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Story URL: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=219068
Story Retrieval Date: 4/17/2015 11:25:00 AM CST
Bob Koester sits at his desk at Delmark Records, surrounded by clippings, hand written notes, bills and records. He has 60 years worth of business clinging to the walls and piled high in stacks.
While some have claimed his record label is the oldest independent jazz and blues record label in the world, Koester says it’s actually second behind Jazzology Records in New Orleans.
Few unaffiliated music businesses remain these days – let alone truly independent ones. Many thought the record store was done when big box retailer Tower Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006. The company succumbed to pressure as digital sales began to siphon off profits.
But music industry followers say nostalgia is driving a resurgence in vinyl sales. The question remains:
Can nostalgia turn a profit?
For Koester and other independent labels, staying afloat is a daily struggle.
“Well, we’re not doing well. We cannot pay the musicians as well as used to,” Koester said. “Guys who work are not makin’ that much money anyway, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna lower their salary.”
Koester shows that same commitment to music. His passion shows a never-ending effort to preserve and capture the sound of Chicago’s jazz and blues that he says brings joy to people’s lives.
“I think it’s one of the reasons I am 80-years-old and I’m still kicking. I think it’s listening to the music but I think having a job that I love, that helps too,” he said. “It’s fun, and I’ll maintain that there is a type of jazz for just about anybody.”
Koester estimates Jazz Record Mart sales dropped 5 percent last year, with profits totaling $850,000. He speculates the decline stems from the lingering recession and that customers are more wary about how they spend their dispensable income. Revenue at the label, however, has held steady over the past few years – bringing in around $450,000 in 2012, he said.
In a 2011 Chicago Tribune article, Koester said sales were rising, with the store bringing in around $70,000 to $100,000 in sales per month.
Record store sales constitute a lower percentage of global sales when compared to digital downloads, according to industry data, but as a new, younger generation discovers an appreciation for the sound quality of music, independent store owners have a renewed hope.
“People haven’t heard CDs on good equipment. They’re hearing downloads. If they are hearing downloads they are not hearing the whole thing. … [But downloading is] a hip thing to do,” Koester said.
Tyler Monson, 23, is one of those discovering the power of vinyl.
“I just recently bought a turntable. I visited a friends place and he had one and it was cool and it was something I was interested in. I only have four [vinyl] so I am looking to build a collection.”
Koester believes so much of the work that labels put into creating depth in a song, such as the layering of sound, are lost on a CD.
“From an audio perspective, [vinyl’s] analog quality seems to resonate with people on a deeper level than digital does,” said George Howard, chief operating officer of Daytrotter, a recording studio website, and Paste digital magazine.
“People are turning away - to a degree - from CDs and downloads because these are largely unsatisfying delivery mechanisms for music. CDs, and, even more so, downloads fail at aligning with one of the most essential elements of music: Its' social quality,” Howard said.
Steve Marquette, an employee at Jazz Record Mart, and also a jazz musician, chooses to buy vinyl. Because of increased quality in sound.
“I guess part of the reason I like vinyl is, … that it’s more inconvenient,” Marquette said. “The convenience of downloading and iPods and everything is great for some stuff but it also kind of contributes to the way the listening experience has changed.
“By it being so common and constant in your life, I don’t know if people take it for granted or if it just kinda of contributes to music being more of a background noise to your life.”
Vinyl records saw a 28.8 percent increase in 2011 from 2010—totaling $151 million, according to a International Federation of Phonographic Industry 2012 report. Sales were continuing an upward trend begun in 2007 and “enjoying reviving fortunes,” the report said.
Vinyl sales are now at their highest levels since 1997 in countries such as Germany, France, the U.S. and the Netherlands.
There were 4.6 million vinyl sales in 2012, from 3.9 million units in 2011, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Total music sales, including CD, cassette, LP/Vinyl and digital, increased 3.1 percent, surpassing 1,65 billion units.
Koester grew up in Wichita, Kansas during the time Big Band hit the nation. His first steps into the jazz and blues world came at St. Louis University, when he began to sell records out of his dorm room. The first band Koester ever recorded played a block off of campus.
He opened his first record store in St. Louis in 1952 with a partner, Ron Fister. After their split in 1953 due to musical differences, Koester went on to record the Windy City Six in his first recording session. He was 21.
Koester moved to Chicago in 1958, during the height of the city’s jazz scene, and set up shop in the Cathedral Building on Wabash Avenue. After shuffling around locations over the years, Koester’s recording studio has come to rest at 4121 N. Rockwell St., while his record store, Jazz Record Mart, is located at 27 E. Illinois St.
Jazz and blues have been at the heart of Chicago’s culture since the late 19th Century. Many musicians from New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta migrated north to Chicago to work in the clubs that were springing up across the country. By the time Koester arrived on the scene, Chicago’s South Side had taken center stage – pushing boundaries and revolutionizing jazz.
Since then, Koester has been a key player in defining Chicago's jazz and blues sound. He is one of the few non-performers to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
The Grammy Award-winning “Hoodoo Man Blues,” which Koester’s label produced, has been the top-selling album since its debut in 1965. Performed by Junior Wells, the album sold 6,000 CDs last year and 2,000 LPs.
“People are not buying CDs in the way that they were so as a format I think it’s kind of on the decline,” Marquette said. “I don’t see there being in the future a collectable CD market in the same way that there is with vinyl, that there has always been with vinyl and that there always will be with vinyl.”
“CDs and downloads are inherently unsocial. Music is inherently social and shareable, and therefore requires a delivery mechanism that aligns with this,” said Howard. “ Vinyl is a social object. Something that we can touch and share with our friends, and/or put on our shelves or our walls so that when people see the vinyl they comment on them, and ask about them.”
That’s the interaction Koester enjoys and the one he depends on to continue his business. If he is not checking up on the bands at his recording studio, he can be found organizing his record store collection. For Koester, the music—jazz and blues—will never die.


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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A large trade is coming to New York Town subway token cubicles. The MTA says sales space employees will now not settle for riders’ money or switch their
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A severe outbreak of E. coli, which began in Germany, in May has claimed 19 lives (as of 3rd Jun). Countries around the world have put their doctors & hospitals on alert for the same.
What is E-coli?
Escherichia Coli is a bacteria, commonly known as "E. coli".
E. coli usually resides in the intestine, of humans & cattle. Several types (or strains) of E. coli bacteria are known to cause food-poisoning and gastrointestinal infections.
How does E-coli spread?
E. coli colonizes in the dairy & beef cattle. It is transmitted through their waste. When water contaminated with such waste is used in farming, the bacteria transmits to vegetables & fruits. Consumption of such infected raw-meat, dairy products, or unwashed fruits/vegetables can result in transmission to humans.
The present outbreak is a result of a hybrid E. coli bacteria, called E. coli O104:H4 strain.
In other words, a toxic strain of E-coli is resulting in severe food-poisoning & life-threatening gastrointestinal complications.
Russia has stopped import of all fresh vegetables from Europe. The exact source of the recent outbreak is yet to be found.
How dangerous is it?
The new E. coli strain is resistant to 3 major classes of antibiotics, which makes it lethal. It makes it harder for the doctors to treat any related infection.
Where is the outbreak?
19 people have died and 500 have been hospitalized, mostly in Germany (as of 3'rd June). Some cases have been reported in Switzerland, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, UK, & US. All affected people have been to Germany, shortly before falling ill.
What are the symptoms?
Severe vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach-ache.
What precautions can be taken?
•Check the source of food products before buying.
•Avoid eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and raw meat imported from Germany (until the source of outbreak is found & contained).
•Ensure vegetables are washed thoroughly & meat is well cooked, if cooking at home.
•Follow the advise & recommendation by your local health authorities.
Please look-out for news on E. coli, in the newspapers & media.


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Renovo Electric Coupe To Get First Public Unveiling At 2015 CES
Renovo Motors will reveal to the public for the first time ever its electric “supercar” coupe prototype at the 2015 International CES in Las Vegas in January.
“Using a factory-modified Shelby American CSX9000 rolling chassis (“Cobra Daytona Coupe”), Renovo’s eponymous coupe features twin mid-mounted sequential axial-flux motors producing more than 370 kW (500 hp) and 1,000 lb-ft (1,356 N·m) of torque, with a 0-60 mph time of less than 3.4 seconds. Top speed is more than 120 mph (193 km/h).”
“The Renovo Coupe is powered by a patent-pending 740 volt lithium-ion battery pack.”
Why the public reveal? Well, the coupe can be ordered now. Renovo says that production will begin soon, with first buyers expected to receive the electric Renovo sometime in 2015.
Christopher Heiser, CEO of Renovo Motors, stated:
“We are absolutely thrilled to be attending the Consumer Electronics Show and to have the opportunity to display the Renovo Coupe alongside all of NVIDIA’s amazing new automotive technology. CES is the perfect stage for us to show the world what can be done with electric vehicles.”
What’s the price? Over half a million dollars.


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Honda has disclosed the 2024 CBR500R that gets a critical plan update and here’s all you want to be aware.
Honda has revealed the 2024 CBR500R sportbike, which gets a critical update as far as styling and gear. This famous twin-chamber sportbike gets as a feature of the update for 2024.
Beginning with the plan, the completely faired CBR500R gets a ton of its plan motivation from the bigger liter-class CBR1000R, with a more keen front fairing and new bodywork, without changing the general elements of the cruiser.
The following huge update is as a TFT run, which gets Bluetooth and Honda’s RoadSynch tech. The 5-inch TFT can be controlled through a committed switchgear on the left side, while the Honda Selectable Force Control is presently standard.
Power is gotten from a similar 471cc equal twin fluid cooled motor mated to a 6-speed gearbox. The India send off of the CBR500R is far-fetched, nonetheless, with Kawasaki’s new Ninja 500 that will before long come to India, the CBR500R could be an incredible option in contrast to those hoping to purchase a 500cc completely faired cruiser.


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Currys / PC World customer service comes under the spotlight as News consumer expert Streetwise investigates
and live on Freeview channel 276
They claim they’ve been ignored when trying to sort out problems with the delivery of their orders or seeking refunds.
The majority of complaints have been about items that have been ordered but not arriving, sometimes more than a month from the placing the order and with no indication from Currys when and if it will ever be received.
Tom Orchard, from Southsea, is a typical complainant.
He ordered a chest freezer from Currys in mid March, and was told it was temporarily out of stock and wouldn’t be available until the end of the month.
After attempting to track the order in early April, all he got for his pains was a repeated out of stock message. A stream of emails have remained unanswered and he’s not been able to contact the firm by phone.
A significant number of people have complained that they’ve spent hours on the phone to Currys unable to get through or being cut off soon after someone from customer services answered.
Streetwise is investigating reader complaints, and is in touch with the firm seeking answers.
Currys PC World has issued a statement saying some items are taking much longer to be delivered than usual due to the coronavirus but is working hard to ensure every customer’s order will be fulfilled.


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KEEP YOUR SHADES ON! SUNGLASSES ARE NOW DE RIGEUER YEAR ROUND THANKS TO MORE AND MORE DESIGNER LINES.
Byline: Marc Karimzadeh
Sunglasses are becoming a bigger presence in accessories departments, and that’s not just because it’s summer. According to retailers and manufacturers, the classification is registering healthy sell-throughs because consumers are learning to think about sunglasses as another accessory: they wardrobe pairs for different outfits and wear them day and night, regardless of the season and climate.
This is good news for manufacturers, who are no strangers to struggle, particularly with their main distribution of department stores and the three Os: ophthalmologists, optometrists and opticians.
In the past, part of the problem was that the bulk of optical stores traditionally shied away from fashion styles and often marketed sunglasses for their functional, not fashionable features. This approach didn’t help drive fashion-savvy consumers to stores to build volume. Meanwhile, department stores positioned sunglasses on the main floor for spring and summer, then reduced or moved them altogether during winter in favor of other seasonal businesses such as cold weather accessories. Because of the inconsistent presence, few stores invested significantly in display fixtures, marketing or staff training.
However, strong trends, such as rimless shields and gradient-style lenses, are generating increased consumer demand. Fall looks such as crystal embellishments, laser-cut patterns, lenses with tattoo effects or studs should continue the momentum. “There has been a lot of fashion, and all the color and rimless styles have turned the business around,” said Joyce Packman, divisional merchandise manager at Bloomingdale’s. “We have seen double-digit increases for the spring season. The designer part, which accounts for over 60 percent of our merchandise, is what’s driving the business.”
A sign of the sector’s strong health is the growth of new licenses with established apparel or accessories designers. In recent months, these included Kate Spade, who launched a quirky eyewear line with Safilo Group, Costume National, which licensed Marcolin, and Marc Jacobs who signed with De Rigo. CXD, Charmant Group’s upscale division, which makes Michael Kors’s new eyewear line, was also licensed to produce and distribute sunglasses and ophthalmic frames branded Boss Women, to launch at Vision Expo East March 2002.
“All the new licensing arrangements with key designers have made the sunglass business so dominant,” said Eileen Warner, vice president and dmm at Saks Fifth Avenue. “Chanel, Gucci and Prada are three key resources, and there’s been a lot of exposure in the media to make [sunglasses] a must-have.”
Warner explained that Saks Fifth Avenue has increased its sunglasses space by 25 to 50 percent in most store locations. Since last fall, the company has been expanding its department in the New York flagship “dramatically,” she said, combining two separate islands into one in a well-trafficked location on the main floor. In doing so, Saks joined Lord & Taylor, which also moved its sunglasses department in its Fifth Avenue store to a more centrally located space on the main floor and added vertical fixtures dotted around a central glass case station. This open-sell approach adds liveliness to the area and makes it easier for the consumer to try on styles without the help of a salesperson.
“With the advent of designer sunglasses, all of a sudden the advertising is there and the consumer is coming in and asking for them,” said Richard Morgenthal, president of the four-unit Morgenthal-Frederics stores. Morgenthal said that in the past year, the company started to increase its designer offering, which used to account for just 5 percent. By the end of the year, he expects the segment to account for 20 percent of its assortment.
While the growth of licensed designer lines has helped increase the classification’s visibility, some noted this was a double-edged sword. As is often the case with brand extensions through licenses, many fashion companies know little about the workings of the optical industry and therefore let licensees take total control of lines and their distribution.
“The business of [designer] licensing demands a bigger distribution, because designers get royalties which demand large sales and therefore less exclusive distribution,” said Robert Marc, the designer and president of Robert Marc Opticians, which has six stores in Manhattan. The pressures of selling through as many doors as possible can result in a distribution strategy that is inconsistent with the overall brand.
Also, since there are only a handful of manufacturers who focus on licensed designer brands, it can often result in too much similarity in looks from one brand to another, which further confuses consumers.
Some industry executives said the designer segment is rapidly reaching the saturation point.
“There are as many licenses as there are fashion houses,” said eyewear maker Christian Roth, who is also the creative director at CXD. “While fashion is not perceived as overcrowded, designer eyewear licenses follow each other so closely in styling that it does look overcrowded.”
“The challenge for designers is making sure the lines all don’t look alike, for each brand to find its own identity,” agreed Helen Neff, president and chief executive officer of Solstice, the LVMH-owned chain of sunglasses stores with six units in the U.S. “It’s being creative in every aspect, from temple design to the lens treatments and types of metal [designers] use.”
“[Vendors] need to concentrate on a little more than just the frame,” said Larry Leight, co-founder and chief officer of design at Oliver Peoples, which holds the license for Paul Smith. Leight, who also consults on the design of eyewear lines by Prada, Miu Miu, Jil Sander and Vera Wang, pointed to case designs as a way to differentiate lines. “Everybody is just using the same [case],” he said. “Now, the total ‘togetherness’ of the collection will be important. The attention to detail is what people are going to look for.” Oliver Peoples, he said, is developing new case designs for the next few collections. While few design details were available, Leight said these could possibly hold two frames, suitable for customers who wardrobe them.
Part of the problem with sameness on the selling floor is that stores often only carry a small selection of each brand, rather than a deeper assortment that showcases a brand’s entire look.
“When you have a small representation of a brand, [stores] tend to focus on bestsellers. These bestsellers can be very similar, and the eyewear assortment will compete,” said Jean Scott, vice president of product development at Luxottica Group. “It’s getting more and more crowded, and it is a category where the retailer has to pick the designer that fits your environment.”
Display is another challenge with designer lines, explained Jim Simon, vice president of CXD. Traditionally, department stores display prolific amounts of frames in glass display cases, with little room for point-of-sale material or brand-specific case designs that could differentiate lines. “Merchandising is critical to all the brand images,” Simon noted, who pointed to store-in-store concepts in apparel as a possibility for sunglasses departments. However, restricted space is a challenge.
“[Stores] would have to cut the number of vendors or possibly merchandise sunglasses within a designer’s clothing collection,” he said, adding that dual exposure would be ideal.
Because many stores still treat sunglasses as a summer business, some company executives said real estate continues to be a key challenge. “The biggest challenge faced by the retail sunglasses industry is that department stores dedicate a relatively small amount of space to our product, making growth in our area more difficult to achieve,” said Claudio Gottardi, president and ceo of Safilo USA, which manufactures eyewear for designer brands such as Christian Dior, Gucci and Ralph Lauren.
One way to reach sales increase in a restricted area is to introduce a higher price point to help raise volume per square foot in limited retail real estate. Consumers, however, still need to be educated about paying for a higher ticket item.
“The most important feature is a well-trained person,” said Al Berg, co-president of Marchon Eyewear, which sells roughly $400 million of licensed eyewear from such names as Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. Berg added that department stores have often sold sunglasses according to what the customer would like to pay. Instead, he suggests they train their sales staff to educate consumers on the added features that come with higher price points.
But given the enthusiasm for designer shades, things could change soon.
“The entire retail community is looking at sunglasses as the next big accessory,” Berg said. “Now, they are building bigger departments, sprinkling in some of the brands for excitement and expanding cases, so you end up with a greater spotlight on the sunglass market.”


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Facebook AI open sources a chatbot with empathy and personality
The most recent addition to Facebook AI’s open source projects is Blender, a state-of-the-art chatbot. What sets it apart from other chatbots is its novel blending of skills, including empathy and personality. Let’s take a closer look.
Facebook AI has announced the open source release of its chatbot Blender in a blog post. This open-domain chatbot is the largest to date, consisting of 9.4 billion parameters, and it boasts a unique blending of skills.
According to Facebook AI, chatbots are generally designed for specialization in a certain area. What sets Blender apart is that it combines several conversational skills, for example, the abilities to ask and respond to a wide range of questions and to show empathy. Assuming a persona and being serious or fun have been added to the mix as well.
On Twitter, you can see an example conversation:
Today we’re announcing that Facebook AI has built and open-sourced Blender, the largest-ever open-domain chatbot. It outperforms others in terms of engagement and also feels more human, according to human evaluators. https://t.co/TdNxJpL0JI pic.twitter.com/1wo3ZxwDeU
— Facebook AI (@facebookai) April 29, 2020
Blender “feels more human, according to human evaluators,” as the blog post reads. Compared to dialogues created with Google’s latest Meena chatbot, which has not been publicly released though, 67% of human evaluators found that Blender sounded more human, and 75% would prefer to have a long conversation with Blender rather than with Meena.
Facebook AI has released the complete model, code, and evaluation set-up for Blender, which is available as 90M, 2.7B or 9.4B parameter version—the latter being 3.6x larger than the largest existing system. On the project’s website, you can also find several more example conversations.
In order to interact with the models, there are different hardware requirements: the 2.7B model needs a 16gb P100 GPU or better whereas the 9.4B model needs at least two 32gb V100 GPUs.
See the blog post for further details.


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Although Facebook has seen some growth after its initial post-IPO plunge, this is still an expensive stock, with a P/E around 60. Tech analyst Andrew Tonner is relatively bearish on the social media player and wants to hear from management about the company's long-term strategy. If Facebook can monetize its advertising more effectively, and build off its partnership with Zynga, this company could surpass investors' expectations.
If there is one thing we learned from the Facebook IPO it's don't buy the hype. Our top tech analyst, Eric Bleeker, warned investors to forget Facebook, and told them about the tech IPO they should be buying instead. If you missed his call the first time, it's not too late; this company has room to soar.


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In the fight for the domination of the social media space, in order to keep up, one must constantly reinvent themselves, and Facebook is not going down without throwing some punches. Their latest effort? Paper.
The company announced Paper on Thursday, a standalone news reader mobile app that has reportedly been in the works for years. According to reports, the app was created by a 15-person team as part of a broader company initiative known as Facebook Creative Labs.
The launch of the newsreader app may have come at just the right time, with many looking to fill a void left in their online life with the departure of Google Reader.
Mashable reports more on the new app:
The new app will surface content from 19 different “sections,” including sports, tech, pop culture, and “LOL.” The app also has a “Newsfeed” section, which is the same News Feed users are accustomed to on the native apps, but with a new design.
Each section will have a rotating carousel of images across the top, and individual cards and stories below that image. The new app was specifically designed to look different than the native apps, and has larger images and content cards without the typical blue trim present on Facebook’s native apps.
Users will be able to select which sections they wish to subscribe to, and all content will be curated through a process that includes an algorithm and a human selection. For now, sections will not be personalized. For example, a user in San Francisco will see the same items in his sports section as a user in Chicago, although personalization could be added in the future.
Paper is schedule to hit the App Store on Monday, February 3, but will only be available to iPhone users at launch.


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The Bush administration sought agreement from U.S. farm groups for a 70 percent cut in their most trade-distorting subsidies as a way to save world trade talks but was rejected, industry sources said on Tuesday.
However, discussions between the two sides on how Washington might offer trading partners more concessions on less trade-distorting ``blue box'' supports -- such as spending caps on specific product payments -- were better received, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity after talks with U.S. trade officials.
Member countries of the World Trade Organization are running out of time to reach agreement on the so-called Doha Development Round, launched in 2001 with the aim of lifting millions out of poverty by slashing global trade barriers.
Talks have stalled repeatedly on the subject of farm trade, where poor nations insist progress must be made first for their primary exports before they will agree to open fledgling services and industry markets.
A senior U.S. trade official told Reuters: ``In the last couple of weeks we've been talking to the various groups about ... what other countries are asking us to do, and that does include some who are asking for deeper cuts in the amber box, 70 percent or more. We have explained to them the requests ... and we didn't have any sympathetic hearing on the deeper cuts.''
On the subject of agreeing product caps in blue box spending, the official said: ``It's been tough. What other countries are looking for is quite aggressive and I don't think we've solved that one yet.''
WTO chief Pascal Lamy on Tuesday said a deal to cut tariffs and subsidies in farm and industrial goods must be reached by the end of June. Ministers are due to meet in Geneva starting June 26 for a final push.
The United States has offered to cut its ``amber box'' payments -- its WTO allowance for most trade-distorting subsidies to its farmers -- by 60 percent but is under pressure to offer more in order to get the European Union and developing countries to open their markets.
``They wanted to increase the domestic support offer ... to 70 ... and we told them 'no','' said one industry source. ``We told them we weren't willing to put more on the table when we hadn't gotten anything in return.''
Another source said farm groups had been more open to discussions about the blue box.
``The U.S. was talking about various ways of sweetening the pot on domestic support, trying to do things like product specific caps for blue box. I don't think people have been screaming about that,'' the second industry source said.
``The expectation among the commodity groups in the U.S. is that if the agreement comes together and the domestic support package is of the magnitude that the U.S. has proposed, there will be serious changes. These kind of details don't change things too much ... it is in effect window-dressing for Geneva.''
The European Union said last week it could move further toward demands of the G20 group of developing nations who want the bloc to cut its farm import tariffs by 54 percent, on condition other key WTO members make concessions, too.
The United States dismissed that proposal, saying it fell far short of what was needed to unlock a deal at this late stage.
Countries must wrap up an agreement by the end of the year if the round is not to be torpedoed by the expiration in mid-2007 of U.S. President George W. Bush's power to put trade deals to a straight 'yes' or 'no' vote in Congress.
- 110 Trade Justice


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Dell has distanced itself from reports that it has definite plans to produce a handheld gaming device, but isn't completely ruling out the possibility.
"I can confirm there are no plans to launch a gaming handheld at this time," a spokesperson for Dell told Eurogamer. "But Dell is always looking at evaluating new technology."
The PC manufacturer was commenting on rumours that arose after Dell's global gaming chief Abizar Vakharia hinted at the possibility of such a device during a recent event in Marbella.
"You know, that's definitely one that's on the radar screen, but we have no plans to talk about anything today," he reportedly divulged.
The company clearly has games on the brain, what with last year's acquisition of Alienware, and the launch of its XPS range of desktop PCs. But whether it has games in its pocket on the brain is another matter - and an uncomfortable sounding one at that.
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Impala to Cut Customer Metal Supply to 40% Within MonthsAndre Janse van Vuuren
Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. said it would cut metal deliveries by as much as 60 percent in three to four months should a 14-week-old pay strike continue to cripple South African mines.
The world’s second-largest producer of the metal met all customer deliveries in April, Impala spokesman Johan Theron said today by phone. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has been on strike at mines of Anglo American Platinum Holdings Ltd., Impala and Lonmin Plc since Jan. 23.
Impala will have “supply constraints in May,” Theron said. “We’ll continue to prioritize our South African clients.” Stocks of palladium, used for catalytic converters to reduce emissions in vehicles, were the most critical, Theron said. The company would assist customers in obtaining the metal they need should it cut deliveries, he said.
The AMCU has rejected the three producers’ latest offer to increase pay to 12,500 rand ($1,190) a month by 2017 including benefits, instead demanding that amount in base pay. That’s double entry-level workers’ current salaries.
The platinum producers ended talks April 24 and decided to put their latest pay offer directly to workers, using text messages and radio commercials.
Impala expects responses to the offer from employees by the end of this week or early next, Theron said. The company’s Rustenburg Lease Mine accounted for 58 percent of the group’s mined platinum production in the six months ended December. Impala’s other operations aren’t affected.
The strike by more than 70,000 AMCU members has cost the companies 16.6 billion rand in lost revenue and employees 7.4 billion rand in income, the producers said on a joint website. South Africa accounts for more than two-thirds of the metal’s mined supply.
It was up to the companies to resume talks to bring an end to the strike, AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa said today by phone.
“They brought their offer and the offer got rejected; it means the strike is still going on,” Mathunjwa said.


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Troup County issues fines, bans for selling alcohol to minors
Published 10:00 am Saturday, October 23, 2021
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
By Shiann Sivell
Ten businesses that sold alcohol to minors will be issued a fine of $500 and will be banned from selling alcohol for 30 days.
The Troup County Commission voted on the fine and ban during Tuesday night’s meeting.
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The typical process for a first-time offense is to send notices of 30-day suspension and fees for reinstatement to the businesses. Troy Anderson, the Troup County director of community development, suggested issuing a reinstatement fee of $750 to each business and banning the stores from selling alcohol products for 30 days. The ban is from Oct. 25 to Nov. 24.
Ultimately, the board voted that the fine be lowered to a reinstatement fee of $500 along with the 30-day license suspension from Oct. 25 to Nov. 24.
On Sept. 23, investigators with the Troup County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division conducted a sting operation targeting businesses believed to be selling alcohol to minors in the area. Investigators checked 19 locations in Troup County during the investigation and found that 10 locations did sell alcohol to a person under the age of 21.
The clerks making the transaction at the stores were issued a citation both by mail and in-person for the charge of selling alcohol to a minor.
All of the involved businesses were first-time offenders, Anderson said.
“Based on our research, none of these business owners have been cited for this violation in the last five years,” he said.
Councilmember Lewis Davis initially wanted to table the recommendation to request additional information on if the county was making a fair decision due to the businesses being first-time offenders.
“This is a bad offense, I want everyone to know that, but me personally, this impacts the business community, and I want to be sure that we’re fair in everything that we do,” he said. He would later vote in favor of the lowered fine and 30-day sale ban.
Davis also inquired whether the owner of the business or if the person who sold the alcohol to the minors were at fault.
“We throw ownership on the beer and wine license applicant,” Anderson explained.
“That person might not be the business owner or a manager, or even a tenant.”
The individuals who physically sold the alcohol products will receive a misdemeanor from the state and will have court appearances in January.
No arrests were made during the investigation due to concerns of COVID-19, Anderson said.
The locations in which the clerks were issued citations are the following:
- Hamilton Food Mart – 2876 Hamilton Road
- Super G – 2744 Hamilton Road
- Shell store – 4630 Hamilton Road
- Marathon store – Rosemont Road
- Shell store – 2860 Upper Big Springs Road
- Valero – 1231 Bartley Road
- Marathon – 2750 Roanoke Road
- West Point Trading Post – 3400 West Point Road
- Ribitz Bait and Tackle – West Point Road
- West Point Grocery and Lottery – 7755 West Point Road
During its Oct. 5 meeting, the board had approved for alcohol license revocation letters to be sent out to the 10 businesses.
Each has since received acknowledgment of the violation.
Of the 10 businesses, one, Ribitz, made a request in writing to be heard in a separate hearing, which will be held on Nov. 2 at the board’s meeting at 9 a.m.
The board voted to approve the request to hold the hearing at that time. The other nine businesses did not submit a request but had 10 days to do so after being cited, County Attorney Jerry Willis said.
Eight of the other nine businesses possessed a beer and wine license at the time of the TCSO operation, Anderson noted.
One business, 4584 Hamilton Road, now known as Jimmy’s Gas and Food, did not possess a beer and wine license at the time of the operation.
Anderson suggested a double penalty in Jimmy’s case, the lowered reinstatement fee of $500 along with the 30-day license suspension, as well as a fine of $750 fee for the lack of the license.
The owner of the store has the option to apply for a beer and wine license.
West Point Attorney Ben Wilcox, who represented the new owner of Jimmy’s Gas and Food, argued that the owner has been trying to buy Jimmy’s as well as another business in the county since last April.
The sales were not completed at the time of TCSO operation, he said, and his client was not the legal owner of Jimmy’s. He said the business was still being operated by the prior owner.
Anderson responded that tax records showed that the change in ownership occurred on July 2, 2021, but Wilcox argued that that date reflected the sale of the property but not the business itself.
Upon the end of each businesses’ 30-day suspension, if the $500 fee is paid, the authorization to sell alcohol will be restored on Nov. 24.
Signs stating the businesses’ inability to sell alcohol products will be posted to their doors when the ban is initiated.
Coolers within the business will be covered and officers will visit each business regularly to ensure that the ban is being followed effectively
The suspension will go into effect Monday.
Capt. Nathan Taylor with the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said the office conducted operations like the current one at least once a year.
“The results [of the operation] are typical of what we see here,” he said.
“This is the first time that it’s gone to this level since, from what I’ve been told, 1994.”


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Jim Beam has ambushed the iPhone 7 launch by taking a leaf out of Apple’s book to announce its own product innovation – an Apple Watch.
The Apple-esque launch video features long-winded descriptions of the telescopic shot glass disguised as a wrist watch and themed around Jim Beam’s new apple flavoured beverage.
However, unlike Apple’s traditionally smooth and calming male voice, the bourbon brand has opted for the slightly gruntier voice of its seventh generation master distiller Fred Noe.
“For the first time, you will no longer have to worry about finding a glass to measure the perfect refreshingly crisp shot or to mix a proper cocktail,” Noe says. “Because you’ll already be wearing it.”
The telescopic shot glass takes 1.5 oz and because some apples are green, the strap and dial are exclusively green. However the dial is merely for looks.
With the shot glass taking the place of a classic clock face, AdWeek asked Noe “what good is a watch that can’t tell the time?”. He responded: “We actually think we’ve created a watch that helps you make time. Who doesn’t want to make time for friends, family and a refreshing Jim Beam Apple shot or cocktail?”


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April 30 2017 Latest news:
Adam Aiken, Editor
Friday, August 12, 2011
Consumer groups claim the practice puts pressure on people to switch to worse deals, with accusations that it is not in a cold-caller’s interest to persuade people to sign up for the most competitive option.
The energy giant currently employs more than 300 staff who cold-call at homes, but it said they would spend the next three months talking to existing customers about its home insulation deal instead of trying to sign up new customers. In the meantime, it said it would explore other ways to sell its products.
Rival supplier Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) has already suspended the practice after being found guilty of two counts of mis-selling in a case brought by Surrey County Council.
A call by Consumer Focus for a 90-day moratorium on cold-calling has had mixed success so far. EDF and Scottish Power have refused to end the practice while Eon and Npower have yet to make a decision.
Adam Scorer, director of external affairs at Consumer Focus, said: “British Gas has responded to our call for action. We applaud the move and call for others to follow the lead set by British Gas and SSE.
“This is the sort of move that responsible companies make when it becomes clear that consumers are unhappy with the way they do business.
“For more than a decade, cold-call doorstep sales have led to hundreds of thousands of people paying more for their energy after switching to worse deals.
“We know people strongly dislike doorstep sales and feel pressured to switch at the door, and energy firms don’t offer their best rates face-to-face. Cold-call energy sales simply aren’t what customers need or want.”
Scott Byrom, an analyst at Moneysupermarket, said: “Following in the footsteps of SSE, British Gas has become the next energy giant to announce it is to suspend doorstop selling – a move to be applauded.
“With the two largest energy providers taking this decision, it further cements the view this method of selling is not only outdated but nearly always fails to offer bill payers the best deals on their gas and electricity.”


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Some are saying that the electric car is dead, even before it has started.
With an infrastructure that doesn't provide sufficient charging points, some manufacturers are beginning to doubt the potential of the electric car, as well as other Alternative Fuelled Vehicles (AFV). Browse Motortorque for What are Alternative Fuelled Cars?
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However, as there are more electric vehicles on the road than ever, each manufacturer has at least considered a potential AFV, whether this is because of cost efficiency or popularity in the public eye.
The common trend with some manufactures, in-particular premium manufactures like Jaguar, is that low emitting engines are not on top of its list of customer satisfaction priorities as the majority of people who are willing to pay for a Jaguar tend not to worry about a few hundred pound here or there.
This then raises the question is it worth investing in green technologies, and if so why?
Volkswagen pushes ahead with EVs
Volkswagen are presently pressing ahead with plans to launch all-electric cars based on some of its current range.
By 2013 Volkswagen is set to launch an EV version of its Up city car, called the e-Up, followed closely by a similarly run Golf Blue-e-motion.
Other electric vehicles on the cards for Volkswagen include the E-Bugster concept, a roadster version of the Beetle first revealed at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show.
Speaking just prior to this Motor Show, the head of Research & Development for Volkswagen, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, said: 'We hope that hybrid and electric drive cars make their breakthrough'.
Audi backs away from EVs
The Volkswagen-owned Audi brand has showcased numerous electric car concepts in the past couple of years. Until recently Audi even had two alternative-fuel cars scheduled for production and worldwide sale. The planned models included an electric version of the A2 mini-MPV and the A1 e-tron, a petrol-electric hybrid.
However during June 2012 reports in the media found that Audi had scrapped the A2 electric and are expected to discard the A1 e-tron as well. Several reasons have been cited for this sudden change in plans.
Reports suggest that a lack of consumer demand along with concerns over high production costs and the prices of these upcoming models have persuaded Audi to back away from EVs. It's also been suggested that the bosses at Audi have been put off by the low volume of sales for electric cars in the current climate.
BMW 'i' concepts
The BMW 'i' range is expected to launch at some point in 2013 and will offer an i3 hatchback and an i8 sports car.
The i3 will be a fully electric vehicle and will be able to travel up to around 90 miles on a single charge. The i8 will be a plug-in hybrid sports car and will have a power output of around 349bhp, yet return up to 100mpg.
These models may help the brand catch up with other manufactures that currently have electric cars on the market. The i8 sports car is in a whole league of its own with its 349bhp.
One thing's for certain, BMW are not afraid to invest in EV vehicles.
Mazda rejects EVs and hybrids
For more than a year now Mazda has quashed the prospects of it introducing an electric or hybrid car, taking the stance these technologies are too costly and flawed.
For the short-term at least, Mazda has opted to focus its efforts on making tradition petrol and diesel powered cars more efficient and less polluting, culminating in the introduction of Skyactiv driving technology.
The new and more-frugal internal combustion engines which feature in Mazda's Skyactiv programme is making its debut this year on the company's new CX-5 SUV.
Whilst promoting the CX-5, Mazda has even gone out of its way to have a few digs at electric and hybrid vehicles within its advertisement.
It's an uncommon but firm stance Mazda has taken regarding alternative-fuel vehicles, but the chance the company may alter this stance in the future certainly exists.
Speaking at the Los Angeles motorshow back in November 2011, the head of Mazda Takashi Yamanouchi said: 'Electric cars are for the future. By 2020, 5 per cent of car sales will be electric at best. Until obstacles such as cost, range and charging times are overcome; they are not for Mazda, at least as mainstream production vehicles'.
Renault will keep going with EVs
In terms of EVs Renault has already made a name for itself with its Fluence Z.E. saloon, Kangoo Z.E. van and two-seater Twizy, although these models are still getting off the ground.
But Renault is set to release a new EV, the Zoe at the end of the year.
Lexus not exclusively hybrid
Lexus previously had plans to sell just hybrid cars exclusively in European markets including the UK, but during this month have revealed an alteration to this stance.
Instead the company will sell models with petrol engines only as well as in hybrid powertrain set ups. This is a very similar situation to the one Lexus undertakes now and will likely benefit sales in the short term at least.
Speaking to Auto Express, deputy chief engineer Koji Sato said: 'We are working on a number of solutions to offer low CO2 emissions, and these include a small hybrid'.
GM and E-REVs
The US car giant General Motors has got behind the sale of E-REVs with this year's launch of the Chevrolet Volt and the Vauxhall Ampera in markets worldwide.
These E-REVs have essentially combined the pros of both hybrids and EVs to create a vehicle that does not run out of charge like an EV, and can travel long distances delivering frugal emissions.
However, except for Vauxhall and Chevrolet, it doesn't The key issue with these models is that they are expensive to buy, which in turn deters customers away from the brand. This may
Ford and its Bio-fuel
There are only a few manufactures producing bio-fuel vehicles as they are seen as a little obsolete alongside the likes of hybrids.
Ford is one of those manufactures as it still produces a flexi-fuel version of the Ford Focus, which uses blends of ethanol for fuelling.
Ford vouched that 50 per cent of its models produced in 2012 would be Flexi-fuel, if there was sufficient infrastructure to support them.
This may suggest that if more expenditure is put into sufficiently equipping infrastructure with charge points, then Ford will continue to produce bio-fuel vehicles.


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This day Sony’s finally printed the PlayStation 5 in beefy. It showcased a unusual white create alongside a brand fresh suite of video games that involves the return of familiar characters interspersed with fully fresh titles, a few of which looked enticing.
The video games were proven alongside the fresh look for the scheme, which is valuable and skinny and colored white on its entrance and again, with blue gentle and murky accent colors on its sides. The corporate mentioned this could per chance show a attach and launch date for the PS5 later. The corporate also mentioned there will seemingly be a discless “all digital” version, which had been reported about since 2012.
Sony may be calling in its pleasant neighborhood Spider-Man to again launch its subsequent generation PlayStation 5 video game console later this year. Spider-Man: Miles Morales will launch alongside its fresh PS5 console in time for the vacation looking out season, Sony mentioned. The game will tackle Morales, a mixed-trot personality at the center of the hit 2019 film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.
The announcement became as soon as phase of an event Sony held on June 11 to talk about the fresh titles. The corporate had delayed the event after protests erupted across the world in maintaining with the killing of an unarmed murky man, George Floyd, whereas in police custody.
Thursday’s event is basically the most modern planned by Sony and Microsoft earlier than the launch of their respective PlayStation 5 and upcoming Xbox Series X consoles. The fresh gadgets, which may per chance very nicely be the principle foremost fresh consoles for the explanation that PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were released in 2013.
Microsoft has one other event planned for July, when it plans to blow their hold horns fresh video games from its hold pattern studios — including 343 Industries, makers of the hit Halo website online fight sequence and its most up-to-date title, Halo Limitless. Sony’s mentioned it has extra events planned, however hasn’t yet mentioned after they’ll be.
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan touted Thursday’s event as a valuable enjoy a study video games that’ll be made for the console. It became as soon as to be held fully on-line and supreme about an hour.
“We wanted to price something that became as soon as mettlesome and mettlesome almost,” mentioned Sony’s PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan in an interview with CNET following the company’s show Thursday. “We wanted something forward dealing with and future dealing with, something for the 2020s.”
Ryan declined to claim how much the PS5 will price, whether the discless all-digital version will seemingly be less pricey, or exactly after they’ll be made on hand. But he did disclose manufacturing stays now not off course no topic the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended businesses across the globe because it infected extra than 7.4 million individuals and killed extra than 420,000 patients.
Sony reiterated that extra events are planned between now and the PS5 launch this autumn, including when it could truly talk about pricing, launch date and many of information. Ryan declined to talk about the fashion forward for Sony’s PlayStation VR virtual fact headset, its PlayStation Now streaming service, and whether Sony would provide a disc alternate-in program for those that opt the all-digital PS5, announcing extra info will seemingly be printed at later events.
Sony confirmed extra than two dozen video games Thursday, 9 of that had been built by its game studios, including Insomniac Video games, which made Spider-Man.
Right here is some game highlights from Sony’s show:
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
By Insomniac Video games
Sony debuts PS5 trailer for Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Gran Turismo 7
By Polyphony Digital
Demon’s Souls Remake
By From Instrument
Upgraded Large Theft Auto V
By Rockstar Video games
By Square Enix
Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart
By Insomniac Video games
By House Marque
By Annapurna Interactive
Sackboy: A Tall Budge
By Sumo Digital
By Lucid Video games
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
By Ember Labs
Goodbye Volcano Excessive
By Ko_Op Video games
Resident Snide 8
A first enjoy a study Resident Snide 8 appears at PS5 event
It is seemingly you’ll per chance per chance explore a recording of the event at CNET’s and GameSpot’s YouTube channels under:
Learn extra: Finest free video games accurate now for Xbox, Stadia, PlayStation, PCs and Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X: Checking out specs internal…
Entertain your mind with the finest news from website online to superheroes, memes to robots.


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The new retail organization, Budweiser Streetwear Co will make apparel and experience masks and has partnered vogue marketplace Myntra to offer the manufacturer. “The diversification will support us check out a new business line with our patrons as perfectly as build a new shopper base,” said Kartikeya Sharma, South Asia president at AB InBev that had previously tied-up with designers to start constrained assortment of avenue don selection.
The in-household manufacturer will offer T-shirts, sweatshirts, tops and monitor trousers for youthful buyers. The company’s authentic start approach through Jan-March quarter, was hindered because of to the pandemic that compelled authorities to lockdown most non-important operations. When liquor retailing was re-opened, superior taxes led to a sharp slide in the beer class.
“With Unlock 1. in action, our buyers are searching for clean prospects to adapt to the new fact,” said Sharma indicating it is early to give an outlook on revenues for the new phase.
With a median inhabitants age of about 27 a long time, India is believed to have about 390 million millennials and about 440 million in the Gen-Z cohort, according to a research by consulting organization Deloitte.
Style etailer Myntra introduced avenue don as a individual vertical in 2017 and has about two hundred these kinds of manufacturers. Ayyappan Rajagopal, head of business at Myntra, said, “There is rising affinity toward the class which is apparent with the steep increase in demand in the latest periods.”
Globally, as perfectly as India, quite a few spirits organizations have prolonged their manufacturers into life style products generally affiliated with gifting or sporting activities don. For instance, United Spirits house Royal Challengers has been providing apparel and life style products considering the fact that quite a few a long time, driving on the Indian Premier League cricketing staff. Also, B9 Drinks that makes Bira 91, established up its on the internet products keep nearly two a long time back, and introduced a new selection of T-shirts and glassware a handful of weeks back.
“The sale of our products, including apparel and bar extras, has continually been rising at thirty%. Our purpose is to achieve three% contribution to the company’s revenue by 2023 to occur from our products,” said Ankur Jain, founder of B9 Drinks.


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BorgWarner’s Beru Announcement
BorgWarner Germany, Heidelberg, a subsidiary of BorgWarner, US, has announced a voluntary public tender offer for Beru AG of 67.50 euro a share. A share purchase agreement of 62.21 per cent from major shareholders and a share purchase option agreement for 0.82 per cent has already been signed. All that is left to be approved by the relevant authorities is the closing of the share purchase agreement and the finalisation of the share purchase option agreement.
According to the company the price represents a premium of 14.7 per cent compared with the volume-weighted average price of Beru shares over the last 12 months (58.87 euros) and 12.4 per cent above the closing price (60.07 euros) in XETRA trading on the day before the publication of the decision.


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GoodBuy Gear Partners with buybuy BABY To Expand Upcycling Services Nationwide
GoodBuy Gear, the leading online marketplace for parents to buy and sell quality-used and open box baby and kid gear, is excited to announce the extension of its partnership with buybuy BABY®, the leading baby specialty retailer in North America, dedicated to helping families navigate the journey of parenthood. Building upon last year’s successful Trade-in Tuesday program at participating stores, the program is expanding to accept trade-ins at all US buybuy BABY stores during the first week of every month.
Kicking off February 7th, parents can drop off gently used baby and kid gear at their nearest buybuy BABY store in exchange for a buybuy BABY gift card to reinvest on their child’s next stage of essential gear, up to $534 per trade-in. This industry-leading instant gift card reward and trade-in program enables parents to earn money for items they are no longer using, while also allowing another family to own quality gear for less through GoodBuy Gear’s curated online marketplace. Accepted items include strollers, carriers, bouncers, high chairs and other gear based on quality, resale value and proven demand. Brands include 4moms, BabyBjorn, UPPAbaby, Thule, Stokke, HALO and more.
“Most baby and kid gear is designed to far exceed the average time a family actually needs it,” said GoodBuy Gear’s CEO and co-founder, Kristin Langenfeld. “Our partnership with buybuy BABY gives parents the unique opportunity to keep perfectly good gear in circulation longer by passing it along to another family—all while earning cash toward their own child’s next milestone and reducing their carbon footprint by up to 82%.”
“We’re thrilled to expand our partnership with GoodBuy Gear to all US stores, offering customers everywhere a chance to give their gently used gear a second life,” said Patty Wu, Senior Vice President and General Manager at buybuy BABY. “We’re continually exploring ways to expand our resources and offerings to equip parents with everything they need to navigate their journey. Product turn-in and resale is a win-win for our customers and our community, ultimately making quality gear accessible to more families throughout their path to parenthood.”
GoodBuy Gear emerged as the industry leader in baby and kid gear recommerce by creating a legitimate and convenient marketplace for parents to buy and sell used items. Its selling services are currently available in Denver, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia. Amid GoodBuy Gear’s expansion to additional cities this year, its trade-in program with buybuy BABY allows parents across the US an easy and convenient way to participate in the circular economy and earn credit for the gear they need next.
To learn more or participate in buybuy BABY and GoodBuy Gear’s trade-in program, visit: https://goodbuygear.com/pages/trade-in.


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Jakarta Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Darmin Nasution pointed to the quality of human resources emerging as a challenge in the development of financial technology (fintech) in Indonesia.
"The government has anticipated problems that might crop up in the development of financial technology while opening the space for innovation," Nasution remarked during the Indonesia Fintech Forum 2019 held here on Wednesday.
In 2020, the government will focus on the development of education and vocational training to enhance the quality of human resources as a future investment for the nation.
"Digital economy is set to redefine the future of work. Some remain, and some have just been born. Fintech is an area where future jobs are being created," he pointed out.
Indonesia's digital economy has shown rapid growth, with online transactions in 2018 amounting to Rp47.16 billion, or a 281.39 percent increase, as compared to Rp12.38 billion worth of online transactions in 2017. The government's support is elicited to offer facilities for fintech to drive further growth through innovation.
Source: Antara News


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London, United Kingdom – (The Hosting News) – July 20, 2007 –
The Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, and Switzerland are cited among the highest ranking for tax efficiency and overall attractiveness in offshore hosting, according to a new report by consultancy BroadGroup, which also identifies Middle East and North Africa countries, among those rising in popularity.
The report, Tax Efficient Hosting – Global Competition and Growth in Offshore Hosting – draws attention to growth occurring in 33 offshore hosting markets, which is currently driven by higher taxes imposed in mature economies, competition in foreign inward investment e-commerce and online gaming. This study suggests that Tax Efficient Hosting will become increasingly important as a source of competitive advantage to companies in the e-commerce sector.
Identifying key growth drivers, the report analyses current and new opportunities fuelling demand to host offshore. International competition to attract businesses to host within low tax economies, offshore “tax-free” jurisdictions and near-shore zones is intensifying. Businesses appear to be adopting a mix and match strategy, dispersing different parts of their operational requirements across a number of jurisdictions.
The report also details the critical differences between jurisdictions, and provides easy-to-access summaries of the key relevant conditions prevailing in each market, in addition to a scorecard for each market.
Philip Low at BroadGroup remarked, ”More than half the world’s money is located offshore. Demand is increasing to shift not only back-office functions and BPO offshore, but new demand from rising e-commerce based organisations, and even bricks and mortar businesses such as the retail sector, are sensing the opportunity to leverage part or all of their operations offshore and derive not only tax benefits but a less complex administrative environment in which their businesses can prosper.”
Emerging markets still have some way to go to compete effectively and the report points to the level of investment required by administrations to enable them to succeed in establishing themselves as competitive offshore locations. However, as before specified, the report does mention that North Africa and the Middle East are also slated as rising stars in the sector.
BroadGroup is an independent consultancy based in London, employing key directors, consultants and researchers, working across a range of disciplines.
To learn more, please visit: www.broad-group.com.


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Think you've wrapped your arms around the digerati demographics? Think the 13- to 34-year-old demographic controls the majority of media consumption and technology know-how? Think again.
A Weber Shandwick survey timed around the release of its interactive "screengrab" media unit revealed that mothers, school-aged children, baby boomers and seniors (ages 65+) are heavy users of technology. Among the findings:
- Four out of 10 surveyed mothers own and use a portable gaming device;
- 25% of these mothers spend up to five hours a week using the device;
- 25% of seniors expect to spend more time using computers and cell phones in the next five years;
- Baby boomers use cell phones, laptops and gaming consoles wherever they go; and,
- 33% of mothers check a company Web site after seeing an advertisement on television.
"The screen, whether it is a mobile phone, MP3 player, laptop, gaming console, TV or traditional movie theater screen, is the window to every consumer in the rapidly shifting world of technology and media," says B. Bonin Bough, executive vice president of screengrab. "Data suggest that those marketers and communicators who are focusing on one or two screens, or creating siloed programs for individual screens, may be diluting their impact."


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Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday helped boost global leisure bookings and rates in February, according to Pegasus Solutions. Last month, online bookings for leisure travel rose +4.6% over February 2013, and rates climbed a solid +4.0% higher, according to the largest processor of electronic hotel bookings.
“Short-term shifts like weather, for example, and long-term opportunities like a holiday weekend make allocating inventory and setting rates a complicated science,” said David Millili, chief executive officer of Pegasus Solutions. “The hotels that benefitted most from February’s incremental demand were those that were able to ‘look-up’ from their on-site tasks long enough to increase rates accordingly for the Friday the 14th weekend. Looking forward, March presents an opportunity to seize more corporate business, while April will once again be optimized for leisure with the Easter holiday.”
Increased consumer confidence and willingness to spend also contributed to leisure travel growth in February. Bookings through February show March arrivals down by -6.0% from last year, when Easter fell on March 31, then rising by +8.2% over prior year in April. Stays will be booked at higher rates worldwide, increasing at an expected monthly average of +5.0% for arrivals March through June, potentially reaching close to +7.0% in April.
Global corporate bookings, those made through the global distributions systems (GDSs), in February grew +1.5% over prior year, a slight jump from January’s growth of +1.0%. Rates paid for corporate bookings rose +2.5%. Due, in part, to Easter week, bookings thus far for business stays in March have increased by about +8.0% over 2013 before falling off by about -6.0% for April arrivals. Rates, however, will continue to grow, from modest levels around +1.6% in March to an average of +7.0% for trips taken April through June.
Data reported by Pegasus Solutions comes from billions of transactions processed for nearly 100,000 hotels through the only global hotel booking switch, which is owned by Pegasus. The Pegasus View, produced quarterly, is the only industry report to reflect historical and future data drawn from both GDS and ADS transactions. Pegasus, which processed 14 billion USD for clients in 2013 alone, recently announced expansion of its global business intelligence offering with PegasusView Market Performance Analytics.
About Pegasus Solutions
Pegasus Solutions is the single largest processor of electronic hotel transactions, delivering advanced and affordable connectivity and distribution solutions to nearly 100,000 hotels worldwide. Pegasus connects hotels to crucial sources of business – it processed transactions valued at 14 billion USD for its clients in 2013 alone. In addition to foundational global distribution system (GDS) access and online connectivity, Pegasus delivers online, social marketing and booking solutions through its Open Hospitality division, and powerful reservation tools to convert and capture bookings. As a trusted partner in generating guest room demand and sales, Pegasus also offers hotels actionable business intelligence through its PegasusView Market Performance reports to help hotels understand and respond to changing market conditions.
Pegasus has 18 offices in 10 countries, including regional hubs in New York, Dallas, Scottsdale, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Singapore. For more information, visit www.pegs.com or www.openhospitality.com.
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.


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PayPal is piloting Next-Day Settlement (NDS), a new service that cuts the time taken for transfers between a merchant’s PayPal account and their bank account from the usual three or four days to 24 hours. “We’ve been working with our banking partners to optimize processes on both their end and ours so that we can make the 24-hour transfer a reality,” PayPal says.
- Apple Pay users in the US to get buy now pay later option with iOS 16
- BIS reports on CBDCs in emerging markets
- Moroccan bank launches biometric payment card
- US digital bank introduces contactless payments rings
- Riksbank completes digital currency payments pilot


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In March 2020, the Tata Motors board had approved a plan to hive off the passenger vehicle (PV) business, which includes EVs, into a separate subsidiary and seek investors to help the unit secure its long-term viability.
The officials cited above said the Tata Group has high expectations with regard to the EV business valuation, but it will need to show more volumes if the expectations are to be met.
There have been reports that Tata Motors has talked to Chinese auto major Geely with the intention of roping in the company as a strategic partner for the PV business.
Its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has a tie-up with Chery Automobile of China.
“Discussions are open for a strategic partner or financial investors for the passenger vehicle business and the electric vehicle space is seen as a strong growth engine. Plans are open-ended currently in terms of likely partnerships,” a company insider said.
Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan are understood to be investment bankers for the proposed plan.
Tata Motors has received shareholder approval and now needs to receive a nod from National Company Law Tribunal before the PV business spinoff gets completed. The company is hoping to complete the process by the end of the September quarter this year.
“The subsidiarisation of the PV business is currently ongoing and is expected to complete this fiscal, post requisite approvals,” said the company spokesperson in response to ET’s email query.
“Tata Motors is looking to tie up with strategic investors as it plans to reduce its debts and bring it close to zero levels in the next 2-3 years,” said Mitul Shah, head of research, Reliance Securities.
The PV division had losses of Rs 11,173 crore as of June end 2020, while its valuation has been fixed at Rs 9,417 crore, a company notice to the shareholders in February 2021 said.
The automaker has priced its electric cars at 15-20% premium to conventional petrol/diesel-powered vehicles. “That the price premium is competitive between conventional engines and electric variants gives an added advantage to Tata Motors,” Shah added.
Tata Motors has stated that it will leverage group companies such as Tata Power for setting up charging infrastructure, Tata Auto Comp for battery packs,
for lithium ion cells and Tata Finance for financing options.


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After the smashing success of ‘Right Now’, Island Records artiste, Seyi Shay is set to drop yet another video of her ‘Seyi or Shay’ album featuring Olamide and we trust it’ll be dope.
Seyi shared a behind the scenes photo from the making of the video for the Meji Alabi directed ‘Pack & Go’ and if the fashion game we’re seeing is anything to go by, we’re in for some serious hood.
What do you make of the girls Ghana must go ensemble?
Photo credit: Instagram @iamseyishay
Leave your views in comments box below.


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Nature’s Plate Portland Winner Announced
The Nature Conservancy Awards Country’s Best Green Restaurants
Portland | October 17, 2013
The Nature Conservancy launched a contest in September asking foodies in Oregon and across the country to nominate their favorite green restaurants for Nature’s Plate, a second annual people’s choice contest to find consumers’ top green restaurants in each location. Since October 1, voters have been submitting their choice for which sustainable, organic or farm-to-table restaurant would take home the 2013 Award, and today the winners were announced:
The winner in Portland is Laughing Planet Café, with 10 locations throughout the Willamette Valley. Laughing Planet Café is a quick-service restaurant that offers fresh, healthy and affordable food, using locally sourced organic ingredients and globally inspired flavors.
"Winning this contest was the icing on the cake after a wonderful year,” said Matty Byloos, marketing director for Laughing Planet Café. “We truly believe in and abide by our commitments to sustainability, environmental awareness and education, fresh and healthy organic produce, and supporting a local agricultural economy, so it's great to see that resonates with our customers as well.”
The Nature Conservancy works with food producers around the world and unites traditionally unexpected partners in the name of healthy food and a healthy environment, finding solutions that are good for business, consumers and nature.
For the past eight years, The Nature Conservancy and Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Netarts Bay have been working together to bring back the Olympia oysters – the West coast’s only native oyster. These oysters were nearly wiped out due to habitat loss and non-native predators. For many years, not a single Olympia was spotted but now many have been sighted showing signs of a comeback. Some are even calling it an “oyster explosion.”
While this contest is focused on restaurants, it’s only the start of a conversation about food, conservation and The Nature Conservancy’s work with farmers, fishermen, winemakers and ranchers. You can also learn more about what makes a restaurant green and be sure to check in next year for the 2014 Nature’s Plate Award Contest. The Nature Conservancy does not endorse, recommend, or certify any restaurant as being green or sustainable.
This state-by-state and city-by-city contest took place in: California (Los Angeles and San Francisco) Colorado, Connecticut, Florida (Miami), Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois (Chicago), Massachusetts (Boston), Minnesota (Minneapolis & St. Paul), New Jersey, New Mexico (Albuquerque and Santa Fe), New York (NYC & Finger Lakes/Central Western), North Carolina (Durham), Ohio (Cleveland), Oregon, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Virginia (Charlottesville) and Washington DC.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the web at www.nature.org. To learn about the Conservancy’s global initiatives, visit www.nature.org/global. To keep up with current Conservancy news, follow @nature_press on Twitter.


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Sony announced that PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ), a rail operator in Indonesia, will implement FeliCa technology for its IC ticket operation.
KCJ plans to launch contactless card tickets as well as FeliCa embedded wristbands and NFC mobile phone service to provide passengers with a number of attractive options for traveling efficiently on its rail network. Starting in February 2015 with the new card and wristband, KCJ plans to expand its supported devices from the middle of 2015 to also include NFC mobile phones, in order to allow a large volume of passengers to benefit from a variety of convenient (FeliCa) contactless form factors.
“KCJ wants to harness Sony`s experience in providing FeliCa card as well as mobile technology to improve the lives of our passengers. The ability to read all types of chip will ease intermodal integration in the future because our devices are able to identify any type of electronic tickets that other transportation operators may develop later. KCJ will have one of the most advanced electronic ticketing systems in Asia Pacific,” Tri Handoyo, CEO of PT KAI Commuter Jabodetabek said.
KCJ operates a rail system covering the metropolitan area of Jakarta, with 64 stations covering 182 km and serving 700,000 passengers on a daily basis.


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UK organic beauty brand will launch into 13 European countries with the beauty retailer
UK organic beauty brand Pai Skincare is to launch into selected Sephora stores in Europe this March, giving it a presence in many European countries for the first time.
Pai currently sells in 17 countries, through around 200 doors.
The company will now launch into Sephora in 13 countries - France, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey and Switzerland, six of which - Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Poland and the Czech Republic -are new markets for the company....
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A video of Dolly Parton receiving her Covid jab while wearing a cold-shoulder top has started a trend for glamorous appointment fashion in Northern Ireland, experts have said.
The 75-year-old country music legend posted a video on her social media channels earlier this month, showing a doctor giving her the Moderna vaccine at Vanderbilt Health in Tennessee.
Never failing to take an opportunity to make a style statement, Dolly wore a sparkly blue knit top with cold-shoulder cutouts, custom-designed by her creative director, Steve Summers.
The New York Times hailed the outfit as the start of a vaccine fashion ‘moment’ after Hillary Clinton posted a message to Parton on social media asking "Shall we make this a trend?"
Twitter users subsequently praised Parton for opting for a glamorous but practical choice.
Belfast make-up artist Paddy McGurgan said the reaction was partly down to people wanting to look their best, even during lockdown.
"I think it comes out of sheer desperation of wanting a night out. Any sort of event, from getting the jab to going to Tesco, is about putting on a bit of make-up, a bit of mascara and feeling a little more back to feeling normal," he added.
He stressed that while eye make-up had grown in popularity because of face masks, people still loved their lipstick.
"It’s as if people are defiant in not letting face masks stop them from wearing their signature red," Paddy explained.
"It’s that idea of covering the mouth and lips. It has echoes of back to the Second World War, when women, no matter how rationed things were, were still buying their lipsticks.
"Back then, you still had women who were defiant and who held onto that femininity because there’s only so much that people can bend without losing themselves and their identity."
Paddy also joked that if "anyone is going to rock up in full glam" for a Covid jab, it would be Dolly.
"She obviously a glam icon. She’s kind of a symbol for people of how you can use being glam as a statement for part of your personality," he said.
Fashion expert Cathy Martin said that while she did not love the cold-shoulder style, she could understand why Dolly’s video had struck a chord with people.
"I personally prefer the fact that Dolly was singing a song about a vaccine to the tune of Jolene, but obviously it’s a very practical fashion choice for the vaccination," she added.
"It’s great people are thinking about the practical side of getting the needle into the arm.
"We get so little these days that going anywhere is an opportunity to really think about what we’re going to wear.
"We all have too many clothes, so if there’s any opportunity to put a bit of effort into what we’re wearing, (we’ll take it)."
Cathy acknowledged that the cold-shoulder look had its fashion ‘moment’ two or three years ago but stressed it remained stylish.
"I think, as a style and a cut, it will still be around for the summer months," she said.
"I don’t love the cut, but that’s me. I do think it’s a practical choice for a vaccination.
"It’s great if people are finding them in their wardrobes and wearing them."
A local fan of Dolly’s look was mentioned in the New York Times article after she tweeted in apparent support of the singer.
Alana Hughes’s post read: "I saw Dolly Parton wearing a cold-shoulder top to her vaccine, so I bought a cold-shoulder top for my vaccine."
The Belfast public relations consultant told this newspaper her comment was a play on a well-known quote from the film Mean Girls, but she nonetheless saluted Dolly’s style.
"I don’t actually own a cold-shoulder top and I didn’t have the chance to get one before my vaccination appointment," Alana said.
"When I was speaking to my GP’s surgery, I was talking to the girl about Dolly and she laughed because she said I was the second person to bring it up."
Instead of a cold-shoulder top, Alana, who was able to get her vaccine early because she suffers from asthma, wore black leather leggings and white T-shirt to her appointment.
"That was my best attempt at looking semi-put together that day," she joked.


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‘We feel really good about the parks and feel like there’s a lot of growth ahead.’
Universal’s theme parks are making money and aren’t slowing down as the economy weakens — at least not yet, executives said Thursday.
In the latest earnings call for Comcast Corp., Universal theme parks generated $1.8 billion in revenue, a 65% jump from the same quarter last year. What made that number even more impressive was the Beijing park was closed for most of the second quarter from the pandemic.
At Universal’s Florida and California parks, attendance is higher and people are spending more than in a pre-pandemic 2019, said Comcast’s chief financial officer Mike Cavanagh.
But fears are circulating that the U.S. economy is heading into a recession.
Historically, the theme park industry has been tied to the economy. People are less willing to splurge on vacations and park tickets in bad economic times.
One analyst asked Comcast’s leaders how the parks might fare the rest of this year and into 2023. Could the parks continue to deliver such record-breaking financial results if a recession hits?
“Obviously, the parks business historically has been subject to macro trends, and there’s no reason to think that that won’t be the case in the future. But when we look at our business, we’re just not seeing it yet in our numbers and our performance,” said Jeff Shell, the CEO of NBCUniversal, the division of Comcast that runs the parks.
“We feel really good about the parks and feel like there’s a lot of growth ahead of us despite what could be macro challenges that we could or might face. We’re just not seeing it yet. “
Universal’s parks are bringing high profits at a time when international tourism is still cut in half, another good sign about the future ahead as the tourism industry continues to rebound, Shell pointed out.
And Comcast is banking on the theme parks to remain a moneymaker as NBCUniversal builds Epic Universe, the new Orlando theme park set to open by the summer 2025. Executive did not release new details about the park’s offerings Thursday.
“We are moving full steam ahead and building Epic Universe. I cannot be more excited for how this park will bring new experiences to our visitors and additional runway for growth,” said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts during the earnings call.
The Walt Disney Company and SeaWorld Entertainment, Universal Orlando’s biggest competitors, are releasing quarterly earnings next month.


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CresCom Bank Names Helen Peters as North Myrtle Beach Branch Manager
April 22, 2014, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – CresCom Bank has named Helen Peters as its new North Myrtle Beach branch manager.
Previously, Peters served as a retail sales manager at First Citizens Bank in Myrtle Beach. Prior to that, she worked as a branch manager at Atlantic Bank and Trust. She also has retail banking experience at Coastal Federal Bank and Dollar Bank.
“We are pleased to select Helen as our new branch manager for the North Myrtle Beach branch,” said David L. Morrow, CEO of CresCom Bank. “She has a tremendous amount of experience within the market and is an excellent addition.”


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DOWNLOAD MP3: O2 And T-Mobile UK Launch XPERIA X10 Android 2.1 UpdateBy KellyCHI August 4, 2022, 06:14 am Comments
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We have some more fine news for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 UK users. The Android 2.1 update is already rolling out on the O2 network, while T-Mobile is preparing for a next week launch. It's time to backup and pack-up.
The SIM-free XPERIA X10 and X10 mini already got their updates, while the carrier-locked devices are getting it just now. The O2 users can update their devices just now, while T-Mobile promises to push the update some time next week.
If you are O2 or T-Mobile UK user, it's a fine time to backup and prepare for the update.
More For You: T-Mobile G1 And MyTouch3G Get Android 1.6 Donut Update


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WARSAW — This Friday and Saturday, Oct.14-15, Hither & Yon will be hosting a large home goods sale at Lakeland Christian Academy, located at 1093 S. CR 250E, Winona Lake, including everything from repurposed furniture to other beautiful and unique home furnishings including pillows, lamps, wall art and other craft items. All of the proceeds will be used to support education for children in Zambia for whom a high school graduation can be life altering.
This will be the third annual sale held in the fall at Lakeland Christian Academy and it has become an event people really look forward to attending. As a ministry of Mission Point Community Church, Hither & Yon exists with the sole focus of fostering hope through education.
“We are so excited to continue this two-day event at Lakeland, said Laurie Victa, manager of Hither & Yon. “Our volunteers have been working tirelessly to be able to offer some really beautiful items.”
Through a partnership with a group of churches in rural Zambia, Hither & Yon has been able to establish an education project and identify students that are at risk for dropping out of school due to financial hardship. “At this point we have committed to supporting a group of children through high school, which will empower them and offer a whole new world of opportunity. All of the proceeds from this sale will be used to support those children,” says Victa.
While people can simply donate to the cause, the goal is to offer something in return. “This is a real opportunity to put your money to work. Shopping the sale allows you to purchase with a purpose – and bring home something unique at the same time!”
The doors will open at Lakeland 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information about Hither & Yon and the children they support, and to see pictures of some of the items for sale, please visit online.


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Here's looking at blue, kid! Kylie Jenner shows off her ice queen locks - and toned stomach - as she poses for obligatory selfies after style change
She may be the youngest of the Kardashian/Jenner clan, but Kylie Jenner is certainly building up a reputation as the boldest member of the family in the style stakes.
The 17-year-old fashion icon debuted her new ice blue tresses at the launch of Bellami Beauty Bar in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Her striking new look was the main-talking point of the glitzy event, and she treated fans to another glimpse on Instagram on Friday.
Scroll down for video
Ice to see you: Kylie Jenner showcased her new blue tresses in a number of selfies on Friday
Kylie shared a number of obligatory selfies to showcase her new look while posing on a hotel balcony.
The reality TV star - who is set to launch her own beauty blog - showed off her flawlessly made-up face as she looked into the camera for two snaps.
She also showcased her fabulous figure in a beige suede two piece, which put her toned stomach on display.
Speaking to E! about her new look at the red carpet event on Thursday, the adventurous teen explained: 'I just wanted to do something different and fun, and I haven't switched it up in [a while] so... I'm just having fun. It took a while, so it's kind of crazy but it's fun.'
Cool lady: The teen also showcased her fabulous figure in a beige suede two piece, which put her toned stomach on display, as she gave fans a further glimpse at her new look
Healthy: The teenager looked happy and toned as she stepped out from a white vehicle earlier in the day
Helping hand: A man seemed to appear to help Kylie close the door of the vehicle after she got out
Standing tall: The reality star added height to her already slender frame with a pair of gold heels
Essentials: As she walked across the car park, she could be seen clutching her phone, a piece of paper and a pair of sunglasses
Colour pop: The young entrepreneur ensured her nails matched her new vibrant hair colour
Immaculate: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kylie's make up was on trend and there wasn't a hair out of place
Busy: It looked like nothing would stop the beautiful star as she powered inside despite wearing heels
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star wasn't just turning heads with her hair colour, however.
Kylie - who has denied rumours of breast implants - was in a daring mood, and wore an extremely low-cut white jumpsuit, which plunged almost all the way to her belly button.
The jumpsuit had a '70s feel to it, with flared trousers that covered her metallic gold heels.
Like a mermaid: Kylie debuted her new look at Bellami Beauty Bar in West Hollywood on Thursday
Daring: The 17-year-old wore a white jumpsuit which almost plunged all the way to her belly button
An unusual shade: Kylie has had blue hair before, but her latest shade is a lot more pale
She's got competition! Eva Marie of Total Divas rocked VERY fiery locks during the event
Preened: The youngest Jenner girl shared a selfie with two very glamorous attendees
She carried a gold clutch and accessorised with a variety of gold and silver trinkets including an ornate choker.
She kept her make-up palette neutral with a nude lip to allow her hair to make the biggest statement.
Kylie was at the event to promote her line of hair extensions with Bellami.
Retro: Kylie's jumpsuit featured 70s style flares which covered her gold heels
Bling: The teen star accessorised with a gold clutch and a variety of gold and silver trinkets
The entrepreneur posed with a box of some of her hair pieces which come in a variety of different shades including some ombre effects with teal coloured ends.
Each box of the 20 inch clip-in extensions retails at $249.
Allegations that the reality star has had breast implants surfaced last month when she was seen showing a lot of cleavage, but she denied the rumours.
Fans: Quite a crowd had gathered to see the Keeping Up With The Kardashian star make her entrance into the store
Guest of honour: The reality star was seen driving up to the event in her car
In a Snapchat video, Kylie said: ''To whoever thinks I had breast implants, there’s a whole lot of tape in here holding these up.'
It's not the first time the teenager has come out in denying she has had any body augmentation.
Last month she finally came clean and admitted to having lip fillers, having denied the same for more than a year.
It was during an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians that she finally made the admission.
Natural hue: Kylie's tresses were dark brown just a day ago
Standing out: At this year's Coachella Music Festival Kylie rocked aquamarine tresses but quickly reverted back to brunette afterwards
Blue belle: The reality star displayed teal tinted tips in June last year at a book signing
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MADISON, Wis. - McDonald's will be adding cheese curds to the menu at its restaurants in Wisconsin, according to a release.
Starting Monday, McDonald's will sell cheese curds at all locations in the Milwaukee area, and the rest of the state will add curds to their menu on Thanksgiving, officials said.
Cheese curds and the newly-added Johnsonville brats will be added to the McPick 2 for $5 menu, according to the release.
McDonald's cheese curds will be made with real Wisconsin cheese, supporting local farms throughout the state.
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CircleUp, an investment crowdfunding platform that targets early stage consumer product companies, announced on Wednesday the roll out of its new credit advisors affiliate.
The platform revealed that through CircleUp Credit Advisors approved companies may receive revolving lines of credit that are backed by their working capital assets. This includes accounts receivable (AR), purchase orders (POs), and inventory.
“While CircleUp’s existing marketplace and equity divisions provide companies with growth equity capital to execute on bigger picture growth initiatives like hiring and expanding into new product lines, CircleUp Credit Advisors provides the recurring working capital infusions that companies need to boost their sales cycles and get products on shelves faster.”
CircleUp also noted that CircleUp Credit Advisors is in the interesting position of being able to efficiently evaluate the true creditworthiness of consumer product brands and provide them with meaningful amounts of working capital at fair terms. No drawn-out due diligence process, no paltry loan offerings, no exorbitant rates. Just the credit that early-stage CPG companies deserve. The portal added:
“We’re proud to have built a strong reputation with the CPG community, with more than 17,000 companies having applied to our marketplace platform to raise equity funding over the past five years. Because of our existing industry presence and Helio, CircleUp Credit Advisors benefits from dramatically lower costs to find and evaluate borrowers—and passes those savings onto customers with lower rates.”


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From Master P hinting that the North Carolina MC was working on his hooping skills to the Detroit Pistons social team reaching out for a tryout. Could J. Cole actually be in the NBA?
Bleacher Report is teaming with beloved throwback jersey and apparel company Mitchell & Ness to flip the jersey game. The multimedia sports brand launched NBA Remixes on Tuesday, highlighting 8 artists who remixed their team’s hometown jerseys in their own image. Of course, Master P and Romeo flipped the New Orleans Pelicans into the No Limit Pelicans, Jim Jones and Cam’Ron added a Dipset […]
Last night was the season opener for the Detroit Pistons in the brand new Little Caeser’s Arena! Of course, a ton of Detroit Legends had to show up for an iconic moment. The game started off with a performance by Dej Loaf. https://www.instagram.com/p/BaaBYP6nxXQ/?taken-by=hiphopdetroit https://www.instagram.com/p/BaaAzP3j-YL/?tagged=dejloaf Followed by Eminem opening up the game with 105.9 KISS, […]
If you’ve been one of the many that have sworn off the NFL this season for “various” reasons, you probably ecstatic about NBA season being back in. Saying that, Eminem, who’s been in the news lately for his freestyle combat diss on President Donald Trump he performed during the BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher segment, […]
Four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace was joined by his coach, Larry Brown Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills as his No.…
In a slick supercut, POTUS glides all over the Drake and Future collab, alongside clips of Drummond in the paint.
Nope not Michael Jordan. I’m talking about Houston’s own DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angles Clippers. What he did last night to Detroit Piston’s G Brandon Knight is borderline criminal. They may still be cleaning up the Staples Center floor after this monster dunk. Follow me on Twitter @RobGTheGeneral


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Noah J Nelson on Tuesday, Oct. 2nd
It’s always great to hear when games are being used as something other than a way to kill time. Even better when they’re put to use to help design a better tomorrow. After hearing about a Swedish project that used the indie game juggernaut Minecraft to help people reconstruct their own neighborhoods the United Nations asked the game’s developer, Mojang, to create a tool they could use.
The result is “Block by Block“, a modified version of the game that aims to get youth involved in the reimagining of their own communities. The Electronic Software Association crowed about it in their October newsletter, which is where I first came across the news:
Within Minecraft’s digital representations, users can construct an unlimited array of buildings and public spaces, including homes, parks and offices. By collecting input from local populations, the game can inform urban planners and decision makers about the types of improvements that would be most beneficial and appealing to the overall community. The pilot project has already launched in Kibera, Nairobi.
Mojang has had huge success with Minecraft, which has been somewhat of a pleasant shock to the game community at large. The small company, founded by Markus “Notch” Persson, has raked in millions with the blocky looking but addictive sandbox game. Those millions allow Mojang to be the main financial backer of the “Block by Block” project.
The developer has pledged to work with the UN Habitat organization in a three-year partnership.