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This strategic partnership adds to the payment company’s ongoing investment in becoming the leader in market research payments
NEW YORK – July 19, 2023– Virtual Incentives, a global leader in innovative incentives, rewards, and payment solutions, today announced a new strategic partnership with SampleNinja, the next-generation panel management software.
The newly released integration will help sample providers instantly integrate incentives, rewards, and payments into the SampleNinja platform, making it effortless for panel experts to deliver payouts to their panels and communities.
“We are proud to facilitate the drive towards a higher quality panelist experience; today, this is more important than ever in panel operations. Virtual Incentives’ innovative payments and incentives help SampleNinja users easily deliver the payouts their panelists seek,” said Tariq Mirza, co-founder and CEO of SampleNinja. “The Virtual Incentives partnership extends the value we are creating for the market research industry by further modernizing and simplifying how a sample is managed.”
“We are incredibly excited to partner with SampleNinja. SampleNinja is very easy to use and navigate, plus the robustness of its features is a game changer for panel administrators and the market research industry. Our collaboration furthers our mission to deliver incentives and payments that excite and engage panelists,” said James Gary, co-founder and CEO of Virtual Incentives.
The partnership creates a synergy for the sample community by combining the feature-rich functionality of the SampleNinja platform with the robustness of Virtual Incentives’ global payment offerings.
About Virtual Incentives
Virtual Incentives’ mission is to help companies deliver incentives and rewards that excite and engage people. Thousands of companies—from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups—depend on Virtual Incentives to deliver innovative incentives, rewards, and payments, grow revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities. Headquartered in New York, Virtual Incentives offers 1400+ gift card brands, Virtual and Physical Visa, PayPal, Venmo, and Direct Bank deposits, and issues over $1 Billion in payments to 182 countries and in 26 currencies. Learn more about Virtual Incentives here.
SampleNinja LLC is a market research platform technology company (#ResTech) that aims to revolutionize how people work in the Panel Management sector of the industry by offering best in class, next generation, panel management software. Immediately providing clients with the industry’s highest quality respondents in a flexible and easily scalable way.
Learn more about Sample Ninja at https://www.sampleninja.io/


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Similar to tobacco products, it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes and vaping supplies to anyone under the age of On July 1,New Brunswick Government amended two acts to include e-cigarettes. The primary concern most experts have about e-cigarette use among young people is that most of these products contain nicotine, which is addictive, says Jonathan Klein, M.
ENDS that were on the market as of Aug. In July , a U. District Court in Maryland ordered that applications for deemed tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookah tobacco, that were on the market as of Aug. The court order also provided for a one-year period in which products with timely filed applications might remain on the market pending FDA review, but also clarified that FDA may enforce the premarket review provisions against deemed products prior to May 12, , or during the one-year review period.
In response to the sharp increase in youth e-cigarette use , the agency issued a draft guidance in March , that among other things, will outline enforcement priorities FDA will consider with regards to ENDS products that lack the required authorization. FDA actively monitors the market to investigate products that may be on the market illegally.
As part of these investigations, FDA has sent letters to about 90 companies seeking information on over brands, including ENDS products, to determine if those products are being illegally marketed. To date, FDA has issued warning letters to six companies notifying them of the need to remove a combined 71 products from the market. To receive marketing authorization of any new tobacco product, manufacturers must follow one of three pathways.
Under the PMTA pathway, FDA evaluates a new tobacco product based on whether it is appropriate for the protection of the public health, among other things. Scientific evaluation considers the risks and benefits of the product for the whole population, including users and non-users. These data should show the increased or decreased likelihood that current tobacco users will stop using certain products, as well as the increased or decreased likelihood that non-users will start using the products.
To provide additional information to manufacturers submitting these applications, FDA has advanced important regulatory documents such as guidance on tobacco product master files , a final rule outlining the minimum threshold for acceptability of an application for review, and a final guidance for companies with recommendations to consider as they prepare to submit PMTAs for ENDS products.
These types of documents will ultimately help us conduct the product application reviews in a more efficient and transparent manner. The U. In response to the concerning prevalence of youth use of these products, FDA created its Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan , which focuses on three crucial areas to prevent youth use of tobacco products — especially e-cigarettes:. Seventeen states , including Connecticut, California, Texas, have raised the age for purchasing tobacco products and e-cigarettes to Some, but not all, of these restrictions have gone into effect.
More specifically, the ban will apply to e-cigs that have not received FDA approval—but none of these products have. Mayor London Breed signed the legislation into law on July 1. The ban will apply to San Francisco stores and online sales to San Francisco addresses, and will go into effect seven months from the mayor's signing.
Juul, the leading e-cigarette manufacturer, also announced in November that it would stop selling flavored Juul pods in stores and sell them online only to consumers who are at least 21 years old. The draft proposal released in March would also move up a critical deadline to Companies would have until then to submit any flavored e-cig products that remain on the market—despite the new restrictions—to the FDA for premarket approval.
The agency had previously given companies until , after pushing back a deadline originally set for Gottlieb resigned from his position as commissioner on April 5, In November, vaping groups said the e-cigarette restrictions would be harmful to smokers trying to quit.
William Wallace, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, says the new proposals are welcome, but he called on the FDA to go further. The primary concern most experts have about e-cigarette use among young people is that most of these products contain nicotine, which is addictive, says Jonathan Klein, M.
Over time, it can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, and young people who use e-cigarettes are significantly more likely to try cigarettes or to become smokers. E-cigarettes also expose users to toxic heavy metals , according to the NASEM report, as well as cancer-causing chemicals , though in most cases at lower levels than traditional cigarettes.
Still, most scientists say that e-cigarettes are far safer than traditional cigarettes, says David Abrams, a behavioral and population health researcher who studies tobacco control at New York University. In , 1. This year, more than 20 percent of high schoolers 3. About 5 percent of middle school students , report being current e-cigarette users, a rise of 48 percent over the past year. These skyrocketing rates are concerning because kids are more susceptible to nicotine addiction , according to Klein, and because those who use e-cigarettes are more likely to try regular cigarettes, according to Koval.
Despite those concerns, scientists have questioned whether using e-cigarettes directly causes kids to smoke regular cigarettes. No selling to anyone under the age of No selling in pharmacies, or anywhere else tobacco sales are prohibited Source. While e-cigarettes are being treated like regular cigarettes in retail settings, they will not be taxed as a tobacco product. If this ban comes int effect, it will be the strongest ban of any province in Canada. On July 1, , New Brunswick Government amended two acts to include e-cigarettes.
The tobacco sales act is now called the tobacco and electronic cigarette sales act, and states the following:. Since in Quebec, most of the rules on smoking also apply to vaping, including a ban on selling vaping products to people under Now online sales of vaping products to people under 18 are also illegal. Delivery personnel have a duty to check that the buyer is 18 or older.
Also banned are vaping products with flavours of candy, dessert, pot, soft drinks and energy drinks. Vaping will be allowed in designated e-cigarette rooms in long-term care facilities and certain workplaces. As of July 1, , Vape Shops will be allowed to operate if the only business conducted is the sale of vapour products. This is a location where selling tobacco products or vaping products is the primary business.
The bill would also restrict flavours, however to what extent is still not fully understood. This legislation has now passed its 3rd reading and just needs to be given royal assent to be law in PEI. We carry a large selection of e-cigarettes, accessories, and e-liquid.
We ship from Ontario, Canada. Skip to content At this time in Canada, electronic cigarettes a. Federal: The federal government has not imposed any restrictions regarding the use of e-cigarettes, or the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping accessories in Canada. The electronic cigarette must not contain Cannabis, Tobacco i.
Buy Vape Products in Ontario Here! Alberta has no official regulations regarding the use of e-cigarettes, with the exception of the bi-law in Calgary. This means there are currently no laws against vaping inside, including bars, restaurants, hotels, etc. It is always a polite, and generally a good idea, to ask for permission before using your vape in any indoor public area.
Exception: City of Calgary. In March of , the British Columbia Government proposed legislation British Columbia Bill 14, Tobacco Control Amendment Act, which at its beginning focused on banning e-cigarettes from being used indoors, banning the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 19, and restricting advertising or promotion of e-cigarettes. It was proposed to be in affect February
Retrieved 26 October Retrieved May. When I buy an e-cig there For me as the item and not to laws a forbidden item buy is not illegal. Retrieved 6 August The Straits. PARAGRAPHThe funny thing is a shop again on the beach road between Soi 5 and and all this stuff. July cigarettes, August 1, Retrieved forbidden but I get fined. Read this from The Thai updates and message other travelers. Retrieved 12 November Saudi Arabia ikke til hinder for privatimport. Retrieved 28 October GMA News. US Food and Drug Administration. He sit there at least popular tours in Thailand.FDA issues ban on most flavored e-cigarettes The law is about not to can import or sell e-cigs. Thailand not has any law to prohibit the usage of your own e-cigs. This is a fact. The police rip you off because you. Smoking Norms and the Regulation of E-Cigarettes. Kristin Voigt, DPhil. Additional article information. Abstract. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (?ENDS)—. Partial. 4/ Retail e-cigarette stores. Wisconsin Smoking, including use of e-?cigarettes, prohibited at indoor facilities of State Fair and at main stage area. 457 458 459 460 461

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Good news for Final Fantasy fans who are waiting for a good f2p MMORPG to play – FINAL FANTASY XIV is scheduled to relaunch its new and improved 2.0 version in late 2012 or early 2013. The new version will be called Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.
Players may remember that the MMO was first released in 2010. Unfortunately, it was not successful, which is putting it very mildly. The president and CEO of Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada, even apologized to fans about the lack of quality of the MMORPG, saying that FFXIV “greatly damaged” the Final Fantasy brand (source). Ouch! That’s why everything will be redesigned.
Update: Beta test applications are now open for the PC and PS3 versions. http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/news/article/betatest_open
Correction: Also, FFXIV will be a subscription game, according to an interview at VG247.com.
(Revisions added January 24, 2013)
Now, according to the MCV website, version 2.0 will be a complete overhaul of the entire game. As little as 10 percent of the original content will be kept while all of the rest, including the user interface, controls, character creation, job system, instanced dungeons, mobs/enemies, battle algorithm, PvP, in-game communication, and so forth will be changed – hopefully for the better.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will also be a traditional subscription type of game but the devs have stated that they are willing to look into other business models in the future, probably because free-to-play has become the norm for more and more releases recently. For example, the high-profile switch of Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) from subscription to f2p has made waves in the industry and a lot of companies are no doubt taking note of the fact that even the most polished, big-budget titles can find it hard to succeed as a pay-to-play game.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will be available for both the PC and PS3.


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58.3 Percent Of Soup, Salad And Bowls QSRs Innovate With Kiosks
While quick service restaurants can be slow to innovate, soup, salad and bowls eateries may be among the more forward-thinking of the bunch.
Fixing Footwear Blues, The Unattended Way
Flat Out of Heels founder Dawn Dickson takes us inside one of the segments driving that growth: kiosks that sell shoes.
USA Technologies Helps Jackson Brothers Of The South Go Cashless
USA Technologies, which provides technology to the self-service retail market, is enabling a Missouri-based food service provider to accept cashless payments on all of its vending machines.
The Face Of The Future: CaliBurger Introduces Face Ordering
John Miller, CEO of Cali Group, told Karen Webster in a recent interview that the new kiosk was placed in the store along with the regular old self-ordering kiosk that requires customers to input their phone number or email address manually to access loyalty points.
Mastercard And WeWork Make ‘Hot Desks’ Pay
Mastercard’s Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of digital partnerships at Mastercard, says that its product development roadmap is largely driven by the needs of the end users who experience payments pain – whether that involves being paid or paying others – she told PYMNTS in a recent discussion.


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It’s been 10 years since Apple debuted the first iPhone. We review the devices’ history, its achievements, and where Apple might go from here.
Qualcomm unveiled its new Snapdragon 835 at CES this week, with improved CPU clocks, an eight-core big.Little configuration, faster GPU, and improved 4K support.
BlackBerry is showing off a new smartphone that doesn’t even have a name yet. It does have a keyboard, though.
Well, that’s not good. The Google Pixel and Nexus 6P are both suffering shutdown problems when the battery level reaches roughly 30%.
Qualcomm got slapped with a massive fine related to its patent licensing practices today. The company, unsurprisingly, disputes the findings of the Korean Fair Trade Comission. The KFTC, for its part, doesn’t care.
The first consumer Tango phone is a mediocre monster. As debuts for Google’s Project Tango go, this one is a miss.
This last year had a ton of great devices, and I’ve used them all — here are the six best Android phones from 2016.
HTC isn’t giving up, but you might not be seeing the brand as much anymore.
Samsung may be pushing its Galaxy S8 announcement back to make super-sure this one won’t catch fire unexpectedly.
New malware is forcing Internet users to mine a new cryptocurrency. Worse — it could infect your smartphone.
Subscribe Today to get the latest ExtremeTech news delivered right to your inbox.


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Argentina possible home shirt colour and design leaked for the upcoming South american competition of Copa America 2019 which will be schedule to commence from the 14 June at Brasil venue.
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Competition are heading in to brazil in june 2019 and for that Adidas who manufactures the Argentina football team home kits. Recently they also announced the Paraguay shirts too. this news will be published at Ezequiel Fernandez.
It would seem like if Adidas would make a new shirt for Argentina for every tournament and not every 2-3 years as they previously did.
We may earn commission from buying our links. For the record, This Website does not condone copyright violation with the help of a VPN as we promotes online privacy and security afforded by Virtual Private Networks.


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VCN – Although China is a potential market for Vietnam, currently, enterprises still have many difficulties when exporting to China such as tariffs, lack of information and language, etc.
|China also has a large demand for exported goods by Vietnam such as seafood. Photo: Nguyễn Huế|
From 2014 till now, China has passed Japan to be the second largest exporting market of Vietnam after US. Also, the relations for Vietnam-China trade have many geographical advantages, reducing cost, diversity in form of trade etc.
Not only an advantage in trade, but China also has a huge demand for Vietnam goods. In the conference "Market information and opportunities for exporting commodity in the China market", on November 9th 2016 Mr. Dao Viet Anh, Representative Office of Vietnam Trade Promotion in Chongqing, China stated that: “China also has a large demand for goods exported by Vietnam such as agricultural products (rice, cassava, rubber, vegetables, and tea) and seafood (shrimp and catfish).
However, when exporting goods to this market, Vietnam enterprises have encountered difficulties. According to Mr. Dao Viet Anh, there are 7 existing difficulties.
Firstly, when Vietnam goods are exported to China, it enjoys preferential tax rates under the Agreement on Free Trade Area China-ASEAN (CAFTA). However China's current tax rate of VAT from 13-17%, this invisible tariff reduces the level of competition on prices of imported products sold in the Chinese market.
Secondly, China promulgated the new Law on Food Safety. Accordingly, all food products being exported to China must be accompanied by certificates from the exporting country.
Thirdly, agricultural and aquatic products exported to China are subject to intense competition from similar products of ASEAN countries.
Fourthly, exchange, purchase and sale of goods in the form of border trade also pose a risk.
Fifthly is the capacity of businesses to verify the Chinese partner has not been focused and limited.
Last but not least, the overall lack of information about the Chinese market, such as export-import policy, market demand, connection in China business network. The final reason is about language barriers in dealing with Chinese businesses, some enterprises are not prepared to understand the Chinese team to serve the contact, connect with Chinese businesses .
With these difficulties, Mr. Dao Viet Anh noted that: “when doing the transaction, trading in China, Vietnam enterprises need to verify the power and prestige of Chinese business partners, especially connecting to an online partner via website. All transactions must be made in the form of a contract under the rules of international trade, the terms of the transaction and dispute resolution are closely united and highly binding.
In addition, enterprises should learn about the import regulations of the Chinese government with goods that the business plans to export, dealing with Chinese partners, especially about products such as food, agriculture and aquatic products, as these are subject to strict controls on quarantine.
There are now a number of organisations which now provide support for trade with China, such as the Vietnam Trade Office in Beijing, the Trade Promotion Department at Chongqing Vietnam, the Vietnam busines branch in Kunming , Guangzhou, Nanning and China Division, Department of Asian markets, and the Pacific under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
In 2015, according to statistics of Vietnam Customs, the total turnover of Vietnam-China trade reached $US 66.6 billion, up 13.4% compared to 2014; in which Vietnam exports reached $US 17.1 billion, up 14.8%; imported $US 49.5 billion, up 13.3%; trade deficit of $US 32.4 billion s, up 12.5%.
By Phan Thu


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China's proposed cybersecurity laws have sparked concerns among international businesses, prompting a coalition of 46 business groups from the US, Europe and Asia to caution that the new rules, if implemented, may negatively impact international trade relations.
The group sent a letter to China's top economic official Premier Li Keqiang, warning that the proposed laws, imposing limitations on information security, may make it easier for hackers to steal data and may also be in violation of WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules.
"The current drafts, if implemented, would weaken security and separate China from the global digital economy," the letter said. It was signed by the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington DC-headquartered Business Software Alliance, as well as organisations for insurers and manufacturers from the UK, Japan, Mexico and Australia, ZDnet reported.
The proposed laws would require technology companies to show Chinese authorities how their products work as well as store information about Chinese citizens within the nation. The letter states that in particular, the data storage rules have "have no additional security benefits" and would "create barriers to entry" for technology providers. The letter notes that demanding firms that they reveal how security products work may in fact diminish data security and may also be perceived as an imposition of trade barriers under WTO regulations.
The laws were proposed in 2015, in efforts to further tighten censorship and offered Beijing more consolidated control over the nation's IT infrastructure. China has since had to address mounting complaints about the laws aiding efforts to squash foreign competitors.
The letter sent out to Li urges that China revise the proposed laws to reflect fairer opportunities for foreign companies and follow international trade standards.


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At Davos, UN chief warns the world is in a 'sorry state'
The world is in a “sorry state” because of myriad interlinked challenges including climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine that are “piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,” the U.N. chief said at the World Economic Forum’s meeting Wednesday.
Published 4 months ago · Davos, Switzerland
Davos 2023: UN chief urges 'credible' net-zero pledges or risk greenwashing
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called on business leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos to follow the principles outlined by an expert group to make "credible", accountable net-zero pledges.
4 months ago·United KingdomRead Full Article
World is in a 'sorry state,' UN chief warns at Davos
The world is in a 'sorry state' because of myriad interlinked challenges including climate change and Russia's war in Ukraine that are 'piling up like cars in a chain reaction crash,' the UN chief said at the World Economic Forum's meeting Wednesday.
4 months ago·Toronto, CanadaRead Full Article
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Bitcoin lost up to 20% of its in-session value on January 11, after weeks of record price spikes. At Bank of America, specialists are wondering if bitcoin would be “the mother of all bubbles”, with a crash in sight. This is not the opinion of Mael Rolland, specialist in cryptocurrencies, interviewed by Sputnik.
Is this the end of the euphoria? After chaining record highs and venturing around $ 42,000, bitcoin had a rough day on January 11.
The most famous cryptocurrency has lost up to 20% of its value during the session. Since then, it has recovered a bit and this January 12 at 12:44 UTC, bitcoin peaked at $ 34,973.50. Still very high valuation. As a reminder, its price fell below 5,000 dollars last March.
Some observers are not surprised by this “Mini crash”. “A selling market and such intense volatility can scare the uninitiated”, but this correction was to be expected, confirms Edward Moya, analyst at Oanda, quoted by AFP. Others wonder. This is particularly the case of Bank of America Global Research in its weekly report, «The Flow Show», published January 7. In this document, mentioned by MarketWatch and echoed by Investing.com, analysts at the US bank speculated that bitcoin could be “The mother of all bubbles”.
“The mother of all bubbles is above all the monetary policy of central banks which pour trillions of currencies into the financial system”, replied Maell Rolland, doctoral student at EHESS (School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences) and cryptocurrency specialist.
To combat the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, several central banks – in particular the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) – have turned the printing press at record levels in 2020. In April, the Fed announced a vast support program, which could reach 2.3 trillion dollars. Faced with the resurgence of the epidemic in the United States, Jerome Powell, head of the American Central Bank, assured that the institution he heads could further increase its support. Currently, the Fed acquires $ 120 billion in assets per month, including 80 billion treasury bills and 40 billion MBS (US mortgage-backed securities). All in a context of rates close to zero. In the wake of this crisis, the Fed’s balance sheet rose from 4,100 to more than 7,300 billion dollars, which represents about a third of US GDP.
After the gold rush, the bitcoin rush?
Same story on the side of Europe with the ECB, which also released heavy artillery with its asset buyback program, called «Pandemic emergency purchase programme» (PEPP). In view of the severity of the crisis, the latter has already been raised twice and now reaches 1.850 billion euros. In 2020, the ECB’s balance sheet rose from 4,300 to more than 7,000 billion euros. It now far exceeds half of the euro zone’s GDP.
According to Mael Rolland, a large part of this money creation is going towards financial assets, which are very popular with investors.
“They are going towards bitcoin or Tesla, in order to protect themselves against the risk of a future crash,” Mael Rolland analyzes.
Like the sharp rise in bitcoin, the share of the brand of eccentric billionaire Elon Musk saw its price jump by more than 700% in 2020. A record that has considerably increased the already colossal fortune of its boss.
Such increases raise questions. Regarding bitcoin, analysts at Bank of America (BoA) have decided to compare the rise of cryptocurrency to famous bubbles that have marked finance in recent decades. “This includes a rise in the price of gold of over 400% in the late 1970s, as well as other notable investment fads: Japanese stocks in the late 1980s, the Thai stock market in the middle. of the 90s, dots-com at the end of the 90s and housing prices in the mid-2000s », says Investing.com.
Bitcoin: + 1,000% since early 2019
As the site specializing in trading emphasizes, “These sectors all experienced triple-digit gains before collapsing”. Michael Hartnett, chief investment officer at Bank of America Securities, therefore concludes that bitcoin looks like “The mother of all bubbles”, noting in its report that the cryptocurrency has jumped by around 1,000% since the start of 2019.
Mael Rolland, for his part, relativizes the danger of the bursting of a bubble linked to bitcoin:
“When you compare the bitcoin market to that of derivatives, the amounts are absolutely not the same.”
The famous investor Bill Miller recently recalled that the capitalization of bitcoin was now greater than that of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment fund of billionaire Warren Buffett, or even that of the investment bank JP Morgan. However, as Mael Rolland points out, the cryptocurrency market is still small compared to that of certain other financial products. “Today, the cryptocurrency market weighs 463 billion euros; a market that is active 24/7 unlike the stock market. There are more than 10,000 cryptocurrencies which were all created following the creation of bitcoin, which is open source ”, recently explained to the site Entreprendre.fr Christopher Villegas, CEO of the Digital Service Group. By way of comparison, the European derivatives market exceeded … 660,000 billion euros in October 2018, according to The echoes.
A crash or a bitcoin over $ 140,000?
And now what will happen to bitcoin? Nothing is certain. “Note that the BoA study did not concretely predict that the price of bitcoin would fall. It simply pointed to the evolution of bitcoin as another example of “increasingly speculative” investment behavior ”, nuance Investig.com.
Mael Rolland recalls that “This is not the first time that we have talked about a bubble concerning bitcoin” and that cryptocurrency “Is not the same as two years ago and even less than in 2011.”
“The bitcoin ecosystem has grown enormously in recent years. There is a real industry that has opened up to the world, with secure professional solutions for transactions and intervention in this market for institutional investors ”, underlines the expert.
UK financial regulator FCA has issued a warning to investors: “If consumers are investing (in cryptocurrencies), they must be prepared to lose all of their money.” On the side of JP Morgan, we put long-term on a bitcoin at … 146,000 dollars. Pick your side.


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Department store chain Debenhams has named Amazon Fashion boss Sergio Bucher as its new chief executive.
Mr Bucher will join in October from Amazon, where he has acted as vice president of its fashion arm in Europe since 2013.
Current Debenhams chief executive Michael Sharp will step down on June 24 after nearly five years at the helm, although he will be available to help Mr Bucher with the handover if needed.
Ian Cheshire, who recently joined Debenhams as chairman, said Mr Bucher’s appointment follows a “rigorous recruitment process with some exceptional quality candidates”.
“Sergio’s wealth of e-commerce expertise, international experience and clear leadership qualities stood out,” he said.
He added Mr Bucher was the “best person” to take Debenhams forward.
Mr Bucher, 52, will join on an initial pay package worth up to £3.8m, including a £700,000 annual salary, an annual bonus worth a possible £1.05m and long-term incentive shares worth up to £1.4m.
The pay deal also includes up to £30,000 to relocate from Luxembourg and a £5,000-a-month housing allowance for the first two years, while he will get a £445,184 payment in lieu of shares he would have been paid at Amazon.
His appointment ends a seven-month hunt for a successor to Mr Sharp after he announced plans to leave last October, ending speculation over his role at the group amid shareholder pressure for a boardroom shake-up.
Mr Sharp, who became chief executive in September 2011, insisted he had always intended to leave after a five-year term.
But some of the retailer’s major investors were widely reported to have been unhappy with its performance and were seeking a boardroom overhaul after disappointing results in previous years.
Mr Bucher, who is Swiss-Spanish, has held a number of roles in retail and fashion brands, including as general manager of Nike Retail in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
He was also previously general manager at Spanish retailer Oysho, which is owned by Zara parent group Inditex.
Mr Bucher said: “I am excited to be joining Debenhams, with its strong UK heritage, a growing international presence and a track record of supporting and developing brands and designers.
“I look forward to working with its experienced and talented team to take Debenhams forward to an exciting new future.”


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Almost four years after traces of chemicals believed to cause health problems in children and reproductive problems in adults were found in macaroni and cheese packets for the mass market, Annie’s Homegrown has begun to work with its suppliers to resolve the offending material from their food processing equipment.
The presence of the chemicals known as orthophthalates rocked the consumers who rely on the staple foods, especially parents. Phthalates make rigid plastic more flexible and are commonly used in hoses and conveyor belts found in food manufacturing plants and in food packaging.
They can interfere with male hormones such as testosterone and have been linked to learning problems in children by some researchers. However, the plastics industry has argued that food products contain relatively small amounts of the chemicals, and food regulators have not ruled that they are dangerous to consumers.
The 2017 study, funded by environmental groups and not published in a peer-reviewed journal, found the chemicals in all 10 macs and cheeses tested, even though the brands were not identified.
Annie’s, known by its cute rabbit logo, announced its move in a statement on its website, saying the company is “working with our trusted suppliers to eliminate orthophthalates that may be found in the packaging materials and food processing equipment that make the cheese and cheese powder in our macaroni and cheese. “
In a statement, a spokeswoman for General Mills, who owns Annie’s, said, “We are determined to learn more in order to better understand this emerging problem and how Annie’s can be part of the solution.”
The economic and practical reality of trying to eradicate phthalates, which are found in many parts of the food manufacturing process, could be daunting.
The chemicals could end up in the food at many points along the supply chain, including on the farm, where flexible plastic tubing carries milk out of the barn, or in the manufacture of the cardboard container that the pasta is kept in. The chemicals tend to build up in high fat foods like cheese.
The obligation to remove phthalates from the manufacture of one type of food raises questions about the chemical content of the myriad of other products made with similar flexible plastic devices.
Still, health care advocates applauded General Mills for taking this step with Annie’s, one of their brands. General Mills bought Annie’s in 2014 and its popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic as domestic consumers turned to packaged food.
“People shouldn’t have to eat chemicals in their food if it could make them sick, especially if there are safer alternatives,” said Mike Belliveau, executive director of Defend Our Health, an environmental and health agency focused on the dangers of Phthalates.
Mr Belliveau’s group, formerly known as the Environmental Health Strategy Center, helped fund the study in 2017 that demonstrated the existence of the chemicals in food. He has since connected with giant food companies like General Mills and Kraft about phthalates. Only General Mills opened a discussion with his group about leaking chemicals from the supply chain, he said. (Kraft did not respond to a request for comment on this article.)
“Annie’s updated the language on their website to reflect our new outside engagement,” Lee Anderson, a General Mills executive, wrote to the advocacy group in a December email viewed by the New York Times. “We are not planning any additional communication and are not looking for any.”
“While we know this is important for some consumers, we are not the focus of most of our consumers in these troubled times as we try to reassure them about the basic availability and value of our products,” the email continued away.
Mr. Anderson added that Annie’s had been discussing the implementation of the changes with suppliers and developing a “Supplier Verification Tool,” but that it would take some time to assess effectiveness.
Other companies have taken steps to limit the chemicals in their packaging, including Taco Bell, which has pledged to remove phthalates from its packaging by 2025. Ahold Delhaize USA, which operates grocery chains such as Stop & Shop and Hannafords, announced a “Sustainable Chemistry Commitment” to limit phthalates in its private label products.
Maine will ban food packaging containing phthalates “in an amount greater than incidental presence” from 2022.
But apart from Annie’s, few companies have made public commitments to removing phthalates from the manufacturing process.
The Organic Trade Association is convening a task force this winter to see how it can help its members address the problem. “But they also need packaging and suppliers there,” said Gwendolyn Wyard, vice president of regulatory and technical affairs for the trading group.
Phthalates have strong defenders, including Exxon Mobil, a leader in the chemical. The chemical industry rejects some of the studies on phthalates in food as “bad science” which is said to generate alarming headlines but is not based on rigorous research.
Kevin Ott, the executive director of the Flexible Vinyl Alliance, a trade group that Exxon is a part of, said many consumers and advocates are too quick to judge certain substances. “Any chemical that you can’t see, smell, or spell must be dangerous,” he said.
Mr Ott criticized how some studies have measured the presence of phthalates in macaroni and cheese in parts per billion. “It’s like a thimble in an Olympic swimming pool,” he said.
In 2008, Congress banned the use of many phthalates in children’s toys and ordered the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate the effects of several other phthalates.
Today, after all of the testing, “phthalates have basically been retired from toys,” Ott said. “No smart businessman will make toys with phthalates.”
Eating is a different story. The Food and Drug Administration has investigated the presence of phthalates in food packaging and manufacturing facilities. In an article published in 2018, a group of researchers from the agency concluded: “To date, there are no studies showing an association between human exposure to phthalates and adverse health effects.”
But the FDA hasn’t officially decided on the issue yet, despite researchers saying food is a top concern.
“Phthalates come through our skin, through our noses, into our bodies – we get them from everywhere,” said Shanna Swan, professor of environmental medicine and public health at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, who has studied the chemical’s effects on reproductive health. “But the main source is food.”
In a statement, an FDA spokeswoman said the agency is currently considering two petitions, including one filed five years ago by several environmental groups calling on regulators to restrict phthalates from food contact materials.
“Completing our review of these petitions and posting our response in the Federal Register is a priority for the FDA,” the agency said Friday.
In a book published this month, Count Down, Dr. Swan reported that a number of chemicals have contributed to a 50 percent decrease in sperm count over the past 40 years, and that exposure to certain phthalates could play a role in reproductive problems.
“This alarming rate of decline could mean that humanity cannot reproduce if the trend continues,” writes Dr. Swan in the book.
These problems are not caused by “something inherently wrong with the human body as it has evolved over time,” she writes.


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The growth is due to CY taking over production of more than 15 engineered components nationwide and in China.
CY Plastics announced Monday the addition of new equipment and staff at its plastics molding shop at 8601 Main St. in Honeoye. The new equipment includes a robot and a new press machine. The company also added six employees since June. The growth is due to CY taking over production of more than 15 engineered components nationwide and in China, according to a release from CY.
CY Plastics added a new Arburg 470 C injection molding press, the third of this model at the plant, which provides added capacity and flexible scheduling, according CY. The new press is paired with an additional Star Automation three-axis programmable robot with end-of-arm tooling. The robot removes parts from the mold and welds them into an assembled part using a new Branson 920 ultrasonic welder.
Watch the video


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Adstream has announced the release of a mobile companion app – Adstream ONE.
The app will be available free, for download on Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Adstream consolidates digital asset management and global delivery into a single product suite for a more seamless customer experience.
The Adstream ONE mobile companion app captures key features and functions of the cloud-based Adstream global ad management and delivery platform, providing users with a marketing assistant in their pocket.
At its release, the app features a consolidated view of a user’s TV Ordering and Media Manager services where users can view, play, filter, and search for their TV ad orders and assets – anywhere across the globe.
Adstream chief product officer, Hamza Mudassir (featured image) said: “An Adstream mobile app was on the top of our customer’s wish list and we have delivered! Sometimes every second counts.
“By providing visibility, control and notifications in one easy to use app, our customers gain efficiency and the ability to execute time-sensitive changes to their TV ads and assets instantly from anywhere.
“We are not going to stop here, though – we will soon be releasing additional features for different regions.”
The Adstream ONE mobile app mirrors the company’s global ad management platform on quality, reliability and security.
Adstream chief technology officer, Katie Nykanen said: “One of the major challenges of bringing enterprise grade applications to mobile is that they are not just power and bandwidth hungry but also have a tendency to fall out of sync – leading to poor customer experience.
“The Adstream ONE application is built for mobile from the ground up and is persistent with the web version – while being incredibly efficient on bandwidth and battery consumption.”
The app is available for download on both iOS and Android today and will be regularly updated.
Adstream is actively seeking and accepting suggestions from users on additional feature sets or improvements that can be incorporated in future releases.
Frank Digital has released a revitalised ‘What’s On’ platform for the City of Sydney, showcasing the best events Sydney has to offer and allowing users to see the vibrant metropolis through a true local’s perspective. Now, after five years, tens of thousands of events and thousands of users, Frank is launching the brand new version of the platform to make a great digital product even better for locals and visitors to Sydney in 2020.
NTT Ltd. has revealed the findings of its annual Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report titled “The Connected Customer: Delivering an effortless experience.” According to the research, only 5 per cent of ANZ organisations (8 per cent globally) are delivering a fully functioning experience, yet 50 per cent of ANZ firms consider CX to be a […]
Seven’s Pooch Perfect debuted to an okayish 624,000 last night according to OzTAM metro numbers. That said, the heavily marketed show still got beat by 10’s stalwart Googlebox that managed 685,000. Seven won the might with 28.2 per cent of all of last night’s eyeballs. Nine did 26.7 per cent, 10 posted 21.5 per cent, […]
The 6th annual Big Clash cricket tournament was the biggest and most competitive yet with over 100 companies across media, tech, creative and agencies taking part. The 2020 event took place on 27 February in Sydney and Melbourne and raised $160,000 for children at risk, bringing the total raised by the event to over $500,000. […]
The man accused of spray painting “Roxy is a c***” on PR magnate Roxy Jacenko’s Sydney office has walked free from court. Jacenko has accused Bitcoin trader Anthony Hess of the graffiti and was in court seeking a restraining order against the businessman, according to news.com.au. The Sweaty Betty PR boss had also accused Hess of […]


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Are You A Franchising Friend or Foe?
By Steven Belmonte CEO, Vimana Franchise Systems LLC | October 28, 2008
September 12-13, 2005, franchisees from all over the nation will march on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to celebrate "Franchise Appreciation Day" initiated by the International Franchise Association. This annual event, now in its 6th year, is held to heighten the visibility of franchising and to educate our U.S. Congress on the important role franchising plays in our nation's economy.
This got me to thinking. Franchising represents about 60 percent of the hospitality industry, contributing billions of dollars in annual U.S. revenues. So why is it that we as an industry do not celebrate a national or global "Hotel Franchise Appreciation Day?"
Could the answer be that hotel franchising simply isn't appreciated? With franchise fees what they are today, I have to believe that the franchisors appreciate it. Travelers certainly appreciate it - especially those reaping the rewards offered by growing brand/franchise-loyalty programs. Even national franchisee associations appreciate hotel franchising.
In fact, the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers recently honored my long-time industry friend Mike Leven, and the franchise system he founded, US Franchise Systems Inc. (USFS), with AAFD's prestigious "Total Quality Franchising Lifetime Achievement Award." Likewise, USFS is being recognized as AAFD's second twice-honored "Franchisor of the Year."
Kudos to Leven for Lifetime Achievement
In an article that appeared last month on the American Association of Franchisees & Dealers Web site (AAFD), AAFD Chairman Robert Purvin said the recognition of Mike Leven by the association was long overdue.


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On average, organic food items are 47 percent more expensive than standard supermarket fare—but thanks to their purported health and environmental benefits, many shoppers still splurge on them. In fact, the total retail market for organic products in the United States was valued at over $39 billion in 2016. But while the organic industry means big business for farmers and food companies, the question still remains: Are organic foods actually better for both you and the environment?
In the video below, AsapSCIENCE co-creator and host Mitchell Moffit explains why eating organic may not be the panacea most people think it is. Contrary to popular belief, an organic diet isn't chemical-free. In fact, Moffit explains, organic farmers can still use natural pesticides and fungicides to keep crop-destroying insects at bay—and studies show that they aren’t necessarily better for you or the soil than synthetic ones.
Labels tend to be misleading, too. If a food product’s package simply says “organic,” it only has to contain 95 percent organic ingredients. (This percentage is even lower with items labeled “made with organic ingredients” or “containing organic ingredients.”) And in some cases, chemicals or ingredients are the least of a shopper’s worries: In 2015, organic foods had accounted for 7 percent of recalled foods units as of August of that year, thanks in part to incidents of potential bacterial contamination.
Even if you’re extra-careful to only consume food that’s labeled “100 percent organic,” the jury’s still out on whether it’s good for you or the environment. In 2012, Stanford University scientists published a meta-analysis of 237 studies concluding that organic fruits and veggies don’t provide more nutritional benefits than regular produce. Meanwhile, a study published in the journal Nature in 2012 found that organic crop yields are much lower than conventional ones. They require more farmland for growth, and put a greater strain on the environment.
Adding to the confusion, other studies suggest that organic farming methods can actually increase important nutrients in foods, and some agricultural experts say they improve soil quality. In short, there’s no surefire answer for whether or not you're wasting your money at Whole Foods—but at the end of the day, "production methods vary greatly for both organic and conventional foods from one farm to another," Moffit points out.
[h/t Science Alert]
Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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STOCKTON, CALIF. — Led by strong sales in its Emerald and Pop Secret brands, Diamond Foods, Inc. posted net income of $6,144,000 in the second quarter ended Jan. 31, equal to 38c per share on the common stock. This compared with earnings of $2,674,000, or 17c per share, in the same period a year ago.
Net sales for the second quarter were $150,588,000, up 13% from $133,798,000 during the same quarter of the previous year. Sales primarily were boosted by 27% growth in retail sales.
"Our strategy to invest in our brands, while lowering the company’s cost structure, enables us to deliver greater value to retail partners and consumers, which is critically important in today’s economy," said Michael J. Mendes, president and chief executive officer.
Sales in the North American Retail segment were $130,802,000 for the quarter, up from $102,652,000 during the same quarter of the previous year. Within the segment, snack sales rose 152% to $49,296,000.
In the six months ended Jan. 31, net income totaled $16,840,000, or $1.03 per share, up from $11,016,000, or 69c per share, in the same period a year ago. Net sales climbed 9% to $346,114,000.
The company lowered its full-year 2009 guidance for sales to between $535 million to $565 million from an earlier forecast of between $585 million and $615 million for sales. Snack net sales are still expected to total between $175 million to $185 million. Earnings per share guidance, meanwhile, was raised to $1.27 to $1.34 per share from $1.20 to $1.27.


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Last week, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that both Facebook and Google had conducted “low-level” talks with micro-blogging service Twitter about acquiring the firm. While the report suggested these talks were inconclusive, it did throw up a bombshell: evaluations had been in the range of $8-10 billion.
WSJ called this the latest eye-popping multi-billion-dollar evaluation in a season of “frothy” technology deals and evaluations. In January, Facebook raised $1 billion in a deal that valued the firm at $50 billion: almost as big as market caps today for companies such as Ford and American Express. And just on Sunday, social gaming firm Zynga said it was raising $250 million at a valuation of approximately $7-9 billion.
One reason why these companies are worth so much is the communities that they bring with them. According to a Pew Research Center estimate, 62% of all Internet users have a Facebook account. These communities can then be used to sell advertising to.
At a recent press conference to announce what could be a life-saving partnership with Microsoft, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop stressed several times the potential in using location-based services to sell localized advertising.But even this traditional rationale falters in the case of Twitter. Its revenue last year, wholly from advertising, was reported at $45 million. This year it is expected to go up to $110 million.
Why then is Twitter getting an evaluation worth 100 times its forecast revenue for this year?
Like most other things these days, the answers might lie in Tunisia and Egypt. The first stones of a revolution, it appears, are thrown on Twitter.
Twitter has achieved undisputed platform dominance. Egyptians didn’t want just the Internet back. They wanted Twitter back. This is unlike, say, blogging, which took off as a trend, but did so standing on the shoulders of several brands such as Blogger and WordPress.
For much larger players such as Google and Facebook, dominance in the social network and services sphere perhaps seems incomplete without Twitter. So perhaps the evaluations aren’t based on models, estimates or spreadsheets at all.
For users, however, an acquisition could be bad news. Twitter would seem less vital and benevolent if it were part of Google and Facebook, two firms not averse to opportunistic evil, in the same way that WikiLeaks wouldn’t be quite the same thing if The New York Times bought it.
Thankfully, at least for now, Twitter seems to prefer independence. WSJ reports that insiders believe it can become a $100 billion firm. Those 140 characters can add up to plenty.
Is Twitter overvalued? Tell us at email@example.com


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By Neville Timothy Sanders & Nura Valentiana Lorna
KUCHING: While some consumers agree with the government’s decision to discontinue the subsidy for bottled 2kg, 3kg and 5kg cooking palm oil effective July 1 to curb abuse by the commercial sector and smugglers, others have expressed their frustrations over the decision.
The B40 group will feel the pinch, they say.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said recently subsidies for palm cooking oil in bottles of 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bottles would be discontinued beginning July while the subsidy for the product in 1kg polybag packages offered at RM2.50 per packet would be maintained.
Cooking oil sold in 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bottles presently have maximum retail prices capped at RM12.70, RM18.70 and RM29.70 respectively.
New Sarawak Tribune conducted a quick survey, and consumers and traders feel the subsidy should remain until the economy recovers.
Let’s hear their views.
Nenssy Lucas, 32, Housewife
I have a very small family – my husband, my baby and I. So abolishing the subsidy won’t affect us much. But I think the government should do something to help those large families, especially the B40 group. We, the people, should at least have adequate food to feed our family.
Dominikayati Abdullah, 62, Housewife
The subsidy abolition only involves bottled cooking oil. The people can opt for the 1kg polybag packages instead. However, traders make it hard for us because they have started to limit purchases to three packs per family! The government should look into this.
Effa Syafiqah, 27, Baker
As the price of cooking necessities will increase, we traders also need to raise our price. But this will make our customers to opt for other choices. The government should bring down the price of bottled cooking oil. Or don’t put a limit to the purchase of any cooking oil products.
Elissa Langgi, 36, Accountant
Traders will have no choice but to increase the price as per market value without the subsidy and this is to ensure their business will not suffer any loss in the long run. Consumers on the hand, suffer the most. But this will make them go for other choices. Increasing wages to lessen the people’s burden could be a solution, but capping commodity prices would be better .
Kingsley Labot, 34, Safety and Health Executive
This will no doubt burden our fellow small and medium business owners in the food industries. When the cooking oil price rises, food prices will have to increase. Panic buying surely will happen before July 1 and this will make things worse. The government should have just maintained the subsidy for bottle cooking oil so that people could enjoy affordable prices, especially when the living cost is so high these days.
Laura Dee Dee Cotter, 24, English Teacher
Traders are the ones who will benefit from the decision, and consumers, on the other hand, especially those in the B40 group, will suffer as they will have to spend more on essentials. The government shouldn’t abolish subsidies for certain cooking oils until the economy recovers. Keep the subsidies and ceiling prices until all sectors have managed to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Until then, the government should do what’s best for the people in the long run.


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Abu Dhabi - The fashion show will also commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The 70th Republic Day of India will be celebrated at Etihad Jumeirah Hotel, Abu Dhabi on January 26, 2019. At the event, the Embassy of India in collaboration with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Apparel Group and Indian Business & Professional Group (IBPG), Abu Dhabi will organize a khadi fashion show.
Khadi, a sustainable natural hand-spun fabric with zero carbon footprint, is becoming globally popular for being an eco-friendly and breathable textile.
Two eminent fashion designers - Sunaina Suneja from India and Feryal Al Bastaki from UAE will showcase their collections highlighting the opulent legacy of Indian textiles and Emirati designs.
Ambassador Navdeep Suri said that in view of increasing demand for khadi in UAE, Embassy will facilitate meetings of KVIC which has been mandated by the Government of India to promote khadi and its products, with textile groups in UAE to fill in the gaps in retail sector. He said that khadi fashion show was being held to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as he popularized khadi as a symbol of self-reliance and to promote the indigenous textile industry.
He added that with khadi having a unique quality of being warm in winters and cool in summers, it is India's gift to the world as a hand-woven luxury.
Chairman of KVIC, VK Saxena said that KVIC was happy to be part of khadi promotion in UAE, with which India enjoys deep cultural and civilizational links. He appreciated the idea of an Indian and an Emirati designer coming together to promote khadi and showcasing beauty of both the cultures.
Nilesh Ved, Chairman, Apparel Group has said that he was proud to use the nation's fabric and take it to a center stage and contribute to Khadi's revival in UAE. He said that khadi was increasingly breaking free from its humble status to become part and parcel of fashion circuits in offices and daily lives and that it had huge scope in the UAE market, all the more when presented by creative artists like Sunaina Suneja and Feryal Al Bastaki.
Padmnabha Acharya, President Indian Business & Professional Group, Abu Dhabi said that IBPG was honored to promote khadi and to partner with the Embassy of India. He said that IBPG will be happy to organize more such events with the Embassy in future.
The event is expected to be attended by senior dignitaries from UAE, members of the diplomatic corp, media, Indian community and several prominent textile groups based in UAE.


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Much as you've got to love a hotel with the slogan, "Setting a Distinct Standard in Manhattan Discount Hotels," let's be honest: there's not much room for 15" conventional TVs in this 63" plasma world. And so the news today of the passing of another Times Square bargain, the Portland Square Hotel on West 47th (above). Tom Acitelli reports that developer Hank Freid will drop $7.5 million to turn it into a new luxury hotel called Sanctuary. Rates from $265/night to $1,800 for the duplex penthouse; compare and contrast with Portland Square's top rate of $189/night. And repent.
· Hotelier plans West 47th Street boutique [The Real Deal]
· Portland Square Hotel [Official Site]


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Click above for more high-res images of the Toyota A-BAT Concept
Despite the fact that its full-sized truck competitors from Ford, General Motors and Dodge will all offer new small-displacement diesel engines within the next year or so, Toyota has reportedly canceled plans for a similar powertrain for its Tundra. Instead of dumping money into the stalled full-size market, the automaker has reportedly contacted key suppliers for quotes on systems for its radical A-BAT concept truck from the Detroit Auto Show. Powertrain choices for the trucklet would include a traditional four-cylinder option along with a hybrid drivetrain, possibly sourced from the Camry hybrid. If it went into production, the A-BAT would join the lonely Ford Ranger in the small pickup market and would use a uni-body platform in lieu of a full frame, which is standard fare on most other trucks. Then again, it may never be given the green-light for production at all.


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Mulberry - the fashion and luxury goods company - has developed an extensive Scrabble themed visual merchandising programme to create a backdrop for its summer 2009 season offering.
Taking inspiration from an image in Romance, a book by leading fashion photographer Chris Craymer, which features 'I Love You' spelled out in Scrabble tiles, Mulberry's creative team used over 30,000 real Scrabble tiles, combined with over-sized tiles for impactful window and in-store displays in its UK outlets.
The theme is continued throughout each store and will remain in place for two months.
"We are delighted with the look that the Mulberry team have created," said Wendy Hill, Mattel Boys marketing manager. "These two iconic brands complement each other fantastically.
"The giant tiles in the windows look incredibly strong and are certain to draw a lot of interest."
The concept is also due to be rolled out internationally over the coming weeks.


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At its annual TechCon event in San Jose, Arm today announced Custom Instructions, a new feature of its Armv8-M architecture for embedded CPUs that, as the name implies, enables its customers to write their own custom instructions to accelerate their specific use cases for embedded and IoT applications.
“We already have ways to add acceleration, but not as deep and down to the heart of the CPU. What we’re giving [our customers] here is the flexibility to program your own instructions, to define your own instructions — and have them executed by the CPU,” ARM senior director for its automotive and IoT business, Thomas Ensergueix, told me ahead of today’s announcement.
He noted that Arm always had a continuum of options for acceleration, starting with its memory-mapped architecture for connecting over a bus GPUs and today’s neural processor units. This allows the CPU and the accelerator to run in parallel, but with the bus being the bottleneck. Customers also can opt for a co-processor that’s directly connected to the CPU, but today’s news essentially allows Arm customers to create their own accelerated algorithms that then run directly on the CPU. That means the latency is low, but it’s not running in parallel, as with the memory-mapped solution.
As Arm argues, this setup allows for the lowest-cost (and risk) path for integrating customer workload acceleration, as there are no disruptions to the existing CPU features and it still allows its customers to use the existing standard tools with which they are already familiar.
For now, custom instructions will only be available to be implemented in the Arm Cortex-M33 CPUs, starting in the first half of 2020. By default, it’ll also be available for all future Cortex-M processors. There are no additional costs or new licenses to buy for Arm’s customers.
Ensergueix noted that as we’re moving to a world with more and more connected devices, more of Arm’s customers will want to optimize their processors for their often very specific use cases — and often they’ll want to do so because by creating custom instructions, they can get a bit more battery life out of these devices, for example.
Arm has already lined up a number of partners to support Custom Instructions, including IAR Systems, NXP, Silicon Labs and STMicroelectronics.
“Arm’s new Custom Instructions capabilities allow silicon suppliers like NXP to offer their customers a new degree of application-specific instruction optimizations to improve performance, power dissipation and static code size for new and emerging embedded applications,” writes NXP’s Geoff Lees, SVP and GM of Microcontrollers. “Additionally, all these improvements are enabled within the extensive Cortex-M ecosystem, so customers’ existing software investments are maximized.”
In related embedded news, Arm also today announced that it is setting up a governance model for Mbed OS, its open-source operating system for embedded devices that run an Arm Cortex-M chip. Mbed OS has always been open source, but the Mbed OS Partner Governance model will allow Arm’s Mbed silicon partners to have more of a say in how the OS is developed through tools like a monthly Product Working Group meeting. Partners like Analog Devices, Cypress, Nuvoton, NXP, Renesas, Realtek,
Samsung and u-blox are already participating in this group.


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The weekly roundup comes at you with news on smart home devices, home safety tips, and cool new mobile apps to keep you and your friends safe. 3D Printing a Multi-Story Home With their latest technology, a Chinese construction company is demonstrating what happens when 3D printing is no longer limited by scalability constraints.
The Weekly Roundup
The Weekly Roundup 9.10 Editionby Amy | September 10, 2015
The Weekly Roundup 9.4 Editionby Amy | September 4, 2015
The weekly roundup returns with some home safety tips as well as some updates on futuristic smart home devices. Automakers form Alliance to Enhance Cybersecurity With the recent exposure of cybersecurity vulnerabilities in many different cars, the automotive industry has come under fire for its inadequate response to the situation.
The Weekly Roundup 8.28 Editionby Amy | August 28, 2015
The weekly round up is back yet again with some personal safety tips and even more news about the future of smart home devices. Senators Aim to Fund Tech that Disables Your Car if You’ve Been Drinking Technology has been developed to tackle safety issues in many different ways.
The Weekly Roundup 8.21 Editionby Amy | August 21, 2015
The weekly roundup is back with yet another batch of articles focusing on smart home devices and the future of smart home automation. This Hacker’s Tiny Device Unlocks Cars and Opens Garages If the unlock button on your key fob doesn’t work on the first try, it may not be due to its batteries.
The Weekly Roundup 8.14 Editionby Amy | August 14, 2015
The weekly roundup is back with a bevy of articles relating to smart home devices and the future of smart home automation. The Top Passwords of 2014 With more personal information being stored online than ever before, account security has become incredibly important.
Weekly Roundup 7.31 Editionby Amy | July 31, 2015
New Microsoft Lumias May Feature Iris Scanners Following the dismissal of nearly 8,000 employees from Microsoft’s phone division, the future of Microsoft’s Lumia devices was unclear. New reports, however, suggest that the tech giant is prepping for two new phones, codenamed Talkman and Cityman, in the Lumia line.
The Weekly Roundup 7.24 Editionby Amy | July 24, 2015
Uber Expands Service for Seniors and People with Disabilities If you’ve ever experienced the misfortune of breaking an ankle or foot, you know how challenging it can be to get around. Particularly if a cast or crutches prohibits your ability to drive.
The Weekly Roundup 7.17 Editionby Amy | July 17, 2015
Nature Valley Ad Validates Current Generation Addicted to Technology Nature Valley, a granola bar company, is urging customers to get back in touch with nature. Their new ad asks three generations of families what they most liked to do when they were children.
The Weekly Roundup 7.10 Editionby My Alarm Center | July 10, 2015
NBA Player Blames Elbow Injury on His iPhone 6 Plus Could it be that technology is literally causing us physical pain? With technology following the Texas philosophy of “bigger is better,” devices are literally hard to handle.


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SAN FRANCISCO – (BUSINESS WIRE) – November 18, 2021–
Grammar, the company serving effective communication for more than 30,000 teams and 30 million people on a daily basis, announced today over $ 200 million in funding to a $ 13 billion valuation of new investors Baillie Gifford and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, among others. With this latest cycle, Grammarly will accelerate product innovation and team growth to transform the way individuals and organizations around the world communicate.
Today’s digital world continues to shape the way we work and live. More and more people are connecting on more online platforms and in more diverse contexts than ever before. Good communication is essential in our hyper-connected world, it has become fundamental to achieving individual and business goals.
âGrammarly’s latest funding round underscores the importance of our mission and the overall need for effective communication,â said Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly. âBy enabling clear and confident communication, Grammarly’s platform helps people excel both personally and professionally. This has a real impact for our users and the ecosystems in which they operate, including businesses. “
Seeking to help people wherever they write, Grammarly does not limit users to a software suite or operating system for receiving communication feedback. Its platform accelerates efficient communication between more than 500,000 applications and websites, from email clients to business software and word processors.
With a new office product, the launch of Grammar for developers, and strategic partnerships such as Grammar for Samsung Keyboard, Grammarly is poised to bring its real-time communication suggestions to more people through more apps. The company will also continue to advance its best NLP and ML technology to provide personalized communication feedback to users around the world.
According to a recent Harris Poll study commissioned by Grammarly, 94% of business leaders say effective communication is essential to achieving business goals. As this business reality has become more and more evident, the organization-oriented business offeringâ Grammar matters âHas experienced significant growth in demand among businesses. Over the past year, the number of clients with big dollar contracts has increased by over 250%. Teams from leading brands such as Zoom, Cisco and Expedia are leveraging Grammarly Business to accelerate productivity and engagement, reporting up to 30% improvement in customer satisfaction and an average 20% increase in efficiency .
Grammarly’s investments in enterprise level security, combined with a SOC 2 (Type 2) report, ISO 27001/17/18 certifications and HIPAA compliance, give customers the peace of mind that their data is safe and secure. The company’s business model encourages product innovation that prioritizes its users – Grammarly makes money selling subscriptions, not data.
âWe are delighted to partner with the Grammarly team to democratize effective communication. As the world has gone digital, people are communicating more than they ever have, but it has never been so difficult, âsaid Peter Singlehurst, Head of Private Companies at Baillie Gifford. âGrammarly is one of the few companies in the world to focus on solving this problem. What attracted us was the vision for the company and the ability of the team to move the product forward to help more people in more situations communicate better. Grammarly’s long-term and ambitious approach also aligns with our approach to investing. We look forward to many years of partnership with Grammarly.
Grammarly remains profitable and its cash flow has been positive for a short time after its inception. The company has been recognized as one of the Inc. The best workplaces of 2021, member of the 2021 Forbes Cloud 100, and one of The Software Report Top 100 Software Companies of 2021. The company has nearly tripled the number of its team members since 2019 and, with its new remote hybrid work model first -is recruitment in all departments in the United States, Canada and Ukraine.
Using a combination of technological approaches and human expertise, Grammarly’s mission is to improve lives by improving communication. Every day, 30,000 teams and 30 million people around the world rely on Grammarly’s advanced writing assist technology to write with confidence and achieve their communication goals. Grammarly’s AI-powered suggestions provide feedback on the writing’s accuracy, clarity, engagement, and delivery, wherever it occurs. Founded in 2009, Grammarly applies more than a decade of learning to provide unparalleled and market-leading communications support. Grammar is one of the Fast business of the most innovative companies in AI, member of the Forbes Cloud 100, and one of the Inc. The best places to work. Learn more about Grammaire.com/about.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211118005487/en/
CONTACT: Shane Collins
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE OTHER INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS PUBLICATION BLOGGING MARKETING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Copyright Business Wire 2021.
PUB: 11/18/2021 08: 00 / DISC: 11/18/2021 08:01
Copyright Business Wire 2021.


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An argument between two men standing outside a Downers Grove electronics store on Thanksgiving came to blows after one of the men, who was queued-up in anticipation of Black Friday shopping deals, accused the other of trying to cut in line, police said on Monday.
One of the men involved in the altercation told police that he came to Best Buy Electronics, in the 7400 block of Lemont Road, around 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 24. He was there to check on his son, who had been camped outside the store since 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving day, according to a report.
Read more at TribLocal
Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune


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31 results found for "recycling"
Swedish fast-fashion brand Monki has launched the first capsule clothing collection made using a breakthrough textile-to-textile recycling process that’s a huge step towards a closed loop for clothing.
Past Commitments Made By Manufacturers Have Eroded
10-year-old eco-entrepreneur Vanis Buckholz helms a successful recycling company
Recycle Across America looks to make recycling as automatic as stopping at a red light
The perfect work chair, designed by Yves Behar with the environment in mind


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Six out of 10 people (60%) want to know where their money is invested, according to the latest research published by Charity Bank.
The survey found that these respondents would like their bank to make it clearer what happens to their money and where it is invested.
Nearly half of those polled (46%) would like to be offered an ethical option when choosing a savings account.
Some 41% of the 4,000 people surveyed across the UK said they would pay more for a product or service from a business that demonstrated its ethical values.
The study also found that three-fifths (60%) believed that businesses should do more to tackle social issues.
Edward Siegel, chief executive at Charity Bank, said: “It’s easy to dismiss the possibility of achieving a social return as well as a financial return on your investments, but saving ethically offers the chance to do both.
“We are seeing a positive shift in attitudes towards social investment and ethical business, particularly among younger generations who are keen to align themselves with like-minded businesses and banks that are open and transparent.
“A lot of savers don’t have any idea where their money is being invested, but it’s now very much within their power to question this and take control over how and where their money is used.
“And it’s not just individual savers, businesses and charities also have the power to make a positive impact on society by moving their savings to an ethical home, which could help improve their brand trust and reputation at the same time.”
Temenos partners with ClearBank for cloud payments
Banking software company Temenos has formed a strategic relationship with ClearBank to provide banks with a faster route to market for real-time cloud payments...
Unity Trust Bank registers 34% rise in profits
Unity Trust Bank increased profits by 34% in 2019...
Believe the hype – why explainable AI is a trend that’s here to stay
Technology has become a ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives...
Piloting tech updates: ‘The bigger the bank, the harder it is to get anything done’
In the latest Medianett filmed roundtable session, we discussed how important technology is in the banking space, and what impact the industry expects it to have on its businesses in the future...
What banks need to know about cloud security
One of the most common perceived concerns when adopting the cloud is the issue of security...
OakNorth sees 95% increase in pre-tax profits
OakNorth Bank has announced a 95% rise in pre-tax profits in 2019 to £65.9m, up from the £33.9m recorded in 2018...
Redwood Bank signs up to Women in Finance Charter
Redwood Bank has announced that it has signed up to the Women in Finance (WIF) Charter...
Masthaven launches digital Women in Leadership programme
Masthaven Bank has launched a new Women in Leadership digital development programme for female senior leaders...
Protecting against supply chain disruption and the domino effect
Disappointingly, many UK SME business owners don’t understand their supply chains...
Confused about which Isa to choose? Hopefully this mini-guide will help…
We are now firmly in Isa season, so you’re likely to read multiple articles about the most competitive Isa products in the market and how best to make the most of your Isa allowance before the end of the tax year...
Garden shed entrepreneurs contribute £16.6bn to the UK economy
Entrepreneurs who run their businesses from garden sheds contribute £16.6bn annually to the UK economy, according to a recent study...


text: Photo Gallery of Spyker C8 Aileron Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Pinterest Uploaded by: (=___PoZzItIf___=) Date: 22.10.2018 Image "HEX" Code: #2631979 Image size: 1600x1067 You can download photo Spyker C8 Aileron or use this pic as wallpaper or poster for desktop. Full size link https://cloudlakes.com/data_images/models/spyker-c8-aileron/spyker-c8-aileron-15.jpg We have more photo of Spyker C8 Aileron in our gallery. If you interesting to view them, you can follow on links below. Also you can see full gallery of Spyker C8 Aileron on this page. If you have your own good photos of Spyker C8 Aileron, you can upload them on our website and become one of our authors. See more photos Spyker C8 Aileron from our users Recent automotive trends, reviews, test drives and the latest news from the world of cars Fisker's new owners announced early plans The Wanxiang, the new owner of Fisker announced the first plans, including new cars. The first change occurred in your website now called thenewfisker.com. Secret: new ix35 runs in Tests The new generation of the ix35 is already being tested by Hyundai. The prototype you see in these photos was spotted on an ice rink closed in the Arctic Circle. Citroen C4 reveals Cactus concept Venture Shortly after displaying the production version of the Cactus C4, Citroen prepares to introduce another new feature on the crossover: a conceptual version Venture, which can be seen by the public at the Geneva show. Chrysler announces new marketing director in Brazil Adriano Resende took over as director of marketing for Chrysler Group in Brazil. Moreover, it will also be the Jeep Brand Manager for Latin America.


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FIRs Filed against 11 Hand Sanitiser Brands after Their Samples Fail Quality Test in Haryana
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday said cases have been registered against 11 sanitizer brands after their samples failed quality parameters. The samples were collected from across various districts in the state.
A notice has also been issued to cancel or suspend the license of the brands whose samples failed the tests, Vij said here. He said about 248 samples were collected by the Food and Drug Administration of Haryana, out of which test reports of 123 samples have been received.
"Out of the reports received so far, 109 samples passed quality tests, while 14 failed.


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Taco Bell offering free breakfast burritos on Thursday
(Gray News) - Taco Bell has announced it will give away free breakfast burritos on Thursday.
The fast food chain said it will give away one of its three Toasted Breakfast Burritos from 7-11 a.m. at participating locations.
The company announced the promotion to mark breakfast being served at 90% of all locations.
There is no purchase necessary to get a free burrito, and it is only available in-store or at the drive-thru.
Breakfast burrito prices range from $1.29-$2.89.
Taco Bell launched its breakfast menu in 2014.
Copyright 2021 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Changing the World One Bar at a Time
Call it chocolate with a mission. Two fledgling chocolate companies — Washington, D.C.-based Divine Chocolate and Theo Chocolate, based in Seattle, — have set out to woo consumers with premium offerings while building businesses around the principles of fair trade and social and environmental responsibility.
“Heavenly chocolate with a heart” — that’s the tagline for Divine Chocolate, which officially launched in the United States on Feb. 14. Divine U.S. is the sibling arm of a British company established a decade ago by members of Ghana-based cocoa farmer cooperative Kuapa Kokoo with support from investors including Comic Relief and the Body Shop. Divine U.S. also is part-owned by Kuapa Kokoo with investment support from several nonprofit/development groups.
Divine’s mission is to improve the livelihoods of small cocoa producers in Ghana by enabling them to share in the profits of the company’s branded chocolate sales. “We have a goal of getting farmers farther up the value chain,” explains Erin Gorman, CEO of Divine U.S.
All the cocoa used in Divine Chocolate bars is purchased from Kuapa Kokoo on Fair Trade terms, which means that farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their cocoa plus a “social premium” that is invested in community projects. To date, the projects have included building schools, digging wells and financing a mobile medical clinics program.
In the United Kingdom, Divine Chocolate is sold in leading retail chains including Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda, and Gorman is working toward broad-based domestic distribution as well. The products are available now domestically in a number of independent retail outlets and natural food stores. The chocolate also is sold to organizers of school fundraisers and to churches and other religious groups.
Packaging for the bars is decorated with traditional African symbols. For a 1.5-oz. bar, the suggested retail price is $1.25 - $1.75; for a 3.5-oz. bar, it’s $2.49 - $2.79.
Like Divine, 15-month-old Theo Chocolate has a strong ethical agenda.
Company founder Joseph Whinney, a long-time advocate of sustainable agriculture, describes Theo as a “triple bottom line company: people, planet, profit.”
Theo makes high-end bars and hand-produced boxed chocolates at its small factory in Seattle. All products are organic and Fair Trade Certified.
“We’re rooted in improving the lives of everyone in the supply chain,” says Debra Music, vice president of sales and marketing. “What we’re trying to do is define the intersection of world class chocolate-making with sustainable practices.”
A passionate commitment to its mission is paying off for Theo. Since production began in March 2006, business has been going even better than expected. “We had a phenomenal launch year,” says Music.
Theo bars are sold by hundreds of retailers nationwide and have been approved for rollout in Whole Foods, Hannaford and Shaw’s supermarkets. The fledgling chocolate maker also has been recognized with several awards, including three medals in the International Academy of Chocolate Awards in London last fall.
Three-ounce single origin bars have a suggested retail price of $5.99; 2-ounce bars sold under the brand name 3400 Phinney sell for $3.29. Limited shelf-life boxed chocolates are sold to retailers only in the Northwest at prices of $24 for a 12-piece box and $12.99 for a six-piece.
Price resistance hasn’t been a sticking point for the company so far. “It’s our responsibility to educate consumers so they understand why the price point is higher,” says Music. “It’s a combination of the fact that the product is high quality and we’re passing [part of the profits] back to the growers, who are growing organically and sustainably.”
— By Mary Ellen Kuhn
— By Mary Ellen Kuhn


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President Trump said Thursday that trade negotiations with China were going well but that no final agreement would be reached until he met with President Xi Jinping.
Mr. Trump, in a series of morning Twitter posts, said there was “good intent and spirit” on both sides of the talks. He asserted that China wanted to make a deal so that the United States does not increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports on March 2, as Mr. Trump has threatened.
The president is scheduled to meet with Liu He, China’s vice premier, in the Oval Office on Thursday, during the second day of talks between American and Chinese officials who are trying to hash out what Mr. Trump called a “comprehensive transaction.”
Mr. Trump said that he and Mr. Xi could meet to finalize an agreement in the near future. Mr. Trump could see Mr. Xi in February if he travels to Asia for his next summit meeting with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. That would give them the opportunity to complete an agreement if the talks are on track.
The United States wants China to commit to buying American goods and services in large quantities to reduce America’s trade deficit, and to agree to make sweeping structural changes to the Chinese economy.
On Monday, Mr. Trump reiterated the types of concessions he wants China to make, including opening its market to American manufacturers, farmers and financial services. “Without this a deal would be unacceptable!” Mr. Trump said in a tweet.
The countries are facing a deadline of March 2 to reach a trade agreement — or the United States has threatened to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent. But there is little chance that every issue will be resolved by that date, and Trump administration officials describe the negotiations as exponentially more complicated than anything the White House has tackled to date.
Trump administration officials have signaled that the negotiations are narrowing around a smaller initial deal that would stave off additional tariffs, but not roll back the duties on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports that Mr. Trump has already imposed. In exchange, China would follow through with promised purchases of American goods and services and some modest economic changes reforms.
A person familiar with the negotiations said that there were signs of progress on Wednesday, the first day of talks, but that it did not appear that major breakthroughs were imminent on many of the major concessions the United States is seeking.


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Hillman receives the 2021 Departmental Vendor of the Year designation for the third year in a row.
The Hillman Companies, Inc. has received the Do it Best Corp. 2021 Departmental Vendor of the Year designation for the third year in a row.
Hillman’s Steelwork product line and the hardware category both received this recognition. Hillman received this designation in 2019 and 2021 while Steelworks won in 2020 and 2021.
Hillman stocks approximately 2,000 products in Do it Best stores. Hillman said that its organizational planning, field teams and territorial managers worked day and night to consistently provide top-level customer service and unparalleled fill rates among Do it Best vendors, despite the recent supply chain disruptions making it even more challenging to provide top-level customer service.
“We selected Hillman as one of our top vendors of the year because of their excellent service, high fill rates, transparent communication, and collaborative partnership throughout the pandemic, as well as their 'above and beyond' service to our member-owners,” said Sarah Krey, Do it Best farm & ranch merchandise manager.
“At Hillman, we don’t consider ourselves as vendors but, as partners,” said Lexi Adair, national account manager. “We constantly strive to anticipate customer needs while remaining flexible enough to address unforeseen challenges. Like most companies throughout the global pandemic, we have seen more than our fair share of disruptions in standard business protocols. Together, our entire team has been able to maintain the highest level of service to Do it Best and its members.”
“Hillman has been our trusted partner for years, but they really rose to the challenge this past year to ensure our members and their customers never noticed a disruption in product availability,” said Kevin Day, Do it Best merchandise manager for hardware. “We will continue to place a high level of value and trust in our relationship with Hillman.”
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman provides hardware and merchandising solutions.


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Dish Network threw in the towel on its attempt to acquire WiMax pioneer Clearwire, officially withdrawing its tender offer for the company Wednesday.
In a terse statement, Dish said it was withdrawing its offer “as a result of the recent change in recommendation by Clearwire.”
Dish had offered to pay Clearwire shareholders $3.30 per share for their stock in January, a move that seemed to trump Sprint Nextel’s $2.97 per share offer for the remaining 49% in the WiMax pioneer it didn’t already own. Sprint upped the ante to $3.40 per share in May, followed later that month by Dish’s $4.40 per share tender offer. On June 20, Sprint raised the bar again to $5 per share. Also on that date, a special committee of Clearwire’s board of directors recommended shareholders accept the Sprint offer.
This makes Dish 0-for-two in its recent M&A dealings with Sprint. The satellite giant dropped its $25.5 billion bid for a 100% interest in the wireless carrier on June 18, after a revised bid from SoftBank. The loss of Clearwire now brings into question what Dish and chairman Charlie Ergen will do with its wireless spectrum. Reports have speculated that Dish could sell its spectrum, focus its attention on pursuing a merger with the nation’s largest satellite TV service provider DirecTV, or attemp to acquire another wireless company like T-Mobile.
In an e-mail message, Pivotal Research Group principal and senior media & communications analyst Jeff Wlodarczak wrote Ergen is running out of options to buy wireless carriers and is unlikely to build a wireless broadband network on his own.
“If [T-Mobile] does not happen (which I view as unlikely), the most likely options are to sell the spectrum and or the company with DirecTV and AT&T being the most likely buyers,” Wlodarczak wrote.


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Lost among the eye-popping headlines about the departure of—and cash being handed to—former Yahoo COO Henrique de Castro was this rather innocuous line in an ice-cold memo from CEO Marissa Mayer:
"I’ve asked Kathy Savitt to lead our media and editorial functions."
That is, until it was announced that Yahoo's editor in chief Jai Singh was leaving the company, per Recode. The obvious speculation was, the editorial guy isn't too pumped to be reporting to the CMO (see Inc., Time). Are more exits coming?
Of course, it's quite possible that Mayer's installation of Savitt over media is temporary. Adweek has already reported that Mayer talked with the likes of former NBCU programming execs Lauren Zalaznick and Scott Sassa. Lately, we've been hearing that Yahoo might bring in both a programming head and a new editor in chief to oversee the company's new slew of media talent, including Katie Couric and David Pogue.
And as Adweek recently reported, Mayer is looking to go big in programming this year—shooting for a big budget, single camera-type buzzy sitcom. You'd think she'd want someone with development experience to shepherd such a project.
One top agency executive called Savitt's new media responsibility "an astonishing decision."
But not so fast. Others who know Savitt call her a highly skilled executive, one who has a strong relationship with Mayer.
"Kathy is an animal. Hard core," said one Hollywood executive.
This person claimed that Savitt had her hands in original programming strategies during her stints at American Eagle, where she was vp and CMO, and at Amazon, where she served as vp of strategic communications, content and initiatives. However, Savitt left Amazon in 2006, well before the company was producing original scripted comedies like Betas.
Prior to joining Yahoo in 2012, Savitt was CEO of Lockerz, a social media-infused shopping site she founded in 2009. "She's a marketer, not a programmer," said one industry executive who's done business with Savitt.
As for editorial experience, here's where Savitt's resume may make sense—or frighten many journalists. Turns out she founded her own PR firm, MWW/Savitt, in her late 20s. So she's worked with reporters before.
Meanwhile, beside Savitt's next moves in media, there's the matter of Yahoo's sales group post de Castro. Many wonder whether the company needs to finally bring in a brand-oriented, big ideas sales chief, considering that de Castro's undoing was driven in large part by frayed relations with ad agencies. Yet others believe that Ned Brody, whom Mayer brought in from AOL after a prolonged fight, will get a lot of leeway early on.
Though many note that Brody's roots are in programmatic advertising (he once ran AOL's Ad.com business), Yahoo likely does not want to conduct a vast public search. According to a source, Yahoo is in damage control mode and is not reaching out to recruiters to find a sales chief. "That's probably very good news for Ned."
And then there's the last big question for Mayer and company. Does she want or need another COO? They tend to be expensive.


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Panera Bread announces SPAC investment, will return to the public markets through an IPO
Florida, Spring Hill, Nature Coast Commons, shopping mall, Panera Bread bakery.
Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Panera Bread is preparing to go public again through an initial public offering.
The sandwich chain also announced Tuesday it has secured an investment from Danny Meyer’s special purpose acquisition company, USHG Acquisition Corp. Shares of the SPAC climbed 9% in early trading on the news.
Meyer said he plans to invest in Panera once it’s public personally and through his SPAC. Special purpose acquisition companies have no assets but can use the proceeds from an IPO, combined with bank financing, to buy and take privately held consumer companies public. The investment in Panera is an unusual deal for a SPAC, which will exchange its shares for the sandwich chain’s stock and survive the merger with Panera’s subsidiary Rye Merger, according to regulatory filings.
SPAC investors can pull their money out of the deal before it’s done, so Panera’s current owner JAB Holding has agreed to invest more to offset redemptions. Once the deal is completed, Meyer will become lead independent director of Panera’s board.
Panera went private in 2017 after JAB Holding bought the company for $7.5 billion. As a privately held company, the chain has kept investing in technology, boosting its digital sales. Earlier this year, Panera unveiled a new restaurant design inspired by the pandemic’s changes to consumer behavior.
Panera’s upcoming IPO is the latest in a string of changes of JAB’s portfolio this year. The company, which is the investment arm of the Reimann family, sold Au Bon Pain to a Yum Brands franchisee earlier this year. Under JAB’s ownership, many Au Bon Pain locations were converted into Panera restaurants, shrinking its footprint from roughly 300 locations to 171. Then, in July, Krispy Kreme went public again after being owned by JAB since 2016.
While Panera prepares to file its paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a number of other restaurant companies have also opted to join the public markets this year, including First Watch Restaurant Group and coffee chain Dutch Bros.


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Opinion 7 months ago Technical limits create headaches for developers as lack of service offering could prevent new platform finding a big market early on
7 months ago Set-top box runs new tvOS system, showcased with Crossy Road, Harmonix's Beat Sports
Opinion 7 months ago A new platform from the industry giant promises new opportunities for developers - and perhaps even new experiences for consumers
7 months ago Update: App Stores Games Twitter account adds fuel to rumour fire
7 months ago Non-XL version of latest hardware launches in Animal Crossing bundle later this month
8 months ago Mobile and NX seen as company's main priorities after Iwata's death
8 months ago "It's a fun product, and fun is no joke here" says CEO
8 months ago Device lets Wii U owners download unauthorised data for Nintendo's NFC figures
8 months ago Digital tuner users will be able to record over-the-air TV to an external drive, download shows to other devices
8 months ago Sony streaming service adds handheld to list of compatible platforms this week
8 months ago Certain batteries found to be overheating to point of combustion
Opinion 8 months ago Razer's rescue of Ouya's devs highlights the need for much greater scrutiny of such schemes
8 months ago "Eye tracking represents the next evolution in video games," says rep
8 months ago $2.4bn in revenues and $160m profit for Games & Network Services arm
9 months ago "Every service has a life cycle, and it is time to focus our resources on other projects"
9 months ago After a slow start, console companies can now operate outside the Shanghai Free Trade Zone
Opinion 9 months ago As Microsoft turns even more sharply towards enterprise, the console's bullish performance helps to secure its future within the company
9 months ago Layoffs could reach 5,000 people as chip-maker tries to control costs
9 months ago "We want to help put victims back in control of their images and their privacy"
9 months ago Deems the case "unnecessary and inefficient," calls for patent reform in the US
9 months ago Microsoft sees "strong growth in consoles, Xbox Live transactions and first-party games"
Opinion 9 months ago Taking the pressure off gaming "killer apps" and consumer appeal is the right choice for this technology
Opinion 9 months ago Failure in the Chinese market could mean consoles being pushed into an ever-smaller niche
9 months ago Streamlined moniker to reflect peripheral maker's new focus on simple design, bold colors