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It is now being speculated that the Playstation 4 “Orbis” will have 1GB GPU RAM and use a Quad-Core CPU from AMD.
Sony will base their internals off AMD chipsets as they look to encourage third-party development
Another week, another round of next-gen rumours. At this point it seems like some Web sites are getting genuine information, while others are simply contributing to the rumour frenzy without substantial information. Who is doing what is unknown, but Fudzilla report that Sony will go with AMD internals.
The PlayStation 4 – apparently codenamed Orbis – will feature internals from AMD, which has been widely rumoured as Sony look to appease third-party developers who found development for the Cell architecture difficult. The report says that the console will use the AMD A8-3850 APU and a Radeon 7670 GPU.
Rumours from IGN last week said Sony would look to be offering similar specs with their next-gen console, using two chipsets to offset rendering demands on one card. Fudzilla say that the AMD chip is clocked at 2.9 GHz and will be a quad-core chip. Rumours from Xbox World, we reported last week, said the next-gen Xbox would have staggering 16 cores. While four could be used for the next version of Kinect, that would still be a staggering amount and would put the console beyond current PCs. Note: I think that’s unlikely. Very, very unlikely.
Surprising amount of GPU RAM: 1GB
Fudzilla also report that the Radeon GPU will have 1GB of RAM, though offers no clock speed despite hinting that they have heard of figures. To me, 1GB of RAM sounds fairly average for a next-gen console. I expect Sony to go big, so it would surprise me if they tried to go beyond that. Still, 1GB of RAM will offer solid performance if third-party developers come on board.
What’s surprising from the report is Fudzilla quote developers who say the box is “on par” with the current generation. Reaction from consumers upon hearing news of the Wii U not being better than current generation console was negative, so if Sony only maintained performance levels then there could be similar reactions. For this reason I doubt Sony will stagnate, though the PS2 offered worse performance than the Xbox – which could produce 720p – so Sony has been known to be second best. The PS3 is known for its power.


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Dogecoin surge sends WazirX servers panting for help – users report failed transactions, delays in orders
Dogecoinhas seen a 10-time increase in its prices over the last one month.
- This has caused a massive surge in traffic on
WazirX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, resulting in transaction failures and delays in orders.
- While the company says the issue has been fixed, users continue to report issues.
The company pointed out that its servers are being overwhelmed by traffic caused by massive demand for Dogecoin.
“Doge’s sudden price movement has caused a massive surge in our traffic. We’re seeing more than a 1000% spike in concurrent users,” it said.
In a statement to Business Insider, WazirX’s Chief Executive Officer Nishcal Shetty pointed out that the issue was caused due to a system error.
“Today, one of our systems - on detecting the high traffic - wrongly marked it as bad traffic and started blocking the requests. It was good traffic, and this error caused our users to have intermittent access to the app,” he said, explaining the cause of the problems faced by its users.
While Shetty said that the issue has been identified and fixed, users continue to report issues with depositing money and other transaction errors.
@WazirXIndia Didn't see any change. still facing issues with deposits.Thanks I got a confirmation that it's time… https://t.co/6OkmNc85l5— @runn kumar (@Arunn37) 1620275679000
We tried to add money too, but the UPI options were disabled and direct bank transfer via IMPS, NEFT and RTGS was not working either.
Some users said they tried depositing money via UPI, but the money has not been deposited in their accounts.
@shivangbhargav @NischalShetty @BuddhaSource Really bro, did you tried to find there office contact or address? I… https://t.co/NC10ShaKc9— Bassholics (@bassholics) 1620275384000
A few users said that this has been happening for several days now.
Today is the 9th day and there is no response from wazirx despite raising tickets. My money did not reflect in my… https://t.co/pAvdHtpye4— shivang bhargava (@shivangbhargav) 1620209139000
Update: Nischal Shetty has revealed that the UPI payment options are not working because banks have blocked them. We tried using the bank deposit option but that isn't working either.
UPI is not working?That’s because banks are not providing UPI to crypto exchangesDo you want to help?Then twe… https://t.co/amk9Pwax4S— Nischal (WazirX) ⚡ (@NischalShetty) 1620296051000
What’s the Dogecoin frenzy?
Going back one month, an investment of ₹1,000 in Dogecoin is now worth nearly ₹10,500.
The massive surge in Dogecoin’s prices has been driven in part due to Elon Musk’s backing of the cryptocurrency, where he called it “the people’s crypto.”
Dogecoin is the people’s crypto— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 1612426526000
It’s not just a one-off endorsement of Dogecoin, either. Musk backed it as recently as April 29.
The DogefatherSNL May 8— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 1619590847000
The world's biggest holder of Dogecoin owns 28% of the cryptocurrency - a position now worth $2.1 billion
A 33-year-old Dogecoin investor says he became a millionaire in 2 months after Elon Musk inspired him to pile into the meme currency
Dogecoin's $80 billion valuation now makes it bigger than these 10 well-known companies
- EAM Jaishankar meets Australian Intelligence chief Andrew Shearer on sidelines of Raisina Dialogue
- Sustainable Tourism Practices
- Byju's shareholders vote to remove CEO, family; company calls vote invalid
- Engaging with competent authorities, use only genuine cheese, says McDonald's
- Apple's India revenue up 42% to $8.7 bn in 2023: Morgan Stanley

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During the two-week period that the expedition is broadcasting, the site has over 3 million hits. Sound like the Discovery Channel online? It's the site of Electronic Data Systems, the Dallas-based information services giant.
BEWARE THE DANGERS
As video, audio, virtual reality, Shockwave, ActiveX and Java permeate the World Wide Web, the use of multimedia and other hot technologies by business-to-business marketers is becoming increasingly common on the Internet.
Potential customers or stockholders watch CEOs give speeches, listen to news releases and take 3-D tours of products. Marketers use the bells and whistles to attract visitors and keep them there.
Experts warn, however, of the dangers of adding snazzy components to business sites. Even with the reduced costs these days of adding multimedia to Web sites, marketers must carefully consider whether they are reaching their audience and fulfilling marketing goals with the addition of cutting-edge technology.
"We don't just use technology for technology's sake," says Gary Hanson, EDS's director-marketing communications. "We've got our set of objectives of what we're trying to accomplish, and where the appropriate technology plays with that, that's where we'll use it."
Mr. Hanson says EDS uses video and audio clips and special projects like the underwater Jason Expedition and the current journey to the center of the Earth to give people a sense of the company. Mr. Hanson says EDS is trying to reach senior executives of Fortune 500 or equivalent companies, but the site is also for employees and prospective employees.
UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE
Web designers, marketers and consultants all agree that before deciding what level of technology to have on a site, it's crucial to understand the audience you want to target. Audience connection speed and hardware capabilities should be main concerns of marketers considering multimedia.
Robert Morris, VP-sales and marketing for Inmar, a San Antonio-based interactive software design company, is wary of multimedia on the Internet for business-to-business applications.
"People are really pounding a lot of the technology into the sites, but what they don't realize is that the bandwidth doesn't effectively support that kind of multimedia, and that's an inherent problem at this point," Mr. Morris said.
DON'T TURN OFF CUSTOMERS
Even if the audience has the tools and connection speed, a site with too much glitz might also turn off potential customers.
Denes Bartkovich, manager of Internet marketing for Canadian software development company Cognos Corp., says that though they are trying to reach an upscale audience of business users and technology professionals within Fortune 1,000 companies -- most of whom have high-speed T1 and ISDN lines -- the company is wary of too much pizzazz.
"We've been selective about multimedia technologies, because typically business people aren't coming just to look for something cool, they're looking for information. So that's been our primary criteria in terms of which tools to use," Mr. Bartkovich said.
"We definitely wouldn't put any kind of Shockwave up there just to show off a spinning logo or a neat sound effect, because I think more and more people are just finding it irritating."
The site does include a different "TalkRadio" program every week, which provides audio clips of news headlines, special announcements or product strategy. Video clips of customer testimonials, executive talks and descriptions of technology give visitors the benefit of visual and audio, but the multimedia stops there.
Mr. Bartkovich says they will wait for bandwidth to improve to add technology like Shockwave, and he hasn't found the right use for 3-D or virtual reality.
Not all companies have the resources of an EDS, which is a $12.4 billion company, and $200 million Cognos. Web designers say including components like audio, video, Shockwave and graphical animation in the design of a site can increase the costs by 20% to 50%.
Mr. Bartkovich of Cognos says including seven or eight video clips on Cognos' site costs the company around $3,000, and a Shockwave demo can add $6,000. In general, applications like Shockwave and graphic animation are expensive because they are designer intensive. Audio and video cost less.
At Denver-based global environmental consulting engineering firm CH2M HILL Web site manager Leigh Phipps says its in-house design team avoided multimedia but strove instead for a clean, graphically appealing site that didn't have a long download time.
"I don't think you're going to sell an environmental impact study by being glitzier," Ms. Phipps said. "Snazzy is nice, but it's not appropriate for the audience we serve."
Debbie Hutman, a graphic Web designer with Free Range Media, which has designed sites for companies such as Westin Hotels and Microsoft's Back office, advises careful consideration before adding the bells and whistles -- especially when it comes to expecting the visitor to be willing to do extra work to see what the site has to offer.
"A lot of people are discouraged by needing a plug-in," Ms. Hutman said. She said she takes a minimalist approach to design, limiting color palette and striving for good design and clear, logical navigation. "Are the bells and whistles going to teach your viewers something or are you going to impress them?" she asked. "It might just be lost."
WAITING FOR MORE BANDWIDTH
Over time, marketers say the parameters will change within the next two years. As companies begin to get even higher-speed connections, browsers integrate streaming audio and video, and as new technology is developed in this rapidly evolving world, design rules will have to be reevaluated. Demand is there. Speed and smoothness will follow.
"I think when the bandwidth starts to expand and the modems speed up and the lines speed up, I think people are going to start to demand more, and they're going to want to see more," said Inmar's Mr. Morris. "When the bandwidth starts supporting it better within the next year or two years, and the technology has caught up, people are going to want to be entertained and have things that are experiential out of the PC like they've had out of the television."


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Coconut water and lemon water offer unique hydration benefits, with coconut water replenishing electrolytes and providing quick energy, while lemon water supports immune health and helps combat oxidative stress from UV rays.
In 2004, Ireland banned smoking in indoor workplaces, a policy since adopted in over 70 countries. Now, a push to warn tipplers about cancer risk has the alcohol industry worried
Belgian researchers use AI to enhance Witbier taste without alcohol, predicting consumer ratings accurately. Unpublished work shows non-alcoholic beers becoming indistinguishable from regular beer after implementing AI model changes, despite the importance of brewers' expertise.
Chewing raw turmeric or adding to chia seeds water offers weight loss, blood sugar regulation, inflammation reduction, improved digestion, and metabolism boost. Prepare by soaking seeds, adding turmeric, water, honey, and lime juice for a nutritious drink.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed liquor brands to abide by advertising regulations after uncovering instances of surrogate advertising violations. Companies are required to submit a list of brand extension products linked to alcohol beverages sold in the past three years. Additionally, the CCPA has requested revenue details for both alcobev sales and brand extension on items over the same period.
TSBCL instructs retailers to pick up pending indents, regardless of brand preference. Depots operate 24/7 due to fiscal year-end. Govt clears Rs 1,000 crore out of Rs 3,500 crore dues. Companies halt stock supply. Consumers may not get desired brands.
Retail inflation remained unchanged in Feb but food and beverages prices inched up, while non-food items eased during the month. SData released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday showed retail inflation remained unchanged at 5.1% in Feb but below the 6.4% recorded in Feb last year. Rural inflation was higher at 5.3% while urban was at 4.8%.
As the fizz of carbonated drinks tempts taste buds, it's essential to know the silent threat they pose to cardiovascular well-being. With each sip of soda, individuals may unknowingly negate the strides taken towards a healthier heart through exercise. Just how much of a negating effect two cans of soda per week can have on the health benefits of exercise.
In the latest episode of Shark Tank India, co-founders of a beverage company pitch their business idea including premix powder. Anupam, Namita, Aman, and Ritesh show interest but Anupam refuses an ‘all-sharks’ deal. Ultimately, they choose Anupam and Aman's offer of 35 lakhs for 6% equity.
From cheesecakes to cocktails, the beverage is being used in new ways
The food and beverage industry is shifting towards functional health benefits and plant-based options. Single-serve treats, momos, wraps, ramen, green beverages, and bubble tea are trending. Mixologists are incorporating indigenous ingredients and regional flavors for an immersive customer experience. There is an increased focus on reduced alcohol content and sustainably sourced alternatives.
Reliance Consumer Products Limited partners with Elephant House to introduce new products and value propositions to Indian consumers. Reliance aims to expand Elephant House's consumer brand, delivering high-quality beverages to new consumer segments.
Zong Qinghou, a Chinese business magnate whose leading beverage firm once made him the richest person in the country, died on Sunday, according to an official statement released by his company. Zong, 79, was the founder of the Wahaha conglomerate, which specialises in bottled water, soft drinks, tea and other products.
Delhi High Court seeks TATA SIA Airlines' stand on a plea for Rs 2.5 crore damages for bodily injuries caused by a flight attendant spilling hot beverage on a minor. The court lists the plea for March 6 and examines an interim application to remove the airline's blame on the child.
Soft drinks maker Coca-Cola on Friday said it will transfer bottling operations of the company to local partners in three regions. Coca-Cola's bottling arm Hindustan Coca-Cola beverages (HCCB) is transferring bottling operations in Rajasthan, Bihar, and Northeast and parts of West Bengal to its existing partners in these three regions. The bottling operations in these territories will now be owned by Kandhari Global beverages, SLMG beverages and Moon beverages respectively, according to a statement. The move is part of HCCB's strategy to franchise some regional operations to local partners.
Fig juice, ramen makhana, pearl millet noodle, tandoori peanut spread, camel milk chocolate – it’s a whole new world of inventive snacks packed with off-beat flavours. And it’s wowing foreign tastebuds and retail stores alike


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- The Move seat concept was created by London-based design firm Layer for Airbus.
- The seats are made from lightweight polyester wood smart textile wrapped around an aluminum frame.
- Electrical currents running through the smart textile allow passengers to control the firmness and the temperature of the seat.
- Move seats can be adjusted using an app.
- According to Layer, the seats are meant to help create an innovative passenger experience for economy class travelers.
Modern slimline airplane seats are awful. They are lighter and thinner, which is good for airlines. For passengers flying in economy, it feels like you’ve sat on a thin yoga mat for three hours.
The Airbus Move seat concept is one of the interesting ones.
The Move seat concept was created for Airbus by London-based design firm Layer as an exploration into how smart textiles can improve passenger comfort in economy class while helping airlines save weight and fuel.
"At Layer, we believe good design should be accessible to all. All too often, new concepts for flying are focused on innovation in business class," Benjamin Hubert, Layer’s founder, said in a statement. "We were excited to take on this project with Airbus to find ways to improve and add value to the economy class experience – for both the passenger and the airline."
The Move seat took 18 months to create and are a part of an ongoing partnership between Layer and Airbus.
For now, the seat remains a prototype.
Here’s a closer look at the Move smart seats by Airbus and Layer.
The Move seats won’t necessarily give you more space, but it may make what space you do have more pleasant.
The seating concept is made of smart textile wrapped around an aluminum frame.
The smart textile is made using conductive yarn
- Delta is the first US airline to fly the new Airbus A220 jetliner. Here are its coolest features.
- Delta has a monthly warehouse sale with everything from old seats to airplane toilets — here’s all the vintage aviation gear you can buy
- We drove a $49,000 Toyota Highlander and a $49,000 Honda Pilot to see which is the better family SUV — here’s the verdict


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While Bitcoin is an appealing investment vehicle its other use cases are less popular. Fewer people spend it to buy goods and services as of right now. When it comes to salaries, Bitcoin has not made too many inroads yet either. If it is up to GMO Internet Group, that plan will come to change fairly soon.
GMO Reaffirms Bitcoin Interest
It is not the first time GMO Internet Group has taken a closer look at Bitcoin. The company made it clear they want to work with the leading cryptocurrency in an official capacity. For now, the main focus lies on incorporating a Bitcoin-related payroll for all staffers. That means the Japanese internet giant will allow employees to receive a chunk of their salary in cryptocurrency.
Such a business venture will carry a bit of risk. Given Bitcoin’s price volatility, dealing with salary payments in BTC can become dicey. Even so, there appears to be a genuine interest in this latest option. GMO has made it clear they expect big things of Bitcoin, although the current market trend is not all that positive.
With employees determining the salary cut they want to receive in Bitcoin, interesting options become apparent. The minimum is 10,000 Yen, whereas the maximum is 100,000 Yen. These amounts are still relatively low compared to what GMO Internet Group employees earn, but this is the initial stage of rolling out this feature. There is also an incentive for employees exploring this option, as they receive a bonus of up to 10%.
Will Other Companies offer a Similar Option?
There’s a good reason as to why this option launches in Japan first and foremost. The country has made Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies legal tender some time ago. As such, incorporating BTC into a company’s payroll is far less complicated than one might think. It seems to indicate other Japanese companies may follow this lead by example, assuming GMO Internet Group is successful in this regard.
For GMO, the belief in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is very strong. They consider it to become universal currencies which far transcend the boundaries of fiat currencies. That in itself is a pretty interesting stance, although one not everyone shares. After all, cryptocurrencies remain extremely volatile and have little use outside of speculative measures.
It is evident the opinions on cryptocurrency will always remain divided. With GMO Internet Group bringing positive attention to the ecosystem, good things are bound to happen eventually. Making Bitcoin more useful is a major undertaking given the overall negative public image this currency has. Stories like these show there’s a lot more to cryptocurrency than just using it for criminal purposes.


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Vegetable prices slightly decreased as supply increases in Chennai
Traders at Koyambedu wholesale market stated that the sudden downpour that has hit Karnataka has damaged crops. It might result in an increase in the rates again.
CHENNAI: The prices of vegetables including tomatoes, ginger and small onions marginally decreased across the city due to surge in supply from the neighbouring states.
The production has increased with adequate production in the third crop cultivation.
However, the relief among the people would not last for a week. Traders at Koyambedu wholesale market stated that the sudden downpour that has hit Karnataka has damaged crops. It might result in an increase in the rates again.
"For over a month, the rates soared due to changes in weather pattern, and the supply of vegetables started to normalise for the past few days. Tomatoes are sold for Rs 90 per kg, and small onions for Rs 150 per kg. In addition, since the neighbouring states experience intense rain that has damaged the crop cultivation and stocked commodities. We indicate the prices are likely to further surge, " said K Prabhakaran, a tomato wholesale trader at Koyambedu wholesale market.
Traders worried that an abnormal surge in vegetable prices in the city, the sale has been impacted by 10 to 15 percent. Usually people purchase a limited volume of vegetables during the Tamil month Aadi, and with an increase in the rates worsened the situation for the traders.
Though the prices of tomatoes decreased in both wholesale and retail shops, they have been sold for Rs 90 per kg and Rs 120 per kg respectively. A few shops including supermarkets have been selling for Rs 140 to Rs 160 per kg.
"The vegetable prices have been reduced by 5 to 10 percent from Friday due to an increase in the supply at Koyambedu wholesale market. Though the sales are not great, we are able to sell the purchased commodities. However, we expect the rates will surge further due to monsoon spells in north India, and Karnataka, " said N Gokul, a wholesale trader at Ekkatuthangal.
Here are the Vegetable wholesale prices per kg:
Tomato - Rs 90
Small onions - Rs 150
Ginger - Rs 160
Green chillies - Rs 60
Beans - Rs 30
Broad beans - Rs 50 - Rs 60
Carrots - Rs 40
Beetroot - Rs 20 - Rs 30
Here are the Vegetable retail prices per kg:
Tomato - Rs 120
Small onions - Rs 160
Ginger - Rs 240
Green chillies - Rs 70
Beans - Rs 80
Broad beans - Rs 70
Carrots - Rs 80
Beetroot - Rs 40


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This week Kevin and I start the show with our thoughts on CES going digital, and then turn to subscriptions for smart products, specifically tied to the news that the Mellow sous vide is now charging for functionality that had been free. We then move on to pandemic-era fundings for Density, Withings, and connected fitness company Tempo. Rite-Aid face recognition, a new Alexa app (yay!) challenges for Google/Nest, and HomeKit support for Arlo’s cameras round out our newsy segments. We then showcase a new product for securing the smart home called Hedgehog, and Kevin shares his review of the Wyze Outdoor Cam. We close by answering a listener question about Gosund products.
This week’s guest is John Ouseph, executive director of embedded software in the smart home solutions group at GE Appliances. He came on the show to discuss UL’s new IoT security framework and why GE Appliances chose to use it. We also talk about security challenges facing connected appliances, how to manage long-lived connected assets in the home, and why it will get more and more difficult to buy non-connected devices. I walked away more confident that major brands are really taking security seriously. Hopefully, you will too.


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Smartphone sales in India for the first time exceeded 30 million units for the quarter
As we already reported, for smartphones in India are very interesting and useful application. No wonder Indian smartphone market is second in the world, second only to the China market and continuing to grow. According to estimates IDC, in the last quarter in India was first sold in the quarter more than 30 million smartphones. More specifically, 32.3 million pieces. This figure corresponds to sales growth of 17.5% compared to the previous quarter and by 11% compared with the third quarter last year.
The market leader is Samsung, which share equal to 23.0 percent. In second place is Lenovo with 9.6 per cent. Third place goes to Micromax. The share of this company is 7.5%. Only slightly lags behind the Micromax company Xiaomi, whose share for the quarter, equal to 7.4%. The top five largest suppliers of smartphones, the company Reliance Jio with a share of 7.0%.


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In honor of its 80-year anniversary, leading custom upholstery specialist Sam Moore has launched its “Search for Vintage Sam Moore” social media contest. Using the hashtag #80MooreYears, the contest is part of a broader social media campaign that will highlight significant milestones and feature a variety of historical photos, including the vintage chairs.
The contest encourages consumers, employees, designers and retailers to submit images of vintage Sam Moore designs. The participant who submits the oldest image of a Sam Moore item will receive a brand-new chair, fully customized in the fabric and finish of their choice. All of the images that are collected throughout the contest will also be shared on Sam Moore’s social media platforms as part of the #80MooreYears campaign.
“What better way to honor our 80th anniversary than to celebrate with our retail and design partners, our consumers and our employees that continue to support our company year after year,” said Sandi Teague, vice president of sales and merchandising for Sam Moore. “We are very excited to see the vintage submissions that will demonstrate how our designs have evolved over the years. Social media is the perfect way to connect with our followers from across the country as well as those in our own backyard here in Bedford.”
The contest will run from April 21 to June 20 and a winner will be announced via the Sam Moore Facebook page. To enter, participants can simply send a direct message with their contact information, a photo of the vintage item and a label or other proof that it is a Sam Moore product. All entrants must be a follower of the Sam Moore Facebook page to be eligible to win. To follow, visit the Sam Moore Facebook page.


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Houthi rebels from Yemen have attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea since late November. CEOs expect these disruptions to last for a while.
However, the situation is much more dramatic than it looks on the surface. The USA as the “policeman of the world’s oceans” shows weakness here, which is mercilessly exploited by pirates (backed by rogue states).
The historically unique peace in global shipping that the USA maintained since WW II is giving way to an uncertain era in which companies themselves have to organize solutions for their supply chain and transport security.
Nearshoring, security associations and partnerships with governments are measures that need to be seriously addressed now.
As a consequence, CEOs and SCM Leaders must restructure their global production system to a regional footprint now. Local production for local demand.
Besides, this also increases sustainablity, quality and local employment. Action is required now, because the volatility will not go away in the foreseeable future.


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INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Everyone knows shopping for young kids can be hard. They grow so quickly, and it can be difficult trying to keep up while staying on a budget.
Luckily, this year's "Whale of a Sale" is in full swing. It's one of the biggest consignment sales in the state.
It kicked off at the Grand Park Events Center in Westfield on Thursday April 26. It continues through the weekend on Saturday April 29 at 8 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. and from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday April 30.


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Speculation is running high as to what changes may be coming to the Pokémon TCG in 2022. Details have been released for a high-class set titled VMAX Climax in Japan which is rumored to be the final set to include Pokémon-VMAX as a mechanic. That is speculation at the moment, but it comes at a time when a change makes sense. The TCG often ties into new game releases, and we do indeed have three major releases coming between now and the first quarter of 2022: Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, all of which focus on Sinnoh (the latter, during a time when the region was called Hisui) which isn't a region that has Dynamax or Gigantamax as a feature. In addition to that, it has now been revealed that the Japanese Pokémon TCG will debut a new mechanic in 2022 called Pokémon-VSTAR. Could this replace VMAX as a new style of premium Ultra Rare above Pokémon V?
Here's what we know so far about the future of the Pokémon TCG:
- As far as English sets beyond October's Celebrations, very little. Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike will be Mew-centric and will introduce Fusion as the third Battle Style. It is thought to adapt Japan's Fusion Arts and Inteleon and Gengar decks into English, though little has been confirmed.
- VMAX Climax arrives in Japan as a high-class set in December 2021. It will be another Shiny set like Shining Fates. Or, more accurately, the Japanese equivalent of Shiny Star V. There is no information on when this will arrive in English, but it will likely be a special set when it does.
- The same month, we'll see new Japanese decks with exclusive cards featuring Kingler V and VMAX. These will likely be adapted into an English set in 2022.
- Japan's January 2021 Pokémon TCG expansion is titled Star Birth and will include an Arceus VSTAR. No word on what that means.
- The Japanese Pokémon TCG has filed trademarks for sets seemingly tying into the new games, including Time Gazer, Space Juggler, and Dark Phantasma. These will very likely be Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina-themed sets.


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Chennai, May 17 () : IPL brand has taken a dent. BCCI President N Srinivasan is more worried about spot-fixing than the three players named in the FIR.
The cricket board is literally facing a `towel in the trousers’ syndrome. Till now everything seemed to go without any controversy. Year after year, the brand value has been eroded but this time Sony –Pepsi were all happy with the way the game was going on.
A recent study had for the first time in two years put the IPL’s overall value at 4% higher than last year at $3.03 billion (Rs 16,362 crore). Last year’s value was $2.92 bn (Rs 15,768 crore).
Only the marginal increase came after two years of decline that saw the brand value go from $4.13 bn (Rs 22,302 crore) to $3.67 bn (Rs 19,818 crore) and slip to $2.92 bn. Totally, there was a loss of nearly $1 bn.
Ultra Tech, the team sponsor of Rajasthan Royals is red-faced after having just paid Rs 30 crore for renewing the two year contract. Pepsi, which just launched a new drink Atom and the main sponsor is putting up a brave face by skirting the issue of being hit by spot-fixing, and moving on to fair play. Official broadcaster says everything is fine with viewership.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) has always been in controversy. It won the first IPL trophy but after that it has been mired in financial irregularities. BCCI has thrown RR out of IPL for violation of the agreement but with the SC stay order it came back, allegedly with support of ex-IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi.
One of the promoters of the RR is Suresh Chellaram, brother-in-law of Modi. Modi is now hiding in London, after the scam blew open, had seen that Chellaram got the team cheaply. It was $64 million and the lowest priced franchise.
Shilpa Shetty and her husband paid $41.6 million to a UK biz man Mohan Badgle, the owner of RR for a 11% stake. The Enforcement Directorate has slapped charges that Shilpa and Mohan of having used the Mauritius route to launder the money. There are no records to show Shilpa of having paid the money, said then BCCI President.
RR used to boast of getting not so top cricketers for less money and getting excellent performance.
Mohinish Mishra (Sahara Pune Warriors) P Sudhindra (of the now-defunct Deccan Chargers), Amit Yadav, Shalabh Srivastava (Kings XI Punjab) and Abhinav Bali, a Delhi player, were suspended by the IPL after a channel did a sting operation last year. The spot fixing trail leads to Kochi where Sreesanth operated through his friend Damodaran to clinch deals with Dubai centered bookies. He was behind the private club that conducted matches in Dubai.


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Der Entwurf gelangte wieder zum Unterhaus, das für diesen stimmte, jedoch nicht alle Änderungen des Senats 11 Unexpected Ways to Go to Jail for "Legal" Cannabis in Canada L ook into the future with me: It is some time in late 2018, Bill C-45 has become law. The federal “Cannabis Act” is in effect.
Here is Children's Bill C-45, also known as the Cannabis Act, is a piece of government legislation that It is expected that the Bill will come into effect on July 1, 2018. in Ontario, it will only be sold by the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, a subsidiary of the Newsroom : Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018 Supporting licensed and regulated private cannabis retail sales . The Cannabis Act, 2017 would be amended to permit the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (OCRC) and stores authorized under the proposed Cannabis Licence Act, 2018, if passed, to sell recreational cannabis privately in Ontario. Cannabis Act ( S.C. 2018, c. 16) - laws-lois.justice.gc.ca Regulations made under this Act. Cannabis Act (Police Enforcement) Regulations (SOR/2018-151) Cannabis Fees Order (SOR/2018-198) Cannabis for Medical Purposes Remission Order [Not in force] (SOR/2020-9) Cannabis Regulations (SOR/2018-144) Cannabis Tracking System Order (SOR/2019-202) Industrial Hemp Regulations (SOR/2018-145) Ontario passes Cannabis Act, will take effect July 1, 2018 | The Ontario passes Cannabis Act, will take effect July 1, 2018 By Rob Ferguson Queen's Park Bureau Robert Benzie Queen's Park Bureau Chief Tues., Dec. 12, 2017 timer 3 min.
Bill 36 - Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018
From: Health Canada. Backgrounder. The Cannabis Act: The Facts.
Police Services Ask Feds To Postpone July 2018 Cannabis Act Start Date The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Ontario Provincial Police and the Saskatoon Police Service asked for delay of implementation of Cannabis Act.
If passed, it will, inter alia, enact the Cannabis License Act, 2018, and amend the Cannabis Act, 2017 as well as the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation Act, 2017.
Read about the Bill 174 and the Cannabis Act and how this impacts Ontario On October 17th, 2018, private recreational cannabis use became legal in 16 Oct 2018 Oct. 16, 2018. 93 Ontario, Canada's most-populous province, will have privately run stores starting on April 1.
Please note: Medical cannabis is not affected by this legislation. The Ontario Cannabis Act - cci-sw.on.ca The Ontario Cannabis Act What Condominium Corporations Need To Know 1) As announced on September 27th 2018, the Ontario Cannabis Act, 2017 passed by the previous provincial government is being amended by the new provincial government's Cannabis Statute Law Government Bill (House of Commons) C-45 (42-1) - Royal Assent His Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled “ An Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts ”.
October 11, 2018 . 2 The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has been working hard to advance local perspectives on the legalization of recrea Cannabis — Middlesex-London Health Unit The Cannabis Act, 2018 controls the production, distribution, sale and possession of cannabis across Canada. The Cannabis Control Act, 2017 and its regulations control the sale, distribution, and possession of cannabis within Ontario.
The federal Cannabis Act creates a legal framework for controlling the production, 17 Oct 2018 With the Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018, passing into law The new legislation has now tasked the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 21 Dec 2018 Read more about Update To Cannabis Law In Workplaces - What's New? from Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP. 15 Oct 2018 If passed, it will, inter alia, enact the Cannabis License Act, 2018, and amend the Cannabis Act, 2017 as well as the Ontario Cannabis Retail New federal and provincial legislation came into effect on October 17, 2018 to The federal Cannabis Act allows condominium occupants, aged 19 years and The Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 explicitly prohibits the smoking of cannabis in Possible Location of Private Recreational Cannabis Retail Stores in Tiny Ontario Regulation 468/18, made under the Cannabis Licence Act, 2018, provides 15 Oct 2018 JFCY Blog : Cannabis Laws in Ontario – Starting Oct 17, 2018 to have any plants; Sentencing will be under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Ontario has now passed Bill 36: Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018 (Bill 36), which sets out the government's updated approach to the regulation of The Province of Ontario passed updated legislation regarding cannabis use, retailing and enforcement in October 2018 (Bill 36 – The Cannabis Statute Law 30 Apr 2018 April 30, 2018. While the Ontario's Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 ("Bill 148") brought changes to the Ontario Employment Standards 17 Oct 2018 Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, is now law. The bill is a piece of government legislation that legalized access to recreational cannabis in Canada Government of Ontario/Government of Canada/Health Canada Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018 Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario. 2 Jan 2020 Ontario Cannabis Retail Regulations According to the Cannabis Licence Act of 2018, a retail cannabis location must abide by these 17 Oct 2018 CBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2018 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: October Late Wednesday afternoon, Ontario passed its cannabis legislation, 23 Nov 2018 As I previously reported, the Cannabis Statute Law Amendment Act, 2018 However, on November 14, 2018, the Government of Ontario Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/cannabis-legalization Overview When cannabis is legalized on October 17, 2018, Ontario's Government for the People will 28 Nov 2018 This evening, after much anticipation, Ontario's government announced the proclamation of its new cannabis regulations.
Even though recreational marijuana is now legal throughout Canada, this does not mean you can cross the border into the country with it. New Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 in Force July 1, 2018: What On July 1, 2018, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 (SFO Act) and accompanying regulation will come into force. It was enacted as part of the omnibus Bill 174, Cannabis, Smoke-Free Ontario and Road Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017.cbd shop ball la
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Is not within 150 metres of a public or private school.


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It’s a gas
No, I don’t mean it’s a gas as in ‘funny ha ha’. However, it is certainly a joke for British Gas customers though.
As of 29th May, the energy giant is introducing a 5.5% price hike, which will affect over 4 million customers.
Apparently, the introduction is ‘reluctant’ and Centrica – who own British Gas – are blaming it on rising wholesale and government policy costs.
So, none of the additional £246 million they will make from the increase will line their coffers then? No, of course not.
Ha! They’re having a laugh if they think we will believe that.
Ok, so a price rise of £60 a year doesn’t sound like a huge amount when you break it down over the course of a year. But it is still an emotive user experience for all the wrong reasons. Times are tight for everyone, so people will feel the pinch.
Trying to avoid blame
It sounds to me as though British Gas are trying to pass the buck. They’re blaming government policy costs but the government don’t approve the hike.
The Energy Minister – Claire Perry – said it was very disappointing and unjustified. She was even encouraging current British Gas customers to switch suppliers because they are already ‘paying more than they need to’.
And, of course, consumer feedback simply doesn’t get taken into consideration.
Due to such ‘unnecessary’ price rises, this coming winter the government will be introducing a price cap to guarantee consumers protection from poor tariff values.
The cap will also help to further reduce the £1.4 billion a year that has been overpayed by ‘Big Six’ customers.
Back in November, British Gas announced that they would scrap their new customer standard variable tariffs (SVT), before the government slapped a price cap on them.
That does nothing for a large proportion of existing customers though. They will be likely to remain on SVT’s, as these are generally the default option when fixed-cost deals expire. And they are the most expensive type of energy bill.
Those who are on such a Big Six energy supplier default tariff would definitely be better off by switching, as they could save around £308 by doing so.
And that will definitely be a better end user experience than sticking around to have extra pressure added to household bills.
Of course, Centrica stands by it’s claim that the Government’s energy policies are to blame for pushing up customers’ bills.
They also believe that the Government should either ensure all suppliers pay a share of policy costs. Or, better still, that the costs be moved from energy bills into general taxation.
Either way though, I guess it’s still the end user that gets hit for the extra money.
No customer wants to be ripped off
All energy firms out there, particularly the ‘Big Six’, have been facing pressure over the way they treat their customers for quite a long time.
It wouldn’t take extensive user experiencing monitoring or customer feedback to learn that the public feel they are being overcharged. Or, even ‘ripped off’.
The problem is, energy giants are among the many who place their hopes on the fact that consumers don’t have the time or inclination to switch and find a better deal.
And that is true in a lot of cases. But, as a business, it’s not something to hedge your bets on.
Ok, so there is very little likelihood that over 4 million customers will leave British Gas. But even if they did, they still have another 3 million plus customers to turn to.
Not many average small and medium sized businesses have that luxury though.
Yes, costs do rise and, sometimes, it is inevitable that price increases have to be passed on to customers.
But make sure you give fair warning.
And ensure that the changes – and hikes – are absolutely necessary.
Make sure you are offering the right sort of emotive consumer experience. We can help by offering user experience monitoring so you can see your business from a customer point of view. Then you can work to meet consumer requirements whilst keeping your business running.
And just remember: in this day and age, customers don’t have money to burn. So, don’t rip them off.


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Service provider Unicom has reported turnover growth for the third year running, and secured ISO 9001 certification.
Unicom operations director Chris Earle said: “ISO 9001 is an accreditation awarded to just five per cent of businesses – the perception is that the figure is much higher.
“In an intensely challenging business, where we are under scrutiny from a vast audience, this is a tremendous endorsement of our team’s efforts to provide the best possible customer service.”
Unicom recently featured in the Sunday Times list of the UK’s fastest growing tech companies by both turnover and growth over a three year period – the only company nationwide to be ranked by both.
Unicom has 70,000 business customers, primarily small or owner-managed businesses with telephone bills of approximately £1,000 a year.


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According to the State of Global Islamic Economy Report 2018/2019, the global fashion consumption among Muslims is valued at US$270bn and is projected to continue to increase at a growth rate of 5%. By 2023, consumption will be worth US$361bn.
The UAE is currently the world’s biggest producer of Muslim fashion, but Indonesia, currently home to the world’s largest number of Muslims, aims to emerge as the leading Muslim fashion supplier by 2020.
For the full story, see the June 2019 edition of Textiles South East Asia. Not a subscriber? Sign up HERE


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If you were planning on grabbing one of those big new 4K TVs that were launched late last year in Australia, you’ve probably asked the question “where can I find some proper UHDTV content.” Well, Sony has announced availability for its solution, but there is no good news yet for 4K owners in Australia.
Several months later, Sony is talking up the solution properly, with the FMP-X1, the first 4K Media Player that also acts as a distribution service for downloading 4K movies.
“This summer our 4K media player, followed in fall by the video distribution service will demonstrate how Sony continues to lead in bringing the 4K entertainment experience to viewers,” said Mike Lucas, Sony Electronics Home Division in the US.
The solution will be available without purchasing the 4K TV for $699 in America, and will be preloaded with several films, including “Bad Teacher,” “Battle: Los Angeles,” “Salt,” “Taxi Driver”, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” as well as a few others.
Sony’s FMP-X1 will later on be able to access 4K movies distributed digitally from Sony’s film house, as well as “other notable production houses.”
Australians interested in Sony’s 4K solution will be out of luck at this time, however, with Sony not moving on so much from last year’s comment that this was “a local US initiative with Sony Pictures Entertainment,” and a representative for the company telling GadgetGuy this week that “at this stage the product is only available in the US.”
Meanwhile, Sony is also eyeing off possible Blu-ray discs that have been “mastered in 4K,” for release with select future 4K TVs from the company in America, with titles including “Spider-Man,” “Angels & Demons,” and “Ghostbusters.”


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In case you weren’t aware, not all 5G is equal. This is because depending on the antennas in your smartphone, you might be connected to either mmWave 5G or sub-6GHz 5G. The former offers faster speeds compared to sub-6GHz, but have a shorter range, while the latter offers wider coverage but at the cost of speed.
The iPhone 12 currently supports both 5G connectivity options if you live in the US, but for non-US markets, it’s sold with the sub-6GHz antenna. This isn’t really an issue given that 5G isn’t widely available worldwide yet, but the good news for those who are planning on buying an iPhone 13 is that Apple is expected to include mmWave 5G antennas in more of its iPhone 13 models this year.
This is according to a report from Patently Apple who cites a supply chain report in which a Taiwanese company, Qiqi, is in the process of receiving a large order for mmWave antennas which will apparently be going into the iPhone 13. The report also goes on to add that Apple is working with various telecom companies around the world where they hope to expand mmWave iPhones over the next few years.
That being said, sub-6GHz speeds are still faster compared to LTE, so it’s not as if customers will be losing out, so that’s still worth noting anyway. Plus the wider coverage means you’ll be getting a more consistent connection, which is a good thing.


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The digital era gave way to the rise of the different forms of online marketing. The popular use of handy gadgets and other technologies like desktops and laptops have created a mindset that TV advertising and other forms of traditional advertising are now ineffective. However, recent research proved this thought to be wrong.
With the impressive research findings, marketers from various industries can now stay put and relax knowing that the budget they have spent for the different TV advertising rates will give them the ROI that they expect. Let us know more about the important findings from this data-driven advertising research.
As a response to marketers’ concerns about TV advertisements effectiveness, a study was recently conducted by Australian media group ThinkTV. The study led by Monash University Professor Peter Danaher assessed how TV impacts customers’ immediate response. With the aim of having objective data to support the idea that TV is effective in boosting corporate short term sales as well as promoting long term campaigns, the research team assessed around 850 ROI observations from the marketing campaigns of 60 brands through the years.
TV Marketing Still Have Great ROI Share
True to its assumptions, this specific research showed that TV marketing remains an effective advertising tool in the present times. It is an eye opener to companies after showing that this form of advertising still contributes at least $18.30 in ROI for each dollar spent by the marketer.
Of all the different mediums that companies can leverage to increase their revenues and profits, TV ranked the second best. This is proven by the fact that TV advertisements post $4.30 return during the first quarter of every launched campaign.
The impressive research findings don’t end there. Among the key results of the study showed that TV posted the highest ROI longevity as compared to other marketing mediums which ROIs lower through time. With these findings, companies can truly maximise their ROIs by ensuring that they still get the best TV advertising rates available in the market. Through this they can earn more by spending less.
Personal Thoughts From the Study
One of the positive points that we can get from this research is that it is still too early to say that the digital era can easily end the power of TV advertising that it has established through decades. Yes, the digital era has opened new marketing opportunities for companies but these are still best combined with our traditional TV marketing campaigns.
As the study shows, television advertising is still in the forefront of building brand awareness especially to a diverse consumer base. It is not just posting high ROIs for short term revenue or profit goals, it is cost efficient that it allows marketers to also invest in the other high performing marketing mediums.


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The new structure will have a13-member executive team comprising six representatives from each bank and a group managing director.
Former Bendigo Bank chief operating officer Mike Hirst will move into the role of chief executive of the retail bank.
Hirst will be joined on the retail side by Russell Jenkins and Marnie Baker in the roles of chief general managers of retail customers, and solutions and product, respectively.
Former Adelaide Bank group managing director Jamie McPhee has been hired to the role of chief executive of the wholesale bank.
McPhee has also been appointed to the merged group's board as executive director.
In other internal appointments, Tim Piper will move into the role of chief general manager of wholesale mortgages while Philip Riquier will take on the role as chief general manager of portfolio and business. Anthony Baum has been appointed to the role as chief general manager of wealth financing and product.
As well as operating the retail and wholesale arms, the merged bank will also run five major corporate service divisions.
The merged group will be named Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. The change of name will not impact branding.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will have about $7 billion of funds under management and advice and loans under management of more than $43 billion.
It will have more than 380 branches covering all states and territories and plans to open another 25 branches later this year or early next year.
Bendigo Bank confirmed in late June that it had ceased merger arrangements with Bank of Queensland in favour of discussions with Adelaide Bank.
Australia's biggest provider of financial advice technology has announced it will acquire a major listed platform provider. ...
Platform provider OneVue has conceded that a recent claim from a Chinese creditor regarding the collapse of Sargon could see a further court...
Three former directors of liquidated advisory firm Linchpin Capital have been banned from financial services for five years. ...


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Korean investors sour on Tesla stock after price plungeKorean purchases of Tesla shares hit a one-year low in May amid a drop in its price, data showed Wednesday.
Domestic investors bought a net $80.8 million worth of Tesla shares in May, the lowest amount in one year, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository.
It was down 45 percent from the previous month and less than one-tenth of the $939 million in January, when Tesla's share price hit an all-time high.
The May tally also represents the first time since May last year that their net buying of Tesla dropped below the $100 million mark.
The tumble in Korean Tesla purchases resulted mainly from a downturn in its share price due to concerns over inflation and tapering. Industry watchers added CEO Elon Musk's controversial remarks on cryptocurrency were also responsible.
After flirting with $1,000, Tesla shares plunged to $546.98 at one point on May 19, threatening to break the yearly low.
In step with falling shares prices, Korean net buying of Tesla has been declining. Net purchases fell to $304 million in February, $232 million in March and $146 million in April.
In May, Amazon overtook Tesla as the most-bought overseas stock by Korean investors, at $81.4 million. Tesla had been the top pick of Korean investors for seven months.
Tesla was followed by TQQQ, at $50.35 million, SPDR, at $44.17 million, Airbnb, at $37.79 million, and Boeing, at $30.71 million.


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Penske Truck Leasing Gets 10,000th Hino Truck
NOVI, MI — Hino Trucks celebrates the delivery of its 10,000th truck to Penske Truck Leasing.
"We congratulate the entire team at Hino and Toyota on this significant milestone," said Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Truck Leasing (PTL). "Hino continues to be a trusted supplier of high-quality trucks within our truck leasing and truck rental fleets. We are pleased with the performance of these vehicles and the outstanding support Hino provides."
The entire assembly team and management from Hino and Penske celebrated the event at Hino’s plant in Williamstown, WV.
Hino Trucks, a Toyota Group Company, assembles, sells, and services Class 5 to 7 commercial trucks in the United States and has a network of over 200 dealers nationwide.
The 10,000th truck is a 2015 model 268A, part of Hino’s class 6 and 7 conventional truck line up. Hino says the model is well suited for the lease and rental market segment – of which Hino has 10 percent of the market. The 10,000th truck will be part of Penske’s rental fleet.
Penske Truck Leasing operates more than 200,000 vehicles and serves customers from more than 1,000 locations in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
“This major milestone began in 2004 when PTL received its first Hino 268 truck. We are proud of our longstanding partnership with PTL and the delivery of our 10,000th Hino truck,” said Yoshinori Noguchi, president and CEO for Hino Trucks.


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Israeli solar energy company SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: SEDG) is entering the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) market. The company, which develops and manufactures systems for optimizing and monitoring solar energy, reported that it has acquired the assets and activity of Israeli company Gamatronic Electronic industries Ltd. (TASE: GAMT) for NIS 41 million, subject to adjustments relating to the company's inventory on the date on which the deal is completed.
SolarEdge's share price leaped 6% to a record $59.10 in late Wall Street trading yesterday following the publication of the company's first quarter financial statements, boosting its market cap to $2.8 billion.
"This acquisition is a first step towards expanding SolarEdge's activity to new markets outside the solar field," SolarEdge founder and CEO Guy Sella said. "The UPS market has been assessed in the billions of dollars and is likely to evolve significantly in the coming years. We believe that the SolarEdge's technological innovation, operating excellence, and business leadership, combined with Gamatronic's technology and experience in this market, will enable us to become a leading player in the market.
The price of Gamatronic's share, which will probably still be listed on the TASE after the deal is completed, responded to the report by soaring 50%, boosting the company's market cap to NIS 60 million. Before today's increase, the share had lost over 60% of its value over the past three years, reflecting its investors' disappointment with the company's results.
SolarEdge is acquiring all of Gamatronic's assets in the framework of the deal, including the company's intellectual property and brand name, except for its customers' balances (NIS 25 million as of the end of 2017), dormant shares (worth NIS 12 million), money that is not part of business activity, and the company building in Har Hahotzvim in Jerusalem.
100 of Gamatronic's 130 employees will be employed by SolarEdge. SolarEdge is also getting an option to acquire Gamatronic's subsidiary in the UK for an estimated NIS 2 million.
After the deal is completed (expected by the end of June this year), subject to various conditions, Gamatronic will receive 50% of the pre-tax profit generated by the sold activity in the first year after the deal is completed and 33% of the pre-tax profit in the second year.
Bought FIMI's holdings
Gamatronic specializes in developing, manufacturing, and marketing electronic capacity products. Its products include UPS systems for supplying electricity continuously for computer and data communications systems, power systems providing direct current (DC) for communications equipment, current converters and chargers, and systems combining communications, hardware, and software used for command, control, and monitoring of UPS systems, power systems, and general energy controls systems.
Gamatronic, founded in 1970, now sells its products in the US, China, Europe, South Africa, and Latin America. FIMI was previously an investor in the company, but following a dispute between the fund and Gamatronic controlling shareholder Joseph Goren, Gamatronic itself acquired FIMI's holdings (7% of the shares plus options) in October 2010 for NIS 15 million.
As part of the current deal, Goren, who holds 59% of Gamatronic's share capital and serves as company president, and his daughter, Gamatronic director and VP sales and marketing Sharon Goren Bar-Zvi, will continue in their jobs for a year after the deal is completed, together with director and special projects manager Eli Steinhorn. At the same time, SolarEdge can dismiss them "at its sole discretion."
As part of the agreement, SolarEdge also undertook to rent three floors in Gamatronic's building on Har Hahotzvim with 4,800 square meters of space at NIS 50 per meter (NIS 240,000 per month) for two years, starting on the date on which the deal is completed. SolarEdge has the right to terminate the lease on six months' notice.
Gamatronic has been hit hard by a number of factors in recent year, especially intensifying competition and the strengthening of the shekel against the dollar and the pound. The company's revenue totaled NIS 65.8 million in 2017, 13% less than in 2016, its operating loss was NIS 4.5 million, compared with a NIS 9.3 million operating loss in 2016, and its net loss was NIS 6.3 million, 44% smaller than its loss in 2016.
Gamatronic said in its financial statements that the drop in revenue "is a result of growing global competition, sustained large-scale strengthening of the shekel against foreign currencies, and the difficulty in exporting from Israel."
In an attempt to counteract the trend and improve its results, "The company has established offices (subsidiaries) in the UK and China in order to overcome this difficulty and increase sales in markets that the company's management believes have major potential"
Good reports for SolarEdge
SolarEdge held its IPO on Nasdaq in March 2015. Its share price then more than doubled to a peak of $100 followed by a fall to low of $14 resulting from disappointment with the company's results and concern about competition that could damage its business, mainly in the US.
At the same time, the company has proven its ability to grow rapidly over the past year, and its share price has responded accordingly.
SolarEdge outperformed the analysts' forecasts in the first quarter in both revenue and profit, with a non-GAAP profit per share of $0.87 on $210 million in revenue. Revenue was 84% more than in the corresponding quarter last year. SolarEdge's GAAP net profit totaled $35.7 million, compared with $14.2 million in the first quarter of 2017, and its non-GAAP net profit hit $42.6 million, up 159%, compared with the first quarter last year and 3.4% in the preceding quarter.
SolarEdge generated $64 million in cash from current activity in the first quarter and finished the first quarter with over $400 million in cash.
The company's guidance for the second quarter is for revenue to reach $220-230 million, 62-69% more than in the corresponding quarter last year. SolarEdge expects its gross profit margin to remain in the 36-38% range in the second quarter.
Commenting on SolarEdge's results, Sella said, "We are glad to report a strong quarter with record revenue and profit, despite the usual seasonal slowdown and the persistent shortage of components in the industry. Our continual technological innovation and the excellence of our operations, together with the launching of new products and our financial strength, put us in a good position for continued growth and taking a leading role in the industry."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 10, 2018
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018


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This is my weekly log of everything that’s happened in the EUC, EMM, and desktop virtualization space.
Our blog posts
BrianMadden.com is hiring a site editor! Here's a look at our plans. We're also growing our freelance program.
Will digital assistants be a security nightmare like BYOD? This isn't a new question, but it's a good time to start digging into it more.
Apple announced iOS 11.3 this week, and like iOS 10.3 and 9.3 before it, this significant spring update will have some important MDM features. The updated Configuration Profile Reference reveals a new MDM restriction that allows IT to delay iOS updates on Supervised devices for up to 90 days. This is a big, long-requested feature, but note that Supervision is only intended for enterprise devices, so there’s still no way to prevent BYOD users from upgrading.
Okta released its Businesses at Work 2018 report. While it’s limited to Okta customers, it is a good look at trends in enterprise SaaS. Office 365 retained the top spot overall in terms of customer numbers and monthly active users; G Suite grew customers at a faster rate than Office 365, but Office 365 grew monthly active users faster. Dig through more at Okta.com.
The fastest growing app among Okta customers is Jamf, growing 389% year over year. That’s especially impressive considering that Jamf’s overall numbers are getting pretty big—this week they announced that they’re over 13,700 customers. They had a huge year, having also announced a big partnership with Microsoft back at Ignite. Overall, their illustrates how Macs are finally coming into the enterprise in a big way. Jamf has a huge lead in Mac management, but in 2018 we’ll be watching to see how other endpoint vendors also capitalize on the trend and grow their own Mac numbers.
There’s still plenty of activity in the printing space, as this week PrinterLogic announced a $15 million series A funding round. Recently Gabe noted increasing interest in their serverless approach, but cautioned that ThinPrint recently joined the serverless trend and that others could soon follow. Expect to hear more around Synergy or VMworld.
Lakeside Software shared research on the performance impact of Meltdown and Spectre patches on RDS and XenApp. (Here’s additional coverage by my colleague Alyssa Provazza.) They found CPU increases of 16–22%, depending on hardware and architecture. Again, this is all highly workload dependent, so it’s time to do your own testing.
Microsoft and Google both had big education announcements:
- G Suite for Education is gaining some security features like DLP, physical security key enforcement, and S/MIME. A new higher-end SKU called G Suite Enterprise for Education will include more of G Suite’s enterprise features, including MDM.
- Among other updates, Microsoft touted low-price Windows 10 devices and new features in Intune for Education. Intune for Education will gain new user roles intended for admins at individual schools (I know from my teacher friends that this will be a welcome feature), along with more Windows 10 controls and more reporting features.
Finally, here’s a grab bag of other things that crossed my desk this week:
- Brian Madden (the person, not BrianMadden.com!) is popping back into our industry to speak at Igel Disrupt North America on February 9th.
- Did you know that Google has a blog home specifically for Android Enterprise?
- The Desktop Bridge (a.k.a. Project Centennial) version of Microsoft Office for Windows is now GA in the Microsoft Store. It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the Desktop Bridge (here’s a deep dive from Tim Mangan), but it seems like a good time to see how much these bridges have been used in the last year, so I’ll add that to our to-do list.
- The Samsung Galaxy S9 will unveiled on February 25th—I’ll be checking to see if any Knox updates are coming with it.


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CSI: Cyber is known more for absurd drama than technical coherence, but it’s a big deal that hacking’s become so visible that it’s the plot point of a network TV show. When we heard that last Sunday’s episode of CSI: Cyber, “Gone in Six Seconds,” was about car hacking, we had to tune in. It even featured a split-second cameo from car hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, who earlier this year assumed control of a Jeep as our own Andy Greenberg drove it down the highway. Here’s what CSI got right about car hacking, and some of its less plausible takes on how such hacks work.
The episode begins when a hacker named “Smokescreen” drag races a driverless vehicle remotely, forcing it into another car and killing the driver. Smokescreen’s real name is Kevin Cane, and he lost the use of his legs drag racing a fellow named Paul Martinez, who—gasp—leads a massive drug ring. Cane plants a phone in Martinez’s car in an effort to frame him for the fatal crash. The plot twists and turns from there: During a drag race set up by the FBI, hacker-turned-FBI agent Brody Nelson, a central character on the show, gets into a car under Cane’s control so he might disrupt Cane’s access to it. To do this, Nelson disables the car’s GSM chip, which links to a digital cell network, to kill the navigation. Eventually, the FBI Cyber Division uses the car’s event data recorder “black box” to track down Cane, who controlled the car using an open source microcontroller connected to its OBD-II diagnostic system.
It’s surprising to see that CSI: Cyber, in spite of its wild inaccuracies, has a firmer grasp on the possibility of car hacking than, say, Scientific American. “Anything that the car can do can be replayed, or spoofed, or impersonated,” says Joshua Corman, founder of I Am The Cavalry, which advises industries and policy makers on cyber safety. Given that many cars already have semi-autonomous technologies, “if you had the right series of controls, you could drive it remotely,” Corman says. “So it doesn’t stretch the realm of possibility right now.”
Car Systems Are Increasingly Interconnected
The show correctly notes that today’s cars are increasingly interconnected, and everything connected to the car’s onboard computer—headlights, steering, turn signals, brakes—is vulnerable. That’s because the latest models have a CAN bus, or controller area network, linking multiple electronic control units, such as parking assist and active cruise control, in a single network that allows everything to communicate with everything else. The trouble is, this network is not secure. “Because cars were never connected to the outside world, there was no need to have segmentation and authentication,” says Corman. That’s why all the systems trust each other. And that means someone who compromises the infotainment system could, for example, spoof commands sent to other systems, such as the brakes.
Although CSI: Cyber pointed out that it’s possible to hack a car through the an emergency response system like OnStar or an onboard diagnostic dongle, Cane’s character instead installed a remote device to hack the navigation system remotely. Nelson somehow fixes things by breaking the GSM chip, then the Feds trace Cane using the SIM card in the remote device, which communicates with his cell phone.
Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and CTO of mobile security firm Lookout, knows a little something about this. He hacked a Tesla Model S during the summer and is quick to note that many cars have GSM radios. To hack the Tesla, he and fellow researcher Marc Rogers physically accessed the car to plant a backdoor, then used the car’s Internet connection to control the vehicle. “We didn’t even need to add any new equipment in the car,” he says. “We just modified the software running on the car’s servers. The car, indeed, was running on multiple servers. It was a data center on wheels.”
This is why it is important to isolate the myriad systems within a car. “If your security model is such that if you hack the infotainment system, you hack the car—that’s not good,” Mahaffey says. Just as you wouldn’t want anyone tocontrol an airliner’s avionics through its onboard Wi-Fi, you don’t want anyone controlling a car’s brakes by accessing its infotainment system. “Not all cars are architected in that way, and certainly going forward, we hope that all cars have a strong separation between infotainment and vehicle systems,” says Mahaffey.
The Black Box
In the show, FBI Cyber referred to the event data recorder as the car’s “black box” and used it to track down the hacker. Cars do have such a black box, but that’s not quite how they work. The EDR can indicate a car’s speed, whether the occupants are wearing seat belts, whether the airbag deployed, and other info, but it’s not going to tell you if someone’s hacked the car. “The EDR’s information is great for insurance companies, but [it] would not be able to tell if there was a software bug, hacker or some nation state assassination attempt,” Craig Smith, author of The Car Hacker’s Handbook, tells WIRED. “While this data tends to raise the ire of privacy advocates, it does little to actually detect a ‘hacked’ vehicle.”
Remote Drag Racing
There’s no doubt car hacking could threaten driver safety, but Corman thinks the far greater risk to automakers is consumers losing faith in their ability to secure their vehicles. And he thinks individual attacks are far less likely than someone taking control of emergency response vehicles while committing another crime. This isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. “Putin used cyberwarfare to jam communications in the nation-state of Georgia before he rolled his tanks in so that they couldn’t communicate with each other,” Corman says. Criminals also could upload ransomware or spyware to cars.
Automakers, for their part, are adding technology and faster than they are securing it, and it remains to be seen whether automakers will close all of the security holes before something serious happens. But there are signs that they’re taking this issue seriously. Chrysler recalled 1.4 million vehicles after WIRED publicized the Jeep hack. So even though CSI: Cyber didn’t get the details quite right, at least it warned mainstream audiences about the rising risk of car hacking.
Working as a cyber security solutions architect, Alisa focuses on application and network security. Before joining us she held a cyber security researcher positions within a variety of cyber security start-ups. She also experience in different industry domains like finance, healthcare and consumer products.


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Displaying items tagged: Founders Brewing Co
Buoyed by recent craft beverage exits, entrepreneurial investors redeploy proceeds locally, internationally
Successful exits from West Michigan-based craft breweries are allowing company founders and investors to put their proceeds to work in new ways that reinforce the region’s entrepreneurial culture.
A group of mostly West Michigan investors, led by former Founders Brewing Co. Chairman John Green, has acquired Natterjack Irish Whiskey maker Gortinore Distillers & Co. after partnering with the company’s founder to avoid liquidation, MiBiz has learned.
John Green is bringing lessons he learned as an industry-agnostic investor and entrepreneur to a new craft beverage venture.
As part of the second wave of American craft breweries, Founders Brewing Co. leaned on its innovation to help fuel the industry’s surging popularity over the last decade.
GRAND RAPIDS — Founders Brewing Co. has announced its new CEO just two weeks after one of its co-founders indicated he would be stepping away from the leadership position.
In 1997, Mike Stevens teamed up with Hope College classmate Dave Engbers to turn their home brewing hobby into what is now known as Founders Brewing Co. It didn’t come easily, though, with 12 straight years finishing in the red, defaulting on two bank loans and staring down the barrel of bankruptcy twice. The Grand Rapids brewery eventually found its footing and became one of the largest craft breweries in the country. On Feb. 1, Stevens plans to step down in his role as CEO while still maintaining his ownership stake and serving on the board. MiBiz recently chatted with Stevens to reflect on his time at the helm.
GRAND RAPIDS — Founders Brewing Co. co-founder and CEO Mike Stevens is leaving his post at the helm of the craft brewery in the coming weeks.
While Larry Bell maintains that his patrons won’t see any noticeable changes after the planned sale of his Bell’s Brewery Inc. to the parent company of New Belgium Brewing Co., the two like-minded breweries have several synergies they could leverage to unlock cost savings.
CALEDONIA — Dan Vukcevich admitted that his only previous farming experience was growing up on a cattle farm that never made any money.
After a year of reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes increasingly difficult to capture all of the nuanced and at times discordant effects it has had on businesses. While some have thrived or pivoted, many others have struggled to hold on or closed up shop.
With a relatively strong foothold already in the Philadelphia market, Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewing Co. recently announced that it has become an official sponsor for NBA team the Philadelphia 76ers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not doused Justin Buiter’s optimism in his future plans for his brewery. However, when Buiter looks ahead, he said 2021 will likely be spent regaining the footing his company lost during a gauntlet of a year.
GRAND RAPIDS — Founders Brewing Co. has temporarily laid off 89 employees as the bar, restaurant, entertainment and hospitality industries cope with recent health guidelines handed down by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Heading into 2021, Brewery Vivant has worked with its distributor to get three different six-pack placements into Meijer Inc. stores on a statewide basis.
After canceling this year’s ArtPrize because of concerns over COVID-19, organizers of Grand Rapids’ flagship arts event and the largest art competition in the world have avoided questions about whether it will return.
As a global pandemic began to hit West Michigan, executives around the region stepped up to lead their organizations and their employees through the time of crisis.
GRAND RAPIDS — Atwater Brewery, a Detroit-based brewery with a satellite taproom in Grand Rapids, has been acquired by Chicago-based Molson Coors Beverage Co., one of the largest international brewing conglomerates.
After a deposition leaked in the racial discrimination lawsuit filed against Grand Rapids-based Founders Brewing Co., the brewery again made national headlines when Graci Harkema, its diversity and inclusion director, publicly resigned after less than a year in the position. Founders went on to settle the lawsuit, although the case has remained a topic of conversation in the craft beer industry. Meanwhile, Harkema has started her own business, Graci LLC, to focus on sharing diversity and inclusion best practices within the adult beverage industry.
A popular Grand Rapids brewery learned the hard way that focusing on winning a lawsuit can cost a company in other tangible ways if it loses first in the court of public opinion.
Traditional, outdoor agriculture is profoundly dependent on climate, but high-tech indoor farms that grow premium, hyper-local produce for consumers year round may be commercially viable in the future.
Here is the growth report for September 14, 2019.
GRAND RAPIDS — A deepening partnership with a Spain-based minority shareholder provided Founders Brewing Co. Executive Chairman John Green the perfect timing to jump back into an early-stage growth company.
CRAFT BEER ROUNDTABLE: For West Michigan brewers, adaptability remains key to survival in a changing industry
As more generations become exposed over time to the craft beer industry, brewers will face new opportunities to find growth and challenges to their existing business models. Add in a healthy dose of regulatory uncertainty and shifting market dynamics that could easily catch breweries off guard financially if they scaled up too large, too soon and it’s easy to see that the craft brewing industry remains in a state of constant flux.
In the hyper-competitive craft beer industry in which growth has started to level off in recent years, Old Nation Brewing Co. proves the exception to the rule. The Williamston-based brewery has garnered a name for itself with its M-43 brand, a popular New England-style hazy India Pale Ale that carries a suggested retail price of $13.99 per four-pack of 16-ounce cans.
Founders Brewing Co. has partnered with its Spanish investors to acquire a majority stake in a Colorado-based craft brewer.
Graci Harkema wants to break the craft beer industry’s bearded white male stereotype. In January, she became diversity and inclusion director at Founders Brewing Co., where she’s working to give employees opportunities to “be their authentic selves and achieve their goals.” Her hire followed a pair of controversies at Founders.
Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Dec. 10, 2018.
The backlash against the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce over its controversial endorsement of GOP Michigan gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette continues to percolate.


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Check out our Yamaha FZ400R photo gallery with 0 HQ pics. Last update in FZ400R gallery:
Maserati is trying to make up for its SUVs.
Paparazzi have snapped the latest Chevrolet crossover during its testing.
Ferrari has presented the latest 488 Challenge race vehicle. What an incredible car it is!
Ferrari has changed its plans after the terrible earthquakes in Italy.
We select only big size yamaha fz400r photos for our photogallery.


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Scotch Whisky Association
Last month, Diageo handed the microphone to the head of its operations in Africa. Spirits commentator Ian Buxton was among those of us who l...
Rounding off our series of predictions for the year ahead, Ian Buxton gives us his forecasts for whisk(e)y in the next 12 months....
This month, spirits commentator Ian Buxton ponders the conclusions bandied about following the publication of Scotch whisky export numbers for the first six months of 2016.
just-drinks, in association with The IWSR, presents this seven-part review of the Scotch whisky category. In part one, we look at how the sector has performed in recent years.
Tucked in to a trading estate in the Scottish county of Fife, beside a local dry cleaning firm and a rubber moulding factory, InchDairnie Distillery is an unusual spot for a whisky revolution.
The expectation was that the long-awaited European Court of Justice ruling on minimum unit pricing would finally determine whether the practice is legal in the EU.
It is late afternoon on what has been a long day. But, Mark Reynier, formerly the head of Bruichladdich and now founder of Renegade Spirits, still has the energy to vent his grievances over the Irish whiskey industry he has inhabited for just over a year.
In the second part of just-drinks' exclusive interview with the outgoing CEO of Pernod Ricard, Pierre Pringuet, here he looks back at some of the deals that have shaped the company, and his role in their negotiation.
Brexit helped Scotch whisky exports return to growth last year as a weakened Pound pushed their total value up by 4%, new figures show.
The trade body for Scotch whisky has hailed a Scottish move to drive growth across the country's farming, fishing, food and drink sectors.
Trade bodies across the UK drinks industry have expressed frustration over the Government's decision today to increase alcohol duty in line with inflation.
The Scotch Whisky Association has confirmed the appointment of a former UK ambassador as its new chief executive.
The Scotch Whisky Association has called on Members of the European Parliament to vote in favour of a trade agreement between the European Union and Canada.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has said it will work with the Scottish Craft Distillers Association (SCDA) to support the broader Scotch whisky industry.
The Scotch Whisky Association has said it is hoping for a final ruling on Scotland's Minimum Unit Pricing legislation next year, after it was granted permission to appeal to the UK's highest court.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and the Brazilian Institute of Cachaca (IBRAC) have signed an agreement to protect their respective categories.
The Scotch Whisky Association is to take its battle over minimum unit pricing out of Scotland with an appeal to the UK's highest court.
The chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, David Frost, is stepping down to become an advisor to UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has said it may appeal to the UK's highest court after Scotland’s justice system delivered a major blow to its efforts against minimum pricing.
Taiwan has joined the list of high-value markets where Scotch is registered as a trademark.
Scotch whisky exports grew six-month volumes for the first time in three years, new figures show, but sales remained down as key markets Taiwan and France underperformed.
The Scotch Whisky Association has welcomed new draught regulations in India that bring authorities one step closer to having clear definitions for alcohol categories.
The Scotch Whisky Association has warned of major uncertainty ahead as Brexit puts the UK's tariff-free access to important global markets including South Korea and South Africa at risk.
Yesterday, the UK voted to leave the European Union. The result of the referendum fell 52% in favour of the so-called 'Brexit'. We'll keep you up to date throughout the day on drinks industry reaction.
Scotch whisky exports continued to lose volumes and value last year as producers faced further global economic headwinds, new figures have shown.
The head of Diageo has warned against the UK leaving the EU, saying a so-called Brexit could jeopardise the industry's global bargaining clout.
Scotch whisky sales in the UK returned to growth in volume terms last year but remained far below historical highs.
Scotch whisky has secured geographical indication (GI) status in Mozambique as the category continues to chase protection against fakes in Africa.
The drinks trade has welcomed a European Union request that would see the World Trade Organisation tackle Colombia over what is perceived as being unfair taxation.
The Scotch Whisky Association has opened a London office in a bid to be closer to decision makers.
To support the release of its latest report, entitled ‘The Economic Impact of Scotch Whisky Production in the UK’, trade body The Scotch Whisky Association has released this video, highlighting the size, scale and importance of the Scotch industry.
Spirits in Vietnam
In the forecast period, Scotch whisky exports to Vietnam could be boosted after the EU and Vietnam reached a deal in principle over a free trade agreement (FTA)....
Global Scotch insights - market forecasts, product innovatio
This edition of our global Scotch report contains the latest data from The IWSR combined with our unique analyst insights and brand interview extracts. It forecasts the future of both blended and malt...
- Ten questions for Diageo - Analysis
- Have spirits companies forgotten the mainstream?
- Does alcohol accelerate the onset of dementia?
- How craft beer has shattered its US shackles
- Pernod's mood darkens over India - Analysis
- Moet Hennessy unaffected by LVMH Dior buy
- Distell acquires majority stake in Cruz Vodka
- BrewDog moves into spirits with LoneWolf launch
- Diageo to cut 105 jobs in Scotland, 50 in Italy
- Portman Group heads to Tesco for new chief exec
- Global Scotch insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Global Champagne and sparkling wine insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends
- Battle of the Generations - The fight for iGen, Millennial, Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers
- Craft Beer: Coming of Age or Past Its Prime?
- Myanmar - ISA Country Report


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INDIA: Garment makers discuss DISHA code of conduct
A meeting organised to discuss the implementation of a code of conduct for garment manufacturers in India under the Driving Industry Towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement (DISHA) programme will take place today (21 January).
The second stakeholder consultation, which is being held by Shri V Srinivas, joint secretary of exports in the Ministry of Textiles, will also talk about the DISHA methodology in garment manufacturing factories.
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) launched the pan-India social compliance programme in December 2011 to address some of the concerns and challenges facing the industry.
Some 140 apparel manufacturers and exporters in India have enrolled so far. Factory visits have been initiated in 78 of these, in NCR, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Tirupur, Maudrai, Kolkatta. Of these 78 factories, 26 have completed at least the 3rd visit of the 6 visit DISHA training programme.
Srinivas said: "As we all know, social and environment compliance has become an important requirement while supplying to the western markets. For India to remain competitive in this scenario, we have to focus intensively on two competitive levers; innovation and social compliance.
"Global apparel buyers are now insisting on full compliance with International and national labour standards, regulations and convention. I am happy that the programme has come out as a robust programme for addressing the industry's requirement for compliance management."
While DISHA sub-committee chairman Shri Ashok Logani said: "Happy workers leads to less absenteeism & reduced over time leading to increased productivity and reduction in production cost. This is the philosophy behind our dedicated training on worker issues."
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The elimination of tariffs under CETA will add $1.4 billion to Canadian goods exports to Europe by 2022, but companies can’t sit back and just wait for that to boost their sales; innovation is still key
A Must Read for all food & beverages industry personnel
Canada’s national food & beverage processing authority
Serving the Canadian food & beverage processing industry for over 80 years!
FREE to qualified industry professionals


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The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has completed its analysis of the synthetic material used to cover athletic fields and has determined that the fields pose no risk of exposure to high levels of lead to children.
Although the fake grass blades are colored with pigments that contain lead, according to the report the amount of lead emitted from the turf poses no threat. Even those fields that have been exposed to years of sun exposure and wear and tear from high use appeared to pose no significant risk.
However, as a precaution, the CPSC recommends that children wash their hands after playing in the fields to prevent any chance that they may ingest small amounts of the fibers. Of course, it is recommended that they always wash before eating anyway.
Several other childrens products have been recalled recently because they contained excessive amounts of lead. It is comforting to know that at least the artificial turf on the ballparks won’t have to be removed.


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Cantwell, Schrier Hold Pharmacy Roundtable on Lowering Prescription Drug Costs
Cantwell: “It's too much concentration of power, not enough transparency, and not enough policemen on the beat”
SEATTLE, WA – Today, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA-8) were joined by local pharmacists, industry stakeholders, and others affected by skyrocketing costs of medications in Seattle for a roundtable discussion and press conference to advocate for legislation that would lower prescription drug costs. Sen. Cantwell also highlighted her bipartisan bill that would hold pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) accountable for their unfair and deceptive practices.
“Everybody knows that drug pricing is way too high. What people don’t understand is that someone who now controls about 80 percent of the market – three companies -- are impacting that by using unfair and deceptive practices,” Sen. Cantwell said. “The pharmacists that are here today who advocated on behalf of our delivery system have made it clear: They can’t continue to exist or do business if these kinds of profit centers end up controlling the marketplace.
“Pharmacy benefit managers -- who basically negotiate big discounts but keep all the discounts, or most of the discounts – are not helping us lower drug pricing,” Sen. Cantwell continued. “It's too much concentration of power, not enough transparency, and not enough policemen on the beat calling out unfair and deceptive practices.”
Said Rep. Schrier: “This something that’s been on my mind for a long time as many of you know, because I have Type I diabetes and I’ve seen the cost of insulin skyrocket from about $40 a bottle to now up north of $300 a bottle for no reason -- and with a medicine that costs about $10 to produce. This is a manipulated market … Nobody should have to choose between paying for their medication and putting food on the table.”
Sen. Cantwell introduced the bipartisan Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2022 in May. The bill would ban unfair pricing schemes, prohibit arbitrary “clawbacks” of payments made to pharmacies, and require PBMs to report to the FTC how much money they make through spread pricing and pharmacy fees. The bill advanced out of committee last week, and the next step is the full Senate for consideration. Senator Cantwell introduced similar legislation in 2021 to empower the FTC to conduct a study into whether PBMs provide actual value to the drug distribution chain, and whether PBMs are engaging in anticompetitive behavior leading to increased costs for consumers.
PBMs were initially formed in the 1960’s to process claims and negotiate lower drug prices with manufacturers. Now, PBMs administer prescription drug plans for hundreds of millions of Americans, and three PBMs control nearly 80% of the prescription drug market. They serve as middlemen, managing every aspect of the prescription drug benefits process for health insurance companies, self-insured employers, unions and government programs.
PBMs operate out of the view of regulators and consumers — setting prescription costs, deciding what drugs are covered by insurance plans and how they’re dispensed — and pocket unknown sums that might otherwise be passed along as savings to consumers, undercutting local independent pharmacies. This lack of transparency makes it impossible to fully understand if and how PBMs might be manipulating the prescription drug market to increase profits and drive up drug costs for consumers.
“Pharmacy benefit managers are the Goliaths of health care. They own the pharmacies, the specialty pharmacies, mail order pharmacies. They own health clinics as well as the health carriers. They have lost track of what they were designed to do. And instead of designing formularies to optimize patient outcomes, they have gotten to the point where they are just optimizing shareholder profits, and they need regulations introduced to really get back to basics and to optimize patient outcomes,” said Jenny Arnold, CEO of the Washington State Pharmacy Association.
“This particular practice from pharmacy benefit managers-- when it comes to dictating the price of medication, dictating how medication will get to patients, which kind of medication will be accessible to patients – the group or community that’s most impacted continues to be the marginalized community,” said pharmacist and State Rep. My-Linh Thai (D-Bellevue). “Standing here as a state representative who cares deeply about our health care system, I want to make sure that we continue this line of work in collaboration between state and federal, with really the focus on patient safety and ensuring that our health care delivery system continues to be patient-centered.”
“PBM business practices represent a real threat to patient access to care,” said Ryan Oftebro, President of the Washington State Pharmacy Association. “What we see happening on a daily basis is that PBMs, through their business practices, are creating barriers to care and access by making medications more expensive than they should be. We see seniors who are paying more out of pocket for generic medications than they need to, with that money going direcly back to the PBMs, and it’s impacting pharmacies’ ability to remain viable and serving our communities.”
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Niško beer, a recognizable brand of beer from the south of Serbia, is the primary product of Niška pivara d.o.o. Niš, which started operating in 2015. Niška pivara is located in the Niš settlement of Apelovac, on the site where Jovan Appel built the first Niš industrial company in 1884 – Steam Brewery.
Beer was produced in Niš for the first time according to the recipe of Jovan Appel, who built the first Niš industrial company – Steam Brewery, with a capacity of 20 hectoliters per day.
The new owners buy the brewery in Niš, from bankruptcy, in August 2015, and a new legal entity “Niška pivara d.o.o.” Niš is established.
Niško beer appeared on the market in June 2016. Nurturing the spirit of traditional production and with new recipes, today it respects the top quality standards that its consumers deserve.
In March 2018, Niška Pivara presents to consumers a new visual identity “Niško” that follows modern trends and reflects the degree of commitment to every aspect of production.
New beer “Sindjelic”
July 1, 2020 is a very important date for Niška pivara because the new beer “Sindjelic” has officially appeared on the market!
YEAR 2020 – 2021.
Niška pivara has established itself as a company that wholeheartedly supports culture, art and events in Niš and the region, such as Film Meetings, Crossroads Theater, Evergreen Festival, Protector of the Fortress, Kerber Band, Niš Local Foundation, etc.
In January 2021, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia – RPK Nis awarded the annual award for special contribution to the economy of the region for 2020 to Niška pivara.
At the 88th International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, the commission for evaluating the quality of beer and beer-like products, based on evaluated samples, awarded Niška pivara the highest grade in the competition of industrial beers and recognition “Champion of product group quality” for Niško beer.
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