text:
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that the central government was hopeful of implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by July 1 this year after the enabling bills get Parliament's nod in the ongoing Budget session.
He also added that the GST will transform India’s complicated indirect taxation regime into a simplified one.
"GST is the biggest reform in India. Hopefully, GST will be implemented by July 1. GST Bills will hopefully be cleared in Parliament," Arun Jaitley said while addressing the 23rd Conference of Auditors General of Commonwealth Nations hosted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
"We have the most complicated indirect tax systems. Once implemented, what is currently the most complicated system in the world will become the simplest in the world. The enabling laws are before the Parliament. By middle of the year (2017), we hope to see the implementation of GST," he added.
Arun Jaitley also said that evasion of taxes will become difficult under GST which will lead to increase in the size of the Indian economy.
He also noted that India is an open economy with 90 per cent of the investment happening through the automatic route.
"Opposition to reforms is minimal. Opposition to protectionism is minimal. Reforms in the foreign direct investment (FDI) in India have been significant and we are among the most open economies in the world," he said.
The Finance Minister, however, lamented that while public investment and FDI were high, private sector investment still lagged behind.
(With IANS inputs)


text:
- Lloyd Frink is the cofounder and executive chair of Zillow Group, an online real estate marketplace.
- He and Richard Barton launch Zillow in 2004; it went public seven year later.
- Frink previously worked as a senior vice president at Expedia, the travel company founded by Barton.
- He also sits on the board of the food delivery firm GrubHub.
Source of WealthZillow, Self Made
EducationBachelor of Arts/Science, Stanford University
Did you know
Frink spent a summer interning at Microsoft in 1979, at just 14 years old. He joined the company full-time nine years later.
Related People & Companies
More on Forbes
Mar 29, 2022
Mar 24, 2022
Apr 6, 2021
Shares of the publicly traded real estate marketplace have tripled over the last year.
Jul 1, 2019
Extreme Makeover: Rich Barton Has A $700 Million Stake In Zillow And Plans To Turn It Into A Home-Flipping Machine
Zillow founder Rich Barton is back as CEO—with a bold plan to start buying and selling houses.
Mar 25, 2019
A Series of interviews with innovators operating at the intersection of consumer behavior and business transformation: Frederic Lalonde, Founder and CEO, Hopper, a mobile app that predicts airline and hotel prices, allowing travelers to save up to 40%.
Feb 21, 2019
In April 2018, the company launched Zillow Offers, an on-demand home selling product.
Jan 30, 2017
Zillow Group is revolutionizing the real estate industry, one acquisition at a time. I spoke with Jeremy Wacksman, CMO of Zillow Group to learn more about the company’s marketing strategy.
Jul 26, 2014
A rumored consolidation of the two largest players in online real estate have their stocks surging.
Sep 5, 2013
Australian billionaire James Packer bought the second-largest stake in online website Zillow. He is betting on Zillow creating an electronic marketplace for real estate just as Amazon did for books and Expedia for travel.
Aug 19, 2013
Real estate resource ponies up $50 million to expand reach, offers details on equity offering.
Sep 17, 2012
Investors use a number of tools to decide to enter or exit stock positions. One of those is insider activity, including insider selling as well as insider buying.
Jul 19, 2011
Zillow, which operates a real estate site, is poised for an IPO this week. It looks like it could be a hot deal. After all, the company upped the price range from $12-$14 to $16-$18. Zillow’s backers include the co-founders of Expedia (Nasdaq:EXPE), Richard Barton and Lloyd Frink. And [...]
Jul 15, 2011
Seven IPOs are on tap for next week, ranging from online real estate to video in China to headphones.
Jul 15, 2011
Zillow now expects to price its initial public offering in the $16-$18 a share range, up from a previous forecast of $12-$14, the company disclosed in a revised S-1 filing with the SEC Friday. The online real-estate information site continues to plan to sell 3.462 million shares in the offering. [...]
Jul 6, 2011
The Web 2.0 bandwagon rolls on. Next up: Zillow. The real-estate information company expects to price its pending initial public offering at between $12 and $14 a share, according to a new SEC filing by the online real-estate site. The company expects to sell 3,462,000 shares in the offering. Concurrent with [...]

domain: news


text:
New York developer David Edelstein has secured construction financing for his much debated Lincoln Road project, according to Miami-Dade County records.
Edelstein’s TriStar Capital’s plans call for a contemporary 15,789-square-foot, two-story retail building.
A TriStar affiliate closed on the $19.3 million leasehold mortgage for the nearly 1-acre site on the corner of Drexel Avenue and Lincoln Road – a property that Edelstein’s South Beach TriStar LLC leases from the Miami Beach Community Church. A leasehold mortgage can be used by a tenant under a long-term ground lease to secure financing for construction or major renovations. Comerica Bank is the lender, records show.
Miami-based Touzet Studios, which designed the new Apple Store and the future Nike store on Lincoln Road, is also designing this property.
In May, Edelstein said, “it’s going to be a gorgeous building,” promising “a flagship property.” Rent paid to the church will enable the congregation to fund its restoration and maintenance as well as its food pantry and homeless programs. “It will be endowed for the next 100 years,” he said at the time.
Edelstein is no stranger to the popular retail and restaurant district: he owns 918 and 920 Lincoln Road, which he acquired in July for $18.5 million; 530 Lincoln Road, which he paid $30 million for in 2013; and 521 Lincoln Road, which he acquired in 2008 for $8.4 million.


text:
Agent Marketing appoints digital consultant
He joins from “a leading UK distribution company” where he was a senior IT manager. At Agent he will be supporting its design and digital teams, to bring advanced web programming in-house.
“Rick’s passion for programming and online development will enhance Agent’s creative department, allowing us to deliver bespoke software packages and tailor-made digital platforms for our clients,” said managing director, Paul Corcoran.
He will be dividing his time between the firm’s head office in Liverpool and its second base in London.


text:
Dan Udey is among the new generation of TV viewers.
A systems thevancouversunistrator whose employer is in Scotland while he lives in the Lower Mainland, Udey is accustomed to using technology to erase the barriers of time and place.
So when it comes to television, he’s hardly content to put up with a single offering beamed into his living room and only available at a set time.
It is viewers like Dan Udey who are driving the increasingly competitive race among everyone from TV service providers, to networks, to device makers all trying to come up with the winning formula that will put them in the lead when it comes to television consumers.
They are luring customers with personal video recorders, high-definition programming, 3-D, video-on-demand, broadband TV and a range of other offerings that put TV programs, movies, sports and other content where and when viewers want it — on everything from iPads to Androids to projector TVs.
Photography by: Richard Lam, Vancouver Sun
“I think the older generation is used to the idea that you pay for cable, you connect it to your TV and you sit down in the evening to eat your dinner and watch your shows; you watch the news and everything else,” said Udey. “This generation, my generation is more used to flexibility.
“We’ve got our cellphones, we don’t have to be home to answer the phone; we’ve got iTunes, we don’t have to be home to watch TV.
“We are getting used to that, it is getting more convenient — technology lets us manage our time however we want.”
For Vancouver’s Alexandra Samuel and her husband Rob Cottingham, that control means being able to access the wider array of offerings available to American audiences and to create their own version of video-on-demand.
They have Apple Mac Mini computers hooked up to the two televisions in their house, a couple of extra hard drives for storing movies and shows plus two PVRs from Shaw, the cable company that is facing a growing challenge from Telus, which recently rebranded its television service as Optik TV.
The couple also pays for a U.S.-based server so they can access Hulu, an online video service, and other content that’s not available in Canada.
“We have all this set up for a couple of reasons,” said Samuel, director of the Social + Interactive Media Centre at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, a blogger for Oprah. com and the Harvard Business Review and co-founder of Social Signal. “One [reason] is to be able to watch what we want to watch when we want to watch it.
“And the other is not having to see ads and especially not having our kids see ads.”
While there are movie and TV viewers in Canada who are still accessing content for free through BitTorrent sites — a practice that has been blocked in some other countries and is among those practices targeted in Canada’s copyright reform legislation introduced in June — for Samuel it is about having choice.
Samuel and Cottingham pay a premium for their TV and movie services, more than $100 a month in addition to their cable bill to access the content they want through services from Hulu to iTunes and others.
TV shows that aren’t available in Canada are a big draw. With two young children, Samuel said they don’t go out to movies much and by the time the kids are in bed, they prefer catching up on a couple of TV show episodes rather than sitting through an entire movie.
“TV has gotten so much better over the past few years,” she said. “Yet a lot of the shows aren’t available in Canada — shows like Damages, Nurse Jackie, Louie.”
When Netflix, a U.S.-based service that offers livestreaming of TV shows and movies, launches in Canada in the fall, Samuel said her family will probably add it to the list of services.
Shaw recently launched broadband TV, letting its customers access livestreaming TV on their computers. While Telus won’t say when that could be added to its service, the relaunch of its television as Optik TV with features like PVR anywhere and customizable programming packages is opening up more options for consumers.
One PVR lets you record up to three shows at a time and to switch from one TV to another — pausing a recorded program in one room and picking it up in another. It also allows for up to four recorded programs to be watched simultaneously, ending arguments over who gets to watch what’s recorded on the PVR. You need a digital set-top box for each TV that you want to have on the service.
Telus’s HD PVR is included free with a three-year contract or sells for $250. Depending on the term of the contract and the bundle of services, HD digital boxes range from free to $10 a month rental and $150 to buy.
While Udey and Samuel may be on the leading edge when it comes to home television and movie consumption, Morten Rand-Hendriksen is even more of a TV techno pioneer.
He won’t subscribe to HD TV services and instead gets HD programming with his own antenna, successfully tuning into four local channels — CBC, CTV, Global and Citytv — from his home in a Burnaby highrise.
“If you want to watch any major U.S. network show in HD you can build your own antenna for 20 bucks or go out and buy one,” said Rand-Hendriksen. “It’s only if you want to see CNN, Discovery Channel or anything like that you need the digital box.”
Paolo Pontini, computer department manager for London Drugs, said some consumers opt for antennas.
“We do sell a few of those antennas,” he said. “Still people are going for HD boxes because there is more content, there is a lot more selection.”
But if you’re happy with the limited number of channels an antenna will deliver, Pontini said “it’s a great option.”
“Get the powered HD antenna versus the standard bunny ears,” he said. “Because it is powered it puts out a bigger receiving signal so it can grab more.”
Dave Doyle, vice-president of sales at Simply Computing, which specializes in Apple products, said the latest EyeTV product from Elgato pushes the PVR functionality even further — packaging recorded content for the iPad and iPhone.
” With a Wi-Fi connection you can access the data that is recorded on your home computer,” he said. “You – access the livestream or you can access the recorded stream.
“Right now I am watching [the TV show] House that is recorded at my house, I’m watching it on my iPad sitting in my office. It looks incredible.”


text:
- Since then, Carvana’s speedy progress in the course of the coronavirus pandemic has was a nightmare for buyers amid hovering rates of interest, inflation and self-inflicted wounds.
- Shares of Carvana have fallen from an all-time excessive of almost $377 a share to a minimum of $6.50 a share this week — down 98%.
- It has been a gradual stream of unhealthy information and monetary outcomes for the reason that inventory’s peak, main buyers to fret in regards to the firm’s long-term trajectory.
Ernie Garcia, CEO, Carvana
Scott Mill | CNBC
DETROIT — Final yr, Carvana CEO and co-founder Ernie Garcia went on a triumphant experience.
He touted the corporate’s “excellent” second-quarter outcomes on August 5, 2021 that included the used-car retailer’s first quarterly web revenue. He then recalled the speedy progress of “a gaggle of bold youngsters with an incredible quantity of studying” at a Fortune 500 firm.
It’s now clear that firm executives nonetheless must be taught extra. Since then, the rise of Carvana’s fairy story has was a nightmare for buyers amid hovering rates of interest, inflation and self-inflicted wounds.
Since Garcia’s feedback final yr, the corporate’s shares have fallen from an all-time excessive of almost $377 per share, which was set in August of final yr after that stellar quarter, to a minimum of $6.50 a share this week — down 98%. %. Carvana fell from a market capitalization of $60 billion to $2.2 billion after a small rally ending this week.
The inventory rose greater than 30% on Thursday, adopted by a 19% improve to $11.88 a share on Friday amid a broader market restoration and potential short-selling stress.
However it’s been a steady string of unhealthy information and monetary outcomes for the reason that inventory’s peak, which has raised issues amongst buyers in regards to the firm’s long-term trajectory. It additionally has a bit of money available and $6.3 billion in debt, together with $5.7 billion in outdated bonds.
Carvana has been borrowing cash to cowl its losses and on progress initiatives, together with the $2.2 billion all-cash acquisition earlier this yr of ADESA’s US bodily public sale enterprise from KAR International.
“We consider CVNA is up to now out of the woods that even when the business is down, we do not see a V-shaped restoration,” JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta wrote in a notice to buyers on Tuesday. The corporate lowered its forecasts for earnings and the corporate’s free money move.
Morgan Stanley final week withdrew its ranking and value goal for the inventory. Analyst Adam Jonas pointed to the deterioration within the used automobile market and the risky financing atmosphere for change.
Carvana has grown exponentially in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, as consumers have turned to purchasing on-line moderately than visiting a dealership, with the promise of hassle-free shopping for and promoting of used autos on the buyer’s dwelling.
However Carvana didn’t have sufficient autos to fulfill the rise in client demand or amenities and employees to course of the autos available. That prompted Carvana to purchase ADESA and a file variety of autos amid skyrocketing costs as demand slowed amid rising rates of interest and recession fears.
“We have been constructing to greater than our backs,” Garcia stated throughout an April 20 earnings name — sending the inventory down 37% over the following week.
Throughout its first-quarter earnings report, the corporate was criticized for spending an excessive amount of on advertising, which included a lackluster 30-second advert on the Tremendous Bowl, and for failing to arrange for a possible slowdown or dip in gross sales.
Then there’s Dion Carvana.
The corporate’s bonds touched an all-time low this week, because it burns money and faces increased borrowing prices.
The Wall Road Journal reported Wednesday that the corporate’s long-term bonds have fallen to woeful ranges, with some now buying and selling at 33 cents on the greenback. The yield on its bonds was 10.25% — greater than 30% as of Tuesday, in line with MarketAxess, an indication that Carvana will battle to borrow from the bond markets for now.
Morgan Stanley cited the corporate’s debt and unsure financing outlook in withdrawing the ranking and value goal for the inventory. Jonas stated the “deterioration within the used automobile market coupled with a risky rate of interest/funding atmosphere” created “materials dangers” for the corporate.
Jonas has launched a brand new primary case group for Carvana that ranges from $1 a share to $40 a share over the following 12 months.
The used automobile market is on monitor to finish the yr down greater than 12% from the 40.6 million used automobiles offered in 2021, in line with mid-October estimates from Cox Automotive. Carvana gross sales in the course of the third quarter of this yr elevated by 4% in comparison with 2021, however had been a lot much less worthwhile than the earlier yr and had been decrease on a quarterly foundation.
Carvana gross sales within the third quarter fell 8% from a yr earlier, whereas earnings per automobile offered fell 25% to $3,500. CEO Garcia known as the top of the third quarter the “most unaffordable level ever” for patrons financing a automobile buy.
“Carvana has revolutionized the automotive business with a confirmed e-commerce mannequin that serves tens of millions of happy prospects, and though the present atmosphere and market has drawn consideration within the close to time period, we continued to realize market share within the third quarter, and we stay centered on our revenue plan. , whereas making the perfect automobile shopping for and promoting expertise even higher obtainable,” an organization spokesperson stated in a press release.
The declines got here amid decrease wholesale costs for brand spanking new automobiles. The Mannheim Used Automobile Worth Index, which tracks costs for used automobiles offered at US wholesale auctions, fell 15.4% this yr via October after peaking in January, together with a 2.2% drop from September to October.
Retail costs normally observe adjustments in wholesale. That is excellent news for potential automobile patrons, however not nice information for firms like Carvana that purchased automobiles at their highest ranges and at the moment are attempting to promote them at a revenue.
Used automobile costs have held regular up to now, however this will not final lengthy, as wholesale prices proceed to fall.
“They do not wish to promote low,” stated Chris Fry, director of business insights for Cox Automotive. “That is why we do not see costs fall that a lot in retail.”
Frey famous that the affordability of autos continues to say no, with auto mortgage charges at a 15-year excessive regardless of charges falling barely. The median checklist value for a used automobile is stabilizing, nevertheless it’s nonetheless close to file highs of greater than $28,200, in line with Cox Automotive.
“We have seen the affect of the slowdown in retail gross sales, and quite a lot of it has to do with affordability,” Frey stated. “The affordability facet, coupled with these increased costs is beginning to have an effect on gross sales charges.”
Competitors can also be catching up with Carvana. Through the coronavirus pandemic, licensed auto sellers like AutoNation have been pressured to start out promoting autos on-line whereas showrooms have closed and shoppers have stayed away from dealerships. The Carvana’s conventional rivals are starting to ship on the identical promise of hassle-free on-line automobile shopping for.
“They took loads, virtually, of the air out of the Carvana balloon,” Frey stated.
— CNBC’s Michael Blum contributed to this report.


text:
Morin created the line for Jours Après Lunes, which is marketing panties, bras, camisoles and T-shirts from the range with photos of children in what critics say are provocative poses.
Morin wrote to Web site Fashionista that she is “extremely surprised by the current uproar” over the lingerie.
“All I wanted to do was offer underwear that is soft and pleasant to wear… that is suited [to] their age, and that wasn’t an extension of women’s labels, which are often vulgar,’ she wrote.
“The materials… have no vulgar connotation; they are totally opaque, nothing transparent. The style is inspired by children’s fashion, with spots, bows, etc.”
Check out the line; click photos to enlarge.
But girls are photographed wearing heavy make-up and jewelry.
In one shot, a girl wears Jackie O-style sunglasses while lounging back on a pillow, wearing panties and a cropped polka-dot tied top.
“What’s disturbing about Jours Après Lunes is… that it’s lingerie for people who probably shouldn’t be old enough to even know what lingerie is,” Fashionista wrote in a blog critical of the line.
“It’s inappropriate to sexualize children. A pearl-encrusted triangle bra on a little girl does not sit well with me,” Marilisa Racco, author of Le Snob Lingeries told the New York Daily News.
“It’s entirely inappropriate to put a 4-year-old in a bouffant like she’s Brigitte Bardot,” she said referring to the ’60s era sex siren.
“All the photos show children playing children’s games, as we’ve all done,” Morin counter.
“If you look at the details, you’ll often find elements of children’s games: dolls accessories, wooden animals etc,’
“There is only one interpretation: children playing together, no more,” she added.
Morin also noted that cultural differences may be playing a role in the uproar.
France is much more accepting of sexuality than other Western countries like Britain and the United States.
“I’d also like to remind you that in France, the term ‘lingerie’ refers to the entire field of underwear, including men, women and children. This term alone doesn’t have a sexy connotation,” Morin wrote
A separate, but related controversy flared earlier this week over a photo spread featuring 10-year-old model Thylane Blondeau in Paris Vogue, France’s leading fashion magazine.
Fashion Designer Tom Ford edited the January edition in which Blondeau appears in vampish make up and sexy poses.
Check the photos and let us know what you think in the comments section below:


text:
The coronavirus pandemic is leading to a surge in demand for organic and sustainable foods. Retailers across the globe are experiencing hefty sales increases for organic products. Ecovia Intelligence expects the sales lift to continue in the coming years.
Online retailers are reporting the highest sales growth. Whole Foods Market, the world’s largest natural food retailer, has started limiting the number of its online grocery customers because of unprecedented demand. In the UK, Abel & Cole reported a 25% increase in sales orders, whilst Riverford is reporting a demand surge. Nourish Organic, an Indian online retailer, experienced a 30 % sales rise last month.
Physical retailers are also benefiting from emergency measures introduced by various governments. Organic and health food shops have remained open in many countries; they are attracting new shoppers, whilst existing customers are spending more. In France, some organic food shops are reporting sales increases of over 40 %. COVID-19 is raising consumer awareness of the relationship between nutrition and health. Consumers are buying more organic and healthy foods as they look to boost their personal immunity.
The surge in demand is however bringing supply issues. The organic food industry is now global with international supply networks that are coming under pressure. Many of the raw materials used by European and North American organic food companies are produced in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Lockdowns are disrupting supply chains. For instance, India is a major source of organic tea, herbs, spices & related ingredients. Emergency measures introduced in March have halted food processing and exports.
Ecovia Intelligence expects demand for organic & sustainable foods to remain strong after consumer fears subside. Previous food and health scares caused an initial sales spike followed by sustained demand for organic products. For instance, the BSE crisis in 2000 escalated demand for organic meat products in Europe; sales remained buoyant in subsequent years. Similarly, SARS led to a spike in demand for organic foods in China (and Asia) in 2004. The melamine scandal in 2008 bolstered demand for organic baby food in China. Within a few years, the Chinese market for organic infant formula became the largest in the world.
Organic foods were first introduced on a large-scale in the early 1990s. It took over 15 years for global organic product sales to reach USD 50 billion in 2008. Ten years (2018) later, they surpassed the USD 100 billion mark. With COVID-19 changing the way we shop and eat, the next leap to USD 150 billion could be within the next 5 years.
About Ecovia Intelligence
Ecovia Intelligence (formerly known as Organic Monitor) is a specialist research, consulting & training company that focuses on global ethical product industries. Since 2001, we have been encouraging sustainable development via our services portfolio: market research publications, business & sustainability consulting, technical research, seminars & workshops, and sustainability summits.


text: This Bastille Day, toast a different sort of French revolution: “Grower Champagne,” the underdog out to mount a coup d’état against the monarchy of big champagne houses. Of the 15,000 grape growers in the region, historically few have bottled their own elixirs — the majority sell grapes to négoçiants, such as Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot, which blend and bottle, and capture 97% of U.S. sales. But now, more growers are storming the figurative Bastille and crafting their own artisanal bubbly. So far, they’ve taken only a sip of the $291 million U.S. market, but it’s a start. Vive la révolution.


text:
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s homemakers have made an art of living frugally in one of the world’s most expensive countries, and they are now pruning spending further as the economy plunges into what could be a long recession.
For many of Japan’s 17 million homemakers, managing household finances on their husband’s salary, averaging about 270,000 yen a month (about $2900), is already a struggle.
As layoffs spread, consumer confidence has nosedived. Household spending, which makes up more than half the economy, dropped 3.8 percent in October, sparking a vicious cycle that is hurting retailers and will likely put more jobs at risk.
Asuka Suzuki, 27, who lives with her husband on the northern island of Hokkaido, says keeping monthly food spending to 19,000 yen ($205) a month, about a third of the national average for two people, requires meticulous planning and discipline.
“I do sometimes feel a bit down because I can’t buy clothes, go traveling or take up any expensive hobbies,” Suzuki said in an e-mail interview. “But I have a goal, which is to buy a house some day, so I just keep on trying.”
Before setting out food shopping, she searches the Internet for bargains at all the local supermarkets, makes an inventory of the contents of her refrigerator and puts together a weekly menu.
Only then does she tuck the minimum necessary cash into her wallet — no credit cards — and, weather permitting, heads out on her bicycle to the supermarket.
Suzuki is just one of the hundreds of housewives featured in “Sutekina Okusan” or “Lovely Wife,” a monthly magazine offering recipes and tips for the budget-conscious, from switching off the TV to save on electricity, to re-using water after rinsing rice.
Other suggestions include using old clothes to make cushion covers and making children’s playhouses out of cardboard boxes.
Food is the biggest expense for many Japanese households, and even the thriftiest housewives often pride themselves on serving something different every night.
“At first I was astonished,” said Satoko Sugiki, an editor at the magazine, of her first encounters with the determined women who reveal their spending habits in the magazine.
“But now it seems quite normal for someone to spend only 10,000 yen ($108) a month on food, even though it’s amazing when you think about it.” A less careful shopper could spend more than 10,000 yen on a single gift-wrapped melon at one of Japan’s upmarket department stores.
As shoppers turned their backs on such high-priced goods, sales at department stores have fallen. They dropped nearly 7 percent in October on the same period the previous year, the eighth consecutive month of decline.
Instead, shoppers hit bargain stores. Discount clothing chain Uniqlo saw a jump in sales of more than 30 percent in November.
“People are shopping at places that offer good value for money. But there are very few companies benefiting,” said Dairo Murata, a retail analyst at Credit Suisse in Tokyo.
Bookstores display notebooks for recording household accounts for the new breed of careful consumer.
Despite the savings made by these thrifty homemakers, some experts say many housewives may be forced to seek work outside the home as families increasingly struggle to cover their expenses on a single income.
“Even if it only pays 50,000 ($540) or 60,000 yen a month, it will help ease the pressure on the household budget,” said financial journalist Haruko Ogiwara, who has written several books on budgeting and saving.
Full-time housewives, she said, were a luxury Japan could no longer afford. “Even if that means people can’t keep detailed household accounts, they will still be better off.”
Finding a job, though, will be easier said than done as the economy slumps.
Suzuki says she’d like to work part-time if she could find a job within walking distance of home. But for now, fear of what the downturn may bring is spurring new levels of frugality.
“I worry about whether my husband’s company might go bankrupt,” Suzuki said in an e-mail interview with Reuters, referring to the food manufacturer where her husband works.
“We don’t have children now, but will we be able to have them and bring them up? Will we have an old age without worries?”
The couple have cut back on leisure trips. Suzuki tries to cook as much as possible. Her repertoire includes vegetable soup and tofu dishes that cost under a dollar.
“My husband is very cooperative, so we have fun saving money,” she said. “I’m not that good at cooking, but he tells me what I serve is better than a restaurant, which helps me carry on.”
At the end of each month, she analyses her receipts to try to spot weak points, but Suzuki admits she still has a way to go before catching up with some champions of thrift.
A glance through recent editions of “Lovely Wife” reveals some are feeding a family of four on 10,000 yen a month. Though many of them say they enjoy finding new ways to cut corners, frugality is more than a hobby.
“When it comes down to it, there are actually quite a lot of people in Japan who don’t have much money,” said thrifty book author Ogiwara.
Editing by Megan Goldin


text: Aquatica is a chain of water parks owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. Aquatica parks are operating in Orlando, Florida and San Antonio, Texas, with a third location set to open in Chula Vista, California in 2013.SeaWorld Orlando originally announced plans to build a water park on July 15, 2005. The announcement stated that it would be a "natural" park and revealed the park's iconic Dolphin Plunge water slides.On March 5, 2007, SeaWorld held a press conference officially announcing Aquatica.It was expected the 59-acre (24 ha) park would cost US$50 million to build.Construction continued in earnest throughout 2007 and into early 2008. Previews for employees and holders of park annual passes were held in February. On March 1, 2008, the park opened to guests for the first time, with the official grand opening held on April 4, 2008. In its debut year, the park hosted approximately 950,000 guests, making it the fourth-most visited water park in the United States and eighth-most visited in the world .The park was an immediate success, reaching its opening-year attendance goal in just six months.


text:
Automakers’ challenge in meeting regulatory requirements for Corporate Average Fuel Economy has two aspects: the technology side and the market side of the issue.
Automakers have to build vehicles that propel themselves efficiently with a minimum of gas consumption, but these vehicles also must appeal to buyers whose selection is based on a whole array of criteria. Fuel economy is just one factor that buyers weigh, and it’s not usually even the most important one.
The federal government holds automakers accountable for the results of this balancing act, and in a pretty stringent way, with a targeted corporate average of 54.5 mpg by 2025. These federal regulations are an ongoing cause for concern among OEMs and suppliers as they force companies to make speculative decisions about trade-offs.
The situation has been complicated in a new and completely unexpected way with the windfall to consumers of low gasoline prices.
In mid-2008, car owners were paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump. It seemed at the time that there was only one direction to expect for gasoline prices, and that was upward.
But with new sources of domestic oil production through hydraulic fracturing, and the fact that oil-producing countries elsewhere declined to cut back their individual production to tighten supply, the price for a barrel of crude oil began to fall dramatically, from $130 in 2010 to about $30 a barrel now.
Last year, average prices to consumers ranged from $2 to $2.80, according to GasBuddy.com, and in Michigan we are currently paying less than $1.80 per gallon.
While that still exceeds the prices of less than $1 per gallon that some of us remember from childhood, it is still a welcome change for the average American.
For corporate strategists, new vehicle developers, production planners, and others engaged in the business of getting desirable vehicles onto dealer lots, low gas prices are a good news-bad news proposition. Any kind of dramatic change in direction is difficult for large organizations with long lead times to cope with, and the vehicles you expect to sell at $4 per gallon gas are not necessarily ones that will be popular at half that fuel price.
The implications of this shift are visible in reports of industry performance, such as the recent headline in the Wall Street Journal: “New-Car Dealers Plea: More Trucks, Fewer Cars.” At the same time, the prescribed targets and timeline for fuel economy improvement have not changed.
The big question now is whether the regulations will, in fact, be revised to take into consideration the facts on the ground. There is a mechanism to do so, built into the Obama administration’s 2011 agreement with the automakers to pursue tighter fuel economy and greenhouse gas reduction standards.
The midterm evaluation to be conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in coordination with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will determine whether the light-duty vehicle standards for model years 2022 through 2025 are still appropriate, or whether they should be strengthened or softened.
The EPA will look at factors including developments in powertrain technology, lightweighting and vehicle safety impacts, consumer acceptance of fuel efficient technologies, trends in fuel prices and the vehicle fleet, and more. Its Draft Technical Assessment Report containing preliminary findings will be released for public comment in June of this year.
Automotive component suppliers that are particularly eager can track the status and the technical projects that are underway to inform the midterm review. The EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality is committed to a data-driven, transparent approach, so there is a great deal of substantive information on its website.
There are many West Michigan suppliers, such as Shape Corp. and GHSP, who are making structural or functional parts and who have an interest in whether lightweighting will be a sustained initiative. The many companies making stamped steel parts and assemblies, including Pridgeon & Clay and Gill Industries, might be thinking about risks of displacement by plastic at some point once higher-impact measures have been exhausted.
Suppliers already established in the lightweight plastics space have been pitching in for fuel economy improvement. For example, Lacks Enterprises has developed a composite wheel technology that its tests show will increase mpg by 4 percent to 6 percent and improve aerodynamics.
Everyone is watching and waiting, but the likely outcome is that both the commitment to fuel economy and consumer demand for a range of vehicles will march on. The auto industry will just have to make the best of it.


text:
Zara has quickly became the worlds biggest fashion retailer, but through this there has been controversy. Being very well known for fast fashion and quoting they can get an idea into store within a short two weeks people wonder what this effect has on the environment.
Zara have started a campaign which they quote, “We are implementing an eco-friendly management model in our shops in order to reduce energy consumption by 20%, introducing sustainability and efficiency criteria. This management model sets out measures to be applied to all processes, including the design of the shop itself, the lighting, heating and cooling systems and the possibility of recycling furniture and decoration.” Being such a big company they had to make changes to avoid criticism.
They now aim to produce less waste, recycling hangers and alarms to be made into other plastic elements, the cardboard and plastic used in packaging is also recycled. They go one step further and educate there staff in sustainable practices, such as limiting energy consumption, using sustainable transport and modifying behavior patterns.
There has been thought into the products they produce, using ecological fabrics and organic cotton, they use biodiesel fuel in lorries when transporting goods, all contributing factions to cut down on Co2 emissions.
I feel like Zara have made a good effort into making there company more eco friendly. I feel like them training there workers about this is one of the most important things as they could have all of these policies but if they weren’t being followed through they would be pointless.


text:
Louisiana Man Arrested for Arson After Igniting Multiple Fires Between Walmart and Home Depot Stores
A Louisiana man went on a literal arson spree on Wednesday morning, setting fires at Walmart and Home Depot stores before being tracked down by police.
According to WDSU, The Kenner Police Department responded to a series of alarming incidents on Wednesday morning, where four fires were deliberately set at different stores in the city. Authorities were quick to investigate the arson attacks that occurred between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. at establishments situated on Roosevelt Boulevard and Veterans Boulevard.
During the incidents, the perpetrator ignited two trash cans at the intersections of Filmore Street and Reverend Richard Wilson Boulevard, as well as Roosevelt Boulevard and Airline Highway. These brazen acts of arson created a sense of fear and unease among local residents and business owners.
The situation escalated when a fire was set ablaze inside the Metairie Walmart located on Veterans Boulevard, specifically targeting the men's clothing section. The flames resulted in heavy smoke damage, causing a chaotic scene for employees and shoppers in the building and forcing the store to close.
Even more concerning, the suspect extended their destructive spree to a neighboring Home Depot store adjacent to the Walmart. Fortunately, quick action from store employees and first responders prevented this fire from spreading further.
With the aid of surveillance footage, the Kenner Police Department promptly identified the alleged arsonist as 23-year-old Samir Hernandez. He was detained by authorities in the 2700 block of Roosevelt Boulevard, where he reportedly confessed to setting all four fires.
The motive behind Hernandez's actions remains undisclosed, and authorities continue to investigate the case to determine if there were any underlying reasons behind the destructive acts.
Local residents expressed relief and gratitude for the swift response of law enforcement in apprehending the suspect. They also commended the courage of store employees and bystanders who helped contain the fires before they could cause more significant damage.
Samir Hernandez now faces multiple charges related to arson as the investigation continues.
See the latest updates via WDSU.


text:
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (LON:AML) – now up 54% in six weeks
Next Tuesday there will be a Capital Markets Day at the iconic branded luxury car maker’s Head Office in Gaydon, Warwickshire – which is an already ‘sold out’ event.
Sector analysts and fund managers alike will be more than fascinated to have the ability to get the latest update on the group’s progress, subsequent to the £234m Geely Holding investment and stake purchase a month ago.
That pitched the shares at 335p through China’s leading independent automotive group purchase of 42m shares from the Yew Tree Consortium, while at the same time agreeing to purchase 28m new shares in Aston Martin at the same price.
The shares at that time were trading at 260p after news of the dealings, up from 230p the night before.
It has taken a little while for the market to absorb the impact of Geely becoming the third largest shareholder in the car maker, with some 17% of the equity, behind Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund with 19% and leaving Yew Tree still the biggest holder with 21%.
Geely has agreed to the condition to not increase its holding above 22% of the AML equity until after 1st August 2024.
Last year the group announced on 29th July, its Interim results for the half year to end June, so it is reasonable to expect a similar timing this year, especially after the recent action.
Next Tuesday’s Capital Markets Day could well be impactive.
The £2.4bn group’s shares closed last night at 330p, up another 8p yesterday and up over 54% in the last month or so.
Hold very tight.
(Profile 10.05.23 @ 213.5p set a Target Price of 265p*)
Sanderson Design Group (LON:SDG) – a stylish Buy
At yesterday’s AGM Dianne Thompson, Chairman of this luxury interior design and furnishings group, stated that:
"The Company continues to trade in line with Board expectations for the full year, and has a robust net cash position.
We have a strong portfolio of brands, an exciting pipeline of product and licensing opportunities and we continue to benefit from our business mix, which is currently being led by the strength of our licensing activities.”
Analyst Matthew McEachran at Singer Capital Markets rates the group’s shares as a Buy, looking for 210p a share in due course.
Noting that the first 20 weeks of the current year have seen trading in line with expectations, he states that the company is rated on a 40% discount to its peers.
Sales in the States remain positive, while European markets are beginning to show signs of improvement. The Middle East is also performing well, while the group’s licensing activities have continued to perform strongly.
The £92m group’s shares, which closed last night at 130p, are very much a stylish Buy.
(Profile 24.04.23 @ 135p set a Target Price of 168p)
Windward (LON:WNWD) – investors now becoming aware
Ahead of this maritime predictive intelligence group holding its AGM on 9th May I had Profiled the loss-making AI-based domain awareness company’s potential.
I really like this little company and consider it to have significant prospects as it develops still further its products and systems.
At the AGM former BP boss Lord Browne of Madingley, the group’s Chairman, stated that:
“Windward is now a recognised challenger to some of the more traditional data providers to the maritime industry, and we are confident that the Company's approach to the fusion of deep artificial intelligence capabilities with maritime expertise will continue to set Windward apart.
Looking to the rest of the year, I am confident the Company's continued momentum and focused growth strategy leaves it well-placed to capitalise on the growing demand for data driven insights in the maritime industry, and the Board remains confident in a successful year ahead."
I see the group’s shares aiming to climb back up to the 220p High reached in January last year, but it obviously will need both a lot of time and a host of positive company news to do so.
In the meantime, the group’s shares, which have been trading up to 50p in the last few days, are currently back to an appealing 46p.
Well worth buying a few and just tucking away.
(Profile 03.04.23 @ 37.5p set a Target Price of 47p*)
Nightcap (LON:NGHT) – looking for a 25% leap in sales to end June 2024
Analyst Matt Butlin at Allenby Capital has just pushed out an eight-page research note on this expanding cocktail bar group, following its latest £4.7m acquisition of 10 Dirty Martini’s.
Now with 47 bars and a Covent Garden restaurant, the company is still suffering from the train strikes, but I do not see that stopping Sarah Willingham from progressing her strategy to build the biggest bar group in the UK.
By this time next year Butlin expects another three bars to be added to the estate, while lifting sales up from an estimated £47.1m this year to £59.1m for the year to end June 2024.
As I said last week, such sales advance will inevitably improve the group’s centralised buying power, with better margins and then the profits will really drop to the bottom line.
The shares at the current 11p represent a very good medium-term punt upon the successful continuation of its estate build-up.
(Profile 14.11.22 @ 9.5p set a Target Price of 12p*)
Futura Medical (LON:FUM) – price really is firming up now
Since my first Profile on this sexual health and pain management pharmaceutical company, it has been a series of ups and downs, awaiting necessary approvals and the eventual marketing of its main products.
The first few months after the launch of its Eroxon product has proved successful, certainly enough for analysts Lala Gregorek and Philipa Gardner at Trinity Delta to now value the group at £270m, which would be some 94p per share.
The group’s shares have been up to 67p in the last few market days trading, before easing back to the current 63.5p valuing the group at £190m.
I still see these going up, now scaling its nine-year High region, with a lot further to rise.
They have put on nearly 54% since my end-May comment, then at 41.25p.
The shares are a very firm hold.
(Profile 14.03.19 @ 15p set no Target Price)
Robinson (LON:RBN) – CEO leaves a slower profit business
I note from yesterday’s AGM that Dr Helene Roberts is stepping down from her post as CEO of this leading provider of custom moulded plastic and rigid paperboard packaging group.
She joined the company in 2019 and I profiled the group a few days into the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, I was particularly impressed by its profit potential and its undervalued rating.
I also got really switched on by the Chesterfield-based group’s spare property, which had development attractions.
That she has just gone before another CEO has been identified is interesting.
The group’s trading is not yet back to rational returns.
Analysts Mark Paddon and Michael Clifton at finnCap are still positive on the group, with a price objective on the shares of 125p against last night’s closing price of 96p, down 12p on the AGM news.
Their estimates for the current year to end December suggest sales increasing to £57.3m (£50.5m) with adjusted pre-tax profits of £1.3m (£1.5m), slashing earnings down to 8.0p (14.0p) but holding its dividend at 5.5p per share.
After recent disposals, the brokers have noted that the group’s remaining surplus property portfolio is worth some £7.4m, with more sales due within the next year.
That compares to the current market capitalisation of £16m.
Subsequent to my original Profile, the shares peaked at over 160p in November 2020, before weaker results pulled them back again to 77p by this time last year.
The shares are now trading on 6.8 times historic earnings but on a 12 times current year rating.
Despite the attractive 5.7% yield these shares are not for chasing until we have better corporate news and a new CEO.
(Profile 02.04.20 @ 55.5p set a Target Price of 80p*)
(Asterisks * denote that Target Prices have been achieved since Profile publication)


text:
Levels are up 331% versus the start of 2020 when Covid shut down fintech investment.
Over 100 fintech investment deals were struck in the first three months of the year, marking a solid start to 2021, and in contrast to the dour beginning of 2020.
According to figures from Innovate Finance and compiled from PitchBook, UK fintechs raised $2.9bn in Q1 across 117 deals.
Those figures are up 331 per cent versus Q1 2020, when Covid-19 fears and the UK-wide lockdown put new funding rounds on ice.
“Following a tough and turbulent year in 2020, it’s brilliant to see the speed and vigour with which investor confidence has returned and the Q1 investment figures for our FinTech sector look very encouraging,” said Charlotte Crosswell, the outgoing CEO of Innovate Finance.
Funding in the first three months of 2021 already represents 69 per cent of the total fintech investment in 2020.
“It’s clear that the appetite to fund high-growth, ambitious businesses is back, and investors are ready to put capital behind UK FinTechs that are now so vital to our economic and business recovery,” added Crosswell.
The quarter is also a vast improvement on the end of last year, with investment volumes up 153 per cent on Q4 2020.
Check out our blog here.


text:
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Go Daddy Gears Up For GoDaddy.com Bowl
Scottsdale-based domain name registrar and Internet services provider GoDaddy is gearing up for its Sunday bowl game, the GoDaddy.com Bowl. The event this year features Kent State University versus Arkansas State University. GoDaddy.com has been sponsoring the GoDaddy Bowl since two years ago; the bowl game was formerly known as the GMAC Bowl. GoDaddy has been very active spending its marketing and advertising dollars in football and sports, ever since it began advertising at the Super Bowl in 2005.


text:
PUTRAJAYA, March 9 — All tourism and cultural industry players in the country need to make initial preparations to receive tourists from abroad, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said the parties involved should also continue to intensify promotional activities and be more creative in marketing Malaysian tourism products and locations to the global market.
“The decision to reopen the country’s borders to foreign tourists will facilitate the country’s economic recovery after COVID-19, especially those involving the entire chain of tourism, arts and cultural industry players in the country,” she said in a statement on the country’s border reopening today.
“MOTAC (Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture) remains optimistic that the industry will rise again and be able to make Malaysia popular again among international tourists,” she said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysia will enter the Transition to Endemic Phase as well as the reopening of the country’s borders from April 1.
Describing the announcement as great news for tourism industry players, she said it provided an opportunity for industry players to revive the international tourism sector after two years of being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nancy said her ministry will always provide cooperation and support to all efforts to be implemented by all government agencies involved to succeed in the country’s borders reopening.


text:
Beano Studios has detailed a raft of new licensing partnerships signed to celebrate 70 years since the first appearance of Dennis in the iconic Beano comic and what the firm has billed as a ‘momentous year for the brand.’
Leading the charge, Beano has partnered with its first global game developer and distributor, GameBake, which will develop a suite of Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed gaming titles for worldwide social, web, and mobile platforms.
Meanwhile, fans will be able to get their own piece of Dennis history as Tower Mint releases a commemorative 50 pence coin before Royal Mail puts its own stamp on the celebration this July with the roll-out of a collaborative collection.
The latest announcements follow recent partnerships secured with the likes of the Scottish mill Prickly Thistle, which has developed bespoke Dennis tartan for a birthday collection of scareves, braces, and jumpers, and Rubies, who has renewed its deal with Beano for the next three years.
In food and drink, Harrogate Water will be launching a special, branded pack created for kids and featuring Dennis and Gnasher as well as educational information for kids on recycling. Meanwhile, Gulliver’s Theme Parks Limited will be running Beano and Dennis themed activities across all four of Gulliver’s attractions. Visitors will be able to enjoy storytelling, trails, character costume appearances in branded areas and experience specific Beano activities and rides.
Fans will also be able to visit Kew Gardens this Easter to enjoy a bespoke Beano trail across the Royal Botanical gardens full of Dennis fun and mischief.
In publishing,Bonnier Books is continuing its non-fiction and gifting publishing programme with two new titles launching this year: Beano Colouring Book in July 2021 and Beano Five-a-Day Joke Book in September 2021, these follow on the heels of the recently published Beanopedia: Ultimate guide to Beanotown and its inhabitants and The Dennis Collection a celebration of comic strips to mark the 70th anniversary.
Egmont Books recently announced its new publishing deal, joining Beano Studios’ licensee programme with an illustrated fiction series from the writers and illustrators of Beano with The Battle for Bash Street School published in July 2021 followed by a Christmas themed, There’s Snow Place Like Beanotown in September 2021.
The Ultimate Dennis and Gnasher Collection of the best recent comic strips, will also publish in autumn 2021.
Vanessa Andreis, franchise planning and partnerships director, Beano Studios, said: “Over the last 12 months we have added 21 new partners to our licensee programme and 2021 is going to our greatest year yet, as everyone joins to celebrate 70 years of Dennis. Fans will be able to find Dennis everywhere this year from retail to gaming, lunchboxes to theme parks and we are excited to continue growing and expanding the franchise with its unique mix of loveable mischief.”
Licensed home décor specialist Arthouse Ltd is developing a range of kids’ décor products, playfully designed for Dennis’ 70th anniversary year. Beano has also joined forces with award winning board game designer, Rachel Lowe, to produce a collection of Beano licensed puzzles, board games, and card games for Dennis and his Beanotown friends.
Rob Wijeratna, joint managing director, Rocket Licensing – Beano Studios’ licensing agent, said: “2021 and the birthday of the nation’s favourite mischief-maker is set to be a major celebration, with new partner offerings ranging from homewares to commemorative coins and theme-park activities to bespoke tartan.
“We are seeing this classic British brand go from strength to strength and are excited to see it grow further in this next decade of Dennis.”
Existing perennial Beano licensees Aykroyds for nightwear, Park Agencies for daywear and H&A for health and beauty will have products in retail to add to the birthday celebrations.
There will be a full year of brand activity with a national marketing campaign and a special-edition comic which will celebrate the role Dennis has played in generations of kids’ lives. The campaign will launch on Dennis’s birthday, Wednesday 17th March and run across the rest of 2021.


text:
At present, smartphones generally implement stacked packaging (PoP) of processors SoC and memory (DRAM). According to the information released by AMD recently, PC products are expected to achieve similar technology.
At Rice Oil & Gas High Performance Computing Conference, Forrest Norrod, senior vice president of AMD, said that they were following up on 3D packaging technology, aiming to integrate DRAM / SRAM (cache, etc.) and processor (CPU / GPU) into a chip through TSV (silicon perforation).
In fact, AMD has taken the lead in introducing HBM display and memory products, realizing the integration and packaging of GPU chip and display and memory chip, but that only belongs to the 2.5D scheme.
The advantage of 3D stacking is that it shortens the current transfer path, that is, it reduces power consumption. However, the challenge of 3D packaging is how to control fever.
Unfortunately, AMD has not released any more technical details.
AMD said that although the lithography process is improving, but the frequency even began to decline, need some new design assistance.
In fact, Intel this year also announced a 3-D chip packaging technology called Foveros, which integrates 22-nm I/O substrate, 10-nm Sunny Core and four-core Atom with a power consumption of only 7 watts.


text:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought 52 enforcement actions involving data breaches. Fifty of those businesses, whose computer systems were illegally accessed by hackers, settled rather than fight FTC’s accusations that they acted “deceptively” or “unfairly” under § 5 of the FTC Act. And yet, the data breaches just keep on coming, with unlawful intrusions on Home Depot’s payment-card processing system and the federal HealthCare.gov website occurring just this past week. It’s high time the Commission utilized tools at its disposal aside from the enforcement hammer to address data security.
WLF is not the only organization advancing this notion. On March 25, 2014, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumer League, and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse wrote FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, asking the Commission to “convene a public forum, bringing stakeholders together to discuss strategies for combating the growing threat of data breaches.”
FTC Commissioners routinely note in public statements that in addition to enforcement and advocacy, the Commission protects consumers and competition through education and information sharing. Public forums, workshops, and other events of the type the consumer groups sought in their letter have long been an integral part of FTC’s “educate and inform” function. Such events educate not only the public, but also the Commission and its staff. Continue reading
A petition for writ of certiorari filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on July 17 (the respondent’s reply is still pending) may provide the justices with a timely opportunity to clarify the Court’s jurisprudence on compelled speech. The case, Anthem Prescription Management v. Beeman, involves the increasingly common practice by government of enlisting private enterprises to communicate certain messages against their will. As we have discussed here recently, the lower federal courts are fractured over the amount of First Amendment scrutiny judges should apply when businesses challenge such speech mandates.
Laws Correcting Deception. Beginning with Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel in 1985, the Supreme Court has developed a consistent jurisprudence on compelled speech for commercial enterprises. Zauderer recognized businesses’ First Amendment rights to communicate with consumers about their products. But the Court noted that such protection is minimal for misleading or false commercial speech. It held that “an advertiser’s rights are adequately protected as long as disclosure requirements are reasonably related to the State’s interest in preventing deception of consumers.” The Court emphasized that the speech mandate must require “purely factual and uncontroversial information” and not be “unduly burdensome.”
Laws Not Targeting Deception. What if the government interest underlying a speech mandate is not correction of deception? In our opinion, the Court spoke quite clearly in Zauderer, carving out prevention of deception as a unique exception to the First Amendment’s heightened protection of commercial speech, and thus heightened scrutiny should still apply to other speech mandates. Continue reading
by Mark A. Behrens, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.*
On September 9, the Supreme Court of Missouri struck down the state’s legislative limit on the amount of punitive damages that can be imposed on defendants. Under the cap, punitive damages could not exceed the greater of $500,000 or five times the net amount of the judgment. Lewellen v. Franklin arose from an unremarkable fraudulent misrepresentation and unlawful merchandising suit. In finding that the statutory damages cap violated Lewellen’s right to a jury trial, the Court followed a 2012 decision invalidating the state’s cap on non-economic damages in medical liability cases, Watts v. Lester E. Cox Medical Centers.
This holding is an extreme outlier. Virtually every other state court that has considered the constitutionality of punitive damages caps has held that such laws do not violate the jury trial right because the jury’s fact-finding function is preserved. The jury continues to resolve disputed facts with respect to liability and assessment of legally available remedies. Once the jury has decided these issues, the constitutional mandate is met—or at least is virtually every other state in the country. Nationally, both state and federal courts consistently have upheld the constitutionality of punitive damages caps. Continue reading
Featured Expert Column – Environmental Law and Policy
by Samuel B. Boxerman, Sidley Austin LLP with Katharine Falahee Newman, Sidley Austin LLP
In the past two months, two federal circuit courts examined the extent of the Clean Water Act’s (“CWA”) “permit shield” defense and reached similar conclusions—the defense cannot be used by a party that does not completely fulfil certain National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, or permit application, obligations. Permit holders and applicants should be wary of the risk presented by this emerging case law, as the decisions could open the door to increased enforcement, unless an applicant has provided to the permitting authority a wide range of data regarding its discharge during the application process.
Generally, the CWA shields a permit holder from liability if the party possesses or has applied for an NPDES permit through the appropriate federal and state regulatory framework. The permit shield states that “compliance with a permit issued pursuant to this section shall be deemed compliance,” see 33 U.S.C. § 1342(k). The shield protects permit holders from challenges that their permits are not sufficiently stringent as well as actions to compel the permit holder to change its operations following changes to CWA regulations. Continue reading
FDA’s proposed Nutrition Facts format
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposed addition of “added sugars” to the mandatory Nutrition Facts label on packaged food lacks scientific justification, is more likely to confuse than inform consumers, and will expose the agency to a constitutional challenge. So why is FDA pushing forward with this counterproductive idea?
In announcing proposed changes to the 20-year old “Nutrition Facts” label, FDA reminded us that the purpose of the ubiquitous label is to “help consumers make informed food choices and maintain healthy dietary practices.” The update ostensibly would provide, among other improvements, “greater understanding of nutrition science.” However, one of the update’s most highly touted additions—a new line item for “Added Sugars,” triple-indented under “Carbohydrates” and “Total Sugars”— thoroughly fails to achieve these stated goals and contradicts current nutrition science.
Uninformative. If the Nutrition Facts label exists to “help consumers to make informed food choices,” then shouldn’t FDA be certain that listing added sugars would in fact be helpful? The agency, though, acknowledges in its March 3 proposal that it is “not aware of any existing consumer research that has examined this topic.“
One public comment provided to FDA did offer consumer research, and the data thoroughly undercuts the “Added Sugars” proposal. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation conducted a consumer survey that conformed to OMB requirements for government research. The results revealed confusion among surveyed consumers over the meaning of “Added Sugars.” More than half of respondents believed that Added Sugars were different from the sugars included in “Total Sugars.” A substantial number believed that instead of being a part of the Total Sugars figure, Added Sugars should be added to Total Sugars. Consider, for instance, a bottle of sweetened iced tea, which is currently labeled to contain 22 grams of sugar per serving. None of the sugar is naturally occurring. If the proposed Nutrition Facts label is adopted in its entirety, consumers might look at the 22 grams of Total Sugars, and the 22 grams of Added Sugars, and conclude that the tea contains 44 grams per serving. In addition, the survey found that a majority of consumers felt that products listing added sugars contained more sugar than was actually present, a perception that would affect their purchasing decisions.
An agency whose mission is consumer protection must not mandate confusing or misleading label information. FDA should take heed of the IFIC Foundation research and do what it should have done from the start: study the issue before mandating that Added Sugars be listed. Continue reading
Ever since its final courtroom defeat earlier this summer in its long-running battle with holdout bondholders, Argentina has attempted to portray itself as a responsible debtor that wants to pay all legitimate obligations. The Kirschner regime claims that its July 2014 default on the nation’s bond repayment obligations was forced upon it involuntarily by U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa. Argentina asserts that it wants to act responsibly by making interest payments on its external indebtedness and would do so but for the injunction issued by “crazy old Judge Griesa” at the request of holdout bondholders (or, as Argentina refers to them, “vulture funds”). But Argentina’s recent actions don’t match its rhetoric; it continues its well-established policy of refusing to pay obligations that it has no plausible basis for contesting. Argentina has expressed a desire to repair its tarnished reputation within financial markets, but nothing in its recent conduct suggests movement in that direction.
A good case in point is Republic of Argentina v. BG Group PLC, a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. That case involved claims by BG Group, a British natural gas company, that Argentina had breached a contract by taking steps designed to drive BG Group out of business. In 2007, an international arbitration panel unanimously agreed and entered a $185 million judgment in favor of BG Group. Rather than paying the judgment, Argentina sought to appeal the arbitration award within the U.S. court system. After years of protracted litigation, the Supreme Court in March 2014 upheld the arbitration award. Continue reading
If government wants to force you to say something you would not otherwise express, it must have a very good reason for doing so. This bedrock First Amendment principle applies to individuals and business enterprises alike.
In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit—arguably the nation’s second most important federal court—carved away at this principle and the constitutional protection it provides. Below, we discuss how that court allowed a federal agency to repeatedly change its declared reason for compelling speech and in an en banc panel opinion improperly eased government’s burden to prove a substantial governmental interest.
District Court Challenge. The compelled speech at issue in American Meat Institute (AMI) v. USDA is a country of origin label (“COOL”) recording the place of birth, residence, and slaughter of the animal from which each cut of meat taken. In the proposed rule’s Statement of Benefits and Costs, USDA asserted the mandate was justified because “certain U.S. consumers valued the designation.” AMI argued in its public comments that this interest was neither governmental nor substantial. USDA responded in the final rule with a stunning tautology: our interest is substantial and governmental because Congress empowered us to impose the COOL mandate.
When AMI sued to enjoin COOL on July 25, 2013, the agency again shifted focus, advancing a new justification that never appeared in the administrative record: “correct misleading speech and prevent consumer deception.” The federal district court bought USDA’s made-for-litigation governmental interest while denying AMI’s motion. In permitting this new justification, Judge Jackson ignored a 1947 Supreme Court precedent, SEC v. Chenery Corp. That decision holds that when judging the propriety of agency action, courts are limited to what is in the administrative record. Continue reading


text:
A few weeks ago we reported on a bug present in iOS 4.1 which wakes up countries on daylight savings time an hour early. According to ZDnet a patch is being worked on that should be available through the iOS 4.1.1 update soon.
Oh, Apple will probably patch up the new exploit which allows for limera1n. Jailbreakers, you know what to do .
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel


text:
A spokesperson for one of China's biggest financial institutions has forecasted that demand for gold in the developing world is likely to increase.
Speaking at an industry conference, Wang Yu, director of the gold and foreign exchange market division of the People's Bank of China, said that although gold prices have been rising, this does not necessarily mean that it will curb demand.
"Global gold demand is increasing steadily with strong economic growth in developing countries, but the supply of the metal is stable. That creates a deficit," she added, according to Reuters.
She also said that she believes gold prices will remain unsteady in the short-term, but that there is plenty or room for them to rise long-term.
Gold demand has been increasing of late in China and Russia. This has helped to retain favor for gold bullion, despite the busy season for gold purchases in India having decreased.


text:
Take a look at this week’s specials from around South Africa, including some great console deals.
SSDs appear in a multiple form factors, from 2.5-inch SATA drives to RAM-like M.2 modules.
There is a notable price difference between FreeSync and G-Sync monitors.
Online stores in South Africa have listed pricing for Intel’s new Core X processors.
Intel has stated on its website that its compute modules have been discontinued.
AMD’s Radeon Vega Frontier Edition graphics card is now available from international retailers.
The increasing popularity of eSports and new PC hardware means that more gamers can now build a PC for competitive gaming.
We used mining performance benchmark data collected by BuriedOne to compare the latest generation of graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia.
Take a look at this week’s gaming and tech specials from around South Africa.
The iStore has launched new models of the iMac and MacBook Pro in South Africa.
Razer has launched its refreshed 13.3-inch Blade Stealth laptop.
Alienware has launched its first gaming monitors, which feature 240Hz refresh rates with support for FreeSync and G-Sync.
Nixeus has revealed its new EDG 27-inch FreeSync monitor, which features an IPS panel and a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution.
Take a look at this week’s deals.
BenQ has revealed its latest line-up of professional desktop monitors, which range from 24-27 inches in size.
Nvidia and AMD plan to release graphics cards designed specifically for cryptocurrency miners, according to a report from DigiTimes.
HP has revealed its latest line of Omen gaming hardware, which includes new laptops and desktops.
AMD has revealed its new Radeon Pro 500-series graphics cards.
Phison previewed its first external SSD using an NVMe interface at Computex 2017.
Aorus has revealed its latest gaming laptop based on Nvidia’s Max-Q design technology at Computex 2017.


text:
CRANSTON – Nearly 40% of hospitality businesses in Rhode Island experienced a revenue loss of over 50% in July as the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the sector with state restrictions and a decline in travelers, according to a survey conducted by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association.
The survey found that 21% of respondents, which include owners of restaurants, banquet halls, media and performing arts centers, experienced more than a 70% decline in revenue year over year in July, while another 18% reported a decline of between 51% and 60%.
RIHA’s survey found that 92% of businesses surveyed have reopened, but 18% said that they have not been able to rehire staff due to lost revenue or have not rehired for fear that they will have to layoff staff soon.
The results were based on responses from 74 businesses between Aug. 17 and 24.
“While we’re still in the midst of challenging circumstances, it’s still disappointing to see so many businesses across Rhode Island struggling financially,” said Dale J. Venturini, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. “We hope that as restrictions continue to lift, consumers will feel more comfortable visiting our restaurants and hotels, and that those struggling to find work will look to the hospitality industry for employment opportunities.”
The survey also found that 33% of respondents voiced concern about competing with unemployment insurance, believing potential hires would rather collect enhanced benefits than return to work.
RIHA said more than half of eligible respondents also applied for RestoreRI grant funding offered through the R.I. Commerce Corp.
RIHA noted that hotel occupancy rate in Rhode Island in June had declined 35.1 percentage points year over year to 40.2%.
Nationally, nearly one in six restaurants are either closed for the long term or permanently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures from a National Restaurant Association survey. The industry is projected to lose $240 billion in sales by the end of the year, the association said.
Want to share this story? Click Here to purchase a link that allows anyone to read it on any device whether or not they are a subscriber.


text:
According to the U.S. Postal Service's holiday package tracker, nearly 8 billion packages have been processed for Christmas this year. In 2022, the postal service processed 12 billion packages for the entire holiday season.
Fortunately, in time for the holiday season, USPS has opened a new processing facility in North Carolina. This is just one of the 60 new facilities USPS will open in the next 10 years, according to their Delivering for American Plan.
The facility has some of the best technology to push packages to destinations all over the world.
"There’s seven high speed package sorting machines in this facility, we had 350 high speed package sorting machines installed across the country in the last 3 years," USPS Spokesperson Philip Bogenberger tells FOX.
The Postal Service say these sorting machines work 24/7, helping process packages twelve times faster than they have in the past with manual sorting.
USPS says the high-speed sorting machines have increased efficiency, and they're seeing it first-hand at the new facility in Gastonia, west of Charlotte.
Margaret Ford, Gastonia's USPS Plant Manager says it "cuts down on forklifts going on the floor, potential hazards, less people have to touch the mail just for that part of the process; and it just helps us to be efficient and streamline the operation."
USPS says this is the third holiday season under the Delivering For America plan, where the Postal Service made significant investments in its network. 100 machines have been installed since last holiday season.
The Gastonia facility has been open for just over a month, Ford says they're still working to process 350,000 packages a day. As of now, all packages in the area will be processed, to be shipped out across the world.
"It comes in here and then we send it out to the world," says Ford, "so anything a customer is mailing anywhere in the world, we process here in this facility."
USPS has the capacity to process 70 million packages per day, and the average time for USPS to deliver a mail piece or packages is just two and a half days. But, the days are winding down until it's Christmas. They say don't wait too long to send out packages.
The deadline to ship regular ground shipping with FedEx is Friday, December 15. The U.S. Postal Service is Saturday, December 16. UPS's deadline for ground shipping is Monday, December 18.
But USPS says it's best not to risk it, "if you are sending locally or regionally, you might have a day or two, but I wouldn’t necessarily take that chance."


text:
Consumers are used to being shown ads on their favorite mobile games. From stationary ads that rest across the bottom of the screen to ads that appear after a player’s turn in a popular multiplayer game, advertisements are simply a part of the ecosystem that don’t look to be going away anytime soon.
That is, unless, you ask King.
The Candy Crush Saga developer has announced a complete and immediate transition away from traditional advertising in its mobile titles, according to emails sent to King’s advertising partners.
“King’s #1 focus around delivering an uninterrupted entertainment experience for our network of loyal players across web, tablet and mobile has unfortunately led to the difficult decision of removing advertising as a core element of King’s overall strategy. The executive team has decided to withdraw completely from the advertising business thus, removing all advertising elements within every King game worldwide effective immediately,” King said in a released statement.
This news is obviously great for players, as it means ads will no longer interrupt the gameplay experience for King’s titles on mobile and smartphone devices, as well as those games played in a traditional browser or on Facebook. This development doesn’t mean King is suffering, however. In fact, this strategy seems to suggest the exact opposite.
To afford to eliminate its advertising revenue stream, King is clearly confident in its ability to lure free players into paid players via the use of microtransactions within its titles (the purchase of additional lives in Candy Crush Saga, as an example). This also indicates that King is already receiving unprecedented revenue from its currency system, making revenue from advertising unnecessary for the company’s further growth and success.
Interestingly, this move is in direct contrast to other developer strategies. Zynga, for instance, has started adding more advertisements to its Facebook games, rather than removing them for the sake of player enjoyment. We’ve reached out to King for further comment on this development, and will update this space if we hear back.


text:
The questionnaire-based study that sampled 100 random respondents – children aged between three and 12 and their parents – showed that most children knew the advertisements of biscuits and chocolates.
The study conducted by assistant professor Preetha R and Radhika S, said advertisements play a key role in increased consumption of confectionary products. The study noted that 86% of children are familiar with biscuit advertisements and 78% knew about those on chocolates. Nearly 65% children are aware of such products through television advertisements, 18% through magazines, 15% through newspapers and 2% through hoardings.
“Today children are consumers of confectionary products and they do not think about the price. Besides, they are not conscious of health hazards. When it comes to buying a product, the first thing that comes to their mind is advertisements,” it noted.
“Now children’s preference matters in case of shopping and it has increased steadily. Advertisements have an indirect impact on their behaviour when parents refuse their demand to buy latest advertised toys or products. Moreover, parents spend less time with their children. So, when children ask, parents agree. When we got to doctors, they advise us not to give biscuits, confectionaries and pastries to kids,” Preetha said.
The other finding in the study is that 73% children like to buy confectionary products because his/her favourite celebrity or cartoon character is associated with the product. After consumption of these products, 51.75%children develop health issues.


text:
Metalloobrabotka 2021: Introducing the Industrial Fairs Intec and Z in Moscow
The trade show duo Intec and Z will be showcased at Russia's leading mechanical engineering trade fair. Moreover, the cooperation between Leipziger Messe and the Russian machine tool industry will continue to be strengthened.
On 24 to 28 May, the 21st edition of Metalloobrabotka will take place at the Expocentre in Moscow. For the 14th time, Saxony will be presenting its strengths in toolmaking and mechanical engineering as well its prime location for these businesses at Russia's leading mechanical engineering trade show. The Saxony Economic Development Corporation is organising a joint exhibition on behalf of the Saxon State Ministry of Economics, Labor and Transport.
Leipziger Messe will also be participating in the joint exhibition stand for Saxony (Hall 2, Stand 2.2C34) by presenting the industrial trade show duo Intec and Z in Moscow. Visitors to Metalloobrabotka will be given information about the upcoming edition of the Leipzig trade show duo from 7 to 10 March 2023. At the same time, business contacts can be fostered and new ones established. Due to the current situation surrounding the corona pandemic, the Saxony Economic Development Corporation's stand, including the exhibition of the Intec and Z duo, will be hosted by the Leipzig trade fair representatives in Moscow, Anna Subova, Yelena Ignatova and Maximilian Alyoshin, this year.
Cooperation between Leipziger Messe and the Russian machine tool industry will be enhanced in the future. In April of this year, a delegation led by Thomas Horn, Managing Director of the Saxony Economic Development Corporation, and Markus Geisenberger, Chief Executive Officer of Leipziger Messe, visited the representatives of the Russian machine-tool constructing association "Stankoinstrument". One of their agreements was that "Stankoinstrument" would exhibit at Intec and Z in Leipzig.
Additional information about Metalloobrabotka 2021 is available online at https://www.metobr-expo.ru/en/ . More detailed information on the German Pavilion at the mechanical engineering trade fair in Russia is available at http://www.metalloobrabotka.german-pavilion.com/ .


text:
Historical Stock Chart
1 Year : From Jan 2019 to Jan 2020
By Stephen Nakrosis
BabbleLabs, a Silicon Valley startup working on speech technology, said Wednesday it raised $14 million in Series A financing in a round co-led by Dell Technologies Capital and Intel Capital.
The company said it "focuses on creating software to improve speech quality, accuracy, and personalization in voice applications."
BabbleLabs also said Gregg Adkin from Dell Technologies Capital and Vijay Reddy from Intel Capital will become members of its board.
The company said it will use the financing to "expand technical development in speech enhancement, recognition and analytics for noisy, complex environments and to scale business development."
Dell Technologies Capital is the investment arm for Dell Technologies.
Intel Capital, a division of Intel Corp., said it invests in innovative startups and since 1991 invested $12.4 billion in 1,554 companies worldwide.
--Write to Stephen Nakrosis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2019 19:23 ET (23:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.


text:
Talks are ongoing between car parts supplier Magna International Inc. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to build a joint battery plant for electric cars, according to Austrian Business daily WirtschaftsBlatt.
It is anticipated that Magna will enter a deal with Mitsubishi in the next two weeks. At that point, the two companies are expected to already have made a decision on the location of the factory.
The newspaper didn't name its source. When asked to comment, a spokesman at Magna's European headquarters in Oberwaltersdorf, referred to this report as "rumors."
He said that Magna is still in the process of negotiating with potential partners for its electric vehicle program but he declined to say when the future plans will be announced.
Last May, Magna co-CEO Siegfried Wolf said that the group is seeking two locations in Europe and the US to make e-car batteries. This is expected to be a fast growing business as carmakers have been trying alternative power options.
Earlier this year, Magna began a new business that will concentrate exclusively on electric cars and make complete vehicles and battery units.
This business is certainly a timely one as the battery is still the most expensive and technologically challenging aspect of electric cars.


text:
BMW officially unveiled its new 4 Series Concept this week, which raised an important question: will there also be an M4?
Not surprisingly, the answer is yes. There will be an M4.
The 4 Series is just a new name for the 3 Series coupe, though it gets its own style and a slightly larger wheelbase, as well as a lowered roofline. Most importantly, BMW has confirmed that the M3 will not be replaced by the M4, and that both cars will be produced together.
Specs are still unknown, but it is expected that both cars will share one heart, a tri-turbo 6-cylinder engine that has already been confirmed for the M3. It is expected to make about 450 hp.
[Source: Car and Driver]
Discuss this story at 4series.org


text:
Tech titans are battling to pay big bucks for once bland computing firms. Two questions: Are they worth it? And who’s next?
When tech titans HP (HPQ) and Dell (DELL) became entangled in a furious back-and-forth bidding war over 3PAR (PAR), they unwittingly introduced much of the public to a decidedly-unsexy area of tech that is becoming indispensable in our increasingly smartphone’d, tabletized, app-driven world : cloud computing.
In fact, HP’s $2.4 billion acquisition of the data storage company was just one in a recent spate of acquisitions. Four smaller cloud-related companies have also recently been scooped up by the big boys.
Last month, virtualization software-maker VMware (VMW) announced it would buy Integrien, a provider of network analysis, and TriCipher, a security software developer, for undisclosed amounts. Around the same time, Citrix Systems (CTXS) also bought VMLogix for its cloud management technology and Red Bend Software Inc. snagged VirtualLogix, which allows Intel and ARM-based mobile devices to run multiple operating systems on a virtual machine. (Again, terms were not disclosed.)
Companies like HP and Dell are going full bore on cloud services because they enable outsourcing, usually via the Internet, of scalable and/or virtualized IT services, from data storage, software, to billing and payment. The convenience offered by the cloud is significant: why should a businesses, app developers, banks, startups or even government handle the headaches and cost of building infrastructure internally when they can be offloaded to cloud services, resulting in increased productivity and cost-savings?
Analysts like Paul Burns, a principal at IT analysis firm Neovise, attributes the recent activity to the relative longevity of cloud and cloud-based services, like Amazon with its EC2 virtualization service, launched in 2006, and Salesforce.com (crm), founded in 1999.
“It’s early in the cloud computing market, so companies think if they move now, maybe things will be a little less expensive in some areas, but if they wait, they not only become more expensive, they risk having a competitor buying that offering instead,” says Burns.
Is cloud overvalued?
The hype around cloud, plus the general frenzy in the M&A space, could be why we’re seeing companies go to war now over companies like 3Par: they’re taking risks early in the game in hopes that those bets will pay off later — both financially and technologically. The goal is what it always is: to be better positioned to profit on the next big thing, as more and more businesses decided to outsource to the cloud.
Analysts Fortune spoke with about the HP/Dell bidding war either wouldn’t comment or said it was too early to speculate as to whether HP overpaid, but were willing to discuss some other past cloud deals. And there’s one in the space that’s just a whopper:
In late 2003, EMC Corporation (EMC) bought virtualization software company VMWare for $635 million, a large sum that in hindsight turned out to be a pittance: in 2007 EMC later spun off part VMWare to unlock shareholder value and retain talent. The company’s market cap is now approximately $34 billion. As EMC still owns 80% of the firm, and VMWare’s software remains the foundation for the majority of cloud computing services that require some form of virtualization. Any big company picking up a cloud firm today has to be hoping for a similar outcome.
In fact, 3PAR wasn’t the first cloud acquisition for HP. In July 2007, it picked up Opsware, a data center automation start-up for $1.6 billion, or 16 times Opsware’s 2006 revenue. In that respect, HP overpaid. The Wall Street Journal recently questioned whether valuation even matters in the cloud sector right now, citing an analysis by the ISI Group which reported that over the last five years, HP typically paid 1.9 times a company’s 12-month revenue in hardware and networking acquisition.
(Unfortunately the growth of Opsware under HP can’t be broken out, since the company was subsumed into HP’s overall software business. However in the three years since, according to Burns, the HP software business segment that Opsware became a part of has totaled just $1.366 billion in earnings, significantly less than the $1.6 billion price for Opsware alone.)
So, cloud acquisitions or investments are not winning lottery tickets: execution and integration are everything. Opsware was famously troubled as a standalone company. A nice exit for shareholders and new ownership doesn’t magically change that, or any company’s prospects.
Three clouds properties ready to burst
Burns and Gartner analyst David Smith identified three companies that could bring the rain to any company rich enough to snap them up, and wise enough to run them well:
1) Zuora — the Salesforce.com of subscription-based payment and billing.
Many subscription based businesses still rely on costly and complex in-house billing systems, but Zuora offers cloud based payment and billing services for subscription-based businesses, new and old. CEO Tien Tzuo spent nine years at SalesForce.com – he built SalesForce.com’s original system and served in several roles including Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Backed by WebEx and SalesForce.com founder Marc Benioff, Zuora reportedly signed over $1 billion in contracted subscription revenue during the first quarter of its fiscal year and experienced 102% in revenue growth.
2) Nimbula — The private cloud company with big name backers.
Nimbula emerged from stealth mode last June and is most notable for its pedigree: The same team that built Amazon’s EC2, former execs Chris Pinkham and Willem van Biljon, are behind Nimbula. Pinkham and van Biljon’s industry cred has attracted some pretty high-profile VCs, including Accel Partners which has also invested in AdMob, Facebook and ComScore, and the legendary Sequoia Capital. So far, Nimbula has raised more than $20 million in two rounds of funding.
3) Heroku — Building an application platform on the cloud.
Started in 2008, the San Francisco-based cloud provider focuses on “platform as a service,” a concept popularized by SalesForce.com, that emphasizes ease of use, automation and reliability for app builders. Heroku employs a multi-tenant software architecture, so one instance of software on a server can serve more than one client company. Third party add-ons let developers easily integrate additional features into their deployed apps. Heroku has received over $13 million in funding to date.
As cloud computing continues to mature, we’ll see more mergers and joint ventures, lots of overbidding and maybe even a VMWare level bargain or two. However the sector grows, as Winston Churchill said about an entirely different matter, “this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
More from Fortune:


text:
CannTrust, which calls itself a "leading" medical cannabis supplier, voluntarily discontinued all sales and shipments of its product after Health Canada discovered that it was growing cannabis in five unlicensed rooms and that the ministry received inaccurate information .
The company has also set up a special committee to investigate the matter.
CannTrust is doing it as a "precaution" while Health Canada investigates the company structure in Vaughan, Ontario, a release of the company he said Thursday.
WATCH: January 9 – CannTrust is a marijuana producer on the lack of pots, legalization of cannabis and product innovation
"CannTrust is working closely with the regulator through the review process and plans to provide further details on the duration of storage and other developments as they become available," the statement added.
The moves come after the company said it had imposed over 5,000 kg of dried cannabis that had been grown in unlicensed rooms at a Pelham, Ontario facility. between October 2018 and March 2019.
At the time the company had questions for pending rooms with Health Canada.
READ MORE: 5,000 kg of Cannabust cannabis are on hold after Health Canada has discovered unlicensed growth
On Monday, CannTrust announced that it had suspended approximately 7,500 kg of dried cannabis equivalent at its Vaughan plant.
The product had been produced in rooms without Pelham's license, CannTrust said.
On Wednesday the Ontario Cannabis Store announced that it had withdrawn some of the company's products from online sales and that it had been shipped to physical stores, as investigated by Health Canada.
WATCH: October 16, 2018 – Canadian cannabis companies are betting that the world will want our grass
Customers who had ordered the CannTrust product could be reimbursed if the products were returned unopened within two weeks of delivery.
The Ontario Cannabis Store did not say which products were pulled.
CannTrust serves over 72,000 medical patients with dry products, extracts and capsules, he said in the release.
The company operates a collection facility in Pelham and a manufacturing facility in Vaughan.
- With file of The Canadian Press
© 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
. (tagToTranslate) CannTrust (t) cannabis cannabis (t) cannabis cannabis sales (t) cannabust cannabis suspended sales (t) CannTrust Health Canada (t) canntrust health canada probe (t) canntrust sales (t) canntrust sales halted (t) le canntrust sales have stopped health canada probe (t) sales of suspended canntrust (t) medical cannabis (t) News