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Not just India: The EU-India trade negotiations and global drug access
O’Neill Institute | Leave a Comment
This post was authored by O’Neill Institute summer research assistant Sean Dickson, JD/MPH candidate at the University of Michigan.
Since 2007, the EU and India have been negotiating a bi-lateral free trade agreement (FTA) with quite a few stumbling blocks. The most recent was a declaration by India, delivered via a UNAIDS press release, that it would not implement data exclusivity rules on pharmaceutical testing data as requested by the EU. India’s position as the “pharmacy of the developing world” is based largely on its limited intellectual property (IP) protections for pharmaceuticals, leading it to produce more than 85 percent of the first-line antiretroviral drugs used globally to treat HIV. While data exclusivity provisions would not affect these and other existing generic medicines produced in India, they would inhibit the future development of generic treatments. If implemented, data exclusivity would mean that global access to essential medicines would be based on individual exceptions to patent protections, such as compulsory licensing, rather than a market-driven system of generics.
While generic medicines cannot be introduced until after the patent has expired on the original medicine, data exclusivity often keeps generics from being introduced for much longer because of the testing requirements. Generic compounds are subject to the same regulation as the original medicine – they must prove that they effectively treat the condition and are safe for consumers to receive marketing approval. Because the clinical trial process can be incredibly long and expensive, generic medicines often do not come to market unless they are able to rely on the original medicine’s testing data to prove their safety and efficacy. Under a regime that does not protect original test data, such as India, a generic producer needs only to prove that the generic medicine is bioequivalent to the original, and marketing approval is granted on the basis of the clinical trials from the original drug. With data exclusivity in place, a generic manufacturer would need to replicate the clinical trials process. This testing also raises significant ethical concerns about repeating drug trials on additional persons when the medicine has already been proven effective.
Both the EU and the US advocate for strong data exclusivity regimes, though international law does not require other nations to implement them. Under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), WTO member states are required to protect undisclosed test data submitted for approval purposes from “unfair commercial use,” but individual countries are allowed to determine what constitutes “unfair use.” The 2001 Doha Declaration reiterated that countries should interpret TRIPS to protect public health, which most commentators have understood to allow individual countries to avoid data exclusivity provisions. However, developing countries are increasingly adopting data exclusivity regimes as conditions of bi-lateral FTAs with the US and the EU, raising concern about the global ability to provide generic medicines for HIV and other diseases that disproportionately affect the global south and east. Because India is the main provider of generic medicines for many of these diseases and has one of the most robust pharmaceutical industries in the developing world, data exclusivity provisions there would have substantial global ramifications.
One of the main critiques of data exclusivity provisions is that they often provide longer protection than patents themselves. For example, in the EU, pharmaceuticals may receive up to 11 years of data exclusivity protection under the 8+2+1 system. In this system, for the first 8 years after marketing authorization, no generic versions can apply for authorization. Medicines receive an additional 2 years of market protection, during which generic products can submit applications for marketing authorization but cannot receive approval, and they can receive a 1 year extension for a new clinical use of the original medicine. While the patent period in the EU is 20 years, the time from patent filing to the time of marketing approval often exceeds 13 years in the EU, making data exclusivity an important tool in extending monopoly pricing of pharmaceuticals. While most EU and US FTAs with developing nations have only 5-year data exclusivity periods, these requirements still reduce the ability of generics to enter the market.
Proponents of data exclusivity frequently argue that the TRIPs agreement provides other methods for countries to have access to essential medicines. These tools, known as “TRIPs flexibilities,” include compulsory licensing, which allows governments to grant a specific producer a license to produce the patented medicine and sell it at a reduced price to the government. However, the process of declaring a compulsory license can be long and does not let the market drive down generic prices. The easiest-used TRIPs flexibility is parallel importation, which allows a country to import generic drugs from a wholesaler in another country without violating the patent protection of drugs sold within the home country. This strategy operates on the idea that a patent holder loses the ability to control the patented molecule once it has been on sold on the market – the patent is “exhausted,” allowing subsequent purchasers to do as they will with the product. It is this flexibility that will be most affected if India adopts a data exclusivity regime, as other countries will not be able to import new generic medicines from India, requiring them to buy medicines from the original producer at monopoly prices.
The imposition of data exclusivity regimes in developing countries is a growing concern, and a stricter IP regime in India would severely injure global efforts to reduce illness and combat HIV. Because India supplies so much of the world’s HIV prevention drugs – over 90 percent of donor-supplied ARVs in many African nations – curbing the ability to produce generic medicines in India has truly global implications. While Western pharmaceutical companies argue that the rising percentage of the global pharmaceutical market controlled by India reduces their profits and investment capital, this should be understood as a call to reform the pharmaceutical innovation system rather than to reduce access to medicines. Strong IP protection may spur innovation in certain settings, but using it to create insurmountable barriers to essential medicines helps no one.


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New baby’s bouncy seat complete with iPad holder slammed as ‘an embarrassment for humankind’ as child experts say it can stunt development
- Bouncy chair created by Fisher-Price and costs $75 on Amazon
- Allows children to watch videos and play with apps from comfort of seat
- Parents and child development experts slammed the device
- Fisher-Price says it understands concerns but it can be removed and replaced with mirror
We've heard of the iPotty but now we've got the iBouncy chair - a special seat for babies complete with iPad holder.
This Christmas mothers and fathers will be treating their toddlers to the contraption created by Fisher-Price which allows children to watch videos and play with different apps from the comfort of their own bouncy chair.
But parents and child development experts have slammed the device with one describing it as an 'embarrassment for humankind'.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Too early: The bouncy chair which comes complete with an iPad holder
The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends no screen time at all for children under the age of two.
The main reason is that at a time when babies and toddlers are learning to reach, crawl and walk,
screen-based activities can be prioritised over those that encourage them to develop skills as
well as language.
Some may argue that the recommendation was made in relation to TVs and not tablets.
It is thought around 38 per cent of households now allow babies to use these devices - this is up
10 per cent from two years ago.
The American Academy of Paediatrics recommends no screen time at all for children under the age of two
The device created by Fisher-Price allows children to watch videos and play with different apps from the comfort of their own bouncy chair
But not everyone is convinced.
Scores of parents and child development experts have been criticising the Newborn-to-Toddler
Apptivity Seat for iPad device on Amazon.
Mama Bee wrote: 'Evil abusive chair. The seat should be banned. Shame on you Fisher-Price. Built
for neglect, future learning problems, attachment issues and ADHD.
While N Marnell said: 'Please, do humanity a favour and DO NOT buy this! This is an embarrassment
Parents have posted negative reviews about the chair on Amazon where you can buy the seat for $75
However, there were some positive reviews mainly from parents of children with special needs.
Amanda J said: 'Parents of special needs children have been waiting for something like this for years! Great idea for kids with limited seating options that don't cost thousands of dollars.'
For $75 the device is described by Fisher-Price as 'Soothing, entertaining and technology all in one great grow-with-me seat for baby! Lock your iPad device inside the case to protect from dribbles and drool.
Many of the positive reviews are from parents with children with special needs
'Play and learning are at baby’s fingertips, with free apps you can download for your iPad.'
In March the iPotty went on sale for children to watch videos and play games while ansewering he
call the nature.
The gadget, which costs $35 on Amazon, was invented after figures showed a huge increase in
children as young as three being given iPads for Christmas.
Toilet training: A child sits on an iPotty which went on sale in March this year
Why a two-year-old may need to check emails, write memos or just stare at the screen while spending a penny is anyone's guess but the firm who invented it, CTA Digital, said it had brilliant feedback from busy parents.
Fisher-Price told The Huffington Post: 'We can understand how, at first glance, it may appear that the screen is always in front of baby with an iPad in place.
'We’d like to point out that parents can remove the toy bar that holds the iPad completely or they can choose to use the toy bar with just the mirror.'
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domain: news


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A Large Corporate Low Wage Service Sector
Makes For a Town Without a Soul
Makes For a Town Without a Soul
We Need Living Wage Jobs
Enter Worker Owned Co-Ops
There's been much public debate in Emeryville over the years over how to best develop our town even as City Hall long ago settled on a pro-developer course, regardless of the debate. As a result of this willful ignorance, many have come to rightfully condemn Emeryville decision makers over the flawed auto-centric model of development those decision makers have brought to our town over the last 20 some odd years. This model, favored by developers, has brought us lots of shopping malls and drive-in drive-out lofts (formally condos, now morphing into one bedroom 100% rental projects).
This is well understood by Emeryville residents as our town's once unique character is eroded and the streets become ever more clogged with traffic.
But what's been debated less is how this model, resplendent with fast food franchises and retail chain stores, also brings a plethora of low wage/ no benefits service jobs that seem to be attached at the hip with this brand of development. So ubiquitous now is this kind of development in Emeryville, minimum wage/ zero benefits service sector jobs have fairly come to be seen as representative of Emeryville and its values by the greater community.
This is who we are at this point, like it or not.
|This is Emeryville|
Minimum wage / no benefits;
the corporate service sector is
who we now are.
As Emeryville starts a new building spree in the wake of a recovering regional economy and with a finite amount of land left to develop, we need a new development model to fill out our town, one that will temper our 20 year binge of alienating, unsustainable and usurious development. We need a new paradigm of public policy out of City Hall to create retail service sector jobs that pay a living wage and treat their workers with respect and dignity. We need to become a model for how cities can move forward instead of a model for what's gone wrong in the Bay Area and beyond.
Attracting worker owned co-operatives to our town offers us the chance to remake our image and reclaim a city that more properly reflects our values.
Formerly known as a mecca for high paying mostly blue collar jobs in the East Bay, Emeryville long ago jettisoned that mantle, now instead there's been a wholesale embracing of the corporate low wage service sector model. In so doing, not only have we thrown our town over to cars and all the degraded environment that comes with that, we also have shirked our civic moral duties to build a town that works for everybody. The fact that we didn't shirk these duties in the past means we can do it again. We can create a new municipal polity.
Enter Worker Owed Co-Ops
Businesses where the workers themselves own the enterprise represent a different model for how retail stores and other business can be refashioned in Emeryville. These worker owned businesses offer a living wage and benefits for their workers. They also offer Emeryville residents a moral choice as they comport their daily transactions in the commons.
So what exactly is a worker owned co-op? The Network of Bay Area Worker Cooperatives (NoBAWC or "no boss"), the oldest and largest regional association of democratic workplaces in the United States, tell us these kinds of businesses are enterprises that produce goods, distributes goods and/or provides services and are owned and democratically controlled by its worker-owners. Worker owned cooperatives generally have comparable or better pay (salary/wages plus profit-sharing) and benefits than comparably-sized conventional businesses in similar industries. This is because the worker-owners decide what percentage of profits will go to themselves and what percentage will be retained by the cooperative. Moreover, worker cooperatives don’t have overpaid managers, owners and outside shareholders who siphon money from the business. These businesses allow money spent by residents to stay in the community, bolstering the local economy. Worker owned co-ops run the gamut on types of businesses from bike shops and restaurants to web services, financial services and bookstores. Just about any business can be a worker owned co-op.
Emeryville already has two such worker owned co-ops right now, San Pablo Avenue's Arizmendi Bakery and Pedal Express, a bicycle courier company on Powell Street.
Pedal Express is the East Bay's only bicycle courier company. They have been worker owned and operated for the past twenty years and perhaps ironically count the City of Emeryville as one of their clients.
Arizmendi Bakery vs Panera Bakery
Arizmendi Bakery has operated at 4301 San Pablo Avenue since 2003 after former councilman John Fricke worked to attract the popular cooperative to the newly built Emeryville Promenade amid skeptical colleagues on the Council. The bakery has been extremely popular offering a locally owned counter point to the national chain restaurant I-HOP also in the Promenade development.
Arizmendi Bakery and Panera Bakery on 40th Street offers us a chance to directly compare the two business models:
Arizmendi Bakery (worker owned cooperative model)-
- pays at least $16 per hour
- full health insurance and dental coverage for all
- worker owned and democratically run
- worker/owners share in year end profits
- stipends paid for work related purchases
- five Bay Area locations
- Emeryville store is independently owned
Panera Bakery (standard Emeryville corporate model)-
- pays employees $8.06 per hour
- no benefits
- stockholder owned and run by CEO and Board of Directors
- more than 1500 locations across the US and Canada
- corporate headquarters in St Louis MO
- Emeryville unit sends its profits to the corporate headquarters
Worker owned cooperatives have also been shown to increase social justice and stability. Cal Berkeley graduate student Amanda Cook, wrote a 2009 thesis documenting this benefit. From her study, "In many conventional workplaces, workers perceive their interests as opposing corporate interests. Worker cooperatives, on the other hand, promote the idea that business practices should be compatible with everyone’s interests. Instead of becoming a battleground for individual and corporate interests, worker cooperatives adopt a family-like atmosphere of support, mutual responsibility, and, of course, cooperation."
Ms Cook documents how worker cooperatives provide benefit to workers and the surrounding community in three major ways; she shows how this work "...is intrinsically valuable, participatory democracy is an educational activity, and active participation in decision making in one social sphere is likely to encourage active participation in other spheres."
The plight of minimum and low wage workers has been much in the news recently as fast food and other workers take to the streets to protest. The corporate model is cruel and not sustainable. These workers cannot survive on these wages and many are forced to use food stamps and other government provided services to make ends meet. Besides being an unethical abdication of government duty, this model represents a transfer of wealth from the taxpayers to the wealthy. Emeryville has been complicit in this.
However Dave Karoly of NoBAWC says it doesn't have to be this way, "There is no reason why there can't be more than two worker owned cooperatives in Emeryville. The establishment of more (worker) cooperatives in Emeryville would help change the perception of people living outside Emeryville that the city is just a destination for retail chain shopping" he told the Tattler.
The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce, historically an advocacy group for Emeryville's largest corporations on the other hand doesn't appear to be comfortable with such worker empowerment talk. Chamber CEO Bob Canter was contacted for this story but he refused to comment.
Developers, itching to take advantage of a newly favorable market (especially in rental properties), are loading up the agendas at the Planning Commission and at City Council meetings. A glut of new residential development is moving forward towards permit approval at City Hall from the Sherwin Williams project to the Avalon Bay project, to the Market Place development to the (just approved) Maz project, and there's more in the pipeline. These development proposals all contain retail components along their respective street fronts. This is where a new polity of worker owned cooperatives can be developed.
We need to realize how un-radical this whole idea is....or should be. Neighboring cities are expanding these cooperatives and they're realizing the benefits. Indeed, our own General Plan requires us to approve development that provides jobs for Emeryville residents. These low wage service sector jobs aren't cutting it. Workers at these jobs have to travel to our town for their employment since these corporate service jobs don't pay enough to afford to live in Emeryville. This type of retail and fast food development is expressly forbidden by Emeryville's General Plan and yet there doesn't seem to be much of an interest among the decision makers at City Hall to rectify this.
Emeryville's new mayor Jac Asher is an outlier. She agrees worker owned cooperatives offer a better way for Emeryville moving forward and she has publicly called for it.
We like Mayor Asher's idea; let's start adding these worker owned neighborhood enhancing kinds of retail establishments as conditions of approval for these incipient development proposals across town. We've had more than our share of the neighborhood degrading and morally bankrupt low wage service sector development here thank you. Let's finally start the job of making a livable town here in Emeryville.


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Previous Page —Page One
The Times is fighting the case on two fronts: at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in the courts. Beginning late last year, it filed a number of complaints with the patent office on grounds that the government issued the patents incorrectly. The Times’ legal team notes, for instance, that Intel Corp. received a similar patent in February 1996, some 18 months before Helferich got his. A few of the complaints have initially been found in The Times’ favor, according to the newspaper company’s outside counsel, Brian Buroker, although HPL is appealing. The process could take 18 months to complete.
The Times is also fighting the case in U.S. District Court in Chicago, where it argues HPL already receives licensing fees from cellphone manufacturers for the same technology and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to double dip and charge content providers.
The Times is spearheading the defense of a group that also includes CBS, Comcast Corp.’s TV channels Bravo and G4 and J.C. Penney Co., according to court filings. HPL sued The New York Times Co. in July 2010, Bravo, G4 and CBS in October 2011 and J.C. Penney in December 2011.
The technology in dispute has become a key part of the companies’ marketing campaigns. CBS texts followers to prompt them to visit its website for exclusive pictures and video to shows such as “Big Brother.” Bravo sends messages to viewers’ mobile phones to get them to participate in live online chats and polls. J.C. Penney lets shoppers with mobile phones know about sweepstakes and giveaways.
Although the lawsuits were filed separately, the defendants are saving money by sharing strategies and resources instead of fighting the lawsuits on their own. The lawsuit against The Times is scheduled to go through at least the middle of next year.
Some see the case as highlighting the need for patent reform.
Berkeley’s Schultz said it should be easier for defendants to force the patent office to re-examine its past decisions on issuing patents, and easier for patents to be struck down in court. That way, patent holders would be less able to make a business out of extracting settlements by using the threat of costly litigation.
Some changes are coming. Last September, President Barack Obama signed into law the first major change in patent law in six decades. It is aimed at streamlining the patent process, reducing costly legal battles and giving the patent office more money to process applications in a timely fashion.
Certain parts of the law won’t take effect until March, but a provision that took effect right away has made it more difficult for patent holders to name dozens of defendants in a single suit. That has led to a decreased number of companies sued. PatentFreedom estimates the number of defendants this year will fall to around 3,500.


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LG’s Optimus Black has a lot of things going for it: it’s super-slim, light as a feather, and has one heck of a bright screen thanks to LG’s NOVA display technology. It’s pretty easy for us to appreciate its specs, but when you’re comparing smartphone vs. smartphone and talking about measurements differing by tenths of millimeters, that analysis can get pretty dry, pretty fast, for the layman. Early last month, LG released a teaser video for the Optimus Black that ran into just that kind of problem. Clearly it’s learned a little since then (or just [...]
After showing the world how thin and light the LG Optimus Black is — which is by the way available on T-Mobile U.K. and hopefully soon in the U.S. — the Korean manufacturer brags about the one-handed usability of the Android smartphone.
Using the combination of Gesture UI and G-Key, you can easily operate the smartphone with only using one hand. Tasks like answering a call, skipping to the next song in the playlist or picture in an album and heading directly to the Camera application is rather simple. Check out the video below to see how:
LG announced the availability of the LG Optimus Black in a recent press release telling the world that the Android smartphone will be available in Europe this month after which it will hopefully get to the U.S. too. As last week’s rumors implied, the LG Optimus Black has hit U.K. stores and T-Mobile already has it.
You can get the LG NOVA-equipped Optimus Black for free from T-Mobile UK given you sign a a two-year contract for a monthly £25.5. With the U.K. carrier already offering it, the smartphone should hit stores and other carriers throughout Europe in the coming [...]
LG, together with Fox Digital Entertainment and Rovio Mobile announced today that the popular Angry Birds game, in the Rio movie flavor, will come preloaded with LG Optimus series smartphones.
The first LG-made smartphone to come pre-loaded with Angry Birds Rio will be the Canadian LG Optimus 2X. Angry Birds Rio will be available on LG Optimus Series smartphones starting the second quarter of 2011, so we expect it on the LG Optimus 3D and Optimus Black as well.
“We’re excited to bring one of the most successful mobile games to our customers. Angry Birds Rio [...]
As we’re getting closer and closer to the LG Optimus Black availability — should hit Europe this month with US to follow shortly after — the manufacturer is starting to tease the phone with promo videos emphasizing on various aspects and features of the smartphone.
The first one below brings your attention to the physical aspect and measurements of the LG Optimus Black, built with a uni-window front. Its side edge measures 6mm — with 9.2mm at the center — and weight 109gr, which is 7gr less that the Samsung Galaxy S II‘s 116gr. Let’s not [...]
We already heard rumors of the LG Optimus Black becoming available sometime this week in the UK and we were asking ourselves when the smartphone will arrive to the U.S. Market.
According to LG’s press release, the Optimus Black, introduced at this year’s CES in January, should be available “globally across six continents beginning in Europe before heading to North America and Asia”. The press release also assures us that the Optimus Black “will make its international debut in Europe later this month” so it’s safe to assume that it [...]
LG unveiled the Optimus Black Android Smartphone with the occasion of this year’s CES back in January — at that time as the world’s thinnest smartphone at its 9.2-millimeter thickness, no longer valid today.
LG’s Product Manager for the Optimus Black told Pocket-lint that the smartphone “should be in stores by the end of next week” but there was no word on which carriers would be stocking up on it. Anyways, good news for enthusiasts waiting for the super bright, four-inch, 700 nit NOVA display (IPS).
The LG Optimus Black is lightweight [...]
Besides the Revolution, LG had its Optimus Black to show off back at this year’s CES in January. While we’ve been seeing the Revolution pop up all over, the Black’s been keeping a comparatively low profile. The super-thin Android was targeted for release in the first half of 2011, and for a while that was the best estimation of the phone’s release that we had to go on. Now the Black’s available for pre-order and is being advertised by carriers, but some conflicting information has us wondering just when the Optimus Black will finally go up for [...]
LG Optimus Black is advertised to be the world’s thinnest smartphone at its 9.2-millimeter thickness and we had a hands-on with the device with the occasion of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
Regardless of its name (“Black”), the handset is likely to be available in other color variations as LG told Pocket-lint in a recent interview that they are shifting towards customization. While the manufacturer considers smartphones available these days as being “too similar and too masculine”, James Choi, marketing strategy and planning director [...]
It seems to be all the rage these days for smartphone OEMs to come up with glamorous names for new screens after Apple started the trend with the Retina display on the iPhone 4. The big story on the LG Optimus Black is its screen, which is capable of producing more screen brightness than any other smartphone display (says LG). Dubbed the Nova Display, we did indeed find the quality of the Black’s screen to be fantastic, perhaps on par with Samsung’s Super AMOLED. LG is also claiming that the Black is the thinnest Android phone. Alas, they must not have been to Sony [...]
“B” is for “Black”, or at least that’s how LG’s alphabet book reads. The company’s revealed two new smartphones as it prepares for the CES, finally giving a name to the “B” we heard about last month, which it seems will be known as the LG Optimus Black. The second is the LG Revolution, which will feature LTE connectivity on Verizon.
Engadget scored some pics of LG setting up its CES display, and took the opportunity to grab some pre-announcement shots of the promo material for these two handsets. Now we have an actual [...]
LG has taken the wraps off of its high-end LG Optimus Black, a 9.2-millimeter thick, Android 2.2 Froyo-powered handset that it’s calling the world’s thinnest smartphone. Highlighted by an exceptionally bright, four-inch, 700 nit NOVA display (seems to be a proprietary LG LCD technology) and two-megapixel front-facing camera, Black weighs just 109 grams and features Wi-Fi Direct technology for device-to-device transfers. Unfortunately, LG has made no mention of processor, main camera resolution, or RAM/storage capacity; the only other info worth passing on is that a [...]


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INTRODUCTION: The European Common Market has expanded its trade links with the Arab world. On?
SV Heads of delegations, at Arab-E.E.C. treaty signing, Brussels, Belgium, PAN ACROSS table
SV E.E.C. Development Aid Commissioner Claude Chaeysson studying document
CU PAN FROM "Egypt" sign to Egypt's Zakarya Tawfik--Trade and Supply Minister
CU "Jordan" sign PAN TO Jordanian Economy Minister Nymeddin Dadjani
CU Syria's Economy Minister, Mohammed Immadi
SV ZOOM INTO CU Luxembourg delegate
SV British Foreign Secretary Anthony Crosland addressing gathering (in English)
SV Immadi signing agreement
SV Dadjani signing
CU PULL OUT TO GV Crosland signing
TRANSCRIPT: SEQ. 7: ANTHONY CROSLAND: "...(indistinct) ....encourage us to continue together, efforts to establish new capital relations between developed and developing countries in keeping with the hopes that we all have of a juster balance."
Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
Background: INTRODUCTION: The European Common Market has expanded its trade links with the Arab world. On Tuesday (18 January), the Common Market signed agreements with Egypt, Jordan and Syria, increasing current economic trade ties by several hundred million (U.S.) dollars.
SYNOPSIS: The signing ceremony was conducted during a break in the Common Market's formal session, and set the seal on the Community's design for a Mediterranean policy. One of the signatories was Monsieur Claude Chaeysson, the Community's Commissioner for Development Aid. The Egyptian delegate was Mr. Zakarya Tawfik Abdel Fattah, Egyptian Minster for Trade and Supply. Jordanian Economy Minister, Mr. Nymeddin Dadjani, signed for his country, and another Economy Minister, Mr. Mohammed Immadi represented Syria. Britain's Foreign Secretary, Mr. Anthony Crosland, addressed the gathering.
The signing of the three agreements means Arab expansion of trade into Common Market countries and financial aid the other way of more than 185 million pounds sterling (324 million dollars). Similar agreements have already been concluded with three other Arab states -- Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia -- and with Israel.


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Regator, the blog aggregator that acts like a mix between a standard RSS reader and Digg, has launched in public beta.
We initially covered Regator in July when the site launched in a limited private beta. At the time my biggest concern was the inability to add your own RSS feeds to the site, which restricted you to the approximately 3,000 blogs handpicked by Regator. CEO Scott Lockhart says that the site has been updated to allow users to upload their own feeds, but these won’t be visible to other users until they have been approved by Regator’s editors.
The site has also expanded on its sharing functionality to include Twitter and Facebook, with plans to introduce further integration with social networking sites in the future. There are a number of similar sites that combine news aggregation with social voting, including Socialmedian, which we covered last week.


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The US economic system added 311,000 jobs in February, outpacing expectations
The US economic system added 311,000 jobs in February, in response to the newest month-to-month employment snapshot from the Bureau of Labor Statistics launched Friday.
That’s a pullback from the blockbuster January jobs report, when a revised 504,000 positions have been added, however reveals the labor market continues to be emitting loads of warmth.
The unemployment charge ticked as much as 3.6% from 3.4%.
February’s internet job positive aspects surpassed economists’ estimates for a extra modest month, with solely 205,000 to be added. Separately, downward revisions to December’s and January’s totals weren’t that drastic.
While Friday’s report is a powerful one, that’s really dangerous information within the broader context of the Federal Reserve’s marketing campaign to curb excessive inflation, stated PNC Financial Services chief economist Gus Faucher.
“It’s much hotter than the economy can run, and so this means the Fed is going to have to continue to hike interest rates,” he informed CNN. “And that makes a recession more likely.”
Barring a surprisingly low Consumer Price Index inflation report subsequent week, Faucher stated he expects the Fed to go ahead with a half-point charge hike at its March 21-22 assembly, which might be the next tempo than the current, extra average quarter-point improve.
The Fed has been battling for nearly a 12 months to gradual the economic system and crush the best inflation in 40 years, however the labor market continues to defy these efforts.
“Coming up on the one-year anniversary of the Fed’s first rate hike, we never thought we would see the economy churning out 311,000 more jobs this month,” stated Chris Rupkey, chief economist of FwdBonds, in a press release. “The party is on and the labor market is having a blast. The economy clearly is not landing, it is soaring.”
The month-to-month job positive aspects stay properly above pre-pandemic norms, when roughly 180,000 jobs have been added monthly between 2010 and 2019, BLS information reveals. However, the labor market stays tight and imbalances proceed to persist within the ongoing restoration efforts from the devastating pandemic.
Labor turnover information launched earlier this week for January confirmed that there have been 1.9 job openings for each particular person on the lookout for one. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has incessantly highlighted how the labor market stays wanting pre-pandemic development projections by greater than 3 million individuals.
The pandemic accelerated anticipated demographic tendencies (the getting old out of the large Baby Boom technology) with elevated retirements; individuals additionally dropped out of the workforce for care-related wants and well being considerations reminiscent of lengthy Covid; and there have been lots of of hundreds of staff who died from Covid.
February’s employment report confirmed a 0.1 proportion level improve within the labor drive participation charge to 62.5% — the best it’s been since April 2020. However, it stays under pre-pandemic ranges of 63.4%.
Additionally, there was some upward motion within the jobless charge, which elevated 0.2 proportion factors to three.6%.
“Contributing to upward pressure here, there were more people looking for work,” stated Mark Hamrick, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.
Industries with notable job positive aspects included leisure and hospitality, retail commerce, authorities and well being care. After being crushed in the course of the pandemic, the leisure and hospitality has been steadily including again workers and attempting to fulfill elevated demand from shoppers shifting their spending from items to providers.
Average hourly earnings — a carefully watched metric because the Fed seeks to guage the affect of rising wages on inflation — grew 0.2% month-on-month and have been up 4.6% over the 12 months earlier than.


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The ten stations which will close on 9 January are:
- Belsize in Camden
- Bow in Tower Hamlets
- Clerkenwell in Islington
- Downham in Lewisham
- Kingsland in Hackney
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More top news
Model Rosie Nelson writes for ITV News, revealing why she is calling for MPs to pass a new law protecting models from becoming too skinny.
Amid calls for new laws to regulate the size of models, we look at how the face of fashion has changed over the past 60 years.
Amid calls for new laws to prevent models getting too thin, ITV News speaks to three women in the fashion industry to get their views.


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Cryptocurrency platform Circle Internet Financial Ltd. has cut about 30 positions or approximately 10% of the startup's workforce.
In the May 21 announcement on Twitter, CEO Jeremy Allaire said Circle made the staffing changes in response to new market conditions and an "increasingly restrictive" regulatory climate in the U.S. The Dublin-based company owns trading platform Poloniex LLC and equity crowdfunding platform SeedInvest LLC and has launched a cryptocurrency tied to the value of the U.S. dollar in partnership with Coinbase Inc.
"Circle remains strong and healthy," Allaire said. "We will continue to drive new product innovation and growth globally, working with jurisdictions that offer forward-looking policies regulating digital asset businesses, while we press for more balanced crypto policy in the U.S."


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By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
With its Gothic romance, golden velvet sofas and steep prices, Julie's in London makes no secret of its reputation as a celebrity hangout. Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow, Colin Firth, Kylie Minogue, Jeremy Paxman and U2 are just a few of the glitzy guests the restaurant lists on its website.
As part of its commitment to fine dining, Julie's proclaims its use of organic food, which it says keeps the earth healthy and minimises pesticide residues.
But what it fails to mention is that guests who ordered organic dishes last winter were routinely cheated by the restaurant, which bought cheap meat and pocketed the change.
Now it has emerged that so great was the swindle uncovered by environmental health officers when they visited the kitchens of one of the oldest fixtures on the capital's dining scene, that its manager only just escaped prison last week.


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In the ultra-competitive fast-food environment, Carl's Jr is providing Restaurant Brands with a way to avoid the heavy-discounting trap that has been plaguing the market, says chief executive Russel Creedy.
The Auckland-based company opens its sixth Carl's Jr restaurant today at the Auckland Airport shopping centre.
Restaurant Brands, which also operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks in New Zealand, will open its 90th KFC store in the same area on October 23.
Creedy said Carl's Jr - which arrived in this country in 2011 and has a reputation for racy advertising featuring young models such as Kate Upton - was new and unique and did not rely on heavy discounting to keep the cash registers clanging.
"I don't think Carl's Jr is a brand to be discounted," he said.
Some of Carl's Jr's 12 New Zealand stores - six of which are operated by Forsgren NZ, a company part-owned by former All Black Michael Jones - have been breaking world sales records for the brand that operates in more than 20 countries.
Restaurant Brands reported sales of $4.3 million for its Carl's Jr stores in the 16 weeks to September 9, up from $2.3 million in the previous quarter.
Other fast-food brands such as McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominos and KFC have been placing a lot of focus on offering cut-price deals to drive sales.
Creedy said the high levels of discounting would persist for another year or so, but companies were beginning to wake up to the reality of the "discount at any cost mentality".
"You've still got to make a profit at the end of the day," Creedy said. "You've got to pay rent and pay wages and you can't discount yourself into oblivion."
He said the Auckland Airport shopping centre was a fast-growing area that provided "great brand visibility" for Restaurant Brands, which has invested $4.6 million into opening the new KFC and Carl's Jr stores.
The two stores were not expected to be in competition with each other, Creedy said.
"Carl's Jr and KFC seem to live very harmoniously next to each other."
Creedy said the KFC outlet inside the Auckland Airport international terminal was owned by HMSHost, a company that operates retail businesses in airports around the world.
Restaurant Brands would open Carl's Jr stores in Hastings and Otahuhu before Christmas, he said. It plans to establish up to 60 Carl's Jr stores nationwide.
Shares in Restaurant Brands closed down 1c to $2.84 last night.


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Logistic firm DHL is planning to have around 1,000 outlets in the country in next two years time, as part of its retail expansion move.
“We are planning to have around 1,000 outlets in the next two years as there is a need to be present in lot new locations in the country,” DHL Express head of marketing – South Asia, Chandrashekhar Pitre said.
After the DHL-Blue Dart mega co-branding spree, there are 350 retail outlets and we plan to take the number to 1,000 through various formats such as tie ups, alliances and partnerships, he said.
Pitre further said: “At present our retail segment contributes 8-10 per cent of our total business and in next 3-5 years we expect out retail segment to contribute as much as 20 per cent”.
DHL has recently collaborated with Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for a Retail Alliance with their In & Out convenience stores across India. Similar tie-ups have also been initiated with 24/7 departmental stores in Delhi, Office Linc and others.
“We have also introduced various innovations in our product line such as University Express, University Express Pre Paid, SME Pre Paid, Jumbo Box, Rakhi Express, Mango Express, Apex Surface (documents & parcels), Smart Box (Blue Dart products) etc, to strengthen our presence in the retail segment,” Pitre stated.
Source: The Hindu Business Line


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Debates about drones often focus on their viability & safety across a wide variety of sectors – something which is now settling down as technology, infrastructure and regulation catch-up with excitement.
Our previous update focused on the lengths that are being taken to make drones safer vehicles to fly and to manage, particularly when functioning as part of the retail industry.
Drones could assist global retailers like Amazon in their door-to-door deliveries, with new tracking systems enabling safer flight paths and longer journeys.
Recent proposed changes to drone regulation are also looking to make it easier to identify aerial vehicles via a license plate system. Drone owners in the USA could be required to display a unique identifier on their vehicle, which would be assigned by the Federal Aviation Administration as part of the completed registration process already in place.
Such changes would make it easier for unmanned aerial vehicles to be identified and tracked to discourage unauthorised and potentially unsafe flying.
The implementation of drones into industries such as manufacturing and construction, however, are proving to be highly beneficial and are predicted to bring cost savings of £3.5bn by 2030.
As Elaine Whyte notes, the UK drones leader at PwC: “Drones have the potential to offer a powerful new perspective for businesses across a variety of industries, delivering both productivity benefits and increased value from the data they collect.”
Others, like aerospace company, Thales Group, welcome the innovation that drones have brought to key sectors such as construction and agriculture. The ways that engineers and industry professionals have begun to utilise drones in such work, says Thales, offers “a glimpse of how our day-to-day lives will look tomorrow.”
We ourselves have written about how drones are revolutionising the construction environment, both from a practical perspective but also as one of the major media solutions in the industry.
Aside from these more industrial sectors, drones are also making headlines in more creative fields.
A fashion show in Saudi Arabia, for example, used drones in place of human models to showcase their clothes.
This comes after renowned fashion house, Dolce and Gabbana, used drones to display their handbag range at the beginning of their Milan show before their models took to the runway.
The 958 UAVs used is only slightly lower than the numbers used in the pre-recorded performance at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The drones collected and hovered over Folsom, California for enough time to be captured on camera by another drone, which is a first in the 95-year history of TIME. The arrangement was 100 meters tall when airborne and made for an incredibly impressive sight.
These developments look largely positive for drones in a number of sectors. Of course, it is important to remain cautious in the face of new technologies but it is hard not to feel excited about these vehicles which seem to be at the forefront of innovation.


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Over 300 pieces from the fashion illustrator will be on display from June 14th.
All the culture news you need to start your Thursday.
So far, so Goude?
Making Grace Jones proud.
Once you go Alaïa, you never go back.
Pleats and ruffles and tiers galore.
Two new memoirs celebrate rock legends, Grace Jones and Patti Smith.
Tracking four decades of wild and crazy eyes.
The fashion community of Milan blew off some steam.
The designer opens up.


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DENVER—Abound Solar is blaming Chinese companies for causing it to declare bankruptcy.
Former executives of the Loveland-based company testified before Congress on Wednesday that Chinese companies sold solar panels under cost and they couldn’t compete.
The company received a $400 million loan guarantee from the federal government before it filed for bankruptcy July 2.
According to the Denver Post (http://bit.ly/NzUWNo), Abound has been compared to Solyndra, a California panel maker that went bankrupt last year after spending its $535 million loan guarantee.
Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com


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UPDATE: Evergreen Pet Closes, Residents Worried About Animals Left Behind
SPOKANE, Wash. - Sunday morning at 9:28am, KHQ received an email from a person claiming to be the owner of Evergreen Pet. No name was included, but the email address indicates that it was indeed sent from the business. It included a statement regarding the current situation at Evergreen Pet. The entire email is below:
I am the owner of evergreen pet. This is in response to what has been said in concerns of the pet store and the actual events. We regret that persons feel that we have not taken care of the business we worked so hard at. Last year the store had a fire in the fish area, the contractor sublet work out that caused that area to be closed for about six months. Along with the road construction this last summer, ( 3 months) this put us in a situation that was not probable.
In early August the store was forced to close. However during the time it was closed we have had personnel in on a daily basis to maintain the daily duties of the store, with the intent of reopening. We then realized that reopening would not be possible. Over this time period we were working with the property owner to help find a way to sell the assets to offset mounting costs. The landlord had advised us that he was trying to work with other local pet stores to help find homes for all the animals. At the end of last week the landlord changed the locks and we were no longer able to reenter the premise to take care of the animals. Up until this time the animals were maintained on a daily basis. We regret the situation that has happened, and are happy that animal are being placed into homes.
KHQ will be following up on this story in the coming days and as soon as we get any addition information we will be sure to update you.
SPOKANE, Wash. - KHQ has received a lot of calls and messages on Facebook about Evergreen Pet in Spokane Valley closing and leaving everything, including the animals, behind.
We talked to a representative from SCRAPS on Saturday who said Evergreen Pet has closed and when the owners closed up shop, they left everything, including the animals, behind for the landlord.
Since then, SCRAPS says some good Samaritans have been taking some of the animals off the landlord's hands and giving them new homes.
SCRAPS is investigating the situation. There is no official word on the condition of the animals left behind, or whether any died as a result.
Details are still unclear, but as you can imagine there is a whole lot more to this story and we will be digging deeper into finding out exactly what happened. We will bring you any new developments as soon as we get them.
Friday, November 29 2013 10:18 AM EST2013-11-29 15:18:30 GMT
SPOKANE, Wash. - When it comes to shopping around for a house, it's always fun to dream. We did a search for some of the most expensive homes for sale right now in Spokane.>>
SPOKANE, Wash. - When it comes to shopping around for a house, it's always fun to dream. We did a search for some of the most expensive homes for sale right now in Spokane. These are the 10 most expensive homes for sale in Spokane according to the website, www.AllSpokaneHomes.com.>>
Wednesday, December 4 2013 9:56 PM EST2013-12-05 02:56:28 GMT
A huge plume of smoke and steam rose above a barn in northeast Spokane Wednesday morning.>>
A huge plume of smoke and steam rose above a barn in northeast Spokane Wednesday morning as a fire ripped through it, destroying Spokane business Bullseye Amusements' arcade games and carnival memorabilia.>>
Wednesday, December 4 2013 11:03 PM EST2013-12-05 04:03:37 GMT
Passwords for some of the most popular internet sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Google have been stolen and apparently leaked on the internet. >>
Passwords for some of the most popular internet sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Google have been stolen and apparently leaked on the internet. SpiderLabs says it uncovered the passwords during its latest internet sweep for the "Pony Botnet Controller," a malware-spreading set of programs. What this basically means is that the passwords were not leaked by Facebook or the other companies, but from thousands of computers infected with the malware.>>


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MediaKind’s CTO and head of strategy, Mark Russell, discusses the opportunities that 5G will provide the broadcast market as it embraces immersive and Ultra High Definition content.
Over the last 10 years we’ve witnessed a series of dramatic shifts in TV and media that have resulted in largely changed consumer expectations. Today’s consumers have become increasingly demanding in three main expectations: mobility, control, and immersive viewing experiences.
Viewers expect to receive content across multiple devices – often simultaneously – enabling them to set their own viewing schedules, be in control of what they watch and have access to their favourite content in increasingly life-like, immersive picture quality. They want to be on the verge of being part of the action on-screen, regardless of the device being used.
Network – 5G delivery
In response to this shift towards personalised viewing, we are witnessing the simultaneous growth of new emerging media technology offerings, which are faster, smarter and more agile. These heightened consumer expectations are helping to drive innovation in the media space and new technologies for delivering high quality, immersive content efficiently with low latency – such as 5G – are now a fundamental requirement for broadcasters looking to appeal to today’s consumers.
With the huge surge in popularity for live online video, we can see that the increasing adoption of 5G will play a fundamental role in delivering efficient TV everywhere services to bandwidth-hungry consumers.
There is an opportunity to drive transformative change in how video is created, distributed and consumed by increasing the volume and speed of services, connectivity and network efficiency. Ericsson ConsumerLab’s latest report on ‘5G Consumer Potential’, showed that 60% of today’s mobile data usage comes from video consumption, with 5G offering the opportunity and capability to evolve video from its current state into more immersive formats.
Several leading telcos have begun testing out their 5G networks in smaller regions or cities, while operators and streaming giants are already planning to take advantage of the lower latency and increased bandwidth opportunities that 5G will bring. With rising volume and types of video traffic emerging, 5G has the potential to underpin the convergence between mobility, social and broadband.
In terms of contribution, 5G represents a dual opportunity to complement the existing methods of today and enhance the outside broadcast landscape through the way Ultra High Definition (UHD) content is delivered. For instance, we may see 5G help resolve some of the real-time challenges of delivering flawless live 4K content, such as real-time conversion between 4K HLG and HEVC formats. Another possibility might see a combination of 5G and LTE networks to help live broadcast events from mobile devices to TV channels.
As an accompaniment to existing mechanisms, 5G can clearly enable enhanced content creation, distribution and consumption behaviours. By removing the limitations of satellite connectivity, the rollout of 5G will enable broadcasters to have the freedom and the ability to experiment more with new media experiences and ways of delivering content. There are numerous immersive possibilities, from 4K/8K videos featuring 360 views of a racing car from the driver’s perspective, to real-time Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) gaming experiences.
Delivering UHD over 5G
Within the media industry, we will start to see more use-cases coming through and more experimentation. All eyes will be on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where 5G is set to play an integral role in how the content is broadcast, distributed and delivered and how visitors and athletes will stay connected during the Games through the predicted increase in 5G connected smartphones and wearables – particularly after the success of live trials during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
5G represents a real opportunity to enhance existing methods of distribution for all content but will be particularly beneficial for UHD. As the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will show, for outside broadcasting productions, the growth of 5G can offer a more cost effective and flexible alternative to satellite uplinks for the delivery of UHD content and immersive viewing experiences, such as 360-degree live streaming or VR.
UHD – the future is immersive and on your TV screen
Despite the growth of over-the-top services and live social media content, consumers still want high-quality immersive picture on all their devices – including their main TV set. According to a recent report from Conviva, even with the increase in streaming, one of the largest growth segments from Q1 2018 to Q1 2019 was the connected TV, which grew the fastest of any device at 74% year-over-year.
The immediate challenge for operators and content creators is to meet the demand for native 4K content that can be displayed at 4K resolution. By greatly reducing bandwidth requirements as the technology becomes more mainstream, the demand for richer picture quality will rapidly increase and we will see an array of next-generation immersive UHD services coming to market.
Harmonising the viewing experience
To create and deliver truly immersive media means providing new levels of realism and taking consumer-based picture-quality to new heights. UHD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) viewing can provide a greater image detail, superior resolution and technologies that offer the deepest and brightest lowlights, highlights and colours. It extends to 360-degree VR and AR media-based applications, which are helping to enhance the viewing experience and amplify the power of video.
The arrival of 5G will ultimately be the harbourer of modern media experiences, providing the means for delivering UHD content to both traditional TV sets and varieties of second screen devices. By creating much more realistic and compelling offerings, operators and content creators can redefine the viewing experience, captivate audiences and bring together everyone everywhere.


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Sadness for shoppers as more Islington retail businesses close
By abi_silvester | Sunday, July 24, 2011, 17:32
It began as a trickle of closures around Islington's main drag of Upper Street, with shoppers saying goodbye to some of their favourite haunts. Around a year ago the first few shops were shutting down and being replaced: often by chain cafes, or in many cases sitting vacant for weeks.
An all-too familiar site in Islington.
The first casualties mainly consisted of independent boutiques: upmarket shoe shop Laura J on Camden Passage was one of them, closely followed by the FrostFrench boutique and hip ethical clothing store Equa - but soon bigger businesses were affected, too. We said goodbye to its neighboring branch of furniture store Lom Bok, and then to nearby restaurants Emni and Zigos. The former has been closed since early 2011, and is still vacant. More shops and businesses closing down can be seen in our gallery, which at present features eight empty premises.
And sadly, we've heard that more much-loved Islington businesses are set to join the list of those for whom survival in the area has become unsustainable. The fancy dress clothing shop Preposterous has now shut up shop for the last time - a fact that seems itself preposterous when I recall the gigantic queues snaking around the shop last Halloween.
The culprit, unsurprisingly, is an issue affecting much of London: dramatic rental hikes as well as higher business rates. Islington is a prime retail area, and it is becoming increasingly unaffordable for companies to remain in the area.
Meanwhile, the notable additions to Islington's main shopping districts are larger chains and coffee shops; a move that has led many to fear that Islington will soon lose its character as a high quality, unique shopping destination.
It is clear that higher buiness rates are having a very negative effect on the area, and many residents are already worried. Let's hope that the trend does not continue to damage our best-loved shops and restaurants.
Do you know of any more forthcoming closures? Please let us know if so


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SAINT PAUL, Minn — If you've ever had the secret desire to own a soccer team, now's your chance.
Minnesota Women's Soccer is a new team starting play in May 2022 as part of the brand new USL W league.
Starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31, people can buy shares to be a partial owner. The minimum investment will be $100.
The team would be the first community-owned women's team in the U.S. Owners will be able to vote on the team name, brand and other decisions.
For more information, go to MNWomensSoccer.com to sign up for the team's newsletter, or stop by Fan Central at the State Fair.


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Ford is cutting thousands of jobs, ending production of some models and closing a plant in Europe ahead of a possible alliance with market leader Volkswagen.
An all-new Ford Explorer will be hitting the roads this summer.
Ford unveiled the latest version of its popular Explorer SUV Wednesday, a few days ahead of its public debut at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show.
Ford has unveiled a completely new version of the Explorer SUV, a model that helped fuel the SUV craze when it was first introduced in the 1990s. It's still one of the company's most popular products and will be even more important to Ford now that the automaker has announced it is dropping nearly all car models from its North American lineup in favor of SUVs, cros
Chinese shoppers bought fewer cars last year as trade tensions and a weaker economy contributed to the first annual sales decline in two decades.
This time, Nissan is going head-to-head with General Motors and Tesla.
President Donald Trump claims his administration is "doing very well in negotiations with China," but the US team heading to Beijing this week is starting almost from scratch.
Ford is building cars that "talk" with traffic lights, road signs and pedestrians.
Tesla's new manufacturing plant in China is officially under construction.
Some year soon, the late-night food delivery from your local restaurant might arrive at your front door without the delivery guy. General Motors' subsidiary Cruise Automation, which makes technology for self-driving cars, has teamed up with food delivery company DoorDash to test out driverless deliveries.
Carlos Ghosn hasn't been seen in public since his arrest in Japan on November 19. But that's about to change.
Tesla is cutting its car prices in the United States by $2,000 to combat a cut in a federal tax credit for its buyers.
China's biggest ride-hailing company will now allow users to get health insurance and loans on its app.
If you're looking for a classy way to get around town in the new year, there's a brand new option available.TC Black just launched in Tri-Cities on Friday, a transportation provider offering rides in a high-end luxury sedan. David McClain,…
Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is set for an even longer stay in a Tokyo jail cell.
After running afoul of US regulators, Tesla is adding two experienced voices to its board.
For the all-electric luxury car and SUV market, this year's release of the Jaguar I-Pace was just the beginning. Starting next year and continuing in 2020, Jaguar will start getting competition from brands like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche. Tesla will also be raising the competitive bar even further.
Greg Kelly, the US businessman accused of helping Carlos Ghosn under-report his income at Nissan, has been released from jail in Japan after being granted bail.
South Korea's government is fining BMW $10 million over its handling of a spate of engine fires in the country — and the automaker's problems don't end there.
Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, detained for the past five weeks on charges he underreported his income, will spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in a Tokyo jail cell.
It's been coming for a long time but, in 2018, SUVs finally took over every remaining niche in the automotive world. No matter what kind of car you might have been considering — big, small, crazy performance or super-efficient — there is now an SUV for that.
A Japanese court on Thursday rejected prosecutors' request to extend the detention of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, setting the stage for the possible release of the top auto executive.
Europeans crave a balance between life and work, and they're hoping to get their fix at tech companies and carmakers.
BlackBerry may no longer be a leader in the smartphone market. But the company's shift to software for autonomous vehicles and cybersecurity is paying off.


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CD Baby owner AVL Digital sold
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 21 January 2013
CD Baby’s parent company, AVL Digital Group, has been sold to private equity group Stephen Capital Partners, reports Billboard.
A source said that SCP intends to keep AVL Digital and its subsidiary companies running as they currently are for the time being.
Disc Makers, another company owned by AVL Digital, bought CD Baby from founder Derek Sivers in 2008 for $22 million.


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Lidl Italia has launched two new product lines with the goal of promoting healthy nutrition. The Bio Organic brand comprises products entirely of biological origin, while the Free Form is aimed at consumers who have gluten and lactose [...more]
Months after Whole Foods first debuted the Baldor Forager in its Brooklyn store, the retailer has launched the in-store digital kiosk in its newest store in Philadelphia. [...more]
Athletic gear retailer Reebok is planning to open a new manufacturing lab that relies on liquid material and 3D drawing capabilities.
German online pet retailer Zooplus 3Q16 sales reached €227 million ($247 million USD), up 28% compared to €178 million ($194 million USD) in 3Q15. The company’s growth pace was slightly lower than previous quarters, mainly because of the [...more]
Alibaba has announced that its annual 11.11 Singles Day shopping festival will last for 24 days, starting October 21 and ending November 13, rather than just the usual 24 hours on November 11.
Finland’s Kesko is holding talks to sell off its Russian grocery business to Russian-based retailer Lenta. This news comes just months after Kesko sold its sports unit in Russia.
AT&T has reported third quarter consolidated revenues of $40.9 billion USD, up 4.6% compared to the same period last year.
Russian retailer Magnit is likely to end 2016 with fewer net store openings than planned after ramping up closures of inefficient stores. After years of rapid expansion, the company has embarked on a major store clean-up program, shutting [...more]
Chile's ecommerce sales is expected to grow 40% in 2016, reaching $2.8 billion USD, according to the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago (CCS).
Portuguese retail group Jeronimo Martins 9M16 sales reached €10.7 billion, up 5.5% compared to 9M15. Its comparable sales increased by 6.5% compared to. In Poland, its Biedronka operations saw sales grow 9.9% with comparable sales up 8.7%. [...more]
Media-Saturn has shut down its subsidiary and consumer electronics web shop Redcoon Benelux as part of its new strategy to focus more on Media Markt's online activities.
For the third straight month, Canadian retail sales dropped in August. Total retail sales declined 0.1% to a total of CAD 43.98 billion (USD 32.93 billion). On a year-over-year basis, sales actually increased 1.6%.
Spanish supermarket chain Mercadona has announced that it well enter the Portuguese market via the locality of Oporto, where it will open its Portuguese headquarters.
Irish fast-fashion retailer Primark is set to open its second store in the US in December.
Specialty outdoor retailer REI has announced that it will keepts its stores closed on the day after Thanksgiving for the second straight year.
Amazon Books - San Diego, California - Sep 2016
Macy's - Boston, Massachusetts - Sep 2016
Sam's Club - Raleigh, North Carolina - Sep 2016
Kmart - Des Plaines, Illinois - Sep 2016
Sony - New York City, New York - Sep 2016
Planet Retail and RNG have joined forces, which means we can now give you a truly in-depth global view of the retail landscape.
Our new website allows you to login from one place and see everything we offer.
You will need to set your password this once for our new site.
Once you sign in, you can view the brief video below that highlights the updates and benefits of our new site.
Planet Retail | RNG Website Launch
If you have any questions please get in touch.
Client Services Director, Planet Retail | RNG


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SOCIAL MEDIA TOURISM CONFERENCE 2020’ IN CONJUNCTION WITH MEET IN MALAYSIA @ MALAYSIA BUSINESS EVENTS WEEK (MBEW) 2020
KUALA LUMPUR, 26 August 2020: In facing the new challenges in the tourism industry that are affected by COVID-19, the role of netizens, especially social media practitioners needs to be intensified, and to ensure Malaysia tourism industry remains competitive. Therefore, the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) in collaboration with Santai Travel magazine & Malaysia Tourism Council will organize the ‘SOCIAL MEDIA TOURISM CONFERENCE 2020’ on 26 August 2020 at Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur,.
The organizing of the Social Media Tourism Conference is seen as an immediate initiative to help rebuild the country’s domestic tourism industry creatively and innovatively. The main objective of this program is to intensify the role of social media practitioners to help rebuild the country’s domestic tourism industry holistically.
The program hybrid event is organized in conjunction with Meet in Malaysia @ Malaysia Business Event Week (MBEW 2020) on the 26 August 2020 at Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur and through LIVE Facebook on Santai Travel Channel Site. The program is jointly organized by the Malaysian Tourism Council (MTC) and Santai Travel Magazine and Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).
This event is in line with the government’s intention to promote a comprehensive domestic tourism campaign thus rebuilding the tourism industry in a new normal. Through the Social Media Tourism Conference, participants will be actively participating in the Social Media Forum lead by local celebrities such as Maya Karin, Dato’ Norman Abd Halim, Fara Fauzana and Kartini. Apart from that, a workshop entitled ‘Jom Jadi Influencer’ will also be conducted by Fara Fauzana and Kartini the famous radio and TV host.
According to YB Datuk DR. Jeffrey G. Kitingan Deputy Minister Of Tourism, Arts and Cultural Malaysia, tourism industry whether Leisure or Business
is especially dependent on social media given the nature of picturesque images as a point to introduce a destination to the world.
“ Today’s session is a perfect demonstration that how in times of adversity, the power of unity and knowledge is what drives the resilience of an industry. Therefore, I urge all business owners present to seize the opportunities by absorbing as much knowledge from the speakers present: Dato’ Norman, Kartini, Fara Fauzana and Maya Karin, who are not only talented celebrities, influential figures but also business owners themselves. I believe that they would be able to not only provide insightful information on how to build, manage and sustain your social media presence but more importantly, give you new perspectives to your
business,” said Datuk DR. Jeffrey G. Kitingan.
According to Uzaidi Udanis, President of the Malaysian Tourism Council, this program is held to help rebuild the country’s tourism industry creatively to place Malaysia as the leading country in the tourism sector.
“I hope all parties, especially those who are active in the social media arena can trigger a new phenomenon in the world of this new norm in helping the country rebuild the tourism industry,” said Uzaidi Udanis.
“Recognising the power of social media, I believe that our esteemed medias, bloggers, and influencers will be able to spread the beauty of our country especially our tourism landmarks including MICE facilities such as integrated resorts, venues and hotels as a destination for local travellers,” said Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).


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Early in January, a story was going around the internet. “Has Elon Musk bought Google?” asked a lot of journalists. But this is not true. Elon Musk is a multibillionaire businessman who started Tesla and SpaceX.
He became well-known after buying Twitter and changing how it works. The CEO of SpaceX has been messing around with his most recent purchase, turning off accounts and changing how private they are.
This is why a lot of people were fooled when the rumour started to spread on social media that Musk was going to take over Google. The people who run the YouTube channel Elon Musk Zone put up a video on January 8 called “Elon Musk: I officially bought Google.”
It was first said at this time that Musk had bought Google. “Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Google has surprised many people,” says the first line of the video.
Some people who wrote about this story said that the video thumbnail had a photo of Musk and Google CEO Sundar Pichai that had been changed.
In the description of the video, there was a disclaimer that was similar to those we’ve seen on other sites that say they make satire and parody. But this notice didn’t say anything about the words “satire” or “parody.”
Instead, the warning just said, “Our Channel, which is made up of facts, rumours, and stories, has nothing to do with Elon Musk and is based on those things alone. This video is not meant to give advice about money or health.”
The Script of the Video is Deceptive
At the beginning of the video, the following narration set up the made-up story:
“Have you ever imagined that Elon Musk would be capable of buying Google, the biggest search engine in the world? I’ll bet you that never did, though. Let’s just accept it, though. It should come as no surprise that Elon Musk is a man full of shocks.”
People were sceptical on social media and asked questions like:
“Is there ANYONE that believes that Elon Musk has bought google?“
“Hey @elonmusk there’s a rumor that you bought google.”
The news was shown to be false by a great number of independent sources, including:
“@BravoDaveTX @elonmusk @Google, The same channel, said he bought Facebook. The same channel claimed he hired MrBeast as CEO. I once thought it was a legit channel for Musk news, and now, not so much.”
Even though the video has been watched more than 500,000 times, this claim is not true, and the picture of Musk and Google CEO Sundar Pichai is a fake.
More to Read:


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A bill introduced in California in January would make it illegal for full-service restaurants to offer customers plastic straws with beverages, unless requested by the guest.
“We need to create awareness around the issue of one-time use plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills, waterways and oceans,” Ian Calderon, D-Whittier and majority leader of the California State Assembly, said in a statement.
Environmental activists and other sustainability-minded folks have zeroed in on plastic straws as a contributor to waste, especially in waterways. An estimated 500 million plastic straws are used in the U.S. each day, according to Eco-Cycle, a non-profit recycler.
Straws aren’t completely going away, with suppliers creating reusable straws out of metal and glass, for instance, or disposable straws from paper or compostable materials. And Calderon said his proposal wasn’t intended to completely do away with straws.
“It is a small step towards curbing our reliance on these convenience products, which will hopefully contribute to a change in consumer attitudes and usage,” he said in a statement.


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Check out some of the top engines on the premarket:
Ford (F) – The automaker’s shares fell 4.5% in premarket after it warned that quarterly earnings would take a $1 billion hit from rising supplier costs and the shortage of parts. These factors contributed to a shortage of finished vehicles ready for sale.
BioNTech (BNTX), Moderna (MRNA) – Vaccine makers are seeing shares fall again this morning, after downgrading President Joe Biden’s comment yesterday that the pandemic was “over.” BioNTech fell 2.4% in premarket trading, with Moderna down 2.1%.
Change Healthcare (CHNG): Shares of the health technology company rose 7.5% in pre-market trading after a federal judge ruled against the Justice Department’s antitrust challenge to the company’s acquisition of UnitedHealth ( UNH ) for $13 billion.
Cognex (CGNX) – Shares of Cognex rose 4.7% in premarket trading after the maker of machine vision systems and sensors raised its revenue outlook for the current quarter. The move comes amid a faster-than-expected inventory recovery following a fire at major contract manufacturer Cognex.
Nike (NKE) – Nike lost 2.2% in premarket trade after Barclays downgraded the stock to “equal weight” from “overweight,” pointing to continued volatility for the China-based sportswear and footwear maker , as well as eroding demand in North America and elsewhere.
Western Digital ( WDC ) — Shares of the disk drive maker fell 1.7% in premarket after Deutsche Bank downgraded it to “hold” from “buy.” Deutsche Bank said the company’s profit and revenue appear to be at the low end of guidance due to deteriorating demand.
Norwegian Cruise Line ( NCLH ) – Norwegian rose 3% in premarket after Truist Financial upgraded the stock to “buy” from “hold,” pointing to a decline in cancellations and rebookings at lower prices.


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- In celebration of its 150th anniversary, Coors Banquet is launching a global campaign featuring new ads, packaging, merchandise and retail tools, according to a company blog post.
- The “Start Your Legacy” campaign is supported by a new ad featuring the voice of “Yellowstone” actor Cole Hauser and will culminate with a party in the beer’s home town of Golden, Colorado, this fall. Additionally, the brand will help foster future legacies by giving away $150,000 and free beer to budding entrepreneurs.
- The campaign comes as the beer sees significant sales growth, along with a surging cultural relevance. The Molson Coors brand saw a 10% dollar-sales growth in 2022, per data cited by the brand, and has been featured in several popular TV shows.
Coors Banquet is celebrating its 150-year history by looking to its past and heritage, while taking advantage of its renewed place in the public eye. The multifaceted campaign includes a QR campaign, where consumers can scan codes for a chance to win a trip to the celebration in Golden, and a giveaway effort timed to National Small Business Day (May 10) that could help the brand collect valuable first-party data via a microsite.
“Only about half of crowdsourced projects actually reach their goal. That’s a lot of legacies that never get started,” said Tracey Bien Schenck, senior marketing manager for Coors Banquet, in the blog post. “We understand how tough it can be to get the support to start a passion project or business, so we want to give a kickstart to legacies in the making.”
The beer, which is brewed in Colorado, has seen a resurgence due to its appearance in popular properties. It was the official beer of “Yellowstone” season 5, and it was also the beer of choice of hard-drinking karate sensei Johnny Lawrence, played by actor William Zabka, in the Netflix show “Cobra Kai.” After the latter show’s season 3 premiere, volume sales grew by over 5%, per data shared by the brand.
With the brand’s pop culture momentum, it’s fitting that “Yellowstone” star Hauser lends his voice to the campaign celebrating Coors Banquet’s heritage. The spot leans into the beer’s Colorado identity, which has always been central to its marketing, and celebrates the history of the brand, showing it in the hands of cowboys and presidents.
Parent company Molson Coors put up a strong Q1, with sales growing 5.9%, its eighth consecutive quarter for growth. The company cited marketing initiatives as one reason for its strong results.


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- Cape student sues, accuses school officials of slamming her to ground multiple times (04/28/16)47
- Neelys Landing man shot, killed by highway patrol trooper after traffic stop (05/01/16)42
- Bob Evans restaurant in Cape Girardeau among chain's 21 closings (04/26/16)9
- Missouri House votes to allow concealed weapons without permits (04/28/16)8
- Police report filed, but no charges in incident at Cape Central (04/29/16)40
- Two hurt in motorcycle wreck on Interstate 55 (04/25/16)1
- 2016 All-Missourian Boys Basketball (04/29/16)
- Senator introduces bill for I-57 that would connect Sikeston with Little Rock (04/28/16)4
- Law firm requests information about Cape's traffic cameras (04/25/16)3
- Local lawmakers split over failed medical marijuana bill; voters may have a say (04/26/16)19
TNT Choppers putting burly bikes on the road
By Jim Obert
EAST CAPE GIRARDEAU, Ill. -- It didn't take long for the new bridge at Cape Girardeau to attract a new business. TNT Choppers, a custom motorcycles dealer, has opened on Route 146 near the Purple Crackle nightclub.
Owner Dave Pearce, who is a partner in a TNT Choppers outlet in Mayfield, Ky., said the new bridge "makes it easier for people to have access to us," and he expects to draw traffic from Interstate 55.
Pearce sells motorcycles manufactured by Big Mike's Choppers based in Oregon and Independence Motorcycles based in Arizona. The choppers are big -- they could be called hogs. They are also colorful, shiny and loud.
"We think this is going to be a really great market," said Pearce, in his office where framed posters of 1960s motorcycle gang flicks line a wall. Several posters have the name "Hell's Angels" in the movie title.
"There's nobody around here doing what we're doing. We're an after-market bike shop where people can get highly customized bikes."
There are nine models of bikes made by Big Mike's Choppers and two models made by Independence Motorcycles. Pearce said he plans to keep at least one of each model in stock. Prices range from $16,000 to $35,000.
Some of the bikes have a rear tire called a 240 -- it's 11 1/2 inches wide. "That is a big, wide tire. Those tires are really hot," said Pearce.
The bikes are prepainted in a wide variety of colors. Many have vivid graphics on the gas tanks and fenders. Pearce said customers can order bikes custom painted at the factory, or he can have them custom painted by local artists. Also, Big Mike's will custom build to a customer's specifications.
Besides selling high-performance motorcycles, some of which look like Harley-Davidsons, TNT Choppers has a complete service department.
"We'll do work on Harleys, bikes from Big Mike's and Independence and the American-made V-twins," said Pearce, adding that work includes tune-ups, parts, repairs and accessories.
Pearce, who rides an orange and black chopper by Big Mike's, has worked on motorcycles since he was 14. He has more than 20 years experience in the trade. One of his business slogans is, "We didn't just jump on the bandwagon."
Motorcycles are delivered to TNT Choppers by special transport -- a double-decker, enclosed, low-boy trailer. Pearce says the trailer can hold from 20 to 45 bikes.
During the two weeks prior to opening, 20 to 30 people a day stopped by to check out the new business, said Pearce.


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KUALA LUMPUR: Several areas in Hulu Langat will be facing water supply disruption over 28 hours , starting from 8am on Aug 8 to noon the next day.
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) in a statement here today said the disruption could not be avoided due to machinery replacement at the Bukit Mahkota Tinggi water distribution plant.
He said 62 areas will be affected in Hulu Langat among them Beranang, Bandar Sri Putra, Bandar Baru Bangi, Kampung Bangi, and Bandar Bukit Mahkota.
Tiara South, Kampung Rinching Hilir, Taman Permai, Bangi Estate, Taman Angsana, Eco Majestic and Setia Ecohill in Semenyih will also be affected.
Consumers who will be affected are advised to store additional water during the period.
More information can be obtained at www.syabas.com.my and smartphone application ‘mySyabas’. --Bernama


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Red Tiger Gaming, an award-winning casino software supplier, has recently finished an content integration with Buzz Bingo. Working with the Playtech Open Platform, players at Buzz Bingo now have access to the quality casino gaming content of the supplier.
The online bingo site now offers a large selection of top-rated content from the supplier, including latest releases such as Pirates’ Plenty and Vicky Ventura. The supplier just dropped Vicky Ventura in late April, offering players a slot experience set deep in the jungle. Players join Vicky, a fearless explorer, as she tries to uncover priceless totem crystals, provides extra spins and more in the game.
CEO of the company, Gavin Hamilton, commented on the new partnership with Buzz Bingo by stating: “We are delighted to be up and running with Buzz Bingo, which is one of Britain’s biggest bingo brands. The deal represents a great opportunity for us to diversify our player base even further, and we look forward to increasing our visibility among bingo-facing customers.”
Chief Digital Officer for Buzz, Stevie Shaves, commented as well stating that the company is excited to welcome the great games of Red Tiger via the Playtech Open Platform.
The bingo site has been busy as of late, adding content to their brand. Before the deal with Red Tiger Gaming was announced, it was revealed that Buzz Bingo had partnered with Realistic Games. The commercial agreement between the two companies has resulted in slot games added via the Playtech Open Platform as well.
Games provided by Realistic include Shuffle Bots, Super Graphics Upside Down, Black Ice and Fortune 5. Players now have access to a ton of quality content, thanks to the two new content agreement deals.


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A woman pushes a shopping trolley at a food superstore in Ahmedabad (Photo: Reuters)
Retail inflation cooled to an 11-month low of 3.69 per cent in August mainly due to a fall in prices of kitchen items, including fruits and vegetables, official data showed Wednesday.
The inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 4.17 per cent in July and 3.28 per cent in August 2017.
CPI inflation was at 3.58 per cent in October 2017 and has remained above RBI's targeted rate of 4 per cent since then.
The central bank has been mandated to keep retail inflation at 4 per cent level (with a margin of 2 per cent on either side)


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Android’s smartphone app revenues are projected to reach almost $6.8 billion by the end of 2013, nearly doubling its revenues from the previous year. While Google’s mobile platform has some way to go before catching iOS’ smartphone revenues, it will grow at a faster rate. According to ABI Research, Android smartphone app revenues will increase from 59.1% to 65.9% when compared to iOS smartphone app revenues over the next twelve months.
Apple’s iOS still leads all the other mobile operating systems’ revenues by a significant margin; however, the greater number of Android smartphones in use is clawing back Apple’s lead in this market, according to ABI’s senior analyst Josh Flood.
Other key contributors to Android’s app revenues are its effective app advertising. Google has been incredibly successful at mastering targeted online advertising, and it’s bringing that experience and technology to the mobile world. In addition, Android’s willingness to incorporate carrier billing for its app purchases could prove to be a very decisive factor against iOS in-house payments. This capability is particularly notable in emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia-Pacific, where low-cost smartphone sales are beginning to rocket…
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Super Bowl 50 kicks off on Sunday and, for Americans, no sports event is bigger in size or scope. Players on the field are busy preparing for the big day, but off the field, fans are turning to their phones and apps to best plan for the Super Bowl experience. To determine which apps are the best to use on game-day, SimilarWeb data was used to look at which apps were popular last year, on Super Bowl Sunday 2015. For this study, 13 apps were examined, all of which showed major increases in use on February 1st, 2015, aka Super Bowl 49.
To do this, we looked at ‘Active App Users’, which refers to users who already have the app installed that used the app on a specific day, in the selected country, in this case- the United States. In the graph below, we compared Active App Users on Super Bowl Sunday to the previous Sunday, January 25, 2015, in order to show the percent increase from Sunday to Sunday.
With a 305% increase in Active App Users, Papa John’s Pizza was the big winner on Super Bowl Sunday 2015. The popular pizza app was installed on 1.4% of U.S. Android devices on Super Bowl day and was used by 9.7% of those who had the app installed, a huge increase from the 2.4% who used the app the prior Sunday. Two other pizza apps- Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza USA also saw a huge growth in app usage on Super Bowl Sunday, proving that indeed pizza is the king of Super Bowl food. Pizza was in fact much more popular than other fast food apps such as McDonald’s or Subway. McDonald’s only saw 7% increase from the previous Sunday, while Subway saw a slightly higher increase of 9%.
Aside from restaurant specific apps, 4 other food related apps were examined: GrubHub and Eat24, 2 food delivery apps, and recipe apps: Yummly and Food Network. Over the period from January 25th 2015 to February 3rd 25 GrubHub and Eat24 showed major increases in use on the day before the Super Bowl and during the Super Bowl itself. Eat24 peaked on game-day with 5.48% of Active App Users while GrubHub peaked on the day before, as users flocked to their apps to make sure they were prepared for game-day. Meanwhile, recipe apps showed a larger variance, Yummly actually had lower use compared to the previous Sunday, and the Food Network app was only slightly more popular on Super Bowl Sunday compared to a week before.
For transportation apps, Lyft and Uber, we again looked at Active App Users and compared Super Bowl Sunday 2015 to the previous Sunday, January 25th, 2015. Over that time period, Uber was installed on 8.6% of U.S. Android devices, compared to only 1% for Lfyt, but Lfyt proved to have bigger jumps in terms of actual use. An average of 7.7% of users who had Lyft already installed, used the app on Super Bowl day, compared to 5.9% the previous Sunday, an increase of 31%. With Uber, 2.8% of those with the app used it on Super Bowl Sunday, compared to 2.6% on the previous Sunday, an increase of just 8%.
Lastly, SimilarWeb data was used to examine 2 key sports app, both essential companions for Super Bowl Sunday: NFL Mobile and NBC Sports Live Extra. On game-day, 21.5% of U.S. Androids had the NFL app installed while only 0.8% had the NBC app. Still, NBC was the big winner is terms of app use with a huge jump on Super Bowl Sunday 2015. When compared to January 31st, the NBC app had a 126% increase in Active App Users, and that number jumps up to 841% when compared to the previous Sunday, January 25th.
Want more app insights for your company? Find out how SimilarWeb data can help you market your app successfully by contacting us here.


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Indeed, consumer spending which is vital in elevating production levels is still very weak mostly due to high unemployment rate. And it may take a few years to revive 8.5 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007 because although the labor market improved slightly in recent weeks, most Americans are still depressed about their jobs prospect. So it's not surprising that consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in April to the lowest level in five months, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan.
To make things even worst, the biggest fiscal deficit on record combined with the anticipation of low interest rates for a long time is discouraging investors from depositing money in the United States. In fact, the US government deficit is likely to reach 10.6% of GDP in 2010 and the Obama administration is projecting that national debt will rise from 64% of national output to 77% by 2020. And the US economy may experience a significant slowdown when the Federal Reserve exits from its unconventional policy easing, and is forced to increase rates to fight inflation. In addition, we can't forget that higher fiscal deficit also means higher taxes. While this year, tax payments were lowered to stimulate the economy, next year the brakes may be allowed to expire.


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Kwik Delivery, Total Nigeria partner on e-commerce fulfilment of Corporate Affairs Commission documents
Kwik Delivery and Total Nigeria partnered to develop an e-commerce fulfilment and delivery service in Nigeria.
November 20, 2020: Kwik Delivery and Total Nigeria partnered to develop an e-commerce fulfilment and delivery service in Nigeria.
Kwik Delivery and Total Nigeria will enable businesses to use Total service stations as secure pickup locations of essential documents issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission to Nigerian businesses.
The Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission is regularly innovating to improve its services to businesses and has recently decided to add a complete delivery and pick-up service in order to streamline the issuance of its documents to Nigerian businesses.
“Drop off and pick-up locations are essential to the development of e-commerce in Nigeria and Total’s service stations have a great role to play thanks to their trusted brand and quality service. We are glad to partner with Kwik Delivery on this essential service to Nigerian businesses” said Charles Atiomo, general manager, sales & marketing division of Total Nigeria.
“This partnership is a great step toward establishing an e-commerce infrastructure that stakeholders can trust and rely on,” explained Romain POIROT-LELLIG, founder & CEO of Kwik Delivery. “We are honoured to inaugurate this service in partnership with Total Nigeria and its dense network of strategically-located outlets.”


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There are lots of malware but all had been cured due to immediate precautions or preventive measures being laid out to follow. Now, comes another dangerous malware called Copycat which is presently in circulation and has infected over 14 million devices globally as reported by cnet.
It has affected over 280,000 Android devices in the USA alone. Google has finally introduced Playprotect to block copycat from affecting users from playstore but still yet, the malware still attacks through third-party apps and phishing. Meanwhile, Google has been tracking the malware since 2015.
How Copycat Malware Works And Affect Phones
The malware pretends to be popular app in order to confuse you and after download, the app collects data about your device and automatically download Rootkits to root and eliminate the security system. The Copycat Malware will start downloading fake apps on your phone and as well, take control of your phone zygote (the launcher of your phone apps) and the phone will be on the malware total control as it knows any app you download or open.
After that, the Copycat Malware will replace the app creators refferal ID to its own in order to make money from the apps. It redirects Ads revenue to the hackers. The Copycat Malware has helped them in making over $1.5 million. However, it was reported that the app creators might be from China due to the fact that the malware check and spare any Android device from that region.
To be safe, you need to always install your apps from playstore, upgrade to a higher OS, avoid collecting apps or files from friends phone, avoid downloading files from third-party sites, install antivirus and ensure your memory card is only used by you and not on other peoples laptops or devices, better still, format the memory card before use.
What’s your say about the dangerous Copycat Malware?
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In July, the good old boy contingent was horrified to hear that Ford would contemplate building Ford tough trucks from a material considered good enough for beer cans: Aluminum. Now, they will be absolutely terrified by the news that GM wants to build trucks from a material known to treat heartburn: Magnesium.
It’s all for putting trucks on a weight-loss diet in order to meet fuel economy requirements. Magnesium is 75 percent lighter than steel and 33 percent lighter than aluminum, GM engineer Paul Krajewski told Reuters. Magnesium also costs three to four times as much as aluminum.
The stiff space-age metal is a bitch to work with. Usually, magnesium parts are formed by high pressure die casting. GM developed a way to stamp parts from magnesium sheet metal. Still, the process is slow and complicated: The sheet metal must be heated to 842 degrees Fahrenheit before stamping.
By 2020, magnesium will be able to take out 15 percent of the weight of a vehicle, leading to fuel savings of 9 percent to 12 percent, Reuters says. GM is just at the beginning. It’s first use for stamped sheet metal magnesium is a rear deck lid inner panel. Weight savings: 2.2 pounds. And you need to be very lucky to get a magnesium-enhanced truck. GM will make about 50 vehicles, which will be sold to consumers, using the magnesium sheet process in the fourth quarter, but nobody is telling which models will be graced with the space-age parts.


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Those Danes: Organic World Record
Last week 30% of all food groceries sold in Irma were organic!
That’s a world record! “The response to our organic week promotion blew all expectations. It goes to show that the interest in organic products is far greater than we think and if you make an extra effort there are great opportunities to grow the market,” says the company president, Alfred Josefsen.
Irma had forecasted a whopping growth in this category – from 13.5 percent last year to 20 percent this year. They grew the category to 30.2%!! Organic foods make up 3.5% of all food sales in Denmark – that’s more than any other country in the world - yet Irma beat even that!
Irma was founded in 1886 - which makes it the second-oldest grocery chain in the world – and is very close to my heart. I grew up around the corner from the (now closed) store next to Park Bio. My friends and I would collect empty beer bottles after open air concerts in Fælledparken and sell them to Irma for cool cash!
Visit Irma online at Irma.dk