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China's Wolfberry export to the European Union made a new breakthrough
On June 24, Chinese customs said that the European Commission recently announced the lifting of the 20% entry sampling rate of Lycium barbarum exported from China to the European Union, which means that the normal export of Chinese Lycium barbarum to the European Union will be resumed, which will greatly improve the customs clearance efficiency of Chinese Lycium barbarum exported to Europe, reduce the testing cost and storage cost of enterprises, and help the smooth export of Chinese Lycium barbarum barbarum to the European Union.
It is reported that in October 2019, EU officials implemented stricter inspection measures to increase the sampling frequency of dried fruit of Chinese wolfberry to 20%. Ningxia, as the hometown of Chinese wolfberry, has always been the main export area of Chinese wolfberry. According to local enterprises, due to the strengthening of EU inspection measures, the customs clearance time of Lycium barbarum dried fruit has been extended by about 10 days, and the inspection cost and storage cost have increased.
Under this influence, the export of Lycium barbarum in Ningxia has been decreasing. According to the statistics of Yinchuan customs, in 2020, Ningxia Lycium barbarum fruit exports 2552.5 tons to the European Union, with a value of 22.466 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 21.2% and 18.9% respectively. Therefore, the General Administration of Customs attaches great importance to it and actively negotiates with the European Union to urge the European Union to make a reasonable assessment on the sampling inspection of Lycium barbarum fruits.
At the same time, Ningxia authorities and Yinchuan customs also strengthened the quality inspection and supervision of wolfberry, urging enterprises to strengthen food safety. Since 2020, taking advantage of the technical advantages of the National Key Laboratory of Lycium barbarum detection of Yinchuan customs, Yinchuan customs has completed the detection of 1710 batches of samples of soil, water quality, chemical fertilizer and Lycium barbarum products in the main Lycium barbarum production area of Zhongning County in Ningxia, providing technical support for enterprises and local governments to improve the quality and safety level of Lycium barbarum industry. At the same time, the investigation of harmful substances in Lycium barbarum samples from Ningxia, Qinghai, Gansu and other main production areas has effectively promoted the improvement of the quality and safety level of Lycium barbarum and its products.
Yinchuan customs official said that at present, Lycium barbarum has resumed normal export to the European Union. With the help of the recently opened fourth Lycium barbarum Industry Expo, the export share of Ningxia Lycium barbarum will continue to increase this year. Yinchuan customs will cooperate with the General Administration of Customs to continue to carry out consultations with the European Union on the sampling inspection of dried fruits of Lycium barbarum, so as to promote the export of Chinese Lycium barbarum products and further promote the high-quality development of Lycium barbarum industry.
Post time: Jul-10-2021


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New Delhi, June 4 (ANI): President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a renovated shopping complex in the Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
The shopping complex includes Shakti Haat (an outlet where Self Help Groups (SHGs) of Rashtrapati Bhavan will market their products like homemade masalas, organic compost and handmade envelopes), a 'Safal' Outlet, Kendriya Bhandar, Tailor (both ladies and gents), Gents Hair Saloon and Beauty Saloon for ladies.
This Kendriya Bhandar retail store at President's Estate is the 94th outlet in Delhi and first in the President's Estate.
Inauguration of the shopping complex today has made available in the vicinity the daily necessities of life to the residents in the President's Estate.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy were among the dignitaries present on the occasion. (ANI)

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Delta Introduces Prosecco on International Flights
Delta Airlines has introduced Avissi prosecco to its drinks menu, allowing customers to enjoy a glass of the Italian favourite on all international flights.
This comes as the airline continues to focus on “providing a premium on-board food and beverage offering.”
Commenting on the news, Lisa Bauer, Delta vice president of on-board services said:
“Sparkling wine is often the first choice for a celebration and we know how special it is for people to jet off on a trip so we wanted to bring the celebration to them,”
“Offering complimentary chef-curated food and drinks throughout the flight is one of the things that sets Delta apart and we’re upping the ante again with our mini bottles of Prosecco.”
If you want to book a flight with Delta Airlines, give us a call on 0203 535 9290 or email us at email@example.com today.


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AOL will try to add some cool to its mobile team with the just-announced acquisition of iOS and Android photo-sharing app Hipster. Hipster was launched in 2011 and is probably best known as the startup that offered a year’s worth of PBR to two of its new hires. Its applications and website allow more than 100,000 users to create postcards from photos taken on iPhone and Android devices.
The postcards become attached to the locations they were sent from so it can be easier to document memories.
“We’ll be spending part of our time on Hipster and part of our time on other AOL projects like Patch and Play,”
Hipster CEO Doug Ludlow told VentureBeat. Five Hipster employees, including Ludlow, will join the AOL team under mobile director Sol Lipman. Ludlow said that during the next few weeks, thanks to AOL’s help, the team will release a new version of its iOS app, some updates to its Android app, and “significant tweaks” to the website.
Global fashion e-tailer Shein launches new hub in Singapore
Digital Revolution and Repression in Myanmar and Thailand
Activists have also proactively published social media content in multiple languages using the hashtags #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar and #WhatsHappeningInThailand to boost coverage of events on the ground.
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Let’s talk crypto, Metaverse, NFTs, CeDeFi, and Stocks, and focus on multi-chain as the future of blockchain technology. Let us all WIN!
Bitcoin price has not reacted majorly on the Fools’ Day pranks as it was trading around $59,289.26 according to CoinMarketCap.
April Fools’ Day 2021 was full of surprises to many in the digital assets industry, particularly Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency. Notably, some of the surprises had a literal impact on the crypto market whilst others were mere hoaxes.
For example, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk posted an interesting tweet.
SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2021
Surprisingly, Dogecoin has jumped almost 30%, however, it has since dropped and was trading around $0.0616, up 14%. It is not clear if Musk is just onto his usual pumping tricks or it is literal as he stated. However, it’s fool’s day, anything is possible.
Another notable news that caught the attention of the crypto community was from Blockstream that indicated it has taken Bitcoin to Mars with the Lava network. The Lava network sidechain is purportedly designed to enhance Bitcoin’s privacy as it partners with ‘Mars companies’.
“Users wishing to test out the Lava Network should remember to download Blockstream Red before leaving the Earth’s gravitational sphere of influence. Once in low Martian orbit, or upon arrival on the Mars surface, open the Blockstream Red app, connect to your Satellite Receiver via Bluetooth, and start making some interplanetary transactions!” Blockstream noted. Well, to the greater extent the news sounds more of a fiction than a fact.
Fools’ Day and Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin price has not reacted majorly on the Fools’ Day pranks as it was trading around $59,289.26 according to CoinMarketCap. On that point, CoinMarketCap ‘launched’ the Toilet Paper Token. Reportedly, the Toilet Paper Token can be purchased via the ‘Shitake Exchange’ and can be minted through a Know-Your-Colon (KYC) process.
The Fools’ Day did not stop there, the company behind Teletubbies announced that it has launched TubbyCoin. The company noted that TubbyCoin is an innovative” digital asset that “employs cutting-edge cryptographology to convey the inherent value of Big Hugs! in the form of exchangeable TubbyCoin ‘BigHugs!’ Tokens, featuring Tinky Winky, Laa-Laa, Dipsy, and Po.” On this one, the company admitted it was a joke.
Michael Riley, the Chief Brands Officer of WildBrain Labs, which owns Teletubbies, wrote in a press release: “Although TubbyCoin is not a cryptocurrency, our hope is that you’ll still enjoy sharing TubbyCoins with friends, family, and anyone who needs a hug.” WildBrain says it will donate $1 for every #TubbyCoin shared on social media, up to $10,000.
The Indian crypto community was not left behind on Fools’ Day. Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce company reported that it would start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. However, the company noted it is just a joke intended on the supercoin. Remember Indian government is reportedly on verge of banning crypto trading and also putting hefty fines on people found holding cryptocurrencies.


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GLOBAL – The Wine Industry is facing a difficult time ahead as young drinkers snub the drinks for other more popular such as spirits and hard seltzers, a new report by IWSR has found.
According to the report, fewer new drinkers are entering the wine category, particularly from the younger legal drinking age groups (LDA) age groups.
Consumer research data from Wine Intelligence, a division of IWSR Group, shows that participation rates in wine among the LDA-34 age group endured a steady slide over the 10-year period from 2010-to 2020.
This was true across a number of markets, in particular the US, UK, Sweden, and Japan, with the US and UK reporting the biggest changes.
In 2010, around half of UK adults in LDA-34 drank wine once a month, and by 2020 this fell to 26%; in the US, the corresponding fall was 36% to 21%.
The drinks market analysis firm reported that during the same period, participation rates of wine drinkers among the Boomer generation rose in both markets.
Competition, moderation keeps consumers away
Industry stakeholders attribute wine’s declining popularity among young drinkers to a number of factors including increased competition from other drinks to moderation and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Many industry stakeholders believe that wine isn’t connecting with the mainstream of younger LDA adult consumers as well as it could, and the pandemic has both accelerated and exposed this,” comments Richard Halstead, COO Wine Intelligence.
“The on-premise was a key channel for consumption of wine at social settings amongst younger LDA consumers prior to Covid. Shutting down the on-premise during lockdowns closed off a key channel for these consumers to encounter wine.”
Halstead further notes that moderation is further narrowing beverage repertoires among wine drinkers with many consumers preferring to choose their favourites over something they rarely drink.
Brandy Rand, COO Americas, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis is of the opinion that wine is facing increased competition from spirits and hard seltzers, especially in the US.
“Even though the wine category in the US holds an 11% volume share – equal to that of spirits – wine volumes are expected to continue on a downward trajectory,” notes Brandy Rand.
Similar factors are influencing the UK wine consumer as well, says Humphrey Serjeantson, Research Director, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.
A silver lining for wine makers
Wine Intelligence insights do however point to a silver lining: those younger LDA adults who are connecting with wine tend to be more engaged, enthusiastic, and above all high-spending, especially compared with older Boomers.
This suggests a future of wine ceding ground to other categories as a mainstream, accessibly-priced beverage, whilst retaining and building its premium consumer base – those who are drinking less, but want to have a special product when they do buy wine.
For this reason, IWSR notes that although the wine-drinking population in the US & UK is skewing older, wine brand owners would be remiss to discount younger LDA consumers entirely.
The research company instead advises wine brand owners to simplify the wine education process to help engage consumers who are not sure if wine is for them anymore.
“Similarly, changes in consumer priorities and habits mean that wine brand owners need to re-engage with an audience that’s increasingly older and more affluent, and one that is seeking more premium and interesting wines,” IWSR said.
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Google on Wednesday officially unveiled its new note-taking service, dubbed Google Keep. “With Keep you can quickly jot ideas down when you think of them and even include checklists and photos to keep track of what’s important to you,” Google said in a blog post. “Your notes are safely stored in Google Drive and synced to all your devices so you can always have them at hand.”
The Google Keep app is available for devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and above via Google Play. There’s also a home-screen widget so Keep remains front and center, and for those with Android 4.2+, a lock-screen widget provides easy access to Keep. Users can also access, edit and create new notes on the Web at drive.google.com/keep; “in the coming weeks you’ll be able to do the same directly from Google Drive,” Google said.
The service supports voice memos, which Google Keep will transcribe automatically. Naturally, there’s a search component and the option to delete or archive notes once you’re done with them. Drag and drop to prioritize notes, and select a different color for each note. In a screen shot (right), the notes on an Android phone lined up like the live tiles on Windows Phone.
News of Google Keep shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, thanks to a Monday leak from Carlos Jeurissen with IE100, who did some digging in the source code of Google Drive and found a previously unreleased icon for something known as Keep. That code suggested that the project is related to Drive, and would get its own Android app.
This would not be Google’s first foray into note taking. In 2009, the company announced that it would stop active development on Google Notebook. By July 2012, the service shut down and all Notebook data was transferred to Google Docs.
You might recall that news of Google Drive leaked in a similar manner. In March 2012, TalkAndroid.com obtained leaked screen shots that tipped a service with 5GB of free storage. Google Drive finally made its debut in late April. For more, see PCMag’s review of Google Drive and Google Drive for iPad.


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Singapore bucked declining trends and led luxury price gains globally.
Singapore led the growth of luxury home prices around the world with an 11.5% increase for the first half of 2018, Knight Frank revealed.
According to a report, Singapore and Tokyo have bucked the general, trending decline of price growth around the world. “In Singapore, recovery is a consequence of rising foreign demand and high land bids by developers, which has fed through to new-build prices,” said Kate Everett-Allen, Knight Frank head of international residential research.
She did note that Singapore has introduced new macro-prudential measures into the residential market. “Investors may rue the rise in property market regulations which, in many cases, will add to their bottom line in the form of purchase or disposal taxes,” she added.
Meanwhile, prime prices in Tokyo grew by 9.4%. Knight Frank said the growth is linked to economic sentiment, the city’s relative value compared with Hong Kong and Singapore, and investment ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
Luxury home prices in Beijing (+7.3%) and Shanghai (+3.3%) currently sit mid-table. “China’s decision to pare back its housing subsidy programme will have an impact on mass market sales in smaller cities, but we expect luxury price growth in first-tier cities to persist,” Everett-Allen commented.
Meanwhile, across 20 cities Knight Frank tracks all around the world, the average growth of prime prices dipped to 4.2% from the previous record of 6%. “With the cost of finance set to rise in a number of markets, more stringent cooling measures being imposed, and slower growth in China’s first-tier cities, lower price growth will characterise the overall results of the Index for some time to come,” Everett-Allen said.
Do you know more about this story? Contact us anonymously through this link.


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Mambu, a SaaS cloud banking platform, has announced general availability across three leading cloud providers Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, expanding its global market reach.
The fintech’s cloud approach allows complete flexibility for customers to meet ambitious expansion plans seamlessly, giving customers the choice to use the most secure, reliable and high-performance technology stack available. Mambu customers have a choice of provider based on their specific business, technical and regulatory requirements, located in the same or a different geographical region, without impacting availability or service levels.
For decades, legacy technology solutions have been slow to implement but, now, using Mambu’s cloud banking platform, products can be pushed to market in weeks and over 95% of core banking transformations go live in months. Mambu’s composable platform provides components that can be selected and assembled in various combinations to satisfy specific user requirements. This empowers financial institutions to modernise their infrastructure, meet rapidly changing customer behaviours and expectations, and drive business growth. The development promises more customer choice, a secure foundation to meet financial security standards and high reliability for all three cloud providers.
Fernando Zandona, chief product and technology officer at Mambu, said: “We’re at a pivotal stage in our growth, and implementing this extended approach will allow us to continue providing the best service for our customers. Many technology providers rely on public cloud services; however, Mambu’s extended deployment flexibility meets the growing demands for performance, security and reliability.
Having the opportunity to work with three of the leading cloud providers supporting over 230 banks and non-bank financial institutions is a game changer. Financial institutions’ choice of cloud service provider is influenced by strategy, existing relationships, availability of services and hosting requirements. The general availability of these cloud providers on Mambu will help us continue to create better financial experiences for existing and new customers across the globe.”
The announcement follows a record $235 million Series E funding round for Mambu in December last year – the largest private fundraise for a cloud banking platform. As Mambu sets its sights on accelerating revenue growth, as well as continued investment in building a global, sustainable and differentiated platform for customers, Mambu has appointed four new senior hires. This includes chief revenue officer, Werner Knoblich, chief financial officer, Tripp Faix, chief product and technology officer, Fernando Zandona and chief of staff to the CEO, Sabrina Dar.


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Earlier this month, Casey’s General Stores announced the purchase of 44 Kalbredlo’s locations. The company signed an asset purchase agreement to acquire 22 Kalbredlo’s stores in Nebraska, 21 in Kansas and 1 in Oklahoma.
The Iowa-based convenience store will convert all Kabredlo’s locations into Casey’s General Stores. President and CEO of Casey’s, Robert Myers, stated, “The acquisition of the Kabredlo’s locations is an excellent fit to our existing store base and will add to our presence in Nebraska and Kansas as well as allow us to penetrate a new state”.
Company executives report that they expect transactions between the two businesses to end in December. To officially end transactions, both companies are waiting for receipts of inspection and other regulatory approvals.
If you own a businesses and are considering selling your business or purchasing another business, contact the Des Moines business sale and purchase lawyers of LaMarca Law Group, P.C. at (877) 327-2600 to set up an appointment to discuss your options.
This week, an Iowa judge approved a construction contract presented by a Chicago construction company for the building of a new maximum-security prison to be build outside of Fort Madison. The judge upheld a previous decision from the state to allow a $116.9 million contract with Walsh Construction.
Walsh Construction’s contract came under question from an Des Moines construction company, the Weitz Co., and a construction trade company, Master Builders of Iowa. The two companies accused Walsh Construction of turning in incorrect bidding forms when establishing its contract.
Officials have not said whether or not the Iowa construction companies will once again appeal the decision. Construction on the prison is currently scheduled to end in the summer of 2013.
Contact the Des Moines construction litigation attorneys of LaMarca Law Group, P.C. at (877) 327-2600 if you have questions about any legal matters concerning construction and construction contracts.
The Des Moines publisher, Perfection Learning, recently purchased another publishing company out of Seattle, Oregon. Perfection Learning publishes language arts text books and materials for kindergarten through 12th grade classes.
The company announced on Monday that they had signed a deal to purchase Seattle-based Kinetic Books. Kinetic Books publishes digital science and math textbooks. Company executives have not released details or the price of the sale.
Both companies had been in negotiations over the sale for some time. Purchasing a business requires significant planning and agreement over several details between companies. Contact the Des Moines business sale and purchase lawyers of LaMarca Law Group, P.C. at (877) 327-2600 to learn more about the legal process of purchasing a business.
Business litigation occurs when a business dispute arises and it can not be resolved through negotiation. Business litigation occurs when a person or business entity has a legal issue with another business entity.
Infringement on a patent, intellectual property, and copyright are all examples of a situation where business litigation may be needed. Concerns with finances, such as unethical broker behavior, and investments are also legal issues that arise that can be very complicated to work through.
If a dispute has occurred between you and another business entity, you need experienced representation on your side during this difficult time. Contact the Des Moines business litigation lawyers of LaMarca Law Group, P.C., by calling (877) 327-2600 today.


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We are hearing that the US is on the cusp of a full recovery from Covid. It’s back to business, school, and life. There are tons of posts on LinkedIn about the “new normal” and “how to navigate (fill in the blank).” It’s good that these articles are published because we humans have very short memories.
Personally, I just want to remember some of the unintended consequences we experienced.
We’ve all experienced unintended consequences in some way, shape, or form. They may be the best way to learn important lessons. Covid produced more than a few.
Buying toilet paper – or any paper product. We’ll never look at it the same way again. The anticipation and anxiety caused by the faint possibility of a toilet paper shortage will be the subject of studies by future anthropologists. Never mind not squeezing the Charmin: Hug it. Hard. You’ll never take it for granted again!
Used cars sold like crazy. They’re still selling like crazy. The rental car companies are buying them by the dozen. Maybe they’re the same cars they sold off over the past 18 months? It makes sense: people who relied on mass transit pre-pandemic needed new ways to get around safely. Others wanted to “upgrade” a recently purchased used car, so car stereos sold like it was the 80’s.
Of course, no manufacturer was prepared to add capacity. No one could have anticipated a static category going crazy – but who’s willing to bet that it will continue? Good news for any big box store selling car stereos, I guess! I wonder if retailers went rummaging through the warehouse looking for old stereo units keep the shelves stocked.
Everybody was home and a lot of us were cooking, baking sourdough bread, and eating. A lot. Yes, yeast was hard to find, but so were major appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, and especially freezers. Demand completely outstripped supply. The appliance business could typically have a 60-to-90-day supply. Now it’s negative by 90 days. You can’t just increase the production of major appliances. (There’s that whole supply chain thing, which has had more than its fair share of problems, thanks to the pandemic.) Once again, good for the sales folks at appliance stores. Not only were we cooking and eating more, but we couldn’t drop off our leftover food in the office kitchen.
We sweat to shed the Covid weight. Eating all that banana bread and TikTok pasta inevitably leads to weight gain. And with gyms closed for the better part of 16 months, it makes sense that so many people started exercising at home. We ordered dumbbells and weights like they were toilet paper. (Shout out to all the delivery people who had to deliver boxes of iron!) Can you imagine all the FedEx, UPS and USPS people have been delivering heavy metal plates for us to lift and throw around at home for a few months – before we stop excising until the cicadas return in another 17 years? Beyond dumbbells we ordered treadmills and rowing machines and spin bikes like there was no tomorrow. Even bicycles and bike parts became valuable as canary diamonds – and bike thefts spiked as a consequence.
Most people have read the stories about animal shelters being emptied of animals, and that’s wonderful. Please keep those pets! Vets are so busy it’s hard to get appointments. Many aren’t even accepting new patients! And its’ not just veterinarians. Other medical professionals have seen patient loads explode. Orthopedic surgeons saw far fewer kids with sports injuries, but they’ve seen far more adults who took up biking, golf, running, yoga, weightlifting, and other fitness programs in and around their homes. Many are considering mobile units at parks to save us adults the trouble of making an appointment.
What unintended consequences of the pandemic have you noticed? Will you ever wear pants with buttons and zippers again? Have Zoom filters replaced your makeup bag?
If you’d like to share them, we would love to read them. …and if the issue is related to an unwanted asset, we’ll buy it!


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Happy Friday Hamilton! Here’s what your Hamilton Spectator is tracking for you today.
Reporter Meredith MacLeod is looking at progress on leasing out a downtown landmark.
She has also profiled a new Hamilton food business.
Reporter Lisa Marr is writing about an innovative Burlington packaging company.
Reporter Steve Arnold is writing about a shortage of developable land in Hamilton.
In today’s Spectator
• Rona plans to renovate its own operations amid sluggish sales
• Profits weakened at Tim Hortons Inc. in the fourth quarter
• The Canadian dollar opened at 98.12 cents US, down 0.04 of a cent from Thursday's close. The U.S. dollar stood at 101.92 cents Cdn, up 0.05 of a cent.
Pound sterling was worth C$1.5548, up 0.10 of a cent, and US$1.5255, up 0.02 of a cent. The euro was worth C$1.3420, down 0.11 of a cent.
• OTTAWA — Statistics Canada releases retail trade figures for December and consumer price index for January. (8:30 a.m.)
• BERLIN — Germany’s Ifo institute releases its monthly index of business confidence, a closely watched indicator for Europe's biggest economy.
• BEIJING, China — World stocks mostly rebounded Friday from two days of doldrums sparked by fears the Federal Reserve would withdraw monetary stimulus. European markets were helped by a better-than-expected German business confidence survey.


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Crms Consulting Wins Export Award
Crms Consulting Wins Export Award - Recognition For Pharmaceutical Expertise
Auckland, February 14, 2003 -- CRMS Consulting Ltd, an Auckland company that helps international pharmaceutical companies improve their profitability through more effective use of their sales and marketing resources, has won a Trade New Zealand Export Award.
The award, part of the new Emerging Exporter section of the annual Trade New Zealand Export Awards, is in recognition of CRMS Consulting’s success in developing a viable and growing export business in three years.
(NB to Editors: Media are invited to attend the presentation of the CRMS Consulting Export Award by Trade New Zealand director Peter Menzies at 10am on 14 February 2003 at the company’s premises, Level 7, 182 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland.)
CRMS Consultant Paul Millett says his consulting company works with senior sales and marketing executives in the pharmaceutical industry to improve their understanding of their customers, with a view to using this information to optimise utilisation of sales and marketing resources.
Mr Millett says CRMS’ consultants all have extensive experience in the international pharmaceutical industry. Using this knowledge the company has developed unique processes and software to help its clients.
“We aim to deliver measurable and rapid improvements to our clients’ sales and marketing effectiveness. We achieve this through a mix of strategic marketing consultancy, business analysis, training and internally-developed proprietary software solutions.
“We understand the pharmaceutical industry intimately. No other company is doing what we are doing with the same level of industry expertise. In addition, we have a cost effective infrastructure which gives us internationally competitive pricing.”
Mr Millett says while the company recently won a contract within the New Zealand pharmaceutical industry, as a result of its international success, the company was established in 1999 to focus on export.
“From the outset, the directors and founders of CRMS, David Ledger and Richard Clapp, developed the company with an international focus.
“Our main focus to date has been on Australia – it’s the closest viable pharmaceutical market to New Zealand. It is also small enough to develop and grow while avoiding detection from international competitors while we were becoming established.
“We have achieved record foreign exchange earnings in the past 12 months, the result of successfully completing several major projects with Australian pharmaceutical companies. “Relationships are critical to success in the pharmaceutical industry and networking is one of our most important marketing strategies. We have had an office and senior consultant permanently based in Sydney for the last two years to provide additional contact with clients.”
Mr Millet says over the past 12 months the company has also put a lot of work into defining its position in the market, its branding, and identifying where its most profitable niches and key strengths lie.
Trade New Zealand Account Manager Murray Jeffrey congratulated CRMS Consulting on its Export Award, saying the company’s initial focus on the Australian market has helped it gain international credibility.
“Focusing on one market has enabled CRMS Consulting to consolidate its positioning and services. It’s now completed several major contracts in Australia and will be able to leverage off these to target pharmaceutical clients in other markets.”
Paul Millett says CRMS Consulting is entering a new phase of growth and will be increasing its current staff resources of 16 to support this growth expansion.
“We are planning to open an office in the UK in 2003 as a stepping stone into the important European market. We will also continue to invest in developing new software tools and business processes to ensure that we retain our competitive advantage.
also recognised that there are opportunities to transfer our
expertise and processes to different industries beyond the
pharmaceutical sector and will explore this potential over
the next 12 months.”


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Microsoft ends its security updates for Windows 7
Windows 7 users are encouraged to update to more modern OS
Microsoft has announced it will no longer provide extended security updates for Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows 7 beginning Today, Tuesday 10th January 2023.
The move will see users of Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise go without vital security protections, they are encouraging users to upgrade their devices to a more recent operating system, the company confirmed in a recent update.
In addition, Microsoft have also confirmed that support for Windows 8.1 will end on the same day.
With this, the software company suggests to those who will be affected to upgrade either their system or devices. Microsoft’s support page says current Windows 7 device owners can upgrade to Windows 10 by purchasing and installing its full version.
It also highlights, that while Windows 10 is a quick solution, Windows 11 is a more ideal option since Windows 10 will reach its end of support in October 2025.
At present, the OS runs on around 11% of all Windows systems globally. Reports from January 2021 suggested that Windows 7 was still used on nearly 100 million devices, highlighting its popularity despite the series of more modern options available to users.
As Marketing Manager, Conor takes joy in bringing news, blogs and industry innovations to Enterprise Solutions readership. He has a keen interest in all new innovative software and devices.


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The agency was appointed without a pitch following the successful completion of a six-month project.
Smoking Gun will roll out a series of creative consumer and trade PR campaigns for Holt Lloyd brands, including Holts, Prestone, Redex and Simoniz.
The brief is to help create grassroots brand advocates within the car trade and encourage product trials with mechanics and consumers as well as supporting the launch of new product lines, focusing on the brand’s key audience of men over the age of 35.
Smoking Gun’s digital team will create a paid social advertising programme across Holt’s product range and provide data on the social conservation created by the brands.
Rick Guttridge, managing director at Smoking Gun, said: "At the end of last year we carried out a programme of work for its Holts and Prestone brands aimed specifically at creating professional brand advocates and celebrating the next generation of mechanics with a ‘Rising Stars’ campaign. This is at an exciting point in the company’s proud history as it becomes ever more progressive in its approach to digital marketing in order to cement its industry leading status."


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Fisker Is Teasing a "Rescue and Mil-Spec" Package for the Ocean SUV
The Fisker Ocean SUV was unveiled at the 2020 Consumer Electronics. The company has had beautiful vehicles in the past, but none of them really hit the market. Henrik Fisker, the CEO of Fisker Inc., has the propensity to overcommit and under-deliver, so no one took him seriously when he announced in 2019 that Fisker is planning to build an affordable electric four-wheel-drive SUV with a range of 300 miles.
However, Fisker not only revealed the SUV, but also announced a sub-$30,000 starting price tag – after discounting for the credits – that took everyone by surprise. Now, the company has teased a new off-road trim for the SUV that looks tough and could invoke a lot of interest.
The Mercedes EQS Will, In fact, Get AMG Tuning Comparable to that of an AMG S65
Back in 2016, Mercedes-Benz introduced EQ, a sub-brand that would handle its electric car lineup. The German firm has already introduced the EQC crossover and EQV van and it plans four more models until 2022.
One of them is the EQS. Previewed by the Vision EQS concept, the EQS will become the brand’s flagship model, essentially an all-electric S-Class with sleeker styling. Confirmed for 2021, the EQS will also spawn an AMG version that’s said to be just as hot as the Mercedes-AMG S63.
This is What Lotus is Planning For The Next 10 Years
Lotus was in big trouble a few years ago, to the point where it almost went bankrupt. Luckily, Chinese automaker Geely purchased the British company from Proton in 2017 and it has taken important steps to save it. Although the current lineup includes three sports cars originally launched between 1996 and 2008, Lotus is planning a big expansion during the next decade.
Right now, we know that GM is working on a Hummer EV, and we know that, for some reason, the company thinks the Cadillac brand can sell a six-figure car, known as the Celestiq. I have downright critisized the brand on a number of occasions for not taking EVs seriously enough and, more recently, for the whole Celestiq situation. To me, it seems like GM just doesn’t know what it’s doing, and I always assumed it was because of poor leadership. Now, word has surfaced that Honda and GM are teaming up on EVs. To be more specific, GM is going to help Honda develop it’s next two EVs, and at first I thought this was a very bad move, but then I saw the bigger picture.
Here Are the Engines Ford Will Offer in the 2021 F-150
Considering that the F-150 is the most popular truck in the States and has been sitting on the throne for over four decades, Ford has done a fairly good job of being tight-lipped about revealing any details prior to its new-generation launch.
However, it couldn’t do its job as good as Tesla did with the Cybertruck. As it turns out, the different engine options that Ford has to offer on the 2021 F-150 have leaked. A post on NewF150Forum suggests that the pickup truck will be offered with six different engine options. Good to see Ford not downsizing the number of engine options to simplify the lineup.
We Need This Chevrolet C8 Corvette Livery To Become Reality
Remember the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R? Silly question, of course you do. The race car was active on tracks around the world between 2014 and 2019 and it even managed to snatch a victory in the GTE Pro class at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In all fairness, what brought us here today is Abimelec Design’s recent rendering of a widebody C8 Corvette that looks ready to pick up where the C7.R left off.
Thankfully, Alfa Romeo Won’t Tarnish the GTA Name By Slapping It On an SUV
Alfa Romeo recently unveiled a higher performance version of the Giulia named the GTA. The iconic nameplate was revived to celebrate the company’s 110th anniversary in 2020. The Italian manufacturer has no plans to use the GTA badge on the Stelvio SUV, despite high demand for performance crossovers these days.
Say Goodbye to the Little Guy as Alfa Romeo Discontinues the Giulietta
Just like any other car out there, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta had its flaws. It had strong selling points, too, like its appealing looks and crisp dynamic abilities. Those, however, were not enough to keep sales figures from sinking under the pressure of its very potent compact rivals and that of crossovers, too.
Speaking of crossovers, their rise to power is the reason behind Alfa Romeo’s decision to axe the Giulietta. As a replacement, the Italians won’t launch a new hatchback and will instead put their hopes of a profit in a high-riding vehicle we know as the Alfa Romeo Tonale.
2022 BMW iNext Electric SUV
When BMW launched the Vision iNext concept at the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show, it took the world by surprise. It was supposed to be the next big thing to come out of the company’s stable, but all people could talk about was that gaudy grille that eclipsed everything else.
The crossover with the Bavarian DNA is designed to combine advanced autonomous systems, connectivity, and electrification blended into one recipe that is touted to be the company’s flagship electric product. The model sits on a new platform and will provide the building blocks for the automaker moving forward. Is this a preview of what we can expect from BMW 10 years down the line?
This Is How the Toyota GR Hilux Is Going to Take on the Ford Ranger Raptor
Remember when Toyota said it would make high-performance trims of every model it builds? Looks like Toyota was serious about it. Interestingly, the Japanese automaker announced this in a reply to a twitter user who suggested a Hilux GRMN.
Fast forward 13 months and Toyota has announced a GR Hilux that will go up against the Ranger Raptor. The truck will feature a new diesel V-6 mill that will churn out over 250 horses. How exciting is that?
With Production on Hold, New Details for the 2021 Chevy C8 Corvette Have Surfaced
Back in January, we explained that you need to have patience and understanding in regard to C8 Corvette production and deliveries. Not long after that, a GM-UAW strike led to a delay in the start of production. Months later, the COVID-19 pandemic grabbed the world by the short and curlies, and now GM has been forced to shut down the Bowling Green factory and put production of the C8 Corvette on hold. All this, despite the heavy demand for the C8 Corvette (part of which is derived from rumors that the 20021 model year would be more expensive). In late January, we also learned that Chevy was canceling some dealer allocations,, and now order books for the 2020 Corvette are completely closed. There could be a silver lining to all of this, though, as you can now order the 2021 model year C8 Corvette and, with it, comes some fresh standard equipment.
The Ram Rebel TRX Could Have Adjustable Suspension and Steering
Ram is not able to contain the buzz surrounding the 2021 Ram Rebel TRX as more information comes to light. As per Allpar.com’s latest report, The Rebel TRX will most likely come equipped with adjustable steering and suspension systems like the Hellcat and Trackhawk models. A drive selector could also make its way in here. It seems like we can expect a lot of parts from other fancy FCA products to feature in the upcoming Rebel TRX.
Land Rover Looking to Shed Cylinders From its Range-Topping V-8 Diesel
In this day and age, with electrification being pushed hard and fines from emissions regulations capable of putting automakers in the ground if they don’t comply, every manufacturer has started downsizing and electrifying engines to carry on business as usual. Now a new report from autocar – one that cites “auto parts suppliers” claims that Land Rover’s aging 4.4-liter, Ford-sourced, diesel V-8 is set to be replaced by something smaller, but the question is what?
Sweet German Baby Jesus Is the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series Powerful
It hasn’t even been a week since the most recent round of spy shots for the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series started circulating the net. So far, we’ve learned precious little about the car that will be the last entry to the first-gen AMG GT and serve as the flagship model outside of the bonkers Project One Hypercar. All that has changed, though, thanks to a new report from Double Apex, a South African magazine that claims the AMG GT Black Series will have more than 700 horsepower.
2021 Audi e-tron GT: Everything We Know So Far
Audi showed the e-tron GT conceptback in 2018 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The road-going version of this prototype is expected to debut this year in LA, but until that happens, the world needs to figure out the coronavirus outbreak and Audi has to apply the finishing touches on its new performance EV.
A Leak Just Presented Some Unbelievable Info About the 2021 Toyota 86
Rumors and bits of info on the upcoming new 2021 Toyota 86 have been travelling around the internet for quite some time and have been intensively covered here on TopSpeed as well.
However, a recent leak reaffirms the fact that the 86 nameplate is making a comeback, albeit as part of a new naming scheme.


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The supermarket shelves here are filled with goods familiar to any American shopper. Sara Lee cakes and Shakey's pizzas nestle in the freezer and Pillsbury fudge brownie mixes sit next to packages of Royal No-Bake cheesecake.
There are also packages of instant grits, a popular item in the Carter White House, and for homesick Washingtonians, Safeway's house brand of dishwasher powder is on sale. The catch is that it is priced at the equivalent of $5 per medium-sized package.
In short, American economic sanctions or not, Iran's stores have plenty of consumer products, especially the luxury items that wealthier residents here have grown used to.
Much of these goods still come from the United States despite the more than six-month-old ban by U.S. dockworkers on shipping goods, including food, to Iran as a result of the seizure of the American Embassy and the holding of 53 hostages.
Iranians also are confident that they can evade economic sanctions inposed in April by the United States and in May by the European Community and Japan. The U.S. sanctions restricted trade with Iran except for limited deliveries of food and medicine, and the EC decided to cancel all contracts signed after the embassy seizure. However, Britain broke ranks by making its sanctions applicable only to future contracts, not retroactive to Nov. 4.
The main problem for Iran is how long it will be able to pay for these imports as oil revenues, its major source of foreign exchange, continue to dwindle.
It appears that the slowdown in oil exports here has cut Iran's foreign exchange reserves by as much as $750 million a month.
The country's proposed budget calls for oil exports of 2 million barrels a day, which should bring in $60 million daily. But Oil Minister Ali Akbar Moinfar admitted Thursday that oil exports are down to 800,000 barrels a day, worth about $24 million. Diplomats here believe the situation is even grimmer.
Nevertheless, regular shoppers at this city's luxury supermarkets -- the most modern in this part of the world with shopping carts, conveyer-belt checkouts, and American-style cash registers, say the shelves are constantly restocked. The prices are similar to those in nearby countries that are not facing economic sanctions and possible shortages.
Prices of the luxury goods favored by the rich have not risen as fast as staples sold in ordinary markets, where the inflation rate over the past year has reached 50 percent and meat and rice have doubled in price.
A seven-ounce jar of imported French pate costs less than $3 and French-made Friskey dry dog food is available at $2 a box.
Analysts here believe Iran has succeeded in finding alternate means of supply for all sorts of goods it needs.
"If pate and American frozen foods and canned goods reach here, so do computer parts and industrial supplies. What is missing in the technical areas, though, is the expertise to make repairs and use the parts it gets," said one diplomat.
An Iranian said this country's telephone system -- one of the most advanced in this part of the world -- is now falling apart because the technicians do not know how to maintain it. Entire computer systems have to be taken out, he said, because no one knows how to discover which small part needs to be replaced.
Nonetheless, it was clear from a tour today of supermarkets and the more traditional covered bazaar that the U.S. economic sanctions are porous. Even clearly marked burlap sacks of American rice, a favorite here, are stacked outside stores.
Some traders say Turkey is a major transshipment site, but that seems unlikely since rail and road lines from there to Iran have been blocked by clashes between Kurds and central authorities here.
Most analysts here speculate that goods are coming to Iran through the traditional smugglers' port of Dubai, which has long been the Persian Gulf's major transshipment point.
While it is still uncertain whether the American firms know that their merchandise is ending up here when they ship it to Dubai or other points in this region, Iranians are convinced that U.S. companies are deliberately circumventing the economic sanctions.
"They need our money," said one merchant in the bazaar.
Even if American companies do follow the sanctions he said, he does not expect other countries to stop shipments here. "They're afraid we'll buy from Russia," he said.
This man, a second-generation cloth merchant, held up sample books with swatches of prime English wool he says he is selling now and still expects to sell in six months, despite Great Britain's limited sanctions that went into effect last week.
A textiles middleman in a nearby office says he imports his thread from South Korea and does nt expect to have to change suppliers.
In fact, the only merchants who appear to be suffering from the economic sanctions are the sellers of caviar. With the threat of no more food imports, Iran recently banned the export of all food -- including caviar, hardly a staple in anyone's diet.
As a result, stocks of caviar have filled refrigerators and stores here. Even Iranians and foreigners traveling from the country cannot take any out in their personal luggage, and the airport caviar shop has closed.
The glut, however, has not lowered caviar prices for domestic consumption.


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Vestas wins order to supply 396MW of turbines to Mexican project powering drinks giants' bottling plants
Vestas has won a deal to supply 132 turbines to what is set to become the biggest wind power project in Latin America, supplying electricity to Coca-Cola and Heineken bottling plants. The Danish company...
Gap, H&M, Lee, Mud Jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, and Reformation are among fashion giants to sign up to new circular principles for denim design
The strength of UK innovation means it will continue to lead the world in climate action post-Brexit, argues Earth Capital's Jim Totty
Wind turbine manufacturers are on the winning side of the world's changing energy mix, reports Liontrust's Mike Appleby
Pharmaceutical major's 16,000-strong company fleet to switch to electric power as firm joins EV100 campaign


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The UK’s economy and consumer confidence has been reeling since its citizens voted to leave the European Union in June. Has this recent drama ruined the UK’s viability as an expansion-worthy online market for companies based in the U.S., continental Europe and beyond?
Our analysis suggests no. For companies looking to expand their e-commerce offerings, we believe the UK remains one of the most attractive markets for cross-border expansion.
For starters, the UK’s e-commerce market has historically been the strongest in Europe, and is the third-largest in the world. While it’s unclear how the Brexit will impact e-commerce sales in the upcoming years, projections placed online sales to eclipse $132 billion—or nearly 20% of the global e-commerce share—by 2019.
One report predicts that UK consumers will buy 30% more goods and services from international e-retailers this year than in 2015. (Compare that to a 6% increase in revenue from domestic e-retailers during the same time period.) Internet penetration is over 90%; smartphone adoption will eclipse 80% next year.
We chatted with Eric Watson, a Global Online Strategist with our Global Growth team, about the topic.
“Don’t let these immediate jitters from the Brexit fallout worry you,” Eric advises. “The UK is still an attractive online market. British consumers have money to spend, and maintain their attraction to international brands.”
Indeed, the sky isn’t falling in the UK, analysts are quick to say. It’s clear that the world is still happy to conduct business with the UK, they say, and—unencumbered by EU policies—the UK can soon negotiate its own favorable trade agreements with emerging markets like China and India.
The UK’s current economic slump “is unpleasant, but it is not a systemic financial crisis, and it is not global,” wrote one analyst in The Telegraph. “The warnings of inter-galactic destruction already look like a (Remain) campaign hoax.” While UK-based businesses may gripe to pollsters about the impact of Brexit, “(w)hen it comes to doing business, their customers so far seem unaffected,” added a recent op-ed in The Spectator. “People are shopping, hiring, borrowing and creating wealth just as they were before.”
The Spectator op-ed continued: “Interest rates remain at the lowest level in 400 years, employment is at a historic high, inflation is benign and export markets are as every bit as open as they were at the beginning of June. As you’d expect: we won’t leave the EU for at least two years, so why should trade suddenly contract now?”
Domestic consumer confidence has certainly withered, but note that the market’s economic growth was slowing before the Brexit vote. (It dropped from around 3% in 2014 to about 2% before the referendum.) Keen to combat the market-wide slump, the Bank of England voted unanimously on Thursday to cut its benchmark interest rate to its lowest point ever.
Optimists believe the UK’s head will remain above water. According to a post-referendum projection recently published by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the UK will “narrowly avoid” a recession in the upcoming years. Consumer spending will slow but not contract in 2017, and business and financial services sector growth will remain positive through 2017.
That’s all fine and well for the market during the lead-up to the UK / EU divorce. But what happens after the split, which could come as early as 2018? Will UK consumers still be inclined to purchase goods from cross-border e-commerce sites?
“Don’t let fears of a post-Brexit world scare you, either,” Eric advises. “The UK is still the world’s fifth-largest economy. It’s a powerhouse in terms of Internet penetration and many other metrics that companies should consider when looking to expand. UK consumers will still enjoy international goods, and will still have the means to pay a higher premium for them, as may be the case in a post-Brexit world.”
Get Social with These Consumers
Social networks are thriving in the UK, representing the perfect, cost-effective gateway for brands to engage these consumers. Facebook has a penetration rate of over 80%; about a quarter of those users are between 25 and 34 years old. As in other developed markets, younger users skew toward networks such as Instagram. The UK is home to more than 14 million Instagram users; 40% are between 16 and 24 years old.
We recently examined our own social media-related metrics, gleaned from operating localized websites for the UK market. We selected one major website, a fashion retailer that has spent considerable time and resources to optimize its site for UK e-shoppers. We spotted an interesting trend.
Firstly, UK Twitter users represent a larger percentage of social traffic than other global markets for this e-retailer. While Twitter accounted for nearly 10% of social traffic for the UK site, the network contributed less than 2% for the retailer’s German site, and less than 4% for its Australian site.
“Given the higher smartphone adoption rate in the UK, we found it reasonable to conclude that the amount of potential e-commerce customers using Twitter is higher here,” Eric says.
But don’t put all of your eggs in this basket. As we’ve observed in other global markets, Twitter’s user base is contracting in the UK. The second half of 2015 saw Twitter referral traffic to our e-retailer’s site shrink by a whopping 13%. This jibes with reports that Twitter’s market share in the UK has slipped to just over 8% (down from 16% in mid-2014).
We expect dominant network Facebook to pick up the slack.
Get Smart with Smartphone and Tablets
We also noted the kinds of devices that were used to access our e-retailer’s UK website, and were surprised by the amount of sessions generated from tablets. While tablet traffic represented about 18% of all mobile traffic to the retailer’s localized Australian and German websites, tablet traffic to its UK site was nearly 30%.
iOS devices represented the largest percentage of UK-based sessions and revenue, and provided high conversion rates, too. (The iOS conversion rate was 4.3%, much higher than the 3% rate for Android devices.) Interestingly, owners of Windows-branded mobile devices seemed to have the highest conversion rates of all mobile users, though they represented a mere 2% of all mobile traffic.
“Retailers in the UK must be extremely aware of the dynamics in the mobile sphere,” Eric points out, “as this segment of shoppers in the UK is one of the fastest-growing and evolving in the world.”
Indeed, UK shoppers spent nearly £14.95 billion through their mobile devices in 2015. That’s up 78% from 2014. In contrast, PC spending grew by only 2%.
M-commerce sales now account for half of all UK e-commerce sales.
Insights and Best Practices
Talk Like a Local: For U.S. brands, localizing existing English-language online content for relevance in the UK remains a key first step to engaging these overseas consumers. While British English speakers probably won’t completely misunderstand American English website copy, customers have shown a clear preference for sites that are localized to their “flavour” of English.
As the Nielsen Norman Group reported years ago, users pay attention to spelling and verbiage and will quickly abandon sites with such cues that make the site feel “foreign.” Localizing words and phrases to resonate with British consumers makes a big difference.
Sell Like a Local: Resonantly engaging with UK consumers doesn’t end with linguistic localizations, however. Companies must connect with local consumers in other ways. Marketing campaigns that leverage local seasonality and holidays can go a long way to maximize this.
“This doesn’t mean that companies should focus exclusively on UK holidays,” Eric explains. “There are plenty of opportunities to create campaigns that celebrate ‘transnational’ holidays that affect all markets.”
Take holiday shopping events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We’ve seen evidence that these shopping holidays have been readily adopted by UK residents. And its popularity is growing: revenue generated by key UK MotionPoint e-commerce clients on Black Friday and Cyber Monday grew year-over-year in both 2015 and 2014. (Up 28% and 12%, respectively.)
In fact, according to a recent study, European awareness for Black Friday is highest in the UK, where over 80% of shoppers said they were aware of Black Friday. Shared linguistic and cultural traditions have empowered savvy U.S. companies (and international retailers in other English-speaking markets) to capitalize on these sales events in the UK.
Would you like learn how MotionPoint can help you enter the UK online market easily, quickly and affordably? Contact us for more information.


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BOJ sells another US$30m to dealers in face of greenback shortage
For a second consecutive day, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has intervened in the foreign exchange market, selling some US$30 million to authorised dealers and large cambios on Wednesday.
This follows Tuesday’s cash injection of US$40 million and comes at a time when the Jamaican dollar is being sold for more than J$142 against its United States counterpart.
The latest injection of foreign exchange which business operators say is in increasingly short supply was done via the BOJ’s Foreign Exchange Intervention and Trading Tool (B-FXITT).
The BOJ has insisted that it is not about exchange rate management but rather said the interventions are aimed at addressing temporary demand and supply imbalances in the market.
On Tuesday, the BOJ said it noted the public’s concern about the recent depreciation of the local currency. It sought to assure that based on Jamaica’s economic fundamentals, it did not expect that the recent pace of exchange rate movement will be sustained.
Additionally, the BOJ said it expects that these impulses will subside and that normalcy will return to the market.
The BOJ sought to explain the reasons for the depreciation, including an increase in demand for foreign currency due to the regular re-stocking by retailers for the Christmas season.
Added to that is the “extraordinary demand” relating to portfolio transactions.
Despite the slide in the value of the local currency, the BOJ is satisfied that inflows into the foreign exchange market remained healthy.


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Microsoft announced Monday two new releases from its business-management unit, targeted at medium-sized businesses, as the launch of its much-anticipated customer relationship management (CRM) product nears.
Microsoft Business Solutions released Axapta 3.0, a suite of online business productivity applications, and Navision 3.60, a supply-chain management solution. Both releases target the mid-market, which Microsoft has focused on as a lucrative potential market for its growing business-management unit.
Axapta 3.0 has added manufacturing, distribution and financial applications, including an enhanced portal tool for employees, partners and customers. Navision 3.60 offers more supply-chain tools, including a warehouse management system and an automated data capture system for inventorying.
“Companies are under increasing pressure to become more efficient,” Niels Bo Theilgaard, general manager of Microsoft Business Solutions in Denmark, said in a statement. “Their internal process must keep evolving to maintain a competitive position.”
Both the Axapta and Navision products come from Microsoft’s acquisition in May of Danish enterprise software maker Navision for $1.3 billion. Navision 3.60 was formerly known as Attain.
The deal for Navision rounded out Microsoft’s 18-month effort to build a business-management software unit geared to the mid-market. In December 2000, Microsoft shelled out $1.1 billion in stock to buy Great Plains Software, a Fargo, N.D.-based enterprise-software company.
Now combined as Microsoft Business Solutions, the two companies give Microsoft a strong presence domestically and in Europe. Both Great Plains and Navision served small-and medium-sized companies, but mostly focused on their home markets: Great Plains did 80 percent of its business in the U.S. and Navision did 86 percent of its business in Europe.
Microsoft Business Solutions will make its biggest splash at the end of the year, when it plans to air its CRM tool. Built on the .Net framework, Microsoft is positioning it as an easy-to-use application for small-and medium-sized businesses for a full range of sales and customer-service functions. According the Gartner Group, as little as 2 percent of small businesses and 20 percent of medium-sized businesses use CRM.
Customers would be able to use Microsoft CRM through Outlook or another browser-based client to interweave their systems for checking credit, tracking sales leads, and streamlining marketing.
While Microsoft’s enthusiasm for the CRM market will pose an immediate challenge to smaller players like UpShot.com and Salesforce.com, CRM giants (and Microsoft partners) like Siebel Systems, have eyed Microsoft’s move warily. Following its tactics in other software area, Microsoft recently unveiled aggressive pricing plans for the CRM software, beginning at $395 per user plus $995 for the server.
Researcher IDC expects the worldwide CRM market to grow at a brisk 18.9 percent annual clip, reaching $45.6 billion in 2006. With such a lucrative market out there, industry analysts have questioned whether Microsoft will eventually move upstream to catch bigger fish.
Microsoft has said its CRM product will begin as a standalone application, but will eventually be integrated with its business-solutions unit’s other precuts, including Axapta and Navision.


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from the slowly-one-step-at-a-time dept.
jchristopher writes "The government asked an appeals court to issue an order moving the Microsoft case back to the trial court as soon as possible today. According to this Cnet article, such an order could hint at an injunction blocking the distribution of Microsoft's Windows XP. "
A method of solution is perfect if we can forsee from the start,
and even prove, that following that method we shall attain our aim.


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Publishers are loving Apple’s app store search ads
Apple’s App Store search ads have been live for just a few months, and they’re already a hit with publishers big and small. According to multiple sources, the search ads are outperforming most other user-acquisition strategies for their apps, delivering app users at a cost that’s a fraction of the alternatives. And while most characterize their investments in them as experimental, the early returns are already prompting some to rethink the potential for their mobile app audiences.
“My initial reaction to that first test we ran was, ‘This [success] must be a temporary thing,’” said Roman Karachinsky, the co-founder of News360, a personalized news-aggregation app. “But it’s been a few months now, and out of all the channels we experimented with, search ads is up there [among the best performers].”
It’s not uncommon for new paid audience-development tricks to perform really well at first. Whether it’s newsletter growth tricks or celebrity Facebook arbitrage, there’s always a nice little period where the hacks really work, before everyone else in the industry gets hip to them.
So far, three months in, the good times are still rolling, across numerous topics. Sports publishers like TheScore and ESPN are buying ads against certain sports; news publishers like CNN and The New York Times are buying them against the election and politics; several others are buying them just against the term “news,” hoping to grab people that are simply looking to change their media diets.
“This piece of the strategy is all about getting our brand in front of people searching just for the term ‘news,’” said John Fiedler, Fox News’s svp of digital. “We already have this extremely well-known brand. We want to make sure we float up toward the top as much as we can.”
While many publishers declined to go into specifics about how many users they’d acquired using the ads, third-party data shows that things are trending in the right direction. Since Fox News began experimenting with the app store search ads in December, it has climbed into the top five of news apps on the App Store and stayed there, according to App Annie data. (It leapt into the top spot on Inauguration Day). The New York Times has climbed into the top 10 for news apps in the United States and has remained there ever since, also per App Annie.
The success of the app store ads makes a lot of sense. Unlike app installation ads that run in different apps, or just on the mobile web in general, App Store visitors are already in the mood to download something; up to 80 percent of the apps on people’s smart phones were installed after a search on the App Store or its counterpart, Google Play, according to mobile marketing firm Tune. It’s also, compared to the effort necessary to optimize a website for desktop or mobile search, far less work to get an app ready: The copy of the ads can only be drawn from copy already approved by Apple for the app’s appearance in the app store.
“The App Store requires significantly less from a keyword optimization perspective,” said Eliran Sapir, the CEO of mobile app analytics firm Apptopia.
None of the publishers interviewed for this story said they were spending substantial sums on the search ads. But their effectiveness is latest in a string of industry developments that are pushing more publishers to put more energy into their apps. Publishers like Bloomberg, for example, are doubling their investment in apps, and both Mic and Quartz, whose apps are barely more than a few months old, are expanding their app resources as well, despite unexpected run-ins with conservative trolls after the election.
“We are very focused on app growth,” Fiedler said. “The audience on the apps we have are our most engaged readers.”
More in Media
New tools let people make images in seconds, create image backgrounds, replacing parts of an image and use reference images to create with AI.
Publishers revamp their newsletter offerings to engage audiences amid threat of AI and declining referral traffic
Publishers like Axios, Eater, the Guardian, theSkimm and Snopes are either growing or revamping their newsletter offerings to engage audiences as a wave of generative AI advancements increases the need for original content and referral traffic declines push publishers to find alternative ways to reach readers.
The Guardian US is entering the race for political ad dollars.


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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — It’s all about the games for Microsoft at E3.
Microsoft focused exclusively on hyping titles coming to its Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles during its presentation Monday ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the video-game industry’s annual trade show.READ MORE: Local Schools Forced To Adapt As Omicron Surge Continues
The new Xbox One games showcased included a fresh installment of the open-world romp “Crackdown,” a reboot of the Xbox action game “Phantom Dust,” the original dragon adventure “Scalebound” from developer Platinum Games, a sequel to the 2013 “Tomb Raider” reboot titled “Rise of the Tomb Raider” and a “Halo” collection that will bring four prior installments of the sci-fi shooter to Microsoft’s latest console.
The announcements were made Monday morning during a 90-minute presentation at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center.
As part of a growing industry trend, developers are taking a page from the scripts of Hollywood filmmakers, according to Ben Howard, GameSpot’s Vice President of Content .
“They’re setting up franchises to be sequel-ized and spun off and 10 to 15 years ahead,” Howard said.
Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, began the 90-mintue event by noting that Microsoft changed features of the Xbox One, which launched last November, after listening to consumer feedback.READ MORE: Venice Fight Results In One Dead, One Injured, One Arrested
“You are shaping the future of Xbox, and we are better for it,” Spencer told the crowd and cameras broadcasting the event. “Today, we are dedicating our entire briefing to games.”
When the company initially unveiled the Xbox One last year at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters, Microsoft billed the $499 console as an “all-in-one” entertainment hub for the living room.
Following criticism, Microsoft backtracked on several requirements for the console, including that it must be connected to the Internet every 24 hours and to its motion-detecting Kinect sensor. The company began selling a Kinect-free version of the Xbox One on Monday for $399.
Microsoft Corp. has lagged behind Sony Corp. since both companies began selling their latest consoles last November. Microsoft has sold 5 million Xbox One consoles to Sony’s 7 million PlayStation 4 consoles. However, both companies have outpaced the sales of their predecessors, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Other upcoming games teased included the futuristic “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare,” driving sequel “Forza Horizon 2,” original cartoony shoot-’em-up “Sunset Overdrive” and downloadable choreography game “Dance Central Spotlight.”
The 2014 E3 show will be held through June 12 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.MORE NEWS: LAPD Arrests Two Suspects Responsible For Shooting In Watts
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)


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To help celebrate twenty years of service to advocating for abused and neglected children in Henrico County, Henrico Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (CASA) will host an evening with bestselling author K.L. Randis on Tuesday, Aug. 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Belmont Recreation Center in Lakeside.
Randis is best known for her bestselling novel, Spilled Milk, which tells her painful – but ultimately triumphant – personal story of abuse and of child abuse prevention. The book is her first novel.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (LGBG) was one of four organizations and individuals honored with a Golden Trowel Award at Tricycle Gardens’ Fourth Annual Harvest Celebration, held Nov. 9 at Historic Main Street Station. Among LGBG staff members and supporters celebrating the award were, from left, Brian Vick, Grace Chapman, Laura Schumm, Shane Tippett, Shannon Smith and Randee Humphrey.
Founded in 2007, Tricycle Gardens is a Richmond nonprofit organization focused on growing healthy food, healthy communities and healthy food access.}
11/15/2012 Northern Henrico
Native American performers displayed their colors during the 21st annual Great American Indian Exposition Pow-Wow and Show at The Showplace in Henrico Nov. 9-11. The event featured more than 200 dancers, singers, drummers and artisans representing more than 100 tribes. It opened with a parade of nations in honor of November, Native American month. Attendees also had the opportunity to dine on Native American foods, such as buffalo stew and Indian tacos.}
The Lakeside Farmers' Market donated 41 crocheted and knitted hats, three shawls and two lap robes to the Bon Secours Women's Breast Center in October for "Breast Cancer Awareness Month." The items were made by the market's vendors and customers, including the 11-year-old girl pictured.}
Nearly three dozen Lakeside Avenue merchants will host the eighth annual Holly Jolly Christmas event Nov. 9-10, providing local shoppers with a signature kick-off event. Shoppers will be able to take free trolley rides to and from shops along the avenue from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 9 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 10. Participating shops will stay open late, and many will offer special deals for holiday shoppers. All participating businesses also will have special containers to collect donations for the Lakeside Volunteer Rescue Squad, the event's beneficiary.}
Two new signs were installed this week in the Meadowood subdivision, near Henrico High School, marking the community of 1960s-era brick ranchers and tri-level homes.
The signs of gold lettering on a black background feature an oval picture of birds soaring above a meadow and trees – significant because streets in the subdivision are named for birds. The signs were installed at Lark and Richmond-Henrico Turnpike and Sandpiper and Azalea Avenue.}
The third annual Cookies for Kids Cancer Bake Sale will take place Saturday, Sept. 8 throughout the Richmond region, including a number of spots in Henrico County.
Proceeds from the sale will benefit the national nonprofit founded by Richmond native Gretchen Holt Witt that supports research for new and improved therapies for pediatric cancers. Through local bake sales, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer provides the inspiration and support for individuals, communities and businesses to help fight pediatric cancer together.}
The Richmond Region Antique Automobile Club of America will host its 2012 Reliability Tour with stops throughout the region – including one in Lakeside – at the end of this month.
The club is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and its tour, Aug. 27-31, will feature antique automobiles built in 1915 and years prior. It will stop Aug. 28 at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.}
Lakeside Farmers’ Market has been named one of the top farmer’s markets in America by Rodale, Inc. The editors of Rodale polled the managers of the most popular farmers’ markets in the country, according to the American Farmland Trust’s most recent annual awards, to get the best insider tips on making market shopping easier and sometimes cheaper.
The Lakeside Farmers’ Market was selected for its wide array of juicy, in-season produce, including its claim to fame – fresh eggs.}
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ClassifiedsGET FREE OF CREDIT CARD DEBT NOW! Cut payments by up to half. Stop creditors from calling. 877-467-4560
CalendarFairfield District Supervisor Frank J. Thornton will hold a constituent meeting at 7 p.m. at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave. The meeting will provide an update… Full text


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Two area ABC stores to close temporarily along with others in NoVA
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) will temporarily close a dozen stores located throughout Northern Virginia.
In a statement, the state’s alcoholic beverage control authority says the Northern Virginia areas “continues to be one of the most impacted regions of the commonwealth during this ongoing health crisis.”
“ABC supports its employees’ decisions to self-quarantine when necessary, which has impacted staffing levels in this region. In order to maintain appropriate staffing and allow time to train additional personnel, ABC made the decision to temporarily close select stores in this area. ”
Beginning Monday, April 13, ABC will temporarily close the following stores:
Fairfax – 0685 Braddock Road
Fairfax – 3903 Fair Ridge Drive Suite “N”
Fredericksburg – 507 William Street
Alexandria – 686 St. Asaph Street
Annandale – 6920-E Bradlick Shopping Center
Arlington – 2507 North Harrison Street
Ashburn – 44722 Brimfield Drive
Haymarket – 5331 Merchants View Square
Herndon – 378 Elden Street
Springfield – 6230-I Rolling Road
Stafford – 50 North Stafford Complex Center Suite
Vienna – 8150 Leesburg Pike Suite 110
ABC is offering associates of temporarily closed stores the opportunity to work at neighboring locations. “No employee will lose the opportunity to work,” the statement read.
The press release said the stores could re-open on April 30, but the decision depends “on the authority’s ability to properly and safely staff the stores.”
The stores that are still open will operate from noon to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
“We chose the stores using several criteria including the locations of neighboring stores and collaborated with our regional retail leaders to determine which closures would have the lowest impact on customers’ convenience,” ABC Chief Executive Officer Travis Hill said. “Our top priority continues to be instituting operational measures to keep our customers and employees safe, and we are monitoring conditions and assessing staffing levels throughout the state to determine how best to operate all of our stores.”


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Longview, Texas, 2017-Oct-05 — /EPR Network/ — Chrimar Holding Company, LLC today announced that fourteen (14) more technology companies and/or certain divisions within these companies have entered into non-exclusive licenses for certain equipment under certain Chrimar patents including certain Power over Ethernet (PoE) equipment designed for deployment within a BaseT Ethernet network.
VILNIUS, Lithuania, 2017-Aug-15 — /EPR Network/ — Promwad Electronics Design House has partnered with leading technological fabless companies in China and Southeast Asia to offer its clients cost-effective electronics product development from the center of Europe and to manufacture any batch size of new devices with priority tech support.
Promwad was one of only a few design houses in the EMEA region authorized by Allwinner, one of the leading Chinese chip manufacturers. Promwad’s engineers design electronics based upon Allwinner components and provide tech support during the entire life cycle of the designed devices:
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, 2017-Apr-27 — /EPR Network/ — Special price Crystal Aurora AB 10 limited offer by May 10
- The latest smart watches packed with sensors are great for gadget freaks … but what about the rest of us?
- A local inventor realized the starting point was to design appealing jewelry and then add smarts
- Ken feels that to appeal to a bigger audience of women, jewelry should evolve to become useful as well as decorative
- Why shouldn’t your bracelet tell you when you’ve left your smartphone behind?
- Wouldn’t it be convenient if your jewelry subtly notified you that your phone was ringing unheard somewhere deep in your purse?
- His Swarovski designs have pioneered wearable tech for non-techies and find acceptance on both sides of
the Pacific … in his native Japan and his home in North Vancouver
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND and COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA and MADRID, SPAIN, 2016-Dec-21 — /EPR Network/ — Luigi Wewege’s latest book, The Digital Banking Revolution, shares his inside perspective on how financial technology companies are rapidly transforming the traditional retail banking industry through disruptive innovation.
In The Digital Banking Revolution, Wewege provides a look at how over the past decade financial service innovations have contributed to a completely new way in which customers are able to bank, threatening the status quo of traditional retail banks, and redefining a banking model which has been in place for generations.
Amman, 2016-Dec-06 — /EPR Network/ — Inovar, a premier provider of differentiated and modular mobile solutions, will be discussing Vertical Convergence and showcasing SME Business Manager, one of the latest additions to the industry leader’s portfolio of innovative mobile solutions, as well as the company’s entire portfolio of mobile solutions. Inovar’s strategy for the past 20 years has been to provide dynamic, feature-rich mobile solutions that are easy to implement and easy to use, helping mobile operators capitalize on existing network revenue streams while moving forward into the new digital space seamlessly by converging new and existing technologies, enhancing user experiences, and increasing customer loyalty.
– Allied Telesis, Inc.
– Black Box Corporation
– Buffalo Inc.
– Edimax Technology Co. Limited
– Keyscan Inc.
– Korenix USA Corporation
– Moxa Inc. & Moxa Americas Inc.
– Phihong USA Corporation
– Transition Networks Inc.
– Tycon Systems Inc.
LONDON, March 24, 2016 — /EPR NETWORK/ — Finally the extortionate roaming charges travellers face when they go abroad has become a thing of the past. Roaming experts, WorldSIM have launched a new smart international SIM card that allows international travellers to pay the same rates as locals when they travel overseas. Importantly, users can also roam on their existing number with the use of WorldSIM’s virtual phone number service.
In Canada and Mexico, a call back to the US is just 22 cents and it’s free to receive calls. What’s really impressive is that WorldSIM offers international travellers going further afield very low rates as well. In Europe data rates start from 15 cents per MB and so do calls. Incoming calls are free in 95 of the most popular international destinations. The service remains a prepaid service and no subscriptions are required. Just recharge when you need more credit.
The new WorldSIM international sim card also offers roaming in more destinations than most operators worldwide. With their new release sim card, 25 new roaming destinations have been added bringing the total to 195 roaming countries. This means travellers can now stay connected for less in more exotic locations like Belize and the Bolivia.
DELIVERING ADVANCED SAFETY AND INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY TO THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.
Sydney, Australia, October 28, 2014 — /EPR NETWORK/ — The award-winning TechTable was officially launched in the US at the BICSI Fall conference and provides a portable, lightweight and sturdy work surface for communications technicians to safely and efficiently terminate fibre optic and copper communications cabling.


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The regulation of flavored cigars in the United States
By Barry S. Schaevitz and Phil Langer
In late April 2021, FDA announced its intention to move forward with proposed product standards that would ban all characterizing flavors in cigars and menthol in cigarettes. This announcement, and the ensuing media frenzy, warrants much unpacking and, specifically, examination of three questions in relation to flavored cigars: What historic efforts have there been to ban flavored cigars at federal, state and local levels; is there scientific evidence (or legal precedent) to support an FDA-level flavored cigar ban; and what does FDA’s announcement actually mean going forward?
Historic Efforts to Ban Flavored Cigars
This is not the first time FDA has sought to ban flavored cigars. In May 2016, FDA released its Final Deeming Rule regulating cigars (and other products). While the Final Deeming Rule did not ban flavored cigars (or other flavored products), the version FDA submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) did contain such a provision. OMB did not clear the provision; it was subsequently removed and did not appear in the Final Deeming Rule. Thereafter, in 2019, FDA released its Draft Guidance, indicating it would seek to remove premarket review enforcement discretion for certain ENDS products and for flavored cigars that entered the market after Feb. 15, 2007, and before Aug. 8, 2016, an action that would have significantly impacted the flavored cigar category. This action was necessary, said FDA, due to a concern that youth would migrate from flavored electronic nicotine-deilvery system (ENDS) products to flavored cigars. The Final Guidance, however, did not include the section regarding enforcement against flavored cigars and only removed enforcement discretion for certain flavored ENDS products.1 Suffice it to say, FDA has had its eye on banning flavored products, including cigars, for some time. A threshold question, of course, is how would FDA define “flavored”? The Tobacco Control Act itself does not define “flavor” or “characterizing flavor,” and, to date, FDA has not defined either term.
Separate from FDA, there have been efforts at the state and local levels to ban flavored cigars (and other products) for years, taking various approaches and realizing a variety of outcomes. It is worth noting that different jurisdictions have approached the definition of “flavor” or “characterizing flavor” differently—some focusing on marketing and statements by manufacturers as the sole criteria and some focusing more on the actual manufacturing and underlying ingredients of the products. These various approaches have created different effects throughout the market, making it more noticeable that there is no federal definition.
Some prominent examples of state and local efforts to ban flavored cigars over the years include:
- Maine was the first state to ban flavored tobacco products, with efforts dating back to 2008 when a bill was passed prohibiting the sale of flavored cigars unless they had been on the market prior to 1985. The prohibition was repeatedly amended until it was ultimately repealed, except for its application to nonpremium cigars.2
- Philadelphia first passed an ordinance in 2007 seeking to ban the sale of flavored cigars in the city, driven in part by a stated interest in preventing youth smoking. The ordinance was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the grounds that the ordinance was preempted by state law. In 2020 in a next attempt, Philadelphia made it unlawful to sell flavored cigars (Philadelphia also passed a separate law relating to vapor products), except in a limited number of tobacco businesses. The ordinance was challenged in federal court, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania enjoined enforcement of the ordinance in November 2020, finding it preempted by state law. The decision enjoining enforcement of the ordinance is on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- New York City passed an ordinance broadly prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products in 2009, banning the sale of any “flavored tobacco product” (excluding cigarettes) except in a defined “tobacco bar.” The ordinance was challenged in federal court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ultimately affirmed the constitutionality of the ordinance in 2013. The flavor ban, however, has two prongs. The first immediately bans products that the manufacturer says are flavored; the second allows the city to seek removal of other products that the city believes are flavored.
- Massachusetts banned all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, effective June 2020. The commonwealth uses a manufacturer “certification” as a means of initially determining if a product is flavored. This statewide ban was preceded by numerous local-level flavored tobacco bans, such as in Bedford and Cambridge.
- California passed a statewide flavor ban of tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, in 2020. Much like Massachusetts, this statewide flavored tobacco product ban followed numerous city and county level bans enacted across the state. Enforcement of the statewide ban was postponed until after a voter referendum, scheduled for November 2022. Until that time, it cannot be enforced.
With respect to flavored cigars, FDA announced in April 2021 that it is “working toward issuing proposed product standards within the next year to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and ban all characterizing flavors (including menthol) in cigars.”3 FDA stated that “with these actions, the FDA will help significantly reduce youth initiation.” According to FDA, “after the 2009 statutory ban on flavors in cigarettes other than menthol, use of flavored cigars increased dramatically, suggesting that the public health goals of the flavored cigarette ban may have been undermined by continued availability of these flavored cigars.” FDA posits that “flavored mass-produced cigars and cigarillos are combusted tobacco products that can closely resemble cigarettes” and “are disproportionately popular among youth and other populations.”
Is There Evidence and Data to Support a Ban on Flavored Cigars?
FDA’s focus on flavored cigars appears to be largely premised on the theory that flavors contribute to youth usage of cigars and that, following the ban on characterizing flavors in cigarettes in 2009, youth moved to flavored cigars. Scientific evidence supporting these positions, however, is lacking. There has not been an increase in youth usage of cigars generally, or flavored cigars in particular, to scientifically legitimize the rationale of the FDA’s ban. As of 2019, only 1.4 percent of youth were past-month cigar smokers, decreasing from 4.1 percent in 2006.4 Similarly, in 2019, only 5.7 percent of high school students were reported to currently use a cigar, a decline from 8 percent in 2017 and 13.6 percent in 2007.5
Moreover, the 2020 Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) reported declines in past 30-day use for all types of cigars (regular little cigars, flavored little cigars and large cigars), and flavored little cigar use has continued on a steady decline since 2014 and declined from 5.5 percent in 2018 to 3.1 percent in 2020. The 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) also reports a significant decline from 2011 to 2020 in high school usage of cigars from 11.6 percent to 5 percent, and the 2020 NYTS reports only 3.5 percent of students of any age using cigars.
Therefore, while FDA continues to speculate that youth could migrate to flavored cigars in response to a ban on flavored e-cigarettes, there is no data in support.
In fact, certain industry members engaged Consilium Sciences to determine what the relevant universe of scientific information is, whether this universe has been fully examined and what it shows. As presented at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Consilium concluded that based upon a review of seven publicly available data sources, “the results do not support an association between use of flavored cigar products and differential behaviors related to public health.”
In its announcement, FDA failed to explain a science-based rationale for pursuing a ban on flavored cigars supported by actual data, instead reiterating speculative concerns and suppositions it has raised in years past.
The Pros and the Cons
A federal ban on flavored cigars offers few positives other than the prospect of a federal uniform standard for the regulation of flavored cigars—which is the level at which such regulation should occur, if at all. The panoply of varied regulations on flavored cigars, and the varied definitions of “flavored,” from some of the smallest towns to the largest cities in the country, offers obvious obstacles to compliance for manufacturers, distributors and retailers. It also presents enforcement problems, with multiple, inconsistent restrictions. A federal standard would cure some of these obstacles.
The cons of a federal ban on flavored cigars are many. To begin, as indicated above, FDA has not yet provided any scientific justification for such a ban. FDA continues to ignore the simple truth that adult consumers should have access to products of their choosing based upon their own informed choice. Instead, FDA continues to make broad pronouncements on the communities impacted by the availability of flavored cigars (such as youth) in the absence of supporting data.
Further, FDA has yet to address the unintended consequence of such a ban. Regulating entire product categories out of existence almost certainly poses the distinct risk of creating an illicit black market for the products. Or, perhaps worse, a market where consumers or others try to flavor products themselves, using unacceptable substances to do so.
Another certain consequence of banning flavored cigars entirely would be the loss of tax revenue at both the state and federal levels. While it is difficult to calculate the precise amount of tax collected at both levels from the sale of flavored cigars, the revenue is no doubt significant as the cigar category paid $641 million in federal excise taxes alone in 2019. State taxes increase this number dramatically. Notably, several states tax little cigars (often flavored) at the same rate as cigarettes. These tax revenue consequences are of particular significance in the current federal landscape given that Congress is exploring an increase in the federal tobacco excise tax.
As is usually the case, the road ahead will be long and unpredictable. It could be years before we see a final result. FDA’s announcement represents but a first step toward a ban on flavored cigars. According to FDA, the proposed product standard will come “within the next year.” Even if FDA meets this goal, the proposed rule will be subject to at least 60 days of public comment. This public comment period could—and often does—last even longer. It is not until FDA reviews and considers the comments submitted that it may publish a final rule, which has a lead time to an effective date. Finally, once a final rule is published, it could well be subject to legal challenge, including requests to enjoin its enforcement.
Only time will tell how quickly and aggressively FDA will pursue a ban on flavored cigars. But FDA’s commitment should—and must—prioritize legitimate science, research and data. FDA’s actions to date on flavored cigars, including this most recent announcement, do not demonstrate that this has yet been part of the process.
1 See “Modifications to Compliance Policy for Certain Deemed Tobacco Products–Draft Guidance,” Section V, Mach 2019.
2 The ban applies to all cigars except those that weigh more than 3 pounds per 1,000 cigars and are wrapped in whole tobacco leaf.
3 This initiative appeared in FDA’s recently released Spring 2021 Unified Agenda, which indicates a target date of August 2021 for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The agenda did not indicate a more specific timetable.
4 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
5 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System


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Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
French brand Carven has just released the address of its upcoming store, along with an opening date. The boutique will reside at 83 Mercer Street, and will open its doors on November 14th. Expect both men's and women's clothing, a "marble cash wrap that recalls a cinema box office," according to WWD.
The arrival comes after a recent string of French openings over the past year or so, including Iro, Sandro, Maje, Equipment, and more.
· Carven to Open First U.S. Store [WWD]
· Carven Picks Soho as the Spot for Its First New York Store [Racked NY]
· Manhattan Will See at Least Six French Store Openings This Year [Racked NY]