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At an NFU horticulture meeting in East Malling last week, HDC chairman Neil Bragg said since a consultation on the criteria that should be used for collecting the levy had closed in late February, Defra's stance on the levy payment system had become more flexible.
"It's quite amazing how its position has changed," he said. "We were told that statutory instruments cannot be changed, but a lot do go back for revision. They are not written in tablets of stone."
Problems started when the levy boards merged in 2007 and top fruit growers were told that their levy calculation would have to be brought into line with other growers. Until then the top fruit levy was based on orchard area while most other growers, apart from mushroom businesses, had their levy calculated on turnover above a £60,000 threshold.
Fruit growers reacted with fury. The change would mean around 50 per cent of apple and pear growers would no longer pay the levy while the rest would pay as much as three times more than before.
Their reaction prompted the HDC tree fruit panel to commission Cranfield University's Professor Sean Rickard to review the system. He proposed reducing the payment turnover threshold from £60,000 to £20,000, scrapping the deduction of business costs from the gross levy and reducing the levy rate from 0.5 to 0.35 per cent to compensate for this reduction.
Because it thought any such changes would have to be applied to all sectors to ensure equality of treatment, the HDC opened an industry-wide consultation.
Presenting the findings at the meeting, HDC technical manager Andrew Tinsley said although growers of hardy nursery stock and protected crops were against reducing the levy threshold to £20,000, neither was there any pan-industry desire for the change.
Likewise, there was no strong industry desire for removing the business expense deduction - also strongly opposed by hardy nursery stock and protected crop growers. In stark contrast, 70 to 80 per cent of top fruit growers said they were in favour of all three proposals.
Bragg told the meeting that the new flexibility from Defra meant the tree fruit sector might be able to operate the levy collection arrangement proposed by Rickard or even return to the area payment system while that used by other sectors could remain unchanged.
"If we (the tree fruit sector) want to take this forward as a group we need to present a proposal to the (new) minister about what we want to do and why," said Bragg, "and we need to be fully prepared to do this by June at the latest."
www.HorticultureWeek.co.uk/forums to comment on this story.


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New Tech Is Shaping New Purchasing Habits.
Consumers paying closer attention to what they eat will drive the top industry trends.
As football season is in full swing, a chicken wing crisis strikes restaurants.
The biggest cook out day of the year expands its lead as the #1 day for meat consumption.
Millennials are choosing frequent snacking over the traditional meal routine, once again changing the industry.
Plant based foods continue to gain traction in various sections of the grocery store.
Big Data means Big Connections for Supermarkets
As the New Year begins, consumers want to start snacking healthier as a part of a healthier lifestyle.
While eating breakfast is nothing new, more people in the United States continue to eat breakfast more mornings throughout the year than they did five years ago. This created a new wave of breakfast options for people to choose from.
While online shopping isn’t new, “Click-And-Collect” gives a new way for consumers to shop while still driving sales for retailers. Find out more about this blended style of shopping.

domain: news


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Just a few weeks after bringing us the amazing Chat 2.0 update, Snapchat has released yet another amazing feature to the incredibly popular platform. Last week the app released the fascinating futuristic feature, 3D motion-tracking stickers. If you haven’t heard of this feature yet, prepare to have your mind blown.
Basically the new feature allows users to attach emojis to an object in a video. The emoji will then move, rotate and scale in accordance with the object. The update is the first use of augmented reality from a social media platform.
— Product Hunt (@ProductHunt) April 13, 2016
To use 3D stickers on Snapchat, simply take a video as normal and select a sticker. Place your sticker wherever you like and long-press to make it stick. Now the sticker to should follow the object as it moves throughout the video.
— nicholas (@nnnnicholas) April 13, 2016
Snapchat’s website states that they use “machine vision to recognise distinct objects in a video”, so the app “can track them as they move and keep the stickers in sync”.
The rate at which Snapchat is innovating and updating is extremely impressive. This is latest in a series of updates that helps the platform compete with Facebook. TechCrunch reported that the update comes after Eitan Pilipski, former VP of augment technology company Vuforia was hired by Evan Spiegels team.
3D Snapchat emojis are now available on both Android and iOS devices. They are a great addition to the recent updates that Snapchat has been releasing. We expect more companies and influencers to start using snapchat emojis in more creative ways to engage their followers.


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Boingo Wireless today announced a global Wi-Fi roaming deal with ATT that allows ATT customers traveling abroad to gain access to Boingo's global network of managed and operated Wi-Fi hotspots via the ATT Wi-Fi International App. Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots at leading international airports are now available to ATT customers, with service continuing to expand throughout 2013. Here are the details:
The Boingo network, comprising managed and operated, aggregated and crowdsourced hotspots, includes more than a million Wi-Fi and DAS locations, and reaches more than 1.5 billion people worldwide annually.
Boingo customers will also be able to access AT&T's network of hotspots in the United States, including airports, restaurants, sporting arenas and retail locations, per the agreement.
The AT&T Wi-Fi International app is available to AT&T customers who subscribe to either the 300MB or 800MB AT&T Data Global Add-On package. Visit att.com/worldpackages for complete details.


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NBCU's Peacock soon to run wild on Roku
After much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth, NBCUniversal and Roku have signed a deal that will bring Peacock, NBCU's new streaming service, to Roku's platform. The deal will ensure that dozens of other NBCU apps remain on the platform, too.
Update: NBCU and Roku announced Monday (September 21) that the Peacock app is now available nationwide on the Roku platform.
Financial terms and length of the new deal were not disclosed, but Roku noted that the new pact paves the way for NBC content to be offered on The Roku Channel, Roku's free, ad-supported content aggregation service. The new deal resolved an advertising-related standoff amid Roku's desire for NBCU and Peacock to supply content to The Roku Channel and to secure some ad inventory on the new Peacock service itself. It's not yet clear if Roku got everything it wanted.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Comcast that will bring Peacock to Roku customers and maintains access to NBCU's TV Everywhere apps," a Roku spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We look forward to offering these new options to consumers under an expanded, mutually beneficial relationship between our companies that includes adding NBC content to The Roku Channel and a meaningful partnership around advertising."
"We are pleased Roku recognizes the value in making NBCUniversal's incredible family of apps and programming, including Peacock, available to all of their users across the country," NBCU said in a statement. "More than 15 million people signed up for Peacock since its national launch in July and we are thrilled millions more will now be able to access and enjoy Peacock along with other NBCUniversal apps on their favorite Roku devices. Roku's incredible reach will not only help us ensure Peacock is available to our fans wherever they consume video but continue to expand NBCUniversal's unrivaled digital presence across platforms."
The deal comes together as NBCU was close to pulling down 46 of its apps, including those delivering content from NBC stations, NBCU-owned cable networks and Telemundo stations. NBCU's distribution deal for the programmer's TV Everywhere apps with Roku expired at the end of August.
That prior deal, which centered on dozens of authenticated TV Everywhere apps that require pay-TV subscriptions, was being extended on an ad hoc basis while Roku and NBCU continued negotiations on Peacock.
The deal gives Peacock entry to a major streaming platform that's been missing from the list. Peacock launched nationally on July 15 and has 15 million-plus sign-ups. The Peacock streaming app has three service tiers: an ad-free, premium offer for $9.99 per month; an ad-supported, premium tier for $4.99 per month (both with 20,000 hours of programming); and a completely free, ad-based version featuring 13,000 hours of content.
Peacock is also offered on several other major streaming platforms, including Google (Chromecast, Android and Android TV), Amazon (Fire TV) and Apple (tvOS and iOS), as well as on certain Cox set-tops and Comcast's X1 and Xfinity Flex boxes.
- Dozens of NBCU apps could go dark on Roku
- Comcast wants to go global on smart TVs, CEO says
- Roku revenues, active accounts climb in COVID-marked Q2
- Peacock launch intensifies the tensions brewing with Roku and Amazon
- HBO Max might have Friends, but Amazon and Roku aren't yet among them
- Podcast: What's the story with Peacock?
— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading


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Aside from barbecues and freshly mowed lawns, what is the scent of a suburb? Residents of one North Shore enclave claim it's "La Parisienne" by Holzman & Stephanie Perfumes Ltd.
"When it was first introduced, people couldn't remember the name, so they just asked for 'the Lake Forest perfume,"' says Esther Holzman, president of the Lake Forest perfumery, which captured the scent of linden trees that permeates the neighborhood.
Locals aren't alone in sniffing out Holzman & Stephanie. In the 1992 fragrance-driven film "Scent of a Woman," a blind Al Pacino with a highly developed sense of smell picks out their fragrance "Misuki" on a relative.
With no prior knowledge of the reference, Holzman says, "I nearly dropped off my chair when I heard it."
Holzman put her passion for scent into production eight years ago and founded the company on the principle that no scent will be synthetically formulated.
"Natural oils," says Holzman, a chemist, "hold their scent longer."
Four fragrances make up the line, including the oriental Misuki, the floriental Je t'Aime, the floral Fascination and, of course, La Parisienne. Prices for all four perfumes are $100 for 0.5 ounces and $200 for 1 ounce.
To date, they have been distributed via mail order and at specialty stores, including Martin's Pharmacy in Lake Forest. The firm reports annual sales of $1 million and is currently courting major department stores to distribute the perfumes.
Supermodel @helenachristensen teamed up with longtime friend and designer @camillastaerk on a joint @paredeyewear collaboration. The lineup features three styles and 11 offerings, all of which embody a vintage feel. Get all the details on how they celebrated the collab on WWD.com. #wwdaccessories #wwdeye (📷: @slovekinpics)
“It’s a hard industry to keep motivated, as well, so finding different subjects and people is what makes it worth it – when you’re like, oh, I’ve met great people, I feel like I’ve done something good, and I feel proud of having done this,” said French actress Stacy Martin on being grateful for the variety of roles she’s take on. Read @ktauer’s full interview with Martin on her her latest film “Godard Mon Amour.” #wwdeye (📷: @danieldorsa)
After showing in front of the Eiffel Tower for his last two women’s ready-to-wear collection, it looks like @anthonyvaccarello may be heading to the Big Apple. Sources say the designer will stage his next @ysl show in NYC on June 6. Get all the details on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
EXCLUSIVE: Two and half months after John Targon, cofounder and codesigner of Baja East, was hired as creative director of the contemporary division at Marc Jacobs, he has left the company, WWD has learned. Marc Jacobs International, which is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, confirmed Targon’s departure in a statement: “John Targon is a talented designer and we appreciate the work he has done here. Ultimately working together did not make sense for the brand and we wish him the best.” Read the story by @jessiredale, link in bio. #wwdnews
@theluxurycollection is officially launching a collection, tapping Sofia Sanchez de Betak for the capsule. Over 30 styles will be featured in the Chufy x The Luxury Collection, debuting next month at Bergdorf Goodman, The Webster, FiveStory and more. De Betak, known as “@chufy,” drew inspiration for the collection from her trips to Japan in the past year #wwdfashion
@lhd, founder and CEO of @thewebster, has teamed up with @lebonmarcherivegauche for the European launch of her ready-to-wear line, LHD. The launch will come with an exclusive pop-up opening today that’s set to run through May 20. Located on the second floor, it carries her debut Miami-themed resort collection, launched in November as see-now-buy-now. #wwdfashion


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There's A Recurring Theme With 5G, And It's Disappointment
from the not-all-that dept
Buried beneath the unrelenting hype surrounding fifth-generation (5G) wireless is a quiet but growing consensus: the technology is being over-hyped, and early incarnations were rushed to market in a way that prioritized marketing over substance. That’s not to say that 5G won’t be a good thing when it arrives at scale several years from now, but early offerings have been almost comical in their shortcomings. AT&T has repeatedly lied about 5G availability by pretending its 4G network is 5G. Verizon has repeatedly hyped early non-standard launches that, when reviewers actually got to take a look, were found to be barely available.
As carriers ramp up their marketing hype and promote 5G “launches” that aren’t really full launches, that theme is only continuing. One ZDNet reporter recently wandered around Miami — a “launched” T-Mobile 5G market — only to find coverage was nonexistent and phone support was even worse. He ultimately concluded that T-mobile’s definition of “nationwide 5G” most definitely leaves something to be desired:
“…this early hype — on the part of carriers and phone manufacturers — may, as so often happens, create a greater excitement than is currently warranted. Yes, T-Mobile wants to claim it has the first nationwide 5G. In the way that nationwide doesn’t include the Bay Area. (Well, there are a lot of separatists here.) But when it’s all switched on, will we be startled by the difference? We can but hype.”
That same story is playing out in Chicago, where consumers are bombarded with endless ads for 5G, but show little real interest in paying a premium for faster speeds, when many haven’t even fully utilized 4G’s available bandwidth:
?Right now, I?d say 5G is in the hype cycle. Deployment is going to be slower than people think,? said Mohan Sawhney, a professor at Northwestern University?s Kellogg School of Business. ?Yeah, you?ll get faster Internet, but that?s not a breakthrough. … I?d stay tuned beyond 2020.”
It’s not just America. In South Korea, users similarly say that while the added speed is nice, they’re not all that impressed with the value proposition, especially if it involves overpaying for an even bigger phone with worse battery life (5G is currently quite the battery hog), or paying carriers even more for mobile data. For users already paying an arm and a leg for 4G speeds upwards of 30 Mbps, there’s really not a whole lot of motivation to make the jump — at least not right now. That’s before you even get to patchy availability (let’s just say there’s a reason carriers are trying to obscure where 5G is actually available).
This is, of course, all a far cry from carrier 5G marketing, which routinely insists 5G is already largely everywhere (it’s not), and will revolutionize everything from cancer treatment (not really) to the four day work week (nope).
Again, 5G is a good thing in that faster, more resilient, and easily managed networks are always good. And in five years from now, when phone development and 5G coverage has improved, there will certainly be ample benefits to the upgrade. But carriers continue to ignore the fact that over-marketing the standard prematurely may have the opposite impact they intended; associating 5G in the minds of many consumers with hype, empty promises, added costs, and little to actually show for it.


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Retailers, whose fiscal October ended on Saturday before Hurricane Sandy pounded the mid-Atlantic and Northeast region, reported a surprisingly positive October on Thursday, with major chains projecting a still upbeat holiday outlook
In another positive signal, chains including Macy’s Inc. US:M and Costco Wholesale Corp. US:COST said they expected to either make up lost Sandy sales or post just a small negative impact during the critical holiday quarter. The S&P Retail Index jumped 0.7%, as consumer confidence jumped in October to its highest level since February 2008. See related confidence story
“There’s a lot of optimism,” said Alison Paul, Deloitte’s retail sector leader, in an interview, adding a September survey of 5000 respondents showed 63% of them said they plan to spend the same or more this holiday season, the highest since 2006. “We are climbing out of ditch in terms of consumer confidence. (With Sandy), you didn’t lose the critical weekend. Maybe it’ll be a blip this week in the major scheme of things. If past (weather event) is prologue, consumer is resilient.”
Analysts said Monday and Tuesday, where most store closings took place, are typically the lowest volume days of the week.
Retailers reported a 3.8% total increase in a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. survey of 17 retailers, topping the average estimate of a 3.1% increase. Department stores were among the bright spots. Macy’s, Nordstrom Inc. US:JWN and mid-priced chain Kohl’s Corp. US:KSS all topped expectations.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s joined Target Corp. US:TGT and said it will stop reporting monthly tallies beginning fiscal 2013, further denting the importance of the monthly sally tally. See related story on doubts over same-store sales tallies.
On the off-price front, T.J. Maxx parent TJX Cos. US:TJX again raised its outlook after its sales topped estimates. Its top rival Ross Stores Inc. US:ROST saw its shares down 4.5% on a sales miss. Both retailers raised their outlooks and TJX pointed to a strong European business.
On the discounter front, Costco’s total sales for the month topped estimates even though its U.S. sales excluding the gasoline impact missed. Target Corp. US:TGT sales all fell short.
Results from apparel retailers were mixed. Gap Inc.’s US:GPS total same-store sales missed because of a short fall at its biggest unit, Old Navy. Gap, however, raised its profit outlook.
Victoria’s Secret parent Limited Brands Inc. US:LTD also missed but raised its third-quarter outlook as well. Teen retailer Zumiez Inc. US:ZUMZ cut its outlook after weakness in Europe led to a sales shortfall.
Zumiez tumbled 14%. Buckle Inc. US:BKE , on the other hand, jumped 4.9% after it posted an unexpected sales increase. In a sign that no news is good news, Aeropostale Inc. US:ARO and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. US:ANF jumped 7.6% and 6.5% each after investors took their lack of any third-quarter updated guidance as assurance that results may not be as bad as feared, analysts said.
“No pre-announcement from (Abercrombie and Aeropostale) may mean more limited downside risk, and could provide relief to stocks,” said UBS analyst Roxanne Meyer, adding despite some sales miss, Limited and other apparel chains have helped their profit margins with better control of promotions and inventory and sourcing costs tailwinds.
Making up Sandy sales
While retailers were forced to shut stores due to Sandy, most have reopened their locations. See related story on Sandy’s retail winners and losers.
“We are feeling confident about our prospects for the upcoming holiday season and have increased our sales guidance for the fall season, despite the interruption caused by Hurricane Sandy,” which led to the closings of more than 200 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s ranging from a few hours to multiple days, said Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren.
Costco, which said it shut 12 warehouse clubs because of Sandy, also said the total negative impact will be small.
“As we enter the fourth quarter we feel very good about our holiday season merchandising and marketing plans,” Target Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said, adding the company’s price-matching strategy and 5% discounts it gives on Target card purchases would help lift demand.
Among some highlights in detail, Gap sales rose 4%, missing estimates of a 5% increase. Gap forecast third-quarter profit of 61 cents to 63 cents, including a 2-cent tax credit benefit. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimated Gap would earn 54 cents a share. Old Navy sales rose 5%, missing view of an 8.7% increase.. Sales were up 6% at Gap North America. Demand rose 5% at Banana Republic and was down 2% overseas.
Macy’s sales rose 4.1%, beating the 2.9% consensus estimate in a Thomson Reuters survey.
Target’s sales rose 2.4%, missing estimates of a 3.2% increase. The discounter said its third-quarter profit will factor in a 4-cent tax benefit and a 15-cent gain from the sale of its credit card receivables to TD Bank. The company maintained its adjusted forecast and projected November sales to rise in the low single digit.
“Target is clearly maintaining a cautious stance heading into the holidays despite multiple initiatives,” said Janney Capital’s David Strasser. “We remain optimistic about December.”
He said the company should gain market share with its partnership with Neiman Marcus to sell limited pieces created by designers. See Target matching online pricing.
Costco sales rose 7%, beating estimates, but excluding the impact of gasoline and currency translations, sales rose 5%, missing estimates.
Limited sales rose 3%, missing estimates of a 5% gain. The company raised its third-quarter outlook to as much as 25 cents a share from a prior guidance of as much as 20 cents a share. It forecast November sales to be up in the low single digits and said while sales at the start of November has been hurt by Sandy, it’s “premature” to estimate the impact on the total month.
“We’d rather see lower (positive comparable sales) and less promotional activity than a very strong comp driven by promotions,” said analyst Jennifer Davis at Lazard Capital Markets.
Nordstrom’s same-store sales rose 9.8%, beating estimates of a 6% increase. Kohl’s sales rose 3.3%, beating estimates of a 3.3% increase.
TJX sales rose 7%, topping the 5% average estimate. The retailer raised its third-quarter outlook to 61 cents a share and full-year guidance to $2.44 to $2.47 a share. It had guided profit of as much as 59 cents in the third quarter and up to $2.45 for the year.
Zumiez sales rose 0.6%, missing estimates of a 4.5% increase. The company cut its third-quarter outlook to a profit of as much as 39 cents a share from a prior guidance of as much as 45 cents a share.


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Fiber-optic-based video services offered by telecoms show stronger levels of customer satisfaction than their cable and satellite-based rivals, according to a survey of 2,922 consumers in the U.S. and Canada performed by ChangeWave, a research and advisory firm. Of the 12% of respondents that said they would likely switch providers in the next six months, half said they would base that decision mainly on price.
Cable Leads But Fiber Looks Strong
According to ChangeWave’s latest survey, Cable (65%) still owns the bulk of the TV market, even though it’s been slowly ticking downward for much of the past 2+ years. We note, however, that they have gained 2-pts since our previous survey in March.
At the same time, Satellite providers (25%; down 1-pt) have remained relatively flat, even as the core growth story over the past two years has shifted to the fiber-optic TV service providers (11%). But what does this mean at the individual provider level?
Verizon continues to have the most satisfied customers (47% Very Satisfied), followed by AT&T’s U-verse service (39%) and then DIRECTV (34%).
In conclusion, fiber-optic companies are properly positioned to be the biggest winners in terms of future market share growth.
Boomer TV Preferences and Internet Use
In an earlier survey in May of this year, Change Wave found several important changes in TV viewing and Internet use. In a survey of 1,660 members of the Baby Boom generation – business professionals between the ages of 45 and 63, completed in early May, focused on TV viewing habits vs. home Internet usage.
The results point to a powerful shift occurring among Boomers away from traditional TV towards new types of online services and entertainment. Importantly, this transformation is affecting lifelong habits.
-Boomers now spend more free time online (12.9 hrs per week on average) than they do watching traditional TV (11.8 hrs per week on average).
-By a five-to-one margin Boomers are watching less traditional television than they did a year ago. Among this group, 62% say it’s because they’re not as interested in what’s on TV these days, and another 26% say they’re spending more time surfing the web.
-Video-over-the-Internet now clearly represents a significant threat to traditional TV viewing. Better than two-thirds of Boomers (69%) say they’ve watched video content on their computer over the past 90 days. Even more ominously, 48% of respondents say they’d be willing to pay a monthly fee for a Video-over-the-Internet subscription if it provided the same programming currently available on their TV service.
-One place that Boomer professionals are spending more time online is with social networking sites – where 51% say they currently maintain one or more profiles. Nearly three-in-five (57%) of these Boomers report they use the networking site LinkedIn, while another 55% have a Facebook profile – the site normally thought to be most popular among teenagers. But Boomer interest in social networking has its limitations – 77% of users say they would not be willing to pay a subscriber fee for social networking. Of all the services, LinkedIn is the most likely to attract paid subscribers – but only 7% say they’d be willing to pay a fee if it was no longer free.


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Canada’s govt to respond to psychedelics petition; CA marijuana revenue rises; Poll: Which sports fans use cannabis the most?
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Canadian government will have to formally respond to a petition calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics after it garnered 15,000 signatures. The MP sponsoring it told Marijuana Moment he wants to legalize all drugs.
A Denver, Colorado business is being denied access to a federally funded coronavirus relief program that distributes masks and hand sanitizer simply because it sells CBD products.
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration reported that marijuana tax revenue is up in the most recent quarter. All told, the state has seen $1.45 billion in cannabis excise, cultivation and sales tax revenue since retail sales began in 2018.
A new poll found that fans of e-sports, MMA and racing are more likely to use marijuana or CBD than those who watch baseball, football or golf.
President Trump has reportedly discussed how putting marijuana on the ballot boosts Democratic turnout with at least two separate Republican strategists.
President Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani tweeted, “I finally succeeded in getting the number of words in my convention speech below the number of small time Marijuana smokers Comrade Kamala put in prison.”
The Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission sent a letter warning Living Senior, LLC to stop making claims that its CBD products can prevent or treat coronavirus.
The State Department’s 2020 Trafficking In Persons Report includes discussion of people being forced to work for illegal marijuana businesses in Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and other countries.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) tweeted, “@SpeakerPelosi’s HEROES Act mentions marijuana more times than jobs, showing that Democrats aren’t serious about providing relief to Americans. Republicans offered to extend unemployment benefits, but Pelosi refused. What’s it going to take to bring Democrats to the table?”
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), in endorsing Rep. Joe Kennedy’s (D-MA) primary challenge to Sen,. Ed Markey (D-MA) told a disappointed supporter that he doesn’t hold Markey’s “previous votes on war and marijuana legalization against him.”
Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) toured a hemp processing and manufacturing business.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) tweeted, “Any talk of legalizing recreational marijuana is a bad idea, especially in the midst of an opioid abuse and addiction crisis, worsened by COVID.”
The House resolution that cites the war on drugs as a cause of police brutality got three new cosponsors for a total of 177.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s (D) Vaping Public Health Work Group recommended requiring ingredient disclosure for cannabis vaping products, regulating CBD products and creating a state lab to conduct audit testing of marijuana products.
Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor cheered the enactment of a new marijuana decriminalization policy in another municipality.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that regulators must issue at least one medical cannabis dispensary license in every county in the state. Separately, the secretary of state formally certified a marijuana legalization measure for the ballot as Prop. 207.
Texas’s agriculture commissioner toured a hemp farm.
Some Minnesota Democrats are worried that two marijuana-focused political parties that are running candidates in some races could complicate efforts to win control of the state Senate from Republicans.
Arkansas regulators announced that the temporary suspension of medical cannabis card expiration dates instituted due to the coronavirus pandemic will end on September 30.
Maine regulators issued emergency rules on a conversation rate for wet weight to dry weight for marijuana taxation.
Colorado regulators are being pressured to loosen pesticide testing requirements for marijuana products.
Connecticut regulators accepted a recommendation to add chronic pancreatitis as a medical cannabis qualifying condition.
Alaska regulators proposed rules concerning the presence of infants at marijuana businesses.
Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,500 cannabis bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
The Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Township Council approved a marijuana decriminalization ordinance.
San Francisco, California regulators circulated a list of best safety practices for marijuana businesses.
Canada’s chief public health officer said decriminalizing drugs is an option that should be considered.
Guyana’s attorney general said decriminalizing marijuana is not a priority but will still happen.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study found that “current and former cannabis use were both associated with a reduced odds of diabetes.”
A review of studies on using psychedelics to treat psychiatric disorders found that ” therapeutic processes included insights, altered self-perception, increased connectedness, transcendental experiences, and an expanded emotional spectrum, which patients reported contributed to clinically and personally relevant responses.”
High Tide Inc. and Meta Growth Corp. announced plans to merge and create Canada’s largest marijuana dispensary network.
Vitamin Shoppe plans to add new “CBD HQ” sections to its stores.
Green Thumb Industries made a filing that will allow it to sell 10 million shares.
Magician David Blaine and podcaster Joe Rogan spoke about how certain mushrooms can alter consciousness.
An item in Friday’s Marijuana Moment about Michigan regulators suspending the license of a marijuana testing lab linked to a year-old article and should not have been included. We regret the mistake.
Make sure to subscribe to get Marijuana Moment’s daily dispatch in your inbox.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.


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The new A-series features seven new vibration test systems that have have a force range from 3kN to 65kN and have extended displacement and shock operating parameters.
IMV’s award winning ECO technology can also be incorporated across the entire A-series range making this product release one of the most important in the industry.
Andy Leadbeater: “IMV Corporation continue to lead the world in the design and manufacture of vibration test systems. The new A-series is confirmation that IMV’s commitment to research and development programs that produce world leading technology.
We understand that no other vibration test manufacturer has taken such a step with the launch of not one, but seven new shaker systems for many years, this is an exciting time for all of us who work closely with IMV.
MV’s growth in the UK and Europe over the last five years has been incredible, this is backed by a superb product range and a continued commitment to release new and exciting products that have taken into account not only the new test specifications demanded by the industries in terms of higher performance, but also that of our customers who require their future vibration test systems to be more flexible and easier to use”.
“The performance envelope of the new A-series and the continued development of the intuitive user system software interface allows IMV to strengthen its position in the market. Overall this product range release is a clear statement that IMV are leading the market in terms of their commitment to new product development.”


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Egypt’s strategic stock of rice is safe and will cover consumer needs for up to 3.3 months, the cabinet’s media center announced, adding that shipments of rice were imported as a proactive measure to enhance its strategic stock and balance prices.
The cabinet also shot down rumors shared online claiming that Egypt was suffering a shortage of rice offered on the markets.
The cabinet media center contacted officials of the supply and agriculture ministries of who also denied the news.
Both ministries assured there are no rice shortages due to a decline in its strategic stock, and that all basic food commodities are regularly available in abundant quantities in the market across the country, the center said.
The rice harvest season, which is soon in Egypt, will also contribute to securing the strategic stockpile of rice, the center said.
It urged citizens to only draw their information from official sources.


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Tuesday, 10 January 2017 Apple's iPhone 7 was just released, but iPhone 7S and even iPhone 8 rumors are already heating up the internet. Here's everything you need to know about the iPhone 7S, as well as what we have heard so far about the iPhone 8.
A new report coming from German website Giga Apple suggests Apple is working on manufacturing iPhone 7s and 7s Plus models that have a slightly thicker design... Softpedia - TechnologyAlso reported by •BGR India
Apple's next device might be called the iPhone 8, the iPhone X, the iPhone Edition, the iPhone Pro, or just the iPhone. Here's what else we think we know. PCMag.com - Computer IndustryAlso reported by •BGR India


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IBM launches a new global development hub on Thursday at Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru. It is one among centres of the network in Cupertino, Atlanta, Toronto and Chicago. The hub mainly aims to help the clients in India complete digital mobility process much sooner on Apple’s iOS platform. IBM is also planning to launch satellite centres in many other countries including China, Romania and Brazil.
Working with the present design locations in Cupertino, Atlanta, Toronto and Chicago, this new hub will perform duty as a global development hub for iOS. Earlier in 2014, IBM has collaborated with Apple bringing IBM’s big data and analytics to Apple devices, and to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of made for business apps. IBM announced a new offering for the clients who are looking to invest in digital transformation projects which include more than three iOS apps over a multi-year period.
“With each IBM MobileFirst for iOS client’s success, we see the conversation shifting from wanting a single app to cultivating a broader business transformation led by mobile,” said Mahmoud Naghshineh, General Manager, Apple partnership, IBM. “We already have started in China. For sure, we want to be close to our clients in Latin America. In Europe, we already have many clients and want to build garage capability there. You definitely want to see us covering the world map,” he added.
Till now, IBM developed more than 100 apps across 15 industries and processed nearly 2000 client engagements. The hub will expand the development, design and delivery skills improved from IBM’s partnership.


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On the first of every month, Google announces updated numbers of the different Android versions and how they are distributed across the platform. With the start of August, we’re seeing a huge jump in Ice Cream Sandwich with a boost from 10.9% in June, up to 15.9% in August. While that still pales in comparison to Gingerbread, which accounts for 60.6% of all Android devices, any bump in the right direction is a good sign. Jelly Bean makes its first appearance on the map with 0.8%, a small yet predictable number given the total number of devices its running on.
So what’s the total breakdown?
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: 0.8 percent
- Android 4.0.3 to 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich: 15.9 percent
- Android 3.1 to 3.2 Honeycomb: 2.3 percent
- Android 2.3 to 2.3.7 Gingerbread: 60.6 percent
- Android 2.2 Froyo: 15.5 percent
- Android 2.1 Eclair: 4.2 percent
- Android 1.6 Donut: 0.5 percent
- Android 1.5 Cupcake: 0.2 percent


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Small business owners, managers invited to industry workshop in Port Arthur
Published 9:00 am Monday, November 27, 2023
Lamar State College Port Arthur’s Small Business Development Center is set to host a workshop designed to empower local entrepreneurs and small business owners in their journey towards collaborating with large industries.
“Is Your Business Ready to do Business with Industry” will be held Tuesday (Nov. 28).
This event is presented by Motiva and FREE for attendees.
Space is limited, and refreshments will be served, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Ruby Fuller Exhibit Hall at LSCPA.
Register at: https://bit.ly/pasbdc-nov-28-2023
In an effort to bridge the gap between small businesses and larger industries, the Lamar State College Port Arthur SBDC is organizing a panel discussion workshop that promises to equip participants with the knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the complexities of engaging with large-scale enterprises.
Key Workshop Topics Include understanding the procurement process, building strategic relationships and meeting industry standards.
Workshop panelists include Brandon Phoenix, advisor, TMAC Southeast; Chad Caruso, PAMC supply chain site lead at Motiva Port Arthur Manufacturing Complex; and Josh Baker, regional operations manager/employee owner at SpawGlass.
“As advocates for local businesses, we recognize the immense potential small enterprises hold,” said Dana Espinal, Director of the SBDC at Lamar State College Port Arthur. “This panel discussion workshop is designed to empower them with the tools and knowledge needed to not only survive but thrive when venturing into collaborations with larger industries.”
The LSCPA SBDC coverage area includes Port Arthur, Groves, Nederland, Port Neches, Bridge City, Orange and Vidor municipalities. All southeast Texas area small businesses are welcome to attend.
“Small business support is key to a thriving economy and Motiva is pleased to partner with the SBDC at Lamar State College Port Arthur,” said Claire Jackson, Social Responsibility & Community Affairs Manager at Motiva. “Workshops through this year have provided learning opportunities for small businesses owners and managers, at no cost, to help them grow and develop professionally.”


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So many stories drew the attention of Southeast Asia Real Time readers in 2013. Here are some of the most-read stories. Read More »
Jan 1, 2014
MANILA — Dodoy Salas has been scavenging since he was 10 years old.
Now 17, the Manila teen roots through rubbish piled at one of Manila’s huge landfills called Smokey Mountain. A slum is here that is home to Dodoy and 1,800 others like him that eke out a living by recycling cans and bottles or turning wood into charcoal.
Dodoy once found a gold pendant that he sold for $17.
Smokey Mountain is also the subject of an unusual tour – 90 minutes of visiting junk shops, meeting people like Dodoy and imagining what it would be like to use a plastic bottle with a bit of bleach as a substitute for a light bulb or to live with up to a dozen relatives in a small shack. Read More »
An opinion war over whether Dan Brown was fair in depicting Manila as “the gates of hell” is boosting sales of his latest novel, according to the purchasing director of the largest bookstore chain in the Philippines.
Xandra Ramos-Padilla, purchasing director for books and the National Book Store, said sales of “Inferno” were brisk beginning with the novel’s first day out, May 14. But sales jumped after Francis Tolentino, a member of President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet, wrote Brown a letter saying Manila is actually “an entry to heaven,” she said.
“Sales increased by 50% after the letter,” she said. Read More »
By Cris Larano
“It’s more fun in the Philippines,” the Southeast Asian nation’s tourism mantra proclaims.
For Dr. Sienna Brooks, the heroine in bestselling-author Dan Brown’s “Inferno,” the latest book on the adventures of art historian and Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon, the country certainly offered more — but it wasn’t fun.
The 32-year-old, blond-haired English doctor goes to the Philippines to provide humanitarian care to people in the countryside. But her group instead “settled in among the throngs in the city of Manila–the most densely populated city on earth,” where Dr. Brooks could only “gape in horror” as she “has never seen poverty on this scale.” Read More »
Content engaging our readers now, with additional prominence accorded if the story is rapidly gaining attention. Our WSJ algorithm comprises 30% page views, 20% Facebook, 20% Twitter, 20% email shares and 10% comments.
Indonesia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.
Boat people have been arriving on Indonesia’s shores for decades. But, like many countries in the region, Indonesia has grown increasingly reluctant to welcome them in.
It was a bad week for desperate migrants seeking shelter and assistance. Indonesia and Malaysia finally agreed to lend a hand, but Myanmar remains the source of the problem.
Standard & Poor’s has raised the possibility of upgrading Indonesia's credit worthiness to investment grade within a year.
When a group of fishermen discovered hundreds of migrants floating adrift aboard an exhausted fishing trawler off the coast of North Sumatra, many were in tears and “begging for food,” said one witness.
Mobile phone maker Alcatel OneTouch has launched its flashiest phone yet in Indonesia in a bid to outdo the competition in one of Asia’s biggest and most tech-crazed economies.


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GlowRider™ Electro-Luminescent Motorcycle Jacket Awarded "Nifty 50" by PowerSports Business Magazineon Feb 10, 2012
Santa Monica, CA - February 10, 2012
The GlowRider™ Electro-Luminescent Motorcycle Jacket was awarded "Nifty 50" by PowerSports Business Magazine earlier this week.
PowerSports Business Magazine's "Nifty 50" highlights the latest products and services available to powersports dealers to help boost their profits. The winners are chosen by a panel of editors from PowerSports Business and its sister publications in the powersports industry.
Adaptiv Technologies™ will receive the award at the 2012 Dealernews International Powersports Expo at the Indianapolis Convention Center from February 16-18, 2012. The GlowRider™ Jacket will be on display at booth number 5936.
Adaptiv Technologies is the designer and manufacturer of aftermarket motorcycle products. For more information, go to www.AdaptivTech.com or call 866-232-7848.


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SEC Chairman calls for better protection for cryptocurrency investors
The recently-appointed SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, considered the cryptocurrency industry and the people involved around it needs more advanced protection. Gensler also referred to bitcoin as a speculative store of value and called for an update of the existing regulations in the US.
The crypto boom that started in late 2020 has caught the attention of watchdogs. Regulators are dabbling with if, how, and what kind of rules they need to implement to enhance the security.
The new Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) commented on the crypto topic during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box. The Chair noted the need of providing more protection to cryptocurrency investors due to the market’s volatility and being this popular in less period of time.
“And there are investors that want to trade that, and trade that for its volatility, in some cases just because it is lower correlation with other markets. I think that we need greater investor protection there,” he stated. Gensler also spoke on the primary cryptocurrency and called bitcoin a “speculative, digital, scare store of value.”
Before being named the new SEC Chair, Gensler taught students at the MIT Sloan School of Management about blockchain technology, digital currencies, and public policy, and apparently that makes his views notable.
He suggested the Commission to stay “technology-neutral” towards innovations and new implementations in markets. As far as coins that could be counted as securities, Gensler said:
“To the extent that something is a security, the SEC has a lot of authority. And a lot of crypto tokens – I won’t call them cryptocurrencies for this moment – are indeed securities.”


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I'm typing this article on a four-year-old 13-inch MacBook Pro, which has served me well the past few years but, to put it charitably, is starting to show its age.
The Core i5 processor powering this relic is struggling to keep up with more modern software, as you might expect from a CPU that's several generations behind Intel's latest chips. The "A" key actually broke some time ago — I make do with an external keyboard at my desk and the on-screen keyboard when I'm on the go — and the cost of fixing it proved so prohibitive, that I decided to wait until Apple came out with a new laptop to mull possible replacements.
Is the MacBook Air that Apple announced today (Oct. 30) worth that wait?
That's the question a lot of Mac users are likely asking themselves right now, even if their hardware situation isn't quite as dire as mine. Apple's lower-cost laptops hadn't seen an update in some time: outside of the occasional processor bump, the MacBook Air is nearly as old as this bucket of bolts I'm typing on. Apple's kept its MacBook Pro lineup reasonably up to date, but if you want a notebook with the latest generation of Intel processors, you're looking at spending at least $1,799 — and that's for a machine that's noticeably bulkier than Apple's lower-cost options.
Here's a closer look at just what's changed with the MacBook Air and whether Apple did enough to get would-be upgraders like me off the fence.
The Specs: More bang for your buck
The bright side to dragging your heels on rolling out an updated laptop: When you finally do get around to unveiling your new product, the specs can't help but be an improvement.
That's certainly the case here, where Apple has upgraded to an 8th-gen Intel Core i5 processor. The dual-core CPU runs at 1.6GHz, with Turbo Boost upping the speed to 3.6GHz. That's sure to be an improvement over the 5th-Gen Core i5 in Apple's previous MacBook Air.
The base model MacBook Air ships with the same 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD as before, but now you can boost memory up to 16GB and opt for 256GB, 512GB or 1.5TB of storage. Be prepared to pay up for those boosted specs, though. Doubling memory adds another $200 to the MacBook Air's price tag, as does increasing the storage to 256GB.
While you'd expect better internals in the first new MacBook Air in a good long while, Apple also updated the laptop's screen with a new 13.3-inch Retina Display. The screen goes closer to the edge on this new notebook, Apple says, with the borders 50 percent narrower than before.
"This is a big upgrade for the MacBook Air," said Tom Mainelli, the program vice president of devices and AR/VR at market research firm IDC, after going hands on with the new laptop at Apple's Oct. 30 product event. "Much better screen, smaller bezels, faster performance and Type C ports. It looks and feels a lot like the MacBook Pro, which will make a lot of people very happy."
The Design: Less machine to love
Apple made these changes while also shrinking down the size of the MacBook Air. The new machine is 15.6mm thin, down from 17.3mm on the model it replaces. It weighs less, too — at 2.75 pounds, it's a quarter-pound lighter than before, or roughly the weight of one of McDonald's fancier cheeseburgers.
Add all these changes together, and you've got a MacBook Air with 17 percent less volume than its predecessor. That's a change that's likely to be noticed even if you've been carrying around one of Apple's lighter notebooks recently, let alone if you lug around a four-year-old laptop like me.
One of the best design choices for the new MacBook Air may be something that Apple didn't include. There's no Touch Bar here like there is on some MacBook Pro models, and I can't pretend to be too broken up about that decision. The few times I've played around with that feature on a MacBook Pro, it struck me as a superfluous addition at best and, at worst, a distraction that would require me to adopt a new way of working with my laptop. No Touch Bar is a trade-off I'm happy to make, especially if means a sleeker notebook that still offers Touch ID.
The Price: More bucks for the bang
One change that Apple made that's less likely to be well-received by would-be upgraders is to the MacBook Air's price tag. The new machine starts at $1,199, or $200 more than what Apple used to charge for its entry-level laptop.
That price "is likely to disappoint many buyers who were hoping for a new $999 laptop from Apple," Mainelli said. It puts the machine on the wrong side of that psychologically significant $1,000 threshold that determines how quickly shoppers reach for their wallet. (Not coincidentally, the older MacBook Air with its 5th-gen Intel processor and less pixel-dense display remains available at Apple's online store for its old $999 asking price — almost as if Apple realized it was important to offer something, anything to people who balk at paying more than $1,000 for a laptop.)
"Apple is making it clear that even its entry-level Mac notebook isn’t going to compete on price," Mainelli said. "Conversely, some buyers considering a MacBook Pro may decided this is a better computer for them, at a slightly lower starting price."
Upgrade or no?
If you've been holding off on a laptop purchase, waiting to see just what Apple had planned, the company's given you plenty to think about with this MacBook Air update. The improved processor, streamlined design and better screen would be tempting enough, and that's before we even consider other bonuses like the improved audio and larger trackpad that Apple added to this model.
That's a lot of improvements, but is it $200 worth of improvements? That's the question a lot of people will be asking, especially with that $999 MacBook Air still available if a low price remains your primary concern.
For my particular situation, the MacBook Air seems like a worthwhile replacement for this MacBook Pro I've carried around the last four years — you had me at "functioning keyboard" — though I wish Apple would have offered more than 128GB of storage on its base configuration. I'm holding off a final decision until my Laptop Mag colleagues have a chance to test and review this new Apple laptop, but at first glance, the improvements to the MacBook Air seem to outweigh the higher starting price.
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Nissan GT-R LM NISMO Revealed During Super Bowl XLIX
During the Nissan #withdad Super Bowl commercial, the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO was revealed. This race car is different from the others in the LM P1 class in many ways.
Perhaps the most noticeable feature is that long nose, which houses a front-mid-mounted twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine. In fact, it’s the first front-mid-mounted engined LM P1 car to race at Le Mans in a very long time.
Another distinguishing feature is the fact that this race car is front-wheel drive.
The car will make its first appearance in an FIA World Endurance Championship race on April 12 at Silverstone, UK. It will then race at Spa in Belgium, then to the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. After racing at the Nürburgring in Germany, it will race at tracks around the world.
“Our LM P1 program makes the connection between NISMO on the road and NISMO on the track, showcasing our brand DNA to a global audience,” said global head of brand, marketing & sales for NISMO, Darren Cox.
The new race car has picked up some new sponsors as well. Michelin will supply the tires that have been developed specifically for this car. The Swiss watch company TAG Heuer is also one of the new sponsors.
How do you think this bold new race car will perform in the championship? Let us know in the comments!
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.


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TeaTV is a popular app that enables users to stream TV shows and films without paying. Like any platform that enables viewers to access paid-for content for free – either by downloading or streaming – it’s highly illegal.
Pirating not only means those behind your favourite shows and blockbusters aren’t getting remunerated for their work – potentially leading to sequels being canned by the studio, but these platforms can also be a hotbed for malware and credit card scams.
Unsurprisingly, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA) has TeaTV in its sights. Available to download on Android, macOS and Windows 10 only for the time being – MPA is now targeting the underlying code that powers the application. Hosted on code repository GitHub, there are three different versions of the Netflix-style streaming app.
Free streaming of popular Hollywood hits is a pretty crowded marketplace – even torrent repository Pirate Bay has tried to enter the space, but TeaTV gained some traction towards the end of the year.
In the description of the Mac version of the TeaTV app, the creators of the software state: “Tea TV for Mac is the most favourite application in the market. The app is easy to use, with simple and elegant interface. You can search your favourite shows and movies from top right of the app.
“Even when you cannot clearly remember the shows/movies, the suggestion system immediately works to give you the most suitable choices. You only have to click onto the shows/ movies you love, choose one link between our 100+ links and enjoy the shows/movies.”
In its appeal to GitHub, which was bought by Microsoft back in 2018 for an eye-watering $7.5 billion, the MPA brands TeaTV as “an app notoriously devoted to copyright infringement.” According to records published by the trade association, which represents the five biggest movie studios in the United States as well as the video streaming service Netflix, it contacted GitHub about the TeaTV code in October and November 2019, as well as earlier this year, in January 2020.
“We previously provided you links to the Github repositories that TeaTV is using and are now providing you with the attached file titled ‘GitHub-Code’ which shows code hosted on Github that provides links to pirate sites with infringing copies of motion pictures and television shows that are scraped by the TeaTV app to provide access to the infringing content users are looking for,” the complaint, spotted by the team at piracy-centric blog TorrentFreak, reads.
Although four repositories previously highlighted in complaints by the MPA have now been taken down, the US organisation has now taken further action by demanding the deletion of repositories that carry executable files for the Android, Windows, and macOS app variants of TeaTV.
Published at Sun, 01 Mar 2020 06:01:00 +0000


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The Friday budget doesn’t have anything revolutionary for telecommunication industry apart from the impact of uniform General Sales Tax (GST).
Due to uniform GST the earlier GST of 19.5% on cellular services/ mobile phone calls has been reduced to 16%.
An official of the cellular company has termed it a sigh of relief for the telecom industry.
Cellular industry has long been asking for the reduction of GST and removal of activation charges on mobile phone SIMs. Budget 2012-13 has finally taken care of GST but SIM activation charges are still there which are born by cellular operator.
Government is expecting that by reducing GST on telecom services, revenue will increase in the FY 2012-13. Federal Government will distribute Rs. 44.596 billion as GST on telecom services among the provinces.
Government has also set non-tax revenue targets of Rs. 730.331 billion during FY 2012-13. Out this figure, Rs. 79 billion is expected to be received from the profits of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Cellular industry still demands the removal of SIM activation tax.


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Instagram may have a section to highlight popular pics, but that’s not doing enough to help the best content on the mobile photo sharing service rise to the top, according to the founders of Instafocus, a new venture from Solaria Foto in Victoria, BC and Santa Barbara-based mobile development firm pixl3. But it’s not that founding team Jeremy Anticouni (managing partner at Pixl3), Rebecca Foote and Brandon Shelley (co-founders of Solaria Foto) think that Instagram is broken; it suits its purpose of creating a social network around photos very well. There is, however, much more value to be derived from Instagram and its content, in their opinion.
“As avid Instagram users ourselves, we realized that there’s a fundamental divide between the people who want to be photographers, and the people who are just there to share moments in their lives,” Shelley said in an interview. “And the photographers were just being beaten down, and there’s been a mass exodus of people for quite a while now. So we came up with this idea, and basically due to technical limitation for now, we hand-picked 350 people to be on this curated list.”
Instafocus is that curated list, providing a showcase of what the founding team has deemed are the Instagram photos with the most artistic merit. And while for now that limited pool has been hand-picked by Foote, Shelley and Anticouni, later on there will be ways for the community to influence whose photos appear in the Instafocus feed, helping to ensure that the cream of the crop rises to the top.
“It’s essentially a replacement for the popular page, so that people who are interested in photography and want to see beautiful photography all the time, they go up there and it’s the first thing they see,” Shelley said. “It’s a great opportunity as well for maybe some of the great photographers out there who aren’t necessarily known to be recognized and appreciated.”
For those amateur photographers, Instafocus is thinking this could be a way to not only gain recognition, but also possibly work and revenue down the road. Anticouni told BetaKit that one possibility the company is looking towards in terms of revenue generation later on is providing a way for Instagram printing services (including companies like CanvasPop and the just-launched Static Pixels) to sell to users looking to buy physical versions of shots from photographers they admire and appreciate.
For mobile photographers, selling photos is getting into relatively untested waters. Services like Foap allow people to turn their smartphone snapshots into cash in a stock photo-type scenario, but selling Instagram prints as works of art is a relatively unexplored market. And it’s still a ways off for Instafocus, which for now is still limited to providing what amounts to a showcase gallery of Instagram’s best and brightest, albeit with an interface that may outdo Instagram’s own in terms of aesthetics and usability.
Instafocus also has other ideas around revenue opportunities, including a plan to allow users to have their own work featured in a special section for support via a “Pay what you like” in-app purchase mechanism. It’s an interesting approach, but one that doesn’t seem quite that out there in the wake of multi-million dollar Kickstarter campaigns and other crowdfunding success stories. And there’s already a proven appetite for high-quality digital photography; 500px has shown this with its popularity. But while 500px focuses on mostly traditional photography, Anticouni says that the vast majority of Instafocus’ pictures come from users taking photos with mobile devices, so it’ll be interesting to see if that’s something users and photography fans appreciate.
Another challenge for Instafocus is being built on top of another company’s product. That’s something that’s often cited as being a feature, rather than a product in your own right. But really, Instagram is just a way to build a pool to launch with; there’s nothing ultimately stopping Instafocus from developing its own tools, or partnering with other photography apps like Hipstamatic should Facebook/Instagram decide to cut off access. But since Instafocus should really feed the appetite to use Instagram if it accomplishes what it’s trying to do, there’s also little reason to expect that to happen.


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The trucking regulation list is everchanging and may be tossed up even more soon. Here are the proposed trucking regulations that could be on the horizon for truckers and trucking companies.
Trucking Regulation #1: Electronic Identifiers
On September 23, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) floated the idea of unique electronic identifiers on large trucks as a part of an advanced notice of the rule-making.
FMCSA said the identifiers would be able to communicate with federal or state motor carrier safety personnel so law enforcement could focus their efforts on high-risk carriers and drivers. A few organizations supported the idea’s potential, including the American Trucking Association, the Truckload Carriers Association, and the National Association of Chemical Distributors.
This support is met with strong opposition from smaller carriers. Concerns raised about this particular trucking regulation involve:
- Cost to carriers and law enforcement may outweigh the benefits and efficiencies
- Cybersecurity and safety concerns
- Privacy concerns
- Lack of data to support that this would be a helpful measure
Trucking Regulation #2: Help for the Switch to EVs
While there may be new federal regulations that truckers are fighting against, there is some good news for trucking companies in California.
Recent proposals for a switch to energy-efficient vehicles in California raised concerns about the cost of a program like this to carriers. Several funding programs have been created to ease this transition, like the state’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project. Federally, the Inflation Reduction Act is expected to increase funding for the switch to EVs in California. There are also several community and county efforts to improve electrification financing. If this carries through, smaller trucking companies could afford the switch, making the regulation better for the environment at little or no, direct cost to the trucking company owners.
To stay up to date on California trucking regulations, join our newsletter at www.GoDrivers360.com/newsletter/


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Courtesy of JB.
Sending chills down my spine.
Be afraid. Very afraid!
“If DB goes under with its massive book of derivatives, other banks would be in the same trouble as DB. Nenner says
This is not a hyped prediction considering the IMF called DB the “most systemically dangerous bank” in the world in 2016. If DB does break $6.40, do we get a daisy chain of default around the world? Nenner says”
When fear grips the market, it will game over.
A new epoch of reality will take hold. It will be called the “Golden Times”.
CIGA Wolfgang Rech
Nenner: If Deutsche Breaks $6.40 “The World Is In Trouble”
May 22, 2019
Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,
Renowned geopolitical and financial cycle expert Charles Nenner says if there was ever a global canary in the coal mine warning for the financial system, it is Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DB). Late last year, Nenner predicted if DB stock went below $8 a share, “You should be worried.” Recently, DB stock hit all-time lows and now sits around the $7.40 per share level.
Nenner warns, “I see it can hold up to late July, and then it can go to $6.50 (per share)…”
“If it breaks below $6.40, it can go out of business. So, it’s a very serious situation… I think all the markets can have a bounce in a couple of days to the end of July. That’s why DB might hold up, but if it gets below $6.40, the world is in trouble.”
This is not a hyped prediction considering the IMF called DB the “most systemically dangerous bank” in the world in 2016. If DB does break $6.40, do we get a daisy chain of default around the world? Nenner says:
“It is a very dangerous situation. I don’t think DB is the only one. They just got caught. I think if you look at the balance sheets very closely of other banks, especially Europe and Italian banks, you will see a lot of troubling signs also. I don’t think it’s only Deutsche Bank. It’s much more…
This is quite an eye opening article.
This is getting very, very dicey! This is no longer about government vs government, but a nationalistic trend taking everyone down with it.
A full blown consumer war getting underway.
And furthermore, it appears that despite all the “good” reports of our economic activity, coming out from government sources, may just be hogwash.
…and will likely lead to a global trade recession or even a depression, which as we showed last week…
…may have already started.
CIGA Wolfgang Rech
The Boycott Begins: Chinese Company Orders Employees To “Stop Using American Products, Eating At KFC”
May 22, 2019
In a harbinger of what’s to come as the US-China trade war gets worse by the day, a Chinese company has told all of its employees to boycott American products and halt international travels to the U.S., reported The Epoch Times.
Jinggang Motor Vehicle Inspection Station notified all employees last Thursday, May 16 that the use of iPhones, driving in American automobiles, eating at American fast food restaurants, using American household products, and even traveling to the U.S. was forbidden by a new company policy; any employee who violated the new rules would be fired. Here are some excerpts from the notice:
“Employees are prohibited from purchasing or using iPhones; instead, they are recommended to use Chinese domestic brands of cell phones, such as Huawei.
“Employees are not allowed to purchase vehicles made by China-U.S. joint venture automakers. They are recommended to purchase 100 percent Chinese-made vehicles.
“Employees are forbidden to eat at McDonald’s or Kentucky Fried Chicken. They are not allowed to purchase P&G [Proctor and Gamble, a U.S. maker of household products], Amway [U.S. maker of health and beauty products], or any other American brands. Employees must not go to the United States as a tourist.”
The company’s memo was emailed to employees several days after state-run newspaper Global Times published an editorial piece that called on the Chinese public to “fight a people’s war” against the U.S.
People won’t realize they missed the boat for all the gold in China.
Why China Is the World’s Largest Gold Consumer
May 19, 2019
Gold has long enjoyed deep cultural significance in China, which holds the title for being both the world’s largest gold consumer and its largest producer. Demand for the yellow metal in China looks like it will continue to rise, driven by a combination of increasing levels of wealth, global economic uncertainty and changing central bank policy.
We typically see four key drivers for gold demand in any market: jewelry purchases, industrial use, central bank purchases and retail investment. China’s market is no exception.
Jewelry Sales: Gold plays a strong role in traditional celebrations in China, and is typically gifted at weddings and births, while ornamental gold sales also spike around the Lunar New Year and during Golden Week in October. At a time when gold jewelry sales are static or falling in many markets, they rose by 3 percent in China in 2018 to reach a three-year high of 23.7 million ounces accounting for 30 percent of the world’s total, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). The rising wealth of China’s growing middle class is expected to continue to support this trend going forward.
The headline here says it all. The underlying question here is the compelling one…If everything in global currencies is as good as we are told, “Why are the Swiss ready to step in?” This is like someone saying “I’m innocent” but saying, “You need to talk to my criminal defense lawyer.” If you are innocent, Why are you represented by a criminal defense lawyer. Are people really this stupid? I guess so.
SNB Is Prepared to Intervene in Currency Markets, Official Says
May 20, 2019
Go inside the global economy with Stephanie Flanders in her new podcast, Stephanomics. Subscribe via Pocket Cast or iTunes.
The Swiss National Bank stands ready to intervene in currency markets if necessary, according to one of its policy makers.
“We’ve always said that we have this approach that we have on the one hand negative interest rates still in place, but we’ve always said that whenever we feel it’s necessary we would be intervening, and that still counts,” Thomas Moser said while attending a conference in Copenhagen on Monday. “So if we feel that there is a need for more interventions we will certainly do it.”
For the past four years, the SNB used a deposit rate of minus 0.75% plus a pledge to use interventions to keep the haven franc in check.


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A report from 9to5Mac reveals that Apple muught be working on a built-in application called “Healthbook” for iOS 8. According to 9to5Mac’s sources, Healthbook will take visual cues from the existing Passbook application, and it will be capable of monitoring and tracking “blood pressure, hydration levels, heart rate, and … glucose levels” among other things.
It is said that the application will be able to track weight loss and remind users when they need to take their prescriptions. The “iWatch” would supposedly contain the various sensors needed to collect and track much of this information, suggesting that Apple’s purported smartwatch would communicate with iPhones via Bluetooth or another wireless technology much as current smartwatches tether to existing iOS and Android devices. Assuming Apple sticks to its normal release schedule, iOS 8 should be available in late summer or early fall.
If the reports turn out to be true, the iWatch could be a strong competitor to dedicated fitness gadgets like Fitbit’s Flex, Jawbone Up, and the Nike’s Fuelband, which feature more limited fitness tracking and phone synchronization capabilities. Apple already has some experience with sensors and tracking—the most recent iPhones and iPads all include Apple’s M7, a dedicated low-power chip that can collect data from the devices’ various sensors without waking up the main SoC.
In a smaller, power-constrained device like a wristband or watch, the ability to collect and send this data without using the main processor will be very important, especially if the iWatch is also a general-purpose smartwatch like the Pebble Steel and not just a dedicated fitness gadget.


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According to Reuters, Bangladesh is on the cusp of reversing nearly all of the safety measures put into place after the Rana Plaza disaster, a move that would threaten the well being of millions of garment workers.
“The safety of workers making clothing for global brands like Adidas and H&M could be at risk if Bangladesh’s Supreme Court moves on Sunday to shut down a factory inspection mechanism” established by the 200 labels and unions that joined together to form the Bangladesh Accord after the Rana Plaza collapse.
Apparently, last year, a factory owner was “prevented from working with Accord brands” after being “accused of false test results,” so he started a petition to get rid of the gatekeeping group. The Supreme Court sided with the factory owner and subsequently ordered the Accord to “shut down” and hand over monitoring duties to the government.
The Accord has since appealed that decision, and now it’s again up to the supreme court – which already ruled the wrong way, once – to make the final decision.
As the story noted, the “government has shown ‘a shocking level of unreadiness’ to take over from the Bangladesh Accord” and exactly zero of the 745 factories “under the government’s RCC inspectors… eliminated high-risk hazards — such as lockable exits that could trap workers during a fire.”
(According to one report, the Accord had “banned 114 critically unsafe factories from supplying its signatory buyers,” but “half of these facilities remain open under the government’s inspection program.”)
“At this moment, the Accord is the only organization that is meaningfully and transparently making factories safer,” a union spokeswoman said, emphasizing that a “forced early transition could jeopardize the finalization of the vital elements of remediation” required to make “some 1,700 factories safe before it is scheduled to hand over to government inspectors in 2021.”
You can read more about it at Reuters.


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Audi has added to its e-tron series of electric and hybrid concept cars with the unveiling of the A6 L e-tron concept at 2012 Beijing Motor Show
. Joining the Frankfurt
, A1, Spyder
e-tron models, the A6 L e-tron concept is the company’s first luxury-class e-tron concept vehicle. Based on the new A6 L, it is a plug-in hybrid that boasts an electric-only driving range of 80 km (49.71 miles).
While there were no totally new offerings from Aston Martin at Auto China 2012
, the British luxury automaker took the opportunity to showcase its personalization capabilities by unveiling three "Year of the Dragon" special editions. The decked-out DBS Volante, Virage Coupe and V8 Vantage S Coupe on show in Beijing are part of the company's "Dragon 88" edition which will be limited to, you guessed it, 88 customized sports cars.
China's CH Auto made a big splash at the last Auto China by displaying a Ferrari 599 copy named the Aculeus. This time the company has begun displaying some original talent and has produced a stylish electric sportscar prototype.
A new all-electric vehicle unveiled at Auto China 2012
marks the first appearance of the Denza brand at a motor show. Denza, a joint venture between Daimler and China’s BYD Auto, was officially launched in March this year and its first concept car is expected to reach production by 2013, with the first prototypes already being tested on the roads in China.
The flood of SUV concepts continues at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show - this time in the form of Peugeot’s Urban Crossover Concept. Essentially a refinement of the SXC Crossover Concept
that appeared at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show, the new concept vehicle is a compact SUV designed primarily for urban driving.
China has 125 cities with more than a million people (America has nine) and as the country has become the manufacturing powerhouse of the world, many people have created extraordinary wealth in all of these cities. Important people with new-found wealth need appropriate wheels and for a man-about-town businessman, Mercedes-Benz has crafted the Mercedes-Benz Viano Vision Diamond - a chauffeured luxury vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz has never been shy of the absurd (R-class anyone?) and the Affalterbach works – home of the AMG division – must be a regular giggle-fest. The company is quite happy to indulge the hooligan in its well-heeled clients without a hint of embarrassment. It’s not exactly thinking outside the box, more taking a box and sticking an absurdly massive engine in it. The box in question this time is the decades-old, ex-military transport Geländewagen or G-class. Delicious.
Chinese carmaker Chery has shown an interesting new concept named the Ant at the Auto China Show in Beijing today. The Ant appears aimed directly at utilizing the intelligent infrastructure proposed by General Motors China in its EN-V concept.
You could be excused for having missed the birth of a new class of automobile - the super SUV. Eterniti coined the term for its 620 hp supercar
based on the Porsche Cayenne, but in short order a number of other contenders with massive horsepower have emerged. The 600hp Lamborghini Urus
, Maserati Kubang and Bentley EXP 9 have emerged. The Bentley EXP 9 gets three-quarters of a Bugatti Veyron engine in the form of a twin-turbo 6.0 liter W12 (with 800 Nm of torque) while the Kubang is odds-on to contain a Ferrari 450 bhp V8.
When looking for a practical daily driver, Lamborghini probably isn’t the first name that springs to mind. But the company is looking to change all that with the Urus concept car it unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show. Intended to usher in a whole new product line and capitalize on the continuing popularity of SUVs, the Urus retains the aerodynamic lines for which the company is renowned while aiming to deliver the practicality of a family car


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Strip buildings close, targeted for redevelopment
Cable Center Shops, Hawaiian Marketplace and a 1960s-era Travelodge motel have closed their doors.
A cluster of buildings on the Strip that have been eyed for redevelopment are now closed.
Cable Center Shops, a low-slung retail building across from the towering Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas that offered souvenirs, beer and the like, had emptied out as of last week, with handwritten signs declaring stores had closed.
Hawaiian Marketplace, a neighboring commercial complex with a white tent covering its outdoor area, had also closed, with just a few businesses on-site still visibly open. Yellow caution tape was connected to a row of orange cones out front, and signs fastened to barricades at a side entry declared, “This Building Is Closed. No Public Access.”
As described on travel site Vegas.com, Hawaiian Marketplace spans 80,000 square feet and “brings a taste of island-style shopping to Vegas.”
“If you’re looking for somewhere to either a) grab last-minute souvenirs b) find an outfit for the club tonight c) get a foot massage, teeth whitening treatment or tattoo or d) all of the above, then this is your one-stop shop,” the website says.
New York investment firm Gindi Capital bought both properties in 2019 as part of a 9.5-acre acquisition. When it announced the $172 million purchase, Gindi said it was working with its design and development teams to “unveil plans for a new flagship retail, entertainment and dining experience.”
At the time, it also said real estate brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle would “oversee leasing at the new development.”
Efforts to speak with Gindi about the building closures were unsuccessful Tuesday. Jones Lang LaSalle declined to comment.
Meanwhile, a neighboring former Travelodge motel property that was recently purchased by Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta has also closed its doors.
Its parking lot is blocked off with chain-link fencing, and a sign in the door of the lobby declares, “We had a good run. 59+ years of service. This Travelodge is closed permanently.”
According to Clark County records, the property was built in 1963.
Fertitta acquired the site last month as part of a 6-acre acquisition for $270 million. His company did not say what it plans to do with the spread, at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, but sources previously told the Review-Journal that Fertitta is looking to build an upscale hotel.
Executives with Fertitta Entertainment did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Contact Eli Segall at email@example.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.


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MATTITUCK JOURNAL; Despite Protests, the Golden Arches Are Coming
Published: December 30, 1991
MATTITUCK, L.I., Dec. 27— There are only three towns on Long Island without a fast-food restaurant. Soon there may be only two.
Over the strenuous opposition of residents, the Town of Southold has agreed to permit a McDonald's here. But the decision continues to generate debate, and the battle may not be over.
After McDonald's announced plans last year to build a restaurant on the main road, Route 25, the Zoning Board of Appeals held three public hearings. Speaker after speaker demanded that this historic town of 19,836 people, settled in 1640, remain fast-food free -- like nearby East Hampton and Shelter Island -- and they begged the board to deny McDonald's the needed permit.
"Are we brave enough to be different and be the only town in the world without a McDonald's?" said Agnes Dickinson of Southold.
If McDonald's came to town, many said, other fast-food restaurants would follow, and in a garish twinkling the Island's long ribbon of fast food strips, now pressing eastward from neighboring Riverhead, would roll over a narrow landscape of the North Shore that still looks in places like storybook New England.
"Other corporations wait for McDonald's to open the door," said Deborah A. Sidlauskas of Mattituck.
McDonald's countered with traffic studies that show roads could carry the extra traffic and with an architectural design the company says will make its restaurant fit in.
This month, in a 3-to-2 decision that seems to have pleased nobody, the zoning board voted to allow McDonald's to build on a three-acre parcel sandwiched between an insurance office and a gas station, and near an automotive shop, a concrete contractor, a dentist's office, a small medical center, a local newspaper office, and an Italian restaurant.
But the board declined to permit a drive-through window, the source of nearly half the profits for most McDonald's. The board chairman, Gerard P. Goehringer, said the zoning code allowed drive-in restaurants, a style of food service that has nearly vanished, but said nothing about drive-throughs.
McDonald's opponents called the decision less than half a loaf and predicted the company would sue the board or build first and apply for the drive-through window later.
"They will be back in two years asking for the drive-through if they can't get it now," said Linda Fletcher of New Suffolk, the vice president of the North Fork Environmental Council. "And this company stops at nothing. They are involved in lawsuits all over the country."
Paul M. Facella, a regional vice president for McDonald's Corporation in Valley Stream, L.I., said the company had not decided how to respond to the board's decision. But he said he was disappointed by the denial of the drive-through window.
"We showed we could work with the town to take a piece of land that's an eyesore and build a building that would improve the village ambience," he said.
Mr. Facella said the Mattituck restaurant would be a New England cape set deep in the lot, with cedar siding painted driftwood gray, and a gabled roof with four dog-housedormers. The restaurant's trademark sign would be rendered in wood and kept low.
When the fast-food foes said garbage from the Mattituck McDonald's would litter their lawns and stuff the town's garbage landfill, McDonald's offered to cart the garbage out of town.
The company also estimated the restaurant would mean 75 new jobs, a $500,000 annual payroll in a hard economic time, and $9,000 in property taxes for the town.
Opponents remain unswayed. "These are low-paying jobs for a small number of people," said Ms. Fletcher. "The big money does not stay in the community. It goes back to McDonald's corporate headquarters." Others said damage to tourism would outweigh any tax money.
McDonald's has questioned whether the vocal opponents reflect the views of most town residents. But in the zoning board's offices, hundreds of letters and petitions in three thick folders suggest community opinion is running heavily against fast food.
"I feel like I'm Rambo up here taking on a whole division," said Frank Carlin of Laurel, a pro-McDonald's speaker at one of the hearings.
Mr. Carlin said he counted four pizza parlors, two ice cream shops, seven delicatessens and three 7-Elevens in the town. "So what's wrong with having one McDonald's?" he asked.
Another supporter said, "When you go to McDonald's at least you know what you are getting."
"Yeah, a heart attack," a woman in the audience replied.
Photo: Many residents in Southhold, L.I., are begging the Zoning Board of Appeals to deny a permit for a McDonald's restaurant on a lot on Route 25. (Michael Shavel for The New York Times) Map of Long Island showing locations of Southhold and Mattituck.


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The latest smartphone market share report by Gartner, a market-research firm, makes clear that apple’s iPhone business has stalled, according to the website. In the first quarter of this year, the iPhone sold about 51m units, according to Gartner, which was flat in the same period last year, while global smartphone sales grew by 9%.Wholesale iPhone 8 Case already for some big distributors.
Don’t let a person feel surprise, apple global smartphone market share slipped from 1.1% to 13.7% than the same period last year, China’s smartphone big three — huawei, Oppo and Vivo, market share has increased significantly.Wholesale phone case for iPhone 8 is the chance for business.
The Chinese market is apple’s problem
Madison said one of the main reasons apple’s handset sales have stalled is a falling sales in China. China is the world’s largest smartphone market, accounting for one-third of global handset sales. Apple’s iPhone sales in greater China fell for five consecutive quarters as local manufacturers swept the market. The second quarter of this fiscal year, apple’s greater China revenue of $10.7 billion (RMB 72.7 billion), equivalent to about 20% of total revenue, but fell 14% year-on-year, the greater China region in apple’s total revenue accounted for about 25%.
More importantly, Chinese handset makers are involved in emerging markets and developed markets such as Europe, with cheap products. Will the next iPhone help apple recover?
Apple seems to have made a smart strategy for the new iPhone
Rumors that apple will be released this year three models of the iPhone, the two models is the current generation iPhone upgrade version, called the 7 s and 7 s Plus, the third type is more impressive ten anniversary edition iPhone 8. Ubs estimates the iPhone 8 starts at $870, up from $1,070.
Separately, Steven Milunovich, an analyst at ubs, predicted that the premium models could account for up to 45 per cent of apple’s iPhone sales. In an investment report, Morgan Stanley predicted that the iPhone, which accounts for 50 per cent of sales, would be equipped with OLED screens to support Mr Milunovich’s prediction. If all the iPhone 8 is sold, apple’s revenue will grow significantly.
Given the technology that is being integrated in the rumor, it is not surprising that the high price model iPhone is popular. According to Gartner, the average selling price of smartphones is rising as customers are willing to pay more for better features.
The iPhone upgrade cycle is another catalyst that investors shouldn’t miss. Bernstein, a market-research firm, expects 203m iPhone users to upgrade their phones next year, an opportunity for 7s and 7s Plus.
Due to may cause have been used to $649 (RMB 4411) will start at existing customer dissatisfaction, priced at $1000 (RMB 6797) iPhone sales might not bring to apple’s satisfaction. Therefore, apple launched two relatively cheap models, help it with samsung Galaxy S8 competition and promote the sales, is the appropriate strategy, price higher flagship model can bring more profit.
China will block the success of the iPhone 8
Madison said apple’s existing user base and developed market would no doubt be a catalyst for a new generation of iphones, but it remains to be seen if it can make a comeback in the Chinese market. Even if apple launched a highly innovative equipment by the Chinese customers like, it also may not be able to succeed, because huawei, Oppo and Vivo is powerful smartphone manufacturers in China.
In addition, last year, there were close to 50,000 retail stores in huawei, and Oppo has 200,000 retail outlets across the country. Both companies offer incentives to retailers and distributors to boost sales.
Apple has only 40 stores in China, with some estimates that 40 per cent of smartphones in China are sold through physical stores. In addition to high prices, apple’s weakness in China’s smartphone market could hamper the next generation of iPhone sales. So even with an advanced device, apple may not be able to make much of a bargain with Chinese rivals.
Unless apple can find a way to sell more phones in the Chinese market, investors shouldn’t think the new iPhone will be a great success


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BBH wins Old El Paso's £25m global advertising business
By Anne Cassidy, campaignlive.co.uk, Thursday, 19 July 2012 11:00AM
General Mills has appointed Bartle Bogle Hegarty London to handle the estimated £25 million global ad account for its Old El Paso brand.
The agency won the business in a final shoot out against 18 Feet & Rising. The incumbent, Saatchi & Saatchi New York, and other pitching agencies Fred & Farid Paris and The Collaborators were knocked out at an earlier stage.
BBH has been briefed to produce the first global campaign for Old El Paso, which will run primarily in Europe and Australia.
Isabelle Moynier, the international marketing director at Old El Paso, said: "We are delighted to embark on this new collaboration with BBH. Old El Paso is a unique brand that brings fun and smiles to the table from Canada to Australia.
"There is still enormous untapped potential of penetration headspace and BBH will be a great partner to rally around Old El Paso all the people looking for a spark in their meals."
Ben Fennell, the chief executive of BBH, said: "If you can't have fun working on a brand like Old El Paso, then you are working in the wrong industry. It's a great brand, with great clients, and it deserves great work."
In May, the Mexican food brand launched a one-off outdoor and digital campaign, created by Work Club, to coincide with the Jubilee weekend.
UK media planning and buying for Old El Paso will continue to be handled by UM London, General Mills' media agency.
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
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- Argos releases second ad in its latest strategy
- A JWT tribute to its Oxo mum: Lynda Bellingham


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March 21, 2019 10:58:35 AM
GREENWOOD -- A South Carolina meat company is investing $2 million to open a warehouse in Mississippi's Delta region, hiring 20 people.
Blue Ridge Foods announced Tuesday that it has bought a warehouse in Greenwood to expand distribution and reach suppliers west of the Mississippi River.
Mississippi Development Authority spokeswoman Tammy Craft says the company is eligible for income, franchise, sales and property tax breaks under Mississippi's Growth and Prosperity program. It offers incentives in economically distressed areas. Craft says property tax abatements are projected to save the company $588,000 over 10 years, but can't estimate the full value of the breaks.
The city of Greenwood will pay to extend a sewer line.
Craft says workers will be paid $30,400 annually, on average.
Blue Ridge plans to begin Greenwood operations in September.
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5. Lowndes voting locations moved COLUMBUS & LOWNDES COUNTY


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Relying on Android or alternatives to NFC for successful mobile payment services in a country with one of the world’s largest iPhone market shares and high contactless card use is “unrealistic”, the group of Australian banks seeking access to the iPhone’s NFC functionality say in their latest submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)... More
Australian mobile network operator Optus has updated its range of contactless payment accessories to include a SmartCup — a coffee cup that includes the new Optus Pay PayTag in its base allowing consumers to make contactless payments up to US$100 at any payment terminal that accepts Visa PayWave... More
Consumers using Cash by Optus — the prepaid NFC SIM-based payments service launched by Australian mobile network operator Optus in November 2014 — can now make payments using a contactless wristband or a sticker attached to their mobile phone. More
Australian carrier Optus has made its NFC mobile payment service available to prepaid customers, following its launch to postpaid customers in November 2014... More
Australian mobile network Optus has shown off a prototype watch that can be used to make contactless payments as an extension of its Cash by Optus prepaid NFC payment app... More
Australian carrier Optus has teamed up with Visa and Heritage Bank to launch an NFC mobile payment service that lets customers load up to A$500 into a prepaid account and then make payments at any Visa contactless POS terminal... More
Feed for stories featuring Optus.
• Find a list of all the companies and other organisations that have been featured in NFC World in our directory.


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In what promises to be one of the most impressive innovations to come out of the Cancun climate talks, the philanthropic arm of Google launched a new technology...The Washington Post From ACM News | December 3, 2010
When Disa Powell's husband and brother were badly burned in an electrical explosion while conducting maintenance at a Wal-Mart store and the family sued, the defense...The Washington Post From ACM News | June 1, 2010
The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.
Under...The Washington Post From ACM News | February 4, 2010
America has seen its last Lost Generation.
Thanks to an invisible armada of incessantly broadcasting satellites, collectively called the Global Positioning System...The Washington Post From ACM News | November 10, 2009


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) are trading up 0.34% to $29.31 in afternoon trading Tuesday, one day ahead of the company's fiscal third quarter earnings release after the market closes Wednesday.
Cisco is expected to earn 53 cents per share on $12.06 billion for the quarter, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
The report marks long-time Cisco CEO John Chambers' last, before stepping down on July 26.
"It's a technology play that has figured out the Internet-of-Things better than any other company," Cramer added.
On Monday morning, analysts at Pacific Crest Securities upgraded Cisco to "overweight" from"sector weight" with a $36 price target.
The firm noted that Cisco's April quarter could mark "the beginning of a multi-quarter recovery."
Cisco designs, manufactures, and sells Internet protocol-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry.
The company also has a line of products for transporting data, voice, and video around the world, operating in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. It is based in San Jose, Calif.
Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:
Cisco is a core holding of Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. During the most recent weekly roundup, this is what Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager and Jack Mohr, Director of Research - Action Alerts PLUS had to say about the stock: