text:
Superdry blames warm weather as shares plunge on warning
Business Live - Dec 14th 2018, 10:02
Superdry shares plunged more than a third after the British fashion chain warned on profits for the second time in less than three months, blaming unusually warm weather for hitting sales of winter jackets and jerseys.
The company, which has been striving to reduce its reliance on winter clothing, said it will look at closing or relocating stores and renegotiating rent to save at least £50m by 2022.
The warning came as bigger rival Inditex also blamed an abnormally warm September in part for missing third-quarter profit forecasts.
Superdry said a “difficult trading period” knocked £11m off profit in November and it expects to take another hit in December if trading conditions do not improve.
It said its underlying profit before tax could almost halve to £55m-£70m in the year ending April 2019, compared with the £97m made in 2017/18.
Liberum analysts said the market consensus prior to the latest warning was £87m.
Superdry shares were down 33.6% in early-morning trading at 380.3p, after touching a six-year low of 373.6p.
“The group’s ongoing significant underperformance versus its potential, including its margin contraction, reflects more than just tough market conditions and weather impacts,” the Liberum analysts said, adding the company’s strategy appears to be limiting choice online and buying more of a narrower range of goods rather than buying fewer of a larger range.
Co-founder Julian Dunkerton, who left the company in March and has been pushing to return, also voiced criticism of the company’s strategy in an interview with Liberum earlier this week.
The company said the board has considered and rejected Dunkerton’s concerns.
“From the board’s point of view, it has been since Julian’s departure that the management team has had the capacity and the freedom to be able to innovate,” a company executive said.
Launched as a clothing stall at Cheltenham market, Superdry has been striving to diversify from its trademark hoodies and tops into dresses, skirts, women’s tops and denim, as well as expanding into premium, sports and licensed goods. Business Live
Woolworths bedeviled by declining sales
18/01/2019 - 10:35
As Woolworths tries to recover from the impairments of A$712.5 million (R7.02 billion) it suffered last year in its Australian subsidiary David Jones, the retailer continued to experience declining sales in the 26 weeks to end December trading period in South Africa.
TFG bucks retail trend over festive season
18/01/2019 - 08:00
Apparel group TFG, which operates the Foschini, American Swiss and Markham chains, has bucked the retail trend and produced solid growth numbers for the festive season.
Edcon gets some breathing space
17/01/2019 - 10:34
Edcon is at a turning point yet again. The retailer — which operates the Edgars, Jet and CNA chain stores — has just wrapped up a deal with 250 stakeholders, including its shareholders and landlords, in a bid to keep its doors open.
M&S confirms more store closures
17/01/2019 - 08:41
Marks & Spencer confirmed the location of the next batch of stores it plans to close as part of its restructuring plans.
Black Friday boosts November’s retail sales
16/01/2019 - 14:12
Consumers came under pressure in 2018, with the first VAT hike in two decades and steep fuel price increases.


text:
BROOKLYN MOON’S MICHAEL THOMPSON IS A “COMMUNITY HERO”
You may be familiar with the Community Heroes project from past FAB FULTON events; we partnered with the project last year to help nominate local residents who have been everyday heroes in their neighborhoods. The photo-essay project invites the community to get to know these heroes better through banners exhibited at Fort Greene Park. One of the new featured locals is FAB FULTON business owner, Michael Thompson, who opened his popular Fulton Street spot, Brooklyn Moon, back in 1993. Thompson was tapped as a hero for creating and sustaining an atmosphere where people have communed, socialized, and celebrated important moments in the community for over 25 years! Read the rest of Thompson’s Community Heroes profile on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/communityheroesnyc/
SCAM ALERT FOR BUSINESSES
All FAB FULTON businesses, be aware of a scam artist working in the area since late August: the perpetrator pays with a $100 bill, then argues about being given the incorrect change. In the confusion, he makes off with both the $100 bill and the change. He’s been described as a tall (about 6’2″) Black male, 60-70 years old, talks really loudly and last seen wearing a red or maroon sweater. Inform your staff, and contact 911 if he attempts to scam you or your business.
Remember, you can always contact your NYPD Neighborhood Coordination Officers (NCOs) for assistance and to report suspicious activity. (This notification was originally sent to FAB FULTON businesses on August 28, 2019.)
CANNABIDIOL (CBD) VIOLATIONS BEGIN OCT. 1
In December 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement clarifying its position on cannabis-derived products. The FDA stated that it is unlawful to add CBD to food or drink. As a result, the NYC Health Code also prohibits adding CBD to food or drink, including in packaged food products. Embargoes began July 1.
Starting October 1, 2019, the NYC Health Department will begin issuing violations to food service establishments and retailers for offering food or drink containing CBD. Violations may be subject to fines, and for food service establishments, violation points may count toward the establishment’s letter grade.
For more information on CBD in food or drink, visit the FDA website: http://bit.ly/NYCcannabidiol
PUTNAM TRIANGLE IS BACK!
THE PLAZA IS BACK! The New York City Department of Design & Construction (DDC) took down the fences and opened Putnam Triangle Plaza to the residents of the community on August 16. Neighborhood folks have been out enjoying the public space, which was re-designed to increase foot traffic on Fulton Street. Locals have lunch, meet up with friends, play chess and simply people-watch!
FAB FULTON is planning a neighborhood celebration marking the re-opening of the plaza, coming Saturday, Oct. 5 from 11a – 4p! We’ll announce more details soon, but in the meantime, consider promoting your business by sampling, conducting a demonstration, or tabling. The event is sure to draw a neighborhood crowd with musical performances, fun activities and special guests; it’s a great opportunity to meet and greet potential new customers! Contact us today to reserve your spot as we celebrate the return of Putnam Triangle!
ABOUT FAB FULTON
The Fulton Area Business Alliance (FAB FULTON) is a non-profit organization that advocates for and collaborates with small businesses and property owners along Fulton Street in Brooklyn’s neighborhoods of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill to maintain a safe, clean, and welcoming community while securing resources and partnerships for initiatives that enhance and promote the district.
This post contains links to the articles and information referenced in our latest FAB BIZ BLAST communication. You can subscribe to future newsletters; sign up here for the FAB FULTON BIZ BLAST to get the latest information and resources for FAB FULTON Businesses!

domain: news


text:
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WYTV) – It’s going to be a little whole longer until we know when the huge new Meijer will open in Boardman.
A chain representative was one of several speakers Friday at Stambaugh Auditorium.
It was for the Regional Camber’s “Good Morning Mahoning County” project.
This representative says they still have quite a bit of work to do inside the store.
“It’s looking more and more finished. There’s a lot of construction still to be done. The team is going to be entering the building very soon, where we’re gonna start kinda building and planning the product and getting a lot of our ‘plan-o-grams’ and things like that down,” said Dessie Szklanyl Meijer store director.
The company is expected to announce its ‘grand opening’ plans about six weeks ahead of time.
The new Boardman location is one of three Meijer plans to open this year.


text:
The following situations are real downers: getting stuck in a revolving door, being bitten by a poisonous snake or dropping lunch all over an outfit.
As an antidote to trials like these, Crunch is suggesting a trip to the gym for a mood-boosting workout with its new “Feel Good, Not Bad” campaign. The work, from Virginia-based indie agency Familiar Creatures, highlights the endorphin rush that comes from physical exercise.
The hero 30-second hero spot, directed by Ben Hurst and Dave Thomas, leans into sight gags and relatable humor to make its point: life can be a battlefield, ready to dole out punishment, so find a happy place.
The ad debuts Dec. 26 on national TV, with social, digital, radio and out of home to follow. “Feel Good, Not Bad,” which the brand calls “a mantra to transcend the sea of gym sameness,” becomes the new communication platform across the company, including merchandise and on-site materials.


text:
Woman Entrepreneur in spotlight: Priyanka Gill, PopXo
She runs India’s fastest growing fashion and lifestyle platform for women, PopXo. What started as a blog transformed into something much bigger with a wider audience – it became the a go-to place for ideas to dress and style well. “We believe we talk to the real girl and talk about things that matter to her,” says Priyanka Gill co founder of the platform. Along with Namrata Bostrom, Gill built this content space as one for 18-34 year old women looking to find quick fixes to their fashion, wedding, vanity and style needs.
PopXo raised $2 million in Series A funding in November 2015 led by IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital. In its first round the website picked about INR 3 crores from Rajan Anandan of Google.


text:
Full profile →'">
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
According to a new study from mobile advertising firm inMobi, 39% of UK and 41% of US mobile phone users would buy Apple's highly anticipated iPhone 5, which might be announced next week. But before you chalk this up to the power of the Apple brand, here's another statistic for you: if Apple only releases an update to iPhone 4 (presumably called iPhone 4S), that figure drops to 12% of UK mobile users.
In other words: even for arguably the most powerful, passion-generating company of all, a "brand" doesn't take on a life of its own. At the end of the day, people don't buy a brand - they buy products; and their purchase intent is predicated, above all, on the presence of tangible benefits. An iPhone 4S likely wouldn't provide enough benefits to get masses of iPhone 4 or Android owners to upgrade. With an iPhone 5, on the other hand, all bets are off.
Apple is also poised to steal market share from competitors: 55 percent of US Blackberry users intend to buy a iPhone 5, as do 27% of Android users. In fact, RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) seems to be suffering most of all in the survey.
Another proof point for the "it's the product, stupid" thesis (see my previous post): 28% of US Blackberry users would switch to Apple even if it only launched an iPhone 4S.
Follow me on Forbes and Twitter.


text:
Home Authors Posts by Daniel Meffe
Voltra Lighting winner of Lighting 2020 award
VOLTRA Won the Excellent Product Design - Lighting 2020 award from the German Design Council. VOLTRA Cordless Lighting was...
Carnival Cruise Line win multiple Cruise awards
Carnival Cruise Line came out victorious when they won top honors across three different categories at the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards.
Quark Expeditions launch new Eclipse Voyages
Quark Expeditions have announced that they are set to launch two new eclipse voyages in 2021. It has been...
State of the Cruise Industry Outlook Report released by CLIA
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) have released their 2020 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook report. According to the...


text:
Corinth, Mississippi recently qualified for C Spire's new Fiber to the Home initiative. The 1 gigabit-per-second service is 100 times faster than the standard types of broadband access currently available in most American homes.
In order to participate in the initiative, Corinth needed to achieve a 45 percent target for pre-registration of area homeowners, which C Spire used as a precursor to launching the high-speed Internet service. The new fiber internet service should become available to Corinth residents next year.
"A primary goal is to ensure Mississippi has easy access to fiber technology just as we are delivering on our goal of ensuring consumers and businesses in our state have access to the latest wireless technologies," president and CEO of C Spire, Hu Meena, said. "Fiber to the Home can be a transformative technology for communities, serving as a platform for innovation and a host of new Internet applications and experiences yet to be imagined. We're determined to show the world that Jackson and the state of Mississippi are ready to be a catalyst for technology investment, economic growth and job creation."


text:
Back in business: Phoenicia, ‘the shop that’s vital to our high street
Food hall described as 'vital part of our high street' amid bailiff panic
Thursday, 17th January 2019 — By Dan Carrier
Phoenicia owner Ghassan Obeid
CUSTOMERS and staff at one of Kentish Town Road’s most popular shops were celebrating this week – despite being forced to shut suddenly on Friday as the property’s landlords repossessed the space.
The closure of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food supermarket Phoenicia turned out to be a temporary glitch. This week, owner Ghassan Obeid was back welcoming customers at his store.
On Friday, a sign on the doors said the shop had been repossessed by bailiffs and all queries should be directed to management firm Larrg Properties. The food hall, in a parade previously home to general store Chattelmania and Blockbusters Video outlet, now spreads across four units which have been knocked together.
Larrg Properties told the New Journal on Friday that the closure had come about because of issues over rent. When regular customers saw the shutters down, they called the New Journal and flooded social media to express their shock that such a popular Kentish Town Road shop could close – and later expressed joy that it had reopened.
Mr Obeid said: “There was a change in the long-term business structure but this has now been sorted out.”
He said that the owner of the building, Brent-based Deeside Investments, had been “nothing but helpful”.
“The landlord has been really good – it had nothing to do with him that we shut temporarily,” he said. “He helped immediately sort it out and within a day helped us reopen as quickly as possible.”
As well as serving groceries, Phoenicia Food Hall has a bakery, butcher and café. Established in 2003 by Mr Obeid, it has become a high street landmark.
Celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi has often said it is his favourite store in the borough.
Mr Obeid moved to London from Beirut, Lebanon, aged 18. His father, Mahmoud, had been general manager of Smiths, a large supermarket in Beirut owned by Englishman Patrick Ogden Smith.
Mr Obeid grew up living above the store. He said: “It sold every thing from croissants to motorbikes.” After settling in England, Mr Obeid worked in supermarkets and also sold catering fridges until he set up Phoenicia.
“We are now spoilt for choice in Kentish Town, but it has changed a lot since we first started here,” he said. “People thought we were crazy and thought the area wasn’t right for this type of shop. It was a new concept – and it worked. The first five years were pretty hard, but we were persistent and it paid off.”
The shop employs six full-time staff and up to 20 overall.
Kentish Town Road Action group chairwoman Caroline Hill said: “So many people have been talking about this and saying how upset they would have been if it had closed for good. It is so important for all of Kentish Town. It is an independent, specialist shop that brings people into the area. We are absolutely delighted to see it open again.”
She added: “With Phoenicia, it isn’t a case of saying we should have used it more – it was extremely well used, greatly admired and a vital part of our high street. “It would have been an absolute tragedy if it had not reopened.”
Kentish Town Road has suffered in recent years with numerous long-standing businesses closing. Empty properties include the former post office, Italian restaurant Tolli, pub Auntie Annie’s, a large home furnishing store, two former banks, a hairdressers and a convenience store.
It is also blighted by the delay in redeveloping the former North London Polytechnic building at the corner of Prince of Wales Road.


text:
Bitcoin Takes Backseat to Surging Stablecoin Status
(15 December 2021 – United States) The focus of regulatory and financial technology (Fintech) funding has firmly switched away from volatile Bitcoin markets to Stablecoins, a rapidly burgeoning space in the realm of cryptocurrency innovation.
In the last week Visa launched a crypto advisory service and asserted that Stablecoins may become a preferred medium of exchange over cryptocurrencies while Meta Platforms launched a Stablecoin payments wallet.
Stablecoins are a form a virtual currency with values pegged to traditional assets such as the US Dollar (USD) or commodities. Their rise has accelerated discussion by major global central banks regarding digital versions of their currencies such as the eAUD (electronic Australian Dollar) and eYuan.
Delphi Digital reports that Stablecoins have recorded significant growth to end the year with the market capitalisation of the top five Stablecoins expanding to almost US$150 billion from US$129 billion year-on-year. The largest stablecoin “Tether” hold a market value of US$76 billion.
The central banks of France and Switzerland announced Europe's first central bank digital currency (CBDC) derived cross border payments execution, after testing project “Jura” in a reference to the mountains that separates the two countries.
Even as senior cryptocurrency company decision makers from Coinbase and Circle strongly advocated Congress to provide more transparent fit-for-purpose rules for the sector, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and major bank CEOs pushed back citing the need for firmer regulatory settings for Stablecoins. With Bitcoin capped at US$50,000 for since its flash crash on 4 December, the market capitalisation of the 15,541 coins on the CoinMarketCap platform was US$2.25 trillion compared to US$2.6 trillion at the start of the month.
"I feel like there would be headwinds, but as always with crypto the only thing you can have is an open mind. Cryptocurrencies have benefited from easier cash conditions even in a higher inflation environment, but it is difficult to say what will happen as the Federal Reserve accelerates monetary tightening or gets ready to lift rates” commented Pepperstone Head of Research, Chris Weston.


text:
On Monday night, Capital One reported that a hacker gained access to more than 100 million of their customers’ accounts and credit card applications. According to a press release, this breach included access to users’ names, addresses, phone numbers, date of births, and email addresses—in addition to 140,000 social security numbers, 80,000 bank account numbers, and one million social insurance numbers belonging to Canadian customers.
While the hacker, a former tech engineer for Amazon Web Services, was arrested on Monday, Capital One estimates the breach, which took place in late March, has affected 100 million American and six million Canadian customers in total.
If you are impacted, Capital One is notifying customers via email, offering both free credit monitoring and identity protection, so watch out for any urgent-sounding emails and be sure to sign-up for their free services. If you haven’t received an email, it doesn’t hurt to contact the bank directly on the phone to confirm. You can temporarily freeze any Capital One card to be safe, too.
As CNN writes, you should also check your account, review any bank statements as far back as March, and continue to monitor it for any suspicious activity. If you want to be extra-cautious, you can also review your credit reports for any accounts created in your name.
Lastly, be cautious of any phone calls you receive from individuals claiming to be your bank or creditor; always hang up and use the number provided on your bank’s website.


text:
“We’re moving from a world where we plan campaigns for the future, to one where we adapt campaigns to the moment.” – Joel Lunenfeld, Twitter’s VP of Global Brand Strategy and the keynote speaker this morning at SES New York.
Lunenfeld shared his vast experience and insight in real-time marketing in Optimizing Second Screen Engagement: Trends, Data & Insights. Mobile has certainly changed the way people find, consume and engage with information. Twitter came of age with the right tools, at just the right time, to answer the need for a real-time communication platform.
Now, said Lunenfeld, 85 percent of users say the phone is their primary way to access Twitter and the average mobile user follows 11 brands. Every 2.5 days, there are a billion tweets sent and over the past year, the amount of Twitter users has doubled.
Brands see the opportunity to connect with consumers in real-time via Twitter, yet many are still falling down when it comes to actually doing so in practice. Oreo’s infamous Super Bowl tweet made clear the possibilities when brands think on their feet and are poised to react quickly. Yet one recent study shows that only 29 percent of retailers with Twitter accounts actually respond to customer questions and complaints.
Here are a few tips from Lunenfeld’s keynote to help brands better connect with consumers in real time:
Plan ahead to react to and win the moment.
You can’t plan real-time content, but you can put yourself and your team in the best position to react quickly to opportunistic situations. This means having the people and policies in place to allow for creativity, taking calculated risks, production or design and publishing all in rapid succession. This is a challenge for brands, yet the potential payoff is huge.
Integrate Twitter by designing ads with hashtags.
Designing ads for Twitter by using hashtags helps brands increase the conversation. For example, SuperBowl commercials with hashtags averaged 1.6 times more Twitter engagement than those without. Brands can take that one-way message that is a television commercial and make it the beginning of a two-way conversation by pointing people to Twitter.
Use Promoted Tweets and other Twitter Ad products to increase your reach.
Twitter Ads help brands take their social presence to the next level. Promoted Tweets increase brand favorability by 30 percent and purchase intent by 53 percent, according to Lunenfeld. Try Promoted Tweets, Accounts or Trends to get your brand in front of a greater – and relevant – audience.
Be part of the conversation.
Once you’ve gone to the work of getting users active and engaged, don’t leave them hanging. Being part of an amazing conversation can actually create your Twitter campaign, Lunenfeld pointed out. Being there and active in the space allows marketers to see opportunities and react quickly.
Social listening and monitoring tools are great for drawing insights from your social community, but they don’t replace an active brand presence. If you want to kill it in real-time marketing, you have to be there… in real time. It sounds simple, yet brands have built-in obstacles to overcome by way of corporate policies, lack of buy-in across the organization, legal or other concerns. The opportunity to grow as a truly social brand with Twitter for real-time engagement is there. Is your company keeping up or falling behind?


text:
Significant reasons Behind the increase of CBD use within Texas cbd oil gold formula
Recently, there’s been an increase when you look at the utilization of CBD oil services and products generally in most elements of the U.S. for example, there is an important rise of cbd items in Texas when you look at the couple that is last of. Nonetheless, there nevertheless exists some confusion concerning the distinction between CBD and THC. The legality of CBD is most states can be a total outcome associated with the knowledge that CBD is non-psychoactive and its particular usage cannot result in a “high”. From the contrary, THC tetrahydrocannabinol has an effect that is euphoric are certain to get you high. CBD produces a therapeutic and relaxing impact that has allowed the ingredient to be manufactured and added products that are many.
The increase of CBD within the last couple of couple of years is well documented and professionals believe the CBD oil industry will reach $22 billion within the next 3 years. CBD is legal in many states, however in Texas, the legality remains in grey areas. In December of 2018, the Farm Bill ended up being passed away into legislation wherehemp will not any longer be underneath the medication guidelines but should be handled underneath the Agriculture Department being a crop.
Issue which includes perhaps not been effortlessly managed in Texas but is, is CBD oil legal in Texas? Even though the 2018 Farm Bill had been passed away into legislationbecause of the Senate, CBD oil is not legalized in Texas. The manufacturing and make of CBD oil is unlawful in Texas.
Although Texas has not yet legalized the creation of CBD, major shops across their state have actually CBD oil services and services and products on the racks. These items consist of CBD topical, tinctures, capsules, vapes, edibles, and others that are many. The CBD services and products in Texas are believed to assistance with anxiety, seizures, fat reduction, relief of pain, despair, and migraines. Listed below are a reasons that are few the increase of CBD used in Texas.
Treatment plan for Seizures
a quantity of CBD oil users have already come out to praise the element on its effectiveness in pain alleviation. A neuroscience for example, Jokubas Ziburkus teacher during the University of Houston says that “CBD is a substance from the cannabis plant which have effects that are positive clients clinically determined to have epilepsy while the Alzheimer’s disease”. Epidiolex is just a medication that is cbd happens to be cleared because of the FDA to be used in clients with seizures. Although people may nevertheless have the question is CBD oil legal in Texas? people identified as having seizures may use epidiolex which includes been cleared being a medicine for the condition.
Soreness is a state of being which impacts many individuals for a basis that is daily. Pain may cover anything from migraines, headaches, injuries, and pain associated with conditions like arthritis and cancer tumors. Experts are making the finding that CBD has pain-relieving impacts. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is in charge of regulating human body functions like sleep, discomfort, and appetite. CBD functions by impacting the experience for the receptors that are endocannabinoid therefore reducing chronic inflammation and pain. CBD items in Texas have already been discovered to be effective into the remedy for pain-related dilemmas therefore increasing its popularity.
Reduce Anxiousness and Depression
Anxiousness and depression affect an incredible number of individuals, and these psychological problems may have effects that are adverse the wellbeing of an individual. Statistics through the WHO indicated that anxiety and depression will be the biggest contributors to disability worldwide. As such, it’s important to treat these conditions before they escalate to extreme amounts. CBD items in Texas have shown vow into the remedy for depression and anxiety. Pharmaceutical drugs haven’t been effective in dealing with these conditions Resulting in the need for treatment with no relative negative effects.
The increase of CBD have not just been witnessed in Texas however in other major towns and cities throughout the U.S., it really is obvious that the trend will carry on due to the fact industry is anticipated to cultivate exponentially later on. CBD oil items are required become legalized as research into its use and benefits continues. The Food And Drug Administration has arrived to a contract that CBD itself is certainly not harmful or dangerous but only time can inform.


text:
China, the world's second-biggest oil user, will reduce gasoline and diesel prices by the most since 2008 after global crude costs slumped. State-controlled retail gasoline prices will fall by 530 Yuan (83 dollars) a metric ton and diesel will be cut by 510 Yuan, the National Development and Reform Commission, NDRC, the nation's top economic planner, said on its website last week.
The cut is the steepest since the government's current pricing system was introduced in December 2008 and is also interpreted as an attempt by Chinese authorities to contain inflation and stimulate consumption.
However a drop in fuel prices threatens to reduce revenue at China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. and PetroChina Co., the nation's biggest refiners, offsetting cheaper crude costs and extending processing losses that widened last quarter. Brent oil in London, a benchmark grade tracked by China's government, entered a so-called bear market on June 1 after sliding more than 20% from this year's high.
China Petroleum, or Sinopec, had a 16-fold increase in its first-quarter refining loss to 9.2 billion Yuan compared with a year earlier, the company said April 26. PetroChina said its operating loss from processing widened to 10.4 billion Yuan in the three months from 6.1 billion Yuan a year earlier.
A decrease of 530 Yuan a ton, or 24 US cents a gallon, wouldn't fully reflect the decline in crude, according to calculations by C1 Energy, a Shanghai-based commodity researcher. It correctly reported the fuel-price changes on its website Friday before official announcements. Prices should fall by as much as 620 Yuan under government rules, it said.
The cut is equivalent to a 5.5% drop in average retail gasoline prices, based on government data. The NDRC considers adjusting fuel rates when the 22-day moving average of Brent, Dubai and Indonesia's Cinta crude changes more than 4% from the previous revision.


text:
Turns out that washing and drying your hands in the bathroom might actually be making you sick, according to a new study from the University of Westminster.
Researchers found that Dyson Airblades—those futuristic dryers you stick your hands into for a few seconds—actually spread 60 times more germs than regular hand dryers, and 1,300 times more germs than paper towels, according to the university's paper published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
After dunking their hands in virus-laden water and testing all three drying methods, researchers found the Dyson dryer's 430 mph air blasts could disperse viruses nine feet across a bathroom, whereas standard dryers only spread viruses around 30 inches. Paper towels, the study concluded, are your safest bet: They only spread viruses about 10 inches.
After a similar study was done in 2014 by the University of Leeds, professor Mark Wilcox told the Telegraph, "Next time you dry your hands in a public toilet using an electric hand dryer, you may be spreading bacteria without knowing it. You may also be splattered with bugs from other people's hands." The study found that the air around electric dryers had 27 times the number of germs than the air around paper towel dispensers.
In February 2016, Dyson released a vicious smear campaign aimed at hand towels, claiming 88 percent of unused paper towels are covered all over with nasty bacteria and "can contain large communities" of bacteria before they even reach the bathroom.
The world is dirty. Our hands are dirty. The germs will get us in the end.


text:
Some speculative details have been leaked about the new iPad from an iLounge source. The source claims that features of the new iPad will include RFID/NFC, a new carbon fiber material, and a 7-inch screen.
1. RFID/NFC – Apple is developing new technology that can communicate with near-field radio chips.
2. The source at iLounge said to be cautionary about the new body material rumor. The rumor is that Apple may be using carbon fiber instead of aluminum for the next iPad version to reduce the weight. Apple also has a patent on it.
3. The last rumor is that the next iPad version will have a 7-inch option, not just a 10-inch option.


text:
Industrial production. NY Fed manufacturing. Retail sales weakening. Secular trends. Sentiment watch. Earnings watch. Broker poetry. Eroding equities undervaluation. China retail sales. Spain vs France. Currency wars. Oil. Mining. Bill Miller.
Monitoring for any signs of a growth problem like in 2010 (starting in May), 2011 (January)and 2012 (April):
- Industrial Sector Slowed in January U.S. industrial production edged lower in January as auto and other manufacturers trimmed output.
But Markit reassures us:
Industrial production fell 0.1% in January, confounding analysts’ expectations of a 0.2% increase. The downturn was led by a 0.4% drop in manufacturing output. However, December’s industrial production numbers were revised up, from 0.3% to 0.4%, and November had seen a 1.4% increase.
The January data therefore need to be looked at in part as an
adjustment of production levels from the strong upturn seen late last year, and importantly the three-month growth rate accelerated from 0.6% in December to 1.5% in January, pointing to the strongest underlying growth trend since last February.
Manufacturing output is meanwhile still up 1.9% in the latest three-month period, despite the wobble in January, enjoying the strongest pace of expansion since last April.
Same thing with retail sales: 3-ms growth through January is accelerating. And the NY Fed manufacturing survey jumped 18 points to 10.0 with the new orders index climbing 20 points to 13.3
Alexander Ineichen’s high frequency indicators table is stable:
- Readings Bolster Hope on Economy U.S. consumers are showing surprising resilience, providing some hope for the economy as a new round of Washington budget battles approaches.
Consumer confidence jumped more than expected in the first half of this month despite higher payroll taxes since the beginning of the year, according to a gauge released Friday by the University of Michigan. Its index of consumer sentiment rose to 76.3, up 2.5 points. (…)
The U.S. economy lost $16 trillion in total wealth from the end of 2007, when the U.S. recession started, until early 2009, he said. That amounted to about a quarter of total U.S. wealth. It has since regained $13.5 trillion of that wealth, mostly owing to a rebound in the stock market and recent improvement in housing prices.
I don’t post often on consumer confidence surveys. Here’s why: CONSUMER SENTIMENT SURVEYS. DON’T BE TOO SENTIMENTAL! And here’s the better readings on consumers:
- Consumer is O.K.
Food company J.M. Smucker Co. on Friday said sales rose 6% in the three months ended Jan. 31 from the same period a year earlier. CEO Richard Smucker said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the economy going forward, and noted that the industry as a whole has seen stronger demand in recent weeks. “We are actually seeing the consumer be a little more confident and therefore spending a little more,” Mr. Smucker told investors.
- Consumer is dead: Wal-Mart Executives Sweat Slow February Start in E-Mails
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had the worst sales start to a month in seven years as payroll-tax increases hit shoppers already battling a slow economy, according to internal e-mails obtained by Bloomberg News.
“In case you haven’t seen a sales report these days, February MTD sales are a total disaster,” Jerry Murray, Wal- Mart’s vice president of finance and logistics, said in a Feb. 12 e-mail to other executives, referring to month-to-date sales. “The worst start to a month I have seen in my ~7 years with the company.” (…)
Murray’s comments about February sales follow disappointing results from January, a month that Cameron Geiger, senior vice president of Wal-Mart U.S. Replenishment, said he was relieved to see end, according to a separate internal e-mail obtained by Bloomberg News.
“(…) Where are all the customers? And where’s their money?” (…)
“As with any organization, we often see internal communications that are not entirely accurate, that lack the proper context and represent individual opinions,” David Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in an interview, adding that the company will report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 21. Wal- Mart’s fourth quarter ends in January. (…)
About $19.7 billion more in tax refunds had been delivered to shoppers by this time last year, according to an analysis prepared by Wal-Mart’s Global Customer Insights & Analytics division that was attached to Murray’s e-mail on Feb. 12. The retailer expected returns to be delayed by three to four weeks because of the late release of tax forms and additional, federally mandated tax-fraud scrutiny. (…)
Even with a slow January, Wal-Mart is gaining market share steadily, Simon said.
“That points to our competitive landscape, which means everyone is suffering and probably worse than we are,” Simon said, according to the minutes.
What to think? I side with Wal-Mart, the largest and most sophisticated retailer in the world. These e-mails have not been denied by WMT. Their sales problems seem to be industry-wide since they see they market share growing. And it jibes with weekly chain store sales reports:
- On the other hand, ISI surveys, which have done a good job warning of previous slowdowns, are, so far, not declining. Their diffusion index is going sideways, however, as “some of the consumer surveys with smaller ticket size have decelerated recently”.
Yet, when I scrutinize ISI’s surveys up to Feb. 15, I find that:
- Auto dealers surveys are slowing and, at 51.1, are flirting with the 50 level;
- Broadline retailers surveys have clearly weakened;
- Specialty retailers surveys are stable at a weak level;
- Restaurant surveys have slipped below 50;
- Credit card companies surveys have slipped below 50;
Only Consumer staples companies surveys have improved in recent weeks and not by much.
STRONG SECULAR TRENDS
In spite of its own “short term” hurdles and of significant problems abroad, the U.S. economy keeps surprising. Its resilience comes from new positive secular trends:
- HOUSING, now a front page phenomenon. Note that ISI homebuilders surveys remain very, very strong!
- THE ENERGY GAME CHANGER, also front page now, and
- THE U.S. MANUFACTURING RENAISSANCE, no longer page 16 but not quite front page material yet:
According to just-released data from the Federal Reserve, oil & gas extraction remains a key driver of industrial output. As today’s Hot
Chart shows, volume extraction has increased by more than 30% in the past three years. The last time the U.S. produced so much oil & gas was in 1974.
This unexpected energy surge is playing an important role in helping revive the U.S. manufacturing base. The new abundance of oil & gas is altering the outlook for U.S.-based production of chemicals and plastics. As shown, both industries are now adding capacity for the first time in five years. We would expect this situation to endure for the foreseeable
future since capacity utilization is running near the pre-recession high of 80%. Increased production will have to be met with increased capacity. (NBF Financial)
Reliable and sustainable energy sources are vital to a growing economy, boding well for the future, but perhaps more importantly, this again illustrates what creative minds in America can achieve when market forces are left to work. (Schwab Market Perspective: Seeing the Forest)
That also helps:
11.1 years: The average age of light vehicles in the U.S. last year, according to automotive-research firm Polk.
The index has risen 8.37% over that period. The Russell 2000 also made it seven straight weeks of gains. It is up 10.94% in the past seven weeks.
S&P 500 Getting Close to Consensus Price Target At the start of the year, the consensus Wall Street year-end price target for the S&P 500 was 1,531, which translates into a gain of 8.76%. With the index up 6.65% year to date, the market is already close to the consensus price target after just a month and a half.
That may be what is keeping the S&P 500 Index stuck at 1520. You can bet that, unless the economy turns bad in coming weeks, these “targets” will get a lift up accompanied with silly rhetoric such as this one from Citigroup’s European strategy group (my emphasis):
(…) However, policy makers and the healing process of time are reducing the fear. The risks of falling are still there but confidence in the safety net is increasing. This is being played out in risk assets rallying. We believe
there is more to go as investors time horizons lengthen. While we do not expect plain sailing from here we see equity markets at least 10% higher by the year end.
First the bad news that we all already know. The weak economic conditions especially in Europe in 2013 as more austerity bites will make the bottom up forecasts of 10% earnings growth very difficult to achieve. We view 5% as a more likely outcome.
But this is not a secret and the market should have discounted this already. What is more important is the outlook for 2014 earnings. As we have detailed above we expect economic growth to inflect in 2013 and be accelerating into 2014. This in itself makes double digit earnings growth more likely in our view.
While the EBITDA margin is at relatively high levels because leverage is low () the RoE is less stretched. We believe that margins should be sustainable around current levels given stable economic conditions, steady commodity prices and little delta in corporate capex.
Taking the 12m forward PE the market is trading at around a 10% discount to its 25 year average. Normalisation points to upside. Price to book is trading at a similar discount while ex Financials the markets are back to average. Of course by their very nature markets have to spend time above and below average to make up that average. Using the trailing PE, as it is a longer source of data, the market trades at above average multiples 48% of the time. It is not unusual to be re-rated.
So, 2013 is already well understood and discounted so we have to buy on 2014 prospects which call for 10% EPS growth because the economy is currently inflecting. Margins should remain high thanks to stable everything. And valuation is attractive because it is 10% below its last 25-year average (which includes 7 years of bubbly P/Es but never mind that since stocks trade above average 48% of the time).
Beautiful broker poetry!
The only worthy thing in this report is this chart which, I assume because it is not explicit, correlates the U.S. ISM with U.S. earnings momentum. Contrary to Citigroup, I fail to feel positive, just yet, on earnings based on this chart.
- In Europe:
Some 54 percent of companies in the Stoxx 600 reported earnings that topped analysts’ estimates this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fifty-six percent beat revenue projections, the data show. (Bloomberg)
- In the U.S.
Below is an updated look at the earnings and revenue beat rates for the fourth quarter reporting period (which comes to an end next Thursday). As shown below, 63.6% of US stocks that have reported this season have beaten earnings estimates, while 64% have beaten revenue estimates.
I essentially rely on S&P data for my earnings and valuation analysis. This is important now since S&P includes “actuarial gains or losses” on pension expense in operating income, unlike some other aggregators.
S&P reports that as of Feb. 14, 79% of S&P companies had reported Q4 results. The beat rate is 64.9% while the miss rate was 24.5%. Ex-IT (beat rate of 82%), the beat rate drops to 61.7% and the miss rate rises to 27%.
Total Q4 EPS keep declining and are now seen at $23.32, down $0.21 from Feb. 6 and $0.51 from Jan. 31. As a result, trailing 12-month earnings dipped to $96.99, down 0.4% from their Q3’12 level, their first decline since 2009.
Q1’13 estimates stabilized lately: they are estimated at $25.62, up 5.6% Y/Y. If achieved , trailing 12-month EPS would rise to $98.37. Keep in mind that Q4’12 results will likely come in nearly 8% below what analysts were estimating less than 2 months ago.
The creeping market and easing trailing earnings are slowly eroding the market undervaluation which is now 14%, down from 21% in December.
U.S. companies that do significant chunks of their business in Japanese yen are starting to see some serious costs associated with the currency’s recent decline.
“It’s having a significant top line and bottom line impact,” Wolfgang Koester, chief executive of foreign exchange risk-management company FiREapps told CFO Journal. While companies have spent much of the past year focused on protecting themselves from fluctuations in European currencies, the impact of the dollar-yen exchange rate over the past quarter has taken some companies by surprise, and could worsen if companies fail to put in hedges to absorb some of the impact, Mr. Koester said.
The Japanese yen has rapidly lost ground against the dollar, falling about 20% since November. (…)
Handbag maker Coach , Inc., for example, said last month that its fiscal second quarter Japanese sales fell 7% from the same period a year earlier in dollar terms due to the weaker yen. The sales were only off 2% in constant currency terms.
Automotive companies and airlines are also reporting negative impacts. (…)
“It isn’t just the dollar-yen” that has become a drag on results, Mr. Koester said. “The euro-yen is an even bigger exposure for some companies because of the European financial crisis. It is totally catching them off-guard.”
China New Year Retail Sales Growth Slows on Austerity Shop and restaurant sales in China during the week-long Lunar New Year festival rose at the slowest pace in four years as a government campaign to discourage extravagant spending limited outlays on food and drink.
SPAIN VS FRANCE
The improved competitiveness is illustrated by Spain’s recent success in attracting automotive manufacturing expansions by Ford, Renault, Nissan, and Volkswagen, despite a weak overall market in Europe. (Schwab Market Perspective: Seeing the Forest)
There’s a Feeling of Instability Bubbling Up Even so, there are good reasons to believe that talk of currency wars is, for the moment, just talk.
The U.S. was the first country to be accused of waging currency war, when Brazil objected to the Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing in 2011, which was widely seen as a naked attempt to drive down the dollar.
The new Japanese government may now claim that its promise of a massive monetary and fiscal stimulus is solely designed to boost the domestic economy but it has made little secret of its desire to see a weaker yen. Similarly, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has been open in his view that a further devaluation of sterling, on top of the 20% depreciation since the start of the global financial crisis is needed to further rebalance the economy—even while warning that other countries risk triggering competitive depreciations. (…)
At the same time, the global prohibition on competitive devaluations appears asymmetric; countries that have intervened to prevent their currencies rising, such as Switzerland, have so far escaped censure. Goldman Sachs argues this de-facto global stand-off over currencies represents an unofficial Global Exchange Rate Mechanism. (…)
After all, central banks have so far largely welcomed rising asset prices as a sign of restored confidence and view low yields as creating an incentive for investment.
In the absence of domestic political support, it would take a brave policy maker to argue that soaring asset prices risk creating a new debt-fueled misallocation of capital and threaten to pull away the punch bowl. But perhaps they’re made of sterner stuff these days.
There we go!
Yen resumes slide after G20 Comments on currency devaluation fail to single out Japan
Investors turn their backs on sterling Bets against pound second in volume only to yen
Norway Ready to Use Rate Cuts to Cool Krone, Olsen Says “A pronounced weakening of growth prospects, or a krone that is too strong, may over time lead to inflation that’s too low,” Olsen also said in the text of his annual speech held yesterday in Oslo. “Such development would be counteracted by monetary policy measures.”
Abe Pressures BOJ Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that if the central bank is unable to achieve the 2% inflation target that it has set, that would be a condition for changing the Bank of Japan’s law.
Japan PM says BOJ easing a key factor driving FX Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday the central bank’s monetary policy is not directly aimed at weakening the yen, but is among key factors driving exchange-rate moves.
Risk appetite is an important factor – but wars of any kind are bad for trade
(…) Certainly a strong yen is bad for Japan’s exporters. Popular thinking goes that a weaker one will thus lift profits and stocks. Since November 14, when Yoshihiko Noda called a general election, the yen has fallen 14 per cent against the dollar and the Topix has rallied by 30 per cent. Carmakers, as some of the biggest exporters, are among the biggest beneficiaries of a weaker currency. Toyota gains about Y38bn ($407m) in operating income – or 3 per cent of its full-year target – for every Y1 weakening, Nomura estimates. Add in the yen’s 15 per cent slide against the Korean won since November, which should hamper Japan’s biggest rivals, and exporters are in clover.
That does not make the stocks the biggest gainers from yen weakness – those are in fact banks and other financial groups. For every 5 per cent the yen weakens versus the dollar or won, the Topix banks index tends to gain 25 and 12 per cent respectively, according to CLSA. Transport stocks and the big electronics exporters add half that. That suggests the real driver is not the currency move and its profit effects so much as risk appetite. It was a flight to safety that drove the yen to its painful peaks. Now stock market volumes are up amid bets of even looser monetary policy.
Wars of any kind are bad for trade. Avoiding currency moves becoming a pitched battle should be good for the animal spirits that really move the yen – and the stock market.
Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro’s recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn’t supported it with a fiscal union.
“The whole thing is doomed,” Christensen said yesterday in an interview at the bank’s Dubai office. “Right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all.” (…)
“Another possible fallout is getting rid of some of the countries that are being ruined by being in the euro, notably the southern European economies,” Christensen said. “People have been dramatically underestimating the problems the French are going to get from this. Once the French get into a full- scale crisis, it’s over. Even the Germans cannot pay for that one and probably will not.”
Saudi Arabia’s crude oil output fell in December to a 19-month low as shipments from OPEC’s biggest producer dropped for a third month and domestic consumption decreased, the Joint Organisations Data Initiative said.
The kingdom exported 7.06 million barrels of crude a day in December, the least since September 2011, JODI reported, citing statistics the government submitted to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Exports were 1.3 percent lower than the previous month. Production dropped 4.8 percent in the month to 9.03 million barrels a day.
Saudi Arabia, which burns oil to produce electricity and desalinate water, is seeking to increase use of natural gas as a substitute fuel. By doing so, the government plans to free up more crude for sale overseas, where the commodity can sell at higher prices than it does at home.
The kingdom burned 303,000 barrels a day at power plants in December, the lowest level in 10 months, according to the data. That is 29 percent less than what it burned a year ago.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, stored 276.6 million barrels of crude within its borders in December compared with 278.9 million a month earlier, the data show. Refineries processed 1.73 million barrels a day during the month, down by 44,000 barrels a day from November.
Anecdotally, the economy in South Florida is clearly softening. There are vacancies all along A1A on the sea coast, right in prime season, and most business people I talk to say biz is slow.
Some things will never change:
Rash acquisitions leave miners in a hole Companies report multibillion-dollar writedowns
BILL MILLER INTERVIEW


text:
// Boohoo introduces new in-house textile and apparel laboratory at Manchester head office
// The online retailer said it wants the lab to give suppliers better visibility of product performance
Boohoo Group has introduced an in-house textile and apparel laboratory at its Manchester head office.
The online retailer said it wants the new lab to give suppliers better visibility of product performance, with a variety of retail testing available to ensure that products meet both the legal and performance standards required.
The group is one of only two retailers in the UK to invest in facilities of this kind and benefits will include increased transparency, decreased supplier workload, reduced costs, increased speed and agility, education support both internal & external and most importantly driving improvements in quality, consistency and customer experience.
The lab also supports the group’s sustainability goals and the targets for implementing more sustainable fabrics into garments.
The business has also started to buy fabric directly from textile mills and the lab will allow for those fabrics to be tested on quality and durability, so the business and the customer can be more confident around the longevity of the fabrics.
The lab will also support on the commitment to the microfiber consortium around micro fibre shedding in garments, as it will provide details of the performance of the garment during washing.
The manufacturing site delivers capacity for tens of thousands of garments, with facilities to support both MTO and printing.
The factory represents millions of pounds worth of investment into the local economy, delivering up to 200 new jobs.


text:
Shopkeepers are anxious as they fear they might have to give up their business due to the rising cases of Covid in the city.
Bengaluru: Shopkeepers fear that the second wave of Covid-19, will force them to pull the curtains down on their business. Most of them have been struggling to revive their business as there are not enough customers. Most of the shops near Church Street have been closed permanently as they could not bear the brunt of the losses during the lockdown.
Some of the shopkeepers were seen sitting idle, waiting for the customers to come to their shops. Sayed Nasar, an owner of a local jewelry shop, feared that he wouldn’t be able to handle the loss if the city goes under partial lockdown. The shopkeepers don’t know what the future holds for them. They fear, just like the other shops, they will also have to close their shops due to the rising cases.


text:
DeTomaso boss Rossignolo arrested in probe for $9.2 million in public funds
Gian Mario Rossignolo intended to generate a rebirth of the DeTomaso brand beginning with the production of a new crossover/sport utility vehicle, a new offering in the limo segment and the return of the high performance DeTomaso Pantera supercar. The new DeTomaso brand had planned to use a former Pininfarina factory in Turin Italy to build these new models with roughly 1,000 workers hired and trained to run the plant. Unfortunately, those 1,000 workers have been temporary layoff since 2010.
Part of the DeTomaso business plan included public funding to turn around the Turin factory, which included millions of dollars to go towards a training project. Overall, the company received roughly $9.2 million US dollars (7.5 million Euros) to bring the brand back to life but when the automaker began complaining of financial issues, Italian authorities asked tax police to look into how the millions of dollars of public funding were being used. Unfortunately for the DeTomaso bosses, the early stages of the investigation found that funds may have been channeled to privately held bank accounts – one of which reportedly belonged to DeTomaso head and former Fiat executive Gian Mario Rossignolo. The other two accounts were allegedly held by the head of DeTomaso’s human resources office and “a financial intermediary”.


text:
(Yicai Global) May 10 -- Chinese online learning platforms Yuanfudao and Zuoyebang were both given the maximum fine possible for sham advertising campaigns that deceived customers, the market regulator said today.
Operators Beijing Yuanli Education Technology and Boat Out of Sea Education Technology were each penalized CNY2.5 million (USD388,700), the State Administration for Market Regulation said.
Yuanfudao, the world’s most valuable education technology company worth USD15.5 billion as of October last year, falsely promoted its classroom courses as “one-to-one” tutoring and fudged teachers’ experience, the watchdog said.
Zuoyebang, another Beijing-based edtech unicorn which raked in another USD1.6 billion in funding last December, lied about “co-operating with the United Nations” on its website and also faked teachers’ credentials, it said.
Both e-educators inflated then discounted course prices to trick customers into signing up, it added.
The two companies accept the decision and will take all necessary corrective action, online news outlet The Paper reported.
The Covid-19 pandemic has given online tutors an unexpected boost as many schools turned to home learning. The scale of China’s kindergarten through twelfth grade e-teaching last year is likely to be one-and-a-half times that of the year before at CNY168.7 billion (USD26.2 billion), according to US market research firm Frost & Sullivan.
Editor: Kim Taylor


text:
Tech giant Amazon will offer $10 in promotional credits if you enroll your Palm Prints in its checkout-free stores and link it to your Amazon’s account, media reports said on Tuesday.
Last year, Amazon introduced its new biometric palm print scanner, the Amazon One, so that customers could pay for goods in certain stores by simply waving their palm print on one of these scanners.
As of February, the company has expanded its Palm Scanner to other Amazon grocery, book and 4-star stores in Seattle, TechCrunch reports.
According to the report, it has since expanded its biometric scanning technology to its stores across the US, including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Texas.
Amazon is offering $10 in credit for your palm print https://t.co/GSfWRHSu1e pic.twitter.com/J0FC7G5Tly
— Engadget (@engadget) August 3, 2021
Retail and Cloud Giant said its Palm Scanning hardware captures the subtle features of your palm, both surface-area details like lines and ridges as well as subcutaneous features like vein patterns, to create the signature of your palm. which is stored in the cloud and used to verify your identity when you are in one of its stores.
The report says that Palm Print cannot do much on its own. Although firm said it uses an unspecified subset of anonymous palm data to improve the technology. But by linking it to your Amazon account, Amazon can use aggregated data, such as purchase history, to target ads, offers and recommendations to you over time.
Amazon also said that it stores Palm data indefinitely, unless you choose to delete the data, when there are no outstanding transactions left, even if you’ve been doing this for two years, the report said. Do not use the feature.


text:
7 Of The Biggest ‘Shark Tank’ Success Stories
Audiences can’t get enough of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” now in its fifth season. Each episode, entrepreneurs pitch their business plans as the sharks circle the tank. If their idea catches the interest of one of the investors, they have the opportunity to see their sales soar. But if the business is a flop-in-waiting, or if the numbers don’t add up, they could see their hopes and dreams shatter in front of millions. Last year, Wall Street Insanity brought you 5 great rejects from the “Shark Tank.” Now, we bring you some of its biggest success stories:
Ava the Elephant
Entrepreneur Tiffany Krumins figured out a unique way to help the medicine go down – without a spoonful of sugar. In 2009 she brought her idea, Ava the Elephant, to the “Shark Tank” in hopes of obtaining a partner that could help get her company off the ground. She may not have had a patent or even a mold for her children’s medicine dropper, but it was too cute for investor Barbara Corcoran to pass up. Of course, always none too short on words, Kevin O’Leary snarked at the infant company: “It’s not a business, it’s an idea,” he told Krumins. Still, Corcoran saw the product’s potential and offered Krumins $50,000 for 55 percent of her company. And it paid off. Sales soared from just $100,000 in 2010 to $500,000 in 2011 – and 2013 sales were forecast for more than $1 million! Ava the Elephant is now sold in 10 countries and is available in more than 10,000 stores in the U.S. alone. Krumins and Corcoran has launched an extension of their company: a new Ava product that will monitor a child’s temperature.
Sharks were blown away in 2012 when Alabama entrepreneur Travis Perry showed up to the tank with Big & Rich’s very own John Rich to help pitch his product, a device that helps children – or any novice – learn to play guitar chords. Perry had devised the tool himself when he saw his son struggling to learn the instrument. Perry’s ingenuity impressed all the sharks and he walked away with an investment from Robert Herjavec — $175,000 for just 20 percent of his company. Although ChordBuddy sold an impressive $130,000 in 2010, the investment paid off and sales were nearly $2 million in 2012. The device is now sold at more than 200 retail outlets, and the company has even developed its own line of acoustic guitars.
What cat owner hasn’t, at some point in time, wished to see their furry friend climb up on the loo and use the toilet. No more messy litter boxes to clean and no more smell! Pennsylvania entrepreneur Rebecca Rescate felt the same way, and so she invented a device that helps to toilet train cats. She brought her invention to the “Shark Tank” in 2011, and watched Kevin Harrington and Barbara Corcoran bid against one another for the opportunity to invest. With an offer of $100,000 for 20 percent of her company, Kevin Harrington became her business partner. Rescate soon found the success for which she sought. Although Citikitty sold $100,000 in product when it launched in 2005, by 2011 revenue exceeded $1 million. She even pitched her product to consumers during appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman” and “The View.” Citikitty is now available in 1,000 stores, and the company has also added a line of cat and dog treats.
Back in 2011, mother-and-daughter team Kim Nelson and Geraldine Adams entered the “Shark Tank” in hopes of getting an investment for their specialty cakes. Even though Nelson later noted that all the male investors couldn’t stop eating the cakes, Barbara Corcoran was the shark who ultimately invested in the company. With a meager investment of $50,000, Corcoran bought 25 percent of the business, and it soon paid off! With just $88,000 in revenue in 2010, Daisy Cakes sold $602,000 just one year later. Nelson has even appeared on QVC to promote Daisy Cakes, as well as the “Nate Berkes Show,” “Anderson Cooper,” “ABC World News” and “The Today Show.”
Copa di Vino
Entrepreneur and vintner James Martin wanted to get his single-serve wine that comes in a glass to the world, and he has – thanks to his 2012 appearance on “Shark Tank.” Although the sharks didn’t bite during his first appearance in 2011, they must have had non-buyer’s remorse because Martin became the only entrepreneur to be invited to re-pitch his business when he appeared in the tank again one year later. As it turned out, however, Martin didn’t need the investment, although the publicity surely helped. He turned down investor offers during each appearance, but has since seen revenue skyrocket from a not-too-shabby $300,000 in 2010 to $12 million in 2012. Copa di Vino is now sold in 42 states, including locations such as MGM. Hotels and Wal-Mart.
The Painted Pretzel
It never hurts to feed the sharks! Entrepreneur Raven Thomas’ tasty assortment of pretzels impressed the investors in the tank. But thanks to a $100,000 investment from Mark Cuban – who got 25 percent of the business in return – sales increased by 366 percent in just two years. Not only is the Painted Pretzel available in hundreds of stores, but Cuban helped Thomas partner her brand with Landmark Theaters.
Florida-based entrepreneur Alashe Nelson introduced the sharks to his system of prepurchasing tickets and reservations for luxury events. At first, Mark Cuban wasn’t interested in investing. But when fellow shark Daymond John offered a marketing partnership with artist Pitbull in order to promote the service, Cuban changed his tune. The two sharks partnered to purchase 40 percent of EzVip.com for $150,000. EzVip.com later launched in Las Vegas and Miami, with plans to expand to Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. Although revenue hasn’t been disclosed, its success has enabled it to expand services and offer access to high-end restaurants and travel accommodations.


text:
Winter Restaurant Week, put on by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), is held annually to help bring in customers during the slow season. While January is already usually a hard month for the food industry, restaurant owners are especially thankful to take part this year. Now through February 7, locals can support D.C. businesses striving to remain afloat mid-pandemic.
“We really appreciate the Restaurant Association’s work in promoting Restaurant Week every year, but especially this year,” says Chef Scott Drewno, who co-owns CHIKO and Anju. “It’s been a tough year, so it’s great to have the volume of business that we have.”
Encouraging diners to eat at restaurants – and this year, grab takeout or delivery – around the city is great for restaurants and guests. Locals get an opportunity to visit multiple restaurants in the city at a good price point while easing the strain on restaurants during this time. Drewno adds that Restaurant Week not only brings in much-needed business, but also allows chefs to get creative in the kitchen.
“We’re always tinkering and working on new items,” he says. “The great thing about Restaurant Week is that it gives us the opportunity to have fun with new stuff. At CHIKO, guests can choose one of any four of our snacks, one of any four of our appetizers and one of any four of our [entrees]. It’s almost like a choose your own adventure, so it’s a really fun experience.”
Even with indoor dining allowed at reduced capacity, many restaurants are struggling during the winter months. Kaz Okochi, owner of KAZ Sushi Bistro, says that indoor dining has not been possible at his restaurant because the small space would only allow for a few tables to be seated. For the first time in its 22 years, KAZ Sushi Bistro has gone carryout and delivery-only. While Okochi admits this transition has not been easy, he and his staff have tried to make the best of it and changed up their menu to better suit their to-go model.
“The biggest difference is, due to the pandemic, our menu is smaller,” he explains. “We wanted to do something a little bit different this year for the Restaurant Week menu, so we added a hot pot dish perfect for the wintertime. You get a cup of soup [and] the protein. Customers only need to put it in a pot to heat it up for a couple of minutes, and it’s ready.”
Okochi hopes that the support from guests during Restaurant Week is a great step forward for the rest of the year. Restaurants will continue to struggle until it is deemed safe enough to have more customers eat inside. But if Washingtonians continue to order from local restaurants, we can enjoy establishments like KAZ for years to come.
“Anything helps,” Okochi concludes.
You can order from restaurants like Anju, CHIKO and KAZ Sushi Bistro and more before Winter Restaurant Week comes to a close on February 7. You’ll get a great meal and help a local business to boot, so get on your stretchy pants and eat until you’ve tasted all that D.C. has to offer.
Find the list of all participating restaurants in the DMV at www.ramw.org/restaurantweek. Visit www.chikodc.com for a full Restaurant Week menu or to place your order. Follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @chikofrc. Visit www.anjurestaurant.com and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @anjufrc. Visit www.kazsushi.com and follow them on Instagram and Twitter @kazsushibistro, or on Facebook @kazsushi.
Anju: 1805 18th St. NW, DC; open Monday – Sunday, 5-9:30 p.m.
CHIKO Capitol Hill: 423 8th St. SE, DC; open Monday – Sunday, 5-9 p.m.
CHIKO Dupont: 2029 P St. NW, DC; 202-331-3040; open Monday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
CHIKO Bethesda: 7280 Woodmont Ave. Bethesda, MD; hours not listed
KAZ Sushi Bistro: 1915 I St. NW, DC; 202-530-5500; open Monday – Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 5:30-10 p.m., and Saturday, 5:30-10 p.m.
Enjoy this piece? Consider becoming a member for access to our premium digital content. Support local journalism and start your membership today.


text:
Innovator, activist, philanthropist
“I was recruited to Wall Street because of my Emory MBA.”
Belk, scion of one of Charlotte, N.C.’s most philanthropic families, graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 1971. He was planning to study for his MBA there, too when a dean at UNC suggested Emory offered something different. “It had the best finance program in the country,” Belk, 70, says.
“I was recruited to Wall Street because of my Emory MBA.” He still sounds amazed by the job offers. His father, however, was unmoved.
“You are going to sell underwear,” his dad reminded him. (Cue the laughter; Belk has a big laugh.)
Belk’s years at Emory coincided with the beginning of the computer age. He even met Tom Watson Jr., the legendary president of IBM, through one of his professors. He liked the idea of innovation and creating efficiencies.
He would prove exceptionally good at selling not just underwear but everything Belk offered.
That included women’s wear. His dad and uncles told him he’d start as a women’s wear buyer. He reminded them he was a rugby player, he recalls with a big laugh. “I don’t know anything about women’s fashion,” he told them. He needed to learn every aspect of the business, they said.
Rather than heading to Wall Street, Belk moved to tiny Elizabeth City, N.C. for his first in-store job. Next, he moved to the slightly bigger Kinston, N.C. Wherever he went, he outsold the competition. “I was aggressive,” he says. “I was making 16 cents on the dollar, while most department stores were content with 3 or 4 cents on the dollar.”
He once sold 22,000 pairs of sandals in a town of 20,000.
The secret: experimenting and taking smart risks. “If I found something that was really hot and sold out in a few days, I’d reorder,” he recalls. “An average retailer might reorder 12 of that item. I’d go for 5,000. If you want to break new ground, you can’t do the same thing you’ve always done.”
He once sold 22,000 pairs of sandals in a town of 20,000. He ordered them in several colors, and a number of women bought more than one pair.
Belk was among the first to care about the retail experience. He noticed on a scouting mission to a mall outside Washington, D.C., that every store looked identical. “What store are we in?” he asked his companions. It looked like every other store they’d been in. So, he set out to distinguish Belk stores.
He also noticed bored husbands hanging around while their wives shopped. So, he put comfortable leather couches and TVs — tuned to ESPN — in Belk’s men’s departments.
“Does that make men buy?” people asked.
“Somewhat,” he’d say. “But that’s not the point. Our staff gets to know them, and that’s even more valuable.”
“I wanted to set a mood. I wanted to relax your mind.”
Over time, he saw wives come to the men’s department to tell their husbands they’d finished shopping. “But the game’s not over,” he says husbands would often say. “Go buy something else.” (More laughter.)
Carousels and aquariums — more Belk ideas — made shopping at Belk fun for a notoriously fickle audience — kids. “I wanted to set a mood,” he says. “I wanted to relax your mind.”
The Belk family ultimately sold their empire to a private equity firm, and Bill Belk branched out to other ventures (and adventures), including joining the board of Sonic Automotive, a Fortune 500 company and the fifth largest auto retailer in the country.
He’s inspired by his travels — he’d just returned from the Galapagos Islands when we met — and by philanthropic work, which focuses primarily on the arts, healthcare and education.
Belk’s career path may have been chosen for him. But his outsized success? That was largely up to him. And he says he owes it to a top-notch business education — both in the stores his grandfather founded and in the classroom at Goizueta.


text:
Statistics Canada reports that since legalization, employment numbers have nearly quadrupled to 9,500 employees in the cannabis sector. The number of companies has also more than doubled to 175 companies. This increased growth could be why Canopy Growth has seen a decline in market share recently. When legalization was first implemented, a surge of new companies emerged into the industry. By the end of last year, the total assets of the industry were nearly $4.2 billion – almost double the $2.5 billion from the previous year.
Licensed producers sold 46 metric tonnes of cannabis in 2018 and had 39 metric tonnes of inventory. While sales have increased, producers did report losses in all years since data has been recorded. This is due to the fact that 29% of business expenses include wages, salaries, and employee benefits. Raw materials and other inputs were only one-quarter of their costs. The remaining expenses include marketing fees, energy and water, professional and business fees, and interest.
The Cannabis Stats Hub revealed that after Q2 2019, Canadian men are almost twice as likely as women to have used cannabis this year. Twenty-one percent of males aged 15 and older said they have used cannabis in the first half of 2019, compared to 12% of women. More than half of Canadian men use cannabis for recreational purposes whereas women used cannabis equally for medical and recreational purposes. In terms of smoking versus edibles, three-quarters of marijuana users smoked dried flower while 26% consumed edibles even though they are not yet legal.
Even with legalization in full effect, 4 in 10 cannabis users said they sourced it illegally due to prices. The users that did visit licensed retailers did so for quality and safety reasons. The province that saw the highest amount of use was Nova Scotia, followed by Alberta. The province of Quebec has the strictest policies and had the lowest use rates. With edibles due to be legal this October, it will be interesting to see how the data is affected.


text:
The hour-long debate focused on two big trends that would have the biggest impact on the future of work for businesses: the Internet of Things versus the Collaborative Economy.
Close to 50 companies, organizations and entrepreneurs across all industries in Canada took part, with GoToMeeting Canada’s expert panelists sharing their insights on each topic.
Questions were raised about how big data can improve connected devices and how the Internet of Things can create opportunities for SMBs.
Sean Stanleigh of The Globe and Mail’s Report on Small Business spoke to the benefits of the sharing economy and how sharing services like Airbnb can make entrepreneurs out of everyone.
Read more on the how the Twitter discussion went down then join GoToMeeting Canada on Wednesday, September 10 at 12 pm EST / 9 am PST when they put Virtual Reality and Workplace Disruption head-to-head.
On Friday, September 12, don’t miss the Final Round as the last two big ideas are debated.


text:
(Los Angeles, CA) — Alice Skary, the official model liaison to top adult social platform JustFor.fans (JFF), introduces the launch of JFF Tutorials – a new educational service dedicated to helping aspiring webcam models generate more traffic and make more money.
The new service, which includes a series of publicly available informative videos that focus on the best daily online practices to engage fans, will be available to any and all aspiring performers who want to take advantage of Skary’s vast knowledge and expertise.
“I am massively excited about doing some online educational seminars and panels for the benefit of verified JFF models, and I am hoping to do our first of many free seminars very shortly,” said Skary of the new endeavor. “I think our first topic will be using mass messages / PTV messages to maximize income.”
“Before I started with JustFor.fans, I had been already doing seminars for my own group of friends on how to use adult social sites to their best advantage. Now anyone can learn some essential tips and tricks from these simple tutorials.”
Skary is currently in charge of ‘strategic guidance’ in order to assist the social platform’s straight, gay, trans and non-binary models, entertainers and influencers in applying JFF’s online tools more efficiently while increasing their audience and customer base.


text:
LET’S GO TRAVEL KENYA – ONCE A WINNER THEY JUST CARRY ON THE TRADITION(Posted 25th March 2017)
The World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town next month will provide a suitable backdrop for the African Responsible Tourism Awards 2017 and it is understood that Kenya’s Let’s Go Travel is on the list for consideration.
This award scheme now exists since 2014 and has fast established itself as one of the most coveted awards African businesses can capture.
Affiliated to the World Responsible Tourism Awards is the African ‘offspring‘ keen to recognize excellence on our own continent and showcase best practice where it exists.
Also check out the organizers Facebook page via https://www.facebook.com/BetterTourismAfrica/
Only recently did they bag another award at ITB Berlin by Travel Life after having been repeatedly crowned an ‘Ecowarrior‘ by Kenya’s EcoTourism organization over the past years.
This correspondent, being on site at WTM 2017 as one of the speakers – also at the sister event IBTM 2017 at the same venue – will be rooting for Alan Dixson and his team to win and whatever good news will come out of Cape Town be sure to read it right here.
Additional information about the award scheme can be accessed via www.africanresponsibletourismawards.com


text:
Ferrari has released a teaser image of its upcoming SUV, bringing an end to months of speculation of how the new car could look.
The Italian firm revealed the new model – expected to be called the Purosangue – on its social media channels yesterday (March 23).
Accompanying the heavily darkened image was the caption ‘ ‘you’ve heard the rumours… and we’re delighted to confirm that they’re true (some of them)’.
The Maranello-based manufacturer has said that people should ‘stand by for a genuine game changer’ with more details surrounding the new model due to be revealed later this year.
It added that the new model has a bloodline that can be ‘traced back through our 75-year history of innovation, evolution and uncompromising performance’.
You’ve heard the rumours… and we’re delighted to confirm they’re true (some of them). All will be revealed later this year. #Ferrari
— Ferrari (@Ferrari) March 23, 2022
The news follows months of rumours as to whether or not Ferrari was indeed working on the new model, particularly as the firm had previously promised that it would never build an SUV.
However, there has been overwhelming popularity shown towards performance SUVs from buyers.
Lamborghini’s Urus has proved to be a real success for the firm, while Aston Martin’s DBX has dramatically improved sales.
Bentley’s Bentayga – another key rival for the upcoming Ferrari – has also experienced impressive levels of demand.
As for engines, there has yet to be anything confirmed, though it’s suspected that the Purosangue could be powered by either V8 or V12 engines, with the possibility of hybrid technology being integrated into them too.


text:
Rotten Apple? iPhone 5 is TWICE as slow as Android rivals, claims watchdog
- Geekbench tests reveal Samsung Galaxy S4 to be the fastest smartphone
- Apple iPhone was shown to be bottom for processing and memory speed
- Technical tests showed that bigger processors do not always mean better speeds
The iPhone 5 is the slowest smartphone among the best selling brands on the market, consumer watchdog tests claim.
Technical tests to measure processing and memory speed ranked the Apple handset bottom of seven of the most popular phones on the market in the UK.
It is slower than both the main Samsung models as well as rivals from Google, Sony, HTC and Blackberry for popular tasks such as playing games, editing pictures or using apps.
Samsung's Galaxy S4 (left) outperformed Apple's iPhone 5 in Geekbench tests for Which? Apple is expected to unveil its next model later this year as the companies battle it out in the $253 billion smartphone market.
And the top ranked phone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 is almost twice as fast, according to consumer champions Which? who carried out industry-recognised laboratory tests.
The findings will be a blow to those iPhone 5 fans who have wrongly assumed their trendy mobile, the best-selling in the world, is also the best.
Which? used what are known as the Geekbench speed tests. The higher the score, the faster the phone. The Samsung S4 scored 3,188 and the iPhone 1,664.
The speed of the processor is important but so is the type - for instance, the winning Samsung has a 1.9GHz quad-core processor, the Apple a 1.2GHz dual-core.
But Which? said: 'Bigger processors do not always mean better speeds - that’s why we put all the handsets through the same test.
'This measures processor and memory performances across smartphone platforms to provide a standard speed rating.'
JK Shin, President and Head of IT and Mobile Communication Division, at the launch of the S4 in New York. Among the features which the company hoped would propel it to dominate the market was a bigger screen and features such as gesture controls
It added: 'If a phone has a high Geekbench score it will perform well when photo-editing, running graphically intensive games and multi-tasking across numerous apps in general.'
1.Samsung Galaxy S4 - 3188 points
2.HTC One - 2798
3.Sony Xperia Z - 2173
4.Google Nexus 4 - 2134
5.Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - 1950
6.BlackBerry Z10 - 1698
7.Apple iPhone 5 16GB - 1664
The HTC One was in second place and Sony’s Experia ‘sneaked’ into third ahead of the Google Nexus 4 but the Google does have the advantage of being up to £200 cheaper than its rivals.
The fastest phones tend to be the most expensive, costing up to £450 is bought sim free, yet all models are eventually replaced by better and faster ones.
Which? said: 'Undoubtedly, Apple will upgrade its next iPhone with an improved processor when it launches later this autumn.
'For the moment, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is the phone to beat when it comes to speed.'
Most watched News videos
- Pervert runs behind woman mowing her lawn with his shorts down
- August: Met Office forecasts wind and heavy rain in places
- CCTV captures moment man rescues puppy from drowning in pool
- Police say they've found the body of missing Colorado mother
- Russian air force take over highway for Putin's new war games
- Irish tourist pays man to get his name tattooed on his forehead
- Emergency services seen at the scene on Hythe beach, Kent
- Thousands say goodbye to Big Lizzie as carrier leaves Portsmouth
- Shocking moment house in India slides downhill amid flooding
- Shanann Watts speaks on her husband and her health challenges
- Moment Loose Women announce Stormy Daniels has pulled out of show
- Racist man in Uganda attacks hotel staff and call them 'n*****s'


text:
Chicago, USA – NAVTEQ, has revealed the results of a proprietary research study designed to assess the consumer impact of everyday use of navigation devices. Previous studies in this field focused more on “getting lost” scenarios versus the benefits to drivers of navigation system use during the course of their normal driving habits.
In a three pronged study which evaluated drivers without a navigation system, drivers with a navigation system, and drivers with a navigation system that included traffic, the results revealed that drivers using navigation devices 1) drove shorter distances and 2) spent less time driving. Conducted in two metropolitan areas of Germany – Dusseldorf and Munich – the study also showed that drivers with navigation devices had a 12% increase in fuel efficiency, as measured by liters of fuel consumed per 100 kms. Fuel consumption among those drivers using navigation fell from 8.3 to 7.3 l/100kms.
This increase in fuel economy translates to an estimated .91 tons (metric) decrease in carbon dioxide emissions every year per driver, or a 24% decrease over the amount that the average non-navigation user emits per year. Stated in terms of grams/km the reduction equates to 25 g/km per car. And with an annualised decrease in driving of nearly 2500 fewer kilometers per driver, 1.19 million tires would also be saved from disposal in Germany due to the decrease in wear and tear.
The participants, who had not previously owned a navigation device, had their vehicles outfitted with a logging device which was used to track the route they drove and their driving speed. The study results reflect more than 2,100 individual trips, more than 20,000 kilometers and almost 500 hours on the road.
The study was conducted by NuStats, a social science research firm.


text:
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Analyst Jonathan Geurkink at Ragen MacKenzie feels Microsoft's MSFT, +1.43% announcement of a partnership with Motorola MSI, +1.15% is "important" for the company, as it has been pursuing growth strategies outside of its PC Windows and Office businesses, which are highly profitable but already mature. Geurkink noted that Microsoft has been looking for the first win for its "Windows Mobile" software in the wireless market with a major handset maker for the last few years. He reiterated his "buy" rating on the stock and 12 to 18 month price target of $32.50. The stock, a component of the Dow industrials, edged up 17 cents to $28.51.
Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here.


text:
Any company that owns iconic brands knows that its trademark strategy needs to be watchful and robust. But HJ Heinz is taking things a step further by exploring a holistic approach to IP, one that protects more than just the brand.
Something interesting has been happening in IP in recent years. It used to be broadly possible to divide companies’ intellectual property concerns based on the type of product they produced. So hi-tech and pharma companies would have seen their patent lawyers as key to their success, while consumer goods and food companies might have identified their brands and trademarks as their principle IP assets.
But increasingly, companies on both sides of the equation are realising that it’s not enough just to protect their trademarks, or solely to focus on patents.
Chereé Johnson has been chief innovation counsel at HJ Heinz for two years. She is at the forefront of the company’s attempts to make sure its IP strategy covers all the bases. “My primary responsibilities are to make sure that we are creating strategies for protecting and defending our IP—more specifically our patents—from a global perspective,” she says.
To continue reading, you need a subscription to WIPR. Start a subscription to WIPR for £455.
In-house feature articles, the archive and expert comment require a paid subscription. Subscribe now.
Want to give it a try? We are offering a two week free trial to the WIPR website – register and select “Free Trial” to begin access to the full WIPR archive and read the latest news, features and expert comment. Begin your free trial here.
Is your 2 week free trial about to end? Upgrade to a 12 month subscription for £455 now.
If you have already subscribed please login.
If you have any technical issues please email tech support.
Heinz, anti-counterfeiting, IP protection


text:
Seattle-based marijuana data and analytics provider Headset raised $12.1 million for expansion, with Canadian marijuana giant Canopy Growth Corp. acquiring a key stake.
Toronto-based Canopy Rivers, the venture-capital arm of Canopy Growth, invested $3.1 million in Headset preferred shares through a funding round led by San Francisco-based Poseidon Asset Management and AFI Capital Partners of Santa Monica, Calif.
Canopy Growth recently said it wants to make some moves in the United States now that hemp has been legalized there. Canopy Rivers also said this is its first investment in a technology-focused cannabis firm.
Meanwhile, Headset, whose analytic sales products are particularly strong in western U.S. states such as California, has been looking at ways to expand into Canada.
Karoline Hunter, Canopy Rivers’ senior director of investor relations and communications, said the company isn’t disclosing at this time how much of an ownership stake it is getting, whether it will get a position on Headset’s board or whether it has options for future equity stakes.
As far as access to Headset’s analytics, “the ownership of the data lies with Headset,” Hunter wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily. “Canopy Rivers will have a general subscription to the platform.”
Narbe Alexandrian, Canopy Rivers’ vice president of business development, indicated in a statement that Canopy was interested in Headset because of its ability to deliver cannabis data and analytics in real time.
He noted such analytics is critical to competitive success, such as understanding what’s influencing buying decisions and guiding brand success in the cannabis space.


text:
Aug. 6, 2012 at 2:39 PM ET
The rumor mill has already decided quite firmly that the new iPhone will be announced on Sept. 12, and will sport a bigger screen and smaller dock connector. But a new rumor suggests that new connector won't be limited to the iPhone — every iOS device will be updated with one, as early as this fall.
The original and venerable 30-pin connector that has been on iOS devices since before they were called iOS devices. It was introduced with the third-generation iPod, back in 2004, and has received only minor tweaks since then. The new one, on the other hand, is rumored to be much smaller, yet able to handle more data and power — something any iOS device would benefit from. It would also free up room inside the phone for more battery and circuitry.
The unnamed source told iMore that it the new connector would be replacing the old one across the board, with no exceptions: iPhone, iPod touch, iPod Nano, the rumored iPad Mini, and even the latest iPad.
The iPhone and iPods are due for a refresh anyway, but what about the third-generation iPad, which only came out a few months ago? If Apple refreshed it now, it might cause confusion and anger, so maybe it won't get the new port until next spring.
A tidal wave of accessories should follow the new connector's debut, as practically every case and skin will require an update. There will likely also be adapters available, as many stereos and charging systems have the old connector hard-wired in and therefore impossible to swap out.
It makes some sense: All those devices need to switch over some time, so why not get it over with, like jumping into cold water rather than wading?
Devin Coldewey is acontributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website iscoldewey.cc.
Related story: What's up dock? Apple to shrink connector for next iPhone


text:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with 4Moms, today announced a voluntary recall of about 1,440 breeze™ Cotton Jersey Playard Sheets because the sheets are too small for the play yards. While there have been no injuries reported the CPSC notes that sheet that does not properly fit the play yard poses an entrapment hazard that could lead to suffocation.
The recalled play yard sheets are cream-colored, cotton jersey fabric. They were sold as an accessory to the 4moms breeze play yard. “4moms” is printed on a black tag sewn onto the sheet. Item number 4M-009-10-000101 is printed on the packaging. UPC 817980011137 is printed on the sheet’s packaging and on a white warning tag sewn onto the sheet.
Consumers should stop using the recalled play yard sheets immediately and return them to 4moms for a full refund. 4moms, toll-free at (888) 977-3944 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.4moms.com and click on Recall for more information on a refund.
Leave a Comment