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The Jakarta Post
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has laid out strategies that could bring about a competitive edge for Indonesia when the country faces pressures from other countries over its trade policies, from palm oil to nickel.
The President said on Thursday that by reducing imports and boosting exports, the current account deficit could be narrowed and create a stronger comparative advantage for the country.
“Why am I here? Because there was a maiden export of Isuzu Straga vehicles this morning to the Philippines," Jokowi told reporters during his visit to automotive manufacturer Isuzu Astra Motor Indonesia (IAMI) in Karawang, West Java.
“It’s only going to be one country [export destination] now but within the next three years it’s going to be 20 countries, be it in Africa, East Asia, Middle East. This is what’s expected by the government, by the country. Our exports increasing, continuing to increase, which in turn we hope will reduce our current account deficit and put our trade balance in a surplus.”
Jokowi said he told diversified conglomerate Astra International president director Prijono Sugiarto that Indonesia’s automotive exports needed to be increased to at least 1 million vehicles by 2024, from less than 300,000 vehicles currently.
“That way the current account deficit can be controlled, the trade balance can be managed and we can be ready to fight with any country,” Jokowi stressed. “We can't be pressured by external [parties]. With regard to palm oil [we are] pressured by the European Union, other countries pressure us about nickel [...] No more!”
The EU has begun to impose higher tariffs, from 8 to 18 percent, on Indonesian biofuel, which will remain in place for five years. The new duties followed the European Commission’s findings that Indonesian producers sold biodiesel at unfairly low prices due to government grants, tax exemptions and access to raw materials below market prices.
Meanwhile, the EU also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Nov. 22 to challenge Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban as it deemed the policy “goes against WTO rules”. The ban was moved forward by the Indonesian government to be effective starting Jan. 1, 2020, from the previous deadline of 2022.
“If there’s [any party] that challenges [the policy], that’s OK,” said Jokowi. “For our national interest, we will face the concerns raised by other countries”
He also cited the opportunity to create more jobs as another reason to stick to the plan to develop downstream industries for the country’s natural resources sector.
The government has rolled out several policies to court more investment, particularly for the production of goods that substitute its import needs or goods that are oriented for exports, including last year’s revamp of tax holiday incentives directed toward “pioneering industries”, such as petrochemical, electronics and pharmaceutical manufacturing, among others.
In addition, the government is also drafting an omnibus law on job creation that aims to simplify regulations to make it easier for investors to invest in the country, effectively amending articles in more than 70 laws. (mrc)


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WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a request for information (RFI) that seeks information about the use of alternative data and modeling techniques in the credit process, JD Supra Business Advisors reported.
According to the CFPB, the RFI stems from the bureau’s desire “to encourage responsible innovations that could be implemented in a consumer-friendly way to help serve populations currently underserved by the mainstream credit system.”
A number of people who have never had a loan, credit card or otherwise received credit through firms like utility companies can be denied loans because they don’t have a typical “credit score.”
A CFPB report, “Data Point: Credit Invisibles,” concluded that the current credit reporting system is precluding certain populations from accessing credit and taking advantage of other economic opportunities, the publication explained.
The full story is available at jdsupra.com.

domain: news


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Apple was outed last week for doing something either sinister or stupid (or both): Researchers revealed that the iPhone remembers where you’ve been pretty much all the time and saves that information in a way that almost anyone can access.
The revelation whipped up a media frenzy, and why not? Internet privacy is a hot topic — rightly so — as more of our computing goes mobile. The biggest subsidy for access to free and cheap content remain targeted ads. The more relevant the ad, the more valuable they are to advertisers and publishers — and the less annoying to the consumer. Google alone makes about $5 billion every three months mainly on ads that are more likely to pique your interest because they are determined by what you are searching for, or key words in your e-mails.
This iPhone dossier should not exist, at least in its current form. It lives, zombie-like, without any form or protection of encryption, not only on your iPhone but also on the computer you use to sync and back it up. Even if Apple isn’t hand-feeding your bread trail into the salivating mouths of sleazy marketers (and there is no evidence it is) the mere existence of this database is very problematic for very practical reasons: It could, for example, give a jealous spouse new leverage to demand you produce actual evidence to back your word about working late last week, and your employer a means to verify that you really did have that expensive lunch you expensed.
But a funny thing happened while many of us were getting exercised about this curious discovery: Apple didn’t say a word about it. Nobody even asked about it during the company’s fortuitously-scheduled earnings conference call. Shares in the red-hot company even closed up on the week, largely on a quarterly report which saw profits nearly double.
Remember antenna-gate? When a slight design issue with the iPhone 4′s external antenna, which affected call quality, prompted CEO Steve Jobs to hold an uncomfortable live press event and offer anyone who wanted one a free case, $30 retail value? Remember when Jobs was seen as cavalier by tacitly acknowledging the problem by suggesting we should “Just avoid holding it in this way?”


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In what has been called the last of its kind, here is the full transcript of Spring Budget 2017 – given by chancellor Philip Hammond on 8 March.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Tinder has backed the Be Bold For Change message with an art installation on London’s Southbank, which model Lily Cole kicked off.
Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke, a powerful female leader on the show, and now in real life, has revealed that even she finds herself challenged by inequality in the workplace.
Having been awarded an OBE by business minister Margot James, Etta Cohen explains why it has never been more important to move from conversation to action.
Higher education applications from overseas students is on the decline – and Australia seems to be benefiting from it. This, Lord Bilimoria suggested, was in part due to non-EU citizens feeling insulted about being classed “an immigration problem”.
As the push to support the Northern Powerhouse continues, we visited the city of Manchester to find the luxurious ways entrepreneurs can enjoy the time there on business.
It’s time for chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget 2017, so we’ve looked at the rumour mill and compiled a list of business announcements likely to crop up.
In an interview with Real Business, David Lewis, MD of luxury yacht business Sunseeker London, insisted the firm doesn’t sell boats – it sells lifestyle.
In order to soften the blow of post-Brexit as much as possible, all UK-based entrepreneurs would do well to choose industry erudition
As leaders of British companies look at overseas opportunities amidst Brexit, the most expensive business travel locations in Europe have been revealed.
SME costs could increase by £6.8bn as inflation is forecast to rise by 2.7 per cent this year, our February 2017 economic statistics roundup unveiled.
Leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have become almost as famous as their companies, but what do their CEO salaries say?


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Legislation aimed at barring the use of Glass have stalled in many states. One professor suggests changing the wording of the bills.
Professor Dumpster is a combo of Bill Nye the Science Guy and Oscar the Grouch, and he wants to show us that living minimally can help save our cities. CNET Road Trip 2014 dives in.
The suit, filed by St. Louis professor Robert Morley, says he came up with the mobile payment company's basic concept and technology. The legal dispute has been going on for several years.
A University of Rochester chemistry class thinks it's listening to its new professor. It's actually a prankster. And he gets them to turn off their laptops and cell phones.
In a new video, the billion-dollar entertainment giant shows what it can do with a few quadcopters, and a lot of imagination.
Coin Center, a newly created research and advocacy center, will focus on public policy issues faced by the virtual currency.
Cars are becoming smarter and more connected than ever before, but according to one researcher these cars of the future are being held back by security systems fresh from the 1980s.
The Chinese company's record-breaking initial public offering is paying off with a splashy opening on the New York Stock Exchange.
Commentary: Marking its first anniversary, CNET en Español brings light to the most influential and outstanding Latinos in an industry that could do much better when it comes to diversity.
A professor at UC Berkeley (in California's earthquake country) has created a prototype device that warns of pending quake-related rumbles and could be installed as easily as a home fire alarm.


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( CNN) A preliminary decision from a California superior court judge in Los Angeles could affect thousands of coffee shops including Starbucks, 7-Eleven and even your neighbourhood gas station.
The stores may have to put up a warns that tells patrons there is a possible cancer hazard linked to their morning jolt of java. The courtroom said in a statement Wednesday that the companies “failed to meet their burden of proof on their Alternative Significant Risk Level affirmative defense” and ruled against them .
Cazlifornia saves a list of compounds consideration be given to probable causes of cancer. One of them is acrylamide, which is created when coffee beans are roasted. The chemical stays in the coffee you drink in what the court called a “high amount.”
- This Pharma Company Won't Commit To Fairly Pricing A Zika Vaccine You Helped Pay For
- Big prostate steam treatment NHS approved
- Mitt Romney treated for prostate cancer over the summer; prognosis is good
- Telomeres Are the New Cholesterol. Now What?
- Ultra-processed foods may be linked to cancer, says study


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A few minutes ago, at tonight’s PandoMonthly in New York, Sarah Lacy asked Spark Capital’s Bijan Sabet how he felt about New York’s relative lack of success in building “the new Facebook,” along with the increasing success of non-entirely-tech companies like Bonobos, Birchbox and Warby Parker….
If you look at New York now, what’s the most heavily valued what is raising the most money is like ZocDoc, Oscar Health, Flat Iron School and then Bonobos, BirchBox, Warby [Parker]… companies that are really shopping, despite being ecommerce… not really being ecommerce first.
It feels to a lot of people like that feeling that New York was going to build real Silicon Valley style [consumer] technology companies didn’t work. I don’t mean that in a pejorative way because I think healthcare, retail [etc] are huge parts of the economy. Is New York playing more to it’s strengths now?
Sabet’s response? He didn’t agree with the premise. Rather, he argued, New York just isn’t as mature a market as Silicon Valley…
I don’t agree. New York has done a really good job but… it’s just earlier. In the life cycle of these things it’s just a younger market. Now we have Tumblr at $1.1bn, Etsy’s a meaningful company. You’ve got AppNexus, you have a bunch of companies. We had a couple of big exits beyond Tumblr… like Admeld. I just think this is the first generation of real companies creating real value with real revenue…. real fundamental user bases that are not bought like in the web 1.0 days. This market can build on that.
[photo by Brandon Bakus for Pando]


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BY AMANDA KERSEY
Since November, the owner of barbecue catering business The Bearded Pig and chefs from Cuisine en Locale have operated inside a 1,200-square foot commercial kitchen on the outskirts of Union Square. Kitchen Inc (201 Somerville Ave.), one of the few culinary incubators in Massachusetts, gives them workspace, equipment, money and other support. But with interest in the place swelling, they won’t be the sole tenants for long.
Earlier this year, founder Mike Fuller posted on Craigslist a call for small business owners searching for a space with low rent and plenty of commercial-grade cooking equipment. He received about 100 responses. “We unfortunately don’t have room for nearly that many people,” he said.
However, three budding businesses whose owners are friends of the current tenants have gotten his approval. The City’s Board of Health has awarded one of the businesses the necessary permit to cook and sell their food. Fuller and the other prospective tenants, meanwhile, are confident that they will also be approved. All three have begun thinking about what they’ll do with the space.
Everything that a small food business needs
Kitchen Inc provides tenants with a communal space featuring a walk-in fridge and freezer, grill, convection oven, six-burner stove and other commercial-sized tools that most small business owners, especially new ones, would likely be unable to afford. A room for events and a section toward the storefront that Fuller said tenants could eventually use to sell their creations are also available.
That package appeals to Heather Schmidt and Carrie Diana, personal chefs and bakers who teach farm-to-table cooking classes and work with Cuisine en Locale. So they’ve applied to City Hall to take their venture, City Chicks, to Kitchen Inc. Schmidt said she envisions large classes of amateur cooks who would sit down at a table and eat what they had just made together in the kitchen.
“We’ve tailored our business model to what we want our lives to be,” she said.
Butcher Vadim Akimenko also aspires to bring his charcuterie business, Akimenko Meats, to the space. Akimenko said he would use the kitchen to turn locally raised whole animals into sausage, pâté, terrine or other cold, cooked meat delicacies distributed through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program called Black Market Charcuterie.
Meanwhile, Josh Danoff, the owner of Culinary Cruisers, a fleet of bicycle-powered mobile food carts that sell kombucha tea, has gained approval to anchor his business to the incubator. There he would work on furthering his latest venture, selling ice pops. Ocean Ave Pops will include flavors like watermelon, roasted banana and cantaloupe mint, he said.
Danoff, who lives in Teele Square, said he’s taken with the possibility of working and selling his products where he lives. He plans to move in soon.
“It was just really ideal to have it all here,” Danoff said.
Settling down at Kitchen Inc
The changing cast of about 10 chefs who make up Cuisine en Locale might have to work around the schedules and personalities of new neighbors. But they’re not going anywhere, said Angie Gaimari, who has worked with Cuisine en Locale since September 2011.
“We love being here,” she said. “We’ve dedicated a lot to organizing this space. We want to stay here forever.”
The group gathers once a week at Kitchen Inc to prepare and deliver cooked food to both meat-eating and vegetarian locavores in Somerville, Cambridge and Boston. And now that they have “a real place to call home,” Gaimari said, it’s easier for the business to say yes to more requests for catering at weddings and parties.
Plus, she said, having neighbors with different skills and tools is a perk of sharing the space. Working alongside The Bearded Pig owner Michael Schmidt has allowed Cuisine en Locale to experiment with different cooking techniques for their services. Gaimari said that although Schmidt doesn’t allow anyone else to use his smoker, he would gladly prepare a rack of lamb or another piece of meat for her.


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BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Political unrest in numerous oil-producing nations has meant paying more at the pump, and the impact could be widespread for consumers for months to come.But not everyone -- or everything -- will suffer equally from petroleum conundrums. The following is a look at who might benefit if oil prices bubble up even higher:
Some scoffed when Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A - Get Report) acquired the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, a $34 billion investment, but an oil crunch or prolonged price spike would hurt the trucking industry and cost more for airborne cargo. And that's good news for the comparatively cheaper alternative of shipping goods via rail. In his traditional letter to shareholders last week, Buffet said the railroad purchase has already been "working out even better than I expected," increasing Berkshire's "normal" earning power by nearly 40% pretax and by well over 30% after tax. Buffett and Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, "are enthusiastic about BNSF's future because railroads have major cost and environmental advantages over trucking, their main competitor," he wrote. "Last year BNSF moved each ton of freight it carried a record 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. That's three times more fuel efficient than trucking is, which means our railroad owns an important advantage in operating costs ... When traffic travels by rail, society benefits. Over time, the movement of goods in the United States will increase, and BNSF should get its full share of the gain." If gas prices prod more commuters to ditch their cars for public transportation, systems may be adding more subway cars and diesel trains -- good news for that industry and the jobs it can create. In Massachusetts, for example, that state's public transit authority, the MBTA, is planning to buy 20 locomotives from Motive Power of Boise, Idaho -- part of Webtec ( WAB - Get Report) -- for $114 million.
Conventional wisdom holds that as gas prices go up, people are less inclined, or able to afford, new cars. That may not be entirely true these days. The new wrinkle in the marketplace -- hybrid and electric cars -- could mean that pain at the pump prompts a trip to the dealership. The website HybridCars.com, working with Michigan-based research firm Baum & Associates, issues a monthly report on hybrid car sales. They credit the jump in gas prices as helping hybrid sales last month surge 39% from a year ago, compared with an overall jump of 27.2% for the overall car market. The Toyota ( TM - Get Report) Prius was the top hybrid, with 13,539 cars sold, a 70% jump compared with last February (when safety concerns were a public relations disaster). Ford's ( F - Get Report) Fusion and Escape Hybrids saw a 42% and 53% sales increase from January to February. "Forecasters are predicting $4 gas by summer, which practically guarantees rising hybrid sales, just as new models from Toyota, Hyundai and others hit the market," the analysts wrote. "This year promises to put hybrids back on a growth path similar to the last half of 2008, the last time gas prices hit $4." Time will tell if electric cars such as the Chevy Cruze, Nissan ( NSANY) Leaf and Chevy Volt will catch on as well. "I test drove the all-electric Tesla ( TSLA - Get Report) Roadster in Palm Springs last month," says Ken Beitel, advisory board chair for The Renewable Energy Initiative, a national educational organization that advocates for increased investment, production and use of clean energy. "Putting the pedal halfway to the floor pushed me backed in the seat like I was taking off in a jet plane. " The car, which sells for between $110,000 and $130,000, has a range of 250 miles and acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, he says. Even Rolls Royce has gotten into the electric car market, with its recently unveiled $1.6 million Phantom 102EX. To achieve a range of 125 miles, it sports what is billed as the world's largest electric car battery, weighing in at 1,400 pounds. It can reach speeds of 60 miles per hour in eight seconds -- not bad for a ride that's more limousine than sports car, and just a tad slower than its traditional V12 engine counterpart. "Every mile driven on renewable electricity means that less foreign oil has to be purchased by America," Beitel adds. "If you have solar panels on your house
Beyond "green" cars, the renewable energy industry will take another step forward if petroleum prices become untenable. Companies that specialize in solar technology and alternatives such as wind turbines could be poised for a big year. "Renewable energy is big business," says TREI's Beitel, adding that last year solar and wind companies in America employed more than 178,000 people. "Global clean energy investment hit a record $243 billion and employment in the U.S. solar industry is forecast to grow by 26% in 2011 with the creation of 24,000 new jobs," he says. That's good news for growing companies such as SolarCity, the largest solar power installer on the West Coast, which last month announced it will expand into the Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Albany, N.Y., areas. The company, which secured $40 million in financing from Citi ( C - Get Report) for the expansion, is now in 23 markets. The company's recent moves, such as hiring Mark Roe, Apple's ( AAPL - Get Report) senior director of world services, as its vice president of operations, has fueled rumors a public offering is in the offing. "Concerns about rising energy costs are motivating people to consider and buy solar," SolarCity spokesman Jonathan Bass says. "The power is clean, and that's an upside, but it is also cheaper," SolarCity Founder and CEO Lyndon Rive says. "People are cost-conscious now, they care about saving money. Every penny counts."
Back in 2008, Vint Cerf, Google's ( GOOG - Get Report) "chief Internet evangelist," said the Internet industry "may actually benefit from
Rising fuel prices has already meant a boost in airline fares. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air ( ALGT - Get Report) has even gone so far as to request that the federal Department of Transportation allow it and other airlines to sell tickets with a fuel surcharge that can rise or fall until passengers board. As more and more families' travel budgets can't afford more expensive flights (or the second mortgage required to fuel up an RV), that phenomena known as the "staycation" may make a return. Doing so may mean the opportunity to indulge in some bargain-priced luxury. Hotel room rates often track in reverse from airline fares, an observation pointed out by travel writer Tim Winship. As was the case in 2008, cheap flights mean more travelers, and hotels can charge more to accommodate them. As fewer take to the skies, a potential surplus of rooms will likely mean greater competition, lower rates and more deals. So as gas soars to $5 a gallon, console yourself with the knowledge that a close-to-home weekend getaway may be far more affordable.
Spiking oil prices, which will drive rising food costs even higher, will be a budget buster for most restaurants. In a January earnings call, McDonald's ( MCD - Get Report) executives said they expect food costs to rise by as much as 2.5% in the coming months -- and that was before the international oil panic. But even as fast food chains such as the Golden Arches get squeezed, diners shouldn't worry too much. As 2008 showed us, with a double punch of a recession and high fuel costs, fierce competition leads to an even bigger push for value meals and dollar menus. These chains, given their buying power and ability to hedge commodity costs, may be able to ride out things a bit better than others. They also have a growing customer base that may not mind paying a bit more to supersize their fries. A recent survey by American Express ( AXP - Get Report) found that in the fourth quarter of last year, fast food spending jumped 4% among what it considers its most affluent customers (the top 10% of spenders). By comparison, casual dining purchases dropped by 4%. -- Written by Joe Mont in Boston. >To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joe Mont. >To follow the writer on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/josephmont. >To submit a news tip, send an email to: email@example.com.


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Most people just want to be done with this pandemic—to move on and forget it ever happened. Yet others apparently want to be reminded of it every single day for a long time:
Rover.com, the app and website that connects users with pet-care services, has released its ninth annual report on the year's most popular pet names, which include those inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic -- and of course, celebrities. Soaring pet adoption rates, combined with extra time spent at home, led to some fascinating pet name trends, according to Kate Jaffe, director of brand marketing at Rover.com...
This year, Covid-inspired names were on the rise -- dogs named Zoom were up 443%, while the name Fauci rose 270%. Home tech-inspired names such as Siri went up 131% and Google went up 63%.
Uhhherrrr okay, so, a lot of people apparently want to use their pets to commemorate (a) the absolute worst parts of the COVID crisis, and (b) the miserable technocracy that is slowly taking over every facet of our lives.
And did we just forget now about that whole Fauci-approved puppy torture thing??
Pro tip: If you get a dog, go with one of the classic names: "Buddy," maybe, or "Shadow." Shadow's a good one.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇


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Truphone, the next generation global mobile operator, has announced a significant upgrade to its Android application with the launch of Truphone for Android v2.0.
With a native interface, and a completely reworked end to end user experience, the new Truphone for Android application is faster, more responsive and easier to use, making it the best ever Android application from Truphone.
Truphone for Android delivers an all in one conversations hub that allows customers to take advantage of Truphone’s low international call rates, in addition to the cost of a local call. The application works by making a local GSM call to the Truphone gateway (if a customer has a bundled package of minutes this call is often free), from where the call is then routed over the Truphone network.
In addition, customers can make voice calls to Skype and Google Talk buddies. Customers can also easily instant-message their friends across networks including Skype and Google Talk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, AIM and Twitter from within one Android application, all for free.
“The improvements to the Android application come from customer feedback and lessons learned from our first application to provide a slicker and faster user experience”, said Karl Good, director of consumer apps for Truphone. “This new Android application builds on our heritage of being a pioneer in the mobile industry, providing high quality voice services and making Truphone the smart choice for people with an international lifestyle.”
Truphone applications are also available for Apple iPhone, Apple iPod touch, Blackberry and Nokia devices.


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The recent stats from Singapore’s economy wrap-up show the fastest growth in the entire decade, even after the worse recession posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As compared to the reports from the year 2010, the economy grew by almost 7.2% in the previous year; which is much higher than the estimates provided by the field experts, said Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore.
As per the predictions made by MTI in the month of November, it was expected that gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 may grow by 7%, considering the top end of the prior estimates limited to 6%. The economy contracted by almost 5.4% in the year 2020 due to pandemic related crisis.
While addressing the public on New Year’s Eve recently, Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, stated that the economy may grow by 3 to 5% in the year 2022 while reiterating the maiden forecasts made by MTI in the month of November 2021.
The stats obtained from the fourth quarter of the previous year, the economy improved by 5.9% in comparison to 2020, indicating moderate growth of 7.1% in the previous quarter that was further fuelled by low base comparison.
If we consider the Bloomberg poll forecasts made by experienced economists regarding the fourth-quarter growth in GDP. The estimates were 5.1% year on year with the full-year expansion of 7.1% in the year 2021. On the other side, the seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter estimates state that the economy expanded by almost 2.6% during the October-December quarter; which is faster than the recorded 1.2% growth during the previous quarter.
Analysts also revealed that quarterly gains indicate huge momentum in the economic growth, even after the global Omnicron variant which forced the Singapore government to suspend flight tickets on vaccinated travel lanes up to 20th January 2022.
Chief Economist, Ms. Selena Ling, also said that Republic’s Growth Outlook 2022 will greatly depend on Covid-19 conditions and associated measures, including social distancing rules. It is expected that the vaccinated travel lanes may provide some support to the service sector while easing the labor shortages that have restricted construction activities for a long past.
She also added that MTI’s growth forecasts for 2022 reflect limited improvements in the manufacturing sector as it may first require the construction and service sectors to pick up the growth. However, the final quarter of the year 2021 shows that manufacturing was the best performing sector in the country with an exceptional rise in output by 14% year on a yearly basis; which is almost double in comparison to the 7.9% growth in the third quarter. This sector presented an improvement of 12.8% in the entire year while staying 7.3% up from the previous year. On the other side, the construction sector improved by 2% during the fourth quarter of 2021, in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2020. However, the value-added remained 26% lower from this sector due to Covid-19 related restrictions on the worksites. Furthermore, the service industries improved by 4.6% during the fourth quarter with a 5.2% growth in comparison to the previous year.
For more details, find out from the webpage below,
Latest new launch


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In recent weeks LUMOback, the startup developing a wearable sensor and companion app that help users become more aware of their posture, raised more than $100,000 on crowdfunding site, Kickstarter. As we noted in a previous post, LUMOback managed to raise funds on the site even though it has rejected many other health and wellness-related projects in recent months. More recently Shiv Gaglani at Medgadget interviewed LUMOback co-founder Monisha Perkash who revealed some of the company’s future plans and strategy.
Perkash told Medgadget that LUMOback decided to “kickstart” its device to raise funds to pay for the production of its first run of devices. As we reported in April, LUMOback has already received more than $1 million in funding this year so the crowdfunding move is perhaps somewhat surprising. Still, the company now has more than 1,000 backers who have already paid up for their sensor, so the move was a smart one.
Most interesting of all was Perkash’s take on the device’s regulatory situation: Since the FDA specifically wrote that posture devices fall outside of the its regulatory purview in its mobile medical apps draft guidance last year, she said the initial device will not be submitted for FDA clearance. However, LUMOback does plan to develop and market devices that would require FDA clearance and a CE Mark in the future.
The investors that backed LUMOback's initial round of funding included Innovation Endeavors, Morado Venture Partners and Russell Siegelman --a former partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers
Be sure to read the Medgadget interview here.


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VAT threshold changes
While there have been a number of changes to VAT rates over the past few years, this year only the headline rate changes.
The following is a round-up of the annual changes to the VAT thresholds. They will be effective from 1 April 2012.
The VAT registration threshold will increase to £77,000, this was previously £73,000. The deregistration threshold will increase to £75,000, this was previously £71,000.
The VAT registration and deregistration threshold for relevant acquisitions from other EU member states will also increase to £77,000, this was previously £73,000.
There were a number of consultations mentioned in the Budget; these can be found in the VAT Consultations note.


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Food Standards Agency
FSA Welcomes National Audit Office Report
The Food Standards Agency Chief Executive Jason Feeney yesterday welcomed the National Audit Office report ‘Ensuring food safety and standards’.
The report has made the following recommendations for the FSA. That we should:
- establish the role that sampling plays in reducing risks to consumers
- address gaps in outcome-based measures and targets for assessing compliance with food safety and composition standards
- press ahead with its ambition to introduce mandatory display of hygiene ratings in food businesses in England
- address gaps in the enforcement powers available to the Food Crime Unit
In addition, the report says that:
- the departments in the food regulation system should work together to take decisions on the level of government funding required to ensure that food is safe to eat and what it says it is
- post EU Exit the FSA should work closely with the other departments in the regulatory system to evaluate the medium- and longer-term impacts of EU exit on the capacity of the food regulation system and potential shortfalls in resources
Jason Feeney yesterday said:
'This is a thorough and detailed report into the effectiveness of the current regulatory arrangements to ensure food is safe and is what it says it is.
'The recommendations in the report make good sense and I am pleased that we are already taking steps to address the proposals aimed specifically at us in the report. In particular we acknowledge that our sampling strategy needs to include an assessment of the amount of and approach to sampling that will ensure consumer confidence. As recommended we are also pressing ahead with developing indicators to assess local authority performance and to ensure our Food Crime Unit is effective.
'We’re delighted that the NAO supports our aim to introduce mandatory display of hygiene ratings in food businesses in England, and we are making firm plans to provide our Food Crime Unit with the powers it needs to work independently.
'As also recommended in the report, we will work very closely with other parts of government to determine the level of government funding required to ensure food safety and standards, and post EU Exit, will evaluate with other government departments the medium and longer-term impacts on the food regulation system.'
Latest News from
Food Standards Agency
Birmingham abattoir ordered to pay over £11,000 for hygiene offences04/05/2020 09:25:00
Birmingham Halal Abattoir Limited pleaded guilty to allowing potential cross-contamination of carcasses
Meat wholesaler given conditional discharge for obstructing FSA officer22/04/2020 12:25:00
Fahad Ismail pleaded guilty to obstructing an FSA officer from collecting evidence.
FSA publishes guidance for consumers on coronavirus (COVID-19)20/04/2020 10:25:00
New FSA guidance reassures consumers that food risks from coronavirus (COVID-19) remain low.
Joint statement on UK meat industry response to coronavirus15/04/2020 11:33:00
The following joint statement has been issued by the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and representatives of the UK meat industry.
An open letter to those working in the meat industry in Wales14/04/2020 11:10:00
In these unprecedented times, Food Standards Agency have published the following open letter thanking those working in the meat industry in Wales for their co-operation.
Open letter to the meat industry in England in response to coronavirus09/04/2020 10:25:00
In these unprecedented times, we have published the following open letter thanking those working in the meat industry for their co-operation.
FSA publishes guidance for food businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19)26/03/2020 10:25:00
Advice for food businesses in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the UK.
FSA March 2020 Board meeting now available online18/03/2020 10:25:00
A recording of the March 2020 Board meeting is now available.


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ReadWriteWeb is running a series of posts analyzing the five biggest Web trends of 2009. So far we've explored these trends: Structured Data, The Real-Time Web, Personalization. The fourth part of our series is on Mobile Web. We're including Augmented Reality in this category, as we think it's a key element of where the Mobile Web is heading circa 2009.This week
In April we reported statistics from browser company Opera showing large growth on the Mobile Web. According to Opera, there was a 157% increase in usage of their Opera Mini web browser from March 2008 to March 2009. What's driving that growth is devices like the iPhone, new mobile operating systems like Android, and hot applications like Augmented Reality.
Editor's note: This story is part of a series we call Redux, where we'll re-publish some of our best posts of 2009. As we look back at the year - and ahead to what next year holds - we think these are the stories that deserve a second glance. It's not just a best-of list, it's also a collection of posts that examine the fundamental issues that continue to shape the Web. We hope you enjoy reading them again and we look forward to bringing you more Web products and trends analysis in 2010. Happy holidays from Team ReadWriteWeb!
Apple Dominates Mobile Web, But Android on The Rise...
Best Bigco of 2008, mostly due to the success of the iPhone and accompanying App Store. By most statistics, Apple is in a fairly dominant position in the Mobile Web. At the beginning of the year we reported data from AdMob (a leading mobile advertising marketplace) showing that Apple has a 48% market share of smartphone traffic in the United States. That figure doesn't just come from the iPhone, but the iPod touch too.We named Apple our
By June 2009, Apple's share of smartphone traffic in the U.S. had surged to 64%. Perhaps more significantly though, Apple's share of worldwide smartphone traffic had increased to 47%. This is important, because internationally other smartphones were utilized much more than in the U.S. before the iPhone arrived.
However, Apple can't afford to rest on its laurals. Google's mobile OS Android has been making rapid progress. According to the latest Admob statistics available, for July '09, requests from the Android Operating System increased 53% month over month and Android now has 7% worldwide OS share. The iPhone OS dropped slightly to 45% worldwide and 60% in the U.S.
Bigco Initiatives & Trendy Startups
All of the big Internet companies have strong Mobile Web initiatives. We discussed Apple and Google above.
Earlier this month Facebook announced a mobile expansion of their Facebook Connect platform. "Facebook Connect for Mobile Web" enables developers to add a Facebook Connect button to their apps in order to make them more social.
Probably of most interest is watching the up and coming Mobile Web startups. We've had our eye on Brightkite for some time, but perhaps the trendiest startup right now is Foursquare. It's a location-aware social app for the iPhone, but only available in a limited number of countries currently.
As we noted in August, it is in everything from mobile apps to kids toys. Many people think that "AR" will soon be talked about by everyone the way they used to talk about "social media" and "Web 2.0" before that. That remains to be seen, but there's no denying there is a lot of interest in AR right now.Augmented reality, the addition of a layer to the world on your mobile device, has been a very hot trend this year.
As we reported at the end of August, the AR apps are starting to flow into Android (the early leader in this space) and iPhone devices. We reported that the Paris Metro Subway was apparently the first AR-enabled app to be accepted into iTunes. Then came a new Yelp app with AR, which any 3Gs owner can turn on by shaking their phone. Presselite, the company that made the Paris Metro Subway app, followed up with a London Bus app for the App Store.
Clearly mobile devices are an increasingly important way to access the Web. Many of our readers have smartphones nowadays, a good proportion of them being iPhones or Android devices (our statistics prove this). And there is no shortage of mobile web applications flowing into the App Store and Android's marketplace - not to forget Nokia and other prominent mobile manufacturers.
What's perhaps most encouraging however, is the entirely new class of mobile apps we're seeing. Augmented Reality is the most obvious example. It's been a big year for mobile, with much promise to come.
ReadWriteWeb's Top 5 Web Trends of 2009:


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White Lion Brewery
For This Springfield Business, Better Times Are on Tap
From the beginning of the pandemic, Ray Berry’s White Lion Brewery was deemed an essential business by the state’s governor.
That means it was allowed to remain open when many others had to close amid efforts to flatten the curve and relieve the tension on the region’s healthcare system.
But as any other venture on that large list can attest, ‘essential’ does not mean free of challenges, headaches, anxiety, and uncertainty about what might come next.
Indeed, there’s been plenty of all of those things for this Springfield-based company that was looking toward 2020 as a watershed year, and still is in at least some respects.
Especially with plans for a much-anticipated taproom and accompanying restaurant in Tower Square — specifically the former Spaghetti Freddy’s site — now moving forward again after a halt to most forms of construction during the spring.
“Pre-COVID, we were really ramping up and starting to fire on all cylinders relative to sales and construction — we were about to onboard another salesperson and were also looking to obtain another vehicle and perhaps another part-time person to deliver our product,” he told BusinessWest. “And then … the pandemic hit.”
And it hit hard, impacting the company from “front to back,” as Berry put it.
“Pre-COVID, we were really ramping up and starting to fire on all cylinders relative to sales and construction — we were about to onboard another salesperson and were also looking to obtain another vehicle and perhaps another part-time person to deliver our product. And then … the pandemic hit.”
By that he meant virtually every aspect of the business, from the closure of the hundreds of bars and restaurants (as well as MGM Springfield) that sold White Lion to a halting of construction work on the brewery; from the canceling of high-profile events where the brand had a presence, such as the Holyoke Road Race, to the suspension of the beer gardens the company has hosted in downtown Springfield and Westfield during the summer and fall months.
“It was just like a crash — it all happened at once within a 48-hour period when the state and federal governments stepped in and put restrictions in place,” he noted, adding that, as sales plummeted (only liquor stores, also deemed essential, remained as a distribution point), the company had to lay off some of its employees in stages and figure out how to manage with those who remained.
White Lion has been helped by assistance programs on a number of levels, from the federal Paycheck Protection Program to the local Prime the Pump initiative created by the Development Department in Springfield, said Berry, adding that this help, coupled with the remaining business from liquor stores, enabled the company to stay on its feet during those brutal spring months.
And as the state continues to reopen businesses, the outlook for White Lion continues to brighten. Restaurants have reopened across the region, and the state’s casinos have been given the green light to open their doors, although MGM Springfield has not given a specific date when it might do so. And work has resumed on the project in Tower Square, and Berry is projecting that his crew can be in and brewing beer by the end of this month.
“The taproom component is under construction now,” he went on, “and we hope that by mid-August, the taproom piece, as well the kitchen piece, will be complete, and that by the end of August or early September we can start welcoming people into the space.”
Meanwhile, White Lion has recalled most of its seven employees and expects to be “whole” in that regard by late July, he said.
Projecting beyond the next few months is difficult, but Berry believes the company will be able to open its beer gardens in late August or early September, noting that these ventures will be part of phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan.
Looking back — and ahead — Berry, echoing countless other business owners across every sector of the economy, said the pandemic has provided a stern test, one he believes his team is passing through determination and imagination.
“It’s been a challenge in every way you can imagine,” he told BusinessWest. “It’s just a predicament that we’re in, and we have to pivot and continue to find ways to remain resourceful and efficient for the benefit of the sustainability of the company.
“I always said that we’re all resilient as people,” he went on. “And there’s always going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. We don’t know how long that tunnel may be, but there will be a light, and we’re starting to see some of that that now.”


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The EU blamed China last December for scuppering a global environmental trade deal by insisting that bicycles be included as a tariff-free green product. Chinese conventional bicycles have been subject to EU anti-dumping duties since 1993.The EBMA says more than 430,000 Chinese e-bikes were sold in European Union in 2016, a 40 percent increase on the previous year, and forecasts the figure will rise to around 800,000 in 2017.EBMA secretary-general Moreno Fioravanti said Europeans buy some 20 million bicycles per year, of which about 10 percent are now e-bikes, with the potential to rise to a quarter within five years.European companies had pioneered the pedal-assist technology that e-bikes use and had invested about 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) last year, he said, but was risking losing its industry to China. "Today the European bikes are the best in the world and we have to invest every year to renew the range. The Chinese are getting the money from the government and the subsidies have an impact of 30, 40, even 50 percent of the price of the product," Fioravanti said. "You have subsidies, which generate overcapacity, which generate dumping," he said.
Source: The Star October 01, 2017 22:45 UTC


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The Uncharted series is known for its linearity, but Naughty Dog is hoping to expand upon levels in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
In the latest issue of Game Informer, Naughty Dog’s Ricky Cambier described how the studio hopes to change up the formula for Nathan Drake’s PlayStation 4 debut.
“I think our goal with the layouts in some of these spaces is that there’s not that golden path,” Cambier said. “You turn this corner, you’re going to find something surprising. Or maybe this way you’re going to use your potions; the mixup of your different tools. There might be a shimmy ledge this way, there might be things that break this way; so every path has that action, that tempo that you want.”
Naughty Dog plans to utilize much of Nathan Drake’s new tools (like the ones seen in the game’s first gameplay trailer) to give players new paths and options to explore as they progress, rather than just sticking to a designated path.
“Because you want to go bigger in this jungle layout that we have,” he said. “You can see just all the avenues that Drake has; these new tools. You give the player a tool like the grappling hook. Then you realize how much space you need to fulfill that and how far you can go. How you design a space that has that size and that epicness, but is still understandable, digestible.”
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is coming to PlayStation 4 later this year. A ton of new details have surfaced thanks to Game Informer’s coverage, including story information and ideas that Naughty Dog has for the game’s gameplay.
At PlayStation Experience, Naughty Dog walked fans through the process of bringing Nathan Drake to PlayStation 4.


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When Universities Sell Patents to Trolls, Publicly Funded Research Is Compromised
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the state of publicly funded research. Many, including EFF, have long called on Congress to pass a law requiring that publicly funded research be made available to the public.
With strong support for FASTR (the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act) in both parties, Vice-President Biden making open access a major component of his Cancer Moonshot initiative, and presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton including access to research in her platform, signs are looking good that Congress will finally pass an open access mandate. It’s just a matter of when.
Even if we pass an open access law this year, though, there’s still a major obstacle in the way of publicly funded research fully benefiting the public: patent trolls.
Universities and Patent Trolls: A Twisted Romance
Wait, patent trolls? Those obscure companies that just amass patents and sue people instead of actually making or selling anything? What do they have to do with publicly funded research? Quite a lot, it turns out.
Research universities represent one of the primary recipients of federal government funding for science. Many of those universities routinely file patents on technologies they develop, and unfortunately, many of those patents end up in the hands of trolls. There are dozens of universities, both public and private, with standing agreements to sell patents to patent assertion entities. When patent trolls’ intentions are so often at odds with the mission of research benefiting the world, it’s worth asking: why do universities sell to them?
A recent Planet Money episode explored a company that’s sued nearly every workout supplement manufacturer in the U.S. over a patent on an amino acid that occurs in nature, a patent that originated at Stanford University.
And just last month, we gave our Stupid Patent of the Month award to My Health, a company that appears to do very little besides file patent and trademark infringement lawsuits. Like the arginine patent, My Health’s patent originated at a university, the University of Rochester.
We don’t even know how many university patents trolls control. That’s because a lot of the time, the university is still listed as the owner of the patent, but it gives the troll a broad, exclusive license to litigate it.
Keep in mind that the federal government funds a lot of that research. Even as we move toward a time when most publicly funded research is publicly available, patent trolls make it more difficult for practicing companies to use that knowledge (subscription required, ironically).
Even for research that’s not federally funded, the public has still invested in it in the form of grants, donations, state funding, and tuition fees. If you’re in college right now—or if you’re still paying off your loans—how would you feel found out that patent trolls are using that money to bully innovators into paying licensing fees?
Bad for Both Innovation and the Bottom Line
Universities filing patents for federally funded research is a relatively new phenomenon. Thanks to a law enacted in 1980, commonly known as the Bayh-Dole Act, universities can apply for patents for their inventions even if those inventions were funded by the federal government.
Before Bayh-Dole, the government itself was responsible for patenting federally funded inventions; when it did so, it would let others use them only under nonexclusive licenses.
The years following Bayh-Dole saw a major uptick in patents filed by universities (PDF). In 1980, 394 utility patents were granted to universities. By 2010, that number had increased tenfold (for comparison, the number of patents issued altogether increased fivefold over the same 30 years).
Today, it’s unusual for a research university not to have a technology transfer office, an office whose job it is to file patents and sell or transfer them to third parties. Here’s something else a lot of people don’t know about tech transfer: the vast majority of these programs lose money for their schools.
Some defenders of the technology transfer system say that that’s to be expected: the purpose isn’t to make money; it’s to bring their important inventions to market. But again and again, tech transfer programs seem to undermine their own goals. For every patent that gets licensed to a company that actually intends to carry the university’s work forward, many others either go unlicensed (putting a strain on the university’s resources) or are sold to trolls (putting a strain on practicing companies).
Is the purpose of a tech transfer program to make money for the university or is it to stimulate innovation? Either way, many aren’t doing a very good job.
Can Tech Transfer Fix Itself?
Several universities have admitted that selling or licensing patents to trolls is a big problem. The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) maintains a document called Nine Points to Consider and a list of over 100 institutions that have endorsed it since 2007.
AUTM’s “points” include prioritizing transferring to companies that are committed to active research and development in the patents’ areas of technology, not those that will simply sit on the patents and wait to extract licensing fees from others. The document even explicitly warns of the dangers of transferring to patent-holding companies:
Universities would better serve the public interest by ensuring appropriate use of their technology by requiring their licensees to operate under a business model that encourages commercialization and does not rely primarily on threats of infringement litigation to generate revenue.
The way for universities to make sure patented inventions actually get used is to partner with companies committed to making advancement in those areas of technology, not those with business models based on litigation. We’d add that before filing a patent at all, a university ought to consider whether a patent will support the goal of bringing that particular invention to market.
The Nine Points were a big step in the right direction, but many of the universities that signed it have continued to sell patents to companies that do nothing but sue.
Who Is Your University Listening To?
Learn more: Patents: The Next Open Access Fight
The Latest on: Patents
via Google News
The Latest on: Patents
- Winklevoss Patents Tout Use Case for Gemini Stablecoin Tech in Bankingon February 2, 2020 at 9:03 pm
The owners of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, the Winklevoss brothers, have won a flurry of U.S. patents for stablecoin technology they say could be issued by commercial banks. Six patents, ...
- Apple's impressive earnings, promising patents, and new acquisitions on the AppleInsider Podcaston January 31, 2020 at 5:00 am
Meanwhile, Apple itself directly acquires an AI company —which then cancels all defense contracts. Apple's latest patents include one that proposes a flat Digital Crown for the Apple Watch and one ...
- Who Should Decide Patents for the U.S.?on January 30, 2020 at 9:45 am
Foreign companies in possession of a multitude of intellectual property have begun trying to adjudicate patent disputes not via federal court but by the International Trade Commission, which has ...
- Apple must pay $838 million for infringing CalTech's WiFi patentson January 30, 2020 at 1:20 am
In a case that first hit federal courts in 2016, CalTech accused Apple of using Broadcom WiFi chips that violate four of its patents in all iPhones, starting around 2012. The jury reportedly ordered ...
- Apple Patents Self-Driving Car Technology That Functions Through Interactionson January 29, 2020 at 5:59 pm
A recently published Apple patent reveals that the Cupertino tech giant is looking into a self-driving car technology that uses interactions to control the vehicle.
- Apple must pay $837 million for infringing Wi-Fi patents from Caltech, jury decideson January 29, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Nearly four years after the California Institute of Technology sued Apple and Broadcom for allegedly infringing four of the university’s patents on Wi-Fi data transmission, a federal jury has agreed ...
- Apple ordered to pay $838M for infringing Caltech Wi-Fi patentson January 29, 2020 at 3:24 pm
A federal jury on Wednesday found Apple and Broadcom in infringement of patents owned by California Institute of Technology, awarding the university $1.1 billion to be paid by the two tech companies.
- Apple Ordered to Pay Caltech $838 Million for Infringing on WiFi Patentson January 29, 2020 at 3:03 pm
Apple and Broadcom have been ordered to pay the California Institute of Technology a fine of $1.1 billion for infringing on Caltech's patents related to WiFi transmissions, reports Bloomberg. Apple ...
- Greta Thunberg Patents Own Name And 'Fridays For Future'on January 29, 2020 at 11:36 am
Teen eco warrior Greta Thunberg said Wednesday she has registered both her own name and her "Fridays For Future" global protest movement as trademarks in order to prevent them from being hijacked for ...
- Why trademarks and patents are so valuableon January 29, 2020 at 9:23 am
Imagine Nike without the swoosh, McDonald's with no golden arches or Apple without an apple. Trademarks and patents can make or break a company. In the U.S. alone, intellectual property-intensive ...
via Bing News


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Tech wrap: OS X daddy waves goodbye
Apple said top software engineer Bertrand Serlet will leave the Mac computer maker after more than a decade spent developing its signature operating system, Mac OS X. Craig Federighi, currently the vice president of Mac Software Engineering, will take over from Serlet and report to CEO Steve Jobs, Apple said in a statement.
Yahoo refreshed its Internet search service, showcasing information from movie listings to weather forecasts as queries are entered. The Internet portal said that its Search Direct service will be available in the U.S. today on its main search Web page, and will gradually expand to the other parts of Yahoo, including the home page.
Nokia said it won’t begin talks on deep job cuts until the end of April. Analysts said the relatively long gap before talks kick-off could be because the final deal with Microsoft is yet to be signed, while Nokia might also want to delay any announcement on cuts until after Finland’s general elections on April 17.
Wide adoption of mobile wallets is being slowed by a behind-the-scenes battle among cellphone carriers, banks, credit card issuers, payment networks and tech companies, writes NYT’s Tara Siegel Bernard and Claire Cain Miller. The stakes are enormous because small, hidden fees that are generated every time consumers swipe their cards add up to tens of billions of dollars annually in the U.S. alone, they add.
Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg sang the virtues of interconnectivity at the CTIA Wireless conference, predicting that 50 billion devices connected to wireless network by 2020 will make it easier to drastically reduce carbon emissions and lessen environmental impact, with the biggest opportunity to make a difference laying in placing all those devices on a smart grid, writes VentureBeat’s Matthew Lynley.
Ohio State University engineers have invented the first single, stationary lens to create microscopic 3D images, the school announced. The hope is that the lens will ultimately help manufacturers reduce the number and sizes of equipment needed to miniaturize products, associate professor Allen Yi said.


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Friday’s Midday Movers: 3 Stories Driving Markets
The major U.S. stocks were falling again heading into the weekend. As of noon:
|DIJA: -0.47% to 15,256.50||S&P 500: -0.42% to 1,691.60||NASDAQ: -0.11% to 3,783.44|
|Gold: +0.31 to 72.33||Oil: +0.41% to 24.5099||U.S. 10-Year: -1.06% to 26.15|
Here are three stories helping shape the market Friday afternoon.
1. Consumer Sentiment Sinks to a Five-Month Low: Due to a sluggish economy and recent actions in Washington, D.C., consumer sentiment dropped to a five-month low in September. According to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s final reading, consumer sentiment plunged to 77.5 this month compared to August’s final reading of 82.1. It was the worst reading since April and the third-lowest since the beginning of the year.
During the last recession, the index averaged slightly above 64. In the five years before the financial crisis, it averaged almost 90. Consumer sentiment is one of the most popular measures of how Americans rate financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Survey Center questions 500 households each month for the index… (Read more.)
2. Is the Recovery Finally Reaching Main Street? Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday morning show that consumers weathered economic headwinds fairly well in August. The BEA’s Personal Income and Outlays report showed that, fueled by increased income and spending, the consumer sector could actually be a positive contributor to third-quarter gross domestic product, adding some much-needed momentum to the beleaguered recovery.
Personal income — the total compensation that someone receives — increased 0.4 percent on the month, consistent with economist expectations. Increases in personal income are pretty much prerequisite to increases in consumer spending, which drives as much as two-thirds of total economic activity in the U.S. Disposable personal income — which measures how much money people have left after paying income taxes — increased 0.5 percent. Real disposable personal income, which factors in inflation, increased 0.3 percent… (Read more.)
3. BlackBerry Earnings Confirm That the Bears Are in Town: On September 20, BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) temporarily halted trading in order to smooth the landing of some bad news: Fiscal second-quarter financial results would be coming in well under analyst expectations. The firm reported that revenue would come in at $1.6 billion, significantly below the average analyst estimate of $3.06 billion… (Read more.)


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Stemtech International, a formerly high-flying Pembroke Pines-based dietary supplement maker, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it battles a former supplier and seeks Supreme Court review of a $1.6 million judgment from a 2008 copyright infringement case.
On its website, the multilevel marketing company says its products help stem cells grow and circulate in the body, maintaining and repairing organs and tissues and “providing you with an unmatched level of wellness, both inside and out.”
Stemtech submitted the filing on Feb. 2 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Fort Lauderdale.
The company remains in operation and has not laid off any of its employees, bankruptcy attorney Michael Seese said Monday.
“There are no plans to cease operations, and the company intends to use Chapter 11 as a means to further restructure operations and balance sheet and emerge a healthier and profitable company,” Seese said.
Stemtech is in talks with its primary lender, which supports its reorganization effort, Seese said.
The company ran into cash flow trouble recently stemming from a combination of factors, he said.
It has been appealing a jury verdict in 2013 that awarded a stem cell photographer $1.6 million. The photographer, Andrew Paul Leonard, filed the suit in 2008, saying the company licensed for $950 one-time use of one of his rare stem cell photos, taken through an electron microscope, for its internal magazine, but then replicated the photo at least 92 times in marketing brochures, videos, PowerPoint presentations and websites.
In August, the company lost an appeal of the award and is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case, according to bankruptcy court filings.
In May, the company was sued by one of its suppliers, Cerule, an Oregon-based distributor of extracts from Blue Green-Algae, over what Cerule charged was non-payment for products delivered to Stemtech.
Stemtech is countersuing, court records show.
“The litigation has been costly and depleted cash availability for operations,” Seese said.
Also, Seese said, the company closed “a handful of unprofitable locations” last year, decreasing the company’s cash flow even though “we believe [the closures] will improve profitability.”
Foreign currency adjustments also resulted in losses, the company’s bankruptcy filings state.
Finally on Jan. 30, the company’s landlord at 2010 NW 150th Ave., Pembroke Pines, served a notice of default.
In court filings, the company listed $5.2 million in unsecured debt, including the $1.6 million claim by Leonard. Secured debt includes $3.4 million to Opus Bank, secured by all company assets, including patents and equity interests.
Stemtech reported assets valued at $7.5 million, including cash, accounts receivable, inventory, long-term deposits, property and equipment.
Gross income totaled $52.5 million in 2015 and $43.5 million in 2016.
In 2014, the company had expected to be generating gross income of $100 million by 2017.
Stemtech relocated its corporate headquarters from California to Pembroke Pines in September 2014, saying the location outshone competing destinations in California and Texas because of its proximity to international shipping facilities, the absence of a sales tax in Florida, and a local and state incentives package.
The company committed to create 90 jobs at an average salary of $66,000 and spend $1.35 million to renovate its new headquarters. In exchange, the company would qualify for $615,000, including $50,000 from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund, and receive $25,000 in cash from Pembroke Pines for hiring residents.
As of Monday, the company has not been paid any state economic development funds, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s database.
About 40 employees are based out of the Pembroke Pines headquarters, Stemtech CEO Ray C. Carter said by email Monday.
According to its court filings, Stemtech works with 200,000 independent distributors and customers in more than 50 countries on six continents. It is a direct and indirect owner of more than 47 subsidiaries, 27 of which are operating.
The company markets 10 products: AFA Extract, SE2, StemRlease3, StemFlo, StemSport, ST-5, StemPets, StemEquine, DermaStem, and DermaStem Lift.
Stemtech was founded in 2005 and began to boom in 2008, according to the company’s website, selling supplements made by isolating the unique components of a freshwater plant called Aphanizomenon flos-aquae [AFA] and creating proprietary blends of AFA concentrates that can “maintain and repair” tissue and organs.
According to its website, the company’s products “enhance and support the work of the body’s stem cells by releasing more stem cells helping to circulate them in the blood and migrate them into tissues, where they can perform their daily function of renewal for optimal health.”
Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.
email@example.com, 954-356-4071, twitter: twitter.com/ronhurtibise


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2017 has been for certain Bitcoin’s year. In spite of numerous speculations, the most popular virtual coin has increased to a value nobody would’ve imagined, reaching almost $20,000 on December.
Recently, an increasing number of analysts and speculators are claiming that Bitcoin will be suffering a great fall. It started at the ending of December, with a 30% price drop, getting to the price of $13,248.
Some financial analysts are saying that this decline of the price is not to be taken seriously, because it is not the first time when Bitcoin is acting this way. They also claim these fluctuations are just stepping stones to a major increase.
David Alan Stockman, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Wall Street bear has stated that the Bitcoin fever is fueled by ‘stupid speculators’ and that this ‘Bitcoin bubble’ will conclude in a disastrous ending.
Invited on CNBC’s Futures Now , he also said that it will all burn down in a major crash and that all these speculators will ‘burn their hands’ and maybe learn a lesson. This recent profecy isn’t exclusively related to cryptocurrency market but to stock market as well.
In September 2017, Stockman was warning the investors that a correction between 40% – 70% is very close and high-probable to happen. He added that this market is an irrational one, overheated by the multitude of diehard traders.
In the past two years, the price of Bitcoin has met an incredible growth of 3000%. The price swings has raised many arguments on Wall Street regarding the real value of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has split the analysts into two ‘camps’. Some of them think that the value of Bitcoin is overrated and a bit extreme. The other part of analysts like Mike Novogratz and McAfee think that the value of the virtual coin could reach the number of hundreds of thousands.
Altcoins such as Ripple, Litecoin and Ethereum have also increased lately. Stockman hasn’t labeled the coins in any way and he concluded that the coins might double in price size but might reach the zero value also. The virtual coins are not real money because real money used in real transactions have one characteristic that cryptocurrencies don’t possess : ‘stability’.


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Iconic Holdens sell for unbelievable amounts at auction
Search Driven for vehicles for sale
Not one, but two classic Holdens broke records over the weekend, selling for unbelievable amounts.
The cars in question were the 1 of 1 Prototype Holden survivor car VH SL/E Commodore and a 1968 Holden HK GTS Monaro 327 Bathurst Coupe.
Both cars sold for record-breaking amounts for Australian auction, with the 1 of 1 Holden VH SL/E Commodore selling for $115,833 NZD and the 1968 Holden HK Monaro for $353,934 NZD (based on current exchange rates).
The unrestored 1968 Holden HK GTS Monaro 327 Bathurst Coupe has most of its original paint, the interior is completely untouched and it still has the car’s owner’s manual. On top of this the Monaro still wears the number plates from when it was first registered and comes with all the paperwork and receipts from over its life.
Painted in “Silver Mink” the Monaro has 57,593 miles (92,687km) on the clock and is powered by a 5.4-litre V8 petrol engine making 186kW.
The HK Monaro 327 GTS has deep motorsport routes. It was responsible for Holden’s first victory in the 1968 Bathurst 500 – the precursor to the modern-day Bathurst 1000.
“This is an iconic vehicle that all Aussies love and it will only continue to increase in value as they become harder to find,” says Lloyds Auctions head of operations, Lee Hames.
“This auction just proves that the value in classic cars is still going up and people are classifying them as an investment for the future and today the amount of sales would be one of our highest percentages selling under the hammer during the LIVE auction,” says Hames.
“As we have seen in recent years, results consistently show that Australian classic vehicles that are in original condition, of limited build number, has a steel bumper, celebrity affiliation or significant provenance just continue to grow in value, and we have seen that here in today’s auction,” he continued.


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After earning his MBA in 2008, Vinay Chopra knew he wanted to work for himself. Just three years later, Mr. Chopra's company, Mobiroo, counts Research In Motion (RIM), Future Shop, Best Buy and other large big box retailers and among its clients. He also has business deals in Europe and the United States, 12 full-time employees and a downtown Toronto headquarters.
How did the 32-year-old do it? Mr. Chopra managed to create a product he believed no one else had. That unique product was able to generate sufficient buzz to garner attention, and sales, from some of Canada's largest companies.
"The idea germinated from the promotional industry, where my mother has a successful business," says Mr. Chopra, who received a full-scholarship to complete his MBA at the University of Western Ontario's Ivey School of Business. "There were few digital goods in the space, but there was an opportunity to push-out these out because of demand."
Mobiroo is in the business of mobile app gift-cards. Mr. Chopra culls, what he believes, are the best apps for his clients and in turn, the clients can offer the gift cards to their customers. Sold by major handset manufacturers, carriers and retailers, the gift cards effectively act as a conduit between app developers and end users.
Mr. Chopra worked on the concept with his parents – his mom is an entrepreneur and his dad has a finance and engineering background – and hired IT experts, namely 25-year-old Kosh Sarkar from the University of Waterloo, to help him create what he hoped would fill a gap in the marketplace.
After coming up with the idea in December 2008, Mr. Chopra networked and cold "e-mailed" prospective clients until he got what he wanted. "In April 2010, RIM took a good liking to Mobiroo, and said they hadn't seen anything like it."
Mr. Chopra's first campaign with RIM was launched at the end of 2010 when the technology company purchased 60,000 gift cards worth 20 pounds each for the U.K. market. With that deal, Mobiroo's business entered the black and has since continued to turn profit.
While Mr. Chopra was able to create a unique product and take advantage of being the first-mover in the app gift card space, John Pliniussen, Queen's University associate professor of sales, eMarketing and Innovation, warns that what Mr. Chopra accomplished isn't easily replicated. "There are few things consumers need that are new," says Prof. Pliniussen. Simply developing a unique concept is tough and even if an entrepreneur has created something new that catches everyone's attention, Prof. Pliniussen warns that consumers still have to feel a need, be it practical, social or emotional, to actually purchase the unique product. Obviously, irrespective of how unique a product is, if consumers aren't willing to purchase a product, the business is destined to fail.
Simon Parker, director of the Entrepreneurship Cross-Enterprise Centre at the University of Western Ontario's Ivey School of Business, agrees that it is difficult to come up with a unique product. There are, however, obvious advantages, if you can be the first to market. For instance, the entrepreneur has a head-start in creating market share and has the opportunity to shape the market without interference from competitors.
But being the first-mover doesn't necessarily lead to success.
"It can flag the existence of an idea to a stronger competitor," says Prof. Parker. "For example, VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet. But VisiCalc showed Lotus and then Microsoft the opportunity of spreadsheets."
Prof. Parker believes a first-mover advantage is difficult to establish unless it's in an industry where size is an advantage, such as Facebook, Skype and Twitter. "Having the first-mover advantage is less important than most entrepreneurs think," says Prof. Parker.
For entrepreneurs who are able to get into a market first, Prof. Parker suggests they consider how easily imitated the product is and what will forestall competitors. While a narrow range of products can be protected through patents, most cannot. Prof. Parker suggests that entrepreneurs focus on creating quality that is hard to imitate, including a strong brand. Starbucks is a great example, he says. While the retail giant offers things that other coffee purveyors can imitate – like coffee and free WiFi – competition can't imitate its brand.
"To maintain a first-mover advantage, you have to stay ahead of the competition," says. Prof. Parker. "That might mean, for example, having more apps for your tablet compared to any other tablet. It's creating a value that others can't imitate."
Mr. Chopra is aware that his first-mover advantage doesn't necessarily translate to continued success. He has a patent pending for his mobile app gift-cards. But, perhaps, more importantly, Mr. Chopra hopes to keep competitors at bay by having technology that isn't easy to replicate. He constantly works with developers to ensure his clients get the right apps, the right technology and the right evaluation tools.
"I have gained the trust of my clients," says Mr. Chopra. "The question I always ask myself is how do I hold onto this?"
Join The Globe's Small Business LinkedIn group to network with other entrepreneurs and to discuss topical issues: http://linkd.in/jWWdzT


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New York’s Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin M. Lawsky, has issued a public order that confirms the state is now accepting applications for digital currency exchanges.
Perhaps most notably, however, was that Lawsky indicated that these businesses will be regulated under new New York regulation, which he committed to having in place by the end of the second quarter of 2014.
In his remarks, Lawsky struck his usual balance of at once recognizing the promise of digital currencies and stressing that related business activities need to be conducted in a responsible and lawful manner.
Wrote Lawsky in the release:
“The recent problems at Mt. Gox and other firms further demonstrate the urgent need for stronger oversight of virtual currency exchanges, including robust standards for consumer protection, cyber security, and anti-money laundering compliance.
Lawsky also disclosed new information for those seeking to apply for a New York-based exchange, indicating that interested firms can now immediately submit proposals and applications. However, he noted that such submissions represent a formal commitment to the regulatory process.
Further, Lawsky suggested that New York will not be bound by commitments that prevent it from taking what he considered appropriate action to safeguard consumers during this process. Lawsky noted that its policies for digital currency exchanges could be later modified to enhance consumer protection, cybersecurity or anti-money laundering initiatives.
“Turning a blind eye and failing to put in place guardrails for virtual currency firms while consumers use that product is simply not a tenable strategy for regulators.”
Approved applications will need to adhere to the regulatory framework New York plans to introduce later this year.
A long-awaited move
The move puts in motion an idea that first arose during the NYDFS bitcoin hearings in January. There, major digital currency investors made the case that New York should consider hosting such businesses, both for the job creation benefits and because the industry was in need of more oversight, though this suggestion has not been without criticism.
Major bitcoin business leaders had since hinted at dialogues with state regulators on the matter.
Image credit: New York skyline via Shutterstock


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Internet-ready Nokia 215 phone costs a mere $29
Microsoft’s latest handset, known as the Nokia 215, takes the company’s focus on low-end handsets to the next level. The device is designed primarily for first-time mobile phone owners, offering basic functionality alongside a low-cost means of accessing the internet.
As you might expect from from an entry-level device, there’s not a lot to shout about on the hardware side of things. There’s a 2.4-inch QVGA 320 x 240 display, offering 167 pixels per inch, but this isn’t a touchscreen device, with input instead handled through a physical keypad.
Microsoft has designed the Nokia 215 as a portal through which first-time phone owners can access key Web content. The device, which runs on the company’s Series 30+ operating system, comes with the Opera Mini browser pre-installed, as well as Bing Search, MSN Weather, Facebook and Twitter apps.
Microsoft has built the device to be rugged and long-lasting, quoting 20 hours of talk time and up to 29 days on standby from the handset’s 1,100 mAh battery.
Aside from web access, there’s some other functionality on board, including an FM radio and MP3 player, as well as a built-in torch, 0.3 MP rear camera and a microSD card slot for expandability up to 32 GB. The handset is also lightweight, coming in at just 79 g (2.75 oz).
All of the above may seem a little underwhelming until you read the price tag, with the device coming in at just US$29 pre-tax. It will be available in both standard and Dual SIM models, shipping with a choice of green, black and white finishes. It’s scheduled to roll out in selected markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe in Q1 2015.
You can check out the video below for more on Microsoft’s budget handset.
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The latest item in short supply during the pandemic is laptop computers.
Millions of American children need laptops for online learning this fall, and that's leaving store shelves thin. If your child needs a basic laptop or Chromebook for school, or you just need one for work and home, you may need to shop online right now.
But Jorge Rosado says ordering from a website left him empty-handed with a $125 charge on his credit card.
"I sent them a couple of emails already, and nobody got back to me," he said. "Nothing."
Rosado, who only had a few hundred dollars to spend, found a site selling rebuilt laptops and MacBooks called The Laptop Store, based in San Francisco.
He said the site took his credit card number immediately and gave him a tracking number, but nothing ever showed up.
"They signed my name to leave the package, but there was no package," he said.
So, he Googled the seller and discovered their address was a Staples office supply store that was not connected in any way to the so-called Laptop Store. Other web postings claim the website is a fake store.
Closer inspection of the store's website, reveals a different, non-Staples address at a marketplace in in Kollam, India.
We emailed the store at the email listed on their site but have yet to receive any response.
How to protect yourself
Need a laptop?
- You may want to stick with known retailers, such as Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, Target, MicroCenter, Staples and others.
- Look for a local computer store in your area.
- Check BBB reviews of any web seller and search for complaints.
- Beware cheap used laptops on Craigslist or Facebook. Even if they are legit, they may barely work, which is why the seller is unloading it for $100.
Jorge Rosado says taking money and not delivering is not right, especially during a pandemic.
"I work for my money, and it's not right to steal someone's money," he said.
Luckily, Rosado paid by credit card and has filed a dispute, which means he should be able to get a refund.
As always, don't waste your money.
Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps")
Follow John on Instagram @johnmataresemoney
Follow John on Twitter (@JohnMatarese)
For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com


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Most of the British public would rather have a locked-down Christmas than have a new lockdown imposed in January, a new poll suggests.
With the government considering the extent to which restrictions should be lifted to limit the impact on Christmas family gatherings, the latest Opinium poll for the Observer found that the public opted for a locked-down Christmas over new January restrictions by a margin of 54% to 33%.
This split is almost identical across all party groups and demographics, with older voters in particular preferring to lock down over Christmas rather than in January.
There was also strong support for banning people from posting conspiracy theories about the vaccine online, with 64% supporting the idea.
The public are split on whether coronavirus vaccinations should be mandatory, with 42% in support and 45% opposing. Two thirds (66%) of adults in the UK would take a vaccine if it became available and were recommended by the government for people like them:
Japan may limit event attendance as Covid-19 cases surge
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On 7 May, when England was still in its first national lockdown and the crisis over shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) was its height, a Tory peer called Dido Harding was thrust suddenly to the centre of the fight against Covid-19.
Harding was well known in the business community and, partly thanks to her marriage to Conservative MP John Penrose, in top Tory circles too. But her professional reputation had little to do with any great medical knowledge. Since 2017 she had been chair of NHS Improvement, a management post overseeing foundation trusts, but her career heights were as boss at the telecoms firm TalkTalk, and before that she had been in senior roles at the supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, knew Harding, however, and shared an interest in horse racing with her. She was also a good friend of former prime minister David Cameron.
With the Covid crisis raging, there was little time to waste. Because of her management abilities and as she was available and willing to serve, Hancock placed her in charge of England’s new Covid-19 NHS test-and-trace system without putting the unpaid position out to open competition:
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In the UK, coronavirus may be doing its best to cancel Christmas but, for the time being anyway, shoppers are carrying on regardless, with this week’s Black Friday online sales expected to reach new heights.
In previous years, store chiefs have agonised about the impact on their high street chains of the US-inspired discount event, which arrived on British shores with a bang in 2013. But come this (Black) Friday, selling online will – for anything other than essentials – be the only game in town for retailers, whose shops may by then be closed in three of the four home nations.
Richard Lim, chief executive of consultancy Retail Economics, says lockdown 2 means a “seismic shift” towards online shopping this Christmas. About 23m Britons are expected to do most of their gift buying on the internet, in a development that will starve struggling high streets of much-needed business.
“I think people are well aware that this Christmas is going to be completely different,” he says. “They are not going to be able to go to their local town centre or shopping mall and have the same pleasant experience as they had last year.”
The virtual high street has already gone into overdrive: online sales are up 58% in the second week of November compared with the same period last year, according to internet industry body IMRG. It predicts that sales during Black Friday week will end up being between 35% and 45% higher than in 2019:
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Loeffler quarantining after mixed Covid test results
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14 June 2019
Advantage Travel Partnership has unveiled to members the new summer 2019 campaign, It’s All About You, which will run until end of July, and for the first time they are integrating video into the printed direct marketing collateral to increase customer engagement.
27 September 2019
Advantage Travel Partnership hosted the fourth Advantage Big Celebration Lunch today to celebrate the consortia’s members and their successes. At the event, 21 awards were presented to members and business partners with mind reader, David Meade hosting for the first time.
12 August 2019
Polka Dot Travel extends operations under Advantage Managed Services until August 2024.
11 July 2019
Advantage member, Ocean World Travel, is based in Chandlers Ford, just outside Southampton. Their owner and director, Alan Godfrey recently talked to Widgety about his business and his views on the cruise industry.
04 July 2019
Now in its fourth year, Advantage Travel Partnership will host its annual Big Celebration Lunch on Friday 27th September 2019 at the Hilton London Bankside to celebrate its members and their successes.
11 June 2019
Advantage introduces specialist touring and adventure resources.


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Rihanna was spotted out at her favourite Santa Monica eatery, Giorgio Baldi, on Wednesday night rocking a brand new pixie cut after a brief flirtation with a mullet.
The 33-year-old Fenty Beauty creator blended her super-short strands with an amazing designer finishing … lime green tie-dye leather pants by Chrome Hearts, a $195 chain-adorned Hyein Seo crop top, a $688 giant Western buckle belt by R13, vintage Versace sunglasses and The Attico heels.
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The pièce de résistance of the bad gal’s look? A shaggy-collared vintage Dior coat worth an estimated $22,000.
Rihanna trimmed her hair and dyed it black in 2007 … when she dropped her third studio album, “Good Girl Gone Bad” and her Linda Evangelista-like transformation captivated the fashion world.
Rihanna’s longtime hairstylist, Ursula Stephen, told Billboard in 2017, “If she didn’t change her look, [the album] wouldn’t have been as impactful. Obviously, the music would have still been good, but her changing the look really made people pay attention to her.
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“The hair was the beginning of her becoming that ‘black Madonna’ like she said she wanted to be. I definitely give the bob credit for leading the way, because if she didn’t make that big chop, which influenced a lot of other changes, who knows if she would have done everything else that came after. And look at her now!”
View this post on Instagram
Rihanna’s famous pixie first launched at the 2012 VMAs, with the Fenty brand boss teaming the close-cropped cut with a bold red lip, and then almost a decade later, she’s back!


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Team Pennine to launch ultra-low emission buses on Huddersfield town routes
Meet your new easy way to nip about town – smart ultra-low emission buses filled with customer-friendly features are on their way to Huddersfield!
Three routes across town – including the popular Free Town Bus which links Huddersfield’s bus and rail stations with shopping and leisure attractions in the town centre – will benefit from the newer and better buses.
Recently launched bus company Team Pennine is relaunching the free town circular along with two regular routes, the 319 circular serving Newsome and Berry Brow, and the 360 which links Brackenhall and the town centre with Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
From Sunday 5 September 2021, buses on all three routes will carry a new name, Hudds Quick, along with Team Pennine’s signature two-tone pink livery – and will feature newer, greener buses powered by advanced engines which meet the toughest Euro VI low emission standards.
Team Pennine CEO Alex Hornby said: “After our successful launch of Team Pennine and our first fully relaunched route, the Denby Darts-branded D1 route serving Skelmanthorpe and Denby Dale, we’re now preparing to launch big improvements for customers on three town routes in Huddersfield, under our new name, Hudds Quick.
“The new Hudds Quick name is all about spreading the word that we’ll be the swift and simple way around town on bright pink buses that people will be proud to be seen on.
“But we’re much more than a new name and a stand-out colour scheme – we’re transforming every aspect of the journey experience from the moment our customers step onboard to a friendly welcome from our team.
“Every Hudds Quick bus will have a smart new interior, featuring new and more comfortable seating, superfast and free Wi-Fi, at-seat USB mobile device charging and our own audio-visual announcements system to make sure no one misses their stop.
“All these improvements will come at no extra cost to customers with fares unchanged and our Team Pennine range of day, week and longer period tickets available, alongside our popular go-anywhere Transdev tickets from our Daytripper and Gold ranges. We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to the new Hudds Quick.”
The relaunch of the three routes is part of Team Pennine owner Transdev’s mission to replace one in three of the older buses it inherited with the buyout of the former Yorkshire Tiger bus firm by the end of October.
The Transdev takeover has already secured 163 existing jobs at two depots in Elland, near Halifax, and Waterloo in Huddersfield – and Team Pennine is currently advertising new jobs in a variety of roles, including drivers, engineering, cleaning and customer service. The bus firm is also offering a £1,000 welcome bonus to qualified bus drivers who join its growing team.
Full details of all opportunities at Team Pennine, along with new timetables for the new Hudds Quick routes, are online now at: https://www.transdevbus.co.uk/teampennine.


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Mexcor International, a Houston-based importer and distributor of spirits and beverages, has announced that one of the company’s imported brands, Agavales, has launched new flavored tequilas.
These new flavors are: Spicy Cucumber, Blood Orange and Tropical Mango.
“Agavales has capitalized on the popularity of flavored tequilas by introducing three new flavors this month,” says Eduardo Morales, president and CEO of Mexcor International. “The tequila category continues to grow as new and exciting products from distilleries like Casa Maestri hit the market.”
Produced by Jalisco’s Casa Maestri, Agavales is small-batch, 100% Blue Agave Tequila, the company says. Products from the distillery include Agavales Premium Plata, Agavales Premium Reposado, Agavales Premium Añejo, Agavales Original Blanco, Agavales Original Reposado, Agavales Original Gold, Agavales 110 Proof, Agavales Sangrita, and most recently, Agavales Ready to Drink Margaritas, made with 100% de agave wine, cane sugar and real lime juice.
The new line of flavored tequilas are made with blanco tequila and natural flavors.
“The tequila sector is thriving as consumer demand continues to increase,” says Morales. “Mexcor International is proud to import and distribute such a high-quality brand like Agavales because it embodies our company’s mission to elevate and celebrate life.”


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An Airbnb host in Seattle is offering mock Amazon interviews for $4,600.
The Seattle “experience” was listed by a host identified as Nick. Nick appears to be Nick Dimitrov, a former Microsoft executive who cofounded Amazon Game Studios in 2013, according to Airbnb and his LinkedIn profile.
Dimitrov now runs Amazon Bound, a company founded last year to “help prepare job applicants to interview effectively with Amazon,” his LinkedIn says.
Twitter user Dan Ports was among the first to spot Dimitrov’s Airbnb listing. He tweeted:
Airbnb now offers “experiences”, where someone will show you a traditional local activity of the city you’re visiting. In Seattle, that turns out to mean…https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/277118 …
Simulate the Amazon.com Interview Loop - Airbnb
Seattle - We recommend taking the “Prepare For The Amazon.com Interview” experience prior to taking “Simulate The Amazon.com Interview Loop.” www.airbnb.com/experiences/241942 ---- During the…
According to the Airbnb listing, the five-hour interview takes place in a coworking space in Seattle’s Belltown area. Candidates are interviewed by former Amazon employees who they are matched with based on the job they’re aiming to secure.
“The Amazon interview simulation was intense!” one reviewer, and incidentally the only reviewer, wrote on Airbnb in June 2018.
The candidate, who called himself Seth, explained in the review that he was preparing for an interview as an open technical program manager at Amazon Web Services.
“I interviewed with four current Amazon employees who Nick [the Airbnb host] had selected based on my experience and background,” he said.
After the interview portion of the workshop was done, candidates were then invited to watch the interviewers discussing whether they should be hired.
“I learned a lot, seeing myself through alternate perspectives and feel this simulation helped prepare me to interview at Amazon,” Seth wrote.
If the candidate is unsuccessful in the mock interview, they are then given feedback on how to improve and crucially, how to get hired when the real interview comes around.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
The same Airbnb host also offers $800 eight-hour workshops on preparing for the interview. Groups of prospective candidates are asked to present their accomplishments to each other, the listingsays.
Amazon is known for its tough interviews. CEO Jeff Bezos once said that he’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person, and this means asking tricky questions to find the best candidates.


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The aftermarket parts distribution center of Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co. has moved to a new location in Batavia, Ohio. The new distribution center is more than three times larger than the previous location in Sharonville, Ohio. The new location encompasses 21 acres of land with a 243,000-square-foot warehouse, a 10,000-square-foot office, 24 dock doors and parking spaces for 36 trailers.
“The new Batavia parts distribution center is part of Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company’s and the Bennett family’s ongoing commitment to continue to meet the growth and needs of its dealer network,” says Stephen Bennett, vice president. “Batavia will allow us to increase our offering of heavy-duty aftermarket products and services to our customers.”
More than 5,000 stocked items and 200 Utility aftermarket parts suppliers currently are shipping from the new location. Utility says the move is part of its strategic plan to provide a centralized shipping point for reaching all parts of North America and to increase capacity to meet current demands by offering more parts from more suppliers.