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Guests at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari will be able to wait in virtual lines for rides this year, as the park is implementing a queuing technology to ensure safe distancing measures.
Holiday World had to delay the start to their season but recently announced opening day will be June 14.
On Tuesday, the new queuing strategy was announced as part of an agreement with accesso Technology Group, a company that has long provided services such as online ticketing for Holiday World. This will be the first time the park has used the accesso LoQueueSMvirtual queuing service.
After selecting a ride or attraction on their mobile device, guests will be placed in a virtual queue and a countdown will begin. When it’s their turn to ride, guests will be notified to proceed to the attraction. Park attendants will conduct a contactless scan of the QR code on the guest’s smartphone to redeem the ride reservation.
The virtual queuing technology dynamically adjusts to unpredictable variables such as guest flow and operational changes, allowing venues to employ real-time capacity optimization and real-time communication with guests via their own mobile device.
“Partnering with accesso to provide virtual queuing for all our theme park attractions means our guests can maintain social distancing and have a more enjoyable visit,” Holiday World CEO Matt Eckert said in a release. “We can’t wait to see our guests again, and virtual queuing will help us welcome them back in the safest way possible.”


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Cox Business, a facilities-based provider of voice, video and data solutions for commercial customers and a division of communications company Cox Communications, announced its online backup service is now available in all Cox markets nationwide. The company’s Online Backup solution automatically backs up business files to secure data centers that feature uninterrupted, year-round, onsite monitoring and security, fire detection and suppression systems, redundant power distribution units and seismic safeguards Cox said are designed to withstanda 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The service is aimed at SMBs (small and midsize businesses).
Online Backup automatically saves duplicate copies of files based on users’ preferences of hourly, daily, monthly and/or manual intervals. The new feature also allows businesses to view and download their files from any location with PC and Internet access. The solution also includes 448-bit Blowfish local file encryption and copies are moved to the online backup servers using 128-bit SSL encryption, the industry standard for safe and secure data transfer. The product also includes functionality that allows administrators to manage multiple computers.
“Cox Business Online Backup is an added value to meet our customers’ needs and is a compelling alternative to external hard drives and stacks of CDs cluttering the desktop,” said Kristine Faulkner, vice president of product development and management for Cox Business. The service initially launched in Southern Virginia in December 2009 and was recently extended to Kansas and Arkansas, Las Vegas and San Diego as a ramp up to this week’s full deployment. “Cox Business is taking another important step in combining business-class broadband speed and solutions.”
Cox Business is also teaming with Mozy, an online backup service from EMC, a provider of infrastructure systems and manufacturer of Symmetrix, to offer business-class online backup capabilities at no additional charge to Cox Business Internet subscribers. Cox announced businesses would receive between 2GB and 10GB of online backup storage space, based on their speed of Internet service, and can purchase additional capacity if needed.
“According to IDC research, about two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) either currently use or plan to use online backup services – and online storage is the No. 1 area where these businesses indicate they will increase investment over the next two years,” said Matt Davis, director of consumer and SMB telecom services for research firm IDC. “Cox is offering this service as a value-added feature on its already competitive high-speed business Internet products, a combination we believe these companies will find extremely attractive.”

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From the source: Matt Davis, Salvos Stores
Most people probably see Salvos Stores as just another op shop, but with more than 330 locations across the country, a team of 12,000 staff and volunteers and $200 million in annual revenue, the second-hand charity shop is a significant player in Australia’s retail landscape. And it is set to become an even more visible participant, if Salvos Stores’ CEO and national director Matt Davis has anything to do with it.
Salvos Stores is currently working with a number of Australian fashion retailers to facilitate clothing take-back schemes in the vein of H&M’s garment recycling program. While the partnerships are still under wraps, Davis says he hopes the initiative will dispel the myth that charities are inundated with donations and can’t handle any more.
Davis, who has over 10 years’ experience at Aldi, is also focused on bringing a “mainstream retail” focus on the customer experience to the charity chain, through staff training, an e-commerce offering and new store formats. Here he shares what really happens after customers drop off unwanted items at Salvos Stores, and why the future of fashion is circular.
Inside Retail Weekly: There’s been a lot of focus on the fashion industry’s waste problem in recent years. Can you share what that has meant for Salvos Stores?
Matt Davis: Most people would know that over half our business is textiles, and most people would know through watching the War on Waste that Australia has a huge problem with textiles going to landfill. The statistics tell us that on average a person throws out 23 kilograms of textiles each year, which is a crazy number. And while Australians are incredibly generous in donating items to Salvos Stores, we know a huge amount is still going to landfill.
The reason for that is there’s a misconception among the public and the industry that charities don’t want more textiles, but actually, they do want more textiles. There are two things we’re doing about that. One is we’re educating the public around responsible donating – giving things that you’d give to a friend, washing it, bringing it into stores during trading hours, not leaving it out the front, where it can get rained on. That’s the longer-tail piece we’re working on.
The other thing we’re doing is working with other mainstream retail partners to create a take-back scheme. That’s what the campaign will be about later in the year, about how we can work together as a broader retail fashion industry to make it easier for people to return their unwanted items. Take-back schemes have been successful in other markets like Europe and North America, and we think they can be here too, because customers are telling us they want a solution.
Around 44 per cent of people believe the pre-owned business model is more relevant this year than last. Particularly younger consumers are saying they want brands to be more ethical and sustainable, so all brands are looking for ways to deal with products after they’ve been sold. Of course, they’re looking at how they can source and manufacture it ethically, and now they’re looking at what they need to do post-purchase.
We’re going to collaborate with brands and mainstream retailers to facilitate a campaign around that. So you might be able to drop off unwanted items at a number of different Australia retailers – certainly the charity stores – so we can decrease the volume of product that otherwise would have gone to landfill.
IRW: What’s your understanding about why the retailers that are participating in this scheme decided to partner with Salvos Stores rather than launch their own take-back program, as H&M has for instance?
MD: The good news is we’re speaking. Wind the clock back a couple of years and we weren’t. We’re attending the same sorts of forums – we’re participating in the Circular Fashion Conference this week – and we’re hearing a couple of things.
Brands have told us they thought they had to solve the problem on their own because they thought we didn’t want more [textiles], and when we say we absolutely do [want more], they say it’s really helpful. We’re busting the myth that charities don’t want more textiles – that’s a myth.
The other thing we hear from brands is that they’re unsure if their business models can run schemes on their own, so they’re looking for partners, and we’re trying to send a message to the market that we’re here to help that. A simple example might be that Retailer A wants to run a set of take-back schemes, and instead of running it through their own business, they create an incentive for customers to drop those items off with a charitable retailer like Salvos Stores.
That’s one way to do it; another way to do it is to create a drop-off point in their stores like H&M has done, and we work together with them and other logistics partners behind the scenes to make that work. We’ve had great feedback from Australia Post, for example, on their commitment to the circular economy, and they’ve been facilitating a lot of dialogue in this space over the past few years.
To sum it up, the feedback we get is that retailers know their customers want more of this type of behaviour, they’re pleased they don’t have to do it on their own and they’re looking for ways to partner and make it easy for their customers too.
IRW: I think you’re right that there’s a lot of misinformation about charities being overwhelmed by donations. I read a number of articles on that topic after Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up series debuted earlier this year. Can you shed some light on what actually happens behind the scenes at Salvos Stores after someone drops off old clothing?
MD: In regards to Marie Kondo, all the charities reported high levels of donations over the Christmas period, which was fantastic. On average, stores in the urban areas got an increase in donations of between 20 and 30 per cent for the month of January, which we were very grateful for. The challenge with the donation seasonality is that it very much has a curve to it. In the warmer months, when people are on holiday, we do tend to get overwhelmed, and when people drop stuff off out of hours, it does create a waste issue.
If they do it during trading hours, we can use our normal value chains. And the way it works is that once an item enters a store, provided the store isn’t completely overwhelmed and has to just send stuff straight back to the warehouse, the team will sort through every item in-store. And the team is trained to decide if it’s shop-worthy. No rips, stains, pilling, etc. And they’re trained to decide if it’s something their local customers are after. And if so, they’ll pop it on a hanger, put a price on it and put it out on the shop floor.
So for those items that aren’t suitable for the shop floor, there are a number of different destinations they go. We have a percentage of items that are sorted and kept aside for winter, a percentage that are kept aside for a future summer season, a percentage that are set aside for transfer to other locations. For instance, Kew [Victoria] gets the most incredible donations, and we try to keep absolutely everything [that’s donated there], so if Dandenong [Victoria] needs something, we can transfer it there, even if Kew can’t sell it.
And then there’s an exit process, where we work with a number of partners where items are exported to a sorting facility overseas, and in that facility they go through another sorting process. The majority of that product is effectively sold on a commercial basis to other micro-retailers around the world in developing economies that don’t have sophisticated retail markets. For example, if you walk around the streets of Port Moresby, one of the first things you’ll notice is there are no shops. There are market stalls, and a lot of the fashion items sold in Port Moresby come from charities in Australia. That’s a cheap economic development-type alternative that developing economies have. And if you talk to people in those places, that’s a valuable way for them to access affordable fashion and sustain the local economy.
For items that aren’t suitable for that, there’s a percentage of textiles that are turned into industrial rags. So if you work in an industrial workshop and are polishing cars, or cleaning up grease, a lot of materials make it into that process. And an emergent area is waste to energy. So for the items that aren’t suitable for resale or rags, they enter a waste-to-energy stream, where they’re mixed with other materials that have an energy value, and they’re turned into bricks and used to run concrete plants, for instance. This is an emergent area of technology in Australia as well, and while it’s very low in the hierarchy, it is a waste-avoidance strategy.
So the actual percentage of textiles that go into landfill from Salvos Stores is very, very low after all the various processes are taken into account.
IRW: When you talk about circular fashion, there seems to be a lot of interest in the possibility of breaking down used clothing into fibres that can be used to create new items. Is that potentially a threat for Salvos Stores, since those used items would be diverted from donations?
MD: We’re very encouraged that the technology for this is starting to emerge globally. It’s not really in Australia yet, but from a global perspective, it’s a really encouraging trend because it gives us more alternatives. We’re partnering with an organisation to trial some development around that. And what we’re trying to do is do both. It’s not an ‘either/or’, it’s an ‘and’.
From a waste hierarchy point of view, the best way to avoid using virgin materials is reuse. So the idea that if you need a jumper, you go and purchase it from an op shop, you’re not buying a virgin product. So the avoidance or reuse principle is the highest in the hierarchy, and I think charities play a vital role in providing options for customers rather than having to go and buy something brand new.
And here’s an interesting stat for you. While we’re seeing fashion retail in Australia continue to decline – we’re seeing one retailer after another close at the moment – our fashion category has grown by about 7 per cent a year for the last five years. So that tells you that the trend around reuse is taking hold in Australia, and customers see it as a viable alternative.
What we hope to see in future is when that’s not an option, or when the item has been reused so many times it’s not wearable any more, it goes into a value chain that enables the fibres to be separated and remade into virgin garments, and you’ll probably be familiar with Adidas’ announcement that they’re looking to make their entire range from recycled materials.
IRW: Besides changing consumer behaviour, what if any changes have Salvos Stores made to contribute to the growth of the fashion category?
MD: There are lots of reasons for that [growth]. From a customer feedback point of view, customers are telling us they appreciate that stores are clean, they’re well lit, they’ve got good customer service. They expect more from op shops now than they used to, and we’re getting great feedback that we’re moving with the times, and that we’re not the ‘stinky old op shop’ they may have avoided in the past. It is interesting to see that in the furniture category, for example, because it’s so easy now for people to just take a photo and post it online. So we’re seeing furniture declining, but fashion growing.
I think the customer experience is absolutely improving, and we do hear customers say things like, ‘I’m just sick of seeing the same thing at every single retailer, I want something different.’
IRW: What are some of the ways that you talk about the in-store experience at Salvos Stores? What kind of experience are you looking to offer and what are you doing to provide that?
MD: I’ve been at Salvos Stores now for about three years, and coming out of mainstream retail, my big message for our team is about putting the customer at the centre of everything we do. We’ve been on a cultural journey to shift from being production-focused to being customer-focused. So that means being attuned to where our pricing is at – we’ve received a lot of feedback that the op shops have become too expensive over the years, and so we’re now cheaper today than we were two years ago in terms of our average unit price. We’re listening to the challenges around pricing. Discount department stores have really driven the price down of a lot of entry-point items, like T-shirts for $3.
Convenience is another huge one. We offer longer trading hours during summer, and we’re now upgrading our stores in terms of air conditioning and parking and range. Instead of having a tiny little op shop, our stores now tend to be a bit bigger to accommodate more of the categories we operate in. Our digital offer has improved dramatically. We now have a loyalty card with over 200,000 members, which has been really well received. We have a fully operational e-commerce hub selling a range of collectables and new products operating out of our Melbourne warehouse, which we relaunched before Christmas and which we’re looking to scale up. So, [we have] all the things that other retailers would say are important to providing a good customer experience.
IRW: I have to admit, I didn’t know about the loyalty card and e-commerce site. Are you doing things like email marketing?
MD: We try to be really careful with the way we engage with customers. It’s a social contract, isn’t it? We have to understand that we’re offering a community service, and so while we do have a customer database and communicate with our customers, we tend to try to use it more as an information space. So, where does the money go? What impact does it have? What stores are opening nearby? What offers have we got? As opposed to buy more, buy more, buy more!
IRW: Given that Salvos Stores has a mix of paid and volunteer staff, does that present any challenges in terms of providing a consistent in-store experience? Are you able to administer training across all the people who work in Salvos Stores?
MD: That’s a significant and ongoing challenge. Salvos Stores nationally have 10,000 volunteers. That’s an enormous group of people to engage, motivate, train and develop. We do offer quite a wide range of support tools to that group to help them offer that experience. We’ve done some surveys internally around how best to do that, and the single biggest factor was empowering our store manager and providing them with tools that they need to genuinely lead.
Eighteen months ago, we made a significant investment into a program we called LEAD, which was about helping our store managers transition from trying to do everything themselves to being leaders who can delegate and support their team in the store, so the customer might be at the centre. That’s seen us get really great results in terms of engagement and in terms of our volunteers and other paid members knowing what to do and where to focus their time. It’s still a journey, we’ve got a long way to go, but we’re investing in that space at the moment, and we’re getting at it.
IRW: I’m curious to hear what message you might have for retailers, especially because you probably see what might not be working or resonating with customers.
MD: My one thing at this juncture in terms of where the conversation is at would be if you’re thinking of taking a more sustainable approach to your products after they’re sold, is basically give me a call. We can help you do that.
In a broader sense, I think my insight would be that customers in Australia are now ready to see retailers taking a more responsible approach to sustainability. It’s becoming mainstream; now’s the time to take some action. And because it’s hard and messy and in some cases expensive and challenging to business models, we have to work together to solve those issues.
Research suggests criminal penalties won't be enough to stamp out corporate wage theft. Here's what else needs to h… https://t.co/HoYna6byVG3 days ago


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Nic Newman’s Tigerspike, a digital design agency, has developed seven iPad apps for News Corp. (NSDQ: NWS), including The Times’ Eureka and The Australian, as well as for The Daily Telegraph, The Economist and others.
What I notice from our research and analytics is how long the tablet experience is. An average iPad session is 30 to 40 minutes; the number of page views is well above the average of the web — you’re more in to a gaming scenario: a deeply immersive experience.
The Daily, News Corp.’s forthcoming U.S. mass-market news title on tablets only, is a very interesting model. They’ve recruited some interesting journalists that people like to follow anyway; they’ve got some good writers. Their cost-to-market is very low, therefore they can afford to market it more highly.
What’s the differentiator? Why have The Daily on your iPad versus The New York Times or Wall Street Journal or anything else? It’s going to have to be an obsession with the user interface, the design and the level of social interaction.
If you can begin to integrate Facebook or serve content that you’re already sharing with friends and design it in an elegant way for the iPad, which many magazines have struggled with, that’s an opportunity.
Sixty to 70 percent of iPad editions don’t have the level of interactivity and grace or finesse that the device can offer. They look like a PDF copy of the magazine. News Corp. does understand the importance of these things — if The Daily can crack them, too, it can succeed.
What will be critical is the level of free vs. paid and the subscription model they chose to use.
If you put everything behind a paywall and put it on at a monthly basis, you get a low number of sign-ups as you are only appealing to brand advocates. If you put a low amount of content for free so they can get something and give people the opportunity to subscribe daily, you’re offering people the same choice they have on the newsstand: I can decide to buy The Telegraph today and then on Saturday; it’s an impulse purchase.
The same will be true to The Daily. If they put it on a monthly subscription model, they will lose out. If they offer the punter the opportunity to buy it daily, they will win.
The numbers we’ve seen in a few different models suggest £9.99 per month (the price that the The Times‘ iPad app launched at) doesn’t take advantage of people’s impulse nature for news. If you look at people who buy papers occasionally, rather than subscribe, it suggests you need a more flexible model. Long-term, the £9.99 per month model will be replaced by £9.99 plus the opportunity to buy weekly or daily — replicating the virtual newsstand.
The Telegraph (free on iPad) has gone with the idea of building audience first — their app is free and sponsored by Audi. They’ve already gone out there to the press to say there is a version two coming next year – with a lot more functionality and moving to a paid model.
If people are already paying for a magazine or newspaper, there’s no reason they should also be paying for the iPad edition.
This article originally appeared in Tigerspike, managing director.


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The CEO Of Phillip Morris (Cigs) Just Came Out And Said He Wants To Ban All Smoking By 2031
Source - In a stunning twist, the CEO of tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) has called for UK lawmakers to ban smoking during the next decade.
CEO Jacek Olczak, whose company owns the iconic Marlboro brand outside the US, said he imagines a future entirely “without cigarettes” in a new interview with the Sunday Telegraph.
“And actually, the sooner it happens, the better it is for everyone,” the leader of the multibillion dollar global cigarette manufacturer said in the stunning turnaround.
“Give them a choice of smoke-free alternatives … with the right regulation and information it can happen 10 years from now in some countries,” Olczak suggested. “You can solve the problem once and forever.” Olczak compared cigarettes to gas-powered cars, which the UK has vowed to eliminate from sale by 2035.
Listen, smoking is bad, mkay? I think we all know that. It causes 480,000 deaths per year in the United States alone, 41,000 of which come from second hand smoke which breaks down to about 1,300 deaths per day. Crazy, right? That said, and I may get in a little trouble here, smoking is, for better or worse, kinda cool. Always has been, always will be. There's nothing more badass than a well-timed cigarette. I tried to get addicted to smoking once and I couldn't do it. Turns out that was a blessing in disguise, but that's neither here nor there. The fact that the CEO of Philip Morris International has come out and said he wants to ban smoking in the next ten years is not only wild, it's confusing. Then again, I get why he's doing it- he's already got every kid aged ten to twenty-five addicted to vape. There's no need to continue to push a product with arguably the worst reputation of all time on a consumer who understands the risks.
And because I always think it's important to put a face to the name, here's a photo of the guy leading the charge...
He almost looks like slimy Julian Assange. Regardless, the move to promote a "smoke-free future" by one of the largest tobacco manufacturing in the world fascinating to me. Equally as fascinating is the fact that Phillip Morris is buying up respiratory inhaler companies. Chess not checkers, folks. These are some of the most savvy business people on the planet. It'll be interesting to see how things play out. Now here's a clip of Phil Hartman promoting cigarettes on The Late show in 1994. Enjoy...
Obligatory PSA: Don't smoke.


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This Type Of Mask Will Help Prevent Maskne
It's nearly October—and if you've been keeping track in the year of Covid-19, that means many of us have been wearing face coverings and face masks for the better part of ten months, and likely suffering the consequences (hello, maskne). With mask-wearing, and taking other preventative measures, not going anywhere soon, mask manufacturers have been busy coming up with ways to make face coverings and coronavirus face masks fun (or, at least interesting) and useful—see LG's air-purifying face mask and Uniqlo's sold-out Airism mask.
But what about beautifying? According to Dr Yoram Harth, a board certified dermatologist in the United States and chief medical officer at MDAcne, conventional blue surgical face masks aren't very good for preventing acne—in fact, it may encourage skin irritation and breakouts.
"The common single-use surgical masks and N95 masks are actually made from polypropylene, a type of plastic that is very similar to polyethylene in our trash bags," Harth tells Tatler. "This dense synthetic material traps hot air and humidity under the mask, creating the perfect breeding environment for bacteria and fungi—cause for more acne breakouts."
Not only are conventional disposable face masks potentially irritating to your skin and a breeding ground for yuckies, tossing millions of face masks every day can have a deleterious effect on our environment in the long run.
"Polypropylene, the main ingredient of single-use masks, is a fossil oil derived plastic that can take hundreds of years to break down," Harth says. "Thrown into the ocean, they shed microplastic particles which are consumed by fish—and then us when we eat seafood. Since it costs more to collect, separate and recycle single-use masks than the value of the resulting recycled material, there's no business incentive to recycle those masks."
Harth's solution? Consider reusable cotton face masks infused with special nanoparticles that help fight bacteria growth.
"One possible solution for the skin and environment concerns caused by single-use masks is a new type of mask made of natural cotton impregnated with copper and silver nanoparticles," Harth suggests. "These reusable masks are breathable, recyclable and, most importantly, infused with metal ions that reduce bacteria and fungi under the mask."
You know those athletic apparel companies that infuse silver into their clothing to prevent sweat from stinking? This is the same idea—copper and silver in masks nix bacteria proliferation and help tamp down on face mask-related acne and breakouts. Sounds good to us.


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Plans to revitalize struggling retailer J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) were met Thursday with much enthusiasm by investors, who carried JCP shares almost 19% higher on the second day of the company’s New York City launch event.
The overhaul, led by former Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Ron Johnson, will include a massive change in pricing, leaning toward lower everyday prices — as much as a 40% cut — in lieu of frequent sales.
On the business side, J.C. Penney will try to cut $900 million in expenses by 2014 — some of which will be gained through layoffs — and the company said it expects full-year fiscal 2012 earnings to equal or surpass 2010’s adjusted EPS of $2.16.
JCP shares closed at $40.72 — the first time the stock has finished above the $40 mark since September 2008.
Also finishing a boom Thursday that it started in after-hours trading Wednesday was Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which rocketed 22% to $116.01 — a three-month high — on strong earnings and news that it had gained 610,000 customers in the most recent quarter.
The shorts were sent running on the news Thursday, but what remains to be seen is whether Netflix can survive competition from Hulu, Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) eventual streaming service and others, and if its expansion in the U.K. and Latin America will take root.
- Micromet (NASDAQ:MITI): Up 32.1% ($2.66) to $10.94.
- LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI): Up 10.9% (77 cents) to $7.85.
- United Continental (NYSE:UAL): Up 6.3% ($1.29) to $21.70.
- Monster Worldwide (NYSE:MWW): Down 20.4% ($1.83) to $7.15.
- ETrade Financial (NASDAQ:ETFC): Down 14.6% ($1.37) to $7.99.
- Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK): Down 11.4% ($5.95) to $46.39.
Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here.


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Footasylum opens new store, has big plans for 2023
The headlines surrounding Footasylum of late have largely been about its on-again, off-again purchase by JD Sports and eventual cancellation of that deal.
But now it’s under the ownership of Aurelius Group (which acquired it during August), it has big plans for 2023 and has just opened a new store.
The store in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire is its first new opening since April 2021 and its first under Aurelius.
The new 6,000 sq ft space is located in the Brookfield Shopping Park and brings Footasylum’s total number of stores to 60.
The company also said that the “business continues to go from strength to strength under new ownership, having traded its way extremely resiliently through the pandemic”.
It recently announced annual revenue growth of 21% to £281 million for the year ended 29 January, with gross profit up 26% to £132.6 million. Physical stores accounted for 51% of the revenue, with online sales representing 46% and wholesale accounting for 3%.
It has “a strong pipeline of new openings planned for 2023, and is currently seeing strong demand both in its stores and online in the build up to Christmas”.
Executive chairman and CEO Barry Brown said: “We’re delighted to be opening our 60th store at a fantastic site in Cheshunt near the A10 corridor into London. This should be taken as a clear sign of how strongly the business is trading due to the ongoing demand for our brands. As we look ahead to 2023, we have exciting plans for further expansion and are confident that we can continue to grow at pace despite the current macroeconomic uncertainty.”
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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WhatsApp stickers update: How to convert any photo into sticker
Did you know there’s a workaround to convert any photo into a WhatsApp sticker?
WhatsApp's new stickers feature has become quite popular. Launched last week, WhatsApp comes with a bunch of pre-loaded stickers. It also allows users to send customised stickers through third-party applications.
But did you know there's a workaround to convert any photo into WhatsApp sticker? According to a Gadgetsnow report, you can use third-party applications like Sticker Maker for WhatsApp to convert any photo in your phone to stickers. It is already among the top trending apps on Google Play store.
Here's how to convert any photo into WhatsApp sticker
1. Download any background eraser app on your Android phone. Download Sticker maker for WhatsApp app developed by Viko.
2. After installing these two applications, open the background eraser app.
3. Use the on-screen eraser button to remove background from the image. Save the photo in PNG format.
4. You can also use the Sticker maker for WhatsApp app to erase background.
5. Now launch the sticker maker app. Select create a new stickerpack
6. Fill stickerpack name and sticker author columns and tap on create.
7. Select the image (with background erased or PNG image) as the tray icon.
8. Add minimum of three stickers to create a pack. Tap on" Add to WhatsApp."
9. Launch WhatsApp on your phone and go to stickers. The new pack will be automatically added.
Note that both of these apps come with in-app advertisements.
Follow HT Tech for the latest tech news and reviews , also keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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Customers give FourKites top marks on real-world performance and impact
CHICAGO, Ill. — August 26, 2021 — FourKites®, the world’s leading real-time supply chain visibility platform, today announced that it has been named a 2021 Great Supply Chain Partner by SupplyChainBrain, the world’s most comprehensive supply chain management information resource. Nominated by its customers, FourKites was recognized for its significant impact on its customers’ efficiency, customer service and supply chain performance.
2021 marks SupplyChainBrain’s 19th consecutive annual list of 100 Great Supply Chain Partners. To qualify for the award, vendors must be nominated directly by their customers, providing a true measure of that vendor’s business impact in real-world applications. FourKites joins Manhattan Associates, GlobalTranz, MercuryGate and other supply chain leaders on this year’s list.
“For nineteen years running, SupplyChainBrain has published our list of 100 Great Supply Chain Partners — a select group of companies whose customers recognize them for providing outstanding solutions and services,” said Brad Berger, Publisher, SupplyChainBrain. “Our six-month online poll of supply chain professionals asks them to nominate vendors and service providers whose solutions have made a significant impact on their company’s efficiency, customer service, and overall supply chain performance. This year’s field of nominees was highly competitive and overall excellent – coming from all sectors of supply chain management.”
FourKites pioneered real-time supply chain visibility in 2014, and has since built the world’s largest visibility platform, now tracking over 3 Million Shipments daily across 200+ countries and territories. The FourKites network now boasts more than 620 of the world’s leading brands, including Coca-Cola, Dow, Eastman, PetSmart, The Michaels Companies, Land O’Lakes, AB InBev, Constellation Brands and 3M, and touches 50% of the Fortune 500. In the first half of 2021 alone, FourKites saw an increase of 55% in total loads tracked across all modes and geographies, and downloads of FourKites CarrierLink app for drivers grew by 50%, reaching nearly 600,000 total downloads.
“More than ever, supply chain and logistics management is becoming a team sport,” said FourKites’ Founder and CEO Mathew Elenjickal. “I am honored and humbled to see firsthand the regard that our customers have for the work we do here at FourKites, and the impact that FourKites’ team and technology brings to the lives of our partners and customers.”
Earlier this year, FourKites was named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Real-time Transportation Visibility Platforms for its ability to execute, and with the highest completeness of vision. And earlier this month, FourKites was named a Great Place to Work for the third year in a row.
FourKites® is the leading global supply chain visibility platform, extending visibility beyond transportation into yards, warehouses, stores and beyond. Tracking more than 3 Million Shipments daily across road, rail, ocean, air, parcel and courier, and reaching 200+ countries and territories, FourKites combines real-time data and powerful machine learning to help companies digitize their end-to-end supply chains. More than 620 of the world’s most recognized brands — including 9 of the top-10 CPG and 18 of the top-20 food and beverage companies — trust FourKites to transform their business and create more agile, efficient and sustainable supply chains. To learn more, visit https://www.fourkites.com/.
SupplyChainBrain, today’s most comprehensive supply chain management information resource, is accessed year-round through a wide range of ever evolving multi-media formats by hundreds of thousands of the world’s most influential supply chain executives. In addition to addressing the fundamental principles of supply-chain management, SupplyChainBrain identifies the latest news, emerging trends, technologies and best practices, forward thinking ideas and cutting-edge solutions – and continues to write and report about these as they evolve and mature.


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Despite major challenges, 2020 proved to be another successful year for the South West Business Excellence Awards with 41 business making submissions, along with 12 Star Business Person of the Year and 10 Employee of the Year applications. 30 businesses succeeded in becoming finalists with the award category finalists being unveiled at a Finalist Networking evening held on 19th November at The Esplanade Hotel in Busselton.
While pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the global economy this year, 2020 has been a good year to be recognised as an Awards finalist. These high-calibre businesses are the cream of the crop of the South West business community, displaying unshakable passion, resilience and strategic thinking in the face of adversity.
One member of the judging panel expressed his amazement at the capability of the business applicants stating “I’m impressed to see how many local businesses are doing some amazing things and being incredibly innovative. There are some local businesses doing some really big things.”
Lengthy discussions were had by the judging panel in selecting winners for the 20 Award categories. Competition was strong with scores on the written submissions coming in only a few points apart in a number of categories. For the first time this year, the final selection of winners was settled after all finalists were interviewed by the judging panel. This interview process allowed the judges to deep dive into the heart and soul of the businesses and to better understand the drive in the people working within them. The judges were impressed with the local gems unearthed through this in-depth process.
Another member of the judging panel had this to say about the resilience of the businesses entering this year’s awards: “I’ve been extremely humbled and impressed by how businesses have coped with COVID-19. Businesses very quickly – some within a matter of days, who panicked initially but within days took the approach that ‘we are going to pivot and innovate’ without knowing any information about JobKeeper or JobSeeker. Businesses have now implemented many of those changes permanently.”
Of the written submissions received, just over one-half of the entrants fell into the Professional Services industry category. With so many amazing applications, it was decided that this category would be split into two sub-categories for people-based services and product-based services, with an Award being presented for each.
A number of outstanding applications were also received for the new major category Excellence in Not-for-Profit. The judging panel were delighted to see these fantastic local NFPs being recognised for the services they provide to the community and impressed by the hard work they put into running their NFPs employing a business-like structure.
Applications from businesses located outside of Bunbury has continued to increase on previous years. This year two-thirds of businesses entering the awards were from outside Bunbury, with 9 of the 12 local government areas in the South West region being represented. This is a substantial increase on previous years with 54% in 2019, 50% in 2018 and 37% in 2017. This steady increase in participation from right across the region shows the talent, skill and expertise that exists throughout our diverse South West business community.
The 2020 Awards program coordination was not left untouched by the disruptions caused by COVID-19. With various restrictions in place, the Awards coordination team saw an opportunity to adapt the program to better meet business needs in the ever-changing business climate. In the belief that the Awards application process encourages local businesses to closely assess and review their operations, the coordination team modified the 2020 Awards program to enable it to proceed. The closing date for submissions was extended and the team worked tirelessly to urge businesses, especially those finding it tough, to complete an application as a measure to help them evaluate their business model and, in the face of their current circumstances, identify ways to adapt their service delivery.
Restrictions on events and pressures on businesses also resulted in deferring of the Gala Presentation Night for announcing Award winners until March 2021. With the planning time extended and the current requirements on public gatherings, the Awards coordination team is now working on creating a glamorous and exclusive new format for this event – Details coming soon!
During these challenging times, the Awards coordination team and everyone at BSW Connect wish to extend a whole-hearted thank you to the Awards partners and the judging panel. It is only with their support that the Awards can continue to recognise the tremendous efforts and achievements of our local business community, especially during 2020 which has proven to be a year like no other.
30 Foot Drop
Alpine Laundry Pty Ltd
Asset Reliability Inspections Pty Ltd
Bianca Turri Photographer
Busselton Jetty Inc.
Chestnut Brae Farm
GP Down South
Heatseal Australia Pty Ltd
JG Accounting & Business Services
Kidd & Co
Next Level Monkey Business
Oscar & Ivy Hair Co
Robert’s Tilt Tray & Hiab Services
Serenity Spa Capel
The Book Incubator
The Bull & Bush Tavern
The Green Depot
The Health Hub at Eaton Fair
WA Skills Training
White Building Co Pty Ltd


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Face coverings? Check. Capacity limits? Check. Advance reservations, new fire pits, and booting up in the parking lot? Check, check, check.
Ski areas across North America have implemented a host of protocols this season in order to get—and stay—open during the ongoing Covid crisis. While resorts will gladly do away with most of those modifications once the crisis passes, there are a handful of innovations that might just stick around.
Some resorts found that the pandemic forced them to implement previously planned enhancements ahead of schedule, while others discovered creative ways to pivot to pandemic-friendly routines and amenities and help skiers and riders enjoy a semi-normal season. Given the industry’s can-do spirit, the results have been pretty great, improving mountain operations and streamlining the overall guest experience in unexpected ways. Call it a pandemic silver lining.
Of course, it took months of careful planning amid relentless uncertainty to reach this point. “I actually had a client say to me, ‘it’s a military thing—in times of crisis you shorten your timeframe and narrow your focus,’” says Claire Humber, director of resort planning and design at SE Group. “But in addition to the need to be reactive, there was definitely an opportunity to be proactive, think longer term, and make some really sound investments.”
Humber calls it “proactive evolution,” a topic she, John Ashworth, and Regina Connell covered in the July 2020 issue of SAM, and in a SAM Huddle as well. “I really think that as the dust starts to settle on this season, there will be more awareness that, in times of crisis, long-range planning is a really good thing to do, for a lot of different reasons,” she says.
Bolton Valley, Vt., president Lindsay DesLauriers agrees. “At the end of this winter when all the ski areas sort of take a breath and start to debrief together, it’ll be really interesting to see what we carry forward,” she says.
Let’s take a look at some of the trends that may stick the post-pandemic landing.
Technology revamps transactions. Operating during a pandemic has meant rigorously managing resort capacity while also developing alternatives to traditional, in-person transactions such as ticket sales, equipment rentals, and food and beverage purchases. Many resorts have realized the enormous operational benefits of revamping their digital framework. While reduced capacity will hopefully be a thing of the past next season, technologies that enable guests to order lunch from the lift or book lift tickets in advance are here to stay.
“The pandemic really pushed a timeline for us,” says Loryn Duke, director of communications at Steamboat, Colo. “I think a lot of resorts have been thinking about innovative technology and new ways of doing things for a long time. But those innovations always seemed so far out in the future. In 2020, we were forced to make those technologies a reality.”
Ticket kiosks. One of Steamboat’s biggest successes has been installing three new ticket pickup kiosks. “Guests purchase their tickets online in advance, scan their barcodes at a kiosk, and their tickets come right out,” Duke explains. “They don’t have to go inside the ticket office. They don’t have to wait in a line. They get their tickets and go directly to the mountain.”
Advance online purchasing. The pandemic pushed the tech timeline at Bolton Valley, too. The resort installed RFID gates ahead of the 2019-20 season, and while a larger tech overhaul was certainly in the pipeline, it wasn’t slated to happen quite yet. “Essentially we migrated off our old platform and put everything—season passes, lift tickets, rentals, lodging, lessons—into one web shop,” says DesLauriers. “We weren’t planning to do it, but we sort of plowed forward because we knew we couldn’t have long lines inside anymore.”
Purchasing lift tickets in advance online is nothing new, of course, but the pandemic has made it a welcome standard practice. “We’ve been trying forever to get people to buy online. Now, guests have no choice,” says Carolyn Stimpson, VP of mountain services at Wachusett Mountain, Mass.
Wachusett uses the information collected during an online transaction to better communicate with guests. “Having guests’ contact info has given us SMS text ability so we can shoot out messages that say, ‘Hey! You’re here! Did you know that we have demos discounted right now? Or that you can stay for night skiing for super cheap?’ People appreciate that. We’re trying to give value added wherever possible,” says Stimpson.
While some might worry that technology will take jobs away from humans, that seems unlikely. “We still need the support,” says Duke. “Behind the scenes, these technologies require a lot of manpower. They may change the way our staff is deployed, but I don’t see it minimizing our staff.”
Better branding. Shifting to digital can also help a resort enhance its brand identity. “There’s this whole revolution where things can get done online, but that still allows for the personal touch,” says John Ashworth, principal at Bull Stockwell Allen. “There’s a new opportunity to engage your guests, providing a much more holistic welcome experience and superior customer service.”
NEXT GEN TICKETING
To manage capacity, many resorts have opted to limit day-ticket sales in favor of accommodating passholders this season. Others have implemented novel ticket modeling to accommodate day guests.
Using RFID data from previous years, resorts pinpointed days when they might hit maximum capacity and tailored day ticket sales accordingly. Some instituted timed sessions and dynamic ticket pricing to help spread the crowd throughout the day.
Time-block ticketing. “This year we added shifts,” says Dave Tragethon, VP of marketing and sales at Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore. “We have a nine o’clock, a noon, a two o’clock, and a five o’clock on the nights that we operate for night skiing. Our whole goal was to try to spread out visitation. The number one thing that we will carry forward to future seasons is these shift tickets.”
Bolton Valley has taken a similar approach, introducing half-day morning and afternoon tickets for the first time—something it hopes to continue post-pandemic. “I think our guests appreciate it,” DesLauriers says. “A lot of people might not want to ski for eight hours. So, there’s a value to them to be able to buy a less expensive ticket, and it enables us to have better control of traffic on the mountain. It’s a win-win.” » continued
At Wachusett, a four-session-per-day ticket model has allowed more people to enjoy the mountain this season. “We’re running at half outdoor capacity,” says Stimpson. “So now, instead of having full-day tickets, we have four sessions because so many people were desperate to get out. That’s definitely one Covid takeaway that I think we’ll keep on some level.”
BASE LODGE ALTERNATIVES
The industry-wide message to guests sounded loud and clear early in the season—treat your vehicle like a base lodge. State or local mandates limiting—or forbidding—indoor gatherings mean guests aren’t allowed to haul their stuff indoors to gear up and set up camp. To provide guests refuge aside from their cars, some resorts devised unique alternatives.
Slopeside “cabanas” have popped up at ski areas across the country. Sugarbush’s Base Cabins include creature comforts like artisan-made tables and benches, propane heat, storage cubbies, coolers, and options for food delivery. They’re fully enclosed and fit up to eight people, with daily rental starting at $159.
“I think this is something we’re going to see continue in the industry,” says Ashworth. “It’s a real opportunity for resorts to create a one-of-a-kind, private experience.”
Berkshire East and Catamount (Mass.) went a similar route, building cabanas—28 at Berkshire East, 30 at Catamount—that are on the primitive side. Each has a picnic table, bench seating, and propane heater, but no door or electricity. They can be booked online for $100 to $150 per day. Catamount sold out of seasonal cabana rentals before winter even started.
Basic shelter. These shelters don’t need to be fancy. “Skiers are dressed for the weather,” Ashworth points out. “You just need a little bit of enclosure and wind protection. You want to create the feeling that people are at one with nature. That’s the beauty of structures that have heaters but are still open to the elements. You feel protected but not enclosed.”
Seasonal suites. In lieu of constructing cabanas, Bolton Valley pulled 22 rooms from its hotel inventory and transformed them into season-long private ski suites, each with cozy seating, TV, and dining table and chairs.
“We knew we had a couple of problems going into the season,” says DesLauriers: limited space in the base lodge, and interstate travel restrictions that would limit the number of destination guests needing an overnight room.
It was a bit of a hedge, but it paid off. All of the rooms, which required a four-month rental commitment, sold out quickly. “We keep talking about whether we’ll keep doing this,” says DesLauriers, who plans to reach out to passholders in the spring to gauge interest in the offering for next season. “There was definitely a market for it this year.”
OUTSIDE IS THE NEW INSIDE
Outdoor accessories. Resorts also had to think outside the box in order to create inviting outdoor spaces, upping the ante by investing in cold-busting accouterments like Dragon Seats heated benches, fire pits, and heat lamps as well as plenty of new, all-weather furniture.
“The broader conversation of what has to be inside and, therefore, what doesn’t was crucial,” says Humber. “Being really smart about outdoor space that can be made more comfortable—that’s not a new conversation, but it’s become real.”
Rental staging. Those kinds of conversations led Wachusett to create an outdoor staging area for rentals. “I said to our outside engineer, ‘Hey, we need a patio outside the rental shop,’” Stimpson recalls, “and he said, ‘I think I have drawings for that from 2016.’ So now we have a radiant-heated patio. It was in the plans—we just had to press play and do it. And it’s going swimmingly.”
Bag storage. In addition, a slew of outdoor bag storage has helped for guest convenience since bags aren’t allowed inside the lodge. “We put cubbies outside everywhere!” says Stimpson. “The bags in the building is one of the things that I’m so not going to miss.”
Outdoor F&B. Ski areas have also successfully expanded outdoor gathering areas and re-imagined their food and beverage options in creative ways—from ski-up donut windows to new food trucks and using apps to order food in advance.
“We leveled out an area in front of our lodge and created a large patio with fire rings and deck chairs,” says Berkshire East general manager Gabe Porter-Henry. “We also enclosed a space underneath a deck and added a pick-up window for our food service. The whole outdoor atmosphere has been great. I think, for a lot of people, this has transformed the way they experience the mountain.”
Steamboat implemented one of the more unique solutions to outdoor dining this season. It’s called the Pizza Ranger, and draws on the success of the resort’s Taco Beast, a roaming, snowcat-mounted taco stand. Guests can order pizza from anywhere they are on the mountain and then meet the Pizza Ranger—a tracked side-by-side with a warming box—at the resort’s Bashor Pavilion. “It’s super cool,” says Duke. “People are loving it, and it created an entirely new space for guests to dine comfortably outdoors.”
BEYOND SKIING AND RIDING
If ski areas have proven anything over the past year, it’s just how resilient they are. The ability of resorts across the country to adapt and flex and change has been truly remarkable. At the same time, despite this season’s limited capacity, the fact that the pandemic propelled people outdoors may result in a new cadre of loyalists who want to remain part of what mountains are offering.
Expanding range of activities. “Outdoor recreation was the silver lining of 2020, and the golden opportunity for 2021,” says SE Group’s Humber. “People have gotten outside and hopefully some of that is going to stick, and it’s going to bring new people to mountain resorts. And they’re going to want to do new things. They may want to go for a fat-bike ride or a Nordic ski or a snowshoe. We’ve seen everything related to outdoor recreation just explode.”


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The 2019 Korea Grand Sale, a shopping festival for foreign tourists is underway and will run until February 28.
South Korea is to ban big-time supermarkets and retailers nationwide from giving out single-use plastic bags in an attempt to conserve natural resources and reduce recyclable waste.
Demand for party supplies from South Korean retailers is soaring as a growing number of people prefer to host end-of-year celebrations at home.
South Koreans are spending more at Chinese online stores, according to credit-card spending data.
South Korean convenience store operators have agreed not to engage in cut-throat competition.
South Korean fashion label Handsome says it will release the country’s first clothes designed with AI.
7-Eleven South Korea has launched an unmanned locker service called Seven Locker at two stores in Seoul.
Mobile payments at South Korean convenience stores have more than doubled this year thanks to the greater use of smartphones.
Blue Bottle Coffee Co an upscale US coffee chain operator, says it will open its first South Korean shop in Seoul in the second quarter of next year.
LG Electronics will work with E-mart to develop what they call a smart-cart robot for supermarkets.
Starbucks Coffee Korea Co. is adding 300 more ‘cashless shops’ in addition to the 103 stores currently in operation, starting on Monday.
7-Eleven South Korea has run up the greatest number of formal disputes between head office and franchisees of any franchise business in the country.


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Cuba has effectively admitted that its decades of communism hasn’t worked because it will allow foreign investors into its wholesale and retail trade for the first time in 60 years.
The move is a major shift for the island’s communist government, and overturns a Fidel Castro policy of nationalising retail.
But Cuba, facing its most severe economic crisis since the Fifties, with rising prices and public discontent, believes its new policy will tackle shortages of basic goods, like food and medicine - but stops short of fully opening trade.
Government officials said that foreign investors will be able to wholly or partially own Cuba-based wholesalers.
But retail will not be open to international investors without scrutiny, as “a state market has to prevail” foreign trade minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez said.
Economy minister Alejandro Gil said the move will allow for the “expansion and diversification of supply to the population and contribute to the recovery of domestic industry”.
In 1969, Fidel Castro nationalised Cuba’s private wholesale and retail industry. The new foreign investment bill, however, recognises that the country’s centralised government cannot resolve its essential goods shortage without investment from overseas.
Meanwhile, Cuba will send nearly 500 doctors to the Calabria region of southern Italy, part of a broader programme that sends surplus medics from the communist-run island to countries in need.
State-run media outlet Cubadebate said Calabria had been suffering a shortage of doctors since 2010, part of a countrywide healthcare crisis, and had been unable to fill the need any other way.
Around 40 countries across five continents, including Italy, received Cuban medics during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the island – with a population of 11 million - has impacted worldwide in medical diplomacy.
Since its 1959 leftist revolution, Cuba has dispatched its ‘army of white coats’ to disaster sites and disease outbreaks around the world in the name of solidarity. In the last decade, they have fought cholera in Haiti and Ebola in West Africa.
Cuba has exported doctors on more routine missions in exchange for cash or goods in recent decades, making it a top source of hard currency. The United States has criticised the programme, saying labour conditions are exploitative, a charge Cuba denies.


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I have an HP printer that is a little more than a year old. It stopped printing. The last one was an HP that was about 10 years old and it just stopped printing last year.
I went to Staples and they told me that HP has had a law suit against them. My guess is that the biggest problem is software. I believe that they program the software for X amount of time and then they stop printing. Staples had the same printer that I have had and they told me they were really bad, stay away from them. I wish I had known this last year.
I'm going to be shopping for a new printer and it will not be an HP for the first time in my life.
BY DAVID HAMILTON
Updated 1:00 PM MDT, August 15, 2023
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — HP has failed to shunt aside class-action legal claims that it disables the scanners on its multifunction printers when their ink runs low. Though not for lack of trying.
On Aug. 10, a federal judge ruled that HP Inc. must face a class-action lawsuit claiming that the company designs its “all-in-one” inkjet printers to disable scanning and faxing functions whenever a single printer ink cartridge runs low. The company had sought — for the second time — to dismiss the lawsuit on technical legal grounds.
“It is well-documented that ink is not required in order to scan or to fax a document, and it is certainly possible to manufacture an all-in-one printer that scans or faxes when the device is out of ink,” the plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “Indeed, HP designs its all-in-one printer products so they will not work without ink. Yet HP does not disclose this fact to consumers.”
The lawsuit charges that HP deliberately withholds this information from consumers to boost profits from the sale of expensive ink cartridges.
I bought a HP printer on a time plan. It came with a $150 rebate. They sent me a $100 rebate. I paid all but $50 of my bill. One day I got a call, "When do you plan on paying your remaining $50?" I told them I didn't. He asked, why? I told him that we had a contract that included a $150 rebate and when they fulfilled their part of the contract so would I. Evidently they decided to call it even as I heard nothing else from them.


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Remember the absolutely critical Omnibus spending bill Congress muscled through at the end of last year? It was 4,000 pages that no one read that cost taxpayers $1.7 trillion.
In our Let's Cut Some Spending series, ForAmerica will chronicle parts of the 2021 and 2022 spending bills from a variety of sources that you probably don't know about - programs, grants and spending of all kinds that should have never happened in the first place and many that are still happening.
Today’s offering: $50 million for tourism in Tunisia!
In early 2022 the federal government spent $50 million on a “Visit Tunisia” initiative meant to boost travel to the country. Tunisia’s tourism sector generated over $1 billion in 2019, but apparently it still needs help.
Why in the world would American tax dollars go toward people taking vacations in Tunisia?!?
Make it make sense.


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← Back More from Trotac Marine →
Halibut will be open again on February 1st, 2016 until March 31st, 2016. Same rules apply as last year, one per person, 133cm and under you can keep.
Trotac Marine is now selling Esquimalt Anglers Association memberships.
Finest At Sea (FAS) is having a herring sale on december 5th from 7:00am to 5
Trotac's Big Annual Sale is set for


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Cotton Creek Golf Course in Glenpool is likely to remain open after an auction which broke the course into 16 parcels failed to yield the results desired by owners Jeff and Steve Lamoreaux.
The auction was conducted July 27 at Cotton Creek. There were more than 45 bidders and 10 different bidders had the top bids on the 16 parcels. Every parcel had a bid, but Jeff Lamoreaux said the bids were not what the owners were expecting.
"It was mostly bargain hunters looking for property at cents on the dollar," he said. "We will make some counters and we’ll see where we go. For now, we’re open for business, the course is in great shape and golfers are out playing."
The owners have seven days to accept the contracts as is and then closing would typically be 30 to 45 days after that, said John Pellow with Ameribid, which conducted the auction. Jeff Lamoreaux, however, said he expected none of the contracts would be accepted as is.
"It just didn’t go well," he said. "People were not wanting to pay any kind of reasonable price."
While the owners decide their next step after the auction, the course will remain open for business. Cotton Creek is located off Highway 75 about 10 miles south of Tulsa.


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Ferguson, Niall, Newsweek
Byline: Niall Ferguson
The Fed may deny it, but Americans know that prices are rising. Inflation is back.
"I can't eat an iPad." This could go down in history as the line that launched the great inflation of the 2010s.
Back in March, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, William Dudley, was trying to explain to the citizens of Queens, N.Y., why they had no cause to worry about inflation. Dudley, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, put it this way: "Today you can buy an iPad 2 that costs the same as an iPad 1 that is twice as powerful. You have to look at the prices of all things." Quick as a flash came a voice from the audience: "I can't eat an iPad."
Dudley's boss, Ben Bernanke, was more tactful in his first-ever press conference on Wednesday of last week. But he didn't succeed in narrowing the gap between the Fed's view of inflation and the public's.
I respect Bernanke. As an expert on the financial history of the 1930s, he was one of the very few people in power back in 2008 who grasped how close we were to another Great Depression. But if we've avoided rerunning the 1930s only to end up with a repeat of the 1970s, the public will judge him to have failed.
To this, the Fed has a stock response. It points to the all-urban consumer price index (CPI-U) and notes that it was up only 2.7 percent in March relative to the same month a year earlier. Strip out the costs of food and energy, and "core CPI"--the Fed's preferred measure--is just 1.2 percent. When Google unveils its new index of online prices, it's likely to tell a similar story.
To ordinary Americans, however, it's not the online price of an iPad that matters; it's prices of food on the shelf and gasoline at the pump. These, after all, are the costs they encounter most frequently. And with average gas prices hitting $3.88 a gallon last week, filling up is now twice as painful as when President Obama took office.
Sensing a threat to his hopes of reelection, the president last week called on Congress to eliminate "unwarranted" tax breaks for oil companies and set up a Justice Department task force to investigate price gouging and fraud in the oil markets. …


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The Volkswagen Group is expanding its production of electric vehicles to 16 locations around the globe by the end of 2022.
Volkswagen's CEO Matthais Müller announced the details of its plans to extend its green credentials at the company's annual media conference in Berlin. Currently, VW produces battery operated vehicles in just three of its factories and in just two years another nine factory locations would be equipped for this goal. The "Roadmap E" plan will retool an additional nine group plants to manufacture electric vehicles in just two years.
Volkswagen has already awarded contracts worth €20bn ($24.6bn) to battery manufacturers in Europe and China, and plans to purchase around €50bn ($61.6bn) of EV batteries in total. "This year, another nine new vehicles, three of which will be purely electric-powered, will be added to the Group's electric portfolio of eight e-cars and plug-in hybrids". So far the company has yet to decide on a supplier for North America.
From 2019, there will be a new electric vehicle "virtually every month", Müller said: "This is how we intend to offer the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the world, across all brands and regions, in just a few years".
Experts see VW's repeated emphasis on this front as a means of getting rid of the stigma of "dieselgate" of 2015 that has continually haunted the firm.
"Things are really moving", said Muller.
The company still reiterated its commitment to "conventional vehicles", which we assume means diesel and gasoline vehicles.
"We are making massive investments in the mobility of tomorrow, but without neglecting current technologies and vehicles that will continue to play an important role for decades to come", said Muller. VW will be investing almost €20 billion into its conventional vehicle portfolio in 2018, with a plan to invest more than €90 billion ($111 billion) into that same fund over the next five years.
The Volkswagen Group says that it has the financial resources for the transformation.


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Cvent, an event management software company, has raised $136 million in a round led by NEA.
for more funding data on Cvent
To export Cvent funding data to PDF and Excel, click here
MCLEAN, VA, According to published reports, Cvent, an event management software company, has raised $136 million in venture capital funding from New Enterprise Associates, Insight Venture Partners, and Greenspring Associates.
Founded in 1999, Cvent is the world's largest meetings management technology company and has over 750 employees worldwide. Cvent offers web-based software for meeting site selection, online event registration, event management, e-mail marketing, and web surveys, and helps over 90,000 users in 40 countries manage hundreds of thousands of events, surveys and e-mail campaigns. The company has processed over $1.5 billion in online payments and has managed over 30 million event registrations and survey responses for its clients.


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Previously I talked about the Pebble Time Kickstarter, and why I thought it was the most practical smartwatch to buy in 2015, and that I decided to be an early backer on Kickstarter. Well as of this morning an interesting development has come from my - currently - favorite smartwatch company. They will release the Pebble Time Steel variant alongside the regular Pebble, instead of say a whole release cycle down the road. The accompanying announcement along with the Steel,...
Stay up to Date on Android News with Android Hub
RSS readers are quite popular, especially on mobile devices. They allow us to easily access our favorite news sites, such as the XDA Portal, without actually visiting the site itself. This is beneficial, as our small screens aren’t ideal for reading the full versions of various websites. Thus, it’s important to have a solid RSS reader app.
An application created by XDA Forum Member Line.Dev is something that every Android enthusiast should try. This reader includes all the major Android news sites, including the XDA Portal, in its default list of news providers so no special configuration is required to stay up to date about Android and its best development works. Android Hub is also a good looking application, with three themes available, making changing the visuals a piece of cake. There is also an option to browse the newest videos about Android from various popular YouTube channels.
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The LG G Pro Lite D680 is a budget phone that was released in 2013 alongside the LG Optimus G Pro, LG's 2013 flagship device. Unfortunately, it hasn't received much development attention so far… but XDA Recognized Developer laufersteppenwolf has now released an unsecured boot.img along with a CWM recovery. This is despite the bootloader being locked (which means there's no need for you to void your warranty!), and marks the first step towards custom ROM and kernel development for...
Samsung's latest and greatest, the Galaxy S6 Edge, is drastically different from any Samsung flagship that has come before it. The Korean giant took a very different approach when designing this little beast, creating quite the debate among android enthusiasts about whether this is really the next big thing or not. Is the Galaxy S6 Edge true innovation, or Samsung's desperate attempt to be different? Let us know what you think!


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Retailer Tesco is to offer customers single-use carrier bags made from plastic waste.
It has worked with Recoup and Eurokey Recycling to have its plastic waste, such as pallet and multi-pack wrapping, turned into a second life product.
The bags are made from 100% recycled LDPE, of which 80% is post-consumer plastic waste and the remainder recycled from the production process.
Tesco procurement manager Robin Hughes said: “We believe that recycling materials back into products makes sense for the industry and the environment.”
The material is collected by Eurokey, which sorts it at its facility in eastern Europe to prepare the LDPE for reprocessing. Plastics are then processed and granulated at the Papier-Mettler facility in Morbach, Germany.
Recoup chief executive Stuart Foster said the initiative was “a perfect example of how joined up actions between the supply and recycling chain can deliver efficient recycling of plastic resources in a transparent way”.


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Failure of Bt cotton forces government to promote native seeds
A decision to revive cultivation of indigenous varieties of cotton was taken in a meeting yesterday, headed by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.
Freed from Monsanto's patent rights, private seed companies consider production of non-hybrid Bt cotton seeds
India’s private seed companies ...
Government snubs Monsanto, caps price of Bt cotton seeds
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the move will help farmers. The Trait Va...
Government caps Bt cotton seed price to bring uniformity across states
Implementation of the price control order is subject to the ruling of the Delhi high court, which is to hear Mahyco Monsanto’s challenge to the decision.
Monsanto slips 6% as ministry of agriculture readies to notify Bt cotton prices
The company is against any regulation of the genetically modified seed prices in the country and has threatened to pull out its GMO technology out of India.
Bt cotton row: Monsanto threatens to re-evaluate India business
The Centre had last December issued an order to control cotton seed prices including trait or royalty value effective from 2016-17 crop year.
Monsanto faces challenge from CICR’s Bt cotton varieties
CICR has introduced Bt genes into 21 cotton seed varieties, which scientists say can be provided to farmers at 10% of the price of hybrid seeds.
GM animus dooms Indian farmers: Innovation is the answer to affordable Bt cotton technology
The only GM product allowed for commercial cultivation in the country, Bt cotton has made India the largest cotton producer in the world.
Mahyco Monsanto seeks stay on formation of Bt cotton pricing panel
Mahyco Monsanto Biotech, a joint venture between US agriculture company Monsanto and Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company, sublicenses biotechnology to seed companies.
High Court stops Nuziveedu Seeds from selling Bt cotton under Monsanto brand
Delhi HC restrained Nuziveedu Seeds from selling Bt cotton seeds using the trade-mark of Monsanto's Indian arm Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd (MMBL).
BT to invest 6 billion pounds on broadband and mobile upgrades
The company reported core earnings of 6.58 billion pounds ($9.55 billion) for the year to end-March, including a contribution from mobile operator EE.
Centre to control Bt cotton seed prices by fixing MRP
As per the notification, MRP of the cotton seed will be notified in the Official Gazette on or before March 31 of every year applicable for the next financial year.
Removal of subsidies on cotton to benefit Indian exports: Government
The decision taken at the World Trade Organisation’s 2015 Nairobi Ministerial to eliminate export subsidies on cotton will benefit Indian shipments of the crop.
Elimination of export subsidies on cotton beneficial for Indian exports, says government
India is not a major user of the export subsidies and as per India’s notifications to the WTO, India has not given any export subsidy for cotton between 2006-07 and 2009-10.
Domestic cotton output to be 341 lakh bales in 2015-16: CAI
Country's cotton output is estimated to be 341 lakh bales for 2015-16 season, which began on October 1, according to industry body CAI.
Tamil Nadu Agri University to develop indegenous BT cotton in collaboraton with CICR
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) entered into agreement for developing indigenous BT Cotton.
NCDEX cotton contract jumps 338% in March quarter
NCDEX today said its cotton contract has performed well registering a jump of 338 per cent at Rs 1,376.71 crore for the quarter till March 21, 2016.
Government wants local GM cotton seed by next year to check Monsanto
The Competition Commission (CCI) is investigating whether an Indian arm of the US-based technology major resorted to anti-competitive practices in the GM cotton seed market.
Signs of lower crop in India, global cues may sustain cotton price rally
As per the latest USDA data, the country exported upland cotton totalling 104,797 running bales last week, which was sharply up by 24% from the previous week.
Weather concerns, upbeat US export data, currency math weigh on cotton
Ongoing worries with respect to demand concerns from the world’s top consumer, China, capped sharp gains in cotton prices on the ICE platform this week.
Maharashtra government asks for cheaper Bt cotton seeds
Bt cotton accounts for 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the total turnover of the rapidly growing seed industry in the country.
Agriculture ministry cautions Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan to avoid white fly on cotton
The Union Ministry of Agriculture has advised Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to emphasise on timely sowing of cotton to save the crop from the menace of white fly.
Cotton futures drop on selling pressure
At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, 29mm cotton delivery for March dipped by Rs 190, or 1.18 per cent, to Rs 15,930 per bale, with an open interest of 1,073 lots.
NCDEX's stringent surveillance systems raise bar on quality of cotton bales trade
The stringent warehousing standards and surveillance system of the exchange has helped address quality challenges faced by the industry.
Kaveri Seeds may be able to offset cut in prices of Bt cotton seeds
It posted a revenue of Rs 1,011 crore last year, with cotton seeds contributing 76%, maize seeds 16% and paddy seeds 7%. In Bt cotton seeds.
Cotton futures dip as speculators trim positions
Similarly, March delivery dropped by Rs 250, or 1.55 per cent, to Rs 15,850 per bale and an open interest stood at 876 lots.
Low production likely to rescue cotton prices
Indian cotton prices, since the beginning of 2016, has fallen 3% compared with over 9% correction in international prices.
India 'not scared' if Monsanto leaves, as GM cotton row escalates
Introduction of Monsanto's GM cotton seeds in 2002 helped turn India into the biggest producer of the fibre, while other crops like pulses continue to suffer.
Guar farmers may shift to pulses, cotton and groundnut crops due to fall in prices
Guar gum prices fell more than 50% and exports plunged 57% in 2015-16 compared to that in the previous fiscal.
Cotton prices to remain stable till rains
Traders, exporters and ginners expect a gradual but limited rise in prices of cotton during the second half of the cotton year, till the rain sets in.
Haryana announces Rs 967 crore compensation to cotton farmers
Cotton growers in Haryana will get Rs 967 crore as compensation for damage due to the whitefly and leaf curl virus attack during the 2015 kharif season.
India should look beyond Bt cotton; revisit Bt brinjal: ISAAA
India has so far permitted commercial cultivation of BT cotton and it was grown in 95% of the total cotton area of 12.25 mn hectare in 2014, the report said.
Cotton price expected to remain stable in July-August
The price of good quality long staple cotton in Konganapuram regulated market in Tamil Nadu now rules at around Rs 6,000 per quintal.
BT completes EE takeover, leaving Openreach as the final hurdle
BT Group completes the acquisition of the country's biggest mobile network operator EE on Friday, opening the way to creating a single integrated network .
Bombay HC rejects seed traders plea against slashing of BT cotton seed price
The HC upheld government decision to reduce price of BT cotton seed bag by Rs 100 and refused to grant any relief to Seed Industries Association.
Domestic cotton output to be 353 lakh bales in 2015-16: CAI
Country's cotton output is estimated to be 353 lakh bales for the 2015-16 season, which began on October 1, according to industry body CAI.
Cotton farmers threaten self immolation at RSS headquarters in Nagpur
A group of over 400 cotton growers from Seloo village in Wardha district of Maharashtra have threatened to commit 'self-immolation' in front of the RSS headquarters to protest alleged non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 8 crore by a buyer, who they claimed is close to the saffron outfit.
Drought fears make companies sell Bt cotton seed varieties at lower prices
With the highest area under cotton cultivation in the country, the Maharashtra market is the most important for seed companies.
Stocks in news: Hexaware, Greaves Cotton, Motilal Oswal
Even as the Indian market is expected to open higher, we bring you the individual stocks that will be in focus.
Expectation of below-normal monsoon: Maharashtra government to promote non-BT cotton seeds
With last year's weak monsoon and the prospects of a below-normal one this year, the Maharashtra government plans to promote non-Bt cotton seeds.
Trade body cuts cotton output estimate to 34.5 mn bales
India is likely to produce 34.5 million bales of cotton in the 2015/16 season that started on Oct. 1, down 2.3 percent from an earlier estimate.
Panel to recommend maximum price of cotton seed to meet on February 23
The government panel on cotton seed price control will meet on February 23 to recommend maximum price of cotton seeds.
MCX, ACA conduct seminar to educate cotton farmers on commodities trading
Stakeholders of the cotton value chain— millers, ginners, exporters, spinners—participated in huge numbers at the programme to make it a success.
Karnataka: In big relief to IT/BT sector, two CM-chaired investment panels merge into one
Karnataka has created a single high level committee on investment headed by the Chief Minister by merging the two committees -- one dealt with IT/BT while the other handled investment proposals related to all other sectors.
Government buys 8 lakh bales of cotton this year; not to buy more
CCI has purchased 8 lakh bales so far in the 2015-16 marketing year and decided not to buy more as domestic prices have firmed up slightly.
If China doesn't spoil the party, cotton rates may go up 9%
Domestic prices were at their peak at the end of December at Rs 34,000 per candy of the Sankar 6 variety, after the season had star Rs 32,100 per candy in October ted at 2015.
Cotton prices to remain under pressure in 2016: Ind-Ra
Domestic cotton prices may remain under pressure in coming few months due to international as well as domestic reasons, Ind-Ra research report said.
Monsanto says Bt cotton trials still on in India
The company will continue to invest in research and development in India, said its newly appointed India chief executive, Shilpa Divekar Nirula.
Cotton contract on NCDEX shows increased participation
The cotton contract on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) is showing increased participation from ginners, traders and corporates.


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As a run-up to the Mayor of London's proposed visit to Delhi and Mumbai in November, where he plans to set up offices to increase trade between London and India, the 'India Now' festival that commences on July 16 in London and continues for three months is London's attempt to attract increased business investments from India, primarily in the form of Indian giants setting up their international headquarters in London.
Over 150 of London's cultural organisations and attractions will be participating in the festival, at an investment of almost $2 million and an expected attendance of close to 5 lakh, the festival is being funded by Visit London and London Unlimited, besides the Mayor of London.
Mark Prescott, head of cultural campaigns at the Mayor's office says, "We have spent close to eight months on planning the festival because London cannot afford to not be interested in India, its culture and economy any longer." In fact, the line up of planned activities is nothing short of innovative and tempting.
While the festival organisers are hoping to take artists, cooks and performers from India, they also have London-based Indian artists and European artists influenced by India taking stage.
Among the highlights, on September 2, the city's premier shopping street, Regent Street, will adorn a look a la Dilli Haat, complete with food and shopping stalls, while on September 7, the prestigious Victoria and Albert museum will play host to a top Indian fashion designer's work.
The most captivating programme, though, seems to be Bollywood Premier - the Indian film season that promises a joyride with films that trace the journey of Indian cinema from the 1930s.


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Starbucks rolls out ‘unity’ cup ahead of Election Day
SEATTLE — One week before Election Day, Starbucks has unveiled a new cup in the U.S. that it says is meant to be “a symbol of unity.”
The green cup features a mosaic of more than 100 people, including a coffee farmer and barista.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls it “a divisive time in our country” and says in a statement that the coffee giant wanted to come up with a symbol to serve “as a reminder of our shared values.”
The cup debuts Tuesday, the same day Seattle-based Starbucks brings back its traditional holiday drinks. But, the company isn’t saying if it will replace the somewhat derided red holiday cup from last year. The simple red design of that cup was criticized by some for lacking in holiday spirit.


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Capture the flag may be one of the oldest, most basic premises for a game ever, but it is a classic that can be easily reinvigorated with a fresh design and a few modifications. Oh My Godheads by developer Titutitech and publisher Square Enix Collective is a multiplayer combat game that is loosely based off of capture the flag, and it succeeds in keeping it engaging and fun by changing up the rules and impressing with its colorful, sharp style. With a few tweaks in gameplay, it has a bright future ahead.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ODE A NEW MUSICAL PC EXPERIENCE FROM UBISOFT
SAN FRANCISCO — November 27, 2017 — Today, Ubisoft announced a new experiential game for PC players worldwide with Ode, an enchanting visual and musical journey through beautiful landscapes.
Daybreak Games’ H1Z1 Invitational is back! The most watched event at TwitchCon since its debut in 2015 has returned bigger than ever with an overall prize pool of $500,000 and three action-packed tournaments. In anticipation of one of competitive gaming’s biggest showdowns, Daybreak has updated H1Z1’s look, simplifying both the in-game menus and the name. Moving forward, the game will be simply referred to as H1Z1. You can read more about the inspiration for this change in the H1Z1 community article: h1z1.com/news/new-look-new-name-h1z1-october-2017.
Rising Star Games announces global digital and physical retail release of the isometric platform adventure on Nintendo Switch
LONDON, UK – 7 September 2017 – Videogame publisher Rising Star Games, in collaboration with developer Triple Eh? Ltd. and developer Spiral House, today announced that the acclaimed title Lumo is soon to be available for Nintendo Switch digitally via Nintendo eShop and also as a physical retail release. Lumo is currently scheduled for global availability October 2017.
500 Chances to Win a Nintendo Switch System and Super Mario Odyssey Game
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Breakfast has always been the most important meal of the day. Now it’s a great meal for anyone who wants a chance to win a Nintendo Switch video game system. This fall, fans can enter codes found in specially marked packages of Post cereals for a chance to win one of 500 Nintendo Switch Prize Packs, consisting of a Nintendo Switch system and the Super Mario Odyssey game.
With Annenberg Foundation support, thousands of L.A. students will learn how to design video games that address pressing community issues.
Partners include the National Endowment for the Arts, iThrive Games, Born This Way Foundation, Unity Technologies, and Common Sense Education.
Developer Guerrilla Games has announced that Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds will be launching November 7, 2017. Set in icy territories to the north, this new chapter of Aloy’s journey adds a new area to explore, new mysteries to uncover and new, highly lethal machines to take on.
SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bungie and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), announced Destiny 2’s 2017 partnerships with global brand, Rockstar Energy Drink, as well as Pop-Tarts toaster pastries. Partnering brands will feature their own custom-tailored offers to celebrate the Sept. 6 launch of Destiny 2 on PlayStation 4, and Xbox One (PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription, respectively, required for significant features), the sequel to the biggest new console video game franchise launch of all-time. For the first time, Destiny 2 will also be available for PC on October 24 via Battle.net, Blizzard Entertainment’s online gaming service.
LOS ANGELES – Fans of the immersive massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) MapleStory can now venture to the mineral-rich planet of Eluna and mine valuable crystals for EXP. The interactive event only lasts for a limited time through August 29, 2017 at 4:59 p.m. PDT and is part of the new Override: Venture update from July 19.


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Oceana has compiled a list of suggestions for green – dare we say blue? – lifestyle choices that can help preserve the oceans for future generations.
World Ocean Day is June 8 and June 2008 is National Oceans Month, as recently declared by the President. Help celebrate the oceans by following these easy steps to S-A-V-E O-C-E-A-N-S.
START NOW. JOIN OCEANA.
More than 300,000 members and e-activists in over 150 countries have already joined Oceana - the largest international organization focused 100 percent on ocean conservation. Become a WaveMaker here.
ASK YOUR GROCER TO POST WARNING SIGNS.
Oceana is working to get the FDA mercury advice posted at grocery store seafood counters and tuna aisles so that consumers will have the information they need to make informed decisions. Tell your grocer to get onboard.
Electing the right public officials is essential to good ocean policy. Do your research and make an informed decision. Exercise your right to vote and stay involved after Election Day. If you have concerns or questions, contact your representative. Take action here.
EAT SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD.
Global fisheries are on the verge of collapse. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), three quarters of the world’s fisheries are now overexploited, fully exploited, significantly depleted or recovering from overexploitation. Ask your favorite seafood restaurant or fish market to buy from sustainable fisheries and only eat sustainably caught seafood. Download our pocket seafood guide here.
OPT OUT OF SHARK FIN SOUP.
Estimates of the total number of sharks killed each year for their fins range from 26 to 73 million per year. Increasing demand for shark fin soup is now placing even greater pressure on shark fisheries. Just say no to this so-called delicacy.
CONSERVE ENERGY AND REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.
Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is making our oceans more acidic. One consequence could be the loss of corals on a global scale, as their calcium skeletons are weakened by the increasing acidity of the water. There are many simple ways you can reduce your energy use. Ride a bike, walk or use public transportation. Use high efficiency appliances in your home. Turn off appliances when they aren’t in use. Turn up your thermostat a few degrees in the summer and down a few degrees in the winter. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs in your house. For more information, see here.
ELIMINATE PLASTIC WASTE.
Plastic debris in the ocean degrades marine habitats and contributes to the deaths of many marine animals. Because floating plastic often resembles food to many marine birds, sea turtles and marine mammals, they can choke or starve because their digestive systems get blocked when they eat it. Help prevent these unnecessary deaths—use cloth grocery bags and reusable water bottles.
AVOID PRODUCTS THAT HARM THE OCEANS.
Avoid products produced through unsustainable or environmentally harmful methods. For example, avoid cosmetics containing shark squalene and jewelry made of coral. These products are directly linked to unsustainable fishing methods and the destruction of entire ecosystems.
NIX LITTER ON BEACHES.
Much of the plastic and debris found in the ocean has its beginnings in beach litter. As beach crowds increase, so does the amount of trash left behind. Don’t let your day at the beach contribute to the destruction of our oceans. Bring a trash bag with you for your garbage and volunteer for beach clean-ups.
SPREAD THE WORD.
Tell people what’s going on with the world’s oceans and what they can do to make a difference. Spread the word.
- Ocean Roundup: Morbillivirus Strikes the Florida Keys, New Species of Snailfish Discovered in Mariana Trench, and More Posted Mon, December 22, 2014
- Ocean Roundup: Deep Sea Sediments Act as Microplastic Sinks, Risso’s Dolphins Stranding in High Numbers, and More Posted Thu, December 18, 2014
- Photos: Christmas Island's Incredible Red Crab Migration is Underway Posted Mon, December 22, 2014
- Ocean Roundup: Task Force Releases Recommendations on Seafood Fraud, Sea Otters Critical to Healthy Marshes, and More Posted Tue, December 16, 2014
- Video: Drone Captures Amazing Humpback Whale Feeding Event on Camera Posted Thu, December 18, 2014


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Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:TEVA) reported record fourth quarter results. Sales rose to some $567 million, 9% more than for the same period in 2000, while profit before one-time charges rose to $89 million, 66 cents per share, 54% more than for the parallel quarter in 2000. Analysts had expected 5 cents less.
Revenue for 2001 grew to $2.08 billion, 19% more than for 2000. Net profit after some $10 million one-time charges and tax rose to $80 million, 59 cents per share.
In the fourth quarter Teva reported $16 million one-time charges relating to structural changes, including closing and selling manufacturing sites.
Net profit for 2001 after one-time charges grew to about $278 million, some 87% more than the 2000 profit.
Gross profit for the fourth quarter increased to some $239.9 million, 17% more than for the same period in 2000. Gross profit for 2001 grew to about $847.3 million. Gross profit rate for 2001 grew to 40.8%, from 39.5% in 2000. Gross profit rate for the fourth quarter rose to 42.3% due to improved product mix.
Global sales of Copaxone, used for treating relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, in the fourth quarter grew to about $102 million, 42% more than in the parallel period. Copaxone sales in 2001 rose to some $363 million, 47% more than in 2000. Today Copaxone is approved for sale in 39 countries.
Teva has 58 products awaiting the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has given tentative approval for 13 products. Original product annual sales of the 58 products come to more than $20 billion. Teva is waiting for the approval of 260 products for sale in Europe.
Teva said the board has approved a NIS 55 million cash dividend for the fourth quarter, 43 agorot per share. This is 60% higher than dividends distributed for each of the preceding three quarters.
Shareholders equity as at December 31, 2001 grew to about $1.38 billion, some 20% more than the equity at the end of 2000. The 2001 equity comes to 40% of the balance.
Analyst Haim Israel from investment bank Nessuah Zannex at the beginning of the week estimated that Teva will report some $545 million revenue and $86 million profit for the fourth quarter. Israel told TheMarker that Teva's results are very good, and that it should focus on the top line. He said that Teva increased its sales more than had been expected, despite a relatively slow rate of product approval by the relevant authorities, and despite concern that growth in Copaxone sales could stop.
Referring to the 59 cents EPS after one-time charges, Israel said that profit before these charges ¿ 66 cents per share - is the preferable measure. Israel said that Teva intends to make provisions for its restructuring plan, but it isn't clear exactly when. The analyst said Teva's $273 million cash flow from current operations indicates the company's strength. Israel said that Teva has a high cash-manufacturing rate, evident in a 64% cash flow growth rate.
The 2001 report is the last to be issued under the leadership of President and CEO Eli Hurvitz, who is stepping down this May. Hurvitz will be replaced by COO Israel Makov, who said that the results for 2001 were generated by internal growth, mainly due to launching generic products in the United States, and from stronger Copaxone sales. Teva believes that its pipeline, together with the firm's geographical spread and its cost-efficiency commitment form a solid foundation for future growth, Makov said.