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NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Ticket search engine SeatGeek is expanding into ticket sales with the launch of SeatGeek Marketplace, a new ticket resale service.
Designed to function on mobile devices, SeatGeek Marketplace purports to provide a platform for fans to buy, exchange or resell tickets. The move puts SeatGeek into direct competition with existing resale services such as StubHub and Ticektmaster.
“We’re thrilled about the possibilities that the SeatGeek Marketplace opens up for fans,” SeatGeek co-founder Russ D’Souza said. “Tens of thousands of tickets go unused every day because the process of selling tickets online is too onerous. By lowering the barriers for consumers to sell tickets online, our hope is that the SeatGeek Marketplace not only makes it easier for fans to recoup the cost of their unused tickets, but also makes it possible for many more fans to attend live events.”
SeatGeek says that its service will differ from others in a number of ways. The company says that it offers price transparency, without adding additional fees for purchasers, fee-free transfers to friends, dynamic price recommendations, and the use of Venmo for peer-to-peer payments.
The launch of the SeatGeek Marketplace comes on the heels of a period of growth for the company over the past 24 months. The company raised $35 million in Series B funding from Accel Partners in August 2014, then $62 million in Series C funding eight months later, led by Technology Crossover Ventures. Additional SeatGeek investors include Founder Collective, Causeway Media Partners, Mousse Partners, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and musical artist Nas. – Staff Writers


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In much of the country, 2015 was the year of the fried-chicken sandwich, a time when everyone from fast-food empires to celebrity chefs took on the crispy southern staple.
Unlike many food trends, this one took a little time to reach Portland. Earlier this year, Chick-fil-A, a Georgia-based chain known both for its bomb fried-chicken sandwiches and its opposition to same-sex marriage, reopened in Portland for the first time since 2003. Local chefs, some spurred by the chain's suburban return, took a stab at creating their own.
Starting today, we're on the hunt for the best fried-chicken sammies from across the city, whether they come wrapped in paper from the drive-thru or freshly fried with spicy slaw on a warm brioche bun. And we're looking for your help. In the comments below, on Twitter, Facebook or email, share your No. 1 fried-chicken sandwich spot. We'll gather the nominations, then hit the road and eat them all. Keep an eye on this space for dispatches from our travels, plus a poll where you can vote for your personal favorite.
A quick point of order: This survey is spice agnostic (Nashville-hot welcome!), but we're narrowly focused on the kind of southern-inspired sandwiches that come on a bun, with little more than pickles or slaw for toppings. In other words, we're skipping schnitzel sandos (sorry, Tabor) and chicken parms (apologies, Peyton), two literal fried-chicken sandwiches that belong in their own categories. We're also skipping biscuit sandwiches, which as the name suggests, tend to live or die more on the biscuit than the quality of the bird.
So, where do you go to scratch that fried-chicken sandwich itch?
-- Samantha Bakall and Michael Russell

domain: news


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Boston Salads and Provisions Company recalled more than 200,000 pounds of chicken salad that was sold in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Reser's Fine Foods recalled other packaged salads and deli items in the U-S and Canada. There have been no reports of illness, but the cases are raising questions about listeria.
Catherine Donnelly is an expert on the microbiological safety of food and a professor at the University of Vermont.
For more information about Listeria -- http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/index.html


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Four Tet Announces 'Morning/Evening' Album
Hebden announced the news in a string of tweets. There's no firm release date just yet, but it will come out "by early July" on Hebden's own Text Records. It consists of just two tracks — "Morning Side" and "Evening Side" — each of which is around 20 minutes long.
That's the album cover above. The collection will be available on vinyl, CD and digital download, in addition to being shared through streaming services. It will be released as Four Tet, rather than under Hebden's Percussions alias.
See the string of tweets below.
The new Four Tet album is called "Morning/Evening" and will be out by early July. It is TEXT036.— Four Tet (@FourTet) May 6, 2015
The tracklist is: 1. Morning Side (20:24) 2. Evening Side (19:53)— Four Tet (@FourTet) May 6, 2015
It will be released on LP, CD and mp3s and streams etc on my label Text Records.— Four Tet (@FourTet) May 6, 2015
This is a picture of the front cover pic.twitter.com/CDDIp78UFF— Four Tet (@FourTet) May 6, 2015


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Coca Cola expects 2009 first half profit growth after hot summer
Coca-Cola Amatil, the local bottler of the soft drink, expects to increase profit in the first half of fiscal 2009 after a hotter summer increased demand for beverages.
Profit for the six months to June is likely is likely to have high single digit percentage growth over the year before, Sydney-based CCA said in a statement on Friday.
CCA's net profit for the 2008 first half was $171.9 million. A five per cent increase in profit would take the net figure for the 2009 first half to over $180 million.
CCA said its guidance was consistent with current market consensus for high single digit earnings growth for the whole of 2009.
"Given the external environment, I am very pleased with how the business is tracking against its key priorities of new product and new customer expansion," chief executive Terry Davis said in the statement.
"The material lift in CCA's service levels has been rewarded by increased business from our customers and strong consumer demand for our market leading brands during this very volatile period."
The favourable summer weather in Australia had driven strong demand for CCA's higher value drinks and the Federal Government's stimulus packages had also supported sales.
CCA also said there had been a shift in consumer behaviour to buy beverages from fast-food outlets and supermarkets to then drink them at home, rather than at restaurants and cafes.
The larger sales for drinking at home had more than offset the decline in drinks sold at restaurants, said CCA, which holds its annual general meeting on Friday.
Shares in CCA gained 15 cents, or 1.77 per cent, to $8.64 as of 1032 AEST, as the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.53 per cent.
CCA, which is holding its annual general meeting on Friday, said highlights of the first half were the successful launch of its Claceau vitamin water in February and the relaunch of its Mother energy drink in June, both of which have sold over 35 million serves.
The company also increased its value market share, despite discounting by competitors.
CCA expected New Zealand and Fiji to deliver solid local currency earnings growth, despite slowing economies and subsequent slowdown in discretionary spending, as the company sold more multi-can packs in supermarkets and lowered costs.
The company said it was in a strong financial position, with expected net debt of $1.9 billion at the end of the first half, equivalent to EBIT interest cover of 4.3 to 4.4 times.
CCA says it has no refinancing requirements for the next twelve months.
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New grants launch to support Fenland businesses affected by Omicron
Fenland businesses impacted by the Omicron variant can now apply for the latest Covid-19 government grant schemes.
Fenland District Council has opened applications for two new schemes aimed at supporting businesses hit hard by reduced trade and cancellations due to the spread of Omicron.
The first scheme is the mandatory Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) and the second is the discretionary Omicron Relief Grant.
Full eligibility criteria for both schemes, and online application forms, are now available on the council’s website at www.fenland.gov.uk/businessgrants
Cllr Chris Boden, leader of Fenland District Council and cabinet member for finance, said: “We know that the Omicron variant has massively impacted businesses, particularly through the Christmas season which is usually their busiest time of year, so this latest government funding to support them through this difficult period is welcome news.
“As with previous grant schemes, we have made the application process as quick and easy as possible and will be working hard to distribute the funding as soon as possible. So, if you run a local business, don’t delay in checking the eligibility criteria on our website and get your applications submitted before the deadlines.”
Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant Businesses in the hospitality, leisure, and accommodation sectors will be able to apply for one-off OHLG grants of between £2,667 and £6,000, depending on the rateable value of their premises. To qualify, businesses must have been trading and registered for business rates in Fenland as of 30 December 2021. Applications must be received before 28 February 2022. Successful businesses can expect to receive their grant within ten working days.
The Omicron Relief Grant is available to any business that does not qualify for the OHLG and whose revenues have been significantly affected by the Omicron variant.
All qualifying businesses will receive an initial grant of £1,000, with the potential for a further £1,667 (maximum total grant of £2,667), depending on if surplus funding is available.
Applications must be received before 28 February. Successful businesses can expect to receive their grant within ten working days.
Any businesses with questions relating to the Covid-19 grant schemes can contact the council’s finance team on 01354 654321 or email: email@example.com
Anyone needing general advice relating to their business can contact the council’s Fenland for Business team on 01354 622506 or email: firstname.lastname@example.org


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The number of ISPs in the 16 major markets of Western Europe grew by 33 percent to around 3,000 in 1999, according to research done by Analysys.
According to Analysys’ “ISP Markets: Western Europe,” this continued rapid growth was fuelled by the substantial increase in the number of both Internet subscribers, which rose 75 percent to 34.5 million, and users, which grew 69 percent to 64.3 million during the year.
“The Western European Internet market still shows significant potential for growth since its continues to lag behind the 45 percent penetration rates in the USA,” said Dr. Philip Lakelin of Analysys. The report also found that Internet use in Western Europe varies widely from country to country. While 42 percent of Swedes, and 39 percent of Norwegians are online, only 9 percent of Italians, and 3 percent of Greeks subscribe to the Internet. In the UK, the Internet penetration rate was 25 percent at the end of 1999.
Analysys expects Internet use to continue to decrease dramatically in the next few years, driven by the falling price of telecoms services and personal computers. The introduction of subscription-free services has prompted a large growth in Internet subscribers. According to Analysys, the launch of unmetered Internet access services will, by removing one of the biggest economic barriers to growth, further stimulate Internet use.
While the overall number of ISPs grew substantially in 1999, Analysys expects life to become increasingly difficult for them in the near future.
“The economics of the Internet industry have changed dramatically,” said Lakelin. “Within the dial-up market, revenue from Internet access is starting to disappear. Companies are being forced to absorb the cost of free-access provision and regard it as a marketing cost for other revenue-earning services, such as advertising and commerce.”
Within the business market, margins for basic access are rapidly declining and ISPs are having to work hard to open up new service sectors, such as applications hosting and content management, the report found. The introduction of new technologies, such as xDSL and mobile Internet access, together with the liberalization of Europe’s telecoms networks, are also acting as further powerful catalysts to market evolution.
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China opened its market to game consoles several days ago by releasing the restriction on sales of consoles to those made within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. Now consoles may be manufactured and sold throughout the country, which eliminates a distribution and logistics hurdle that existed before, but really does not change the fact that gamers nationwide were allowed to purchase consoles for the past year anyway. As Niko Partners wrote in our June 30, 2015 syndicated Chinese TV-Based Gaming Report, available for sale on our website, we forecast merely 550,000 units of consoles will be legally sold in China in 2015. There is much hype about the expanded production to other parts of China, but the fact is that demand is not there for consoles. If the Ministry of Culture approves scores of AAA games, then demand might possibly come. It is a challenge for developers and a risk, but perhaps one that could pay off if your title is the one that breaks open this market segment, at least for a niche segment of high-spending hardcore console gamers.
Meanwhile the policy change is in fact a victory for the trade world, because it means that China has opened up this market that was banned for 14 years, and now it is opened fully rather than just to manufacturing within the FTZ. Niko was quoted in the WSJ article on July 28th and we posted an article in Gamasutra last week as well. Many other journalists have linked back to these articles and past articles in which Niko Partners has been quoted or our data has been referenced.
Taiwanese company’s data, now there are more than 16 million people (>12 years old) in Taiwan who own a smartphone or a tablet, up 1.7 million in the past 6 months. This represents 70% penetration in Taiwan’s current total population of 23 million. The number of 4G users increased by 15% YoY in 1H 2015, while the number of 3G users decreased by 8%. There are 4.54 million 4G users now and an additional 3.18 million are forecast in the next 6 months.
We watched the trailer to this Chinese box office hit movie by the creator of Shrek, called Monster Hunt. It is like a PC online game in a movie format, fantasy and a bit wild. You should check it out, considering it was released in July and is already the most successful Chinese film of all time.
E-sports are gettin’ more real, even producing professionals with performance enhancing drug addictions. Sadly (yet wisely), the Electronic Sports League has opted to introduce randomized drug testing for its competitors.
Uber is pushing its way into countries throughout Asia with price cuts (I paid RMB 20 ($3) to get across Beijing a few weeks ago) and promotional campaigns. On July 27th the company delivered a high-end Xiaomi smartphone to customers in Singapore and Malaysia. Customers ordered the phone directly from the Uber app and it was delivered the same day, with the charge for the phone processed through the credit card on file with Uber. And, it was the day before the official launch of the device, Xiaomi’s QuadHD Mi Note.
Follow us on Twitter @nikochina to see these comments in real time as we publish them! Here are a few of our tweets from last week:


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Jon has been reporting on stock markets for over twenty-five years for audio text companies (remember them?!), newswires, and websites. He helped set up MarketEye News for ICV/Topic in the 1990’s before moving on to become a Markets reporter at AFX News. After over 10 years, which saw him rise to the dizzy heights of Markets Editor at AFX, the firm’s acquisition by Thomson Corp and subsequent takeover of Reuters, he moved on in 2012. Prior to Proactive Investors, he was News Editor for thisismoney.co.uk, the Mail Online’s financial website.
The FTSE 100 listed company said its total revenue would reach US$17bn-18bn a year by 2020, a downgrade of its previous estimate of achieving US$20bn in revenue by that date
Celgene is paying US$1.1bn in cash upfront for the San Diego-based company, plus an additional US$1.4bn depending on the receipt of US Food and Drug Administration milestone approvals
The Nasdaq listed firm, which develops treatments for liver disorders in children, said it will continue to operate its business under the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court
The biopharma company said it will make an initial upfront payment to Cell Design of about US$175mln and additional payments of up to US$322mln upon meeting certain milestones
Jefferies has cut its rating for the FTSE 250-listed firm to ‘underperform’ from ‘hold and chopped its target price to 895p from 1,074p after lowering its earnings per share forecasts
ImmuPharma’s chairman, Tim McCarthy, said: "Importantly we continue to see robust safety and we look forward with continued confidence to reporting top line results of the study in Q1 2018"
The US banking giant raised its stock price target for Valeant to US$12 from US10 a share, but that was still well below Wednesday’s closing price of US$22.05
The AIM-listed UK healthcare firm said 31 potential distributors attended the meeting, covering 14 important cities and provinces, including Beijing and Shanghai


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By Jon Swartz
The joy ride for internet stocks took a temporary detour on Monday.
Shares of industry stalwarts Facebook Inc. /zigman2/quotes/205064656/composite FB +1.83% , Alphabet Inc.’s /zigman2/quotes/202490156/composite GOOGL +4.20% /zigman2/quotes/205453964/composite GOOG +4.16% Google, Snap Inc. /zigman2/quotes/205087158/composite SNAP +5.20% , and others tumbled after China allowed its yuan currency to fall to a more-than-10-year low versus the dollar in an escalating trade war with the U.S.
All three stocks declined at least 3% — reversing for one day their gains the past week following a series of positive results that pushed their shares up. Shares of the companies, whose rising customer memberships have propelled advertising revenue to record levels, are all up at least 10% in 2019.
To add to their woes, Facebook and Twitter Inc. /zigman2/quotes/203180645/composite TWTR +1.64% were punished following shootings over the weekend that have investors jittery over intensified government oversight of the two social-media platforms. Twitter finished the day down 5.8%, which would be its biggest one-day decline since February. Facebook has dropped 3.8%.
Until today, Facebook appeared impervious to market machinations and regulatory oversight. That stock has climbed about 40% this year despite a record $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission; a report last week the FTC is examining Facebook’s acquisitions as part of a broader antitrust investigation of the social-networking giant; and withering scrutiny from state and national lawmakers. One presidential candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has vowed to break up Facebook and Google, with no apparent impact on either stock.
Shares of two other Big Tech companies under the regulatory microscope — Apple Inc. /zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite AAPL +4.08% and Amazon.com Inc. /zigman2/quotes/210331248/composite AMZN +3.66% — also were battered. Apple, which relies heavily on China to manufacture iPhones, Macintoshes and other hardware products, suffered the sharpest decline. Its stock dove 5.2%.


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It truly is an exciting time to be a gamer. The next generation of console gaming is upon us. Hundreds of games are being made for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. With the launch of the PS4 just one day away, I invited Mitchell Morgan to write a piece for Go Left Gaming’s PS4 Launch Week. Mitchell decided to about the games you need to keep on your radar, despite the lack of news and being over shadowed by huge first-party launch titles. So without further ado, here are games you need to keep an eye on.
Just moments after I sat down to write this nostalgic article, my girlfriend found a micro USB cable at her house. That was the crucial piece I needed to make my brand new DualShock 4 controller work with my PS3, just a mere sixteen days before the PlayStation 4 launch in North America. That was over an hour ago. Today was a #PlayStationMemory for me.
Back on February 20, 2013, Sony had a press conference to reveal the future of PlayStation. The hype was palpable all over the web. Memories and nostalgia swept through gamers like a tidal wave and a hashtag was created to share those intimate moments gamers had with PlayStation; #PlayStationMemories. The hashtag took Twitter by storm and everyone was BEYOND excited for the new hardware reveal.
Then 25 days before the launch in North America, Sony released a commercial of sorts, inspired by the viral hashtag. The video was titled #4thePlayers.
The video took gamers on a long trip down memory lane, taking the hype for the next generation of PlayStation to new heights.
Now here we are, just FOUR days away from Sony’s next home console. New memories are bound to be born as the next generation of console gaming takes flight, but I wanted to take a moment and take one more good long look back on gaming with PlayStation throughout the years. I want to share with you my five favorite gaming memories with PlayStation at their core. Let’s look back in time at all the crazy adventures I’ve had with Sony by my side.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is bold. Uncharted 2 not only proves that Drake is here to stay, but that video games can be ambitious. Featuring world traveling set pieces and an intense, beautiful cinematic story, Uncharted 2 raises the bar, not only for future Uncharted games, but for the industry as a whole. Improving the game’s core third person shooting and platforming mechanics, Naughty Dog pushes Uncharted to the edge. It’s a stunning achievement and nearly five years later, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves still shines.
Microsoft’s new direction is clear. Xbox is no longer a gaming console power-house. The Xbox is an all-in-one exclusive entertainment system. The system overall is powerful, intuitive, and simplistic. It has a sleek design that will fit nicely with all your other boxes stored underneath your television. The controller is very much the same with slight changes for the better. Kinect 2 is a major overhaul in hardware and its abilities. Technically on par with the PlayStation 4, it comes down to what the consumer wants; do you want gaming or entertainment? Here is the run down for Microsoft’s next Xbox; the Xbox One.
What happens when you mix avocados, onions, tomatoes, limes, garlic cloves, and peppers? You get a delicious bowl of guacamole. Now what would happen if you took memes, intense platforming, rich environments, deep combat, hilarious dialog, and gorgeous levels into one game? You would get Guacamelee. And that is exactly what DrinkBox Studios has mixed up for PlayStation users in this fun, satisfying indie game. For just $14.99, with cross-buy and cross-save, Guacamelee is a true gem for PlayStation owners.


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With the extreme facilitation of transfer and earning of bitcoins, it would be a mistake not to accept these new-found online coins as cash.Microsoft Now Accepts Bitcoin By CIOReview - FREMONT, CA: Microsoft is the latest leading enterprise to put its trust into the digital cryptocurrency.
Microsoft Accepting Bitcoin For Digital Goods, UpdatedYou can choose reporting category and send message to website administrator.News: ALL CLEAR: You can now use Bitcoin as you were previously.Here is a list of the biggest (and smaller) names who accepts bitcoins as a currency.
Microsoft now lets users add bitcoin to their online accounts, enabling payments for apps, games and other digital content through its Xbox platform.Economics of bitcoin Bitcoin is a. the number of merchants accepting bitcoin has passed 100,000.
Economics of bitcoin - WikipediaYou can now buy apps, games and other stuff from microsoft with bitcoins.
Microsoft Now accepts Bitcoin across All Of Its OnlineMost Bitcoin transactions should process immediately. If it.Operating System giant Microsoft, will now accept Bitcoin online for trading off its digital products.
Marty Zigman on "Microsoft now Accepts Bitcoin! OnIn a breakthrough move Microsoft now lets users fund their digital accounts with Bitcoin, allowing them to purchase Xbox games, media and more.Microsoft Is Now the Largest Company in the World to Accept Bitcoin.With many companies accepting the change and others getting ready to, bitcoins are an extremely fast-spreading currency.
Microsoft (MSFT) recently announced that customers can now make payments for its digital products using Bitcoins.
Hope for Nigeria Microsoft now accepts Bitcoin for
Microsoft now accepts Bitcoin as payment | BlackHatWorld
You also have a Microsoft account for purchasing content from the Windows and Xbox stores.Cracker Barrels Together and Now We. it would start accepting bitcoin roughly.
However, if the acceptance patterns of other international companies are anything to go by, Microsoft will soon open up their acceptance of Bitcoin worldwide.By using a Bitcoin payment processor, Microsoft is avoiding all volatility on the Bitcoin market.You can now use Bitcoin to add money to your Microsoft account.
Microsoft Still Accepts Bitcoin Payments, But Azure MayThough not all companies have made the switch, most have taken notice of the quick trend.Microsoft customers in the U.S. can now use Bitcoin to add money to their accounts, the global computing giant ann.
Microsoft Now Accepts Bitcoin for Online Purchases
Microsoft Now Accepts Bitcoin Through BitPay | Crypto CoinQR codes are the biggest help in real-world bitcoin transfers.Microsoft emphasizes the following, showing a keen understanding of BitPay and the Bitcoin blockchain.
Microsoft Is Now the Largest Company in the World toThis week, Microsoft quietly added Bitcoin payments to their website.
Software developer Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) recently announced that customers can now make payments for its digital products using Bitcoins.
Does Microsoft accept Bitcoin? - QuoraMicrosoft has started accepting payments made using bitcoins.The details of how to use Bitcoin on their site can be found here.Xbox and Windows users can now add money to their accounts with Bitcoin, the mysterious cryptocurrency that has made waves in the last few years.Microsoft confirmed this week that customers can now use bitcoin to buy apps, games, and other products for Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox, making it one of the.
Microsoft is now accepting Bitcoin as a payment option to buy apps, games, and other products for Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox.Microsoft announced on Dec 11 that it would now allow people to use Bitcoin to top up their online Microsoft account and purchase games and apps from the Windows and.


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Unwilling to get stuck with a glut of depreciated and difficult to sell lease returns, Chase Auto Finance announced today that they will no longer finance leases for Chrysler vehicles. This news comes on the heels of Friday's announcement that Chrysler's own financing arm will exit the leasing business on August 1st.
In the announcement, Chase cited concerns about the residual value of Chrysler's current products. Since lease payments are calculated based on the anticipated residual value, any further depreciation beyond what is factored into the lease agreement would become the lender's liability.
GMAC revises lending guidelines; finance rates to rise for high-risk borrowers
In other news, General Motors' financing company GMAC has rewritten their lending policies, placing new restrictions on high-risk borrowers with poor credit ratings.
The move is part of an ongoing process to curtail loan delinquencies.
"In general terms, GMAC is not a subprime credit company," said spokeswoman Sue Mallino in an interview with Automotive News Daily. "About 80 percent to 90 percent of our credit is in the prime arena for auto financing in the U.S."
Mallino denied a report that the company would halting all leases to high risk borrowers. Instead, GMAC will ask borrowers with poor credit scores to produce a larger down payment or in some cases, move to less expensive vehicles in the GM lineup.


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Ensuring Sustainable Seafood
Join us in telling supermarkets and commercial fishing companies to play their part in protecting our oceans
As consumers, our choices matter—especially for the health of our oceans.
Tell Walmart: No Ocean Destruction for Cheap Tuna
The U.S. is one of the world’s largest consumers of seafood, and the largest market for canned tuna. This means our supermarkets—where we buy about half of our seafood—are one of the strongest connections to our oceans.
Overfishing and destructive fishing practices have caused the populations of the ocean’s top predators—like sharks, tuna, and swordfish—to drop by as much as 90 percent over the past 50 years.
But this isn’t about forcing consumers to make tough choices. It’s about forcing companies and supermarkets to make meaningful and necessary changes so that the sustainable seafood option is the easiest choice for shoppers.
That’s why we’re telling the companies and retailers that make billions off of the demise of our oceans to change their practices and offer you more sustainable seafood.
Spotlight on Tuna
Tuna is one of the world’s favorite fish and a staple in many U.S. households.
Unfortunately, most of the tuna found on supermarket shelves—including well-known brands like Bumblebee, Chicken of the Sea and Starkist—come from destructive fishing methods that injure and kill other marine animals.
And globally, tuna stocks are under serious threat. If the industry doesn’t change it ways soon, our appetite for tuna will push the species closer and closer to extinction.
That’s why pushing supermarkets and big tuna brands to switch to sustainable tuna is a critical first step to protecting all marine life.
Already, several progressive retailers are offering sustainably caught and affordable tuna options. Here’s a hint: look for “pole-and-line” or “FAD-free” on the label.
Carting Away the Oceans
Our Carting Away the Oceans report, released annually since 2008, spotlights which major grocery chains are leaders in sustainable seafood and which are falling behind.
The findings are telling.
In the latest update, Whole Foods, Wegmans, Hy-Vee, and Safeway topped the list for their sustainable seafood practices. Roundy’s, Publix, A&P, and Save Mart were the worst ranked companies. Publix and Kroger, both top ten supermarkets based on their annual sales, sell more Red List species than any other U.S. grocery chain.
Applauding industry leaders and exposing those lagging behind is key to getting supermarkets to take responsibility and play their part in protecting our oceans.
Is your supermarket selling sustainable seafood? Find out by downloading the Carting Away the Oceans 2015 report.


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- Indie game publisher announces Playdate, a console with a hand crank Wednesday 8:18 PM
- How to get The Sims 4 for free Wednesday 7:45 PM
- Trump’s Rose Garden podium sign is the perfect meme canvas Wednesday 7:34 PM
- Forest Whitaker to produce adaptation of novel ‘Hello, Universe’ for Netflix Wednesday 6:58 PM
- Baltimore still refuses to pay hackers who hit city with ransomware Wednesday 5:34 PM
- Net neutrality advocates slam ‘extremely troubling’ letter circulating among some House Dems Wednesday 4:52 PM
- Moms and grandmas are infiltrating TikTok Wednesday 4:35 PM
- Did Britain’s head Brexiter hide in a bus to avoid getting hit by a milkshake? Wednesday 4:26 PM
- This woman who thought she saw a handmaid about to jump from a building is very relieved Wednesday 4:18 PM
- Michael Avenatti allegedly defrauded Stormy Daniels to pay for a Ferrari Wednesday 3:53 PM
- HBO has no plans for an Arya Stark spinoff series Wednesday 3:28 PM
- Republicans and Democrats agree on dangers of facial recognition tech Wednesday 3:18 PM
- Amazon is using video games and ‘swag bucks’ to incentivize workers Wednesday 3:04 PM
- Here’s what’s coming and going on Netflix in June Wednesday 2:46 PM
- This Michael Jackson makeup meme is sweeping TikTok Wednesday 2:45 PM
Nickelodeon’s ‘The Splat’ is coming for ’90s kids—but what is it?
A new channel? Special programming? The slime that dreams are made of?
So far, there’s been no confirmation of what exactly “the Splat” is, though it already has a Facebook page with more than 20,000 likes. The popular theory is that it’s a new channel from Nick with a focus entirely on resurrecting all your faves from two decades ago.
Fans have been freaking out for days since the launch of a new website, numerous social media platforms, and this YouTube promo featuring a lineup of classic ’90s Nick shows, from Doug to Ren & Stimpy.
The Splat also showed up at 90s Fest Saturday night in Brooklyn, New York, with artists like Smashmouth and Salt N Pepa jamming in the key of slime.
Theories have abounded, from speculation that the Splat will be a new channel, or will be a rebranding of the Teen Nick channel.
However, a Facebook comment left yesterday from the official Facebook page for Australian network Fetch TV reveals a third possibility: The Splat could be a new regular programming slot scheduled out on one of Nick’s existing channels.
Nickelodeon has yet to confirm this information, but it seems likely given that “the splat” has always been an organic part of Nick’s overall marketing rather than something standalone. In a report from last year on the history of slime and Nickelodeon, Vice tells us “splat” is the word for the packaging that its commercial version of the gooey green stuff comes in. It’s also the name for popular “splat balls” and for the Nickelodeon logo itself, as well as for the longstanding Twitter and Tumblr accounts used to promote its ’90s products.
Given how popular the idea is, however, it seems unlikely a mere programming slot will be enough to satisfy ravenous Nickelodeon fans. Already, cries to include favorite shows from Kablam to Are You Afraid of the Dark? can be heard across the Internet.
But whether the Splat is a new channel or just a tiny sliver of reruns for the regular Nick viewer, it’s good news for fans of older television.
Aja Romano is a geek culture reporter and fandom expert. Their reporting at the Daily Dot covered everything from Harry Potter and anime to Tumblr and Gamergate. Romano joined Vox as a staff reporter in 2016.


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The images are graphic, violent and difficult to stomach.
Livestock workers are jabbing Angora goats with sharp implements, stomping booted heels on their legs and dunking their heads into tanks of caustic cleaning solution. A shearer drags a struggling goat by its horns and clips off its wool so roughly it begins to bleed. Another man ignores an animal’s kicks as he drives a dull knife through its throat and begins to saw its neck. Goats cry piteously as they’re lifted off the floor by their tails and thrown across the room.
One worker confessed to the camera that goats regularly die of exposure the cold wind and rain after being sheared. He once lost 40,000 animals over a single weekend.
The footage, captured by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at a dozen goat farms in South Africa and broadcast to the world in May, drew immediate ire and, perhaps more surprisingly, near instantaneous action.
Some of the world’s biggest brands declared mohair—the long, glossy fiber Angora goats are bred for—immediately verboten. H&M said it would “permanently ban” mohair by 2020. Arcadia Group, which operates Topshop, affirmed that it would no longer source any new goods containing the fiber, while Gap Inc. signaled that its Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy brands would eschew mohair starting next year. And Inditex, which owns Zara, said it would phrase out the material by 2020 because it “deplores the cruel practices uncovered by PETA.”
Asos, Britain’s No. 1 online-only retailer, took an extra step, vowing to shun not only mohair by the end of January 2019 but also cashmere, silk, down, feathers, bone, horn and shell.
Like falling dominoes, others soon made similar pronouncements. To date, more than 320 companies have ejected or will eject mohair from their product lines. It’s a move that has echoes of 2013’s Angora rabbit fur backlash, which also stemmed—not so coincidentally—from undercover video from PETA.
We can expect to see more en-masse decisions like these, said Katie Smith, director of analysis and insights at the retail-technology firm Edited. In today’s information-rich environment, a single piece of news can sweep through social media like wildfire. Brand reputations can be made and unmade in fewer than 280 characters.
“It’s a small win when brands are seen as moving away from something that has been ousted as unsustainable or unethical,” Smith said. “It’s a risk to be the last man standing once those headlines have broken repeatedly over a few seasons.”
But not everyone agrees that outright bans are the answer. At best, it’s a bandaid fix; at worst it can ravage producer livelihoods. Among the detractors is trade group Mohair South Africa, which issued, at the peak of the news cycle, a lengthy rejoinder that was equal parts mea culpa, harried defense and appeal.
“The production of mohair supports approximately 30,000 people, many of whom are laborers living in the Karoo, a large, arid, sparsely populated semi-desert,” the organization wrote. “A ban on mohair will leave many of these vulnerable people destitute, and will lead to the destruction of the mohair industry, as well as the loss of approximately 800,000 Angora goats in South Africa.”
But brands and retailers often lack direct access to their yarn or fiber suppliers, said Smith, complicating matters. “Although they can put pressure on the supply chain, it would take a big commitment to implement change,” she said. “That’s worthwhile if sustainability is a core concern of the brand—as it is and should be for an increasing number of brands—but it’s not a fight all have resources to undertake.”
H&M, for one, says it wants to wield its size and scale to “lead the charge” for making its preferred fibers more sustainable, though it admits that’s not always possible.
“When the supply chain is challenging to track, credible standards do not exist and/or our influence is low, as in the mohair case, it is difficult for us to work for improvements in the industry,” said Madelene Ericsson, an environmental sustainability expert at the Swedish retailer. “In close dialogue with PETA, we agreed the best solution is to move away from mohair and ban it from our assortment.”
A tale of two fibers
Indeed, it was H&M’s desire to address its wool supply that helped midwife what would later become Textile Exchange’s Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), which uses a chain-of-custody system and in-depth field audits to ensure the wellbeing of sheep and the land they graze on.
The standard’s debut in 2016 wasn’t an especially auspicious one, however. In a pattern that should by now feel familiar, PETA had accused Ovis 21, an Argentine network of farms, of abusing its lambs and sheep the year before. And as with mohair, the animal-rights group had the receipts to back up its claims.
Patagonia and Stella McCartney rushed to sever ties with the organization, which had presented itself as a champion of “ethically sourced” wool. Even Nature Conservancy, the environmental nonprofit that was working with Ovis 21 to remediate 15 million acres of Patagonian grasslands could only react in horror. PETA, as it is wont to do, called for a boycott on wool, yet brands and retailers chose, for the most part, not to heed it.
Sometime later, Patagonia unveiled its own Patagonia Wool Standard, which it claimed went “above and beyond existing wool industry animal-welfare standards,” including the RWS, which it adopted as an initial framework but then surpassed by including special provisions for transportation and off-farm slaughter. Stella McCartney earned the vaunted Gold level certification from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute for a developing a wool that optimized the wellbeing of the animals and the safety of the materials. Ovis 21, for its part, began to rehabilitate its tarnished image by encouraging two key Argentine wool organizations—Federacíon Lanera de Argentina and the state-run Prolana—to adopt the “language, content, and suggested best practices” of the RWS. Wool continued to stand its ground.
Asos credits the RWS for its ongoing use of wool despite its rejection of mohair. Likewise, Ericsson says H&M trusts the RWS to “improve animal welfare on farm level, influence best practices and ensure traceability.”
Cashmere has gone through its own wringer of vilification and (semi) redemption. In Argentina, China and Mongolia, population booms in cashmere-producing goats have decimated local grasslands through overgrazing and brought already-endangered animals to the brink of extinction.
This bleak outlook hasn’t stopped brands and organizations from trying to reverse the damage, however. Knitwear purveyor Naadam, for instance, is using a vertically integrated business model to create a sustainable cashmere ecosystem in Mongolia, where it has established a privately funded nonprofit that offers veterinary programs, livestock insurance and breeding development in exchange for first dibs on the herders’ fleece. It has torn out 20 miles of battered fencing and replaced it with heavy-gauge wiring to better preserve the health of the pasture.
Over in the Patagonia, the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Group is working with Argentina’s Grupo Costa del Río Colorado cooperative to minimize cashmere farming’s impact on the land and indigenous wildlife. Modifications include adjusting herd sizes to match the carrying capacity of their lands, implementing better husbandry practices and using guard dogs to minimize livestock-wildlife conflicts with potential predators such as the Andean cat.
Will mohair items—arguably less essential to cold-weather assortments than merino pullovers or cashmere cardigans—find a similar respite?
Textile Exchange is sussing out whether it can bring mohair under the “RWS umbrella,” according to Hanna Denes, the nonprofit’s senior manager of standards, though it may take some time before something solid materializes.
“Textile Exchange believes in collaborative action and is working with the mohair industry to extend the scope of the RWS to recognize and reward best practices where they are happening and drive positive change where it is needed,” Denes said. “[While] a standard cannot guarantee that animal welfare will be completely protected, the RWS provides third-party audits and a transparent system to address any violations of the standard.”
PETA, of course, remains less than convinced, neither of any standard’s ability to protect the welfare of animals nor of the necessity of animal fibers like wool, mohair and cashmere when plant-based and recycled-plastic alternatives abound.
“We appreciate that companies want to be more responsible, and the standards may in some cases reduce suffering in some ways, but every animal used for clothing endures myriad types of abuse that are standard practice, and no animal wants to die,” said Tracy Reiman, the group’s executive vice president.
Wool production, Reiman said, isn’t all that different from mohair and should be consigned to the same ignoble—for now, anyway—fate. PETA is instead hedging on innovations such as Woocoa, a cruelty-free “wool” made from hemp and coconut fibers that have been treated with enzymes extracted from oyster mushrooms.
“Acknowledging that mohair is cruelly derived is tantamount to acknowledging that wool is cruelly derived, since the method used for obtaining both is exactly the same, as investigation after investigation has shown,” she said. “Wool may be a more integral part of a company’s business, but that fact shouldn’t prevent it from choosing materials for which animals aren’t beaten in the face, kicked, stomped on, cut up and otherwise mistreated.”
Whether mohair will get its comeback will depend on consumer response, but Pamela Danziger, principal of Unity Marketing, thinks that the promotion of systematic change would be more meaningful for a market that overwhelming prefers natural fibers.
“I think people want natural materials, not artificial, plastic ones, for their clothing,” she said. “So being responsible producers of those materials like Naadam is the direction, not banning the material altogether.”


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Lavanya Anand wasn’t an entrepreneur when she applied to the MBA program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In fact, her background was corporate — she did audit and tax work for privately held companies before moving into corporate financial reporting at Sony Pictures. But now, after two years at one of the world’s premier B-schools, the recently graduated MBA is dedicated to a new mission: helping startup founders achieve their dreams in the emerging market of sub-Saharan Africa. And she’s promoting a program at her alma mater that will give MBA students on-the-ground experience in helping those companies flourish.
Anand is vice president at VestedWorld, a VC and private equity firm founded in 2014 by Liberia native and Chicago Law School grad Euler Bropleh. VestedWorld invests in African companies that are poised for growth in agribusiness, consumer products, and tech. With a goal of raising $25 million as part of a new push to gain a bigger foothold on the continent, VestedWorld is looking to back innovators in the economic powerhouses of Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, as well as four secondary countries: Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The company currently has nine major investments.
Anand is so dedicated to VestedWorld’s mission to nourish the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa that she is moving there next month. She’ll be the company’s “eyes and ears on the ground” in Nairobi, Kenya, considered by many to be the startup hub of Africa.
“As part of VestedWorld’s expansion and especially with this new fund, it was critical for us to have a local presence on the ground,” Anand tells Poets&Quants. But she won’t be the only presence on the ground. Earlier this year the company launched a fellowship program in which it sent three first-year Booth MBAs to its three main countries to work with growing startups there.
LAUNCHING THE ‘VESTEDFELLOWS’ PROGRAM
Instrumental in the launch of VestedWorld’s fellowship program was Jeff Stine, the company’s managing director and a 2013 Booth MBA. He tells P&Q that the program grew out of the company’s summer internship, during which interns spent two to three weeks working in a target market in Africa. The interns came back with stories of MBAs they’d met in Africa that sparked an idea that Stine thought might benefit VestedWorld — and help some enterprising B-schoolers looking for global experience, as well.
“We wanted there to be a really good fit between our intern for summer and the companies, so we would interview companies, try to figure out what kind of work they have and then pair them up with our intern,” Stine says. “And after a number of years of doing this, summers came back and said that, ‘I had a great experience, I enjoyed the work that I did, but we ran into a bunch of MBAs over there who took the first offer they got from a startup, basically signing on the scene without having any idea what they’d be doing because they were just excited to have the opportunity. But they didn’t really know how to source companies, let alone a single company. They just got lucky.’
“So we took that back and said, ‘We’re already de facto an intermediary here, where we have a pipeline of hundreds of companies and we know which ones are going to provide a good experience, so why don’t we recruit a small handful of business school students, put them through an interview process to make sure that they meet our standards and are a good fit for the types of environment we put them in?'”
It didn’t;t take much to come up with a list of companies interested in participating, Stine says, and that also could provide a good experience, including offering fellows the chance to work on a project of “significant scale.” They called it the VestedFellows program. And this summer they sent their first three fellows to Nigeria and Kenya for 10 to 11 weeks. The three first-year Booth MBA students came back with success stories, ideas — and the desire to follow a new career trajectory. “The program was an incredible success and we plan on growing it in years to come,” Anand says.
‘BEING THERE DEFINITELY CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE’
Anand is no stranger to Africa. Though VestedWorld is based in Chicago, she and others make frequent trips to the continent as part of their daily operations. Being based in Kenya will just simplify matters, and cut down travel costs.
“East Africa is one of our primary regions,” she says. “We have a lot of great pipelines that are coming in through that region, and Nairobi being the hub for a lot of the startup ecosystem there, we thought that it would be a really good opportunity for me to move out there and establish our local office.
“And so part of my role will include continuing what I do here: sourcing companies, doing due diligence on the ground — but also with the advantages of being able to actually meet with entrepreneurs in person much earlier than we do currently, and then also having opportunities to visit their offices, visit their operations, get a better understanding of what’s going on on the ground, which I think will help our due diligence process in terms of the timing as well as in other areas.
“Secondly, I think it will really help me get a better understanding of the markets. There’s a lot of things that we can read online and hear from other people, but living in those markets, I think you can gain such a richer, deeper understanding, especially when it comes to consumer behavior and purchasing habits, given that one of our key areas of investment is consumer products and services. Something of those things are hard to really get a good understanding of when we’re working out of the U.S. And then, thirdly, we now have approved nine investments on the continent across East and West Africa, and so part of my role also includes portfolio support.”
Having a presence in Africa will make it easier to be more involved, Anand says. Similarly, the VestedFellows program is about getting potential employees an on-the-ground understanding of the realities of working and investing in Africa.
“Yeah, part of the role of VestedFellows is just getting people more exposure to these markets and kind of breaking some of those stereotypes that exist,” Anand says. “Because I think being there definitely changes your perspective, especially if you haven’t been there before.”


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Dyson's electric car takes shape
Dyson's electric car may have a long wheelbase, an interior cabin with reclining seats and an aerodynamic design, according to patents awarded to the UK-based company known for high-tech vacuums, hair dryers and air purifiers.
In an email to staff, founder James Dyson said the patents don't reveal what our vehicle will really look like or give any specifics around what it will do, but they do "provide a glimpse of some of the inventive steps" the company is weighing.
The patents indicate Dyson is mulling a vehicle with larger wheels to improve efficiency. Dyson's email also hinted at a car with a low center of gravity to improve handling.
Dyson first disclosed plans to build an electric car in 2017, saying it would invest 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) on the vehicle and accompanying batteries. Last year, the company said it would build a facility in Singapore to develop the car it hopes to introduce by 2021.
The patents were filed about 18 months ago and made public on Wednesday. In his email to staff, Dyson said that testing of the car would ramp up next month and that more than 500 people are working on the project.


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LCBO stores are being told to pull Russian-made products from their shelves.
The announcement came Friday from Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy as the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies.
“Ontario joins Canada’s allies in condemning the Russian government’s act of aggression against the Ukrainian people, and will direct the LCBO to withdraw all products produced in Russia from store shelves,” he tweeted.
The move came hours after calls from Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca for the LCBO to cut ties with Russian commerce.
“We must send a clear message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, including halting all money going to Russia during his Ukraine invasion,” Del Duca tweeted.
Similar moves have been announced by officials in Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador.


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“Whereas digital healthcare has accelerated, we discovered that the themes of our 2020 analysis nonetheless ring true: Shoppers are occupied with digital providers, however a cumbersome digital expertise turns them off,” authors of the report wrote. “Issues over privateness, safety and belief stay, together with problem integrating new instruments and providers into day-to-day medical workflows.”
WHY IT MATTERS
Accenture’s analysis confirmed that the patron adoption of digital instruments had fallen from its 2018 research. For instance, in 2018, 48% of consumer-survey-takers reported that they used a smartphone or pill to handle their well being, whereas originally of 2020 that price dropped to 35%. The speed of wearable use additionally dropped from 33% in 2018 to 18% at the beginning of 2020.
Researchers discovered that charges had the sharpest drop amongst youthful generations. For instance, it factors out that smartphone apps went from a 63% adoption price amongst these ages 18-34 in 2018 and fell to 50% in 2020.
The report goes on to notice that after their analysis was performed, telemedicine corporations noticed skyrocketing adoption. For instance, Amwell reported a 2,000% improve in direct-to-consumer telemedicine app visits from January to March 2020. Nonetheless, the report notes that privateness issues and digital ease might affect a consumer’s selections sooner or later.
“Boundaries to adoption might nonetheless impede progress. Whilst shoppers acquire confidence in digital instruments and providers post-pandemic, there may be nonetheless work to be completed to satisfy expectations for superior digital providers,” authors of the report wrote. “Amid the pandemic, shoppers with nowhere else to show had been pressured to decrease their expectations for the standard of digital well being experiences. However as issues normalize, we imagine that buyers will revert to prior expectations.”
THE LARGER TREND
This yr the digital well being business has not solely expanded its consumer base, but additionally its monetary one. In line with Rock Well being, six months into 2020 buyers have poured a record-shattering $5.four billion within the digital well being business.
Within the report researchers famous that that they had anticipated a significant slowdown in funding because of the coronavirus pandemic, which initially occurred. However on the tail finish of Q2 there was a significant upswing.


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Forever 21 at its peak did more than $4 billion in sales, drawing in fast-fashion shoppers with low prices. But the company expanded too fast, especially internationally, stretching its supply chain thin and struggling to gain traction with shoppers, according to the retailer’s restructuring officer, Jonathan Goulding of Alvarez and Marsal.
Goulding maintains that Forever 21 has a price and style advantage over even other low-price peers in the segment. He called out H&M, Urban Outfitters and American Eagle specifically. “Unlike other brands’ merchandise at a similar price point, Forever 21’s merchandise is more similar in style to premium, more expensive lifestyle brands,” he said in court papers soon after the retailer filed for Chapter 11.


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On December 12, 2017, winners of the sixth annual National Rating of Russian High-Tech fastest-growing companies "TechUspekh-2017" organized by RVC have been announced. Following the rating's results, the total revenue of technology gazelles has increased by 30% compared to the previous year and reached 285 billion rubles.
The rating organized by RVC is drawn up in partnership with PwC, the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia and the National Research University "Higher School of Economics". The most successful participants were separated out in the following categories: TOP 5 large companies with revenues from 2 up to 30 billion rubles; TOP-5 mid-sized companies with revenue from 800 million to 2 billion rubles; TOP-5 small companies with revenues up to 800 million rubles; TOP-15 fast-growing companies — in terms of revenue growth, TOP 15 innovative companies that produce high-tech products and spend a certain share of turnover on R&D and TOP 15 companies in terms of export volumes.
Kalashnikov Concern JSC, SKTB Katalizator JSC, NPO Angstrem OJSC, BIOCAD CJSC, NOVOMET-PERM JSC.
Perm Chemical Company LLC, InfoWatch JSC, Research Institute of Chemical Diversity (IIHR) JSC, Inertial Technologies of Technocomplex JSC, INGEOSERVICE LLC.
Optosens LLC, CompMechLab® LLC, Dashboard Systems OJSC, Russian Quartz LLC, Inversion-Sensor LLC.
LLC Mercator Kaluga, manufacturer of road and municipal vehicles in Russia became the champion among the fast-growing companies: its revenue in 2016 increased by 963.50% and amounted to more than 3 billion rubles.
Research and Production Center Polus JSC, a company of Roskosmos State Corporation, came atop the list of 10 top innovative enterprises specializes in production of unique science-intensive airborne and ground-based electrotechnical equipment and precision mechanics systems.
SKTB KATALIZATOR, the Russian producer of catalysts, sorbents and carriers for catalysts, became a top-scorer in terms of export volumes. Its share of exports last year amounted to 91.7%.
The analysis of companies participating in the TechUspekh rating has revealed that the total volume of technology gazelles' revenues has increased by 30% compared to the previous year (222.3) and amounted to 285 billion rubles. Each company spends on average 24% of its revenue for technical innovations. The share of R&D expenditures is 14% of the annual turnover. The average age of companies was 19 years, and the average number of employees reached almost 700 people. Technology companies have become more effective: the revenue figure per employee rose to 5.4 million rubles against 3.5 million rubles last year. In terms of sectoral structure, active growth was shown by pharmaceutical companies — the rating included 16 companies against 12 last year. This sector also has a leading position in terms of average revenue — 2.7 billion and is only inferior to oil and gas equipment (4.3 billion).
The small high-tech companies show sustainable growth and activity: their presence in the rating increased by 20% and accounted for 50% of the total number of participating companies. The companies of this segment have taken the lead in terms of share of expenditures on technological innovations; such share amounts to 26%. Innovation continues to play an important role for all the rating's companies: 57% is the share of new products in revenue. The leader in this aspect is small technology business.
Most of the companies surveyed have excellent chances to become active players in the promising markets of the National Technology Initiative.76% of them believe that their products and developments may come into use in the NTI markets, with 53% either already owning such a product or developing it. Most of these projects are carried out under Healthnet and Safenet segments.
The number of world leaders in this segment already includes 10% of the rating's participants.44% of companies believe they can achieve leadership: 37% of them have required capacities, however are in need of resources.7% of companies are already working in this direction and consider their resources sufficient.
65 companies turned out to be active participants of foreign economic activities , while the average share of exports in revenue was 21%. The total revenue from export activities is 43 billion rubles, 50% of export revenue comes from sales in the leading innovation countries (according to the Global Innovation Index 2017). This points out to a high potential of rating’s companies in order to sell their products in the markets of highly developed countries in a highly competitive environment.
A lot of rating companies are already embedded in global cooperative chains: 56% of exporters answered that at least one of their products is used in cooperative supplies. According to companies, following factors contribute to competitive strengths of products in foreign markets: high quality (22% of references), low price (20%) and excellent performance (16%).
To be eligible for TechUspekh rating, the participant must be a private high-tech company with at least 4 years of operation experience and showing an average annual rate of revenue growth of at least 10% -20% over the last 5 years and with last year' revenue from 100 million to 30 billion rubles. The company’s R&D expenses should not be less than 5% over the last three years, and expenses on technological innovation — at least 10%. Moreover, the share of new or significantly improved products should be at least 20-30% of the company's total revenue.


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WASHINGTON — California asked to join the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Google on Friday, making the state’s attorney general the first Democrat to openly support the litigation.
The department in October accused the $1 trillion California-based company of illegally using its market muscle to hobble rivals, and was joined by 11 other states when it was filed.
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“California is not making substantive changes to the complaint. In particular, California is not seeking to add any new facts or claims,” Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in the filing. California joining the lawsuit will not cause any delay, he said.
Google has broadly denied wrongdoing in response to the government’s lawsuit and other probes, and the company has said that its search engine and other products are dominant because consumers prefer them.
“People use Google because they choose to, not because they’re forced to, or because they can’t find alternatives,” a Google spokeswoman said on Friday. “We’re confident in our position and we’ll continue to make our case in court.”
The company must respond to California’s request for joining the lawsuit, no later than Dec. 18, said the judge in the case, District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C.


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The 5th annual Strut the Hooch Parade is scheduled for Saturday, April 6 at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Columbus. The parade helps kick off Market Days on Broadway and this year’s Artbeat celebration. Meet a few of the characters involved in the parade.
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Check it out online, like what you see, so go to the show. It’s become the standard route to finding your favourite new band so, naturally, two major players have come together to make that path easier.
Eventbrite, the event management and ticketing platform, has formed an integration partnership with YouTube that places concert tickets just a click away from music videos.
RÜFÜS DU SOL, Stella Donnelly and Wafia are among the first Australian acts who will participate in this new integration, which will apply to thousands more owners of YouTube Official Artist Channels around the globe, with Eventbrite show listings.
It’s a cinch for YouTube users who, while watching music videos on its desktop version or within the app, will be now spot a “Tickets” buttons directly under the clip. And at a glance, it’s a no-brainer for artists, who can convert a casual online follower into an impulse purchase and, just maybe, a fan.
It’s another realisation of YouTube’s dreams to play in the real, live world. Late last year, the video streaming giant struck a partnership with Ticketmaster to enable music fans to purchase tickets and view tour information directly on artists’ YouTube pages.


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Shicken Secures Additional £4M Funding from Veg Capital to Scale Up Asian Alt-Meat Portfolio
5 Mins Read
UK startup Shicken has raised £4M in funds from Matthew Glover’s Veg Capital, which has tripled its investment in the plant-based meat brand. The financing will go into a manufacturing facility to scale up production of its Asian-inspired meat analogues.
The startup will use the capital as further capital expenditure into its manufacturing facility to increase the production capacity of vegan tikka and curry SKUs. Having recently received accreditation from the British Retail Consortium, the scale-up will make the Kent-based site one of the UK’s only dedicated plant-based, nut-free factories, and enable Shicken to produce a range of both branded and private-label products for retail and foodservice.
The investment will also fuel the expansion of its distribution both domestically and overseas, following Shicken’s launch into 380 Sprouts Farmers Market stores in the US in January, alongside a Teriyaki Kebab Skewer SKU – its first non-Indian product – at Costco in the UK, Iceland, Sweden and France. And in January 2023, the company gained a listing at Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, rolling out into 471 stores nationwide. This year, it expects to achieve five times its current growth.
Traditional family recipes for modern Indian food
Shicken was founded as a D2C business during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 by husband-and-wife duo Parm and Satvinder Bains, who were already experienced campaigners in the food industry. Going back to 2003, the pair launched a vegan chicken breast under a brand called Love Foods, which was bought out by the Co-op and saw its listing cease.
However, the Bains retained the IP for the recipe as they moved on to other ventures. Parm worked with multinational food manufacturers to develop and launch private-label products for multiple UK retailers, while Satvinder initiated a Punjabi catering business. When they eventually started Shicken out of their family kitchen, the company was discovered by Glover, whose firm made an investment based on the product’s quality and proposition.
“It has been a phenomenal journey for Shicken so far and we’re incredibly excited to see business scale on an international level, both as a brand and as one of the UK’s few dedicated BRC-accredited specialist primary plant-based manufacturers,” said Parm.
“Veg Capital has been the perfect partner, aligning with our commitment to a more ethical and sustainable food system and backing our potential to become a global brand and major plant-based producer within the next five years,” he added.
Shicken’s plant-based chicken is made from a blend of soy, wheat and pea proteins using tech that the brand claims imparts “a succulent chargrilled chicken-like texture”. This is then used in products ranging from tikka kebab skewers and Madras curry to butter chicken and rogan josh, which are based on recipes passed down by Satvinder’s grandmother.
Navigating a tough market by meeting consumer demands
“The Shicken range is simply delicious, and their curries and kebabs are flying off the shelves – it was a no-brainer for Veg Capital to reinvest,” said Veg Capital founder and director Matthew Glover. “We’re excited to play our part in helping this family business go global over the coming years.”
Glover is also the founder of Veganuary and fellow vegan chicken brand VFC, which recently evolved into a holding company called the Vegan Food Group, acquiring fellow plant-based businesses like Meatless Farm, Clive’s Purely Plants and Tofutown in its bid to become “a vegan Unilever”.
The investment in Shicken comes after a year where global agrifood tech funding fell by 51%, and a cost-of-living-hit market cultivated a difficult environment for plant-based companies. Meatless Farm, for example, fell into administration before being rescued by VFC, while legacy company VBites was destined for the same fate before it was bailed out by founder Heather Mills. Industry giants like Quorn posted losses too, and a number of vegan restaurants shuttered.
In fact, meat-free products were among the worst-performing grocery categories in the UK in 2023, with sales declining by £38.4M, and volumes down by 4.2%. However, one of the brands that did do well was VFC, whose sales exploded by nearly 200% year-on-year. “Whilst it’s a tough trading environment, I do feel like we’re soon to be over the worst of it,” Glover told Green Queen in February. “The signs are that the declines are reducing, and I think we’ll be cheering the news that the categories will be back in growth during this year.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Green Queen, he explained that winning back consumer trust and shifting dietary dynamics are important yet complex tasks that take time. “As we move forward, understanding and addressing these multifaceted consumer needs and concerns will be crucial for the growth and acceptance of vegan food in the broader market,” he said.
In October, a 1,000-person survey revealed that 66% of UK consumers are unhappy with the flavour of vegan meat analogues, and 62% find them too expensive. For 51%, taste and texture are the main reasons for reducing their consumption of these products. Price and health are crucial considerations, as are environmental and ethical factors. “Convenience, too, cannot be overlooked, with the demand for easy, quick-preparation vegan options rising,” said Glover.
That will be encouraging to Shicken, whose entire ethos lies in “restaurant-quality” ready meals that are cheaper than even Tesco’s own-label premium range of Indian dishes. Can Shicken help realise Glover’s prophecy for the plant-based sector this year?


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Outdoor notebook: Top Secret Jig Company to reopen after sale; Mule Fishing offers new soft plastics
Tournament crappie anglers across the state will certainly be happy to see the return of one of the more popular lure makers in Kansas.
Top Secret Jig Company, originally based out of Topeka, is back in action after former owner Brandon Manis closed down operations in 2019 because of a career change and a desire to spend more time with his family. The company changed hands this year, with Kansas Crappie Trail organizer Dylan Faulconer, of Eudora, and his father-in-law Allen Miller, of Edgerton, purchasing it from Manis in early February.
“I am confident Dylan will do a great job,” Manis said.
The company’s first item of business will be getting Don and Tom’s Bait and Tackle, 2108 N.E. Meriden Road in Topeka, stocked up with its products before taking individual orders online, Faulconer said.
“We came across the opportunity to purchase it and decided to run with it,” Faulconer said. “We are super excited to see where we can take it. Brandon laid out an awesome foundation for us.”
Those wishing to check on lure availability can contact Don and Tom’s by phone at 785-861-7275.
The Kansas Crappie Trail will kick off its 2021 season March 20 at Tuttle Creek Reservoir. Registration begins at safelight, with takeoff at 6 a.m. and the weigh-in at 3 p.m. at the Wildcat Marina. Entry fee is $100 per two-person team.
For more information about Top Secret Jig Co. or the KCT, contact Faulconer at firstname.lastname@example.org or 913-416-3481 or check out the Top Secret Jigs Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Topsecretjigco/
Donkey Tails out now
Another lure maker with Kansas ties recently announced his jighead company is expanding into the soft plastics field with a pair of new panfish lures.
Ethan Dhuyvetter, a Manhattan native who now lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., unveiled his new lineup at Mule Fishing Supply Company on Feb. 3.
"Pretty much all common sport fish feed on smaller baitfish," Dhuyvetter said. "Because of that, I felt a finesse swimbait would be the most versatile for all anglers whether they are targeting crappie, bass, trout, walleye, etc."
The baits, called the Donkey Tail and Donkey Tail Jr., are buoyant, elastic paddle-tailed swimbaits coming in at 2.8 inches and 1.6 inches long, respectively, a perfect fit for his ultra-finesse mushroom jigheads that range in weight from a 1/80-ounce to a 3/32-ounce. The Donkey Tails come eight in a pack for $5 and the Donkey Tail Jr. comes 12 in a pack for $5.
"The small multispecies plastic offerings on the market did not have any high-durability options," Dhuyvetter said. "Panfish are notorious for ripping tails off of plastics and I wanted to give people more value and less headaches on the water."
All of his products can be purchased online at https://www.mulefishing.com/.
In addition to being a business owner, Dhuyvetter is a popular YouTube angler with his channel Online Outdoorsman and a former member of the Kansas State Bass Fishing Team.


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Announced the launch of New Designs in the most popular Avaanti Collection -
- Marked the 75th Anniversary of the brands’ tagline ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ -
Mumbai: July 1, 2022 – The De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company, held its annual Forum in Mumbai this week. The Forum brought together all its authorized partners, diamantaires, and manufacturers from across the country as well as key decision makers from the De Beers global team.
The idea behind the three-day Forum was to facilitate a common platform for members of the diamond industry to interact, network and spark insightful conversations around the growth and vision of the brand as well as for the natural diamond industry at large.
This year the theme encapsulated De Beers’ most historic tagline, ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ which galvanized the brand’s legacy as the storyteller of forever. This year marks the 75th anniversary of this iconic tagline.
The attendees of the Forum experienced interesting retail technology innovations which demonstrated the brand’s unique aspects. Bringing gamification to the forefront interactive games using various elements of the brand were displayed. The diamond journey was demonstrated using advanced projection mapping technology. Another fascinating creation was a special dark room which brought the sounds of the Okavango Delta in Botswana to Mumbai using the light and beauty of a De Beers diamond. Highlighting the De Beers’ sustainability goals for 2030, there was a series of interactive animations designed and through light projections, it made each initiative come to life.
Marc Jacheet, CEO De Beers Brands said, “India has played a crucial role in the diamond industry globally and the Forum helps us further connect with our authorised partners. Today’s clients are increasingly looking for brands that reflect their values and inspire trust. A diamond from the De Beers group holds the inherent value of preciousness and reflects the strength of the Building Forever 2030 sustainability goals.”
At the Forum, the brand also announced the launch of new designs in the Forevermark Avaanti Collection. Adding a fresh, contemporary chapter to the evolution of the
modern collection, the latest designs embody a spirit of possibility, inspiring the wearer to realise their power and make a lasting statement every day. The new rings, pendants and earrings all feature a beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced De Beers Forevermark diamond, set in 18K yellow, white or rose gold. The clean, dynamic designs are also available with the added radiance of pavé-set diamonds.
The special ‘Knowledge Series’ brought together eminent speakers from across industries including Mr. Harsh Mariwala, Founder & Chairman of Marico who spoke about his entrepreneurial journey giving a fresh perspective to the jewellery industry. His Excellency Mr. Gilbert S. Mangole, High Commissioner of Botswana to India who highlighted the partnership between De Beers and Botswana speaking on how diamonds do good for the community along with the India’s importance to the diamond industry. As well as Namrata Singh, Head-Metaverse & Digital, Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI) who opened doors to exploring brands in the metaverse universe.
“Over the years, the De Beers group have continued to draw inspiration from the iconic line, ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ through all the highs and lows, as well as through changing circumstances. Through it all, De Beers has steered through changing market dynamics, including even the most recent pandemic. Our perseverance has seen phenomenal business growth over the past year. We continue to focus on agility, quick adaption and being connected to the emotional quotient of our consumers across the board. Each year the Forum is an opportunity for us to bring our partners together, to network and transact over three days, and this year they even had the opportunity to interact with our global team who have visited India after a two-year hiatus. We are looking forward to an extremely positive season ahead.,” said Sachin Jain, Managing Director, De Beers India.
The De Beers Forum was marked a success displaying over 3000 designs from 16 manufacturers with over 500 attendees each day. The brand now gears up for the upcoming season.
For further information, please contact:
Mariam Mahadwala – email@example.com - +91 9967868751
Ananya Sharma – firstname.lastname@example.org - +91 7738057674
Notes to Editors:
ABOUT DE BEERS FOREVERMARK
De Beers Forevermark is a Jewellery House offering contemporary designs featuring responsibly sourced diamonds that are hand selected for their beauty. Created for marking special moments and wearing every day, Forevermark diamond jewellery is timeless with a twist. The Forevermark Avaanti collection embodies the spirit of possibility, and the Forevermark Icon collection is inspired by the stars in the South African sky.
Less than 1% of the world’s diamonds can carry the unique Forevermark inscription, proof that they are beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced. De Beers is committed to Building Forever, ensuring that every diamond it discovers creates a lasting positive impact for the people and places where it is found. This comes with a pledge to build a better future – one that is fairer, safer, cleaner and healthier, ensuring communities thrive, ethical practices are maintained and the natural environment is protected.
De Beers Forevermark jewellery is sold through forevermark.com and in approximately 2,400 jeweller locations worldwide. For further information please visit Forevermark.com.
ABOUT DE BEERS GROUP
Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of the De Beers Group strategy as it develops a portfolio of offers, including its jewellery houses, De Beers Jewellers and De Beers Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions, such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives GemFair and Tracr. De Beers Group is committed to ‘Building Forever,’ a holistic and integrated approach for creating a better future – where safety, human rights and ethical integrity continue to be paramount; where communities thrive and the environment is protected; and where there are equal opportunities for all. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.


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Music software developers usually tell you about compatibility well after an OS is out, or at least the day it comes out. Steinberg is already releasing information about OS X Yosemite, the new Mac operating system, before it’s even out. And they may be well-advised to do so, with Apple for the first time allowing […]Read more
The usual advice applies: if you’re thinking of rushing to update to a major new OS, and you’re a musician, take your time. That’s the advice for OS X Mavericks as it would be for any big update to OS X, Windows, Linux, and now even iOS. But with that disclaimer, OS X Mavericks is […]
Tracks, channels, begone! Ignite focuses instead on recording for musicians – and takes some cues from recent iPad apps, in the process. You’ll be able to get it later this year, but initially only if you buy a bundled keyboard. Image courtesy inMusic. If you’re a musician just looking to record some ideas, desktop computer […]
brings together the latest breaking news on music, technology, gear, and live visuals. Got a project, found a news tip, or want to share your product? Submit to us directly.


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10-17-2008, 08:11 PM #1
Chevy Corvettes stirs collector’s passion
Chevy Corvettes stirs collector’s passion
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, October 18, 2008
By Peter C.T. Elsworth
Journal Staff Writer
SEEKONK, Mass. Al Gouveia Sr., always liked Chevy Corvettes — especially the third generation produced between 1968 and 1982 — but it was his wife Karleen who got him interested in collecting them.
Now he owns four — a turquoise 1968 convertible, an orange 1971 LT-1 convertible, a 1971 coupe, which he is currently restoring, and a red 1974 coupe.
“They came out when I was a teenager,” he said, referring to the C3 Stingray design that was based in part on the streamlined shape of a Mako Shark. “I graduated high school in 1971. That’s when I started to like them.”
He said he’d always thought about buying one, but was put off by their complexity. “They were difficult to work on,” he said. “They were high-tech then, not today.”
Then he said he got “married, kids, you know how that goes.”
So it was Karleen who about 20 years ago suggested that they go look at the 1974 coupe that was for sale.
“It was a little sporty, something different,” she said, adding that while the cars are fun to drive, she is only comfortable driving the 1974 and 1971 coupes, which are automatics.
Gouveia said he was skeptical. But it was red and he said he liked it. So he bought it and soon he was hooked.“I started to work on it and drive it and I liked the handling,” he said in a recent interview at his family’s business, Wayside Auto Sales, where he works with his sons Al Jr. and Jeff while Karleen keeps the books.
Wayside also runs clinics on servicing gas-electric hybrid vehicles for Worcester-based Automotive Career Development Center. A recent clinic included students from afar away as Ireland and Singapore.
“I like the shark body style,” Gouveia said, referring to the C3 design.
There have been six generations of the Chevrolet Corvette, America’s only sports supercar. It was developed partly in response to the success of the 1951 Nash-Healey which was made in partnership with British engineer Donald Healey of later Austin Healey fame. Famed Italian design house Pininfarina restyled the body in 1952 and production continued until 1954.
The success of the Nash-Healey highlighted an interest in sports cars that GIs were bringing home from Europe and General Motors introduced the Corvette — named after a small and fast class of coastal warship — at its Motorama car show in 1953.
The sporty design and fiberglass body set the two-seater apart, but the car was underpowered and sales were mediocre. However, in 1955 Ford introduced its two-seater Thunderbird and GM responded by planting a 265-cubic-inch V-8 engine under the hood of the Corvette. That, combined with a 3-speed manual transmission courtesy of former Soviet engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, sometimes known as the “Father of the Corvette,” transformed the car into a fast, stylish sports car.
Ford took the T-Bird out of the sports car lineup when it changed it into a 4-seater in 1958, but General Motors stayed with the Corvette and the rest, as they say, is history.
The first generation Corvette lasted until 1962 when it was replaced by the C2 Sting Ray design, which ran from 1963 to 1967. Following the 1968-1982 C3 Stingray, the long-running C4 lasted from 1983 to 1996, with the C5 running from 1997 to 2005. Since 1983, the model years have included variations on the basic designs.
Indeed, the new C6 Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful car that GM has ever built, with its 6.2 liter V-8, 638 horsepower engine taking it from 0-to-60 mph in 3.4 seconds. It also runs a cool $105,000.
Gouveia’s C3 Corvettes are more sedate — and less expensive — than that monster. While his current pride is the Ontario Orange 1971 LT-1 convertible, which is a runner — “to cruises and work, but not the mall” — his 1971 coupe is barely recognizable as it sits undergoing restoration in the corner of the shop. Only the sandblasted shell of the cabin and rear end sit on the frame as it awaits a frame-off restoration.
When completed, it too will be Ontario Orange, which Gouviea said is the correct color. He added that while the car started out that color, sandblasting revealed it was painted red and two different tones of blue over the years.
“It’s a fully loaded car,” he added. “Leather interior, power windows, automatic, AC, custom wood grain.”
He said Karleen contributes to the restoration by finding original parts on the Internet and in magazines. “She located the correct carburetors for both (1971) cars,” he said, “Dated to the week of the build-date of the car. We look to connect car numbers, dates and codes.”
The 1971 Corvettes were some of the most powerful made. Gouviea’s coupe has a 454-cubic-inch engine while his LT-1 convertible’s engine is armed with 350 cubic inches and a 4-speed Muncie transmission.
“(The convertible) has no power options, no power steering, no power brake, no power windows,” he said, adding that it was built for performance with “an estimated 365 horsepower.”
Gouveia said he believes the 1971 LT-1 convertible is a “super rare package,” but has been unable to establish exactly how many were made that year.
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Chevrolet made a special edition C3 coupe that was chosen as the pace car for the 1978 Indianapolis 500.
Gouviea is a member of the National Corvette Restorers Society and said he hopes to show the 1971 coupe at NCRS shows when it’s finished sometime in 2010.
“It was supposed to be this year, but there’s no way that’s happening,” he said laughing.


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May 3, 2017
By Steven Wishnia
New York, NY – After negotiations carried on more than 12 hours past their strike deadline May 1, workers at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship store ratified a contract they say will “begin to remedy” the income they’ve lost to online sales.
Members of Local 3 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents about 2,000 workers at the store, voted 88% in favor of the four-year deal.
Under the agreement, the union said, workers paid wages will get annual raises of 60 to 65 cents an hour. The company will also switch several departments, including men’s basics and men’s furnishings, to hourly wages from the “draw v. commission” system—in which salespeople work entirely on commission, and are advanced money they have to pay back before they can get paid any more. For those still working on draw v. commission, it agreed to wipe out $2,500 of their deficit, the money they owe on advances they haven’t recouped. If “any viable sale opportunity is present,” salespeople can no longer be required to leave their department or handle non-sales duties such as order fulfillments.
“This contract will finally recognize the 20 percent in wages we have lost over the past five years due to online sales,” Betty Lloyd, a swimwear and coats sales associate who served on the union’s negotiations committee, said in a statement released by Local 3. Bloomingdale’s began pushing customers to shop online in 2012, and that has cut into salespeople’s incomes, part from lost in-store sales and part because they have had to spend time on non-sales tasks.
The $2,500 deficit reduction is important because “customers don’t know that we work on a draw v. commission system that puts so many members of the sales force in debt when we can’t meet our draw,” said domestics sales associate Brenda Moses. “When we spend time with a customer only to hear that they want to go online at home to complete their purchase, we aren’t able to meet our commission goals, and we go into deficit to the company.”
The rule against requiring salespeople to leave their department is particularly important, says RWDSU spokesperson Chelsea Connor, because that can take them off the floor for significant amounts of time.
“I am proud of the stand our membership-driven negotiations committee took to point the spotlight on a growing epidemic in retail—online sales, which negatively impact our membership, which is largely a commission-based sales force,” Local 3 President Cassandra A. Berrocal said in a statement. “It is long overdue that the company recognizes the hard work our members do every day to ensure that customers return to the Bloomingdale’s brand—especially in an age where they can no longer compete on price but must compete on brand loyalty.”
The contract will also increase the company’s contribution to the workers’ medical plan from 54% to 60% of costs, and has “no givebacks,” Local 3 said.
“Today’s recognition of the work Local 3 members do to support sales from the company’s online platform is a huge victory not only for these 2,000 workers, but for commission-paid workers across the country, who will now have a model with which to fight for fair pay for non-sales work,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. “In addition to the recognition of associated online sales, this contract also sets the standard for contract fights during the Trump era.”


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Clothes and lingerie store shuts after 83 years serving Bourne community
A clothes store in Bourne is closing down after more than 80 years at the heart of the community.
Jessie Bellamy - named after the owner’s maiden name - first opened for business on North Street in 1937 before moving to its current spot on the same road seven years later.
It quickly became a successful family business with her son Richard Simpson helping out from the age of 15.
More by this authorSteve Creswell
This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)


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Nintendo Switch Getting More Wii-U Ports? Nintendo Of America President Talks Possibility
Fans and owners of the Nintendo Switch could be in for a treat that might have already been expected.
The Nintendo brand has produced many classics in its time. While the Wii U could be considered a “hit or miss” console, there’s no denying that some of its titles were definitely the former. If you were looking for the possibility of more Wii U titles like Super Smash Bros. and other great hits being ported to the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has confirmed that your hopes are not misplaced.
As reported by Waypoint, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that fans can expect more Wii U ports to come to the Switch. Not only that, but there will also be more enhanced versions of their original versions. We’ve already seen this with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Pokken Tournament Deluxe, each being a port of their Wii U versions with added bells and whistles. While the Nintendo Switch has already gotten off to a strong start, such a move by Nintendo only serves to strengthen both the system’s use and library.
The thought of being able to Up-Smash the competition both on the go and on a current generation system like the Nintendo Switch is certainly a “Wombo Combo.”
Fils-Aime had this to say when asked if more Wii-U games could find a home on the Switch.
“What I would say is this: the observation you have that, given the install base of Wii U, there was some fantastic content that consumers did not get to play. So that creates certainly a business opportunity. On the other hand, one of the things that we’ve discussed internally is, there really needs to be an additional element to that game to make it fresh, and to further compel the consumer to buy in.”
From the sounds of it, Nintendo is hoping to breathe life into what creations have been successful. Some would say that this has always been Nintendo’s agenda. It’s somewhat predictable to tell what kind of lineup we can expect, Mario and The Legend of Zelda being examples. Still, one could say that there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken.
Nintendo is also focusing on the future, as evidenced in a report by PvP Live where Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Switch are said to be leading Nintendo’s plans for 2018. Could Nintendo find its pace by focusing on the future just as closely as the past and present? Quite possibly. We don’t have more than announcements of future titles at this point, but fans can rest assured that crossed fingers for enhanced Wii U ports aren’t for nothing.
“The response to what we’ve showcased, and it really is just a small tip for 2018, has been exceptionally positive,” Reggie stated. “You’ve got fans seeing Metroid Prime 4, hearing that Mr. Tanabe, who’s been involved in all of the Metroid Prime games, is going to be at the helm of that, the fans are tremendously excited. To hear that there’s going to be a core Pokémon RPG experience on the Nintendo Switch, the fans are incredibly excited.”
All in all, this is Nintendo’s chance to give the Switch a pace that rivals Sony or Microsoft. This year has proven to be strong for Mario and the gang. One can only hope that 2018 will prove even stronger.
How do you feel about the Nintendo Switch? What games are you hoping will have enhanced ports from the Wii U? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
[Featured Image By Christian Petersen/Getty Images]


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As people across the globe stay home in quarantine due to COVID-19, online shopping has seemingly become the new preferred option. People prefer to buy groceries online, and this has increased the sale more than ever. In Pakistan, E-commerce is proliferating too due to the same reason but not as significant as other countries.
Logistics, along with a lack of communication on mobile phones of large populations that reside in rural areas, have become a significant issue. Other than that, many people still prefer visiting departmental stores and paying via cash.
The United States in April saw a 110% increment in sales. A great deal of climax was witnessed on April 21st as the sales of dollars raised to 289 percent when compared with the previous year weekly.
One hundred seventy cities in China have mobilized local government and social, financial revenue. From January till April of 2020, the retail sales of consumer products in china witnessed an increment of 6%.
In an interview, CEO of Walmart, McMillon said: “The number of new customers trying to pick up and delivery has increased 4X since mid-March. My feeling is that once this crisis is more under control, people will have seen the benefits of that service and will likely continue to use it. It will become a part of the ‘new normal.’”
Currently, Walmart is one of the biggest grocery stores in the United States. Reportedly, the sales have reached an all-new height. The increase in pickup and delivery is surging to 300%.
It is unclear whether consumer behavior will alter once this worldwide lockdown is over.
Have something to add? Have you been buying your grocery online? Let us know in the comment section below.
For more news and updates, stay tuned to Brandsynario.


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The Meetings Mean Business Coalition announced “Meetings Matter” as the 2023 theme for Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID). The event, slated to be held on March 30, 2023 is the international day of advocacy showcasing the value that business meetings, trade shows, incentive travel, exhibitions, conferences and conventions bring to people, businesses and communities.
Prior to the pandemic (2019), meetings and events accounted for 42 percent of all business travel spending and 11 percent of all travel spending in the U.S. The nearly $130 billion in meetings-related travel spending in the U.S. directly supported 800,000 American jobs, $42 billion in employee payroll and $19 billion in federal, state and local tax receipts.
The U.S. Travel Association will produce a toolkit in early 2023 to help the industry demonstrate the power of face-to-face meetings, including resources such as: Key messages and economic impact; social media guide; video; sample LinkedIn copy; and sample press release.
“GMID 2022” broke activation records, garnering over 40 million impressions worldwide and reaching over 8.5 million users. The U.S. travel industry looks forward to building on last year’s strength and making the 2023 event a success.
For more information, visit www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com.