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Habits and routines of the COVID-19 era that have come to stay
COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed our habits. Today we talk about habits and customs that have come to stay after the pandemic. Discover them!
TOPIC OF THE MONTH
Although some sociologists affirm that we are facing the end of the beginning of the pandemic, and that it will not be until 2024 when we really enter the post-pandemic era, we can already see some of the consequences that the arrival of COVID-19 has left in our way of living day to day. Although it is true that we are no longer going to return to scenarios like March 2020, or January 2021 where uncertainty and the dreaded “waves” caused drastic changes in our way of life, there are certain social and hygienic habits that we have started to acquire during this time and it seems they have been established forever in our day to day lives/
Examples of habits that have been acquired after the pandemic
- Hygiene. Cleaning is not the same as disinfecting. The pandemic gave us a master class on the differences between these two concepts and the importance of disinfection in homes. According to the Spanish Association of Distributors, Self-services and Supermarkets (Asedas), the purchase and use of bleaches had its peak during the first weeks of the pandemic: disinfectants and bleaches experienced an increase in demand of more than 100%, and household cleaners rose by around 30%, with a total sales increase at the end of 2020, of 20%, compared to the previous year, in terms of bleaches and disinfectants. What is most striking about this data is that bleach and disinfectants have also entered the shopping cart of the younger demographic, due to their quality / price ratio.
In addition, on a personal level, hand washing and the use of hydro-alcoholic gels have permeated society and we have increased hand washing and disinfection every time we handle things that many people touch.
- The way to socialise. The use of masks and social distance has been a turning point when it comes to meeting others. This situation has led us to the fact that one of the habits that we had deeply ingrained in this society, such as, for example, arriving at a meeting and greeting those present, known or not, with two kisses, has been nipped in the bud, not only by isolation and confinement, but by maintaining interpersonal safety distance and avoiding physical contact.
- Remote work. This way of working, which was almost a utopia in countries like ours, overnight became necessary and essential for the operation of companies between the months of March and April 2020. Well, there are many companies that after making a set-up in the most immediate way possible and investing in this type of work system, have seen the benefits it has for their workers, such as travel savings, the reconciliation of work and personal life and a more direct worker predisposition to any need of the company.
- Online shopping. A purchase modality that grew in 2020 what it would have grown in the next five years. The pandemic, the fear of shortages and contagions have made many choose to switch to the digital channel, reaching, in the case of supermarkets, a market share of 4%, according to the latest report by the consulting firm Kantar, a sector that has undergone very rapid changes and has had to adapt to new trends as a result of the pandemic. In addition, the report states that four out of ten Spaniards assure that they will buy more and more online. Among the main reasons, are comfort and saving time to dedicate it to other activities.
- Food delivery boom. With time restrictions, capacity restrictions and even the closure of the hospitality industry, many restaurants and bars have reinvented themselves and joined delivery platforms in order to continue working and serving their customers. So, in one way or another, we have become accustomed to having the "bar" at home, since it has become our refuge. We have learned to be there more, love it more and take care of her it. Delivery platforms and food delivery services grew 60% during the state of alarm, according to a report by the consulting firm Kantar. During this period, home delivery operators added nearly a thousand new restaurants, each in less than three months, so that those who did not have this service incorporated it for the first time.
- The rise of the use of credit cards or bank apps to the detriment of currency and banknotes. The first information we had about the virus was that it had a high transmission value by contact, so the health authorities advised that more use be made of payment cards and banking applications than of cash.


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Mountaineer Food Bank to distribute light bulbs
GASSAWAY, W.Va. – A West Virginia food bank is giving away some light.
Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway says it will receive 40,000 energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs for distribution through multiple food pantries.
The delivery planned for today is part of an initiative by Appalachian Power to inform customers on energy conservation.
The light bulbs will be distributed in packages of four to 10,000 families.

domain: news


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latest news releases from the newsroom
AuGRID Relocates to Better Joint Venture Partnership
CLEVELAND, May 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- AuGRID Corporation (Pink Sheets:AUGC) announces that it has relocated its headquarters office to New Jersey to better collaborate with their joint venture partner Windham Resources, Inc. Augrid's agreement with Windham Resources, Inc. ("Windham") is to acquire interests in Windham's mineral properties located in the State of Nevada. Windham owns the rights to the Hill of Gold lode mining claims, located in the Tonopah, Nevada Mining District and the New Era Mine located near Searchlight, Nevada, and also participates as a joint venture partner in a project with proven ore reserves located in San Bernardino County, California.
Market-Pulse.com Announces Trade Alert for Park City Group, Inc.
ATLANTA, May 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Market-Pulse.com announces its trade alert for Park City Group, Inc. (OTCBB:PKCY). According to Bernard R. Schmitt of Market Pulse, "The company just had excellent news out today regarding the roll out of its next-generation product with significant revenue potential." The new product was overwhelmingly praised by major food companies from around the world.
Entertainment Games, Inc.
Cinemaware Unveils Classics Initiative
LANGHORNE, Pa., May 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Cinemaware(R), a revolutionary developer in the 1980's and now an affiliated label of eGames, Inc. (OTCBB:EGAM), today announced an initiative to give legendary titles, like Defender of the Crown(R), new life as part of Cinemaware Classics. Cinemaware is preparing completely new games based on its stable of amazing properties employing the 'Cinemaware experience' of melding a captivating storyline with the grand cinematic experience that differentiated the original Cinemaware game properties. Cinemaware Classics will be revamped for the enjoyment of long-time fans and today's large and growing audience of new casual game players.
Energy Telecom, Inc.
Energy Telecom Announces Partnering with BITwave Private Ltd.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., May 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Energy Telecom, Inc. (Pink Sheets:EYTL) (www.energytele.com) announced today it signed a formal agreement with its partner, BITwave Private Ltd., of Singapore (http://bitwave.com.sg), allowing Energy to offer BITwave's next generation sound attenuating mixed signal wireless technology in Energy's communication eyewear products. BITwave's technology has been used by BMW and Knowles Electronics, and is employed in military applications for communicating in extremely difficult environments.
TX Holdings, Inc.
TX Holdings, Inc. Retains Investment Banking Firm For Private Placement
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., May 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- TX Holdings, Inc. (Pink Sheets:TXHG) is pleased to announce today that the company has entered into a Private Placement Agreement with Brill Securities, Inc., a New York investment bank specializing in the security industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Brill Securities will act as financial advisors for the Company's private placement offering.


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By Elizabeth Jensen
Some 25 years ago, Dina Ousley and her partner George Lampman developed an airbrush system for applying makeup. While they believed in their product, the pair didn’t foresee that the technique would turn out to be a solution to the radically different makeup needs brought on by the rise of high-definition video.
Hi-def’s extreme detail turns out to be a little too close-up for traditional makeup. Flaws are readily apparent in high definition, and adding a thicker layer of standard makeup only makes the imperfections more pronounced. Going makeup-free isn’t any better.
The Dinair system, which Ms. Ousley calls “the un-makeup,” takes a middle route: blowing on a fine film that lets the natural skin tones, with all their variation, peek through between little dots of color. Ms. Ousley likens the effect to photo retouching. In between the pixels of makeup, “The skin is breathing,” Ms. Ousley said in an interview from a funeral directors’ convention in Philadelphia, where she was conducting a training session for morticians.
Ms. Ousley trained the makeup artists for “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” in her technique in advance of the shows’ switchover to HD. She said she has also trained makeup artists for Dan Rather and Jay Leno, among others.
“We teach everybody to be really light-handed,” she said, adding that the key to the application is not to overspray. Blemishes can be specifically covered up by retouching. The specially formatted makeup is sprayed on at low pressure, doesn’t rub off on clothes, is nonallergenic and doesn’t allow shine to come through, as traditional wipe-on makeup does, Ms. Ousley said, adding that her company is now developing a similar system to be sold directly to consumers.


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smartphones, we have some diehard fans of Nokia device. As a matter of facts,
Nokia 6 is not just in high demand but everybody wants to have a copy of it.
powered by Symbian OS. Those days, those who possessed the Nokia N series were
the big boys; strong and long lasting battery good enough for gaming.
series” with something you’ll love; according to the latest rumor, Nokia
is planning to drop a smartphone called Nokia N95 which would likely be
launched along with other new Nokia releases at the MWC 2017in Barcelona.
series chip which we hope will be the SD 652. The choice of SoC places the N95
in the mid-range category and Nokia is said to target up to 50 million units in
cumulative sales from the N series.
Mobile Cheer Leader.


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A platform for NFT games with voxels The Sandbox announced on Tuesday that it had hired Nicola Sebastiani, a veteran of the video game business, to serve as its chief content officer and assist in growing the company’s creative economy.
Sebastiani has years of experience in the gaming industry, having worked on the mobile team at Ubisoft, co-founded the Apple Arcade subscription service for the App Store, and now oversees PlayStation’s mobile strategy for the past two years. With the release of The Sandbox, he has now entered the Web3 realm.
“I think that we are at a historical shift in gaming,” Sebastiani stated in an interview. “We are fully entering the creator economy.”
User-generated content, or UGC, is a trend in gaming, according to Sebastiani, that will only continue to grow. Sebastiani stated he wants people to feel free to utilize the platform any way they wish, whether it be for socializing or experimentation, even if The Sandbox’s larger platform mainly provides mini-games and gaming experiences.
“I think of us as a social platform,” Sebastiani stated of The Sandbox.
Sebastiani will be in charge of the company’s development of The Sandbox tools Game Maker and VoxEdit in addition to the game’s creator economy, internal game production, game publishing, and The Sandbox tools.
The Sandbox differs from other gaming platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft in that it necessitates some understanding of and familiarity with crypto and NFTs. Users can link their cryptocurrency wallets, buy in-game goods using the SAND token, and purchase virtual land NFTs to play on and construct.
“I think it’s critical to The Sandbox as far as ownership, as far as giving creators and players leverage on their achievements, what they build,” Sebastiani stated of the platform’s crypto elements.
Giving creators the chance to publish and maybe monetise their own experiences is a significant step toward empowering them. By the end of this year, sandbox gamers will finally be able to create and independently share their experiences, according to the corporation.
Sebastiani stated that the 5% platform fee collected by The Sandbox, which has about 4.5 million registered cryptocurrency wallets, “is reinvested in the community” through a variety of channels, including the business’ Game Makers Fund.
In contrast, Roblox presently takes 30% of creator revenue, Epic Games takes 12%, and rival NFT-powered platform Decentraland currently takes 2.5%.
According to data from cryptocurrency monitoring company DappRadar, The Sandbox saw 3,840 different active wallets interact with the platform in the last month, resulting in a total volume exchanged of $2.26 million. About 2,770 different wallets generated about $19,880 in Decentraland.
In comparison to industry giants like Roblox, which has over 200 million monthly active users, crypto-powered game platforms are, on the whole, much smaller. Similar figures are seen for Epic’s Fortnite, which has roughly 230 million active players per month as the platform increasingly emphasizes user-generated content.
As the creator economy changes, the Sandbox and other crypto-powered metaverse platforms could need to keep enticing artists if they want to remain competitive. The $250 billion creator economy is expected to continue to expand and might reach a $480 billion industry over the next three years, according to a prediction made by Goldman Sachs earlier this year.


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When Polytron became the first Indonesian company to produce 4G-capable smartphones last year, it changed the 'Manufactured in China' inscription on its handsets to 'Made in Kudus,' a town in Central Java.
Polytron relocated production from China to comply with 'local-content' rules introduced in 2012. The regulations have raised concerns about higher manufacturing costs and hung question marks over an industry championed by the Indonesian government.
The United States has pressed Indonesia to relax the rules, which it says will hamper efforts of tech giants such as Apple to expand into one of the world's last big markets where use of smartphones has yet to truly take off.
Assembling far from China's electronics supply chain means it costs up to 50 percent more to manufacture a mobile phone in Indonesia, according to Polytron, a smaller player among local phone brands.
"Honestly, we are doing it because of the regulation, to be in compliance," Polytron spokesman Santo Kadarusman told Reuters.
The government ramped up enforcement of the rules last year. The regulations are part of a push under President Joko Widodo to transform Indonesia from an economy that consumes products into one that produces them, in his attempt to boost economic growth and eliminate the country's trade deficit.
Most mobile phones sold in Indonesia are made in China. There was no phone manufacturing industry in Indonesia until last year when 15 companies submitted plans to the Industry Ministry to start production. Among them was Samsung Electronics, which opened a factory near Jakarta.
Read MoreStability, growthkey for Indonesia: Fin Min
The regulations require importers of smartphones to manufacture in Indonesia or have their import licenses revoked by 2016 or 2017, depending on when they received their license.
The ministry is working on a new regulation targeting 4G smartphones. It is expected to be completed in June and come into force on Jan. 1, 2017. The rule will require all companies that sell 4G-capable devices, including Apple and Samsung, to produce a certain percentage of 'local content' in Indonesia.
Apple did not immediately respond to requests to comment on the local content rule. Samsung declined to comment.
It is unclear as to whether this regulation will replace existing requirements or how local content will be measured.
Indonesia needs a bigger share of the $3 billion in annual phone imports to reduce its trade deficit, said Minister for Communications Rudiantara, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "This phone is $600-$700, so we want $250-$300 of that to go to Indonesia," he said, pointing to his iPhone.
Local content could include design through intellectual property fees in addition to manufacturing of handsets, Rudiantara said. He declined to give further details on the way the percentage of local content would be calculated.
Around a fifth of local content would have to be research and development, meaning companies would need to have a design development center in addition to manufacturing, said Industry Minister Saleh Husin.
Read MoreWhy Indonesia strugglesto attract investors
Critics of the 'Made in Indonesia' rule, including the American Chamber of Commerce, say the requirement is confusing and could increase costs, restrict access to technology and violate World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations.
The U.S. Trade Representative is raising these concerns with the Indonesian government and the WTO.
But Polytron is optimistic about the move, and expects its mobile division to make its first profit since it started in 2011 by the end of the year.
"Our support from the government is the promise that other 4G brands cannot sell in Indonesia if local content is not 30 percent. Polytron is already at 35 percent. If Polytron gets to 40 percent local content, [the government told us] there is a possibility the local content requirement will go to 40 percent," Polytron spokesman Kadarusman said.
He declined to comment on how the local content percentage was calculated.
Rudiantara said that after hearing of complaints, he was "undecided" on whether the required local content would be 40 percent, which he previously told companies. He planned to release a draft of the regulation in mid-April to give companies time to raise concerns.
He said higher costs would make it difficult for Indonesia to compete purely on manufacturing, but hoped his switch to include research and development would help.
"I'm not crazy. Ministers should have nationalism, but not chauvinistic nationalism," Rudiantara said. "If Indonesia competes only on producing hardware, it's going to be difficult."


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Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 10 November 2020
NUNEATON’S former Select womenswear store in Market Place is set to become a new Bodycare store.
Earlier today, speculation circulated the town over the future of Bodycare’s Nuneaton store on Abbey Street as passers-by had spotted workers stripping out the cosmetics and beauty supply store.
Thankfully, The Hinckley Free Press can confirm that Bodycare are on the move in town and are relocating to a new location in Nuneaton – they are not gone for good.
Works have been undergoing at the former Select space for a few weeks now with the glass windows being covered over to the public to hide the work going on inside, meaning the next occupant were keeping it under wraps and trying to stay unknown.
On Sunday October 29, a Tweet was posted on the official Cooke & Arkwright letting agents Twitter account confirming the news that Cooke and Arkwright’s Retail and Leisure Team have been ‘working far afield’ and had completed a deal on letting the unit on 13 Market Place.
The deal was settled and negotiated on behalf of the unit landlord in a joint partnership with Wright Silverwood. Lancashire’s largest single firm of chartered surveyors, Robert Pinkus, were the representatives for Bodycare.
When HMV departed from the Ropewalk Shopping Centre, speculation ran rampant that Bodycare would be the ones to breathe new life in to the unit, however this Market Place news quashes them rumours.
The beauty care retailer have not announced an opening date or mentioned their new location publicly at the time of publication today (10 November), but it seems very likely they will be one of the first names to re-open when non-essential stores are given the green light to do so.
Bodycare have had a prominent presence in the town for a number of years opposite Nuneaton’s Pizza Hut dine-in restaurant on Abbey Street.


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Seit drei Jahren gibt es in den USA einen Streit zwischen der Behörde und einer kleinen Milchfarm: Die Farm verkauft entrahmte Milch ("skim milk") und die Behörde behauptet, diese entrahmte Milch sei ein Imitat.
State: Skim milk with no added vitamins is 'imitation'
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Aug. 19, 2015 5:45 PM EDT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Ocheesee Creamery in the Florida Panhandle produces all-natural skim milk from grass-fed cows with absolutely nothing added, yet the state says they have to call it "imitation."
And while they argue about it, the dairy is dumping hundreds of gallons of skim milk down the drain each week.
Creamery owners Paul and Mary Lou Wesselhoeft were in federal court Wednesday as part of their nearly three-year-old battle with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which argues that skim milk can't be sold as skim milk unless vitamins are added to it.
But that goes against the all-natural philosophy at the creamery located about 50 miles west of the state capital.
"Our customers want an all-natural product. If we call it imitation, they will not buy our product," Mary Lou Wesselhoeft said after the court hearing. "To me it's degrading and a slap in the face because it's pure, unadulterated skim milk."
Webster's dictionary defines skim milk as simply "milk from which cream has been removed," with no mention of added vitamins. But Department lawyer Ashley Davis told a judge consumers expect whole milk and skim milk to have the same nutritional value and that the Wesselhoefts' skim milk is nutritionally inferior because vitamins are removed when the milk fat is removed."Ocheessee's product is imitating — literally imitating — skim milk," Davis said.
In diesem Bericht (mit Audio!)
vom Juni 2013 ist ein bißchen mehr erklärt:http://news.wfsu.org/post/all-natural-local-dairy-fighting-state-sell-low-fat-milk
All-Natural Local Dairy Fighting State To Sell Low-Fat Milk
By Jessica Palombo • Jun 13, 2013
Mary Lou Wesselhoeft runs Ocheesee Creamery
VIEW SLIDESHOW 1 of 5
The Ocheesee Creamery makes and bottles all-natural milk at a dairy farm about an hour west of Tallahassee. Skim milk was a big seller for the small operation, but skim milk production abruptly stopped, when state dairy regulators recently said Ocheesee can’t sell it without adding a synthetic vitamin.
Listen to this story.
Things were running smoothly, until October of last year, when a new inspector showed up.
“She came up to check behind our regular inspector. And it was when she came that she told us we could no longer do skim milk,” Wesselhoeft said.
The inspector said, Ocheesee would have to start adding vitamin A to their skim milk. It’s a U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule. Vitamin A occurs naturally in milk fat, so when you remove that, you have to put in a synthetic vitamin.
But Wesselhoeft said, her customers wouldn’t buy it like that.“By putting the vitamin A in the skim milk, for me personally, that’s downgrading the milk quality because it’s no longer all natural,” she said.
Department of Agriculture Director of Food Safety, Tiffiani Onifade, said, she doesn't know why Ocheesee had been allowed to sell all-natural skim milk for years. But the department has to follow federal laws and state rules.
“All milk and milk products are treated the same way. All milk producers in Florida are treated the same way, so with respect to that, there aren’t exemptions,” she said.
Die Americano-Fuzzis mit ihren Chlorhühnern erklären ein rein natürliches Produkt als Imitat eines natürlichen Produkts, weil es keinen Zusatz eines künstlichen Vitamins enthält.
Vor 50 Jahren sagten amerikanische GIs in Deutschland, ihre Milch käme nicht vom Bauernhof, sondern von der "factory". Die hatten recht!
Es ist ein Wunder, daß die Kühe noch vier Beine haben, im Stall stehen und Heu fressen. Von Amts wegen müßten es schon längst Chemiereaktoren im Monsanto-Look sein, die aus Erdöl und künstlichen Geschmackstoffen vollsynthetische Originalvollnatürlichsuperkuhmilch produzieren, und die gleich in vollsterilen Litertüten portionieren.
Ich weiß nicht, ob "Weihnachtsminze" mein Geschmack wäre...https://www.facebook.com/OcheeseeCreamery
28367 NE State Rd 69
Grand Ridge, Florida
'Come try some ice cream!! We now sell five flavors of ice cream....Sweet Cream, Chocolate Cream, Mint Chocolate Chip, Salted Caramel, and Coffee Cream.'
Yesterday at 5:05pm Just read the article on the 'artificial' skim milk and I'm sickened... See More
Melissa Foxworth —
They have the best natural milk chocolate milk and REAL butter!!! Can't wait to try their ice cream!! LOCAL dairy with organic fed cows!!
September 4, 2013 · 12 Reviews ·
Jessie Hatcher —
I could NOT have asked for a better experience at the ocheesee creamery store! We dealt with 2different men at the store... See More
September 12, 2014 · 2 Reviews ·
* * * * * *
December 1, 2014 ·Our NEW Seasonal Flavor of Ice Cream is now available at the Creamery for the month of December--Merry Mint!! Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas season!!!
[*/quote*]Netzfrauen! Wo sind die Netzfrauen!?


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Singapore: Aviva has launched a ‘Digital Garage’ in Singapore. This is a four story space on Armenian Street where technical specialists, creative designers and business leaders can collaborate and test new insurance ideas and services.
The objective, said Chris Wei, executive chairman of Aviva Asia and global chairman of Aviva Digital, is to make financial services more tailored and accessible for customers. He explained the launch of the Digital Garage in Singapore is an extension of the insurer’s global ‘digital first’ strategy, which is crucial to the company’s future success.
The core team will have about 100 people, supported by a further 200 technology specialists based in Singapore.
Aviva first established a Digital Garage in London in mid 2015 to develop and explore turning innovative ideas into real financial products and services for customers. In its capacity as a global and regional centre of digital, analytics and innovation excellence, Aviva’s Digital Garage will bring together four functions:
–Innovation and New Business: will turn radical and disruptive ideas into digital prototypes that can be tested in the market
– Digital Projects: which make life easier for customers, and digitalise Aviva’s businesses around Asia
– Digital Businesses: which have extensive experience of helping real customers, will bring a commercial edge to the Garage
– Collaborators: who will bring their respective expertise to the Garage Digital is a central part of Aviva’s group strategy, because its customers are increasingly choosing this as their preferred way to interact with the brand.
The two Digital Garages, in London and Singapore, will come together as a global function, sharing expertise and insights into digital insurance to create a platform from which to serve customers, both in their local regions and across the international markets.
According to Aviva, through digital, it can now support customers more quickly with their enquiries and transactions. Aviva has designed new propositions based on insights from its research and analytics. These include Aviva Poland’s proposition for young, single and urban professionals, which recognises the specific insurance and lifestyle needs of this group.
Wei said: “Digital technology has the potential to transform how we look after customers, making it significantly easier to interact with Aviva.”
When asked how the business would differ from other innovation hubs popping up in the insurance industry, Wei clarified that at the end of the day, Aviva is putting digital at the core of all its processes and it rethinking of ways to disrupt the business for the future.
“I don’t hear many people talking about digitizing and transforming the entire business or understanding that customers do not want to be segmented. With the Garage, we are not just looking for the next big idea. It is a journey we are on and results will not show instantly but we are making a commitment of financial and human resources for the next millennial,” said Wei. However, the exact investment details were not shared during the press conference.
Andrew Brem, global chief digital officer, added the digital revolution has only just started to hit the insurance agency. But he is certain the wave of change will be fast and furious.
“Technology has changed the way we live our lives, and it is now time to bring the digital revolution to insurance. The Digital Garage underlines Aviva’s commitment to leading the digital transformation, and we are excited to extend the successes of our London Digital Garage to Singapore. Given the vibrant FinTech community, strong digital capabilities and deep talent pool in Singapore, the Garage here is the perfect platform for digital champions to collaborate and make things happen,” he added
Setting up of the Digital Garage follows Aviva’s signing of the statement of intent with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom in July this year, in an agreement to support and promote digital innovation initiatives in Singapore and across Asia for the benefit of customers.


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South African companies urged to invest in Uganda
As the South African Outward Trade and Investment Mission to Kampala gets underway, calls have been made to South African companies to reclaim their Top 10 slot in foreign direct investments in Uganda.
The delegation comprises business captains from 30 companies drawn from sectors like energy, agriculture, agro-processing, capital equipment, furniture and civil engineering, amongst others.
Delivering the keynote address at the Uganda-South Africa trade and investment meeting at The Sheraton in Kampala, Dr Joshua Mutambi, who represented Uganda’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, urged South African companies to invest in and trade with Uganda because the returns are impressive.
Dr Mutambi said the trade volumes of US$300 million, tilted heavily in favour of South Africa, and is not only negligible but need to be increased with Uganda also increasing her share.
He said the Government of Uganda has strengthened and transformed the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) into a One-Stop Centre for investors which is a great avenue South Africans to invest in the country, citing opportunities in sectors like agriculture, agro-processing and manufacturing.
The acting Director-General of UIA, Lawrence Byensi, challenged South Africa to reclaim her position among the Top 10 investment source countries in Uganda, pointing out that over 10 years ago investments from South Africa used to be relatively high.
Byensi said investing in Uganda is very important because it opens up access to a market of over 600 million.
He enticed the South Africans with a list of incentives like duty and tax free import of plant and machinery, investment capital allowances, tax holidays for companies exporting over 80 percent of their products, exemption of income tax for agro-processing, exemption of Value Added Tax on agricultural equipment and inputs and subsidized land for investors in four priority areas namely agro-processing, ICT, tourism and mineral processing.
The UIA acting Director-General said the Government priority is to see more industrial parks and free zones set up in Uganda, highlighting that the financial requirement for setting up an industrial park or a free zone has been reduced sharply from US$100 down to two million dollars for foreigners and one million dollars for locals.
Byensi said acquiring an investment license is now easy and fast, as it is done online at www.ebiz.go.ug, as well as key investment services like business registration, tax registration, acquiring work permits, environmental impact assessment and trade permits.
The Secretary-General of Uganda Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Churchill Bachwa encouraged South African companies to partner with Ugandan counterparts in trade and investment.
South Africa’s acting High Commissioner to Uganda, Phumeza Mukendi, said Uganda is a strategic partner within the East African Community with which South Africa enjoys sound political and economic relations hinged on several bilateral arrangements.
Ambassador Mukendi said the 30 South African companies participating in the trade and investment mission are seeking opportunities to not only expand their export market but also cultivate mutually beneficial partnerships with Ugandan partners.
Kwanda Modise, the Head of South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, said they are keen on increasing trade with Uganda in particular and the East African region which currently stands at a meagre 3.1 percent.
Describing trade between South Africa and Uganda as “unpleasantly low”, Modise said there is an urgent need to, as she put it, “scale up especially for the benefit of Uganda because the trade has always tilted in favour of South Africa”.
Chiboni Evans, the Chief Executive Officer of South African Electro-technical Export Council, said one of the areas of interest for them is contributing to the evacuation of excess power being generated in and how to maximize African content in infrastructure projects.
She said their proposal to Ugandan companies is “how can we promote partnerships in trade and investment?”
During their stay in Uganda over the next three days the South African business captains will engage in a series of business-to-business engagements with their Ugandan counterparts and visit several establishments in and around Kampala, including the Kampala Industrial and Business Park in Namanve.
General Salim Saleh, the head of Operation Wealth Creation, has also invited the delegation to visit Kapeeka Industrial Park.


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Well according to reports, ebookers is no longer struggling to find its place in the travel industry. In fact, these reports go on to suggest that ebookers led Orbitz in worldwide transaction growth in the fourth quarter of last year. The Europe-based online travel agency saw transactions for the company climb an amazing 37 percent. Net revenue of the company jumped by 60 percent.
The CEO and President of Orbitz, Barney Harford, said that they are happy with ebookers’s consolidated platform and streamlined management. He went on to say that ebookers is a very good full service OTA in its 12 European markets.
According to ebookers’s fourth quarter numbers, transactions grew by 37 percent. This, of course, rose its gross booking percentage to 42. The company also showed that “hotel room nights stay” increased by 69 percent. Overall, this led to net revenue increasing a whopping 60 percent.
Barney Harfod said that ebookers’s position is a very encouraging turnaround no matter how people look at it. He said that ebookers has shown their strength in, not only air and hotel bookings, but car hire and dynamic packaging as well.
Of course, all of this talk about increases brings up a very good question. Why are sites like Orbitz and ebookers now doing so good? Well this has a lot to do with the recent recession that the world went through. This recession has now changed the way that people travel forever. Many travelers used to be fine with paying high prices for car hire, hotels and air tickets. However, now these same consumers know that they can save if they book packages and find other great deals though sites like ebookers. By the end of last year, people were well aware of the savings that these sites could bring them.


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Called a crypto anchor verifier, the technology, which is part artificial-intelligence software, part insanely sophisticated, internally developed lens, can see the cells of animals and distinguish between them.
Powered by a lens capable of rendering objects as small as a single micron, the verifier is also designed to search out — and understand — the difference between a fake drug and the real deal, a cheap bottle of wine and an expensive one, and imperfections in diamonds that are undetectable to human eyes.
Perhaps even more remarkable, the verifier is designed to do all this by downloading software developed by IBM to any smartphone. A custom lens placed over the phone’s camera turns the device into a scanner with the potential to extract immense value from every layer of a supply chain.
But all that data has to be stored somewhere. And as a rising tide of blockchain companies are competing to connect global supply chains to a shared, immutable ledger, IBM fellow Donna Dillenberger thinks that’s exactly where the real potential of the crypto verifier will be unlocked.
Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.


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After chastising fellow politicians for killing a project to bring a headquarters to the state, The New York Times reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo has begged executives of Amazon to reevaluate their decision to abandon New York City, and to once again consider building their HQ2 headquarters in Long Island City.
After Amazon initially chose New York for this project which was expected to bring tens of thousands of good paying jobs to the city, local politicians jumped on the governor and mayor for negotiating tax breaks for the project., and this eventually drove Amazon to abandon the project before it even got off the ground.
Although these politicians seem to rejoice at the news that Amazon would not be coming to the city, Governor Cuomo was incensed at their reaction, saying “a small group [of] politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community — which poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island City — the state’s economic future and the best interests of the people of this state.”
I their report, NYT writes that the governor is busy trying to do damage control, and is guaranteeing Amazon executives, including CEO Jeff Bezos, that he would “take personal responsibility for the project’s state approval and help them cut through New York’s bureaucracy”. An open letter is scheduled to be published in the NYT on Friday, which will be signed by unions, businesses and community groups expressing support for Amazon. However, according to the Times, Amazon has not indicated that it is working.
Neither Governor Cuomo nor Amazon executives have commented on this matter.


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The presidential blanket stowed in the limousine that JFK was riding in when he was assassinated sold for $61,559 at Nate D Sanders' online auction on December 17.
On December 18, 1963, a Ford employee named F Vaughan Ferguson, tasked with inspecting the car, penned a memo to the company's lobbyist, RW Markley Jr: ''...on the 2nd of December I noticed that the two lap robes had a few blood spots on them, but, more than that, were soiled from handling and required cleaning.
"The White House chauffeurs were detailed to take the lap robes to Fort Myer for cleaning. These persons remained with the lap robes until they were cleaned and returned the same day...''.
The limousine was later dismantled under the care of Burke Reilly, manager of the White House Vehicle Program, who kept the blankets.
The sale also included a number of outfits and accessories worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, including a Gingham maternity shorts set, which made $38,246, and a pair of black court shoes that realised $30,189.
The auction also starred an extremely rare autograph: that of William Henry Harrison while US president. Harrison served just 31 days at the White House in 1841, dying from pneumonia after refusing to wear a coat during his two-hour inauguration speech.
His signature sold for $30,199, a testament to its scarcity and Harrison's fame as America's shortest-serving president.
Kennedy memorabilia featured elsewhere in the December 17 auction schedule, with Christie's New York selling a Patek Phillipe 18k gold wristwatch with pulsometer.
It had been previously owned by Dr Kemp Clark - a neurosurgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas who was on duty on November 22, 1963.
The doctor pronounced Kennedy dead at 1pm the same day. His family have confirmed that this is the watch that he wore that day.
Click here for our free newsletter for the latest on memorabilia and other collectibles.


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First Look: Platform Beer Columbus Brewpub
Columbus fans of Cleveland-based Platform beer can now get their fix in their own backyard. The company officially opens its new Downtown distribution facility and brewpub at to the public tomorrow, bringing over two dozen varieties of Platform’s beers ….
Source: columbusunderground – via Google News
Read the full article here.


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Report: Processed meat increases cancer risk
The World Health Organization released a report Monday that says processed meats are carcinogenic to humans.
According to the WHO, eating 50 grams of processed meat like ham, bacon or sausage daily increases your colorectal cancer risk by 18 percent. Processed meats are now in the same group as cigarettes, formaldehyde and asbestos.
“The WHO took stronger wording with [Monday’s] announcement, saying that processed meat actually does cause colorectal cancer. Whereas before it said [processed meat] takes the risk,” said Krystal Tallman, an oncology dietitian.
In the report, the WHO says that the cancer-causing chemicals are put in when the meat is processed or form when the meat is cooked.
While processed meats are part of many Iowan's daily routine, one shopper tells KCCI she will not change her eating habits.
Because studies like this come out all the time.
“I’ve been eating this way for 80 years. So it doesn't seem like I am going to extend my life if I quit right now,” said Maggie Lloyd
Doctors aren't staying to stop eating processed meat altogether.
“With that being said, it is not that we are looking to cut animal foods out of the diet. We are just looking at limiting,” Tallman said.
Doctor David Agus, a leading cancer specialist at the University of Southern California, said the lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is about 5 percent.
If you eat a hot dog a day, your cancer risk goes up to about 6 percent.


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JMGO Unveils Three 4K Projectors In Autumn New Product Launch Event
JMGO company held an autumn product launch event and showcased three new products, the JMGO U1 4K laser TV, JMGO X3 portable smart 4K projector and JMGO S3 4K laser projector, which saying a lot about JMGO’s resolve and strength to become the leader of the 4K projector market. .
“The LED TV sells over 40 million units within China and over 0.2 billion units worldwide in 2017, also currently there are over 0.5 billion Chinese households that have LED TVs, and once these people begin to change their LED TVs to the laser TV on a large scale, that would be a giant opportunity for JMGO.” said Zhenyu Hu, founder and chairman of JMGO, on the conference.
JMGO set up a capsule-shaped admission passage which symbolizes transporting in time at the scene of the launch event. Participants experience all of the existing JMGO projectors. On-site participants are already full with time to wait the start of the conference. Zhenyu Hu, founder and chairman of JMGO, tells the audience the history of JMGO projector development.
JMGO X3 portable smart projector is unveiled, featuring 4K resolution, HDR 10, MEMC (motion estimation and motion compensation), and Dolby Atmos & DTS audio support.
JMGO U1 laser TV appears, featuring the 4K resolution with 8.29 million pixels which four times 2.07 million pixels of the Full HD 1080P resolution, 2,000 ANSI Lumen brightness, 0.21:1 ultra-short throw ratio, HDR 10, and HIFI inbuilt speakers.
Mr. Hu introduces the JMGO X3’s MEMS feature which makes the motion images smoother and clearer. Mr. Hu talks about the JMGO U1’s 0.21:1 ultra-short throw ratio which enable people fill a 100” screen with the projector as little as 20cm away. Mr. Hu introduces JMGO’s own optical engine used in JMGO S3 4K laser projector which looks similar to the JMGO U1 but has additional features like the RS232 connector, Artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent light-adjusted system, etc.
JMGO and Tmall announce a strategic cooperation. (Tmall is Alibaba Group’s online shopping site)


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The owner of the Fox and Hound and Champps Americana restaurants has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — the latest step in an effort to turn the company around.
F&H Acquisition Corp., based in Wichita, Kan., counts Texas as one of its largest markets and is partly owned by Dallas-based investment firm Newcastle Partners L.P.
The first Fox and Hound opened in August 1994 in an Arlington shopping mall, according to a company history. F&H is owned by Newcastle and New York-based Steel Partners II L.P.
The company owns and operates 50 Fox and Hound restaurants (also called Fox and Hound English Pub & Grille) including at least 10 in Texas. The company also owns and operates 35 Champps Americana restaurants and 16 Bailey’s.
The restaurants will remain open during the bankruptcy, the company said.
“After exploring all options over the past several months, we have decided to restructure our debt under Chapter 11 protection,” said spokesman Rick Van Warner, calling it a “difficult decision [that] has the support and participation of our senior lenders.”
The case was filed in Delaware.
Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based restaurant research firm, listed 80 Fox and Hound restaurants as of last year. Van Warner acknowledged that the company has “closed several restaurants over the past year or two. All were individual performance-related decisions.”
Now, he said, “Most restaurants generate meaningful cash flow and guests are responding positively to our remodel program and other changes our new leadership team is making. We are confident that this restructuring will build a strong platform for future growth that will benefit all of our stakeholders.”
Follow Karen Robinson-Jacobs on Twitter at @krobijake.


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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As mobile Internet services mature, most smartphone users now expect operators to provide flawless access with zero downtime or quality issues. This expectation extends to the apps consumers use, with more blame being placed on mobile network operators than any other party, including the app developer, when experiences fall short of expectations. These insights, from a Vasona Networks, Inc.® survey of smartphone owners this month, indicate that mobile operators must prioritize mobile data experience quality in order to keep subscribers happy.
Good Performance, All The Time
Sixty-four percent of consumers responding to the survey cited "good performance all the time" as a reasonable expectation from their mobile data service provider. Just 36 percent of subscribers still think it is reasonable for there to be "hiccups in performance," "unavailability for extended periods" or "unavailability in certain places."
When asked to identify the principal cause of problems during use of an app, mobile service providers are the most commonly cited party for blame, with 40 percent selecting them. Thirty-nine percent blame the app maker and the remainder of consumers suspect their device or device operating system to be the cause.
Data service quality is crucial for subscribers, with 29 percent citing "mobile Internet performance" as most important when choosing a provider. That's more than half of the 55 percent who noted price of the plan as most important. Sixteen percent indicated choice of devices as a primary deciding factor.
"Mobile Internet performance is becoming increasingly important for consumers and this survey indicates just how high a bar subscribers are setting for their service providers," says John Reister, vice president of marketing and product management for Vasona Networks. "Our findings indicate that it is no longer sufficient for mobile operators to offer a good experience most of the time across most of their network. Today, if every cell isn't delivering great performance, subscribers are being let down."
The survey also indicates that mobile Web surfing stands out as the most performance-sensitive activity for consumers. Fifty-six percent of respondents claim to be most frustrated by consequences of poor data connections causing "Web pages to load slowly or not at all." Eighteen percent of consumers noted being most frustrated when mobile Internet performance causes a delay in opening or operating an app, and 16 percent cited "video freezing or not playing smoothly" as a primary frustration.
Vasona Networks, which provides traffic management platforms for mobile networks, conducted the survey online August 14 -19. The questions were each fielded by 1,000 U.S. online consumers who indicated that they use a smartphone with a mobile data plan.
About Vasona Networks
Founded in 2010, Vasona Networks, Inc.® works with global mobile network operators to deliver better subscriber experiences. The company's pioneering edge application controller, the SmartAIR1000™, takes a holistic approach to addressing mobile network data traffic congestion that occurs in each cell, monitoring every application demanding bandwidth. With this visibility, Vasona Networks' RateControl™ technology allocates bandwidth by precise determination of user needs and experiences. The company has received investments from Bessemer Venture Partners and New Venture Partners. Vasona Networks is based in Santa Clara, California, with research and development offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, visit www.vasonanetworks.com.
BLB Communications for Vasona Networks
Read more news from Vasona Networks
SOURCE Vasona Networks


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For older releases please see our news release archive.
11th August 2017: UKFinance publishes Cash and Cash Machines 2017
19th July 2017: New Information pack published for authorised payment and e-money institution payment service providers ("non-bank PSPs") which would like to access the UK’s interbank payment schemes directly
14th July 2017: LINK publishes its first ever Annual Report
2nd May 2017: LINK announces the launch of its new free ATM locator app, the most comprehensive mobile app for finding ATMs in the UK
16th February 2017: LINK announces the appointment of Mark Boleat as the new Chairman of Link Scheme Ltd
5th January 2017: £730 million dispensed at LINK ATMs on 23 December 2016
13th December 2016: New Report highlights how LINK continues to meet UK's access to cash needs
9th December 2016: LINK, the UK’s ATM network reports that the first four days of December saw an increase in LINK cash withdrawals of £121million (7%)
29th November 2016: LINK welcomes the installation of a new, 24-hour access, free-to-use cash machine in Millisle, Northern Ireland.
18th November 2016: Crimestoppers and LINK have shown their commitment to tackling physical attacks on ATMs and card fraud by renewing their partnership
7th October 2016: Over the past 10 years, LINK' s Financial Inclusion Programme has assisted with the introduction new ATMs in nearly 2,000 areas across the UK
2nd September 2016: LINK reports that 29th August was the busiest ever August bank holiday Monday for ATM withdrawals
5th May 2016: Over £100 million more was withdrawn from the UK’s ATMs during this year’s May Day bank holiday weekend compared with last year.
29th February 2016: LINK cash withdrawals in 2015 came to a record £128 billion
6th January 2016: More than 250 areas get new free-to-use ATMs
11th November 2015: A new record as over 183 million LINK ATM withdrawals, worth £11.2 billion made in October
4th September 2015: New figures from LINK show the number of ATMs reached 70,180, in July a new record
21st May 2015: New report shows cash remains by far the most popular way to pay in the UK
31st March 2015: LINK to participate in EAST Financial Crime and Security Forum on 11th/12th June 2015


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Courtesy of engadget.com
You can describe Redbox trying to compete with Netflix's instant video streaming service as the story of David and Goliath, but with an alternate ending.
Engadget has reported
that the Verizon-backed service has informed their customers that Redbox Instant will shut down just before midnight on today (Oct. 7). If you are a customer, then you can expect a notice about refunds on Friday.
The news doesn't come as a surprise for some because Outerwall, Redbox's parent company, were not really happy with the Instant's subscriber numbers. Include the fact that, because of a credit card fraud incident, the company was prevented from taking on any new customers for three months, and you have big reasons why Redbox Instant is shutting down.
It's bad news if you enjoyed Redbox's online rental service, but the good news is that you will still be able to rent from the kiosk.
Keep Up With PopWrapped On The Web!


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Back in September, Fitbit gave a new makeover to its app, which wasn’t found useful or satisfactory for some users and the firm has received various negative feedback on that. Taking the user’s feedback into consideration, Fitbit is now readying a new update which will revamp the app and will also bring a new dark mode.
Fitbit details the future app update and states that the application will get several major changes including the feature of reducing spacing and optimizing the layout of the Today tab. In addition, there will also be a dark mode, to fix the issue of not being very friendly at night or when waking up in the morning.
However, the firm has not yet specified with which update these changes are coming to users. But we can expect that the future Fitbit app update could hide all the flaws of the previous version and the dark mode will offer consumers more satisfactory results.


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The empire strikes back
It took everyone else around three years to come up with an adequate response to Apple's launch of the original iPhone, but the response to the iPad has been a lot more rapid. As well as the wave of Android Honeycomb tablets about to hit us, there are the BlackBerry and HP ones to throw into the mix.
This is what I think formed the overriding context for the launch of the iPad 2 this evening. It wasn't a product launch, it was a riposte. A slap in the face of all these other companies that had the impudence to think they could out-Apple Apple. How dare they?
This is why I think Steve Jobs himself checked out of his medical leave to run the show. It has to be said: Apple gives good press event - arguably the best. But the patter and liberal sprinkling of superlative and hyperbole is so well rehearsed by now that there's no need for Jobs himself to tell us how much better a place the world will be from now on.
But any message has far more resonance when delivered by Jobs than any of his, doubtless able, deputies. And it was clear that Jobs had a point to make that he wanted everyone to hear, which was this: we own the tablet market and can raise our game any time, so suck on that Android.
Jobs started by chucking a few figures about, as is his wont. Developers have apparently made $2 billion from selling apps through Apple to date. Also, Apple recently topped the 100 million mark for iPhone units shipped - impressive if irrelevant.
Onto the first iPad, Jobs said: "...people questioned whether it was an 'unbelievable' price, well ask our competitors." This kicked-off an extended spell of gloating from Jobs, during which he scorned the efforts of Apple's competitors to bring a tablet to the market. He laughed in the face of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and blew metaphorical raspberries at Android Honeycomb. BlackBerry and HP didn't even merit a mention.
I got the sense that the battle with Android has become very personal for Jobs. Google CEO Eric Schmidt used to sit on the Apple board, and it used to be the two of them against horrid Microsoft. It seems Jobs feels Google should have let Apple do its mobile device thing and stuck to search. Of course Google has stuck to search, but expanded it to mobile devices.
The ultimate below-the-belt moment was when a slide came up stating there are already 65,000 apps specifically for the iPad. This was followed by a slide showing the Honeycomb Android/bee logo with the number ‘100' under it, stating that's how many Honeycomb apps there are. Miaow!
Eventually Jobs got around to introducing his new product, and there are some decent improvements, including the brand new A5 chip, a thinner chassis, and some nice bells and whistles. My initial impression was that this was an incremental improvement, designed to offer just enough new tech-porn to steal some thunder from rival launches.
While the prices remain the same, this means the older version will be cheaper. Jobs made a point of having a pop at the $800 price point, which is what the Motorola Xoom is going for in the US. My feeling is, counter-intuitively, that Apple's biggest advantage in the tablet market (apart from momentum) is price.
After the product launch, Jobs' parting shot was that nobody else really gets tablets. I have to admit that I scoffed when Jobs positioned the iPad as a whole new category a year ago, but that's exactly what it's turned out to be, despite the efforts of some market researchers to designate it a PC or a smartphone. Tablets are clearly neither.
Job's mantra is that the iPad is a post-PC product. "Our competitors are looking at this like it's the next PC market; that is not the right approach to this," he said. "These are post-PC devices that need to be easier to use than a PC, more intuitive. The hardware and software need to intertwine more than they do on a PC. We think we're on the right path with this."
No argument there, and I'm happy to concede that Apple is the master of user interface and making technology intuitive. But Jobs' inference is that nobody else is capable emulating Apple, even a year or two down the line. And at the same time he seems outraged that they would have the temerity to try. I suspect he might find there are still plenty of unrepentant sinners in the market that don't agree with him.


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Portland International Airport is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the now-iconic Clocktower in the shop and amenity-filled pre-secrurity area of the airport. And that means lots of fun – and free stuff – for travelers, meeters and greeters and anyone who knows what a pleasant area that pre-security space can be.
Coming up Friday, June 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 pm, the plaza will be transformed into a beer garden with more than a dozen craft beers available for tasting. The event also celebrates the grand opening of Deschutes Brewery at PDX – the beermaker’s first location opening in Oregon in 10 years.
As part of the brewfest, attendees will be able to pick up a limited edition Clocktower 30 pin, which is one of four special pin designs travelers can collect this summer.
Can’t make it to the brewfest? PDX has many other events coming up throughout the summer. See the full schedule here.
While you’re there, enter the Clocktower contest which has as its prize a “Magic Coast of Oregon”-inspired package (valued at nearly $5,000) that includes five nights at the King Suite at the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria, OR, a sunset cruise for two, a zipline adventure with Highlife Adventures, a helicopter tour, several other activities plus multiple gift cards and a Pendleton luggage set and blanket. Deadline is September 9, 2018. Enter here.
I used to live on the Oregon coast and can attest to the fact that is indeed a magical place.


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Manheim Specialty Auctions has introduced “Platinum RV Collection Sales,” a new opportunity for dealers to exclusively buy top-quality, highline RV units valued at $75,000 or more.
The new monthly sales, currently held at two Manheim locations, are also accessible nationally through Manheim Simulcast. The combination of in-lane and online buying opportunity gives dealers convenient, targeted access to the cream of pre-owned luxury RV inventory, saving them time and hassle in the process, the company said.
“We are constantly looking for new ways to improve the auction experience for our customers by listening closely to their unique needs,” said Karen Braddy, general manager, Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment. “Our highline RV buyers and sellers have told us that the diversity of products within the RV category often means they waste valuable time searching for just the right configuration – and that feedback drove the creation of our Platinum program.”
The first Platinum Sale was held at Manheim Lakeland in February, and strong sales results prompted an expansion to Manheim Tucson in June. Based on the success of these sales, additional locations are expected to be added in the coming months, including Manheim Dallas-Fort Worth.
More than 160 buyers participated in Manheim Tucson’s first sale both in-lane and online via Manheim Simulcast. Commercial consignors, such as Bank of America and GE Money reported blue-ribbon days, with Bank of America selling 100 percent of their inventory.
“Our customers have told us that the key to successful customized sales is having enough specialized inventory to make attendance worthwhile,” said Jeanie Hinz, general manager, Manheim Tucson. “The positive results from our first sale confirm that Manheim is definitely meeting the needs of these buyers.”
Sellers also benefit from the targeted marketing, red-carpet presentation and dedicated buyers of Platinum Sales units.
“Manheim understands that there is a unique set of buyers for highline RV units,” said Martin Smith, vice president, remarketing, Bank of America. “When the Platinum units are sold at separate sales, my target buyers from all over the country travel to attend the sales or purchase units online. The higher quality of buyers ensures that I maximize my return.”
Manheim Specialty Auctions’ Platinum RV Collection Sales are hosted monthly at each of the designated locations. Manheim Lakeland hosts its sale the first Tuesday at 2 p.m. and Manheim Tucson presents Platinum RV units the fourth Tuesday at 3 p.m. Transportation options are available for dealers located outside of the normal pick-up area for these locations.


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The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected five companies to help develop user interfaces for a digital euro. Each company will work with the ECB and focus on one specific use case of the digital euro. Amazon has been chosen to focus on e-commerce payments.
ECB Collaborates With 5 Companies on Digital Euro
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced Friday that it will collaborate with five companies “to develop potential user interfaces” for a digital euro.
The ECB explained:
The aim of this prototyping exercise is to test how well the technology behind a digital euro integrates with prototypes developed by companies.
Each selected company will collaborate with the ECB and focus on one specific use case of a digital euro.
Caixabank and Worldline will focus on peer-to-peer online payments. EPI and Nexi will focus on point-of-sale payments initiated by the payer. Amazon will focus on e-commerce payments.
The five companies were chosen from a pool of 54 front-end providers, the European central bank detailed, adding that they best matched the “specific capabilities” required for the assigned use case.
The ECB emphasized:
The prototyping exercise is an important element in the ongoing two-year investigation phase of the digital euro project. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023 when the ECB will also publish its findings.
“Simulated transactions will be initiated using the front-end prototypes developed by the five companies and processed through the Eurosystem’s interface and back-end infrastructure,” the ECB noted. “There are no plans to re-use the prototypes in the subsequent phases of the digital euro project.”
The ECB formally started investigating what its central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital euro, might look like in October last year, noting that the investigation phase should last about two years. ECB President Christine Lagarde said in February that a digital euro will not replace cash but will complement it. “A digital euro would give you an additional choice about how to pay and make it easier to do so, contributing to accessibility and inclusion,” she explained.
What do you think about the ECB choosing these five companies to develop user interfaces for a digital euro? Let us know in the comments section below.


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Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund manager who runs Sears Holdings Corp., is once again lining up financing for a retailer that has lost more than $9 billion in recent years.
Lampert’s ESL Investments Inc. offered to lend Sears $300 million this month, and the retailer accepted, the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company said in a written statement Thursday. The loan is secured by a junior lien against Sears’s inventory, receivables and other working capital.
The announcement follows another quarter of declining sales and red ink, renewing concerns about the once-mighty company’s future. More than a decade after he merged Sears and the formerly bankrupt Kmart, the 54-year-old Lampert is still trying to find a formula that will lift both chains out their protracted slump.
Sears operates more than 60 stores in Indiana carrying the Sears name, including 14 department stores, more than 25 Sears Hometown Stores, five Sears Hardware stores and more than a dozen Sears Auto Centers. There are two Sears department stores in the Indianapolis area (Castleton and Greenwood), plus four Hometown stores, three Hardware stores, two Auto Centers and one Appliance Outlet store.
The retailer also has 20 Indiana Kmart stores, including two in Indianapolis, one in Brownsburg and one in Anderson.
Sears lost $395 million, or $3.70 a share, in the period ended July 30, compared with profit of $208 million, or $1.84 a share, a year earlier. The year-ago results were bolstered by the company’s $2.7 billion spinoff of properties into a real estate investment trust. Same-store sales, a closely watched measure, dropped 5.2 percent.
Results were “only slightly better than in the first quarter, but slightly better doesn’t cut it,” said Matt McGinley, an analyst at Evercore ISI.
Sears shares fell 4.6 percent, to $14.03 each, Thursday morning. The shares had declined 29 percent this year through Wednesday’s close, compared with an 8.3 percent gain for the Russell 2000 Consumer Discretionary Index.
Lampert, Sears' CEO and biggest shareholder, has been selling assets and closing stores to stem the company’s continued cash burn. Sears also said in May that it would explore options for its Kenmore appliance, Craftsman tools and DieHard batteries brands. That would extend a string of transactions, including the spinoff of the Lands’ End clothing unit and the bulk of its stake in Sears Canada.
“Right now, they’re in a bit of a Catch-22 situation in that they need to reduce the inventory to generate cash, but the less inventory they have, the less likely they are to make a sale, which further reduces the cash,” McGinley said.
Under ESL’s proposal, Sears can seek other investors to lend it as much as another $200 million on the same terms, Sears said. The financing is expected to close in seven to 10 business days.
The terms were approved by the related-party transactions subcommittee of the board, with advice from Centerview Partners and Weil Gotshal & Manges, the subcommittee’s financial and legal advisers, according to the company.
Lampert has pledged to build a leaner retailer focused on selling through multiple channels. He’s invested heavily in the company’s digital and loyalty programs in a bid to cope with slowing mall traffic. But same-store sales, a common measure of performance, haven’t stabilized, declining in every quarter but one since Lampert merged Kmart with Sears in 2005.
The company has closed hundreds of stores and sublet some others to retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. The retailer closed stores in Bloomington and New Albany earlier this year. Several Indianapolis stores, including the Sears at Washington Square Mall and three Kmarts, were closed in 2014.
“The stores are incredibly large for what this has become, primarily because the sales per foot are so atrociously weak,” McGinley said.
Sears has received interest from “a variety of potential partners” for Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands as well as the Sears Home Services business, the company said. “We intend to aggressively evaluate all of the potential alternatives available to these businesses,” Sears said.


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PC Gamer received a response from a Bethesda rep about the PC release wording that stated, "the PC version of Fallout 76
The Fallout 76 B.E.T.A. will be available sometime in October, first on Xbox One, and Bethesda will be "selecting people who have pre-ordered the game from a participating retailer."
QuakeCon 2018 begins this Thursday, and on Saturday, August 10, Todd Howard and other Bethesda Game Studios developers will be part of a panel discussing more about the entirely online Fallout 76.
Adam Bankhurst is a freelance writer for IGN who thinks Fallout 3 is one of his favorite games of all time, especially due to Galaxy News Radio. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst.
If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more.


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ENTREPRENEUR: LN Wines founder Lata Ngoasheng keeps it classy
This young entrepreneur’s business is not only about bringing new wine brands to the market, he says. It’s about selling a lifestyle
Young entrepreneur Lata Ngoasheng is on a quest to introduce and instil wine culture among SA’s young, black urban population.
Ngoasheng, 35, is the founder and CEO of LN Wines, a premium wine brand supplying its 2017 vintage merlot and 2018 sauvignon blanc to several restaurants in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto...


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Bank executive warns about scams during pandemic
Since Jan. 1, more than 109,000 people have reported COVID-19-related fraud to the Federal Trade Commission with losses over $71.3 million.
California is ranked second highest in the nation for claims of identity theft and fraud.
Doris Roof can attest to the validity of the claims.
She has been with Montecito Bank & Trust for more than six years and was recently promoted to fraud manager because of her experience with various schemes.
“Initially, the high fraud areas were in debit-card fraud and check fraud. A process was needed to follow the trends and monitor the fraudulent activity. Our department and the bank focus on preventing fraud, protecting and educating our customers about fraud and taking action when fraud occurs,” said Mrs. Roof.
She noted that fraud is different today than it was six years ago.
“Since the pandemic began, tech support scams have become especially prevalent. With people being asked to stay at home and to work at home, they are spending more time at their computers. The scammers know this, and an email will be sent saying that a virus has been detected on the computer, and the person should click on the link for support,” said Mrs. Roof.
“Once you click on the link, scammers will have access to your computer. Do not click on the link. Sometimes deleting it doesn’t get rid of it. My advice is to turn off your computer and reboot. If you do click on the link, you may want to take your computer to have it serviced by someone you trust to see if access has been gained.”
Check fraud has been a big issue in our area, according to Mrs. Roof.
“The scammers go ‘phishing’ or vacuuming for mail in boxes at private homes or the blue government boxes looking for envelopes that have some kind of payment in them like utilities, credit card companies, department stores, etc. They take the checks and ‘wash’ them by replacing the payee’s name with their own and changing the amount on the check,” said Mrs. Roof.
“The (mail) boxes on Patterson Avenue that have been in the news have been hit so many times, and so have the ones on Anacapa Street by the main Post Office. They have been targeted especially since March.”
To avoid becoming a victim, she suggests dropping off mail in person at the post office or giving it to the mail carrier.
With job layoffs and businesses closing, there has been an increase in work-from-home job offerings.
“If the offer is to deposit a check that they will be sending you to purchase gift cards with the funds, don’t do it. Gift card scams are very common, and no legitimate business will ask for a gift card payment,” Mrs. Roof said.
“The scammers will ask for the numbers on the gift card and will deplete the amount immediately. Never pay for a service or someone requesting payment by gift card. This is 100% fraud.”
According to the ftc.gov website, online shopping/negative reviews and imposter scams were the top scams in Santa Barbara County as of June 30.
“Imposter scams can be someone from the IRS threatening action against you for not making a payment or a text stating to be your bank or Amazon and telling you to click on the link to receive additional information, hoping you will provide personal information such as your Social Security number, your debit or credit card numbers.” said Mrs. Roof, who offered the following tips and resources to avoid becoming a victim of fraud:
— Never, ever give your personal information to anyone over the phone.
— Report any cyber type of crime to www.ic3.gov, an FBI website.
— If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, notify the Social Security office and three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — immediately.
Montecito Bank & Trust has a program, “Fraud Fight Recognition,” which recognizes employees who have prevented fraud from occurring to the customer because they noticed “red flags.”
“For example, if a customer withdraws an amount that is unusual — $3,000 instead of $500 — anything out of the ordinary, we will question,” Mrs. Roof said.
“We recently prevented a $50,000 wire transaction scam. We were able to retrieve the amount, which is very rare.”


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(Bloomberg) -- The winemaker Champagne Bollinger has long cultivated a reputation for exclusivity. Whereas tourists are able to hop onto bus tours and stop at visitors centers at other winemakers in the celebrated region in northeast France, the producer of James Bond’s favorite bubbly mostly limits tastings to invitation-only gatherings.
Now, in a move verging on revolution, the Champagne house founded in 1829 is preparing to welcome the general public to its property in time for its bicentenary. Bollinger has begun work on a 20-room hotel on its estate in the village of Ay. There will also be tasting rooms, a private dining space and shop, and an extensive refurbishment and expansion of its cellar — but no tours, at least not yet.
The renovation is an attempt to put the producer of Grands and Premiers Crus on the tourist map. “Bollinger still wants to be understated and quiet, but we have to change,” Guy de Rivoire, international sales director, said in an interview. “This is a massive investment for us.”
Societe Jacques Bollinger, the family-owned French group behind the eponymous champagne, has benefited as an official supplier of Buckingham Palace and James Bond movies. Yet economic reality set in a few years ago and forced a change of tack. “We came to the conclusion that we can’t do everything and needed to find new revenue streams,” de Rivoire said.
It’s now determined to get the most out of its property assets. The grand home where the executive has lived for the past nine years will be turned into a hotel with a wellness area and pool. Bollinger is also developing meeting rooms for seminars and a large reception space to seat 200 on the premises. A new “cathedral-esque cellier” will hold 5,000 228-liter barrels. Construction got under way in July; completion is targeted for 2026.
The challenge for the estate is to maintain its place in a relatively crowded market. Bollinger produces roughly 3.5 million bottles annually, putting it among the mid-sized independent champagne houses and competing directly with brands like Pol Roger. Top producer and luxury giant LVMH sold about 67 million bottles of champagne last year through its stable of brands including Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon, Ruinart, and Veuve Clicquot.
Meanwhile, inflation has pushed up costs for raw materials, transport and labor. An economic slowdown could crimp sales. But Bollinger also has another source of uncertainty: whether the new King Charles III will renew its royal warrant.
For years now, tourists have been able to visit a broad range of estates and vineyards in the region. A search on the Comite Champagne website gives 471 possibilities for tastings and cellar tours.
Bollinger isn’t yet one of them. “We like to take our time,” de Rivoire said.
One closely guarded attribute that tourists will finally be able to see are the house’s two walled plots of “Vielles Vignes Francaises,” pinot noir vines that miraculously escaped decimation by phylloxera in the early twentieth century. The Clos Saint-Jacques and Clos des Chaudes Terres are classified Grand Crus and their yield is low. This year Bollinger is selling 2,477 bottles of 2013 vintage from the parcels, each numbered and labeled by hand with a price tag of 1,750 euros ($1,674.)
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.


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Rossendale-based CircleLoop, the next-generation phone system for business, has partnered with leading single cloud platform Zoho.
CircleLoop, which provides instant, self-service control of all phone numbers, users and features, will now be available in the Zoho Marketplace.
Zoho is a leading single cloud platform, which allows businesses to acquire and manage customers using its marketing, sales and customer support applications.
CircleLoop co-founder Damian Hanson said: “Since we launched CircleLoop we’ve experienced significant demand from the Zoho community for an integration so it’s been a high priority development for us as we continue to challenge the telecoms market with new technology and fresh thinking.
“Our Zoho integration delivers clear productivity benefits for forward-thinking companies and we’re excited to be listed as an approved app in Zoho’s Marketplace.”
Mani Vembu, Chief Operating Officer of Zoho, added: “Today’s businesses are expected to deliver a much higher level of customer service.
“With powerful easy-to-use tools at their disposal, employee productivity and customer satisfaction increase. By integrating Zoho CRM and CircleLoop, we ultimately facilitate more sales, increased efficiency and higher customer engagement for our customers.”


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BIRMINGHAM – The Alabama Retail Association (ARA) in cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Business today recognized 12 outstanding Alabama retailers representing 10 retail businesses as “Retailers of the Year.” The presentations were made at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center in Birmingham during the 2010 Retail Day Luncheon. The event marked the 11th presentation of the Retailer of the Year Awards since 1999.
Janet Holcomb, owner of The Fitting Touch, a Birmingham specialty lingerie store dedicated to fitting women with the proper bra size, received the Gold Award in the “Annual Sales $1 Million to $5 Million” sales category. Holcomb was the Vestavia Hills Retailer of the Year in 2007 and was the silver winner in this same category in 2008. Mary Beyer Lell, a leasing associate for Bayer Properties, nominated Holcomb for this prestigious award.
Knowing that 85 percent of women wear the incorrect size bra, Holcomb opened her store in 2004 at the Vestavia City Center with a mission to change women’s appearance and self esteem by putting them in the right size bra.
A year ago, the store moved to The Summit in Birmingham after five years at its previous location. “… Economic conditions made this adventure a huge leap of faith,” Holcomb wrote in her entry. That “leap” paid off with a 46 percent increase in sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 and a 49 percent increase in the first two quarters of 2010.
The store doubled its square footage in the move, so it also expanded product lines and offerings within existing lines. Most impressively, this niche store increased its customer base by more than 4,200 from 2008 to 2009. Holcomb has plans to expand the store even more in 2011.
“Janet has … an unbelievable work ethic. She has increased her sales even in this down economy and truly believes in using marketing to get people into her store,” Lell said in her nomination of Holcomb.
“… Even in a tough economy, it is a must for a retailer to keep promoting their business, and when the economy strengthens, so will their business!,” Holcomb wrote in her entry, saying she has concentrated her advertising dollars over the past year in television and radio spots.
“She does it all, and she does it very well,” one of the Retailer of the Year judges said of Holcomb’s business and community acumen.
As president of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, Holcomb has helped work on a rebranding campaign for the city. She also promotes the retail industry by hiring interns and sharing secrets of her success with other businesses.
“The Fitting Touch has been recommended by top bra manufacturers as one of the most knowledgeable teams in training for bra fit in the United States,” according to Holcomb’s entry. In fact, in 2009, five new specialty store owners from other U.S. locations came to her store to train.
Why such success in a brutal retail market? “We strive to make each woman feel special not only on the outside, but on the inside as well,” she said. Holcomb and her staff of six full-time and seven part-time employees accomplish that mission daily.
Janet Holcomb, The Fitting Touch | 205.972.4424
Nancy Dennis, Alabama Retail Association | 334.263.5757 Ext. 101 | 800.239.5423


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GameStop (GME) is "only" up 830% in the past 12 months while Tesla (TSLA) is p 1,386%. The market cap of GameStop is $24Bn and that's completely ridiculous as Best Buy (BBY), who sells $43Bn worth of merchandise and MAKES $1.5Bn/yr has a market cap of $29Bn at $113. GME, by comparison, has $6.5Bn in revenue and LOST $673M in 2019 and $471M in 2020 and they PLAN on losing $141M in 2021.
Tesla, on the other hand, isn't just being valued as highly as ONE of their competitors – they are being valued higher than ALL OF THEIR COMPETITORS COMBINED. McDonald's is worth more than all fast food, Wal-Mart isn't worth more than all of retail, not even Amazon is worth more than the rest of the on-line competition but TSL50A has idiots paying $850Bn at $864 compared to $200Bn for Toyota (TM) at $145. Toyota has $275Bn in sales and MAKES $17Bn for a p/e of 12 while TSLA has $30Bn in sales (1/10th) and $2.5Bn in profit (1/7) yet TSLA is valued at 340x earnings, 28 TIMES the value Toyota commands.
When a game is ridiculous, irrational and the rules keep changing – it is best not to play. I know there's no money to be made in being a stock market guy telling you not to play the market but this is NOT a good time to play it and I'm calling it like I'm seeing it. Our Members have gotten very good at hedging over the years but even they are pulling back and playing it "Cashy and Cautious" for the moment.
The Fed was not much help yesterday, essentially "staying the course" with Powell saying yesterday that "the pandemic still provides considerable downside risks" The Fed last year cut short-term interest rates to near zero, launched a bond-purchase program worth $120 billion a month and said it would maintain these measures until its goals of lower unemployment and 2% inflation are achieved.
As coronavirus cases resurged in recent weeks, many states responded with new business shutdowns and restrictions. Employment and retail sales fell in December, and the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits has been rising since November.
“Following a sharp rebound in economic activity last summer, the pace of the recovery has moderated in recent months, with the weakness concentrated in the sectors of the economy most adversely affected by the resurgence of the virus and by greater social distancing.” Powell said
I guess the Fed could just buy $2Tn worth of GameStop and then, when it hit's $5,000, sell it for $20Tn and pay off the debt. That should ork between now and next Friday at the rate that stock is gaining. You can't short these stocks but going long and chasing them is a foolish game too, so we're stuck on the sidelines, observing the action.
There's a great article in the Wall Street Journal detailing how GameStop, in particular, ended up in such a bubble but, as the author notes – it's just a microcasm of the whole market, which is in it's own bubble for most of the same reason.
Be careful out there.


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American business magnate and politician Ross Perot died yesterday at the age of 89.
However, while the world probably remembers Perot best for his 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns, Perot also played a crucial role in Apple history. Here’s how.
NeXT’s most important investor
After Steve Jobs was booted out of Apple in the mid-1980s, he invested his own money in starting a new company called NeXT. NeXT was profiled in a 1986 TV series, entitled The Entrepreneurs. While the NeXT episode didn’t set the world on fire (the New York Times described it as being about “heroes of American capitalism” sitting around and taking endless meetings), it did win Jobs an important investor.
Ross Perot was then a 56-year-old businessman. He had started out his career at IBM, before founding his own data processing company, Electronic Data Systems, which made him rich. Perot saw the episode of The Entrepreneurs, featuring Jobs. He reportedly phoned Steve and told him, “If you ever need an investor, call me.” Jobs then gave Perot a tour of NeXT’s factory in Fremont, California, where he planned to build the computer.
I had somehow forgotten that Ross Perot was a friend of Steve Jobs and an investor in NeXT. In a roundabout way, he helped bring us the iPhone. pic.twitter.com/kVfHvKRRK3
— Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken) July 9, 2019
Perot liked the idea of building computers in the U.S. and thought that NeXT could make this happen. Notably, a few years before, he had missed out on investing in Microsoft. While Bill Gates and Perot told different versions of the story, there were definitely conversations about Perot purchasing the company. They never came to anything and Perot missed out on a massive deal.
Picking the jockeys
Perot initially invested $20 million in NeXT in exchange for 16% of the company. This was massively overvaluing NeXT. It also helped save Jobs’ bacon. While he had a sizable personal fortune, Jobs couldn’t afford to endlessly bankroll a company that was burning through cash.
Jobs managed to impress many people in his life. Perot bought, well and truly, into the myth of Steve Jobs. Speaking at the National Press Club a few years after his NeXT investment, Perot talked warmly about Jobs. Retelling the Apple origin story (in a way that cut out the contribution of Steve Wozniak), Perot described Jobs as:
“a young man, so bright they let him sit in the engineering classes at Stanford in high school, so poor he couldn’t afford to go to college – working in his garage at night, playing with computers chips, which was his hobby, his dad came in one day, who – his dad looks like a character out of a Norman Rockwell painting – and said, ‘Steve, either make something you can sell or go get a job.’ Sixty days later, in a wooden box that his dad made for him, the first Apple computer was created. And this high school graduate literally changed the world.”
Perot’s faith in NeXT helped the company pick up further investments. Ultimately, NeXT was a flop. Its computers never sold like Jobs or Perot had thought. But it was an immensely significant part of Jobs’ life. He learned skills at NeXT which helped transform him into the CEO who later turned Apple around. It was also at NeXT that Jobs oversaw the development of an OS which he later sold to Apple. Without Perot’s investment and support, there’s a chance that none of this ever happens.
And that’s how Ross Perot played a crucial role in Apple history.


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image credit – latestly.com
Twitch is the latest tech company to try a way to browse material similar to TikTok. The company is testing a feature that shows clips in a new vertically-scrolling feed it calls the “discovery feed.” According to a post from Twitch on X, the feed will be out to “select users” on Tuesday.
Twitch content creators will be featured
You can see clips from Twitch creators on the feed. At first, only horizontal clips will be shown, but Twitch says that vertical clips will show up “as the feed evolves.” Currently, the discovery feed shows both “featured” and famous clips. Creators can mark which of their videos they’d like to add to the “featured” pool. If you want to see how the discovery feed works, watch this video.
Twitch joins other platforms to launch a TikTok-like stream
Twitch is adding a style similar to TikTok, just like Spotify, Amazon, and Reddit. The streaming company announced the discovery feed in July as one of a few new clip-related features that would be coming soon. Other features include the ability to export clips straight to TikTok.
The company revealed in July that it plans to add stories to Twitch, which is another feature from other social media networks.


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The court case between the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and WorkSafe Victoria has been resolved and, according to both parties, they both won. According to WorkSafe Victoria:
“The Supreme Court proceeding issued by Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and other quad bike manufacturers against WorkSafe Victoria was dismissed just prior to a trial that was listed to commence yesterday.
The manufacturers had wanted the Supreme Court to rule that WorkSafe’s public announcements about quad bike safety were unlawful. The challenge has been dismissed and will not proceed to trial.”
According to FCAI’s media statement:
“In the Supreme Court proceedings, WorkSafe Victoria specifically declined to pursue a claim that the fitment of an OPD is an appropriate way of reducing the risks to operators of an ATV overturning. It has produced no data or other evidence to support its claim that OPDs will “save lives”.
The revisions now made by WorkSafe Victoria are welcomed by the ATV industry as an important clarification to correct previous reporting that, as a result of its March 2016 announcement, OPDs had become mandatory on Victorian farms. That was not the case, as WorkSafe Victoria has now acknowledged, as a result of the legal proceedings taken against it.”


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The Supreme SS22 season is winding down but for Week 19, the brand will be dropping their set of summer tees and even more items for the summer.
Although the SS22 season hasn’t been one of the best in terms of past seasons, Supreme is set to finish off their latest season with a drop of summer tees to hold you over for the rest of the warmer months. As usual, the week will play host to a variety of different tee designs that will each drop in different colors for you to choose from. The week will also feature other pieces which includes the Supreme x Wilderness Systems Aspire 105 Kayak + Paddle. Overall, a lot to look forward too for the coming weeks’ drop which will likely be one of the better weeks of the season.
SUPREME SS22 WEEK 19 RELEASE INFORMATION
The next drop from the Supreme SS22 season will be going down on June 26th, 2022 via Supreme instore and online via supremenewyork.com at 11 AM EST. Make sure to stay tuned for more updates regarding the next weeks drop which includes the official droplist and retail pricing.
UPDATE 6/29: The official droplist has been revealed. Stay tuned for retail pricing when applicable.
UPDATE 6/28: Official images of the summer tees are here. Check them out below and stay tuned for more details.


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Small Business Week ran from May 16 to 20, 2011 and as part of their commitment to lend $12 billion to small businesses this year, Chase Credit Cards offered a cash bonus to small business owners if they opened an account.
Chase spokesman Richard Quigley explained that new Ink Rewards and Ink Bold credit card accounts which were opened during small business week received an additional $200 cash back bonus. Chase had over 5,400 neighborhood branches and their credit card service centers participate in small business week 2011, with business customers being able to gain access to various limited edition deals and rewards during the event.
Chase also offered two special online benefits for company owners as part of their participation in small business week. Chase offered business checking account customers the opportunity to visit local branches and pick up exclusive invites to an online marketing webinar hosted by Google. All participants received a bonus $100 Google AdWords credit to allow them to put their new found skills to use immediately. Quigley said,
Google has been a tremendous partner with Chase, helping our clients get immediate benefit from their advice and experience.
Small business owners were also able save an additional $100 on Chase’s new Instant Storefront e-commerce tool. In a recent study, many Chase customers said they were expanding their online business to attract more customers and increase revenue, the bank launched the storefront tool in order to assist customers achieve their goals.
Some of the additional rewards and benefits shared with small business customers during small business week included discounted origination fees on small business loans; closing costs waivers on some qualifying real estate loans; and $100 cash back for new business checking account customers.
Chase were just one of the banks involve in small business week, which is an annual event organized and run by the Small Business Administration. Visa were one of the main cosponsors for the event during which the Small Business Administration set up a wide range of free educational forums in Washington D.C. , with free web casts for those small business owners elsewhere in the United States.
Although the forums, luncheons and awards ceremonies all took place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Conference Center in Washington D.C., banks and other financial institutions participated in similar ways to Chase, offering additional deals and rewards for their small business clients nationwide throughout the week.


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Urban Lodge sells to El Loro, will close for business Saturday
SAUK RAPIDS — Sauk Rapids' first brewery will close its doors permanently on Saturday after agreeing to a sale to El Loro Restaurant Group, according to Urban Lodge Brewery & Restaurant owner Roy Dodds.
According to Dodds, a sale agreement has been reached that will close sometime in November. The building will become home to an El Loro Mexican Restaurant and will continue brewery operations under the El Loro name.
"They will continue to run a restaurant and brewery," Dodds said. "They will be brewing Urban Lodge beer recipes and re-branding them as the El Loro brand. So, there will still be a brewery in Sauk Rapids."
Dodds said El Loro has plans to distribute the beer to its multiple other restaurant locations throughout Minnesota.
However, Dodds said, Central Minnesotans may see the new El Loro location open sans brewing operation at first, due to the "four-to-six-month license application process" necessary to open the brewery.
Urban Lodge opened July 25, 2016, under the name Urban Moose Brewing Co. Dodds transitioned the brewpub to the name Urban Lodge Brewery & Restaurant in late 2016.
The brewpub, which boasts a rooftop dining area and garage-style seating with a view of the brewing equipment, initially implemented a no-tipping policy.
After receiving feedback from employees and the community, Dodds transitioned the restaurant to a more traditional service style.
Urban Lodge's menu included pizzas — a holdover from Dodds's previous venture, Flying Pig Pizza Co. — salads, sliders and other small plates, as well as craft beer made with proprietary recipes.
Dodds announced in January that he was putting the business and its location at 415 N. Benton Dr. in Sauk Rapids up for sale, citing a "challenging restaurant market" and personal health issues as reasons behind the decision.
Though Urban Lodge will close operations permanently at end of business Saturday, Dodds said the restaurant and brewery will be offering $1 off all glasses of beer and $5 off all growler fills Friday and Saturday as a thank-you his customers and the city of Sauk Rapids.
Follow Alyssa Zaczek on Twitter: @sctimesalyssa, email her at firstname.lastname@example.org, or call her at (320) 255-8761.