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Two Vineyard Haven business success stories
Although many Vineyard Haven businesses have come and gone over the years, owners Jean Dupon of Le Grenier restaurant and Heather Kochin of Rainy Day gift shop have made their Main Street establishments successful mainstays. This year both celebrate milestones, 30 years in business for Le Grenier, and 35 for Rainy Day.
Le Grenier's recipe for success
In 1979 Mr. Dupon sold a restaurant he owned in Lexington and was traveling around the country when a friend called and asked him for a favor. Le Grenier's original owner, who opened the restaurant at 96 Main Street in 1978, prevailed on Mr. Dupon to be his chef the next summer.
"I never thought I'd be here 30 years," said Mr. Dupon, who not only stayed for the summer but also bought the restaurant from his friend in 1979 and the building in 1985.
In a recent interview in the restaurant's dining room on the second floor, Mr. Dupon recalled, "It did not look like this at all. I started very much from scratch. I had one six-burner stove, one refrigerator, no steam table, no dishwasher - nothing, nothing."
In addition to Le Grenier, for about 10 years Mr. Dupon also ran a pastry shop and café serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the first floor where Martha's Vineyard Bagel Authority currently operates. He said he closed it in the early 1990s because finding employees became difficult.
Le Grenier is a family effort that now includes three generations. Mr. Dupon's son Jean Marc works as a chef Thursday nights after finishing his day job at the Land Bank. Jean Marc's 13-year-old son, Zachary, makes salads and desserts, his 14-year-old daughter, Jessica, buses tables, and his former wife, Michele, works as a hostess.
In encouragement of Zachary's aspirations to become a chef, Mr. Dupon said he recently purchased him his own Le Grenier uniform, complete with a black chef jacket. The delighted grandfather notes that Zachary already has mastered some of the restaurant's trademark dishes.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
"What I'm really proud about is my grandchildren, about the family, and a good reputation - not only the reputation but also the support that the community has given us all these years by being customers," he said.
Pointing out that Le Grenier is the Island's longest-running chef-owned restaurant, Mr. Dupon attributes its success to consistency, the menu, and word of mouth. "When I first started, most of the restaurants had only 5 or 6 items on the menu," he said. "I started with a large menu so that people could come back to experience different dishes."
The menu offers 28 entrées, including the show- stopper Steak Au Poivre, set to flames at tableside. Mr. Dupon has kept the menu basically the same for the last 30 years, with good reason. "I tried to change it one year because I wanted to try something different, and then I almost had a mutiny here from my customers," he said, with a laugh. "I did not realize that they came back year after year, that they would come two or three times here, for that meal that they remembered that they liked." As a compromise, he offers new dishes as daily specials.
When asked what changed most for him as a businessman in 30 years, Mr. Dupon cited rising costs on the Island. "For people to come and enjoy themselves here, it's getting to be very, very expensive," he said. "When I started on the Vineyard 30 years ago, 25 years ago, even 15 years ago, I used to see people who used to come here to have dinner, and while they were on vacation here for 2 or 3 weeks, they'd come to the restaurant twice a week. And then it became once a week - and now they come in once, especially given the economy nowadays."
On a busy night, Mr. Dupon estimates Le Grenier serves between 150 and 180 meals. On his busiest night he once prepared 222 dinners. Mr. Dupon's workday starts at 6:30 am, with a break after his lunch, and lasts until closing, anywhere from 11 pm to midnight.
The restaurant is open year-round, serving dinner seven days a week from May through Columbus Day weekend, then five days a week the rest of the year, with the exception of a few weeks in winter.
Mr. Dupon said the defeat of a ballot question last spring to allow beer and wine sales in Tisbury restaurants, which would have provided additional revenue, will weigh into his decision in how many days he will keep Le Grenier open this coming winter.
Although Mr. Dupon said he kids his grandchildren about growing up faster so he can stop working, he added, "I'm still enjoying it, and I'll keep working as long as I can. I don't see myself as retiring and just sitting on the porch."
Rainy Day, an all-weather favorite
Although Ms. Kochin graduated from college with a degree in landscape architecture, the gift store business was in her blood. While growing up in Shelburne Falls, she helped in a gift store owned and operated by her grandfather for 30 years.
Rainy Day's original owners, Ann Milstein and Frank Piccione, opened the store at 66 Main Street in Vineyard Haven in 1973. They hired Ms. Kochin, newly graduated from college, as the manager in 2000.
After managing Rainy Day for two and a half years, Ms. Kochin bought the store in 2002, adding her own touches by upgrading and changing its overall appearance, and introducing early bird specials, coupons in the local papers, and senior citizen and Island Club card discounts. To reward returning customers, she instituted a "frequent buyer" punch card.
In talking about what she thinks has contributed to Rainy Day's success as a year-round business, Ms. Kochin said, "One thing Ann and Frank taught me is to just be reliable as a store everyone knows is open. As much as there are days when there's no one on the street, you can't just choose to close up early, or not open at all."
Ms. Kochin describes herself as "the heart" and Helen MacLeod, who has been the store manager for three years, as "the blood" of the business. Ms. Kochin credits Ms. MacLeod and their team of employees for helping make the store a success by sharing in the responsibilities.
To keep her inventory fresh and new, Ms. Kochin orders merchandise from over 400 companies. "I'm always asking customers questions - what are you looking for, what do you need," she said, adding with a laugh, "I'm a mover and shaker - if I get bored with something, I put it on sale."
However, as Ms. Kochin said she also realizes, "it's important to keep the staples, the things customers know they can rely on Rainy Day for."
Some of the tried and true favorites include wind-up toys, starfish and sea glass, and paper star lights.
Mindful and appreciative of returning customers, Ms. Kochin instituted a "frequent buyer" punch card to reward them, soon after she bought Rainy Day. To improve on the idea, she said she is considering keeping customer appreciation cards on file at the store, because sometimes shoppers forget to bring their punch cards.
Oftentimes Island visitors want to take home gifts and items made on Martha's Vineyard, Ms. Kochin pointed out, and many of them, particularly day-trippers, are unable to shop at venues such as the Artisans Fair. Consequently, one of her goals is to showcase and sell more Island-made merchandise.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for many amazing Island artists," Ms. Kochin said, considering that Rainy Day will handle the advertising and publicity, supply the venue, and sell the products. Those who are interested can contact Ms. MacLeod.
Ms. Kochin said she also is committed to purchasing hand-made, fair trade, environmentally friendly, and made-in-the-U.S. products.
When asked if she had ever bought merchandise she considered a "mistake," Ms. Kochin laughed. "Yes, I have. I bought these huge glass vases that could have been pillar candle holders for a walkway, that were lime green, white and aqua," she confessed. "I couldn't get rid of them. Luckily our manager took them to her house for her daughter's wedding."
On the other hand, an item she didn't expect to be a big success - an extendable backscratcher - has remained a bestseller year after year.
In addition to updating merchandise and store displays, Ms. Kochin said she hosts different events to keep things changing. For example, during the December 2006 holiday season, Rainy Day offered a men's shopping morning, complete with discount coupons, complimentary coffee and donuts, personal shoppers, and free gift-wrapping.
Ms. Kochin said she plans to continue giving back to the community in the form of discounts, giveaways, and donations. "I hope to have the energy of the previous owners, to keep going for another 35 years," she said.


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Curry’s PC World owner Dixons Carphone has made great strides in the past 12 months to bolster its cross-channel capabilities.
As one of Retail Week Indicator’s ecommerce leaders, ranking fifth out of the 176 retailers reviewed, Curry’s PC World has taken learnings from across its group to develop how its online and offline channels work in tandem to drives sales growth and customer satisfaction.
Of the electricals retailer’s online sales, 40% involve a store colleague, either by a shopfloor employee ordering an item for a customer they are serving via its website or passing on the parcel to the customer at its click-and-collect desk.
Because of this, Dixons Carphone ecommerce director Stuart Ramage is adamant that making it easier for shoppers to navigate its stores and website concurrently makes good business sense, as well as enhancing the shopping experience.
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Mercedes-Benz along with its performance partner AMG has revealed the Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar. The hypercar had been teased multiple times before and has finally been revealed at the ongoing 2017 Frankfurt Motorshow.
The new car utilises technology straight from the F1 cars driven by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in the 2017 season. The powertrain is a 1.6-litre, V6 petrol engine and electric motor that has been taken from the F1 car and reworked for road use.
Mercedes chairman Dieter Zetsche said: "This vehicle will make all the performance cars at Mercedes and AMG look small. In 40 years I have never witnessed as much hype at Mercedes as there was with this car. After we showed the silhouette at Paris we had calls the next day to buy them. AMG's future does not depend on petrol, but on hybridisation and electrification too. This car gives an outlook for the future of AMG. Our task is not just to reinvent the automobile but to redefine mobility."
Mercedes claims that the new hypercar can go from 0-200kmph in just 6 seconds. The top speed will also surpass the 350kmph mark. The car can only be driven on electric power and it has a pure electric range of 26km.
Only 275 units of the car will be built and deliveries will begin in 2019.


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Mozilla announces Personas 2.0
The Labs team at Mozilla has announced the launch of version 2.0 of Personas, a Mozilla Labs experiment that lets users easily change the appearance of their standard grey Firefox web browser. The Personas are lightweight "skins" for the web browser that change the look of Firefox by changing the header and footer areas, while leaving the navigation buttons and menus alone.
Compared to version 1.0, which the Labs developers launched at the end of March, Personas 2.0 now includes several new features, such as search and favorites, a new "Up & Coming" gallery to help users discover new artists and designs, and even more localisations. Other changes include a new "enhanced look" and a wider choice of designs. According to Mozilla, while Personas 1.0 launched with less than 150 designs, the developers expect to offer a choice from 40,000 designs by the end of this year.


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French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to make Britain contribute towards the cost of tighter border controls in Calais after Brexit, according to media reports.
Mr Macron will travel to London in mid-January for a summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May, at which he will raise the border issue, The Telegraph reported.
French politicians are piling pressure on Mr Macron to force Britain to help fund the new customs posts at France’s Channel ports after it leaves the EU.
However, senior Brexiteers roundly rejected the idea that the UK should contribute to the cost, calling it “illogical” and “absurd”.
Former Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith said: “There is no logical or legal reason why Britain should pay anything towards this. It’s an absurdity.
“No other country is asking for money, not Holland, not Belgium, and Mrs May should remind Mr Macron that he stands to benefit from this arrangement because France sells more goods to us than we sell to them.”
The issue of tighter border controls at Calais has not yet come up in the formal Brexit talks, although French officials say it may cost more than preparing the Irish border for the UK’s departure.
Jean-Paul Mulot, northern France's envoy to the UK, told The Telegraph it would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to build the new customs infrastructure which needs to be in place by the time Britain leaves the EU, when the free movement of goods ends.
Mr Mulot said the bill should be shared between Britain, France and the rest of the EU, adding that it was similar to the UK’s funding for passport checks that take place on French soil under the Le Touquet treaty.
The Channel is one of Europe’s busiest trade routes and French officials are anxious to maintain the fluid movement of goods across it after Brexit.
“At the height of the migrants' crisis two years ago, when cross-Channel traffic was being disrupted, Volkswagen’s Oxford factory considered closing temporarily because it was running out of parts,” Mr Mulot said. “About 800,000 car parts cross the Channel each day, and huge quantities of food too.”
He said he was optimistic that the UK would agree to pay, despite reports that British officials have already dismissed the idea.
Brexiteers will find the cost hard to stomach after the UK already conceded on the so-called ‘divorce bill’ last month, in order to move the talks onto a future trade agreement.
“Theresa May can smile sweetly at Mr Macron and tell him there will not be a penny more than has already been agreed,” Mr Duncan-Smith said.
“We have already said how much we will pay, and if the EU wants to give some of that money to France that’s up to them.”


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There’s a new, two-tone green Xbox Wireless Controller launching in time for Earth Day, which is April 22. Microsoft is touting the gamepad’s made-from-recycled-plastics heritage, but mostly, the thing looks cool and it’s a new color for the console-and-PC compatible peripheral.
Tuesday’s announcement of the Remix Special Edition controller said it was made from “recovered plastics with one-third of it made from regrind and reclaimed materials.”
For those not hip to materials science jargon, “regrind” means parts from old Xbox One generation controllers were used in the making of the new model. Additionally, “post-consumer recycled resins are incorporated from reclaimed materials like automotive headlight covers, plastic water jugs, and CDs.”
It’s a nice gesture, but fans who really are concerned about plastics’ impact on the environment should keep their eyes on the ball: Reducing consumption is the most effective way to reduce waste, after all. Research has found that just 9% of plastic waste has ever been recycled, and the ocean is notoriously full of waste plastic, some of it forming enormous, floating garbage patches.
In 2021, Microsoft launched an “Ocean Plastic Mouse,” that comprised 20% recycled plastic in its manufacture. But the benefit of reusing that much plastic was effectively wiped out if the company sold 20% more mice thanks to the new model, one expert told The Verge.
For those wondering, yes, the Earth Day Remix Special Edition controller does come with a rechargeable battery pack. (You can also just put two rechargeable AAs in it. Or plug the thing into the console.) So at least it reduces consumption in that regard. The controller is $84.99 and will be in stores and available from Xbox.com on April 18.


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The government needs to act fast to prevent India’s economy from sinking further, according to several experts who anticipate the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to shrink more if corrective measures including additional stimulus are not urgently taken.
One such expert is noted economist and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who has explained how India’s economic revival will be tougher if the government waits any longer to roll out its second round of stimulus to support the economy.
His warning comes after India’s GDP fell to a historic low of -23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter — the worst among all major economies — on account of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Not just Rajan but many other economists including the likes of former Prime Minister and economist Manmohan Singh and former Union Finance Minister P Chidamabaram red-flagged certain issues that have become serious hurdles of growth following the pandemic.
Various growth projections released by credit rating agencies and research firms indicate that the first leg of the stimulus package failed in addressing the massive demand void aggravated by the pandemic.
The government had earlier announced a stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore and pinned hopes of revival on limiting the virus outbreak in India. But the growth figures for the first three months of the year have made it clear that direct stimulus measures are the need of the hour.
At present, the Indian economy is facing a volley of challenges including unemployment, historic GDP contraction, sharp slump in demand, high inflation and an overshooting fiscal deficit.
The government had earlier faced criticism over its economic stimulus package as did not include adequate direct measures to boost growth.
As the government prepares for another round of fiscal stimulus to revive the economy, here are some aspects the economists want it to focus on:
FRESH STIMULUS FOR MIDDLE-CLASS
Experts have already highlighted how the first economic stimulus package failed to focus on India’s aspiring middle-class population. Loss of income and rising unemployment are two key factors that have forced the middle-class population to reduce spending drastically.
Indiatoday.in had earlier reported how badly the middle-class spending has been impacted due to coronavirus.
A stimulus package focused on giving direct benefits to the middle-class could help alleviate the situation. Experts believe it will lead to a spike in private consumption.
An increase in consumption will directly help in better cash flow, giving India a much better shot at economic recovery.
The government is understood to be working on another stimulus package to help the country’s vast middle-class population.
ADDRESSING DEMAND SLOWDOWN
Lack of demand is another major factor behind India’s economic weakness at the moment.
The demand for most luxury goods and services in India has collapsed. Demand fell initially due to the lockdown and later due to burgeoning financial stress due to salary cuts and job losses.
People in India — especially lower and middle-income groups with a smaller share of discretionary income — have reduced spending on goods that are not essential. It is evident from the vast disruption caused in sectors such as automobiles and other white goods.
Several reports have underlined the need for the government to find practical ways to boost demand without spending too much on stimulus.
While a stimulus package is necessary to boost demand, the government could opt for some policy reforms to boost domestic demand and engage in sector-specific consultations to find out ways to attract consumers.
FOCUS ON JOB CREATION
More than 2.1 crore individuals have lost salaried jobs due to the pandemic since April, and economists estimate the number to increase in future as companies struggle to run smoothly.
The sharp fall in salaried jobs is a reflection of India’s worsening economic condition is a major reason behind declining demand. Indiatoday.in earlier reported how the pandemic has triggered a severe job crisis for millions of aspiring young professionals in the country.
In such a scenario, the government should provide targeted stimulus, especially in the worst-affected sectors, to help companies retain their employees.
Subsidising labour costs, cutting taxes and offering incentives to the worst-affected sectors can significantly help in preventing jobs losses and even result in the creation of new ones.
It is worth mentioning that spending more on sectors like infrastructure helps create significant number of jobs.
The government may have to recapitalise banks and encourage them to lend more.
While only select MSMEs were allowed to borrow under the earlier credit guarantee scheme, adequate lending should be extended to all MSMEs and private consumers in order to boost economic growth.
Also Read | Loan moratorium: Is an NPA avalanche on the way?
But banks in India have turned risk-averse due to the large pile of existing NPAs. The lack of lending to some small scale businesses, MSMEs and even individuals has further crippled growth during the pandemic.
Just a few days ago, Chidambaram supported the idea of bank recapitalisation as one of the ways to revive India’s economy.
CLEARING STATE DUES
The central government should replenish the coffers of state governments as they spend more on infrastructure projects that lead to creation of more jobs, wrote Raghuram Rajan in a recent article.
However, the Centre and states are currently engaged in a tussle over unpaid GST Compensation dues.
The central government has categorically told states that it will not be able to pay compensation dues for the year due to the severe disruptions caused due to the pandemic.
However, many state finance ministers have questioned the GST Council’s proposal asking states to borrow as their position remains uncertain due to the economic slowdown.
While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to intervene, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac wrote in an opinion column that the central government’s stance on GST compensation to state is “untenable” — both legally and morally.
States like Kerala and West Bengal have already rejected the Centre’s proposal asking states to borrow to make up for unpaid GST dues during the year.
Since states spend more on specific schemes and infrastructure development, it is important for the Centre to come up with an alternate plan to clear the large pile of GST dues.
The Centre could either relax FRBM norms or borrow more to help the state make for their revenue losses besides accelerating divestments to raise capital, as P Chidambaram earlier suggested.


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Accounts of collapsed Thomas Cook to be probed further
The watchdog said it will investigate EY’s audit of Thomas Cook’s financial statements for the year ending 30 September 2018.
This is in addition to it already probing EY’s audit of the failed travel firm’s accounts for the year ending 30 September 2017.
The investigation is being conducted by the FRC’s enforcement division and it said it “will continue to keep the scope of investigations under close review”.
In May, the renowned travel firm reported a £1.5bn half-year loss and issued its third profit warning.
Thomas Cook entered administration in September, leaving 150,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad. A further 300,000 future Thomas Cook holidays were also cancelled.
Just last week it was revealed that at the time of its collapse, customers had shelled out £585m for worthless package holidays, flights and other services.
To date, customers of the failed group have received more than £200m in refunds under the ATOL financial protection scheme.
Overall, the group’s total liabilities come to £9bn, including £5.7bn in debts to other companies, £1.7bn to banks and other lenders, £885m for trade creditors such as airline businesses and tour operations, and £45m to employees.


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More SMEs in the Northern Territory will have the opportunity to apply for government-funded concessional loans and equity finance, as part of a funding measure contained in the 2021-22 Northern Territory budget.
Chief Minister and Treasurer Michael Gunner revealed his government’s spending priorities on Tuesday, with this year’s budget to also include a number of measures to benefit the local tourism and hospitality sectors.
The government has allocated $120 million over two years to the Local Jobs Fund, which was established in 2019 and offers businesses concessional loans, equity co-investments and grants.
To date, the $69 million co-investment fund has given grants and concessional loans to six companies, however, Gunner said the new funding from this year’s budget will turn the fund into a “jobs jackpot”.
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The fund will expand the territory’s “growth base, add value to our economy, and add new skills to our workforce,” said the Chief Minister in his budget speech. The fund is “all about backing businesses that are having a go, businesses that want to invest here, make things here, and create jobs here”.
“If you’ve got a head full of ideas and a pocket full of money, we want you here,” Gunner said, addressing business owners.
“If you are prepared to roll up your sleeves and have a crack, we want you here.”
The new funding has been welcomed by CPA Australia, which noted it comes “at a time when small businesses are struggling to access finance”.
Overall, the budget projects a deficit of $1.4 billion for the coming financial year, and demonstrated an improvement of $934 million over the past two years.
While the NT government has committed to an $1.6 billion investment in infrastructure, CPA Australia’s general manager of external affairs Jane Rennie described the new spending in the budget as “modest” at a time when “expansionary fiscal policy” is needed.
“We think it’s too early to tighten the public purse strings,” she added.
Tourism in focus
The 2021-22 Northern Territory budget also includes significant spending to help support smaller operators in the territory’s tourism sector.
Gunner said while the territory’s tourism operators are starting to see interstate visitors return to the region and locals “discovering more of their own backyard”, the continued restrictions on international travel means “a massive slice of the tourism industry’s market is still cut off”.
The government’s ‘Territory Tourism Comeback Plan’ includes $10 million for tourism incentives for the low season, including a $5 million extension of the territory’s existing voucher program.
The government will also spend $12 million to extend its Visitor Experience Enhancement Program for four years, which will allow more tourism operators to upgrade their offerings.
To date, the program has provide $6 million in grants to more than 230 businesses, which have contributed an additional $15 million in private investment.
The government will also spend $4 million on new Roadhouse to Recovery grants that will provide funding for roadhouse and caravan park operators to undertake renovations.
Under the program, 32 businesses have already received grants and Gunner said the additional funding will “spark a new renovation boom, a tradie boom and a drive-tourism boom right across the territory”.
Festivals and other big events will receive $17 million in funding, and further support will be offered for the region’s parks and Aboriginal park rangers.


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Often called "the bible of fashion", Women's Wear Daily magazine celebrated its 100th anniversary last week. The red carpet at the celebration was star-studded with models, designers, and fashionistas, but many had something in common: black was the overwhelming palette of the high fashion event at Cipriani in NYC.
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen turned up representing their line The Row. The twins wore shaggy black fur coats, and Vogue editor, Anna Wintour, was spotted in a coat with a similar black fur collar. You know the Olsen twins must be doing something right if it's Anna-approved.
Eye catching collars were also worn by designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman, founders of Marchesa. Craig's layered gold necklaces were reminiscent of a Cleopatra-style breastplate, and Chapman's fluffy neckline looked like an amped-up take on Queen Elizabeth's ruffled collars. Designer Anna Sui's Chinese-inspired embroidered velvet cape showed a flair for the historical as well.
Though these names in fashion were there to celebrate the history of the iconic periodical, they also seemed to be paying homage to fashion's own history.


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You won't believe how quickly Labor Day comes around.
No matter how you feel about the end of summer, you can't deny the joy of Labor Day deals.
Mattresses and bedding, furniture, and seasonal summer products like outdoor décor go on sale in droves throughout Labor Day weekend.
Summing up, it's expected to be on sale later this month if you require it for domestic purposes.
According to Good Housekeeping Institute's chief technologist and executive technical director Rachel Rothman.
Holiday weekends like Labor Day are the greatest time of year to buy big ticket items like furniture and appliances.


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With the advent of electric transportation, we are rapidly moving towards a future dependent on Li-ion batteries. A responsible and modern approach to this industrial revolution must involve establishing a sustainable model for Li-ion battery manufacturing.
However, that approach cannot end with manufacturing. Instead, it must extend to incorporate battery recycling as a fundamental aspect of a sustainable electric vehicle (EV) industry.
Batteries are, after all, systems which simultaneously require considerable amounts of energy to produce and valuable natural resources – points which underscore the importance of adopting an environmentally sound approach to their manufacture and end-of-life handling.
Northvolt is pioneering a green battery – a concept that begins with a blueprint for sustainable Li-ion battery manufacture, but extends into a fully built-out, robust ecosystem for recovery and recycling of batteries. Use of the term ‘ecosystem’ is appropriate because of the complex, multi-layered nature that this new industry will assume.
There is, for instance, the requirement for interaction and collaboration between varied actors including consumers, automobile industries and battery manufacturers. There are a variety of technologies involved as well – several of which remain under development. Equally, recycling activities will have to be coordinated across widely distributed geographic regions, over timespans involving many years given the anticipated lifespans of batteries.
Of course there are already solutions available to support the recycling of Li-ion batteries. And despite misconception surrounding the issue, most Li-ion batteries used today are indeed recovered and recycled. Some 97,000 tonnes of Li-ion batteries were recycled last year alone – mostly in China and South Korea.
While this is encouraging, it does not mean that Europe is sufficiently prepared for handling recycling of Li-ion batteries through the forthcoming decades. The emergence of huge volumes of Li-ion batteries onto global markets to power EVs changes the dynamics of battery recycling substantially.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019 suggests that by 2040, 57% of all passenger vehicle sales, and over 30% of the global passenger vehicle fleet, will be electric. Aside from a sheer increase in recycling capacity which will be required, new challenges stem from the introduction of novel EV battery systems which are quite different in form and chemistry compared to those batteries found in portables.
Today, the vast majority of recycled batteries come from portable electronics which are recycled as electronic waste from consumer goods including used laptops and mobile phones. Accessing the batteries within these products is relatively straight-forward from a recycling perspective and their recovery from consumers benefits from existing national-level electronic waste disposal schemes. The situation is quite different with EV battery packs, which are much larger, more complex in design and build, and feature Li-ion cells based around new chemistries. Moreover, Europe simply has not yet implemented comprehensive recovery schemes of the type which will facilitate effective European recycling. So what consequences do these new dynamics carry for recycling?
To begin with, we need to establish smart, efficient and safe ways to recover batteries once they reach the end of their life. EV owners cannot simply remove their battery pack and place it into an electronic waste collection point in their local community. The issue of recovery likely requires digital tools to identify and locate batteries when they reach end-of-life, as well as practical solutions for collection and storage of batteries prior to recycling, and finally transport to recycling stations.
Once battery packs are recovered, we need technologies to support early steps of recycling which involve discharging batteries and stripping packs down to cell level – something involving removal of external housing which encases the cells. Awareness of these kinds of challenges is important and means we can already begin to think about recyclability of battery packs as we design them.
As for the cells themselves, while current recycling technologies do exist – featuring effective hydrometallurgical treatments – these must be refined to ensure that they are optimized for recovery of materials found in modern EV battery cell chemistries, in particular those elements found in so-called active material of cells, including cobalt, nickel, and manganese.
Considered with this perspective there are clear logistical challenges to recycling of Li-ion batteries in the future. That industry should aim for this whole ecosystem to run efficiently, with the lowest environmental footprint possible, and that there are European regulations governing the transport of Li-ion batteries adds further complexity to the matter.
While technology has a large role to play, so does national and international policy. A recent European Commission evaluation of the European Battery Directive, which was established in 2006 as EU legislation to govern the batteries as waste, acknowledges that regulations must be refined to catch up and prepare for the future that is rapidly approaching, stating: “While key circular economy goals are reflected in the directive, such as addressing the supply of materials and recycling, there is still significant untapped potential.”
Ultimately, legislation can facilitate recovery, transport and recycling of batteries within Europe, or hinder it.
That recycling to recover materials directly supports sustainable practices of battery manufacturers, and that there already exist legal responsibilities of battery manufacturers with respect to duty of care over end-of-life batteries, it is clear that recycling and manufacturing go hand-in-hand.
It is encouraging to note therefore that accelerating European recycling capacity is emphasized by the European Battery Alliance (EBA) – an initiative to which Northvolt belongs, established by the European Commission to advance a “comprehensive set of concrete measures to develop an innovative, sustainable and competitive battery ecosystem in Europe.”
In relation to recycling, the EBA’s measures highlight the importance of “access [to] secondary raw materials by recycling in a circular economy of batteries.” Top-down support for establishing recycling of Li-ion batteries of this sort will prove vital to the endeavor ahead – just as supportive policy for deployment of renewable energy is proving today. At the same time, however, there is a role to be played by many other stakeholders, private industry actors of energy and automobile sectors and battery manufacturers such as Northvolt.
Northvolt’s advance of a green battery is tightly tied to developing solutions in response to all of the challenges of recycling. Recycling capacity will yield recovery of materials which will be fed back into the Northvolt’s cell manufacturing loop or otherwise be directed towards other industrial needs. Success will mean a reduced environmental footprint for the EV revolution, a new vibrant industry for Europe and ensure that the pitfalls of the past, where resources have been taken for granted, are avoided.
It’s an exciting future. One which can only be secured through a blend of technologies, fresh-thinking and collaboration across industries and effective legislation.


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Deliverbae shows how young entrepreneurs grind for success in Windsor
Saturday, February 15, 2020
As a mid-winter snow storm hit Windsor, a driver dropped off a much needed delivery to a homeowner who found themselves a little desperate.
Not a bowl of soup or fresh pizza. It was a shovel from Wal-Mart.
That's the essence of Deliverbae, a startup launched in 2017 that promises to deliver anything you want, anywhere you want in the city within an hour.
"I was just doing food delivery when one of my friends said 'Hey, we ran out of toilet paper," said Miraj Hossain, president and CEO of Deliverbae.
The startup rolled out from there, beginning from an idea among friends to a company that averages 10 deliveries a day. It now has a team of eight people behind the app and dozens of drivers brought in as independent contractors.
Hossain, 24, has big plans for the startup, hoping to launch in Chatham, London and other markets in Ontario, but he also believes success can be found in the failures.
"We had a lot of ups and downs while launching this app," said Hossain, recalling the bugs, test orders and logistics that were worked out in real time.
He can remember days when friends and family tried to convince him to give it all up - but he kept pushing through.
"As an entrepreneur it's like jumping out of the plane and building the parachute on the way down, so for us we've had a lot of those moments," said Hossain.
ackie Csonka-Peeren, an expert in entrepreneurial research and training and lecturer at Ryerson University, believes that's the mindset needed to be successful.
"There's been a real evolution with young people," said Csonka-Peeren, adding that failure is only valuable if a business owner reflects on what went wrong.
"In the lean start-up method, you do that through experimenting. Basically your product or your service is the thing that you're experimenting within your lab - and the lab is the marketplace."
That experience is big for Hossain, who lists this as one of a few projects he has dreams of launching. It's especially important considering his attitude toward turning a profit.
"We're not focused on money, as of now, because it's a business where it's all about high volume," said Hossain, adding that they're not making money at the moment.
In February, their marketplace grew, with Deliverbae launching in Amherstburg after a push from another young entrepreneur, Linden Crain.
"It's the first on demand delivery service to enter that market and I think that the pulling factor for a lot of the business is that we're from Windsor," said Crain.
Crain has talked with around 20 restaurants in Amherstburg hoping to get them on board so Deliverbae becomes their delivery service provider.


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11/9/2015 9:00:00 AM
Why the mobile industry is being targeted by cyber criminals
Following a number of data breaches at TalkTalk, Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse Mobile decided to examine why the industry is being targeted so regularly
There are few industries that have the same level of active customer information that mobile companies do. The popularity in the UK of long term contracts means that network operators and retailers have built up massive catalogues of valuable customer data. The data stored on customers at mobile companies is often comprehensive too, with full contact details as well as payment information being stored. All of which makes them very tempting targets for cyber criminals.
Vodafone: Unknown external source to blame for data breach
The industry is now realising at its peril that the level of security of mobile companies is not up to the same standards as other sectors. Sectors like financial services are just one example of where there is extra vigilance regarding potential attacks. These sectors have always had to deal with large quantities of valuable information and the threat of an attack, but that’s no excuse for the mobile industry. Cyber criminals saw a weak spot and have exploited it on a number of occasions. The industry will have to invest and tighten up on these areas. In particular as the public embarrassment of this looks set to run and run following the news that Parliament will be investigating the TalkTalk hack.
One of the most arresting findings from our recent survey on mobile security was that the industry really feels there is a knowledge gap surrounding the subject. One respondent summed it up when they said: ‘The issue is knowledge gaps, complexity brought on by too many variants of similar or same OS and speed of change in the industry.’ This absence of understanding is particularly worrying and was undoubtedly a factor that has led to these attacks. There needs to be a real effort now from the top of the industry to the bottom to raise awareness so it doesn’t happen again.


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When it comes to high-quality products, Italy is known for everything from race cars to handcrafted leather shoes to extra-virgin olive oil.
But the country’s cosmetics industry, heavily concentrated in the north, is another area of excellence, although insiders say it suffers from the absence of a unified marketing strategy.
“Italian [cosmetics] companies are increasingly aware of the need to push Made in Italy as a concept; unfortunately, in the beauty sector, the concept isn’t driven by a plethora of famous brands the way it is in fashion, eyewear and footwear,” said Fabio Rossello, president of Cosmetica Italia, the Italian association of cosmetics companies. Last year, the organization underwent a name change, abandoning Unipro in favor of a moniker that underscored its nationality.
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“The real value of the Italian cosmetics industry lies in the supply chain, recognized at an international level for its great investments in innovation and research, which allow us to be leaders in product safety,” Rossello continued, noting about 60 percent of makeup distributed worldwide is manufactured in Italy.
The beauty industry is about 1,000 companies strong here — Italy is the European Union’s top cosmetics manufacturer — and directly employs 35,000 people (54 percent women), according to Cosmetica Italia.
Rossello said that, on average, Italian cosmetics firms invest more than 6 percent of their annual turnover in research and innovation.
Consumers may be paying close attention to product origin when it comes to food and, increasingly, fashion, but that’s not always the case with beauty products, said Cinzia Baldelli, La Rinascente’s head of beauty, children’s wear and toys.
“I think consumers are much more attentive to the ingredients in [cosmetics] products,” she said. “We’ve noticed that customers are more and more informed and making specific requests concerning ingredients or components that they prefer, or prefer to avoid, in choosing the products of their personal beauty rituals.”
Baldelli said La Rinascente had noticed a “timid” move by some Italian beauty companies toward emphasizing product origin in packaging, but that this was far from the norm, and Rossello noted France and Germany are better equipped on the marketing front.
Isabelle Harvie-Watt Clavarino, chief executive officer and country manager for Havas Media Group Italy, said international consumers generally have a very high opinion of Italian quality.
“It’s the particular attention to detail: customers view the Made in Italy label as a guarantee that you’re going to get a good product,” she said, citing fashion and design, wine, yachts and top-of-the-line cars as examples that resonate on a large scale.
If there is a marketing problem, she noted, it lies in the rampant individualism of Italian companies. This prevents them from uniting in a common strategy.
“The French are better at creating spin, and they’ve got more of an attitude of ‘we’re in this together’ — they’re good at creating all the trimmings to make things attractive; they make everything an event; they dress things up more,” Harvie-Watt Clavarino said. “Nobody knows how to give a party like the Italians, they just need to communicate more: It’s all about building the experience around a brand.”
Collistar has taken this philosophy to heart, trumpeting its Italian identity this year with an ad campaign called “Ti Amo Italia,” or “I Love You, Italy,” and featuring Sicilian model-actress Margareth Madè shot by Giampaolo Sgura, a rising star among Italian photographers.
The company has kept all stages of manufacturing in Italy from its founding in the early Eighties, but is now ratcheting up communication: In January, a special makeup collection created with Sardinian designer Antonio Marras hit shelves, with products including a Mille Baci (Thousand Kisses) lipstick series in which each shade was named for a different Italian city. Collistar also spruced up its cosmetics staples, such as a nourishing antiaging oil-milk and energetic antiaging cream by adding a range of natural ingredients harvested from around the peninsula — orange blossoms from Sicily, or red Aglianico grapes from the Tyrrhenian coast, for instance — and featuring them in colorful illustrations on the packaging.
Through these initiatives, Collistar aims to “highlight the Italian nature of the brand with pride,” said the firm’s ceo, Daniela Sacerdote, adding that such special projects were needed to maintain customer loyalty. She also said response from the firm’s foreign distributors had been especially favorable.
Giovanni Sgariboldi, president of Euroitalia, the company that produces fragrances for fashion brands Versace, Moschino and John Richmond, said while he was proud of his firm’s Italian heritage, he believes it is better appreciated outside national borders.
“For [foreigners], a product Made in Italy is synonymous with preciousness, quality, trustworthiness,” he said. “For Italian consumers, it’s a little different, unfortunately there’s less and less recognition for the value of national goods. There’s a tendency to make purchases following trends, without much awareness of how products were made.”
Sgariboldi said that in addition to recognition for their creativity and high level of artisan know-how, Italian cosmetics firms deserved credit for their efforts to be environmentally friendly. And while the focus on marketing product origin is not widespread, Sgariboldi said Italian beauty companies “are realizing that our true wealth lies in our Italian-ness, which feeds business as well as dreams.”
Micol Caivano, managing director and director of marketing and communication for high-end cosmetics brand Diego Dalla Palma, said Italy’s lackluster economic climate had prompted many businesses to focus on making product origin central to brand identity.
“Especially abroad, Italy is perceived as the country of elegance, beauty and living well,” she said, adding: “Attention to detail is a hallmark of Italian manufacturing, and these are elements that consumers — who are increasingly well-informed, and consequently more demanding — pay attention to.”
Diego Dalla Palma’s production plants are concentrated in northern Italy, Caivano said. She attributed the company’s double-digit growth last year to its successful expansion in the U.K., Eastern Europe, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and China, where the brand’s Italian name, playful-yet-elegant style and ties to the fashion industry — it was founded in the Seventies by a professional makeup artist in Milan — make good selling points.
“Made in Italy isn’t just about image and style, it’s also about quality of life,” said Davines and Comfort Zone president and chairman Davide Bollati. “With both [salon] brands, we strongly encourage people to embrace a dynamic, sustainable beauty concept for their mental and physical health.”
He added: “I don’t think pushing [product origin] is really the point, so much as working seriously and rigorously to maintain the credibility and recognition that we’ve inherited from Italy and that it’s our duty to respect, preserve and enrich.”
Bollati said Davines and Comfort Zone aim to represent “a discreet, harmonious elegance and attention to detail in the choice of materials and shapes, all of which enhance the artisanal image even of products created on an industrial scale.” The Davines’ More Inside line features individually hand-wrapped products, for instance.
Italian Fragrances, or ITF, which holds fragrance licenses for Italian luxury labels including Trussardi, Blumarine and Pomellato, has a philosophy of associating “with Italian brands that share our focus on Italian identity,” said marketing director Giorgia Martone, noting, for instance, that Blumarine founder and designer Anna Molinari is also a firm believer in supporting Italian industry and “this shared value is the foundation of our relationships with licensees.”
“In general, in our communication we underline our Italian identity as much as possible,” said Martone. “And it’s not just a question of where you decide to shoot an ad campaign, but everything that’s behind it….We seek out Italian creative excellence.” As examples, she cited the 2013 Trussardi scents My Land and My Name, which highlighted the fashion firm’s ties to Milan in campaigns featuring Tomaso Trussardi and Gaia Trussardi as models and bottle designs by Milanese architect Antonio Citterio.
“I think that right now, we Italians are starting to understand our potential and all that Italy represents to people in other countries. Even companies that had not made product origin a big selling point are starting to see the value in it, but we can and must do more,” Martone said.
Salvatore Ferragamo Parfums ceo Luciano Bertinelli agreed.
“I think the whole Italian [cosmetics] manufacturing chain today is making more of a point to emphasize the high quality of our products,” he said, adding, “Certainly we could act as more of a team, placing greater value on all those elements that in such a difficult market give Italian products a competitive advantage.”
Bertinelli noted that Ferragamo Parfums, too, always develops its packaging and ad campaigns with a deliberately Italian flavor: the Signorina Eleganza fragrance campaign was shot in Sorrento, on the Amalfi coast, by Italian photographer Mario Sorrenti.
Rossello of Cosmetica Italia said he still sees room for improvement.
“Sectors such as wine and footwear, which are close to cosmetics in terms of turnover, have an export value of over 70 percent, whereas our industry is still under 30 percent,” he said. “Italian companies will have to choose between two paths: pursuing a strategy to create new brands, or developing policies that support the whole Italian supply chain, which still requires a great deal of complex planning. And that’s difficult in Italy, where there is still so much individualism.”


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SAN JOSE, Calif. Solar energy remains hot. First Solar Inc., a supplier of solar modules, on Friday (June 30) said that it plans to make an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock.
The IPO is valued at $250 million, according to First Solar (Phoenix) in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company manufactures solar modules using a proprietary thin-film semiconductor technology.
The company's net sales grew from $3.2 million in 2003 to $48.1 million in 2005, according to a filing. But it has also incurred a net loss of $28.0 million in 2003, $16.8 million in 2004, $6.5 million in 2005 and $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2006, according to a company filing. In total, it had an accumulated deficit of $155.3 million at April 1, 2006.
First Solar recently entered into long-term solar module supply contracts with six European project developers and system integrators, which is expected to generate approximately $1.4 billion in sales from 2006 to 2011.
In 2005, the company claimed that its average manufacturing costs were $1.59 per Watt, which is less than those of traditional crystalline silicon solar module manufacturers.
"Our manufacturing process transforms an inexpensive 2-ft x 4-ft (60-cm x 120-cm) sheet of glass into a complete solar module in less than three hours, using approximately 1 percent of the semiconductor material used to produce traditional crystalline silicon solar modules," according to the company's filing.
At the same time, First Solar has big plans. "In order to satisfy our contractual requirements and address additional market demand, we are expanding our manufacturing capacity from the existing 25-MW at our Ohio plant to an aggregate capacity of 175-MW by the second half of 2007," according to the filing.
"We are in the process of adding two production lines to the[Ohio Expansion], which we expect will increase our annual manufacturing capacity to 75-MW by August 2006 and establish First Solar as the largest thin film solar module manufacturer in the world," according to the firm.
"We are also building a four line 100-MW manufacturing plant in Germany. After our German Plant reaches full capacity, estimated for the second half of 2007, we will have an annual manufacturing capacity of 175-MW. We are also in the planning stage for a new manufacturing plant in Asia," it said.
Not long ago, solar energy was considered a niche market. Now, solar-cell vendors are scrambling to expand their capacities to meet huge demand from homes and businesses worldwide. Companies that have recently announced new and massive solar-cell production plants include Energy Conversion Devices, Evergreen Solar, Sharp, SunPower and Suntech.
Last week a startup originally funded by Google Inc. announced a $100 million financing package and set plans to build what the company claims as the world's largest solar-cell manufacturing facility in California.
Presently in pilot production in its Palo Alto, Calif.-based facility, the solar-cell startup, Nanosolar, has started ordering volume production equipment for use in a factory said to have a total annual cell output of 430-MW once fully built out, or approximately 200 million cells per year.
Indeed, solar is here today, but the technology is at about three times the cost of conventionally generated electricity However, thanks to advances in conventional and thin-film technologies, some believe that the cost of solar will be on par with that of conventional electricity within 10 years.


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The UK used car market has gone through some challenging months – and one particular point of concern has been the values of used electric cars. In late 2022, values plunged (and leads dipped) thanks to hiked energy prices, lack of government-backed used car incentives and – even against the backdrop of falling values – comparatively high prices against diesel and petrol equivalents.
However, data in heycar’s Q2 2023 Headlights report suggests that the tide could finally be turning for used EVs: average prices on heycar jumped 4% between April and June, and leads skyrocketed 67% during the first half of the year. For discerning dealerships, this means that investing in used EV stock could be a smart move heading into the second half of 2023.
“Savvy dealers will take this as a sign that used EVs have a place on forecourts, which will inevitably grow over time,” says heycar CEO, Karen Hilton.


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The New Lambton club of the Wests Group will be the first in New South Wales, Australia, to trial cashless poker machines.
The Aristocrat Gaming and Wests Newcastle will conduct the trial, which was announced on May 24. It aims to bring cashless payments for all club services in the area to combat problem gambling and money laundering.
According to reports, the trial will begin in September. It will include responsible gambling measures such as money limits, time limits, and real-time messaging to customers.
The trial will “help us combat the twin sins of money laundering and problem gambling, addressing the key concerns of the Bergin Inquiry,” said Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello.
Moreover, Crown Casino was involved in money laundering at its Melbourne location, according to the report. And cashless gaming cards can help prevent this from happening in the future.
The company’s case is now in its third week of witness hearings, and Crown Casino is on trial. However, as part of a deal with the New South Wales regulator, Crown agreed to implement cashless gambling.
“Aristocrat believes that enabling cashless payment solutions is an innovation that may help enhance the long-term sustainability and vibrancy of our industry,” said Mitchell Bowen, CEO of Aristocrat Gaming and Chief Transformation Officer.
“A powerful new suite of responsible digital tools will empower our members,” said Wests Newcastle CEO Phil Gardner.
“Our members to paying for meals, memberships, and gaming with their mobile wallet is something our industry hasn’t seen before.”


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Fortnite Season 6 has been launched and the players are certainly loving it. But some of them have been asking a number of questions related to the new update and content that has been introduced to the game. To help these players we have managed to answer some of these questions right here. Read more about Fortnite Season 6.
Due to an issue, we have removed the Hazard Platoon Pack from the Item Shop. The Hazard Platoon Pack will return to the Item Shop at a later date. pic.twitter.com/tWSQNUxGMj— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) March 23, 2021
Fortnite players have recently been asking a number of questions related to the game. They have been asking questions like what is the Fortnite Hazard platoon starter pack and how to get the Fortnite Hazard platoon starter pack. This is because the makers have added a number of new additions and content to the game with the recent update. To help these players, we have managed to gather some intel on this Fortnite Season 6 that could answer their questions including what is the Fortnite Hazard platoon starter pack and how to get the Fortnite Hazard platoon starter pack. So without any further delay, let’s take a deep dive into knowing more about Fortnite Season 6.
The Fortnite Hazard platoon starter pack is one of the latest packs that was released by the makers. But a recent update for the makers has confirmed that this item is no longer available in the game. The players can buy this pack from Fortnite item shop only after it gets added abc to the game. But no official announcements have been made about the same. The makers had released a post on their official Twitter that said, “Due to an issue, we have removed the Hazard Platoon Pack from the Item Shop. The Hazard Platoon Pack will return to the Item Shop at a later date.” Apart from that, we have also listed all the items that were available in the Hazard Platoon Pack.
The makers have now released a new trailer for the new season of their game. It involves the players to help Agent Jones to free the zero point that has contained the island. This post has taken a toll on all the technological advancements in the game and has brought the games back to the old times when everyone had to make weapons and items to take care of themselves. The makers have also confirmed that they will be releasing the Batmanskin to the game which also happens to be another Fortnite Season 6 leaks that everyone is talking about. According to the media portal called Combicbook, Fortnite Season 6 will have a number of different skin mockups related to the game.


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- Disney beat on both the top and bottom lines.
- Management said it will continue to invest big in its sports channel ESPN and the network’s new streaming service, ESPN+.
- With more tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon bidding for top-tier sports stream rights, Disney’s problem will occur in a few years, analyst says.
- Watch Disney trade live.
In Disney’s quarterly results out Thursday, the company said its total operating income increased 17%, but that of its cable networks dropped 6%, due to the consolidation of BAMTech, a service ESPN purchased from Major League Baseball.
Those cost increases in sports programming could be troublesome, according to Pivotal Research Group.
Facebook has been aggressively investing in live sports, and has reached many high-profile streaming deals for events such as Major League Baseball games, World Surf League competitions, and Premier League soccer matches.
Similarly, Amazon has also won several streaming rights of high-level sports, such as National Football League games and Premier League matches in Britain. And Google’s Youtube has fought with Amazon for regional-sports TV markets.
“The ESPN brand and ESPN business was so significant and so important to us that that should be our priority when we licence sports to put it on ESPN,” CEO Robert Iger said. “ESPN will also be called upon to use some of its licensing capabilities to serve as ESPN+.”
CFO Christine McCarthy added, “The continued ramp up of ESPN+, which includes investments in sports rights, will have an adverse impact on operating income of about $US100 million for the first quarter.”
More sports-streaming competition will lead to bigger investments, and lower margins, Wieser concluded. He has a price target of $US95 for Disney – 20% above where shares are trading on Friday.
Shares were up 3% on Friday 7% this year.


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As if we needed another reason to eat fruits and vegetables, a new study found another benefit of these natural foods: lowering blood pressure.
Researchers from the University of Southern California have found a link between increased dietary potassium and lower blood pressure.
"Decreasing sodium intake is a well-established way to lower blood pressure," McDonough says, "but evidence suggests that increasing dietary potassium may have an equally important effect on hypertension."
McDonough started his study by reviewing recent studies on rodent models, illustrating the effect potassium has on blood pressure. He found that increased dietary potassium pushes the kidneys to excrete more water and salt, which lowers blood pressure. He then analyzed the same effect in humans, finding similar results.
This study is concerning especially for Western people, whose diet is high in sodium intake and low in potassium intake -- this increases the odds of developing high blood pressure. Processed foods especially are rich in salt and low in potassium. If we want to counterbalance that, we should eat more foods rich in potassium: especially fruits and veggies.
But how much is enough? McDonough references a 2004 Institute of Medicine report which recommends that adults consume at least 4.7 grams of potassium per day to lower blood pressure -- that's the equivalent of to eating a cup and a half of black beans, for example, or a big portion of spinach. Bananas, prunes, raisins, and yogurt are other good sources of potassium. McDonough suggests developing public policies to increase intake of dietary potassium from plant-based sources and adding the potassium content to labels to make people more aware of potassium sources. In 2009-2010, the average dietary potassium intake of the U.S. population aged two years and older was 2.6 grams per day -- not nearly enough.
This is another addition to the long list of benefits that fruits and veggies provide. The higher the average daily intake of fruits and vegetables, the lower the chances of developing cardiovascular disease. A diet rich in fruits and veggies also reduces blood pressure directly (in addition to the potassium mechanism) and numerous studies have found that fruits and veggies go a long way towards protecting your body of diabetes.
Journal Reference: Alicia A. McDonough, Luciana C. Veiras, Claire A. Guevara, Donna L. Ralph. Cardiovascular benefits associated with higher dietary K vs. lower dietary Na evidence from population and mechanistic studies. American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology And Metabolism, 2017; 312 (4): E348 DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00453.2016


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Return policy makes Asos sales slow down
The introduction of a free returns policy at Asos caused sales growth to slow at the online fashion retailer, sending its shares down 3 per cent.
UK sales grew by 21per cent for the three months to 30 September boosted by its popular aviator jackets and capes.
But analysts expressed disappointment that profit forecasts had not been lifted and were worried about a slowdown in Britain.
Winter time: UK sales grew by 21 per cent for the three months to 30 September boosted by its popular aviator jackets and capes
International sales at Asos (down 34p to 10.95p) surged by 128 per cent to £26million during the quarter.
Similarly, Mothercare (down 14.5p to 502p) also experienced difficult trading conditions in the UK with underlying sales falling 3.8pc for the six months to October 9.
But overseas sales overtook the core UK business for the first time during the period as it opened its 50th store in India, taking its international footprint up to 800.
The gloom continued at Clinton Cards, which suffered a 3.9 per cent drop in underlying sales in the 10 weeks to October 10, causing its shares to crash 9 per cent down 3.25p to 33p.
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Findus Group has today (Wednesday 8th April 2015) announced the appointment of Jørn-Gunnar Jacobsen as CEO of Findus Norway. Jørn-Gunnar Jacobsen will take on the role from 1st May 2015 and will be responsible for driving growth across Findus Norway’s wide product range including frozen fish, ready meals, vegetables, potatoes, pastries and berries. Findus Norway is part of Findus Group, one of Europe’s leading seafood and frozen food businesses, with more than 6,000 employees and a turnover in excess of 1.4billion euros.
Jørn-Gunnar has previously undertaken a number of senior, strategic leadership and commercial roles across both the public and the private sector, most recently as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Procurement Officer for ICA Norway. Atle Farmen, who has served as Findus Norway’s Managing Director since 2011, has decided to leave the business at the end of April, to pursue career opportunities outside of the Findus Group.
James Hill, Chief Executive of Findus Group, said: “I am pleased to announce that Jørn-Gunnar Jacobsen will take on the role of CEO of Findus Norway and we’re looking forward to welcoming him to the team. I would also like to thank Atle Farmen for his contribution over the past four years and wish him all the best in his future career. He has been a great ambassador for Findus Norway and has been instrumental to the current strength of the brand with our Norwegian customers and consumers. Findus is an iconic brand in Norway, delivering premium frozen food across fish, vegetables, meals and bakery products, and we have exciting plans for future innovation and growth in the market.”
The Findus brand is available in grocery stores in Norway and the business also supplies the catering and food service markets, industrial sales and produces private label products. Findus Norway employs approximately 300 employees, with headquarters in Asker and factories in Hedrum at Larvik and Tønsberg. Findus Group recently reported operating cash-flow of £67million and EBITDA of £91million for the year ending 2014, up 4% on the previous year, on a constant currency basis. 2014 was Findus Group’s second year of positive constant currency growth and the Group continues to be optimistic for the financial year ending 2015.


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By Lisa Johnston
New products on display at the American International Toy Fair, held in N
General Electric chairman/CEO Jeff Immelt said he is hopeful about current economic trends, during a keynote speech at the AVB/Brand Source national convention, held at the Paris Hotel, here, last week.
On the current economy, Immelt said we are in the "third year of the 'post-bubble' economy," which was "going down before Sept. 11 and the war against terror." He sees "more positives than negatives" in the economy in comparison to 12 or 18 months ago, with consumer confidence increasing.
Regarding interest rates, he noted, "They have gone up in the past month, but they are historically low," and the stock market and capital markets are "better than last year." And he added, "Our government has done everything to keep the consumer buying."
The negatives of the economy are on the industrial side, with "too much manufacturing capacity for cars, planes, computers and other items. That will take time to fix." Immelt also said the "geopolitical instability will be with us for some time."
However, he sees the economy growing about 2.5 percent this year. "But we need at least 4 percent to 5 percent to begin hiring people again. We are in a period of slow economic growth," he said, adding that the "consumer side of the economy is strong."
He said that when economists take a look at this period in 20 years, vs. the economy of the late '90s, they will call it "the 'New Normal,' OK growth. That's the world that GE, and you, are competing in."
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.


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Vulnerabilities that could allow for XSS, CSRF, and one-simply click account takeovers in Atlassian subdomains have been patched.
On Thursday, Check Stage Study (CPR) said that the bugs were uncovered in the software package solutions provider’s on the web domains, used by countless numbers of enterprise purchasers all over the world.
The Australian seller is the service provider of equipment including Jira, a challenge management technique, and Confluence, a doc collaboration system for distant groups.
The vulnerabilities in question have been observed in a quantity of Atlassian-preserved web sites, fairly than on-prem or cloud-based Atlassian items.
Subdomains below atlassian.com, such as companions, developer, help, Jira, Confluence, and education.atlassian.com had been vulnerable to account takeover.
CPR explained that exploit code making use of the vulnerabilities in the subdomains could be deployed by means of a sufferer clicking on a malicious link. A payload would then be sent on behalf of the sufferer and a user session would be stolen.
The susceptible domain challenges bundled a badly-configured Articles Security Plan (CSP), parameters vulnerable to XSS, SameSite and HTTPOnly system bypass, and a weak place that authorized cookie fixation — the alternative for attackers to drive consumers to use session cookies acknowledged to them for authentication functions.
The scientists say that it was probable to consider around accounts obtainable by these subdomains by cross-internet site scripting (XSS) and cross-site ask for forgery (CSRF) assaults. In addition, the susceptible domains also allowed danger actors to compromise periods between the customer and world wide web server when a consumer logged into their account.
“With just one particular click on, an attacker could have utilised the flaws to choose in excess of accounts and manage some of Atlassian’s apps, like Jira and Confluence,” the researchers claimed.
The ramifications of these attacks involved account hijacking, data theft, steps currently being executed on behalf of a user, and obtaining obtain to Jira tickets.
Atlassian was educated of the team’s results on January 8, prior to community disclosure. A fix for the impacted domains was deployed on May well 18.
Atlassian informed ZDNet:
“Based mostly on our investigation, the vulnerabilities outlined effect a confined established of Atlassian-owned net purposes as well as a 3rd-occasion education system. Atlassian has shipped patches to tackle these difficulties and none of these vulnerabilities impacted Atlassian Cloud (like Jira or Confluence Cloud) or on-premise goods (like Jira Server or Confluence Server).”
The study into Atlassian was done by CPR owing to the ongoing difficulties encompassing provide chain attacks, in which threat actors will goal a centralized useful resource applied by other corporations.
If this component can be compromised — this sort of as by tampering with update code due to be pushed out to consumers in the circumstance of Codecov — then a broader pool of possible victims can be reached with tiny energy.
SolarWinds, also, is a primary instance of how devastating a supply chain attack can be. Approximately 18,000 SolarWinds consumers received a destructive SolarWinds Orion computer software update that planted a backdoor into their units having said that, the attackers cherry-picked a handful of victims for further more compromise, which include Microsoft, FireEye, and a amount of federal organizations.
Earlier and associated coverage
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Hero Duet 125 scooter’s launch has been confirmed for the second quarter of the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Hero MotoCorp has unveiled the 125cc version of its two popular scooters – the Duet and the Maestro Edge. Both the vehicles were showcased at the Auto Expo 2018 in Great Noida. The 2018 Hero Duet 125 features a brand new engine along with new body graphics. In the 125cc scooter space, the new Hero vehicle will take on the Honda Grazia, Honda Activa and Suzuki Access 125. It will also face challenge from models like Aprilia SR 125 and TVS NTorq.
The home-grown bikemaker has confirmed that the new Duet 125 will hit showrooms in the second quarter of the 2018-19 fiscal year. Though, the exact launch date is yet to be revealed. Check Out – Hero AXL HE20 Electric Scooter Pictures & Details
Hero’s new 125cc Duet has been entirely developed in-house at the bikemaker’s Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur. With a new engine and minor aesthetic and feature upgrades, the scooter is estimated to be priced between Rs 50,000 – Rs 60,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi). Read – Hero Bikes at Auto Expo 2018
|Engine||125cc, single-Energy cylinder Boost|
|Max Power||8.7bhp @ 6,750rpm|
|Max Torque||10.2Nm @ 5,000rpm|
Powering the new Duet 125 is a 125cc, single-Energy cylinder Boost engine that makes a top power of 8.7bhp at 6,750rpm and 10.2Nm of torque at 5,000rpm. Interestingly, it’s the first scooter in its segment to get idle-start-stop-system (i3S system). This technology will improve the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. Braking mechanism of the Duet 125 includes an Integrated Braking System (IBS) and an optional front disc brake. Read About: Hero Xtreme 200R | Hero Xpulse 200
Besides a new engine powertrain, the 2018 Duet 125 receives subtle cosmetic and feature upgrades. Though, the original design remains unchanged. The list of feature now includes digital display with the analog instrument console, service reminder, a side stand indicator and external fuel filling.


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Lidl reports that Campylobacter levels in chicken meat exceeded FSA targets in the second quarter of 2022.
The supermarket chain recorded 8% of poultry in the top category, up from 2% last year and 6% in the previous quarter.
The highest Food Standards Agency (FSA) level is 7% Campylobacter for birds above 1,000 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g).
Data from all nine retailers covering the high detection rate of Campylobacter in fresh, store-bought UK-produced chickens between April 2022 and June 2022.
Results for Lidl and Asda rose, while pollution levels at Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Waitrose and Aldi fell compared to the previous quarter. The figures for Tesco and Co-op remain unchanged.
Asda informed that 2.4% of people detected the highest pollution levels in the latest quarter, compared to 1% in the previous three months.
Campylobacter is the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning in the UK, with doses as low as a few hundred cells needed to make people sick.
Lower or stable results
Sainsbury’s Q2 2022 Campylobacter results show that 3 % chicken levels were around 1,000 cfu/g compared to the past quarter.
For Marks and Spencer, 1% was in the largest category in April, 4% in May, and 3% in June, from 376 sampled chickens.
In January 2022, 4% of chickens exceeded 1,000 CFU/g, and 3% and 10% of poultry were the same in February and March, respectively.
For Tesco, 3% of the 298 sample is over 1,000 CFU/gf in the second quarter of 2022, the same as the first three months.
Aldi revealed that 3.3% of chickens sampled were in the category above 1,000 CFU/g, compared to 4.2% in the previous quarter.
1.6% of Morrisons’ 101 chickens were at the highest level of contamination, compared to nearly 6% of the same number of samples in the first quarter of 2022.
No chickens from Waitrose and Partners tested positive for Campylobacter at levels above 1,000 CFU/g, compared to 1% in the previous quarter.
Collaborative results for the third quarter show that no chickens were exposed to higher levels of contamination than 1,000 CFU/g.
(Sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, CLICK HERE.)


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McCann Manchester has launched its first work for Co‐op Funeralcare after it won the business in 2017 following a competitive pitch.
Having been awarded the business McCann Manchester has assumed duties across strategy, creative, design, digital and social media with offline and online media planning and buying shared between Rocket and Mediacom respectively.
McCann Manchester has been responsible for creating a brand campaign Right By You and a brand response campaign Keep Loving Life which has been developed to promote the availability and importance of funeral plans. The brand work, Right By You breaks on prime time TV this week.
The Right by you campaign celebrates life. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. A first for the category and a refreshing approach to funeral care. It plays on the people who have been by our side our whole lives, and the support Co‐op Funeralcare provides when they can no longer be there. With a few unexpected cameos along the way, we wanted a more light‐hearted, uplifting approach for our audience, whether they need our help today, or in ten years’ time.
Keep Loving Life breaks on 8 March and also runs as a 30 second TV execution. It tackles the sensitivities of funeral planning in an accessible way by celebrating our achievements, hobbies and zest for life. With an inspirational mix of ages and characters, the ad encourages people to sort their funeral plan in an easy, affordable way, so they can carry on loving life.
As well as TV, the campaigns will run across YouTube pre‐roll, press, radio, digital display, social media, online, out of home and door drop.
Commenting on the new work Nick Mortimer, Head of Marketing for Co‐op’s Funeralcare and Later Life business said, “We appointed McCann because they demonstrated how they could address several challenges at the same time. As well as the obvious sensitivities needed when talking about funerals, they also showed how they could bring our role at the heart of communities to the fore while at the same time carving out a distinctive position for our brand and business. The campaigns they have developed have delivered against all of these objectives and really demonstrate how our brand is right by families when they need us most.”
Richard Aldiss Managing Director at McCann Manchester said, “This has been a challenging and hugely rewarding campaign to work on. There is a genuine sense of a brand doing the right thing for all of its customers at every stage of what is an incredibly difficult time for anyone who has lost a loved one. We are incredibly proud of the work we have produced in close partnership with the Co‐op Funeralcare team and believe it will really help them further strengthen their position as UK market leader.”


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Unlocking the Digital Home: Smart Locks to Generate $2.4 Billion by 2023
Smart locks will reach sales of almost 26 million units in 2023, creating an annual smart lock market of $2.4 billion according to a smart lock market forecast from Strategy Analytics.
The report says that the category will enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% for the length of the forecast period. Sales will climb from 3.8 million units in 2014 to 11.1 million this year, 19.4 million in 2021 and 25.7 million by 2023.
Smart Lock Market Forecast
Companies in the sector – which include August, Chamberlain, Danalock, Kwikset, Schlage and Yale — will need to evolve as the smart door lock and garage door opener markets move from early adopters to mass market status, the researchers caution.
“Smart locks are important devices as consumers’ utilization of smart home technology increases,” Bill Ablondi, Director, the Strategy Analytics’ Smart Home Strategies research service, said in a press release. “However, the strategies that have fueled the success of Kwikset, Schlage, Yale, August, and others are providing a template for Amazon and Google to create their own offerings. Smart lock companies and platform providers are collaborating now, but Amazon or Google will likely become competitors in the near future.”
The U.S., due to its higher percentage of single family homes and greater interest in “smart” automation and security services, will be the key market. The category will face challenges in other markets, according to the report. For instance, climate control is more important in western Europe, which leaves smart access out of smart home platforms from SK Telecom, Korea Telecom and LG U-Plus. Also, multi-dwelling units typically have shared entries with commercial grade electronic lock systems. Smart locks are popular in China, but the category is dominated by local brands such as Alibaba.


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Social media posts that recently hinted at new withdrawal caps may have been fake
The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange has denied rumors that it had assessed a $5,000-per-week maximum on Bitcoin withdrawals after a customer post on social media claiming the new limit was valid started to gain momentum. A user made the claim in an October 24 post on X (formerly Twitter), saying that he’d been a victim of the new policy that restricted his Coinbase Bitcoin withdrawals to a maximum amount of $5,000 weekly.
The post accumulated more than 250,000 views, along with over 420 retweets and almost 2,000 likes. The post was also noticed by crypto researcher Chris Blec, who then asked if someone could confirm the claim’s validity.
A Coinbase spokesperson would tell Cointelegraph that the assertions were “inaccurate” and that there’s no existing policy that limits Bitcoin withdrawals to customer cash balances.
“Withdrawing from Coinbase will be dependent on the payment method you are using to withdraw,” expressed the spokesperson, who recommended that users refer to the crypto exchange’s official guidelines on limits and withdrawals for customer accounts.
The unsubstantiated rumors about withdrawal limits started about the same time that Coinbase encountered brief difficulties processing transactions. Coinbase’s official status page shows it began experiencing trade processing problems on October 23 at about 6:00 PM UTC.
Coinbase provided an update several minutes later, saying they had resolved the problem and were actively monitoring transaction activity for any continued issues.
Coinbase experienced trading delays during a rage of activity throughout the crypto market as Bitcoin’s price swelled to as high as $35,000, which it hasn’t achieved since May 2022.


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You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
The sudden departure of Nokia imaging head Damian Dinning caught many by surprise earlier today, but now he's announced where his next post will be: Jaguar Land Rover.
Apple asks court to include Galaxy S III with Jelly Bean, Galaxy Note II and four more devices in lawsuit
As usual, Apple thought Friday night on a holiday weekend was the perfect time to push some more paper through in its ongoing patent lawsuit against Samsung.
We wouldn't quite call it an annual tradition just yet, but this winter does mark the third in a row where Ona has released a scrumptious new laptop / camera bag...
Sure, Microsoft has already delivered its new Windows Phone 8 OS to the masses, but the WP7.8 release details, on the other hand, have been extremely minimal since we learned about the upgrade earlier this year.


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Exploration of Strategic Alternatives Results in Cash Sale at Nearly 40% Premium
AmREIT, Inc. (NYSE: AMRE) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Edens Investment Trust (“EDENS”) under which EDENS will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of AmREIT for $26.55 per share in an all-cash transaction with a total enterprise value of approximately $763 million.
The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by AmREIT’s Board of Directors, represents a premium of nearly 40% over AmREIT’s closing stock price on July 9, 2014, the last trading day prior to disclosure of an unsolicited proposal from Regency Centers Corporation, and a premium of 21% over that $22 per share proposal.
“This is an outstanding outcome for our stockholders, who will receive in cash a premium value for their shares reflecting the irreplaceable characteristics of our portfolio of properties,” said Kerr Taylor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “I am pleased with the leadership of our Board in authorizing and overseeing a very robust exploration of strategic alternatives consistent with our July announcement.”
“Our Board conducted a thorough strategic review and a comprehensive sale process, assisted by highly experienced financial and legal advisors. We are very pleased that this robust process produced a substantial premium for AmREIT stockholders through this sale to EDENS,” said H. L. Rush Jr., Lead Independent Director.
EDENS is a leading national retail real estate owner and developer with a 48-year track record of enriching communities in which it does business. EDENS owns a $4.2 billion portfolio of market-leading urban retail centers.
“We’re excited to transition the stewardship of our market-leading portfolio to EDENS, a highly successful firm we have long admired. EDENS shares our vision, values, and commitment to investing in the Irreplaceable Corners that have become the cornerstone of our business,” said Taylor.
Terry Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDENS, stated, “This opportunity is an important step in our strategic plan to complement, enhance and expand our platform and existing portfolio of leading urban retail centers.”
Completion of the transaction, which is currently expected to occur in the first quarter of 2015, is contingent upon customary closing conditions and the approval of AmREIT’s stockholders, who will vote on the transaction at a special meeting on a date to be announced. The transaction is not contingent on receipt of financing by EDENS.
Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor to AmREIT and Morrison &Foerster LLP and Venable LLP acted as AmREIT’s legal advisors. Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as financial advisor to EDENS and King & Spalding LLP acted as legal advisor to EDENS.
Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results
AmREIT will release financial results for its third quarter 2014 on November 4 at 8:00 a.m. ET. In light of today’s announcement, the company will not hold a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss financial results.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Philip Morris USA said Tuesday it had filed two lawsuits in federal court Monday against importers C.H. Rhodes and U.S. Sun Star Trading Inc., aimed at stopping the importation, distribution, and sale of counterfeit cigarettes and the unauthorized use of Philip Morris USA's trademarks.
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Disney’s Artemis Fowl will be readily available for watching solely via the company’s streaming system starting on June 12th. The amusement massive surprised followers in early April when it announced that the much-awaited adjustment of Eoin Colfer’s series would certainly no more be received cinemas. Artemis Fowl was expected to be shown in movie theaters back in August 2019. However, its release was pressed back to May 29th this year.
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) April 17, 2020
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Disney changed the best dates for its movies, consisting of Black Widow and Mulan. It chose not to show Artemis Fowl in cinemas ultimately. The firm did not clarify the reason behind its choice, yet it could extremely well be a method to attract new subscribers to its streaming solution with a big-budget flick.
In addition to revealing a premiere date for the film, Disney has also launched a new trailer, which you can enjoy below.


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Wisconsin Chocolate-Maker Being Sued by Mars Candy Company
A Wisconsin chocolate-maker has more to worry about than just the normal rush of Easter orders. She's being sued by the Mars Candy Company for trademark infringement.
CocoVaa, a shop in Madison, is the defendant in this lawsuit. The plaintiff? Mars Incorporated, the candy giant. The reason for the lawsuit is that Mars Inc contends that CocoVaa has infringed on their trademark. Mars as a similarly named product: CocoVia.
The owner of CocoVaa says that's completely out of line. In fact, she already had her trademark on CocoVaa approved at the federal level. She says that she had never even heard of the Mars product which is actually marketed as a nutritional supplement.
She says CocoVaa is a combination of Coco for chocolate and Vaa which is a nickname her dad has for her.
"So, putting them together, CocoVaa was a very intentional process motivated really by wanting to create a brand that looks catchy and rolls off the tongue nice but is also very personal to me and my family. CocoVaa is my name," Said Syovata Edari, CocoVaa Chocolatier.
CocoVaa actually had a huge weekend for business last week after the lawsuit was publicized. Supports quadrupled business in that time. Now though, the owner of CocoVaa has to work on answering that lawsuit.


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The company Sony Interactive Entertainment was accused of organizing a monopoly on the sale of digital versions of games for the PlayStation family consoles. In a collective claim, submitted this week to California’s court, it is argued that the Sony’s prohibition on the distribution of codes for downloading games by third-party sellers, which has been in effect since 2019, violates antimonopoly legislation and is an example of unscrupulous competition.
In the past, Sony allowed players to buy codes for downloading digital copies of games for PlayStation consoles from third-party vendors, such as Amazon or Gamestop. However, in 2019, this practice was discontinued and currently buying digital copies of games for Sony consoles only in the PlayStation Store brand store. According to the authors of the claim, these restrictions allowed the company to organize a monopoly for the sale of digital games for their consoles.
«Sony’s monopoly allows it to establish non-competitive prices for digital games for PlayStation, which are significantly higher than on physical media sold on the competitive retail market, and significantly higher than they would be on the competitive retail market of digital games, “the statement says in the claim .
Lawyers argue that popular games are sold in digital form in PS Store on average by 75% more expensive than their analogues implemented on physical media. The lawsuit also notes that in some cases the price difference can reach 175%. According to the results of the fiscal year, Sony received an income of 7 billion from the sale of digital versions of games and other content for PlayStation. According to the plaintiffs, billion from this amount could be obtained due to the overestimation of prices and the use of their monopolized position.
Sony official representatives still refrain from commenting on this issue.


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By Lisa Johnston
New products on display at the American International Toy Fair, held in N
San Diego — Leap Wireless International reported declining revenue for the second quarter of 2013, ended June 30.
Leap was acquired by AT&T last month.
Total revenues for the second quarter of 2013 decreased 7 percent to $731.5 million when compared with the prior-year period. Service revenues decreased 9.7 percent: $731.5 million in the second quarter vs. the prior-year’s $786.8 million.
Leap Wireless reported $148.8 million of adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) for the second quarter of 2013, compared with $190.8 million for the prior-year quarter.
Second-quarter operating loss was $7.6 million, compared with operating income of $31.6 million for the second quarter of 2012.
Leap Wireless said it had 283,066 customers at the end of the quarter, down 42.6 percent from the prior-year count of 492,720.
Core wireless churn for the second quarter of 2013 was 3.6 percent, which refers to Leap’s traditional, monthly voice service (Cricket Wireless) and excludes customers for Cricket Broadband and Cricket PayGo, it said.
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.


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NAIAS wraps up last winter in Detroit with more than 750,000 people in attendance
(WJBK) - The final winter of the North American International Auto Show wrapped up Sunday. The 16-day show ended with 774,179 people in attendance according to NAIAS organizers.
“Detroit displayed every facet of the mobility industry over the past two weeks, welcoming visitors from across the globe,” said 2019 NAIAS Chairman Bill Golling. “From startups showcasing their innovative technologies to executive discussions on a driverless future to industry giants standing on the world stage revealing brand-defining products and technologies, NAIAS was an incredible platform for one of the most exciting times in the history of our industry.”
The year 2020 will be the first official year NAIAS will bring its summer show to Detroit. Official summer dates have already been announced.
The Gallery: June 6
Press Preview: June 9 – 10
Industry Preview: June 10 – 11
AutoMobili-D: June 9 – 11
Charity Preview: June 12
Public Show: June 13 – 20