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FARGO - If Pat Benatar is right and love is a battlefield, then J.D. Shotwell is one of cupid’s generals.
The co-owner of Shotwell Floral & Greenhouse started strategizing for this Feb. 14 shortly after the last of last year’s Valentine’s Day bouquets flew out of his south Fargo shop.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Shotwell talked as he built bouquets of red roses, pulling imperfect petals, his pen knife whittling away thorns and unneeded leaves.
“Once I’m done with the holiday, I take my inventory and I’m mentally preparing for the next one,” Shotwell said.
Last year’s holiday was on a Thursday. This year it’s a Friday, so the demand is similar, and he avoids the flower sales bummer of a weekend V-Day.
“Everyone wants their flowers sent to work,” Shotwell said.
“I’ll go back to my notes from last time on Friday, and I’ll look that over (and compare it) to the year before … to get my best estimate for buying flowers,” vases and other supplies, he said.
- Gen Z is looking to put its stamp on the workforce
This year he’ll hire a couple more flower designers and for the big day he’ll have about 25 more people on staff for deliveries. Last year Shotwell’s did 178 deliveries on Feb. 13 and 422 deliveries for the 14th, he said.
“That’s like just getting bombarded that last day,” he said.
His business will sell 4,500 to 5,000 roses for the holiday, part of the estimated 250 million roses that will be produced for this year’s V-Day.
“As I sit right now, I have ordered 3,800 red roses,” Shotwell said.
“Order early. That is probably the biggest thing there is. … When it comes to last-minute orders, there’s times we just can’t handle it. … We just don’t have the help to get it delivered,” Shotwell said. “But, we try to make sure that the people who order early get exactly what they want.”
Record spending expected
According to a National Retail Federation survey, retailers should love this Valentine’s Day, thanks to a continued strong economy and a continued trend of consumers buying gifts, cards, candy and flowers for friends, family, co-workers and pets.
Those celebrating the holiday (about 56% of Americans), plan to spend an average of $191.31, up 21% from last year’s record $161.96. Nationwide, that means spending could hit $27.4 billion, up 32% from last year’s record of $20.7 billion. More than half of that spending will be on spouses or significant others, followed by other family members, friends, and other groups.
In fact, 27% of consumers say they will buy Valentine’s gifts for their pets. Spending on Bowser and Mr. Pickles is expected to hit $1.7 billion.
A chocolate marathon
At Fargo’s Oak Park Plaza, Carol Widman is also in the final stages of preparation for the Valentine’s rush.
Widman’s the owner of Carol Widman’s Candy Co., not far from West Acres.
Widman grew up as part of a family of chocolatiers in Grand Forks, and this is her 30th year in business.
As popular as chocolate is for Valentine’s Day—the National Confectioners Association says 87% of consumers in the U.S. plan to share a gift of chocolate or candy—Valentine’s Day is actually a little easier for her crew to handle than the Christmas and Hanukkah season.
With Christmas, “we pretty much run out of everything. We look like a business that’s gone out of business. So, the day after Christmas, we start in right away, and we make the chips and clusters and things like that,” Widman said Wednesday, Feb. 5. “We just keep on building. It takes us a good month to make everything. (In fact) we still have a few things we have to make for Valentine’s Day.”.
She has 10 to 15 chocolate dippers dipping away in her kitchen.
“Everything that we make has to be dipped by hand. Every piece of candy, including the Chippers,” the chocolate-covered potato chips that she’s made into a regional favorite.
She “doesn’t have a clue” as to how many pieces of candy are made for the holiday, “and I think it would scare me” to know, she says with a laugh.
She keeps her chocolate-making secrets close, including the number of pounds of chocolate she buys to make the magic happen.
“It’s a lot. I could buy a small SUV, but I need the chocolate instead. Actually, a medium size SUV,” Wimmer said.
The most time-consuming treat for her dippers to make are the chocolate-covered cherries, she said. It requires multiple steps to ensure that the Valentine’s Day favorites retain their moisture and flavor.
The Valentine’s Day candy-making becomes very much like the last few miles of a chocolate marathon, Wimmer said.
“We just keep going. We just keep on rolling,” she said.
Business is already stead.
“People who plan ahead are buying now. But essentially, it’s three heavy, heavy days,” Widman said of the Valentine’s Day rush.
If you want a specialty box of chocolates made up, she encourages shoppers to come in earlier than later.
The last day “it is a zoo to the door,” Wimmer said. “Several years ago, I looked around and it just hit me. Everybody in the store was a man and I think they were on the way home.”
‘It’s a two-way street’
Valentine’s Day is not a lines-out-the-door day for Royal Jewelers, Manager Todd Salmon said Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean that his store doesn’t feel some of the bottom-line love.
“It still is a big event for bridal engagement. That is what kind of drives that business,” he said.
Though the store also brings in some merchandise for the more casual gift giver, such as heart pendants and earrings.
“You know, it’s the day of love, it’s the day of romance, so what’s says something more than a piece of jewelry? A keepsake that she’ll have forever,” Salmon said. “Diamond pendants and diamond earrings and simple classic jewelry is always a great bet. Because it never goes out of style,” he said.
The downtown Fargo shop, which has been on the corner of Broadway and First Avenue North for 93 years, also is a Valentine’s favorite for Bison fans, Salmon said, thanks to a Bison football necklace the store sells.
“That’s been for us, the last five, six, seven years has been an absolute great seller because (at less than $200) it’s been a good price point,” he said. “Football isn’t just for men anymore.”
Salmon said he also sees a lot of women in his shop for the holiday.
“Maybe their husband got them something nice for the holidays, and now all of a sudden they’d like to reciprocate and it’s a good opportunity to get them a watch or something of that nature,” he said. “It isn’t just about the man getting a woman something. It’s both ways. It’s a two-way street.”
It’s getting late in the game to get something designed and custom-made, Salmon said. That takes about a week to get done.
But he promises to have a wide variety of shiny gifts to choose from.
“I think Valentine’s Day is that kind of holiday that we stop and take time to appreciate our significant other. It gives us the opportunity to give something from the heart,” Salmon said.
Back in the workroom of Shotwell Floral, J.D. thinks about the rush of orders ahead.
“It’s a crazy holiday for the industry,” Shotwell said. “It’s a pretty intense two-day holiday,” he said.
Shotwell’s wife, Elaine, works in the front part of the store, and she’ll be handling the many hundreds of sales expected, he said.
Does she get flowers for Valentine's Day?
“Sometimes, yes, sometimes no,” Shotwell said. “It depends on how long I’m going to be here. I can always send them to her at work.”


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CES, the world’s most important show for consumer tech products, concluded last week. Take a look at pictures from the event.
- 5 January, 2018 CES 2018: A Festival of Self-Driving-Car Gadgets and Pampered Drivers The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas promises to unveil a future of smarter, safer, and more efficient cars, and Consumer Reports will be there to help separate the truly feasible from...
- 8 October, 2017 The Latest: Vegas dims lights to mark week since shooting LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest on the mass shooting in Las Vegas (all times local):
- 10 January, 2018 CES 2018: Tech's biggest conference plunged into darkness after power fails Attendees of a major technology show were dealing with a basic technological failure as the power went off at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES).
- 10 November, 2017 Shuttle Collision in Las Vegas Shows Limits of Self-Driving Technology A minor fender bender in downtown Las Vegas involving a driverless shuttle and a human-driven truck shows that even when self-driving tech works as expected, accidents can still happen. A few hou...
- 18 August, 2017 ‘If gov’t isn’t doing its job, someone else should take over’ Residents of threatened town say lawmakers don't understand how important their location is to Israel's security.

domain: news


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Luxury automaker Daimler is planning to invest up to $10 billion euros ($11 billion USD) in developing electric cars. This comes a week after a group of six automakers, including Daimler announced they were planning on expanding super fast charging sites all over Europe in order to be more competitive against Tesla. The current trend shows automakers are investing heavily into electrics cars. A decade ago they were avoided since they had a very limiting operating range, high costs and were not profitable. However, recent advances in technology, pro-electric car laws and a backlash against diesel has made investing in electric cars a very reasonable move and the proper way to plan for the future. The most recent advances has allowed electric cars to extend their range by up to 50 percent which lead to a spike in investment from major players such as Volkswagen and Daimler. Daimler plans to develop ten different electric cars based on the same architecture by 2025 and for this growth they are ready to invest up to 10 billion euros. Three of the models will be Smart branded cars and will be able to increase their operating range up to 700 kilometers (434 miles). Mercedes-Benz, a subsidiary of Daimler, unveiled their all electric SUV at the Paris Motor Show in September. The mass production version of the SUV is to hit the showroom floors in 2019.
In September, news leaked said Daimler planned to roll out at least six electric car models as part of its push to compete with Tesla and Volkswagen. And Volkswagen has announced this week they are planning on dropping diesel powered vehicles in the United States amid the diesel emissions scandal, Daimler has currently no decision nor any considerations to withdraw diesel from the United States. Withdrawing diesel-powered vehicles will have no major effect on Daimler since they account for less than 1 percent of the Mercedes brand's car sales in the United States this year. Daimler is currently undergoing an internal investigation of its certification process for diesel exhaust emissions in the United States at the request of the Justice Department after US Environmental Protection Agency said it would review all light-duty diesel vehicles. Volkswagen said they will be refocusing their efforts on sport utility and electric vehicles after dropping their diesel powered vehicles.


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When it comes to blockchain technology, there are a few big names that tend to dominate the conversation. Bitcoin and Ethereum are usually at the forefront, with other platforms like Litecoin, Cardano, and EOS often taking up the rear.
However, there’s one project that’s been steadily gaining traction lately, and that’s Helium.
So, what is Helium? In short, it’s a decentralized machine network that anyone can join and earn rewards for participating in. Unlike other blockchains, Helium is designed specifically for IoT devices like sensors and gateways.
This makes it ideal for applications like tracking environmental data or monitoring city infrastructure.
The Helium network is powered by a new type of cryptocurrency called Helium Tokens (HNT). These tokens are used to reward people for sharing their resources with the network, such as their WiFi connection or processing power.
NOTE: WARNING: It is important to note that Helium does not currently use Ethereum. There are no plans to do so in the future, and any claims or statements made otherwise should be considered false or misleading. It is also important to note that Ethereum is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform and should not be confused with Helium, which is a decentralized wireless network powered by its own proprietary blockchain technology.
HNT can then be traded on exchanges or used to purchase goods and services within the Helium ecosystem.
One of the most exciting things about Helium is that it’s built on top of Ethereum. This means that all of the benefits of Ethereum’s blockchain – including its security, scalability, and developer friendly environment – are available to Helium as well.
Additionally, because Helium is an ERC-20 token, it can be stored in any Ethereum wallet and traded on any Ethereum-compatible exchange.
So far, Helium has been off to a strong start. The project has secured over $15 million in funding from prominent investors like Khosla Ventures and FirstMark Capital.
It’s also partnered with companies like Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings to help bring its technology to more devices. And with Ethereum’s backing, there’s no doubt that Helium has a bright future ahead.
9 Related Question Answers Found
There are a lot of different blockchain platforms out there, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. One of the newer platforms is Ethereum, which has been gaining a lot of attention lately due to the rise of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Helium is a startup that is looking to build a decentralized machine network using Ethereum.
Is Helium an Ethereum? This is a question that has been asked by many people in the cryptocurrency community. The short answer is no, Helium is not an Ethereum.
Ethermon is a decentralized game built on the Ethereum blockchain that allows players to catch, train, and trade digital monsters. It is one of the first games to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are stored on the Ethereum blockchain and can be traded on decentralized exchanges. The game was created by Dapper Labs, the same company behind the popular CryptoKitties game.
When it comes to digital currencies, there is no doubt that Bitcoin is the king. It has been around for longer than any other digital currency and has the largest market cap. However, there is another digital currency that is gaining a lot of attention lately, and that is Ethereum.
Azure is a cloud computing service created by Microsoft for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of Microsoft-managed data centers. It is one of the largest cloud service providers in the world, with over 90 services. Azure offers both Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
Floki is a decentralized network that enables anyone to create and run their own applications. Floki is built on top of Ethereum, making it easy to create and deploy decentralized applications. Floki is an ideal platform for developers who want to create and deploy decentralized applications.
What is eCash? eCash is a form of digital cash that can be used to make payments online. It is based on the Ethereum blockchain and uses the ERC20 token standard.
When it comes to cryptocurrency mining, the two biggest names in the game are Bitcoin and Ethereum. So, is Ethereum mined like Bitcoin? The simple answer is no.
Pied Piper is a decentralized application platform that allows for the creation and deployment of smart contracts and decentralized applications. It is built on the Ethereum blockchain and utilizes the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to execute code. Pied Piper is also a Turing-complete platform, meaning that it can run any program that can be written in a programming language.


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Farrel reports 3rd-quarter losses
ANSONIA Farrel Corp. Monday reported third-quarter losses totaling $302,000, or 6 cents per share.
Farrel Corp. is a leading designer and manufacturer of machinery used to process rubber and plastic materials.
During the same period last year, income was $1.1 million, or 20 cents per share.
For the period ended Oct. 1, the company recorded sales of $17 million, down from last years $20 million.
Rolf K. Liebergesell, Farrel chairman and chief executive officer said since 1998, the firm "has experienced a significant decline in sales due to weak market conditions.
Farrel shares closed down 16 cents Monday at $1.19. They trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange as FARL.


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Simply after the Bureau of Labor Statistics launched its Could Client Value Index (CPI) report, Brookings convened an skilled panel of economists to debate the brand new information. Wendy Edelberg (The Hamilton Venture), Jason Furman (Harvard Kennedy Faculty), Justin Wolfers (College of Michigan), and David Wessel (Hutchins Heart on Fiscal and Financial Coverage) supplied their views, summarized right here in 5 key takeaways. Take heed to the total dialogue on Twitter.
1. Inflation remains to be choosing up tempo, and it might final
“I feel the headline numbers on this report are dreadful,” stated Furman, opening the dialog with a sentiment that each one of our consultants agreed with.
Along with the headline numbers, he continued on to say that the month-to-month numbers have been additionally trigger for concern. “The media focuses on the 12-month change, there’s some good causes to take a look at that: That’s 8.6 p.c total, 6.0 for core. I have a look at the month-to-month numbers, and particularly the month-to-month core quantity was an 8 p.c annual fee if inflation went at this tempo. In order that’s really a pickup within the tempo of inflation that we’ve seen. A few of that was very particular elements, however a few of it, like shelter, is way more persistent and prone to final.”
2. The rise in companies inflation might sign a optimistic normalization of the economic system… or not.
The rising significance of companies in inflation symbolize a possible shift, in response to Edelberg. “If I have a look at the three-month inflation fee, it’s very clear that core items inflation was simply via the roof within the second half of 2021 and at starting of 2022, and it has come down since then as folks have pivoted away from shopping for items. Now, that’s excellent news as a result of it means that there is likely to be a pivot the place the economic system is normalizing just a little bit, however then in fact the dangerous information is the place we’re actually seeing inflation is within the companies sector. However the pivot itself I feel is sweet information if it means we’re beginning to normalize.”
Alternatively, Furman stated this improvement makes him much more nervous. “Final 12 months, items inflation was extremely excessive, companies inflation was surprisingly low, and the web impact was excessive inflation. So there was a narrative that was advised that because the pandemic’s behavioral impression eases, as folks shift again from items to companies, as folks return to the labor drive, as issues normalize, inflation will go away. Effectively, all of these issues are principally occurring, form of roughly in response to plan. Items inflation is falling, however now service inflation is choosing up. So the truth that we’re seeing the normalization, and core inflation, which was working at 7 p.c final 12 months and is working at six and half p.c now during the last three months, has barely modified, I feel ought to make us very nervous.”
“So the Fed has work to do, but it surely’s not fairly the disaster you’re going to see in 72-point font within the morning.”
3. Inflation isn’t nearly costs
Whereas Could’s CPI numbers are disheartening for many who had hoped inflation would proceed slowing down, Wolfers famous that there’s extra to the medium- and long-run inflation image than simply costs. “I feel there’s no getting round the truth that that is dangerous information this morning,” he stated. “The extra vital factor is definitely to step again and add just a little little bit of context … We care about what inflation goes to be going ahead, and that displays an entire pastiche of various influences.” For one, Wolfers famous greater wage stress hasn’t confirmed to be a significant factor in current inflation. “The wage numbers, which, actually we do consider because the vital medium-run driver of inflation, aren’t that threatening, however the worth numbers actually are sort of depressing. So how these two find yourself getting squared is an open query.”
Furman agreed: “If you wish to forecast inflation, you don’t simply wish to take the CPI report, and have a look at these numbers and determine the previous option to extrapolate them ahead, there’s a number of different issues and a number of different information we all know in regards to the economic system. I feel that information, taken as a totality, says the underlying inflation fee could also be round 4 p.c, somewhat than the 8 p.c headline CPI we’ve had during the last 12 months.”
Agreeing with Furman’s 4 p.c estimate of underlying inflation, Wolfer’s famous that, “I agree that that’s worrying, but it surely’s dramatically completely different than the headlines you’re going to learn tomorrow. So the Fed has work to do, but it surely’s not fairly the disaster you’re going to see in 72-point font within the morning.”
4. Fiscal and financial policymakers are doing what they’re purported to do
“One of many locations the place there’s just a little bit of fine information right here is that one sector the place financial coverage is especially efficient is within the housing sector,” stated Edelberg. “Take into consideration the channel of, you realize, you increase mortgage charges and that’s going to gradual demand for folks buying properties. As a result of that’s one of many vital locations the place we’re seeing inflationary stress, we will count on, it’s not going to occur instantaneously, however we will count on that financial coverage goes to assist carry down shelter inflation. So financial policymakers are doing what they’re purported to do.”
When it comes to fiscal coverage, there are a selection of issues the federal government has completed with some advantages, from easing provide chain constraints to releasing oil reserves, however in response to Edelberg, letting the fiscal coverage help from final 12 months abate is an important factor that fiscal policymakers can do proper now.
Furman agreed that the federal government is heading in the right direction. “An important factor the president has completed is appoint good folks to the Fed and provides them house to do their job … They’re performing very aggressively, I feel the place the place there’s room for them to enhance is that if I’m proper, that this inflation goes to persist this fashion into subsequent 12 months, they’re going to wish to hold elevating charges subsequent 12 months as effectively and they should do a greater job getting ready us.”
5. Excessive costs will harm incumbents within the fall election, even costs they will’t management
“It’s fairly apparent it’s not good for the incumbents, that’s principally my backside line,” stated Wessel.
Excessive fuel costs needs to be of explicit concern to incumbent candidates, famous Furman: “And that’s a very unlucky irony, due to all the costs on this report, the one which the president and home U.S. financial coverage have the least to do with is gasoline costs, and people are far and away probably the most salient politically.”
Wolfers added that prime meals costs are equally salient, and the significance of those items to households will yield further political and financial penalties. “The perceived inflation might be dramatically worse than the truth. That’s to not say, ‘Hey, don’t fear about it,’ it’s really a cause to fret much more as a result of that may trigger inflation expectations to rise and trigger the subsequent spherical of inflation. So we’re in a very unfortunate second, we not solely have inflation, we’ve received the incorrect sorts of inflation from some views.”
In closing, Wolfers famous that historical past tells us that whereas from 12 months to 12 months costs may outpace wages and painfully scale back buying energy, the inflation fee doesn’t decide over the medium run what actual wages can be. “So there could also be a 12 months or two of ache, however at some point, by some means, the expertise is that your wages are going to catch up,” he stated. “So the ache is actual, but it surely’s quick run.”
To listen to extra from these consultants on housing inflation, long-run inflation expectations, the potential for recession within the coming years, and extra, hearken to the total dialogue right here.
The Brookings Establishment is financed via the help of a various array of foundations, companies, governments, people, in addition to an endowment. A listing of donors will be present in our annual reviews revealed on-line right here. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions on this report are solely these of its writer(s) and are usually not influenced by any donation.


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As a young man, Antonio Fernandez fled the tiny Spanish town of Cerezales del Condado to escape that country’s civil war. He wound up in Mexico, and became the general manager of Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s largest brewery. Modelo is best known in the United States for its Corona brand, which Fernandez is credited for promoting.
In Mexico, Fernandez amassed a fortune. He died in August, leaving behind an estimated $200 million or more. Like a number of other Spanish emigrants who who got rich in Latin America, Fernandez carried out philanthropic work in their hometowns. Fernandez’s will left part of his millions to fund the restoration of Cerezales del Condado’s church and other improvements to the town.
Fernandez died childless, but had 13 siblings. Now, as the lawyers go through his will, they’re finding that he’s left something to all of his many nieces and nephews.
On this day in 888 A.D., the Vikings began a siege of Paris after the city’s ruler, Count Odo, refused the invaders’ demand for tribute. The siege was the most important event in the reign of the then-French king who has an appropriate name for this day after Thanksgiving: Charles the Fat.
And now….The Mash!
We begin on YouTube, where a sunbathing woman texted a neighbor, asking him to send over a beverage. The neighbor obliged, delivering a can of beer to her by mini-drone.
Now that Oklahoma voted to allow full-strength beer sales in stores, a Tulsa newspaper called on state lawmakers to scrap other “puritanical anachronisms” that are still on the books.
Chicago welcomed its first contract brewery, Great Central Brewing Company. Next year, it will open a taproom offering a variety of Chicago-brewed beers.
An alliance called No Patents on Seeds has called on Carlsberg to give up its three patents on mutant strains of barley. The strains provide new enzymes to develop “more distinctive”, flavor-stable beers.
Lifelong friends Collin Poseley and Eggie Foust have created Craft Beer: The Board Game. It takes five minutes to learn, and it can be played while inebriated.
The rapper Ludacris, an Atlanta native, has opened his long-awaited Chicken & Beer restaurant at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Its menu is “Southern to the core”.
Finally, Ayla Bystrom-Williams, the owner of Honeymoon Brewery, beat out 13,000 competitors and won a $200,000 Miller Lite “Tap the Future” award. She’s one of the country’s few black female brewery owners.
Josh Noel of the Chicago Tribune attended the Festival of Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer, which recently took place in Chicago. His takes on the 14th edition of this event:
- The beer is good, and getting better. He rates 20 percent of the beers “genius”, and another 60 percent “good to very good”. The “undrinkable” beers likely sat in the barrel too long.
- John Laffer, the co-founder of Off Color Brewing in Chicago, has emerged as a star. He’s an alumnus of Goose Island Brewing Company’s barrel-aging program.
- Festival-goers didn’t shun Goose Island on account of it having been taken over by Anheuser-Busch. If the beer is good, they want it.
- It’s possible to brew bad sour beer. The style “requires layers and nuance.”
- The best thing about the festival is discovering new beers. One, in particular, was Peach Climacteric from Colorado-based WeldWerks Brewing. Co-founder Neil Fisher was amazed that attendees knew so much about his new brewery. fisher said, “You guys have a very connected beer culture here.”
On this day in 1928, The Walt Disney Corporation released the animated short “Steamboat Willie”, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon. It was directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Disney considers this release to be Mickey’s birthday.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in England, where pub companies warn that the price of a pint is about to jump. Factors include inflation, higher costs of doing business, and the introduction of the living wage.
Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa showed off his axe-throwing skills in an Instagram video. What makes his performance even more impressive is that he drank a beer immediately before he hit the bulls-eye.
FIFA, the world-wide governing body of soccer, is negotiating with officials of host country Qatar over whether beer will be served there during matches at the 2022 World Cup.
Effective January 1, 2019, Labatt will discontinue the 50-year-old tradition of issuing free beer for life to company retirees. The Canadian brewery is now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Travel blogger Emmanuel Marshall used Innis & Gunn IPA as currency to pay for transportation and lodging on his 5,000-mile trip from Scotland, the home of Innis & Gunn, to India.
Scientists at Rockefeller University have found that beer pong players expose themselves to numerous icky bacteria. The good news is that college-aged players have strong enough immune systems to cope with them.
Finally, the San Diego Union-Tribune named the five beers that put the city on the craft beer map: AleSmith Speedway Stout, Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Green Flash Le Freak, Karl Strauss Red Trolley, and Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale.
Paul Mulshine, who loves both a good beer and a good debate, contends that abstaining from alcohol is an unhealthy decision. He cites a study published in the journal Health Psychology which found that physical activity and drinking alcohol—beer in particular—complemented one another.
Stanton Peele, the psychologist who sent Mulshine a copy of the study, cited the example of Cy Young-winning pitcher Bob Welch, who gave up drinking and wrote of his recovery in the book Five O’Clock Comes Early. Welch died of a heart attack at age 57. Peele contends that the only worse decision Welch could have made would be to take up smoking.
Peele also told Mulshine of studies showing that even heavy drinkers have lower heart-attack rates than abstainers. “The reason is not hard to deduce. There are just four sources of calories for the human body—protein, fat, carbohydrates and alcohol. Of the four, only alcohol has a positive role in the prevention of heart attacks”.
Matt Lynch of Thrillist.com has compiled a taxonomy of the stereotypical people one meets at a beer festival. His list of the 19 usual suspects include these:
Ninety years ago today, the first numbering system for U.S. highways was approved. The 21 numbered highways in the initial group included U.S. 60, which ran from Chicago to Los Angeles; it was later renumbered and became the famous “Mother Road”, U.S. Route 66.
And now…The Mash!
We begin at the Samuel Adams brewery in Boston, where hundreds of fans lined up to buy bottles of limited-edition “Big Hapi” beer, brewed to honor now-retired Red Sox slugger David “Big Papi” Ortiz.
Beer aficionados reacted furiously to TV food and travel personality Anthony Bourdain’s comments likening the clientele at a San Francisco beer bar to the “(expletive deleted) Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.
A court in Stuttgart, Germany, ruled that breweries can’t use the word “bekömmlich”—“wholesome” in English—in their advertising because European Union regulations prohibit health claims in alcohol ads.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery will start canning its beers later this month. Brewery CEO Sam Calagione is now convinced that canning technology can deliver a consistent, high-quality product.
The YouTube channel Celebrities in Golf Carts is trying to bridge the generation gap between Baby Boomers and Millennials with a new sport called Beer Pong Golf.
Dissatisfied with local distributors, Massachusetts’ Night Shift Brewing created its own distributorship. It’s offering breweries friendlier contracts, more personal attention, and deliveries of fresher beer.
Finally, in 1987, a Heineken retailer spread the untrue rumor that Mexican brewery workers urinated in containers of Corona Extra beer. That resulted in a lawsuit, and a public statement denying the rumor. Ten years later, Corona surpassed Heineken as America’s number-one imported beer.
High on the list of beer travelers’ pet peeves is Pennsylvania’s “case rule”, a law that forbids distributors—who have a near-monopoly on beer sales in the state—to sell quantities of less than a case. That restriction will soon end, as Governor Tom Wolf said he will sign a bill allowing sales of six- and 12-packs and growlers.
Earlier this year, the governor signed legislation that makes it easier to buy wine. It also authorizes a study of the privatization of the state’s alcohol-distribution system.
On this day in 1960, Dr. Jane Goodall saw chimpanzees creating tools in a national park in Tanzania. It was the first time anyone had seen animals do that, and it exploded the long-standing belief that humans were the only species capable of tool-making.
And now…The Mash!
We begin in Norcia, Italy, where last week’s earthquake destroyed the historic Basilica of St. Benedict. Sixteen years ago, American monks acquired the basilica and set up a brewing operation to raise funds for its restoration.
Last year’s freakishly warm winter grabbed the attention of hops farmers in Washington State’s Yakima Valley. Fearing that global warming will bring on more such winters, they’re looking for ways to use less water growing the hops and less energy drying them.
An Israeli start-up called Glassify is selling beer glasses with an embedded microchip in the base. The chip can link to a smartphone app and send demographic information back to breweries, while offering consumers product promotions in return.
Texas authorities are looking for Achilles Salazar, a forklift operator who stole 719 twelve-packs of Dos Equis beer—$90,000 worth—from the distributor he worked for. A law-enforcement officer described the size of the heist as “most unusual”.
In Colorado, a driverless truck delivered a load of beer from Budweiser’s Fort Collins brewery to Colorado Springs. The truck was operated by Otto, a company owned by the ride-sharing company Uber.
Long Root Ale is the first beer to use kernza, the trade name for a type of wheat that originated in Asia. Because kernza is a perennial, it’s easier on the environment because farmers don’t have to plow up their land and re-plant the crop every year.
Finally, ten years after the Big Buck Brewery in Auburn Hills, Michigan, closed its doors, a local beer distributor bought the 50-foot-tall bottle that stood outside the establishment. It will be be transported to the distributor’s headquarters and repainted as a Bud Light bottle.


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The recall of 2,18,000 Chevrolet Aveo subcompact cars is the company's 29th this year, bringing the total number of recalled GM vehicles in the US to around 13.8 million. That breaks GM's previous annual record of 10.75 million set in calendar year 2004.
The new recall, posted today on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, covers Aveos from the 2004 through 2008 model years.
The daytime running light module in the dashboard center stack can overheat, melt and catch fire. GM is aware of an unspecified number of fires due to the problem, but spokesman Alan Adler says it does not know of any injuries or deaths.
GM says it is still developing a plan to fix the problem and will provide details as soon as possible.
The high number of recalls this year is fallout from a deadly ignition switch problem in compact cars that is responsible for at least 13 deaths.
GM has admitted knowing about the problem for at least a decade, yet it didn't recall the cars until February of this year.
Yesterday, GM announced it would recall 2.4 million vehicles in the US.
In May alone, GM has recalled about 5.5 million cars and trucks.
Last week, the company agreed to pay a USD 35 million federal fine for concealing deadly defects in small-car ignition switches. Although the company says the death toll from the ignition switches is at least 13, trial lawyers suing the company say it's at least 53.
The Detroit automaker said it will take a USD 400 million charge for repairs on all vehicles recalled so far this quarter. That's on top of a USD 1.3 billion charge the automaker took for recalls in the first quarter.


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Created a Lenses Thousand Times Very Thinner Eliminate Ugly Smartphone Camera Bumps
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Smartphones are recently plagued by a host of ugly design features and body that compromise aesthetics for functionality, including camera’s holes and notches in all mobile screens, and protrusions on the back to accommodate camera optics. But those bumps might be removed in upcoming devices thanks to a team of researchers at the University of Utah who’ve developed a radically very thin camera lens.
Patent Shows How Apple Will Lose The Ugly Camera Bump With Curved Photo sensors
For comparison to all previous devices, the lens elements used in today’s smartphone cameras, which gather and focus light onto a tiny sensor, are a few millimetres thick for giving an attractive look to mobile devices. The best smartphone’s cameras will use multiple elements, which quickly add up, resulting in a thin phone simply not having enough room to house all of them: hence the camera bump trend. But a group of electrical and computer engineering researchers at the University of Utah have succeeded in creating a new type of optical lens that measures just a few microns thick, or about a hundred thousand times thinner and one hundred times lighter than what you’ll find in smartphones today.
How is possible given to the curved shape of a camera lens is crucial to it being able to capture and bend adequate light and an entire scene in one capture? As described in a new research paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the lens takes an approach similar to the giant solar furnaces in operation around the world. Instead of a giant single reflective elements that would be prohibitively expensive and challenging to manufacture, these furnaces use a sprawling array of smaller reflectors each positioned at varying but specific angles to reflect their light onto a central tower. One by itself lens doesn’t produce much heat, but hundreds of them add up to generate temperatures as hot as 6,330 degrees Fahrenheit.
New Apple Research May Eliminate iPhones’ Camera Bump Forever
The lens of all the camera that researchers created is actually made up of innumerable very tiny microstructures, imperceptible to the human eye, and strategically positioned so that each one bends and redirects light towards a camera’s sensor. When all the camera lenses working together, they produce the same results as a single curved element does. Manufacturing the new lenses also required the team to develop a new fabrication process, a new element polymer, and custom algorithms to calculate the shape and position of each microstructure. But the resulting lens can be completely flat, and made of very lightweight plastic. If you’ve ever spent a day carrying around a camera with a big lens hanging off the front, you’ll really appreciate that benefit alone.
Are camera bumps becoming a symbol of photography prowess?
Not only could this new approach to imaging eliminate the camera bump, but it could also make entire smartphones completely thinner and smaller by freeing up even more room inside the housing, for both the device’s front and back cameras. It could also be improve the flight time of reconnaissance drones who wouldn’t have to carry heavy wide-angle or telescopic lenses on missions, and professional photographers might no longer have to haul around shooters that look like bazookas.
Now let’s find the researchers out there trying to figure out how to get rid of those hideous screen notches too.


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2023 Christmas Shopping Trends in Brazil
November was busy with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. As the year ends, one of the most important times for online shopping in Brazil is approaching: Christmas. People look forward to exchanging gifts with loved ones during this season.
Christmas has become a big deal in online shopping, with the share of sales increasing each year. Even though some Brazilians buy their Christmas gifts on Black Friday, popular marketplaces like Mercado Livre, Magalu, and Americanas continue to offer promotions throughout December. This strategy keeps attracting shoppers to their stores, ensuring high sales during the holiday season.
How was Christmas 2022 for e-commerce?
Brazilian e-commerce generated R$2.8 billion during Christmas 2022, marking a 6.2% increase compared to the same period in 2021, as reported by Clear Sale.
Sales during the Christmas week between December 19 and 25, 2022, considering both electronic and in-person commerce, grew 10.5%, with e-commerce registering an even more significant increase of 18.4% in relation to the same period of 2021, according to the Cielo Expanded Retail Index.
Brazil’s Christmas Trends for 2023
Higher ticket: Reflecting Black Friday patterns, our analysis of sales across multiple marketplaces revealed a 20% increase in the average ticket for online purchases, compared to 2022.
Desire for Discounts: Consumers actively seek online discounts, as evidenced by Google Trends data. Searches for online discounts during December surged by 25% compared to 2022 and 50% compared to 2020. This trend underscores the consumer’s inclination to influence their shopping decisions based on discounts and coupons. Top search terms included ‘desconto shopee,’ ‘desconto magalu,’ and ‘desconto amazon.’
The graphic below illustrates the surge in searches in Brazil for discounts and coupons, notably increasing in 2023 compared to previous years.
Top-selling categories: Christmas sales extend beyond toys and games. This year, we observe a significant uptick in the Beauty & Healthcare category. According to Kantar, in the 2022 edition, the most purchased gifts within the category were perfumery (47.2%) and body creams (17.5%).
Marketplace campaigns: Each year, marketplaces launch creative campaigns to draw in more consumers, and this year is no different. Mercado Livre kicked off early with promotions and discounts of up to 70%. Magalu is also providing substantial discounts for the season along with attractive coupons across all categories. Americanas and VIA Varejo are also featuring aggressive discounts.
Cross-border sales: The outlook for cross-border purchases in Brazil has improved following the government’s introduction of a compliance program on August 1 to facilitate safer and faster transactions. The factors driving Brazilians to buy from cross-border stores are mainly variety and price. This Christmas, cross-border sales began in November and are expected to continue through December, as Brazilians leverage marketplace discounts during the holiday season.
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InnoTrans starts Tuesday, September 18, but Monday was an opening press conference and tour to get some highlights of what is in store for this week. (You can view photos in our Photo Gallery HERE.) Over the next four days, 2,515 exhibitors from 49 countries will present their rail technology innovations and services. On the outdoor display of 3,500 meters of track, 115 vehicles will be on display.
Messe Berlin GmbH Chief Operating Officer Dr. Christian Göke
Messe Berlin GmbH Chief Operating Officer Dr. Christian Göke said InnoTrans is the final highlight of a series of events in Berlin and its objective is to provide the best market overview of rail transport in the world. He said the main key figure in trade fairs is surface area and this year it is up to 94,608 square meters, up 17 percent from 2010. For the first time, the whole area has been rented out to accommodate the event. This exhibitor participation, he said, equates to the trust exhibitors have in this event.
Most exhibitors have increased the amount of space rented. And, when looking by region, China has grown the most, up 90 percent, followed closely by Japan with an 84 percent increase in square meters.
A key feature of InnoTrans is the amount of premiers at the trade fair. There are 147 premiers, up from just 52 two years ago. Exhibitors plan their unveilings to coincide with this event, which he said also illustrates the significance of InnoTrans to the industry.
He stated, "The success story of InnoTrabns is without parallel. Since its launch in 1996 this fair has gone from strength to strength. Despite a stagnating global economy, InnoTrans 2012 has expanded and set new records, thus underlining its undisputed standing as the world's leading trade fair for transport technology."
Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) Director General Phillipe Citroën
Phillipe Citroën, director general of the Association of the European Rail Industry (UNIFE) talked about The UNIFE World Rail Market Study, conducted by Roland Berger Consultants and published by DVV Media Group , which provides data on the current world market for rail and gives an outlook out to 2017.
UNIFE represents European companies responsible for the design, manufacture, maintenance and refurbishment of rail transport systems, subsystems and related equipment.
Citroën stated since the last UNIFE World Rail Market Study was published two years ago, the global rail supply market has grown steadily. The total annual market volume averaged around 146 billion Euro for the years 2009-2011, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent compared to teh average annual market volumes for 2007-2009.
Since publication of the 2010 UNIFE World Rail Market Study, the infrastructure and rolling stock segments experienced the strongest growth in absolute terms.
Despite the recent economic crisis, countries have added rolling stock and infrastructure kilometers to their installed base, both about 4 percent. Alongside significant growth in very high speed trains, urban units have experienced considerable growth, too.
The rail supply industry has significantly outgrown the world economy, seeing its share of global GDP rise from .31 percent in 2004 to .38 percent in 2010.
Anticipated growth is 2 to 2.5 percent for infrastructure, 2 to 2.5 percent for rolling stock, 3 to 3.5 percent for rail control systems, being driven by the rollout of ERTMS in Europe and PTC in the U.S., and 2.5 to 3 percent for services.
German Railway Industry Association (VDB) Managing Director Prof. Dr. Ronald Pörner
From the German Railway Industry Association (VDB), Managing Director Prof. Dr. Ronald Pörner spoke about the dire need of rolling stock. VDB brings the manufacturers of railway vehicles, control and safety technology, and infrastructure, plus the suppliers and service providers associated with those, together and combines the interests of the sector.


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Rolling out next year?
Back in March, Nintendo announced that they’d be delaying Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp due to ‘recent world events.’ Ever since that delay, we’ve been waiting for information on when the game will make its debut. While Nintendo has remained tight-lipped, a retailer might have spilled the beans.
A Swedish retailer has recently sent out emails to customers who pre-ordered Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp to let them know of a date change. According to this retailer, the game is now slated for a February 24th, 2022 release. This date is also reflected on the retailer’s website.
Again, this date isn’t confirmed by Nintendo just yet, but it seems awfully strange that such a random date would be plucked out of thin air. Furthermore, Feb. 24th would be a Friday, which certainly falls in line with how Nintendo releases their games.
Whatever the case, hopefully we get an official announcement on Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp’s release date soon.


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Contrary to rumors, Mac Otakara sources believe that Apple will continue to stick to Lightning port on its 2019 iPhone lineup. What’s even worse is that Apple plans to continue bundling a 5W charger with the phones.
Apple is not making the switch to USB-C with its 2019 iPhones due to cost reasons. A switch will lead to the company bundling new EarPods with USB-C connector, an 18W USB-C charger, and a USB-C to USB-C cable — all of which will end up increasing the production cost. Instead, with Apple opening its MFi program to Lightning-to-USB-C cable, the company is relying on third-party accessory makers to offer cheap cables to customers interested in fast charging their iPhone.
If true, this is definitely a disappointing move on Apple’s part. Apple has been bundling a 5W charger with the iPhone for almost a decade now. What’s worse is that out of the box, charging the iPhone with its supplied 5W charger will be slower than wireless charging the device. That’s because iPhone X and higher support 7.5W of Qi wireless charging. Plus, Apple switched to USB-C with its 2018 iPad Pro lineup and it even bundles an 18W USB-C adapter with them.
There’s really no reason for the company to not do the same with its 2019 iPhone lineup particularly due to cost reasons. For a smartphone that will start at $999, a higher production cost should not really be a cause of concern especially when Android OEMs are able to offer USB-C and bundle a 10W or higher charger with even their $250 smartphone.
[Via Mac Otakara]
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Nokia’s budget smartphone offerings have proven to be hugely popular recently and the company just keeps coming up with new devices. Today
The Nokia Lumia 520 arrived several months ago and is still a hugely popular smartphone in India and elsewhere. On the
While the smartphone market is awash with high end flagship handsets from a number of different manufacturers, not everyone needs or can
The Windows Phone platform is picking up new users all the time with Nokia leading the way with a huge range of
The Nokia Lumia 520 that released earlier this year is one of the most successful Lumia Windows Phone handsets so far.
While Finnish smartphone manufacturer Nokia is currently at the centre of being taken over by Windows Phone provider Microsoft, it hasn’t stopped
We like to keep our many readers in India informed about new devices set to launch in the country, and today we
AT&T has just announced the Nokia Lumia 520 release date and price on the prepaid GoPhone portfolio, they are already set to


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The financial position of the West Indian Biscuit Company (WIBISCO) is improving but the local manufacturer says it is still focused on containing operational costs.
This was revealed by longstanding WIBISCO chairman C. David Bynoe in recently-published audited financial statements for the period ending August 31. In that filing, the Bridgetown-based manufacturer reported a $3.31 million increase in operating revenue, which moved from $60.94 million in 2019 to $64.29 million for the review period this year.
WIBISCO’s after-tax profit for the year rose to $10.32 million from the $9.94 million recorded in 2019, while the company reported operating expenditure of $53.48 million, an increase on the $52.26 million it reported last year.
In his comments to the financials, Bynoe told shareholders the COVID-19 pandemic had caused major changes to the way business was conducted, not only in Barbados but around the world.
He acknowledged revenues were up 5.4 per cent on the prior year, even in a difficult market.
“This increase was due primarily to the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a significant lift in cracker sales on the local market in the early stages. Domestic sales saw a turnaround over the prior year by 4.6 per cent, while exports registered a 7.5 per cent growth over the same period,” Bynoe reported.
However, WIBISCO shareholders were informed that in recent months there had been a slowdown in sales, not only on the local market but regionally as well.
Bynoe explained: “With what is now an uncertain business landscape, the management of the company will continue its robust cost containment exercise to mitigate against the potential fallout of this global pandemic.”
Despite the challenging market conditions faced by the company, its shareholders have been promised an interim dividend of $0.25 per share. WIBISCO’s board of directors declared a final dividend of $0.75, increasing the total dividend for the year to $1.00 per share.
WIBISCO, a subsidiary of the Bermudez group headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago is one of the oldest established commercial bakeries in the Caribbean, formed in 1910. The company employs approximately 300 persons.


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For some of us, the raison d’etre of an alternative weekly is to speak truth to power, to publish stories that are smart, social-minded, and fearless. But let’s not kid ourselves. When the majority owners of an alt-weekly are not newspaper people, but venture capitalists and banks, producing quality content is not their top priority. The current owners of the Voice seem to be just such a group, willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy the bottom line.
Last week, Village Voice Media (VVM) announced a deal with the other major chain of alternative weeklies in the U.S., Phoenix-based New Times (NT). Before the deal, VVM had seven papers, and New Times had 12, but the only two markets where they competed directly were Cleveland and Los Angeles. Now the companies have said in effect, there’s not enough room in these towns for both of us. In that spirit, NT agreed to stop publishing New Times Los Angeles (ceding the market to VVM’s L.A. Weekly), and VVM agreed to stop publishing Cleveland Free Times (ceding the market to NT’s Cleveland Scene).
Fair trade? Commercially speaking, VVM didn’t give up a trophy. There aren’t a lot of ad dollars going around Cleveland. But VVM paid NT a steep price for the monopoly on the alt-market in L.A.—more than $8 million, according to The New York Times. There were other small trades. Both sides are said to have been forced into the deal in order to pay lenders and free up cash flow.
Asked how the deal will affect the content of the Voice papers, VVM CEO David Schneiderman said, “I believe in the content of these papers. I don’t want to damage them for the bottom line.” He said the deal “makes us a stronger company. If you’re no longer losing money, that’s a good thing.”
This depressing twist is the latest sign of an imploding economy, a downturn that has darkened the alternative world. Throughout the 1990s, the Voice was owned by pet-food magnate Leonard Stern, who expanded it into a profitable chain and talked about it as his enduring legacy. Then in 1999, when none of his three children stepped up to manage the company, Stern put the Voice on the block. In January 2000, he sold the majority stake to Weiss, Peck & Greer, a private equity firm associated with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Meanwhile, NT owners Jim Larkin and Mike Lacey were working on their own expansion plan. In 1996, they launched New Times Los Angeles, buying and shutting down two small alt-weeklies in the same market. In 1997, the same year Stern moved into Minneapolis and shut down a rival paper there, Lacey declared his intentions for the Voice chain, saying, “My business is to retire their ass. I’m going to send them off to fucking Tahiti, cash them out, get their money.”
Then in 1999, when the Voice went on the block, NT tried to snatch it. Larkin lined up financing from Evercore Partners, which runs a chain of tabloids, but the deal fell apart when his investors insisted on a majority stake. The following year, Larkin sold a stake to venture capital group Alta Communications, which allowed him to continue expanding.
From a business point of view, the latest deal makes sense because in any given marketplace, there are only enough ad dollars to sustain one profitable alt-weekly. According to Schneiderman, the L.A. Weekly is profitable, while New Times L.A. and the two Cleveland papers were not. He says the Voice’s Cleveland paper was losing more than $500,000 a year.
In a statement to VVM employees, Schneiderman said he was “very sorry” to close Free Times, which he called “a well-written, feisty and respected newspaper.” So why did he do it? When the opportunity arose to “consolidate and strengthen our position in L.A.,” he wrote, he found the deal “just too attractive to pass up.” He called the transaction “consistent with the strategic direction of the company.”
David Eden, editor in chief of the now defunct Cleveland Free Times, praised VVM for giving him the editorial freedom to “kick ass and take names. The only thing I regret is that they sold us down the river.” According to Eden, the decision to close Free Times does a disservice to Cleveland, because the NT paper is weak and “no one trusts” the local daily, the Plain Dealer. Says Eden, “The management philosophy of VVM is making money for our investors, period.”
Schneiderman, a former editor in chief of the Voice, is a shrewd, stand-up guy who to my knowledge has never interfered with the editorial freedom of this newspaper. But these days, he sounds like the apostle of profit. Last week he told the Los Angeles Times that his first move will be to “absorb as many of New Times‘ advertising dollars as we can get.” And his next move? Pinching ad dollars from the L.A. Times.
Asked what happens to ad revenues, Schneiderman told me, “Some of the profits go to investors. Another part gets invested back into the newspapers.” He declined to state the Voice‘s current ratio of ad pages to editorial pages, but said the editorial budget has grown every year, even though “we have dropped huge numbers of ad pages in the last few years.”
To one alt-weekly watcher, the Cleveland-L.A. trade is a non-event. The more interesting story, this source says, will be when VVM investors decide to cash out. When a private equity firm buys a company, the typical pattern is to raise money, invest it, and at some point, liquidate and return the money to the investors. The investment window can extend as long as 10 years, but one observer speculates that VVM could go on the block as early as two years from now. Says Schneiderman, “The company could be sold tomorrow or in 10 years.”
Who will buy the Voice the next time around? One school of thought says a potential buyer might be a daily newspaper chain. According to this argument, alternatives have the young, affluent readers that the dailies want. Plus, there is a precedent: in April 1999, Times Mirror bought New Mass Media, a chain of alternative papers in the Northeast. But there are drawbacks: If you own a daily and an alt-weekly in the same town, you probably won’t want the alternative bashing the daily, and traditional advertisers for the daily may be squeamish about the sex ads in the alternative.
The other school of thought is that one of the alternative chains will buy the other out, a fantasy both sides seem to be savoring these days. And as for Schneiderman, who at 55 has been with the Voice 24 years? “I don’t have an exit strategy,” he said. “I’m here for as long as whoever owns it wants me here.”


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Six in ten American adults (61%) get news online on a typical day, placing it third among the six major news platforms asked about in the survey, behind local television news and national or cable television news. While the internet is growing as a news platform, it has not displaced completely offline news sources for most American adults: A majority of Americans (59%) get news from a combination of online and offline sources on a typical day. Just over a third (38%) rely solely on offline sources, while just 2% rely exclusively on the internet for their daily news.
Asked more generally if they ever get news online, and if they ever get news online about 12 specific topics (such as weather, sports, national news, and business or finance), 71% of American adults say they get news online at least occasionally. This equates to 94% of all internet users.
Who gets their news online?
Online news users skew younger than the general adult population. About two-thirds of online news users (68%) are under age 50, including 29% who are under age 30. Given their younger age profile, it is not surprising that this group is also more likely than other Americans to have never been married (24% v. 9%) and/or to have young children (36% v. 17%). Online news users tend to be employed full-time (50%), two-thirds (67%) have at least some college education (including 22% with a bachelor’s degree and 15% with advanced degrees), and their annual household income trends higher than American adults in general. Racially, this group skews toward Hispanics and whites; while 50% of non-Hispanic African-Americans get their news entirely offline, the same is true of just 38% of non-Hispanic whites and 32% of Hispanics.
Because they represent such a large segment of internet users, the demographic profile of online news users mirrors that of the online population as a whole, and it reflects the same characteristics that drive both broadband and wireless use. Yet even among internet users, those who get news online stand out in terms of their high income and education levels, their young age, their racial/ethnic identity, and their use of broadband and wireless (see table below).
Americans explore a wide variety of news topics online.
Internet users were asked how many, if any, of 12 specific news topics they explore online. Of those 12 news topics, the most popular are weather and national events.
Overall, Americans explore a wide variety of news topics online. Four in ten internet users (40%) say they get news and information online about at least 9 of these 12 topics. In this report we sometimes call them “heavy online news users.” Another 39% explore 4 to 8 of these topics online. We call this group “medium online news users “ Some 15% get news on between 1 and 3 of these topics. We call them “light online news users.” Just 6% of online adults do not use the internet to gather information about any of these topics.
Among internet users who get news online, certain subgroups explore a greater variety of topics than others. Those most likely to be among the heavy online news user cohort are:
- 30-49 year-olds when compared with both younger and older online news users
- Individuals living in households with annual incomes of $50,000 or more, when compared with those earning less
- College graduates, when compared with individuals with lower educational attainment
- Democrats, when compared with Republicans and Independents
- Broadband users, wireless internet users, and those who go online daily
- Individuals who use a greater number of news platforms, as well as those who use a greater number of online sources, on a typical day
- Individuals who get news on their cell phones (discussed in detail in Part 5 of this report)
Most individuals use just a handful of online news sources and do not have a favorite.
While internet users who get news online tend to explore a wide variety of news topics, they are fairly modest in the number of internet sites they use to gather that information. One in five online news users (21%) say they routinely rely on just one website for their news and information, and another 57% rely on between two and five websites. Surprisingly, asked whether they have a favorite online news source, the majority of online news users (65%) say they do not. Among those who do, the most popular sites are those of major news organizations such as such as CNN and Fox.
To get a sense of their daily online news consumption, we asked online news consumers if, on a typical day, they used a number of different online sources, ranging from the websites of major newspapers and TV news organizations to posts from journalists and news organizations on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Portal websites like GoogleNews, AOL and Topix are the most commonly used online news sources, visited by over half of online news users on a typical day. Also faring well are the sites of traditional news organizations with an offline presence, such as CNN, BBC and local or national newspapers. Twitter updates, either from either journalists and news organizations or from other individuals and organizations (including friends and family), were the least commonly used news sources of those asked about. The vast majority of online news users (84%) use five or fewer of the 14 news sources asked about on a typical day, including 14% who do not use any and another 34% who use just one or two.
While overall, most individuals who get news online use just a handful of internet sources on a typical day, younger online news users tend to frequent more sites on a daily basis. The youngest online news users, those under age 30, are particularly likely to use portal news sites and to get news from journalists, news organizations, and others on Facebook. Online news users age 30-49 are more likely than both older and younger news users to make a daily visit to the website of a local or national newspaper or a website that offers a mix of news and commentary.
In addition to these distinct preferences for certain online news sources across different age groups, it is not surprising that affinities for online news sources also reflect a user’s political party and ideology. In general, Democrats and those who describe themselves as liberal are most likely to get news on a typical day from:
- A news organization or individual journalist they follow on a social networking site such as Facebook
- The Twitter posts of individuals who are not journalists, or organizations other than the major news organizations
- The websites of international news organizations
- The websites of radio news organizations such as NPR
- News podcasts from organizations such as NPR or the New York Times
In contrast, Republicans and those who describe themselves as conservative are more likely to make a daily visit to the website of a major TV news organization, and are also more likely than other online news users to utilize just 1-2 internet news sources on a typical day.
Overall, a surprisingly small segment of online news users (35%) say they have a favorite internet news site. Men are slightly more likely than women (39% v. 30%) to have a favored site online, as are college grads when compared to other online news users (44% v. 29%) and those with incomes of at least $50,000 annually when compared with those earning less (39% v. 30%). The most active online news consumers—individuals who explore the greatest variety of topics online and those who use the greatest number of online sources on a typical day—are also more likely than other online news consumers to have a favorite site.
Among those who have a favorite site, the most popular sites are those of major national television news organizations such as CNN and Fox, favored by more than a third of online news consumers who named a favorite site. Also popular are news aggregators such as Yahoo and MSN, indicating that many online news consumers like to get news about a variety of topics in one place. Still, among those who named a favorite online news source, 13% cited a local site, such as a local television station’s site, a local newspaper’s site, or a website or blog specifically developed to provide local news.
“Serendipitous News Discovery” and “Hunting and Gathering” top “News Reception” as methods for getting news online.
One major concern about the internet is that people would use new technology to retreat into their narrow interests and that accidental news consumption—discovering things you didn’t know would interest you—would erode. This serendipitous news discovery, according to some scholars, is essential to forming public opinion and creating informed consensus and stable cohesion around public policy that makes governing possible. So, the prospect that technology might reduce the likelihood of that happening is a major civic concern.
To get a sense of the different approaches employed by online news users, and how active or passive online news consumption is, we asked how often online news users:
- Go online specifically to get news?
- Come across news while they are online doing other things?
- Get news forwarded to them through email, automatic alerts and updates, or posts on social networking sites
The answers to these questions reveal that it is most common for online news users to chance upon news while they are online doing other things—what could be called “serendipitous” news consumption. Eight in ten online news users (80%) say this happens at least a few times a week, including 59% who say this happens everyday or almost everyday. Only slightly less common, however, is the hunting and gathering approach to online news consumption. About seven in ten online news users (71%) say they go online specifically to get news at least a few times a week, including almost half (48%) who say they do this everyday or almost everyday.
Meanwhile, a smaller segment of online news users say that news finds them—44% get news forwarded to them through email, automatic updates and alerts, or posts on social networking sites at least a few times a week, which includes 28% who receive news everyday or almost everyday. One quarter of online news users (25%) say they never have news forwarded to them.
Demographic groups who tend to be daily internet users—including younger adults, the more educated, those with higher incomes, and broadband and wireless users—report more frequent chance encounters with news as well as more frequent hunting and gathering experiences. The youngest adults (those under age 30) and cell phone users are most likely to have news forwarded to them. Getting “news on the go” via one’s cell phone, and the significance of receiving news alerts on one’s phone, is discussed in detail in Part 5 of this report.
1. Throughout this section and the report, “online news users” are defined as the 71% of Americans who answered “yes” when asked if they ever get news online, or who said they ever get news online about at least one of 12 specific topics asked about in the survey.


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It's not every day that a four year old game gets a patch, but that's exactly what's happening with Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (also known as Everybody's Golf 5). According to the latest issue of Famitsu (via Siliconera), the game is being updated to add support for PlayStation Move motion controls, and 3D televisions.
The patch will be live on July 17th in Japan. While an update hasn't been announced for other territories, it seems unlikely that Sony would spend the time to re-engineer the game and not release the update worldwide.
It's surprising that Sony didn't consider releasing a brand new iteration of the franchise, given that motion controls are a rather significant addition to the series. I don't have an economics degree, but I bet Sony can make money off Hot Shots Golf: A New Version With New Features In It instead of releasing a free patch for an aging game.


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Microsoft has unveiled a fresh look at the Halo Infinite campaign over a year since its last infamous reveal.
The video below sets the scene for the campaign, which sees Master Chief fight back against the Banished forces on Zeta Halo.
The campaign, visually at least, seems to be in better shape than it did last summer. There's plenty of trademark Halo chaos, which incorporates the tools players got their hands on during the recent multiplayer technical preview events.
There's a Tacmap, which displays objectives:
There's an upgrades tab, too:
It all feels a bit Ubisoft open-world trademark. There are Banished strongholds for you to take down, and you can spawn vehicles from orbit.
Story wise, you're trying to work out what's going on with Cortana, who's a villain now. You've got a new mysterious AI called The Weapon to help you out.
There are plenty of familiar Covenant enemies to fight. Craig has a beard now.
There are a few new enemies, too, such as the agile Skimmers:
A sadistic Spartan killer called Jega 'Rdomnai:
And The Harbinger of the Truth, who doesn't seem to like the Forerunners - or Chief:
Halo Infinite comes out 8th December.


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Harrods Debuts Art-Deco Gatsby Bar at Its Famed London Store
Get your Gatsby-style drink on at Harrods' new 20s-themed bar, popping up in London through May 20.
As if you needed another reason to catch Gatsby fever, famed London department store Harrods has launched a pop-up bar to celebrate the hotly anticipated film, which is finally in theaters as of Friday May 10. Now through May 20, the 1920s-style art-deco bar takes over the luxury store’s underground Tasting Room and Wine Shop with cocktail-making demonstrations and specialty libations by Courvoisier, Hendrick’s and Johnnie Walker available for consumption. A period-themed, ticketed evening on Friday night will let guests enjoy the sounds of a jazz band trio, indulge in canapés and be treated to a mixology master class. Didn’t make it across the pond? Harrods has drink recipes available online along with a host of Gatsby-inspired wares in its Summer of Now shop, where customers can snag Gatsby-esque items, including a beaded Saint Laurent jacket, a Lanvin art-deco bracelet and Charlotte Olympia heels straight off the store’s e-commerce video. Or, you can always get the ultimate Gatsby fix -- actually seeing the movie.
Through May 20, 87-135 Brompton Rd., Knightsbridge, London. harrods.com


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Kampala | RedPepper Digital | Business – The exit of multinational companies from the Ugandan economy could be a shot in the arm if harnessed well by local investors; this is according to Opportunity Bank’s Chief business officer (CBO) John Robert Okware.
“The exit of the multinationals gives an opportunity to the local companies in the sense that some of them can take up the assets that have been left behind, and also the customers especially as the economy recovers and this aligns with the BUBU (buy Uganda build Uganda),” he made these remarks on Tuesday 14th September when launching a campaign dubbed Vimba Naffe at the bank’s head offices in Kampala.
Furthermore on the exit of the multinationals especially in chain store retails business (Shoprite and Game stores), he opined that their closure of shop exit of shop goes back to their different exit strategies when they were making entry into the Ugandan economy.
“Every multinational company that comes into this country has its own exit strategy and it differs from one company to another,” he said.
Okware also forecasts the growth of the local companies especially in the retail space, as the economy recovers from the economic effects of the pandemic.
On the issue of the Central Bank’s plot to increase the financial threshold of commercials from the current UGX50b to approximately UGX150b and its implications on the sector, Okware made his opinion known as he said: “For financial inclusion, I think it is not aligned. Because with financial inclusion you want as many players as possible to reach out to as many people as possible in the country.”
Discussions are ongoing to see that all stakeholders in the banking industry come to a common ground as far as the matter is concerned according to Okware.
He says that the campaign is unique in nature from what their competitors are offering because it was specifically designed to help the public re-emerge out of the economic effects of the 42-day lockdown that climaxed on 30th July.
“People have been having a lot of idle assets, idle money, some businesses have collapsed and some are struggling to rejuvenate their businesses. We thought it is the right time for the customers could still rise up from the shockwave by saving for the future and get interests too,” he stressed.
Customers who have an extra save or business account qualifies for the promotion and potential customers only require only UGX10,000 (extra save account) shillings to open and join the promotion with payouts of up to 7% interest when withdrawing. The campaign targets over one million customers (100 monthly), with cash prizes in the six months period.
According to banking experts, most customers of banks have evolved from the normal teller banking during the Covid-19 and now use the digital channels of banking like agency and online banking which now covers over 70% of bank transactions countrywide, up from 30% before the pandemic.
“We have seen a lot of shifts from the branch to the alternative digital channels that the banks offer with 77% of our transactions coming from the last quarter (May to August 2021),” says Robert Ongodia, the bank’s CEO.


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CAN CBD HELP YOU GIVE UP SMOKING?
Smoking has been a widespread problem in Europe since the early 1900s. For many years, tobacco consumption has been the greatest avoidable cause of death in the European Union. It is estimated that 100 million people in Europe smoke each day and, according to a WHO study, smoking kills about 6 million people each year, causing economic losses estimated at over half a trillion dollars. Multiple studies published in medical journals indicate that CBD can treat addiction.
What does the research say?
A study on CBD by Freidbert Weiss showed positive results in the use of CBD to treat addiction. Although this particular study was conducted in rats addicted to cocaine or alcohol dependence, it sheds some light on the power of CBD as an effective treatment for addiction. Scientists have long speculated that “endocannabinoid-altering substances could be an effective treatment for nicotine addiction,” but more research is needed.
Two studies by University College London look at CBD’s effectiveness in quitting smoking. The first study looked at 24 smokers. 12 smokers used a CBD inhaler and the remaining 12 received a placebo inhaler. Their task was to reach for the inhaler every time they wanted to smoke. Researchers found that those using the CBD inhaler reduced their cigarette consumption by 40 percent, while the habits of those using the placebo did not change significantly.
In May 2018, another study on CBD and smoking was conducted in the UK. In this randomized, double-blind, trial, 30 nicotine addicts were given 800 mg of CBD orally or a matched placebo. Participants were then shown pictures of smoking and examined for withdrawal symptoms, craving, heart rate and blood pressure. The pictures used in the study showed real-life scenes, during which the desire to reach for a cigarette is high, e.g. a party, smoking friends, or a stressful situation. The results of this study were interesting: a single dose of 800 mg of CBD may help reduce the “pleasure” of smoking, especially when participants abstained from smoking overnight.
How it’s working?
Quitting smoking is about more than overcoming a physical addiction, it is also the process of breaking a habit that is difficult and can cause a lot of stress for the addicted person. Over the years, many people have successfully used marijuana as an alternative to smoking. The THC in marijuana, like CBD, has a relaxing effect, but its psychoactive effects can increase the drug and stress levels, and it is also an illegal substance. CBD seems to be the better choice as it is non-addictive, non-intoxicating, and has a calming and relaxing effect.
Various forms of CBD can be selected to fight cigarette addiction: CBD oils, chewing gums, dried hemp or special CBD oils for e-cigarettes. All of these products have a THC concentration of less than 0.2%, so they are absolutely legal.
Many of the most effective quitting techniques involve replacing your new smoking habits with healthier habits, such as walking around after a meal or drinking a cup of tea while you normally have a cigarette. Replacing tobacco cigarettes with cannabis smoking is not a long-term solution, but it can definitely help you in the first phase of quitting smoking. Then, it is healthier to choose to vaporize dried CBD, use CBD liquids in an e-cigarette, or take CBD by mouth, whether as drops under the tongue, chewing CBD gum or taking capsules.


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CHENNAI: Chennai-based TVS Motors reported a 13 per cent rise in first-quarter profit to Rs 146.6 crore, helped by better sales of its scooters and motorcycles during the three-month period. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 129.5 crore in the year-ago quarter ended June 2017.
Revenue in the quarter ended June 2018 rose 21 per cent to Rs 4,171 crore, lifted by a 14 per cent rise in the overall two-wheeler sales of the company, including its exports of 8.93 lakh units during the quarter.
An average monsoon and a hike in selling prices per unit may lift demand for its two and three-wheelers in rural parts of India, a Reuters poll had revealed earlier.
The company, which sells motorcycles under the brands Apache and Star, said its motorcycle sales grew 17 per cent to 3.87 lakh units, while its scooter sales rose 12 per cent to 2.88 lakh units in the quarter. Exports grew by 52 per cent to 1.92 lakh units, the company said in a statement.
TVS’ three-wheeler sales also picked up, with its sales doubling to 0.36 lakh units from 0.17 lakh units in the quarter.The company’s first-quarter EBITDA grew to 7.4 per cent to `306.5 crore from 6.7 per cent or `227.9 crore in the year-ago period, TVS said in a statement.
Profit after Tax (PAT) for the quarter ended June 2018 was Rs 146.6 crore in comparison to Rs 129.5 crore in the first quarter of FY18.
The operating PAT in April-June 2017 prior to consideration of fair valuation gains and one-time GST discount was Rs 115 crore.


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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said about 76 million households were affected by a cybersecurity attack on the bank this summer in one of the most sweeping disclosed breaches of a financial institution.
The largest U.S. bank by assets said the unknown attackers stole customers’ contact information—including names, email addresses, phone numbers and addresses. The breach, which was first disclosed in August and is still under investigation by the bank and law enforcement, extended to the bulk of the bank’s customer base, affecting an amount equivalent to two-thirds of American households. It also affected about seven million of J.P. Morgan’s small-business customers. It isn’t clear how many of those households are U.S.-based.
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Xposure – August 1 2012
Disney at Ala Moana Center
Disney Store's Magical Makeover
Disney at Ala Moana Center unveiled its new store design May 30 with a Hawaiian blessing and free Mickey Mouse ears to the first 250 people. Aulani show director Marian Morrison, Aulani performer Kaleio DiPrete and kahu Kamana'opono Agres.


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Venture Capitalists ‘Claim’ New Cryptocurrency Technology
A number of leading venture capital firms have started investing millions of dollars in early-stage niche technology in the cryptocurrency industry that generates a return for investors and claims to make crypto mining. – more energy efficient currencies.
Traditional mining of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin involves the use of sophisticated computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles. New bitcoins are brought into circulation when these issues are resolved and bitcoin miners receive a reward in the form of bitcoin tokens. This process is known as proof of work.
The latest development in the crypto industry is called ‘proof of stake’ or ‘staking’. Staking allows an individual or entity to create new digital tokens and verify the legitimacy of cryptocurrency transactions on a blockchain or digital ledger, while being rewarded with additional digital currency – a return on their existing investments for participating in the process.
Canada Approves World’s First Bitcoin ETF for Retail Investors
Crypto craze sparks risky bitcoin-backed lending industry
Unlike Proof of Work, Proof of Stake does not require massive computer hardware or large facilities that consume an immense amount of electricity. Instead, cryptocurrency developers have developed a way to create digital currency in a more decentralized way, involving more crypto users, but less hardware.
“It’s a new idea that has really gained momentum over the past 12 months,” said Brian Mosoff, CEO of Toronto-based crypto firm Ether Capital. âWith proof of stake, you don’t have to go out and make deals with chipmakers halfway around the world. [to power computers]. You don’t need to start a business based on burning an insane amount of electricity. So it’s much more efficient and less intensive than mining bitcoin, âMosoff told The Globe and Mail.
Figment, a Toronto-based cryptocurrency firm that provides staking services, recently raised US $ 50 million in a funding round led by New York-based venture capital firms Senator Investment Group and Liberty City Ventures. Galaxy Digital, a digital asset investment bank founded by prominent crypto investor Mike Novogratz, also participated in the round.
A few months earlier, Blockdaemon, another New York-based blockchain company and staking service provider, received US $ 28 million in funding from Greenspring Associates, a venture capital firm that has traditionally invested in biotechnology and healthcare companies. Goldman Sachs was also part of the round table.
Figment essentially operates a staking infrastructure on behalf of clients and generates revenue by charging fees. According to Lorien Gabel, co-founder and CEO of Figment, his company’s first clients were crypto exchanges as well as a handful of venture capital firms. Eventually, traditional asset managers, family offices and consumer brokerage platforms began to inquire about staking and were particularly excited about the energy efficiency of the technology as well as the idea of ââreceiving a return. on their crypto investments.
âCrypto has become quite a speculative asset. What happens with proof of stake is that there is a stream of income or interest provided to token holders who participate in the blockchain validation process, âMr. Gabel said.
He used the analogy of a social media platform to explain staking. âWhen you use Twitter or Facebook, you don’t benefit at all from the ad revenue that the platform receives. Here, as a holder of, say, ether tokens, you can benefit from the income generated while processing crypto transactions. This is the big change that investors need to understand, âsaid Gabel.
There are still only a handful of companies providing staking services, such as New York-based Stake and France-based Stake Capital, in part because the technology is new and complicated. In January, Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, bought a small US staking service startup called Bison Trails for US $ 80 million – this purchase would allow Coinbase to participate in the staking and earn a return using existing holdings.
Emil Woods, a Liberty City Ventures partner who has been involved in the crypto industry since 2009, said proof-of-stake technology began to be developed in 2015, but investor sentiment and understanding towards crypto -coins at the time were still low. , and it was far too complex to explain staking to the average investor.
âIt wasn’t a good time to pull the trigger. But in 2017, everything changed due to the initial boom in the supply of coins, and people started to understand the difference between bitcoin and blockchain technology, âhe added.
Only certain digital currencies can be wagered. Bitcoin, for example, has yet to be created using Proof of Work technology, but Ether has started a process of migrating from Proof of Work to Proof of participation, a process that insiders refer to as “Ethereum 2.0”. âAt present, only US $ 26 billion out of US $ 434 billion of ether has been staked, meaning that existing digital currency investors have plenty of opportunities to get a return on their investment by participating in the process of staking.
âThe challenge so far for anyone interested in staking is that there has been very little currency that you can actually bet. Ethereum 2.0 is therefore important, because the market capitalization of this currency is very large, âsaid Boris Wertz, founding partner of Vancouver-based venture capital firm Version One Ventures.
Mr Wertz also told The Globe that beyond the ESG advantage of staking over traditional cryptocurrency mining, many holders of crypto assets not only want to hold them passively, but would like to earn a return from them. or a reward.
âIt’s like receiving interest on the money you have in your bank account. I finally see a world where everyone will participate in the staking, as we become more and more comfortable with digital currency, âhe added.
Mr Mosoff calls staking the “birth of a digital link” and believes the ether will be the most lucrative digital currency in the future precisely because of the technology of staking. “If you can generate a return of, say, 5% or 6% on a commodity that you think hedges inflation, it becomes a very attractive asset for investors.”
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The key role of the founder for startups
ELON Musk has clearly been the driving force behind SpaceX, Tesla, and more recently, Twitter. He founded SpaceX and made it a success. He took over Tesla and made it a market leader. Yet his recent actions after taking over Twitter have resulted in stock market losses for Tesla and advertisers leaving Twitter. The role of the entrepreneur in the fortunes of a startup cannot be overstated. Entrepreneurs stamp their personalities unto their startups, for both good and bad.
When investors assess the potential of a startup, they often have a checklist of several points.
It ultimately comes down to two: Firstly, is there a sound business model and plan, which these days means one that shows a path to profitability in the medium term and not the long term?
This criterion can be assessed largely by tangibles: value proposition (why should we care?) or Unique Selling Point; market size and potential; burn rate; actual and potential competitors; actual and potential revenue numbers; and investment structure and roadmap.
The second point is more intangible: Can the founder or founders execute the plan? Does the founder have the "right stuff" to bring the company forward? Ultimately, investors are taking a gamble on the founder.
In South-east Asia, the founders of tech startups have not yet led their companies to the highs seen in the US, nor, thankfully, quite the same lows.
Two lows in recent years are Henn Tan of Trek 2000 and Ankiti Bose of Zilingo -- both examples, as has been too often the case, where proper corporate governance was lacking.
Tan bought Trek 2000 in 1995, wanting to start his own company rather than work for an MNC. The company provided customised engineering solutions to businesses, before inventing the now ubiquitous thumb drive and other products, and today has around 600 patents. Tan's drive and bold leadership brought the company to the global platform, and a listing on the Singapore bourse.
However, in October 2022, Tan was found guilty of accounting fraud. The company's chief financial officer Gurcharan Singh and director Poo Teng Pin were also jailed.
Trek 2000 has stated that this matter was in Tan's "personal capacity", that its financial position "continues to be healthy", and that it had "taken decisive steps to identify the lapses in internal controls and governance systems". The company's future prospect is unclear.
Bose was a co-founder of Zilingo in 2015. In four years, the company came very close to becoming a unicorn, with a valuation of US$970 million, and Bose became a media darling.
In March 2022, Bose was suspended from Zilingo after allegations of financial misrepresentation and mismanagement. Her management style was said to involve using intimidation to extract compliance from her employees.
Under her watch, the startup apparently undertook dubious growth strategies, including a US$1 million promotional trip to Morocco, loans to suppliers, and for a time, wanting to "do a WeWork" -- focusing on "crazy growth" to catch the attention of Masayoshi Son and his fund, SoftBank.
On Jan 30, Zilingo's board confirmed that the firm would be wound up.
On the more positive side, the founder can be pivotal in changing the company's direction amid changing marketing conditions. Take the case of AirAsia. The company was bought by Tony Fernandes in 2001.
Repositioned as a low-cost carrier, the company expanded rapidly across the region. Then in 2020, its business ground to a near complete halt due to the pandemic.
Amidst speculation of bankruptcy, Fernandes took the company digital, building up new businesses, such as food and parcel deliveries, ride-hailing and digital payments. With the new direction, the company was renamed Capital A in January 2022.
While it is too soon to tell, there is now no more talk of bankruptcy, and travel has reopened.
Fernandes said at the company's renaming: "We have pivoted, we have transformed, and we have a five-year plan in place which will see non-airline revenues contributing around 50 per cent of overall group revenue by 2026. Once the airlines return to pre-Covid levels in the near future, all of our other lines of business will benefit significantly and will all soar to new heights in tandem with one another."
A company that had also seen better days is Sea Limited. Founded by Forrest Li, the company started as a gaming platform before venturing into e-commerce and fintech.
Li, a man of humble origins, imbued his company with the same ethos. His management team comprised fellow former Chinese nationals and alumni from his Stanford MBA days.
On the plus side, he was able to draw in Tencent as a key investor.
On the negative side, this perception of Chinese-ness, despite Sea being a US-listed company headquartered in Singapore, saw the company banned from India, alongside other Chinese apps.
At end-2021, Sea reached its peak of US$190.59 billion market capitalisation. Li and team might have seen the coming tech crunch in 2022, and built a huge war chest of US$7.3 billion.
This, plus quick action by the management team, has seen the company cut costs, lay off 10 per cent of its staff, and refocus on profitability rather than growth, making it likely that Li will steer Sea towards a brighter future.
Today's world has not quite seen war -- the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and civil wars notwithstanding. Today's heroes aren't politicians or generals. Today's heroes are media personalities and, rightfully so, entrepreneurs.
It is the entrepreneur who creates wealth, value and jobs, and sometimes changes the world.
But as cases like Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann and Sam Bankman-Fried have shown, investors and society as a whole need to also be careful of whom we hold up as heroes.
Foo Maw Der is professor of entrepreneurship at Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School (NBS) and director of Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre (NTC); Xia Zhiqiang directs the technopreneurship and innovation programme, and entrepreneurship major and minor at NTC; and Ronald Hee is a research fellow at NBS and NTC.
Source : The Business Times


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UPDATE 1-Juniper Networks 3rd-quarter beats estimates
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Juniper Networks Inc's third-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates as sales of its products increased, but the network gear maker forecast fourth-quarter below expectations, citing cautious customer spend.
Network equipment makers have been hit as telecom service providers -- their biggest customers -- cut spending due to a faltering U.S. recovery and weakness in Europe.
Juniper, which supplies routers and switches to telecom companies such as Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc , expects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 19 cents to 22 cents per share and revenue of $1.10 billion to $1.13 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting fourth-quarter earnings of 24 cents on revenue of $1.15 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
However, the Sunnyvale, California-based company's shares were up about 2 percent at $18.00 after the bell as its third-quarter results beat market expectations.
"Third quarter results are very strong. Strong revenues, strong margins ... Risks to revenue next year are high, because new products don't seem very well received by the market," MKM Partners LLC analyst Michael Genovese said.
Juniper's net income for the third quarter fell to $16.8 million, or 3 cents per share, from $83.7 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier.
The net income includes a 16 cents per share impact from restructuring and other charges, the company said.
Juniper had said last quarter that it was cutting costs. Company spokeswoman Cindy Ta told Reuters on Oct. 2 that Juniper was reducing its workforce by about 5 percent or 500 people, which would be affected through the end of October.
Excluding items, the company earned 22 cents per share.
Revenue rose 1 percent to $1.12 billion.
Analysts were expecting a third-quarter profit of 17 cents per share, on revenue of $1.06 billion.
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