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I’ll be the first to acknowledge that there’s some cache to being a Dow stock. But that doesn’t mean investors should be obligated to buy. When the market turns, sometimes those names become Dow stocks to sell – and that’s where we are today.
Of course, it first pays to know exactly what a Dow stock is. A Dow stock is one of the 30 names that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average – the index of 30 large, publicly owned blue-chip companies that trade on either the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq composite.
Being a member of the Dow is a big deal. Dow stocks are considered to be the most highly capitalized and influential companies on the market. It serves not only as a representation of the larger stock market but it’s also seen as an economic bellwether.
The market is having a rough 2022, and so are several names on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. These seven names are among the worst on the Dow, and all of them have a poor rating in my Portfolio Grader.
|Walt Disney Co.
I’ve made no secret that I’m not a fan right now of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock. Once the acknowledged chip leader, INTC has lost enough market share that it ceded its No. 1 position.
Meanwhile, Intel CEO warned that the personal chip market will likely drop even more than the 10% that experts anticipated.
Intel is hoping to raise $3.5 billion by taking its self-driving technology unit, Mobileye, public in an initial public offering, but this year has been a disappointing year for IPOs. The company may have to settle for $2.5 billion – or perhaps even less.
Earnings in the second quarter included earnings of $15.32 billion versus the Street’s expectations of $17.92 billion. EPS of 29 cents per share was worse than expectations of 70 cents EPS.
Intel has an “F” grade in the Portfolio Grader.
Down nearly 38% so far this year, things appear to just be getting worse for Boeing (NYSE:BA). The Federal Aviation Administration disclosed that the aircraft maker doesn’t anticipate winning approval for its 737 Max 10 before next summer. The disclosure raised new concerns about Boeing’s timeline for deliveries.
The FAA is also questioning Boeing about its safety certification requirements for the Max 10, saying in a Sept. 19 letter that the company has not yet completed its required assessments.
Congress mandated new cockpit alerting requirements for aircraft in 2020, following crashes of two Max 8 airliners that killed a total of 346 people. After a rough stretch with the Max 8, Boeing badly needs to have a clean safety record with the Max 10 and for the FAA to approve sales.
Boeing has missed earnings for the last several quarters. In the most recent report, Q2 revenue of $16.68 billion was less than the $17.53 billion that analysts expected. An EPS loss of 37 cents per share was worse than the loss of 11 cents per share the Street predicted.
BA stock has a “D” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Big bank stocks don’t get bigger than JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), but it was a difficult second quarter for JPM stock.
The bank reported earnings that missed on top and bottom lines, with revenue of $30.72 billion and EPS of $2.76 worse than analysts’ estimates of $31.82 billion and EPS of $2.90. On top of that JPM suspended share repurchases so it could build up its capital in preparation of higher regulatory requirements in 2023 and 2024.
JPMorgan is among the bank stocks reporting earnings next week, and there’s a school of thought that things are going to be much improved. Higher interest rates mean that JPM should have been able to make more money on its loan products. So not surprisingly, JPM stock jumped by 6% in early October.
However, it’s also reasonable to expect that the market has already priced in a positive earnings report for JPM, meaning that there’s little further room to go should the bank manage to at least beat expectations.
JPM has a “D” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
The maker of protective helmets, Post-It notes and other commonly used products, 3M (NYSE:MMM) has had a difficult year. Down almost 40% so far in 2022, 3M is facing a difficult short-term future as a slowing economy will likely weigh down the industrial sector.
On top of that, the company is expected to pay several billion dollars in connection to liabilities from defective earplugs that were sold to the U.S. military.
Put those two together and MMM’s quarterly earnings report looks to be a trouble spot. In the second quarter, 3M barely beat analysts’ expectations, topping revenue by less than 0.1% ($8.7 billion) and EPS by only 4 cents per share ($2.48).
MMM stock has a “D” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Retailers like Nike (NYSE:NKE) are having some serious problems during this economy. Inflation at its highest rate in a generation means that people have less money for discretionary purchases, like high-priced athletic shoes and clothing.
NKE stock is down 47% so far this year, much worse than other Dow stocks and the greater stock market. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company’s inventories are up 44% to $9.7 billion, and profit margins are down thanks to greater freight costs.
On the plus side, earnings for the company’s fiscal first quarter 2023 were slightly better than expected. Revenue of $12.69 billion topped expectations of $12.3 billion, and EPS of 93 cents was a penny better than anticipated. But the headwinds facing NKE aren’t going away soon.
NKE stock has a “D” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), the maker of cloud-based software, is down nearly 42% on the year and a little more than 47% since November 2021.
Much of the blame comes from the current economic environment. Rising interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar is creating some pain for CRM investors. Salesforce says that its revenue growth is expected to slow to 17% this year – the first time that CRM would see revenue growth of less than 20% for a year.
Earnings for the fiscal Q1 2023 were better than expected. It had revenue of $7.72 billion topped analysts’ expectations of $7.7 billion, and EPS of $1.19 better than the Street’s expectations of $1.03. But with slower revenue growth expected, CRM stock loses quite a bit of appeal.
CRM stock has a “D” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
All is not well with the House of Mouse. Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) is one of the world’s best-known entertainment companies, with its signature amusement parks, cruise line, movie studio and now its Disney Plus streaming service.
But Disney is struggling with growing pains. CEO Bob Chapek’s reign has been far from smooth and the former CEO, Bob Iger, has criticized naming his successor as one of his “worst business decisions.”
Employees are also in an uproar from the company’s response to Florida’s new law that limits instruction on gender identity and sexuality (the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law). Disney also lost its special tax district in Florida after feuding with Gov. Ron DeSantis.
While the company scored beats on both the top and bottom lines in the third quarter, DIS stock is down 35% so far this year. It gets a “D” rating in the Portfolio Grader.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier has a position in BA, JPM, NKE and DIS. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
On the date of publication, the InvestorPlace Research staff member primarily responsible for this article did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.


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This evening, Epic Games confirmed that it will make Playground a permanent mode with future plans already in the pipeline.
One of Fortnite: Battle Royale's newest Limited Time Modes will become a mainstay in the game.
Canada adds 31,800 jobs in June, led by jump in part-time positions
The job growth shows the labour market shrugging off worries about a slowdown triggered by trade fights or rising borrowing costs. Some economists project economic output rose at better than 4% annual pace in the second quarter for the first time since 2014.
Fortnite Playground mode at last launched properly earlier this week after teething problems with the LTM. Epic has alluded to this possibility before when it expressed interest in making Playground a permanent part of the game, as opposed to the Limited-Time Mode that it is right now. "We'll be turning off the Playground LTM on Thursday, July 12th as we take it back under construction for the next version", the team stated in a recent Reddit post.
There's no firm date for Playground's return, but given that the mode's only been online for a few days so far, we're hoping we won't have to wait too long. Players have mostly been using the time to tinker with the game's building mechanics, and have already created some pretty insane stuff.
Jordan army begins delivering aid to Syrians stranded near border
The entire southwest is part of a "de-escalation zone" agreed previous year by Russian Federation , the United States and Jordan . The Free Syrian Army is now holding peace talks with the Russian military in the southeastern Daraa town of Busra Al-Sham.
However, some fans may be interested to learn that Playground is apparently just the "first step" into a "full creative mode" in Fortnite.
From the wording of the message, it sounds like Playground is not in it's final "version", and so it is expected there will be changes made in the future which may lead to it being temporarily disabled. We've also seen some pretty sweet creations come out of this "practice" mode, and fans can't seem to get enough.
Igor Akinfeev: Russia’s hero against Spain
The veteran Barcelona midfielder came off the bench and nearly won the game with an 85th-minute shot well saved by Akinfeev. Nonetheless, Artem Dzyuba was able to draw a penalty from Gerard Pique who was called for a handball just inside the box.
Fortnite is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

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Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan was spotted wearing a hijab at the London Modest Fashion Week which was dedicated to Muslim couture. Lindsay shared, “Fashion doesn’t always have to be so naked and [it] can be adventurous and still beautiful with a strong group of women behind it”. The actress has lived in Dubai and is making headlines for her recent spiritual journey. From her initiating a traditional fashion line to completely wiping off her social media, the actress has been hinting a lot. ALSO READ: Looking for another reason to travel to Dubai? Now visit Lindsay Lohan's island -read deets
The actress paid a visit to Hawa Cosmetics , a vendor at the fashion week, that makes vegan products. They took to Instagram to share a photo of Lindsay and captioned it as, “Oh my days! As if Lindsay Lohan came over to say hello to Team Hawa! She was so lovely and was saying how she’s into halal cosmetics and what she’s actually wearing on her face today was all halal!! Well all I can say is if it’s good enough for Lindsay Lohan, gurlll whatcha all waiting for?!” ALSO READ: Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan owes over $100,000 in unpaid taxes?
In April 2016, the actress was pictures on the streets of New York City carrying a copy of Quran. A representative shared, “The actress has a keen interest in the Arabic culture”. The actress opened up about the same sharing,”If [Islam] is something I want to learn, this is . . . my own will”.


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Samsung tweets that media reports about an upcoming Galaxy S4 are wrong.
Yesterday we carried a report that Samsung would unveil a new Galaxy S4 in February 2013 at the MWC 2012. The new 5-inch Galaxy S4 would then go on sale in March said the report. Now Samsung tweets that this report is completely wrong.
Don't Miss: Today's Electronics Bargains at Woot.com
This means unless any other company is going to release a killer new Android phone that is faster than the iPhone 5 is going ruin Apple's party.


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2022 August 7 15:13
Busan Port Authority (BPA, CEO Kang Joon-suk) stated on June 7 that it decided to implement the Busan Port Overseas Market Expansion Support Project together with the Busan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (President Jang In-hwa) this year, following last year. The application process would start as well.
The project is about supporting small and medium-sized companies having difficulties with overseas sales due to stronger quarantine and immigration inspection caused by prolonged COVID-19. It allows the companies to conduct their promotional and marketing activities without direct face-to-face contact with foreign buyers.
BPA has been cooperating with the Busan Chamber of Commerce & Industry since 2020 to help companies with the entire export marketing activities, from preparation, buyer identification, and contract.
The project will support companies with various services: making promotional materials, establishing overseas branches, providing money for attaining foreign certification and conducting test analysis, identifying overseas buyers, issuing export x-documents, conducting global online marketing, translating and interpreting, and supporting with logistics costs, etc.
Small and medium-sized companies located in Busan and Gyeongsangnamd-do Province are applicable.
BPA CEO Kang Joon-suk stated, “With COVID-19 prolonged and SMEs activities to search for overseas market reduced, I hope this support project can help accelerate overseas marketing of SMEs. We will continue to support SMEs so that they can turn the crisis caused by COVID-19 into an opportunity.”


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ITG Voma Corp./American Tire Distributors Holdings Inc.—95,000 Capitol Precision Trac II tires in seven sizes, manufactured between March 2009 and May 2010, because of a manufacturing anomaly that could lead to tread separation. The sizes are: 245/70R17—DOT Code JE LJ FTP 2209 through 2010; 235/70R16—JE KJ ETP 5008 through 2010; 235/75R15—JE KK DTP 0909 through 2010; 245/70R16—JE LJ ETR 0909 through 2010; 245/75R16—JE LK ETP 1009 through 2010; 255/70R16—JE MJ ETP 0909 through 2010; and 265/75R16—JE NK ETP 0909 through 2010.
Continental Tire the Americas L.L.C.—5,993 ProContact GX SSR runflat radials, size 225/45R18 95H XL, produced between June 22 and July 28, 2014, that were fitted OE on the front axles of certain 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles. Some may have been deformed during the curing process, which could cause the tire tread to appear distorted when inflated. Fewer than 100 of the tires were sold in the replacement market.
Mazda North American Operations—99,711 Mazda6 sedans for TPMS systems installed from Oct. 25, 2012, to Oct. 10, 2014, because the systems may not alert drivers to low tire pressure.
Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc.—175,000 Toyo Open Country H/T, with Tuff Duty, produced between November 2008 and June 2013, and Nitto Dura Grappler Highway Terrain tires, produced between May 2007 and April 2012, because of the potential for a tread/belt separation in a small number of tires. The recall affects seven LT sizes of the Open Country H/T and four LT sizes of the Nitto Dura Grappler.


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Before starting an Indiegogo campaign for Just Food, her line of shelf-stable, real-food meals for people with feeding tubes, Julie Bombacino, 37, spent about six weeks studying successful campaigns and working with an intern to assemble media and blogger contacts, draft emails, write FAQs and the like. “We did not just make a video and push the campaign live. From the video script to the custom landing pages, everything was planned out in advance,” says Ms. Bombacino, who, before having her two children, was senior vice president of marketing at OptionsXpress Inc., a Chicago-based online brokerage now owned by Charles Schwab Corp.
Her husband, Tony Bombacino, chief marketing officer at Web-data company BrightTag Inc. and former CMO at Restaurant.com, will be a Just Food board member when the board is established.
Connections and marketing know-how helped Ms. Bombacino secure early funding from angel investors, so by the time she launched the crowdfunding campaign, she knew she had a viable concept.


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Governments across Africa should share best practices and develop competition policies that allow more openness in the market, experts at the World Bank Group have said.
The message was delivered in Kigali on Monday at the East Africa region dissemination of a report by World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) and the African Competition Forum (ACF)
The report, titled “Breaking down Barriers: Unlocking Africa’s Potential through Vigorous Competition Policy”, reviews the status of competition frameworks and implementation in 19 African countries and three African Regional Economic Communities.
It focuses on three sectors that are considered critical for Africa’s competitiveness which are cement, fertilizer, and telecommunications but it also explores competition issues in road freight, air transport, and retail.
Overall, the report found that the range of competition policy frameworks in place across Africa as well as the richness of experience in enforcing those frameworks highlights the great potential for peer-to-peer learning, both within the African region and across sub-regions.
It calls on national and regional competition authorities to increase their impact through taking a regional perspective when assessing cases within their jurisdictions.
Ignace Rusenga Mihigo Bacyaha, IFC’s Resident Representative in Rwanda, told The New Times in an interview that one of the challenges for African countries is to be able to establish sound competition laws that would end monopoly in certain areas and open up markets without hurting consumers.
“When there are more people in the field and the right competition laws that help to ensure quality, it’s the end-users, the consumers who benefit,” he said.
Participants follow the presentation of the report by World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation in Kigali yesterday. (Nadege Imbabazi)
Among the main areas that need improvement as highlighted by the report include the enforcement of competition laws and policies, the assessment of mergers and acquisitions of corporations, as well as regulation targeted at specific critical sectors such as telecommunication, retail of staple foods like rice, milk, sugar, or wheat among others.
“There is still room for improvement,” said Philana Mugyenyi, Competition Policy Specialist at World Bank Group in Nairobi, Kenya.
Regarding the need to improve assessments for mergers and acquisitions, Mugyenyi said that when big corporations merge, sometimes they can control prices on the market and that might affect consumers.
“By assessing mergers the objective is to ensure that sectors remain competitive,” she said.
She also said that consumers and competition authorities should better work together to ensure that there is effective competition on the market.
Both Michel Sebera, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Francis Kariuki, the Director General of Kenya Competition Authority, highlighted the need for national competition laws to cater for regional dimensions.
Kariuki called for countries within the East African Community to keep working together to lower prices of key services such as in the area of telecommunication given its potential to facilitate trade.
“We have to think whether we are a community in paper or whether we are a community focused on enabling trade,” he said at the meeting yesterday.
The report dissemination event in Kigali, yesterday, was followed by a two-day training of competition regulators from different African countries about strengthening capacity to design and implement pro-competition regulations in the telecommunications sector.


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Nordstrom Rack will open its first Baltimore store next year in The Shops at Canton Crossing, Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. said Wednesday.
The store will open in the second phase of development of the 325,000-square-foot shopping center on Boston Street in Canton. The center opened in 2013.
Construction will start in November on a 90,000-square-foot addition to the shopping center, which has 30 stores and restaurants and is anchored by Target, Harris Teeter, DSW, Ann Taylor Loft and Old Navy.
"We look forward to adding a Nordstrom Rack at Canton Crossing – a more convenient location for customers who live and work closer to downtown," said Karen McKibbin,...


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One thing is for sure, you will have plenty of questions when you see the new iSoundCap by a company of the same name.
Music fans can now wear their music by tucking their iPod into the iSoundCap’s protective sleeve and letting it rip.
The iSoundCap is a hat that holds an iPod shuffle or nano, and keeps the wire from a listener’s headphones in a built-in spool. The wires come down to a listener’s ears instead of up from their waist – or wherever they usually store their iPod.
Functional headgear now joins a long line of protective covers, armbands, FM transmitters and other audio products and speakers designed exclusively to work with an iPod.
Middler communications major Meghan Gargan, said the product removes the hassle of cords and the sudden silence that comes when an arm swing tears a headphone jack out of an iPod while a favorite song is playing.
“I like the idea of not having the earphone cords,” she said. “They can be messy and get tangled and one always ends up falling out.”
However, there are some questions about safety.
“My concern would be that the iPod would be in the hat in a place everyone could see,” said Gargan. “So I would think it would be easier to steal just by ripping the hat off someone’s head and running off with it.”
Sarah Dufault, a sixth-year physical therapy major, said she wondered if keeping an iPod right on top of a listener’s head is healthy to begin with.
“[It is] probably better to keep that kind of frequency as far away from your brain as possible,” she said. “I don’t think it’s safe.”
One possibility that may boost the wearable jukebox’s popularity is design. Currently, the iSoundCap only comes in black, white, black and white, or pink. Licenses, enabling the hat to include Sox red or Celtics green may bring in more sports-loving New England college students, said Gargan.


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Even as other central banks move away from crisis-mode policies, the Bank of Japan will maintain its strong monetary easing and stand ready to ramp up support if inflation remains below its 2% objective, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.
"As the output gap turns positive, we expect consumer inflation to gradually accelerate to roughly 1% by the middle of next year," he said. "Even if inflation rises to 1%, it will still fall short of our 2% target. As a result, we will not consider reducing or eliminating our ultra-loose policy" Kuroda said.
As a result of COVID-19 restrictions and parts shortages, Kuroda said the recovery in the world's third-largest economy has been somewhat slower than previously expected.
"However, the mechanism for economic recovery remains intact," he stated, adding that growth is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2022 when state-of-emergency restrictions are lifted, helping to revive consumption.
While automakers are dealing with supply constraints, Kuroda believes that bottlenecks caused by factory closures in Southeast Asia will be resolved in the coming months. Chip shortages, on the other hand, may take longer to resolve because capacity must be increased through capital expenditure to meet high demand, according to the governor.
"If the global supply constraint lasts longer than projected, it might damage Japan's exports and corporate earnings by slowing global growth and raising costs," Kuroda said.
The economy will revive in the current quarter, according to Kuroda, as the end of COVID-19 restrictions on September 30 props up spending. He also dismissed concerns about rising commodity prices, claiming that they indicate strong global demand.
"True, gasoline and other food staples are becoming more expensive. However, this isn't having a significant negative influence on the economy" he stated.


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March 10, 2016 — Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) is spearheading efforts to get answers for 17,000 people who reported severe hair loss from WEN hair-care products, specifically seeking details about secret safety tests.
Rep. Pallone, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a letter (PDF) asking the FDA what it has done to address safety issues, such as:
- Significant hair loss
- Visible bald spots
- Hair breakage
- Scalp irritation
- Burning of the scalp and eyes
Rep. Pallone also sent a letter (PDF) to Guthy-Renker, the manufacturer of WEN. He requested a briefing to discuss safety issues and all documents related to the testing of WEN Cleansing Conditioner. In a press release, he wrote:
“Unfortunately, since popular cosmetics and personal care products are largely unregulated before they reach the marketplace, these products can contain harmful chemicals that have the potential to put consumers at risk.”
In February 2014, Guthy-Renker told the FDA they were investigating reports of hair loss from WEN. However, the results of those safety tests were never disclosed. Guthy-Renker is now facing a class action lawsuit involving hundreds of people who experienced hair loss and lawyers are demanding results of the safety tests.
Rep. Pallone is not the only lawmaker concerned about cosmetics. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have also recently proposed legislation that would require manufacturers to report the results of any safety studies, any “serious” adverse events, and ingredients in their products.


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Jan 09, · ILCS ‘Cadmium-Safe Kids Act’ (Public Act ) Maine: Title 38, Chapter D ‘Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products’ Maryland: Environment, § through § ‘Cadmium in Children’s Jewelry’ Minnesota: Minnesota Statutes §E ‘Cadmium in Children’s Jewelry. May 06, · Cadmium is sometimes used in children’s jewelry to make the coating shiny and to give it weight, according to the Department of Toxic Substances Control. At the Senate committee hearing on the bill on April 24, Mario DeBernardo, a representative for Becerra, said children can be exposed to toxins in adult jewelry .
Cadmium is a lot like lead. More toxic and also more expensive. It is bad stuff for jewelry. There were some alarming stories in the news a year or so ago about cheap children’s jewelry from China being . Feb 04, · The announcement from Aeropostale was significant because it represented the first time a company has said it is effectively banning cadmium in adult jewelry. Aeropostale has more than .
Surprisingly, there are no restrictions on the amount of cadmium allowed in adult jewelry in the United States. There is a limit of % cadmium in children’s jewelry in California, a result of a settlement in , after it was found at high levels in jewelry . Feb 03, · The center said it began lab testing adult jewelry for cadmium after an Associated Press investigation reported last month that pieces of cheap children’s jewelry imported from China .
A CBC Marketplace investigation reveals some Ardene and Aldo Accessories jewelry manufactured in China contains thousands of times more cadmium than Health Canada says is safe for children. The center said it began lab testing adult jewelry for cadmium after an Associated Press investigation reported last month that pieces of cheap children's jewelry imported from China contained levels of cadmium .


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CEO Marissa Mayer denied rumors over the weekend that with Yahoo stock down 38 percent over the last twelve months, she was about to leave the company.
Silicon Valley stocks suffered their worst drop last week in 3 months. A year ago, stocks were soaring with tech IPOs spiking to incredible profits on their first day of trading.
But the bubble has burst with five of the twelve U.S.-based tech companies that went public this year pricing their shares at valuations below private market values. OnDeck saw its valuation fall 52 percent from $1.3 billion before its IPO to about $624 million, according to Reuters.
The shifting investment climate comes as some of Silicon Valley “unicorn” tech start-ups with private market valuations of over $1 billion have recently pulled their plans to go public. Examples include data storage company Nutanix and online lender Prosper Marketplace.
Premier unicorn Square Inc. (preliminary: SQ-NYSE) payments rattled Silicon Valley’s pixie dust machine two weeks ago when the company filed public disclosure documents with the Securities & Exchange Commission before starting their IPO roadshow.
Despite the San Francisco e-commerce start-up raising $100 million a year ago in September in a late stage round of venture capital funding at a $6 billion valuation, the SEC docs reveal Square booked a net loss of $131.5 million on $892.8 million in revenue in the first three quarters of this year. Over half of Square’s revenues are being eaten up paying for transaction costs to run on other firms’ payment networks.
With Square’s discounted valuation and push to start trading just before the Thanksgiving holiday in late November, analysts suggest that the company needs cash and expects the public market will be more receptive to funding further losses than its private market investors.
The speculation about Mayer leaving Yahoo seems to be tied to a Re/code blog report last week that Yahoo had hired an outside consultant to help her with another restructuring of Yahoo’s core business, including which units to close.
SunTrust analyst Robert Peck argues that it is time for Mayer to leave. He complains that after spending $7 billion on a combination of mergers, acquisitions, and higher research and development since she joined the company in 2012, Yahoo’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization have actually declined by -45 percent.
But Kara Swisher at Re/code pointed out that Mayer recently required all her top Yahoo executives to solemnly promise that they will stick with the company for another three to five years. Swisher believes Mayer would be pummeled if she voluntarily bails out of Yahoo for another opportunity.


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A new tourism initiative will be launched in November, targeting cruise visitors as part of efforts by the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA) to stimulate cruise business and convert persons from a one-day stay into a longer stay.
In making the announcement last week Thursday, Nautical Development Manager at the authority, Nikoyan Roberts said the new initiative developed by the E-Business Department, will engage cruise passengers as well as crew members who visit the island between the period of November 15, 2016 and April 30, 2017.
According to Roberts, “the programme was designed as a content creation competition where the Pure Grenada brand and the Cruise Grenada brand through the use of the hashtag ‘Cruise Grenada,’ will be able to feed our social media community and it will use digital technology to engage our followers”.
“They (participants) will come on a cruise, engage with Grenadian suppliers (and) tourism providers to go to places to take high resolution videos and photos and post it on to social media…Depending on the amount of likes they would have received at the end of the contest period then they would be chosen to come back to Grenada for a longer stay,” she remarked.
Roberts said the price incentive for the new GTA initiative would allow Grenadians to “return to Grenada for a longer stay of seven days”.
The female Nautical Development Manager indicated that the GTA board has created quite a “stir” with the approval of the collaborative social media marketing strategy, which utilises an online competition to engage and reward new and existing followers.
She added that “partners at the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA) have already pledged support so that we can utilise all of our resources towards the success of this programme.”
Roberts is optimistic that through the execution of the social media contest for “approved visitors we will achieve free publicity for the Pure Geo-Tourism brand,” created in 2014 by Inglefield/Ogilvy & Mather Ltd, the Caribbean arm of Ogilvy, the global advertising giant, around a new Geo-Tourism positioning created by Jennifer Ellard-Alexis at Ethical Ideas.
The new GTA marketing initiative seeks to increase social media following, the ability of Pure Grenada through the use of the hash tag to improve its search engine optimisation ratings to accumulate user generating content, which can be used for future in house marketing, strengthen visitor focus and stimulate them to spend more while they are in the country, just to name a few.


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A Trump administration proposal to revamp the federal food stamp program could mean big changes for the thousands of Delta residents who depend on the food stamps, along with the businesses that rely on E-B-T card income.
The proposed budget released Monday would cut cash benefits through the SNAP program by half and replace that money with baskets of food delivered by the government.
The program is supposed to save about $13 billion a year.
Families who currently qualify for $90 or more per month in food stamps would get food in the boxes while their e-b-t card deposits would be cut in half.
Across the nation, more than 44 million people are on food stamps, about 14 percent of the population. In Mississippi, 583,000 residents qualify, about 19 percent.
In the Delta, the percentages are much higher. Nearly 72,000 people receive food aid under the SNAP program, amounting to nearly 36 percent of the population. In Washington County alone, more than 21,000 people receive food stamps, more than 42 percent of the population.
If the American Harvest Box food is brought into the county from elsewhere, it could have a heavy impact on grocery stores that serve the Delta.
Nationally, food stamps account for 7.5 percent of all food sales. But in the Delta, with the heavy concentration of people qualifying for the program, the percentage would be much higher.


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Digital transformation is having a significant impact on enterprises worldwide.
CA Technologies has released in a new global study of senior level business and IT executives, “Keeping Score: Why Digital Transformation Matters” that demonstrates the strong connection between business performance and the technologies and practices that underpin digital transformation, yet reveals a significant opportunity for growth.
The study further reveals that deepening adoption of practices such as agile, DevOps, API management and identity-centric security boosts business impact by up to 52%.
“The ascendancy of customer experience today is driving technology – specifically software -into the heart of every company’s business model,” says Otto Berkes, chief technology officer at CA Technologies.
The research also introduces the Digital Transformation Business Impact Scorecard (BIS), a global ranking of countries and industries across 14 key performance indicators (KPIs) critical for digital transformation success.
The scorecard results clearly indicate that digital transformation is paying off with tangible benefits as respondents reported:
* 74% report improvement in customer experience;
* 76% report improvement in digital reach;
* 33% increase in speed to market;
* 40% increase in customer satisfaction; and
* 37% increase in new business revenue.
Against a global average BIS score of 53, many developing countries top the list – India (79), Thailand (71), Brazil (69), Indonesia (66) and Malaysia (64). The US scored 57 and all of the European countries scored lower.
Emerging and developing economies have more ability than mature countries to start their digital transformation efforts with a “clean slate” approach that has less legacy environments to deal with. Therefore, the payoffs can be faster and more significant.
From a vertical sector perspective, the top five industries were telecoms (59), banking & financial services (57), public sector (56), retail (54) and healthcare (53). The surprise performance of the public sector reconfirms the strong emphasis governments have been placing on leveraging the app economy and digital transformation to provide more jobs, increase tax revenue and provide better services to their citizens.
The research also explored the key technology choices and best practices businesses are deploying in their digital transformation efforts and what effect they have on business performance. To measure the impact, the research mapped the level of maturity of adoption of these practices against their Business Impact Scorecard results and found:
* Expanding agile practices beyond development to embrace the entire enterprise boosts digital transformation business performance by 33%.
* Building DevOps practices into the culture of the organization increase performance on the BIS by 35%.
* Applying a more managed, life-cycle approach to APIs increases business impact scores by 52%.
* Deploying identity-centric security which uses context, behavioural analytics and more adaptive and predictive approaches to breach detection boosts digital transformation business performance by 24%.
“Clearly, digital transformation is a journey and a common element in process improvement. With the critical role software now plays in helping customers execute their digital strategies, you could be doing well today, but you could be doing even better tomorrow. Becoming more advanced in the adoption of these key enabling technologies and practices should be at the top of every business executive’s agenda,” says Berkes.


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A collection of news, articles and other featured content about Other Merchandise & Services.
These rich, decadent treats offer more chocolate flavor than ever before.
The kiosks will be in five Pennsylvania locations and one North Carolina store.
In this special report, we interview Family Express Founder, President and CEO Gus Olympidis & other key executives about the retailer’s new technology ecosystem and identifies Family Express’ technology partners.
The retailer debuted its fourth small-format store in Cleveland.
There are clear consumer preferences in the states where CBD retail sales are now legal.
Thousands of 7NOW Pins enable customers to receive a delivery at public locations that may not have traditional addresses.
Although the FDA has yet to establish CBD guidelines for food and beverage, c-stores can profit.
Its Counter service launches at 100-plus Rite Aid stores with thousands more locations planned.
The convenience retailer also introduces Dash In's Fresh Bowls to its Craveable Menu.
Drivers can earn extra Fuel Credits through the end of 2019.
The kiosks can be found in 20 of the retailer's convenience stores.
The lineup includes vape pens, topical rubs, tinctures, drops and oral pouches.


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In some countries football is also known as rugby. In other countries, football is synonymous with soccer. But in the US, football is major sport, not only collegiately, but also professionally. And this weekend is the grand daddy game of the season, the Super Bowl®. It’s Super Bowl® XLVII (that’s 47 to people who think that Roman numerals are too archaic) and it will be in New Orleans, LA. AFC champs are the Baltimore Ravens®. Representing the NFC are the San Francisco 49ers®.
Many people get together to have parties on Sunday. There are pregame shows, pre-pregame shows, pregame analysis shows, not to mention endless speculations from former players and even animals that some claim can pick the Super Bowl winner. There are bets, beer, and bountiful tables of snacks for the fans. Then there is the game.
But amidst all the hoopla about who wins or loses, there is something even more significant about the Super Bowl – the ads. Who remembers the cat herding commercial or last year’s Doritos® fan commercial, the one about the missing cat and the Doritos® bribe form the dog? Those ads were talked about for weeks. For a 30 second ad, they are charging between $3.7 to a record $4 million each. Yes, they are sold out. Some companies declined to advertise this year due to the costs, but the exposure will be incredible. We’re not talking just in the US, but in at least 13 other countries.
This year, Ford is pulling out the stops with a Super Bowl ad for the Lincoln® line relaunch. They hired Jimmy Fallon to collect and review tweets from the public about crazy road trips. It includes an alien space ship on location in the California dessert, some turtles and a group of motorcycle riders – and don’t forget the alpacas! Sound interesting to you? You can check out a clip here.
Enjoy the game, the parties, and the ads. Should be fun.


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Lloyds vs Halifax
As the dust settles following last week's stock market upheavals, Money Mail examines the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS and what it could mean for consumers.
If you have an account with any of the HBOS brands such as Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Birmingham Midshires, the long-term outlook is potentially bleak. And even if you're not a customer, a lack of competition could still lead to poorer deals.
Halifax has a reputation as an innovator when it comes to savings accounts - its behaviour can still hark back to its building society roots as it balances the interest of savers and borrowers. And despite its black horse logo, Lloyds TSB is more of an old nag, following the market and paying poor rates to long-standing customers.
For instance, Halifax was among the first to offer a regular savings account paying a top rate of interest. Halifax makes a great effort to persuade its savers to move from old accounts to better-paying ones, and has been a leader in trying to reunite savers with old, forgotten accounts.
Lloyds TSB, on the other hand, markets decent-sounding accounts to new savers but then closes them, often paying dreadful rates of interest to those still stuck in them.
For instance its latest new account, Easy Saver 2012, pays 3.6% after tax (4.5% before tax) and guarantees to track base rate until December 2012. But savers in its closed Guaranteed Tracker (now renamed Instant Access Saver) which also tracked the base rate now earn just 2.32% (2.9%) on £5,000.
Among Lloyds TSB's other closed accounts with poor rates are its Exclusive Saver at 2.4% (3%) on £5,000, its 90 Day Notice Account at 1.44% (1.8%) even at £10,000, and Online Saver at 2.96% (3.7%).
Both banks attract savings under other brand names. Saga accounts for those age 50 and over are basically HBOS accounts. Saga's Top 5 Tracker internet account pays an attractive 4.96% (6.2%).
It comes with a guarantee to pay no less than 0.25% below the average of the top five variable rate interest accounts until May 31, 2010. Saga also has a consistent decent show of fixed rate bonds, currently paying 5.32% (6.65%) for one year.
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In contrast, Lloyds TSB's subsidiary Cheltenham & Gloucester has complicated accounts which dock interest when you take money out or limit you to a certain number of withdrawals a year from an easy access account.
Its Guaranteed Branch Saver comes with a headline rate of 4.2% (5.25%) but you lose 30 days' interest on any withdrawal you make. With just two withdrawals your rate is down at 3.5% (4.38%) and 2.8% (3.5%) if you make four withdrawals in a year.
VERDICT: If Lloyds takes control of Halifax's savings strategy it will be bad news for savers. But, despite its dominance, there is plenty of competition from internet banks and building societies.
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Comments due on proposed FTC ban on impersonation
The Federal Trade Commission published [87 FR 62741] in the October 17, 2022, Federal Register a proposed trade regulation rule entitled "Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses," which would prohibit the impersonation of government, businesses, or their officials. The Commission finds such impersonation to be prevalent based on the comments it received in response to its December 23, 2021, advance notice of proposed rulemaking and other information. The Commission is requesting written comment, data, and arguments concerning the utility and scope of the proposed trade regulation rule to prohibit the impersonation of government, businesses, or their officials.
Comments must be received by December 16, 2022.
From training, policies, forms, and publications, to office products and occasional gifts, it’s available here:Banker Store


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The Scottish Parliament has voted in favour of a deposit return scheme (DRS) for Scotland.
This means Scotland will soon be the first part of the UK to introduce a DRS for drinks containers.
The scheme will be available across all of Scotland from 1 July 2022, and will set out to make it easier for people to recycle used bottles and cans, including all drinks sold in PET plastic, metal and glass.
The scheme will see a deposit value added to the price of a beverage products in store, which will be refunded to the customer when empty packaging is returned to a designated collection point.
A flat deposit fee of 20p will be applied to all sizes of container.
The final regulations, which were laid in the Scottish Parliament in March, maintain the approach to materials, with glass included alongside PET plastic and aluminium and steel.
Following consultation with island communities, feedback from the Scottish Parliament’s Environment Committee and stakeholder input, the Scottish Government made changes to the regulations. These include a commitment to review the performance of the scheme by October 2026, including the deposit level, materials and the collection targets.
Now that the scheme has passed into law, details on how to apply to become a scheme administrator(s) that will run Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme will be available shortly.
The Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation (Alupro) recently criticised the Scottish Government over the proposed scheme, saying it had failed to fully consider the potential unintended consequences of DRS regulations in their current form.
Under the proposed regulations, a flat deposit fee of 20p will be applied to all sizes of container. Alupro says this could see customers charged an additional £4.80 upfront for a 24-can multipack, while only 80 pence for the same volume of drink packed in four large plastic bottles.
It says, in this scenario, independent research suggests two thirds of consumers would be likely to opt for larger plastic alternatives, resulting in what it calls the “unnecessary production” of c.82 million additional plastic bottles.
British Glass recently urged ministers to pause the Scottish Government’s DRS Regulations until the full impact of COVID-19 and its consequences on the drinks supply chain and local authorities are able to be evaluated.
Insights gained by recent research commissioned by British Glass and undertaken by Toluna
suggest 61% of householders believe the DRS in Scotland should be “delayed or paused”.
“Now is not the time to push this through as we see huge shifts in the volumes of household recycling, as well as the lack of material available from the hospitality sector and pressures on local authority recycling services.
“Both the UK and Scottish Governments are in the process of working towards a route out of lockdown – It is simply not possible for an informed decision regarding what the “new normal” will look like for recycling rates and several other factors which have a significant impact on DRS.”
For more information on how the DRS will work, click here.


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Who can make a positive difference in this time of global climate change, regional strife and unrepressed hatred? All but the most distracted of us certainly wonder whether we will leave the world a little better than before we arrived. Who among us can make that lasting difference, outside of Dr. King, or Gandhi?
Well, there’s Jan Sneegas, who sets up conferences for the Unitarian Universalist Church from her office in Boston. In 2013, the Unitarians’ national assembly was scheduled for Louisville’s Convention Center. Because the Unitarians require that all their meetings are planned in accordance with their environmental values, Sneegas came to Louisville and asked what kind of local food could be served to the 12,000 attendees.
The food at the convention center is the responsibility of a national dining service called Centerplate. Dining services often are hired to provide the food for large institutional settings, including universities, hospitals and entertainment venues. They are all required to buy from certain companies, and buy certain kinds of food for which they contract years in advance. It’s a system that effectively eliminates a local farmer on small or medium-sized farms.
But because Jan Sneegas asked for local food, Centerplate worked hard to get it for her and the other attendees. They had to bend company purchasing rules to buy food for the Unitarians. They had to educate themselves. They asked their food suppliers to find local food. Jan Sneegas was a butterfly flapping her wings to create, if not a hurricane, a long-lasting understanding that local food in Louisville was here to stay. The next year, when 60,000 Future Farmers of America descended upon Louisville, Centerplate was ready with Kentucky-grown green beans and sweet potatoes.
And there is wife and mother Christina Shadle, a Louisville citizen who held a regular office job in downtown Louisville and cared about the things she and her family ate. When she married a local restaurant owner, she asked him why he didn’t serve more local food. Now, the 50-seat Mayan Café buys directly from local farmers in Kentucky and Southern Indiana and serves local food in virtually all its dishes six days a week.
Neither of these situations is earthshattering. Neither will create the dollars that will support a farmer for a year, much less transform the agricultural in Kentucky.
But the entire local food movement in Kentucky and nationwide has relied on personal volition: you and I wanting to make a change. Spending a little more at the farmers market, opting for the restaurant entrée that is raised locally, using the caterer who specializes in local food, asking the school principal to use local food in the cafeteria.
You and I. We are making a difference. You might choose to meet a friend at the local Chipotle, which buys local when it can, or Panera, which buys cage-free eggs and antibiotic-free meat. You might get together with like-minded parents to talk to your school principal or cafeteria manager (at Atherton High School in Louisville, the effort paid off in a salad bar; we’ll work to include local produce on it this fall).
A vocal group of regular students and adults can express their wishes to university trustees. Last year the University of Kentucky signed a contract with Aramark dining services which requires Aramark to spend $2 million on local food. One administrator at the University of Louisville pushed for a commitment to local food and currently U of L spends 5% of its food budget on food that comes from Kentucky farmers. Berea College buys more mozzarella cheese than any other product in its cafeteria except French fries, and it buys Kentucky cheese. All of these changes are adding up to create change for Kentucky farmers and they all started with the act of a single person.
Nationwide, the decision that each individual makes to feed himself or herself is making itself felt in ways that are beginning to make big differences for livestock, our health, and the environment, including
- McDonald’s will close more restaurants (700) than it opens this year, for the first time since 1970, when the company first revealed store numbers.
- In May, Fortune magazine reported on the “mounting mistrust of Big Food,” quoting the CEO of Campbell’s Soup saying “We understand that increasing numbers of consumers are seeking authentic, genuine food experiences.” “Big Food” sales are dropping precipitously as consumers shop the outside of the grocery store with its fresher, healthier foods.
- Organic food sales more than tripled over the past decade and increased 11% last year alone to $35.9 billion, according to the Organic Trade Association.
- Walmart is asking meat suppliers to raise animals with sufficient space and ability to socialize with other members of their species, keep them free from painful mutilations and spare them mental discomfort or distress.
- Kroger now hangs large photos of local farmers in its produce sections and is renovating produce sections to feature organic produce in the front.
What you value has been persuasive. While “cost” is the most frequent barrier named by schools, institutions and restaurants preventing them from buying local food, obviously “cost” is only a part of the picture.
It turns out that when each of us voices our opinion, spends and invests our values and cooperates on the work we believe in, we can “be the change we want to see in the world.”


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Reported by CHRIS ENLOE | March 30, 2022
The San Francisco Federal Reserve published a study this week that appeared to contradict President Joe Biden’s narrative about inflation.
Americans are battling historic inflation and growing economic woes that appear to have no end in sight. In fact, the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the consumer price index has increased 7.9% over the past 12 months. Unfortunately, the buck does not stop with Biden. The president has blamed inflation and other economic problems on COVID-19, the supply chain, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
The study sought to understand why U.S. inflation is increasing at a much higher rate than other advanced economic countries. The reason? The economists pointed toward COVID-19 relief bills, which pumped the economy, and Americans’ pockets, full of income. In fact, they argued the stimulus bills account for about 3% of inflation.
“Since the first half of 2021, U.S. inflation has increasingly outpaced inflation in other developed countries,” the study said.
“Estimates suggest that fiscal support measures designed to counteract the severity of the pandemic’s economic effect may have contributed to this divergence by raising inflation about 3 percentage points by the end of 2021,” the bankers explained.
Without the massive COVID relief bills, the economists suggested the U.S. could have experienced deflation, which has benefits and drawbacks. Still, they argued the impacts of deflation “would have been harder to manage,” a comment that should be taken with a grain of salt considering the government is having a difficult time managing the inflation crisis. Importantly, the study failed to conclude that Putin is to blame for inflation.
Because of inflation, Americans will spend approximately $5,200 more than last year, Bloomberg reported.
Inflation will mean the average U.S. household has to spend an extra $5,200 this year ($433 per month) compared to last year for the same consumption basket, according estimates by Bloomberg Economics. The excess savings built up over the pandemic, and increases in wages, will cushion those costs, and allow spending to expand at a decent pace this year. But accelerated depletion of savings will increase the urgency for those staying on the sidelines to join the labor force, and the resulting increase in labor supply will likely dampen wage growth.
According to a recent NBC poll, a “plurality of Americans” blame Biden and his policies for inflation, while they overwhelmingly reject Russia’s culpability for America’s economic woes, NBC News reported.


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Many experts believe that some drugs which are currently illegal in most countries are on balance far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Whether or not substances such as ecstasy, cannabis or LSD are safer than vices most western nations have deemed permissible is open to debate, but it is hard to argue against the fact that a great deal of the harm caused by illicit narcotics comes about as a result of the unregulated nature of the criminal markets on which they are sold. As has been the case for generations, drug users can never be truly sure what is in the substances they buy, regardless of how well they know and trust their supplier. While this has always been the case, the problem has been brought into sharp focus over recent years as drug producers have sought to outdo their rivals by making their products more potent than anything else on the market.
Illegal drugs have historically been cut with all manner of unpleasant ingredients, but evidence now suggests criminal gangs are seeking to set their products apart by making them as strong as possible, be that by adding greater quantities of MDMA to ecstasy tablets, or cutting batches of heroin with deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl. Meanwhile, less scrupulous drug producers continue to pass off products that bear little resemblance to what they claim they are, such as ecstasy pills that contain pentylone instead of MDMA. Caring little for the welfare of the people who end up taking the drugs they make, the criminal gangs behind the illicit narcotics trade have one motive; to make as much money as possible. As such, and in light of the fact that the legalisation of most outlawed drugs looks to be a very long way off in most countries, lawmakers and others should focus their energies on harm reduction.
One of the best ways of keeping drug users safe from harm is to empower them with the means to discover what is really in the substances they are planning to consume, and how strong they might be. This is what makes drug-testing stations at music festivals and nightclubs such a good idea. A number of major festivals, such as Groovin the Moo in Australia and Bestival in the UK, have adopted the concept, allowing drug testers onto their sites to anonymously analyse the composition of narcotics festival-goers are planning to take. Users can then make an informed decision as to whether they should consume their drugs or not. Testing carried out at a festival in the UK city of Bristol recently revealed ecstasy pills that were up to four times stronger than regular tablets. At the very least, arming drug users with information such as this gives them the opportunity to take smaller doses.
Despite the potential for drug-testing facilities at festivals to save lives, some are less than enthusiastic about the idea. Festival Republic surprised campaigners this month by announcing that it will not be allowing drug testers on site at its UK events this year, despite having applied to the British government for a licence that would have allowed it to do so. It has been speculated that the company’s licence application was most likely turned down, prompting it to make a business decision not to go ahead with testing. Doing so could leave it open to prosecution should any harm come to drug users who had their illegal substances tested. Other festival organisers in the UK that choose to go ahead with allowing drug-testing facilities at their events do so without a licence from authorities. The British government’s current position is that “no illegal drug can be assumed to be safe and there is no safe way to take them”. Commenting on the drug-testing service offered at Australia’s Groovin the Moo festival this year, the country’s Shadow Attorney General Jeremy Hanson claimed the decision to allow it to go ahead would encourage drug use.
It has become clear over the years that a zero-tolerance approach to drug use at nightclubs and music festivals simply does not work. If young people want to take drugs, they will more often than not find a way in which to do so. It is for this reason that allowing drug-testing facilities at festivals should be a no-brainer, particularly in the absence of sensible drug policies that would take the production of narcotics out of the hands of criminals who care little as to whether the end consumer of their products live or die. Only last month, two young people lost their lives after taking “dangerous high-strength or bad-batch” ecstasy pills at Portsmouth’s Mutiny Festival. If they had been able to have the tablets they were about to take tested, there is a chance they might still be alive today. Event organisers should not have to put themselves at risk of prosecution by allowing drug-testing facilities on site without the approval of the authorities. All the while legislators refuse to implement drug policies that could greatly reduce the harm caused by narcotics, the least they should do is sanction the use of drug-testing facilities at festivals and nightclubs that really could save lives.
Crooked vendors exploiting flaw in eBay’s feedback system to con buyers into purchasing bogus and dangerous items
Buyers on eBay are being duped into purchasing substandard and counterfeit products due to a flaw in the online auction platform’s seller feedback system, according to an investigation conducted by UK consumer group Which?
The watchdog found that dishonest vendors can take advantage of these flaws by linking positive reviews of genuine products manufactured by companies such as Apple and Samsung to fake and low-quality items.
Which? found that crooked sellers are able to link thousands of positive reviews to eBay listings they have nothing to do with.
The organisation discovered that real reviews can be associated with fake products that are potentially dangerous, such as counterfeit mobile phone chargers that can pose a fire risk.
Sellers are able to do this by using “product IDs” associated with genuine items when adding their products to eBay, subsequently benefitting from the positive reviews those items have attracted.
The system is intended to make the process of listing products on eBay quicker and easier by allowing sellers to pull information from similar items that have a linked product ID.
As part of its investigation, Which? purchased 20 bogus Apple and Samsung accessories such as chargers and USB cables that were supposed to be official and shared the same reviews as products manufactured by the two technology firms
Calling for online ecommerce platforms to be held accountable for flaws in their seller feedback systems that allow dishonest vendors to pull the wool over buyers’ eyes, Head of Home Products and Services at Which? Natalie Hitchins said: “Our investigation has uncovered yet another example of online reviews being manipulated to mislead people.
“eBay’s product review system is confusing for consumers and could even direct them towards counterfeit or dangerous products sold by unscrupulous sellers.
“Online reviews influence billions of pounds of consumer spending each year.
“The [UK Competition and Markets Authority] must now investigate how fake and misleading reviews are duping online shoppers, taking the strongest possible action against sites that fail to tackle the problem.”
Responding to the findings of Which?’s investigation eBay said in a statement: “The research does not fully consider that there are distinctions between product reviews (which provide buyers with a holistic review of the same product), and seller feedback (which can be used to see specific reviews of a seller’s performance and may reflect the item’s condition).”
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that US politicians had called on lawmakers to hold ecommerce companies such as eBay and Amazon to account if they fail to prevent third-party vendors selling counterfeit or substandard products on their platforms.
Major ‘lover boy’ prostitution gang broken up by coalition of European law enforcement agencies
A Romanian human trafficking and prostitution network that used the “lover boy” method to entrap young women before forcing them into sex work has been broken up a coalition of European law enforcement agencies.
The lover boy method, also known as the “Romeo pimp” method, involves young men seducing victims with the objective of coercing them into prostitution.
Lover boy traffickers groom their victims to believe they have entered into a serious romantic relationship before using emotional, psychological and sometimes physical abuse to intimidate them into working in the sex services industry.
Investigators from Spain, Romania, the Czech Republic and several other European nations were involved in the operation that resulted in the dismantling of the gang, which is said to have groomed and exploited at least 10 young women by forcing them to work as prostitutes.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 14 people in Romania and Spain, the safeguarding of 10 trafficking victims, and the confiscation of a number of items, including a quantity of cash, jewellery, expensive vehicles and several electronic devices.
In total, the agencies taking part in the effort raided 16 properties in the Czech Republic, Romania and Spain.
Having groomed their victims, Romanian members of the network would develop manipulative dependent relationships with the young women they targeted before forcing them into sex work.
Once under the traffickers’ control, victims would be abused and drugged before being sold onto other members of the network for as much as €6,000 ($6,632) each.
The women would then be moved between locations and countries on a regular basis as part of the gang’s efforts to avoid the attention of police.
Profits made by the network were laundered through the purchase of property, expensive jewellery and high-value cars.
Ongoing investigations into the network’s activities are focussed on the theory that it was working in cooperation with another gang.
Enquires have already resulted in the identification of more than 40 additional women who fell victim to the two criminal organisations.
In a statement, Europol said: “Europol facilitated the information exchange between the participating countries, provided coordination support and analysed operational information against Europol’s databases to give leads to investigators.
“Europol conducted a financial analysis based on the information provided which highlighted the extension of the criminal activity of the group and the presence and flow of illicit profits to other jurisdictions.”
Taking cocaine will not cure people struck down with the coronavirus, French government warns public
Authorities in France have been forced to inform the public that taking cocaine will not cure people infected with the coronavirus.
Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the French Ministry for Solidarity and Health told its followers that cocaine is not only ineffective when it comes to fighting the coronavirus, but is also a highly addictive drug that can cause serious harm to users’ health.
The government department was seeking to counter fake news circulating on social media that taking the drug could cure or prevent the virus, including doctored news stories that appeared to confirm the drug’s effectiveness at fighting the disease.
The ministry’s Twitter post included a link to a government information page that provided further guidance on disinformation circulating about the coronavirus outbreak.
As well as encouraging those worried about the coronavirus to start taking cocaine, online trolls have also suggested that bleach can also help fight the disease.
In a post on Twitter that has attracted many thousands of engagements, @Jordan_Sather_ told his followers: “Would you look at that. Not only is chlorine dioxide (aka ‘MMS’) an effective cancer cell killer, it can wipe out coronavirus too.
“No wonder YouTube has been censoring basically every single video where I discuss it over the last year.”
In August of 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about that dangers of consuming bleach, noting: “Drinking any… chlorine dioxide products can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and symptoms of severe dehydration.”
As well as warning about cocaine’s inability to fight the coronavirus, the French government has also told members of the public that spraying bleach or alcohol on their bodies will not neutralise viruses they have already been infected with.
Elsewhere, US Vodka maker Tito’s Homemade was last week forced to urge people not to make DIY hand sanitiser out of its products.
Responding to one of its customers who said they had done just that, the company said on Twitter: “Per the CDC [Centres for Disease Control and Prevention], hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC. Please see attached for more information.”
For its part, the World Health Organisation, which today officially categorised the coronavirus as a pandemic, has published a webpage dispelling misinformation about the disease, noting that the virus cannot be killed of avoided by taking a hot bath or using hand dryers.
- Crooked vendors exploiting flaw in eBay’s feedback system to con buyers into purchasing bogus and dangerous items
- Major ‘lover boy’ prostitution gang broken up by coalition of European law enforcement agencies
- Taking cocaine will not cure people struck down with the coronavirus, French government warns public
- US politicians call for state action against Pornhub over allegations it hosted rape and child abuse videos
- Californian border officers catch Mexican man with enough fentanyl to kill 1.2 million people


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The cremation industry is booming, a reflection of tighter economic times and a push from consumers for more creative funeral options, reports the Washington Post. Cremations, cheaper than traditional burial, rose 7% nationwide in the past 5 years and made up 35% of the funeral market last year. Funeral homes are building or expanding crematorium facilities, and entrepreneurs are devising new ways to memorialize ashes.
A pair of Virginia men with no industry experience hatched the idea of concrete-and-ash garden statues, and are now selling their customized product in funeral homes across the region. Another company offers wind-chime urns, available in both alto and soprano. “"Death is like going to the clothing store for a suit,” says the company’s owner. “It's not a 'one size fits all.'”


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WI members learn how to cook from the can
MEMBERS of local WI Mortehoe, received a cooking lesson in canned food cuisine by celebrity chef James Martin last week. During a cookery day hosted by Canned Food UK and the WI, Devon WI ladies were able to glean top tips from the celebrity chef as he p
MEMBERS of local WI Mortehoe, received a cooking lesson in canned food cuisine by celebrity chef James Martin last week.
During a cookery day hosted by Canned Food UK and the WI, Devon WI ladies were able to glean top tips from the celebrity chef as he prepared recipes using canned food as ingredients. They also learnt about health and wellbeing with nutritionist Amanda Hamilton during the event.
"It was a fantastic experience," Catherine Williams said. "We learnt how easy it is to cook meals using canned food with James, and then about nutrition with Amanda - such as how to get your 5-A-DAY with canned food. I really enjoyed the day."
The event, which coincided with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the food can, was held at the WI's cooking school in Oxfordshire last week. James Martin demonstrated several recipes created by Canned Food UK to a packed audience of WI members from across the UK.
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Catherine was also able to put her own questions to James and Amanda during a Q&A. "James has given me a lot of new ideas for cooking," she added. "I'm really excited to get back in the kitchen and have a go myself!"
James Martin said: "I really enjoyed meeting members of the WI during the cooking day. Canned foods are a staple in top chefs' store cupboards both in the UK and around the world - they're easy to cook with, affordable and taste great. It's important for busy people like members of the WI to make quick, healthy meals for the whole family - so they can have a balanced diet even with a hectic lifestyle.
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- 4 Burglar jailed for Westward Ho! raid that left pensioners too frightened to sleep
- 5 Coveted Muddy Stiletto award for Bideford's Josie's Interiors
- 6 Police investigate midnight assault on scooter rider in Barnstaple
- 7 North Devon Healthcare Trust department awarded Academic status
- 8 Barnstaple Fair set to return for 2021 - 'May the show go on!'
- 9 Man dies after 'single vehicle collision' on the A386
- 10 Ilfracombe lifeboat tows stricken yacht to safety


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What generates the most revenue: professional baseball, shoes or parking? Major League Baseball made about $6 billion in 2007. The shoe industry accounts for approximately $25 billion annually. And parking? Jim Shanahan, Chief Executive Officer at Maverick Network Solutions Inc., said it's a $70 billion a year business.
"When you think about all the people every day who pay for parking, you can sort of see that it is a huge business," he said. "But it's certainly not one that you think about."
MNS, a Wilmington, Del.-based ISO that specializes in private-label debit card processing for retailers, is making its first foray into the lucrative parking industry by partnering with ePark Systems Inc. for in-vehicle payments (IVP). Shanahan said Maverick manages the Web-based user interface and processes the payments for ePark Systems. The service centers on the iPark, a transponder that mounts on the dashboard of a car. Drivers purchase the device online or from their local Department of Motor Vehicles office, and they buy parking minutes online, much like how cell phone users buy prepaid phone minutes, Shanahan said.
Hans Hawrysz, CEO of ePark Systems, said the minutes come in the form of eight-digit serial codes that drivers manually enter into the iPark. Its operating system, ParkNet+, was co-designed by Maverick and ePark Systems and handles all the account and transaction information on the device. So, instead of a card, the iPark itself is the stored-value instrument, Hawrysz said.
When drivers park, they punch into the device the zone designation marked on the nearest meter. Then they press a button on the iPark that starts the device's internal meter, which tracks how long vehicles are parked. When parking enforcement officers make their rounds, they see that the iPark inside the car is turned on and do not issue tickets.
When parking minutes are low, drivers top off (reload) their accounts online by purchasing new serial numbers, which they then input on the iPark for more minutes. Hawrysz said the devices cannot be loaded wirelessly, but that functionality will be built into future models.
Among the U.S. cities that have signed up for the service are Arlington, Texas; Manchester and Portsmouth, N.H.; and Miami Beach, Fla. The iPark is cost effective for municipalities in several ways. Coin-operated meters must be serviced and the coins from them collected on a routine basis, which takes time, money and manpower, Shanahan said. If cities want to retrofit the meters to accept smart card payments, the process is a sizeable investment.
If cities want to reduce or eliminate the meters for centrally placed "pay and display" machines, each machine can cost as much as $20,000, and for a large city, that could mean several million dollars, Shanahan said. In addition, those machines come with high transaction fees for credit card payments, Hawrysz noted.
The iPark is cheap in comparison, with "very little investment to get up and running," Shanahan said. "It's all sort of pay by the drink."
iPark, which had its initial pilots in 2005, has been through two versions of both the device and the software platform. It is being marketed to cities as a revenue generator and a way to deliver better customer service.
Cities can set their own pricing structures. "You can have different payment schedules based on time of day and day of week, and you can flex that over time and charge differently so you can maximize your revenue," Shanahan said.
Furthermore, cities have become increasingly aware of the real estate value of municipal parking, Hawrysz noted. With iPark, cities can charge more for parking closer to mass transit or premier businesses, for example.
Another advantage to iPark is reporting. Hawrysz said with old metering systems, cities had "no understanding of who parks when, where and how." But, with iPark, parking session data can be uploaded when the device is plugged into a computer via a universal serial bus connection. Version 2.0 of iPark allows for the automatic upload of that data when it connects to a wireless network or hotspot.
That data can be used by municipalities to understand driver - and hence consumer - behavior.
As for the customer care aspect, it is about saving consumers money. Breakage rates on coin-operated meters is high, Shanahan explained.
For example, a person may have to put 50 cents into a meter for an hour's worth of parking even if the person only needs to use 45 minutes. This might lead to the driver opting to park elsewhere. "If you're getting less people using [meters] because they are using the iPark, then your breakage rate will be less," he said.
Security is also an issue. Drivers using iPark don't have to leave the safety of their cars, especially late at night when muggings and car jackings are more prevalent, to pay for parking, Hawrysz said. Hawrysz believes the iPark is at the forefront of the "connected car" concept, which envisions the automobile as a consumer ecosystem unto itself. Cars of today and future models will have built-in wireless connections to allow for such things as Internet-enabled street maps, quick service restaurant ordering and parking, Hawrysz said.
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Google Play updates platform by adding Maps, Photo Sphere APIs
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is updating its Play services platform, giving developer partners the tools to integrate new mapping and photo features into their Android applications.
Google first rolled out the Play services platform in September. Delivered as an APK via the Google Play storefront, the platform is designed to guarantee that Android software updates are not dependent on carrier or OEM system image upgrades. Google Play services v2.0 brings a Google Maps API including support for 2D and 3D views, enabling users to tilt and rotate the map image. In addition to layers like satellite, hybrid, terrain and traffic, the Maps API also includes indoor mapping features for many major airports and shopping centers.
"Creating markers and info windows is easy," Google staffers Reto Meier, Evan Rapoport and Andrew Foster write on the Android Developers Blog. "Polylines, Polygons, Ground Overlays and Tile Overlays can all now be added to the map with just a few lines of code."
Google Play services v2.0 also adds API support for Photo Sphere camera mode, introduced in the new Android 4.2 to enable users to capture 360-degree panoramic images they can share via the Google+ social platform or upload to Google Maps. "We've made Photo Sphere an open format so anyone can create and view them on the Web or on mobile devices," Meier, Rapoport and Foster note. "We've added the ability for Android app developers to check to see if an image is a Photo Sphere and then open it up in the Photo Sphere viewer."
Devices running versions prior to Android 2.2 or lacking the store app are not supported. To download the Google Play services SDK, click here.
Google Play (formerly Android Market) launched in October 2008 and now boasts more than 700,000 Android apps in all. Google recently said there are more than 500 million Android devices in use worldwide, with an average of 1.3 million additional activations each day.
- read this Android Developers Blog entry
Google rolls out Play services platform to Android developers
Google Play integrates app reviews with users' Google+ profiles
Google Play update brings expanded Android user controls
Google Play launches free trial option for in-app subscriptions
Google Play adds support for Android in-app subscriptions
Google slashes Android app prices as Play storefront tops 25 billion downloads


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Small businesses shine Saturday in Natchez
NATCHEZ — It’s true Baton Rouge has good shopping, as do Jackson and New Orleans.
But so does Natchez, and Saturday bargain hunters and holiday shoppers rushed away from big box Black Friday deals to see what Natchez’s small town retail had to offer during Small Business Saturday.
A broad push embraced by merchants across the country, Small Business Saturday is intended to keep neighborhoods thriving and boost local economies by encouraging residents to shop local first.
Organized by the Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce and Callie Godfrey, the assistant manager of Dianne’s Frame Shop and Gifts, approximately a dozen Natchez shops rallied together to promote Small Business Saturday on social media and in other avenues and by offering sale incentives they might not offer on a regular day.
And apparently it worked.
“We were booming (Saturday),” Godfrey said.
“I think a lot of people knew about it and were excited for the sales. It is great to have all these people coming into the business downtown and along the strip.”
The key to making Small Business Saturday successful, Godfrey said, was in not only promoting her own place of business but other businesses as well.
“We had people come in who might not know about other businesses, and we would tell them about (that business) and send them down, because this is about coming together as a community and not wanting all the customers for yourself,” she said.
“I want the other businesses to succeed. The more (businesses) we have, the more we can bring people in from outside the community who will say, ‘Oh, Natchez is great, they have all these great boutiques.’”
Tamara Kelly, co-owner of Jack and Stella and one of the Small Business Saturday participants, said after seeing this year’s success she wouldn’t hesitate to join in on a similar promotion again.
“We have been here three years, and this was our best Black Friday weekend of all, so I think it turned out wonderful,” she said.
Katie McCarstle, owner of Katie’s Ladies, said word of the deals being offered and the philosophy behind it spread as well, leading to what she characterized as an “excellent” day.
“Several people were here saying, ‘We are here because we are trying to shop all the small stores today,’” McCarstle said.
“As business owners, we want everyone to know we all appreciate it very much.”


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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 9, 2022–
Epic League, a company specializing in online RPGs and the blockchain ecosystem, raised $1 million in its first seed round. Investors included WeMade, YGGSEA, GBIC (Global Blockchain Innovative Capital), IVC (Infinity Ventures Crypto), Thomas Vu of Moon Holdings and leading industry investors. According to Epic League, they are about to complete the alpha stage of Dark Throne, the first game in their ecosystem, and will give people a preview soon.
This press release is multimedia. See the full version here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220309006017/en/
Booming blockchain game studio ‘Epic League’ raises US$1 million in seed funding (Photo: Business Wire)
The Epic League team is made up of top game developers who have created world-leading games such as Lineage 2M, Marvel Future Revolution, Marvel Future Fight, and BTS Universe Story and blockchain experts. Ji-hyung Lee, a cover artist for Marvel and DC Comics, participated as art director. In addition, Young-hoon Baek, former COO of Netmarble, and Thomas Vu, former chief creative officer and current Sandbox advisor, participated as advisors.
Evan Spytma, CEO of YGGSEA said, “We got early access to play Dark Throne, the first Epic League game. Although still in the pre-alpha stage, it has received a warm welcome from our team and definitely has the potential to become “epic”. We also love how Epic League supports the YGGSEA community by providing a guild-friendly management system through the Epic League platform. Dark Throne is a must-play game in 2022.”
Former Riot Games Chief Creative Officer and current Sandbox Advisor Thomas Vu said, “As a game creator for over two decades, I see more and more game developers getting into blockchain. The Epic League team is one of the most successful teams I’ve encountered entering this space, averaging over 15 years of game development experience and the number of global hits they have produced.
Epic League may seem like it’s aiming high. Two games are due out in 2022. And the first game of two, Dark Throne, and the platform that supports its ecosystem will launch in the first half of this year.
“The entire ecosystem we are building is entirely for our players and our community,” said Jay Kim, Executive Director of Epic League. “By providing well-designed games and providing an innovative and stable platform that supports players, guild managers, and community managers, we would like to lead the P2E industry.
YGGSEA, the first sub-DAO of YGG, which is already experiencing rapid growth in the Southeast Asian region, seems to have noticed the potential of the Epic League with WeMade, GBIC, IVC and other investors in seeds. That alone seems worth monitoring their progress.
Show source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220309006017/en/
CONTACT: Jay Kim
KEYWORD: NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT OTHER SPORTS GENERAL SPORTS ONLINE ELECTRONIC GAMES
SOURCE: Epic League
Copyright BusinessWire 2022.
PUBLISHED: 03/09/2022 23:26 / DISK: 03/09/2022 23:26
Copyright BusinessWire 2022.


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Dispute over Rototuna development
Hopes are high that a meeting of traffic specialists involved with a $10 million mixed use development proposal for Rototuna could resolve at least one Environment Court challenge against it - but another appellant, the owner of the Rototuna Shopping Centre will not commit to joining the discussion.
Hamilton veterinarian and property investor Keith Houston, whose company Horsham Downs Retail Centres owns the shopping centre, has appealed to the Environment Court against the plan by Trig Developments for a residential, office, hospitality and retail project on the tree-fringed corner of Thomas and Horsham Downs.
Progressive Enteprises, owner of the nearby Countdown supermarket and land on which a McDonalds and mega Palmers store is planned, has also appealed, but has agreed for its traffic expert to meet with traffic specialists representing Trig and the Hamilton City Council, which consented the Trig project.
Houston would only say "we'll see what happens, I haven't decided" when contacted by the Waikato Times.
One of the Houston camp's major concerns about the Trig development is that, because it claims the proposla is being allowed with 35 per cent less car parking than would normally be required for a construction its size, visitors to the planned café, restaurant and shops will park in the Rototuna Shopping Centre.
Lawyer for Trig Developments, Joan Forret of Harkness Henry, who has called this concern "odd" because visitors to the Trig precinct would likely go on to shop at the Rototuna centre, says there is a strong hope the upcoming meeting of traffic experts will resolve Progressive's traffic flow concerns.
Houston told the Waikato Times he had no concerns that overflow from the Palmers Planet superstore and McDonalds would park in his car parks.
"No, because there are allocated car parks (in the Progressive parking area) which meet the rules. They do not get get a discount like Trig."
Progressive's successful application last year to the city council for an integrated commercial development including its Countdown supermarket, drive-through services (McDonalds) a garden centre (Palmers) and other retail and offices provided for 370 car parks.
The 2004 resource consent for the Rototuna Shopping Centre, excluding the BP service station, required a minium of 568 car parks. Houston's company does not own the land hosting the New World supermarket.
His company's appeal says the Trig development will cause adverse effects on traffic safety and efficiency that cannot be remedied by conditions attached to the resource consent. Houston argues in his court submission that the proposal will delay or prevent other commercial centres the council proposes for city growth.
Forret said Trig will be lucky to get a court hearing before Easter next year if the appeals proceed.
She says the wider Rototuna community has shown support for the Trig plan and there is keen demand for café and restaurant leases.


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Andora Passes Digital Assets Act Giving Green Light to Blockchain and Bitcoin
Digital currencies and cryptos are not allowed as legal tender in Andorra
By Shashank Bhardwaj
Andorra, a small European nation between France and Spain, is a beacon of progress. The Digital Assets Law, which establishes a legal framework for virtual currencies and blockchain technology, recently received approval from the General Council of Andorra.
The law is divided into two sections. The first component is to develop a “programmable digital sovereign currency”. Andorran citizens can transact using this digital currency in a closed system. To put it simply, this section of the law points to a possible deployment of a CBDC system in Andorra in the near future.
The second section of the law deals with regulations surrounding distributed ledger and blockchain technologies. The law also refers to crypto and other digital assets as financial instruments. According to Paul (who chose not to use his last name), the new rule could attract new customers, including the CEO of local Bitcoin company 21Million. He said: “The result they are trying to achieve is to attract new businesses to set up in the country by offering legal clarifications to make things easier and more transparent. They see it as a way to attract talent and entrepreneurs to the new economy. “
Crypto-assets and other digital currencies are not recognized as legal tender in Andorra and the Digital Assets Law does not offer any new provisions for methods of exchange through these assets. This privilege was granted only to the euro, the preferred currency of the European Central Bank. Despite this, Paul, an avid Bitcoiner, continues to advocate for the acceptance of Bitcoin (BTC) in Andorra.
The digital assets law is a step towards “making crypto an everyday reality”, according to national newspaper Diari d’Andorra. Paul asserted that the measures taken by the Andorran government with regard to digital assets determine how “crypto-friendly” everything will be from a commercial point of view.
Josselin Tonnellier, the co-founder of StackinSat, claimed that crypto, blockchain, non-fungible tokens and Bitcoin are still not very well understood in the country. Regarding Andorra, he said: “Andorra is very attractive for entrepreneurs thanks to its low taxation, but Switzerland has a good head start in fostering the development of activities around Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. This could change in the years to come thanks to this text of law which regulates the activities of Bitcoin and the blockchain.
Andorran Minister of Economy and Business, Jordi Gallardo, said in an interview in May that Andorra is focusing on blockchain as one of its main funding areas. Although it is impossible to say for sure if the Minister was talking about Bitcoin or DLT in general. Moreover, the digital assets law recently approved by the Andorran government does not clearly specify to which digital funds it would apply. However, the motion, being economically motivated, could encompass crypto and blockchain based companies to diversify the Andorran financial system.
Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash


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Stevenswood has opened two new sites to serve trade professionals in Kettering and Worcester, joining existing local branches in Birmingham and Minworth.
Following the opening of the new sites, Stevenswood will have more than 30 branches across the country from Inverness in the north of Scotland to Gosport on the south coast of England.
Will Gold, managing director of Stevenswood, said: “Our investment in top quality products – and top quality – people is really paying off as we continue to grow across the UK.
“This latest expansion, overseen by Richard, is yet more evidence of our commitment to installers across the country and to our confidence in the sector.”
Stevenswood trade counters stock UPVC profiles (REHAU & Duraflex), REAL Aluminium, Atlas Lantern roofs, Ultraframe and Supalite roofs and a range of roofline and ancillary products.


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GE Digital announced today it was buying ServiceMax, a cloud-based field service management company, for $915 million. GE Ventures had been an investor in the company as part of the $82 million Series F round in 2015.
The two companies have more in common than you might think. GE is building the Predix Platform, on top of which it hopes companies will build applications that take advantage of sensor data coming off of Internet of Things-connected devices. GE has made a huge bet on the Industrial Internet of Things, using data on huge machines like MRI machines, wind turbines and airplane engines to give customers the data they need to proactively maintain these mega systems.
In fact, when I spoke to Athani Krishnaprasad, co-founder and chief innovation officer at ServiceMax recently, we talked about a future vision where sensors on IoT devices fed information to companies, allowing them to build entirely new business models. In Krishnaprasad’s vision for his company, a hospital would subscribe to an MRI machine instead of buying it and pay for guaranteed up time instead of the physical hardware.


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Seeking Sustainability — Fruit Juice Focus
The efforts for a sustainable juice industry continue to receive more attention.
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Ingredion observes higher revenue from clean label ingredients outweigh rising sector costs
In a study by global ingredient solutions company Ingredion, the company has reported that 58% of manufacturers have experienced an increase in revenue after converting to clean label products.
The Coca-Cola Co. is counting on consumers to boost limited supply of recycled food-grade plastics, reduce single-use packaging – but, will they come through?
Even though 59% of Americans have access to curbside recycling, only 27% of plastic bottles are currently recycled – a grim statistic that is not only bad for the environment but also bad for CPG businesses.


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Yogasmoga Announces First New York City Retail Store
Posted on February 10, 2016
Yogasmoga, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, has announced its first retail location in New York City. The store will be located at 10 Bond Street. It will be designed by Selldorf Architect.The brand began on line in 2013. It opened ten physical stores last year. Selldorf says it will use Yogasmoga's fabric technology and colors as the focal point of the new store. The store will also feature a yoga lounge on the lower level. The store will open its doors this spring.
Yogasmoga CEO Rishi Bali says in a statement, "In three years we have opened stores on the beach in Malibu and La Jolla, tech hubs like San Francisco, suburban Greenwich and Short Hills, and now urban locations like New York City."
The company manufactures its products in the U.S. They are headquarted in New York City. The Yogasmoga website is located at yogasmoga.com.