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Let the fashion, fierceness and fun begin. Bravo's popular "Project Runway" series kicks off its fifth season at 9 p.m. Wednesday on the cable channel.
And this season, a local designer is in the running.
Stephen Whitney Baum, 37, who is going by the nickname "Suede" on the hit show, grew up in Seven Hills. He graduated from Kent State University's School of Fashion Design and Merchandising in 1995.
Baum, who now lives in Barryville, N.Y., started his career with an unpaid internship with Geoffrey Beene, then went on to stints with Rocawear and Jordache. In 2003, he was named creative director for the Lee Juniors and Lee Girls brands of Lee Jeans, a division of the VF Corp.
In a 2004 interview with The Plain Dealer, Baum said that he hasn't forgotten his roots and returns to the Cleveland area every year to visit family (he graduated from Normandy High School) and to meet with students at Kent's fashion school.
Also that year, he made a $10,000 endowment to support an annual $1,000 scholarship in his name. He's provided the $1,000 scholarship since 2000 and serves as a member of the school's elite advisory board, which meets each year in New York. Baum was the commencement speaker for the fashion school in 2001.
"He's certainly one of the grads that we're quite proud of," says Elizabeth Rhodes, director of Kent's fashion school, told The Plain Dealer in 2004. "He set his goals, met them and stayed involved with the school."
While most of the designers on "Project Runway" are up-and-comers, Baum has enjoyed a successful career. In the 2004 story, he acknowledged having an apartment in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, the 30-acre Barryville hideaway in the Catskills, not to mention the annual endowment to Kent State.
According to his LinkedIn.com profile, Baum owns a company called Stelar III.
The other two designers with Ohio connections live in Columbus -- 27-year-old Kelli has her own boutique and Terri, 39, is a stylist and designer now working for Victoria's Secret. (The announcement did not give the designers' last names.)
The series, which follows emerging fashion designers who take on weekly design challenges, has the been the subject of much gossip this spring. Judge Nina Garcia abruptly parted company with Elle magazine, a sponsor of the show, and many in the industry wondered if she would return for the new season. Garcia will indeed appear, though Entertainment Weekly recently reported that she's now with Marie Claire magazine.
Further clouding the future of "PR"? Next season, production will move to Los Angeles from New York, and air on the Lifetime network rather than Bravo. Oh, and there's the small matter of the still-unsettled $150 million breach-of-contract lawsuit that NBC Universal (Bravo's parent company) has slapped the executive producers of "PR" with in an attempt to keep Bravo's highest-rated program.
"The fifth season has already proven to be the most drama-filled yet and the show hasn't even premiered," said Tim Gunn, the show's genial mentor, in a press release. "I'm on pins and needles to see what the designers will bring to the runway this season."


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Carlos Tavares, CEO of PARIS-Peugeot, said the French automaker is accelerating its timetable to return to the US market after nearly three decades of absence and is planning to offer US car models from the entire brand.
The plan for Peugeot's priority in the US comes after the Wall Street Journal reported it
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
NV rebuffed an overture from Peugeot to explore a combination of auto makers. Such an agreement would have transformed the PSA Group SA owner of Peugeot, Citroen and Opel brands into a US player overnight.
In an interview in his sparsely decorated office near Paris, Mr. Tavares said Peugeot would start exporting a range of models from the Peugeot brand to the United States and Canada within three to four years. It's earlier than his previous schedule to deliver Peugeots to the US by 2026. The ability to move faster in the US, Tavares said, helped by the acquisition of Opel because it gave the company a team of engineers familiar with US specifications through its previous experience with General Motors Co. The shift, says Tavares, also followed positive feedback from "intensive clinical trials" with US consumers.
Mr. Tavares said that instead of building a traditional dealer network, Peugeot had identified a "relatively innovative" way of distributing cars that included online sales, but would also allow customers to test their vehicles. "Because people don't know our products, they're not going to buy just based on what they see on the screen," he said.
Mr. Tavares approaches the United States with caution because he will be profitable there from the beginning.
"I want to be a long-term player in the United States," added Tavares. "What we can bring to the US is based on everything you see today. We are launching our clean electric cars, we are launching our plug-in hybrid cars, we are starting good SUVs. There is no limit."
Mr.. Tavare's plan to enter the US market entails risk. The market is dominated by pickups and large sports vehicles – not the strong place of Peugeot's selection. The US car market is also past peak, and well-established global brands, including
has competed aggressively for the falling new car sales in recent years.
While launching with a smaller number of cars may be easier, Tavares said that Peugeot needed to offer a large enough range to address different types of US driver. "Otherwise, we won't be visible," he said.
"The PSA Group has 18% of the European market, and its competitors in Europe have become the same as in the United States," Tavares said. and adds that "it will take many years before we have market share."
Under Mr. Tavares, Peugeot increased its share of the European market with the 2017 acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall, and has become one of the most profitable car manufacturers in the world.
At the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, Mr. Tavares suggested he would be open to discussing a merger with Fiat Chrysler. The journal later reported that Peugeot had made an overture to Fiat Chrysler, but it was eventually rejected.
Asked for the overture, says Tavares, "We have continuous discussions with our partners. Please do not be excited. There are no specific goals – no specific, deep, ongoing negotiations."
Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler are already working in production of light commercial vehicles.
At the same time, Tavares said the next decade that it would be chaotic for the industry as electric cars and new car technology advanced. Mr. Tavares quoted Peugeot's strong balance, as well as the acquisition and reversal of Opel as evidence that the automaker can survive in such a landscape.
"We believe that agility gives you a good chance of meeting chaos in a way that is very Darwinian," Tavares said.
Write to William Boston at email@example.com and Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com

domain: news


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Spurious medicines are a growing menace and a dangerous threat to public health. Several pharmaceutical majors are deploying barcode technologies to help verify the genuine from the fake. They are also encouraging the end user to use mobile phones and verify a product’s legitimacy by SMS, voice or Web
India is the third-largest drug producer globally by volume and 14th by value, with an estimated 5,000 production lines. This is an impressive record, but it is being over-shadowed by the growth of the fake drug market in the country. Even globally, counterfeit drugs form a growing problem. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that counterfeit drug prevalence rates fall between 10% and 30% in the developing world, as compared to 1% or less in developed countries.
A recent report shows the extent of the prevalence of counterfeit drugs in the Indian market. Maharashtra is the worst affected, with 23% of the medicines in the state found to be ‘not of standard quality’. For Tamil Nadu, this number is 13%, Kerala 9.2%, Gujarat 8.5%, Karnataka 7.2%, UP 6.9%, J&K 6.08% and Rajasthan 5.8%. Spurious drugs, which can take the benign form of simple sugar pills, also have huge destructive capabilities. A large portion of fake drugs seized by the government were found to contain toxic chemicals like mercury, not to mention heavy metals. These chemicals, when ingested normally, are hugely dangerous. When taken as a substitute for genuine medicines, however, spurious drugs can be fatal. The government, thus, has started a campaign to implement bar codes on drugs, so as to distinguish them from the fakes. The global anti-counterfeit packaging market is expected to be worth $79.3 billion by 2014, growing at an estimated CAGR of 8.6% from 2009 to 2014. This opens up a significant market potential for track-and-trace management (barcoding) product authentication solutions for the pharmaceuticals industry.
According to India Barcode Scanners & Printers Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2017, the revenues of the barcode industry in India are likely to grow at a whopping CAGR of around 30% during the period 2011-2017. Cashing in on this potential, Goose Technologies, a provider of pharmaceuticals industry-focused business re-engineering software products and solutions, has launched its new-generation online and offline 2D serialisation bar coding solution, for the drug industry. “Goose Tracker is a simple and easy-to-configure track and trace solution for achieving bar coding on drug packaging as per the recent Directorate of Foreign Trade


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Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of video cards and motherboards, is excited to announce its attendance and participation in COMPUTEX 2016 that will be held in Taipei, Taiwan this coming May 31 to June 4. Computex is one of the largest technology expo in Asia and this sets the stage for Colorful to once again showcase its existing and new products to the world.
Colorful's New Products at Computex 2016
Colorful will be showing off its new products including VGA, motherboards, cases, solid state drives, gaming notebooks, pocket hifi players, tablets and more. More info will be released in the coming weeks as we near Computex 2016. Colorful is also excited to share and showcase its new VGA lineup which will be announced closer to the time.
Colorful is well-known for its unique line-up of components especially its VGAs with their high-end iGame Series touting innovations for the most demanding users and gamers. Featuring unique solutions and performances that have been tailored to respond to the feedback of users, Colorful strives to achieve the best balance of design and end-user need for customization.
iGame Series at COMPUTEX
The iGame series is based on the idea of "player customization." Colorful takes in all the comments and suggestions from players to create unique and distinct features for its products.
With nearly a decade of development experience, Colorful plans to showcase what almost 10 years of progress has yielded with its upcoming product showcase at COMPUTEX.
Colorful's Company History
Established during 1995, Colorful Group (CFG) was founded in Shenzhen, China and after 21 years of diligent effort has transformed itself from its humble beginnings to the industry player it has now become.
Today Colorful has created a global marketing network and has cooperated with world-renowned companies such as NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Samsung amongst others while also expanding its services to a wider market by establishing branches in South Korea and Germany. Colorful now intends to grow further and secure more opportunities for cooperation by participating in COMPUTEX and other renowned international exhibitions.
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Yesterday, a new ZTE tablet with the model number K92 received the FCC certification. Apparently, the Chinese electronic giant put the device for testing at the beginning of March. The company also asked the American equivalent of TENAA to keep the device behind the curtains for six months.
It means, that we could see the ZTE K92 come up in September. As of now, we don't know much details about the tablet. The only piece of information revealed by the documents published by the federal agency is that the device will provide support for LTE/WCDMA. Back in April, the same ZTE K92 model was certified by Bluetooth SIG and it said the same thing.
If we consider ZTE's past pattern with tablets, the upcoming one is touted to be a lower mid-ranger. While the company is known for making premium devices as well, it mainly releases affordable products in the US market due to the plethora of high-end devices available there.
The ZTE K92 may be launched as a Wi-Fi-only variant. Still, we are not denying the possibility of a 4G-LTE-supported model.
In addition to this, a sketch revealing the placement of the product label on the tablet has appeared on the internet. According to the sketch, the corners of the ZTE K92 will be slightly rounded. The sketch further shows that it will feature a single camera at the top-right corner on the back.
Hopefully, we will get to know more about the upcoming tablet from ZTE in the following days.


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Lisa Hamilton, a jeweler and doula in Brooklyn, NY, knows about the side effects. She recently tried CBD for the shoulder pain that plagued her five years after an accident. Her doctor certified that she was in chronic pain, which under New York State law allowed her to buy from a state dispensary. One Friday, she swallowed two 10-mg capsules, the amount recommended at the dispensary, then took another two on Saturday. “By Sunday, it felt like I’d gotten hit by a truck. Every muscle and joint ached,” Hamilton says. She cut back to one pill a day the following week, but still felt hungover. She stopped after that.
CBD is readily obtainable in most parts of the United States, though its exact legal status is in flux. All 50 states have laws legalizing CBD with varying degrees of restriction, and while the federal government still considers CBD in the same class as marijuana, it doesn’t habitually enforce against it. In December 2015, the FDA eased the regulatory requirements to allow researchers to conduct CBD trials. Currently, many people obtain CBD online without a medical cannabis license. The government’s position on CBD is confusing, and depends in part on whether the CBD comes from hemp or marijuana. The legality of CBD is expected to change, as there is currently bipartisan consensus in Congress to make the hemp crop legal which would, for all intents and purposes, make CBD difficult to prohibit.
To make matters more confusing, nine states (including California, Washington, and Colorado) let residents buy cannabis-based products with or without THC. Nearly two dozen other “medical marijuana states” allow the sale of cannabis, including capsules, tinctures, and other items containing CBD or THC, at licensed dispensaries to people whose doctors have certified that they have an approved condition (the list varies by state but includes chronic pain, PTSD, cancer, autism, Crohn’s disease, and multiple sclerosis). Sixteen more states legalized CBD for certain diseases.
There is a strong sedative quality to CBD hemp oil, making it a popular remedy for people with insomnia, sleeplessness, interrupted sleep, post-traumatic stress disorder, restless leg disorder, and other night-time issues. Dr. Scott Shannon, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, USA, published a report in the Permanete Journal, in which he recommended either inhaling a small amount of CBD oil, applying it to one’s chest, or even putting a few drops on one’s pillow to help get a good night’s sleep.


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Because it is too caring and sharing
Apple's wheeling and dealing with the record labels is under US antitrust scrutiny as it might turn out to be a little bit illegal.
More than 20 per cent in 2015
Shipments for Apple iPad products will be down over 20 per cent on year in 2015, according to sources within the Taiwanese supply chain.
Build a more expensive lightbulb
General Electric has teamed up with Qualcomm and the fruity cargo cult apple to build digital technology into LED lightbulbs.
Tesco leads the way
Apple Pay was supposed to launch in Europe sometime this year, but it seems it's already alive and kicking in Britain, at least in some colations.
Begun the lawsuits have
Fruity cargo cult Apple's latest nice looking over priced junkware is getting it into a spot of legal bother.
We don't make watches for the likes of you
Apple has taken the unusual step of admitting that if you have tattoos then the iWatch will not work for you.
Young dont want them any more
Apple and IBM's business partnership which was supposed to push iPads and iPhones into corporates seems to have reverted to hitting softer targets like Japanese pensioners.
Tim Cook, we salute you
The Apple Watch has a bill of material (BOM) cost of just over $80, which is not bad for a device retailing at $350+.
Apple sales to drop by 30 per cent
Tablet sales have flattened and buyers will no longer pay an arm or a leg for them, according to new research.


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Laura Peracchio, a professor of marketing in UWM’s Lubar School of Business, has received the inaugural Judith H. and Gale E. Klappa Endowed Professorship of Marketing.
Peracchio, who has taught at the school since 1990, focuses on transformative consumer research, which benefits consumer welfare and quality of life. She says that she wants to do research that has a social impact and makes the world a better place.
Her research has directly affected public policy. In 2006, she published her findings that consumers often couldn’t understand the nutrition facts on food labels. That information can be vital. For example, the amount of calcium in a container of yogurt is important to know for pregnant women and people with osteoporosis.
“Doctors’ calcium recommendations were in milligrams, but food labels don’t give milligrams: They’re in percent daily value,” Peracchio said. “So then you’re asking people to do math conversions in the grocery store. We had a sample of doctors, and even they had difficulty doing it.”
Peracchio and her collaborators presented their findings at a public policy conference in Washington, D.C. “Based on our research, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration put out new recommendations. The materials they give physicians now emphasize percent daily value.”
The professorship recognizes Peracchio’s research at UWM. “She is ranked as one of the most prolific scholars in terms of her publication activity,” said Kanti Prasad, dean of the Lubar School of Business. “She has had an esteemed career at UWM, and I am delighted to see her honored this way.”
The professorship also honors Gale and Judith Klappa. Gale Klappa graduated from UWM with a bachelor’s in mass communications in 1972 and received an honorary doctorate in 2011 for supporting UWM’s growth initiative. The professorship is made possible through gifts from the We Energies Foundation and the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation.
As the Klappa Endowed Professor of Marketing, Peracchio will continue her research on food availability and how nonprofits and other organizations provide food to people who need it.
In 2011, she collaborated on a paper about food well-being, which she defines as an individual’s or society’s positive psychological, physical, emotional and social relationship with food. Now she’s looking at what food well-being means for people who don’t always have access to nutritious food.
Milwaukee’s Hunger Task Force runs a mobile grocery store, called the Fresh Picks Mobile Market, which sells fresh produce and dairy in areas where those items are hard to find. Peracchio is working with a team of researchers from around the world to figure out how successful initiatives, such as the Mobile Market, come to be and why they succeed.
She wants to improve nonprofits’ marketing and, ultimately, create a model for successful nonprofit programming.
“The idea is not just to understand successful initiatives, but to develop a general strategy, so you can apply it elsewhere,” Peracchio said.


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Sony will be limiting PS5 supply in 2020 over concerns of a high price at launch, a report alleges.
~Bloomberg.The Tokyo-based tech giant is limiting its initial production run in part because it expects the PS5’s ambitious specs to weigh on demand by leading to a high price at launch.
The report alleges that only 5-6 million PS5 units will be available to consumers until March 2021; in that same time period, the PS4 sold 7.5 million units.
It continues to allege that Sony rushed its DualSense reveal, leading to some confusion about the PS5’s controller. For example, the controller offers an in-built mic lead which led to speculation whether or not it would support a traditional headset.
We will keep you updated as we learn more.


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Marrello Restaurants & Catering, which operates four restaurants locally including Bellini’s Italian Eatery, has stopped serving Barilla pasta products as a result of remarks made by the company chairman last week that were perceived as antigay.
Stacey Warrings, marketing director for Marrello, tells me the restaurant group had previously agreed to a pasta promotion with Barilla that would have given a year’s worth of free pasta to one winner from each Marello’s four restaurants: Bellini’s in Clifton Park and Slingerlands, J&A Prep Kitchen in Crossgates Mall in Guilderland and Jacob & Anthony’s American Grille in Saratoga Springs. The promotion included signs from Barilla noting that the restaurants “proudly” served Barilla products.
Last week, Guido Barilla, who with his brothers controls the fourth-generation Barilla Group, said in an interview on Italian radio that he would never feature a gay family in the company’s advertisements and that anyone who was offended should choose another pasta.
“For us the concept of the sacred family remains one of the basic values of the company,” Barilla said. “I think the family that we speak to is a classic family.” After gay-rights advocates denounced the remarks and started a boycott, Barilla issued a statement saying he did not mean to cause offense but had been trying to highlight the “central role” played by women in families. He also said he is in favor of gay marriage but opposes gay adoptions.
“When his comments were brought to our attention, all signage and promotional materials were removed immediately from all of our locations and the promotion was ended,” Warrings tells me, adding, “The Marrello restaurants have no affiliations with Barilla and are not in support of recent comments made by their company.”
Marrello is looking for another pasta supplier.


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Posted on June 3, 2019 by admin
HARTFORD – State Representative Tim Ackert (R-8) voted in favor of SB 233 ‘An Act Concerning Cottage Food Products and the Production of Honey and Maple Syrup’ on Thursday evening May 30th.
This legislation ensures that Connecticut maple syrup and honey producers would be regulated by the Department of Agriculture instead of the Department of Consumer Protection under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
“The maple syrup makers have been concerned as well as the beekeepers who make our honey. The process of having to use a kitchen is unworkable for these cottage food groups and I believe they should not be regulated by the Department of Consumer Protection,” said Rep. Ackert. “I can’t tell you how many sugar shacks I see and visit in my district along with the many beehives where as we know the actual production takes place.”
Former Connecticut Farm Bureau Executive Director and now Commissioner of Agriculture Bryan Hurburt testified before the Environment Committee, “Passage of this proposal would provide clarity and certainty to these operations as to how they are regulated and how they can continue their operation… The FDA considers maple syrup and maple candy low risk products. It is unclear why the Department of Consumer Protection has taken an interest in these products given their relative safety.
The legislation was passed unanimously by the Environment Committee, the State Senate and the House of Representatives. The bill waits approval by the Governor in order to go into effect on October 1st, 2019.


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The best chefs in the world can’t eat fine dining all the time.
Bloomberg interviewed chefs from the world’s most celebrated restaurants about what they eat when they’re craving fast food.
Some chefs had classy tastes, even when it came to chains. Joan Roca from El Celler de Can Roca, in Girona, Spain — which was awarded the best restaurant in the world in 2015 — namedropped Beefsteak, a vegetarian-focused chain started by the chef José Andrés. Daniel Boulud said he loves Le Pain Quotidien, which is more bakery than fast food.
However, other chefs are true fast-food lovers at heart. Here are six fast-food menu items that chefs actually love.
1. Five Guys’ burger and milkshakes
Heston Blumenthal, the chef at Fat Duck in Bray, England says that Five Guys is high on his list, thanks to the burgers and milkshakes. “The guys behind the counters actually have some interest in food,” he told Bloomberg.
2. Popeyes’ fried chicken
“I treat myself to Popeyes a couple of times a year and I am wickedly happy downing a few pieces (wings and thighs best) of their crispy, spicy chicken — with a side of dirty rice and biscuits,” Danny Meyer told Bloomberg. Meyer, who founded Shake Shack in addition to fine dining classic Gramercy Tavern, is clearly an expert on what makes quality fast food.
3. Chipotle’s salad
Meyer’s other favourite: Chipotle. His go-to order isn’t a burrito, but instead salad with grilled chicken, pinto beans, shredded cheese, extra cilantro, and spicy dressing.
4. Shake Shack’s burger
Unsurprisingly, Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack was a top pick, mentioned by Helene Darroze, who inspired a character in Disney’s Ratatouille, and Massimo Bottura, chef of the current No. 1 restaurant in the world, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy. The reason: the keen attention to detail that allows for the high quality of the meat, bread, and sauce.
5. KFC’s fried chicken sandwich
The top chef-approved KFC item is nowhere to be found on the American menu. “I only go for the Zinger Tower Burger,” Karam Sethi of Gymkhana in London told Bloomberg. “It’s got a fried, battered breast, hash brown, a spicy tomato salsa, mayonnaise and crispy iceberg in a sesame bun.”
6. In-N-Out’s burger
It may only be available on the West Coast, but In-N-Out Burger is a cult classic. Wolfgang Puck, of Spago in Beverly Hills, and Nuno Mendes, of Chiltern Firehouse in London, said the burger chain was one of their favourites.
“I like it because you can have a hamburger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun,” said Puck. “I feel like I am eating a salad.”
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Record sales see significant increase during pandemic
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) - “If I can encourage people to go out there and buy a turn table and start collecting records again, new ones,” says vinyl record collector, David Cooper.
Record stores—such as the Sound Exchange—are seeing a significant increase in vinyl record sales.
Something that was evident when people stayed at home during the pandemic and needed a new hobby.
“When people had more time to actually sit and enjoy their music, they found that they could really enjoy what they were listening to. And, a lot of people are looking for hard-to-find records. Often, they can’t go to their local store and find something that’s extremely rare,” says Sound Exchange manager, Elmer Gourley. “So, they’ll go online, they’ll find something, they got to wait for it to come to them. If they’re shut in at home during a pandemic, that’s the perfect setup.”
According to the Record Industry Association of America, during 2020, vinyl record sales increased by 29 percent, and vinyl revenue exceeded CD revenue for the first time since 1986.
This includes not only the older, loyal customers... But also the younger crowd.
Gourley says, “We see customers from all walks of life now getting into vinyl. From older folks who have been experts in music for many years to teenagers coming in and buying Led Zeppelin Beatles records.”
Officials at the Sound Exchange say that sales have steadily been increasing in the last ten years when the first “Record Stores Day” began.
They will be having another Record Stores Day this Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
Copyright 2021 WTAP. All rights reserved.


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After Apple launched its latest phones, smartwatches, and streaming players last week we went hands on to see how they stack up against the competition.
If you’re a fan of Apple’s smartphones and you’re the type who wants to have the newest technology as soon as its available you’ll definitely be asking: when will the iPhone 8 launch?
Samsung is set to launch its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Note 8, in New York today.
If you crack your phone screen and take it to a high-street phone repair shop, there’s a chance that hackers may be able to access your information.
Apple’s latest iPhone, due out in September, is rumoured to be priced at over $1,000 — is this clever pricing or corporate greed?
Apple’s annual developer conference is always chock full of new hardware and features for Apple devices.
The saga between the UK chip developer Imagination Technologies and the Silicon Valley giant Apple takes another turn as Apple hits back at its soon-to-be ex-supplier.
Before 2007, the world did not have smartphones.
Andy Rubin’s new startup, Essential, is launching with a flagship Android smartphone, running a custom OS.
Biometrics — using physical features as security — are already here and the password is on its way out.
Apple has launched a new website aiming to persuade people currently using an Android phone to switch and buy an iPhone.
Apple has announced its latest results and reported a surprising fall in iPhone sales.
Imagination Technologies — once one of the UK’s darling tech firms — has been hugely sold off this morning after iPhone maker Apple said it will stop using its intellectual property within two years.
These three things are going to have an impact on the wider world.


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Beverages major Coca-Cola India has announced changes in its organizational structure by appointing Shehnaz Gill as franchise head ahead of implementation of GST that will convert the country into a 'single' national market.Gill, who is an industry veteran, ... Business Standard, 1 month ago
Coca-Cola India gets new organisation structure - Deccan Herald, 1 month ago
Beverages major Coca-Cola India today announced a new organisational structure, appointing Shehnaz Gill as franchise head ahead of implementation of GST that will convert the country into a 'single' national marketMoney Control, 1 month ago
STATE TIMES NEWS JAMMU: Legislators Naresh Kumar, Dr Shehnaz Ganie and Vibod Kumar Gupta were nominated as Vice-Chairperson in the Upper House for the current Budget Session. The announcement in this regard was made by Chairman Legislative Council Haji Anayat ...State Times, 1 month ago
STATE TIMES NEWS Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has withdrawn 88 vehicles from legislators in the state. Replying to a question by NC member Dr Shehnaz Ganai in the Legislative Council on Thursday, Minister for R-B and Parliamentary Affairs Abdul ...State Times, 1 month ago
A National Conference legislator today staged a Walkout from Jammu and Kashmir Legislative council for "unsatisfactory reply" to her question on police recruitments. Minister for R&B and Parliamentary Affairs, Abdul Rehman Veeri on the behalf of Home Minister ...Business Standard, 1 month ago
Police have unearthed a suspected prostitution racket being run in a spa in Mantri Square, the bustling shopping mall in Malleswaram, north Bengaluru. Three women, hailing from Thailand and Russia, have been rescued. Sleuths of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) ...Deccan Herald, 1 month ago
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Washington dairy farms have been able to grow thanks to exports.
The state has seen the value of dairy exports increase by 35 percent during the past three years, reaching $461.2 million in 2011, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
That makes foreign countries a critical market for the milk that Bill Wavrin's 3,800 cows produce.
Wavrin, who owns Sunny Dene Ranch near Mabton with his brother Sid Wavrin, said Darigold takes their milk to where it is needed most.
Bill Wavrin said the industry has improved equipment, cattle care and nutrition, which means the amount of milk cows produce has increased, and now, on average, a cow produces about 10 gallons of milk a day, he said.
More than 20 years ago, dairy farmers may have gotten 5 to 6 gallons of milk from a cow in a day, according to the Washington State Dairy Products Commission.
Bill Wavrin said his cows are milked twice a day, with the milking barns busy for about 20 hours each day. That keeps about 45 employees busy.
The Yakima Valley is one of the largest dairy-producing areas in the nation, according to the Washington State Dairy Products Commission. Benton, Franklin, Klickitat and Yakima counties have 91 dairies and more than 110,000 cows.
The amount of milk produced by Washington cows grew by almost 11 percent, from about 5.6 million pounds in 2009 to about 6.2 million pounds in 2011, according to the Washington State Dairy Products Commission.
Washington is the nation's second largest exporter of dairy products, after California, according to the state. But when it comes to the amount of milk produced, Washington holds the last spot on the nation's top 10 list, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Darigold has expanded its exports consistently since it began shipping products overseas more than 30 years ago, said Dermot Carey, Darigold's senior vice president of ingredients. Darigold is owned by the Northwest Dairy Association, a co-op representing about 85 percent of the dairy farmers in Washington.
At the Sunnyside Darigold plant, about 5 million pounds of milk is processed into cheese, dry whey powder and whey protein concentrate each day, Carey said. That milk comes from Eastern Washington dairies and is enough to fill 70 tankers.
The Sunnyside Darigold plant made up about 33 percent of 300 million pounds of milk Darigold exported in 2012, Carey said. More than 17 percent of the cheese and 72 percent of the dry whey made by the 140 or so employees in Sunnyside last year were sold overseas.
"The new growth in dairy consumption is occurring in emerging economies where dairy production cannot grow due to climate or infrastructure issues," Carey said. "Here in the U.S., consumption is not growing as fast as dairy production, hence we need the export demand to sustain a viable industry here at home."
Skim milk powder exports to Southeast Asia is the largest export market for Darigold, Carey said. The economic growth experienced in countries such as China has fueled dairy consumption.
While Darigold is the largest exporter of U.S. cheese to Japan, China imports U.S. powder milk, according to the Washington State Dairy Products Commission. South Korea has become the fastest growing cheese market, thanks to the popularity of pizza.
Southeast Asian countries are building new dairy plants but lack the milk to fill them, so they import U.S. dairy products, according to the commission.
Nationwide, milk production is up 17 percent, a gain of almost 30 billion pounds since 2003. More than 60 percent of the added milk production has been exported, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
The U.S. is in good shape to compete because of the food safety standards dairies are already required to meet, Wavrin said. It's uncommon for a foreign country to have higher food standards.
And Washington's position near ports sets up the state's export market to grow with foreign economies, said Janet Leister, general manager of the Washington State Dairy Products Commission.
Agriculture has been a big contributor to the economy, with the exports from the overall industry particularly helping during the recession, Leister said. Dairy, as the state's second highest valued commodity after apples, has been a large part of that, she said.
In 2011, the state's milk production was valued at $1.3 billion, about 34 percent above 2010's value, according to the state.
Agriculture could replace some domestic business with exports, so while the recession was felt, it wasn't as hard as it was in other industries, Wavrin said.


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At the start of 2016, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos promised that Amazon’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, would hit AUD$13.06 billion in revenue, “doing so at a pace even faster than Amazon achieved that milestone.”
And, although Amazon missed its overall projected revenue number for the quarter, AWS finished the year by blowing by those initial expectations: coming in at $15.67 billion, with $4.05 billion in operating income profit.
Amazon’s closest competitor, Microsoft, doesn’t report the revenue it brings in from its comparable cloud, Azure. Even so, Microsoft said last week when it reported its fiscal Q2 that “commercial cloud annualized revenue run rate exceeds $18.29 billion.”
That means that if things continue on pace, it will have $18.29 billion in cloud revenue from businesses (as opposed to consumers) in two more quarters. Keep in mind that a huge chunk of that (if not the biggest chunk) is its Office apps, not the apples-to-apples cloud it sells against Amazon known as Azure.
Amazon’s growing dominance in cloud is meaningful for a couple of reasons. As Amazon grows, it’s putting pressure on classic IT hardware and software providers. As companies use Amazon for more of their data center needs, they don’t buy as many servers, networks and storage as they used to. And Amazon builds much of its own infrastructure, doesn’t buy it from the classic vendors.
At the same time, Amazon has gone on the warpath with some of the biggest vendors out there, namely Oracle. As companies move into Amazon’s data centres, they are more likely to buy one of Amazon’s home grown databases instead of Oracle. In fact, Amazon says that in 2016 its cloud customers migrated more than 18,000 databases from other vendors (including, but not exclusively, Oracle) using a tool it developed to make it easier for companies to move their databases.
AWS seems like an unstoppable success now, and so we expect to see more fireworks between Amazon and classic IT vendors like Oracle as 2017 continues.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
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1971 Alfa Romeo Montreal. Photos by Brian Henniker, courtesy Gooding and Company.
Despite its concept-car looks, despite its relative rarity here in the United States, despite its Italian exoticness, the Alfa Romeo Montreal had always been considered a budget GT car, an affordable alternative to, say, a Ferrari 308. Those days may be over, however, now that a 1971 Alfa Romeo Montreal, described as one of the finest such cars in existence, sold for $176,000, setting an auction record for the model.
Sold new in Italy, the Montreal in question, chassis number AR1425803, came to the United States in 1985 and changed hands a few times over the next decade before Bill Greenslade of the Arizona Alfa Romeo Owners Club bought it. In the decade and a half that Greenslade owned it, he repainted it – in the process swapping its original Alfa Romeo red for a Ferrari red – and treated it to an extensive mechanical refurbishment that included a new water pump bearing for the 200hp 2,593-cc dual overhead-camshaft V-8 as well as a rebuilt Spica mechanical fuel-injection system and an upgraded steering box. According to Gooding’s description of the Montreal, the car took AROC first-place awards multiple times in the 1990s and 2000s, took a second in class at the 2013 Santa Fe Concorso, and has participated in multiple rallies, including the Copperstate 1000. It even earned a feature article in the January/February 2002 issue (#187) of Special Interest Autos.
Even so, six figures for a Montreal is rare territory. (Michael Lamm probably wouldn’t spend six dollars on one.) In his buyer’s guide on the cars in Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car #87, November 2012, Editor David LaChance noted that high-end examples typically sold for around $45,000. This particular Montreal popped up for sale over the last couple of years with a $49,000 asking price, and Gooding itself even estimated that the car would sell for $80,000 to $110,000, likely based on the estimate-busting $99,000 sale of a 1973 Montreal at its Monterey auction last year. In the end, it hammered for $160,000; 10 percent buyer’s fees elevated it to the record-setting $176,000 final sale price.
Though the top 10 list from this year’s Gooding Scottsdale sale includes only seven-figure cars, Gooding did sell a number of cars for less than $45,000, including a 1959 MGA Roadster that sold for $44,000; a 1952 Hudson Wasp that sold for $41,800; a 1928 Ford Model A Sedan Delivery Hot Rod that sold for $41,800; a 1983 Toyota FJ40 Land Crusier that sold for $41,800; a 1957 MGA 1500 Roadster that sold for $41,800; a 1941 Cadillac Series 60 Special that sold for $40,700; a 1957 BMW Isetta that sold for $37,400; a 1976 Triumph TR6 that sold for $35,200; a 1955 MG TF 1500 that sold for $34,100; and a 1960 Triumph TR3 that sold for $29,700.
For full results from the Gooding Scottsdale auction, visit GoodingCo.com.


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Although facing some difficult and unstable, Vietnamese enterprises still get some achievements. This is reflected in the presence of 11 Vietnamese enterprises in the list of 1,000 big Asia brands announced by Nielsen recently.
Among eleven Vietnamese brands, Hao Hao from Acecook Vietnam Join Stock Company ranked 636th (2017), increased 18 ranks compared with 2016 (654th)
Asia’s top 1,000 brands survey conducted by Nielsen, the research reveals best brands in the region.
According to the survey’s result, leading global brands unsurprisingly dominated the top positions in Asia’s top 1,000 brands. Besides that, domestic brands have improved their brand awareness.
Asia’s top 1,000 brands 2017 do not have many differences compared with the result released in 2016
Accordingly, Samsung has remained its top spot during consecutive six years, Apple is runner up and Sony in the third place, Nestle at the fourth and Panasonic at the fifth. Five other players in the Top 10 brands in Asia were LG, Nike, Chanel, Adidas and Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola had fought its way into the Top 10 this year while Canon which ranked number eight last year failed to maintain its position.
Although facing some difficult and unstable for the development of enterprises, Vietnamese enterprises still achieve certain successes.
Eleven Vietnamese brands have made it to the Asia’s Top 1000 Brands included Vietjet Air (595), Viettel (596), Petrolimex (616), Vinamilk (621), Hao Hao (636), Chinsu (668), Trung Nguyen (693), Vietnam Airlines (716), Mobifone (736), Vietcombank (811) and P/S (905)
Although Vietnamese brands have made it to the Asia’s Top 1000 Brands, most of it decreased rank compared with 2016
In 2016, Vietjet Air ranked 490th and fell to 595th in 2017, Viettel came in 501st in 2016, in this year decrease 100 ranks, fell to 596th
As a luxury airline, but Vietnam Airlines only ranked 716th, stayed behind Vietjet Air (595) and dropped 8 ranks compared with 2016.
Recogizing that these brands are mentioned by consumers when being asked about the best brand in their minds, Nguyen Huong Quynh, General Director of Nielsen Vietnam noted the gradual growth of Asia brand
“I am really proud of the fact that local businesses have achieved a certain success by bringing their brand names cross Vietnam’s borders and bear the stamp in the region,” representative of Nielsen said
“However, this year’s results were less positive than last year. According to our observation, most domestic brands rank dropped compared with the results in 2016, “Nguyen Huong Quynh said.
According to this CEO, in order to keep the motivation for further success, businesses need to make greater efforts to enhance their brand image, keep stably consumer’s belief and continue to bring the best product and service to customer is the best way to have further step in the region’s playground as well as the world
According to Van Ha / Reatimes – TieudungPlus, Acecook Vietnam


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Soon after signing the deal to take over Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata chairman Ratan Tata confirmed that the two marques will retain their 'distinctive identities' under the new ownership.
The 1.15 billion pounds deal gives Tata ownership of the necessary intellectual property rights, manufacturing plants, two advanced design centres in the UK, and a worldwide network of dealers of the company.
The signing ceremony was held this week at a low-key event at Jaguar Land Rover's headquarters in Gaydon in West Midlands. It was attended by Tata and Ford's executive vice president and chief financial officer Don Leclair.
Tata said after the deal was signed: "This is a momentous time for all of us at Tata Motors [Get Quote]. Jaguar and Land Rover are two iconic British brands with worldwide growth prospects.
"We are looking forward to extending our full support to the Jaguar Land Rover team to realise their competitive potential. We recognise the significant improvement in the performance of the two brands and look forward to this trend continuing in the coming years".
The head of Warwick Manufacturing School, Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, who has worked closely with Tata in the past, said the deal was excellent news for the West Midlands.
"The region has seen so many cuts and a demise in the automotive sector. But this shows there are a lot of good companies in the West Midlands when a world class group like Tata looks to come in," he said.
Lord Bhattacharyya said Tata was a 'passionate' automotive enthusiast who had great technical knowledge, and he believed his new staff would quickly warm to him.
|© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.


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infinity haloHalo’s co-op campaign is still officially delayed, much to the disappointment, if not necessarily surprise, of Halo fans. 343 Industries set November 8, when the game’s winter update period begins (instead of multiplayer season 3), as the new goal for the co-op campaign, in a revised post-launch roadmap shared Thursday. .
Also, split-screen co-op play is canceled entirely. Originally promised in 2017, before infinity halo even had a name, creative director Joseph Staten said that 343 “would take the resources that we would use in [split-screen co-op] and go after this list and all these other things”, which is coming in the winter update.
343’s latest content roadmap, which was released at the end of April, targeted August for the release of the co-op campaign, a feature that had already been delayed beyond the game’s November 2021 release, along with the Forge map editor.
The co-op campaign got a beta this summer, ending in early August, which also tested the mission replay feature promised for the game’s campaign mode. But, also in July, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the cooperative campaign, when it arrives, will not have matchmaking support.
infinity halo‘s Forge mode should now be in beta during the winter update period; no window was given for its full release. That said, Staten indicated that the beta would start on November 8 in a discussion streamed Thursday on YouTube. “Releasing the Forge beta on November 8, along with the winter update, is a huge priority,” Staten said.
Also delayed: season 3 of infinity halomultiplayer of . Again, in April, 343 Industries had flipped back to November for the start of that season. It will now run from March 7 to June 27, 2023. However, two new maps will still be added to multiplayer in the winter update: Detachment and Argyle, both built with Forge, Staten said.
Here’s a graphical overview of Halo Infinite’s current roadmap:
To update: A Microsoft representative clarified that the co-op campaign will launch on November 8 with the start of the winter update period. This article has been revised to reflect that final release date.


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There is some not so good news for those who were planning to buy Ford’s upgraded version of the Endeavour. The brand had recently rolled out the upgrade in which all variants of the car were made BS-6 compliant. The vehicles were rolled out at a discounted launch price, however the same has now been rolled back.
The prices of all the three variants including the Titanium 4X2 and Titanium + variants have been increased. The cost of the basic Titanium 4X2 variant has been increased by Rs 44,000 while the price of top and mid level variants of Titanium + have been increased by a whopping Rs 1.2 lakh.
For the unversed, the car maker recently added some brand new features in the Ford Endeavour. The diesel variant of the four wheeler now comes with a 170PS/420Nm 2.0-litre EcoBlue turbo-diesel comes paired with a 10-speed automatic gearbox.
The latest BS6 version of the car also houses an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a panoramic sunroof, active noise cancellation in the cabin, front parking sensors, and semi-autonomous parallel parking feature.
The car has also upped its safety game and now comes with up to six airbags and hill launch assist. Meanwhile, the next-gen Endeavour has already been spotted testing. If the reports are to be believed then the vehicle is expected to be launched somewhere in 2022.


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First Virtual Conversation to Address Barriers to Adopting Advanced Manufacturing Technology to Produce Critical Medicines
Rockville, Md., February 22, 2022 — U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the independent, scientific nonprofit organization focused on building trust in the supply of safe, quality medicines, announced today it will host a three-part series of conversations with key stakeholders dedicated to strengthening the medicines supply chain.
The series will bring together USP Convention Members representing patient, provider, scientific, regulator, and industry perspectives to examine key points along the pharmaceutical supply chain. The depth and breadth of the USP Convention Membership provides diverse knowledge, insights, and expertise, ensuring a robust dialogue.
With 16 offices across 13 countries, USP has long been a leader in efforts to strengthen the global supply chain so that quality medicines are available for people who rely on them for their health and well-being.
The first conversation in the series, “Reducing Barriers to Adoption of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,” will feature Convention Member representatives and stakeholders from the Association for Accessible Medicines, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Research!America, as well as USP leaders. Taking place on February 25, 2022, the event will focus on the role of advanced manufacturing technology in maintaining the quality of medicines throughout the supply chain and approaches for reducing barriers to its adoption.
The remaining two conversations on preparing the medicines supply chain for resilience ahead of future disruptions and successes and strategies for multinational cooperation will take place in March and May, respectively.
“In recent months, supply chain challenges have been the subject of much media coverage and political dialogue,” said Anthony Lakavage, J.D., Senior Vice President, Global External Affairs and Secretary of the USP Convention. “While many of the challenges aren’t new, COVID-19 has added urgency and an opportunity to strengthen the resilience of the pharmaceutical supply chain. The supply chain for medicines is complex and spans the globe – no one government, organization, or company has all the solutions or capacity to strengthen the supply chain alone; perspectives, input, expertise, and resources from many sectors are needed. Convening the USP Convention membership and its 450 members from across the health and science community offers a diverse set of perspectives to help inform investments and policy reforms to enhance resiliency into the future.”
USP is an independent scientific organization that collaborates with the world's top experts in health and science to develop quality resources and standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. Through our resources, standards, advocacy and education, USP helps increase the availability of quality medicines, supplements and foods for billions of people worldwide.
About the USP Convention
The USP Convention is comprised of over 500 organizations representing governments, key sectors of the healthcare industry, healthcare practitioners, the patient and consumer communities, global health organizations and academia. The Convention is one of USP’s three governing bodies providing perspectives and collaboration to help enable USP to advance its vision of a world in which all have access to quality, safe and beneficial medicines. In addition, the Convention adopts resolutions that guide USP’s work throughout its five-year cycles. The USP Convention meets throughout each year in industry sectors and regional chapters and once every five years to adopt resolutions and to elect USP’s Board of Trustees and Council of Experts, which oversees USP’s standard-setting committees.


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Electronic Arts buys stake in Ubisoft in "hostile" act
EA now owns almost 20 percent stake in competitor, says it intends to be "very good shareholders." Ubisoft sends mixed messages.
French game maker Ubisoft got an extra shot of espresso in its morning coffee today. In the early hours in New York, well before the markets in France had closed, Electronic Arts announced it had completed a transaction with European investment firm Talpa Beheer BV for a block of shares equivalent to 19.9 percent of Ubisoft Entertainment.
As a result, one of Ubisoft's chief competitors now owns the second most sizable voting block of its shares. The one larger block of voting shares is owned by the Guillemot family, Ubisoft's founders, who control 22.8 percent of the company.
"We intend to be very good shareholders, not necessarily activists," EA vice president of corporate communications Jeff Brown told GameSpot this morning. Brown also indicated that an SEC review of the transaction is required, as are subsequent filings in France.
Questions as to EA's goals are slowly coming into view, but for the time being, both parties are downplaying the news as business as usual. In an e-mail sent from Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot today to "Managers Worldwide," he said the deal "emphasizes the strategic importance of Ubisoft's position in the video game industry." Smoothing the shock further, he added: "Thanks to the strength of its studios and brands, Ubisoft is in the strongest position amidst all publishers to meet the challenge of the transition to next generation consoles. This is why we attract the active interest of our competitors."
However, Guillemot's e-mail differed sharply from statements a Ubisoft rep gave Reuters. The spokesman told the news service that "Pending further information, we consider this operation as hostile." He added, "We think this operation is aimed at securing the studios of Ubisoft that are ready to face the next generation of gaming consoles."
Sources told GameSpot today that Ubi officials learned of the stock acquisition only after reading about it online, although Brown said the two companies had addressed the possibility of such a purchase previously. "We have had discussions with them prior to today."
According to Brown, it was known that the block of shares were soon to be sold by Talpa Beheer. "Their shares were going to come on to the market. We knew Talpa was going to sell these, we knew there were a number of entities that were interested in purchasing the shares and we decided it would be best for us to have them." He further elaborated on the reasons behind the transaction, saying, "We think it's a good company and well-managed."
The Wall Street Journal is estimating the acquisition cost EA between $85 and $100 million. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst Shawn Milne called the deal at $96 million.
Milne said the stock acquisition "fits EA's global growth strategy." Recognizing that "one of EA's strategic goals is to continue to grow its global revenue base and development capabilities," Milne said, "we believe acquiring a stake in Ubisoft fits well within that strategy." He went on to praise the purchase, saying "With roughly $2.5 billion in cash, we view the Ubisoft investment as a prudent use of capital." Milne and FBR maintains an Outperform rating on Electronic Arts and sees a $70 price target.
The stock closed up $.30 cents today to $59.94.
As for how EA may decide to use its newly acquired influence, Brown said, "We are preserving our options in the future."
"There's nothing here that calls for any cooperation in any of their publishing or development [activities]," Brown said. So, is EA going to enter the decision-making process for the next Prince of Persia, for example? Brown said that would be highly unlikely. "Of course, the answer is no. This is a financial transaction."
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As promised. Realme 10s smartphone is now officially introduced in the market of China and the device is the new smartphone of the newly announced Realme 10 series. The new model is powered by the MediaTek mobile processor and it is coming with a dual camera setup on the back panel with a 50 megapixel primary sensor. So without making any further delay let’s dive into the article to check out what the device offers out of the box.
Everything about Realme 10s
The newly announced Realme 10s features a 6.6-inch IPS LCD display along with 2408 X 1080 pixels resolution, a 20.5:9 aspect ratio, a 401 PPI pixel density, a 180Hz touch sampling rate, 400 nits of brightness, and a 90.4 percent screen-to-body ratio.
Speaking about the camera department, the Realme 10s features an 8-megapixel front facing camera with a 77-degree FOV. While the back panel of the device is featuring a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel portrait lens, and an LED flash. The device runs on Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0.
The device is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 810 mobile processor along with 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128 GB / 256 GB of UFS 2.2 storage. It is housing a massive 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging. The device is also featuring a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Regarding the connectivity options, the device supports dual SIM support, Wi-Fi 802.1ac, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
In terms of pricing and availability, the pricing of the Realme 10s starts at 1,099 Yuan and the device is available in the market of China.
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Devon Wesley of Devlabs is heading to Panama for three weeks to work for Tutorez a company that connects tutors and learners. Devon will be building in AngularJS to build out the front end of their new product their are selling to US companies.
“I am excited to work with Tutorez and to travel to Panama,” said Devon. “It’s a great opportunity for me to learn how entrepreneurs work in different countries and to get a glimpse into a developer culture outside of the Bay Area.”
“We got to know Devon during our time at Devlabs and know that he can do the work,” said Vittorio Calcagno, co-founder and CTO for Tutorez. “We are lucky to have him join us and are excited to see how quickly we can get the new platform up and running.”
Devon will be joined by Sheldon Trotman, a recent MIT graduate who has had experience with two other startup companies. Sheldon will be the lead engineer for the front end team. They all met while at the Devlabs office in Oakland. “I already learned a lot from Sheldon and Vittorio and can’t wait to learn more,” said Devon.
Devon got his start at Devlabs working on his startup Kuida.me, a crowd funding platform to pay for medication internationally. Although it failed, Devon has stuck around with Devlabs, working as an engineer to help other startups from the network.
This spring Devon built the MVP product for Vibosity, an Oakland based startup measuring emotional health of youth. Devon also led trainings for startup teams in Jamaica and worked closely with several cohorts of entrepreneurs coming from Temuco, Chile.
“It’s great to get outside of Oakland and Silicon Valley to understand that there are big problems that need to be solved all around the world,” said Devon. “I want to bring these skills and ideas back to my community in Oakland.”


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- Retail sector has been moving towards digital platforms to keep up with the changing consumer demand.
- Since the global pandemic, the retail sector has witnessed a significant digital transformation.
- There are many Australian companies that has incorporated the digital business model and has delivered significant growth in sales.
Considered as safe haven by investors, the retail sector is undergoing digital transformation to keep up with the changing consumer landscape. Especially after Covid-19 driven pandemic, the digital transformation across the retail industry has picked up the pace.
Numerous ASX-listed companies have taken the digital-friendly business flight to meet the changing demand of consumers. The digital revolution in the retail sector has allowed companies to survive even during the global pandemic.
The consumer discretionary sector of ASX features the retail stocks. The stocks of these companies have to live through uncertain market conditions such as supply chain disruptions, inflation, border closure, lockdowns and interest rate hike.
Here’s the list of ASX retail stocks that have digitised their businesses.
Endeavour Group Limited (ASX:EDV)
Endeavour Group is a drinks retailer and has a hospitality business in Australia. According to the company’s website, the business of the group is based around digital engagement and customer reach. The customer reach is ensured through rewards members.
The company manages multiple digital platforms. The company’s website and application are the front doors for all customers. The membership programs help in creating value for the most engaged customers. The eCommerce offers an easy way for customers to shop, and lastly, the group capabilities accelerate the broader business.
According to the third quarter update by Endeavour for the financial year 2022 (FY22), online sales increased by 16.8% to AU$222 million. The announcement read that the company reached online sales of more than AU$1 billion annually.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the shares of Endeavour Group closed 2.26% higher at AU$8.16 per share, with a market capitalisation of AU$14.29 billion. In a month, the share price surged by 2.77% and year-to-date gain is 20.18%. In last five years, the share price increased by 33.77%.
The 52-week range of EDV is AU$6.090 to AU$8.270.
Coles Group Limited (ASX:COL)
Image source: © Nilsversemann | Megapixl.com
Australian supermarket group, Coles have more than 2,500 retail outlets across the country. As per the company’s website, the company processes over 20 million transactions every week. The company runs multiple businesses such as Coles Supermarket, Coles Online, Coles Liquor, Coles Express, flybuys and Coles Financial Services.
While sharing its third quarter results for FY22, the company reported solid growth of 45% in supermarket eCommerce. Liquor eCommerce sales increased by 50%. During the quarter, the sales growth was driven by liquor land and eCommerce.
Prior strategic investment in online sales drives eCommerce sales. Also, the further enhancements to the customer experiences contributed significantly to eCommerce sales growth.
Recently, Coles informed the market that the full-year results for the FY22 would be released on 24 august 2022.
The shares of Coles closed 1.12% higher at AU$18.97 per share, with a market capitalisation of AU$25.06 billion. In a month, the share price surged by 0.80% and year-to-date gain is 5.98%. In last five years, the share price increased by 47.74%.
The 52-week range of COL is AU$15.670 to AU$19.280.
Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES)
Western Australia-based company, Wesfarmers operates a diverse business that covers safety products, energy fertilisers, beauty and wellbeing, office supplies, chemicals, apparel, outdoor living and home improvement.
In February 2022, when the company shared its half-yearly report, it mentioned that it has recently invested in digital capabilities, which has resulted in a surge in online penetration.
Recently, the company released the 2022 strategy, in which it highlighted that the online channel is generating profit today, but there are still immense opportunities to increase productivity.
Talking about today (as of the date of announcement), over 12 million visits are recorded online on a weekly basis at the new trade and retail eCommerce platforms. Around 85% of online customers gave a visit to Bunnings store within a month. Reportedly, the company is well-positioned for long-term growth with over AU$1 billion in online sales and e-commerce, digital and data capabilities with a substantial number of known customers.
The outlook for FY23 is to digitise online and store operations to reduce costs and generate profit growth. Online growth is also expected to grow the share of wallets.
The shares of Wesfarmers closed 0.29% higher at AU$47.90 per share, with a market capitalisation of AU$54.16 billion. In a month, the share price surged by 3.79% and year-to-date fall is 20.19%. In last five years, the share price increased by 57.98%.
The 52-week range of WES is AU$40.030 to AU$67.200.
Woolworths Group Limited (ASX:WOW)
Woolworths, a general merchandise and food retailer, has more than 3000 stores and is a trusted partner of thousands of manufacturers and local farmers. The company serves more than 29 million customers every week.
Recently, the company was busy in expanding its online marketplace business by securing 80% interest in Mydeal.Com Au LTD. MyDeal offers significant marketplace capabilities across homeware, furniture and other bulky goods.
In May 2022, WOW shared the sales results for the third quarter of FY22.during that quarter, the group eCommerce sales increased by 33.4% to AU$1,456 million on prior corresponding period (pcp) despite food chain-related issues eCommerce and Covid-19 related disruptions.
B2C grew by 38.1% to AU$1,127 million. The external environmental conditions lead to increased cases of cancelled or delayed orders and a reduction in stock.
To enhance the eCommerce customer experience, the company launched numerous features, such as the launch of green windows and my order capabilities in the application. This feature empowers the customers to decrease their carbon footprint by creating an alignment between the delivery time of neighbours.
The shares of Woolworths closed 1.13% higher at AU$38.61 per share, with a market capitalisation of AU$46.34 billion. In a month, the share price surged by 3.18% and year-to-date gain is 0.36%. In last five years, the share price increased by 68.68%.
The 52-week range of WOW is AU$32.620 to AU$42.660.


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Here’s another reason not to trust the Trix rabbit. Distracted and harried shoppers grabbing their favorite cereal or ice cream may not have noticed a growing trend in the consumer products industry. Manufacturers are offering you less food for more money.
According to CNN writer Nathaniel Meyersohn, the trend is known as “shrinkflation” and comes into play when inflation impacts production costs. To help cover the price of manufacturing and transportation, consumer product companies reduce packaging sizes and raise prices.
Examples of shrinkflation or downsizing include a dwindling supply of Cocoa Puffs, which has gone from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces in its family size box; Cinnamon Toast Crunch dropped from 19.3 ounces to 18.8 ounces. But the price for each remained at $3.99.
It’s not technically misleading—companies will still be transparent about the net weight or volume of the cereal or cookie dough ice cream you drop in your cart. But if you’re used to buying the same brand over and over, you might not notice you’re suddenly getting less of it. If your Cheerios is charging an extra 50 cents per box, however, you’ll know it.
Shrinkflation impacts a lot of products, from snacks to toiletry items. Compare that last bag of chips to your new one, and you might be surprised at how big a bite the manufacturer took out of it.
[h/t The Takeout]


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Insurer Chubb announces the appointment of Dónal Corcoran to the newly created role of regional vice president - consumer lines for Accident and Health Continental Europe, effective immediately.
Based in Madrid he will report to Véronique Brionne, senior vice president - director of Accident and Health and will be responsible for the overall responsibility for defining and executing the strategic direction of consumer lines and partnerships business across Continental Europe.
Corcoran brings more than 15 years’ experience in the consumer insurance business, gained from several international assignments and responsibility at AIG.
Brionne said: "I am delighted to welcome Dónal to Chubb as we look to develop our long-term consumer lines and partnerships strategy across Continental Europe. Dónal brings a wealth of international and multi-line experience to help us drive the business forward and deliver against our ambitious growth plan in the region."


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Samsung to ensure compliance with Cert-In rules
In response to a question on Samsungs views on the proposed rules and their impact on the companys security policies, its VP and head of security Seungwon Shin said the user data stored is encrypted end-to-end and therefore it will not bring about any changes in terms of the firms security business or policy.
Korean technology giant Samsung on Friday said it will comply with the Cert-In directive that has proposed VPN services, cloud service providers etc to maintain logs of their system for six months and details of subscribers for five years. Around a dozen international industry bodies, including ITI -- whose members include Samsung, Apple, Google and Cisco, have opposed the proposed cybersecurity rules. In response to a question on Samsung's views on the proposed rules and their impact on the company's security policies, its VP and head of security Seungwon Shin said the user data stored is encrypted end-to-end and therefore it will not bring about any changes in terms of the firm's security business or policy. ''The data is not available for us to use for analysis. This is a subject that we will discuss with the legal team at Samsung so that we can comply with the different state-level privacy regulations and also provide maximum protection to our users. As I said, our concern data has been encrypted end to end. So, we'll make sure that we can satisfy both our compliance with the national regulations as well as user information protection,'' Shin said.
He was speaking to reporters during a virtual conference on Samsung security solutions for individuals and enterprises.
The 11 international bodies -- including Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), BSA - The Software Alliance, Cybersecurity Coalition, Digital Europe, and US-India Business Council -- in a joint letter had said that India's new directive, which mandates reporting of cyberattack incidents within six hours and storing users' logs for 5 years, will make it difficult for companies to do business in the country.
Shin leads the security research and development team in the mobile experience business. He has led security innovation across the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, including the development of secure AP, and Knox Vault, among others.
''Security is the foundation of every decision we make. We treat users' secrets as state secrets. Samsung Knox, is one of the most trusted in the world, with more certifications for security than anything else out there,'' he said.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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FedEx Prepares for Company’s Busiest Day Globally in its History
London, UK, December 8, 2011— FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), is gearing up for the busiest day in the history of the company.
Between the last week of November and Christmas, FedEx forecasts more than 260 million shipments to move through its worldwide shipping networks. This is a 12 percent increase for the holiday season over last year when 232 million shipments were processed. FedEx Corp. will see almost 17 million packages move around the world on December 12.
In Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa (EMEA), the busiest day for FedEx Express shipments going out from the region is expected on Tuesday, December 20, which represents an increase of 2.3% over last year. Likewise, December 19 will be the peak day for shipments coming into the region, up 3.5% from 2010.
““We feel optimistic about the anticipated increase in holiday volume again this year and we are confident in our global network to support such levels of activity” said Michael Holt, Vice President Northern Europe Operations, FedEx Express. “Every year our team members show their commitment to ensure our customers receive the same, exceptional service for their holiday shipping as they do any other day throughout the year.” ”
With a full range of express and deferred services, FedEx is strategically positioned to ensure customers have a choice of shipping options during the holiday period.
Proper packing, sealing and labeling help ensure that shipments will arrive on time and in good condition. Here are some easy packing and shipping tips from the experts at FedEx:
- Choose the right supplies. Use sturdy boxes with flaps intact. For heavier items, use double-wall boxes.
- Keep within the weight specifications for your box. Make sure your box is large enough to put adequate padding around contents and use tape designed for packing.
- Use smart labeling. Make sure the label is clearly visible and all sender and recipient addresses are complete.
- Set up shipments online. Take advantage of our web-based resources for visibility, planning and efficiency for all your season’s shipments.
- Ship early and avoid the lines. For last-minute customers, the final day to ship with FedEx Express to ensure delivery before Christmas is December 22 for deliveries within Europe, to the U.S. and Asia Pacific. For all other destinations, the latest shipping date is December 21.
- Track it. Tracking a package for real-time delivery status and location information is easy and convenient on fedex.com.
Ship it Green with FedEx
FedEx offers the following tips to get your package to its holiday destination while minimizing the environmental impact.
- Use the smallest box possible while adequately protecting your item. For fragile presents, double box the gift for more protection while shipping and reuse an older box for the interior box.
- Purchase boxes made from recycled materials. FedEx envelopes are made from 100 percent recycled content. FedEx 10 kg and 25 kg boxes contain a minimum of 70 percent recycled content and are recyclable.
- If you are reusing a box, make sure it is in good condition with no holes, tears or corner dents. Remove any old labels to avoid confusion.
- Look for eco-friendly solutions to cushion your package’s contents. FedEx suggests solutions such as shredded paper or biodegradable packing “peanuts.”
- Make sure you package your product properly with the correct amount of cushioning material and utilize a sturdy corrugated shipping container. Remember that the less your package weighs, the fewer resources it will use.
- Ship with a company that has strong environmental priorities. FedEx operates more than 400 hybrid and electric delivery vehicles around the globe and more than 3,300 alternative fuel vehicles. The FedEx hybrid fleet has logged more than ten million miles of revenue service since being introduced in 2004 – the equivalent of over 400 laps around the equator.
FedEx Keeps E-Commerce Moving for the Holidays
Data points to continued growth in e-commerce sales this holiday season. According to the IMRWorld European e-Christmas Sales Forecast, an estimated €52bn will be spent online during the 8 weeks leading up to Christmas. Overall, holiday online shopping is expected to increase by 20 percent this holiday season according to this forecast, with around 240 million online shoppers.
With this anticipated increase in online holiday shopping, the pressure on e-retailers to get gifts out to waiting recipients grows each year. During the busy holiday season and beyond, FedEx solutions make the logistics of running a web-based retail business simpler than “point and click.” With a variety of shipping solutions and customized support, FedEx offers online businesses the value, speed, simplicity and reliability they need to compete during the holidays.
FedEx Global Volumes Over the Years
The busiest day of the year at FedEx has continued to grow in volumes over the years. A history of busiest days since 2005 follows:
- Dec. 12, 2005 – 9.8 million shipments
- Dec. 18, 2006 – 10.6 million shipments
- Dec. 17, 2007 – 11.5 million shipments
- Dec. 15, 2008 – 12.0 million shipments
- Dec. 14, 2009 – 14.2 million shipments
- Dec. 13, 2010 – 15.6 million shipments


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Betting on a Brooklyn-based bike biz
- Last Updated: 7:42 AM, May 17, 2012
- Posted: 10:55 PM, May 13, 2012
For most New Yorkers, lack of storage space is merely an irritating fact of urban life. For Ryan Patrick Zagata, founder of Brooklyn Cruiser bikes, it was the impetus for a venture with serious wheels.
The athletic, outgoing Syracuse native, 37, already had a mountain bike and a road bike crammed in his Williamsburg condo when he announced to his wife, Thea, that he wanted a third — something “comfortable” he could use for errands around the city he’d called home since 1997.
“She told me it was ridiculous,” recalls Zagata, then working in software sales for the finance industry. “But she made a deal with me: If I got rid of my two bikes, I could get another.”
Thus began his quest for the perfect ride: one that combined the durability of high-performance models with the comfort and laidback look of vintage styles.
A local search proved futile. But a month later, on a January 2011 trip to Japan, Zagata found himself surrounded by commuter bikes with upright handlebars, and realized they were “exactly what I was looking for.”
So struck was Zagata with the bike’s city-friendly style that he saw not just his ideal wheels, but also a way to fulfill his long-held entrepreneurial dreams. Before he even returned to the States, he started mapping out a business plan.
He called an American manufacturer to ask about getting a few prototypes made. And over drinks with Thea, who runs her own p.r. agency, he came up with a name and brand image based on Brooklyn’s hip, old-school charm.
Undeterred by his lack of knowledge of the bike industry (“I looked at it as something I could learn,” he says), Zagata set to work collaborating with a domestic manufacturer to create a comfortable, durable, vintage-inspired model designed with urban riders in mind.
In took half a year — and a few thousand dollars — before Zagata got his prototypes last summer, but as soon as he and Thea took them for a spin around the ’hood, getting “immediate positive feedback,” he knew he had a viable product.
“The more feedback I got, the more I thought, ‘Wow, this is something unique,’” Zagata says of his design, which features cream tires, ergonomic leather grips and rustic-chic wooden carrying crates.
Bolstered by the positive response, Zagata found a Chinese manufacturer that allowed him to keep retail prices under $500. And he launched a Web site where customers could buy the bikes, which were shipped from a New Jersey warehouse.
The business got a huge early boost from Thea’s marketing savvy, which resulted in high-profile coverage in the likes of Vanity Fair and Maxim.


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Summary Box: China requires ID to buy cell numbers
CAN I SEE YOUR ID?: China is now requiring identification from anyone purchasing a new mobile phone number.
WHO’S AFFECTED: The rules apply to everyone, including foreigners visiting China for a short stay. The government says it’s trying to stamp out rampant junk messages. But some say China is looking for a way to track people who might spontaneously join protests. Users could previously buy low-cost mobile phone SIM cards anonymously with cash at convenience stores and newspaper stands and use them right away.
BACKDROP: Similar rules have been implemented in several Asian, European and Latin American countries, often after phones were used to detonate bombs, organize terrorist attacks, or conduct criminal activities. Legislation has been introduced in the U.S., where prepaid phones have long been used by drug dealers.


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There’s money for the taking — if you know where to look and who to ask.
Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe are helping students by providing alternative funding sources for a multitude of needs.
They help pay for everything from a graduating film student’s senior project about an amateur taxidermist haunted by the animals he’s stuffed, a semester abroad or even a student’s tuition.
Tea enthusiast Emilie Holmes posted her tea van project on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter and raised over 14,000 British Pounds (GBP) in 25 days from 372 backers, most of whom she didn’t know and doesn’t have to pay back.
At first glance, Kickstarter seems limited to specific types of projects: movies, consumer products, physical goods. This is true for many, if not most of the projects, as it’s a “funding platform for creative projects.”
Alexander Werbickas graduated in 2012 with a BFA in industrial design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and looked to Kickstarter to fund development of an iPhone case he had conceived with other students.
“As a recent grad it is tough to get the exposure and funding for a great idea,” said Werbickas, 25, from Marlton, N.J. “Crowdfunding makes this possible for anyone.”
Their project — ZOpro, a camera-mount and integrated charging case for the iPhone 5 — raised $20,925 on Kickstarter, surpassing their $15,000 goal.
The team then launched a campaign on Indiegogo — a platform that allows anyone to start a campaign for just about anything — where they’ve raised $1,071 of their $10,000 goal as of this writing.
“Crowdfunding sources are among the many marketing tools discussed in SCAD’s classrooms,” said Ian Leslie, interim managing director of interactive communications and social media at SCAD.
For a college with students that are relying on funding for creative projects, sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo make sense. The school even partnered with Kickstarter two years ago to dedicate and curate a page for all its students’ projects.
Except crowdfunding isn’t just for creative types.
Last year alone, about $2.8 billion was raised by all types of crowdfunding websites in 2012, USA TODAY recently reported.
“Around the world there is almost a perfect storm when it comes to funding for projects in the education sector,” said Jonathan May, CEO of Sponsorcraft, a UK-based company that provides crowdfunding for higher-education.
Families, too, feel the financial pressures that often arise when they try and support those who are advancing through their education. That’s where a service such as ScholarMatch comes in.
ScholarMatch allows anyone to contribute to a high school senior’s higher education. Through crowdsourcing, donors can support scholarship programs for under-resourced students applying to colleges.
For students already attending school, crowdfunding may be the answer to your dream of spending a semester abroad.
With just $160 pledged toward his $8,000 goal and 31 days remaining, he acknowledged that it’s going to be hard work hit his target, but that’s just part of the game.
“I think we’re all in the same boat,” he said. “Crowdfunding is practically built for our broke age group, but that doesn’t make it effortless or foolproof.”


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More than 70,000 litres of mature Adelaide Hills whisky this year will supercharge listed beverage company Mighty Craft's and fuel its rise to becoming one of Australia's biggest craft beverage player
This new partnership sees Mismatch Brewing become the Official Beer of the Crows
The SA-focused restaurant features locally grown apple-fed chickens, cutlery by Dogboy Knives and a boozy cheesecake made with gin from Adelaide Hills Distillery.
A group of young Adelaide business leaders is being called upon to help reinvigorate the city in a post COVID-19 world.
With gin popularity reaching stratospheric levels, Aussie distilleries are getting in on the action. Here are 13 of the best Australian gins on the market.


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Pitt Street Brewing donating portion of sales to Pet Food Pantry of ENC
The Big Paw Project is in Greenville and it's creating Bright Friday to kick off the holiday season.
The Big Paw Project is helping raise awareness and collect much needed items for the Pet Food Pantry of Eastern North Carolina.
The Pet Food Pantry of Eastern North Carolina says 24 percent of families in Pitt County live below the poverty line.
And of those families, there are 17,000 animals that go without.
The Big Paw Project is hoping to change those numbers.
The Pet Food Pantry of ENC helps feed pets when families aren't financially capable of doing it themselves.
Samantha Crowe is a volunteer at the pet food pantry and says the pantry serves over 600 family pets each month.
The pantry is the first dedicated charitable pet food resource that helps prevent abandonment or the surrender of pets.
Crowe says the organization has a lot of services they offer to families who can't afford to take care of their pets, including a spay and neuter program.
Crowe says the pantry is in serious need of cat food and canned dog food.
The Pitt Street Brewing Company will be donating 15% of their sales tonight until 7 pm to the Pet Food Pantry of Eastern North Carolina.
The Pet Food Pantry will be heading to Ocracoke Island tomorrow to help with relief efforts so a lot of the donations will be used to help families who suffered from the tropical storm last weekend.


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By Malathi Nayak and Alexei Oreskovic
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's "Nexus 7" tablet is off to an encouraging start, with major retailers running out of the gadgets as the Internet company's first entry in an increasingly crowded market showed up in U.S. stores on Friday.
GameStop said on Friday it had already run through its first two allocations of the tablet, co-developed by Google and Taiwan's Asustek that starts at $199 and has drawn glowing reviews from major gadget reviewers.
Sam's Club, the warehouse chain owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Staples listed the device as being out of stock on their websites as of Friday. Office Depot's website continued to offer the device for sale as of the afternoon.
Google unveiled the 7-inch tablet, which the company hopes will allow it to better compete against Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc and funnel more people into its trove of online content, at its annual developer conference in San Francisco at the end of June.
Consumers have been able to pre-order the tablet from Google and several retailers in past weeks, and Google said it began shipping devices to consumers on Friday.
"We blew through the first two allotments," a GameStop spokesperson said.
A third allotment of preorders will be available in August. The game retailer declined to share exact number of preorders.
The Nexus 7 uses Google's Android mobile software, which has become the most prevalent operating system for smartphones globally, but has so far failed to make a big splash in the tablet market.
By taking a greater role in the tablet arena, Google hopes to ensure that its online services remain front-and-center to consumers, as tablets by Apple and Amazon are increasingly becoming gateways to the Web and Web-based content such as movies and music.
Google executives have been quoted saying that the company will not generate a profit margin when the Nexus 7 is sold in retail stores. A report by research firm IHS iSuppli on Wednesday estimated that the bill of materials for the $199 version of the device, which features 8GB of flash memory and a high-end Tegra 3 processor by Nvidia Corp, is $152.
Apple still dominates the market for touch-screen tablet computers with its two-year old iPad. Amazon.com's $199 Kindle Fire tablet is based on open-source Android computer code, but the device features a customized interface that does not use many Google services.
The Nexus 7 has drawn accolades from reviewers like the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg. Pundits reckon the $199 Nexus 7 may seriously threaten the same-priced Kindle Fire, especially since Google's offering has a camera and a higher-resolution screen.
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, speaking to reporters on Thursday at the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, said there was "immense demand" for the Nexus 7 in the first week after it was introduced.
Shares in the company climbed 1.1 percent to $576.52, buoyed by a broader U.S. market rally.
(Additional reporting by Jessica Wohl and Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)
BEFORE YOU GO
How to vote
Vote-by-mail ballot request deadline: Varies by state
For the Nov 3 election: States are making it easier for citizens to vote absentee by mail this year due to the coronavirus. Each state has its own rules for mail-in absentee voting. Visit your state election office website to find out if you can vote by mail.Get more information
In-person early voting dates: Varies by state
Sometimes circumstances make it hard or impossible for you to vote on Election Day. But your state may let you vote during a designated early voting period. You don't need an excuse to vote early. Visit your state election office website to find out whether they offer early voting.My Election Office
General Election: Nov 3, 2020
Polling hours on Election Day: Varies by state/localityMy Polling Place


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A lack of consumer demand is to blame, at least for the Explorer.
Both the Explorer and the Aviator will see a refresh in 2025 that could bring back the hybrids.
The police-interceptor version of the electrified Ford will remain available.
Amid the frequent addition of new electric and hybrid models to most automaker’s lineups, Ford has decided to discontinue the electrified version of two of its SUVs.
Indeed, the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator won’t be available in hybrid form for the 2024 model year.
According to the automaker, this surprising decision is the result of a lack of consumer demand for the hybrid Explorer. Lincoln has yet to say why it is also discontinuing the Aviator PHEV, but since it shares its platform and assembly plant with the Explorer, it likely didn’t make much financial sense to keep only this model alive.
Having said that, the police-interceptor version of the Explorer hybrid will continue to be offered to law enforcement agencies across North America on its own.
At the moment, the Ford Explorer hybrid is powered by a 3.3L V6 engine and an electric motor, making a combined 318 horsepower and returning an average fuel consumption of only 8.7 L/100 km.
Despite being closely related to the Explorer, the Lincoln Aviator benefits from its own unique hybrid powertrain. This plug-in system uses a 3.0L turbocharged V6 engine, an electric motor, and a 13.6 kWh battery pack. This gives the Aviator Grand Touring an all-electric range of about 34 kilometres, in addition to an output of 494 horsepower and 630 lb-ft of torque.
Since most car companies, including Ford, are working toward electrification, there are rumours that the mid-cycle refresh planned for the Explorer and Aviator in 2025 might bring back hybrid powertrains after a one-year hiatus, possibly in updated form.
Then again, Ford has already confirmed it will not sell the hybrid version of the new Ranger compact pickup in North America since it believes the market is saturated with hybrid options, which doesn’t look good for a return of the Explorer and Aviator hybrids.


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Kenya’s retail sector is diversifying with the help of new players and international brands entering the market. This is all despite the retail sector growing at a ‘lethargic rate’ compared to economic growth in the East African hub in 2018.
The impact on the retail sector has been felt due to increases in tax and government regulations following the drawn-out elections of 2017, despite the Kenyan economy growing at a fast rate. The country’s GDP is expected to grow by 5.9% for 2018 overall and, on the back of improved weather conditions and a stabilising macroeconomic environment.
These are a few of the key insights contained in the latest Nairobi, Kenya Retail Snapshot Report by Broll Property Intel.
“While Kenya recorded strong economic growth in 2018, the retail sector grew at a slow rate. Increases in taxes and business regulations as a result of Kenya’s new Finance Act (2018) may have played a role, but it remains to be seen to what extent this act will affect the retail and broader real estate markets” comments Vivian Ombwayo, Head of Research and Valuations at Broll Kenya.
The Finance Act was signed into law last September. One of the big changes is the introduction of 8% VAT on petroleum products, which were previously VAT exempt. Ombwayo says that the increase in fuel costs is likely to induce a ripple effect on food and other prices. However, a positive for the property sector is in the REITs space, whereby transactions related to the transfer of assets into REITs are VAT exempt.
The growth of aspirational consumers (and Kenya’s middle class) have influenced food and beverage retailers to diversify into Nairoibi’s CBD. Ombwayo says that international fashion brands such as Hugo Boss and Turkey’s LC Wakiki, as well as French sports retailer, Decathlon, have a growing presence in Kenya.
The French supermarket Carrefour is expanding in Kenya, whilst South African retail giant Shoprite opened its first Kenyan store in December 2018. Game, which is owned by US-based global retail heavyweight Walmart, is also expanding as are other supermarket retailers.
There is an estimated 526,000m² of formal retail supply in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, according to the Nairobi, Kenya Retail Snapshot report (H2: 2018). This is up 5% from the first half of the year when supply was at around 502,000m². Ombwayo says community centres account for some 39% of this, followed by small regional and neigbourhood centres, each at 24%.
Ombwayo says that retail development in Kenya is expected to pick up as the country stabilises from a macroeconomic standpoint following uncertainty caused by the country’s drawn-out election in 2017. A new development to watch out for is the Waterfront project in Kenya which will include 19,000m² of retail space.
“Several other retail projects are in the preliminary stages of planning and development, for example the 28,500m² Beacon Mall, but investors are still somewhat cautious at the moment. A new trend in Kenya seems to be mixed-used developments that will include office, retail and hotel space. Major mixed-used projects such as The Pinnacle and Le Mac, are ones to also watch out for,” says Ombwayo.
She adds that despite the Central Bank Rate in Kenya dropping to 9% in July 2018, the weighted lending rate on commercial bank loans was still high at just under 13%. This makes it difficult for developers to borrow locally and has resulted in mainly dollar-based funding coming from outside of the country for real estate developments. Dollar based funding had its own challenges, with local retailers having to deal with dollar- based rentals.
“Due to the demise of a major local Kenyan food retailer – Nakumatt Supermarkets – last year, most landlords have taken a cautious approach by leasing smaller spaces to more than one anchor tenant at retail centres. Nakumatt closed dozens of stores, but a lot of this space was taken up by competing retailers,” notes Ombwayo.
She says the minimum lease period for securing retail space in Kenya is 5 years and one month, but notes changes may be on the cards.
Elaine Wilson, Divisional Director of Broll Property Intel, advises that the Broll Nairobi, Kenya Retail Snapshot (H2: 2018) is a helpful tool for both investors and occupiers to have a brief understanding of the country’s prevailing retail market conditions.
Read the full report here: Broll Nairobi Kenya Retail Market Snapshot H2 2018