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Japanese tradition means pounding in the New Year with fresh mochi, rice smashed into a gooey paste and molded into round cakes, then eaten for good luck.
This December, the Detroit area chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League held its second annual Mochitsuki Holiday Party, with mochi-making as the main attraction.
The mochitsuki celebration is a Japanese tradition that goes back a thousand years.
Traditional mochi-making requires those with the strength and stamina of John Henry to wield big wooden mallets to pound the rice, but in these modern times high-tech Japanese machines do the work.
One Detroit has that story at the video above.
Mochi relies on a special Japanese sweet rice which is easy to find in Michigan, although a few generations ago, it was slim pickings.
Japanese Americans came to Detroit in large numbers as World War II ended–2,000 by 1946 according to the Detroit Free Press at the time–encouraged to settle here from the mass incarceration camps out west.
Basic foods like kamaboko (processed fishcake), sashimi (prepared raw fish), and nori (dried seaweed) were hard to find.
Louise Itami, age 88, lived on Detroit’s west side and remembers a store on Fenkell Avenue where her family could get rice, bean sprouts and canned goods.
She also recalls a store called Kuwahara’s Trading Post in Detroit’s Cass Corridor, which is referenced in a book about Japanese Americans in Detroit called Exiled in Motown.
By then, Itami and her family moved to Troy and Kuwahara’s relocated, ending up nearby on Fourteen Mile Road in Clawson.
The Japanese American population was spread out across the Detroit region, so Kuwahara’s was a local destination for Japanese Americans.
“If you wanted to meet people,” Itami said, “just stand there awhile.”
Frank Kuwahara sold his store and retired in the 1980s. It’s still been operating as the Noble Fish grocery store and sushi bar.
As a child, Itami remembers his family pounding mochi around New Year’s Day in Florin, California before World War II.
Her husband, Nobi, remembers people making it during the war in the internment camps, but the couple didn’t start making their own mochi until 1992.
That’s when Itami got her own electric mochi-making machine.
“It’s a miracle to me,” she said.
Her husband likes his mochi in ozoni, a soup made with vegetables, usually in a fish stock.
Louise likes it sprinkled with sugar and some toasted soybean flour called kinako.
She still shops at Noble Fish, but in recent years bigger stores have popped up that have most of what she needs such as 168 Asian Mart in Madison Heights.
“Now, even the Chinese store has it,” Itami said.


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San Francisco startup Memphis Meats says it has produced “the world’s first clean poultry” – chicken and duck grown in a lab from harvested cells. Testers were offered chicken strips and duck à l’orange. The verdict, according to the Wall Street Journal: the chicken strips taste like chicken.
“Our meat is the same product that humans have enjoyed for millennia. Our process is very different. We start by harvesting meat cells from the highest quality livestock, in a way that doesn’t harm the animal,” Memphis Meats says on its website.
“Then, we identify cells that are capable of self-renewal. We’ve learned which cells give us the flavour, textures and aromas we want. We grow those cells into meat in a clean, safe and nutritious environment. After 4-6 weeks depending on the cut, we harvest the meat, cook it and enjoy it!”
The company, also behind last year’s “world’s first clean meatball,” says that the meat industry is unsustainable and inefficient. Unlike the Impossible Burger, which is vegan, Memphis Meats’ products are in fact animal flesh. With its new process of making meat (a.k.a. “clean meat” – a play on “clean energy”), the startup says it aims to eliminate the need for industrial livestock production and hopes to hit the market by 2021.

domain: news


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Stonepeak Ceramics hosted a ribbon cutting on September 12 to celebrate the grand opening of a new production line for large-format panels in the Tennessee plant. The company invested $70 million to add a new panel production line and is the first in the country to manufacture the company's 5x10 ft. panels stateside.
Stonepeak, a subsidiary of the Italian holding group Iris Ceramica, employs 280 and is adding 160 jobs over the next five years. Stonepeak opened its U.S. tile plant in Crossville in 2005 and will have invested nearly $250 million to grow the plant to nearly 1.3 million square feet.
The line produces tiles ranging from 6 mm to 2 cm in thickness. It is the only production line in the world capable of producing porcelain ranging from 12x12 in. tiles to 120x 60 in. panels.
For more information, visit www.stonepeakceramics.com.


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Second is GameStop board member Ryan Cohen, co-founder of Chewy (CHWY), who held 9 million shares of GME as of Jan. 10, 2021, and is now raking in $2.9 billion.
BlackRock, which owns 12.3% of GameStop, and Vanguard, which owns 7.6%, raked in $2.7 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.
On January 29, Citron, an American short seller, said in a post on its social media platform that it would stop short research and focus on long opportunities to provide retail investors with long-term multiple investment opportunities.
Despite losses of nearly $20 billion, the short sellers haven’t been wiped out, and the short position is still large.
Last week, borrowed and shorted GameStop shares were down only about 5 million, according to S3, implying an 8% decline in short interest.Much of the short-covering occurred Thursday, when the stock fell for the first time in six days.
For this extreme retail forced empty time, Jerry Guo on the streets of New York to interview passers-by.
In interviews, some New York residents said the fight in the stock market was about retaliation and retaliation from retail investors who were in a weak position, and they were angry that trading platforms had intervened to prevent them from making money.
But even retail buyers of GME say the stock will eventually fall back.
James Early, a financial analyst in the United States, believes that Game Station’s stock price fluctuations mean the rise of retail investors. Although they may lack the same analytical capabilities as institutions, a new era of retail syndicates has already had the power to bring down institutions.However, he also noted that the short sellers’ departure does not represent a victory for retail investors, and now as the story continues to unfold, there may be no winner in the end of the battle.
article links：A new era of retail syndicates has already had the power
Reprint indicated source：Shine Trader Limited Live information


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* Spot gold was up 0.4% at
* World stocks fell due to concerns about rising interest rates and a possible recession.
* In addition, rising food prices caused consumer price inflation in the
* “The fear of rising recession and inflation risks is a good backdrop in terms of safe-haven demand; it’s not that everyone is rushing into gold, but people are clearly holding on to their positions at the moment,” said
* Limiting gold’s gains, the dollar index was up 0.1%, making the bullion more expensive for foreign buyers.
* Powell is scheduled to testify before
* In other precious metals, silver was down 0.9% at
(Additional reporting by


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In October 2017, Beth El did a major redesign of the "Shabbat Announcements," the legal-sized flyer printed each week with information about that Saturday's service and many other activities going on around the synagogue community. The new design was now a tri-fold color design, rather than the older bi-fold black-and-white layout.
To my surprise, the November 11 edition introduced a new "feature," that of "Beth El in Photos", which showed an image I had taken two weeks prior (Oct 29) at Mitzvah Day, Beth El's annual fall multi-pronged community service event. Mitzvah Day included an electronics recycling effort, where members dropped off old computers and other equipment they no longer needed. This photo was taken from the driver's seat of a minivan where items were loaded, looking out the rear hatch at the people assembled nearby.
Actual size is legal-sized paper (8 1/2 x 14"):
The full gallery of Mitzvah Day 2017 photos can be found here.


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This week, Nokia, the Finnish phone company currently taking a beating on its bottom line, was forced to pay back $420,000 for a broken deal to bring jobs to its former North American headquarters in Westchester.
The Empire State Development Corporation, a group responsible for moving companies to New York, had originally bestowed a $700,000 “Jobs Now” grant unto the smartphone maker back in 2006 when Nokia purchased a former IBM building in Harrison, New York, roughly 20 miles outside Manhattan. The problem was there were no “Jobs Later,” so to speak.
Nokia hired 300 employees in Westchester and was eligible for an additional $300,000 if they doubled that by 2011. Instead Apple, RIM, and Samsung edged Nokia out of the market and the company announced plans to leave New York a year ago due to downsizing around the globe.
The full amount of the grant wasn’t recoupable because Nokia “did technically create jobs for awhile,” reports Lohud.com. However, Nokia did leave one lasting legacy in Westchester. The company splurged on a $30 million renovation–stripping the building down to steel in order to rebuild it “as a modern glass-enclosed office building.” Ain’t priorities grand?


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Signifying the end of the Carl Icahn era, Herbalife announced three additions to its board; Sophie L’Hélias, founder and president of LeaderXXchange and lead independent director of French luxury-good company Kering SA; Kevin M. Jones, CEO of Rackspace Technology Inc.; and Don Mulligan, former CFO of General Mills, Inc. Two current board members, Michael Montelongo and Margarita Paláu-Hernández, will resign their seats in April at the 2021 Shareholders Meeting, bringing the new board member count to nine. Herbalife also made news by appointing its first ever chief digital officer, Joe Miranda, who will be tasked with facilitating digital transformation and innovation for the global nutrition company . Miranda was previously the chief digital officer for Thomson Reuters. “The creation of this new position will allow the company to deliver exceptional digital experiences for our distributors, customers and employees,” said Frank Lamberti, executive vice president distributor and customer experience of Herbalife Nutrition.
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE – April
Joe Miranda, Herbalife
Joe Miranda has joined Herbalife Nutrition in the newly created role of chief digital officer. Miranda has more than 20 years of experience as a global technology executive in the media, financial, and data analytics industries, developing and executing enterprise digital strategy. He previously served as chief digital officer at Thomson Reuters.
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. plans to overhaul its board as Carl Icahn winds down his eight-year involvement with the company and it looks to burnish its standing with other investors.
Herbalife will add to its board Sophie L’Hélias, a corporate governance expert and the lead independent director of French luxury-goods company Kering SA; Kevin M. Jones, chief executive of cloud-computing firm Rackspace Technology Inc. ; and Don Mulligan, the former CFO of food conglomerate General Mills Inc., the nutritional-supplements maker plans to announce Monday.
See original story at wsj.com
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. has commenced a “modified Dutch auction” self-tender offer to purchase up to $750 million of its common shares for cash at a per-share price not greater than $50.00 nor less than $44.75. The tender offer is scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., EDT, on Aug. 11, unless the offer is extended. The company also released preliminary volume point results for the second quarter ending June 30. Based on preliminary information, the company expects second-quarter 2020 volume points of approximately 1.7 billion, an increase of 12.4 percent compared to the second quarter 2019, representing the largest volume point quarter in company history.


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The lens he developed is now as powerful as the research microscopes used in the lab
Imagine yourself examining species of coral in Fiji. Looking at fungi and parasites in grass seeds. Following ants across the ground up close, or picking out the striations in a piece of roast beef on rye.
People around the world are doing all this and more with a tiny, durable magnification lens built by an enterprising University of Washington undergraduate student.
The Micro Phone Lens, developed by UW mechanical engineering alumnus Thomas Larson (’13), can turn any smartphone or tablet computer into a hand-held microscope. The soft, pliable lens sticks to a device’s camera without any adhesive or glue and makes it possible to see things magnified dozens of times on the screen.
“A microscope is a tool you can do thousands of different things with and by making it cheaper, portable and able to take pictures, you open so many different possibilities that weren’t available before,” Larson said.
Larson completed his undergraduate degree in 2013 and formed his own company based in Olympia, Wash. After the initial success this winter of his first model that magnifies by 15 times, he is creating a new lens that will magnify up to 150 times. (Standard laboratory microscopes usually magnify between 50 and 400 times.)
The lens is about the size of a button and comes in its own carrying case. Users stick it flat onto a smartphone camera lens, turn on an external light source such as a lamp, then run the device in camera mode. Moving the device closer or farther from the object brings it into focus.
Several other products exist that can adapt a smartphone to be used as a microscope, but they are significantly more expensive, and the attachments are heavy or require permanent adhesives.
Larson developed his smartphone lens while working in the lab of Nathan Sniadecki, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering. The lab needed a miniaturized lens that could work with a cellphone as a microscope, and Larson took on the project. The lens he developed is now as powerful as the research microscopes used in the lab, Sniadecki said.
The Latest on: Smartphone microscope
via Google News
The Latest on: Smartphone microscope
- These are the features making me love the iPhone 13 Pro’s cameraon October 14, 2021 at 7:10 pm
The best smartphone cameras are fun, capable, and versatile, and the iPhone 13 Pro ticks all the boxes. These are the features that really stand out.
- Laser Scanning Microscopeon October 11, 2021 at 5:00 pm
The build difficulty level should be between the DIY Smartphone Microscope and the Laser Sequencer Super Microscope. In the end, if everything goes right, you will end up with some cool images: ...
- Researchers Create a Strong and Crack Resistant Glass-Like Material for Smartphone Screenson October 7, 2021 at 7:30 am
For many years now, the world’s top chemists and engineers have struggled to find the perfect balance between brittleness and strength in glass materials, trying to manufacture a smartphone screen ...
- TikTok adds yet another devious challenge for an already overwhelmed school systemon October 7, 2021 at 1:54 am
He's speaking the ever-shifting lingo of TikTok, the short-video smartphone app that within ... videos of other purported thefts appear: a microscope, Chromebooks and more. It becomes a TikTok ...
- Mark Of The Butterfly: Serbian Scientists Turn To Nature For 'Unhackable' Security Systemon September 30, 2021 at 6:12 am
Trials are under way on "Teslagrams" made from tiny fragments of butterfly wings that could put an end to fraud.
- Microscopic Marvels: Flexing Tardigrades and the Snaking Filaments of a Moss Planton September 28, 2021 at 6:40 am
"Tardigrades are like the 'holy grail' for amateur microscopists and are some of my favorite organisms to find when I take a sample," wrote Martin Kristiansen, who took a video of a strolling ...
- Global Smartphone Microscopes Market: Size, Share, Trends, Growth Analysis, Key Manufacturers and Regional Forecasts Report 2021-2027on September 27, 2021 at 3:00 pm
Global “Smartphone Microscopes market” research report that gives elaborated insights on market revenue, CAGR, growth, and different data concerning the key infrastructures, major organizations.
- Smartphones used to check water for pollutants – by tracking parameciaon September 23, 2021 at 5:00 pm
When the scientists subsequently measured the swimming speed of paramecia in water samples – utilizing a simple microscope attachment on a smartphone camera, along with object tracking ...
- Use Your Smartphone As A Microscope For Less Than $10on September 18, 2021 at 5:00 pm
[Yoshinok] recently posted an Instructable on doing a $10 smartphone-to-microscope conversion. The hack isn’t so much a conversion as just a handy jig, but it’s still interesting. The basic ...
- Here's a look at how vivo X Series raised the bar for smartphone camerason September 17, 2021 at 7:35 am
Through its smartphones, vivo aimed to offer users ... in high precision equipment such as film cameras, telescopes, microscopes and more. As such, it’s legacy and expertise is not something ...
via Bing News


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Us men don’t have many opportunities to add a little pop to our wardrobe. We have a few conservative options in watches, belts and shoes, but every pair of cufflinks needs its own French cuff shirt, and trying to bling every day at the office quickly turns you into Needless Tie Bar Guy.
We do, however, all have smartphones. When treated correctly, they’re the perfect gateway to branch out stylistically. Unfortunately, there are few good tips on how to wear your phone, so if GQ won’t do it, we will.
iPhone-equipped New Yorkers now have something to do outside this summer besides defend their devices from thieves and sweat to death in this heat. Ingress, an augmented reality game popular in urban areas and previously available only on Android, is now officially available on iOS devices.
Ingress uses geomapping to transform real urban landscapes into a playing field that gets players moving around their city, fighting over portals and collecting resources — a smartphone game that’s played entirely IRL. The game’s sci-fi backstory, which involves an invading alien force that opposing teams of players either welcome or resist, evolves and grows constantly depending how well the real-life teams are doing.
Life is Tweet
As techies anxiously await the news on Amazon’s unnecessarily camera-loaded phone to be released tomorrow, we’re wondering why no one has developed a smartphone that can simply hold a 24-hour charge.
In an effort to combat one of the most devastating first world problems, ChargeAll has started a campaign to fund the “world’s smallest portable power outlet.”
The Internet stood still today in hopes that Apple’s WWDC ’14 would give them the first glimpse of the near future in tech. They were, for the most part, sorely disappointed.
There were no new devices, no cool gadgets, no hotly anticipated iWatch, no new iPhone, no line of sick Macbooks. Sure, they finally debuted Healthbook — renamed “Healthkit” — but we’ve known about that for months. Otherwise, they showed off an iOS upgrade, some cosmetic changes to OSX, and a new programming language called “Swift” that’s sending the code community into a frenzy.
Crime and Punishment
It’s an Apple emergency.
Several Aussies woke up this morning to find their Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads, and laptops, locked by a hacker demanding money, Time reported.
Apps that track your mobile devices are great for that Sunday morning when you can’t figure out if your phone is at the club, in a cab, or just in your damn pocket. But be careful where your phone-finding quest takes you — you could wind up meeting the person who stole it, and they might not be excited to see you.
Police are more and more concerned that apps like “Find My iPhone” are encouraging people to chase down and confront thieves, according to the New York Times. Theft victims have done everything from setting elaborate traps for thieves to teaming up with friends for a vigilante joy-ride — apparently hammers are popular on the list of scary weapons with which to intimidate phone-snatchers.
Those Olympic athletes better think twice before taking their opening ceremony selfies tomorrow.
We guess this is what happens when you leave too many apps open: a middle schooler is claiming that her iPhone ignited in her back pants pocket and caused her minor burns. The eighth grader said that it happened during class Friday in a Maine school.
Here’s a leaked memo from Google telling its employees what to think about its controversial shuttle program in San Francisco. [Valleywag]
Neetzan Zimmerman explains what he’s going to do at secret sharing app Whisper and we still don’t get it. [AdWeek]
Analysts are guessing that Apple sold between 50 and 60 million iPhones last quarter because numbers. [Fortune]
Besides the health insurance, there’s another good thing about being acquired by Google: you don’t have to make money. That’s what the founder of Waze joked yesterday. [Recode]
Beats Music, which offers nearly the same thing as Spotify but has 100 percent more Dr. Dre, is now available for download. [BGR]
Don’t be alarmed if Twitter looks different for you. The web interface is getting (another) redesign that aligns the look of it with its mobile apps. [TechCrunch]
iPhone supplier Foxconn has shipped 1.5 million devices to China Mobile as the telco preps for its launch. [WSJ]
The Dodo, the Lerer Ventures-backed website about, uh, animals, launched yesterday. [Recode]
Claiming it’s a “consequence of a quickly growing service,” Snapchat got defensive when it apologized for all the “snap spam” you’ve been getting. [Daily Dot]
Katie Couric made her Yahoo debut so text your mom if you want to know how she did. [Politico]


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Crews Cranking Out Christmas Candy Canes
LEWISBURG -- When you think of Christmas treats, candy canes probably come to mind. A company in Union County is known for its homemade candy canes. It's busy at Purity Candy in Lewisburg as people bought some homemade treats for the holidays. Mandy and Evelyn Mika drove from Kingston. "This was my first time here last week when we came and we're returning and it's one of our favorites," Mandy Mika said.
Post to Tumblr


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BAY HARBOR ISLANDS (CBS4) – Inspectors offered a warning Thursday to everyone who’s considering buying a pet such as a puppy this Christmas holiday season: make sure you check out the paperwork and the store where you are doing business.
The warning comes as a CBS4 news crew was allowed access inside the stops made by inspectors from the state Department of Agriculture and the Miami-Dade Dept. of Animal Services.
As the puppies barked, state inspector Robert Capote and county inspector Richard Smith probed for problems. They were trying to make sure that the pet you buy won’t get sick after you take him home.
Capote and Smith checked a total of 23 puppies at two stores in Bay Harbor Islands and Miami Beach and made sure they all had the appropriate paperwork. Both stores passed inspections.
CBS4 followed them during this tour which is in the heart of their annual Christmas holiday season inspections. They are checking more than 60 pet stores in Miami-Dade and Broward. Infractions can be serious, ranging from a simple warning to thousands of dollars in fines.
“When you go into a store, make sure you check that health certificate and make sure it’s signed by a state licensed and USDA-accredited veterinarian,” said Mark Fagan of the state Agriculture Dept. A health certificate ensures that your pet has all the appropriate shots and vaccinations.
“You can check the Department of Consumer Services to find out what stores have had complaints and what complaints there are against them,” said Fagan. You can call 1-800-HELP FLA or 1-800-435-7352 to reach that Department.
“You also want to go to a reputable place, a place like the one I am standing in right now. A reputable store that is in compliance with state statutes.”
Fagan told CBS4’s Peter D’Oench that if you want to file a complaint against a pet store, you can the Division of Animal Services at 1-850-410-0900 or log on to the Department’s website at www.doacs.state.fl.us.
“There’s another message,” said Fagan. “Make sure you can take care of the pets you buy.”
On Bay Harbor Islands, at the Teacup Couture at 1048 Kane Concourse, all 7 of owner Eve Huerta’s puppies had health certificates. She also had some advice.
“If pet shops would purchase from a USDA certified breeder, that would help control the problems with puppy mills that are going on,” Huerta said.
She also said she is especially careful with her own puppies.
“If customers come to see me and the puppies, I do not let them touch them if I see that they have hairs on themselves,” she said. “I mean that’s how you cross contaminate them.”
The inspectors also stopped at Les Petits Puppies at 933 Washington Ave. on Miami Beach. They found all 16 puppies had health certificates. Dominque Casale’s business also passed the inspections.
“I feel great,” Casale said. “This should be done regularly. You should get puppies that are healthy. You do not want puppies to die after you get them. I mean I cry when these puppies leave here. I get so attached to them.”
You should also familiarize yourself with the state pet law. It specifies the protections that are given consumers.
Under that law, you are given the right to return an animal and receive a refund of your purchase price, sales tax and “reasonable veterinary costs” if you can provide a copy of a veterinarian’s examination showing that pet was “unfit for purchase.”
“We give our consumers a one year warranty on these puppies,” said Casale. “We never want our puppies leaving the store sick.”
Store owners welcomed the inspections.
“I’m glad that they are inside my store,” said Huerta. “I wish they would do this more often.”


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Brazil, the largest producer of coffee in the world is struggling to meet global demand. Drought across the South American country over the past few years has caused a slump in output and continues to affect exports.
Espirito Santo, a state in southeastern Brazil is the region’s top grower of the robusta coffee bean, which is low in acidity and very bitter, but there’s been no rain there for months.
Prices for robusta, used in instant coffee, are near a four-year high in London amid concerns that supply will drop even further.
The Brazilian government estimated current volumes of robusta coffee at around 2m bags in February, which processors say is not enough to cover even two months of demand, according to Reuters.
Brazilian president Michel Temer recently came close to importing robusta coffee beans from Vietnam, the second largest producer of coffee in the world. However, the proposal has since been abandoned.
Famers in Espirito Santo are desperate for new sources of income and have found the answer with a different export — black pepper.
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“Four years ago, we didn’t see any pepper grown in Espirito Santo,” Carlos Mera, an analyst at Rabobank told the Financial Times. “Three years ago, you saw a little and last year that increased. Now you can see hills covered with pepper plants.”
Black pepper offers farmers higher returns and needs little water to grow.
In 2015, the production of black pepper in Espirito Santo increased by 82.5 percent, with a 50 percent expansion in the harvested area, while coffee’s harvested area fell 0.8 percent, according to official figures.
As it stands, Vietnam is the world’s top producer and exporter of black pepper.


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Toyota, Geely, Audi, Revero, Tesla, Milestones.
Toyota taxi concept: The Japanese think ahead and present a cab for the future of Japan. It offers autonomous driving, wide sliding doors, and can sit a wheelchair. German Auto Motor Sport further reports the ‘Taxi of the Future’ will feature a hybrid LPG drive when it launches next year.
toyotaofhollywood.com, toyota.co.jp, auto-motor-und-sport.de (in German)
Strong growth: Geely plans to increase its production capacity more than five times from 150,000 to 850,000 cars. Electric vehicles will benefit as Geely aims for 90 percent of its output to be environmentally friendly by 2020. To manage that scale, the firm is to streamline existing facilities.
Electric Audi A7? A second generation Audi A7 Sportback has been spotted missing an exhaust pipe and a tank cap. That strongly suggest an EV in the making as does the front label that was covered. It is where Audi usually positions the charging port for its plug-ins.
Karma renewal: Revero, the reborn Fisker Karma, is to hit the shelves of eight U.S. dealers and two stores in Canada already this year. Karma Automotive plans to produce 3,000 units of the luxury plug-in hybrid annually. They will cost around 100,000 dollars each.
Tesla as good as new: The EV maker is offering 150 Model X as “new inventory vehicles” online, meaning their prices range from 84,000 to 119,000 dollars. The EVs have been used as test vehicles by Tesla before but just for a few miles. Aussies interesting in buying an entirely new Model X can now start saving as Tesla released pricing for all versions of the electric SUV. It will arrive down under this October and starts from 122,812 AUD (about 93,500 USD).
tesla.com via electrek.co, insideevs.com (pricing Australia)
Milestones: More than 100,000 Chevy Volt have been sold in the USA to date. That is double the sales both the BMW i3 and Renault Zoe managed to reach worldwide. Yet, steady does it, and both the German and the French crossed the 50,000 unit mark, according to HybridCars.
electriccarsreport.com (Volt), hybridcars.com (Zoe, i3)


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Other than powering our consumer PC gaming machines with the GTX 780Ti, Nvidia also has bigger fish to fry. Namely supercomputers and big data analytics. Their latest GPU “accelerator” is the Tesla K40, set to power scientific, engineering and enterprise projects as well as high performance computing.
The K40 provides double the memory and up to 40 percent higher peformance than its predecessor, the Tesla K20X. To put into perspective how relevant GPUs have become for supercomputing, the K40 is 10 times more powerful than the fastest current CPU.
The Tesla K40 features GPU Boost technology, converting power headroom into a user-controlled performance boost, allowing users to unlock extra power.
Nvidia has also announced plans to collaborate on GPU-accelerated versions of IBM’s range of enterprise software applications to the benefit of IBM customers. Combining IBM POWER8 CPUs with Nvidia’s Tesla, it’s the first time GPU technology goes beyond supercomputing and into enterprise-scale data centres.


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Festive fair at racecourse
a new Christmas fair extravaganza that is hoping to become as famous as others in the region.
The two-day Festive Food and Gift Fair at Doncaster Racecourse is hoping to rival events such as the world famous Lincoln Christmas Market that attracts up to 25,000 visitors each year and Leeds’ German Christmas Market
The event will come to Doncaster on Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20, where Deliciously Yorkshire will provide a packed programme of cookery demonstrations featuring Yorkshire celebrity chefs and key local producers, giving shoppers a few helpful hints and tips to cook up a storm this festive season.
Gourmet foods and wines will also be on offer as well as plenty of gifts and treats and festive decorations.
The event is backed by a £75,000 multi media advertising campaign supported by South Yorkshire Newspapers.
Contact 01709 828301 for more information or visit www.festivefoodandgiftfair.co.uk


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Verizon has agreed to refund around 15 million customers which it overcharged for data use, forking out as much as $50 million in all.
Most will get between $2 and $6, though it will be substantially more for some. Refunds to current customers will be issued as credits on bills for October and November, with former customers receiving a check.
“As we reviewed customer accounts, we discovered that over the past several years approximately 15 million customers who did not have data plans were billed for data sessions on their phones that they did not initiate, said deputy general counsel Mary Coyne in a statement.
“These customers would normally have been billed at the standard rate of $1.99 per megabyte for any data they chose to access from their phones. The majority of the data sessions involved minor data exchanges caused by software built into their phones; others involved accessing the web, which should not have incurred charges.”
She said the company has made changes to make sure it doesn’t happen in future.
The refund follows questions from the Federal Communications Communication over the issue. But it may not be enough to satisfy the FCC, which could push for the company to pay a penalty as well.
The FCC says that it’s received hundreds of complaints about overcharging over the last three years.
Verizon claimed a year ago that it didn’t charge customers for data sessions where they’d launched their browser inadvertently and closed it down again right afterwards; the new statement seems to imply that this wasn’t in fact the case.


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Toyota says it will sell 10,000 Yaris Hybrids in France after reporting a 46-percent jump in hybrid sales in the country, Technologic Vehicles reports, citing an interview with Toyota France CEO Pascal Ruch. Such sales volume would be about double what Toyota forecast for the Yaris Hybrid for this year.
Earlier this year, Toyota debuted the Yaris Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show. The model, which has about 100 horsepower, delivers fuel economy of about 67 miles per gallon – on the slightly more lenient European driving cycle, at least.
In the US, Toyota has doubled hybrid sales through September compared to 2011 to almost 248,000 units. More than two-thirds of those are variants of the Prius.


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EA that probably aren't thrilled about the Playfish acquisition. Gamasutra reports that significant layoffs have taken place at EA's Tiburon, Redwood Shores, Black Box, and Mythic divisions. Gamasutra suggests that the layoffs exceed the scope of EA's normal annual layoffs. We're attempting to verify the actual percentages with EA.
According to a tweet by Katherine Pitta, "Mythic Entertainment, responsible for Warhammer Online, just laid off 80 people, about 40% of it's employees." Former EA employee Eron Garcia estimated "HUGE chunks of EA" have been let go. Mythic has been subject to layoffs in the past, as has Need for Speed and Skate developer Black Box, which already had its studio closed last year as part of another widespread round of layoffs. Best of luck to everyone affected by the layoffs!
[Update: Approximately 1,500 people have been or will be laid off as a result of this year's cuts, EA reports in its earnings statement. Last year's "major" restructuring resulted in the loss of about 1,000 jobs.]


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DES PERES, Mo. – Former Cardinals centerfielder and regular broadcast booth color commentator Jim Edmonds will be at the Des Peres Schucks this Sunday. The local grocery chain has set up a Facebook event to invite any baseball fan who wants to meet him.
“Join us for this free event where you’ll have the opportunity to meet the Cardinals Hall of Famer and receive a signed autograph, right in the store mezzanine,” writes Schnucks on Facebook.
The one-hour event is expected to draw a crowd. The store is located on Manchester Road in Des Peres. Follow the event on Facebook for updates.


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Dubai: AD Ports Group's digital entity Maqta Gateway is getting into the deal-making space, by acquiring TTEK Inc., a developer of border control solutions and customs systems. The move should 'reinforce' the former's market position as a 'leading digital trade and holistic single-window solution provider'.
The 100 per cent ownership in TTEK - headquartered in Barbados - comes to $26.7 million, with an upfront payment of $17.1 million. Maqta Gateway’s existing digital trade solutions portfolio will thus receive a boost through incorporating border optimisation management solutions, which utilise AI, machine learning and advanced risk analytics.
TTEK’s solutions use more than 1.5 million risk indicators and AI predictive modelling to establish more reliable border security controls.
"The comprehensive custom 'Single Window' solution provided through this acquisition has high demand in international markets, including Central Asia," said Capt. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Managing Director and Group CEO, AD Ports Group.
'Single window' opportunities
Maqta Gateway aims to leverage TTEK’s R&D hub in Vietnam and its record in customs and border modernisation solutions in Africa, Middle East, North America and Australia to strengthen its service offering on the unified Single Window solution.
"TTEK demonstrated compelling proficiency and extensive market knowhow in developing and implementing customs and border optimisation solutions across several international markets," said Dr. Noura Al Dhaheri, CEO of Digital Cluster and CEO of Maqta Gateway, AD Ports Group. "Incorporating TTEK’s predictive-technology-based solutions into our 'Single Window' solution will improve border security, trade facilitation, customs revenue management and more.
"Maqta Gateway will continue to pursue opportunities that contribute to the Group’s overall integrated digital trade strategy."
The transaction is subject to completion of condition precedents in the next 45 days. TTEK is on track to deliver revenue and EBITDA of around $8.2 million and $2.3 million in financial year 2023 (March year-end). (All company contracts are in USD, with no exposure to currency foreign exchange.)
TTEK’s management will be locked-in for a period of 2 years post-transaction.


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Single-use items such as plastic cutlery, plates and trays are to be banned in England in a bid to reduce pollution, the government has confirmed.
Figures suggest that every year England uses about 1.1bn single-use plates and 4.25bn pieces of such cutlery, only 10% of which are recycled after being used.
Now the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, is set to ban a suite of single-use plastic items, confirming reports made last month.
The response to the consultation on proposals to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England is set to be released on Saturday.
The Guardian understands plastic cutlery, plates and trays will be included in the ban.
Similar bans have already been made in Scotland and Wales, while the UK government banned single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in England in 2020.
“We need the government to deliver a meaningful plastic reduction strategy, which means bringing in plastic reduction targets and a proper reuse and refill scheme. »


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Burritos and bubbles will pop up at The Lightbox
The Lightbox CafÃ© in Bridge Street, Peterborough, is playing host to a very special Mexican pop-up on March 23.
The highly popular, licensed “modern tea room” has invited the innovative outside catering of Bread Meat Cheese to offer customers a true taste of Latin America.
BMC has recently expanded its team, with the well-known “Macho Burrito” queen Claire Morgan joining, a lady who has spent a great deal of time living and cooking in Mexico, Ecuador and Argentina.
Promising to be something rather different to the mainstream fayre, the menu will include burritos of Barbacoa beef cheek, Pollo Loco, and a Viva Vegan which will all be served with Pica de Gallo, queso, crema, jalapeno and refried beans. The burritos will be accompanied by a side of Mexican slaw with a choice of authentic Valantina hot sauce or the Muy Picante Valantina Black label.
Lightbox owner Eve Warner said: “We believe this authentic cooking presents our customers with a chance to try food they haven’t come across before, and priced at £12.95 per head including a glass of Prosecco, or beer/soft drink, also represents exceptional value.
“ The BMC team will also be preparing additional starters and side dishes, while our bar team will be mixing up Latin cocktails and a special dessert/drink called a Hot Choc Shock Shot, which is Tequila, a shot of rich hot chocolate and a dusting of chilli flakes.”
The Bread Meat Cheese team of Jim and Nigel Davis and of course Claire, will be serving from 7pm. Pre-booking is required and this can be done at The Lightbox Café at 31 Bridge Street or via www.thelighboxcafe.co.uk where further info will be posted.


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By Ishaan . April 13, 2010 . 1:37pm
n-Space’s Wii survival horror game Winter had to be LinkedIn profile reveals that a new Wii title scheduled for release in Q4 2010 is currently underway. Mr. Bromby’s role involves supervising the look, feel and quality of the game. This title is currently not listed on the n-Space website.


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Under agreement with FCC, the carrier will provide customers with tools that accurately gauge the connection speeds they are experiencing after reaching their monthly data caps.
The Spark is Verykool's best phone yet, but unless you need a dual-SIM phone, don't bother.
The sleek Verykool Spark has two SIM-card slots, but is plagued by a poor camera.
Available August 15, the 7-inch Samsung tablet comes in black and white color options.
A recent tweet from the official Android account has fanboys in a tizzy in the run-up to Google I/O. Are talks of a new smartphone unfounded?
The latest creation from "Watchmen" legend Alan Moore is a digital comics "open source toolkit". Meanwhile, the app Comixology is giving away free funny books for your phone.
The LG Volt is the first prepaid smartphone to run on Sprint's faster LTE network.
LinkedIn has played an unlikely part in uncovering two men allegedly behind a AU$7 million insider trading scandal involving one of Australia's leading banks.
UFO enthusiasts are excited about a strange blip of light in a photo from Mars, but the real explanation is likely much less exotic than alien life.
A ball with a crust, mantle and core just like the Earth itself might be the future of how boxers and anyone looking to get fit will train.


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This week’s Business Press is our last issue for 2017 and we print it while brimming with enthusiasm for 2018. That’s because we turn 30 next year and each week we will be celebrating the milestone.
I often mention that I have owned this newspaper company three times and I say it with a smile because there is irony in buying and selling and then buying back a business.
Truth is, I keep coming back because I still love the business of journalism and still believe in the good it can do in a community. More and more these days I am committed to weekly or biweekly publishing in print, and to daily – often hourly – online news reporting and updates. Our AM and PM newsletters continue to grow so rapidly we can barely keep up with the demand.
We announced recently that we acquired a national magazine company and just last week delivered our first Fort Worth edition of SmartCEO. We have magazines now in 10 cities and will add several more in 2018. Print is not dead, not in our eyes. But these days print needs to be a piece of a larger media pie and that is why we have expanded and branched out.
We plan to capitalize on our expertise in producing events and expand those services to outside customers next year. We are launching an audio-visual company and we’ll be producing video for everything from annual reports to employee training films.
I keep coming back to the Fort Worth Business Press for another reason. I love Fort Worth. There is no better city in the country for business and no better state than Texas. We expect to grow and evolve right along with this great city.
Today, there are a number of young professionals driving new businesses and change in our community. We want to stand alongside them and promote entrepreneurship and growth, especially in the tech industry.
As we look back at the 30-year history of the Business Press in the coming weeks and months, we will also look ahead at new trends in business and at those who will be the new leaders. While other media properties are shrinking, we are expanding our vision and our horizons.
Our editorial in this edition speaks to the state of our nation and the government in Washington but its optimism goes beyond politics.
“This country and its people have always risen to whatever challenges confronted us,” the editorial asserts, “and we will continue to do so.”
Those words apply to Fort Worth as well and we are confident that our city and our region are ready to take on the future, no matter what the challenges.
Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year. See you in 2018.
Richard Connor is president and publisher of the Fort Worth Business Press. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org


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Families with children in grades K-12 will spend an average of $699.28 this back-to-school season on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics, finds the NRF in a recent survey. While that represents a 5% increase from last year’s average per-family spend, total spending is expected to remain mostly flat at $26.5 billion due to fewer students in households. The study is one of many looking at back-to-school spending trends, including popular shopping destinations and purchases.
According to the NRF’s study, families will spend the most on electronics or computer-related equipment purchases ($346.46 per spending family), exceeding the amount spent on clothing and accessories (excluding shoes), with that per-family average coming in at $249.20. Buyers are predicted to spend $134.51 on shoes and $109.49 on school supplies such as notebooks, folders, pencils, backpacks and lunchboxes. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.


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Το ετήσιο WWDC της Apple (WorldWide Developers Conference) θα πραγματοποιηθεί φέτος στις 6 με 10 Ιουνίου στο Moscone West, San Fransisco με το καθιερωμένο keynote να αφορά το μέλλον του iOS και Mac OS X, όπως μας ανακοίνωσε η Apple με επίσημο δελτίο τύπου.
Η αναφορά σε ταυτόχρονη παρουσίαση του iOS (5) και του Mac OS X (Lion) προφανώς δεν είναι τυχαία και υπογραμμίζει την πορεία και το κοινό μέλλον των 2 λειτουργικών.
Ακολουθεί το δελτίο τύπου της Apple:
CUPERTINO, Calif.–Apple® today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 6 through June 10 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At this year’s five-day conference Apple will unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS®, including exciting demonstrations of the new kinds of apps that developers can build using Apple’s advanced frameworks and more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers.
“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS”
“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”
Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Developers can even bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers, applying development techniques and best-practices to enhance their apps.
Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2011 include:
- more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and Mac OS technologies;
- over 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques, and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and Mac OS technologies in their apps;
- the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPad®, iPhone® and Mac developers from around the world; and
- Apple Design Awards which recognize iPad, iPhone and Mac apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.
Go to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website (developer.apple.com/wwdc) to purchase tickets, as well as for updates and more information.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.


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Unilever puts price squeeze on Tesco
When companies as large as Tesco and Unilever clash, there are bound to be some sparks. Unilever, the world’s third-largest consumer goods company and producer of scores of British products, has pulled deliveries to Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, after Tesco refused to accept Unilever’s 10% product price increases. The result has been that shelves have been emptied of loved brands, from cleaning products to Marmite and Pot Noodles.
Certainly price increases aren’t unexpected, given the pound has fallen almost 20% against the Euro since the vote to leave the European Union in June. Suppliers can blame increased costs on the falling value of sterling, costs that must be passed on to the consumer. However, in my view this is more an arm wrestle between Britain’s largest grocery retailer and it’s largest supplier. While the outcome is unknown, it provides an interesting real-life case study of the industry.
Tesco was the unchallenged “champion of the consumer”, an image carefully cultivated by chief executive Sir Terry Leahy which helped the company grow from 16% share of the grocery retail trade to more than 30% over ten years. But the economic crash had a devastating effect on Tesco and the grocery retail trade, as consumers switched to discount retailers such as Lidl and Aldi.
Alongside this trend, Tesco lost its way, as consumers turned against its dominance of the high street, while shopping patterns changed from the weekly “big shop” to smaller, more frequent shopping trips. Finally, an accounting scandal revealed how the bonus culture had corrupted its business practices and damaged relationships with both suppliers and consumers.
Unfortunately, the arrival of new chief executive Dave Lewis, who moved to Testo from Unilever, came at the same time as Tesco’s largest-ever profit warning, £6.4 billion, and as investor Warren Buffet made damning comments on regretting investing in Tesco. Lewis has since focused on customer service and trying to get back in touch with the Tesco shopper.
Two years on, Tesco’s new challenge comes from its number one supplier – and there are risks and rewards for both businesses.
Unilever can claim it is protecting the quality and image of its products by nudging prices up – which will of course also help the company’s bottom line. But in some cases consumers have deserted these household brands, switching to “me-too” unbranded imitators from the likes of Aldi, which even uses similar-looking product packaging to reinforce the price comparison.
The risk is that Tesco and other supermarkets instead start to emphasise their own-brand product ranges, which have been repositioned from cheap and cheerful to low price but high quality. While, in some cases, the Unilever brand is difficult to replace (Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Pot Noodle, or indeed Marmite for example) – for many others, I’m not so sure that anyone would notice if it was missing from the supermarket shelf.
For Tesco, the big risk is that consumers shop elsewhere. This is a gamble that I’m sure it will have considered: its online shop prompts buyers to choose from a range of alternatives alongside the “out-of-stock” message. The second risk is that this prompts other heavyweight suppliers such as Proctor and Gamble, GSK or PZ Cussons to increase prices, too, squeezing already thin margins even further.
If Tesco can ride the storm the benefit is enormous: the firm will be able to exert more clout as a retailer and begin to reclaim the “champion of the consumer” title that it lost.
It doesn’t seem right to blame Brexit for forcing prices up in this case as it’s unlikely that any supply chain costs would have been sufficient to warrant a 10% price hike in the few months since the referendum vote. As Unilever’s chief executive Paul Polman has himself pointed out, a successful business focuses on the long-term, rather than short-term quarterly profits. Watch this space.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Photo: chriswaits, CC BY


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Today, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has announced that it going to end repair service for the original Nintendo Wii.
The console launched in Japan on December 2, 2006 and went on to sell over a hundred million units worldwide, making it one of the most successful consoles ever.
After March 31, Nintendo will no longer be accepting first-gen Wiis, model number RVL-001, for repair in Japan. Nintendo stated that it no longer has Wii related parts and therefore serving the consoles has become difficult. It is unclear as to whether this announcement impacts other regions. Kotaku has reached out to Nintendo’s US spokesperson for clarification.
The announcement specifically states this notice is in regard to RVL-001 (all colour variations). The RVL-101 model launched in 2011, while the Wii Mini, model RVL-201, went on sale in 2017.


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As part of World Suicide Prevention Week, TBWA\Singapore has again partnered with Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) for the Plaster the Silence campaign, which encourages people to show their support by wearing a black SOS plaster on their inner wrists.
The plaster acts is intended to act as a conversation starter, emphasizing that the first step to suicide prevention is to get people talking about their feelings and what they’re going through.
In 2015, the number of suicides was reported at 409 (the lowest since 2012). However, despite the overall drop in suicide rate, teen suicides are at a 15-year high with more than double the number of cases in 2014. Troubled teens cite mental health issues, academic pressure, and relationship problems at home and in school as sources of stress.
That’s why even as this year’s campaign continues to reach out to everyone from all walks of life, there is a special emphasis on appealing to the youth.
Supporters are able to download a virtual plaster, which they can add to their social media profile pictures, effectively spreading the word through the platform most familiar to young adults.
“The concept behind the campaign is about paying attention to those around you right here, right now. Suicide prevention is more than just about the relevant professionals averting crises in an emergency situation.”
On 10 September 2016, black SOS plasters will be given out at several locations throughout Singapore, particularly in areas frequented by teens. Supporters will be able to collect the plasters, wear them on their inner wrists and post a photo with a heartfelt caption using the hashtag #HOWRU.
Christine Wong, Executive Director of SOS, said, “The concept behind the campaign is about paying attention to those around you right here, right now. Suicide prevention is more than just about the relevant professionals averting crises in an emergency situation. It starts with all of us doing something every day, in our own little ways. The first step can really be as simple as asking our loved ones ‘how are you,’ finding out about how they feel, and being there for them as they work through whatever it is they are going through.”
“Last year’s campaign did well, however our work isn’t done and we hope to keep the conversation going to create awareness by distributing even more plasters this year,” said Edmund Choe, Regional Chief Creative Officer of TBWA. “Hopefully, we can prevent more suicide cases from happening.”
A number of celebrities with a strong following among teenagers have pledged their support for the campaign, including Kelly Latimer, Churp Churp Alpha Influencer and Sports Presenter; Hirzi Zulkiflie, Artiste; Sonia Chew, TV and Radio presenter; Felicia Chin, Mediacorp Artiste; and Nat Ho, actor and singer.
But it’s not just youth culture figures. Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, as well as Patron of SOS, has also pledged his support for the campaign. Blog Advertising Community Nuffnang has also agreed to help create awareness about the campaign through their network of bloggers.
The campaign will also see brands stepping up to lend their hand to spread awareness. Hansaplast has come forward to donate media space across 10 stores where they have retail presence. Mediacorp sponsored outdoor space at bus shelters. Local food and beverage outlets and entertainment venues frequented by teens have also come together to show their support. Cafes are distributing the black SOS plasters attached to drink coasters and coffee cup sleeves, fashion retail outlets are using their store’s mannequins to spread awareness of the cause, and Golden Village and WE cinemas have donated their advertising space for a special 60-second commercial.


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The leader of cannabis fintech solutions expands its marketing team to support rapidly growing business
BONITA SPRINGS, FL, November 29, 2022– Green Check Verified (GCV), the leading fintech provider of compliant cannabis banking solutions and services, today announced the hiring of Staci Firios as Chief Marketing Officer and Brett Puffenbarger as Vice President of Marketing for its Cannabis Division.
With financial institutions increasingly embracing cannabis-related lines of business, Green Check Verified has seen a record expansion of both financial institutions and cannabis businesses on its platform. To bolster this expansion, the company has hired key leaders for its marketing and business development efforts. Staci Firios joins GCV with more than 25 years of marketing experience, the majority of which has been in financial services and fintech. Most recently, she was the CMO of Tier1 Financial Solutions and previously worked as the VP of Marketing Capabilities & Enablement at Prudential. At GCV, Firios will be responsible for marketing strategy, marketing performance, communications initiatives, and branding.
“I’m pleased to join Green Check Verified at such a critical period of growth and expansion for the company,” said Staci Firios. “The legal cannabis industry is rapidly expanding. Not only are additional states legalizing the sale of cannabis products, but the complexity of regulations requires uniquely focused solutions. It’s exciting to join the Green Check team and help to connect legal cannabis businesses with the financial solutions that will help them grow.”
Prior to joining GCV, Brett Puffenbarger held a variety of marketing, sales, and business development positions both within and outside of the cannabis industry. Recently, he co-founded Good Highdeas, a bespoke advisory and consulting company that works with cannabis businesses on all things media, marketing, and public relations. He was also the interim CEO of Buds for Vets, which helped veterans in Florida obtain their medical marijuana card.
“Financial services is often overlooked in the greater cannabis conversation, so informing the masses about cannabis-specific fintech companies will be integral to the industry’s overall success,” said Brett Puffenbarger. “I look forward to working with the incredible Green Check team to ensure every cannabis business, throughout the entire supply chain, has access to the proper financial tools.”
“We’re very grateful to have both Staci and Brett join the GCV team,” said Kevin Hart, CEO of Green Check Verified. “Their combined expertise will be very valuable as we continue to expand our company and services in the growing cannabis sector.”
GCV counts over 120 US banks and credit unions as clients and has recently surpassed 4,000 cannabis businesses on its platform. GCV was also recently ranked the third Best Place to Work in Fintech in 2022 by American Banker and won the Top Compliance Leader award at this year’s Payments, Banking, and Compliance Conference.
About Green Check Verified
Green Check Verified (GCV) is a regulatory software and services company founded in 2017 by a team of technology, banking, and regulatory experts. GCV focuses on the intersection between community banking and the emerging legal cannabis industry and aims to provide the services and tools needed to connect these two industries in compliant and profitable ways. For more information about Green Check Verified, visit www.greencheckverified.com.


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British Airways, a UK based airline company, has announced the launch of its new First class service on four of its popular routes from London Gatwick Airport in the UK.
The airline is offering the new luxury service for passengers travelling from London Gatwick to Barbados, Bermuda, St Lucia and Port of Spain in Trinidad.
The new service is being offered on Boeing 777-200 aircraft, and includes 60 percent wider seating, private wardrobes, personal electronic blinds, and balanced privacy options.
The airline has recently introduced a new food and drink menu for its World Traveller Plus premium economy cabins on all long distance flights from Gatwick Airport. The World Traveller Plus also offers increased personal space for passengers, with larger seats, adjustable headrests, lumbar support and leg rests.
Colm Lacy, the airline head of commercial at Gatwick, said, ‘These are significant steps forward for our premium customers at Gatwick. The introduction of the new First cabin means our customers can enjoy the very best travel experience British Airways has to offer.
Our World Traveller Plus customers are also benefiting from an upgraded food and drink service, offering them even more choice in our premium economy cabin.’
The airline is also offering holiday packages to the Caribbean, in celebration of its new First class cabin and World Traveller Plus cabin services. The holidays include seven nights’ stay at St Lucia, and Barbados, at resorts that include Cap Maison, Jade Mountain, the Fairmont Royal Pavilion, and The Sandpiper, for leisure travellers from London.


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Decathlon, the world’s biggest sports retailer, has announced plans for further UK investment that will see it open its 50th UK store, create 200 jobs by 2021 and drive up its omni-channel presence, after total annual sales grew 14.4% and online sales increased 19.6%.
The company, founded in France in 1976 and currently operating across 54 countries – up from 51 in 2018 –with sales of €11.3 billion, opened its first UK store in 1999.
In 2018, the company opened seven new UK stores, as well as completely redeveloping its campus store at Surrey Quays in Central London, adding 5,000 sqm of retail space and a new UK head office. It also increased its UK head count by an additional 248 ‘team mates’ (to a total of 1606) all of whom have the opportunity to become co-owners in the business under its shareholder scheme.
Decathlon has progressed with the development of its omni-channel retail offering to customers, investing in a new UK warehouse in order to service its growing presence in the UK.
This £34 million (22.8 million Decathlon UK and 11.2 million Sportstock – Decathlon UK’s real estate company)investment in stores, operations, digital, staff and staff training and the company’s planned future investment is a mark of Decathlon’s commitment to the UK which is seen by the group as a strategically important to its future growth.
This level of investment means that Decathlon UK has reported a £10.8 million loss before tax for 2018, in line with expectations. The business reports that positive trading figures in 2019 are already justifying its investment and future expansion plans.
Alberto Bottan, CFO at Decathlon UK says: “While 2018 was a challenging year for the retail sector for a variety of reasons, 2019’s year-on-year performance has been very encouraging. Already we are seeing positive 2019 YTD performance with 15.9% total growth, including 27.1% growth in online turnover.
He continues: “There has also been encouraging performance across the UK, including a profitable first year for our new concept compact store in High Street Kensington.”
Bottan says: “We are also seeing our growth as a nation-wide brand in the UK, with positive online performance mirrored by growth in those communities where we are becoming more established, especially in Scotland with our Braehead and Edinburghstores achieving 8.1% and 7.9% turnover growth respectively in 2018.”
He concludes: “We have also seen very strong sales for our innovative products, which are both designed and created within Decathlon. For example, our Easybreath full face snorkelling mask (the first to allow people to breathe as easily underwater as on the land) saw sales of over 82,000 quantities in the UK alone. We also saw strong sales for our award-winning Quechua Arpenaz Family Camping Tent and our new range of Rockrider mountain bikes. This positive trading has encouraged further investment in the UK, not only in new stores, but also in creating a true omni-channel, seamless service between our store and online experiences.”


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Pride ramps up lift biz
EXETER, Pa. -- Pride Mobility Products is planning its first acquisition since the company added scooters to its product portfolio in 1989.
The power mobility manufacturer recently signed a letter of intent to buy Silver Star Mobility, a Medford, Ore.-based manufacturer of vehicle lifts that's generating several million dollars in sales annually. The deal is expected to close early this month.
Pride CEO Scott Meuser said slower growth in the company's core power wheelchair business has stimulated interest in companies that make products in adjacent categories.
"When the core markets are growing very rapidly, it doesn't make sense to move away from that because there is an opportunity cost to doing anything additional," said Meuser. "We still believe the market is in a long term strong growth trend, but during this period when growth is lower, it's easier to make changes and focus on improvements."
Mortimore, an aerospace engineer who brought his design skills to the HME industry 15 years ago, moved Silver Star from Phoneix to a 27,000-square-foot facility in Oregon five and-a-half yearss ago. Since 1992, Mortimore has been designing products with Pride in mind.
"I knew they had it," said Mortimore "They had a product that was going to make it. So whenever I wanted to design something, I went to Pride first."
The combination of a mobility manufacturer and a lift manufacturer intuitively makes sense. It made sense a decade ago as well, but to date no major mobility manufacturer has made a significant investment in the market. Pride currently sells a lift that can handle the needs of about 20% of the market.
"Until now, we've been like a lift dabbler," said Meuser. "The market doesn't want to do business with dabblers but with companies that have a long term commitment to innovation and to helping grow the segment."
With the addition of Silver Star, Meuser believes Pride will be able to handle the needs of about 90% of the market.
Dennis Mortimore will continue to lead the 'Silver Star by Pride' division from Medford. But the days of shipping everything from Medford are over. Pride will warehouse Silver Star inventory and ship from each of its five distribution facilities.
The question remains: Why haven't rehab manufacturers strayed into the lift business before? Meuser said Pride stayed away from deviation from its core business to devote as much time as possible to growth in its core categories. But neither Sunrise Medical or Invacare acquired lift companies, despite the cultivation of much broader portfolios.
Mortimore said the lift business simply wasn't blipping o the radar screens of the bigger manufacturers.
"They didn't realize the volume we were doing," said Mortimore. "Once they realized we weren't going away and that we would grow substantially, it's really started taking off. It's only come into its own in the last 15 months."
Silver Star's imminent status as a division of Pride bodes well for growth. Mortimore couldn't afford the necessary investments to grow as a rival to Harmar and Bruno. Pride gives Silver Star that.
"With [Pride's] marketing and sales, we'll be unmatchable," he said.


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After years of waiting, customer deliveries for the Tesla Cybertruck will begin tomorrow, Thursday, November 30. That means it won’t be long until people start getting a closer look at the finished product, driving it, and picking out the things they like and don’t like about the stubby stainless steel truck.
What Is Tesla Cybertruck Delivery Day?
On November 30th, 2023, four years after the reveal of the Tesla Cybertruck, the Tesla Cybertruck Delivery Day will take place in Austin, Texas, that’s expected to be just high-profile and decked-out as when the truck originally debuted. However, in line with founder and CEO Elon Musk’s recent soundbytes, customers, analysts, and investors should temper their expectations a bit, as it’s likely that just 10 Cybertrucks will be initially delivered. Moreover, it’s unclear if these vehicles will be officially “salable” trucks, or if they’re part of a sort of employee test fleet program, similar to the launches of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.
To make things more cryptic and clandestine, Tesla has not disclosed official pricing for the Cybertruck, after pulling the original numbers from the brand’s website some time ago. All we get today is a countdown clock leading up to the event.
It appears that the final product has had some of the kinks ironed out compared to the “release candidate” prototypes we’ve previously reported on over the past few months. The Tesla Cybertruck is currently on display to the public in Manhattan for those looking to get a closer look at the car, and while it isn’t as janky, it still features some sizeable panel gaps and other curious design choices.
However, it’s different, and it’s a Tesla, and these days that’s really all the Cybertruck needs to be a head turner, a clout machine, and/or a codpiece. The least of which, a pickup truck.
Tesla owners are known for tolerating shortcomings and quality issues in the manufacturer’s products, and we’re sure the Cybertruck won’t be an exception. The images of the close-up almost production model show that the company has ironed out most of the things people have noticed throughout random sightings since the lead-up to tomorrow, and that’s a good thing. The truck itself is striking with its sharp lines. Tesla has had to make many sacrifices to keep up with the overall design of this unique vehicle. We’re sure many people will fall in love with the truck with a built-in bed cover, single windshield wiper, and many other features. However, after spending time with it, non-Tesla loyalists may point out the negatives, to which the design and current technology may or may not be able to improve.
Take the single windshield wiper, for example; Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that that wouldn’t make it to the final production model, yet here it is in all its massive glory. The panel gaps are another thing; many will overlook them, but it wasn’t what Musk wanted when development was still underway for the truck. The Tesla Cybertruck is years late to the market, and its development has been filled with overpromises; the power, range, and payload capacity appear to be short of what Tesla initially had in mind. But even so, with the unique design, we’re sure many will look past the shortcomings.


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Paramount Fine Foods is in growth mode this year, with plans to open three new eateries in Central Florida and move into the Tampa and South Florida markets.
The fast-casual Mediterranean concept, which opened its first Orlando location last year at I-Drive 360 and a butcher shop in Avalon Park, will open its next eatery in April at 1145 Townpark Ave., Suite 1211, in Lake Mary’s Colonial Town Park shopping center. The 1,500-square-foot restaurant will seat about 50 guests and create about 25 new jobs, said Scott Brewster, COO of Paramount Fine Foods USA.
Meanwhile, Brewster told Orlando Business Journal that he is close to signing leases for two more Central Florida locations: one in downtown Orlando and one in Winter Park. He said he couldn’t disclose either location as the leases are still in negotiation.
Brewster did say the downtown location was larger than the Lake Mary shop at about 2,800 square feet and would create about 35 jobs, with the goal of opening in April, as well. The Winter Park store will range between 2,500-3,000 square feet and likely will open in October, creating about 35-45 jobs.
So what’s next for Paramount Fine Foods? Brewster said that Tampa and South Florida are on the concept’s radar. “We’re looking to grow into those markets toward the end of this year or beginning of 2017,” he said. “Tampa — we’ll get in there this year. We’ve started looking in certain areas, but can’t disclose those yet because it’s still a little early.”
In addition, the concept has launched its newest endeavor: Paramount on Wheels, a food truck that serves about six or seven of Paramount’s signature menu items, as well as one you won’t find in stores: the Yalla Special — french fries topped with chicken and beef shawarma, and Paramount’s signature garlic and tahini sauce.
Paramount Fine Foods launched the food truck in Canada, where the concept began. Brewster said now that the concept is up and running in the U.S., Paramount can use the food truck as a marketing tool and a way to connect with the local community.
“[Paramount] had overwhelming success in Canada, but we are blessed to have much better and forgiving weather than that. Our ability to utilize [the food truck] year round was key. It does help us to get into different communities that may not be able to make it to I-Drive right now or Lake Mary.”
But Brewster said Paramount isn’t quite done growing in Central Florida. “We’re always considering new locations, and our focus now is to grow our brand in core markets like downtown, Lake Mary, I-Drive, but we’re always looking for the next Paramount location, and we’re not done with Central Florida.”


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Although the unemployment rate in the U.S. has finally dropped below 9 percent (according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor as of last Friday), you don't have to convince anybody in the Tampa Bay area that the economy is still in dire straits.
One relatively good thing about the great recession is that it has compelled Americans to save more money, which is something as a society we've stopped doing to a large extent. And yes, consumer spending is considered 70 percent of what drives our economy.
But the folks over at the USF Federal Credit Union say they want to reward those people (they must be USF students, faculty, alumni, staff, on-campus business employees, as well as members of the credit union) who have been "creative" in saving money, and will offer them a chance to receive an all-expense paid, four-night, five-day trip to Pamplona, Spain, and check out the legendary running of the bulls.
It works by sharing a story about what the individual did "creatively" to save money over the past few years. They must then produce a film or video about their savings idea and transfer that to a YouTube site, and fill out an entry form at www.usffcu.org/bestbull.
Check out this slickly produced clip below:
Participants have until April 18 to enter.


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Are you wanting a new pickup but can’t condone the gas prices? Those who think that all trucks are just gas guzzlers have not read the latest review on fuel-efficient trucks for 2012 that just came out.
Reports show that specialists reviewed several models and came up with exactly eleven truck models that are extremely fuel-efficient.
Toyota, Chevy, GMC, and other automakers are listed in this review. Drivers who dream about purchasing a truck with a great gas mileage could now have their dreams coming to life.
If you would like to learn more about these amazing fuel efficient rugged trucks, read the full article here:
Top 11 Most Fuel-Efficient Trucks for 2012


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If you own a 15-inch MacBook Pro, you may not be able to carry it on any future Air India flights. In an advisory issued by the Directorate general of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday, passengers were requested to not carry their 15-inch MacBook Pros as checked in or hand baggage. This applies to 15-inch MacBook pros purchased between September 2015 and February 2017.
In a tweet that was posted on Saturday, the airlines confirmed the notice. The tweet said,” In view of the advisory by DGCA regarding the transportation of affected lithium batteries by Air, we request our Passengers not to carry 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro ( passengers were requested to not carry their 15-inch MacBook Pros as checked in or hand baggage) as checked-in or hand baggage”
#FlyAI : In view of the advisory by DGCA regarding transportation of affected lithium batteries by Air, we request our Passengers not to carry 15-inch Apple Mac Book Pro (purchased between Sep 2015 – Feb 2017) as checked-in or hand baggage. pic.twitter.com/K0hCxlR43h— Air India (@airindiain) August 31, 2019
Earlier in June, Apple announced a recall of MacBook Pros that were sold between September 2015 and February 2017 as they feared it would pose a safety hazard to users. Even as early as last week, a few airlines that operate from India like Singapore Airlines also issued a ban on a selected number of MacBook Pros on-board due to an alleged battery fire risk. Due to this announcement, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said that it was examining the issue and may announce an official ban on the device if need be. Well, this week that came to pass, as the DGCA issued the request.
Clearly, faulty batteries on laptops can be a safety hazard, especially when you’re flying. This seems to have pushed the San Cupertino giant to set up a website for consumers to check if their laptops were affected by this particular battery problem as well.
To be fair, even the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates all civil aviation issues in the US banned the 15-inch MacBook pro on flights in the States.


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Alicia Keys, Blackberry 10: Singer Announced as Brand’s New Global Creative Director
Add another credit to Alicia Keys' resume.
This morning, at the launch event for Blackberry 10, the company's CEO Thorstein Heins announced that the singer has signed on to be the brand's Global Creative Director.
"I am an extremely committed and focused individual," Keys after being introduced. "I am going to work closely with the app designers and developers, the content creators, the retailers and the carriers to really explore this BlackBerry 10 platform and create ideas for its future."She admitted that like a lot of people, she'd been a Blackberry advocate, but had recently begun using other handsets.
"I was in a long-term relationship with BlackBerry and then I started to notice some new, hotter, attractive, sexier phones at the gym," she explained. "I kinda broke up with you for something with a little more bling. I always missed the way you organized my life and the way you were there for me at my job. So I started to have two phones, I was playing the field. But then you called and you said you were working it out. And now, we are exclusively dating again."
As many people who follow her on Twitter already know, Keys is a big user of Instagram, an app that isn't yet available for Blackberry 10. So she's either on an iPhone or an Android. Whatever the case, she's posted her first photo from her new Blackberry today.
"First official tweet from my new #BlackBerry10 baby!!!;-)" she tweeted. "#keepmoving # forwardthinking."
Watch Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" Video
See R&B's Worst Jobs


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Spoken News: 16 September
Bitcoin Cash’s Roger Ver: Use LTC instead of BTC
Bitcoin Cash, community member Roger Very has once again criticised Bitcoin and said people should use Litecoin, instead of Bitcoin.
Speaking at Coinsbank Blockchain Cruise, Ver said Bitcoin was not a peer to peer network during 2018 and excessive transaction fees were harming their overall brand. Ver added Bitcoin was dead back in 2011 and continued:
“Can you believe it? The BTC core developers totally forgot what the original Bitcoin stood for. Last year the transactions on the blockchain had an average transaction fee of $50. That is crazy!”
Ver also said there’s a reason why Litecoin is getting a lot of praise recently and said they are the better money in terms of as a medium of exchange than Bitcoin and people should use Litecoin instead of Bitcoin.
65 Cases: Blockchain Going Strong
World Economic Forum Foundation has outlined more than 60 Blockchain use cases to solve the ongoing and most depressing environmental issues.
Their report titled Building Blockchains for a Better Planet, and they went onto say that Blockchain could help them to solve ongoing environmental issues such as new supply chains, decentralized energy and clean water.
WEF also added that completely new Blockchain products could also be used in the future as they described the future productions as game changers.
WEF also outlined their thoughts about Blockchain and said the technology is a little bit hyped due to excessive demands of cryptocurrency community. They said the people need to ask three questions when evaluating technologies. The first of them is can the technology solve a specific problem, the second is, can the risks of unintended consequences can be managed acceptably, and the thirds is whether a functioning system available to achieve that.
Binance to Open Exchange in Singapore
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, set to launch a new exchange in Singapur, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao confirms.
Zhao was at Singapur for Blockchain conference and after that, he tweeted:
I just slipped that we will begin #Binance Singapore fiat exchange live money closed beta testing on Sept 18th, in 3 days. Invitation only first. Exciting!
Exchange set to open in two days but the beta platform will only be available to those who earned a special invite. Although the reports still unconfirmed, the sources stating that Singapur Dollar will be available at the exchange as Binance continues to launch more and more fiat trading options to its clients.
T-Hub CEO Got it Wrong, Said Bitcoin Transaction Fees $20 Right Now
The CEO is of India’s biggest startup incubator, T-Hub said Bitcoin failed due to high transactions fees. T-Hub CEO Jay Krishnan has spoken in the local event and said:
“The fallacy of Bitcoin as a currency is its transaction fee which is typically above $20. The transaction fee is paid to ensure convenience and security in the exchange. This is not only higher than the transaction fee paid for regulated currency but is also an indication of the security risk it holds”
But in fact, the Bitcoin transaction fees are considerably lower than what he thinks and this false statements understandably created an anger in the Bitcoin community. If you look at the charts, you can see the average price of a Bitcoin transaction is lower than $0.2 and this figure is almost 100 times lower than what Krishnan thinks.


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OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just three days after launch, e.l.f. Cosmetics celebrated its second viral hashtag challenge that surpassed one billion views on TikTok, this time with #elfMagicAct. The challenge was an immediate hit with TikTokers, who love making their digital transformations look magical and also love the brand’s Poreless Putty Primer, the #1 best-selling primer in the U.S.*
The new TikTok hashtag challenge invites every eye, lip and face to be like Houdini and use the $8 primer as their magic wand, to digitally transform their look or anything around them.
“e.l.f. has always been a digital disrupter carving new paths since our brand was born 16 years ago. That renegade spirit and quest for new frontiers is in our roots, and with TikTok, we are proud to develop innovative content and a form of (s)e.l.f. expression that our audience loves,” said Kory Marchisotto, Chief Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Beauty. “We are moved by the incredible engagement that we continue to receive from the TikTok community, that has pushed us past one billion views, twice, in two separate campaigns.”
Building on its venture into musical expression and the success of the game-changing hit song “Eyes. Lips. Face.,” which set the record for the most viral campaign in TikTok US history with the #eyeslipsface challenge – e.l.f. Cosmetics’ newest challenge is again fueled by Santa Monica-based creative agency Movers+Shakers. This challenge celebrates the fan favorite Poreless Putty Primer, which features a velvety texture that glides effortlessly over the skin, smoothing over imperfections while helping minimize the appearance of pores for a poreless effect.
To support the witty challenge, the group tapped award-winning artist M. Maggie, to write and record the brand’s new original song, “Magic Act.” In addition to being a talented musician, M. Maggie recently started her own label, All Love Records, which connects young talented producers, directors, artists, dancers, choreographers, and musicians around the globe to create epic music together, strongly echoing e.l.f.’s inclusive brand values.
Inviting everyone to join in on the fun, e.l.f. Cosmetics worked with a diverse group of well-known influencers including TikTok’s top beauty enthusiasts. The #elfMagicAct launched on e.l.f. Cosmetics’ TikTok channel, @elfyeah. To celebrate its e.l.f.ing amazing fans, e.l.f. Cosmetics’ is also running a sweepstakes where video creators have a chance to win a free Putty Primer with a qualifying purchase on elfcosmetics.com.
To watch and create your own #elfMagicAct videos, visit https://www.tiktok.com/tag/elfMagicAct.
* Based on Nielsen U.S. xAOC, [face cosmetics category), 52-week period ended 6/13/2020
About e.l.f. Beauty
e.l.f. Beauty stands with every eye, lip, face and paw. This deep commitment to inclusive, accessible, cruelty-free beauty has fueled the success of our namesake e.l.f. Cosmetics brand since 2004. With the acquisition of the pioneering clean-beauty brand W3LL People in February 2020, we continue to strategically expand our portfolio with brands that support our purpose and values. Our brands are available online, and across leading beauty, mass-market, and clean beauty specialty retailers.
Learn more by visiting investor.elfcosmetics.com.
About e.l.f. Cosmetics:
Since 2004, e.l.f. Cosmetics has made the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip and face. We make high-quality, prestige-inspired cosmetics and skin care products at an extraordinary value and are proud to be 100% vegan and cruelty-free. As one of the first online beauty brands, e.l.f. continues to attract a highly engaged audience and set benchmarks with new digital platforms. Our brand is widely available at leading retailers such as Target, Walmart and Ulta Beauty, and has a growing international presence.
Learn more by visiting www.elfcosmetics.com
Movers+Shakers is a creative studio specialized in spreading joy. They use original music and movement to tell brand stories and delight consumers. The agency works across social channels and is an industry leader on TikTok marketing with 40 billion views on its TikTok campaigns. Learn more by visiting www.MoversShakers.co.


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The once flourishing André chain of urban shoe shops, which has been struggling for several years, has been placed in insolvency proceedings, protecting it from its creditors. The lockdown of its 120 stores on March 16 because of the coronavirus outbreak was the final straw, as it lost nearly €4 million in a fortnight. Some 600 jobs are now threatened.
André filed for bankruptcy on March 23, and the decision to place the company under legal administration was validated on March 31 by the Commercial Court of Grenoble.
In an interesting new omni-channel strategy, Spartoo, the French e-commerce platform specializing in shoes and clothing, bought the shoe retail chain in 2018 from Vivarte. The multi-banner retail group, which was originally called André Group, has been divesting most of its 16 shoe and apparel retail chains in the past few years to reduce its debts.
Spartoo’s chief executive, Boris Saragaglia, said at a press conference that the bankruptcy is coming at a time when efforts to turn the business around were starting to bear fruit. The group has invested €13 million in André, lowered prices, focused on style and quality, and renovated the stores. As a result, its net losses, which amounted to €20 million in 2018, declined to €10 million in 2019. Revenues stood at around €100 million.
But the company was weakened in 2019 by the “yellow jackets” movement in France, as well as more strikes against pension reforms. In addition, André faced increased competition from online retailers, especially second-hand marketplaces such as Vintage.
Saragaglia said there is no certainty that the company will be able to reopen in the near future, as he was not able to raise money from investors or from the Public Investment Bank. Reportedly, the public French bank had been asked to give Spartoo a loan to help offset the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on André, but it refused to grant it because the chain’s financial problems had started before.
New plans for the takeover of André can still be presented to the court in the next few days.
The news of André’s bankruptcy came a month after Spartoo acquired Easy Peasy – an eco-friendly brand that makes baby booties – from the Noël group, which was put into liquidation in the autumn of 2019. In 2017, it also acquired GBB, the children’s business of the Kindy group.
Spartoo.com was launched in August 2016 in Grenoble by Saragaglia, Paul Lorne and Jérémie Touchard. Today, the French e-tailer generates annual revenues of about €250 million.


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The latest CBI’s quarterly Industrial Trends Survey shows new manufacturing orders falling slightly in the first quarter with output increasing and firms expecting orders to grow in the next three months.
According to the CBI, the decrease in total new orders was driven by a fall in domestic demand this quarter, the fastest pace of decline since January 2012, whereas export orders stabilised.
However, manufacturers have increased their stocks of work in progress and finished goods. This was most likely in anticipation of a better coming quarter, with expectations for total orders growth at the strongest level for a year. Meanwhile output is also expected to rise and manufacturers’ optimism has improved.
Employment in the sector increased in-line with expectations in the three months to April, and manufacturers expect to increase their headcount in the next quarter.
Contrary to expectations, domestic price inflation was unchanged on the quarter, but growth in average unit costs was the highest since January 2012, squeezing manufacturers’ profit margins again.
However, weaker sterling meant that the number of businesses citing prices as a factor likely to limit export orders fell to the lowest level since April 2012. At the same time, concern about the effect of political and economic conditions abroad on exports rose to its highest for a year.
Commenting on today’s results, James Buckle, Global Corporates manufacturing team at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said, ‘While the increase in output is welcome, inflationary pressures on unit costs and poor domestic orders continue to pose a challenge for the prospects of the UK manufacturing sector.
‘Given the sustained fall in domestic demand, it is important for UK manufacturers to continue redirecting output towards higher growth markets, but this may take some time. Effective risk management against exchange rate volatility and associated input costs will continue to be of paramount importance to the sector.’
Key findings – three months to April:
- 22 per cent of firms reported an increase in total orders and 28 per cent said they decreased, giving a balance of -6 per cent – disappointing expectations of growth (+14 per cent) in the previous survey, but nonetheless above the long-term average (-3 per cent).
- The balance for domestic orders (-14 per cent) was the lowest since January 2012 (-17 per cent), while the balance for exports orders (-3 per cent) was the highest since April 2012 (+4 per cent).
- The proportion of firms reporting that they were working below capacity (59 per cent) was at its highest since January 2011 (59 per cent).
- However, 23 per cent of firms reported an increase in output and 18 per cent said it decreased, giving a balance of +5 per cent.
- Manufacturers said they were slightly more optimistic about their business situation than in the previous quarter (+5 per cent).
- Numbers employed in the manufacturing sector increased (+10 per cent).
- A balance of +18 per cent of manufacturers expect total orders to increase, with +19 per cent expecting export orders to rise and +8 per cent predicting growth in domestic orders.
- A balance of +23 per cent of firms expect output to increase – the highest level since April 2012 (+24 per cent).
- A balance of +8 per cent of manufacturers expect to increase headcounts.


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New home sales rose this summer and are reaching new highs for this economic expansion.
(Bloomberg) -- A significant pay raise may have helped persuade Charlie Scharf to take on the top job at Wells Fargo & Co.
Americans’ expectations for the economy and the job market has deteriorated.
The spending announced for the San Antonio factory comes six months after the automaker pledged to shell out an additional $3 billion on its U.S. operations by 2021.
“We should be on recession watch before the 2020 election,” Jeffrey Gundlach said
After Lee Bird witnessed At Home Group Inc. lose half its market value in one day this June, the chief executive officer decided to reconsider everything.
Executives of WeWork and its largest investor, SoftBank Group Corp., are discussing whether to shelve the IPO.
The service will be free for one year with purchases of new Apple devices, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said on stage.
An arrest warrant was issued Aug. 19 by local prosecutors, according to court records. The alleged false sale dates back to 2016.
Experts said that while it will affect relatively few people, they would have to go through an expensive and lengthy application process.


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Sukhpal Singh, managing director of Euro Car Parts, believes there remains significant growth potential for his business and that he has barely scratched at the surface of the £5.4bn car components market.
A key area of future growth will come, he believes, from the internet. “Our website was launched about eight or nine years ago, and generates sales worth about £100,000 every month,” he says. “But in six or eight weeks’ time, we will be launching the first stage of our new website, and that will revolutionise the system.”
He believes there is huge potential for drivers to search for and order parts online. “I have a wealthy friend who needed a catalytic converter for his Mercedes.
The dealership quoted him £1,500. He went online and bought it for a fraction of the price and got it fitted by a local garage. It told me that end users would come to us,” says Mr Singh. His friend’s final bill was closer to £600, with fitting.
Mr Singh believes that his simple supply chain - dealing directly with the manufacturers - means that his prices will also be lower than those of the dealerships.
“There are at least six people taking a bite of the cherry [in their supply chains]” he explains. “Cataloguing is key to our website and it is quite complex. We have spent the past two years identifying all the parts. The user needs to identify the part required, select the categories and a couple of alternatives will be shown. But it is not easy. For example, BMWs use 10 different sets of brake pads and we probably stock 500 sets.”
Currently, Euro Car Parts ships around 100 orders a day through its website, to countries as far away as Japan, Brazil and South Africa. “We have got to reorganise the infrastructure behind the website before launch,” adds Mr Singh. “Customers need to be able to track their parcels as they are delivered. There needs to be complete transparency, but I am very optimistic about the website.”
Similarly, Mr Singh believes there is potential for a further 30 Euro Car Parts branches. “There is a fantastic opportunity for us over the next five years,” he says “I think we could increase to 90 or 100 branches. We need to a presence across the UK.”
He believes Euro Car Parts is under-represented in Scotland, for example. “We have two branches in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we are looking at Inverness and Aberdeen. We are doing lots of research to assess whether towns can sustain our model.”
Mr Singh has moved away from the high street. Euro Car Parts are more likely to be found in business parks, partly because they need space to house the stock. “Two of our centres stock more than 100,000 parts, but most carry between 20,000 and 40,000. The bigger stores act as buddy branches, supplying extra stock to the smaller ones.”
When Mr Singh is convinced he has satisfied domestic demand, he is keen to consider franchising the business overseas. “But only when we have completely structured our business in the UK,” he says.