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May 11, 2017
A pain-management app, an AI-enabled medical records software company, and a cloud-based wellness tracking platform for employers are among Venture Hall’s first cohort of healthcare-related startups that will spend three months in Portland this summer scaling their businesses and expanding their networks.
Venture Hall, which launched last July with the mission of offering Portland a year-round hub for innovation, revealed the names of its inaugural startup accelerator cohort on Friday. The cohort consists of seven early-stage companies. Two are from Maine, two from California, and one each from Colorado, Missouri, and Texas. Four of the companies have female founders, and two are graduates of previous accelerator programs in other parts of the country.
Venture Hall received 83 applications from startups located in 23 states and seven countries, according to Jess Knox, Venture Hall’s president and cofounder. To be considered, companies had to have a working prototype and have a product or service that would support healthcare workers, their well-being, efficacy, engagement, and resilience.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring these teams to Maine to be a part of our accelerator program this summer,” Knox said. “Each of these companies provide a real opportunity to explore different ways of supporting the resilience of frontline caregivers. We’re excited to get them here and start working with them.
The healthcare bent is a result of a partnership Venture Hall announced in February with MaineHealth, the owner of Maine Medical Center, and Unum, the major insurance provider. Besides offering financial support (each company contributed $100,000), MaineHealth and Unum have each pledged to take an active role in the accelerator, providing mentors, business resources, and subject matter expertise to the startups accepted into the accelerator. Representatives from each company were also involved in the acceptance process.
Indeed, Mike Sobol, Venture Hall’s CEO and other cofounder, said Unum and MaineHealth’s involvement drove interest in the accelerator from founders looking to not only take advantage of potential mentorship opportunities, but to develop business relationships and channel partnerships with the companies and their affiliates.
“The opportunity to work with MaineHealth and Unum yielded companies with a very serious pedigree,” Sobol said.
The founders accepted into the cohort will arrive in Portland in early June for three months of learning, networking, and scaling their companies. The founders will work out of Cloudport Co-working Multispace, where Venture Hall is located.
Venture Hall has developed its accelerator program in partnership with Village Capital, a Washington D.C.-based venture capital firm that supports startup accelerator programs around the world. Unlike some accelerator programs, Venture Hall doesn’t require a slice of equity in the startups it accepts into the cohort.
The accelerator will be capped with that Demo Day on Sept. 8, which will be attended by active angel and venture capital investors. Venture Hall’s inaugural cohort of startups consists of these seven startups:
This Texas-based company has developed a wellness-provider marketplace and dashboard for employers. Its platform is running in several cities with paying users, including Paypal and Black & Decker.
Based in California, Livzo has developed a wellness support and tracking platform for employers. Its platform is in beta-testing with nurses and other wellness providers.
This California-based startup has developed a pain management app based on mindfulness exercises. Ella is a Techstars Los Angeles Accelerator ‘16 grad and has conducted initial product testing at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
Based in Colorado, Cliexa has developed chronic condition management apps. It’s a graduate of the
Boulder, Colo.-based Boomtown Accelerator and has developed its product in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.
This Missouri-based company has developed a platform for choosing and enrolling in post-acute care. It currently has 12 paying hospital clients.
Based in Maine, SpinDocs is a medical records software company that integrates artificial intelligence with electronic medical records systems. Its first pilot is currently underway with a medical practice in Massachusetts.
This Maine-based startup has developed sensor-enabled medical needle systems. It’s in the prototype-testing phase and working on FDA approval and business model strategy.
The post Venture Hall names its inaugural accelerator cohort appeared first on Maine Startups Insider.
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In a world where every cup of coffee tells a story, Nespresso shares its ongoing journey of empowerment and sustainability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Through their Reviving Origins program, they’re igniting hope and opportunity in coffee farming communities across the region.
Decades ago, DRC’s coffee industry flourished, boasting some of the world’s finest coffee. However, years of instability took their toll, causing a decline that left communities reeling. Yet, amidst these challenges, Nespresso saw potential.
Since the launch of their Reviving Origins program in DRC in 2020, they’ve witnessed the resilience and dedication of Congolese farmers in the face of adversity. Working hand in hand with their partners, including the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI)/ASILI, TechnoServe, USAID, GEF, Clarmondial, IUCN, and Virunga Coffee, they are breathing new life into the coffee sector.
Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO of Nespresso, echoes Nespresso’s commitment: “Kivu has the potential to be among the world’s great coffee regions.” Together, we’re not only restoring coffee agriculture but also bolstering community resilience in the face of escalating challenges.
With an investment of 20 million USD in the region and an ambitious goal to raise an additional 20 million USD, Nespresso is doubling down on its commitment to support the revival of the DRC coffee sector.
Its efforts extend beyond financial support. Through the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, they’re implementing regenerative practices, promoting biodiversity, and advancing gender equality. By empowering women in coffee farming communities, we’re not only enhancing coffee quality and productivity but also transforming livelihoods.
Furthermore, they’re leveraging technology to ensure transparency and traceability in our supply chain. Collaborating with impact digital startups, we’re verifying and tracing coffee from farm to cup, ensuring fair compensation for farmers and premium quality for coffee lovers worldwide.
As they embark on this journey of revitalisation, they’re grateful for the transformative impact we’ve seen in communities like Minova, where clean water, healthcare, and education are becoming a reality for thousands.
Together, with your support, Nespresso is not just brewing coffee; they’re brewing a brighter future for coffee farming communities in the DRC.

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School of card knocks: Russophone criminals offered online courses in credit card fraud
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Cyber crime lords have come up with a new money-spinner – Russian-language e-learning courses geared towards teaching the skills necessary to rip off consumers and card companies.
Risk management firm Digital Shadows flagged up the course as part of a wider report into trends in underground carding forums. The study, published on Wednesday, reports how remote-learning "schools" offer six-week courses comprising 20 lectures with five expert instructors to would-be carders.
"The course includes webinars, detailed notes and course material," Digital Shadows reports. "In exchange for RUB 45,000 (£575, plus £150 for course fees), aspiring cyber criminals have the potential to make £9,200 a month, based on a standard 40-hour working week. Given the average Russian monthly wage is less than $700 a month it means cyber criminals could make nearly 17x more than a 'legitimate' job."
A criminal "code" appears to exist on many of the Russia-based carding forums, whereby no Russian card details are permitted for sale. This is likely to be for pragmatic as well as "patriotic" reasons – miscreants targeting Russian victims are more likely to be targeted in Russian law enforcement investigations.
A snapshot of just two of the most popular criminal forums uncovered 37,000 UK card holder details on sale for an average of £9.20 each. Many of these cards come without the PIN codes necessary to easily "cash out" compromised accounts. "Automated services" touted on the digital underground offer a means for fraudsters to contract out the task of social engineering marks in order to get these codes, whether over the phone, through email phishing or other trickery geared at fooling victims into handing over sensitive information.
"The card companies have developed sophisticated anti-fraud measures and high-quality training like this can be seen as a reaction to this," said Rick Holland, VP strategy at Digital Shadows. "Unfortunately, it's a sign that criminals continually seek to lower barriers to entry, which then put more criminals into the ecosystem and cost card brands, retailers and consumers. However, the benefit is that the criminals are increasingly exposing their methods, which means that credit card companies, merchants and customers can learn from them and adjust their defences accordingly."
Digital Shadows' report was based on an analysis of hundreds of criminal forums by a team of multi-lingual analysts.
The research found that credit card criminals fall into four main groups (with some overlap):
- Payment card data harvesters: These guys do the "dirty work" of harvesting the payment card information. This is done through intercepting card holders' information whether through point-of-sale malware, skimming devices, phishing, breached databases, or malware.
- Distributors: "Middle men" who typically make the most money. While the harvesters may use the card data themselves, they also sell it on to others who will package, repackage, and sell on card information.
- Fraudsters: Run the most risk in terms of getting caught by law enforcement or being conned by fellow criminals. Once fraudsters have acquired payment card information from their distributor, the fraud can occur. These individuals tend to be less technically sophisticated, attracting wannabe cybercrooks who rely on online guides and courses.
- Monetisation: There are many different roles within the stage, including those who have been duped into operating drop addresses and those involved in the reselling of fraudulently acquired goods, acting as "fences" for stolen goods or (at the dumber end of the scale) mules.
Digital Shadows' Holland adds: "This ecosystem is highly complex and international. At each stage, it creates victims – from the card industry that loses $24bn a year to consumers who are frequently duped into revealing their card details. One of the key themes that stood out for us is the level of 'social engineering' criminals are now using. Aggressive and manipulative phone calls to victims to reveal PIN numbers is just one example of this."
More on Digital Shadows' research, which provides further details on the latest tricks of carding fraudsters, as well as advice to consumers and card providers, can be found here. ®


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Motorola has filed a new patent application for a smartwatch-like device with a flexible screen and a flexible body.
We try to find out if the Moto G really lives up to the hype surrounding it, in our review.
According to GFXBench data, Motorola’s unannounced XT1032 smartphone (codenamed Falcon) has a fingerprint scanner.
Apple CEO Tim Cook believes that it is hard to do hardware, software and services and link them together.
Motorola Mobility handset unit has announced it will close its Texas factory by the end of this year.
A German court has ordered Motorola Deutschland and Motorola Mobility USA to stop selling mobile phones in Germany, which infringe a patent owned by LPKF Laser & Electronics AG.
Motorola has patented a technology that tattoos a mic on your throat, complete with power supply, antenna, receiver and optional display!
Motorola has announced that it will launch a smartphone “Made to last. Priced for all" on May 13 in London.
Google reportedly prevented Motorola from building a phone that integrated tightly with Google's other services.
A new report by a blogger on Chinese website Weibo says that the device will have sapphire glass display and magnetic induction charging.


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Revver, the popular video sharing site, will soon syndicate user-generated clips through P2P networks in a new alliance with INTENT MediaWorks. This i...
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I caught up with Hunter Walk, a key executive at Google Video who had previously run Google's AdSense. My visit coincided with the launch of the new E...
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Despite the onset of the pandemic, the gaming industry in Thailand is booming. While not as big as in the US or the UK, Thailand’s gaming scene has taken off in recent years. This has been boosted by the rise of social media and esports.
What kind of TV do gamers use?
Gaming is one of the best leisure activities for the Thai people, and it’s also a great way to connect with friends and family. The Thai government has recognized the potential of the industry and has backed its growth.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thailand’s gaming market has grown by over 20 percent in the past year. It’s predicted to earn nearly US$2 billion by 2025. Currently, there are around 28 million gamers in the country. The market is mainly populated by young adults aged 16 to 44. ไปที่ https://aeufa.cc
It’s no surprise that Thailand’s gaming scene has grown to include PC and console gaming. In addition to gaming consoles, mobile devices have also become increasingly popular among gamers. In fact, 95% of Thai gamers use mobile gaming applications in metropolitan areas.
Gaming devices like the HTC Vive have been launched in Thailand. This has given the country a plethora of gaming opportunities. However, PC and console gaming are still king in the kingdom.
The cheapest gaming notebook costs less than 25,000 baht. The most expensive one costs nearly 400,000 baht, according to one gaming retailer.
Thailand’s gaming market is expected to grow by 15 percent in the coming years. In addition, the country has received significant funding for the sector. In fact, the Thai gaming industry has garnered more than US$1 billion in revenue in the past year.


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Cannabis Equity Summit
The Cannabis Equity Summit is presented in partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce for the Social Equity in Cannabis Technical Assistance Program.
Our goal is to bring transparent access to the industry to help social equity applicants navigate the early stage of a cannabis business for those who have been historically impacted by high poverty and the enforcement of cannabis prohibitions.
Starting March 1st, the Liquor & Cannabis Board will release their Social Equity Applications for over 40 Retail Cannabis Stores in the state of Washington.
For more information about the Social Equity Program, please visit the Liquor Cannabis Social Equity Page.
For full Details of the event please visit www.socialequitywa.com
Saturday, March 11, 2023
The event starts at 10 AM-4 PM, the doors will open at 9:15 for Check-IN
Highline College 2400 240th St. Des Moines, WA 98198


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ICE Africa, the second edition of which is being held across 2-3 October in Sandton, South Africa, has received a major endorsement following confirmation that EGT, one of the most internationally recognised and respected land-based and interactive gaming brands, will be part of the growing blue chip exhibitor line-up that’s giving its support to the […]
On Friday, 10 May, the Grand Casino Baden in cooperation with Merkur Gaming hosted an evening event entitled “From idea to gaming fun: how is a gaming machine developed?” On the casino premises, 50 invited guests were given an exciting insight into the development of gaming machines and related games.
The online edition about the gambling business, Login Casino, organizes a contest whose winner will be presented with two free VIP tickets for one of the brightest and the most important conferences and exhibitions dedicated to iGaming – Russian Gaming Week.
As of 1 February, Matjaz Petek will join the sales team of Merkur Gaming as the new Senior Sales Manager International. The 46-year-old Slovenian will be responsible for the markets in southern and eastern Europe.
The E-PLAY Online Gambling Guide is the best source of information on the entertainment and gambling market in Eastern Europe. 16 years of presence on the market, supported by the experience of our team of specialists as well as cooperation with partners from around the world is a guarantee of the best choice for anyone interested in terrestrial and online gambling!


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Yesterday we posted a report titled "Samsung's Galaxy S5 is a Dud According to Korean Carriers." In a new article published today in the pro-Samsung website Korea Times, they make a rather startling statement: In order "to appeal to the new jury and judge, Samsung needs to provide evidence. That's why the company is heavily pushing the S5." The report also noted how Samsung had shipped 63 million Galaxy S4 units in the past but only sold close to 40. This is a continuing tactic of Samsung's to promote what they're shipping in their interviews with the press instead of what they're actually selling to fool the market and consumers.
In order to scare Korean publishers, Samsung sued a newspaper who dared to give the Galaxy S5 an unfavorable review. Is that desperation? Is that trying to manipulate the press? Yes of course.
The Korean etnews site provided sales stats from the top three mobile carriers yesterday, who are bound to provide real numbers, and they weren't good. But on another site, providing no such proof of credible sources puffed up Samsung sales to a much higher level.
It appears that Samsung will be pulling out all the stops and calling in all of their favors to get the press to push a winning Galaxy S5 story in order to "appeal to the new jury and judge," in California. That's why we questioned the timing of Yukari Iwatani Kane's Book last week as being Samsung propaganda. Under this context, how are we to trust anything coming out of Samsung's PR machine?


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On Tuesday, Acer’s founder Stan Shih unveiled a different kind of product from its usual hardware: an enterprise telephone call and chat service aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses in Asia. The service is a result of a new collaboration with a Taiwanese call center software provider Octon Inc., and will be sold in the first quarter of 2015.
“While we will continue making hardware, we are branching out in this new direction,” said Shih.
This comes right after struggling Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC put home-grown software at the center of a product launch for the first time. Earlier this month, HTC launched a new photo-editing app for smartphones called HTC Eye, along with a smartphone and camera. The company also announced it will open up some of its apps to users of non-HTC phones. Read More »


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June 21, 2011
Updated Cigarette Labels Shock And Disturb
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today released nine new warning labels that are now mandatory to include onto packs of cigarettes in the most drastic change in smoking-related advertising in 25 years, AP is reporting. The graphic labels depict in startling details the negative effects of prolonged smoking.
Among the images to appear are rotting and diseased teeth and gums and a man with a tracheotomy smoking a cigarette. Also included are the corpse of a smoker, diseased lungs, and a mother holding her baby with smoke swirling around them.The packages include phrases like "Smoking can kill you" and "Cigarettes cause cancer". Each label includes a national quit smoking hotline number and the new labels must be on cigarette packages and in advertisements no later than September 2012.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg were to discuss the nine new warnings at the White House. Sebelius said the goal was to stop children from starting to smoke and offer adults who want to quit some help.
"We have about 4,000 people under 18 who try their first cigarette and about 1,000 of them become permanent smokers, that's not good for our country," she told CBS television.
"This is really aimed at making sure kids don't start in the first place."
The labels will take up the top half of both the front and back of a pack of cigarette packs. Warning labels also must appear in advertisements and constitute 20 percent of the ad.
The updated labeling mandates were part of a law passed in 2009 that, for the first time, gave the federal government authority to regulate tobacco, including setting guidelines for marketing and labeling, banning certain products and limiting nicotine, AP reports.
The announcement follows reviews of scientific literature, public comments and results from an FDA-contracted study of 36 labels proposed last November.
The FDA explained that the revised mandates will "clearly and effectively convey the health risks of smoking. These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking," Sebelius said in a statement.
Although the number of Americans who smoke has fallen dramatically since 1970, from nearly 40 percent to about 20 percent. These numbers have stalled since about 2004. About 46 million adults in the US smoke cigarettes.
Researchers are undecided as to why declines in smoking have stalled. Some experts have cited tobacco company discount coupons on cigarettes or lack of funding for programs to discourage smoking or to help smokers quit.
The new labels offer the opportunity for a pack-a-day smoker to see graphic warnings on the dangers of cigarettes more than 7,000 times per year. The FDA estimates the new labels will reduce the number of smokers by 213,000 in 2013, with smaller additional reductions through 2031.
Tobacco is responsible for about 443,000 deaths in the US a year and its use costs the US economy nearly $200 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity, the FDA said. Tobacco companies spend about $12.5 billion annually on cigarette advertising and promotion, according to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission.
Concerns have been voiced over the hard-hitting nature of some of the labels. Those concerns should be trumped by the government's responsibility to warn people about the dangers of smoking, said David Hammond, a health behavior researcher at the University of Waterloo in Canada, who worked with the firm designing the labels for the FDA.
"This isn't about doing what's pleasant for people. It's about fulfilling the government's mandate if they're going to allow these things to be sold. What's bothering people is the risk associated with their behavior, not the warnings themselves." Hammond explained.
On the Net:


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A New York man has a record-breaking 864 tattoos of insects on his body. “Is that a mosquito between your legs or is now just a bad time?” asked a prospective sex partner.
The FAA can levy a $30,000 fine and confiscate the drone of anyone flying theirs within 34 miles of SoFi Stadium around the Super Bowl. A 12-year-old L.A. boy who just wants to see the girl next door naked is expected to ask his parents for $30,399.
Argentinians are being urged to throw out cocaine after opioid-tainted batches killed 23 and put another 80 people in intensive care. The product has been pulled off the shelves of all Argentina Big Lots.
Jackass Forever premiered in theaters on Friday, and is also being considered as the slogan for a Donald Trump candidacy in 2024.
Amazon Prime is raising its price to $139, citing higher costs of shipping & Prime Video programming, and also the money it’s thinking of paying to Joe Rogan’s brother Moe Rogan to start a podcast.
Tesla recalled more than 800,000 vehicles to fix an issue with its “full self driving” software, and is also doing body work on the ones that crashed into telephone poles driving themselves in to the dealership.
COVID-19 cases are now trending downward in every U.S. state except for one. “We’ll get there!” said Alabama Governor Kay Ivey as she rode her donkey into work.
Kohl’s department store board of directors are attempting to fend off a hostile takeover from an activist investor group. It’s believed to the first time anyone’s attempted to acquire a publicly traded company with coupons.
Billionaires want to build “mixed use business parks” in low-earth orbit. And you think your commute is terrible now..
Netflix plans to release over 70 movies in 2022, including Knives Out 2, Enola Holmes 2, Pinocchio, and the rest are Adam Sandler movies.


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Furloughs amid COVID-19 How are Britons impacted?
of Britons have been furloughed or know someone who has been furloughed
of Britons fear losing their jobs once the furlough scheme ends in October
of Britons feel the new job support scheme is fair and justified
The COVID-19 second wave has raised fresh concerns for Britons as businesses shut down once again to contain the spread of the infection. With mounting losses, the number of people put on furlough is also rising steadily. This report delves into the existing trend and concerns as the virus takes its economic toll. Government agencies and businesses can leverage this data in their decision making.
Even as the UK struggles to cope with the rising unemployment numbers, the second wave and the ending of the furlough scheme threaten to worsen the situation further. Job losses and furloughs continue to be an everyday reality as millions of Britons live through these uncertain times. Amid the crisis, how is the UK coping? Piplsay polled 11,239 Britons nationwide to get some insights. Here’s a summary of what we found:
- 56% of men have been furloughed amid the pandemic as compared to 44% of women
- 23% of men and 14% of women have worked for their employer while on furlough
- 64% of Millennials and Gen Xers are afraid of losing their jobs when the furlough scheme ends
- 60% of Gen Zers think the new Job Support Scheme is fair as compared to 40% of Gen Xers
Survey Methodology: This Piplsay survey (powered by Market Cube) was conducted nationwide in the UK from October 10-12, 2020. We received 11,239 online responses from individuals aged 18 years and older.


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Gautam Adani, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault have been in a neck-to-neck fight when it comes to being world’s richest person.
The global billionaires list has been witnessing tough competition these days. The 60-year-old businessman Gautam Adani recently reached the second spot replacing Louis Vuitton boss Arnault in the rankings.
When it comes to rising economies and challenges ahead, a shift in China’s supply chains has affected India to a great extent. Gautam Adani recently completed a multi-billion dollar acquisition of two cement firms Ambuja Cement and ACC.
Gautam Adani on China’s supply chain restrictions
“China will feel increasingly isolated as rising nationalism, a shift in supply chains and technology restrictions threaten the world’s second-biggest economy, he said.
Notably, China is seen as the foremost champion of globalization. But it is now at an inflexion point. “It will look very different from what we had come to accept in a largely unipolar world,” Mr Adani added.
Moreover, China’s BRI has run into problems in several countries already. Gautam Adani made the stark remarks at a conference in Singapore recently.
I anticipate that China – which was seen as the foremost champion of globalization – will feel increasingly isolated. Increasing nationalism, supply chain risk mitigation, and technology restrictions will have an impact,” he said.
Since China’s Belt and Road initiative (BRI) was seen as a manifestation of its global ambitions. But the country’s resistance now makes it challenging.
While I expect all these economies will readjust over time – and bounce back – the friction to the bounce-back looks far harder this time,” Mr Adani said.
Gautam Adani on India vs China
The Adani conglomerate is now investing in renewables and digital space. On India, Gautam Adani said, “it has made India one of the few relatively bright spots from a political, geostrategic, and market perspective.”
India, he said, is on the path to be the world’s third largest economy by 2030. It recently became the fifth largest economy. When it comes to China’s semiconductor industry, feeds the growing needs of the AI world. The tiny computing components are used for the gadgets or systems that run on power.
“Over next 25 years, India will achieve 100 per cent literacy levels, eradicate poverty, have a population with a median age of just 38 years and become a nation that attracts the highest foreign investment as it goes from a USD 3 trillion economy to USD 30 trillion economy,” Mr Adani added.
Who is richer – Gautam Adani or Elon Musk?
The wealthiest 400 people in the USA are already feeling the stock market slowdown. Yet, looking at the bigger picture, the trillionaires or the most richest of the world are doing just fine.
Elon Musk is an estimated $60.5 billion richer—now after an 11 per cent rise in shares of Tesla.
While the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani lost around $7 billion. And Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overtook him as the second -richest man in the world.
Jeff Bezos reclaimed his No. 2 position in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, just a day ago. Also, the recently-released IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022 shows Adani creating wealth at an unprecedented speed of Rs 1,612 crore per day.


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Switzerland-based StarragHeckert Holding AG (www.starragheckert.com) has reported sales of $121.2 million (CHF 146.2 million) for the first half of 2007, up more than 72 percent over the first half of 2006. Order backlog doubled to a record $99 million (CHF 119.2 million) compared to $49.7 million (CHF 59.9 million) one year ago. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation andamortization (EBITA) rose to $6.2 million (CHF 7.5 million), a 50 percent increase compared to 2006, and net income was reported at $4.7 million (CHF 5.7 million) up more than 58 percent compared to 2006.
StarragHeckert said it is taking steps to increase production capacity including new facilities currently under construction and expected to be available by the end of November this year. The company reports that its target markets – aerospace, precision machining and transport – all show positive growth, so the company expects future sales to be solid.
StarragHeckert is a manufacturer of precision milling machines, software, engineering solutions and special tools for customers in the aerospace, energy, transport and precision machining industries, with production facilities in Switzerland, Great Britain, China, France, Spain, Russia and several locations in the United States.


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Nestlé is launching a partnership with The Yield Lab Latam, a specialist venture-capital fund investing in technology-based start-ups in Latin America.
The fund is charged with backing nascent agri-food industry businesses to find technology solutions in food production and agricultural methods.
It wants to bring together investors, start-ups, corporates, farmers, the public sector and research bodies to “promote the sustainable transformation of this critical industry”.
Nestlé has committed investment to The Yield Lab Latam from one of its own funds that invests in start-ups and organisations working in two areas: promoting packaging solutions and recycling infrastructure that contribute to circular economies and helping the food sector transition to regenerative agriculture.
The KitKat chocolate and Maggi sauce maker has not said how much money it has invested in the venture.
Maxence de Royer, vice president of strategy, business development and ESG for Nestlé in Latin America, said: “The investment from Nestlé and the partnership with The Yield Lab Latam will help us progress on finding sustainable solutions for the food industry.
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“Investing in technological innovation in the agri-food sector and drawing on the energy and creativity of start-ups can help meet common goals such as reducing emissions and increasing biodiversity. This complements our own research work in the area, for example through our new Institute of Agricultural Sciences.”
Santiago Murtagh, managing director of The Yield Lab Latam, said: “The relationship with Nestlé reflects the common vision of committing ourselves and the food production ecosystem to jointly help address the challenges of the industry.
“We are leveraging our proximity to local entrepreneurial talent and the reach of our network of innovation centres. From this local position and the regional experience of having invested in seven Latin American countries, we can act as a bridge between investors in the food industry and innovative solutions for the sustainable production of healthy, nutritious, safe and accessible food for the next generations.”
Nestlé said it is “committed to reduce its carbon footprint in the Latam region throughout its supply chain and its operations” and that one area of focus has been the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices, especially in the dairy supply chain, where the company has already launched more than 80 projects across 11 countries.
Such projects are said to have the potential to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while restoring natural resources.
Yield Lab Latam was founded in 2017 with offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. It is part of The Yield Lab, a network of venture capital firms based in St. Louis, Missouri, in the US.
Nestlé set up its Institute of Agricultural Sciences in February last year
with a goal to “translate novel agricultural science into concrete applications and to identify the most promising agricultural technologies”.
The institute focuses on the areas of plant science, dairy livestock and agricultural systems science and will “assess and combine science-based solutions to improve the nutritional and sensorial qualities and the environmental impact of agricultural raw materials”.
When the institute was launched, Stefan Palzer, Nestlé’s CTO, said: “The new institute will accelerate the translation of science into concrete solutions that can be implemented at farm level, to support farmers globally in improving their environmental footprint, in reducing food and nutrient losses, and in better adapting to climate change while ensuring the quality of the raw materials they produce.”
The company also has sustainable cocoa and coffee sourcing initiatives – the Nestlé Cocoa Plan and the Nescafé Plan.
Nestlé said it invests CHF1.7bn ($1.86bn) a year in research and development.
In April, the European Union (EU) moved to ban products linked to deforestation in a move that will impact cocoa and palm-oil suppliers.
The EU’s legislative body – the European Parliament – ruled that companies will only be allowed to sell products in the EU if the supplier of the product has issued a so-called due diligence statement confirming they do not come from deforested land or have led to forest degradation since 31 December 2020.


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Managing Director of Hatteras Discovery and Venture Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners
Founding Director, Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center
Vice President for Corporate Engagement, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Founder and CEO of Brooks Bell Inc.
The San Diego Venture Group has asked Steve Hamerslag of TVC Capital, Afif Khoury of Scatter Ventures, and Jason Brown of Thomas McNerney & Partners to discuss their investment strategies, what kind of deals they’re looking for, and how they raised capital after the financial industry meltdown. More information and online registration is here.


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Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 series in the last week with neat improvements in the display, camera, and performance departments. However, reports quickly emerged stating that Apple has also take care of the battery inside the newer iPhones. The company has increased the size of the cells inside the four iPhone 13 models. Some of them got bigger upgrades, while others were just incremental upgrades. Today, a teardown video has revealed that the recently released iPhone 13 Pro comes with a battery that has 3,095 mAh in size.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro will provide better battery life than its predecessor
We assume that if you’re used to the current industry of Android smartphones, this is anything but a good battery capacity. However, we need to recall that the iPhone 12 Pro had a battery capacity of just 2,815 mAh battery. Apple certainly lives in a parallel world when it comes to the battery size of its smartphones, perhaps the only device to rival Android standards is the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max. However, it’s good to see the regular Pro model getting an upgrade. After all, this may be a determining factor for some users to upgrade.
Gizchina News of the week
Apple had promised that the new model should last up to 1.5 hours longer on a single charger, so it figures. The battery is L-shaped this time and is manufactured by the Chinese Sunwoda Electronic Co. The teardown video comes from blogger WekiHome and further reveals details about the 13 Pro 5G modem. The new device is coming with a Qualcomm X60 modem for 5G connectivity. In addition, Samsung is the one behind the 120 Hz screen and has a slightly smaller Taptic Engine compared to last year.
The video also reveals that Samsung is behind the RAM module. The flash storage memory storage is something for Japan’s Kioxia. Internally, the iPhone 13 Pro resembles the 12 Pro but brings some good refinements.
The new device will still be good for those who seek an upgrade in Apple’s smartphone territory. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max are the only ones coming with 120 Hz displays. Moreover, they come with improved cameras. Under the hood, they come with the latest Apple A15 Bionic. However, this chip is the same for all variants. Unfortunately, users that want to purchase an iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max will have to wait a long time to receive the device. These devices’ delivery time has been delayed to October, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max hitting October 23.


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Frankfurt: – Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, expressed confidence that Europe could start a digital currency in the next four years. Only a few months ago, China announced Digital Yuan. Whereas, countries like the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and France also have indicated to start efforts to launch digital currencies. Over the last month, the rates for the world’s leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, have scaled record levels. Against this background, the statement of the President of the European Central Bank becomes noteworthy.
Only a few days ago, Forum on Central banking, was organised by the European Central Bank. While speaking at the forum, Lagarde clarified the stand regarding ‘Digital Euro’. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, said, ‘We are not running to win the race. Digital Euro will not be an alternative to cash Euro. It will only supplement it. The European Central bank has started preparations for this and the final decision will be taken in the meeting, scheduled to be held at the beginning of the next year. As per my estimate, regarding the time taken for technology and other issues, Digital Euro can be launched in the next two to four years.’
Last year, Facebook created a sensation internationally, announcing the launch of digital currency ‘Libra’. After that, it was also revealed that companies like Amazon and JP Morgan also has initiated efforts to launch their digital currencies. A few months ago, China announced the launching of Digital Yuan. The European country, Sweden also had informed that it was working on the launch of digital currency named E-Krona. The statements of Lagarde indicate that now, Europe also is jumping into the fray, with all the preparation.
The United States, the largest economy of the world, has still not taken any stand regarding the digital currency. Jerome Powell, of the US Federal Reserve, who attended the forum, said that still, the demand for cash transactions is more in the United States.


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Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi's life-changing visit to Rwanda inspired them to help create an augmented reality game that's raising much-needed awareness for the country's gorillas.
The Ellen Fund and AR mobile gaming app Krikey have teamed up to launch Gorillas!, an interactive game that lets users use their mobile phone cameras to virtually join a family of gorillas living in the mountains in Rwanda. The goal of the game is to keep the energy bar full, unlocking more gorilla animation as you play.
Video of the Day
"Seeing the mountain gorillas in Rwanda was one of the most incredible experiences of our lives," Degeneres and de Rossi said in a statement. "We want everyone to be able to feel what it's like to be there, and with our game Gorillas! by The Ellen Fund you absolutely can."
When the game is complete, you can choose to share a personalized video on social media to further raise awareness, as well as donate to The Ellen Fund in support of their conservation efforts.


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Lisa Su, CEO, AMD
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
The global chip shortage will become less severe in the second half of 2022, AMD CEO Lisa Su said on Monday, warning that the first half would be “likely tight.”
Chipmakers are still catching up with demand amid severe supply chain bottlenecks created by the pandemic. But manufacturing plants that were slated for last year are likely to start producing chips in the coming months, which will help alleviate shortages of PC parts and other microchips, Su said.
“We’ve always been through cycles of ups and downs, where demand has exceeded supply, or vice versa,” Su said at the Code conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. “This time it’s different.
The improvements will be incremental as manufacturing capacity becomes available, Su said.
“It can take, you know, 18-24 months to set up a new plant, and in some cases even longer than that,” she said. “These investments started maybe a year ago.”
AMD mainly sells processors and graphics chips for PCs, game consoles and servers. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, PC sales have jumped as consumers around the world bought new computers for their homes and their children could go to school remotely.
“The pandemic has just taken demand to a new level,” Su said.
But demand for PC chips and parts remained high even as economies reopened and shortages spilled over to other industries, including cars. This has helped increase AMD’s stock by over 120% since the start of last year, to just over $ 108.
Su said AMD supports the CHIPS Act, which became law earlier this year and includes subsidies to encourage the manufacture of microchips in the United States.
AMD does not manufacture its own chips and instead subcontracts production to foundries or chip factories. AMD’s rival Intel said this year it will continue to invest in chip manufacturing and be a foundry for other chip companies.
AMD last year announced plans to buy Xilinx in a $ 35 billion deal, but the company has yet to receive all the approvals needed to complete the acquisition. Su said AMD still expects to close the deal by the end of the year.
She added that there will likely be more transactions in the semiconductor industry.
“Consolidation is inevitable,” Su said. “Start-ups can do really cool things. I have immense respect for these people who start their own businesses. But if you want to do something really big for the industry, you know, scale matters. . “
LOOK: What’s the best way to solve the flea shortage crisis?


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Soil Association sticks to its organic standards
The British soil Association is not going to loosen the standards for organic raw materials in animal feeds. With high prices for raw materials the organic standard institute was requested to temporarily turn a blind eye on the current tight standards to relieve organic farmers.
Following a thorough and wide-ranging consultation, which looked at whether any changes are justified to organic animal feed standards in the current recession, the Soil Association's independent Standards Board has decided against making any changes.
All food certified by the Soil Association and sold as organic will continue to be produced under full organic standards.
From an inquiry among people involved in organic farming it was found that three quarters of the respondents were opposed to allowing any changes to the standards covering animal feed.
Respondents noted the importance of retaining the integrity of Soil Association standards and expressed concern about the potential for damaging consumer confidence.
They also pointed out that what might help livestock farmers could do damage to the organic feed market and the arable farmers who supply it.
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“Our secret gems are our SME’s, those small companies which will revive our economy and put us on a firmer economic footing. The recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report reinforces the innate entrepreneurial spirit in Ireland however I believe not enough support or due regard is given to this grouping.”
The report shows that 19,000 people started new businesses in Ireland in 2012, and highlights the findings that new business start-ups are increasingly innovative and that the majority expect to find customers in export markets.
The GEM report is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Enterprise Ireland and Forfás. The authors of the report are Paula Fitzsimons of Fitzsimons Consulting, who is the National GEM Co-ordinator, and Dr Colm O’Gorman, Professor of Entrepreneurship, DCU Business School.
Download the GEM 2012 Report here.
Ger Holliday, Partner at BDO Limerick was speaking at the announcement of new dates for their SME roadshow “Future Proof Your Business.”
They will take place in Ennis and Galway in September and will be addressed by Stephen Kinsella, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick and Diarmuid Hendrick, Partner BDO Limerick. Final details to be confirmed shortly.
The Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton launched a global study on entrepreneurship last month (5th July) declaring that, “Two thirds of all new jobs are created by start-ups in the first five years of existence. That is why we have placed entrepreneurship at the centre of our plans for jobs and growth.”
Ger Holliday says the anecdotal evidence in the mid-west is that SMEs are nervous of taking the next step to growth but with support can achieve significant outputs both at home and in international markets.
To book your place at “Future Proof Your Business” click here.


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Numerous Inc. co-founder Charlie Wood Courtesy photo
The UpTake: Serial entrepreneur Charlie Wood brings his new company, Numerous Inc., out of stealth mode with a mission to make analytics dashboards personal.
The former CEO of Spanning Cloud Apps Inc. is now talking publicly about his Austin startup that's developing a mobile application all about numbers.
Charlie Wood is bringing Numerous Inc. out of stealth mode after six months of development and beta testing. The company, which was founded in November 2013, has developed an application designed to track personal data and other relevant information.
It’s effectively a personal dashboard that can provide metrics such as the latest stock prices, weather, steps taken, miles driven or calories consumed.
“Everybody has important numbers in their life, but they’re too difficult to get to,” he told me.
Two years ago, Wood developed a prototype application for his colleagues at Spanning Cloud Apps to enable them to track the number of new customers. Numerous is designed to expand that concept to everyday users.
Wood teamed with 20-year Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) developer John Scalo to establish the self-funded company. Scalo, who remains in California, is a boyhood friend of Wood. They grew up in Austin. The two friends are the startup’s only two employees.
Numerous will initially be available on Apple’s app store, but Wood said an Android version would be developed if demand warranted it. He’s yet to decide on how Numerous will generate revenue. It’s likely to employ a so-called freemium model that would offer users a basic application for free and more sophisticated version with additional features for a fee.
“If it turns out to be popular, you have a lot of (revenue) options,” Wood said.
Christopher Calnan covers Technology, Finance, and Clean Energy for the Austin Business Journal.
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In a concession that helps Detroit's Big 3, the Obama administration is willing to allow automakers to improve the fuel economy of future trucks and SUVS at a slower pace than cars, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
Government regulators hope to reach a deal by early next week on new rules that would nearly double mileage requirements to 56 miles a gallon by 2025, the paper said.
The proposed standards would apply to both cars and light trucks
But automakers would be able to take longer to meet the target with larger light trucks and pickups such as the Ford F Series and Chevrolet Tahoe.
The concession by the White House is aimed at easing widespread opposition to tougher mileage targets by automakers, including General Motors and Chrysler, which received government bailouts.
The White House has already backed off a plan floated last spring that would have set a fuel economy target of 60 mpg or higher.
The administration now wants to hike the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards from the current target of 35.5 mpg by 2016 to 56 mpg by 2025.
Smaller trucks, SUVs and crossovers, a segment dominated by Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., initially would be required to meet higher fuel economy goals, the paper said.
The Journal said the administration this week offered several proposals to break the stalemate, citing people close to the talks. One plan would let the fuel economy of light trucks advance at a rate of 3.5 percent a year, well below the 5 percent annual improvement that would be set for cars.
It's unclear if the proposals will be included in any final deal, the Journal said.
The administration hopes to propose formal rules in September.
White House spokesman Clark Stevens told the Journal the talks with automakers and others have been constructive.
The final rules could affect the competitive balance in the U.S. market.
Despite new entries from Toyota and Honda, Detroit's three automakers have long dominated the market for large trucks, which generate hefty profits.
The F Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram truck are among the most popular vehicles sold.
Asian automakers tend to outperform Detroit automakers when it comes to small trucks, such as the Toyota Tacoma, and the Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CRV -- both small SUVs.
In meetings with U.S. regulators, Japanese and Korean carmakers argued the proposed rules would give Detroit companies an unfair advantage.
They argue that the leeway would encourage consumers to buy the least fuel efficient models, defeating the government's goal.


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Microsoft has used a court order to take control of computers that were installing ransomware and other malicious software on local government networks and threatening to disrupt the November US election.
Broadcom has agreed to buy Symantec’s division that serves business customers for $10.7-billion in cash, adding software designed to keep hackers out of corporate systems.
Symantec and Broadcom have halted their discussions for a proposed merger as the two sides couldn’t agree on a price, according to people familiar with the matter.
Broadcom is in advanced talks to buy cybersecurity firm Symantec, according to people familiar with the matter, seeking a further expansion into the more profitable software business.
For the past few years, Symantec seemed to have been doing everything right. The world’s top maker of cybersecurity software started selling more to corporations – chasing growth and balancing out its
Symantec, one of the world’s largest cybersecurity companies, agreed to buy LifeLock for about US$2,3bn (R33,2bn) including debt to expand in services for identity protection. The offer for LifeLock values its shares at $24 apiece, according
Biological viruses are among the most rapidly evolving organisms on our planet. The same is true of computer viruses, except that malevolent human organisations are driving this evolution, not natural selection. The most recent strains of these digital pathogens are evidence that virus
A major security breach involving the theft of South African bank account holders’ details by one or more criminal syndicates may go down as one of the worst such incidents in the country’s history. Criminals infected point-of-sale terminals in South African fast-food outlets and restaurants with
Former Altech executive Wayne de Nobrega has quietly taken the reins at Sithabile Technology Services, a systems integration company that specialises in data storage, recovery and backup. De Nobrega, who sold his business
In January, in the flurry of resolution that accompanies the new year, Dino Maloko (not his real name), 40, decided to bite the bullet and pay off his credit card. He was over R40 000 in the red, and he wanted to start the year off right. So he made a large payment into his bank credit card account and got his card debt


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Someone in China managed to get their hands on an iPhone 4S before its release and leaked video footage showing a much speedier device, impressive benchmarking and efficient interaction with the Siri feature.
From the one-minute video, AppVV Safari can be seen launching almost instantly after it was tapped. It also shows the iPhone 4S getting a BrowserMark score of 89,567 when compared to the iPhone 4′s score of 44,856. That is double the BrowserMark demo of the iPhone 4S' performance.
Thanks to the new A5 processor, Apple's iPhone users can now enjoy these welcome upgrades. The iPhone 4S was unveiled on Oct. 4 and will be available in stores on Oct. 14.
Reports are that pre-order sales for the iPhone 4S have topped 1 million units in the first 24 hours. This is Apple's most successful launch yet, as those numbers are above the prior record of 600,000 units sold in one day made by the iPhone 4.
We are blown away with the incredible customer response to iPhone 4S, Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, told the media. The first day pre-orders for iPhone 4S have been the most for any new product that Apple has ever launched and we are thrilled that customers love iPhone 4S as much as we do.
It had been reported that the new iPhone will be sold in more than 22 countries by the end of the month. The iPhone 4S comes with the A5 Dual-Core processor, 8MP camera, iOS 5, and a new voice command protocol called Siri.
Siri is like a personal assistant that texts, e-mails, reminds, and does a lot more through voice command.


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Recently, the French original printer manufacturers or will face criminal proceedings. It is reported that they were prosecuted because the intention to shorten the life of the printer products.
It is reported that the prosecution of the legal proceedings for a French called "anti-plan scrapped" environmental organizations. Prior to France has introduced a law requiring household appliances to have a longer life.
Based on the legal provisions, the French home appliance business "in order to increase the frequency of consumers to replace the product and deliberately shorten the life of the product" behavior will be regarded as illegal. It is understood that France is the only country in the world with the above-mentioned laws, and the European Commission is considering introducing similar laws and regulations throughout Europe.
It is reported that the original printer manufacturers of senior managers once found guilty of "intentional retirement" of the crime, will be sentenced to a maximum of two years imprisonment punishment, or 300,000 euros (about 2.34 million yuan) fine. And its company will be fined, the amount of the company for the past three years the average operating income of 5%. "Anti-plan scrapped" organizations pointed out that the largest share of the French printer market share of the four original printer manufacturers HP, Canon, Epson and brothers by shortening the service life of the printer continue to encourage consumers to buy new products, and therefore their behavior is illegal.


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With the recent news of Amazon releasing yet another ‘Amazon Music Original’, titled Songs of Summer. Music lovers might be asking the question, is Amazon now a record label and what does this mean to music streaming services?
So Amazon has recently Released Songs of Summer. They have paid the artists to record the songs, compiled said songs onto an album, and then released this to the world, in the hope to make a commercial profit.
Sounds a lot like a record label to me.
This album includes covers of popular summer songs such as The Beach Boys “God Only Knows” covered by Brandi Carlile, Beats Antique with a version of “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama, and Passenger’s rendition of the Otis Redding classic “(Sitting on) The Dock of The Bay.”
The album also has some original tracks from various artists such as Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend, Kate Voegele, and more.
The album has been issued by ‘Amazon Digtal Services LLC’ according to their own website.
Steve Boom, VP of Digital Music for Amazon commented on the new release stating: “Prime members have loved listening to the original music we’ve released, from Amazon Acoustics to Indie for the Holidays, and we’re thrilled to continue to offer new, interesting music and more ways to discover great artists with today’s debut of Songs of Summer.”
Okay so what does this all mean to the music streaming industry, now that these once ‘independent’ services – which used to give you a free choice in what music you listened to – have a new objective?
If they are investing money into their own artists or albums, this will be reflected in their promotion, to make these investments work they will have to push their own music over independently found and equally good music.
This is why at Find What You Like we feel the importance of having free choice of what you listen to, and getting musical recommendations from fellow music lovers rather than ‘Record Labels’ pushing their products.
Could the future of music streaming follow the trend of video streaming? With companies such as Amazon Prime and Netflix promoting their own shows and movies over other great titles, thus limiting the amount of free choice you have with your streaming experience. Only time will tell.
This is why we don’t tell you what to listen to, we like free choice, we like free playlists, we let you Find What You Like.


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Sycamore Township lures Z Gallerie back to Greater Cincinnati
In the unlikely event developers of The Kenwood Collection decide to market it as a shopping mecca offering everything from A to Z – well, the Zs in the bag.
That’s because on Friday, June 23, with the ceremonial snip of a ribbon, Z Gallerie will open its doors at The Kenwood Collection retail/office project next to the Kenwood Towne Centre in Sycamore Township.
The new furniture and home décor store becomes one of 72 operated by the Los Angeles-based Z Gallerie nationwide, but the only one in Greater Cincinnati.
There was a Z Gallerie store in the Rookwood Commons shopping center at Edwards and Edmondson roads in Norwood, but it closed.
“We are thrilled to have Z Gallerie back in the Cincinnati market, and especially at The Kenwood Collection,” Tom Weidman, president of the Sycamore Township Board of Trustees, said.
“They are clearly one of the cutting-edge home stores in the country, and we are fortunate to have them in Kenwood.”
Agreeing with him is Mark Wilhoite, vice president of development for PECO Real Estate Partners, developers of the $200 million Kenwood Collection off East Galbraith Road.
“Z Gallerie is a great fit for The Kenwood Collection,” Wilhoite said.
"We are excited that Z Gallerie is joining our growing list of lifestyle shopping tenants at The Kenwood Collection.”
The new Z Gallerie store will create 16 jobs at The Kenwood Collection, which features an eight-story office tower that holds sway over retail and restaurant sections of the project and is visible from Interstate 71 at the Montgomery Road interchange.
Want to know more about what is happening in Sycamore Township? Follow me on Twitter @jeannehouck.


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Nokia’s vast collection of apps that are available to all users of its smartphones is perhaps one of the greatest reasons to sign up to a deal with the Finnish firm.
Phil, writing the Nokia Conversations blog, explains some of these advantages and the impact they can have on the experience enjoyed by owners of the N8, C7 and other models.
He cites versatility as a key attribute of the Symbian operating system, on which all Nokia devices work.
This allows apps to operate on everything from low-end, basic devices up to the flagship models that are currently flying off the shelves.
Another plus point to investing in a Nokia handset, perhaps after selling an existing mobile, is access to Ovi Store, where 2.7 million features are downloaded each day.
Jo Harlow, senior vice-president of smartphones at Nokia, recently said the brand is remaining committed to Symbian as it is the best platform to serve the global needs of its customers.


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Faces and Places Shiffrin heats up sponsor market First Look podcast: Opening Day and more Raveling ‘an information reservoir’ F1 players accelerate growth in U.S. Instagram expands its student program Plugged In: Amy Trask Venue lockers deliver merch, food SunTrust Park brew steeped in the game Teams to get millions in relocation fees
SBJ/20100607/This Week's News
Big Lead represents big jump in FSV strategy
Published June 7, 2010
Fantasy Sports Ventures, fresh off its purchase last week of sports blog The Big Lead, is expanding its mission to go beyond simply aggregating fantasy sports news and content.
Three-year-old FSV had already begun to veer away from its original business model of rolling up a network of fantasy-oriented websites against which to sell advertising, having acquired more-traditional destinations such as HoopsHype.com and the battery of sites operated by Sports-Reference.com. The Big Lead purchase, however, marks a significant step toward becoming the largest digital sports media entity not controlled by a league, network or major corporation.
FSV already owns that title in terms of Web traffic, garnering 16.1 million unique users in April, according to comScore, fifth among sports sites. Company officials are now seeking to provide a broader swath of content and are taking aim at the sports online traffic leader, Yahoo!, which drew 34 million users in April.
“Fantasy was very important in the beginning, and it definitely remains a key part of what we’re doing, but to take the next step, it’s important we broaden our focus,” said Chris Russo, FSV chief executive.
Beyond the purchase of The Big Lead, a deal pegged by industry sources in the low seven figures, FSV in recent weeks has penned affiliation deals with sports media site Fang’s Bites, golf destination Wei Under Par and Amanda Rykoff’s OCDChick.com.
FSV now has more than 600 sites in its network. The Big Lead joins The Huddle, KFFL, HoopsHype and the Sports-Reference sites as entities in which FSV has equity.
For sports bloggers, FSV’s purchase of The Big Lead marks another victory, after the acquisitions of Pro Football Talk by NBC and TrueHoop.com by ESPN. The Big Lead editor Jason McIntyre started the site four years ago, and it quickly garnered audience and industry attention for its irreverent but informed mix of sports news, commentary and humor.
The Big Lead generates between 500,000 and 1 million unique users a month.
“I definitely want to be a big part of what FSV is doing,” said McIntyre, who will remain as editor and general manager of The Big Lead. “The thought of selling definitely came after [Pro Football Talk] and TrueHoop happened, but I didn’t want to overthink it and overvalue myself, so I kept working hard and held out for the best deal, and, for me, that was definitely FSV.”


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Capacity development workshop for women in Nagaland
Dimapur, Jan. 19 (EMN): Nagaland state Chief Secretary Temjen Toy will be inaugurating a capacity development workshop for women, on January 22 in Kohima. The event is an initiative by Startup India, department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The workshop aims to identify and support aspiring and established female entrepreneurs by providing them with access to incubation, mentors, investors and various business support services.
Updates that were received here stated that the workshop will be inaugurated at 9 am at the Sird hall along the Thizama road, new Secretariat in Kohima. The two-day workshop for women is to be conducted at the same venue on January 22 and the 23rd, from 9 am to 5:30 pm, the updates stated.
SingEx, India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek in Singapore, has been selected by Startup India and the department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to execute and manage these workshops across Northeast Indian states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
Anil Agarwal, joint secretary at DPIIT said, “We understand the potential of mobilising the women entrepreneurs in the country. Through this capacity development programme we want to bring women to the forefront of innovation and support them with various benefits like incubation, mentorship, investments etc. to help them grow.”
Speaking about the programme, Aloysius Arlando, CEO of SingEx Holdings said, “SingEx will support the Indian startup ecosystem in every step of the way and is looking forward to help these startups reach their potential by inviting them to international events that SingEx organises.”
Further, Baldeep Singh Pahwa, country head and GM of SingEx Exhibitions (India) Pvt. Ltd., said, “We are very excited to be a part of this ecosystem. We are looking forward to apply our learning from Startup India Yatra executed by SingEx in 2018-19 to help women entrepreneurs from Northeast region realize their full potential through women capacity building workshops.”


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British Pie Awards: Mud Foods wins two trophies
Artisan pie company Mud Foods has triumphed at the British Pie Awards.
Based in Midhurst, it entered 15 pies in total and came away with awards for all those entered including class champion in the Speciality Meat and Game Pie category with its game pie and class champion in the Fish and Chip Shop category with its chicken chip shop curry pie.
Christian Barrington, Mud’s founder and chief pie maker, said “We have won class champion before but we’ve never won two trophies in one go.
“I’m chuffed to bits and very proud of my team. We constantly strive for perfection and to get this sort of national recognition at the British Pie Awards makes it all worthwhile – it’s the rubber stamp of approval.”
The British Pie Awards attracts pie producers large and small from across the country. The event is judged in Britain’s pie capital, Melton Mowbray, and this year 813 pies were entered in 23 categories
Mud Foods sells pies, squiches (square quiches) and sides of beer battered chips, mash or sweet potato fries.
Christian said: “We have our staple pies, the ones we do year in and year out, and then we come up with new varieties each year.
“This year we have the hearty beef and potato pie, pulled pork in a sticky BBQ sauce and a scrumpy cheese and onion pie.”
Christian prides himself on the quality of the ingredients used in his pies from the butter in the pastry to the locally sourced items.
The pies use meat and dairy from the Goodwood Estate, the scrumpy cider is Heart of Hampshire from Mr Whiteheads, which is between Petersfield and Alton and the porter ale in the steak and ale pie is from Greyhound Brewery in Storrington.
Mud Foods was started in 2009. Christian initially worked in financial services, but during a conference in 2007 he realised he needed to do something else.
He said: “I looked around the room at all the grey haired men and women and thought ‘I don’t want to be sat in here in ten years time’ .”
Growing up he always had a passion for cooking and has fond memories of being in the kitchen with his grandmother, who he says was a ‘homely cook’ and would make a large steak and kidney pie for the whole family.
He said: “Her food was simple but really tasty and used quality ingredients.”
Mud Foods’ most popular pie is steak and ale, but during lockdown they have seen an increase in the amount of orders of the vegan pie.
He said: “The food we produce is what I cook at home for my family, I want food that people enjoy.”
For more information, visit mudfoods.com


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HONOLULU (KHON2) — An underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday sent tsunami waves across the Pacific, with satellite images showing a plume of ash rising above the waters. The eruption prompted a tsunami advisory for Hawaii, with some parts seeing a two-foot surge.
One local business in Kailua-Kona saw major damage and lost about 80% of inventory and gear. Sea Quest Hawaii co-owners Manu and Liam Powers said they were shocked when they arrived.
We’re Hawaii’s weather station, get the latest forecast and radar information here
Manu said they got to their office at approximately 4:45 a.m. Saturday after getting a call from a resident in Keauhou Bay who heard a commotion. Their 288-gallon propane tank had been ripped from its mount and plumbing and was carried across the yard.
“When we arrived at the office and saw it across our outdoor waiting area, we knew we were in trouble,” said Manu.
Damage, she says, is totaling around $75,000, which does not include furniture, equipment damage, electronics, payroll for cleanup, or the fee to professionally clean and sanitize the building. Beyond that, she adds that 80% of their retail merchandise — everything from sunscreen to handmade jewelry and wall art — was damaged.
“We donated anything we could simply rinse off and will be donating more after we we have an opportunity to wash off body products and launder apparel,” Manu said. “We do a fair amount in retail and the majority of it was lost.”
Adding to the list are major appliances that were destroyed: their refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, ice maker, dishwasher, POS system, shelving units, phones, printers and even snacks for the tours.
“Anything consumable we tossed out of an abundance of caution,” said Manu.
After a hit like that, Manu said they reopened their rafting and snorkeling adventures business on Sunday since they needed to recoup as soon as possible.
“Almost our entire staff spent 12 hours [Saturday] cleaning, rinsing, sorting, and ultimately cutting out the drywall up to the 2-foot level to expose the studs. It was both intense and productive,” Manu explained. “Spouses came along. Children came along. It was very touching.”
The community also came out to show their support, which Manu calls “so typical of Kona.”
“The wife of the husband and wife team that owns Magic’s Beach Grill showed up with coffee and pastries, Keauhou Canoe Cub came by to see if they could lend a hand and more people than I can count reached out to us directly,” said Manu.
Sea Quest Hawaii tours are running business as usual, while the office remains sealed off for disinfection. This setback, topped by the ongoing pandemic, has the family business experiencing a drop again.
“The past two years have been incredibly stressful,” Manu explained. “The shutdown of our business and cessation of our income, followed by a lack of employees and inconsistency where tourism is concerned have been so difficult to manage. Follow that with omicron, and now this? It’s a difficult situation that has now been compounded significantly. We know we are more fortunate than so many, but there are limits to what a family business can handle.”
While Manu admits “this loss will hurt,” she’s shining a light on the community for being so supportive throughout the pandemic, and now, after this disaster.
“We cannot call on their help any further. We will be fine,” said Manu. “This has been a major setback, but we will come back.”
Manu adds that they’re trying to split donations between Goodwill and Memory Lane. Items range from hats, books, baby blankets and toys to jewelry, candles, sunscreens and lotions.
Manu says Memory Lane is a local, second-hand store where all proceeds from sales go to support the Nakamaru Hale hospice home, the place where her mother was staying.
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“Before she passed, which was in 2014, I promised her I would support the Hale, via donations to Memory Lane, always,” said Manu. “The tsunami hit on the day after what would have been my mother’s 77th birthday. It feels good to be able to donate so much to them. A silver lining, I suppose!”


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The BlackBerry PRIV is one of the more recently released smartphones as it only saw its arrival on the market towards the end of last year. However, in spite of being a new smartphone, what attracted a significant amount of attention from the smartphone market perspective, was that this was the first BlackBerry smartphone to be released running on the Android operating system. A significant departure from BlackBerry tending to stick to their own platform. As a result and since its release many are watching the PRIV closely to see how it performs, as its sales are thought to be a big indicator of BlackBerry’s smartphone position moving forward. With some analysts already having suggested poor sales could see the smartphone maker exiting the hardware business altogether.
Speaking of which, tomorrow BlackBerry is due to release their financial results for the fourth quarter and this is expected to come with some detailed information on how the PRIV has been selling since its release. Just ahead of that announcement, it is now being reported that analysts from Wells Fargo Securities are making their own predictions of what will be announced and according to those predictions, BlackBerry will confirm that they shipped 850,000 PRIV handsets during the quarter.
On the face of it, the touted figure is one which the same analysts say will help BlackBerry announce quarterly revenues above Wall street expectations. Specifically, $571 million compared to a $565 million expectation. So while above those expectations, not drastically. One of the reasons which is being given as to why these figures could be considered lower than what they could have achieved is that the BlackBerry PRIV is a handset which seems to only be available in roughly 20 countries. A number which is significantly less than the 31 countries that BlackBerry has set out to expand the PRIV availability to by February of this year. On a more wider note, the same analysts expect BlackBerry to announce yearly software revenues in the region of $500 million. Again, a figure which would exceed expectations if confirmed. Of course, at the moment these are just predicted figures and firm details will likely be announced tomorrow by BlackBerry.


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- Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have increased lately and remain bullish.
- Institutional players are moving to the crypto sphere recently.
- Several reasons from regulation to industry can explain this trend.
In the past months, Bitcoin and Ether prices significantly increased: Bitcoin reached its all-time high value at $61,683.86 on March 13, 20211, and Ether rose to record highs at $2,036.29 on Feb 20, 20212.
At the same time, more and more institutional players have shown their interest in crypto assets and started to invest in them. According to Grayscale’s Digital Asset Investment Report for Q4 2020, 93% of its investments came from institutions3 while in Q4 2019 it accounted for 71%4. In Q4 2020, Grayscale’s average weekly investment in Bitcoin trust reached $217.1 million. Besides, Coinbase’s report “2020 in Review” revealed that “a growing number [of institutional customer] also took positions in Ethereum” in 20205.
Some say that this institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is one of the reasons that could explain the recent price increase of Bitcoin or Ether.
Who are the institutional investors moving to crypto?
Lately, there has been a lot of news about institutional investors and how they were buying cryptos. Here are a few examples of them:
- Microstrategy: The business intelligence company states on its website that it believes Bitcoin can be a “dependable store of value”. In March, Microstrategy bought 205 BTC, and then 262 BTC. The company currently owns “approximately 91,326 bitcoins”.
- Tesla: In January 2021, the electric car manufacturer updated its investment policy and says it holds “$1.50 billion in bitcoin” in a document filed with the SEC. On March 24, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO announced on Twitter that the company now accepts Bitcoin payments.
- Square Inc.: The US financial services company announced it had purchased 4,709 BTC in Oct 2020 and another 3,318 BTC in Feb 2021 which accounted for about 5% of the company’s total assets.
- Meitu: The Chinese tech company announced on March 5, it had bought 15,000 ETH and 379.1214267 BTC. Just a few days later, on March 17, the company announced an additional investment of 16,000 ETH and 386.08581655 BTC. The company’s investments account for around $90 million worth of cryptos. The Chinese company chose Coinbase Institutional to custody the funds.
Apart from buying cryptocurrencies, major financial institutions recently started to offer crypto-related services. For example, BNY Mellon, the US oldest bank, said it will be offering crypto custody and transfer services for its customers. Another bank, JPMorgan intends to launch a “Basket of Companies with Exposure to Cryptocurrency” according to a SEC filing from early March 2021. Others also made a move towards crypto. For example, Paypal offers crypto buying and selling services6 and will start offering crypto payment services7 to US Customers while Mastercard plans to start supporting cryptocurrencies this year8. Visa, the US financial services company also announced on March 29, 2021, the company’s first settlement transaction is USDC, a stablecoin backed by the US Dollar.
Why this sudden interest from institutional investors?
This trend could be explained, amongst other factors, by the fact that there is an increasing number of governments worldwide that have or are implementing a legal framework for cryptocurrencies. This was not the case a few years ago. Greater regulatory clarity around cryptocurrencies can reassure traditional companies to start investing in them.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are more and more popular and used, which means that there is a larger customer need for crypto services. “Growing client demand for digital assets” is one of the reasons that led BNY Mellon to offer digital asset services in the first place. This also prompts other traditional financial companies to start offering crypto-related services such as PayPal, Mastercard, etc… Besides, BTC is also popular amongst some companies’ founders for example Elon Musk (Tesla) or Micheal Saylor (Microstrategy) believe in the cryptocurrency and started investing in it via their companies.
Moreover, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can be a way for institutions to diversify investments. Indeed, Bitcoin is not correlated with other assets and allows institutions to diversify their investments that are mainly composed of highly correlated assets. In addition, BTC and cryptos are very secure, borderless, and can create new opportunities that don’t exist in the traditional finance industry.
On the other hand, this greater crypto adoption from institutions also implies that new players must comply with existing AML/CTF requirements concerning cryptocurrencies.
Scorechain can help institutions that are dealing with cryptocurrencies to be compliant, for example, financial institutions that need to onboard crypto accounts, or provide crypto trading and/or custody, etc. Learn more about the solution and how it can help you in your compliance journey. Contact us for a free demo: firstname.lastname@example.org
Scorechain is a Risk-AML software provider for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. As a European leader in crypto compliance since 2015, the Luxembourgish company serves worldwide customers in 33 different countries with more than 150 licenses established, ranging from cryptocurrency businesses to financial institutions with crypto trading, custody branch, digital assets customers onboarding, audit and law firms and some LEAs.
Scorechain solution supports Bitcoin analytics with Lightning Network, Ethereum analytics with all ERC20 tokens and stablecoins, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, XRP Ledger and Tezos. The software is able to de-anonymize the Blockchain data and connect with sanction lists in order to provide a risk scoring on digital assets transactions, addresses and entities. The risk assessment methodology applied by Scorechain has been verified and can be fully customizable to fit all jurisdictions. 300+ risk-AML scenarios are provided to its customers with a wide range of risk indicators so businesses under the scope of the crypto regulation can report suspicious activity to authorities with enhanced due diligence.


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The great bull market in stocks coincided with a deep bear market in securities analysis. Prosperity never improves the quality of what Wall Street is pleased to call "research." Recently it hit rock bottom.
Before Christmas a pair of Credit Suisse First Boston analysts went slumming at an Amazon warehouse in New Castle, Del. Working as $9-per-hour merchandise "pickers," Jamie Kiggen and Rick Vallières learned while doing—plucking stuff off warehouse shelves and dropping it into shopping baskets. Back at the office, they shared this wealth of scientific observation with their clients. They had left as bulls, and so they returned: "Customers are plentiful and active, customer-service levels are high and operations are becoming more efficient."
Very interesting, but absolutely irrelevant. What Kiggen and Vallières needed to know was available in Amazon's public documents. To show what kind of financial research might be conducted while not working in a warehouse, Robert Tracy, a CPA and an analyst on the staff of grantsinvestor.com, recently spent a single eight-hour shift examining the online retailer's income statement and balance sheet. That was one-quarter of the man-hours expended on the Kiggen-Vallières road trip.
It's no front-page news that Amazon has had troubles, but the numbers are worse than many on Wall Street have admitted. They reveal a surge in financial leverage, a collapse in shareholders' equity, a wave of dilution and a curious pattern in payables.
Not once leaving the office, Tracy discovered that the online retailer is holding its bills longer than it used to, especially at year-end. For instance, in 1998's first quarter, an unpaid bill sat in Amazon's in-box for an average of 46 days; in 2000's first quarter, 52 days. In 1998's fourth quarter, 51 days; in 1999's fourth quarter, 71 days. This is no mere detail. In each of the past four years, the cash flow from payables exceeded the cash flow from all other operating sources combined.
Bulls will commend the company on imaginative cash management. Bears will accuse it of financial engineering. What is not debatable is that, by stretching out payments into the new year, Amazon has presented a more liquid face to the world than it could otherwise have done.
Amazon is a controversial stock, and not every brokerage-house analyst is blind to the bearish facts. Ravi Suria, of Lehman Brothers, has risked professional ostracism to build the case that Amazon is running out of cash.
But Wall Street is institutionally compromised. In general, since the deregulation of brokerage commissions on May 1, 1975, investors haven't footed the bill for investment research. Securities issuers have. And the kind of "research" that most issuers prefer is the kind that they would write themselves.
Gretchen Morgenson, writing in the New York Times last month, exposed the sycophancy of a half-dozen of Wall Street's leading lights during a conference call on which they spoke with the management of computer maker Gateway. "Of the 13 analysts that asked questions on the call," Morgenson reported, "6 were careful to congratulate Gateway first." All in all, according to Ray DeVoe, a lifelong securities analyst now working at Legg Mason Wood Walker, the quality of sell-side research has never been lower. In all but name, analysts have become investment-banking salesmen.
But it isn't just the perverse economic incentives that have corrupted supposedly truth-seeking analysts.The stock market has been going up for most of the past quarter-century. "Markets make opinions," the adage says. Ergo, baseline opinion is bullish.
Nowhere is the mind-set of the American investor more clearly revealed than in the collective reverence toward Alan Greenspan. The chairman is thought to be able to see into the future and improve it before it happens. Yet, a year ago, fearing a phantom millennium crisis, he massively eased credit. This year, in the face of what is shaping up as genuine trouble, he has tightened it. Now that business activity is slowing and the stock market is swooning, the 6.5% federal funds rate is the highest rate on the Treasury yield curve.
In bull markets, people have faith; in bear markets, doubt. The other way around might be more profitable.


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Leading supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Asda will stop using black plastic in their products by the end of the year.
The chains will follow in the steps of Morrison’s which announced a ban on the hard-to-recycle material last week, trade magazine The Grocer reported.
Iceland and Aldi were also planning to drop black plastic from their own-label food and drink ranges by the end of 2020, the Metro reports
Currently, tens of thousands of tonnes of black plastic each year end up in landfill or being incinerated because it contains a carbon pigment that cannot be detected by recycling machines.
Tesco said it would have removed all black plastic by the end of December and was now ‘working with branded suppliers to do the same.’
Asda also recently announced it had removed 45 million ready meal trays containing black plastic from its range which it said alone removed ‘775 tonnes of previously unrecyclable plastic.’ It plans to remove it all by the end of 2019.
Sainsbury’s was another supermarket on course for a full ban by the end of December – by which time 6,000 tonnes of material will have switched to recyclable alternatives.
Waitrose said it had removed nearly 90 per cent of the 2,291 tonnes of black plastic it uses as of the end of October and was ‘well on track’ to get rid of it fully by the end of December.
The Co-op said the same thing meaning the material will have been removed from over 300 lines.
Iceland head of recycling Stuart Lendrum said he expected his supermarket to have removed black plastic by the end of January next year.
He said: "We have been making good progress with eliminating black plastic across the board."
The magazine said Marks & Spencer is further behind but said it was on track to remove the material before the end of next year. Aldi also has a target of the end of 2020.


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Bitcoin could very well be the investing story of 2017, with its meteoric rise in price (up more than 1,100 percent year-over-year, according to Coinbase). Comments from billionaires and business barons who have called it a bubble — including Jamie Dimon, Jack Bogle, Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban — haven't deterred believers. And you can add to the doubters' list another group of big-name market skeptics.
More than one quarter of respondents (27 percent) taking the recent CNBC Global CFO Council survey see bitcoin as a fraud, while another 27 percent said it is a "real" asset, but in a bubble. Only 14 percent say it is "real and still going higher" in value.
More than half of all respondents have a pessimistic view of bitcoin. A third of respondents admitted they do not know enough about bitcoin to have an opinion.
The CNBC Global CFO Council represents some of the largest public and private companies in the world, collectively managing more than $4 trillion in market capitalization across a wide variety of sectors.
On Wednesday the cyrptocurrency hit an all-time high of more than $11,000, before plunging 20 percent. On Thursday the trade stabilized and bitcoin was trading at $9,487.82.
U.S.-based members of the CNBC Global CFO Council are most bearish on bitcoin, with just under 35 percent having a favorable view, while EMEA-based CFO Council members are the most bullish, with 57 percent of respondents maintaining a favorable view.
"It is something we are curious about, we're very very open to, but we haven't found a way to really integrate it into our business," Karim Hajjar, CFO for the Belgian chemical company Solvay, told CNBC in November.
The survey was conducted from Nov. 3 to Nov.16, 2017. Among the 97 members of CNBC's Global CFO Council, 43 responded to the survey (24 U.S., 10 EMEA and 7 APAC).


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New Arrivals to InfoLab21
The Business Development team has welcomed 3 new arrivals to InfoLab21 - Intuitive (www.intuitive.net), Kinetic Cubed (www.kinetic3.co.uk) and Dominic Wood - more information on these in the next issue.
Fri 26 May 2006
An engineering student has received an award in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Mechatronic Student of the Year contest.
Wed 10 June 2015
Lancaster University’s work to support businesses and the economy has been recognised by the inaugural Educate North Awards.
Fri 05 June 2015
Lancaster University, with support from leading retailer Waitrose, is launching a new on-line postgraduate course designed to enable food-chain professionals to meet the challenges of future food production.
Tue 02 June 2015
A Lancaster University professor is at the forefront of promising technology techniques to speed up the development of fifth generation (5G) wireless communications.
Thu 14 May 2015


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HOUSTON – As concerns over the coronavirus rise in the country, a Texas-based grocery store chain on Monday announced limits on purchases of hand sanitizer and hand soap.
Lisa Helfman, public affairs director for H-E-B, said customers will be restricted to four bottles of hand sanitizer and four bottles of hand soap per transaction in one shopping trip.
Helfman said the move is meant to ensure that all H-E-B customers have access to the products.
The announcement comes after the first two coronavirus deaths in the U.S. were reported. Both deaths happened in Washington state.
Over the weekend, officials said that a patient who had traveled to China was released from isolation but returned after a preliminary test showed a positive result for the coronavirus.
Rice University also announced over the weekend that a small group of employees and students have been ordered to self-quarantine after a possible exposure to the illness. The move was “out of an abundance of caution,” officials said.


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You are here
Tokyo wants more price competition among telcos
JAPAN'S government wants to see greater price competition among the nation's three dominant mobile phone network providers, before e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc enters the market in October next year with plans for lower smartphone charges.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said that carriers NTT DoCoMo Inc, KDDI Corp and SoftBank Group Corp have the potential to cut mobile charges by as much as 40 per cent.
Rakuten plans to launch its mobile service in October 2019 and aims to charge less than the dominant three carriers, Mr Suga said at a regular news conference on Monday.
"Until then, we want competition to accelerate and the three companies' market domination needs to be eliminated," he said.
A Rakuten spokesman said that the company is considering pricing at a similar level to its current wireless offering.
Rakuten is at present a virtual network operator, where it leases capacity and does not own the network.
Mr Suga also said that it is "extremely important" to ensure that competition works, which is the government's responsibility.
"If the competition works, I think prices will inevitably fall," he separately said in an interview with the Sankei newspaper published on Monday.
The government wants household mobile charges to fall to help stimulate spending elsewhere and boost overall consumption, which has been weak spot in the economy.
But a 40 per cent drop in mobile charges could slow core consumer inflation - which has been hovering around one per cent - if users save the money rather than spend. REUTERS


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Ads to promote the much-awaited World Cup match between India and Pakistan have dialed up the aggression and tennis star Sania Mirza has decided that she has had enough.
In a blunt assessment of the advertisements aired on both sides of the border as tasteless, Mirza took to social media to blast the ad makers and broadcasters.
The two neighbouring nations will meet on June 16 in Manchester and while fans across the world don't need reminding of the magnitude of the encounter, the organisers and sponsors are leaving no chance to hype it up further.
"Cringeworthy ads on both sides of the border?? seriously guys, you don't need to 'hype up' or market the match anymore specially with rubbish! it has ENOUGH attention already! It's only cricket for God sake, and if you think it's anymore than that then get a grip or get a life!! (sic)," Sania Mirza tweeted.
Cringeworthy ads on both sides of the border seriously guys, you don’t need to ‘hype up’ or market the match anymore specially with rubbish! it has ENOUGH attention already!It’s only cricket for God sake, and if you think it’s anymore than that then get a grip or get a life !!— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) June 12, 2019
Her reaction came after Pakistani channel Jazz TV posted a video with a spoof of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistani military and kept in custody for 60 hours before being returned to India.
The video showed a model made to resemble Abhinandan with his trademark mustache sipping tea and answering questions, mimicking the video which was released by Pakistan Army of his questions. The ad has stoked outrage, with many calling it to be pulled down.
The ad made by Star Sports, who are broadcast rights holder for India, also drew a lot of flak on social media for being childish.
Since the match between the arch-rivals falls on the same day as Father's Day, the advertisement features India as the father of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Many fans have criticised the ad for suggesting that India is akin to being the 'father' of Pakistan, something the ad never explicitly says.
As the India-Pakistan clash nears, fans from both sides of the border are expected to be passionate. One can only hope that passion doesn't spill beyond the boundaries. It is, after all, just a cricket match.