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DAVENPORT, IOWA (February 9, 2021) — Experiencing rapid growth of its direct-to-consumer medication delivery service, Quad Cities-based pharmacy startup divvyDOSE is expanding its footprint and economic impact in the bi-state region.
After being acquired by UnitedHealth Group last fall, the health-care tech company headquartered in Moline is adding 200-300 jobs in the area and moving its front-end operations to two floors of Mississippi Plaza in downtown Davenport. divvyDOSE’s back-end operations, mainly the dispensing and packaging of medication, will remain at the business’s facility off John Deere Road in Moline. Company leadership announced the news Friday to their 300-plus employees, about 230 of whom work in the Quad Cities.
“divvyDOSE is proud of what we have accomplished in the Quad Cities,” said Luke Lonergan, COO at divvyDOSE and a Quad Cities native. “We look forward to what our expanding footprint in both Moline and Davenport will mean for the consumers we are proud to serve.”
Quad Cities Chamber staff, in partnership with the City of Davenport, worked with divvyDOSE’s site selector and the owner of Mississippi Plaza to identify and secure Class A office space for the company’s expansion.
“It has been great fun for me to see this company scale and expand so quickly,” said Julie Forsythe, Senior Vice President of Business & Economic Growth at the Chamber. “The Chamber, along with our municipal partners, has been an advocate for divvyDOSE and provided support along the way at various junctures. I’m thrilled with their success and the variety of great jobs available to our community with this expansion. Since COVID-19, we know that a number of folks have become unemployed, and this could be a great opportunity for them to get back to work.”
Added Bruce Berger, Director of Community & Economic Development for the City of Davenport: “We are excited to welcome divvyDOSE to downtown Davenport. Their expansion in the Quad Cities, and Davenport in particular, continues to reflect that we are an ideal place for companies to grow their business. We look forward to this project adding to our robust and vibrant downtown.”
divvyDOSE recently hosted a virtual job fair to recruit people for its open positions in enrollment, insurance and customer service, all of which offer competitive wages, benefits and opportunities to grow, said Jana Klauke, Vice President of People and Culture at divvyDOSE.
Job duties for these employees include data entry, insurance billing, communicating with doctors’ offices and of course, talking directly with customers and answering any questions they may have. Citing the great talent pool developed by the region’s higher education institutions, Klauke said her team is also excited to continue hiring graduates from area colleges and universities.
Founded and led by a local physician in 2015, divvyDOSE developed a new service model in the pharmaceutical industry by delivering medication sorted in individual packages clearly marked with the date and time the patient should take it. The company provides these essential goods and services to thousands of people each month, Klauke said, and those struggling to manage their medication are among those with the greatest need for divvyDOSE’s assistance.
“We aren’t asking anyone at home to be a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician,” Klauke said. “We have the technology and the resources to do the work for them to make sure they are taking their medication correctly and on time.”
divvyDOSE’s employees at its downtown Davenport location, across the street from the Figge Art Museum, will benefit from Mississippi River views and easy access to the district’s growing number of dining, shopping, entertainment and housing options.
“We are proud to call divvyDose an anchor office tenant of downtown Davenport,” said Kyle Carter, Executive Director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, an affiliate of the Chamber. “This is exactly the kind of growing entrepreneurial company we seek to attract via our new master plan, and we're excited to see their workforce enjoy the benefits of our walkable, amenity-rich downtown. We're thrilled to call them part of the family, and we appreciate divvyDose's leadership and commitment to the Quad Cities by building their growing business in the heart of our region.”
Go to www.divvydose.com for more information about the company and its services.


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Mixon “Tsekeleke” Tholo’s is a happy man thanks to Daily Sun…. The musician and dancer is a happy man today after he finally received payment for starring in the Beacon Smoothies TV advert. Daily Sun published Tsekeleke’s story on 9 May under the headline “Tsekeleke is broke!”
Tsekeleke said he signed a two-year contract with advertising company King James II in 2014.
He said he had only received two payments for his work, once in December and again in January.
The poor fellow became so broke that he could no longer afford to even buy a kota.
“I signed the contract in August but had to fight with the advertising agency to receive two payments.
“The agency promised that I would receive monthly payments for two years,” he claimed.
This week the company contacted him and by Wednesday night, a huge smile was plastered all over his face.
“I received a payment of R11 000.
“I am happy that I finally received payment for my hard work.
“Now I will be able to pay for the recording of my upcoming album,” he said.
“I will finally be able to afford to support myself and further my music career.”
Tsekeleke said he was told it would be his final payment
Kathi Jones of King James said Tsekeleke’s original contract was signed by advertising agency TBWA Hunt Lascaris, and not by King James.
“The original fees in the contract were paid to him in 2014.
“We took over the Beacon business in 2015 and became responsible for the renewal fees for the TV ad only.
“These are paid on an annual basis as a once-off payment for the additional year that the ad is on air.
“The additional year of use was renewed in April 2015 and fees were paid over to him by us,” she said.
She said there is no reference to any arrangement to pay monthly fees in the original contract.

domain: news


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The market for cryptocurrencies has experienced a loss of 1.8 percent over the past day (3pm, 7 June 2022).
Following a year of growth and new record highs in 2021, the value of crypto currencies is currently experiencing a volatile period with unpredictable price shifts.
- Bitcoin (BTC) -5.71 percent (£23,590.76)
- Ethereum (ETH) prices decreased by 7.09 percent, or £1,407.14.
- Tether (USDT) surged 0.34 percent, or 0.80 pounds, higher.
- BNB (BNB) -7.76 percent (£224.69)
- Cardano (ADA) -2.72 percent (£0.48)
- XRP (XRP) -2.34 percent (£0.31)
- Binance USD (BUSD) -+0.09 percent (£0.80)
- Solana (SOL) -11.42 percent (£30.87)
- Dogecoin (DOGE) price decreased by 3.77 percent, or 0.0638 pounds.
- Polkadot (DOT) -6.31 percent (£7.27)
- Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) decreased by 5.56 percent, or 23,660.61 pounds.
- TRON (TRX) -2.52 percent (£0.0645)
- Avalanche (AVAX) fell 10.62 percent, or 19.16 pounds, yesterday.
- SHIBA INU (SHIB) -4.49 percent (£0.00000850)
The recent drop is being attributed to recent comments made by Bill Gates on Reddit, in which the founder of Microsoft said: “I like to invest in things that have value. The quality of the goods that a company produces is directly proportional to its market worth. The value of cryptocurrency is simply determined by one person’s estimation of how much another person is willing to pay for it.
As a result, investors have lost faith in the cryptocurrency market, which comes at a time when economies all over the world are under pressure due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the post-Covid lockdowns.
And recent falls that were brought on by Tesla’s decision to reverse its position on accepting Bitcoin as payment for its products, as well as China’s decision to crack down on initial coin offerings, restrict exchanges, and warn against speculative trading.
As part of its most recent round of regulatory crackdowns on cryptocurrencies, China gave cryptocurrencies another blow when it ordered all Bitcoin mining operations in the province of Sichuan to cease immediately. The country also instructed banks to stop supporting cryptocurrency transactions.
Now that the country’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has announced that any transactions using cryptocurrencies are illegal, a ban on digital coins has effectively been implemented.
The judgment has already made an impression on the cryptocurrency market on a worldwide scale.
Bitcoin wasn’t the only cryptocurrency that was impacted by Tesla’s decision; other cryptocurrencies did as well. (Pic: Shutterstock)
Why has the cryptocurrency market been dropping?
A lack of trust in the market has been prompted by the fact that an uncertain economic future for many countries throughout the world has made its way into the universe of deregulated digital currency.
It comes after China took measures to suppress cryptocurrency markets and after Musk surprised everyone with an announcement in which he seemed to support Tesla accepting Bitcoin as payment for its services.
Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin shares, which in turn sent the market price of both the cryptocurrency and Tesla surging. However, those days are a distant memory for traders, as the price of both Tesla and Bitcoin has since stabilized.
The business magnate with a net worth of one billion dollars stated, “We are concerned about the rapidly expanding usage of fossil fuel for Bitcoin mining and transactions, particularly coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.”
In a statement he made on Twitter, Musk repeated his conviction that cryptocurrencies have a “promising future,” but he also stated that this future “cannot come at enormous cost to the environment.”
Musk has been a supporter of cryptocurrencies for a significant amount of time, and the decision that Tesla made was felt across the market, resulting in a decrease in price for other digital tokens.
How much does one Bitcoin and one Ethereum cost right now?
According to data provided by Coinbase, the value of one Bitcoin was 23,590.76 GBP following the most recent dip in prices on June 7.
The current price of Ethereum is 1,407.14 pounds.
Because cryptocurrencies are not regulated by the government or any of the world’s banks, it is easier and less expensive to move money around with cryptocurrencies than with traditional banking techniques.
Some people felt that the choice made by Tesla, which was publicized by Musk, was a slight on the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies to become a legitimate way of payment in comparison to physical currencies.
Which cryptocurrency values have seen a decrease?
The majority of cryptocurrencies in the top 10 saw their values drop, including Bitcoin, when the early effects were felt. Bitcoin was not the only cryptocurrency to experience this.
Dogecoin, which was initially created as a joke in 2012 and then had its shares surge, has also seen its market price plummet, while the price of Solana has increased by more than 8 percent.
Even if companies like PayPal, Mastercard, and Facebook have shown support for cryptocurrencies, the market was nonetheless shaken up by Musk’s news regarding Tesla. This demonstrates the magnitude of Musk’s power.Download Full Material-N4000


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McDonald’s Denmark has revealed that profits in the Scandinavian country have risen, and that the group is now considering opening new outlets in a number of different locations.
The chain witnessed revenue rise by 10 per cent in 2013, from 465m kroner in 2012 to 511m kroner. Meanwhile profits increased by 5.1 per cent to 85.4m kroner, having been at 81.2m kroner the previous year.
McDonald’s Denmark’s own restaurants generated 341m kroner and its franchises brought in a further 170m kroner in rental fees. McDonald’s Denmark owns 18 of the 88 outlets in the Scandinavian country. Combined, the 88 restaurants recorded sales of a little over 1.9bn kroner – a 10 per cent rise on 2012. Profits were up by five per cent.
After opening four new outlets in 2013, McDonald’s Denmark wants to open between three and six new restaurants per year in the coming years. The next branch, which is expected to create 50 jobs, will be located in Naestved Harbour and is due to open in August.
McDonald’s Denmark CEO Stephen Shillington said that among the main reasons for the growth is new restaurants and longer opening hours, adding that they are happy to see such a profit in a difficult market.


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Dell GM On Future With VMware And Besting HPE GreenLake
‘There are things across the portfolio, both our Client Solutions Group and ISG, where we are putting solutions together that are going to be better together with VMware,’ says Dell Technologies President and General Manager Jeff Boudreau.
Boudreau On VMware, HPE And Roaring Innovation Engine
The future between Dell and VMware is bright with brand new co-engineered products currently in the works, according to Dell Technologies President and General Manager Jeff Boudreau.
“There are some future innovations coming that we’re working on right now with VMware,” said Boudreau, who leads Dell’s $34 billion Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) which includes servers, storage and hyperconverged infrastructure, in an interview with CRN. “There are things across the portfolio, both our Client Solutions Group and ISG, where we are putting solutions together that are going to be better together with VMware.”
Although Boudreau declined to comment specifically on reports that Dell Technologies is considering spinning off its majority 81 percent stake in VMware buying the rest of the stake in the virtualization leader, he said Dell has a “great relationship with VMware and I see that persisting in the long run.”
Boudreau also spoke about how Dell Technologies hybrid cloud strategy stacks up against Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s GreenLake.
“We held and gain share in every single market while others eroded at probably some of the fastest rates in the market if you look at storage or compute. So we’re going in different directions. One is going up, and one is going down,” he said.
In an interview with CRN, Boudreau talks about Dell’s future with VMware, competition against HPE and the slew of new innovations launched over the past two months. “My team is about 14,000-strong in ISG. About 90 percent of those are software engineers and they’re just crushing it right now,” he said.
Any comment on Dell Technologies reportedly looking to either spin off or buy the remaining stake in VMware?
[Dell Technologies founder and CEO] Michael Dell is brilliant and a fantastic leader. I can’t say enough of Michael’s business vision. Hypothetically, I can’t respond to that question. I can’t go there. What I can tell you is we’re going to stay focused on our purpose, our vision and our strategy -- that’s not changing. We’re going to be the essential technology company in the data era and beyond. We have a great relationship with VMware and I see that persisting in the long run.
We’ve done some great stuff innovating across Dell Technologies like with VMware Cloud Foundation, but also things like NSX, VxRail and Dell Technologies Cloud -- those are all co-innovations between us and VMware. You’re going to see more of that.
Are you talking about brand new products or doubling down on existing products like VxRail and Workspace ONE in terms of Dell-VMware integrations ahead?
The answer is all of the above. There’s a double down on specific things that we are doing across the entire portfolio – from both the Client Solutions Group (CSG) and ISG side. For example on the CSG side, what we’re doing with Workspace ONE. VMware’s Rajiv [Ramaswami, chief operating officer, products and cloud services] and I are tied at the hip in everything we’re doing. A lot of it starts around the Dell Technologies Cloud, it starts with VMware Cloud Foundation and what we’re doing with VxRail. So you’ll see a lot of doubling down there.
In addition to that across the portfolio, as I’ve said before, we are better together and tighter with VMware. You’re actually going to see new key linkages. You saw with PowerStore last month the integration into the ecosystem of VMware and some of the unique capabilities we’re doing with VMware in regards to traditional storage as well.
I can’t say too much, but there are some future innovations coming that we’re working on right now with VMware. There are things across the portfolio, both CSG and ISG, where we are putting solutions together that are going to be better together with VMware. There’s areas where we are going to double down on co-innovations, so things like VxRail, Dell Technologies Cloud and some of our traditional stuff. Then, there’s a wave of new things we’re working on which I can’t into details on because I might get in trouble.
How does the Dell Technologies Cloud stack up against HPE GreenLake?
I recently saw some nice FUD from [HPE] come out, I always enjoy that. Being an engineer at heart, I’m very data driven. First thing I always look at is, what is the data telling us? Looking at our results versus theirs, completely different stories. We held and gain share in every single market while others eroded at probably some of the fastest rates in the market if you look at storage or compute. So we’re going in different directions. One is going up, and one is going down. The art of deflection is good on their part.
What’s one big differentiation Dell Technologies Cloud has over HPE GreenLake?
What we’ve done with Google Cloud Platform, that’s an offer they don’t even have – let’s be very clear about that. What we’re doing with Isilon and OneFS and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is having native capabilities in an industry leading offer directed for our customers who are using both on-premise and off-premise. Having our Isilon OneFS operational experience and advanced data services—both on-premise and off-premise – and having that unique connection is something that they don’t even offer and they can’t do.
If you look at the numbers that Google put out, not us, you’ll see OneFS performance around things like high performance computing (HPC) and some of the things going on in unstructured data, it’s just crazy how fast that thing is in regards to what it can do. So if you’re thinking about HPC and unstructured, this is unmatched in the industry. There’s nobody else out there that has anything like it – that’s Google’s words, not mine. I’ll leave it at that.
Why should a channel partner choose Dell Technologies Cloud over HPE GreenLake?
You can see the offers that we have in ecoengineering with VMware around Dell Technologies Cloud, the offers with VxRail, our offers with VMware Cloud Foundation, you can see the partnerships we have at Dell Technologies with Amazon and Google and Microsoft Azure around providing the much needed simplicity that our customers are looking for.
We’ve been in the market for some period of time now. Our offers speak for themselves, the market data speaks for itself, our customer base and our partners speak for itself. There’s definitely a flight-to-quality here and people need to be aware of that. What I mean when I say ‘flight-to-quality’ is, vendors that people can bet on that will stay with them during good times and bad times regardless whether it’s around the supply chain, the infrastructure, around the financing – people that will be there as a strategic partner. I’ll let the data speak for itself in regards to that. I’m really excited what we have to offer our partners and our customers.
Dell has launched eight new products, from HCI to software and storage, since May. Talk about this innovation engine at Dell during COVID-19?
About 90 percent of the team, out of about 165,000 team members at Dell, are now working from home. That pretty much happened over a weekend. We are doing an amazing job in regards to what they’re doing to support our customer, partners and themselves.
The innovation engine has not skipped a beat. My team is about 14,000 strong in ISG. About 90 percent of those are software engineers and they’re just crushing it right now. I couldn’t be prouder. We had some unprecedented demand dynamics both on the client and infrastructure side.
I have more engineers working on new platforms and new innovation right now than I’ve ever have, which is leading for better outcomes and experience for our customers. You’ve see that with all the Power brands we’re rolling out right now. We started with simplification with PowerEdge, then PowerMax in the high-end storage and PowerVault in the entry space. Those are all three-industry leading in their respective markets. We launched PowerSwitch for networking, PowerProtect for data protection, and PowerOne for autonomous infrastructure around converged infrastructure. In the last two or three months, we’ve had eight new releases. They go well beyond just the Power brands. The Power brands is one piece but it’s a lot more of that.
How important was the launch of PowerStore?
PowerStore is now our leading midrange offer targeting the largest and fastest growing segment of the external storage market which is the midrange space. I’m bullish on what PowerStore can do, not only from its current features and functions, but the underlying architecture and what it can bring us for the long run. No one else in the industry can match us as we go forward. The innovation is going to fly out because of the underlying architecture and how fast we can move things on PowerStore. I have over 1,000 engineers working on PowerStore and 85 percent are software engineers who are cranking away at PowerStore. There’s going to be a rapid cadence of more and more goodness coming out.
Talk about Dell’s new PowerScale and integration with Google Cloud.
We’re advancing our industry-leading capability with PowerScale, taking our leading scale-out NAS capabilities to a whole new level. It’s really helping customer tame the growth in the unstructured data space. That’s where most of the industry growth is coming from, both file and object, we have a key asset there. We built DataIQ as part of that. It’s about dataset management software. This is going to allow us to help businesses find and take action across file and object, really all unstructured data, that could be on-premise or in the cloud. It could be a Dell Technologies asset or a competitor asset. So it’s really some cool technology that allows us to open a lot more doors for our customers and helping them with their ease of data management.
In addition to that, we deliver the fully integrated native cloud file services with Google. It was our OneFS software with Google Cloud Platform. I’ll tell you, with PowerScale, OneFS and GCP we are getting some phenomenal feedback. Between PowerScale, OneFS, the cloud and GCP, it’s been a great story for that hybrid world and our customers are really embracing it.
Dell just launched PowerFlex. Talk about its importance.
PowerFlex just came out, it was previously known as VxFlex. It’s our next step into the software-defined offerings which is really bringing flexibility to our software-defined infrastructure and software-defined storage. It allows customers to mix and match different things at scale. Think two-layer disaggregated architectures: high performance computing and bare metal, single-layer HCI infrastructure for large scale around compute and storage and for large consolidation. It can handle any workload and any applications. It’s another big wave of the Power portfolio. Whether if it’s software-defined, purpose-built, converged, hyperconverged or cloud, we have an offer to support our customers going across that board.
What’s your bullish thoughts on Dell product roadmap and vision?
You’re going to see more and more around tight integration across our portfolio. We’re going to meet and exceed customer expectations. We have the IP and talent. This drumbeat of innovation that you’ve seen – eight launches in two or three months – it’s not going to slow down, it’s going to continue. We’re in a position of strength as a company. You’re going to see us pivot a bit more in regard to some of these more broader solutions around data management, around the edge, Teclo’s – there’s a lot more coming.
You think about the old infrastructure complexity when everything was on-premise where you had multiple vendors, you’re seeing that exact same thing in cloud – we have to help simplify that. So the things we’re doing with VMware and Tanzu, are big pieces of that. Data management is front and center for our customers, there’s emerging opportunities around edge and Telco – these are some areas we’re going to lean into more around innovation. Its about helping customer realize the full potential of their data. As a company, our purpose is to create technology and innovation to help drive human progress. We’re doing that. I’m working with some of the greatest minds in technology in helping solve cancer or helping solve COVID-19, there’s a lot of things we have going on. I couldn’t be more optimistic of where we’re going.


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Earlier on this week the Economist let us know that the television industry in the US had delivered the last of its 'upfront' presentations, so ending days of inviting potential advertisers to parties to meet visiting celebs and to watch trailers and pilots of forthcoming shows, in an attempt to persuade them to part with their money. The report pointed out that the amount spent during the upfronts is "one of the TV businesses' most important tests", and that with falling TV ratings and thus fewer eyeballs on ads, "it has not passed with flying colours". The worry now is, the Economist says, that marketers may switch to online platforms, turning away from TV: as the report says, "television is no longer the only star of the show".
The growth of online advertising is hardly a new thing: Facebook barely existed a decade ago, but in 2014 it attracted more than $5 billion in ad spend in the United States. Likewise, changes in the way we watch TV have attracted comment for ages, as audiences, faced with a plethora of viewing options, have splintered. In 2010, for example, the top-ranked non-sports show in the United Kingdom was the X Factor, with 17.8 million watching at its peak ; by 2014 the highest ranking want to the final of Bake Off, with more than 4 million fewer viewers, and X Factor not even in the top ten. The media landscape is clearly shifting.
But television is certainly not dead and buried. As the Economist makes clear, TV advertising spend was $67 billion in the US last year, still significantly higher than $44 billion for online. And a recent report by MHP's client Freeview points out that in the United Kingdom at least watching television remains a national obsession with 33 million Brits describing themselves as 'TV addicts'. The reality anyway will not be 'either or', since television shows drive online to share, and tweet, and comment, and blog - and view those online ads. Any marketing guru will tell you that, of course, fully integrated 'traditional' and online campaigns are increasingly the norm.
Speaking of integration, there is another area of communications that we haven't even mentioned yet. According to the most recent Holmes Report (covering 2013) said that global spending on PR was up to $12.5 billion, continuing the period of strong growth. Despite the challenges brought by the same changing media landscape, it would be a surprise if 2014 had not seen a further rise, not least in online PR spend. This means that public relations is well and truly in the mix alongside TV, online and other forms of advertising. But again, this should not be viewed as an 'either or': the best brand campaigns are fully integrated between PR and advertising, and campaigns to bolster corporate reputation or to drive public behaviour change are more and more being conducted above and below the line, with PRs and ad guys collaborating to produce engaging content and deliver impactful programmes.
There are changes afoot that all of us in communications need to confront. So do those who report on our sector. The biggest change of all is the need to stop thinking of competition between television and online, or between above the line and below. We should think instead about collaboration, cooperation and integration, and the significant results that we can achieve together.


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Qi Tea releases wellness range
Australian tea-maker, Qi Tea which makes organic, green and white teas has released a new range that claims to “refresh and cleanse the body.”
The three blends are made up of-
- QiWellness Tea
- Qi Detox Tea
- Qi Relax
The Qi Wellness tea is a berry fusion that combines blueberry, pomegranate and hawthorn fruits to promote its antioxidant qualities.
The company says that it’s a “naturally sweet and mellow tasting green tea base.”
Qi Detox s a green tea made up of milk thistle, dandelion root, ginger, lemon and a hint of peppermint.
Qi Relax is a modern take on chai. It combines ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, ginger and a hint of orange.
Unlike chai, Qi Relax does not need milk or sugar.
Wellness and Detox are available in Coles, Woolworths, IGA, FoodWorks stores and selected specialty retail stores across Australia, as well as online at www.qitea.com.au.
Relax is only available in Coles and online at www.qitea.com.au
The recommended retail price of each product is AUD $5.15
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Farmers Union Iced Coffee will be rebranding, but only for a limited-time.
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Rockstar: Single-player attracts bigger audiences than multiplayer
It's strange that the co-founder of Rockstar Games, which is about to launch Grand Theft Auto Online next month, would say that single-player is a better deal than multiplayer.
"I think the well-executed multiplayer game clearly attracts a big audience, but it doesn't attract as big an audience as in a single-player game," Dan Houser told Polygon. "It just doesn't do that yet."
GTA Online offers a multiplayer experience for up to 16 people at once in a persistent online world. It's easy to think of that as the long-term investment — and the real reason people play — but Houser would know the difference: Grand Theft Auto 5, a single-player game, has already made more than $1 billion.
"Not everybody, not even with Call of Duty, not everyone is playing the multiplayer," he said. "There's a huge audience for people who love single-player adventures."
Short single-player games struggle, he said, especially when they don't have multiplayer. But big single-player or multiplayer-focused games can thrive if they're good.
Still, multiplayer is an important extension of GTA 5. "I think we feel passionately about open-world games," said Houser. "What we like about open-world games is that a lot of the qualities of it are not unique to single-player."
Releasing both parts separately allows them to become distinct experiences and lets the team focus on getting each right without compromising quality.
"I think that separating it out will just help people look at it as different products in their own mind a bit more and really give it a good chance to try and play it and enjoy it," he said.


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Chinese internet behemoth Baidu started public tests of its self-driving car fleet in Wuzhen. The Smurf-blue cars were manufactured by the Chinese car companies BYD, Chery and BAIC and are equipped with a series of sensors, including Lidars, cameras, and radars. The Lidars are from Palo Alto-based Velodyne, which recently closed a funding round from Ford and Baidu.
The vehicles drive along a three Kilometer long road in Wuzhen, which is a popular tourist destination half-way between Shanghai and Hangzhou. To prepare for the tests, the city had to be mapped first down to a centimeter.
Riders can order the cars, which has still an engineer in the driver seat to interfere in case of a malfunction and emergency. The cars drive up to speeds of 60 km/h, can pass slower cars, cross intersections, and change lanes. Similar to the Uber-tests in Pittsburgh, riders get information on a screen about the ride.
Baidu plans to offer the cars commercially in 2018. Since this year Baidu started testing autonomous vehicles in California, as we reported here.


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Graph Expo Must See 'Ems 2016 Legacy Award Recognizes Xerox DocuColor iGen3
ORLANDO, Fla. — September 26, 2016 — After two rounds of voting, the Must See 'Ems Selection Committee announced the Xerox DocuColor iGen3 Digital Production Press the 2016 Must See 'Ems Legacy Award winner for representing a technology that has had a significant, lasting, and continuing influence on the graphic communications industry. The selection was announced and the award presented at the conclusion of the 2016 Executive Outlook Conference on Sunday, Sept. 25 immediately prior to the show opening of Graph Expo 16, which runs through Sept. 28, 2016 at the Orange County Convention Center-North in Orlando, Fla.
The iGen3, a Must See 'Ems Award winner in 2001, was chosen by a selection committee of industry experts, journalists, and consultants who were tasked with singling out a former Must See 'Ems product that has motivated and inspired real innovation and change.
"When this product was introduced to the graphic communications industry it received immediate acclaim," says NPES President Thayer Long. "Since that time it has helped engineer a sea-change in the industry by proving that production digital imaging could compete in speed, quality, and productivity with the then-dominant offset technology."
Comments from members of the Selection Committee included:
- "The dominance of modular, medium-format production presses with field-replaceable components was assured by the popularity and efficacy of the iGen3."
- "The iGen franchise is still performing strongly and it helped to launch that line of production equipment to mainstream status."
- "Xerox showed that the science of digital imaging could be applied in a workable, practical way to a printing press that emulated the look, size, speed, and quality of the standard of the day-offset printing. The iGen3 became the paradigm that directed digital press design from the time of its development to today."
For more information about the annual Must See 'Ems product and technology recognition program visit: www.mustseeems.com.
About Graph Expo 16
Recognized as the most innovative and comprehensive exhibition in the Americas of inkjet, digital, offset, flexo, gravure and hybrid technologies, products, and services for the commercial, transactional, converting and package printing, signage and display, publishing, mailing, in-plant, digital imaging, marketing, and industrial printing industries, this year's "Refresh" themed GRAPH EXPO 16 offers an exciting show-going experience for a diverse spectrum of attendees. The industry event presents the latest graphic communications technologies in live equipment demonstrations across the exhibition floor, plus education on the most in-demand products and newest profit-making opportunities. GRAPH EXPO 16 offers more than 70 interactive learning sessions and 40+ co-located events for attendees across 12 key market segments.
About Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC)
Graph Expo and PRINT are the largest and most comprehensive graphic communications trade shows and conferences in the Americas and are produced by the Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC). GASC is owned by Idealliance (formerly Epicomm), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies (NPES), and the Printing Industries of America. GASC is managed and directed by NPES from their headquarters located at 1899 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191 USA, telephone: (703) 264-7200, fax: (703) 620-9187, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org, www.gasc.org.


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Hard Rock International is a company with almost 50 years of experience and is one of the world’s leaders in hospitality and entertainment.
In 2020, Hard Rock Digital was born as a joint venture with this globally known brand and gaming industry veterans, with the idea of conquering the market through its online sports betting and interactive gaming!
As one step towards that path, the operator teamed up with The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise (NNGE) to launch the Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app in Arizona!
The mobile app will provide easier access to the sportsbook section, along with bets on the most popular sports events, as well as approach to the promotions and the customer support team.
This platform will include more sports to bet on pre-match or live as well as new reward features!
The Hard Rock Sportsbook mobile app is available both on Android and iOS and can be used by players who are physically located in Arizona and who are at least 21 years old.
The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise noted, on the other hand, that mobile sports betting is not permitted on tribal lands in accordance with the Navajo Nation and Arizona State Gaming Compact.
Words from the Reps
“Arizona has a rich sports culture, and we are proud to enter the state with our great partners at Navajo Gaming,” Marlon Goldstein, Executive Managing Director and CEO for Hard Rock Digital, said.
“We are excited to debut our new platform, which players of all experience levels will appreciate for its ease of use, unique features and robust gaming options. Legendary service is part of Hard Rock’s ethos, and we believe our commitment to customer support will help us stand out in this competitive market.”
Brian Parrish, Interim Chief Executive Officer for the NNGE, gave a comment: “We could not be more pleased or proud of our partnership with Hard Rock Digital. The quality and functionality of the mobile platform is outstanding, and we are anticipating great opportunities to cross-market the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise with a premiere gaming-hospitality operator and the world-renowned Hard Rock brand.”
About Hard Rock International
HRI is a company headquartered in South Florida, owned by The Seminole Tribe of Florida.
It is one of the world’s most popular brands with as many as 248 locations in 76 countries! This multi-award-winning company owns, licenses and operates hotels, casinos, rock shops, hard rock live cafes and concerts halls.
“Mobile Hard Rock Sportsbook launches in Arizona”, gamingamerica.com, April 8, 2022.
The post Hard Rock Sportsbook Mobile App Available For Players in Arizona first appeared on RealMoneyAction.com.


text: The first-ever Megadeth Boot Camp — which was described in a press release as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the ultimate Megadeth fan” — took place March 10-12 on Dave Mustaine‘s private estate in Fallbrook, California. As part of the boot camp package, fans attending were treated to a wine tasting event at nearby South Coast Winery where Mustaine wine is currently produced. Wine served at the special event included Blood Of Heroes 2011 Syrah, Hook In Mouth 2013 Red Blend, and Kingmaker 2013 Red Blend. A big thanks to our friends at South Coast for hosting an incredible afternoon! You can order Mustaine Vineyards’ wine here.


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BVRLA reports declining market share for business contract hire
08 February 2019
Author: Sean Keywood
The share of the car leasing market attributed to business contract hire (BCH) fell during 2018, according to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).
The organisation's leasing broker statistics show that year-on-year BCH's market share fell from 42% to 38%, while 57% of cars were under personal contract hire agreements.
Overall, the leasing market grew by 10% in 2018, with the total number of contracts standing at 316,205.
BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: "Vehicle leasing remains strong as drivers continue to move away from vehicle ownership to usership and look for cleaner, more affordable vehicles.
"These latest figures reflect the fact that members are dealing more with personal customers than ever before.
"Although business customers continue to be vital, the growth appears to be in the business-to-consumer market and that affords some great opportunities for our members."


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WASHINGTON — Bangladesh and Vietnam posted the largest increases in apparel and textile imports to the U.S. in July compared with a year earlier, driving the increase in combined shipments for the month, a report from the U.S. Commerce Department showed Wednesday.
Combined shipments from the world to the U.S. rose 4.8 percent to 5.2 billion square meter equivalents in July from a year earlier. Apparel imports were up 6.5 percent to 2.4 billion SME, while textile imports gained 3.4 percent to 2.8 billion SME, according to Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel.
"You start one way as a baby, but why shouldn't you be able to choose your own path as opposed to culturally people telling you which way to go?" - Thom Browne at his men's spring 2018 show, where he celebrated gender fluidity. #pfw #wwdmens (📷: @delphineachard)
"I think that all anyone really wants in life is to have people understand us for who we actually are, despite everything," says Ruth Negga. The actress talks "Preachers" season 2 and more on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: Dan Doperalski)


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After a sales slowdown during the recession forced him to close the high-end eatery L'explorateur, Neal Brown mulled
a move into Neopolitan-style pizza with friendlier price points. The result—Pizzology Pizzeria & Pub—is off
to a profitable start.
A mix of business and personal woes have pushed Steven Carter Ross, the longtime owner and manager of the Vogue nightclub,
into personal bankruptcy. Now a judge must decide whether Ross can keep the popular Broad Ripple music venue, or if he must
sell it to satisfy his creditors and his estranged wife.
The bar, which isn’t yet named, will be Baker & Daniels lawyer Trevor Belden’s first bar.
An Indiana legislative committee recommends carryout sales of alcohol remain banned on Sundays, and liquor stores stay the
only place to buy cold beer.
Supporters and foes of repealing Indiana’s ban on Sunday take-out alcohol sales made their cases before a group of lawmakers yesterday in a preview of what could be a divisive debate in the next legislative session.
Supporters and foes of repealing Indiana’s ban on Sunday take-out alcohol sales plan to make their case before a group of
Restaurateur Paul Murzyn has signed a lease for the 8,700-square-foot, first-floor
space at 201 S. Meridian St., a historic building with luxury condos upstairs.
Plans are in the works for a wine bar called Tastings that would take the first-floor corner space at the Conrad Indianapolis.
The $1 million project would add an entrance to the luxury hotel at the northeast corner of Washington
and Illinois streets and include a total of 80 outdoor seats along both streets, in the shadow of the
Coaches Tavern, MacNiven’s Restaurant and Bar, and The Jazz Kitchen are among Indianapolis bars that recently limited or banned
smoking. Those establishments join a short list of bars that already buck the trend in Indianapolis. Smoking in public places,
including restaurants, has been banned in Marion County since 2006, but it’s still OK to puff away in places that don’t admit
By preserving residency as a condition to distribute booze, our Legislature is protecting Indiana’s existing liquor distributors, many of whom do business in neighboring states like Illinois and Michigan. This antiquated standard is anti-competitive and ultimately means higher prices and reduced selection for Indiana residents.
After four years, the Red Room club in Broad Ripple is switching its salsa night from Wednesday to Thursday and local salseros are worried about stepping on some toes.
Many Broad Ripple business owners say the neighborhood is an oasis for eclectic and independent small entrepreneurial ventures.
If Indianapolis is going to be a first-class city, it needs to have a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law.
Since mid-2005, Brugge Brasserie’s beer tanks have been operating at full capacity–pouring out 400 barrels of its signature
Belgian brew each year. Now the Broad Ripple gastro-pub is aiming higher. Brugge owner Ted Miller is set to start producing
a line of 10 bottled beers–plus seasonal specialties.


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Carnival Corporation to sell existing shares over time in the London stock market. Carnival Corporation and Carnival Investments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, intend to sell existing Carnival plc ordinary shares that they hold in the UK market. Depending on market conditions, Carnival Corporation and Carnival Investments Limited over time will sell up to 32,000,000 ordinary shares of Carnival plc in this program. Under the terms of the articles of association of Carnival plc the ordinary shares sold by Carnival Corporation and Carnival Investments Limited will, once held outside of the Carnival Corporation group, become re-enfranchised for voting purposes. The ordinary shares will be sold from time to time in the UK in "at the market" transactions at times when the Carnival Corporation common stock is trading at a discount to Carnival plc shares. Carnival Corporation & plc intends to use the net proceeds of the Carnival plc Share Sales to repurchase Carnival Corporation common stock on at least an equivalent basis in the U.S. market ("Stock Swap Repurchase"), and to use the remaining net proceeds, if any, for general corporate purposes. Carnival Corporation & plc only intends to trade where it will derive an economic benefit from the Carnival plc Share Sales and Carnival Corporation Stock Swap Repurchase program.
Carnival Corporation appoints new non-exec director to serve on health, environment, safety & security committees At the annual shareholders meeting of Carnival Corporation & plc held in Miami Beach, Fla., shareholders elected a new member to the company's board of directors – Debra Kelly-Ennis, president and chief executive officer of Diageo Canada, Inc. Kelly-Ennis will serve in a non-executive capacity on Carnival Corporation & plc's 14-member board
Carnival Corporation announced that the severe weather caused by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent port closures resulted in the cancellation of one voyage and the shortening of two voyages, as well as other voyage disruptions and related costs, for the company's Carnival Cruise Lines brand. In addition, Carnival Cruise Lines has two vessels, the Carnival Conquest and Sensation, which homeported out of New Orleans. Given the tremendous damage to New Orleans
Rick Meadows, 37, formerly vice president of sales and marketing for Windstar Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL), has transferred to the parent company assuming the position of vice president of marketing. In this capacity, Meadows' responsibilities include evaluating potential e-marketing opportunities and further developing the World's Leading Cruise Lines, the marketing association for Carnival Corporation's six cruise brands
Tom Dow, a 28-year travel industry veteran, has been named vice president - public affairs for Miami-based Carnival Corporation & plc. In this newly created position, Dow serves as Carnival Corporation & plc's liaison to federal and state governments and local communities in North America. He also serves as Carnival Corporation & plc's representative for industry organizations such as the International Council of Cruise Lines
Carnival Corporation & plc Required Announcement on Financial Impact of Costa Concordia. Carnival Corporation & plc has commented on the financial impact resulting from the grounding of the Costa Concordia. "At this time, our priority is the safety of our passengers and crew," said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO. "We are deeply saddened by this tragic event and our hearts go out to everyone affected by the
Carnival Corporation & plc has assigned the newbuild slot for the previously announced 116,000-ton cruise ship to U.K.-based P&O Cruises. To be built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, the vessel is scheduled to enter service in spring 2008. The new 3,100-passenger vessel will become the largest cruise ship specifically built for British cruise service and continues Carnival's ongoing European expansion strategy. An itinerary for this vessel has not been announced.
The European Commission (EC) issued a Press Release
Carnival Corporation & and Orizonia Corporacion announced that they have finalized the agreements for a previously announced multi-ship cruise brand serving the Spanish market. The transaction is expected to close on September 14, 2007, with Carnival owning 75 percent of the joint venture and Orizonia owning 25 percent. The new joint venture company will be consolidated into Carnival Corporation & plc's financial results starting in the fourth quarter 2007
The statement of Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc, parent company of Costa Cruises: We are deeply saddened by the reports of additional deaths following the grounding of the Costa Concordia. On behalf of the entire Carnival Corporation & plc team, I offer our heartfelt condolences to all of those families affected by this tragedy. Our immediate priority continues to be supporting rescue and recovery efforts and looking after our
Survivors of the Costa Concordia grounding win a huge victory in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The District Judge ordered the claims of 104 survivors remanded to the Florida State Court for continued litigation.
OceanGuard Ballast Water Management System (BWMS), developed and manufactured by Headway Technology Co. Ltd., has been installed on board Aida Stella, a Carnival luxury cruise vessel. Aida Stella is the first order and application among in Germany for Headway
Carnival Cruise Lines implements enhancements to emergency power capabilities, fire safety technology, & improved operating redundancies across its fleet. The cruise lines say that this enhancement program, is to cost more than $300 million, and rapid upgrades have already begun.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation said in a news release that Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) sent letters to the three largest cruise liners about their passenger safety, security, and health practices. Chairman Rockefeller’s letters to Carnival, Royal Caribbean
Ronai & Ronai, LLP, Counsel for the family of deceased Hungarian musician Szandor Fehrer & Hungarian survivors of the Costa Concordia disaster, issue statement on Captain Schettino's recent apology The statement is as follows:
Alan Hill, a 19-year veteran of the Broward County Port Everglades Department, has been named as its new Director of Administration In his new position, Hill will oversee procurement, property management, contract administration, business permits, franchises, human resources, labor relations
New York law firm Ronai & Ronai file a compensation claim on behalf of a victim of the 'Costa Concordia' shipwreck. The federal lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of the family of Hungarian violinist Sandor Feher
Swiss watchmaker Hublot has been appointed as official timekeeper aboard Seabourn cruise ships. Seabourn guests on board the line's six cruise ships will now be kept abreast of the current ship's time by means of Hublot wall clocks. Seabourn Quest Captain Geir-Arne Thue Nilsen welcomed
Carnival Corporation appoints Costa Cruises Chairman Pier Luigi Foschi to oversee the company's growth strategies within the Asian region. In his role as chairman and chief executive officer of the new Carnival Asia unit, Foschi will be responsible for establishing Carnival Corporation &
Germany’s Raytheon Anschütz won a contract to supply NautoSteer Advanced Steering Gear Control Systems to two prototype cruise ships being built at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard for Carnival Corporation. The new ships will operate under their Princess Cruises brand, and at 141
Carnival Corporation & plc orders new ships, one each for Its Holland America Line and Carnival Cruise Lines brands. A memorandum of agreement has been signed with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the construction of a 2,660-passenger ship for Holland America Line scheduled for delivery
Carnival Corporation & plc reports fourth quarter and full year earnings 2012. Carnival Corporation & plc Chairman and CEO Micky Arison noted that fourth quarter earnings on a non-GAAP basis were better than anticipated in the company's September guidance
9 cruise industry associations to operate under a common organization with a unified structure to better serve the industry. The new association was created to provide increased benefits and a globally unified voice for cruise lines, travel agents and business partners – all of whom
Carnival Corporation contracts with JOWA Technology & JOWA WFE for equipment supply, installation & product training throughout its cruise fleet. Carnival representatives believe that the automated fuel switching system by JOWA Technology can save fuel by optimising fuel
Carnival dispatches a third tugboat, from Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to further assist the disabled cruise ship toward Mobile, ALA. The company has also announced further compensation of US$500 for the 3,143 passengers aboard the Carnival Triumph in addition to a full refund of the cruise along


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Take a bow, Navya Naveli Nanda. Navya is a member of Bollywood’s next generation, as she is Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter and friends with Suhana Khan, who aspires to be an actress, Shanaya Kapoor, who is set to make her acting debut soon, and Ananya Panday, who debuted in the industry in 2019.
Navya Naveli Nanda, unlike her peers, is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Aara Health and the NGO Project Naveli. Navya responded to an Instagram user on Tuesday, who called a recent photo of her ‘beautiful’ and suggested she consider joining Bollywood. Navya, who expressed gratitude to the user, couldn’t help but make her point in response: ‘Thank you for your kind words but beautiful women can run businesses too.’ Mic drop.
Navya Naveli Nanda graduated from Fordham University in New York last year, and along with co-founder Mallika Sahney launched Aara Health, an online healthcare portal. Aara Health is a campaign dedicated to increasing women’s health awareness. Navya also recently launched Aara Wellness, a new initiative. Meanwhile, Project Naveli aims to empower women by addressing the issue of gender inequality in India.


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In the Wall Street Journal (sorry, no link available), Kevin J. Delaney explains how companies of all sizes are mining search engine data to come up with innovative new product and service offerings. In one example, Austin-based National Instruments found that engineers were searching for hardware products with the search term “USB” (Universal Serial Bus), so the company decided to start selling new versions of its products with USB interfaces instead of requiring users to install new circuit boards inside their desktop PCs. Very smart. In another example, Siemens Medical Solutions decided to base the name of its new personal health-card product based largely on search-related data gleaned from Yahoo and Google.
Search engine companies like Google and Yahoo actually seem to be encouraging users to explore all their search data, confident that they can convince users to pay even more for highly-targeted advertising solutions. A senior manager for Google Analytics, for example, compares the search data during a certain time period to “online votes” for product features and service offerings. The more votes (i.e. search queries), the greater the likelihood of success. In one example, Google thinks it can predict box office revenue based on a comparative study of search queries for certain movies. (Maybe this is over-simplifying things, but people searching for “big,” “fat,” “Greek” and “wedding” would be interested in a film like My Big Fat Greek Wedding?)
[image: Pickers Getting Coal From Waste Dump]


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Amazon, the biggest online retailer in the world, is apparently intending to join the Web3 market with a series of “digital assets enterprise” activities that involve encouraging Amazon consumers to play cryptocurrency games and rewarding them with NFTs.
The retail behemoth has been purchasing digital collectibles businesses from various participants in the crypto ecosystem, according to sources consulted by the media outlet Blockworks, to fuel its new initiative.
Amazon has engaged developers from NFT companies and crypto exchanges and invested in layer-1 blockchains and crypto gaming startups for its own blockchain branch.
Amazon to enter Web3 gaming with Ava Labs.
According to a story from January 26th, Amazon is developing a business that specializes in digital assets. According to reports, the project’s central component will be Web3 gaming, and gamers will receive NFTs as incentives. According to the article, Amazon’s effort is still in its early phases of development, and the company plans to announce it in April officially.
Although it is unknown if the company is dedicated to any of them, it is said that this is simply one of Amazon’s Web3-focused projects. But over the past few years, the corporation has significantly increased its focus on digital assets.
More recently, it was made public that Amazon and Ava Labs had a “cooperation” through AWS.
CEO’s words on NFT
The corporation will eventually sell NFTs, according to Andy Jassy, the new CEO of Amazon, who spoke on CNBC’s Squawkbox in April last year.
“I expect that NFTs will continue to grow very significantly. We’re probably not close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business, but I believe over time that you’ll see crypto become bigger,” he said.


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Olga's Kitchen looks to future, stays true to heritage
- Olga Loizon of Birmingham opened Olga's Kitchen in 1970, selling souvlaki sandwiches
- In 1971, Loizon was bought out by a group of investors and would later become Olga's Kitchen Inc
- At it's peak, the chain had 56 restaurants in 11 states. It now has 33 restaurants, most in Michigan
- The chain plans to begin franchising in new markets in the next 5 years.
In 1970, against her husband's wishes, Olga Loizon opened a tiny shop at the Continental Market in Birmingham with her son Bill, selling souvlaki to customers eager for the previously unheard of Greek sandwich.
"My space was 11-by-10," said Loizon of Birmingham. "When my son would be cutting the meat, I'd be sitting there rolling the dough and we'd be bumping fannies."
Nearly 45 years later, Olga's Kitchen Inc. is a thriving chain of restaurants selling sandwiches that are still based on Loizon's original concept and her fresh baked gyro bread. After years of consolidation since the mid-'90s, the privately-held Troy-based company is poised to expand with its first new franchises expected in Chicago, Philadelphia and other parts of the Midwest within the next five years. Loizon no longer has a financial stake in the company, but she remains the face of Olga's Kitchen.
At its height in the 1980s, there were 56 restaurants in 11 states, as far away as Texas, Oklahoma, California and Maryland. But by 1997, the company's sluggish sales forced the closure of many out-of-state stores and the remodel of many locations at home.
The restaurant chain is getting back into the franchise world at the perfect time, said David Steinberg, counsel at Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss P.C. in Southfield.
"The market right now for franchising is really good," said Steinberg, who works with companies to handle the legal aspects of their franchising plans. "It's been things all the way from plumbing to haircuts. It's been encouraging to get the phone calls from people who are interested in expanding."
Although he's never worked with Olga's Kitchen, he says the company has a winning formula and proven success.
With more than 1,000 employees working at 33 restaurants, including 30 in Michigan, one in Ohio and two in Illinois, it's all a bit overwhelming for the woman who remembers the struggles of the early days.
"It was very hard," said Loizon. "I can smile about it now, but there were a lot of tears at the time."
'I'm going to be a success'
It started with one souvlaki machine that Loizon brought back after taking her three children to Greece. Then she added the broiled beef and lamb meat, a blend of three cheeses and garlic and cayenne pepper powder all wrapped up in that flat bread and smothered in her signature tangy greek yogurt. It didn't take long before people began lining up for a taste.
"I got the idea from Greece," said Loizon. "I figured if my American-born children were going crazy over this sandwich and we didn't have anything like this here, there was a real opportunity."
Not everyone bought into the idea at first, including her husband, John, a successful Birmingham architect. The two would argue late into the night to the point where Loizon was too anxious to sleep.
When she went to the owner of the Continental Market, wanting space to lease, his secretary scoffed at her description of what would become the signature sandwich.
"She said, 'That sounds horrible! Nobody's is going to buy that kind of a sandwich here,' " a still-miffed Loizon recalls. "I turned and looked at her and said, 'I don't know who you are, and right now I don't care who you are. I'm going to be a success.'"
In 1971, a year after she started the shop, she was bought out by a group of investors who had tasted her food at a catered party and loved the concept. By 1976, Olga's Kitchen Inc. was established and has continued bringing Loizon's recipes and name across Metro Detroit.
At 88, Loizon remains a sort of figurehead for the company and is still asked for her input on menu items, even though she ultimately doesn't have any control over it. She frequently visits the restaurants to talk to customers. She still loves the food, always choosing to order her sandwich "Olga's way," the same way she always served them back in the day.
"I wouldn't give up because I knew Birmingham was ready for this," said Loizon. "Ready for something new and something different."
The restaurant chain is a privately held company, so it isn't required to disclose sales figures. Loredana Gianino, marketing manager for Olga's Kitchen, said it is against company policy to release that information.
Olga's, like many chain restaurants, has been experiencing tougher times as the economy continues to recover and people are more careful about spending on luxuries like eating out.
"The whole restaurant industry is feeling the pain," said Gianino. "But part of what makes us a success is that we have three generations of Olga's lovers."
The menu has gone through major changes. For the first few decades, Olga's stuck to gyro-style sandwiches, Greek salads, soft drinks and sides, like its snackers (fried and seasoned pita bread), spinach pie and french fries. Over the last few years, though, the chain has diversified its menu in all directions, offering more sophisticated sandwiches and salads, and additional appetizers like bruschetta, sweet potato fries and hummus.
The franchises will most likely be in the fast casual model of the Royal Oak Olga's on Woodward south of 13 Mile. This allows patrons to get in and out quicker, but still provides a seating space for those who want to linger and enjoy their meals in a restaurant setting.
Steinberg says Olga's is one of many restaurants switching to that model.
"In the last 20 years, there's been a movement toward quicker service, especially for lunch service," he said. "Some of the restaurants where you have to sit there for a long time to be served, people are not going to them as often or only going for dinner."
To build brand loyalty, Olga's is putting promotions in place, the most recent a rewards system that allows patrons to collect points whenever they eat at Olga's.
Recently on the restaurant website and Facebook page, fans of the food could enter to win a Mediterranean cruise, which will visit many of the places Loizon frequented on her trips back to her family's homeland; the same places that inspired her food.
It always comes back to that in the end, said Gianino.
"We have to stay true to our heritage," she said. "True to what made Olga's a success in the beginning."


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Single-use coffee pod brand said it wants to 'improve the accessibility and convenience' of aluminium capsule recycling
Nespresso has invited rival coffee pod makers to join its global recycling programme in a move it claims will improve "accessibility and convenience" of recycling services for customers using single-use...
Drivers of company cars who opt to go electric will pay no benefit-in-kind (BiK) tax from next week, marking a dramatic drop from the 16 per cent rate in place today
The world can emerge stronger from this crisis if we seize the opportunity to collectively chart a course towards the future we want, argues CISL's Dame Polly Courtice
Think tank argues new oversight body is needed to tackle risk of 'junk credits' as reliance on carbon offsets grows


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Global economic and political headwinds have taken their toll on the stock market this year, creating tremendous levels of volatility seemingly across every sector. Fortunately, there are some stocks that our contributors think can provide investors with a smoother ride in this turbulent environment. Read on to see which stocks they think might be good buys right now.
Tim Green: With shares of Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM) down roughly 40% this year, driven by a series of disappointing earnings reports and a pricing scandal, the upscale grocer may not seem like a particularly safe pick. But I would argue that Whole Foods stock is the safest it's been in years, simply because investors are able to buy shares without having to pay an enormous premium. Whole Foods traded for nearly 50 times earnings back in 2012, but today, this ratio has fallen to about 20.
Whole Foods is certainly having its fair share of problems. Comparable-store sales growth has been slowing and even declined during the fourth quarter, in part because of a pricing scandal in New York City. The company announced in September that it's cutting 1.6% of its workforce, and its plans to open a more value-oriented chain, 365 by Whole Foods, has raised questions about the sustainability of Whole Foods' industry-leading margins.
It's possible that Whole Foods will see its margins contract going forward, but the company has the potential to triple its store count in the coming years. Currently, Whole Foods operates about 430 stores, and management sees the potential for 1,200 in the U.S. alone. While a P/E ratio of 20 may still seem expensive, the company generates a ton of cash. During fiscal 2015, excluding capital expenditures that went toward new stores, Whole Foods generated about $800 million of free cash flow. At the current price, investors are paying just 13.5 times this steady-state free cash flow, and while the company has some work to do revive comparable-store sales growth, I would argue that Whole Foods is a relatively safe bet.
George Budwell: If you're looking for a safe haven in healthcare, I think Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has to be at the top of your list. Besides offering one of the sector's highest dividend payouts, with a yield of around 3%, J&J sports the most productive clinical pipeline for new drugs across the entire pharma industry over the past few years, and this trend looks as if it will continue, with several blockbuster candidates nearing pivotal data readouts.
Most impressively, the company has been able to achieve this noteworthy feat without resorting to extremely costly buyouts or mergers. A worrisome trend across pharma right now is the unsightly amount of debt many companies are taking on to chase top-line growth by acquiring smaller drugmakers. As a result, the industry's average debt-to-equity ratio has ballooned to 65%, according to S&P Capital IQ. J&J, by contrast, has backed out of deals when competitors have caused the purchase price to soar, giving the company a more comfortable debt-to-equity ratio of 27.8%.
With operating cash flows expected to exceed $18 billion next year and a solid balance sheet, J&J has the flexibility to pursue a number of avenues to create shareholder value moving forward. The same simply can't be said for many of its peers in the healthcare sector.


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Every morning at 5:59 I wake up to the lovely 'harp' sounds that the iPhone provides. I find it rather soothing as a gradually wake up and start my day. According to this story though, it claims that I'm in 'doom' of having a bad day. That's right... if you’re waking up to the sound of a bleep, bloop, or bell, you’re supposedly setting yourself for a bad day.
According to a new study, the best thing you can do to kick off your workday is to wake up to music. In fact, the study showed melodic alarms actually improved alertness. Meanwhile harsh alarm tones caused grogginess.They’re also super annoying on TV and movies but that wasn’t part of the study.
Lead author Stuart McFarlane says that these findings are particularly important to people working dangerous jobs. Firefighters, pilots, EMTs, basically anyone who has to be able to pop out of bed and immediately be alert. Waking up to something a bit less dramatic than a BEEP could mean improved efficiency and those are some jobs that really need all the can get.
While more research needs to figure out the perfect song to wake up to, co-author Adrian Dyer does recommend the melodic sound of the Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” or The Cure’s “Close to Me.”
Photo: Getty Images


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- Lead Engineer (Horticultural Systems)
- Head Grower - Kenya
- Environmental Officer - Home based
- Commercial Manager - Fresh Produce, Kenya
- Assistant Growers - Australia
- Grower Managers and Senior Growers - Australia
- Sales Manager Europe - Mont-Ras (Girona), ES
- Global Sales Manager - Negotiable location
- Manager / director vegetable processing Russia
- Sales Manager - AIS Greenworks, Australia
Top 5 -yesterday
- California cherry crop devastated by storms
- Former Chiquita manager wants to start a revolution on the banana market
- NZ: Southern Hemisphere's largest fruit sorting machine provides a major post-harvest boost
- "Hungarian government's destruction of Dutch onions was disgraceful"
- “Now that the haskap berry is registered, we get more requests for export”
Top 5 -last week
Top 5 -last month
Citrus estimates 2016 export season
South Africa: Grapefruit biggest casualty of hail and drought
It is expected that a total of 111.2 million cartons (15kg) of citrus will be packed and passed for export from citrus producers in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland in 2016. This is a decrease of six percent on the 2015 export crop. "General trends to be expected across most varieties for the season include excellent eating quality, smaller than average sizing and superior external appearance – all due to the warm and dry climatic conditions experienced during the past summer," said a spokesperson.
Figures are millions of 15 kg equivalent cartons for comparison purposes and includes volumes from Swaziland and Zimbabwe
Growers estimate the Valencia orange crop to be down by twelve percent from the record 52.7m cartons in 2015, to 46.4m in 2016. The areas of Letsitele, Senwes and Hoedspruit, which jointly produce almost fifty percent of all Valencia oranges from Southern Africa, have all highlighted the drought and hail damage as the major contributing factors to the reduction in volume. However, at the time of publishing, late rain has arrived in most of the Northern growing areas, which will have a positive effect on the crop, especially in regard to fruit size.
The Navel orange crop is estimated to be up by just over two percent to 25.1m cartons. Although Senwes was badly affected by the drought and hail and expected to be down by fourteen percent, the Eastern Cape growing regions of Sundays River Valley and Patensie will be up by seven- and nine percent respectively, with the Western Cape also expected to be up by as much as fourteen percent.
Grapefruit exports are expected to reach 12.4m cartons (15kg), down by twenty-three percent from 2015’s record export. Drought in the Letsitele and Onderberg areas and severe hail damage in Hoedspruit are the major factors behind the drop in volume, exacerbated by the fact that 2016 was to be an “off” year anyway in terms of the production cycle. Although fruit size distribution will favour the smaller counts, Grapefruit growers have indicated that they will continue to support initiatives which aim to respect the demands of each of their markets in terms of timing, volume and specification.
Lemon exports from Southern Africa are expected to continue its growth trend, with an increase of seven percent estimated for 2016, translating into a total volume of 16.1m cartons. Most of the growth can be ascribed to new plantings coming into production, particularly in the Sundays River Valley and Senwes areas.
With many new orchards coming into production in 2016 soft citrus growers are expecting their total exports to grow by twelve percent to 11.2m cartons. The season is predicted to offer good availability on the bigger sizes and excellent eating quality from all regions.
"Whilst the drought that has gripped large parts of the country has had a significant impact on the citrus export crop, it is clear that farmers prioritised their high value varieties with the limited water they have had available," said the spokesperson. "Some uncertainty as to the onward impact of the drought on the 2017 crop still exists, but with the arrival of late rain in the Northern areas and further evidence that the El Niño cycle has been broken, the picture looks far more positive now than a few weeks ago."
Against this backdrop, Southern African citrus growers are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the 2016 season and their continued ability to supply citrus fruits of the highest quality to discerning markets around the globe.
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Other news in this sector:
- 2019-05-22 Citrus Australia disagrees with calls for moratorium on new water-use licences
- 2019-05-22 "Export price of Chinese lemons is slightly higher than last year"
- 2019-05-22 Florida citrus growers know what it takes to survive in a tough industry
- 2019-05-22 First Summer Prim groves planted in southern Italy
- 2019-05-21 Australian grower believes whole-heartedly in local citrus
- 2019-05-21 Brazilian processing plants start purchasing oranges in spot market
- 2019-05-21 Primofiore lemons still being processed as there are very few Bianchetto available
- 2019-05-20 Mexico's lime harvest will decrease by an estimated 20%
- 2019-05-20 "Chinese markets for grapefruit and lemons are like day and night"
- 2019-05-20 High retail price for Egyptian oranges in Chinese market
- 2019-05-20 Citrus fruits account for 44% of the fresh produce withdrawn by Spanish supermarkets
- 2019-05-20 South Africa: Inevitable diminishing citrus returns as volumes keep growing
- 2019-05-20 "Everyone very wary on the lime market"
- 2019-05-17 Pakistan: Hoarding leads to price hikes during Ramadan
- 2019-05-17 Brazil: 2019-2020 Orange crop forecast
- 2019-05-17 The benefits of oranges for the skin
- 2019-05-16 2019 brings a tale of two imported citrus seasons
- 2019-05-16 Packers of Indian River sell citrus grove to grapefruit grower IMG Citrus
- 2019-05-16 Battambang oranges from Cambodia next in line for GI
- 2019-05-16 An important reminder on Citrus Tristeza Virus


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Living Food: Reckless cloning
Published 10:00 pm, Saturday, December 30, 2006
As discomforting as most Americans find the idea, the Food and Drug Administration's tentative approval for allowing the sale of cloned meat and milk makes a certain kind of sense. The plan is a logical extension of an industrialized food system that treats plants, animals and nature with an often-reckless disregard.
For animals, it's a system of routine cruelties: docking pigs' tails, clipping chickens' beaks and taking cattle off grazing land to live their lives standing in manure in so-called confined animal feeding operations. It makes sense only to the corporate forces behind the food system that they should be able to make money and create efficiencies by replacing any form of natural reproduction with $15,000-a-shot cloning attempts.
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We'd like to think Americans will reject having their country become the first to allow cloned products. A poll for the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology found 64 percent of consumers uncomfortable with animal cloning. There already is talk of companies marketing "clone-free" meat. But we already put up with so much that is deeply unnatural in our food system that the Bush administration's bet on shoving cloned foods on the public may be well calculated.
In one of 2006's most brilliant books, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," Michael Pollan traced the industrialization of the food system in ways that shock even readers with fairly sophisticated consumer-level knowledge of health and nutrition. Life on a farm, except in the most consciously nature-oriented operations, is nothing like in storybooks. Single-crop fields stretch across the heartland. E.coli outbreaks spring from raising beef in the stinking cities of confined animal feeding operations, known as CAFOs. Pigs' tails must be docked (with pliers, no anesthetic) because the intelligent animals, prematurely weaned at 10 days rather than the normal 13 weeks to be placed in confinement, try to exercise their instincts by sucking and chewing on one another's tails.
"A normal pig would fight off his molester, but a demoralized pig has stopped caring," Pollan writes. " 'Learned helplessness' is the psychological term and it's not uncommon in the CAFOs, where tens of thousands of hogs spend their entire lives ignorant of earth or straw or sunshine, crowded together beneath a metal roof standing on metal slats suspended over a septic tank."
After docking, the remaining stub is so hypersensitive even the most depressed pig will fight back, preventing infection from chewing. That avoids the cost of treatment and the alternative: "underperforming production units are typically clubbed to death on the spot."
The book's odd title relates to the choices about safe foods when you can eat just about anything. As Pollan explains, natural feelings of disgust seem to help humans avoid such threats as rotten meat.
In saying that it is safe for this country to become the first to allow cloned products, FDA scientists speak of cloned livestock as "virtually indistinguishable" from other animals. If the administration sticks to its plans, consumers will face new dilemmas about their food system, their government's inaction and their own eating choices.


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Fortnite's Massive Success Has Impacted Call Of Duty Publisher
The free-to-play game has had a "near-term impact" on Activision Blizzard.
Fortnite is one of the biggest, most popular games on Earth right now--it's so big that it's even impacting the established juggernaut Activision. Management said on an earnings call today that the popular free-to-play game, and other battle royale games, has taken away something away (potentially money or players) from Activision properties in the short term. "We have seen some near-term impact from Battle Royale," Activision Blizzard management said during a Q&A this afternoon.
The publisher did not say how much of an impact Fortnite and other battle royale games have had on Activision Blizzard's bottom line or which of its games were most affected. However, it is noteworthy that management would say this at all.
Also during the call, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said Fortnite is helping gaming overall become more popular and mainstream. Activision Publishing president Coddy Johnson added that the battle royale mode is "contributing to innovation within the industry," going on to say it is helping bring new, younger games to video games. He added that it is "really encouraging" to see Fortnite and other battle royale games do well on mobile. This may inform what Activision Blizzard does in the future with its own mobile games, the publisher said.
Perhaps the bigger takeaway here is that Activision Blizzard, as suspected, might be looking to get in on the Battle Royale movement in some manner.
"When we see people innovate in an interesting and impactful way, we are very quick to figure out how to capture inspiration from innovation," Kotick said. "When we see things that appeal to our audiences, we are very good at being inspired by those."
Some have suggested that the popularity of Fortnite and other free-to-play games is in some way eroding the traditional $60 business model. Johnson said the video game industry, like other industries, is big enough to support multiple business models.
"We think that in a growing industry like ours there is room for multiple business models to succeed in parallel," Johnson said, pointing out that video streaming sites like the subscription-based Netflix and (mostly) free YouTube co-exist in harmony. He added that Activision Blizzard's own portfolio of games is diversified with free-to-play and paid games alike, along with other revenue streams from things like add-on content and microtransactions.
"We do think $60 games will continue to be an important part of that equation," Johnson said.
The most important thing when creating content is to ensure that the "value proposition" is in a good place; that is to say, that the content in question is perceived to be valuable enough for people to feel compelled to buy it and satisfied with their purchase. This is Activision Blizzard's "north star," Johnson said.
One of Activision's next big new releases is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which comes out in early October for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. There have been rumours online that this game will include a Battle Royale mode, but Activision has made no announcements yet. The company plans to formally unveil the game during an event on May 17.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.


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In (Next Year): Capital One Café Well, Georgetown, you will get your wish … sort of. An eatery will indeed return to the southeast corner...
Pillar & Post opened as a pop-up in April during the Georgetown French Market. The official opening — at 1647 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Sherman Pickey’s former space — followed in June.
An eatery will indeed return to the southeast corner of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, but it may not be what you expected.
Changes are coming to (where else?) Georgetown's main retail strips: Wisconsin Avenue and M Street.
Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which owns the 20,000-seat F Street venue, sold the naming rights to Capital One for $10 million per year, according to the Washington Post.
3150 M St. NW has been sold for a record $50.2 million — and Capitol One may also get the Verizon Center naming rights.
Celebrity profiles written by Georgetown’s favorite biographer, Kitty Kelley, made their TV debut last week on the Reelz network, starting with actress Drew Barrymore. Kelley’s...
In: Poliform-Sagart Studio on P St. Poliform, a design studio that specializes in custom cabinetry and furniture, has opened at 2611 P St. NW, with...
Contact the BID office by August 3 about holiday lights and you'll pay no fee for the program.
The Georgetown Business Association is asking business owners to send letters of support to the District's Department of Small and Local Business Development.


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Charged has an article about legislation that was tabled in Parliament recently. The Corporate Laws Amendment Bill (No. 6 of 2006) will, when passed, facilitate the digital filing of notices, corporate information and the digital certification of registration documents:
An amendment to South Africa’s corporate laws, tabled in Parliament recently, provides for the use of electronic signatures, the online registration of companies and close corporations and the electronic lodgement of corporate notices and forms.
According to technology lawyer, Reinhardt Buys of Buys Inc. Attorneys, the Corporate Laws Amendment Bill 6 of 2006 is a giant leap towards effective e-government and a true paperless regulatory environment for local businesses.
The Bill also seeks to amend both the Companies Act, 1973, and the Close Corporations Act, 1984, so as to enable electronic disclosure of corporate information, cost-effective ways of publishing notices of incorporation and electronic certification of registration documents.
This is quite exciting legislation because it could bring digital filings into the mainstream through business and, in the process, make out a strong case for digital filings in other areas to improve efficiency and reduce the costs associated with paper filings. One area which could benefit from digital filings is our court system.
(via Buys Incorporated)


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A unique and thrilling dining experience awaits food enthusiasts in Bangkok as a reputable restaurant near BTS Punnawithi announces its partnership with the innovative Goalprize app. This collaboration brings the world’s first Goalprize campaign to Bangkok, offering diners a chance to indulge in their favourite dishes and non-alcoholic drinks and potentially win back their expenses through digital gift cards.
The Goalprize campaign aims to attract 30 visitors to the participating restaurant before 11:59 pm on Friday, April 21, 2023. If the campaign’s target is met, the top 50% of spenders among those who requested “Goalprize points” at the restaurant will be eligible to win back what they spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages. Winners will receive rewards through digital gift cards, which can be used exclusively at the same restaurant.
How to join the Goalprize Campaign?
To participate in the campaign, customers need to download the free Goalprize app from the Apple App Store or Android Google Play Store. Once installed, check the “Goalprize Information” and “Goalprize Terms of Service” to enter the campaign. Plus, there is no subscription needed! Just to let you know, participants must pay their bill at the restaurant before the 30th visit occurs to secure a place on the Goalprize Leaderboard and become eligible for the rewards!
How Goalprize Campaign is revolutionizing dining experiences
The app and campaign offer a rewarding experience for diners while also providing restaurants with an innovative marketing strategy to attract new customers. This exciting partnership between the restaurant and Goalprize showcases the power of technology in enhancing the traditional dining experience and elevating it to new heights. It also gives the customers a reason to support the restaurants, as they are incentivized to win back valuable prizes.
For restaurateurs interested in hosting a Goalprize campaign at their establishment, further information can be found on the official website at Goalprize.com. The site provides the current status, details, and terms of service for the ongoing campaign, as well as information on how to sign up for future campaigns.
For those eager to try their luck and savor an unforgettable culinary adventure, make sure to download the Goalprize app and head to the participating restaurant near BTS Punnawithi before the campaign ends tonight!
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Orange Council will vote on the developer's agreement for Pinecrest at the April 9 meeting. As the project moves along, Northeast Ohio Media group would like to know what stores residents hope to see opening. Full story »
It's not metro government, or even the merging of a few suburbs, but cities hurting for money are starting to share and privatize services they once fiercely insisted on providing themselves. Full story »
The field of seven candidates for three seats on Woodmere Village Council includes former mayor Yolanda Broadie, who was sued by ex-police chief LaMont Lockhart in a lawsuit that ended up costing the village nearly $1 million. Full story »
In order to open up more customer parking at Eton Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere, employees now have to park off-site and are shuttled to their places of employment, one of several efforts in the works to improve parking at the busy shopping complex. Full story »
The mayors of four East Side suburbs forced to table a proposed merger because of opposition from residents should keep trying to sell the idea, particularly if they can show clear cost savings for residents, The Plain Dealer editorial board writes. Full story »
Solon resident Renee Matteo recently published her first book and will host a book launch and signing at Barnes & Noble starting at 7 p.m. April 9. A portion of her book sales will benefit Solon students. Full story »
cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.


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electronics news stories
Future Market Insights
Nano-based products propel electronic materials market
The rising use of wireless computing devices is one of the primary factors driving the electronic materials and chemicals market share.
New Zealand tech company acquires SmarTest Electronics
Quantifi Photonics has acquired SmarTest Electronics to fast-track product development for the optical communications test market.


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Google faced a fresh privacy backlash Tuesday over a glitch that may have exposed data from half a million users, overshadowing the Silicon Valley's launch of a new smartphone and other devices.
China's Lenovo led a sharp tech sell-off in Asia on Friday after a report said Beijing had used microchips inserted in US computer goods as part of a drive to steal technology secrets.
Children's and public health advocacy groups say Facebook's kid-centric messaging app violates federal law by collecting kids' personal information without getting verifiable consent from their parents.
Vietnam has seized around a ton of pangolin scales and ivory hidden inside dozens of boxes on a flight from Nigeria, state media reported, a haul highlighting the illegal wildlife trade routes connecting Africa and Southeast ...
Ford is looking at speeding up plans to build more Lincoln models in Chinese plants amid the growing trade war with the United States that has made US exports less attractive, a senior executive said Monday.
Two members of Congress are calling on Google to address concerns that YouTube might violate children's privacy.


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But, until now, we didn’t know how much it’d cost us.
The answer is $129. That will get you the headset and the new controller but, if you just want the controller by itself, it can be purchased separately for $39.
While the hardware inside the headset is the same as last year’s model, the controller promises to make the headset more gamer-friendly.
To that end, Samsung also promised 20 new games when the controller and headset launch on April 21, and an additional 50 games with controller support in the next few months.
The new Gear VR will be compatible with multiple mobile phones from the South Korean manufacturer including Galaxy S7, S6 and Galaxy Note 5 – thankfully, the exploding Note 7 is not on the list. Of course, the and Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus will also be supported.
As an added bonus, Samsung is giving away a new Gear VR and controller for free to everyone who pre-orders either of the new phones.
Not a bad deal if you ask us.


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Royal Hamilius yesterday signed its first employment contracts during the ADEM Jobday held at the Parc Hotel Alvisse in Dommeldange-Luxembourg.
On Wednesday 18 September 2019, Luxembourg's employment agency ADEM and the EURES Grande Région network, in partnership with the Codic Group, organised a Jobday for the benefit of the new Royal Hamilius centre at the Parc Hotel Alvisse.
In total, the event attracted over 2,000 people looking for a job or a new professional challenge. Among the recruiters' stands were Galeries Lafayette, FNAC, Delhaize and the Manko and Victorine restaurants, as well as various other brands setting up in Royal Hamilius, which will open at the end of 2019.
Over 250 positions were available. The profiles sought ranged from sales consultants or managers to sales assistants, from logistics to catering employees. By early afternoon, Galeries Lafayette had already recruited their top ten candidates. Indeed, nine Luxembourg residents registered with ADEM and a Belgian resident signed contracts as a seller or storekeeper on site.
The companies confirmed at the end of day that: "Many more hires will follow in the coming weeks".


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FEMALE GAZE: As part of its ongoing commitment to promoting the work of female photographers, Dior has tapped Brigitte Niedermair to shoot its fall campaign.
Known for her elegantly sparse images and use of unexpected contrasts, the artist took an almost abstract approach to the collection, photographing closeups of the back of a vinyl trenchcoat, a “Sisterhood Is Global” T-shirt stretched over a protest sign, or the Saddle belt cinching an hourglass dress.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of women’s wear at Dior, tapped house favorites Selena Forrest and Ruth Bell to model her creations, inspired by British Teddy Girls of the Fifties. The images, which will break on July 1, were styled by Isabelle Kountoure.
In 2017, Niedermair shot Chiuri’s first collection for Dior as part of the #TheWomenBehindTheLens project published in the fashion house’s magazine. Her work is the subject of a retrospective, “Brigitte Niedermair: Me and Fashion 1996-2018” at the Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo, as part of the Venice Biennale.
Her fashion images have been featured in publications including CR Fashion Book, Harper’s Bazaar, Wallpaper, W and Vogue Italia.


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By Jon Kamp
A day after pharmacy-benefit managers Express Scripts and Medco went before House antitrust subcommittee to say their planned deal won’t threaten competition, Bernstein continues to forecast strong odds for
The proposed merger, now valued at about $25 billion, has raised opposition from retail pharmacies and consumer groups, and Medco is trading significantly below the deal price on concerns the government won’t let the deal go through.
“As expected, noise will continue to cloud the process; however, our estimated 80% probability of deal completion remains unaffected,” Bernstein says. “We expect the regulatory review to be extensive with noise likely to continue as the process evolves.”