped doing business with the Bangladeshi firm…
Walmart spokesman Kevin Gardner said the Mars shipments were allowed because of confusion over whether Walmart’s standards applied. Mars didn’t produce garments with a Walmart house brand but instead with a Fruit of the Loom label. So, Gardner said, it wasn’t clear if Mars needed to meet Walmart’s standards or Fruit of the Loom’s.
When in doubt, take the merchandise?


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After reading a 2010 Princeton study, which attempted to answer the eternal question Can money buy happiness?, Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price concluded that the answer is might be yes. The study, which is based on massive survey data from Gallup, concludes that people with higher incomes reported happier moods and less stress. However, once someone hits the $75,000 earnings mark, more money did not improve their mood or disposition.
Based on this study, Price decided that all of the 120 employees at Gravity Payments, a Seattle-based credit card processing company, would earn at least $70,000 a year; quite an increase considering the current average wage at the company is $48,000 in annual pay. Some 70 employees will be affected by the company's new "minimum wage," and 30 of those will have their salary doubled. The changes will be phased in over the next three years.
The wage increases have been both lauded as a smart business move that will increase the company's competitiveness and success, and also criticized as an unsustainable business model that would make employees lose the incentive to work for promotions and salary raises. Price has made it clear however, that he believes the gap between his own pay and that of his workers is untenable. Price, who currently makes an annual salary of $1 million, will slash his personal annual pay down to $70,000 in order to help pay for the pay increases. The 29-year-old CEO claims that the disparity between CEO and worker pay is "ridiculous" and "absurd," and he openly criticizes the practice of determining executive pay by bringing in consultants who recommend compensation after focusing only on the highest paid segments of chief executives.
Most Americans are not even truly aware of the immense inequality between executive and worker pay. When surveyed, people approximated that the difference between CEO and employee pay is about 30:1. But they have drastically underestimated the figures; in actuality, CEOs make more than 350 times the average worker (The Washington Post, 9/25/14). And while worker pay has shown only minimal growth since the recession, pay for chief executives has continued in an upward trend. From 1978 to 2013, CEO compensation (when adjusted for inflation) increased 937%, while typical worker compensation grew only 10.2% during the same period (Economic Policy Institute, 6/12/14).
The vast inequality between executives and workers has emerged as a major policy issue, and there is a growing movement to curb the runaway train that seems to have become CEO salaries. In 2010, the Dodd-Frank law ordered public companies to reveal chief executive-to-worker pay ratios, but the numbers for these organizations has still not been disclosed. Three states have proposed legislation that would seek to limit CEO compensation; in California, for example, a state senator proposed a bill that would tie a firm's corporate tax rate to its executive-worker pay gap – in other words, the wider the gap, the higher the rate. Massachusetts introduced a bill that would prevent companies from claiming tax deductions for CEO bonuses over $1 million if employees are not given raises that keep up with cost of living. Although neither proposal has gained enough momentum to be turned into law, CEO compensation has increasingly come under heavy scrutiny and criticism. Hillary Clinton, who announced her bid for the Democratic nomination last week, has already attacked exorbitant CEO pay.
Economists assert that an enormous CEO-worker pay gap does not do those companies or the economy any good. Huge imbalances between executives and lower-level workers weaken loyalty and reduce productivity. Enormous wealth that is concentrated with a small percentage of the population curtails spending of the lower- and middle- classes, the consumers who ultimately drive the U.S. economy and make up the majority of GDP. Despite growth in the job market, consumption has fallen due in large part to the fact that many workers are not making enough to have disposable income to spend on consumer goods.
Although other CEOs have taken pay cuts in order to boost earnings for employees, Price and these types of chief executives are the exception, not the norm, and it may take intervention to minimize the widening income gap.
Readers, do you think that the gap between CEO and worker pay has become too vast? Will Gravity Payment's decision help or hurt the company? Comment and let us know!


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5 million foreign visitors arrived in Georgia during eight months of 2017, which is 18.9% more than in 2016. During this period, one million visitors arrived in August.
According to the report published by the National Bank, tourists spent $ 391 million in August, which is 31% more than the same period of previous year. In January and August, the expense of foreign tourists amounts $ 1.86 billion.
The rating of visitor countries are as follows:
- Azerbaijan – 1.14 million visitors, increase by 10%
- Armenia – 1.1 million visitors, increase by 16%
- Russia – 955 thousand visitors, increase by the previous year 34%
- Turkey – 813 thousand visitors, decrease by the previous year 6%
- Iran – 220 thousand visitors, increase by the previous year 141%
- Ukraine – 135 thousand visitors, increase by 15%
- Israel – 84 thousand visitors, increase by 39%
- Saudi Arabia – 46 thousand visitors, increase with previous year 196%
- Kazakhstan – 42 thousand visitors, increase with previous year 16.7%
- Poland – 37 thousand visitors, increase by 20%
According to the National Tourism Administration, by the end of 2016, 1.7 thousand hotels are registered, and the number of beds in these hotels is 57 thousand.
According to regions, Tbilisi is leading, it has 14.8 thousand beds, as for Ajara hotels – 1.6 thousand.


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According to the 2019 Cost of Data Breach Report from Ponemon Institute and IBM Security, the latest statistics available on data breaches show the global average cost of a data breach has increased by 12% in the past five years. While the average cost of a data breach will vary across industries and countries, the general global pattern shows an overall increase in cost. This emphasizes the importance of using sophisticated tools such as managed antivirus (AV) software and vulnerability scanning software to proactively identify threats.
This article will consider figures from a range of sources to demonstrate the potential high cost of a breach and the pressing need for businesses to take measures to improve their overall security posture. Especially for managed services providers (MSPs) tasked with helping keep customers out of harm’s way, a strong effort should be made to avoid data breaches—or face potentially devastating costs. Data protection, data security, and data breach prevention should be a key part of every company’s information security policy, because the impact of a data breach can be severe, long-term, and potentially irreparable.
Types of costs associated with data breaches
In 2019, the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) conducted a study called the “Economic Costs and Impacts of Business Data Breaches.” It’s a common misconception that the main cost of a data breach is caused by the immediate monetary impact on sales revenue. This IACIS study attempted to rectify this misconception by addressing the wider financial burden threatening targeted organizations. To do so, it identified three types of costs associated with a data breach:
- Direct costs
- Indirect costs
- Hidden costs
Rather than simply wreaking havoc via direct costs, it’s the total sum of these costs that can lead to such significant financial disaster in the event of a data breach.
Direct costs relate to the data breach detection and notification processes. These direct costs are likely to include the immediate impact on sales revenue, typically resulting in a reduction of income. This, in turn, inevitably affects overall business productivity and operational activities. Another direct cost is the probable drop in share prices. If legal services are required to manage the litigation fallout, companies may also have to pay large sums of money for legal services. Costs are also likely to rise if investigative consultancy firms are required to identify the cause of the breach.
The final direct cost relates to the implementation of a post-breach response. This might involve establishing an emergency call center for impacted customers. A company may also need to spend money on public relations activities, which might include settlement costs and financial reimbursements to affected parties.
Indirect costs are generally attributed to a loss of customer trust, missed business opportunities, and damaged reputation. Profits are likely to decline as customers lose faith in a business and turn to competitors. Another indirect cost is the decreased likelihood of investors purchasing company stock, which will lead to restricted growth and a reduced market share. Companies may even find that talented employees choose to leave their organization as their reputation declines.
Third-party costs account for a major indirect loss and are likely to include increases in business insurance after a costly breach. Cloud service providers may also raise their prices to bolster cybersecurity in the event of a breach, which will also contribute to indirect costs.
The hidden costs of a data breach are very difficult to measure, but their impact can be severe. Some businesses may even feel the hidden costs of a data breach years after the event. For example, hidden costs can include lost business hours as employees divert their efforts to respond to the breach, rather than dedicating their time to revenue opportunities.
Moreover, future investments in technology will likely increase as the breach impacts the targeted company’s technology strategy. Companies that have experienced a breach are likely to spend more on security technology moving forward, which might be considered a hidden cost.
The average cost of a data breach: key findings
The 2019 Cost of Data Breach Report from Ponemon Institute and IBM Security is widely regarded as a reliable source of statistics on data breaches, and will serve as a key resource in this article.
A key finding of the report was that lost business, caused primarily by affected customer trust, was the biggest contributor to data breach costs. The average cost of lost business was $1.42 million, causing a 3.9% rate of churn amidst customers. In the best-case scenarios, data breaches caused less than 1% customer churn, with an average cost of $2.8 million. In the worst-case scenarios, customer churn could be more than 4%, with an average cost of $5.7 million. This is 45% higher than the average total data breach cost.
The report also found that one-third of data breach costs occur more than a year after the initial incident, according to 86 organizations surveyed across multiple years—67% of breach costs came in the first year, while 22% came in the second year, and 11% came more than two years after the initial breach.
Companies in highly regulated industries like healthcare experienced the worst long-tail costs, with breach costs rising in both the second and third years. In high data protection regulatory environments, 53% of breach costs were accrued in the first year, 32% in the second year, and 16% more than two years after the breach. It’s likely these findings are driven by new regulatory fines and the introduction of breach notification laws (e.g., GDPR).
Another of the report’s key findings was that the average breach lifecycle grew between 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the average time to identify a breach was 206 days and the average time to contain a breach was 73 days. This totaled 279 days, which was a 4.9% increase over the 2018 breach lifecycle. In general, a lifecycle lasting fewer than 200 days was an average of $1.22 million less expensive than a breach with a longer lifecycle. The faster a data breach is identified and contained, the lower the costs associated with the breach. As such, the increase in the breach lifecycle correlated to a rise in the average cost of a data breach.
According to the Cost of a Data Breach Report, criminal attacks of a malicious nature were the most common cause of breaches—and the most expensive. Since 2014, the number of breaches caused by cybercriminals has increased by 21%. Breaches of this nature take longer to identify and contain, which also contributes to higher costs.
Although malicious breaches were the most common, accidental breaches still accounted for almost half of the total data breaches studied in the report. Instances of human error, including phishing attacks and stolen devices, were responsible for roughly 25% of the studied breaches. The average loss caused by human error in these breaches was $3.5 million. System glitches which could not be tied to human activity also made up approximately 25% of breaches, with an average loss of $3.24 million.
It’s a common misconception that small businesses are less likely to be impacted by data breaches. The report found that proportionately, small businesses suffered higher breach costs. Large companies with more than 25,000 employees had an average cost of $5.11 million in the event of a breach, while smaller companies with between 500 and 1,000 employees had an average cost of $2.65 million. This means that while large companies saw a larger total cost, the approximate cost per employee was only $204—as compared to the small companies’ losses of $3,533 per employee. In other words, small companies are hit more than ten times harder than larger companies, which can have an irreparable impact on their revenue.
Protecting your MSP and your customers
As this article has demonstrated, the cost of data breaches has been on the rise in recent years, and 2020 is no exception. With direct, indirect, and hidden costs to account for, businesses must take the appropriate steps to safeguard their data. For MSPs, protecting customer data is just as important as protecting your own data. In fact, an MSP’s reputation can suffer significant damage even if a customer experiences a data breach that is in no way the MSP’s fault. Because of this, it is important that MSPs work proactively with customers to make them aware of any potential issues. To achieve this level of insight, you’ll need access to the right tools.
SolarWinds® RMM is a user-friendly and sophisticated tool designed to help you efficiently secure, maintain, and improve your customers’ IT systems. This centralized solution delivers a comprehensive suite of utilities, all from within a single dashboard. This dashboard highlights issues, helping your technicians focus their attention where it’s most needed.
SolarWinds RMM includes out-of-the-box monitoring templates, fast and safe remote access, patch management, web protection, data-breach risk intelligence, and backup capabilities. This all-in-one solution also serves as managed antivirus software and vulnerability scanning software, making it a versatile option for MSPs who want optimal, layered security against data breaches. For MSPs looking to help their customers avoid potentially debilitating data breaches, a 30-day free trial of SolarWinds RMM is available.


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- Articles tagged "in-car entertainment"
Pioneer is the first aftermarket in-car entertainment manufacturer to offer Apple CarPlay compatibility and we had the chance to get unclose and personal with their flagship receiver to try out CarPlay for ourselves.
Pioneer has just announced its new flagship in-car receiver, the AVH-X8650BT, at the 2014 Bangkok Motor Show. The new in-car receiver features improved hardware and a thoroughly reworked user interface for smoother and easier operation while driving.
- M1's SIM-only postpaid plans aim to deliver value, flexibility and generous data
- Microsoft reveals Windows 10 local pricing
- Trend Micro for Windows 10 is a step ahead in more ways than one
- Ouya developers picking up the pieces after Razer's acquisition
- Qualcomm's WiPower wireless charging technology can now charge metal phones
- Razer gobbles up Ouya
- Plextor's M6V is the latest entry-level SSD to hit the stands
- Ultra tough RugGear Apex RG702 coming to Singapore


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Kjell & Co, which was founded in 1988, has a network of 74 stores throughout Sweden.
FSN partner Peter Möller said, “Kjell & Company has a unique store concept and focus on electronic accessories, which, together with a strong corporate culture, have allowed the company to grow strongly and profitably in recent years.
“In partnership with the founders and the management team we look forward to supporting the company in continuing that growth both in and outside Sweden.”
FSN closed its latest fund on €600m last November thanks to a global fundraise which saw the vehicle oversubscribed.
About 21 per cent of the commitments for FSN Capital IV came from North America, 14 per cent from Asia and Australia and 30 per cent from Europe excluding the Nordic region.
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